Chapter 399: Alone He Shields a Lonely City, Yet the Tide Turns Against Him

At the most triumphant moment of his life, Yuan Benchu was suddenly turned from host to guest by Shen Zhengnan — of course his fury erupted.

Fortunately, however, Chen Gong, Xin Ping, and the others beside him remained clear-headed. In truth, even Cui Yan, Chen Lin, and men like Ju Yi and Li Jin all knew that at this moment, nothing was in place... With eighty thousand troops and the camp fortifications not even properly set, it would be utterly laughable to launch a full-scale assault on the city just because the Regional Commander gave the order in a fit of rage.

So Chen Gong and the others immediately turned back to the central army tent in the rear to dissuade Yuan Shao, while Ju Shou and his group sent men to rescue Shen Rong. Then Gao Lan dispatched a squad of soldiers to symbolically fire a volley of crossbow bolts at the city walls as a gesture, and everyone withdrew... After all, war is war — it stakes the lives of the combatants and everything they have. There was no way they could actually let things spiral out of control just because of one obviously angry remark from Yuan Shao.

That very evening, Yuan Shao, having regained his composure, once again assembled his commanders in the main tent. Sure enough, he publicly rewarded Shen Rong, and then, with a stern countenance, issued his orders — Handan City had high walls and a large population. Since Shen Pei had resolved to resist to the end, there was no need for further words. The entire army was to fell trees, transport timber, erect ramparts and build camps, construct siege equipment, pile up earthen mounds, and prepare for a true siege!

The Yuan army, from top to bottom, roared their assent!

According to this order, actual combat would likely be delayed for three or even five days — until the Yuan army possessed sufficient siege equipment. However, after just one day's interval, on the third morning after Yuan Shao's arrival beneath Handan City, just as the sky was beginning to brighten, large-scale fighting erupted abruptly... Guan Yu, stationed west of the city, was the first to strike.

Unexpected, yet within reason.

After all, since ancient times, when facing an attacker with superior numbers, the defender's best moment to strike has always been at the very beginning, when the opponent has not yet gained a firm foothold.

But then again, at this very moment, facing a solid eighty thousand troops — and with those eighty thousand troops having set out from Yecheng only fifty-some li away, with a fully intact Liangqi County seat serving as the frontline base in between — the phrase "not yet gained a firm foothold" simply did not apply, no matter how you looked at it.

So Guan Yu had held back for an entire day, watching as the Yuan army dispatched auxiliary troops from the rear to transport large quantities of timber. Then, early on the third morning, before those timbers could be used to complete the ramparts and construct siege engines, he launched a preemptive strike. And the prey he selected was not the heavily guarded timber yard south of Handan City, but rather the force of over three thousand men under Tian Yin, a commander of Hejian magnate origin!

This was also a matter of necessity, because this unit had been ordered to station itself west of the city, forming a joint encampment with the forces of Ji Yong and Lu Kuang specifically to keep watch on Guan Yu's main camp west of the city. Moreover, Tian Yin's unit was positioned at the easternmost edge of the three camps — the side closest to the city wall — making it the first to bear the brunt.

The facts proved that six years of sitting idle had not caused this era's most top-tier commander to lose his intimidating presence or his ability to execute on the battlefield.

That morning, before the early mist had cleared, three thousand well-trained Zhaoge soldiers who had followed Guan Yu for years rose early, ate their meal, and donned their armor in full order. Then the entire force split into three: one thousand arrayed within the camp to guard it carefully; one thousand under Pan Zhang on standby inside the camp; and the final thousand, following Guan Yu and his personal guard cavalry, surged out of the main camp like a tide along the passage sheltered by the city wall, heading straight for Tian Yin's camp — the one closest to the wall.

Throughout the entire process, there was no beating of drums, no clamor, and even the banners were all furled. They maintained their formation all the way to the front of the camp. This left Tian Yin's troops, who had just risen and were waiting for their meal, initially bewildered — they even thought it was friendly forces... until the other side suddenly drew blades, raised banners, and charged with a thunderous roar!

