Detection
The enemy's movements had been detected.
Not an enemy from without, but one from within.
Xu Shu and Feng Xi led their forces out of Jiangling as if they had fallen for the enemy's ruse. And just as we had anticipated, the enemy inside made their move.
We, who had been watching every step, launched our own operation.
Liu Shan went out for a night boat ride as he so often did, and word came that Huang Hao had slipped away from the party on some excuse.
"General. His Highness the Crown Prince's party is pretending to go boating, but they've changed course for Yiling."
"Got it."
Guo Yi, Liu Shan's captain of the guard, had kept Huang Hao under watch. The moment the eunuch broke off, he sent word through Zheng Sui—and then escorted Liu Shan straight to Yiling, the fortress beside Jiangling.
In Liu Shan's place, I rode the carriage toward the boating grounds, leaving a trail of my own.
Some time later:
"Huang Hao and Shen Dan are tailing His Highness's party. General Yu Eun will also begin his part of the operation from the rear."
"Understood. We move as planned."
"Yes, ma'am."
My party and I waited near the place where Liu Shan was supposedly boating, watching for the moment Huang Hao and Shen Dan would walk into the snare.
I hid inside the carriage and waited for the next report.
"General. The enemy has reached the ferry landing."
"Good. Let's go."
Zheng Sui took up the reins and set the carriage rolling. My men nearby fell in behind us.
I clenched and unclenched my fists, gauging how far my body had recovered.
Not full strength—but more than enough to deal with small fry.
Zheng Sui's voice came from outside the carriage.
"General. Shen Dan and his soldiers are milling about at the landing. They meant to ambush His Highness's party, and now that no one's here, they look rattled."
"Right. Approach slowly. Draw their eyes."
"Yes, ma'am."
The rumble of wheels, the thud of hooves. A little farther on, the mutter of Shen Dan and his men grew louder.
"Hey! Who the hell are you people?!"
Zheng Sui protested, but Shen Dan's shout drowned him out.
"I said who are you?! Did you lot spirit them away?!"
I tried to keep my temper in check, but something hot was already rising in my chest. Betrayal wasn't enough for them—they had tried to kidnap a child, crown prince or not.
"...H-how dare you raise such a ruckus before our young lady! Apologize at once!"
"...You there—drag the woman out of that carriage. Looks like some rich man's daughter. Since things have come to this, we'll take her for ransom."
Shen Dan's voice, and Zheng Sui's trying to stop him. These bastards had pushed their luck far enough.
"While we're at it, let's grab every beauty in Jiangling! Kidnap them and just—"
In that instant the carriage door flew open, and a soldier's face appeared in the frame.
The mean little smile on it sent my foot flying before I could think. Whether soldiers take after their commanders or this one had always been that sort of man, a fury I hadn't felt in a long time surged through me.
Bang!
"Aaagh!"
A scream tore through the night air. He flew a good distance, hit the ground spread-eagled, and went still.
The noisy clamor outside fell silent as if cold water had been dumped over it.
I stepped out of the carriage. The faces of the rebel soldiers came into view. I tore off the bothersome face veil and fixed my eyes on Shen Dan.
"Y-y-y-you—who are you?!"
Shen Dan pointed at me, stammering.
"I may stage ambushes, but I've always tried not to harm ordinary people. You don't even deserve the name of a regular army officer."
"Sh-shut up! Wh-who are you?!"
"Knowing who I am won't change your fate."
I took another step forward. Shen Dan and his men flinched and edged back.
"Grrh!"
Shen Dan ground his teeth.
"Doesn't matter! Kill them all! Kill them all and get out of here!"
The soldier nearest me bellowed and thrust his spear. I slipped sideways, seized the shaft, and yanked hard.
"Wha—?"
He staggered toward me. I kicked him square in the chest, then brought the spear down on his reeling helmet.
Clang!
"Aaagh!"
The spearhead snapped against the iron helm with a sharp crack, and the soldier crumpled unconscious to the ground.
The spear was low-grade, true—but I still needed to mind my strength.
I swung the broken shaft like a club and started cracking rebel helmets. Men struck in the head reeled like drunks and dropped one after another.
"A-attack! There aren't many of them!"
Zheng Sui and my men pulled the weapons they'd hidden in the carriage and met the charging rebels head-on.
