Discipline and Order

One day after escaping the Black Mountain Bandits' assault, the year finally turned.

Which meant I could reallocate my stats. More importantly, because the season itself had changed, the stat cap had risen all the way to 110.

The concept behind this setup — dumping almost everything into Leadership — was simple. We'd driven off the Black Mountain Bandits' invasion, but more than ten thousand of them were still waiting at the Taihang Stronghold.

Granted, their fighting force had been shattered, so the stronghold held nothing but women and children. But Black Mountain Bandits were like cockroaches: leave them alone and some new chieftain would come crawling out of the woodwork soon enough.

That left only one option — wipe out the stronghold itself. Not by massacring everyone living there, mind you. I meant to relocate them to Hanei and settle them properly.

In other words, a straight plagiarism of the strategy history remembered as the beginning of Wei's unstoppable rise: the absorption of the Qingzhou troops. To pull it off, I'd copied the special ability of Yu Jin, the man who'd managed those troops, and built the rest of my setup around it.

At any rate, we'd been climbing since dawn, heading for the Taihang Stronghold. Everyone else was busy, so it was just Zhang Fei and a portion of the troops.

"Wooow! Is that Lady Sima Lang?"

Sure enough, as we reached the encampment, Sima Lang and Sangrim were talking in the distance, just as Zhang Fei had said.

"Young Master Do!"

The moment they spotted me, Sima Lang and Sangrim came running over, faces bright with delight. Was it the lunar New Year?

It was the very threshold of spring, and the way they came ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠bounding toward me with that light, swaying step made them look for all the world like a pair of spring maidens.

"Hah… hah… You came?"

"Lady Sangrim, you really don't have to welcome me like this…"

"But it's been two whole months since we last saw you! Do you have any idea how many nights Lang here stayed up worrying something might have happened to you?"

"I—I never said that, Rim!"

Neither of them had changed a bit. Sangrim was still thinking of nothing but mischief, and Sima Lang had gone red all the way to her ears, fidgeting like a bride on the threshold of the wedding chamber.

"Anyway, I've finished everything I was assigned, so I can go home now, right? Who makes someone spend New Year's Day stuck in the middle of a mountain?"

"You've both done so much. You as well, of course, Lady Sima…"

"Then I'll head down first. You two catch up properly."

With that, Sangrim left only her parting shot behind, stretched out a long yawn, and started down the mountain. Suddenly it was just Sima Lang and me, standing there in awkward silence.

"Lady Sima. You've worked hard."

"Who could have worked harder than the Young Master who spent two months undercover in enemy territory? Sangrim talks like that, but last night she stayed up till dawn holding a torch, keeping watch over this place."

"We're so short-handed even the civil officials end up on the front lines. Ah — and thank you for lending the Sima clan's private retainers as well."

"Yawang and On are lips and teeth. If Yawang falls, On is next. How could our clan possibly refuse to act?"

We'd dug the trap and waited, but Yu Bi's forces had still been hopelessly outnumbered. The only reason we hadn't had to split our already meager troops was those few hundred retainers the Sima clan had lent us.

"You must have been freezing. Your hands are bright red."

She'd clearly come prepared against the cold, but there was no way the mountain air on New Year's Day could be anything but bitter. Even so, Sima Lang — nose tip flushed scarlet — only shook her head.

"If this is how I can help the Young Master, then I'm content."

"It wasn't just this, was it? I got an administrative report in a rush last night. Thanks to you, Lady Sima, the military colonies have taken root so well they're already expecting a major harvest."

In the two months I'd been gone, Sima Lang and the other civil officials had finished every planned technical project. They'd surveyed the land, found the empty plots, reintroduced farming methods, and trained the soldiers.

A military colony of considerable scale was now in place, seeds already in the ground, waiting on the harvest. Sima Lang smiled softly as she answered.

"I only set a spoon on the table the Young Master had already prepared. Being praised for that is almost embarrassing. What truly saddens me is that no one else knows what you've done here."

Well — as Dong Zhuo's would-be assassin, I couldn't exactly show my face in public. The people around us were almost certainly singing her praises instead of mine.

"I hesitate to call this a gift, but would you take a look?"

I drew a sheet of paper from my robes at once. Sima Lang took it, tilted her head, and asked,

"What is this?"

"There was someone among the Black Mountain Bandits who claimed he could write poetry, so I took one of his pieces. The content was surprisingly decent, and if you like it, Lady Sima, I'd like to give it to you."

"Pfft… Whoever wrote this clearly doesn't know the first thing about classical verse."

"I figured as much. What would bandits know about writing, anyway? I wanted to compose one for you myself, but that was a bit beyond me… Shall I take it back, then?"

"No! You went out of your way to get this for me while you were busy enough just hiding your identity. I'll accept it gratefully."

