Chapter 114: The Fourth Year of Jian'an, Eve of the Battle of Guandu

With Lu Bu beheaded and the Administrator of Lu, Zhang Liao, surrendering, the Taishan bandits—Zang Ba, Wu Dun, Yin Li, and Sun Guan—who had previously followed Lu Bu's orders from afar, also surrendered and defected to Cao Cao.

Others, such as Chen Gong and Gao Shun, were executed by Cao Cao, who felt deep regret that they would not submit. With this, Xuzhou was pacified.

In the early spring of the fourth year of Jian'an (199 AD), Cao Cao returned to the capital in triumph. In the subsequent distribution of honors, Liu Bei was appointed General of the Left, and rewards were bestowed upon Xiahou Dun, Yu Jin, Xu Huang, Xu Chu, and others. Having secured Xuzhou, Cao Cao’s power surged; in the entire Henan region, only Yuan Shu remained.

Yuan Shu’s situation, however, was dire. His repeated attempts to seize Xuzhou had been thwarted by Liu Bei and Lu Bu, and his several losses against Cao Cao had severely diminished his military strength. Compounded by years of drought and famine in Huainan, his cause was effectively lost.

From the beginning of 197 AD, when he had first ascended as Emperor, he had peaked immediately, only to begin a roller-coaster descent that slid all the way to the bottom. First came the alternating cycles of drought and famine, followed by the successive defection of his generals—Sun Ce first, then Chen Lan, Lei Bo, Liu Xun, and others—causing his regime to disintegrate.

By the second month of 199 AD, Yuan Shu had all but destroyed himself; he had few soldiers left, and the hearts of his people had long since drifted away. Unable to remain in Shouchun, he attempted to defect to the rebel generals Chen Lan and Lei Bo, but was rejected. Ultimately, he was forced to swallow his pride, relinquish his imperial title, and seek refuge with the elder brother he had despised since childhood, Yuan Shao.

At that time, Yuan Shao had already pacified Gongsun Zan and held the four provinces of You, Bing, Qing, and Ji. His domain contained nearly ten million people, with an army of over two or three hundred thousand well-equipped soldiers, abundant grain, a cloud of strategists, and a rain of fierce generals. He was the most powerful warlord in the land. Seeing his younger brother humble himself, Yuan Shao did not harden his heart and agreed to his request for asylum.

However, in the sixth month, Cao Cao dispatched Liu Bei and Zhu Ling to intercept Yuan Shu at Xiapi. Yuan Shu failed to break through and soon succumbed to illness.

Meanwhile, in Xuchang, Cao Cao’s power grew ever greater as he occupied the entire Henan region, including Xuzhou. He became increasingly arrogant toward the Emperor, gradually replacing the palace guards with his own men and showing less and less respect to the Son of Heaven. These circumstances fueled the growing resentment of Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, who issued a secret decree sewn into a sash in the middle of the year, entrusting it to his uncle, Dong Cheng, with orders to find allies to overthrow Cao Cao.

Dong Cheng recruited Liu Bei, Wang Fu, Zhong Ji, and others, plotting to deal with Cao Cao in secret. At that time, Cao Cao had not yet sent Liu Bei and Zhu Ling to intercept Yuan Shu. Upon receiving the secret decree, Liu Bei realized that Cao Cao was not a loyal minister of the Great Han, but a traitor who bullied the Emperor. He wanted to break with him immediately, but constrained by Cao Cao’s overwhelming power, he was forced to hide his intentions and wait for an opportunity to strike. During that time, he spent his days gardening to convince everyone he was a man without ambition.

At the end of the fifth month, Cao Cao suddenly summoned Liu Bei to the garden to drink wine. This was the famous "Discussing Heroes While Warming Wine with Green Plums." Aside from the figures mentioned in history, Liu Bei secretly wanted to ask, "Shen Chen of Xuzhou, who killed your cousin Cao Ren and the great general Le Jin, and defeated you soundly—is he not a hero?" But he dared not speak it.

After this event, seeing that Liu Bei was startled by a clap of thunder, Cao Cao’s suspicions were dispelled. In the sixth month, hearing that Yuan Shu intended to head north to join Yuan Shao, he sent Liu Bei and Zhu Ling to intercept him.

Shortly thereafter, Sui Gu, who controlled Henei, intended to defect to Yuan Shao and offer him the commandery. Cao Cao destroyed Sui Gu beforehand, causing the conflict between Yuan and Cao to erupt fully. Yuan Shao began actively preparing his troops for a southward campaign to engage Cao Cao in a decisive battle. Learning of this, Liu Bei seized Xuzhou in the twelfth month, killing the Inspector of Xuzhou, Che Zhou, and taking command of the troops to coordinate with Yuan Shao.

