Rather Than Zhang Ran, Zhang Bao’s Eldest Daughter

Was it a commander’s intuition? Despite my small stature amidst the soldiers, the general pinpointed me as the culprit.
I could have shielded myself with the soldiers and retreated, ensuring his eventual death or capture through attrition tactics. Yet I strode forward instead – not youthful bravado, but something closer to reckless abandon in my battle-crazed state, unheeded.

“It was me.”
My frank admission prompted the general to approach while asking:
“Young soldier, your name?”
“Zhang Ran.”
“Haha, so you lack even a style name. This Niu Jin never expected to meet his end in such a place.”

Niu Jin! Hearing that name, one would recall the peerless marshal Yu Jin, lauded as one of Cao Cao’s founding pillars. Yet Wei also had another figure sharing the same name.
The Niu Jin who later served under Sima Yi after being Cao Ren’s subordinate officer. Inferior to the famed Yu Jin in Cao Cao’s service, but still a veteran commander nonetheless.

Niu Jin glanced skyward, a seemingly distracted gesture, but I instinctively realized – now was not the time to press my advantage, or I would likely fall to his counterattack instead.
No matter how injured, a wounded beast remained formidable. My earlier lucky strike may have dismounted him, but Niu Jin exceeded what I could currently handle.

Towards the dejected Niu Jin, I added:
“I may lack a style name, but my father is the peerless Zhang Fei. If you go to the underworld, tell them the daughter of Zhang Fei sent you.”
“Zhang Fei’s daughter? Ridiculous! Zhang Fei’s sons are known to be…”
Niu Jin trailed off in shock, finally realizing my implications. While gender differences were negligible in childhood, my appearance was quite beautiful even to my own assessment.
Having never conceived of females on the battlefield, Niu Jin had initially disregarded me. But now grasping the possibility, he could only shake his head wryly.

“So the grandniece of Vanguard General Ha Xiliang inherits both their bloodlines.”
“My mother is indeed of the Ha clan.”
“Hmph…if you share Zhang Fei and Vanguard General’s lineages, then I cannot complain about you being my sendoff into the afterlife. This is a matter of nations, which the Vanguard General would understand.”

Resigning himself to likely perishing here, Niu Jin’s aura flared as he launched his attack. The same overwhelming pressure I had felt when first requesting martial arts tutelage from Zhang Fei came crashing down, taking my breath away.
‘But lighter than Father’s nonetheless.’

Unlike then, trembling like a mouse before a serpent drained of strength, my body responded obediently to my commands.

Pak!
Firmly planting my feet, I clearly tracked Niu Jin’s spear as he charged – though absurdly fast, my widened eyes did not miss a single movement.
Barely evading was the extent of my abilities, counterattacking utterly impossible. Had I been even slightly smaller, that spear would have drawn my blood somewhere.

“Hhrrah!”
In line with his ‘Furious General’ moniker, Niu Jin’s spear techniques grew increasingly vicious, as if pouring his entire vitality into these final moments on the brink of death.

“Kuhh!”
A few stray drops of blood speckled the ground as a graze seared across my shoulder.
‘I can’t evade the next one!’
That fleeting burst of pain had momentarily disrupted my movements. My instincts screamed that attempting to dodge the followup would only lead to graver injuries.
‘I have to block it!’

Twatwang!
With a guttural shout and white-knuckled grip, I met Niu Jin’s descending spear squarely with my own shaft.
Had I missed the spear shaft and struck the gleaming bladetip instead, that razor edge would have cleaved straight through me.

It felt like my shoulder might be wrenched from its socket. Though I had managed to deflect the blow, Niu Jin would surely twist the locked spears to impale me with the blade portion.

Kagagaak!
Forcefully slapping aside Niu Jin’s spear, I disengaged – the spearhead whipped past my face as Niu Jin’s injured arm failed to control the motion.
The moment I slipped past Niu Jin’s spear, I immediately tumbled away, rolling across the ground.

That entire desperate exchange had transpired in just a few breaths.
Yet despite thinking I was sufficiently prepared, I was already panting heavily.

“Hah…hah…”
“Regrettable. Blame only yourself for venturing onto the battlefield too soon.”
While my allies struggled to reach me, Cao Ren’s troops fought just as fiercely to protect their fallen commander.
Their numerical superiority meant Cao Ren’s forces would inevitably crumble soon enough. But it also gave Niu Jin ample time to finish me first. Strangely, I felt no sense of impending crisis.

