Chapter 500: Heaven's Season Turns Wrathful, Its Mighty Spirits Rage

At sunset, just as Yue Jin suddenly realized that his old acquaintance from Pei, Guo Yuan, was actually atop the city wall, the battle of Wuchao had essentially drawn to a close.

Huang Gai's arrival bought Cao Cao a life-saving moment to catch his breath, preventing the latter from being completely encircled and allowing him to break through southward under cover of nightfall, vanishing into the darkness — but that was all it amounted to... because Huang Gongfu's troops had left the main camp around midnight the night before, marched back and forth an entire day, covering sixty li and crossing the Ji River twice, and were basically at the end of their strength. Unlike Yue Jin's raiding force, they had not even had a brief rest by the Qing River.

Moreover, one must not forget that the soldiers under Huang Gai's command were, at this point, essentially just for show.

Truly just for show — Huang Gai's unit was an amalgamation of the remnants of four battalions after the bloody battle of Guandu, much in the same state as the two thousand cavalry under Xiahou Shang and Che Zhou. And this battle was itself a sacrifice; neither Cao Cao nor Huang Gai himself would actually place real fighting strength into it.

They had only ensured the banners, drums, and armor to make the performance somewhat convincing.

Thus, seeing Huang Gai approach from the north, the Yan cavalry simply wheeled around in haste, drove the routed troops forward with one fierce charge, and then made a show of iron-hoofed trampling — and Huang Gai's entire army lost control completely, scattering in an instant across the open fields. Many men, in their desperation to evade the sharp edge of the Yan cavalry, plunged straight into the Wuchao marshes, where, in the darkness and weighed down by their armor, many became mired in the mud, unable to climb out again.

When you think about it, back then four battalions fought bitterly and were still utterly defeated in half a day; back then ten thousand riders surged forward and were still overrun in a single charge. Now, in this time and place, with this scene before them, what else could be expected?

It was only that Huang Gai's timing was so superb that it achieved a certain strategic delaying effect... This was later confirmed: after crossing the Ji River, Huang Gai knew a great battle was underway here, yet did not rush back. Instead, he deliberately slowed his pace, timing his arrival on the battlefield exactly at sunset — showing a certain grasp of the art of command.

With Huang Gai's force routed and darkness falling, Cao Cao, Wen Pin, and Li Tong all seized the chance to pull up their formations and flee south. Gongsun Xun made no effort to forcibly detain them, instead ordering the entire army to sound the horns and assemble, commanding the various engaged units to clear the battlefield. After all, thirty-five thousand cavalry fighting up to this point — light cavalry and armored riders alike — were utterly exhausted, both men and horses, and this was no empty claim. Deprived of the stimulus of battle merit and adrenaline, they could hardly fight any further. What was more, if they blundered headlong into Cao Ren's reinforcements in the dark, they might well suffer a serious reverse.

"Counting Huang Gai, we've barely broken three camps... So be it!"

By torchlight, Gongsun Xun gazed into the pitch-blackness in the direction of Cao Mengde's escape, silent for a long while before he finally spoke, and yet he seemed oddly listless. "The soldiers are worn out, and the sky is dark. Let Lingming take two thousand Volunteers, gather some troops, and pursue south for ten li to see if there is anything to be gained. After ten li, whether successful or not, have him immediately turn back, spread out and sweep northward, driving a wave of routed troops before him, doing his utmost to push the enemy on the battlefield into the Wuchao marshes. Then let the main force return to camp to rest and refit. You yourself remain here to mop up and hold the ground; tomorrow we will send a large force back to comb the battlefield in detail."

The assembled officers hastened to assent.

This was only natural. The armor and arrows scattered across the battlefield alone represented an enormous military expenditure, to say nothing of potential captives — it was impossible not to come back and conduct a thorough cleanup. To put it bluntly, after this battle, if they did not scavenge on the spot, even launching an offensive from the Guandu main camp would be difficult, because they simply did not have enough arrows!

The orders given, Pang De and the others naturally went to carry them out. Yet Gongsun Xun, the Regional Commander who had just won an indisputably great victory, showed no sign of excitement, contrary to all expectations. He said nothing more, nor did he join the soldiers on the battlefield singing Hebei folk songs. Instead, he rode straight back west to Guandu with over a thousand Volunteer riders. With his departure, the songs and clamor on the battlefield slowly faded away. Wuchao, which had roared for an entire day, at last gradually fell quiet, leaving only the stench of blood hanging thick in the night sky, and now and then the low moans and cries for help of wounded soldiers who could no longer bear their pain.

