Enemies Without and Within
Our party pressed steadily southward and, in the end, reached Jiangling without delay.
I had spent the entire journey sealed inside the carriage, yet the vitality I could sense from Jiangling's walls was little different from when I had left, and that alone was enough to put me at ease.
First, I need to meet Gan Yong in secret.
I had the carriage drawn up somewhere quiet and sent Zheng Sui to fetch Gan Yong.
Now that I've arrived, Ma Su should already be here. Once again I'll have to face enemies both without and within. Huang Hao has already been found out by Gan Yong, so his betrayal is all but certain — but Shen Tan and Shen Yi are still unclear.
While I was sorting through my thoughts inside the carriage, voices drifted in from outside.
"Well now, isn't that Zheng Sui? What are you doing out here?"
"Yes, Master Gan Yong. Please keep your voice down. Our general — that is, our lady… In any case, there's someone you need to meet discreetly."
"What's this carriage doing here all of a sudden? Who's inside? Don't tell me…?"
"You'll know once you step in."
Zheng Sui was bringing Gan Yong over.
"Just go in and take a seat. The person inside will explain everything."
A moment later the carriage door creaked open, and Gan Yong's familiar face appeared.
"What in the…?"
He caught sight of me and settled awkwardly onto the seat. Glad to see him, I lifted my face veil and greeted him.
"Good day to you. It's been a while. Have you been well?"
The moment my face was revealed, Gan Yong flinched and his eyes went wide. Then he said:
"And who might you be?"
"…It's me. Don't you recognize me?"
Gan Yong rolled his eyes this way and that for a moment, then let out a sound of realization.
"Ah. Seyoung, is that you?"
"Yes. I'm Jin Seyoung. I've only just returned."
"What on earth is going on? I never knew you could dress yourself up like this. At first I thought someone from a pleasure house had sent — ah, ah, damn…"
"…And what is that supposed to mean?"
I narrowed my eyes, and Gan Yong stammered.
"N-no, it's just — seeing a carriage like this made me feel a little guilty… The pleasure houses run carriages like this sometimes, you see."
"And why would a pleasure house be looking for Master Gan?"
He fumbled for an answer.
"Well, you see… The truth is, I've run up quite a tab on credit, so I thought they'd come to collect…"
"…How did you end up with a tab like that? It's not as if you're short of money."
"…I got thoroughly drunk and lost all self-control. I regretted it plenty once I sobered up."
In short, he had flinched because he thought I was here to collect on his unpaid drinking debts. The historical records had always described Gan Yong as free-spirited and unrestrained, and apparently that still held true. I keep telling him not to do this sort of thing.
"Honestly. Didn't anyone offer to help you out?"
Gan Yong scratched his head vigorously.
"I was too embarrassed to tell a soul."
"…I suspect this has something to do with the help you gave me last time. I'll settle that matter for you later. And please, show a little restraint… I told you as much before I left. This is exactly why Master Pan Jun scolds you every time he sees you."
"I know, I know…"
With that particular incident more or less resolved, Gan Yong opened his mouth on a different subject.
"But look at you — dressed like this, proper makeup and everything. And where did all this jewelry come from? I truly thought you were someone else at first. You, the child who always just threw on whatever was nearest to hand. Don't tell me you've finally decided to get married?"
"We're one step away from total chaos. How could I possibly hold a wedding…"
"Since the subject has come up — do you really have no intention of marrying? Sukji worries himself sick over you living alone all this time."
"Hmm. Not particularly. And living alone is perfectly fine, isn't it? I have no great desire for sijipsari either."
"I can practically hear Sukji sighing from here. But what is this sijipsari?"
They didn't have that expression here? Truth be told, I had never experienced it myself either.
"Well… it means living under someone else's thumb, constantly harried by their demands, I suppose."
"Being around you, I feel like I'm the one doing the sijipsari. So where are you planning to put this old man to work this time, dragging me out like this?"
"I'm not putting you to work. There's an important matter, and I've come to ask for your help. Something big is about to break, so once again, I need you."
I just hope this doesn't end up as some historical footnote like, "Gan Yong requested to resign, but Jin Cheong would not grant it."
"What sort of favor? Coming in disguise like this — I assume it's so you can move about unseen?"
At last the conversation, which had been wandering off into every possible digression, found its proper footing. In an atmosphere altogether more serious than a moment before, the two of us spoke quietly.
"I heard that you witnessed Huang Hao making contact with a Wu spy."
"I did. His behavior was so suspicious that I tailed him. You'd asked me to keep an eye on things before you left, after all."
"You did very well. Thanks to you, I should be able to handle this much more smoothly."
"So what do you need me to do?"
