Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

The battle between Liu Bei’s army and Liu Zhang’s forces proceeded one-sidedly.
Liu Bei, who had taken Baishui, which Yang Huai had been in charge of, immediately advanced south. Before Liu Bei’s army led by Huang Zhong, Fucheng fell in the blink of an eye without putting up proper resistance.
By then, Liu Zhang, having finished his preparations, sent Liu Gui, Zhang Ren, Deng Xian, and Leng Bao to stop Liu Bei, but they were no match for Liu Bei’s army.
Liu Bei’s army, equipped with not only Huang Zhong but also a solid line of lieutenants like Wei Yan and Zhuo Ying, was too strong for them who had only fought against rebels or barbarians in the peaceful Yi Province.
The next city after Fucheng was Mianzhu. The road from Fucheng through Jianmen, Zitong, Fucheng, Mianzhu, to Luo. After that, Chengdu was located, so if Mianzhu fell, Liu Zhang would only have Luo left as a defensive line.
There was no part for me to intervene in this process. What could I, an Acting Army Advisor, do when we were crushing the enemy forces like a hot knife through butter?
Still, watching the battle from the perspective of a commander rather than a soldier certainly had meaning.
Since Pang Tong had delegated tactical aspects to the frontline generals, rather than strategy, I didn’t directly learn anything from him.
But just listening to his occasional explanations of why Huang Zhong moved like this here, and how Zhuo Ying fought with this calculation there, gave me a feeling of broadening horizons.
As we were heading towards Mianzhu, leaving behind personnel to guard Fucheng, Pang Tong said to me:
“I hear Liu Zhang sent Fei Guan and Li Yan to defend Mianzhu Pass.”
Pang Tong had become accustomed to speaking casually to me during our time together. When we first met, he had used polite speech, perhaps out of consideration for my father, but now it was natural as I had completely become his subordinate.
“I’ve heard of their names too. They say one is Liu Zhang’s son-in-law and the other his friend.”
“Yes. I don’t know much about Fei Guan, but I know Li Yan.”
Li Yan was originally under Liu Biao. After Liu Biao’s death, he went over to Liu Zhang but was trusted and recognized for his abilities.
“If Li Yan is determined to defend, we might face a difficult situation.”
As Pang Tong worried, I was well aware of Li Yan’s abilities too. In fact, I might know better than Pang Tong or anyone else.
A leader of the Yi Province faction who later received Liu Bei’s deathbed edict along with Zhuge Liang, and a tragic figure who lost everything after foolishly challenging Zhuge Liang.
The fact that Liu Bei, who was so good at judging people, chose him as second only to Zhuge Liang was partly to maintain balance between the Yi Province and Jing Province factions, but it also spoke to his high regard for Li Yan’s abilities.
If he truly decided to defend Mianzhu Pass with his life out of loyalty to Liu Zhang, it was obvious that Liu Bei’s army would waste considerable time and resources.
Pang Tong’s worry wasn’t for nothing. However, I remained calm even after hearing Pang Tong’s explanation. Perhaps finding this strange, Pang Tong asked:
“Did you properly understand what I said? You seem very relaxed.”
“In my humble opinion, Li Yan probably won’t defend Mianzhu properly.”
“Why is that? Despite coming over from Jingzhou, Liu Zhang has put him in an important position. Moreover, Li Yan isn’t alone in Mianzhu. Fei Guan, Liu Zhang’s son-in-law, is with him.”
I smiled, noticing something odd in Pang Tong’s question.
“Military Advisor, you’re trying to test me, aren’t you?”
“Hmm?”
“I don’t sense any anger or curiosity in your words, so aren’t you already knowing the answer and just wanting to hear my response?”
“Heh heh, I’ve been found out right away.”
Pang Tong laughed awkwardly and shook his head.
“I’m supposed to be quite skilled at acting, you know. But it just doesn’t work well in front of the Army Advisor. Ahem.”
Though it’s from the Romance, Pang Tong had a record of even deceiving Cao Cao. Of course, the Romance is fiction, but unexpectedly, there’s not much pure fabrication that’s completely implausible.
