To Eastern Wu
Meanwhile, having let Liu Bei slip away, Cao Cao turned his full strength to seizing every last stretch of Jingzhou — Xiangyang, Jiangling, and all the rest.
He folded Jingzhou’s armies into his own ranks and secured their stores of grain and arms. Save for Jiangxia, where Liu Bei and Liu Qi’s forces still held out, he had taken this vast province with scarcely any trouble at all. It was nothing short of fortune.
The unification of the realm he had dreamed of for so long had drawn one step nearer, and the surge of feeling that rose in him was almost more than he could contain.
“I shall ride this momentum, pacify Jiangdong as well, and achieve the great work of unifying all under Heaven.”
There was no denying it: his army’s spirit soared to the heavens, and by sheer strength of arms there was no power in the land that could stand against Cao Cao.
Yet his advisor Jia Xu felt a stir of unease, and spoke.
“Chancellor. Forgive my presumption, but I do not believe there is any need to rush an attack on Jiangdong. You have already crushed Yuan Shao, taken the north of the Yellow River, and now hold Jingzhou itself. Your might and renown are such that even the grass and trees tremble where they stand. Jingzhou is a land of abundant stores. Feed your troops well here, settle the people’s lives, and Jiangdong will kneel to you of its own accord.”
Cao Cao rested his chin in his hand and thought a moment. Then he shook his head.
“It is not that I fail to understand your counsel. But look at our army’s morale — it pierces the sky. We have brought this great host all the way here; it is only right that we complete the great enterprise without delay. Besides, Ma Chao and Han Sui of Xiliang may raise rebellion at any hour. Swift conquest is the wiser course.”
Jia Xu did not yield.
“Your words are entirely just, Chancellor. Yet to subdue Jiangdong, one must cross the Yangtze. Our forces are seasoned in land warfare, but in naval combat they are not—”
Cao Cao cut him short.
“That, too, is nothing to fret over. Has Jingzhou’s navy not already come under our command? And I have prepared a scheme that will set them trembling without so much as dirtying my own hands.”
So saying, Cao Cao held out a bamboo slip to Jia Xu. When Jia Xu unrolled it, he found these words written upon it.
Of late I have punished the guilty, and when I turned my standards southward, Liu Cong surrendered. I have personally drilled a naval force of eight hundred thousand, and am now prepared to decide supremacy with General Sun upon the soil of Wu.
“This is… a proclamation.”
“Just so. Send this to Jiangdong, and they will be struck dumb with terror.”
Yet Jia Xu’s troubled expression did not ease.
“Even so…”
“And that is not all. I have already laid another scheme to divide them from within.”
“What manner of scheme?”
“Do you recall Sun Ben?”
“Yes — the son of Sun Jian’s elder brother, Sun Qiang. You spoke before of trying to win him over. Surely you don’t mean—”
In short, Sun Ben was Sun Quan’s cousin. Cao Cao had been preparing an intrigue that made use of the man.
“I submitted a memorial to the court appointing Sun Ben General Who Quells the Caitiffs, and at the same time I sent him a secret letter promising the governorship of Yuzhang. The man has already replied that he will send his own son to me as a hostage. Offering up his son as a pledge — he must be shaking in his boots by now. Hahaha!”
“Truly brilliant, my lord. Still, whether that scheme will run smoothly to the end…”
Cao Cao had once tried a similar ploy on Mi Zhu and Mi Fang, officers under Liu Bei. He had promised Mi Zhu the governorship of Yingjun and Mi Fang the chancellorship of Pengcheng, seeking to lure them away. They had refused the posts and followed Liu Bei to the last. Cao Cao had not forgotten that episode.
“Do not worry. I do not imagine everything will go exactly as I please. It is enough that the great ministers of Jiangdong simply learn that such an offer was made.”
“Yes. I understand fully.”
In the end Jia Xu could only bow his head and withdraw. Yet the unease in him had not entirely faded.
Left alone after Jia Xu’s departure, Cao Cao sat in silence.
Perhaps Jia Xu is right. And yet…
There was another reason he pressed so hard for the conquest of Jiangdong — one he could not bring himself to speak of even to Jia Xu. He turned it over in his mind now.
His lifespan.
He was past fifty, and he could feel that his body was no longer what it had been. Even Yuan Shao, who had once commanded a force greater than his own, had not been able to escape the reach of mortality. Cao Cao wanted to finish everything before his own body was laid in the earth.
It was a private torment he had never confessed to a living soul.
“Nngh…”
Suddenly Cao Cao pressed a hand to his head, his face twisting. That cursed chronic affliction — the headaches — had flared up again.
I had thought they were easing of late.
Jingzhou was his, the schemes were laid, everything was proceeding without a hitch — so why this, again…
A strange anxiety gnawed at him. Surely things would not go awry now, not after he had come this far.
Forcing down the foul mood, he set himself once more to drawing up the plans for the conquest of Jiangdong.
