Chapter 685: The Great Decisive Battle

Yin Shi had lived through chaotic times and served three different lords. He had witnessed the bloody rout of the Greenwood men at Little Chang'an with his own eyes, watched Liu Bosheng and Diwu Lun grapple in bitter battle north of the Wei, and seen the Red Eyebrow Army swarm across the hills and plains into Nanyang, his homeland falling. Later he was often at the Jingzhou front, assisting Cen Peng. Over nearly ten years, the flames of war among the three states of Wei, Shu, and Wu had raged on, and he had been present for almost every one.

But never had any battle left Yin Shi so deeply unsettled.

Twenty li to the south, the Han state's three armies were launching an assault on the pursuing Cen Peng, and Cen Peng was employing the Wei army's traditional tactic: defend — and defend with absolute stubbornness!

As far back as the Former Han, the infantry of Jing and Chu were famed for their tenacity. Li Ling had even managed, with five thousand southern infantry, to hold off a Xiongnu siege of tens of thousands of cavalry, killing and wounding enemies several times his own number. Solid great-shields, dense and forbidding ranks of dagger-axes and spears, plus the armored war-wagons the soldiers pushed forward — a circular formation bristling like an iron hedgehog — gave even the Danyang shock troops in the Han army a headache.

But Liu Xiu's advantage in troop strength was overwhelming. He threw in his left and center armies in one breath, coordinating with Jia Fu's detached force to hammer Cen Peng from three directions. Every shout that erupted from the soldiers on both sides made Yin Shi's heart lurch. Every advance and retreat he glimpsed in the distant, dust-churned battle lines made him hold his breath.

Because he simply did not know, in this battle, whether the spear would pierce the shield, or the shield would hold out to the end…

The great battle raged from daybreak until afternoon. As casualties in the Wei army mounted steadily under the Han army's reckless onslaught, and Liu Xiu's encirclement of Cen Peng tightened, Yin Shi could bear it no longer. He said to the lieutenant-general left to guard the camp: "General Cen fights alone and cannot hold. His soldiers are utterly exhausted. How can we stand by and watch from the ramparts? We should send troops to his aid. Changban still has over ten thousand men — with rested, well-fed soldiers, we might help the General break the enemy in one stroke."

He had once fought beneath the flame banners of the Han state on the other side, firmly believing the House of Liu would surely revive, even regarding the Liu Xiu brothers as true Sons of Heaven. But that was in the past. Now, in Yin Shi's words… no, in his heart, they had all become "the enemy"!

But the lieutenant-general's face showed difficulty: "Inspector Yin, the Grand General Who Conquers the South gave a death order: the Changban garrison must wait until His Majesty arrives before making any move!"

In the State of Wei, civil and military roles were clearly divided, each with its own duties. Though Yin Shi was honored as Inspector of Jingzhou, he held no military authority. He could not even command a hundred men.

Just as he was burning with anxiety, word came from the north side of Changban: on the great northern road, dust was rolling in thick clouds — the vanguard cavalry of the relief force might be about to arrive!

Yin Shi was overjoyed and hurried personally to receive them. Countless galloping horses came whistling in. The surcoats over the armor of the riders bearing Wei banners were entirely coated in dust, and the horses beneath them were drenched in sweat so thick and muddy it was nearly paste — proof they had been driven to exhaustion at full gallop, even at risk of dehydration.

Yin Shi had long since ordered water troughs prepared to let the relief force water their horses and rest. The riders pulled off their helmets and, heedless of the sweat soaking them inside, vied with their horses right at the troughs, scooping water into their mouths and pouring it over their heads. Yin Shi searched among them for the officer in charge, wanting to ask where the Emperor's main army was.

"His Majesty?" The cavalry officer, now drenched from dousing himself, pointed behind him:

"Right at the rear!"

Yin Shi started. Northern cavalry were still arriving ceaselessly at the northern slope of Changban, several thousand strong. Besides the Sanhe riders, there was also a contingent of five hundred "Feathered Forest Cavalry."

Their surcoats were different from the others, dyed in the five colors of red, yellow, blue-green, white, and black — a unit Diwu Lun had jokingly dubbed the "Five Virtues Knight Order." Among them was a cavalry gentleman in full armor, his iron face-guard covering his chin and lips. His build struck Yin Shi as somewhat familiar.

But Yin Shi had no time to recall who he was. Wasn't the figure the young riders were guarding tightly in their midst the imperial war chariot of the Emperor himself?

The Prefect of the Chariot Office drove for Diwu Lun, while the Grand Coachman and Commandant of the Guards, Diqi Biao, personally served as chariot-right. The sun was blazing. Diqi Biao wanted to hold a parasol for the Emperor, but Diwu Lun, in full battle dress, refused. He also forbade the guard riders from prostrating themselves as a mounting step, leaping down from the chariot himself and striding swiftly forward, hand on sword, with his retinue.

"Your servant Yin Shi, pays homage to Your Majesty!"

