Chapter 400 Battle of Luoyang, Revisited – Part 1

Chapter 400 – Battle of Luoyang, Revisited – Part 1

June, 191 AD.

Cao Cao received a decree from Tong, which related to the emergence of Yuan Shu's Zhong Dynasty.

The order was simple. They had to cooperate with Liu Biao to defeat the traitors.

Received the imperial decree, Cao Cao, Guo Jia, and Xu Chu moved to Xuchang with half of their army, leaving Xiahou Yuan to oversee the southern campaign.

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July, 191 AD.

Cao Cao organized 40,000 soldiers and made their way to Hulao Gate. He took many commanders and strategists with the army, such as Cheng Yu, Dian Wei, Xu Chu, Li Dian, Cao Xiu, and Guo Jia.

Liu Biao Army, led by Huang Zu and Huang Zhong, besieged the Wan City of Yuan Shu. Liu Pan, a nephew of Liu Biao, also joined them.

Also, the Ghost Legion, led by Zhang He, would participate in this joint campaign. Zhang He's assisting generals, Han Hao, Qu Yi, and Gao Lan, also came with them.

The strategist of Zhang He was Xun You of the Xun Clan, the cousin of Tong's personal advisor, Xun Yu.

Like how they battled the Xiongnu, 60,000 men from Henei gathered at Port Wen, getting ready to cross the Yellow River to siege Luoyang directly.

Meanwhile, Yuan Shu was not that stupid to self-proclaim himself an emperor unprepared. He requested support from his ally, the Xiongnu, by giving them tributes.

Li Ru, the former strategist of Dong Zhuo, led a force of 30,000 copies of Xiliang Cavalry and 20,000 cataphracts to Luoyang. On their way, they forced Yuan Yin, the honest governor of Hongnong, to conscript their troops to help them in this defense.

Yuan Yin turned to Liu Bei and his brothers, ordering him to join this battle with Hongnong conscripted soldiers.

At first, Liu Bei had planned to rebel against this person, but he received a secret proposal from Li Ru's messenger.

Li Ru was aware of Liu Bei's position in this city, and he decided to tempt him.

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[Lord Liu Bei,

Our princess has noticed that your brothers had awakened to immortal power, but they do not have a mentor to guide them. Without a mentor, they would not be able to use their power efficiently like our lord.

We are also aware of your difficulties during the turbulent time, and we are willing to give you a hand.

Moreover, we are willing to support you if you wish to obtain a province to be your home base in the future.

There is only one condition. Work with us and fight against Zhang Tong, the tyrant emperor that you despises. Then, we will give you our lord's secret cultivation technique that will help you and your brothers enhancing your power.

Sincerely,

Li Ru, the Administrator of Chang'An.]

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Liu Bei turned this letter to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to consult with them. Both of his brothers agreed that they should use whatever necessary to break free from this predicament and this war. Also, sabotaging Tong's armies and allies was a good idea since they were aiming to restore the Han Dynasty from the outsiders. Having a [Zhang] as the Han emperor was unacceptable to these brothers.

As such, Guan Yu led a force of 30,000 men to Luoyang, planning to fight against Tong's Ghost Legion. As for Liu Bei and Zhang Fei, they stayed behind in Hongnong, just in case they required to betray Yuan Yin and open the gates for Liu Biao's forces.

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Wen Port, southwest of Henei

Banners, [Ghost], fluttered in the wind inside the camp north of Yellow River. Also, many flags of generals presented as well.

However, a new banner caught the eyes of all soldiers.

[Liu]

Liu Xie, by Tong's order, had to join this battle as a reserve force commander to gain real combat experience. His followers, Wei Yan, Liu Ye, and Sima Yi, also joined him in this deployment.

Unfortunately, Cao Ang and Zhang Min were barred from participating since their status was different. Cao Ang was still serving as a hostage while Zhang Min was a princess. Sending both of them to the battlefield would make the battle more complicated than necessary.

The 10-year-old child, Liu Xie, attended the strategic meeting with sweat all over his face. Even a child could tell that he was nervous. Fortunately, Sima Yi and others stood behind him, giving him courage.

Zhang He gazed at these youngsters with a wry smile. He recalled the old memory when he first met Tong.Find authorized novels in Webnovel，faster updates, better experience，Please click www.novelhall.com for visiting.

At that time, he was as young as Sima Yi and Wei Yan. He also never dreamt that he would become a general with 60,000 men serving under him.

Now, looking back, he felt it was funny to see promising youths following his footsteps. Zhang He believed that, soon, these people would become another pillar for Tong's country.

"Relax, we won't bite you," Zhang He jested.

"O-Okay, sir."