Chaos erupted instantly. Tian Yin's unit, caught completely off guard, had their camp breached by a mere thousand men and suffered a great slaughter. The morning camp was in such turmoil that no one could ascertain the exact number of casualties. Especially when the main body of the Yuan army's camp south of Handan City stirred and dispatched a clearly elite force to intervene — Guan Yu, having merely tested his blade, showed no desire to linger. He simply ordered the fires set and withdrew calmly along the safe passage beneath the city wall. The fires, combined with the cooking smoke from the various camps, caused a disturbance far more dangerous than the killing itself. Tian Yin's unit, having been mauled, could barely manage to rescue people and fight the fires — how could they dare pursue?

The nearby forces of Ji Yong and Lu Kuang did suddenly surge out at this moment, attempting to pursue and stick to Guan Yu all the way. Unexpectedly, the defenders atop Handan's walls were also long prepared... In truth, Shen Zhengnan, who ate and slept on the city walls, could hardly have ignored the commotion on this side. So arrows rained down as if they cost nothing upon the heads of the pursuing troops, forcing the two commanders to abandon some corpses and hastily retreat.

Wen Chou personally led the central army's Tiger Guard to this location, supervised the extinguishing of the fires, and listened to the three commanders — Tian Yin among them — report on the preceding events. He then personally led the three commanders and his personal guards to observe Guan Yu's bizarre fortifications — the side abutting the city wall had only a palisade and a camp gate, practically wide open, yet the perimeter was ringed with ten layers of abatis, along with trenches, ramparts, platforms, arrow towers, and wells, all fully equipped. Finding no solution, he could only hastily turn back and report to Yuan Shao, Chen Gong, and the others.

However, just as Wen Chou had hurried back to the central army and Tian Yin's unit was in the midst of collecting the corpses — the early morning having just passed — suddenly, it was again Guan Yu who struck while Pan Zhang held the camp. This time, he swapped in the fresh thousand-man force that had been waiting inside the camp and once more charged straight for Tian Yin's unit, which now no longer had the shelter of its camp fortifications!

And this time, because the camp had already been breached once before, and because Tian Yin's unit was concentrated within the fire-ravaged camp, sorting corpses and transporting the wounded, Guan Yu's assault was clean and decisive, leaving no room for mercy. A battle verging on outright slaughter erupted swiftly... At first, Tian Yin thought that since his troops were concentrated, they might be able to hold out. But as his unit completely lost resistance and scattered in all directions within barely half a quarter of an hour, he himself could only flee in haste by climbing over the palisade into the neighboring camp of Ji Yong.

As for the latter, this time he guarded his camp gate strictly from start to finish, not daring to venture out to the rescue at all.

There were two reasons for this. First, Guan Yu's sudden return strike was truly too unexpected, leaving even Ji Yong somewhat bewildered. But the most important point was that this Captain Ji Yong was a man of Shucheng in Qinghe, and Shen Pei and Zhang Fei had spent many years in Qinghe. In other words, he knew the caliber of his opponents. Setting aside Shen Pei inside the city, he had long heard of Guan Yu's great name from Zhang Fei's circle and had purely regarded the man as another Zhang Fei... So, tell me, how could he possibly dare to go out?

Thus, with friendly forces looking on without intervening, Guan Yu led a thousand armored soldiers in a wanton slaughter, only withdrawing at a leisurely pace when the main reinforcements from the large camp south of the city were about to arrive.

When the news of Guan Yunchang's second incursion reached Yuan Shao, Yuan Benchu was utterly dumbfounded. He had specifically detached a full three camps of troops, totaling a full ten thousand men (Ji Yong with four thousand, Lu Kuang and Tian Yin each with three thousand), not seeking to annihilate or destroy Guan Yu's heavily defended camp — with its ten layers of abatis and the protection of the city wall garrison — but merely to keep an eye on him. Yet at the very outset, he had suffered such a clean blow. It was enough to drive a man to despair!

In truth, it was not that Yuan Benchu and his advisors had underestimated Guan Yunchang. Rather, in a certain sense, the Guan Yunchang of the original late Han was a bug in this era... He stood nine chi tall, excelled in horsemanship, studied texts and drilled troops, governed and commanded armies — lacking in nothing. He even possessed a long beard that men of this age envied to the extreme!

