At first, the plan worked.
Messengers arrived one after another, dust-covered and breathless, kneeling before Wu An's command tent.
"Report! The Wei army has diverted east to protect their grain convoy!"
"Report! Chu forces have slowed near the river crossings — they fear an attack on their supply ships!"
"Report! Jin has withdrawn part of their forces to guard the canal routes!"
Each report was exactly what Liao Yun had predicted.
The coalition was not moving as one army anymore. They were moving as four suspicious armies, each afraid the others would abandon them or steal the victory.
Wu An's sudden advance had frightened them.
So they spread out.
So they hesitated.
So they made mistakes.
Wu An struck fast.
Liang cavalry fell upon a Wei supply column at dawn and burned it before noon. Artillery appeared where no artillery should have been and smashed a Chu forward camp in a single afternoon. Musket units ambushed Jin engineers repairing a bridge and wiped them out before reinforcements could arrive.
For a few days, it looked like the coalition was falling apart.
Liang soldiers began to believe again.
"He's doing it again," they whispered. "Just like Zhongjing. Just like before."
Even some officers began to relax.
That was when General Pei made his move.
Pei had expected this.
He had expected Wu An to attack before the coalition united. He had expected ambushes, fast strikes, artillery raids, and supply attacks.
So he did something very simple.
He pretended the coalition was falling apart.
Wei and Chu argued publicly over grain shipments.
Jin officers refused to share canal routes.
Pei even allowed a small supply convoy to be captured — on purpose — so Wu An would believe the coalition was disorganized.
They fed Wu An exactly what he wanted to see.
Weakness.
Fear.
Disunity.
They made the coalition look like prey.
So the hunter came closer.
And closer.
And closer.
Until he was exactly where Pei wanted him.
The battle began at dawn, but not where Wu An expected.
Liang scouts returned with confused reports.
"Wei forces are retreating!"
"Chu forces are moving south!"
"Jin troops are nowhere to be seen!"
It looked like the coalition was breaking.
So Wu An ordered the attack.
Liang's army advanced through a narrow valley road, artillery being dragged behind, muskets ready, cavalry screening the flanks.
It was the perfect place to crush a retreating army.
It was also the perfect place for an ambush.
The first cannon shot did not come from Liang artillery.
It came from the hills.
Then the second.
Then the third.
Within moments, the hills on both sides of the valley exploded in smoke and thunder. Cannon fire rained down into the Liang columns, smashing wagons, tearing apart formations, turning the narrow road into chaos.
Then the drums began.
Wei infantry appeared behind them.
Chu troops blocked the southern exit.
Jin forces destroyed the bridge behind them.
And from the hills, Zhou cavalry under General Pei charged down like a landslide.
It had all been a trap.
The coalition had not been divided.
It had been waiting.
Waiting for Wu An to commit his full army.
Waiting for him to enter the valley.
Waiting for the hunter to walk into the cage.
The battle turned into chaos within an hour.
Liang artillery could not deploy properly in the narrow ground.
Supply wagons blocked troop movements.
Coalition cannon fire kept smashing into Liang formations.
Wei heavy infantry pushed from the rear.
Chu troops attacked the flanks.
Zhou cavalry cut down messengers and officers, breaking communication between units.
For the first time in years, Wu An's army began to lose control.
By nightfall, the Liang army had fought its way out of the valley — but barely.
Five thousand men were dead.
More were wounded.
Artillery pieces had been abandoned.
Supply wagons burned.
It was not a total defeat.
But it was a defeat.
And everyone knew it.
The camp that night was silent.
No victory songs.
No celebration.
Only the sound of wounded men and the smell of burnt wood and blood.
Wu An sat in his command tent, still wearing armor, his hands resting on the table, unmoving.
No one spoke.
Then he asked quietly:
"Who knew about the valley route?"
Several officers exchanged looks.
One of them stepped forward. "My lord, the scouts confirmed the route was clear—"
Wu An interrupted him.
"Who knew?"
More names were given.
Scouts.
Guides.
Two supply officers.
One artillery officer.
A cavalry commander.
Wu An listened to every name.
Then he said one word.
"Execute them."
The tent went silent.
One of the generals stepped forward. "My lord… we don't know if they betrayed us. It could have been enemy scouts—"
Wu An looked at him.
Not angry.
Not shouting.
Just looking.
"We were waiting for them," Wu An said quietly. "That means they were waiting for us."
No one replied.
The executions were carried out before midnight.
Some of the men executed had served under Wu An for years.
Some were probably innocent.
But after that night, no one in the army dared to speak carelessly again.
Fear returned to the Liang army.
Not fear of the enemy.
Fear of Wu An.
Later that night, Liao Yun entered the tent.
"You lost the battle," Liao Yun said calmly.
Wu An did not look up. "Yes."
"But you did not lose the war," Liao Yun continued.
Wu An finally spoke.
"Pei knew I would attack."
"Yes."
"He let me win small victories so I would commit fully."
"Yes."
Wu An was silent for a long time.
Then he said quietly:
"He's good."
Liao Yun did not disagree.
Outside, the Liang camp was quiet and tense. Soldiers spoke in whispers. Officers walked carefully. No one knew who might be accused next.
Inside the tent, Wu An finally stood and looked at the map again.
"We will lose more battles," he said quietly. "That's fine."
He placed a stone on the map, deep inside Zhou territory.
"But we only need to win one."
He looked north, toward the heartland of Zhou.
"Next time," Wu An said softly, "we don't fight his army."
"We destroy his country."
Outside the tent, the wind moved through the camp like something alive.
And for the first time in a long time, the war no longer looked like a story of conquest.
It looked like a story of two men trying to destroy each other's world.
Wu An.
And General Pei.