To eliminate the threat at his rear, Cao Cao led his army to attack Liu Bei. When Tian Feng heard that Cao Cao was marching east against Liu Bei, he urged Yuan Shao to seize the opportunity to attack Xuchang. Yuan Shao refused, and enraged, Tian Feng railed against him, leading to his alienation from the warlord. Without Yuan Shao's support, Liu Bei was quickly defeated by Cao Cao. Guan Yu was captured, while Liu Bei, Zhang Fei, and Taishi Ci were forced to flee north.

Upon arriving in Ye City, they unexpectedly encountered Zhao Yun, who had finished attending to the funeral rites of his elder brother and had come to join them. Liu Bei was overjoyed and ordered Zhao Yun to secretly recruit soldiers, claiming they were the personal troops of the General of the Left.

At the same time, Yuan Shao sent his great generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou as the vanguard to attack Yanzhou. In the Battle of Baima, to repay Cao Cao’s kindness, Guan Yu charged ahead, cut through a million-strong army, and decapitated Yan Liang with a single stroke. Wen Chou advanced to Yanjin with Liu Bei, but was defeated by the "bait" strategy of Cao Cao’s strategist, Xun You, during the Battle of Yanjin, falling in the chaos.

Enraged, Yuan Shao led his main force of over one hundred thousand troops south to punish Cao Cao. After retreating from the Battle of Yanjin, Liu Bei learned that Guan Yu had killed Yan Liang. Fearing Yuan Shao’s wrath, he requested permission to head south to unite with Liu Biao to jointly attack Cao Cao.

Yuan Shao granted his request, and with Shen Chen not interfering, history continued to follow its original trajectory. But it was not entirely unchanged.

Take the military strength, for example. At that time, Yuan Shao’s total force was nearly three hundred thousand, but he required troops in the north to guard against southern-moving ethnic minorities, so he brought only half his forces—about 120,000 to 130,000 men. Cao Cao, having conquered Lu Bu and Yuan Shu and occupied all of Henan, had expanded his forces to 100,000. However, he had to guard against Zhang Xiu, Liu Biao, and Sun Ce, so he brought only 50,000 troops north.

Yes. Unlike the 30,000 to 40,000 men in historical records, this time Cao Cao brought 50,000. Historically, although Cao Cao had 100,000 troops, he was surrounded by enemies on all sides and forced to use more than half his strength to defend against Liu Biao, Sun Ce, and others. With Cao Hong at Wancheng, Man Chong and Li Tong in Yuzhou, Zang Ba in Qingzhou, Le Jin and Li Dian defending Xuchang, and Xiahou Yuan and Xun Yu managing logistics in the rear, his forces were spread dangerously thin, leaving him with insufficient strength on the front line—nearly leading to his defeat by Yuan Shao.

But today, history had shifted slightly because of Shen Chen. Years earlier, when a great drought struck Guanzhong, countless refugees poured into Nanyang through the Wu Pass. This led to a series of problems in Jingzhou. Seeking a solution, Liu Biao followed Shen Chen’s proposal to settle these people in Nanyang for military farming. After several years, Liu Biao had obtained vast stores of grain and his power had surged. While providing grain to Cao Cao, he had also greatly expanded his own forces to 100,000 men.

In 199 AD, on the eve of the Battle of Guandu, Liu Biao made the first move, sending Huang Zu down the Yangtze from Jiangxia to attack Jiangdong and occupy Yuzhang Commandery. At that time, Sun Ce was attacking Liu Xun, the remnants of Yuan Shu’s forces. Huang Zu sent his son, Huang She, to reinforce them, but they were defeated by Sun Ce. After occupying Wancheng, Sun Ce immediately turned back to engage Huang Zu in the Pengli Lake region.

However, Sun Ce suffered a setback. Liu Biao had reinforced Huang Zu, who had been organizing his navy in Jiangxia and possessed countless warships and skilled sailors, making him a master of naval warfare. Historically, in 199 AD, Sun Ce had been fully prepared when he attacked Shaxian, crushing Huang Zu and capturing seven of his wives, concubines, and children. But this time, Sun Ce had not been fully prepared and had attacked in haste, resulting in a shortage of ships and an inability to secure a quick victory.

More importantly, Liu Biao’s power had grown, and Huang Zu’s forces had more than doubled. Since they were fighting in naval warfare, which was Huang Zu’s specialty, and he had taken the initiative, Sun Ce was unable to defeat him.

