Honey Balloon (1)
Right after stepping inside, Guan Yu approached me.
"By the way, Kim. Who are these people?"
Guan Yu spoke first.
"Kim Gong. It looks like you've built up quite the arduous training."
Zhao Yun smiled warmly as he said it.
Huh. As expected, Zhao Yun can tell.
"Ah, well..."
I had no choice but to recount my tear-streaked, grueling journey through Chang'an.
After roughly explaining the situation...
"Ah! So you're the famous Elder Cai!!"
Liu Bei cried out, eyes sparkling as he looked at Cai Yong. It seemed even Liu Bei knew of the era's greatest literary master.
"To run barefoot in hardship to save your father... You've raised a fine daughter."
Liu Bei smiled at Choi Yeom. Well, she had put in the effort to rescue her father.
"And... Lady Cho Seon, daughter of Elder Wang, welcome."
Liu Bei greeted Cho Seon.
"Ah, the famous one."
Zhang Fei smacked his fist into his palm, nodding in understanding.
Yeah. The rumors of the Middle Kingdom's top beauty had spread far and wide. It was like how a pretty idol's name circulates among guys. Same deal.
Honestly, I figured with her being Wang Yun's daughter, there might be worries about mishaps here... But Liu Bei's expression was surprisingly calm. Or rather, Liu Bei's face was always hard to read.
"For now, treat this place like your home and rest easy."
Liu Bei smiled as he led the group.
Yeah. He'd just hand over some empty house in Xuzhou. He had the authority for that much.
"Hm. I've heard Xuzhou's Liu Xuande is a man of great benevolence and righteousness, and it seems true."
Cai Yong laughed and offered a fist salute. He looked utterly overjoyed to have survived by the skin of his teeth.
It hadn't been long time-wise, but Xuzhou's landscape had changed quite a bit.
It's been restored pretty well.
The city had once been in total despair, but now it was neatly organized. Even the roads were properly paved.
"Hey, Kim. It's all shiny and new, right? Huh?"
Zhang Fei chuckled, pointing at Xuzhou's streets.
"We found a massive honey pot among Xuzhou's wealthy clans."
Zhang Fei burst into uhahaha laughter.
"Yide!! What's that 'honey pot' talk?! A honey pot!"
Liu Bei scolded him.
"We have Mi Zhu. He generously offered his entire fortune to secure the people's livelihoods in Xuzhou."
Liu Bei explained.
Ah, Mi Zhu.
It was a bold move befitting Xuzhou's richest man. He'd poured out his wealth to hand it all over to Liu Bei's forces. Liu Bei would put that fortune to good use as future funds.
"Brother's the Inspector of Xuzhou now too. What's wrong with fairly requisitioning from the clans to revive the land?"
Zhang Fei snorted and clicked his tongue.
"You rascal!! I'm only temporarily filling the vacant post after Lord Tao Qian passed! Yide, make that clear!"
Liu Bei stated firmly.
...Tao Qian. So he's dead.
In my absence, Tao Qian had apparently passed from old age. He'd willed Xuzhou to Liu Bei before dying, so Liu Bei naturally became the Inspector.
With Xuzhou so precarious, Liu Bei's military might was a sturdy shield for the clans. Plus, with powerhouse Mi Zhu backing him, Liu Bei had earned recognition as Inspector.
"Ehehe. Well, Brother's basically Mi Zhu's in-law now."
Zhang Fei grinned and poked my side.
From what he said, Liu Bei had taken both Lady Gan and Lady Mi. Spring had finally come for the lifelong battlefield wanderer.
"You should've seen Lady Gan and Lady Mi going at it fiercely! Uhahat! And Brother stuck in the middle..."
Liu Bei clamped Zhang Fei's mouth shut before he could finish.
Ah, I kinda wanted to see that scene.
"Mi Zhu volunteered his fortune, but in these hard times when we all must unite, we can't forcibly squeeze the clans. Slow, steady reconstruction is the way."
Liu Bei said.
As expected, his political savvy shines.
I wasn't some die-hard loyalist pushing him as lord, but I had to acknowledge this much.
Getting blinded by short-term gains and wringing the clans dry would be a blunder. Even Cao Cao had nearly lost his home base after squeezing Youzhou's clans.
"Everything seems to be going well, so what's the problem, Lord Xuande?"
I asked.
With our first base in Xuzhou secured, I wanted to hold out here for a few years. Yeo Po's altered path from the original story was nagging at me too.
"Yuan Shu, based in Shouchun and southern Jingzhou, is stirring trouble. After Cao Cao, another one's eyeing Jingzhou. Yuan Shu's forces show suspicious movements."
Liu Bei sighed.
"Ah..."
Yuan Shu, building power below Hebei, had started targeting Xuzhou. History showed he'd invaded Xuzhou multiple times. No major gains, but from Liu Bei's view, it was a serious threat. Xuzhou was a nightmare to defend.
That's why he'd taken in Yeo Po—to use her as a guard dog against Yuan Shu. Liu Bei wasn't a total pushover.
"Gongsun Zan... he's probably dead by now."
I checked that too.
"As expected of Kim Gong. So perceptive."
Liu Bei smiled.
"Yeah, he lost to Yuan Shao in the end. Ha. Never thought that hotshot would go down so pathetically."
