Chapter 360: The Army Marched Out, But the General Fell Before Victory Was Won

"Send men across the river!"

The spring breeze met them head-on, carrying something that made people feel restless and heated. Gongsun Xun gazed at the opposite riverbank for a long time, then suddenly issued the order.

Beneath the White Horse Banner, everyone was momentarily stunned.

"Maijin on the opposite bank has long been heavily garrisoned," Lou Gui, as Left Army Advisor and General of the Household, did not shirk his duty and hastily advised. "Now Dong Zhuo has also led his main force here, making their military strength even greater, while our army does not even have enough boats assembled. Crossing the river now would likely be futile... My lord, please reconsider."

"Moreover, the roads on the opposite bank are filled with court nobles, officials, and the people of Henan. If we engage in battle now, we will inevitably harm the innocent," Tian Feng, the Right Army Advisor and General of the Household, also voiced his opposition.

"We cross the river regardless." Gongsun Xun still narrowed his eyes, staring at the opposite bank without turning his head. "Of course I know that Maijin and Shanxian cannot be easily taken, and I do not expect any significant results after crossing. But since I have come this far, it is no longer a matter of whether it is futile or not... First, when two heroes meet, I must be the first to bare my blade to show my resolve. Second, the people of Henan on the opposite bank have been displaced and long harassed by Dong Zhuo; I must at least let them know that I, Gongsun Xun, have arrived. Third, if we can demonstrate our resolve, those Guanzhong soldiers might also exercise restraint."

Everyone suddenly understood.

"I will remain here to draw the attention of Dong Zhuo and the troops on the opposite bank," Gongsun Xun continued, clearly already having a plan in mind. "Then dispatch a small elite force to cross the river downstream and launch a minor attack..."

"That is certainly feasible," Lou Gui immediately responded.

"Indeed feasible!" Tian Feng also changed his opinion. "If my prediction is correct, there should be many scattered Henan people and court nobles behind them... We can also do our best to receive and assist some of them!"

Gongsun Xun nodded slowly.

Immediately, after some brief deliberation, the Youzhou army mobilized all the boats and ships at Dayangcheng. About three to four thousand men, aboard seventy to eighty vessels, took to the river directly in front of Dong Zhuo, immediately drawing the attention and alert of the opposite bank. Thus, at the Maijin ferry crossing in Henan, Dong Zhuo's army hurriedly formed battle lines.

However, after these boats entered the river, they stopped midstream. Instead, seven or eight small boats detached themselves, carrying sharp-tongued and loud-voiced military clerks. They passed the warships and came to within fifty or sixty paces of the southern bank, where they began to openly humiliate Dong Zhuo from behind large shields!

One shouted that whoever killed Dong Zhuo would be rewarded with a thousand gold and enfeoffed as a marquis; another shouted that Dong Zhuo was an old acquaintance of the General of the Guards, and if his corpse was kept intact, a reward of ten coins could be offered; yet another openly rebuked the Guanzhong army officers, warning that if they abetted the tyrant, the General of the Guards would cross the river and execute them without mercy; of course, there were also words of surrender and words to comfort the people of Henan on the opposite bank...

At this moment, together with the warships behind them, it all seemed like a deliberate show of force.

Therefore, as Dong Zhuo flew into a rage, his army in Henan paid no attention to the mere twenty or thirty small troop boats that seemed to have been swept downstream by the current... until Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Tian Yu, leading some Volunteer Followers and elite cavalrymen who had temporarily dismounted, came ashore downstream. They suddenly set fire outside the military camp east of Shanxian, then boarded their boats and departed moments later, continuing further east.

"This general miscalculated!" Zhang Ji, the defender of Shanxian, hastily sent men to put out the fire while hurriedly kowtowing to Dong Zhuo to beg forgiveness. "Please punish me, Chancellor."

"I do not blame you!" Dong Zhuo did not even glance at Zhang Ji. He merely rested his hands on his belt, stared at the shouting clerks in the river, and answered sternly. "Nor is there any need to mind them... They are at their wits' end and resort to such petty tricks. Otherwise, knowing Gongsun Xun's temperament, if he had even a thirty percent chance of victory, he would have personally crossed the river to attack long ago!"

Zhang Ji felt relieved for a moment.

"I will not stay here to be cursed at," Dong Zhuo suddenly flicked his sleeves and said. "For now, guard Maijin well. Once I enter Taolin Fortress to the west, I will send you new orders."

"Then what about here... what should be done?" Zhang Ji, sensing that the other party intended to reassign his position later, quickly asked further. "Please instruct me, Chancellor!"

