Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

After arriving at Luo Castle, I paid close attention to stay as close to Pang Tong as possible. History changes. A world where an irregular like me has intervened would move in a different direction from its original flow.
Nevertheless, the anxiety wouldn’t go away. The homework Pang Tong had given me wasn’t even on my mind.
Instead, what came to mind were things like deterrence, fate, causality – words suggesting the future cannot be changed.
While rationally thinking it couldn’t be so, my heart kept beating irregularly.
‘Zhou Yu died too.’
Although I had stood by and watched his death, Zhou Yu had died according to the original history. How could I be certain it wouldn’t be the same for Pang Tong?
But ridiculously, my concerns proved unfounded as the siege of Luo Castle proceeded without major issues.
That’s how siege warfare is from the start. Strength against strength. Even Zhuge Liang was blocked by Huo Yi, so it’s difficult for clever strategies to emerge in siege warfare. Unless a great flood submerges the entire castle, the pattern of siege warfare tends to be the same.
However, even in a battle of strength, there are tricks. Just like how in arm wrestling, the same person keeps winning even if the strength is equal. Siege warfare also had its own tactics.
As if he had received divine revelation, Pang Tong observed the entire battle from the rear, moving troops at the necessary moments to the right places, organically pressing Luo Castle.
But Luo Castle wasn’t easy either. Unlike the previous battles, Luo Castle’s resistance felt like they were truly resolved to fight to the last.
I heard Liu Zhang’s eldest son, Liu Xun, was directly commanding. It makes sense. From Yi Province army’s perspective, it’s essentially their crown prince fighting alongside them.
Moreover, Luo Castle itself was a natural fortress. With the Luo River flowing to the south and a tributary to the east, it was difficult for a large army to attack.
In the end, Luo Castle remained intact even as the sun set.
It wasn’t simply because Luo Castle’s soldiers had fought hard that they had held out this far. Rather, Luo Castle had been quite precarious during the siege.
Nevertheless, the reason Luo Castle was still hanging on was thanks to Zhang Ren’s efforts, who appeared like a needle whenever Pang Tong tried to pierce through, moving freely along the city walls.
“That man is the problem.”
Pang Tong observed Zhang Ren closely and slowly began to move his horse forward.
“Military Advisor! The front is dangerous!”
“How can we expect results without taking risks? They’ve reached their limit now. If I show myself, they’ll try to capture me somehow to end the battle.”
Despite my dissuasion, Pang Tong didn’t stop. Could it be now? If he was intentionally approaching to reveal a weakness in order to conclude the battle, it wouldn’t be strange for Pang Tong, a military advisor and not a general, to be hit by a stray arrow.
And when Pang Tong had come close enough to be recognized from Luo Castle, the east gate of Luo Castle opened and a troop poured out.
“They’re desperate too. They want to capture me.”
“Military Advisor!”
“Don’t worry. I’ve had General Huang waiting in advance. Zhang Ren, that troublemaker, has been dealt with this time, so taking Luo Castle is just a matter of time now.”
Pang Tong had used himself as bait to lure out Zhang Ren.
Battle is accompanied by strong stress. There’s a reason PTSD exists. The prolonged siege that continued past sunset causes great fatigue for the attacking side, but for those defending, it must feel like their blood is drying up completely.
Even if the generals want to continue fighting, it’s over when the soldiers reach their limit. Zhang Ren, who understood this fact better than anyone, threw his whole body into a gamble without a moment’s hesitation the instant he confirmed Pang Tong.
However, even that ended up being played in Pang Tong’s hands.
While coordinating the battle, Pang Tong had been carefully observing how frayed the enemies’ nerves had become, how close they were to their limit.
After confirming that Zhang Ren had been captured by Huang Zhong, Pang Tong finally turned his horse around and returned to the rear.
Pang Tong was incredibly perceptive of the enemies’ state, while I was unaware of the stress I was experiencing, keeping all my nerves on edge wondering if arrows might come flying at Pang Tong.
‘I might end up with a nervous breakdown before the enemies do.’
As I was secretly complaining to myself while feeling relieved, at that moment.
‘Huh…?’
An arrow caught in my sight.
It flew straight towards Pang Tong with precision. As it raced through the air, drawn towards Pang Tong as if being sucked in, at its origin point was a young man wearing armor noticeably different from ordinary soldiers, glaring at us with eyes full of hatred.
Time flowed slowly. The arrow seemed slow, as if I could reach out and grab it at any time. But when I actually tried to raise my arm, my arm too moved slowly, like the arrow, no, even slower.
‘I can’t catch it. Then can I block it?’
Losing one arm won’t kill you. If I, wearing armor, block the arrow, even if it penetrates, it shouldn’t inflict a fatal wound on Pang Tong.
‘No. That won’t work either. The direction is opposite to me.’
