Early the next morning, the sky was just dimly lit when Xiahou Yuan was hastily awakened by his personal guards. "General! Disaster! The enemy launched a night raid last night—dozens of tents in the camp were burned down, and over a hundred soldiers were killed or wounded!"
Xiahou Yuan was shocked to hear this, and quickly put on his armor and rushed out. When he arrived at the camp, the scene before him filled him with rage: the charred remains of tents were emitting black smoke, weapons, clothes, and several unrecognizable corpses were scattered on the ground, and the air was filled with the smell of burnt cloth and blood. Several surviving soldiers were sitting on the ground in panic, while others were cleaning up the mess, their faces full of exhaustion and fear.
"Liu Bei, you scoundrel! How dare you raid my camp!" Xiahou Yuan suddenly drew his sword from his waist and struck it down on the table beside him. The solid wooden table was split in two instantly, with wood chips flying everywhere. The sword scar on his forehead twisted with anger, his eyes turned blood-red, glowing with a murderous light. "Pass my order! The entire army shall heighten vigilance, triple the number of outposts outside the camp, and conduct rotating patrols at night. If the enemy attacks again, we must annihilate them all—no one is allowed to escape!"
"Yes, sir!" His generals quickly responded, daring not to delay for a moment, and turned to pass the order. But Xiahou Yuan's anger had not yet subsided, and the sense of grievance in his heart grew stronger and stronger—leading 20,000 troops, he had actually been successfully raided by Liu Bei's mere thousands of remnant soldiers. This was simply a great humiliation!
However, more unexpected news was yet to come. In less than two hours, a scout stumbled into the main tent, his face as pale as paper: "General! Disaster! The supply route thirty li to the rear has been cut off by the enemy! The grain transport convoy was attacked, more than half of the grain and forage were burned, and the grain escort soldiers suffered heavy casualties!"
"What?!" Xiahou Yuan was struck as if by lightning, and suddenly stood up. His sword clanged to the ground. The supply route was the lifeblood of the army. The 20,000 troops consumed an astonishing amount of grain and forage every day. Now that the supply route was cut off and more than half of the grain was burned, this was undoubtedly cutting off the source of supplies! He was both shocked and angry, his chest heaving violently. It took him a long time to recover, and he asked through gritted teeth: "Who did this? How many enemy troops are there?"
"Return to General, there are about 500 enemy troops, led by a dark-faced general with a leopard-like head and round eyes, a voice like a bell, holding a spear, and extremely brave! The grain escort team fought desperately but was no match for him. The general moved through our ranks as if entering an unguarded land, commanding his soldiers to set fire to the grain, and quickly withdrew after succeeding!" The scout replied hastily.
"Zhang Fei! It must be Zhang Fei!" Xiahou Yuan roared. He had long heard that Liu Bei had a fierce general named Zhang Fei (styled Yi De) under his command, who was extremely brave, but he never thought he would be so troublesome. With the supply route cut off, the army would run out of food. If this dragged on, the soldiers would be starving, and their morale would surely plummet. Xiahou Yuan did not dare to delay, and immediately ordered: "Order Li Dian to lead 3,000 elite troops to escort grain along the supply route immediately, and ensure that the subsequent grain and forage are safely delivered! Send another 5,000 soldiers to search for Zhang Fei's unit in three routes, and annihilate them at all costs!"
But Xiahou Yuan underestimated how difficult Zhang Fei was to deal with. Leading 500 elite soldiers, Zhang Fei was already familiar with the terrain around Xinye (a border town, present-day Xinye County, Henan Province), and with the cunning plans in Xu Shu's secret strategy bag (a Chinese idiom referring to well-conceived contingency plans), he acted like a ghost, appearing and disappearing unpredictably. After Li Dian led 3,000 elite troops to the supply route, he escorted the grain every day, daring not to relax in the slightest. But Zhang Fei always found flaws: sometimes he set up ambushes in the mountains, attacking the grain escort team with rolling stones and logs; sometimes he launched surprise attacks on rainy nights, setting a fire and leaving immediately; sometimes he feinted an attack on the front, but actually circled around to the rear to burn the grain.
After several such incidents, the Wei army suffered heavy losses, and the transportation of grain and forage was repeatedly hindered. Even with heavy troops escorting, it was inevitable that Zhang Fei would find an opening. Li Dian sent repeated requests for reinforcements, his tone full of anxiety, but Xiahou Yuan was unable to spare any troops—he originally wanted to concentrate his forces to attack the city, but the supply route was in an emergency, so he had to divide his troops to escort it; he wanted to fully encircle and annihilate Zhang Fei's unit, but he was afraid that Liu Bei would take the opportunity to sally out and launch a surprise attack, falling into a dilemma.
What troubled Xiahou Yuan even more was the decoy troops in the mountains outside the city. Zhao Yun (styled Zi Long) led 300 elite soldiers to plant countless Shu army banners in the mountains outside Xinye. The red banners with the character "Liu" fluttered in the wind. At a glance, the mountains and plains were covered with banners, as if hiding tens of thousands of troops. Zhao Yun also ordered his soldiers to move back and forth in the mountains, creating the illusion of shaking figures. Occasionally, they deliberately let out a few shouts or lit several plumes of smoke.
