Omen
Wei, in the days before Shu and Wu launched their northern expeditions.
While the two kingdoms were still deliberating their campaigns, Cao Pi was in Chang'an. He had been preparing to move the capital from Xuchang, but that matter had been pushed aside for the moment.
Reports had reached him that the movements of Shu and Wu were anything but ordinary.
"Your Majesty. Your servant Sima Yi, Jungdal, presents himself. A spy has sent word from Hanzhong."
"Jungdal. What is it?"
"Yes, Your Majesty. Intelligence reports that the Shu general Chen Shi has led troops out of Yangping Pass and is repairing the plank roads."
"Repairing the plank roads…"
If it were merely a matter of mending the roads for local traffic, one might dismiss it. But if it were preliminary work for moving a great army? This could well be a sign of an impending invasion.
"Jungdal. Dispatch more spies. Have them scour every corner and report back."
"Yes, Your Majesty. At once."
Sima Yi bowed and withdrew.
Cao Pi had long expected war to come sooner or later. All the more reason, then, to examine Shu's present movements with the utmost care.
Before long, fresh news arrived.
"Liu Bei of Shu, along with his generals and soldiers, is gathering in force at Hanzhong, and there are clear signs they mean to advance north."
"Sun Quan of Eastern Wu is likewise stirring trouble. A great army under his personal command appears poised to march on Hefei."
At the successive reports flying in from both borders, Cao Pi's brow furrowed.
"So that is how it is… Shu and Wu. Those dogs have joined hands after all. Jungdal. Summon the ministers. We must strengthen our defenses on every front."
At Cao Pi's command, the civil and military officials assembled.
Sima Yi and the other ministers offered their counsel, and opinions flew back and forth regarding which generals should lead reinforcements to each theater and how the forces should be organized.
"Their aim is to strike from both directions and force us onto a two-front war. The two kingdoms have clearly conspired in advance, and a large-scale invasion is all but certain. It would be wise to place the troops in Hebei on alert as well and order them to cooperate."
In keeping with that advice, a messenger was also sent to Ye—the greatest city in Hebei, and the seat of Cao Zhi's rule.
But the word the messenger brought back fell far short of expectations. No—it was not merely disappointing. It was galling. Exceedingly so.
"Ye reports that, owing to local circumstances, they are unable to prepare a relief force…"
The ministers were thrown into confusion. They had known that relations between Cao Pi and Cao Zhi were strained, but none had imagined he would refuse to cooperate in a national crisis of this magnitude.
"What did you say? What local circumstances? What could possibly justify defying Our command?"
Cao Pi flew into a rage, and the messenger stammered out the explanation.
"He said the Xianbei of the north are showing signs of leading a great host across the border. Therefore Ye must prepare against them…"
"The Xianbei? Bingzhou is far closer to the Xianbei. What is Yang Xi, the Inspector of Bingzhou, doing that Ye must already intervene?"
"As to that… the Inspector of Bingzhou has also sent word. He has received intelligence that Kebineng, chieftain of the Xianbei, is moving a great army. The situation is urgent, he says, and it would be proper to strengthen the defenses with support from Ye…"
"And so he simply ignores Our words and acts as he pleases? Is that even conceivable? And at a time when Liu Bei and Sun Quan are about to strike together! We will have that dog's head this instant—!"
As Cao Pi raged and stormed, Sima Yi stepped forward to calm him.
"Your Majesty. Compose yourself, I beg you. If Kebineng truly invades with a great host, that too is a grave threat to the realm. For now we must watch the situation with a cool head."
"…"
"First we should confirm whether Lord Cao Zhi of Ye can truly hold Kebineng at bay. There will be time enough afterward to decide what must be done. At present, devising measures against Liu Bei and Sun Quan is the urgent priority."
Cao Pi acknowledged the sense in Sima Yi's words and swallowed his fury. He ordered spies dispatched in every direction to investigate Shu, Wu, and Cao Zhi's conduct down to the last detail.
He also set about drawing up lists of the armies and generals to be sent as reinforcements. Before long, word came back from the spies sent to each region.
