Chapter 89: The Army Reaches the City Walls

After receiving Wei Ba's dispatch, Zhuge Qiao felt a flicker of relief beneath his anger.

"How bold can Wei Ziyu be? He actually dared to disobey orders and act on his own?" Yang Wei thumped the table in fury, his fair face flushing red, as if even more indignant than Zhuge Qiao. "Is he trying to snatch credit from the commander?"

"When circumstances are urgent, one must adapt. What he did was not without reason," Zhuge Qiao said indifferently. "If he had followed my order and come all the way to Xun Pass, it would not have helped much. Ten thousand men would need time to build siege engines and then enough time to attack the pass; half a month would barely be enough, and the losses would not be small. By taking the detour through Shangyong and striking Mulan Fort from the rear first, he may have a somewhat better chance."

Seeing that Zhuge Qiao was not angry, Yang Wei also calmed down, smiling in agreement. "The commander speaks reasonably. Even if Mulan Fort cannot be taken, if we can let Meng Da know that we are doing our utmost to rescue him, he will feel much more at ease. In truth, it is enough for us to show the intent. Meng Da has prepared for so long, and the defenses of Fangling have been fortified for many years; it will not fall so quickly."

"Yes. Otherwise, Sima Yi would not be so frantic," Zhuge Qiao said with a sigh, rubbing the bridge of his nose, his gaze complicated—part lingering fear, part unwillingness. "I never expected that this scholar could be so ruthless, marching three tens of thousands of troops twelve hundred li in eight days. More absurd still, he actually moved out without waiting for the imperial edict. This man... I fear he will not be a wholly loyal subject in the future."

Yang Wei snorted. "A reckless, overbearing, self-righteous man like that—how could he possibly be wholly loyal?"

Zhuge Qiao glanced at him but did not take up the remark. He knew Yang Wei was not talking about Sima Yi, but about Wei Ba, who had also acted on his own. He understood Yang Wei's feelings, but he could not agree with him. To pin such a grave accusation on Wei Ba would be somewhat ungenerous. In truth, up to this point Wei Ba had indeed been somewhat domineering, but on the whole he had remained proper enough. What he was doing now also arose from the interests of the larger cause, and was not entirely an attempt to seize credit—though one could not rule out that he had some eye to it.

Zhuge Qiao pondered for a moment. "Yuanxiu, do you think I should give him a hint, so he doesn't overdo it? If Meng Da were truly rescued, that would not be our aim."

Yang Wei laughed. "No need, Bosong. Do you really think that with only those few thousand men he can rescue Meng Da?"

Zhuge Qiao froze, then laughed at himself. "True enough. I was overthinking it."

...

Wei Ba stood with hands on hips, panting heavily. Both legs felt as though they were made of lead. After two days and one night of mountain travel, everything below his waist had gone numb; he had been going on purely by one last breath and instinct, running with the others. Now that he had stopped, exhaustion crashed down on him like the dense forest canopy above, and he wanted nothing more than to collapse onto the ground.

"Ah, if only I could soak my feet and get a massage right now, that would be bliss," Wei Ba muttered inwardly, though on his face he did not dare show even the slightest trace. He had brought one hundred and forty warriors of the Wei clan and a thousand elite infantry to this place, and by sheer tenacity and will had won the goodwill of those foot soldiers. If they learned that he was secretly regretting everything, wishing only for the indulgence of a maid's foot bath, then his grand image might well collapse in an instant.

"Officer, what now? Should we hurry to Fangling and send word beneath the city walls?" Captain Zhang Xi and Zhou Yu came over together and saluted with clasped fists. Zhang Xi, courtesy name Ziwang, was a man from Wuyang in Jianwei Commandery, only nineteen years old. That he had already become a captain and led five hundred infantry at such an age had much to do with his family background. The Zhang family of Jianwei was one of Yizhou's most prominent clans. His great-grandfather Zhang Hao had once served as Minister of Works, and his great-grandfather Zhang Gang was also an outstanding man. At the height of Liang Ji's power, he alone had dared to stand up in opposition. The famous words, "When wolves and jackals block the road, why ask about foxes?" came from Zhang Gang.

Ever since Liu Bei entered Shu, the Zhang family had cooperated wholeheartedly; with their lineage and standing, official advancement had gone smoothly, so a youth like Zhang Xi holding the rank of captain was hardly unusual among them. Zhang Xi's elder kinsman Zhang Yi was only thirty-five and already had served as prefect twice.

"Ziwang, Yunyang, do you think we can fight our way to the foot of Fangling's walls?" Wei Ba asked, pointing toward the faint outline of Fangling in the distance, then toward the Wei army's camp outside the city, spread like a hive. He raised his brows as he spoke.

Zhang Xi and Zhou Yu looked at each other. Of course they knew it was impossible to fight to the walls and deliver a message, but if they did not reach the walls, how could they let Meng Da know they had come? From such a distance, even if they shouted themselves hoarse, no one inside the city would hear. Yet if they made the slightest disturbance, Meng Da might not even notice, but the Wei army certainly would, and would close in at once. With only a little over a thousand men, how could they possibly withstand them?

"Then what clever plan does the officer have?" At such a dangerous juncture, both Zhang Xi and Zhou Yu pinned their hopes on Wei Ba. He was their pillar now; whether they could live to return depended on whether Wei Ba was clever enough.

"Actually, it's very simple. Our task is not to defeat Sima Yi. Our task is to let Meng Da know that reinforcements have arrived, so he can defend the city in peace," Wei Ba said, lifting his head to look at the treetops whipping and rustling in the cold wind, and gave a small laugh. "Wouldn't you say so?"

