The Calm Before the Storm
"Grand Commander. The pursuit force that went after Jin Cheong has returned."
"Have they? What do they report?"
Lu Xun, advancing on Jiangling, received the messenger's report midway through the march. Gong'an had been taken somehow or other, but the campaign since then had offered little cause for optimism, and his heart was heavy with worry. Sun Quan's rebukes had only sharpened his anxiety. Now word had come from the pursuit force — perhaps this time the news would be good. He allowed himself a quiet hope.
The messenger's next words dashed it without mercy.
"...I am sorry to report, sir, that they failed. General Shi Jing and most of the pursuit force were killed. Only a handful made it back alive."
"This..."
The brief light that had touched Lu Xun's face twisted into something far darker than before the report had even arrived. He composed himself and spoke.
"Where are they? I will see them myself."
As he had already been told, the survivors of the pursuit force numbered only a few. When he pressed them for a fuller account, this was what they said.
They had doggedly tracked Jin Cheong and her party to a ruined building and launched a sudden assault. Forcing their way inside had gone well enough — until an unexpected counterattack killed their commander, Shi Jing, and drove the rest into retreat.
"Someone was hiding somewhere, then suddenly appeared, killed General Shi Jing, and pushed our men back hard."
The soldier who said it shuddered, his face raw with remembered terror.
That was not all. She seemed to have won a fair measure of the common people's goodwill as well. When the pursuers asked the locals for her whereabouts, no one would tell them. There were clear tracks of warhorses, and still a few of the villagers flatly insisted they knew nothing. Lu Xun had ordered that civilians not be harmed, so there was nothing to be done about it.
Her uniqueness as a female general and her beauty played their part, no doubt — but she had treated ordinary soldiers and common folk well, and her popularity ran deep.
She's a more troublesome opponent than I thought.
Zhou Yu, the former Grand Commander, and Lü Meng, now laid low by illness, had both once named Jin Cheong among the figures in Liu Bei's army who demanded careful watch. Her valor was well known, so vigilance was warranted — but that had been a matter of the battlefield alone. If she was popular among ordinary people as well, her influence could only spread further.
And had Lü Meng himself not made winning the people's hearts the first priority when he planned the strike on Jingzhou?
Lu Xun set the thought aside and spoke to the survivors.
"Have your wounds tended and fill your bellies. Rest until further orders."
"Thank you, Grand Commander."
They had feared punishment for the failed operation; they withdrew with visible relief. Their private feelings were their own — but Lu Xun, for his part, felt the weight of responsibility keenly.
I failed to gauge the enemy's strength properly and sent a mediocre officer like Shi Jing. That fault is mine. If only I still had generals like Gan Ning and Ling Tong...
He still regretted their capture during the first assault on Jiangling. And with hard fighting still ahead, he could not afford to lose the soldiers' goodwill either.
Then unexpected news arrived.
"Grand Commander. His Lordship has sent an envoy."
"His Lordship has sent an envoy? Receive him with full courtesy."
Lu Xun straightened his bearing and went out to receive the visitor. After the harsh rebuke Sun Quan had delivered last time — unreasonable as it had been — he could not help wondering what this visit meant.
"I present myself before Grand Commander Lu Xun. I have come today to deliver His Lordship's command."
The man who bowed with quiet dignity was Gu Yong, mild of temperament.
"I receive His Lordship's command."
"Grand Commander Lu Xun has devoted himself to the conquest of Jingzhou at Our command. To ease his labors, We bestow fine wine distilled in Jianye itself, along with gold and silver. We trust he will continue to serve Us with all his strength."
"I am overwhelmed by His Lordship's grace."
Fortunately, this time the messenger had been sent to encourage rather than to scold. That Gu Yong, who never touched drink, had been made to carry wine struck Lu Xun as a mild contradiction — but he let it pass.
"Grand Commander. Before I return, I would speak with you a moment."
"Of course. Please, come in."
Having delivered Sun Quan's words, Gu Yong entered Lu Xun's tent and spoke with him alone.
"Grand Commander. You bear a heavy charge, and your labors are great. Lord Lü Meng remains ill..."
"You are too kind. A servant of His Lordship does only what he must."
Lu Xun spoke as if unconcerned, but Gu Yong could read him well enough.
"I hope you will not take His Lordship's earlier rebuke too much to heart. The conquest of Jingzhou has been long desired, and its failure to unfold as planned left him restless. That he has sent words of comfort now suggests he regrets it deeply."
"I am grateful for your concern. I no longer dwell on it — you need not worry."
"If that is so, I am glad... yet..."
Gu Yong, too, was troubled by the way Sun Quan's temper grew harsher and his suspicions deeper by the day. Looking back, it seemed to have begun after the successive defeats at Hefei. Sun Quan had almost never succeeded in campaigns beyond the lands of Jiangdong; his frustration was understandable, but of late it had gone too far. That he had at least sent Gu Yong to comfort Lu Xun was, if anything, a mercy.
"How stands the campaign?"
At the question, Lu Xun's face darkened.
