In the second year of the Tai'an era of the Great Jin Dynasty (303 AD), the ninth month was a busy time for the emperor.
On the thirteenth day of the ninth month, the emperor and empress, accompanied by a host of officials, visited Mount Mang.
On the sixteenth day, they arrived at Yanshi.
On the twenty-second day, they returned to the eastern part of Luoyang City.
The empress and the officials returned to the city, but the emperor was detained by Sima Yi and could not leave.
On the same day, Yang Xuanzhi, the Right Deputy Director of the Imperial Secretariat who had once worked very well with Sima Yi, "died of worry and fear."
However, this did not stop the advance of the armies from Ye City and Chang'an, who had combined forces of 300,000 men and were charging forward with great momentum.
What use was the death of one Yang Xuanzhi?
On the twenty-fifth day, the emperor was dragged to Gou County.
From the emperor's travel route, one could basically see where Sima Yi was engaging the Hebei army.
The emperor had almost become a "model worker," going wherever the battle was to "boost morale."
The most recent example was when he went to Gou County, standing his imperial carriage at the front of the battle line.
The soldiers cheered "Long live the emperor," and the champion general from Ye City, Qian Xiu, was at a disadvantage and led his troops to retreat.
The imperial army took advantage of the situation to pursue, beheading thousands.
The situation in the east seemed manageable—though only temporarily.
Once the main forces from Ye City arrived, things would change—but the west was rapidly deteriorating.
After Zhang Fang defeated Huangfu Shang's forces of over 10,000 men in Yiyang, Luoyang gathered several thousand more soldiers, along with conscripted servants and commoners from the city, forming another force of over 10,000 men to march west.
They fought Zhang Fang multiple times, with both sides suffering heavy casualties, but ultimately they were defeated and fled.
The Guanzhong army suddenly reached the inner city of Luoyang.
On the twenty-seventh day of the ninth month, a large crowd of commoners surged out onto Kaiyang Gate Street, noisily heading south.
By the afternoon, several hundred Guanzhong soldiers arrived, breaking into houses one by one.
This area was already mostly deserted.
The noble families had even better information than Shao Xun, and they had started fleeing south to the mountains ten days ago.
However, they couldn't take all their belongings with them, and that was what the Guanzhong soldiers were after.
Shao Xun was currently lying on top of a wall, carefully observing the enemy's movements.
To be honest, he was somewhat disappointed—or perhaps relieved?
The Guanzhong soldiers had fought their way into Luoyang, making him think the enemy was formidable.
But upon closer observation, he was greatly disappointed.
These were not elite soldiers.
Nearly forty years had passed since the conquest of Shu, and the Guanzhong soldiers had only gone through two generations, yet they were already in decline.
Of course, they were still stronger than the average commoners, but Shao Xun's standards were too high.
He simply felt these men were not up to par.
Mi Huang had just sent off a messenger and was now looking up at the sky in silence.
After a while, he turned to the wall and asked, "What do you think of the enemy, Commander Shao?"
Shao Xun climbed down the ladder into the courtyard and said, "Their formation is disorderly, they are burdened with loot, and they have no will to fight."
"Are you saying we can win?" Mi Huang's eyes lit up as he asked.
"With several hundred of our soldiers, it would be easy to drive off the scattered enemy troops. But to defeat the entire enemy force is impossible."
"We don't need to defeat the entire force. Can we clear the enemy from Kaiyang Gate Street?"
"Commander, it would be best to coordinate with our allies stationed at Lingtai and other places to act together."
"Hmm, that makes sense, but it's difficult."
After a few more questions and answers, the two fell silent.
Mi Huang didn't speak, and Shao Xun waited quietly.
"The messenger who just left was sent by Wang Ju," Mi Huang said as he walked into the courtyard, looking at the soldiers who were fully armed and ready for battle.
"He is the Left Attendant of the Changsha Kingdom, camped outside Kaiyang Gate with several thousand men. We are all under his command. In fact, he had already sent a servant secretly to order us to march north and hunt down the enemy, but I refused. I didn't tell you about this. Do you understand what it means?"