And especially in military strategy: cavalry, infantry, naval forces — he was versed in them all; strategy, tactics, combat — he was proficient in every one; offense, defense, raids, decapitation strikes — he understood them all perfectly.

At this very moment, perhaps in terms of tactics and personal combat, Lu Bu, skilled in cavalry warfare and possessing divine archery, did indeed seem a hair superior. But when it came to handling large-scale situations — so-called campaign command ability and strategic vision — Lu Bu unquestionably fell far short, to say nothing of naval warfare.

In fact, even if Gongsun Xun might carry a heavier halo of a famed commander, would that be enough to withstand a single slash from Guan Yunchang's blade?

In short, this kind of person was naturally capable of handling all manner of situations, to the point that it exceeded the imagination of many!

So, in one morning, with two sudden strikes, while friendly forces sat by and watched, he crippled a man of Hejian magnate origin along with his three thousand troops. Was there any problem? No problem at all — merely a small test of a great blade. The commander and the soldiers were simply not on the same level, let alone with two consecutive unexpected raids.

Of course, Guan Yu, merely testing his blade, did not completely cripple Tian Yin in a single day. Because that very afternoon, in the lingering heat of early autumn, at the hottest time of the day, Guan Yunchang struck for the third time. He brought out the last thousand Zhaoge soldiers who had not yet seen action, repeated his old trick, and used the safe passage beneath the city wall to launch a third raid on Tian Yin!

At that moment, Tian Yin had just returned from Yuan Shao's central army camp. After being consoled with a few words, he had received permission to withdraw to the rear, to Liangqi City, to rest and regroup. He was just preparing to break camp and leave... never in his wildest dreams imagining that he would suffer a third beating in a single day!

And this time, the hunted Tian Yin did not have the luck of the previous two encounters. With his unit severely depleted, many men, upon seeing Guan Yunchang's towering figure and his divine white steed appear on the battlefield, almost instantly lost all will to resist. Thus, Tian Yin, without any cover, was surrounded on the battlefield by Pan Zhang leading troops in a tight encirclement. The latter was also clean and decisive — first skewering him with a spear, then hacking off his head, and finally tying it to a long spear and hanging it above the ruined camp.

When the news arrived, Yuan Shao flew into a towering rage. On one hand, he dispatched his trusted commander Han Meng to personally lead five thousand elite central army troops to replace Tian Yin's unit. On the other, he urgently summoned the entire army to discuss the matter.

"Guan Yu must either be eliminated or locked down. Otherwise, the moment our army attempts to assault the city, he will lead his troops along the city wall to sweep through. If that happens, never mind the siege being obstructed — I fear even the construction of siege equipment will become difficult... This is precisely the original intent of his establishing an independent camp outside the city," someone stated bluntly, though the reasoning was obvious to all. "It is to create a mutual horn-supporting posture, making it difficult for our grand army to concentrate on one objective. However, that this man is so ferociously difficult to handle is indeed unexpected and truly troublesome."

"The reasoning is sound, but the question now is how to eliminate or isolate this man?" Without waiting for others to join the discussion, Yuan Shao himself spoke out in rebuke. "I already knew this man was a favored commander under the General of the Guards and must possess extraordinary ability. That is why I sent three times the troops to block him from the start, deliberately leaving the west side open in the encirclement, all for the sake of quickly taking the city... But if one camp can be overturned in a single day, how can we concentrate on the siege? If this continues, in thirty days, could he not overturn thirty of my camps, leaving all eighty thousand men dead beneath the walls of Handan City?! Today, I will not ask you how to eliminate Guan Yu. I only want you to first tell me — how was this one camp overturned?"

Everyone, of course, knew that Yuan Shao was speaking in anger. If Guan Yu could truly destroy one camp every day, he would not be a man but a god. Even if he could destroy five or six more camps, killing or wounding seven or eight thousand, and reducing the Yuan army by ten to twenty thousand, his own three thousand men would, by then, have been worn down to the point of losing their combat effectiveness.

Of course, in that case, the Yuan army's siege would likely have to be abandoned as well.

