I'm Resigning as Emperor, Cao Cao
【Emperor Xian = Mi-na / Anyi, Sili Colonelcy】
Ah. So this is what youth feels like…
My condition had improved enough that such absurd nonsense could actually cross my mind. Anyi, reached only after surviving a gauntlet of trials and tribulations. Having devoted myself entirely to recuperating here, my wounds had fortunately healed at a remarkable pace.
Which also meant the time had come to answer the very question I had pushed aside while fighting just to stay alive: What on earth am I supposed to do from here on out?
Shouldn't I try to return to reality, you ask? Sure, that's important. But since not a single quest prompt had popped up, whether going back was even an option remained a total mystery. Therefore, pass on that for now.
Even so, there was no need to panic. I was a webtoon artist by trade, which meant I had a fairly solid grasp of what regression, transmigration, and reincarnation protagonists usually got up to.
Option number one: Romance.
What, why? Not important enough to take the top spot, you say? Excuse me, are you seriously looking down on the boundless sea of romance fantasy and harem stories out there? Romance is of paramount importance! (Especially to a certain unnie who lost her mind over ro-fan.) But I'm a woman, and there are only women in this world. There is no way in hell romance is on the table.
Option number two: Altering the course of history.
Then again, what would I even gain from rewriting Chinese history? I have zero desire to witness an English delegation bearing fish and chips as imperial tribute to the Great Empire of China. …Though, come to think of it, those English blokes might actually have it coming.
Option number three: Survival.
In truth, this trope usually borders on false advertising; protagonists start out crying that they just want to survive, only to end up as the strongest being in the realm, a grand duke, or an emperor. But guess what? I'm already the Emperor! Sure, the only direction left to go from here is down, but surviving is guaranteed in the end. Mission complete just by lying still.
And lastly, aiming for unification of the realm.
Personally, I believe this one applies strictly to Three Kingdoms fiction. That trash author once mentioned in passing that in Three Kingdoms transmigration stories, every protagonist unilaterally guns for unifying the land under heaven.
Unification, huh…
Honestly, if whatever unknown entity dumped me into this world had an objective in mind, that was almost certainly it. Which means I'd have to wage war, though.
“Blegh.”
The instant my thoughts wandered there, the horrific sight I had witnessed upon first opening my eyes in this world flashed through my mind, and a violent wave of nausea surged up my throat.
“Your Majesty, are you all right?”
“I am… fine. An unpleasant memory merely crossed my mind.”
Fortunately, with Empress Fu and Noble Consort Dong soothing me from both sides, the retching quickly subsided. Still, the ghastly impression of that first day seemed to have left behind a deep trauma. Even if emperors don't personally take the field and generals handle the fighting, if merely thinking about that sort of topic leaves me like this for the foreseeable future…
Unifying the realm? Yeah, no. Absolutely impossible.
Besides, if I took the initiative to restore the Han dynasty, that in itself would be a massive historical deviation. Who could guarantee that butterfly effect wouldn't tear the Korean peninsula to shreds in the future?
For those reasons, the guiding principle of my new life in this other world was cleanly settled: Don't needlessly mess with history, stay as quiet as humanly possible, abdicate the throne, and retire as the Duke of Shanyang.
Cao Cao's son, Cao Pi, may have usurped the throne, but he treated Liu Xie rather decently after demoting him to Duke of Shanyang. I'll just coast along that exact path.
“Your Majesty, please drink some water.”
Right as I reached that conclusion, the Empress—looking worried that my health had taken another turn for the worse after I remained lost in silent thought for so long—tenderly handed me a cup of water.
And seeing her earnest, caring expression, I couldn't help but slightly amend my goal: Tweak things just enough to prevent the tragedy of those around me, preserve original history as much as possible, and step down as the Duke of Shanyang.
The Empress and Noble Consort Dong had tended to me with unwavering devotion while I was hovering at death's door. In good conscience, I simply couldn't allow their fates to play out according to original history—cast aside and murdered by Jjyo.
“Your Majesty, the Grand Commandant and the General of the Imperial Guard request an audience.”
Honestly, it was a dilapidated hovel with barely any intact walls, so everything was in plain sight. Even the soldiers standing guard outside could easily peek into the Emperor's private life. Yet such was the nature of court etiquette that the officials insisted on going through the formal announcements before stepping inside.
Still, I suppose that kind of rigid decorum is the very shield keeping me safe. Otherwise, I'd probably already be hosting a free talk show with common foot soldiers right here in my bedchamber.
The two men entered the excessively well-ventilated room—an embarrassment to even call an imperial chamber—and, after performing the customary bows, got down to business.
Grand Commandant Yang Biao was the first to speak.
“Your Majesty, the Administrator of Henei has arrived bearing provisions and humbly requests an audience.”
Food was of supreme importance right now. In these parts, incessant warfare had left no one to tend the fields, and with years of unrelenting drought, foodstuffs had completely dried up. Showing my face to a loyal subject who brought something so precious was an absolute no-brainer under the circumstances.
“Your Majesty!”
However, there was one more person showing excessive enthusiasm toward this new guest.
