197-198: A WAR FOR THE NORTH
Gongsun Zan wasn’t surprised when he received messengers from the old Tan Weiping. Things had clearly been heating up in the north, with Lü Bu finally invading You Province. From what he heard of the man, it was clear that Lü Bu would not have been satisfied as the Inspector of Bing Province, that he would seek to gain far more powers and territories. So far, his actions seemed to indicate that Gongsun Zan would be the one attacked, which is why the general had put Tan Weiping on the defense of the border. Attacking Ji Province was a stupid strategy, but Lü Bu didn’t seem like the cerebral type. To learn that Lü Bu had not only aimed for the weaker Liu Yu, but had also timed it to attack just as Gongsun Zan fought south was a complete surprise. Once he cleared things south, the general found himself hesitant. He still wanted to present himself as a righteous defender of the Han, which meant that he couldn’t just attack a distracted enemy. He wished to help Liu Yu, but his former liege would never accept it. He even entertained the idea of going for the capital while his rivals were distracted, but Niu Fu’s righteous reputation would make him lose most of his Han loyalists.
So he was quite relieved and happy when he received the messengers, who brought a missive that Liu Yu had sent to the border. It seemed that the Inspector of You Province was on his last leg. Unable to resists Lü Bu alone, he had finally asked his southern neighbor for help. Gongsun Zan couldn’t help himself from savoring that feeling, if only for an instant. But he had little time to lose. It was currently July, which meant that if he assembled fast enough, he might be able to achieve something before winter. Gongsun Zan summoned all his advisors and generals, with the exception of Tan Weiping, who was still guarding the frontier. He announced his intention to march against Lü Bu in order to save Liu Yu. However, many advised him not to take command personally, but to instead delegate that responsibility to another able commandant. While a few of them had eyes on personal glory, others were worried that their lord’s condition would be too much. After all, Gongsun Zan was now suffering from gout, which would make the trip to the frontline a living hell. But Gongsun Zan refused.
“I was personally asked to come to Liu Yu’s help. How can I refuse that request? How can I insult our ally by not going myself?” he argued.
With Gongsun Zan set on going, this left the question of who would be left in charge of the province in his absence. Two men were quick to ask for the position. Tan Weiping, who had expected that Gongsun Zan would want to lead the troops personally, had instructed his messengers to speak on his behalf. He was the eldest statesman of Ji Province and had showed that he was amply qualified for the task. Many in the province respected and trusted him. He was the safest choice. No, the only logical choice. His agents worked out to push that last point when they promoted his candidacy.
But he wasn’t the only one wishing to be regent of Ji Province in its ruler’s absence. Yuan Tan had found himself outmaneuvered into the position of Chief Censor of the province last year, far away of any army. Well, now he had an opportunity to receive some civilian power and expected damn well to have it. Gongsun Zan had promised him power when he joined his side, so now was the time to pay up. And besides, who else was he going to nominate? Some old man? Bah! No, Yuan Tan fully expected to be left in charge of the province, an opportunity he planned to use for his personal advantage.
Gongsun Zan chose neither of the two men, seeing the obvious red flags that they represented. Tan Weiping was indeed respected in the province, enough so that Gongsun Zan had always been careful not to give him so much power that he could become a rival. While the general trusted his older subordinate, he wasn’t blind to the dangers he could represent. When it came to Yuan Tan, trust was never even considered as a factor, because there was none to be found. Leaving Yuan Tan in charge was folly. No, that man was better left in a subordinate position. So instead, the Governor of Ji Province tapped in one of his oldest friends, Liu Bei. Liu Bei was a man known for his righteousness and his humility, someone that could be easily trusted and who could garner the respect of the provincial officials. Out of all his subordinate, Liu Bei was the one he trusted the most to remain loyal, and one he knew would do the job well.
So he ordered Tan Weiping to stay on the border with Bing Province and told Yuan Tan that he would instead have to obey Liu Bei in his absence. Liu Bei first tried to refuse the appointment, seeing himself as unworthy of such trust, but Gongsun Zan insisted.
“I need a friend I can believe in”, he told him. Seeing how his lord was pleading for his help, Liu Bei could only accept the position of regent and hope that he was the right choice.
