[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-88":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing Han",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1222847,1620,"Chapter 88: Advance and Retreat","overthrowing-han-chapter-88",88,"\u003Cp>The Han army appeared here so swiftly that the Xianbei troops across the Chuoqiu River were visibly thrown into disarray — and this, in turn, exposed the true disposition of their forces with even greater unmistakable clarity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet, facing this scene, Gongsun Xun, reining in his horse on a hillside south of the river, had a face ashen with fury.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wenqi, all officers in the commandery from Company Commander and above have arrived.\" After a long silence, Lu Fan, having no other choice, could only murmur a quiet reminder from behind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gentlemen,\" Gongsun Xun wheeled his horse around and asked in a baffled tone tinged with exasperation, \"you are all men of outstanding talent — can any one of you tell me where Tanshihuai's elite core force, the very troops he relies on to hold dominion over the vast grasslands, has gone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fan, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, Mo Hukuan, Lou Gui, Cheng Lian, Wei Yue, Gao Heng, and a host of other military figures... all now reined in their horses behind Gongsun Xun, yet not a single one could speak!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was not that they had no thoughts, but that they dared not entertain them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In such a situation, heaven alone knew how severe the consequences of a single misjudgment might be.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Lord.\" In the end, it was Lou Gui who could not hold back and cupped his hands from horseback.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Speak.\" Gongsun Xun immediately raised his horsewhip and pointed it at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Young Lord, you yourself said before that some words should be spoken in private, lest there be any possibility of unsettling the army's morale.\" Lou Gui was, as ever, insufferable.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You really are...\" Gongsun Xun let out a helpless laugh, only to find that his tension had actually eased considerably. \"Very well! Let everyone set aside their reservations this time. The fortunes of war are perilous; the situation before us only shows that we are in grave danger. And having marched three hundred li beyond the frontier, with over fifteen hundred men stranded here alone, what else can we do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men fell silent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Time is pressing.\" Gongsun Xun sighed. \"Where exactly is Tanshihuai's royal court army right now? And how exactly should we proceed? Everyone must speak freely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perhaps Tanshihuai bypassed our vanguard force and, seeing that General Xia has few troops over there, launched a direct raid?\" The speaker was Gao Heng — Xia Yu's own personal guard commander. It was understandable that he would think this way.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That doesn't hold.\" Lou Gui immediately stroked his beard and shook his head. \"To swallow General Xia's main force, Tanshihuai would have to commit the entire royal court elite. With such a massive army bearing down on us, how could we possibly not detect even the slightest trace of it? As for taking a detour... against a mere two thousand of us, why would he need to detour? Why not just swallow us head-on?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly.\" Beside him, the cavalry Battalion Commander, a veteran from Xihe, nodded repeatedly in agreement. \"And let's not forget, we've only been separated from the main force for less than two days. We may have advanced at a rapid march, but the main force also came this way traveling light. The distance between us isn't as far as one might imagine... Not to mention yesterday — even right now, I'd estimate General Xia is no more than seventy or eighty li away. Think about it: a battle involving tens of thousands of men, with our army hardly lacking in shock cavalry, on a grassland where the eye can see endlessly in every direction — how could we possibly fail to spot it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Gao Xuanqing of Bohai promptly shut his mouth.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"He couldn't have just abandoned the royal court and fled, could he?\" Wei Yue couldn't help but let out a dry laugh, but as the others shot him icy glares and Cheng Lian jabbed him in the waist with a horsewhip, the fellow immediately wiped the grin off his face and lowered his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Besiege Wei to rescue Zhao?\" someone ventured tentatively. \"Right now, the three commanderies of Yanmen, Dai, and Shanggu are all undefended...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No — at least, not right now.\" Gongsun Xun was also beginning to regain his clarity and was thinking in earnest. \"The three commanderies may be undefended, but after all, they have fortresses, the Long Wall, and border ramparts. The Inspectors and Grand Administrators within the frontier are all men of exceptional ability — they certainly won't fall quickly. And if they can't be taken swiftly, once the Long Wall's beacon fires are lit, the Xianbei will instead find the expeditionary army turning back to pinch them from both sides... It's not that Tanshihuai won't raid the border, but putting myself in his shoes, if he doesn't first devour the Han army outside the frontier, where would he get the nerve to attack those three commanderies?