The Burning of Changshe

The Church army, armored and saddled, had been prepared in the main camp for some time. Seeing the west wind rise and the fierce fires ignite outside the walls of Changshe, the commanders knew the moment had arrived. They looked with excitement toward Luan Yi, who stood upon a high platform.

"The time to crush the enemy is tonight! Armies, hear my command: follow me to the field, shatter the foe, and build a legacy that shall never perish!" Luan Yi took the lotus-headed war hammer from Dian Wei, vaulted onto his horse, and hoisted the weapon high, roaring, "For the glory of the Holy Mother!"

Seven thousand eight hundred and sixty-three Church guards raised their weapons in unison, echoing, "For the glory of the Holy Mother!"

"Forward!" Luan Yi led the charge, storming out of the camp gate. Guided by Xu Shu, Dian Wei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Xu Chu, and Taishi Ci, the guards marched in orderly fashion from the stockade, striking toward the rebels' western camp.

Bo Cai’s army had already been thrown into chaos by Huangfu Song’s massive fire. Now, with Luan Yi pouring fuel on the flames, they swiftly tore a gaping hole in the rebels' battered line, slaughtering the disorganized soldiers and surging into the rear camp.

For days, scouts had reported seeing rebels pushing carts into the rear camp, laden with large cloth bags. Through tears in the fabric, it was clear they were filled with grain. Upon receiving this intelligence, Luan Yi and Xu Shu immediately deduced that the rear stockade was the rebels' granary. Reaching the site, they found their suspicions confirmed: behind the cover of tents, a significant number of storehouses were hidden. Seeing this, Luan Yi was ecstatic and led his forces to the assault.

The rebels guarding the rear were struck with terror at the sight of the Church forces. They had long heard rumors of the events in Jinan: how the commander Zhu Ying had been blasted to death by "divine thunder," how the Holy Mother’s guards had remained unbeaten across the provinces of Qing and Yan, and how, just recently, General Peng Tuo’s fifty-thousand-strong army had been annihilated by a Church force of only ten thousand.

If the valiant General Peng Tuo could not defeat them, what chance did they have? And who knew when the imperial troops from Changshe would strike? At this thought, the rebels' resolve crumbled.

"Ah..." The cry of the first fallen rebel acted like a fuse, igniting the bomb of fear in the hearts of all. Nearly ten thousand rebels, hearing that scream, suddenly felt their legs tremble so violently they could barely stand. They desperately sought to flee, and soon, they put that desire into action.

"Run! The gods have come!"

Luan Yi had no interest in chasing them; he knew his priority was to burn the grain. With a whistle, the Church guards pulled incendiary bottles from their belts, lit them, and hurled them into the nearby granaries and tents. "Whoosh..." Pale blue flames rose to meet the wind, glowing red as they consumed the dry grass and grain.

The blaze burned throughout the night. The scorched earth smoldered with gray smoke, with only scattered embers remaining where the fuel had already been consumed. Yet, though the fires died down, the flames of war did not.

Huangfu Song’s fire had left the rebels at Changshe in total disarray. Realizing the tide had turned, the rebel commander Bo Cai gathered his remaining forces and fled. Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Luan Yi combined their strength to pursue, slaughtering countless enemies and taking forty to fifty thousand prisoners.

Seeing the imperial forces in hot pursuit, Bo Cai knew that if he continued to run, he would be picked off entirely before reaching Zhang Mancheng in Wancheng. Driven to desperation, he stopped fleeing, gathered his stragglers, and deployed in an open field to fight to the death.

This was the largest battle Luan Yi had ever witnessed. Bo Cai’s rebel army still numbered over sixty thousand. The imperial side, combining the forces of Huangfu Song and Zhu Jun, had started with over forty-one thousand, but ten thousand had been detached to guard the massive number of prisoners. Including Luan Yi’s seven thousand guards, the total pursuing force was less than forty thousand.

More than one hundred thousand soldiers stretched across the landscape, an endless sea of men. The air was thick with killing intent, the atmosphere of war making the late autumn heat feel oppressive. The crowded field was deathly silent, a psychological weight pressing upon them all, broken only by the occasional neighing and stamping of warhorses—a prelude to the impending clash.

War drums began to roll, following the rhythmic signals of the flags. The sound grew louder and more majestic as the drummers, standing before drums eight feet in diameter, swung their arms with force. The stretched skins shrieked and shuddered under the brutal impacts... "Boom, boom, boom..." It was the sound of the drums, and the heartbeat of the tense and excited soldiers.

The imperial troops moved. Having won battle after battle, their morale was high, like tigers descending from the mountains. The rebels moved as well; with no path left to retreat and pursuers at their backs, they were like wolves driven to the edge, fighting for their lives with the ferocity of the starving.

Tigers against a pack of wolves—the match was evenly poised. The rebels’ suicidal tactics inflicted heavy casualties upon the imperial troops and shook them to their cores.

