Chapter 5

Under the setting sun, on the walls of Xuzhou, an old man with a long beard and white hair was gazing into the distance; his wide scholar's robe and the high city walls made him look even more frail and feeble.

Cao Cao had taken Fan County, Dong'e and other cities in succession over the past few days; after capturing each city he ordered the massacre of all its inhabitants to console the spirit of his deceased father.

Now Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, and Dian Wei are leading the vanguard in attacking Xuzhou; the aged Tao Qian feels heartbroken, believing that his own mistake in employing people has brought this calamity upon the people of Xuzhou.

Tomorrow Cao Cao will launch a full-scale assault on the city; Xuzhou has lacked any great general, so who could save its people? Thinking of this, Tao Qian could not help but tear up.

I still had a brave general, Liu San Dao, but unfortunately that brat Lü Bu killed him with a single spear thrust!

The defending commanders nearby wanted to comfort him, but they didn't know what to say; after all, Cao Cao's men are truly fierce! Especially a bald, muscular man wielding a pair of large iron spears—when he fights he is especially savage; in broad daylight everyone saw him cleave a junior officer in two with just one spear.

Suddenly, from the southeast corner of the Cao camp outside Xuzhou came a clamor; Tao Qian's heart stirred—could it be that a close friend had sent reinforcements?

Thinking of this, Tao Qian hastily ordered his senior general Cao Bao to lead over five thousand men out of the city to meet them.

As the vanguard commander, Yu Jin led over twenty thousand troops forward first to set up camp; during the day Dian Wei rode out to challenge the enemy, and after cleaving an opposing junior officer with a single spear, the whole army's morale soared.

Tao Qian's troops were all beaten to a sorry state; Yu Jin even gloated, wondering whether he should take Xuzhou himself tomorrow—wouldn't the Chancellor then richly reward him?

At dusk, when the army was cooking, Yu Jin was about to lead a patrol of the camp. He always had a good habit when commanding troops: whenever the soldiers rested and cooked, he would make a round of the camp to show that he shared their hardships and loved them as his own children.

The result of this was that Yu Jin basically ate last in the Cao camp every time!

Just as Yu Jin was about to lose his temper, a small soldier came running in, panicked.

Just as Yu Jin was about to lose his temper, a small soldier came running in, panicked.

"General, the camp is under raid!"

"Damn it! That old fogey Tao Qian has no martial virtue—raiding our camp while we're eating!"

Yu Jin grabbed a long sword, just rushed out of the tent, and saw fires breaking out everywhere in the camp; a youthful commander in white robe and silver armor, leading a group of cavalry, was setting fire all over their main camp.

Yu Jin flared with anger, leapt onto his horse and charged toward that youthful commander, shouting loudly:

"Yu Jin is here—rebel commander, don't act wildly!"

That white-robed, silver-armored commander was Zhao Yun; seeing Yu Jin charge, Zhao Yun spurred his horse forward, and as Yu Jin brought down his sword, Zhao Yun shifted his body and thrust his bright silver spear at Yu Jin's shoulder.

Yu Jin hastily dodged, but Zhao Yun's spear suddenly whipped around and struck his back hard; a sharp pain shot through his chest, and within a couple of exchanges he was knocked from his horse by this unknown junior officer! Yu Jin felt both shocked and furious.

Zhao Yun was about to finish Yu Jin with a spear thrust, when several of Yu Jin's personal guards rushed out from the side, fearlessly charging forward to intercept between Yu Jin and Zhao Yun.

Zhao Yun fired several spears, hurling a few guards into the air, but saw that Yu Jin had already been lifted and was being dragged away. Seeing this, Zhao Yun squeezed his legs with his heels and pursued the Yu Jin being helped to flee by his guards.

Xiahou Dun led five thousand iron cavalry stationed at the edge of the woods outside the main camp; when his scouts discovered that the entire Cao camp was ablaze, they hurriedly reported to Xiahou Dun—at this point Dun-ge had not yet gone blind, his mind was still fairly sharp, unlike later when he became blind and obstinate.

Xiahou Dun immediately ordered his force of over five thousand to make a feigned attack on Xuzhou City, so that the unit sneaking to strike the Cao camp could, on its return, give him another twist—wouldn't that be splendid?

The plan was perfect! But the first step already ran into trouble: as Xiahou Dun led his five thousand cavalry charging toward Xuzhou, he discovered that a group of troops had also rushed out of the city; when the two sides met on the plain, both were somewhat bewildered.

Cao Bao, clad in heavy armor, bellowed fiercely:

"Xiahou brat, how dare you covet my Xuzhou? Today I'll make your blood spill five steps!"