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then the only options are to go west to find General Tian, or go to the center to find General Zang,\" someone answered bluntly at this point. \"What else? Is there a third path?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun's expression shifted slightly at these words. After pondering for a moment, he suddenly waved his hand: \"All of you, go down and tend to your respective units. Ziheng, Zibo, Yigong, and Demou — you four stay.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others took it in stride, but Gao Heng's face abruptly changed color. Yet seeing that all around him were Gongsun Xun's personal guards and sworn followers, he could only forcibly suppress his displeasure and follow the other officers down the hillside.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun saw Gao Heng's displeasure with perfect clarity, but this was hardly the time to worry about such things... because just now, in a flash of lightning, a conjecture and several bold decisions had come to him — decisions that required the support of these trusted confidants.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hear me out.\" Once the others had left, Gongsun Xun directly reined his horse forward to speak face-to-face with his confidants, their horses intermingling. \"If Tanshihuai has gone west, then from our perspective, it actually doesn't matter... because the western route is at Yunzhong, over seven hundred li from here — far too distant! And in between lies the obstruction of General Zang's army. We need only report swiftly to General Xia and await his orders!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men all nodded in agreement.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What concerns me — and this is both the worst scenario and the most likely one — is that Tanshihuai used the royal court as a half-bait from the very beginning to keep our army pinned here, while he himself spread his net north of Yanmen, aiming to swiftly devour General Zang's central route army!\" Gongsun Xun lowered his voice. \"And if my guess is not wrong, by now the central route army has already been utterly destroyed! And now Tanshihuai is driving his victorious army westward, pressing toward General Xia's position!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men's faces all changed color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is the central route at Yanmen really that weak?\" While the other three took it in stride, Lou Gui's face changed to one of sheer disbelief. \"Could that General Zang be a man of empty reputation?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is not that General Zang is incompetent,\" Lu Fan explained in a low voice. \"It is that the central route army has too few Han troops — perhaps only General Zang's core force of a thousand men plus a few hundred sworn followers. The rest are all Xiongnu... Setting aside the fact that Xiongnu fighting strength is, after all, inferior to Han troops, there is one point alone: if eighty or ninety percent of the entire army consists of foreign auxiliaries, how many would truly have the resolve to fight to the death? And once they collapse, how could General Zang possibly hold them in check?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly.\" Cheng Pu was also exceptionally grave. \"If I were Tanshihuai, I would naturally have positioned the royal court elite between General Xia's and General Zang's forces from the very start, then let the eastern and central Xianbei each engage in probing attacks to gauge their true strength. Once I detected that General Zang's side was the weakest, I would seize the moment, strike directly, and settle it in a single battle! Then I would lead the army eastward to devour the other force...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In that case,\" Lou Gui's face grew even paler, \"are we not already trapped in a death zone?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Dang and the others looked at each other, but this time not a single one answered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not so.\" Gongsun Xun suddenly gripped his horse's bridle. \"Have you considered one thing? Why, on our rapid march toward Mount Danhan, did we encounter the eastern Xianbei fighting to the death to block us? And why have four or five thousand defenders been left here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Because Tanshihuai, in the end, does not want to lose the royal court,\" Han Dang said in sudden realization. \"Though it was bait, he never intended to lose the royal court, and the eastern Xianbei dared even less to let the royal court be lost on their watch... General Xia's and our speed of advance — that was his miscalculation!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But what use is that?\" Lou Gui's face was full of bitterness. \"Doesn't it just mean we are even deeper in a death trap? Ahead, four or five thousand men face us across the river; behind, Tanshihuai's main army is pressing forward. We'd have been better off marching slower — then at least we could turn back now!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"As far as I know, the single most foolish thing under heaven is to turn your back on barbarian cavalry on the grasslands,\" Gongsun Xun said with a cold laugh. \"At a time like this, the only path to survival is to press forward... I won't hide it from you — I've just now realized with perfect clarity that our path to survival lies not behind us, but ahead. And perhaps even the survival of General Xia's entire army lies ahead as well.