Luoyang Without an Emperor (1)
Flying through the sky had been humanity's long-cherished dream. Moreover, for a boy—for children whose bodies were still light—high places weren't so much frightening as they were unknown spaces that stirred the spirit of adventure. The sight of the giant-like guards moving like ants was like a scene from a dream.
“It's dangerous. Do not lean on the railing.”
“Are you... really Gongsun Zan?”
“Yes. The hot air balloon... this wind lantern was too heavy for my body to burn, so I lost some weight, but for now, it is indeed me.”
The man in black clothes removed the hood that tightly wrapped his face—or, in 21st-century terms, the balaclava—revealing his face.
“Since we've run out of fuel, we'll descend slowly and land near the Yellow River. In the meantime, feel free to enjoy the view.”
The winter night's wind was normally harsh, but for some reason, right now, the wind was just right for the hot air balloon to fly.
“Gongsun Gong, what do you intend to do with me?”
“I have no intention of using you. And... this might be a bit rude to say, but there's no need to use Your Majesty either.”
Gongsun Zan was the overlord of Hebei. He ruled You Province and Ji Province, and was the owner of the fertile lands blessed by the Yellow River. He was the elder brother to the northern nomadic tribes and a friend to the eastern Mo tribes.
“I will assist Your Majesty until you become accustomed to the position of Emperor. Since I have no governing authority, I suppose we'll need to call upon Lord Liu Yu, who serves as regent, or the Empress Dowager.”
“Is that... possible? It doesn't seem like Dong Zhuo would allow it.”
“Your Majesty, in the current world, there are almost no things Your Majesty wishes to do but cannot. As long as it doesn't greatly violate human ethics... most things are possible.”
“Would it be possible to give me your position as well?”
“Would you take it?”
“...Enough. Even if I took your position, the northern barbarians would only invade. Serve in your current position as you have been.”
“If that is your command.”
The hot air balloon, descending slowly, landed on the banks of the Yellow River. Gongsun Zan skillfully gathered the balloon and basket in one place, dug a pit, and buried the basket, while cutting the silk appropriately and slinging it over his shoulder.
“Roughly... hmm... it seems we've arrived near Guangping. There should be a port nearby, so if we get on a merchant ship, we'll reach Yanzhou in no time. It's late at night, so we'll have to camp out.”
“Won't Dong Zhuo's pursuers come after us?”
“How would they know where we've fled to chase us? People's necks have evolved to easily see things lower than themselves, so looking at the sky is harder than one might think. The ones left in the palace would have missed us due to the flames, and the soldiers outside Luoyang would be staring endlessly at the sky we've already passed.”
Gongsun Zan hung the silk on a suitable tree branch to make a hammock bed, laid the Emperor down, and covered him with the remaining gas bag as a blanket.
“Good heavens, was this Shu silk? You made a wind lantern out of Shu silk?”
“Yes. There was nothing but Shu silk that was light and durable enough to carry a person.”
“Silk as cotton cloth...?”
“Or what does it matter? There's no one to argue about it.”
“Indeed. Pfft... Gongsun Gong, aren't you using the 'pointing at a deer and calling it a horse' trick too lightly?”
“Since I've insulted Your Majesty, this commoner shall resign from office and retire~”
“I will not permit it. Heh... heh heh! Ha... ha... I don't know how long it's been since I've laughed like this.”
It was a joke that would have made high officials in the palace jump in rage if they'd heard it, but as Gongsun Zan said, in this forest at night, there was no one but the two of them. What did it matter if they spoke a bit crudely, or took it as a joke? There were records that even Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, always referred to himself as 'this old man' and his subordinates as 'brats,' treating them without formality. If it was a time and place where etiquette was required, that was one thing, but as a boy, enjoying what was enjoyable was enjoyable.
“Thank you.”
“It's my duty to serve. A ruler is... hmm... well, a profession that serves the people.”