Shao Xun nodded.
"This time, we can't refuse. Some nobles went to the Grand Commander's camp to complain bitterly about the chaos caused by the enemy soldiers. Also, Zhang Fang has been cutting off water channels and breaching the Qianjin Dam to drain the excess water. Now the water mills in the city have dried up, and we can't even grind grain," Mi Huang said.
"So, the Grand Commander is returning to Luoyang to personally deal with Zhang Fang."
A chaotic strategy! That was Shao Xun's current assessment.
It was like treating a headache by focusing on the head and a foot pain by focusing on the foot.
Previously, only Huangfu Shang had led a ragtag force of over 10,000 men to deal with Zhang Fang.
After a crushing defeat, they realized their mistake and scrambled to gather more troops, engaging Zhang Fang in a series of battles like adding fuel to a fire.
Now that they had been defeated again, they were finally panicking and decided to return to personally deal with the Guanzhong army.
"Commander, how is the fighting in the east?" Shao Xun asked.
"Not bad," Mi Huang said, his expression relaxing a bit.
"Actually, I don't know much more than you. I only vaguely heard that our army has won more than it has lost, and the Ye City army is in disarray, so the Grand Commander has time to return."
"Since the Grand Commander is returning, we really shouldn't delay any longer," Shao Xun said.
"We are neither part of the central army nor direct subordinates of the Prince of Changsha. If we are blamed or punished, almost no one will speak up for us."
"That's true," Mi Huang nodded.
"So, I'll ask you again, do you think we can win?"
"Commander, no one can guarantee victory in battle," Shao Xun replied.
"I only have one thing to say: I am willing to lead the elite troops to clear the way, and you can follow behind to oversee the overall situation."
"Good," Mi Huang became excited.
He stepped forward, grabbed Shao Xun's hand, and said, "If we win this battle, I will definitely share a drink and celebrate with you."
In Mi Huang's heart, things like background and social status no longer mattered at this moment.
On the battlefield, the comrades who fight side by side are what truly matter.
The warriors who can protect his life are the ones of value.
If you lose your life, what's the point of talking about status?
The brutal situation in Luoyang had changed everyone who experienced it, to some extent.
Mi Huang had changed.
At least at this moment, he felt that the farms, shops, fields, and servants from his hometown in Donghai were of no help to him.
Here, it was all about real swords and spears.
No matter how high your status was, in Zhang Fang's eyes, you were just a piece of meat floating in a pot.
After receiving his orders, Shao Xun stopped wasting words.
Mi Huang immediately summoned all the officers above the rank of squad leader and gave Shao Xun full authority.
Shao Xun grabbed the still-confused squad leader Yang Bao and sent him back to the ranks.
"Everyone, I won't say much more," Shao Xun said calmly, looking at the neatly lined-up hundred or so men.
"As soldiers, we eat the emperor's grain and risk our lives. That's always been the duty of warriors."
"There are many reasons why you became soldiers. Some just want to fill their bellies, and that's fine. But in the current situation, the city is in dire straits, and a single peck of rice costs ten thousand coins. Soon, you won't even have food to eat."
"Some want to seek wealth and status. That's good. Have you seen the westerners looting? They're carrying big and small bags, stuffed full. If we take those, we can reward the entire army. Wouldn't that be great?"
"Some have no food or clothes and nowhere to go, so they joined this unit. What I want to say is, after this battle, if you receive rewards, you can go wherever you want. I won't stop you. I mean what I say."
"Some think I have excellent martial skills and handle things fairly, and that following me will help them survive. I don't want to lie and say everyone will definitely survive, but I can promise this: if we die, we die together. On the road to the underworld, we can keep each other company, so no one has to go alone."
"Chen Yougen!" Shao Xun shouted.
"Here!" Chen Yougen responded loudly.
His face was slightly flushed, clearly stirred by the emotions.
The squad leader's pre-battle speech was exactly to his liking.