At the same time, like two sides of a single coin, the Neihuang region, which had been peaceful and tranquil all day, suddenly erupted in clamor with the coming of night.

In truth, the moment Yue Jin heard that Guo Yuan, the Yingzhou Plain Commandant who hailed from Pei, was here, he already knew that things had gone terribly wrong. But his expression merely flickered before returning to normal. For since crossing the Yellow River on this mission, Yue Wenqian had long been prepared — can a pawn that has crossed the river ever retreat?

Or to put it another way, could a pawn that has crossed the river, and the foremost pawn at that, still harbor any extravagant hopes? His earlier flicker of expression was only because the day's march after crossing the river had been so smooth that it had briefly given him a sliver of wishful thinking. And now, thinking back, such smooth marching was itself abnormal.

Of course, there was no use dwelling on it now, for once Yue Wenqian collected himself, he wasted no words but immediately gave the order for his accompanying armored soldiers to probe the city with an assault!

Yet even though Yue Wenqian was renowned for his fierce valor and famed for being first atop the walls, even though his five thousand Puyang troops had spent years skirmishing and clashing with the Yan army on the front lines, to the point that the Yan army's Jing'antai acknowledged them as "elite," this probing assault by hanging ropes was a complete failure from the very start.

The reason was simple: it was not that Yue Jin's troops were exhausted from the long march, nor that they lacked equipment, but that on the walls of the great city of Neihuang, the number of defenders was simply far too many!

The armored soldiers of Yue Jin's force advanced as ordered and first attempted to scale the walls directly with hanging ropes, only to be met with easy slaughter from above. Essentially, after securing their grappling hooks, the men would be halfway up when the Yan troops on the wall would casually cut the ropes, sending them crashing down heavily. Left with no choice, the force had to creep along the base of the wall near Neihuang's north gate in the dark, trying to find a weakly defended spot to stealthily climb. But almost everywhere they went, fires would suddenly blaze to life on that section of the wall, lighting up the night sky, while the shouts of armored soldiers and the clash of metal rang out overhead.

In such a state, even an immortal could not possibly "scale" this city by surprise!

As the fires atop the wall grew more numerous and more dense, Yue Wenqian, surprisingly, did not rush to commit more troops, nor did he personally lead the charge. Instead, he withdrew slightly to a safe distance and gazed at the spectacle on the wall with a cold and strange look in his eyes.

Finally, when the fires along the entire northern face of Neihuang's wall merged into a single blaze, and when fires also suddenly erupted at the other city gates where blocking forces had been dispatched, Yue Jin became utterly certain of one conjecture — this was a trap!

Otherwise, there was no reason for Guo Yuan, an officer under Yingzhou's jurisdiction, to be here, nor any reason for the Yan army to hide so many troops in such a city and prepare so many torches for illumination... And what made Yue Wenqian fall into an even deeper, wordless silence was that despite so many troops on the wall, despite them clearly recognizing his voice from the very start, they had not fired a single arrow from beginning to end!

What did this mean?

"General!"

Even though they were battle-hardened, the officers beside Yue Jin could not help but show panic and dismay. The young Puyang officer who had earlier pretended to be Cheng Yu's nephew lost his composure entirely. "How can there be so many troops garrisoned in Neihuang?"

"What are you panicking about!" At these words, Yue Wenqian came back to his senses, but merely curled his lip disdainfully without looking up, flashing a grin at his subordinate. "Neihuang is the only large city between Yecheng and Puyang. Is it not normal for a few thousand troops to be stationed here to guard against a surprise attack? It's just our bad luck to run into an acquaintance, that's all. And when all is said and done, can our thirty thousand men truly not take this mere county seat? Wait until I'm dead, then you can come wail at my funeral — not before!"

Yue Jin's confident demeanor visibly eased the surrounding soldiers somewhat. Without waiting for anyone else to speak, this greatest general of non-Cao lineage under Cao Cao issued his orders on his own authority: "Pass on my command... First, no more concealment — the entire army is to raise torches and raise a din to intimidate the defenders. Second, bring up every last ladder and drum from the pack animals in the rear and prepare them for use. Third, send word to General Huang Hansheng behind us to advance swiftly and bring his archers and crossbowmen forward to cover our formation when we assault the city... In short, the entire army is to prepare to storm the city immediately!"

