Entering the World of the Three Kingdoms
Regression, possession, reincarnation, and the like.
Isn't that the dream everyone has dreamed at least once? All the more so when this life leaves something to be desired.
To be born elsewhere as someone else and live a better life. Or to possess incredible abilities, achieve great feats, and receive the praise of all…
I had imagined such things countless times—in my head, and while reading web novels. Yes, even delusions like these were needed to shake off even a little of this life's misery.
One day, while living immersed in web novels and daydreams, the thought struck me: I wanted to try writing a web novel myself.
Other people's writing was fine, but creating a world of my own wouldn't be so bad, right? It was a dream and an ambition that filled me with anticipation—at least at the beginning.
The setting would be my beloved Three Kingdoms. An alternate history of the Three Kingdoms might be common enough, but since it was a world I loved, I thought I might enjoy writing it more.
And the protagonist? After much deliberation, I settled on a fictional character. The daughter of Jin Do, a general under Liu Bei. Her name: Jin Cheong.
Character concept: the valiant warrior type. A heroine with outstanding potential in every martial art—spear, sword, archery, horsemanship. It might have been an overpowered setup, but I figured that to survive in Liu Bei's beleaguered forces, you needed at least this much for the balance to work.
With a simple setup, a rough plot, and the early scenarios drafted, I uploaded a few chapters to a web novel platform.
The response was, honestly, not great—but having started, I truly, truly meant to write it to the end. If only that damned company hadn't kept crushing me with overtime and special-duty shifts.
But why did I possess the character I created? I wanted to watch or imagine the protagonist's exploits—I never wanted to be the protagonist.
Was it because of the protesting comments from readers asking why I wasn't uploading the next chapter? (There weren't even that many, to be honest.)
Or because of the invisible protagonist's complaints about being created and never given a chance to shine?
Whatever the unknown cause, I fell into this world and became Jin Cheong, the protagonist I had created.
Had it been about a day since I arrived? The memories, common sense, knowledge, and mannerisms of this world were absorbed so quickly that I almost wondered if I had always been Jin Cheong.
The first words I heard here were these:
"My lord. Urgent news. The enemy general Xiahou Dun is advancing on Xinye here with a great army."
The place was Xinye, the county where Liu Bei's forces were stationed. In this administrative office where Liu Bei and his generals had gathered, the atmosphere shifted abruptly at the messenger's single line of news.
Having taken refuge under Liu Biao of Jingzhou, several years had passed without major incident. The news sent great ripples across the still pond of their rather dull daily routine.
"I understand. You may withdraw."
Liu Bei spoke, erasing the gentle smile that had been on his face.
The faces of generals like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, and Zhao Yun hardened, while civil officials like Mi Zhu and Sun Qian rolled their eyes with worried expressions.
What should be done about this? We must request reinforcements. We must go out at once and intercept them. Better to hold a siege than intercept. What had begun as a morning court assembly had, before anyone noticed, turned into a military council.
Even Gan Yong, who had been lounging crookedly on a stool right beside me, seemed to grasp the mood—this time he sat up properly.
"Cheong. Cheong."
Still not fully processing the situation, I snapped back to attention at the voice from beside me.
"Cheong. Are you all right? Sitting there in a daze like that."
"Ah…"
Right beside me, this world's father—Jin Do—was whispering with a worried face. My mind cleared in an instant. And with it, I quickly understood the situation—as if I had always been sitting in this seat.
"Ah, I'm fine, Father."
The word "Father" came out naturally, as if worn into my body.
"Oh my. Seems Cheong was startled too. Well, we were all startled, so it's only natural."
Gan Yong spoke from the side. His characteristic easygoing manner of speech remained, but the usual playfulness had been wiped from his face.
"Why don't you head back and rest?"
"I'm fine, so please don't worry."
"You stubborn child. The situation right now is far from good—I think it would be better if you went back."
Jin Do tried several more times to persuade me to leave, and I kept insisting I would stay.
"When has General Jin ever won an argument with Cheong? His Lordship hasn't said anything either, so let's just leave it. No need to waste your strength."
Gan Yong snickered from the side again. Father shook his head and began focusing on the council.
Looking at his profile, though, it seemed a thread of his attention was still fixed on me.
Hearing Gan Yong's words, Jin Cheong's past—now my past—came flooding back.
An even younger time than now. The image of a little girl throwing a tantrum about becoming a general. Jin Do's look of horror as he tried to stop her.
But in the end, a father who could not break that little girl's stubbornness. And martial arts that improved at a rate unbelievable for a young girl—Liu Bei, who highly valued that potential, had begun to take quiet notice of her, and had even granted permission for her to enter the administrative office and observe councils from the side. Of course, being the child of Jin Do, who had long served Liu Bei, played a part as well.
And the first news she encountered upon entering the office like this was precisely this report of Xiahou Dun's invasion.
The lively council was already drawing toward its end.
"My lord, what will you do? Will you go out to meet the enemy?"
The one asking Liu Bei was Xu Shu.
If Xiahou Dun was marching on Xinye, this battle was surely the Battle of Bowang Slope.
