The Camp at Sanzhao

Early spring, first year of Chuping — March, 190 AD

A new moon had risen. I was on the road with Xiahou Yuan, trailing Cao Cao toward Sanzhao, where his military camp had been established.

There had been a bit of noise along the way, but we'd managed to join Cao Cao's army on schedule. My stats, too, had long since been dialed in for a Xu Rong-specific loadout.

"Hey, Miaocai? You can explain now, right? You're not actually planning to go through with a wedding, are you?"

"Have I lost my mind? Marry some nobody who crawled out of god knows where? I've already told you — body and soul, I belong to Mengde. Why can't you let this go?"

"..."

Yeah, I know. And whatever misunderstanding you've got cooking, even if I'd actually asked you to marry me, I never planned on going through with it!

"Then why lie about it?"

"Why else? Mengde finally recognized your talent and decided to take you in. When you're about to fight Dong Zhuo, every capable person counts, doesn't it?"

"..."

That didn't track at all. I'd give her this much: Xiahou Yuan, having watched me pull off Zuo Ci-style Earth Magic right in front of her, rating me highly made sense.

But Cao Cao hadn't given a damn. He'd only agreed to bring me along because Xiahou Yuan wouldn't stop pestering him — and even then, he still couldn't see past the Yuedanping Xu Shao had slapped on me.

"By the way, your brother isn't still pissed at me, is he? Back then, at Lü Boshe's house..."

"Shut your mouth. I'm warning you — don't bring up Lü Boshe anywhere, to anyone. You didn't tell that Liu Bei bitch, did you?"

"I couldn't bring myself to dirty Lord Liu Bei's ears with it. So where's Chen Gong now, and what's she doing?"

"..."

Xiahou Yuan didn't answer. But the moment Chen Gong's name came up, her eyes narrowed into something vicious — so at least Chen Gong was still with Cao Cao.

Was Cao Cao so thoroughly unbothered that he'd already forgotten that day? Had he listened carefully to Xiahou Yuan later and decided I was worth employing after all?

Before long we arrived at Sanzhao. The moment we stepped into the camp, Cao Cao's sisters came pouring out in a cluster.

"You're back, Mengde?"

Standing dead center among them was a pair I'd never seen before — a man and a woman. Cao Cao threw his arms wide and embraced the man in greeting.

"Things went smoother than I expected. That Benchu bastard wasn't doing a damn thing. After Wang Guang got his ass handed to him, Yuan Shao just holed up in the main camp playing coalition leader."

"Haha! I knew it — the only one who can take down Dong Zhuo is you, Mengde."

True to form, the second Cao Cao turned his back he was already trash-talking Yuan Shao. And honestly, he wasn't wrong.

Yuan Shao had only just taken up his post in Bohai — he had no real foundation. He'd scraped together every soldier he could find and brought them along, but his actual military strength had been riding entirely on Wang Guang.

Word was Han Fu was dragging his feet on the grain shipments, which meant the Hebei team was doing nothing but looting their way across the whole of Henei just to scrape by.

By comparison, all the real heavy hitters had gathered here at Sanzhao. And the man who looked like Cao Cao's closest friend — his identity was obvious...

Bao Xin, just as I thought. And the woman standing beside him with her hands clasped, staring at Cao Cao like a lovesick puppy — that had to be his younger sister, Bao Do.

"Lord Cao? I'm so relieved to see you unharmed."

"What, you think a trip to Henei is some grand ordeal? More importantly, Bao Do — did you put on makeup?"

"I-I just... there wasn't much else to do, so I dressed up a little. Does it look strange?"

"You look gorgeous. Whoever ends up snatching you away — I already envy the bastard, and I don't even know who he is yet."

"That's not true! I've already dedicated my life to Lord Cao. Right now, I can't see anyone else."

Flushed and declaring that only Cao Cao existed for her — she was already thoroughly smitten. Bao Xin seemed to know it too; he watched the two of them with a warm, satisfied look.