"Don't call me, sir. You're the crown prince, so you should have a bit of dignity."

"R-Right."

"Anyway. Let's begin the briefing. Strategist Xun, please."

Xun You smiled at Zhang He and the youths in the main tent. All other generals also smiled at them, thinking that they were cute.

"Alright. Please look at the strategic map on the center table. I've already arranged everything beforehand."

Liu Xie, Liu Ye, Sima Yi, and Wei Yan gazed at the tokens and the model map on the table. Wei Yan and Sima Yi's eyes sparkled as they savored the taste of pressure in the real war meeting.

Xun You continued, "Our battle this time is similar to the battle with Xiongnu many years ago. We have learned from our mistakes, and we have come prepared this time."

He explained that they had built many fortress ships, square ships that could carry many soldiers, floating fortresses that could defend against regular sail ships. The others were transport ships which require manpower to row.

Unfortunately, Tong, Te Langpu, or Li Feihong did not design this ship. It was from Xun You's idea.

The otherworlder's ships had not been researched yet since Tong and all otherworlders had their hands full, developing cities.

Sima Yi and Liu Ye frowned when they heard that Zhang He and Xun You planned to cross the river with these ships. The river was not that wide that required them to use warships, or should they prepare for a naval battle.

Their real goal was crossing the river to get a foothold on the other side, not pursuing naval warfare.

"Isn't this overkill? We can just cross the river with small boats right now and build a stronghold to the other side while the others continue to move across the river."

Hearing Sima Yi's comment, Xun You nodded.

"At first, I thought so as well. However, our spies reported that Yuan Shu sent messengers to the Xiongnu to request for help. For the sake of our safety, we will draw them to fight in a naval battle instead of heading straight to the enemy territory."

Liu Ye did not understand, "Why is that?"

"We've been gathering information about Khan's troop, strength, and weaknesses for years, and our afford bore fruits. Our agents found that their specialist is cavalry, like our heavy cavalry. However, they are from Liang Province."

Zhang He inserted, "Xiliang Cav, the Qiang Cav, and the westerners."

The westerners that Zhang He mentioned was the cataphracts, which was deadly in a melee fight. Their scale armors were as strong as their plate armor, which they found it difficult to crack their defense.

Xun You continued, "I'm afraid that once we settle our camp on the opposite shore, we'll be vulnerable to Yuan Shu's reinforcement from Hongnong."

Sima Yi got the whole picture, "So, you want to draw horsemen to fight us in a naval battle. Then, they can't use their horse advantage."

"Correct! Also, we do not need to spearhead since Cao Cao's forces will help us from the east. They can take the brunt of those Xiliang soldiers."

"Are you sure that Cao Cao will help us? We're not exactly on good terms with them."

Xun You still smiled, "If that's the case, there will be more reasons for his majesty to mark Cao Cao as a rebel. I think he must have been dying to get a good cause to wage war with Cao Cao."

Liu Xie's face twitched, "Can't he just frame Cao Cao and get it over with? He's been dragging this matter for years. Cao Cao is getting stronger each day as well."

Zhang He and all adults laughed, "It is not that easy, your highness. Reputation, image, prestige, fame, and charisma are something that we have to tread carefully. Senseless wars and killing will only bring harm to the foundation of a country. Unless we have a solid reason that peasants and scholars can believe in us, we can't do anything. Do you remember how his majesty slaughtered people in Liyang? Do you remember all the reports and rumor about him during the time? It was a miracle that his majesty survived after that event. If he does it again, all of his subordinates will definitely rebel. After all, human hearts are something that we cannot predict."

Sima Yi and Wei Yan nodded as he understood this matter thoroughly. They had been close to the princess, so he heard many things that ordinary nobles could not hear.

Liu Xie bit his lower lips as he did not like how pretentious the political world was. He wanted to be an honest emperor of the people that would never lie to anyone.

The reality hurt him.

Xun You got everyone to the point, "For now, we'll send our baiting ships to the southern port. We'll trick them that we want that port as our next target."

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Xun You's prediction exactly was as Li Ru had planned. He intentionally delayed his arrival to draw Zhang He and his troops to the other side of the river, so his Xiliang cavalry could slaughter these men like fishes.

When they arrived at Luoyang and found that Zhang He had not crossed the river yet, Li Ru was baffled.

"Is Zhang He inept? Why hasn't he crossed the river when he has a chance?"

At Li Ru's side, Guan Yu accompanied this strategist.

"Aren't they trying to cross the river with all troops at once?"

"That is foolish and inefficient. Oh well, the reality sometimes differs from our envisioned scenarios. Let's go see your emperor and regroup with their forces.