Chapter Eighty-Nine: The Battle of the Boundary Bridge (III) — Two Sides Weigh Their Strengths

Yanzhou, Eastern Commandery.

"Master, the war in Hebei has erupted."

Xi Zhong shook his head, still clutching his empty wine cup, reluctant to let go.

"Indeed, Yuan Benchu will seize the advantage before I do."

"Are you so certain Yuan Shao will be victorious?"

"Of course!" Cao Cao narrowed his slender eyes. "Though he can be a fool at times, in this world, aside from myself, there is no one who could easily defeat him."

"Hahaha! Master, such boldness! A cup in tribute to the gods and spirits!"

"Zhicai, your health is frail as it is. Drinking too much will do you harm."

"Never mind, never mind. To have good wine before me and not drink—that would be the greatest harm!"

"Drink, drink! These few jars of fine wine are all I have, and you’ll finish them all if I let you! No more for you!"

Seeing Cao Cao feigning anger, Xi Zhong quickly laughed it off, gently set his cup down, and fiddled with it no longer.

"This battle—Yuan Shao must win.

Master, you have faced the Yellow Turbans of Qingzhou before. Though a motley crowd, their numbers were overwhelming and made them a thorny foe.

But what of Gongsun Zan? Twenty thousand troops capturing and killing one hundred thousand—his soldiers are far more formidable than ours! I wonder how Yuan Rang and General Miaocai train their men..."

"I have every confidence in those two," Cao Cao glared at Xi Zhong. "Since ancient times, Yan and Zhao have produced fierce warriors; their soldiers’ quality already surpasses ours. Even the greatest general cannot win without soldiers.

Since the battle at Dongguang, Gongsun Bogui’s fame has soared. Now, reports say he not only leads his own men against Yuan Shao, but also commands bands of brigands and barbarian troops, giving him the air of the North’s foremost warlord."

"Yet you still believe Yuan Shao will win?"

"Zhicai, do not jest. Surely you know the kind of man Gongsun Zan is."

"Of course."

Xi Zhizai picked up his cup and sniffed the wine, then sighed as if pondering his words.

But Cao Cao knew he did not intend to speak them...

"Attendant! Bring me Cao Cao’s ‘last jar’ of divine wine!"

With wine in hand, Xi Zhizai was in his element, drinking happily as he spoke:

"Gongsun Zan commands mighty armies but knows nothing of governance. Perhaps due to his origins, he is supremely proud and arrogant... Master, do not slay me, I mean no offense to you."

"I know!" Cao Cao snorted impatiently. "Continue."

"His greatest blunder lies not in warfare, but in the affairs of Youzhou.

His ambitions were revealed far too soon. He acts with impunity in Youzhou—how could Liu Yu not guard against him? Such ostentation is unwise and exposes his short-sightedness."

"That is the common flaw among warriors... Drink more slowly!"

"Hehehe, if he cannot sweep aside Yuan Shao in this battle, his advance will stall in Jizhou. Given his nature as a roving conqueror beyond the frontier, I cannot imagine him enduring a prolonged war of attrition.

In a few months at the least, two years at most, he will turn his blade against Liu Yu.

Once Liu Yu falls, his reputation will swiftly turn infamous."

"Indeed. Liu Yu is highly esteemed in Youzhou. If Gongsun Zan fails to defeat Yuan Shao in Jizhou and then slays Liu Yu in Youzhou, it will be his own undoing."

"So, it falls to you, Master, to decide whom you wish as the great foe in Hebei.

If you do not fear Gongsun Zan, then join with Tao Qian, Zhang Miao, and others to strike at Yuan Shao’s back. Yuan Shao would certainly lose, but Gongsun Zan’s unification of Hebei would only quicken.

If you do not fear Yuan Shao, let the two exhaust each other. Even if Gongsun Zan blunders, his troops are fierce. Yuan Shao will not subdue him within seven or eight years. In the meantime, we should seize the opportunity to grow stronger."

"Your words are sound, Zhicai. Which do you consider the best course?"

Xi Zhong furrowed his brow in thought, but soon poured out all the wine between himself and Cao Cao, then fell silent.

