Three Kingdoms: I am not Liu Bian

Chapter 358 No matter how you look at it, the troop strength in the battle is 100,000 to 100,000, so the advantage is on my side!
On the 28th day of the eighth month of the second year of the Han Dynasty, the rebel emperor sent an envoy with a declaration of war, inviting the emperor to a hunting party at Guling. The emperor gladly accepted the invitation.

On the first day of the ninth month, the emperor led his army to Guling, where they joined forces with General Huangfu Song and General Gao Shun. The army set up camp on the plain and confronted the rebels. The two armies agreed to a decisive battle on the third day of the ninth month.

In the main tent, Liu Bian summoned all the military officers of the rank of colonel and above.

Liu Bian stood in the tent, holding a wooden spear, and pointed at the location of Guling on the huge map hanging behind him that outlined the enemy's and our own positions.

"Guling has been the site of more than ten large-scale wars throughout history, the rights and wrongs of which are too complicated to discuss."

"Back then, Emperor Taizu Gao led a large army, which converged at Guling in three routes, and launched an eastern expedition!"

"Emperor Gaozu defeated Xiang Yu, sent Marquis Ding Li of Yuecheng to defeat Zhongli Mei, sent Liu Jia to cross the Huai River to besiege Shouchun, sent Renjian to recruit Zhou Yin, the Grand Marshal of Chu, and sent Ying Bu, the King of Huainan, to conquer Jiujiang. Seeing that the situation was hopeless, Xiang Yu escaped to the south!"

"In the fifth year of the Han Dynasty, Emperor Gaozu personally led 300,000 brave soldiers to conquer Xiang Yu at Gaixia and won a great victory!"

"I don't understand why everyone is talking about the rebel emperor having an army of 100,000, and the Han army being welcomed by the people wherever it goes. It can be said that they have the best of luck. That kind of vibrant life and flourishing world is right before our eyes."

"No matter how you look at it, the battle force is 100,000 to 100,000!" Liu Bian slammed his wooden spear heavily on the map, looked around at his generals, and said, word by word, "The advantage is on our side!"

Liu Bian's face was tense as he suppressed the sense of absurdity in his heart and uttered these words.

However, in this feudal era, such words could indeed boost morale.

Throughout history, warfare has been a process where defeats only make one more vulnerable. When one suffers repeated defeats on the same battlefield or against the same enemy, it is inevitable that one will lack confidence, become fearful and anxious, and experience a surge of emotions. Naturally, one may make mistakes in haste or see enemies everywhere.

Liu Bian intentionally told his generals that this place was called Guling, where Emperor Taizu Gao defeated the Chu army and established his rule over the world. So they would also defeat the rebels here!
Of course, Liu Bian would not tell his generals that after the peace treaty at Honggou, Emperor Gaozu of Chu broke the treaty and pursued the Chu army without displaying martial virtue. Furthermore, because Peng Yue and Han Xin failed to lead their troops to join him, Liu Bian was defeated by the Chu army at Guling. Thus, he was defeated at Guling but then won.

No one would be so foolish as to mention these “trivial details.” On the contrary, the generals felt their morale lifted when they heard the emperor’s last words, “100,000 against 100,000, the advantage is in our hands.”

Isn't it precisely because the emperor trusts them that he utters such bold words?
Sun Jian chuckled upon hearing this, rubbing his rough hands, his eyes gleaming with fierce fighting spirit. He laughed and said, "What the state says is quite right. This rebellious man, relying on his strength, actually abandoned the fortified city to fight me in the open field. It is truly a foolish act. This man has probably lost his mind upon hearing that the state is personally leading the campaign!"

Lu Bu's victory over Guan Hai's 30,000 men in the Battle of Xuchang was a feat that Sun Jian greatly envied.

As a fellow cavalryman, the battle achievements he had made were nothing more than defeating some rebel scouts and logistics teams, not even a fraction of what Lü Bu had achieved. How could he not be anxious?
Moreover, ever since Lü Bu's great victory in Xuchang, he has rarely encountered enemy troops who dared to leave the city for open battle. Even if he sent Cao Chun, Zu Mao, Zhang Liao and others to lead a hundred or so cavalrymen to swagger through those cities, the rebel generals would not leave the city to fight. Even if they cursed all the female ancestors of the enemy, they would at most get a verbal battle in return.

"Your subject requests to serve as the vanguard, and will surely serve the country with merit!"