The fact that Xu Shu was still in Liu Bei's army at this point was the historical record's setting, not the Romance's. In the official history, Xu Shu later defects to Cao Cao's army when his mother is captured at the Battle of Changban.
This also matched the plot I had laid out in the early part of my novel. In truth, the world I created wasn't pure official history—it was a mashup of the official history, the Romance, and my own imagination.
"I shall go out myself to meet the enemy. The strategy for just such a time has already been prepared together with Master Xu Shu, so let all generals prepare to march."
"Yes!"
At Liu Bei's command, the generals bowed their heads. And then my mouth opened, as if of its own accord.
"I wish to participate as well."
"Cheong!"
Jin Do looked at me in shock. Gan Yong made an "Oh~" expression beside him, and Liu Bei regarded me with interest.
"So it is Cheong. Do you mean what you say?"
"Yes. I trained in the martial arts for times like these. I wish to be of help to our forces as well."
I couldn't tell what he was thinking, but a smile formed on Liu Bei's lips. And Jin Do pressed a hand to his forehead and muttered.
"I knew it would come to this. I just knew…"
Dropped into the Three Kingdoms world and immediately joining a battle. The year was 207. I was only twelve years old.
A body of troops was moving along the road. Numbering roughly several thousand—Liu Bei's army marching out to stop Xiahou Dun's forces, said to number in the tens of thousands.
Mounted generals and soldiers. And Liu Bei, who held overall command. It was not a great army, but the orderly way they moved made clear these were well-trained troops.
But looking carefully among them, one could spot just one incongruous figure.
A short distance behind Liu Bei, a young girl on horseback was following along. She was a person who hardly belonged in an army, yet she herself rode without any awkwardness.
And right beside her, a male general who looked to be in his thirties was likewise riding alongside.
"Cheong. It's not too late even now. Think it over once more."
As the captain of Liu Bei's personal guard, he ought to have prioritized his lord's protection—but right now he was more concerned with the girl beside him.
Liu Bei, his lord, merely gave a bitter smile at this deviation that wasn't quite a deviation from his guard captain, and offered no particular rebuke. She's his own daughter—it would be stranger not to worry.
"My lord. Will this truly be all right?"
Xu Shu, attending right beside him, also spoke with concern.
Jin Cheong's declaration that she would join the battle had been more surprising than even Xiahou Dun's invasion. Even Liu Bei, who had weathered every storm, was honestly seeing this for the first time.
Jin Do and the other generals had all stepped forward to stop her. War was no game. But her stubbornness was tough as iron sinew. From military officers to civil officials, everyone who tried to dissuade her eventually threw up their hands.
In the end, Jin Do had gone so far as to plead with Liu Bei. Please, stop my daughter.
But Liu Bei's words froze him solid in an instant.
"I grant permission. Is that spirit not admirable?"
Jin Do stared at his lord with his mouth hanging open. Gan Yong, who hadn't expected him to actually take her along, just blinked.
And the result that followed was this.
Looking at Xu Shu, Liu Bei continued.
"If my eye is true, that child will surely become a great personage."
Jin Cheong had been even smaller when she stubbornly took up weapons. That extraordinary quality was known to everyone in Liu Bei's army. But martial training and actual war were different things. Very different.
There were often cases of boys just past ten years old going to war, but no one had ever seen a girl so young take the field.
It was only natural that everyone worried—yet just two people, the protagonist of the uproar Jin Cheong and their lord Liu Bei, seemed perfectly calm. Liu Bei could be explained as a man who had weathered every storm, but Jin Cheong? This was her first campaign, and she was a girl. People found it strange.
"General Jin Do. Come this way for a moment."
"Yes, my lord."
Jin Do slightly increased his horse's pace and drew up beside his lord Liu Bei.
"If you are so worried about your daughter, why not watch over her yourself from her side?"
"This humble officer has the duty of protecting my lord at his side. How could I put private feelings first and neglect my responsibility?"
Liu Bei smiled gently, then called over a deputy officer from the personal guard nearby.
"Listen—when the fighting begins, take your men and discreetly watch over Jin Cheong. And should any danger arise, take that child back to Xinye at once."
"Yes, my lord."
Jin Do's stiffened face eased a little.
"I am grateful for your consideration, my lord."
"If General Jin focuses on his duty, that much more will I be safe, no? Haha."
Liu Bei made a joke, and Jin Do laughed awkwardly along.
After his wife had passed from illness, Jin Do had lived looking only to his one remaining daughter. As such, he had wished for her to live happily above all. And yet she was throwing herself onto a battlefield like this.
That Liu Bei had ultimately not stopped her was a regret, but it did not shake his loyalty. He regarded this as a burden he and his daughter would have to bear. And on one hand, he also wanted to see how his daughter had grown.
He looked back at his daughter once more.
A little taller than her peers, but still small compared to the sturdy soldiers around her. Mounted on a large horse, she looked even smaller. And on that pretty face, armor and helmet and a bow that hardly seemed to match.
Yet as she passed over the rough road with the ceaseless clop of hooves, there was not the slightest disorder in her movements. Proof that she was accustomed to riding.
How much farther had they advanced when Xu Shu spoke.
"My lord, a little farther from here is Bowang Slope."
Bowang Slope. The first battle began there.