Gangdong (4)
Beiping Commandery, You Province. A city once ruled by the man they called the White Horse General—though by now, its master had long since changed hands.
...
And in the government hall of that city's Administrator, a woman sat keeping her seat with unruffled calm.
Hair and eyes that seemed to outshine gold itself. Beauty that one hundred people out of a hundred would praise without hesitation. And on top of it all, an overwhelming presence that made it impossible for anyone to dare lift their head and meet her gaze. A woman one would readily believe had been born to dominate others parted her lips in a composed voice.
"No openings today either, I take it."
"None, my lady! I stood just beyond arrow range and screamed every curse in existence at him—every last one in the book—and he didn't budge an inch!"
The towering woman known as one of the Hebei Twin Pillars pulled an embarrassed face.
"That man must be scared right down to his bones!"
...
"Well, I suppose that's only natural after losing as many times as he has!"
Having declared as much, Yan Liang let out a hearty laugh.
Wen Chou, hailed as one of the Hebei Twin Pillars just as Yan Liang was, watched her for a moment, then heaved a deep sigh and spoke.
"...The enemy shows no sign whatsoever of setting foot past the gates. What are we to do from here on?"
"Hmm..."
The woman seated at the head of the hall, Yuan Shao, showed a hint of deliberation at Wen Chou's question.
Just then, a girl appeared at Yuan Shao's side. Golden hair that proved the Yuan clan's blood ran in her veins—yet the girl bore a far stronger resemblance to someone other than Yuan Shao. Dropping to one knee before her, she cried out with utter confidence.
"Sister! Entrust me with an army, and I will take that fortress before the year is out!"
...
Yuan Shao regarded the girl with expressionless eyes. Another child of the Yuan bloodline who followed her—quite unlike that truly arrogant, foolish younger brother of hers. Yuan Shao, her golden hair braided neatly down her back, studied the girl for a moment before speaking with perfect calm.
"Yuan Tan."
"...Y-yes?!"
"Are you certain?"
"Th-that is..."
Under those eyes, which seemed to see through everything—even things the girl herself did not know—Yuan Tan broke into a cold sweat, her words trailing off into vagueness.
She was all the more nervous because only recently, a general had marched boldly upon Yijing Tower, failed, and lost his head for it. Qu Yi—that was his name, if she recalled correctly. The general who had won tremendous distinction at the Battle of Jieqiao, the first time Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan ever crossed blades, by crushing the White Horse Volunteers. But the sheer magnitude of that feat must have been poison: Qu Yi grew drunk on his own glory, set about carving out a faction within her ranks, and finally crossed Yuan Shao's temper. In the end, a death sentence was handed down on the pretext of his defeat at the Battle of Yijing Tower, and the general who had shattered Gongsun Zan's elite troops vanished beneath the executioner's blade, bellowing in protest to the very last.
...
True, she had done nothing to provoke her sister's temper the way Qu Yi had. But neither did she believe for a moment that her terrifying sister would simply look the other way if she threw soldiers' lives away on a reckless whim.
At the sight of Yuan Tan sweating buckets, Yuan Shao spoke.
"Yuan Tan."
"Yes! Yes, ma'am!"
"Kindly refrain from rushing out at every opportunity, a slave to empty ambition."
"Understood!"
The tone was that of an adult chiding a small child, yet Yuan Tan could not bring herself to feel the least bit offended by it. She knew perfectly well how hopelessly she fell short compared to her sister.
...
Ignoring the burden-laden stare Yuan Tan fixed on her with those wide, sparkling eyes, Yuan Shao sank back into the question of what to do about Yijing Tower. It was a rigid deadlock in which no one dared venture an answer. Into that frozen atmosphere, a civil official who had just received something from a messenger leaned in close and whispered with the utmost deference.
"My lord, the reply to the letter you sent some time ago has..."
"...Hm? So it's true, then?"
At the official's report, Yuan Shao turned her head. "Hand it to me."
"Yes, my lord."
The official passed over a letter that looked luxurious even at a careless glance.
...
Taking it, Yuan Shao spread the letter wide in one smooth, fluid motion, without a flicker of hesitation.
—It has been a while. Have you been keeping well?
However long she studied it, the handwriting and the prose alike felt nothing if not rough-hewn. It stood worlds apart not only from the graceful pen of her friend Cao Cao, but from her own writing as well.
"Hehe."
And yet why, of all things, was laughter welling up inside her? Far too much had befallen her for a mere greeting of "it has been a while" to amuse her.
"Gasp..."
"Sister?"
The generals nearby, every one of whom knew how rarely Yuan Shao ever smiled, showed open astonishment. Paying no mind whatsoever to the ripple of confusion around her, Yuan Shao kept reading.
