Chapter 233: Thoughts of the South Suddenly Turn North

A day later, as Liang Zhongning led the ten thousand Yellow Turban troops from the various cities of Henan in a panicked crossing of the river northward at Cangting, the various Han army contingents also returned one after another to Dong’e — which was in fact not far from Cangting — to await orders.

“At this point, there is not much more to be said.” In the main hall of the Dong’e county office, Lou Gui stepped forward without hesitation and proposed, “Whatever the case, we should summon Shen Zhengnan and Wang Shuzhi from the Yellow River to Cangting, then have the cavalry cross the river immediately, so as to open battle north of the river!”

The assembled commanders all looked stern, and amid that sternness some faces were grave, while others could not hide their delight… The former were mostly the prudent sort; the latter were mostly thinking of winning merit and establishing themselves.

“That is only natural,” Gongsun Xun, seated at the head, responded at once. “But beyond that, we must also consider the enemy at Puyang.”

“The enemy at Puyang now has only two paths to take: either hold Puyang firmly and stay put, or send the entire army across the river to support Zhang Bo and Liang Yuan.” Lou Zibo answered while stroking his beard, still poised and self-assured. “And from our army’s perspective, there are likewise only two paths: either have Yang Zizhang at Baima, Zijing at Dunqiu, and Li Tuizhi at Xiancheng hold their positions, forming a vague encirclement around Puyang to pin down Bu Si; or have the whole army cross the river, concentrate our forces to fight the battle, and pay no heed whatsoever to Puyang!”

“Zibo has already laid it out with perfect clarity!” Cao Cao could not help clapping his hands in admiration. “The military situation is complex, yet Zibo can devise plans on the spot, assess the moment and assign tasks, leaving nothing overlooked — he can truly be called brilliant in military calculation! Back when you and I were reckless youths roaming between Wan and Luo, who would have imagined a day like this?”

“Brother Mengde has hit the mark,” Gongsun Xun said with a laugh as well. “These days, everyone in the army keeps saying I command troops like a god, but they don’t realize that Zibo’s strategic mind is even stronger than mine!”

At these words, the various Luoyang Northern Army captains naturally fell over themselves to flatter him, and even close acquaintances like Han Dang and Lu Fan could not help chiming in with praise, until Lou Gui’s face flushed crimson and he could only stroke his beard, smiling wordlessly.

Yet just as the hall grew lively for a moment, someone suddenly stepped out from below the dais and spoke up boldly: “Master Lou’s reasoning is clear and orderly, his analysis of the battle situation like a cook carving an ox — I too am full of admiration. However, General Gongsun, as the commander of this army, what exactly do you intend? Do you want a decisive battle north of the river, or do you want to first seize the territory north of the river and then besiege Puyang? Do you want the rebel Bu in Puyang to stay put and defend stubbornly, or do you want Bu to raise his entire army and cross the river so we can settle everything in one campaign?”

Everyone turned to look and saw a man over eight feet tall, lean of feature, clearly advanced in years, with a pair of sword-like brows slightly raised, giving him an even more forceful bearing — it was unmistakably the local notable, Cheng Li, Cheng Zhongde.

To be frank, for this man to suddenly interject at such a moment was already a breach of decorum that ignored the atmosphere, and could be considered quite rude, but the others then recalled the courteous regard Gongsun Xun had shown him, so they could only sneer in silence.

“Then I shall speak plainly,” Gongsun Xun said, casting a glance at Lou Gui to reassure him, then immediately turned back and answered with a serious expression. “As for my intention, I naturally want the Puyang rebel army to cross the river in full, to mass our forces in one place, and to settle the Dong Commandery affair in a single battle north of the river. Only…”

“Only the Puyang rebel army lies with Bu Si and not with you, General,” Cheng Li said with a solemn face. “Therefore, although you wish to act, you can only be passive in your actions… Is that correct?”

“Exactly!” Gongsun Xun could not help showing a look of expectation. “Does Master Cheng perhaps have a stratagem to draw Bu Si out of Puyang?”

