Chapter 492: A Tiger

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month, the full moon hung at the zenith, and the central army tent of the Yan army blazed with lamplight… This was only natural — as the nerve center for seventy thousand troops plus tens of thousands of civilian laborers, this place could never be left unattended. In truth, day and night, through all twelve double-hours, someone was always here handling official business without pause, ensuring the flow of information. Among Gongsun Xun, Jia Xu, Xun You, and Qian Zhao, one was always present, keeping the Guandu encampment, which remained in a constant state of battle readiness, running smoothly.

Not to mention that at first light the next morning, the frontline general Cheng Pu was set to launch a large-scale offensive.

Yet on this night, compared to the bustle within the military tent, most of the night-duty retainers and staff officers seemed somewhat distracted. This was because the two military advisors, summoned to the rear tent by the Duke of Yan at the third watch, had still not emerged. Combined with the daytime rumors concerning the General Who Guards the East and Xiapi, it was inevitable that those with access to a wealth of battle intelligence would let their minds wander… After a stalemate lasting nearly half a year, could the war be about to take a dramatic turn?

Inside the rear tent, unlike the busy scene out front, only Gongsun Xun, Jia Xu, and Xun You were present, aside from a few guards. The three men, some sitting, some standing, faced a massive vertical map of the Great Han’s thirteen provinces and had long since fallen into silence.

In truth, the sudden vigilance that had seized Gongsun Xun tonight was, at its core, remarkably simple — he absolutely refused to believe that Cao Mengde and Liu Xuande were men who would simply wait for death!

This world is full of men who wait for death, and even among the established warlords, there are plenty of that sort. But Cao Mengde, Liu Xuande, and before them Yuan Benchu and Dong Zhongying — these four were absolutely the exceptions!

They were unavoidable opponents on Gongsun Xun’s path, not mere stumbling blocks!

More than that, whether it was his mother’s “historical experience” or Gongsun Xun’s own actual dealings with these four men, both clearly and unmistakably reminded the Duke of Yan, who now held two-tenths of the realm — Cao and Liu were even more tenacious than Dong and Yuan, even more willing to risk everything. They would certainly strike back!

Therefore, now that the battle at Xiapi had erupted, regardless of the outcome, Liu Bei, whose strength was insufficient, could be set aside for the moment, but Cao Cao, who still held enormous military power, could not possibly remain unmoved:

If Guan Yu’s raid failed and the eastern Yan forces suffered heavy losses, it would undoubtedly be the best opportunity for a counteroffensive by the Central Plains coalition since the war began;

And if Guan Yu’s raid on Xiapi succeeded, it would mean the Central Plains coalition’s defensive line had been torn wide open once again — so wide that Cao Mengde likely could not plug the breach at all… In that case, the man would be even more compelled to stake everything on one desperate throw!

Considering further that the two sides had been fighting for nearly half a year, with signs of exhaustion appearing in both armies, and that the logistical pressure on each side had suddenly surged due to the widespread crop failure during the autumn harvest in Qing and Xu provinces… If the other side truly succeeded, it was entirely possible that a catastrophe of unimaginable proportions could occur.

Thus, the question now was: if Cao Cao staked everything on one throw — or rather, launched a counteroffensive — where would he strike?

Would it be the main battlefield at Guandu and the nearby Bian River defensive line?

Or the eastern theater, where major upheaval was destined to occur?

Or perhaps the western theater — Yingchuan, Nanyang, and the like — which had been locked in a kind of sitting war all along?

From the Eastern Sea to Hanzhong, the battle line stretched for well over a thousand li. How could one clarify this in a short time? Yet clarify it they must! Failure to do so would cost lives, but if they did, this battle might well be brought to a decisive end.

“It should not be Qing or Xu.”

After an unknown length of time, Gongsun Xun, seated on the couch with his eyes closed, brushed his hand over a corner of the sheepskin map spread before the couch and suddenly spoke.

“My lord is correct,” Jia Xu affirmed at once. “Or rather, if it were Qing or Xu, it would not be enough to alter the strategic situation. And a scheme that cannot alter the strategic situation, whether it succeeds or fails, is ultimately useless.”

Xun You also slowly nodded.

The logic here was quite straightforward… Under such circumstances, if Cao Cao launched a surprise attack, it would necessarily aim for victory or to force a ceasefire; otherwise, it would be utterly meaningless and not worth discussing. And since it would be a strategic counteroffensive, his target had to possess decisive strategic significance.

Whether on the military level, the political level, or both.