Even a poem by Gwak Daehyeon that failed the most basic standards of classical verse, Sima Lang pressed to her chest as a treasured gift. The way she cradled it in both hands, as if holding a precious infant, was almost unbearably endearing…

"Then what do you plan to do now, Young Master?"

"I'm going to the Taihang Stronghold to round up every last Black Mountain Bandit still there."

"Do you really need to go that far? All the able-bodied men are already prisoners, and the grain stockpiled here is being moved to the county seat as we speak."

"I'm not going to punish them. They took a wrong path, but they're still subjects of the Han. If we re-educate them and settle them in Yawang, wouldn't that be enough?"

"Y-you were thinking that far ahead? As expected, my mind can't even begin to grasp the Young Master's greater design. But if more than ten thousand people suddenly pour in, things will get quite chaotic, won't they?"

"Which is exactly why I still need your help, Lady Sima. I know this is an unreasonable request, but if the Sima clan has any idle land in On County, could you lend a little of it to Lady Yu Bi?"

"You mean to expand the military colonies further and have them farm for themselves. Of course I'll arrange it."

"Really? Don't you need your father's permission — or the clan's?"

"If it's only a loan, what problem could there be? I can persuade them of that much, so please don't worry."

The conversation had gone beautifully. Honestly, Sima Lang — you were a fairy without wings.

Wait. Did fairies originally have wings?

"Leave the grain transport to the retainers and go rest, Lady Sima."

"No! This is the duty I accepted, and I want to see it through. With the Young Master working this hard from the first day of the new year, I wouldn't feel at ease going home anyway."

Sima Lang, thinking of me to the very end. After a farewell thick with lingering regret, I set out once more for the Taihang Stronghold.

We reached the Taihang Stronghold a full day later. At the sudden arrival of government troops, the stronghold — which had been waiting for its men to return — plunged into total panic.

Sima Lang had even sent retainers to seal the roads, so no word of what had happened on our side had reached them at all. I had the soldiers cut off every possible escape route, then gathered the people near the chieftain's hall.

"You all know who I am, don't you?"

"…"

The shocking revelation that the chieftain's most trusted subordinate had, until mere days ago, been a government spy. The families of the stronghold trembled violently, waiting for whatever I would say next.

"The force that marched on Yawang has been annihilated. Over a thousand were taken prisoner, and a considerable number of your own family members are almost certainly among the dead."

Ahh…

Sighs broke out on every side. Their only real means of defense had vanished, and the terror of death waiting just ahead must have been crushing them.

"Don't be afraid. I didn't come here to punish you. Anyone who resists to the end will be dealt with severely under the law, of course. But if you quietly follow me to Yawang, not one of you will be harmed."

"Y-Yawang? So you can execute us there?"

"I already said no. Provided you keep the rules, I'll give you land to till. You're criminals, so life will be hard for a while. But I promise you this — one day, you will become free commoners."

"…"

Perhaps because I'd raised Leadership so high, my voice rolled out deep and resonant across the entire stronghold, carrying a weight of authority that pressed down on everyone present.

The people of the stronghold half-doubted my words, but in the end they reached the only conclusion available: they had no choice but to follow.

And so, over the course of several days, the entire Taihang Stronghold was relocated to Yawang. We stripped the place of every last resource, then set fire to what remained so no one else could ever use it again.

Hic… hic…

The grief of the Black Mountain Bandits forced to leave the stronghold they'd called home was absolute. Our forces were so badly outnumbered that more than a few slipped away under cover of night.

Even so, we succeeded in moving nearly ten thousand people, lock and stock, into Yawang.

Some of them found the family members who'd been taken prisoner, threw their arms around them, and wept. Others clutched corpses and wailed.

"This is where the real work begins. Until recently these people were criminals who didn't know the first thing about law, so they will absolutely cause trouble."

I gathered everyone at the county seat and launched into a full speech on the management of the Black Mountain Bandits. With ten thousand new arrivals, the aftermath mattered more than anything.

"We'll have to govern them strictly. Especially the local commoners who've suffered at their hands more than once — they'll pick fights every time they see them."

As No Sik said, discrimination against a migrant group by the established population was an everyday occurrence. Historically, the Qingzhou troops had caused problems more than once, and each time Yu Jin had been forced to step in with a "disciplinary action" that was really a purge by another name.

"Then what should we do now?"

"The Sima clan has agreed to lend us land, so we'll divide them up and create collective settlements. After that, we put them to farming the same way we did with the existing military colonies."

"Ahh… an excellent idea. Then you and I can take charge of that work together, Lord Do Yeop…"

"No. Lady Sima Lang and I will handle this."

"L-Lady Sima Lang… you say? Why not with me…? I can do it too! While you were away, I worked just as hard as anyone on the development plans…"

"I know that. But for this particular job, Sima Lang is simply a better fit for me? Anyway, the two of us will do it."

"…"

Yu Bi looked so startled her eyes nearly popped from her head, and for a moment she lost the power of speech. But what choice did I have?

