Chapter 131: The Battle of Kunyang

The flat region beyond Ziyun Mountain was, for infantrymen, a death zone akin to being surrounded by cavalry on an open grassland.

As noted previously, the nature of infantry composition meant that out of a ten-thousand-strong force, at most two thousand were archers and crossbowmen. Light cavalry, on the other hand, were all equipped with bows and arrows. Even in an exchange of fire under encirclement, Shen Chen’s force of eight thousand had only a little over a thousand archers, while Cao Cao’s army possessed five thousand; the remaining infantrymen could only serve as targets.

Yet during the two Han dynasties, the Han Chinese method for dealing with nomadic tribes of the northern steppes had always been to use heavy supply wagons, or combat chariots specifically designed for building temporary encampments, to form walls resembling fortifications. Li Ling had used this exact method in the vast grasslands to maneuver for days against eighty thousand Xiongnu cavalry with a mere five thousand Han soldiers, fighting and retreating all the way south.

Therefore, without terrain like Ziyun Mountain or other defensive structures, cavalry could indeed crush infantry on plains and grasslands due to their mobility. But once chariot fortifications were established, the situation would instantly reverse. When it came to archery, the infantry had the cover of combat chariots acting like oversized shields to deflect bow and crossbow fire. When it came to close combat, even in the era of high-bridged saddles and stirrups, cavalry lacked the staying power of infantry in storming fortified positions.

This was precisely why Shen Chen needed to send men back to fetch the supply wagons.

At that moment, Lou Fa had left one thousand men to guard Kunyang, personally leading another thousand along with five hundred supply wagons to provide reinforcements. The wagons rumbled forward, kicking up clouds of dust and surging like a fleet of miniature vehicles.

Guan Yu, observing this development, immediately declared, "The enemy has sent transport and supplies; we must stop them! Do not let their forces unite. Everyone, charge at the wagons!"

"Charge!"

The messengers relayed the command one after another.

Without hesitation, numerous Cao cavalrymen wheeled their horses around and galloped toward the battlefield.

Shen Chen had gone off to converse with Guan Yu; Shen Zhen, Deng Zhao, and the others were well aware of this. Therefore, even in the absence of their primary commander, under their firm shouts, the soldiers of Huangmen Pavilion remained as steadfast as mountains.

Seeing the enemy suddenly turn toward the south, Deng Zhao instantly knew what must be done and shouted at once, "Fall back to support the wagons! Charge!"

"Charge!"

The soldiers of Huangmen Pavilion launched a charge without delay.

In the distance, as the combat chariots rolled up and saw the Cao cavalry racing furiously toward them, they immediately began forming an encampment. Lou Fa directed his archers and crossbowmen to fire outward.

A hail of arrows rained down with a whirring sound, unseating Cao cavalrymen and causing horses to rear; hundreds were killed or wounded within moments.

With the Huangmen Pavilion reinforcements striking from the rear in a pincer movement, Guan Yu seemed to sense danger and quickly ordered, "Quickly retreat!"

"Retreat!"

The messengers sounded the warning whistles for withdrawal one after another.

Before long, the Cao army retreated, leaving behind hundreds of corpses. That was the reality of cavalry facing archers and crossbowmen—just as the White Horse Yicong had been invincible in Youzhou, yet when three thousand cavalry encountered Ju Yi’s thousand archers and crossbowmen, the entire force was annihilated in an instant.

Had Guan Yu not feared that delaying his orders might arouse Cao Cao’s suspicion, a little more time would have ensured that very few of these fifteen hundred cavalry returned intact.

Once the Cao army had fled into the distance, Shen Chen promptly rendezvoused with Lou Fa, then galloped back to Kunyang. Leaving Lou Fa to guard the city once more, he took a thousand supply wagons and marched north in grand style to reinforce Gan Ning.

Having suffered defeat, Guan Yu hastened back to report to Cao Cao. However, his horses’ stamina had been heavily depleted by the earlier surprise charge, so he had no choice but to fall back a few li, find a suitable spot to feed the mounts concentrated bean fodder, and rest for half an hour before making the return journey.

The primary reason was the poor endurance of horses; if they were to maintain continuous stamina, they needed to be fed high-energy fodder before a campaign, and troops even had to carry a portion themselves, otherwise they could sustain operations for at most a single day. For instance, when the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry pursued for a day and a night, or when Cao Cao led ten thousand elite cavalry a month over the Yanshan Mountains to arrive at Mount Bailang, all of them carried their own fodder.

This trip to and fro consumed some time, and by the time word reached Cao Cao, it was already afternoon.