With his rear secured, Gungsun Zan started to organize his forces into two. He would obviously command the main army that would go for Bing Province itself, but he also wanted a secondary army to go help Liu Yu in the north. For that secondary army, he entrusted a longtime subordinate that had followed him since his early days, the righteous Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun was the perfect man to trust with the command of a secondary army. He had already proved his military talent during the seizure of Ji province and in the dealing of some revolts last year. To assist him, Gongsun Zan also appointed one of Liu Bei’s sworn brother as a secondary commander, a brute named Zhang Fei. While Liu Bei had recommended him, Gongsun Zan was reticent to trust such a violent and brutish man with a large number of troops. But the scion of the Han vouched for him, and Zhao Yun could probably keep a tight leach on that man.
But with so many people either left behind or commanding troops in the second army, Gongsun Zan found himself in need of a competent officer to command the important right flank of his army. He first approached his cousin Gongsun Yue, his closest advisor and head of his personal military staff. Not wanting to relinquish a position from which he could more closely help his more powerful relative, Gongsun Yue refused to take the command. However, he once again spoke in favor of Guan Yu, one of Liu Bei’s sworn brothers. Guan Yu had received an important command in the recent campaign for Jibei and had proven to be an excellent commander. Gongsun Yue, who had recommended Guan Yu that first time, was all too happy to once again help such a talented officer get the attention. He wanted his cousin to have the best generals possible at his disposal, and in his eyes Guan Yu was the best of all. Gongsun Yan, who also knew of Guan Yu’s talent, welcomed the suggestion and ordered the tall officer to come take command of his right flank.
But sadly for Gongsun Zan, the recruitment of levies and the linking of his army took a lot more time than he would have wished. As his men were preparing themselves, Lü Bu was still within You Province, advancing and making quite a lot of progresses. When the warlord was informed that Gongsun Zan was assembling his troops to come to Liu Yu’s aid, he simply laughed.
“What can he hope to do?” Lü Bu mocked. All this meant was that he would need to knock out You Province out of the war quickly (which he was already planning to do anyway) and then march south to annihilate the Ji forces. He could already see it in his mind. Yes, it would be that easy. Soon enough, he would not only control the northern border of China, but the whole north. Convinced that he was on the eve of his eventual triumph, Lü Bu ordered his men to quicken their pace toward victory.
His subordinate and Commandant Zhang Yang still made sure that this new haste to finish the campaign didn’t turn into indiscriminate slaughter out of expediency. After all, these people would soon be the loyal subjects of his great lord, so there was no need to deal with them too harshly. It helped that some people did rejoice at the arrival of Lü Bu and his troops. Liu Yu and Wei Yusheng had fortified to resist an approaching Lü Bu, more or less abandoning the local people, and Ding Kai was occupied defending his easter commandery from the massive Wuhuan uprising. With the You forces led by the barbarian Tatabi Tanzhi, many felt that Lü Bu was a far more trustworthy protector. Of course, not everyone was trilled to see the approaching army, and many actually opposed the troops and refused to resupply them. This angered Lü Bu and his generals, who were quick to order reprisal out of anger. However, under the influence of Zhang Yang, the Inspector of Bing Province was starting to realize the use of keeping the local happy, and so tried to keep the violence to a minimum in order to protect his reputation.
With the You forces collapsing in autumn 197, Lü Bu entered in contact with Ding Kai. The older general had already sent a missive indicating that he was open to the idea of Lü Bu’s takeover of the province. But said province would be greatly reduced if the barbarians were allowed to continue their rampage. Ding Kai had barely enough men to garrison key cities, and even then, the Wuhuans were progressing. Seeing it as both an opportunity to save You Province and a way for Lü Bu to expand his authority, Ding Kai asked the invading army for help. Lü Bu and Zhang Yang were all too happy to come to his aid. The warlord was particularly excited at the idea of crushing this barbarian force that had so far been undefeated. Lü Bu marched his troops so fast that the barbarians were actually surprised when they learned that his army was within two days of their position. Even with that time to prepare, they were unable to resist his raw military talent and his ability on the battlefield. The Wuhuans were crushed, and those that survived fled north, bolstering the ranks of the Xianbei Horde.
