Biting and Being Bitten

We covered the distance from Jiangling Castle to Xiangyang Castle at top speed. It was a mindless full-speed rush possible because it was a safe zone with no worry of attacks. One week. It took exactly one week to reach Fancheng from Jiangling Castle. This speed was achieved thanks to minimizing baggage by carrying only the bare minimum of supplies and leaving additional resupply to Fan Zhun and Yin Guan’s quartermaster unit coming up by water route later. It was an achievement that anyone knowledgeable about military affairs would be amazed by, but I wasn’t satisfied. The march from Yizhou to Xiagu Castle. Then several battles. Then from Xiagu Castle to Fancheng again. Despite the accumulated fatigue from repeated marches and battles not having fully dissipated, the dropout rate of the Nanling Army was significantly lower compared to other units. The systematic training curriculum proven by advanced sciences of the future, not haphazard training, and the balanced diet maintained by somehow providing meat even at the expense of my salary, had paid off. I’m the one who always included jerky in the rations and distributed it to Nanling Army soldiers even when going on expeditions. Where else is there a superior who distributes meat, which common people can hardly see except at feasts, almost daily by digging into his own private funds? This was barely possible due to increased meat distribution from Zhuge Liang’s efforts like southern expeditions to develop Nanzhong lands and securing Xiliang through northern expeditions, along with reduced meat consumption by the upper class due to tofu. Since ancient times, armies advance well when well-fed. Napoleon forgot his own words and made the irreversible mistake of invading Russia, but not me. Even if I have to starve, I must feed the soldiers well. These are people who have dedicated their lives trusting in me. If I’m negligent even in taking care of their meals, I wouldn’t be able to raise my head in shame. And more than I invested in them, they repaid me with results and victories. This is what you call a win-win. ‘If the Nanling Army had marched alone, it wouldn’t have even taken 5 days, which is a bit regrettable.’ For units that hadn’t even properly experienced actual combat yet, this was still a level worth praising. It was also thanks to Xue Di and Liu Min’s leadership skills not being bad. Meanwhile, there was a unit that didn’t fall behind the Nanling Army’s speed at all. It was the soldiers of Wei Yan’s General Wei unit. Wei Yan is already well-known for training soldiers. On top of that, Wei Yan who had grown even further while exchanging opinions on training methods and unit organization as I sought his advice, the soldiers he directly raised didn’t seem to fall far behind the Nanling Army. That’s just looking at marching, and it’s uncertain if it’ll be the same in actual combat, but seeing how they subtly show a rivalry consciousness towards the Nanling Army, they must be confident in actual combat too. Come to think of it, they put some tiger picture on their clothes following the Nanling Army. It’s not bad to use unit insignia that gives soldiers a sense of belonging and unity. The start is difficult, but it gets easier after that. Starting with Wei Yan, if other units also start using unit insignia one after another, that would be quite a sight in its own way. But that was an issue to think about later. For now, dealing with the matter at hand was the priority. I had the army rest at Xiangyang Castle, and crossed over to Fancheng with the top brass to meet Liao Hua. As soon as he saw my face, Liao Hua’s expression was dyed with astonishment. “Good heavens. The General of the Guards has truly come.” “Of course. Didn’t I send word ahead that I was coming?” “I did receive that, but I didn’t expect you to come this quickly. Even the reputation of the Nanling Army seems insufficient to capture its reality.” Liao Hua’s astonishment was perhaps natural. The time it took to arrive at Fancheng after departing from Xiagu Castle was exactly one month. For a single individual riding a horse, one month is a long time, but it’s a different story for a large army of tens of thousands marching. Especially if it’s calculated to manage stamina so they can be immediately deployed for battle. Although Sima Yi’s marching speed was said to be outstanding compared to other armies, we were no less than that. Considering it was not just momentary speed but continued long-distance marching, it’s no exaggeration to say we even surpassed that Sima Yi. Pride was welling up vigorously, but I composed my expression and returned the topic to the original purpose. Putting Liao Hua’s admiration behind, I immediately asked about news of Guan Yu. “Has the Grand General’s whereabouts been determined?” “About that, I’m sorry but we haven’t confirmed anything yet either. Cao Biao has settled in Xinye Castle and completely cut off the area between Wancheng and Fancheng. Even if we try to detour through Nanxiang, Xu Huang’s army is there so it’s not easy.” Wei was deliberately blocking information. Their intention must be to prevent us from finding out Guan Yu’s situation and devising a way to rescue him. However, some inferences could be made based on the positions of Xu Huang and Cao Biao. “If the blockade of Xinye Castle and Shangyong is still in place, it seems the Grand General has judged it difficult to retreat to Fancheng again.” “Yes, I think so too. Perhaps he’s holding out in Wancheng while waiting for reinforcements?” Just as Guan Yu had stationed Liao Hua in Fancheng over others, Liao Hua preferred defensive tactics over offensive ones. However, that didn’t mean just holing up in the castle and staying still. “We’ve been extensively employing scouts to try to find out the situation