Chapter 126: Arrival at Xudu, Awe Strikes Yingchuan

Dantu County, Wu Commandery, Jiangdong.

At the end of last year, Sun Ce fought a major war against Liu Biao over the control of Yuzhang. Due to the incident involving Zhang Xian, Liu Biao was forced to withdraw his troops, allowing Sun Ce to occupy Yuzhang. However, Sun Ce’s own losses were not insignificant. Although he had thoroughly defeated Huang Zu during the pursuit, Liu Biao had a nephew named Liu Pan, who had a subordinate general named Huang Zhong. Together, they guarded You County. Liu Pan launched an attack from You County into Yuzhang to coordinate with Huang Zu’s movements.

A "nephew" in this context refers to the son of a cousin, a slightly more distant relative, and generally, they were not highly favored by Liu Biao. However, this young man was remarkably fierce and took advantage of Sun Ce’s pursuit of Huang Zu to strike his rear. Consequently, Sun Ce had to pull back his troops to repel Liu Pan and Huang Zhong. He then stationed Zhu Zhi in Haihun and Jianchang counties, finally bringing Yuzhang Commandery under his control.

By this time, Sun Ce’s territory comprised the four commanderies of Jiangdong: Danyang, Wu, Yuzhang, and Kuaiji in Yang Province. His sphere of influence covered parts of modern-day Jiangsu and Anhui, as well as the entirety of Zhejiang, Jiangxi, and Fujian provinces. In reality, because the regions south of Zhejiang—specifically Fujian and Jiangxi—were mountainous, they were largely the domain of the indigenous Shanyue tribes. The areas Sun Ce actually occupied were merely the downstream plains on the south bank of the Yangtze River—the famous "Jiang-Zhe-Hu" region—and he did not even hold the Jiujiang and Lujiang commanderies of Huainan.

Thus, his strength was not yet overwhelming. He had roughly thirty to forty thousand troops, and his administrative seat was in Dantu County of Wu Commandery—the present-day city of Zhenjiang. Located at the mouth of the Yangtze River, he could use this position to keep an eye on Guangling in Xuzhou to the north.

At that moment, Sun Ce was resting in his official residence. Holding a document, he sat on a mat and smiled at Zhou Yu, who was by his side. "Shen Chen, said to be a renowned scholar from Jing Province, has invited me to hunt with him in Xu City."

Zhou Yu laughed. "I have heard of this man; he is currently the most famous Confucian scholar among the literati of Jing Province. I hear he proposes the concept of 'Unity of Knowledge and Action.' It’s a very interesting idea, and I think it is excellent. He is already practicing this 'Unity of Knowledge and Action'—since Cao Cao killed his family, he has headed north to seek revenge."

Sun Ce asked, "Gongjin, what is your take on this?"

Zhou Yu pondered. "Cao Cao is currently dealing with Yuan Shao in the north. I know exactly what Shen Chen is thinking: he simply wants Bofu (Sun Ce) to lead an army out to distract the Cao forces in the south. He is much closer to Xu City from Nanyang than we are. Yuan Shao has not yet moved south, and if we send our troops, Cao Cao might personally lead a campaign to crush us first."

Sun Ce nodded. "Cao Cao 'holds the Emperor to command the nobles' and has grown to this extent in just a few short years. If I could capture Xu City and bring the Emperor to Jiangdong, I would hold the banner of righteousness. Everywhere my troops went, people would welcome us with open arms, and my father’s great cause would be achieved. Unfortunately, the time is not yet right."

"Indeed. Only after Cao Cao and Yuan Shao have engaged in their great war will the opportunity for us to act arise. Shen Chen’s invitation for us to move north is merely to have us help share the pressure so he can attack Xu City. We cannot agree to such a thing." Zhou Yu smiled.

Historically, Sun Ce had intended to take advantage of the war between Cao Cao and Yuan Shao to attack Xu City and bring Emperor Xian to his side. The *Records of the Three Kingdoms: Biography of Sun Ce* notes: "In the fifth year of Jian'an, when Cao Gong and Yuan Shao confronted each other at Guandu, Ce secretly intended to raid Xu and welcome the Han Emperor. He secretly drilled his troops and deployed his generals. Before he could set out, he was killed by the retainers of the former Administrator of Wu, Xu Gong."