However, the Administrator of Changsha, Zhang Xian, provided Sun Ce with a timely assist by launching a massive rebellion in Jingnan. Terrified, Liu Biao immediately ordered Huang Zu to withdraw. At the time, Liu Biao’s forces were commanded by Cai Mao, Zhang Yun, and Huang Zu. Historically, these three, along with Wen Ping and Liu Pan, controlled only 60,000 to 70,000 men, which was insufficient to look north toward Cao Cao while defending against Zhang Xian and Sun Ce.

But now, with his strength greatly increased, Liu Biao sent Cai Mao and Zhang Yun south to pacify Jingnan. To avoid a two-front war, he ordered Huang Zu to withdraw and hold Shaxian, guarding against Sun Ce using the Han River to strike Xiangyang while his base was empty. Liu Biao’s strategy was sound; as the saying goes, "to repel external enemies, one must first pacify the interior." Zhang Xian was the greatest threat; he would defend against the external foe, stabilize the interior, and then deal with Sun Ce.

But Sun Ce was simply too fierce. Once Huang Zu retreated, Sun Ce pursued relentlessly all the way to Shaxian, inflicting heavy casualties and shattering Huang Zu’s ranks. Though not as catastrophic as in history, the result was similar, and the 20,000-plus troops Liu Biao had reinforced him with were nearly wiped out.

Thus, despite Liu Biao’s inflated ambitions, the problem of Zhang Xian forced him to prioritize internal pacification before he could bolster his strength further to engage Jiangdong.

As the world was in turmoil and war loomed over the Guandong, Jingzhou, and Jiangdong regions, what was Shen Chen doing?

In November of 199 AD, he requested permission from Liu Biao to march north and attack Cao Cao, but was refused. This was within Shen Chen’s expectations. He had not anticipated that Liu Biao’s ambitions would expand so rapidly, to the point of eyeing Jiangdong with greed. After learning of these developments, he had had Deng Hong request permission to attack Cao Cao. With Liu Biao’s mind set on Jiangdong and Jingnan, he naturally would not agree.

However, as the saying goes, "If you tell them the room is too dark and must have a window, they will refuse. But if you propose tearing off the roof, they will compromise and agree to open the window." Since Liu Biao had refused his request for a major campaign against Cao Cao due to the need to deal with Sun Ce and Zhang Xian, when Shen Chen instead requested to lead only the men of the Huangmen Pavilion and Gan Ning’s troops, Liu Biao naturally consented.

Therefore, in December of 199 AD, while Cao Cao was preparing to face Yuan Shao at Guandu, Shen Chen received Liu Biao’s permission to lead his own men north to resist Cao Cao.

When the countless aristocratic families and renowned scholars of Jingzhou heard the news, they were stirred into action. Famous figures like Wang Jun, Ying Rong, Wei Xi, Li Yan, and He Qia had been waiting for Shen Chen to show a flaw, only to watch his prestige and fame grow ever greater. Now, hearing that he intended to march north to drag down Cao Cao’s efforts to pacify the north, they could no longer sit still. One after another, they rushed to Xiangyang to dissuade him.

A new debate was about to begin!

"Brother Shen!"
"Hmm!"

Shen Changqing walked along the road. Whenever he met an acquaintance, they would greet each other with a nod. Regardless of who it was, no one wore any expression; everyone seemed indifferent to everything. Shen Changqing had grown accustomed to this. Because this was the Demon Suppression Division, an institution established to maintain the stability of the Great Qin, its primary duty was to slay demons and monsters, though it had other sidelines as well.

It could be said that everyone in the Demon Suppression Division had blood on their hands. When one has seen enough life and death, one becomes indifferent to many things. When he first arrived in this world, Shen Changqing was not used to it, but as time passed, he became accustomed to it.

The Demon Suppression Division was vast. Those who stayed there were powerful experts or those with the potential to become such. Shen Changqing belonged to the latter. The Division was divided into two roles: the Suppressor and the Demon Slayer. Anyone who entered the Division began as a low-level Demon Slayer and climbed the ranks, eventually hoping to become a Suppressor. Shen Changqing’s predecessor had been a probationary Demon Slayer, the lowest rank of all.

Possessing his predecessor's memories, he was very familiar with the environment of the Demon Suppression Division. Before long, Shen Changqing stopped in front of a pavilion. Unlike the other parts of the Division, which were filled with a murderous aura, this pavilion stood out like a crane among chickens, presenting a rare serenity in the blood-soaked Division.

The pavilion doors were open, and people occasionally entered and exited. Shen Changqing hesitated for only a moment before stepping inside. As he entered, the atmosphere shifted instantly. A scent of ink mixed with a faint smell of blood rushed toward him, causing him to instinctively frown, though he soon relaxed. The scent of blood on everyone in the Demon Suppression Division was almost impossible to wash away.