My Little Xinye (1)
Huang Zhong. He was a veteran general who had reached the ripe old age of fifty this year. While most people didn't make it past sixty, he was still spry enough to command an entire army. The only regret was that he hadn't built much of a reputation yet. The lord he served loyally, Liu Biao, seemed obsessed solely with stamping out bandits, leaving Huang Zhong with few chances to shine in Yangyang Castle. Just like his fellow Huang clansman Huang Zu, who had slain Sun Jian and earned the post of Jiangxia Governor, Huang Zhong yearned to rack up military achievements of his own. What general didn't dream of glory through battlefield feats? Despite his advanced years, his hunger for honor burned as fiercely as ever—or perhaps even more so, precisely because of his age.
Still, I should be content. Time was equal for all, and he hadn't made the most of it to gain fame. Even though he prided himself on possessing what might be the strongest force in Liu Biao's army, it stung to be relegated to vice-commander, babysitting Liu Biao's nephew Liu Fan.
But.
I can fight.
Liu Biao had miraculously changed his mind, redirecting Liu Fan not to Jiangxia, but to Xinye. Bandits were eyeing Xinye, and everyone knew they were really Yuan Shu's forces in disguise. For a warrior of the realm, crushing these traitors would be the ultimate honor.
Yet the situation that let him shine also meant Xinye's prefect, Mun Bing, was badly outnumbered. Reinforcements shone brightest when allies were on the ropes. If he arrived to find the battle already over? Victory or defeat, the enemy's morale would be broken either way—but arriving for a fight only to leave empty-handed was utterly humiliating.
I can fight.
Huang Zhong gripped his bow tightly. He was confident no one in Jingzhou could match his archery, and ever since hearing tales of Lü Bu piercing seven layered shields with arrows, he'd trained daily to match that legend. Even at an age when retirement loomed, he'd honed his martial skills, preparing to elevate his name as a warrior.
And then, upon reaching Xinye, a breathless messenger brought shocking news from afar.
"Huh? We wiped 'em out three days ago, sir."
"...What?"
"Before word of reinforcements even arrived, we crushed the enemy completely. Our losses were about a thousand, but we killed seven thousand of theirs and captured three thousand prisoners. See those heads on the poles over there?"
A low hum rose. Near the road into the castle, slender poles bore severed heads. Huang Zhong frowned at the gruesome display, while Liu Fan behind him looked queasy, on the verge of vomiting.
"Who's that one?"
"General of Yuan Shu's army, called Leibo. Prefect Mun Bing personally dueled and beheaded the traitor to Zhong."
"Hm. Traitors deserve it. ...So the battle's already over."
Huang Zhong smacked his lips in disappointment.
"Good. No need for reinforcements to prove themselves. Still, we can't just turn back. Tell Prefect Mun Bing that Liu Governor's nephew, General Liu Fan..."
"Urp—bleeech!!"
"...has arrived as reinforcements. He wishes to at least show his face before departing."
Thus, Liu Biao's reinforcements made only a brief stop in Xinye.
* * *
"Wanna recap the battle? Zhuge Liang set up repeating crossbows on archery towers everywhere, sniping the enemy. Before they could surround the towers, everyone mounted up and rode out. They'd halt, shoot at pursuers, then fire again with the Yuanrong Crossbows before the enemy could loose arrows, dropping them. Sound good?"
"And then?"
"Mun Bing beheaded their commander, Xinye forces killed seven thousand bandits and captured three thousand. End."
"That's it?!"
Zhen Jun—er, Zhen Jun—glared at me furiously. Her voice was so loud that passing academy servants jumped and stared.
"What? What's up?"
"Isn't that the important part?!"
"Dunno. What's the point of dwelling on eight thousand dead? Oh, one more thing."
Postscript.
"Zhuge Liang's command was killer."
"...Sigh. You really..."
Zhen Jun covered her face and shook her head.
"Should've gone to the front myself."
"The academy maid?"
They said three years at a private school made even a dog recite poetry. Through sheer grit, Zhen Jun had become a top-notch cook for Sima Hui's academy. She still couldn't slice pork for some reason, but otherwise, she was a wizard in the kitchen. ...Though she still dressed like an official.
