Chapter 483: Even a Head-On Retreat Is Hard to Manage

In the height of summer, the sudden day-long battle at Guandu shook the realm.

This was only to be expected. After all, the intensity of the fighting far exceeded anyone’s imagination, and the consequences of the battle’s outcome were destined to be both sensitive and far-reaching… Of course, setting aside the distant implications for now, let us speak only of the most direct result. In this single battle, the Central Plains Coalition’s core force of thirty thousand was nearly annihilated in a single day, while the Yan Army’s most essential Hebei cavalry also suffered nearly five thousand casualties in that same day. Beyond that, the Yan Army ultimately failed to break through the Guandu main camp, yet the Central Plains Coalition almost completely lost its cavalry establishment.

Victory in the battle unquestionably belonged to Duke Yan and his Hebei Army, but the Central Plains Coalition and Excellency Cao did not collapse because of it — they merely fell into an extremely dire predicament.

“Gongsun Wenqi has always been like this — if he does not fight, then all is quiet, but once he fights, he commits everything. Now that our cavalry is entirely lost and Guandu is so broad, they will surely regroup their forces and attack within three to five days. When that time comes, how should we respond?”

On the evening of the second day after the battle, while both sides were still licking their wounds and the corpses on the battlefield had yet to be fully cleared, Cao Mengde suddenly summoned Liu Ye, Cao Ren, Huang Zhong, Sun Ce, Huang Gai, and several other key camp commanders, along with his own son Cao Ang, to discuss the situation together.

And since Cao Mengde had recomposed himself to convene this council of war, his countenance was naturally as usual and his speech even-tempered, only his tone was slightly more severe… In truth, were it not for a large patch of his hair being singed off and the dense web of bloodshot veins in his eyes, one could hardly tell that this man had just suffered such a crushing defeat the day before — a fact that secretly earned the admiration of the commanders in the tent.

Yet while Cao Cao’s undiminished bearing was indeed admirable, it could not ease the situation in the slightest. Upon hearing this question, the several men in the tent all looked troubled.

“I will not hide it from you, honored foster father.” Sun Bofu was a straightforward man and blurted out directly from his seat. “It is not only Guandu. I hastily led troops here to reinforce, leaving Yingchuan empty. If Cheng Pu now leads troops out of Huanyuan Pass, I fear Yingchuan will also be hard to hold… You must understand, the old territory of Sili is full of passes and checkpoints. Whether it is Cheng Pu or Zhong Yao, they can hold these passes and either attack or defend at will. We, on the other hand, cannot easily withdraw.”

“Yingchuan is our heartland — it must be defended!” Cao Cao was equally blunt, even carrying a sense of urgency and insistence. “Since Zhu Junli has already been found, do not delay any further. You may return to Yingchuan immediately, and send Zhu Junli to the rear to recover in peace…” At this point, Cao Mengde paused briefly, then spoke again with a solemn expression. “After returning to Yingchuan, you may abandon places like Yangcheng and Lunshi. You need only lead your entire army to hold Yangguan and Yangdi. In this way, first, you can coordinate with the main camp here; second, by concentrating your main force there, backed by strong cities, you can also guard against Hebei cavalry circling around for a surprise raid.”

Sun Ce was slightly taken aback: “In principle, that makes sense, but what of the Ru River route? There are two main north-south routes between Yingchuan and Sili. If I gather all the troops around Yangdi and Yangguan, I can indeed defend against cavalry raids and also come to support this place when necessary. But what if the Guanxi troops suddenly emerge from Luhun Pass and take the southern route along the Ru River?”

“I will write to Lu Bu myself, asking him to march out from Luyang to Yangren and watch over the southern route.” Cao Cao seemed to have already prepared this plan.

Sun Ce slowly nodded: “That will do, I suppose. Given the situation, tearing down the east wall to patch the west wall is a measure born of necessity… To be fair, Nanyang still has sufficient troops.”

Liu Ye, who had been listening nearby for a while, now roughly understood Cao Cao’s line of thought: “Does Lord Cao mean… to continue holding Guandu?”

“Correct.” Cao Cao nodded in affirmation. “At this stage, if we abandon Guandu, it means letting Gongsun Wenqi into the Central Plains heartland and defending city by city… But I believe that would merely be a futile drain. If we can still hold Guandu against him, we can still preserve a chance of victory.”

