The Xianbei Empire (1)
“Thank you for escorting me.”
In the coastal region between Bohai Castle, the You Province Inspector’s office, and Ji Province, the Prince of Bohai’s residence assigned to Liu Xie stood quietly. Like most frontier lands of this era, it was not particularly splendid, yet it possessed a serene, timeless charm.
“Oh, Colonel Gongsun. You’ve arrived early.”
“The atmosphere in Luoyang felt increasingly unstable, so I came by ship even though it carried some risk.”
“Oh, then Her Highness must be quite exhausted from the journey. Come, come this way. We’ve prepared quarters for you.”
An elf with a warm, kindly face walked alongside a petite elf girl. While everyone else was ordinary Homo sapiens, the imperial relatives of the Han bloodline were Homo elphius, creating an overwhelming sense of otherworldliness. Thanks to Liu Bei happily living as a freeloader in Liaodong, I had grown somewhat accustomed to the sight, but encountering multiple elves at once was apparently another matter entirely.
“Then I shall take my leave. If you need anything at all, please call for me anytime.”
“You’ve worked hard. I’ll send the ship fare as quickly as possible.”
“There’s no need. It was my own selfish decision.”
“…No, no. Thanks to Colonel Gongsun’s foresight, His Highness the Prince of Bohai has arrived safely.”
“What are you talking about?”
“The Grand General was attacked. Although he suffered no mortal wound thanks to the hosimgap that Yuan Shao gifted him as the new Colonel Director of Retainers, the entire city has been thrown into chaos as they hunt for the culprit.”
“Wait, so… what exactly are you saying?”
“Colonel Gongsun?”
“I left Luoyang only five days ago. How could news from Luoyang have already reached Bohai Commandery in such a short time?”
“I have eyes, and capable subordinates as well. Of course, I admit this information feels somewhat suspicious. Still, it came from a reasonably trustworthy source, so I must believe it for now. And even if it turns out to be a false rumor, the fact that His Highness the Prince of Bohai arrived safely remains true. There’s no need for such excessive humility.”
“Are you preparing the army?”
“Not yet. Hold off for now. The situation in Danbu is unstable, so I’d like you to focus your attention there first.”
The horse-riding nomads? Why? After old man Tanshihuai died, hadn’t his daughter been managing things quite well?
I didn’t understand. Naturally, since You Province shared a border with the Xianbei Empire, I had dispatched intelligence agents there. However, the surprisingly insular culture of the nomadic tribes severely limited how deeply those agents could penetrate. In other words, they could quickly report that a problem existed, but discovering exactly where the trouble had originated was far more difficult.
“Understood. Then I’ll take my leave.”
Well then… it seemed I had no choice but to go myself, since I at least had some connection with that daughter of his.
“Rest well today. Though the Xianbei Kingdom is in turmoil, it’s not yet urgent enough to take precedence over recovering from your journey.”
I thought I had resolved one issue, but somehow two more had piled up in its place.
“Once we return, immediately issue orders to prepare for combat. The atmosphere feels extremely ominous.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Send some people to that friend of Xuande’s and tell her to attend to His Highness the Prince of Bohai. She’s been eating and sleeping for free all this time; it’s about time she did some work.”
She might be a distant branch of the imperial family, but she was still an imperial relative. Let her take care of the little imperial child. I couldn’t keep feeding and housing a grown woman forever, could I?
Colonel, the 1st Regiment of the Liaodong Army under Commander Jeon Hae and its 900 troops have returned.
— Report from the Adjutant
“Good work.”
A few days after handing over Liu Xie, the Prince of Bohai, to Inspector Liu Yu, Jeon Hae and the 900 Liaodong soldiers who had returned by land route finally arrived back. Although the other units had entered combat readiness, it had been impossible to conduct military operations while leaving 900 elite troops stationed outside, so their feet were finally freed.
“The 1st Regiment will rest for one week. The 2nd Regiment will continue duty at the You Province forts until next week, then rotate with the 1st once their leave ends. For Danbu… I will go with the 3rd Light Cavalry Regiment.”
Danbu was a nomadic tribe. No, it was a nomadic kingdom that called itself the Xianbei Empire. Its founding monarch, old man Tanshihuai, had died about ten years ago, and his daughter Hualian now held power. I had met the man called Tanshihuai—there was still no concept of surnames in their lands—back when I was working as a low-level clerk under my father-in-law.
—Oh, little brat. You’ve got a fine body. Any thoughts of becoming my son-in-law?
My current physique was nothing to scoff at, but ‘that’ had been on another level. How should I describe it… a natural-born RoXX Coleman? Proto-Governor? He was simply a man whose very existence radiated strength. The only horse capable of carrying that insane physique was the Akhal-Teke, and he had ridden it across battlefields as the strongest warrior of his generation.
Lifting boulders that no human should have been able to carry with both hands, wearing armor made from some unknown animal’s bones that blades could not pierce, and running hundreds of li in a single day without rest—the sight of it had been nothing short of a nightmare.
