Chapter 495: Bearing Imperial Grace, Ever Scorning the Foe

In late September, at Lihu City in the Central Plains.

This was the only major city in Jiyin Commandery, Yanzhou, that jutted north of the Pu River. From the very start of the war, it had been the frontline facing the great Hebei army. And because of the special status of the Li clan of Jiyin in this area, it had always been garrisoned by the acknowledged famous general of the Central Plains, Li Jin, the de facto controller of the Jiyin Li clan.

For nearly half a year now, Li Tuizhi, together with Yue Wenqian further north, had been holding a pincer-like position, stubbornly pinning down Gao Shun, who was stationed at Baima. Gao Shun had more troops, but his primary task was to safeguard the transport at the Baima crossing. Meanwhile, although Yue Jin and Li Jin had split their forces in two, one held the world-renowned city of Puyang, while the other held the great city of Lihu and the advantages of his clan. Their clashes were small-scale, with victories and defeats on both sides.

Later, as the fighting around Guandu grew increasingly intense, even these small-scale skirmishes gradually became sparse here... West of Lihu and Puyang, and east and south of Baima, both sides still maintained forward scattered camps to keep watch on each other in normal times, but behind the lines, the sound of arms was rarely heard.

Therefore, on this morning, taking advantage of a rare warm day at the end of autumn, with clear weather and crisp air, Li Jin entrusted the city defenses to a reliable subordinate and suddenly took his eighteen-year-old clan nephew Li Dian out hunting west of the city on the north bank of the Pu River. No one thought it inappropriate.

"Thwip!"

From beneath the cover of dead branches, an arrow suddenly flew out, but it had clearly lost power and dropped before reaching its target, only striking the heel of a wild wolf gnawing on a dead deer. It immediately drew the alertness and counterattack of the wolf pack.

Over a hundred paces away, the young Li Dian lowered his bow from horseback, looking back with momentary embarrassment at his clan uncle Li Jin, who had reined in his horse to watch the battle.

At the same time, as Li Jin, clad in full armor, raised his hand in a signal, the several dozen armored cavalry guards behind him instantly surged forward, charging straight at the wolf pack. Long spears and straight blades struck out together, almost like chopping melons and slicing vegetables, easily suppressing this wolf pack that the surrounding villages had regarded as a mortal threat.

"It's nothing." Watching the so-called battle quickly turn into a chasing game, Li Jin, with many wrinkles already at the corners of his eyes, looked at his clan nephew with an easy smile. "Liking to read is a good thing. In martial arts, all that matters is a strong and healthy body. A'dian, don't take it to heart..."

Li Dian grew even more embarrassed upon hearing this.

"I mean it sincerely." Seeing this, Li Jin removed his helmet and held it to his chest, shaking his head with even more wry amusement. "In the times to come, for the person leading a family, being a scholar is far better than being a warrior, and being someone of generous and gentle character is far better than being someone violent and overbearing... With you being the way you are, A'dian, I am actually very satisfied, and I can rest assured entrusting the tens of thousands of our clan to you."

Li Dian's expression changed abruptly: "Uncle, you are above me; I have no intention of coveting authority within the clan."

"You have no intention of asking for it, but I have the idea of returning it." Li Jin still wore a look of relief, completely unconcerned. As he spoke, he dismounted, and holding his helmet, he walked alone toward the south bank of the Pu River.

Li Dian dared not be negligent and could only hastily follow.

Arriving at the riverbank, Li Jin stood upon a rock, cradled his helmet, and sighed as he gazed southward, his expression deeply moved.

Standing behind him with a bow on his back, Li Dian knew very well in his heart what his uncle was looking at. South of the Pu River was the true foundation of the colossal Li clan. From Lihu to Chengshi, and further to Juye County in Shanyang Commandery where he himself was born, relying on the Great Juye Marsh and using the Pu and Ji rivers as their arteries, the Li clan had multiplied here for generations, branching out yet remaining tightly united, essentially monopolizing all the land in the vicinity. Countless Inspectors and Administrators had been utterly helpless against them.

