Chapter 81

The situation across the land continues to change.

In truth, for Gu Chen, killing Liu Dai right now would bring him no benefit.

On the contrary.

Leaving Liu Dai alive would help him more.

But Gu Chen never cared about such things.

If he had merely sought profit, when he left Luoyang, he could have simply taken Liu Bian and Liu Xie with him.

With the Imperial Seal in hand, these two were absolute trump cards.

But what good would that do?

To Gu Chen,

from the moment he decided to kill Empress Dowager He, neither Liu Xie nor Liu Bian could ever become a monarch he recognized.

This is Gu Chen's nature.

Compared to previous emperors, Liu Dai's presence as emperor was exceedingly weak.

—He had lost the Mandate, and shown no benevolence to the people.

Who would care about his life or death?

His so-called throne had always been laughable.

But for Cao Cao, this meaning was different.

As the news gradually spread,

Cao Cao immediately held a grand coronation ceremony for Liu Xie in Xu Chang, proclaimed the new era name "Jian'an," and appointed officials.

He appointed Gu Chen as Governor of Liangzhou, Gu Wei as Governor of Bingzhou, and Liu Bei as Governor of Qingzhou.

Generals who had rendered merit and clans from Ji, You, and Yan provinces could also receive rewards.

Even without the Imperial Seal,

for Liu Xie, his imperial bloodline was his greatest weapon.

Of course, Cao Cao would never acknowledge Liu Dai's imperial status—only then could Liu Xie's bloodline be the most legitimate.

He further used this momentum

to officially brand Liu Dai a traitor in the name of the court.

So too were those clans who supported him.

Now these clans were under his command, so this blame naturally fell upon the increasingly powerless Yuan clan.

The Yuan clan now truly understood what it meant when a man's influence faded and his tea grew cold.

With Yuan Shao's defeat and death, Yuan Kui died suddenly.

The Yuan clan, once so illustrious, had now reached its final end.

Even if Yuan Shu still lived, he could change nothing.

Yuan Shu's strength had been severely crippled.

He suffered consecutive defeats in Henei, and Sun Ce, before leaving, took with him Sun Jian's original band of fierce generals.

Though Yuan Shu still held Yang and Yu provinces, he was no different from a defeated man.

His temperament had never been favored by the clans.

Had the Yuan clan's power remained intact, this problem would not have erupted so quickly.

But under current circumstances,

his own clans would gradually drift away from him and choose Cao Cao, whose power now towered over all.

Cao Cao showed no old affection—he branded the entire Yuan clan as rebels and summoned all regional lords to attack Yuan Shu.

Of course, some sought to flatter Cao Cao.

They proposed he take the title of "Grand Tutor."

For the current Han court, what the title "Grand Tutor" represented needed no explanation.

Though not the Chancellor,

it surpassed the Chancellor.

But Cao Cao outright refused, publicly declaring, "My current merit is utterly unworthy of the Grand Tutor title"—he accepted only the post of Registrar of the Secretariat and assumed the office of Minister of Works.

This was Cao Cao's extraordinary quality!

No matter how great the temptation, he could always restrain himself.

To him,

what benefit would becoming "Grand Tutor" bring?

Why would he need that position to control the court?

Gu Xi's status was earned by his own efforts; before he had shown benevolence to the people and fully stabilized the situation, hastily accepting the Grand Tutor title would surely damage public sentiment.

This act made everyone clearly see what kind of man Cao Cao truly was.

Immediately, many talented men from great clans came to join him.

For a time, Cao Cao's reputation grew even louder across the land.

Gu Chen could clearly see Cao Cao's intentions.

He did not directly attack Yuan Shu.

To Gu Chen,

the most urgent matter now was to seize the entire Sizhou.

Once he seized Sizhou, he could link Hanzhong, Sizhou, Liangzhou, and Bingzhou—no further risks would remain.

He had not even accepted the imperial edict appointing him Governor of Bingzhou.

To hold the Son of Heaven and command the feudal lords?

