Plans of Men, Decrees of Heaven
It is said that while men may scheme, it is Heaven that decides success or failure… and indeed, those words ring true.
Early morning. Staring at the towering pile of spoils before her, Liu Bei muttered with a hollow expression.
“Heaven is truly heartless… I only just won Bang Yeol’s heart yesterday, and today it has already been taken away.”
“What are you saying, sis? Bang Yeol’s gold horse is lying over in Cao Cao’s camp, so how can you speak as if he’s dead?”
“Brother Yi De is right. Thanks to Colonel Cao and Major Xiahou, both Bang Yeol and the spoils are safe. What are you worried about, sister?”
Even at her sworn siblings’ words, the worry on Liu Bei’s face did not fade.
“That is because you do not understand. Did you not see how Colonel Cao wants to place Bang Yeol under her command? Since I was fortunate enough to earn his favor, that cunning woman Cao Cao will surely try to keep him by her side…”
Was wanting Bang Yeol in addition to the two of you simply too much greed? Perhaps Heaven is warning me not to overreach.
As Liu Bei sank into her chair while murmuring, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei exchanged glances, at a loss for words.
“…Aigoo! With little sister and me here, what is there to worry about from mere Yellow Turbans! And once you rise in rank, even smarter fellows than Bang Yeol will flock to you, so do not be so disheartened!”
“Sister. If we help the old Colonel capture Zhang Jue, we will surely receive great offices. Then we will have a way to bring Bang Yeol back, will we not? For now, let us proceed with the plan and go meet Colonel Lu Zhi.”
After much hemming and hawing, Zhang Fei managed to squeeze out some words of comfort, and Guan Yu chimed in. Heartened by her sworn siblings’ clumsy encouragement, Liu Bei rose to her feet with renewed vigor.
“You are right… Staying like this will change nothing. Xian Hua!”
Looking at the mountain of spoils, Liu Bei called for Xian Hua.
“You called?”
“Is not half of these spoils Bang Yeol’s family property? He is no longer part of our group now… What should we do with them? Did Major Xiahou say anything when she brought them to you?”
“Ah, did I not mention it? She said Bang Yeol told her you could use them however you wished. And… this!”
“What is this bamboo slip?”
“It is a letter of recommendation Bang Yeol asked Cao Cao to write. It details your achievements, so if you show it to Colonel Lu Zhi, he will surely employ you in an important position.”
“Bang Yeol?! Even though I am no longer his liege… he still does this for me until the very end…. Xian Hua! You and the soldiers under you stay here and distribute all of this to the poor of Zhuo Commandery. Everyone else, pack up at once! As soon as preparations are complete, we depart for Jizhou!”
“Sister. The physician said Bang Yeol would recover in a week. Why not rest a little and see him before we go?”
Guan Yu tried to persuade her, flustered by the sudden decision to head for Jizhou, but Liu Bei shook her head.
“No. Bang Yeol gave us his family’s wealth and even this recommendation. We cannot afford to waste time. I will definitely achieve great merits by helping my teacher, and only then will I go see him with pride.”
Liu Bei’s eyes, now filled with renewed determination, shone with blazing intensity.
Bang Yeol… Even if Heaven no longer grants me good fortune and forces me to leave you with Cao Cao… please wait just a little longer. I will surely return you to the side of the lord you chose. For that…
“Now then, everyone, we move out!”
To Jizhou, to find her teacher.
“So she really left without even seeing him.”
From a distance, Xiahou Dun and Cao Cao watched Liu Bei’s volunteer army depart for Jizhou. As Cao Cao had predicted, Liu Bei headed straight for Jizhou that morning. Xiahou Dun looked surprised, but Cao Cao remained calm, as if she had expected nothing less.
“Huhu, of course. She would not want to see Bang Yeol, who has become my subordinate, and since she received the recommendation letter, she must be eager to meet Colonel Lu Zhi as soon as possible. …Hahahaha!!! By the time she arrives, will she not witness Elder Zijian being escorted to Luoyang? The sight of someone who lost their subordinate yet still clings to vain hopes… My, this is more entertaining than I thought! Hmm, tonight’s entertainment is decided!”
“What a nasty hobby! Was that why you told me not to mention that the old man had been dismissed—so she could see that sight for herself?!”
“That was part of it, but more importantly, I felt more at ease if Xuande left quickly. Now that she has no wealth left to bribe with and no Elder Zijian, she will be lucky to even become a county magistrate. That way, she cannot interfere between Bang Yeol and me. …My, how reassuring~”
“Hey, Aman. She is just a woman who used to sell straw mats, is she not? She seems somewhat capable, but are you not being overly cautious?”
As Xiahou Dun pointed out, Cao Cao herself knew she was being excessively wary of Liu Bei, yet every time she saw that woman, an inexplicable sense of caution welled up within her. Why was that? Because she was the original lord of the subordinate she had stolen? Perhaps… but the biggest reason was probably…
“Who knows. Perhaps it is because heroes recognize one another? Hahahaha!!”
