“Ji Ling!”
Hearing the call, Yuan Shu finally snapped out of his despair and shouted in panic, “Let’s leave together! Bring Li Feng and the others! Forget the command banner!”
At this moment, Yuan Shu finally knew fear.
Though the command banner could rally troops, under the current circumstances it was nothing more than a giant target.
“Alright!” Ji Ling did not hesitate.
He immediately called over the personal guards and the other generals.
Leaving the command banner behind, they escorted Yuan Shu straight into the thickets beside the road.
“Run for your lives!”
Yufuluo and Zhang Miao were equally stunned, but they quickly fled into the woods under the protection of their own bodyguards.
Half an hour later, Yuan Shu’s command banner fell.
“Pretty quick on their feet.”
Watching several hundred Yuan soldiers scrambling through the grass and forests in all directions, Zhang Jing couldn’t suppress a slight smile.
“Not that I was planning to kill you anyway.”
“My lord, shall we pursue them?”
Dian Wei had also noticed the scene in the distance and looked eager for action.
“No need.” Zhang Jing shook his head.
“Yuan Shu has already suffered a complete defeat. I won’t give him another chance to make a comeback, but keeping him alive is actually beneficial to us.”
“Why?” Dian Wei couldn’t understand.
Having stayed by Zhang Jing’s side all this time, he often heard the strategists and Xun You say that it was better to leave Yuan Shu alive.
But why it was better was something Dian Wei found difficult to grasp.
“Because Yuan Shu is foolish enough.” A faint smile appeared on Zhang Jing’s face.
“If someone other than Yuan Shu had come in this campaign, dealing with them would not have been nearly so easy.”
“Besides, this fellow is the legitimate heir of the Yuan clan, a family of Four Generations and Three Excellencies.”
“Most people wouldn’t dare lay a hand on him.”
“If we let him go and occupy provinces and commanderies elsewhere, it’s practically the same as letting him capture territory for us. What’s not to like?”
“Of course, the most important reason is this—”
“The Qihuo Army currently lacks the ability to expand its territory on a large scale.”
“That is why, despite controlling nearly all of Yanzhou, we still abandoned most of it.”
“I think I understand now.” After thinking for a moment, Dian Wei said, “Yuan Shu has a prestigious background and isn’t very smart, so he’s easier to deal with.”
“Exactly.” Zhang Jing nodded, turned his horse around, and said, “Let’s go. It’s time to collect the spoils of war.”
“Tonight we should have meat to eat—horse meat.”
“Horse meat is great!” Dian Wei hurried after him, his face full of excitement.
“Chop it up and cook it into hot porridge. Nothing tastes better.”
“Hahaha, Dian Wei has a point!” Zhang Jing glanced back at him and thought to himself, Look at how eager this kid is.
Anyone would think I’ve been starving him.
That same afternoon, following Yuan Shu’s defeat, his camp outside Yuncheng surrendered to the Qihuo Army after seeing Yuan Shu’s command banner had fallen.
With that, there were no enemy forces left in southwestern Yanzhou.
At the same time, the Qihuo Army became famous in a single battle.
News of Yuan Shu’s crushing defeat spread throughout the four commanderies under Zhang Jing’s rule within just a few days.
Countless commoners rejoiced.
“Have you heard? Yuan Shu, the legitimate heir of that Four-Generations-and-Three-Excellencies family, came with a million troops and was beaten into a complete rout by our lord!”
“Of course I’ve heard! They say more than two hundred thousand invaders were killed!”
“I heard it was one hundred eighty thousand!”
“Our lord is incredible. And he treats us well too. Those officials who used to look down their noses at everyone are finally working for the common people.”
“If things stay this way, life will be good. My family’s forty mu of fertile land has already been planted this spring. We’re sure to have a good harvest this year.”
“Look over there! Aren’t those the law enforcers?”
“Hiss! Yellow cloaks and Saber of Judgment—that means Bronze-Rank Enforcers. Looks like someone is about to have a very bad day!”
“……”
Just as the people of the four commanderies were beginning to look toward the future with hope, Cao Cao received a new battle report.
It was a relatively detailed intelligence report.
“Zixiao.” After reading it, Cao Cao remained silent for a long time.
