Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

Chapter 1236 Desperately Breaking the Formation, Guo Jia Dies

Winter came exceptionally early that year. As soon as the river in Jingzhou began to freeze over, Zhuge Liang was already pacing back and forth in his government office in Xiangyang. On his desk were piles of secret letters exchanged with Wang Lei of Yizhou. The handwriting grew increasingly hurried, and finally, in the twelfth lunar month, a crucial message was revealed: things were about to be settled with Wang Lei.

Initially, Liu Zhang was extremely resistant to Liu Bei's proposal to seize Yizhou, and his attitude was as firm as iron. Although he had an alliance with Yuan Shao, he was unwilling to become a vassal of Hebei. However, in the past six months, news of Yuan Shao's indulgence in pleasure had been constantly coming in. Liu Zhang's envoys were repeatedly blocked outside the Prince's Mansion in Ye City, and could not even get an audience with Yuan Shao. Each time, it was Yuan Shang who came out to deal with the situation, and his words were full of excuses, without providing any substantial assistance.

“Yuan Shao is too busy to take care of himself, how can he protect Yizhou?” Wang Lei wrote in a secret letter. “My lord (Liu Zhang) has lost heart. If we give him a push now, great things can be accomplished.”

Zhuge Liang held the secret letter, his brow furrowed. He knew this was the perfect opportunity to seize Yizhou, but Liu Bei was trapped in Xuchang, locked in a stalemate with Cao Cao, and couldn't spare the time. After much deliberation, he summoned Guan Yu: "Yun Chang, the defense of Jingzhou is temporarily entrusted to you."

"Rest assured, strategist." Guan Yu stroked his long beard and said in a deep voice, "With me here, Jingzhou is absolutely safe."

That night, Zhuge Liang, accompanied by a few personal guards, braved the wind and snow to rush to Xuchang.

Liu Bei's camp was pitched in the open fields outside Xuchang. The cold wind whipped up snowflakes that lashed against the tents, making a howling sound. Upon hearing that Zhuge Liang had come to visit late at night, Liu Bei's heart tightened, fearing that something had happened in Jingzhou. When he lifted the curtain to greet him, he even forgot to fasten his cloak: "Kongming, has Jingzhou been lost?"

"My lord, please rest assured, Jingzhou is safe." Zhuge Liang brushed the snow off his body and smiled. "There has been some loosening of tensions in Yizhou. I was just worried that you would be trapped here for too long, so I came to offer a plan for your escape."

Upon hearing this, Pang Tong, who was inside the tent, felt a slight flush on his face. As the military advisor accompanying the army, he had been stuck in Xuchang for months without being able to come up with a way to break the deadlock. Now that Zhuge Liang had come from afar and had a plan as soon as he arrived, he was inevitably somewhat embarrassed. However, he was ultimately a man who considered the overall situation, so he silently got up and offered Zhuge Liang a seat: "Military advisor, you have had a long journey. Please warm yourself up first."

Seeing that the two men had no ill feelings towards each other, Liu Bei felt somewhat relieved and quickly asked, "What brilliant plan does Kongming have?"

Zhuge Liang walked to the topographical map hanging in the tent and traced the terrain outside Xuchang with his fingertip: "Cao Cao is holding the city to the death. Our army is not doing well in attacking it. If we retreat, Cao Cao may pursue us. So we are now stuck in a dilemma. It would be better to use formations to determine the situation."

For the next four or five days, Liu Bei's camp was bustling with activity. Zhuge Liang personally led his soldiers to select a site outside the camp, erect stakes, and set up flags, leaving a dense trail of footprints in the snow. The formation he set up was called the "Eight Trigrams Formation," using the symbols of Heaven, Earth, Wind, Cloud, Dragon, Tiger, Bird, and Snake as its symbols. Each formation was interconnected, concealing deadly intent. From a distance, one could only see the flags fluttering and the murderous aura emanating from it, making it impossible to discern the true nature of the formation.

Cao Cao, observing the unusual movements of Liu Bei's army camp from the city tower, felt uneasy and hurriedly sent scouts to investigate. They reported that Liu Bei was setting up some kind of "Eight Trigrams Formation." He intended to send troops to harass the formation before it was fully formed, but his cavalrymen were repeatedly repelled by Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and Huang Zhong as soon as they approached the front lines. Zhao Yun's spear flew like pear blossoms, Zhang Fei's spear was like a tiger descending a mountain, and Huang Zhong's arrows were like shooting stars chasing the moon. Cao Cao's army could not even get close to the formation and could only watch helplessly as the strange formation gradually took shape in the wind and snow.