"Do what must be done," Dong Zhuo said dismissively, beckoning to Cai Yong to join him in the carriage and leave together. "You are a General of the Household yourself, a man accustomed to commanding troops. Why would you need me to teach you? It is simply a matter of the main force holding Maijin Ferry to the death, while sending out cavalry to skirmish and wear down the enemy infantry along the river... I refuse to believe that attacking across a river, he could overturn the heavens!"

"Understood!"

Zhang Ji hastily kowtowed. By the time he raised his head again, Dong Zhuo, his face already dark and gloomy, had departed in the same carriage with Cai Yong. His main force and the numerous accompanying personnel also turned back in succession.

"Uncle!" A young junior officer nearby, seeing this, could not help but volunteer for battle. "I see the Chancellor is still in a foul mood and is merely putting on a generous front. We should still send out troops quickly! If we can achieve victory, it might make the Chancellor think more highly of us... Why don't I personally lead a company of cavalry to drive those men back to Hedong?"

"Go then!" Zhang Ji sighed but could not help adding a warning. "The soldiers under the General of the Guards are not like the trash from Guandong. Be cautious!"

This young officer was none other than Zhang Xiu. Upon hearing this, he naturally agreed wholeheartedly... However, although he was young, he was renowned for his valor in the Guanzhong army. How could he truly take the warning to heart? Moreover, young and full of spirit, he was eager to earn merit, so he hastily led a dozen personal guards and a company of cavalry straight east.

It must be said, cavalry moves extremely fast, and although the Yellow River west of Hangu Pass lacks the neat Golden Embankments, there were still embankments. Thus, Zhang Xiu still had a clear landmark to follow for a rapid pursuit... As expected, just as Dong Zhuo had returned to Shanxian city to make preparations, Zhang Xiu had already located the small harassing force that had crossed the river.

Two to three hundred men, mostly infantry, and because they had crossed by boat, they carried no long weapons. They were merely armed with sabers, with some additionally carrying shields and others bearing bows.

However, upon seeing these men, Zhang Xiu cursed his bad luck inwardly... It turned out that this unit had just received some fleeing Henan civilians, including officials, commoners, women, and children. Several boats were already fully loaded and preparing to turn back! At that moment, only a mere dozen or so people remained on the shore, unable to board in time!

He had originally hoped to kill or wound a few dozen and capture over a hundred before Dong Zhuo departed, to claim a minor victory... But what kind of victory was a mere dozen men?

Of course, unlucky as it was, in a battle between two armies, how could Zhang Xiu let such military achievements slip away? So, in his frustration, he instead spurred his horse forward, leading seven or eight personal guards to charge ahead, actually preparing to use mounted combat to cut down these men beside the solid stone embankment of the riverbank... It was only thanks to his superb horsemanship that he did not fear injuring his horse's hooves or being thrown off directly!

Returning to the scene, Zhang Xiu and his most trusted subordinate, Hu Chier, each targeted one of the two Youzhou army officers on the shore. As for the company of Xiliang cavalry that had followed, they were somewhat more seasoned, knowing that no battle merit would fall to them, so each one honestly dismounted, preparing to follow on foot.

The two officers covering the rear were none other than Zhao Yun and Tian Yu. As the foremost figures among the Volunteer Followers under Gongsun Xun, when they saw the two 'company commanders' of the Xiliang army not dismounting on the riverbank but daring to ride straight at them, fury surged in their hearts. How could they be afraid? Thus, Zhao Yun met Hu Chier, and Tian Yu met Zhang Xiu, each drawing their ring-pommel sabers for close combat! The remaining soldiers on the shore were not to be outdone, baring their blades to meet the attacking enemy!

However, as these men on the shore prepared to fight in pairs, they had forgotten about Taishi Ziyi, still in the river!

Taishi Ci instinctively drew his bow, but feeling the rocking of the boat, he simply fired a hasty arrow and then flipped over into the water! Even so, although his arrow missed the enemy officer due to the boat's rocking, it struck Hu Chier's warhorse, throwing the latter from his pained mount on the spot!

How could Zhao Yun give him a chance? He simply stepped forward with one slash and killed this 'company commander' of Dong Zhuo's army, who clearly had Hu blood, beneath the river embankment!

On the other side, although Zhang Xiu possessed superb martial skills, riding a horse on the riverbank was overly arrogant. Moreover, Tian Yu was no common opponent, so after his first strike missed, he could only hastily rein in his horse, turn back with his spear, and prepare to dismount and fight on foot! But just then, he saw his personal guard Hu Chier easily killed by Zhao Yun, and he could not help but be startled.

