Chapter 87: Killing Until No One Dares Call Himself Supreme (Requesting Monthly Votes)

In the tenth year of Jian'an, April;

——Gu Chen officially launched his army to attack Xu.

At the same time, Liu Bei also mobilized troops from Jingzhou, aiming to attack Yuzhou and Yangzhou.

But Cao Cao had long prepared for this.

Sun Ce also moved his troops, intending to block Liu Bei's path in Jiangdong.

At this moment, the Jingzhou aristocratic families under Sun Ce played a major role.

Not only could they strengthen Sun Ce's power further.

They also constrained Liu Bei simultaneously.

Jingzhou had just been pacified; Liu Bei could not deploy all his forces outward.

Should any unexpected event arise in Jingzhou, these aristocrats—who understood Jingzhou intimately—could easily cause it to change hands.

This was something Liu Bei absolutely would not accept.

Liu Bei may have been overly confident, intending to first eliminate Sun Ce outright, thereby removing his rear threat and further expanding his own strength.

But Zhuge Liang stopped him.

With the Yangtze River as a natural barrier, Jiangdong was by no means easy to conquer.

Reluctantly, Liu Bei left Guan Yu to guard Jingzhou.

He himself led his troops to invade Yuzhou.

The tide of the world surged again into great war!

Cao Ren was the one stationed at Xu Chang.

Since the battle of Chen Liu years ago, Cao Ren was no longer the obscure junior general he once was—he had become a thoroughly renowned defender of cities, famed throughout the land.

He stationed forty thousand troops within Xu Chang.

Around the perimeter, he established twelve linked camps based on terrain.

Even Gu Chen had to admit that Cao Ren was undoubtedly one of the finest siege defenders in the world.

But what of it?

For Gu Chen,

as long as Cao Ren could not mend the fractures in the people's hearts, he was doomed to fail to stop him.

The hearts of Yingchuan had completely unraveled.

Cao Cao's move to relocate the capital had convinced both the Yingchuan aristocrats and the common people

that he had abandoned them.

And furthermore, how could they not fear Gu Chen's overwhelming momentum?

Under these circumstances, how could Cao Ren possibly hold back Gu Chen?

In the tenth year of Jian'an, June;

Gu Chen successively broke through three of Cao's major camps, slaying nearly ten Cao officers, and the Cao troops feared Gu Chen as if he were a tiger.

News spread relentlessly; Yingchuan trembled in terror.

Deserters began appearing one after another in every camp.

And their numbers grew ever larger.

Cao Ren could only suppress desertions with brutal measures.

In the tenth year of Jian'an, August;

Gu Chen broke through five more camps, pressing ever closer to Xu Chang.

At the same time, he ordered Xun Yu to draft the "Surrender Edict," to intensify the panic among Cao's soldiers and civilians.

But Cao Ren, as expected of a general destined to be remembered in history,

even as Gu Chen's assault grew fiercer than ever, never lost his composure.

He never believed twelve camps alone could stop Gu Chen.

Cao Ren had always deeply admired Cao Cao.

And Gu Chen was the very man Cao Cao had given his highest praise to—how could he possibly underestimate him?

He remained utterly calm, merely coordinating all three armies within Xu Chang, trying every possible means to halt Gu Chen.

He even devised the hook-sickle spear.

Specifically designed to counter Gu Chen and Ma Chao's elite cavalry.

And Cao Cao himself would not remain idle in the rear.

He too was attempting to break the deadlock.

Not only did he order Lu Bu to mobilize from Jizhou and place him under Cao Ren's command, but he also sent Sun Ce the blueprints for the thunder-cart to aid his campaign against Jingzhou.

He himself rushed to Yuzhou and Yangzhou to guard against Liu Bei and stabilize morale.

He entrusted all matters of Pengcheng to Cao Ang.

In Cao Cao's eyes,

compared to Gu Chen, Liu Bei was naturally the easier opponent to deal with.

If he could repel Liu Bei, it would certainly stabilize morale.

The winds of the world rose in all directions.

October;

The appearance of the hook-sickle spear did indeed affect Gu Chen.

But he was no mere brute who charged blindly.

Upon noticing the recent drought, Gu Chen immediately employed the ancient Warring States tactic of Tian Dan against Yan—forming a fire-ox formation—and shattered Cao's army once again.

In a few months, he completely shattered Cao Ren's twelve-linked camps.

He led his army toward Xu Chang.

At the same time, at the end of October.

Liu Bei set foot in Runan.