“More nonsense…”
“What does it matter! In any case, Xuande is someone who must hurry to Jizhou, and I merely gave her a little push from behind. Anyway, our army will station here for about a week to win over the people and…”
BOOM!
A loud noise cut Cao Cao off. It was followed by furious stomping footsteps drawing closer. Then Yuan Shu appeared, her face flushed red with anger.
“What?! Gonglu! What is it this time…”
“You! What is the meaning of this!!!”
Yuan Shu shouted and glared at her. Unlike usual, Cao Cao looked genuinely flustered.
What now? She really had not done anything this time.
“Um… Gonglu? I truly do not know what—”
“Hah! Did you think I would not know that you beat that commoner senseless and locked him up here?!”
No, how did this honey-addicted idiot find out? Cao Cao’s face turned pale.
“W-wait, Gonglu? I merely happened to find Bang Yeol on the verge of death… Why would you misunderstand like that?”
“You must think I am a fool.”
Of course she did.
“Claiming you ‘happened’ to see him in that state? Laughable. You might as well say you saw the commoner being beaten in a dream and went to rescue him. It is obvious. You must have seduced his soldiers with bribes and reduced my Bang Yeol to that state. Otherwise, how could he have emerged unscathed from the middle of enemy lines only to end up half-dead here?”
She had forgotten. Though usually a useless honey addict, Yuan Shu had a talent for slandering others and engaging in dirty, underhanded schemes.
“How could those soldiers steal military funds? You must have bribed them with it. Hmph, you filthy woman who only knows how to fawn over lowborn scum. And then you chase after him calling him a deserter and try to kill him? You have no shame, do you?”
As Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun turned deathly pale, Yuan Shu raised her chin triumphantly.
“Your reason is obvious. It is because—”
Because? Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun swallowed nervously.
“You were jealous that I might keep both Ji Ling and Bang Yeol by my side, were you not?”
“Excuse me?”
“Eh?”
What kind of nonsense was this?
“Everyone knows that commoner rejected your proposal yesterday. Naturally, rather than some eunuch’s granddaughter, he would want to serve under me, Yuan Gonglu, the youngest daughter of the Yuan clan of Runan, one of the Three Excellencies and Four Generations of Officials.”
Ah, she had forgotten that too. Yuan Shu was a woman who understood others’ standings well but had no self-awareness of her own. Though she occasionally showed sharp insight that made even Cao Cao and Yuan Shao tense, she had the fatal flaw of squandering opportunities gained through cold judgment of others with her own generous self-reflection.
“Hmph! Yet you dared to kidnap someone who was to become my subordinate! The only reason I came all the way here without spreading that rumor is to show you one last mercy. Now, hand over our Bang Yeol. Otherwise, I will expose this shameful truth and make sure you cannot even show your face, let alone command!”
““……””
Rendered speechless by the absurd conclusion, Cao Cao and Xiahou Dun merely waved their hands weakly to shoo her away. Seeing this, Yuan Shu shouted, “Just you wait!” and stormed off in a huff.
Afterward, Yuan Shu spent the entire day loudly proclaiming everywhere that “Bang Yeol, moved by my dignity, tried to join me but was kidnapped by Cao Cao!” Naturally, the only one who believed her was Ji Ling…
Thus, a week passed with each of them lost in their own misunderstandings. It was a tedious time for Bang Yeol, confined to bed without being able to move. During that period, the story of Bang Yeol’s “filial piety” spread like wildfire, carried by courtesans, merchants, refugees, and soldiers from Youzhou who had witnessed the Yellow Turban suppression campaign.
Of course, that was exactly what Bang Yeol had intended. However, there were two things he had not anticipated…
—Honey! Did you hear?!
—What is it this time, woman? Why are you making such a fuss since morning?
—Well, I heard from the Gongdal family next door… They say some commoner hunted down the Yellow Turbans who killed his family and slaughtered all fifty thousand of them by himself!
—I heard the Yellow Turbans in Youzhou were wiped out, but… he did that alone?!
—That is not all! That commoner also rescued the youngest daughter of the Yuan clan of Runan who had been kidnapped by them… and they fell in love!!
What had begun as a simple tale of a brave and filial commoner had been twisted by dopamine-starved Han citizens into a forbidden love story between a commoner and a noble lady—one in which he single-handedly annihilated fifty thousand bandits who were his family’s enemies and rescued a noble daughter held captive by them.
“What… What?! Our grandson-in-law… Our youngest grandson was alive?!”
“Dear! This is no time to be lying down! Let us prepare something before that child arrives! Heavens… We thought the Cao family line had ended, but Heaven has helped us, truly Heaven has helped!”
“Indeed! What are you all doing?! Our youngest young master is alive, yet you have not even begun preparing the feast! Ah, dear. We should proceed with the adoption we postponed at this opportunity. We must ensure the family line continues before this old man dies!”
Bang Yeol’s mother had been the only daughter of the Cao clan of Changshan, a prominent local clan in Jizhou’s Changshan.