Reunion with Two
Rewinding the clock slightly, to the Wu army's camp.
Grand Commander Lu Meng of Wu was swelling with ambition at the prospect of seizing Jingzhou.
The background of the affair was this.
A secret alliance between Wei and Wu.
Wei had quietly dispatched a man named Sima Yi, who offered a proposal too sweet to refuse: strike at Jingzhou while it stood empty, left bare by Guan Yu's northern advance. On top of that, they sweetened the deal with a promise to enfeoff Sun Quan as King of Wu.
Unable to turn down such an irresistible offer, Sun Quan ordered Grand Commander Lu Meng to take Jingzhou, and now that operation was about to begin.
"They say Guan Yu is winning victory after victory at Xiangfan. This is the perfect chance to claim Jingzhou — while he's drunk on his own success!"
Having feigned illness to lull Guan Yu into complacency and waited for his opening, Lu Meng finally judged that the long-awaited moment had arrived.
"His Majesty has said repeatedly that we must take Jingzhou this time. Now is the hour to answer that call."
Acting on Sun Quan's orders, he had already advanced as far as Lukou.
He summoned his generals and resolved to launch the campaign for Jingzhou in earnest. The officers, already buoyant with dreams of great merit, lit up with enthusiasm.
"Oh! Has the time finally come? Do we only need to march out now?"
Lu Meng answered Gan Ning's question and pressed on.
"That's right. Mi Fang, the Grand Administrator of Nan Commandery, has agreed to respond in concert with our advance. Following his guidance, we need only take Jiangling and Gong'an first."
Collusion with Mi Fang. To Lu Meng, it was an opportunity without equal. If they could topple Jingzhou from within, piece by piece, he was certain they would take it.
"Then, as for the plan of operations… Hrm, cough!Cough, cough!"
Mid-roar of fighting spirit, Lu Meng suddenly broke into a fit of coughing.
"Grand Commander, are you all right?"
Beside him, Ling Tong called out with concern.
"I—I'm fine…. A cough like this will clear up the moment we enter Jiangling…."
Lu Meng forced a smile as he spoke, but the faces of the generals around him were full of worry.
They knew the truth by now. At first they had thought Lu Meng's retreat to Jianye under the pretext of illness was merely a ruse to lower Guan Yu's guard.
But Lu Meng's sickness was no lie. It was no light ailment, either — it was a grave disease. Enduring the pain, he had come this far determined to fulfill his duty to the very end.
Just as the mood threatened to turn solemn, Gan Ning stepped forward, thumping his chest.
"Grand Commander! Put me in the vanguard. I'll take the lead and reclaim Jiangling myself."
"I ought to… go myself…."
"Grand Commander. Do as Gan Ning proposes. You mustn't overexert yourself."
"He's right. Please take overall command of the operation from the rear and issue your orders from there."
When the other generals joined in restraining him, Lu Meng nodded.
"Very well. The vanguard goes to Gan Ning."
"Leave it to me! I'll bring you victory without fail!"
Then Ling Tong stepped forward as well.
"Send me too. I'll stand in the vanguard alongside Gan Ning."
"Oh-ho, looking to lend me a hand, are you?"
"…Spare me the nonsense. I'm only going to keep an eye on you so you don't botch the whole thing with some stupid mistake."
Gan Ning and Ling Tong had never gotten along, but since the Battle of Hefei their relationship had not been so bad. It was simply a matter of Gan Ning needling him and Ling Tong answering with a curt retort.
Given Ling Tong's character in particular, he was unlikely to scramble for credit or pick a fight with Gan Ning ahead of so great an undertaking.
"Good. Both of you will lead the vanguard. Once you take Jiangling, do not forget to win over the people's hearts. Zhuang Qin and the others will take the center, and I will bring up the rear as we advance on Jiangling."
"Yes, sir! We will keep it firmly in mind!"
Gan Ning and Ling Tong set out for Jiangling. Right up until Mi Fang threw open the gates and welcomed them with wine and meat, they believed they would retake the city with ease. Following Lu Meng's instructions, they turned their minds to soothing the people of Jiangling and securing full control of the region.