After Lu Su’s visit, Zhuge Liang resolved to travel to Eastern Wu as the envoy who would seal the alliance. And thanks to Liu Bei’s ready persuasion on my behalf, I was permitted to accompany him.
Of all the countless battles in the Three Kingdoms, the most famous of them all — the Battle of Red Cliffs. Standing on the threshold of that fight, my heart fluttered in spite of itself. But I stilled the trembling in my chest and reminded myself why I had come this far.
The official reason for following Zhuge Liang was to serve as his aide.
That was the pretext. My true purpose was something else entirely: to gain experience. Taking part in a naval battle, watching with my own eyes how another power waged war and feeling it for myself — that alone would be invaluable training.
And the greatest aim of all was this.
Capture Cao Cao.
If Cao Cao alone could be taken in this battle at Red Cliffs, the history that followed would change beyond recognition.
The small boat carrying Zhuge Liang, Lu Su, and me rode the currents of the Yangtze toward Chaisang.
“Welcome, Master Zhuge. I am Huang Gai. It is an honor to receive a gentleman of such renown. And this is…?”
Huang Gai, who had come out to greet us, exchanged courtesies with Zhuge Liang, then glanced at me and asked. I bent at the waist with deliberate care and answered.
“This humble one is called Jin Cheong. Though I am far from equal to the task, I have been charged with assisting the Military Advisor, and so I have come along.”
At the sound of my name Huang Gai paused a beat — then his face lit up.
“Ah! You are the one who broke through tens of thousands of the enemy alongside General Zhao Yun! I have long heard the name, but to meet you in the flesh is a wonder. That martial prowess, that loyalty — as a soldier, I can only marvel.”
Huang Gai, his hair white as frost. A man who had accumulated more battle experience than I could ever hope to match was bowing to me in respect. I lowered myself as far as I could and answered with full formality.
“That General Huang Gai, who has served three generations of the Sun house since the days of General Sun Jian, should honor me so — I scarcely know where to put myself.”
Even as I spoke the words, I was a little startled inside. I had been active in Liu Bei’s army for little more than a year. Was I really that well known?
Then again — a thirteen-year-old girl riding into enemy lines with bow and spear. If that weren’t famous, it would be stranger still. Still, “tens of thousands”? The exaggeration was getting out of hand.
Once my identity was known, I could feel the other officers and civil officials around us stealing glances my way.
“Come, come. Our lord is waiting. Shall we present ourselves without delay?”
At Lu Su’s suggestion we nodded and set off at once for the great hall where Sun Quan awaited us.
Along the way, Lu Su, Zhuge Liang, Huang Gai, and the others spoke in low voices of what lay ahead. “Once the alliance is sealed…” “Our lord…” “Cao Cao’s naval strength…”
In the midst of it, one officer sidled up to me and struck up a conversation.
“Well met, young lady. I’m Pan Zhang. A pleasure to make your acquaintance.”
Pan Zhang, grinning that oily grin of his.
Ah. So this was Pan Zhang.
Pan Zhang — a general of Wu whose character was said to be thoroughly rotten. Rotten was putting it mildly; murder and plunder were as ordinary to him as meals. Sun Quan, however, had prized his ability and kept him in high employ.
I already knew that history, so he was hardly a welcome companion. Still, I could not afford to scatter ash over an alliance so carefully made, and so I answered with courtesy.
“Yes. I am Jin Cheong. I have long heard of the general’s renown. A pleasure to meet you as well.”
“Young lady. Your martial feats are widely known throughout Jiangdong, you know.”
The words themselves were polite enough, but the look on his face… somehow it felt sly. Maybe I was wearing tinted glasses, but he struck me as nothing so much as a middle-aged man making a pass at a young girl, and I did not care for it.
“If I may be so bold — I hold the rank of Duwei. I would be grateful if you addressed me as such.”
“But of course, Duwei Jin. Might you tell me some of those war stories sometime? As a fellow soldier, I should very much like to hear them.”
Still grinning that same oily grin.
Fellow soldier, was it? The difference between him and Huang Gai could not have been starker.
“I am sorry, but I am charged with assisting and guarding the Military Advisor. It would be difficult for me to leave his side.”
Pan Zhang would not be put off. He kept talking at me, and I had a fair amount of trouble fending him off with polite evasions.
At last Lu Su gave him a quiet word of caution. It lessened a little, but he still would not stop trying to speak to me.
Since coming to this world I had drawn my share of curious stares, but a man who pressed in this openly was a first. Frankly, I did not like it one bit…
Then we reached the great hall, and even Pan Zhang shut his mouth. Even he, it seemed, would not try his games in a place like this.
The great hall had a certain crackling energy to it. Like a preview of the flames at Red Cliffs.
“Frankly, this time we have no chance of victory!”
“What nonsense is that! Surrender to Cao Cao is absolutely out of the question!”
Surrender or fight. The faction for and the faction against were raising their voices against each other.