Chapter 85: Gu Chen Defeats Cao, Liu Bei Gains Jing (Begging for Monthly Tickets)

Henei.

Gu Chen, upholding the fine tradition of the Gu clan sons, kept probing Cao's army's main camp before the lines.

Searching for openings within the enemy's dispositions.

This was a tradition the Gu clan had already established since the generation of Gu Xiao.

But this time was different from before.

Even when Gu Chen went to scout in person, he failed to find any opening in Cao's army's main camp.

Cao Cao was a man unlike any opponent the Gu clan had faced before.

This was a true overlord qualified to scheme for the realm!

Cao Cao was indeed taking this battle very much to heart.

For him, victory in this battle would undoubtedly be akin to Emperor Guangwu's restoration of the great Han in days past.

So long as he could eliminate Gu Chen.

Among the remaining lords of the realm, who could possibly stand in his way?

Toward Gu Chen, he did not harbor the slightest underestimation, striving to bring everything to a flawless standard.

Gu Chen was probing him.

And was he himself not also probing Gu Chen?

The two sides carried out continuous probing across all of Henei and Yingchuan.

Scouts reconnoitering and small-scale clashes never ceased.

Neither side was willing to advance rashly into Nanyang, lest they expose an opening and give the enemy a chance to exploit.

Under such circumstances.

The two sides strangely fell into a certain stalemate.

But entirely unlike the standoff between Gu and Cao, the fighting in Jing Province was indeed extremely fierce.

Liu Bei's current strength was truly far, far greater than in the original history.

Although Sun Ce had already led his army charging over, he ultimately could not completely block Liu Bei's great army.

Compared with Liu Bei's seasoned veterans.

Jing Province's soldiers were indeed far, far inferior.

No matter how brave Sun Ce and his men were, they could not fully make up for that gap.

The most crucial point was—

How could the fierce generals under Liu Bei possibly be weaker than Sun Ce's?

After only a brief stalemate, the entire Jing Province battlefield underwent earth-shattering changes.

Jian'an 6, third month;

—Liu Bei followed Zhuge Liang's strategy.

Exploiting Sun Ce's love of battle and his desire to avenge his father, he feigned defeat repeatedly and yielded cities.

Luring Sun Ce deep into Nanyang.

Finally, at Wan County, he dealt Sun Ce a crushing defeat, completely turning the tide.

After coordinating with Gu Chen and confirming that Gu Chen could hold Cao Cao back from entering Nanyang.

He once again began his campaign across Jing Province.

Fourth month;

Liu Bei personally led his great army to Nan Commandery, engaging in continuous battles against the Jiangdong army led by Sun Ce and the Jing Province army led by Cai Mao.

At the same time, he also adopted Zhuge Liang's strategy.

Continuously sending men to make contact with Jing Province's local gentry and common folk, as well as those in Jiangdong who were dissatisfied with Sun Ce.

Liu Bei's reputation for "benevolence and virtue" proved useful at such a moment.

Sun Ce had only taken all of Jiangdong a few years prior—how could his foundations possibly be fully stabilized?

Zhuge Liang intended precisely to exploit such an opportunity.

So long as Jiangdong fell into turmoil, Sun Ce would have no choice but to retreat back to Jiangdong.

Once that happened, the balance of strength on the Jing Province battlefield would swiftly tip; once Jing Province was secured, it would be enough to stabilize the entire war.

This was a pure, open stratagem.

But what Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang had not anticipated was that Sun Ce's younger brother Sun Quan stepped forward at this very moment.

Though young in years, he had already displayed extraordinary qualities.

In Jiangdong, following Zhou Yu's strategy, he successively mobilized troops to quell several rebellions, fully stabilizing the hearts of the people in Jiangdong.

Eliminating Sun Ce's worries about his rear.

Once again narrowing the outcome of this battle to the battlefield itself.

Sixth month;

Sun Ce and Liu Bei fought at Xiangyang.

