Wintering 2

“Hahaha! At that time, when the General of the Guards shouted ‘Now!’, I rushed out like lightning and saved this fellow, this Tuoba Yilü!”

Dugu Piguang was repeating the story of how he saved Tuoba Yilü in the battle against Cao Zhang for over 10 times already.

“What are Celestial Maidens? Now, everyone, we must first address the worship ideology between our Xianbei people and the Central Plains people here…”

Tuoba Yilü, being chewed out as Dugu Piguang’s drinking snack, had been reciting a long speech about what Celestial Maidens are for a full hour now, holding captive the Nanling Army soldiers who followed me.

There was certainly a lot of alcohol. What Dugu Piguang brought seemed like it would have been enough, but on top of that, Tuoba Yilü also brought alcohol in preparation for the banquet.

Especially since other Central Plains natives besides me couldn’t drink kumiss well, most of it was the share of me and the two Xianbei leaders. I didn’t refuse the drinks they poured for me and drank them as they were, and they too had to drain their cups as much as I drank.

There was such a backstory to those two people making a fuss.

Perhaps because he was young, Dugu Shouchuan had a stronger drinking capacity than the two leaders. Seeing him still holding up despite drinking about the same as me, he’s no ordinary fellow.

‘I’m starting to have a hard time too?’

I’ve never lost in drinking, as if even my drinking capacity follows that of Zhang Fei. Though it’s not like I’ve had so many drinking occasions to boast about, in the sense that I drink better than Tuoba Yilü or Dugu Piguang, I’m probably already beyond an ordinary heavy drinker.

“Gen-General of the Guards! I’ll~ pour you, one cup!”

Dugu Shouchuan’s voice, though stuttering, still maintaining the original form of pronunciation. As Dugu Shouchuan, who had taken the place next to me pushing aside his father, held out the wine bottle, I brought my cup without falling behind.

Though I was thinking I should stop drinking soon, when I saw Dugu Shouchuan’s eyes, the desire to avoid vanished completely. Perhaps because he had no experience of going into battle with me. Dugu Shouchuan’s gaze towards me was far from that towards a comrade or superior.

But did I look unsteady? Jiang Wei, who had been periodically checking my condition, intervened and pushed away Dugu Shouchuan’s hand.

“General of the Guards, you’ve had a lot. The two great men of the Xianbei are also heavily drunk, so let’s end the banquet now and go inside.”

Feeling like he had been ignored, Dugu Shouchuan stood up abruptly and pointed at Jiang Wei.

“Who are you to interfere between me and the General of the Guards! If you’re a subordinate, you should quietly wait for your superiors…”

Though his reason was blurred from being drunk, this crossed the line too far.

I clenched my fist and struck down the wine table placed in front of me.

Bang!

At the thunderous sound of the wine table splitting in half, silence enveloped the banquet hall in an instant.

“That’s enough. As Baiyue said, if we drink any more, unfortunate incidents that damage our friendship might occur, so the banquet ends here.”

As if his judgment had returned somewhat with the alcohol wearing off at the sudden situation, Dugu Shouchuan realized what he had said and turned pale. I should use this as an excuse to squeeze Dugu Piguang later for more military support.

On the way back to my quarters after wrapping up the banquet with such an unpleasant ending.

I spoke to Jiang Wei who was supporting me as I staggered, unable to walk properly:

“Baiyue.”

“Yes, General.”

“Were you upset?”

“It’s alright. The General got angry on my behalf.”

I was going to make it public and properly punish him if Jiang Wei kept being bothered by Dugu Shouchuan’s remarks, but that won’t be necessary.

“Baiyue.”

“Yes, General.”

“Can we win?”

A question that didn’t need a subject. Jiang Wei was silent for a while.

And when we had almost arrived at my quarters, he answered with a question:

“Do you want encouragement, or do you want persuasion?”

Emotional empathy, or rational analysis?

“I want to hear both.”

“Both… Then first, I’ll try to persuade you with reasons why we will win.”

Starting with such a preface, Jiang Wei began explaining step by step:

“Though Sun Quan has usurped the title of emperor, his authority is not solid. This war is also a test of whether Sun Quan dares to meet the conditions for usurpation. So the troops Sun Quan can mobilize will not be many.”

“What else?”

“The same goes for Cao Wei. They have suffered too many defeats and losses so far. And until recently, they consumed a lot of troops and resources fighting Wu and Yue. Cao Wei too can’t help but have large restrictions on troops. In contrast, our country is in better shape than them, so in terms of troop scale, it will be more or less similar.”

Well. No matter how abundant Wei’s products are and how excellent the production capacity of the Central Plains-Hebei golden lands they occupy, it’s not a horn of plenty, there must be limits.

The reason we are so boldly waging war against both Wei and Wu is because we thought it was a match worth trying based on the analysis Jiang Wei mentioned.

“If the troops are similar, the outcome will be decided by the generals leading them, and in this too our country has an advantage over them, so it’s clear our country will win.”

“Are you sure we have better high-level personnel?”

