Reborn In The Three Kingdoms

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”My Khagan,” the scout began, his voice strained but steady, ”the situation at the Great Wall is... strange. The Han defenses appear overextended. We see more movement along the Wall—some sections look weaker than others.” A spark of interest flared among the chieftains. They exchanged looks, and many had a glint of opportunity in their eyes. This was precisely the kind of news they had been waiting for—a sign of weakness from the Han. However, Tugeh Khagan’s advisors remained cautious. Tugeh himself furrowed his brow, wary of the information.

As Tugeh Khagan’s advisors remained cautious, and Tugeh Khagan’s brow furrowed with wariness over the scout’s report, Batu and Zolgar—alongside several chieftains who had secretly sworn allegiance to the Han—saw an opportunity to further the Han’s agenda from within.

Knowing this was likely a calculated Han deception, they wasted no time in advocating an immediate assault on the Great Wall, urging that the Han defenses looked overextended and vulnerable which was a perfect time for them to launch an attack.

Their voices filled the tent with fervent support, painting a picture of easy victory, rich loot, and the spoils of slaves, each promise meant to inflame the hopes and long-suppressed desires of the chieftains who gathered there knowing the losses each tribe had suffered, while there are no riches to cover these losses.

Tugeh Khagan and his advisors, however, urged restraint. They cautioned against rashness, pointing out the value in further scouting to confirm whether the Wall defenses were genuinely weakened.

But as the chieftains clamored around Batu and Zolgar, voices rose in support of a swift attack, fueled by the growing frustration and losses they had suffered. Each glance between the chieftains seemed to add momentum to the idea of rushing into battle.

Every word of Batu and Zolgar ignited the embers of their excitement into a fierce blaze. They managed to sway even the hesitant, who had begun to feel that, at the least, a show of strength might redeem their reputation among their people.

Seeing their provocation successfully stirring a fervor in the crowd, Batu and Zolgar shared a smirk before quickly hiding it. Both adopted expressions of loyal determination, as if their sole purpose was the Xiongnu’s glory.

Their true intentions masked, Batu raised his voice above the clamor, saying, ”If we strike now, we have the chance to avenge our losses, reclaim our pride, and return with more wealth than any tribe has seen in years! The Han are tired, stretched thin—they’re practically inviting us to break them!”

The words resonated, and murmurs of agreement filled the tent as more chieftains found themselves swept up in the call for vengeance and wealth. Some among the crowd had doubts, but the enthusiasm around them was contagious, their cautious objections were quickly drowned out by their peers.

Batu and Zolgar’s work was done. Even as Tugeh Khagan hesitated, the consensus was clear, and the chieftains united in the call to arms. To delay further might be seen as cowardice or indecisiveness, neither of which Tugeh Khagan could afford.

Bowing to the collective fervor, Tugeh Khagan finally gave a slow, reluctant nod, signaling his reluctant agreement. He issued orders to prepare for the assault, his voice carrying the weight of both pride and unease.

Batu, Zolgar, and their conspirators grinned inwardly, knowing they had nudged the Xiongnu forces into a trap carefully laid by the Han. Each step toward the Wall would only bring them closer to the Han’s true forces, and Batu and Zolgar quietly relished the idea of Tugeh Khagan’s power beginning to fracture in the inevitable chaos.

In the Han encampment just beyond the Wall, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai received word from their spies inside the Xiongnu’s encampment that their ploy had succeeded. The Xiongnu were mobilizing, advancing in force, and the trap was set. They exchanged satisfied glances, aware that their strategy to goad the Xiongnu into attacking a deliberately weakened stretch of the Wall had paid off.

With careful planning and finished preparation, the trap had been laid perfectly as Xiahou Dun, Li Dian, Yu Jin, Ma Teng, and Han Sui were already stationed in the seemingly vulnerable sectors, all of whom had orders to lure the Xiongnu deeper into the Wall’s defenses before striking back with full force. These generals and their men waited in anticipation, each preparing for the oncoming storm.

As dawn approached, a dense fog clung to the plains, adding an air of mystery and tension to the Xiongnu’s advance. Tugeh Khagan’s warriors moved with a nervous excitement, spurred by promises of loot and glory, while Batu, Zolgar, and their allies exchanged subtle glances, knowing what lay ahead.

As they neared the Wall, Batu and Zolgar could see how the fog would serve the Han’s purposes well, hiding their true numbers and defensive preparations from the Xiongnu’s view.

On the Han’s side, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai had anticipated that the fog would add a final element of unpredictability to the trap. They had instructed their forces to use signal fires only at certain intervals, creating a misleading image of scattered and undermanned posts.

The illusion was complete as Xiongnu scouts reported back that parts of the Wall appeared almost deserted, with fewer guards patrolling and even less structure to the defenses. Tugeh Khagan felt a surge of excitement, convinced that fortune had indeed smiled upon them.

With a war cry, he signaled the attack. Waves of Xiongnu warriors surged forward, their horses thundering across the plains toward the Wall. Batu and Zolgar, leading from the rear, kept close watch on the situation, their expressions concealed behind the facade of loyalty and valor.

As the first ranks of Xiongnu warriors reached the Wall and began to scale the fortifications, they were met with resistance that seemed almost halfhearted. The Han soldiers stationed along this section of the Wall feigned weakness, retreating with well-timed hesitance, pulling the attackers deeper and deeper.

Once a considerable number of Xiongnu warriors had passed through the initial defensive line, Xiahou Dun and Yu Jin launched a swift, coordinated counterattack. With a roar, Xiahou Dun’s forces fell upon the Xiongnu from the sides, catching them off guard.