But at that very moment, Taishi Ci, standing firm in the shallows, saw that his comrades on the shore were outnumbered. Without hesitation, he loosed an arrow from a distance, shooting through the eye socket of Zhang Xiu's mount and killing it in one blow... Zhang Xiu, halfway through dismounting and already in a panic, suddenly lost control of his horse. In the end, both man and horse crashed to the ground, and he was pinned down by half his body under the dead warhorse!

Without needing Zhao Yun, Tian Yu and two nearby Youzhou warriors rushed over together. The three of them reversed their ring-pommel sabers and, with a flurry of chaotic stabs, immediately turned the man into a hornet's nest!

Only because they were short on troops and had other Xiliang soldiers facing them, they could not continue fighting, and so did not take the head of this 'company commander'...

Thus, from beginning to end, even Gongsun Xun did not know that in another timeline, the valiant Xiliang general who, together with Jia Wenhe, nearly drove Cao Mengde into a desperate situation—the Marquis of Xuanwei—died so wretchedly on the Yellow River beach at Shanxian! He fell without showing even a trace of brilliance, at the age of twenty-three.

Of course, one could say this 'Spear King of the North' was simply unlucky. Who could have imagined that while out to intercept a group of harassing infantry, he would encounter two of the era's top-tier warriors?

And besides, this is war!

The brave and fearless, the noble and magnificent, the profoundly talented—once defeated on the battlefield, death is simply commonplace.

Leaving aside how Zhao Yun, Taishi Ci, and Tian Yu killed Zhang Xiu and Hu Chier, then led their men in a hard-fought battle against those two hundred dismounted cavalry, shooting and cutting down dozens before forcing the remaining troops to retreat and only then arduously withdrawing... On the other side, Dong Zhuo returned to Shanxian city. Contrary to his earlier dismissiveness, he immediately ordered the march to resume, forcing the nobles and civilians to hurry west, and intensified the guard. Armored soldiers pressed forward with bared blades, and anyone who slightly disobeyed was beheaded on the spot, regardless of status.

For a time, no one dared to delay and could only hastily journey west.

Ultimately, although Dong Zhongying had appeared composed on the surface, suddenly encountering Gongsun Xun, and with the other party baring his blade so resolutely, he was still somewhat angered and tense... If not for fear that morale would waver because of this, why would he need to be in such a hurry?

As for Cai Yong, who was accompanying him, he was timid by nature. Moreover, with a great battle truly about to erupt along the Hedong line, he abandoned the idea of sending his daughter to Hedong. Instead, gritting his teeth, he kept his two daughters by his side in the relative safety of Dong Zhuo's vicinity and continued the journey toward Chang'an.

However, although Dong Zhuo's actions temporarily suppressed the morale at Shanxian and Maijin, just as the large force had begun to move again, news immediately arrived that Zhang Xiu, the nephew of General of the Household Zhang Ji and the young general of the garrison there, had been defeated and killed!

Although Zhang Xiu was young, his martial valor was widely acknowledged in the army. Moreover, as Zhang Ji's nephew, his significance to the Shanxian garrison was extraordinary... Thus, for a time, everyone in Dong Zhuo's army was terrified, and the accompanying nobles and civilians were once again unsettled, to the point that many once more harbored thoughts of fleeing along the way.

This goes without saying.

Turning to Dayang in Hedong, although news of a minor victory arrived, and Zhao Yun and the others had rescued Sima Lang, Zhao Zi, and their families, Gongsun Xun still wore a worried frown.

"Dong Zhuo commands a large army," Gongsun Xun spoke frankly. "And he is a man long seasoned in warfare, with many skilled fighters under his command... The reason I dared to come this way through Bingzhou was, firstly, because I saw that there were no great heroes carving out territory in Bingzhou. Although the region is vast, the situation chaotic, and the roads difficult, it could ultimately be easily suppressed along the way through a combination of authority and virtue. Secondly, I felt that Dong Zhuo was gradually losing popular support, and by the time I confronted him in battle, his power would naturally decline. In the current situation, the former has proven true, but the latter is far from the case... From Pujin to Taolin Fortress (Tongguan), and then to Maijin, we have probed all along the way, and the morale of the troops along the route is still very high, clearly showing no signs of weakening... Given this situation, do any of you military advisors have any advice for me?"

"Why does my lord blame himself so?" Tian Feng, upon hearing this, was the first to solemnly voice his opposition. "In my view, Dong Zhuo has long since lost the hearts of the people... The reason it has not become apparent is that he is tyrannical and unrestrained, and those under him dare not be the first to stick out their necks! As long as the General achieves a breakthrough, his power will inevitably decline rapidly!"

