Talent Turns the Tide
“Now I understand just how great a blessing it is for a man to have a good wife’s family. She’s my wife, after all, but her support at home and her full backing of everything I do makes me feel like I could fly.”
“Hrm, hrm. Is that so?”
We were currently inside the Daerisi, the Court of Judicial Bills. I hadn’t come to be investigated for any crime, nor was I here to visit a prisoner. I had come to meet the man in charge of this place.
Man Chong, courtesy name Boning, the Prefect of Xu County and head of the Daerisi—the very same Man Chong Cao Cao had planned to bring in as a relief player once I descended to the front.
“In any case, now that we have a defensive line north of the Yangtze, you’ll have to move as well, Prefect Man.”
“You mean I must leave the Daerisi and take the field?”
“The front at Guandu is extremely fierce. The Chancellor is looking for a commander who can operate a solid army capable of holding a siege.”
“Hmmmm. If it is the Chancellor’s order, then I must go.”
Man Chong rose from his seat and addressed his deputies.
“You there.”
“Yes, my lord!”
“Go fetch my armor.”
Man Chong was truly a straightforward man. Just as he had arrested the hangers-on at Cao Hong’s gambling den without asking questions and had them executed, the moment the order came he prepared to depart the capital without a second glance.
“Ah, Boning. Before you leave this post, shouldn’t we decide on a successor?”
“The Director of the Secretariat and the Chancellor’s office will handle that. I need only follow orders and head for Guandu.”
“Still, there should at least be a proper handover…”
“Jianjia, Yangjia. The two of you will explain everything properly to whoever comes to replace me.”
“Yes, Prefect!”
How terribly efficient.
But if Man Chong, who had been in charge of both the Daerisi and the Xu County security forces, left, who would take his place…?
Creak—
“Hm?”
The door opened and a scholar entered. He was young, with no trace of a beard, short in stature, yet his eyes carried a striking intensity.
“Who…?”
“I am Yi Qian, newly appointed Prefect of Yingyin County. By recommendation of the Director of the Secretariat, I have been assigned temporary duty at the Daerisi!”
Oh. Yi Qian.
So Man Chong was leaving, and Yi Qian was taking his place?
The moment Man Chong saw him, he approached and offered a greeting.
“I wondered who it might be. So it is Yi Mansheng, nephew of Yi Gong of Shengshi County.”
“A man of meager talent has been entrusted with the security of the capital. I will devote myself fully so as not to become an obstacle.”
“Good. Very well.”
Man Chong instructed his officials to brief Yi Qian on the handover, then departed.
I knew Yi Qian well myself.
“Is it truly Mansheng? You’ve grown quite a bit.”
“I offer my respects to the Colonel of the Martial Army!”
He was the cousin of my former lieutenant, Li Zheng, and the man whose revenge I had helped carry out during the Incident of the Curtains by capturing those who had betrayed us alongside Lü Bu’s forces.
“How is your cousin faring?”
“After the injuries he sustained that day, he retired. He has traded his sword for a plow and now lives quietly in his hometown.”
“He was a general of truly remarkable martial talent. To think it came to that…”
I had once commanded both Yue Jin and Li Zheng as my left and right wing commanders. Yue Jin had since risen to the rank of Colonel, but Li Zheng had been forced to retire after his wounds. Now his cousin Yi Qian had stepped in. Perhaps this was how generations changed.
In any case, Man Chong had left, and Yi Qian had arrived.
Next was Xu Shu, the Commandant of the Standard of Righteousness.
***
“Brother Yuanzhi, you’re finally heading to the front.”
“It seems this humble one will also have the chance to see the vast battlefields of Hebei.”
Xu Shu, now a Commandant of the Standard of Righteousness, looked nothing like the wandering swordsman he had once been. His robes were neat and proper, and the sharp edge of his former self had softened, yet the strategic mind within had grown sharper. Xiahou Yuan himself had recommended him, saying he would excel both as an administrator and as an operations staff officer.
Xu Shu, too, began preparing to depart.
“Is the situation on the front very difficult?”
“I’ve already taken two of their generals. Yuan Shao’s army will soon feel the absence of its commanders.”
“That’s something, at least.”
“By the way, Brother Yuanzhi, are you still living with your aged mother? I haven’t heard any news of you taking a wife or starting a family.”
“With more than five concubines already, perhaps it’s time I started thinking of others?”
Xu Shu was already thirty. Even in this era, a man his age still living alone with only his mother would draw considerable gossip.
If possible, I wanted to introduce him to a suitable daughter from a powerful local clan.
“Actually, there was a proposal.”
“Really? Then why…?”
“Because it came from the Chancellor’s own household.”
“!?”
Xu Shu had received an offer from the Cao clan? That was quite something.