“But now our army has suddenly lost thirty thousand main-force troops, including nearly all the cavalry… We have only two or three thousand scattered warhorses left.” Liu Ye finally raised the critical question. “In a few more days, Hebei reinforcements will arrive. When Duke Yan then leads his grand army south again, with both infantry and cavalry sufficient, whether he launches a strong assault on Guandu or sends cavalry around the rear to strike the cities behind us, what then? As for the cities behind us, Yangdi in the Yingchuan direction can rely on Sun Polu massing troops and Lu Wenhou’s support, but what of Chenliu to the east and Weishi to the southeast — what do we have to hold them?”

“To put it plainly, it is simply a shortage of troops, is it not?” Cao Cao replied with a serious expression. “If Guandu were reinforced with another twenty thousand troops, it could be firmly held. If the places behind us — Chenliu, Zhongmu, Weishi, and the like — all had sufficient forces like Yangdi where my son Bofu is stationed, then what of cavalry circling around? At that time, their cavalry would be blunted beneath strong city walls and would still have to worry about Guandu cutting off their supply lines at any moment…”

Liu Ye fully grasped the implication in his heart and bluntly asked directly: “How much territory is Lord Cao prepared to abandon?”

At this, the other key commanders in the tent, who had been somewhat in a fog until now, were all jolted one after another, and then understood.

Indeed… At this stage of the war, the logic on the battlefield was already very clear: the Central Plains Coalition had a breach torn open by Gongsun Xun through yesterday’s battle! This breach was both a geographical concept — referring to Guandu, this great sieve — and a military concept — to put it plainly, a sudden shortage of troops along the defensive line!

What then was to be done?

The only option was to selectively contract the defensive line and concentrate forces!

However, there were two methods of contracting the defensive line. One was to simply abandon Guandu, this broad crossing, and fall back to the network of cities behind, defending from the cities. Defending cities and defending a main camp were different, but this would undoubtedly also mean abandoning the last shred of strategic initiative. The other method was to continue holding Guandu to the death, and for this, bear the hidden danger of cavalry circling around brought by the broad Guandu crossing. Thus, besides reinforcing Guandu, additional garrisons would also have to be placed in the three main cities behind Guandu… It was just that, in doing so, a large number of cities and territory elsewhere would inevitably have to be strategically abandoned.

The question was, how much would have to be abandoned to fill this gap?

“Everything north of the Bian River — we will not hold any of it.” Cao Cao had clearly already made his decision. “Withdraw east all the way to Bo County in Liang State… West of Bo County, north of the Bian River, including the northwest of Yangdi in Yingchuan and the west of Jiyin Commandery — fifteen cities in total, along with the Pu River main camp — all given to Gongsun Wenqi! What do you all think?!”

Silence filled the tent.

“Foster father, what a decisive resolution!” After a long while, Sun Ce shifted his rear slightly in his seat and slowly responded, becoming the first to give a positive reaction, and then met Cao Cao’s gaze.

It had to be said that although Sun Bofu was young, his grasp of the overall situation was exceptionally outstanding, and he weighed pros and cons in his heart with great clarity — even faintly surpassing figures like Lu Bu and Liu Biao in this regard. He had been this decisive when dispatching troops before, and now, having suddenly lost nearly a third of his forces, he still took it in stride.

Such bearing inevitably reminded one of his father, who had passed away several years ago — the Fierce Tiger of Jiangdong, Sun Wentai.

“Lord Cao is truly a hero!” Since Sun Ce had spoken, Liu Ye for the moment had nothing more to say. “With such a resolution, I believe my lord in Huainan will also feel Lord Cao’s sincerity and will still render his utmost support.”

Cao Cao came back to himself and did not take it to heart: “Xuande and I naturally understand each other without words. Bofu is my foster son and beloved son-in-law, so he naturally understands my intentions as well. The reason I have called you here today to explain is simply because I worry that Liu Jingsheng might again act with petty-mindedness.”

“If so, then indeed there will be no worry about troop strength.” Hearing this, the somewhat older Huang Zhong, embarrassed as he was, could only speak with a straight face. As Liu Pan’s deputy commander, he ranked at best third or even fourth in the Jingzhou contingent for this campaign. That he could utter such a vague remark was already the limit of his duty.

Of course, to be fair, setting aside the direct losses of yesterday’s battle, the strategic contraction alone was an indisputably good thing for Liu Ye and Huang Zhong… After all, abandoning a large amount of land and cities and pulling the defensive line far back not only concentrated forces and maintained the overall situation, but also greatly relieved the pressure on Liu Bei and Liu Biao, since the latter two also bore a heavy burden of logistics. How could those responsible for logistics not feel relieved seeing the supply lines shortened?

