Chapter 480: Resting on Knees to Sleep (Part 1)

"What happened?!"

Just as a squad of Xiongnu cavalry was escorting Deng Dang and Lu Meng toward the white-horsed banner, halfway there, a small unit of White Horse Volunteers naturally rode out to meet them on horseback, stopping the party directly at a spot still over a hundred paces from the white-horsed banner. The young squad leader at their head was powerfully built, clad in full iron armor, and the tempered-steel long spear in his hand was over ten feet in length — an awe-inspiring sight that made onlookers gasp.

"Someone threw down his blade and surrendered on the battlefield — a Thousand-Dan Major, says he has military intelligence to report." The Southern Xiongnu were essentially sinicized herders, so their Han speech was naturally clear and flawless.

"Wait!" The young squad leader looked Deng Dang up and down, glanced at the seal and cord the man was holding high, his eyes full of impatience, then couldn't help but gaze toward the distant battlefield before finally turning his head and gesturing with a pout.

Immediately, a rider behind him galloped off at full speed, and in a moment returned with another squad of men.

"I am Han Hao, Central Protector of the Army of Yan! Whatever military intelligence you have, report it to me right here, and I will relay it to my Lord of Yan myself!" As the arriving officer spoke, the Han and Xiongnu officers and soldiers around them parted left and right, clearing a path. It was none other than Han Hao of Henei, a key minister of Yan and close aide to the Lord of Yan, who held authority over mid-level officer appointments.

Hearing these words, Deng Dang and Lu Meng reacted completely differently.

Lu Meng was instantly filled with utter disappointment, though he kept it from showing on his face — the fellow's mind was still entirely set on achieving some extraordinary merit! The more experienced Deng Dang, however, let out a long breath in front of everyone — because this was precisely why he had insisted on bringing his brother-in-law along. In this situation, if they hadn't come, Zhu Zhi would certainly have executed them on the spot; if he had come alone and failed to accomplish the mission, his brother-in-law would likely suffer as well. But with both of them coming together, given the Lord of Yan's status, they might never even get a chance to meet him, making an assassination attempt impossible — yet they could still snatch life from the jaws of death. And if one day they truly returned, they would also have something to answer to Zhu Zhi with!

Relieved, Deng Dang, without looking back, directly pulled his brother-in-law down into a deep bow, then spoke bluntly: "Protector of the Army Han, I have urgent military intelligence to report. Inside that largest camp to the south, aside from the three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry who only arrived yesterday, all the rest are merely civilian laborers in disguise! The camp's commanding officer is Cao Ang, eldest son of Cao Fenwu! Also, since I have fled the field, beware that Prefect Zhu may launch an attack at any moment..."

Han Hao was slightly taken aback by these words, but before he could open his mouth to speak, a sudden clamor of shouting and killing erupted from the south, instantly merging with the distant clash of metal from before, as if they had always been one!

Everyone looked up — sure enough, it was Zhu Zhi, who, having seen this scene from afar, did not hesitate and immediately spurred his entire army out of camp!

"Have the two captains, Liu and Zhang, lead their troops to meet the enemy!" Han Hao made a prompt decision from horseback. "Mengqi, bind these two for now and take them to the rear under guard — we'll deal with them after the battle. I will go report to His Highness!"

With such a pillar of command present, once the order was given, the Xiongnu soldiers naturally turned back in droves to find their two commanders, while Han Hao himself also wheeled his cavalry around and returned. Only that young squad leader called Ma Mengqi cursed and grumbled, spouting vulgarities on the battlefield — something about if they'd let him lead a thousand White Horse Volunteers in place of Zhang Wenyuan, he'd have long since done this and that, how could things have come to this and that — and then sullenly escorted the thoroughly relieved Deng Dang and Lu Meng off toward the rear from the flank.

Once Zhu Zhi deployed his troops, Lu Dai did not hesitate either. Moreover, the two commanders Yufuluo (Liu) and Xubu Jucì (Zhang) were already committed to this battle, and with Gongsun Xun right behind them, how could they dare be negligent? So the two commanders repeatedly urged their entire force forward, shooting and trampling as they advanced, trying to stop the enemy in front of the camp gates.