Following the plan of his newly appointed military strategist Pang Tong, he sent Zhao Yun with five thousand troops disguised as Cao's grain convoy to burn Cao's grain depots.

He captured several cities in succession, his momentum overwhelming.

The speed of his advance only slowed when Cao Cao himself arrived.

November;

Cao Chun led the Tiger-Leopard Cavalry to cut Gu Chen's yangyao supply line and block his offensive.

He also encountered Ma Chao's Qiang cavalry.

Both sides clashed in a great battle.

Each suffered losses; neither gained victory.

Only when Gu Chen personally arrived with his army did Cao Chun retreat in defeat.

Gu Chen did not directly attack Xu Chang.

Xu Chang was a major stronghold, housing forty thousand defenders—it was far from easy to breach.

He chose to rest his three armies and reorganize his supply lines.

He once again employed the classic battlefield tactics passed down through generations of the Gu clan.

One miracle after another appeared.

Rumors spread that steles had suddenly appeared in Luoyang, inscribed: "Xu Chang falls, Luoyang rises";

Rumors claimed a calamity star had emerged, portending Xu Chang's downfall;

All manner of rumors emerged in succession, steadily eroding Cao's troops' morale.

Even Gu Yi could not help but say, "My Laozu is truly too cautious."

But after careful thought, he understood.

Gu Chen was never a prodigy who surpassed his peers from childhood.

——On the contrary.

His entire life experience had shaped his character; how could he ever become overconfident?

This style of warfare truly filled Cao Ren with despair.

Only now, facing Gu Chen directly in battle,

did Cao Ren finally understand why Cao Cao had decided to move the capital.

Gu Chen has no weaknesses!

In every aspect, he is utterly flawless.

Whether in building his foundation, judging the battlefield, or mastering human psychology—

in every single thing, Gu Chen is utterly flawless.

For warlords of his era, this was an utterly despairing prospect.

How could one possibly defeat such a man?

Gu Chen's scheme had indeed a massive impact on Cao's army.

Cao Ren exhausted himself day and night, pushing his officers and soldiers to their limits, terrified of any defection or city surrender.

The only good news was that Cao Cao had halted Liu Bei's offensive in Runan.

Though it was only a minor victory, Cao Ren seized the opportunity to portray it as a great triumph, hoping to boost morale.

But it could not change the overall tide.

At the same time, Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu inflicted a major defeat on Sun Ce's vanguard, Zhou Yu, in Jiangxia.

They slew thousands of enemies.

They halted Sun Ce's advance toward Jingzhou.

November;

Gu Chen personally led one hundred thousand troops to launch a full-scale assault on Xu Chang.

Xu Chang, however, was a major stronghold.

Even with Gu Chen's ferocity, such a fortress could not be easily breached—he could only rely on his soldiers' bravery.

After five straight days of fierce assault, his army finally broke into Xu Chang for the first time.

But Cao Ren had already prepared for this.

He distributed the hallucinogenic "Five-Stone Powder" to his troops.

Using it to ignite their bloodlust, he ultimately drove Gu Chen's army back.

Under these conditions, Xu Chang became a meat grinder.

Countless heroic souls fell within and around Xu Chang's walls.

Gu Chen had not anticipated Cao Ren's such tactic; seeing soldiers who had taken the Five-Stone Powder now utterly devoid of human fear,

he could only order a retreat.

Gu Chen had heard of the Five-Stone Powder before—he knew long-term use caused early death—but had never imagined it could produce such effects.

This finally gave Cao Ren his chance.

Though he had not defeated Gu Chen—even could be called a crushing defeat.

After all, Cao's army suffered enormous casualties.

And Gu Chen's troops had already breached the city walls.

But Cao Ren still boasted loudly about it, determined to fully stabilize troop morale.

It did have some effect.

After all, for Cao's soldiers who understood nothing, this time they had genuinely driven Gu Chen back.

But Cao Ren did not let his guard down.

As one of the great generals whose name would be passed down through history, Cao Ren's military prowess was beyond doubt.

After Gu Chen's army withdrew, he immediately ordered water poured over the city walls.

Using the weather, he turned the entire Xu Chang city into an ice city.

But Gu Chen paid it no mind.

After this battle, he gained a deeper understanding of Xu Chang city.

If he continued this kind of direct assault, even if he eventually captured Xu Chang and seized Yingchuan,

the casualties for Gu Chen would be far too heavy.

Small Small Yugu Chen's eyes,

Cao Ren had no chance of victory.