"Shen Chen has secured the combat chariots?"

Cao Cao looked upon the returning Guan Yu.

Guan Yu’s face was expressionless, appearing stern. In truth, he bore no goodwill toward Cao Cao, and he spoke in a dull, heavy tone, "Indeed. We originally intended to stall for time, but we did not expect Shen Chen to have sent word in advance to the Kunyang garrison. The garrison dispatched combat chariots, and we could not overcome them, so we had no choice but to retreat."

"Hmm..."

Cao Cao nodded. As a master tactician, how could he not know that chariots countered cavalry? He did not reprimand him, saying instead, "Yunchang has done his utmost. Go and rest."

"Understood."

Guan Yu withdrew to the rear to rest.

A moment later, Cao Cao summoned his lieutenant, who recounted the entire sequence of events, including Guan Yu’s pursuit of Shen Chen and Shen Chen’s mysterious disappearance.

In truth, this course of events held few flaws. Given Guan Yu’s formidable reputation at present, for Shen Chen to recklessly step out to provoke him and then be chased off was entirely normal. Moreover, Guan Yu’s disposition had been sound; had he listened to the left lieutenant and pressed the attack, the losses would only have been greater.

Therefore, in Cao Cao’s eyes, the whole affair contained no suspicious points, and naturally he did not investigate further. However, when he gazed into the distance and saw Gan Ning’s forces relying on the mountain forest to dig trenches and fell trees, his brow furrowed deeply.

Shen Chen’s use of combat chariots for cover clearly exceeded Cao Cao’s expectations. Dragging out the time any further would likely be meaningless, as the main infantry force in the rear was still at least three to four hours away. By the time they arrived, Shen Chen would have had sufficient opportunity to deploy over a thousand wagons, using them to advance while maintaining defenses, leaving the Cao army with even fewer chances.

The sun gradually sank. Time slipped away minute by minute.

By dusk, when night was about to fall—around the end of sunset and the beginning of twilight—Cao Cao’s forces had already withdrawn several li away.

About an hour later, though Gan Ning’s battle array in the distance lacked a formal stockade, they had felled numerous trees and dug pits all around the open ground, igniting massive bonfires to illuminate the night sky and prevent a nocturnal raid by the Cao army.

Suddenly, the sound of rumbling wheels arose from the south as reinforcements arrived.

Xiangcheng was merely forty kilometers from Kunyang, with Ziyun Mountain situated precisely in the middle. Shen Chen had set out early in the morning at first light. Calculating at an average marching speed of about five kilometers per hour, they had spent over three hours covering more than ten kilometers before noon, reaching the Ziyun Mountain area fifteen kilometers from Xiangcheng.

From there, it was less than twenty-five kilometers to Kunyang. Under normal circumstances, even ordinary people walking leisurely averaged four to five kilometers per hour. Moving slightly faster, given the physical conditioning of the Huangmen Pavilion soldiers, they could walk another four or five hours and return to Kunyang by four or five in the afternoon.

However, because they had been delayed by Cao Cao at Ziyun Mountain, when Shen Chen set out from Kunyang once more to rescue Gan Ning, it was already close to six o’clock in the evening. As the light faded, they did not reach Gan Ning’s position until nearly nine.

Had they been delayed for a few more hours, Cao Cao’s rear infantry would have caught up. In that event, they would have been forced to fight the main Cao infantry force in the open field, compounded by cavalry harassment, and the consequences would have been unimaginable.

"Uncle Xingba."

"A-chen."

In the dead of night, Shen Chen and Gan Ning quickly joined forces.

The Cao cavalry, meanwhile, lit torches several li away, watching them from afar through the pitch black of night. Shen Chen could almost feel Cao Cao’s venomous gaze piercing through the distance.

"Let's move!"

Shen Chen shouted, signaling everyone to fall back.

This time, the Cao army did not attempt to stop them. Cao Cao knew full well that pursuit was entirely pointless; the enemy could easily use their wagons to fight them head-on. With the supply wagons present, there would be no shortage of arrows, and an exchange of ranged fire would only leave the cavalry at a disadvantage.

Thus, by midnight, having suffered losses of only two to three hundred men, Shen Chen and Gan Ning successfully retreated into Kunyang to hold the city.

Two days later, Cao Cao’s main force of roughly twenty thousand arrived beneath the walls of Kunyang.

Li_Tong’s troops, bolstered by a portion of the Xuchang garrison and the cavalry he personally led, brought along supply trains from Xuchang containing numerous siege engines. Upon reaching Kunyang, Cao Cao did not hesitate and immediately ordered an assault on the city.