Thus, Sun Ce’s strategy was identical to Cao Cao’s. He saw the benefits of "holding the Emperor to command the nobles" and wanted to seize the chance to whisk Liu Xie away to Jiangdong, thereby usurping the legitimacy of the Han Dynasty. But why didn't he set out sooner? Because the time was not right.

In February, the Siege of Baima broke out. Cao Cao set out in March to break the siege, then retreated to Guandu. Yuan Shao, meanwhile, did not sluggishly begin his southern march until August to face Cao Cao at Guandu. Although Sun Ce did not know Yuan Shao would wait until August, as long as Yuan Shao remained in the north, Cao Cao would have enough time to deal with Sun Ce if he marched north. Historically, this window lasted for half a year; with Sun Ce’s strength, he likely could not have lasted even one or two months, let alone six. It is not that Sun Ce was a poor commander, but the distance from Jiangdong to Xu City was too great, and his supply lines would be dangerously long. Cao Cao would not even need to attack him directly; he would only need to fortify the northwest region of Runan, and Sun Ce would be forced to retreat due to a lack of supplies.

Therefore, Sun Ce had to wait until Yuan Shao had moved south to ensure a single, decisive strike—a long-distance raid on Xu City without Cao’s forces to intercept him. Since Shen Chen was now inviting him to attack Cao Cao’s rear without confirmation that the Cao-Yuan war had begun, Sun Ce naturally would not go.

"Then we shall ignore him." Hearing Zhou Yu’s words, Sun Ce tossed the letter onto the table. "They say this Shen Chen is only fourteen or fifteen years old—a mere child—and yet he dares to order me to act for him?"

Zhou Yu, however, mused, "That is not necessarily true. I believe we should still offer him a small favor."

"Oh?" Sun Ce asked, puzzled. "What do you mean, Bofu?"

Zhou Yu explained, "Shen Chen says in his letter that he is currently attacking Cao Hong in Ye County. Zhang Xiu has a deep-seated hatred for Cao Cao. If Zhang Xiu joins the fray, Cao Hong likely cannot hold out. If that draws Cao Cao south to reinforce the area, and Zhang Xiu and Shen Chen are wiped out by Cao Cao, Cao’s rear guard will then be free to turn their attention to us."

"I see." Sun Ce frowned. Zhou Yu’s reasoning was sound. Cao Cao’s current deployment in the south was quite thin. Cao Hong was in Ye County, while Man Chong and Li Tong were in Runan; their forces were not large. His main strength was deployed in Guandu, Sili, Yan Province, and Qing Province, which accounted for the bulk of his army. If Cao Cao moved south to reinforce the defense and eliminated Zhang Xiu and Shen Chen, he would no longer need to worry about Nanyang. Instead, he would consolidate his forces with Man Chong and Li Tong to defend against Sun Ce. At that point, attacking Xu City would be even more difficult.

Contemplating this, Sun Ce muttered, "So, I should send a small force north to support Shen Chen?"

Zhou Yu shook his head and smiled mysteriously. "There is no need for that."

"Then..." Sun Ce was confused. If you say we should help Shen Chen, but we aren't sending troops, do you intend to provide everything except actual help?

Zhou Yu said, "Bofu, you can secretly drill your troops and deploy your generals. Send more scouts north from Jiujiang and other areas, and at the same time, publicly announce that you are heading north to attack Guangling. Just make sure the Cao forces in Runan hear about it."

Sun Ce thought it over carefully and probed, "Are you trying to make Cao Cao suspicious?"

"Exactly." Zhou Yu nodded. "The art of war lies in the use of the false and the real. If we are too blatant, Cao Cao will certainly guard against us. If we are too secretive, he will be even more suspicious. As long as we keep our movements hidden, he will always be wary of Jiangdong. But since Shen Chen is already attacking, he will be more concerned with Shen Chen than with us. Once Yuan Shao arrives, that will be the moment for us to mobilize."

