The Banquet
A year had passed, and it was now the year 208. I, too, had grown another year older, turning thirteen.
Of course, I was still in the midst of growing, and I had gotten taller in the meantime. People said I was on the tall side among girls my age.
That said, I was still a long way from the towering frames of men like Guan Yu or Zhang Fei, which was a little disappointing. They were unusually large even among men, though.
Greater height would have made it easier to wield martial arts with real skill. Still, I was growing little by little, so time would tell.
There had been no great change in the ranks of our army either.
Over the course of several months, Liu Bei had visited Zhuge Liang twice, and twice he had been forced to swallow his disappointment.
"Brother! You've gone in person twice already and still haven't caught so much as a glimpse of him. Let's just give it up."
Wherever Zhuge Liang was, he vanished somewhere else every time Liu Bei came calling. Zhang Fei grumbled, thoroughly irritated, but Liu Bei answered with unshaken calm.
"If twice is not enough, then three times, four times—even ten times. I will go to him."
At those words, even Guan Yu, who had far more patience than Zhang Fei, furrowed his brow.
In the meantime, Liu Bei had not spent all his days chasing after Zhuge Liang alone. In the narrow lands of Xinye he had steadily built his strength. He had replenished his soldiers, however modestly, drilled them, and stockpiled military supplies. He had also cultivated goodwill among Jingzhou figures such as Yi Ji and Xiang Lang.
His force was still far too small to compare with Cao Cao—or even with Liu Biao—but he never forgot to keep gathering strength.
I had not been idle either, learning herbal medicine from Xu Shu and training in martial arts.
Even so, I can't shake the feeling that there's something more I ought to be doing.
Liu Bei favored me quietly enough that he sometimes took me along as an attendant. Just as he did today.
"Jin Do. Lord Liu Biao has invited me today, and I mean to set out for Xiangyang. I would have you lead the escort. And what do you say to Jin Cheong coming with us as well?"
I had no particular reason to refuse, so I agreed to accompany my father and attend upon Liu Bei.
From time to time Liu Biao held banquets and summoned Liu Bei. The gatherings were always warm and lively on the surface, yet an invisible, unreadable current sometimes ran between the two men.
In truth, Liu Biao never fully trusted Liu Bei; he is said to have watched him in secret and kept his guard up. As a guest general who had already built a force and a reputation that could not be ignored, a certain wariness was only natural from Liu Biao's position.
Perhaps this banquet, too, was meant to sound out Liu Bei's true intentions.
When Jin Do and I led the escort and entered Xiangyang with Liu Bei, a general came out to meet us.
"I am Huo Jun, a humble officer. I have come to receive Left General Liu Bei."
"General Huo Jun. You have gone to much trouble."
"Yes, my lord. It is an honor to receive you once again."
"For a man of General Huo's standing to come out and greet a guest himself—I hardly know where to put myself."
"What talk is this, when we are welcoming so valued a guest? Come, allow me to escort you to the banquet hall."
The exchange of courtesies between Liu Bei and Huo Jun had a pleasantly easy air. As I passed, I offered a brief greeting of my own.
"Good day, General Huo Jun."
"Young lady Jin Cheong has come as well. A pleasure. You are most welcome."
Huo Jun. A capable general who would one day enter Liu Bei's service. A master of defense who held Gaimeng Pass with only a handful of troops. He had the potential for far greater deeds, but his short life was the problem. If a man of his talent could live long and hold a vital post, nothing could be better.
Liu Bei will recruit him in his own time—but how do I extend that man's lifespan?
"Cheong. What do you make of General Huo Jun?"
Liu Bei looked at Huo Jun's back as the man walked ahead, then whispered a question that seemed a little out of the blue.
"Pardon? Well… he seems a diligent and capable general."
"Yes. I think so as well. And you have no other thoughts?"
"I am sorry, my lord, but I am not sure I understand."
"Do you think General Huo might join our army? He is an outstanding talent, and it seems a pity he has not yet been given room for greater deeds. That is why I ask."
It was a little surprising that he would put such a question to me. Still, it was my lord's question, so I had to answer.
"If my lord's virtue shines forth, what talent could refuse to come?"
"Hahaha. Spare me the flattery. What truly troubles me is whether Huo Jun will come under my banner of his own free will."
Hmm. A hard question to answer in concrete terms. That Huo Jun enters Liu Bei's service is an undisputed fact recorded in history. But the details of how he came over have not survived, so even I do not know. I can hardly say, "Oh, he'll just show up on his own."
I decided on a suitably measured reply.
"From what I can see, General Huo Jun already seems well disposed toward my lord. He always comes out to greet us, and at banquets and elsewhere he is plainly eager to catch your eye. And as you said, he has not been given any great preferment in Jingzhou."
"So that is how you see it."
I had said it mostly for lack of anything better, but it was not untrue. Every time we met him, Huo Jun treated us with kindness. Liu Bei, for his part, had already been making quiet moves to draw him in.