Cheng Li folded his hands and smiled. “General, whether he can be drawn out still depends on whether those people have the inclination to come out… Only if he is willing in his heart to come out is there a possibility of devising a plan tailored to his character and way of thinking.”

Gongsun Xun also rose to his feet with a smile. “Then does Master Cheng know this Bu Si’s inclinations and character?”

Cheng Li immediately smiled again. “Bu Si is a native of this commandery, from Dongwuyang. He became a disciple of Zhang Jiao when the Way of Great Peace was first founded ten years ago. Those people are generous by nature and do not look down on others for their origins; he often walked through the commandery in straw sandals and plain cloth, giving people water and healing the sick. I have seen him several times.”

Only now did the men in the hall begin to pay serious attention — except for Guan Yunchang, who alone kept his neck craned and refused to look directly at anyone in the hall, though his ears were pricked up as well.

“Then…”

“To be frank with you, General,” Cheng Li said candidly, “in my view, given Bu Si’s generous character, as long as we leak a hint or two of the perilous situation of the Yellow Turban rebels north of the river, he will feel some impulse to go to their aid… That is his character; it comes naturally to him. And if we can add a few other rumors to his ears, those people will surely be unable to restrain themselves and will cross the river directly to help.”

Gongsun Xun, to his credit, was direct — he actually stood up, stepped forward, and asked, “I beg Master Cheng to speak plainly.”

“From what I know, this Bu Si has absolute, unquestioning faith in Zhang Jiao,” Cheng Li answered calmly. “In the present situation, if word spreads that Zhang Jiao north of the river is fighting at a disadvantage against your teacher, Master Lu, and that the court further intends for you, General, to eliminate the enemy north of the river, then abandon Puyang and march straight north to strike Zhang Jiao from the rear… if that is the case, those people will surely be unable to restrain themselves!”

“But how can the rumors reach Bu Si’s ears?” Gongsun Xun asked again.

“General, you have taken several cities in succession; even a great clan like the Li family has brought its entire following to support your army; even a Yellow Turban pillar like Liang Yuan has fled north of the river in panic. How could things be calm inside Puyang city?” Cheng Li could not help laughing as he answered. “General, you might as well withdraw the troops from Baima, Xiancheng, and the other places, then leave a few words lying around here and there, and the news will naturally reach Bu Si’s ears.”

“How confident is Master Cheng?” Dong Zhao, standing to the side, suddenly spoke up and asked coldly.

“I am ninety percent confident,” Cheng Li replied boldly. “But if I say that, I fear you gentlemen will not believe me, so let us say seventy percent.”

“In war, if there is a fifty percent chance of victory, one may proceed,” Gongsun Xun said without the slightest hesitation. “How much more so for ninety percent? We shall do it this way! Inform Shen Zhengnan and Wang Shuzhi on the Yellow River that the entire army is about to cross north; Li Jin of Xiancheng and Yang Kai of Baima are also to cross the river together. Tell them to make preparations.”

From Cavalry Commandant Cao Cao on down, all the commanders listened to the order with stern respect.

“May I ask the General,” — and then, amid the rustling of armor and robes, Cheng Li still stood tall — “if Bu Si of Puyang crosses the river, Bu Si will have twenty thousand troops, Liang Yuan ten thousand, and Zhang Bo ten thousand, totaling forty thousand troops. Although heroes have constantly come to join your army, by careful reckoning you still have no more than ten thousand men. One against four — how confident is the General?”

“You yourself speak with such grandiose words, yet you doubt our fighting strength?” Guan Yu, though meeting Cheng Li for the first time, found him particularly grating.

“Am I not permitted to doubt?” Cheng Li stood firm and did not yield. “You must understand, if this plan is carried out, the safety of the six hundred thousand common people of Dong Commandery all rests on this single battle.”

