The heavy atmosphere inside the grand hall of Ye City was suffocating. When Han Fu, the Governor of Ji Province, held the formal transfer order bearing Zhang Xin's official seal, his hands trembled so violently that the silk fabric rustled like dry leaves in autumn. The crisis was no longer a distant thunderclouds on the horizon; it was lightning striking his front gate. He immediately issued an emergency summons, calling every strategist, general, and official within the city walls to the state prefecture for an immediate council of war.
In truth, there was very little left to discuss.
Intelligence reports from the eastern borders had been flooding into Ye City for days. Pingyuan Commandery had begun mobilizing its legions, unsealing its granaries, and distributing field provisions more than half a month ago. Zhang Xin wasn't merely posturing; his blades were sharpened, and his war wagons were already rolling westward.
For Han Fu, the dilemma was a tightening noose:
Compliance meant submission: If he obeyed the transfer order and surrendered his authority, he would be entirely at Zhang Xin's mercy, stripped of his lands and likely executed or poisoned once the transition was complete.
Defiance meant treason: If he refused, it gave Zhang Xin the perfect legal pretext to launch a righteous punitive campaign against a rebellious regional official.
As the old proverb went, "The more debt you carry, the less you worry; the more lice you have, the more indifferent you become." Zhang Xin already possessed a dozen different excuses to crush Han Fu; adding one more to the list changed nothing. The time for political maneuvering had passed; the shadow of iron and blood had fallen over Ji Province.
The Strangled Alliance
"The envoy we sent to Grand Governor Liu Yu..." Han Fu's voice cracked slightly as his eyes scanned the anxious faces of his subordinates. "Has there been no word? Have they still not returned?"
In the art of statecraft, the highest form of warfare is to attack the enemy's strategy; the next best is to disrupt his alliances. Diplomacy was a weapon Han Fu and Yuan Shao understood intimately. Unlike Zhang Xin, who had risen from the dirt of the common peasantry through raw military merit, Han Fu and Yuan Shao were sons of the elite gentry. They had spent their youths in the capital, associating with famous scholars, forging blood oaths with powerful clans, and masterfully navigating the intricate web of court politics. To them, the ability to weave alliances and isolate a foe was an instinct ingrained in their very bones.
Ju Shou, stepping forward from the ranks of officials, slowly shook his head. "Not yet, my Lord."
[YOUZHOU: Liu Yu / Gongsun Zan] │ [BLACK MOUNTAIN] ┼ [JIZHOU: Han Fu / Yuan Shao] ┼ [PINGYUAN: Zhang Xin] │ [YANZHOU: Sun Jian / Yanzhou Gentry]
The sight of Ju Shou standing in the center of the hall was a bitter pill for Han Fu to swallow. During the previous council, Ju Shou had explicitly warned Han Fu against launching a reckless preemptive strike on Pingyuan. Han Fu, blinded by pride and the whispering flattery of others, had not only rejected the advice but had stripped Ju Shou of his rank as Deputy Governor (Biejia) in a fit of rage.
Now, with the wolf at the door, Han Fu suddenly remembered the man's peerless foresight. To salvage the situation, Han Fu had not only restored Ju Shou to his position as Biejia but had also elevated him to Rider-General (Qiduwei), desperately hoping his brilliant mind could conjure a miracle.
Ju Shou harbored no illusions about his master's volatile temperament. He knew Han Fu had engineered this catastrophe entirely on his own, turning a defensible political position into a strategic nightmare. Yet, as a minister bound by Confucian duty, he could not abandon his post. He received his stipend from the state, and thus he was obligated to share his lord's burdens.
The Clash of Strategies: Ju Shou vs. Pang Ji
Stepping toward the grand tactical map spread across the central table, Ju Shou laid out his military blueprint:
"Militarily, our only hope lies in deep, layered defense. We must divide our main forces and establish heavily fortified forward positions. One army must garrison Julu County to hold the northern approaches near Wei Commandery, while another takes up positions in Qinghe State to the east. These will serve as vital buffer zones. Simultaneously, we must enact a strict scorched-earth policy across the eastern borders—evacuate the towns, burn the fields, and retreat behind the walls of our fortresses. We must refuse open battle, drain Zhang Xin's logistics, and let time wither his army's morale."
