This annoyed Cao Cao who sent out Xu Chu against the insulter. Zhang Xian came to meet him and fell in the third bout. Thence Zhang Xiu's troops fled and were pursued to the very walls of Nanyang, only managing to get within just before the pursuit came up. The city was then closely besieged. Seeing the moat was so wide and deep that approach to the wall would be difficult, Cao Cao's commanders began to fill up the ditch with earth. Then with sand bags, brushwood, and bundles of grass they built a great mound near the wall and on this erected steps so that they could look over into the city.
Cao Cao rode round the city closely inspecting the defenses. Three days later he issued an order to make a mound of earth and brushwood at the northwest corner, as he would mount the walls at that point. He was observed from within the city by Jia Xu, who went to Zhang Xiu and said, “I know what Cao Cao intends, and I can defeat him by a countermove.”
What the counter-move was will be told in the next chapter.
Jia Xu, as he had guessed the enemy's intention, had also devised a countermove. So he went to his chief and said, “I saw Cao Cao very carefully reconnoitering round about the city. He certainly noticed that the southeast corner of the wall had been lately restored with mud bricks of a different kind, and that the fencing barrier is badly out of repair. He will try to effect an entrance there. Wherefore he is making a feint attack at the opposite point. He is piling up straw and making ostentatious preparations whereby to cajole us into withdrawing from the real point of attack to defend the northwest. His troops will scale the walls in the darkness and try to enter at the southeast.”
“Supposing your surmise correct, what do you advise?” asked Zhang Xiu.
“The countermove is plain. You issue an order for our best and bravest soldiers to fill their bellies, to take only the lightest outfit and conceal themselves in the houses near the southeast corner. Then disguise the townspeople as soldiers and send them to pretend to defend the northwest. Tonight we will let the enemy climb up the walls and enter the city and, once they are fairly within, give the signal and the concealed soldiers will rush out upon them. We may even capture Cao Cao himself.”
The stratagem was decided upon. Soon the scouts told Cao Cao: “The defenders of the city have moved to the northwest where noisy preparations for defense are going on. The opposite corner is left undefended.”
“They have fallen into my trap!” said Cao Cao gleefully.
He ordered his troops to prepare shovels and hooks and all the gear needed for scaling walls, and all day they kept up the attack on the northwest angle.
But at the second watch they dispatched the veterans to the opposite corner, where they climbed the wall, broke up the fencing barrier, and got into the city apparently without disturbing any of the guards. There was no sign of life anywhere as they entered. But just as they were leaving the wall, suddenly a bomb exploded and they found themselves in an ambush. They turned to retire, but Zhang Xiu immediately fell on the rear and began a slaughter. Cao Cao's troops were totally defeated and fled out of the gate into the country. Zhang Xiu kept up the pursuit till daybreak, when he retired into the city again.
Cao Cao then rallied his army and mustered his soldiers. He had lost fifty thousand and much baggage, while two of his generals, Lu Qian and Yu Jin were wounded.
Cao Cao being thus worsted, Jia Xu advised Zhang Xiu to write off to Liu Biao to cut off Cao Cao's retreat so that he might be utterly destroyed.
Liu Biao was preparing an army for this purpose when a scout came to say that Sun Ce had encamped in the river at Hukou.
Kuai Liang said, “This move of Sun Ce in the river is part of Cao Cao's strategy, and there will be never-ending regret if Cao Cao is allowed to escape. An immediate expedition is necessary.”
Wherefore Liu Biao moved out with his army to Anzhong to block Cao Cao, leaving Huang Zu to hold Jingzhou's points of vantage. Zhang Xiu, having been informed of the movement of Liu Biao, went with Jia Xu to smite Cao Cao on the rear.
In the meantime Cao Cao's army, marching very leisurely, had arrived at Xiangyang.
Walking one day beside River Yu, he suddenly uttered a great cry, and when his officers asked the reason thereof he replied, “I remembered that here, only a year ago, I lost my great general: Dian Wei. Is that not a reason to grieve?”