“Hahaha…”

Guan Yu was about to speak again when he saw Gongsun Xun, hand on his sword, throw his head back and laugh to the heavens, his voice shaking the roof tiles. Only then did Guan Yu rein himself in slightly, step back half a pace, and, like the other commanders, bow slightly with clasped hands — a gesture that carried a hint of apology.

On this side, Gongsun Xun laughed for a long while before finally reining in his voice, yet the smile still lingered on his face as he turned back to Cheng Li and said in a raised voice: “Master Cheng, if I said I am one hundred percent confident in this battle, you surely would not believe me. That being the case, let us say ninety percent! What do you think?”

Cheng Li’s expression changed at once, and then he respectfully stepped back and bowed with full ceremony.

“Prepare to cross the river.” Gongsun Xun said no more; with a single order, he left behind the hall full of civil and military officers, and strode out sternly, hand on his sword.

And so, once the council of war had been decided, there was no further room for reversal. The Han army made a great show of it, crossing the Yellow River in full force for the fourth time. Among them, apart from Yang Kai at Baima City, who crossed first from upstream, all the other contingents converged on Cangting, where Shen Pei and Wang Xiu, who had been patrolling the Yellow River all along, received them. In a grand, swaying procession, they set out at their leisure.

That morning, just before departure, Gongsun Xun, wearing his he-cap and bearing his sword, once again grasped Cheng Li’s hand atop the river embankment at Cangting and was unwilling to let go, drawing sidelong glances from Cao Cao and the others nearby.

“Master Cheng, ah, Master Cheng,” Gongsun Xun sighed with rare melancholy. “This journey north of the river, I fear, will settle Dong Commandery in a single battle. When that time comes, you and I will find it hard to meet again. Are we two truly fated not to be together?”

Even with Cheng Li’s stern and harsh temperament, he could not help being somewhat moved at this moment, to the point of smiling bitterly again and again. “What does the General think, then?”

“I do not know,” Gongsun Xun could not help shaking his head. “Just as you said the day before yesterday, the wars are continuous, and the turmoil of the times has only just begun. Who can say what the future holds?”

Cheng Li also sighed with emotion.

It must be said that Gongsun Xun’s words were not empty. Although Lady Gongsun had let him leave Liaodong, and over the years he had risen swiftly and achieved much, in the eyes of others he was a rare young hero of the present age, yet for him personally, there was always a feeling of drifting with the current.

For one thing, the authority and institutions of the Han were still so powerful that it was hard for him to accomplish anything significant. In other words, as long as the Han did not collapse in a single day, he could not stretch out his hands and feet for a single day… Of course, the same was true for Yuan Benchu and Cao Mengde and the like;

For another, ever since the Yellow Turban chaos began this year, although the changes in the situation had long been anticipated, when they truly arrived they were so overwhelming — the great tide is mighty and hard to shift — that while it roused his fighting spirit, it also gave rise to a certain deeper level of confusion about the path ahead;

And third, as he himself grew stronger and stronger, Gongsun Xun also discovered that although his mother’s story was of great reference value, when it came to actual verification, it was somewhat like viewing flowers through a mist… When you thought about it, separated by eighteen hundred years, how could people of that time deeply understand the customs and hearts of this era?

Take Cheng Li before his eyes, for example. If things followed the rhythm of his mother’s story, there was no reason for him not to accept his offer, but in reality, whether it was the price-waiting of a clever man or the barrier of regional distance, these were all objectively existing things that were very hard to overcome.

Correspondingly, there were also the heights of family status, the schools of classical learning, the disciples and former officials… These were things you simply could not avoid.

Of course, no matter what, with the Yellow Turban rebellion, now at last he could settle victory or defeat with the bows, horses, swords, and spears that the sons of You and Yan were best at. Although Gongsun Xun had doubts and confusion, he feared no one now!

When the time came, if he truly encountered some impossible difficulty, wouldn’t winning a battle solve it? If that really didn’t work, win two battles — what more could one want?!