In fact, judging from the Guandu encampment, which had long been prepared, and from Cao Cao’s earlier decisive abandonment of the lands north of the Pu River and the Bian River, the opposing Minister of Works, Cao, had likely planned for this battle from very early on. And since it was a plan laid long ago, it was all the more certain that any surprise attack he might launch would seek enormous gains.

“It should also not be the Nanyang front,” Gongsun Xun continued, his eyes still closed, analyzing seriously — or rather, he had to make a judgment. “If he launched from Nanyang and drove toward Guanzhong, success would indeed be enough to overturn the entire situation, but how could it possibly succeed?”

Jia Xu and Xun You both nodded in agreement.

It must be said, the fundamental nature of this war was, of course, Gongsun Xun’s southward campaign of annexation, but on the surface, it was fought under the slogan “Escort the Son of Heaven back to Chang’an.” And the slogan Cao Cao’s side raised was equally direct: “By the Son of Heaven’s command, march west to punish the rebels” and “Retake Chang’an”! Even during the earlier war of words with Gongsun Xun, when war had become unavoidable and Cao Cao, before mobilizing his troops, went to offer sacrifices at Qiao Xuan’s tomb and composed a funerary address, he referred to himself as merely passing through on a western campaign… That piece was written with genuine emotion, and Gongsun Xun had read it carefully.

However, no matter how genuine the emotion or how loudly the slogans were shouted, everyone knew that the likelihood of Cao Mengde retaking Chang’an — or rather, retaking Chang’an directly from the Nanyang direction — was extremely low.

The reason was simple.

First, Wuguan was simply too difficult to assault! Wuguan was merely one of the passes along that treacherous road from the Three Adjuncts to the Nanyang Basin; along the way, there were seven or eight similar passes and fortified posts of varying sizes. Even if one could achieve victory on that road, it could not be a swift victory.

Second, the de facto commanders of the Central Plains coalition’s western front — namely Liu Biao and Lu Bu — inherently lacked the desire to launch a counteroffensive from Nanyang. This was the fundamental reason the western front had become a sitting war… The former, though ultimately lured into sending troops by the enormous bait of Nanyang, was at heart a watchdog; sending troops to aid the front line was one thing, but asking him to risk battle on his own doorstep was something he was ten thousand times unwilling to do. The latter was even more interesting: over these past months, ever since Gongsun Xun’s bloody victory at Guandu that day, Lu Fengxian had been sending letters without cease… Surrender might not be certain, but his desire to avoid battle and sue for peace was unmistakably clear.

The phrase “waiting for death” was, in truth, the real mindset of these two men, Liu and Lu… What they sought was merely to muddle through in comfort, nothing more.

In fact, with the war having reached this stage, the reserve force Gongsun Xun had been holding — a contingent of just over ten thousand Guanxi troops led by Xu Rong — had essentially been freed up for him by these two, Lu Bu and Liu Biao!

In short, the likelihood of these two men, who held sway over the Nanyang situation, leaving their own defensive zones to assault Wuguan was practically negligible.

But that was as far as certainty went… After lopping off both ends, east and west, for all the remaining areas — from Juye Marsh to Luhun Pass — Gongsun Xun no longer had full confidence.

“Sun Ce is fierce and valiant, much like his father. If he were to suddenly lead a large force, heedless of life and death, and strike straight through Luhun Pass toward Hongnong, it could genuinely endanger Guanzhong. And if he were to strike straight through Huanyuan Pass toward the old capital of Luoyang — never mind that Luoyang is in ruins, just the threat to Guandu’s rear line would be dire… This must be guarded against,” Gongsun Xun continued his analysis from the couch, not even glancing at the map.

“Beyond that, Guandu itself is of paramount importance… Although the linked camps face each other, the outer perimeter cannot be completely sealed. Moreover, Cao Mengde himself is a man of extreme decisiveness. Add to that the signs of exhaustion now appearing in the army — if Cao Mengde personally led an elite force on a flanking attack from the rear, or broke through northward from a section of the Bian River to circle around and sever Guandu’s supply lines, these too must be carefully guarded against.”

“And there is the area around the Bian River and Baima. If Cao Cao led troops across the Bian River, not to attack Guandu, but to join with the eastern commanders in a sudden assault on Baima, that would also be fatal… The Baima crossing is our army’s true lifeline.”

“As for Yu Jin, stationed at Cangting, that could also be a route of advance, but only on the premise that Yunchang’s attack on Xiapi fails and Cao Cao seeks to seize the chance to trap Yunchang there.”

“Beyond that, there should be nothing else, correct?”

“I believe there is no need to be overly concerned about the Guandu main camp itself,” Xun You, standing to one side of the map, finally spoke calmly, only after Gongsun Xun had finished laying out every critical point along the line.