Relying on one marsh, straddling two rivers, entrenched across three commanderies—the foremost powerful family of the Central Plains was by no means an empty reputation.

After gazing for a long while, Li Tuizhi finally spoke again, continuing the earlier topic:

"In truth, I was never from the main line of the clan. I only gained some small fame within the clan for being combative and fierce. Back then, your uncle and father merely saw that the world was growing chaotic and our clan had too many people, so they elevated me to maintain order. However, firstly, I do share a real blood tie with your family, and secondly, our clan is simply too large with too many affairs, so when outsiders saw my authority, they all assumed I was one of the household-managing brothers! But in reality, to put it bluntly, I was nothing more than a head of the household guards!"

"Uncle, you jest," Li Dian said, feeling his scalp tingle, even growing somewhat apprehensive.

"I am not jesting. Everything I've said today is the truth, from the heart." Li Jin glanced at his nephew and then continued to sigh as he gazed at the river. "So you see, if things had truly gone on like that, a man like me might have been able to leave a name in these chaotic times by relying on our Li clan's strength and my own bit of courage, but I was never truly fit to reach the position I hold today. But who can clearly explain a man's fate? Who could have imagined that one day after the Yellow Turban rebellion, a General of the Household of All Purposes sent from the court to suppress the rebels would suddenly arrive at our home with a few men?"

"I know of this matter, Uncle. It was Lord Yan and Han, Guan, and Dong, the three..."

"It was those four men." A sudden, inexplicable light appeared in Li Jin's eyes, though it was unclear if it was just the sunlight reflecting off the river into his pupils. "The weather that day was oppressive, and later there was a torrential rain. Lord Yan just walked in like that, forcibly conscripted me, even changed my courtesy name, and demanded that I lead three thousand clansmen as a Platoon Chief to follow him into battle. From then on, I, Li Jin, had my own name and title! And on the Dong Commandery battlefield, I met many, many great figures. Besides Guan Yunchang, Dong Gongren, and Han Yigong, at that time, Lord Cao, Liu Yuzhou, Zhang Yide, Xiahou Yuanrang, Yue Wenqian, Shen Zhengnan, Cheng Demou, Gao Suqing, Cheng Juzheng, and the deceased Wei Zidu, along with Lou Zibo and Cheng Zhongde—all of them were on the same battlefield, obeying the orders of the same man! Now do you understand why, even though the war has reached this state, everyone still privately calls him Lord Yan? Others I don't know, but those names I just mentioned—they simply cannot help but respect that man."

Li Dian, too, was momentarily lost in admiration.

"Later, when the rebellion was quelled and merits assessed, I even became a County Magistrate, a rare court-appointed official for our Jiyin Li clan. It was also around that time that I began to study books, following the example of Guan Yunchang, who had looked down on me the most... I couldn't get into it, couldn't understand it, and only forced myself to read a few volumes. But I did come to understand some principles. Add to that the fact that leading troops is the easiest way to accumulate prestige, so when I returned, I became one of the true heads of the clan." At this point, Li Tuizhi suddenly fell silent.

However, even if Li Jin did not say it, Li Dian knew it all too well in his heart.

After that, his own father and second uncle had successively died of plague, and his cousin Li Zheng had been easily killed by Guan Yunchang beneath the walls of Handan City. It was from that time on that his eldest uncle, Li Qian, began to have some discord with this clan uncle of his. And a few years ago, when Lord Cao forcefully pushed the land survey, his eldest uncle, Li Qian—the undisputed clan head—was sent to Huainan by Lord Cao and this clan uncle of his working together... Unlike Cao Song and Cao Hong, who eventually came around and restored harmony with Cao Cao, and unlike Zhang Miao and Bian Rang, who simply went to Liu Biao's place as idle advisors, Li Qian was overcome with shame and indignation and died of illness directly in Huainan.

With Li Qian dead, of the three brothers of the main line, only Li Dian, a mere youth, remained for a time. The great authority within the clan naturally fell entirely into Li Jin's hands... This was precisely why Li Dian was particularly sensitive about the issue of clan power, and also why he did not excel in martial affairs.