However, Zhu Zhi and Lu Dai were, after all, resolved to fight to the death, while the Xiongnu cavalry habitually pulled back to leave room for mounted archery. Thus, as soon as battle was joined, the battle line was rapidly pushed northward by several hundred paces, almost to the very front of the White Horse Volunteers.

Yet even so, as Deng Dang and Lu Meng were escorted along the way, all they saw — beneath the shade of trees, beside the streams, and even under the blazing sun — were countless White Horse Volunteers, all in armor, sitting cross-legged on the ground after dismounting. Some were drinking water, some were eating, some were talking quietly among themselves, all utterly indifferent to the battle raging ahead. Even though the fighting had already spread to within two or three hundred paces of them, they remained as still as mountains... The only exception was this Ma Mengqi escorting them, a prickly troublemaker unlike the rest, but even he dared not disobey military orders... The two exchanged astonished glances, secretly marveling at what they had witnessed.

The only regret for the brothers-in-law, now tied to a tree, was that they were too far away and never once got to see what the Lord of Yan looked like.

"Cao Zixiu, is it?" A moment later, beneath the white-horsed banner, Gongsun Xun finally showed a flicker of emotion. "Given how the battle stands, it hardly matters now. I only wonder whether Cao De's son Cao Anmin is present, and whether the Tiger Fool Xu Chu came ahead with the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry..."

In any case, now that Zhu Zhi and Lu Dai had chosen to launch a sudden assault forward, both sides had in fact committed their entire forces, leaving no room for anything else. For the commanders on both sides, there was no more calculation left to discuss.

And so, here at the Yan army's central command, an incongruous sense of ease settled in for a moment.

Meng Jian, attending nearby, heard these words and could not help but ask a question that had long troubled his mind: "Your Highness, speaking of Xu Chu, Cao Ang, and Cao De, your servant has always been puzzled by one matter... Why were these three not listed on the placards?"

"Because of their official roles," Gongsun Xun answered casually. "Xu Chu is merely a captain of the guard; he only moves with Cao Mengde himself. So although his valor is renowned throughout the realm, we must slight him and not list him separately. Cao De should have been on the placards, and ranked high at that, but that was because he was originally assigned to the Nanyang front, not because he is Cao Mengde's own younger brother. So after Nanyang was effectively taken over by Lu Bu and Cai Mao just before the battle, he was merely sent back to Pei to oversee the granaries, and naturally was no longer listed... As for Cao Ang, the same principle applies — he should only have been escorting civilian laborers delivering grain here, which is why he remained in the camp."

Meng Jian and the others each had their own thoughts but did not press further, for this touched upon a pseudo-concept of 'imperial clan' — namely, whether clan membership itself counted as a kind of official post... And this very question was an extremely sensitive topic within the state of Yan at present.

Among the three particularly prominent and powerful 'imperial clansmen' within Yan, Gongsun Zan was the most capable and had the highest seniority, but he had committed two extremely grave political errors: carving out his own territory and letting the Son of Heaven slip away. Basically, no one was willing to associate with him, yet no one dared offend him either — the attitude was to respect him but keep him at a distance.

The opposite was Gongsun Yue, who enjoyed exceptional trust and favor. He had previously served as Governor of Bingzhou and Regional Commander of Shanzhou, but just before this great central plains campaign, he was transferred to serve as Governor of Liangzhou, and then as Regional Commander of Liangzhou, Zangzhou, and the Western Regions. This assignment was by no means a sidelining. On the contrary, it was a display of the utmost trust, because these were regions only recently brought under rule, places with elements of instability. No one but a person of extreme trust would be appointed to such a post.

And compared to those two, whose political standing was so clearly defined, the third major clansman, Gongsun Fan, was quite intriguing... Before the campaign, Lou Gui, following Shen Pei's example, had volunteered to go south to take up a post in Sizhou, leaving the position of Right Chancellor vacant. Thereupon, this General Who Guards the North and Governor of Youzhou entered the court to act as Right Chancellor in an interim capacity.