“How so?” Gongsun Xun’s expression remained unchanged.

“First, our army is not exhausted to the breaking point, and the camp’s defenses have not slackened to the point where they could be broken in a single strike. We even still have strength to spare for launching offensives — how could we be so easily shattered? Second, the only truly vital point behind our main camp is the northern shore of Wuchao Marsh, which the grain transport route must pass through, and Your Highness has always guarded it properly,” Xun You replied with his hands clasped, his expression solemn. “If Cao Cao truly intends to attempt a desperate gamble there, he would merely be courting death, because his troops would be exposed outside the main camp, and our cavalry could surround and annihilate them on the open fields around Wuchao Marsh in an instant.”

A thoughtful look crossed Gongsun Xun’s face, and he slowly nodded.

In truth, Gongsun Xun himself did not believe the Guandu main camp would go wrong under his careful watch; he had only probed slightly due to the sensitivity of the name “Wuchao.” In fact, based on his own experience and observations, rather than worrying about Cao Cao attempting some “burning of Wuchao,” it would be more fitting to worry about him burning the linked camps.

After all, it was already late autumn — the water levels were gradually receding, and the grasses and trees were withering yellow.

Yet even so, as early as after the autumn harvest, he had already ordered the entire army to transport sand and build firebreaks between the encampments to guard against the spread of flames.

“What of the Bian River sector?” Gongsun Xun, having received Xun You’s affirmation and feeling slightly relieved, pressed on with serious questions. “What does Gongda think?”

“The Bian River sector is thinly manned and primarily infantry, so of course we must be on guard,” Xun You answered seriously. “But does my lord truly not trust Lou, the Governor of Sizhou, and the three generals, Gao, Xu, and Zhang?”

A faint smile finally appeared on Gongsun Xun’s face… How could he possibly not trust these men?

Or rather, it was precisely because he deeply trusted the loyalty and ability of these four that Gongsun Xun felt at ease entrusting such a vast area of jurisdiction to them — Lou Gui overseeing the whole, Xu Huang responsible for the direct defense of the Bian River front, Gao Shun holding Baima, the most critical point on the entire southern bank of the Yellow River after Guandu, and Zhang He controlling the junction.

And if anything went wrong, given the strength of the cavalry at the Guandu main camp, they could swiftly reinforce them.

In fact, this Bian River defensive sector east of Guandu had always been the intended main axis of advance in Gongsun Xun’s original plan… If Shen, Guan, and Guo had not suddenly launched the Xiapi campaign on the eastern front, then after Cheng Yu’s Yingzhou troops and Taishi Ci’s newly recruited Liaodong troops returned, they were supposed to be committed together in this area to achieve a frontal breakthrough and strike Guandu in a pincer!

Even if Lu Su and Guandu were integrated and difficult to take for a time, at the very least they could pivot southeastward as a breakthrough point, link up with Guan Yu, crush the outnumbered Xiahou Dun, and then encircle the eastern commanders like Yue Jin, Li Jin, Zhang Chao, and Gao Gan in a reverse pincer, or force them to retreat, thereby securing a phased victory.

At this thought, Gongsun Xun’s mind stirred slightly, as if he had grasped something, yet he found it hard to believe for the moment. He merely kept his expression neutral.

“My lord,” Jia Xu spoke up slowly at this point, “I believe that whether viewed from the perspective of Cao’s army or from the critical points of our own forces, there will always be several key areas… Thus, even if we make a judgment, it is always difficult to guard against every contingency. Since that is the case, why not take the initiative to strike, or perhaps draw the snake out of its hole? We cannot expect to decide the outcome hastily, but we can at least probe for some truth, can we not?”

Gongsun Xun came back to himself, thought briefly, and knew this was the best approach. He nodded heavily and made his decision:

“Send orders at once: have Xu Rong advance eastward from Hongnong, exit through Huanyuan Pass, and attack Yangzhai and Yang Pass, which Sun Ce holds! Tomorrow, when Cheng Pu launches his frontal assault, have Zhang Liao and Cheng Lian circle around the east side of Guandu from Wuchao and make a demonstration before the walls of Chenliu to intimidate Lu Zijing! And during tomorrow’s battle, I will personally go to the front line to oversee the fight… Let us see whether Cao Mengde is truly here or not!”

Jia Xu and Xun You both stood at attention and acknowledged the order.

“Also,” a moment later, just as Jia Xu was about to head to the front tent to dispatch the orders, Gongsun Xun suddenly called out to him from the couch, “Wenhe, have that Deng Dang come to see me…”

Xun You’s expression did not change; his steps never paused. He had already walked out of the rear tent. Jia Xu understood his meaning, gave a slight nod, and then simply left as well.