"Not as well as I had hoped. We hold Gong'an, but Xiangyang and Fancheng have fallen to Guan Yu after all."
"Ah..."
They had believed that coordination with Wei would bring Jingzhou down in the end — yet Shu still stood firm. Gu Yong did not wish to press Lu Xun further, but he could not leave the question unasked. Sun Quan had sent him with words of comfort, yet still hoped inwardly for better news from the front.
"The fall of Xiangfan is no fault of yours, Grand Commander. Do not take it so hard."
"Thank you. More pressing now is Jiangling, which lies close at hand — I must devise a plan to take the city. I have already set spies in every direction to gather what intelligence we can."
A voice rose outside the tent.
"Grand Commander. Ding Feng. I have urgent news."
"Ding Feng? Enter."
Ding Feng came in at once and spoke without preamble.
"Grand Commander. Word from our spies. An enemy supply convoy is about to leave Jiangling for Xiangyang."
"A supply convoy?"
"Yes, sir. If we break it, we can deal a heavy blow to the enemy's provisions."
Gu Yong, listening beside them, asked, "Grand Commander — how do you see it? It seems an excellent chance to cut their supply line."
"Xiangfan is already desperately short of supplies because of the floods. They are also holding prisoners from both cities, so the strain on their stores will be far greater. Seize or burn those goods, and both Xiangfan and Jiangling will suffer bitterly."
Gu Yong's face brightened.
"Grand Commander — this is the moment!"
"No. Wait a moment."
At Ding Feng's cry, Lu Xun fell silent in thought, then spoke.
"I have a way to strike not only the convoy, but Jiangling itself."
"What is it?"
"We deliberately let word reach the enemy that we mean to attack the supply convoy. Then Xu Shu in Jiangling will have no choice but to send a relief force. If that force leaves the city, we strike it and inflict damage. If it does not come out, we simply take the supplies."
Gu Yong struck his knee with a sharp crack of approval.
"An excellent plan. Jiangling's walls are thick and high — a frontal assault would be hard. Better to draw them out and then strike."
"Grand Commander! Send me as the vanguard!"
Ding Feng could not contain the hot blood of youth and thumped his chest. Here, at last, was the chance to show the martial skill he had honed for so long. His fire stirred something in Lu Xun's own blood.
Gan Ning and Ling Tong, the fiercest champions of Eastern Wu, were prisoners of the enemy; Zhou Tai remained at Sun Quan's side — but here at hand stood Ding Feng, young and outstanding. And so long as Jin Cheong had not yet returned, Jiangling held no general of exceptional renown. If Ding Feng took the front, he would surely deal a heavy blow.
"Very well. From this moment, we target the enemy supply convoy. Ding Feng takes the vanguard; I will lead the main force. Zhang Qin, Pan Zhang, and the others will be charged with the assault on Jiangling. If Jiangling sends out a relief force, they attack the city at once!"
"Yes, sir!"
Jiangling, for its part, was no less steeped in unease. Xu Shu in particular was stretched thin between supply and defense.
He was conferring with Ma Liang, Wang Ping, and the others on measures to take.
"Lord Ma Liang. How goes the persuasion of the Wuling tribes?"
"You need not worry. We offered silk and gold and reasoned with them; they have agreed to cooperate. That should strengthen the defenses around Wuling to a fair degree."
The Wuling tribes were a non-Han people living near Wuling; they had long been on poor terms with Eastern Wu, and Ma Liang had won them over. Fortunately his plan had succeeded, and they had resolved to stand against Wu's forces in the Wuling region.
"That, at least, is a mercy."
Against Wu's great host their numbers were still short. Jin Cheong's bringing the Gong'an garrison into the fold had helped, but the disadvantage remained.
"Lord Xu Shu! Word is that the enemy generals Ding Feng and Lu Xun are moving to strike the supply convoy bound for Xiangyang!"
"What!"
The brief good news was followed at once by something far worse.
Wait — is this Lu Xun's scheme...?
If they truly meant only to take the supplies, they would have struck in secret. That the information had reached them in advance suggested the enemy had deliberately leaked it — a ploy to draw them out of the city.
And yet we cannot simply refuse to move.
If the convoy truly fell to the enemy, Xiangfan would be forced to hold with no provisions at all. Intelligence had already come that Cao Cao himself was leading a great army south toward Xiangfan. If the hard-won cities of Xiangfan were lost again, Jiangling might have to face Cao Cao's host from the north as well.
"There is no help for it. I will have to go out myself."
"Are you certain? This may be Lu Xun's trap."
"Then we meet it head-on. It may even prove a blessing. Better to ride out and fight once than to keep crouching here — it may do more for the men's spirits."
Xu Shu took up his sword.
"I will go out with General Wang Ping and guard the supply train. Wang Ping is already leading General Jin's troops; he will be a great strength."
Wang Ping answered at once from beside him.
"Of course! This humble officer will give everything he has to protect you and the convoy, Military Advisor!"
"Lord Ma Liang, hold Jiangling with Lords Zhao Lei and Guo Yi. Lu Xun may strike the city the moment I leave."
"Understood. Take care of yourself."