Han Ji

February of the ninth year of Xingping. Chang'an.

The snow hadn't completely melted; icicles hung from the city walls, dripping water when the sun shone down. The old locust tree in the Prime Minister's courtyard was bare, with a few sparrows perched on its branches, fluttering up and shaking off a shower of snow.

Liu Bei stood by the window of his study, looking at the snow in the courtyard. He wore an old blue robe with the sleeves rolled up to his elbows, and held a scroll of bamboo slips in his hand. The bamboo slips were sent by Xun Yu from Chang'an, and they listed the tax and grain reserves of each prefecture and county for the previous year.

Jia Xu brought a gust of cold wind with him when he entered. He closed the door, walked to the charcoal brazier, and warmed his hands by the heat. "My lord."

Liu Bei turned around and placed the bamboo slips on the table. "How many men has Yuan Shao gathered in Ye City?"

"A little over forty thousand," Jia Xu said. "Qian Zhao reported back. Shen Pei reorganized the troops in Ye City, bringing together the routed soldiers and the garrison troops withdrawn from various counties. But they are short of armor, bows and crossbows, and horses. The fire at Guandu burned not only the grain, but also most of Yuan Shao's armory at Wuchao."

"Forty thousand men," Liu Bei said. "Can we still fight?"

Jia Xu said, "They are enough to defend the city. But not enough for open field battles. Half of these 40,000 men are newly recruited and have never been in battle. The veterans were terrified after being defeated at Guandu and are afraid of the names of Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun. The truly capable fighters are less than 10,000."

Liu Bei sat down, his fingers slowly tapping on the table. The Northern Expedition. This thought had been swirling in his mind for four months since his return from Guandu. Now the snow was almost melting, and the Yellow River was about to thaw. If they were to fight, it would be in the spring.

He summoned Jian Yong, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, and Zhang He to the Prime Minister's residence. Once everyone was there, he spread the map on the table. The map was a detailed map of Ji Province retrieved from the Chang'an Palace, even more detailed than the military version, marking every county and every river.

"Yuan Shao currently has 40,000 men, holed up around Ye City." Liu Bei pointed to the location of Ye City. "Shen Pei is guarding the city, Feng Ji is in charge of logistics, and Yuan Shao himself is still recuperating. Qian Zhao said that he vomited blood twice after returning from Guandu, and now he needs help to walk."

Guan Yu stood on the left, his hand on the hilt of his sword. "But he's not dead yet. As long as Yuan Shao lives, Hebei will still be his. Brother, let's fight!"

Zhang Fei slammed his fist on the table. "Attack! We didn't capture him alive last time, this time I'll go to Ye City and drag him out."

Zhao Yun didn't speak, but stood very straight, his eyes fixed on the map.

Zhang He stood on the far right. He was a surrendered general, and not one to speak much in such situations. But Liu Bei glanced at him and asked, "Junyi, you've served in Ji Province. You know the area around Ye City best. Tell me."

Zhang He stepped forward and pointed to the south of Ye City on the map. "Ye City is the capital of Ji Province. The city walls are three zhang high, made of blue bricks, and the moat is drawn from the Zhang River. There are three large camps outside the city: Cangting in the south, Lieren in the east, and Shexian in the west. Shen Pei will definitely place his main force at Cangting, which is located directly south of Ye City, forty li away, and is the throat of the north-south official road."

Liu Bei looked at Zhang He and nodded. This surrendered general didn't utter a single point of nonsense; every word he said was valuable.

"How many men do we have?" Liu Bei turned to ask Jian Yong.

Jian Yong opened the ledger and traced the numbers with his finger. "After the reorganization at Guandu, there are 120,000 men. 80,000 infantry, 30,000 cavalry, and 10,000 naval troops. But this is all we have. We need to keep troops in Yizhou to defend against the Nanzhong, Liangzhou to defend against the Qiang people, Wancheng to defend against Liu Biao, and we also need to keep troops at Hulao Pass and Guandu. We can spare 60,000 for the northern expedition."

"Sixty thousand is enough," Liu Bei said. "Yuan Shao has forty thousand, half of whom are new recruits. My sixty thousand can easily defeat his forty thousand."

Jia Xu interjected, "My lord, the problem is Cao Cao. We're fighting Yuan Shao in the north; could Cao Cao attack westward from Qingzhou?"