The soldiers dared not delay and shouted their assent one after another.

For a time, fires were lit above and below the wall, and a clamor of shouting and cursing erupted. Presently, as Huang Zhong hurried forward with a large force of archers and crossbowmen to take over the battle formation and begin long-range suppression, Yue Jin further ordered the drums beaten to boost morale, and then personally attempted to scale a ladder and mount the wall.

And the interesting thing was, at the very first drumbeat from Yue Jin's force below the wall, it was actually the city of Neihuang that came alive first! Fires blazed throughout the city, inside and out; drums from the watchtowers and gate towers relayed orders to the surrounding area; archers, crossbowmen, and great-shield bearers surged forward to respond as if they had just been awakened, raising shields to block while exchanging relentless volleys with the troops below.

Up to this point, with both sides shouting, cursing, and clamoring, with flying arrows interweaving in mutual bombardment, with flames reflecting each other above and below, and with the deep rumble of drums answering one another... it was obvious that the Central Plains coalition's surprise attack had instantly transformed into a frontal assault.

It must be said, the seven armies crossing the river certainly had some siege equipment, but to maintain speed they could not truly bring very much. The vast majority consisted of grappling hooks and ropes for climbing, fundamentally still serving the purpose of a surprise attack. In fact, according to the original plan, the seven armies under Sun Ce were supposed to successfully seize Neihuang by surprise tonight, seal the city gates, and then on the second night launch a surprise attack on the Bronze Sparrow Platform south of Yecheng, using the platform's military stores to attempt to capture Yecheng itself.

Now, setting aside just how much wishful thinking lay behind this seemingly reasonable and smoothly progressing plan — the notion that the seven armies would descend like divine troops and the Yan army would immediately bow in submission — the crux of the matter was that, having just arrived at Neihuang, they had already plainly fallen into a certain awkward predicament.

Facing a fully defended city, siege equipment was essential... and the few ladders they had, as soon as they were set against the lowest stretch of wall just east of Neihuang's south gate, were doused with fire oil by the well-prepared Yan troops and set ablaze, chilling the hearts of Yue Jin's armored soldiers below.

Even Yue Jin himself was drenched in oil; only his own alertness and a proactive leap to evade saved him from disaster.

"General Yue!"

Gazing at the already burning ladders, Huang Hansheng, past fifty years of age, looked thoroughly helpless. He could only hurriedly seek out Yue Wenqian, who had just withdrawn and was changing his armor. "Sir, you are the deputy commander explicitly designated in the written orders. I must ask you to speak plainly — the enemy is clearly well prepared, our assault has been repulsed, what exactly should we do now?"

"It is merely a repulse — we will attack once more!" Facing Huang Zhong, Yue Jin naturally would not put on the same pretense he used with the common soldiers, yet he still regarded him with the same defiant arrogance. He snatched a grappling hook from an officer beside him, strapped on his blade, and rose to his feet. "General, I ask you to cover my formation one more time... While they are all excitedly watching the ladders burn east of the gate, I will climb alone by hanging rope from the shadows on the west side of the gate tower and try again!"

Huang Zhong had no choice but to nod in agreement.

The reasoning here was actually very simple... Regardless of what was going on with the Yan army — whether it was an ambush or a coincidence — for the seven armies that had raided this far, at this moment there were only two choices: advance or retreat. And among these, for Yue Jin's and Huang Zhong's forces at the very front, retreat was, to be frank, highly unrealistic. Thus, their most reasonable option was to take this city!

Take this city, and if the defenders inside were merely here by coincidence, they could still advance on Yecheng; if the outer perimeter was already an inescapable net, they could still hold the city and defend it stoutly, then consider other options. Otherwise, in the dark of night, with such a city blocking their path, even making camp in the open would be difficult for the southern troops at the end of their strength!

Huang Zhong had come to ask precisely on the premise that the city would be hard to take, but since Yue Jin still wanted to try, he naturally had nothing more to say.

