After Settling One Matter
I had just finished dealing with one front when—
"General. We've entered Jiangxia."
"Right. Understood."
Zheng Sui's voice pulled me out of a half-doze.
Thanks to his care, the inside of the carriage was far more comfortable than I had expected. Zheng Sui handled the reins well enough, and the carriage itself was solidly built, barely jolting as we rode, so I had managed to rest reasonably well on the way.
"General. Yu Eun reporting. May I give my report as is?"
"Go ahead. Report it straight."
"The occupation of the city is nearly complete, and we've secured most of the key facilities. Unfortunately, enemy generals such as Wen Pin, Yin Xu, and Feng Hai have all fled."
"I see. Good work."
Losing the enemy commanders was a pity, but the results were more than enough. The original plan had been to pick off Jiangxia's reinforcements one by one and then seize the city in a sudden strike—and we had managed it even faster than expected.
All that remained was to push the front this far forward and apply pressure from the north. Zhang Fei would only need to mind the northern line now.
After that, it was simply a matter of waiting on the results from Liu Bei's army at Qishan and Sun Quan's forces at Hefei.
"Then I'll stabilize the populace and send the men on patrol to make sure nothing untoward is happening."
"Do that."
"Yes. Please rest, General."
Even without detailed orders, Yu Eun would handle it. Having a capable deputy at my side really was something to be grateful for.
His footsteps faded into the distance.
I deliberately left the carriage window and curtains closed, listening only to the voices outside. The less anyone knew I was here, the better.
I had put Zheng Sui in charge of hanging the curtains and fittings. His particular brand of sensibility had kicked in, and he had started fussing about making the carriage look splendid, hauling out ornate fabrics and the like—until I stopped him.
"If you deck it out that gaudily and the enemy spots us, I'm the one who's finished."
So we had settled for just enough curtain to keep the interior hidden from outside eyes, with a soft bedroll prepared within.
"General Guan Yu has arrived."
"General Guan Yu?"
I had received Yu Eun while still lying down, but a superior officer—and Guan Yu at that—was another matter entirely.
Then Guan Yu's voice carried through.
"Opening the window a moment will suffice. I only mean to speak briefly."
I drew the curtain aside a little and opened the window. Guan Yu stood right before me, his long beard falling down his chest.
"General Guan. To receive you from a carriage…"
"Enough of that. You ought to be resting, yet it seems you are the one overexerting yourself. How is the wound?"
"It's nothing serious."
Guan Yu gave a brief account of what had happened in the fighting.
"In any case, we followed your plan—lingered outside as if hesitating, then struck the city all at once. Just as you said, it was an empty-fort ruse. Once we forced our way in, Wen Pin panicked and fled without mounting a proper defense."
"Yes. At that point, it was the only move the enemy had left."
"Indeed. Hah. Thanks to you, Jiangxia is ours."
Guan Yu stroked his beard once and laughed.
It was a glad moment, planting our banners over Jiangxia—yet looking at his beard, already fading toward white, a quiet ache stirred in me. At Bowang Slope, my first battle, that same beard had streamed black and magnificent.
He was well past sixty now. That much time had passed.
Come to think of it, two generals who ought to have been resting had come all the way out on this expedition to Jiangxia. It was a mercy it had ended quickly.
"That aside—you crossed blades with Wenyuan? With Zhang Liao?"
"I did."
"And how was he?"
"Every bit the formidable warrior his renown claims. I nearly died."
I told him more or less the truth. Our exchange had been even, and we had wounded each other about the same. The only reason I could still move about like this was that youth favored my recovery.
"I see. I too once crossed spears with Wenyuan in Jingzhou, and neither of us could claim the victory. That you matched him is proof of how far you have come."
"Had you not been wounded, General Guan, you would have won."
"I may not have bested him, but it was a fine contest. And Wenyuan was a friend of mine as well. I wonder when I shall meet him again…"
I said nothing to that. Historically, Zhang Liao did not have much time left.
Whether he would recover enough to take the field again, or whether the last battle had been his final one—even I could not say.
"Enough of reminiscence. What do you intend to do now? I mean to remain in Jiangxia and strengthen the defenses, but you ought to devote yourself to recovery."
"Yes. I'll rest here about a day, then return to Xinye."
"Already? You could afford to linger a little longer."
