Chapter 93

Taishi Ci's army marched east out of Juancheng, heading first for Linqiu. As Taishi Ci displayed his might under the walls of Linqiu, the powerful families occupying the county became frightened. They also heard that Lü Bu's forces had already retreated, so they bound a few collaborators and presented them, indicating their willingness to return to the Cao family's embrace. This secured the eastern flank of Juancheng.

Next, they moved south, crossing the Pusui and Jishui rivers, and arrived at the walls of Chengshi. Shi Xun remembered that historical records mentioned a local magnate named Li Jin in Chengshi County, who had once repelled Lü Bu during the great battle between Cao and Lü... or perhaps he had used some trick to drive away Lü Bu's forces. So he volunteered to go to the city walls to call out. Sure enough, a man responded, introducing himself as Li Deng, with the courtesy name Jinxian.

It turned out that upon hearing the news of Lü Bu's entry into Yanzhou, Chengshi had not changed its allegiance. However, the county magistrate, out of fear, had fled first. The local magnates Li Fu, Li Shujie, and the brothers Li Deng and Li Jinxian had taken charge of the city's defense, neither returning to Cao nor joining Lü, but waiting to see which way the wind would blow. When Shi Xun shouted from below the city walls, he used all his skills of boasting and intimidation, but Li Deng remained unmoved. He said that they could offer provisions, and they would send oxen and wine out, but entering the city would be extremely difficult. They would only submit if one of the two sides decisively won and the other was completely driven out of Yanzhou.

Shi Xun vaguely remembered reading in a book from his previous life—though he couldn't recall whether it was official history or folklore—that Li Shujie had brought a large amount of provisions to Lü Bu's army, and then Lü Bu was defeated and retreated from the city. Noting that it was a defeat, not a retreat, he thought that the provisions of Chengshi would not be easily obtained. He then discussed with Taishi Ci, suggesting that they should not ask for oxen or wine, but for a hundred mules and horses, which should be quickly prepared and sent out.

After replenishing the mules and horses in Chengshi, the Cao army continued south, making a small circle in Shanyang Commandery, and finally caught up with Lü Bu's forces south of Chengwu County. Shi Xun set up his main camp thirty miles northeast of Chengwu in the ancient Liangqiu city and refused to advance any further. He said that with this rear base, Taishi Ci could freely harass Lü Bu's forces, but he himself could not do it and would stay in the rear to observe the enemy and direct the battle.

He brought out the sixteen-character strategy from Zhu De, warning Taishi Ci to "retreat when the enemy advances, harass when the enemy stays, attack when the enemy is tired, and pursue when the enemy retreats." Taishi Ci nodded in agreement, saying that Shi Xun had the potential to be a great general and asking why he wouldn't join the front lines to achieve glory. However, no matter how much he tried to persuade him, Shi Xun refused to move forward.

In fact, Shi Xun was just talking theory. To perfectly execute the sixteen-character guerrilla strategy, one would need a highly organized and disciplined force like the Red Army, which no army in the late Han and Three Kingdoms era could achieve. As a general strategy for harassing the enemy, it seemed reasonable, but if strictly followed, it would likely lead to significant losses—retreating when the enemy advances could turn into a rout; harassing when the enemy stays could result in being surrounded...

So, while Taishi Ci, who was well-versed in military strategy, could lead his troops to harass the enemy and draw some inspiration from Shi Xun's sixteen-character strategy, if Shi Xun himself were to lead, it would certainly end in a disastrous defeat.

Fortunately, Shi Xun had a good sense of his own limitations and was afraid of dying, so he stayed in the rear, supervising Xie Zheng's production of gunpowder. It was a blessing that the weather was clear and sunny for several days, allowing Xie Zheng to quickly dry the gunpowder made using the "water refining method." He then found some cautious veterans to carefully grind it into granules, and...

Then what? Shi Xun scratched his head. In Juancheng, he had planned to make fire lances to assist in the city's defense, but Lü Bu had withdrawn without attacking. Later, when he discussed the proper method of making gunpowder with Xie Zheng, he realized that many things seemed simple in theory but were much more complex in practice—inserting gunpowder and gravel into a bamboo tube and lighting the fuse to spray out and injure people seemed straightforward, but how long and thick should the bamboo tube be? Where should the fuse be inserted? Would it explode? Would anyone dare to hold it? These were all questions that required numerous trials and failures to resolve.

Since they couldn't even make the earliest prototype of a fire lance, let alone a cannon, he had to think of something else. When he first recruited Xie Zheng to his estate, he had thought of starting with firecrackers, but firecrackers required paper, and in Yanzhou, he had only seen a dozen or so sheets of paper, which Cao Cao had deliberately displayed to show off—what could he do?

Finally, he asked Xie Zheng, "How did you use the sound of thunder to scare off Lü Bu's cavalry in the courtyard?"