And so, on the great embankment at Cangting on the southern shore of the Yellow River, Gongsun Xun and Cheng Li stood hand in hand, speechless for a long time. Even Cao Cao and the others grew bored watching and turned to board the pontoon bridge one after another. Only Shen Pei and Wang Xiu, who had been coordinating their patrols on the Yellow River and were unaware of what was happening here, gazed curiously from afar in the middle of the river and called out questions.

After a long while, seeing that the various units around him had all crossed the river one after another, with only Han Dang leading the three hundred White Horse Volunteers and the regalia, canopy, and staff of office of the General of the Household of All Purposes still on this side, Gongsun Xun could no longer delay.

“Master Cheng, take care of yourself!” Gongsun Xun knew in his heart that the other man had a strong and unyielding character and would not easily change his course, so he could only bid farewell helplessly.

“Of other things I am not certain, but I have shown the General a poor face time and again, yet the General still regards me as a scholar of the state, listens to my words, employs my strategies, and treats me with courtesy… For this alone, one can see that the General is able to win men’s hearts!” Cheng Li finally said with deep feeling. “In the future, when chaos abounds, it may well be that the General is the one whose sun blazes at high noon!”

Gongsun Xun, hearing this, smiled lightly and took the opportunity to release his hand. “I wonder how many percent confidence Master Cheng has in those words?”

“If I said one hundred percent, I fear the General would not believe it,” Cheng Li also could not help stroking his beard and smiling. “Let us say eighty percent, then.”

Gongsun Xun threw his head back and laughed heartily, then turned and headed toward the pontoon bridge.

However, just as he reached the bottom of the embankment, he suddenly remembered something else, stopped in his tracks, turned back, and called out loudly to Cheng Li atop the embankment: “Master Cheng, one more thing!”

“General, please speak,” Cheng Li immediately responded from the embankment, clasping his hands.

“Master Cheng, there is a thought in my heart, one that sprang up the first time I met you, but I have always been too embarrassed to say it. Today, having clasped hands and talked cheerfully, and not knowing when we might meet again, I shall be so bold as to voice it just this once.” Gongsun Xun also clasped his hands from afar. “Everyone in Dong Commandery knows that in your youth you dreamed of holding up the sun on Mount Tai, and took it as a divine portent. Yet in ordinary times, Master Cheng merely stooped to the post of a county clerk, and you are already forty-four years old, so this dream only seemed laughable. But now the age is chaotic, the realm is in turmoil, and a hero like Master Cheng has likewise risen with the momentum and become renowned throughout the land. That being the case, why not add a ‘sun’ to your name and style yourself Cheng Yu, taking it as encouragement? These are somewhat absurd words; Master Cheng may decide for himself.”

Cheng Li stood on the embankment and heard these words. He opened his mouth to speak, but watched as Gongsun Xun turned around with an imposing air and, escorted by a group of vigorous soldiers leading white horses, stepped onto the pontoon bridge and headed north. For a moment, Cheng Li felt lost and did not know what to say.

Turning to the north of the river, the Han army linked their boats with iron chains and crossed the Yellow River at four points, throwing the Yellow Turbans of Dongjun into complete disarray.

Zhang Bo and Liang Zhongning, who had just combined their forces north of the river, had gathered over twenty thousand troops. They were actually stationed in the city of Dongwuyang, directly opposite Cangting, but because they had already lost their nerve, they dared not make any unnecessary moves... In fact, by evening, when Gongsun Xun led over ten thousand government troops and set up camp west of the area between Dongwuyang and the Yellow River, these two men still made no move whatsoever.

The Hebei plain stretched as far as the eye could see. From atop the walls of Dongwuyang, not only the Han army's main camp, a mere five li away, was visible, but even the Yellow River embankment over twenty li distant could be faintly seen. Therefore, from Zhang Bo down to the various minor commanders, all the Yellow Turban leaders who climbed the wall to spy on the Han camp did not know how to respond, and their faces were all marked with worry.

