Chapter 83

Donglai Taishi Ci escorted his mother away from their hometown and headed south before the autumn harvest. He estimated that once the crops in the fields matured, Yuan's army would certainly send countless small teams to harvest them, making it dangerous to leave at that time. However, even so, the journey was not peaceful. With the constant harassment by Yuan's army, bandits rose up everywhere. Fortunately, Taishi Ci was skilled in martial arts, and dozens or even hundreds of bandits were no match for him.

More importantly, due to the harassment by Yuan's army and the bandits, the wealthy families in Qingzhou repaired their fortresses, gathered strong men, and strictly guarded them. Taishi Ci's reputation was well-known, and wherever he went, as soon as he announced his name, the other party would immediately open the gates and invite him in, allowing him to rest. However, because of this, his progress was always slow. It wasn't until he entered Yanzhou that the situation improved slightly.

Taishi Ci first rushed to Juancheng. Upon entering the city, he learned that Shi Xun had already gone south to Chengyang to take up his post. So he ran to Chengyang, showed the letter Shi Xun had previously given him, and Wu Zhi, who had long heard of his name, quickly invited him into the county office and treated him well. When Taishi Ci asked, "Is Shi Hongfu sending grain south again?" he couldn't help but laugh, "Is heaven not wanting me to meet Hongfu again? The more it is so, the more I want to see him."

He then settled his mother in Chengyang and, mounting his horse and wielding his spear, set out to chase after Shi Xun. Taishi Ci's intention was not only to see Shi Xun again but also to witness the rare large-scale battle between Yuan and Cao. If he could go to the front lines through Shi Xun's recommendation, it would be a great comfort to his life. Although he was exceptionally skilled in martial arts, he had never truly seen a large-scale battle on the plains and was eager to broaden his horizons and gain more experience.

Coincidentally, when he reached Lumen Pavilion, he suddenly heard the mournful neighing of a horse nearby—Shi Xun had fallen into a ditch. Curiosity piqued, he spurred his horse along the north side of the ditch and followed the sound. Soon, his field of vision opened up, and he saw a young general on the other side of the ditch, drawing his bow and aiming. He also saw a man running frantically in the ditch. Taishi Ci had excellent eyesight and, with a quick glance, recognized him—this was none other than his brother Hongfu!

So he shouted to give Shi Xun courage and also picked up his bow. The young general on the other side heard the shout, turned to look, and was startled by the sight of a large man. Without aiming at Shi Xun, he immediately shot an arrow at Taishi Ci. Taishi Ci, using his keen sense of direction, slightly tilted his head to avoid the arrow and simultaneously released his own bowstring. The young general was also very agile, and with a kick of his heels, his horse suddenly accelerated, and the arrow flew past his head.

After each of them fired an arrow, both secretly gave a thumbs up: "This man's archery skills are remarkable, worthy of a battle!" Taishi Ci called out first, "I am Taishi Ci of Donglai, what is your name?" The young general replied coldly, "Sun Ce of Wuzhong."

"Thud," Shi Xun sat down on the ground.

Sun Ce, like the real Shi Xun (Afei), was born in the fourth year of Emperor Ling's Xiping era, making him nineteen years old in nominal age and just eighteen in actual age. His father, Sun Jian, was killed by Huang Zu's subordinate in the second or third year of Chuping, when Sun Ce was seventeen and had not yet undergone the capping ceremony. At that time, he was living with his mother in Shu County, Lujiang Commandery.

According to the original historical trajectory, Sun Ce, carrying his father's body, crossed the Yangtze River and buried him in Qu'a. He then moved north across the river to Jiangdu County, Guangling Commandery. Later, due to the fear of the Inspector of Xuzhou, Tao Qian, he returned to Qu'a and sought refuge with his uncle, Sun Ce's appointed governor of Danyang, Wu Jing. He officially joined Yuan Shu's forces in the first year of Xingping, which was the year after Shi Xun's encounter at Lumen Pavilion.

However, the historical trajectory changed slightly. After burying his father, Sun Ce did not go north across the river but stayed in Qu'a—because Xu and Yanzhou had formed an alliance, and Tao Qian had already left Yuan Shu's—Gongsun Zan's group and instead joined the Yuan Shao—Cao Cao group. Therefore, Sun Ce would not go to Xuzhou to seek trouble. Thus, when Wu Jing joined Yuan Shu to resist Cao Cao in the north, Sun Ce also led the hundreds of elite troops left by his father and joined the battle.

Yuan Shu suffered consecutive defeats on the front lines and finally persuaded the Yellow Turbans of Runan to attack Cao Cao from the side. According to Sun Ce's idea, a full-scale counterattack should have been launched to at least drive Cao Cao out of Runan. However, Cao Cao's main force did not move, and Yuan Shu also did not move, just waiting it out. Sun Ce went to Wu Jing and said, "I have heard that Cao Cao's harvest this year is good, and his military provisions are abundant, while we are barely getting by. How can we wait it out?" He hoped Wu Jing would advise Yuan Shu to launch an attack. However, Wu Jing could not persuade Yuan Shu, and Sun Ce, in a fit of anger, said, "Then I will go and fight on my own. I will harass Cao Cao's rear and burn his provisions."