As a strategic stronghold of Jing Province, neither the Jing Province noble clans nor Sun Ce himself would allow Liu Bei to take Xiangyang.

The two sides employed every stratagem they had across Xiangyang and its surrounding lands.

Liu Bei first sent Zhang Fei to attack Caiyang, Zhao Yun to attack Xuancheng, while he himself personally led the central army.

Intending to use a three-pronged formation to completely encircle all of Xiangyang.

Sun Ce and Cai Mao each dispatched their top generals to meet the enemy.

But Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun slew enemy commanders and seized cities, joining Liu Bei in encircling Xiangyang.

—The situation in Jing Province changed dramatically!

Although Xiangyang City would certainly not be easy to capture.

But Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu's strategy never intended to seize Xiangyang directly from the start.

Rather, they aimed to use this siege strategy.

To continuously influence the hearts of Jingzhou's people.

Morale, by nature, gradually declines over time as the situation evolves.

Jingzhou's current situation is like a wall on the verge of collapse.

As long as they seize this opportunity,

they could swiftly take control of the entire Jingzhou, even absorb Jingzhou's army into their own ranks!

The news spread continuously.

Cao Cao immediately guessed Zhuge Liang's intentions.

This was pure open strategy.

It sought to exploit the current chaos and launch a psychological assault through battlefield dynamics.

—Under duress, Cao Cao had no choice but to act!

Even if he could not personally lead his main army against Nanyang, he must send troops to Jingzhou.

Cao Cao had long understood the nature of the aristocratic clans.

If the situation continued like this,

should any Jingzhou clan turn traitor, the entire Jingzhou would fall into Liu Bei's hands in an instant.

With Liu Bei's abilities, how could he possibly sit idle like Liu Biao once did, watching the tides of the world?

At that time, Yangzhou and Yuzhou would both be at risk.

And Gu Chen could directly threaten Yan and Ji provinces.

These were his most vital strongholds!

No matter what, he absolutely could not allow Liu Bei to seize Jingzhou.

Facing these two opponents,

Cao Cao could not give them any opening.

At once, Cao Cao sent Xiahou Dun with twenty thousand troops, intending to advance toward Nanyang via Runan.

But how could Gu Chen give him such an opportunity?

Though it seemed the two had never engaged in open warfare, their covert maneuvers were no less intense.

Gu Chen had long prepared in advance.

He already possessed an invincible heart—how could he allow this stalemate to continue simply because Cao's army showed no weakness?

Gu Chen had already dispatched Ma Chao with his elite mountain-crossing central troops to cross Funiu Mountain and launch a surprise attack on Kunyang.

Before Xiahou Dun even moved his troops,

news of Kunyang's fall had already reached them.

Simultaneously, Gu Chen launched troops into Yingchuan, aiming to exploit this moment and shatter Cao's frontline, enclosing the entire battlefield within Yingchuan Commandery around Kunyang.

—The situation shifted instantly!

Cao Cao had not anticipated this.

Although Gu Chen had previously launched surprise attacks on Longyou and even secretly supported Bingzhou through Ma Chao,

the current situation was utterly different from before!

Cao Cao's control over Yan Province was beyond imagination.

Who could have expected Gu Chen to take such a reckless risk?

This sudden, decisive battle completely exceeded everyone's expectations.

Cao Cao could not allow Kunyang to remain lost.

Though Kunyang was not a major stronghold of Yingchuan, in the current situation, it was like a thorn driven straight into the heart of Yingchuan Commandery.

It could profoundly affect the entire war at a critical moment.

No matter what, Cao Cao must reclaim it.

Under duress,

Cao Cao could only dispatch Xiahou Dun first to attack Kunyang, while personally leading the main army to confront Gu Chen.

For Cao Cao, as long as he could hold back Gu Chen's main force,

Ma Chao would become isolated.

At that point, even if he could not kill him, he could certainly drive him back.

