Each Their Own Calculations

Independent of Tao Qian’s submission to the Yan State, Gong Rong of Qingzhou was running a slightly different set of calculations. Of course, with Xuzhou now folded into Gongsun Zan’s sphere of influence, he was effectively surrounded on all sides. But looked at another way, the territory of Qingzhou—which occupied the Shandong Peninsula—formed a sharp dagger capable of stabbing into the domains of Gongsun Zan, Cao Cao, and Tao Qian alike.

Since the turmoil of the Ten ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Eunuchs, Gongsun Zan had not engaged in any proper battles. He was pathologically averse to bloodshed, and Gong Rong calculated that if he held out long enough, the value of Qingzhou’s land would rise considerably. In other words, having planted his eggs on prime real estate, he was determined to hold out until the compensation offered was sufficiently generous. His position differed from that of Tao Qian, who stood face-to-face with Yuan Shu and his subordinate Sun Jian—men who had declared themselves Inspector of Yangzhou and immediately launched an invasion of Yuzhou. That difference allowed Gong Rong to make this particular judgment.

“The loss of population is severe, so reduce this year’s taxes slightly. Nevertheless, execute by dismemberment those commoners who attempt to flee, and make an example of them. Construct fortresses along the border and coastline so that no one crosses without permission.”

Although there had been an outflow of people, the reduced population meant each remaining commoner could farm a larger plot of land. The long coastline stretching from the Shandong Peninsula provided a year-round supply of fish for the table, and while bandits still appeared here and there, public order had not collapsed. In this era when the chaotic times were settling into a period of relative stability, Qingzhou was enjoying an unexpected peace.

“Send an envoy to the Eastern Yi tribes demanding the return of our escaped commoners. Also deliver military rations to Minister of Education Wang Yun. If we send even thirty thousand bushels, he won’t be able to ignore us later.”

“Understood!”

“I don’t know the exact details, but the Duke of Yan is currently avoiding war at all costs. With a hundred thousand troops he can defend Yan, but he cannot launch an offensive… He’s probably doing ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠what Inspector of Yi Province Liu Zhang is doing—solidifying his own power and waiting for the true hegemon of this chaotic age to emerge.”

“Lord Inspector of Qingzhou, there are some strange rumors circulating among the merchants…”

“Hah, you trust the words of those thieves? Merchants don’t produce anything. They simply buy cheap and sell dear to accumulate wealth. If it benefits them, they wouldn’t hesitate to hide the truth and spread lies. There were rumors of vast salt fields in Liaodong, so they’re probably using all sorts of trade goods as camouflage to reduce the risk of getting caught smuggling salt.”

In this era, the exchange of information was never easy. With no anti-monopoly laws, no fair trade laws, and no consumer protection laws, groups that held an information advantage naturally exploited it to the fullest. In most cases, merchants with superior information used that gap to fleece the common people, fleece the officials, and even fleece generals and Yellow Turban remnants alike. Had the political situation in the Central Plains been stable, the Imperial Guards or provincial armies might have maintained some discipline, but unfortunately, at this moment when every man fought against every other man, merchants were little more than slightly more polite bandits.

The term “scholar-farmer-artisan-merchant,” which only five years earlier had simply described the occupational classes of the common people, was gradually being distorted into a hierarchy of social worth. Information spread by merchants had become so contaminated that it needed to be heavily filtered before it could be trusted. The Shandong Peninsula where Qingzhou was located served as a necessary stopover for Western Region merchants heading toward Yan. Naturally, those merchants performed their professional duty with enthusiasm. As a result, Inspector of Qingzhou Gong Rong’s hatred of merchants grew day by day, and the merchants’ suggestions that they join the Hanza Alliance for mutual benefit were firmly rejected.

“Gather the young men and train them as a navy. Build walls at Langya and Jinan to prepare for any contingency, and send someone to the Inspector of Xuzhou to determine the true intentions of the Duke of Yan.”

According to Gong Rong’s calculations, between Yuan Shu—who was attacking Yangzhou—and Wang Yun—who was attacking Chang’an—the one who first achieved his great enterprise would clearly gain the upper hand. If only the Duke of Yan had used his fertile lands and large population to launch an aggressive offensive, things might have been different. But because he had chosen a grand strategy of quietly and peacefully ending the chaos, a fatal miscalculation had occurred.

