"Zhong Gong." Cao Shuang walked to Ma Qiu Jian's side, "I would like to ask for ten or twenty cavalrymen. It is still fifteen li to Ma Yi, and it's getting dark. I need to go ahead and scout the area."
"Explore the route?"
Guán Qiū Jiǎn thought for a moment and laughed, "Shào Bó, if you reach the city of Mǎ Yì and find that Tián Yù has arrived, what would you do?"
Cao Shuang replied, "Of course, I would stay within the city of Ma Yi and send someone back to notify Lord Liu and you."
Guán Qiū Jiǎn said, "Lord Liu has deployed his army here, naturally with the intention of collaborating with Tián Yù's army in battle. Why don't we go together, and you stay with Tián Yù's army while I return here."
"Wouldn't that be more appropriate?"
Cao Shuang pondered for a moment and said, "Very well, let's do it that way! It's been hard work for Zhong Gong to accompany me."
Guán Qiū Jiǎn shook his head and said, "Being diligent in serving the kingdom is no reason to say it's hard work. I'll send someone right away!"
Guán Qiū Jiǎn called for twenty cavalrymen and rode out of the camp with Cao Shuang, heading north towards the city of Mǎ Yì.
The sky grew darker as the sun set, casting a vast shadow across the ground on the west bank of the Sanggan River, with a group of mountains reflecting in the evening glow.
However, on the east side of Guán Qiū Jiǎn and Cao Shuang, the Sanggan River still shone with glimmers, occasionally reflecting golden colors.
On the plain, fifteen li is not a far distance for cavalry. Half an hour later, the two had already led their cavalry to the west side of Mǎ Yì City.
Riding up a slightly higher earthen mound, the two raised their eyes to see that Köbìnéng's Xianbei cavalry was assembling gradually from the east side of Mǎ Yì City, along the north bank of the Sanggan River, from a distance.
It was clear that they were planning to camp on the east side of Mǎ Yì City.
Guán Qiū Jiǎn looked for a while and turned to Cao Shuang, saying, "Shào Bó, you see the Xianbei people's posture. Tonight they will probably only be able to camp on the east side of the city, with no time to encircle Mǎ Yì City."
"We've arrived at just the right time. We should quickly enter the city now and then come out before the night turns completely dark."
Cao Shuang took a deep breath.
Since his childhood, Cao Shuang had always lived under the shadow of his father Cao Zhen.
The bravery and achievements of his ancestors were a rare honor to speak of, but for Cao Shuang, they were an ever-present, invisible, and immense pressure.
Who wouldn't yearn for establishing a great reputation?
For a young man from a military family, establishing a reputation by fighting in the frontier and defeating the nomadic tribes was the perfect blueprint for military service.
Today is just like that.
Cao Shuang looked at Guán Qiū Jiǎn and said, "Thank you, Zhong Gong, for accompanying me here. After entering the city, we still need you and Tián Gōng to discuss the matter of deploying our forces."
Guán Qiū Jiǎn lifted his riding whip and pointed in the direction of Mǎ Yì City, "Then go quickly. Once you see Tián Gōng, leave the city as soon as possible to avoid being noticed by the Xianbei."
Guán Qiū Jiǎn lightly tapped his horse's belly with the whip and rode out in the lead. Cao Shuang and the twenty cavalrymen behind him followed in unison.
At this time, Tián Yù was on the city's eastern parapet, gazing at the Xianbei camp, which was three li away.
Tián Yù sighed deeply and asked Lù Qì, the assistant beside him, "How many more days' worth of provisions do we have in the military?"
Lù Qì thought for a moment and then replied with a bow, "Replying to General Tián, we have enough for three more days. If we kill the horses and then gather the stored grain in the city, it should be sufficient for seven or eight days."
Three days... Tián Yù stared at the Xianbei scouts patrolling in the distance, constantly worrying in his heart.
I need to come up with a way to break the enemy as soon as possible, otherwise the situation will certainly deteriorate!
