The Bloody Five-Colored Club
From prestigious families came two notorious rascals. In the years ahead, Cao Cao would stand among the four great traitors who, as part of the faction that toppled the Han, drove the dynasty to ruin. A supremely capable villain who nearly single-handedly ended the Han era and laid the foundation for her successor to overthrow it with ease and establish the Cao kingdom. That was Cao Cao.
She had once been evaluated by the famous physiognomist He Shao as someone who would become a capable minister in times of peace but a cunning hero in times of chaos. It was no exaggeration to say she lived a life that fulfilled that prophecy to the letter. Yet it had not always been so.
In her young, hot-blooded days, Cao Cao was a talented individual versed in both civil and martial arts. She possessed the backing of her family and, above all, a genuine desire to revive the Han dynasty that was racing toward catastrophe. Though in her childhood before taking office she had run wild with friends—causing chaos, crashing weddings, and living exactly as she pleased—once she assumed her post, her behavior changed.
She became the Northern District Commandant of Luoyang, essentially the captain of the guard responsible for the capital’s northern gate. She enforced the rules with absolute rigor. Anyone who violated them was personally beaten to death by her five-colored club. She performed her duty without compromise as the official protecting the gateway to the city where the Son of Heaven resided. Private passage through that gate would allow thieves and bandits to slip in and out at will; her strict application of the law left no room for argument.
Besides, it was not some insignificant underling carrying out the task. She was a descendant of a family wielding considerable authority. Unless the offense was truly egregious, finding fault with her was no simple matter.
While she was diligently carrying out her responsibilities, a man attempted to pass through the northern gate late at night when transit was forbidden. The problem was his arrogant attitude. The reason he could afford such insolence was the powerful backer he trusted. That man was the uncle of Jian Shuo, a member of the Ten Attendants—the highest power holders in the Han Dynasty at the time.
Who would dare lay a hand on the uncle of one of the era’s supreme authorities? Relying on that protection, the uncle defied Cao Cao, swaggering and full of bluster.
“I wondered what sort of person would show such gall. So you’re nothing but a reckless fool rampaging around on the strength of that single backer?”
The words struck a nerve.
“What…?”
Crack!
Cao Cao brought her perfectly crafted club down squarely on the man’s skull.
“Is breaking the law something to boast about? You wretch, lower than a monkey! Today I’ll hang this son of a bitch who’s worse than a dog and establish the law of the northern gate once and for all!”
Smiling all the while, she beat Jian Shuo’s uncle until the five-colored club was soaked crimson. She struck him with ferocious strength.
“Huh? What’s this… he’s dead? Tsk. All that bluster was nothing but hot air. To die from so little.”
Jian Shuo’s uncle, who had never been particularly strong, died on the spot beneath Cao Cao’s club.
Jian Shuo was one of the Ten Attendants, among the most powerful figures of the age. Any ordinary person would have trembled with fear after beating such a man’s uncle to death, yet Cao Cao showed no dread at all. If anything, she looked positively delighted.
For one thing, if the deceased was merely the uncle of a Ten Attendant, Cao Cao held her position by imperial decree. She had nothing to fear. For another, it was a well-known fact that among Luoyang’s four major gates, the northern gate under Cao Cao enforced the regulations most strictly. Coming deliberately to her gate was tantamount to scorning her and picking a fight.
Thus the hot-tempered Cao Cao refused to hold back. While the other gates might bend to the Ten Attendants’ influence, doing so here constituted a direct challenge to her. In truth, the rather capricious Cao Cao had also been irritated that it was not even the ball-less eunuch himself but his uncle acting so arrogantly. When the annoying bastard handed her the perfect excuse and provoked her temper besides, she simply let loose.
Of course, she had performed her calculations as well.
The Ten Attendants—especially Jian Shuo—were furious, practically hopping with rage. Yet when Cao Cao declared boldly, “I merely followed the regulations!” they found themselves unable to act. That declaration was only the surface justification. The true reason Cao Cao could stand so confidently, and the reason even the cruel and powerful Ten Attendants could not touch her, was that her maternal grandfather—the legendary eunuch Cao Teng—stood firmly behind her as an unassailable backer.
No matter how much power the Ten Attendants had seized, touching the granddaughter of a giant who had maintained immense authority since the previous generation, and without proper justification, would have been more foolish than poking a hornet’s nest with a bare hand.
“S-so you’re all simply going to sit and watch that insolent bitch—!”
“Are you suggesting we kill that person’s granddaughter, Jian Shuo?”
“I lost my uncle! To that damned bitch’s brutal beating! More than a few witnesses saw her smiling as she insulted and clubbed our uncle to death!”
“Have you forgotten how your drunken uncle boasted he would discipline the pretty Northern District Commandant who was running wild? The justification lies with Cao Cao, Jian Shuo.”
“Yet if we let this pass without consequence, everyone will clearly look down on the Ten Attendants and treat our authority as worthless.”
“Very well. Then we shall send her out of Luoyang through a nominal promotion. This should neither offend that person nor fail to punish her for killing your uncle. How does that sound, Jian Shuo?”
“…I have no choice. I accept.”
Still, when the uncle of a member of the emperor-backed Ten Attendants—the highest power bloc of the age—was clubbed to death in the middle of the night, could they truly let it slide? The incident threatened to shake the Ten Attendants’ prestige and leave a visible crack in their reputation. Doing nothing at all was impossible. Thus they settled the matter by granting a formal promotion while dispatching her to a remote local post—an effective demotion.
Naturally, since advancement within the central government was the quickest route to success and influence, a minor rise in rank was hardly cause for celebration. Except, that is, for one particular individual who had been loudly singing about wanting a local appointment.