But it was all Xu Shu's scheme. Already aware of Mi Fang's collusion, Xu Shu had lured them into complacency and drawn them deep into Jiangling itself.
Then, with ambush troops prepared in advance, he surrounded them and struck from every side.
Gan Ning and Ling Tong were thrown into confusion by the sudden ambush, but they fought back bravely. They held the rear so that a good number of their men could break the encirclement and escape Jiangling — yet they themselves could not get away, and ended up taken prisoner.
They were lodged in a residence Xu Shu had prepared. Of course, soldiers stood watch, so escape was impossible. Still, if there was any fortune to be found, it was that they had not been thrown into a dungeon or subjected to harsh interrogation.
Seated in the room, Gan Ning smacked his lips.
"Well, damn. I talked big to the Grand Commander, and look at the state of me."
"Yes. We've become a burden to our own side. I suppose we should count ourselves lucky the Grand Commander didn't fall into the trap himself."
Sitting right beside him, Ling Tong felt as though his insides were burning. He had volunteered for the vanguard, only to end up a captive. He had no face left to show Lu Meng or the rest of their army.
The treatment, at least, was decent. Meals arrived punctually three times a day, and the lodgings were comfortable enough. Being unable to take a single step outside made it feel exactly like a comfortable prison — but still.
"So where did the whole thing go wrong? Mi Fang's surrender looked genuine enough."
This had been an operation personally directed by the brilliant strategists Lu Meng and Lu Xun. And yet they had been taken in so completely? Even as prisoners, the reality was hard to believe.
"To my eye, Mi Fang's surrender was sincere. Maybe he was found out right before he could go through with it?"
"Or the man simply acted like a fool. Nothing for it. We'll just have to hope for a release through negotiation or something of the sort."
"Ahh. Stuck in here, what choice do we have? Since it's come to this, might as well get some long-overdue rest."
Gan Ning flopped onto his back with that carefree remark, and Ling Tong glared at him.
"You can still say something that easygoing in a situation like this?"
"What else is there to do? What can we even manage right now?"
"You really are…!"
Clomp, clomp.
What cut off their exchange was the sound of footsteps from outside.
"Hm? Someone's coming?"
"It's not mealtime."
A voice carried through the door. A woman's voice.
"General Gan Ning, General Ling Tong. This is Jin Cheong. May I come in?"
At the sound of her voice, Gan Ning sat up. The two men looked at each other.
"Jin Cheong, she said?"
"Well, I'll be — hahaha! It really is Lady Jin. How long has it been? Ten years, give or take? You were just a little girl back then, and look at you now — a fine, strapping woman."
"It's been a long time…. How have you both been?"
When I stepped inside, Gan Ning and Ling Tong rose to greet me. As Gan Ning said, it had been nearly a decade. The first time since the Battle of Nan Commandery.
The marks of those ten years showed on their faces. Come to think of it, I had aged that much myself….
Long if you called it long, short if you called it short — a great deal had happened in that span of time. Liu Bei had taken Yizhou and Hanzhong, and I had come all the way here to change the fate of the future.
"Yes, much has happened, but I've managed well enough somehow. The situation isn't good, to be honest, but I'm glad to see you both. I hope the two of you haven't found living conditions too uncomfortable?"
"For prisoners, we eat three solid meals a day. Honestly, I was getting bored with nothing to do."
"Yes — nothing inconvenient, as such, but…."
Gan Ning was still as cheerful as ever, and Ling Tong as composed.
"But…. Was this operation your doing, by any chance?"
"Hahaha, well…. I was in Xiangyong and only just arrived here."
When Ling Tong asked the question lightly, I laughed it off with some awkwardness. Half true, half false. I had only given Xu Shu a few pieces of information, and he had performed beyond all expectation.
I had thought it would be success enough simply to prevent the betrayal and hold Jiangling — I never imagined we would capture heavyweights like Gan Ning and Ling Tong. Ma Su and Gou Fu, who had come with me, had also distinguished themselves, I was told.
We exchanged a brief conversation about how things had been in the intervening years.
"So, what is your business here?"
