Chapter 491: Tiger's Roar and Strife's Clamor Like Whispered Words

"Whoosh... Boom!"

At Guandu, on the front-line position, Gongsun Xun, the Duke of Yan and General of the Guard, who was inspecting the area, watched with wide eyes as three massive stones flew out from behind the enemy camp in succession, carrying a strange whistling sound through the air. One of them then smashed straight into an earthen mound less than thirty paces to his left front.

Upon impact, the immense force carried by the stone not only collapsed a rammed-earth corner of the mound, but then, rolling diagonally down the slope and churning up countless clods of earth, it forced the officers and soldiers below to scramble out of the way. Carried by its enormous inertia, the stone then crashed through a section of palisade and smashed a support beam of a watchtower.

Gongsun Xun watched the head-sized stone roll past in front of him, silent and expressionless, clearly unperturbed. But while he was unperturbed, his subordinates were not. To his side and right front, a full seven or eight catapults, long since prepared, dared not delay. At the command of a young officer, they fired at once in response.

Seven or eight catapults fired in volley after volley, dozens of stone projectiles flying into the enemy camp in an unbroken stream — an awe-inspiring sight. However, apart from a brief commotion after the very first volley, which forced Cao Cao's army to abandon their earthen mounds and watchtowers, there was little other reaction from the opposing side.

Once the volleys were complete, another officer gave the order and personally led a company of soldiers toward the enemy. But very quickly, the earthen mounds and watchtowers that had been empty because the defenders were sheltering from the stones were now swarming with archers and crossbowmen, and the fighting platforms atop the front-line palisades were suddenly crowded with soldiers wielding long weapons.

The Yan army had no choice but to retreat resentfully under the orders of a higher-ranking commander.

Gongsun Xun watched for a while, saying nothing. He merely had someone bring over a few of the stone projectiles fired by the enemy catapults for him to examine, then walked a circuit through his own catapult position with his hand on his sword. Only then did he shake his head.

"Who commands this catapult unit?"

The young officer who had given the order to fire earlier came running swiftly and bowed his head to report: "I, Lu Fu, am the Catapult Company Commander here!"

Hearing the voice and the name, Gongsun Xun was momentarily taken aback, but immediately recovered his composure. "Lu Fu, do you know why your catapults here, outnumbering the enemy's several times over, cannot overwhelm them?"

This Catapult Company Commander of the six-hundred-dan rank, named Lu Fu, was momentarily terrified. He could only bow his head again, not daring to speak.

"Lift your head!" Facing this man, Gongsun Xun's patience vanished, and he barked a sharp rebuke. "Cowering and shrinking — what kind of bearing is that? You were like this as a child, you were like this when you served as a Retainer, and now that you are out here leading troops on your own, you are still the same."

Lu Fu — that is, the eldest son of the Yan Chancellor Lu Fan — hurriedly lifted his head again.

"Go look at the enemy's stone projectiles, then look at your own!" Gongsun Xun could not help but rebuke him sternly. "After you have looked, tell me what is going on!"

Lu Fu dared not delay. He hurried over to examine them, then returned with a face full of shame. "Reporting to the Duke of Yan, the enemy's stone projectiles have all had their edges and corners ground down, so once they land they can still roll. The stones fired by my subordinate's catapults are merely rough blocks, useless once they hit the ground."

"That is not the only thing!" Gongsun Xun sighed and continued. "The whistling sound of the enemy's stones is too distinct. They may not necessarily drill holes into every stone, but it is very likely that one or two have been specially fitted with bamboo tubes or something similar... Go look again."

Lu Fu suddenly understood. He hurried to check again and indeed found traces of crushed bamboo under another stone. The binding was not secure and would basically shatter upon impact, separating from the stone and leaving no obvious trace — yet it could certainly be considered a very effective little battlefield trick.

