The Emperor in the State of Yan (1)
The sky over Pingyuan Commandery in Yanzhou was clear and bright. The ferry dock connected to the Yellow River's waterway had developed so much that it could now be called a proper port. Merchant ships and supply vessels departing from Liaodong arrived sporadically, constantly loading and unloading cargo. Although salmon season had passed with autumn, the fishermen who had caught the remaining salmon hummed cheerful tunes as they shared a late lunch with the soldiers stationed at the fortress. With the harvest over and the granaries full, the locals' generosity extended even to giving salt to the unfamiliar soldiers. In return, every household brought out a few pounds of their remaining meat to add to the table.
Beyond the wooden-palisade fortress line, smoke rose from cooking fires. On the other side of the fortress, which stood wide open toward the civilian homes, the tuntian soldiers took out a few blocks of tofu to pay for the meat.
“Brother!”
Liu Bei, the elf girl who had been covered in dust for the past several days while helping her master build the fortress line, greeted me as I arrived on a raft. I simply waved my hand in return.
“Where’s Master?”
“He’s at the command headquarters. That… person beside him…?”
“It’s His Majesty the Emperor. Bring some proper clothes first.”
“Ah, yes! Yes! This servant greets His Majesty the Emperor!”
“That’s enough. I hear you’re a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan?”
“…That is correct.”
“I’ve received several letters from my younger sibling over the years. Since you’re a descendant of the Prince of Zhongshan, that makes you something like my aunt. I’ll treat you accordingly.”
“Th-this is an honor!”
She really hit the jackpot. To hear the Emperor himself say, ‘You’re part of my faction.’ As for me? I have zero ambition for promotion. It’s true that I somehow ended up as a duke with real power, but I have no desire to become emperor or sit at the top of the world. I’m a soldier, not a ruler. A country ruled by soldiers can never truly be happy.
In my heart’s homeland of Liaodong, the actual governing was done by the Liaodong Administrator, not me. I had long since divided up the administrative districts within the State of Yan among my capable subordinates and researchers. Of course, since this was still a chaotic age, I hadn’t handed over military authority. Even America kept all its forces under the Department of Defense. The National Guard? They were basically like reservists. The real combat troops all belonged to the Defense Department.
“I’ll go greet Master first. Xuande, you take good care of His Majesty the Emperor. Once he’s rested for a few days and recovered from his journey, we’ll arrange a meeting with His Highness the Prince of Bohai right away.”
“Ah! Now that you mention it, a messenger sent by Dong Zhuo arrived earlier. It seems he didn’t know that His Highness the Prince of Bohai had already left for Liaodong…”
“Really? I’ll pay my respects to Master first. We can slowly deal with that golden horse later.”
“Yes, sir!”
Leaving the young emperor and Liu Bei behind, I rode toward the largest building among the dozens of fortresses that had been constructed in just a few months. The area that had still been sparsely wooded until autumn had now become a vast plain worthy of its name, with not a single tree in sight. The felled timber had been used to build small fortresses, arranged so that no matter which way you turned your head, two or three were always visible. Iron caltrops were scattered discreetly among the grass to stop infantry or cavalry charges. On top of the low wooden palisades, about two and a half meters high, archers stood with Yeongangno crossbows at the ready. Below the palisades ran deep trench lines roughly two meters deep.
Honestly… if someone ordered me to attack this place, I’d just slap them across the face and run away. You could probably push through by piling up mountains of corpses, but with three or four fortresses visible at any time and countless more fortress lines and trenches behind them, it would be far cheaper to wash your hands of the whole thing and retreat cleanly.
“Who goes there!”
“It’s me, Gongsun Zan of You Province! I’ve come to see my master!”
“Ah, Your Excellency. We were told you were coming. Please enter.”
The fortress gate opened slowly, revealing the scene inside. It was winter, so half the fields lay fallow, but there were tuntian plots planted with turnips and beans on one side. A well had been dug nearby to supply their primary drinking water. On the watchtowers spaced along the walls, sentries kept sharp eyes on the surroundings. The soldiers were split into squads, training or performing maintenance. Those off duty played ball in groups of two or three, while others fed the warhorses and enjoyed bonding with the animals.
“If you’re here, why didn’t you come in sooner? Are you waiting for your master to die of old age?”
“Ah, Master. I was admiring the sight of this mobile fortress. It looks like it could hold off even a million-strong army.”
“Such empty boasting. Even ten thousand men would be enough to collapse this fortress. How could a mere hundred-man stronghold stop a million?”
“It can’t?”
“Of course not. Could you?”
