Luoyang and Jingzhou

Having finished the end of mourning, I returned to my original attire.

My sister-in-law, to whom the public mourning exemption didn’t apply, was still in mourning clothes, and my father, who would continue heart mourning even with the exemption, also wore armor over his mourning clothes.

However, although the attire had returned, daily life as a whole had not.

The Wu envoys still remaining even after the mourning ended were a prime example of this. Especially the events at the end of mourning ceremony spread quickly throughout Chengdu.

Zhuge Ke already had a certain reputation due to being Zhuge Liang’s nephew and various witty anecdotes from his childhood. But his recognition in Han was only at a level where only those who knew, knew. This situation changed with this incident.

Zhuge Ke had suddenly risen to stardom. From being one of Wu’s most promising talents, he now established himself as the leader of the next generation responsible for Wu’s future. No, beyond that, he was even considered an immediate battle strength.

While people seeking Zhuge Ke, who had rapidly risen from a local to a national figure, increased, Zhuge Ke himself was holed up in the envoys’ lodgings.

‘Zhuge Jin must have stopped him. He’s a cautious person.’

In later generations, many people often think of Zhuge Jin only as a diplomat between Shu and Wu. Most people encounter him through novels rather than actual history, after all. His spirit and achievements were covered by weakness in the novels.

But from what I saw, Zhuge Jin was a figure who could be called equal to Zhuge Liang. It wasn’t for nothing that Sun Quan gave him full support. It was because his ability backed up the trust.

Anyway, amidst the buzz of rumors about Zhuge Ke, a visitor came.

“Wenwei? What brings you here without notice?”

It was Fei Yi who came to the Zhang family estate without notice, not even to the General of the Guards’ Office.

“Haha, I suddenly thought of the General of the Guards and came to visit. I apologize if I’ve been rude.”

“Rude? Come in.”

“Thank you.”

After guiding him to the guest reception room, I had a maid bring tea and water for refreshment, then said to Fei Yi:

“Your head is full of thoughts.”

“Pardon?”

“Don’t keep it bottled up inside, speak. Why are you trying to hide it, unlike yourself?”

Fei Yi based his interactions with people on opening his heart and being sincere. With that honesty and boldness, Fei Yi was friendly with many people all around. Even Yang Yi built a friendship with Fei Yi.

Perhaps because of this, he couldn’t easily hide the emotions showing on his face.

Fei Yi, having composed himself, opened his mouth with a serious expression.

“Xu Shulong and Guo Yuzhi.”

“Mm.”

“You know what I want to say, don’t you?”

The two were people I had recommended to enter the Chancellor’s Office, and who had elevated Zhuge Ke’s reputation at this end of mourning ceremony.

“Why did you ask them to lose?”

“Wenwei.”

“The two are Senior Clerks in the Chancellor’s Office. Even if you were the one who recommended them, this matter could be problematic for the prestige of the Chancellor’s Office.”

That’s right. I had asked the two to engage in a war of words with Zhuge Ke, but to withdraw at an appropriate point. And the two had agreed to it.

The fuse that those two initially lit spread to Dong Yun, Ma Su, Fei Yi, and others, exploding Zhuge Ke’s reputation.

There was no need to ask how Fei Yi came to know the inside story. Fei Yi had such a wide network, after all. Fei Yi had built special friendships with both Xu Shulong and Guo Yuzhi. He must have heard from one of them.

Knowing this, Fei Yi, with his curiosity as vigorous as his sociability and worrying about the negative impact on me if this became known to the public, came to find me.

It’s certainly not a light matter that I, the General of the Guards, arbitrarily used people from the Chancellor’s Office.

But there was no need to worry at all.

“It was because they are people of the Chancellor’s Office.”

“What? Surely not…”

Because Zhuge Liang was already on my side.

“Why, for what reason?”

Fei Yi asked as if he couldn’t understand. Instead of answering his question directly, I returned with a question of my own.

“Before that, let me ask you. Where do you think our country should project its power?”

To the same question I had asked Zhuge Ke at the end of mourning ceremony, Fei Yi hesitated for a moment before saying:

“…Still, shouldn’t it be Luoyang?”

The same answer as Zhuge Ke.

“Ah, this is absolutely not something I’m saying influenced by Zhuge Ke’s words. Although Jingzhou is somewhat regrettable, I’ve originally thought that now, when Cao Cao is fighting Sun Quan, is the optimal time to recover Luoyang.”

I know.

The Four Commanderies of Jingnan and Luoyang.

If asked which of the two places to prioritize, nine out of ten would choose Luoyang.

Because Luoyang has a symbolism that can’t be measured by population or area.

The argument Zhuge Ke made at the end of mourning ceremony didn’t deviate from orthodox theory. Zhuge Ke simply proved his talent in presenting systematic arguments and justification for why we should prioritize Luoyang.

Luoyang. That name of longing.

It’s a land of aspiration that we yearn for even more because we’ve gained Chang’an.

To declare the founding of a new dynasty in Chang’an, the capital of Former Han,

And to proclaim the unification of the world in Luoyang, the capital of Later Han.