For example, even the scene of Guan Yu’s surgery with Hua Tuo – though it wasn’t Hua Tuo, Guan Yu really did calmly eat a meal while undergoing surgery that tore his flesh and scraped his bone. As an excellent strategist, it’s not strange for Pang Tong to have the skill to deceive others.
But why doesn’t it work well in front of me? Well, that’s…
‘It must be because of my appearance.’
No matter how much strategists think of outlandish ideas and prepare for all sorts of situations as their job, they don’t often think about deceiving women. Women didn’t often come forward in this era. Cases like me or Lady Sun are the exceptions.
Moreover, if it were an ordinary woman it might be different, but even I could see that my face was dizzying in its beauty. If this were the 21st century, I might have been scouted as a child actor or model just walking down the street.
Some might say what beauty at 12 years old, but surprisingly, 12 is marriageable age in this era. Didn’t our mother marry father at 13?
No, that means she had me at 14. This really is a crazy era.
“Since it’s come to this, speak your thoughts frankly, Army Advisor Zhang.”
“I thought Li Yan seemed to be a man of great ambition.”
“Ambition, you say.”
“When he submitted to Liu Zhang after Liu Biao’s death, why didn’t he follow Cao Cao? Wasn’t it because he was concerned he wouldn’t rise to a high position if he went to Cao Cao?”
Li Yan was similar to Guan Yu. He was always praised for his competence, but it was also added that he had a strong sense of pride. It was said that only the kind-hearted Fei Guan was his close friend.
“Rather than Fei Guan dissuading Li Yan, we should make Li Yan persuade Fei Guan.”
“For your reasoning to reach that far from such a small clue, your deduction is truly marvelous. That’s right. Your words almost perfectly match what Xiaozhí said.”
“Then the question is what treatment we can offer Li Yan.”
“Xiaozhí is discussing that with our lord.”
“Is it alright for you not to join them, Military Advisor?”
Though Fa Zheng is an excellent strategist on par with Pang Tong, and he might know Yi Province better than Pang Tong, Pang Tong is still clearly Liu Bei’s Military Advisor.
Isn’t Pang Tong second to none except perhaps Zhuge Liang?
“I came out because I wanted to consult with you.”
“What? With me?”
“Yes. You saw something I hadn’t thought of. I’m curious about your thoughts.”
It seems my direct refutation of the three plans left a strong impression. I thought carefully. In truth, I couldn’t remember what treatment Li Yan received immediately after surrendering.
What I knew about Li Yan was almost everything I mentioned earlier. That he became a deathbed minister, that he became a representative of Yi Province despite being from Jingzhou, and that he ruined himself by challenging Zhuge Liang.
Though it’s also because Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Pang Tong had died, he must not have been treated poorly right after surrendering since he eventually became a deathbed minister.
But even though he received the deathbed edict, can we really trust him and put him in a high position when he sabotaged Zhuge Liang’s Northern Expedition for his own power? That’s what bothers me.
“Wouldn’t a governor position be enough? If he proves his loyalty and ability later, a regional inspector position might be good too.”
“An outer post, I see. He worked in local areas rather than the central government in Jingzhou too, but is there a reason?”

Anyway, if I successfully save Guan Yu and Pang Tong, Li Yan won’t rise to become a deathbed minister. So I spoke without hiding:
“Because we can’t entrust great tasks to someone who prioritizes personal advancement over the country.”
At first glance, it might sound like a blanket criticism of all surrendering generals, but it’s clearly a different issue. There are proper ways to surrender.
For example, if a city is surrounded and no reinforcements come for a certain period, surrendering wouldn’t be criticized.
It was the same logic by which Liu Bei personally covered for Huang Quan even though he had defected to Wei.
But Pang Tong pointed out something else:
“I heard that in your first campaign, you said you would fight to carry on General Zhengliao’s name. Doesn’t that apply to you as well?”
“My filial piety is the great cause itself. What my father desires is only for our eldest brother, the lord’s will to be realized, and the lord’s will is our great cause.”
“You’re saying filial piety and loyalty are not different.”
And seeing something in my answer, he said this:
“You’re certainly different from me. I thought if Li Yan surrenders, we should use him well.”
“May I ask the reason?”
Why? What does that mean? Does he mean to use him as a bridgehead connecting Jingzhou and Yi Province?
