The Three Kingdoms: Hindsight is 20/20, and the Three Revivals of the Han Dynasty

Upon seeing Xu Huang lead reinforcements to suddenly arrive, Liu Bei decisively abandoned the protracted battle, ordered the retreat, and directed his troops to slowly withdraw back into the city.

The possibility that Cao Chun might return to Lecheng was within Liu Bei's expectations. Therefore, in addition to arranging a strategy to divide the troops, Liu Bei also specifically instructed Qian Zhao to replace Huang Zhong and return.

Although Liu Bei's current forces are sufficient for a battle, he lacks a "one-man army" general who can intimidate the enemy and capture or kill them alive. As a result, he failed to achieve complete success in his two attempts to suppress Xiahou Yuan head-on.

If Huang Zhong were in Lecheng, Liu Bei would be able to implement even bolder plans.

After this battle, the morale of the city, which had been dampened by Zhang Liao's strong attack, was restored. However, it would take some time for Huang Zhong to arrive. In order to completely defeat Xiahou Yuan's forces and Cao Chun's forces, which were in good condition, Liu Bei still needed to make careful plans.

“If Cao Chun leads his troops back, he will surely launch a fierce attack on Lecheng. Lecheng’s walls are not high, and if it is attacked from all sides, it will be difficult to hold.” Liu Bei decisively proposed a new tactic: “I intend to divide the troops again and set up camp on the hillside ten miles northwest of the city, taking advantage of the terrain, to form a pincer movement to disperse Cao’s forces.”

Military strategy emphasizes deception and real action. The day before yesterday's departure from the city was a feint, while today's departure is the real one. As long as it catches the enemy off guard, one can seize the initiative.

After careful consideration, Tian Feng suggested: "My lord, when you send troops out of the city, be sure to take a large number of elite soldiers with you. If Xiahou Yuan and Cao Chun learn that you are not in the city, they may feign an attack on the city while setting up an ambush in secret. If you bring too few elite soldiers, I'm afraid it will be difficult to resist them. Now, the morale of the soldiers and civilians in the city is high, and there are many young and strong righteous men helping to defend the city. They are enough to hold out for several days, so my lord does not need to worry about the city."

“Yuan Hao is absolutely right,” Liu Bei agreed. “That is exactly what I meant. The troops in the city will be handed over to Yuan Hao.”

The next morning, Liu Bei mustered three thousand elite troops and left the city without concealing his whereabouts, escorting grain and supplies directly to a hillside ten miles to the northwest to set up camp.

This was originally the site that Liu Bei had scouted when he ambushed Xiahou Yuan, and it was already in its basic form. Therefore, this time, all that was needed was for the soldiers to deploy the camp according to the original plan, without any further planning.

Liu Bei even deliberately sent someone to provoke Xiahou Yuan in front of his camp, demanding to know if he had the courage to fight again, which angered Xiahou Yuan to the point that he almost vomited blood.

"That big-eared scoundrel must be up to his tricks again! We must be on guard!" Xiahou Yuan, who had suffered losses time and time again, hated Liu Bei to the bone, but he had to suppress his anger and focus on figuring out Liu Bei's true intentions in leaving the city and setting up camp.

Xu Huang and Li Dian shared the same sentiment as Xiahou Yuan. Having been repeatedly deceived by Liu Bei's tactics, they no longer had the confidence to judge Liu Bei's true intentions. They could only remain cautious and wait for the situation to change, hoping that there might be a way to succeed.

Only Zhang Liao showed no fear, immediately asserting, "Liu Bei has won two consecutive battles and is riding high on his momentum. The soldiers and civilians inside the city are no longer afraid of our strong attack yesterday. His decision to divide his forces and set up camp outside the city is clearly intended to create a pincer movement and disperse our forces."

"It's another pincer movement." Xiahou Yuan suddenly felt impatient.

The pincer movement is a common tactic, but if used poorly, it can lead to being defeated one by one. If used well, it can leverage the advantages of terrain and manpower to defeat a large enemy force with a small one.

Clearly, Liu Bei was using it extremely well!

Xiahou Yuan did not respond immediately, but waited for Cao Chun to lead his troops back.

Having just suffered a raid on their camp last night, the soldiers are demoralized and lack the energy to launch a strong attack on the city.

However, Xiahou Yuan did not remain inactive. Instead, he personally went to Liu Bei's camp to confirm Liu Bei's whereabouts, thus preventing Liu Bei from resorting to deception again.

