In the ninth month of the seventh year of the Jian'an Era, as though answering the tranquility of last autumn's harvest, this year's harvest season was exceptionally chaotic.
From Guanzhong to Hebei, across a span of a thousand li, the armies of every faction were urgently gathering.
Yet compared to the Battle of Guandu, this war more closely resembled the Battle of Shouchun from many years ago.
There were four factions entering the war, but their interests and demands were aligned: all sought the lands of Guanzhong.
And compared to the difficult position Liu Bei's army had faced in the previous Battle of Shouchun, the scales of this war seemed to have tilted toward Liu Bei's army from the very beginning.
The war began with a mutiny within Chang'an. Back in the eighth month, Ma Chao had been persuaded by Fu Wan and the others to rebel, and from then on, he began making preparations.
He first persuaded Liu Xiong to rouse his troops, then had Ma Teng lead soldiers toward the capital, intending to seize Chang'an through coordinated action from within and without.
But Ma Chao did not know that long before it began, their scheme had already been exposed to Guo Jia.
Guo Jia then began planning according to Cao Cao's instructions. Yet while mobilizing Xiahou Dun, he naturally would not simply sit and wait for death.
Thus, after concealing news of Cao Cao's death, he sought out Xun Yu, Jia Xu, and the others to relay Cao Cao's final orders.
When Xun Yu heard of Cao Cao's death, he fell to the ground and wept without cease. Jia Xu alone remained calm as he said:
"Back when Wei Huang and the others came to persuade me to have Xiaoshi release Jin Yi, I placed the greater cause