Chapter 99: The Feast at Hongmen (Part Two)

The movement was as swift as a falcon stooping on a rabbit, so fast that no one could react. No one had expected the smiling Wei Ba to strike suddenly, nor that a single punch would fell Pan Zhang, a battle-hardened commander who had spent a lifetime on the field of war.

Meng Da was caught off guard, as were Deng Xian and Pan Zhang’s subordinate, Pan Ping. The only ones who truly reacted were Dun Wu and his men. The moment Wei Ba moved, Dun Wu acted. Like a venomous snake, he slipped past Deng Xian and lunged directly behind Meng Da. Before Meng Da could process the scene, Dun Wu had him in a chokehold, a gleaming dagger pressed against his throat as he roared, "Move!"

Tang Qianyu, Zhu Yi, and the others in the hall acted without a word, as if they had rehearsed the scene countless times. Tang Qianyu lunged forward toward Pan Ping; his blade arrived before he did, crashing down onto Pan Ping’s shoulder. A sickening "crack" echoed through the hall. Agony surged through Pan Ping, forcing a howl from his throat before he stumbled backward and collapsed, instantly subdued by Tang Qianyu.

In the hall, Zhu Yi drew his ring-pommel saber. With a flash of steel, he severed the throat of Pan Zhang’s personal guard captain. Raising his blade with both hands, he stepped forward and delivered a lethal strike that felled another guard. Another half-step, and a third fell. Advancing five paces, he cut down five of Pan Zhang’s guards in quick succession, successfully breaking their formation.

The remaining Wei family warriors were even more ferocious. Coordinating with silent precision, they advanced in formation, their blades flashing. In moments, the rest of Pan Zhang’s dozen guards lay sprawled on the ground.

Blood bubbled forth, quickly staining the stone tiles of the courtyard a deep, crimson red.

Meng Da and Deng Xian stared in stunned silence. Deng Xian was the first to regain his composure, bellowing, "Guards!"

"Wait!" Meng Da, terrified out of his wits, hastily stopped him. Struggling to maintain a semblance of calm, he looked at Wei Ba, who had sheathed his blade and was walking slowly toward him. He then glanced at the unconscious Pan Zhang lying on the ground, his smile twisting into something more painful than a grimace.

"Military Advisor Wei, what... what is the meaning of this?"

"That is the question I should be asking you." Wei Ba stood on one leg like a golden rooster, as steady as a mountain. He calmly wiped the blood from his dagger against the sole of his boot before raising his eyes to fix them on Meng Da. "General Meng, I traveled thousands of miles to support you. Even if I deserve no credit, I at least deserve some consideration. Yet you arrange for people to kill me? What is the meaning of this? Do you wish to defect to Wu? Even if you do, there was no need to kill me."

Meng Da jumped, waving his hands frantically. "Military Advisor Wei, there is a misunderstanding... a huge misunderstanding! How could I want to kill you? This was his... this was his own doing. I knew nothing of it!"

Wei Ba looked even more puzzled. "He wanted to kill me? Why? To force you to break with our Great Han and surrender to the state of Wu?"

Meng Da felt like crying. His seating arrangement had merely been a ploy to provoke conflict between Pan Zhang and Wei Ba, allowing him to play the peacemaker and maneuver between the interests of Wu and Shu. Who could have imagined that Wei Ba would strike with such ruthlessness, felling Pan Zhang without a word, while his men efficiently slaughtered the guards and held him hostage?

This was not his plan. If Pan Zhang were to die, how could he answer to Sun Quan? Even if Pan Zhang survived, a blood feud was now set. Given Pan Zhang’s character, he would never let this slide. He would surely force Meng Da to pressure Zhuge Liang to hand over Wei Ba. But would Wei Ba be so easily surrendered? His father was the most unreasonable man in the Shu-Han, Wei Yan, a man who could hold his own against the likes of the late Guan Yu.

Meng Da felt dizzy. Events were unfolding too quickly, far beyond his calculations, leaving him at a loss for how to proceed.

"Release General Meng," Wei Ba said, waving his hand to signal Dun Wu. Dun Wu stepped back, sheathing his dagger and standing two paces behind Meng Da. Should Meng Da show any sign of malice, he could subdue him again in an instant.

Without needing orders, Tang Qianyu and Zhu Yi directed their men to form two defensive perimeters, encircling Meng Da, Deng Xian, and the half-dead Pan Zhang and his son. Outside, the sounds of fighting had drawn scores of guards, who rushed in with swords drawn. Yet, seeing Meng Da and Deng Xian held captive, no one dared to take another step.

Wei Ba crooked a finger, and a guard dragged a low table over, clearing the utensils to the floor before sliding it toward him. Wei Ba sat on the table, crossing his legs and using his dagger to trim his nails. "General Meng, you can tell me now what the seating arrangement was supposed to mean. In your heart, who is more important: the people of our Great Han, or the people of Wu?"

"Boy, do not think you have already won," Deng Xian hissed through gritted teeth. "Pan Zhang has five thousand men outside the city, and I have nearly ten thousand more here in Fangling. Do you think you can escape?"

Wei Ba glanced at him, a contemptuous smile playing on his lips. "When did I say I wanted to run?"

