Chapter 58: The Return to Xudu

“Fengxiao! My dear Fengxiao, you’ve finally returned.”

In front of the county office in Hefei, Cao Cao rushed forward with excitement, throwing his arms around Guo Jia’s shoulders, his eyes brimming with tears as he poured out his longing. Watching this display, Cao Xin couldn’t help but feel goosebumps—how had their leader suddenly taken on the mannerisms of Liu Bei?

Guo Jia himself was uncomfortable with such enthusiasm, casting a glance at Cao Xin, signaling him to come and rescue him from the situation.

Cao Xin chuckled, turned, and walked out of the hall, leaving the two to enjoy their moment.

“General, Old Pei has arrived,” Liao Hua hurried over to report.

“Haha, good timing. There must be news from the Battle of Xinye.” Cao Xin strode toward the tea room, with Liao Hua following.

After he had left Nanyang with the Langya cavalry, the officials of Jingzhou, led by Liu Biao, saw an opportunity and sent Cai Mao as chief commander, Kuai Yue as strategist, and Zhang Yun and Cai He as deputies, leading thirty thousand troops to invade Nanyang.

Li Yan and his men, following Cao Xin’s instructions, abandoned the southern counties, focusing their defense on Xinye and Huyang.

The Jingzhou army swiftly retook Caiyang, Zaoyang, Yuyang, and other counties. When they reached Huyang, Cai He came out to challenge Wei Yan to a duel. Wei Yan feigned defeat and retreated.

Unaware of the trap, Cai He led his troops in pursuit, only to be ambushed by Wei Yan’s forces. The hidden soldiers sprang forth, killing and injuring over two thousand soldiers from Jingzhou, capturing nearly three thousand. Cai He escaped with barely a dozen followers.

The Jingzhou vanguard suffered a severe setback, but their main force remained. Cai Mao, the chief commander, led more than twenty thousand troops in a fierce assault on Huyang. Wei Yan held out for three days before retreating to Xinye.

After securing Huyang, Cai Mao and his men grew more confident and turned their attention to attacking Xinye.

The outcome would only be revealed after meeting Pei Yuan-shao.

“Yuan-shao pays respect to the General!” In the tea room, Pei Yuan-shao set down his teacup and stepped forward, fists clasped in salute. This man, dressed in a black robe, carrying a longsword and wearing a bamboo hat, looked every bit the wandering hero of the martial world, strikingly dashing.

“No need for formalities, Yuan-shao. Was your journey smooth?” Cao Xin lifted Pei Yuan-shao to his feet, asking.

“Very smooth, General. I traveled by the waterways of Jingzhou and arrived in three days.” Pei Yuan-shao recounted his journey along the river and then described the second battle between the Xinye and Jingzhou armies.

Ten days earlier, after the Jingzhou army occupied Huyang, Cai Mao led twenty-five thousand troops to attack Xinye.

Inside Xinye, there were more than ten thousand defenders, most of them new recruits. Still, holding the city wasn’t difficult; the Jingzhou army’s fierce attack lasted five days without success, costing them over ten thousand soldiers, leaving only about eighteen thousand.

Cai Mao had no choice but to withdraw, planning to garrison Huyang as a precaution against Cao’s forces.

During the retreat, Yu Du led three thousand infantry from the Mountain Battalion, Bai Feng led a thousand Langya infantry, Wei Yan commanded three thousand from the Blood-Red Battalion, Liu Dashan led two thousand from the supply corps, and Li Dayan together with Pei Yuan-shao led six hundred light cavalry out of the city.

The entire force pressed forward, striking Jingzhou’s rear guard.

The Jingzhou troops had spent days assaulting the city, their soldiers exhausted and morale unstable. The Xinye force pushed them back, but their numbers were too small to completely defeat the Jingzhou army.

At this crucial moment, Zhang Xiu from Rang City arrived with eight hundred Xiliang cavalry and four thousand infantry.

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With the attack from both sides, the Jingzhou army suffered a crushing defeat.

Only a handful of commanders, including Cai Mao, escaped back to Xiangyang. The vanguard, Cai He, deputy commander Deng Zhang Yun, and over ten thousand Jingzhou soldiers were captured by the forces of Xinye and Rang City.

“Zhang Xiu joined in?” Cao Xin was surprised.

“General, Zhang Xiu didn’t act for nothing. When Jingzhou was preparing to retreat, fewer than ten thousand remained in Xinye, mostly new recruits. Jingzhou still had eighteen thousand troops; it wouldn’t be easy to overcome them entirely.

So Yi Zhubo went to Rang City to negotiate, persuading Zhang Xiu to intervene. Zhang Xiu said that Liu Biao of Jingzhou had once welcomed the Xiliang army and granted them territory, showing them kindness—he hesitated to betray that.

Yi Zhubo countered, saying that Jingzhou had killed Zhang Ji in Rang City; where was the kindness in that? Jingzhou allowed the Xiliang army to garrison Wan and Rang—only as watchdogs, not out of respect. Zhang Xiu had already allied with our army; this was the moment to prove his integrity.

Yi Zhubo promised, if victorious, to supply the Xiliang army with fifty thousand measures of grain.

Zhang Xiu demanded a hundred thousand. After consulting with Yi Zhubo and Li Gongcao, the request was granted, and Zhang Xiu led his troops against Jingzhou.” Pei Yuan-shao explained.

“So that’s how it is. Zhang Xiu doesn’t act without seeing the reward.” Cao Xin nodded, listening as Pei Yuan-shao continued the account of the Nanyang campaign.

After defeating Jingzhou’s army, the Xinye troops reclaimed Huyang, Caiyang, Zaoyang, and other cities, stationing ten thousand soldiers in Caiyang, threatening an advance on Xiangyang.