"Come on, it's been a while since you've seen Bao Do. Go talk with her for a bit."

"Fine by me. Where are the others?"

"Where do you think? They're all busy drinking themselves stupid and bragging about how important they are. Not a single one of them wants to fight."

Bao Xin let out a bitter sigh. Fair enough — unlike Henei, which at least had Yuan Shao as a clear coalition leader, Cao Cao held no proper office here, so he couldn't play king of this particular hill.

Especially after Wang Guang's preemptive strike had ended in total disaster, the mood at Sanzhao had gone distinctly sour. Cao Cao shrugged it off as expected and slid an arm around Bao Do's waist.

"Shall we head inside?"

And with that, Cao Cao moved deeper into the camp. As he did, Bao Xin's gaze settled on me.

"Who's this, Miaocai?"

"Do Hoji. That guy who tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo with me before — remember?"

"Ah! The one who got in your way and made the whole thing fail?"

"..."

Just how had these people been talking about me for Bao Xin to have that version of events? Still, unlike Cao Cao, he at least seemed to rate my courage highly — he took both my hands in his.

"Welcome! Anyone willing to risk their life for the country is always welcome here. I hear you've got quite the knack for operating under the radar?"

"Ah... well, I picked up a few tricks when I was younger. More to the point — the people gathered at Sanzhao really have no intention of fighting Dong Zhuo, do they?"

"You've already heard, then? Everyone's too busy filling their own pockets. Not one of them will step forward first. We can't rely on that lot, so we'll have to show them something ourselves."

To put it precisely, the men gathered at Sanzhao were jackals who'd caught the scent of chaos with terrifying accuracy. The anti-Dong Zhuo banner was nothing but a pretext — what they really wanted was a cut of the spoils.

So instead of fighting Dong Zhuo, they were locked in a staring contest with each other. The fractures started right here — and that was exactly why Cao Cao's name would shine all the brighter when he struck Dong Zhuo alone.

"Does Lord Cao have some clever scheme? He looked pretty confident."

"Scheme? Mengde has always been full of tricks and a natural at war. Dong Zhuo's rotten army won't last a single punch."

"That sounds an awful lot like he has nothing prepared. That's exactly how Wang Guang got wrecked."

"Comparing Wang Guang to Mengde — what kind of insult is that? Every one of us is prepared to lay down our lives for him. With that kind of resolve, what enemy could we possibly fail to defeat?"

"..."

This guy was a hardcore justice warrior — the type who believed good always triumphs over evil no matter what. Which was why he'd spend his whole life being used by Cao Cao, lose his sister, and die himself.

Even as a founding contributor, his son would later fall foul of Cao Pi and get killed — a thoroughly tragic fate. But there was no need to worry.

I'd make sure he won.

Just as Bao Xin had said, the atmosphere at Sanzhao was a complete mess. Warlords were burning through supplies looted from regions where administration had collapsed, throwing drinking parties without a care in the world.

Shashak... shashak...

In particular, they were endlessly inviting other local officials to their own camps and cooking up conspiracies. It was only a matter of time before the knives came out and the whole thing degenerated into a brawl.

"Bao Do? Where'd Mengde go?"

Bao Do, who'd gone inside with Cao Cao, was standing alone in a daze. When Xiahou Yuan asked, she answered:

"He said he had something urgent to discuss with Zhang of Chenliu — Zhang Miao, the Administrator — and went to his camp. He told me to wait here."

"Zhang Miao? Was that Wei Zi woman with him too?"

"Yeah! How did you know?"

"..."

Xiahou Yuan shot Bao Do a look of pure pity, as if to say how could I not know. Even I, who'd only just arrived today, could read the situation.

Cao Cao had zero interest in Bao Do, his most devoted fan. Because what he was interested in were women who already belonged to someone else — and Bao Do, with her single-minded devotion to Cao Cao alone, didn't get so much as a drop of precum out of him.

But Wei Zi... According to the records, she was a kind of business partner — someone so moved by Cao Cao's courage that she poured considerable wealth into helping him raise his army.

