Zhang Liao made it into the Wumiao Temple thanks to the Battle of Baimalang. Decisively beheading Yan Tu Dun carried off-the-charts significance. Strategically, the Battle of Baimalang helped Cao Cao unify the north, provided him with a stable rear base, and caused the Wuhuan to gradually fade from the pages of history. Tactically, fighting outnumbered while isolated and exhausted from a long march, defeating the enemy and slaying their chieftain in an unexpected encounter where the enemy outnumbered his forces twentyfold—no matter who took his place, they might not have done better than Zhang Liao. Compared to the so-called Battle of Hefei where eight hundred cavalrymen shattered Xiaoyaojin, the Battle of Baimalang was far more difficult with a more glorious outcome. If the Battle of Hefei was a defensive breakout under siege, the Battle of Baimalang was an isolated campaign that wiped out an enemy state. Of course, Zhang Liao had his weaknesses: he never commanded large-scale armies in full campaigns, and his slaying of the enemy chieftain looked more like a raid by an elite strike force. Even so, executing such a feat right on the front lines was an absolute powerhouse move.
"Sigh, it's mainly because his surname is Zhang, not Cao or Xiahou."
"Among foreign-surname generals, only Yujin could command large-scale armies. All other generals had to answer to clan generals. Running into the rising Han River and having his seven armies wiped out remains a major stain on his li…
Chapter 642