Aftermath of the Battle of Red Cliffs
After the Battle of Red Cliffs ended, the generals and soldiers who had set out in pursuit of Cao Cao—myself included—returned one by one to the main camp.
Hunting Cao Cao down had proven far more difficult than anyone expected. Our own numbers were small to begin with, yet even as his army fled in utter ruin, more of them kept pouring in from behind in a relentless, grinding stream.
Above all there was Cao Cao’s unshaken command and the desperate fighting of the generals under him. Wherever we had laid ambitious ambushes and fire attacks, he moved with sharp instinct, and his officers risked their lives to hold us off.
In the end we had no choice but to let him slip away, left only with a deep and bitter regret.
The sole man still out was Guan Yu, who had taken the road to Huarong Pass.
I had fretted that he might release Cao Cao the way the old Romance told it, yet in this world that seemed unlikely. Zhuge Liang had said nothing of the sort, and Guan Yu himself did not appear so bound by any old debt of gratitude.
Just as I was fretting that I ought to have gone to Huarong myself and waiting in a fever of impatience, the long-awaited Guan Yu returned.
Could it be…!?
He strode into the command tent. His face did not look good. Surely not…?
He dropped to one knee before Liu Bei and began his report.
“You let him escape?”
“Yes. That is so. I rode out full of confidence, yet I have nothing to say for myself…”
Sighs rose from every side. Liu Bei himself smacked his lips in open regret.
The report from Guan Yu, who had led the final pursuit, was enough to snuff out every swollen hope at a single stroke.
As he knelt before Liu Bei, I sat in a corner of the council chamber and felt my chest might burst. What, then, had become of Cao Cao?
The words that left Guan Yu’s mouth made me clutch my head in both hands.
“Ah…!”
Had he let the man go? Yet the rest of his account made it clear that was not the case.
“I never expected him to fight so fiercely at the last. There is a saying that a cornered rat will bite the cat—and that scene fit the words to perfection.”
According to him, Cao Cao had drawn his own sword at the final moment, rallied the soldiers, and charged at the very head of the line. He had fought in a trance like a single warrior rather than a commander, and the generals and men under him had fought for their lives with equal fury.
Guan Yu had neither shown mercy nor released him. From the telling it was plain he had given everything he had. The heads of several officers of major rank—Zhang Nan, Chao Chu, and others—that he brought back were proof enough. Yet over the simple fact that Cao Cao had ultimately escaped, he seemed not to know where to put himself.
“It is all right. Rise, Yunchang. If even you could not succeed, then no one who went would have. If everything in this world went exactly as planned, what worries would remain? You have worked hard—go take your seat.”
Guan Yu rose and sat, but I still hung my head and clutched it.
Before the campaign I had insisted. This was a chance to take or kill Cao Cao; we had to throw everything into it this time. I had committed more troops than first planned, forced a hard march, and even made a success of the fire attack that, in the original history, had failed for Liu Bei.
And still we had let him slip away. Had I not simply made empty boasts? Liu Bei said it was fine, yet every face around the table showed the same unmistakable regret they could not hide.
Perhaps sensing my mood, Liu Bei began to speak in a calm, measured voice. He looked at my face, yet his eyes seemed to be gazing into some distant past.
“When I was in Xudu, the Cao Cao I saw was almost an object of admiration to me.”
It seemed an abrupt old story, but the generals listened in silence.
“He came from an immensely wealthy house and enjoyed the support of every local notable. And that was not all—he had famous generals and a mighty host. Looking at him I thought: Ah, that man’s road must have been smooth. He must have reached this height without much hardship.”
He spoke quietly, yet there was weight in every word, and his retainers held their breath.
“But that was my misconception. Once I sat alone with him over wine. And I learned. He too had lived through failure after failure from his youth. The man who rose to that place by stepping over countless defeats and setbacks is precisely this man called Cao Cao.”
Even Gan Yong, who had been lounging, straightened his posture and listened intently. I gently lifted my head and looked at Liu Bei’s face.
“Moreover, he is a man who has spent decades on the battlefield and survived every manner of near-death crisis. That he escaped this time is no great surprise. Cao Mengde is that kind of man.”
