Chapter 400

Chapter 400: Xin Pi Delivers a Message

In the night, even with the towering flames, it wasn’t easy to identify the enemy. Moreover, Yue Jin, who had just executed Bian Rang with a single strike, was not well-known in Yanzhou. With the Cao and Xiahou clans dominating the region, Yue Jin had few opportunities to shine.

If Zhang Chao could truly be considered Cao Cao’s subordinate, he might have had some camaraderie with Yue Jin. But he wasn’t. In that moment, he thought—this must be Qiao Yan’s forces arriving!

It had only been two days since Cao Cao headed north. Unless there were no delays in message delivery or troop movement, it would be impossible for cavalry to arrive so quickly. But how many cavalry did Cao Cao have in Puyang? Not many, surely. Puyang was close to Ji Province, making a frontal assault unlikely. Why would so many cavalry be stationed there?

Yet, Zhang Chao saw shadows rapidly approaching under the firelight, numbering in the hundreds, if not thousands. If these weren’t Luoyang defenders from Hulao Pass, what else could they be? After all, Cao Cao’s generals wouldn’t dare kill Bian Rang and tarnish Cao Cao’s reputation, but Qiao Yan’s subordinates could treat Yanzhou as an enemy and act without restraint.

Zhang Chao didn’t realize that in such conditions, he couldn’t see Yue Jin’s face, and Yue Jin couldn’t identify them either. After consulting with Zao Zhi, Zhang Chao led the cavalry first. If Cao Ang and General Cao Hong were in dire straits, Yue Jin was to attack immediately, regardless of whether the infantry had arrived.

When Yue Jin arrived, Zang Hong’s forces had just ended a night of intense attacks and were resting. Yue Jin believed that fighting through the night would exhaust Cao Ang’s defenders, so they needed to provide support quickly. Fortunately, the wind direction was as Man Chong had advised Zao Zhi before departure, making a fire attack feasible.

With limited manpower, Yue Jin abandoned the plan to raid the camp. Instead, after setting fires to intensify the blaze, he led his troops to ambush Zhang Chao’s retreat path. Seeing Bian Rang charging ahead, Yue Jin mistook him for a vanguard or an unknown officer and struck without hesitation.

It wasn’t entirely Yue Jin’s fault. Bian Rang, with his military experience, wore armor instead of cumbersome robes. By the time Yue Jin realized Bian Rang’s horsemanship was decent but his combat skills were lacking, it was too late. In such a desperate situation, Yue Jin had no time to investigate the man’s identity.

Even when Zhang Chao shouted “Wenli,” Yue Jin ignored it and charged at Zhang Chao. His bold and fierce demeanor, though inexperienced, made him appear confident in this chaotic environment.

Zhang Chao was shocked. He couldn’t confirm if more enemies had breached their camp and were clearing it out, with Yue Jin’s intercepting force being just a detachment. Bian Rang’s death and his brother’s silence misled his judgment. In that moment, he decided to retreat and regroup with the forces besieging Cao Ang’s camp.

With dawn approaching, even if Qiao Yan’s forces had invaded Chenliu, their numbers couldn’t surpass Chenliu’s defenders. Once reinforcements arrived, they could stabilize the situation and regain the initiative. Zhang Chao knew he couldn’t panic.

But retreating calmly was no easy task. The soldiers, worried about their comrades due to the camp fire, would have fought fiercely to reach the camp. Zhang Chao’s order to retreat made them suspect an unbeatable enemy lay ahead. As they retreated, Yue Jin’s cavalry pursued relentlessly, turning the supposed rescue force into prey.

At dawn, someone realized Yue Jin’s forces weren’t as numerous as they thought. But before this could be communicated, the cavalry suddenly turned and raced toward Cao Ang and Cao Hong’s camp.

Cao Ang, undisturbed by the fire, had been monitoring the north. When Yue Jin’s cavalry appeared, he was informed immediately. Seeing the chaos in Zhang Chao’s ranks, Cao Ang knew their opportunity had come.

“Gather the troops and retreat south!” Cao Ang ordered. The exhausted soldiers, hearing reinforcements had arrived, quickly mobilized. While the camp appeared heavily guarded, inside, they were ready to move.

When Yue Jin’s cavalry reached Cao Ang, they saw the young lord fully armored on his horse, pale but composed. Yue Jin realized that even if he had arrived later, Cao Ang could have held the situation. But the current proactive stance was better.

“Yue Jin and Zhong Kang, cover our retreat south!” Cao Ang commanded. The north, closer to Puyang, would soon see the camp fire extinguished, making a two-front encirclement disastrous. Retreating south was wiser.

South of Suanzao camp, crossing the Puyang River led to Fengqiu. With the river as a barrier, Zhang Chao’s forces would find it hard to attack. Zhang Miao’s troops in Fengqiu were few, most having been deployed here, making it a defensible position.

