Deployment of the New Unit
After we finished our rather spirited discussion of weapons, Zhuge Liang introduced someone to me.
"This is Liu Min. He's the man I put in command of the newly formed Strong Crossbow unit."
"I am Liu Min. My rank is Xiaowei, so please treat me casually. It's a pleasure to meet General Jin Cheong like this. I look forward to serving under you."
He was a young man with intelligent eyes. It was the first time I had seen his face, but he was someone I already knew.
"Liu Min? Ah — Zhang Wan's cousin on his mother's side?"
"You know of me?"
Of course I did. Even in the official histories, his name appeared alongside Zhang Wan's. According to the records, he would later rise as high as Front General, and he was the same talent who, together with Wang Ping, held the Wei army at Mount Xingshi. Of course, that was far in the future. With history twisting itself further by the day, the Battle of Mount Xingshi would probably never even take place.
When I told him I knew his name well from hearing it together with Zhang Wan's, Liu Min spoke with an embarrassed air.
"What have I done to deserve that? It's all thanks to my elder brother Zhang Wan's glory."
Zhang Wan would one day become one of the Four Elites of Shu Han and serve as chancellor of the state. At present, he was said to be handling Chengdu's administration alongside Liu Ba, Dong Yun, and others.
"This fellow may be humble, but he's a talent with a promising future — which is why I brought him. Otherwise, would I have entrusted him with the Strong Crossbow unit I created myself?"
Zhuge Liang said it with pride. If that meticulous man had put him in charge of weapons of his own making, there was no reason to doubt his ability.
"Yes! Leave it to me! I will devote myself wholeheartedly to repay the Military Advisor for giving me this opportunity!"
When Liu Min showed the spirit of a young man, Zhuge Liang laughed heartily. I found myself looking forward to the battles ahead.
Liu Min and the five hundred Strong Crossbow troops were positioned atop the walls. It was a pity their numbers were so few — a consequence of the hasty deployment.
"General! The enemy has begun their advance."
Liu Min, standing beside me, called out. From the walls I could see the Wu army approaching from the distant horizon, kicking up dust as they came.
Despite the considerable losses they had suffered in the sieges so far, their might remained undiminished. It was also proof of why Lu Xun had been given the title of Grand Commander — a demonstration of his ability. His skill in restoring a wounded army, manufacturing siege engines, and launching another assault was enough to make one click one's tongue in admiration.
But this time we, too, had a reliable ally joining us. Liu Min wore a somewhat tense expression — this was his first battlefield — but there was no fear in him.
Before giving orders to the Strong Crossbow soldiers, Liu Min glanced slightly behind him. Below the walls, Zhuge Liang waved his white feather fan. The meaning was clear: proceed as you see fit.
Since Liu Min was the one who had practically trained and commanded the Strong Crossbow soldiers, Zhuge Liang had left their deployment entirely to him. That alone said the training results had been good.
"Good! Time to show what our training has produced. All hands — prepare to fire!"
Liu Min drew his sword, raised it overhead, and shouted. The Strong Crossbow soldiers nocked their bolts and took aim at the Wu troops approaching from afar.
It was quite a long distance — a range no ordinary archers could reach. But I had been told that the Strong Crossbows Zhuge Liang had made were more powerful than ordinary bows and flew farther. In other words, if we struck at a moment the Wu army could not predict, we could achieve considerable results.
Liu Min, who had been staring hard at the Wu ranks and measuring the distance, brought his sword down and cried out.
"Commence fire!"
Whizz-whizz-whizz!
The bolts that had soared into the sky soon traced elegant parabolas and fell into the Wu army's ranks. The singing of the strings, the hiss of bolts cutting the air — both tickled the eardrums as the Strong Crossbows began to display their new power on the battlefield.
"Hmm?"
Ding Feng, leading the Wu army at the vanguard, felt something was wrong. The walls of Jiangling he had been glaring at — light rippled along their tops. It was a sight he had seen countless times while attacking the city, and yet a sight that should not have been visible from here.
We're still out of range… Wait — damn it!
When it came to combat, Ding Feng's instincts were sharper than anyone else's present. He moved not by reason but by the warning his instincts screamed.
"Everyone take cover! Raise your shields! Arrows incoming!"
At his shout the Wu soldiers scrambled to lift their shields. But they had been hesitating until he cried out, and their movements were inevitably sluggish.
Thud-thud-thud!
"Aaaagh!"
In an instant, a considerable number of Wu soldiers at the front clutched their chests and tumbled backward. Bewilderment filled their eyes. Fire — from this distance?
Ding Feng, who had managed to raise his shield in time and remain unharmed, was no less startled. The force of the bolts pounding against his shield was stronger than anything before.
Thwack!
"Ugh!?"
Then a bolt that found a weak spot punched clean through the shield. Looking at the tip that had pierced the wood and stopped, trembling, right before his eyes, Ding Feng thought:
Have these bastards improved their weapons?
There was no leisure to sink into idle speculation. A second simultaneous volley struck the Wu army's spearhead once more. The sight of soldiers tumbling backward every time they were hit only confirmed Ding Feng's suspicion.