Some officers just spout empty words about loyalty to the emperor and love for the country.
It's all nonsense, not practical at all.
But the squad leader knows how to address the heart of the matter, speaking to everyone's concerns and boosting morale as much as possible.
"I'm giving you twenty men to oversee the rear of the formation. If anyone hesitates or doesn't advance, execute them on the spot," Shao Xun ordered.
"Yes, sir!" Chen Yougen swept a murderous glance over everyone.
Shao Xun quickly selected twenty older youths from the first, second, and third squads to join Chen Yougen's unit, forming a disciplinary squad.
"Some things, I'll only say once," Shao Xun said, placing his hand on the hilt of his sword and speaking loudly.
"If the soldiers don't advance, the squad leader will be executed. If the squad leader doesn't advance, the platoon leader will be executed. If the platoon leader doesn't advance, the company commander will be executed. If the company commander doesn't advance, I will be executed. If I don't advance, you can all execute me!"
Mi Huang watched quietly, unconsciously swallowing.
The military truly is cold and ruthless.
He had seen the Donghai Kingdom's General He Lun manage his troops before, but it wasn't this strict.
After the pre-battle speech, the officers immediately went to their units and drove the soldiers out, lining them up neatly.
Shao Xun walked calmly in front of the formation, ordering the soldiers to string their bows and check their armor and weapons.
Soon, the sound of swords being drawn and sheathed could be heard.
After the inspection, Shao Xun, with Chen Yougen's help, put on his armor, strapped on his bow and sword, and tied a red headband around his forehead.
He didn't know why he did this, but it felt like a habit ingrained in his life, something important.
Wu Qian found Wang Que'er and handed him a heavy sword, whispering a few words in his ear.
The fourteen-year-old boy nodded solemnly, struggling to carry the heavy sword as he stood by Shao Xun's side.
The seven squads of 350 infantrymen stood in complete silence, watching him.
Shao Xun adjusted the bowstring slightly, held the bow in his hand, scanned the troops, and then waved his hand: "Follow me!"
With that, he led the way.
"Follow me!" Huang Biao's body trembled slightly, whether from fear or excitement, he wasn't sure.
At this moment, he only had one thought: follow the squad leader.
Fifty armored soldiers stepped forward, following Huang Biao.
The second squad, the third squad, the fourth squad...
One squad after another filed out, reforming their ranks on Kaiyang Gate Street.
A light drizzle began to fall from the sky, while in the distance, the western soldiers were still looting freely.
They laughed heartily, occasionally cursing, and faintly, the cries of dying men and the desperate screams of women could be heard.
"Whoosh!" An arrow flew out lightly, pointing the way.
"Kill!" Shao Xun roared, stepping forward.
"Kill!" The soldiers struck the ground with their spears and advanced at an angle.
The clanging of armor and the sound of boots were awe-inspiring.
Hundreds of men surged forward like a flood, heading straight for Kaiyang Gate.
The children and youths left behind at the Piyong Academy rushed to the gate, their eyes fixed on "Teacher Shao," who was leading the way.
At this moment, he was the hero in the hearts of all the youths.
He was fearless, charging forward, bearing all the heavy burdens on his shoulders.
Some of the younger children even cried.
The older youths clenched their lips tightly, gripping the hilts of their swords so hard their knuckles turned white.
Teacher Shao taught them to read and write.
Teacher Shao made them understand the principles of life.
Teacher Shao did his best to get them good food to help them grow.
Teacher Shao patrolled the camp at night, tucking in the covers for the mischievous children.
Teacher Shao even told stories to the most tearful children, easing their inner sorrow and anxiety.
He was like a ray of sunlight, shining into the hearts of all the children far from home, becoming one of the most important people in their lives.
What does the damn court matter to me? If I had to choose between the court and Teacher Shao, the choice would be clear.
The rain grew heavier, and on Kaiyang Gate Street, sudden cries of surprise and screams rang out.
The battle had begun.
(End of Chapter)