Farmers of Shu Han

Chapter 1499 Guan Yinping

On the stone steps in front of the Xiangyang Prefectural Government, Lü Dai's body was covered with a white cloth, with only a section of an arrow shaft sticking out.

General Zhen Dong stood before the steps, looking down at the corpse with an expressionless face.

It was as if they were looking at a very ordinary corpse.

"A proper burial," she finally spoke, her voice calm, "with the honors due to a general."

"Yes, sir," the guard replied.

After her personal guards carried Lü Dai's body away, she turned around to face the generals standing solemnly below the steps.

He began by giving the order: "Zhao Guang."

Zhao Guang's spirits lifted: "Your subordinate is here!"

"Lead five thousand light cavalry and head south immediately." General Guan looked south. "Do not attack cities, and do not linger in battle."

"We'll march day and night, straight to the walls of Jiangling. Once we get there, there's no need for a direct assault; we'll simply array our troops and show off our might, letting the people of the city see clearly—"

She paused for a moment, then added, "Tell them, the Great Han is back."

Zhao Guang was overjoyed and clasped his hands in a fist, saying loudly, "This humble general obeys the order!"

"Jiang Wei."

“We are here.”

"Reorganize the army, advance by land and water, and set off as soon as possible to join forces with Zhao Guang in Jiangling."

General Guan pursed his lips and emphasized:

“Lu Kang is still in Xiling. General Zhang Yi is holding him back. You should lead the army there, surround Jiangling, and cut off his retreat.”

Jiang Wei cupped his hands in greeting: "I will certainly not fail in my mission."

Lu Xun, when you cut off my master's escape route back then, did you ever think that your son would also have his escape route blocked by me one day?
Everyone saw General Zhen Dong suddenly look up at the sky, but no one knew what she was looking at.

After a long while, General Zhen Dong spoke again: "Liu Yin."

"The general is here!"

"You will guard Nanyang, oversee the supply of provisions for the rear, and also defend the direction of Wuchang."

“If Sun Jun sends reinforcements, they will most likely come from Wuchang. You must defend Nanyang well and not give Wu the slightest chance to take advantage.”

Liu Yin said in a deep voice, "General, please rest assured, as long as I am here, the city will stand."

Finally, her gaze fell on Shi Bao.

"Stone bud".

"This subordinate obeys your command."

"You will defend Xiangyang." Guan Yinping's voice was soft, but her tone was meaningful. "You will reorganize the surrendered soldiers in the city; you will take stock of the money and grain in the treasury."

"As for those..."

She paused, then didn't continue.

Shi Bao bowed, his eyes gleaming with excitement:
"General, rest assured. Xiangyang has just been annexed, and the people's hearts are still unsettled. This is precisely the time when they need to be calmed down, and I am most skilled at this!"

Guan Yinping said no more, only waved her hand.

The generals accepted the order and departed.

After the generals left, Guan Yinping stood alone in front of the hall for a moment.

Then she summoned the captain of her personal guard.

"Prepare the horses. Come with me somewhere."

"Where does the general wish to go?"

Guan Yinping looked southwest, her gaze seemingly trying to pierce through the towering walls of Xiangyang and reach the place she had longed for for thirty-four years.

"Maicheng".

……

The site of Maicheng is now just a desolate hill.

Thirty-four years ago, in the winter of the twenty-fourth year of Jian'an, Guan Yu was defeated at Linju and retreated to Maicheng, where he was eventually captured and killed.

Guan Ping and Zhao Lei also died alongside him...

Guan Yinping reined in her horse before the desolate hill.

The spring grass has turned green, and the soil that was soaked in blood back then is now no different from ordinary soil.

The spring breeze blew, causing the grass to ripple and the wind to blow, and it also brought tears to Guan Yinping's eyes.

This was the first time she had shed tears in front of others.

She had waited for this day for far too long...

She dismounted and told her guards, "Wait here and do not come near."

"General..."

"This is a military order."

"……promise."

The guards retreated to a distance of a hundred paces.

Guan Yinping walked alone up the desolate hill.

She walked very slowly, as if carefully measuring every inch of land that the adults had walked on back then with her own footsteps.