We were few, but every one of them was an elite I had handpicked myself.
Men who had weathered every hardship at my side—Shen Dan's rabble were nowhere near their match.
I closed on Shen Dan, still dropping rebels with blows to the head. When a shaft broke, I simply took another spear from a fallen man and kept going.
"Wh-who in the world is that…?"
"G-General Shen Dan. Th-that person—could it be J-Jin…?"
"What? Who?"
"Isn't that Jin Cheong?!"
"What?! Jin Cheong? Why would she be here? She's supposed to be recovering in Xinye!"
"No mistake. What other woman fights like that? She came back in secret—and set a trap for us."
I could hear Shen Dan and his lieutenant clearly.
"J-Jin Cheong. That woman is Jin Cheong!"
"What? Jin Cheong? The one who fought Zhang Liao to a standstill…?"
My name began to ripple through the rebel ranks.
The moment they heard it, the fight went out of them. They turned to flee.
"D-don't run! Fight, you cowards!"
But the man shouting those words was himself backpedaling—then spinning around to bolt.
"Don't let a single rebel escape! Take them all!"
"Waaaah!"
A body of soldiers burst from the underbrush and drove Shen Dan and his men into a half-encirclement.
Yu Eun and my troops. While I bought time, he had led his men into the brush, formed the cordon, and now pressed the rebels hard.
"Wh-what…?"
With every path of retreat cut off, Shen Dan stamped in place, nowhere left to go.
I dropped a few more rebel soldiers and charged. He flung his weapon to the ground and waved his hands.
"W-wait! Let's talk this over—talk!"
Talk? After coming this far? Unbelievable.
I ignored him and dropped his lieutenant for good measure. Then I faced Shen Dan square on.
"You were going to kidnap civilians—and do what with them? And you still call yourself a military man?"
"Y-you're no civilian either—!"
Thud!
"Ghk!"
He never finished the sentence.
I feinted a blow at his helmet and kicked him hard in the shin instead.
"Aaagh! My leg!"
Shen Dan collapsed, clutching his shin and howling that it was broken.
"I—I surrender! I surrender!"
Once I had him down, the remaining rebels gave up and began to yield as well.
"If you surrender, drop your weapons and kneel!"
Yu Eun, still blocking the rear, started disarming the prisoners and binding them.
"Wait. Huang Hao! Where is Huang Hao?"
"We have him here."
Yu Eun gestured, and two soldiers dragged Huang Hao forward.
"G-General, spare me…"
Huang Hao dropped to his knees before me and begged.
"Bind them all and take them back to Jiangling. This isn't over yet."
"Yes, ma'am."
We had Shen Dan and Huang Hao—but it wasn't finished. Scouts had already reported that Wu forces were approaching from outside.
When Yu Eun and I returned to Jiangling after dealing with the rebels, Pan Jun—who had received word—came out to meet us.
"Lord Pan Jun. Have you been well?"
"Is that truly General Jin? Gan Yong told me, but I barely recognized you."
Pan Jun gave me a single slight widening of the eyes, then settled back into his usual poker face.
"The situation is urgent, so greetings can wait. I hear you captured Shen Dan and Huang Hao, the ones plotting rebellion?"
"Yes. Not only them—we've taken their subordinates as well. They're being locked in the prison now."
"Well done. Interrogation later will reveal every secret pact they made with Wu. I have also rooted out those inside who meant to open the gates in secret. All of them were subordinates of Shen Dan and Shen Yi."
"As expected of you, Lord Pan Jun. You've done us a great service."
As expected—stiff as he was, Pan Jun was thorough to the bone, and utterly reliable.
Xu Shu and Feng Xi had made a show of taking most of the army out, but in truth a portion of the troops had been held back in secret. With those hidden soldiers, Pan Jun had rounded up every collaborator inside the walls.
"We extracted information from the captives. The Wu force approaching Jiangling is led by Zhu Huan, Quan Zong, and others. Once they arrive, the plan was for the traitors inside to open the gates and let them in."
"I see. Understood. Then all that remains is to drive them off."
"Will you take the field yourself, General Jin?"
"Yes. I have to."
Zhu Huan and Quan Zong were both renowned generals of Eastern Wu. No one else here could face them right now—and we were already outnumbered.
"I'll draw up a plan and intercept them."