The Battle of Hetao 5

‘Cao Zhang… your persistence is remarkable.’

To be honest, I may have underestimated Cao Zhang.

In the original history, Cao Zhang exited history too early when Cao Pi ascended the throne, so he didn’t leave much of a mark. As I was judging based on the original history, I seemed to have undervalued him.

I did acknowledge that his bravery and decisiveness were exceptionally outstanding.

Actually, based on my experience of competing with him, he possessed a strength that made it naturally understandable that he was related by marriage to Cao Ren, who was said to be a heaven-sent warrior.

‘However, having exceptional personal martial prowess doesn’t necessarily make one an excellent military commander.’

Of course, until military science developed and firearms dominated the battlefield, strong martial prowess was indeed a tactic in itself.

Xiang Yu, Guo Jibei, Alexander, Richard I…

Aside from their outstanding tactical plans, their martial prowess supporting those tactics was clearly an indispensable element of tactics that couldn’t be disregarded.

But since martial prowess and tactical ability weren’t completely congruent.

While highly valuing Cao Zhang’s martial prowess, I conversely undervalued his other aspects.

Cao Zhang’s charge now changed my evaluation of him.

‘Even as his army was collapsing, he thrust in a move to overturn defeat.’

I don’t know if this is a divine move that will achieve a great reversal, or the worst move that will completely ruin a battle that could have ended with just minor damage.

A gambling move. An all-in bet to decide the outcome of the battle with this one charge.

The evaluation will be determined by who wins this one match.

‘Narrowing the formation to block… it’s already too late.’

It seems it was unreasonable to perfectly defend against Cao Zhang with the still incomplete Six Flower Formation.

“Bai Zhan, stay here and take charge of the reserve force.”

“What? Surely you don’t mean to go out personally, General? Please don’t. Wouldn’t it be better to just hold out until we clean up the front and the General of the Left and the Xianbei return?”

“Then what about Fei Wei and Guo Xiaoxian?”

“That’s…”

If I give up support and solidify the defense, the square formations led by Fei Yi and Guo Yi at the rear will be abandoned. That would be throwing away the advantages of the Six Flower Formation ourselves.

The combination of square formations and round formations that make up the Six Flower Formation.

Following the principle that heaven is round and earth is square, the central round formation constantly rotates to support each part, while the outer square formations hold their positions based on infantry discipline.

Heaven, Earth, and Man. Just as humans exist between heaven and earth, the formations are neatly connected to utilize the principle of change.

The creator Li Jing explained his Six Flower Formation to Emperor Taizong of Tang like this:

If the round formation abandons the square formations to save itself, the flower of the Six Flower Formation will wither.

And above all, they are all talents too precious to perish here.

“Trust me.”

“Oh come on… When did I say I didn’t trust you? I’ve served by your side longer than anyone else. Go ahead. I’ll guard well so that the six-petaled flower doesn’t wither.”

Come to think of it, my connection with Ma Dai was truly long-standing. While others left one by one, Ma Dai always remained by my side.

There were many others who wanted to stay around me, but they left one by one.

Either Liu Bei directly promoted them to independence, or I sent them off to bigger waters with my own hands.

Ma Dai was the only original member who had been with me since I first organized the Luanling Army until now.

Even the slightest self-doubt is erased by the send-off of Ma Dai, who has probably seen me more than even my family members.

With an attitude of trusting without doubt, I stroked Golden Dapple’s neck. The intelligent horse, reading its master’s resolve, neighed as if knowing the importance of this moment.

“Luanling Army! The situation is urgent, so I’ll be brief!”

Amidst the noise of battle coming from all directions, Golden Dapple raised its front legs high, drawing attention. The more I looked at it, the more intelligent it seemed.

“There is no defeat before us! Let’s go!!”

With my shout, the Luanling Army’s roar responding to it burst out like thunder.

Half of the round formation on the rear army side became the charge unit of the Awl Formation and rushed forward.

The sound of horses’ hooves striking the earth shakes the ground, and shouts pierce the heavens.

With the leaders of each army charging at the forefront, both sides exert their utmost in this rare scene in history.

Even the battles on the left and right wings, which had been relatively less intense, now changed from checks to bloody battles determined to defeat the enemy.

Their resolve to win somehow and be of help to their allies, especially their commanders, could be felt.

Amidst this, Zhang Ran and I, finally reaching each other, thrust our spears towards the enemy before us.

The first strike. There were no words. The two spears aimed for each other’s vital points. A silent crossing, contrasting with how we had conversed during the Battle for Hanzhong.

