Once More to the North
"Me?"
"So you're heading north again? You've only just arrived."
"I don't have a choice, Master Gan. Cao Pi is leading an army south himself—I have to go. The fact that he's taking the field personally is a big deal no matter how you look at it."
Gan Yong clicked his tongue as he looked at me, and I shrugged once.
"Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are already on the northern border. Do you really have to rush off like this?"
"Even so, that was the duty originally assigned to me."
Staff officer for the northern expeditionary force on the Nanyang front. That had been my role in this campaign from the start.
Between my injuries and Wu's schemes, I had somehow ended up back in Jiangling, but I still belonged to the northern army.
With Guan Yu and Zhang Fei holding the northern border, we weren't in immediate danger—but you never knew. It was time I returned to my post.
"Wu has already suffered two defeats, so they won't attempt another invasion or show of force for a while. Covert schemes are another matter, of course."
For the record, Wu had shown no movement at all since fleeing in defeat.
We hadn't sent envoys or attempted contact either.
You could call it a kind of cold war.
What sort of diplomatic relationship Shu and Wu would forge from here was beyond even me to predict.
The diplomatic course between the two states was a matter large enough that Liu Bei or Zhuge Liang would have to decide it—people far above my station. For now, I had resolved to deal with Cao Pi first as he came south.
"But will Cao Pi really push this far south? The rumors say he's leading a massive army in person."
I thought for a moment before answering Gan Yong's question.
"It won't be that extreme. Army sizes always get inflated. Even if the rumors are true, his purpose will be defensive at best. At most, reclaiming lost territory."
With Liu Bei's northern expedition sweeping through Yongzhou and Liangzhou, there was no way Cao Pi would launch a full-scale campaign of conquest from here.
"We only have fragmentary reports so far. Once I head up, I'll get a clearer picture of the situation."
"Aigoo. Who could ever talk you out of something once you've set your mind to it? Leave things here to us. And this time, come back without getting hurt."
"I will. And the Crown Prince is still at Yiling—"
"Yes, yes. I know. You want me to look after His Highness in your place, is that it?"
"Yes. I'm counting on you."
"Understood. With you working this hard, how could I shirk my duties? Once things settle, I'll bring him back to Jiangling. Though speaking of which—Jiangling keeps falling into crisis. It might be better if he returned to Chengdu altogether."
"I think so too. I'll have to petition His Majesty about that later."
"Ah, and you can't just leave like this. You ought to say your goodbyes to everyone first."
"Yes. Of course."
Before departing, I took time to bid farewell to Jiangling's core members—Xu Shu, Ma Liang, Pan Jun, and the others.
After exchanging words with Ma Liang and Pan Jun, I came face to face with Xu Shu.
"General Jin. It's a pity you're leaving again so soon. Haha."
"I'm disappointed too. Affairs of state never seem to go the way one hopes."
"By the way, I heard you arrived here all dressed up and made presentable."
"Yes. Well, I was trying to enter discreetly, so I went that route."
"Haha. That's a shame as well. Master Gan and Lord Pan Jun got to see it, but I missed out."
Xu Shu laughed gently as he spoke.
"I never dreamed the girl would show up looking like that either," Gan Yong put in. "I've known her since she was little, but that was the first time I'd ever seen her dressed up. Honestly, at first I thought she was someone else entirely."
"Hearing you say that makes me regret it all the more."
"Well... it was my first time putting on all that finery and fussing over myself, so it felt awkward.... Hahaha."
We shared a few more light words, and just before parting, Xu Shu voiced a brief concern.
"General Jin. I worry you may be pushing yourself too hard. Frankly, after everything you've done, you ought to be resting."
"Thank you for your concern. As it happens, once this war is over I plan to lounge about and do nothing at all."
With that, I left those waving hands behind and hurried my steps northward.
When I arrived with Yu Eun, Zheng Sui, our guest member Ma Su, and five hundred soldiers, Fei Yi—who had been holding Xinye—came out to greet us.
"General Jin. Welcome. You've been running back and forth so much—your labors have truly been great."
"Not at all. You've been working hard yourself, coordinating everything from the middle. More importantly, I heard Cao Pi has taken the field in person."
I asked about the urgent matter first.
"Yes. Cao Pi has gathered the forces of Luoyang and Chang'an and is marching south. According to our spies' reports, he should reach the area north of Xinye within a few days."
"Ah. So it seems I arrived just in time."
"At present, General Zhang Fei is watching the north of Xinye, while General Guan Yu at Jiangxia is securing the Runan direction. In a few days, General Zhang Fei's army will likely come face to face with Cao Pi's forces."
From the information Fei Yi shared, resting one or two days in Xinye before heading up would not put us behind schedule.
Judging it better to gather more intelligence on the situation before advancing rather than marching out immediately, I settled into the official residence and began discussing matters with Fei Yi.
"After you left, General Zhang Fei fought another engagement with the Wei army."
"How did it go?"
"General Zhang Fei cut down the enemy commander Cao Xiu."
"Oh! Is that so? That's a considerable achievement."
Cao Xiu had been the commander of Wei's elite Tiger and Leopard Cavalry.
The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry we had faced since the Hanzhong campaign had always been a troublesome opponent—eliminating Cao Xiu was a major success.
Of course, the unit itself hadn't been wiped out; they would reorganize and reappear later.
"Lord Fei Yi, what about Hefei? I heard Lu Xun took the field in person."