A fierce battle erupted around Kunyang. Shen Chen’s forces within the city had already suffered losses during the seizure of Yexian, Kunyang, and Wuyang, and lost more during the retreat, leaving them with only nine thousand men.

Furthermore, Kunyang was not a major city; it lacked even a moat, making the fighting exceptionally arduous. Cao Cao possessed catapults at this time, having assembled over a dozen of them. Though the city walls remained intact, the gate tower of the North Gate was battered to the ground, inflicting heavy casualties within the city.

In truth, the catapults were positioned at close quarters, boasting an effective range of only forty to seventy meters—entirely within the range of archers. Yet there were devices known as wooden mantlets specifically designed to deflect arrows, and Shen Chen lacked fire arrows. Under the cover of these mantlets, the catapults operated almost at point-blank range right beneath the city walls, continuously bombarding the interior.

In no time, morale within the city plummeted rapidly.

Nevertheless, Shen Chen and Gan Ning personally ascended the walls to oversee the defense every day. Despite heavy casualties, they maintained morale, stubbornly beating back the Cao army on several occasions and preventing them from gaining any advantage.

Over the course of several days, casualties on both sides exceeded a thousand, making the fighting extremely brutal.

Under normal circumstances, Cao Cao would have constructed more catapults to incessantly pound the city, exerting psychological pressure on its defenders and starving them out over a siege that could last anywhere from a month or two to half a year. After all, the catapults of that era lacked immense destructive power and struggled to damage city walls, serving mostly to intimidate the soldiers—provided the defenders reacted quickly enough to dodge them.

Yet on this occasion, Cao Cao was evidently growing anxious. Following each bombardment, he would dispatch infantry to storm the city in fierce frontal clashes that inflicted casualties on both sides.

This haste stemmed from the immense pressure Yuan Shao exerted upon him. With no way of knowing when Yuan Shao might strike, he had to eliminate Shen Chen swiftly to remove his rear threat, allowing him to march north immediately and redeploy at Guandu.

Yet Shen Chen’s tenacity exceeded his expectations. The siege proved exceptionally difficult, yielding no results after multiple days, while his officers and men grew fatigued and their morale flagged.

By April 11th, Cao Cao did not launch an assault, choosing instead to rest within the camp to give his soldiers a two-day respite. He intended to make more thorough preparations, construct additional siege engines, and then resume a ferocious offensive against the city.

It was the sweltering start of summer—the fourth month of the lunar calendar, which corresponded to late May in the modern solar calendar, verging on the scorching heat of June. The weather was intensely hot, and the cicadas in the nearby woods outside the city chirped unceasingly.

Inside his tent, Cao Cao stared intently at a map of the terrain surrounding Kunyang. Kunyang backed against the Funiu Mountains, with the mountain range lying to its west, making an attack from the western side terrain-wise unfeasible; he could only strike from the north, south, and east. Cao Cao was weighing whether to first dispatch troops to seize Kunyang and Yexian, and then encircle Kunyang from three sides.

Yet he did not know how much grain remained within the city. If they could hold out for half a year or a year, this strategy would be meaningless, and he simply lacked the time to wear Shen Chen down here.

As he pondered, a voice suddenly shouted from outside the tent, "Report!"

"Enter."

"Sikong, a messenger sent by Runan Grand Administrator Man Chong seeks an audience."

"Send him in."

"Understood."

The guard at the entrance went to summon the messenger.

A moment later, the dust-covered messenger entered, dropped to one knee before Cao Cao, and said, "Sikong, Sun Ce of Jiangdong has been frequently stirring of late, secretly moving troops and proclaiming his intent to march north to raid Guangling. Grand Administrator Man suspects he aims to launch a sneak attack on Xuchang, and has thus memorialized the Sikong in an official dispatch."

"Present it."

Cao Cao’s brow knitted tightly together. Sun Ce’s movements naturally could not escape his notice; otherwise, he would not have stationed Li Tong and Man Chong in Runan.

Yet for him to make a move at this juncture was deeply worrisome.

Sure enough, Man Chong detailed Sun Ce’s recent maneuvers, and Cao Cao immediately realized that Sun Ce indeed harbored intentions of launching a surprise attack on Xuchang, filling him with vexation.

To happen at such a time!

To happen precisely at this moment!

He paced angrily back and forth within the tent. Though he had yet to capture Kunyang, he believed that if he maintained the fierce assaults, the city could hold out for at most another month.

Yet while Yuan Shao had yet to move south, Sun Ce was already preparing to strike first, provoking Cao Cao’s extreme displeasure and sending his anger mounting.

