Han Ji

December. Qingzhou.

Cao Cao received Yuan Tan's envoy in his study. The envoy knelt on the ground and presented Yuan Tan's letter with both hands. Cao Cao opened the letter, read it, and placed it on the table without speaking immediately.

Cheng Yu glanced at the letter and put it back. Guo Jia had just come in from outside, his robe still covered in snow. He read the letter and his lips twitched slightly.

"Yuan Tan said in his letter that he was willing to offer Hejian and Bohai as hostages in exchange for your military assistance. After the matter was accomplished, the entire eastern part of Hebei would belong to you."

Guo Jia placed the letter on the table. "This is an empty promise. It's true that Yuan Tan currently occupies Hejian and Bohai, but he won't be able to withstand Liu Bei's eastern expedition. When the cities fall to Liu Bei, what will Yuan Tan offer in return? Even if he can hold out, in the course of war, the transfer of territory is always decided by whoever has the bigger fist. Yuan Tan's fist is weak right now. His promise is just a piece of paper."

Cao Cao asked, "What do you mean?"

Guo Jia said, "We will not send troops, but we will not refuse either. We will observe. Liu Bei has just captured Ye City and is currently pacifying the core of Ji Province. His next step will definitely be to launch an eastern campaign against Yuan Tan. Let him fight. Yuan Tan cannot withstand the attack, but he can hold Liu Bei off for a while. When Liu Bei launches an eastern campaign, his forces will be dispersed and his supply lines will be stretched. If Liu Bei gets bogged down in the Bohai Sea, we can then send troops from Pingyuan County, press westward to the Zhang River, and take over Yangping and the eastern part of Wei County. This is called sitting back and watching the outcome, waiting for both sides to be exhausted before taking advantage of the situation."

Cheng Yu said, "What if Liu Bei completely crushes Yuan Tan, and we don't have time to send troops?"

Guo Jia said, "Then we haven't suffered any losses. Yuan Tan couldn't have held out anyway. If we don't send troops, we won't suffer any losses. If we do send troops and get surrounded by Liu Bei, we'll be at a disadvantage. Your most important task now is to consolidate Qingzhou. We've just taken Qingzhou, and there are still remnants of Yuan Xi's forces resisting in Beihai. Stabilize Qingzhou first, then we can plan for Hebei."

Cao Cao stood up and walked to the map. He pointed to the location of Qingzhou and then drew a circle around the location of Jidong.

"You're right," Cao Cao said. "Qingzhou is our foundation. If Qingzhou is unstable, we can't talk about anything else."

He turned to his attendant and instructed him to take Yuan Tan's envoy to rest. Then he said to Guo Jia, "Reply to Yuan Tan. Tell him that Cao Cao is busy with military affairs and cannot send troops for the time being. Ask Yuan Tan to hold his ground and wait for the right opportunity, when Cao Cao will surely lead his army to his aid."

Guo Jia said, "In this way, Yuan Tan will know that we will not send troops. He might surrender to Liu Bei."

Cao Cao said, "Whether he surrenders or not is his business. If he surrenders, Liu Bei will be in more trouble. Yuan Tan's men are all former members of the Yuan family, and Liu Bei won't feel at ease even if he incorporates them. If he resists to the death, it won't do us any harm." He paused for a moment and then said that Yuan Tan would not surrender, and he wanted to prove the Yuan family wrong.

The messenger returned to Xindu with Cao Cao's reply. After reading the letter, Yuan Tan tore it up and threw it on the ground.

Guo Tu squatted down and picked up a piece of paper. "Young Master, Cao Cao refuses to send troops."

Yuan Tan said, "Damn it, he refuses to send troops, I'll fight him myself."

January of the eleventh year of Xingping. Ye City.

Before the river ice had even melted, Liu Bei's preparations for his eastern expedition were complete. Last winter, he incorporated surrendered soldiers, recruited new troops, and stockpiled provisions. Zhang He's Ji Province camp had expanded to five thousand men, and Zhao Yun's cavalry returned from rest in Luoyang with all their horseshoes replaced. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei had spent the winter in Ye City, and their troops were nearly fully trained.

Jia Xu spread out a map of eastern Ji on the table. Heading east from Ye City, the first destination was Hejian. Hejian was approximately three hundred li (about 150 kilometers) due east-northeast of Ye City.