“I’m sure. Because the records so far prove it.”

As he gave a resolute immediate answer, I was at a loss for words to refute.

“Is this persuasion?”

“That’s right.”

“Then what about encouragement?”

I asked intending to tease the overly confident Jiang Wei a bit, but Jiang Wei spoke without the slightest hesitation:

“It’s okay to do a little worse. Even if we don’t win, it’s alright.”

“What?”

“The General has walked the path of success from a young age. It’s okay to take one step back, and it’s fine to stand still in that place and rest. Because more opportunities will be waiting for the General of the Guards in the future. So you don’t need to be too tense. Even if we falter a little in this war, someday the General of the Guards will achieve the great enterprise of unifying the world. I’m certain of it. With the General of the Guards I’ve seen, you will surely accomplish it.”

Jiang Wei, who didn’t even disturb a single breath after spilling out long words in just a few breaths.

I stopped even my footsteps that had been moving busily to chew on those words, and stood still in that spot pondering the meaning.

It seemed to mean that since I’m still young, I don’t need to cling too much to just today’s affairs.

Right. I’m still young. Not just young, but young enough to be childish.

Just twenty-five. Though I’ll turn twenty-six when this winter passes, it’s still not even the age of thirty when Confucius said he stood firm.

Liu Bei entered Shu after he was over fifty, and ascended to emperor at the age of sixty. Compared to Liu Bei’s life, I still had decades of time left.

Thinking like that, I felt like the tension was completely released somehow.

“Did that help you feel better?”

“…Yes.”

“I’m glad.”

I take another step. After that we walked silently, and soon arrived in front of my quarters. The support was until here. To Jiang Wei who was about to return without entering the room, I said lastly:

“Still, I’d like to win.”

From behind my back as I opened the door and entered, Jiang Wei’s voice followed in:

“I too, hope for that.”

§

The day after the banquet, Dugu Piguang’s attitude was even more subservient than before. He must have heard about Dugu Shouchuan’s mistake.

Anyway, my instructions to cooperate in the upcoming war were immediately accepted. They had already become enemies with Wei by helping us face them. From their position, there was no reason to refuse helping us bring down Wei. On top of that, with the recent incident, the Dugu clan’s enthusiasm was exceptional.

Seeing such a Dugu Piguang, Tuoba Yilü clicked his tongue and said:

“Bringing along a young blood clot for nothing.”

Let’s overlook the fact that the age difference between that blood clot and me is almost non-existent. It wasn’t said directly to me anyway, and I only found out about it indirectly.

Anyway, after receiving promises of support from Hetao, I connected them with Ma Chao. They would not be deployed to attack Luoyang, but would be dispatched to pound Wei’s Bingzhou following Ma Chao.

After wrapping up matters in Hetao, I crossed over to Yong-Yang Province. I was also Liu Bei’s imperial envoy to Ma Chao. After finding Ma Chao and handing over Liu Bei’s edict along with the tally, I had reunions with people I hadn’t seen in a long time.

Not only Ma Chao and Fang De, but also Wang Si whom I hadn’t thought I’d see here.

“Then is Shengzong also following the Marquis of Zhaoxiang?”

“Haha, that’s how it turned out. After all, there are Governor Xichi of Liangzhou and Governor Xumou of Yongzhou here, so even if I’m not here, there shouldn’t be problems with governance and supplies.”

Liu Bei’s order to Ma Chao:

When spring comes, lead the ethnic minorities to attack Cao Wei’s Bingzhou.

The intention was to attack Wei in advance with the forces of Yong-Yang Province and Hetao, which don’t need to wait for sowing due to their small farming populations, to disperse the enemy forces. It can be seen as a preliminary battle before the main battle.

“Don’t worry. I’ll return Shengzong to you safely.”

“Why would I worry? With the Marquis of Zhaoxiang as commander, how could I have such worries?”

“Hahaha! Is that so? Then I might as well go all the way to Ye this time. Don’t be too late. I’ll end up monopolizing the merit of capturing Ye alone.”

I wonder about that? It won’t be easy.

Because we were temporarily distracted by moving those with connections to Liu Bei or me elsewhere due to Xiahou Mao’s betrayal, we had forgotten for a moment, but in Wei’s north stands the great general Tian Yu.

With the combination of Jian Yong and Tian Yu, even Ma Chao will have a hard time if he’s careless.

“Be careful of Tian Yu. He was once under His Majesty, and His Majesty said his talent is comparable to our country’s chief commanders.”

“Hmm, right. Tian Yu, Tian Guoyang, I’ve heard his name a few times too. I’ll keep it in mind.”

After staying in Yong-Yang Province for some time, I returned to Chang’an Castle.

When I returned to Chang’an Castle after finishing a long business trip, winter was almost at its end, approaching the Great Cold right ahead.

And while waiting, routinely training with the Nanling Army without any particular incidents, spring came.

The Beginning of Spring.

It was the season opening the curtain on the great war that would greatly change the flow of this chaotic world.