Hu Muban
[First Month of the First Year of Chupyeong, January 190]
A little over a month had already passed since we funneled the remnants of the Black Mountain Bandits into Yawang and Wen. Problems still littered every corner, and the ledgers stayed stubbornly in the red. Yet the timely activation of my own specialty and Sima Lang’s had flipped popular sentiment almost overnight.
The Black Mountain crews, long treated as nothing but criminals, were so thoroughly won over by Sima Lang’s character that they willingly laid down their own violence.
Time to move to the next stage, then. With the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition already in motion, Yu Bi had set out for Huai County—where Yuan Shao was based—together with Lu Zhi and Sima Lang.
What mattered was everything from this moment on. I had handed Yu Hyeop over to Dong Zhuo with my own hands; I had to reverse all of it before Chosun was forced into the extreme measure of the Beauty Scheme.
Of course, as the subordinate of a mere county magistrate—and one without even a formal rank—it was impossible. Bringing in the Black Mountain Bandits was one thing, but two counties alone could never tip the balance of the war.
Still. I carried a full store of historical knowledge about everything that was about to unfold. Use that, and I could force a way through somehow.
Come February, Dong Zhuo would move Yu Hyeop to Chang’an and take the field alone in defense. The coalition would suffer defeat after defeat against that iron wall until they tore themselves apart with infighting. Yet just as clothes soak through in a fine drizzle, Dong Zhuo’s side was not entirely unscathed either. By the time Yuan Shu—bolstered by Sun Jian—marched north, that front would be so tattered that Dong Zhuo would finally abandon Luoyang.
Only by then the coalition itself would have become a hollow name, and the warlords would carve out their own domains. Yuan Shu, forced to contest the Guandong hegemony with Yuan Shao, would ultimately abandon the emperor.
What if I nudged that history just a little?
Suppose I engineered an early victory for the coalition and prevented the cracks from forming. Keep the pressure on Dong Zhuo bit by bit, and when Yuan Shu finally pushed north, strike from three sides at once. Then even Dong Zhuo, out of sheer regret, would not be able to hide his hunger to reclaim Chang’an… would he?
On a day in the first month, with the new moon not far off, I left the defense of the county to Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Jian Yong, and Shang Lin, and rode alone toward the coalition’s camp.
Majestic!
Perhaps because the alliance was still newly formed, the camp brimmed with high spirits. That was all well and good, but I needed to find Yu Bi quickly…
“Young Master Do!”
Before I could, I ran straight into Sima Lang. The moment she spotted me from afar she came sprinting so hard her shoes nearly flew off.
“S-Sima-sojeo? What if you trip running like that?”
“Hah… hah… I’ve made a disgraceful spectacle of myself. But the instant I saw you, Young Master Do, I was so glad my feet simply moved on their own.”
Watching her smile so brightly even with sweat beading on her forehead made the long road feel worthwhile. Only a few days apart, and she welcomed me like this…
“Have you been well?”
“I only came to deliver the Sima clan’s supplies. How is Yawang faring?”
“I left it with Guan Yu for now—though I’m half-worried his sense of honor will make him move the troops without thinking. With Zhang Fei stuck to him it should work out somehow. Shang Lin and Jian Yong asked me to give you their regards. What about Lord Yu Bi and Master Lu Zhi?”
“General Lu is analyzing the enemy lines with Wang of Henei. As for Magistrate Yu… shall I go fetch her for you?”
“What? I can just go find her myself. Why should Sima-sojeo play messenger?”
“W-well, right now…”
“…?”
Sima Lang looked thoroughly flustered and could not finish the sentence. So she knew exactly where Yu Bi was and what she was doing—and really did not want to tell me?
Clop-clop-clop!
Just then a pair of riders came into view, side by side like a painting come to life. Yu Bi and Yuan Shao.
Whinny!
They reined in. Yuan Shao dismounted first, then stepped over to Yu Bi and even took her hand to help her down.
“Ah…”
Yu Bi flushed with embarrassment yet still accepted the courtesy. These two were flirting right in the middle of the sacred coalition camp?
“I-I’m so sorry. I did tell them Young Master Do would arrive around today…”
“No! There’s nothing for Sima-sojeo to apologize for. Those two have been famous for this ever since Luoyang.”
I kept my voice level, but inside I was seething. The feeling must have shown on my face anyway, because poor innocent Sima Lang suddenly looked awkward for no reason of her own.
