Chapter Twenty-Three: The Siege of Fan City

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Liu Biao was puzzled. "Zirou, our army at Fancheng numbers a hundred thousand. Even if Sun Jian and Yuan Shu join forces, they are but equal to us. As long as we hold Deng County and Fancheng without venturing forth, we shall not be defeated under any circumstance!"

A soldier burst into the hall, stumbling and covered in dust. "Report! Urgent military news from the rear—the army of Sun Jian has seized Jiangling. Twenty thousand troops have crossed Changban and occupied Yicheng. They are now marching straight for Xiangyang!"

As expected! Kuai Liang looked ruefully at the map, regretting that he had not foreseen this strategy. He had dismissed it as a joke in his heart, speculating countless times over the past days why Sun Jian had not mobilized his forces: Was it to curry favor with the Emperor? Was Yuan Shu distracting them from behind? Was it because they had sent provisions to Sun Jian?

It turned out their opponent was executing the very plan he had laughed off. Kuai Liang knew Sun Jian well; if he could break through by force, he would never waste a moment, just as when he campaigned against Dong Zhuo—he would swiftly seize every opportunity!

When Xiangyang had only twenty thousand troops, instead of striking quickly, Sun Jian thought to detour through Yuzhou and take Lujiang? Is that the Sun Jian I know?

Kuai Yue asked urgently, "How many troops remain in the city?"

The soldier clasped his hands and replied, "Less than two thousand..."

"This... this... this!" Liu Biao stared at the soldier before him, unable to utter a word for a long while.

Kuai Liang sighed, "It's too late. Even if we fortify the city now and request reinforcements from Fancheng, they will not arrive in time... Hurry outside, prepare a carriage for the lord to depart. We must proceed at once to Fancheng!"

Liu Biao nodded with difficulty. "Go quickly, bring Lady and the children!"

Kuai Liang looked up and smiled wryly. "Sun Wentai, oh Sun Wentai..."

On the official road from Xiangyang to Fancheng, a line of carriages sped along. Behind them, clouds of dust billowed as dozens of warhorses gave chase, hooves pounding the earth. Blood stained Cheng Pu's armor, and the faces of the soldiers beside him were fierce and grim. Cheng Pu roared, "Liu Biao, old man—where do you run?!"

Liu Biao clutched his wife and children tightly, peering through the carriage window at the approaching enemy, his face drenched in sweat. He shouted at the driver, "Faster, faster!"

Zhou Yu advised Cheng Pu that Liu Biao, fleeing with his family, would travel slowly; if they pursued immediately, they could still catch him. Cheng Pu was skeptical, but after chasing fifty li, he indeed discovered Liu Biao's carriage!

Kuai Yue and Kuai Liang glanced nervously at Cheng Pu closing in behind them, urging the driver on.

"Up ahead is the relay station—there are stationed troops who can delay them for a moment!"

Cheng Pu's warhorse drew alongside Liu Biao's carriage. With a swing of his great blade, the wooden planks were splintered, and Lady Cai clung to Liu Biao, shrieking. Liu Cong, eyes rolling, fainted in terror!

Cheng Pu reached in and grabbed Liu Biao, lifting him up. "How dare you harm my lord!" Cai Mao arrived with cavalry, drew his sword, and lunged at Cheng Pu.

Cheng Pu wielded his blade, striking from above with no defense—a desperate move! Cai Mao, seeing Cheng Pu's ferocity, hastily raised his sword to block. The blade was chipped by the great knife.

His hands went numb.

Cheng Pu placed Liu Biao behind his horse. "Withdraw!"

A dozen warhorses immediately retreated. Cai Mao did not pursue, watching as Cheng Pu carried Liu Biao away.

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"Zirou, are you unharmed?" Cai Mao dismounted and hurried to Kuai Liang's side. Kuai Liang's expression was bitter, his gaze skyward as he sighed, "De Gui, we've lost Jiangling, Jiangxia, Xiangyang, and the lord has been captured. We have lost everything!"

Cai Mao glanced at the unconscious Liu Cong, then considered briefly before saying, "Take my sister with you and follow me to Fancheng. We can discuss what comes next together."

In Wan City, Yuan Shu looked at the military reports in his hand. Sun Jian had already moved his troops to Deng County, now formally confronting Liu Biao—a great battle was imminent!

He took the jade seal from beside his pillow and laughed heartily. Now, although Liu Biao had a hundred thousand soldiers, Sun Jian's troops, though fewer, were fierce. As a former ally in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, Yuan Shu knew this well.

