Treatise on Military Preparedness

Four thousand chariots formed the left and right wings. Advancing slowly with their wheels aligned, they engaged the Yan army in battle to the south of Linqu.

As the sun began to set in the west, the outcome of the battle remained undecided. Adjutant Hu Fan A resourceful officer known for his tactical insight said to Liu Yu: "The Yan have deployed their entire army for this battle. The garrison remaining inside the walls of Linqu must be small. I ask to lead a surprise force along the mountain paths to seize the city. This is the very strategy Han Xin A famous general of the early Han Dynasty used to defeat the state of Zhao."

Liu Yu dispatched Hu Fan and others to lead a hidden force behind the Yan lines to attack Linqu. They spread a rumor that a fleet of light vessels had arrived via the sea. Murong Chao was struck with terror; he fled on a single horse to join Murong Hui A Yan general south of the city. Hu Fan and his men subsequently captured the city.

Seizing this opportunity, Liu Yu urged his troops to strike with all their might, dealing the enemy a crushing defeat. They beheaded Murong Hui and more than ten other high-ranking generals.

Pressing his advantage, Liu Yu reached Guanggu The capital of Southern Yan and captured its outer city. Murong Chao retreated to hold the inner citadel. Liu Yu constructed a long line of siege works to surround it. He comforted and accepted those who surrendered, while seeking out and promoting the wise and talented among the local population. By utilizing the grain stores found in the land of 齊 The Qi region, corresponding to modern-day Shandong, he was able to halt the water transport original: caoyun (漕運) — the state-run system of moving grain via rivers and canals from the Yangtze and Huai regions.

In a desperate move, Murong Chao hurriedly dispatched Zhang Gang A master engineer and craftsman serving the Yan to beg for military reinforcements from the state of Later Qin. He also pardoned Murong Zhen, the Prince of Guilin The official who had previously warned him of the danger and had been imprisoned.