With him, success is utterly impossible.

But Gu Chen could utterly disregard it; Liu Bei could not.

——Liu Bei has already repelled Lu Bu.

Lu Bu's strength is indeed formidable, but Liu Bei's ranks also include generals of Guan, Zhang, and Zhao's caliber.

When Liu Bei led his elite troops straight back to Qingzhou,

Lu Bu's offensive naturally became insignificant.

Lu Bu has now retreated to Xu Province.

Liu Bei had intended to seize this opportunity, ally with Tao Qian, and eliminate Lu Bu as a threat.

But the imperial decree forced him to halt.

He could ignore Liu Dai's edict.

But Liu Xie's was different.

Liu Xie, after all, was Emperor Ling's own son, and by law and ritual, he was entitled to inherit the throne.

Moreover, Cao Cao had never once acted against the Han.

How could he, like Gu Chen, completely ignore the imperial decree?

This is the reason Cao Cao refused the post of Grand Tutor.

If some disregard the imperial decree, others will surely heed it.

Liu Bei is one such man.

Perhaps because Cao Cao's power had become so overwhelming, even Tao Qian of Xu Province entertained thoughts of appeasing him.

Not only did he accept the decree, but he also offered to let Liu Bei lead his army into Xu Province to first crush Lu Bu, then attack Yuan Shu.

This move surprised everyone.

The great war across the land erupted again.

——The sixth month of Jian'an Year One.

Liu Bei had no choice but to lead his army out of Qingzhou toward Xu Province.

At the same time, Tao Qian also mobilized his troops.

To coordinate with Liu Bei in a pincer attack on Lu Bu.

August;

Lu Bu was decisively defeated at Xiapi, fled with a handful of riders to Yuzhou, and sought refuge under Yuan Shu.

His reputation was now truly abysmal.

First he murdered his adoptive father Ding Yuan; then he abandoned Yuan Shao in his hour of need.

Any other feudal lord in the land would refuse Lu Bu's surrender, no matter how formidable his martial prowess.

But Yuan Shu was different.

Yuan Shu had now reached utter desperation.

He was like Yuan Shao had once been, under pressure from three sides.

And his current generals were simply inadequate.

Under these circumstances,

Yuan Shu actually accepted Lu Bu's surrender.

October;

Liu Bei and Tao Qian's armies crossed Guangling and entered Yangzhou, advancing on Jiuzhou.

At the same time, Cao Cao mobilized his forces from Yanzhou.

But this time, he did not lead the campaign personally.

Instead, he appointed Cao Ren as commander, with Cao Hong, the Xiahou brothers, and others as generals, sending a hundred thousand troops to attack Yuzhou.

Late October;

Gu Chen successively captured Hongnong and Hedong commanderies,

leaving him one step away from unifying Sizhou.

Xu Chang.

"Guo Jia, you understand my intentions, don't you?"

Cao Cao gazed at the calm young man before him, openly showing his admiration.

Although Guo Jia had only recently joined Cao's camp,

arriving with the Yingchuan clans who came together to pledge allegiance to Cao Cao,

due to his peerless talent,

Cao Cao treated him with utmost importance.

Guo Jia's expression remained utterly serene; he did not answer, but asked instead: "My lord, do you intend to secure Qingzhou and Bingzhou?"

Hearing this, Cao Cao showed no anger, nodding directly: "Yes."

"The feudal lords of the four directions are now gathered."

"Yet, aside from Gu Ziyan and Liu Xuande, all others mean nothing to me."

Cao Cao revealed no concealment.

He had been pondering this very matter for some time.

Gu Chen and he were destined for a great battle, and that battle was drawing near.

As for Liu Bei—

This man's loyalty has always been to the Han Dynasty, not to him, Cao Cao.

This doomed the two of them to a battle in the future.

His reason for not personally leading the campaign against Yuan Shu this time was to seize this opportunity and strike first.

Hearing this, Guo Jia also nodded slightly, cupped his hands toward Cao Cao, and said, "My lord is wise."