Abandoning his petty mindset of wanting to make me submit, Cao Zhang projected intense killing intent. If the fighting spirit contained in his swinging spear had a color, it would probably be vivid red.

Despite being a collision between cavalry, the area around Zhang Ran and Cao Zhang was as quiet as the eye of a typhoon.

As if unaware of the horrific events unfolding outside, like the calm eye of a typhoon, it even felt as if Zhang Ran and Cao Zhang alone were isolated in a separate world.

The second clash. Cao Zhang attacks relentlessly without rest.

The red spear tip, stained with blood, flies in aiming to pierce my heart. I skillfully meet it with my spear, rotating as if drawing a circle.

I deflect the spear strike filled with fierce strength with a lan (block) technique. Following the outwardly swung spear, the hongying (red tassel) spreads gorgeously, catching flying droplets of blood.

Even though I deflected it with the lan technique, the force carried in Cao Zhang’s spear spread strongly as if resonating to the bone.

But it’s not unbearable. It’s manageable. This won’t make me drop my spear.

The spears tangle, and each hongying leaves red trajectories shimmering in the air.

If Cao Zhang’s spear pursued the power that comes from speed, my spear contained the brilliance that comes from speed.

A clash of swiftness against swiftness. But within that was a confrontation of strength and fluidity.

Blood sprayed. Where skin split and muscles tore, blood vessels burst and droplets of blood scattered.

The red blood aroused excitement. The speed increases further. Though the force gathered in the spears grows stronger, there’s no time to even feel it before the impact of the next exchange comes rushing in again.

Antagonism.

The fight that couldn’t determine superiority continued as if not knowing an end.

But everything has an end.

The one who showed an opening first was Cao Zhang. It wasn’t that he had reached his limit. It wasn’t something created by a mistake or anything.

Just luck, something that can only be called coincidence.

The very slight misalignment created when a blood droplet that the red tassel, attached to prevent blood from obstructing vision, failed to block covered his sight.

I thrust my spear towards that spot.

A spear thrust with all my body and soul.

A flash with all my spirit and soul.

The cold spear tip pierces through the heart. When the sensation rising from my fingertips reached my brain on the slowed time axis, I realized I had even forgotten to breathe.

“…Regrettable, but you were unlucky.”

Cao Zhang’s spear aiming for my neck brushed past my nape and stopped in vain.

The wound on the neck. It was the same as what I had inflicted on Cao Zhang when we first met in Hanzhong.

The scar still remaining on Cao Zhang’s neck suddenly caught my eye. Cao Zhang, who had left a scar on me like his own. The memory of him will continue until the day I die along with this scar.

“I see. It’s a pity.”

Cao Zhang, with his heart pierced, spoke with emptiness rather than curses and hatred.

No more strength could be felt in the bold voice that had always been full of confidence.

“If you have any last words, I’ll convey them.”

“Ha… last words. A real man lives for the world. What words should I leave? Only, to Father, I’m a bit sorry.”

Those were Cao Zhang’s last words in life.

Dropping the spear he was holding, Cao Zhang used my spear as a support and drooped his head.

It was the death of a man of talent who couldn’t fully unfold his ambitions, both in the original history and in this distorted place.

“I’ll give you a proper funeral.”

That was the last consideration I could give him.

When I pulled my spear from his body, the world that had momentarily stopped began to move again.

“All forces! Annihilate the Cao thieves!!”

§

“General, we’ve finished gathering the wounded from the battlefield and wrapping things up.”

As if tireless, Jiang Wei went around everywhere looking fresh and took charge of the post-battle cleanup swiftly.

Jiang Wei, who became the Vice General of the Guards along with my promotion from Rear General to General of the Guards, had a unique work ethic.

You could say his desire for promotion was considerable. Seeing how he volunteered for the most dangerous heavy cavalry bait last time, his enthusiasm for making achievements was different.

Fei Yi, who was also in charge of military affairs, was half-unconscious, lost in the aftermath of the battle.

Though it wasn’t his first real battle, the front that Guo Yi and Fei Yi were responsible for was such an intense battleline that it was understandable.

Anyway, with Jiang Wei working so hard, it’s good for me.

“How is it?”

“Excluding the ethnic minorities, the number of casualties within the Han army is about 10,000. Of these, 4,000 are lightly wounded and 1,000 are severely wounded. The enemy’s losses would be about three times that.”

Considering that in the future, 20% troop losses would sometimes be considered annihilation, and less than 50% would be treated as a crushing defeat, our side’s losses were quite large.