However, just at that moment, the Yellow Turban deputy commander Liang Yuan, Liang Zhongning, who had maintained a solemn expression all along, suddenly leaned on the battlements and burst into laughter. He then pointed at the orderly Han army camp and declared loudly:

"The Han army has indeed fallen for our ruse!"

From Zhang Bo to the minor commanders, no one understood what he meant, and they all asked for an explanation.

"You do not know," Liang Zhongning said, turning back with a continued smile. "This is a stratagem I devised with Commander Bu. Let me ask you, how many men does our army currently have in Dongwuyang?"

"Twenty thousand!" This was something everyone present knew.

"Correct," Liang Zhongning continued calmly. "And what of the Han army?"

"A glance tells us—compared to when they crossed the river from Puyang, it seems they have not added many new troops. Still just over ten thousand!"

"Correct," Liang Zhongning said, growing increasingly smug. "Then let me ask you further: if our twenty thousand troops march out of the city to give battle, and when the fight is at its height, Commander Bu suddenly leads twenty thousand men from Puyang charging down from the Yellow River embankment, what would the situation be?"

Without waiting for anyone to reply, Deputy Commander Liang took it upon himself to patiently explain: "That would be forty thousand against ten thousand, and a pincer attack from two sides at that! Tell me, has the Han army not fallen for our ruse?"

The minor commanders suddenly saw the light, and their faces broke into delighted smiles. They then eagerly sought confirmation on whether Commander Bu would truly come to their aid. Upon receiving an affirmative answer, they were naturally overjoyed—after all, given their level of tactical understanding, if Commander Bu really came, then using four men against one in a front-and-rear pincer was, of course, a matter of course.

And so, in their excitement, the various Yellow Turban minor commanders set their minds at ease, saying only that they would follow the orders of Deputy Commanders Liang and Zhang and that any time to march out was fine. They then each returned to the city to enjoy the treasures, fine food, and women they had looted and brought along with the army.

For a moment, only Zhang Bo and Liang Yuan remained on the wall, and Liang Zhongning's expression instantly turned grim.

"Deputy Commander Liang," Zhang Bo said, after pondering for a moment upon seeing this, and then sincerely cupping his hands in salute, "Since you had an agreement with Commander Bu when you came, I will not contend with you for authority. Rest assured, here north of the river, you may command as you see fit, and I will absolutely not hinder matters."

Liang Zhongning could not help but smile bitterly upon hearing this: "Zhang Bo, you think too much. Commander Bu and I have no agreement for a pincer attack... In truth, what worries me right now is that Commander Bu, out of compassion because our numbers are so large, might truly abandon Puyang and come here."

"What does that mean?" Zhang Bo's heart immediately turned half-cold.

"It means nothing more than this," Liang Yuan said sorrowfully, pointing at the distant Han army camp beneath the setting sun. "It was only when I fought the Han cavalry south of the river that I understood—the fighting strength of our Yellow Turbans is simply no match for the Han army! Against such elite cavalry, how could we, even at four to one, possibly hold them off?"

"But a pincer attack from front and rear...?"

"The pincer will not work," Liang Yuan continued with a sigh. "The Han army has over ten thousand men, of which six or seven thousand are cavalry and three or four thousand are infantry—all elite troops. Moreover, the river embankment is ultimately somewhat far from here. Even if Commander Bu really came, they could have their infantry rely on the camp fortifications to hold us off and delay us, while using their cavalry to strike Commander Bu just as he finishes crossing the river and defeat him in one battle, before finally turning around to swallow us whole. So if Commander Bu comes, it would serve no purpose other than to throw the army away in vain."

"Then... then why did you deceive everyone?" Zhang Bo asked, still puzzled despite his shock.