“I suppose so.”
That premise only applied when facing ordinary soldiers, however.
“Focusing solely on me was your undoing.”
Before a peerless commander like him, Cao Ren’s troops were mere sandcastles.

“What the…”
Shurik!
Before Niu Jin could finish, a blade severed his neck, felling him instantly. As Niu Jin’s decapitated body crumpled lifelessly, a towering armored figure came into view behind him.

“Father…”
Having executed Niu Jin with a single strike, Zhang Fei looked down at me, his bloodied spear hanging slack as his gaze chilled.
“That was reckless overreaching.”
“Yes…”
Self-reflection told me as much.

Had I not insisted on obstructing Niu Jin after dismounting him, immediately withdrawing instead of invoking my status as Zhang Fei’s daughter, Niu Jin would have prioritized escaping over facing me, averting this life-or-death scenario.
I had been consumed by the battlefield’s feverish atmosphere, rationality drowned out by the exhilarating madness. That was undoubtedly my mistake.

“Fall back to the rear lines.”
“Will you continue the pursuit, Father?”
“Yes.”
Without delay, Zhang Fei remounted.

While Cao Ren’s encircled forces had broken through to Guan Yu’s blocking line, Cao Cao’s exterior reinforcements fought desperately to pierce through and extract Cao Ren.
Leaving Cao Ren unattended risked Guan Yu becoming surrounded instead, leaving Zhang Fei no choice but to join the pursuit.

“I leave it in your capable hands.”
Zhang Fei nodded wordlessly before swiftly regrouping his troops to give chase.

In the aftermath of this brief storm’s passing, only corpses and grievously wounded remained, their agonized groans echoing mournfully across the wind-swept battlefield carrying the cloying stench of blood.
Having passed through death’s jaws myself, I could barely support my drained body as I wearily took a seat, prompting a nearby allied soldier to approach in concern:

“Young lady, are you alright?”
“I’m merely fatigued, do not trouble yourself unduly. And here, I am but a common soldier, not a ‘young lady.'”
“We are not presently in battle. Moreover, with the General having departed leaving us leaderless, all will surely follow any commands from you, young lady.”
“And who are you to make such presumptuous suggestions?”
“I am Fan Qiang, a Company Commander.”

“Fan Qiang?”
I unconsciously narrowed my eyes, my wariness not solely due to fatigue.
Fan Qiang and Zhang Ta – how could I forget the names of those traitorous deserters who beheaded Zhang Fei and defected to Sun Quan? It was still over a decade away from the Yiling Incident, yet here they already followed Zhang Fei.
Not professing physiognomy, his name nevertheless conjured the image of an opportunistic jackal biding his time. Which, in truth, he was.

This was more of the same – strictly speaking, I held no official rank, a mere common soldier despite being Zhang Fei’s daughter. Zhang Fei himself had instructed against any preferential treatment. Yet with his absence, Fan Qiang disregarded the chain of command, awaiting my orders – a typical opportunist.

By the principles, I should have dismissed Fan Qiang’s suggestions and issued commands directly. However, his words had already drawn the undivided attention of the soldiers towards me.
Zhang Fei would likely reprimand me later, but I had no choice.

“Prioritize tending to the wounded first, and prepare funeral rites for the fallen by gathering the deceased.”
“But pillaging and…?”
I shot Fan Qiang a stern glare.
“I will not repeat myself. Prioritize our allies’ treatment.”
“Y-Yes…then what of the Sun Quan forces, our allies?”
“They are not our allies, obviously they are included as well. I shall tend to them personally.”

As I made to rise, drawing little trust from Fan Qiang, a pleasing baritone reached my ears:
“Allow me.”
More striking than even his mellifluous voice was the speaker’s extraordinarily handsome visage – not just attractive features, but an aura that instantly revealed his identity to any who laid eyes upon him.
Zhou Yu, the paramount military mastermind of Wu, deemed the most brilliant among all who commanded their armed forces, peerless talents lauded as the ‘Feng Huang’ graced with both heavenly and worldly beauty.
The fabled ‘Zhugeliang’ stood before me.

“Zhou Yu…”
“Indeed, I am Zhou Yu. Are you not also among the injured? Receive treatment – I shall handle matters here.”

