Those Who Remain, Those Who Leave, Those Who Are Accepted
Winter of the year 213. At last, Yizhou fell into Liu Bei's hands. By my reckoning, we had taken it several months earlier than in the original history. The siege of Luocheng, which had once dragged on for a full year, was finished in a matter of months.
It would not change everything, but securing Yizhou sooner and buying a little more time to prepare for the coming struggle over Hanzhong was no small achievement in its own right.
In any case, Liu Bei began in earnest to absorb Liu Zhang's former power base. He took into his service the officials who had remained in Chengdu—Huang Quan, Dong He, Liu Ba, and others—and worked to settle the hearts of the people.
Liu Zhang, the former lord of Yizhou, and his second son Liu Chan were to be sent to Gong'an in Jingzhou.
As for Lady Sun—Sun Ren—she would live with Liu Bei in Chengdu. Like a married couple. They had always been husband and wife, of course, so it was ironic to say they were only now living as one. Still, that was how it was.
Her fiery temper had not vanished entirely, but she no longer threatened people with spears and blades or caused public scenes the way she once had. That, at least, was a relief.
Out of curiosity I sought her out once and spoke with her.
"There's no one left to keep me company but you," she said. "And one way or another, I have to secure my place, don't I?"
She seemed intent on consolidating her position here, though I could not be certain of her true motives. For now they lived as an ordinary couple—or something close enough—and there was little I could say about it.
Lady Sun was far from the only matter that demanded attention. Both Liu Bei and I had our hands full.
Liu Bei also summoned Liu Xun and Zhang Ren, who had still been held as prisoners at Luocheng, intending to employ them as well. Liu Xun showed his willingness to serve under Liu Bei and, unlike his father, remained in Chengdu.
Zhang Ren alone refused to bend. Liu Bei tried to persuade him more than once, but his answer never changed.
"As I said before—I will never serve two masters!"
They say it is hard to catch two rabbits at once.
Yizhou had fallen, yet the heart of one upright man could not be conquered.
"If you will not come under me, I will have no choice but to take your head. You understand that?"
"If you mean to take it, I will offer it gladly. I am a defeated general who could protect neither his lord nor his country. It is only fitting."
Liu Bei's question carried a bitter edge. Zhang Ren's reply did not.
"You are a true loyal subject."
Setting his regret aside, Liu Bei decided not to execute him, but to set him free.
"If I spare your life, what will you do?"
"I will return to my hometown, till the fields, and live out what remains of my days."
Liu Bei nodded. The other ministers immediately objected.
"My lord, if you spare that man, he will surely become a source of trouble later."
"Indeed. You must take his head now. Who can say what he may decide to do in the future?"
Those standing behind Liu Bei glared at Zhang Ren and raised their voices, but Zhang Ren did not so much as twitch an eyebrow. He met their pointing fingers head-on.
"Very well. You may take my head whenever you please."
Liu Bei hesitated for a moment, then chose to honor the man's loyalty.
"No. A long war has exhausted everyone, and only now are we beginning to find some measure of peace. There is no need to shed more blood. I have understood your sincerity well enough. Return to your hometown. I will not hold you."
"..."
Zhang Ren said nothing. He merely bowed lightly to Liu Bei in farewell, then set off alone for his home in Shu Commandery.
The ministers around them continued to urge that he be dealt with at once, lest he cause problems later, but Liu Bei rejected their counsel.
I alone caught the bitterness that flickered in his eyes. For a man whose hunger for talent outstripped anyone else's, the regret must have cut that much deeper.
"They say one may seize the generals of three armies, yet one cannot seize a single man's will. A waste of a fine talent. It is my own virtue that falls short."
Zhang Ren's retirement was something even I had not expected. I had vaguely assumed that if we accepted Liu Zhang's surrender at Luocheng without executing him, Zhang Ren would eventually come around as well. But things do not always roll the way one hopes.
"Years ago, Mengde—Cao Cao—kept his promise to Yunchang and let him go. I wonder if this is how he felt then."
Standing right beside him, I heard Liu Bei murmur the words under his breath.
Watching Zhang Ren's lonely figure recede, I wondered whether we would ever meet again—and if we did, what form that meeting would take.
Ma Chao, who had put the final seal on the conquest of Yizhou, also entered Liu Bei's service.
Liu Bei appointed him General Who Pacifies the West and Inspector of Linju, restored him as Marquis of Duting as before, and treated him with great generosity—a mark of respect for a warlord who had once faced Cao Cao head-on.
Ma Chao was, as I had expected, a man of powerful build and striking looks. Yet for all his heroic appearance, there was something lonely about him.
He kept his feelings hidden, but Liu Bei's sharp eye did not miss it. In a conversation with me present, Liu Bei brought the matter up.
"General Jin. Seyoung. What do you make of General Ma Chao's state of mind? For a man famed as a fierce warrior, he seems to be nursing some wound of the heart."
I thought I knew the answer. For all his renown, Ma Chao had lived a bitterly hard life—especially where his family was concerned.