The victory against the barbarians had the intended effect. Seeing how Lü Bu had stopped the menace while Liu Yu cowered in his provincial capital, most officials within You Province switched their allegiance to the invading army. Lü Bu could only smile at this as his victory became assured. Zhang Yang offered to go take the provincial capital for his lord, but was angrily rebuked. How dare he try to take such honor from the great Lü Bu? No, Lü Bu would take the city himself. And he did, on the first day of December 197, capturing Liu Yu and his entire court. The older Inspector of You Province was already sick when he was captured, so Lü Bu decided that he wasn’t worth keeping around and had him executed. Some were a bit shocked by how fast he had executed his opponent, but then again, he was the adopted son of Dong Zhuo.
Many other courtiers were executed, but surprisingly, Wei Yusheng was not among them. Liu Yu’s main advisor was spared, in part because he secretly sent an offer of surrender to Lü Bu a few days before the city was taken. This was done in order to be sure that he would be kept alive, hoping that this would at least motivate Lü Bu to spare him long enough for him to convince the warlord of his usefulness. Ding Kai also vouched for his usefulness, as while the two men did not get along, the older general still recognized Wei Yusheng’s administrative talent. His record spoke for itself. Seeing some use in this man, Lü Bu freed Wei Yusheng and appointed as his main administrative advisor, something he desperately needed. Some were surprised by this, but Lü Bu was starting to learn the value of treating competent subordinates with respect.
One subordinate who did not feel respected was
Xuan Su, who had been left behind as regent of Bing Province while his lord went on campaign. A few years back, he had successfully managed to become Lü Bu’s right-hand man, only for the warlord’s impatience to cost him his power. While he was still Chief Censor of Bing Province, a position that gave him quite a lot of influence, he still remained barred from the frontline. He could only watch as Lü Bu and Zhang Yang conquered You Province while he was stuck behind. It left him enraged and infuriated. Why was Lü Bu so stupid? He was the warlord’s best asset, yet he was always wasted!
So when he learned that Gongsun Zan’s army was approaching, he saw it as an opportunity. He quickly wrote to Lü Bu, saying that with the threat of the invading Ji troops, Lü Bu would surely need reinforcements. Xuan Su would be all too happy to bring new recruits, which he hoped could be raised from the Xiongnus living on the northern border. While the Chief Censor fought the northern barbarians most of his life, he couldn’t deny their fierce drive for combat. The Inspector of Bing Province answered almost immediately, forbidding his subordinate of doing anything of the sort. No, the great Lü Bu would never lower himself to recruiting savages to fight his own battles! Xuan Su was starting to overstep his bounds, but due to the good mood following the annexation of You Province, Lü Bu allowed it to slide. Xuan Su could barely contain his anger at this reply. He had just worked out the perfect plan to ensure victory, and his lord was refusing it out of pride? What an idiot! But Xuan Su also realized that he had control over the northern border. With the provincial censorate also completely under his sway, it would be easy to hide things within his territories. Against orders, he started to secretly recruit barbarians anyway.
Gongsun Zan had barely entered the mountains between Ji and Bing Provinces when he received news of what had happened north. Lü Bu had triumphed before they could do anything, and now Liu Yu was dead. This left the general in quite the predicament, as his casus belli had been about coming to his former liege’s aid. Now that he was dead, their campaign seemed a bit more tedious. First of all, he ordered the second army of Zhao Yun to join up with him, as there was now no need to go help You Province since it had switched side. This left him time to decide what to do next. Should he just abandon the campaign? This was a tempting choice. His gout had made the trip extremely difficult for Gongsun Zan, and he dearly wished to go home to relax instead of continuing through the mountains. But the encouragements of Gongsun Yue convinced him to push forward. His cousin insisted that the enemy capital was close. Once they passed the mountains, they would be within reach of Lü Bu’s seat of power, after which it would be easy to take over the province. Gongsun Zan thus decided to continue. Taking a few mountains and a capital was doable. He steeled his mind and pushed forward, even with the constant pain of his gout.
