And so Ji Yuan allocated military supplies from Xiping. The rear was incredibly busy, with Chen Siniang and others organizing women to sew military uniforms and manufacture armor on one hand, while on the other hand tallying the weapons produced from the Wushan iron mines and having them delivered to Chen County.
But by today, only five thousand sets of military equipment had arrived. Ji Yuan had Wang Nie and Xie Shi select five thousand men to equip, who would follow the main army’s movements, while the others remained in the rear “to transport provisions and serve as reserve troops.”
Wang Nie and Xie Shi acknowledged the orders.
Just as the Xiongnu army rapidly approached Guancheng, having had large numbers of troops withdrawn from the Chen County area, the Yuzhou army suddenly launched an attack against the Xiongnu, forcing them back and beginning to recover lost territory.
Meanwhile, Zhao Hanzhang and Beigong Chun led people to reinforce Guancheng before the Xiongnu army’s arrival, then tightly closed the city gates once they arrived, refusing to come out.
The banner of the Zhao family army was raised on Guancheng’s walls, which were fully manned with soldiers standing in strict formation against those outside.
Liu Cong was injured, wounded in the chest. Because Liu Jing had died from the deterioration of a chest wound, also inflicted by Zhao Hanzhang, Liu Yuan was very worried about Liu Cong.
He had already brought him back to recuperate. Among the remaining generals, he appointed Liu Qin to command the Xiongnu forces attacking southward, striving to capture Chen County by the end of the month.
He ordered Wang Mi and Shi Le to encircle and attack Guancheng from the east and west routes respectively, determined to capture Zhao Hanzhang.
It would be even better if they could also capture Beigong Chun.
But what they didn’t know was that Gou Xi had also made his move, and Beigong Chun wasn’t in Guancheng—he had left the city early to wait for the approaching Xiongnu army.
It was just such a coincidence: a year ago, Gou Xi had defeated Shi Le badly, forcing Shi Le to flee in disarray and take refuge with Liu Yuan. This time, Shi Le was fighting on the eastern front, and coincidentally, Gou Xi was also on the eastern front. He would counter-encircle him and coordinate with Zhao Hanzhang from within and without.
And as Wang Mi encircled Zhao Hanzhang from the west—what a coincidence! A year ago, when Wang Mi besieged Luoyang he was defeated, retreating in disarray from the very first battle. The commander at that time was Beigong Chun.
Zhao Hanzhang first received news that Beigong Chun had successfully ambushed Wang Mi, then immediately received a scout’s report that Gou Xi had cut off Shi Le’s troops.
Even she couldn’t help but click her tongue twice, saying to Fu Tinghan: “This really is too dramatic. If it weren’t for the fact that Gou Xi and I personally devised the battle strategy, I would suspect that I had been far-sighted at the time, already anticipating Liu Yuan’s deployments and arranging everything in advance.”
Fu Tinghan: “…Isn’t that what happened?”
“Of course not. I could guess that Liu Yuan would definitely send people to surround me from both sides, likely taking the eastern and western routes, but I didn’t know it would be such a coincidence that Shi Le would take the eastern route and Wang Mi the western route.”
They each encountered their natural enemies.
Zhao Hanzhang curved her lips slightly and asked Fu Tinghan, “Right now the closest to us is Wang Mi. What do you think—when they surround us, where will they place their provisions?”
Fu Tinghan lowered his head to look at the map. This was one he had drawn during this period, since they had followed Beigong Chun to consolidate the surrounding area, giving them some understanding of the terrain.
Fu Tinghan hesitantly pointed to one location: “This place is very suitable for making camp—easy to defend, hard to attack. The provisions should be nearby.”
Zhao Hanzhang thought the same. “Right now Wang Mi is being held back by Beigong Chun. The vanguard should return to reinforce him, so won’t this place be left with only the provisions?”
Zhao Hanzhang curved her lips and beckoned Zhao Erlang and Qiu Wu over. “You two go investigate this location. As soon as their vanguard returns to reinforce Wang Mi, seize their provisions. If they don’t return to reinforce, find where the provisions are located and burn them.”
