novelSusiti Chapter 80: 1 Cavalrymen Flee Overnight—He Abandoned 4 Infantry
Chapter 80: 1 Cavalrymen Flee Overnight—He Abandoned 4 Infantry
At Chen Shi (7-9 AM), three silk ribbons were delivered by scouts.
The first letter.
"On the north bank. This morning, more than 1,100 people crossed the river. Among them were three garrison commanders and one military officer."
One thousand one hundred. One morning.
Liu Shan placed the silk strip under the paperweight. Yesterday it was over seven hundred. This morning it was all gone in one go.
The second letter.
"Sima Yi's main camp. All the outer camps have been dismantled. The tents have been packed up in the core area. The area has been reduced to one-third of its original size."
The third letter. Written by Zhao Yun. Large characters. One line.
"Smoke from the chimneys on the north bank—zero."
zero.
There wasn't a single wisp of smoke left.
I'm not cooking anymore.
Liu Shan arranged the three silk strips in a row. He then traced the strips with his finger from the first to the third.
Sixty thousand people. More than two thousand five hundred fled. Fifty-seven thousand remain. Subtract those who scattered, got sick, or died on the way—those who could fight—they're at most fifty thousand.
Fifty thousand people. They're not cooking anymore.
Or maybe—the grain is all gone.
Or—I don't plan to eat here again.
"Chen Dao".
Chen Dao entered through a side tent.
"Order the scouts. Starting today—keep a close watch on the east gate of Chang'an. From midnight to midnight, without stopping for a moment. Record everything that goes in and out, including people, horses, and carriages."
Chen didn't ask why. He sealed it with sealing wax, handed it to the soldier on guard duty, and left.
Liu Shan pulled a geomantic map from under his desk. His finger landed on the city of Chang'an.
From Chang'an to Luoyang. Eight hundred li. Cavalry marches in ten days at a rapid pace. Infantry marches in twenty days.
Of the 50,000 men, how many were cavalry?
The scout's old silk slip was unearthed. The one from the ninth day—"Sima Yi's main camp. Approximately ten thousand warhorses. Three hundred packhorses."
They slaughtered horses for several days. The packhorses were gone. How many warhorses were killed—it's hard to say. But the surrendered soldiers reported that they killed the packhorses first; the warhorses hadn't been touched much yet.
Even if five hundred warhorses are killed, nine thousand five hundred will still remain.
Nine thousand five hundred cavalry. Add the officers and guards. That makes a total of ten thousand.
The remaining 40,000 infantrymen.
Ten thousand cavalry can escape. Forty thousand infantry cannot.
What will he choose?
Liu Shan tapped his finger on the spot at the east gate of Chang'an.
He led ten thousand cavalry. Under cover of night, he charged out of the east gate, galloping wildly along the official road, shaking off the infantry and the Shu army. He fled back to Luoyang.
Forty thousand infantrymen were left behind in Chang'an.
No food. No horses. No commander.
drop.
He bet that Sima Yi would do that.
Because Sima Yi's surname wasn't Cao. His surname was Sima. The 60,000 troops were Cao Wei's soldiers. The 10,000 cavalry—the lifeblood of the Sima family.
Protect the soldiers or protect the people?
Sima Yi spent his entire life protecting his own people.
-
Afternoon. South slope.
The surrendered soldiers' camp was crammed with over 2,500 men. Some were sitting, some were squatting, some were lying down. They had eaten. Two bowls of dry rice. No side dishes. But it was enough. A hundred times better than that bowl of dishwater on the north bank.
Liu Shan didn't go down. He stood on the edge of the cliff and glanced down.
With so many people, the smells became unbearable. Sweat. Foot odor. With over two thousand people crammed together, there wasn't even anywhere to wash.
"Dong Yun".
Dong Yun walked up from behind.
"Among the surrendered soldiers—are there any literate?"
