Chapter 506: The Ying Dragon

Using long weapons in formation to block the enemy, then exploiting the advantage of crossbows and bows to kill and wound them — this was a tactic the Jizhou troops had used repeatedly and successfully when mopping up the remnants of the Bronze Horses. Yet today, Fan Chong's ladders broke it open thoroughly and decisively.

Every long ladder stabbed deep into the Jizhou troops' formation. Compared to these things, long spears were absurdly thin; in a head-on collision they were directly snapped and shattered. The armored soldiers in the front ranks were struck in the chest by the wooden ladders. Though their thick armor shielded them, and the Red Eyebrows' speed was greatly reduced under the attack of bows, crossbows, spears, and halberds, they still suffered heavy blows, breaking several ribs.

Under the Red Eyebrows' shoving, the armored soldiers were pushed back step by step, their bodies soon pressing against the men behind them in the dense formation. The Wei army and the Red Eyebrows began a contest of strength — only pity those armored soldiers, crushed until they vomited blood from their mouths.

In some formation columns, the troops feared these objects. The soldiers instinctively edged aside, and the dense formation began to loosen, which instead let the long ladders drive even deeper!

Although the Red Eyebrows carrying the wooden ladders were also stabbed by spears and halberds from the sides and fell one after another, their purpose had already been achieved. The originally meticulous front ranks of the Jizhou troops' formation were thrown into chaos. As wave after wave of Red Eyebrow soldiers surged forward, the entire battle line descended into a chaotic melee…

Watching the enemy charge forward in a dark, crushing mass, their brows like blood, the Jizhou troops — who moments ago had been calm and self-assured, thinking this would be another easy victory — were jolted awake. Most were pinned in the front ranks with no way to retreat, so of course they could only steel themselves and fight. But the soldiers positioned further back were already exchanging glances, their grip on their spears no longer so steady. Today's battle was somewhat different from those of the past.

Even the colonels and army clerks of the various brigades and battalions held in reserve further back were secretly astonished: "This main force of the Red Eyebrow Army is indeed more formidable than the Bronze Horses and the Red Eyebrow detachments in Hebei."

"Exactly. In the past, the Bronze Horses could never have broken our formations, yet now the Red Eyebrows have crashed right in. I think today's battle will be a hard fight, and we're likely to lose many men."

Excessive losses were something the Jizhou military chiefs were unwilling to see. Since the end of the Xin dynasty, Hebei had been in chaos for years. Apart from the various Liu factions and the Bronze Horse Army, the powerful families of each commandery and county had also organized their own armed forces for self-preservation.

The defeat of Liu Ziyu was, to a large extent, the result of betrayal by these very people. Without them carving out strongholds, actively defecting to the State of Wei, and providing men and grain, Diwu Lun could not possibly have swept through Hebei in half a year.

The so-called Northern Han had been destroyed barely over a year ago. Diwu Lun was in a hurry to return to court and settle Longyou, and he also had to face the Red Eyebrows' offensive in the Central Plains, plus the rebellion in You Province — he was utterly overwhelmed. Where would he find the time to slowly dismantle the private armed forces of the Hebei powerful families? He could only do as Liu Xiu in the south and make use of these people.

However, the Hebei powerful families were not a monolithic bloc; each acted on its own. In their understanding, in these chaotic times, having troops in hand was what mattered most. Whoever had more soldiers would obtain a higher military rank in the Wei army. If they foolishly got their men wiped out, their voice would carry no weight. Thus, when they went into battle, if the wind was at their backs, they would vie to be first and fear being last — like the "valor" displayed at the battle crossing the Pu River. But if the wind was against them, they would start having second thoughts, no longer talking about tactical coordination, only about preserving their strength.

Now, the military chiefs holding the front ranks were filled with regret and desperately sent men to report to Geng Chun: "Losses are heavy. We hope to withdraw and regroup, and let the brigades in the rear take over."

The reserve units in the rear were also unwilling to suffer pointless losses. They lacked the courage to simply withdraw from the battlefield and only hoped that the brothers up front would hold on a while longer.

The battle had been joined for barely a quarter of an hour, yet several Jizhou troop formations were already showing signs of collapse. Watching from his chariot, Geng Chun was deeply anxious.

Had someone else been in command, given the Jizhou troops' nature, they might well have prioritized preserving their strength and handed Diwu Lun a localized defeat and retreat.

Fortunately, the man commanding them was Geng Chun.