And taking it a step further, from a strategic perspective, as one side advanced and the other retreated, Gongsun Xun would inevitably have to lengthen his own supply lines and deploy large numbers of troops across the newly occupied enemy territory to maintain a strategic confrontational posture, which in turn would bring enormous logistical pressure on the Yan Army. It was just that Gongsun Xun would certainly be happy to do so, because he had come precisely to seize the Central Plains. No one believed the rhetoric about “welcoming back the Son of Heaven.” If he truly wanted to welcome back the Son of Heaven, could he not just march out from Wuguan and strike Nanyang? Why insist on doing this sort of thing right in Cao Cao’s heartland?

So, after going full circle, Cao Mengde’s decision today, besides reassuring his allies, was more about persuading his own internal camp. Because those who would truly find this measure hard to accept were undoubtedly Cao Cao’s own faction… Giving up fifteen cities in one breath, plus the six cities north of the Pu River that had been voluntarily abandoned earlier — it could well be said that within a single month of the war’s start, the Cao Army had thrown away roughly the territory of an entire large commandery plus two hundred li of strategic depth!

Losing these two hundred li of depth, Cao Cao’s already flattened territory inevitably approached a kind of extreme peril… Because south of the Bian River lay Chenliu City, and further on lay Suiyang in Liang State, the very base from which Cao Cao had risen. If this line were lost as well, the Cao Army would face defeat and destruction in the truest sense!

But at this moment, what else could be done?

Cao Ren and Cao Ang, uncle and nephew, indeed remained silent, clearly because the battle situation was so tense that Cao Cao had not had time to discuss it with them beforehand.

After an unknown length of time, Cao Ang pursed his lips for a long while, then actually spoke before his uncle: “This son believes that Father’s measure is most appropriate!”

Cao Ren hesitated, wanting to speak, but in the end nodded heavily: “At this stage, this is the only way. I will follow Elder Brother’s orders in all things! After all, if we cannot commit our full strength to this war… I do not fear dying myself in the future, but I would fear being unable to face Zihe!”

Once Cao Ren said this, the camp leadership could be considered to have fully reached a consensus, with an air of ten thousand hearts beating as one. Yet after everyone had expressed their stance, the tent fell silent again… Clearly, with Cao Ren’s words, everyone was once more reminded of yesterday’s crushing defeat and losses, of those comrades, brothers, and subordinates who had fallen in battle.

In truth, had yesterday’s battle not been so profoundly shocking, how could they have united so readily today and resolved to abandon so much territory?

“The Hebei Army also suffered considerable losses.” After a long silence, Cao Mengde, his face devoid of excess expression, finally issued formal orders by candlelight. “They will find it hard to mount an offensive for several days… Take this opportunity. Zixiu, continue to properly clear the battlefield, search for the bodies of fallen soldiers, and arrange the exchange of heads with Wuchao. Bofu, do not delay — return to Yangdi immediately. Zixiao, you and General Huang Hansheng go together to take charge of the forward camp and ensure that the burned-out forward camp is repaired as much as possible. Ziyang, I ask you to go at once with all speed to the Pu South main camp and inform Lu Zijing of my decision, and then without a moment’s pause, withdraw directly. Finally, I will preside over the soldiers’ funeral rites…”

“Aye!”

Sun Ce and the commanders below all rose and bowed their heads in acknowledgment. A moment later, only Cao Cao remained in the great tent, sitting motionless and alone.

“So, Cao Cao has abandoned the ten-odd cities between Pu South and Bian North?” Several days later, inside the small camp at Wuchao, Gongsun Xun, having rested for a while, finally received intelligence on the reinforcements from the rear and the latest movements of the Cao Army.

“Reporting to Your Highness, that is exactly so.” Guo Jia bowed in affirmation. “When Director Lou of Sili discovered the movements in Pu South, fearing that Cao Cao would carry out a scorched-earth policy along the way, he had no time to report and immediately joined Generals Xu and Zhang in crossing the river… According to the current reports from the vanguard, north of the Bian River, half of Chenliu Commandery is now completely empty. Cities like Yuanju and Zhuzao in the west of Jiyin Commandery have also been abandoned. Only when reaching Bo County in Liang State to the east was Cao Hong’s banner sighted — that place should be heavily garrisoned.”