Dong Yun flipped through the register. "Seven. Three were military clerks. Two were originally county officials. And two more—a teacher and an accountant."
"Find those three documents. Find out which of the military advisors, clerks, and secretaries in Sima Yi's command tent are familiar with."
Dong Yun didn't ask any further questions. They went down the slope.
Liu Shan returned to his tent.
Persuading someone to surrender isn't about holding a knife to their throat. You need connections. Finding someone influential is more effective than ten official declarations.
But that's a story for later.
Today—waiting for nightfall.
-
At 5 PM. An urgent silk slip arrived from Chen Dao.
"Chang'an East Gate. There was unusual activity this afternoon. Two extra shifts of sentries were added. Horses are converging on the east gate from all over the city. The sound of iron hooves is constant."
Gather the horses.
Liu Shan looked up at the sky. The sun was still high in the sky. He would start making moves in the afternoon.
urgent.
I'm going to run tonight.
"Pass on the order."
Chen took the pen.
"Zhao Yun—Starting at midnight tonight, the entire army must extinguish all fires. Not a single lamp is to be lit. No one is to go to the top of the cliff. No one is to show their face."
Chen wrote.
"Let him think we've slept together. Don't scare him. If you scare him, he won't dare leave the city."
Chen paused for a moment after finishing writing.
"The second letter. To Wei Yan. Six words—Tonight, he will flee east."
Seal the opening. Apply sealing wax. Hand it over.
Liu Shan paced back and forth in the tent twice, his hands behind his back.
From the east gate of Chang'an to Wei Yan's location—sixty li.
Sima Yi's cavalry left the city and traveled about eighty li by dawn. They ran right into each other.
The time difference can be controlled.
But there's a problem.
Wei Yan had 3,000 cavalry. Sima Yi had 10,000 cavalry.
Three to one.
A direct confrontation—no chance.
Jiang Wei had 500 cavalrymen north of Chang'an. Adding that, it's 3,500 against 10,000.
It's still not enough.
but--
It's not necessary to have enough.
Wei Yan doesn't need to win. Just blockade him. Blockade him for an hour. Let Sima Yi's ten thousand cavalry run all night until they are exhausted and have to stop.
Stop—only then will there be room for the next move.
Liu Shan picked up his pen. His second letter to Wei Yan.
"Don't fight. Block them out. Block them out until dawn. I have a backup plan."
Seal it. Apply sealing wax. It's been handed over.
-
The hour of Xu (7-9 PM).
It was completely dark.
The fire in the main camp at Wuzhangyuan went out. The lights went out. Ten thousand men huddled in their tents, silent.
At the cliff top, Liu Shan sat on a rock, wrapped in an old robe. No fire was lit. A north wind blew in from the Wei River, carrying the fishy smell of water.
Chen Dao squatted down on the left.
Zhao Yun stood on the right. His spear was stuck in a crack in the ground.
The three men stared at the north bank.
It's black. I can't see anything.
But the ears work.
Across the Wei River. On the other side—a cacophony. Distant. Gusts of wind carry the sound. Horse hooves. Clanging armor. Wheels churning the ground. Someone is shouting softly.
"It moved," Zhao Yun said first.
Liu Shan didn't answer. He kept his ears perked up.
The noise lasted for about fifteen minutes. Then—the direction of the sound changed. From due north to northeast.
Further and further away. Weaker and weaker.
gone.
"General Zilong. How many men did he bring?"
Zhao Yun listened for a while, his eyes closed. An old general's ears are more reliable than a scout's.
"A dense thud of hooves. At least eight thousand cavalry. No footsteps of infantry."
No infantry were brought.
Liu Shan stood up from the rock and dusted off his robe.
"Forty thousand infantrymen. He abandoned them in Chang'an."
There was a brief silence.
Zhao Yun's hand loosened from the spear shaft, then gripped it again.
"Your Majesty. Shall we pursue them or not?"
"Don't chase."
