Chapter 125: Speak of Shen Chen, and Shen Chen Appears

Under the threat of coercion and the promise of reward, Zhu Zhong defected.

He was a native of Runan. Among the captives were several of his fellow townsmen. Through separate interrogations, the location of his home was extracted. Once they reached the foot of Kunyang City, he was told that a blade was poised at his back; if he did not comply, he would be killed on the spot, and men would be sent to his home to grind his family’s bones to dust.

Although Shen Chen would never truly stoop to the levels of Cao Cao—engaging in such despicable acts that would leave one’s lineage cursed—the problem was that Zhu Zhong had followed Cao Cao for quite some time. He knew all too well the vile deeds Cao Cao had committed. Such acts of vengeance against families were well within Cao Cao’s nature; had he not exterminated the three clans of Dong Cheng just this year?

Therefore, Zhu Zhong reasoned that since Cao Cao was capable of such things, others certainly were as well. Driven by fear, he had no choice but to follow Shen Chen’s demands.

Consequently, the moment that "Cao army" entered the city, the situation underwent a drastic shift.

"Kill!"

They suddenly turned their backs on their comrades, attacking the surrounding Cao troops and seizing the city gates.

At the same time, at the far end of the road outside the city, hidden from view, a massive force of Shen Chen’s army charged toward Kunyang.

The mournful sound of war horns echoed throughout the sky.

Cao Hong and Liu Dai were stunned. They had never imagined that this unit was actually a disguised force of Shen Chen’s army.

In truth, Cao Hong had been extremely cautious. He recognized Zhu Zhong and had observed the state of the arriving "Cao troops." They appeared exhausted, drenched in sweat, and seemingly weary from a long journey; the information they provided matched what he already knew. From the beginning, he had not doubted their true identity and had lowered his guard to let them enter the city.

Yet, he had failed to anticipate that they were enemies. After all, Cao Hong could never have imagined that Xiahou Yuan had already been defeated and that Zhu Zhong had been captured.

It was too late to close the gates now.

At this moment, the sounds of battle roared from both the north and south gates. When the Cao army had originally deployed, their main force was stationed in Ye County. Ye County held five thousand men as the backbone, while Kunyang and Wuyang combined had only three or four thousand as reserves; thus, their forces were thin. With the addition of Cao Hong’s routed soldiers and the original garrison of over a thousand, there were at most three to four thousand men inside the city. They had to defend four gates while also rotating shifts for rest, leaving only a few hundred soldiers at each gate.

Even with Cao Hong and Liu Dai personally leading the charge, the two sides were locked in fierce combat solely around the gates. It was already too late to mobilize more men from within the city.

The battle lasted less than half an hour. After paying the price of hundreds of lives, Cao Hong could no longer hold his ground, as Shen Chen’s main force had arrived within twenty minutes, with waves of enemy soldiers flooding into the city. Furthermore, Gan Ning had received word from Shen Chen and promptly dispatched troops to coordinate. The entire north gate of Kunyang fell, and the south gate came under heavy assault. The morale of the defenders collapsed instantly.

Although this was the site of the ancient Battle of Kunyang, Cao Hong did not possess the destiny of a Son of Heaven like Liu Xiu; there would be no meteor to save him.

About half an hour later, Cao Hong fought as he retreated, leading the remnants of his forces to the east gate. After barely breaking through, he fled toward Wuyang in the east.

Shen Chen and Gan Ning united their forces. Leaving five hundred men to guard Kunyang and the prisoners inside, the rest pursued them relentlessly.

Wuyang itself had a garrison of two thousand, but Cao Hong had never expected such a large force to be waiting outside the city. Caught in a pincer attack, he could not manage to escape into Wuyang and suffered a crushing defeat, fleeing northward.

To cover Cao Hong’s retreat, the Kunyang garrison commander Liu Dai fought to the death and was cut down by Gan Ning. In an instant, the Cao forces guarding the gateway to Nanyang were almost entirely wiped out by Shen Chen, with the exception of Wang Zhong, who could only watch helplessly from the walls of Wuyang, not daring to sally forth.