Liu Bei stroked his chin and smiled faintly. Whether my words pleased him or not, the man was hard to read.
"Then—are there any other fine talents we might bring into our army? Anyone who comes to mind? As you well know, the more talent the better."
Liu Bei spoke in a near-whisper. Why did a man who was already the foremost recruiter of talent keep asking me such things? It did not seem like a test.
I turned the matter over in my mind. As far as I knew, most of the Jingzhou figures who would later join our army had already formed some connection with Liu Bei. In other words, they would come in their own time; the rest would mostly surrender to Cao Cao.
Was there anyone else who might resist Cao Cao instead of yielding? It would not be easy—but one of the great pleasures of the Three Kingdoms was the gathering of talent. Ah. One name came to me.
"My lord. Have you heard of a man named Wang Wei?"
"Wang Wei? Of course I have."
"If it is that man, I believe he might be so moved by my lord that he would join our army."
Wang Wei. An officer under Liu Biao. When Liu Biao died and Liu Cong surrendered to Cao Cao, he offered Liu Cong a startling proposal:
Cao Cao has already accepted our surrender, and Liu Bei has fled—he will surely grow careless and neglect his defenses. Give me a few thousand men and I will intercept him in rough country and take him captive!
It was a truly bold speech.
But Liu Cong, already passive in war and having surrendered, dismissed the idea out of hand.
Hu Sanxing—the historian who annotated the Zizhi Tongjian—left the opinion that if Wang Wei's counsel had been taken, Cao Cao would have been in real danger. In other words, the man possessed a certain measure of strategy and courage.
What became of him afterward is not recorded, but the fact that he tried to stand against Cao Cao rather than surrender suggested he might well come over to our side.
"Is that so? Why do you think so?"
"Well… Wang Wei is not one of the great Jingzhou houses—neither the Cai clan nor the Kuai clan. That should make him easier to approach. And he is the sort of spirited man who often says that if Cao Cao invades, we must fight. If we can bring him in, would he not make a solid general for our army?"
I had pieced the words together as they came to me, but Liu Bei's eyes lit up.
"My lord—we are nearly at the banquet hall."
My father, Jin Do, whispered a warning, and we broke off the conversation. We were about to face Liu Biao and his people; he must have thought it unwise to keep talking of such things.
"Wang Wei…"
Liu Bei murmured the name once, then stepped into the well-appointed banquet hall. There he began to play the part of a man who had come for nothing but wine and pleasant talk, trading toasts and courtesies.
"Lord Liu Bei. It has been some time. I am growing old, and I find I can no longer hold banquets as often as I once did."
"Lord Inspector of Jingzhou, what talk is this? I am grateful simply to have been invited."
Liu Biao looked more gaunt than when I had last seen him. Perhaps… it was unkind to say so, but he did not seem to have many days left in this world. And when that day came, Cao Cao's full invasion would begin in earnest.
I stood at Liu Bei's side in the pose of an attendant and thought quietly. Could Wang Wei truly be brought over to our side? I could not say how great his ability or his deeds might prove, but if he were well employed, there might be good results.
After a little time I saw people crowding around Liu Bei.
He tilted cups with each of them in turn, answering every man with practiced ease.
It was always a wonder to watch someone draw people to him like that. No wonder he had kept gathering talent even through all that chaos.
Yet today the words the Jingzhou figures offered Liu Bei sounded strangely pointed.
"Lord Liu Bei, what do you think will become of Jingzhou's future?"
"With Lord Liu Biao here, what is there to worry about?"
"Even so, you must have some thoughts of your own? Figures worth watching who might lead Jingzhou hereafter, for instance."
"Lord Liu Biao and his sons are all in good health; they will lead the province well. I am content simply to follow them."
Jingzhou's future. I had attended several of Liu Biao's banquets before, but they had mostly been filled with idle talk; political conversation like this was rare. I was not the only one who felt as if they were sounding Liu Bei out.
Liu Bei seemed to sense it as well. He offered no dangerous remarks and slid past the questions with easy grace.
Some time later, Liu Biao spoke.
"Lord Liu Bei. I am not well, and I find it hard to sit long in this place. Would you come with me to my private quarters for a little talk?"
"Of course."
Liu Bei took my father and me with him and followed Liu Biao as far as the front of the great hall where he resided. But no one except Liu Bei was allowed inside.
"You two will wait here a while. I have something to discuss with Lord Liu Bei alone."
At Liu Biao's words, a strange chill pricked at a corner of my heart.
His tone is heavier than usual. Is it only because he is unwell? I have a bad feeling…
There was no way to refuse. Liu Biao went in first. As Liu Bei made to follow, I whispered low.
"My lord. Please be careful. Something about this does not feel right."
Liu Bei gave me a look that said, What do you mean?—then wiped every expression from his face and only nodded slightly. He followed Liu Biao inside.
I could do nothing but wait outside for him to come out unharmed.