Taking Five Stone Powder could indeed boost Cao's troops' combat power, but the damage after the drug's effect wore off was irreversible.

Cao Ren would inevitably perish.

But Gu Chen had to consider the casualties of his own army.

Based on Cao Ren's habit of never sallying out to fight, and the current weather, Gu Chen immediately reached a conclusion.

——He decided to dig tunnels!

When the others heard Gu Chen's decision, they were all stunned.

How much manpower would it take to dig tunnels in this season?

But Gu Chen's reply was very simple.

"War is the way of deception; only by surprising the enemy can one achieve victory."

Cao Ren would never imagine Gu Chen would dig tunnels during this winter!

Though this plan was arduous and troublesome, compared to the casualties of a direct assault,

it would be immeasurably better.

Upon hearing this, everyone fell silent.

The Gu family's surprise tactics were beyond question—and no one would dare question them!

Gu Chen was never a hesitant man; after carefully analyzing the feasibility of this plan, he immediately put it into action.

He summoned soldiers and laborers.

He burned earth and dug tunnels.

Meanwhile, he himself drew Cao Ren's attention at the front lines.

Though he continued attacking the city, Gu Chen did not launch full-force assaults as before.

Under normal circumstances,

Cao Ren might have sensed something amiss.

But under the current situation, Cao Ren merely thought Gu Chen was afraid of his Five Stone Powder troops—this filled Cao Ren with immense pride.

He had actually held off Gu Chen?

Even he himself found it hard to believe.

Yet the facts were right before him—he could not deny them.

The most prominent campaign in Yingchuan, under these circumstances, inexplicably stalled.

This truly surprised everyone.

Jingzhou.

Sun Ce never ceased his campaign against Jingzhou, but nearly all his advances were repelled by Zhuge Liang and Guan Yu.

"Military Advisor."

"Has there been a change in the Yingchuan campaign? Could it affect the overall situation?"

Inside the command tent, Guan Yu stroked his beard with one hand and asked Zhuge Liang: "I intend to lead troops to reinforce Yingchuan and lend Young Master Gu a hand."

"General, do not."

Zhuge Liang immediately shook his head and said seriously: "General, though brave,

compared to Young Master Gu, you are still slightly inferior."

"The current situation appears to be three battlefronts,

but a change in one will inevitably affect all three."

"How can you leave Jingzhou at such a time?"

Upon hearing this, Guan Yu's face flickered with resentment, but he said nothing further.

In his heart, he admitted he could not reach Gu Chen's level.

But for a man as proud as him, such words were strangely piercing.

"Moreover, if my guess is correct, Sun Ce will soon launch a full-scale assault on Jingzhou."

Zhuge Liang spoke again suddenly.

Hearing this, Guan Yu's interest was finally stirred; his gaze sharpened instantly: "That mere pretender, defeated time and again, still dares to return?"

"General," Zhuge Liang shook his head slowly, his tone solemn: "The Yingchuan and Runan battlefronts are now deadlocked.

For Sun Ce,

if he can win a decisive victory now, it will galvanize the morale of all四方armies."

"Based on my understanding of Zhou Yu."

"He will surely advise Sun Ce to launch an attack!"

Hearing this, Guan Yu fell silent for a moment, then slowly nodded.

He immediately bowed to Zhuge Liang: "General, devise your plan—I shall ensure these invaders come but never return!"

The events did not deviate from Zhuge Liang's predictions.

How could Zhou Yu let such an opportunity slip away?

Just days later,

Sun Ce led his army once more, following Zhou Yu's strategy.

He dispatched Lü Meng with three thousand elite soldiers, expert swimmers, to dive and sink Jingzhou patrol boats, seize the floating bridge at Hanjin Ferry, re-enter Jingzhou, and strike directly at the Yunmeng Marsh granary, severing Zhuge Liang's supply lines.

The two sides clashed again in full-scale battle.

Zhuge Liang remained calm, rerouting supplies through the Jing Mountain Ancient Path, steadying his troops' morale.

Soon after, both armies resumed fighting across the entire Jiangling region.

This time, Sun Ce was clearly determined.

He had brought nearly all his elite forces.

And most crucially—

Gu Chen's obstruction at Xu Chang had had an enormous impact.

It even boosted the morale of Sun Ce's soldiers, significantly enhancing their combat effectiveness.

In contrast, on Zhuge Liang's side,

Liu Bei had left behind many troops, but few true elites.

This would inevitably affect the overall balance of power.