But just as Lu Fu finished his inspection and was about to kneel to report and promise improvements, another burst of piercing whistles rang out. Three more stone projectiles flew from behind the main camp of the opposing Cao army, heading straight for the Yan army camp, and their landing point was unmistakably clear: the Yan catapult position.

Soldiers scrambled to evade. The Cao army's stones came in an unbroken stream, smashing into the catapult position one after another. Despite the notoriously poor accuracy of blind firing, one of the Yan catapults was actually struck and smashed to pieces.

The Cao army's bombardment ceased, leaving the catapult position in momentary chaos. Faced with this scene, Lu Fu was already so ashamed he wished the ground would swallow him.

Gongsun Xun, however, narrowed his eyes in thought for a moment, then instead of anger, he laughed. "This time, I cannot blame you... I also did not expect that the Cao army had fitted their catapults with wheels! No wonder — I was just thinking, why is it that even though we started building catapults earlier and have more of them, we have never been able to suppress them?"

At these words, the attending staff officers and Retainer officers around him split into two groups. The older ones mostly looked bewildered, but the younger men who had been exposed to certain strange books and knowledge in Yexia all suddenly understood.

"Send word to Demou. Have him urge the entire army to immediately modify the catapults and install wheel axles," Gongsun Xun ordered at once. "From now on, the catapult troops and their assigned laborers will receive an extra meal in the afternoon."

The men hurried to acknowledge the order.

"Do your job well!" Before leaving, Gongsun Xun ultimately could not restrain himself. With one hand on his sword, he used his riding whip to tap Lu Fu on the shoulder. "Do not be impatient or rash, but even more so, do not cower and be perfunctory... After all, you are no longer a child. You must shoulder your responsibilities."

Lu Fu hurriedly bowed again.

By the time he lifted his head, Gongsun Xun had already mounted his horse and, leading his central army staff and retainers, withdrawn behind the next layer of wooden palisades to continue his inspection elsewhere.

However, along the battle line that stretched over ten li wide, this surprise inspection had not even reached its halfway point — he had just inspected two more forward camps — when the front-line general Cheng Pu hurried over with many forward camp commanders to "escort" him. This was, of course, understandable. Anyone in such a situation, especially after the Regional Commander had personally discovered the issue with the catapult wheels at the front, would likely do the same.

"Your Highness..." When Gongsun Xun stopped atop an earthen mound and gazed at the enemy camp for a long time without moving, Cheng Pu could not help but grow nervous. "In truth, the strategy of linked camps..."

"In truth, the strategy of linked camps has both advantages and disadvantages." Hearing Cheng Pu speak, Gongsun Xun finally sat down on this, the tallest earthen mound his side had built, yet still kept his eyes fixed on the Cao camp. "The advantage is that one need not fear making mistakes. From May, when we settled into this stalemate, until September — four months — we have gone from erecting palisades to building earthen mounds, from earthen mounds to digging tunnels, from tunnels to building catapults, constantly trading blows back and forth. The forward camps have even changed hands a few times, but the overall situation has never been decided. As for the disadvantage, it is that the camps are too dense. The entire Guandu area is packed so tightly that we cannot see the enemy's movements at all..."

Cheng Pu hesitated, wanting to speak but stopping himself.

"Do not overthink it." Gongsun Xun finally glanced at him with a smile. "This posture of steadiness was something I specifically instructed you to adopt back during the Yellow Turban rebellion. And when I chose you as the commander at Guandu and adopted your linked-camp strategy, it was precisely because that battle had pained me so much that I deliberately sought stability... Now that things have come to this, how could I blame you?"

Only then did Cheng Pu's mind ease, but he was still puzzled. "But if not out of dissatisfaction with the progress of the campaign, why has Your Highness come here specifically today?"

With Cheng Pu, Gongsun Xun naturally had no intention of concealing anything, and he immediately nodded in acknowledgment.

Having received the signal, Jia Xu, who was standing to the side, spoke bluntly: "General of the Guard of the South, you may not be aware, but His Highness's trip here truly was only to observe the enemy camp's movements. The inspection was merely incidental. Early this morning, a confidential urgent report came from Inspector Shen of Qingzhou, stating that General Guan very likely stormed and captured Xiapi several days ago."