How to put it? In terms of office, it seemed like a tremendous advancement, but it was only an acting role, destined to be handed back. And moreover, in doing so, he had actually given up the Governorship of Youzhou, a post with immense real power!

So it was no wonder that people let their imaginations run wild.

Of course, these were merely fleeting thoughts passing through the minds of a few attendants in a lull on the battlefield, just as those few idle remarks were merely a manifestation of the attendants' nervousness amid the white-hot intensity of battle... And after exchanging a couple of words with Gongsun Xun, these attendants, participating in a great battle for the first time, were basically able to settle their nerves.

When you thought about it, was there anyone under heaven who had fought more battles, fiercer battles, or even larger-scale battles than this Lord of Yan?! Following this man into battle, what was there to worry about?

And just as the mood of those beneath the white-horsed banner gradually steadied, in the afternoon, the tide of battle finally began to tilt as anticipated!

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had split into two, dividing their forces in the face of the enemy — a grave battlefield taboo. Moreover, Zhang Liao's ferocity had fully erupted; on the outer flank of the battlefield's western side, he repeatedly pulled back to open distance and launched charges, pressing Cao Chun until he gradually could not hold. And having lost the support of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, the two units under Huang Gai and Chen Dao, which had been the first to surge forward, also began to falter under the pressure of cavalry far outnumbering their own!

Do not underestimate this so-called 'gradually faltering.'

For those with rich battlefield experience know that during the stalemate phase of a battle, although the melee combat is fierce, casualties are actually relatively low... But once one side begins to lose ground, casualties will sharply increase. And this increase is not a constant rise or fall corresponding to the shifting balance; more often than not, it mirrors the battlefield situation in an accelerating pattern.

To put it simply, even though no rout had yet occurred, without reinforcements, the units under Huang Gai and Chen Dao would likely collapse very soon... And when that happened, it might well mean total annihilation!

And so, without prior agreement, Zhu Zhi and Lu Dai both made the most rational choice: they abandoned their northward attack, gave up their respective camps, and turned directly along the main camp toward the two flanks, attempting to go support Huang Gai and Chen Dao, hoping to bring some of their forces into the rear main camp and see if they could hold out until reinforcements arrived!

But just as these two battle-hardened veterans had anticipated, the Xiongnu cavalry behind them followed closely, using their warhorses and mounted archery to exact a tremendous toll in casualties.

The merging of Zhu Zhi with Huang Gai, and Lu Dai with Chen Dao, slightly slowed that trend of 'faltering,' but only slightly. As the Xiongnu cavalry on both flanks caught up, the entire Central Plains coalition force was effectively surrounded by the Hebei cavalry at the two flanks of the main camp!

The breakthrough that Zhu Zhi and Lu Dai had envisioned, to reach the main camp, showed no sign of succeeding.

On the contrary, after holding on for perhaps another two quarters of an hour, as the sun sank further westward, as the casualties among these Central Plains coalition infantrymen mounted, and as their exhaustion deepened, this army — which had already fought with great tenacity, great effort, and great devotion to duty — finally began to show signs of collapse.

Strangely enough, the first place where collapse began was not the heavily encircled units of Huang Gai and Chen Dao, but rather that detachment of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on the eastern side of the battlefield!

The reason was simple: their commander, the Deputy General of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, holding the rank of Auxiliary Major, Cao Xiu, had suddenly fallen from his horse!

"Major Cao!"

Several nearby Tiger and Leopard Cavalry riders rushed forward at once. Some even disregarded the peril of the battlefield and voluntarily dismounted in a localized area teeming with cavalry, then helped Cao Xiu onto a mount — Cao Xiu's own horse had bolted away the moment its master fell!

But it would have been better not to help him up, for now everyone around, friend and foe alike, could see clearly: Cao Xiu had not simply lost his seat in the chaos of battle. He had fallen completely unconscious, and even after being placed on the horse, he was utterly insensible, unable even to sit steady!

At this sight, the personal guard who had given up his own horse was instantly driven to tears of desperation!

"The rebel general is dead! Full army, press forward!" The Yan army naturally would not let such an excellent opportunity slip by. A major from Cheng Lian's division was overjoyed and immediately urged his troops forward, preparing to launch a massed charge.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were all handpicked elites, and they had already been pushed to a desperate situation with no room to retreat. They would not simply collapse just because their commander had suddenly lost his combat effectiveness.