In the end, I was left with only one choice.
I grabbed Pang Tong and pulled him strongly. While doing so, I turned my body as much as possible to embrace him. Hoping that luckily, I would be hit instead of Pang Tong.
Thud!
The sound of the arrow piercing flesh was particularly loud even amidst all the roaring sounds filling the battlefield.
But there was no pain. The arrow had hit Pang Tong, not me. Due to twisting my body too suddenly, I lost balance and fell from the horse while embracing Pang Tong. Pang Tong has been hit by the arrow. If he suffers additional injuries from falling off the horse, the level of his injuries would increase even more.
I positioned myself underneath to take most of the impact while assuming a falling posture. This blessed physical body moved fine without being much affected by the shock of falling from a horse.
Enduring the heavy pain spreading across my back, I checked on Pang Tong before my own body.
“Military Advisor! Military Advisor! Are you alright?”
As my shout spread around, soldiers quickly gathered and formed a shield wall in front of us. While they protected me and Pang Tong from additional arrow volleys, Pang Tong slowly opened his eyes which had been closed.
“Yes… I’m fine. I was hit in the shoulder.”
“We must take the Military Advisor to the rear!”
The arrow was lodged in Pang Tong’s shoulder. Thanks to me pulling him, it hit his shoulder instead of his chest. This level isn’t a severe injury. Since he was hit while turning his body, it didn’t penetrate too deeply either.
Unless it’s a poisoned arrow, Pang Tong won’t die. If we can just prevent tetanus somehow, Pang Tong will live. It’s not yet at a level where we can completely relax, but we’ve passed one crisis.
While moving to the rear with Pang Tong, I said to him:
“Military Advisor, do you remember the homework you gave me?”
“Homework… I remember.”
Why did Pang Tong say he would use Li Yan well? That was the homework.
In truth, there were many answers. Li Yan was a man of outstanding ability, and it was his merit that opened the gate of Mianzhu Pass and surrendered, so it was only right to treat him accordingly.
But that wouldn’t be the answer Pang Tong wanted.
So I pondered. Why did he ask such an obvious question? Am I missing something? Since coming to Luo Castle, I had been so focused on protecting Pang Tong that I had even forgotten there was such a question.

Then, when I saw Pang Tong’s face before he was hit by the arrow, a thought suddenly occurred to me.
Perhaps he already knew he was going to die, a thought so ridiculous that even as I had it, I found it absurd.
So I said:
“I think I know why you wanted to use Li Yan well.”
“I’d like to hear it.”
“At first, I simply thought he was a bridgehead between the Yi Province and Jing Province factions. But that’s strange. Li Yan has no friends except Fei Guan, so he’s not someone who can lead a faction.”
“And so?”
“Next, I thought you might intend to employ him primarily for his ability rather than loyalty, and then demote him based on his conduct once the realm finally achieves peace. But this is a general principle. It’s too insubstantial as an answer to the question you specifically left me as homework.”
When I had that thought, the next thing that followed was the question of why Pang Tong had asked me this in particular. Thinking carefully about the fact that Pang Tong was the one who posed the question, a hypothesis suddenly occurred to me.
“Did you consider Li Yan as your potential replacement, Military Advisor?”
“…Remarkable.”
“But there’s still a question here. Why did you already think about your successor? Isn’t Li Yan not even older than you, Military Advisor?”
The answer to that question was right there in his expression.
“You knew you were going to die, or at least believed so. This resolves all the questions.”
“Your thoughts are all correct. Before entering Shu, I heard that my star was in danger and there would be misfortune.”
It’s said that Zhuge Liang noticed Pang Tong’s death by seeing a falling star. However, that was a story from the Romance.
The Romance suddenly appears here? But thinking a bit more, it wasn’t something to be simply dismissed as just the Romance.
Isn’t this era still a time when there’s high trust in superstitions and divination? It’s an era where physiognomy is considered a proper discipline, and it’s natural to predict the future based on Taoist thoughts.
No, I myself am the incarnation of that superstition. Why had I been ignoring it? How dare I look down on it as merely the limit of the era? I’m a being born with extraordinary strength and inexplicable abilities. Dismissing it as superstition was a kind of self-contradiction.
Pang Tong, sweating from pain, continued speaking:
“They spoke of my death. Of course, I didn’t believe it. Kongming and I learned under Master Shuijing and rejected such superstitions. But as you say, it seems people have something like intuition. When I heard it, I felt a vague premonition that the ominous divination would come true. Preparing a successor was really just in case of the worst.”
“Then why did you deliberately put yourself in danger knowing this?”
Shouldn’t you avoid it if you know? To my blunt question, Pang Tong smiled bitterly.
“Army Advisor, do you believe in the Mandate of Heaven?”
“I don’t know.”
