Even in Victory, the Tide Turns
The fighting continued, victory after victory, yet we were still being pushed back. Hadn’t I said so? I took Wen Chou with my own hands. It is common sense that a warrior who crosses the line of death once and returns grows even stronger! In that way, we repelled even Yuan Shao’s main force at Yanjin. With this, we had taken the heads of both vanguard generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou, right at the start of the campaign. If things kept going like this, we might truly rewrite history. But there was still so much left to do.
“My lord, reports say Yuan Shao’s army of thirty thousand has gathered at Henei Castle.”
“Isn’t Zixiao at Henei Castle?”
“Zhonglangjiang Gao Shun, along with Yu Jin, Colonel Yue Jin, and Administrator of Wancheng Zhang Xiu are all defending it together.”
“Then it’s fine! This is the perfect opportunity to test the new troops that Gao Shun has trained.”
“Even so, my lord, we must send reinforcements to Henei. It is currently our only stronghold north of the Yellow River.”
At Xun You’s suggestion, Cao Cao scratched his head and examined the overall war situation.
“Damn it. I clearly brought an army of a hundred thousand, yet by blocking here and blocking there, it keeps shrinking.”
It really was exactly like that.
“Ziye, what do you think? We keep winning, so where the hell is my hundred-thousand-strong army disappearing to?”
“Uncle, it’s because this war itself cannot help but be this way.”
“Hmmm.”
“Yuan Shao has unified Hebei—Bingzhou, Youzhou, Jizhou, and Qingzhou. The only remaining enemies are the Black Mountain bandits and the barbarians beyond the Taihang Mountains. So all he has to do is gather his troops in one place and march south.”
“Exactly!”
“However, we are facing the powerful Yuan army across an incredibly wide front. The forces coming straight down from Jizhou, the ones coming through Bingzhou to attack Henei, and the army in Qingzhou that could descend on Xuzhou at any moment… In the end, we end up splitting our forces—twenty thousand here, thirty thousand there, another twenty thousand over there. No matter how many troops we gather, they keep getting consumed.”
In truth, Cao Cao already knew this and had asked on purpose.
“Ziye, ever since your first battle ended in defeat, it seems to have become a blessing in disguise. We keep winning, yet the enemy only grows larger.”
“It appears Yuan Shao planned this strategy from the beginning. He’s big and sturdy, so even if he takes ten blows, he believes that landing just one is enough to win. Like a bear charging forward.”
“That must be it! That’s why he moves so boldly…”
“Report! Urgent report!”
A messenger’s desperate shout came from outside the tent. When Cao Cao told him to enter, the man’s condition was horrific.
“Chancellor!”
“What is it? Why is a messenger covered in blood like this?”
“Chancellor! An army of a hundred thousand Yuan soldiers has crossed the Yellow River at Baima! Yuan Shao is leading them personally and is advancing toward Yanjin at great speed!”
“What… what did you say? Hmmm!”
Yuan Shao really was a madman. When thirty thousand wasn’t enough, he sent fifty thousand. When fifty thousand wasn’t enough, he sent a hundred thousand. An absurd display of force. We were barely managing by splitting our hundred thousand troops in every direction, yet Yuan Shao simply snapped his fingers and brought down another hundred thousand.
“How long has it been since the plague in Jizhou ended? And he conscripts another hundred thousand from there? Does he truly intend to drag every last man in the world here just to catch this Cao Mengde of mine!”
At first, I had thought the claim that Yuan Shao’s army exceeded five hundred thousand was mere exaggeration. But now, not even his entire force—just Jizhou including Yecheng—had already mobilized two hundred thousand.
“My lord, if we stay like this, the enemy will swarm in like a tidal wave and surround us. We must retreat to the rear fortress at Guandu immediately and prepare for a siege.”
“Not yet. We must attempt at least a few field battles first.”
Liu Ye urged an immediate concentration of forces at Guandu to fight, but Xun You instead insisted on field engagements. And I agreed. We would eventually have to lure them to Guandu, but not right away.
“Uncle, I also believe we should engage in field battles.”
“Why?”
“As Master Ziyang said, concentrating at Guandu is correct, but if we head there immediately, our army will only appear to be fleeing in fear of Yuan Shao’s great host. Therefore, we must fight several engagements first, achieve at least one meaningful victory, and only then withdraw to Guandu.”
“Hmmm, I see.”
“My lord, if I may add one thing to Zhonglangjiang Ziye’s words—our army’s morale is currently at its peak after we recently beheaded the enemy’s vanguard generals, Yan Liang and Wen Chou. If we show them running from the enemy’s main force now, that hard-won fighting spirit will vanish in an instant.”
This was why Xun You was so valuable. Whenever I said something, he would follow up with, “What Lord Ziye means is this, and therefore we should reinforce it in this way,” lending weight to my suggestions so that Cao Cao accepted them more readily.
“Yes, Ziyang’s words are right. Gongda’s words are right. Ziye’s words are also right! I command you—gather all the advisors and generals into the tent!”
Cao Cao summoned every strategist and commander. In the gathering that included Zhang Liao, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Xu Huang, and myself, Cao Cao declared,
“Listen well. It seems Benchu has finally scraped the bottom of his barrel. An additional hundred thousand troops have crossed the Yellow River and are camped at Baima. They will likely reach Yanjin in about ten days!”
At the mention of a hundred thousand, everyone’s eyes widened, but not a single man looked afraid. On the contrary, their blood was boiling at the prospect of a proper fight.
“Are you all prepared? A truly fierce battle is coming. Benchu himself is leading this great army.”
“My lord, we will follow you even into the depths of hell!”