However, with Cao Xiu unconscious, it meant that this detachment of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry on the eastern side of the camp had suddenly lost its command structure. Of the two majors, one had already died in battle earlier, and the other was now nowhere to be found — likely surrounded along with some small detached unit.

In other words, at this very moment, if no one stepped forward, the remaining several hundred Tiger and Leopard Cavalry could only split up under the leadership of squad leaders and company commanders and fight on their own. And if that happened, how could they possibly withstand the enemy's massed tactical charge?

This had nothing to do with tactical proficiency — it was a blunt, crushing blow!

"Major Cao surely cannot be dead yet!" At the critical moment, a company commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, his face covered in blood from fighting on the front line, gritted his teeth and stood out, roaring with all his might. "Get him into the main camp! The rest of you, follow me..."

Before he could finish, no fewer than ten arrows flew at him together, pinning this Cao army officer — who was already within the front-line strike zone and had abandoned cover to voluntarily expose himself — into a pincushion!

The man was struck by several arrows, clearly fatal wounds, yet he did not die immediately. His expression was one of extreme agony; one hand struggled to grasp an arrow shaft embedded in his chest, while the other hand strained to hold onto the reins. However, his mount had also been hit by several arrows in quick succession. Maddened by pain, the horse suddenly bolted out of control, throwing its master's body from the saddle. Yet the reins were still tangled around the company commander's arm, so that the man was dragged by his own warhorse for several hundred paces before finally dying there on the battlefield!

A dozen or so of Cao Xiu's bodyguards escorted Cao Xiu into the camp. When they returned, they found that the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry formation on the eastern side of the battlefield had already disintegrated. Large numbers of Tiger and Leopard Cavalry riders had been successfully split up and surrounded by the Yan army, left with no choice but to trade their lives for time. Yet these dozen or so riders did not hesitate at all, charging headlong into the nearest melee.

And were swiftly slaughtered to the last man!

The collapse of Cao's army began from this point. However, due to the chaos of battle and the difficulty for senior officers to directly relay orders, once this collapse began, it did not spread toward the main camp, but instead surged toward the center of the battlefield to the north.

To put it plainly, everyone had long since fought to a blood-crazed frenzy; by now, all anyone saw was the enemy. Thus, for a time, the main camp where Cao Ang was located, along with the other four camps themselves, did not actually come under much assault. Instead, it was Cao's troops outside the camps who began to be encircled and annihilated on a massive scale, resulting in massive casualties.

As the sun sank further west, the weather was no longer scorching hot. And just then, the second landmark event of Cao's army's collapse occurred — Cheng Lian, leading his personal guard, personally slew the already exhausted Runan famous general, Chen Dao!

This young commander, who had originally merely stepped in to right a wrong by escorting Chen Qun and his son along with a group of refugees south to Huainan, only to be appreciated and promoted by Liu Bei and relied upon as a trusted general, had fought tenaciously for an entire day and was utterly spent! When Cheng Lian spotted the opportunity and charged with his personal guard to the man's front, he discovered that his opponent was drenched in blood, wounded in many places, unable even to stand, and could only sit propped against a wooden palisade outside the camp.

Cheng Juzheng had fought him for an entire afternoon and had long since conceded defeat in his heart. Seeing this, he had originally intended to call for his surrender, but when Chen Dao saw him coming, he disregarded everything and actually forced himself to raise his blade in opposition… Cheng Lian understood the other man’s intent, so he hesitated no more, dismounted directly, and finished him with a single spear thrust, then took his head to make his name.

With this, the battle reached a point beyond all restraint.

Toward evening, the famed Danyang general who had followed Sun Jian in battle since the Yellow Turban uprising, the undisputed second man of the Sun faction, the Administrator of Kuaiji, Zhu Junli, went missing. His personal banner was captured, and the greater part of his personal guard was concentrated and annihilated by Yang Kai’s division in front of a small slope. The battlefield on the western side of the main camp collapsed in an instant.