The Xiongnu, who had thought they were pursuing a retreating enemy, found themselves suddenly beset by disciplined, well-armed Han soldiers emerging from the mist. Yu Jin’s soldiers appeared seemingly from nowhere, adding to the confusion as they struck from the rear, cutting off the Xiongnu’s retreat.

Caught in a pincer maneuver, the Xiongnu forces scrambled, trying to reorganize and counterattack, but the fog and the Wall’s complex layout disoriented them. Batu and Zolgar, witnessing the sudden change in fortune from the rear, quickly feigned shock, cursing the ”unexpected ambush.”

They shouted for Tugeh Khagan to hold the line and press forward, knowing this would only deepen the trap. Tugeh Khagan, still unaware of the betrayal, rallied his men, determined not to be bested in what he believed to be a straightforward battle.

But Cao Cao’s generals had anticipated every possible Xiongnu response. From their vantage points on the Wall, Li Dian and Ma Teng’s troops rained down arrows and flaming projectiles onto the clustered Xiongnu forces below.

The fog amplified the chaos, as the Xiongnu had no clear sense of where the attacks were coming from, and every attempt to regroup was met with a fresh barrage. The cries of their comrades and the sudden onslaught of arrows caused some Xiongnu warriors to panic, breaking rank and attempting to flee back toward their camp.

As the trap tightened, Batu and Zolgar quietly began to withdraw, knowing they had done all they needed to ensure the Xiongnu’s defeat and inflict large casualties. They whispered orders to their allies among the Xiongnu, who started retreating with them under the guise of regrouping.

Batu raised his voice, calling to Tugeh Khagan, ”We’ll cover the retreat, Khagan! Fall back to the camp and regroup!” The chaos and the fog masked their true intentions as they led a portion of the Xiongnu forces away, leaving the rest to be slaughtered or captured by the Han.

Tugeh Khagan, realizing too late that the battle had turned against him, signaled a retreat. His loyal warriors tried to fight their way out, but the Han forces, having anticipated the withdrawal, closed ranks and prevented any escape.

The chieftains who had initially clamored for this attack now found themselves trapped within the Han’s grasp, their cries for reinforcements drowned out by the clash of swords and the relentless advance of the Han soldiers.

By nightfall, the battlefield lay quiet. The Xiongnu forces that had advanced upon the Wall lay decimated, and the plains were littered with bodies and broken weapons.

Tugeh Khagan had barely escaped with his life, his power was now severely diminished. His closest allies had fallen into the trap, and he knew his reputation was further tarnished among the tribes. Alongside Batu and Zolgar, they returned to the camp in the aftermath of being greeted as survivors by the remnants of the Xiongnu forces.

Back in Cao Cao’s camp, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai received word of the battle’s outcome with satisfaction. Their plan had worked flawlessly. With the Xiongnu’s strength fractured, they could now press their advantage, advancing along the border territories and securing the region with little resistance. The Xianbei, having claimed new lands to the east, would serve as a secondary threat, further diverting Tugeh Khagan’s attention.

With the trap at the Wall sprung and the Xiongnu forces morale shattered, Guo Jia and Xi Zhicai knew the time was ripe for the next phase. With the Xiongnu’s power already weakened, they directed their spies within the Xiongnu encampment to spread rumors of a new disaster: the Xianbei invasion to the east.

The spies carefully crafted the tale, emphasizing that Xianbei warriors had swiftly overrun the eastern border, defeated Chieftain Bogdag, and laid claim to vast swathes of Xiongnu territory. As the rumors spread, stories of looted villages and captured Xiongnu tribes began to fill the camp, sowing seeds of dread and discontent.

Back in the encampment of the Northern Xiongnu Tribes Coalition, Tugeh Khagan sat in his tent, slumped in his seat, his eyes vacant and tired. His advisors stood beside him, equally worn from the devastating defeat at the Wall. Tugeh’s mind reeled with questions, wondering how such an ambush could have succeeded so completely, and more troublingly, how his authority seemed to be crumbling around him.

The surviving chieftains gathered, but the tension was palpable. The tent was filled with an uneasy silence, punctuated by the occasional hissed argument or muttered complaint.

As the minutes ticked by, frustration and anger among the chieftains started to bubble over. Accusations flew from one chieftain to another, each one blaming others for the loss, for urging them into the trap, and for failing to anticipate the ambush. A few of the men even came to blows, pushing and grappling as tempers flared.

Tugeh’s advisors, sensing the rapidly deteriorating unity, tried to intervene, pleading with the chieftains to calm down. But the chieftains’ tempers, already stoked by the bitter memories of their defeat, could not be easily subdued.

Batu and Zolgar, standing in the corner with the chieftains who shared their allegiance to the Han, watched the chaos unfold in silence, their faces impassive. Inside, however, they reveled in the sight, knowing that every argument, every fractured alliance was a step closer to the complete dissolution of Tugeh Khagan’s power.

As the shouting grew louder, the tent flap suddenly flew open. Several warriors barged in, out of breath and eyes wide with alarm. The sudden entrance caught everyone’s attention, and a hush fell over the group. ”My Khagan!” one of the warriors gasped, dropping to his knee. ”Grave news from the east—the Xianbei have invaded our lands!”

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Name: Lie Fan

Title: Overlord Of The Central Plains

Age: 32 (199 AD)

Level: 16

Next Level: 462,000

Renown: 1325

Cultivation: Yin Yang Separation (level 9)

SP: 1,121,700

ATTRIBUTE POINTS

STR: 951 (+20)

VIT: 613 (+20)

AGI: 598 (+10)

INT: 617

CHR: 96

WIS: 519

WILL: 407

ATR Points: 0