Fortunately, his daughter Hualian had taken after her mother’s slender frame, but she had inherited her father’s monstrous physique intact, becoming a female warrior with the kind of dense, compressed muscle one only saw in comics. Honestly, even I couldn’t beat her in raw strength. She was a real monster. It was no wonder the Russians eventually bore the Tatar Yoke. Even Hualian had admitted that her strength was nothing compared to her younger brother, which explained why even in modern times, Mongolian friends possessed such terrifying power.
And… I’ve always found women stronger than me a little scary. Even now, meeting Hualian still feels incredibly awkward.
Enough about the Xianbei Empire. To reach the nomadic kingdom, one had to cross the vast northern plains. Naturally, we needed horses capable of covering long distances, so the heavy cavalry of the 1st and 2nd Regiments were naturally excluded. The horses for heavy cavalry required hay, and there was no hay on the plains. Of course, I would bring some hay for Tico the Third, who had to carry my bulk, but loading enough supplies to feed an entire army just to avoid looking weak in front of the horse-riders would have been pure waste.
Therefore, the 3rd Light Cavalry Regiment was the perfect choice. The average Hequ horses of this era could move after merely grazing on roadside weeds and could travel for days after drinking once from a stream. Their impact force was weaker than that of heavy cavalry mounts, but their endurance was excellent. If heavy cavalry were modern tanks, light cavalry were more like modern motorcycles. Not some fancy sport bike, but a simple city scooter. The kind that would run a hundred kilometers if you just let it smell gasoline once. Exactly that. Its shabby appearance only reinforced the comparison.
“Seoyoung, prepare accordingly.”
“Yes, Colonel.”
The entire Liaodong Army had already finished preparations to move. I only needed to confirm what problem had arisen among the horse-riders and then look into the situation in Luoyang. My instincts were screaming that none of this felt good.
“Dong Zhuo? You said Dong Zhuo?!”
“Yes, Inspector. They clearly confessed that Inspector of Liang Province Dong Zhuo hired the assassins to launch a surprise attack on the Grand General.”
“That can’t be. There must be some mistake! He is General Dong, the left arm of the Grand General and Inspector of Liang Province. How could his left arm stab his own body! Investigate again in greater detail!”
“All our agents are reporting the same story. It is information obtained when Colonel Director of Retainers Yuan Shao personally interrogated the assassins.”
“Nonsense! As soon as the Yellow Turban Rebellion ended, General Dong withdrew his troops to Xiliang! Didn’t General Dong himself leave Luoyang immediately after the matter was settled, only after seeing Colonel Gongsun’s face? This is clearly a frame-up! It is true that General Dong possesses the physiognomy of Wang Mang, but we cannot punish a man for a crime he did not commit! Even Wang Mang himself was a loyal subject of Han until he became a relative by marriage and fell to corruption!”
Inspector of You Province Liu Yu was furious. He had sensed that Dong Zhuo’s actions resembled those of Wang Mang, yet so far Dong Zhuo’s conduct had been nothing short of loyal. He had successfully resolved the Yellow Turban Rebellion, suppressed the scattered small uprisings that followed, and stood as a shield protecting the Han’s northwest. Although he had no ties to either the Clean Stream or Dirty Stream factions, in the eyes of this era, he was undoubtedly the figure closest to the fantasy-novel archetype of the Northern Grand Duke.
“Yuan Shao, that political schemer, must have orchestrated this plot! Colonel Gongsun, you said General Dong requested to escort His Highness the Prince of Bohai. Clearly, General Dong made that offer because he knew the Colonel Director of Retainers harbored treacherous intentions!”
Liu Yu was a good man, but like most good men, he had the flaw of always trying to see only the best in others. Even though he had personally said that Dong Zhuo possessed the face of Wang Mang, he still felt compelled to defend him if the man had been caught up in unjust political maneuvering. Besides, Liu Yu also belonged to the group that believed the Han Dynasty still had at least another decade before it would fall.
“Lord Liu Xuande, I entrust His Highness the Prince of Bohai to you. I must head to Luoyang for a while.”
“Y-yes?!”
“Having observed you these past few days, I believe you possess sufficient ability to assist His Highness. Therefore, I ask you to handle matters here until Colonel Gongsun returns.”
“W-why are you bowing? Please rise… Though I am lacking, I will do my utmost to serve him.”
“Thank you.”
Liu Yu raised his head and gazed into Liu Bei’s eyes, which resembled his own so closely.
“If, and I truly mean if, a great calamity occurs in Luoyang and I cannot return, tell them that the next Inspector of You Province—no, the next Governor of You Province—should be Colonel Gongsun. Deliver this letter as well.”
Liu Yu handed Liu Bei a single letter contained in a silk pouch. The pouch still had wet ink stains in several places.
To my dear disciple Gongsun Zan,
If you are reading this letter, it means I have met my end in Luoyang. I leave the future of You Province and the northern frontier in your hands. Protect the imperial bloodline and the people. Do not let the flames of war consume everything.
— Liu Yu, Governor of You Province
“Please tell His Highness… that I am sorry.”
“…Yes. Please return safely.”
“I can only pray that it will be so.”