After Guan Yu and Gao Lan led their troops to arrive at Suizhong, they found the battlefield littered with corpses and blood.
However, they couldn't spot the banners of Gongsun Fan and Liu Bei among the three opposing forces.
Caught in the chaos, Guan Yu and Gao Lan were soon targeted by Gongsun Du's troops, like lambs strayed into a wolf pack, they found themselves in a perilous situation.
Sensing the dire straits, Gao Lan quickly reined in his horse and said to Guan Yu, "General Guan, we're too late. If Gongsun Fan didn't die in the chaos, he must have broken through the encirclement. The enemy is overwhelming, we should retreat!"
Guan Yu shook his head, "It's too late; we can't retreat now!"
As if on cue, Gongsun Du commanded his troops, and tens of thousands of soldiers swarmed forward like a tidal wave.
However, Guan Yu and Gao Lan still had ten thousand soldiers under their command, and the enemy had just gone through a fierce battle. The outcome was still uncertain.
"Troops, listen to my command! Charge and kill the enemy! Kill!" With no option to retreat, Guan Yu spurred his horse forward, leading the charge.
Gao Lan, seeing this, also raised his sword and shouted fiercely, leading their troops in a thunderous advance.
However, Guan Yu hadn't anticipated that Gongsun Du had a fresh force that hadn't yet engaged in battle. The Goguryeo troops roared onto the battlefield, causing Guan Yu's forces to suffer a crushing defeat.
"General Guan, order the retreat! If we continue to fight, all our brothers will be killed!" Gao Lan broke through the chaos and reached Guan Yu's side. By now, their forces were reduced to just a few hundred men.
Gongsun Du, mounted on a warhorse, laughed as he saw this, "Hahaha! People say the soldiers under Qin Longyang are as tough as iron. Today, they look like a heap of mud! How dare you oppose me, you're courting death!"
...
Guan Yu and Gao Lan stood on the cliff edge of Fengyan Valley, facing the battlefield strewn with their fallen comrades and the triumphant enemy before them. The two had no chance of victory.
"General Guan, behind us is a cliff leading to a river flowing westward to Jicheng. Forgive me!" Gao Lan gritted his teeth, turned to look at Guan Yu, who didn't understand Gao Lan's intent, and suddenly felt a sharp pain in his abdomen as he fell backward off the cliff.
"Gao Lan!" Taking advantage of Guan Yu's moment of distraction, Gao Lan pushed him off the cliff into the icy river below.
Guan Yu woke up with a start from his bed, realizing that he was no longer in Fengyan Valley in Liaoxi. His wounds had been carefully bandaged, but he couldn't help but cry out, which alerted the guards outside.
"General Guan is awake! Quickly, call the chief secretary!" A servant rushed to find Wei You upon seeing Guan Yu awake.
Guan Yu sat dazed on the bed, memories of the Battle of Suizhong resurfacing. After the barbarian troops under Gongsun Du stormed the battlefield, they slaughtered indiscriminately.
Guan Yu's forces were eventually defeated and fled under a three-pronged attack. Chased by Gongsun Du's forces, they led the remnants into Fengyan Valley in Youbeiping.
All the remaining soldiers perished, leaving only Guan Yu and Gao Lan to make a desperate stand. Gao Lan took the opportunity to push Guan Yu off the cliff, who then drifted downriver to Jicheng, narrowly escaping death.
"General Guan!" Wei You arrived shortly after, his face full of concern. "General Guan, how are you feeling? We thought your mission with General Gao to rescue was foolproof, but we didn't expect this!"
"Xi Zhicai..." Guan Yu murmured, his eyes flashing red with anger. "When Gao Lan and I fought Gongsun Du, I saw it clearly. The one accompanying Gongsun Du was Xi Zhicai! He betrayed our lord!"
Wei You's eyes widened in disbelief at Guan Yu's words. After the army left Jicheng to relieve the siege of the Xiongnu, Xi Zhicai had disappeared under the guise of illness.
Could he have decided to aid Gongsun Du in establishing his kingdom in Liaodong?
Given Xi Zhicai's intelligence, it was plausible that he could have orchestrated such a crushing defeat against Gongsun Zan and the rest of them. But why would he betray their lord?
As numerous questions clouded his mind, Guan Yu knelt and pleaded, "Minister Wei, our lord is not present, and you hold the authority to deploy troops. Please grant me three thousand soldiers. I must avenge General Gao's death to quell the rage in my heart!"
"General Guan, please rise," Wei You quickly helped him up and sighed, "General Guan, it's not that I'm unwilling to give you troops. The situation is dire. General Tong and his disciples captured Maqiucheng a few days ago."
"Yufuluo has completely fallen out with Hu Chuquan. The north is in chaos. Even if we had the troops, our supply lines wouldn't support a large-scale deployment."
"The only plan now is to contract our defensive line and barely hold the frontier against the Xiongnu. As for Liaodong, we'll have to wait for our lord to return before making any decisions."
"But..." Guan Yu furrowed his brow and reluctantly swallowed his frustration.
Through Wei You's explanation, the scene shifts to the northern plains. A few days earlier, Tong Yuan and his disciples led their troops across Yanshan into the north.