“Lord Yu Bi, I’m here! And the Colonel of the Imperial Secretariat is with you as well?”
I walked over with Sima Lang as if nothing were wrong. The moment Yu Bi saw me she flinched and stepped back.
“Hup… Lord Do Yeop, you have arrived?”
“It’s been a while. First time since Mengjin, isn’t it?”
Yuan Shao offered a light greeting. Or was it just my imagination? The man did not look the least bit pleased to see me.
“Wow… I never imagined the words the Colonel spoke that day meant something like this. Exactly how long have you been preparing?”
“If I had to put a date on it, from the very day Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang. That aside, I’ve heard a great deal about the two of you.”
“The two of us…?”
“You and Sima Boda. Word is the pair of you have been inseparable every day, reforming those vicious Black Mountain Bandits. Rumor paints you as a perfectly matched couple. Wouldn’t you agree, Yu-sojeo?”
“I-is that so? I have never heard such a rumor myself… ahem…”
Yu Bi trailed off as if something about it displeased her. More importantly—Yuan Shao, what did you just call Yu Bi?
“Everyone is mistaken. Young Master Do here is a man who keeps public and private strictly separate. He is always careful with his conduct lest even the smallest scandal touch me.”
“Now that is an amusing claim. So then, Sima Boda, you yourself are not careful?”
“Th-that is not what I meant.”
Yuan Shao clearly found teasing Sima Lang entertaining and kept tossing out pointless remarks. Watching that demure woman turn red as a ripe tomato, anyone would want to throw in a line or two.
“Bonchu! Something urgent has come up. You need to return to camp at once.”
Xu You approached and called for Yuan Shao. With a face full of regret the man took both of Yu Bi’s hands and bid her farewell.
“I shall be back shortly. Let us meet again later.”
“Ah… I shall do so.”
And just like that the irritating fellow left. Sima Lang, reading the mood between Yu Bi and me, quietly slipped away as well.
“Then… the two of you should talk.”
She vanished. Only Yu Bi and I remained, and an odd silence settled over us.
Yu Bi spoke first, lips pushed out in a sulky pout.
“Could you not even wait a few days before going around with Lady Sima Lang again?”
“What are you talking about… The first person I ran into the moment I arrived was Sima-sojeo. And you, Lord Yu Bi, looked like you were having quite the delightful time with Yuan Shao.”
“That is not so… I-it is true. Even though he is the leader of the coalition, Yuan Bonchu treated a mere county magistrate like me as an equal. Every day we rode together and discussed the state of the realm.”
“Yuan Bonchu, is it? Come to think of it, Yuan Shao called you Yu-sojeo earlier. When did the forms of address change?”
“The moment I arrived. But you yourself address Lady Sima Lang the same way, do you not?”
“I was only asking—why the sudden seriousness… Anyway, you’re doing well.”
“What… do you mean by that?”
Yu Bi’s eyes went wide again as if startled. What else could I mean? That her way of handling Yuan Shao was proving rather successful.
“You already know Yuan Shao’s interest in you is considerable, right? Even if the power he holds right now is nothing special, as long as he plays the role of coalition leader it never hurts to stay close.”
“Is that all you have to say? You truly feel nothing even after hearing that I have been riding with Yuan Bonchu every single day?”
“Yes.”
Of course I did not truly feel nothing. More than once Yu Bi’s blatant favoritism toward Yuan Shao over me had left me smarting. But what could I do? An imperial clanswoman like Yu Bi and a scion of three generations of the Three Excellencies like Yuan Shao made a pair so well-matched that even Heaven would grow jealous.
Outstanding pedigree plus peak beauty—men and women drawn to each other under those conditions had been an unchanging truth in every age.
“You are truly too much! I counted the days waiting for you to come, yet the moment you arrive you treat me like some frivolous woman peddling smiles to Yuan Bonchu!”
“What… You’re the one who boasted about your friendship with Yuan Shao. Riding every day discussing the state of the realm, you said.”
“As if I could have meant that sincerely! You are always like this. The moment you arrive you look for Lady Sima Lang instead of me… sniff, sniff…”
Yu Bi could not hold out even a moment longer and burst into tears again. Her charm had doubled and it was genuinely hard to keep my head, yet astonishingly my gaze was already fixed somewhere else entirely.
“Wh-where are you going?”