Returning to the scene at hand, the southern army's assault was ineffective, and their arrows temporarily ceased. The Yan troops on the wall naturally cheered and exulted, while the several ladders blazed brightly, becoming virtual natural torches. Soldiers on both sides craned their necks to watch, all looking toward this spot.

Seizing this very opportunity, Yue Jin took a grappling hook, personally crept to the west side beneath the gate tower, and using the slight shadows cast by the tower itself, hurled the hook with all his might. It caught on a crenellation, and no one even noticed.

The moment he succeeded, he did not hesitate, grabbing the rope and scaling the wall directly. However, because his gloves had clearly been smeared with some oil earlier, halfway up, Yue Wenqian's hand suddenly slipped, and he slid straight back to the ground.

Huang Zhong, standing behind the formation about a hundred paces away, was urging the surrounding soldiers to shout curses at the wall while only daring to steal glances at Yue Jin's figure from the corner of his eye. Seeing Yue Jin slip, he too momentarily lost his composure... This great general of Liu Biao's army, in the life-and-death struggle of this war, had no innate understanding of what this battle meant.

But almost immediately, that figure festooned with many ring-pommeled blades flipped over, sprang back up, and began climbing again without pause. It turned out that after landing, Yue Jin had simply grabbed a handful of dirt and then resumed his ascent!

This time, he climbed without incident until, just as he neared the bottom of the crenellations, he drew the attention of a Yan soldier atop the wall... Amid the din, Yue Wenqian did not hold his breath and keep silent. Instead, he waited until the enemy spotted the taut grappling rope and let out a startled cry — in that very instant, right beneath the crenellations, he hauled on the rope and vaulted upward with explosive force, flying onto the wall. In one fluid motion, he drew a blade, slashed across the man's face, and then turned his hand to drive the ring-pommeled knife into the alert soldier's mouth!

Blood sprayed three chi. The surrounding Yan soldiers were utterly petrified, but Yue Jin did not hesitate. He drew another blade from behind his back, slashing left and hacking right, and began a wanton slaughter atop the wall.

Almost at the exact same moment, Huang Hansheng, his entire being surging with excitement, once again ordered the drums beaten to boost morale and the arrows to fly in suppression, startling the Yan soldiers on the wall who were momentarily bewildered. As for Yue Jin's personal guards who had some inkling of the situation, without even waiting for Huang Hansheng's order, they surged toward the west side of the gate tower bearing shields, attempting to scale the wall with grappling hooks!

Only then did a drum finally sound from the Yan side atop the wall, redeploying troops to deal with the chaos near the gate tower. By this time, Yue Jin had already slain five or six men in succession, discarded his second blade, and was growing fiercer the more he fought... The reason was simple: only after climbing the wall did he realize that although the soldiers atop were numerous, they were fundamentally the most ordinary sort of commandery troops. While some clearly had combat experience, they were also clearly recently recalled to service and somewhat rusty.

"Kill him!"

Amid the chaotic melee, in the firelight, just as Yue Jin was cutting a swath through all before him and several of his personal guards had managed to scale the wall, a familiar Henan accent suddenly rang out from the other side — the east side — of the gate tower. Without a doubt, it was the Plain Commandant Guo Yuan (nephew of Zhong Yao, a man of Pei), with whom Yue Jin had exchanged words earlier. Having finished burning the ladders, he had hurried back to clear the wall. "This man is Yue Wenqian! Kill him, and his troops will collapse on their own! Use long spears! Use bows and arrows! You must kill him!"

Yue Jin let out a cold laugh at these words, then bent low and charged straight east, killing two more men and discarding yet another blade. During this, the officer who had earlier pretended to be Cheng Yu's nephew also climbed the wall and fought his way over with fierce courage, successfully linking up with Yue Wenqian, and together they expanded their gains!

Seeing this, Guo Yuan was seized with great urgency. Moreover, his temperament being violent and fiery, he directly snatched a long spear from a subordinate beside him and, together with two other spearmen, gave the order to advance in a leveled row and thrust!

It must be said, Neihuang was no great city to begin with. The top of the gate tower was narrow, further cluttered with braziers and the like, so three or four men abreast was the absolute limit. Thus, when Guo Yuan suddenly attacked in a pincer with his subordinates leveling spears from both sides, Yue Jin and his subordinate, who lacked long weapons, were immediately plunged into crisis and could only retreat repeatedly to evade.