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The four confidants — two civil, two military — upon hearing these words, nearly all raised their heads in unison to look toward the opposite riverbank, and every one of their faces changed color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In this campaign, we may not have thought too highly of ourselves, but we underestimated Tanshihuai — yet Tanshihuai has also underestimated me!\" Gongsun Xun spoke with his back to the Chuoqiu River, as if addressing his confidants, yet also as if talking to himself. \"In all affairs under heaven, no matter how foolproof the plan, in the end it comes down to that final kick at the gate... Given the current situation, for the Han army to speak of victory any further would be self-deception. Preservation of as much as possible must be the priority.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What does Wenqi mean?\" Lu Fan was the first to withdraw his gaze and ask with a serious expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My resolve is set,\" Gongsun Xun declared with awe-inspiring authority. \"Tonight at the third watch, we force a crossing of this river! We burn the Xianbei royal court! Only thus is there some chance of making Tanshihuai abandon General Xia's main force and divert here... And of course, I also intend to let all under heaven know that I, Gongsun Xun, am by no means meat on anyone's chopping block!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are sworn followers under General Zang?\" At that very same moment, sixty li away, at the place where the Han army's eastern route main force had just set camp, the eastern route commander Xia Yu stood at the entrance of the central army tent, staring at the several men before him with a face full of shock. \"What proof do you have?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In reply to the General!\" The leader among the men below hurriedly raised his head to answer. This man wore a red headscarf and had an extraordinary bearing; though covered in blood and grime, he still exuded a robust vitality. \"I am Sun Jian, a former subordinate official whom General Zang appointed back in his Yangzhou days — formerly the Assistant County Magistrate of Xiapi County in the Xiapi Principality... General, here on the grasslands, this Xuzhou and Yangzhou accent can absolutely not be faked!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed!\" Xia Yu immediately understood, and then hurriedly forced himself to sit down on a camp stool. \"This cannot be faked... Judging by your appearance, could it be that you had ill fortune on the road and encountered Xianbei resistance?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General!\" Sun Jian bowed low once more. \"It is not that we encountered Xianbei on the road, but that on the central route, our General Zang's force met with bitter battle. We fought our way out to break through...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yu's face instantly changed dramatically. With a wave of his hand, trusted military clerks immediately shooed away all irrelevant personnel, and Sun Jian, quite perceptive himself, also promptly shut his mouth and waited for instructions.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Continue,\" Xia Yu, his face now somewhat pale despite himself, gestured for the other to speak once the idle bystanders had been cleared away. \"What is General Zang's situation? Does he require my support?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No!\" Sun Jian hurriedly explained. \"By the time we left, our army's collapse was already unstoppable. General Zang was already preparing to withdraw. He sent me to tell General Xia to withdraw as well, with all haste!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yu was both shocked and furious, and the central army clerks beside him were all drained of color.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Withdraw now?\" Xia Yu brandished his horsewhip and pointed angrily northward. \"I am no more than seventy li from Mount Danhan! Rest tonight, eat our fill tomorrow morning, and we might arrive by evening! The day before yesterday, you even sent a military envoy to our army to report that it was merely harassment by the central Xianbei, and that if we force-marched for five to seven days we could join forces at Mount Danhan. How is it that after just two days, you've collapsed?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General Xia!\" Sun Jian's face flushed red as he explained helplessly. \"The enemy is the Xianbei royal court's main force, combined with the original central Xianbei. Our army was truly at a disadvantage...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Even so, it shouldn't have collapsed in two days! And if it's been two days, why are you only delivering this message to me now...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It wasn't two days — it was half a day!\" Sun Jian's face was equally full of helplessness. \"Yesterday at noon, just as battle was joined, that Xiongnu — what's his name, Tuteruo, some sort of Chanyu — took an arrow straight to the chest. He was knocked unconscious and fell from his horse on the spot. And once the Chanyu fell, the Xiongnu army's morale collapsed instantly. General Zang had only a little over a thousand Han troops — there was simply no way to hold the Xiongnu in check. The entire army fell apart all at once, and we could only fight and retreat while enduring horrific casualties...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Xia Yu on down, everyone around drew a sharp breath, and all trace of reproach vanished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then by evening, General Zang noticed the enemy's offensive had slackened somewhat and guessed that Tanshihuai must have left the central Xianbei to continue harrying us and inflicting casualties, while he himself took the royal court main force to come here and cut off your rear, General Xia. So he gave several of us multiple horses each, and we rode at full gallop to deliver this warning... General Xia, do not hesitate — leave at once! I estimate that at the earliest, by tonight, the Xianbei royal court's main force could be thrusting into your rear!