in Jingbei in all directions. We’ve tried disguising as merchants, and sending small boats on the Yu River taking advantage of the river mist, but they were all detected by the enemy.” “Cao Biao is no pushover general either. Ordinary methods won’t work.” “You’re right.” “Then are there any enemy scouts or lookouts around Fancheng?” “We’re periodically intercepting them using outer fortresses of Fancheng like Macheng as bases. But the enemy’s purpose seems to just be checking if our forces in Fancheng are moving, they haven’t been particularly aggressive.” Liao Hua in Fancheng and Cao Biao in Xinye Castle. The two were fiercely engaged in an information war. Liao Hua to grasp news of Guan Yu, Cao Biao to block information from within Nanyang and monitor if Han forces in the south were moving. Cao Biao, with his greater experience, blocked all of Liao Hua’s methods, but Liao Hua was also effectively checking Cao Biao’s spying by utilizing the usefulness of defensive strongpoints. “Then there’s a high chance Cao Biao doesn’t know our army has come.” “It’s hard to be certain, but that’s probably the case.” Although we’re repelling external scouts, there’s no way to prevent it if there are spies inside. Before starting full-scale discussions with those who crossed over to Fancheng with me, new information was added. “There’s a report from scouts that Cao Biao has lifted the encirclement and is moving north.” “Cao Biao? What about Xu Huang?” “It seems Xu Huang has also withdrawn his forces blocking the Shangyong direction. We haven’t confirmed about Wuguan yet.” Cao Biao and Xu Huang lifted the encirclement? There was only one reason for that. ‘They’re going to start a full-scale Guan Yu hunt.’ But the questionable point was whether there was any need to lift the entire encirclement. With Xu Huang and Cao Biao moving, Sima Yi couldn’t be absent. It’s possible to pressure Guan Yu while leaving some of the encirclement in place. If Guan Yu is really in Wancheng and aware he’s surrounded, he would certainly try to convey to Fancheng what kind of situation he’s in, at least. If he clearly recognizes the urgency of the situation, he would squeeze out reinforcements even at the cost of emptying Jiangling Castle. Sima Yi wouldn’t be unaware of this, so why is he so easily lifting the encirclement? “Aren’t they preparing for a short decisive battle aiming for ‘Capturing the Enemy Leader’?” No one agreed with Ma Su’s words that just as we judged the war would end if we captured Sun Deng, Sima Yi might also think everything would be resolved if they just captured Guan Yu. At that moment, someone muttered: “Advancing north…” People’s attention gathered following the voice. Amidst many gazes, Jiang Wei calmly said: “Perhaps the Grand General is continuing to march north…” “That’s right!” Before Jiang Wei could finish speaking, Wei Yan shouted: “If it’s the Grand General, he would have broken through such petty tricks with an extraordinary plan! If he’s even eluded Sima Yi, then all the way to Luoyang must be like an empty house! The Grand General must surely be advancing towards Luoyang.” Wei Yan almost hit Jiang Wei’s shoulder as he patted it vigorously, then turned to look at me. “General of the Guards, shouldn’t we stop those Cao bandits in Nanyang from following the Grand General? Please give the order. I will take the vanguard and thoroughly teach those bastards a lesson so they don’t dare hinder the Grand General’s steps!” Wei Yan shouted boldly while beating his own chest. His words weren’t wrong either. Anyway, just by holding back Cao Biao, who is closest to us, unlike Xu Huang who is guarding Wancheng and Nanyang, it would become a one-on-one situation between Guan Yu and Sima Yi. Xu Huang will likely face us together with Cao Biao to block a possible joint attack with Chang’an and to protect Nanyang, his original post. But that’s not enough. If Guan Yu really headed for Luoyang, it would be extremely difficult for us in Fancheng to catch up. It would be tight even without enemy interference, but we have to defeat enemy forces while moving up. ‘We’ve come this far with such a forced march. If it’s difficult to join up with Guan Yu, we should at least defeat enemies who are no different from stragglers to make it worthwhile.’ Fortunately, there was a high chance the enemy didn’t know we had come. If we openly reveal ourselves following Wei Yan’s words, it would be easy to hold them here, but it would give them time to prepare defenses. Even I’m not very confident about breaking through a combination of Xu Huang and Cao Biao. So, we aim for when they don’t know. “Crisis is one with opportunity. A chance has come.” In The Art of War’s chapter on Emptiness and Fullness, it says: Approach like the faintest shadow, until you have no form (微乎微乎 至於無形). Move like a ghost, until you make no sound . Only then can you be the arbiter of the enemy’s fate. “General Who Pacifies the East, double the number of personnel sent for scouting from tomorrow. But operate the main force similarly to now.” “I will do so.” “Generals, have your subordinate soldiers refrain from cooking with fire for a few days and resolve meals with dry rations. Absolutely no smoke must be produced.” Cao Biao isn’t just any general, it’s inevitable he’ll observe Fancheng’s movements as he withdraws. At that time, while hiding us, Liao Hua increases scouting forces to let Cao Biao feel at ease. The doubled scouting forces will also serve to block any spies trying to convey our existence. The moment Cao Biao feels reassured and starts seriously following Guan Yu will be the moment we bite into the back of their necks. “If they dared try to trap our country’s Grand General, they should have been prepared to pay the price.” The direction of the wind blowing in Jingbei began to change.