Before Han Fu could nod in approval, Pang Ji stepped forward, his voice sharp with disagreement.
"I must strongly advise against Ju Shou's plan," Pang Ji argued, pointing a finger at the southern borders of the map. "We cannot analyze Zhang Xin in isolation. He and Sun Jian share a bond as thick as thieves. If Zhang Xin chooses not to march through the heavily fortified choke points of Qinghe State, but instead negotiates passage through Dong Commandery under Sun Jian's control, his vanguard can strike directly at the soft underbelly of Wei Commandery from the south."
Pang Ji leaned over the table, his expression grim. "If we scatter our forces to Qinghe, we leave Ye City's core defenses fatally exposed. Furthermore, even if Zhang Xin ignores Ye City initially, his peerless heavy cavalry can easily sever the lines of communication between Qinghe State and Wei Commandery. Once our outer garrisons are isolated, they will be transformed into nothing more than lambs awaiting the slaughter."
Pang Ji's analysis struck at the fundamental vulnerability of their domain. The entire landscape of Ji Province was an expansive, uninterrupted plain—flat as a tabletop, devoid of treacherous mountain passes or deep ravines to hinder an invading army. The only true natural barriers were the majestic Taihang Mountains to the west and the rushing waters of the Yellow River to the south.
Yet, neither offered salvation:
The Taihang Mountains were completely infested by the Black Mountain Yellow Turbans under Zhang Yan, who had secretly sworn allegiance to Zhang Xin.
The Yellow River was useless as a defensive moat because Pingyuan County was situated on the northern bank of the river; Zhang Xin was already inside the gate.
Han Fu hesitated for only a brief moment before siding with Pang Ji. His primary advantage over Zhang Xin was raw numbers—he possessed a massive pool of conscripts and stored wealth. If he divided his forces into isolated garrisons, Zhang Xin's elite, mobile veterans would concentrate their strength and annihilate them one by one, rendering Han Fu's numerical superiority completely meaningless.
Ju Shou did not press his objection further. He recognized the tactical validity of Pang Ji's warning. In a flawless world, the ultimate counter-strategy would be for Ji Province to launch a lightning offensive before Zhang Xin could fully deploy, seizing the territories of Dong Commandery north of the Yellow River and shifting the theater of war closer to Qingzhou.
But such a move was a political impossibility. It would instantly provoke Sun Jian into joining the war. With Zhang Xin pressing from the east, and the Black Mountain bandits threatening to pour down from the western mountains, Han Fu was already fighting a two-front war. If Sun Jian's southern legions crossed the river, Ye City would fall within a month.
Refining the plan, Ju Shou offered a crucial compromise: "If we maintain a concentrated core, we must still protect our flanks. My Lord should detach a highly mobile force to garrison the line stretching from Wei County to Qingyuan in the eastern sector of Wei Commandery. If Zhang Xin invades via Qinghe, the Qingyuan garrison can strike his flank. If he attempts a flanking maneuver through Dong Commandery, the Wei County forces can hold the line."
Han Fu eagerly seized upon this refined strategy. He immediately appointed Zhao Fu and Cheng Huan—two of his most reliable veteran commanders—to fortify and hold Wei County. To ensure the eastern flank at Qingyuan was impenetrable, he turned to Yuan Shao's most lethal instruments, dispatching the legendary vanguard generals Yan Liang and Wen Chou to command the garrison.
The Iron Ring
With the domestic military dispositions finalized, the council turned its attention to the diplomatic front. Ju Shou traced his finger along the borders of Ji Province, and an icy dread settled over the room as the assembled ministers looked at the map.
The realization was stark: they were completely encircled by Zhang Xin's grand coalition.