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yu opened his mouth to speak, but found he had no words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before, he had indeed been brimming with heroic spirit, ready to pin the Xianbei royal court's main force at the foot of Mount Danhan, and so on and so forth... But the premise for all that was having an elite detached force ahead to first blunt the enemy's edge, and then a cavalry force of nearly ten thousand men swiftly coming up in support.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And what was this now?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>That brat Tian Yan was too far from here; Zang Min's route had collapsed in half a day — didn't that make his own force an isolated army? And what's more, he had left all the baggage and supplies behind him... That was even more fatal!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And besides, while retreating certainly went against his nature, and an inauspicious start to the campaign would inevitably bring some punishment, if the entire army were annihilated, then it wouldn't just be him being punished — even Lord Duan would likely be implicated!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"The entire army breaks camp... withdraw!\" At last, after a moment of silence, Xia Yu practically roared the order.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At these words, the officers and clerks around him immediately burst into frantic activity.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Unexpectedly, at that very moment, a man suddenly emerged from an oblique angle and, without even pausing to salute, spoke directly: \"General, may I send a few riders as scouts to notify my younger cousin to return at once?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing Gongsun Zan's words, everyone was momentarily stunned, but then they continued their bustle.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Bogui...\" Xia Yu forced himself to swallow. \"I am not one accustomed to lying to my subordinates. At this moment, if your clansman can remain beneath Mount Danhan, the Eastern Xianbei forces will likely have to split their attention to deal with him — for the main army, that is a good thing!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Sever one finger to preserve the whole body.\" Xia Yu's expression turned solemn. \"This is precisely the duty inherent in military service... If, if he can return alive from this battle, having first served as vanguard and then as rearguard, the credit for preserving the entire army shall be his above all!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General!\" Gongsun Zan prostrated himself beside Sun Jian, and when he looked up again, his face was already flushed crimson with urgency. \"He must first be able to return alive! In such a situation, if our army leaves, will he not be trapped by Tanshihuai on the southern bank of the Chuochou River, with a hundred deaths and no chance of life?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is the way of the army!\" Xia Yu's face was expressionless as he spoke frankly. \"Bogui need say no more. In an army, there must always be those who serve as sacrificial pawns.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"General!\" Gongsun Zan was beside himself with rage and desperation. \"You must understand, this clansman of mine is the son-in-law of the Marquis of Shu, a disciple of the Grand Commandant, and my aunt possesses a fortune of countless millions, yet he is her only son... If you act thus and something goes wrong with him, I fear even Lord Duan will be implicated by you!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xia Yu shot Gongsun Zan a glance, then ignored him entirely. Instead, he beckoned several personal guards over and instructed them coolly: \"Keep a close watch on Bogui. Do not let him do anything foolish. If he dares to head north, do not report to me — deal with him immediately as a deserter... The entire army breaks camp, withdraw south at once!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Zan was dumbstruck, and even Sun Jian, Sun Wentai, who had discerned something of the underlying logic, could not help but shake his head... The former was a mix of fury and helplessness; the latter, like most in the army, felt helplessness tinged with only a little regret.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thanks to Sun Jian's desperate breakthrough to deliver the warning, Xia Yu's army had already made the most correct and rational judgment just as Gongsun Xun's messenger was setting out, and they fled through the night.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet even so, the main force of the Xianbei royal court, having won a swift victory because the Xiongnu Chanyu had been struck by an arrow and fallen from his horse, still managed to catch the tail of the Han main force during the night. In fact, from the end of the second watch onward, the two sides had already been engaged in small-scale contact in the darkness, and the scale grew steadily larger... However, fortunately, both sides' physical strength had reached its limit, so the intensity of the fighting was not yet suffocatingly fierce.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By the third watch, on the southern bank of the Chuochou River, in the darkness of night, Gongsun Xun and his remaining force of just over fifteen hundred troops had also finished forming ranks.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Have the wounded been taken care of?