With a single order from Yuan Shu, the sound of gongs signaling retreat rang out throughout the Yuan army.
The piercing clangor carried far across the battlefield; even Zhang Jing and the others atop the city walls could hear it clearly.
“My lord, Yuan Shu is withdrawing!”
Upon hearing it, a gleam flashed through Yu Jin’s eyes.
After a moment’s thought, he said, “It is obvious that he has learned our reinforcements have arrived. He certainly would not dare encamp outside the city and will surely retreat more than ten li away.”
“There are many wounded in the Yuan army after this battle.”
“Their march will inevitably be slow.”
“Furthermore, they are retreating after a defeat, so morale must be low. The forces of Zhang Miao, Zhang Yang, and Yufuluo are not of one mind with Yuan Shu either.”
“Such a rabble.”
“If we dispatch an elite force to pursue them during their withdrawal, we will surely reap considerable gains!”
For Yuan Shu’s army of more than one hundred thousand men, withdrawing was no easy task to begin with.
Coupled with the heavy casualties suffered during the failed siege and the participation of the three auxiliary forces, they were indeed nothing more than a disorganized mob.
Yu Jin believed this was a perfect opportunity.
“Wenze speaks reasonably.” Zhang Jing nodded slightly and said, “If there were a powerful army at my side right now, I would certainly do as Wenze suggests and seize this opportunity without hesitation.”
“However, our troops have marched day and night to reach this place.”
“They are already exhausted, both men and horses.”
“Even if the enemy is merely putting on a brave front, there are still unpredictable dangers involved. It would be somewhat inappropriate.”
A withdrawal tested a commander’s abilities immensely.
When an incapable commander ordered a retreat, it could easily turn into a rout.
Before long, what began as an organized withdrawal would become a complete collapse, leaving him to slink back with only dozens—or even merely a handful—of followers.
And the rebellious Yuan Shu was clearly not such a capable commander.
Even so, Zhang Jing was unwilling to take risks.
Just as he had said, they had traveled for an entire day.
In their current state of exhaustion, pursuing a retreating army of one hundred thousand men still carried significant danger.
Even if there were only a one-in-ten chance of disaster, Zhang Jing would refuse to do it.
Because at this stage— He simply could not afford to lose.
On the other hand, he had many ways to deal with Yuan Shu and had no need to resort to such a gamble.
“This subordinate failed to think things through.”
After hearing Zhang Jing’s explanation, Yu Jin’s face reddened with embarrassment.
He cupped his fists respectfully and said, “I nearly placed the army in grave danger. Please punish me, my lord.”
Only now did he realize that while the opportunity was indeed excellent, they themselves had no troops available to exploit it.
Defending the city posed no problem, but if they rushed out to pursue and attack, they might instead be surrounded and annihilated by the Yuan forces.
That would be disastrous.
“There is no need for punishment.”
Zhang Jing shook his head and looked at the retreating Yuan army outside the city.
“Wenze’s ability to recognize an opportunity is already commendable. However, in warfare, one must ultimately know both oneself and the enemy. Only then can one remain undefeated in a hundred battles.”
“Sometimes… Not being defeated is itself victory.”
“If you can achieve that in the future, becoming a renowned general in your own right—and even leaving your name in history—will be nothing extraordinary.”
His words sounded simple.
In reality, they were anything but.
History had seen many famous generals.
Yu Jin could barely be counted among them, but those who had truly managed to remain undefeated could be counted on one hand.
Nevertheless, that did not stop Zhang Jing from inspiring his officers and soldiers, feeding them a little motivational wisdom while displaying his own insight.
“Not being defeated is itself victory…” Yu Jin repeated the words to himself.
The more he pondered them, the more he felt they contained profound truth.
With a look of admiration, he respectfully cupped his fists and said, “This subordinate shall remember my lord’s teachings well. Thank you for your guidance.”
“We thank our lord for his guidance!”
Pei Yuanshao and the others likewise wore expressions of admiration as they cupped their fists and shouted in unison.
All of them felt they had gained something.
The intricacies of advanced military strategy might be beyond their understanding.
But ‘Not being defeated is itself victory’ was something they could easily grasp.
………………
That night, on the opposite bank of Linyi.
In the Xuzhou army camp, Cao Bao hurried into Tao Qian’s command tent.
“My lord!” Cao Bao’s face was tense as he reported, “Our scouts have sent word that the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans have assembled an army of one hundred thousand men and intend to join forces with Zang Ba of Langya before marching into Xuzhou.”
