Chapter 505: The Brown-Eared Pheasant

The Wei army was a riot of tricks and flourishes, as lively as the hundred entertainments at a village festival — that was how Fan Chong saw them.

"The brighter a bird's plumage, the less meat it has on its bones."

Fan Chong had never attended school, nor had he ever read a military treatise; he judged everything purely by instinct and gut feeling, only occasionally setting a small ambush or the like. When battle was truly joined, he could not execute complex tactics.

The one thing he did know was that he absolutely must not let the Wei army, come from afar, steady its formation — he had to strike in one furious rush while their horse and foot had yet to fully assemble and were still weary from the march!

In its early days, no matter what foe it faced, the Wei army's answer was simply: stand firm.

The Red Eyebrow Army's style of fighting was just as distinct — no matter who the enemy was, their answer was simply: charge!

"The old rule still stands — charge! Throw the Wei army into chaos, and the Red Eyebrows win!"

Today was no different. On the eve of battle, Fan Chong summoned the Red Eyebrow Elders from every camp and laid out how this fight would be fought. Unlike Diwu Lun, who racked his brains trying to "command the many as though commanding the few" and shrank communication time between units, Fan Chong never gave such matters a thought. The Red Eyebrows had no banners, no gongs or drums; once battle was truly joined, each basically fought on its own, with no communication at all.

Yet it was precisely an army like this, by sheer ferocity and desperate resolve, that had swept across the realm. Wang Mang, the Greenwood, and Liang Han really ought to reflect hard on that.

Fan Chong also made a bold disposition: "Pull the camps besieging Ma Yuan back — let them follow behind us as the rear army."

After a night of bitter fighting, both the Red Eyebrows and Ma Yuan's force had suffered heavy casualties. With the decisive battle at hand, Fan Chong believed he absolutely could not divide his strength any further. Rather than let Ma Yuan tie down tens of thousands of men here, he might as well simply ignore him altogether.

Having the rear army guard against an attack from Ma Yuan in the rear was still better than being caught between Ma Yuan inside and the Yuyang shock cavalry striking from outside at some unknown moment.

"Since Ma Yuan is the foremost of Wei's generals,"

"and even he was routed in the field by the Red Eyebrows,"

"Diwu Lun and the other Wei commanders are not even Ma Yuan's equal — why should we fear them?"

"All of you, remember: when you meet a Wei army solid-rank formation, bring out the things we've spent these days felling timber and making ready!"

In his clashes with Ma Yuan, Fan Chong had also suffered badly from the Wei army's formations. Over the past few days he had thought up a way to break them, and so he rallied the Elders, smeared blood across their brows, and then each returned to his own camp.

Only after they had left did Fan Chong put away his confident smile and gaze southward, heavy with worry.

"Diwu Lun, coming from even farther away, has already arrived."

"Why haven't Xu Xuan's tens of thousands shown up yet?!"

…

Although the kites could let different units know each other's positions and situations, too many uncertainties meant they might fall at any moment, so traditional means of communication — banners, courier riders, and the like — still had to be kept.

Beneath the tiger kite that represented the Three He Troops, a fierce-tiger banner poised as though descending a mountain had stood planted in place for a long while without moving. The grey hawk banner of the Guanzhong Troops, and even the five-colour dragon banner of Diwu Lun's central army, had all overtaken it one after another.

This was a battlefield rotation of order. The Three He Troops had raced a hundred li after gain and then sparred with the Red Eyebrows for a long time; many soldiers had not closed their eyes for two days and two nights and urgently needed rest.

Still, Zhang Zong hurried before Diwu Lun and petitioned the Emperor to let him fight again. Diwu Lun denied his request: "Chengtou Zilu once said that Fan Chong in battle is very fond of using the few to press the many, attacking from every direction in hopes of throwing the battle formation into chaos and winning through disorder. Wenyuan can be called a famous general, yet he was trapped by the bandits — it was because, in the rush, he suffered a severe setback."

"Gentlemen, turn your vanguard into the rearguard for now. Lead the troops to rest and eat beside the Duke of Zhou Dou's twin-hare banner, and also guard our rear for me."

Zhang Zong could only sullenly assent. As it happened, in the distance several riders came galloping over. The man at their head dismounted before the army; he stood nearly nine chi tall, walking among men like a crane among chickens — who else could it be but Gai Yan!

Beneath the five-colour dragon banner, Gai Yan saw a man of middling stature wearing a suit of striking bright-mirror armour, the same pattern as the one the Emperor had bestowed on Ma Yuan. This armour had also lately been produced by the Handan ironworks, and few sets of it could be found anywhere in the realm. Seeing the banner, he knew in his heart it could be none other than Diwu Lun, so he approached and prostrated himself.

"The guilty subject, Yuyang Commandant and Assistant General Gai Yan, pays homage to Your Majesty!"

