[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-239":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing Han",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1222998,1620,"Chapter 239: On a Summer Day, Cao Mengde Harbors Frost and Snow in His Heart","overthrowing-han-chapter-239",239,"\u003Cp>In late May, in the afternoon, at Changshe in Yingchuan Commandery, Yuzhou, the blazing sun burned fiercely.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What exactly does that General of the Household of All Purposes mean by this?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>On the walls of Changshe, gazing at the dense, vast encampment of the Yellow Turban army to the west, Zhu Jun—whose temperament was famously fiery—could not contain his indignation and actually slammed a fist against the city wall. \"Our forty thousand troops are trapped here by a hundred thousand rebels. He brings such a massive force, yet only camps behind the Wei River over ten li away and sits by watching! It has been three days; why is there still no movement? If he could lead his army across the river, given the Yellow Turban rebels' fighting ability, with us attacking from both sides, the rebels would have collapsed and fled long ago!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gongwei, please calm yourself for a moment.\" Having spent over ten days together, Huangfu Song, now past fifty, had long since learned the other man's temper, and so he smiled and added at once, \"Although Colonel Gongsun's force is vast, ten thousand of those men were recruited on the spot in Dong Commandery and are unfit for battle. And if he were to rashly cross the river with only ten thousand troops to aid us here, I fear he would instead have to worry about his rear...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Yizhen, do you mean... he is too timid to fight?\" Zhu Jun immediately sneered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could that be?\" Huangfu Song gazed north toward the faintly visible Wei River and let out a long sigh. \"Judging by his past conduct and battle record, how could he possibly be afraid to fight? By my guess, he must be pondering a way to defeat the enemy.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then he simply does not wish to fight.\" Zhu Jun still sneered coldly. \"Would crossing the river with his entire army to attack not be a way to defeat the enemy? His inaction now is nothing more than wanting to see us humiliated, or even waiting for our army to fight a desperate battle so he can reap all the credit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Colonel!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At that moment, before Huangfu Song could offer further counsel, two men suddenly stepped forward from the side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>One of them, with a heroic bearing, thick eyebrows, and sharp eyes, wore a red scarf on his head and spoke with a Xu-Yang accent. He was none other than the hero of Wu Commandery who had once taken part in the campaign against Mount Danhan, the Major Aiding the Army, Sun Jian, Sun Wentai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The other man, standing eight chi tall, had a dignified and striking appearance, wore a sword and a he-feathered cap, yet had pure, clear eyes and spoke the refined accent of Luoyang. He was Gongsun Xun's junior fellow disciple, a scion of a prominent northern family, the Major Protecting the Army, Fu Xie, Fu Nanrong.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two men had vied to speak, and then Fu Xie politely stepped back half a pace on the battlements, while Sun Jian did not stand on ceremony.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General,\" Sun Wentai said earnestly, \"In the past, when I followed Colonel Zang beyond the frontier to strike Mount Danhan, I was once ordered to deliver a message to Xia Yu. At that time, the entire army retreated; only General Gongsun alone led his troops forward, burned Mount Danhan, and returned. The whole army relied on him for their survival... From that moment I knew he was a true hero! Forgive my impertinence, but such a hero is certainly not the sort to sit back and reap the spoils!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Colonel,\" Fu Xie also cupped his hands and said, \"General Gongsun and I studied together under our esteemed teacher, Master Liu. Although the time we spent together was not long, since he was held in high regard by Master Liu and always praised, I believe he would certainly not commit any dishonorable act!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed,\" Sun Jian spoke again. \"On my journey here from Xuzhou, I heard people say that after General Gongsun defeated the Yellow Turbans in Guangyang, he disregarded the law, crossed borders to strike the rebels, and volunteered to march south. His words included the phrase 'not failing the realm,' which stirred the heart with heroic passion and still leaves one's emotions unsettled.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It should be noted that Sun Jian was Zhu Jun's junior protégé, commanding over a thousand Huai-Yang sons he had personally recruited; Fu Xie was Huangfu Song's junior protégé from Liangzhou and also came from a prominent northern family... Both men currently served as Army Majors with a thousand-dan salary, each leading an independent force. Their status, position, and the trust placed in them were all notable before the two Staff-Bearing Colonels.