“Zayul, do you remember the day you first met me, when you were using the alias ‘Wenlie’? The day we went to see the Grand Tutor in Xuzhou to deal with the bandits, saying you needed my sword?”
“Of course. It feels as vivid as yesterday.”
After all, everything had begun from that moment.
“Do you recall the girl who couldn’t board the carriage during that downpour, when we were fighting off the bandits alongside the other swordsmen?”
“Ah, the child you barely managed to save and took with you. She said she was Cao Anmin’s younger sister.”
In other words, the daughter of Cao De, Cao Cao’s younger brother. So then, could it be…?
“It’s only talk for now. Once this war ends, I imagine a decision will be made.”
“If it comes to pass, it would be quite the romance. And if you become the Chancellor’s nephew-in-law, wouldn’t that make us relatives by marriage?”
Xu Shu smiled quietly and began his own preparations to head for Guandu.
Meanwhile, the Chancellor’s office had been working without rest in Cao Cao’s absence.
“It’s only because it’s me that all of this can be handled in time. Especially with the Chancellor’s military advisor also away.”
“Assistant Director Yang, this concerns the restoration works in Xudu.”
“Xudu’s restoration goes here, Luoyang’s goes there, and the rest go in this box. I’ll read and verify each one personally.”
Countless bundles of bamboo slips piled high in the Chancellor’s office.
And the one sorting through them one by one, directing the officials, was none other than Assistant Director Yang Xiu.
“Dezuo, how’s the workload?”
“Oh my, if it isn’t the Colonel of the Household Gentlemen!”
Yang Xiu spotted me and came over with a bright greeting.
“Yesterday’s battle report was incredible. In such a short time, you captured two of Yuan Shao’s generals—one of them being his eldest son, Yuan Tan.”
“I was aiming for tiger cubs, but they turned out to be wildcats.”
“The important thing is that you struck their throats before they could bare their claws, isn’t it?”
Yang Xiu had always been eloquent.
Anyway, I was able to step outside with him for a brief talk.
“My uncle asked me to check whether the Chancellor’s office was running smoothly.”
“So you’re heading back to the northern front?”
“He said he would summon me soon.”
At that moment, Yang Xiu turned his gaze northward and spoke with a meaningful tone.
“This war will certainly be won. And it will be an overwhelming victory.”
“Dezuo, how can you be so certain?”
“During the war, the most important clan generals have come down to rest and catch their breath. That, in extreme terms, means the Chancellor has absolute confidence that he can win even while those men are away resting.”
“Hmm.”
“My prediction is this: Yuan Shao’s army is large, but as the front lines begin to stagnate, the impatient Yuan Shao will establish supply depots south of the Yellow River to maintain his logistics. If our forces discover them, the war will end right there.”
After Xun Yu and Guo Jia, was Yang Xiu the next to have such a clear grasp of the situation?
Judging by the way he spoke, Yang Xiu seemed unconcerned.
“I suspect it will be over around the autumn harvest. If you return with news of victory, I must ask you to tell me the full story of the war.”
“I’ll talk until your ears bleed—from the first battle to the very end.”
“I’ll be waiting.”
After finishing my conversation with Yang Xiu and confirming that the Chancellor’s office was running surprisingly well, I returned home.
As I was about to head back, someone called out to me.
“The one walking there… is that not the Colonel of the Martial Army?”
It was an elderly minister, supported by an attendant at his side.
I recognized him immediately and approached to offer my greetings.
“Is that not Lord Fu, the Imperial Uncle?”
It was Fu Wan, father of Fu Guiren, and beside him stood his son Fu De, the elder brother of Fu Guiren, whom I had come to know during the Emperor’s escape from Chang’an.
“It has been a long time.”
“Ah, Colonel. How long will you be staying in Xudu?”
“If the Chancellor summons me, I will return to Hebei at once.”
“Hmmm, I see. Very well.”
In the past, after Dong Cheng’s entire faction had been executed following the incident involving the two consorts Dong Guiren and Fu Guiren, it had seemed Fu Guiren might become Empress. Yet Cao Cao had sent his own daughter into the palace instead, and the position of Empress remained undecided.
Fu Wan, apparently aware of the shifting tides, made no mention of the Empress at all.
Instead, he approached me first and asked cautiously.
“Colonel, since you are a man of the Grand Tutor’s household, speak honestly. What will become of the inevitable clash between the Chancellor and the Grand General?”
“We will win. We will win decisively.”
“Can you be so certain?”
“I’ve already taken two generals. Once I return to the front, I will take three more and report to the court that five generals have been slain.”
My bold reply made Fu Wan’s eyes dart about restlessly.
It seemed the old man was thinking something, but he clearly wanted to avoid becoming another “Imperial Uncle Dong.”