---
Early winter, the weather was too chilly to cover a boy who had just entered puberty with a single blanket. It would have been nice to light a small campfire, but now, being within spitting distance of Luoyang, it was important not to give the pursuers any pretext, and a fire blooming in the pitch-black night without any artificial light source would be clearly visible from several kilometers away, to put it mildly. The fortunate thing was that sunrise was imminent, and the unfortunate thing was that the Emperor's health didn't look good at all.
Humans weren't nocturnal animals, so night was a time when the advantage between animals and humans reversed. Fire was needed to drive away animals. Fire was needed to prevent the Emperor from catching a cold and wheezing. However, not being sure how competent Dong Zhuo's army was, lighting a fire recklessly was dangerous.
I folded the gas bag I'd saved for myself and covered the Emperor with it, wiping the dagger stained with blood and oil while waiting for sunrise.
- Awooooo~
The howls of animals that made night their time gradually faded, and before long, the sky took on a dim light. Luck was on my side. The sun was rising over the eastern horizon.
“My apologies for waking you right away, but the sun has risen. Please get up.”
“Ugh... I haven't even fallen asleep yet. I guess I caused unnecessary trouble by making the bed.”
“It's better than catching a cold. It's still chilly, so keep the Shu silk wrapped around you.”
“Won't it drag on the ground and tear? I know well that Shu silk is expensive, but...”
“Probably, aside from Your Majesty the Emperor, I have the most money in this Central Plains.”
Honestly, I didn't know exactly how much wealth I'd accumulated. The ones who'd gone on trading expeditions far to the west all returned loaded with iron ingots and gold ingots. Since there was nowhere suitable to sell them, they were all melted down to make weapons or farming tools, and even after giving them all to the people of Liaodong, there was still enough left to distribute sequentially to the people of You Province and Ji Province. It was true that Shu silk was expensive, but making just one hot air balloon was something I could afford after thinking about it for about twenty seconds.
“A village is in sight. There are my subordinates in Pingyuan Commandery, so if we get a boat and move for just one shichen, we'll arrive in Yanzhou.”
---
“Ugh... uweeek...”
It wasn't common for people of this era to ride boats. At best, those living by the sea or near large rivers might have ridden a few times to catch fish, but most people living inland never even had the chance to ride a boat in their lifetime. Naturally, they had no resistance to environments where the ground shook, and it was only natural to get seasick when boarding a merchant ship that sailed the rough waters of the Yellow River into the Yellow Sea. At least the large ferry at Mengjin Port had quite good ride quality...? Boarding comfort? by the standards of this era, but this raft was nothing like that. It swayed in all directions—up, down, front, back, left, right—and was the essence of ancient wisdom that evoked the mystery of the sea one felt on rubber boats in a past life.
I tried to pay the fare with Shu silk, but this world's shops weren't game shops that purchased all items unlimitedly. In a rural village, Shu silk was just a somewhat soft and light fabric. Of course, there was a possibility I'd been ripped off... but it was the way of the world that the desperate and needy side took the loss. Moreover, there wouldn't be good boats in a small rural village by the Yellow River, and the only boats in the village were a few small rafts the village fishermen used for salmon fishing in autumn. Thanks to the fabric itself being valuable, I was able to get the largest raft, but considering the price of Shu silk, it was an enormously losing deal.
“Young master seems to have a weak constitution. It was quite good fabric, but I'm sorry I couldn't pay the proper fare.”
“When famine comes, a bowl of rice gruel is more expensive than a hundred guan of gold. We're the ones in need, so I can't complain about receiving a low price.”
I patted the Emperor's back, but since he hadn't eaten anything, he only dry-heaved and then lay down in the middle of the raft.
“You'll get muddy water in your nose. It's better to sit even if it's hard.”
I had no idea what kind of parasites or viruses were in there. If that got into his mouth... ugh, I didn't even want to imagine it.
“Ugh... How are you so fine?”
“Originally, to go between Liaodong and Luoyang, taking a boat is the best. Seasickness tends to become familiar if you ride boats often.”
“The guard is right. When I first rode a boat, I could see everything I'd eaten the day before, but now even if the river floods, my stomach is calm. Heh heh.”