At the same time, the other Yan soldiers, seeing an opportunity, hurriedly followed suit, using the same method to clear out the rest of Yue Jin's men on the wall. What was more, four spearmen hastily assembled and immediately advanced in a row from the other side — the west side — leveling their spears in coordination with Guo Yuan to thrust at Yue Jin and his subordinate from opposite directions.

The two had no choice but to fight back-to-back beside a brazier. As the spearmen on both sides gradually closed in, the moment Guo Yuan thrust first from the east, Yue Wenqian, who had been facing east, suddenly pivoted with force against his personal guard's back and launched an attack on the four spearmen to the west!

He forcefully parried one spear and feigned a slash, then, just as the four spearmen before him flinched in alarm, he suddenly ducked low, slipping beneath the spear shafts past the deadly spearheads and into the space under the spear rack. With an upward slash, he severed all four long spears at once! The four spearmen recoiled in shock, their strength failing. Yue Jin seized the opening, slashing one across the throat, then reversed his blade and thrust at another's abdomen.

However, this second spearman wore a half-suit of iron armor. Turning to flee with hands released, he took Yue Jin's reversed thrust. Though his abdominal cavity ruptured on the spot and he was unlikely to survive, the impact snapped the other ring-pommel saber Yue Jin carried clean in two... But Yue Wenqian, unflustered, drew yet another blade from behind his back and with a follow-up slash easily finished the man off.

By this point, Yue Wenqian had been on the wall for only a moment, yet had already slain over a dozen men. Though the Yan troops on the ramparts were numerous, they momentarily lost their nerve before this blood-drenched killer. But just as Yue Jin moved to pursue and finish off two fleeing spearmen, he suddenly felt a faint stabbing pain in his ribs from the rear flank. Turning back, he saw that his subordinate, while parrying and retreating, had slipped for an instant and been impaled by Guo Yuan's spear. The spear had passed through the subordinate's body and then pierced slightly into Yue Jin's own rear flank at the ribs.

In truth, Yue Jin's subordinate, run clean through, had already tried his utmost. Had he not, with his dying strength, desperately used his hands to deflect the force, Yue Jin would likely have been gravely wounded.

Beneath the brazier, the two men turned their heads and locked eyes almost simultaneously. Unlike the complex emotions in Yue Jin's gaze, this officer clenched his teeth in silence, his expression simple, as if he merely wished to tell his general that he had done all he could.

Guo Yuan strained to withdraw his spear but could not budge it, only managing to shake the officer's corpse. Meanwhile, two Yan spearmen nearby, seeing Yue Jin momentarily distracted, attempted to thrust at him.

Yue Wenqian flew into a towering rage. Almost without looking, he reached back, seized one spear, and yanked it violently, pulling the spearman stumbling off balance. Having neutralized the attack, he then slashed face-to-face into the man's throat. From his posture, he was clearly holding nothing back, intent on taking the man's head with a single stroke.

But although the ring-pommel saber was extremely practical and represented an immense military advance over the common straight sword, it was, after all, a slender, straight blade. It tended to lodge in bone, making it hard to withdraw, and was still prone to snapping — otherwise, Yue Wenqian would not have made a habit of carrying several such sabers into battle every time!

Indeed, with this slash, Yue Jin easily killed the Yan soldier, but the blade, unsurprisingly, lodged in the man's vertebrae due to Yue Wenqian's excessive force. At the same moment, Guo Yuan, equally enraged by the death of his subordinate, had already seized a spear from another soldier beside him and thrust fiercely at Yue Jin.

Yue Wenqian was naturally unruffled by this... It must be understood that though the number of blades on his person varied, it was generally more than five; surely there were still some left... Yet as he reached back to draw a blade for a parry, he was stunned to find his back empty, instantly breaking out in a cold sweat!

This was, of course, normal. In combat, and with that earlier slip while scaling the wall, there were too many chances for a carried blade to fall away.

But there was no use dwelling on it now. Having miscalculated, Yue Jin could only roll backward along the ground in a hasty, wretched dodge of the thrusting spear, while trying to find a fallen weapon on the ground to meet the foe.

And Guo Yuan, precisely because his foolproof plan had gone awry against this man, and having witnessed him slaughter so many of his own troops, was already seething with fury. How could he let such a perfect chance slip? Spear thrust followed spear thrust, stabbing at his opponent in relentless succession.