To put it plainly, Li Dian had not been groomed as the clan heir from the start; he had been groomed as an assistant to his deceased cousin Li Zheng. And after Li Qian died in a foreign land, rumors swirled. Whether it was for self-preservation or genuine inclination, Li Dian had never shown any intention of shifting his interests from civil to martial pursuits. On the contrary, it was only after Li Jin repeatedly urged him and even took the initiative to bring this clan nephew into the army that Li Dian finally made slight contact with military strategy and began formally practicing archery and horsemanship.

"I'll say it again." Li Jin came back to his senses and glanced once more at his nephew, instructing him casually. "Whether you are willing or not, whether you want to or not, the authority of the clan must be returned to you... I, Li Jin, conduct myself uprightly and sit straight. Though my aspirations are small, I have things I rely on in life and after death. I will absolutely not, just because the hearts of men under heaven are crumbling and others harbor prejudices, seize the chance to abandon myself to despair and sully my own modest aspirations."

Li Dian had no words to reply and could only offer forced flattery: "Uncle, you naturally have things to rely on. Even Lord Yan himself said back then that you are a famous general of the age."

Li Jin chuckled in spite of himself... This was a rare positive assessment for him.

It turned out that around the year before last, due to friction between Xiahou Dun and Guan Yu in Mount Tai, Li Jin had been drawn into battle with Yu Jin between Qin Pavilion and Cang Pavilion, and the two sides had fought to a draw. At that time, against the backdrop of general peace under heaven, it naturally drew attention. So someone in Yecheng asked Gongsun Xun just what level Li Jin and Yu Jin's command abilities were at. As a result, Gongsun Xun, without any hesitation, directly stated that Li Jin advanced and retreated without fault, fully deserving to be called a famous general of the age, and could even serve as a yardstick to measure the generals of the world.

In other words, Gongsun Xun believed that Li Jin should be the threshold for a famous general under heaven. For Li Tuizhi, who at the time had drawn countless curses due to the Li Qian affair and his assistance in Cao Cao's land survey, this was undoubtedly an extremely high evaluation, even carrying the sense of providing charcoal in snowy weather.

One must know that at that time, Li Jin's reputation had truly fallen to rock bottom. Some even called him a slave to four surnames—conscripted by the Gongsun clan, yet becoming a vassal of the Yuan clan after the campaign against Dong Zhuo; a vassal of the Yuan clan, yet unable to die for his lord, instead turning to serve the Cao clan; and a member of the Li clan, yet helping Cao Cao deal with the clan head Li Qian, leading to Li Qian's dejection in Huainan.

Li, Gongsun, Yuan, Cao—did that not exactly make four surnames?

And thinking of this, Li Dian could not help but feel a slight stir in his heart. In the end, being young, a trace of doubt directly flickered across his face.

"What are you thinking of?" Li Jin asked, unconcerned.

"Nothing..."

"A'dian, your uncle advises you to speak whatever is on your mind today, lest it become difficult to ask clearly in the future."

"May I ask, Uncle," Li Dian inquired cautiously, "does this explanation today mean that some great event is about to occur soon?"

Li Jin was slightly taken aback, then turned back with a smile: "What great event do you think might occur?"

This counter-question was essentially an admission.

"Your nephew does not know." Li Dian looked utterly puzzled. "At first, I thought you, Uncle, were going to surrender the city and defect to Lord Yan, as the rumors say. But thinking on it now, that is clearly not right..."

"What is not right about it?" Li Jin asked with a faint, ambiguous smile. "To abandon Cao and follow Gongsun once more—would that not just confirm the talk of being a slave to four surnames? I recall that ever since Lord Cao abandoned the Pu River, the talk that I intended to confirm the 'slave to four surnames' label has been gradually emerging in the surrounding area, hasn't it? And after Lord Cao's subsequent defeat at Guandu, abandoning the north of Bian three times, and losing Xuzhou four times, this kind of talk has grown day by day."