—The great battle erupted instantly!

The intensity of this battle was destined to far surpass that of Jingzhou.

The troop numbers deployed by both sides were not even on the same scale.

Was Gu Chen's move reckless?

Extremely reckless!

He had to break through Cao's frontline before Ma Chao lost Kunyang completely, and establish a defensive line across Yingchuan centered on Kunyang, to stabilize the situation.

But where there is danger, there is also advantage.

If this battle succeeds, it will completely sever all routes of Cao's support to Jingzhou.

And it will compress the entire battlefield within Yuzhou.

It will greatly benefit army morale;

and even the people's perception of the war across the realm.

He had long since devised a detailed plan for this.

Cao Cao had originally expected Gu Chen to lead his main force directly in attack.

But Gu Chen's plan was far more complex than that.

He first left decoy troops within Songshan, while his main army remained near Xincheng.

Don't forget, Cao Cao is naturally suspicious!

Especially given the situation where Ma Chao had already launched a surprise attack on Kunyang.

Cao Cao immediately concluded that Gu Chen intended to launch a surprise strike on Yangcheng, then advance on Yangyao.

Yangcheng was not a major stronghold.

But he certainly would not let Gu Chen win successive victories.

Immediately, Cao Cao dispatched troops to Yangcheng and set ambushes throughout the entire Songshan valley entrance, aiming to first crush Gu Chen's morale.

He then sent envoys with a challenge letter.

He invited Gu Chen to a direct battle and mocked him as a deceitful man who relied only on underhanded tricks.

This was deliberately done by Cao Cao.

After all, he held a numerical advantage.

Such an insult might have led others to accept it outright.

But Gu Chen was different.

He was a man who, once he had a goal, would use any means necessary to achieve it.

Gu Chen paid no attention to Cao Cao's challenge.

Taking advantage of Cao Cao's full attention on him and the decoy troops in Songshan, he secretly sent men across the Ru River from Ruyang, re-entering Yingchuan.

In the ninth month of Jian'an Sixth Year.

In coordination with Ma Chao in Kunyang, they captured Fucheng again.

They established a pincer formation between the two cities and used the terrain of Funiu Mountain to resist Cao's forces!

The night was clean, the stars brilliant.

The main camp.

When Cao Cao learned of this, he froze for a moment.

The next instant, he roared in fury and slammed the millet in his hand onto the table before him.

"Gu Ziyan has insulted me too greatly!"

He cursed aloud.

Immediately, he clutched his head, his whole body jerking violently.

"My Lord!"

Seeing this, everyone in the main tent panicked.

They knew of Cao Cao's headache ailment.

With the current situation, if Cao Cao—their core—fell, the impact on morale would be unimaginable.

"I am fine."

Cao Cao immediately waved his hand, took a deep breath, and forcibly calmed his expression.

But the veins on his forehead still revealed the pain he was enduring.

"I underestimated Gu Chen."

He spoke slowly, his gaze growing sharper.

Now,

with Cao Cao's talent, how could he not see why Gu Chen's series of moves had succeeded?

Gu Chen was exploiting his personality.

Cao Cao always "recognized errors, corrected them, but never admitted them." At this moment, though his head throbbed, his mind was perfectly clear.

He could not fall!

Not now, of all times!

The entire tent was filled with serious tension; Cao Cao then asked everyone to present their strategies.

He listened carefully while calculating in his mind.

When all had finished speaking, he finally spoke slowly: "Issue my order: immediately dispatch troops to cut down thirty li of timber in the southern forests of Songshan."

"Set fire to the forests—do not allow Gu Chen another opportunity."

He was still uneasy.

Afraid Gu Chen might launch another feint and strike Yangcheng again.

By now, he had fully recognized Gu Chen's talent for surprise attacks.

Better to destroy the terrain than let Gu Chen gain another chance for surprise, using his personality to scatter the battlefield.

He then made even more detailed plans.

