Chapter Thirty-Four: The Meeting of Two Heroes

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Hanzhong lay beneath a vast, fading dusk.

Zhong Hui stood alone atop the city wall, gazing northward. Under the setting sun, the Qinling Mountains traced a continuous silhouette of black, like some enormous beast lying in wait. His brows were tightly furrowed, and his fingertips tapped unconsciously against the bricks.

“Report—”

The hurried footsteps of a personal guard broke into his thoughts. A courier covered in dust dropped to one knee and raised a bamboo scroll high above his head.

“An urgent dispatch from General Pang Hui!”

Zhong Hui took the scroll. As he unrolled it, the silk binding gave off a faint rustle. His eyes raced across the lines, and his expression gradually darkened. By the time he looked up, his gaze was already cold as frost.

“Yuankai, it seems our fears have come true.” He handed the report to Du Yu beside him, his voice as low as storm clouds pressing down upon the city.

Du Yu quickly scanned the battle report, then suddenly drew in a sharp breath. “Jiang Wei actually accepted Liu Chen’s appointment? This…”

“Not Jiang Wei alone.” Zhong Hui gave a cold laugh, tapping the bamboo scroll forcefully with one finger. “Liao Hua, Zhang Yi, Dong Jue—all those veteran Shu generals have bowed their heads and pledged obedience. Liu Chen’s methods are far more formidable than we imagined.”

Du Yu narrowed his eyes in thought, then slowly nodded.

“Jiang Wei and the others have long yearned for a northern expedition, while Liu Shan has always held them back. Now Liu Chen possesses both military ability and the resolve to launch such an expedition. To them, this truly is an opportunity granted by Heaven.”

Zhong Hui turned to face the city. His gaze burned like a torch. The setting sun stretched his shadow across the mottled wall.

“This means that military power in Shu has fallen entirely into Liu Chen’s hands. It is only a matter of time before Liu Shan becomes a figurehead. More importantly…” He paused, his voice growing heavier. “A unified Shu with a clear strategic objective is more dangerous to us than ten Jiang Weis.”

Thin curls of cooking smoke rose beneath the walls as the soldiers prepared their evening meal. The clatter of pots and bowls and the faint sound of laughter drifted through the air, standing in stark contrast to the grim military encampment.

“Pass down the order.” Zhong Hui made his decision without hesitation. “The entire army is to prepare to withdraw from Hanzhong and fall back to Xicheng.”

Du Yu nodded in agreement. “Hanzhong does not have enough provisions to sustain an army of a hundred thousand.”

“Not only that.” Zhong Hui cut him off, his gaze sharp.

“Once Liu Chen consolidates Shu’s military forces, his first objective will certainly be to retake Hanzhong. Rather than clash with him here, we should preserve our strength, retreat to Xicheng, and wait for an opportunity to return to Chang’an.”

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Du Yu pondered for a moment. Suddenly, his expression changed, and he cried out, “Liu Chen abandoned Hanzhong to seize Chencang. Clearly, he intends to use Chencang as a springboard and fight us to the death!”

“He has fulfilled Zhuge Liang’s military vision.” Zhong Hui traced an arc through the air with one finger and gave a bitter smile. “Chencang is backed by Dasan Pass, making it easy to defend and difficult to attack. A few thousand troops can hold back an army of tens of thousands, then sweep easily into the Guanzhong region. The positions of attacker and defender have now been reversed.”

Du Yu’s brows drew together. His fingers tapped unconsciously against the wall as he exclaimed, “If the Shu army holds Chencang, our forces will be trapped in a dilemma, unable either to advance or retreat. Liu Chen intends to bury us alive on the Guanzhong Plain. Meanwhile, his troops will be free to emerge from Qishan and sweep across Liangzhou.”

“To gain the advantage, we would need to station at least several hundred thousand troops in Yong and Liang.” Zhong Hui let out a long, quiet sigh. The thought of hundreds of thousands of troops converging on Yong and Liang in the future would place an enormous burden on Wei. Jianghuai would also require a heavy military presence. The entire army of Wei would be divided into four parts, placing far greater pressure upon the state than ever before.

And all of this had resulted from his and Deng Ai’s defeat in Bashu. Nearly two hundred thousand soldiers had been killed or wounded, and no one yet knew how many of the hundred thousand troops under his command he would be able to bring home. Zhong Hui stared at the distant horizon as it gradually darkened, a trace of resolve flashing through his eyes.

“Pass the order to every camp,” he said in a deep voice. “Prepare the evening meal at the third watch and break camp at the fifth. Bring whatever supplies can be carried. Anything that cannot be taken must be burned on the spot. Not a single thing is to be left for the Shu army.”

At that moment, Wei Guan came rushing over, his voice urgent as he shouted, “General, the banner at Yangping Pass has been changed to Liu. I fear Liu Chen has returned.”