"It is precisely the 'slave to four surnames' talk that is particularly laughable!" Li Dian responded with a serious expression. "It is only today that your nephew has suddenly realized this. You see, those who slander you, Uncle, as a slave to four surnames mostly originated from the Central Plains powerful families angered by the land survey, and the talk spread among the scholars and commoners... But now, the so-called powerful families have long been half-hearted, wishing for nothing more than to use your connections, Uncle, to surrender to Hebei together. How would they dare continue to slander you? And as for the so-called scholars and commoners, with the war having reached this point, there are wolf packs barely ten li outside Lihu City. So may I ask, where are the scholars? And how could the commoners possibly have the mind to discuss a general's moral integrity? Therefore, your nephew boldly speculates that the talk in the city of you, Uncle, intending to surrender to Hebei is likely of dubious origin. It may well be a self-preservation strategy released by you yourself, Uncle, to seek stability for Lihu! But if that is so, with the explanation you have given today, I truly cannot guess what great event is about to occur..."

"That you can think to this level already puts my mind greatly at ease. Your natural talent, boy, far surpasses your uncle and your cousin!" Li Jin could not help but step forward half a pace and press down on his clan nephew's shoulder by the riverbank. "But there is no need to think too much. In a few days, you will naturally understand."

"...Understood!"

"A'dian, you are already eighteen and have spent two years in the army... Look at those young civilian laborers—fifteen!" Li Jin looked at his nephew, and after a moment's thought, he actually raised his helmet with both hands.

Li Dian was extremely nervous and hastily knelt on the riverbank to perform a grand salute: "Please, Uncle, bestow upon me a courtesy name!"

"My learning is not even equal to yours." Li Jin held the helmet in both hands, smiling faintly, yet he pondered seriously. "I have no other thoughts. I only hope that after you take charge of the family estate, you will understand the way of advance and retreat, and become a gentle and enduring person... The characters for 'advance' and 'retreat' overlap with my own name, so let us set those aside for now. I will take the meaning of gentleness and endurance, and call you Mancheng. I also hope that you will ultimately have some achievement."

As he spoke, without waiting for the other to react, Li Jin directly placed his own helmet onto Li Dian's head, which was wrapped only in a headscarf... And as it happened, it fit quite well.

"Does Uncle have any other instructions?" Li Dian asked with effort from the ground.

"If the opportunity arises, offer up all the family land to the public, and seek in exchange a piece of land around Yecheng," Li Jin said earnestly. "With my wisdom, this is the most I can think of... I have still read too little."

Li Dian's mind was dazed and bewildered, a vast blankness, and for a moment he could not grasp the meaning... Could it be that he had guessed wrong, and his uncle still intended to surrender to Hebei?

However, after saying this, and before Li Dian could react, Li Jin turned back to the forest on his own, mounted his horse, and galloped away freely, heading straight back to Lihu City.

Then, by the evening of the next day, which was the twenty-eighth day of the ninth month, he personally led the long-prepared troops of Jiyin, all men whose fathers had been taken, whose brothers had been taken, or who were only sons not taken—a total of three thousand men. Taking advantage of the night, they slipped out of the city and quietly headed east, leaving Li Dian behind with the remaining thousand or so old and weak soldiers to guard Lihu.

Around the fourth watch of the night, Li Jin arrived as agreed in the wilderness northwest of Lei Ze and ten li east of Xian City, successfully rendezvousing with the five generals Sun Ce, Huang Zhong, Gao Gan, Zhang Chao, and Cao Hong. At this point, the combined six armies numbered twenty-five thousand men, and the Yan army was clearly still completely unaware.

The entire army rested briefly, eating and sleeping behind Xian City, preparing and replenishing dry rations and water. They waited until noon before hastily advancing toward Puyang, and it was not until the afternoon that they arrived at a point six or seven li east of Puyang.

Yue Wenqian was the second most senior general in Cao Cao’s camp and had always been one of Cao Cao’s most trusted confidants; naturally, there was no reason for any mistake on his part, and by this point, a little concealment no longer mattered. The man opened the storehouses and brought out the boats and iron chains accumulated over three years. The boats were all ordinary Yellow River ferries, distinguished only by iron bolts fitted at both ends, while the chains were nothing more than the usual anchor chains for mooring boats, except that both ends had hooks added for easy connection to the iron bolts.