This news had only just reached Guandu, and so, much like the reaction of the staff officers, retainers, and officers on and around the earthen mound, General of the Guard of the South Cheng Pu was instantly stunned.

However, this stunned state was not simply shock; it was mixed with doubt, absurdity, and incomprehension — even a slight sense of being verbally disoriented.

Because there were far too many questionable points in that statement.

First, Shen Pei was the highest-ranking official in Hebei, and Guan Yu was the highest-ranking general in Hebei. Together, they effectively held joint military and political authority over Qingzhou and the eastern front. Yet the top-level military report Shen Pei sent from Qingzhou concerning Guan Yu used phrases like "several days ago," "likely," and "already" — it was utterly unbelievable. How could a military report of this nature, one concerning the entire eastern front's strategic situation, contain not a single piece of definitive information?

Beyond that, of course, was the shock brought by the very word "Xiapi."

In fact, the reason many people were stunned was that they found it very difficult to connect Guan Yu, who had been locked in a standoff with Xiahou Dun in eastern Yanzhou, with Xiapi... Wasn't Xiapi deep in the enemy's rear?

"What exactly did the report say?" After a moment of bewilderment, Cheng Pu immediately cupped his hands and inquired. "Since the matter was settled days ago, I beg Military Advisor Jia to explain in detail."

"It is like this," Jia Xu said unhurriedly. "Shen Zhengnan's intelligence actually came from Guo Fengxiao, and Guo Fengxiao was at that time in Langya, pacifying and overawing Zang Ba and the various Langya commanders... But at the beginning of September, Shen Zhengnan suddenly received an urgent military letter from Guo Fengxiao dated to the end of August. The letter stated that Zhou Yu in Xuzhou seemed to be planning something massive in the Langya and Donghai region. Although it was unclear what the enemy's exact plan was, Guo Fengxiao intended to turn their own scheme against them. He would drive the Langya troops to march south in full force, using the Langya commanders as bait to lure Zhou Yu into concentrating his forces in northern Xuzhou, and then seize the opportunity to have General Guan move along the west bank of the Yi River to launch a surprise attack on the undefended Xiapi! Guo Fengxiao sent two letters at the same time: one to Shen Zhengnan, asking him to move south to a key position in Langya to prepare; and one, naturally, to General Guan Zhendong, requesting General Guan Yunchang to immediately move covertly and launch the surprise attack..."

Cheng Pu and the others below him finally understood. No wonder Jia Xu had spoken so strangely earlier. So this matter was merely a paper plan devised by Guo Jia alone, and Shen Pei had simply forwarded a second-hand military proposal. Yet because the matter was of such grave importance, he dared not fail to inform the Guandu command in advance.

However, setting aside the likelihood of this plan's success, it was uncertain whether Guo Jia's strategy would even be accepted and carried out by Guan Yu and Zang Ba...

"At this moment..." Cheng Demou asked gravely, "does Military Advisor Jia believe that General Guan will heed Vice Envoy Guo's suggestion and rashly venture south on such a risky move?"

"He probably will!" Gongsun Xun, who had been shading his eyes with his hand and gazing at the opposing Cao camp, spoke again, his expression still betraying no discernible emotion. "Because before Fengxiao left, I was worried that he might be too timid to act decisively in front of Yunchang and Zhengnan. So I personally wrote several personal notes addressed to key figures on the eastern front and gave them to him — one for Yunchang, one for Zhengnan, one for Zang Xuangao, one for Chen Yuanlong and his son. The intent was to tell Fengxiao to boldly carry out whatever plan he had... And if Yunchang and Zang Xuangao saw my handwritten letters, they would likely have no reason not to follow Fengxiao's words."

"Then..." Cheng Pu was suddenly alarmed. "Did General Guan Zhendong truly go to Xiapi in person? And did he succeed or not?"

