Fate Points: The Governorship Handover and Sudden Mourning
"Fate points... guess I gotta use 'em, huh? 'Take the Xu Province seal!!'"
"Ahh... if you do this...!"
Liu Bei and Tao Qian tussling it out, and then the surrounding Hu clansmen suddenly kneeling in support of Tao Qian's decision.
It was one hell of a dizzying sight.
This was the scene from the Romance where Tao Qian handed over the governorship of Xu Province.
In the Romance, it was portrayed as Tao Qian seeing through Liu Bei's exceptional talents and yielding the position gracefully. But realistically speaking, from Tao Qian's perspective, there were solid reasons to pass the Xu governorship to Liu Bei.
Cao Cao's Xu Province massacre had smashed the heads of the Hu clansmen and officials who had enjoyed safe prosperity there.
'Whoa, shit... in an era like this, even we could get wiped out.' Realizing that, they understood they now needed military might above all.
They'd started doubting Tao Qian's approach of clinging to diplomacy and pacifism to protect Xu Province. And in the end, it was none other than Tao Qian who had brought on the Xu Province massacre. He'd foolishly stirred up personnel issues by trying to serve Cao Cao's father, and that's what caused the disaster.
That led to Tao Qian's rapid lame-duck status. The Hu clansmen were already in the mindset of putting someone else on the seat.
Tao Qian himself was a sharp guy. He realized it was better to hand over the position to someone who could protect his authority rather than sit there eating sidelined resentment.
Even if he put his own daughter on the seat, she'd face the same quick lame-duck fate. Prioritizing reason over the desire to preserve his position made Tao Qian quite the talent.
'Tao Qian even has a little power struggle with Liu Bei later.' It wasn't purely a beautiful handover from the goodness of his heart. Of course, it was a fact that Tao Qian felt genuine human fondness for Liu Bei.
And with Mi Zhu, the strongest among Xu's Hu clansmen, openly supporting Liu Bei and offering his wealth, the other clansmen fell in line behind Liu Bei too.
"If I just bow and accept this, it'll tarnish my sense of justice!" Liu Bei said, ears twitching firmly in a pretty tough stance.
"Won't people misunderstand that I, Liu Bei, came to help just because I coveted the Xu governorship?!" Liu Bei stated flatly.
"No!! If I, Tao Qian, acknowledge it, what's the problem?!" Tao Qian glared at Liu Bei with bloodshot eyes.
Eh, just your standard WWE. Liu Bei had actually come hoping for this, so he'd eventually accept it later.
"Sis. Time to get to work." I patted Guan Yu.
"Ah. Yeah." Guan Yu nodded with a puzzled look.
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Actually, there was more work than I'd expected.
Xu Province's main city had soldiers patrolling, so basic public order was maintained. But the outskirts, turned to ruins, were a different story.
Corpses everywhere and plenty to loot—naturally, bandits swarmed like cockroaches.
If you romanticized it, they were like the bandit gangs in wuxia novels... but coldly speaking, they were cockroach-level useless. Even in wuxia, bandits are just too numerous to fully eradicate. Cockroaches.
"Pfft. Bandit scum." After roughly taking out some cocky thieves trying to extort tolls nearby with Guan Yu, I wiped the blood from my sword and clicked my tongue.
Guan He flinched.
Ah. Not talking about you. Why react like that?
"They can't even mourn the dead and instead turn it into a money-making scheme." Guan Yu clicked her tongue.
"...At least no one's eating human flesh, so that's a relief." At that moment, the northern elder clacked his gap-toothed gums and spoke.
"H-human flesh? No way, North Gramps. What kinda horrific..." Gwang Yeom, resting nearby, looked shocked.
"Even so... human flesh?" Chun Seol wore a stunned expression too.
"There were folks who actually ate it. In a forsaken battlefield like this, what else is there to eat? They just rip off limbs and chow down. Some even butcher and sell it." The northern elder said it straight-faced, no jokes.
Yeah. Historical records do mention cannibalism in this era quite a bit. Chaos turns men into beasts. Having been a mercenary since his youth, the northern elder had seen it all.
"Can Xu Province ever return to its former glory?" Guan Yu gazed at the desolate ruins with despair.
"If we govern with benevolence and invest time, it will. Right, sis?" I said casually.
"Heh. Is that so." Guan Yu smirked.
"Kim's awfully mature for his age." Guan Yu immediately ruffled my shaggy hair.
"Wish Hyun-deok oppa would just become the Xu governor." Guan Yu sighed.
"Ahh..." Honestly, Xu's value wasn't that high right now, but for people who'd spent their lives on the sidelines, the governorship was an irreplaceable prize.
"Eh, he'll work it out with Lord Tao Qian somehow." After securing order around Xu Province, I gathered the crew.
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After finishing up and chatting idly with Guan Yu, I got to my own errand.
I stood at the entrance of a standout mansion in Xu Province. It belonged to Mi Zhu, the province's richest man.
'Living in a place like this, even a king would be jealous.' As I peeked around, a guard approached.
The armed servants showed he was already a big shot.
"Excuse me, who might you be...?" The guard started but froze upon seeing me, eyes wide.
"Ah!! General Kim!!! What brings you...!" He hurriedly saluted.
"Is Lord Mi Zhu inside? I'd like to talk." I smiled, bundle in hand.
"Y-yes! I'll let him know right away." Thanks to my unexpectedly good rep in Xu, I got VIP treatment.
