Chapter 241: Sun Wentai Presses Forward Without Obstacle

At midnight, Sun Jian attended the impromptu military council, then hurried back to his encampment. His band of heroes from Xu and Yang provinces, most of whom lacked the rank to take part in the council, quickly gathered around him, asking what had happened.

"Just as General Huangfu surmised earlier, the Gongsun General of the Household over by the Wei River had a plan all along." Sun Jian was direct and to the point, laying everything out. "And he actually planned to use fire, exactly as General Huangfu intended... Gongyi (Jiang Qin's courtesy name) had barely left when they independently sent a company commander named Chu Yan to coordinate. Word is that by now the White Horse General has already led ten thousand riders circling around the Wei River, and by early morning they should reach the southern end of the enemy camp to set the fire!"

"Then what are we supposed to do? Weren't we told our unit would be the vanguard to start the fire?" The speaker was Zu Mao, courtesy name Darong, a man from Sun Jian's own Wu Commandery and a confidant among confidants, so he spoke without any restraint. "Doesn't this mean the merit that was in our hands is gone?"

At these words, quite a few nodded in agreement.

However, one man of imposing bearing standing beside Sun Jian frowned slightly at this, and did not hesitate to object publicly: "A thousand men risking death in a sortie was always a desperate gamble to begin with. If Gongsun Zhonglang has ten thousand riders to shoulder this heavy task, doesn't that only raise our chances of breaking the enemy? Why fret over this? Is it not better that fewer men die? Better to rest first and follow the main army out of the city at dawn to destroy the foe!"

When this man spoke, those around him all looked somewhat abashed, or at least found it hard to argue back. The reason was that this man, named Zhu Zhi with the courtesy name Junli, was different from the others who followed Sun Jian. Men like Zu Mao and Jiang Qin were purely the scions of local powerful families, serving Sun Jian with their martial prowess; others like Wu Jing, Sun Jian's brother-in-law, Sun Jing, his own younger brother, Sun Ben, his eldest nephew, and Xu Zhen, his brother-in-law... these men had no real decision-making power before Sun Wentai. At most they could grumble a bit, but the moment Sun Jian waved his hand and declared how things would be, they would all shut their mouths.

But Zhu Zhi was truly different. This Zhu Junli had been formally nominated as Filial and Incorrupt and had already risen to the post of Provincial Retainer. The reason he was following Sun Wentai now was because of an official assignment from the Yang Province authorities!

In other words, among these thousand-plus sons of Xu and Yang, he was a partner, not a hired hand. He was qualified to voice his own personal opinion without deferring to Sun Jian.

Of course, this time Zhu Zhi's objection was destined to be meaningless.

"Enough talk from everyone." Sun Jian rested his hand on the ancient ingot-hilted sword at his waist and spoke with lofty resolve. "During the council earlier, the General of the Household of the Right already made the decision... our unit remains the vanguard, and we are to leave the city tonight. We must set the fire before the General of the Household of All Purposes arrives! Each of you get ready. In an hour and a half, follow me in a silent sortie through the south gate. We must be in position before daybreak!"

Zhu Zhi was immediately at a loss for words, while Zu Mao and the others were not exactly overjoyed either... it was far too rushed. The soldiers would not even have time to rest properly, and it was a night battle to boot. One could even imagine that in the haste, they probably had not even gathered enough kindling!

But since Sun Jian had spoken, as said before, apart from Zhu Zhi, the rest could only obey orders.

Seeing the others disperse to make preparations, Sun Jian rested his hand on his sword and looked squarely at the hesitant Zhu Zhi: "Junli, you are not like those fools. You have a bright future ahead of you, and this battle is indeed perilous. Perhaps you should stay behind and guard the city..."

"What is Sima saying?" Zhu Zhi immediately laughed awkwardly. "Since the army has already made its decision, how could I cling to life and fear death? It is just that..."

"Just what?"

"Just that I beg Sima not to deceive me. This battle is clearly optional — why must we take this risk?" Zhu Zhi composed himself and asked in a low voice. "Is it that the two generals in the city wish to contend for merit with that general by the Wei River?"

"Perhaps," Sun Jian admitted frankly. "But to me it makes no difference. I too want to stake everything and see if I can achieve this extraordinary merit... After all, if we truly manage to set the fire, that White Horse General surely won't steal the credit, will he?"

