Prelude to the Great War

The soldiers led by Zhang Ran all wore cloaks on their shoulders, which they called jinsuyi (錦蓑衣, brocade rain cape). The length varied according to rank: for ordinary soldiers, it reached the shoulder blades; for squad leaders, it was allowed to reach the waist; for lieutenants, it covered the hips. The subordinate officers were free to choose their length.

Except for the officers receiving salaries, the material of the suyi was not brocade (錦) but usually cotton. However, they always added a piece of blue silk, which was in the shape of a phoenix and called luanling (鸞綾, phoenix silk).

The phoenix-shaped silk, originating from Zhang Ran’s name, was a great source of pride for Zhang Ran’s soldiers. Even when the situation was urgent and they couldn’t recover the bodies, they would take care of their comrades’ luanling. It was considered an unwritten rule of the army that a close friend would take it and return it to the bereaved family.

Due to their attire and customs, the public referred to the army led by Zhang Ran as the Luanling Army (鸞綾軍) and revered Zhang Ran as Luanling Ji (鸞綾姬, Phoenix Silk Lady).

《From the Biography of Zhang Ran in the Continuation of the Han Book》

§

The return journey after finishing all the business in Chengdu was bustling with people and horses, contrary to the small, simple group that had gone up to the capital.

It was like this even though an advance party had left with the rewards received in recognition of merits.

In place of Ma Dai and Ma Chong’s vacant positions, Zhang Yi and Wang Si, who were newly appointed this time, were accompanying us.

Additionally, as if to prove Wang Si’s deep virtue, friends who had been close to him followed, saying they would enlist together.

Although the number wasn’t particularly large, it was impressive that there were friends willing to follow all the way from near the bustling Chengdu to the distant and rugged outskirts of Tanggu.

Upon arriving at Tanggu County like this, I encountered quite an interesting sight.

“That’s…”

What was tied on the shoulders of the lined-up soldiers was clearly the same cloak that I wore.

Unlike how it’s portrayed in 21st-century dramas, generals and soldiers of this era didn’t wear cloaks.

To begin with, the word “cloak” itself was French, so that says it all. That’s why I had to create a new term, jinsuyi (錦蓑衣), for the cloak I wore.

Looking at the cloaks worn by the soldiers, squad leaders, and lieutenants, although the length and material were different, the shape was no different from mine.

Ma Chong, who had come out to greet me, noticed what had caught my eye and explained with satisfaction:

“Ah, you remember the silk we received last time? Usually, they sell it to use for their families’ living expenses, but someone apparently used it as it was, just like the General. Then others started following suit, so Zijun and Xiaoxing stepped in to organize it.”

Silk was the finest fabric of the time and held enormous value. Moreover, the silk from Yi Province was special among them, treated separately as Shu brocade, a premium product.

If they all wore such things as cloaks, my unit would literally be treated like golden goblins.

Now that I look, they weren’t using silk but ordinary cloth for the cloaks.

As I was thinking it might be more comfortable when sleeping outdoors, I noticed a blue bird pattern attached to the back of the cloak.

“What’s that bird pattern?”

“They say they made a phoenix pattern following the General’s name. When the opinion to use the silk we received this time came up, Xiaoxing allowed it while making the size smaller.”

“Wang Ping was against it, but the soldiers were quite adamant,” Ma Chong said with an awkward smile, carefully speaking as if wondering what I would say.

It was already settled by Wang Ping and Gou Bo, and with their prestige at stake, would I prohibit it now?

I’ve known Ma Chong for quite a while now, but he still doesn’t understand me. I should just assume it’s because of his naturally considerate nature.

“It’s fine. But silk is precious, so we should be careful to avoid any unsavory incidents.”

“Haha, the soldiers cherish it like their own bodies, so there won’t be any such incidents.”

Ma Chong answered optimistically. Theft is strictly forbidden by military law, with beheading as punishment if caught, so it would be too much to increase the severity beyond that.

Anyway, now that the county magistrate of Tangge County had also arrived, I focused on thoroughly reorganizing the military department. The first thing I tackled was establishing military branches.

The existing army was already somewhat differentiated, but it was only into cavalry, infantry, and logistics.

Other miscellaneous tasks were usually handled by mobilizing personnel as needed.

I grouped these miscellaneous tasks into formal units, creating new engineering corps, medical corps, and messenger corps.

Given that a proper medical system couldn’t possibly function in this period, the medical corps here was merely at the level of moving the wounded and managing hygiene within the unit, but even that would be effective.

It’s a famous anecdote that Florence Nightingale dramatically reduced the mortality rate just by managing the hygiene of medical facilities.

Of course, it wouldn’t be to that extent, but it would still be useful in terms of reducing deaths among the wounded and preventing diseases.

However, my measures led to the spread of such rumors among the troops: “As expected, since the General is a woman, she likes things clean.”

‘Don’t all people, regardless of gender, like cleanliness?’

But when I actually look back at history, it doesn’t seem to have always been the case. Even in the 21st century, when the importance of hygiene has become common sense, some regions were not like that.

‘This place is one of them.’

Still, the soldiers obediently followed because I ordered it.

Men, especially ancient soldiers who haven’t received proper character education, have behavioral principles closer to instinct than reason.

The primitive law of being attracted to beautiful women and following those stronger than oneself.

I was a being that met both of these criteria. If I were just a pretty woman, they might ignore me or worse things might happen, but I also possessed martial prowess.

Not all soldiers were like this, but even those who might cause problems would fall in line properly after I gave them a lesson once.

For messengers, I mainly recruited young people. Riding horses wasn’t a big problem after introducing stirrups.