[NORTH: Liu Yu (Imperial Warlord)] │ [WEST: Black Mountain] ─── [JIZHOU DEFENDERS] ─── [EAST: Zhang Xin's Core] │ [SOUTH: Sun Jian (Yanzhou Governor)]
Every major exit was blocked. To the east lay Qingzhou, Zhang Xin's personal iron bastion. To the south was Yanzhou, governed by Sun Jian, an unyielding ally bound to Zhang Xin by years of shared campaigns. To the west loomed the Taihang Mountains, controlled by the Black Mountain bandits whose true loyalties lay with Pingyuan. To the north sat Youzhou under Liu Yu, Zhang Xin's former venerable master.
Ji Province was an island in a hostile sea. Their only hope of survival lay in winning over the minor, unaligned feudal lords scattered along the fringes.
Their first target had been Zhang Yang, the Governor of Henan, whose territory sat immediately adjacent to Wei Commandery. His lands controlled the exit of Baixing (the White Pass), one of the vital Eight Passes of the Taihang Mountains located within Chaoge County. A mere dozens of miles east of Chaoge lay Liyang, the primary ferry crossing for Wei Commandery, and just over a hundred miles north was Han Fu's capital of Ye City. If they could bring Zhang Yang into their camp, they would secure their western flank without wasting thousands of troops guarding the mountain passes against the Black Mountain hordes.
However, the diplomatic mission had ended in an embarrassing debacle, precisely as Zhang Xin had foreseen. Yuan Shao's political reputation had plummeted following his erratic behavior during the alliance against Dong Zhuo, while Zhang Xin's name as an invincible God of War struck terror into the hearts of minor chieftains.
When Han Fu's silver-tongued envoys laid out their grand offers of gold and land, Zhang Yang had simply looked at them as if they had lost their minds.
"You want me to take up arms against Zhang Xin?" Zhang Yang had scoffed, backing away from the map. "Are you truly insane? He reaps heads like wheat."
Citing his ancient comradeship and deep respect for Zhang Xin, Zhang Yang flatly refused to join the coalition, slamming the door on Han Fu's western diplomacy.
The Broken Steed of Liaoxi
With Zhang Yang failing them, Yuan Shao stepped forward to provide Han Fu with an alternative strategy. Far to the northeast, in the rugged borderlands of Liaoxi, lived a warlord of savage renown. Gongsun Zan commanded an elite force of over three thousand veteran cavalrymen known across the realm as the White Horse Volunteers—a strike force of unmatched ferocity.
"Gongsun Zan and Zhang Xin share a deep, blood-soaked vendetta," Yuan Shao whispered, his eyes gleaming with malicious intent. "My Lord, if you send an envoy bearing lavish gifts and a promise of shared spoils, he will leap at the chance to strike Zhang Xin from the rear. If we can secure the iron hooves of the White Horse Volunteers, Zhang Xin's cavalry will no longer hold dominion over the plains of Jizhou."
Yuan Shao remembered the origin of that hatred clearly. Years ago, when Yuan Shao was still an official in Luoyang, Zhang Xin had submitted a scathing, formal impeachment against Gongsun Zan to the imperial court. Gongsun Zan had spent more than a decade fighting through the brutal, frozen border bureaucracy to finally secure the post of Chief Clerk of the Liaoning Dependent State. He had finally been granted the golden opportunity to lead the legendary Wuhuan Cavalry to suppress the rebellions in Liang Province.
However, consumed by greed, Gongsun Zan had embezzled the military pay and winter provisions intended for the auxiliary Wuhuan tribesmen. Zhang Xin, uncovering the corruption during his northern inspection, had ruthlessly exposed the crime, leading to Gongsun Zan's public humiliation and demotion to a lowly county magistrate. Yuan Shao knew that a proud, vengeful warrior like Gongsun Zan would nurse that grudge until his dying breath.