—You know as well as I that I keep my letters short, so I will finish quickly.
—I have no intention of intruding upon your war with Gongsun Zan.
The most powerful military figure in the whole world was letting it be known that he intended to stand by as a mere spectator to the war over the hegemony of Hebei.
—I add this only in case you wonder: my choice was not made out of wariness toward you.
—While you settle the north, I will simply be settling the south.
Even the aside slipped in at the end, as though he worried her feelings might be bruised. The more she read, the more the lines laid bare the General-in-Chief's character, and Yuan Shao found her mood turning positively pleasant.
—Though I cannot grant you direct aid, there is at least one thing I can say.
There the General-in-Chief's pen broke off abruptly, as if pausing to catch its breath. And when her gaze slid lower, she found this:
—Gongsun Zan is a man who will destroy himself in his own good time. You need only wait for that moment.
The answer to the very problem Yuan Shao had been agonizing over.
—Hold the siege long enough, and Gongsun Zan will sink into ever more incomprehensible madness, while the officers and soldiers who watch him desert one after another.
—Bide your time, and then strike.
The tone was that of a man who already knew, down to the last detail, what end Gongsun Zan was fated to meet. Was that, too, the General-in-Chief's peerless gift for reading people? Calling to mind the extraordinary figures thriving at his side even now, Yuan Shao hardly found it surprising.
—...Ah, but even should his vigilance slacken, do not assault the walls.
—Someone like you can surely devise something better, no?
Perhaps fretting over small things was simply in his nature; the General-in-Chief had tacked one extra matter after another onto the tail end of his letter.
—Also, this part comes from a plan our little chick strategists cooked up...
He had promised to keep it short—just how much had he actually crammed in? The cutesy title "little chick strategists" grated on her ears, but the plan itself was undeniably sound, and Yuan Shao gave a small nod.
At length, having read every last line, Yuan Shao tucked the letter away close to her heart and spoke in a calm, level voice.
"I have a plan. I ask that all my generals follow my commands."
"We obey your command!"
At the iron in Yuan Shao's voice, Yan Liang, Wen Chou, and the host of generals bowed their heads in submission. The beautiful sight of Yuan Shao gathering them all into her grasp could be called a true sovereign's without the slightest reservation.
Having marched out with Her Majesty's blessing, I was making for the vicinity of Gangdong when news reached me from Hebei. And what news it was: Yuan Shao, feigning that her rear had come under attack by me, had pulled her army back—and then, when Gongsun Zan's forces crept out beyond Yijing Tower, she crushed them all over again.
"So it actually worked."
As I spoke in a tone of genuine admiration, Zhuge Liang flashed a smile. "Gongsun Zan was in a terribly desperate position, after all. Everything unfolded precisely according to my calculations."
"Right. Truly impressive."
I chuckled and ruffled Zhuge Liang's white hair to my heart's content.
"Hehe."
"...Grrk."
Zhuge Liang raised the White Feather Fan to her lips and beamed at Sima Yi, as much as to say how about that—and Sima Yi clenched her teeth as though the sight galled her.
That childish battle of nerves between them never changes. ...Then again, come to think of it, the two of them are still children at this point, aren't they?
Watching the scene, I couldn't help but snort with laughter.
"If it is your intention to side with Yuan Shao, my lord, how does this sound?" That was the plan one of my little chick strategists had submitted after combing my letter to Yuan Shao over for any flaws. The plan itself was disarmingly simple: answer Gongsun Zan's letter, make a show of striking Yuan Shao's rear, and flush the badger out of Yijing Tower.
Judging it an excellent plan, I ordered Ma Chao—whose unit outranked everything else I had in sheer mobility—to make a round trip to Jizhou.
"Yes! Leave it to me—just as you say, my lord!"
"..."
"Then I'll zip over and back before you know it—!"
Ma Chao's way of answering was something I still hadn't gotten used to. She and I had come together just once, and ever since she'd turned into a runaway locomotive with the brakes cut loose. What on earth was I supposed to do with her?
"...Ma Chao?"
When I recalled how the women—Seo Yeo and Lü Bu foremost among them—had looked at me in that moment, a cold sweat broke out over me even now.
In any case, Ma Chao did not betray my expectations: she succeeded in coaxing Gongsun Zan out of Yijing Tower, and Gongsun Zan—who marched his army forth declaring he would answer my call—walked straight into Yuan Shao's ambush and was smashed to pieces yet again. And in the middle of it all, that bastard Gongsun Zan had, apparently, managed to slink away one more time. The man's grip on life truly knew no end.
With the deception a success, Ma Chao would return to my side before long. I could only pity the Qiang cavalry unit that would be straining with all its might to keep pace with her speed.