“Wait, send someone north to inform Zao Zhi. If possible, have him halt and hold Zuoxian north of Suanzao, awaiting my father’s reinforcements,” Cao Ang added.

With Yue Jin’s timely arrival, Cao Ang felt secure. If Zao Zhi continued south, he might be intercepted by Zhang Chao. Zao Zhi’s infantry were at a disadvantage. It was better to hold the border between Dong Commandery and Chenliu.

“But Lord Cao’s safety is still uncertain…” Yue Jin began, but Cao Ang cut him off. “My father successfully sent the message and ensured you didn’t break the three-day alliance to support Suanzao. He won’t be in danger. Man Chong’s arrangements were precise, and your fire attack on Zhang Miao’s camp was effective. He won’t fail in rescuing my father.”

Even if something went wrong, having Zao Zhi hold the border town to prevent Chenliu forces from advancing into Dong Commandery wasn’t a bad decision. Suppressing his worry for Cao Cao, Cao Ang calmly ordered, “Retreat!”

Their retreat was swift. By the time Zhang Chao, chased by Yue Jin, regrouped with Zang Hong, most of Cao Ang’s forces were already heading south. When the northern camp’s soldiers reported that they had only faced a fire attack and no real assault, Cao Ang’s army had already withdrawn westward.








“Oh no! We’ve been tricked!” Zang Hong suddenly stood up and spoke.

Cao Ang, who had just endured a night-long battle, was still able to muster his spirits. What reason did he have to rest now?

Moreover, although the reinforcements sent by Cao Cao were few in number, it clearly indicated that the news of the Chenliu mutiny had already reached Puyang. Zhang Miao’s situation probably wasn’t great.

But there was no need to share this judgment with Zhang Chao at this moment, or else the little calm he had left might be completely lost.

“I’ll immediately send someone to intercept Cao Zixiu’s movements,” Zhang Chao said hastily, bandaging a wound he had sustained in a fight with Yue Jin, while preparing to redeploy his troops.

But before he could leave the military tent, Zang Hong stopped him.

“No, there’s no need to pursue them,” Zang Hong said after considering the situation. “They suddenly received support when they were on the brink of despair. Their morale is not something to be taken lightly at this moment. Besides, Cao Zixiu heading south means he’s still prioritizing Cao Mengde’s actions in the north. He’s not the main force that can change the situation…”

“We head north!”

If Cao Cao thought that setting a fire would scatter their morale and make them act recklessly, he was sorely mistaken.

Zang Hong said, “Have someone keep an eye on Cao Zixiu and Cao Zilian’s movements. If they try to turn east and leave Chenliu, notify me immediately. I’ll lead a force north to intercept Cao Mengde’s reinforcements coming from Puyang.”

No matter what situation Zhang Miao was facing, the decision to capture the leader first was always correct.

Yue Jin’s all-cavalry reinforcements couldn’t possibly lack a rear guard. If Cao Cao had truly escaped, he wouldn’t ignore the changes in Chenliu and would definitely send reinforcements.

They absolutely couldn’t make the mistake of focusing on the wrong target at this moment.

“Right,” Zhang Chao replied after weighing the situation. “We can no longer focus all our efforts on chasing Cao Zixiu.”

If Cao Ang quickly occupied Fengqiu County, it would be even harder for them to break through.

How could it be that they wanted to capture the enemy but ended up losing more troops and worsening their own situation?

Not to mention that Chen Gong, the one who initiated this, hadn’t been rescued. The advantage they were supposed to have was nowhere to be seen. If they continued to be led by the nose, they would be in big trouble soon!

They couldn’t go on like this.

“Rally the troops, gather the soldiers in the camp, and after regrouping, head north for an ambush,” Zhang Chao ordered, regaining some confidence after Zang Hong’s analysis.

Their number of soldiers was still greater than what Cao Cao could deploy to the south. They shouldn’t be disheartened by a misjudgment at this moment!

Zhang Chao thought for a moment and added, “Make sure Bian Wenli’s body is properly guarded. Once this is over, we’ll give him a proper burial.”

Thinking that Bian Rang had been invited back by him, Zang Hong couldn’t help but show a hint of melancholy on his face. Unfortunately, now was not the time to mourn.

Cavalry scouts were sent north ahead of time.

He and Zhang Chao each took charge—one of them organized the troops, while the other brought back the soldiers who had been startled by the fire.

Fortunately, since the casualties weren’t heavy, when they set out, their morale, though slightly diminished, was still within an acceptable range.

When this group of Chenliu defenders was fully gathered, the lack of morale became even harder to detect.