Sun Ce had grand ambitions and a quick temper. Although Wu Jing was his uncle, he could not stop him. In the end, Sun Ce picked dozens of elite soldiers from Huai and Si, borrowed some cavalry from Wu Jing and other generals of Yuan Shu, such as Qiao Rui and Zhang Xun, who were close to him, and gathered over two hundred but less than three hundred cavalry. He took a shortcut and ran to the enemy's rear.

In military strategy, it is common for both sides to send cavalry to harass the enemy's flanks and rear. The problem was that Sun Ce was bold enough to run further and further, eventually entering the territory of Liang, over two hundred miles from the front lines. Cao Cao, due to the changing situation, wrote to Xun Yu, Cao De, and others to continue gathering provisions and transport them to the front lines. Not only Chengyang received the order, but other counties also received it. However, the other counties either delayed or did not take this route, while Shi Xun, perhaps because he looked down on the heavens, was harshly punished by them and was unexpectedly intercepted by Sun Ce.

Sun Ce was also frustrated. He did not expect Cao Cao's provisions to be so well-guarded. Several times, he tried to raid Cao Cao's granaries but was deterred by the alert guards and the overwhelming numbers. Although he was rash, he was not stupid and would not foolishly attack. He had been away from his uncle for over ten days and had been circling around the enemy's rear for six or seven days. His provisions were almost exhausted, and he had only managed to rob a few large estates by pretending to be a bandit. Today, he finally encountered Shi Xun's group and decided to pursue them relentlessly—burning the provisions was not enough; he needed to take an enemy general's head to boast about.

This enemy general was a coward, whom Sun Ce estimated to be a team leader or a county magistrate. As soon as the two armies met, the general turned and ran, showing no courage. Sun Ce, who could not tolerate cowards, thought, "You run, I'll see how far you can run. I'll see if you can escape from me!"

So he pursued them, but just as he was about to catch up, a general suddenly charged out and blocked his path. Sun Ce, who could not tolerate cowards, became even more determined when he saw a strong opponent, and he was so excited that he could hardly contain his trembling—this guy is strong, regardless of his name or identity, if I can cut off his head, even if I can't boast about it to others, I can still be secretly happy in my bed. However, the name "Taishi Ci of Donglai" seemed familiar...

So Sun Ce casually announced his name and, spurring his horse and twisting his halberd, engaged Taishi Ci in battle on the flat ground beside the deep ditch. Shi Xun, still hiding in the ditch, was dazzled by the sight and thought, "Wow, this is a one-on-one battle between great generals! Amazing, this is a rare scene! Could it be that the great battle of Shenting is about to be reenacted... today?"

According to the original history, Taishi Ci later joined Liu Yao, and Sun Ce borrowed troops from Yuan Shu to attack Liu Yao. Some advised Liu Yao to appoint Taishi Ci as a general, but Liu Yao disagreed, saying, "If I use Ziyi, will Xu Zijiang not laugh at me?" Xu Zijiang, or Xu Shao, was a famous commentator and, more accurately, a face reader and propaganda expert. Why appointing Taishi Ci as a general would be laughed at by Xu Shao is not mentioned in the historical records, but it was probably an excuse for Liu Yao to look down on Taishi Ci.

So Liu Yao only appointed Taishi Ci as a reconnaissance captain to investigate the strength of Sun Ce's army. Somehow, he encountered Sun Ce face-to-face—according to the novel, Sun Ce went to Shenting Ridge to worship the Guangwu Temple and was seen by Taishi Ci, who then deliberately rushed to catch him. This is the origin of the Shenting battle, where Sun Ce pulled the halberd from Taishi Ci's back, and Taishi Ci took off Sun Ce's helmet, resulting in a draw.

Actually, one-on-one battles are mostly fictional. In the official history, especially during the late Han and Three Kingdoms period, they are extremely rare. Although in the age of cold weapons, soldiers and generals would naturally face each other, it would be shameful for a general to only abuse small soldiers instead of facing the enemy's general. However, it is rare for two armies to face each other, and the soldiers to withdraw, leaving only the two generals to fight. Instead, these battles usually occur during the chaos of a larger battle.

Therefore, who wins or loses in a battle is not... or more accurately, is not solely determined by the level of martial arts—because environmental factors play a significant role. Even if you have unparalleled skills, if you encounter a similar opponent and are in the middle of a fierce battle, a stray arrow or a soldier's spear could suddenly appear. Whether you block it or not, you will lose the initiative, and if you don't block it, you will... die. Therefore, in history, Guan Yu's killing of Yan Liang and Huang Zhong's killing of Xiahou Yuan were not necessarily because their martial arts were a level higher, but because they were surprise attacks on the enemy's main force, which was already on the verge of collapse. At that moment, a fierce general's charge became the last straw that broke the camel's back and the final move that killed the famous general.

However, although the historical records are vague, the Shenting battle between Sun Ce and Taishi Ci should theoretically be a proper one-on-one battle without any assistance. At that time, Sun Ce had thirteen attendants with him, all of whom were famous generals like Han Dang, Song Qian, and Huang Gai. Taishi Ci only had an unnamed young general. Even if Taishi Ci was extremely skilled, could he fight thirteen future famous generals of Jiangdong? Or, according to irresponsible rumors on the internet, did the unnamed young general hold back Han Dang and the others?

No wonder the internet claims that the strongest person of the late Han and Three Kingdoms period is this unnamed young general, and even Lü Bu has to take a back seat...

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