Chapter 553: Jizhou

At that moment, CaoCao also led his army across the river, still unable to lift the siege of Nanpi, and hastily withdrew his troops to Ye City. The siege of Yuan Tan was thus lifted; when Tan saw CaoCao, CaoCao promised a woman, and Tan asked CaoCao to attack Jizhou, saying, "If you do not go, Jizhou will belong to Bai's Bingzhou." Yet CaoCao, after repeated deliberation, ultimately refused, saying, "Now the supplies are not arriving, the transport is laborious; I will divert the river, block the Qi River into the Bai Gou Canal to open a supply route, and then advance."

Meanwhile, Bai Lang's force of over ten thousand soldiers had already occupied the whole Wei County, and his light troops rushed straight to the foot of Ye City. Ye City had been Yuan Shao's stronghold for many years; its walls were high and thick, and the defending army was quite formidable. At this time Yuan Shang had not yet returned to the city, and Bai Lang could not launch an immediate assault because his men and horses were exhausted. "No one can take Ye City," he said. Thus Bai Lang ordered a camp to be set up by the water, to recuperate for several days before resuming the siege, and also instructed his troops to forge siege equipment.

Bai Lang was not in a hurry; failing to capture Jizhou mattered little to him, and he did not ravage the populace there. "We came to avenge the people, punish the guilty, and support the Han court; killing the barbarians is enough—what does plundering Han civilians matter?" someone suggested that Bai Lang take some of the people to bolster Bingzhou's population, to which Bai Lang replied. Though that man was a rough commander, his subordinates never dared to violate military discipline, so the civilians were not disturbed. Bai Lang sent back a thousand cavalry and seven thousand infantry to escort the military provisions and valuables he had obtained from the Jizhou government store back to Bingzhou, leaving only three thousand infantry and two thousand cavalry to prepare for the siege.

At this time Yuan Shang had also returned from the east; unwilling to enter the city directly, he set up a camp outside Ye City, forming a flanking position. "The young scion of the Yuan family is still capable; he knows that if he rushes into the city and is pursued by a certain tail‑chaser, the city could be breached in one blow. Now the stationed troops outside the city form a tripod stance. Let's see me break their force," Bai Lang said, and immediately led eight hundred cavalry to charge Yuan Shang. Yuan Shang had three subordinate commanders—Zhu Yan, Huang Liu, and Ma Biao—each bringing their own troops and horses.

"Do not let Bai Lang escape!" the three shouted in unison, each brandishing a phoenix‑tail blade, a pointed steel spear, and a long axe, charging forward with hundreds of cavalry behind them. Bai Lang only smiled, turned back to his own men and said, "Watch me kill these three generals for you!" With that, Bai Lang spurred his horse and raised his spear. The spear tip flashed, and Ma Biao, who was swinging his axe, tried to block, but he could not...

Bai Lang's spear struck like a flash of lightning; the thrust pierced and, as he withdrew it, blood gushed out. Ma Biao's throat was pierced by the palm‑wide spear blade, his neck nearly severed; only strips of flesh as wide as two fingers held the dead head, and the skull was drenched in blood, hanging down his back. Bai Lang then swept his spear horizontally with astonishing force, while Huang Liu swung his sword ferociously at Bai Lang, only to be met first by the rear of Bai Lang's spear; the sword edge and spear blade clashed, sparking huge flashes.

The phoenix‑tail blade was knocked aside; Huang Liu shouted "Defeated!" and urged his horse away, but Bai Lang's spear swept across his body, cutting off his entire upper torso along with the horse's head. The last, Zhu Yan, thrust his long spear with all his strength; Bai Lang twisted his body, reached out, grabbed the spear shaft, and with a pull sent Zhu Yan tumbling from his horse, then reversed his spear and drove it through Zhu Yan, splitting him in two. With the three horses together, Bai Lang seamlessly slashed into the three generals' personal guard cavalry.

Bai Lang's spear whirled and flew, carving a blood‑streaked lane; there was no opponent in sight. His eight hundred cavalry behind him also charged in, scattering the enemy riders within a span of a mountain, and then crashed into Yuan Shang's main camp alongside Bai Lang. Bai Lang's spear jabbed and slashed; even when Yuan Shang fired heavy crossbow bolts, Bai Lang deflected most of them, and the few that struck his body failed to penetrate, only further arousing his ferocious aura. As the white tiger roared, sharp blade energy radiated, causing massive casualties.