Thirty-four years have passed. My father, my elder brother, and those old soldiers from Jingzhou—their blood has long since seeped into this land and become one with it.

She came here just to take a look.

Look at the spirits of my father and brother... are they still lingering here?

She walked to the top of the hill, where there was an old locust tree with a gnarled trunk, half of which was withered.

She reached out and touched the rough bark, wondering if this tree had ever seen the adults back then.
Guan Yinping stopped under the tree, raised her hand, and slowly took off the iron helmet from her head.

Her long hair, now freed from its restraints, cascaded down like a black waterfall, swaying gently in the spring breeze.

She then untied the silk ribbon binding her neck, removed her shoulder armor and arm guards, and finally loosened the ties of her outer robe.

Beneath the black armor and brocade robe was a plain white undergarment.

She knelt down.

The moment her knees touched the ground, tears welled up in her eyes again.

"grown ups……"

His voice was choked with sobs as he spoke.

Thirty-four years of repression, thirty-four years of forbearance, thirty-four years of blood feud, all burst forth at this moment like water breaking through a dam.

"Daughter...daughter is back..."

She touched her forehead to the ground and kowtowed deeply.

Once, twice, three times.

His forehead was covered in mud, mixed with tears, and smeared on his face.

"Your daughter is unfilial... It's been thirty-four years since I last came back to see you..."

She knelt there, raised her head, and looked at the barren hill before her.

I want to recapture that figure from back then, with his sword drawn and his hair bristling.

My late father, who was so powerful that he shook the land and made Cao Cao want to move the capital to avoid his advance.

The father she had looked up to since childhood, but could no longer call "adult" to.

"Sir, did you see that?"

She hissed, tears blurring her vision:

"Xiangyang... your daughter has taken it for you."

"Jiangling... I'll go get it for you right away!"

"My daughter will make those bastards, Wu, pay for their crimes in blood!"

"My daughter will make sure the Guan family's flag is planted atop the walls of Jingzhou once more!"

"Your name, your daughter will make it proud and shine in history!"

She cried out, as if she wanted to pour out all the grievances, resentment, and longing of the past thirty-four years onto the land where her father had died.

The wind blew, and the withered branches of the old locust tree groaned as if in response.

After kneeling for an unknown period of time, Guan Yinping slowly straightened up.

She wiped away the tears and mud from her face, and her eyes regained their composure.

She put her armor back on piece by piece, tied up her long hair, and put on her helmet.

When she turned around, she was once again the imposing and awe-inspiring "General Guan Suo, the Guardian of the East."

The slight redness in her eyes proved that her crying just now was not an illusion.

Three hundred elite cavalrymen stood solemnly like a forest.

Upon seeing their leader return, everyone straightened their backs simultaneously.

No one spoke, except for the occasional snort of the warhorse and the very faint rustling of the armor plates in the wind.

Back at his warhorse, General Zhen Dong mounted and pulled on the reins: "Giddy up!"

Three hundred guards simultaneously spurred their warhorses.

The hoofbeats were initially chaotic, but soon merged into a thunderous roar.

The barren hills receded rapidly behind us, and the ruins of Maicheng became a gray shadow on the edge of our vision.

Two days later, in Jiangling.

Zhao Guang arrived suddenly with light cavalry and formed ranks below the city.

After Wu captured Xiangyang, Jiangling became their rear base.

With the Han army pressing in, Wu's main forces were deployed to the front lines, leaving relatively few troops in Jiangling.

Xiangyang fell too quickly; by the time Jiangling found out, Zhao Guang was already at the city gates.

The Wu Kingdom had no time to provide support.

That night, the private soldiers of powerful families in the city defected, broke through the gates and locks, and welcomed the Han army into the city.

The defending general, Quan Yi, led his personal guards in street fighting, but was shot off his horse by Zhao Guang with an arrow. The rest of his troops either surrendered or scattered.

Jiangling, the capital of Jingzhou and the core of Nanjun, changed hands to the Han Dynasty.

The day after Zhao Guang captured Jiangling, Guan Yinping arrived.

"General, I have not failed in my mission!"

Zhao Guang personally came to greet the General Who Guards the East, his face showing a hint of pride.

