Han Ji

Early July, outside Cangting City.

Before dawn, mist clung to the ground. Yuan Tan led three thousand men out through the east gate. He didn't tell Shen Pei; if Shen Pei knew, he would surely stop him.

When Yuan Tan left the city, he told the captain guarding the east gate, "Open the city gate, I'm going out to scout the camp." The captain hesitated for a moment, then opened the gate.

Yuan Tan's three thousand men crept eastward along the city wall, their target Zhang Fei's camp. Zhang Fei's camp was set up on a high ground five li outside the east gate, with neatly arranged tents and newly erected fences.

Yuan Tan planned to sneak in under cover of darkness, burn Zhang Fei's provisions, and occupy the high ground to the east, thus loosening the siege east of Cangting.

But Zhang Fei wasn't sleeping in the tent. He was squatting in the trench outside the camp, a wooden stick between his teeth. He had woken up in the middle of the night and led a thousand axemen to ambush him in the trench.

During the day, he discovered a dried-up ditch outside the East Gate that led directly to the city walls, and he wanted to try to sneak in tonight.

He hadn't expected that Yuan Tan would emerge before he even got inside. Yuan Tan's three thousand men reached a point two hundred paces from Zhang Fei's camp when the lead soldier snapped a dead branch by the trench. The sound was crisp in the night.

Zhang Fei, startled, stood up from the trench and spat out the wooden stick from his mouth. "Attack!"

Suddenly, a row of torches lit up behind the trench. A thousand axemen leaped out of the trench and crashed into Yuan Tan's vanguard. Yuan Tan's men had no time to react and were cut down in droves.

Zhang Fei, wielding his eighteen-foot spear, charged at the forefront, piercing through a mounted leader with a single thrust. The man's horse, startled, bolted far away, carrying the corpse. Yuan Tan's central army, illuminated by the torches, was completely exposed. Zhang Fei's thousand men pressed down on three thousand, each strike landing squarely on the flesh.

Yuan Tan turned his horse around and fled back. His lieutenant, Zhang Fei, caught up with him and stabbed him off his horse with a spear. Nearly half of the three thousand men were killed, and the rest fled towards the city gate, abandoning their armor and weapons.

Hearing the shouts of battle from the east while on the city wall, Shen Pei knew that Yuan Tan had left the city without permission. He cursed and ordered his deputy to lead two thousand men out of the east gate to meet him, and also sent someone to summon Yuan Shang. Yuan Shang emerged from his tent, his armor not even properly fastened. "What happened?" Shen Pei asked. "The eldest son went out of the city to fight Zhang Fei without permission and fell into an ambush."

Yuan Shang climbed the city wall and saw Yuan Tan's remaining troops fleeing towards the city gate in the firelight to the east, with Zhang Fei's soldiers in pursuit. Yuan Shang turned to look at Shen Pei. Shen Pei said that the eldest son must be brought back. Yuan Shang personally led three thousand men out of the city and circled around to Zhang Fei's flank.

Zhang Fei was chasing Yuan Tan's fleeing soldiers toward the city gate when a force suddenly charged out from his left. In the firelight, he could see Yuan Shang's banner. Zhang Fei chuckled, switched his spear to his left hand, and drew his saber with his right. "It's even better that they've all come!" He led half his men to continue chasing Yuan Tan, while he led the other half to meet Yuan Shang.

The swordsmen and shield bearers clashed on both sides. Zhang Fei cut down those blocking his way and charged towards Yuan Shang's banner when suddenly the sound of hooves sounded behind him. It wasn't Yuan's army's hooves; it was his own. Guan Yu had led two thousand cavalry around from the south.

Guan Yu led his troops over after hearing the shouts of battle from the east. He did not wait for Liu Bei's orders. He knew how to locate enemies by sound on the battlefield. Having fought for so many years, he knew when to wait for orders and when not to.

His cavalry charged into Yuan Shang's flank and rear, their Green Dragon Crescent Blades flashing in the torchlight. Yuan Shang's rear guard was scattered by the cavalry, and Yuan Shang turned his horse and fled towards the city gate.

Seeing Guan Yu's cavalry charging in, Zhang Fei roared and led his men forward. Yuan Tan had already been escorted back to the city, and the city gates were closed. Yuan Shang's troops fought their way back, crowding around the city gates.

Guan Yu chased them to the moat and cut the drawbridge ropes with a single stroke. The drawbridge collapsed, and those on it fell into the river. Yuan Shang had just squeezed into the city when the city gates closed. Hundreds of corpses were left outside the city.