“Yue Jin at Puyang, Li Jin at Lihu, Zhang Chao at Juyang, Gao Gan at Dingtao, and now Cao Hong at Bo County — all are great commanders, heavy troops, and famous cities.” Gongsun Xun sat in his place, deep in thought. “This defensive line, backed by the Daye, Lei, and He Marshes, is still very stable. To the west, it can contain Zibo (Lou Gui); to the east, it can pin down Yunchang (Guan Yu)…”

“Exactly so.” Guo Jia immediately agreed. “And according to reports from our scouting riders, south of the Bian River, Cao Mengde has also concentrated his main army at places like Suiyang, Chenliu, and Mengcheng, rather than setting up defenses everywhere.”

“That is only natural. Less than twenty li south of the Bian River lies the Sui River. West of Suiyang, the two rivers flow almost parallel. According to military doctrine, this is classic death ground for cavalry — we could not possibly cross two great rivers in succession there to carry out a raid.” At this point, Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh. “In truth, I had long anticipated that Cao Mengde would contract his defensive line to concentrate his forces, but I never imagined he would be so decisive, abandoning so many cities in one breath and pulling back so far… One can only say, it is Cao Mengde after all.”

“He has abandoned virtually everything that could be abandoned.” Guo Jia responded with a serious expression. “But conversely, Cao Mengde has now reached the point where there is nothing left to abandon and nowhere left to retreat! Guandu and the Bian and Sui Rivers are his final defensive line!”

“Well said!” Gongsun Xun abruptly rose and paced back and forth in the tent with his hands behind his back. “I knew Cao Mengde and Lu Zijing would not be so easy to deal with. Since he built such a large camp at Guandu, he clearly had some scheme in mind, seeking a chance of victory… So this kind of thing is actually within expectations. It is just, Fengxiao…”

“Your servant is here.”

“Where do you think Cao Mengde’s chance of victory lies?” Gongsun Xun asked with a serious expression.

“Your servant believes that Cao Mengde’s so-called chance of victory does not exist — or rather, has not yet appeared. His intention is nothing more than to strive to hold on, to wait until both sides are utterly exhausted and both are forced to reveal openings… staking everything on seizing an opening before we do and striking a single decisive blow!” Guo Jia replied in a deep voice. “In other words, the so-called chance of victory is bound to arise naturally amidst the stalemate! Why else would he exhaust every resource just to maintain the Guandu main camp?”

“Gongda said the same.” Gongsun Xun halted in the tent, his expression solemn for a moment, yet also somewhat wistful. “In terms of broad principles, it could not fall outside this scope. But I keep feeling that he should have had a strategy aimed at me from the start, or at least a vague idea… Come to think of it, over the course of more than ten years — even counting only from when each side established their separate regimes, it has been six or seven years — Cao Mengde has always been pressing close behind me, always treating me as his hypothetical enemy. I do not believe he has not had some ideas, but I simply cannot figure out what scheme he has been harboring… Wenhe broadly agrees with my speculation on this, but believes we should set it aside for now and press forward directly with our momentum! Use an overwhelming formation to force Cao Mengde to reveal his own opening first! After all, in a battle of this nature, win one or two more engagements, and even if Cao Aman were an immortal, he could not hold on.”

“Your servant also believes that what the two military advisors said is absolutely correct.” Guo Jia grew even more solemn. “Your Highness… At this stage, our army grows strong of its own accord, while the southern army grows weak of its own accord; our army flourishes of its own accord, while the southern army declines of its own accord; our army is sharp of its own accord, while the southern army is blunted of its own accord; our army is united of its own accord, while the southern army scatters of its own accord… So long as our army makes no mistakes, the southern army is bound to reveal an opening first. Rather than agonizing over Cao Cao’s ‘unorthodox stratagem,’ it is better to focus our minds on managing our own army’s offensive!”

“Well said!” Gongsun Xun’s spirits lifted slightly, but then he immediately broke into a laugh. “That is how it should be… However, Fengxiao.”

“Your servant is here!” Guo Jia remained as solemn as ever.

“Set this matter aside for now. There is something I have been meaning to ask you.”

“Your Highness, please speak.”

"Why is it that in private you are so unrestrained and dissolute, yet in Yexia, after barely two years of public service, you were already named alongside Wenyuan and Mengqi as the Three Scourges of Yexia... but when handling official duties, you become so stern?" In the tent with no one else present, Gongsun Xun paced around behind the other man.

"Your servant..." Guo Jia gripped the long sword at his waist, momentarily embarrassed. "Your servant has probably spent too long in the presence of Guan Zhendong, and developed this habit before him."

