Yanzhou, Jiyin Commandery
Ten li south of Yuncheng, at the Yuan army camp beside the Huzi River.
The third day after Yuan Shu’s retreat.
Inside the central command tent—
“Men! Drag Cao Cao’s envoy out!” Yuan Shu’s face was dark with anger as he shouted, “If any envoy from Cao Cao comes again in the future, there is no need to report it to me. Beat him out of the camp immediately!”
“Yes, my lord!”
The young officer respectfully cupped his fists in acknowledgment and signaled two soldiers to once again haul Cao Cao’s envoy out of the tent.
“My lord.”
At that moment, Ji Ling entered with a grim expression and bowed respectfully.
“Today, another six hundred severely wounded soldiers in the infirmary failed to survive. Even those with lighter injuries are listless and in poor condition. The situation is not looking good.”
“Has the cause been determined?”
Yuan Shu frowned slightly and asked casually, though in truth he was not particularly concerned.
To him, soldiers dying from severe wounds after battle was perfectly normal.
“In my opinion,” Ji Ling replied hesitantly, “I’m afraid the filth was poisoned.”
“…”
Yuan Shu fell silent for a moment before exploding in rage.
“These rebellious peasants and traitors only know how to use such despicable tricks!”
“A perfectly good city has been turned by these scoundrels into a stone at the bottom of a latrine—foul and impossibly hard!”
“After you leave here, devote all efforts to constructing trebuchets. When the time comes, I will grind the entire city of Yuncheng into dust!”
When he had launched the campaign, he had never expected the Yellow Turbans to be so capable at defending a city.
Nor had he anticipated their use of poisonous sewage and excrement.
Without trebuchets to assist in the siege, he had suffered a bitter setback.
Ordinarily, siege warfare rarely required trebuchets.
They were heavy siege engines, difficult to transport.
Even after reaching a city, a single trebuchet required nearly thirty men to operate, and its accuracy left much to be desired.
For these reasons, warlords of the era seldom relied on trebuchets during sieges.
A direct assault on a city was essentially a costly exchange of lives.
If the defenders possessed enough determination, attackers often found it extremely difficult to break through.
One famous example was Yuan Shao’s siege of Zang Hong.
Zang Hong defended Dongwuyang.
Under Yuan Shao’s encirclement, he held out for an entire year until the city had completely exhausted its supplies.
How desperate was the situation?
So desperate that Zang Hong killed one of his own concubines and shared her flesh among his officers.
As for rats and other vermin, they had long since been eaten.
That was the nature of siege warfare in that era.
Of course, flooding a city was another matter.
Such tactics required favorable timing and terrain.
For now, Yuan Shu could only place his hopes in trebuchets and prepare himself for a prolonged war against the Yellow Turbans.
“This subordinate obeys!” Ji Ling loudly acknowledged the order with a respectful bow.
“Report!”
At that moment, a soldier hurried into the tent carrying a bamboo dispatch tube in both hands.
“My lord, Governor Tao Qian of Xuzhou has sent a letter.”
“Bring it here.” Yuan Shu frowned, suddenly feeling a sense of foreboding.
“That Tao Qian truly is useless!”
After reading the letter, Yuan Shu cursed angrily.
“He couldn’t even capture a tiny river crossing, and now he’s talking about withdrawing! Once I crush the Yellow Turbans, I’ll return and deal with him personally!”
“Please calm your anger, my lord.”
Many of the generals hurried to console him, though quite a few were blushing with embarrassment themselves.
………………..
Qing Province, Pingyuan Commandery
Outside Gaotang City.
Liu Bei had just bid farewell to Tao Qian, who was passing through the area.
“With Governor Tao withdrawing his troops this time,” Liu Bei said as he watched the Xuzhou army disappear into the distance, “I’m afraid warfare is about to break out in Xuzhou.”
“I pity the common people of Xuzhou. Who knows how many of them will once again be forced from their homes and driven into hardship.”
“Big Brother,” Zhang Fei said from the side, “Xuzhou has seen very little warfare these past years. Yuan Shu has thrown all his strength into Yanzhou. Who would attack Xuzhou at a time like this?”
“Perhaps the Yellow Turbans.” Guan Yu stroked his beard with a faint smile.
