Inside and outside the walls of Ye City, the atmosphere was absolute chaos.
Outside the gates, General Geng Wu was frantically trying to organize, catalog, and disarm the massive waves of surrendered Yuan soldiers who had thrown down their weapons. Inside the State Prefecture, Han Fu was practically throwing his worldly possessions into crates. Since he had made the executive decision to capitulate, he knew he couldn't legally or safely occupy the grand governor's palace anymore. It was far better to pack early and vacate the premises voluntarily to avoid any awkward, armed evictions later.
Han Fu stood in the central courtyard, watching his servants and tearful maids hoist heavy lacquered chests onto wooden carriages one by one. He couldn't suppress a deep, hollow sigh.
Right then, Ju Shou walked up, his expression a complicated mix of defeat and relief, and bowed low. "Governor."
"Ah, Ju Shou," Han Fu forced a tired, strained smile. "What's the word?"
"Zhang Xin's vanguard from Liyang has officially arrived," Ju Shou reported, his voice heavy with the gravity of the moment. "They have currently parked their legions and are setting up camp exactly thirty li south of our city walls."
"They're finally here..." Han Fu let out a massive, visible wave of relief, his shoulders dropping. Then, he squinted anxiously. "Did Geng Wu manage to bag Yuan Shao?"
Ju Shou shook his head grimly. "The night was pitch black, and the mountain trails are a labyrinth. The peacock managed to slip through our fingers."
Han Fu nodded slowly. *Let him run, then.* As long as his administration had made the necessary violent gestures of attacking Yuan Shao's camp, Zhang Xin would see they were serious about breaking ties. That political theater was enough to buy his survival.
"In that case, Ju Shou, go gather the entire civil and military apparatus. Accompany me out of the gates. We go to greet our new master."
Ju Shou let out a soft, silent sigh, cupped his fists, and withdrew to rally the remaining bureaucracy.
---
### Thirty Li South of the City
Xun You was currently on horseback, overseeing his engineers digging trenches and setting up the palisades for their main encampment, when a scout suddenly galloped up, breathless. "Report! Strategist, Han Fu's diplomatic envoy has arrived at the perimeter!"
"Oh? They rolled out the welcome mat faster than I anticipated," Xun You chuckled softly, a knowing smirk touching his lips. "Bring him in."
"Understood!"
A moment later, Han Fu's sweating representative was escorted into the temporary command tent. After a few thoroughly uninspired, hollow diplomatic greetings, the envoy cut straight to the chase.
"My Governor is currently leading the entire civil and military official registry outside the southern gates of Ye City, humbly awaiting the arrival of the General of Chariots and Cavalry's grand army."
It was the ultimate, polite, aristocratic way of saying: *We surrender. Please don't kill us.*
Xun You sat back, internally amazed. He had caught wind of the explosive brawl between Yuan Shao and Han Fu a couple of nights ago, and he knew right then that Han Fu's psychological breaking point was imminent. But actually seeing the governor march out to hand over the keys to the province felt entirely surreal.
Today was May 13th.
Only a mere seven days had passed since Zhang Xin's grand army had marched out of their home base. Even counting today, it had been a grand total of eight days.
Eight days to utterly conquer an entire, hyper-prosperous imperial province.
*It truly has to be the Lord...* Xun You thought, his heart swelling with immense, genuine admiration for Zhang Xin.
---
> ### The Tactical Comparison
>
>
> Before the campaign kicked off, the top strategic minds had drawn up a realistic timeline for the subjugation of Hebei.
| Benchmark | Pre-War Strategic Estimate | Actual Campaign Duration |
| --- | --- | --- |
| **Subjugation of Ji Province** | 3 to 6 Months of Heavy Siege & Attrition | **8 Days** (Total Psychological & Military Collapse) |
---
Zhang Xin's terrifying, blitzkrieg-style maneuvers had completely shattered Han Fu's mental fortitude before the main army could even lay siege to his capital. Xun You had barely parked his horses in Liyang when the enemy coalition turned on itself; he had barely marched to Ye City when the governor threw open the gates. It didn't even feel like a war—it felt like a casual road trip specifically designed to collect surrenders.
Not wanting to keep the welcoming committee waiting, Xun You quickly summoned Xu Huang. He instructed the general to take a few hundred elite shock troops and ride alongside the envoy toward the southern gates of Ye City.
He wasn't remotely worried about a fake surrender or a hidden ambush. If Han Fu were planning a desperate, bloody trap, what would be the point of baiting a secondary strategist? Xun You wasn't the supreme commander-in-chief. Even if Han Fu managed to assassinate him, it wouldn't change the strategic reality; it would just guarantee that an enraged Zhang Xin would slaughter the entire Han clan down to the infants. Furthermore, both men were old acquaintances from the prestigious Yingchuan gentry circle. The Han clan of Yangdi and the Xun clan of Yingyin were generational family friends; professional courtesy alone guaranteed safety.
Outside the grand southern gate, Han Fu stood at the head of a sea of somber, silent officials. Ju Shou stepped forward, holding a silk-lined wooden tray. Resting upon it was the official, heavy jade seal of the Governor of Ji Province.
Seeing Xun You approach on horseback, Han Fu threw aside his gubernatorial pride, quickly stepping forward to bow exceptionally low.
"Lord Han, please, there is absolutely no need for such formality!" Xun You instantly dismounted, catching the older man by the elbows and lifting him up. "You treat me with far too much honor."
"Gongda..." Han Fu offered a weak, trembling smile, letting out a long, ragged sigh. "Ever since I took the mantle of governance in Ji Province, I have failed to bestow true benevolence upon the common folk. Instead, I allowed myself to be blinded by Yuan Shao's poisonous slanders, plunging the innocent people of both Qing and Ji into the horrors of war."
