The Decisive Battle Draws Near
"I shall begin with the conclusion, my lord. General Huang Gai intends to surrender to Chancellor Cao. I have come in secret to inform you of this fact."
"Wh—what did you say?!"
At Kan Ze's words, Cao Cao started in shock. He was not alone—Cheng Yu and the rest of his innermost circle could not hide their astonishment either.
"Surrender? Did you just say surrender?"
"Yes, my lord. Precisely so. At this very moment, General Huang Gai harbors a deep and bitter grievance against Grand Commander Zhou. And it is not General Huang Gai alone. In Eastern Wu, those who share such sentiments are far from few."
It was not a claim easily believed. Even so, Cao Cao continued to listen.
"Cheng Yu. What do you make of it? Could the words this secret envoy brought be true?"
The messenger who had given his name as Kan Ze had delivered both the secret letter and his account, then withdrawn. What he had brought was the sort of news that could end this war in a single stroke—news that made a man's ears prick up despite himself.
"Huang Gai's surrender… and with soldiers and supplies aboard, no less. If this is genuine, victory is already as good as ours."
Cao Cao's response was mildly favorable, but Cheng Yu urged caution.
"Yes. It is certainly a tempting prospect—yet something about it sits ill with me. Huang Gai, a loyal servant of Eastern Wu, surrendering? And the claim that he has fallen out with Zhou Yu… frankly, I find that difficult to believe as well."
"But if it is true, this could be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity. We could pacify Jiangdong in an instant. And while Huang Gai was a devoted vassal of Sun Jian, whether that loyalty extends all the way to Sun Quan is another matter entirely. Zhou Yu, for his part, has served since Sun Ce's time. Having to take orders from a man inferior in both age and experience—that could wound a man's pride."
"Your reasoning is sound, my lord. Precisely for that reason, however, I believe we must be all the more careful. Huang Gai said he would send word again when the time of his surrender is set. Until then, we should quietly verify whether any of this is true."
Cao Cao nodded.
"We have spies planted in Eastern Wu, do we not? Have them look into it."
"Yes, my lord."
Cheng Yu bowed his head and left.
Cao Cao sank into thought. He could not jump to conclusions yet—but the heaviness that had weighed on his mind for so long seemed, just a little, to lighten.
For all its glittering might, Cao Cao's army was plagued by several afflictions that kept him from lightly challenging Zhou Yu's forces.
First, the low morale and lack of experience. The enemy would already have taken the measure of that.
Then there was seasickness. A great many of the northern soldiers, unaccustomed to the water, complained of dizziness and headaches the moment they boarded a ship. Whenever they tried to drill, men leaned over the railings to vomit in droves, and their skill improved far more slowly than anyone had hoped.
By chaining the ships together with iron links—the so-called Linked Stratagem—they had managed to reduce the rocking somewhat. Even so, the training of the navy was not proceeding smoothly.
But what troubled Cao Cao most of all was the epidemic sweeping through the ranks.
A regional endemic disease, peculiar to this land. It was rotting Cao Cao's army from within. They had done everything they could to contain it, yet once the plague took hold it kept spreading from somewhere, and by now it had become a threat more fearsome than battle itself.
The number of soldiers collapsing and dying climbed by the day. Cao Cao wanted this war finished as soon as possible.
And then… the news that Huang Gai was contemplating surrender was welcome—and at the same time, it stirred a different kind of wariness.
The Jingzhou troops who came under my command this time. For now they obey my orders, but there is no telling when some among them might turn their backs. Even that old retainer Huang Gai may yet go either way. This war must be ended the moment it can be ended. If I win here, the unification of the realm is not far off.
If the report were true, it was the kind of glad tidings that would clear a man's head at a stroke. And it would bring him one great stride closer to the long-cherished ambition he had dreamed of for so many years.
And yet—
"Ugh, damn it…!"
Another headache struck without warning. Cao Cao grimaced and pressed a hand to his temple. He had been fine only moments ago—why now, of all times…
Once this war is over, I'll take a proper rest and catch my breath. The headaches will ease then.
He gulped down the tea set before him, but the pain showed no sign of improving.
"What do you make of it, Master Lu Su? Master Kan Ze went as a secret envoy to Cao Cao's camp yesterday. Does he believe Cao Cao will take the bait?"
Zhuge Liang and Lu Su were seated in the tent as always, discussing the operation. Fortunately Zhou Yu did not come by often; Lu Su visited in his place.