"What else could I do but deceive them?" Liang Yuan grew even more dejected. "Dongwuyang is a small city with little grain to begin with. And when the various commanders previously occupied their respective cities, they only sought pleasure. When we hastily summoned them to assemble here, they brought no grain at all, only their wealth, goods, and women. I myself was chased back and forth by the Han cavalry south of the river and arrived here completely empty-handed... Tell me, Deputy Commander Zhang, how long can the city hold out? And if we cannot hold out, what can we do besides deceiving everyone into marching the army out of the city for a battle, hoping to snatch life from the jaws of death?"

Zhang Bo lowered his head and pondered for a moment, but still respectfully cupped his hands in salute: "Whether it is a pincer attack or snatching life from death, Deputy Commander Liang surpasses me tenfold in warfare. Therefore, for the great cause of the Yellow Heaven, I repeat what I said before: I will follow your command this time, without a second word!"

Liang Yuan stared thoughtfully at the man before him, and for a moment found himself at a loss for words.

Turning back to Puyang south of the river, just as Cheng Li and Liang Yuan had both guessed, the mere knowledge that Zhang Bo and Liang Yuan, leading nearly twenty thousand men—all the remaining forces of the Dongjun Yellow Turbans—were trapped in Dongwuyang north of the river was enough to throw the ever-lenient Bu Ji into inner turmoil...

What did he know about fighting wars?!

In truth, the Yellow Turbans were, after all, just the Yellow Turbans—a motley crew that had only been an army for two months. If the quality and equipment of their low-ranking soldiers were not terribly backward, then the military experience and ability of their top leaders was undoubtedly their weakest aspect... To say nothing else, the idea of a group of people who normally spent their days drawing talismans and sprinkling holy water being tasked with leading tens of thousands of troops was inherently laughable, let alone formulating military strategies for a localized battlefield.

And so, Bu Ji himself first developed a desire to go to their rescue; then, Yellow Turban officers and men of all ranks who had relatives, friends, and old acquaintances over there came one after another to plead with him... In the eyes of these people, even if the Han army was formidable, with forty thousand men against ten thousand, there was still a fight to be had.

However, Bu Ji had still not made up his mind at this point, because he still remembered Liang Yuan's words before his departure... That was, until rumors suddenly arose within the city, saying that the Han army had even abandoned Baima and Xiancheng this time because, after finishing this battle north of the river, they would ignore Puyang, turn north, and go to Jizhou to cut off the Great Virtuous Teacher's rear!

The rumors were detailed and convincing, and Bu Ji, combining them with the intelligence he knew, was also deeply worried:

For instance, Bu Ji knew that the Han army commander before him, Gongsun Xun, was precisely a student of Lu Zhi, who was fighting the General of Heaven on the northern front; for instance, when the Han army withdrew from Xiancheng, a military officer had let slip that if they could destroy Zhang Jiao in one stroke, then all would be well; and again, before Dunqiu and Weiguo were lost, when the roads were still open, Bu Ji had indeed known that the Great Virtuous Teacher was showing signs of retreat and defeat in Wei Commandery...

And once a man's mind becomes unsettled, everything he thinks seems amiss. For example, in the past few days, good news had come from the south, saying that Commander Bo Cai of Yingchuan had won a great victory against the Han army, forcing the southern Han commander Zhu Jun to retreat and defend Changshe... But now, even this had become supporting evidence that Gongsun Xun might dispatch troops to cut off the Great Virtuous Teacher's rear!

How else could it be? Surely it must be that the Han army's campaign had suffered setbacks, and they were preparing to change their strategy to surround and kill the Great Virtuous Teacher in one fell swoop. And once the Great Virtuous Teacher was dead, wouldn't the great cause of the Yellow Heaven collapse without a fight?

Of course, Bu Ji was no fool... He also considered whether this might be a Han army stratagem to deliberately lure him across the river.

But...

"But, Commander Wang," Bu Ji said with a sigh, leaning on the battlements and gazing north, "What does it matter if I am defeated here? The overall situation rests with the Great Virtuous Teacher! Or perhaps on the southern front in Yingchuan... Setting aside the victory in the south for now, if the Great Virtuous Teacher in the north were to come to harm, what use would my stubborn defense of Puyang be? And even if this talk is indeed a rumor, if Deputy Commanders Liang and Zhang north of the river lose all twenty thousand of their troops, can Puyang alone escape? When the time comes and the Han army masses its forces to besiege the city, I would only be struggling in vain."