In truth, a battle example like today's already seemed exceedingly bizarre. No matter what, a fully intact camp of three thousand men, situated in the midst of an army of eighty thousand, being toyed with and slaughtered by an opponent of equal troop strength to the point of completely losing its organizational structure — it was simply too hard to accept. By comparison, Tian Yin himself being killed seemed of little consequence.

"In my humble opinion, there are two critical points in today's battle." Ju Shou, after a moment's thought, still furrowed his brow and stepped forward to speak. "First, Guan Yu's camp is solidly fortified, yet its entrance and exit are shielded by the city wall, allowing him to strike at his leisure while our army finds it difficult to pursue and block him. Second, the command between the camps was not smooth, leading to ineffective support, with each fighting on his own. That is why Guan Yu, in three sorties, was able to strike Tian Sima's Hejian camp all three times..."

From Yuan Shao on down, the military commanders and advisors in the tent mostly nodded in agreement.

In essence, Guan Yu's advantage was: I can strike you whenever I want, and withdraw without you being able to pursue. Tian Yin's disadvantage was: in all three raids, he was forced to fight passively each time, with reinforcements never arriving in time. Finally, it was precisely this absurd state of warfare that gave Tian Yin a sense of being caught off guard in every encounter.

The first time he was raided, he was truly caught off guard. The second time, a psychological blind spot had genuinely formed — he never imagined the opponent would come for him again. By the third raid, he had reached a state of near-apathetic resignation, which is why his forces collapsed from the very start.

"The camp is sturdy and sheltered by the city wall — there is nothing to be done about that. We must either send a large force to assault the camp directly, or simply bottle it up front and rear, ignore it, and proceed with the siege first." Just as Ju Shou was the first to speak, pointing out the crux of the issue and stirring heated discussion in the tent, Feng Ji, who was in charge of military law, suddenly stroked his beard and spoke, his words carrying a pointed meaning from the very start. "Only the matter of ineffective support and each fighting on his own — that may not be solely due to poor command communication..."

Among the advisors and commanders in the tent, some felt a stir in their hearts, some felt a chill... and, of course, some remained utterly oblivious.

"If you have something to say, speak plainly." Yuan Benchu's expression did not change.

"In my humble opinion, My Lord has been far too lenient with the commanders of the various camps!" Feng Ji replied sternly. "Not only have you allowed them to recruit their own troops and command them independently, but you have also let them form their own camps, with no proper hierarchy above or below. This has led these generals to regard the troops as their private property, and in battle, their sole concern is preserving their own forces... This time, My Lord ordered three camps to jointly blockade Guan Yu. Yet when Tian Yin was attacked, he could only rely on the central army reinforcements sent by My Lord. The other two camps, bearing military orders and the duty of mutual watch, sat by and watched their comrade's destruction. How could defeat not follow?!"

Ji Yong and Lu Kuang hastily fell to their knees to beg forgiveness, intending to offer explanations.

However, Feng Ji stepped forward, placed his hand on his sword, and stood at the very front of the tent, blocking the two from Yuan Shao. He continued in a stern and severe tone: "My Lord! Why have you treated these local magnates and great clans with leniency? Was it not so that they would unite their hearts with yours, together punish the traitors to the state, and thereby aid in accomplishing the great enterprise?! Now, with two powers locked in struggle, this is precisely the moment for life-and-death effort. If they cannot unite their hearts with yours, cannot sacrifice themselves and exert themselves fully for you, My Lord, then what meaning does your leniency toward them hold? Is this not putting the cart before the horse?!"

"Yuantu speaks well!" Yuan Shao's expression remained unchanged, but he directly interrogated the two commanders prostrating themselves in apology within the tent. "Captain Ji, Sima Lu — how many men did each of your camps lose in battle today? Have you inspected the corpses?"

Ji Yong, trembling with fear, immediately kowtowed and replied: "I dare not deceive My Lord — approximately several dozen..."

Lu Kuang also hastily kowtowed: "My unit also lost several dozen!"

"Several dozen — how many dozen exactly?" Yuan Shao's expression remained as usual as he pressed on relentlessly. "How many died in close combat within Tian Sima's camp? How many were killed by crossbow bolts from the city wall during the pursuit? How many before Wen Chou led the central army reinforcements, and how many after?"

