Leaving Gaimeng Pass
Having slain Yang Huai and Gao Pei and seized Baishui Pass, Liu Bei at last resolved to strike Liu Zhang in earnest and claim Yi Province for his own. He moved swiftly to secure the northernmost reaches of the Ba-Shu region—Baishui Pass, Baishui County, and the surrounding lands—and set about putting his forces in order.
"Huang Zhong will take the vanguard. Wei Yan will command the rear. The left and right flanks fall to Liu Feng and Guan Ping. I myself will lead the center."
Liu Bei had lingered a full year at Gaimeng Pass, yet once the course was set he issued his appointments at once and pressed ahead with preparations to march.
"My lord, Gaimeng Pass is a vital stronghold," Pang Tong advised. "It is our base of operations, yet it must also hold the north against Zhang Lu of Hanzhong. It is both our rear and our foremost front. Lose this place and our army will have nowhere left to turn. We ought to leave a capable general to hold it."
Liu Bei assigned a defender without delay.
"General Huo Jun, you will hold Gaimeng Pass with five hundred men."
"Yes, my lord. This humble officer will defend the walls with his life."
Huo Jun answered with loyal resolve, yet I could read the strain and weariness in his eyes. Five hundred soldiers was far too few.
If history held true, Huo Jun would go on to repel Xiang Cun—one of Liu Zhang's generals—and his army of ten thousand with only a few hundred men, a feat of pure brilliance. That he would hold Gaimeng Pass magnificently was beyond doubt.
Yet whether from overexertion or some other cause, he would die only three years after that dazzling performance. It would be the first and last great deed he ever showed under Liu Bei's banner. Had he lived longer, he would surely have accomplished far greater things…
If I could only get him a little more manpower, a few more troops…
"My lord. May I speak a word?"
"Lieutenant Jin? Go on."
"It concerns the defense of Gaimeng Pass. General Huo Jun is of course skilled in strategy and valiant in battle; he will not lack for the means to hold the pass. Yet precisely because this place must not fall, I believe it would be wise to assign him another officer and a few more men."
Color returned faintly to Huo Jun's face at my words. Liu Bei's expression grew thoughtful.
"We must push all the way to Chengdu, and there are no few strongholds to reduce along the road. Our own strength is scarcely thirty thousand. I fear we can ill afford to spare more men for Gaimeng Pass."
He did not agree at once, so I pressed the point once more.
"Gaimeng Pass must guard the north, yes—but we cannot know how the Yi Province army will move from the south. They might well bypass our main force and strike the pass itself. I ask that you weigh this carefully."
"Then whom would you leave there? Speak more specifically."
"What if General Wang Wei were left as his second-in-command?"
"Wang Wei… Wang Wei…"
Wang Wei had originally been an officer of Jingzhou. When Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, he and Huo Jun had both come over to Liu Bei. In the original history he never joined Liu Bei's army at all; it was on my advice that Liu Bei had recruited him.
He and Huo Jun had served together in the Jingzhou forces and seemed on good terms, which was why I recommended him. If he could share the burden and lighten Huo Jun's load, so much the better…
"Huo Jun is steady by nature; Wang Wei is bold," Liu Bei said. "If the two of them work well together, the result may be more than the sum of its parts. I once told you that if you had thoughts on the appointment of talent, you should speak them freely. Very well. I accept your counsel."
He looked around at those assembled and declared:
"Wang Wei is appointed Huo Jun's second-in-command, and five hundred additional soldiers will remain with them."
"Thank you for granting this, my lord."
"This officer is grateful for my lord's grace. I will hold Gaimeng Pass with my life."
Huo Jun and I both bowed low to Liu Bei.
And so Gaimeng Pass was left in the keeping of Huo Jun and Wang Wei, with a thousand men between them.
Liu Bei, Pang Tong, Xu Shu, and the others went to inspect the full army before departure. Before I left, I sought out Huo Jun for a moment.
"General Huo Jun."
"Ah, Lieutenant Jin. My thanks for earlier. I was already feeling the weight of so great a charge; you have eased my mind considerably."
"Think nothing of it. I came to give you this before I go."