When he linked up with Zhao Yun, Gongsun Zan redevised his army. He left Gongsun Yue and Guan Yu with 3000 men to secure some of the cities on the border. Meanwhile, the Governor would take the rest of the army, alongside Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, to go fight the surely coming enemy force. Guan Yu opposed this, believing that only he was strong enough to fight Lü Bu. To this, Zhang Fei laughed, saying
“Bah! Second brother doesn’t need to worry with vermin like Lü Bu! I’ll deal with him!” Guan Yu looked at his sworn brother, but in the end decided to trust him.
“Make First brother proud.”, Guan Yu replied with a nod.
“And you better bring his head back.” Zhang Fei could not stop himself from boasting at this.
“His head? I’ll bring back his whole dead army!”
As expected, Lü Bu did not leave such invasion of his territories without a response. The warlord had barely conquered You Province that he now had to turn around to go face the invading forces of Gongsun Zan. He left Wei Yusheng in charge of the newly conquered territories in his absence, not giving much thoughts to the issue. The man seemed competent, so he would surely be able to do the job. Ding Kai volunteered to come help his new lord, which Lü Bu accepted. Having already the competent Zhang Yang by his side, adding Ding Kai would surely make their army invincible. See Xuan Su? You aren’t needed here, so stop complaining. The three men advanced their army for a few months until they finally saw the enemy force on the horizon. The fighting started in March 198, when Zhang Fei, impatient to see some action, launched a first charge against the enemy.
After two days of fighting, Gongsun Zan was starting to feel nervous. They had the numerical advantage, yet the outcome of the battle seemed uncertain. Wishing to prove his strength, Zhang Fei declared that he would go challenge Lü Bu to a duel in front of the men and kill the bastard. Gongsun Zan was hesitant at this, and looked at Zhao Yun for advice. The younger officer told his lord that if someone could defeat Lü Bu, it was probably Zhang Fei. From what he had seen of the man, Zhao Yun confirmed that Liu Bei’s sworn brother was an exceptional fighter, if a bit too aggressive.
So Gongsun Zan agreed, allowing Zhang Fei to ride in front of the troops screaming:
“Lü Bu! Come out, you coward! Come face your death! Come be slaughtered like a pig!” While Lü Bu was too far in the rear working on strategies to hear it, Zhang Yang definitively did. Angry at the insults thrown at his lord, Zhang Yang took a horse and rode in front of the Bing forces.
“How dare you insult our lord!” he answered.
“What kind of idiot are you?” Zhang Fei laughed at this, which only prompted an angry Zhang Yang to challenge him to a duel, which the brute accepted. The ensuing duel, fought right between the two army camps, was seen by most of the troops. And they saw how easily Zhang Fei was playing with Zhang Yang. The Commandant of Bing Province did block most hits at first, but it quickly became clear that there was a heavy difference of skills between the two. After a few minutes of this routine, Zhang Fei sped toward Zhang Yang and sent his snake lance through Zhang Yang’s neck, leaving him to bleed out for a few moments before the brute swung to cut his head off. He paraded it in front of the Bing troops, joyfully screaming:
“Lü Bu! This will be your fate! Hahahaha!”
When Lü Bu was finally warned of what was happening, it was too late to save Zhang Yang or challenge Zhang Fei, who had returned to his own camp to present the head of the defeated general to his lord. Angered and infuriated, the warlord ordered an immediate assault on the enemy position, against Ding Kai’s advice. The old general could see how demoralize the men were after such a show. They needed to wait, perform the funerary rites for Zhang Yang and then motivate the troops to go out there and avenge their dead Commandant. But Lü Bu was only focused on the insult to his honor and wanted revenge now, damnit! The morale of his troops, lowered by the death of Zhang Yang, left them unmotivated and quite a bit scared. They certainly ran at the sight of Zhang Fei. At the end of the day, this first battle at Duxiang was a victory for Gongsun Zan and his forces, forcing Lü Bu to retreat and regroup.
