Chang’an

Having defeated Guo Huai’s army and captured Wugong County, Chang’an was within reach.

Chang’an is an enormously large metropolis. On the road from Wugong County to Chang’an, villages were formed here and there.

There was no plundering. Not only were supplies remaining, but considering this would be land we would rule in the future, we had to keep public sentiment in mind from now on.

But perhaps with the mindset of a thief being wary of his own feet, there were some who gathered and offered supplies on their own along the way. At those times, we only accepted some within limits that wouldn’t burden them to add to our supplies.

The closer we got to Chang’an, the more ominous the atmosphere in the area became. Perhaps a guess rode that flow and turned into certainty.

And just as Chang’an came into view. I greeted the one approaching with a welcoming face.

“You came really fast, Governor Wei.”

“Haha! My desire to see Chang’an was so great. I came rushing at the thought of being able to take part in this great undertaking.”

It was Wei Yan, the Governor of Hanzhong. He had led the troops guarding Hanzhong, crossed Jiaogu, and struck at Chang’an.

It was a gambling move that might have put Hanzhong in danger if I hadn’t defeated Guo Huai, but it paid off well in the end.

Though Wei Yan had scraped together troops leaving only the bare minimum to be responsible for security in Hanzhong, Wei’s flag was still fluttering above Chang’an.

To the question of how much siege warfare had progressed, Wei Yan seemed quite embarrassed as he cleared his throat softly and said:

“This humble official also arrived at Chang’an not long ago. It’s been three days since we properly set up camp, but we’ve conducted one siege attack.”

Though as Governor of Hanzhong responsible for Hanzhong he was a high-ranking official difficult to distinguish superiority with me, the Rear General, Wei Yan lowered himself calling himself “this humble official”. It was an attitude respecting my position as Commander-in-Chief of this Guanzhong expedition army.

Wei Yan had consistently maintained this attitude since I won in a duel with him before. It was strange. Wei Yan, who was certainly capable but arrogant, resembled Guan Yu exactly. Even to the point of showing loyalty to Liu Bei until his dying moment.

A fierce general even Zhuge Liang ultimately couldn’t tame. It felt quite nice to have such a Wei Yan obey me.

‘Is it also due to Liu Bei’s favor towards me?’

Or maybe he liked my recklessness. Come to think of it, I’ve coordinated quite a lot with Wei Yan.

From the sword dance at the banquet after capturing Luocheng, to the duel in front of Chengdu, to the rescue of Hanzhong. On top of that, I had also requested Wei Yan’s cooperation to block Lu Xun during the battle for Jingzhou.

There’s no reason for him to dislike me since I also let him rush out through Jiaogu as he personally proposed for this Northern Expedition.

‘It feels kind of like a dachshund.’

Similar in that it has a nasty temperament and picks fights at the drop of a hat, but is a skilled hunting dog showing unparalleled loyalty to its master.

I was curious how I and others might be, but I soon erased it from my mind. The war isn’t over yet, so I shouldn’t lose focus.

Putting aside reminiscences, I heard from Wei Yan about the situation in Chang’an he had grasped so far. Among them, I could hear an unexpected name.

“Xue Xiao?”

“Yes. He was certainly formidable as you evaluated, Rear General. It was a very solid defense.”

This is a variable. I didn’t know Xue Xiao was in Chang’an. I had been going around claiming he was someone I should be extremely wary of, yet I myself failed to grasp his whereabouts.

Guo Huai, who left Chang’an to block me, must have called him in to fill his vacant position. The place I knew Xue Xiao was stationed was elsewhere.

However, it was already as good as a mistake that I failed to anticipate this possibility from the start.

“Hmm… Xue Xiao. Xue Xiao.”

Xue Xiao was the master of defense who alone thwarted Zhuge Liang’s 2nd Northern Expedition. Moreover, while Zhuge Liang had tens of thousands of troops, Xue Xiao’s forces numbered only 1,000, and Chencang wasn’t a great city like Chang’an.

Despite such adverse conditions, Xue Xiao succeeded in holding out for over 20 days against Zhuge Liang, who employed all kinds of siege tactics and weapons.

‘Though Zhuge Liang’s real objective was Wudu and Yinping rather than Chencang. Still, impressive is impressive.’

It was also to divert Wei’s attention attacking Wu. Meaning Zhuge Liang didn’t stubbornly stick to Chencang either. But that doesn’t mean he fought halfheartedly at all.

Such a Xue Xiao was guarding Chang’an with more troops than 1,000, and a higher and stronger city than Chencang. Now I understand the inside story of why Guo Huai chose Jieting.

He must have believed Xue Xiao would hold out in Chang’an until he returned with reinforcements.

Seeing my expression grow heavy, Wei Yan added:

“But thanks to me occupying the area around Chang’an in advance, I’ve cut off their messengers several times.”

“Excellent. How did sending a force to Wuguan go?”

