Chapter 26
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Translator: MadScientist
Chapter: 26
Chapter Title: Cavalry Commandant Lu Bu
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The reward money I received for suppressing the Henei rebels was quite substantial.
But once Wei Sok caught wind of it, the bastard clung to my side even more tenaciously than usual, whining away.
"Big brother! You've made a killing this time, so don't we deserve a tour of Luoyang now? Stuck in the barracks day in and day out is driving me nuts! Booze! Treat your little brother to some booze!"
"...Ahem..."
Even Zhang Liao, who had been silently polishing his spear nearby, lifted his head quietly at those words and glanced our way.
Zhang Liao clearly wanted a drink too.
'Well, it's been over two weeks since we last smelled the Black Mountain bandits' blood. Time for some rear-guard action, I suppose.'
"...Hah, fine, fine. I get it, you noisy bastard. Lead the way."
"R-Really!? Big brother!?"
"Do I ever say one thing and mean another?"
"Wooooow!"
Wei Sok let out a childish yell and bolted outside. Zhang Liao and I followed behind him.
The place Wei Sok led us to was incomparable to the rundown frontier taverns. Glowing lanterns, people decked out in silk robes, and musicians filling the air with lively tunes.
Luoyang's nights were truly a world unto themselves.
"Kahaha! This is the life, big brother! You really do get to appreciate the finer things once you've made it!"
Wei Sok was flushed red and chattering nonstop, while Zhang Liao gazed at him with pitying eyes but silently emptied his cup.
As I tilted my cup amid the noisy clamor of the tavern, a different scene suddenly floated into my mind.
'......'
A quiet room.
The clear aroma of tea mingling with the scent of ink.
And the woman who had stopped me in my tracks with those four words: 'men and women should keep their distance.'
—Chae Yeom
Her refined face and those deep eyes that seemed to pierce right through everything shimmered above my cup.
"—Sir! Big brother! Are you listening?"
Wei Sok's voice snapped me back.
"What're you thinking so hard about? Got your eye on some noble lady or something?"
"Cut the nonsense. Just drink."
"Aw, playing coy! Well, a man like you would have all the capital's beauties lining up, so it's only natural!"
As I let Wei Sok's babble flow in one ear and out the other, a commotion erupted outside the tavern, followed by someone shouting.
"Did you hear? His Majesty has finally lifted the Party Prohibition gold ban!"
"What? Is that true!?"
The rowdy interior fell silent in an instant, like a lie, before exploding into even greater murmurs.
Wei Sok, drunk as he was, went wide-eyed.
"Party Prohibition gold? What's that?"
Zhang Liao sighed pityingly at Wei Sok's question. But 'Party Prohibition gold' was new to me too.
"Wen Yuan, what the hell is this Party Prohibition gold?"
"...Ahem..."
Only then did Zhang Liao begin explaining in a low voice.
"It was when the current Emperor ascended the throne at a young age."
"...."
"Back then, Grand General Dou Wu, the Empress Dowager's in-law, held immense power. He allied with renowned scholars to purge the court of the eunuchs who were devouring the state."
Wei Sok's eyes sparkled as he jumped in.
"Oh! So they teamed up with the bookworms and slaughtered all the eunuchs? Wait, if they won, why are those castrated bastards still running around?"
Zhang Liao glanced at Wei Sok and shook his head.
"They lost. They killed two Chief Attendants without the Empress Dowager's permission, and Grand General Dou Wu went home on 'leave' only to get counterattacked."
Zhang Liao's voice grew even quieter.
"The eunuchs seized the young Emperor and fabricated a decree claiming Dou Wu and the scholars had plotted rebellion. Overnight, Grand General Dou Wu, Chen Fan, and the entire Pure Stream faction were branded traitors and executed."
"...What? No way? A Grand General just... that pathetically...?"
The drunken flush drained from Wei Sok's face.
"From that day on, the eunuchs labeled all scholars allied with Dou Wu as 'Partisans' and hunted down their entire clans. They issued a ban forbidding any gentry connected to the Pure Stream from ever holding office again. That was the 'Party Prohibition gold.' And today, that shackle has finally been lifted."
"...Damn."
Wei Sok just gaped, dumbfounded.
His sobered face mixed shock and fury. Zhang Liao ignored him and refilled his cup.
"Jeez, how do they screw up killing even a single eunuch? Right, big brother? If we'd had command—"
"Shut your trap, you fool. If anyone hears, you'll end up dead by eunuch hands too—got two lives to spare?"
"Ahem..."
Wei Sok clamped his mouth shut, and a brief silence fell over the lively drinking session.
"So, Wen Yuan. What does lifting that shackle even mean?"
I tossed out the question after listening quietly, and Zhang Liao answered with a serious expression.
"Luoyang's power balance is about to shift. Grand General He Jin will surely pull the freed Partisans to his side, crush the Yellow Turbans, and confront the Ten Attendants. And the Ten Attendants won't sit idle. They'll rally forces under the pretext of the Yellow Turbans and clash."
"...Hah, a dogfight in the end."
"Exactly, Attendant."
With Zhang Liao's explanation, I grasped the situation.
In short, supply was about to explode.
Until now, decent blades were scarce, so even nameless frontier swords fetched high prices. But now, famed swords rotting in warehouses would flood the market.
A warrior just starting to make a name like me would see his value plummet.
'Shit... sword prices are gonna tank.'
Not exactly welcome news.
