Zhao Pu found himself increasingly in awe of the miraculous techniques of later generations.
On the glowing screen, the Song troops and Mongols locked in bloody combat. To him, it looked somewhat like the theatrical performances staged daily in Kaifeng. Most likely, they were actors from the future reenacting the battle.
After all, although their armor resembled that of the imperial guards by four or five parts out of ten, their faces were smooth and unlined, their hands soft without calluses, their lips red and teeth white. Even compared to the present imperial troops, they were clearly different.
And yet, when they clashed, their spearwork and blade movements, though slightly elaborate, looked startlingly real. Especially at the end, when "Cao Youwen" fell in battle, pierced through by more than a dozen arrows before finally being beheaded, it did not look fake at all.
Could it be that people of the future possessed immortal methods, like scattering beans to summon soldiers, and that these life-and-death struggles were acted out by paper men and enchanted troops?
The palace hall in Kaifeng was silent.
Zhao Pu glanced around and saw that from the emperor himself to the palace attendants, everyone stared fixedly at the battle on the screen. Even the former Prince of Jin had forgotten to turn the prayer beads in his hand.
At last, the figure of Cao Youwen died on the screen, and the banner that had flown throughout the fight, the one reading "Courage Covers the Body," finally fell.
Though filled with emotion, Zhao Kuangyin immediately praised him.
"The valor of Cao Youwen surpasses even that of his ancestor. Guohua's descendants are worthy indeed. We must let him know of this."
As he spoke, he did not forget to glance at his younger brother.
This younger brother, who would later rename himself Zhao Jiong and was fond of riding donkey carts, was still alive not only because Zhao Kuangyin had no wish to kill his own kin, but also because he was confident the man could not stir up any real trouble now.
And now that he knew of Cao Youwen's story, once Guohua returned with Li Yu in captivity and was summoned to witness this, it was easy to imagine that even if Zhao Kuangyin were to die suddenly next year, this brother of his would have no chance of laying hands on the throne.
Perhaps he had been reprimanded too often recently, because the moment Zhao Kuangyi noticed the glance, he immediately sensed something was wrong. After quickly reviewing his own behavior and finding nothing improper, he hurried to flatter his brother.
"Though Cao Bin lacked fierce bravery, he was a commander of deep strategy and lasting reputation. How could his descendants be any less?"
Zhao Kuangyin gave him a slightly surprised look, then shook his head.
"Wasn't it you who damaged his reputation? During the Yongxi northern campaign, Cao Bin was stripped of his post as commissioner of the Bureau of Military Affairs, which left him unable to coordinate the northern generals. The expedition ended in defeat. Have you forgotten?"
The monk Kongjiong immediately flushed with embarrassment and lowered his head in silence.
…
"Cao Youwen truly deserves to be called a fine general."
For Zhang Fei, the region where Cao Youwen fought was extremely familiar, so he spoke at length on military matters.
"The Jinniu Road from Hanzhong into Shu follows the Han River. The ground is wide enough for cavalry. Hard to contest head-on."
"The Mianzhou where Cao Youwen stationed his army should be the old Wuxing. It sits at the junction of three rivers. From there you can march north to strike Wudu, move south to cut the Jinniu Road, or head east like when my elder brother was intercepted in the Hanzhong campaign, entering Hanzhong through the Mamingge route. Anyone invading Shu must take this place."
Liu Bei coughed lightly, trying to mask his embarrassment.
Zhuge Liang smiled and smoothly shifted the topic.
"When Yide captured Hanzhong, we did enjoy certain advantages."
"Zhang Lu was incompetent. He held Hanzhong but made no attempt to seize Wudu. At the time Meng Qi and Han Sui were fighting each other in the north and had no intention of marching south through Wudu to take Hanzhong."
"So thanks to Yide's courage, all he had to do was focus on breaking Yangping Pass and reclaim Hanzhong, driving out the rice bandits."
Hearing the strategist praise his bravery, Zhang Fei puffed up his chest at once.
"The lads fought without fear of death, we struck with surprise, and we had Advisor Pang assisting us. There was no way I, Old Zhang, would spend half a year taking Hanzhong and fail the strategist's trust."