"Yes. Lu Xun has withdrawn as well. Once Zhou Fang's scheme failed, he pulled back immediately."
That made sense. Lu Xun's force had been a diversionary unit, not one committed at full strength. With the Jingzhou invasion a failure, retreat was the only option.
Even so, Lu Xun had reportedly fought Man Chong to a standstill despite his weaker forces. Of course, one had to account for the fact that Man Chong had been fighting without reinforcements.
If they were going to do that, they would have been better off giving Lu Xun full authority and striking Hefei from the start....
"But General Jin—how stands Wu?"
"They've been quiet since their retreat. The manpower and material losses from this campaign must have been enormous, so they won't be stirring up any trouble for a while."
Wu was a state where the great clans held strong influence. That was why even these two operations had been pushed through while suppressing their opposition as best they could.
By now, Sun Quan was probably having a miserable time enduring the backlash from those clans.
Beyond that, Fei Yi filled me in on all the necessary intelligence.
First, news of Liu Bei's northern expeditionary force.
The main army had taken Yongzhou and was now set to absorb Liangzhou. With Yongzhou occupied, Liangzhou was all but cut off from contact with Wei's heartland. That would make the conquest considerably easier.
From what I heard, the vanguard commander Ma Chao's offensive was formidable.
But Wei was preparing a large-scale counterattack as well, committing Grand General Cao Ren along with generals such as Zhang He and Sun Li.
And in the center, close retainers like Xiahou Shang, Chen Qun, and Sima Yi remained behind to hold the line.
Even if we took Yongzhou and Liangzhou, advancing on Chang'an might prove difficult. Still, this much alone was an extraordinary achievement.
As expected of Fei Yi. He always looked like he was loafing about, yet he had gathered every piece of information that mattered.
"Lord Fei Yi, do you believe Cao Pi will truly attempt a full-scale southern campaign?"
"I don't think so. Yongzhou and Liangzhou are on the verge of falling entirely—the rumors must be exaggerated. At most, he'll aim to recover territory."
"We're of the same mind on that point."
"In any case, I'll rest here a day or two, then join General Zhang Fei. Ah, and this—I've made good use of it, so I'll return it now."
With that, I handed back the items Fei Yi had lent me.
"Ah. So you won't be dressing up like that anymore?"
"No. I'm a military officer who has to keep taking the field, after all. Thanks to you, Lord Fei Yi, they served me well."
"Well, you could have just kept using them...."
Fei Yi smacked his lips a little as he took back the clothes and ornaments.
"Let me see—what else was I supposed to tell the General? Ah, that's right! It's finished."
So saying, Fei Yi ordered a subordinate to bring something over.
"Here. The axe you spoke of, General."
"Ah! So it's been made."
I turned the axe Fei Yi handed me this way and that. The shape matched exactly what I had pictured in my mind.
This was the Francisca—a throwing axe that the Frankish armies would one day use.
After I left, Fei Yi had apparently had a few sample pieces forged.
"Shall we go outside and test it?"
At Fei Yi's suggestion, I took the axe and headed to the training ground.
I put some thirty paces between myself and a wooden post set up as a target, then settled into stance.
After swinging my arm in a few circles to loosen up, I flung it toward the tree—whoosh!
The axe spun through the air with a sound of cutting wind and buried itself dead center in the target with a solid thunk!
"Considerable power. Of course, that's because it was you throwing it, General Jin."
The axe had left a long gouge in the middle of the wood and stuck fast.
"Yes. It'll take more practice to use properly, but the power seems more than sufficient."
To wield these effectively, we would need to specially select and train men with real strength—much like the Strong Crossbow unit.
"And the abacus you created, General, is being put to excellent use. Thanks to it, we can finish our work far more quickly."
"That's good to hear."
According to Fei Yi, the abacus let him process work so fast that he now had more free time to play—which he considered a fine thing.
Hmm. If it had been Zhuge Liang, he would have filled the leftover time with more work. The difference in how they handled their duties was striking.
"Ah! I nearly forgot!"
"Was there something else?"
Fei Yi suddenly clapped his hands as he spoke.
"His Majesty sent an envoy to you, General Jin. You had already left for Jiangling, so you missed him."
"His Majesty?"
"Yes. An envoy sent out of concern for your injuries, to offer comfort."
"Ah. So that happened as well."
Well, my father would have worried—and so would Liu Bei.
"In your place, he saw the axe and abacus you developed, marveled at them, and returned."
Technically I hadn't developed them—I'd just copied them from historical knowledge—but never mind.
"I also heard this said: judging by the volume of work you handle, you could stand comparison with Chancellor Zhuge himself."
"Pardon?"
That didn't seem right at all.... Zhuge Liang was a tremendous workaholic who dragged every task under the sun onto his own plate, but I was nowhere near that level.
I tended to deal with whatever work caught my eye. Lately a lot of things had been catching my eye, true—but once this war ended, I fully intended to rest properly.
"Me? No. Absolutely not. How could I possibly compare to Chancellor Zhuge?"
"Honestly, it looks that way to me as well. Look at everything you've done recently, General Jin. Your exploits from northern Jingzhou all the way to the south. And on top of that, inventing these things while you were still injured. I could never work like that."
"Haha. You're mistaken."
At any rate, amid that misunderstanding that wasn't quite a misunderstanding, I reorganized my unit in Xinye and prepared to march out.
Before long, I would come face to face with Cao Pi's army.