Liu Bei remained silent for a moment. "Cao Cao occupies less than half of Qingzhou. Yuan Shao still holds parts of Pingyuan and Jinan counties in Qingzhou, which Cao Cao cannot conquer in the short term. If he dares to attack us to the west, Yuan Shao will retaliate against his occupied territories in Qingzhou. He will not take that risk."

Liu Bei stood up, walked to the front of the map, and drew his finger northward from Yanjin Ferry, across the Yellow River, past Liyang, and stopped at the location of Ye City.

"Pass on the order." He paused for a moment, "Guan Yu will lead 20,000 infantry and cavalry as the vanguard, departing from Guandu and crossing the river at Yanjin. Zhang Fei will lead 20,000 infantry as the left flank. Zhao Yun will lead 10,000 cavalry as the right flank. Zhang He will lead his own 5,000 men as guides. After crossing the river, you will be the first person to set foot on Jizhou land."

Zhang He clasped his hands in a fist salute. "This humble general obeys the order."

"Jia Xu will accompany the central army to assist in military affairs. Jian Yong will remain in Luoyang to oversee logistics and will directly liaise with Xun Yu." Liu Bei's voice was not loud, but every word was like a hammer striking a nail.

Zhang Fei asked when they would set off. Liu Bei replied, "On the first day of the third month."

On the first day of the third lunar month, an army of 60,000 set off from Guandu and arrived at Yanjin Ferry. The boats lined up at the ferry, gangplanks were erected, and soldiers boarded in formation. The horses' hooves clattered on the gangplanks. A gust of wind swept across the river, bending the flagpoles and causing the flags to flutter loudly.

Guan Yu was the first to cross the river. He rode a chestnut horse, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade resting on the saddle. When the boat reached the north bank, he dismounted, his boots sinking into the mud of the riverbank, the mud plastering up to his calves when he pulled them out.

He stood on the riverbank, looking ahead. Ji Province. Yuan Shao's territory. On the open plains, the wheat fields had not yet turned green, and the grayish-yellow soil stretched to the horizon.

Zhang Fei was on another boat. The boat rocked, and he cursed, then cursed again. As he disembarked, he leaped onto the shore, splashing mud all over the soldiers beside him.

The 60,000-strong army crossed the river in two days. The camp on the north bank was set up first, with palisades erected and trenches dug deeper. Zhang He arrived first and, while waiting for the follow-up troops to cross, had already scouted the terrain forty li ahead. He returned and reported to Liu Bei that there were no Yuan Shao troops deployed within a radius of fifty li.

Yuan Shao dared not fight at the ferry crossing. His forces were insufficient to block it. Shen Pei built a defensive line at Cangting, intending to keep Liu Bei outside Ye City. From Yanjin to Cangting was about a hundred li, the official road was straight, and carriages could travel it; a large army could arrive in three days.

On the evening of the third day, the scouts spotted the lights of Cangting. Far away, on the horizon, a row of yellow dots shimmered in the twilight.

Ye City.

Yuan Shao sat up from the couch. He had lost a lot of weight; his cheekbones were prominent, his eyes were sunken, and the veins on the back of his hands stood out prominently. He wore a brocade robe, which hung loosely on his shoulders. On the table were military reports that had been sent for review; he had read some of them but hadn't finished.

"Liu Bei has arrived," he said. His voice was soft and unenthusiastic, as if he were simply saying that it had rained that day.

Shen Pei stood to the side. He had been waiting there since morning, his robe still stained with mud from the Cangting construction site. "My lord, Liu Bei's 60,000 men have crossed the river. Guan Yu is leading the vanguard, and they are already thirty li south of Cangting."

Ju Shou was also there. He had injured his leg during the retreat from Guandu and walked with a limp, but his spirits were still good. "My lord," he said, "the Cangting defense line is not yet fully completed. Only two of the three trenches have been dug, and of the seven watchtowers erected, five are still standing. Could we stall them for a few more days and send an envoy to pretend to negotiate peace?"

Yuan Shao said, "Make peace? Liu Bei crossed the river at Yan Jin with 60,000 men. Would he really make peace with me?"

Ju Shou said, "If we don't fight, we'll just have to buy time. If we can get all the arrow towers at Cangting erected and the third trench dug, we'll have a better chance of winning the subsequent battle."

Yuan Shao remained silent for a moment. "Whom should I send?"