Chapter 272: The Duke of Zhou Spits Out His Food

As the war drums thundered and Diwu Lun's banner pointed the way, the ten thousand men of the central army surged forward with rainbow-hued momentum, their killing intent seething, spears and blades raised high, every man racing to advance.

In the age of cold steel, such an assault was truly hard to withstand. Though Tian Kuang's ramparts were sternly arrayed and his crossbow bolts and arrows fell like locusts, they still could not stop the attackers. The front ranks—several companies that had intended to cut the western wing's Seventh Biao in two—hurriedly formed up, but like sandcastles struck by a great wave, they were shattered and scattered in an instant.

Yet although Diwu Lun wished to "pummel the old master to death with wild punches," Tian Kuang's command was truly superb. Despite being outnumbered and outmatched in morale, after a brief moment of chaos, he relied on his solid rear positions to blunt the enemy's ferocious assault.

The front lines of both sides were now locked in melee. Diwu Lun's soldiers, like swarming ants besieging a moth, pressed their attack on Tian Kuang's troops, who had formed a circular defense.

"Hold fast! The ancients said: 'The first drum rouses the spirit, the second flags it, the third exhausts it!'" Tian Kuang knew that the morale of this "ten-thousand-year charge" could only last a short while. Once the soldiers beside them were wounded, blood splashing everywhere and bellies ripped open, these troops who had never experienced brutal slaughter would sober up and retreat on their own, lacking any good order.

But there was no gap in arms and armor between the two sides. Tian Kuang's soldiers were also mostly hastily conscripted and could not be called an elite force under heaven; they were only barely a match for the crack troops Diwu Lun had trained in Wei. For a time, both sides were locked in bitter combat. The several thousand clan and village troops led by the Seventh Biao also stalled a li from Tian Kuang's great banner, blocked by his death-defying warriors and unable to charge further.

When the battlefield fell into stalemate, everything hinged on each side's reserves. Tian Kuang's reserves were nearly spent; he had only a thousand men left by the canal, holding long spears and awaiting orders. The target they were guarding against was, naturally, the Yue Cavalry Battalion—the unit that had earlier "retreated" without a fight and was now, seeing battle joined, regrouping and prowling along the Dragon Head Canal.

The Yue Cavalry Battalion, with nearly a thousand horsemen and two thousand foot soldiers, formed Diwu Lun's mobile force. Cheng Zhong had finally received his order: cross the Dragon Head Canal again from the flank and raid Tian Kuang's rear.

The Yue Cavalry Battalion's equipment could not be called anything but elite. Nearly every rider wore armor and wielded the finest ring-pommel swords and iron halberds. Their horses were all fine steeds raised in the Guanzhong imperial parks; there were even heavy cavalry clad in full barding. When they galloped, the red tassels streaming from hundreds of helmets were a feast for the eyes.

The foot soldiers also had a very high armor-wearing rate, but when it came to fighting, they were nothing like the new recruits—so fierce and fearless. As they stepped into the Dragon Head Canal, they shrank back timidly. The enemy loosed a volley of arrows, and though only a few shafts lodged in their lamellar armor, some men immediately retreated, clutching the arrow shafts to keep them from falling out and shouting, "I'm gravely wounded!"

Only after Cheng Zhong issued repeated orders did they steel themselves and reorganize the assault, advancing with shields raised against the arrows to close on the canal's west bank—only to be driven back again by the spear-wielding soldiers Tian Kuang had placed there. Those in front refused to advance, and those behind were actually retreating. Perhaps the water in the sixth month was a little too cool.

If the foot soldiers were like this, the cavalrymen—who always acted superior in the army—were even more outrageous. Over a thousand of them reined in their horses and lined up along the Dragon Head Canal. Using the excuse that the infantry had not yet seized an advantageous position, they absolutely refused to cross. They just sat across the canal water shooting their crossbows; anyone watching would have thought they were the She Sheng Battalion! But their range could not reach the enemy; some men could not even land an arrow on the opposite bank, simply wasting bolts.

Just as the Yue Cavalry Battalion was exercising its specialty—skimming along the water's edge—the tide of battle began to tilt in Diwu Lun's favor. The frontal "ten-thousand-year charge" had taken effect after all; Tian Kuang's small defensive formations were broken one after another. Coupled with the Seventh Biao's relentless inward push, a large section of the western wing was deeply caved in, which in turn dragged the center toward defeat.

And at that very moment, a fresh force of three to four thousand men arrived just in time at Diwu Lun's rear: it was Jing Dan, leading his troops after having dealt with the death-defying ambushers in the well-canal of Shangyan Mountain the day before!

Jing Dan had taken a roundabout route, intending to skirt the battlefield's western edge along the Luo River and cut off Tian Kuang's retreat. Once they joined the fray, Tian Kuang's defeat in this battle was all but certain.

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"If this goes on, the Yue Cavalry Battalion will have achieved no merit at all and will surely be reprimanded." His subordinates were not anxious, but Cheng Zhong was.