"Reporting to My Lord: Sima Lu's unit of three thousand men lost forty-five — seventeen died within Tian Sima's camp. Captain Ji's unit of four thousand men lost thirty-two — none died within Tian Sima's camp; all were killed by arrows beneath the city wall." Guo Tu suddenly stepped forward to report the numbers.

Now, Guo Gongze was the army's chief accountant, specifically in charge of provisions, rewards, and merit records. It was reasonable enough for him to know and report these figures at this moment. However, the timing of these numbers was far too convenient, and the coordination with Feng Ji and Yuan Shao far too seamless — it could not help but send a chill through people's hearts. But at this moment, the tent had long since fallen deathly silent. Even Chen Gong and Ju Shou had shut their mouths and stood solemnly. Who would dare speak out?

Thus, Yuan Shao's extreme fury at this moment was entirely reasonable, even righteous.

"Sima Lu, withdraw." After hearing the report, Yuan Benchu did not even rise from his seat before issuing his command. "The guilty commander Ji Yong, harboring disloyalty and plotting treachery — execute him... Confiscate his troops, exterminate his clan, to set the record straight!"

Ji Yong turned pale with terror and kowtowed repeatedly, begging for mercy. Even the surrounding commanders were momentarily stunned. They had already guessed that Yuan Shao would use this opportunity to assign blame, but they had never imagined it would be so severe — to actually exterminate his clan?!

Yet Chen Gong, Ju Shou, and the others, though they once opened their mouths as if to speak, ultimately all shut them again... To put it bluntly, what Feng Ji had just said was too correct, and too damning. The reason Yuan Shao was lenient toward his subordinates was precisely so that these men would risk their lives in the decisive battle against Gongsun Xun. And if they were unwilling to risk their lives at this moment, then, pray tell, what meaning did these men still hold for Yuan Shao?

At this moment, Ji Yong was already overwhelmed with regret... He had indeed, upon witnessing Guan Yu's valor, harbored thoughts of preserving his own strength. But Heaven have mercy — had he known this would be the consequence, how could he have possibly begrudged the lives of those fellow Qinghe townsmen earlier today?

Yet his kowtowing drew blood, and it only earned him Yuan Shao's utter silence. And just as Wen Chou led armored soldiers in to drag him away, Ji Yong suddenly caught sight of someone, and then, as if grasping at a life-saving straw, he cried out with all his might: "Lord Cui, save me!"

"How am I to save you?" As a fellow townsman, Cui Yan's face was also ashen. "You must understand that military law is merciless!"

"If I die, so be it, but my clansmen are innocent!" Ji Yong, already under Wen Chou's personal guard and being dragged out of the tent entrance, still struggled and shouted with all his might until his voice grew hoarse. "I understand killing to establish authority, but where is the principle of exterminating an entire clan for that? Lord Cui, you are my fellow townsman, you must save my clansmen! Lord Cui!! Cui..."

Before his words could finish, Wen Chou, walking beside him and thoroughly irritated, slammed the pommel of his blade hard against Ji Yong's jaw, causing the man's tongue and teeth to bleed instantly and his voice to abruptly cease. A moment later, Wen Chou personally carried the head of this Commandant Ji into the tent and presented it.

"His troops will be split in two — one part to Han Meng, one part to Wen Chou," Yuan Shao did not even glance at the head, instead looking directly left and right as he continued his inquiry. "Now then, who shall go to Qinghe to arrest this man's entire clan, so as to uphold military law?"

However, as Yuan Benchu's gaze swept across them, many of those it fell upon lowered their heads, until his eyes came to rest on Cui Yan... The latter simply stepped forward, cupped his hands in salute, and addressed him as "Illustrious Lord."

"Ji Gui." Yuan Shao promptly called his name upon seeing this. "Do you wish to volunteer to go to Qinghe to enforce the law, or to plead for your fellow townsman?"

"Illustrious Lord!" Cui Yan spoke with earnest sincerity. "This subordinate believes that military law is merciless, and Commandant Ji's failure to render aid in battle makes his death no cause for regret. But to implicate his family is excessive, and the proposal of clan extermination, in particular, deviates from the original intent of the sages..."