I found Zhou Yu rather difficult to deal with myself, so I was grateful that the good-natured Lu Su looked after us instead.
"According to Master Kan Ze, it is about even. He says Cao Cao showed both eagerness and suspicion."
"As expected. Even if he does not fully believe it, for Cao Cao it must be a proposal that makes his mouth water."
"Indeed. Honestly, I would wrestle with it myself."
I listened to their exchange and fell into thought for a moment. For now, things seemed to be progressing well.
That Cai Mao, Cao Cao's naval commander, had built a solid water fortress and was pouring himself into training the fleet was something we still had to watch carefully—but after that, events had flowed just as we wanted.
They had chained their ships together to steady them against the waves, and they had planted spies in our camp.
Of course Zhou Yu already knew of the spies' existence, and he meant to turn that knowledge against them—to make Cao Cao believe Huang Gai's surrender was entirely genuine.
What was Cao Cao thinking right about now? Probably clutching his head, turning the problem over and over. Should he take the bait or not?
If he had carried the day at Red Cliffs, he would have drawn considerably closer to unifying the realm…
"Duwei Jin. Duwei Jin—what has you so deep in thought?"
Zhuge Liang's voice broke through my reverie. Ah—had I been woolgathering too long?
"Ah, I was only turning over a few points about the operation…"
"What were you thinking about? Do you have a different opinion? Or is something troubling you?"
Hmm. My superiors were in council and I had been lost in my own head. Best to stick to business at a time like this.
"Yes, actually—there is one thing that bothers me."
"And what is that?"
"The wind, sir. The direction of the wind."
"The wind, is it? Haha."
Zhuge Liang covered his mouth with his crane-feather fan and laughed.
"What made you think of that?"
"Well—succeeding in the false surrender, penetrating deep into the enemy lines, and launching a fire attack is all well and good. But what comes after is the problem. At this season the wind blows toward our camp. If we set the fires, we will burn right along with them."
"Indeed. A fine observation. To have thought that far—you have a deep mind, Duwei Jin."
"Quite so. A true talent of both pen and sword. The Left General is a fortunate man."
Haha. I only knew it because I had read it in a book. Hearing Zhuge Liang and Lu Su praise me pricked my conscience just a little.
"You need not worry about that. I have already given the matter full consideration."
"Yes—we have already discussed it thoroughly with Grand Commander Zhou and Military Advisor Zhuge and laid every plan. All that remains is to choose the right day to carry it out."
Of course. They had already accounted for the wind changing direction.
Zhuge Liang was one thing, but people of Jiangdong like Zhou Yu and Lu Su would have calculated exactly how the winds of this region shifted. They would wait for the moment and then strike.
Would that be the highlight of Red Cliffs? No—what came after would matter more. That was what I was waiting for.
I kept those thoughts to myself and deliberately played the part of someone who knew nothing.
"Ah, so you have already thought it through. Might I ask what the plan is?"
"You need only wait. When the time comes, you will know—so look forward to it. Haha."
And so more days slipped by.
Zhou Yu turned the spies hidden in the camp to his own use, feeding them false information to pass along to Cao Cao.
Never dreaming he was being used, the spy delivered the fabricated reports to Cao Cao in good faith. By now Cao Cao would be ironclad in his belief that Huang Gai's surrender was real.
And at last, that day arrived. It was a night of still, quiet air. Zhuge Liang called me outside and spoke.
"Duwei Jin. We must leave soon—make ready."
"We're leaving? Then—today is the day."
"Yes. General Huang Gai's fleet will move shortly—northward, toward Cao Cao. Once we have confirmed that the wind has shifted, we return to our lord."
"I see. So this battle is decided tonight."
At Zhuge Liang's words, I felt my heart hammer hard in my chest.
After the first clash at Red Cliffs, there had been little for me to do. I had fretted that Cao Cao might attack before the operation could be launched, but mercifully everything had stayed quiet until now. Proof that Zhou Yu's schemes had taken hold.
Flutter!
That was when it happened. The banners throughout the camp shifted the direction of their flapping. They twisted slightly at first, then began to thrash as if they might tear free. Every flag in the camp whipped violently, all pointing the same way. That way was—
"A southeast wind."
"Yes. It is. Your words were right, Military Advisor."
"Then let us pay our respects to Grand Commander Zhou and be on our way."
It would not be long before this black backdrop was dyed red.