Qiao County Battle (4)
That night, I told Cao Cao everything that had happened on the hill from inside his tent.
“A female tiger, you say?”
“That is correct.”
“Ziye, I’m not going to scold you for failing today’s mission. In fact, I don’t even consider it a failure.”
“It’s the truth. The one leading the band of assassins from the hill was a woman.”
“Hmm, are you certain you didn’t see wrong? How could there be a group of assassins led by a woman?”
Cao Cao tilted his head, still unable to believe what he was hearing.
“They were highly skilled. They had been lying in wait inside the forest, then ambushed me and the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry while we pursued Yuan Shu’s son before fleeing…”
“Hmm. Now that you mention it, Wei Hong once told me an interesting story.”
“What was it?”
Cao Cao shared one of the pieces of information he had gathered from across the realm through the Wei Merchant Group.
“Lu Bu has a daughter born to a woman surnamed Yan. Apparently the girl was born with a boy’s temperament. From a very young age, she reached for a blade instead of toys and swung it about.”
“!?”
Lu Bu’s daughter?
It wasn’t Diaochan for a mother, then. She must be the daughter of his original wife. That would make the ages line up. Lu Bu is nearly forty, after all.
“Even if a girl swings a sword, how much damage could she really do…? It’s merely a story that exists.”
“If what I encountered today truly was Lu Bu’s daughter, wouldn’t that be a serious problem?”
“Hmm. Lu Bu and Yuan Shu… So the wild boar and the monkey’s cub have met, have they?”
Cao Cao scratched his head, then spoke as though he had come to a decision.
“We need to finish this quickly. Understood. You may leave.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
As I stepped out of the tent, I gazed at the fires rising throughout Yuan Shu’s camp.
“Yuan Shu’s son has crossed the threshold of the underworld twice and still lived. If that really was Lu Bu’s daughter…”
In the original history, once Lu Bu’s daughter came of age, Yuan Shu had proposed a marriage alliance with his own son Yuan Yao, only for the arrangement to fall apart. If we met again, I wanted to see her real face, not just the mask.
The next day, at the strategy meeting, Cao Cao spoke with firm resolve.
“Let’s simply gather every soldier in Qiao County and crush that Yuan Shu bastard once and for all.”
“My lord, are you planning a lightning strike against the enemy?”
“Yuan Shu is sitting there on his fat ass watching the Luoyang front. Why should I waste time? He’s already lost his cavalry, failed to take the city, and is left with nothing but half-crippled troops. Better to strike now and be done with it.”
“My lord, even so, they still number over forty thousand. A proper battle will cost us dearly as well.”
At Cheng Yu’s words, Cao Cao’s brow furrowed deeper and deeper.
“Would it not be wiser to pull the entire army inside Qiao City and simply wait for Yuan Shu to exhaust himself and collapse? If we do that, he will accomplish nothing, and once news of the defeat at Luoyang reaches him, he will withdraw on his own.”
It was a reasonable suggestion. If we endured without taking any losses and forced Yuan Shu into a stalemate, he would eventually retreat.
“That wouldn’t be any fun!”
Are you waging war for entertainment? I wanted to shout, but Cao Cao declared with iron will.
“Cheng Yu, when I take the field, I prefer to mount my horse, draw my sword, and personally crush the enemy. You know that, don’t you?”
“However, it is Yuan Shu who must be feeling anxious right now.”
“Then shouldn’t we make him even more anxious and force him to retreat quickly?”
No matter what anyone said, Cao Cao had decided to settle the matter here and now. In the end, the fight would proceed in classic Cao Cao fashion.
“Make sure the men eat well. We strike tonight.”
Once Cao Cao made a decision, there was no choice but to follow it. I too picked up my spear in preparation for the night battle.
“Ziye, you’re still using that spear?”
“Wasn’t it a gift from you, Uncle? I intend to wield it on the battlefield for the rest of my life.”
“Its quality isn’t particularly outstanding. I’ll have a new one forged for you next time.”
“It’s fine. If I keep the blade sharp and polished, it can cut and pierce thousands of enemies.”
It sounded like he was offering to have a proper signature weapon made for me, but I found it more convenient to keep using this one symbolically. After all, wasn’t a weapon that fit perfectly in your hand the best one? Who knew—perhaps in later generations this spear would be regarded as a legendary treasure like the Blue Steel Sword or the Heaven Sword, simply because Cao Cao had bestowed it.
That night.
Cao Cao raised his sword high, its blade gleaming beneath the moonlight.
“Charge!”
The roar of countless voices shook the darkness.
A surprise attack launched deep in the night. Of course the Yuan Shu army had spotted our forces descending from afar, but the momentum of our first strike was overwhelming.
Though this was my first night battle, one thing was immediately clear.
“Kuaaagh!”
“Guhk!”
A general’s spear, blade, and armor all gleamed far more brightly at night. I now understood perfectly why soldiers smeared their armor with black lacquer before night engagements. I swung and thrust my spear at anything I could see, slaughtering the enemy like a madman.
“You bastard! This is as far as you go!”
Clang—slash—
A cavalry officer boldly blocked my path, but after only two exchanges his head flew from his shoulders, severed by my spear.
“In your next life, remember to announce your name before attacking.”
Of course, crushing minor officers like him held little meaning. My blood-soaked spear endlessly thirsted for more enemy blood.
Everything before my eyes consisted of light infantry. The occasional cavalry officer who tried to stop me stood no chance. This was the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, after all, and the heavy infantry following behind were an entirely different class of army.