"I, too, feel that these two men will surely be great enemies of my lord."

"This man, Gu Ziyan—"

"I once sent people to investigate his temperament."

"This man's will is like iron; he has never made a single mistake in commanding troops, and his martial skill is among the very strongest in the present age."

"My lord absolutely must not move against him directly, but should instead start with those around him."

Guo Jia's tone was perfectly calm.

Hearing this, Cao Cao could not help but furrow his brow, and probed softly, "Feng Xiao, you mean we should start with his elder brother, Gu Wei?"

"Exactly."

Guo Jia immediately nodded, chuckled lightly, and said, "I have heard of this man; in years past he was called the foremost outstanding talent of the Gu clan of his generation."

"Does my lord know what this man's temperament is like?"

Foremost outstanding talent?

Cao Cao was startled for a moment, then recalled that title, and suddenly laughed.

In the past, he himself had once thought so too.

But looking at him now, compared with that once unknown Gu Chen, this man was, after all, still far inferior.

He was silent for a long while, then slowly spoke, uttering only a single word:

"Proud!"

A single, simple word—very direct.

Just as Gu Yi's judgment of Gu Wei had been.

Cao Cao's judgment of Gu Wei was also: proud!

"Proud?"

Hearing this, Guo Jia was startled for a moment, then smiled again: "Truly worthy of being a scion of the Gu clan—he does have the foundation to be proud."

Saying this, he fell silent at once.

He began to think over a plan, and Cao Cao did not rush him.

The entire hall fell quiet just like that.

Only after a long while did Guo Jia speak again: "My lord, this Gu Wei is a scion of the Gu clan."

"Ordinary schemes of sowing discord will be useless against him."

"Whether it is sowing discord between brothers, or sowing discord among his followers—neither will work."

"But if he is proud, then there is an opening we can exploit."

As he spoke, Guo Jia slowly rose, walked straight over to the map of terrain and geography, and pointed at Heishan on the map.

—Zhang Yan of the Heishan Army!

In an instant, Cao Cao seemed to have guessed what was meant.

His eyes, too, suddenly lit up.

But he shook his head at once: "Feng Xiao, don't forget—this Zhang Yan is a man of Changshan."

"Given the Gu clan's renown throughout the lands of Jizhou—"

"How could he possibly rush off to Bingzhou?"

There was no need to say more; Cao Cao had already understood Guo Jia's meaning.

"Why need my lord worry about such things?"

Guo Jia smiled faintly and looked at Cao Cao: "Have someone seize Zhang Yan and the families of his trusted followers—how could he possibly not go?"

"I have heard that this Zhang Yan has, for many years now, always shared hardship with his soldiers."

"Most likely, he will obey the order and rush to Bingzhou."

Hearing this, Cao Cao immediately fell silent.

To treat one who has come to seek refuge in such a way—were it to get out, it would absolutely cause an enormous impact.

But if he truly could seize the chance to take Bingzhou—

To lop off one of Gu Chen's wings—

For him, it would absolutely be a great gain.

Cao Cao was hardly the sort of man to hesitate; after only a brief silence, he simply nodded:

"Agreed!"

"My lord is wise."

Guo Jia smiled, cupped his hands toward Cao Cao, then said again: "As for Qingzhou—"

"My lord may also seize this chance to make it so Liu Bei can never return to Qing!"

Bingzhou.

The Bingzhou of today, compared with the past, could truly be called a place transformed.

—The rebel bands on all sides had been put down one after another.

Even the bandits who once had been most numerous no longer dared commit crimes under Gu Chen's fearsome renown.

Gu Wei's ability in internal governance and winning hearts was, after all, not poor.

Whether it was dealing with the great clans, or supplying Gu Chen with provisions—these tasks were, for Gu Wei, as easy as lifting them with a single hand.

This was also why Gu Chen had assigned Gu Wei to hold Jin Yang.

Only with a stable rear could he confidently expand his territory.

But recently, stability in Bingzhou had begun to falter.