Though I was far away, I could clearly make out the commotion that had broken out at the head of the Wu army. As expected — the effect was excellent.
It was also a moment when I regretted even more that we had brought only five hundred in our haste. With greater numbers, we could have inflicted twice the damage.
"Keep firing!"
The Strong Crossbow unit continued to loose volleys in perfect coordination under Liu Min's command.
"They're still advancing."
While directing the fire, Liu Min spoke to me. We had inflicted some damage, but measured against the overall scale of the Wu army it was not that significant. Five hundred men simply could not shoot them all.
Even with Chengdu's reinforcements added, the numerical advantage still belonged to Wu. Garrisons had to be left in Hanzhong and Chengdu as well, so the army Liu Bei had brought, though elite, was not an enormous host.
"As expected. Prepare for a defensive siege."
At my words the soldiers began to move with familiar ease. These were men seasoned enough in siege defense to have it down to the bone. If we simply did as we always had, we should be able to drive them off.
With the sound of Strong Crossbow bolts cutting the air in their ears, the soldiers prepared the siege-defense weapons.
"Grand Commander. A message has come from Ding Feng at the front. He reports that the enemy appears to be firing bows of improved range."
Hearing the report, Lu Xun's temple twitched. When the advance party had taken damage earlier than expected, he had already somewhat guessed. And when that guess proved correct, he could not rejoice at being right.
Ever since Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang joined the battle, the chance of victory has all but vanished. And yet must we continue this meaningless fight?
Jiangling was a city they had never been able to overcome even before. Still, back then he had kept pounding away, believing there was at least a possibility. Not now. And yet his lord Sun Quan wanted the war to continue.
There was no helping it. Lu Xun confirmed the advance party's casualties and worked his mind.
"Though the enemy has improved their weapons, the damage is not that great and the rate of fire is slow. That means they cannot yet freely handle those weapons or deploy them in large numbers."
It was not a wrong judgment — but that was all. Knowing it, what was one to do?
Without even being able to guarantee the outcome himself, Lu Xun ordered the advance.
"Advance with shields to the front. If Liu Bei has come here in person, it is rather an opportunity to finish off the enemy's leader. A thousand gold to whoever captures Liu Bei. All advance!"
Still, Lu Xun held the Wu army's trust. Encouraged by his orders, they raised a battle cry and charged toward Jiangling. Looking at the charging ranks, Lu Xun, with a burning heart, quietly turned his head away.
When the sun set and the moon rose, Lu Xun withdrew his army and turned back. Today, too, he had failed to take the city.
Indeed, once the reinforcements joined, defending the walls became considerably easier. And so the struggle between attackers and defenders continued, tedious and grinding.
At a glance it looked evenly matched, but I felt the initiative gradually shifting to us. We were tired as well, yet the blade of the Wu army assaulting the city was growing steadily duller.
Zhuge Liang seemed to have felt it too, for he boldly attempted a field engagement. A simultaneous volley from the Strong Crossbow unit first struck the enemy center; then Zhang Fei and I, commanding the two wings, charged at the vanguard. The enemy had an outstanding fierce general in Ding Feng, but when Zhang Fei and I took the lead they had no choice but to give ground.
Judging the situation unfavorable, Lu Xun ordered a full retreat before greater losses could be suffered. Because he withdrew his army in good order we could not inflict major damage, but our army's morale steadily rose.
Zhuge Liang's strategy did not end there. Having analyzed the surrounding terrain, he laid ambushes in the rough ground. Unlike a bow, the Strong Crossbow was a weapon that could be fired while lying prone or sitting. Aiming for that advantage, he deployed the Strong Crossbow unit as ambushers.
A Wu detachment that fell for the clever lure was caught in the trap and suffered near-annihilating damage. While they reeled under the sudden rain of bolts pouring from the broken ground, Zhang Fei and I struck with a pincer attack.
And so the Wu army that had drawn right up to Jiangling gradually fell back.
But Sun Quan did not give up.
"King of Wu Sun Quan has personally led his army into battle!"
So what was coming had finally come. Seeing how he refused to yield, I had thought it would end this way.
I heard that Sun Quan had joined the campaign with these words:
"If the enemy nation's king has stepped forth, is it not only right that I too should step forth? I shall go out in person and inspire the soldiers!"
Hearing that, Liu Bei laughed.
"If Sun Quan has come forth, should I not also go out to meet him?"
Saying so, he insisted on fighting a pitched battle — massing large forces in a chosen place and settling the matter in one decisive clash rather than dragging the war on.
Zhuge Liang opposed him.
"I do not oppose a pitched battle either. However, I would prefer Your Majesty remain in the city. If Your Majesty steps forth in person, the enemy may target you."
"No. If Sun Quan has come forth in person, I too must meet him for the soldiers' morale to rise. Target me? Then we can use that."
"Use that? That is out of the question."
Zhuge Liang and several generals objected, but they could not break Liu Bei's stubbornness. In the end, only a portion of the garrison — including Guo Yi — remained at Jiangling, and nearly the entire army would sortie.
The place we headed was the plain east of Jiangling. There we came face to face with them — the great army led by Lu Xun and Sun Quan.
The decisive battle began with both sides' hosts standing opposite each other across the field.