Zhu Zhi was taken aback. Only after a long pause did he ask in return: "So, this battle was proposed by the two generals, and Sima took it upon himself to accept?"

"Indeed." Sun Jian remained forthright. "It was proposed by the General of the Household of the Right (Zhu Jun), and I volunteered to take it on."

"Why?" Zhu Zhi could not help but grow exasperated. "Setting aside how perilous this battle is, the key point is that it is unnecessary..."

"Junli!" Sun Jian rested his hand on his sword and looked at him, speaking softly. "A true man living in this world — the most important thing is never to fail others. The General of the Household of the Right retreated here in defeat. If he gains no merit in breaking the enemy and is punished for it in the future, how could my heart be at ease?"

Zhu Zhi was momentarily speechless. How could he not know that Sun Jian's current post as Thousand-Dan Sima was entirely due to Zhu Jun's recommendation?

"And besides," Sun Jian continued with a smile, "is it not all for the sake of the state, killing rebels? Surely no one can say that if we rush ahead of that White Horse General and set the fire, we are sabotaging the battle plan?"

Zhu Zhi wanted to speak but held back.

"Furthermore," Sun Jian suddenly sighed with a faint smile, "I too am unwilling to accept it... We are all men of similar age. That man has already 'not failed the world,' while I cannot even manage not to fail myself. A fine man born into this world, in an age when the realm is in turmoil — why can I, Sun Jian of Wu Commandery, not establish deeds and merit, and then go on to not fail the world?"

Zhu Zhi fell silent. He very much wanted to ask: with such actions, you may indeed not fail Zhu Jun, nor fail your own aspirations, but have you failed these thousand sons of Xu and Yang? But after pondering it again and again, in the end he could only bow in farewell and go back to don his armor and prepare.

Seeing this, Sun Jian naturally said no more. He simply put on his own armor, then sat upright before the encampment, resting with his eyes closed.

An hour and a half later, by rough reckoning — summer days dawn early — there was only about an hour left until daybreak. The various commanders had all finished their preparations and each led their troops to report. Sun Wentai opened his eyes, said not a word, and simply led the thousand-plus sons of Xu and Yang toward the south of the city. There, as expected, were some pack horses, torches, firewood, and the like, all prepared in advance... just as everyone had guessed, nothing was lacking, but nothing was abundant either. But having come this far, Sun Jian had no mind to complain. He simply gave a lofty salute to Zhu Jun, who had come to see them off, received these supplies, and carefully led his men out of the city under cover of night.

It is said that the darkness grows thickest just before dawn. Sun Wentai led his thousand-plus troops cautiously southward. Along the way they dared not make a loud noise, dared not mount and ride swiftly, dared not light torches to illuminate the path — and yet the enemy camp of a hundred thousand was right beside them. Truly, as he himself had said earlier, this battle was perilous in the extreme!

One could even say that from the moment they left the city, this force, advancing cautiously through the dark guided only by the stars, had already put life and death out of mind.

As for Gongsun Xun?

Were the two even comparable?

Ten thousand cavalry brought their own combat power. Ten thousand men with ample kindling setting fires together would inevitably succeed, and they could advance or retreat freely. But what about Sun Jian here? Could he guarantee the fire would catch at once? If discovered, could he hold out? The most critical point was that the main army inside the city could not effectively mobilize and sally forth in response until full daylight. In other words, Sun Jian and his men had to ensure the fire was still burning at dawn... Ideally, they would remain concealed and set the fire just before daybreak; or else, they would have to hold the fire against a hundred thousand Yellow Turban rebels until dawn!

The former was heaven-level difficulty; the latter was hell-level difficulty. Yet Sun Jian still marched out!

And without the slightest hesitation!

That said, Sun Jian's luck this time was not bad. They had advanced four or five li, and were only three encampments away from their target — the southernmost tip of the Yellow Turban main camp — and still had not been discovered. But that was as far as it went. In the pitch-black night, one company of Sun Jian's newly recruited Yang Province troops blundered and stumbled headlong into a Yellow Turban encampment.

The Yellow Turban rebels were instantly thrown into great alarm, then realized what was happening!

And, as it happened, the commander of this unit was none other than the most independent man in Sun Jian's detached force — Zhu Zhi.