“As soon as we came out of Jiaogu, I entrusted 1,000 soldiers to my lieutenant Gao Xiang and sent him. By now he should have reached Wuguan.”

Gao Xiang wasn’t bad. I heard he was an above average general who diligently fulfilled whatever duties he was given. If Wei Yan keeps him as a lieutenant, he must do well enough. It’s not that difficult a task either.

Wuguan was the gateway on the road from Jingzhou to Chang’an. It was in charge of the south among the four gates guarding Guanzhong.

In other words, occupying Wuguan meant connecting our forces occupying the area around Chang’an with Liu Bei’s army attacking Wancheng.

“The General Who Conquers the South will come soon.”

The General Who Conquers the South, Zhao Yun. He was the final piece to complete the isolation of Guanzhong.

While Liu Bei attacks Wancheng to draw attention, Zhao Yun passes through Nanxiang and moves north along the Dan River to take Dongguan.

Though there is the Wuguan gateway, if pounded simultaneously from inside and outside, not even Xianyang could withstand it, let alone Wuguan.

‘The contingency for if Guo Huai remained in Chang’an was meaningless.’

If Guo Huai had stayed put in Chang’an, Zhao Yun would have checked Guo Huai along with Wei Yan. Until I returned after dealing with Cao Zhang together with Ma Chao.

‘Though the check would have been at the level of just holding him back by avoiding conflict at all costs and only revealing our presence.’

Anyway, now that we’ve defeated Guo Huai and driven him to Jieting, Zhao Yun’s assigned task was to block Dongguan as mentioned earlier.

“When the General Who Conquers the South blocks Dongguan, Guanzhong will be completely isolated. No matter how great that Xue Xiao bastard is, how great can he be? If we soothe the public sentiment in the area and urge Chang’an to surrender, they’ll open the city gates before long unable to hold out.”

“No. Xue Xiao is the type of person who would fight to the death on the city walls even at the cost of his life, not one who would surrender. It’s not for nothing that Guo Huai entrusted Chang’an to him.”

“Hmm… Then we’ll have no choice but to take the orthodox approach in the end. The casualties will be great.”

Will it just be great casualties? Even the possibility of success is unclear.

In siege warfare, it’s said the attacking side needs three times as many troops as the defenders. However, though our forces were much larger than theirs, it wasn’t three times as much.

We can’t just recklessly push in when it might just waste the precious lives of soldiers and resources and time.

“Besides Xue Xiao, who else is there?”

“I heard a man named Wei Ping is serving as Xue Xiao’s lieutenant.”

Wei Ping would be in a similar position to our Gao Xiang. Just passable. It’s questionable whether Wei Ping would surrender with Xue Xiao beside him, but let’s try for now.

“Ah, there was one more.”

Saying he forgot because he was only in the rear, Wei Yan added one more name.

“A man named Xiahou Mao. He’s the son of Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao’s son-in-law, but seeing that Xue Xiao holds military authority in Chang’an, he must be quite incompetent.”

Xiahou Mao? I widened my eyes at the appearance of an unexpected existence.

What kind of person is Xiahou Mao? He was the epitome of incompetence, to the extent one might think his name should be written with the character for “nothingness” (無) rather than “luxuriant” (楙).

Though he rose to the position of son-in-law through Cao Pi’s favor and even grabbed the position of Governor of Guanzhong, his incompetence was so great it remained recorded in official histories to be transmitted at length.

“Let’s aim for Xiahou Mao.”

“No matter how incompetent he is, he’s still Cao Cao’s son-in-law. Would he come over?”

“It would be difficult in this state.”

Because he’ll still be holding onto hope.

Our soldiers aren’t that numerous and Chang’an’s defenses are solid. He’s probably expecting reinforcements to come from either Luoyang or Yong and Liang provinces.

But what if we show there’s no possibility of rescue forces coming?

What if he realizes there’s no way to survive even if they hold Chang’an like this?

The drop is great when feeble hope turns to despair. The greater the expectation, the greater the disappointment.

Moreover, Xiahou Mao was recorded in history as not only incompetent in state affairs, but an incompetent general who only cared about finding ways to save himself.

There’s sufficient possibility.

“We need to send someone to the General Who Conquers the South.”

“Please give your orders.”

“Bring me the head of the general guarding Dongguan.”

The head of Liu Biao, leader of the Xiongnu cavalry. The head of the general guarding Dongguan.

With those two heads, it would be a pipe dream for those in Chang’an to expect reinforcements.

It should be more than enough to make expectations plummet and have despair take root instead of hope.

“Meanwhile, I need to write something.”

To make it so Xiahou Mao can’t endure without surrendering.

Just then, a very good phrase came to mind. Mixing in a smile, I hummed the phrase that came to my head as is.

“What does it matter, what does it matter.”

A verse of Haegogok that resounded over the fate of a nation in the distant future.