Chapter 153

The banquet ended in a catastrophe, a declaration of war, and the Eastern Wu delegation fled Chengdu as if running for their lives.

Though they had potentially recognized each other as enemy states, now it had escalated beyond that. They had become warring nations in conflict. They needed to return to Xiang Province as soon as possible to prepare for the impending battle with the Han Dynasty.

On the road from Yi Province to Xiang Province, the Eastern Wu delegation hurried in eerie, chilling silence.

Surprisingly, Zhuge Jin did not scold Zhuge Ge. However, the lack of words made Zhuge Ge feel even more burdened and guilty.

“Father.”

Unable to bear the silence, Zhuge Ge finally spoke.

Zhuge Jin looked at his eldest son, who had always been his pride. Perhaps he was born with even greater talent than his uncle—he had thought so.

When his father was mocked, this little son had diligently wielded his brush, wisely restoring his father’s honor.

The witty son who had declared his father greater than even his uncle, whom he himself acknowledged as superior.

Zhuge Jin couldn’t bring himself to direct his anger at such a son.

It was his own fault.

Zhuge Jin thought so. That Zhuge Ge had not grown up properly, becoming arrogant and obsessed with his own talent, was because he had only received love from his father.

If only he had shown Zhuge Ge a broader world from a young age, if he hadn’t been too busy with work to neglect his son, if he had paid more attention to his moral education.

Zhuge Ge could have been like Zhang Lan, showcasing his talents and raising his reputation across the land.

Filled with self-reproach, regret, pity, and sorrow, Zhuge Jin called his son.

“Ge.”

“Yes, Father.”

“Zhuge Ge, Yuansun, my son.”

Called three times by his father, Zhuge Ge prostrated himself and admitted his fault. If not intoxicated by the glory and power of a great victory, Zhuge Ge was someone who could reflect on himself.

“Father, your son was foolish. Your son…”

“It’s enough if you understand. It’s enough if you realize your hastiness.”

For a moment, Zhuge Ge felt as if his heart had sunk, thinking his father had completely lost hope and interest in him, but Zhuge Jin’s next words showed that wasn’t the case.

“Even without you, this would have happened. Looking back, Liang had planned to attack Xiang Province from the start when he spoke with me. They included you because they heard of your reputation and talent and wanted to test you.”

Finally, Zhuge Jin realized their scheme, but it was a belated realization.

“Father, please believe in me once more. I will surely devise a plan to defend Xiang Province from the Shu enemies!”

This time, Zhuge Ge vowed to think with pure reason, excluding all emotions. But Zhuge Jin slowly shook his head.

“Ge. Take my memorial and go to our lord.”

“Ah, Father.”

“Go and report everything you have seen, heard, and experienced in detail. That is my command to you.”

Zhuge Ge’s objections were no longer accepted.

Forced, Zhuge Ge was sent out of Xiang Province as a messenger to deliver the report.

After sending Zhuge Ge away, Zhuge Jin informed Luotong, the deputy of Xiang Province, and began preparing for battle.

His lord, Sun Quan, had entrusted Xiang Province to him despite opposition from his advisors. Repaying that trust was the duty of a loyal minister.

‘Live with Xiang Province, or die with it.’

Zhuge Jin steeled his resolve.

§

While Zhuge Jin hurried to Xiang Province to prepare for battle, his younger brother Zhuge Liang, who had sent his brother away, met with me. As the executor of the plan to reclaim Xiang Province, I had a face-to-face meeting with Zhuge Liang, the advocate of the plan.

Though it was no exaggeration to say he had humiliated his elder brother, Zhuge Liang’s expression showed no change.

Instead, there was no sign of joy over the situation unfolding as he had planned, as if his happiness and guilt had canceled each other out.

Since Zhuge Liang’s demeanor was as usual, I could comfortably ask my question.

“Prime Minister, when did you secure Saye? Your resourcefulness is astonishing.”

I had heard that Wuling had been almost wiped out by Bozul and others in a joint operation.

‘To bring back the bloodline of Sima, the top target of Eastern Wu’s assassination, in such an extreme situation… Is this Zhuge Liang?’

As I was genuinely marveling, Zhuge Liang suddenly burst into laughter.