"A great Shu army has passed Yangping Pass and is heading for Jigu."
"Sun Quan's great army has crossed the Yangtze and is advancing north. They are presumed to be aiming at Hefei."
Cao Pi first issued his orders regarding the Shu forces.
"Send Cao Zhen, who is nearest, to block the enemy coming through Jigu, and have Guo Huai at Shanggui support him from the rear. Tell them to hold until the central government organizes and dispatches reinforcements."
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Next came the measures against Sun Quan.
"Instruct Man Chong at Hefei to hold the city firmly. We will likewise dispatch reinforcements from the center."
Word then arrived from the spies who had been sent north. Cao Zhi and Yang Xiu had led their troops out to the frontier and clashed with Kebineng.
At that news Cao Pi felt a measure of relief. But the report that followed soon after overturned the ease he had briefly allowed himself.
"Lord Cao Zhi skirmished briefly with Kebineng, but a torrential downpour forced him to withdraw at once. The rains also blocked the roads, so the two armies never properly engaged, and he is now returning to his domain."
"What? After raising such a clamor, he turns back without even fighting a proper battle? And you expect Us to believe that?"
Cao Pi harbored his doubts, but he could not yet fathom Cao Zhi's true intentions, and so he dared not speak rashly. He merely felt a dark foreboding within.
"Then tell him to bring Ye's army to the center even now. Affairs of state are growing desperate—he is to lend his aid at once."
But when Cao Zhi's reply arrived, Cao Pi roared in fury.
"What did you say? That he cannot send reinforcements because the Xianbei may move again at any moment!? The Xianbei are a pretext—he is nursing treasonous designs! We must send a punitive force to Ye this very—"
"Please compose yourself a moment, Your Majesty."
Sima Yi stepped forward once more to remonstrate.
"Your Majesty, there is as yet no firm proof that Lord Cao Zhi harbors rebellious intent. With the realm already in turmoil without, if civil war should break out as well, chaos will only deepen within and without. I fear that Shu and Wu would seize upon a civil war to strike all the harder. For the present, it seems wisest to avoid escalating the matter as far as possible."
And if brothers should turn their blades upon each other, the hearts of the people would grow still more unsettled. Sima Yi chose not to mention that particular point.
"But what if he truly does harbor treason? And what if Cao Zhi has colluded with the Xianbei?"
If Cao Zhi had truly joined hands with the Xianbei, the situation would grow far graver. There was still no solid evidence, yet the fact that both sides had withdrawn after only a light skirmish was deeply suspicious.
"For now, do not provoke him. Bestow rewards and titles and attempt to win him over. And have the envoy who carries the rewards quietly observe the situation there. This is a time when we must devote our attention first to Shu and Wu. Those two are showing genuine signs of invasion."
Left with no other recourse, Cao Pi agreed to Sima Yi's counsel and resolved, for the moment, to grant Cao Zhi rewards and official rank—hoping he would not do anything outrageous.
Yet Sima Yi himself felt no less frustrated. If the man would only raise an open rebellion, they could denounce him as a traitor and crush him. Instead he kept offering one excuse after another and refused to obey at every turn.
And if Cao Zhi is truly plotting rebellion? And if he has secretly joined hands with the Xianbei? Then this is surely Yang Xiu's cunning scheme. The man is insufferably arrogant, but his mind is razor-sharp.
The decision regarding Cao Zhi was to watch and wait. Now the problem was the reinforcements.
Trusted inner-circle generals such as Cao Ren and Xiahou Shang could no longer be diverted as relief forces. They had to be held in readiness against a possible rebellion or a Xianbei invasion.
Cao Zhang, for his part, had only recently set out with a force for the far north to suppress the Wuhuan.
Toward Hefei they resolved to send Cao Yan and others as reinforcements, but no general had yet been chosen for the Yong and Liang provinces.
While the ever-suspicious Cao Pi hesitated over whom to send, Sima Yi stepped forward.
"Your Majesty. Our great Wei still has many renowned generals. What is there to deliberate?"
"You have someone to recommend?"