Wang Du, who had come to offer counsel, was about to speak again, but Bu Ji waved his hand repeatedly and said directly: "Lord Wang, I once heard Deputy Commander Liang recite a line from a book, and it was excellently put. He said that all men must die, but some deaths are weightier than Mount Tai, while others are lighter than a goose feather... I, Bu Ji, am over fifty years old. In raising troops against the Han now, my sole intent is to help the Great Virtuous Teacher establish the Yellow Heaven. And if the overall situation does not rest with me, then I must act for the sake of the overall situation, lest my death be as light as a goose feather!"

Wang Du let out a long sigh and did not argue further: "Commander Bu speaks rightly. Setting aside the fact that if our army stubbornly defends Puyang and perishes in hardship, we would be laughed at by all under Heaven—even if we cross the Yellow River northward, with forty thousand troops against ten thousand government soldiers, it is not necessarily without a way to achieve victory!"

"Does Commander Wang have some clever stratagem?" Bu Ji immediately asked with earnest seriousness.

"After successive defeats, I dare not claim to have a stratagem," Wang Du said with a bitter smile. "But I was thinking, at present there are no Han troops south of the river, and Puyang previously gathered quite a number of boats. Does this not mean we can cross the river from anywhere we choose? That being the case, if our army crosses at Cangting, not only will we suddenly appear behind the Han army, but Deputy Commanders Liang and Zhang in Dongwuyang will surely see us as well. When the time comes, not only can we cross the river at leisure under their protective cover, but we might even be able to launch a pincer attack and win a complete victory in one stroke!"

Bu Ji pondered this over and over, and finally clenched his fist and smashed it down on the battlements: "Commander Wang, why be overly modest? This is an exceedingly brilliant strategy! I entreat you, Commander Wang, to take command of the naval forces, carefully handle any Han boats, and head for Cangting... We shall cross the river from Cangting and fight to the death!"

Seeing that the other man, disregarding his three previous defeats, was once again entrusting him with heavy responsibility, Wang Du was overwhelmed with gratitude. He immediately prostrated himself and swore an oath of allegiance.

Three days later, Shen Pei, who was stationed to guard the Yellow River, personally delivered the news to the Han army camp outside Dongwuyang that the Puyang Yellow Turbans were moving downstream and assembling at Cangting.

Gongsun Xun, seated in the center of the military tent, threw his head back and laughed heartily upon hearing the report. After his laughter subsided, he looked toward three imposing, armored men with unfamiliar faces in the tent:

"Demou, Suqing, and Cheng Lian—do the three of you still worry that you came too late and will return without merit? In my view, all our arduous efforts these past days seem to have been merely laying the groundwork for you!"

Hearing these words, Shen Pei stroked his beard and gripped his sword, unable to resist scrutinizing them repeatedly.

—————I am the scrutinizing dividing line—————

"Xun was about to cross the river. On the embankment, he took Cheng Li by the hand and bade farewell: 'The Han house is toppling; this is precisely the time for heroes to stake their lives. Lord Cheng, your talent and wisdom surpass others—you should rise to the occasion!' Li was moved by his words, yet citing his age and concern for his homeland, ultimately did not assent. After returning, Li dreamed at night of lifting the sun from Mount Tai. Reflecting that Xun's courtesy name corresponded exactly to this omen, he sighed without cease through the night. The next day, he changed his name to Cheng Yu, to spur himself for the future and never again miss a Heaven-sent opportunity." — Records of Heroes at the End of Han, by Wang Can

PS: Reiterating, for everyone's health, please do not wait up at night... It is strongly recommended to read every morning.

Also, there is a reader group, 684558115. Feel free to join if interested.

(End of Chapter)