The Hunter and the Hunted
The road back to Jingzhou was long and treacherous. Until the moment we turned south, the momentum had been strong.
My throat burned and my head felt heavy. Yet what tormented Cao Cao far more than physical pain was the gnawing regret and guilt.
'This utter defeat...'
Up until the time I captured Jingzhou, I had believed everything would turn out well. Of course I had never expected guaranteed victory, but I had never imagined such thorough ruin either.
'Should I have listened to Jia Xu's words.'
At that instant the chronic headache that had come out of nowhere struck Cao Cao like a hammer.
“Hng...”
Worse than ever, Cao Cao pressed his palm to his face and swallowed the groan.
“Prime Minister, are you all right?”
Xu Chu asked in alarm, eyes wide.
Cao Cao waved his hand and forced a composed smile.
“Ah... I am fine. It is nothing.”
Xu Chu kept his concern visible, but Cao Cao pretended nothing was wrong.
What truly weighed on him were the nearly broken soldiers trudging behind. Heads bowed, they followed in a weary line. Defeat was one thing, but with morale shattered they had been forced to march without rest or proper food.
Moreover, Liu Bei’s forces had sent pursuit detachments repeatedly to harass the retreat. Especially the fire attacks along the route to Jingzhou had been a nightmare repeated many times over.
Just the memory of the flames from Red Cliffs that had turned the Yangtze and the sky blood-red was enough to feel like a living hell. Yet to make matters worse, they had predicted the escape route and set yet another fire attack.
'Liu Bei, you bastard. You keep growing stronger. Or is it the schemes of your subordinates?'
No matter how he looked at it, the thought that he had underestimated Liu Bei and Sun Quan—people who could never be underestimated—made his head throb violently.
Every time they were ambushed, the generals and soldiers’ desperate efforts had allowed them to slip away. Without their courage he would not be alive in this world.
In their eyes a leader must never show emotion or weakness.
A lord is a lonely place, Cao Cao thought.
The harder the situation, the more soldiers would flee if their leader appeared weak or depressed. Better to put on a bold front.
Confronted with this dilemma his head throbbed even harder, yet Cao Cao forced himself to keep moving.
He pretended to be at ease, scanned the surroundings, and suddenly began to chuckle softly.
Xu Chu tilted his head.
“Prime Minister, what amuses you so?”
“Because Zhou Yu and Liu Bei are incompetent. The terrain here is perfect for an ambush. They missed this spot, so they must still be inexperienced in military strategy. Even if I won this time by luck, the next battle I will capture them for certain.”
“I see...”
Xu Chu answered with hesitation.
Cao Cao himself laughed at his own words after suffering such a crushing defeat. It was not acting in a play or anything of the sort.
Zhou Yu and Liu Bei were people he could never underestimate. The higher he valued them, the better.
Some soldiers wore expressions of confusion—'What is he saying?'—yet others thought, 'Still, our lord has the leeway to judge the situation and make jokes.'
Even that much was enough. As long as the soldiers sensed he still had his wits about him, Cao Cao considered it a success.
So he continued marching, clutching his aching head and pretending to be composed. Just a little more, just a little more... Once we reach Jingzhou we can reorganize.
But he did not realize he had reached the point where he could no longer put on that pretense.
“Where are we?”
“This is Huayong Island.”
“I see...”
The terrain was rugged and narrow.
“Prime Minister, hold on a little longer. Jingzhou is just around the corner.”
Looking back, Cao Cao saw the soldiers’ strength drained, bodies limp.
“Rest here for a while.”
It was a place with ambush risks, yet he could not simply drag exhausted men. Moreover, he himself was spent. As we drew closer to Jingzhou he could only pray there would be no more ambushes.
When the order to rest was given, the soldiers plopped down on the ground. All heads lowered, not a word spoken.
'When I return I will definitely...'
At that moment an uneasy feeling washed over him.
Thud. Thud. Thud!
The ground shook and vegetation twisted violently. This could not be an ambush...?
“Traitor Cao Cao, hand over your head!”
The booming voice belonged to Guan Yu. Oh no. Caught. He was guarding here too.