"It is precisely clan extermination that will set the record straight!" Yuan Shao interrupted impatiently. "It is precisely to make all under Heaven understand that when two armies face off, it is a matter of life and death with no room for wavering — no half-heartedness, and no half-heartedness permitted!"

Cui Yan was about to speak again, but Yuan Benchu preempted him and continued: "The sages' teachings are fine, but this is a military camp, where the lives of a hundred thousand men hang in the balance — they cannot be applied here for the moment... In my view, Ji Gui need no longer command troops. I hereby appoint you Chancellor of Pingyuan, effective immediately. Hand over your seal and tally at once and proceed to Pingyuan to assume your post!"

Cui Yan was silent for a moment, but could only bow and express gratitude for the grace, then withdraw back into the ranks.

"Gongtai." Yuan Shao then turned his gaze to Chen Gong, who had not spoken all evening. "Would it trouble you to set out tomorrow and personally make a trip to Qinghe?"

"I respectfully accept the order!" Although Chen Gong's expression betrayed neither pleasure nor displeasure, he agreed crisply, which made Yuan Benchu exhale deeply in relief.

Yuan Shao may have breathed a sigh of relief, but everyone else in the tent felt a chill run through them... A colleague who, by day, was still a two-thousand-dan Commandant commanding four thousand troops, by night was dead, and his entire clan was to be exterminated — how could this not put them on edge? Yet this was precisely Yuan Shao's aim. These men had finally come to realize that Yuan Benchu, scion of four generations of the Three Excellencies, was no grassroots warlord, not someone they could treat casually!

And with the situation under Heaven laid out as it was — if they did not follow the General of Chariots and Cavalry Yuan, they would follow the General of the Guards. What qualifications did they, mere local strongmen or a commandery's gentry clan, have to waver between these two in their struggle?

Since they had boarded the ship and joined the current, what other option was there besides doing their utmost to help their side win this realm? Had they not seen Shen Zhengnan sever the rope to show his resolve, or Guan Yunchang fight three battles in a single day?

"This matter is settled. Let us all discuss once more how to deal with Guan Yunchang!" Yuan Shao sighed. "Should we send more troops to lock him down as tightly as possible and focus on attacking the city, or should we set aside the siege for now, turn our efforts to annihilating this scoundrel, and only then take the city at our leisure?"

The assembly buzzed with discussion for a time.

However, before those in the tent could reach a conclusion through their debate, a sudden clamor arose outside. The commanders went out to look and saw that in the southwestern corner of Handan City — precisely where Han Meng had replaced Tian Yin — flames had erupted!

Shortly after, as expected, Han Meng sent a feathered cavalry messenger to report that Guan Yu had once again sortied, launching a fourth surprise attack within a single day! However, Han Meng also explained that his own main force was substantial and composed of the central army's elite troops, while Guan Yu's soldiers, having fought three battles during the day, were exhausted. He therefore requested Yuan Shao to rest assured, suggesting that he might even capture and kill the foe, sweeping away the day's gloom in one stroke!

Even so, given Guan Yunchang's fearsome reputation, reinforcements were a certainty. Under Yuan Shao's personal orders, all those commanding troops were immediately required to return to their own stockades, and several camp commanders positioned near Han Meng were also named and ordered to provide immediate support... With Ji Yong's example before them, how would these named commanders dare delay? After receiving their orders and returning, they scarcely paused to rest their horses before personally leading their troops out in haste!

Outside the walls of Handan, for a time, lamps and torches blazed bright, and soldiers and horses shuttled like weaving looms.

And just as these troops swarmed to Han Meng's aid, and as Yuan Shao and the others watched the situation from afar, suddenly Chen Gong, whose gaze had swept across the utterly still walls of Handan, jolted sharply alert and stamped his feet repeatedly: "We are likely falling into a trap! Illustrious Lord, quickly recall the reinforcing troops!"

Yuan Shao turned back in astonishment, momentarily unable to grasp the reason.

But soon, he understood... For at that very moment, countless torches suddenly flared to life atop the walls of Handan, and the city's southern gate, directly facing the Yuan army's encampment, was thrown open with great fanfare. A force of over a thousand men, bearing torches and resembling a fiery dragon, surged out from the gate in orderly haste, advancing rapidly toward the forward Yuan encampment — whose defenses were inevitably weakened by the troops sent out — and setting fires everywhere as they went!