Guo Jia lay on his sickbed, listening to Cao Cao recount the formation, coughed a few times, and sighed, "Kongming's formation is probably not easy to break... With Liu Bei's assistance, the game in Xuchang is about to begin."

Cao Cao gazed at the camp outside the city, shrouded in a battle formation, his brow furrowed. He knew that Zhuge Liang was paving the way for Liu Bei; once the formation was complete, the enemy could attack or defend as they pleased, no longer having to be as passive as before. This stalemate, which had lasted for more than half a year, was finally about to be broken.

The snow was still falling, and dark clouds covered the sky above Xuchang, as if foreshadowing an even bigger storm that was brewing.

Once the Eight Trigrams Formation was completed, an invisible fortress seemed to spring up out of thin air outside Xuchang. The continuous tents and scattered banners outlined a mysterious shape in the wind and snow. The four formations of Heaven, Earth, Wind, and Cloud acted like pillars, while the four formations of Dragon, Tiger, Bird, and Snake resembled nimble blades, interlocking and protecting Liu Bei's camp like an iron barrel. Now, let alone if Cao Cao wanted to launch a strong attack, even if Liu Bei decided to retreat, this great formation could act as a shield and armor, protecting the army as it calmly departed. Even if Cao Cao had thousands of troops, he would find it difficult to stop them.

Despite his illness, Guo Jia, draped in a heavy fox fur coat, stood alone atop the city wall of Xuchang. The cold wind whipped snowflakes against his face, but he seemed oblivious, his eyes fixed intently on the great formation outside the city, as if trying to etch the location of every banner and every tent into his very being. From daylight to dusk, and then as night fell, the lanterns on the city wall lit up one by one, illuminating his pale face, but his eyes still shone with an unyielding light.

"Fengxiao, the snow is getting heavy, go back and rest." Cao Cao had also climbed up the city wall at some point. Seeing him standing in the wind, he couldn't help but reach out to support him. His fingertips touched the shoulder and back, which were trembling slightly. "No matter how difficult this situation is, there's no rush."

Guo Jia shook his head, his voice hoarse as if it had been sanded: "My lord... if this formation is not broken, Xuande can come and go as he pleases. Our army will be trapped in Xuchang and will be worn down sooner or later..." As he spoke, a fine layer of cold sweat appeared on his forehead, glistening damply in the cold night.

Seeing him in such a state, Cao Cao felt both distressed and helpless, and had no choice but to order his personal guards to half-support and half-carry him back to his tent.

The next day, just as dawn was breaking, a scout from outside the city rushed in to report: Liu Bei's banners were swaying, as if he intended to break camp and retreat!

Upon hearing the news, Guo Jia abruptly sat up from his bed, ignoring the army doctor's attempts to stop him, and rushed to the city wall. "Retreat? How could he willingly retreat?" He watched the figures moving in the distant camp, his brows furrowing even more deeply. "It must be a trap!"

He stood atop the city wall once more, intently studying the great formation. The cold wind was still biting, but he loosened the belt of his fox fur coat, letting the wind and snow seep into his clothes—his anxiety had even suppressed the chill. He traced the formation on the city bricks with his fingers, muttering incantations, his brow sometimes relaxing, sometimes furrowing deeply. From dawn until noon, the snow piled up half a foot deep at his feet, but he remained oblivious.

“The wind formation is in the east, the cloud formation protects the rear… If we break through from the dragon formation on the north side, will we trigger the ambush of the tiger formation?” He muttered to himself, and suddenly his vision went black. He staggered and grabbed the edge of the battlement to steady himself.

Cao Cao stood behind him, watching him cough so hard he bent over, new scarlet stains appearing on his handkerchief. Finally, he couldn't help but hiss in a low voice: "Fengxiao! Enough!"

Guo Jia raised his head, his eyes bloodshot, yet filled with a stubbornness: "My lord... give me another half a day... just half a day..."

The snow was still falling, and the figures on the city walls of Xuchang looked particularly frail in the wind and snow. The Eight Trigrams Formation lay quietly on the wilderness, like a silent behemoth, and Guo Jia, with his ailing body as a blade, was trying to dissect the sinews and bones of this behemoth.

The afternoon snowstorm subsided slightly, but the gloom over Xuchang's city walls grew even heavier. Guo Jia, leaning against the crenellations, gazed at the silent Eight Trigrams Formation outside the city, a resolute glint in his eyes. "My lord, prepare the troops!" His voice was hoarse, yet carried an undeniable strength. "I have found the weak point in the formation; three attacks will surely break it!"

Looking at his pale face, Cao Cao felt a pang of pity, but he also knew this was his last chance. He gritted his teeth and nodded, "As you wish."