Even for one as famously fierce, agile, and battle-hardened as Yue Wenqian, without a weapon in hand to parry, how could he possibly cope? Thus, he was thrown into utter disarray, dodging left and right, scrambling up and down across the rampart, desperately hugging the ground to evade.

By this time, the Yan troops on the wall, with their absolute numerical advantage, had already used their spear formations to clear away the grappling hooks and the few southern soldiers who had climbed up. Seeing a golden opportunity, under the direction and leadership of their officers, they once more formed multiple single-rank long-weapon arrays mixing long spears and long halberds, and strode toward the gate tower, preparing to join forces with their Commandant to finish off Yue Jin!

Yue Wenqian uttered not a sound, only stubbornly dodging, while Guo Yuan thrust faster and faster, his heart surging with joy as reinforcements streamed in endlessly!

A rank of long-halberdiers was advancing from the west, about to link up with Guo Yuan.

Suddenly, just as Guo Yuan withdrew his spear to thrust again, a feathered arrow, loosed from a full hundred-plus paces below the wall, flew straight and true, striking the constantly moving Guo Yuan in the back of the neck like a shooting star!

The arrow tore through the flesh of his nape, then lodged itself in a crack between the wall bricks, sinking in a full inch! Such force was simply terrifying. Guo Yuan, struck by sudden agony — and perhaps due to ruptured nerves at that site, unable to support himself — staggered and reeled, crying out in shock.

How could Yue Jin let such an opening pass? Seizing the moment, he snatched up a broken spear shaft from the ground, leaped up, and with a single thrust drove it through a gap in the armor into his opponent's armpit!

Whether by luck or misfortune, this Commandant of Pingyuan, Zhong Yao's own nephew Guo Yuan, caught between two peerless warriors of the age, did not die immediately. He still had consciousness and a vestige of strength, but was in such agony that he could only clutch the spear and slump sideways between the brazier and the parapet, his face contorted in a hideous grimace.

On the other side, Yue Jin smoothly seized the spear from his opponent's grasp. Ignoring the bewildered long-halberdiers behind him and the archers trembling on the watchtower a few dozen paces inside the city, he showed neither joy nor anger. Expressionless, he raised the spear to point at the man's throat before him and asked in a deep voice:

"Commandant Guo, before your uncle persuaded you to come north of the Yellow River, you once drank with me in Pei. We can be considered old acquaintances... Let me ask you one thing, and I will grant you a clean end! Look, you are nearly dead, yet your soldiers are not panicking. Clearly, you are of little consequence here. Can you tell me, how many of you came this time?"

By the firelight, Guo Yuan pressed his lips together and stared at him for a moment before opening his mouth to speak, but could not help coughing up a mouthful of bloody froth. Forcing down the agony in his chest, he replied with a savage sneer:

"Does my lord wish to trade a clean death for himself in exchange for dying with full understanding?!"

Yue Jin let out a dry laugh. He raised his head to glance at the Yan soldiers who dared not make a move, then actually nodded at the man beneath him.

"Then I shall let you die with full understanding!" By the light of the brazier's flames, Guo Yuan continued his savage sneer, raising his voice. "Our Inspector Cheng personally leads fifteen thousand Yingzhou troops here. Grand General Taishi commands twenty thousand Liaodong troops. Ye city urgently mobilized five thousand garrison troops, personally led by Chancellor Han... Cough... Forty thousand troops have long been deployed at Neihuang, the net spread wide and waiting. Beyond that, Yu Wenze's five thousand and General Gao's ten thousand should have crossed the river by now. Even Zhang Junyi must be on his way to take your Puyang! You may not outlive me by a single day!"

"I understand!" Yue Jin raised his head and sighed. "In short, everyone who could come, has come... is that right?"

Guo Yuan said nothing, merely coughing up another mouthful of bloody froth before fixing his death stare on the other man once more.

Yue Jin, too, could not be bothered to say more. Ignoring the many Yan soldiers before and behind him, he thrust the spear forward as agreed.

But in that split second, just as Yue Jin drove the spear home, Guo Yuan suddenly mustered all his remaining strength and wrenched over an object beside him — precisely the brazier he had been leaning against.