"I'll stay inside the carriage the whole way, so it should be fine. I can manage some of the treatment myself. General Guan—I leave Jiangxia in your hands."
I could have stayed in Jiangxia, but I judged it better to remain near the front where Zhang Fei was operating, and keep an eye on developments there.
"Very well. Jiangxia is mine. I shall finish repairing the walls and take the surrounding towns in turn."
And so Guan Yu remained to restore and hold Jiangxia, and after spending one night, I returned to Xinye.
When I arrived back at Xinye with Yu Eun, Zheng Sui, and five hundred soldiers, Fei Yi came out to meet us.
"General Jin. You've returned. Frankly, I was quite worried. Wounded as you were, and still riding out to the field again."
"I didn't fight—I only watched from the rear. Lord Fei Yi, more importantly, is there any new word? How stands the war?"
"On the Nanyang front where General Zhang is posted, there has been no major battle yet—only the holding of the line. The Wei army seems still shaken by their last defeat; they refuse to come out from behind their walls. Word has also come from His Majesty's northern expedition in Yongzhou."
"Oh? What news?"
Truthfully, word of the main northern army was what I wanted most.
"General Zhao Yun's diversionary operation succeeded, and the main force advanced safely to Qishan—that was the last report. Having achieved the first objective, they will now form up and begin the conquest in earnest."
At least the news so far was favorable. Qishan was so far from here that even this intelligence was already somewhat old. By now they might well be in the thick of fighting, and that would be no surprise.
"And as for the Eastern Wu army that advanced on Hefei…"
Fei Yi let the sentence trail off. I had been nearly as curious about Sun Quan's forces as about Liu Bei's, and the atmosphere did not feel promising.
"They were soundly defeated by Man Chong at Hefei and have withdrawn to Jiangdong."
"…Already?"
I had expected Man Chong and Hefei together to be a hard nut to crack—but how long had it even been since they marched out, and they were already gone?
"Yes. Sun Quan advanced on Hefei full of confidence, only to be badly beaten by ambushes Man Chong had prepared in advance, and fled. A hasty all-out assault seems to have been his undoing."
Had he been so eager to avenge his earlier humiliation at Hefei? Or had he simply underestimated Man Chong?
"He could have formed up properly and taken the place step by step…. So they've withdrawn completely?"
"From what I've heard, yes. Between the crushing defeat and Man Chong's destruction of their supply units, they no longer have the strength to continue the fight…"
"Mm. I see…. One pillar of the joint front already collapsed. Hah."
"Yes. I regret it as well. Haaa."
Fei Yi and I both let out long sighs. I had settled one matter only to come back and find another in disarray.
Even if they could not win, simply holding the line would have been a great help—and for them to collapse already was bitterly disappointing.
Hefei really was a wall of lamentation for Sun Quan, even here.
What worried me more was that there was no law saying a Sun Quan in a foul mood might not suddenly strike at Jingzhou again. The bitterness from his last defeat would still be fresh, and there was the suspicion that Cao Pi had quietly sown discord between us.
"More importantly, please go in and rest at once. You need treatment. Your face has grown quite gaunt."
"Yes. I should."
"Return to your quarters. I'll summon a physician."
"Thank you."
I had spent the whole time inside a carriage, but dragging a wounded body around from place to place trying to get things done had turned out to be harder labor than expected. Had this been how Zhuge Liang felt at the Wuzhang Plains?
I meant to stay in Xinye for a while, tend my wounds, and set in motion one plan I had already been turning over. Lying restless in the carriage for so long, something had taken shape in my mind.
I would also have to keep gathering intelligence on the war and prepare for any unexpected turn.
That aside.
Sun Quan had already been defeated. What was Liu Bei doing now?
Aside from Zhao Yun's detached force, the composition of Liu Bei's main army was as follows.
Pang Tong as chief strategist.
The vanguard of cavalry and Xiliang troops under Ma Chao, Pang De, Ma Dai, and others.
Mid-ranking generals such as Wei Yan, Wu Yi, and Huo Jun had also joined the campaign.
And my father, as commander of Liu Bei's personal guard, was of course among them.
In Chengdu, Zhuge Liang remained along with Liu Ba, Li Yan, Dong Yun, Xiang Chong, and others; in Hanzhong, I had heard, Huang Quan had stayed behind.
They had marched out with a force greater than the original northern expedition. I could only hope they were doing well.