Huang Gai led his remnant troops in retreat to his original main camp, drawing a joint assault from Yuwen Heita and Yang Kai.

Lu Dai also tried to return to camp, but was blocked outside the camp gate by Tian Yu, Tian Chou, and Yufuluo, then completely surrounded. This Administrator of Lujiang, whose seniority at Liu Bei’s side was second only to Zhang Fei and Jian Yong, seemed about to meet his own end as well.

But there was nothing to be done. Truly nothing.

Fewer than twenty thousand infantry, more than half of them auxiliaries — men with equipment but no combat experience whatsoever — plus three thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, facing roughly forty thousand main-force cavalry from Hebei. To hold out until evening was already a tremendous achievement.

What more could one expect?

In truth, by this point, the only Central Plains coalition force on the battlefield still barely maintaining a fighting posture was Cao Chun’s division, and even that was tottering on the brink.

As it happened, the commander of the Central Plains’ strongest cavalry force, Cao Zihe, had never imagined cavalry could be used in such a way! That man named Zhang Liao, his sworn enemy who had killed his brother, led eight hundred riders in repeated withdrawals and repeated charges. Every charge, like a small knife paring flesh, inflicted precise and unstoppable casualties — and then, using their horses’ speed, they swiftly disengaged from the fight!

Cao Chun had considered meeting charge with charge, but the truly terrifying thing about the enemy lay precisely here: these men of Hebei understood warhorses and formations far better than the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. They could always find the most advantageous angle while galloping, then exploit their speed and endurance to launch perfectly timed charges.

After an afternoon of fighting, Cao Chun’s two thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry were reduced to a thousand. The rest, of course, had not all died in battle, because once the casualty count reached six or seven hundred, even the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry began to scatter and flee.

Such is the cruelty of war. From a macro perspective, any large-scale organized force that suffers thirty percent losses will essentially lose its combat capability. This has nothing to do with their will to fight or their morale — even if they are willing to fight to the death, and indeed do fight to the death, the collapse of the command structure and the overall decline in morale will doom the remaining troops to the fate of being slaughtered even as they continue fighting!

Therefore, even if men still fought on stubbornly in localized pockets, it could not alter their overall defeat!

This was the current state of the entire battlefield — so it was for the Central Plains coalition as a whole, and so it was for Cao Chun’s Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Once casualties reached around six or seven hundred, this unit, though doggedly maintaining a fighting posture, was utterly incapable of inflicting any harm on Zhang Liao’s division. They simply stood there, being butchered by Zhang Liao!

Correspondingly, Zhang Liao’s eight hundred riders were unaffected by attrition, because in reality he had five thousand riders. The Yan army on the entire western battlefield actually had twenty thousand riders. His eight hundred riders were constantly being rotated and replenished. Under such circumstances, the previous several hundred casualties were nothing more than a negligible fraction.

Facing the setting sun, Cao Chun watched Zhang Liao’s division complete its assembly once more further to the west, and fell into utter despair… It was during the last engagement that Zhang Liao had charged straight up to him and struck down with a halberd. Though it did not take Cao Zihe’s life, it severed three fingers on his right hand before he rode off triumphantly.

By now, Cao Chun could no longer grip a weapon; he could only barely direct his troops with a riding crop clutched in his left hand!

Yet even this seemed futile. It was all too easy to imagine that when Zhang Liao charged before him again, what awaited him, the commander of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, would be personal death and the total expungement of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.

And indeed, because his horse Daoli had been worked to utter collapse and death, Zhang Liao had long since changed mounts. Once assembled, he did not hesitate in the slightest and immediately launched another charge. On the other side, the intense weariness and the haze from blood loss caused Cao Chun to abandon all will to resist in an instant.

“Uncle!”

As if in a dream, Cao Chun, in his daze and mental fog, seemed to hear Cao Ang’s voice. And soon, as he turned his head, he realized it was no dream — Cao Ang had truly come. The latter rode a horse, leading several dozen elite attendants, all of them covered in dust and grime, clearly having fought through bitter hardship to find him.