Below him, the men on the earthen mound also broke into a flurry of discussion, some hopeful, some worried.

"It is already mid-September," Gongsun Xun said, lowering his hand indifferently. "Whatever the outcome, it is already settled... That is why I came to observe the Cao camp's movements!"

Cheng Pu was still somewhat bewildered, clearly not grasping the connection between Xiapi and Gongsun Xun's insistence on coming to observe the Cao camp today. But a young Major standing behind him had already understood and could not help blurting out: "Your Highness came to see whether the Cao traitor is in the camp opposite, and whether the enemy camp is empty, so that we might strike a decisive blow in one stroke?!"

"Indeed!" Gongsun Xun glanced at Fa Zheng, not at all surprised. "However, having come here this time, I now feel that whether Cao Mengde is here or not, and even if the enemy camp were temporarily empty, it might not necessarily mean we could achieve anything... With layer upon layer of linked camps and the earthen mounds on both sides piled up into veritable ridges, even if they have temporarily drawn away some troops, we still cannot seize the opportunity for a quick victory."

Cheng Pu and the others below him, including Fa Zheng, all gradually calmed down.

"Very well!" Gongsun Xun sat for a while longer, but still could not discern the true state of the opposing main camp. Finally, he decided to rise and return to his own camp. "Within three to five days, we will likely have news. It will not be too late to make a decision then."

No one had anything else to say.

However, just at that moment, someone from below the earthen mound requested an audience. It was none other than Lu Fu.

Gongsun Xun was inwardly surprised, but soon he was angered to the point of laughter... Of course, it was not Lu Fu who angered him into laughter, but Cao Cao. The latter had simply tied a document to a stone projectile and sent it over via catapult.

The content of the document was very simple, and very much in Cao Cao's style.

"...After the Double Ninth Festival, the weather grows colder by the day, and the autumn wind gradually rises. From afar, I see Wenqi sitting on an earthen mound, shivering, gazing south without moving. Your foolish elder brother knows in his heart what his worthy younger brother is thinking..." As Lu Fu read aloud, he could not help stealing glances at Gongsun Xun. "Though we belong to enemy states and meet with blades, there should be no room for compassion or kind thoughts. Yet, for the sake of our old friendship, I cannot bear it, and so I tell you plainly... I hear that Yunchang desires to take Xiapi, and that Xuande has already gone from Runan to meet him. You, my younger brother, should return to your camp and take some hot soup..."

"Meng De told me to go back to camp and drink soup — what do you all make of this?" Gongsun Xun sneered as he snatched the dirt-caked fresh letter away.

"The situation at Xiapi still hangs in the balance..." Jia Xu answered gravely. "But Cao Mengde has indeed probably not left."

"True. No one else could write such a caustic letter." Gongsun Xun shook his head repeatedly, but tucked the letter into his breast. "As for Xuande... he has been in Runan handling logistics all this time. I had completely forgotten about him!"

"Would Your Highness care to respond?" Cheng Pu, having regained his composure, quickly inquired. After confirming that Guan Yu had truly gone to Xiapi, and not knowing the outcome, Cheng Demou's sense of crisis and desire to prove himself had clearly intensified. "I request permission to send thirty thousand troops from the forward camp to probe their defenses tomorrow!"

"Granted." Gongsun Xun was unconcerned. "Matters have reached this stage, and a great shift in the battle is imminent. It is time to be forthright. Besides, you are the commander of the forward camp — there is no need to ask me about such things... However, Marquis Lu!"

"Your subordinate is here!" Lu Fu hastily bowed his head to receive orders.

"Before sunset today, find a few pieces of women's clothing, wrap them around stone shot, and hurl them back..." Gongsun Xun once again pressed his riding crop on the other's shoulder as he instructed. "Add a few documents, saying it is my return gift in gratitude for Brother Mengde's kind intentions, and bid him to dress warmly against the cold."