“I couldn’t either. But if you filled it with a hundred guys like me…”
A hundred friends who had earned their keep by flushing toilets at the Blue House and survived several years in Afghanistan would have no problem dealing with irregular infantry in terms of numbers. They might not win in a straight-up fight, but war had always been won by the side that knew the dirtiest and most underhanded tricks. There was a reason the dirtiest and most underhanded nation on Earth—the British—had won two world wars.
“…Did you succeed?”
“Yes. He is currently resting in my quarters.”
“Well done. Tell him I will visit before he departs.”
“Were there no attackers?”
“Any man with a shred of sanity would take one look at these palisades and turn back. The remnants of the Yellow Turbans don’t even glance at Yanzhou land, so rest easy.”
“Understood. You look well. That’s a relief.”
“Your face has brightened up too. This old master still has more suffering ahead, so go inside and rest.”
“What? His Majesty the Emperor ascended to heaven?”
“Yeah. They say everyone in Luoyang saw it. The imperial palace was burning, and His Majesty flew up to heaven clinging to the arm of a black dragon while still in his nightclothes?”
“Does that even make sense? Isn’t this just some nonsense rumor Dong Zhuo spread?”
Cao Cao, the Inspector of Yanzhou, was able to hear the news from Luoyang quite quickly. Dong Commandery in Yanzhou shared a border with Henei Commandery, where Luoyang was located. To put it somewhat dramatically, it was practically close enough to smell Luoyang from there. Naturally, rumors from Luoyang spread in just a day or two. But the content was something that Cao Cao, a rational man, simply could not comprehend.
“There were tens of thousands of residents in Luoyang. It’s more believable that it actually happened than to think they all hallucinated the same thing at once.”
“Gongdae, you’re here?”
Jin Gong, courtesy name Gongdae. A man from Wuyang County in Dong Commandery of Yanzhou and a renowned scholar of the Clean Stream faction. As the descendant of a eunuch, he could never truly get along with the Clean Stream faction except for Yuan Shao. Having personally driven out his childhood friend and the faction’s idol, Yuan Shao, he had earned even more hatred. Yet it was precisely because of this that he had been able to recommend Cao Cao as Inspector of Yanzhou and act as mediator with the local gentry, naturally placing himself at the center of Cao Cao’s forces.
“According to the eyewitnesses, His Majesty flew off toward the Yellow River. That means he must have gone either to Yanzhou or the State of Yan…”
“Could it be Bing Province?”
“Bing Province is to the west. No matter how stupid the common people are, they can still tell east from west.”
“Ahem, I just didn’t catch whether he went northwest or northeast. You really have a talent for making people feel awkward, don’t you?”
“Anyway, if this wasn’t something you orchestrated, Mengde… then it would be reasonable to assume the Duke of Yan created some kind of device.”
“You’re saying a person can fly through the sky?”
“The Duke of Yan is a man who believes in the teachings of Mozi. According to records, he spent three years building a wooden bird and flew it into the sky. If it’s true that the Duke of Yan is close with craftsmen, then the possibility that he built a wooden bird and used it to kidnap the emperor isn’t that low.”
“Didn’t Mozi’s wooden bird break after just one day?”
“Then wouldn’t he use it now, when it’s most needed?”
“…That actually makes sense. I’m not the only one thinking we need to send someone… We’ll move personally.”
“Is that really necessary?!”
“It is. Personally. If you want to build trust, the boss has to move himself. Don’t you agree?”
“Haha, it’s not that you just want an excuse to drink after so long, right?”
“Wenyang, you’d be perfect if only you’d watch that mouth of yours.”
“Hahaha! Sorry, sorry! What can I do when I was born this way? I just have to live with my fate.”
“Sigh… Gongdae, this is what I have to deal with. My subordinates treat me like some neighborhood big brother.”
“Is that such a bad thing? Even Emperor Gaozu of Han is recorded as having treated his subordinates like older and younger brothers. It’s actually more impressive when subordinates treat their commander like family.”
“See, Wenyang? Even if it’s flattery, at least say something nice!”
“Ah, I’m an uneducated man so I wouldn’t know about that. What kind of alcohol should we prepare? Daughter’s Red? White spirits?”
“That guy likes anything that smells like alcohol, so just bring as much as you can.”
“Yes~ Yes. Understood, Boss.”
The hegemons of the era began moving toward the State of Yan. Of course, the fortress line built on the plains was always waiting for invaders. If they came as friends, the gates would welcome them with gold, silver, and treasures. If they came as enemies, the fortress line would answer them as a monster that devoured men.