She simply hadn't been cut out to be a warlord in her own right, so here she'd been gender-bent into a woman.

Was it just me, or did I already have a strong hunch that Cao Cao was taking a very keen interest in this Wei Zi? I turned to Xiahou Yuan.

"I'm going to wander around on my own for a bit."

"Wander where? If you're thinking of running, don't even dream it."

"If I actually decided to run, you couldn't catch me anyway. And I'm not leaving. You people lying to me left a bad taste, sure — but even so, I fully intend to do everything I can to make sure Cao Cao wins this fight."

Having put Xiahou Yuan at ease, I headed for Zhang Miao's camp. Discipline on this side was so nonexistent that not a single person stopped a stranger from walking right in.

Heeheehee... heeheehee...

From somewhere nearby came the sultry sounds of a man and woman tickling each other. I moved toward the voices, slipped into the underbrush, and watched.

"Were you waiting for me? Hasn't Zhang Miao been looking for you lately?"

"Oh, he looks for me. But every day he shows up dead drunk, waving around something that won't even stand up — it's not even funny. What's the point of sucking him off? He just goes uuuugh! by himself and then passes out cold."

Cao Cao and Wei Zi, just as expected. Zhang Miao was nowhere in sight. The two of them were tangled together under the moonlight, stroking each other's most important parts.

So, to summarize: Wei Zi was originally Zhang Miao's favored concubine.

Cao Cao was a master at stealing his friends' lovers, so of course he'd set his sights on her.

And naturally, she was almost certainly the heir to a wealthy local clan, just as the records said. The two of them had been carrying on behind Zhang Miao's back, and she'd been bankrolling Cao Cao's uprising the whole time.

"Still, isn't this a little bold, Lord Cao? Calling me out the moment Zhang Miao steps away to talk with Liu Dai?"

"A man gets excited the second there's room to lift a spoon. Haah... I've held out so long that tonight might be over embarrassingly fast — what am I going to do?"

"Heh... even better. I think you're at your most magnificent when you come at me like a starving rabbit."

Having said that much, Wei Zi pulled down Cao Cao's trousers. Thud. Cao Cao's lengthy manhood sprang free — absurdly long for a man of his short stature.

Wait. Why the hell was I watching this?

"What... are you doing here?"

"...!?"

At that exact moment, a woman's voice cut through from somewhere and killed the whole scene dead.

Scramble— Cao Cao yanked his trousers up the instant he heard it. Wei Zi, equally startled, straightened her clothes and turned around.

"Ah, fuck... Gongtai, what are you doing here?"

"I heard Lord Cao had returned, but you never came to find me, so..."

It was Chen Gong. Dressed in something far too racy for a forward military camp, her famously enormous bust half-exposed, her face thoroughly crushed.

"Ugh, her again... I'm leaving first — come to my room later. Zhang Miao will be dead drunk and asleep anyway. He won't notice even if we do it right next to him."

Wei Zi tossed out the filthy line without a shred of shame and sauntered off. Cao Cao hiked his trousers the rest of the way up, looking mildly irritated.

"I'd have come looking for you when I felt like it. Do you have to hunt me down for every little thing?"

"What were you just doing with that woman?"

"We were just talking."

"That's not true. Why are you lying to me? Why some other woman instead of me..."

"Haven't you heard the saying — a hero is a lover of beauty? Sometimes a man needs a little variety. How am I supposed to live on nothing but dry dumplings every single day?"

"..."

He'd killed Lü Boshe to take her, and now he was calling her a dumpling? Chen Gong looked ready to burst into tears, as if nothing in the world could be more humiliating.

"Was I just a tool to you? Did you only want me so I'd write those letters..."

‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠

Hup!

The instant the words left her mouth, Cao Cao clamped a hand over it. He scanned the surroundings to make sure no one was listening, then furrowed his brow.

"You looking to die? Who the hell told you to go around spouting that kind of shit?"