"What the officer says is entirely right. The problem is, how do we let Meng Da know we've arrived?" Zhang Xi asked stubbornly. He felt Wei Ba was dodging the issue and never answering him directly.

"I've already thought of that, but now is not the time to tell you. You have more important work to do," Wei Ba said, surveying the terrain around them. "How long will it take you to build a position that is easy to defend and hard to attack, one that will let us survive a Wei assault?"

Zhang Xi looked around and said with ease, "Officer, though the hills here are not very high, they make an excellent defensive position. With a thousand men holding them, so long as the grain supply is sufficient, I think even if Wei Ba himself came with a hundred thousand troops, they would not be able to take us in a short time."

"Then hurry and prepare the position. Once it's ready, we'll inform Meng Da."

Zhang Xi studied Wei Ba, still doubtful. Wei Ba seemed fully confident, but he could not imagine what means he intended to use to notify Meng Da. Fangling was a full three li away, and between them lay the wide Zhusui River and the Wei camp nearly three hundred paces across.

Zhang Xi grew curious.

...

Fangling.

Meng Da sat atop the city wall, staring at the black mass of the Wei camp outside the city, his broad, square face lined with weariness and worry. He had prepared for this great venture for several years, always believing that every possible trouble had already been anticipated, yet when the moment truly came, he discovered that his preparations were still far from sufficient. First, he had not expected Shen Yi to uncover his plan and inform Sima Yi ahead of time, which led Sima Yi to send his officer Liang Ji to test him, urging him to go to court and pay homage to the new emperor. He was not a fool; how could he fall for that? But as a result, he had been forced to raise the banner of revolt before the city defenses were even fully complete.

A delay of half a month had originally seemed to him no great matter. Once Sima Yi received word, he would first report to Luoyang and then dispatch troops, and that would take at least a month. With a month in hand, he would have had enough time to patch every gap, and reinforcements from Wu and Shu would also arrive in time. Even if Sima Yi reached Fangling, he would have been powerless against him.

But he had erred again. This time, he had underestimated Sima Yi. From the moment he rose in rebellion to the day Sima Yi appeared under the city walls, only eight days had passed. It was as though he had gone to sleep without any mental preparation at all and awoken the next morning to find Fangling already encircled by Sima Yi's army, sealed tight with no way in or out.

This shocked everyone. Had it not been for the fact that Meng Da had long served in Xincheng, and most of his subordinates were kinsmen, old associates, and trusted men, Sima Yi might well have succeeded in his first assault. Even so, Meng Da could still feel the thick air of despair.

The preparations were not yet fully complete, the enemy had already arrived, reinforcements were nowhere in sight, and now he could only rely on himself.

Meng Da sighed inwardly. He of course understood why Zhuge Liang had sent only five thousand men, and why they had stopped short at Anyang. First he had betrayed Liu Zhang and surrendered to Liu Bei, then betrayed Liu Bei and surrendered to Cao Wei, and now he was about to betray Cao Wei and return to Shu Han. After three acts of betrayal over more than a decade, who could possibly trust him? Even if Zhuge Liang trusted him, he himself did not dare believe that Zhuge Liang truly trusted him.

He had originally hoped to rely on Fangling's unique position, and with the strength of nearly ten thousand households under his control, to dominate the three eastern commanderies and become a carefree, uncrowned king. Now it seemed that all of it had gone to waste because he had misjudged people twice. Sima Yi was right outside the city. After more than ten days of relentless assaults at any cost, he had already destroyed most of the defenses Meng Da had arranged outside the walls. What troubled Meng Da even more was that panic filled the city, and no one knew which day it would collapse. As for reinforcements, not a single word had come.

Despair had become the mountain pressing on every head in Fangling.

Meng Da did not know how much longer he could hold out, but he knew that reinforcements from Wu and Shu would need at least another month to reach here. He had never expected to defeat Sima Yi by relying on them. He was perfectly clear that he could not win Zhuge Liang's or Lu Xun's trust; the so-called reinforcements could only be nominal. Yet now he even longed for these nominal reinforcements. So long as there were troops outside the city, even if they merely camped there without moving, it would be enough to steady the morale of the garrison. So long as he could calm the people's hearts, he could catch his breath and recover.

Yet he also knew that if he could think of this, then Sima Yi would think of it as well, and would certainly send troops to intercept reinforcements from Wu and Shu. He could even imagine exactly where Sima Yi would place them. Mulan Fort to the west was the best terrain for blocking Shu Han forces coming from Hanzhong, while Anqiao Fort to the south was the best position for intercepting Wu troops arriving from Zigui. These two places were hundreds of li from Fangling in one direction and over a hundred in the other; even if battle raged like the end of the world, Fangling would hear not the slightest sound.

Fangling had become an isolated city. My fate is sealed!

Meng Da sighed. He no longer dared look at the Wei camp beneath the walls, and, with guilty unease, shifted his gaze toward Zhushan to the west. He knew full well there could be no reinforcements there—unless one saw a miracle. But now he could only place his hopes in miracles.

He had barely glanced that way when he suddenly held his breath, his entire body freezing. He rubbed his eyes, then lifted a hand and pointed at the distant hills, his voice trembling just like his finger. "Ziyi, look, w-what is that?"

Deng Xian followed his pointing hand and was struck by sudden ecstasy as well. "Rein... reinforcements have arrived?"

Reinforcements have arrived—where are the votes?