As the battle was being fought and lost by Lü Bu, Xuan Su was handling another important event in the provincial capital of Bing Province. As part of his policies to increase his power, Lü Bu had arranged a marriage for his eldest daughter Lü Lingqi, who was now 16 and all readied to get married. She would probably had been married earlier, had Lü Bu ever thought about the issue of her marriage before 196. Xuan Su, who was the regent of Bing Province, was to welcome the in-laws for the marriage in the absence of his lord, who seemed to have forgotten this important day while campaigning against Gongsun Zan. The groom was Cao Ang, the eldest son of the small warlord Cao Cao. This was an alliance that Xuan Su had not been keen on, believing that he could have gotten a far better match for the girl if he had been involved in the selection process. First of all, Cao Cao had become famous by trying to assassinate Dong Zhuo, which made things extremely awkward. But then there was the fact that for all his talent, Cao Cao had not achieved much over the last decade. Other than a failed attempt to reclaim the territories of Henan around the Imperial Capital (to which he was beaten by the then Administrator Niu Fu) and coming to the help of Dong Huang against the barbarians, Cao Cao had not expanded or won major battles. Still, a man of such wasted talent might prove useful as an ally.
Xuan Su did his best to be the greatest host he could for the guests. In particular, he made sure to ingratiate himself to the groom, Cao Ang, something that Cao Cao did not fail to miss. The marriage proceeded without a hitch, and things were going relatively smoothly with Xuan Su in charge. But Cao Cao was no dupe, and so decided to confront their host about his all too friendly attitude toward his son. Xuan Su first feigned ignorance, but the Colonel made it clear that while he admired their host’s ability to hide his intentions, he was only willing to tolerate it for so long. Frustrated, Xuan Su dropped the façade and came forward with a proposition. Surely Cao Cao didn’t want his family to be restrained to a simple county. And if something was to happen to Lü Bu over the campaign, well Cao Ang would surely prove the best choice to succeed him. After all, Lü Bu’s eldest son Lü Sun was only 6, so he couldn’t really rule. And besides, there was precedent to a son-in-law succeeding, Xuan Su pointing to the example of
Yao Shuren succeeding Guo Si. But Cao Cao could see where this was headed. Xuan Su wanted a puppet, not a master, and his son was the perfect candidate for this. He also knew that Lü Bu would not take well to this succession, since he actually had sons to pass his power to. So against the pleas of the regent, Cao Cao refused to let his son stay in Bing Province to “prepare him for successions” and brought the new married couple back with him to his territories.
Gongsun Zan, already happy with the recent victory, was doubly pleased when he received news from Guan Yu and Gongsun Yue. They had taken a few cities in the mountains, creating a launching base to invade the rest of Bing Province. While he was tempted to stay where he was, as his gout was acting once again, Gongsun Zan still chose the ride back and go meet the secondary army. Well, “ride” was a strong word. He spent most of the trip in a carriage, as riding a horse was starting to be extremely painful for him. When he arrived, he congratulated Guan Yu and his cousin for their successes and advised them to advance while they regrouped in Yuanshi. Surely, they could take a few moments to rest and prepare for a more active push against Lü Bu, now that the warlord had been defeated.
But Lü Bu was not the kind of man to abandon easily. Instead of regrouping and recruiting new soldiers, he decided to push forward. Appointing Ding Kai as his new Commandant (something that enraged Xuan Su as he was once again passed over), he asked him the best way to take Gongsun Zan and destroy him. Ding Kai suggested that with their reduced forces (and Lü Bu’s refusal to take time to recruit new men), the best way was to take the enemy by surprise. So this is exactly what Lü Bu did. He quickly ordered his army to storm down into Ji Province to attack Gongsun Zan from behind. That led many of his demoralized soldiers to desert, but he didn’t care. He was on a path to victory. He stormed through the border defenses of Tan Weiping. The old man was still in charge of protecting the border, but with Gongsun Zan on the offensive he didn’t expect to be attacked like that. Surprised and unable to resist, he was never the less able to inflict some damage to Lü Bu’s army, killing three hundred men before being forced to flee.