Yet, in this alternate timeline, Gongsun Zan was a shadow of his historical self. In the original tapestry of history, the grand rebellions of Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun had broken out in Youzhou, allowing nomadic raiders and Wuhuan horsemen to ravage the northern plains for years. It was through that prolonged, chaotic bloodshed that Gongsun Zan had forged his massive army through pure military merit. Before Dong Zhuo had even stepped foot in Luoyang, the historical Gongsun Zan already controlled over ten thousand elite infantry and cavalry, standing as an independent titan of the north.
Furthermore, in the original history, following the campaign against Dong Zhuo, the remnants of the Qingzhou Yellow Turbans—numbering hundreds of thousands—had launched a massive invasion into Bohai. Gongsun Zan had used that invasion to launch a brilliant counter-offensive, intercepting the rebel masses south of Dongguang. In a single night of slaughter, he had utterly shattered two massive rebel camps, capturing mountains of armor, weapons, and baggage trains, alongside over seventy thousand prisoners who were absorbed into his ranks. That singular victory had acted as the ultimate "experience pack," instantly elevating Gongsun Zan into the most terrifying warlord of the early Three Kingdoms period, causing the four northern provinces to tremble at his name.
But in this world, that timeline had been utterly erased by Zhang Xin's intervention.
Before Zhang Ju and Zhang Chun could even raise their banners of rebellion, Gu Yong—acting under Zhang Xin's explicit orders—had executed a flawless intelligence operation, arresting both conspirators in their ancestral homes. The grand Youzhou rebellion had been strangled in its cradle. The Wuhuan and nomadic tribes, pacified by Zhang Xin's subsequent combination of overwhelming military might and fair trade policies, had transformed into law-abiding border subjects.
Worse still for Gongsun Zan, the hundreds of thousands of Qingzhou Yellow Turbans had never invaded Bohai; they had been entirely integrated, fed, and resettled by Zhang Xin's agrarian reforms in Qingzhou.
Zhang Xin had completely consumed every ounce of Gongsun Zan's historical fortune, leaving him nothing but crumbs.
Because of this, Gongsun Zan had been forced to spend years performing backbreaking border patrols. It was only through the political machinations of his old mentor, Lu Zhi, following his bloody performance at the Battle of Guanzicheng, that he had squeaked into the rank of a minor Colonel. He commanded a pitiful force of only three thousand men. To keep even this small force fed, Gongsun Zan had been forced to register five hundred of his core cavalrymen as personal "servants" and family retainers. The imperial regulations strictly decreed that a Colonel of his rank could draw rations for a maximum of two thousand five hundred men; if he didn't falsify the records, Grand Governor Liu Yu would refuse to release the grain, leaving his horses to starve.
When Han Fu's messenger arrived in Right Beiping bearing chests of glittering gold, silver, and promises of endless grain supplies, Gongsun Zan did not hesitate for a single second. He accepted the commission instantly.
"Hmph, a petty peasant who rode the waves of chaos to steal my glory..." Gongsun Zan's eyes burned with a decade of accumulated malice as he strapped on his heavy iron armor. "In an era devoid of true heroes, even a vulgar nobody can achieve fame! In this upcoming battle for Jizhou, I shall show the realm who the true master of the northern plains is!"
The Starving Prince of the Steppes
Han Fu was ecstatic upon receiving the confirmation from Right Beiping. "If we possess the fierce vanguard of Gongsun Zan's White Horse Volunteers, alongside the savage Xiongnu Cavalry under Yufuro," Han Fu laughed, turning to Yuan Shao with an expression of profound relief, "our grand army will match Zhang Xin's mobile forces horse for horse!"
"Indeed, my Lord. Victory is within our grasp," Yuan Shao replied, his smile smooth and flawless, though his mind was already calculating how to use these foreign forces to bleed both Han Fu and Zhang Xin dry.
The inclusion of Yufuro was an unexpected windfall born from Han Fu's failed diplomatic mission to Zhang Yang. Yufuro was the noble prince of the Southern Xiongnu, the son of the murdered Chanyu Qiangqu. Years prior, during the fifth year of the Zhongping era, internal strife had torn the Xiongnu confederation apart while Zhang Xin was busy crushing the White Wave bandits. Following Qiangqu's assassination, the rebel factions had elevated Xubuguduhou to the throne. Left with no choice and fearing for his life, Yufuro had fled south into the territory of the Han Dynasty.