Zhao Sanqian was famous throughout the world for a long time, but this time was the first time he had led his army to capture a major city.

"How is the situation in Xiling?" Guan Yinping asked as she stepped into the prefect's residence.

Zhao Guang's expression hardened, and he quickly said:

"Lu Kang is still confronting General Zhang in the Yiling Mountains."

"However, the news of our army's capture of Xiangyang should have already reached Xiling by now."

Guan Yinping nodded and sat down in the prefect's seat: "Have you contacted Jiang Boyue? When will he arrive?"

Jiang Wei commanded a large army, so his speed was slower.

"They should arrive around the day after tomorrow, but by sunset tomorrow, their advance camp should have arrived as well."

Seemingly afraid that Jiang Wei would come and steal his credit, Zhao Guang said again:

"General, this humble general is willing to lead elite troops westward to join forces with General Zhang in a pincer attack, and we will surely capture Lu Kang!"

Guan Yinping remained silent.

She recalled many things, all related to Jingzhou.

There is Xiangfan, there is Maicheng, there is Yiling...

“Give him two days,” Guan Yinping finally spoke. “Jiang Boyue will arrive in two more days.”

"If Lu Kang sends an envoy to surrender within two days, I can guarantee his life."

"What if he doesn't surrender?" Zhao Guang asked.

Guan Yinping raised her eyes, her gaze cold, but her tone was indifferent: "The army will march out and crush Xiling."

She stood up, walked to the front of the hall, and looked west.

That's the direction of Xiling, the direction of Yiling, the direction where the late emperor was defeated thirty-two years ago.

Similarly, it was the place where Ah Lang's uncle died, the same place where Ah Lang's uncle died.

“More than thirty years have passed,” she said softly, as if talking to herself, or as if declaring, “All the debts should be repaid. The land of Jingzhou should be taken back.”

Zhao Guang looked at his elder sister and felt that something was different about her.

Guan Yinping turned around and looked at Zhao Guang: "Make sure to send out scouts and keep a close eye on the direction of Xiling."

"And Wuchang, we must be on guard against Sun Jun crossing the river from there to come to our rescue."

"Here!"

She walked out of the main hall, looked westward again, gazed for a long time, and then said, word by word:

"If Lu Kang has not sent an envoy to surrender in two days, I will personally lead a large army to send Lu Kang to see his father."

"Let everyone in Jingzhou see this clearly—"

"Guan Yu's daughter has returned."

No sooner had he finished speaking than a spring breeze suddenly arose, causing the Han army's banners to flutter wildly.

The huge Chinese character "汉" on the flag gleamed in the sunlight.

The figure of the female general under her command was as straight as a spear.

It was as if they wanted to nail all the blood feuds and humiliations of the past thirty-four years onto this land of Jingzhou, which was about to be completely liberated.
-
When news of the fall of Xiangyang reached Xiling, it was already late at night on the third day after the fall of Xiangyang.

By the light of the lamp inside the tent, Lu Kang unfolded the urgent report.

The handwriting was messy, and there were several water stains on it.

"On the day of Bingwu in the third month, the Han army attacked our navy with demonic fire at the Xiangyang section."

"Thunderbolts blotted out the sky, thunderclaps shattered the ground, and flamethrowers melted iron ten steps away."

"The General of Zhennan died for his country, the warships were all burned, and only one-tenth of the fighting ships remained. Xiangyang has been lost."

It consists of only fifty-six characters.

Lu Kang read it five times.

The first time, he thought it was his own hallucination.

The second time, I started to feel cold.

The third time, he read the words "thunder rocket," "thunder canister," and "flame tube" repeatedly.

The fourth time, he closed his eyes and tried to imagine what the Thunder Rocket, Thunder Canister, and Flamethrower looked like.

But he couldn't imagine what kind of demonic fire these things used.

Only then could the mighty Wu navy, which had dominated the Jiangnan region for decades and was the strongest navy in the world, be reduced to less than one-tenth of its former strength.

On the fifth time, he opened his eyes and slowly placed the plain silk on the table.

Hurried footsteps sounded outside the tent. Lieutenant General Lu Shu (son of Lu Su) lifted the curtain and rushed in, his face deathly pale in the moonlight.