Just then, he noticed dust rising in the east as well. An army of no more than one or two thousand men was hurrying toward the battlefield, flying a hastily stitched banner bearing the character "Five" at its head.

"In the prior council of war, I heard nothing of such a relief force, and it's coming from the east."

It was truly suspicious. With the dust of battle churning and Diwu Lun's banner invisible from seven or eight li away, timely communication was impossible. Seeing the newcomers bearing down fiercely and about to enter the fray, Cheng Zhong made his judgment: "Tian Kuang has always been full of tricks; these must be his men in disguise!"

With victory in sight, if the Yue Cavalry Battalion did not perform now, there would be no chance left. A vicious courage rose in Cheng Zhong's heart. Since they could not break through the Dragon Head Canal, surely dealing with this motley, exhausted band of stragglers would be easy?

He immediately gave the order, making the Yue Cavalry Battalion—whose legs had gone numb from standing—wheel their horses around.

"Blocking the enemy reinforcements—that is our duty!"

"Charge!"

Against Tian Kuang's orderly ranks, the Yue Cavalry Battalion had been meek and hesitant, but facing routed soldiers and fleeing stragglers, they suddenly swaggered with arrogance. Howling, they surged out in a diamond formation, brandishing ring-pommel swords and leveling halberds and spears. After covering one li, they suddenly accelerated and charged straight at that group!

The other side was dumbstruck. They sent outriders waving the "Five" banner and shouting: "We're on the same side!"

"It's General Dou Rong, come especially to join Lord Diwu!"

It would have been better if they had not shouted; the cry only confirmed that they were indeed "the Wang army."

Cheng Zhong hesitated for a moment, but it was already too late to call a halt. The Yue Cavalry Battalion loved nothing more than chasing down the defeated; their horses were at full speed, and in the blink of an eye they came howling down and plunged into the chaotic, unresisting "enemy" ranks.

The unlucky Dou Rong could only watch helplessly as the Yue Cavalry Battalion slaughtered its way into his own troops. These were all routed soldiers and fleeing stragglers he had painstakingly rallied over a journey of more than a thousand li, hoping to increase his own weight and standing—and now they were being scattered and shattered by the Yue Cavalry Battalion. He could not help but burst out cursing:

"You wretched brats! Don't you recognize your own father?"

…

The battle at Linjin did not turn because of the Yue Cavalry Battalion's "friendly fire." Diwu Lun, after all, outnumbered his opponent three to one. After two double-hours of bitter, grinding combat, he finally uprooted Tian Kuang's outer ramparts and began to nibble forward bit by bit. With Jing Dan's arrival, an envelopment took shape.

Tian Kuang tried several times to organize counterattacks, but only succeeded in driving back the Seventh Biao, who had pressed forward too rashly. Regrettably, because the Yue Cavalry Battalion had not crossed the Dragon Head Canal to join the battle as Diwu Lun had ordered, the envelopment never became a full encirclement, allowing Tian Kuang the chance to retreat into Linjin city with one or two thousand remnant and wounded soldiers.

But the bulk of his troops were trapped outside the city, their morale utterly shattered. They were mostly locals, and in this situation could only throw down their weapons and surrender.

Diwu Lun rode across the battlefield. Strictly speaking, the battle had not gone smoothly. The single rousing charge had failed to achieve its aim and had instead been bogged down by Tian Kuang. It was only thanks to superior numbers—three against one—that they had barely won. Looking across the ground, many soldiers with yellow cloth wrapped around their heads lay fallen, most killed or wounded by Tian Kuang's crossbows and spears during the grinding seesaw. Diwu Lun only glanced at a few spots and felt that his own casualties were even heavier than Tian Kuang's! This was the bitter fruit of a disorderly charge.

Yet the soldiers' morale was even higher than before the battle began. They did not know the full picture of the fight, did not know that several sections of the line had been in danger of collapsing and routing—only saved because Wan Xiu had steadied the formation.

"The hearts of the soldiers can be used."

These new recruits, tempered by this battle, would surely be vastly different from before. All they lacked was time.

"After taking Hexi, give me just half a year, even three months of peace, to let them train full-time away from production, and by next spring, they will surely become an elite force no less than the Wei troops!"

Diwu Lun also wanted to command with the ease of moving his own arms, rather than always competing with his opponent over who was worse and enduring all the "surprises" his subordinates brought him.

Looking at the whole battle, the Seventh Biao had been fierce and fearless; Wan Xiu had commanded the front line steady as a boulder; Jing Dan had dealt with the enemy behind him and still made it to the battle—all had performed well. What displeased Diwu Lun most was the Yue Cavalry Battalion!

"All three armies should receive rewards; only the Yue Cavalry Battalion shall not."

Diwu Lun was nursing a fire in his heart. He had already taken good care of the Yue Cavalry Battalion, not assigning them to assault strongpoints and only requiring them to raid the enemy's flank. Yet three thousand men, facing Tian Kuang's line of just over a thousand and a shallow Dragon Head Canal, had made no progress for an entire double-hour!

