Chapter 400
Chapter 400 – Battle of Luoyang, Revisited – Part 1
June, 191 AD .
Cao Cao received a decree from Tong, which related to the emergence of Yuan Shu's Zhong Dynasty .
The order was simple . They had to cooperate with Liu Biao to defeat the traitors .
Received the imperial decree, Cao Cao, Guo Jia, and Xu Chu moved to Xuchang with half of their army, leaving Xiahou Yuan to oversee the southern campaign .
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July, 191 AD .
Cao Cao organized 40,000 soldiers and made their way to Hulao Gate . He took many commanders and strategists with the army, such as Cheng Yu, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Li Dian, Cao Xiu, and Guo Jia .
Liu Biao Army, led by Huang Zu and Huang Zhong, besieged the Wan City of Yuan Shu . Liu Pan, a nephew of Liu Biao, also joined them .
Also, the Ghost Legion, led by Zhang He, would participate in this joint campaign . Zhang He's assisting generals, Han Hao, Qu Yi, and Gao Lan, also came with them .
The strategist of Zhang He was Xun You of the Xun Clan, the cousin of Tong's personal advisor, Xun Yu .
Like how they battled the Xiongnu, 60,000 men from Henei gathered at Port Wen, getting ready to cross the Yellow River to siege Luoyang directly .
Meanwhile, Yuan Shu was not that stupid to self-proclaim himself an emperor unprepared . He requested support from his ally, the Xiongnu, by giving them tributes .
Li Ru, the former strategist of Dong Zhuo, led a force of 30,000 copies of Xiliang Cavalry and 20,000 cataphracts to Luoyang . On their way, they forced Yuan Yin, the honest governor of Hongnong, to conscript their troops to help them in this defense .
Yuan Yin turned to Liu Bei and his brothers, ordering him to join this battle with Hongnong conscripted soldiers .
At first, Liu Bei had planned to rebel against this person, but he received a secret proposal from Li Ru's messenger .
Li Ru was aware of Liu Bei's position in this city, and he decided to tempt him .
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[Lord Liu Bei,
Our princess has noticed that your brothers had awakened to immortal power, but they do not have a mentor to guide them . Without a mentor, they would not be able to use their power efficiently like our lord .
We are also aware of your difficulties during the turbulent time, and we are willing to give you a hand .
Moreover, we are willing to support you if you wish to obtain a province to be your home base in the future .
There is only one condition . Work with us and fight against Zhang Tong, the tyrant emperor that you despises . Then, we will give you our lord's secret cultivation technique that will help you and your brothers enhancing your power .
Sincerely,
Li Ru, the Administrator of Chang'An . ]
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Liu Bei turned this letter to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to consult with them . Both of his brothers agreed that they should use whatever necessary to break free from this predicament and this war . Also, sabotaging Tong's armies and allies was a good idea since they were aiming to restore the Han Dynasty from the outsiders . Having a [Zhang] as the Han emperor was unacceptable to these brothers .
As such, Guan Yu led a force of 30,000 men to Luoyang, planning to fight against Tong's Ghost Legion . As for Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, they stayed behind in Hongnong, just in case they required to betray Yuan Yin and open the gates for Liu Biao's forces .
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Wen Port, southwest of Henei
Banners, [Ghost], fluttered in the wind inside the camp north of Yellow River . Also, many flags of generals presented as well .
However, a new banner caught the eyes of all soldiers .
[Liu]
Liu Xie, by Tong's order, had to join this battle as a reserve force commander to gain real combat experience . His followers, Wei Yan, Liu Ye, and Sima Yi, also joined him in this deployment .
Unfortunately, Cao Ang and Zhang Min were barred from participating since their status was different . Cao Ang was still serving as a hostage while Zhang Min was a princess . Sending both of them to the battlefield would make the battle more complicated than necessary .
The 10-year-old child, Liu Xie, attended the strategic meeting with sweat all over his face . Even a child could tell that he was nervous . Fortunately, Sima Yi and others stood behind him, giving him courage .
Zhang He gazed at these youngsters with a wry smile . He recalled the old memory when he first met Tong .
At that time, he was as young as Sima Yi and Wei Yan . He also never dreamt that he would become a general with 60,000 men serving under him .
Now, looking back, he felt it was funny to see promising youths following his footsteps . Zhang He believed that, soon, these people would become another pillar for Tong's country .
"Relax, we won't bite you," Zhang He jested .
