Chapter 58

The rain poured down. It was a torrential downpour that lasted for over ten days.

The sky seemed as if it wanted to swallow the world, as if a hole had been punctured, endlessly pouring rain onto the earth.

The Han River, flowing between Yangyang and Bansheng, swelled in the blink of an eye and flooded, engulfing the twin cities.

The flood was so massive that Bansheng became a sea of water, fitting the description of being submerged.

Except for the high city walls, everything in Bansheng was submerged, and thousands of soldiers were left clinging to small patches of high ground, creating a pitiful scene.

It was reminiscent of the Battle of Jinyang between Han and Wei, where only three patches of land remained unsubmerged.

If Bansheng was in such a state, the surrounding areas were no better. The camps of Wang Shuang and Wugong, located far behind the front lines, were also affected by the flood.

Though they managed to climb to higher ground to save their lives, their military supplies were completely lost. With no preparations for the flood, they could only helplessly pace on the high ground.

In stark contrast to the helplessness of the Wei army, Guan Yu was a man who overcame nature with human ingenuity.

He commanded his troops as if he had foreseen the flood. In fact, he did know, though he didn’t fully trust it.

Standing on a boat, observing the flood unscathed, Guan Yu sighed in admiration.

“Huh… it really happened as she said.”

Guan Yu appeared calm, but inside, he was deeply shocked. Cold sweat dripped down his back.

He had only considered it a possibility.

He thought the conditions were favorable, so he waited, half-believing it.

He maintained the standoff, thinking it would be good if it happened, and if not, so be it.

But then, it really happened—a torrential rain that completely submerged the area.

It was absurd. Unbelievable.

Anyone could predict rain during the monsoon season, and it was natural for the river levels to rise.

But predicting the exact time, location, and amount of rainfall was impossible. No one could have foreseen that the rain would submerge the city.

Not Cao Cao, not Zhuge Liang, not even Guan Yu himself.

But Chang-ran did it.

“Is it true? Was Ran born with the fate of chaotic times?”

As the saying goes, a name carries destiny.

Just as Zhang Fei had named her, his daughter truly seemed destined to end the chaotic times and bring peace.

Guan Yu stroked his long beard, pondering. Whether Chang-ran was truly the personification of chaotic times wasn’t the immediate concern.

The question of how she knew could be addressed after dealing with the current situation.

“The enemy is incapacitated. Accept those who surrender, and shoot those who resist.”

The ensuing battle was hardly worthy of being called a battle. The enemy, trapped on a narrow patch of high ground, couldn’t even put up a proper resistance.

Eventually, Wugong, along with the prefect of Nanyang, the governor of Jingzhou, and General Wang Shuang, all surrendered to Guan Yu.

The 30,000 elite troops led by Wugong, along with the officials Cao Cao had sent to Jingzhou, all fell under Guan Yu’s control. With this single defeat, Guan Yu successfully seized the authority of Jingzhou.

The entire realm trembled.

It was a moment when the whole world shuddered at Guan Yu’s unparalleled might.

§

Ye City was thrown into chaos.

Though they hadn’t been overly optimistic, they had considered Jingzhou relatively safe. But in a single day, a catastrophic disaster had struck.

Wugong, leading a hastily assembled army, had surrendered without even fighting a proper battle, and Bansheng, now submerged, couldn’t even communicate properly.

After Wang Shuang’s defeat, communication had been difficult but still possible. Now, even that was cut off.

“Wenzhi has surrendered…”

Cao Cao muttered in disbelief.

Who was Wugong?

Excluding close relatives like Zhao Yun and Xiahou Yuan, Wugong was one of Cao Cao’s most trusted generals, always living up to that trust.

That’s why Cao Cao had entrusted him with seven armies. For Wugong to surrender without even fighting was something Cao Cao couldn’t even imagine in his dreams.

“Ugh, my head…!”

But this was no dream. Realizing it was a stark reality, Cao Cao was struck with a splitting headache.

“King Wei!”

“King Wei! Are you alright?”

“Call the physician!”

As Cao Cao clutched his head, his ministers urgently called out.

But Cao Cao waved his arm to silence them, gritting his teeth against the throbbing pain. This was a critical moment, a turning point in history. He couldn’t afford to waste time on a mere headache.