I ignored her calls and walked on. Not far away stood a tree just beginning to put out new leaves. Beneath it a man and woman were quietly chatting.
“What are you doing? Have you already started looking at other women?”
Yu Bi trailed after me as if to say what kind of absurd man was this. But no matter how much of a slave to my lower half I might be, would I really go hunting for another woman while she was crying right in front of me?
“That’s Han Hao. I saw her once before when we went after Wang Guang. Who’s the man beside her?”
“Her fiancé, a man named Du Chi. Ahem… Even if heroes are fond of beauty, how can you stare so hard at a woman who already has a betrothed?”
“That’s not it at all…”
Why was she so determined to paint me as a woman-crazy fool? Still, the two of them together looked rather sweet and fresh.
If the sight of Yuan Shao and Yu Bi riding side by side was a masterpiece painted by a great artist, these two were a warm, earthy folk painting of ordinary people.
Han Hao, so bold that day, now stood with her hands clasped behind her back, shy. Du Chi gazed at her steadily and smiled brightly.
“I am envious… Seeing how deeply they adore each other makes even me jealous.”
“Weren’t you the one who said men and women should not sit together after the age of seven? And there’s nothing to envy. Someone else might have looked at you and Yuan Shao the same way.”
“Why must you bring up Yuan Bonchu again here? Sometimes I feel as though even if I entered Yuan Bonchu’s household as a concubine you would not so much as blink.”
“That’s not true. What would you lack that you’d enter Yuan Shao’s household as a concubine? Don’t even joke about that.”
“I-is it not?”
Of course not. Yuan Shao was only someone to use as far as necessary. Especially once he refused to acknowledge Yu Hyeop’s legitimacy, he was already a potential enemy.
A soft flush…
But those words seemed to please Yu Bi greatly. Moments ago she had been ready to devour me; now she covered her reddened cheeks with both hands and smiled coyly.
“I truly never know what to make of you, Lord Do Yeop. Do you find it so amusing to pick me up and set me down again?”
“I wish I’d actually gotten the chance to pick you up and set you down. Enough—shall we head back to camp?”
So we walked side by side back toward the camp. And I meant it. Yu Bi growing close to Yuan Shao truly helped my goals… yet in one corner of my heart a greedy voice still whispered that I never wanted to lose her.
Murmur, murmur…
The moment we returned to camp, an uneasy atmosphere had already formed. Come to think of it, Xu You had said something urgent and gone looking for Yuan Shao.
“Ah… what has happened, Master?”
Fortunately Lu Zhi and Sima Lang were nearby. Lu Zhi’s face was set in grim lines as he explained the situation inside.
“Dong Zhuo has sent an envoy. The problem is that the envoy is the Bearer of the Golden Mace—Hu Muban.”
“Why… is that a problem?”
“Because Hu Muban is Wang Guang’s brother-in-law. Sending a man like that as envoy is an open attempt to sow division inside the coalition.”
I explained in Lu Zhi’s place. Looking ahead in history: Yuan Shao would fly into a rage and order Wang Guang to punish Hu Muban himself. Torn between his brother-in-law and the coalition, Wang Guang would tearfully execute Hu Muban. Then, driven by vengeance, he would try to strike Dong Zhuo first—only to be crushed by Xu Rong. A common enough tale.
“….”
In other words, a chance to rewrite history had just arrived. If I could only keep Wang Guang from acting on his own, we might preserve that strength and land a proper blow on Dong Zhuo later.
“I have a bad feeling. Lord Yuan will surely order Hu Muban’s head, and if the Governor of Henei loses his temper and does something reckless…”
Sima Lang activated her special ability, Crisis Detection, and instantly grasped the gravity of the situation. Then the camp gates opened.
“Lord Yuan! Lord Wang! You cannot do this to me! Never forget that you are both local officials appointed by the Son of Heaven!”
It was Hu Muban, bound hand and foot. Yuan Shao was thoroughly enraged and had ordered him detained; soon he would demand that Wang Guang carry out the execution himself.
This is bad. Hu Muban is the brother-in-law of the Governor of Henei, isn’t he?
What if the Governor of Henei turns against us over this?
Just as expected. Exactly as Dong Zhuo had planned, voices already rose inside the camp casting suspicion on Wang Guang.
In the end Wang Guang would be unable to withstand the pressure and would kill Hu Muban himself. It seemed my time to step in had come.