Diwu Lun had put Geng Chun in charge of the Jizhou troops not for his military ability. Among the Wei state's generals, Geng Chun was only middling, inferior to his clansman Geng Yan by several Duke of Zhous.

But as a native of Jizhou, an in-law of the Emperor, and the Left Chancellor, Geng Chun was regarded by the Hebei powerful families as their leading figure. Only he could distinguish the intricate and complex grudges and relationships among the various families, exploit them, and barely mold this loose sand of men into a cohesive force — and even lead them out of their homeland to fight.

Yet these regional armed forces, fierce as tigers when defending their homeland, would slack off and do the bare minimum when campaigning beyond their borders.

Geng Chun's strategy was: coaxing and deceiving.

Before the battle, he had already sounded out the powerful families, saying that the people of Jizhou had previously pledged allegiance to Liu Ziyu. If they wished to rise into the ranks of the honored and noble in Wei and stand as equals with the Five Tombs meritorious officials, they would need to earn more merit in the campaigns against the Red Eyebrows and Qingzhou.

Diwu Lun had also promised Geng Chun that, apart from the quota of Palace Gentlemen allocated to each commandery, he would specially set aside a dozen or so places this year for the Hebei powerful families who performed outstandingly, giving their sons and younger brothers the chance to draw near the center of power. Although two official selection examinations had already been held, how could the practice of hereditary privilege be abolished overnight? When opening one channel of advancement, it was also unwise to completely negate and block all the old ones — that would only prematurely drive those who could have been friends into opposition.

Seeing the army's morale wavering today, Geng Chun knew the Hebei powerful families' old habits were flaring up again. In his urgency, he ordered men to swiftly notify every division, brigade, and battalion.

"Though the battle is not easy, we had already captured tens of thousands of Red Eyebrows before the fight began. After today's battle, if the Wei army is victorious, the prisoners taken will number well over a hundred thousand. Chun has already submitted a memorial to His Majesty, stating that the soldiers lost in the bitter fighting by the Hebei brigades and battalions shall, after the battle, all be replenished with selected prisoners. His Majesty is currently considering it."

Diwu Lun was indeed "considering" it. He was not the darling boy next door; he would use the powerful families' armed forces a few times and that was it. Letting them fight the Red Eyebrows was precisely to drive the tiger to devour the wolf, so they would wear each other down. If he replenished their losses, wouldn't that contradict his original intent?

Geng Chun vaguely understood this too, but he simply did not expose it. On the surface, he still actively campaigned for the interests of the Hebei powerful families, while in reality, he cooperated with Diwu Lun to suppress and strangle them…

"I hope you gentlemen will do your utmost. This battle is also for the future of the Hebei clans!"

In his order, Geng Chun appealed to emotion: "In ancient times, the Ying Dragon assisted the Yellow Emperor in his struggle for supremacy, slaying Chi You and Kua Fu; it assisted Great Yu in controlling the floods, tracing rivers with its tail to form the great streams, opening the Dragon Gate, and capturing Wuzhiqi. His Majesty bestowed the Ying Dragon banner and kite upon the Jizhou troops, implying that we too should achieve such great merit. How can we retreat at the first sign of resistance?"

"My great banner stands right here and will not waver by an inch. If you gentlemen fight with all your strength, Geng Chun will naturally see it with his own eyes and report it truthfully to the Emperor. As His Majesty's edict, quoting the 'Speech at Gan,' says: 'Do not disbelieve me; I will not eat my words.' And whoever dares to turn back or hesitate and not advance — do not blame Geng Chun for disregarding the bonds of our native district!"

"If you do not obey this oath, I shall enslave or slay you and your children, with no hope of pardon!"

…

Through the signals of the kites, Diwu Lun had long known that the Jizhou troops were the first to engage the enemy. But the specific details, even standing on a nest cart, were hard to see clearly. He could only see dust flying and hear the howls of ten thousand men — in a word: chaos.

The command post at this moment was extremely busy. Mounted messengers from various units arrived frequently, delivering detailed reports from all directions, then hurriedly departed with the Emperor's orders.

The engagement between the Wei army and the Red Eyebrows was immediately displayed clearly on the map in the form of war-game pieces.

"The Red Eyebrows have not fully deployed their forces to engage our various units separately."

