To Chengdu
“My lady…. What brings you all the way out here….”
“What do you mean, ‘what brings me’? I came because I wanted to see you, of course.”
When I hesitated and asked, Lady Sun answered as if it were the most natural thing in the world.
“Seyeong. Greet her properly first.”
Father gave me a subtle look from the side; with a startled “oh” I hastily offered my respects.
“Ah—greetings, my lady. Forgive my delay. I never expected you would come this far, so I was briefly taken aback. It has been a long time. I am glad to see you looking well.”
Cold sweat still ran down my back all the same.
Lady Sun had not gone to Eastern Wu—she had come here to Yizhou. In the original history she failed to abduct Liu Shan, spent the rest of her life in Wu, and died there.
What did this mean? Had something gone wrong? Had history twisted because of me? Or was I simply overthinking something ordinary?
A thousand thoughts raced through my mind.
“Seyeong, is something the matter? You look pale.”
Father asked from beside me. I had tried to keep my expression under control, but apparently I had failed.
“N-no, Father. I was only a little surprised.”
“Hmm, truly? You’re not simply put out at seeing a face you’d rather avoid? I’ve missed you terribly, you know.”
“Th-that couldn’t be. Of course not.”
Liu Bei chuckled from the side.
“Hahaha. General Jin must be worn out from all her hard work. Still, I am nominally the husband, yet my lady seems far happier to see General Jin than me. Should I be jealous?”
It was a situation that would have grown quite dangerous if I had not been a woman.
“Yes. I offer my greetings to my lord husband. Have you been well all this time?”
Only then did Sun Ren greet Liu Bei. The arrogant tone and manner had not vanished completely, yet she seemed considerably more demure than before.
Properly she ought to have greeted her husband and sovereign first, but the people standing to either side gave off the air that even this much was a relief.
“My lady, it is good to see you. Nothing untoward, I trust?”
There was still no sense of a loving couple between them, yet neither was there the icy wind that used to howl through their meetings. This had to be a good thing, right?
“Shan, come here. Let your father hold you.”
Liu Shan scampered over and climbed into Liu Bei’s arms.
Liu Bei declared he would spend a little time with his family and withdrew with Liu Shan and Sun Ren; the brief, lively reunion thus came to an end.
“Military Advisor Zhuge, what on earth is going on?”
Unable to contain my curiosity, I rushed to the official residence where Zhuge Liang was staying and asked without preamble.
“Hm? Ah, so the young master has come all this way out of curiosity.”
“Yes. Exactly.”
Truthfully I was curious about that as well. No—that might even have a direct bearing on things.
Zhuge Liang glanced around, confirmed no one else was present, and spoke quietly.
“The truth is, while we were still in Jingzhou there seems to have been a move to abduct the young master.”
“What?”
I sucked in a sharp breath. What startled me was not the kidnapping itself, but the speculative phrasing “seems to have been.”
Originally Lady Sun had tried to abduct Liu Shan openly, only to be stopped by Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei; she left Liu Shan behind and returned alone to Eastern Wu. In other words she had staged the kidnapping right under everyone’s noses and failed. Yet Zhuge Liang was speaking of it only as a conjecture.
He continued.
“After you left, I strengthened patrols and security around Gong’an together with Zhao Yun. Officially it was to forestall Cao Cao’s pressure and schemes in advance, but in truth it was because we could not know what plots Wu might be hatching. Xu Shu had also warned us before he departed.”
His account ran thus: once I left, the “control mechanism” was gone, and he had fretted over what Lady Sun might do; that worry had also contributed to the tighter security.
Moreover Xu Shu, before setting out for Yizhou, had advised that vigilance toward Wu must never be relaxed.
Well, Xu Shu had been wary of Wu from early on, saying the relationship could break someday.
“While we were maintaining that discreet defense, Zhao Yun discovered an unidentified boat moored on the riverbank near Gong’an.”
…!
Agents for the abduction of Liu Shan had almost certainly been aboard.
According to Zhuge Liang, however, when Zhao Yun moved to investigate they claimed they were merely merchants who had drifted off course and fled.
“Zhao Yun said their movements were closer to those of trained soldiers than merchants. Still, without proof it remains only a conjecture.”
Suspicious signs had been spotted several more times afterward; analyzing them led to the shared suspicion that an operation to kidnap Liu Shan was afoot. Yet the defenses had been so thorough that no incident actually erupted and no crisis was weathered.
If collusion with Wu were involved, Lady Sun was the natural suspect, but there was no evidence and she could not be interrogated; they had simply had to content themselves with the fact that nothing had gone wrong.