There were few troops within Wuyang—barely one or two thousand. Once the battlefield was cleared, it was only a matter of time before Shen Chen launched an all-out assault to take the city and capture Wang Zhong.

The only thing Shen Chen regretted was failing to kill or capture Cao Hong. However, this was to be expected. Cao Hong possessed the martial prowess of a weak first-rate warrior, ranking among the top five even in Eastern Wu. For a general of that caliber, breaking through the encirclement under the protection of his personal guards was simple, especially with Liu Dai covering his rear. Thus, while he hadn't killed or captured Cao Hong, achieving his strategic goals was sufficient.

"Uncle Xingba, how did it go?"

On a small hill outside Wuyang, Shen Chen sat on his horse. Seeing Gan Ning gallop back empty-handed, he knew the pursuit of Cao Hong had been in vain.

Gan Ning sighed regretfully, "It is a pity. We were almost upon him, but that Liu Dai fought to the death and delayed us. Fearing you might need me to assault the city, I did not continue the chase."

Shen Chen replied, "It is no matter. Even if we cannot send Cao Hong’s head to the north, the heads of Liu Dai and Wang Zhong will suffice."

He turned and gazed at the small city not far away. If Ye County was a city located in the gorge at the entrance to Nanyang, then Kunyang and Wuyang were the two gates on the upper and lower sides of the Nanyang exit. Kunyang was in the north, leaning against Mount Diaoya, near the modern-day Xia Li Township, southwest of Ye County in Henan Province. Wuyang was located near the modern-day Xindian Town of Ye County. The two were about twenty kilometers apart, perfectly blocking the Nanyang exit from left and right.

In a sense, the historical Battle of Kunyang was a defense of Nanyang.

The difference from Shen Chen’s current situation was that he occupied Kunyang and its surrounding areas, allowing him to march north into Yingchuan at any time, while Cao Cao could not afford to concern himself with him. Wang Mang, however, had realized the Green Forest Army was a greater threat and sent a massive army south, only to be intercepted at Kunyang.

Therefore, the strategic importance of Kunyang, Wuyang, and Ye County was self-evident. Whoever seized these three county seats essentially controlled the vital transportation routes from Nanyang down into Jingzhou.

For now, Shen Chen ordered his army to surround Wuyang, rest for a day, and launch a formal attack the next day.

...

While Shen Chen was dominating the area around Xiangcheng and Kunyang, the news of Xiahou Yuan’s ambush reached Xudu.

Only then did Xun Yu understand that Shen Chen’s true target was never Xudu. If his goal had been Xudu, he would not have let Xiahou Yuan go; would it not have been better to annihilate him completely and head straight for the city? He realized that Kunyang, Ye County, and Wuyang had likely fallen. He had no choice but to contact Man Chong and Li Tong while immediately sending men north to inform Cao Cao.

Two days later, Shen Chen breached Wuyang and killed Wang Zhong. Having secured the three gateways to Nanyang, he used them as a base to advance on Xiangcheng, threatening Xudu.

Meanwhile, Cao Cao, who was still in the area of Yanjin and Baima having just finished beheading Yan Liang and slaying Wen Chou, was now withdrawing toward Guandu.

Cao Cao knew clearly that these were merely the vanguard of Yuan Shao’s forces. The scale of the army Yuan Shao had mobilized for this campaign was unprecedented. Such a vast force required immense coordination—grain, supplies, personnel deployment, weaponry, and siege equipment—all of which could take years to prepare. Since last year, Yuan Shao had been making secret preparations. Lacking a suitable pretext, he had only issued a denunciation of Cao Cao, which lacked sufficient persuasive power; thus, it had been merely an undercurrent. It was not until the "Girdle Edict" incident this year that Yuan Shao finally found his opportunity and immediately invaded Yanzhou. Although Cao Cao had managed a difficult defense, slaying Yan Liang and Wen Chou while fighting and retreating, he was ultimately forced into a passive defensive posture.