The first wave of troops, led by generals Yan Ming, Murong Lie, and Shi Huan, charged like arrows towards the wind formation to the east. However, upon entering the formation, the banners suddenly changed, the previously open path was instantly blocked by high walls of tents, horns sounded all around, and ambushers emerged from the shadows. Yan Ming wielded his broadsword, carving a bloody path, only to be struck down by Zhao Yun's spear as he charged from the side; Murong Lie attempted to break through, but was entangled by Zhang Fei's spear and killed after three rounds; Shi Huan fought desperately, but was ultimately shot through the throat by an arrow from Huang Zhong. In less than half an hour, more than half of the five thousand troops had been lost, all three generals were dead, and the remaining soldiers retreated in disarray.

Guo Jia, watching from the city wall, was furious. He slammed his hand on the crenellation and shouted, "Attack again!"

The second wave, spearheaded by the brothers Zhong Jin and Zhong Kun, with Che Zhou and Cai Yang bringing up the rear, aimed directly at the northern Dragon Formation. This time, they cautiously advanced along the path predicted by Guo Jia, initially progressing smoothly. However, halfway through, the ground suddenly collapsed, and ambushers tumbled down boulders from the high ground on both sides. The Zhong brothers, unable to dodge in time, were buried under the rubble. Che Zhou and Cai Yang fought desperately to break through, only to encounter Huang Zhong and Wen Ping guarding the formation. After dozens of rounds of fighting, both men were beheaded. It was another crushing defeat, and the morale of Cao Cao's army plummeted.

"Should we continue the attack?" Cao Cao pressed down on Guo Jia's shoulder, noticing his lips were turning blue, and couldn't help but ask.

Guo Jia suddenly looked up, his eyes bloodshot, as if he were blinded by rage: "Attack! If we don't break this formation, how can we gain a foothold!"

The third wave was a veritable massacre of Cao Cao's elite troops—Le Jin, wounded but still clad in armor, Yu Jin organized his forces, Xu Chu, bare-chested and wielding a sword, and Li Dian, Cao Chun, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen, and Cao Hong each led their own troops, totaling 30,000 men, who surged into the enemy lines like a tidal wave. This time, they advanced along the "gate of life" marked by Guo Jia, and although there was still fighting along the way, it was much smoother than the previous two times.

Xu Chu charged through the formation, his steel blade slicing down dozens of Shu soldiers; Yue Jin, enduring his injuries, fought fiercely against Wei Yan, who was guarding the formation; Cao Chun and Cao Zhen led their Tiger and Leopard Cavalry straight to the heart of the formation, and it looked like they were about to tear open a gap—suddenly, the banners in the formation changed again, and the original "gate of life" became the "gate of death," and ambushers surged in from all directions, dividing and surrounding Cao's army.

"Charge out!" Cao Chun roared, brandishing his spear, but several spears pierced his chest. Cao Zhen tried to help, but was struck by several arrows and fell into a pool of blood. Yu Jin and Li Dian desperately protected Xu Chu and Yue Jin as they charged outwards, while Cao Hong covered the rear, sustaining several deep, bone-revealing wounds. The battle lasted a full hour. When the last batch of Cao soldiers staggered out of the formation, more than half of the 30,000-strong army had been wiped out. Cao Chun and Cao Zhen were dead, Yue Jin and Yu Jin were wounded, and even Xu Chu had new injuries.

When they broke through the formation and rushed into Liu Bei's camp, they found only empty tents and burning bonfires. Apart from Zhao Yun, Zhang Fei, and other generals who were fighting desperately to hold them off, Liu Bei's main force had already quietly withdrawn under the cover of the formation, and even the grain and supplies had been packed up cleanly.

“Empty…empty…” a soldier staggered back, his voice filled with despair.

On the city wall, Guo Jia was struck dumb upon hearing the news. He looked at the scattered corpses of Cao Cao's army on the open field, at the broken but still chilling formation, and then at the lost soldiers, and at how his painstaking calculations had ultimately come to nothing. A metallic taste suddenly welled up in his throat.

"puff--"

A mouthful of blood gushed out, splattering onto the cold city bricks like a suddenly blooming red plum blossom. Guo Jia fell straight down, and in his last moments before losing consciousness, he seemed to see Zhuge Liang bowing respectfully in front of the battle lines, and he seemed to hear Cao Cao's heart-wrenching cries.

"Fengxiao——!"

The wind and snow swept in again, covering the bloodstains on the city walls and the last breath of this brilliant strategist. Outside Xuchang, crows cried mournfully on withered trees, drawing a bloody end to this fierce battle. Liu Bei's fleeing army had long since disappeared into the vast snowfield, leaving only this shattered formation and the endless grief within Cao Cao's tent.