"There's no one here but you and me, Lord Cao."

"Just thinking about fighting Dong Zhuo is enough to make my head explode. So stop being a nuisance and go hole up in the tent. I'll make it ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠worth your while later, all right?"

"It can't ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠be right now?"

"Haah... you've completely killed the mood, and now you're making demands? Just go back. Now."

"..."

Cao Cao left those cold words hanging and turned away. Chen Gong stood there with that mournful expression fixed on her face until he disappeared from sight.

Damn... I almost felt sorry for her. If you really thought about it, this whole situation only existed because I hadn't been able to save her that day.

My conscience wouldn't let me keep watching. I was just about to turn away when — snap! — a branch in the underbrush broke underfoot.

"Wh-who's there!?"

"..."

Of course Chen Gong heard it. Not that I was running a stealth-optimized build right now.

"It's me."

I could have just run, but somehow I found myself revealing my identity without thinking. Chen Gong recognized me and flinched, stumbling backward.

"Y-you're the one from that day..."

"I'm truly sorry about what happened. But that really was the full extent of what I was capable of."

"Liar... You tricked Cao Cao and his sisters and escaped that day, didn't you? You could have taken me with you easily enough... hhk..."

"..."

Chen Gong was convinced I was lying. Feeling a pang of pity, I stepped a little closer.

"Lady Chen? I truly have nothing I can say about that day. I can't even begin to imagine how much you've suffered."

"Hhk... I-I'm not suffering. The reason I'm in pain isn't because my husband died — it's because Lord Cao barely looks at me anymore."

"...?"

And just like that, Chen Gong completely flipped her stance. Of course I'd seen her jealousy over Wei Zi just now, the woman who'd been with Cao Cao.

Even so, this felt wildly unnatural.

"Lady Chen? Have you fallen for Cao Cao? He killed your husband to take you."

"That's how badly he wanted me, isn't it? A man who can't even protect his own woman deserves to die."

"Uh... I mean, I suppose you could see it that way, but this seems completely out of character for you... Look, how about I put in a good word with Cao Cao and ask him to treat you more kindly?"

"Please do that. I'll be going now."

Whoosh—

Chen Gong left those words behind and fled as if running for her life. But the whole situation felt subtly twisted somehow — was that really just my imagination?

"What are you doing?! Mengde's looking for you!"

Xiahou Yuan's voice cut in from behind. Fortunately she hadn't seen Chen Gong — she just grabbed me like she was catching a rat.

I followed her back. Cao Cao was already in his tent with Bao Xin and Bao Do. His expression was foul — clearly still annoyed that his tryst with Wei Zi had been interrupted.

"You called for me, Lord Cao?"

"Yeah. You and Miaocai have a job. We march on Xingyang in two days. Hit them hard and fast before they're ready, and break them."

"Is that the entire plan? Practically speaking, that's no plan at all..."

"You think I'd leave it at that? Part of Dong Zhuo's forces have been looting the area around Xingyang. Stockpiling supplies means a preemptive strike is coming. So the job for you and Miaocai is simple: comb through Xingyang like you're hunting lice and find Xu Rong's main camp. Once you do, I'll attack."

Ohhh!

A chorus of admiration rose around us at Cao Cao's sharp read of the situation. Well — the opponent was Cao Cao. Spinning a plan like this was nothing for him.

But in the middle of it all, I caught a small note of dissonance.

"How did you know the enemy commander is Xu Rong?"

"Hm? Ah... because I'm Cao Mengde? I've planted spies deep inside the court where no one knows about them. Dong Zhuo would only send the general he trusts most — and who else could that be but Xu Rong?"

"I see. Then tomorrow, the two of us will set out ahead and scout the enemy positions."

I accepted the order without further argument. A commander as skilled in strategy as Cao Cao practicing know-yourself-know-your-enemy wasn't strange in the slightest.

So the claim about spies in the court was almost certainly true. And yet...

I still couldn't shake the feeling that he was lying.