Soon, he would annihilate both Sun Jian and Liu Biao, take Jingzhou for himself, and ascend the throne as Emperor!

Zhou Yu advanced to Xiangyang, gathering soldiers and officers along the way—within days, he had recruited twenty thousand new troops!

As the army marched, the people of every town along the route welcomed Sun Jian's forces, hailing them as loyal ministers who would save the people.

With such momentum, Zhou Yu exclaimed, it was truly Heaven's blessing upon Sun Jian!

Lu Meng guarded Jiangxia; General Zu Mao held Jiangling; only Zhou Yu marched with twenty thousand troops toward Xiangyang.

Xianshan, the chief among the mountains of Ruzhou, was linked in peaks and shrouded in mist, elegant and mysterious, its springs tumbling and leaping. Winter now lent it a bleak, ethereal beauty.

With ten elite soldiers following behind, vigilant of their surroundings, Jiang Wen walked the mountain path, admiring the scenery. It was once the place where Sun Wentai met his fate, but now it was simply a beautiful vista.

Tao’er’s cheeks were flushed as she hurried after Jiang Wen. "Young master, with a battle soon upon us, are we not risking punishment from the General by wandering here?"

Jiang Wen parted the branches behind him. "I am the strategist and ritual officer, with no real authority—merely a counselor. The situation now requires no further strategizing; what matters is the strength of the armies and the commanders’ ability to lead."

"And if victory were not certain, would your young master dare to stroll so confidently?" Jiang Wen smiled gently at Tao’er, his scholarly, amiable demeanor deepening her blush.

"Report to the strategist and ritual officer: General Cheng Pu has occupied Xiangyang with twenty thousand troops!"

Jiang Wen nodded, wholly unsurprised by the outcome. "You may go... Wait, did the general remember the musical instruments I mentioned?"

"Report: The general has ordered craftsmen to make them; three thousand will be finished in two days!"

Tao’er asked curiously, "Is the instrument you mean that peculiar erhu?"

Jiang Wen nodded. "We’ve walked enough today, let’s return."

Jiang Wen gazed over the scenery of Xianshan. Huang Zu had fought the Sun family many times, rarely victorious, yet it was here that he killed Sun Wentai.

It showed that Sun Wentai was truly stubborn!

Now, the hundred thousand troops stationed around Fancheng and Deng County, along with Yuan Shu in Wan City behind, were the last obstacles to controlling Jingzhou. Once these two were eliminated, Jingzhou would be in their grasp.

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Fancheng was beset from front and rear, its capital occupied, morale flagging—despite its hundred thousand troops, they were but a hollow force.

Around Deng County and Fancheng, Liu Biao's military camps stretched for hundreds of li. In Huang Zu's camp, his face was gloomy—many soldiers had already begun to harbor thoughts of desertion. Born of mountain bandits, these troops had nowhere to retreat now that Xiangyang was lost, nor anywhere to advance.

Many soldiers had family still in Xiangyang, leaving them unwilling to fight. Kuai Yue, Kuai Liang, Cai Mao, and Han Xuan each sat in silence, deep in thought.

Huang Zu’s expression shifted. "Who is singing outside?"

The nearby soldiers poured out of their tents to patrol the camp. The singing came from beyond the stockade!

Huang Zu and the other officers mounted the watchtower, gazing into the distance where faint figures could be seen. The soldiers in the tents put down their food and listened intently to the song.

Jiang Wen played the erhu, and the soldiers around him imitated his movements. It was not a composed melody, merely a simple, mournful tune. The erhu’s sound was long and slightly sorrowful.

As Jiang Wen began to sing, the soldiers joined in:

At fifteen, I marched to war;
At eighty, I return at last.
On the road, I meet a townsman—
Who remains in my house?
From afar, I see your home:
Graves of pine and cypress piled high.
The rabbit enters through the dog’s hole,
The pheasant flies from the beam.
Millet grows in the courtyard,
Amaranth sprouts by the well.
Pound millet for rice,
Gather amaranth for soup.
Rice and soup now ready,
But whom shall I serve?
I step out, gaze eastward,
Tears fall, soaking my robe.

Kuai Liang and Kuai Yue shouted angrily, "Order the patrols to closely monitor every camp—any sign of unrest, execute without mercy!"

No sooner were the words spoken than a hundred riders fled Fancheng on horseback. Huang Zu roared and immediately led troops to pursue them!

The next day, hundreds of heads hung from the wooden walls, and the restless army was barely subdued.

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