First his father Ma Teng and some two hundred members of his clan had been slaughtered by Cao Cao at Yecheng. Later, at Jicheng, even the wife and children who had somehow survived were murdered as well.
His own reckless conduct had played a part, no doubt—but the near-total annihilation of his bloodline was a wound no warrior, however brave, could easily endure.
One needed only recall Ma Chao's last words to guess as much.
Of my clan of two hundred, nearly all were slaughtered by Cao Cao. Only my cousin Ma Dai remains. I humbly beg Your Majesty that the ancestral rites of this humble house may continue unbroken. I have nothing more to say.
To belittle his own family as "humble" while pleading that their sacrifices not be cut off—it was a pitiful last will, wholly at odds with the awe-inspiring title of Divine Might Heavenly General.
I told Liu Bei what I knew of the tragedy that had befallen Ma Chao's clan.
"Ah, how dreadful. I had heard something of it, but it was far worse than the rumors. And not once, but twice."
Liu Bei clicked his tongue.
"My lord, there is a way to lift his spirits, even a little."
"Oh? What is it? Speak freely."
"In Hanzhong, his concubine Lady Dong, his son Ma Qiu, and a few other members of his family are still living. If we bring them here, would that not comfort him?"
Just as I said, Lady Dong, Ma Qiu, and the others had survived several upheavals and were still in Hanzhong. When Ma Chao came down into Yizhou, he had been unable to bring them with him.
In the original future they never reunited with him. When Cao Cao conquered Hanzhong, Ma Qiu and the rest were killed. The shock of it, perhaps, was why Ma Chao did not live long afterward—dying with that desolate last will, having achieved little of note after joining Shu, and fading into the margins of history.
He was only forty-six when he died—not so very old. Had he lived a little longer, that valor and renown of his might have been a great strength to the realm.
"Yes, yes. Bring his family here. Then he might set down some of the weight on his heart."
"Exactly. And if we do, General Ma Chao will wield his spear for my lord without the least hesitation."
"A fine idea. But the method of bringing them is the problem. We can hardly march into Hanzhong."
"What if we choose a skilled speaker as an envoy, just as we did when we brought General Ma Chao himself? Send him with suitable gifts and have him persuade them. As things stand, Zhang Lu will not be eager to make an enemy of us."
Liu Bei nodded.
"Then we must choose a diplomat for Hanzhong. Does anyone come to mind?"
"In my view, Deng Zhi would be ideal."
"Deng Zhi… Deng Zhi. Yes, of course—there is him."
Deng Zhi was a man Liu Bei had taken into service after pacifying Yizhou. He had originally served under Liu Zhang without ever being put to real use, but after a brief conversation Liu Bei had rated his abilities highly.
In the future he would serve as the envoy who forged the alliance with Eastern Wu, and even Sun Quan was said to have liked him. In short, he was perfect for a diplomatic mission.
"Yes. I think he would be an excellent choice."
After consulting with his advisors—Pang Tong, Xu Shu, Fa Zheng, and the rest—Liu Bei accepted my plan and resolved to send Deng Zhi to Hanzhong.
Ma Chao was naturally overjoyed.
"I am deeply grateful for my lord's consideration. Truth be told, even after coming here I have scarcely been able to sleep for thinking of my family. And though I know it is an unreasonable request—might Pang De be brought as well? He is as close to me as a brother."
Pang De. One of the fierce generals of Xiliang alongside Ma Chao, and still remaining in Hanzhong. I, too, had been hoping desperately to bring him over.
Was he not one of the figures whose failure to join Shu had left Three Kingdoms readers with such lasting regret?
"If he is General Ma Chao's sworn friend, of course he must come with them. I promise to receive him well."
Preparations for the embassy proceeded smoothly—the date of departure, the gifts to be carried to Hanzhong, and so on.
Deng Zhi readily swore he would go and persuade Zhang Lu.
Then an unexpected variable appeared.
"General Jin Cheong. What would you say to going to Hanzhong with Deng Zhi?"
"Pardon? Me, my lord?"
"Yes. This plan was yours to begin with, was it not? And you have already served admirably as aide to both Military Advisor Zhuge and Military Advisor Pang. I think it would be well if you went this time as well."
Ah. I had not seen that coming.
"But I have no experience as an envoy, and little talent for—"
"I heard from Military Advisor Zhuge that you once debated Wu Fan in Eastern Wu. He is a renowned orator himself, yet you even extracted an apology from him, I am told."
That had happened, yes—but it had been more a matter of emotion than of diplomacy.
"Do not take it too heavily. You need only go with Deng Zhi and come back. And as an escort, you are ideal, are you not? If you go, I can rest easy."
Hm. In the Romance, Zhao Yun often played the escort. Somehow it seemed I was walking that path here. (In the actual historical records, Zhao Yun had not been a bodyguard, but never mind.)
"Yes. I will fulfill the mission."
With no grounds to refuse, I agreed to leave for Hanzhong with Deng Zhi.
Getting a look at Hanzhong in advance—soon to become a critical theater of war—would not be a bad thing either.