“Have there not been rumors that the Yellow Turbans of Yanzhou intend to join forces with Zang Ba of Langya?”
“Hmph. Such stories might fool children.” Zhang Fei curled his lip dismissively.
“Zang Ba comes from a prominent clan and lives comfortably in Langya. Why would he ever associate with the Yellow Turbans?”
“Besides, Yuan Shu claims to be attacking Yanzhou with an army of a hundred of thousands men. The Yellow Turbans can barely take care of themselves right now. How would they have any spare strength to invade Xuzhou?”
Hearing this, Guan Yu fell silent for a moment.
Then he said thoughtfully, “The Yellow Turbans are nothing more than bands of roving rebels.”
“They plundered Qingzhou before, and last year they ravaged Yanzhou.”
“If they were to invade Xuzhou now, it would not be impossible.”
“Uh…”
After hearing this, Zhang Fei hesitated briefly before saying, “What Second Brother says makes sense.”
“But I hope things are not as Yunzhang predicts.”
Liu Bei’s expression grew solemn as he said, “If that truly is the case, how could Xuzhou possibly withstand a million Yellow Turbans? When that time comes, there will surely be another storm of bloodshed. What pains me most is that I, Liu Bei, am powerless to help.”
“If those Yellow Turbans truly act in such a manner, then even if it costs me my life, I will aid Xuzhou and do my small part for its people.”
In Liu Bei’s eyes, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao were fundamentally different from the Yellow Turbans.
The wars waged by the former, though harmful, inflicted far less suffering upon the common people than the depredations of the Yellow Turbans.
“I support Big Brother!”
“And naturally, so do I!”
Upon hearing Liu Bei’s words, Zhang Fei and Guan Yu both expressed their unwavering support.
It was a resolve to stand together even at the cost of their lives.
“Haha, of course!” Liu Bei laughed heartily.
“As long as the three brothers are together, there is nowhere under Heaven we cannot go. For now, however, let us proceed to Pingyuan and join forces with Governor Tian.”
With that, Liu Bei turned his horse around and headed toward Pingyuan City.
“Good! Then we’ll do as Big Brother says!” Zhang Fei quickly spurred his horse forward and followed.
“Let’s first slaughter Yuan Shao’s forces until not a single piece of armor remains intact. After that, we’ll go support Xuzhou!”
“Very well!” Guan Yu replied.
“If Third Brother intends to kill them until not a single suit of armor remains, then I shall do the same. Let us see who can kill more!”
“My Second Brother is unmatched under Heaven!”
……..
Yanzhou, Jiyin Commandery
On the walls of Yuncheng, Zhang Jing received a report from Zhou Cang confirming that Tao Qian had withdrawn from Yanzhou.
“Send orders to Zhou Cang and Guan Hai.” After pondering for a moment, Zhang Jing instructed:
“Have each of them lead five thousand troops and cross the river by separate routes. Bring back all the civilians, grain, and supplies north of the Yellow River in Dong Commandery.”
“They are not to seek glory recklessly or advance too aggressively.”
Since Tao Qian had withdrawn, the pressure on the two strategic strongholds would be greatly reduced.
Rather than keeping the troops inside the city drilling, it would be better to cross the river and bring back some spoils.
After all, everyone knew that the Qihuo Army was desperately short of food.
“Yes, my lord!” A young officer respectfully cupped his fists and accepted the order.
“My lord!” At that moment, Pei Yuanshao hurried over with a joyful expression and respectfully saluted.
“According to our scouts, Yuan Shu’s grain supplies are very likely stockpiled in Juancheng. However, there are at least twenty thousand Yuan troops stationed there, so the scouts dared not approach too closely.”
“Juancheng!” Zhang Jing’s heart skipped a beat.
He immediately turned to the map beside him and said:
“Juancheng is only seventy li from here.”
“Order the scout brothers to continue their reconnaissance. There is no need to approach the city itself.”
“They only need to determine how much grain and how many supply convoys are moving in and out.”
The mention of Juancheng had clearly caught Zhang Jing’s attention.
If Yuan Shu’s grain stores were truly located there, then the key to this campaign might not lie in the walls of Yuncheng at all— but in the enemy’s supply lines.
— The end of the Chapter–
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