His tone held many emotions mixed together. It was hard to name only one, yet one feeling came through with perfect clarity.
Awe—reverence mixed with fear.
An emotion not easily felt toward a sworn rival, and yet one that can be felt only toward a sworn rival.
Liu Bei drew a single breath, then spoke in a far lighter tone.
“But we defeated that man. And we defeated him thoroughly.”
Defeated. At the word, smiles rose on every face.
“You have all worked hard until now. It is thanks to you. Thank you for fighting this difficult battle beside me. Zhuge Liang, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Jin Do, Xu Shu…”
Liu Bei looked around at those who had given so much and named them one by one. And then—
“And Duwei Jin.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“You have truly worked hard at so young an age. To have a talent of such insight and valor at my side is a great blessing indeed. I ask for your continued efforts. Is it not time now to think of the next matter and move forward? Haha.”
The others nodded at his words. My mood lightened a little, and I bowed my head to him.
“I am grateful for the excessive praise. Still, I raised my voice so strongly earlier—I feel ashamed.”
Liu Bei again told me it was nothing and not to take it to heart. Beside him Gan Yong chimed in.
“He says not to take it to heart, yet you keep fretting. If Cao Cao lives longer, we simply make him suffer that much more, no? This time he fled with his rear end on fire—next time we catch him and thrash his buttocks black and blue.”
Laughter rolled through the assembly.
With the comfort of Liu Bei, Gan Yong, and the rest, my heart grew much lighter.
Even so, the regret had not completely vanished.
Even if a newbie uses cheats, can she so easily defeat a veteran who has rolled through real combat for decades?
These were men who had crawled through the mud of that chaotic age for thirty or forty years, thrashing this way and that until they reached this place—whether Cao Cao or Liu Bei.
Cao Cao. An enemy, yet still a man worthy of admiration. Perhaps by driving him to the extreme I had only awakened the spirit of a hero.
Even with knowledge of the Three Kingdoms and innate martial talent, it was still too much to crush in a single stroke a man who had decades of experience navigating the chaos.
But I too will accumulate experience and grow further from now on.
And—
As Liu Bei said, it is time to prepare for the next matter. There are still many opportunities. How I can change history going forward…
“Chancellor. Jiangling Castle is visible over there.”
“Yes.”
Meanwhile Cao Cao, defeated at Red Cliffs, had barely managed to reach Jiangling. Seeing those solid walls at last, he felt the long and gloomy flight come to a period and let out a sigh of relief.
“Xu Chu. I will not forget your merit.”
“Merit? That is unthinkable. What merit do I have…? Rather I should beg forgiveness for my sins…”
Xu Chu trailed off. Looking at Cao Cao—who was not deeply wounded yet bore injuries here and there from fighting the pursuers—his head bowed of its own accord.
But Cao Cao was sincere.
Why did I ever think myself lonely? When there are men who guard my side even at the cost of their lives.
Xu Chu—loyal, valiant, and straightforward. Had he not fought right beside him, Cao Cao would have met a miserable end under Guan Yu’s pursuit. The same was true of Zhang Liao, Xu Huang, and the other generals.
“Straighten your shoulders. When we return I will comfort the labors of you and every general and soldier.”
The gates opened and Cao Ren, who had held the castle, came out to greet him. He fed the surviving soldiers their fill, treated the wounded, comforted them, and let them rest thoroughly for the time being.
“Warriors! Raise your heads. Regardless of victory or defeat, you who fought so splendidly are the true warriors. A defeat can be repaid twofold. There are any number of chances yet to earn merit. For now rest your bodies and look to the next!”
He himself lay down on a bed to soothe his exhausted body. Yet even while pretending to sleep he analyzed the causes of this defeat.
I should have listened to Jia Xu. Clearly this time there was also my own arrogance. Zhou Yu and Liu Bei were men who could not be beaten by numbers alone. If they continue to stand together they will not be easy to face. But reverse that thought—and it becomes a matter of breaking the alliance. When the alliance shatters and they turn on each other, that will be the opportunity.