"Brother-in-law!" Wu Jing, who had been following close behind Sun Jian, asked in panic. "What do we do?"

Sun Wentai, unhurried and unflustered, merely gave his brother-in-law an odd look: "In a situation like this, what else is there to do?"

"Brother-in-law, I mean we could take advantage of the rebels' confusion and slip away!" Wu Jing said through gritted teeth. "Compassion does not command troops. Besides, Zhu Zhi has always been arrogant and aloof in camp — he was never one of us to begin with. Let him stay here and draw their attention while we seize the chance to speed forward. Wouldn't that..."

Halfway through his words, Wu Jing obediently shut his mouth, because Sun Jian had already taken a torch from a nearby nag, and lit it with his own hands!

In the flickering firelight, this hero of Wu Commandery held the torch aloft in one hand and drew his ancient ingot-hilted sword with the other. He spoke with awe-inspiring authority to his subordinates around him: "Gentlemen, those trapped in the rebel camp are sons of Xu and Yang who have marched a thousand li alongside us... I will not ask you whether they should be abandoned. Those willing to follow me, light your torches and press forward without obstacle! Those unwilling, take advantage of the dusk and flee east on your own!"

As soon as he finished speaking, a serpent of flame ignited one after another. Even Wu Jing silently raised a torch.

Seeing this, Sun Wentai did not bother to rouse morale any further. He simply mounted a nag, charged straight for the enemy camp, and just before reaching it, let out a great shout toward the panicked rebels:

"Sun Jian of Wu Commandery is here!"

With that, he hurled the torch with all his might, then struck his horse with the flat of his blade, and truly surged forward without obstacle, leaping into the enemy camp.

Inspired by their Sima, the thousand-odd Han troops all raised their torches, turned, and charged straight into the enemy camp, setting fires and slaying foes as they went. The Yellow Turbans, already attacked at night and thrown into panic, now thought the entire Han army was launching a major assault! In the chaos, the pressure on Zhu Zhi's side naturally eased dramatically.

In truth, in the darkness, when Zhu Zhi heard Sun Jian shout his own name from afar, he had already given a rueful laugh, and then, heedless of all else, drawn his blade and fought his way over to join him.

"What is going on here?"

Half a watch later, over a dozen li away, after rounding a small slope, Cao Mengde reined in his horse beside Gongsun Xun in astonishment, staring blankly at the faint firelight to the southeast.

"It must be that the two at Changshe got word and sent troops out overnight," Gongsun Xun said, gazing into the distance. Yet he showed neither joy nor anger; his tone was even somewhat indifferent.

"Then what should we do?" Cao Cao asked, bewildered.

It was not just Cao Cao — the Han commanders who had just crossed in secret from the upper reaches of the Wei River all gathered around Gongsun Xun.

"In this situation, the enemy has surely been alerted, hasn't he?" Gongsun Yue frowned. "And this fire is so small — clearly it hasn't caught properly."

"Hard to say," Lou Gui said nervously from the side. "In my view, while the fire indeed hasn't caught and the rebels have indeed been alerted by the commotion, after this disturbance the Yellow Turban rebels will all have their attention fixed over there. Perhaps this is actually the better moment for our troops to advance covertly..."

"Why still advance covertly?" Gongsun Xun was decisive. "The entire army is to remove their gag-sticks, the horses their muzzle-ties, and gallop at full speed. We will link up with them there and set the fire... and this battle will begin from there!"

The entire army immediately felt as though they had found their backbone. No longer concerned with contending for merit or stealing credit, each commander returned to his own unit to relay the orders. The ten thousand cavalry who had just crossed the river shed their restraints and, in the thick darkness before dawn, galloped at full speed toward the firelight.

Fu Xie and Jiang Qin had originally wanted to offer some advice — they had probably guessed that the ones fighting there now were none other than Sun Jian, or at least that Sun Jian was involved — but now there was no need to waste words.

As Gongsun Xun led his forces quickening their pace, galloping toward the firelight, he could not help but change expression again and again. From afar, the commotion at the firelight was not great — clearly the blaze had not formed into a proper conflagration — yet it still pressed forward irresistibly like a firestorm consuming a city, spreading steadily from south to north!