“So the opinion arose that rather than leave the young master in Jingzhou it would be better to bring him to Yizhou. That was when Lady Sun declared she would come along as well.”
In truth both of them had been burdensome to bring (Lady Sun especially), yet Sun Ren’s stubbornness could not be broken; a soft sigh escaped Zhuge Liang’s lips as he said so.
Still, she had become far more agreeable than before and no longer behaved with open insolence or tormented people. The arrogant temperament remained, of course.
Putting it all together, Lady Sun’s presence here was probably a butterfly effect I myself had caused.
And the more complicated part was that no one could predict which direction this would take. This was material that truly existed in neither the official histories nor the Romance.
“Ah, and I heard you saved Shiyuan—Pang Tong’s life. I am deeply indebted to you. I had been fretting that he might get himself into some accident….”
“Not at all. I’m only glad nothing serious happened.”
I said the words, yet my head was in turmoil. My only wish was that nothing serious would happen.
In any case, after weathering one major-yet-not-major crisis, Liu Bei’s army steadily advanced the siege of Chengdu.
Zhang Fei, who had marched on Jiangzhou, captured Yan Yan, the Grand Administrator of Ba Commandery, and encircled Chengdu from the south; Liu Bei’s main force gradually tightened the noose from the west.
And the northern front, regarded as the greatest variable—there the one pressing Chengdu was none other than the hero of Xiliang, Ma Chao.
“Lord Li Hui reports that he has succeeded in persuading Ma Chao.”
At the long-awaited news Liu Bei brightened with joy.
“At last I have obtained Yizhou!”
The name Ma Chao carried a weight all its own.
Who was Ma Chao? In Xiliang there was not a soul who did not know the name of that peerless hero.
The value of Ma Chao’s name lay not only in his outstanding tactical skill; even greater weight rested on his renown. He had not merely made his name famous throughout Xiliang; his influence reached the Qiang and Di tribes as well.
His entry into Liu Bei’s army meant that his name itself now pressed down upon Chengdu under Liu Bei’s banner—and with tremendous force.
Had he been merely a fierce warrior flaunting martial prowess, Liu Bei would never have rejoiced so greatly.
“Then all that remains is to accept Liu Zhang’s surrender.”
The plan had always been to display an overwhelming disparity of power rather than fight, then receive a quiet surrender.
“My word, Attendant Gan—dressed like that I hardly recognize you.”
I gazed in admiration at Gan Yong’s thoroughly transformed appearance.
“Ahem. When one goes as an envoy, one must look at least this presentable, no?”
Gan Yong adjusted his official cap and stroked his beard.
He was preparing to depart as the envoy charged by Liu Bei with securing Liu Zhang’s surrender.
Seeing the ever free-spirited, mischievous man so meticulously attired in formal robes and cap, the saying “clothes make the man” sprang unbidden to mind.
Playfulness still peeked through his speech and manner, yet that too would vanish the moment he stood before Liu Zhang. When seriousness was required, he was serious.
“Then take care on the road.”
“Do not worry. The generals and soldiers have suffered enough; it is time to end this quietly.”
With that he set out for Chengdu to place the final period on the conquest of Yizhou.
“Liu Zhang of Yizhou has declared his intention to surrender.”
After Gan Yong’s departure the awaited news arrived, and Liu Bei’s face lit up.
“At last—at last this business is finished!”
As expected, Gan Yong had obtained Liu Zhang’s surrender; word came that Liu Zhang himself would come before Liu Bei to yield.
“Everyone, prepare to receive Liu Zhang.”
Unprecedented joy swept through our army. Liu Bei dressed with care; the troops arrayed themselves in solemn ranks to greet Liu Zhang.
Then, from afar, Liu Zhang appeared riding in a carriage.
Right beside him sat Gan Yong, the envoy who had gone ahead, continually speaking to him. He seemed to be soothing the tense Liu Zhang’s spirits; whenever Gan Yong spoke, brief smiles flickered across Liu Zhang’s stiff face.
Given the records that Liu Zhang had been fond of Gan Yong, it appeared the man was easing the strained heart with amusing words and manner right at his side.
At length Liu Zhang reached Liu Bei, knelt before him, and spoke with bitter sorrow.
“This humble one, Liu Zhang, surrenders to General of the Left Liu Bei. I earnestly entreat you to govern Yizhou with benevolence and righteousness.”
The sobs of the ministers who had followed him rose, and the assembly suddenly grew solemn.
It was the moment the master of Yizhou changed hands.