Waiting for the Rain

March, the 24th year of Jian’an (219 AD).

Having finished his preparations for the defense of Jingzhou, Guan Yu embarked on his long-awaited northern expedition.

An army of 30,000, setting out from Jiangling, advanced relentlessly to Fancheng.

Fancheng refers to the combination of Xiangyang and Fancheng, two cities that were built facing each other across the Han River, forming an inseparable pair of twin cities.

Thanks to this unique structure, Fancheng was an impregnable fortress among fortresses. Before the advent of cannons that could destroy city walls, the main strategy in siege warfare was to surround and starve out the enemy. However, this was not easy at Fancheng.

Even if the city was simply surrounded by land, supplies could be received via water transport through the Han River, and if Xiangyang was in danger, Fancheng could provide support, and vice versa.

However, Guan Yu succeeded in completely surrounding Fancheng through the navy he had independently developed.

Even in this situation, Wei couldn’t muster its forces to defend Jingzhou. It wasn’t that they “wouldn’t,” but that they “couldn’t.”

This was because while Guan Yu was attacking Jingzhou, Ma Chao was advancing towards Tianshui. Moreover, although Liu Bei had retreated to Yizhou, his main force still remained in Hanzhong.

And above all, the one appointed as the Governor of Hanzhong was none other than my father. In the original history, Wei Yan became the Governor of Hanzhong, but here he was only the Deputy Governor.

If Liu Bei had intended to focus on catching his breath for now, he would have entrusted it to Wei Yan and pulled my father back to Sannai. Entrusting it to my father was intended to give more strength to Guan Yu’s northern expedition this time.

Ma Chao in Wudu, Zhang Fei in Hanzhong, Guan Yu in Jingzhou.

Just hearing this lineup would send chills down Wei’s spine.

If they rashly sent troops from Chang’an to Jingzhou, my father would cross the Qinling Mountains and aim for Guanzhong together with Ma Chao, and it was also highly risky to indiscriminately bring reinforcements from the northern front or the front with Sun Quan.

Cao Cao had already squeezed the manpower of the Central Plains once to wage the battle for Hanzhong. Had he won, it might have been different, but having been defeated now, even the Central Plains must have reached its limit of mobilization.

Of course, after achieving a reversal of alliances through a secret agreement with Sun Quan and recovering to some extent, he would again boast monstrous mobilization power.

Although it didn’t perfectly match the Longzhong Plan of attacking Wei from three directions proposed by Zhuge Liang, a kind of miniature version of the three-pronged attack was being realized, thanks to which the Jingzhou front was clearly trending in Guan Yu’s favor.

It seems that Ma Chao and Yu Jin are engaged in a back-and-forth battle in Tianshui, so from Wei’s perspective, although they’re on the defensive on both sides, it might appear that they’re holding out fairly well.

Moreover, those responsible for Fancheng are none other than Cao Ren. Praised as a heaven-sent general and having made a name for himself during the Southern Jingzhou campaign, Cao Ren alone is enough to face Guan Yu, and he even has Pang De with him.

With Zhen Yi, the famous general of the northern front, stationed in Nanyang, which is the rear of Fancheng, even objectively speaking, the Jingzhou defense line is extremely solid.

In fact, even though the fierce general Pang De had disappeared and his position was replaced by a general named Wang Shuang, Fancheng was still firmly withstanding Guan Yu’s attacks.

“I hear the General of the Vanguard has greatly defeated Wang Shuang.”

Of course, it was too much for Wang Shuang, who wasn’t even Pang De, to stop Guan Yu.

“How is Cao Cao reacting?”

“I heard he’s preparing reinforcements. After all, it wasn’t long ago that Hou Yin showed his rebellious intentions.”

Regardless of the outstanding lineup for Jingzhou’s defense, Cao Cao probably can’t be completely at ease, not knowing what might happen internally.

The collapse of Wang Shuang, who was conducting guerrilla warfare outside Fancheng, must have further stimulated such psychology.

“This seems to be all we can gain for our country.”

Wang Si was right. Originally, the reason Guan Yu attempted the northern expedition wasn’t exactly aligned with the grandiose idea of truly occupying Fancheng and recovering Jingzhou.

There was a strong intention to strike first as Cao Ren was subtly showing signs of moving southward while stationed at Fancheng. It was a kind of preventive war, you could say.

However, as we all know, human affairs never flow exactly as initially planned.

“But General, didn’t you say that the battle in Jingzhou would escalate?”

“I did.”

“If Cao Cao sends reinforcements, it will be difficult for the General of the Vanguard alone, so will we join in then?”

At Wang Si’s question, I looked at the axe I had set down beside me.

“Yes. That’s what this temporary axe is for.”

“So you’ve been moving with this in mind from the start.”

Volunteering for the occupation of Shangyong.

Receiving the temporary axe from Liu Bei.

Constantly grasping the situation in Jingzhou while stationed in Shangyong.

All of it was to prepare for the turmoil that would hit Jingzhou.

No, even before that.

Ever since rescuing Fang Tong, I’ve been waiting for this moment all along.