Lü Bu was able to advance quickly, intercepting any messengers sent by Tan Weiping to warn Gongsun Zan. So while the army of Gongsun Zan was still in Yuanshi, they were surprised in June to hear that Lü Bu and his forces were within range. They quickly prepared for battle and readied themselves for the fight. However, Gongsun Zan’s gout prevented him from taking direct command. Zhao Yun thus led the troops for the first few days of fighting, using a defensive strategy as advised by Gongsun Zan. And they were not trying to destroy Lü Bu in one stroke, like the warlord was trying to do with them. That was because Gongsun Yue and Guan Yu were not that far. They hoped that the secondary army would be warned of what was happening and come back to help them, thus striking a severe blow to Lü Bu’s army, a blow from which he might not recover. This strategy worked out in the end, as after two weeks of resistance, the forces of Guan Yu and Gongsun Yue appeared at the horizon and joined in the fighting. Attacked on both sides, the forces of Lü Bu collapsed and fled the battlefield.
Lü Bu and Ding Kai were forced to flee the area and retreat within Bing Province proper. Gongsun Zan, who now had his full army behind him, decided to pursue his enemies. With some luck, he might even be able to crush them. If things went well, he might even be able to capture Lü Bu. So Gongsun Zan rode forward, even if he was in pain due to his gout. Zhang Fei offered to lead a cavalry vanguard, to which Gongsun Zan agreed. He was starting to like this violent man for his willingness to always push forward, no matter the situation. They were eventually able to catch up to Lü Bu’s retreating forces in August, leading to a battle where the Bing forces were at a clear disadvantage. Once again, Gongsun Zan was able to score a victory, but Lü Bu still escaped his grasp, and this time, his less than a thousand men army was able to quickly flee before it could be pursued.
Xuan Su received news of these defeats with growing concerns. Lü Bu was supposed to be the greatest warrior of his time, yet he was losing each encounter, with massive casualties to that. If Lü Bu actually lost Bing Province, what would happen to him then? He lived his whole life in the province and had banked a lot on supporting Lü Bu over the last decade. He wasn’t calmed by Lü Bu’s request that he sent the entire garrisons of the province to fight on the frontline. This was insane and would leave the whole province defenseless. Forget about Gongsun Zan. What if the barbarians or the central government decided to use this opportunity to strike? And besides, this would not be enough to face Gongsun Zan. Maybe with the secret barbarian recruits, but that would require admitting that he disobeyed orders. So instead, the regent of Bing Province made sure that his lord’s orders happened to be lost in the mail.
Lü Bu now only had 800 men at his disposal. But he was confident that these low numbers were temporary. He sent Ding Kai to You Province to supervise the recruitment of new conscripts, and Xuan Su was supposed to send him the garrisons of Bing Province as troops to fight. Until he received these reinforcements though, he was pretty vulnerable. For the next few months, he used the small size of his army to avoid the Ji forces, which had once again been divided between two armies. This cat and mouse game might have been fun for Lü Bu, had he been the cat. But being the mouse was making him boil down inside, his anger waiting for an outlet. In late December, he got sick of waiting for reinforcements. He decided that if he couldn’t face his enemies in open battle, he could at least attack them at night and hurt them considerably. Yes, and maybe he could even kill that damned Gongsun Zan.
On the night of December the 31st, as 198 was becoming 199, Lü Bu and his men launched a night assault on Gongsun Zan’s camp. The Ji forces were at first taken by surprise, as most were sleeping. But as soon as the troops started to react, it became clear that the Bing troops were not numerous enough to successfully carry out this night raid. Their situation was made worst by many people, like Zhang Fei, rushing out like madmen at the defense of their camp without even taking the time to equip themselves. Zhang Fei was actually nude at the time, with only his spear in his hands and running around searching for Lü Bu. This time, he was able to get the warlord’s attention, who charged at this naked man screaming his name. They exchanged strikes, but neither was able to land an actual blow on the other. Lü Bu would have probably stayed to make Zhang Fei regret his insults had his men not started to run in panic. Forced to abandon his duel, the warlord fled with his remaining troops. In this attack, he had lost more than half his men, and now the Ji forces were once against pursuing them. If things continued like this without some serious change, who knew how long Lü Bu could keep this up? Who knew how long until defeat finally came to the greatest warrior of China?