\" Gongsun Xun sat on a campstool on a small slope, stroking the short blade in his arms as he asked softly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They have been arranged,\" Lu Fan replied in a low voice. \"As you instructed, each was given a blade and a horse. Once the battle begins, they are to follow the Chuochou River southeast on their own...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They must all be cursing me, aren't they?\" Gongsun Xun suddenly looked up and smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fan truly had not expected him to be able to smile at such a moment. He was stunned for a moment before reacting: \"There are indeed some cursing, but many are still very grateful — that in such a situation, you could still think to leave them a path to survival.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They all ought to curse me...\" Gongsun Xun sighed quietly. \"Every one of them is a fine man raised by his parents for decades, each one a figure in a spring boudoir dream. They followed me just to earn a living. I should have brought them all back alive. In this situation now, why shouldn't they curse me?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"We had no choice either,\" Lu Fan tried to console him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ziheng, that's not what you said the day before yesterday,\" Gongsun Xun continued, still smiling. \"You said then that a true man's life must not be held in another's hands. Yet in this world, how many men's lives are not held in the hands of others?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fan was immediately speechless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Well, let's not speak of this anymore.\" Gongsun Xun narrowed his eyes and gazed toward the opposite bank. \"If we truly speak of lives, should we fail tonight, both armies will be utterly lost, and I fear Tanshihuai will sweep through the three commanderies in his momentum. By then, the dead will not be a mere few thousand!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is precisely the reasoning,\" Lu Fan quickly answered. \"Just as Wenqi said earlier — crossing the Chuochou River under cover of night and setting fire to the Xianbei royal court is the only way we might draw the Xianbei army to change course and seek a sliver of survival for the army behind us...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Gao Heng, did you hear that?\" Gongsun Xun suddenly asked softly, his expression unchanged. \"Since we are to fight to the death to save Lord Xia, I order your unit to take the vanguard and be the first to stake your lives. Is there any problem?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From the side, Gao Heng's figure immediately stepped forward: \"Since the Major has laid it out so clearly, what can I do? Besides, it's only a matter of crossing earlier or later... I only hope the Major will not abandon me on the opposite bank and leave me be.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"How could I possibly abandon you?\" Gongsun Xun gave a cold laugh. \"If we do not cross the river, where is the path to survival? Move out! Fight to the death and seize that pontoon bridge for me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Aye!\" Gao Heng bowed and departed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shortly after, over two hundred handpicked elite armored soldiers of the central army, led by Gao Suqing of Bohai, marched out in unison and headed straight for that wide pontoon bridge heavily guarded by Xianbei troops. At the same time, Han Dang also began ordering the second unit, formed from the volunteer corps, to prepare.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was a night assault with torches blazing openly, so almost the instant Gao Heng set foot on the pontoon bridge, the entire northern bank of the Chuochou River erupted in turmoil, while on the southern bank, countless torches suddenly flared up as a diversion...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>———————I am the comical dividing line———————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"...Yu granted his request. The Grand Ancestor then took his own fifteen hundred men and, in two days, covered a hundred li, reaching the Chuochou River. The Xianbei royal court had only five thousand troops and was shaken with terror at the sight, awaiting reinforcements from the main army to achieve total victory in one battle. However, the central-route commander, the Colonel of the Xiongnu, Zang Min, suddenly suffered defeat and sent his subordinate officer Sun Jian to break through and report. When Yu heard this, his courage fled him utterly, and he abandoned his baggage and forsook the Grand Ancestor, fleeing. The Grand Ancestor learned of this deep in the night, raised his eyes to heaven, and sighed: 'Though Xia Yu is vile, the soldiers in the army are all innocent. Moreover, if Tanshihuai snaps at his heels and devours him, then the lands of Yan and Dai will be without troops, and the common people of several commanderies will suffer cruelty.' Thus he resolved to cross the Chuochou River by night, set fire to Danhan, and use himself as bait to lure Tanshihuai back!\" — Old Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, the Martial Emperor\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Recommending a book, \"Fengbei Yangmen,\" a story of the Yang family generals. Protecting young saplings is everyone's duty.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Also, there is a book-friends group. Interested students may join: 684558115.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",4257,"2026-06-04T19:42:03.441Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","991ce979527fc4c76a3ca526a2f53570edc55516a8cc6ef5dd565cd911e51ba2","overthrowing-han-chapter-89","overthrowing-han-chapter-87",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]