Liu Bei burst into loud coughing.
But when he looked up and saw both his sworn brother and Zhuge Liang grinning at him, and even Lu Su beside them barely suppressing laughter, he immediately understood that the two of them had been teasing him together.
Still, Liu Bei did not get angry. Instead he showed a trace of pride.
"With so many fierce generals and capable strategists under my command now, why would I need to lead armies personally anymore?"
The small courtyard erupted in laughter.
After the laughter faded, Lu Su sighed sincerely.
"Before this, Song had Yue Fei and Han Shizhong. Later they had Cao Youwen and Meng Gong. They never lacked generals who combined courage and strategy."
"In the Northern Song there were still ministers known for daring action. But in the Southern Song, just as the later generations say, state affairs were treated like a child's game."
"They each commanded great armies, yet forgot the very opening of Sunzi: warfare is the great affair of the state, the ground of life and death, the path of survival and destruction. It must be examined carefully."
Everyone nodded. Even Zhang Fei sighed.
"If it were that Ah Dou truly traveled through time, things might still be manageable while Yue Fei lived. He could rely on him to revive the state through northern campaigns."
"But in this era… Ah Dou would probably be helpless too."
---
[Lightscreen]
[At the time Cao Youwen died, the Shu commander Zhao Yan'na had already fled to Jiange.
With Cao Youwen dead, nothing remained to block the Mongol advance into Shu. In less than a month they captured Chengdu and carried out a massive slaughter.
Zhao Yan'na, meanwhile, simply dusted himself off and retreated from Jiangyou, modern Mianyang, to Kuizhou, modern Chongqing. He then accepted the court's demotion order and calmly went off to take up his new post in Hengzhou, modern Hengyang.
During this battle, Wang Shixian, whose reinforcements helped cause Cao Youwen's defeat and death, had originally been a local strongman serving the Jin dynasty.
After the Jin collapsed, Wang Shixian repeatedly petitioned to submit to the Southern Song. But each time Zhao Yan'na forwarded the memorial, Chancellor Zheng Qingzhi rejected it.
Rejected by the Song, Wang Shixian was eventually recruited by Köden and became a Mongol vanguard in the invasion of Shu.
Zheng Qingzhi's refusal to accept Wang Shixian was simple in origin. It all traced back to the Duanping campaign to recover Luoyang. Zheng supported the northern expedition, while Zhao Yan'na opposed it and refused to send troops.
Thus anything Zhao supported, Zheng opposed. Family, state, none of that mattered. I may be an old horse without sense, but I will eliminate you, you petty man.
Of course, Zhao Yan'na might have had his own defense. During the Duanping campaign, the Mongols were simultaneously sweeping south again. The Sichuan imperial troops, under Cao Youwen and Shi Dangke, were already locked in heavy fighting with the Mongols and truly had no strength to spare.
Yet there was more.
When the capable minister Cui Yuzhi served as Shu commander, he had personally evaluated Zhao Yan'na, who then commanded the Mianzhou forces, to judge whether he was fit for frontier command.
Cui concluded that Zhao Yan'na "spoke grandly but lacked substance and would surely ruin the state." He not only submitted a memorial against him but directly stripped him of command authority. His judgment proved accurate.
But the two Shu commanders who followed Cui, Zheng Sun and Gui Ruyuan, one abandoned five prefectures and retreated behind three passes, while the other could not even hold those passes. In the end, Zhao Yan'na circled back into the post of Shu commander anyway.
All these twists and turns were things the Cao brothers, fighting desperately on the battlefield, could never have known.
One can only wonder whether, when he saw the beacon fires rise above Jiguang Pass and forced his troops into a rain-soaked march, Cao Youwen already guessed the tragic end awaiting him.
The man is gone, yet the mountains and rivers remain.
Where once corpses lay scattered for twenty li, today stretches a hundred li of blooming rapeseed flowers.
A bridge spans the riverbanks. A train whistle sounds at Yangping Pass.
Eight hundred years have passed since the fierce general was buried there. The landscapes of Sichuan still unfold, old lands showing new faces.
Perhaps, at last, Cao Youwen can rest in peace.]