Liu Biao of Jingzhou was shocked and hurriedly sent Zhong Daxing to Xinye to negotiate peace.

Jingzhou agreed to Cao Xin’s previous terms: thirty coins for each captive, ransoming all the captured Jingzhou officers and soldiers, sixty thousand coins to reclaim Caiyang, totaling a hundred million coins’ worth of goods and grain.

The condition: Cao’s army must not attack Caiyang or any Jingzhou territory for the next five years.

Li Yan and his colleagues could not decide and sent word to ask Cao Xin’s opinion.

“A hundred million coins—Jingzhou is indeed wealthy.” Cao Xin marveled. Thirty coins per prisoner, sixty thousand for Caiyang; he had casually named those figures, yet Jingzhou could produce such wealth, proof of its prosperity.

Pei Yuan-shao laughed, “They have little choice. Jingzhou has twice been defeated in Nanyang, losing forty to fifty thousand troops. Liu Biao has fewer than a hundred thousand left. Moreover, Changsha and Guilin have seen unrest recently—Liu Biao needs his army to stabilize Jingzhou.”

Cao Xin nodded, “Let’s make the exchange. Have Li Yan and the Jingzhou negotiators sign the ‘Xinye Treaty’: with Caiyang, Daxian, and Suixian as the boundary; north is Nanyang, south is Jingzhou. For five years, neither side shall attack the other, and Liu Biao must personally sign.”

“Yes, General!” Pei Yuan-shao saluted.

—

After Guo Jia’s return, Xiahou Yuan and Xiahou Dun each led five thousand reinforcements to Shouchun, bringing the total strength of Cao’s army in Huainan to twenty thousand.

Cao Cao ordered an attack on Lujiang, aiming to connect Huainan, Lujiang, and Runan for easier defense.

The campaign went smoothly. In less than seven days, Cao’s army occupied eight northern counties of Lujiang, nearly half the region. The governor, Qiao Rui, was defeated and retreated with his forces south of the Huai River to Shucheng.

Cao’s troops pressed on, but at that moment, urgent news arrived from Xuzhou.

Lü Bu was attacking Liu Bei, who was stationed at Xiaopei. Liu Bei was unable to withstand the assault and requested help from Cao Hong. Cao Hong brought five thousand troops to assist Liu Bei but was defeated by Gao Shun and Zhang Liao.

Cao Hong sent messengers to Cao Cao for aid.

But Cao’s forces in Huainan numbered fewer than twenty thousand, and there were insufficient troops elsewhere to support two fronts. Cao Cao had no choice but to order a withdrawal.

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As he departed, Cao Cao appointed the surrendered officer Yang Hong as governor of Huainan, overseeing Huainan and Lujiang counties.

Xiahou Dun was made the garrison general, and together with deputy general Yu Jin, led ten thousand troops stationed in Hefei, defending against Yuan Shu of Danyang, Huang Zu of Jiangxia, and Sun Ce of Kuaiji.

The surrendered officer Chen Lan was made the county captain, responsible for military security with five thousand troops. Most other posts were filled by sons of local prominent families.

Five members of Lady Feng Juan’s family held positions in the region: Feng Xi was magistrate of Hefei, Bu Zhi was chief of Juchao, Wei Jing was deputy magistrate of Chengbo, and the others had their own appointments.

Cao Xin himself, for his achievements in Nanyang and Huainan, was recommended by Cao Cao and promoted to General of Pacification South and Marquis of Duting.

Marquis of Duting was a rank above Marquis within the Passes, without a fixed fief, but entitled to an annual stipend from the court of three to four hundred measures.

The General of Pacification South belonged to the sequence of Four Pacification Generals, a step above miscellaneous generals. Above that were the Four An Generals, Four Guardian Generals, Four Expedition Generals, Generals of the Front, Rear, Left, and Right, Guard Generals, and Chariot Cavalry Generals.

Currently, Cao Cao himself was Chariot Cavalry General; the ranks of his subordinate generals were not too high. Cao Xin’s position was among the top three military officers under Cao Cao.

“Ziyu, you are General of Pacification South. From now on, military matters in Nanyang and Huainan are yours. I must concentrate my efforts against the traitorous Lü Bu.”

On the road back to Xuchang, Cao Cao gazed toward Xuzhou, his face grim.

At first, he had followed Chen Deng’s advice, using the ‘hawk-taming’ method against Lü Bu: offering small benefits each time, never enough to satisfy him and prevent mischief.

But Lü Bu, this old hawk, was too unpredictable, too hard to control—it would be safer to eliminate him sooner.

“Prime Minister, I’ll keep an eye on Huainan. Should I join the fight against Lü Bu?” Cao Xin asked.

“You… It’s better if you come along,” Cao Cao hesitated before answering.

“Yes, Prime Minister!” Cao Xin replied with a smile and salute.

“Ziyu, why are you so happy to fight Lü Bu?” Cao Cao asked, puzzled.

“Prime Minister, have you forgotten that there’s a great beauty in Xuzhou?” Guo Jia murmured.

Cao Cao paused, then his eyes lit up. “Diao Chan?”

“Exactly! Cao Ziyu is obsessed with beauty. Whenever he hears there’s a beauty present, he becomes extremely excited,” Guo Fengxiao said with a sneer.

“Prime Minister, don’t listen to Guo Fengxiao’s nonsense. I just enjoy dueling with mighty warriors. Lü Bu is the foremost fighter in the realm—I wish to test myself against him. Diao Chan is of little concern to me,” Cao Xin glared at Guo Fengxiao.

Cao Cao nodded slightly, his eyes thoughtful.

—

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