The Battle of Dingjunshan 2

Li Si was a volunteer soldier from Yuexi County.

He had enlisted not long ago. It was quite some time after Yi Province had fallen to Liu Bei. Many things had changed since Zhuge Liang took charge of Yi Province’s administration.

Li Si, who wanted to leave his rural village, was tempted by the promise of a stable salary and knocked on the military’s door. As they were forming additional reinforcements to send to the battle in Hanzhong, Li Si was able to become a soldier quickly.

But now Li Si was seized by the urge to punch the official who had told him such things in the solar plexus. Along with his past self who had fallen for those pretty words and volunteered to enlist.

What kind of situation was this? Gaining military merit to advance in life? In the midst of such an intense battle to the death?

Perhaps the stories the official told about people who became generals from being common folk were about a tiny minority of monsters born for fighting, not ordinary villagers like himself. Otherwise, it made no sense at all.

‘Shit… this is a dog’s death, a dog’s death I tell you!’

His body shook violently like an aspen leaf. The arm holding his spear wouldn’t move properly. He had surely learned something in the military camp, but his mind had gone blank and he couldn’t remember anything.

The enemy was approaching. His spear was gone somewhere and he was holding a drawn sword. Li Si finally recalled that in the chaos of melee combat, a sword was more convenient than the long-handled spear. I need to draw my sword. He had that thought, but his body wouldn’t cooperate.

Before going into battle, the senior soldiers had taught ways to deal with being too tense to move. But in the end, those lessons were meaningless. Other soldiers next to Li Si shouted something at him. Raise your spear! Look ahead! Don’t retreat!

But none of those sounds reached Li Si’s ears.

“Uwaaaaah!”

As Li Si finally succumbed to fear and collapsed, his senior soldiers filled his empty space while cursing.

That small retreat began like this. Like a massive dam crumbling from a tiny crack, the senior soldiers whose concentration rapidly dropped began to gradually fall back. This was the price of a gap in the formation.

However, Liu Bei’s army was not so easy as to leave that unchecked. Noticing the frontline starting to retreat, the army supervisor quickly deployed squad leaders.

“The squad leaders have arrived! Everyone hold out a little longer!”

Though squad leader was such a low-ranking position it was embarrassing to even call it a military post, it was incomparable to ordinary soldiers. These were men who had proven their strength by surviving numerous battles.

To the common soldiers, they were both their protectors and a barrier against the enemy. Morale rose. Even Li Si, who had been lying dazed on the ground, felt hope at the sight of the squad leader’s heavy armor.

“Can… can I survive…?”

As hope returned, a tiny spark of courage was rekindled. Li Si picked up the spear he had dropped and struggled to his feet. Though late, he took up the posture he had been trained in and found his place.

“I can survive!”

His courage grew. Next to him were senior soldiers, and in front the squad leader was displaying his bravery, pushing back enemy troops. The thought that he had survived gave Li Si confidence that he could do this.

But the hope was short-lived.

Puhwak─!

A flying head.

Spraying blood.

A collapsing body.

Whose was it?

Li Si stared blankly at the spurting blood. He didn’t understand why the spear was falling. He didn’t understand why that body was wearing such armor.

Wasn’t that the squad leader? Shouldn’t a military officer commanding hundreds of soldiers not die like this?

“Huh?”

A question uttered by someone other than Li Si. Before the squad leader’s corpse could even hit the ground, the soldiers’ morale fell first.

As the squad leader’s body collapsed, what appeared was an enemy general with an even smaller build. The enemy general holding iron hooked halberds in both hands took a step towards them as he looked at them.

And on the second step, the enemy general’s head disappeared like the squad leader’s.

Kwajik!

“Huh?”

This time the voice was Li Si’s.

When the enemy general’s head was smashed following the squad leader’s as if it were a lie, Li Si thought this must not be a dream. Until he saw the spear stuck in the enemy general’s side.

“She’s here…!”

At the senior soldier’s murmur filled with joy, Li Si asked without thinking. Who?

Duduuduu─!

The sound of hoofbeats struck his ears. So close that he could barely hear the senior soldier shouting to fall back.

When the hoofbeats finally sounded right in front of him, Li Si saw it. A woman with half her face hidden behind a silver mask unsuited for the battlefield, passing right by him and pulling out the spear stuck in the ground.

Dududu!

Dust and wind struck Li Si’s face. But before he could even feel it, the answer came.

“It’s the Luanling Army.”

“The Luanling Army?”

It was the first time Li Si had heard the name. Was there a general named Luanling? Though a country bumpkin, Li Si knew a few of the really famous generals.

Liu Bei, Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Zhao Yun, Ma Chao, wasn’t knowing them enough?

What need did a common soldier have to know the names of those generals way up there? It was hard enough to memorize the names of squad leaders, platoon leaders, and commanders.

Thinking it might be a newly arrived general like himself, he asked again, and the senior soldier looked at Li Si as if he were hopeless.

