Zhang Fei's voice crashed beside his ear like thunder, dragging Cao Cao's mind back to the battlefield.
He had always known Liu Bei's third brother was foul-mouthed, but being called "Cao dog" straight to his face still filled him with instant fury. He wanted to rise at once, draw his sword, and fight the brute to the death.
He wanted to stand.
He wanted to lift his sword.
He wanted to fight.
But the moment his body shifted, what returned was a tide of boundless pain. A groan escaped him before he could stop it.
He could no longer remember the last time he had been this badly wounded.
For most of his life he had been Cao the Filial Candidate, Cao the Magistrate, Cao the Colonel, the General Who Uplifts Martial Might, the Administrator of Dong Commandery, Governor of Yan Province, General Who Pacifies the East, Grand General granted by that rather obedient young Son of Heaven, and finally the Chancellor whose prestige shook the realm.
He might even have become King of Wei.
But now he lay in the mud, unable to raise even a single hand without effort.
The dark face filled his vision again, clicking his tongue in amazement.
"Only half-killed by the Great Han Peacekeeping Divine Might General's Taiping cannon. That's some tough luck, old dog."
Cao Cao did not want to answer.
Partly because seeing this face reminded him of that insolent letter Zhang Fei had once written, and his temper surged again.
Partly because something else mattered more.
"I… lost?"
"Of course you did."
The words "isn't it obvious" were written plainly across the black face.
"You forced your men to take two rounds from the Great Han Peacekeeping Divine Might General's Taiping cannon. After that the front ranks collapsed and both sides started hacking at each other in chaos."
"I led my lads across the river. Took some effort to calm the mess down. Now the ones who can surrender are surrendering, the ones who can run are running. You lost, didn't you?"
Every sign pointed to that single outcome.
But hearing it spoken aloud by Zhang Fei still made it hard to accept.
"Six years ago Liu Bei fled in defeat, casting off armor and dragging soldiers behind him, unable even to protect his own wife. At Red Cliffs he survived only because of Zhou Gongjin of Jiangdong."
"Six years later he defeats me in an instant and buries thirty years of my foundation. Why? Why!"
The smile vanished from Zhang Fei's face.
With one hand he hauled Cao Cao upright, his ferocious expression pressing close.
"Why? Because you butchered cities, slaughtered common folk, and crushed good families!"
"Do you know the refugees wish to chew your flesh raw?"
"Do you know that even a thousand years from now Han people will remember your massacres?"
Three thunderous shouts struck straight through Cao Cao's body. Even his ears rang.
The fury inside him surged even stronger, but before he could shout back, Zhang Fei simply let go.
What came out of Cao Cao's mouth became,
"You crude brute… ah—!"
The layered howl of pain that followed made Zhang Fei raise a brow.
But seeing his elder brother approaching, he tossed out one last line and strode off.
"I don't have time to listen to a dog bark. I've got work to do."
Cao Cao swore that not ordering the entire army to attack and kill Zhang Fei at Changban Slope was one of the greatest regrets of his life.
One of them, at least.
---
As the brute walked away, a familiar face came into view.
Between Liu Bei's brows, the jade-like refinement of former days could still be seen. The dejection he had worn while living in Xudu had vanished completely.
A trace of heroic spirit rested beneath the gentle smile in his eyes. Past the brow, it even carried something of the reckless knight-errant air of his youth.
"Six years without meeting. Mengde still bears an elegant presence and noble bearing."
Liu Bei bowed slightly in greeting. Then he ordered two chairs brought and placed facing the Yi River. Cao Cao was settled into a reclining seat, and Liu Bei added gently,
"While you were unconscious, the army physicians examined you. Two bones are broken, and the organs are slightly displaced."
"With proper medicine and three or four months of rest, you should recover."
Cao Cao felt awkward in the folding camp chair at first. Then he realized sensation in his body had returned somewhat. At least he could make small adjustments, shifting his posture so he could sink more comfortably into the seat.
Lowering his head, he noticed the blood and mud staining his armor and robes.
Liu Bei, by contrast, wore no rough hemp cloth, yet neither did he wear the famed Shu brocade of Bazhong. Compared with Cao Cao's former chancellor's robes, his attire was plain.
Yet paired with that knightly air, it made him look even more composed.
Cao Cao shook his head with difficulty.
"A prisoner beneath the steps cannot speak of nobility. What is the point of such words? Will you not kill me?"
Liu Bei gestured for the guards to stand farther away. Watching the flowing river, he spoke directly.
"The people butchered in Xuzhou. The white bones crushed across Jing and Ji."
"My wife dead at Dangyang. The people lost at Xinye."
"All these are reasons enough to kill you."
Cao Cao nodded.
"That would be in keeping with your conduct."
"If you wish to enumerate my crimes, you might summon Chen Lin in Xudu. He would gladly compose another long denunciation."
Liu Bei burst into laughter, slapping his thigh.
"And yet this same man crushed the Wuhuan across three commanderies, slew Tadun to pacify the north, and swept the frontier clear of tribes. Later generations will record that merit as well."
Cao Cao laughed with effort.
"The Wuhuan campaign was only partly that. In truth it was to destroy the Yuan remnants. What merit is there in that?"
"And how could you or I know how later generations will judge? With your current strength, restoring the Han and claiming king or emperor is already within reach."
"I am merely a Han traitor who lacks the Liu surname. Why would history waste ink on me?"
Before he finished speaking he broke into coughing.
For a time the bank of the Yi River was silent, save for the water flowing south.
These words of Cao Cao's came from genuine emotion.
Just as the ambitions in his poems of Jian'an year ten, to unite the lords and set the realm in order, to emulate the Duke of Zhou and win the hearts of the world, had been sincere.
Just as in Jian'an year fifteen, when he wrote the Edict Declaring His Intent and lamented that without him the realm would see countless self-proclaimed kings and emperors, that too had been heartfelt.
And only two years later, when his wish to become king drove him into rupture with Xun Yu and made him the very target of criticism within that same declaration, that had also been true to his nature.
Looking at Liu Bei now, Cao Cao felt it was no different.
What real difference was there between them?
Only that he was surnamed Cao, not Liu.
Thus a faintly relaxed smile appeared on Cao Cao's face. So what if he had lost?
Even if Liu Bei truly valued righteousness and had no desire to call himself emperor, could the loyal ministers and fierce generals he had raised feel nothing when they looked upon that weak Son of Heaven?
Yet Liu Bei's next words were completely unexpected.
"Mengde, where do you think this Yi River flows?"
Cao Cao pondered, then sneered.
"What, you wish to say that no matter what you do, the realm will ultimately still belong to the Liu Han?"
The sneer met no answer.
When Cao Cao turned his head, he saw only Liu Bei's steady, sincere gaze, unchanged as ever.
"Mengde's literary talent far surpasses mine," Liu Bei said softly. "But your thoughts are also heavier."
He continued without circling the point.
"That I happen to know where the Yi River flows… is precisely why I was fortunate enough to win."