Volume Three: Heroes Are Silent While Heaven and Earth Grow Old 29 Gaizhou II

Outside the Taizi River, upon Mount Dongmou, which was heavily besieged by the Yuan army, Pan Mei felt as though he was on the verge of turning into a statue of a wife longing for her husband. Through the profound nocturnal darkness and the ceaseless sounds of artillery, his gaze pierced across the boundless Yuan encampments. Faint clusters of firelight were visible in the distant ahead. The Taizi River, reflecting the light of the stars and the moon, flowed by in silent tranquility. Camped along its banks were Deng She's reinforcements.

Yet those reinforcements were endlessly delayed.

That afternoon, when Deng She's forces were locked in a fierce, planar battle with the Yuan army, he had also stood at this exact vantage point, witnessing everything clearly. To be honest, when he saw the Yuan reinforcements ambush Deng She's rear, he had already abandoned all hope in Deng She.

"He actually won!" Deng She's victory came as a great surprise to Pan Mei. Pressing his sword hilt, he paced irritably around the elevated boulder twice, feeling a surge of anger. "You gave me hope, yet they took that hope away again!" Forcing down his fury, he ordered his personal guards, "Read it again."

Two quarters of an hour ago, Deng She's messenger had fought through the heavy encirclement, delivering an urgent dispatch: "An uprising has broken out in Gaizhou. The forces of Huang Zhen and Zuo Li have rebelled, and Liaoyang has fallen into dire peril. All the generals in my command unanimously demand an immediate return to reinforce the rear. Though I wish to save you, my brother, what can be done? What can be done?"

The crisis in Liaoyang—what business was it of yours, Deng She? Old Guan has always guarded against you with suspicion; I refuse to believe you would remain utterly loyal. Needless to say, the so-called "generals in command" were undoubtedly Fang Buzhen, Xu Ren, and Li Jing!

Pan Mei was consumed by restless rage and despair. Once the reinforcements vanished, trapped under heavy siege with dwindling food and water, his fate could well be imagined.

"General, thinking back on it now, the initial seizure of the mountain was far too smooth. The Tatars seemed almost to surrender it voluntarily. Since they yielded it then, why raise a massive army to besiege us on the mountain now?"

"Are you saying?"

"The Tatars yielding first and then besieging—their actions are far too suspicious. Connecting this to the fact that prior to sending us to Mount Dongmou, Old Guan repeatedly dispatched secret messengers back and forth to Shenyang; plus Young Deng's mention in his letter that Old Guan was full of ambition, overriding all dissenting opinions, and insisting on attacking Gaizhou right when the rebellion broke out there—linking these events together, the more this subordinate thinks about it, the more wrong it feels. Too many suspicious points make one truly uneasy."

The subtle spearhead pointed by this subordinate of Pan Mei, the hidden conspiracy lurking beneath the illusions, sent a chill through the spine. The clouds in the night sky were oppressive and heavy, twisting like demons baring their fangs and brandishing claws. Pan Mei took a step back, sweat beading on his forehead. He muttered repetitively, "Too many suspicious points, truly making one uneasy."

Ever since he had joined the army following Pan Cheng, he had never experienced such a perilous situation. His former dashing elegance had long since vanished. Sustaining himself purely by willpower, like a drowning man clutching at a straw, he asked, "Are there any news from my adoptive father's side?"

"Commander Pan... ever since our army was surrounded, urgent dispatches have been sent to Guangning, but Commander Pan has yet to reply. Perhaps..." The subordinate glanced timidly at Pan Mei's expression. "Perhaps Commander Pan has not yet received it, or perhaps the reply simply hasn't arrived."

"My eight-hundred-li urgent dispatch! The messengers sent out carry four fine steeds to be swapped along the way. From Mount Dongmou to Guangning, a single day is enough. Yet now that we've been besieged for..." Pan Mei grew frantic and irritable, waving his hand in a wild roar. In the end, reason triumphed over emotion, and his unfinished words came to an abrupt halt.

"Adoptive father, adoptive father." He closed his eyes, breathing in the ice-cold air to calm the surging tide of despair.

Yes, Pan Cheng was far away in Guangning, facing the pressure of Shuo Sijian, unable to come to the rescue—he understood that. But what if he were not his adoptive son, but his biological son? In times past, how pleasant the familial affection sounded; when disaster strikes, it is not only husband and wife who fly apart separately! A cannonball fired by the Yuan army below the mountain landed not far from his feet, scattering numerous rock fragments that clattered noisily against his armor.