So he knows he's guilty after all!

Diwu Lun, however, laughed to those around him: "Gai Juqing truly cuts a fine figure — no wonder Wenyuan is so fond of him and speaks of him in his letters. Since all of you gentlemen and you are here, tell me: what exactly happened earlier?"

When foes meet, eyes blaze redder still. Zhang Zong did not first whisper accusations in Diwu Lun's ear; he waited until Gai Yan had drawn near, and only then loudly recounted how the Yuyang shock cavalry had insisted on heading south, causing the Red Eyebrows to turn back.

What Zhang Zong said was all true. Gai Yan listened from the side and did not refute it, only muttering a dull "yes" after Zhang Zhujun finished each point.

At root, the two men's greatest disagreement lay in this: Zhang Zong believed Gai Yan should have obeyed his orders at the time, but Gai Yan stubbornly held that he was still Ma Yuan's subordinate and could not rashly abandon his commanding general.

After hearing them out, Diwu Lun said nothing. This was absolutely not the moment to smooth things over — a temperament like Gai Yan's needed to be cut down a peg.

He therefore shot a meaningful glance at Embroidered Uniform Commandant Zhang Yu, who stood to the side overseeing the generals.

Zhang Yu understood at once and immediately declared: "Article Eighteen of the Military Code states: 'He who receives a direct order and willfully disobeys it, thereby causing harm to military operations, shall be executed!' Although Gai Yan was not a subordinate of the Tiger-Awe General, he first feigned compliance, then acted on his own impulse and led the shock cavalry south, nearly causing the Three He Troops to fall into the Red Eyebrows' hands. For this crime, death is also warranted!"

The moment the word "death" left his mouth, everyone present was greatly shaken. Even Gai Yan looked up, stunned — he had thought coming to admit his fault would be the end of it. They were getting serious!

Gai Yan had rendered meritorious service in putting down the rebellion in You Province, and Jing Dan had praised him highly. Later, at Aocang, he had led several dozen riders to break the enemy line, an exploit Ma Yuan had written of at great length, and he had thereby accumulated merit and been enfeoffed as a marquis.

But now they were going to kill him, just like that?

Diwu Lun did not make a decision at once; he merely glanced at Gai Yan. "Does the Assistant General admit his guilt?"

Toward those he respected, Gai Yan would gladly hand over his very life; toward those he did not, his tone remained as stubborn as ever. He replied stiffly, "Gai Yan was only concerned for his commanding general's safety. If Your Majesty wishes to kill me, then kill me! I ask only that, before I submit to punishment, I may rescue Commandant Ma. Then even in death I could close my eyes!"

Still not convinced, it seems. Zhang Yu had always looked upon the Yuyang faction with displeasure and inwardly gloated, but Diwu Lun instead asked Zhang Zong: "The Tiger-Awe General is also well-versed in military law. What do you think?"

Although Zhang Zong resented Gai Yan for deceiving him once, he also felt that execution was too severe and thought it a pity. Fearing that Diwu Lun had truly grown intent on killing, he said only: "The Assistant General did indeed err. Had he joined me in drawing Fan Chong's main force northward, could the Red Eyebrows' remaining men still have threatened Commandant Ma?"

"But as it stands, the Red Eyebrows turned back because of the Yuyang shock cavalry, and I hear they attacked the Commandant again last night, causing no small number of casualties. Did your risking yourself to go to the rescue lift the danger?"

"That said, with a great enemy before us and the state in need of men, why does Your Majesty not let Gai Yan redeem his fault through service?"

Look at the breadth of this man! Diwu Lun's appreciation for Zhang Zong grew even greater. Once he had clarified Zhang Zong's stance, he delivered his judgment.

"Gai Juqing has indeed erred, but if this matter is examined closely, I too am at fault."

Diwu Lun laid the blame on himself: "I did not issue an explicit decree ordering Gai Juqing to obey the Tiger-Awe General's commands, which left him not knowing whether he should stay to rescue his commanding general or put the larger situation first."

At the time, Diwu Lun had been far away and did not even know the state of the battlefield; he had only granted Zhang Zong the authority to decide on the spot, without altering Gai Yan's chain of command. What Gai Yan had defied this time was "custom," not an imperial decree — at most, it counted as carrying forward a fine tradition and screwing over his allies.

"In this delay of a battle opportunity, you and I are accomplices."

Hearing Diwu Lun speak thus, the surrounding ministers hurriedly prostrated themselves, saying things like "when the lord is disgraced, his subjects should die," all the while glaring resentfully at Gai Yan. This scene left Gai Yan, who had originally been full of defiance, deeply embarrassed, and he could only join in begging for punishment.

Diwu Lun, however, raised him up and said: "Your crime does not warrant death. You are only stripped of the post of Assistant General and docked two hundred households from your fief. In consideration of your past merits, your marquis title is retained for now."