At this moment, He Xìn ran over the city wall, shouting as he ran, "General Tián, Lord Qian has sent someone!"
Tián Yù turned around abruptly and stared at He Xìn, asking, "Where is the person who has come? Has Zhào Bó returned?"
He Xìn bowed and said, "Replying to General Tián, the person who has come is indeed Cao Shuang. I remember distinctly that when he left, he brought ten cavalrymen, but now he has twenty coming over from the west gate."
"Subordinate has already ordered the gates opened to welcome him in."
Tián Yù nodded, and he ran down the steps, leaving the city walls. After getting down from the city, he galloped towards the western gate in the direction of Mǎ Yì City.
Noticing the side of Cao Shuang, there was a young man standing there, with an impressive bearing and a blue sash and silver seal hanging from his waist. After dismounting, Tián Yù asked out loud, "Shào Bó, who is the person standing beside you?"
Guán Qiū Jiǎn smiled and bowed with his hands, indicating: "I have met General Tián. I am Guán Qiū Jiǎn, the Supervisor of the Imperial Cavalry. I am here as an envoy sent by the emperor to inspect the area."
"Greetings to Guán Qiū Jiǎn." Tián Yù saw that Guán Qiū Jiǎn was young and only bowed slightly. He then turned to Cao Shuang and asked, "Shào Bó, where is Lord Qian's army?"
At this moment, Cao Shuang finally relaxed and laughed while explaining, "General Tián, Lord Qian has gone to take up his post in Luoyang and is not in the Yuemen Commandery."
Seeing Tián Yù's face change abruptly, Cao Shuang knew that his words had led Tián Yù to misunderstand. He quickly explained, "General Tián, I apologize for the misunderstanding. Although Lord Qian is not in the Yuemen Commandery, Heavenly Envoy Liu Ye and Guán Qiū Jiǎn are together, with their orders from the emperor and their staff of three thousand county soldiers. They have already arrived at a place about fifteen li south of Mǎ Yì City."
Tián Yù's expression changed from worry to joy, and he grabbed Cao Shuang's hand, saying, "Shào Bó, come with me to the city wall. Show me!"
"Yes!" Cao Shuang replied and walked ahead.
Tián Yù followed closely behind.
Guán Qiū Jiǎn stood motionless with his hands tied behind him, smiling slightly. He understood that Tián Yù was anxious about the war and didn't take it to heart.
At this moment, He Xìn noticed the senior officer standing beside him, bowed slightly, and said, "Commander Guán, my general is eager about the battle and I hope you won't take offense." "It's all right," replied Guán Qiū Jiǎn. "Let's both go up to the city wall. While there's still some light in the sky, I also need to return to my camp later."
He Xìn turned his body, pointed to the steps with his right finger, and said, "Commander Guán, please go ahead."
Guán Qiū Jiǎn nodded, and then followed.
Looking in the southern direction, Tián Yù said softly, "Fifteen li is quite a distance; it might not be in time to provide support."
Cao Shuang bowed his hands and said, "General Tián, perhaps you can discuss the battle strategy with Commander Guán. He was also on campaign in the Huainan region earlier this year."
Subsequently, Cao Shuang roughly recounted the path of the past few days, as well as the various happenings involving Liu Ye and Guán Qiū Jiǎn on their way here, to Tián Yù.
Tián Yù turned around, bowing slightly with a look of apology, "I apologize for my impatience; I was somewhat rude. I hope Commander Guán will not take offense."
With a bow, Guán Qiū Jiǎn replied, "General Tián, you need not worry. Heavenly Envoy Liu and I are also here with the soldiers of Yanmen Commandery to fight for the cause."
"I presume General Tián has a strategy in mind. Why not explain it to me? The light is fading, and I also need to return to camp soon."
Tián Yù was silent for a moment before slowly revealing his plan, and both Cao Shuang and He Xìn were listening intently beside him.
After discussing several details with Tián Yù, Guán Qiū Jiǎn immediately bowed and said goodbye, "General Tián, I'll see you in three days. I will discuss the plan you mentioned with Lord Liu."
