The Battle of Baishui Pass
Ever since Liu Bei had dug himself into Gaimeng Pass, Yang Huai and Gao Pei of Baishui Pass had spent their days fretting and grinding their teeth.
Baishui Pass lay not far to the northeast of Gaimeng Pass, so they could see plain as day what Liu Bei was up to.
Liu Bei had agreed to strike Zhang Lu of Hanzhong, yet he kept putting it off day after day under the pretext of soothing the people's hearts and reorganizing his troops.
They had submitted memorial after memorial to their lord Liu Zhang, arguing that Liu Bei must be sent away — but Liu Zhang would not listen.
They wanted to beat their chests in frustration. Whether that frustration stemmed from Liu Zhang or from Liu Bei, they could scarcely tell.
All they could do was keep their guard up against Liu Bei and send spies to monitor the situation at Gaimeng Pass day and night. Yet the only news that came back was that the local people were treating Liu Bei with considerable goodwill.
That a thorn in their side like Liu Bei should enjoy such a fine reputation among the common folk struck them as a bitter contradiction.
A year or so passed in this fashion. Liu Bei still had not left Gaimeng Pass, and Yang Huai and Gao Pei were thoroughly worn out. It felt like living with a rotten tooth they could neither pull nor endure.
Then one day, a spy brought news that made them doubt their own ears.
"General, Liu Bei's army is packing up. From what I can gather, they mean to return to Jingzhou."
"Return to Jingzhou?"
"Yes. They say some crisis has arisen there and they must go back at once to deal with it."
Yang Huai and Gao Pei looked at each other.
"General Yang, what do you make of this?"
"I would be glad if he left quietly… but I have an ill feeling about it."
"I feel the same. This talk of returning is a ruse — he may mean to strike Fuxian to the south, or even us here. If that is the case, we cannot sit idle."
"Well said. We watch him, and the moment he tries anything suspicious, we take his head on the spot."
In the end, the two generals reached the same conclusion: Liu Bei had to be checked. They ordered their soldiers into light arms and rode hard for Gaimeng Pass.
By the time they arrived, breathless, before the gates of Gaimeng Pass, the sun had already set.
The pass was brightly lit. Through the open gates they could see soldiers loading carts, and horses and oxen milling about. At a glance, it matched the spy's report.
Are they truly packing up?
The thought crossed their minds, but they did not drop their guard.
"Announce that Yang Huai and Gao Pei have come to call on Lord Liu Bei."
The gate guard took the message and went inside. A short while later, Liu Bei emerged with a handful of men.
He was not even wearing armor — only ordinary clothes. With him were Huang Zhong, Xu Shu, Jin Do, Ma Su, and a few bodyguards.
"What brings such busy men out at this hour of night?"
Liu Bei spoke as though he were genuinely curious. The manner of it eased Yang Huai and Gao Pei's wariness, if only a little.
"Ah — we heard that Lord Liu Bei was returning to Jingzhou, and came out to see you off."
"Word has reached us that Cao Cao is making ominous moves. We must return at once and strengthen Jingzhou's defenses."
"Is there anything we might do to assist? If you would share a few more details of the situation, we may be able to help."
Of course, Yang Huai and Gao Pei had no intention of helping Liu Bei. They only wanted to glean whatever details they could before deciding whether to strike him down.
That was when the man called Ma Su opened his mouth.
"You gentlemen have labored day and night — our deepest thanks. It seems Cao Cao means to attack our home base while our lord is away. That cunning fox must not have learned his lesson at the Red Cliffs. But there is nothing to worry about. Once we arrive, the matter will be settled. We shall go at once and thrash him so thoroughly he will pull his neck in for good. As the Art of War says: Speed is the essence of war. You are military men yourselves, so you will have heard it at least once — that in the handling of troops, swiftness must be prized as life itself. If our army moves with the speed of a thunderbolt and strikes Cao Cao's flank, he will be so startled he will have no choice but to take the best of the Thirty-Six Stratagems — flee. Which brings me to my point: might you lend us the horses you have with you? With horses we could ride far faster. As you know, we are short on mounts. You asked just now if there was anything you could do to help? If you lend us horses, we can move our light cavalry with all haste and seize the high ground, and then…"
Yang Huai and Gao Pei were thoroughly irritated. Did the man never stop talking? And he spoke so fast it was hard to follow half of what he said.
But wait. What had he just said? Lend them horses?
"Hold on — hold your tongue a moment. Did you just ask us to lend you horses? An army's warhorses are its lifeblood. How could we casually hand them over?"
This time Liu Bei spoke.
"Did you truly come to help us?"
"That we did."
"Then when we requested ten thousand troops in support, why did you send only four thousand?"