Clearly, the line of fire was the line of battle. This small band of arsonists clearly possessed ferocious fighting strength — though they failed to start the fire, they smashed through one rebel camp after another, advancing unstoppably wherever they went!

Gongsun Xun thought of Jiang Qin, who had come with Fu Xie to see him, and suddenly realized who was fighting over there. He could not help but feel deep admiration for this Sun Wentai, whom he had never met… One could only say, this man truly lived up to the name Tiger of Jiangdong!

However, turning to the Yellow Turban main camp, this Tiger of Jiangdong had nearly fallen into a desperate situation:

First, he had too few men, and the fire-starting materials hastily prepared were indeed insufficient. After half a shichen of bitter fighting, he still had not managed to ignite a great blaze;

Second, there were no reinforcements… This was not the fault of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, because before daybreak, the main army inside and behind the city simply could not organize a sortie, and sending only a small force to support him would have been utterly pointless with the Yellow Turban rebels already fully roused;

Third, the Yellow Turban rebels indeed responded appropriately. Bo Cai faced danger without fear — he continuously sent reinforcements to block Sun Jian, while ordering every camp to prepare for battle with utmost caution, and at the same time had men constantly dismantle the camp palisades to prevent the fire from spreading. It was precisely this that forced Sun Jian to fight his way through camp after camp;

Finally, Sun Wentai had actually been struck in the forehead by an arrow very early on!

Thanks to the red scarf on his forehead, this arrow did not strike a vital spot, and he tore it off on the spot. But the enemies around him were far too many and came in endless waves; moreover, Sun Jian repeatedly charged and fought at the very front, leaving him no time at all to tend to the wound. As a result, blood kept flowing ceaselessly from beneath where the red scarf had been! After half a shichen of fierce battle, the blood had long since plastered over his eyes and even his entire face. Losing full vision in the darkness, and bleeding continuously, his whole body began to sway and totter.

After wiping the sticky blood from his eyes with one swipe, Sun Jian saw through the slit of his eyelids yet another wave of Yellow Turban rebels reinforcing from outside the camp. He suddenly felt a wave of exhaustion!

"Darong! Junli!" Sun Jian narrowed his eyes, swung his blade, and cut down a reckless Yellow Turban squad leader in one stroke, startling several rebel soldiers into retreating and fleeing. He seized the moment to shout fiercely, "Come to my side!"

Zu Mao and Zhu Zhi were already utterly exhausted, but upon hearing this, they fought with renewed ferocity and began cutting their way toward Sun Jian.

"Youtai and I will hold the rear for you!" In the darkness and firelight, Sun Jian could not see where the others were at all. He could only narrow his eyes to avoid the blood from his forehead and shout with all his might. "My eldest brother died young — you must help me bring Sun Ben out! As for my wife's younger brother, save him if you can… You two each possess both civil and military talent; do not throw your lives away here for my sake!"

"I will not leave!" Sun Ben was the first to cry out. He had been at Sun Jian's side all along. "Where is the principle of the nephew leaving while the uncle stays to hold the rear?"

"What words are these, Sima?" Zhu Zhi, having just cut down a Yellow Turban soldier, answered in response. "You did not betray me before — how could I betray you now? Having received the grace of one who saved my life, I must repay it with my own life for all my days. Though I, Zhu Zhi, am but a common fellow from Wu Commandery, do I not understand this principle?"

"Well said!" Zu Mao could not help but shout from afar as well — his voice was actually even more distant. "Though I may not grasp as many principles as Attendant Zhu, you, Sima, are the superior, the lord; I am the subordinate, the vassal… It has always been that the vassal dies for the lord — where is the principle of the lord dying for the vassal? In my view, the rebels are too many; today we die together, and that is all there is to it!"

Sun Jian laughed heartily, then could not help but raise his head to the heavens and sigh: "A pity we are missing one Jiang Gongyi. With his heroic spirit, he would surely have stood among us. I wonder whether that is a good thing or a bad thing?"

The group all burst into laughter at these words, clearly regarding death as going home, yet their heroic spirit surged together, and they fought on with even greater ferocity. However, they had not fought for even half a ke before, just as this band of Xu and Yang heroes, resolved to die, increasingly believed they would all lose their lives here — suddenly, the ground began to tremble, and then the pressure of the battle before them abruptly vanished… Clearly, one wave of rebels had been beaten back, but no fresh troops came to replace them.