The others were momentarily dumbfounded. Even Lu Fu was stunned on the spot, but Gongsun Xun had already gone straight down the earthen hill and returned to the central army tent.

"How could I have forgotten about Liu Xuande?!"

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, outside Pengcheng, Guo Jia gazed at the orderly enemy formation across from him and was filled with regret. "He was originally in Runan overseeing logistics for the Guandu front. The distance to Pengcheng is only a day or two farther than Xiahou Dun's route... And the moment he arrived, the local troops of Pengcheng and the routed soldiers from Huainan were immediately reorganized. It will be difficult for us to take the city now."

"This is not your fault." Guan Yu stroked his beard atop his horse. "Liu Xuande is not like Cao Cao. Having received great favor from Lord Yan, he has always been unwilling to face him directly as an enemy. Even in this great war, he only sent troops under the name of reinforcements, while he himself remained in Runan without moving... However, after the battle of Guandu, with Lu Dai and Chen Dao both dying in battle, and now Xuzhou in peril, when he came to aid he did not yet know Zhou Yu's fate. Naturally, he could no longer be bothered with such superficial pretenses."

"General, regardless, let us withdraw the troops!" Guo Fengxiao sighed and turned to him with a serious expression. "Our forces were insufficient to begin with. Now that Liu Bei has arrived, Pengcheng will be difficult to take for a while. And at Xiapi, there are only three or four thousand garrison troops, the rest being mostly newly surrendered soldiers who must be closely watched... Therefore, the urgent task now is to stabilize Xiapi, swiftly seize the strategic points of Xuzhou, and await Lord Shen's southward advance. When that happens, with reinforcements from the north flowing in continuously, whether we carve up the Central Plains or use the navy to strike directly at Jianghuai, it will be a game of certain victory... Do not lose the greater for the sake of the lesser!"

"What Vice Envoy Guo says is absolutely right." Zang Ba could not help but step forward, bypassing Xu Shu's position to come to the front and earnestly advise. "The General Who Guards the East has been entrusted by Lord Yan with the great responsibility of the eastern front. Now that you have achieved extraordinary merit, you must prioritize the greater situation... A mere single location like Pengcheng, even if reinforced in time, is only a matter of delaying for a few days."

"What you two say is absolutely right." Guan Yu answered slowly, showing no intention of being stubborn. But no sooner had his words fallen than his eyes suddenly narrowed.

It turned out that just as the three of them, realizing that Liu Bei had taken advantage of the sparse Yan army forces outside Pengcheng the previous night to ride straight in with a hundred cavalry and stabilize the morale of the many routed troops, had decided to withdraw to Xiapi — suddenly, the banners of Liu Xuande and Xiahou Dun appeared at the city gate. The army formation outside the city, which had been somewhat putting on a show, immediately surged with a hundred riders pouring out from the gate tunnel, rousing themselves with a roar like a mountain torrent and sea tide.

Without a doubt, Liu Xuande's hold on the hearts of the people in Huainan was unquestionable, and his posturing now was entirely understandable. Having just suffered a great defeat, with even Zhou Yu, the military supervisor of an entire province, dying so easily, Liu Bei's heart was likely already shattered with grief. But it was precisely at such a moment that he could not forgo any opportunity to boost morale. And clearly, Liu Xuande and Xiahou Dun had guessed that the opposing side was about to withdraw to Xiapi, which was why they had come out in the late morning specifically to flaunt their strength. They intended to create the impression that nearly ten thousand Yan troops had been scared off by Liu Bei's lone cavalry charge, and perhaps even harbored the thought of goading Guan Yu into attacking the city so they could seize the chance to win a small skirmish.

No wonder Guan Yunchang's eyes suddenly narrowed.

In fact, even Guo Jia and Zang Ba could not help but curse inwardly, yet they were helpless to do anything about it. Instead, they had to watch Guan Yu carefully, guarding against him being truly provoked in the heat of the moment.