Zhang Fei said in a bewildered tone.
Gongsun Zan, who'd built Yejing Tower and hunkered down, had been crushed by Yuan Shao. His clan's rebels were guerrillaing against Yuan Shao, but that was about to be stamped out too. Hebei's top dog was Yuan Shao.
That shattered the loose alliance of Gongsun Zan, Yuan Shu, and Tao Qian.
Yuan Shu, who'd bet on Gongsun Zan to check Yuan Shao, was mentally broken. Judging he couldn't face Yuan Shao head-on, he'd decided to gobble Xuzhou first.
Yuan Shu wasn't much of a leader himself, but he had some defense. Who could've predicted Gongsun Zan coin would tank like that?
"So I sent a letter of reconciliation to Lord Yuan Shao. Asked permission to take the Xuzhou Inspector post."
Liu Bei said. Peak political move—acknowledge the trend and switch teams cleanly.
"Hmph. Brother's too cowardly. Just smash Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, done."
Zhang Fei spat on the ground.
Prideful Yuan Shao probably thought, "Wants my permission for his new post? Ha, cute." Liu Bei's prestige bowing to him? Yuan Shao would've loved that spin.
Realistically, Liu Bei holding firm beside Yuan Shu to check him was ideal for Yuan Shao.
"Lord Yuan Shao and Cao Cao are on good terms anyway. I worked things out with Cao Cao on Xuzhou too."
Liu Bei smiled. A shaky truce with Cao Cao. No reinforcements expected, but Cao Cao eyed Yuan Shao, so he wouldn't hit us easily.
Still safe for now.
"Yuan Shu's mustered about 50,000. Our troops are higher quality, but if they breach Xuzhou soil, defending will be tough."
Liu Bei sighed, watching kids play in the streets. He looked deeply worried.
"I'm counting on you, Kim Gong."
Liu Bei patted my shoulder. Wait, why keep leaning on me? I'm gonna leave eventually.
Anyway, back in action, I dove right into work.
With Kim Squad reinforced, I could split them for patrols.
"Gu Lige, you're Squad 1 leader. Take Chun Seol and Gwang Yeom."
"Yes, sir."
"Guan He, Squad 2 leader. Take Bukno-in."
"Yes, sir."
"I'll lead Squad 3 with Mok Lan."
Split into three squads like that.
"We're so few... Do we really need squads...?"
Chun Seol asked.
"Pfft!!! It's about the vibe!!"
Feels commander-like when you split into squads, right?
While patrolling with Mok Lan, suppressing drunks and thugs, smashing bandits on the outskirts—routine stuff.
"Oh! Lady Mok Lan!! Thank you so much last time!!"
"Thanks for carrying our sick cow!!"
The common folk thanked Mok Lan.
"Ah. Sure."
Mok Lan shrank back, embarrassed.
Apparently, she'd been patrolling daily, helping people.
Is this really the Dong Zhuo I know...?
Could a person change this much? Questionable. Well, people do change.
Finishing patrol, about to clock out...
Time to hit up Choi Yeom, grind some intelligence.
Yeah, study time. For the Yuan Shu fight, learning stratagems would help. After lessons with her, spar with the squad to level them up.
Planning that...
"Um, Kim."
Mok Lan cleared her throat, looking at me.
"What."
She had something to say.
"We'll spar in the training grounds later, right? Got time after?"
Mok Lan seemed to have private business.
"...Well, yeah."
I shrugged. She looked so serious, hard to refuse.
"Then, can you help me with something outside Xuzhou for a bit?"
Mok Lan's eyes were earnest behind her mask.
"Sure. Why not."
Nothing bad about it. Soldiers or aides sometimes request these affinity quests. Completing them boosts their stats a bit. Probably same for ex-Dong Zhuo. Or so I figured.
Meanwhile.
A band of cavalry fled Chang'an like the hounds of hell were after them.
"Kgh... Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji, Fan Chou...!!!"
The silver-haired beauty on the red horse spat their names like venom as she spurred her mount.
It was Yeo Po's army. They'd arrived in Chang'an first, only to lose to Li Jue and Guo Si's Dong Zhuo remnants, and were now hightailing it.
Yeo Po was splattered in blood, hair disheveled. Most of her troops looked the same. Anyone could see they'd lost and were retreating in haste.
She'd been confident of victory in open battle, but Li Jue and Guo Si knew it too—they sieged instead. Dragged it out, then night-attacked for this mess.
After Cao Cao, now defeated by Li Jue and Guo Si—Yeo Po's pride was in tatters.
"No big deal. Yeo Po Army is the Middle Kingdom's best."
But her ego held firm.
"Plenty of lords dying to take us in. We'll sell our skills there."
Yeo Po spoke with conviction, glancing at Go Sun and Jang Liao following behind. They followed with unwavering loyalty. She was strongest, her men strong enough to guard her back. With them, anything was possible. Yeo Po rallied her confidence, setting course for Huainan and Shouchun.
Word was Yuan Shu was fighting Xuzhou's Liu Bei. Head there, mercenary it up. War's where their value shone. Yeo Po knew it well.
But... she didn't know then.
That her job-hunting life wouldn't go as smoothly as thought.