He had originally traveled all the way to the capital of Luoyang, kneeling before Emperor Ling (Liu Hong), begging the imperial court to dispatch a grand army to restore him to his ancestral throne. But the Emperor was entirely consumed by the creation of his Western Garden Army and cared nothing for the internal feuds of northern barbarians. Not only did the Emperor deny Yufuro's request, but he had even recalled Zhang Xin, who had been on the verge of launching a decisive campaign to pacify the northern frontier.
Left stranded in the Central Plains with only a few hundred loyal Xiongnu horsemen, Yufuro had been forced to subsist on the imperial court's charity. Emperor Ling, despite his apathy toward the Xiongnu throne, had maintained his dignity as the Son of Heaven, ensuring Yufuro's men were always provided with rich food and fine wine.
When Emperor Ling passed away, Yufuro believed his golden opportunity had arrived. He anticipated that the new young Emperor, Liu Bian, would seek to solidify his prestige by launching a foreign campaign. Yet, within months, Regent General He Jin was butchered, the capital descended into anarchy, and the tyrant Dong Zhuo seized control of the court.
In the chaos, the imperial court completely forgot that a Xiongnu prince was living on their borders. The food supply ceased overnight. Facing literal starvation, Yufuro and his desperate horsemen had no choice but to turn to banditry, pillaging the commanderies of Henan and Shangdang to survive.
Their reign of terror was short-lived. Zhang Xin's legions soon marched into Henan, establishing a iron-clad security zone. Terrified of Zhang Xin's reputation, Yufuro dared not provoke the tiger; he swiftly withdrew his forces to the remote mountains of Shangdang, offering his swords to Zhang Yang. Using his ancestral prestige, Yufuro managed to recruit several thousand scattered Xiongnu nomads, building a respectable cavalry force of nearly four thousand men. He had hoped to assist Zhang Yang in conquering the rich commanderies of Bingzhou.
They failed miserably. For the two years following Emperor Ling's demise, Yufuro's life had been an unbroken cycle of misery and deprivation. In the original timeline, he would have formed a lucrative alliance with the massive White Wave Yellow Turbans, systematically plundering Hedong, Taiyuan, and Shangdang, living like a king on the spoils.
But in this world, Zhang Xin had personally crushed the White Wave bandits years ago, absorbing their lands and people into his agricultural system. Yufuro had been left with no one to trade with and no weak targets to plunder. He had spent the last twenty-four months in a state of perpetual hunger, his elite warriors reduced to eating grass and hunting wild game in the barren mountains. They were starving.
When Han Fu's envoys arrived offering mountains of refined grain, cured meats, and thousands of bolts of fine silk just to ride down to Ye City, Yufuro had practically wept with joy. He mobilized his entire tribe within hours, driving his gaunt horses toward Jizhou as if rushing to a grand banquet.
The Silent Neighbors
Beyond these two mercenary forces, however, the diplomatic landscape remained bleak. The minor lords who could have formed a protective ring around Jizhou—men like Liu Dai, Qiao Mao, Wang Kuang, and Yuan Yi—had already been systematically eliminated or brought to heel during the prior conflicts.
Han Fu had also sent high-ranking envoys to Tao Qian, the Governor of Xu Province. But Tao Qian, sitting across the table from Zhang Xin's brilliant diplomat Cui Yan, looked at the grand alliance proposals and shook his head with frantic terror. He flatly refused to sign any document that could be construed as hostile to Qingzhou.
Similarly, Governor Zhang Miao of Chenliu was completely paralyzed. Unlike the historical timeline where Yuan Shu had unilaterally granted titles, the current Sun Jian was the legitimate Governor of Yanzhou, officially appointed by the imperial court in Chang'an. He held absolute legal authority over the military and political administration of the entire state. Without Sun Jian's explicit, signed military order, Zhang Miao did not have the legal right to move a single platoon across his borders.
