Han Ji

Earlier, in the fourth month of the eighth year of Xingping, in Jiangdong, Wu Commandery.

When Sun Ce received Yuan Shao's letter, he was testing his horse at the hunting grounds at the foot of Tiger Hill. His personal guards brought the messenger to him; the messenger was covered in mud, having ridden all the way from Hebei, changing horses along the way, and his lips were cracked and bleeding.

Sun Ce opened the letter. Yuan Shao's handwriting was very polite, saying that Liu Bei had usurped the court, holding the emperor hostage to command the other lords, which aroused the indignation of the people. Now, Lord Yuan was personally leading an army of 200,000 to march south, and Liu Bei was trapped at Guandu, and his destruction was imminent.

General Sun, out of consideration for your loyalty to the Han Dynasty, should send troops from Jiangdong to seize Yuzhou. Yuzhou is undefended and can be taken in one strike. After the success, both Yuzhou and Yangzhou will belong to the Sun family.

After reading the letter, Sun Ce handed it to Zhou Yu, who was standing beside him. Zhou Yu, dressed in a white robe, stood by the fence of the hunting grounds. He unfolded the letter, read it from beginning to end, then folded it and handed it back to Sun Ce.

"Bo Fu, what do you think?" Zhou Yu asked.

Sun Ce mounted his horse, which spun around on the spot. He pulled on the reins, and the horse's front hooves lifted off the ground and landed again. "Yuan Shao wants me to work for him. Yu Province is Liu Bei's base. If I take Yu Province, Liu Bei will return and fight me to the death, and Yuan Shao will reap the benefits. He's really calculating."

Zhou Yu said, "But what he said is true. Liu Bei's main force is at Guandu, and Yuzhou is indeed vulnerable. Moreover, Yuzhou is close to Luoyang, and the garrison in Luoyang is less than three thousand. If we can capture Luoyang, we can look west to Chang'an, the capital of the Han Dynasty."

Sun Ce narrowed his eyes. The Emperor. In those chaotic times, those two words carried more weight than an army of 100,000. Whoever held the Emperor in their hands was the legitimate ruler.

Why didn't Yuan Shao attack Luoyang directly? Because he couldn't take it. But Sun Ce was able to cross the river from the south, pass through Lujiang and Runan, bypass Hulao Pass, and reach the walls of Luoyang.

"Gongjin, do you think there's a chance?"

Zhou Yu walked to a pine tree at the edge of the hunting grounds, broke off a pine branch, squatted down, and drew a line on the ground. The Yangtze River ran south of the line, and Luoyang ran north. He then marked the middle of the line with a few dots.

"Bo Fu, from Wu Commandery to Luoyang, we'll travel by water to Lujiang, then overland through Runan, a journey of about a thousand li. Our advantage lies in our navy; our fleet can sail north along the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, landing in Runan. Then, we can combine cavalry and infantry to march northwest and directly attack Luoyang. Runan is currently Liu Bei's territory, but the garrison is small. Luoyang's garrison is also small. If we can act quickly, we can reach the walls of Luoyang within thirty days."

Sun Ce jumped off his horse and squatted opposite Zhou Yu. He looked at the line on the ground and traced it northward with his finger. "Thirty days. What if we can't take it in thirty days?"

Zhou Yu said, "Then let's retreat. If we can't take it, we'll retreat. We must withdraw before Liu Bei returns with his troops."

Sun Ce stood up and dusted his hands off. "Alright. Let's take a gamble. If we win, the landscape of the world will change. If we lose, we can retreat back to Jiangdong, and Liu Bei won't be able to do anything to us then."

Zhou Yu threw down the pine branch and stood up. "Then let's bet."

After Sun Ce returned, he summoned Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang, Jiang Qin, and Zhou Tai to the governor's mansion that very evening. A dozen oil lamps were lit in the main hall, and a hand-drawn map hung on the wall. Zhou Yu explained the route northward, and the generals reacted in various ways.

Cheng Pu, the eldest, remained silent for a while after listening. "My lord, it's a thousand li from Wu Commandery to Luoyang. How can we ensure the supply line? If the supply line is cut off, the entire army will be wiped out."

Zhou Yu stood up and drew several lines on the map with a brush dipped in water. "We will travel by water, with a fleet of ships transporting grain. We will head north along the Yangtze River and then into the Huai River. After landing in Runan, we will set up three grain depots along the way. Each depot will be guarded by 500 men, forming a defensive network. If things go badly ahead, we can retreat back to the Huai River station by station."