"Yes. General Zhang He. A celebrated commander who won countless merits since the days of the Martial Emperor. Entrust the relief force to him without fear."
"Hmm. Zhang He…"
Zhang He, who had been standing in a corner of the council chamber, lifted his head sharply at the sound of his name.
He too was a famed general who had walked the path of arms and accumulated countless distinctions.
Until the day he was captured by Jin Cheong at the Battle of Dangqu.
After his capture, Cao Cao had paid a ransom to have him returned, but ever since then he had been relegated to the rear and had taken no proper part in battle.
"Zhang He. Step forward."
"Yes! Your servant Zhang He is here."
At Cao Pi's summons, Zhang He advanced and bowed low.
"You were once defeated by the Shu rebels and taken prisoner."
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhang He flushed and bowed still lower.
Watching from the side, Sima Yi felt a twinge of unease.
There was no need to bring that up here, in front of everyone.
But Cao Pi's face remained expressionless as he continued.
"And you remember that the late Emperor paid a great ransom to bring you back."
"…Yes, Your Majesty."
Zhang He's back bent even further.
"You brought defeat upon yourself and harm upon the realm—yet We will now grant you a chance to wash that stain clean. What say you?"
"Yes, Your Majesty! If you will but entrust it to me, I shall lay down my life to bring Your Majesty victory!"
The words that preceded it had been humiliating, but this was also an opportunity. How long had he languished in the rear since leaving the field of war?
"We will give you a force. Go and smash the Shu rebels!"
"Yes! I receive Your Majesty's command!"
Just as Zhang He received his command and was about to depart, another courier arrived.
"Urgent report! A great host led by Liu Bei of Shu is approaching Mount Qi!"
"What? We were told they were coming through Jigu!"
Sima Yi's expression said he had taken a blow.
So that was it… a ruse. We were so preoccupied with Cao Zhi that we missed this.
Before Cao Pi could erupt again, Sima Yi took a step forward.
"Your Majesty. The Shu force heading for Jigu appears to have been a decoy—a feint. Drawing our gaze toward Jigu and then advancing on Mount Qi was the true strategic aim of the Shu army."
And so it was. The Shu troops bound for Jigu were an exaggerated show of force under Zhao Yun's detached command, meant to pin Cao Zhen's army in place, while Liu Bei's main force seized Mount Qi and prepared to devour Tianshui Commandery and the rest of Yong Province.
"Zhang He, march at once and crush the Shu rebels! We will not tolerate failure!"
"Yes, Your Majesty!"
Before Zhang He departed, Sima Yi called him aside for a moment.
"General Zhang He. A word, if I may."
"What is it?"
"When you take the field, where do you intend to go?"
"To Jieting, of course."
At Zhang He's answer, Sima Yi felt a measure of relief. He judged that the general's strategic eye had not yet grown dull.
"Yes. Jieting is a critical choke point on the road into Yong and Liang. I spoke only because I feared the Shu rebels might seize it first."
"Yes. I am well aware. The matter is urgent, so I will go prepare for the march. Ah—and thank you for recommending me."
"With General Zhang He's abilities, the recommendation was only natural."
Not long after Zhang He left, yet another courier arrived.
"Urgent report. Zhang Fei and Jin Cheong of Shu have taken Xinye."
Sima Yi's brow furrowed. How many crises was this day going to bring?
Which only means those people prepared with thorough care.
"Xinye fallen already? Jungdal. Can it be that Mount Qi is a ruse as well?"
"I do not believe so. Given the state of Jingzhou, which borders Wu, they will not have the strength for a full-scale invasion there. Shu does not entirely trust Wu either, and so they will not throw their full weight in that direction."
"Then how did they take Xinye so quickly?"
"That appears to be a somewhat exaggerated decoy. Xinye is a small city, difficult to hold—they seized it in a single stroke to scatter our attention. Still, Zhang Fei and Jin Cheong are not opponents to be taken lightly. We cannot simply leave them be, so we will need to send support in that direction as well."
Cao Pi frowned, but he had no choice. He began discussing the formation of yet another relief force.