"Hey, I used to have a name back in the day."
"Now you're a dead woman. Stay put. Stir up military stuff, and she'll come hunting from Heodo calling you 'that bastard.'"
"Hmph."
Zhen Jun pouted sullenly. As a once-mighty strategist who led powerful armies, she was hooked on this major clash. But what could I do? I only cared about two things.
"I get battles are your jam. But to me, it's the meaning behind this one."
"I wanna know how we won."
"I'll chat with Mun Bing later. You'll hear then."
"...I wanna hear it from you."
Zhen Jun gazed at me steadily. I sighed involuntarily and glanced around.
As expected.
No one nearby. Sima Yi was in Heodo, Zhuge Liang handling postwar admin in Xinye's offices. Pang Tong and Seo Seo were with her, so the academy was just me and Zhen Jun.
"We'll talk long and hard tonight."
"...Fine."
Mun Bing's duel, Zhuge Liang's leadership, how one commander's beheading made General Jinran flee with the remnants—plenty to share over drinks later. For now, the outcome mattered.
"What do you make of the results, Teacher Zhen Jun?"
"Liu Biao's forces won a battle they should've. Yuan Shu's... toast."
"Spot on. How toast?"
"Just waiting to collapse."
"Nailed it. As expected from Teacher Zhen."
"That title... ugh."
Zhen Jun bit her lip, gripping my arm hard.
"...Just call me Zhen Jun."
"Got it. Sorry, should've been more thoughtful."
"It's fine. I just hate remembering the frog in the well who lost."
Zhen Jun had changed since joining the academy. Facing sharper young women had cracked her pride—in a good way.
"Anyway, Yuan Shu's done. Harshly put, it's over."
She could now view things as coldly as us.
"Not the kind of talk for public ears?"
"Yes."
Yuan Shu's downfall. This battle hammered the final nail into his crumbling path.
"He still claims eighty thousand troops. But real? Nah. Propped up by 'Zhong' pretensions, imperial prestige, and officers' grit."
"But the foundation's shaking."
"Right. ...Even the richest can't feed hundreds of thousands from personal coffers forever."
The granaries were emptying. Yuan Shu's were finally hitting bottom.
"Officers and officials unpaid will desert Zhong one by one. Even those blocking night flights will eat the sand-mixed rice and bolt together."
"Only true loyalists stay without pay."
"Yeah. And Yuan Shu doesn't have many true followers left. Like Lü Bu."
"...Hm."
Lü Bu ended up alone, with few staying out of true loyalty. Same for Yuan Shu. Calling this battle the death knell was a bit self-aggrandizing since it was our doing, but he'd fall before year's end for sure.
"We smashed the jar's base. The soy sauce inside was already evaporating in the sun, but now it's shattered—the rest dries up naturally."
Yuan Shu was doomed. I'd just hastened it a tad.
"No more threats around Xinye once he's gone. Just leftover Yeonam bandits...? Sane ones won't touch Xinye—or the road to Heodo."
And so.
"Heh heh, no more honey thieves means all this area's honey is mine."
"Just checking, but you didn't wipe Yuan Shu for the honey, right?"
"Haha, come on. Sound like a conspiracy nut. What am I, some big shot? Just a lazy rural scholar who loves honey water and freeloading."
"You say that grinning, and it sounds more suspicious."
"Does it? Well..."
I winked at Zhen Jun.
"Let's leave it at that. The traitor's about to fall. Great tidings, great tidings."
"Ha. You really..."
"Starving. Let's eat."
Time had flown while chatting.
"Teacher Sima Hui's out, disciples all gone—so lunch is just us."
"...Then come to the kitchen. That honey you gave me last time? Fermenting nicely."
"Kitchen? Just bring it here..."
"You wanna suck honey, right? ...Whatever, come or don't."
Zhen Jun headed to the kitchen without another word, and I followed her there.
"Time to cook in ages."
While the disciples toiled outside, I quietly savored honey in the kitchen.