Han Ji

After capturing Cangting, Liu Bei did not rush to advance towards Ye City. He set up camp on a high ground ten miles north of Cangting, allowing his troops to rest. Zhao Yun stood with him, gazing at the outline of the city walls in the direction of Ye City.

"Cangting can't stop us, and neither can Yecheng," Zhao Yun said.

Jia Xu said, "But there's no rush. Shen Pei has gathered the remnants of his troops and retreated into Ye City, while Ju Shou is in charge of logistics and scheduling within the city. Yuan Shao has learned his lesson this time; he won't engage in battle but will instead hold out against the city walls. If he were to force his way through Ye City, the casualties would be enormous. The terrain around Ye City is open, making it easy for the defenders to observe the surrounding area."

He flipped the black chess piece over. "My lord, if things are deadlocked on the front, move one step to the side or back. What allowed Yuan Shao to hold Ye City? Not soldiers, but grain. Shen Pei has brought all the grain from within dozens of miles of Ye City into the city. The grain-producing areas south of Ye City haven't been harvested yet, and he'll have to rely on Handan. Handan is the grain transport hub of Ji Province, and Shen Pei's granaries are there. If we take Handan, the people in Ye City will run out of food."

Liu Bei looked down at the map. "Handan is 120 li north of Ye City. Yuan Shao's defense zone lies in between; who would dare to cross that line to attack?"

Jia Xu said, "Zhao Yun."

Liu Bei glanced at Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun remained silent, standing and awaiting orders.

"I'll give you five thousand cavalry," Liu Bei said. "No baggage, no infantry. Each man will have two horses, one for riding and one to carry rations and arrows. Go through the gaps in Yuan's defenses and circle around to the rear of Handan. Once you get there, attack, and then burn the supplies. You only have five days. You must take Handan within five days. If you can't take it, retreat immediately."

Zhao Yun knelt on one knee. "If Handan is not captured within five days, I will bring you my head."

That night, Zhao Yun set off with five thousand cavalry. Each man had two horses, their muzzles bristled and their hooves wrapped in cloth. They traveled north along the Zhang River, passing through the outermost defensive zone of Yuan's army. They forded the Zhang River at an abandoned ferry crossing; the water was up to the horses' bellies, and the horses snorted several times as they entered the river.

After crossing the Zhang River, they turned west into the hilly area, following the route drawn by Zhang He to bypass Yuan's patrol circle. Zhang He had been transferred from this area, and he had drawn a map for Zhao Yun, marking two abandoned roads outside Handan without guards and the daily opening and closing times of the North Gate.

Zhao Yun looked at it, folded the map neatly, and tucked it into his wrist guard. As they crossed the last abandoned bridge, half a stone tablet lay fallen at its end, inscribed with the old characters of the Zhao state. The cavalrymen rode past the tablet without anyone glancing down to read the inscription.

When they were thirty li from Handan, it was already completely dark. Zhao Yun ordered the troops to halt and rest in the woods. The men ate dry rations, and the horses were fed fine feed. No fires were to be lit.

In the darkness, only the sounds of horses chewing hay and people breathing filled the air. The wind in the woods had stopped, and all around him was the smell of his own men's sweat and rust.

The scouts returned with the report: the garrison in Handan numbered less than two thousand. The city gates were open during the day and closed at night. There were granaries outside the north gate, surrounded by earthen walls without watchtowers. The garrison assumed this was their rear, believing Liu Bei's main army was still at the granary. The city's defenses were weak; the two patrol teams, aside from briefly patrolling the city walls, mostly slept in their barracks.

Before dawn, Zhao Yun ordered his soldiers to hang their horse reins around their necks so they wouldn't make a sound. The five thousand cavalry were divided into three groups: one blocked the south gate, one blocked the east gate, and the remaining group circled around to the north gate and stormed the granary directly.

As dawn broke, the guards at the north gate had just pushed open the city gate when Zhao Yun's cavalry charged in. Before the guards could even shout, a sword was already at their throats.

The guards at the granary were still asleep. The tent flap was pulled open, a flash of a blade, followed by a brief scream. The cavalry surrounded the granary. Inside were three thousand shi of wheat, five hundred shi of beans, and bundles of hay. This would be the rations for the garrison of Ye City for the next few months.

Zhao Yun ordered: What can be carried away should be transported by horses, and what cannot be carried away should be burned. The soldiers packed the wheat into cloth bags and threw them onto the horses' backs, loaded the beans onto carts, and piled the rest together and poured kerosene on them.