He dispatched Cao Chun to attack Luoyang's supply route.

He ordered men to throw corpses into the upper reaches of the Yi River, hoping to force Gu Chen to abandon camp and reverse the situation.

He also had someone forge Gu Chen's handwriting and send it to Kunyang.

He wanted to influence Ma Chao's judgment.

At all costs, retaking Kunyang and Fucheng was now the Top Priority.

His forces still held a numerical advantage.

But judging from the current situation, he had already fallen into a disadvantage.

If he cannot eliminate the threats from Kunyang and Fucheng, his army cannot shift from defense to offense.

If he dared to launch an attack on Sizhou.

Should Xiahou Dun truly encounter trouble, even Xu Chang would be affected—this Cao Cao absolutely could not permit!

Cao Cao was indeed a warlord unmatched in a hundred years.

He was suspicious by nature.

But once he decided on a course of action, he would never hesitate again.

Cast corpses into the river

Such a tactic was no less brutal than mass slaughter.

If a plague truly broke out, the casualties would be unimaginable.

But to Cao Cao, he did not care.

"Rather I betray the world, than let the world betray me."

——This was Cao Cao's creed.

To ensure absolute certainty, he even spread word of his own headache relapse.

This move was bound to be extremely risky.

For a commander-in-chief like Cao Cao to fall ill on the battlefield would have an unimaginable impact on morale.

Yet loss brings gain.

This trick did indeed deceive Gu Chen.

He had not anticipated Cao Cao would go this far.

In the sixth year of Jian'an, late October.

Cao Chun first cut Gu Chen's supply lines, then burned his grain depots.

Fortunately, Gu Chen had not concentrated all his grain in one place, so the impact was not severe.

But Cao Cao's corpse-casting strategy had also taken effect.

A sudden plague surged into Sizhou.

Fortunately, thanks to the experience left by Gu Xi in past years, Gu Chen immediately quarantined the infected and strictly forbade the people from drawing water from the Yi River.

This slowed the plague's spread.

Yet he was forced to abandon his camp at Xincheng and reestablish his main camp along the Songshan mountain pass.

Fortunately, Gu Chen had already anticipated Cao Cao would exploit Ma Chao's temperament, and before Ma Chao moved troops, he had again warned him to focus on defending the city.

Thus, Cao Cao's scheme against Kunyang failed.

Of course, Gu Chen would choose to counterattack.

Cao Cao's burning of the forests did impose certain restrictions on Gu Chen.

But were his tactics limited to these alone?

That same month.

Gu Chen proclaimed to the world that he had received Emperor Liu Xie's blood-written edict, denouncing Cao Cao as a Han traitor.

And he performed another ritual.

He appealed to Heaven: Cao Cao's corpse-casting and plague-making would surely invite heavenly retribution.

To sow chaos among the four regions.

The Gu family's rituals held unique significance in this era.

In truth, if Gu Chen had been even harsher.

At this moment, by casting corpses into the upper reaches of the Ru and Ying rivers to trigger a massive plague, he would have delivered a fatal blow to Cao Cao.

Even if Cao Cao could contain the plague from the outset by countering Gu Chen's tactics.

Yet under the shadow of "Gu family heavenly retribution,"

His control over Sizhou would surely suffer a fatal blow.

Not just commoners, but even the great clans would turn against Cao Cao.

But unfortunately, Gu Chen was still a Gu family scion.

He could be ruthless toward enemies, ruthless toward foes,

But toward the people of the world, he ultimately could not bring himself to act.

If Gu Chen had done so, even if he one day cleared the world of chaos, the Gu family's generations of accumulated prestige among the people would vanish utterly.

The Gu family's influence indeed granted Gu Chen great advantages, yet it also bound him with invisible chains.

But for Gu Chen, he had no need to do so now.

Why create a plague?

This was, in fact, classic "psychological suggestion": once the world learned of this, any misfortune would inevitably be attributed to this so-called "heavenly retribution."