Beyond this, the boats also contained a large quantity of wooden planks fitted with iron bolts, and even some forged banners of the Yan army — clearly, preparations had long been underway.

Seeing this, Sun Ce showed neither pleasure nor anger. He gave a direct order: first, send out as many boats as possible for a trial. If the pontoon bridges could be fully formed, then crossing the river northward would not be too late; otherwise, the entire army would march directly west and attack Baima!

None dared be remiss. They all gathered atop the Golden Embankment outside Puyang City, watching as the large ferryboats, their lights sparse, set out first from the harbor within Puyang City. Leading countless other vessels slowly forward, they passed through the man-made canal, entered the great river, and then came back downstream toward the gathering point where the men waited.

Clearly, no one dared link the boats with iron chains right there at Puyang Harbor, because the opposite bank likely had small squads monitoring Puyang City, and causing chaos at that moment would be disastrous. So they could only assemble at a predetermined spot several li downstream before beginning to set out and link the boats.

The autumn wind soughed; the waters rippled and swelled; men’s hearts were unsettled; mishaps followed one after another.

First, two boats collided in the man-made canal, and compounded by routine maintenance issues, they went out of control and became stuck, nearly blocking the passage of vessels. Yue Jin acted decisively, immediately ordering the two boats scuttled — but this cost considerable time.

By the time all the boats, laden with chains, had entered the river and reached the originally designated downstream crossing point where the army had gathered outside the city, some soldiers from Gao Gan’s division, not knowing any better, lit fires directly atop the great river’s Golden Embankment for illumination. This drew Sun Ce’s fury, and he summarily executed several dozen men.

Yet the most agonizing part was the process of linking the boats with iron chains itself.

In theory, three large boats would anchor side by side at the riverbank, and the remaining boats would link forward in sequence, parallel to one another — three parallel pontoon bridges would take shape almost instantly.

In reality, however, they dared not light too many torches at night, so visibility was poor and the speed extremely slow. More critically, the current flowed naturally eastward. At first it was manageable, but once the number of linked boats reached four or five, the three lines of boats became extremely uncoordinated and swung downstream to an absurd degree.

At this point, it was Li Jin, with his years of experience around the Yellow River, who acted decisively. He canceled this self-conceived strategy and ordered that a single pontoon bridge be linked first, and that the remaining boats be attached in sequence while adjustments were made.

Events proved Li Jin’s strategy correct. Even so, the current still severely hampered the bridge’s speed and the effective utilization of the boats.

It was not until the third watch of that night, after half the night had been consumed, that the first pontoon bridge was successfully completed. At that moment, someone indeed suggested abandoning the effort — only to be summarily executed by Sun Ce.

However, once this bridge, crooked beyond all recognition, had taken shape, the second pontoon bridge was rapidly linked and widened along the first, and no further time was lost. But that was all — because the bridge was so crooked, it had consumed far too many boats, and the boats prepared in advance were simply insufficient.

The anticipated three lanes became two; the anticipated overnight crossing turned into the entire army still not having sent a single soldier across even after the third watch had passed. The six generals, as if by unspoken agreement, all turned their gazes toward Sun Ce.

Beneath a solitary torch, Sun Bofu stood atop the Golden Embankment, resting his hand on the Ancient Ingot Saber. He looked left and right and smiled: “Gentlemen, I have a question to ask of you… When did each of you first learn of my foster father’s plan to raid Yecheng this time?”

Huang Zhong stroked his beard and replied: “This general only learned of it six days ago, upon arriving at Boxian.”

“I learned seven days ago, when Xiahou Yuanrang rushed to Juanyang to inform me personally,” Zhang Chao, having the highest seniority, answered casually.

“I knew much earlier — about a dozen or so days ago, when Xuzhou fell and Xiahou Yuanrang hurried south. Lord Cao ordered me to send troops from Dingtao as reinforcements, and had his adopted son Cao Zidan convey it to me privately by word of mouth,” Gao Gan said, raising an eyebrow slightly and resting a hand on his saber as he answered.

