At Tong Pass, Kongming lightly flicked the intelligence report that had just arrived by fast horse and smiled.
"This Ma Youchang… the farther he is from the front line, the quicker his wits seem to become."
Mi Zhu and Jian Yong had long been using money to open roads and gather information from Sili, Yuzhou, and Yanzhou. But Kongming also understood what Guan Zhong once said: when you listen to one side, you grow foolish; when you combine many voices, you grow wise.
Now the reports from Mi Zhu and Jian Yong, the records summarized from the mysterious light screen, and Ma Su's field intelligence were placed together and cross-checked, the chaff removed and the essence retained.
"Zhang He has always been considered a capable general," Lu Su said with a sigh. "If Ma Su managed to pry information from him, the resentment in Zhang He's heart may have helped, but that distilled liquor must have done most of the work."
Everyone present agreed with that.
As Kongming unfolded the report and saw Ma Su's neat handwriting and clear summaries, his satisfaction deepened.
"Ma Youchang may be allowed to propose strategies," he said, "but he must never be the one making final decisions."
Pang Tong nodded fiercely.
"Kongming, you finally understand!"
Kongming choked, then immediately raised his feather fan as if to strike Pang Tong's head again.
Lu Su quickly changed the subject.
"Zhang He is a good general. Why would Cao Cao ignore him like this?"
At the side, Fa Zheng, who had been silently sorting intelligence into categories, lifted his head and answered briefly.
"He did ask about him. Later, our lord even sent Cao Cao a letter discussing the matter of Zhang He returning east."
"Oh?" Lu Su's curiosity sparked at once. "What did the letter say?"
Fa Zheng's expression remained calm.
"Our lord said that Cao Cao only needed to build shrines for the civilians slaughtered in Xuzhou, carve memorial steles, and kowtow properly in repentance. If he did that, Zhang He would be released immediately and sent back east, without fail."
Lu Su stared, stunned, yet the more he thought about it, the more it sounded exactly like something Liu Bei would say. A man who had once roamed the land as a wandering knight would hardly speak in cautious diplomatic phrases.
As for Cao Cao's reaction, Lu Su could easily imagine it. He must have taken it as an insult and simply stopped asking, leaving Zhang He where he was.
Lu Su then remembered something else.
"I recall that in the thirteenth year of Jian'an, during the chaos at Changban, our lord lost two daughters in the rout, and General Yide lost his second son Zhang Shao…"
Fa Zheng replied evenly.
"I once suggested using that matter as leverage. Our lord and General Yide both refused."
Lu Su fell silent.
Meanwhile, Pang Tong straightened the crown Kongming had knocked crooked and asked another question as if nothing had happened.
"Where's our lord now?"
Kongming adjusted the bent feathers of his fan and replied irritably,
"With Yide, following Zhongmiao to tour Tong Pass."
Tong Pass was one of the great strongholds under heaven. If he himself were not buried in military affairs, Kongming would have liked to inspect it properly too.
At that very moment, standing atop Tong Pass, Liu Bei looked out at the two mountain ranges hemming in a single river valley, the Yellow River roaring eastward beneath his feet, and sighed in admiration.
"A truly mighty pass. Even with a hundred thousand troops, it would be hard to break."
Zhang Fei said nothing, but as he gazed eastward, battle intent burned bright in his eyes.
Running his hand over the rough rammed-earth wall, Liu Bei found his thoughts drifting through a long chain of names: Feng Changqing, Gao Xianzhi, An Lushan, Huang Chao…
He patted the wall and felt the urge to compose something grand in the style of Tang and Song rhapsodies. Unfortunately, poetic brilliance was not among his talents. After holding it in for a long while, he finally sighed and muttered,
"How many rise and fall within these passes…"
Zhang Fei nodded vigorously.
"Big brother's right. If we want to revive the Han, we've got to destroy Cao Cao first."
"Big brother, let's do it!"