A moment later, Deng Dang entered the rear tent. After a brief stay, he too departed.

It was a restless night. Early the next morning, before Gongsun Xun could head to the front lines, and before he had a chance to use Deng Dang to beat the grass and startle the snake, he first received an urgent express report from Xu Huang!

It turned out that Gao Gan, the great general on Cao’s eastern front stationed at Dingtao, had made a sudden, unusual move a few days prior. He seemed to have detached a full two thousand troops toward Changyi behind him. This would normally be a routine support maneuver, and Dingtao, being a major city of the Central Plains, was not enough to create a decisive opportunity. But Xu Gongming was, after all, Xu Gongming—a man widely acknowledged to be conscientious, responsible, and unsparing of effort. He still proactively dispatched a large number of scout riders, who penetrated dozens of li deep into the Cao army’s rear to investigate. They then actually managed to intercept a Cao army messenger and learned a monumental piece of news!

The messenger had been sent by Xiahou Dun from the Xuzhou front, traveling via Changyi toward Guandu. The message clearly stated that not only had Xiapi fallen to Guan Yunchang, but Zhou Yu, the Grand Commander overseeing military affairs in Xuzhou on the coalition’s easternmost front, had also been intercepted by Guo Fengxiao and Guan Yunchang during a breakout attempt and had perished on the spot!

Xuzhou had already changed hands!

The matter was of grave importance. Xu Huang dared not delay and immediately sent the captured messenger and the letter together under the stars toward Guandu.

And after Gongsun Xun swiftly summoned the messenger and his party, he almost instantly confirmed their authenticity… They were a group of young subordinate officials and officers, barely past the age of capping.

The leader was called Cao Zhen, the adopted son of Cao Cao, courtesy name Zidan. After the battle where the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry’s formation was destroyed, he and the remnants of that unit had been reassigned as confidential military messengers across various regions. Because he resisted, he had been jointly cut down on the spot by the scout riders of Xu Huang’s unit; only his severed head was delivered.

Apart from him, there were two others in the party who were captured alive. One was Wu Zhi, courtesy name Jizhong, a confidential clerk under Xiahou Dun and a native of Dingtao. The other was Zhu Shuo, courtesy name Yancai, a confidential clerk from Cao Cao’s own headquarters, hailing from Qiaoxian in the Pei State.

Zhu Shuo still had some integrity and refused to open his mouth no matter what. But that Wu Zhi practically poured out all the military intelligence he knew, verifying every detail of the eastern front’s strengths and weaknesses to the best of his knowledge. Zhu Shuo, watching from the side, was so furious his eyes nearly split, yet he was utterly helpless.

Gongsun Xun did not know the future achievements and grudges these two skinny men would have in another time and space; he did not even recognize them. But he did know who the owner of that plump severed head, Cao Zhen Cao Zidan, was! So he understood almost instantly—the news was true. Guan Yu had taken Xiapi, and Zhou Gongjin, outmaneuvered by a single move, was already dead. Now Xiahou Dun was rushing to reinforce Pengcheng and had not yet returned!

However, regarding Cao Cao’s own movements, this party had been traveling from Xiahou Dun’s position toward Guandu and clearly knew nothing.

Suppressing the shock in his heart, Gongsun Xun paid no attention to the excitement of the many officers in the great tent, nor did he notice Jiang Gan, who had just returned to the ranks, his face as pale as gold paper. Instead, he hesitated for a moment before the two men in front of him… He was prepared to release one of them back, to use this to clearly tell Cao Mengde that he already knew everything about the situation at Xiapi, so the other party need not conceal it any longer!

It was also meant to pressure and coerce Cao Cao!

“Your Highness, perhaps you should release Zhu Shuo…” Xun You suddenly stepped forward to advise.

Gongsun Xun nodded slowly. Amid the crowd’s confusion, he summoned Qian Zhao, the rear camp commander, to oversee the central army’s general affairs, then ordered that the thinner one, Zhu Shuo, be brought forward. He immediately set out for the front lines.

It must be said, the Guandu main camp had been in a constant state of warfare all along. The offensive Cheng Pu organized this time seemed powerful, but it was actually routine for Guandu—otherwise, the frontline stockades wouldn’t have changed hands so frequently before. Basically, under the cover of multiple defensive lines, neither side would maliciously waste lives. Once one side successfully broke through, the raided party would often voluntarily retreat to the next prepared defensive line to avoid excessive melee casualties, and the former would not then go and assault the newly secured, tightly guarded line.