If you cross the storm-swept Gulf of Mexico a few times trusting only a rubber boat, you graduate from most seasickness. That experience was so intense that even now, after being reincarnated and getting a new body, I'd never felt seasick while riding a boat.
“We'll soon reach Pingyuan Commandery. Prepare to disembark.”
“Understood, then... ugh!”
Honestly, this level was a bit nauseating scene. It was fortunate that the Yellow River's water was dirty. No, in this era, since there were no environmental protection groups, maybe it wasn't a problem? I didn't know.
---
Luoyang was literally in chaos. There were hundreds who had witnessed the Emperor soaring into the sky, and the fire that broke out when lightning struck the four walls of the palace had been seen by all the people of Luoyang, so to the people of this era where superstition was still active, the events of that night came as a great 'evidence.'
“Dong Zhuo! Because of your tyranny, Heaven has taken the Son of Heaven. I will kill you and protect the five-hundred-year-old Han dynasty's state... kyaak!”
The high-ranking scholars had literally become Confucian-Taliban and turned into assassins targeting Dong Zhuo's life, and the Confucian scholars who had honed the Six Arts (etiquette, music, archery, horsemanship, calligraphy, mathematics) according to Confucius's will were excellent assassins. The alleys of Luoyang, which had developed over a long time without proper planning, were traps that sucked people in and quagmires of death, and Dong Zhuo, who had lost the hypnosis app called the Emperor, could not handle the aftermath after ordering the massacre.
“...Damn it, can't we just kill them all, Commander?!”
“Li Ru, calm down a bit. Killing them all would be satisfying, but... then the young ones from the Yuan family who fled south would gain justification. Just endure until we enthrone a new emperor.”
“Aow! Five of my subordinates are already injured. Rather, have that Lu Bu guy and the Bing Province bumpkins do the patrols. How many years has it been since I left Liang Province following the Commander, and I still have to get hit by arrows in the field?!”
“...Sorry. Since the only ones Dong Zhongying can trust are you all, what can I do? Endure a bit more. My son-in-law has drugged that kid, the Prince of Bohai, so bringing him to Luoyang won't be too difficult.”
“Commander, if we capture the Prince of Bohai, won't we have to fight Gongsun Zan? Can you handle that?”
“If he comes to Luoyang himself to succeed the throne, Gongsun Zan won't have anything to say. That's why I drugged him, so don't worry.”
“Hoo... Understood. Still, please rotate the patrols with the Bing Province guys. Since that Lu Bu bastard is gone, the Bing Province bumpkins aren't listening at all.”
Dong Zhuo's forces consisted of the Liang Province army that had followed him from the beginning, the Bing Province army under Lu Bu, and the Imperial Guards that had been under He Jin. Of course, each was a one-against-a-hundred warrior who had gained real combat experience fighting the northern Xianbei Empire, and an undefeated army that had won victory after victory in battles against the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, but it was an army possessed by the victim mentality unique to coalition forces: 'Why am I the only one cleaning up shit?' Armies inevitably had dirty work that had to be done, and the Liang Province army that had followed Dong Zhuo since the Yellow Turban Rebellion and the elite of the elites, the Imperial Guards, shared the mindset of 'Why should I do this with my seniority?' The Bing Province army, which had inevitably been doing the dirty work, took on the role of lubricant between the two groups as their commander and Dong Zhuo's adoptive son Lu Bu became unable to move properly, and it was a kind of law that a unit that took the dirty work would accumulate resentment. The competent warlord Dong Zhuo knew this fact well enough, and while assigning the 'somewhat better' patrol work to the Liang Province army, he tried to manage the loyalty of the Bing Province army, but the problem was the naturally generated Confucian-Taliban due to the suddenly vanished Emperor. If he could rule by fear by killing them all in the Liang Province way, the situation might be a bit better, but it was hard to picture the elite Imperial Guards tolerating a massacre without reason, even if the Bing Province army could.
“Haah... I thought Dong Zhongying's world had come, but the world is really messed up.”
A handful of hair was clutched in the hand that had swept through his hair.