Chapter 112: The Strategy of Estrangement

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“But Wen Yue, withdrawing may be easy to say, but do you really think the Han army will let us retreat so easily?” Beigong Boyu asked anxiously. As he spoke, he glanced fearfully at Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, who were slaughtering their way toward them.

Han Sui hesitated for a moment before saying coldly, “There is nothing else we can do. Send more junior officers to block them. They need not accomplish anything; they need only avoid making mistakes. As long as they hold the two of them back and create an opportunity for our main force, that will be enough.”

Li Wenhou immediately agreed. Although those sent to obstruct the two men were almost certain to meet their deaths, he could not care less. Among the Qiang, the strong preyed upon the weak. The brave survived, while the weak died. If those men perished, it merely proved that they were weak.

Han Sui then turned to the portly standard bearer and ordered, “Sound the retreat.”

The man obeyed, waving his command banner vigorously and relaying the order to withdraw throughout the army. At the same time, Li Wenhou selected more than a dozen Qiang warriors and ordered them forward to stop Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun, the two demons of slaughter.

When the dozen men heard Li Wenhou’s command, sorrow immediately appeared on their faces. They knew very well that they had been sent forward to die. Yet as Qiang warriors, they possessed their own pride. Even if they had to die, they would die gloriously.

Besides, a sliver of hope still remained. With so many of them joining forces to block the two men, and with the assistance of so many Qiang soldiers, it was not impossible that a few might survive.

At once, the dozen warriors spurred their horses and charged toward Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun.

Meanwhile, Han Sui, Li Wenhou, and Beigong Boyu directly reorganized their rear guard into the vanguard and fled toward Jincheng.

Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun were in the midst of an exhilarating slaughter and naturally had no idea that more than a dozen men were charging toward them. They continued cutting down the Qiang warriors before them.

Along the way, every Qiang soldier who saw the two killers hurriedly moved aside. This suited the two men perfectly, and they led the army straight toward the center of the enemy formation.

At that moment, more than a dozen Qiang officers suddenly appeared on either side of them, blocking their path.

Left with no choice, Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun could only halt and deal with these men first.

The Qiang had many officers, but before Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun they were no more than clay chickens and earthen dogs. In only a few exchanges, all of them had become souls beneath the two men’s spears.

Yet precisely because those men had blocked their way, by the time Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun led the army into the center of the enemy formation, Han Sui and the other two had already vanished without a trace.

Zhang Fei flew into a furious rage, roaring at the top of his lungs. The duck that had been cooked was now flying away before his eyes. Enraged, he began slaughtering the Qiang soldiers around him to vent his frustration.

At the same time, in the rear of the Han army, Liu Yao’s personal guards protected Liu Yao and Guo Jia, while Shi A and Zang Ba stood on either side of them.

“My lord, should we order the troops to withdraw?” Guo Jia asked suddenly after surveying the situation before them.

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Liu Yao looked at him in confusion. “Why withdraw? Are we not currently holding the advantage?”

“My lord, although we appear to possess an overwhelming advantage, the Qiang are merely retreating; they have not been routed. If we pursue them rashly, our army is ultimately smaller than theirs. A relentless pursuit would certainly invite a counterattack.”

Liu Yao nodded thoughtfully and ordered his men to sound the gong for retreat.

As the clear notes of the gong rang out, Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei at the very front naturally heard them. Though they were puzzled by the order to withdraw at such a moment, they understood Liu Yao well enough to know that he must have his reasons.

“Return to camp!” Zhang Fei roared.

His thunderous voice spread throughout the entire Han army.

The Assault Battalion halted the moment it received the order and began withdrawing. The twenty thousand soldiers under Huangfu Song greatly admired Zhang Fei’s martial prowess and naturally had no intention of disobeying him. Thus, the army withdrew in grand procession.

On Han Sui’s side, the three men had led their army only a short distance when they discovered that the Han forces were not pursuing them. They could not help but grow suspicious.