“I knew three months ago,” Cao Hong said, unconcerned. “Not long after I arrived at Boxian, Mengde had Zixiu deliver a letter, hinting at it obliquely.”

“Uncle Zilian knew earlier than I. I only learned just before setting out,” Sun Ce replied with a smile.

Hearing this, everyone turned their gaze directly to Li Jin, who wore only a plain white headscarf. Li Tuizhi paused briefly in thought, then answered with a solemn expression: “I learned approximately eight months ago — that is, not long after Lord Yan proclaimed himself Duke at Chang’an. At that time, Lord Cao suddenly rode in haste from Nanyang to inform me of this matter, hoping that I would hold Lihu immovable at all costs, and if forced, at least preserve Xiancheng, to ensure the advance corridor remained open.”

The generals all fell silent. Sun Ce, however, nodded with a faint smile, then turned his gaze to Yue Jin: “General Yue, there is naturally no need to ask — you must have known three years ago, correct?”

Yue Wenqian shook his head: “I only received the military order today. Before this, our lord instructed me to carefully prepare and safeguard the boats and chains. I did not ask their purpose, and he never told me — though of course, I had my suspicions.”

The generals fell silent once more. Sun Bofu, however, laughed again and again, then suddenly his expression turned solemn: “Then let us do this, gentlemen. Our seven divisions shall cross the river in the order in which we learned of this plan! General Yue goes first, General Li last. Once across, we shall arrange ourselves in that same order, front to rear — General Yue leads the vanguard, General Li brings up the rear. One division crosses, and it is one division. One division dies, and the next division takes its place. How say you?!”

As he finished speaking, Sun Bofu, standing atop the Golden Embankment, drew his Ancient Ingot Saber and cast a commanding glare to left and right.

Yue Wenqian, the shortest in stature among them, said not a word. Fully armored, he strode proudly down the embankment and boarded a boat, heading straight north. His division of five thousand elite, fierce soldiers, flying the prepared Yan army banners, each man holding a wooden gag in his mouth, followed in silence onto the bridge!

At this point, the Golden Embankment along the great river was a crossing point specially chosen — only five hundred paces wide. Had they been able to link the boats in a straight line, twenty or thirty vessels would have sufficed. In reality, because of the extreme slant, the so-called pontoon bridge consisted of over forty boats and spanned seven or eight hundred paces. The sky was just beginning to lighten but had not yet fully brightened. The men, unable to see clearly, could only watch as Yue Jin’s entire force gradually disappeared at the near end of the pontoon bridge, with no way of knowing whether the far end had made landfall, how long ago they had landed, or what situation they had encountered.

Yet before Sun Ce’s gaze could even turn toward him, Huang Hansheng, without a word, was the first to lead his troops onto the bridge and depart.

And so it went, turn after turn. By the time it was nearly Sun Bofu’s turn to personally lead the main force onto the bridge, the fourth watch was already approaching.

Sun Bofu thought nothing of it, but instead of hurrying onto the bridge, he turned and headed toward a certain spot in the ranks behind him. He summoned a man directly, causing Li Jin to fall silent for a moment.

“Bofu…” The man, dressed as an ordinary close attendant and holding a specially furled great banner, addressed Sun Ce by name the moment he was called over.

“Zixiu.” Beneath the torchlight, Sun Ce gazed at the man and smiled faintly. “Go back!”

Cao Ang’s expression changed instantly. He had not even noticed that Li Jin had already come up behind him, hand on his saber.

“It is not that I look down on you, nor that I pity your life — I simply feel it is unnecessary. Like in xiangqi, once a pawn crosses the river, there is no turning back. Among thirty thousand men going to fight and die, one less — you — makes no difference!” Sun Bofu continued calmly. “You go back. At the very least, you can be someone my sister can rely on. That is my selfish wish. Cao Chun wants you to live, and so do I.”

Cao Ang was about to speak again when he felt a heavy blow strike the back of his neck. His vision went black, and he knew no more. The soldiers to either side did not dare delay. One took the great banner from Cao Ang’s arms; others bound him and placed him onto a warhorse clearly prepared long in advance, then hurried southward.