‘Is this a standard that’s difficult to apply in ancient times where, unlike the future, the value of common soldiers is low, and morale is determined more by victory or defeat and commanders rather than troop losses?’

Still, I couldn’t take it lightly.

Even though the exchange ratio was good, it was still a heavy number to be fully immersed in the joy of a great victory.

“What about the ethnic minorities?”

“As for that side, it’s rather difficult for me to grasp. It’s just a guess, but I think their losses might be around 10,000 as well.”

The Xianbei suffered considerable losses due to using Tubin as bait.

For us, it was welcome that the ethnic minorities outside our management area were weakening, but it wasn’t particularly joyful that those who had fought together as comrades, even if briefly, had died.

‘Having driven them to death’s door myself, these are nothing but crocodile tears.’

Since a Xianbei national consciousness hadn’t formed, other Xianbei seemed to accept it as it was. It felt more like a somewhat close neighbor had died rather than a family member’s death.

Of course, it would be different if they heard these thoughts of mine directly.

And it was fine if some noticed. With Tuoba Yiyi and Tuoba Pigo, who had risen rapidly through this battle, bowing their heads to me, they had no choice but to keep their mouths shut.

“Good job.”

“Not at all. Isn’t it thanks to the General defeating Cao Zhang?”

“Stop flattering. Everyone must be tired, but after finishing looting the spoils, let’s move to the side even if we have to muster our strength. There’s nothing good about staying next to corpses.”

“Yes. I’ll pass the word to the other generals as well.”

“Just a little more hard work.”

We barely moved the camp while trying to encourage the soldiers who were tired enough to want to lie down on the ground and fall asleep right away.

However, even after that, I couldn’t give them complete rest. Only after Ma Dai, who had gone out in pursuit, returned did I pick out a few who still had some strength left to stand watch and ordered the soldiers to rest.

While most of the soldiers fell asleep immediately after finishing their meals, the generals couldn’t do so.

Generals are beings who must always prepare for tomorrow. Though we had achieved victory in the battle, the war was not over yet.

“First, I thank you all for your hard work in this battle. Thank you for gathering even though you must want to rest.”

Seeing the fatigue filling their faces, such words came out naturally.

“Not at all, General.”

“Having achieved an unparalleled great merit in the world and still being so humble, the restoration of Han can’t be far off.”

These were the words of Fang De, representing the Han generals, and Tuoba Yiyi, who had been promoted to leader of the Xianbei. I couldn’t help but smile seeing their personalities.

“The reason I called you is, as you know, to discuss our future direction.”

Having achieved victory, the talk after this is much easier.

For us who don’t have the capacity to manage Hetao, we can just recognize the Xianbei’s right to occupy Hetao as compensation for fighting together and leave.

Since it was Later Han’s Bingzhou territory in the past, we might try to manage it directly later, but not for now.

Considering that even in Later Han times they half-accepted ethnic minorities and practiced indirect rule, and Wei’s vassalization of the Southern Xiongnu and Wuhuan, there was a high possibility there would be no armed conflict.

Above all, both Tuoba Yiyi and Tuoba Pigo, the tribal chiefs of the Xianbei dividing Hetao, were favorable towards me.

‘The future is unpredictable, but for now, that’s how it is.’

But since letting the Xianbei completely occupy Hetao was also concerning, I had the Qiang who participated in this battle and achieved merit also reside in Hetao.

Since Chitu Da’s foundation in Xiliang was large, it was concluded that Dang Di would move from Liangzhou to around Hetao. Dang Di gladly accepted the proposal when told that the Han court would provide support.

With this, the issue of ethnic minorities was settled.

Now came the main point.

“The soldiers might want to rest, but I think we need to return to Guanzhong as quickly as possible.”

“I think the same.”

“Even if we go quickly, it will take considerable time to return to Guanzhong through Xiaoguang.”

“Hence, I’m thinking of separating the wounded on carts and the infantry escorting them from the main force.”

With the Wei army retreating and the ethnic minorities becoming our allies, there won’t be any attacks.

We’ll march with only cavalry while taking minimal rest. Then, though we can’t match the Mongol army’s 150km daily movement, we should be able to do at least half that, right?

“And, we’re not returning through Xiaoguang.”

I put my finger on the map spread out in the center of the tent and drew it down.

A route was drawn on the map following my finger. It was a straight line connecting from near the center of Hetao where we are currently located to Chang’an, the center of Guanzhong.

“We’ll take the Qin Direct Road.”