"Kongming, how many days do you think Yide will need to break Yique Pass?"
As the main army advanced eastward from Shan County, the terrain gradually narrowed. The marching column stretched longer and longer, slowing the entire force. In the end, Liu Bei simply had the central banner planted atop a rise so the command group could pause and observe the movement.
Below them, Huo Jun was shouting hoarsely while riding back and forth, forcing the troops into orderly ranks so they could pass through the constricted ground without chaos.
Under the banner, Liu Bei and his two strategists spoke idly while watching the army file past.
Reports from Zhang Fei's vanguard arrived every day.
The ruse that captured Shan County.
The peaceful march to Xin'an.
All clearly recorded.
And the fast rider who had arrived that morning brought another clear message. If Hangu Pass fell quickly, Zhang Fei intended to push straight for Yique Pass. If he could seize it, he would secure southern Luoyang. If not, he could still block Cao forces from advancing north to harass the region.
There was nothing flawed in the plan. It had even been one of the possible eastern routes discussed earlier at Tong Pass. Because of that, the tone among them was relaxed. Pang Tong even made it a casual topic of conversation.
But Liu Bei, when answering, showed rare worry.
"According to Feng Kai, the defender of Yique Pass is Cao Xiu."
"He is one of Cao Cao's trusted men, skilled at making decisions in battle. If Yide grows careless…"
Kongming and Pang Tong exchanged a glance, then burst out laughing.
They both knew exactly where this anxiety came from.
They still remembered the tale told by that young man Wen Mang about the future Hanzhong campaign. It had begun with the humiliating line: Zhang Fei and Ma Chao abandon Bian.
In that future history, Yide had reused an old trick, beating drums from the hills to feign a massive force. Cao's army saw through it and struck straight at Xiabian, breaking the city and forcing two peerless warriors into retreat.
The man who had pierced through Zhang Fei's deception in that story was none other than Cao Xiu.
So Liu Bei's unease now was simply the chaos of concern for a sworn brother.
Kongming spoke first to reassure him.
"My lord, Cao Xiu's clash with Yide at Xiabian occurred in the twenty-third year of Jian'an. We are only in the nineteenth. He lacks four years of experience."
"Meanwhile, Yide has fought dozens of battles from Yizhou to Guanzhong. He reads, he studies, he values soldiers. He is not the same Zhang Fei described in later histories."
"With his strength rising and Cao Xiu's not yet matured, even with the advantage of Yique Pass, how could Cao Xiu match him?"
The explanation finally eased Liu Bei's expression.
Pang Tong grinned and added,
"My lord, rather than worry about Yide's safety, perhaps you should think ahead about how to place Cao Xiu once he's captured."
"Maybe… see if we can find him a good family?"
Liu Bei could not help laughing at that joke. But it reminded him of something from the day before.
Zhang Fei had sent back two prisoners from Shan County.
One Feng Kai.
One beautiful woman.
If Liu Bei had not trusted his sworn brother completely, and also known that brother's occasional eccentricities, he might have thought the vanguard commander was trying to make some outrageous request.
Only after the messenger carefully explained the situation did the misunderstanding vanish.
Relieved, Liu Bei had spoken carelessly when his guards asked what to do with the prisoners.
"Send them to Chang'an. See if we can find them a good family."
The guard had instinctively glanced at Feng Kai's weathered, honest-looking face, then at Liu Bei again.
Pang Tong, never one to let peace survive, immediately stood and asked,
"Shall we also find General Feng a good family?"
Liu Bei shook off the memory with a wry smile. He turned instead toward the great stone pillar standing midstream in the river they had passed, then looked back toward Zhongtiao Mountain with a sigh.
His second brother's homeland lay just beyond those ridges.
He and Yide had wandered so many years. Would they ever stand together again beneath the snows of Yan Mountain?
The main army resumed marching.
Before evening had fully settled, Liu Bei's group reached Xin'an County.
What surprised Kongming and the others slightly was that while they were still eating, a fast rider arrived with news.
"Yique Pass has fallen?"
Liu Bei instantly brightened.
"Where is Yide? Is he wounded?"
The messenger who entered the tent was none other than You Chu. He straightened his back and spoke loudly.
"General Zhang personally led the first assault and broke the pass. He fought fiercely with Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry."
"He killed nearly a hundred before they withdrew. The general only suffered a few scratches. Nothing serious."
Only then did Liu Bei finally relax.
Pang Tong, less emotionally tangled, asked at once,
"What about Cao Xiu? Was he captured?"
"No."
You Chu answered honestly.
"The Tiger and Leopard Cavalry fought to the death to cover his retreat. The general only captured a clerk named Lü Qian."
Pang Tong slapped his thigh in mock regret.
"Ah, what a pity. My lord won't get to find him a good family now."
You Chu looked confused.
Liu Bei pretended not to notice and instead stepped forward, pulled You Chu down to sit among them, and laughed.
"Zhongyun, eat with us. And tell me in detail how Yique Pass was taken."
"This news truly eases my heart."
You Chu was deeply moved that the lord still remembered his courtesy name. Flustered and grateful, he stopped being formal. After riding all day, he was starving anyway. So he began eating while talking, words slightly muffled as he explained the battle step by step.
And his very first sentence hooked everyone's attention.
"If Yique fell so quickly, the three generals Wei Xu and the others deserve credit."
Before leaving, You Chu had questioned the captured Lü Qian about events at the pass. Combining that with what he had seen himself, he recounted the full story of the one-day victory.
After rushing to Yique, Zhang Fei ordered Zhang Ji to set up a feast before the gate, loudly drinking and laughing. Craftsmen worked through the night hammering and clanging. You Chu himself took clothes soaked in strong liquor and waved them at the upwind slope to create smoke and scent.
In short, the exact same stratagem used at Shan County was repeated almost unchanged.
But this time, the opponent was Cao Xiu.
At Changban years ago, Cao Xiu had personally witnessed how Zhang Fei dragged branches behind horses to raise dust and create phantom armies. And in his eyes, Liu Bei's recent rapid rise had another explanation entirely.
It was all because Guan Yu was unstoppable in Jingzhou. That success had given Liu Bei the chance to borrow imperial kinship as a pretext to seize Yizhou.
At least, that was what the great clans who fled from Yizhou swore to be true.
Cao Xiu did not fully believe it. But when he heard Wei Xu and the other three swear repeatedly that Zhang Fei had used deception at Shan County, and then saw an identical formation outside Yique Pass, he nearly laughed in anger.
Did Zhang Yide really think he was facing another fool?
Though the clerk Lü Qian urged him repeatedly to stay behind the walls and hold fast, Cao Xiu decided instead to strike boldly.
So what if Zhang Fei hid troops and waited for exhaustion? Then he would hide even deeper. He would launch a surprise assault just before dawn and crush him in one blow.
If he could not touch Guan Yu in Jingzhou, protected by cavalry, then he would kill Zhang Fei here and offer that victory to the spirit of his uncle Cao Hong.
He selected elite troops, gave them food and wine, and slept with weapons at hand.
At the hour of Mao, when the morning star rose, the Tiger and Leopard Cavalry poured out of the gate.
Zhang Fei should have spent the night frustrated, then returned to camp to sleep heavily, ready to be crushed beneath Cao Xiu's attack.
Except…
Why was the camp empty?
At that exact moment, Zhang Fei's voice thundered from outside like a bursting storm.
"So such a crude trick actually worked?"
"Zhang Junyi was right!"
"This place truly is full of mediocre generals!"