The Heishan Army had reentered Bingzhou and was rampaging across the region.

At first, Gu Wei paid it no mind.

He merely sent a letter to Zhang Yan.

He believed that, given the Gu family's prestige, Zhang Yan—a commoner from Jizhou—would abandon plundering and come to submit.

But the outcome surprised Gu Wei.

With no other choice,

he had to mobilize his troops and send men to quell the rebellion.

Gu Chen had left behind considerable forces, including several former subordinates who had once followed Huangfu Song.

This force was by no means weak.

But how easily could the Heishan Army be subdued?

In the original history, the Heishan Army had withstood assaults from Yuan Shao and Lu Bu.

Zhang Yan had perfectly exploited the terrain.

He had driven back every force Gu Wei had sent.

Once this became known, the people of Bingzhou—only recently stabilized—began to stir again.

In Jin Yang, within the Governor's Mansion:

"No!"

"We must not inform Ziyan of this—it would disrupt his campaign in Sizhou!"

"Ziyan entrusted the rear to us."

"Only if Cao Cao attacked could we inform Ziyan; this is merely bandits."

"If everything depended on Ziyan, when would we ever clear the realm?"

Gu Wei's expression was grim; he crushed any thought of informing Gu Chen.

He knew well his own shortcomings in military talent.

Precisely because of this, Gu Wei willingly managed the rear.

For a man as proud as he was,

if this matter disrupted Gu Chen's campaign in Sizhou, what face would he have to meet Gu Xi in the netherworld?

By now, how could Gu Wei not understand that the Gu family's future rested entirely on Gu Chen's shoulders?

How could he accept letting such a trivial matter hinder Gu Chen?

Hearing this, the officers fell silent, their eyes reigniting with battle lust.

In truth, they too felt ashamed.

After all, Zhang Yan was nothing but a bandit in their eyes.

Instantly, voices of officers volunteering to fight rose up.

Gu Wei looked solemnly at them, paused, then selected two men and entrusted them with quelling the rebels.

He still had some skill in judging men.

These two were indeed among the top subordinates under Huangfu Song.

But how easily could Zhang Yan be subdued?

He was a man who had left his name in history.

Merely by that fact, he surpassed countless others.

And most crucially—the Heishan Army was far too familiar with forest warfare.

Zhang Yan cleverly avoided Gu Wei's elite troops.

When they attacked, Zhang Yan retreated into Shenshan.

When they withdrew, Zhang Yan struck out.

If Bingzhou's army did not retreat?

They could still bypass Bingzhou's defenses via mountain paths and resume plundering.

They were steadily draining Bingzhou's army's strength.

Under these conditions, though Bingzhou's army suffered no major defeat, the hearts of the regional clans still began to waver.

Then, Cao Cao, following Guo Jia's advice, secretly began contacting the Bingzhou clans.

His current prestige was indeed formidable.

If Gu Chen were in Bingzhou, these tactics would mean nothing.

Zhang Yan could never stand against Gu Chen.

But Cao Cao seized this very opportunity.

Gu Chen, before fully securing his rear, was destined not to fight Cao Cao!

At the same time, Cao Cao secretly mobilized his troops.

He sent agents to incite the Qingzhou clans.

He ordered Cao Chun to lead the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry across Qinghe secretly, preparing to directly annex Bing and Qingzhou.

——The winds and clouds stirred from all four directions.

In the third month of the second year of Jian'an;

Liu Bei and Tao Qian's allied army crushed Yuan's forces at Yinling, their spearhead pointing straight at Shouchun.

Cao Ren successively captured Liang and Chen.

The fighting grew ever more intense.

May;

Liu Bei and Tao Qian's great army dealt a crushing defeat to Julu at Huainan.

Cao Ren likewise led his troops to Runan.

The entire Yu-Yang region was in utter chaos.

Yuan Shu's followers scattered.

He could only flee to Lujiang Commandery.

At the same time, Gu Chen again took Left Feng Yi, his spearhead aimed straight at Chang'an.