It was the morning after returning from the drinking.
'Sword prices are gonna tank.'
Zhang Liao's words lingered in my head.
The hangover from last night had long faded, leaving my mind sharper than ever. The political landscape had completely changed.
—He Jin or the Ten Attendants. It was time to choose.
How could I sell my value for the highest price? As I paced the room mulling it over, quiet footsteps approached from outside.
"Attendant, Chief Attendant has sent for you."
It was Zhang Liao's voice.
I opened the door to find an unfamiliar eunuch standing there.
"Chief Attendant Zhang Yang summons you."
No word yet from Grand General headquarters, but the eunuchs had moved first, swiftly.
"...Lead on."
The eunuch took me to Zhang Yang's chambers—lavish, yet laced with a decadent aura.
The room assaulted my nose with expensive incense. Zhang Yang lounged crookedly on a silk chair, smirking arrogantly as if he'd been expecting me.
"Ahahaha! You must've heard the news last night. Soon the Grand General will gather the prestige-mongers for some dull meeting."
His eyes appraised me like a merchant eyeing wares.
"But attending that would be a bore. Would that butcher even recognize your worth? You're not some cleaver for chopping meat."
"......"
"Word from the Emperor's side: the court will soon reinstate Lu Zhi as North Central General to strike Zhang Jiao, the Yellow Turbans' main force."
Information not yet public.
This eunuch had every whisper in the palace depths dancing on his palm.
"We know a blade's true value. No more fence-sitting between that butcher and us. We'll make you Cavalry Commandant. Join Lu Zhi's army. Stand at the vanguard of the realm's greatest battle, where all main forces converge, and etch your name across the heavens. Of course, as investors, we expect due returns."
Zhang Yang set down his cup, his words piercing my thoughts.
"We feed our dogs well. But would our Grand General Butcher do the same?"
The offer was clear.
Information straight from the Emperor's ear, and a meteoric promotion He Jin couldn't match.
He Jin versus the Ten Attendants.
In the end, the ones valuing the sword highest—absurdly—weren't the seen He Jin, but the rumored Ten Attendants.
"I accept."
A satisfied smile curled Zhang Yang's lips.
A few days after striking the deal with Zhang Yang.
Finally, a summons arrived from Grand General headquarters. As Zhang Yang predicted, the meeting was utterly tedious.
The hall was spacious and ornate on the surface, but filled with oily faces wearing sycophantic smiles.
No famed generals from the rumors.
Just He Jin's old cronies and hangers-on filling seats, busy trading nauseating flattery.
Their eyes fixed solely on crumbs from He Jin's mouth.
"Hahaha, without the Grand General, how could the Henei rebellion have been quelled so easily!"
"If not for the Grand General's troops, Henei would still be burning!"
Only boring flattery filled the room.
He Jin accepted it all as his due, beaming with pleasure.
The meeting dragged on agonizingly slow until my turn came. He Jin cleared his throat with feigned dignity and called me.
"Hero of the Henei suppression, Lu Bu, step forward!"
"......"
All eyes stabbed at me.
Jealousy and curiosity mingled in those gazes. Ignoring them, I stepped forward quietly.
He Jin bellowed sternly to the assembly.
"I highly commend Military Affairs Attendant Lu Bu's merits and have petitioned His Majesty for a fitting post! Lu Bu is appointed Colonel! Henceforth, fortify the defenses in the Sarye region—"
'Colonel... Hah, just as expected. The butcher's vessel is exactly this small.'
As He Jin's words neared their end.
"His Majesty's decree has arrived!"
The hall doors flew open as an eunuch bearing the imperial edict entered.
The noisy chamber hushed like ice water poured over it. All eyes locked on the eunuch.
A subtle smile played on the eunuch's face.
Ignoring He Jin entirely, he strode to the center, unfurled the edict, and read sonorously.
"By the decree of His August Emperor! Lu Zhi is reinstated as North Central General to suppress the Yellow Turbans' main force!"
The hall murmured. So soon after lifting the Party Prohibition, Lu Zhi—ousted from office—was appointed to this key post, shocking everyone.
"Lu Zigan as North Central General?"
"The ban's barely lifted!"
Whispers rose. But the eunuch wasn't done.
His gaze fixed precisely on me.
"Furthermore, for merits in suppressing Henei, Bing Province officer Lu Bu is appointed Cavalry Commandant! The Cavalry Commandant shall immediately join North Central General Lu Zhi's army, stand at its vanguard, and annihilate the rebels!"
"........."
Silence fell.
Everyone in the hall froze stock-still. The Grand General's official appointment to his subordinate had been outright overturned by the Emperor's edict.
Via an eunuch sent by the Ten Attendants—
"...Grit..."
He Jin's face blanched, then flushed crimson.
His jaw muscles twitched spasmodically. Before his underlings' eyes, he'd been perfectly backstabbed by the Ten Attendants.
I passed the rigid He Jin and knelt before the eunuch bearing the edict. My voice rang clear through the hall.
"Your subject, Lu Bu! I shall obey His Majesty's command!"
Seeing this, He Jin lurched to rise.
His right hand gripped his sword hilt at his waist. But recalling the edict and his position, he trembled with clenched fists, barely restraining himself.
He Jin's nearby subordinates glared at me with panic and rage mixed.
'Hah, what can you lot do besides shake in fury?'
Before the Emperor's edict, Grand General He Jin could do nothing.