In game terms, the skill that governed "popular support" — the equivalent of civilian loyalty — existed only on me and Sima Lang.

Heh heh…

While Yu Bi's expression darkened, Sangrim jabbed Sima Lang in the side with another mischievous grin.

Sima Lang pretended to dislike the teasing, but she seemed quietly pleased at the prospect of working alongside me.

"I never imagined the Young Master would name me ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠himself."

After the meeting, I found a moment with Sima Lang in the rear courtyard. She clasped her hands together, her face full of shy anticipation for our collaboration.

"It's work you're perfectly suited for, Lady Sima. Of course, they're a rough lot, so you may find them unpleasant. But we've disarmed them, and if we have the retainers keep a strict watch…"

"I was thinking something a little different. If the goal is to reform them, wouldn't a somewhat gentler approach also work?"

"If that's Lady Sima's way, then that's how we'll do it. I believe whatever method you choose is the right one."

In actual history, she had been famous for her outstanding character and her popularity among the common people. When she governed Dangyang, not a single crime was committed without her ever needing to apply the rod even once.

Someone like her had more than enough ability to turn even vicious Black Mountain Bandits into well-behaved puppies. At the excessive praise, a flush rose again across her cheeks.

"When the Young Master praises me like that, I feel terribly embarrassed. I'm someone who can't even reach the tips of your toes…"

"Not at all! In terms of character, you are someone I wouldn't dare compare myself to. Hmm… the truth is, we don't have much time left. Before long Yuan Shao will rally ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠the regional officials and march on Hanei, and the shadow of war will fall over us. When that happens, we have to keep at least Yawang and On at peace, don't we?"

"You're right. Which is why… what if I stayed at the county seat for the time being?"

"What? Why leave a comfortable home to stay at the county office…?"

"Time is short, so I want to save even the hours spent traveling back and forth. And since this is work I'm doing with the Young Master, we could meet and talk whenever we need to… Ah! I mean strictly work-related conversations, of course."

"…"

I knew that. Apart from work, what private topics did the two of us even have to discuss?

But separate from that, the simple fact remained that her thoughtfulness had been overproducing dopamine in me lately. Which was probably why, every time I looked at her, I ended up smiling like an idiot without meaning to.

"Is there something on my face? Young Master, why are you suddenly smiling like that?"

"No! Looking at you just puts me in a good mood, Lady Sima. You have a gift for making everyone around you smile with that particular kindness of yours."

"Th-that's… you're teasing me too much, Young Master. Shall we start right away, then? I'll prepare the documents, so would you come find me in a little while?"

With that, Sima Lang ran off to get the papers ready. Watching her go, both hands swinging in that warm, familiar way, I thought spring really must have put her in good spirits.

"Lord Do Yeop…?"

"Huh? Lady Yu Bi — how long have you been standing there?"

At that moment, Yu Bi emerged from behind a mulberry tree. She had been peeking out with only her head visible, as if she'd been eavesdropping on our entire conversation.

"You and Lady Sima Lang ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠seem to have grown remarkably close of late."

"Close? Hardly. You know perfectly well what happened between Sima Lang and me. Deep down she's probably still resentful. She's simply setting private feelings aside for the sake of On County's development."

"Aigoo… Why do you always scheme for ways to wriggle free and deceive me?"

"I've never tried to deceive anyone…"

"Is it true Lady Sima Lang will be staying at the county seat? You'll already be side by side all day once work begins — does that mean you can't even bear the brief time apart?"

"Lady Yu Bi? I have no idea what you're talking about. Shouldn't you be pleased when your retainers work hard on your behalf?"

"…"

Yu Bi clamped her mouth shut and stuck out her lower lip in a pout. For a second I thought she was loading up another tear-volley, but that wasn't it.

"I still don't understand what you said earlier. What did you mean when you said you and Lady Sima Lang 'fit better' together?"

"Exactly what it sounds like. I said Sima Lang is better suited to this work than you are, Lady Yu Bi."

"Why am I not suited? For two entire months I waited for your safe return, drawing water and praying every single day — so why is it Lady Sima Lang here, and not me?"

"This is incredibly hard to explain… I meant that Sima Lang is by nature kind and of outstanding character, making her the ideal talent for winning the people's hearts."

"Hup… Then are you saying I am by nature wicked and of poor character, and therefore cannot win the people's hearts? How can you say such a thing without so much as blinking?"

"Why do you always take things to such extremes? Everyone has work that suits them, don't they?"

"Then what work suits me?"

"…"

I should have answered faster, but I couldn't help it. No matter how hard I turned the gears in my brain, I simply could not think of a single thing Yu Bi would be good at.

"Y-you can't answer, can you? This is truly too much!"

As if no wound could cut deeper, Yu Bi sniffled back tears and ran off. Seriously — of all the things that just happened, what exactly set her off?