Cao Cao growled like a wounded beast.

“Discuss not me, but the mandate of heaven.”

At Cao Cao’s abstract command, the ministers fell silent.

The mandate of heaven! Moving the capital was no trivial matter. Though Luoyang was the nominal capital, the de facto capital was Ye City, the capital of Cao Wei.

But whether to keep Luoyang as the capital, even in name, was a significant issue of legitimacy and power.

The grand hall, filled with ministers, fell into silence. Just as Cao Cao was about to snap irritably, someone stepped forward.

“Zitong, is it?”

“Yes. General Zhang Ji has a message for King Wei.”

“Speak.”

“Moving the capital is too hasty a decision. General Wugong didn’t even fight before surrendering. To move the capital out of fear of Guan Yu’s military power is not befitting of a state’s major affairs.”

Cao Cao fell into deep thought at Zhang Ji’s words. His headache subsided slightly, allowing him to think more clearly. He asked again.

“Guan Yu was once recognized by Guo Jia as a man of ten thousand talents. And behind him is Pang De, a former general of Ma Chao. Do you still say so?”

“General Zhennan is a match for Guan Yu. Call Xu Huang and have him, along with Prefect Zhen Ye, contain Guan Yu. With Man Chong, they can hold Bansheng.”

“Pang De and Pang Tong will send reinforcements. What about them?”

It wasn’t just them. To rescue Bansheng, Cao Cao would have to pull troops from other fronts.

Liu Bei, watching from Hanzhong, wouldn’t sit idly by. He would stir up Guanzhong, creating another disaster.

But Zhang Ji’s response was swift.

“That can be resolved by bringing Sun Quan into the fold.”

“Sun Quan?”

“Yes. Have Sun Quan attack Jingzhou. That will suppress Liu Bei’s forces in Jingzhou, and our troops tied up against Sun Quan will be freed, resolving all difficulties.”

“……Indeed.”

The next issue was whether Sun Quan would really attack Liu Bei, his ally.

The answer to that came from Sima Yi.

“Sun Quan will definitely attack Liu Bei. His half-hearted attack on Hefei was to divert Liu Bei’s attention and build up strength. His marriage proposal to Guan Yu was to build legitimacy. They’ve been preparing to attack Jingzhou. A small pretext will be enough for them to mobilize.”

The rejection of the marriage proposal could be used as a pretext, but it wasn’t enough to fully justify betraying the alliance.

But with even the smallest additional pretext, Sun Quan would immediately order an attack on Jingzhou. In fact, when Guan Yu took supplies from Xiangguan without permission to feed his prisoners, Sun Quan immediately took action.

“Good. I’ll entrust the support for Bansheng to General Zhang. Sima Yi, you handle persuading Sun Quan.”

Zhang Ji and Sima Yi acted immediately.

Military orders in Cao Cao’s name were delivered to Xu Huang and Zhen Ye, and every available soldier was gathered to form a new relief force.

Sima Yi, changing horses, arrived at Sun Quan’s court in the shortest time possible, proposing a joint front against Jingzhou. Sun Quan agreed without hesitation.

Entrusted with military authority by Sun Quan, Lü Meng moved secretly. His mind was filled with plans on how to conquer Jingzhou.

Before illness consumed him completely, Lü Meng burned through his remaining life to leave Jingzhou as his legacy.

Another busy man was Xu Huang, who received the military orders from Zhang Ji. He sighed softly.

No matter how urgent Bansheng’s situation was, Xu Huang was skeptical about advancing.

With Bansheng’s forces effectively meaningless, Xu Huang’s troops were few and mostly inexperienced.

No matter how skilled Xu Huang was, there was only so much he could do with such troops. Against Guan Yu, they would merely be a source of military achievements.

“But orders are orders.”

Though Sun Tzu’s Art of War says a general has the right to refuse a battle if defeat is certain, the order came from Cao Cao himself.

The order wasn’t to fight but to distract Guan Yu from besieging Bansheng, so it wasn’t entirely impossible.

But Xu Huang soon regretted his decision to follow the orders.

Chang-ran had begun her advance from Shangyong.