Chapter 501: The Advantage Is Mine

Outside Ma Yuan's wagon-fort, Yang Yin, one of the Red Eyebrows' Five Lords, sat cross-legged on the ground with a blade of grass clenched between his teeth, his face clouded with gloom.

Yang Yin's luck had been rotten — when winter set in last year, he'd still had a hundred thousand troops in hand, but now, after Ma Yuan defeated him in three straight battles, nearly all his subordinates had been wiped out, and he had barely escaped with his life.

Now that Ma Yuan was trapped here, the Red Eyebrow Attendants were all rejoicing over their "victory," but if you asked Yang Yin, they were celebrating far too soon — they'd simply gotten lucky, happened to catch a break, scattered Ma Yuan's forces; the number actually annihilated and killed was a mere few thousand, while the rest had mostly withdrawn from the field.

Sure enough, after several assaults, Ma Yuan's wagon-fort still had not been taken. It seemed this "foremost general of the State of Wei" was not only adept at attack — his defense was none too shabby either.

Fan Chong very much hoped to finish off Ma Yuan quickly, but the Red Eyebrow Army's taunts and attempts to lure the enemy out had produced no result whatsoever. The Wei troops showed no sign of breaking out; instead, faintly, the sound of singing arose from within their camp…

"Lord Yang, it's Ma Yuan playing the transverse flute in camp!"

Yang Yin could not see the figure of this general who had defeated him three times; he had only heard that Ma Wenyuan conducted himself with chivalrous gallantry, his heroic spirit soaring to the heavens, and that he was a man of many talents. Though deeply encircled, he showed not the slightest fear — he had personally taken up a short flute and was singing and dancing among his troops.

Inside the Wei army's fort, first a few men began to softly hum along with the transverse flute, and gradually, ten thousand voices joined the song one after another. The Red Eyebrow warriors stared at one another in bewilderment. Even Yang Yin cocked his ear and listened closely, catching the Wei soldiers' song: "We fought south of the wall, died north of the outer city…"

It was a funeral dirge mourning fallen soldiers — quite fitting for the atmosphere of a great battle's lull, with the Wei army suffering a minor defeat and losing officers and men. Even the flocks of crows overhead obligingly added their caws.

The Red Eyebrow Army fell quiet for a moment. Though the regions differed and they could not quite make out the lyrics, they shared the same sense of grief for fallen comrades. The Red Eyebrow Attendants, however, were overjoyed — they saw this as the perfect moment to stoke the Wei troops' fury and lure them out to fight, and promptly ordered their men to keep up the foul insults and desecration of the dead.

Yet after the Wei troops finished the song "South of the Wall," they immediately followed with "No Robe," sweeping away the sorrow of a moment before and turning fiercely heroic!

When they reached the line "The king raises his host, I ready my blade and armor, and march together with you," ten thousand voices roared as one, united in shared hatred of the foe, completely drowning out the ragged curses of tens of thousands of Red Eyebrows.

The Red Eyebrow fighters had never encountered an army like this and were instantly silenced. Yang Yin rose fully to his feet, spat out the blade of grass in his mouth, and in his eyes was both respect and dread.

"Ma Yuan can still rally his men — the Wei army's morale holds. No wonder they're so hard to crack."

By the Red Eyebrows' past experience, when fighting the Xin army, the Greenwood, Liang Han, or even Dong Xian of their own Red Eyebrows to this point, the other side would have long since collapsed. Who would still have the heart to sing? The very fact that they could still open their mouths proved their morale had not broken.

What was more terrifying was that Yang Yin could hear the fury in the Wei soldiers' singing — proof that the insults and lures had indeed produced an effect — yet they were held firmly in check by Ma Yuan's orders, and not a single soldier rashly broke out.

Such perfect control — this was absolutely not an enemy that could be wiped out in a quick fight.

With this thought, Yang Yin mounted his horse and rode to Fan Chong's main camp.

No matter the dynasty or era, a commander's personal guards had to be brawny and powerful; on the battlefield, they were the general's last line of defense, their lives bound together.

Fan Chong's personal guard unit, however, was a bit different — it was composed entirely of half-grown youths.

Take, for example, the boy leading Yang Yin's way right now: he was only fourteen or fifteen, with skinny arms, wearing clothes that were far too large for him. Originally hanging to his knees, they had been crudely cut in half to make walking easier, and he darted through the crowd with remarkable agility.