“Yuan Shu! Where are you hiding, you rat? Come out and pull that bowstring one more time!”
Cao Cao flaunted his crimson battle robe as he carved through the enemy with his sword. Seeing him charge to the front and swing his blade in person, I knew this battle was already won.
“My lord, it’s dangerous! Let me handle this—please stay back in safety!”
Dian Wei, stuck to Cao Cao’s side like a shadow, shouted while mowing down Yuan Shu soldiers with his twin iron halberds.
“Dian Wei! I am a warrior too. Don’t worry about me!”
Cao Cao’s battle fervor was almost excessive. Xu Huang came galloping up beside me.
“Ziye!”
“Lord Xu.”
“The enemy’s first army is nearly destroyed. We should aim for their vanguard now and drive straight into the center.”
“Agreed!”
I gripped my spear tightly and targeted the enemy’s vital point—the vanguard unit. Leading the surrounding cavalry, I smashed through Yuan Shu’s first army, which had already been virtually annihilated, and charged toward the center.
In the end, light infantry could only hold for so long. The moment we broke into the camp where Yuan Shu himself was stationed, the enemy soldiers began to flee.
“The enemy is retreating! The enemy is retreating!”
That cry became the spark. Cao Cao’s army pursued Yuan Shu with even fiercer momentum.
In the second year of Xingping, Yuan Shu led a massive army of fifty thousand to attack Qiao County, only to suffer a crushing defeat at the hands of Cao Cao’s forces and flee back to Shuchun. Yuan Shu’s casualties approached twenty thousand. For a ruler who had personally led the campaign to lose nearly thirty percent of his troops—it was a complete disaster.
After Yuan Shu’s rout, the gates of Qiao County swung wide open.
“Brother, congratulations on your victory.”
“Zihua! You worked hard holding the city.”
“It wasn’t much of a fight. That fool Yuan Shu simply surrounded us and refused to move, so it was easier than expected.”
“The White Wave Bandits are aiming for Luoyang from the rear. He was probably trying to be too clever.”
“Is that true? Then shouldn’t we lead troops to reinforce Luoyang immediately?”
“Your older brother has already gone to stop them. Victory reports should arrive soon.”
With Cao Hong and Cao Ren present, Cao Cao showed absolute confidence that the White Wave rabble could be handled.
“Ziye.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“The city is safe now. Go see your mother.”
“Thank you, Uncle.”
I removed my blood-stained armor and headed to the house where my mother waited. She had been praying for my safety after hearing that war had broken out outside the city. She welcomed me warmly, and for the first time in a long while I was able to rest deeply.
Once everything was settled, Cao Cao’s army returned to Xuchang in perfect comfort.
When we reached Xuchang, countless citizens came out to cheer as though it were a triumphal parade. Cao Cao beamed at the sight, waving to the people in response.
“At least in this place, I can control everything.”
Here was Cao Cao, leading a great army and receiving even more support than the Emperor himself. As he basked in the cheers with squared shoulders, it became clear that this man was not meant to stand beneath anyone—he was born to rule over all.
After that, everything was purely formal. We reported to the Emperor in Xuchang that we had repelled the traitor Yuan Shu’s army, then returned home full of confidence.
Yet even after the war ended, the stench of blood had not yet faded.
“Xun Yu, were there any incidents while I was on campaign?”
“According to the messenger who arrived yesterday, the two generals Cao Hong and Cao Ren—your own relatives—successfully repelled the White Wave Bandits who had crossed the Yellow River.”
“Wahaha! See? I told you. There was no way those two would fall to a mere band of sword-wielding bandits.”
Having driven off both Yuan Shu in front and the White Wave Bandits behind, Cao Cao could finally stretch both legs and laugh heartily.
“Ziye, your contribution was great.”
“Not at all, Uncle.”
“Rest well for the time being. I have matters to discuss with Xun Yu.”
Wondering what it was about, I quietly listened to the conversation between Cao Cao and Xun Yu.
“My lord, now that the great battle is over, you should focus on internal affairs for a while.”
“The war isn’t over yet.”
“Of course, but at least within Xuchang…”
“I’m talking about the war inside Xuchang.”
At Cao Cao’s words, Xun Yu’s eyebrows twitched slightly.
What does he mean? A war inside Xuchang?
“This time it was the White Wave Bandits and Yuan Shu’s army, but I don’t think that’s all. We need to catch some rats.”
“Do you suspect there are spies inside Xuchang?”
“Whether they are spies or simply men who have long waited for a chance to side with Yuan Shu, it amounts to the same thing.”
Wait, is Cao Cao planning to carry out a purge inside Xuchang at a time like this?
“There are quite a few people in Xuchang who were originally close to Yuan Shu, aren’t there?”
“My lord, it isn’t just Yuan Shu. The Yuan clan has held the Three Excellencies for generations. It would be difficult to find anyone in the court whose hands the Yuan family has not touched.”
“Then we must stir things up properly. We need to punish the guilty and tighten discipline.”
“…”
Cao Cao’s decision was resolute.
“Ziye, you may go and rest.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
Cao Cao dismissed me, saying this was a political matter and there was no need for me to stay. As I left the main hall, I recalled his words.
“Tightening discipline inside Xuchang? A large-scale purge is about to begin… Looks like a storm of blood is coming.”
I had no desire to get involved in such affairs, and Cao Cao had deliberately excluded me from them. It seemed that for the time being, Xuchang would be filled with the sound of weeping.