What made Zang Hong even more relieved was that he clearly hadn’t made the wrong decision, as the scouts soon reported that a group of infantry-dominated troops was heading south from the north, clearly aiming for Suanzao!

If these weren’t the rear guard of Cao Cao’s reinforcements heading towards Cao Ang, who else could they be?

If they had blindly pursued Cao Ang’s troops, they might have been ambushed from behind by this group, which wasn’t suited for frontal charges. But now that they had chosen to face the enemy head-on, this army was undoubtedly their prey!

“Full speed ahead!”

He wanted to ensure that even if they discovered their presence, they wouldn’t have a chance to turn and flee!

But when Zang Hong could finally see the enemy troops from a distance, he noticed that they showed no intention of retreating. Instead, they charged at them first.

The infantry at the forefront wore整齐的甲胄, their movements整齐划一, exuding an imposing and majestic aura.

The clinking of their armor, combined with the sunlight above, reflected a dazzling brilliance.

This was clearly not the kind of equipment Cao Cao’s Puyang defenders could muster, nor was it something he could hastily deploy as elite troops.

Zang Hong’s confident momentum came to an abrupt halt.

Because he suddenly saw the commander’s banner slowly rising amidst the enemy’s advance.

It bore the character “Guo”!

And in front of this banner, there were two strikingly prominent Da Yong royal flags!

This wasn’t Cao Cao’s reinforcements at all. It was Guo Jia and Xu Huang, stationed at Hulao Pass, who had noticed the internal conflict on their side and launched an attack.

For the past half month, their defensive stance in Luoyang had almost made people forget that when it came to offensive power, Qiao Yan’s generals would never lose to anyone.

Even if they were infantry, they were still the elite troops she had named the “Vanguard Camp”!

Oh no.

At this distance, it was too late for them to retreat or avoid the battle. They had no choice but to face the enemy head-on!

Qiao Yan leisurely placed a piece on the chessboard in front of her.

In this game of self-against-self, the interplay of black and white pieces still involved strategic thinking, serving as a way to keep her mind sharp during idle moments.

She had already set the general direction for Guo Jia in Yanzhou. Now it was up to them to perform.

However, she had expected the阶段性战报 from Yanzhou to reach her first, but instead, Cheng Yu brought her a letter during official business, delivering a piece of news to her in the imperial study.

He bowed and reported, “A letter from the east arrived in Chang’an. After paying a visit to the Minister over the Masses, it was delivered to me, hoping I would pass it on to Your Majesty.”

Qiao Yan shifted her gaze from the chessboard and looked up at Cheng Yu, showing a hint of interest.

The east—since Cheng Yu mentioned it this way, it clearly wasn’t from her subordinates in the regions east of Chang’an. It must be—

From the territories under the rule of the Ye City court.

Now that was interesting.

She had thought that these Ye City officials would either express their loyalty to the Han Dynasty to Liu Bian first, or wait and see how she handled the noble families, or perhaps wait until she truly intended to take action against the four provinces before making a move. After all, those with real insight should have abandoned Yuan Shao after his repeated failures.

Who would have thought that someone would reach out to her at this time.

“The person who delivered the message, Your Majesty should know,” Cheng Yu said, unable to suppress a smile. “He’s currently within the Sili region, not in Ye City. But he has people in Ye City, so the message shouldn’t be wrong.”

Cheng Yu chose to report this news because even if it turned out to be false, it wouldn’t cause any loss to Her Majesty’s actions. Therefore, it was better to trust the source.

Qiao Yan raised an eyebrow. “Xin Pi, Xin Zuozhi?”

Within the Sili region, the only area still nominally under Yuan Shao’s control was Henei Commandery.

The Sima family of Henei had already moved en masse to Hedong Commandery to show their sincere loyalty. Whether Wang Kuang, the Prefect of Henei, would pledge allegiance to her had already been made clear over the past few years. There was no need to hold unrealistic expectations for him. On the other hand, Xin Pi, who had been captured by her people for spying on military intelligence and even spent time in Bingzhou, was more likely to do so.

Moreover, Yuan Shao, while claiming not to doubt Xin Pi and Gao Lan’s loyalty after their capture, had transferred Xin Pi away from the northern front in Ji Province. On one hand, he said that the difficulty of breaking through Luoyang’s Mengjin couldn’t be blamed on Xin Pi, but on the other hand, he felt that the failure to take Luoyang, which should have been vulnerable, was Xin Pi’s fault. Just a few days ago, he had issued a reprimand…

It was no wonder that a subordinate would develop second thoughts under such circumstances.

Who would want to stay on the wrong side forever?

Cheng Yu nodded. “Indeed, it’s Xin Zuozhi. In his letter, he said that Yuan Benchu has secretly gone to Yanzhou.”

Yuan Shao… went to Yanzhou?

Now that was—

A pleasant surprise!