However, Huang Zhong was even more eager than Sun Jian. He strode forward, his face full of urgency, and spoke up before Sun Jian, asking to be the vanguard.

Sun Jian at least managed to gain some military merits, while Huang Zhong has achieved almost nothing since the start of the war.

Huangfu Song valued his military strength and was unwilling to use elite troops like the Central Army to attack fortified cities. Instead, he mostly used the able-bodied men from the Sanhe region to attack cities.

Although Huang Zhong led the main force to break through Fule City at night, everyone knew that the reason for the breach was that the Embroidered Uniform Guard inside the city was heading straight for reinforcements. In reality, Huang Zhong did not have any merit.

Lü Bu made great contributions in battle, while Gao Shun, as the commander of the western army, successively recovered Xinji, captured Zheqiu and Changping, and achieved considerable victories along the way, thus also making many military achievements.

How could Huang Zhong not be anxious?

What he cared about was not actually military merit, but rather the feeling that he was lagging behind others, and what he wanted was the empty fame behind military merit.

"Hansheng, you're so disloyal."

Faced with Huang Zhong's open vying for the vanguard position, Sun Jian became anxious, and immediately all the generals in the tent volunteered to fight, with voices clamoring for the vanguard position rising and falling.

Who would complain about having too few battle achievements?

Seeing the generals arguing over the vanguard position, Liu Bian slammed his wooden spear heavily on the table.

With a loud bang, the noise of the crowd instantly ceased. Liu Bian's gaze slowly swept over the generals, and the once noisy tent fell silent. The generals all returned to their original positions, bowed their heads, and stood respectfully, no one daring to make a fuss anymore.

The strategy for the military campaign was prepared in advance by Huangfu Song and reviewed by cabinet ministers who were knowledgeable in military strategy, such as Xun You and Shen Pei.

Xu You, who was entrusted with important military matters by Liu Chong, had already been secretly corresponding with Huangfu Song. All of the rebel army's strategic deployments, including how to arrange the troops, how to use the troops, and the location of the decisive battle, were discussed in private letters between Xu You and Huangfu Song. Then, he guided Liu Chong to make deployments according to Xu You's suggestions.

The area around Guling has a few hills and plateaus, but overall it is a large plain, which is advantageous for cavalry warfare.

Armored cavalry is a truly invincible weapon on the plains, but Liu Chong still does not realize the terrifying power of armored cavalry, and still blames the previous defeat on Guan Hai's incompetence and Lü Bu's despicable sneak attack.

Liu Chong was not very knowledgeable about military affairs, and Luo Jun and Xu Yang were also not good at military strategy. Those who had never seen it could hardly imagine how desperate it would be to face a well-organized armored cavalry unit on the battlefield.

Seeing that the generals had stopped arguing, Liu Bian nodded slightly and ordered someone to bring him a detailed topographical map of the Guling area. He then handed the wooden spear in his hand to Huangfu Song, entrusting him with the task of arranging the troops.

If you don't understand battle formations, you should hand over command to the most suitable person.

Moreover, although there was a hint of premature champagne-giving at the start, Liu Bian was indeed already tallying up previous victories and preparing for the promotions of his generals and the prefects and commanders who had participated in the battle. On that very night, Xu You, along with his retainers, under the pretext of inspecting the camp, escaped from the rebel camp under cover of darkness. They traveled forty li overnight to Chen County, where they used forged troop mobilization documents to lure the last five thousand rebel troops stationed there to Guling to reinforce Liu Chong.

On the second day of the ninth month, Cui Jun, the newly appointed Chancellor of Chen State, appeared in Chen County. With the help of the communication channels previously established by Xu You, he mobilized about 800 Embroidered Uniform Guards and quickly took control of Chen County's armory and granary, as well as the city gates, thus successfully taking control of the poorly defended city.

Even the powerful families and clans whose private soldiers had been sent to the front lines by Liu Chong had no strength left to resist. Xu You announced that "Wanqiu" would be renamed "Chen County" and that it had been recovered by the court. All the powerful families and clans in the city were arrested and imprisoned.

Upon learning of the loss of the rear, Liu Chong was shocked. After discovering that it was all Xu You's scheme, he flew into a rage, drew his sword and killed the captain who had been tricked by Xu You. He then publicly declared that the captain was an inside agent of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, attempting to undermine the morale of the army with false information.

However, Liu Chong overestimated his prestige and underestimated the extent of the army's demoralization.