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Therefore, when the two of them spoke up together, it caused Zhu Jun and Huangfu Song's expressions to shift. Moreover, openly disparaging a Staff-Bearing Colonel of equal rank was, after all, somewhat excessive, so they could only offer a few embarrassed remarks and say no more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of course, saying no more did not mean these two Staff-Bearing Colonels had no thoughts on the matter.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, Zhu Jun was famously \"unyielding.\" Historically, he remained \"unyielding\" from youth until death, providing a perfect annotation for that character in the annals of history. So, although he refrained from further comment out of consideration for those around him urging restraint, he harbored a persistent prejudice in his heart against Gongsun Xun for not crossing the river.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for Huangfu Song, who had always been adept at handling people, he had his own thoughts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huangfu Song also had objections, but his objection was not directed at Gongsun Xun personally, but at Gongsun Xun's relief force... To be honest, he had never imagined that his temporary feint of weakness would prompt the court to urgently dispatch an additional relief force!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>There was no helping it—who could have foreseen that Gongsun Xun would annihilate the Dong Commandery Yellow Turbans in a single battle in just twenty days and sweep them away completely?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But... it truly was not needed. He, Huangfu Song, had genuinely only been feigning weakness before the enemy! He had already found a way to defeat the enemy and was preparing to seize the right moment to execute it, when suddenly this relief force arrived, which instead made Bo Cai, who had already relaxed his guard, considerably more vigilant, did it not?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be understood that the Yellow Turban commander before them, Bo Cai, was born into a great clan of Yingchuan. He had begun managing household affairs and directing the activities of the Taiping Dao in Yingchuan from a very early age, and could be considered to have the experience of a ruler. And as a scion of a powerful family raised in Yingchuan, he would certainly have been educated, and he was also in his prime.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, in Huangfu Song's view, this man indeed possessed some intellect and caliber, even a natural talent for military command. Otherwise, he would not have defeated Zhu Jun, seized the opportunity to press close to Changshe, and managed a hundred thousand troops in such good order. One could even say that the man's sole flaw was his lack of military experience, which was why he had revealed such an obvious opening.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And now, with this man suddenly on high alert, the somewhat surprise-attack-like stratagem in Huangfu Yizhen's mind inevitably had a considerably reduced chance of success—truly a hindrance!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, Gongsun Xun's arrival had left both Staff-Bearing Colonels somewhat displeased!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But displeased or not... the battle still had to be fought!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this very moment, not counting laborers and logistics, a hundred thousand Yellow Turban troops were west of Changshe, their camps stretching over twenty li in a continuous line from south of Changshe city to the Wei River in the north! And the Han army had twenty thousand inside Changshe city and twenty thousand east of the city, a total of forty thousand men linked together in a firm defense!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, the Yellow Turban army, backed by the almost entirely fallen Yingchuan and Nanyang, had ample supplies, with laborers constantly transporting provisions and equipment; the Han army, backed by Chenliu, could barely maintain its supply line... Thus, the two armies were half in a standoff, half in a siege, the situation extremely tense.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And finally, there were another twenty thousand relief troops who had swept in from Dong Commandery, separated by a mere Wei River, sitting and watching the standoff of a hundred and forty thousand troops, stirring the situation into something even more delicate.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General, have a melon!\" Wei Yue rode up from the north bank of the Wei River, and surprisingly produced half a basket of melons from behind his horse. He personally selected the largest one, washed it clean in the river, and then respectfully offered it to Gongsun Xun.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun, in a light single robe with his hair bound, was at that moment sitting upright beneath a large tree on a small slope on the north bank of the Wei River, gazing into the distance at the Yellow Turban main camp on the opposite shore. With the summer breeze blowing gently before him, pleasant shade overhead, and the ceaseless flow of water at his feet, he was already feeling refreshed and clear-headed. And now, with a melon to eat as well, he had unexpectedly found a rare moment of comfort amidst the battlefield.