“Why did you come out?!” Cao Chun snapped to full alertness in an instant, then erupted in fury. “If you came out, what of the main camp?! It’s almost dark — if we hold on a little longer, we might yet hold it!”

“Uncle, worry no more for the main camp!” Cao Ang hurriedly steadied the other man’s swaying body on horseback, yet could not help but weep even as he explained. “From the watchtower on the command platform, I saw dust rising to the east — it must be Father’s relief force… That’s why I risked coming out to find you! Wenlie died of his wounds — he was carried back and died in the main camp not long after… I feared you too might meet misfortune, so I came out to find you!”

“Your father has arrived?” At first hearing word of reinforcements, Cao Chun was so overjoyed he nearly collapsed from sheer relief. But when he turned his head and saw Zhang Liao’s division already about to charge upon them, he abruptly came to his senses, then could not hide his fury. “You fool! Even if your father has arrived, you should not have come out! In this situation, it’s already too late! You should have stayed in camp to guide your father in at once… What does my death matter… If you die, what will your father do?! I forbid you to throw your life away in vain today!!”

“Let us go together…”

“I already told you, it’s too late! With the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry destroyed, how can I live on alone?!” Cao Chun glanced at the remnants of the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry before him, who were practically collapsing at the first touch, and saw Zhang Liao personally leading troops straight toward him. His expression twisted in agony, then suddenly he barked a fierce command: “Zixiu, dismount at once! Throw away your helmet and roll on the ground! Quickly!”

Cao Ang stared in blank incomprehension, but Cao Chun lashed him across the face with his riding crop, his voice nearly hoarse: “Quickly! I forbid you to die!”

Only then did Cao Zixiu hurriedly obey. He truly cast aside his helmet, dismounted, and rolled once on the ground, which was sodden with blood and mud.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry completely collapsed. Zhang Liao advanced as if entering uninhabited territory, pressing straight for the great banner bearing the character ‘Cao.’ In what seemed an instant, he was already within a few dozen paces of the man.

Cao Zixiu had just finished his roll when he saw this scene. A faint realization stirred in his heart. The several dozen riders who had come with him swarmed forward to block the enemy, but they were no match for Zhang Liao and his personal guard, let alone the dense mass of Yan cavalry surging behind Zhang Liao… These several dozen riders were practically cut down and unhorsed the moment they met the foe.

Amid the chaos, Cao Chun, his right hand half-severed and able to exert force only with his left, paid no heed to Zhang Liao. He did not draw his sword with his left hand to fight, nor did he make any move to rein his horse and flee. Instead, he continued to use the only hand he could still exert to grip his riding crop and rain blows down upon his nephew, who was on the ground beside the horse, lashing him relentlessly even as he shouted curses at the top of his voice:

“Worthless dog-slave! Were it not for cowardly wretches like you who fear death, how could this battle have come to such a pass? How could the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry have been defeated by that clown from Bingzhou? I remembered that your father is my colleague, remembered that you hail from Qiaoxian, and so I took you as my personal guard — yet you flee in the face of battle… Worthless dog-slave! Worthless dog-slave!!”

Amid the unceasing curses, Zhang Liao had already charged before him. His twin halberds swept out horizontally in unison from his sides, cleanly shearing off Cao Chun’s head. Instantly, blood gushed like a spring from his neck, hot and steaming, splashing directly onto the back of Cao Ang, who had long since been weeping uncontrollably.

Having slain Cao Chun, Zhang Liao rode his horse straight past the fleeing soldiers on the ground, advanced a dozen more paces, and with one halberd stroke hacked down Cao Chun’s great banner. At this, the surrounding Tiger and Leopard Cavalry scattered completely like birds and beasts, while the Hebei cavalry roared like mountain torrents and tidal waves, shouting “Your Majesty!” without end.

For a moment, no one paid the slightest attention to Cao Zixiu on the ground.

“Cao Mengde has come so quickly!”

Just then, north of the battlefield, beneath the White Horse Banner, Gongsun Xun gazed at the Cao army banners that had suddenly appeared on the road to the east of the battlefield and actually broke into a brief laugh. “He must have over ten thousand riders, no?”

