The Battle for Hanzhong

After achieving an unbelievable great victory by completely slaughtering both commanders of the Wei army in the Battle of Dingjunshan, Liu Bei’s army was unstoppable.

We marched straight to Nanzheng. Though Guo Hui attempted an ambush from across the Han River and managed to hinder us once, he couldn’t prevent us from reorganizing our troops and systematically crossing the river.

Nanzheng, which we reached in this manner, immediately fell into our hands.

It wasn’t a bloodless capture. Although Guo Hui, who could be considered the current commander of the Wei forces, chose to abandon Nanzheng and guard the route connecting to Chang’an, Wei troops still remained in Nanzheng.

The boy right before my eyes was also one of that sort.

“Haa… haa…”

The boy was panting, having sustained injuries all over, probably from already fighting one round. Just looking at his handsome features and neat attire, one could tell he was of noble birth.

But still, he was just a boy in his teens. Unless he was an irregular like me, he should have been dealt with at the level of ordinary soldiers.

No, even I would have been certainly slaughtered if I had fought one against many at that age.

So why was this boy holding out? The reason lay in the boy’s background.

“So that’s why you called for me.”

“Yes… no matter if he’s an enemy, how could we deal with the General’s blood relative as we please?”

That’s right. This boy’s name was Xiahou Ying.

He was Xiahou Yuan’s fifth son, and to me, he was my fifth cousin uncle.

For Ma Chong, it was a measure taken out of consideration for me, but this clearly violated military law. Unless the enemy surrendered, it was right to kill them immediately or take them prisoner.

But Ma Chong must have known that, so he must have taken this risk for my sake.

‘Excessive loyalty is burdensome though.’

But now that it’s come to this, it’s difficult to ignore and move on. I passed by the soldiers and stood in front of Xiahou Ying.

“You…!”

“It’s our first meeting, Uncle. I saw my second uncle the other day.”

“…I have no intention of being called uncle by a subordinate of Liu Bei! There’s no need to beg for my life, so hurry up and kill me too!”

How great is the resentment of a son who has lost his father?

Xiahou Ying was different from Xiahou Ba whom I had seen before. While Xiahou Ba had looked at me wistfully, thinking of his mother through me, in Xiahou Ying’s gaze I felt nothing but hatred.

“I have completed the final rites for my great-uncle.”

“Father’s…”

“I will entrust you with transporting the body.”

Final rites meant washing the body, dressing it in burial clothes, and wrapping it in a shroud, while transporting the body meant exactly that. In other words, it meant I would let him go alive.

Xiahou Ying, who had been known for his intelligence since childhood, understood my intention and lowered his sword.

It was an era where filial piety took precedence over loyalty. Returning a parent’s body was considered a greater virtue than dying in battle to maintain integrity to one’s country.

I don’t know what dangers might come from safely returning the prodigy Xiahou Ying to Wei. Moreover, Xiahou Ying was a late child and had never even met his mother.

Nevertheless, I didn’t want to kill him.

The weak excuse that it was to somewhat gain Xiahou Ba’s goodwill and hasten his defection was a lie. This was my selfish atonement for knowing about Xiahou Yuan’s death and letting it happen.

“Why…”

Perhaps because he was still young, Xiahou Ying couldn’t bear the overwhelming emotions and finally showed tears. Not shedding tears to the end was probably his last pride.

“We have the same blood flowing in us, and yet…”

Fifth cousins are close. Even in the 21st century, you can occasionally see people who maintain close relationships at that level.

In this era where even cousins are considered immediate family, fifth cousins would be a really close relationship.

But I had family that was even closer.

“Because my father is Zhang Fei.”

“That was a foolish thing to say. Please forget it.”

I glanced at those supporting Xiahou Ying from behind and changed the subject.

“Are those behind you your family members?”

“They are servants.”

“I’ll allow them too. I’ll make arrangements, so please take your great-uncle’s body.”

After saying that much, I turned my back on Xiahou Ying.

I had done all I could for him. Anything more would be too much even for me, whose position had risen after achieving great merit this time.

They say Liu Bei personally carried me on his back when I brought back Zhang He’s head, calling me his Guo Jia, but there’s a limit. Even this decision involved quite a risk.

Returning Xiahou Yuan’s body was something my father had agreed to, so it would have happened anyway, but sparing Xiahou Ying was a different matter.

“Dexin.”

“Yes, General.”

“Don’t do this again in the future. Act according to military orders.”

“…I will keep that in mind.”

Let me take responsibility for Ma Chong’s mistake this time.

Having been warned once, Ma Chong won’t repeat the same mistake again.

Liu Bei followed my decision. Xiahou Yuan’s body was handed over to Xiahou Ying, and he left Nanzheng silently, heading towards the Wei army’s camp.

Afterwards, Liu Bei focused on soothing the people’s hearts in Nanzheng. Liu Bei was already acting as if he had completely conquered Hanzhong.

Well, it wasn’t wrong. Even if Cao Cao came, driving Liu Bei out of Hanzhong had now become impossible.

The deaths of Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, and Zhang He didn’t just mean defeat.