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Mengde, won't you come eat a melon?\" Gongsun Xun raised his melon from afar in greeting to Cao Cao, who stood barefoot in the river. \"You've been staring at the opposite bank for half the day... aren't you tired?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"With the rebel army so overwhelmingly powerful, how could I have the heart to eat melon?\" Cao Cao replied without turning his head. \"Wenqi, the rebels number a hundred thousand, their camps stretching twenty li, and we are merely facing them across the river?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what do you think I should do? Or does Brother Mengde have another decision in mind?\" Gongsun Xun asked indifferently, breaking open the fragrant melon in his hand.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, in this era, watermelon, like grapes, was not yet widespread, but fragrant melon was a native crop and extremely common.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Historically, it is clearly recorded that there were summer melon sellers in the Eastern Wu market; even Sun Jian's ancestors on the opposite bank at this time had made their fortune growing melons. The characters for \"melon and fruit\" in Han dynasty poetry are even more ubiquitous... and one imagines they mostly referred to fragrant melon rather than watermelon.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In other words, Gongsun Xun, this melon-eating bystander, was somewhat degrading himself... A dignified Staff-Bearing General of the Household of All Purposes, bearing double seals and double ribbons, hailed as a famed general of the realm, yet he could not even afford a watermelon! No wonder Cao Mengde, who had spent his time in Luoyang, looked down on him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I...\" Cao Cao had intended to say he would lead his own few thousand troops across the river first to provide relief, but as he eyed the dense Yellow Turban main camp on the opposite bank, his courage failed him, and he swallowed his words. \"I mean, the current situation is as precarious as a stack of eggs...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"A stack of eggs?!\" Gongsun Xun spat out a few melon seeds, the mockery on his face all too obvious. \"Though the other side has a hundred thousand troops, Generals Huangfu and Zhu also have forty thousand troops there, and a city to rely on... How has such a situation become as precarious as a stack of eggs?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed, forty thousand troops with a strong city to rely on, and elite court forces at that—such a military force facing a hundred thousand Yellow Turban rebels is more accurately called a standoff than a siege, is it not?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In such a situation, where is the need for us to go rescue them?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The weather is too hot; better to stay here and rest a few more days.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If you ask me, let them fight until they've beaten each other's brains out, then we cross the river with the whole army and strike the rebels fiercely from behind. At that time, the rebel leaders will surely be captured by us, and we should have the most heads...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yue and several Northern Army Majors, having gotten along extremely well, ate melon while echoing Gongsun Xun, but these flattering words grew more and more outrageous as they spoke.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The government troops are still at a disadvantage, and they can indeed be considered trapped.\" Cao Cao, narrowing his eyes, walked up from the river and immediately interrupted and corrected Wei Yue and the Northern Army officers' words. \"General Huangfu and General Zhu are not trapped inside Changshe city, but trapped at Changshe... The key to this is the Wei River.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun could not help but glance at Cao Mengde, who had hit the nail on the head regarding the Han army's predicament. This fellow was indeed a born general; he had only been leading troops for a few days and already possessed such insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The Wei River before us flows from west to east,\" Cao Mengde continued to speak eloquently to the Northern Army officers and Wei Yue. \"But ten li downstream from us, it abruptly turns southward, enveloping Changshe city. And although this river is not very wide, and can even be navigated by boat to transport supplies, attempting to force a crossing of forty thousand troops right in front of a hundred thousand Yellow Turban rebels is nothing short of a fool's dream... The so-called trapped government troops are actually trapped by the Yellow Turban rebels in front of this Wei River! The current situation is that the government troops at Changshe dare not cross the river, nor dare they abandon the city, as if trapped in a death zone, while the rebels have no such concerns!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having said this, Cao Cao once again came barefoot before Gongsun Xun and asked with a serious expression: \"Wenqi... although this situation cannot be called as precarious as a stack of eggs, since our army has been ordered to come here and provide relief, we cannot simply watch the fire from across the river forever, can we? If this drags on, the morale of our friendly forces in Changshe city will gradually decline, and Luoyang will also grow increasingly anxious.