Chapter Forty: Sold

Cao Hong allowed Pan Zhang to lead his horse and bring him into the camp. At this moment, several generals were arranging the locations for their soldiers to settle for the night; everything proceeded in an orderly manner, completely unaffected by the earlier skirmish with the soldiers from East Commandery.

Ten paces ahead of Cao Hong, the short-statured Yue Jin was standing beside a tent, shouting at his subordinates to enter the camp while giving out instructions.

"You’d better remember this well: brothers, keep to your own camp, don’t wander into other commanderies’ camps without reason. If you want to visit the military market in the laborers’ camp, at least have your squad leader take you. You saw for yourselves—there are plenty of fierce and quarrelsome folk in this camp. If you go in numbers, even if you’re not their match in a dispute over women, at least someone will return to tell me, so I can collect your bodies and send your enemies down to accompany you."

Yue Jin spoke with crude humor, causing the soldiers to burst into laughter. A company leader jeered, "What General Yue means is, if you go looking for women, best let General Yue lead the way—otherwise he’ll just be collecting your corpses and avenging you."

The soldiers roared with laughter again. A young soldier shouted, "General Yue, rest assured, we’re always the ones doing the beating—who could possibly beat us?"

Yue Jin scolded with a smile, "If your tongue were as tough as your fists, after we break through Luoyang, I’ll reward you with ten palace maids from the old villain Dong’s household!"

The young soldier chimed in, "Thank you for your generosity, General!"

Another round of laughter erupted. Cao Hong had little interaction with Yue Jin and didn’t know him well, only that this small man was formidable in martial arts—Cao Ren and Shi Huan had to join forces to fight him to a standstill. He hadn’t imagined Yue Jin would be such a genial commander.

Records describe Yue Jin as resolute and valiant, often leading the charge for Cao Cao, being the first to breach enemy lines, and the first atop city walls in sieges. The chronicles state he "always led the attack," which, though somewhat exaggerated, clearly marks him as a courageous and skilled warrior, daring beyond compare.

The soldiers spotted Cao Hong and immediately saluted loudly, "General Cao!"

Yue Jin turned at the sound, clasped his fists, and greeted, "Brother Zilian!" After exchanging greetings, he stepped forward, as if with something to say.

Cao Hong was a little surprised by Yue Jin’s demeanor. He had Pan Zhang stop, dismounted, and smiled, "Brother Wenqian, your command is impressive. Seeing your men’s high morale is truly admirable."

Being among the first of Cao Cao’s generals, Cao Hong treated Yue Jin with great respect, never slighting him for his own noble lineage.

Yue Jin glanced at Pan Zhang, moved closer to Cao Hong, and said with a meaningful smile, "Compared to you, Brother Zilian, I am but a minor talent. Your actions today were truly remarkable!"

Cao Hong was taken aback: today’s actions? He meant saving Pan Zhang—but what was so remarkable about it? To Cao Hong, Pan Zhang’s potential was the reason he intervened, nearly causing a major conflict. It hardly seemed clever, but Yue Jin didn’t appear to be mocking him. Cao Hong asked with a smile, "Why do you say so, Brother Wenqian?"

Yue Jin laughed, "Brother Zilian, you feign ignorance well! So modest in your achievement. If not for your provocation today, how would so many East Commandery soldiers have rushed out—including several company commanders? Without this, we wouldn’t have realized that half the East Commandery soldiers are likely just ‘phantom soldiers’—drawn up to collect pay without actually training!"

Cao Hong understood at once. The term ‘phantom soldiers’ referred to those recruited in the late Han, when corruption ran rampant. Many officers would enlist vagrants and idlers, never training them, merely keeping their names on the roster to request provisions from the court. Only thirty percent of the rations would be distributed to these untrained men; the rest went into the officers’ pockets. These untrained recruits were known as ‘phantom soldiers.’

Whether a soldier was trained or not was immediately obvious—from the discipline in marching, the order in movement, and whether they followed unified training. But in his previous life, Cao Hong had never led troops, and even with the memories of this Cao Hong, he’d had little chance to apply them. He hadn’t paid attention to the East Commandery soldiers’ condition earlier.