“I believe in it. I had opportunities. I could have discussed the realm based on Jingzhou under Liu Biao, or I could have inherited Zhou Yu’s plan to divide the realm in two under Sun Quan. But I decided to serve our current lord, Liu Xuande. Why do you think that is? At that time, Liu Xuande wasn’t even as powerful as Sun Quan.”
“Did you think our lord had the Mandate of Heaven?”
The Han dynasty must continue.
Only someone with the Liu surname can ascend to the imperial throne.
There were still many who considered such outdated rules as the Mandate of Heaven. Was Pang Tong also such a person? Before I could feel disappointed, Pang Tong shook his head, denying it.
“Similar, but different. I thought that if there was a Mandate of Heaven, it should be Liu Xuande. I tried to make him the Mandate of Heaven.”
The Mandate of Heaven. Pang Tong said he tried to directly shape the destiny that Heaven bestowed upon this land with his own hands.
“I believed that the Mandate of Heaven is not something to be followed, but something to be created. So if I die without even succeeding in conquering Yi Province, my great cause of making our lord the Mandate of Heaven would also not be achieved. That’s why I deliberately threw myself into the test.”
“That’s irresponsible. Isn’t that abandoning your duties as Military Advisor?”
“I admit it. But I believed it was necessary. The great cause we’re trying to achieve needs luck. People create the Mandate of Heaven, but whether it’s realized depends on Heaven’s will.”
Man proposes, Heaven disposes. It’s up to people to plan things, but whether they’re accomplished depends on Heaven’s will.
The Mandate of Heaven Pang Tong speaks of is fate. The karma Heaven bestows upon people. However, no matter how much humans strive, if luck doesn’t follow, it can’t be achieved, so we call it Heaven’s will.
The words Zhuge Liang is said to have spoken and what Pang Tong is saying now contained the same principle.
“I now believe we have Heaven’s will. Don’t you think so too? Your face that was full of anxiety has now become peaceful.”
To say my face has become peaceful when my superior has been hit by an arrow. It was a statement with plenty of room for misunderstanding. But his words were true. I even felt relieved when I confirmed that he had survived despite being hit by the arrow.
Before I could say anything more, Pang Tong dropped his eyelids that he had been struggling to keep open and left his final words.
“Fulfill the Mandate of Heaven. Make Heaven’s will follow you.”
I let go of Pang Tong who had fallen asleep. Watching the soldiers carry Pang Tong to the rear, I pondered the words he had left.
The Mandate of Heaven Pang Tong spoke of. If I also have it, what exactly is my Mandate of Heaven? Is being born as Zhang Ran instead of Zhang Lan also my Mandate of Heaven?
The question of how I want to leave my name in history, beyond just leaving a name. The resolve to remain as a general, not as an empress.
I lift my head and look up at the sky. It was clear. The deep blue sky was just serene. As if it didn’t care what was happening on the ground, even as screams and shouts pierced the sky, the sky remained blue.
‘What I wanted was to live as Zhang Lan.’
But I became Zhang Ran. Was it a simple mistake? Or was it, as Pang Tong said, a Mandate of Heaven bestowed upon me?
‘The Mandate of Heaven is not something to be followed, but something to be created. Fulfill the Mandate of Heaven and make Heaven’s will follow.’
“Very well.”
I picked up a spear that had been discarded on the ground.
“I’ll test it too.”
Gripping the spear, I move against the flow of retreating soldiers.
I shout to the soldiers who are in disarray after the fall of Pang Tong, the commander-in-chief:
“Comrades──!”
A clear but firm voice drowns out the various noises floating in the battlefield and spreads high into the sky.
“I am Zhang Ran, eldest daughter of General Zhengliao Zhang Fei, Acting Army Advisor!”
The soldiers who hear my voice hesitate in their steps, and soon one by one they begin to stop moving. The attention focusing on me raises a sense of elation. Yes. I want to be remembered. By the people of this era, and even in the future beyond.
“The Military Advisor is safe! The enemy general who came out of the castle has been captured, and the enemies are exhausted from the long siege! If we retreat now, they will regroup, straighten their disarrayed formations, and raise their morale! If that happens, we can’t guarantee when the battle with them will end! That’s why we must fight! Turn around! Raise your spears and swords! Not retreat, but advance! Not defeat, but victory!”
Our forces haven’t completely retreated yet. If we press now, we can capture the castle where Zhang Ren has been caught and a gap in their strength has been created. My intuition was shouting this.
I ran towards the castle first, ahead of everyone else.
And before anyone else could stop me, I picked up a shield that had fallen to the ground, put my foot on a ladder, and shouted:
“Attack! Before being an Acting Army Advisor, I fought as a single soldier! And I still do so now!”
The ebb tide becomes a flood tide once again.
It was the moment when the tide of the battlefield reversed.