Zhuge Liang Greets You at Death's Door - 3
The night in the wild mountains was pitch black, as if smeared with thick ink—visibility zero.
Shu forces lay in ambush at every pass. They'd coordinated to counter any enemy feints.
It was Chen Soyoung's ploy.
Guan Yu pondered her grand strategy.
She deploys a feigned retreat. A terribly sloppy one at that.
The enemy's intent was clear: seize Xinyang swiftly. No room for argument there.
And given the wisdom she'd shown at Pakmang, there had to be a solid reason.
Thus, Chen Soyoung's speculation on the enemy's motives was utterly trustworthy.
So why such a sloppy scheme?
It was a double bluff.
Using an obvious trap of loose silk threads to let the enemy infer a feigned retreat, exposing their intentions plainly.
But why this ploy?
The answer lay in night combat on rugged terrain.
Night battles are brutal.
Especially for the rank-and-file soldiers.
No massive blaze like at Pakmang to light the way.
Everyone blind, swallowed by darkness.
The mountain forests so dense and shadowy, you couldn't see a foot ahead.
That's why Chen Soyoung's feigned retreat ploy was priceless.
"Listen up! We ambush here. The moment their torches flare, loose arrows and fall back. Repeat. Give it everything you've got!"
The company captains bellowed.
"Yes, General! We trust you!"
"Lead well! No torches of our own! We stay hidden, harass them—that's our focus!"
"Understood!"
"Beacon fires mark the mountain peaks! Use them as guides. Disperse slowly from your posts, fall back repeatedly, and engage the enemy!"
The captains roared.
"Yes, General!"
Field commander Guan Yu relayed orders to the captains, who passed them to the troops.
One captain put it like this:
"The general wants to break their momentum! Orders are to shoot arrows stealthily and precisely, then retreat!"
Another said:
"Easy fight! Just shoot arrows!"
Someone shouted,
"Can't see a damn thing—how do we shoot?"
"The enemy'll light themselves up! Torches make perfect targets—turn 'em into pincushions!"
Guan Yu watched the captains issue commands, then scanned the soldiers' faces.
Morale was low. How could any leader miss that vibe?
Even from the ambush site, Guan Yu raised his voice to the max.
"When flames rise from the main camp, don't panic! Remember Pakmang!"
No one replied.
"Think the enemy can charge on horseback through these treacherous mountains?"
Guan Yu laughed loudly on purpose.
"Ha! Unless they've got a Red Hare, they'll be slower than you foot soldiers in this mess!"
He boomed on confidently.
"Wouldn't that be a sight? Their cavalry dismounting, leading horses by the reins—hilarious!"
His utter conviction, delivered as obvious fact, hit the troops straight in a life-or-death moment.
Guan Yu stayed calm, issuing orders as always.
"Listen!"
All eyes locked on him.
Enemy general Zhang He wasn't the type for bold night assaults with numerical superiority. But he was ambitious, hungry for glory.
Guan Yu knew him from shared days in Cao Cao's ranks.
That's why this plan.
"They'll blunder right into Pakmang! Their palm-readable intent—how laughable!"
Guan Yu's ambush spot was far from Chen Soyoung's prediction: Pakmang Slope.
"The Junior Strategist foresaw this, laid the trap, and set camp! Remember Pakmang?!"
The soldiers roared.
"Yes, General!"
"Then know you doubt not this victory either!"
"Yes! We know!"
Like magic, Guan Yu buried their fear of death. Victory's thrill boiled in his chest, steaming out like mist, igniting the troops.
Pakmang's triumph fueled the reaction. Morale soared on that smoke.
The force steeled to hold Pakmang Slope boldly against the horde.
Now, just the clash remained.
Twist once for a feigned retreat... Brilliant, milady. You've laid another stage for this Guan Yu.
Chen Soyoung was an ace strategist.
One who deceived even allies to fool foes—no need to probe further.
Zhang He would march here to Pakmang.
She'd pierced that truth, hence the sloppy feint.
No wonder Brother favors that child. A true heavenly talent.