Now, recalling the scene, he remembered those East Commandery men remained disorderly even before their company commanders. Proper discipline means soldiers respond uniformly to their officers, as a conditioned reflex born of constant training and authority. But the East Commandery soldiers lacked such order, and when Cao’s troops drew their blades, those men retreated in a rush, even though their company commander was still ahead. Soldiers who abandon their officer and retreat are clearly untrained.

Even more telling was that several East Commandery company commanders also retreated, abandoning their comrades—an utterly shameful act for officers commanding a thousand men. Clearly, these commanders were not properly selected soldiers either.

With this in mind, Cao Hong turned to Pan Zhang and asked, "What’s your soldier’s pay?"

Pan Zhang replied, "Reporting to you, sir, it’s no more than fifteen hundred coins a year."

Cao Hong cursed, "Damn that Qiao Mao! Recruiting these phantom soldiers to campaign against Dong Zhuo? Isn’t he jeopardizing us?"

A soldier’s pay—not counting clothing and salt (which is essential and included in military expenses)—should be at least four thousand coins per year; Cao’s troops received forty-five hundred.

In other words, Qiao Mao’s East Commandery soldiers were indeed phantom soldiers, meaning his troops were utterly incapable in battle, even less useful than laborers who farm in busy times and train in their spare moments. Using phantom soldiers as regular troops in battle only leads to defeat. If anyone is unlucky enough to partner with such troops, their own defeat is inevitable, as the collapse of one’s allies drags down morale, formations, and strategy into the abyss of defeat. This is why Cao Hong was so furious.

After venting, Cao Hong looked at Yue Jin, who was dumbfounded. Cao Hong then admitted, "Wenqian, this was pure luck—I simply liked this lad, not intending to provoke anyone. So, the rebukes and intimidation from Dian the Palace Guard, Brother Zixiao, and Brother Yuanrang were all tests?"

Yue Jin could hardly believe what he heard—pure luck? That was uncanny. Cao Hong’s expression seemed genuine, so Yue Jin suddenly thought he might be the lord’s lieutenant. He answered, "I don’t know about Dian the Palace Guard, but Brother Zixiao and Brother Yuanrang did exchange a look before acting—this way, not only the East Commandery troops, but soldiers from other counties watching were tested, and from their reactions, phantom soldiers aren’t limited to East Commandery."

Cao Hong was stunned. Wasn’t this all just horseplay? The Cao family had staked everything to fight Dong Zhuo, and these fellows filled their ranks with phantom soldiers? That’s simply sabotage. Cao Hong sighed, "How do we fight Dong Zhuo like this!"

Yue Jin smiled, "I think the governors, though their ranks are filled with phantom soldiers, still have a few thousand elite troops. Yet the army is mixed, its fighting power limited, and it’s certainly insufficient to face Dong Zhuo’s Xiliang forces or Lü Bu’s Northern Army. Now, all hope in the east lies with Yuan Benchu’s troops and ours. To the south, there’s Sun Wentai and Yuan Gonglu; Sun Wentai is brave and commands three counties, his power is strong. Yuan Gonglu holds Runan and Nanyang, two major counties rich in supplies. Hopefully, with our four elite armies, we can break the deadlock!"

Break the deadlock, indeed! If only Cao Cao would listen to me, I’d advise him to retreat immediately and save himself the humiliation. No wonder the histories record that Cao Cao was defeated at Xingyang and Bian River, and in the end, it was I, Cao Hong, who gave him my horse and escorted him in his flight.

I’ve no desire to risk my life for the sake of uttering, "The world can do without Hong, but not without the lord," just to improve Cao Cao’s favor. Suddenly, Cao Hong felt a strong urge to persuade Cao Cao to withdraw.

With his imperfect knowledge of history, he reckoned he could still carve out a path amid the chaos if he returned now, with less risk. Should he advise this course? As he pondered, the tall, imposing Xiahou Dun approached, clad in armor.

He said to Cao Hong, "Zilian, come with me into Suanzao to see our elder brother."