Only one step remained before the entire western Han was completely linked up.

June;

When Yuan Shu tried to flee to Shu County, he was refused entry, and in the end met the fate of "when the wall falls, everyone pushes."

Lu Bu abandoned Yuan Shu once more.

The summer heat was unbearable; Yuan Shu craved honeyed syrup to quench his thirst, but had none.

In the end, Yuan Shu could no longer endure the gap between what came before and after.

He vomited blood and died at Mount Huo.

And the very instant this news spread, Cao Cao finally received the opportunity he had been waiting for — and struck fiercely at Bing and Qing Provinces!

Troops long since poised for action.

Immediately surged out in force against Bing and Qing Provinces.

But what he had not anticipated — Gu Chen had long since received news from Bing Province.

Although Gu Chen trusted Gu Wei completely.

Yet the impact Zhang Yan had wrought across all of Bing Province — how could that possibly be suppressed?

Upon learning of this, Gu Chen immediately guessed Cao Cao's intention.

He had long since ordered Ma Chao to secretly return to reinforce Bing Province.

What he led were none other than those very elites who had once followed him on the surprise raid on Longyou!

These men already had ample experience with surprise attacks along mountain roads.

They had held off only because they were waiting for Cao Cao to strike first!

— Gu Chen meant to use this chance to purge the Bing Province clans.

He had inherited everything from Gu Xi; toward the great families he showed not the slightest courtesy.

But in the present state of the world.

Gu Chen could not strike directly.

If he moved against his own subject clans without any pretext, what he would get in return was certain — the whole world as his enemy.

Reality is, after all, not a novel.

No matter how fierce Gu Chen might be, he could not sweep the realm under such circumstances.

But with a pretext, it was a different story!

The two sides fought their decisive battle along the Taihang mountain road.

Long prepared, Ma Chao crushed Cao Cao's great general Yu Jin, slaying nearly five thousand enemy troops and driving the Cao army back in full.

Afterward, Ma Chao swept straight back into Bing Province to take on Zhang Yan!

And delivered a letter from Gu Chen to Gu Wei.

— Namely, to exterminate every last clan that had secretly thrown in with Cao Cao!

Cao Cao never imagined Gu Chen still had this card to play.

But for him, the affair was not entirely without gain.

Though he had not taken Bing Province.

Cao Chun's plan in Qing Province was indeed going very smoothly.

He had taken Qing Province!.

——————

"In the second year of Jian'an, the Grand Minister of Works Cao Cao secretly dispatched Zhang Yan to Bing to destabilize the hearts of the people there, and at the same time made contact with the Wang clan of Bing Province and the Cui clan of Qing Province, promising them joint oversight of military affairs in the two provinces.

At that time Gu Chen of Longxi was attacking Chang'an; on hearing a scout's report of unusual movements in Ye, he laughed and flung his tally to the ground: 'Does Meng De mean to ape Han Xin's secret march through Chencang?'

He thereupon drew out elite cavalry and entrusted them to his fierce general Ma Chao, ordering him to rush secretly to reinforce Taihang.

In June, Cao Cao, hearing of Yuan Shu's defeat and death, sent Yu Jin at the head of eight thousand Danyang elite soldiers to slip through Fukou Pass, armor wrapped in hemp, hiding by day in the thickets, scaling sheer cliffs by night.

When Yu Jin's force reached Panshi Valley, the horses' bits had not clinked once, when suddenly fire-arrows rained down from the cliff tops on both sides, and rolling logs and thunder-stones blocked the path.

Ma Chao, gripping his Tiger-head Dark-gold Spear, charged first into the enemy line, trampling the Cao army; blood flooded the stone ridges of the valley, and tattered armor hung from the trees for thirty li.

Yu Jin fled alone on horseback, losing his seal and ribbon in the Zhuo Zhang River; of his force, three out of ten did not survive."

— *Records of Heroes at the End of Han, Chapter on Gu Chen*

(End of this chapter)