There is not a single person in Han who doesn’t desire this.

“That is precisely the reason.”

“Pardon? What do you mean…”

“It seems this will be a long story, shall we talk while playing a game of Go?”

While Fei Yi was standing blankly as if he didn’t understand, I brought the Go board that was provided in the guest room.

Placing the Go board between Fei Yi and me, I took the white stones for myself.

“Instead, I’ll give you a three-stone handicap.”

I placed three white stones before hearing Fei Yi’s answer.

Each of the three stones had a name.

Wan, Xuchang, and Luoyang.

§

Turning back time to when Liu Bei first called me and Zhuge Liang.

Liu Bei hadn’t called us just to talk about Zhuge Jin’s condolences.

He had gathered me and Zhuge Liang to discuss how to use this golden opportunity, namely the war between Sun Quan and Cao Pi in Huainan.

“Kongming, Mingjing, you two are the ones I trust most in Chengdu right now.”

Adding the condition “in Chengdu” must have been a statement considering Guan Yu, Father, Pang Tong, and others. But for me to be on the same level as them, even to the point where Liu Bei directly said he trusts me along with Zhuge Liang.

It was surprising enough to make me forget even the emptiness brought by Zhang Bao’s death for a moment.

“The death of a close family member is painful not only for Mingjing, but also for me, but we cannot neglect the great affairs of the state. Tell me how you two think we should deal with this matter.”

Liu Bei didn’t seem to know, but Zhuge Liang and I had already discussed how to deal with the situation if a war broke out in Huainan. And our intentions were in agreement.

Having confirmed that we were on the same page, we also steadily proceeded with work to make it a reality.

This is precisely why we made Lu Xun, whom Liu Bei also knows about, leave Jingzhou.

Yes. The goal of Zhuge Liang and me was not Luoyang, but Jingzhou.

“While Sun Quan and Cao Pi are fighting, we must recover Jingzhou.”

“Jingzhou, you say? Not Luoyang?”

Liu Bei too must have had Luoyang in mind, as he immediately questioned Zhuge Liang’s words.

“Your Majesty, raising an army must be done with caution. It is right to first consider how much loss can be caused by raising an army, what can be gained if we do gain something, and whether we can truly achieve it.”

“Is Kongming saying we cannot capture Luoyang now?”

Zhuge Liang simply bowed deeply in response.

As if finding it difficult to accept, Liu Bei turned his gaze to me. He seemed to be expecting a rebuttal, but I too was on Zhuge Liang’s side.

A long sigh flowed from Liu Bei’s mouth. It was a sigh dripping with regret.

“This humble servant also knows that Luoyang is our country’s long-cherished task. I am also well aware of how great the symbolism Luoyang holds is. Even the General-in-Chief is arguing for a northern expedition instead of revenge for Sun Quan’s betrayal, how could this humble servant want to ignore that intention?”

Even Guan Yu is arguing to attack Luoyang while Sun Quan is fighting Wei now.

Luoyang.

Even Guan Yu couldn’t help but waver before the magic contained in that ancient capital.

Especially since he is in Yangfan, which along with Dongguan is closest to Luoyang, that magic must come to him even more strongly than what is felt in Chengdu.

“However, it is difficult to be optimistic about whether we can actually capture Luoyang. While Cao Pi is facing Sun Quan who attacked Huainan, he has deployed an army to the Luoyang area no less than the Huainan front.”

Zhang Liao, who died as soon as the war ended, as if the attack of the Wei-Wu alliance army had been his final flame.

Cao Ren, who followed soon after, leaving behind last words that it was his regret not to have restored the great work his cousin had achieved.

Jia Xu, who continued to preserve himself by succeeding in all his strategies throughout his life, but left in the end leaving behind the blemish of one failure.

After the previous war ended, Wei suffered a series of setbacks with successive deaths of senior officials.

Especially the deaths of Zhang Liao, the core of the anti-Wu front, and Cao Ren, the core of the anti-Shu front, caused great turbulence on both fronts.

However, before Han and Wu could spread that shaking into division, Wei regained stability in an instant.

By employing the strong measure of allowing military authority even to those who were not relatives.

The one who became Zhang Liao’s successor and took overall command of the anti-Wu front was Man Chong. In terms of martial prowess, Man Chong certainly couldn’t match Zhang Liao, but in the grand aspect of war, Man Chong was a great general surpassing Zhang Liao.

The decisive battle between Man Chong and Lu Xun that would take place in Huainan would probably be a magnificent and grand confrontation worthy of being called a great battle.

And the lineup of those deployed to the anti-Shu front to replace Cao Ren and Cao Zhang was also terrifyingly impressive.

Luoyang, Wan, Xuchang.

To these three places, which could be called the front line of the anti-Shu front from Wei’s perspective, Cao Pi deployed talents that could be said to be Wei’s greatest current military strength:

“Cao Pi assigned Zhang He to Xuchang, Xu Huang to Wan, and Sima Yi to Luoyang.”

Sima Yi, he has finally grasped military authority and set foot on the battlefield.