Yuncheng, atop the city walls.
“Besiege one point to draw reinforcements? Lure the snake out of its hole?”
After hearing Xun You’s strategy, Zhang Jing pondered for a moment before saying, “If we do that, the force required for this campaign will likely be no fewer than eighty thousand men.”
“My lord is wise.” Xun You replied, “If we ignore Yuan Shu’s grain supplies, twenty thousand troops would be enough to secure a swift victory. If we simply hold the city, then within three months Yuan Shu’s army will certainly withdraw.”
They all knew Yuan Shu’s fatal weakness.
But they also coveted his grain.
After this period of observation, they estimated that the grain stockpiled in Juancheng amounted to no less than two hundred thousand shi.
That was no small quantity.
“Gongda.” Zhang Jing looked at Xun You and asked, “At present, Cao Cao and Yuan Shao have combined their forces and stationed them at Dongwuyang in Dongjun, claiming an army of one hundred thousand men.”
“Do you think Yuan Shao’s army is likely to cross the river?”
“My lord,” Xun You considered briefly before answering, “In my opinion, Cao Cao will not cross the river anytime soon. He is waiting as well. If Yuan Shu is defeated, Cao Cao will withdraw on his own.”
“Otherwise, he will join forces with Yuan Shao’s army and cross the river.”
“Furthermore, Gongsun Zan has been defeated, and Qingzhou no longer possesses the strength to threaten Yanzhou. Tao Qian cannot get past Kangfu and Liangfu.”
“But if Yuan Tan advances into Qingzhou… Our army may lose any opportunity to expand further.”
That was the chain reaction caused by Gongsun Zan’s defeat.
Cao Cao and Wen Chou were stationed at Dongwuyang, while Yuan Tan pushed into Qingzhou.
If Yuan Tan truly established a foothold there, then Zhang Jing would have to remain constantly vigilant against simultaneous attacks from Cao Cao and Yuan Tan upon Yanzhou.
And if the pleasure-loving Tao Qian joined forces with them, along with Yuan Shu pressing from the front…
At that point, Zhang Jing would be placed in an extremely passive position.
Forget seizing Yuan Shu’s grain.
Merely holding his cities without defeat would already be an accomplishment.
“A situation of endless uncertainties!”
Zhang Jing rose and walked outside the city tower.
Looking southward, he ordered, “Pan Zhang, send orders immediately to Sima Ju of Fenggao, Sui Gu of Lucheng, Que Xuan of Fan County, and Guan Hai of Dong’e. They are to lead their troops here within five days. No delays will be tolerated!”
Since time was not on their side, Zhang Jing could only make Yuan Shu suffer a little first.
Only by dealing with Yuan Shu could the situation in Yanzhou become clearer.
At the same time, it would announce the existence of the Qihuo Army to the world.
“This subordinate obeys!” Pan Zhang’s eyes lit up.
He clasped his fists respectfully and shouted.
“My lord is wise!” Xun You, Yu Jin, and the others were equally stirred.
They cupped their fists toward Zhang Jing in salute.
……………….
Near the middle of the month, Yuan Shu’s camp.
Inside the central command tent, the generals were drinking alongside Yuan Shu.
The atmosphere was lively and festive.
“Gentlemen!” Yuan Shu’s face was flushed with excitement as he declared, “I have decided that three days from now we will march on Yuncheng. With nine hundred trebuchets at our disposal, even if Yuncheng were a fortress of bronze walls and iron gates, I, Yuan Shu, could reduce it to ruins!”
“My lord speaks truly!” Ji Ling said, “For days now, I have been drilling the soldiers in the operation of the trebuchets. A single machine can hurl a twelve-jin stone projectile over three hundred paces!”
“I have also observed those Yellow Turban stone throwers. Their projectiles can barely reach two hundred paces.”
“With our trebuchets, we can destroy the defensive equipment atop the walls—especially that… well, in any case, victory will be ours in three days!”
Ji Ling had been about to mention the matter of the boiling excrement and urine (“golden juice”).
However, considering the atmosphere, he forcibly swallowed the words.
“Our success is entirely due to my lord’s wisdom! Our army shall surely win a great victory!”
“Once Yuncheng falls, we must hack that defending general into pieces—”
Yet neither Yuan Shu nor his officers knew that while they feasted and drank, Zhang Jing had already led sixty thousand troops out of Yuncheng, dividing them into four columns.
They departed at You Hour and arrived by Zi Hour.