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Here, eat a melon!\" Gongsun Xun broke open a second melon and handed half to Cao Mengde before him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Mengde did not take the melon, only shaking his head repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun found this increasingly amusing: \"Is Mengde very close with Lord Zhu and Lord Huangfu? Or is it that the troops there all come from the Northern Army and are mostly acquaintances of yours?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is not for personal reasons,\" Cao Cao said with rare seriousness. \"Wenqi, when we first set out, following you as we shifted battlefields across the Great River, I only felt the haste of military life and could not yet discern the broader situation. But from the battle in Dong Commandery until now, everything I have seen...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What of everything you have seen?\" Gongsun Xun asked indifferently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The tragic events on the Dong Commandery river embankment are one thing—after all, that was a battlefield,\" Cao Cao sighed in reply. \"I speak only of the entire army passing through Chenliu... This place can almost be called my homeland; it is where I used to travel back and forth habitually... Yet the former prosperity has vanished overnight. Moreover, the fields lie barren, the common people are displaced, and bandits rise everywhere! Wenqi, this great chaos has only been underway for just over three months, and already the situation is like this. If it drags on for a long time, what will become of things then?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun remained unmoved, merely continuing to eat his melon: \"And what does Brother Mengde think will happen then?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How would I know?\" At this, Cao Mengde looked up to the sky and said, \"When we first set out on this campaign, I was appointed Cavalry Commandant, leaping to a rank of two thousand dan. At that time, I thought only of establishing merit and a career, and even wrote to Miaocai at home, saying my 'aspirations harbored frost and snow.' Yet now, in this unbearable summer heat, I think of only one thing along the way: that summer is easy to endure, but when the days of frost and snow arrive, what will be the plight of the scholars and commoners in the countryside of Chenliu, Pei, and Liang?... And it turns out, that too is 'aspirations harboring frost and snow'!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Cao spoke these words with extreme sincerity and from a very lofty perspective.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>His earlier \"frost and snow\" that \"cherished frost and snow in his heart\" was a refined way of saying cold steel and white blades — in other words, when Cao Cao wrote to Xiahou Yuan, he was hinting that by joining the army this time, he intended to carve out a future with blade and spear, harboring an immensely romantic reverie about the military life.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet this latter \"frost and snow\" was the genuine, literal meaning of frost and snow, extended to reflect the hardships of the common people — in other words, at this moment Cao Cao actually possessed something akin to a deep reflection on the collapse of social order!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Gongsun Xun looked at the short-statured man before him, and yet felt not the slightest stirring in his heart... After all, the man before him was Cao Mengde. After such great chaos, whose heart was not moved, whose heart was not unsettled? If this \"Wei Wu\" from another timeline had not developed even a shred of a statesman's awareness from this, then it would only prove that the Cao Mengde before him was a fake!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Right? A man like Cao Mengde is, after all, Cao Mengde — not Wei Yue, who only knows how to pick melons for people.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With this thought, Gongsun Xun stopped looking at Cao Mengde and instead abruptly turned his head to fix his gaze on Wei Yue.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Zidu, unnerved by the stare, immediately threw down the melon rind in his hand and stood up obediently.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I ask you,\" Gongsun Xun questioned with a dark face. \"Where did the melon come from?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Reporting to my lord!\" Wei Yue immediately breathed a sigh of relief and hurriedly explained. \"Just five li behind the camp, there is a huge melon field...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Did you pay?\" Gongsun Xun cut him off abruptly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yue was suddenly stunned as well, and only after a long while did he stammer an explanation: \"With over a hundred thousand troops gathered here, the people have long since fled completely clean. In that hamlet over there, there's only an old man serving as the hamlet gate warden still watching the place...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wei Zidu,\" Gongsun Xun grew increasingly impatient. \"Just because people have left, can you simply take things? And you also know there is still an elder keeping watch in the hamlet? Are you short these few coins for a melon?