Guo Yuan died on the spot, but Yue Wenqian was also caught by the toppling brazier and set ablaze. Half his body caught fire, especially above the shoulders, the flames roaring fiercely. It was clear that after being doused in oil earlier, he had only been able to hastily change his armor, and there were still residues in his inner garments and hair bun!

"Kill him!"

In the darkness, Cheng Wu, who had arrived on the wall at some unknown moment, gave the order, instantly shattering the strange stalemate that had held over the gate tower.

Four or five long-halberdiers and spearmen surged forward, easily piercing Yue Jin's body, then stabbing and slashing without pause. Even if Yue Jin were an immortal, he could not have withstood it. After sustaining several fatal wounds, he collapsed with a thud onto Guo Yuan's corpse.

Yet, perhaps because Cheng Wu's order had come too promptly, Yue Wenqian, his body bathed in fire and blood, stabbed repeatedly, did not utter a single cry even as he approached death — a detail that struck onlookers as profoundly eerie.

"Yue Wenqian was a true general!"

Watching the burning figure collapse with a thud, no more than a few dozen paces away on a watchtower inside the city, the Governor of Yingzhou, Cheng Yu, who had been observing from behind several archers, stroked his beard and sighed.

Cheng Wu had gone to the wall; only Cheng Yu's youngest son, Cheng Yan, remained at his side. Hearing this, the son naturally knew how to flatter his father: "Father, are you sighing over his courage?"

"Not at all. I am sighing over his benevolence." The grey-haired Cheng Zhongde clasped his hands behind his back, his tone even more rueful.

Cheng Yan was dumbfounded: "A man so fierce and ruthless — how can you speak of benevolence?"

Cheng Yu could not be bothered to explain. He simply gave his own orders: "Go, find your elder brother on the wall. Tell him to return the corpse, clear the ramparts, and then urge Huang Zhong below to surrender... Tell Huang Hansheng: sixty thousand troops have them encircled, and I, Cheng Zhongde, personally lead ten thousand men filling this city. There is absolutely no way out for them on this expedition. Moreover, Liu of Jingzhou already sent envoys to sue for peace after his defeat in Xu. There is no need for him to hold out stubbornly — he would do better to surrender early!"

Cheng Yan, in his dazed state, seemed to grasp something, but still hurriedly took the order and left.

It must be said, the sudden eruption of battle had instantly shaken the entire Huangze region. The flames on the walls of Neihuang and the commotion stirred up by Yue Jin and Huang Zhong made the other five armies abandon whatever restraint they had previously held... Unlike Yue Jin, who had directly confirmed a grave outcome through his conversation with Guo Yuan, they merely thought that Yue Wenqian's surprise attack had failed, alerting Neihuang, which happened to have a sizable garrison, and that both sides were trying to use this method to warn the forces behind them!

Thus, far from retreating, the rear five armies advanced at top speed, attempting to assist Yue Jin in taking Neihuang. Even Li Jin, the only one still positioned outside the Qing River, after gazing at Neihuang from afar for a moment, ordered his entire army to cross the river at full speed and join the battle.

But by now, night had fallen. Li Jin's troops were inevitably slow in crossing the river and were only halfway across when the commotion at distant Neihuang suddenly died down. Soon after, Sun Ce's personal guards came galloping up and delivered a strange order: "General Li! My general commands you not to advance in haste, but to immediately withdraw to the east bank of the Qing River and guard the pontoon bridge with care."

"Understood." Li Tuizhi's expression remained calm after receiving the order. He simply made a brief inquiry of the messenger by torchlight: "But what has happened up ahead?"

"Reporting to General Li," the messenger, being one of Sun Ce's personal guards, naturally knew more. Moreover, Li Jin and Yue Jin were men Sun Ce had personally singled out as reliable, so he spoke frankly and solemnly from horseback. "The attack ahead has stalled. General Yue, together with General Huang, found themselves helpless. Upon learning the situation, my general has already sent General Gao (Gao Gan) to circle around and raid the north of the city, and ordered Generals Zhang and Cao (Zhang Chao and Cao Hong) to immediately spread out on both flanks for reconnaissance. Only then did he send me here..."

Li Tuizhi certainly could not have imagined that Yue Wenqian had already perished the moment he went up, but he understood in his heart that Neihuang was heavily defended and that Sun Ce had also sensed immense danger. That was why, while accelerating the attempt to take the city, he was also ordering each army to steady their positions and investigate the enemy situation.

