Chapter 93: Goading Works Better Than Pleading

Marching by night over mountain roads was, for anyone, a task of the utmost difficulty. Even for the Shu troops, who were long accustomed to such terrain, it was a severe trial. Fortunately, Dun Wu and the others, who knew the country well, led the way, and the journey passed without any major mishap. By noon of the following day, they had reached the rear of Anqiao Fort.

Anqiao Fort stood on the western slopes of Jing Mountain and the eastern slopes of Bamboo Mountain, in a river valley between the two ranges. The Fen River flowed through it, and the fort was built at the narrowest point above the water, sealing the valley like a plug.

From the top of a high cliff, Wei Ba looked down and smiled. About five hundred paces outside Anqiao Fort, in the valley, stood a military camp. Though he could not make out the characters on the banner, it was certainly the Wu army. Yet they had been firmly blocked by Anqiao Fort and could not advance.

Anqiao Fort had been built by the people of Hanzhong to guard against enemies from the south, so its principal defenses faced that direction; the northern side, by contrast, was much more lightly fortified. Building strongholds in the mountains was no easy thing. Where one could save effort, one saved it. No one would waste labor raising walls that could not be used, unless he harbored treachery in his heart.

In ancient officialdom there was the saying that an official should not build himself a yamen. Likewise, among the generals who garrisoned frontier fortresses, there was an unwritten rule regarding repairs to city walls. To build where no wall ought to be built, or to enlarge and heighten a wall without authorization, was an easy way to invite suspicion.

In other words, for the Wu army to attack from south to north was extremely difficult, but for Wei Ba to attack from north to south it would be comparatively easy. What pleased him even more was that Anqiao Fort lay quiet and still. Clearly, the defending commander had not the faintest idea that an unexpected enemy had appeared behind him.

"Tang Qianyu, take my letter to the Wu camp and tell them to prepare to enter the fort."

Tang Qianyu accepted the order and hurried off. Like an ape, he moved effortlessly through the mountains, climbing ridges and crossing peaks as though walking on level ground, fully revealing the formidable prowess of the Wei family’s elite soldiers.

"Deputy Commandant Zhou, you will lead the first assault. I do not demand success, but you must do your utmost." Wei Ba called Zhou Yu and Zhang Xi to him and began assigning their tasks. "Deputy Commandant Zhang, you will take the second wave. Watch for any weak point exposed by the enemy. Do not wait for my order; the moment you see an opening, throw yourselves at it and seize Anqiao Fort as fast as you can."

"Yes!" Zhou Yu and Zhang Xi answered with a roar, then led their men to lie in ambush in the river valley.

"Wang Hui, take a hundred elite soldiers down from the cliff and land directly on the enemy’s wall. Do not seek to kill them; only open the gate and let the Wu army into the fort."

Wang Hui acknowledged the order and led a hundred Wei soldiers up toward the cliff above Anqiao Fort. The cliff there was steep beyond belief; an ordinary man could not have walked it at all. But for the Wei family’s elite soldiers, it was no impossible task.

Once everything had been arranged, Wei Ba, together with Dun Wu and the others, moved into hiding near Anqiao Fort and studied the stronghold below from his high vantage point.

Anqiao Fort was calm and peaceful. Had there not still been a few stones and logs left uncleared outside the fort, along with the faint outline of the Wu camp not far away, no one would have guessed that a fierce battle had once raged here.

...

Pan Zhang was gnawing fiercely on a sheep leg in one hand while holding an exquisite colored-glass cup in the other. The fine wine inside swayed in the lamplight, casting a soft sheen. He ate with such ferocity that it seemed he was devouring not a leg of mutton, but an enemy.

Pan Zhang was in a foul mood. He had brought five thousand men to lend support, only to be pinned before Anqiao Fort and unable to advance. That alone would have been bad enough. He looked down on Meng Da, that fickle, treacherous wretch, and had never truly wanted to save him. What angered him more was that Lu Xun did not trust him and had actually sent a scholar named Lu Lan to serve as his supervisor. Just hearing the name made it obvious that the man had wormed his way into office through Lu Xun’s personal connections.

Unable to take the fort and saddled with an obnoxious fellow at his side, Pan Zhang was doubly irritated. After making a probing attack on Anqiao Fort, he had already understood that the Wei army was prepared there, and with his present forces he could not take it. That in itself was no surprise; he had led armies for many years and still knew that much. Yet once those facts were pointed out by Lu Lan, he found them impossible to swallow.

Was the truth so simple that I need you to remind me of it?

Now Pan Zhang was caught between advance and retreat. He wanted to break through Anqiao Fort and slap that scholar in the face, yet he also feared suffering too great a loss and failing to take the fort in the end, which would only make him look worse.

"Father."

Pan Ping entered quickly, dressed in a brocade robe. He was about thirty years old, his face heavily powdered, his lips reddened with rouge, and he looked refined and handsome, the very picture of a dashing gentleman.

"What is it?" Pan Zhang was in a poor temper, and even his son did not receive a pleasant expression. Seeing a letter in Pan Ping’s hand, he frowned. "Whose letter is it now?"

"From Shu Han’s Adviser Wei."

"Shu Han? Adviser Wei?" Pan Zhang took a moment to react. "Wei Yan?"

"No. Wei Ba, Wei Yan’s son. He is behind Anqiao Fort right now."

"Is that so?" Pan Zhang sprang to his feet, flung the sheep leg into the dish, wiped the grease from his hands on his robe twice, and reached for the letter. Wei Ba’s message was very brief. In essence, it said: our Shu Han reinforcements have already broken Mulan Fort and are now on the road to Fangling. Hearing that General Pan is still blocked outside Anqiao Fort, we have come to render assistance. Please make ready to depart; form up at the fort gate, and I shall open it for you.