Perhaps his grave injuries prevented him from joining the pursuit. With Zhang Fei and Cao Cao’s formidable marshals already giving chase, there was little need for Zhou Yu’s involvement against the retreating Cao Ren.
Zhou Yu could be trusted to oversee this. Of the three powers, he leaned towards accommodating Liu Bei’s forces rather than antagonizing them.
I respectfully pressed my hands together in a ceremonial gesture of gratitude.

“I shall defer to you.”
And so, the Southern Campaign drew to a close.

§

Before the battle’s conclusion, in the midst of the raging conflict…
Anticipating Cao Ren’s inevitable withdrawal through the northern gate, Zhou Yu kept his attention focused there.
Positioning Zhang Fei’s forces at the northern gate served the same purpose. Upon seeing Zhang Fei’s banner, Cao Ren would realize further resistance was futile and be forced to retreat – a window before Zhang Fei’s weary troops could fully recover from their long march.

All unfolded according to Zhou Yu’s calculations.
The peerless Zhang Fei, the formidable ‘Excellency of Cavalry’ Cao Ren – both moved within the framework Zhou Yu had constructed. He dominated this battlefield, victory naturally falling into his grasp.

Cao Ren’s valor had exceeded Zhou Yu’s expectations – only after Gan Ning suffered a resounding defeat and Zhou Yu himself sustained grave injuries did he call upon Zhang Fei to handle Cao Ren’s might.
No matter how astonishing Cao Ren’s martial prowess, to Zhou Yu, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei represented something transcendent, a caliber glimpsed from past friends like Yuan Shu and his father Yuan Benchu. With those two unstoppable juggernauts deployed, Cao Ren could never escape unscathed.

Witnessing Zhang Fei’s obliteration of Cao Cao’s troops reaffirmed his judgment in requesting those reinforcements.

“Ziming, shall we join the…”
As Zhou Yu made to enter the fray alongside his wife Xiaoqiao, a resonant shout caught even his ears.
Following the sound was instinctive, and Zhou Yu proved no exception as a lone soldier obstructed the capable Niu Jin, one of Cao Ren’s officers, prompting his murmured realization:

“Could that child be…?”
Zhou Yu’s doubtful words prompted Xiaoqiao’s confirmation:
“Yes, it seems to be the female soldier Zhang Fei brought with him.”
“Zhang Fei’s woman, is it? So Zhang Fei returns.”
“She has contributed somewhat, if capturing Cao Ren was impossible.”

As Niu Jin fell to Zhang Fei’s single stroke, Xiaoqiao clicked her tongue admiringly.
“Zhang Fei is truly formidable. But the woman is remarkable too. I’ve heard she is only ten years of age – the saying ‘Peerless beauty’ may need revising for her.”
“Indeed. Well then, shall we proceed?”
“Yes, Commander.”

Though Zhou Yu’s new title stemmed from this Southern Campaign’s conquest, neither he nor Xiaoqiao dwelled on it – the Southlands already belonged to them, only Cao Ren’s fate remaining uncertain.

Even as he oversaw the battlefield’s aftermath, Zhou Yu could not tear his eyes away from Zhang Fei’s female soldier. Unlike the hardened Zhang Fei showing no quarter to the soldiers, she prioritized tending to the wounded, extending equal treatment to the Sun troops as well – a marked difference from her father.

“Allow me.”
And when directly addressing her, facing her, Zhou Yu struggled to mask his amazement. Though his serene countenance remained outwardly composed through diligent self-cultivation, inwardly he was quite stunned.
The source was simple – Zhang Fei’s soldier daughter’s beauty far exceeded his expectations. When initially informed Zhang Fei had brought a female soldier, he had given it little thought. But she was far too exquisite for the harrowing life of the military camps.

To Zhou Yu himself, renowned as the peerless ‘Zhugeliang’ of unmatched handsomeness, Zhang Ran’s beauty stood on par with his own. She still retained a youthfully adorable charm due to her tender age, but Zhou Yu’s discerning eye did not overlook her burgeoning potential.

“Zhang Ran, is it…”
Bravery assuredly joining the military ranks, fearlessly confronting Cao Ren’s officers.
Benevolence prioritizing the soldiers over herself while upholding allied justice.
Breathtaking beauty rivaling or exceeding his own renowned looks.
Even her ancestry birthed her amidst nobility – the divine martial lineage of the peerless Zhang Fei commingled with Cao Cao’s own noble in-laws, the Ha clan.

‘If it were this child…’
Zhou Yu’s contemplations deepened.