This—was human nature.

This move inflicted tremendous pressure on Cao Cao.

Rebellions erupted successively across the provinces.

Though these rebellions were not numerous, they were extremely lethal to his rule.

All such chaos was bound to accumulate slowly over time.

If this situation continued, it would only grow worse.

Cao Cao must resolve this.

——Forced to act, Cao Cao ordered the Grand Historian to counter through celestial omens, attempting to stabilize the situation.

But Gu Chen would not lightly abandon such an opportunity.

He personally led his army into Yingchuan.

Stabilize the situation?

What he wanted was for Cao Cao's chaos to grow worse!

The situation across the land remained in constant turmoil.

Although compared to the earlier chaos that spread across the Nine Provinces, today's warfare was confined to Yingchuan and Jingzhou, its intensity far surpassed anything before.

One could say.

Whoever won this battle stood just one step away from ruling the entire realm.

How could they not fight with all their might?

Jingzhou.

After months of siege.

——In the second month of Jian'an Seven;

Liu Bei finally breached Xiangyang City, beheaded over ten of Cai Mao's top generals, and annihilated nearly ten thousand enemies.

Nearly thirty thousand surrendered.

The siege strategy devised by Zhuge Liang and Xu Shu for Liu Bei finally proved decisive.

Cai Mao and Sun Ce were forced to retreat to Jiangling.

They sought to pin Liu Bei down in Jingzhou.

March;

Ma Chao once again repelled Xiahou Dun's offensive.

He then launched a counterattack, shooting an arrow straight into Xiahou Dun's left eye, utterly defeating him at Kunyang.

The news spread, and Yingchuan was thrown into shock!

Cao Cao's troop morale grew increasingly unstable.

Gu Chen seized the opportunity, ceased all minor skirmishes with Cao Cao, shattered Zhang He's army on the Songshan trail, and marched straight toward Yangcheng.

A great battle erupted between the two sides at Yangcheng.

This was the bloodiest battle since Gu Chen and Cao Cao had gone to war.

But Yangcheng was never a major stronghold.

After nearly half a month of assault, the city finally fell.

Cao's forces suffered over ten thousand casualties and retreated to Yangyao, Yingchuan's key stronghold.

The entire Yingchuan defense line was utterly shattered by Gu Chen.

——The situation had changed completely!

At the same time, Liu Bei's offensive in Jingzhou grew even fiercer.

Morale, after all,

Could ultimately be broken.

What was the Jingzhou clans' greatest source of confidence?

Cao Cao!

But now Cao Cao could barely save himself.

How could Gu Chen miss the chance to spread word of the Yingchuan campaign across the land?

This would have a massive impact on all the Jingzhou clans.

Under these circumstances, how could Cai Mao possibly hold all the Jingzhou clans in check?

Many had already begun to consider surrendering to Liu Bei.

After all, for them, surrendering before the war ended might still preserve their families.

But if they continued resisting like this,

And if they ultimately lost, they would have no path left to recover!

Even Cai Mao himself had begun to entertain such thoughts.

Sun Ce was furious.

He had come to Jingzhou at great personal risk.

Sun Ce could not bring all of Jiangdong's elite troops, for he needed to secure Jiangdong itself.

His greatest reliance was the Jingzhou clans!

But now, the Jingzhou clans had begun to consider surrender.

How could he not be furious?

Sun Ce wanted to execute every single clan member on the spot.

Fortunately, Zhou Yu arrived from Jiangdong at this moment and stopped him, warning that such an act would trigger even greater chaos.

Others might not have been able to persuade Sun Ce.

But Zhou Yu was different.

Sun Ce listened to Zhou Yu's advice and instead recounted Gu Chen's past actions in Bingzhou.

Whoever opposed Gu Chen—even if they surrendered later—would inevitably lose their family.

This did have some effect.

After all, Liu Bei was Gu Chen's ally.