In any case, when a certain man heard that the disheartened Cao Cao had been sent away, he rushed over to see her at once.
“Uhahaha! The absolute rascal Cao Aman—who used to trust only in her body to crash weddings, set fires, and raise hell in her youth—still hasn’t lost that temper of hers!”
In truth, he had not come to console her. He had come because the story sounded entertaining. The visitor was none other than Yuan Shu, who had joined Cao Cao in those wild escapades back in the day.
“Good grief, Gonglu. You really never change, even at a time like this?”
“When a friend does her duty according to the law and earns a promotion, one must offer congratulations! What good is pulling a long face?”
Despite his words, Yuan Shu laughed heartily before the smiling Cao Cao. He immediately set the enormous jar he had brought onto the table with a heavy thud.
“Is this… wine?”
“On a day like this I should celebrate my friend and comfort her if she’s sad. For that, nothing beats wine! This big brother has brought the Dujiang liquor that our little rascal Cao Mengde loves so much!”
The jar was the size of a grown man. If it was filled entirely with liquor, its weight must have been immense. Yet Yuan Shu had carried it in one hand and placed it on the table as lightly as a feather. Cao Cao could only chuckle in disbelief at his monstrous strength. More than the feat itself, however, she took delight in his refreshingly bold attitude.
“Yes, on a day like this I should drink until my nose goes crooked and get thoroughly drunk! You’re the only one, Gonglu, who can clear my heart so completely! Puhaha!”
Dujiang liquor was Cao Cao’s favorite, the only thing she claimed could dispel her melancholy when she recited poetry. Hearing her story, Yuan Shu had filled an entire person-sized jar with her preferred drink and brought it. How could she not rejoice?
Though Cao Cao came from a respectable background and a wealthy family, as the grandchild of a eunuch she was often looked down upon. Yet Yuan Shu—the noble legitimate heir expected to inherit the Yuan family, pinnacle of the great clans and bearer of the legacy of Four Generations of Three Dukes—had drawn even closer after coming to know her, always treating her as a refreshingly straightforward friend.
Cao Cao liked that about him. He was bold, spared nothing for his friends, shared her aspiration to support the country, and though his style differed from hers, he never performed his duties half-heartedly.
“…Now that I think about it, you did promise to celebrate properly the next time I was promoted.”
“Tsk, I should have done something better, but time was short. This substitute feels a bit inadequate.”
“Hahaha! Where could there be a greater celebration than this? Drinking all night with a friend I can open my heart to and speak freely with… Luxuries are fine, but right now there is nothing better, Gonglu.”
Cao Cao had brought large drinking bowls and was enjoying the moment with only Yuan Shu, sharing simple snacks.
“In truth I felt rather depressed, thinking I had done my duty only to be demoted. But after drinking with you like this, I see that a promotion is still a promotion. You’re right, Gonglu.”
After handling her work flawlessly, beating the irritating bastard to death as much as she pleased, witnessing the twisted face of that loathsome Jian Shuo of the Ten Attendants, and even receiving a promotion on top of it all, it really wasn’t such a bad outcome.
As the wine took hold, Cao Cao’s face flushed as red as a jujube. She giggled.
“Thieves run rampant and the common people struggle to survive. Since I’ve been promoted to local office, I must strive to give them a better tomorrow. I will prove my ability by ensuring they lack for nothing, then use this as a stepping stone to return to Luoyang. That way I can show the world that the Han is still intact and that life here remains worth living!”
“A fine thought. Hehe. Taxes can only be collected where there are people, after all. It’s not a task just anyone could manage—only someone like Cao Aman, confident in using her head.”
True to his martial prowess, Yuan Shu showed almost no sign of intoxication. With only a faint flush on his face, he gulped down the liquor.
As more time passed and moonlight spilled across the table through the window, the Dujiang liquor Yuan Shu had brought finally ran dry.
“Umm… My red five-colored clubbbb…”
Cao Cao had passed out drunk, slumped over and fast asleep. Yuan Shu savored the final cup.
“Ai, it’s all gone already.”
He had drunk roughly seventy percent of the jar himself yet remained completely unaffected—an impressive display. It was not as if he had brought only a small amount… and such strong liquor at that!
Setting down his bowl, Yuan Shu gave a small laugh and gazed at the drooling, sleeping Cao Cao.
To be honest, I hold little attachment to this country called Han… But that doesn’t mean I’ll mock the dream of someone who speaks with shining eyes about reviving the nation.
To think a person like this would one day be counted among the greatest traitors of the Han, grouped with the usurpers as part of the Mangtakjo…
Yuan Shu simply smiled. The ways of the world were endlessly fascinating. Sometimes history proved more novel-like than any novel.
“Do well, Cao Aman. Let’s meet again later.”
How could he fail to offer at least a word of encouragement to a friend with such aspirations?
Yuan Shu stepped outside, informed the servant that Cao Cao had fallen asleep, entrusted them with the prepared gift, and left.
The next day, Cao Cao received Yuan Shu’s gift.
“This is…!”
The gift was a horse. Saying that when a good friend receives a promotion and sets out, she ought to have a fine steed to match the occasion, he had given her one of the famous horses Ma Teng had presented to him.
“Kukuku, hahaha! As expected of Gonglu! I will ride this horse with pride as I depart, and with pride ride it back to Luoyang!”
At Yuan Shu’s gift, Cao Cao laughed heartily, her hangover momentarily forgotten. Thanks to him, the path of temporarily leaving Luoyang now seemed like it would be quite joyful and refreshing indeed.