"General! News has come from Jiangling, Xiangyang..."

“I understand.” Lu Kang interrupted him, sitting there motionless.

Lu Shu was stunned, and only then did she see the battle report on the table.

Then, looking at Lu Kang's face, whose expression was obscured by the shadows, she said, "Then, then what do we do now..."

“Jiangling,” Lu Kang uttered.

He got up and walked to the map of Jingzhou hanging on the tent wall.

The finger traces a path from Xiangyang down the Han River, passing through Dangyang and Bian County, before stopping at Jiangling.

"If the Han army breaks through Xiangyang, they will surely take Jiangling."

Lu Kang's voice trembled slightly; he was only twenty-seven years old.

This was his first time facing the Han army, and also his first time leading troops into battle against the enemy.

Ahead was Zhang Yi, one of Feng Yong's four henchmen.

In the rear, he was the number one figure in the Han army after Feng Yong, known as the Winged Tiger of Hedong.

What an honor!
"If I were Guan Suo, after taking Xiangyang, I would immediately send out light cavalry to rush straight to Jiangling."

"As for myself, I will reorganize the army and follow later. We will arrive at Jiangling in six days, and the encirclement will be completed in seven days at the latest."

Lu Kang muttered as he deduced the movements of the Han army.

Lu Shu said urgently, "Then let's hurry back to their aid! If we sail down the river, we can reach Jiangling in two days..."

"Which way?" Lu Kang turned to look at him. "Will Zhang Yi let us go?"

Lu Shu opened her mouth, but couldn't say anything more.

Lu Kang turned to look at the map again, tapping lightly on the location of Jiangling with his finger. "Besides, it's too late."

"What's too late?"

"It's too late to save Jiangling. Today, I'm afraid the Han cavalry has already reached the walls of Jiangling."

He paused, his voice even lower:
"And the Han army will complete the encirclement in three days—not just arrive, but finish the encirclement. What does this mean?"

Lu Shu was bewildered.

Lu Kang asked and answered himself: "This means that the vanguard of the Han army will appear in the western suburbs of Jiangling in three days."

"They will cut off all land connections between Jiangling and Xiling. And we—"

He traced his finger from Xiling to Jiangling, and then to the continuous Yiling Mountains.

"Is it possible for us to shake off Zhang Yi's pursuit and break into Jiangling right under the noses of the main Han army?"

The navy of Wu was defeated.

How can the infantry of Wu fight against the Han army in the open field?
The Wei Kingdom, which dared to engage the Han army in open battle, has been forced to flee overseas...

Lu Shu shut her mouth, unable to say another word.

“Zhang Yi…” Lu Kang suddenly laughed, “Now I understand why he wasn’t in a hurry.”

He turned and looked out at the dark shadow of Yiling Mountain.

There, the 30,000-strong Han army seemed to blend into the mountains.

They neither attacked nor retreated, but instead sent small groups of troops to harass, set fires, and create disturbances every day.

"He didn't seek victory, nor did he seek defeat; he only wanted me... to be unable to move."

“So from the very beginning, the Han state’s strategy was not to attack Jingzhou from three directions.” Lu Kang sat down at the table. “It was to launch a feint attack from two directions and a main attack from one direction.”

"Ten days," Lu Kang said softly. "At most ten days, Jiangling will fall."

This was even with the Jiangling garrison holding out to the death.

The annihilation of the Wu navy made Lu Kang extremely clear-headed.

Although he had never seen it with his own eyes, he believed that the legendary Han army stone cannons must be real.

The walls of Jiangling... could not stop the Han army.

"At that time, I will be like a turtle in a jar in Xiling."

Lu Shu trembled all over: "Then, then we..."

“Two paths.” Lu Kang held up two fingers. “First, break camp tonight, get rid of Zhang Yi at all costs, and rush to the aid of Jiangling.”

“We will lose at least 30% of our men, but even if we reach Jiangling, we will be facing the main force of the Han army, who will be well-rested and ready... Our chances of winning are less than 10%.”

"What about the second one?"

“Second,” Lu Kang put down his hand, “we will defend Xiling. We will wait for Jiangling to fall, for the Han army to surround it, and then… we will hold out to the death.”