At this moment Bai Lang had become a phantom white tiger raging within Yuan Shang's main camp; he led his eight hundred cavalry to cut through the camp, prompting Yuan Shang to recklessly flee toward Ye City. He abandoned his defeated troops to hold back Bai Lang, while he himself escaped into Ye City with his guards. Bai Lang captured over twenty thousand prisoners in one breath, saying, "What use are these people?" He then simply issued each captive several days' worth of dry rations, collected their armor and weapons, and sent them all back.

The next day Bai Lang attacked the city, leading a few dozen elite guards pushing the sole siege ladder toward the walls. Bai Lang had never expected to take the city; he was merely probing. Ye City housed several hundred thousand people, far beyond what Bai Lang's few thousand men could capture, and even his entire army could not storm the city in one push. Bai Lang pushed the cart forward, gesturing a few times, and said, "As expected, it won't work; even if I could leap onto the walls, without reinforcements I cannot seize the rampart."

The following day Bai Lang led his army in retreat, intending to return to Bingzhou. "The troubles of Bingzhou are countless; perhaps we should find someone to take charge. It would be fine to hand it over to Xuande," Bai Lang thought. On his way back he summoned his elite guards and wrote a direct letter ordering them to go to Jingzhou to find LiuBei, intending to relinquish the position of Governor of Bingzhou to LiuBei.

After Bai Lang's withdrawal, Yuan Shang again harbored the desire to attack Yuan Tan. He planned to muster a hundred thousand troops and horses to march again to Qingzhou to assault Yuan Tan, who sent a letter to CaoCao pleading for help. It was now the spring of the ninth year of Jian'an, and the Bai Gou Canal had been opened, allowing CaoCao's supplies to be transported directly by water.

CaoCao led his forces to attack Yuan Shang, while at this time Bai Lang again led a light cavalry of three hundred on a day‑and‑night march, arriving silently dozens of li outside Jizhou City. "Lord Cao attacks the two Yuans; I predict both will fall together this time. When Lord Cao breaches this city, I can rise in the middle…," Bai Lang let out a hehehe laugh, completely immature. Indeed, among the two Yuans, Yuan Shang fell first, being defeated by CaoCao's massive army before reaching the plains.

However, CaoCao did not pursue Yuan Shang; instead he directly led his army to capture Handan and then marched straight to Jizhou. From a distance Bai Lang observed CaoCao's army aura and said, "I see this aura; great events are afoot!" He ordered his light cavalry to take hidden tokens and slip in, reaching a spot ten li beyond Jizhou City to wait quietly for CaoCao's forces to breach the city. The siege lasted several months, during which CaoCao's stratagem defeated the reinforcements of Yuan Shang, forcing Yuan Shang to flee to Zhongshan State. Afterwards CaoCao opened the Zhang River to assault the city. "Just as I thought, Cao's actions are decisive," Bai Lang said.

Xin Pi, outside the city, thrust his spear at Yuan Shang's insignia‑cloaked clothing, trying to recruit the people inside the city. Shen Pei was enraged and, on the city walls, beheaded more than eighty members of Xin Pi's family, tossing their heads down. Xin Pi wailed inconsolably. Shen Pei's nephew Shen Rong, who had long been close to Xin Pi, was incensed by the slaughter of Xin Pi's relatives; he secretly wrote a tribute letter, tied it to an arrow, and shot it into the city. CaoCao learned of this and prepared accordingly. At dawn the next day, Shen Rong flung open the West Gate and let CaoCao's troops enter.

Bai Lang looked on with great joy, "The opportunity has arrived! Everyone, follow me; this time we shall succeed!" He urged his warhorse forward; he knew a great battle was coming, yet he had not donned his fish‑scale heavy armor, preserving his horse's stamina. CaoCao was in high spirits, but then thunderous hoofbeats sounded from behind. The Cao army generals looked and saw a tiled‑white‑tiger banner bearing a single character "Bai". "Mengde decides on a water siege; does he not offend the harmony of Heaven?" a tiger‑like roar echoed from afar.