Chapter Sixty-Nine: The Battle at the Pavilion of the Imperial Guards

Early February, with spring’s warmth and blossoms, it had been seven or eight days since Cao Cao’s great army occupied Wan City. The main force camped on the western bank of the Yu River, north of Wan, while Cao Ren and Yue Jin were dispatched to attack Chaoyang and Huyang, severing Liu Biao’s reinforcements.

Cao Ren was not quick to seek revenge, but first sent out countless cavalry scouts and inquired about local conditions. After Zhang Xiu surrendered, he offered all he knew, revealing Liu Biao’s troop deployments on the southernmost fringes of Nanyang.

In history, Liu Biao did deploy forces in Nanyang, but his frontline troops were few, mostly concentrated west of the Dabie Mountains—at locations such as Biyang, Pingshi, and Wuyin northeast of Huyang, which in later times became Tang County, Biyang County, and Sheqi County. During Cao Cao’s second campaign against Nanyang, he conquered these areas, pushing to Huyang, capturing the defending general Deng Ji alive.

Behind Huyang stood the cities of Caiyang, Fancheng, and Deng County, forming a shield for Xiangyang’s outer defenses, where Liu Biao stationed heavy troops. Thus, in all three of Cao Cao’s southern campaigns, he never advanced beyond this region, reaching only as far as Huyang, still wary of Liu Biao’s strength.

Though direct assault on Liu Biao’s main force was unlikely, intercepting reinforcements was essential; hence Cao Ren and Yue Jin were deployed to prepare for a major battle. This campaign aimed first to eliminate the threat posed by Zhang Xiu and second to absorb Nanyang into Cao Cao’s sphere, preventing Liu Biao from striking at his rear.

From the outset, Cao Cao expected conflict with Liu Biao; otherwise, he would not have mobilized his entire force, nor stationed heavy troops in Runan for support.

After several days of scouting, Cao Ren learned that Huyang’s current garrison commander was a little-known figure named Gan Ning, commanding four to five thousand men. The residences of the Deng and Shen clans, known as Huangmen Pavilion, lay north of Huyang.

Upon learning this, Cao Ren hurried to Xinye. The county magistrate, Deng Mao, had already abandoned his post and fled. After Zhang Xiu’s capitulation, most magistrates in the surrounding area who had depended on him surrendered to Cao Cao, but Deng Mao returned to his clan to hide.

By the second day of February, Cao Cao’s scouts and cavalry appeared around Huangmen Pavilion and Huyang’s outskirts, surveying the terrain and positions.

Since Deng Mao absconded with all county documents, maps, and archives, Cao Ren was forced to personally scout, riding out repeatedly with the cavalry to examine the landscape.

On the morning of the fourth day, returning from reconnaissance around Tangzi Township southwest of Huyang, Cao Ren convened a meeting with his subordinate generals.

At Xinye’s county office, Cao Ren sat cross-legged under the veranda, arranging several porcelain cups and bowls from the office atop a wooden plank. When Cao Yong and the others arrived, they found him with arms crossed, head bowed in contemplation.

“Elder brother, what are you pondering?” asked Cao Yong.

Cao Yong was kin to the Cao clan, though of a lesser branch, his status not high. Yet he had joined Cao Ren’s outlaw band early on, earning seniority and now serving as chief lieutenant and military scribe.

Cao Ren looked up as they entered. “I’m considering how to attack Huyang. Come closer.”

The three approached. Cao Ren pointed to a porcelain bowl. “This is Xinye.” Then to a cup south of it, “This is Huyang.” Next, indicating a teapot east of the two, “This is Huangmen Pavilion.”

The placement of Huangmen Pavilion was noteworthy—it lay directly east of Xinye and north of Huyang, forming a triangle with the two if joined by lines.

Cao Ren continued, “I’ve questioned local residents about Huangmen Pavilion. They’ve built a manor and moved the villagers to Huyang, fortifying the estate.”

Cao Yong laughed, “It’s merely a small manor; must elder brother trouble himself so? Give me a thousand men and I’ll flatten it.”

