Chapter 179

We successfully struck Zhang Pei’s rear and forced him to retreat, but it didn’t completely neutralize his forces or drive them off the battlefield.

Zhang Pei boldly abandoned troops he could afford to lose and withdrew with the forces he could preserve. Instead of heading back to Wancheng, he turned east, breaking away from the northern route.

Our goal was to rescue Guan Yu in the north, so we deliberately chose this direction.

Following Zhang Pei would deviate from the shortest path to Guan Yu, naturally causing delays.

“If they want to follow, let them follow.”

If we chased Zhang Pei’s tail, we risked encountering Xu Huang’s forces, who were returning to Wancheng.

If that happened, we might be completely blocked by both Zhang Pei and Xu Huang, cutting off our path to Guan Yu.

“There’s no choice. If I have to choose between Zhang Pei and Guan Yu, I won’t hesitate to choose Guan Yu.”

I pushed aside my hesitation and firmly set my sights on Guan Yu.

Seeing that the wounded and the dead had been mostly taken care of, I called my officers, Wei Yan, Ma Dai, and Kang Yu, and said, “The troops are ready. We’ll move out immediately.”

“Are we not pursuing Zhang Pei?” Wei Yan asked, eager to expand our gains.

I shook my head firmly. “With the Supreme General clearly heading to Luoyang instead of Wancheng, we don’t have the luxury to chase Zhang Pei. We’ll continue north to rescue the Supreme General as our priority.”

Our current location was near Liuyang County, between Xinya Fortress and Wancheng. The road to Luoyang was still long.

Wei Yan accepted my decision and stepped back, but Kang Yu stepped forward and asked, “Commander Wei, are you planning to head straight to Luoyang?”

“Yes.”

“That won’t do. Our infantry and cavalry are currently separated. We must first join forces with General Zhengdong, who is leading the rear troops, and consolidate our army.”

“That would take too long. Their original mission was to contain Xu Huang.”

It wasn’t that I had no plan when I split the cavalry and infantry, risking being defeated in detail. It was to prevent Xu Huang from using his mobility, like Sima Yi, to trap us between Zhang Pei and Xu Huang.

Anyway, since we’ve successfully repelled Zhang Pei, the need to hold Xu Huang back has diminished.

Even if we leave Nanyang Commandery and enter Henan, Xu Huang would still need to stay to block Yangfan and Wuguan.

But if Xu Huang is well-contained by Wu Ban, we could also bring reinforcements from Guanzhong through Wuguan.

“That’s not the issue I’m talking about, General. Even though we rested in Wancheng, the fatigue from the previous battle hasn’t fully dissipated. If we rush to Luoyang like this, we’ll be too exhausted to do anything. And currently, our troops have minimized their load to increase speed. We’re short on supplies.”

Kang Yu’s point was valid. We couldn’t march through mountains with cavalry, and if we followed the existing road to Luoyang, we’d inevitably be blocked by gates.

No matter how fast our march is, if the march itself is blocked, no one knows how long it will take.

Kang Yu also voiced his thoughts bluntly.

“We don’t know which gates we’ll be blocked at on the way to Luoyang, and we can’t guarantee the time. Our troops only have three days’ worth of food left, and even that has already been reduced by one meal. We need to resupply.”

Ma Dai, who had been silently listening to Kang Yu, reluctantly agreed with his opinion.

“Bai Yao is right. With just cavalry, it’s difficult to break through gates. To break through gates, we need to advance north with infantry.”

“Even Bai Qian…”

With two officers from Commander Wei’s office, who had joined the cavalry, speaking in unison against me, it was hard for me to refuse as firmly as before.

Their words had merit. And it was clear that they also recognized the importance of rescuing Guan Yu.

But knowing better than anyone the repercussions of Guan Yu’s death, the anxiety I felt was different from theirs.

The tragic ending of the Battle of Yiling in the original history, caused by Liu Bei’s grief, made me restless.