This unit was no different from the arrogant, fierce soldiers who had escorted him south years ago to receive Wang Mang's bastard sons, Wang Xing and the others. After surrendering to Diwu Lun, they had even lost that arrogant ferocity, leaving only cowardice and time-serving.

The Yue Cavalry Battalion truly could not go without reorganization. The problem was not their armor, not their training, and could not be simply attributed to morale—it was…

"A problem of thinking!"

Diwu Lun had originally intended to control this, his only cavalry force, through Cheng Zhong. But now it seemed he needed to change commanders and give these cowards a thorough sorting-out.

"Either Jing Dan or young Geng—both have led cavalry in Shanggu. Evil men must be ground down by evil men; Geng Bozhao is still the most suitable."

Before the battle of Linjin, Diwu Lun had worried that relying too heavily on Geng Yan would unbalance the factions within his power. But after this battle, Wan Xiu, Jing Dan, and the Seventh Biao had all won victories. He would reward Wan Xiu with the greatest merit, making him a General, and promote Jing Dan and the Seventh Biao to Assistant General; no one could object.

Diwu Lun ordered Wan Xiu and Jing Dan to organize the siege of Linjin. The city had to be taken swiftly, captured in one stroke before morale flagged.

Meanwhile, Yue Cavalry Battalion Colonel Cheng Zhong, unaware that Diwu Lun had already marked him with an "X," came gleefully to report his merit: "My lord, our army routed several thousand enemy reinforcements and took hundreds of heads!"

Reinforcements? Diwu Lun was highly skeptical. "Do you know whether these enemy reinforcements came from Hedong or Guandong? Who was their commanding general?"

At this, Cheng Zhong hemmed and hawed, saying only that he did not know. His subordinates informed him that the man who closely resembled Dou Rong had been chased down by them and killed in the chaos of battle. It would be better to let the mistake stand as fact and let the matter be buried.

But Dou Rong, the Duke of Zhou, was fated to live. He abandoned his robes and armor and barely escaped the Yue Cavalry Battalion's blades. After making a wide circuit around the battlefield's periphery, those around him all urged: "Since Diwu Lun sent men to attack you, General, this place will not keep us. Let us go elsewhere!"

To Hedong, to Grand Chancellor Wang Xun, for instance? Dou Rong shook his head. In the end, he brought his remnant troops and made contact with Jing Dan, who was in charge of Diwu Lun's rear army, and surrendered smoothly, arriving beneath Diwu Lun's banner before the city of Linjin.

When Dou Rong arrived, Diwu Lun was eating. He had been hungry for most of the day and was eating hurriedly, his mouth stuffed with millet and vegetable leaves. Chewing as he listened to Wan Xiu detail the defenses of Linjin, he suddenly heard Zhu Di report that Dou Rong, the Duke of Zhou, had come from the east. He paused, stunned for a moment, then immediately rose and pushed open the tent flap to come out.

There he saw Dou Rong, once his equal in fame, now as wretched as a homeless cur: clothes disheveled, cap lost, his face covered in dust and mud, kneeling pitiably on the ground and kowtowing. "Dou Rong, defeated general of Kunyang, with nowhere to go, has come to seek refuge with Lord Diwu!"

Diwu Lun at once spat out the food he had deliberately held in his mouth, wiped his lips, and stepped forward to raise Dou Rong up. "Long ago, the Duke of Zhou would spit out his food three times in one meal and rise to receive scholars, and thus he won the worthy men of all under heaven."

"And today, I spit out my food and gain a 'Duke of Zhou'!"

……

When Cheng Zhong was summoned and came back to Diwu Lun's main tent, the moment he entered he saw Dou Rong sitting in the guest seat. His heart lurched — it seemed Dou Rong was not dead. He feigned surprise:

"Isn't the General of the Bo River at Kunyang? What brings you here?"

Diwu Lun laughed coldly. "What's this, Colonel Cheng? You just charged the Duke of Zhou's battle formation, and now you don't recognize him?"

Cheng Zhong was even more astonished. He stamped his foot and said, "Those were General Dou's troops? I thought it was a ruse of Tian Kuang's..."

He was very flustered inside. The Yue Cavalry Camp's performance today had already been extremely poor, and now with this added — with Dou Rong clearly about to become an honored guest, what was he to do?

As for Dou Rong looking at Cheng Zhong, it was naturally a case of enemies meeting and eyes blazing with hatred. Yet the Duke of Zhou Dou, who had been cursing furiously when he was charged, now wore a face full of deference and sincerity, and actually took the initiative to dissuade the already visibly enraged Diwu Lun:

"This matter cannot be blamed on Colonel Cheng. The fault is Dou Rong's. Though it was my intention to rally the defeated troops from Kunyang and travel a thousand li to reinforce you, General, I failed to send word ahead of time — a grave error indeed. That is why I was mistakenly wounded by friendly forces."

"General, you must not, for the sake of a mere newly surrendered general like Dou Rong, punish Colonel Cheng and chill the hearts of the army's many soldiers. I, Dou Rong, could not atone for it even with ten thousand deaths!"

……

PS: Chapter 2 at 13:00. (Will be about an hour late.)

(Chapter 3 at 18:00.)