“You don’t understand,” Cao Ren waved him off. “Locals say Huyang’s commander is close friends with the Deng clan, frequenting Huangmen Pavilion. Tell me—which is easier, attacking a village or a city?”

“So your meaning is—?”

“We feign an assault on Huangmen Pavilion to lure Gan Ning into aiding them, then ambush him en route.”

The generals exchanged uneasy glances.

Chunyu Dao ventured, “General, what if he doesn’t come to their aid?”

Cao Ren smiled, “All the better. We’ll raze Huangmen Pavilion, settle the old score, then march south to take Huyang.”

“Indeed, that makes sense.”

“Elder brother’s plan is thorough.”

“So be it.”

After some thought, the group agreed. At first, Cao Ren had considered Huangmen Pavilion merely a village, not worth a full-scale attack—just a small force would suffice. But learning of Gan Ning’s relationship with Deng Hong and his frequent visits to Huangmen Pavilion inspired a new strategy: under the guise of vengeance, attack the manor to ambush Gan Ning’s forces. If Gan Ning responded, all the better; if not, Huangmen Pavilion would still be destroyed.

With the plan set, Cao Ren dispatched Cao Yong as vanguard with two thousand troops, feigning five thousand in strength, marching grandly toward Huangmen Pavilion. Cao Ren himself led three thousand men to the left bank of the Bi River, preparing an ambush on the road from Huyang to the manor.

He also sent a letter, fired into Huangmen Pavilion, stating he bore a personal grudge against Shen Chen—if they surrendered Shen, the clan could avoid the flames of war.

By the third hour of the morning, Shen Chen received the letter.

“Heh,” he scoffed, sitting with the clan elders in a cave behind the manor, including the Deng brothers and two Shen elders, as well as Deng Zhao and Shen Zhen. Reading the missive, Shen Chen sneered, “This is the tactic of the weak. If we surrender me, they will not spare the clan.”

Compared to Deng Hong, Deng Zhao—hardened by battle—was fiercer, roaring, “Cao Ren has a blood feud with us. Today, let him die here!”

“Yes, three years of preparation, all for this day.”

“Chen, speak—what must we do? We’ll follow your lead.”

“This battle will exact a price from the Cao family—not just for the hundred kin gathered here, but for the hundreds of thousands in Xu Province.”

All bore irreconcilable hatred for Cao Ren, shouting their resolve. Shen Chen himself wondered at Cao Ren’s claim of enmity—just because he lost an ear? What of the lives of the Deng and Shen kin at Huangmen Pavilion? What of the multitudes in Xu Province? Perhaps, in the eyes of these great clans, the lives of the common folk mattered less than a single ear.

But today, Shen Chen would show him: Cao Ren, you are nothing.

Seeing the elders’ righteous fury, Shen Chen declared, “Uncles and grandfathers, rest assured—I am confident of victory. Proceed as planned. Cousin, you lead men to the manor’s tower for defense; withdraw to the rear mountain if needed.”

“Understood,” Deng Zhao nodded. As cousin to Shen Chen’s mother, he was called “uncle.”

Shen Chen turned to his father, Shen Zhen, “Father, you take men to support my uncle; once he withdraws, immediately enter the underground chamber and fortify the Qionglong.”

“Very well,” Shen Zhen nodded. Having served as a soldier, he knew the drill.

Shen Chen addressed the elders, “Uncles, this battle decides Huangmen Pavilion’s fate—remain calm, stay within the underground chamber. When Uncle Xingba’s army arrives, Cao Ren will have no burial ground!”

“Agreed,” they responded.

Everyone took their posts. Deng Zhao led five hundred men to the manor’s main gate, stocked with bows and arrows for temporary defense.

Though Huangmen Pavilion’s manor lacked city walls, it had wooden platforms within and arrow towers at each cardinal corner.

About an hour later, near midday, the western horizon revealed the arrival of Cao’s army.

The surrounding fields and villages, once bustling with over twenty thousand people, had emptied. The manor’s west side even boasted a street, once a lively market.

