The Battle of Qiao County (1)
As Cao Cao’s forty-thousand-strong army drew near, cheers erupted inside Qiao City while unease rippled through the Yuan Shu forces encircling the county.
“Roughly fifty thousand, is it? If there’s one thing that bastard Yuan Shu does well, it’s scraping together troops.”
Cao Cao gave a scornful laugh as he surveyed the enemy lines. Numbers like these made a frontal assault risky, no question.
“Uncle, let me ride forward, seize Yuan Shu, curse him to his face, and crush the enemy’s morale in one go.”
“Haha, so after your trip to Hebei you’re itching to show off that silver tongue of yours? Not a bad idea, but if anyone’s doing the talking, it’ll be me.”
Cao Cao had already considered a verbal duel before battle, yet he claimed the honor for himself.
“Xiu, and Dian Wei.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“You two flank me. I intend to get close enough to look that coward in the eye.”
Cao Cao strode boldly toward the fifty-thousand-strong host.
“Uncle, they could shoot you down with arrows.”
“If I’m too afraid of arrows to step forward, why bother waging war at all?”
“!?”
Wrapped in his fluttering crimson robe, Cao Cao advanced with the unmistakable bearing of a man who could only be Cao Cao.
“Ah! It’s Cao Cao! Cao Cao is right there!”
“That’s right—this is Cao Mengde. Go fetch Yuan Gonglu at once! It’s been too long; I’d like another look at that face of his.”
When Cao Cao rode all the way to the enemy lines and demanded Yuan Shu, I gripped my spear until my knuckles whitened. If archers appeared and loosed a volley, I would have to deflect what I could and pull him back to safety.
Dian Wei understood the danger just as clearly. He clenched his twin iron halberds, staring down the Yuan Shu soldiers with a glare that promised to hack anyone foolish enough to charge into a thousand bloody pieces.
“Gonglu! I’ve come all the way from Xuchang. Why hide your face? Are you truly too frightened to show yourself?”
Cao Cao shouted again. Far in the distance the enemy ranks stirred. The proud Yuan Shu formation split neatly down the middle, and a mounted party rode out with arrogant confidence.
At their head was a man who resembled Yuan Shao yet possessed sharper, colder features. I had seen Yuan Shu’s son Yuan Yao before, but this face was new to me.
“Aman, so you’ve come all this way just to see me?”
Yuan Shu answered the bold summons and appeared. It seemed even he possessed a measure of pride. After all, Cao Cao had ridden straight into his camp and essentially called him a coward.
“Gonglu, why have you invaded my territory?”
“Aman, after you slaughtered the great clans of Yan Province and began acting as though you owned the land, you went so far as to install the Emperor and devour Yuzhou and Sili. I came because that greed of yours is utterly contemptible!”
“Greed? I am merely carrying out His Majesty’s decree—restoring order to the ruined Sili region, establishing Xu County as a temporary capital, and serving the Son of Heaven. Does a loyal subject suddenly become greedy for doing his duty?”
“Shut your mouth! You’ve taken the Emperor and caged him behind spears and swords. I will personally expel the traitors in Xuchang, crush your entire clan, and revive the Han Dynasty in the honored name of the Yuan family—four generations, three ducal ministers!”
Whatever flowery words they traded, their true purpose was obvious. Neither Yuan Shao nor Yuan Shu had sincerely stepped forward on behalf of the captive Emperor; both had simply been probing for advantage from the shadows.
The current Emperor, forced onto the throne by Dong Zhuo, lacked legitimacy. There was no need to risk everything, yet the banner remained useful. Yuan Shu had employed the White Wave Bandits, while Yuan Shao waited for Cao Cao to seize the Emperor so he could later tighten the noose around his neck.
Cao Cao, however, refused to bow to either man. He meant to install the Emperor himself, borrow the authority of the court, and one day demand taxes and issue commands to both Yuan brothers.
That was what Yuan Shu could not stomach. Moreover, Xuchang in Yuzhou—the new temporary capital Cao Cao had established—lay dangerously close to his own power base in Shuchun.
“So you planned to drive me out and install the Emperor in Xuchang yourself? Only now do I see how bitterly jealous you were that I was the one who secured the Son of Heaven!”
“Silence, you fox borrowing a tiger’s prestige! Your every action matches the proverb perfectly. Just because you obtained the post of Minister of Works and raised an army, you think the world already belongs to you?”
“Yuan Shu! There’s no need to circle the truth like a dog chasing its tail.”
Cao Cao’s expression remained relaxed as he prepared to withdraw. At the last moment he pointed to his own neck.
“If you’re so envious of what I’m doing that you want to steal everything I have, then come and take this head in the coming battle.”
“Bastard! This ground will become your grave!”
“Good. Give it your best effort, Yuan Shu!”
He had abandoned the polite courtesy name and now addressed him by his real name, openly branding him a traitor. After one final mocking taunt, Cao Cao withdrew at a leisurely pace.
In that instant a chill ran down my spine. I raised my spear on pure reflex.
Clang—
Clang—
Arrows. As Cao Cao turned to leave, the Yuan Shu army had loosed a volley at his back. His horse surged forward at once. Dian Wei and I galloped beside him, batting aside every shaft that whistled toward us.