Although Zhuge Liang repeatedly devised stratagems to disrupt Sun Ce's advances, he could not drive Sun Ce back to Jiangdong entirely.

News spread continuously.

The shifting tides of the three-front war changed the overall situation.

It allowed Cao Cao, whose position had once seemed dire, to gradually stabilize his troops' morale.

But Cao Cao still dared not grow careless.

He could not believe that Gu Chen's abilities could be so easily thwarted.

If Gu Chen could really be held back so easily,

how could he have ever moved the capital?

Cao Cao repeatedly sent envoys to warn Cao Ren not to relax his guard.

Cao Ren obeyed Cao Cao's orders, continuously dispatching scouts to gather intelligence.

Yet who could have imagined that in the dead of winter, Gu Chen would choose to dig tunnels?

This was the essence of a brilliant stratagem.

That is, to do what others would not even dare to imagine.

Gu Chen paid no attention to the battles across the four fronts; he calmly advanced his own plan.

He set the tunnel exits at Cao's granary, armory, and stables.

These were positions he had carefully surveyed over this period.

Gu Chen never launched meaningless attacks.

He never let any opportunity slip away.

And in the second month of the eleventh year of Jian'an,

the tunnels were finally completed.

Xu Chang.

The night was pitch black; the moon had vanished.

Hearing the cries of alarm around him, Cao Ren jolted awake from sleep.

A sudden, nameless rage surged within him.

He roared: "What is happening?!"

Cao Ren had not slept well for days; only recently, convinced that Gu Chen had exhausted his options, had he finally managed rest.

To be so abruptly awakened—how could he not be furious?

The moment he spoke,

a soldier burst through the door, fell to his knees before Cao Ren, face pale with panic: "General!"

"We're on fire! Our granary, armory, and stables—all three are ablaze!"

These words exploded in Cao Ren's ears like a thunderclap.

He froze, stunned.

Unable to comprehend.

But the next instant, his expression twisted—he ignored everything else and rushed outside.

Had he not stepped out,

the moment he emerged, he saw flames blazing like the sun.

The once dark night sky was now fully illuminated by fire.

The most furious blaze—

was his granary.

As the former capital designated by Cao Cao, Xu Chang had accumulated vast stores of grain.

Although later Cao Cao transferred some of them away again.

But for the sake of this battle, within Xu Chang's granaries there still remained several hundred thousand shi of provisions, enough for the great army's needs for several years.

And to prevent Gu Chen from cutting off Xu Chang's grain route and laying siege to the city, Cao Ren—

Had moved all the provisions into the city.

Now, these provisions became the most "capable accomplice" of this great fire.

Cao Ren was completely stunned.

The fire's light reflected in his pupils.

In a vague premonition, he seemed to see the scene of Xu Chang city being breached.

He saw Gu Chen march north once more, utterly shattering their Cao clan's dream of inheriting the Mandate of Heaven.

Accompanied by the shouts at his ears and the sound of warhorses galloping in panic, all of these scenes were so vivid!

The next moment, he snapped awake with a start.

Without the slightest hesitation.

Cao Ren immediately mustered his troops, and once again distributed "Five-Stone Powder" to them.

Gu Chen would certainly come to attack the city.

No matter what, he could not let Gu Chen enter Xu Chang city easily.

Cao Ren's thoughts at this moment were incomparably clear.

He understood that Xu Chang city could no longer be defended at all.

But he had to lead the great army back!

Under such a crisis, a general's ability was completely brought to the fore.

Cao Ren now could neither show his intention to retreat,

Yet still had to prepare to retreat.

And Gu Chen, just as he had predicted, led his troops straight over to attack.

This battle naturally needs no further words.

Under the influence of the towering inferno, the morale within the city had completely collapsed; the defenders had no heart to resist at all.

Gu Chen broke into the city almost without the slightest effort.

And what came next was facing Cao Ren's army of "Five-Stone Powder" men.

This time, Gu Chen did not retreat in the slightest.

He led his troops in a direct charge.

But this also greatly stimulated the drug's effect of the Five-Stone Powder, making these troops utterly fearless, completely reduced to beasts without reason.

Cao Ren, under such circumstances—

Led his great army and retreated from Xu Chang.

Before leaving the city, he gazed at the fire great enough to burn the heavens, his whole body trembling for no reason, and he spat out a mouthful of fresh blood.

Gu Chen naturally would not let Cao Ren retreat in peace.

Although the troops he had left behind were brave,

They would eventually reach the point of exhaustion.