Zhao Erlang and Qiu Wu immediately agreed.
Zhao Erlang was about to leave excitedly when Zhao Hanzhang stopped him and said seriously: “Erlang, you cannot be reckless in war. You must plan carefully before acting, understand?”
During this period, Zhao Erlang had been repeatedly admonished by his sister and Fu Tinghan, and had long since memorized it. Being reminded again now, he couldn’t help but nod gloomily, “I know.”
Only then did Zhao Hanzhang let him leave, giving Qiu Wu a nod.
The two selected troops and left through another city gate, heading straight for the location Zhao Hanzhang had indicated.
The Xiongnu forces had been drawn from various tribes, so their arrival times varied. Outside Guancheng, several Xiongnu armies gradually converged, but since their general Wang Mi hadn’t arrived yet, they only surrounded without attacking.
Zhao Hanzhang watched them gather and sneered coldly before turning to go downstairs and select troops to charge out and attack.
This wave consisted mainly of surrendered Jie tribe members who had coordinated with Zhao Hanzhang and were fairly obedient.
The opposing side had no commander, but their numbers were large. They were already cautious enough, keeping their distance, but they hadn’t expected Zhao Hanzhang to directly lead troops out to attack. They were somewhat flustered at first, but after recovering their wits, they quickly organized defensive lines.
However, Zhao Hanzhang charged in like a fierce tiger, directly tearing open a breach and charging through to attack. The Xiongnu army fell into chaos and had to retreat.
After Zhao Hanzhang finished her assault, the Xiongnu army no longer dared camp nearby, instead observing from a distance.
Zhao Hanzhang, having struck a blow to their morale, didn’t pursue relentlessly but led her troops back to the city.
The several deputy generals gathered together couldn’t help but complain angrily, “Why hasn’t General Wang arrived yet?”
What they didn’t know was that Wang Mi was currently being passively beaten at a location not far from Guancheng.
This was Beigong Chun’s second encounter with Wang Mi. The first time had caught the opponent completely off guard, but it was a frontal assault.
In a frontal assault, with a few hundred against tens of thousands, he had been able to defeat the enemy thoroughly. Now this was an ambush, catching them even more off guard. No matter how cautious and brave Wang Mi was, at this moment he was being chased until his face turned livid.
He decided to temporarily avoid the confrontation and led his disordered troops in retreat.
Beigong Chun didn’t pursue, but stopped, sneered coldly, and led his men away.
He didn’t return to Guancheng either. Zhao Hanzhang had said she could hold Guancheng for ten days, so within these ten days, what he needed to do was roam behind Liu Yuan’s forces, and once Gou Xi’s troops came up, form an encirclement with him, while Zhao Hanzhang would sally forth from within. The three routes would coordinate from inside and outside.
If Gou Xi’s troops didn’t come up, then he would lead his Xiliang soldiers around Luoyang back to Xiliang, while Zhao Hanzhang…she would certainly be finished.
This was also what Zhao Hanzhang had agreed to. If Gou Xi’s troops didn’t come up and Shi Le and Wang Mi joined forces, he and Zhao Hanzhang with their few thousand soldiers certainly couldn’t win. At that point, naturally they would scatter and flee—whoever could escape would escape.
Truthfully, Beigong Chun didn’t trust Gou Xi, so he fought this battle very cautiously. Though he engaged the enemy, he tried his best to preserve his strength.
Beigong Chun’s information was somewhat delayed—he didn’t know that Gou Xi had already launched an attack against the Xiongnu forces that were gradually forming an encirclement, cutting off Shi Le’s army that was heading toward Guancheng.
In just two days, the Xiongnu lost eighteen cities in various places. Among these, Chen County’s counterattack was the swiftest, recovering ten cities in one go. But the fiercest fighting was Gou Xi’s—he annihilated the most Xiongnu troops.
Yet what frustrated the Xiongnu most was Beigong Chun. He kept roaming and attacking, impossible to pin down or catch. His ferocity exceeded even Zhao Hanzhang’s. This familiar pattern made the Xiongnu troops facing him dizzy with rage, yet they had no way to deal with him at all.