The subordinate and personal guards tried to pull him down, but he struggled free. The thirst for survival overwhelmed everything else; he was unwilling to accept the fate of a discarded pawn, for he was still in the prime of his youth!

He shouted loudly, "Paper, brush!" Not waiting for the guards to bring them, he tore open his cloak and bit his finger until it bled. Using his cloak as paper and blood as ink, he wielded his finger swiftly to write: "If the netherworld holds ghosts, and the heavens hold gods, let the ghosts and gods bear witness. If Your Excellency comes to rescue me, Pan Mei will never betray you in this lifetime."

Recalling what his subordinate had just said, he added at the bottom: "Guan铎 has repeatedly colluded with Shenyang in secret. Now seeing Mount Dongmou surrounded, it is as if Guan铎 personally delivered us into their hands. For Your Excellency to go and rescue Liaoyang is loyalty indeed; yet was Yue Wumu not loyal? A mere death, that is all."

...

"...Looking across the current heroes of Liaodong, Guan铎 is insidious and cunning; Pan Cheng is boorish and foolish; Sha and Liu are both foolish and stubborn. These people are mere scoundrels, unworthy of plotting with! For Your Excellency's calculations, rather than going to your death in Gaizhou, it would be better to withdraw to Shuangcheng, secure your foundation, and bide your time. Given time, with Your Excellency's talent and the devotion of the three armies, you will surely accomplish great things.

"Pan Mei looks to Your Excellency as an infant looks to its parents; Your Excellency saving Pan Mei is like parents saving an infant. Before the ghosts and gods, if Your Excellency saves Mei, should Mei ever dare to betray Your Excellency in the future, let the spirits of ghosts and gods slay him! I swear this as my pledge."

Pan Mei's plea for reinforcements was as plaintive as weeping, every word dripping with blood. By the time it reached Deng舍's hands, Deng舍's army had already broken camp. Reading it through, Deng舍 closed the pages and sighed deeply. The choice between life and death was so difficult. He recalled when he first met Pan Mei—what a dashing, spirited hero and talent who pointed out rivers and mountains, viewing the powerful warlords of yesteryear as mere dirt.

And what about now? Not only did he bitterly condemn Guan铎, but even his adoptive father Pan Cheng had become "boorish and foolish," while he compared himself to an infant, viewing Deng舍—who was much younger than him—as his parents, teetering on the brink of madness and disordered speech.

"Little Pan in the army, Little Pan in the army." Deng舍 sighed with regret. Beneath the night sky, looking back northward amidst the rumbling of distant cannons, the dark and towering Mount Dongmou remained silent.

"General?"

"I would like to save him, but alas, it cannot be done."

Deng舍 turned back, hesitating for a moment before discarding Pan Mei's blood letter. Instead, he carefully folded it and tucked it into his sleeve. Just as he had kept the horizontal plaque from Li Cheng-gye's residence, he decided to preserve this blood letter as a constant reminder: one does not necessarily need peerless martial arts to become a hero, and possessing peerless martial arts does not necessarily make one a hero.

However, unfolding Pan Mei's letter once more, he softly recited the sentences concerning Guan铎 twice. *When a person is about to die, their words are good; when facing death, a person's intuition is often frighteningly acute.* Moreover, Deng舍 had already felt that the battle of Gaizhou was shrouded in layers of suspicion. Pondering it repeatedly, the more he thought, the more he felt Pan Mei was right.

Hong Jixun had once analyzed that Guan铎 had long harbored rebellious intentions, and looking at it now, that assessment was spot on. Since he had rebellious intentions, finding a new backer and surrendering to Naghachu was nothing strange; of course, it was also possible that his surrender was feigned. Regardless, the intention to surrender was undoubtedly real.

Mount Dongmou, Gaizhou, Liaoyang, Shenyang. A flash of light in the darkness, like a torch in the army, instantly illuminated Deng舍's mind: it was highly likely that Guan铎 wanted to trick Naghachu, only to be played by Naghachu instead!