Yin Shi covered the distance in two strides where three would do and knelt before Diwu Lun. Though he had been longing for the Emperor to arrive quickly, he had never imagined Diwu Lun would reach the front at the same time as the vanguard… It was far too reckless. Was he not afraid the situation at Changban might shift, or that Liu Xiu would set an ambush along the road and make him a second Pang Juan?

Truly, he was not. The Jianghan plain was flat and open, with hardly any forest even along the main road, and several thousand cavalry guarded him. So Diwu Lun was quite at ease. Upon receiving Cen Peng's urgent report that Liu Xiu had fled under cover of night, he had rushed here at top speed.

"How goes the battle?"

Diwu Lun pulled Yin Shi to his feet in one motion: "Skip the formalities. Speak as we walk."

Walk? To where?

Diwu Lun's gaze turned toward the Changban camp ramparts: "Where is the highest vantage point in the camp?"

…

This watchtower had been built tall enough and sturdy enough. Its outward-facing side was thick with lodged arrows and even bore scorch marks. On the spiral staircase winding upward, dried bloodstains were often visible. Climbing step by step, Diwu Lun could well imagine the siege Cen Peng had endured here at Changban over the past ten days.

Diwu Lun stepped onto the platform at the watchtower's highest point. Even without a telescope, he could see, twenty li to the south in the countryside by the Dangyang River, the Han and Wei armies locked in slaughter like two swarms of ants. They had been on the verge of disengaging, yet for their respective goals, they were once more staking their lives in mutual combat.

Yin Shi followed at Diwu Lun's side. He breathed on the telescope — now standard issue in the Wei army — and wiped the smudges with the sleeve-cuff of his genuine two-thousand-bushel rank robe. Only when it was crystal clear did he present it with both hands to Diwu Lun.

Through the telescope, the distant, minuscule battlefield suddenly drew close. Though not to the exaggerated degree of seeing every man's expression, the overall disposition of the army formations was entirely captured in his gaze.

Diwu Lun first noticed the twenty thousand men stretched between the battlefield and Changban: that was the Han army's right wing. They were too far to make out the banners clearly. Yin Shi supplemented from the side: "Led by Feng Yi. The twenty thousand are troops from southern Jing. They first defended Jiangling, holding off the Grand General Who Conquers the South for over a month, then followed Liu Xiu here."

"Worthy of the 'Big Tree General.'"

The Wei state's intelligence work was thorough. Diwu Lun had heard the stories of Feng Yi. He did not stint praise for an enemy: "He appears unassuming and unadorned, yet his army's orders are perfectly uniform. Watching a great battle, he is like Mount Tai crumbling before him without alarm. Truly the steadiest link in Liu Xiu's three armies! No wonder that after the last battle at Xiangyang, when Deng Yu threw away over ten thousand Han troops, Cen Peng was still able to cover his retreat and hold Jiangxia."

Shifting the telescope slightly, Diwu Lun spotted a fiercely attacking unit behind Cen Peng's army. The soldiers' armor and garb were somewhat different, much of the armor dyed white. They did not look like Han troops in their crimson tunics, but rather like…

"The Chengjia Shu army."

"Your Majesty's keen eye sees all! Those men were formerly Shu troops." Yin Shi recounted how Jia Fu had withdrawn south from Shangyong to defect to the Han — the ambush at Linju, the blocking action at the Nanzhang River. Jia Fu had become the greatest variable, causing Cen Peng to miscalculate twice. And placed on this battlefield, if Feng Yi was the sturdiest shield, Jia Fu was the sharpest spear, wielded aptly in Liu Xiu's hands.

Diwu Lun remarked: "I hear Jia Fu is from Champion County in Nanyang. He truly champions the three armies in valor. I also sent men back then to persuade and recruit him. A pity this man is so arrogant — he actually beheaded the Wei envoy. Now he has abandoned Gongsun Shu and come to serve Liu Xiu. It seems he has found a worthy lord?"

"Only a pity…" Diwu Lun gave a low, cold laugh: "What difference is there between Jia Fu's move and joining the Nationalist Army in '49?"

Shifting the telescope again, Diwu Lun aimed it at the other force attacking Cen Peng. That was the Han army's left wing, likewise just over twenty thousand men, commanded by Wang Chang, whose subordinates were mostly former Greenwood troops.

"Wang Chang can also be counted a defeated general under Great Wei. He once lost to Jing Dan. Defeated in every battle, yet he fights again after every defeat." Diwu Lun's assessment of this one was not high. The left wing was probably the Han army's weakest point…

And the one coordinating all this from the center was, naturally, Liu Xiu's own main force — around thirty thousand men, their formation as orderly as Feng Yi's. It was said this unit was composed of Jiangdong and Huainan troops, among whom ten thousand Danyang infantry were the strongest, Liu Xiu's trump card. As the final reserve, they were not committed to the field lightly.