"What is it?"
I held out what I had prepared in advance—medicinal herbs I had found while treating the sick near Gaimeng Pass. I had gathered them beforehand to give to him.
"Herbs for restoring vitality. Your color has not looked well. When the fatigue grows heavy, decoct these and drink them. They will help."
"Such a precious gift! From first to last, I am truly in your debt!"
"You are the one guarding the throat of our army. Of course I should look after you."
That was as much as I could do. Had I been a master physician like Hua Tuo, I might have found a better way to lengthen Huo Jun's life. From here on, I could only leave it to fate.
I left Huo Jun still offering his thanks and rejoined the main force. The true entry into Yi Province was about to begin.
After the war council ended, while Jin Cheong was meeting with Huo Jun, Liu Bei spoke with Pang Tong.
"My lord, regarding Huo Jun and Wang Wei, whom we left at Gaimeng Pass…"
"Hm? Have you some other thought?"
"No. As you said, Huo Jun is steady and Wang Wei is bold. If two men of opposite temperaments can work in harmony, we may expect excellent results. But if, on the contrary, they fall into discord, the outcome may be worse than leaving either alone. That was simply the thought that crossed my mind."
"A fair point. Yet I had my own reasons for deciding as I did."
"May I ask what they were?"
Pang Tong tilted his head. Liu Bei smiled faintly before he answered.
"When Jin Cheong recommended Wang Wei just now, I watched Huo Jun's face. I had already settled on entrusting the pass to him. If someone then proposed another man for the post—what would a proud officer, hungry for merit, have felt? His pride would have been pricked. 'Does he not trust me?' he would have thought. Yet Huo Jun's expression showed agreement with Jin Cheong's counsel. And when the decision was made, he looked glad of it."
At that, understanding dawned on Pang Tong's face.
"I see. I was so fixed on Jin Cheong's suggestion that I paid no mind to Huo Jun's expression."
"It means his sense of duty to hold the walls outweighs any craving for personal glory. And I have watched the two of them ever since they came over to us from Jingzhou. Their friendship has always seemed sound. They will surely work together and hold the pass."
Pang Tong's face eased.
"I am impressed by my lord's discernment. And yet… I suspect that is not the whole of it."
This time Pang Tong smiled, and Liu Bei cocked his head.
"Oh? What do you mean?"
"I mean Lieutenant Jin. At first you spoke as though you opposed her, then you tested her with your questions—and the moment she offered her next suggestion, you agreed. It seems to me you are both testing Lieutenant Jin and placing your trust in her. As though the expectations you hold for her are of a different kind from those you hold for ordinary retainers. That is the impression I received."
Liu Bei broke into a hearty laugh at Pang Tong's words.
"Hahaha. Military Advisor Pang sees straight through me. It is exactly as you say. You, Military Advisor Zhuge, and Military Advisor Xu are all men who can fill the gaps I leave. Lieutenant Jin is likewise important to me—someone in whom I can place hope. And yet I still cannot take the measure of her vessel, its shape or its depth, and so she remains a curious figure to me."
"I too can roughly gauge the capacity and character of Kongming or Yuanzhi, yet Lieutenant Jin eludes me. Of course, I have not known her long."
"What is certain is this: though she still holds only the rank of Xiaowei, once this campaign is done she will surely rise to a far greater post."
"You place that much trust in her."
"I do. I do not fully understand her, and yet somehow I find myself trusting the child. There are times even I cannot make sense of it. Hahaha."
As he spoke, a thought seemed to strike him.
"Ah—and since the subject has come up. Lieutenant Jin has requested to be placed under your command for this campaign."
Pang Tong looked startled this time.
"Under my command?"
"Indeed. She insisted she must guard you at close quarters. In the past she protected my son; at the Red Cliffs she assisted Military Advisor Zhuge. I am almost jealous that she never seems to guard me. Hahaha!"
"I see. It is not as though I lack guards of my own…"
"Take her with you all the same. Who knows what unexpected aid she may provide? However abrupt or impulsive her actions may seem, the child always manages to accomplish something."
"As you command."
Having no reason to refuse, Pang Tong gave his assent at once.