“Hahaha! Mingjing. Wuling was almost annihilated, and Guanshidu’s family was practically wiped out by Bozul. How could I have found a survivor and brought them back?”

“Huh? Couldn’t one or two survivors have crossed over to our land through the mountains?”

Everyone had marveled at Zhuge Liang’s resourcefulness in bringing Saye, rather than doubting his identity.

“There are things I can do and things I can’t. Bringing Guanshidu’s children back falls into the latter.”

“Don’t tell me, then…”

“That’s right. Saye is a fake I prepared. Yi Yingnan found a very suitable person.”

It was truly a grand deception! No, a national deception!

No wonder Yi So, the personnel officer, had prepared the banquet. There was such a backstory. So, Yi So was acting when he spoke with me?

‘To lie without batting an eye, Yi So… You’re even more sinister than Bi Yi.’

Zhuge Liang, Yi So, Bi Yi… Birds of a feather really do flock together.

“How could you do such a thing? What if it had been discovered?”

“Who would know and discover it? Even you, who met Guanshidu in Xiang Province, were completely fooled. Would they know?”

Then Zhuge Liang said.

“If no one knows or can prove it’s a lie, then it’s no different from the truth. Isn’t that creating something out of nothing?”

Creating something out of nothing. Literally, making something out of nothing. Even if it doesn’t exist, make it seem like it does. It was the 7th of the 36 Stratagems.

The famous story of the dead Kongming driving away the living Zhongda is the best example of creating something out of nothing.

Here, Zhuge Liang had brought back the dead Saye to deceive Eastern Wu.

“If I had known you were preparing this, I wouldn’t have stepped forward.”

“Not at all. You didn’t know what I was preparing, and isn’t it better to have more backup plans? You did well. I was worried that my nephew’s intelligence might be like yours, but you’ve relieved that worry this time. It was an excellent 31st Stratagem.”

31st Stratagem? The 31st of the 36 Stratagems is…

“Th-the Beauty Stratagem! No!”

“Hmm? I thought you prepared the plan centered on the 7th Stratagem, creating something out of nothing, and you on the 31st, the Beauty Stratagem. Was it different?”

“Yes. I applied the Art of War’s ‘Discussion on Generals.'”

“Discussion on Generals…”

When Marquis Wu asked Wu Qi, the author of the Art of War, ‘How can you know an enemy general when you know nothing about him?’ Wu Qi answered:

‘Send out a brave man of low rank and have him deliberately lose. Then you can know what kind of person the enemy general is by his reaction.’

Sending Guo Youzhi, Xu Shulong, and others to defeat Zhuge Ge in debate was in line with this.

After hearing my explanation, Zhuge Liang pondered for a moment and reluctantly nodded as if conceding.

“Alright. Let’s go with that.”

It was clear he wasn’t convinced, but he went along with it since I insisted.

As I was thinking whether to explain further, Zhuge Liang changed the subject and shifted the direction of the conversation.

“Let’s leave the past behind and discuss Xiang Province now.”

Was there more to discuss about Xiang Province now? Zhuge Liang and I had already had in-depth discussions on how to reclaim Xiang Province.

Though tactics might change based on the field commander’s judgment, the overall strategy was already planned.

As I tilted my head in confusion, Zhuge Liang continued.

“Now that they know we’re targeting Xiang Province, we must be even more meticulous. And since His Majesty has decided to include General You in this operation, we must consider that as well.”

The current General You of Han was Yi Yan, who had previously served as the Protector of the Middle. He had been appointed General You for his merit in defending Yi Province during the war with the Wei-Wu alliance.

Originally, Zhuge Liang and I hadn’t included Yi Yan in our plans, but Liu Bei had included him to strengthen the operation to reclaim Xiang Province.

In conclusion, the forces for this operation to reclaim Xiang Province were me, Wei Yan, Yi Yan, and Ban Jun—the maximum available strength of Han.

“Don’t forget, Mingjing. This operation to reclaim Xiang Province is a race against time.”

We didn’t know when Sun Quan would realize the situation and make a truce with Cao Biao.

Zhuge Liang urged me to end the battle as quickly as possible.

Thus, bearing the expectations of Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang on my shoulders, I and the expeditionary force set out from Chengdu.

It was the winter of the second year of Zhangwu (223 AD), just before the new year.