Just as the battle reached its most intense point, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Luan Yi, observing from the rear, noticed the rebels' right flank falling into chaos. Cries filled the air, and the lines began to collapse, but the dust obscured the details.

"Send Zilong to investigate!" Luan Yi ordered his flag officer.

With a wave of flags, the Temple Knight Battalion turned and carved directly into the rebels' right flank. The battalion was formidable. Their horses were the finest selected from Liang, You, and Bing provinces; their armor was the toughest Mingguang mail of the Han; and the knights themselves were the sturdiest men of Jinan—the "Shandong giants" who would later become world-renowned. Luan Yi was confident that this battle-hardened unit could rival, or even surpass, the iron cavalry of Bing and Liang. His only regret was the scarcity of horses in Jinan, the primary bottleneck to expanding his cavalry.

Zhao Yun led the charge like a sharpened blade, cutting through the rebels like wheat. Some were impaled by iron spears, blood spurting from their chests; others were trampled underfoot by the warhorses, their bodies mangled beyond recognition. The cavalry roared through the crowd and disappeared into the flank, sending back a flag signal.

The central flag officer decoded it and reported: "My Lord! Imperial reinforcements have arrived—about five thousand men have cut into the enemy's right flank."

"Oh? A timely arrival!" Luan Yi’s eyes lit up. Unfortunately, the Han flag signals were incomplete and could not identify the unit. But within the time it took to burn a stick of incense, the identity of the reinforcements emerged. "It is him?"

With the arrival of the reinforcements, and the Temple Knights seizing the opportunity to press the assault, the rebels on the right flank were caught in a pincer. Their morale plummeted, casualties spiked, and the rout accelerated. A broken formation only made it easier for the imperial troops to slaughter them.

As the saying goes, when one part falls, the whole collapses. The rebel right flank soon ceased to exist, leaving only a few hundred stragglers fighting in vain before being cut down to cold corpses.

As the dust settled, Huangfu Song, Zhu Jun, and Luan Yi, watching from the center, finally made out two great banners on the right flank. One fluttered in the wind bearing the character "Han," and the other bore the massive character "Cao."

"So, it was Mengde who came!" Luan Yi immediately guessed it was the famous Cao Cao. Of course, "famous" was a term for the history books; as of now, Cao Cao’s reputation was far behind his own.

Huangfu Song, clearly unfamiliar with Cao Cao, asked Luan Yi, "Is this the former Northern District Captain of Luoyang who set up the Five-Colored Clubs?"

"The very same!" Luan Yi was thrilled; there was nothing more heartening than meeting an old friend in a distant land. He raised his whip, struck his horse, and galloped toward Cao Cao, followed by Dian Wei and his personal guards.

"Brother Mengde!" Luan Yi shouted from a distance. When he was fifty paces away, he vaulted from his saddle, tossed his lotus hammer to the ground, and ran forward with his hand on his sword.

"Eh? Is that Brother Ziqi?" The last time Cao Cao had seen Luan Yi, the boy was thirteen. Three years had passed—years of rapid growth—and he almost failed to recognize him. "It is indeed Luan Ziqi! Ha, ha..."

Cao Cao was equally excited. He jumped off his horse and hurried forward despite his heavy armor. The two embraced, laughing heartily.

Cao Cao looked him up and down. "Good heavens... three years, and Ziqi, how have you grown so tall?" He measured them against each other. He remembered Luan Yi being seven feet tall—already slightly taller than himself—but now he was over eight feet and pushing nine. Cao Cao, the elder brother, had to look up to speak. "And you’ve grown sturdy, too!"

Luan Yi asked, "How have you been, brother?"

"Well, well enough! Though this chaotic world gives a man no peace." Cao Cao smacked his lips. "I expected to see you next month at your wedding, but it seems Heaven was eager for us to meet, arranging our reunion on this battlefield. It’s quite amusing, now that I think of it..."

"The wedding?" Luan Yi had been so busy he had nearly forgotten. Yes, by agreement, the tenth day of the tenth month was the date for his marriage to Cai Yan and Diao Chan. But with the situation as it was, could it proceed? The beautiful faces of Cai Yan and Diao Chan flashed before him. Were they well? Were they worried? If he delayed the wedding to suppress the rebellion, would they be hurt? "Alas... with the nation in turmoil, how can I speak of family matters? The date will likely have to be postponed. I will inform you of the new date, brother; I hope you will find time in your busy schedule to share a cup of wine with me!"

"Ha! I’ll come even if you don’t invite me!" With that, the two shared another burst of laughter.

After a moment, Luan Yi turned serious. "Brother, the battle is not yet won. Let us join forces, crush the rebels, and then we shall talk more!"

Cao Cao replied, "Agreed! With brothers working in unison, we shall emulate the exploits of Tian Dan—a story worth telling!" They saluted each other, returned to their respective camps, and resumed the assault.