Who would have thought that Guan Yunchang, narrowing his eyes as he watched Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun, in full armor and regalia, majestically arrive before the battle lines, would merely sigh softly: "Liu Xuande is just as he always was, brimming with the spirit of a knight-errant, disregarding his status in all matters and repeatedly taking perilous risks... Disciple of the Xu family, do you know what a xia truly is?"

Xu Shu, caught off guard by the sudden question, was silent for a moment before finally speaking the truth: "I have heard Fengxiao say that the greatest xia serves the nation and the people."

"Correct!" Guan Yu replied in a deep voice. "But the way of the xia is not merely knowing what one should do; one must also possess the foundation to act chivalrously and serve the nation and the people. Do you know what a xia relies upon?"

"It is not always the same, is it?" Xu Shu said thoughtfully. "Some rely on strategy, some on strength, some on wealth..."

"But if that is so, why are they all collectively called xia?"

Xu Shu fell silent for a moment.

"It is because they do not begrudge their own bodies. It is the small confronting the great!" Guan Yu, unhurried and calm, began to lecture Xu Shu right there before the battle lines. "The Grand Historian said: 'Their word must be kept, their actions must bear fruit, their promises must be sincere. They do not cherish their own bodies, but rush to the distress of the worthy, traveling a thousand li to proclaim righteousness.' This is what is called a xia! Thus, compared to ordinary people who help those in danger and distress, a xia possesses an extra layer of courage that disregards personal safety!"

Xu Shu pondered for a moment, then nodded heavily. Meanwhile, Guo Jia, standing to the side, found his mouth dry and tongue parched, yet for some reason did not know what to say.

"And courage... the Grand Historian also discussed it in the 'Biographies of the Assassins.' Some are called courage of the blood — when angered, their face flushes red. Some are called courage of the pulse — when angered, their face turns green. Some are called courage of the bone — when angered, their face pales. And some are called courage of the spirit — when angered, their expression does not change." Guan Yunchang continued slowly, and as he did, he pointed toward Liu Bei, who was a hundred paces before the lines. "Liu Xuande, a lord of a region, upon hearing that his beloved general was in danger, rode through the night with a hundred cavalry into Pengcheng. This can be called supreme courage. And now, knowing that his beloved general is dead and Xuzhou is lost, he is already enraged to the extreme, yet his expression remains composed as he grandly exits the city to form ranks... What kind of courage would you call this?"

"Courage of the spirit?" Xu Shu blurted out.

"Not necessarily." Guan Yu stroked his beard and replied. "I have known him for a long time and am well aware that his face is pale. It could very well be that he is merely one of bone courage... Just as I am enraged to the extreme at this moment, but because my face is always red, I cannot claim to be one of spirit courage either. Perhaps I am merely one of blood courage!"

Xu Shu was momentarily bewildered, thinking the other was telling a joke. But Guo Jia, who had long known Guan Yu's temperament, was already drenched in sweat and could no longer conceal his panic. Yet under Guan Yunchang's intense gaze, he found himself unable to speak.

And having thus silenced Guo Jia, Guan Yu slightly waved his hand backward, and someone immediately handed him his uniquely shaped long saber. Guan Yu took the blade and hung it upside down behind his saddle, while he himself held his long spear and slowly urged his horse forward.

On the other side, Liu Bei had only arrived the previous night and had indeed come out in haste to put on a show. He and Xiahou Dun had barely had time to exchange many words. Now, forcing themselves to stay alert, they took the opportunity before the lines to briefly discuss matters. They decided that once Guan Yu withdrew his troops, Xiahou Dun would immediately return to Changyi to oversee the defenses, while Liu Bei would hold Pengcheng alone... Then, suddenly seeing Guan Yu riding forward alone with his spear, they assumed he was coming to exchange words before taking his leave. Exchanging a glance, they both urged their horses forward together.