Yang Yin asked him, "What's your name?"

"Xiao Ji."

Yang Yin asked again, "How many years have you been a Red Eyebrow?"

"Six years!"

This Red Eyebrow youth called "Xiao Ji" did not know the month or day of his birth, nor even the year — yet he could vaguely remember the day he joined the Red Eyebrows.

On the way to Fan Chong's headquarters, the boy told Yang Yin his story: his family lived near Mount Tai. His father went into the mountains to gather firewood and was eaten by a tiger. His mother wove cloth year-round and went blind in both eyes. The family had no land; his two older brothers toiled from year's start to year's end on a powerful clan's estate, with sixty or seventy percent of the harvest taken as rent and taxes, so there was never enough to eat. In winter, they even had to drink bark and grass-root soup, saving the grain for seed come spring. He worked as a shepherd for the powerful clan, but was often beaten.

Later, when the Red Eyebrows swept through the area, they drove off the powerful clan, stormed the fortified manor, and threw open the granaries to distribute food. For the first time in his life, Xiao Ji ate his fill, and even tasted mutton. Fearing the powerful clan would return for revenge, his whole family had followed the Red Eyebrows on their wanderings ever since.

To him, his former life had been utter darkness; only after joining the Red Eyebrows had a little light appeared — only that was worth remembering.

There were many such youths in the Red Eyebrow Army. Fan Chong gathered all the orphans around him. Many were runaway slaves who could not remember who their parents were; others had followed fathers or elder brothers into the Red Eyebrows, and after their kin died, dyed their eyebrows with their blood.

Yang Yin felt a pang in his heart as he listened. He too had had many such youths under his command, but after three battles, they were all gone — dead, scattered. Ma Yuan's hands were steeped in blood debt. But precisely because of this, Yang Yin had to try to persuade Fan Chong.

When he arrived at Fan Chong's location, Yang Yin discovered that Lord Fan was actually asleep…

Fan Chong had not had a single full night's sleep since marching south to attack Ma Yuan. At this moment, he lay sprawled on a rolled-out straw mat, using a pile of filthy clothes as a pillow, his snores so loud they could be heard more than ten paces away.

Only when Yang Yin forcefully slapped his face, thick with a full, bristling beard, did Fan Chong open his eyes — and the first thing he asked Yang Yin and the others was, "How goes the battle?"

Yang Yin told him about Ma Yuan playing the flute to boost morale, and how after the lures had failed, the Red Eyebrows had launched two more assaults, both to no avail.

But what concerned Yang Yin more was another matter: "Since yesterday, the Youzhou shock cavalry has been hovering north of our army, seizing every chance to raid the outlying ten-thousand-man camps, even penetrating within ten li."

"And because they've cut off the northern road, we've had no word from Xie Lu for two days now!"

Xiao Ji fetched water in an earthen jar. Fan Chong scooped it up and splashed it onto his face to rouse himself. "No news is good news. If Xie Lu had been defeated, we would surely know by now."

Yang Yin, however, had considerable experience with defeats: "Which travels faster — routed soldiers, or the Wei army?"

The answer was clearly the latter, for routed troops often fled blindly in chaos, while the enemy moved with clear purpose. Yang Yin feared that Xie Lu, like himself, had been utterly crushed, unable to even send word back.

Yang Yin voiced his worry: "If that is truly the case, Diwu Lun's vanguard is likely not far off!"

At this point, Yang Yin's intent was already quite plain. In his view, after Fan Chong had luckily defeated Ma Yuan and the southern opening of the Wei army's great encirclement at the He-Ji region was breached, they ought to withdraw while the opportunity held.

"The Wei troops at Dingtao cannot stop us. Once we link up with Xu Xuan, we can calmly return south to Suiyang in Liang. Isn't the Third Lord Pang An attacking Pengcheng? He may have succeeded by now — we could then continue south, to Huainan, to Jiangdong…"

That Yang Yin, once the most zealous in fighting the Wei army, now harbored thoughts of retreat — Fan Chong fixed his gaze steadily on him, and under that stare, Yang Yin's voice unconsciously grew smaller and smaller.

"Yang Yin."

Fan Chong's hand fell on his shoulder. He furrowed his brow and raised his voice: "You no longer wish to fight the Wei army? You don't want to cut down Ma Yuan in battle and avenge your men?"