"Hold out until the food runs out, hold out until reinforcements arrive—if Jianye still has reinforcements to send."

The tent was deathly silent.

Lu Shu trembled slightly: "Governor...which one to choose?"

Lu Kang did not answer.

He sat back down at his desk, pushed the secret report aside, and refused to look at it again.

Then, he picked up his pen and spread out a new sheet of plain silk.

"I want to write a letter to Jianye." He wrote as he spoke, "First, I will state that the defeat at Xiangyang was not due to a lack of skill, but rather to inferior weaponry."

"The Han army's firearms were far superior to those of boats, oars, bows, and arrows."

"Secondly, it is predicted that Jiangling will fall within ten days. I urge the court to make plans as soon as possible: whether to send troops from Wuchang to the west to provide reinforcements, or... abandon Jingzhou and hold Jiangxia."

“Third,” he paused, “I plead guilty. Lu Kang watched as Xiangyang fell without offering any assistance. He should be stripped of his title and dismissed from his post to uphold military law.”

Lu Shu was shocked: "Governor! This..."

"This is the truth." Lu Kang finished writing the last word, put down his pen, and blew on the ink to dry it.

"Xiangyang has fallen, and Jiangling is about to fall. As the governor of Xiling, am I, Lu Kang, innocent?"

He rolled up the plain silk, sealed it with sealing wax, and handed it to Lu Shu: "Send it to Jianye urgently."

Lu Shu took it, her hands trembling.

Lu Kang had already gotten up, walked to the edge of the tent, looked eastward, and remained silent.

That's the direction of Jiangling, and also the direction of Jianye.

Lu Shu quietly withdrew.

Silence returned to the tent.

After a long while, Lu Kang suddenly chuckled softly.

In that laughter, there was helplessness, realization, and sorrow...

“Zhang Yi…” he said softly, facing the direction of Yiling Mountain Shadow, “You have won this round.”

He turned around and blew out the last oil lamp on the desk.

The tent was plunged into complete darkness.
-
In the middle of the third month of the seventeenth year of the Yanxi reign of the Han Dynasty.

Upon hearing of the fall of Jiangling, Kang knew that the situation was hopeless. He then burned the water fortress, gathered 30,000 infantrymen, and retreated to defend the Xiling Mountain City.

Five days later, General Guan of the Han Dynasty led a large army to the East and arrayed them at Dongshan.

Banners covered the fields, armor gleamed in the sun, and firearms stood in the ranks.

Guan rode out into the battle, clad in black armor and a white robe, and called out before the enemy lines:

"Lu Kang! Jiangling has fallen, and Xiling is now an isolated city. The grudge your father inflicted on the burning of the enemy camps years ago must be avenged today!"

"Surrender, and the Lu clan's ancestral rites will be preserved; do not surrender—"

She pointed her riding whip at the top of Xiling City:
"On the day the city falls, you and your Wu soldiers will be sacrificed for the blood debts of more than thirty years ago!"

As soon as the sound faded, the Han army's rocket carts pushed forward in unison, and the crossbowmen lit the fires, sending up plumes of blue smoke.

Upon ascending the city wall and seeing Guan's true appearance, he was stunned for a moment, then suddenly sighed to those around him:
"I once heard that Guan Suo, one of Feng Yong's subordinates, was brave and skilled in battle, and had followed him on campaigns for more than twenty years."

"Unexpectedly, it was a woman in disguise. She has been so patient and stoic; she must have come for revenge today."

The officers on either side were all astonished: "A woman as a general is unprecedented!"

He shook his head, gazing at the "Guan" banner fluttering in the wind below the city walls, and slowly said:
"Not as a general, but as a daughter. My father's murder is irreconcilable, and I have endured thirty-four years of hardship and humiliation. Today, I finally reveal my true form to challenge him—this is not a battle, but a blood sacrifice."

Having said that, he took a hard bow, nocked a white-feathered arrow, and with a twang of the bowstring, the arrow shot out, piercing straight into the earthen rampart in front of the Han army's formation.

The Wu soldiers on the city walls roared, "Fight to the death! Fight to the death!"

Upon seeing the arrow, Guan sneered and returned to his position, waving his flag to give the order.