Yet Gai Yan grew stubborn again: "Your subject would rather forfeit the marquis title and have all enfeoffed households revoked, and only begs Your Majesty to let me continue leading troops — even if just for a single day!"

The nine-chi man raised his head, and in this moment he was stubborn no longer, his emotion genuine: "I cannot accept this. I must rescue Commandant Ma!"

Diwu Lun did not answer directly, only nodding and saying: "This battle is not yet over. The time for judging faults and carrying out executions, for weighing merits and bestowing rewards, is still far off."

With that, he had someone bring forward a blue-green kite.

It was a brown-eared pheasant kite, identical to the brown-eared pheasant banner of the Yuyang shock cavalry. The brown-eared pheasant closely resembles a wild pheasant but is larger in size, and is quite fierce and combative, much beloved by the people of the age. When King Wuling of Zhao adopted barbarian dress and mounted archery, he adorned martial caps with brown-eared pheasant plumes and bestowed them upon Zhao's cavalry knights. When the other states later established cavalry forces, they followed suit — chariots took the dragon banner, cavalry took the bird banner, and this became the established rule.

"Juqing's temper is much like the brown-eared pheasant — by nature daring in a fight."

Diwu Lun handed the brown-eared pheasant kite, along with the two kite-handlers he had long since prepared, over to him: "This army kite goes to the Yuyang shock cavalry today — it is still not too late."

Gai Yan was astonished — wait, hadn't he already been stripped of his military post?

Diwu Lun simply said: "Appoint Gai Yan as Acting Assistant General, continuing to temporarily command the Yuyang shock cavalry."

Right now Diwu Lun could only vent for Zhang Zong's sake and teach Gai Yan a lesson, but he could not discard him entirely — first, Gai Yan was a brave commander; second, the Red Eyebrow army was already bearing down on them, a great battle imminent — change commanders on the eve of battle? Those lordly soldiers of the Yuyang shock cavalry — drop in an outsider and expect him to control them? They'd likely scatter in a single uproar! How to deal with this unit afterwards was a matter for later.

But this time, Diwu Lun gave Gai Yan an ironclad order.

"The Yuyang shock cavalry are utterly exhausted after days of hard riding, but so long as the horses can still run, the moment my signal flag is raised, you must strike their flank and rear!"

"And if my banner does not move, no matter what happens, the Yuyang shock cavalry must not budge!"

Diwu Lun estimated that the Yuyang shock cavalry could only sustain one charge — they were a single-use tactical weapon, and had to be committed at the most critical moment, not frittered away wasting men and horse strength as Gai Yan had done the day before.

With the kite as a signal, even ten li apart, the shock cavalry could execute tactical orders one or two ke faster than before!

Gai Yan's impression of Diwu Lun had improved somewhat from earlier, and now he submitted with conviction, accepting the kite.

"Aye! I and the Yuyang shock cavalry shall fight with fierce valor, unto death we shall not cease!"

……

In the Spring and Autumn period, when two states went to war, both sides' three armies would assemble in one place. After the aristocratic rituals of issuing challenges and exchanging pleasantries, they would call a ready-one-two-three and meet blade to blade. Even in defeat, one did not pursue too ruthlessly — trace it back and everyone was kin or friends, and they would still have to face each other at diplomatic banquets.

After the Spring and Autumn period, men began to compete ruthlessly, playing the strategist's game of deception, and such orderly battles became rare. Especially in large-corps engagements, the battlefield space was immense, and getting everyone present to start fighting at once was truly difficult. Often, before the decisive clash, there would be a string of skirmishes and minor engagements. When the real battle began, the two units committed first would make initial contact, and the fighting would spread from point to line, then from line to front.

The first to engage the Red Eyebrow Army today were Geng Chun's Jizhou troops…

Above the various Wei army units, beside the main kites, signal kites of red, green, yellow, black, and other colors rose and fell ceaselessly, informing friendly forces of the enemy situation they faced. Seeing that the goshawk positioned at the very center still remained yellow, Geng Chun was about to order his kite-handler to switch their own to red, to inform the Emperor that his side was about to engage first.

Geng Chun cursed under his breath: "They pick the softest persimmon to squeeze — do the Red Eyebrow bandits truly think my Jizhou troops are easy to deal with?"

It turned out that the Red Eyebrow Army, following Fan Chong's direction, had spread out and shifted north. By all logic they should have first engaged Zheng Tong's Guanzhong troops, but seeing the Guanzhong troops' sharp armor and weapons and their well-ordered ranks, they halted several li away and would not advance.

Instead, several ten-thousand-man camps on the northern flank fixed their eyes on the Jizhou troops and continued advancing, and had now pressed to within a single li.