“The Luanling Army, the Luanling Army. You don’t know Zhang Ran, Luanling Ji? Zhang Ran, the eldest daughter of General Zhang Fei?”

“Well, I might not know. But can women become generals too? Huh… so that person is General Zhang Ran?”

“That person? You’re really crazy. If the Luanling Army men heard you, they’d attack you to the death. Watch your mouth.”

The senior soldier smacked the back of Li Si’s head. Having lost his helmet somehow during the battle without realizing it, the blow to his bare head from the gloved hand hurt quite a bit.

“Hey! Quickly get back in formation! We don’t know when they’ll push back again!”

Despite the senior soldier’s shout, Li Si stared blankly at the back of the woman called Zhang Ran among the Luanling Army that had advanced far ahead.

Li Si felt he would never forget the woman who had thrown her spear and shattered the enemy general’s head in one strike.

§

Immediately after dispatching one enemy general.

“Over there.”

I pointed my spear at a spot. There, in the midst of our troops and enemy soldiers all tangled up, an enemy general was breaking through the Green Pavilions and mercilessly slaughtering our soldiers.

Once the decision was made, action followed.

As always, Yu Ye took the vanguard. He nimbly avoided the natural obstacles of Dingjunshan and man-made barriers like the Green Pavilions. Running faster than a horse could gallop, he charged into the melee ahead of everyone else.

Kuung! Kwajijik!

A mighty gale. He swept away enemy soldiers in one strike, creating space. Terrifying slashes. Against attacks utilizing the wide range of the zhanmadao, defense was meaningless.

Yu Ye advanced, cutting, smashing, and stabbing everything in his path. It was merciless destruction that made a hard-fought battle look easy.

As Yu Ye broke through the defensive line, it was Gou Bo’s turn next. Human efforts were futile before the charge of war horses clad in armor.

The attack of the iron cavalry, which even my father with his superhuman strength couldn’t stop, was enough to break the enemy’s will to fight.

The role of the infantry was to exploit the path opened by the cavalry and completely subdue the enemy. With Yu Ye moving to the side, the infantry led by Zhang Yi and Wang Ping methodically cleaned up the Wei troops who had lost their fighting spirit and were in disarray.

“The enemy is retreating!”

It was Ma Dai’s job, leading the light cavalry, to inflict additional damage on the retreating soldiers. He eagerly unleashed what he had been itching to do while observing until now upon the backs of the retreating Wei troops.

“Dexin, Shengzong, clean up the battlefield.”

Ma Chong and Wang Si, who had been in the rear, evacuated the wounded and collected the bodies.

There was no hesitation or friction in this series of processes. The smooth division of roles and perfect execution of duties.

It was a level of troop management akin to artistry, possible only because of the elite among elite soldiers and generals capable of commanding tens of thousands of troops, far beyond just a few hundred or a thousand.

“It’s our army’s victory again! No matter how they come at us, they’re no match for our Luanling Army!”

Bu Zhan, who was following close by my side, shouted excitedly. Despite having joined not long ago, Bu Zhan had proven his remarkable loyalty and martial prowess, rising to become a representative of my personal guard.

Originally, I had kept Wang Ping by my side, but as he took on the role of adjutant in earnest, Bu Zhan had filled the vacant position.

As the lieutenants managed their respective troops, Ma Chong approached and reported.

“General, the cleanup is complete.”

“That was quick.”

“There are few casualties. I suppose it’s because you and Lieutenant Yu were at the vanguard.”

It had already been a month since we left Yangping Pass and set up at Dingjunshan.

The back-and-forth between our army and the Wei army at Dingjunshan was still repeating without any dramatic victory for either side.

The Wei army attacking to push our forces out of Dingjunshan, which overlooked Nanzheng, the center of Hanzhong, and our army occupying the high ground of Dingjunshan trying to capture Nanzheng.

In the midst of fierce battles, the combat proficiency of the Luanling Army was increasing day by day.

Feeling satisfied at the report of almost no casualties, I was waiting for Ma Dai’s return when a messenger came down from the command post located midway up Dingjunshan.

It was Wang Si, Liu Bei’s adjutant, who had the same name as my army supervisor Wang Si.

“General Who Maintains Vigor, our lord is calling for you.”

“Zijun, stay here until Baiqian returns and prepare for any contingencies. Dexin and Baiqi, come with me.”

Leaving the aftermath to Wang Ping, I headed up to the main camp where Liu Bei was staying. Not just me, but most of the generals in charge of important duties were gathered.

Zhang Fei, Huang Zhong, Zhao Yun, Huang Quan, Fa Zheng, Zhang Yi, Wang Si. Seeing the lineup of less than ten people, it was understandable why Ma Chong and Zhang Yi weren’t let in.

‘The time has come.’

The decisive blow devised by Liu Bei and Fa Zheng to end the battle of Dingjunshan.

As if the last person they had called for had arrived, Fa Zheng nodded lightly. Liu Bei looked over the assembly once and spoke.