After this overview, Diwu Lun had roughly "known the enemy." Only then did he re-aim the telescope at the Wei army at the battle's center. Cen Peng had already held out for the better part of a day under the enemy's rotating assaults. Though the Wei army was ever skilled in war — the most solid part of their training being standing at attention and forming the defensive circular array — they were outnumbered after all. Their outer perimeter was tottering, small square formations collapsing one after another. Yet Cen Peng was still directing with perfect composure, sending reserves to plug the gaps, making it hard for the Han army, lacking cavalry and heavy long-range weapons, to pierce the line.

Yin Shi, at his side, spoke of something Cen Peng had entrusted, his voice low: "The Grand General Who Conquers the South brought Palace Gentleman Cen with him as well. He said, 'Since the soldiers all follow me to their deaths, how can he skulk in camp just because he is my own son?'"

Hearing this, Diwu Lun was deeply moved. If he were to rank the "blind loyalty" the four great generals of Wei bore him, Wu Han would surely be last. And the one at the very top — not even Ma Yuan — had to be Cen Peng!

"Junran, ah, Junran, truly worthy of being my southern-sky pillar."

Diwu Lun lowered the telescope. The barrel was slick with a layer of sweat from his palm, but his face remained relaxed. He instructed the Palace Gentleman beside him: "Send word to the Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry. Relay my edict. Tell him: the fish has entered the jar — time to draw in the net!"

After the group descended the watchtower, Palace Gentleman Dou Gu, who ran errands at Diwu Lun's side, came to report: "Your Majesty, the great horses of Liangzhou, the cavalry of Bingzhou, and the Sanhe riders — seven thousand cavalry in all — have arrived!"

However, the first wave of infantry, over sixty thousand men, was still several dozen li away and could not arrive until tomorrow morning at the earliest. And just as Feng Yi had guessed, because of the forced march, the column was strung out extremely long; only half the troops could make it.

Though time was on the Wei army's side, if this battle were mishandled, it could easily turn into a case of the calabash brothers rescuing grandpa one by one…

The cavalrymen rode their mounts, but the accompanying spare warhorses, having galloped a hundred li, were also utterly spent. The weather was too hot; they had to rest a night before they could take the field. Calculating in his mind, Diwu Lun asked Yin Shi and the lieutenant-general left to guard the camp: "How many troops remain at Changban?"

"Ten thousand infantry!"

"Too few, I regret!"

Diwu Lun pondered. He understood: these ten thousand men were the safety margin Cen Peng had left behind, precisely for him to micromanage. But sending them out now would not affect the overall situation and might well turn into a piecemeal feeding tactic…

Fortunately, for this battle of "transmigrator versus Child of the Plane," Diwu Lun had held back for five years. The "cheats" he had made the craftsmen cobble together were not limited to just the counterweight trebuchet!

His gaze shifted to the dozen-odd ox-carts that had arrived after the cavalry, all covered with thick cloth, hauling heavy cargo.

A decision formed in Diwu Lun's mind. Smiling, he asked the Feathered Forest riders and Palace Gentlemen:

"Which of you dares to go into the Han army and deliver my declaration of war to Liu Xiu?"

"Your servant dares to go!" Dou Gu, closest to the water, immediately volunteered.

"Your servant also wishes to go!" Hearing this voice, Yin Shi's eyelid twitched. Only then did he recognize that the young cavalry gentleman in full armor was none other than his younger brother, Yin Xing! In all his years traveling to and from Chang'an, he had never once set eyes on his younger siblings. After all, nominally, their original falling-out had never been mended.

Diwu Lun glanced at Yin Xing, but in the end did not choose him. Although that move would have stung Liu Xiu sharply, there was truly no need.

In the end he selected only Dou Gu, ordering him to take two riders and hurry to the Han camp. Besides delivering into Liu Xiu's hands the war proclamation that read "A water and land host of eight hundred thousand, to hunt with Wenshu at Yunmeng," there was also a verbal decree for them to convey.

"The realm has been in turmoil for over ten years; the common people's livers and brains are smeared upon the ground — all because of the two of us."

Diwu Lun suddenly recited Xiang Yu's lines, and he did so deliberately: "The eight-hundred-thousand-strong host has all arrived. I wish, tomorrow, to meet Wenshu in an open-field battle and decide who is cock and who is hen — rather than fruitlessly torment the fathers and sons of the realm!"

To rescue Cen Peng, he did not necessarily need to strike at once; it was enough to let Liu Xiu know that Diwu Lun had arrived… The great net spread across the Jiang and Han rivers was already laid. Liu Xiu's southward flight was now too late — he could no longer shake off Diwu Lun!

And on this side, Diwu Lun could freely sow doubt with deceptive deployments, making Liu Xiu suspect: he knows he must leave, but learning that his old foe has arrived, he cannot bear to go…

The sky was about to darken. Diwu Lun knew that the true decisive battle had begun!

"A pity."

After seeing Dou Gu and the others off, Diwu Lun suddenly grew wistful.

"It's a shame Gongsun Shu was so battered by Wenyuan that he cowers in Chengdu and could not make it here. Otherwise this battle…"

Diwu Lun laughed. "Could be called 'The War of the Three Emperors'!"