"That was because our lord's own circumstances were… difficult…"
"Very well. Then why have you brought so many soldiers here with you?"
"That is…"
Ma Su stepped forward again and began to speak.
"Hahaha. Generals, there seems to have been some misunderstanding. Please, calm yourselves…"
As Ma Su rattled on once more, Yang Huai and Gao Pei's concentration frayed — and they failed to notice Liu Bei and Huang Zhong exchanging a glance.
"We only — wait…!"
Something entered Yang Huai's field of vision, and he froze. Huang Zhong had raised his bow and was aiming it straight at him.
"Silence. You came under the pretense of helping us, only to spring an ambush!"
"Wha—? Ghk!"
He had no time to speak. Yang Huai took Huang Zhong's arrow through the throat and died where he stood.
"You — you bastards! What kind of dirty trick is this…!"
Gao Pei was stunned, but he quickly rallied his men and moved to strike Liu Bei. The man was right in front of him — if he could just take that head…
Then a roar of war cries rose, and ambush troops burst from the woods on either side. Unbeknownst to him, Liu Feng and Huo Jun had hidden their men under cover of darkness well in advance.
Archers appeared atop the walls and loosed volleys of arrows, while Jin Do led the bodyguards forward to form a wall before Liu Bei.
Huang Zhong loosed several more shafts, dropping the soldiers guarding Gao Pei.
"R-retreat! Fall back to Baishui Pass for now!"
Gao Pei had no choice but to gather his men and withdraw toward Baishui Pass.
Having somehow shaken off Liu Bei's forces, Gao Pei reached the gates of Baishui Pass.
"Open the gates! Gao Pei has returned!"
A familiar face peered down from the wall.
"General Gao Pei. You have arrived?"
"Fa Zheng? What are you doing here? Never mind that — open the gates at once. There is no time."
"Why? Are Liu Bei's troops chasing you, by any chance?"
"Wh-what!"
Fa Zheng said nothing more. He raised one hand. At the signal, the soldiers on the wall loosed their arrows.
"L-Liu Bei's army? When did they—? Fa Zheng, you dog. So you did betray us after all."
Somehow, at some point, Liu Bei's forces had already seized Baishui Pass.
"Run… I have to run somewhere — anywhere!"
Then the gates swung wide, and a general charged out at the head of a troop of soldiers.
"I am Wei Yan! Take my blade!"
"Aaah!"
Gao Pei raised his sword to parry. But panic had scrambled his hands and feet, and he could not answer in time.
Whish!
"Gyaaah!"
With a single stroke from Wei Yan, Gao Pei toppled from his horse.
"I, Wei Yan, have taken Gao Pei's head! Surrender! Surrender, and your lives will be spared!"
Having already lost both of their commanders and Baishui Pass itself, the remaining soldiers had no idea what to do.
In the end, they laid down their weapons and chose the path of surrender.
"Baishui Pass has fallen! Hahaha!"
I received the news as it flew into Gaimeng Pass. Thankfully, the operation seemed to have succeeded without a hitch.
It had been Pang Tong and Fa Zheng's scheme.
Pang Tong had deliberately ordered the army to pack its baggage and make a show of departing. He predicted that Yang Huai and Gao Pei would then leave Baishui Pass.
And in that opening, Fa Zheng would seize Baishui Pass together with Wei Yan. Since Fa Zheng had originally been a minister of Shu, the soldiers of Baishui Pass let their guard down the moment he took the lead.
When Wei Yan suddenly stormed in with his troops, the sparse garrison of Baishui Pass was so startled they surrendered on the spot.
"It was a combination of two stratagems — Lure the Tiger from the Mountain and Secretly Cross at Chencang. Truly remarkable."
Lure the Tiger from the Mountain was a diversionary ploy meant to draw the tiger down from its heights, while Secretly Cross at Chencang was a scheme to outflank the enemy and strike from the rear.
Ma Su held forth at length, citing this military classic and that, while Wei Yan swaggered about having taken a great haul of prisoners at Baishui Pass. It was, after all, their first victory since entering Shu — a little excitement was only natural.
While the operation was underway, I had stayed inside Gaimeng Pass with Pang Tong, pretending to pack the baggage. Historically, Pang Tong would die in the later assault on Luocheng — and some fretting old woman's instinct in me did not want him outside the walls when fighting was afoot.
So I proposed that he teach me, from inside the fortress, how best to deceive the enemy.
The strategy was already set, and the field commanders were already assigned. There was no real need for him to go out, so he accepted my suggestion, and together we directed the troops who were putting on the show of packing up.
The fall of Baishui Pass. The conquest of Yizhou had begun.