The second target was Bohai, located east of Hejian and bordering the sea. Yuan Tan's main force was stationed in Xindu, Bohai, while only a detachment was stationed in Hejian.

"Yuan Tan has expanded his army to about ten thousand. But he has many new recruits, but lacks armor and provisions. His only hope is Cao Cao. Cao Cao has already refused. Before he can train his new recruits, we should march directly on him." Jia Xu pointed his finger at the location of Hejian.

Liu Bei summoned the commanders of each camp to the main hall. Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Zhang He, Qian Zhao, and Jian Yong were all present. He stood up from his seat at the table. "Eastern Expedition. Attack Yuan Tan. Yun Chang will lead the vanguard of 10,000 men straight to Hejian. Yi De will lead the left flank of 5,000 men to encircle them from the direction of Anping."

Zilong led 5,000 cavalry to patrol the outer perimeter, intercepting Yuan Tan's reinforcements and messengers. Junyi led 5,000 troops from Jizhou to advance with the central army. Qian Zhao's special operations battalion infiltrated Bohai ahead of time to ascertain Yuan Tan's troop deployment. Jian Yong guarded Ye City and arranged for the supply of provisions.

Guan Yu clasped his hands in a fist salute. Zhang Fei slammed his fist on the table and said, "I've wanted to beat that kid up for a long time." Zhao Yun nodded. Zhang He said, "This subordinate obeys." Qian Zhao said that his special forces battalion had already planted people in Bohai and would be able to mark the locations of Yuan Tan's various camps in a few days.

After the military council, the entire city of Ye was in motion. Soldiers moved their weapons out of the armory, reloaded their bows and crossbows, and distributed ration bags to everyone. Warhorses were led out of their stables, their hooves sinking into the still-wet yellow earth after winter, each hoof leaving a small dent.

In early February, the river ice had just melted. Liu Bei led an army of 50,000 from Ye City, heading east. Zhang He led the Ji Province camp to clear the way. He was familiar with every official road and bridge in the area. When they reached Qinghe, the bridge collapsed. Zhang He ordered engineers to cut down poplar trees along the riverbank to build a makeshift bridge, and the army paused for an hour before continuing its march.

In mid-February, Hejian City was besieged by Guan Yu's vanguard. The general defending Hejian was a subordinate general named Zhao, sent by Yuan Tan from Bohai, who led two thousand soldiers. This man had previously been Yuan Tan's personal guard captain and was loyal to Yuan Tan, but had never fought in a major battle.

Guan Yu did not directly attack the city. He surrounded Hejian and ordered his men to shoot surrender letters into the city. The defending general burned all the surrender letters. Two days later, Zhang Fei's left flank arrived, pressing in from Anping and cutting off the road from Hejian to Bohai. The defending general sent someone out of the city to request reinforcements from Yuan Tan, but the messenger was intercepted by Zhao Yun's cavalry as soon as he left the city.

On the third day, Guan Yu began his siege. He didn't use siege ladders; the walls of Hejian were low, only a little over two zhang (approximately 6.6 meters), and the moat was narrow. He ordered battering rams to be pushed directly into the city gate. When the rams reached the gate opening, the defenders on the walls threw down oil canisters, which caught fire and burned the rams. Guan Yu then ordered new battering rams with iron-tipped caps to be used again.

By noon, the city gate bolts had cracked. Guan Yu's men stormed in, and the city's defenders surrendered after less than half an hour of street fighting. The garrison commander was captured, bound hand and foot, and brought before Guan Yu. Guan Yu did not kill him but ordered him to be sent to Ye City and imprisoned with Shen Pei.

After capturing Hejian, Zhang Fei inventoried the city's granaries and found only a few hundred shi of grain, not enough to feed the army for three days. Zhang Fei cursed, saying that Yuan Tan was so poor, what was the point of fighting a war?

At the end of February, Liu Bei's army entered the Bohai region.

Bohai was Yuan Tan's stronghold, and its defenses were much stronger than those of Hejian. The city walls were three zhang high, made of blue bricks, and the moat was wide, drawing water from the Zhang River.

Yuan Tan concentrated his main force in Xindu City, abandoning all the fields and villages outside the city, and burning any grain that couldn't be harvested. When Liu Bei's army arrived at Xindu City, they saw a scorched earth outside the city, wheat fields burned to ashes, and houses in the villages collapsed, leaving only a few mud walls.