What greeted them was the Liu Bei army. Led by the formidable Guan Yu.
As the dark figures approached, Cao Cao’s heart sank.
“Get up... everyone get up...”
The generals urged the soldiers, yet there was no strength in their voices.
Some staggered to their feet, but many seemed unwilling to lift their butts from the ground.
Others bared their teeth and laughed madly, as if insane.
“If you surrender, your lives will be spared!”
Guan Yu’s command rang out again. Some soldiers who had been sitting motionless raised their heads at the words. Their faces said it all: 'I should surrender...'
“Prime Minister, do not worry. Even if my life ends, I will protect you.”
Xu Chu said in a hoarse voice from the side. Always reliable, yet this time there was no spark left.
The head that had been forcing itself to turn finally stopped. No hope remained.
'Liu Bei, Sun Quan... are you truly trying to block my path...'
After breaking Yuan Shao’s power and pacifying Hebei, he had believed there was no one left in the world to rival him.
'Yuan Shao? Why is his name coming to mind now.'
Once his greatest enemy and also an old friend. Thinking of him, an oddly familiar anecdote from the past surfaced.
At the time when Yuan Shao had faced Gongsun Zan at Jixian...
There had been an incident when Yuan Shao’s small force was surrounded by two thousand of Gongsun Zan’s cavalry. Two thousand riders closed in tightly and rained arrows without pause.
In that desperate moment Tian Feng tried to have Yuan Shao escape, but Yuan Shao showed the judgment and courage of a man facing life or death.
Instead of following Tian Feng to flee, he threw off his helmet and shouted:
“The great man has come to die in front of the enemy—how can he possibly live?”
That single word of drink and his action doubled the courage of Yuan Shao’s army and allowed them to fight back and turn the tide.
...
Cao Cao had only heard the story, yet strangely the scene unfolded vividly before his eyes. But one thing was clear: what he needed to do now.
“Hah!”
Cao Cao laughed. From Red Cliffs to here he had forced laughter many times. This time it was a genuine laugh from the heart.
'I did not completely defeat you. Yet you already started boasting about unifying the world.'
But soon he stopped thinking. Contemplation while there was action to be taken was not in his nature.
“I say it again. Drop your weapons and surrender!”
“Prime Minister, retreat behind me. Even if my life ends, I will protect you...”
At that moment Cao Cao shook off Xu Chu’s arm and stepped forward. Then he removed his helmet and threw it to the ground. The helmet struck the stone with a clang and sparks flew.
“W-what, Prime Minister?”
Xu Chu let out a dazed sound. The soldiers jumped as if a firecracker had exploded in front of them and looked up.
“The great man does not intend to fight to the death in front of the enemy and hide behind them!”
Cao Cao raised his voice and roared. He drew Yi Tian Sword and thrust it toward the sky. His messy hair was blown by the wind, but the sword straight to the heavens shone white in the sunlight.
“Those who have made up their minds follow me. Otherwise you may surrender.”
He extended the sword forward and bowed his waist. Then he kicked the side of the horse and charged toward the cavalry led by Guan Yu in that posture.
“Wait! Prime Minister! This subordinate will lead! Hold!”
Xu Chu was shocked and chased after, and Li Liao and Si Huang followed right behind.
“You bastards, your butts are stuck to the ground. What are you doing without bringing the Prime Minister!”
Zhou Hong and Wu Jin urged the soldiers.
“Prime Minister! Prime Minister!”
As if shot with fire arrows in the butt, the soldiers jumped up and staggered but ran with all their might.
“Charge! Capture Cao Cao!”
Under Guan Yu’s command his cavalry also began to charge.
From behind the generals kept shouting for the Prime Minister until their voices broke, but Cao Cao could not hear them.
In front there were enemies swarming like bees, yet Cao Cao’s eyes were seeing something else.
The time when he first took office as the Northern Wei of Luoyang,
The five-colored club he had once cherished,
The day he first received Yi Tian Sword,
And now the face of his old friend he could no longer see.
The generals including Xu Chu kicked the horse’s sides and whipped them to death, but no one could catch up to Cao Cao.
The edge of Cao Cao and Guan Yu’s army collided head-on.