Having said that, he brandished his knife and spurred his horse forward; Xiahou Dun said nothing, raised his spear and charged. They exchanged blows for over a dozen rounds, Cao Bao's strength waned, and the nearby Xuzhou troops were scattered by the Cao cavalry, beginning to retreat.

Cao Bao was anxious as burning, and even his sword technique became disordered.

Seeing this, Xiahou Dun deliberately exposed a flaw; the center gate swung open, Cao Bao rejoiced and slashed at Xiahou Dun's neck. Xiahou Dun snorted coldly, his spear nimbly blocking the blade.

Xiahou Dun then thrust his spear with great speed at Cao Bao's throat; Cao Bao hastily lowered his head to dodge, but was still pierced in the shoulder by Xiahou Dun's spear, the spearhead tearing through his armor and muscle, and in agonizing pain he fell from his horse.

Xiahou Dun grimly raised his spear, aiming at Cao Bao's head.

"You lot of old, weak, sick, and disabled from Xuzhou dare to block our army? Prepare to die!"

"You insolent fool, don't be arrogant—take my blade!"

A magnificent beard fluttering, a red-faced, burly man in green battle robes came galloping from not far away, dust and smoke billowing behind him, with over a thousand troops following in his wake.

Xiahou Dun dared not be careless; Cao Bao was rescued by several deputy commanders taking advantage of the moment.

Guan Yu came riding forward, holding his Green Dragon Crescent Blade at a slant; when he drew near, he suddenly sliced upward with a blade, and Xiahou Dun hastily raised his spear to block.

"Clang!"

The tremendous impact nearly made Xiahou Dun drop his spear; his tiger's mouth went numb from Second Brother's thunderous blow. Moreover, he was greatly astonished—Xiahou Dun had believed that apart from Lü Bu he had few equals under heaven, never expecting Guan Yu's martial skill to be so high as well.

As the two horses crossed paths, Second Brother again slashed downward at Xiahou Dun's head; Xiahou Dun raised his spear to block once more, but Second Brother's blade cut off his iron helmet.

At this point Xiahou Dun's tiger's mouth was already torn; in the recent clash, Guan Yu had nearly severed his arm and head, and Xiahou Dun realized he was far from being a match for Guan Yu.

Xiahou Dun's heart pounded with alarm; when Second Brother was about to turn his horse and charge again, Xiahou Dun decisively spurred his mount to flee, not even looking back. Seeing this, his personal guards and junior officers were somewhat dumbfounded, but some clever ones followed him and also escaped.

"Officers and men, follow me and charge!"

With a shout, Guan Yu led the troops he had brought—including Cao Bao's men—into a killing assault; since Guan and Zhang are naturally skilled at training soldiers, the addition of this thousand-strong fresh force instantly turned the tide of battle.

The Cao troops abandoned helmets and armor; Guan Yu's forces seized many weapons and prisoners in the chaos, and since the Cao army consisted entirely of cavalry, over three thousand managed to escape.

Gazing at Xiahou Dun, whose buttocks were soaked with urine, Guan Yu glanced at his own mount and sighed softly; if he had a steed like his third brother's black horse, he would surely have been able to behead Xiahou Dun today.

Second Brother is still young, following a path of swift and great strength; his first three strikes are especially overbearing and rigid, and ordinary people find it hard to withstand Second Brother's thunderous three blows—after receiving those three strikes, even the fiercest warriors under heaven are nearly drained of half their energy.

Once someone can withstand those three strikes, Second Brother will then employ his self-created Spring and Autumn Sword Technique against them; thus even a top-tier warrior would find it hard to resist Second Brother.

He, Xiahou Dun, lost to Second Brother, but it's not disgraceful!

Seeing that the battle's outcome was settled, Second Brother had his men clean up the battlefield, while he himself narrowed his phoenix eyes, watching the retreating Xiahou Dun and wondering what he was calculating.

Cao Bao, supported by two soldiers, stepped forward and saluted Second Brother in thanks.

"Many thanks, General, for saving my life; I don't know which side you belong to, but Xuzhou certainly has no commander with your martial skill."

Second Brother stroked his beautiful beard and gave a carefree smile.

"No need for many formalities, General; I am a subordinate of Governor Liu of Pingyuan County, and this time I have come with my elder brother to assist Governor Tao in resisting Cao Cao. My elder brother should by now have taken the Cao camp; General, you might as well come with me to have a look."

Cao Bao's heart leapt in shock; he knew the Cao army's combat strength—how could they possibly lose the main camp so easily!

Thus Cao Bao, carrying his doubts, followed Guan Yu to the Cao camp.