"Is this true? Has the Shu army really reached Fangling?" Pan Zhang was half convinced and half doubtful.

"Father, the envoy is waiting outside the tent. Would you like to see him?"

"Bring him in at once!" Pan Zhang bellowed, beside himself with delight.

Tang Qianyu entered and saluted with clasped hands. "I am Tang Qianyu, personal guard in the Chancellor’s Office and military adviser to the Great Han. I pay my respects to Governor Pan."

Pan Zhang came out from behind the desk and looked Tang Qianyu over. Tall, well formed, and imposing, he looked every inch a capable man, and Pan Zhang’s spirits rose even higher. He shook the letter in his hand. "Your army has already reached Fangling?"

"Not yet. But Mulan Fort has been taken, and they are already on the road to Fangling." Tang Qianyu spoke unhurriedly. "Because Sima Yi arrived too quickly, Fangling was not prepared and is now in grave danger. My adviser fears that Meng Da is no match for Sima Yi, and so has asked Governor Pan and Commandant Zhuge to join forces, drive Sima Yi back, and relieve Meng Da."

"Commandant Zhuge?"

"Yes. It is Zhuge Qiao, the Chancellor’s son, who leads the troops. My adviser is merely acting under orders to assist him in the campaign."

"So it’s that boy Zhuge Qiao." Pan Zhang was somewhat dismissive, and his mood cooled by several degrees. "With only that little bit of ability, could he really take Mulan Fort? You aren’t trying to fool me, are you? How many men have you brought?"

"How dare we." Tang Qianyu answered calmly. "Our force numbers only ten thousand. As Your Excellency has rightly guessed, a frontal breakthrough at Mulan Fort would have been very difficult. But my adviser proposed a plan: take a detour through Shangyong and strike Mulan Fort from the rear. Thus it fell in one assault." He paused, a faint smile appearing on his face, then let it fade again. "Just as now, once Governor Pan has drawn up in battle array outside the fort and made ready to advance, our army can help you open the gate."

Pan Zhang narrowed his eyes. The smile that had just flashed across Tang Qianyu’s face, though fleeting, had not escaped him. It struck him like an intolerable humiliation. I, Pan Zhang, need your help? Am I somehow less capable than that brat Zhuge Qiao?

"Thank your Adviser Wei for me. I shall begin attacking Anqiao Fort at once. I hope his movements are not too slow."

Tang Qianyu was overjoyed. Everything he had just done had been directed by Wei Ba; the whole purpose was to deliberately anger Pan Zhang. A man’s intelligence always falls when he is enraged, and for a brute like Pan Zhang, whose wits were not exactly brilliant to begin with, anger could drive him to do anything. If Pan Zhang truly followed Wei Ba’s arrangement and waited for the gate to be opened, that would only make matters troublesome. Only by getting Pan Zhang to attack first and draw the defending Wei troops’ attention could Wei Ba have a greater chance of success.

"My adviser spoke no more than the truth. Governor Pan is indeed one of Jiangdong’s rare tiger generals." Tang Qianyu added the compliment at just the right moment.

Pan Zhang laughed loudly, picked up his writing brush, and wrote two characters on Wei Ba’s letter: his own name. "Tell your Adviser Wei that I shall meet him at Anqiao Fort."

"Yes. Then I shall await Your Excellency there." Tang Qianyu bowed once more and withdrew.

Before Wei Ba had even received Tang Qianyu’s reply, he had already seen the Wu army forming up outside the camp. As the Wu troops drew up before the fort, the Wei soldiers atop the walls also grew tense. Under the command of their officers, countless men climbed the sloping ramparts, bows strung and arrows nocked, aiming at the Wu army outside.

From his high position, Wei Ba could see every detail of the deployment on the wall. Broadly speaking, the Wei troops were divided into two groups. One group gathered on the walls themselves, five men to a team, each team responsible for a stretch of wall three or four paces wide. The other group stood on the towers behind them with blades and shields in hand. They were both reserve troops and enforcers. If anyone dared to flinch and fall back, they would kill him. If any section of the wall was breached, they would rush there to fill the gap.

His father Wei Yan had explained these things to him before, and so had his master Zhao Yun. But today was the first time Wei Ba had ever seen it with his own eyes. As he watched, he also thought anxiously about the action to come. Though the enemy was visible and he was hidden, and victory was all but assured, this was his first real battle in the truest sense; how could he not proceed with caution?

Just as Wei Ba was absorbed in anxious thought, the Wu army launched its attack. More than five hundred men, carrying scaling ladders and holding shields aloft, charged out from the formation and hurled themselves toward the southern wall of Anqiao Fort. Shouts of killing rose at once, and war drums thundered to the heavens. Wei Ba, standing above Anqiao Fort, was deeply shaken by the sight. It was far more real than watching Sima Yi attack Fangling from a distance.

When the Wu troops had closed to within a hundred paces, a roar came from the battlements: "Loose!"

With a heavy buzz, over a hundred crossbows answered at once, and a storm of arrows poured down from the wall.

"Raise your shields!"

In the ranks of the charging Wu soldiers, a man who looked like a deputy commandant raised his saber and shouted furiously. The Wu troops lifted their shields in unison, linking them into a single mass. Their running formation seemed suddenly to be covered in scales, and they pressed swiftly toward the wall.

Wei Ba frowned. Pan Zhang was no simple man. From the fact that his soldiers could still execute such neat tactical movements while running, one could tell how fierce his troops were. If such a man were allowed into Xincheng Commandery, it might truly be no different from opening the gate to a wolf.