By the time that man opened his eyes again, events would likely already be irreversible.

Watching his brother, brother-in-law, and brother-in-law once more disappear into the night, Sun Ce smiled faintly at Li Jin before him, then gripped the Ancient Ingot Saber passed down from his father, descended the embankment, boarded a boat, and led his own main force of ten thousand northward.

At this moment, it was the latter half of the night of the thirtieth day of the ninth month. And this very day was precisely the grain-interception date that Huang Gai and Gongsun Xun had agreed upon — deliberately designed to delay reinforcements.

“Zixiao, do you think Zixiu and Bofu have already crossed the river by now?” Inside the Cao camp, Cao Mengde, fully armored and lacking only his helmet, suddenly raised his head and asked his cousin beside him with a solemn expression.

“I do not know…” Cao Ren, standing in attendance, sighed softly. “At this stage, there is no need to dwell on matters over there. To be honest with you, brother, I have been thinking all along whether there is even any need to fight today, and if we do fight, how best to withdraw the troops safely.”

Cao Cao nodded slowly: “Well said. The situation before us is what demands our attention. Those over there became pawns that crossed the river the moment they set out days ago — it is no longer our concern.”

Pausing briefly, Cao Mengde’s expression grew serious: “The battle must still be fought, and we must put on a full show. Besides, Huang Gongfu has already set out.”

“Then let me lead thirty thousand troops out to battle, feigning a grain interception. Once Huang Gongfu makes contact at the front, we will immediately withdraw, fighting as we retreat. Elder brother, you remain to guard the main camp and come out to meet us when the time comes!” Cao Ren immediately interjected. “You are the Regional Commander. If anything goes wrong with you, even taking Yecheng would be meaningless.”

“We stick to the original plan. Huang Gongfu advances; I serve as the rear support; you guard the main camp,” Cao Cao said, rising unhurriedly. He put on his helmet and spoke calmly: “If Gongsun Wenqi does not see me, he will surely grow suspicious. This is the final step — no more mistakes can be allowed.”

Cao Ren had nothing more to say. Cao Cao straightaway donned his armor and left the camp.

Perhaps by coincidence, at the fourth watch, two main Cao army forces, each numbering over thirty thousand and both with vanguards disguised as Yan troops, began their northward advance almost simultaneously.

It was the end of the month: stars were dense, the moon absent, and a north wind had suddenly sprung up.

After a night of forced march, by noon, Yue Jin’s vanguard, disguised as Yan troops, had advanced without hindrance. Perhaps owing to the clear weather, from a stretch of high ground they could even glimpse in the distance, beyond Neihuang City, the famous great marsh of Hebei — Huangze — stretching for dozens of li in every direction.

At that same moment, Huang Gai, likewise serving as a vanguard, had already reached the shores of Wuchao Marsh, which spanned over ten li.

Yet unlike Yue Jin’s elation, Huang Gongfu felt a chill run through his entire body. Having labored to cross the Ji River along the eastern edge of Wuchao, he had arrived at the agreed-upon battlefield — only to find not a single soldier, not a single cart or horse… not even an ambush force!

“Turn back!” Huang Gai decided instantly. “Retreat!”

———I am a dividing line where there is not even an ambush force———

“When Yu attacked Xuzhou, he was once struck by an arrow loosed by Liu Bei, which pierced his shoulder. Though the wound later healed, whenever the weather turned damp and rainy, the bone would often ache. At that time, Hua Tuo was in Xu and was asked to examine it. He said: ‘The arrowhead had a foreign substance, encased between bone and flesh. Mafeisan should be administered, the arm cut open to create an incision, the muscle dissected and cleansed — only then can this affliction be removed.’ Yu promptly extended his arm and asked Tuo to cleave it open. At the time, Yu happened to be dining and drinking with various generals. Blood from his arm flowed freely, filling the basin, yet Yu cut roasted meat, raised his wine, and talked and laughed as if nothing were amiss.” — A New Account of the Tales of the World, Chapter on Boldness

PS: Routine writer’s block and delayed update… I feel like I’m becoming useless.

(End of Chapter)