"Instead, they are concentrated in the northern sector, here…"

Diwu Lun drew a line on the map. It was a small tributary stream of the Pu River called Boiled Jujube Creek. The current was not strong, but the water was plentiful — a good place to rest and drink. The Red Eyebrow Army had first concentrated along this creek, and then four of their ten-thousand-man camps had launched an assault on the twenty thousand Jizhou troops under Geng Chun.

Four ten-thousand-man camps, probably under Fan Chong's personal command, remained stationary by the creek, watching the battle a few li away.

"Another four ten-thousand-man camps are currently breaking off their encirclement of Commandant Ma. Fearing a counterattack by the Commandant, and with raiding cavalry prowling on their flanks, their movements are slow and they have yet to reach the creek."

"Fan Chong is in a hurry."

Diwu Lun said this. This offensive was forced by necessity. Fan Chong knew very well that if he let Diwu Lun drag things out until the follow-up forces arrived, while the Red Eyebrows, without any supply train, ate up all the grain they had looted, they would grow famished and weak, and death would be certain.

Therefore, the Red Eyebrow Army was severely disjointed — the vanguard and the main force were separated by two or three li, and the rear guard was six or seven li from Fan Chong's main force.

"I also came in too much of a hurry."

Had he known Ma Yuan was safe, Diwu Lun should have halted twenty li away. That would have been the distance most agonizing for the Red Eyebrows. Still, this ten-li space also offered plenty of room for maneuver.

The Red Eyebrows between the Yellow River and the Ji River had originally numbered over two hundred thousand. But Diwu Lun's forced crossing of the Pu River had scattered one batch, and Ma Yuan had destroyed another batch before encountering Fan Chong. The Red Eyebrows were scattered; as long as they kept winning, it was fine, but once they suffered a defeat, rallying them would be extremely difficult.

There was also a force coming from Suiyang, still on the road. The scouts of the Yuyang raiding cavalry had already spotted them — also thirty to forty thousand strong, still over thirty li away. The garrison at Dingtao had ultimately failed to stop them but had managed to delay them for an extra day and night, meaning they could not reach the battlefield until tomorrow morning at the earliest. Diwu Lun's map had them marked as well.

But he completely ignored this group of enemies.

"Unable to enter the battle in time and incapable of intimidating the foe — these troops, no matter how many, are utterly useless!"

With this, the situation was very clear. Setting aside those on the march and on the periphery, at the center of the battlefield near Boiled Jujube Creek, it was currently sixty thousand Wei troops against eighty thousand Red Eyebrows. Was this a pot of half-cooked rice?

It was not. The Red Eyebrows had picked the softest target, the Jizhou troops, to strike. Meanwhile, Diwu Lun's most elite troops — the three divisions from Sanhe, Guanzhong, and Wei Commandery — had not yet entered the fray. Yet Fan Chong had already committed half his strength, pinning his hopes on the Wei army, like the Xin army and the Greenwood, collapsing from a single point to the entire front under a fierce assault…

But he was ultimately destined for disappointment.

This pot of rice — Diwu Lun's fire was fierce enough to scorch the crust at the bottom!

But at this moment, some less-than-ideal news came again from the Jizhou troops: under the Red Eyebrows' impact, several formations were already showing signs of instability. Although Geng Chun said he could hold, he also hoped Diwu Lun could send a few thousand reserve troops to the flank for a bit of support.

Hearing the sky-shaking battle cries from the Jizhou troops' side, and seeing the black emergency kites fluttering ceaselessly in the sky beside the soaring Ying Dragon, the ministers and advisors grew anxious: "Your Majesty, should we send men to support the Jizhou troops?"

Some even proposed having the Yuyang raiding cavalry strike from the rear, forming a two-sided pincer with the Jizhou troops…

Diwu Lun rejected this suggestion: "And then be pincered in turn by Fan Chong's main force waiting two or three li away? The Yuyang raiding cavalry's horses are nearly run to death; they can charge one, at most two formations. They cannot be moved until the final moment. I have great use for them!"

When Geng Chun sent a second man to cautiously request aid, Diwu Lun directly cursed: "What are the Red Eyebrow troops eating? And what are the Jizhou troops eating? I hear that since entering the He-Ji region, the Red Eyebrows have looted no grain and can only drink a bit of thin gruel each day. After several days of continuous fighting, they are already starved and weak, relying entirely on a brute, reckless ferocity to charge the formations."

"The Jizhou troops, on the other hand, have their supply train with them, can eat hot meals every day, and even had meat in their breakfast this morning. When the starved fight the strong, if the strong are still chased away by the famished, then in the future, the Jizhou troops' very establishment can be largely abolished!"