Soon, Mi Zhu rushed out barefoot.
"Ah!! General!! Come in, come in!!" Mi Zhu laughed heartily, clapping my shoulder.
'He's desperate.' Mi Zhu was openly backing Liu Bei's side. Part personal fondness for Liu Bei, part admiration for his skills. He wanted ties with Liu Bei's crew—me included.
"Kim Gong!! This way first. Had dinner yet?" And so I was dragged off by Mi Zhu.
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After strolling the grounds chatting about worldly affairs, we finally ate.
The garden was exquisitely manicured, but my aesthetic sense was zilch. Cool and spacious garden. That was my take.
"How's the tea? Cost a pretty penny." Mi Zhu smiled.
"Ah. Tasty." Yeah, it was. Problem: I knew jack about tea ceremony. Tasted like convenience store green tea. Good for rinsing after meals.
"Uhhahaha!! Most folks pile on the flowery praise, but as expected, us warriors are straightforward." Mi Zhu laughed, pleased.
"So, what's the business? Coming with that hefty bundle." Mi Zhu eyed it knowingly. Merchant instincts—sharp as hell.
"Ah. Got some treasures from the battlefield last time. Wanna sell 'em." I opened the bundle and showed him.
Mi Zhu paid way above market—Warring States era currency.
"Oho... Zhou dynasty coins... and these are Chu and Qin money." Mi Zhu's eyes gleamed as he fiddled with them.
"Can ya buy high?" I asked straight.
"Of course. Silk and rice it is. No skimping." Mi Zhu grinned, stood, and led me to the warehouse.
"...And I won't pry where you got treasures worth this much. Wouldn't wanna know anyway." He winked. That knowing act irked me a bit.
Whatever. End result: I now had wealth worthy of calling myself rich.
"I'll have servants move the load. Heh heh. Your wife'll be shocked." Mi Zhu chuckled.
Yeah. Yong-hwa would love cartloads of gifts. She'd walked the hard roads with me—had to give her moments feeling she'd married right.
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"Hubby!!! What's all this treasure?!" As expected. Home, and Bu Yong-hwa body-slammed into me.
"Baby's coming soon... gotta stack cash." I stroked Bu Yong-hwa.
"Oh my... hubby..." Bu Yong-hwa's eyes sparkled at me.
"And Guan-sis wants a kid too." Yeah. Polygamy ain't for amateurs. Double the family, double the grind.
"Talking other women in this situation..." Unhappy with that, Bu Yong-hwa pinched and stretched my cheek.
Ah. Foot-in-mouth. Setting aside material stuff, polygamy was tough in other ways too—I got the memo.
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'Anyway, time to head to Chang'an soon.' Wang Yun's regime. Quests and artifacts to snag then. Even if history shifted, Wang Yun wouldn't last long. Had to grab 'em quick.
'Cai Yan's family.' Cai Yan's songs—bamboo slips penned by her herself. Had a use for those.
Take 'em to Master Water Mirror in Jing Province for one-on-one tutoring. Rare chance to pump my hard-to-raise Intelligence stat sky-high.
Long haul: Xu to Chang'an, then Jing. But solid rewards.
'Raising Intelligence here is tough.' Buying stacks of books was inefficient. Best way: succeed with stratagems in war. Problem: my current Intelligence meant low success odds.
'No scholars around to learn from anyway.' Closest was Sun Qian, but his Intelligence was meh for teaching stratagems.
One option: long-term plan to build affinity with Zhao Yun and visit Shang Shan.
'Liu Bei won't let me go... might need a fate point.' Seemed I'd burn a precious fate point to force an option.
As I pondered and glanced at Liu Bei—
At Xu's government office. The WWE between Tao Qian pushing and Liu Bei had cooled to a truce. Liu Bei was handling real work, becoming Xu's de facto power.
Timing to pitch him—then someone came running, sobbing.
"Urgh..." Zhao Yun burst in, face tear-streaked.
Zhao Yun, never late, suddenly crying and tardy.
"Zhao Yun!! What happened?!" Liu Bei shouted, shocked.
"Got a letter from home... Mother's passed..." Zhao Yun bowed, tears flowing.
"N-no way..." Liu Bei stared, stunned.
Aigoo. Zhao Yun's bereavement. Originally, news came when he enlisted. We hit Xu a bit early, so it hit now.
"Shang Shan isn't far. Think I need to go home briefly." Zhao Yun teary-eyed at Liu Bei.
"..." Liu Bei hated to let him go, but filial piety trumped.
Perfect. Time to leverage leave requests.
"I have urgent business too." I cupped fists and spoke to Liu Bei.
"What is it?" Liu Bei eyed me wearily. No way... you're not taking leave too, right?
Felt like a Christmas Eve manager scheduling shifts. You too...?
"I'll go to Shang Shan with Zhao Gong." I pitched a two-for-one leave package.
"Kim Gong..." Zhao Yun looked touched.
"...If even you go, Kim Gong, this Hyun-deok will be too uneasy." But Liu Bei shot it down.
Required Intelligence: 90
Yeah. No dice.
Was saving fate points, but looked like I'd force an option with one.
"Back in a month. This month's journey is for you, Lord Hyun-deok." I oiled my words and opened up.
"...Speak." Liu Bei twitched his ears, unpleased.
Okay. Persuasion time.
'Kkkiyaaaak!!' To hype myself, I silently roared internally, buffing up.