Buying war horses, even spending my private funds, to increase the cavalry ratio of the Nanling Army,

Developing stirrups and nurturing cavalry while risking the danger of it leaking to Wei, whose cavalry force was overwhelmingly superior to ours,

And gaining experience through the battle for Hanzhong.

All, all of it was for this moment.

To calm my emotions, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Not yet. I need to stay calm for now.

While blocking my vision and controlling my emotions, there was a faint sound penetrating my ears.

Tok, todok, tok.

“It’s raining.”

The sound of raindrops hitting the window comes intermittently. It was a drizzle.

“It must be summer.”

Zhang Yi opened his mouth at Wang Si’s mention of rain.

Is it due to the sentiment that summer brings? Or is it because of the fresh scent of summer rain? Zhang Yi’s tone was gentler than usual.

I opened my eyes and stood up from my seat.

Stretching my hand out of the window frame, fine raindrops hit my palm.

“Yes. It’s going to rain.”

“What? Isn’t it already raining?”

As Wang Si said, it is already raining.

But what I’m waiting for isn’t this kind of gentle rain.

A downpour that will sweep away the world. A torrential rain that will submerge the entire world will fall.

“No. A bigger rain will come. Yes, a very big rain.”

Already soaked in the rain, I continued to feel the touch of cold water while receiving raindrops.

It seems I wasn’t the only one who succumbed to the magic of the summer rain.

“Good rain knows the season when to fall.”

I hum softly, recalling a verse from Du Fu’s poem I had seen somewhere.

“In summer it startles the world.”

I close my outstretched palm and make a fist.

Instead of a mind welcoming the rain, enjoying the rain, with a mindset preparing for the war clouds that will come along with the dark clouds.

“Already knowing the timing of heaven and the lay of the land.”

Withdrawing my arm from outside the window, I flicked my clenched hand, shaking off the water droplets.

“All that remains is to align human harmony with it.”

§

The battle for Fancheng, which had started in April, was already entering its third month.

Fancheng, an iron fortress, and famous generals like Cao Ren and Pang De. Even for Guan Yu, who was said to be one of only two people in the world who could match ten thousand, it wasn’t easy to take down Fancheng, which even the Mongol army had struggled with.

From the start, there was a stronger intention to take the initiative in attacking rather than actually capturing Fancheng. Although he showed fierce activity such as defeating Wang Shuang, it wasn’t enough to dramatically change the tide of the war.

Of course, as it wasn’t a level that could be simply ignored, Cao Cao dispatched reinforcements led by Yu Jin.

With Fancheng’s firm defense and the dispatch of additional reinforcements, it was time for Guan Yu’s momentum, which had attacked riding on the momentum of the battle for Hanzhong, to subside a bit.

“Father, shouldn’t we retreat?”

Guan Ping spoke with concern to Guan Yu, who was maintaining the siege of Fancheng.

Zhen Yi stationed in Wan was already a burden, and now Yu Jin, one of Wei’s Five Elite Generals, was coming with a large army? If it came to a pitched battle rather than defending relying on the city, the outcome was obvious.

Although Guan Ping trusted and respected his father Guan Yu, what’s impossible is impossible.

However, Guan Yu remained silent. There’s no way he didn’t understand Guan Ping’s anxious feelings, but Guan Yu remained aloof.

“Yuanxin, how far has Yu Jin come?”

Liao Hua, who had received the position of Assistant Officer, pointed to a corner of the map and said:

“I hear he has now entered Nanyang Commandery.”

“So there’s still more time before he reaches Fancheng.”

Surprised at Guan Yu’s words implying he would maintain the siege of Fancheng, Guan Ping cried out:

“Father!”

“Tanci, be quiet. Even if they all gather, there won’t be a problem. Isn’t Mingxing in Shangyong?”

The distance from Shangyong to Fancheng isn’t that far. Especially for Zhang Ran’s Nanling Army, which boasts the highest cavalry ratio in Liu Bei’s army, having spent all her private funds. It wouldn’t take long to reach Fancheng.

“And Fang Yingming and Military Advisor Pang are holding out in the direction of Dangyang and Qingni. There’s no problem with retreating.”

“But isn’t staying like this also a waste of resources?”

That’s true. We had already consumed a lot of resources fighting consecutive battles at Chibi, Southern Jingzhou, Yizhou, and Hanzhong. The fact that we’ve held out this far is solely due to the presence of Zhuge Liang, a rare genius in internal affairs in history.

Guan Ping’s argument had a point. However, Guan Yu didn’t give a separate answer to Guan Ping’s words and moved outside the tent.

The lieutenants rushed out following Guan Yu. As if he hadn’t intended to inspect the battlefield, Guan Yu quietly looked up at the sky right in front of the tent.

Dark clouds were covering the sky.

“It’s going to rain.”

The gloomy sky announces the time of the rainy season. Despite Guan Yu’s words, the lieutenants were inwardly skeptical. They generally understood it to mean that if it rains, battles often fizzle out, so it’s worth watching a bit longer.

However, Guan Yu’s deeply submerged eyes merely shone quietly, as if waiting for something else.