Torches were thrown up, and flames leaped up. The fire burned for more than two hours, its light illuminating the faces of those on the walls of Handan. The defenders inside the city wanted to come out and put out the fire, but Zhao Yun's men were already attacking the city from the south gate.

The two thousand garrison troops remained holed up inside the city, neglecting the granaries outside, and simply kept the city gates tightly shut. Zhao Yun did not launch a full-scale attack on Handan. He left enough men to continue tying down the city's defenders, while he led the main force to load up the grain they could carry and retreat south.

On his way back, Zhao Yun encountered a grain transport convoy of Yuan army coming from the direction of Ye City. The convoy was unaware that Handan had fallen, and the oxcarts were piled high with sacks. Zhao Yun seized the opportunity to intercept the convoy as well.

Before the grain escorts could react, several were shot down by crossbowmen, and the rest abandoned the carts and fled. Zhao Yun took the grain carts with him, and when he returned to the granary, the grain he brought back was equal to what they had consumed, with a surplus of six hundred shi (a unit of dry measure).

News of the burning of the Handan granary reached Ye City two days later.

Shen Pei was patrolling the city wall when a junior officer rode up from the north, the horse foaming at the mouth. The officer dismounted and knelt on the ground, saying that Zhao Yun had burned down the granary in Handan, and all 30,000 shi of wheat were gone.

Shen Pei stood on the city wall, silent. His hands rested on the battlements, his knuckles white, as he pried fragments of stone from the cracks in the bricks. He stood there for a long time before turning and descending the wall.

He went directly to the governor's mansion. Yuan Shao was in his study, leaning against a couch, a blanket covering his legs. His face was already quite pale; his eyes were cloudy, and his lips were purple. Shen Pei recounted the events in Handan.

Upon hearing this, Yuan Shao knocked the teacup beside him to the ground. The teacup shattered, and shards of porcelain bounced on the floor. He couldn't speak, only cough violently, bending over with the force of the cough. After he finished coughing, there was blood and foam at the corner of his mouth.

After Tian Feng was captured at Guandu, Ju Shou was the only advisor Yuan Shao could truly rely on. Ju Shou entered through a side door, having just distributed the last batch of hemostatic medicine to the wounded soldiers; his hands were still covered in medicine residue. He said that the rations could last for more than five months, and if they were careful with their food, they could last for half a year.

Shen Pei turned to look at him. "Six months. And then?"

Ju Shou did not answer. He had injured his leg during the retreat from Guandu, and walked with a limp. It would hurt if he stood for a long time, but he stood in the camp re-registering the wounded and never sat down again.

The supply lines were cut off. The news spread faster than Shen Pei had anticipated. First, it reached the auxiliary troops at the granaries; they had fled when Handan was burned and later escaped back to Ye City. Then, the rations of the soldiers defending the city truly began to decrease.

The porridge was too thin; you could see the bottom of the bowl after taking a spoonful. The soldier stood there, bowl in hand, stunned, and asked the cook what was going on. The cook said that Handan had been burned down and their food supplies were almost gone. The news spread in just half a day.

Over the next few days, various rumors circulated throughout Yuan Shao's army, with soldiers whispering in every corner. Some said Shen Pei was going to surrender, others said Zhang He was already waiting outside the city to recruit his old troops, and still others said Yuan Shao was too ill to get up.

The soldiers began to desert. At night, they tied ropes to the city wall and slid down, not daring to light torches, sliding down in the dark. Some lost their grip and broke their legs, while others were discovered and killed by the night patrol. But most of them escaped.

The guards at the east gate were changed; the garrison commander replaced all of Yuan's old troops with his own personal guards, and added an extra layer of iron chains to the fence inside the barbican.

Several generals also began to have their own ideas. Li Fu secretly sent someone to detour to Cangting, trying to gauge Liu Bei's opinion. Su You locked up his troops' weapons in his tent, forbidding anyone from touching them. Zhao Rui went to find Shen Pei, and the two talked behind closed doors for half an hour. Finally, Zhao Rui slammed the door and came out, and someone heard Shen Pei smashing a teacup inside.

Shen Pei reported this situation to Yuan Shao. Yuan Shao listened while leaning back on his couch and said two words: "Defend the city." Shen Pei did not speak, but turned and left.

Yuan Tan was also present at the final military council in the city. He stood beside his father, his face also pale. Several generals suggested that, before Liu Bei could completely surround them, they should concentrate their remaining forces and break out towards Youzhou.

Shen Pei remained silent, and Ju Shou kept his head down. Yuan Shao surveyed them with his cloudy eyes but did not nod. After the military meeting adjourned, some men carried their packs and headed straight for the city gate without looking back.