The same administrative paralysis gripped Bao Xin of Jibei. When Han Fu's messengers arrived pleading for assistance, Bao Xin could only offer platitudes. Thanks to the towering academic prestige of Cai Yong, who supported Sun Jian's administration, and Sun Jian's brilliant policy of delegating all civil administration to the local gentry, the elite clans of Yanzhou had grown profoundly loyal to the new regime.
Furthermore, the gentry of Yanzhou were master politicians; they could see that Han Fu's regime in Jizhou was a crumbling house of cards. Why would they risk their wealth, ancestral lands, and lives to oppose the unstoppable rise of Zhang Xin for a lost cause?
Zhang Miao and Bao Xin ultimately offered the same hollow response: they would do their absolute best to "mediate" and "write letters of peace" to Pingyuan. But as for sending troops? It was out of the question.
In the end, out of the dozens of diplomatic missions sent across the realm, only two major powers offered any semblance of real assistance to the beleaguered Jizhou: Yuan Shu of Yu Province, and Grand Governor Liu Yu of Youzhou.
Yuan Shao had dispatched his most trusted advisor, Guo Tu, to negotiate with Yuan Shu in Nanyang. The outcome had exceeded their expectations. Left to his own devices, Yuan Shu—who despised his half-brother Yuan Shao as the low-born son of a concubine—would have happily watched Jizhou burn to the ground. His chief strategist, Yan Xiang, had also strongly advised maintaining strict neutrality to conserve their strength.
However, the Runan Yuan clan was an ancient, monolithic political entity. The clan elders and powerful family factions put immense pressure on Yuan Shu, reminding him that regardless of personal animosities, the prestige of the "Four Generals across Five Generations" was a unified brand. If Yuan Shao and Han Fu fell, the Yuan family's stranglehold on the northern gentry would fracture. Bound by the heavy chains of clan solidarity, Yuan Shu reluctantly relented, ordering a vanguard force to cross the river from Chenliu to provide strategic support to the Jizhou coalition.
The Agonizing Wait
Thus, out of every envoy dispatched to the corners of the realm, only the group sent to Grand Governor Liu Yu of Youzhou had failed to return.
"Could it be... could it be that Grand Governor Liu Yu truly intends to sit idly by and watch me perish?" Han Fu paced frantically across the polished cedar floors of the prefecture lobby, his face pale and slick with sweat.
[NANYANG: Yuan Shu] ─── (Agreed - Troops Moving) [RIGHT BEIPING: Gongsun Zan] ─── (Agreed - White Horse Moving) [SHANGDANG: Yufuro] ─── (Agreed - Xiongnu Moving) [YOUZHOU: Liu Yu] ─── (SILENCE / NO RESPONSE)
In terms of geographic proximity, the capital of Youzhou was far closer to Ye City than the distant domains of Yuan Shu in Nanyang. Guo Tu had already completed his round trip from the south, yet the northern convoy was missing in action.
The strategic silence was deafening, and Ju Shou knew there were only two logical explanations for the delay:
The Dark Scenario: The envoys had been arrested and imprisoned by Liu Yu to demonstrate his loyalty to the imperial court and his former subordinate, Zhang Xin.
The Treacherous Scenario: The negotiations had broken down completely, and the envoys were currently being held as political hostages while Youzhou mobilized its own forces to strike Jizhou from behind.
Neither option boded well for the survival of Ye City.
Just as the tension in the hall reached a breaking point, the heavy iron-studded doors were flung open. A minor military official, his boots covered in mud and his breath ragged from hard riding, sprinted into the center of the lobby.
"Report!" the official cried out, dropping to one knee and raising a stained scroll above his head. "Governor! Zhang Jingming has crossed the northern pass! The envoy to Youzhou has returned!"
Han Fu stopped dead in his tracks, a look of profound, near-manic joy erupting across his worried face. He lunged forward, his robes billowing behind him.
"Quickly!" Han Fu roared, his voice echoing off the high beams of the hall. "Bring him in! Bring him before me this instant!"