Chapter One Hundred Thirty-Five: Day and Night Battle, Slaying the Enemy Commander

After rallying the troops at the military training grounds, Cao Cao returned to the Shouzhang County government office with his generals. Along the way, he saw many commoners lining the streets, offering various grains, dried meats, and rice wine, claiming they wished to comfort the government army.

For the past two years, the prefectures on both banks of the Yellow River had suffered under the scourge of bandits. Local officials and powerful clans were mostly unable to resist the overwhelming rebel forces—a situation perfectly described in the "Dian Lun: Zi Xu" (Treatise on Self-Narration), written later by the still-youthful Cao Pi: "The Yellow Turbans thrived in the east; mountain bandits ravaged Bing and Ji. They rode their victories to attack, sweeping south; villages fled at the sight of smoke, and city walls crumbled at the sight of dust."

The "Yellow Turbans" mentioned referred to the Qing and Xu province Yellow Turbans, while the "mountain bandits" referred to the Black Mountain rebels. "East" referred to the coastal Xu Province and the Tai-shan region of Yan Province, and "Bing and Ji" referred to the provinces north of the Yellow River.

Because of this, the people of these four provinces had long been like birds startled by the mere twang of a bowstring. Wherever the bandits appeared, both officials and commoners had only one choice: flee! And they would flee at the first sight of dust. In such an environment, it was incredibly rare to find government troops standing side-by-side with the people against a crushing rebel siege.

Most of those remaining in Shouzhang were impoverished commoners. They wanted to flee, but they could not. They were not members of wealthy, populous clans who could transport their wealth, bring along able-bodied men for protection, or rely on livestock for transport. They lacked even the rations for the road; rather than starving to death on the journey, they chose to stay in their homeland and face their fate.

When the armies of Liu Dai and Bao Xin were besieged in Shouzhang alongside these commoners, their hopes had been extinguished. Yet, the moment Cao Cao fought his way in, they saw a new glimmer of hope. This was why they were willing to offer their meager rations to comfort the soldiers.

Cao Cao did not decline the food and wine offered by the people. He instructed his messengers to collect them from the camp and, with a smile, expressed his gratitude to the nearby residents. The performance was genuine and deeply moving; as the ragged commoners spoke with him, they realized this was their new Provincial Governor, and they bowed down one after another. It was a scene of true harmony between the officials and the people.

It must be admitted that although Cao Cao was not handsome, he possessed an extraordinary charisma as a leader. The people did not shun him for his looks, nor did his subordinates distance themselves. Cao Hong believed the reason was the sincerity of Cao Cao’s smile. From the first day he met him, Cao Hong felt that the smile of this "cunning hero" was exceptionally sincere—even when he flashed those fake, polite smiles at people like Zhang Miao, he made you feel as if it came from the bottom of his heart.

Surrounded by the worship and support of the people, the group arrived at the Shouzhang county office. Cao Cao immediately began deploying his troops, saying, "I intend to divide our forces into nine columns to harass the enemy day and night. By fighting them repeatedly within ten days, we will crush their will and destroy their momentum. What do you think?"

Liu Yao replied, "Our numbers are too few. While we have the heart to fight to the death, engaging the rebel army head-on will be difficult, and I fear our casualties will be heavy."

Upon hearing this, Cao Hong shook his head inwardly. It was no wonder this man suffered setbacks against Sun Ce even with a fierce general like Taishi Ci at his command; he completely failed to understand the relative advantages of the enemy and himself.

Cao Cao did not show any disdain on the surface, instead smiling and saying, "Why does Zhengli worry? The enemy’s consecutive victories are merely due to their vast numbers and imposing momentum. Our troops have not yet engaged them. To see their numbers and panic is not a failure of combat prowess, but a failure of spirit. They are a mob of violent rebels—unversed in formations, lacking armor, and armed with inferior weapons. We are a dignified army with excellent equipment and years of training. In terms of combat power, the difference between us is as vast as heaven and earth. Moreover, like you, our entire army shares the resolve to fight to the death, burning our bridges behind us. Repeated battles are beneficial to us, not harmful."

Cao Hong added, "In a narrow pass, the brave prevail. We have only enough rations for a few days and are trapped in a lonely city with nowhere to retreat. The enemy, with the mindset of refugees, will never possess the resolve to fight to the death. Constant, relentless combat is indeed more favorable to us."

This was simply a contest of will and endurance. The rebel army, composed of three hundred thousand refugees, could not possibly exert full combat power from every man. After a few hard-fought battles, the morale of the bandits outside the city would inevitably collapse, leading to their rout. If Liu Yao couldn't even grasp this, his defeat at the hands of Sun Ce was no injustice.