When racing for advantage over fifty li, only half the army arrives. The Jizhou troops had not all come — only thirty thousand men were present, and the finest Wei Commandery troops had been kept by Diwu Lun as a reserve, held at his side.

Though they would likely have to fight one against two, the colonels of the Jizhou troops were quite confident, and one after another boasted before Geng Chun: "Since our army was formed, we have been exterminating the Tongma roving bandits or fighting the Cheng Tou Zi Lu. The Red Eyebrows may have a famous name, but apart from an extra streak of red on their brows, they are nothing but scattered soldiers and wandering braves — not worth fearing."

Indeed, in terms of arms and armor, the Jizhou troops held the Handan ironworks, which churned out batch after batch of iron blades, superior to the Red Eyebrows' hoes and thornwood staves.

In terms of training, they were at least a powerful magnate militia forged in village battles amid chaos, bound together by local and kinship ties. The Jizhou magnates all knew: if they wanted the Hebei powerful families to gain higher and better standing in the State of Wei, they had to contribute in this battle. And unless the Red Eyebrows were wiped out, their family properties would not be safe for a single day.

Geng Chun had not taken the Red Eyebrows too seriously either. Following standard practice, he formed twenty thousand men into a great formation two li wide and one li deep. The basic unit of the formation was the brigade, composed of commandery troops; below the brigade level, the various battalions were largely led by county magnates and the sons of local gentry.

Geng Chun considered himself merely a "middling" general. His command was still at the stage of "standing" formations, but that was enough to deal with petty roving bandits. The various square formations formed an inward-facing arc, able to transform at any moment into a circular formation — advantageous for defense.

The Jizhou troops held hook-bladed halberds and long spears outward, thick sturdy shields planted before them. Hunters conscripted from the villages of Hebei served as makeshift archers, drawing bows behind. Over the past year, the Tongma remnants had dashed themselves bloody against their front, and were ultimately ruthlessly wiped out.

The Battle of the Pu River had been the same. Though the Red Eyebrows were fierce, any who charged the formation were invariably pierced by long spears, collapsing into corpses. Once the men in front died, those behind hesitated and would not advance, and more still turned and fled. Today, they figured, would be no different.

Preparations were complete, and the Red Eyebrow Army had already charged to within a hundred-odd paces. Dust veiled them, ten thousand men in clamor — still a disorderly mob. With men like these, unless by surprise attack, they could never break through the Wei army's solid formation in a frontal assault.

"Level spears to the front, stand fast and do not move — tighten the ranks further!"

When two formations clash, the tighter one usually wins — this was common knowledge in the Emperor's drill manual. Geng Chun issued his final order, and the colonels of each unit strove to press their soldiers closer together. They were no longer raw recruits; with a great battle imminent, they could still grip their spears, mouths still moist with spittle.

Though a motley army, lone individuals fused into an invincible whole. The sons of Hebei's powerful families had the right to despise the Red Eyebrow bandits — this rabble of base folk would never learn that.

Gazing out, those running at the very front must have been the elite troops Fan Chong specially maintained. Though they too lacked order, their strides were steady, without the unsteady gait of hunger; some even wore armor. Once within a hundred paces, they suddenly began to accelerate.

The Red Eyebrow bandits in the front ranks had blades tucked at their waists and held thick door panels in both hands, shielding their heads and bodies, hoping to block the volley after volley of arrows the Jizhou archers loosed in torrents. Yet still, many door panels were pierced through, bringing their charge to an abrupt halt.

And further back, the Red Eyebrows seemed to be carrying long weapons — hard to make out clearly on flat ground. It was only when Geng Chun climbed into the "chao cart" specially used to observe the enemy that he saw clearly what exactly the Red Eyebrows held in their hands, and could not help sucking in a breath of cold air!

"Wooden ladders?"

They were, astonishingly, crude wooden ladders the Red Eyebrow Army used for storming city walls, each one thirty or forty chi long, the bark not even fully stripped, simply lashed together with rope, and carried jointly by scores of men.

From time to time a man was struck by an arrow and fell, and immediately someone took his place, and they carried the long ladders, charging straight and headlong into the Wei army!

What stood before them was not a wall or rampart, but a battle formation!

Indeed — a solid formation of men, compared to a rammed-earth strong city: which is sturdier?

The answer was obvious. Even the longest barbed spear was no more than two zhang, far shorter than those long ladders. This was truly a clumsy method only the Red Eyebrow Army could have dreamed up. Had Diwu Lun been present, he might have sighed, "The wisdom of the laboring people."

By now it was too late to order the formation to disperse. Geng Chun could only watch helplessly as the Red Eyebrow Army's dozens of long ladders rammed brutally into the dense ranks of the Jizhou troops!

Shaking the battlefield along with the screams and slaughter were the crude work chants the Red Eyebrow Army roared in their excitement.

"We're in!"