As I tilted my head, not understanding well, Pang Tong laughed and said:
“That’s… Oh my, I almost gave away the answer without realizing. Use your feminine wiles on others, not me. Let’s make this homework. When you think you know the reason I said this, tell me. The deadline will be… yes, until we completely pacify Yi Province.”
Pang Tong’s words were somehow wistful.
What happened after this was exactly as Pang Tong and I had discussed.
Li Yan, having persuaded Fei Guan, opened Mianzhu Pass and surrendered to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei treated Li Yan generously as Pang Tong had said.
And after continuing to advance south, we finally arrived.
The reason why I absolutely had to enter Shu.
In front of Luo Castle.

§

When Liu Bei’s army pushed to the very front of Luo Castle, a military council was in full swing in Luo Castle.
Luo Castle was the final bulwark defending Chengdu. As it was an even more important stronghold than Mianzhu Pass, the one guarding it was Liu Zhang’s eldest son, Liu Xun.
With him as the commander, the atmosphere of the military council where various generals including Zhang Ren and Liu Gui, who had been defeated by Liu Bei’s army, was heavy.
Liu Bei’s army of 30,000 were strong soldiers at the peak of their morale, while Luo Castle’s defending soldiers were not even half that number and far inferior in quality. Nevertheless, their determination was resolute.
“As Liu Bei’s army’s momentum is strong, it would be best to hold out relying on the city walls for now.”
All the other generals followed Liu Xun’s words without dissent. In their thinking too, going out of the castle to have a decisive battle with Liu Bei’s army was no different from suicide.
Luo Castle was a fortress, and with the abundant supplies already stored in the castle, a prolonged war was possible. Although they had fewer soldiers than Liu Bei’s army, it was said that in a typical siege, the attacking side needed three times the number of soldiers, so it wasn’t a big problem.
However, one person disagreed with Liu Xun.
“General, shouldn’t we send some troops outside Luo Castle to disrupt Liu Bei’s army? I hear Liu Bei’s subordinates left in Jingzhou have entered Western Shu, so we can’t just rely on Luo Castle forever.”
“Indeed, General Zhang Ren.”
Although he had been defeated by Liu Bei at Fucheng, Zhang Ren was one of the top generals in Liu Zhang’s army. Liu Bei had wanted to recruit him, and considering his feat of killing Pang Tong in the Romance, it wouldn’t be wrong to say he was the most outstanding general under Liu Zhang.
It was all thanks to Zhang Ren that they were able to regroup the soldiers and join Luo Castle even amidst the defeat at Fucheng. Feeling reassured by Zhang Ren’s presence, Liu Xun pointed to a corner of the map and said:
“Soon, Lord Liu will raise an army and attack Liu Bei’s rear. The soldiers left in Fucheng are not many, so if we hold firm here, Liu Bei will be like a rat in a trap!”
“Ooh…”
“Hahaha! It’s a shame we can’t see Liu Bei’s face turn pale.”
While generals like Leng Bao and Deng Xian burst into laughter at Liu Xun’s strong assertion, showering him with flattering words, only Zhang Ren looked down at the map with deep eyes.
His gaze was directed at Bazhou.
‘If Liu Bei is in danger, Jingzhou won’t just sit idle. Can Yan Yan hold out well?’
If they entered Yi Province from Jingzhou, Bazhou would be the first gateway. Although Yan Yan, the governor of Bazhou, was somewhat talented, in Zhang Ren’s opinion, he wasn’t enough to stop Liu Bei’s army.
‘Simply holding out doesn’t guarantee victory. It’s a speed battle. Will we surround and capture Liu Bei first, or will Liu Bei’s reinforcements pushing in from Jingzhou arrive first?’
While Liu Bei’s army was still unaware of the counterattack Liu Zhang had prepared, before Zhuge Liang in Jingzhou could move, they had to somehow decide the battle.
Liu Xun shared this concern as well. While speaking of optimistic prospects to raise morale, the situation wasn’t entirely favorable to them.
Unlike his father, Liu Xun, who had quite competent abilities, was mindful of the fact that time was given equally to their enemies as well.
However, there was still clearly a chance of victory. It wasn’t over yet. Not yet. Not yet…