Of course, Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun were not pedantic fools. Both had long known of Guan Yunchang's prowess. It was just that, firstly, Liu Bei held Zhou Yu in particularly high regard — his own son was still an infant, and he had always harbored a mentality toward Zhou Gongjin that was half entrusting an orphan, half treating him as an adopted son. He truly wished to seize this chance to recover Zhou Yu's body. Secondly, Liu Bei did have someone to rely on. A single rider beside him had been following closely all along, and with the slightest movement, the bells at his waist would jingle incessantly. This man was called Gan Ning, Gan Xingba.

It must be said, Gan Ning was born of a powerful family in Ba Commandery. During last year's conflict between Yizhou and Jingzhou, he was beguiled by Liu Biao into rebellion, but because he lacked the support of his own commandery's people, he was easily defeated by Yan Yan, the Commandant of Ba Commandery, and could only flee by boat to Jingzhou. However, his style was fierce and reckless, he had lost his clan's power, and there was also the cautionary tale of Lu Bu. So Liu Biao treated him with the same disdain as a dirty rag... Consequently, he naturally abandoned Liu Biao and joined Liu Xuande, who among the three great lords was the most capable of winning the hearts of warriors.

A major reason Liu Bei had been able to race here through the night was precisely this Gan Xingba and his hundred cavalry of jingling bells!

Returning to the scene at hand, the two sides were a hundred paces apart. Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun had drawn up their troops beneath the city walls. Besides the army on the walls, they were protected by about a hundred personal guard cavalry, plus Gan Ning, whom Liu Bei trusted deeply, at their side. Naturally unafraid, they rode slightly forward to meet him. Guan Yu slowly urged his horse forward, while Zang Ba, Xu Shu, Guo Jia, and the others watched helplessly at the giant blade dragging behind his horse, cold sweat pouring from them, not daring to make a sound...

Each side advanced a little over ten paces. When they were sixty or seventy paces apart, Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun sensed something strange about their old acquaintance opposite them. Even Gan Ning grew wary... But in the blink of an eye, Guan Yunchang suddenly clamped his horse's belly and charged straight forward. A mere sixty or seventy paces was but an instant. Liu Xuande, the intended target, did not realize what was happening until the other had already charged right up to him. He frantically reined in his horse, trying to pull back, but it was already too late.

However, at the same moment, Gan Ning, charged with protection, and the knight Zhou Li on the other side had long been prepared. The two of them crossed their spears horizontally, timely placing them in front of Liu Bei and Xiahou Dun.

Yet, what left everyone dumbstruck was that when Guan Yunchang rushed before Liu Bei, he did not thrust his spear as imagined. Instead, he held his long spear steady with his left hand, and with his right hand, almost single-armed, swung a giant blade out from behind him.

The blade's edge swept down with the momentum of his horse, like a green dragon descending from above, lunging forward from behind. The two long spears that Gan Ning and Zhou Li had clearly braced snapped at the blade's touch and fell to the ground together. Though checked, the blade's edge did not stop, continuing its downward slash and cleaving the head of Liu Xuande's mount clean open!

Liu Bei tumbled to the ground, the twin swords he had just drawn instantly slipping from his grasp. Guan Yunchang pressed his advantage. After steadying his horse's speed, he brought his blade down again directly at Liu Bei's head. Xiahou Dun desperately reined in his horse to come to the rescue, raising his spear to block. The result was predictable — another blade, another clean cut. The long spear split into two halves, the spearhead falling to the ground.

Not only that, Guan Yunchang turned his head, his narrowed eyes glaring, and directly swung his blade sideways, aiming a flat sweep at Xiahou Dun's waist.

In the moment between life and death, Xiahou Yuanrang voluntarily abandoned his horse and rolled to the ground. His mount, startled, reared up and neighed, only to have half its back and half its head sliced off by Guan Yu's great blade, instantly becoming a blur of blood and flesh.

However, although this great blade was immensely powerful, its killing force formidable when paired with its razor-sharp edge and Guan Yu's immense strength, it was too exhausting to wield and difficult to control... After three strokes, Guan Yunchang had cleaved three long spears and two horse heads in succession, but he too was spent. The great blade became lodged in the horse's bones and could not be pulled free.