He looked toward the jade seal, his eyes misty. "I am thoroughly ashamed to face the ancestors of this land. This great seal of the Governor... I beg you, Gongda, take it and transfer it to the General of Chariots and Cavalry."
Han Fu cleared his throat, trying to sound dignified. "The General is wise, mighty, and unmatched. He will undoubtedly treat the people of Hebei with the care they deserve. To help find a true, capable Lord for the populace... this is the only way I can hope to atone for my massive sins."
Ju Shou took a step forward, solemnly presenting the tray.
"The official seal of a province is a divine artifact of the imperial state. I dare not lay a finger on it," Xun You said smoothly, gently pushing Ju Shou's hands away with a polite smile. "You are an official legally appointed by the Han imperial court, a high-ranking regional titan. Let alone a mere strategist like myself, even the General of Chariots and Cavalry has no legal right to arbitrarily dispose of your person, Lord Han. Please, keep this seal safe in your own hands for now."
Xun You was a political savant. He was a subordinate; accepting a physical surrender and taking over garrison duties on behalf of his master was standard military protocol. But touching the actual governor's seal? Absolute taboo.
Zhang Xin was still chilling back in Wei County. He hadn't even gone through the mandatory, highly scripted imperial ritual of "three refusals and three acceptances" to claim the province legitimately. If Xun You greedily snatched the seal now, it would make his lord look like a lawless usurper and instantly spark lethal suspicion in Zhang Xin's mind.
Han Fu didn't push the issue. Bringing the official crests out to the field was simply his way of screaming: *I am sincerely giving up, please don't kill my family.*
And Xun You's smooth reassurance that Zhang Xin "had no right to dispose of him" was the political counter-signal: *You will be allowed to retire in luxury, rest assured.*
With the unwritten contract safely negotiated, Han Fu breathed a massive sigh of relief. He stepped aside, ordering his guards to hand over the keys to the city walls and allow Xun You's vanguard to smoothly take over the defenses.
Xun You signaled Xu Huang to ride back and bring the main army forward. While they waited for the massive columns of infantry to arrive, the two Yingchuan scholars stood outside the city walls, casually making small talk like old friends at a poetry reading. Eventually, the topic inevitably veered toward the escaped warlord.
"Gongda," Han Fu muttered, a prickle of anxiety returning to his tone. "Yuan Shao is a deeply cunning, venomous creature. He slipped out last night under the absolute cover of darkness. I immediately dispatched my fiercest cavalry to hunt him down, but the night was blindingly dark and the mountain tracks are deadly... we simply couldn't catch him. I hope the General doesn't see this as a failure of my sincerity..."
"Lord Han, please, do not lose a single wink of sleep over it," Xun You chuckled, his eyes crinkling with amusement. "I already made the necessary arrangements before I even left my tent. He isn't escaping anyone tonight."
The moment the first whispers of the Yuan-Han civil war reached his ears, Xun You had already mathematically deduced Yuan Shao's entire flight path. The only reason the proud peacock had lingered in Hebei was to parasitically bleed Han Fu's resources until he could usurp the province. Now that Han Fu was actively trying to kill him, what choice did he have? Wait around in Ye City to be turned into a pincerd attack by Zhang Xin?
If Yuan Shao wanted to live, he had exactly one geographical escape vector: crawl through the Black Mountain passes, cross the river into the ruins of Luoyang, and run naked to Nanyang to beg his cousin Yuan Shu for scraps. Every other cardinal direction was completely locked down by Zhang Xin's iron grip.
It just so happened that Yang Feng had already brought a massive contingent of Black Mountain Yellow Turbans down the ridges to submit to Zhang Xin. Seizing the opportunity, Xun You had instructed Wang Meng—who had built an incredible rapport with the mountain factions—to take an elite strike force, use Yang Feng as a guide, and slip into the canyons overnight to plug every single goat path and crossroads.
At that exact moment, Zhang Xin's official order granting him executive autonomy hadn't even arrived yet. Without that letter, Xun You couldn't move the main army, but he possessed more than enough tactical authority to dispatch a localized guerrilla unit.
"Gongda... your strategic foresight has completely eclipsed the old days!" Han Fu gasped, staring at the young strategist in sheer awe. "Seeing you today, your planning is truly flawless."
"Lord Han, you flatter a simple scholar," Xun You replied with flawless humility.
Just then, Xu Huang arrived at the gates with the thundering main columns. With General Geng Wu actively instructing his men to step down, Zhang Xin's legions smoothly and bloodlessly occupied the massive battlements of Hebei's capital.
Han Fu personally escorted Xun You through the bustling streets and into the grand State Prefecture. Once the final administrative handovers were signed, Han Fu officially moved his family and personal wealth out of the palace, relocating to a private estate. Xun You went through the polite motions of "begging" him to stay in the palace, which Han Fu naturally and gracefully refused.
With the tedious court etiquette finally settled, Xun You watched Han Fu's carriages roll away from the palace gates. He immediately dipped his brush in ink, writing a high-priority missive to Wei County, urging his lord to ride down and formally claim his prize.
A fast horse exploded out of the southern gates of Ye City, the rider burying his spurs into the beast's flanks as he tore toward Wei County.
The message arrived in the dead of winter-crisp night.
Zhang Xin was violently shaken awake by his personal bodyguards. He sat up, unrolling Xun You's letter. As his eyes scanned the words—*Han Fu has surrendered, Ye City defenses completely under our control*—a massive, roaring laugh erupted from his chest, echoing through the tent.
"Fantastic! Beautiful!"
Without a shred of hesitation, Zhang Xin threw off his blankets. "Dian Wei! Wake the guards! Saddle the horses! We ride for Ye City tonight!"
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