Hangu Pass was a natural fortress that could rival the Jianmen Pass or the Meiguan Pass. It had been abandoned after Emperor Wu of Han relocated the pass to Hongnong Commandery, but the walls had not been completely demolished in case of future need. Li Jue and his group, who had noticed Wang Yun’s great purge early and fled quickly, had simply installed new gates and performed minor repairs on the collapsed sections, leaving the fortress in usable condition.

Naturally, Li Jue led his forces to repair Hangu Pass and began a desperate resistance to prolong their lives. When one considered only the area, the Guanzhong Plain—five times the size of Luoyang—poured forth military rations, and when combined with the elite veteran Western Liang Army, he was confident they could withstand even a million-strong army without being easily breached.

“Guo Si, this is the lever from the Yeongangno. When we attach it to our own strong crossbows, the kids’ reloading speed doubles.”

Although standardization through unified weights and measures had not been achieved, the simple combination of a uniquely shaped iron lever, a goat’s-foot cocking device, and stirrups was something even the Western Liang Army could easily replicate. Their strong crossbows, which had weaker draw strength than the Yeongangno, gained rapid-fire capability comparable to skilled archers.

“That old bastard Minister Wang, isn’t it about time he gave up?! Do they grow soldiers in their fields or something?”

Of course, no matter how impregnable a natural fortress might be, the number of defenders was finite. The population of Western Liang was not particularly large. No matter how unbelievable an exchange ratio they achieved thanks to Hangu Pass, in the end the Western Liang Army was bound to be defeated.

Of course, any sensible ruler would not have literally ground down the Imperial Guards—the finest elite troops of the Han—while trying to conquer both the Guanzhong Plain and Western Liang. But Wang Yun, who had already suffered massive losses by throwing everything at Hangu Pass, had no choice but to shout “I’d rather starve than yield.” Thanks to the military rations sent by Gong ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠Rong of Qingzhou, he had gained a brief respite, and his offensive grew fiercer day by day.

“Aaaargh! This is driving me insane! Hey! Li Wenyou! Don’t you have some kind of plan? Your head’s the only useful thing around here!”

“This is suicide. Wang Yun can’t control his own rage and is trying to drag us down with him in a double suicide! The Duke of Yan has already betrayed General Dong, and Yuan Shu of Jingzhou… Yuan Shu?”

“You think that Yuan family young master would even bother with us? Weren’t he and his brother the ones screaming about forming an anti-Dong Zhuo coalition to capture old man Dong Zhuo?!”

“No, that’s not it. The anti-Dong Zhuo coalition was nothing but an excuse. They simply joined hands temporarily because they wanted to seize the position of supreme authority that General Dong had taken. If they truly considered us rebels… they would never have allowed Wang Yun to waste tens of thousands of Imperial Guard lives in reckless assaults just to take a single pass like Hangu.”

“Li Wenyou, since you’re smart, come up with some plan or whatever on your own. I have to go block that damn old bastard.”

Li Jue and Guo Si had been Dong Zhuo’s field commanders and the vanguard leaders of the Western Liang Army. While Dong Zhuo still held the reins of the military, some degree of control had been possible. But Western Liang, now ruled by half-barbarian horse-riding thugs who knew nothing but fighting and killing, had become nothing more than one giant band of plunderers.

They valued military officers over civil officials, and most of their strategists—except for Li Ru, Dong Zhuo’s son-in-law and their spiritual pillar—had given up on any further dreams and left the Western Liang warlord faction in search of freedom. Any warlord with a sound mind would have stopped them, but unfortunately the half-barbarian Western Liang Army operated under the mindset that “we can manage just fine without those fancy scholars.” As a result, Li Ru’s workload increased day by day.

A siege was hell for the attackers, but it was no less mentally exhausting for the defenders. While devising defensive strategies, managing the public sentiment of the Guanzhong Plain, and trying to restrain the mad Western Liang soldiers who kept plundering their own lands, Li Ru suddenly felt hot mucus flowing from his nostrils.

“…No, that’s blood.”

The sleeve he used to wipe it was completely stained with thick, sticky black blood.