Similar contests between the two sides had erupted no fewer than six times. The Yan army had advanced four times and retreated twice, holding a slight upper hand. However, it was worth noting that as the war dragged on, and as earthworks, tunnels, and trebuchets gradually took shape, while watchtowers and palisades were built ever more solidly, these contests had slowly become more strenuous.

But returning to the present moment: this time, just as both armies were fully prepared and Guandu was about to erupt into a siege battle everyone was mentally braced for, the atmosphere grew tense and strange with the Yan Duke Gongsun Xun personally overseeing the front lines… Especially since yesterday, Gongsun Xun had sent several pieces of women’s clothing into Cao Cao’s camp, and today, right before the battle, he had again dispatched an envoy to return a prisoner of war.

As expected.

The battle erupted suddenly, and from the very start it had the force of a violent storm. The Yan army’s trebuchets from various camps, not yet fitted with axles, relied on their numerical advantage to strike first. Under Cheng Demou’s personal command, countless armored soldiers from Hebei surged out from every camp like a tide, attempting to rush forward and seize the Cao army’s forward camp whose palisades had been smashed, even before the trebuchets had fully stopped—catching the southern army completely off guard. However, the Cao army had clearly also received orders. Without waiting for the opposing trebuchets to finish their volley, they swarmed out from behind the safety of their earthworks. At the same time, their fewer trebuchets no longer sought any advantage in mobility, but simply launched a counter-barrage directly at the Yan army’s artillery positions, heedless of anything else!

This, of course, was understandable, because Gongsun Xun, seated atop the highest and safest earthwork, personally witnessed Cao Ren’s banner, bordered with the character ‘Cao’, appear on the front line!

A moment later, however, Gongsun Xun’s dawning comprehension gradually turned to doubt as the Cao army fought to the death without retreating, and more and more general’s banners appeared along the Cao camp’s front line… Two large banners with yellow characters clearly represented Huang Zhong and Huang Gai. And the banners of generals like Wen Pin, Li Tong, Chen Wu, and Xu Sheng needed no identification at all.

Finally, Gongsun Xun even saw the banner of Ren Jun, the General of the Household for Agricultural Colonies under Cao Cao, appear on the front line! There was no helping it; this Ren surname was truly unique to the southern army.

And what was even more absurd was that Ren Jun’s duty was to oversee the rear main camp’s support, where civilian laborers were integrated into the auxiliary troops. In other words, the troops under his command were fundamentally the weakest second-line recruits under Cao Cao!

All the great generals of the Cao camp appeared on the front line, and the number of soldiers was clearly greater than the thirty-thousand-strong army Cheng Pu had prepared… One could almost conclude that Cao Cao was committing his entire force to battle, and his will to fight was surging!

But, why? Everyone in the Yan army, from top to bottom, was puzzled.

However, this puzzlement soon vanished like smoke when Cao Cao himself appeared on the earthwork directly opposite…

As for Gongsun Xun, who had some guesses in his heart, only a single thought remained at this moment—Cao Mengde looked quite pretty in women’s clothing!

No wonder his subordinates were fighting so desperately!

———————I am the divider of the crossdressing boss———————

“The Grand Ancestor repeatedly challenged him, but Cao held fast and would not come out. He therefore had several dozen sets of women’s headscarves and ornaments collected and launched them into the Cao camp via trebuchets to mock Cao Cao. Cao’s subordinate generals were all enraged, and Cao himself was angered. He thus sent a memorial to Nanyang requesting a decisive battle. The letter had just been dispatched when, the next day, the Grand Ancestor again gathered his troops to attack. Cao had originally intended to hold fast in response, but suddenly received Zhu Shuo arriving from the north. Zhu Shuo was a trusted aide and confidant from Cao’s home region, who had been carrying military dispatches from Xuzhou when he was captured by Xu Huang. Once this man arrived from the north, Cao then knew that the Grand Ancestor had learned the full truth of the situation in Xuzhou. He thereupon sent out his entire army to meet the attack, and furthermore donned the women’s headscarves and ornaments, ascending an earthwork to oversee the battle. The Cao army, burning with shame and fury, numbered sixty to seventy thousand armored soldiers, every man pressing forward, and our army was at a slight disadvantage. The attendants grew anxious and looked to the Grand Ancestor. The Grand Ancestor gazed at Cao Cao from afar for a long time, then burst out laughing. Turning to his attendants, he said: ‘Mengde is like a donkey at his wits’ end!’” — A New Account of the Tales of the World, Chapter on the Strange and Deceitful

(End of Chapter)