They evaded the Xiongnu's scouts and arrived at Maqiucheng by dawn the next day.
The master and disciple divided their forces and launched a surprise attack on the city under the cover of morning fog.
However, Maqiucheng, despite its name suggesting a "city," was merely a stretch of grassland with densely packed yurts and only a crude fence encircling it.
Taking advantage of their surprise attack, Tong Yuan's forces quickly overran the Xiongnu defenders, who fled in disarray without even managing to come out of their tents.
Within moments, Maqiucheng had fallen into the hands of Tong Yuan and his disciples.
Upon seeing Wei You's reinforcements, Yufuluo declared himself King of the Xianbei and submitted to Qin Longyang's command, severing ties with Hu Chuquan.
Upon learning of this, Hu Chuquan was enraged, especially when he found out that his beloved youngest son had died near Jicheng.
In a fit of rage, Hu Chuquan mustered 80,000 Xiongnu cavalry and marched south in five columns, intending to annihilate Yufuluo and Sun Lang's forces on the northern plains...
"Master, the situation is dire. Hu Chuquan's forces are formidable, and we are already outnumbered. If we engage them head-on, we might..." In Maqiucheng, Zhao Yun and his master Tong Yuan quickly deliberated their options upon hearing the news.
Tong Yuan frowned. They had only a few thousand cavalry, and their horses couldn't match the speed and endurance of the Xiongnu's.
"Hu Chuquan's main target is Yufuluo and General Sun Lang's forces at Yinmaze. If we don't go to their aid, they won't last long. But sending for reinforcements from Jicheng might be too late."
As the two men pondered, a robust Xianbei man urgently stepped forward and, with broken Chinese, said, "Great Han generals! We, the Xianbei people, are willing to join you in defeating Hu Chuquan!"
"Xianbei!" Tong Yuan was initially taken aback, then his eyes brightened. Maqiucheng housed nearly 50,000-60,000 Xianbei people, with half of them being able-bodied men. While the Xiongnu were skilled horse archers, the Xianbei were not far behind.
Upon learning of Hu Chuquan's impending southern campaign, the Xianbei, newly freed, were determined to take up arms and fight alongside these Han generals.
"Master, our lord has always referred to these nomadic tribes as barbarians. Our soldiers also harbor a deep-seated mistrust towards them. If we incorporate them into our forces, will it..." Zhao Yun raised a different concern, which Tong Yuan also seriously considered.
After a moment, Tong Yuan smiled, "When a general is in the field, some commands from the lord must not be obeyed. Besides, now that Yufuluo has submitted to our lord, the Xianbei are naturally part of our forces."
" We'll incorporate the willing men into our ranks, and if our lord finds fault, I'll bear the responsibility!"
Zhao Yun, too, was thrilled, "Master, you are right! Our lord is wise and will surely understand our decision!"
...
On the northern plains of Yinmaze, a vast and scenic landscape that would be a national-level scenic area in modern times was now a chosen battlefield.
Learning of Hu Chuquan's movements, Yufuluo quickly sought out Sun Lang to discuss their strategy. Facing a vastly superior enemy force of elite cavalry, victory seemed impossible.
"Our only hope lies with General Tong and his disciples in Maqiucheng. If they don't..." Sun Lang's words were cut short by a bloodied soldier who stumbled and fell before him, crying.
"General Sun, bad news! A group of Xiongnu cavalry raided our supply unit last night. A large portion of our provisions was destroyed, and General Huang Shao, who was in charge of the supplies, was killed by a Xiongnu commander!"
"What?!" Faced with a formidable enemy and now the loss of most of their supplies, Sun Lang was overwhelmed by the series of bad news.
"Hu Chuquan's forces won't arrive at Yinma Marsh until tomorrow afternoon at the earliest. Where did this raiding party come from?"
"I don't know, sir. The group was dressed in black cloaks and wore veils, moving swiftly. Their leader wielded twin swords and killed General Huang Shao in less than three moves."
"Black cloaks and veils…" Upon hearing the soldier's description, Yu Fuluo muttered, "Damn, I didn't expect them to show up."
"Them?"
"The unit that attacked General Huang Shao must be Hu Chuquan's Black Banner Army," Yu Fuluo explained.
"This is a specially selected elite unit under Hu Chuquan's command, known for their black cloaks and veils. Their leader is called Tadun, Hu Chuquan's nephew, a highly skilled and courageous warrior who excels in raiding operations."
" The Black Banner Army has been kept hidden on the grasslands, only to strike at the enemy's supply lines during times of war, disrupting their operations."
Just from Yu Fuluo's explanation, Sun Lang felt a chill run down his spine. The grasslands were the domain of the nomadic peoples, and the Central Plains army was already at a disadvantage here.
Now, with the added threat of this special unit, it seemed the Xiongnu's invasion might succeed after all!
Sun Lang gritted his teeth and gave the order, "We'll fight! Order all units to tighten defenses and prepare for the possibility of another raid by the Black Banner Army!"
"Yes!" Yu Fuluo replied, taking his leave.
Sun Lang knew that confronting the enemy head-on would likely lead to defeat. But he had one last, desperate plan. He looked at the letter in his hand, furrowing his brow...