Cao Cao lay on the bed and kept turning the problem over. His chronic headaches came and went, tormenting him, yet he did not stop thinking.
Wu’s army, which had played the decisive role in the victory, was currently in a festive mood.
“Grand Commander Zhou. We have secured the weapons the enemy abandoned. Sell them in the market and they will fetch a handsome price. Hahaha!”
“General Ling Tong’s unit has slain hundreds of enemy soldiers and taken hundreds more captive.”
“Generals Gan Ning and Lü Meng as well—if we tally the merits they earned in this war…”
Everyone was thoroughly elated and boasting of their achievements.
“Grand Commander Zhou. Congratulations on the victory.”
“General Huang Gai. Is your body all right?”
Huang Gai, still bandaged about the shoulder, entered the tent and greeted Zhou Yu. He had stood at the very front trying to take Cao Cao, only to be struck by an arrow and fall into the water. Fortunately Han Dang had rescued him in time.
“It is a thousand blessings that it stopped at that. Because General Huang Gai exerted himself without sparing his body, we could achieve this result.”
“It is all thanks to Grand Commander Zhou’s command. Your art of war is truly first under heaven.”
“Hahahaha! When you put it that way I do not know where to put myself.”
Zhou Yu laughed heartily. Yet inside he could not simply laugh.
This alliance managed to roll along somehow. But both Liu Bei and we joined only for profit; it could break at any moment. Once the threat is gone, it is obvious we will move according to greater profit.
Liu Bei is absolutely not a man who will remain under another. Zhuge Liang is likewise a man whose thoughts one cannot know. The road ahead will absolutely not flow smoothly.
Having heard the victory report, Lord of Wu Sun Quan personally visited Grand Commander Zhou and the officers and men, honored their merits, and encouraged them with rewards.
Yet as he turned away, a bitter feeling settled in one corner of his chest.
All around overflowed with praise for Zhou Yu’s stratagems and art of war. Zhang Zhao, who had stood at the head of the surrender faction, would see his position somewhat diminished by this affair—yet he would still remain an important minister in internal administration.
But by that same measure Zhou Yu’s position would grow even more solid.
Clearly the master of Jiangdong is me. Or… is it really?
Compared with Cao Cao’s power, Jiangdong felt the strong breath of the native great clans. Just looking at how loud the surrender faction had been before the war made him wonder how deep a loyalty his retainers could truly show him.
That Zhou Yu, who had established such great merit this time, would stand even more firmly hereafter was plain fact. What if he ever harbored unsavory thoughts?
It was a shudder-inducing imagination.
Rather, the small power of Liu Bei seemed to possess a far tighter bond between lord and retainers. In contrast, the ground where Sun Quan stood felt like a flimsy floor that might collapse at any moment.
Come to think of it, both Liu Bei and Cao Cao—the lords themselves—leapt into the battlefield. Father and elder brother were the same.
How gallant had been the valiant figures of his father Sun Jian and elder brother Sun Ce that he had seen with a child’s eyes. Thanks to those figures that never spared their own bodies in war, they had been able to gather such capable retainers.
I—I too must someday leap into the battlefield and show a figure no less than Father and elder brother.
They had won, yet the taste that came afterward was strangely bitter. Chewing on that bitterness, he made his resolve: he would surpass both father and elder brother.
Jiangling Castle. The generals and soldiers defeated at Red Cliffs were still streaming back toward its walls.
A considerable portion of the broken army, Cao Cao included, had already entered. Yet because so vast a host had set out, the stragglers kept pouring in one after another in an endless chain.
A few li from Jiangling, Yu Jin was guiding them.
“Just a little farther this way and it is Jiangling Castle. Once there, water and food await, and you can rest—so hold on a little longer.”
His face was, in a way, comical. It was blackened, and his eyebrows and hair were singed into tight curls by the fire—yet no one found it funny. The majority already looked the same.
He too was thoroughly exhausted, yet as a general still commanding soldiers he held the resolve to finish to the end what he had to do.
With an expressionless face he led the men as though nothing were amiss, but inside he was already burned pitch-black.
Fire, fire, fire. That damn fire! I’m sick of it. Just watch—I’ll never fall for fire again!