But how could people not harbor some hopeful expectations?

For the Jingzhou clans, this was a matter of life and death for their entire lineage—if the situation remained favorable or even stale, fine.

But how could they possibly commit everything under such circumstances?

The current situation in Jing Province.

Even if Zhou Yu possessed heavenly abilities, they would be insufficient to reverse it.

He had originally intended to assist Sun Ce in fortifying defenses and to face Liu Xuande head-on.

But within just a few days, he had already sensed the gravity of the current situation, and swiftly went to see Sun Ce.

"My Lord, we must immediately abandon Jing Province and return to Jiangdong."

Zhou Yu's expression was utterly grave.

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce was stunned, almost unable to believe it, and exclaimed in great surprise: "Is Gongjin afraid?"

"Why speak such words?"

Zhou Yu smiled faintly and shook his head slightly: "This general is not afraid."

"But the current situation is no longer capable of defying heaven."

Instantly, Sun Ce's expression also grew serious.

He still clearly felt unwilling, staring intently at Zhou Yu and speaking in a low, firm voice: "Gongjin, you know I bear a blood feud with Gu Chen—the murder of my father."

"If things continue like this, when will I ever avenge my father?"

As he spoke, Sun Ce's eyes were filled with murderous intent.

"My Lord!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Zhou Yu immediately bowed to Sun Ce: "This general fully understands your heart, and will surely aid you in avenging your father!"

"Yet if you wish to seek revenge, you must retreat to Jiangdong."

"The Jing Province clans' loyalty is uncertain."

"If we continue like this, we will surely be dragged down by them."

With a loud "Bang!"

Sun Ce slammed his fist onto the table: "These useless wastes—I'll kill them!"

"No!"

Zhou Yu quickly blocked Sun Ce, earnestly saying: "My Lord must not lose his temper."

"On the contrary, My Lord must show sincerity."

"If we can bring these great clans' forces under our command, it will be most advantageous for you!"

Upon hearing this, Sun Ce suddenly came to his senses.

He looked earnestly at Zhou Yu before his face broke into a smile, and he burst out laughing: "Gongjin is truly my loyal and valiant advisor!"

Zhou Yu smiled faintly and did not deny Sun Ce's words.

——————

In the sixth year of Jian'an, Jing Province and Yingchuan were ravaged by constant warfare, and the four seas boiled with chaos.

When Liu Xuande urgently besieged Xiangyang, Chen assessed that Cao Gong must have ulterior designs, and secretly dispatched Ma Chao to secretly cross the Funiu Mountains and launch a night raid on Kunyang, severing Sun Ce's supply route.

He then planted false banners on Mount Song, and Cao Gong indeed suspected ambushes nearby, hesitated, and dared not advance, thus losing Fucheng.

Once Kunyang was secured, Xiahou Dun, though leading elite troops to storm the gates, failed to take it for over a month.

In the tenth month of winter, Cao's army cut Chen's supply lines at Yique and dumped rotting corpses into the Yi River, hoping to spread plague.

Chen employed the plague-controlling methods of his ancestor Gu Xi, and within less than ten days, the plague vanished.

He then offered sacrifices to Heaven and Earth, proclaiming Cao's act as an offense against Heaven, and many commoners flocked to his side.

In the second month of the seventh year, Liu Xuande broke Xiangyang, beheading nine thousand, while Cai Mao and Sun Ce led their remaining troops to flee and hold Jiangling.

On the first day of the third month, Ma Chao drew his bow and shot Xiahou Dun in the eye; Cao's army panicked and collapsed, with countless casualties.

At that time, Chen launched a separate attack on Zhang He in the narrow pass of Mount Song, shattered his elite troops, and pressed the advantage to capture Yangcheng.

The whole world trembled; the signs of Han's restoration began to emerge.

——《Records of Heroes of the Late Han, Chapter on Gu Chen》

(End of Chapter)