Cao Cao paid him no heed, speaking as if to himself: "Benchu is no fool—he draws followers to himself, far more than Gongsun Zan ever could.

But since childhood, has he ever once taken advantage of Cao Cao?"

Quickly, under Xi Zhong’s watchful eye, Cao Cao drained his cup and continued, "Though we have no formal alliance, there is an unspoken understanding. He takes Hebei, I take the Central Plains; before we are both strong, we do not attack each other. The strongest rivals must face one another at their peak!"

"Master, right now you are the weakest! Which great man isn’t filled with ambition and ceaseless labor? Yet here you are, squabbling with me over wine. Hardly the mark of an enlightened lord!"

"Enough nonsense!" Cao Cao grabbed Xi Zhizai by the arm.

"Come to the command tent—we must discuss how to destroy these Yellow Turban rebels!"

...

"Xia’er, do you think our lord will win this battle?"

"Father, you are a great general under our lord. How could you ask such a question?"

The youth, clad in iron armor, with rosy lips and bright eyes, handsome and refined—who else but Chunyu Xia?

"Ah, but the problem is I do not trust that fellow. If I, Chunyu Qiong, were leading the expedition, and with you advising at my side, I would fear neither the White Horse Volunteers nor the Flying Bear Army.

But look—our lord won’t take any of his cavalry; instead he insists on leading that so-called Vanguard Battalion—barely eighteen hundred men!"

"And Gongsun Zan? Over thirty thousand!

Does he think himself Sun Wu, or does he deem Gongsun Zan’s men a rabble? Absurd!"

"Father," Chunyu Xia smiled, well knowing his father’s temperament.

"Aren’t you just distressed about your eight hundred axemen?"

"Nonsense!" Chunyu Qiong protested, still stubborn. "I worry for the thousand crossbowmen—our lord’s finest marksmen. Today, they’ll be wasted by that fool."

"In my view, General Qu will surely win this battle."

"Oh? Why?"

"Because no matter how mighty the White Horse Volunteers are, they are not invulnerable. Gongsun Zan is always arrogant—he will pit cavalry against infantry, numbers against the few, and will be wholly unprepared.

When he chooses to charge the crossbowmen, he will have already sown the seeds of his own destruction.

The terror of a thousand crossbows released in unison, combined with an assault from axemen, will throw Gongsun Zan’s cavalry into chaos—the outcome will be decided."

"How could that be?" Chunyu Qiong scoffed. "If crossbowmen were so mighty, what need would we have for cavalry?"

There were others who did not believe it, either.

"White Horse Volunteers!"

Gongsun Zan called out in a thunderous voice.

"White! Horse! Volunteers!"

Tens of thousands of soldiers shouted in unison, their cry shaking the heavens!

"Where righteousness leads, we live and die as one! Heaven bears witness, the White Horse is our pledge!"

These were the White Horse Volunteers, famed as one of the strongest light cavalry forces of the Three Kingdoms era. Gongsun Zan believed that even compared to Dong the Traitor’s Flying Bear Army of Liang, they were their equal.

No tactics, no arrangements—he did not even care who commanded the enemy.

Gongsun Zan simply gave the order to advance. In his mind, one charge would settle the battle.

The battle-hardened White Horse Volunteers knew well how to fight; their commander, Yan Gang, was Gongsun Zan’s trusted general, well versed in routing enemy troops until their lines shattered.

A thousand steeds thundered forward, raising a cloud of dust that blotted out the sky.

Such was their might that heaven and earth seemed to tremble. The Yuan army opposite appeared cowed, not daring even to raise their heads!

Nearly two thousand Yuan soldiers crouched behind their shields, unmoving, as if frozen in terror.

The steeds galloped ever closer, the White Horse Volunteers’ faces betraying no sign of anxiety.

Yan Gang wore a mocking smile—after all, he had slain countless elite barbarian cavalry on the frontier. Why fear these foot soldiers?

Meanwhile, behind the Yuan lines—

"Two hundred paces."

"One hundred paces."

"Fifty paces."

The general smiled. "After today, my name—Qu Yi—will be known throughout the realm!"

At last, "Thirty paces."

"Vanguard Battalion! Await my command!"

A thunderous blast—the signal cannon roared.

"Kill! Kill! Kill!"