Deng Xian was speechless. Though no one was explicitly guarding him, he stood only two paces from Wei Ba and dared not gamble on whether Wei Ba would strike him down as he had Pan Zhang. Beyond his uncontrollable trembling, he dared not move a muscle.

"Things have reached this point, and I have no intention of leaving here alive," Wei Ba said, his gaze returning to Meng Da. "But before I die, I will certainly kill Pan Zhang and his son, and of course, you and your nephew as well. As for what happens after, that is beyond my concern; the Prime Minister and my father, the General Who Pacifies the North, can worry about that. I only need to know that I didn't come out on the losing end."

Meng Da offered a bitter smile. Wei Ba could afford to be reckless, but he could not. It was not just because Wei Ba was a lone wolf while he had a family to protect. More importantly, if events followed the course Wei Ba described, neither Zhuge Liang nor Sun Quan would spare him. Given the current alliance between the two, his subordinates would inevitably become the common enemy of both. His territory would be carved up, his men absorbed, his wives and concubines enslaved, and all he would have gained was the lives of Wei Ba and his forty men.

It was not worth it. This was not what he wanted.

"Military Advisor Wei, this was truly an accident." Meng Da recognized the reality of the situation, his tone softening. "I never expected that old scoundrel Pan Zhang to do such a thing. This truly has nothing to do with me."

"Nothing to do with you?" Wei Ba’s face darkened. "Do you take me for a child?"

Meng Da was speechless. After a moment, he nodded helplessly. "Fine, I admit it. I wanted to use Pan Zhang to cause you some trouble because... because I have a belly full of rage with nowhere to vent it."

"You have a belly full of fire? What does that have to do with me? Why target me?"

"It wasn't you I was targeting. It was Zhuge Qiao and... Zhuge Liang."

Wei Ba was even more confused. "Why?"

"He betrayed me," Meng Da sighed heavily. "Do you know why Sima Yi knew I was going to rebel against Wei? Why he arrived so quickly?"

"You fortified your city so ostentatiously that anyone could see you had ulterior motives."

"No," Meng Da slumped over the table, propping his forehead in his hands. "Zhuge Liang and I had an agreement. He would send troops to feign an attack on Shen Yi, and I would use the cover to fortify the city. Once everything was ready, I would raise my banners and return to the Shu-Han. I trusted him, but he sent someone to feign surrender and reveal my plans to Shen Yi. Shen Yi and I are enemies; of course, he reported it to Sima Yi."

Wei Ba was stunned. He studied Meng Da for a long time. "Do you have proof?"

"I do. The man who feigned surrender was named Guo Mo. I know him; he was a clerk in the Prime Minister's office, a cousin of Guo Youzhi, and highly trusted by Zhuge Liang." Meng Da’s voice grew calm. "For something so important, it would have been impossible for Guo Mo to know if Zhuge Liang hadn't leaked the information. And Guo Mo had a promising career in the Prime Minister's office. Without a special reason, why would he suddenly defect to the Wei, and so coincidentally pass through Shen Yi’s territory?"

A chill ran down Wei Ba’s spine. He believed Meng Da. Back on Yangping Mountain, he and Zhao Guang had discussed the issue. Inciting Meng Da to rebel should have been a long-standing plan of Zhuge Liang’s, but once Meng Da returned to the Shu-Han, he would inevitably have a major impact on the existing power structure—a situation Zhuge Liang would not want to see. How Zhuge Liang intended to resolve this had always been a mystery to Wei Ba, but hearing Meng Da speak, he believed this was likely exactly what Zhuge Liang had intended.

Using Sima Yi’s hand to eliminate Meng Da served two purposes: it tied down Sima Yi’s forces while simultaneously removing the potential threat of Meng Da. As for the loss of the Three Eastern Commanderies, it posed little threat to Hanzhong. Just as he had told Jin Dongliu, attacking the Three Eastern Commanderies from Nanzheng downstream was relatively easy, but attacking the heart of Hanzhong from the Three Eastern Commanderies upstream was nearly impossible. Whoever held those lands in the end made little difference to the grand strategy.

The only thing Zhuge Liang could not have foreseen was that Sima Yi would arrive so quickly. Had he not lured the Wu army into Anqiao Pass, Sima Yi would have resolved the battle with lightning speed, rendering Zhuge Liang’s plan a failure. Once Sima Yi realized success was unlikely, he acted decisively and withdrew from Xincheng, leaving the problem to Zhuge Liang and Sun Quan. Zhuge Liang’s goal remained unachieved, and in the end, the main force of the Wei army arrived faster than he had imagined.

Thinking it through, Wei Ba didn't know what to say. He had never expected Zhuge Liang to be a moral saint. In truth, no real politician could ever be a moral saint; one could not stand firm or hold power in the cutthroat world of political struggle by being a saint. Furthermore, Meng Da was a fickle, petty man; using such methods against him was understandable.

But Wei Ba was still shocked by the depth of Zhuge Liang’s schemes.

To play the "borrowed knife" tactic so masterfully, to manipulate giants like Meng Da and Sima Yi in the palm of his hand—one had to admit, the Prime Minister was truly calculating. And to think, before this, the Prime Minister had never ceased praising Meng Da as a talent, always blaming Liu Feng for the rebellion and never uttering a word of condemnation against Meng Da himself.