...
From the morning of the second day, the Xianbei army had surrounded Mǎ Yì City on all four sides.
Although surrounded, Tián Yù's originally anxious mood was relieved when he learned that the three thousand county soldiers from Yanmen Commandery had arrived.
Great Wei had been established for less than ten years, and Emperor Wu had been waging wars for more than thirty years. Even the local county soldiers maintained a high level of combat capability.
Tián Yù's own detachment of two thousand elite soldiers, combined with the three thousand soldiers from Yanmen Commandery, totals five thousand.
Plus the three thousand mounted archers from the Wuhuan Allies and the four thousand irregular soldiers from the Duuli tribe, a total of 12,000.
Even if Köbìnéng led an army of 30,000 cavalrymen, this would be more than enough for a fight!
This was not because Tián Yù was boasting, but because the situation truly was as it was.
The Xianbei mounted archers are not professional soldiers, but are gathered from various tribes and drafted by the nomadic population to fight. In terms of fighting spirit and ability to bear injuries and losses, they are far inferior to the Great Wei army.
In other words, defeating one part and causing the rest to be afraid and unwilling to advance was something that often happened during Tián Yù's tenure as the governor of You'an.
Outside the southern gate of Mǎ Yì City.
A Xianbei nobleman riding a brown horse and wearing feathers on his head slowly emerged from the Xianbei army, and walked directly to a distance of thirty steps outside the southern gate.
The Xianbei nobleman shouted in a non-standard Mandarin accent, "Is General Tián here? I, the King of the Affiliated Tribes, have something to say to General Tián."
After shouting that sentence, a few instants later, several feathers arrows flew through the air and landed in front of the Xianbei man's horse, frightening him to take several steps back.
Tián Yù stood on the city wall and kept silent, gazing down at the scene below with his eyes half-closed.
He Xìn shouted loudly, "Who are you? Why do you want to see General Tián?"
The Xianbi nobleman hurriedly shouted, "I am Yùzhújian! I am the son-in-law of Köbìnéng!"
"The King has said that they don't want to make enemies with General Tián, but only want to cause trouble for Su Li! If General Tián can release Su Li and his troops, we will leave for Yunzhong tonight!"
He Xìn was about to respond, but beside him, upon hearing the name of Yùzhújian, Tián Yù could no longer contain himself. He took the large bow from his personal guards, drew the bow in an instant, and fired an arrow.
The arrow struck accurately in the chest of Yùzhújian's warhorse, and with a loud neigh, the brown horse collapsed to the ground, its legs collapsing.
The horse's body pinned down Yùzhújian's body. After great effort, Yùzhújian slowly climbed out from under the horse, clearly injured in his legs and arms.
Yùzhújian actually saw someone draw a bow, but he didn't have time to dodge in time, and his brown horse was shot.
Yùzhújian shouted at the top of his lungs, "General Tián, what does this mean!"
Tián Yù's deep voice echoed from the city head, "This is what I have gained for Li Xia! If you have something to discuss, let Köbìnéng come see me himself!"
Yùzhújian dared not say more, hobbling back to the army with a look of hatred. Upon seeing Yùzhújian's defeat, four mounted archers rushed out to meet him.
As Yùzhújian was riding a new horse and was about to complain to Köbìnéng, he was stopped by Köbìnéng.
Köbìnéng spoke in a calm manner, "If you have injured your leg, go and rest. General Tián did ask for me to meet him face to face, so I will go see him tomorrow."
Yùzhújian said with a face full of resentment, "King, General Tián shot me today, which clearly shows that he has no intention of making peace with us! Why should we go to see him?"
"Fool!" Köbìnéng cursed. "Why not take advantage of the fact that we have surrounded the city now to demand more conditions? There will never be a better opportunity again!"
"Tomorrow, follow me and learn how I talk to the Han people!"
"I understand." Yùzhújian stood to the side, bowing his head respectfully and not daring to say more. (The chapter ends)