Now, it was deserted. Cao’s troops, led by officers, swiftly occupied key positions throughout the street. Cao Yong himself approached the manor gates, shouting, “By order of the general, surrender Shen Chen and you will be spared!”

A single arrow answered him.

Cao Yong deflected it with his blade, sneering, “Seeking death—attack!”

At his command, a thousand troops surged from the street, flooding toward the manor. Simultaneously, other units attacked from the north and northwest.

The manor’s design was meticulous: its south faced the Sha River, the east backed onto the mountain, leaving only the west and north open to attack.

Such layouts were common in Han dynastic cities—built by mountain and water, easy to defend, hard to assault. Some, like Xiangyang, were built entirely surrounded by water, requiring boats to leave the city.

Yet Huangmen Pavilion was no city; even ordinary county walls exceeded two zhang, or four meters. Chang’an and Luoyang, for instance, had walls over five or six zhang. Huangmen’s manor walls were only one zhang four, about 3.2 meters.

At such a height, even a basic ladder sufficed. Trained soldiers, aided by comrades, could easily scale the walls. So defending against Cao’s forces from all sides was nearly impossible.

“Loose arrows, loose arrows!” Deng Zhao commanded from the inner tower, brandishing his ring-hilted blade.

Though the militia had trained and fought the Yellow Turbans, they paled against the elite of Cao’s army, shooting nervously with less speed and accuracy.

Fortunately, some veteran soldiers remained, recruited for their experience, and they inflicted considerable casualties.

A rain of arrows fell, and many Cao soldiers in the vanguard dropped instantly. Yet undaunted, they charged through the barrage, carrying cloud ladders, and soon several ladders reached the manor walls.

Originally, the manor’s plan was to dig a trench and channel the Sha River’s water, since the river flowed north to south, from the Bi River into the Yu River—a tributary between Tang River and Baishui in later times. Building a moat would have been easy.

But Shen Chen rejected the idea, believing that defending the manor was futile in large-scale war—enemies could easily breach it. A moat should be wide and deep, but the Sha River’s flow was minimal, averaging only half to one meter deep, unsuitable for defense.

Without a moat, Cao’s troops easily reached the manor.

Deng Zhao fought fiercely, but soon a messenger arrived, “Chief, the north of the manor has been breached.”

“How far?”

“They’re approaching here.”

“So soon? Retreat to the rear mountain!”

Learning that the enemy had broken through the northern gate, Deng Zhao wasted no time, ordering a retreat.

The soldiers breathed a sigh of relief, leaped from the tower, grabbed their gear, and fled toward the rear mountain.

By the time Cao Yong stormed in, the manor was empty.

“Where are they?” he wondered, searching in vain.

The rear mountain was a taboo zone for Huangmen Pavilion—outsiders were forbidden, and even new villagers did not know what lay there, only that it was off-limits. Thus, Cao Ren had no inkling that Shen Chen’s true defenses were in the rear mountain.

A soldier reported, “Scribe, they fled into those hills.”

He pointed to the mountain path behind the manor.

Cao Yong looked up; east of the manor stood several low hills, the tallest forty to fifty zhang, the shortest twenty to thirty. What caught his eye were the many rammed-earth towers atop the peaks.

“What are those?” a junior officer wondered, shading his eyes.

“No matter what, we take them first. The general commanded us to raze Huangmen Pavilion,” Cao Yong replied.

“Yes, sir.”

The officers rallied their troops and marched toward the rear mountain.

Meanwhile, Shen Chen stood atop a Qionglong tower.

The view was wide, and though he lacked a telescope, he saw a dense swarm of black dots surging toward the rear mountain.

The Qionglong’s exterior and interior resembled a pagoda, but unlike a pagoda, which has doors at the base, the Qionglong’s exterior was sealed, accessible only by tunnels.

In later times, the ruins of Qionglong in Gansu revealed their dual purpose as fortress and dwelling. The lowest levels could shelter livestock, whose manure fertilized crops. During the Qing campaign against Jin Chuan, the Qionglongs proved formidable, holding out for years.

Thus, Cao Yong would never expect that advancing toward the rear mountain, he would encounter something quite unexpected.