“When the war ends, this old man’s household intends to invite the Chancellor’s family. You must come as well.”
“I look forward to it.”
“Colonel, I sincerely wish you good fortune in battle. You are a warrior of righteousness, loyalty, and chivalry. You will become a pillar of the realm.”
Even Fu Wan’s son Fu De offered such words, leaving me in good spirits as I took my leave.
And then, something truly unexpected occurred in Xudu.
***
“I came to pay my respects to the Chancellor in Hebei, but circumstances do not permit it, so I offer my greetings only to the Chancellor’s wife. A nameless swordsman of Hedong, having received the title of General of the Side and the fief of Hanshui Pavilion Marquis, departs now with gratitude for that grace.”
“So you are leaving. I have heard much of the General of the Side through my husband. I was told you were protecting the families of your sworn brothers… Have you found them?”
Guan Yu had come to our residence.
He offered a respectful bow to the Chancellor’s principal wife in Cao Cao’s absence and prepared to depart.
It seemed he had finally found Liu Bei. There would be no “Five Passes, Six Slaughters” this time.
From the carriage emerged Guan Yu’s new wife, Diaochan, along with Liu Bei’s two wives, Lady Mi and Lady Gan, as well as their children and nephews. They all gathered to pay their respects to the Cao household.
“I would have liked to see the Chancellor, but circumstances do not allow it, so I must leave like this. Also, these are the gold, silver, treasures, and various gifts the Chancellor once bestowed upon me. I have no need of them and wish to return them.”
He intended to return several carts full of gold, silver, silk, and servants.
“Take them with you for travel expenses, at least.”
“No. I have more than enough in my own possession, and the single horse the Chancellor recently gifted me is sufficient.”
Come to think of it, after slaying Yan Liang, Guan Yu had received a foal sired by the legendary Red Hare, now used as a stud stallion. It was said to be a magnificent steed nearly equal to its sire, and for Guan Yu, that alone was enough.
“I pray you return safely and reunite with your sworn brother.”
“Thank you, my lady!”
As Guan Yu prepared to leave, I walked with him to the city gates to see him off.
As expected, he was heading toward the southern gate leading to Yuzhou, not the northern gate toward Hebei.
“Uncle, are you truly leaving like this?”
“Have I not already fulfilled my duties as a guest general?”
“The next time we meet, it will be on the battlefield, won’t it?”
“If you dare raise your spear against me, I will show no mercy with my Green Dragon Blade.”
In typical Guan Yu fashion, he declared that he would not hesitate no matter where or when we met again.
And the fact that Guan Yu was leaving now meant, with absolute certainty, that the next time we met, he would be an enemy general under Liu Bei.
Some advisors and generals had suggested assassinating Guan Yu to eliminate future threats, but Cao Cao himself had insisted on letting him go as a gesture of righteousness.
“Zayul.”
“Yes, Uncle Yunchang.”
“I hope that the next time we meet, we can still smile at one another.”
“If that is truly what you wish, then I have something to say.”
“What is it?”
“My wife’s family is in Lujiang. My father-in-law serves as the Administrator there, defending the front lines south of the Yangtze.”
“Hmmm. Lujiang. I heard your sworn brother is in Runan.”
As expected, Guan Yu already knew everything.
Yes, Liu Bei had gone to Runan. Under Yuan Shao’s orders, he was to raise an anti-Cao force in his hometown of Runan in Yuzhou and harass our rear.
So it was certain we would become enemies. But at the very least, I hoped those in Lujiang would be left alone.
“Lujiang, is it… It lies along my path anyway. I suppose I could spare a moment.”
“Pardon? What do you mean…?”
“You’re worried about your wife’s family? Then I shall sweep through Lujiang once. If there is anyone who might pose a threat, I will deal with them on my way south.”
“!?!?!?!?!??”
“Whether they are bandit chieftains, generals of warlords rising from south of the Yangtze, or remnants of rebels who have yet to come to their senses.”
Good heavens!
Was this real?
Yuan Tan had just been captured in Hebei and thrown into chaos, and now Guan Yu was offering to personally eliminate anyone who got in his way while passing through Lujiang on his way to Runan? Truly?
If this went well, we might witness a new legend of the “Five Passes, Six Slaughters.”
Of course, the targets would be those who “looked suspicious in Guan Yu’s eyes,” “were hostile to my wife’s family,” and “stood in the way of meeting his sworn brother, Imperial Uncle Liu.”
“Remember this, Zayul. No matter the circumstances, a warrior must never forget the spirit of righteousness and chivalry.”
“I… understand, Uncle Yunchang.”
I exchanged a warrior’s farewell with him and saw him safely on his way.
It was the Jian’an era.