Liu Shan walked towards the tent. He took three steps. Then he stopped.
"Tomorrow morning, I will cross the river and enter Chang'an."
Zhao Yun remained silent.
Chen caught up.
"Your Majesty—40,000 men are still in the city. What if…?"
"Forty thousand men haven't eaten for three days. They're without a commander. At daybreak they discover Sima Yi has fled—what do you think they can do?"
The wind blew across the cliff top. Liu Shan's robe fluttered slightly.
"My hands were shaking so badly I could barely hold the knife.
He lifted the curtain and entered the tent. It was pitch black inside. He groped his way to the table in the dark.
"Order the kitchen: Slaughter all the pigs. Cook all the rice. Tomorrow, cross the river—push the grain cart across."
Chen responded in the darkness.
"Those 2,500-plus surrendered soldiers will also be going tomorrow. They'll go first."
"Surrendered soldiers leading the charge?"
"It's not about attacking the leader. It's about creating a living advertisement. When the 40,000 men in the city see that their own brothers are well-fed, well-clothed, and haven't lost their heads, it's more effective than an army of 100,000."
The tent flap moved. Chen Dao went out to relay the order.
Liu Shan reached for the dagger under his pillow, squeezed it, and placed it on the table.
I don't need to put it under my pillow tomorrow.
We'll enter Chang'an tomorrow.
-
Sixty li east of Chang'an.
Official road.
Wei Yan's three thousand cavalrymen were scattered in the woods on both sides of the road. They hadn't set up camp. No fires had been lit. The men ate dry rations. The horses chewed on withered grass. They had traveled swiftly from Puban Ferry, arriving before nightfall the previous night. Neither the men nor the horses had had a proper rest.
Wei Yan sat under a crooked tree. His knife rested on his knees. His eyes were closed. His ears were open.
The sound of horses' hooves. From the north.
It's not the main road. It's a side road.
Jiang Wei's five hundred cavalrymen came around from the north. They had been traveling for half a day. The horses were so tired that their front legs were trembling.
"General."
Jiang Wei dismounted, clutching a strip of silk in his hand.
"His Majesty's letter—tonight, he fled east."
Wei Yan swallowed the bits of dry rations in his mouth.
How many people?
"It wasn't mentioned in the letter."
Wei Yan opened his eyes and glanced westward.
"Ten thousand cavalry."
Jiang Wei squatted down.
"We can't bring infantry. They won't be fast. The only ones who can run are cavalry. At most, ten thousand."
Jiang Wei drew a line on the ground.
"Ten thousand to three thousand five."
"His Majesty said—no fighting. Block it. Block it until dawn."
Jiang Wei thought for a few moments, then nodded and stood up.
"Then block it."
Wei Yan patted the dirt off the tree trunk, leaned on his sword, and stood up. He walked to the middle of the official road and looked left and right.
Both sides. Earthen slopes. Not high. Just over two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters). Archers are hidden behind them—that's enough.
"Take five hundred men. Bury them behind the left slope. When he charges—I'll hold off the first wave. You fire from the side. After you've fired, retreat. Circle around and come back to fire again."
Jiang Wei nodded.
"Remember—don't entangle them. Shoot and run. If ten thousand cavalry charge into your formation and you send five hundred men to meet them head-on, that's suicide."
Jiang Wei mounted his horse. His hand paused briefly on the reins.
"General, you have ten thousand cavalry to face them head-on. You have three thousand men..."
"I have a knife."
Jiang Wei said nothing more. He led five hundred cavalrymen to circle around to the left and behind the slope.
Wei Yan stood in the middle of the official road.
Look west.
It was pitch black. Nothing could be seen. But sixty miles away, ten thousand horses were galloping this way. They had run all night. They arrived at dawn, exhausted both men and horses.
Wei Yan took the sword from his knees and held it upright in front of him. A glimmer of starlight reflected off the blade.
come on.
[End of Chapter]