“Thank you all for gathering. I know how great your efforts have been until now. But I earnestly ask that you exert yourselves a little more. Xiaozheng, begin.”

At Liu Bei’s words, Fa Zheng, who had been standing behind him, stepped forward and drew attention by tapping the map placed in the center.

“Everyone, please look at the map.”

Fa Zheng’s baton tip pointed to one spot with a tap. It was the center of a military topographic map that even showed elevation contours.

“This is Dingjunshan where we are currently stationed. It’s a strategic point overlooking Nanzheng.”

On the map were three horses with flags bearing the character 劉 (Liu) and four horses with 曺 (Cao).

In order, our army’s horses were placed at Mamingge, Yangping Pass, and Dingjunshan, while the Wei army’s horses were located at Hanbian, Mamingge, and to the south and east of Dingjunshan.

“Currently, Xu Huang is being blocked by General Ma at Mamingge, and Cao Xiu by General Wei at Yangping, so they are not targets for consideration.”

Ma Chao and Wei Yan. Additionally, Gao Xiang and Wu Lan were holding Yangping Pass, while Chen Shi was holding out as a lieutenant at Mamingge. Some of the strongest cards in Liu Bei’s hand were solidly supporting the rear.

No matter how outstanding generals Xu Huang and Cao Xiu were, these two generals were no less capable, and with the advantage of defending, there was little to worry about.

“Xiahou Yuan is guarding the south of Dingjunshan, and Zhang He is guarding Zhumagu to the east. Until now, we’ve focused on holding Dingjunshan and blocking offensives from both directions, but now it’s time for us to go on the offensive again.”

“Then who should we attack?”

It was Zhao Yun’s question.

“We will strike Zhang He.”

“Zhang He…?”

“He is not Xiahou Yuan’s lieutenant.”

“But unlike Xiahou Yuan, Zhang He is also skilled in strategy, so shouldn’t we capture him first?”

“Hmm, that’s true, but Zhang He was ultimately defeated by the General of Chariots and Cavalry.”

At the topic Fa Zheng raised, the generals put forth various opinions. In fact, both the opinion to capture Zhang He and the opinion to capture Xiahou Yuan had merit. Both were important figures, and both were formidable top generals of Wei.

My father, who had been listening to the generals’ debate with his eyes closed on one side, opened his eyes and the voices in the assembly suddenly fell silent.

My father looked at Liu Bei and said:

“You’re aiming for Miaozai.”

My father had already seen through the plan Fa Zheng and Liu Bei had devised. To my father who mentioned Xiahou Yuan, Liu Bei answered gravely:

“That’s right.”

“…Who will you send?”

“I will send Hansheng. Are you disappointed?”

“How could I not know your consideration for me? As a general, I will simply follow orders.”

What kind of person was Xiahou Yuan to my father?

My mother and my father’s wife, Xiahou Ji, had lost her parents early and grown up under the care of her uncle Xiahou Yuan. Xiahou Yuan, who was like an adoptive parent who raised her, was no different from a father-in-law to my father.

Even in these chaotic times where brothers serve different lords and fathers and sons are loyal to different countries, directly killing one’s family with one’s own hands would surely be a tragedy.

To prevent his beloved younger sister from becoming a son-in-law who kills his father-in-law, Liu Bei chose Huang Zhong instead of Zhang Fei, his strongest spear.

“I will take charge of Zhang He. And please let the General Who Maintains Vigor accompany me.”

“…Very well.”

“Thank you. Advisor Fa, I apologize for taking time.”

Though Fa Zheng was known for being narrow-minded, he seemed to have the capacity to consider my father and my circumstances, as he shook his head as if apologetic.

“Not at all. Then, as you said, I’ll entrust you with attacking Zhang He.”

“I will devote my entire being to following your orders.”

“When the General of Chariots and Cavalry attacks Zhang He, Zhang He will surely be unable to hold out. If one side is broken through, Nanzheng will be in danger, so Xiahou Yuan will certainly send reinforcements. Taking advantage of the gap when troops are sent from the south, General of the Flying Army, please strike down Xiahou Yuan.”

Huang Zhong, with a rather solemn attitude towards the great task given to him, asked:

“What if Xiahou Yuan doesn’t send reinforcements?”

“In that case, General of the Flying Army will serve as the vanguard to block Xiahou Yuan, while the General of Chariots and Cavalry strikes down Zhang He.”

“Understood.”

After announcing the main generals for both sides, Fa Zheng began to announce the personnel assignments for who would be placed under their command.

As mentioned earlier, I was assigned under my father. The 5,000 troops I led, and the 10,000 soldiers my father commanded. Half of our army’s 30,000 troops stationed at Dingjunshan were mobilized.

With a lineup where it was unclear which side was the main force and which was the supporting force, Xiahou Yuan would surely make the decision to send reinforcements in the end.

“With this attack, we will settle things before Cao Cao arrives in Hanzhong.”

Liu Bei’s resolve was a death sentence for Xiahou Yuan.