Han Ji

Yuan Shao's side wasn't idle either. Shen Pei proposed using siege towers, a type of wooden siege tower taller than arrow towers, with wheels at the bottom. Once pushed to the front of the battle line, filled with archers, they could cross the moat and fire directly at the enemy's camp area.

Shen Pei mobilized craftsmen to hastily build five well-towers in the rear, and on a moonless night, they pushed them to the front lines for a test firing. The first batch of arrows crossed the trenches, embedded themselves in several tents in Liu Bei's camp, and pierced three warhorses tethered to the camp.

Qian Zhao happened to be patrolling the camp when he saw by the firelight that the shadow of the siege tower was higher than that of the arrow tower. He knew that he would be at a disadvantage in a long-range firefight at night, so that night he organized a team of crossbowmen to sneak out of the trench and crawl to a distance of eighty paces from the siege tower to return fire.

The crossbow bolts flew upwards at a tricky angle, hitting several of Yuan Shao's archers who were loading arrows, causing them to fall. In the chaos, someone knocked over a brazier onto the wooden frame of the well curb, spilling oil all over the ground and setting the frame ablaze.

The fire illuminated half the camp. By the time Yuan Shao's men arrived to put out the fire, the upper part of the well curb had already burned askew. Shen Pei ordered it to be dragged back and dismantled for firewood.

At the same time, both sides are using every means at their disposal.

Yuan Shao sent men to poison the upstream section of the river several times. They crushed aconite they had purchased and stuffed it into the stomachs of dead sheep, throwing it into the river where water was drawn, hoping that Liu Bei's army downstream would be poisoned after drinking the water.

Qian Zhao's scouts discovered dead sheep floating on the riverbank upstream, realizing someone was poisoning the water. They quickly sent the message back to camp and also dispatched men to beat gongs along the river as a warning.

Liu Bei immediately ordered a complete ban on drinking river water and to use well water instead. When the well water was insufficient, Zhao Yun's cavalry had to lead their horses to the wells and feed them water by the ladle.

Liu Bei also reported back. Qian Zhao selected several soldiers from the special operations battalion who understood the Hebei accent, disguised them as defeated soldiers, and infiltrated Yuan Shao's rear to spread rumors. He claimed that Zhang He was corresponding with Liu Bei and was already secretly communicating.

The message first spread around Yuan Shao's army outskirts, and was finally relayed to Yuan Shao by Guo Tu himself. When Zhang He was summoned into the main tent for questioning, he was still in a daze when Yuan Shao asked him directly, "Did you send someone to the south bank?"

Zhang He said no, his voice deep, but he didn't say another word. Shen Pei defended him for a few moments, and Yuan Shao didn't dismiss him on the spot. But the next day, a thousand of Zhang He's troops were transferred to Gao Lan's command.

By the end of March, the weather began to warm up. The frozen soil on the north bank of the Yellow River had completely thawed, leaving mud underfoot. Yuan Shao's grain transport route had been flooded twice by rain, causing oxcarts to get stuck in the mud, limiting the transport vehicles to only a dozen or so miles a day. Shen Pei ordered stones to be laid across the route and thatched sheds to provide rain protection.

Qian Zhao's special forces battalion repeatedly harassed Yuan Shao along this passageway. They burned four of Yuan Shao's grain carts and killed more than a dozen guards. However, Yuan Shao reinforced his grain escort team, assigning more than a dozen swordsmen and shieldmen to each grain cart, and also set up a special grain escort battalion of five hundred men.

Qian Zhao wanted to fight again, but he was spotted by the sentry post as soon as he reached the edge of the passage. The grain transport battalion rushed out to block him, and he retreated, leaving behind three corpses. After returning, Qian Zhao told Liu Bei that this line was no longer viable; to fight again would only result in more deaths, which was not worthwhile.

Liu Bei said, "Then let's not fight for now." The two sides continued this stalemate, and the weather grew increasingly hot.

In April, the willows along the riverbank turned completely green. Flies began to multiply. Laundry pits were dug behind the camp, but the stench of hundreds of thousands of people's excrement piled up by April couldn't be covered up no matter how much they were buried.

Flies buzzed around, landing on the food and on the wounds. In both camps, men had diarrhea, so badly their legs were too weak to stand. Yuan Shao's side had lost dozens of auxiliary soldiers, and Liu Bei's side had over a hundred fallen ill.