“Hahaha! I expected treachery, but I didn’t think they’d actually shoot me in the back!”
“Uncle, is he not the perfect example of a petty villain? To loose arrows after a perfectly civil exchange!”
“From the moment I saw his face I knew he was greedy. The sort of wretch who’ll do anything when things don’t go his way!”
Clang—
While speaking, Dian Wei casually deflected yet another arrow meant for Cao Cao. We rode hard until we passed beyond bowshot, where heavy infantry carrying iron shields could take over the defense.
Once inside his tent, Cao Cao immediately inspected the crimson robe he wore.
“Fortunately it’s undamaged.”
He had been checking whether the precious garment had been torn during their desperate gallop. Satisfied, he calmly retied the sash, sat down, and began the strategy meeting as though nothing had happened.
“We’ll smash them head-on.”
“My lord, Qiao County already has strong fortifications. If we simply defend, Yuan Shu may exhaust himself and withdraw on his own.”
Strategist Cheng Yu offered cautious advice, but Cao Cao merely flicked his fingers.
“No. After what just occurred, I understand clearly. We must crush Yuan Shu’s army in a frontal assault and show every power in the south exactly whose strength stands supreme.”
Though he hid it well, Cao Cao was furious about the arrows shot at his retreating back. In the end, everything stemmed from Yuan Shu’s greed for the rich lands of Xuchang, the Emperor, and all of Yuzhou.
If not this time, Yuan Shu would continue to eye Cao Cao with envy and never abandon his ambition to seize Xuchang.
“Cheng Yu, I will say it plainly. I intend to break them head-on.”
“My lord, if that is your decision, we must first choose the vanguard.”
Cao Cao studied the battlefield for a moment, then spoke quietly.
“Cao Xiu will lead the vanguard. Xu Gongming will follow as the secondary force.”
Cao Cao had named me to spearhead the attack. The first clash with Yuan Shu’s army would therefore begin with my troops.
“Uncle, I will certainly rout the enemy and present you with Yuan Shu’s head.”
“Excellent spirit. And Xu Gongming.”
“Yes, Minister of Works!”
“You are no longer serving under the White Wave Bandits. You now fight as part of a proper army. Show us your true worth on this field.”
“I shall stake my life to repel the foe.”
At last Xu Huang had formally taken his place among Cao Cao’s generals.
Three thousand cavalry under my command and two thousand under Xu Huang—five thousand riders in total—formed the vanguard and secondary wave that thundered toward Yuan Shu’s lines.
With legs clamped tight around my horse’s barrel and spear leveled, I charged straight at the shield-bearing infantry.
BOOOOOOM—
We shattered their formation by sheer momentum, then drove our spearheads into anything that moved.
“Gah!”
“Anyone who wants to die, step forward!”
Ordinary infantry could not withstand a cavalry charge that had already broken their shield wall.
“Keep driving forward! Full speed toward the enemy commander!”
Once my vanguard had torn open the enemy lines, Xu Huang’s secondary force swept in behind us, cutting down the disorganized foot soldiers one after another and maintaining relentless pressure.
From Qiao City, Cao Chun’s archers poured arrows over the walls to harass the enemy flank, while the main Cao army provided timely support wherever our cavalry penetrated.
Eventually the long, spread-out Yuan Shu infantry line ordered a general retreat. We cut down a few stragglers, killed several mounted officers trying to rally their men, and prepared to press the advantage.
Thud-thud-thud—thud-thud-thud-thud—
“!?”
“Xiu! The enemy cavalry is coming!”
Where Xu Huang pointed in alarm, a cloud of dust rose and the ground trembled beneath the pounding of countless hooves. Yuan Shu’s horsemen were racing toward us.
“I’m swinging west!”
“West? But that’s toward the city… Ah!”
When I wheeled my mount toward the western wall of Qiao City, Xu Huang instantly grasped the terrain and understood.
After a single devastating charge, the five thousand riders galloped straight for the shelter of the city walls.
Yuan Shu’s cavalry gave immediate chase. They clearly meant to catch us with fresh troops before we could reorganize after our first collision.
But who would let themselves be caught?
Swooooosh—
“Ugh!”
“Arrows from the wall! Stay out of their range!”
Yuan Shu’s horsemen had nearly overtaken us when Cao Chun’s archers on the battlements unleashed a devastating covering volley. Riders and horses toppled by the score.
In the meantime we pressed ourselves against the base of the wall, enjoying the cool shade while we watched Yuan Shu’s cavalry mill about in helpless confusion.
“They turned the entire wall into a shield.”
“It looks like they used their infantry as bait from the start, planning to spring a trap once we were tired. They should have realized the archers on the wall would provide covering fire.”
Yuan Shu’s cavalry tried to brave the arrow storm, but men and mounts fell one after another like clothes slowly soaked by drizzle.
In the end the pursuit collapsed. Having lost several hundred riders, the Yuan Shu cavalry withdrew in disarray.
For the opening clash, we had succeeded in throwing the enemy formation into considerable disorder.