“Father-in-law… it seems Heaven’s mandate for you ends here…”

Using flooding tactics against Hangu Pass, which sat between two great rivers—the Yellow River and the Han River—was nearly impossible. With two such large rivers present, even fire attacks could be easily extinguished. The thick walls, some dozens of zhang long, were too sturdy to be broken by stone-throwers, and the strong crossbows fitted with the Yeongangno’s reloading mechanism could hold off hundreds of thousands of enemies. But that was as far as it went. They could hold, but they could no longer aim for the Central Plains.

Wang Yun’s siege was reliably driving both factions toward their end. Of course, he would never hand Hangu Pass over to the bumpkins from Luoyang, but the moment Yi Province and Yan—both steadily building up their strength—and Jingzhou, which was expanding its power by invading Yangzhou, finally lifted their heavy backsides and moved, whether it was the Western Liang Army or the Imperial Guards, it would all be over.

“I will give you a letter. Deliver it separately to the Inspector of Yi Province and the Inspector of Jingzhou.”

Unfortunately, Li Ru was Dong Zhuo’s son-in-law and had formed a kind of shared destiny with the Western Liang Army. As a man, and as the strategist who had once guided Dong Zhuo’s hegemony, abandoning the dream of unifying the realm was a bitter decision. But the word “strategist” did not mean a fool who dragged a hopeless cause to the bitter end. Once the dream of unifying the realm had been shattered, it was time for an exit strategy.

“Huu… Just hold out a few more years. A few years… only a few years. Compared to the years we spent in Western Liang, this is paradise. Please, just hold on a few more years.”

Those words were spoken to the Western Liang Army, and at the same time, to his own body that was dying under accumulated stress.

In the autumn of 191, the sky was high and blue and the fields were dyed golden, yet the ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠plains surrounding Hangu Pass were stained a deep, dark red.

Once the worst of the summer heat had passed, Sun Jian’s offensive resumed. The pirates who had been targeting the supply lines along the Yangtze River surrendered one by one and came under Sun Jian’s command. With the fall of Jiujiang County, which had served as the border of Yuzhou, Sun Jian was finally able to send his first victory report.

“Send a messenger to the Inspector of Yangzhou. Tell him that if they surrender now, we will not harm their families in the name of Sun Jian. But if they refuse our kind offer, we will have no choice but to give them the rod of punishment.”

The war between Yuan Shu and Lu Kang was not a total war. If one were to be precise, it was closer to the feudal wars of medieval Europe fought to seize each other’s territories. They fought while minimizing the sacrifice of peasants who would become the labor force once a territory was occupied. There was no deep-seated grudge between them, and once the families were taken as hostages and moved to Yuan Shu’s home base in Runan, there was no longer any need to make examples of them. Those who wished could retain positions equivalent to a commandery administrator. Sun Jian emphasized this point repeatedly as he urged surrender after surrender.

It was the kind of composure only a general who had occupied the Yangtze River and captured an entire commandery in less than a year could afford.

“Father, if we conquer Yangzhou, does that mean we will be the ones to govern it?”

“That’s right. Lord Gonglu promised as much.”

Unlike Jingzhou or Yuzhou, where redevelopment projects had at least broken ground, Yangzhou—classified as part of the Jiangdong region—was land whose preliminary feasibility study for redevelopment had not even been completed. Of course, people had lived there for three hundred years, so its population was comparable to Yanzhou or Qingzhou. But turning this land full of swamps and barbarians into productive territory was a massive undertaking that would require decades. Naturally, Yuan Shu had little interest beyond its population of nearly four million, which was why he had promised to grant the land to Sun Jian. But to the still-young Sun Ce and Zhou Yu, the potential of this land was the first thing that caught their eyes.

“Father, once we occupy Yangzhou, let’s declare independence.”

“…Have you lost your mind?”

“Gongjin, show him ‘that.’”

“That? Got it.”

Zhou Yu and Sun Ce pulled a single letter from their robes.

“It is an imperial decree. Once Yangzhou is occupied… you must declare independence, Father.”

The letter was filled with all kinds of flowery rhetoric, but what truly mattered was the final sentence and the seal stamped upon it.

Eight characters written in seal script. The strongest mental weapon capable of issuing absolute commands to the people of Han. The inscription of the Imperial Heirloom Jade Seal was stamped at the very end of the order.