Therefore, his top priority was to stabilize the Guandu defensive line. Beyond the thirty thousand men at the front, he had to deploy forces along the rear in counties such as Kaifeng, Chenliu, and Yushi.

Guandu was located in modern-day Zhongmu County, directly north of Xudu. The primary reason for choosing this location was its geography. With several rivers—the Honggou, Yinggou, Langdang, and Bian—converging there, the silt-heavy terrain around the Guandu River was unsuitable for cavalry or large-scale legion maneuvers, making it the best choice for a decisive battle. More importantly, there were several cities and rivers protecting the area to the south of Guandu. While it appeared to be a flat plain, it was filled with obstacles. Even if Yuan Shao were to divide his forces to march south, a small force would be ineffective, while a large one would suffer from the inability to replenish grain and supplies along the way, risking having their supply lines cut by the Cao army at Guandu. Thus, they could not bypass it.

Upon returning to Guandu, Cao Cao immediately inspected the camps and defensive facilities. The south bank of the Guandu River looked like a massive construction site, with tents stretching for miles, countless trenches, watchtowers, and earth mounds forming an endless chain of encampments.

On an earth mound west of the south bank of the Guandu River, Cao Cao was accompanied by Xu Chu, Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, Guan Yu, Cheng Yu, Guo Jia, Xun You, Mao Jie, and Dong Zhao. They toured the camps, offering suggestions and revisions to make the defenses impregnable.

Surveying the construction site, Cao Cao pointed to a corner of a camp nearby and said to Xu Chu, "Send men to build another arrow tower there."

"Understood." Xu Chu obeyed and left.

Guo Jia remarked, "With your camp built so securely, it is likely that even if Yuan Shao marches south, he will only break his head against the walls of Guandu."

Cao Cao nodded, then added, "I no longer worry about Yuan Shao. My only concern is the rear. Xudu is too empty right now. If Liu Biao and Sun Ce march north, I fear..."

Guo Jia smiled, "My lord need not worry. Liu Biao is still pacifying southern Jingzhou, and Sun Ce, in my view, will surely die at the hands of a commoner."

"Oh?" Cao Cao asked in surprise, "How so?"

Guo Jia explained, "Sun Ce has newly annexed Jiangdong, and those he has executed were all heroes and men of great talent who could command the absolute loyalty of their followers. However, Sun Ce is rash and lacks precaution. Even with a million men, it is no different from walking alone in the Central Plains. Should an assassin lie in wait, it would take but a single enemy."

"Is that so?" Cao Cao stroked his beard, skeptical of Guo Jia’s words, and nodded noncommittally. "I hope you are right."

Guo Jia added, "However, my lord should still be wary of one other person."

"Who?"

"Shen Chen."

"Him?" Cao Cao laughed. "That fellow only won last time by taking advantage of my lack of preparation for Zhang Xiu. If we face each other in a head-on battle, can Zilian [Cao Hong] not defeat a mere child?"

Guo Jia said, "Zhang Xiu’s strategist, Jia Xu, has submitted a memorial to the imperial court saying he has persuaded Zhang Xiu not to send troops. But I fear Shen Chen may interfere. If Zhang Xiu reneges on his word and joins forces with him, I fear the forces under General Liefeng [Cao Hong] may be insufficient."

"Hmm..." Cao Cao thought for a moment and nodded. "I shall send Cai Yang to support Cao Hong as a precaution."

"That would be best," Guo Jia replied.

At that moment, a messenger cavalryman suddenly rode up the earth mound, calling out anxiously, "Report!"

"What is it?" Cao Cao turned, and the messenger approached.

"Shen Chen of Nanyang has led ten thousand troops north, feigning an attack on Xudu. Magistrate Xun fears that Ye County, Kunyang, and other places have already fallen!" the messenger stated.

"What?" Cao Cao’s expression shifted in shock.

Speak of the devil!