“Liu Chen has returned?” Zhong Hui gazed northward, an odd expression appearing on his face. His achievement of destroying Shu had been ruined by this very man. In the space of a single month, this young man had altered the fate of Shu’s downfall.

Unexpectedly, Zhong Hui felt little hatred toward Liu Chen. Instead, a trace of curiosity arose within him.

“Come. Let us go to Yangping Pass and meet Liu Chen,” Zhong Hui said suddenly.

“What? Go meet Liu Chen?” Du Yu and Wei Guan exchanged stunned glances, astonished by the audacity of the decision.

“Do neither of you wish to meet the young man who changed the fate of Shu?” Zhong Hui quickly descended from the wall and vaulted onto his horse. His personal guards immediately followed. Du Yu and Wei Guan exchanged another glance before hurrying after him.

At Yangping Pass, Liu Chen had only just returned when he learned that Zhong Hui wished to see him. He raised an eyebrow.

“My lord, why not send a heavy force to kill him?” Deng Zhong’s eyes flashed with murderous intent. He had never forgotten the way Zhong Hui had looked down upon his father, Deng Ai.

“No. I still have a use for Zhong Hui.” After a moment’s thought, Liu Chen suddenly smiled. “I will go and meet him.”

Ignoring Deng Zhong’s objections, he led his personal guards out through the pass.

The afterglow of sunset spilled across the weathered walls of Yangping Pass, gilding the mighty fortress in gold. Liu Chen stood before the pass in dark battle robes, while behind him a great banner bearing the word Han snapped in the wind. A hundred paces away, Zhong Hui and his party reined in their horses. The personal guards on both sides silently withdrew to either side, forming a small space for negotiations.

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“General Zhong, I have long admired you,” Liu Chen said with a raised hand in greeting, his voice clear as the ringing of a sword and especially distinct in the deepening dusk.

Zhong Hui tightened his grip on the reins and carefully studied the young man before him. He was barely past twenty, yet his features held a composure far beyond that of his peers. Dust from battle still clung damply to his dark armor. He looked like a general freshly returned from the field, not a sheltered prince raised in the luxury of the imperial palace.

He suddenly smiled, swung down from his horse, and returned the salute.

“Prince of Beidi, you are too kind. The survival of Shu is entirely due to Your Highness’s efforts to turn the tide at the last moment. Zhong Hui is deeply impressed.”

Liu Chen gave a slight nod, gently stroking the tassel of the sword at his waist as he said with a genial smile, “General Zhong, you flatter me. If Deng Ai had not crossed Yinping by stealth and your army had not reached Chengdu, how could Shu have come so close to destruction? In the end, it was simply that the mandate of my Han dynasty had not yet run out—and that you and Deng Ai fell short when victory was within reach.”

There was a sharp edge to his words, but Zhong Hui was not angered. He took two steps forward. When his guards moved to stop him, he waved them back.

“Does Your Highness know why I came here at such risk to meet you?”

“Perhaps you wished to see who, precisely, ruined your achievement of destroying a kingdom.” Liu Chen tilted his head toward the setting sun, whose glow etched sharp lines across his profile. He shook his head. “But you know perfectly well that even without me, that achievement would not have belonged to you alone. And given your abilities, once Shu was destroyed and your merit towered above all others, how could Sima Zhao have tolerated you?”

Zhong Hui’s pupils contracted slightly, but he quickly regained his composure.

“Why resort to alarmist talk, Prince of Beidi? The Duke of Jin is a peerless ruler. He would never cast aside a loyal servant once his usefulness was over.”

“Sima Zhao is old, and his life is nearing its end.” Liu Chen chuckled softly, lowering his voice as he continued, “Can his son, Sima Yan, really keep you, Zhong Shiji, under control? The Sima family’s reputation has become a stench that has spread through every street. The crime of murdering an emperor, the oath sworn beside the Luo River—who in all under Heaven does not know of them?”

Zhong Hui fell silent for a moment, and his gaze grew deep. If Liu Chen’s words were true, his own future was indeed bleak. Even the Luo River could not wash the Sima family’s reputation clean. Now that he had been defeated and lost nearly two hundred thousand troops, would father and son truly forgive him?

“Your Highness should not attempt to sow discord between my sovereign and me. My clan has received imperial favor for generations. I am a loyal servant of Great Wei.” Zhong Hui gave a cold snort, though his tone was no longer as firm as before.

The smile on Liu Chen’s face deepened. Loyalty to Great Wei did not necessarily mean loyalty to the Sima clan—the distinction was subtle, but he heard it clearly. The Zhong Hui before him was indeed, as the histories recorded, a man of vaulting ambition.

The dusk thickened over the battlefield where the two armies faced one another, yet the conversation between their commanders continued. No one knew how this exchange would alter the course of history.

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