At this moment, unlike the surrounding cavalrymen who were frozen in terror, Gan Ning was the first to come to his senses. He immediately dismounted to shield Liu Bei, and even picked up a broken spear shaft from the ground, stabbing fiercely at the mount beneath Guan Yu, who was turning to deal with Xiahou Dun.

The warhorse Guan Yunchang rode was an ordinary white horse captured in Xuzhou, not his own fine steed. Stricken with pain, it immediately bolted out of control. But Guan Yu, unflustered, used the momentum to abandon his blade, dismount, and turn around. When he turned and faced the unarmed Gan Ning, the latter was suddenly seized with panic and immediately tried to roll away to dodge... It turned out that Guan Yu had never let go of the long spear in his hand, and now thrust it directly forward with the momentum!

The spear thrust finally struck true, piercing straight through Gan Ning's wide-open, screaming mouth and out the other side. Alas, Gan Xingba, born of a powerful family in Ba Commandery, unruly and untamed since youth, who fancied himself a tiger among ministers, had just plunged into the great upheaval of the realm and, before making a name for himself, died on the battlefield, becoming a mere ghost beneath a spear.

It must be said, although this sequence of actions seemed complex, it was merely three saber strokes and one spear thrust. Linked together, it was but the work of a blink. After landing his blow, when Guan Yunchang tried to pull his long spear back and failed, the southern cavalry and infantry around him had already rushed forward, dragging the fallen Liu Bei back into their formation. Xiahou Dun and Zhou Li also drew their waist sabers, supporting each other as they fled back at full speed.

Guan Yu glanced at the few men, lingered no longer, and with bare hands flipped himself onto Gan Ning's warhorse. Bending low, he raced back to his own lines... Throughout the entire process, he uttered not a single word, nor did his expression change once. Even when, as he was about to meet Zang Ba and the others coming to receive him, Liu Bei, his hands trembling faintly behind him, shot an arrow filled with hatred from afar that struck him in the shoulder, he showed no extra reaction. He merely looked back at Liu Bei once, then calmly returned to his formation. After that, he calmly gave the order, directing the entire army to withdraw toward Xiapi.

Guan Yunchang had struck once and missed, and so he withdrew with absolute decisiveness.

On the other side, Liu Xuande threw down the bow he had snatched from an attendant beside him. Watching as his attendants carefully retrieved Gan Ning's corpse, now mixed with horse flesh and blood, he kept his teeth clenched and said nothing. But when a few Yan cavalrymen suddenly returned, exchanging Zhou Yu's body for the long saber, he finally lost all control at the sight of his two beloved generals' corpses, and there before the city gate, his tears fell like rain...

In truth, when Liu Bei arrived at Pengcheng the previous night and learned of Zhou Yu's death, his heart had already been filled with shock, fury, grief, and pain to the extreme. It was just that he had always been one to conceal his emotions, unwilling to reveal his inner feelings. That he could hold on until now before losing his composure and weeping was truly a testament to his long endurance.

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, the night of the full moon, Liu Bei grieved inconsolably in Pengcheng. And within the great camp at Guandu, Gongsun Xun also suddenly awoke with a start and could not sleep again.

"It still doesn't add up..." This Lord of Yan, his mind troubled, sat blankly on his couch for half the night before suddenly giving a deep command. "Light the lamp. Bring the map!"

—————I am the exposed dividing line—————

"In the fifth month, the Grand Ancestor advanced his linked camps slightly forward, using the sandy earth to establish fortified positions, stretching several dozen li from east to west. Cao also divided his camps to match them. The Grand Ancestor raised earthen hills, tunnels, and trebuchets; Cao likewise constructed them within his own lines to respond. For four months, back and forth, the fighting was to neither side's advantage." — From the "Dianlue," Yan section, annotated by Pei Songzhi

(End of Chapter)