The tiny spark of poetic inspiration Liu Bei had struggled to produce was instantly strangled. He felt both exasperated and vaguely embarrassed, thinking that not bringing Kongming up here with him had been a serious mistake.
When he turned and saw the eager expression on his sworn brother's face, and even noticed that Huo Jun, the commander of Tong Pass, looked just as expectant, he could not help smiling wryly.
It was understandable. Over the past year, the main Cao forces had been tied down in Jingbei fighting Yun Chang, leaving Huo Jun guarding this mighty pass with no enemy to face.
The nearest Cao troops were two hundred li away at Shan County, huddled in a purely defensive posture. The Tong Pass front had been quiet for an entire year, dull enough to feel like imprisonment.
Now that the army was finally preparing to march east, how could Huo Jun not be excited?
For Liu Bei, however, Zhang Fei's urging went in one ear and out the other. This campaign was a coordinated advance from multiple directions, and the timing had long been agreed upon. It was not something that could be changed on impulse.
For Zhang Fei, those months stationed at Tong Pass had felt like years. With nothing else to do, he poured all his energy into drilling troops. Whether it was the newly arrived Zhang Ji or long-serving officers like Fan Jiang and Zhang Da, none escaped his training. Their howls of misery had at least added some liveliness to the fortress.
Still, Zhang Fei had noticed something. Ever since they arrived at Tong Pass, the lamps in the four strategists' room had never gone out at night.
Days passed, and May finally drew to its close.
On the last day of the month, a simple altar was erected below Tong Pass. Liu Bei donned full general's attire with seal and sash and ascended the platform solemnly.
Ancestor rites sounded complicated, but in truth they amounted to reporting recent events, explaining future plans, and ending with a formal proclamation preserved as record, all in the hope of ancestral blessing.
This time the proclamation had been drafted by Kongming and polished by Pang Tong. Once the ceremony ended, swift riders carried copies in every direction.
With that document issued, the campaign against Cao Cao was no longer a plan. It was a certainty.
The next day, the calendar turned to June.
As the golden sun carved a pale white glow across the eastern sky, the armies of every direction began to move.
Hanzhong
Wu Yi stood atop the mustering platform said to have been built by General Zhang Yide himself. His command was short and sharp.
"Advance."
After pacifying Nanzhong, Wu Yi had returned with more than eight thousand seasoned troops who had fought through the southern campaigns, along with over ten thousand tribal soldiers gathered from the various southern groups.
Governance of Nanzhong had been handed to Li Hui according to Liu Bei's instructions. Even Sima Yi, whose presence had made Wu Yi uneasy, had been left there as well.
The tribal troops were divided into two forces under Meng Huo and Wang Ping. Wu Yi himself commanded the entire army while directly leading the eight thousand Han soldiers.
After leaving the dense forests of Nanzhong, they marched north. Half a year ago they had reached Hanzhong and rested since. Now the appointed day had finally arrived.
Squads of soldiers boarded wide, flat-bottomed ships specially constructed for troop transport along the Han River. From here they would sail downstream, rushing straight toward Jingbei to reinforce General Yun Chang.
Youfengyi, Linjin
Ma Chao once again wore his extravagantly ornate armor. Mounted on a tall horse, he looked every bit the heroic general of legend.
Although he had not secured the role of vanguard, he had been granted independent command of the Hedong direction. That alone satisfied him.
Brother Ma Zhong had explained it clearly. Hedong had never truly submitted to Cao Cao, and it was also General Guan's homeland. Advancing from Youfengyi under Liu Bei's banner, Hedong might well fall without a fight.
After that, once Shangdang was recovered and the Taihang passes at Huguan, She County, and Lucheng were broken through, Ye City would lie within reach. Ma Zhong had said the Hedong route offered the greatest chance for outstanding merit, and Ma Chao agreed completely.
He drew his sword and pointed it east.
"Cao bandit, your grandfather Ma is coming!"
Then, silently in his heart, he added another line meant for the dead.
"Father… your son Ma Chao is coming too."