Shen Pei, standing on the city wall, witnessed the entire incident. Yuan Tan, having left the city without authorization, fell into an ambush; Yuan Shang, leaving the city to provide relief, also fell into an ambush. Both forces suffered defeats and heavy losses. The taxi fare in the city plummeted once again.

At daybreak, Liu Bei received the battle report in his central command tent. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had repelled Yuan Shao's army outside the city, beheading nearly a thousand. After reading the report, Liu Bei handed it to Jia Xu.

Jia Xu said that although Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang had joined forces, Yuan Tan disobeyed Shen Pei's orders and went into battle on his own, and the rift between the two had already widened.

Mid-July. Outside Cangting City.

Liu Bei moved his central army camp five li forward and set it up on the high ground outside the south gate of Cangting. The camps were connected as one, with deep moats and strong fences.

Guan Yu's troops were stationed west of the city, Zhang Fei's east, Zhao Yun's cavalry patrolled north, and Zhang He's guide team thoroughly investigated the water sources and supply routes within a radius of dozens of miles. Cangting was completely besieged.

Food supplies in the city began to run short. Shen Pei reduced the rations to two meals a day, each consisting of a bowl of millet porridge. The porridge was thin; you could see the bottom of the bowl after taking a spoonful.

The conflict between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang carried over from the battlefield into the city. Yuan Tan accused Yuan Shang of feigning a rescue mission to steal credit. Yuan Shang retorted that Yuan Shang's unauthorized departure from the city resulted in losses, and now he was turning around and blaming Yuan Tan for his rescue. The two argued in the main hall, with Shen Pei standing in the middle, his face grim.

Jia Xu placed the chess piece on the map at the location of Cangting in the main tent. "My lord, how long will the grain in Cangting City last?"

"Qian Zhao reported back. When Shen Pei came, he brought a batch of grain. Combined with the grain already stored in Cangting, it can last for more than a month if we eat sparingly," Liu Bei said.

"More than a month is too long," Jia Xu said. "The conflict between Yuan Tan and Yuan Shang has already surfaced, but it's not enough. Let them go hungry for a while longer. Let them go hungry until their soldiers start deserting, until their food supplies run out, until they start to distrust each other, and then we'll attack." Liu Bei agreed.

For the next two weeks, Liu Bei's army remained inactive. During the day, they feigned an attack by beating drums, and at night they withdrew to their camp. At first, some of Yuan Shao's soldiers in the city stood on the city walls and cursed, but later they were too exhausted to continue.

The men who had been summoned intercepted a group of civilians fleeing from the granary outside the city. The civilians said that the city's grain rations had been reduced to one meal a day, and the soldiers had begun killing horses. Shen Pei concentrated the stored grain in the county government office and assigned his personal guards to watch over it.

When Yuan Tan's men went to collect the grain, Shen Pei's men said to give it to Yuan Shang's troops first. Yuan Tan's men then started shoving and pushing Shen Pei's men at the granary entrance. Yuan Tan personally arrived at the scene, drew his sword, and killed one of Shen Pei's personal guards.

Shen Pei arrived, and the two confronted each other at the granary entrance for half an hour. Blood was splattered on the dirt road in front of the granary, and no one bothered to wipe it away. In the end, Shen Pei gave in and distributed grain to Yuan Tan's men. But after returning, Shen Pei told Yuan Shang that the eldest son had become unreasonable.

After hearing Qian Zhao's report, Liu Bei turned to look at Jia Xu. "It's almost done."

Jia Xu spun the chess piece in his hand. "One more move. Now all I need to do is move it one more step."

He had Liu Bei find several surrendered soldiers, selecting one with a loud voice, and had him stand below the city walls and shout a message. The message was simple: Yuan Shao had installed Yuan Tan as his heir on his deathbed, but Shen Pei forged an imperial edict to install Yuan Shang, and the Yuan family's legacy had been usurped by Shen Pei and Yuan Shang.

Liu Bei, the Chancellor, only executed the ringleaders, not those who were coerced into surrendering. Those who surrendered were spared. The city was then defended, and after its fall, only Yuan Shang and Shen Pei were executed; the rest were spared.

After hearing what Jia Xu had ordered, Liu Bei frowned. Jia Xu asked him if he thought it was too much. Liu Bei replied that it wasn't too much, but too real. No one knew whether Yuan Shao had left any last words, but if this got into the city, Yuan Tan would believe it.