Their deaths were equivalent to the complete collapse of regional defense, and Liu Bei, having seized the strategic points of Hanzhong, only needed to form defensive lines and hold out.

There’s a limit to supplying through the rugged Qinling Mountains, and Cao Cao would have to return exhausted on his own.

Nevertheless, Cao Cao moved.

It wasn’t because he was confident of victory. From Cao Cao’s standpoint, it was a situation he couldn’t back down from.

Cao Hong, Xiahou Yuan, and Zhang He had died, and Hanzhong had been taken.

Even knowing it would be difficult to win, the option of coming all the way to Chang’an and returning without doing anything was never there to begin with.

It was a matter of pride, and also a matter of justification.

And the extreme anger arising from the sense of loss at losing relatives in succession, along with the latent sense of superiority towards Liu Bei deep in Cao Cao’s heart.

Cao Cao had no choice but to advance to Hanzhong, both rationally and emotionally.

This was Cao Cao who had turned Xuzhou into a living hell out of anger at losing his father.

For such a man to remain quiet after losing two relatives who had been with him from the bottom? That would no longer be Cao Cao.

Liu Bei remained composed even at the news of Cao Cao coming down.

“Hanzhong is already mine, what will change even if Cao Cao comes?”

Liu Bei’s words were full of confidence. Unlike at the banquet in Yangping Pass, it was unwavering confidence without a hint of shakiness.

Separately from that, Liu Bei withdrew his troops from Nanzheng. He judged it more advantageous to hold out at strategic points like Yangping Pass or Dingjunshan rather than at Nanzheng.

Conversely, Cao Cao came down like a flood.

Starting with the defeated troops gathered by Guo Hui, Xu Huang, Cao Xiu, Cao Zhen and others joined Cao Cao’s main force, increasing its size, and finally when we met at Yangping Pass, Cao Cao’s forces numbered 70,000.

Our numbers were barely 50,000, including additional reinforcements sent by Zhuge Liang and all those gathered from here and there.

With some exaggeration, the army 1.5 times larger than ours was merely what Cao Cao had gathered while coming in haste. If he had been given more time, he might have brought a real 100,000, not just in name.

This was the mobilization power of the Central Plains. It’s chilling that he could easily mobilize this level of army while facing Guan Yu in Jingzhou, Sun Quan in Yangzhou, and northern ethnic tribes.

“But the quality will be that much lower.”

Cao Cao must also know the weakness of the Wei army. So he had to seek a quick victory.

However, as Sun Tzu’s Art of War says, “A general who is quick-tempered can be provoked to rage.” A general who only values anger and speed is bound to suffer humiliation, and Cao Cao’s fate would be the same.

Cao Cao had mastered Sun Tzu’s Art of War and even wrote his own annotations on it. Yet he still set foot on the path to confront Liu Bei, enduring all the unfavorable conditions mentioned in various military treatises.

A cavalry holding a white flag approached our camp from the Wei army. It was an envoy. The envoy sent by Cao Cao was immediately guided to Liu Bei and faced him among the generals.

“I am Yang Xiu, envoy sent by the King of Wei.”

Yang Xiu, who was in charge of being the brain for Cao Zhen, Cao Cao’s third son, remained calm even when facing fierce generals who looked down on the world and Liu Bei who was riding the rising tide.

Seeing his demeanor that couldn’t be seen as that of an ordinary person, Liu Bei exclaimed quietly and said:

“Indeed, there are many talents around Cao Cao. You said your name was Yang Xiu? Well then, what did Cao Cao say to me?”

“He said to meet at noon tomorrow to discuss the aftermath of the Feast at Hong Palace.”

The Feast at Hong Palace where Cao Cao had spoken of the heroes of the world. There, Liu Bei had acted like a coward, dropping his chopsticks, trying to escape Cao Cao’s vigilance.

But Cao Cao’s prediction wasn’t wrong, and now only three remained of the countless warlords. And at this moment, those two were undoubtedly the protagonists of the era.

“I understand. Tell him that.”

“Then, I shall take my leave.”

Yang Xiu returned to the Wei army camp without delay.

When tomorrow’s sun hung at its zenith, Cao Cao and Liu Bei walked to the center between the two armies, accompanied by only a few guards.

The guards Liu Bei brought were my father and Zhao Yun. He must have chosen those with the highest trust and reputation.

On the opposite side, Xu Zhu and Xu Huang were accompanying Cao Cao on either side. Their lineup was formidable too.

“What do you think will happen?”

With his gaze fixed on Liu Bei, Bu Zhan spoke in a tense voice.

The leaders of each force were holding talks with just two guards each. It wasn’t just Bu Zhan whose nerves were on edge.

“They’ll end up fighting, won’t they?”

“That’s right. Cao Cao has lost too much. If the result is that he made a wasted trip, losing without gaining anything, it will severely damage his control over the Central Plains.”

As Wang Ping and Ma Chong opined, both sides had come too far to resolve things through dialogue and part ways at this point.

When Liu Bei finally returned safely, our conversation became reality.

“Prepare for battle.”

The order that came from Liu Bei’s mouth indicated that the decisive battle with Cao Cao remained.

It was the beginning of the second act of the battle for Hanzhong.