"O-Okay, sir . "
"Don't call me, sir . You're the crown prince, so you should have a bit of dignity . "
"R-Right . "
"Anyway . Let's begin the briefing . Strategist Xun, please . "
Xun You smiled at Zhang He and the youths in the main tent . All other generals also smiled at them, thinking that they were cute .
"Alright . Please look at the strategic map on the center table . I've already arranged everything beforehand . "
Liu Xie, Liu Ye, Sima Yi, and Wei Yan gazed at the tokens and the model map on the table . Wei Yan and Sima Yi's eyes sparkled as they savored the taste of pressure in the real war meeting .
Xun You continued, "Our battle this time is similar to the battle with Xiongnu many years ago . We have learned from our mistakes, and we have come prepared this time . "
He explained that they had built many fortress ships, square ships that could carry many soldiers, floating fortresses that could defend against regular sail ships . The others were transport ships which require manpower to row .
Unfortunately, Tong, Te Langpu, or Li Feihong did not design this ship . It was from Xun You's idea .
The otherworlder's ships had not been researched yet since Tong and all otherworlders had their hands full, developing cities .
Sima Yi and Liu Ye frowned when they heard that Zhang He and Xun You planned to cross the river with these ships . The river was not that wide that required them to use warships, or should they prepare for a naval battle .
Their real goal was crossing the river to get a foothold on the other side, not pursuing naval warfare .
"Isn't this overkill? We can just cross the river with small boats right now and build a stronghold to the other side while the others continue to move across the river . "
Hearing Sima Yi's comment, Xun You nodded .
"At first, I thought so as well . However, our spies reported that Yuan Shu sent messengers to the Xiongnu to request for help . For the sake of our safety, we will draw them to fight in a naval battle instead of heading straight to the enemy territory . "
Liu Ye did not understand, "Why is that?"
"We've been gathering information about Khan's troop, strength, and weaknesses for years, and our afford bore fruits . Our agents found that their specialist is cavalry, like our heavy cavalry . However, they are from Liang Province . "
Zhang He inserted, "Xiliang Cav, the Qiang Cav, and the westerners . "
The westerners that Zhang He mentioned was the cataphracts, which was deadly in a melee fight . Their scale armors were as strong as their plate armor, which they found it difficult to crack their defense .
Xun You continued, "I'm afraid that once we settle our camp on the opposite shore, we'll be vulnerable to Yuan Shu's reinforcement from Hongnong . "
Sima Yi got the whole picture, "So, you want to draw horsemen to fight us in a naval battle . Then, they can't use their horse advantage . "
"Correct! Also, we do not need to spearhead since Cao Cao's forces will help us from the east . They can take the brunt of those Xiliang soldiers . "
"Are you sure that Cao Cao will help us? We're not exactly on good terms with them . "
Xun You still smiled, "If that's the case, there will be more reasons for his majesty to mark Cao Cao as a rebel . I think he must have been dying to get a good cause to wage war with Cao Cao . "
Liu Xie's face twitched, "Can't he just frame Cao Cao and get it over with? He's been dragging this matter for years . Cao Cao is getting stronger each day as well . "
Zhang He and all adults laughed, "It is not that easy, your highness . Reputation, image, prestige, fame, and charisma are something that we have to tread carefully . Senseless wars and killing will only bring harm to the foundation of a country . Unless we have a solid reason that peasants and scholars can believe in us, we can't do anything . Do you remember how his majesty slaughtered people in Liyang? Do you remember all the reports and rumor about him during the time? It was a miracle that his majesty survived after that event . If he does it again, all of his subordinates will definitely rebel . After all, human hearts are something that we cannot predict . "
Sima Yi and Wei Yan nodded as he understood this matter thoroughly . They had been close to the princess, so he heard many things that ordinary nobles could not hear .
Liu Xie bit his lower lips as he did not like how pretentious the political world was . He wanted to be an honest emperor of the people that would never lie to anyone .
The reality hurt him .
Xun You got everyone to the point, "For now, we'll send our baiting ships to the southern port . We'll trick them that we want that port as our next target . "
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Xun You's prediction exactly was as Li Ru had planned . He intentionally delayed his arrival to draw Zhang He and his troops to the other side of the river, so his Xiliang cavalry could slaughter these men like fishes .
When they arrived at Luoyang and found that Zhang He had not crossed the river yet, Li Ru was baffled .
"Is Zhang He inept? Why hasn't he crossed the river when he has a chance?"
At Li Ru's side, Guan Yu accompanied this strategist .
"Aren't they trying to cross the river with all troops at once?"
"That is foolish and inefficient . Oh well, the reality sometimes differs from our envisioned scenarios . Let's go see your emperor and regroup with their forces .