At the border of Jing and Yu provinces, Mount Funiu, Mount Fuyu, Mount Dahu, and Mount Tongbai formed a chain of natural barriers.
Among them, the most critical stretch lay along the line from Duyang to Wuyang.
This corridor linked westward to Nanyang Commandery, the heartland of northern Jing, and opened eastward toward Yingchuan, long regarded as the cradle of the Central Plains' scholar elite.
Whether Nanyang, Yingchuan, or the connected regions of Chenliu and Runan, all were broad, open plains where an army could ride freely once it broke through.
Because of this, the three passes carved between the mountains had become ground that both Cao and Liu had to contest.
And of these battlefields, the fiercest fighting centered on Duyang.
That was why, even with Huang Zhong already stationed there, Guan Yu had still sent his own son Guan Ping to serve under him, warning in grave tones:
"If Duyang falls, I will take your head myself."
The most dangerous moment in the past year had come when Cao Ren led a three-pronged offensive, aiming to strike Wancheng directly and decide the campaign in a single blow.
Cao Ren even bypassed Wancheng and pushed straight into northern Jing. Yet when he tried to gather his forces and swallow Guan Yu's cavalry in one stroke, the iron-armored horse smashed through his lines instead. The Cao army was driven back out of Jing once more.
From then on, Huang Zhong and Guan Ping no longer had to remain tied to the walls. They pushed their front eastward into Yu Province instead. Now it was the Cao forces who had fallen into a defensive posture, clinging stubbornly to Wuyang.
From Duyang to Wuyang, the corridor that had once been wide was squeezed tighter and tighter by the Lishui to the south and the Wushui to the north, until at the eastern end stood Wuyang itself, solid and unyielding.
"If not for those two rivers, General Guan's iron cavalry would already have shattered their lines. Old General Huang would not be grinding himself down here like this."
The speaker was Liu Min.
He had once begged his cousin Jiang Wan to help him find some post where he could serve the state. After joining Huang Zhong's staff as a clerk and surviving several campaigns, the bookish air he once carried had been replaced by something harder, sharper.
"It is not that we cannot fight," Guan Ping muttered.
Liu Min understood the unspoken meaning. It was simply not worth the cost.
The Cao army had layered defenses here. Even if the iron cavalry broke through, there was no room to maneuver. Losses would be heavy, and Wuyang still lay behind it, waiting to be taken. Wasting elite troops here would be foolish.
While the two spoke quietly, they kept their eyes fixed on the duel unfolding ahead between Huang Zhong and the Cao general.
After another clash, both sides finally withdrew at the same time. Guan Ping and Liu Min stopped talking and stepped forward together to meet the returning veteran.
Huang Zhong tossed aside his ring-hilt blade. His body armor and shoulder guards were stripped off, and he dropped into his seat with the bearing of a man who still felt born for the saddle. A medic soon arrived with a steaming bowl of restorative broth.
Every time he saw the stuff, Huang Zhong's brow knotted in irritation. But remembering Physician Fan A's warning that a man past sixty who still fought like a tiger was already a miracle and must take care not to squander it, he held his breath and drank the entire bowl in one go. Only then did the medic nod in satisfaction and leave.
Huang Zhong turned to his attendants.
"The wounded need no reminder from me. Those who can recover, let them recover. Those fit to return to Duyang for rest, send them at once. And for the fallen, record their names carefully. When our lord raises shrines in the future, they must receive their offerings. Their families are not to be shorted grain or coin."
When the attendants left to carry out the orders, Huang Zhong gave a slight nod and turned to Guan Ping and Liu Min.
"The Cao army keeps growing. We must find a way to break them. Delay invites trouble."
Guan Ping considered the tone carefully.
"Does this have to do with the fierce general who keeps engaging you?"
Huang Zhong nodded without hesitation.
"That is Li Dian. He should be in Shouchun, south of Qiao Commandery, holding the line with Xiahou Dun against Jiangdong."
Guan Ping immediately understood. The Cao forces had always kept troops in the east to guard against, or scheme toward, Jiangdong. Everyone knew it.
If Li Dian was here now, then the garrison at Shouchun had likely been pulled in as well.
Liu Min frowned.
"Then are they not afraid Jiangdong will march north? When my lord fought in Jingxiang before, did not Lord Sun attempt to seize Hefei?"
Huang Zhong and Guan Ping exchanged a knowing glance, then both shook their heads.
"Jiangdong once secretly aligned with Cao and struck north," Guan Ping explained tersely. "It ended with Lü Meng dying at Jiangling."
"Now Jiangdong seeks peace and open trade. The four great clans there grow stronger by the day. Lord Sun cannot easily restrain them."
Liu Min found that easy enough to believe. He himself came from southern Jing and knew well how the great families preferred safety to risk. The Pan clan alone was enough of an example.
With a quiet sigh, he finally understood why the old general looked so grave.
The Cao camp was full of capable men. Anyone with half a brain could guess that Jiangdong's great clans were likely communicating with them in secret. In that case, even more troops from Shouchun might already be on the way.
And if one judged by Cao Cao's temperament, forces from Donghai, Guangling, even Mount Tai might be marching too.
If that was true, this long war might end within the year.
The thought made Liu Min's spine prickle.
Which left only one question.
"Old General Huang… what strategy remains?"
He asked it with a wry smile. Even knowing this was their best chance to smash the Cao army before it fully gathered, the terrain offered little flexibility. Two rivers and a fortified city left few options.
Yet to his surprise, Huang Zhong's face broke into a rare expression, sly and unreadable.
"Xiahou Yuan fears battle each day, yet refuses to avoid it. He stalls with feints, waiting for reinforcements."
He let out a low chuckle.
"But has he considered that I challenge him daily and boast of my valor… because I too am buying time?"
"Must only Cao have reinforcements? Does he think the Han army stands alone?"
"From Jiangling, perhaps?" Liu Min asked immediately, thinking of his cousin.
Huang Zhong shook his head mysteriously.
"Gongyan has other duties. Our reinforcements here will arrive within five days."
In truth, they came even sooner.
By the next evening, Liu Min saw them with his own eyes. The soldiers spoke in thick Ba accents, unmistakable even at a distance.
What surprised him more was what Guan Ping whispered during the meal. The General Wu who led these reinforcements might one day even be linked to their lord by marriage.
Yet what drew the most attention was not the commander, but the supply train.
The number of baggage carts far exceeded what a normal force would carry.
"Inside them," General Wu said solemnly, speaking more than he usually did, "are the tools that will break the enemy."
Liu Min could not help but feel anticipation stir in his chest.
At the same time, in the Cao camp, Xiahou Yuan felt a trace of unease.
"The rebel camp is brightly lit tonight… could they also have reinforcements?"
Across from him, Li Dian clasped his hands calmly.
"The territory they hold is narrow and sparsely populated. What elite reinforcements could they possibly muster?"
"My three thousand men have arrived. When my uncle shattered Lü Bu in the past, it was thanks to this very elite force."
"Tomorrow, I will break the rebels and repay the Chancellor's trust."
There was no arrogance in Li Dian's face, yet his words alone steadied every listener.
After all, these were the very troops that had once defeated Lü Bu.
Xiahou Yuan found himself looking forward to the coming day.