The Meaning of Being Called Zhang Fei's Deputy
I led ten thousand troops alongside Zhang Fei toward Baxi. We selected a position and raised our camp. The objective, of course, was to drive Zhang He back.
Zhang Fei sat inside the command tent with me and the other deputy generals, tracking Zhang He's movements and debating strategy. Zhang He had already secured the surrender of several districts in Baxi, and a taut unease hung over the whole region.
The mood in our army was… well, it was thick with tension. Facing one of Wei's renowned generals was part of it, but there was another reason entirely. Namely—
"Sir—General Zhang Fei… the scouting party that went northwest has returned… ah, and, uh, they report that they, um, didn't find anything additional…"
A young soldier who barely looked twenty stepped into the tent to deliver his report. About my age? Or younger still?
Zhang Fei shot to his feet, his expression pure displeasure. Wu Ban and the other deputies swallowed hard, faces going rigid. The young soldier went deathly pale.
"Can't you deliver a proper report? You! Aren't you a man? Huh? Answer me!"
"I—I am a man, sir."
"Then what's with all the stammering? Huh! Square those shoulders! Put some guts into your belly and report like you mean it! Understood? Do that half-assed nonsense one more time and I won't let it slide!"
"Y-yes, sir. Next time I'll do it properly…"
"Get out!"
"Yes. Yes, sir!"
The reason tension flooded the ranks was none other than our commander himself—Zhang Fei.
To put his temperament in a word: the absolute pinnacle of hot-blooded fury. To the common soldiers especially, he was an object of pure terror.
Zhang Fei never treated those who did their jobs properly with undue harshness. The other deputies, myself aside, were all men who fully carried their weight, so they rarely caught the full force of his rage head-on. But anyone with even the slightest shortcoming—and ordinary soldiers in particular—got no mercy whatsoever. Even the deputies kept their heads down whenever he blew up, never knowing when the sparks might fly their way.
The historical records had judged him as a man who revered gentlemen but paid no mind to petty men. Spending time at his side, I could see how perfectly that assessment fit.
Zhang Fei sat back down, and the meeting resumed in that stifling air. Still, he scowled, muttering that nothing was coming together.
"As expected, Zhang He… he's no easy opponent."
A sharp glare. Wu Lan's poorly timed remark earned him a withering look from Zhang Fei, and he ducked his head at once.
To be fair, it was understandable. We had been facing off for some time now, yet Zhang He's movements remained maddeningly hard to read. He held two to three times our numbers, yet showed no interest in a full-scale battle. He clung to the rugged mountain terrain and never revealed the movements of his main force. Only small bands of soldiers were occasionally spotted by our scouts. What was he scheming?
I turned over my knowledge of the future and the enemy's movements, working the problem through.
"Zhang He doesn't seem inclined to fight us just yet. In my view, he's putting on a show of having troops at the front while circling around to seize key positions in our rear first. The likely targets are three: Tangqu, Mengtou, and Tangshi."
The historical records also noted that Zhang He had come down into Baxi and Badong, accepted surrenders, and tried to lead the populace back to Hanzhong.
"My thinking is the same. He's definitely camped on Bameng Mountain—but that's a bluff. His real army is sneaking around to occupy the rear first. Looking at everything we've pieced together of his movements so far…"
Zhang Fei took the lead, tracing the map with his finger. He stared at it in silence, then lifted his head and slapped the table. The look of a man who had just figured something out.
"I've got it! I've cracked the enemy's scheme. His target is—!"
Indeed, temperament aside, Zhang Fei had the makings of a shrewd commander—
"General! Reporting! The rear supply convoy has arrived!!!"
A voice cut clean through Zhang Fei's words. It was that same young soldier from before. He stood ramrod straight, veins standing out on his neck. The tension still showed plain on his face, but a flicker of relief—I did it—peeked through at the edges.
The courage was admirable. The timing, however…
"You rotten little bastard, cutting me off mid-sentence—what the hell is wrong with you?!"
Enraged, Zhang Fei surged to his feet. His chair went clattering across the floor. The deputies pulled their necks in like turtles, and I covered my forehead with my palm. Oh, for heaven's sake…
Thud. Thud. Thud.
His massive frame thundered toward the soldier, iron armor clanking and groaning with every step. The deputies kept their heads down and watched out of the corners of their eyes. Stopping him, naturally, fell to me.
Aigoo, this man… Mood swings or not, this is too much. Even with Fan Jiang and Zhang Da out of the picture, at this rate he'll meet his end by some other route…
I stepped into his path before he could reach the soldier.
"General! Please calm down. Calm yourself."
"That bastard! That damn bastard cut me off! I'd just figured it out!"
"Yes, yes. Of course you're angry—naturally. But he brought necessary news, didn't he? You—go at once and tell the supply officer to check the goods and store them in the warehouse."