Around noon, Cao Chun hurriedly returned.

Seeing the defeated expressions on Xiahou Yuan's and the others' faces, Cao Chun also felt helpless.

One step wrong, step by step wrong.

Since Cheng Ping fell into Xu Shu's trap and fought with Xiahou Yuan, Cao Chun felt that he had been having a lot of bad luck lately, and nothing went smoothly.

But one unpleasant thing after another came, making Cao Chun feel anxious and flustered.

When we were attacking Yuan Shang and Yuan Tan, we were unstoppable; but now, when we are attacking Liu Bei, we are suffering setbacks at every step.

"Can we be sure that Liu Bei is camped outside the city?" Cao Chun asked the most crucial question. If they only looked at the banners and concluded that Liu Bei was outside the city, they would be deceived by Liu Bei again, just like yesterday.

Xiahou Yuan was quite certain this time, saying, "I personally went to Xishan. Liu Bei did indeed set up camp outside the city, but the camp is situated in a strategically advantageous location, easy to defend and difficult to attack." Cao Chun secretly breathed a sigh of relief, saying, "Setting up camp in a strategically advantageous location will inevitably cut off their access to water. We can cut off their water supply and surround them, forcing them to come down the mountain to grab water. In just a few days, Liu Bei's army will be thrown into disarray."

There is no water at the top of the hill.

Let alone Hebei, even in the southern regions, there is basically no water on the mountaintops.

Mountain water sources are usually formed by rainwater, snowmelt, and dew, and generally require the location to be in a large mountain area.

The small hillside chosen by Liu Bei, even if it had water, was only suitable for a small group of soldiers to fetch water, and could not meet the daily needs of a large army.

However, this does not mean that Liu Bei made a mistake in setting up camp. If he had not set up camp on a mountain and instead found a river nearby, he would have faced new problems. In low-lying areas, he would have been overwhelmed by enemy archers.

Liu Bei's decision to set up camp in the mountainous terrain was not entirely unprepared. Firstly, it served to lure Cao Chun into attacking; secondly, it was to await Huang Zhong's return; and thirdly, it created a pincer movement with Yue Cheng.

Cao Chun saw through the third intention, but didn't care.

In Cao Chun's view, although Liu Bei and the city's defenders had formed a pincer movement, the city's defenders were fine as long as they held the city, but if they went out to support Liu Bei, it would give Cao Chun an opportunity to break through the city.

Having determined the attack plan, Cao Chun made a decisive move: Xiahou Yuan led troops to block the passage to the city, while Cao Chun personally led Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and Li Dian to besiege Liu Bei at Xishan.

Liu Bei was unconcerned that Cao Chun had cut off his water supply.

Even after setting up camp, Liu Bei had his soldiers store water, enough for three days, though not long-term.

Liu Bei did not intend to hold out in Xishan for long; he was merely delaying the inevitable.

Seeing that Cao Chun and his men were only besieging but not attacking, Liu Bei not only did not sit idly by, but also sent a letter to Cao Chun, hoping that Cao Chun could pass the letter on to Zang Ba.

The letter contained the following content:
It has been a long time since I last sent my greetings, but the image of Zang Xiangying is still vivid in my mind.

Although we are now at war because of Cao Cao, I have never forgotten the friendship I had with Zang Xiang in the past.

I still remember when Xuzhou was in dire straits, Prime Minister Zang generously donated grain, weapons, and able-bodied soldiers to help us. I am still grateful for that.

Zang Xiang is a man of great integrity and loyalty. Even if the two armies were to clash, I would not easily abandon him.

The reason for sending Qian Zhao to Nanpi is not for military matters, but specifically to inquire about old friends.

If we could preserve our past camaraderie and spare the people from suffering, wouldn't that be wonderful!

Words cannot fully express everything; I only hope you will think carefully.

Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.

This letter was ostensibly addressed to Zang Ba, but it was actually addressed to Cao Chun. Liu Bei's intention was obvious: I am using a divisive tactic, Cao Chun, do you believe me or not?

"Liu Bei, you scoundrel, do you think I'm stupid?" Cao Chun was originally pleased with himself for trapping Liu Bei, but he was furious when Liu Bei directly used a divisive tactic to his face.

However, deep down, Cao Chun could not completely let go of the matter.

Cao Chun's hasty trip to Nanpi already stemmed from his distrust of Zang Ba, and now, with Liu Bei's letter in hand, Cao Chun's suspicions only deepened. (End of Chapter)