“Wen Yue, why do you think the Han army has not followed us? Could it be that they fear us? Shall we turn around and strike them?” Li Wenhou asked.

“Absolutely not!” Han Sui immediately objected. “The Han are treacherous. Their failure to pursue us must conceal some deeper purpose. If we charge back rashly, we will certainly fall into their trap.”

Li Wenhou and Beigong Boyu nodded at Han Sui’s words, finding them entirely reasonable. In their eyes, the Han were as weak as lambs, but they possessed clever minds—which was simply another word for treachery.

“Very well. We shall follow Wen Yue’s advice and return to Jincheng first. We can then decide how to proceed,” Beigong Boyu declared.

And so, the defeated Qiang army made its way toward Jincheng.

Had Liu Yao and Guo Jia known that Han Sui had interpreted Liu Yao’s decision not to pursue them in such a manner, they would surely have wondered what to make of it.

In Chang’an, Liu Yao and the others had already returned to the city governor’s residence. Upon learning of Liu Yao’s great victory, Huangfu Song immediately ordered a reward for the entire army.

Five days later, Liu Yao, Huangfu Song, and the others were gathered in the city governor’s residence, discussing their strategy against the Qiang.

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“Fengxiao, what were the casualties on both sides in the recent battle?” Liu Yao asked.

“My lord, according to yesterday’s figures, our army killed more than six thousand Qiang soldiers and over fifty enemy officers. However, we captured very little matériel. The casualties suffered by the Assault Battalion under your command were negligible. As for General Huangfu’s soldiers…” Guo Jia paused and glanced at Huangfu Song.

He then continued, “More than two thousand were killed, while over three thousand suffered minor injuries.”

Hearing this, Huangfu Song lowered his head in shame. Despite having held the advantage, his forces had still lost more than two thousand men while pursuing the enemy. When he looked at the soldiers who had come with Liu Yao, he saw that they had suffered almost no losses at all. The difference between them was simply too great.

Liu Yao glanced at Huangfu Song but said nothing. After all, these soldiers had not been personally trained by Huangfu Song. They were merely elite troops assigned to him by the imperial court.

“Fengxiao, how is the situation in Jincheng now? And how is that matter progressing?” Liu Yao asked with a smile, a familiar curve forming at the corner of his lips.

Guo Jia also began to smile slyly. “My lord, your stratagem is truly brilliant. I have already sent someone to deliver Han Sui a letter covered in alterations and corrections. I specifically instructed the messenger to make a great show of it, so that everyone in Jincheng would know that you were the one who had sent Han Sui the letter.”

Liu Yao smiled knowingly.

In history, Cao Cao had followed the advice of the Poison Master Jia Xu and sent Han Sui a letter filled with revisions and alterations, driving a wedge between Han Sui and Ma Chao. That stratagem had enabled him to defeat Han Sui decisively.

Now Liu Yao had appropriated the plan without the slightest hesitation. The men he intended to set against one another were not Han Sui and Ma Chao, but Han Sui and Li Wenhou. When it came to intelligence, Li Wenhou and Beigong Boyu were probably no better than Ma Chao. This stratagem was therefore certain to succeed.

All Liu Yao and the others had to do now was wait.

Liu Yao sighed inwardly. Jia Xu, the Poison Master…

Jia Xu was also a native of Wuwei in Liang Province. Liu Yao simply did not know where he was at present. As a top-tier strategist who had mastered the Way of Self within the five realms of strategists, Jia Xu was naturally someone Liu Yao wished to recruit into his service.

Huangfu Song watched as Guo Jia and Liu Yao continued to chuckle maliciously, and before long he found himself laughing along with them. He had no idea what the two men were discussing—what the altered letter meant, or why it had to be delivered with such fanfare.

But he knew one thing: Liu Yao and Guo Jia had already devised a plan to defeat the enemy. That was enough.

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