Yang Yin was blunt enough — he admitted it outright, forcing the words through clenched teeth: "That's right. I'm afraid of losing now."

"I, Yang Yin, can lose and still come crawling back, face covered in dust, to seek refuge with Lord Fan. But if Lord Fan cannot win…"

Yang Yin pointed at Xiao Ji, who had led him here. The boy was chatting and laughing with several other Red Eyebrow youths, immersed in the joy of victory, unaware that an even crueler great battle was approaching.

"Then the hundreds of thousands of brothers and sisters of the Red Eyebrows will truly be finished!"

Yang Yin still thought like a roving bandit. Since the State of Wei was a tough nut, then go fight Wu Han, fight Qing Province — there were always soft targets to squeeze. As long as they kept far away from the Wei army, there was no need to stake everyone's lives here.

Fan Chong did not rebuke Yang Yin; he merely bade him sit down. "Are you saying that while it seems we have Ma Wenyuan trapped, in truth, he is the one pinning me down? That while we besiege Ma Yuan, if Diwu Lun arrives and the Wei main force strikes from behind, with Ma Yuan seizing the chance to break out…"

The danger was indeed great, but to abandon the effort now would be too great a pity. Fan Chong felt there could never be a better opportunity than this one.

At this moment of hesitation, dire news arrived: Xie Lu had indeed been defeated by Diwu Lun on the Pu River. His men had barely escaped with their lives, and only now had a few broken through the Yuyang shock cavalry's blockade to deliver the news to Fan Chong!

"The Wei vanguard has been pursuing right on their heels and has now linked up with the cavalry!"

Yang Yin asked urgently, "How far?"

"Twenty-some li to the north."

"Then it's all over!" Yang Yin felt the cause was lost. At such close range, with cavalry besides, even if they wanted to withdraw, they would have to ask whether the Wei army would permit it!

This Commandant Ma had, in the end, become a fishbone stuck in the Red Eyebrows' throat. If they wanted to retreat now, they would likely have to learn from the gecko that severs its tail — sacrifice a few ten-thousand-man camps to stay behind and hold off the enemy…

Fan Chong, however, contrary to his earlier hesitation, decisively gave the order for the army to turn north and prepare to meet the Wei army in battle!

"Lord Fan!" Yang Yin was frantic and wanted to plead further, but Fan Chong asked him instead: "In the Wei army, is there any general more skilled in warfare than Ma Yuan?"

Yang Yin could only reply: "I have heard that within the State of Wei, Ma Yuan holds the highest marquis rank and the highest military post. There should be no one who surpasses him."

That was indeed what he thought — losing to a famous general was no disgrace.

Fan Chong nodded. "The Wei army is tough to fight, but Ma Yuan is the finest hero among them, and even he was defeated by our fierce assault. What do the rest of them amount to?"

"As things stand now, the advantage still lies with us."

It was not that Fan Chong was blindly confident; he simply knew a great battle was unavoidable and had to dispel everyone's doubts. He said to Yang Yin alone: "I will personally lead eight ten-thousand-man camps against Diwu Lun."

"I will leave four ten-thousand-man camps for you to pin down Ma Yuan! What do you say?"

Yang Yin hesitated. He too had been beaten into fear. Fan Chong had needed over a hundred thousand men just to scatter Ma Yuan's forces, and now Ma Yuan's troops were united as one. Four against one — could he manage it?

Fan Chong felt weary at heart as well. It was a pity that Pang An, second only to him in command among the Red Eyebrows, was far away in Pengcheng. Apart from Yang Yin, who else could he send to deal with Ma Yuan?

Fortunately, at the earliest tonight, at the latest tomorrow, Xu Xuan, advancing north from Suiyang, should also arrive...

Since it could not be avoided, they would meet force with force! This was destined to be a battle that would decide the life or death of the Red Eyebrows.

Xiao Ji helped Fan Chong don his armor — seized many years ago from the Xin army general Lian Dan. The outside was very old, the lacquer all worn away; the plates had fallen off many times and been patched back on.

"Xiao Ji."

When no one else was nearby, Fan Chong suddenly asked his young guardsman, who understood nothing of such matters: "Do you think we can win this battle?"

"Of course we can!"

Xiao Ji's mother had died of illness north of the Huai, one elder brother had fallen in battle at Nanyang, and another had been captured defending Dingtao — whether he lived or died now, no one knew.

