Before the battle, both sides prepared in silence.
On Cangyuan Plains, the coalition army stretched across the horizon — Wei infantry forming dense formations like iron walls, Chu engineers setting artillery along the ridges, Jin supply wagons forming long defensive lines, and Zhou cavalry under General Pei positioned at the center like a spear waiting to strike.
It was the largest army ever assembled against Wu An.
And General Pei knew this battle would decide everything.
Inside his command tent, the coalition commanders argued even now.
Wei demanded protection for their grain wagons.
Chu demanded control of the river flank.
Jin demanded priority over supply routes.
Each army wanted the safest position.
Each army wanted the most credit.
Each army wanted the others to bleed first.
Pei looked at them and understood something very clearly.
Even now, standing on the same battlefield, they were not one army.
They were four armies standing next to each other.
And that was dangerous.
Very dangerous.
Across the plains, Wu An also prepared.
But his camp was quiet.
No arguments.
No shouting.
Only movement.
Artillery positions were measured three times. Musket lines were reorganized into rotating formations. Cavalry units were split into smaller mobile groups. Supply wagons were moved further back than usual.
Liao Yun noticed something else.
"You've moved the Black Tigers to the center," Liao Yun said.
"Yes," Wu An replied.
"And the Golden Dragon veterans to the left flank."
"Yes."
"And the new conscripts?"
Wu An looked toward the distant coalition banners.
"They will hold the line," he said. "They don't need to win. They just need to stand long enough."
Liao Yun studied Wu An for a long moment.
"You're planning something," he said.
Wu An did not deny it.
"I told you before," Wu An said quietly. "We don't defeat the coalition."
"We make sure the coalition defeats itself."
The night before the battle, something began to happen in the coalition camps.
A Wei supply officer was found murdered — inside Jin's camp.
A Jin grain warehouse burned — and Chu arrows were found nearby.
A Chu commander disappeared — and Zhou scouts were seen in the area earlier that night.
Rumors spread like disease.
"They're planning to abandon us."
"They're planning to take all the credit."
"They're planning to retreat and leave us to die."
Men who were supposed to be allies began sleeping with weapons in their hands.
Commanders began moving troops slightly further away from their "allies."
Artillery positions were quietly adjusted — not just toward Liang.
But toward each other.
By morning, the coalition still stood together.
But now they stood together like men standing on a frozen lake, each one wondering who would fall through first.
The battle of Cangyuan Plains began at sunrise.
Cannons roared across the plains. Muskets cracked like endless thunder. Drums pounded. Banners moved forward.
At first, the battle was even.
Wei infantry pushed forward slowly, shields locked together.
Liang artillery fired in controlled volleys.
Chu forces attempted to flank the Liang right.
Jin troops held the rear and protected the supply lines.
Zhou cavalry under General Pei struck the Liang flank with terrifying force, nearly breaking a Liang musket division in the first charge.
It was a real battle.
A hard battle.
A battle where either side could still win.
And then—
It began.
A Jin artillery unit suddenly fired — not at Liang.
At Wei.
Wei soldiers thought they had been betrayed and immediately turned part of their formation to face Jin forces.
Chu troops, seeing Wei turn formation, believed Wei was retreating and began pulling back their own flank.
Zhou cavalry suddenly found their left flank exposed because Chu had pulled back.
At the same time, a Wei grain convoy behind the lines exploded in flames — Liang saboteurs had struck again.
Wei commanders believed Jin had sabotaged their grain to weaken them before the battle.
Within an hour, the coalition army was no longer fighting Liang.
They were shouting at each other, repositioning against each other, sending messengers, accusing, panicking.
General Pei rode across the battlefield trying to restore order.
"Hold formation!"
"Do not turn your artillery!"
"Chu, advance! Wei, hold the line! Jin, stop repositioning!"
But dust, smoke, fear, and distrust moved faster than orders.
And once an army begins to doubt the army next to it, the battle is already lost.
Pei realized it too late.
He looked across the battlefield and saw the coalition lines bending — not because Liang was stronger.
But because the coalition no longer trusted the men beside them.
Pei stopped his horse and looked across the chaos.
Then he laughed once, quietly, to himself.
"Wu An," he said under his breath.
"You didn't defeat the army."
"You defeated the alliance."
That was when Wu An gave the signal.
The Black Tigers advanced through the center like a blade.
The Golden Dragon veterans smashed into the exposed Chu flank.
Liang artillery repositioned and began firing into the confused coalition formations.
Liang cavalry swept around the sides and cut down retreating units.
What had been a battle became a slaughter.
Not because the coalition soldiers were weak.
But because they were no longer fighting as one army.
They were fighting as four armies trying to survive.
By sunset, Cangyuan Plains was covered in bodies, broken wagons, shattered banners, and burning supply carts.
The coalition army did not retreat together.
It broke apart.
Wei retreated east.
Chu retreated south.
Jin retreated toward the canals.
Zhou forces under General Pei retreated north.
And Wu An did not chase just one of them.
He chased all of them.
In the days that followed, Liang armies split into multiple columns.
One army marched north toward Northern Zhou's cities.
One army marched east into Wei territory and seized grain cities.
One army marched south toward Chu river ports.
One army moved toward Jin canal cities.
Wu An did not try to conquer everything at once.
He targeted cities with grain.
Cities with weapons.
Cities with recruits.
Cities with money.
Every city taken meant more soldiers.
Every city taken meant more supplies.
Every city taken meant Liang grew stronger while the coalition grew weaker.
During these campaigns, several Liang generals began to distinguish themselves.
Wu An had always been good at recognizing talent.
Now those talents began to shine.
General Han Liang — a former fortress commander who specialized in siege warfare — captured three Wei cities in two months using artillery positioning and trench warfare.
General Sun Ke — a cavalry commander — destroyed multiple retreating coalition units and became known for moving faster than enemy messengers.
Commander Yue Chen — a former engineer — built mobile artillery platforms that allowed Liang cannons to fire and relocate before enemy counterfire.
Madam Zhao Lin — one of Shen Yue's recommended officers — led urban operations and took two canal cities for Jin without burning them, preserving supplies and ships.
Wu An promoted all of them immediately.
He did not care about noble birth.
He did not care about family name.
He only cared about one thing.
"Can they win?" he asked Liao Yun.
"If yes," he said, "they rise."
That was why Liang kept producing capable commanders.
Because under Wu An, talent was more important than loyalty.
And under Wu An, victory was the only law.
By the end of the campaign season, the map had changed again.
Northern Zhou had lost key cities.
Wei had lost grain.
Chu had lost river ports.
Jin had lost canal routes.
The coalition still existed.
But now each state was fighting for its own survival again.
And Liang—
Was no longer the hunted.
Liang was now marching north.
Toward the heart of Northern Zhou.
Toward General Pei.
Toward the final war.