"Y-yes, General…"
The soldier fled outside, eyes brimming.
"General, it seemed you had just arrived at a fine idea. Would you share your insight…?"
I managed to soothe and coax Zhang Fei back into his chair. I had never met anyone who could go from ice-cold to volcanic blaze on pure whim like this. Hah… How am I supposed to civilize this man?
"Uh… where was I again?"
"…You predicted that Zhang He's army would move toward one of three places: Tangqu, Mengtou, or Tangshi."
"Right! Now I remember."
With the atmosphere more or less stabilized again, the meeting resumed, and the deputies let out sighs of relief.
"Putting all his movements together, it's clear he's heading for Tangqu County. Wu Ban, Wu Lan, Lei Tong—you three stay here with four thousand men. Make it look like we've still got plenty of troops and keep the enemy from approaching. I'll take Jin Cheong and six thousand to Tangqu County. Just in case, send scouting parties to Mengtou and Tangshi as well, and report immediately if the enemy draws near. We leave at first light. That is all."
At daybreak, I set out for Tangqu County with Zhang Fei at the head of six thousand soldiers.
"Good. I'll wait for Zhang He's army here. General Jin Cheong—you've got the whole plan memorized, yes?"
"Yes. Of course."
"And you know how to deploy the formation, naturally?"
"Naturally. Leave it to me."
"Good. Then we part ways here."
I peeled off from Zhang Fei's force with a special detachment of one thousand men.
Serving as his deputy, I had been able to learn a great many things—how to establish a camp, how to manage supply trains, how to march, how to array troops in formation, and more. I was steadily building the practical knowledge and experience of running an army. For someone who until now had only led small units or served in a supporting role, it was an enormous help.
Following what he had taught me, I moved my troops swiftly using the Peak-View Mountain March—a formation suited to mountain travel.
Zhang Fei would take the main body of five thousand, conceal them elsewhere, and wait for Zhang He. The plan was simple: once Zhang Fei struck Zhang He first, my unit would cut off the enemy's retreat.
Will the enemy general really show up here?
I was worried, but for now the important thing was to carry out Zhang Fei's instructions without fail.
"General Jin Cheong. The enemy general Zhang He is indeed coming this way. His force numbers roughly ten thousand."
"Just as expected."
A scout I had sent ahead returned with the news.
Some time later, a body of troops came creeping into view from the far side. Zhang He's force, without a doubt.
"Search the village thoroughly and occupy it! Requisition whatever supplies you need!"
Zhang He shouted the order, and his soldiers were just beginning to move in to seize the village when—
"Zhang He, you dog! Yan's own Zhang Fei is here! Come out and face me!"
"Wh-what? Zhang Fei? When did he—"
"If you're a man, don't run—fight!"
"Damn it. Don't panic—counterattack! We've got the numbers!"
The ambush threw them into brief confusion, but Zhang He was a battle-hardened veteran. He steadied his troops and raised his spear. Zhang Fei, however, started thrashing him with words before their spears even crossed.
"I've faced plenty of you Wei generals, and of the lot of them, you're the worst! Always slinking away from a real fight—what kind of cheap tricks are you pulling out here?"
"Spare me the nonsense and come at me…!"
Clang! Clang!
Their spears danced through the air. Even as he fought Zhang He, Zhang Fei never stopped talking.
"I used to call that bastard with three fathers a good-for-nothing mutt—so what the hell do I call you? How many masters have you switched, huh? Huh? Why aren't you answering!"
"Y-you…!"
Zhang Fei's skill was nothing short of divine. His martial prowess was first-rate, but he could whirl his serpent spear like lightning and still spit words in a machine-gun stream without the slightest break in form.
Zhang He, by contrast, kept getting his hands and feet tangled.
"Damn it all. Retreat! Fall back!"
"Come back here! We weren't finished talking!"
Zhang He had never matched Zhang Fei in raw strength to begin with. Caught by surprise, his soldiers panicking and their ranks breaking apart, he finally couldn't hold and began to withdraw.
Of course, I hadn't been sitting idle and watching the show. I had already moved my troops to cut off his line of retreat.
"Form the Yoke Formation!"
At my command, the soldiers moved as one. They truly were troops Zhang Fei had trained himself.
The Yoke Formation was used primarily in mountainous terrain—a shape with a concave center, highly effective at stopping an enemy breakthrough.
"General! The enemy has blocked our retreat!"
"Break through! Whatever it takes, punch a hole and get back!"
My unit closed around Zhang He's army and struck hard, while Zhang Fei brought the main force down on his rear.
Zhang He fought bravely, but under attack from both sides he had no hope of holding.
Zhang He's army shattered to pieces. He lost half his strength and barely managed to escape.