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The summer wind blew fiercely, rustling the great tree overhead noisily. Everyone by the riverbank dared not make a sound, and Wei Yue also felt somewhat helpless and aggrieved.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Company Commander Wei!\" Gongsun Xun finally sighed. \"Do you understand or not? I am the commanding general, and you are my subordinate. Since this melon was meant for me to eat, if you had paid, then I would be receiving your hospitality — good for you, good for me, good for everyone. But if you did not pay, then it is I, your superior, who lacks virtue... And are you really short this melon money? Must you force me to cut my hair in place of my head to set the record straight?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yue dared not waste another word. He immediately kowtowed to beg forgiveness, then swiftly mounted his horse and went off to deliver the payment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Correspondingly, Cao Cao, who was still tilting his head upward in the pose of \"cherishing frost and snow in his heart,\" heard these piercing words and could not help but want to speak.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just at that moment, a rider suddenly galloped over from the camp behind them, brushed past Wei Yue, and swiftly tumbled from the saddle before Gongsun Xun, saluting respectfully:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, the two gentlemen Lu and Lou, as well as the two commanders Shen and Dong, request that you return to camp at once. They say that all the commanders and company commanders who went out scouting early this morning have completed their reconnaissance and have each returned!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Scouting for what?\" Cao Mengde asked, lowering his head as the opportunity arose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I had Yunzhang, Yide, Suqing, Zijing, and the others each lead squads, splitting the troops into two routes — the Bingzhou officers going downstream, the Youzhou officers going upstream — to search for places suitable for the army to cross the river covertly!\" Gongsun Xun rose abruptly, explaining as he walked on foot back toward the main camp behind them.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Several Northern Army officers, who had likewise been kept in the dark, looked at each other in bewilderment, then hurriedly followed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And Cao Cao was instantly overjoyed as well, and was about to return to camp accordingly. Yet the moment he moved, he realized he was not wearing his shoes... Looking down, he then saw the half piece of golden-yellow fragrant melon still sitting on the grassy riverbank.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Mengde put on his shoes, conveniently grabbed the melon, and took a muffled bite. Before he could hurry to catch up with Gongsun Xun, he was already secretly praising it in his heart:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This melon... is truly fragrant!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—————I am the truly fragrant dividing line—————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Earlier, the Han army of forty thousand was besieged at Changshe by the Yellow Turban rebel Bo Cai's one hundred thousand troops. The situation was precarious as a pile of eggs, and within the city, morning and evening alike were filled with alarm. Xun, having just pacified the rebels of Dong Commandery, received an imperial decree to lead his troops to Changshe. He then approached the Wei River but would not cross, and behind his camp there were several mu of melon fields. Day and night he merely led the army's captains to the riverbank to taste melons and gaze upon the battle lines, pointing out the rivers and mountains. The rebels saw this from afar and all laughed. Cao, serving at the time as Xun's deputy, also urged him: 'We and the various armies at Changshe all share the bond of comrades-in-arms. If we sit by and watch without rescuing them, knowing only to eat melons by the river, I fear we shall be ridiculed by all the heroes of the realm.' Xun smiled but did not reply. In the city, Left General of the Household Zhu Jun, by nature stern, climbed the walls and saw this, and his indignation grew even greater. Only Right General of the Household Huangfu Song, seeing this, advised him: 'Gongsun of Liaoxi I have never met, but observing his past deeds, I firmly know that he cherishes frost and snow in his heart and harbors stratagems in his mind. Now that he draws the bow but does not release, there must be a subsequent move. Let us observe him.'\" — Records of Heroes at the End of Han, by Wang Can\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Borrowing a title from Zui Fengliu... \"Cherishing frost and snow in the heart\" actually comes from Kong Rong's \"Memorial Recommending Mi Heng\"... Tsk tsk, the big shots have mischievous tastes too. And then, requesting recommendation tickets!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",3971,"2026-06-04T19:42:26.060Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","e8900f13e33fdf90e70e5e1364f728ee988200a516525bf2b4550007dfdef161","overthrowing-han-chapter-240","overthrowing-han-chapter-238",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]