Apart from the 30,000 followers who had initially joined him, the remaining soldiers did not have much loyalty to Liu Chong, and morale had long been low. In particular, the troops composed of private soldiers from powerful families and remnants of the Yellow Turban Rebellion were already planning to escape in this situation where there was almost no hope of turning the tide.

Inside the city, the city gates were at least tightly closed, and there were loyal generals and some troops watching with predatory eyes, leaving them nowhere to escape.

But in the camp outside the city, they had an opportunity.

Although they dared not surrender directly to the imperial court, fearing that the court would hold them accountable for their crimes of joining the rebels, they still had the courage to desert and go home. If all else failed, they would hide in the mountains and forests to avoid trouble and return home after the storm had passed.

Overnight, tens of thousands of people fled under the cover of night, and even the soldiers sent to stop the deserters went with the tide and joined the fleeing ranks.

However, Liu Chong did not dare to carry out a bloody crackdown and eventually had to let the deserters go.

A bloody crackdown at night could easily escalate into a riot.

Once this army of 100,000 men roars, they will collapse without a fight, even without the imperial army attacking.

At dawn on the third day of the ninth lunar month, Liu Chong counted the number of people and found that only more than 70,000 remained.

In desperation, Liu Chong decided to go all out and fight to the death with everyone.

As dawn broke, Huangfu Song ordered Huang Zhong to lead the vanguard in an attack.

To everyone's surprise, the rebel vanguard collapsed at the first contact, and Huang Zhong killed Xu He, Sima Ju, and other Yellow Turban remnants.

Before Sun Jian on the left wing and Gao Shun on the right wing could react, the battle had already turned into a one-sided affair.

Even Lü Bu and his armored cavalry, who were originally left behind by Huangfu Song to deliver a fatal blow to the rebels at a critical moment, failed to join the battle in time.

The remaining Left and Right Guard Battalions, Central Fortress Battalion, Central Stronghold Battalion, and Guerrilla Battalion all missed the best opportunity to engage in combat and failed to close in in time, allowing many rebel troops to escape.

A large number of rebels either defected and surrendered or took advantage of the chaos to escape. Most importantly, key figures of the rebels, such as Liu Chong and Luo Jun, all managed to escape.

Sun Jian reacted the fastest, personally leading a light cavalry guerrilla battalion in pursuit, capturing Xu Yang alive as he fled, and beheading Luo Jun, who was leading two thousand loyal followers to cover the rear. However, Liu Chong was still nowhere to be found.

The following day, Jia Xu led 10,000 troops from Xiang County northward to Chen County, where he took over the defense of Chen County from Xu You.

Huangfu Song dispatched General Gao Shun with 20,000 men to assist Jia Xu. In addition, Xinping County, the last city of Chen that was in the hands of the rebels, was besieged by tens of thousands of troops led by Huang Zhong. The garrison commander of Xinping County finally chose to give up resistance and surrendered.

With this, the state of Chen was finally at peace, with only Liu Chong remaining in exile.

Within a few days, Liu Chong was finally captured.

He was captured by Jia Xu's second son, Jia Fang.

These days, the imperial army is suppressing rebel forces in various places and persuading fleeing rebels to lay down their weapons and return home.

Some villagers from Chen County reported to Jia Xu, who was temporarily in charge of the affairs of the State of Chen, that cattle and sheep in the village had been stolen repeatedly recently, and they suspected that rebels were hiding in the mountains.

Jia Xu sent Jia Fang with two hundred men to persuade the rebels to surrender and to assess the losses suffered by the people, but they unexpectedly encountered fierce resistance.

Unexpectedly, this group of rebels, numbering only thirty-nine, was exceptionally brave and fearless.

Fortunately, Jia Xu was cautious; half of the two hundred men he arranged for Jia Fang were armed with bows and crossbows.

After the rain of arrows, only six people survived.

After Jia Fang's impromptu interrogation, two of the survivors identified one of them as Liu Chong, the bandit leader who had concealed his identity after being wounded by an arrow.

Jia Xu was overjoyed upon hearing the news. The emperor and Huangfu Song were extremely worried about Liu Chong's whereabouts, but they never expected that he would get such a great advantage.

Jia Xu immediately ordered Jia Fang to personally go to the emperor's temporary residence to report to the emperor. At the same time, he dispatched Xun Yu, the chancellor of Jibei, to lead more than a thousand soldiers to escort Liu Chong to the emperor's temporary residence.

(3308 words)
(End of this chapter)