The night had not yet faded, and the others of course did not understand why. But Sun Jian had once followed Zang Min on campaigns beyond the frontier, so he understood in his heart.

This Tiger of Jiangdong leaned on his blade, closed his eyes, and slumped to the ground, then burst into loud laughter once more: "It seems we shall not die today… The White Horses of Liaoxi truly live up to their name under Heaven!"

Before the words had faded, and while Zhu Zhi and the others still did not understand, they saw countless torches flare up not far away, just as when Sun Jian had raised his torches to meet the battle earlier. Only, this wave of torches was far more numerous and moved far faster… If Sun Jian's earlier charge could be called a serpent of fire, then this one was a fire dragon!

The fire dragon roared, sweeping past this camp and charging straight toward the Yellow Turban main camp further north!

Immediately, the group could see clearly by the dim light of dawn: every rider in this fire dragon bore a bundle of firewood on their back and held a torch aloft. When they reached the front of the Yellow Turban main camp, they thrust the lit torches into the firewood bundles and hurled the whole thing into the enemy camp… With such a quantity of fire-starting material, and so many points of ignition, a great blaze instantly rose with the wind and merged into a single conflagration!

And almost at the same moment, the morning sun suddenly leaped forth… The war drums from within the city became faintly audible in the distance!

In the pale light of early morning, Sun Jian raised his head, panting heavily. Through the slit of his eyelids plastered with sticky blood, all he saw was a sea of fire before him, flames like waves, surging and unstoppable, rolling straight northward along the Yellow Turban main camp! And behind the waves of fire, in the red glow, he could faintly make out countless cavalrymen holding lances behind them — truly an unstoppable force!

"Which one is Sun Wentai?" Just as Sun Jian's heart was filled with complex emotions, a clear voice suddenly rang out beside his ear. "Which one is Sun Wentai of Wu Commandery?"

In an instant, several hundred elite warriors riding white horses surged into the ruined camp that these warriors of Wu Commandery had seized, and gradually began to call out in unison: "Which one is Sun Wentai of Wu Commandery?"

Sun Jian knew it was Gongsun Xun who had arrived. Ignoring his wounds and exhaustion, and ignoring the fact that he could only open his eyes a sliver, he forced himself to stand, raised his head proudly, and answered in a direction he was not even sure was correct: "I am Sun Jian of Wu Commandery!"

The surroundings fell momentarily quiet. Gongsun Xun followed the voice and rode over on his horse. In the morning sunlight, he saw the other man looking as though he had been fished out of a pool of blood, unable even to open his eyes, yet his bearing was majestic. His heart grew even more reverent, and he simply drew his blade on horseback and pointed it at the man from a distance: "Gentlemen, look! This man is the foremost hero of Jiangdong! Since you have followed me here, you may not know Huangfu Yizhen and Zhu Gongwei, but you cannot fail to know Sun Wentai… Pass the order: all those of Army Sima rank and above, come and behold this man first, then go and oversee the battle!"

Hearing these words, Sun Jian cast aside all the myriad thoughts in his mind. He simply closed his eyes, raised his head, leaned on his blade, and laughed long and loud without cease.

—————— I am the Unstoppable Dividing Line ——————

"Sun Jian, styled Wentai, was a man of Fuchun in Wu Commandery, and a descendant of Sun Wu… At the end of the Guanghe era, the Yellow Turbans rose, and the thirty-six divisions erupted all at once. All under Heaven answered, burning commanderies and counties, killing senior officials. The Han dispatched the General of the Left Huangfu Song and the Right General of the Household Zhu Jun to lead troops against them. Jun petitioned to appoint Jian as Assistant Army Sima, and the youths of his home district who were with him in Xiapi all wished to follow. Jian also recruited various traveling merchants and elite soldiers from the Huai and Si regions, gathering over a thousand men, and fought fiercely alongside Jun, advancing unstoppably wherever they went." — New Book of Yan, Scroll 63, Biographies 13

PS: The phrase "advancing unstoppably wherever they went" originally comes from the Records of the Three Kingdoms — one instance describes Tanshihuai, and another describes Sun Jian. Just as "driving straight in" historically belongs to Xu Huang, "advancing unstoppably wherever they went" is a phrase that belongs to Sun Jian.

(End of Chapter)