Xie Zheng explained that he had stored some gunpowder in bamboo tubes. In the emergency, he had a sudden inspiration and piled the bamboo tubes together, then set them on fire... Shi Xun slapped his thigh, saying, "There's a way! Let's use bamboo!"

He immediately sent soldiers to cut many bamboo poles, not too thick, about two to three fingers wide, and cut them into half-foot lengths, with one end closed and the other hollow. They filled the bamboo tubes with gunpowder and plugged them with hemp cloth. Shi Xun even tore his silk underwear to make fuses. However, when they conducted several experiments in a sparsely vegetated area, the results were poor—about 70% of the bamboo tubes failed to explode, just spinning on the ground and spitting sparks, similar to how children in the 21st century would break open firecrackers and light them to play "sizzle."

Shi Xun shook his head, but he didn't expect that the soldiers watching were terrified, and some even knelt down in fear.

The custom of setting off firecrackers during the Chinese New Year is unknown to have started in which era, but it is known that the earliest method was to burn bamboo, which made a "crackling" sound—hence the name "firecrackers." However, even this early method of burning bamboo was rarely recorded until the Northern and Southern Dynasties. Whether it existed in the Han Dynasty, Shi Xun didn't know, but he had never seen or heard it in his current life.

So, the "crackling" sound, which was familiar and easily distinguishable from natural phenomena like thunder, was terrifying to those who had never heard it. Moreover, it produced smoke and flames, and according to some veterans, the burning speed of gunpowder was much faster than the commonly used oils and resins in the military.

Shi Xun was saddened by this—ah, it was all because he had too high standards, too much knowledge, and too strict requirements on himself... He almost missed out on such a powerful military tool! This was a lesson: no matter how capable you are, you cannot脱离普罗大众, but must understand them with an equal mindset.

So, the next day, he happily loaded a cart full of bamboo firecrackers and sent them to the front lines for Taishi Ci.

Taishi Ci had been having a smooth time, leading over two hundred cavalry to harass Lü Bu's forces, attacking and retreating. If Lü Bu didn't send troops to chase them, the construction of the trenches and fortifications would never be completed. If he did send troops, Taishi Ci might have infantry ambushed somewhere, ready to strike. Even the general Hao Meng was hit by Taishi Ci's spear, wounding his left arm.

Later, Chen Gong suggested setting a trap to lure Taishi Ci deeper—resulting in Xiahou Dun coming instead, as the saying goes, "intending to hunt a lion, but catching a deer."

When Xiahou Dun's forces engaged Lü Bu's army, Taishi Ci, who was nearby, noticed and realized that Cao Cao's vanguard had arrived. He then charged from the side, bringing his mysterious "new weapon"—each soldier had a bamboo firecracker. As they approached Lü Bu's camp, they lit the firecrackers and threw them.

The "crackling" sounds and "sizzling" sparks quickly set several tents on fire, with thick smoke and flames rising. The army's organization was poor, and many of Lü Bu's troops were just the slaves of powerful families, so they scattered in fear. Taishi Ci took the opportunity to charge into the enemy ranks with his spear.

Lü Bu was about to capture Xiahou Dun, but seeing the chaos, he had to turn back to face Taishi Ci—indeed, even without the bamboo firecrackers, he would have gone after Taishi Ci first, as Taishi Ci had been causing him headaches for days, making him react instinctively to the sound of "Tai."

In the chaos, Taishi Ci faced Lü Bu head-on—his aggressive actions had disrupted Lü Bu's formation, and he was too confident, charging too far forward. By the time he realized he needed to avoid Lü Bu, it was too late. He had to face him, and he said, "Come, come, Lü Bu, we didn't finish our fight the other day. Today, let's clear the troops and have a one-on-one battle!"

Taishi Ci thought that with Lü Bu's numbers, he would be doomed if they all attacked him, but if it was a one-on-one, he might have a chance to escape. Lü Bu, however, was provoked—mainly because in the previous battle at the gates of Juancheng, he had been sure of victory but ended up in a draw, which he couldn't swallow. He ordered his generals to step back and watch him capture this bandit and avenge his previous humiliation!

A space was cleared, and the two generals charged at each other. Since the last battle, Taishi Ci had been thinking about how to defeat Lü Bu or at least escape without needing Shi Xun to signal a retreat. Lü Bu, however, was focused on taking his head. As soon as they met, Taishi Ci did something unexpected, thrusting his spear directly at Lü Bu's halberd, thinking, "Come, come, lock me!"

Lü Bu thought, "Good, I'll lock your weapon and see what you can do." With a "snap," just like in his battle with Sun Ce, Taishi Ci's spear was locked by Lü Bu's halberd. Lü Bu then tried to twist and wrench the weapon from Taishi Ci's hands.

However, with Lü Bu's strength, it was difficult to make Taishi Ci release his weapon in