They had likely brought incendiary materials specifically, for the flames spread with extreme speed.

This unit fought its way fiercely into the worksite directly ahead, ignited the countless timbers piled there, and then, with no desire to prolong the engagement, hastily withdrew!

At this point, the sounds of battle from Han Meng's position farther away dimmed almost in tandem with the success of this arson, and countless Yuan troops attempted to pull back and fight the fires... But clearly, by the time they returned, regardless of anything else, this batch of timber transported from the rear, intended for constructing siege engines, was destined to suffer catastrophic losses.

And if that were the case, the nature of Guan Yu's fourth sortie within the day needed no further explanation.

Yuan Shao grasped the situation, gave a bitter laugh, and could not help but mock himself: "A mere ruse of luring the tiger from the mountain, so obvious, and yet among the wise and brave men of three provinces, only Gongtai alone saw through it."

Chen Gong could only feel awkward and speechless; he would rather not have such praise.

"That is not so." At that moment, Xin Ping, standing nearby, suddenly interjected with a solemn expression. "Dare I ask the Illustrious Lord and Chief Clerk Chen... if we had truly not sent aid just now, were you not afraid that Shen Zhengnan might cautiously send troops out from the west of the city by rope to support Guan Yu, and that General Han Meng might truly have been lost?"

The expressions of both Yuan and Chen changed instantly.

"Ultimately, after today's chaotic battles, everyone in both armies knows that this Guan Yunchang's command of troops treats light matters as heavy, combining wisdom and valor, and must not be underestimated." Xin Ping continued with a solemn face. "But as long as this man is outside, serving as the unorthodox element to Shen Zhengnan's orthodox, one attacking and one defending, complementing each other as exterior and interior, then this city of Handan cannot be taken at leisure."

"I understand!" In the firelight of the blazing timber yard, Yuan Shao, standing before the tent, sighed once more. "We must first eliminate Guan Yunchang before we can break this city! Do any of you have a stratagem to rid me of this man?"

"Just now, watching our troops stream endlessly to rescue General Han, a plan suddenly came to this subordinate!" Xin Ping declared boldly. "It may help the Illustrious Lord eliminate this threat close to his heart!"

"What plan?" Chen Gong also turned back earnestly to inquire.

"This plan is called Ambush on Ten Sides!" Xin Ping did not even glance at Chen Gongtai, but addressed Yuan Shao, enunciating each word. "It exists specifically to capture and kill a hero of such caliber — a perfect match for Guan Yunchang."

———I am a dividing line that does not look at all———

"Cui Yan, styled Ji Gui, was a man of Qinghe. At the end of the Han, he studied under Zheng Xuan in Qingzhou. When the General of Chariots and Cavalry Yuan Shao annexed Qing and Yan provinces, he heard of him and summoned him to service. At that time, the soldiers were violent and lawless, digging up graves and mounds. Cui Yan remonstrated, saying: 'In the past, Sun Qing stated: "If officers are not trained in peacetime and weapons are not kept sharp, even Tang and Wu could not achieve victory in battle." Now the roads are strewn with exposed bones, and the people have yet to witness virtue. It would be fitting to order the commanderies and counties to bury the skeletons and cover the remains, to show compassionate love and emulate the benevolence of King Wen.' Yuan Shao praised him and appointed him as Commandant of Cavalry. Later, when Yuan Shao marshaled his troops at Yecheng and encamped at Liangqi, preparing to attack Handan, Cui Yan again remonstrated, saying: 'The Son of Heaven is in Chang'an, and the people hope for submission to the rightful authority. It would be better to defend our borders and fulfill our duties, so as to bring peace to the realm.' Yuan Shao would not listen, stripped him of his troops, and drove him out to serve as Chancellor of Pingyuan." — New Book of Yan, Biographies of the Solitary and Exemplary

PS: This month has been full of various matters and misfortunes, making updates extremely unstable. I thank everyone for their forbearance. I am powerless to do more and can only try my best to find gaps and express my apologies with a large chapter.

(End of Chapter)