"So that's how it is." Gongsun Xun sighed. "No wonder... I have a task for you..."

"Yes!"

"Cheng Demou (Cheng Pu) and Qian Zijing (Qian Zhao) have already led the Hedong, Hongnong, and some Guanxi troops here. Now at Wuchao we have a combined force of seventy thousand, which is already sufficient for use. My mind is made up — we will immediately march south to Guandu and face Cao Cao in a decisive battle... But you need not stay here and hold the line with me. Go to Qingzhou and see if you can help Yunchang and Zhengnan break open the eastern front!" Gongsun Xun gave the order with a solemn expression.

"Understood!"

"Also, I originally had no intention of mobilizing Yingzhou, but if by then the eastern front achieves a breakthrough, I may send Cheng Zhongde (Cheng Yu) directly to support you. Tell Yunchang and Zhengnan not to worry about lacking follow-up troops once the front is broken open!"

"Understood!" Guo Jia bowed his head once more.

And Gongsun Xun waved his hand to dismiss him. Shortly after, those among the Volunteer Followers skilled in writing filed back in one by one, and together with this Duke of Yan, continued writing casualty notification letters.

And so, leaving aside Guo Jia's journey to Qingzhou, Gongsun Xun, having received reinforcements from Cheng Pu, Qian Zhao, and part of the Guanxi troops, with both cavalry and infantry complete, directly led the seventy-thousand-strong army south and once again arrived at the old ground of Guandu.

Up to this point, the Lou Gui–Xu Huang–Gao Shun–Zhang He group at Gongsun Xun's side, because their defensive zone had expanded and the battle line had stretched, was now unable to mount further offensives and could only hold the line against the enemy along the Bianshui Puyang–Dingtao line.

Correspondingly, the Central Plains coalition, due to strategic contraction, had once again concentrated sufficient military strength around Guandu. Cao Cao personally led sixty thousand troops to encamp at Guandu, while his second-in-command Lu Su established a main base at Chenliu City behind him, using twenty thousand troops to control the Bianshui defense line while guarding against a flanking maneuver by the Hebei cavalry. By the same logic, Sun Ce also concentrated twenty thousand troops and contracted to the Yangdi area.

In other words, through strategic retreat, the Cao army forcibly gathered one hundred thousand troops at Guandu and the core hub area behind it, ultimately managing to hold the overall situation once more.

"What do you think?"

In mid-June, Gongsun Xun reined in his horse and advanced, once again approaching the enemy ramparts to observe. At this moment, the enemy camp had clearly been completely renewed, just as it was when they first arrived at Guandu. Only the scorch marks on a few forward camp watchtowers and the dried gray-brown stains on the ground reminded everyone that a heaven-shaking, earth-shattering battle had taken place here days before.

And at this time, the two men standing foremost beside Gongsun Xun were conspicuously the two generals Cheng Pu and Qian Zhao.

"The enemy ramparts are solid!" Amid the somewhat tacit silence of everyone present, Cheng Pu observed for a long while and finally spoke first. "If they do not come out of camp to give battle, our army may only be able to assault them directly!"

"How to assault them directly?" Gongsun Xun furrowed his brow in response.

"Your servant knows that my lord has always been considerate of the soldiers and is unwilling to use human lives to assault fortifications." Cheng Pu hesitated slightly. "Therefore... therefore your servant has a plan. If you wish to spare lives, why not advance with linked camps, pressing forward layer by layer, matching camp against camp?!"

"Good!" Gongsun Xun nodded slowly.

—————I am the dividing line of linked camps facing each other—————

"In the sixth month, the combined battle was unfavorable. Cao then abandoned two hundred li north of the Bianshui. The Grand Ancestor ordered Sizhou Governor Lou Gui to command Gao Shun, Xu Huang, and Zhang He to advance and seize it. The Grand Ancestor, having thus prevailed, then assembled the sons of Guanxi, Sanhe, and Hebei, obtaining one hundred thousand foot and horse, and again advanced to Guandu to press them. Adopting Cheng Pu's strategy, he linked camps for thirty li, pressing forward layer upon layer. At that time, Cao had just been defeated, his troops not filling ten thousand, with two or three out of every ten wounded. Yet seeing the Grand Ancestor arrive, though his troops were few, he likewise divided his camps to match them." — New Book of Yan, Scroll 27, Hereditary Houses, Part Two

(End of Chapter)