“Bringing grain in times as dire as these proves the Administrator of Henei to be a loyal subject through and through! I implore Your Majesty to heed his counsel!”
General of the Imperial Guard and father to Noble Consort Dong—Dong Cheng. In other words, my father-in-law. And from the looks of it, this gentleman desperately wanted this newcomer and me to become the closest of allies.
Are those two scheming something together?
Yet at that moment, I couldn't afford to focus my attention on the newly arrived Administrator of Henei. Every time Dong Cheng opened his mouth, I felt the Empress startle beside me. Come to think of it, she had seemed visibly tense from the very moment Dong Cheng stepped into the room.
“While the Administrator of Henei is undeniably loyal, the movements of the imperial cortege are a matter of grave consequence; Your Majesty should first listen to the opinions of all officials.”
“Even among those attending Your Majesty, there are those who harbor ulterior motives in their hearts! How could Your Majesty allow yourself to be swayed by the words of such scoundrels? I beseech you to consider this wisely!”
As the debate escalated and Dong Cheng's voice grew louder, the Empress became visibly unsettled.
“I understand. I shall meet with him and hear what he has to say first.”
In the end, for her sake, I had no choice but to swiftly dismiss the two officials. Once they were gone, I asked her about her suspicious behavior.
“Empress, did something happen between you and General Dong?”
“No, Your Majesty… Nothing at all…”
Yeah, right. That was definitely not a ‘nothing.’ Beside her, Noble Consort Dong wore an awkward, conflicted expression as well. Something had clearly transpired, but Empress Fu seemed to have no intention of telling me.
She's surprisingly stubborn, after all.
In the end, I gave up on hearing it directly from her lips and decided to rely on my own knowledge. Had I ever heard about anything that went down between those two?
Empress Fu, Dong Cheng, Noble Consort Dong…
Perhaps because it concerned the Empress, my concentration sharpened and my thoughts began racing into high gear. After a brief moment—
Whirrrrr—
The white noise of a computer spinning up suddenly hummed inside my head, and information regarding the Empress began surfacing like a Wikipedia entry.
Empress Xiaoxian Fu (Personal name: Fu Shou). First empress consort of Emperor Xian of Later Han. Born in Dongwu County, Langya Commandery, Xu Province. Daughter of Fu Wan; mother named Ying… Later, Fu Wan was gripped by fear and failed to execute the plot, showing the secret decree only to Xun Yu and his brother-in-law Fan Jin…
Wait, what is this?
Even as the data streamed out, my consciousness felt detached, floating elsewhere.
Don't tell me… is this my transmigration perk?
Honestly, it felt underwhelming. I mean, sure, it's great and all, but did I really need something like this?
Actually, scratch that. I take it back.
Unexpectedly, this ability allowed me to pinpoint the cause right away: why the atmosphere between those two had grown so painfully strained. And the moment I discovered the reason, I couldn't shake the premonition that my father-in-law, Lord Dong, would be the single greatest obstacle standing between me and my peaceful retirement as the Duke of Shanyang.
【Dong Cheng = {Unknown} / Anyi】
“He couldn't possibly know already… could he?”
Back then, His Majesty had already sustained grievous injuries and fallen unconscious. According to Noble Consort Dong, the Empress showed no signs of having tattled on him either. Even so, just in case, Dong Cheng resolved to keep a tight leash on the matter through his daughter once more.
The prize is right before my eyes; I cannot afford to trip over something so trivial.
Emperor Xian (Mi-na) had already uncovered the truth through the search function, but completely oblivious to that fact, Dong Cheng was spinning his own delusional gears of wishful thinking.
“Once we bring His Majesty to Luoyang with Zhang of Henei taking the vanguard, it will all be over.”
When Dong Zhuo had forced the capital's relocation to Chang'an, he burnt Luoyang to the ground, leaving it in no condition to quarter a large army. Thus, even if the Son of Heaven relocated to Luoyang, the White Wave Bandits-turned-generals Yang Feng and Han Xian, unable to abandon their private armies, would not be able to follow. If that happened, he would be the only one left in the imperial court holding real power—such was Dong Cheng's shallow scheme.
Of course, he had zero concrete plans on how to persuade the White Wave commanders, whose influence currently eclipsed his own. Nor did he have any plan for how to sustain the imperial court amidst the desolation of Luoyang even if he succeeded in talking them into it. To his mind, those were problems to worry about when the time came.
This was how Dong Cheng always operated. In fact, Yang Feng and Han Xian—whom he was now frothing at the mouth to purge—were figures he had invited in the first place. In a sense, his inability to manage a band of bandits kept escalating the mess into an ever-larger crisis, yet the man himself was still brimming with boundless confidence.
“I can do it. If it's me, I can pull it off.”
In the winter of the second year of the Xingping era (195 AD):
Zhang Yang, the Administrator of Henei, welcomed Emperor Xian upon his arrival in Anyi County and supplied grain and provisions. In recognition of his service, he was appointed General Who Pacifies the State and enfeoffed as the Marquis of Jinyang.
Thereafter, Zhang Yang sought to escort the Son of Heaven to Luoyang, but due to opposition from various generals, his plan was thwarted, and he returned to Yewang County in Henei.