“Indeed. Our army’s morale is already at its highest after taking the heads of Yan Liang and Wen Chou.”
Cao Cao nodded as he watched his fiery commanders. And as if on cue, a letter arrived from Cheng Yu, who was acting as scout and strategic advisor at Jiancheng.
My lord, Zhonglangjiang Cheng Yu respectfully reports. Yuan Shao has once again raised an army and is personally marching south of the Yellow River. The number exceeds one hundred thousand. In my humble opinion, depending on the situation, we should either prepare a siege at Guandu or first attempt field battles to blunt the enemy’s vanguard.
“Look at this. Zhongde is saying the same thing.”
In the end, field battles it would be.
Although the enemy numbers are great, our lord’s troops are the elite of the elite. Summon Lord Zilian from Wuyuan and Lord Zixiao, who is providing rear support from Fuyang Castle, and show the enemy the full might of our concentrated army.
Thus, Cao Hong’s army and Cao Ang’s forces from the rear at Fuyang were called forward. So Cao Ang is coming up. It’s been a while since we fought side by side.
Dong— dong— dong— dong—
Puuu— puuuuuuu—
The massive sound of war drums and horns. As if trying to crush our morale before the battle even began, the hundred-thousand-strong army advanced with its military band at the forefront.
“Truly worthy of Benchu. What an incredible display of momentum.”
The four-tens-of-thousands-strong Cao army actually flinched for a moment at the sheer force of it.
And then a messenger came from within the Yuan army. Yuan Shao had personally set up a shaded pavilion in front of his great host, calmly preparing a tea table.
“I bring a message from the Grand General. The Grand General invites the Chancellor to drink tea with him before the battle.”
“Tea?”
“It is the Grand General’s invitation!”
When Cao Cao saw that Yuan Shao had actually ordered his servants to set up a full tea spread right on the battlefield, he let out a hollow laugh, utterly dumbfounded.
“Very well. I shall go taste the tea of Hebei. Zisu, Ziye!”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“You two shall guard me.”
Together with Cao Ang, I accepted Yuan Shao’s invitation.
“Welcome, Cao Aman. Oh~ You’ve brought your two grown sons with you? How big they’ve become.”
Yuan Shao looked at me in particular and gave a mocking chuckle.
“Is your body well? My son spared your life back then, yet it seems things have changed quite a bit, hasn’t it?”
Behind Yuan Shao stood his second son, Yuan Xi, and Shun Yuqing. Those two enemies would have to be dealt with eventually as well.
I immediately responded to Yuan Shao’s taunt.
“I’m so well that I had energy to spare—so much that I cut down Wen Chou.”
At that moment, both Yuan Xi and Shun Yuqing grabbed the hilts of their swords. Cao Ang stepped forward to block them.
“Hahaha! The little puppy from back then has become a fierce wolf.”
“Benchu, let’s stop there with the old stories.”
Cao Cao, fully armored even at a tea table, did not remove his helmet. On the other hand, Yuan Shao—clearly on a battlefield—sat arrogantly in a silk uniform resembling imperial robes, wearing the official cap of a high minister instead of a helmet. Even after we had beaten him so thoroughly and taken the heads of two of his generals, he still overflowed with leisure and treated us like insignificant insects. That was the kind of man Yuan Shao was.
“Listen, Aman. Your military talent is truly remarkable. You were not the least bit intimidated by my army and managed to repel both Yan Liang and Wen Chou. I greatly acknowledge that.”
“Since Benchu himself says so, I suppose I must earn even greater recognition this time.”
“Hahaha. This time will be different. This time…”
While Yuan Shao and Cao Cao drank tea and engaged in a battle of wills, Cao Ang and I faced off against Yuan Shao’s guards, Yuan Xi and Shun Yuqing. Shun Yuqing glared at Cao Ang with murderous intent, while Yuan Xi, wearing a sneer, stroked his sword as if ready to draw it at any moment.
They might be acting all triumphant right now, but I would soon wipe those smiles off their faces. Free merit points, the both of you.
“Aman, I will say this one last time. For the sake of our old friendship, won’t you join me once more? When you captured that disgrace to the Yuan clan, Yuan Shu, I also subjugated the traitor of Hebei, Gongsun Zan.”
Once again, Yuan Shao’s offer: “Become my blade.”
“I am a man who can easily overlook one or two mistakes. I hope you will judge correctly which side holds the momentum of the age.”
“We have both come too far for that, haven’t we? Especially after you sent that insulting circular written by the mere scholar Chen Lin, slandering our entire clan.”
“Umm… I apologize for that. After reading your reply, I realized that as a gentleman and as the head of the prestigious Yuan family, I had done something unworthy.”
Yuan Shao, referencing the letter I had sent, once again tried to raise his own dignity. Then Cao Cao stood up.
“The tea was excellent.”
“You’re leaving already? You seem eager to rush to your defeat.”
“Around this time next year, I shall personally brew you fine tea and bring it to your residence in Yecheng.”
“…I shall gladly accept!”
Having confirmed each other’s resolve right before battle, we returned to our lines.
“Zisu.”
“Yes, Father.”
“This is a battle against an army of a hundred thousand. Do you have confidence?”
“I will simply fight for my father.”
“Ziye.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“What did you think of Yuan Shao?”
“He is a man of man (arrogance).”
At that moment, Cao Cao recognized the character and nodded.
“Arrogance… haughtiness… pride… self-conceit… Yes, that is Yuan Shao. A man of arrogance.”
Yet before our eyes stood an army grand enough to justify such arrogance. Repelling Yan Liang and Wen Chou had merely been the opening skirmish. The great Battle of Guandu was only now beginning.