Huang Gai said, "Runan is Zhang Xiu's territory. Zhang Xiu has troops in Wancheng. If Zhang Xiu marches south from Wancheng and cuts off our army's retreat, how should we respond?"

Zhou Yu drew an arrow on the map. "Send a detachment westward to block the official road from Wancheng to Runan. Don't aim to defeat Zhang Xiu, just hold him back."

Han Dang's question was brief: "How big is Luoyang? Are our current siege weapons sufficient?"

Zhou Yu said, "The walls of Luoyang are three zhang high and forty li in circumference. There are fewer than three thousand soldiers guarding the city. Our siege ladders and battering rams are readily available. We must take it quickly and seize the gates within five days."

Sun Ce drew his sword, the blade gleaming in the lamplight. He pointed the tip of the blade at Luoyang on the map. "I'll reply to Yuan Shao, saying I won't attack. Let him continue to wear down Liu Bei. When he thinks I won't send troops, then I'll make my move."

Sun Ce was not prepared to immediately inform Yuan Shao of his decision. He sent a messenger back to Hebei with a reply containing only one line: "Sun Ce thanks Lord Yuan for his kindness, but Jiangdong has just been pacified and our forces are insufficient. We will not send troops for the time being."

Then he began to mobilize his troops. He selected the elite forces from the six counties of Jiangdong and formed them into a northern expeditionary army. There were 20,000 naval troops and 10,000 infantry and cavalry, totaling 30,000 men. The fleet was concentrated at the ferry crossing in Wu County, with sails and masts stretching as far as the eye could see.

The craftsmen from Jiangdong were conscripted to Wu County to work day and night to build one hundred siege ladders, fifty battering rams, and twenty catapults. The workshops were brightly lit, and the sound of sawing wood never stopped from morning till night.

The blacksmith's shop was filled with the clanging and banging of metal being clad in iron, mingling with the hissing of quenching. Piles of freshly felled pine logs filled the ferry crossing, their resinous aroma masking the fishy smell of the river.

Late April. Sun Ce was preparing to load the last batch of supplies onto ships for his northward expedition. There were five days left before the campaign.

That afternoon, Sun Ce took a few personal guards to Tiger Hill for a hunt. This was his habit before every campaign; he would go hunting before each major battle. He said that hunting and fighting were the same—it was all about who could spot whom first.

Tiger Hill is not high, but its forests are dense. Sun Ce rode a white horse, wearing light armor, and carried a bow. His quiver contained thirty arrows, the arrowheads brand new and freshly sharpened. Accompanying him were three personal guards and two hunters. The hunters led the way, clearing away the bushes blocking their path.

They wandered through the woods for nearly an hour. The sun shone through the pine trees, casting dappled patterns on the ground. Sun Ce shot two pheasants and a roe deer. The roe deer ran a short distance after being hit by an arrow, but Sun Ce spurred his horse after it, drew his sword, and finished it off.

A mountain breeze swept through the woods, and the blood of a roe deer splattered on his boots. He bent down and wiped it off on the grass.

Just then, a stray arrow flew out from the depths of the forest. The arrow struck Sun Ce's horse, causing its front legs to buckle and it to kneel. Sun Ce tumbled off the horse, his shoulder armor striking a rock with a clang.

The bow slipped from his hand and flew several steps away. As he rolled over to get up, a second arrow came flying. It pierced his right side, through the leather straps of his light armor, and into his flesh.

Sun Ce grunted. He reached up and touched the arrow shaft; his fingers were stained with blood. The shaft was still trembling.

Three men rushed out of the woods. They were dressed in black, with black headscarves, and each carried a knife. The leader, a man in his forties, had a face so thin that only his cheekbones remained; he was a retainer of Xu Gong. Xu Gong was the former governor of Wu Commandery, who had been killed by Sun Ce, and his retainers had been waiting for an opportunity to take revenge.

The guards reacted quickly, drawing their swords and charging forward. A fight broke out between the two sides in the woods. Xu Gong's retainers were agile, their swords short and fast, and the three guards could not stop them.

One of his retainers bypassed the guards and lunged at Sun Ce with his sword drawn. Sun Ce dodged the blow, but another blade swept across, slicing through his right arm and tearing his armor sleeve. He sat down on the ground, his sword gone.

The hunter rushed over, and his spear pierced one of the retainers' back. The man screamed and fell to the ground. At that moment, another man rushed out of the woods, younger than the previous three, carrying a sword. He stepped over the fallen retainer, the tip of his sword pointing directly at Sun Ce's throat.