"Understood." Sun Ce felt this made perfect sense and nodded. "Very well, let us do that."

Immediately, Sun Ce followed Zhou Yu’s advice, beginning to secretly mobilize his troops while publicly announcing his intent to march north to attack Guangling. At that time, the Administrator of Guangling was Chen Deng. Historically, Sun Ce did indeed attack Chen Deng at Kuangqi City in Guangling, but he did not go himself, sending his subordinate Zhou Zhang instead. Doing so now was clearly a case of "openly repairing the plank road while secretly marching to Chencang."

Soon, Man Chong in Runan heard the news and immediately sent word north to Xun Yu in Xu City. Xun Yu had previously ordered Man Chong and Li Tong to reinforce Ye County, but Runan was in chaos at the time. Yuan Shao, planning his southern campaign, had his followers and guests spread throughout the counties of Runan, holding ground with their own private armies. Cao Cao had appointed Man Chong as Administrator of Runan, and with Li Tong’s help, it had taken great effort to pacify the region. They were still near Langling and Ancheng, quite a distance away. Therefore, when Shen Chen broke through Kunyang, Li Tong and Man Chong had only just received the news. Man Chong then ordered Li Tong to take his troops north to Xu City.

And where was Shen Chen at this time? He was marching north. After breaking Wuyang and resting for a day in Kunyang, he had Lou Fa lead two thousand men to guard the rear, oversee the transport of supplies, and hold the city of Kunyang, effectively choking the gateway to Nanyang. He himself led the three thousand men of the Huangmen Pavilion and Gan Ning’s five thousand—eight thousand in total—north toward Xiangcheng.

It was now the end of March, and April was fast approaching. Cao Cao had just eliminated Yan Liang and Wen Chou, returning to Guandu to fortify his lines. Yuan Shao was preparing for his southern movement, and Liu Bei, who had been defeated by Cao Cao at Yanjin alongside Wen Chou, had returned to Yuan Shao’s camp. Meanwhile, Sun Ce was declaring his intent to attack Guangling; Man Chong had just sent his messenger to Xu City, and Li Tong had just reached Wushuang County.

In just five days, Shen Chen had first marched north to feint an attack on Xu City, then turned south to break Ye County, Kunyang, and Wuyang. He had fought back and forth across two hundred kilometers, turning the heart of Yingchuan upside down. After Xiahou Yuan’s defeat, he had struggled to escape back to Xu City, where Xun Yu had ordered him to rest while directing Li Dian to lead troops out of the city to set up defenses.

At that time, Xu City was quite small. Modern visitors to the residence of Chancellor Cao in Xuchang might know that the area enclosed by the streets of Qingxu, West, North, and Jifang formed the core of the ancient city of Xuchang—an area of less than two square kilometers. This was where Liu Xie’s palace and Cao Cao’s Office of the Excellency of Works (later the Chancellor’s office) were located. The massive city walls, streets, and ancient architecture of the "Cao Wei Ancient City" of modern Xuchang would not be built for over a decade, and even the moat was dug later. Thus, the outer city of Xuchang at that time was essentially undefended.

If the enemy were allowed to enter the city, the destruction and influence would be catastrophic. Xun Yu believed that the enemy must not be allowed to approach Xu City, so he increased the intensity of the defense. Aside from the palace guards needed to protect Liu Xie—to prevent those with ulterior motives like Dong Cheng from causing trouble—he mobilized every available soldier in the city. Scrambling to gather numbers, he even recruited servants and retainers from the households of high officials, pulling together fifteen thousand men to defend outside the city walls.

By April 2nd, Shen Chen had passed Xiangcheng and advanced to Linying. Since Linying was less than seventy *li*—about thirty kilometers—from Xu City, and could be reached in a single day, the news sent the entire city into a panic. This was not something that could be hidden. The enemy’s scouts had already appeared outside the walls of Xu City. From the Emperor down to the commoners, everyone was in shock. For a time, Shen Chen’s presence at the gates of Xu City left all of Yingchuan trembling.