Liu Yao could only nod, though he remained slightly unconvinced.

The next day, at the fifth watch (dawn), Xiahou Yuan, Xiahou Dun, Le Jin, and Cao Ren led their respective elite halberdiers—over five thousand in total—out from the four gates. Each gate saw over a thousand men emerge to raid the rebel camp. The enemy sentries beat drums to sound the alarm, and the rebels rushed to meet them in disorder. However, the four generals fought with such ferocity that they tore down all the defensive obstacles between the city walls and the camp, slaughtering the rebels and forcing them back. When Zhang Rao, Gongsun Ju, Guan Hai, and Guan Cheng led their elites to reinforce, Cao Cao, watching from the city tower, immediately ordered the gongs to be struck for retreat. The four generals withdrew into Shouzhang. When the rebels attempted to pursue, a deafening clamor erupted from the city walls; Ren Jun was leading the militia, waving torches and shouting. Fearing archers, the rebels halted, allowing the four generals to return safely.

The rebel army of three hundred thousand had been woken by the raid, but because their numbers were so vast and their mobilization so clumsy, they could not mount an effective defense. They suffered thousands of casualties before Xiahou Yuan and the others withdrew at their leisure. The defensive obstacles were destroyed, and combined with the death of their ally, the Black Mountain bandit chief Bai Rao, at the hands of Cao Hong the previous day, their spirit was dealt a heavy blow. Zhang Rao was furious, but helpless.

At noon the following day, Cao Hong led his remaining fifteen hundred vanguard troops out of the west gate to raid the enemy camp. Simultaneously, all four gates were thrown open. Assuming the entire Cao army was attacking again, Zhang Rao immediately deployed his elites to the four gates, preparing for a head-on clash.

However, once the rebels had finished gathering at the other three gates, those gates were closed again. Only at the west gate did Cao Chun emerge with nearly a thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry, coordinating with Cao Hong’s vanguard to throw the rebels into chaos. They pushed two hundred paces deep into the enemy camp. The elite force at the west gate was led by the rebel commander Guan Hai.

In reality, after their defeat by Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan on the plains, the Qing and Xu Yellow Turbans had only eight thousand elite soldiers left. Guan Hai had two thousand under his command, and after losing a hundred the previous day, he had only about eighteen hundred. Zhang Rao had intended for these elites to support the mob in defending against the thousand-strong Cao raiding parties, which would have been more than enough. He never expected to face fifteen hundred vanguard troops and nearly a thousand elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry. Even worse, they were facing only Guan Hai’s eighteen hundred men and a cluster of disorganized rebels.

The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry split into two wings and instantly shattered the rebel flanks. Cao Hong’s vanguard charged straight for Guan Hai. Isolated and without reinforcements, Guan Hai had no choice but to grit his teeth and wield his blade to meet them, hoping for rescue from Zhang Rao and Guan Cheng at the south and north gates.

Cao Hong’s "Shang-mu" battalion—though only a few dozen strong—cut through the rebel elites like a hot knife through butter, slaughtering over a hundred in an instant. Then, the halberdiers pushed forward, driving the rebels back several paces and surrounding Guan Hai in the center.

Guan Hai, whose martial arts were on par with Bai Rao, saw his men pushed back and realized he was surrounded. He let out a tiger-like roar, his heavy blade swinging like a spinning wheel, killing two Shang-mu soldiers and three halberdiers. Just as he prepared to wheel his horse around to rejoin his men, he felt a cold breeze at the back of his neck.

He leaned forward on his horse and swung his blade horizontally behind him in a "crouching sword strike." Cao Hong, who was thrusting his spear at Guan Hai’s back, saw this classic mounted technique and sneered. He clamped his legs to stop his horse’s momentum, causing Guan Hai’s strike to miss. Cao Hong then hung his spear and grabbed his bow, firing three arrows in rapid succession. Guan Hai, having missed his strike, did not pause and tried to ride away, but as he straightened up, he felt a sharp, piercing pain in his heart and both sides of his waist.

Three arrowheads protruded from his chest and abdomen.

"How could his draw be so fast..." That was Guan Hai’s final thought before losing consciousness.

As soon as Cao Hong struck down Guan Hai, he heard the loud sound of the gongs. He immediately retreated, and his soldiers, having been instructed to withdraw at the sound, began to fall back to Shouzhang. Cao Chun led the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry in a brief rearguard action, turning the pursuing rebels into a river of blood before both groups retreated into Shouzhang before Zhang Rao and Guan Cheng could arrive.

The drawbridge of the moat was raised at leisure, leaving the chaotic rebels to howl in frustration.