Chapter 92

Indeed, Xun had overestimated the situation. Because the land reclamation was successful, Cao Cao's strength at this time was much greater than it was during the second campaign against Xu Province (which should have been the following year). The situation of retreating was not as perilous as he had anticipated.

In the original historical records, Cao Cao launched two campaigns against Xu Province, using only half of the troops from Yanzhou, mostly undisciplined but hardworking soldiers from Qingzhou—there was no choice, as the food supply was insufficient, and bringing too many troops would lead to bankruptcy. The other half were left to Zhang Miao and Chen Gong. Therefore, when Lu Bu entered Yanzhou, his strength quickly surpassed Cao Cao's. Cao Cao and Lu Bu had a major battle in Puyang, where Cao Cao barely repelled the enemy and entered Juancheng, but his total troops had dwindled to over ten thousand.

However, this time was different. Cao Cao planned to decisively defeat Yuan Shu. Even if he could not capture Shouchun and annihilate him, he would at least drive this scoundrel out of Yuzhou. With no worries on the flanks, he mobilized all the elite troops in the state—those Qingzhou soldiers he brought were also well-fed and disciplined. The troops left to Zhang Miao and Chen Gong were few and mostly old, weak, or sick, or the garrison troops of various cities. Although the entire Yanzhou rebelled against Cao Cao, with many large households' private armies and slaves joining the battlefield, they still did not match half of Cao Cao's strength.

Yuan Shu, who faced Cao Cao, still had considerable strength. If we consider his ally, the Yellow Turbans of Runan, they were even stronger than the Lu Bu behind Cao Cao. However, Yuan Shu was a useless person with no ambition, and Cao Cao found it not difficult to withdraw from the front lines.

After receiving the news of the rebellion in Yanzhou, Cao Cao immediately ordered Cao Hong and other generals to disengage from the Yellow Turbans of Runan and retreat to the northern part of Runan, specifically to Nandun and Xinyang counties. He personally led the main force of 50,000 troops, with Xiahou Dun as the vanguard, and they marched back. The route of the Cao army was from Runan through Chen and Liang to Jiyin—both Chen and Liang belonged to the Inspectorate of Yuzhou, and the current inspector, Guo Gong, had become Cao Cao's puppet. The cities within these two states, adhering to local protectionism, were not affected by the turmoil of the Yanzhou scholars and remained semi-independent and semi-loyal to Cao Cao. Therefore, they not only did not obstruct the Cao army but also sent grain and supplies to support them.

For the local scholars, Cao Cao was not scary; the Yellow Turbans of Runan were the real enemy. If Cao Cao fell, the Yellow Turbans supported by Yuan Shu might move north to harass, which was a matter of life and death. We and Cao Cao were merely internal contradictions within the landlord class.

Xiahou Dun, the vanguard of the Cao army, led over 6,000 troops, with 20% being cavalry. They traveled day and night, aiming to capture Dingtao before Lu Bu and hold the Jishui defense line. However, when he arrived between Danfu and Jishi, he found that Lu Bu had already set up camps and built defenses.

Thus, he convened the generals to discuss. The military advisor Shi Huan suggested, "I see that the enemy is numerous, but their formation is not well-organized, and their camps are not complete. This is the perfect time to attack their weak points and blunt their momentum. If we delay, by the time Lord Cao arrives, their camps will be established, and their formation will be complete, making it difficult to defeat them."

Xiahou Dun found his words reasonable and decided to target a weak point in Lu Bu's defense, launching a sudden and fierce charge. He intended to strike hard, draw the other parts of Lu Bu's army to come to the rescue, and then retreat to harass elsewhere. However, he did not expect that as soon as he broke through the enemy lines, he heard the sound of drums, and countless banners surrounded him. Xiahou Dun realized he had fallen into Chen Gong's trap—he did not believe Lu Bu could be that smart.

He immediately ordered a retreat, commanding Shi Huan to lead the way while he covered the rear. Xiahou Dun, one of the few brave generals in Cao Cao's camp, wielded a long spear with great courage. Under the protection of hundreds of his personal guards, he fought fiercely, killing several enemies while retreating.

Just as he was retreating, he heard a loud shout from the enemy ranks: "Gao Shun from Yunzhong is here!" Then he saw over 200 cavalrymen escorting a general, who charged through the ranks like a whirlwind. These cavalrymen were fierce, and in the first encounter, over ten of Xiahou Dun's guards were killed. Xiahou Dun's eyes bulged with rage, and he charged straight at Gao Shun—defeating this general might give him a chance to survive, otherwise, he might escape alone, but his subordinates would not return.

Gao Shun spurred his horse and engaged Xiahou Dun, and both were secretly amazed by each other's prowess. However, while Gao Shun was just surprised, Xiahou Dun was shocked to the core, thinking it would be difficult to defeat this general. He wondered if his carefully selected and trained personal guards would all die here today, and even worse, he might not escape death himself.