“What?!” Tao Qian’s expression changed drastically.
He sprang to his feet and stared at Cao Bao.
“Has this information been confirmed? Zang Ba has never involved himself in Xuzhou’s military or political affairs. Why would he join forces with the Yellow Turbans? Could this be one of their schemes to sow discord?”
“My lord…” Cao Bao spoke up:
“My lord, I do not believe this matter is merely baseless rumor. Even if Zang Ba does not join forces with the Yellow Turbans, the possibility of the Yellow Turbans invading Xuzhou cannot be ignored.”
“Although Zang Ba does not interfere in Xuzhou’s military or political affairs, he only guards Langya and cares little for the fate of the other commanderies.”
“We have been campaigning for quite some time now.”
“If the Yellow Turbans march into Xuzhou, they may bring immeasurable losses to the various commanderies. By the time we regret it, it will already be too late.”
After speaking, Cao Bao secretly glanced at Tao Qian.
As for the scout reports— There was indeed such a thing, but they were merely rumors circulating among the populace.
There was no concrete evidence, and whether the information was true or false was not important.
What mattered was that neither Tao Qian nor Cao Bao could afford to gamble on it.
That was why Cao Bao had come.
“Cao Bao!” After careful consideration, Tao Qian ordered:
“Immediately send a dispatch to the Left General. Inform him that Linyi Crossing is heavily defended, that our army suffered heavy losses and met with failure in today’s campaign, and that the Yellow Turbans are now threatening Xuzhou. To prevent the people of Xuzhou from suffering further devastation, our army will soon withdraw and return to Xuzhou.”
“Yes, my lord!” Cao Bao respectfully cupped his fists in acknowledgment.
Privately, he thought that they truly had suffered heavy losses today.
Not only had they wasted thousands of arrows, they had not even managed to kill a single enemy.
Shortly after Cao Bao sent the dispatch, the uneasy Tao Qian decided to return to Xuzhou under cover of night.
………………
Qing Province, Pingyuan Commandery
Gaotang City, on the banks of the Luo River
At this time, Liu Bei had also received orders from Inspector Tian Kai, instructing him to assemble his troops and march to Gaotang.
There they would join forces before advancing into Ji Province to support Gongsun Fan in Bohai.
Inside the central command tent—
“Big Brother!”
For once, Zhang Fei spoke with unusual seriousness:
“I’ve heard that Yuan Shao has mobilized two hundred thousand troops this time. Yuan Tan alone, in Bohai, commands a force of one hundred thousand.”
“We have only eight thousand men.”
“Tian Kai has merely twenty thousand, and after last year’s crushing defeat, Gongsun Fan has little more than ten thousand troops left.”
“Together, that’s only around forty thousand soldiers.”
“And now, during the spring planting season, our supplies are insufficient. I’m afraid this campaign will be difficult to win.”
It was not that Zhang Fei feared death or battle.
Rather, the current situation was genuinely unfavorable to Gongsun Zan.
After Gongsun Zan’s defeat and retreat to You Province, Yuan Shao had occupied the Kingdom of Hejian and part of Bohai Commandery.
In effect, this severed the connection between You Province and Qing Province.
Messages could still be delivered by messengers, but matters such as grain supplies and military equipment could only be handled independently by Liu Bei, Tian Kai, and the others.
Furthermore, communications would inevitably suffer significant delays.
A single misstep could allow Yuan Shao to defeat Gongsun Zan’s forces one by one.
Under such circumstances, Zhang Fei naturally did not want his elder brother risking the hard-earned foundation they had painstakingly built in order to fight desperately for Gongsun Zan.
As Zhang Fei saw it, everything Liu Bei possessed had been earned through blood, sweat, and hardship.
“Third Brother speaks wisely.” Guan Yu also avoided looking directly at Liu Bei as he pondered aloud:
“With the forces available to Governor Tian and ourselves, we may be able to hold a city and avoid a disastrous defeat, but we lack the strength to achieve any meaningful offensive success.”
“In the end, it would only burden the people and drain our resources.”
“Second Brother, Third Brother!”
Liu Bei replied with a solemn expression:
“Brother Bogui has treated us well.”
“Now that Brother Bogui faces hardship, we cannot kick him when he is down, nor can we betray our word.”
“Otherwise, how could we continue to stand in this world as honorable men?”
“…”
Hearing this, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei said nothing further.
After all, whatever decision their elder brother made, they would follow it.
— The end of the Chapter–
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