Only after quite a while did he finally look toward Cao Ren and say:
“If this report is accurate, then Cheng Zhongde is likely a talent no less capable than Wenruo.”
“In fact, when it comes to military strategy, he may even surpass Wenruo.”
“What a pity that I did not personally go to recruit him back then.”
“Otherwise, how could such a great talent have fallen into the hands of the Yellow Turbans?”
“Now that Yuan Shu has suffered a crushing defeat, Zhang Yuheng’s position in the Central Plains is secure.”
“The makings of a true Warlord are already becoming apparent.”
At this moment, Cao Cao finally began to take Zhang Jing seriously.
He no longer viewed him merely as a powerful bandit leader who relied on trebuchets and overwhelming numbers.
Instead, he now regarded him as a genuine rival.
“My lord.” Cao Ren’s expression was solemn.
“This intelligence was compiled from multiple surviving soldiers of Yuan Shu’s army.”
“It is unlikely to be false.”
“Zixiao.” Cao Cao nodded slightly.
“If you were in Yuan Shu’s position, and the Yellow Turbans were burning your grain supplies, how would you respond?”
“I would send troops to rescue them.” After a moment’s thought, Cao Ren replied:
“Juancheng lies deep within Yan Province and lacks natural defenses such as a moat.”
“A grain depot of such importance cannot simply be abandoned.”
“That said, I might not personally lead the reinforcement force.”
“And while marching to relieve it,” Cao Cao continued, “Would you send scouts to investigate the route ahead?”
“No.” Cao Ren shook his head.
“According to the surviving troops, Yuan Shu’s first ambush occurred along the Linqiu official road around the Hour of Mao, just before dawn.”
“At that time, visibility would have been poor.”
“With the army rushing to reinforce the grain depot, even if scouts were sent ahead, their searches would not have been thorough.”
“A prepared enemy against an unsuspecting one.”
“As long as reinforcements were dispatched, the ambush was inevitable.”
“Then you would have been defeated as well.” Cao Cao spoke calmly.
“Unless Yuan Shu had waited until full daylight before marching.”
“But Yuan Shu did not dare gamble on that.”
“Nor would you.”
“Nor would I.”
“Therefore, defeat was inevitable.”
“There is another reason as well.” Cao Cao continued.
“Neither Yuan Shu nor either of us possessed confidence in quickly capturing Yuncheng.”
“If Yuncheng could have been taken swiftly, then what would it matter if the Yellow Turbans seized the grain stores at Juancheng?”
Cao Ren slowly nodded.
Indeed.
Failing to capture Yuncheng quickly was a major problem.
“In the end, Yuan Shu was defeated by his own stupidity.”
As if recalling something amusing, Cao Cao shook his head and smiled.
“If it had been you or me, we never would have attacked through Jiyin.”
“Instead, we would have marched into Shanyang and attacked Rencheng State.”
“By doing so, We could have stored our grain supplies in Liang State of Yu Province.”
“Even if Zhang Yuheng possessed extraordinary abilities, he would never have been able to reach Liang State and seize our grain.”
“And even locating the supply lines would have been extremely difficult.”
“My lord is wise.” Cao Ren suddenly understood.
The disappointment on his face quickly vanished.
He now realized that had he been Yuan Shu, he never would have taken such a circuitous route and exposed his army to such danger.
“Go and prepare the army.” Cao Cao waved his hand.
“After seeing this report of defeat, even Yuan Shao will no longer dare underestimate Zhang Yuheng.”
“It is also time for us to depart.”
“Otherwise, we will only be left farther and farther behind by Zhang Yuheng and Yuan Shao.”
“And eventually lose our qualification to participate in this great struggle for the world.”
“Zhang Yuheng once said something.”
“A saying I actually quite like. In troubled times, talent is everything.”
At this point, Cao Cao looked at Cao Ren.
His eyes were filled with admiration.
“If a talent cannot be used by me, then he must be killed by me.”
“Back then, Wenruo himself was nearly won over by those very words.”
A chill flashed across Cao Ren’s face.
He nodded and said: “If Zhang Yuheng truly succeeds in building his power, then many men of talent and vision may lose their lives because of that principle.”
— The end of the Chapter–
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