Should we risk danger and rush to join Guan Yu as soon as possible?

Or should we trust Guan Yu and take a safer path, even if it takes more time?

As I wavered at the crossroads, Wei Yan spoke again.

If Wei Yan also opposed, I thought I should follow the officers’ opinions, but what he said was the opposite of what I expected.

“Actually, now is the perfect time to break through the gates.”

“Now is the perfect time?”

“Yes. Think about it. If the Supreme General is blocked at the gates, it’s better for us. We can strike Sima Yi’s rear while he’s fighting the Supreme General and rescue him. Even if the Supreme General breaks through the gates with his might, Sima Yi would have also fought to cross them. A gate broken through twice would be easier the third time.”

With Wei Yan, a key officer, siding with me, the balance tipped. But Wei Yan’s next words brought it back.

“However, the food issue is indeed a problem. The road to Luoyang is long. Even if we safely break through the gates, maintaining our strength while marching would take at least ten days.”

In the end, the problem was supplies.

If we join the rear troops and resupply, our speed will decrease as our load increases.

If we were like the Mongol army, where each cavalryman managed several horses, we wouldn’t have this worry.

The Mongol army, where each soldier led five or six horses, could carry much more supplies.

Unfortunately, we don’t have that many horses.

We have reserve horses, but they’re truly just reserves—for emergencies, not for carrying loads. There’s a limit to how much we can carry.

But with Wei Yan’s solution to the gate problem, I had no intention of turning back.

“No. We’ll push forward.”

“General…!”

“We’ll resupply locally.”

In the end, war supplies always rely on local procurement.

East or West, the cost of war has always been passed on to the people.

Sun Tzu advocated procuring supplies from enemy territory in his Art of War, and Napoleon relied on requisitions to make up for shortages.

It was abnormal that we had been trying to rely solely on our own supplies until now.

“General, they are our people!”

“It’s not looting. What we’re doing is requisitioning. We’ll issue certificates for the requisitioned supplies, stamped with my seal as Commander Wei. The rear logistics troops will compensate them accordingly. Then it’s not looting, but a transaction.”

Of course, that’s assuming we successfully occupy the northern counties of Nanyang Commandery. For now, it’s practically looting, and the local people’s sentiment toward the Han Dynasty will worsen.

But there’s no choice now. We must push forward, even if it means this.

“If we successfully rescue the Supreme General, all that will remain for Cao Cao is the fact that Luoyang was attacked by our forces. And with this level of success, conquering Nanyang Commandery later will be easier. We’ll march forward while securing food locally.”

This isn’t an easy choice for me either.

Even if we promise to compensate them, even with interest, we’re still taking their property with an uncertain future as collateral.

But I believe it’s necessary now, so I made the decision. However, Kang Yu still didn’t relent.

“General, this is too reckless.”

“Reckless?”

“Yes, rushing to Luoyang just because we’re pressed for time is reckless no matter how you look at it. We must be cautious with precedents. Right now, Commander Wei, you’re too excited about the Supreme General being in danger.”

“Not at all. I’m calm.”

I’m thinking rationally enough.

“Our situation may seem good now, but overall, it’s precarious. We repelled Zhang Pei, but we didn’t kill him. Further away, Xu Huang is also watching us closely. To enter Shilizhou and requisition from the people? If Zhang Pei regroups his defeated troops and joins Xu Huang to block Henan, we’ll be isolated in enemy territory. If we turn the people’s sentiment against us, there’s no way out!”

“It doesn’t matter.”

“What?”

“It doesn’t matter.”

After joining Guan Yu, if the situation is good, we’ll just occupy Luoyang. The problem is if the situation is bad. Then we’ll find a way to escape from the death trap of Shilizhou.

And the escape route isn’t going south to Yangfan or west to Hangu Pass and Hongnong.

“We’ll cross Jiguan and pass through Hadong Province.”

Hadong Province.

That was Guan Yu’s hometown.