And the most crucial thing was that these men now had no reason at all; without sober men to assist them, Gu Chen truly had too many ways to lure them into the sea of fire and destroy them.

Just after slaughtering all of these men,

Gu Chen only left the wounded and the weak troops to control the fire, then personally led his men to continue the pursuit.

He successively slew over ten Cao generals and annihilated nearly twenty thousand enemy troops.

Pressing ever closer to Cao Ren.

But just at this moment, Lu Bu came charging in.

Although no matter how unwilling Lu Bu was to face Gu Chen, at this point he had no choice.

Cao Cao had long since handed him over to Cao Ren.

Abandon Cao once again and flee?

Under the bright heavens, where else could there be a place to keep him?

Would Gu Chen spare his life?

No matter what, he had to help Cao Ren hold back Gu Chen's offensive.

But in the end, there was still no surprise whatsoever.

Back in the Bingzhou days, Lu Bu was already no longer Gu Chen's match, let alone facing the Gu Chen of today.

Gu Chen laid an ambush at Xihua.

He slew Lu Bu before the formation, proclaiming Lu Bu's crimes of "disloyalty and unfilial piety," to reinvigorate the world's moral standards.

The Bingzhou Wolf Riders under his command were either dead or surrendered.

Upon hearing the news, Cao Ren could only retreat again, abandoning Chen Liu and heading toward Chen County.

He attempted to use the important town of Chen County to once more block Gu Chen.

But in the end, he was intercepted by Gu Chen twenty li outside Chen County.

Cao army's great general Cao Ren perished before the formation.

All the troops under his command surrendered.

The important town of Chen County in Chen State did not dare face Gu Chen at all, and surrendered at the mere sight of him.

The news rapidly spread across the realm.

For a time, the four directions were shaken with terror.

Throughout the realm, the lords and talented men of the four directions, upon hearing Gu Chen's name, were struck with dread; the Cao army in particular could scarcely muster the will to resist.

A single campaign fought until no one in all the realm dared again to claim supremacy.

——————

"In the second month of the eleventh year of Jian'an, Gu Chen marched against Xu Chang.

He openly arrayed cloud-ladders and siege-carts at the western wall, while secretly dispatching death-sworn soldiers through an underground tunnel three hundred zhang long, reaching directly beneath the armory.

At midnight the earth split and fire erupted, burning the granaries, destroying the weapons and armor, and setting the warhorses ablaze; crimson flames lit up the heavens as bright as broad day.

Cao Ren ordered his soldiers to all take Five-Stone Powder and fight to the death, yet the stench of burning filled the city, and the soldiers trampled one another fleeing through the gates, the fallen piled upon the fallen.

Chen took advantage of the chaos to breach the city, charged forward on horseback with his spear for fifty li in pursuit, beheading twenty thousand, the piled armor rising like a mountain.

Cao Ren withdrew to defend Chen Liu and sent urgent dispatches summoning Lu Bu to race to his aid from Wei Jun.

Bu led the Bingzhou Wolf Riders south through the night, and at Xihua fell into an ambush.

Chen personally led his elite cavalry into the formation, slew Bu upon his horse, hung his severed head upon the gate, and thereby set the moral order of the realm aright.

The valiant Bingzhou riders wept and doffed their armor, all perishing in the Ying River.

Ren, upon hearing of Bu's death, felt his liver and gall split asunder, abandoned Chen Liu and fled to Chen County.

Chen encircled him in the open field with his Eight-Sided Fire-Ox Formation; Ren, his armor all stained red, still cried out: 'The Cao clan's foundation—shall it be destroyed by a mere stripling!' In the end he was pierced through the chest by a rain of arrows and perished, and the elders of Chen County came out with baskets of food to welcome the royal army.

That night a comet swept over Ye City, and the ancestral temple of the Cao clan in Xudu collapsed of its own accord without cause.

The Grand Historian remarked: 'In former times Han Xin secretly crossed Chen Cang, yet he could not match Chen's burning of Xu Chang in supreme cunning; Xiang Yu broke the cauldrons and sank the boats, but it is hard to compare with Ren's foolish loyalty in taking the powder.

To behold Gu Chen beheading Lu Bu beneath the moon and slaying Cao Ren before the formation—truly it is the blazing flame of the Yan-Han burning the host of villains.'

From then on, the children's songs of the Central Plains all sang: 'Better to meet a white tiger than to meet Young Master Gu; the Green Dragon and the Recluse Moon cannot stay his cold gleam.'

—"The Book of Yan-Han, Biography of Gu Chen"

(End of this chapter)