Just as he was in shock, he heard another loud shout: "Chang Dao, step back, let me capture him alone!" He knew it was Lu Bu. Xiahou Dun felt all hope was lost, thinking he would surely die today. "Fine, I'll fight to the death. Killing one is a fair trade, killing two is a profit. Cao Mengde will avenge me eventually!"

He saw Gao Shun retreat and quickly prepared to face Lu Bu, who could attack from anywhere. However, at that moment, a series of explosions like thunder erupted from behind Lu Bu's ranks, followed by several flames shooting into the sky!

Lu Bu had been in the south of the Jishui for three or four days, but the defensive works were not completed due to frequent harassment by Taishi Ci's troops.

Guo Jia proposed two strategies, and Taishi Ci instinctively wanted to use the first one, to pursue Lu Bu to the south. As a general, he naturally wanted to challenge a strong enemy. Fighting Zhang Miao to the north? Zhang Miao was just a talkative scholar, and in terms of military prowess, he was on par with Kong Rong. However, Taishi Ci had to consider the overall situation, so he asked Xun Yu, "I don't know Cheng Li well. Do you think he can at least hold off or repel Zhang Miao?"

Before Xun Yu could speak, Xun stepped forward and confidently vouched for Cheng Zhongde. "He is one of the five major strategists in Cao Cao's camp, and not only does he excel in planning, but he can also lead troops. Defending a city or a fort, he can hold off any general who is one or two levels below Lu Bu, let alone a small figure like Zhang Miao."

Thus, Taishi Ci decided to pursue Lu Bu to the south. He said his mission was to harass and prevent Lu Bu from building his defenses, so he needed elite troops, and a few thousand would suffice. He also suggested sending a force to support Cheng Li, to help him quickly repel Zhang Miao.

Xun Yu assigned 4,000 elite troops to Taishi Ci, including all the cavalry in the city, about 200 in total. He also sent Xue Ti with 3,000 infantry to support Cheng Li.

Taishi Ci insisted on bringing Xun along, saying, "First, I am not a formal general in Cao Cao's camp, and you are Cao Cao's relative. With you, Xun Yu and the others will feel more at ease. Second, I have many Qingzhou soldiers under my command, and I need you to manage and control them so I can command them effectively."

Xun really did not want to go, but for some reason, he could not or dared not refuse Taishi Ci. Later, he privately thought it might be due to Taishi Ci's charisma—such a person, full of martial and heroic spirit, seemed naturally suited to lead others. He had never encountered such a person in his previous life, and in this life, he had met a few, but none were as close to him as Taishi Ci. He almost wanted to point at Taishi Ci and curse, "You are my nemesis..."

However, he insisted on bringing Wu Zhi, Xie Zheng, and two large carts of mysterious goods. Bringing Wu Zhi was to train him, hoping he could be useful in the future. As for Xie Zheng and the two carts of goods... well, he had already developed gunpowder!

Charcoal, sulfur, and saltpeter were not lacking in Juancheng, and Xun had managed to get them all packed and loaded onto the carts. That night, he ordered Xie Zheng, "Make this into gunpowder!"

Xie Zheng immediately knelt before Xun, saying, "I can't do it..."—or something to that effect. He explained that refining was a technical skill that could not be completed in a day or two. For example, refining this "gunpowder" required not only the main ingredients but also many auxiliary materials, such as pine resin and yellow wax. Moreover, the main ingredients needed further processing. The sulfur and saltpeter sold in various places were not pure enough and needed to be refined; otherwise, the power would be greatly reduced, and the gunpowder might not be as effective as common fire starters, such as mugwort and pine resin, and might not even explode.

Third, to avoid accidents during the refining process, Xie Zheng decided to use the "water refining method" in alchemy, which involved dissolving the raw materials in water, mixing them, and then drying and grinding them. This way, the only danger would be during the final grinding process, and the overall safety would be significantly increased.

Therefore, he said, "Master, you can't just pile the main ingredients in front of me and expect me to make gunpowder. I really can't do it!"

Xun was both shocked and angry after hearing Xie Zheng's explanation. He was shocked that making gunpowder was so complicated, thinking it would be simple to mix the ingredients. He was angry that Xie Zheng did not tell him before leaving the city, and if he had known it was so troublesome, he would not have brought the two carts of materials. He kicked Xie Zheng in frustration. Xie Zheng felt wronged, thinking Xun had not told him about making gunpowder when he brought him along, and the two carts of materials were wrapped up and kept secret, so how could he have known?

In the end, Xun sighed and decided to keep the two carts of materials, as they were valuable and it would be a waste to discard them. He would continue to carry them and, upon arrival, have Xie Zheng and the rear troops collect the auxiliary materials and refine the gunpowder. If successful, he would reward Xie Zheng heavily; if not, he would marry Kang Min to him and change his name to Ma Dayuan!