Several times, the Wei army's scouts ventured deep into the mountains to investigate, but they were terrified by this spectacle. When they reported back, they said they saw thousands of soldiers drilling one moment, and discovered ambushed crossbowmen the next. Xiahou Yuan was already upset by the night raid and the cut-off supply route, and after hearing this, he did not dare to dispatch troops rashly. He was afraid that once he attacked the city, the ambush troops in the mountains would rush out and cut off his retreat. He had to order the entire army to shrink the defense line, guarding against the defenders in the city on one hand and being alert to the decoy troops in the mountains on the other, further dispersing his forces.
For several days in a row, the Wei army was tormented to the point of exhaustion. During the day, the soldiers had to patrol under the scorching sun, constantly guarding against surprise attacks by the Shu army and being alert to possible ambush troops in the mountains, their nerves stretched to the limit; at night, they did not dare to sleep soundly, changing guards every hour to patrol, fearing another fire attack. They often just closed their eyes when they were awakened by the sentry's whistle.
The problem of insufficient grain supply became more and more serious. The soldiers could only get half a full meal every day, the porridge was so thin that they could see their reflections, and the dry rations were even scarcer. Exhausted and hungry, the soldiers' morale plummeted. The high fighting spirit they had at first was gone, replaced by exhaustion and despair. During the march, soldiers fell behind from time to time, and deserters even appeared.
Complaints abounded in the camp. Some soldiers whispered: "This battle is so frustrating! We can't even eat our fill, and we're on tenterhooks every day!"
Others sighed: "If I had known this, I would have reported to the Prime Minister to return to Xuchangearlier. Why suffer this way in Xinye!"
Xiahou Yuan was already irritable by nature. Now, tormented by these successive changes, he was even more furious, but had nowhere to vent his anger. Every day, he climbed the watchtower in the camp, staring at the distant Xinye City, his eyes bloodshot, and the grievance and anxiety in his heart almost swallowed him. He wanted to order a full-scale attack on the city, but he was worried about the unstable supply route and the ambush troops in the mountains; he wanted to first annihilate Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun's units, but he was afraid that Liu Bei would stay behind closed doors. If the delay lasted too long and the grain was exhausted, the army would collapse without fighting.
On the afternoon of that day, Xiahou Yuan could no longer hold back. He summoned all his generals to the main tent for a discussion. The atmosphere in the main tent was solemn. All the generals looked tired and listless, completely different from when they entered the camp a few days ago, when they were full of energy.
Xiahou Yuan sat on the main seat, his face as dark as rain. His eyes swept over everyone, and he said in a deep voice: "Everyone, I think you all know the situation these days. Liu Bei only has a few thousand remnant soldiers, but he has trapped my 20,000 troops in such a difficult position. The night raid and camp burning, cutting off the supply route, and making a show of force—this series of plans are interlocking. They can never be thought up by a soft-hearted man like Liu Bei who only knows how to cry!"
As soon as he finished speaking, General Li Zhui echoed: "What the general said is absolutely correct! Liu Bei has always only had fierce generals like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun under his command, and no outstanding advisors. Now that such a powerful figure has suddenly emerged, there must be a talented person helping him!"
General Wang Shu frowned and said: "The harassment these days has been too tricky, each time hitting our vital points. If it wasn't premeditated, it would never be so precise!"
"Now the soldiers are hungry and tired, and their morale is extremely low. If this continues, I'm afraid we won't be able to hold on much longer!"
Xiahou Yuan slammed the table hard and said angrily: "I want to see who is giving Liu Bei advice behind the scenes! Daring to ruin my plans, I will tear him to pieces!" A trace of viciousness flashed in his eyes, and he thought to himself: When did Liu Bei have such a resourceful man under his command? If this person is not eliminated, the Battle of Xinye will be difficult to win.
Thinking of this, he looked at his advisors: "Have you found out if Liu Bei has recruited any new advisors recently?"
The generals in the main tent looked at each other, all confused. Only Advisor Zhao Xiang's eyes flashed with realization, and he slowly said: "General, according to my investigation, Liu Bei has indeed obtained an advisor named Xu Shu recently, styled Yuanzhi. He is a famous scholar from Yingchuan, proficient in strategies. The plans these days are presumably all proposed by him..."
Advisor Wang Qing cupped his hands and said: "General, according to the investigation, Liu Bei has recently obtained an advisor named Xu Shu, styled Yuanzhi. This man is a famous scholar from Yingchuan, proficient in strategies. The plans these days are presumably all proposed by him."
"Xu Shu?" Xiahou Yuan frowned, a trace of viciousness flashing in his eyes. "What an Xu Shu! Daring to ruin my plans! Since he is so capable, why not recruit him to our side to serve the Prime Minister?"
The advisor said: "Xu Shu is filial. His mother is nearly eighty years old and still lives in her hometown in Yingchuan. Why doesn't the general send someone to Yingchuan to kidnap his mother, and use her to coerce Xu Shu into surrendering?"
When Xiahou Yuan heard this, his eyes lit up: "This is an excellent plan! I'll do as you say! Quickly send a team of elites, disguise themselves and go to Yingchuan. Try to persuade her with kind words first, and make sure to bring Xu Shu's mother here safely!"
A few days later, in Xinye City, Liu Bei (styled Xuan De) was discussing the next countermeasures with Xu Yuanzhi. The successive harassment had exhausted the Wei army and lowered their morale. Victory seemed to be just around the corner.
At this moment, a soldier rushed in in panic: "My Lord! Mr. Xu! Disaster! News from Yingchuan—Wei army has sent someone to kidnap Mr. Xu's mother!"