“Yes!” Pang De answered from beside him. “And according to intelligence from the Jing’an Bureau, this should be the last of the Cao army’s cavalry… Cao Mengde clearly feared for the situation here — or rather, Cao Chun must have sent a messenger pleading for aid this morning — and so he disregarded everything and came with only his cavalry… The main force will arrive even later.”

At this point, Pang De spoke with slight caution: “My lord, with Cao Cao now arriving with no fewer than ten thousand riders, what should we do? Shall we sound the assembly call?”

“Indeed! What should we do at this moment?” Gongsun Xun gazed thoughtfully at the Cao army banners, then suddenly turned to Xun You, who was stroking his beard in silence. “Gongda, let me ask you one thing — if you were in the enemy’s camp, what course of action would you urge Cao Mengde to take?”

“Ignore everything else and ride straight into the southern main camp!” Xun You answered with a solemn expression.

“Exactly! If he rode straight into the main camp, this battle would end right here, and I would have no choice but to sound the assembly call… But he has hesitated. Why?” Gongsun Xun’s sneer deepened, and then he answered his own question. “Because Cao Mengde is also flesh and blood. Having ridden here at full speed, he is not only utterly exhausted, but also shaken by the horrific sight before him. For a moment, he does not know whether to commit his entire force to battle and attempt a timely rescue, or to secure himself within the camp… After all, in his eyes, our entire army is utterly spent, our formations are in disarray, and we are at the end of our strength. If we were forced to fight, we would surely be no match for his ten thousand utterly exhausted yet still fully organized cavalry.”

Xun You seemed about to speak, then stopped.

Jia Xu, however, spoke bluntly: “My lord, there is truly no need…”

“My mind is made up!” Gongsun Xun suddenly composed his features and cut Jia Xu off directly. “Yuansi (Han Hao)!”

Han Hao, the Army Protector of the Center, stiffened abruptly and immediately clasped his fists in salute: “Your servant is here!”

“Three hundred riders are left to you. Escort the two military advisors, all staff officers, and civil officials and withdraw ten li to the rear to serve as a rear guard!” Gongsun Xun suddenly drew his Broken Blade of the Hegemon-King, his expression ferocious. “All remaining White Horse Volunteers, mount up and follow me to take Cao Cao directly!”

The men of the central army were thoroughly enlightened in that instant:

Cao Cao’s sudden arrival, though it made seizing the main camp difficult and uncertain, also meant that his troops had come from afar and were utterly exhausted — thus exposing a fatal weakness. One must understand that at this very moment on the battlefield, over three thousand White Horse Volunteers had yet to be committed to the fight at all. This was precisely the perfect moment to take Cao Cao’s head!

Seizing the Guandu main camp would mean directly gaining a thirty-percent chance of victory in the Central Plains war; but if they could take Cao Cao’s head in one stroke, they could declare total victory in this battle outright!

The only thing that gave some men pause — or rather, the thought that aligned with Jia Xu’s — was this: was it truly necessary for the Duke of Yan, a man worth a thousand pieces of gold, to personally take the field?!

Of course, thoughts were one thing, and the window of opportunity was another — especially since, at this moment, the resilience of the Central Plains coalition and Cao Cao’s heaven-sent arrival had ignited in Gongsun Xun a rare lust for battle. He might not be so easily dissuaded!

It was just as the saying went: If Cao Cao dares risk it all, can I, his elder, not do the same?!

“Mengqi!” Before the others could remonstrate further, Gongsun Xun suddenly cast a commanding glance to his left and right and pointed his blade at one man. “You shall be the vanguard! Clear the path for me!”

————I am the dividing line of charging straight in————

“The battle raged until dusk. The Grand Ancestor’s army gradually gained the upper hand, then broke the enemy utterly, inflicting countless casualties.” — From the *Dianlüe*, annotated by Pei Songzhi of Yan.

PS: Thanks to new Alliance Masters Little Tree Lord and the Four Delights of the King of Home-Switching… I’ve finally dragged the updates to this point. Barely managed a two-in-one chapter, and I’ll take this chance to request a break. The next chapter will naturally be postponed until tomorrow evening. I hope for your understanding.

(End of Chapter)