"The thing is, Huang Hao may try to harm His Highness the Crown Prince. Kidnapping, perhaps. If Wu takes the Crown Prince as a hostage, we would be in an extremely difficult position. So…"
I leaned close to Gan Yong's ear and laid out my plan.
"I understand what you're thinking, but would that Huang Hao fellow really go that far?"
"If he means to defect to Wu, he'll want to present them with proof of his value. The Crown Prince would be the most certain proof of all."
In the original history, Wu had attempted to abduct Liu Shan, and Huang Hao was the man who served closest to him — so the possibility was more than real. Seizing the Crown Prince as a hostage would, in any case, be a greater prize than capturing one or two cities.
"It's only a conjecture, of course, but since Huang Hao serves His Highness more closely than anyone, we need to prepare from behind the scenes. His Highness is the most important person in all of Jiangling, so I'll be making my own preparations out of sight as well."
"Understood. I thought Wu was the only source of trouble, and now this is happening from within as well."
Having finished with the matter of Liu Shan, we moved on to another subject.
"What about Shen Tan and Shen Yi? They've only recently been posted to Jiangling."
"I spotted them while watching Huang Hao. I've seen those two meeting him in secret more than once."
So Shen Tan and Shen Yi have decided to throw in with Wu after all? Their treatment here wasn't particularly poor. I suppose some people will betray no matter what. Wu must have dangled some enormous reward in front of them.
"And what of Zhou Fang? I heard he's been sending secret letters to Master Xu Shu."
"He has. We received another one not long ago — the seventh, I believe? That's what I was told."
The seventh letter. In the original history, Zhou Fang sent seven secret letters to Cao Xiu as well. So the countdown is nearly finished.
"The contents went something like this: Zhou Fang himself laid out in detail how he would raise a rebellion. If we lead our army to Changsha, he would respond from within and hand us the city — or so he claimed."
"It's a trap meant to draw us out. He plans to strike with an ambush on the road to Changsha. And he could seize Jiangling while it's left empty."
"Exactly. And after that, he pressed for haste while also demanding his own reward for the rebellion."
"Just as I thought. He wrote it very convincingly."
"He did. An ordinary man would have fallen for it completely. Ah, and there was one other incident. Master Xu Shu sent an envoy to Wu to verify whether any of it was true."
"And?"
According to Gan Yong, this was what the envoy had seen: Zhou Fang prostrate before Sun Quan, head bowed low in apology.
Of course that, too, was a deception. It matched the historical record exactly. Cao Xiu had fallen for the act completely when he saw it.
"He's quite the actor."
Is there anything else I've missed? Ah — Ma Su.
"That's right. Has Master Ma Su arrived? He set out a step ahead of me."
"He has. I heard he slipped in quietly not long ago. He discussed some plan with Master Ma Liang and Master Xu Shu, then left again for somewhere else."
So Ma Su is off conducting some secret operation of his own somewhere.
And so we quietly discussed the present crisis and laid our countermeasures.
"Then, Master Gan — I leave it to you."
"Very well. But aren't you going to the official residence? Shouldn't you see Master Xu Shu as well?"
"I'd like to, but I think it's better if I keep my head down. The enemy may have planted spies around Master Xu Shu. From their perspective, he's someone they must watch carefully."
"So I'm someone they don't need to watch carefully, and that's why you met me like this?"
"Hmm. Honestly, I can't say that isn't part of it."
"Come now. Couldn't you at least phrase it a little more kindly?"
"This from the man who thought I was someone from a pleasure house."
"I told you, it was the carriage that made me think that."
"And why would Zheng Sui be driving a pleasure-house carriage?"
"Aigoo. You won't let a single word go, will you."
After a brief and thoroughly pointless bickering match, I parted ways with Gan Yong.
"I'll stay hidden like this and only come out when the time is right. Better that than wandering about and catching the enemy's eye. Please pass word to Master Xu Shu as well."
"Understood. You take care of yourself too. And if you're still unwell, don't push yourself — leave things to your subordinates. If Sukji hears you've been hurt, he'll worry himself half to death."
"Don't worry. I'm nearly fully recovered now."
Our conversation finished, we went our separate ways. He headed to Xu Shu, and I made for the most inconspicuous place I could find, intending to keep my head down until the decisive moment arrived.
Some time passed after that.
Word reached me that Xu Shu and Feng Xi had led their forces out of Jiangling and were marching toward Changsha.
If Xu Shu and Feng Xi had gone out, it meant the bulk of Jiangling's main army had left with them.
It was much like the way Cao Xiu had been deceived in history — but Xu Shu would handle it well enough.
At the same time, I kept close watch on the movements of the subversives still inside the city.
Now it was time for me to deal with the enemies within.