"Damn it!"

Finally, he kicked the writing table away and barked, "Pass my order: hostilities will resume tomorrow!"

"Understood!"

The messengers hurried off to relay the commands to the various commanders.

Cao Cao sat down in a fury. The so-called tomorrow’s offensive was, of course, merely intended as a deterrent. If the city could not be taken by then, he could use the opportunity to feign a retreat—should Shen Chen pursue, fine; if Shen Chen did not, he would withdraw to Xuchang.

This bore a striking resemblance to historical accounts of how, upon hearing that Yuan Shao intended to raid Xuchang, he hastily withdrew from Nanyang by night.

Only this time, while Yuan Shao threatened him, Sun Ce had chosen to meddle as well, souring Cao Cao’s mood even further.

Ever since welcoming the Emperor, apart from the first two years of smooth sailing, the situation had taken a sharp downturn starting this year. Had it not been for Zhang Xian in southern Jingzhou, he likely would have found himself besieged by Yuan Shao, Liu Biao, and Sun Ce all at once.

That Liu Xie truly was a double-edged sword.

With this thought, he could do nothing but sit and ponder how Sun Ce might choose to attack should he make a move. A water route was certainly out of the question; he would inevitably choose land.

When the time came, he would retreat to Xuchang, first dispatching Li Tong back to Runan to observe developments and watch the movements of Yuan Shao and Shen Chen before deciding whether to turn south or north.

Being besieged on all sides was truly difficult.

Cao Cao let out a sigh.

Before long, the next day arrived, and the Cao army launched another fierce assault. After a day of bitter fighting, much like the previous days, the Cao army hastily withdrew at dusk, leaving behind hundreds of corpses.

Covered in blood, Gan Ning leaned against the parapet, panting heavily as he said, "A-chen, Cao Cao is withdrawing his troops."

"Mm."

Shen Chen nodded. "We threaten Cao Cao’s rear; he cannot easily retreat unless Yuan Shao has made a move to head south, or Sun Ce has moved to head north."

"Sun Ce is involved in this as well?" Gan Ning asked in surprise.

Shen Chen smiled. "Sun Ce occupies Jiangdong, content in a corner of the realm. Over these years, his killings have been severe precisely because his foundation in Jiangdong is weak; aside from Zhou Yu, Lu Su, and a few others, very few of the great aristocratic families support him. Cao Cao holds the Emperor to command the nobles, drawing an immediate response from countless great clans. Sun Ce could not possibly fail to envy such righteous authority."

"He wants to emulate Cao Cao?" Gan Ning curled his lip. He had heard Sun Ce was merely a brash youth in his twenties; did he possess such grand ambitions?

Shen Chen replied, "Sun Ce is a lion of Jiangdong and cannot be underestimated. With the realm suffering a severe drought this year, traveling from Jiangdong to Xuchang by water and land is difficult; Sun Ce will surely take the land route. I reckon Cao Cao will likely dispatch a detachment to Runan, and then we will be able to march north once more to harass Xuchang."

"Let us hope so."

Exhausted, Gan Ning slumped back against the city wall to rest. All along the ramparts, soldiers lay stretched out in every direction just like him. In the rear, reserve troops with remaining energy were hauling away corpses and stones, clearing the battlefield in orderly fashion.

Shen Chen gazed northward toward the Cao encampment in a trance, pondering whether he should pursue Cao Cao to maintain pressure upon him.

Sun Ce would die this year. Though Shen Chen did not know the exact month, it was likely sometime between this month and the next, meaning Sun Ce would be unable to dispatch troops. Once news of Sun Ce’s death reached Xuchang, Cao Cao would in all probability reassign Li Tong and Man Chong to deal with him.

The pressure he faced then would be even greater. If he could seize the moment of Cao Cao’s retreat to pursue him—much like Huan Wen’s northern expedition into Guangu, which was severely defeated and lost soldiers due to a retreat prompted by grain shortages, or the Battle of Nanyang where Zhang Xiu pursued a hastily retreating Cao Cao—though the initial clash brought setbacks, subsequent engagements yielded results. If he could press the pursuit, they might secure a victory.

If they could inflict further casualties on the Cao army, then when Cao Cao had to concentrate his forces to deal with Yuan Shao, the defensive strength in Xuchang would be further reduced, allowing him to accomplish far more.

Naturally, the idea was sound, but it required observation to determine whether Cao Cao was genuinely withdrawing or merely feigning retreat to deceive him.

Thus, he intended to dispatch scouts to observe the situation and ascertain Cao Cao’s true intentions.