The messenger guard hastily took his leave. After a moment of deliberation, Li Jin followed the military order and commanded a withdrawal to the east of the river, to guard the pontoon bridge and rest and reorganize on the spot.

However, perhaps because this pontoon bridge was one of only two critical points known to the entire army that night, messengers came to Li Jin's position in an unending stream throughout the night... and one could also say, bad news came in an unending stream.

Gao Gan's assault on the city was repulsed!

The scouts and outriders sent by Zhang Chao detected signs of large enemy forces across the Qing River!

Cao Hong advanced northward along the Neihuang marsh to probe, and then all news of him ceased!

By the third watch, as Sun Ce's main force withdrew after their assault on the city failed, he finally sent his personal guards with several definite and fatal pieces of news — Yue Jin had fallen in battle! There were at least ten thousand troops in the city, fully prepared, and the Governor of Yingzhou, Cheng Zhongde, was actually on the wall!

By the fourth watch, Cao Hong's force and Gao Gan's force, which had veered further north to probe after failing in their assault, also sent back word, clearly reporting that they had encountered large bodies of Yan troops north of Neihuang, and that both units were finding it extremely difficult to disengage!

Bad news followed one after another, yet Li Jin remained seated motionless on a small hill by the riverbank, showing no reaction whatsoever.

Not until the fifth watch, when the sky was growing light, did Li Jin's own scouts upstream personally spot Taishi Ci's banner. Sun Ce also sent another messenger, frankly informing him that Huang Zhong's force and the remnants of Yue Jin's force were already wavering. Though they had not surrendered, they were no longer obeying commands. In this situation, Sun Ce dared not easily withdraw from beneath the city walls, for if he did, Huang Zhong would likely surrender with Yue Jin's remnants, and the three forces of Cao Hong, Gao Gan, and Zhang Chao would be doomed beyond a doubt... In summary, certain things were finally beyond doubt.

The Yan army outnumbered them several times over, waited at ease for the weary foe, and had spread their net wide. Their own great general had fallen in battle, and allied troops were wavering... Worse still, a full six of the seven armies had penetrated deep into the naturally semi-enclosed triangular zone centered on Neihuang city. Amidst exhaustion, panic, nightfall, inducements to surrender, and engagement with the enemy, finding an opportunity to break out was exceedingly difficult.

This raid was nothing more than plunging headlong into the Yan army's encirclement net!

This raid cannot save the collapsing grand situation of the Central Plains — it will only hasten the southern army's rout!

The power of choice had rarely fallen into Li Jin's hands. After all, for those ahead of him, it might truly be a case of being unable to advance or retreat, but for Li Jin's division, which had yet to cross the river, they could now either advance or retreat.

Therefore, the officers of Li Jin's division — that is, the clansmen and brothers of the Jiyin Li clan who had followed Li Jin for many years — now gathered at the foot of the small hill, awaiting orders.

In a moment, Li Tuizhi opened his eyes, rose to his feet, expressionless, and directly drew his blade from its sheath. Pointing the blade north, he spoke with terse clarity: "In today's affair, there is advance and no retreat! The entire army shall cross the river and give battle!"

————I am the dividing line of advance without retreat————

"Your servant Songzhi observes: Zhou Tai was unyielding and resolute; Yue Jin was valiant and renowned for decisiveness; Xu Chu was fierce, brave, and heroic; Chen Dao was a hero who never fell from grace. All were strong, steadfast, and valiant, serving as claws and fangs — one may call them men of tiger-minister spirit. How do they differ from Zhang Liao or Cheng Lian? It is lamentable that they entrusted themselves to the wrong man, failing to recognize Heaven's mandate, and in a single morning perished — one can only wring one's hands in regret! Yet by the judgment of their age, though they achieved no great deeds, they were still loyal ministers and fine generals!" — From *Dianlüe*, Yan section, annotated by Pei Songzhi

PS: A big chapter to pay off some interest, and by the way, thanks to new alliance leaders Three Cups Pig and zwya, respectively the 120th and 121st alliance leaders... Come to think of it, back when I was writing *The Actor*, I really did dream of ten thousand subscriptions and a hundred alliances.

But now that I've actually achieved it, I no longer cherish it... These past two days my mindset has clearly collapsed. My apologies to everyone.

(End of chapter)