This time, An Dushan rejected Xun Hai's advice. His recent setbacks in battle had forced him to retreat to Luoyang, leaving him temporarily unable to attack Chang'an again, and the allied armies of the eight Grasslands tribes would still take some time to arrive. When he heard that Wang Chong had gone off on another "adventure," he could not resist the temptation.
Xun Hai tried repeatedly to persuade him, but in the end could only let the matter rest. After all, he too thought Wang Chong's way of waging war was too risky, and this was an excellent opportunity. He merely felt that even if they won this battle, they could not wound Wang Chong to the bone, much less utterly defeat this Prince of Yan. They would only make an enemy for nothing.
An Dushan, however, felt that if he succeeded, he would eliminate a formidable enemy once and for all, expand his territory beyond twenty provinces, and position himself to swallow the realm like a whale.
As for provoking Wang Chong, he hardly thought that was any concern.
Not long after Xun Ba's troops departed, another party slipped out of Luoyang: Li Cunshou and Shi Langying, leading their former soldiers, who had spent the past few months as slave traders.
They had only just found their chance. After leaving Copper Pass, the two headed straight for Huangzhou and entered Huangzhou Prefecture ahead of Xun Ba's army.
When Wang Chong had failed to "rescue" Li Cunshou last time, he had nearly gone mad with anger. Afterward, he had never again thought of recruiting this fierce general, though he occasionally missed his sworn elder brother.
He was discussing military affairs with his two teachers in his residence when someone suddenly reported that a man had brought more than a hundred