"The question is, what counts as a breakthrough?" Xi Zhong suddenly countered from the side. "What if we concentrate our forces and capture Shanxian? Would that shake the overall situation?"

"I'm afraid not!" Tian Feng shook his head. "The key is that the terrain of Guanzhong is too well-fortified. As long as Pujin and Taolin Fortress do not fall, our main army cannot enter Guanzhong, and without entering Guanzhong, we cannot deliver a decisive blow. As for merely taking Shanxian, do not forget that Dong Zhuo still has heavy troops in Luoyang and Yingchuan in Henan. Once those forces return to defend, and Dong Zhuo sends troops out from Taolin Fortress to attack from both sides... what then?"

"What if I could devour the various forces in Henan?" Gongsun Xun suddenly asked again. "Could that intimidate the situation in Guanzhong?"

Tian Feng was momentarily startled and doubtful, but he suppressed his curiosity and shook his head with effort: "I believe that as long as the General does not personally enter Guanzhong, the overall situation cannot be settled!"

Gongsun Xun, Xi Zhong, and Lou Gui each fell silent, and in the end, they had no words to reply.

On the fifteenth day of the third month, Dong Zhuo passed through Taolin Fortress. Without having time to go to Chang'an to pay his respects to the Son of Heaven, he issued a flurry of military orders: his younger brother, Left General Dong Min, was to guard Chang'an; Wenhou Lu Bu was to guard Taolin Fortress, with Jia Xu as his deputy; and Palace Gentleman Generals Zhang Ji and Guo Si were to jointly guard Pujin!

He also appointed Niu Fu as Palace Gentleman General to guard Shan County, bearing a staff of authority, with command over all the generals in Henan, and petitioned to appoint the scholar Li Ru as Palace Gentleman General to assist him; Cavalry Commander Hua Xiong was made Palace Gentleman General, continuing to garrison Hulao Pass; Xu Rong was made Palace Gentleman General, continuing to handle military affairs in Yingchuan; Li Meng was made Captain and sent to Xiaopingjin; Li Jue was made Palace Gentleman General to handle military affairs in Nanyang; Duan Wei was made Palace Gentleman General to guard Luoyang.

Clearly, Dong Zhuo had divided his forces and territory into two halves. One half was Guanzhong, where he and his brother Dong Min personally took command, simultaneously watching over the two critical points of Pujin and Tongguan. The other half lay east of Tongguan, using his two sons-in-law at Shan County as key nodes — on one hand assisting in the defense of Hongnong, and on the other continuing to maintain the offensive east of Hangu Pass and handling military affairs in Henan!

After learning this intelligence, Gongsun Xun no longer had any hesitation — Tian Feng had been absolutely right. Unless he, Gongsun Xun, personally struck into Guanzhong one day, he would never be able to shake the situation in Guanzhong!

And yet, to say nothing of how Pujin and Tongguan (that is, Taolin Fortress) could be easily captured — just consider that Henan was filled with Dong Zhuo's heavy troops, who were even winning victory after victory. How could one easily cross the river and risk being caught in a pincer attack by heavy forces?

It was truly impossible to know where to begin!

And just as Gongsun Xun was gathering boats on one hand and pondering strategy on the other, in the middle of the third month, it was Dong Zhuo's army that took the initiative and launched an offensive!

Jia Xu, Lu Bu, and Guo Si, upon learning they were to withdraw back to Guanzhong, joined forces with Li Jue, Li Meng, Xu Rong, and other divisions. Feigning a withdrawal, they then jointly set an ambush at the border of Yingchuan and Nanyang, winning a great victory over Sun Jian! Sun Wentai was utterly routed; of over ten thousand elite troops, barely a thousand riders remained, fleeing in panicked disarray!

Come to think of it... ever since the Guandong coalition began fighting Dong Zhuo, even after Dong Zhuo had been forced to move the capital, this group had yet to win a single battle!

Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Sun Jian, Cao Cao, Liu Bei — all of them, without exception!

Of course, these ambitious heroes of chaotic times were still performing far better than they had in that other timeline... After all, in that other timeline, this group only began to take their beatings after Dong Zhuo had finished moving the capital. This time, they had been getting beaten three months earlier! That could be considered quite an improvement!

—————I am the dividing line of forgetting to write while watching a livestream—————

"When the Grand Ancestor reached Hedong, he encountered Zhuo moving the capital, driving a million officials and commoners west into Guanzhong. Across the river, the sound of voices could be heard, yet for over a month, he ultimately could not cross, nor could he do anything." — New Book of Yan, Volume 62, Biographies, Chapter 12

(End of Chapter)