Zhang Fei's deputy also fell ill, suffering from diarrhea for three days and losing weight. Zhang Fei personally brewed some herbal medicine, brought it over, and sat beside him watching him drink it.

Jia Xu observed all of this. He told Liu Bei that this stalemate was not just about soldiers and supplies, but also about who would give up first. Whoever gave up first would collapse.

Liu Bei said, "I can't let it out."

Yuan Shao's side was not discouraged. In mid-April, Shen Pei suggested a fire attack. He prepared 150 wooden donkeys, wooden carts covered with wet cowhides, with people hidden inside, to be pushed to the edge of the enemy's trenches and charged outwards, while simultaneously using fire arrows to burn the enemy's fences and tents. Taking advantage of a windy night in late April, Shen Pei pushed these wooden donkeys to the front lines.

Yuan Jun pushed the wooden donkeys towards Liu Bei's forward camp from the east. Before the first wave of pushers even reached the trench, Zhao Yun's archers began shooting arrows at them.

The rockets struck the wooden donkey's wet hide, hissing and smoking, but the hide was too wet to ignite. The second wave pushed to the edge of the trench before Liu Bei's side threw oil jars. The jars smashed against the wooden donkey, spilling oil everywhere, and Zhao Yun's archers followed up with more rockets.

The kerosene burned the wet cowhide, and the flames leaped higher than a person. The taxi driver tumbled out from behind the wooden donkey, his body ablaze, and rolled on the ground.

Shen Pei had piled up damp wheat straw upwind beforehand, sending thick smoke towards Liu Bei's forward camp. At the same time, he ordered the archers to replace their arrows with fire arrows soaked in fish oil, specifically targeting the fences and the crossbeams of the watchtowers.

A strong gust of wind propelled the rocket far away, setting several tents ablaze on the south bank. The firelight illuminated a series of figures running back and forth.

Liu Bei stood on the high ground in the center of the army camp, unable to see how many fires had broken out ahead. Zhang Fei was not by his side; he was in the front camp. Zhang Fei was carrying a heavy, soaking wet log to block the entrance to the trench. Sparks splattered on his face, which he wiped off with the back of his hand before going to drag another wounded soldier away.

Guan Yu led his men to use sand to suppress the flames from the falling rockets. The fire nearly burned through the wooden palisade next to the grain storage, and Zhao Yun's cavalry dismounted and patted it out with wet felt for a long time before finally managing to extinguish it. The vanguard fought all night, and at dawn, Yuan Shao's forces pushed the remaining wooden donkeys back.

Nine tents and two arrow emplacements were burned in Liu Bei's camp, and a corner of the wooden palisade of the grain storage was charred but not burned through. After both sides tallied their casualties, they returned to their previous positions.

Late April, Guandu.

The two sides had been locked in a stalemate for over two months. A flat area, about three miles wide, separated the two army camps. The grass on the flat area was trampled into patches, revealing the yellow earth beneath. In some places, the soil had been soaked in blood, dried and covered with a blackened crust.

Yuan Shao sent men to poison Liu Bei's water sources. The first time, they used aconite, and the second time, they used arsenic. When Qian Zhao's special forces patrolled the river, they always found dead fish floating on the surface, belly up, surrounded by flies.

Qian Zhao squatted by the river, scooped up a dead fish, pried open its gills to examine it, and then brought it closer to smell it. The gills were black and had a bitter smell. He threw the fish back into the river and stood up.

"He's poisoned it again." He returned to the main tent and wiped the water from his hands on his trousers. "Brother, Yuan Shao has poisoned the river twice now. The water in the river is undrinkable, and even the horses can't drink from it."

Liu Bei asked, "Is there enough well water?"

Qian Zhao said, "Currently, there are twenty wells, enough for people to drink from, but not enough for horses. Zhao Yun's cavalry have to lead their horses to the back slope to find a spring every day, which takes an hour round trip, so they can only drink twice a day."

Liu Bei stood up and walked outside the tent. Inside the camp, the cart drivers were lining up to fetch water. There were three lines by the well, each with several dozen men, carrying water in wooden buckets. The well ropes were worn and frayed, and the rims of the buckets clanged against the well wall.

"Dig ten more wells," Liu Bei said. "Dig them in the rear camp. Have Yide lead the men to dig them."

He nodded.