As the army approached, the Yuan troops inside Juancheng detected the commotion.
Instantly, the entire city descended into chaos.
“Charge!”
“Burn Yuan Shu’s grain supplies!”
“Get inside! Reach Yuan Shu’s granaries first!”
“Follow me and kill our way in!”
The thunderous roars reached the ears of the defenders, causing every Yuan soldier to feel as though a great enemy was upon them.
“Quick!”
Upon learning that the Yellow Turbans intended to burn the grain, Juancheng’s defending commander, Liu Xiang, turned pale with alarm.
“Send men to break through the encirclement immediately and report this news to the lord!”
As the saying goes, before an army moves, its provisions move first.
An army’s grain supply was its lifeline.
Hearing that the Yellow Turbans intended to burn the stores, Liu Xiang’s terror was understandable.
Moreover, it was pitch black in all directions.
He had no idea how many enemy troops had arrived.
The only thing he could do was send word to his lord.
“Yes, sir!”
A commander answered solemnly, clasping his fists in acknowledgment.
“Kill them! Burn all of Yuan’s grain!”
“Follow me and charge!”
“……”
At the East Gate of Juancheng, Zhang Jing watched a group of Yuan troops break out from the city and ordered:
“Guan Hai, don’t let them leave so easily!”
“This subordinate obeys!”
Guan Hai respectfully cupped his fists and accepted the order.
He then led a detachment of soldiers to intercept the Yuan troops attempting to deliver the warning.
After a fierce battle, two of the Yuan soldiers finally managed to break through and escape.
The Yuan troops at the other three gates were not so fortunate.
They were all slaughtered by the Qihuo Army.
After killing those Yuan soldiers, Zhang Jing did not order his army to attack the city.
Their objective had never been to burn the grain in the first place.
Half an hour later, the two Yuan soldiers rode along the official road leading through Linqiu.
“They’ve passed.”
A sharp gleam flashed through Sima Ju’s eyes from within the dense forest beside the road.
He turned to Que Xuan and Yu Jin and said, “By dawn, Yuan Shu will certainly lead his army here. Let’s make our preparations.”
“Rest assured.” The two men nodded heavily.
Their force of thirty-five thousand troops was the real centerpiece of the plan.
As long as Yuan Shu came back to rescue his grain supplies, he would inevitably walk straight into their ambush.
…………….
At the Hour of Yin (around 3–5 a.m.), the urgent beat of war drums rang out from Yuan Shu’s camp, and the various units hastily assembled amid the confusion.
“My lord!”
Seeing that Yuan Shu intended to personally lead the relief force, Li Feng immediately stepped forward and said solemnly, “In my opinion, you should remain here to command the main camp. We can go rescue Juancheng ourselves. Besides, Juancheng has twenty thousand troops stationed there. The Yellow Turbans will not be able to capture it in a short time.”
“Nonsense!” Yuan Shu no longer had the patience to consider anything else.
He angrily rebuked him:
“Did you not hear the messenger? Several enemy detachments split up and moved separately, and only these two managed to reach us.”
“The Yellow Turban forces besieging Juancheng.. Number no fewer than one hundred thousand!”
“And they possess powerful siege weapons. Even Cao Cao could not hold his cities against them. How could Liu Xiang possibly succeed?”
The news that the Yellow Turbans had launched a massive assault on Juancheng had genuinely rattled Yuan Shu.
His army had marched from afar, making its grain supplies critically important.
Although he had stationed a large force to guard them, he had misjudged two things.
First, the Yellow Turbans had successfully withstood his offensive.
Second, their catapults truly possessed earth-shaking destructive power.
As a result, under such circumstances, he had very little confidence in Liu Xiang’s ability to hold out.
And the grain supplies absolutely could not be lost.
“My lord, Li Feng speaks wisely.” Ji Ling also tried to persuade him:
“It is still dark, and Juancheng is dozens of li away. If we encounter a Yellow Turban ambush on the road, then even if we die ten thousand deaths, we would not be able to atone for our failure.”
“With you and Li Feng at my side, what have I to fear?”
Yuan Shu replied with a face full of anger:
“Say no more. My mind is made up.”
“There are only three days’ worth of provisions left in the camp. If the Yellow Turbans succeed, retreat will be our only option.”
“The Yellow Turbans certainly know this as well.”
“That is precisely why they sent a large army to attack Juancheng.”
“As for an ambush—look at those two messengers. If there truly were an ambush, would they have been able to make it here alive?”
— The end of the Chapter–
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