*
"General! Urgent report—Shu ambushes at every pass to Xinyang!"
"As expected, right on cue. Flames at their main camp? What else but a feigned retreat?"
Zhang He saw through Chen Soyoung's ploy flawlessly.
Scouts reported consistently: small skirmishes, pursuit woes forcing repeated retreats.
Zhang He hardened his resolve.
"We push into Pakmang! Their forces spread thin, momentum weak—strike fast, seize Xinyang!"
The dust clouds from Pakmang bridge standoff? Enemy deception.
Why not destroy the bridge they had to hold, pull back instead?
To pick us off divided in a raid.
But such childish feints don't fool this Zhang He.
"General! Our corpses litter the ground!"
Zhang He fumed.
Corpses everywhere—report for a total commander?
"What the hell's Xu Huang doing? I handle petty crap now?"
"Apologies, General! But..."
Oh right.
Why so many reports piling up?
Xu Huang's wounds kept him from duty.
"Yakjin! Take Xu Huang's role!"
Yakjin shouted,
"Yes, General!"
Zhang He nodded, then bellowed,
"Trample corpses, clear debris—advance!"
Enemy dispersed—this was the chance.
Miss it, they'd fortify.
No way foes who stood against Xiahou Dun's host would flee.
"Seize Xinyang fast! Full advance!"
No drums, no horns.
Quiet orders, silent march. That was it.
*
"Enemy host advancing! Full army!"
Liu Bei's makeshift tent erupted like a marketplace.
Intel: Zhang He's thirty-thousand-strong horde on the move.
"Impossible."
Too late to relay to scattered ambushes.
Factor messenger travel too.
Timing off? Real piecemeal slaughter. Ultra caution needed.
"Where to?"
"Yes! Toward Pakmang!"
The messenger stabbed my blind spot.
Pakmang? Crawling into that hellhole willingly?
Why? Why Pakmang?
"You said they'd never enter Pakmang, milady!"
Misuk's rage was fair—I'd prepped that silk thread tight—but I had no clue.
How gamble thirty thousand into a death trap?
I'd banked on frontal assault. This wild bet made my head throb.
But I kept cool, laid out my thoughts.
"If they clear those supply carts and plunge in, it's what we want. We hold a day, retreat viable."
I eyed Liu Bei.
"My lord. Call in the generals now, retreat? Prime moment while their host's pinned in Pakmang."
Liu Bei looked rattled too.
"You said they'd never enter Pakmang."
I'll own it. Plan read.
But... them marching in willingly opened new doors.
I pressed Liu Bei straight, no hedging.
"True. Enemy's played worst hand—or best."
Clear goal: take Xinyang? Best move.
Annihilate us? Worst.
Liu Bei pondered, then probed.
"You're telling me to retreat, right?"
"Yes. Abandon Xinyang."
Liu Bei flung open the tent flap.
Stared blankly into Pakmang's lightless forest paths.
No reading his mind.
"Then I'll heed my lady's intent."
Resolved, he raised a hand to the messengers.
"Urgent! General! Urgent!!!"
A messenger burst in panting.
"Lord Guan engages at Pakmang! Won't fight head-on, just delays—answer before hill beacons burn out!"
Pakmang?
Why fight there?
Guan Yu?
Answer before beacons extinguish? He switched ambushes solo...?
"Enemy overwhelming Lord Guan's force. Fierce resistance, but no relief—they'll break soon!"
One-way ambush, not four? Yeah, that.
What was Guan Yu thinking...?
Before I finished, Liu Bei dropped the blank face, drew sword.
"Move out now! All forces rescue General Guan!"
Oh. Knee-jerk charge. Insane.
"No! We must retreat..."
"Didn't you hear the messenger? Move every man!"
Life flashing a bit.
We needed retreat now.
"No, we must retreat..."
"Enough! Flee just us?"
I was about to plead inwardly it was truly best.
Another figure tumbled in gasping.
"Urgent! The Chief Strategist has taken Yangyang, en route to Xinyang—my lord, worry not, trust your daughter!"
......?????
Yangyang... what?
Taken? How?!