Extending outward from this hypothesis: why did the Yuan army yield Mount Dongmou first and then seize it? Why did Guan铎 stubbornly insist on attacking Gaizhou? Why did Gaizhou's Huang Zhen and Zuo Li rebel neither early nor late, but suddenly at this very moment? And why did Zhang Jujing and Shijiebao in western Liao remain inactive for days, only to suddenly launch an offensive the day before? All coincidences and suspicions melted away.

What a Guan铎, what a Naghachu!

As his horse jolted along, Deng舍 concentrated fully, turning the matter over and over in his mind. "Correct, absolutely correct. It must be so." The doubts that had lingered in his mind for days vanished instantly, and the military situation between friend and foe suddenly became crystal clear.

Returning to the present moment, Guan铎 and Naghachu were engaging in mutual deception, and in this temporary clash, Guan铎 was at a disadvantage. The two of them were like the snipe and the clam locked in combat—who would reap the profit? Having analyzed the situation clearly, Deng舍 solidified his resolve to pluck chestnuts from the fire.

"Not only must I pluck them, but I must wait until the timing is just right before doing so." Deng舍 thought to himself that taking them too early would defeat the purpose of watching the tigers fight from the mountain, nor would it benefit post-conquest development in Gaizhou.

Having calculated properly, he asked Bi Qianniu, "Have the military orders been issued?"

"Reporting to the General: the orders to dispatch General Chen Hu across the Yalu River to rendezvous with our army, as well as ordering General Zhao Guo to immediately ready his troops and head toward Gaizhou, have already been sent out. Estimating the time, it should reach General Chen Hu's forces by tomorrow noon; at the latest, within three days, it will reach Pyongyang."

"And Shenyang?"

"Scouts report that Shenyang's northern city gate is wide open, with countless Tatar tribal people streaming into the city. The vanguard of the Tatar regular army camp outside the southern gate has already been dispatched. Judging by their direction of march, it is precisely Liaoyang."

From Shenyang to Liaoyang was half a day's travel; meaning that early tomorrow morning, the defense battle for Liaoyang would commence.

"And the movements of the Tatars on Mount Dongmou?"

"When our army broke camp, the Tatars on Mount Dongmou only sent a small detachment of scouts to watch from afar. Within a radius of twenty li, there are no enemy forces attempting to intercept us."

Allowing his army to leave so easily? Could the Yuan army not see his army's objective? Deng舍 felt a slight pang of doubt. He had originally anticipated that they might have to fight a fierce breakthrough battle to successfully rendezvous with Chen Hu. He pondered silently—perhaps the Yuan army's attention was entirely focused on Mount Dongmou. "Order the three armies that the marching speed must not be too fast. The cavalry, vanguard, and flanks are to maintain combat formation... Send out scouts ten more li ahead to prevent Tatar ambushes."

Zhuge was cautious all his life; being cautious could never be wrong.

...

"Report! The red bandits of the Taizi River have broken camp and headed toward the Yalu River, seemingly intending to rendezvous with Chen Hu's forces in Shuangcheng."

The Yuan commanding general besieging Mount Dongmou sneered, "Let them go."

A staff officer unaware of the inside story wore a worried expression and said, "I'm afraid they are going to attack Gaizhou. Shouldn't we try to intercept them?"

The Yuan general scoffed, "It would be one thing if they returned to Shuangcheng, but they want to attack Gaizhou? Ha! His Excellency has his own brilliant strategy." Refusing to say more, he shifted his gaze to Mount Dongmou, frowned, and muttered with dissatisfaction, "A mere little earthen mound—before setting out, I assured His Excellency it would fall in three days. What day is it today? Pass down the order to intensify the attacks! I want Pan Mei's head as the primary meritorious service in the Battle of Liaoyang!"

Artillery thundered, and wave after wave of Yuan soldiers flooded over Mount Dongmou like a tide, overwhelming the peak.

...

Goryeo, Shuangcheng, Night.

Outside the city in the Jurchen encampment, a stealthy figure skirted past the patrolling soldiers and slipped quietly into Tong Dulan's command tent.

—

1, "If the netherworld holds ghosts, and the heavens hold gods."
Quoted from Yuan Can's *Memorial to Grand Councilor Yao Chongguo of the Central Secretariat*. The original text reads: "If the netherworld holds ghosts, and the heavens hold gods, between ghosts and gods, Can will surely abide. Should Can dare to betray Your Excellency before your face, let the spirits of ghosts and gods slay him; I swear this as my pledge!"