Troops are trained for a thousand days to be used in a single moment. Once the Jizhou troops left their homeland, their will to fight became a serious problem. So while Geng Chun played the good man before the powerful families, Diwu Lun had to be the stern sovereign, using a knife to force them forward!

But he couldn't push them too hard either — who knew if they might just put on a live show of collapsing on the spot. After he finished cursing, Diwu Lun still ordered the central army to dispatch a reserve force of five thousand to protect the flank of the Jizhou troops.

For Fan Chong, the only chance of victory was to drag the Wei army into chaotic fighting along with him.

So Diwu Lun would do the opposite and strive to hold the situation steady. What the Red Eyebrows excelled at was the sudden assault. As time dragged on, never mind the Red Eyebrow fighters' will — most men's stamina was bound to collapse. He was simply waiting for Fan Chong to grow impatient again. Once a commander got impatient, he would make mistakes.

Wasn't war just a contest of who made fewer mistakes?

Just then, the scouts keeping watch from a distance reported back: beside the twin-rabbit kite and the fierce-tiger kite that marked the rear army, the signal kite had abruptly shifted from green to yellow.

Although the specific intelligence had not yet reached the command post, by combining the Red Eyebrow Army's positions on the map, Diwu Lun could roughly guess Fan Chong's movements.

"Fan the Giant — impatient after all."

Sure enough, half a ke later, a rider speeding in from the rear army delivered the news to Diwu Lun.

The Red Eyebrows' main force of forty thousand had left the stream, paying no heed to the Jizhou troops locked in bitter combat, because the Red Eyebrows had already packed a battle line two li long so tight it was utterly solid.

And so Fan Chong instead maneuvered toward the rear army's position. This was exactly as Cheng Tou Zilu had said — the Red Eyebrows' ancestral flanking maneuver. Fan the Giant, as expected, always struck at the enemy's weak point.

The motley troops and civilian laborers under Dou Rong could hardly be said to have any fighting strength — even worse than the Jizhou soldiers. Zhang Zong's Three River troops, on the other hand, were famed for their steadfast formations. As early as the battle of You Fufeng, they had once withstood a charge by the sons of good families, winning renown in a single battle and earning Zhang Zong the nickname "Hedong Tiger."

But the Three River troops had covered a hundred li a day and gone two nights without sleep. They were still utterly exhausted, having rested less than a single shichen. Could they withstand Fan Chong's personal fierce assault? And how were they to deal with the Red Eyebrows using long ladders to break formations? For such a crude method, there was truly no ready-made countermeasure.

Diwu Lun, however, countered the staff officers, who were at their wits' end, with a question: "Why don't the Red Eyebrows just carry tree trunks to break formations? It would serve the same purpose by different means."

This remark sparked realization among the men, who all said: "For one, tree trunks are heavy. Even with door planks to help block arrows, the men carrying the trunk are often shot down by bows and crossbows. And when they get close, the men in the front rank are skewered by massed long spears. Once the front rank falls, the trunk, being clumsy and unsteady, will crash to the ground."

Someone even drew inferences: "Wooden ladders are lighter and handier. I've heard that in preparation for attacking Puyang, the Red Eyebrows built quite a number of them, and also carried them to the banks of the Pu River to aid in crossing. They're easy to gather materials for and simple to make."

"Exactly. Since they're all wooden ladders, the rear army, which carries more baggage and armored troops, does have a few items that can be used to block them!"

Diwu Lun had men draw up maps and send them to the generals on every front, so they would clearly understand the current situation — know where the enemy was and where friendly forces were — and be able to execute orders clearly when they received them.

Sent along to the rear army was also the Emperor's suggestion.

Although he had optimized communication between the various units, Diwu Lun rarely interfered in matters of "military technique" during battle unless the circumstances were exceptional.

For the supreme commander to drop an order from on high, telling troops already engaged with the enemy to switch weapons on the spot or change their order of battle — wasn't that absurd? What was the point of peacetime training, then? Matters of adapting on the fly still had to rely on the frontline commanders.

But today's circumstances were exceptional. Afraid that the generals might panic in the heat of the moment and overlook something despite all their planning, Diwu Lun set aside his own principles:

"The Colonel-Director of Retainers and the General of Tigerish Might may concentrate gouju, tangpa, horse forks, and the like in the front ranks, to fend off the bandits' wooden ladders and prevent them from breaking through the formation!"