Ling Tong's question brought the digression back to the point.
"Yes. The truth is, I came because I hold both of your abilities in high regard, and…."
"Hold on. If you're about to say you mean to win us over, spare us."
Ling Tong raised a hand and cut me off. In fact, he was right. I had come hoping that Gan Ning and Ling Tong might join our side. I hadn't expected much chance of it, but I had thought it worth the attempt.
But Ling Tong would not even hear me out. Well — if they had simply agreed to switch sides on the spot, that would have been stranger still.
Gan Ning, however, reacted a little differently.
"Why not? Let's at least hear her out."
"What did you say?!"
Ling Tong flared at Gan Ning's words.
"Are you proposing we betray His Majesty?!"
"Not betrayal — the lady came all this way, so we might as well listen to what she has to say."
"Yes, our lord would certainly treat both of you with great generosity…."
"No — enough! If that's what you mean to say, better cut off my head instead."
Ling Tong was adamant. Seeing the usually quiet man lose his temper made me wonder if I had spoken out of turn.
"Yes, I seem to have been rude. Please forget this matter, and if anything is inconvenient, do not hesitate to tell me."
"Heh heh, leaving already? It's been so long — it'd be nice to talk a little more."
"Gan Ning…!"
"I have a great deal of work to do. I'll come visit again."
I offered my farewells and stepped outside. Gan Ning sounded regretful; Ling Tong kept his head bowed.
It was true that I had much to do. Xiangfan was still at war, and Sun Quan would not simply give up here.
"Gan Ning. I never thought I'd hear that kind of talk come out of your mouth."
"What, I only said we should hear a bit more. The terms didn't sound like they'd be bad…."
"I should have cut your head off long ago!"
Ling Tong was a man who, together with his father Ling Cao, had served Sun Ce and then Sun Quan across two generations of Wu. The thought of betrayal was not one that came easily to him.
But Gan Ning was different. He had originally served as an official in Yizhou, then quit and turned to piracy. After giving up the pirate life, he had gone to Jingzhou and become a subordinate of Liu Biao. When Liu Biao failed to employ him properly, he had grown disillusioned and crossed over to Wu, entering Sun Quan's service.
He was quite different from Ling Tong, who had served only one house. Ling Tong was not unaware of Gan Ning's nature, but he still felt a sense of betrayal.
"Thinking of betraying His Majesty? Have you forgotten the favors you've received from him?"
As Ling Tong continued to look stern, the grin faded from Gan Ning's face and seriousness settled over it.
"His Majesty. Yes — our lord. A good man. Wise, and he cares for his subordinates. But Ling Tong — haven't you felt how His Majesty has changed these past few years?"
"…What are you talking about?"
"More jealousy and suspicion toward his men than care for them — that's the feeling I've gotten over the last few years. You haven't noticed? Especially after the Battle of Hefei…."
"…Say one more word about His Majesty like that and I truly will not let it go…!"
Ling Tong spat the words as if chewing them, but in truth he, too, had sensed it in some unspoken corner of himself. The Sun Quan of today was different from the one he knew. Somehow he seemed to distrust his subordinates — or else to envy their abilities….
"That's why I said we should at least hear Lady Jin out. She seems to have a good opinion of us, too. What do you think of her? Lady Jin."
"…I told you to shut your mouth. I swear I'll…."
"Ugh — cough, cough!"
"Hm? Wh-what? What's wrong…?"
Ling Tong, about to rage at him again, started in surprise when Gan Ning suddenly broke into a violent coughing fit.
"Ahem — that is — cough — kh!"
When Gan Ning suddenly spat blood, Ling Tong recoiled in shock.
"What is this? Have you been hiding an illness too?"
"I should have… finished the job first…. No face left to show the Grand Commander…. Cough."
How could this be…. No wonder. He had seemed oddly sluggish in the fighting, not his usual self — and all along he had been concealing a sickness.
"Never mind talking — lie down here. I'll go find a physician or medicine or something."
Watching the back of Ling Tong as he rushed out in a fluster, Gan Ning murmured to himself.
Ling Tong… I'm sorry.