Horse-riding training was necessary, but creating messengers who only needed to know how to ride and gallop was quick.

At the same time, the specialization of units under the officers progressed.

Until now, Ma Dai alone had been in charge of the cavalry, but with the purchase of warhorses and mass cultivation of cavalry using stirrups, the cavalry was divided into two.

The existing cavalry unit under Ma Dai became light cavalry to make use of their excellent horsemanship, and the newly assigned cavalry unit under Gou Bo became heavy cavalry wearing horse armor.

The infantry was naturally assigned to Liu Xun, Wang Ping, and Zhang Yi.

Liu Xun’s unit specialized in breakthrough power and offensive capability, prioritizing those with excellent physical conditions. It was a role similar to that of skirmishers.

On the contrary, Wang Ping’s unit emphasized defense. Wang Ping’s unit was the main force that would act as the anvil in the hammer and anvil strategy.

Zhang Yi was in charge of special forces. Composed of Three Ba natives with high mobility and proficiency in mountain marching, Zhang Yi’s unit also played the role of an organic connection point when Wang Ping held the line and Liu Xun broke through.

And finally, my personal guard. When a battle starts, I have no choice but to operate on the frontlines, not the rear. It might sound like self-praise, but it would be too much of a loss for a fierce general like me to be playing in the rear.

The number of personal guards was only about a hundred, but they were all elites among elites, excelling in both mounted and ground combat.

They had to be the best of the best, as they would be tasked with attacking the most dangerous areas and the most important places.

This unit organization was, of course, benchmarked on Napoleon’s Grande Armée of France.

The scale was barely that of one division. However, as the leaders of the three brigades and two cavalry regiments forming the division were all potential corps commanders, their potential was comparable to several divisions.

Ma Chong and Wang Si, as Army Supervisors, helped with this reorganization of my army. Thanks to the two who were also well-versed in administrative affairs, the changes were implemented quickly and naturally.

After the adjustment of the military department, there were days of full-scale training. While the soldiers were transforming into talents befitting their assigned units, the commanders were also in the midst of self-development.

Wang Ping studied literature, Gou Bo practiced horsemanship, Wang Si increased his understanding of overall military affairs, and amidst such developments, I personally emphasized one thing:

“Martial arts is the last resort to protect oneself. It’s unacceptable to neglect it.”

Under this logic of mine, when the soldiers rested, the officers had to train in martial arts by sparring with me.

Not only Liu Xun, who had the strongest martial prowess, but unexpectedly Wang Si and Ma Chong also expressed their willingness to participate without hesitation.

If even the two with the lowest skills were like that, the others were even more enthusiastic and delighted.

Unlike his active participation along with Liu Xun, Ma Dai’s level was right in the middle. Stronger than Ma Chong and Wang Si, but weaker than Wang Ping and Gou Bo.

Looking at pure martial prowess alone, it was a formation of 3 strong, 3 medium, and 2 weak, but when it came to mounted combat, the story was different.

Even with stirrups, it was impossible to match Ma Dai’s horsemanship. It was natural, as everyone except Ma Dai was from Yi Province.

The days of soldiers and officers, all ranks focusing on training, passed quickly, and soon the 23rd year of Jian’an dawned.

§

That day was when I and the military officers were having a mock battle.

“As expected of the General. We think our skills have improved greatly, but we’re still no match for you.”

“Hm, is that so.”

My age, already eighteen.

The explosive power from a well-trained body with a height approaching 170cm, which was extremely tall for that era, was now fully comparable to that of Zhang Fei.

Recently, even Wang Ping and Gou Bo attacking simultaneously wasn’t very threatening.

While not quite at the level of Lu Bu in the drama who faced Guan Yu, it might be an unbelievable level just to compete with Liu Guang.

Even looking at Liu Xun, a fierce general of late Shu Han, and Gou Bo and Wang Ping who had become stronger through training with me, they were considerable warriors individually.

Feeling my own growth, I extended my hand to Liu Xun who was lying on the ground.

Liu Xun’s palm, which I grasped, was rough with calluses. Liu Xun originally had sparse calluses, but now it was noticeably different.

My hand wasn’t much different. It seems the strange blessing of the mountain god couldn’t prevent calluses.

Of course, I preferred it this way. I think hands that bear the traces of effort are truly beautiful.

Liu Xun got up holding my hand and picked up the sword that had been rolling beside him. Even though it was a practice sword with a blunted edge, Liu Xun’s nature was revealed in the careful way he sheathed it.

“It seems you’ve completely gotten used to the mask now. At first, there was a very slight opening as you were conscious of the mask.”

Around this time, I started wearing a mask. The reason, needless to say, was that my face drew too much attention.

My appearance, which had blossomed in my late teens, had reached the point where sometimes people talking to me face-to-face would just stare blankly, forgetting what they were saying.

Covering my face with a mask because it stands out too much, it’s no different from Lanling Wang. Considering that my army is called the Luanling Army, it almost seems like it was intentional.

‘Lanling (蘭陵) and Luanling (鸞綾). The characters are different, but…’

While I was lost in these idle thoughts, a figure suddenly emerged from the entrance of the training ground.

“Urgent news!”

The one who came running breathlessly was none other than Ma Chong.

For Ma Chong, who always laughed gently and remained calm, to be this excited and hurried, only one thing came to mind.

‘It’s about time, I suppose.’

Sure enough.

Ma Chong’s cry, which he squeezed out even while panting, was exactly what I had been thinking:

“General! A summons! Our lord has issued a summons!”

At last.

Liu Bei and Cao Cao.

The moment has arrived for these two heroes of the world to gather and compete for supremacy.