In an instant, thunderbolts and rockets filled the sky like locusts, and thunderous fireballs fell to the ground like meteors.

A sea of ​​fire suddenly erupted atop the city walls of Xiling, the explosions deafening.

He bravely took up his shield to fight the fire, only to find that his soldiers were instantly engulfed by the flames and that water only fueled the fire. He then realized that the defeat at Xiangyang was not due to a lack of skill, but rather to inferior weaponry.

A ball of fire exploded against the parapet, the wall was knocked down by the blast wave, and iron filings pierced its throat.

When his guards helped him up, blood was seeping from his mouth and nose. He still gazed at the figure of the Guan family below the city walls, and said tragically:
"My father conquered Shu here in the past... Today, a woman attacks me with fire here... Truly... what goes around comes around..."

Before he could finish speaking, the beams and pillars of the city tower collapsed in flames, and he was engulfed in the sea of ​​fire.

After the Han army captured the city, Guan ordered that his body be found and buried south of Xiling Mountain.

When the monument was erected, the military advisor asked what inscription should be carved. Guan remained silent for a long time before finally saying:

"Only the four characters 'Tomb of Wu Lu Kang' are engraved. The grudges are settled, there is no need to say more."

After Guan Yu conquered Xiling, Jingzhou was largely pacified.

He then gathered all the generals in the Jiangling government hall, removed their helmets and armor, and let their hair down as a warning to the public.

She addressed her generals, saying, "I am the daughter of Guan Yu. To avenge my father, I have served in the army under a false name for over twenty years."

"Now that Jingzhou has been recovered and the Lu family father and son are dead, my ambition has been fulfilled, and I should return to Chang'an to report back."

"From this day forward, the three armies shall be under the command of General Jiang Wei, the General Who Guards the South."

Everyone was shocked.

Jiang Wei urgently advised: "Although you are a woman, General, you have fought alongside the Lord for many years and have never been defeated. The entire army looks up to you as if you were a goddess."

"Now that we are sailing downstream to the east, Xiakou is in sight. This is the time to press on with our momentum. How can we turn back halfway?"

Guan shook his head and pointed to the river outside the hall, saying:
“My father once governed Jingzhou and his power shook the land, but in the end he could not escape the regret of Maicheng.”

"As a woman, I have been fortunate enough to win battle after battle by virtue of your power, my lord. This is due to the opportune moment, not my own ability."

The generals prostrated themselves on the ground, weeping as they tried to stay, but Guan Yu sternly declared:

"A true man should prioritize the affairs of the state! After I am gone, you should all do your utmost to assist Boyue, pacify Jiangdong as soon as possible, and fulfill Your Majesty's ambition of unification."

"It is not my wish to see the country ruined by personal feelings!"

After speaking, he took only ten personal guards and boarded a light boat to return upstream along the Yangtze River.

When the people along the way heard about it, they gathered on the shore to watch. They saw a woman in black robes with her hair down, standing with her hand on her sword at the bow of the boat, and they all exclaimed, "Truly, she embodies the spirit of Guan Yu!"

Unofficial History Supplement:

After Guan returned to the west, his story spread like wildfire throughout the streets of Chang'an.

In the early years, the Ballad of Mulan was sung in Chang'an, and the lyrics read:

"...Generals die in a hundred battles, brave soldiers return after ten years. They return to see the Emperor, who sits in the Hall of Brightness. They are rewarded with twelve promotions and bestowed with countless riches."

"Your Majesty asked what she desired. Mulan did not want the position of Minister, but wished to ride her swift steed a thousand miles to send her back to her hometown..."

Those who heard it at first thought it was a joke, but after learning about Guan Yinping's deeds, they realized that the Mulan in the song was based on a real person.

Later generations wrote in the "Old Heavenly Words":

Yinping, a woman, endured 34 years of hardship to finally avenge her father and recover Jingzhou, truly embodying both filial piety and heroism.

However, he retired gracefully after achieving success, showing no attachment to power or position, which further demonstrates his wisdom.

Only when women across the land hear of Yinping's deeds do they realize that women are no less capable than men; this is the most profound and far-reaching legacy of her legacy.