The Siege of Hanzhong (4)
Zhang Wei, currently charged with the defense of Yangping Pass, was going through pure hell holding the General-in-Chief's army at bay.
"General! The right wall is in danger!"
"We only just finished repairing it, and you're telling me it's in danger again?!"
"B-but the siege engines keep singling out that one section, hammering it without pause..."
The aide assisting Zhang Wei trailed off, looking utterly shamefaced.
"Spare me the excuses! Get men on it at once and shore up whatever's about to give way!"
"Yes, sir!"
Clasping his hands in a hasty bow, the aide hurried from his post.
Watching him go, Zhang Wei turned his gaze toward the front lines.
"Siege engines, huh..."
Right now, the enemy's engines were pouring down stones and arrows without the slightest interference. Stopping them was simple enough in principle: answer them engine for engine, or slip in a swift surprise attack the moment their formation loosened.
But for Zhang Lu's army, neither option was possible. Their own engines had all been blasted to splinters under the enemy's concentrated fire—what uncanny accuracy was that?—and even striking the instant the foe seemed to let their guard down hadn't worked.
"Leave it to me! I will bring back word of victory, I swear it!"
So had shouted Yang Ang, brimming with confidence as he begged for soldiers to be placed under his command.
"Forward! All soldiers, follow me!"
And so Yang Ang had led his cavalry out in the dead of night, when every soul was asleep, and launched his night raid in grand style...
"Khhak—!"
Against the blue-haired general, he could not withstand even a single exchange before his head went flying.
Afterward, Yang Ang's head was put on public display like a common criminal's, and even now, anyone who turned to look toward the General-in-Chief's camp would find it impaled on a spear shaft, tongue lolling out—a sorry sight if ever there was one.
That the morale of soldiers confronted with such a gruesome spectacle had crumbled went without saying. Even Zhang Wei had never imagined Yang Ang would lose his head without surviving so much as one exchange.
He'd heard it said that the General-in-Chief's army was second to none under heaven, but he had never dreamed they would be this strong.
My brother has sent nearly every soldier he has to reinforce Yangping Pass, so he must have nothing left to spare by now.
With the situation knotting itself tighter by the hour, Zhang Wei pulled a pained expression and pressed on with his thoughts.
All that remains for me is to hold firm.
Perhaps wary of suffering heavy losses of their own, the enemy showed no sign of actually throwing themselves at the walls. If they could hold out like this for months on end until the foe wore themselves out and slunk away, this was a battle they could win.
"Just hold on a little longer! Time to show those central-government bastards what our endurance looks like!"
"General! Urgent report!"
"What is it now?!"
Zhang Wei flared up at his aides, who kept pestering him with one "urgent report" after another.
Sensing his fraying temper, the aide chose his words with care.
"Hanning has fallen to the enemy!"
"Wh-what?!"
Zhang Wei jolted as though he might leap clean out of his seat.
"Not even a single bug could slip through here—how in the world did Hanning fall?!"
"By river! They used the Hanshui to sneak in a surprise attack—!"
"So it was a diversion...?"
Blindsided by an invasion route he had never once imagined, Zhang Wei wore the look of a man clubbed in the back of the head.
Then he bellowed:
"Did my brother escape unharmed?!"
"W-well, you see..."
The aide fidgeted, at a complete loss, before finally forcing the words out.
"They say Yang Song betrayed us and guided the enemy commander in!"
"That greedy pig dared—!"
Come to think of it, it had been suspicious how eagerly the man had preached surrender from the very start! And yet, out of regard for all their long years working side by side, Zhang Wei had let it pass without a word!
Hurling his sword to the ground and venting his fury, he demanded:
"...So what became of my brother?"
"They say he held back the generals around him, who meant to resist to the very last, and bowed his head."
"...I see."
At the news that his lord had knelt, the despair showed plainly on Zhang Wei's face.
The aide asked in a careful voice:
"What are we to do now?"
"The grain that feeds our soldiers is all sitting in Hanning—how are we supposed to resist?"
Starve the men, and grievances spring up where none existed; pile those grievances high enough, and the inside will inevitably begin to shake. Above all, his brother had never taken kindly to seeing people go hungry, so a quiet surrender was surely the wiser path. Dig in their heels and resist to the bitter end out of stubborn pride, and they would only come to a sorry end.
Having settled his thoughts, Zhang Wei spoke in a level voice.
"Inform every soldier and officer. We will cease our resistance and open the gates."
"Yes, sir!"