Though the future was uncertain, these young guardsmen were still brimming with fighting spirit, firmly believing that the great Lord Fan would lead the Red Eyebrows to victory once more!

The spring sunlight fell on their faces — the ordinary faces of poor children, missing teeth and crooked noses, but their pairs of red eyebrows were painted perfectly straight, each pair drawn by the youths helping one another before battle. Perhaps it was the red brows that set them off, but the eyes of these young guardsmen around Fan Chong, unlike the dim gaze of refugee children, shone with a glittering light.

Whenever Fan Chong grew weary and hesitant, seeing these hope-filled eyes made him feel that he was still walking the right path.

Fan Chong smiled again, tightened his armor, and hurried to the front. He had slept enough, and in his dreams —

He had truly seen the "Land of Joy" that the "Old Farmer" had spoken of!

"There is only one way to break through Diwu Lun's schemes."

"For every relief force that comes, smash one!"

Zhang Zong had failed to achieve the "hundred li a day" that Diwu Lun had demanded.

In a day and a night, they had covered only eighty li. The Sanhe troops, traveling light, were already nearly collapsing from exhaustion, not to mention that along the way they kept overtaking Red Eyebrow stragglers fleeing south from the Pu River, with skirmishes breaking out at any moment.

Fortunately, ahead was not a complete fog — the Yuyang shock cavalry were patrolling north of the Red Eyebrow main force, cutting off the Red Eyebrow Army's communications while also providing a link for Zhang Zong.

But Zhang Zong's meeting with Gai Yan was not a pleasant one.

"General of Tiger Might."

The tall, imposing Gai Yan rode over on horseback, gave Zhang Zong a slight cupped-hand salute, and said urgently: "Commandant Ma has been surrounded for days, one against ten. Though I wish to help, I have only three thousand cavalry followers and can only pick off Red Eyebrow stragglers on the outer perimeter — I cannot break in too deep."

"Now that you, General, have arrived, if we combine foot and horse, we can link up with Commandant Ma and fight our way out of the encirclement!"

Zhang Zong made certain of the details: Ma Yuan's troops were trapped between two hills, enduring fierce Red Eyebrow assaults every day but still holding fast. Only then did he breathe a sigh of relief.

He pointed at his utterly exhausted troops behind him and said: "If we had come as Fan Chong did when he marched south, covering eighty li in two days with the soldiers taking brief rests along the way, then of course we could engage them in battle — I would not dare refuse."

"But my troops finished the march in a single day. 'He who races a hundred li for gain will trip even the finest general.' The army is spent and must rest one night. I must ask Assistant General Gai to watch the outer perimeter and prevent the Red Eyebrows from closing in to harass us."

Zhang Zong deliberately used Gai Yan's rank of "Assistant General," hinting that by military hierarchy, he was the one calling the shots here!

Gai Yan, however, was so anxious for Ma Yuan's safety that he automatically ignored Zhang Zong's phrasing. "General, though your force numbers only ten thousand and has not all arrived yet, the Red Eyebrows do not know our true strength. In my view, there is no need to wait until tomorrow. Tonight we can light extra torches, make a show of force, and perhaps drive the Red Eyebrows back."

Zhang Zong frowned. With the conversation reaching this point, he had no choice but to bring out His Majesty the Emperor's command.

"By His Majesty's imperial edict."

Zhang Zong cupped his hands toward the north and said: "After my force reaches the vicinity of the battlefield, we are not to rush into battle with the Red Eyebrows. We are to build a fortified camp, keep a close watch on the bandits, and prevent them from fleeing in rout! We shall wait for the follow-up Ji Province troops and Guanzhong troops to arrive, then join forces with them for battle."

Gai Yan was startled. "General, are you not here to rescue the Commandant?"

There was another sentence Gai Yan did not speak aloud: "Even now, the Emperor is still thinking of encircling and annihilating the Red Eyebrows, with no regard for the safety of his father-in-law?"

Zhang Zong could not be bothered to explain much to this Yuyang brute. "His Majesty's brilliant calculations have foreseen that General Ma will certainly come to no harm. We..."

Before the two men, already nursing mutual resentment, could finish their squabbling, Gai Yan's cavalry subordinate came rushing over to report.

"Generals!"

"The main Red Eyebrow army is advancing to attack our forces!"