The aide bowed with due formality and left at once.
And so the resistance of Yangping Pass—that fortress hailed as heaven's own handiwork—and of Hanzhong itself, did not last even a month.
For my part, I used the siege engines to peck and prod at Zhang Lu's army from a distance so far it was downright infuriating, grating on their nerves without mercy.
Thanks to Gao Shun's command—her zeroing in was suspiciously flawless—the defensive engines at Yangping Pass had been blasted to pieces long ago, and the enemy general who'd forced a night raid under cover of darkness lost his head to Zhao Yun, astride her white horse, in a single exchange.
With nothing left to them but patching the walls fast enough to keep them standing, it had to be maddening from where Zhang Lu's army stood.
After all, wasn't one of the most infuriating situations in any fight getting hammered over and over without being able to answer back? If they closed on the walls, at least there'd be a counterattack to make—but with us simply flinging things from afar, we were like a mosquito whining right beside their ears, the sort of annoyance that robs you of sleep.
Of course, to land the decisive blow we would eventually have to press against the walls and roll out the rams...
but for now, my only job was holding their gaze.
All of Yi Province was still standing; we couldn't afford to swallow crushing losses just to take Hanzhong.
And so, several days into the assault on Yangping Pass—
"...The gates are opening."
"So they are."
Yangping Pass, which had been eating my bombardment without pause, abruptly ceased all resistance and began opening its gates of its own accord.
The same bastards who, beaten black and blue, had kept their guard up to the very end and fought like men prepared to die—opening the gates? What in the world was going on?
Had Hanzhong already fallen? That was far too fast. A needless worry crept over me.
"Don't tell me this is some Empty Fort Strategy?"
"Pardon? The Empty Fort Strategy?"
Hearing my worry, Sima Yi rounded her violet eyes.
"There'd be no reason to suddenly abandon a defense that's working and stage an Empty Fort Strategy now, would there?"
"...I suppose not."
The Empty Fort Strategy. A scheme to lure the enemy deep into a fortress, seal off their retreat, and crash down on them where they stood. Or else one that planted the illusion of ambushes lurking in every shadow, until the enemy withdrew their army of their own accord...
"Our soldiers outnumber theirs many times over—what is there to worry about?"
"..."
To hear those words from the very person who, in the history I remembered, had once been fooled by Zhuge Liang's Empty Fort Strategy into ordering a full retreat... it was a strangely ironic feeling.
"If it troubles you that much, send the vanguard in first."
Sima Yi said with a shrug.
"And if it really is an Empty Fort Strategy, we can simply charge straight through and take the place."
"Fair point."
Taking her advice, I shot a glance at Zhao Yun standing nearby.
True to form, Zhao Yun moved the instant our eyes met—she rode into Yangping Pass ahead of everyone, and before long came back out leading the pass's defending officers, all trussed in rope, in a long line.
Looking over the officers strung together like links of Vienna sausage, I spoke.
"What, did Hanzhong falling change your minds?"
"..."
At my light jab, the officers flinched hard and could offer no reply.
So it really had fallen.
Just how had she handled that boat? We'd only just come up from Xiangyang, and Gan Ning was already at Hanzhong? The river coiled like a serpent on the map, after all... That Silk Sails pirate really was something else, huh?
Mulling over what reward to grant Gan Ning, I went on.
"Still, in consideration of your ready surrender, I'll see to it that you are treated as favorably as possible."
"...We can only be grateful for the General-in-Chief's mercy!"
Zhang Wei bowed himself nearly double in thanks.
Survival above all, then. Was this truly the same man who'd been calling me a bandit mere days ago?
I turned my head slightly to check on Lü Bu and Seo Yeo.
"...Hmph."
Lü Bu fixed her gaze on Zhang Wei, looking for all the world like her hands were itching to get busy,
while Seo Yeo offered not a word, only boring into him with her usual expressionless stare.
...Judging by those looks, he was indeed the same man.
I spoke in an even voice.
"You may go now. I find myself curious what Yi Province will look like."
"Yes, sir! I will devote myself to your service!"
Zhang Wei, seemingly sensing something himself, answered with cold sweat streaming down him.
He looked to be dodging Seo Yeo's and Lü Bu's gazes for all he was worth.
Perhaps he had caught on that catastrophe would follow if their eyes ever met his, because Zhang Wei kept his gaze nailed to the ground the entire way to Hanzhong.
Honestly, why did he have to go saying things like that...
By now, he looked less contemptible than faintly pitiable.