Liu Du
First year of Chuping, early summer — April, 190 AD
Swish… swish…
Five thousand troops ringed the mountain. A procession more than twice that size advanced, each man waving a yellow turban high above his head in open token of surrender.
Two days earlier I had stood before the Yellow Turbans and performed Taiping Magic, proving beyond doubt that I was truly Zhang Jue’s son. Of course it had only been possible because I had already layered every specialized trait and ability I possessed, carefully stacking their favor toward me. Once they had witnessed an illusion so impossible that seeing it still left them doubting their own eyes, belief hardened into faith as a matter of course. I persuaded them, step by step, to lay down their arms before Liu Chong. The result was the scene now unfolding before us. Yuan Huan and I stood behind Liu Eun, watching the long column file past.
Trembling… trembling…
Yet Liu Eun’s reaction to the sight was anything but calm. The fighting had ended before a single drop of blood was spilled, yet she could not master her fear; her whole body shook.
“Your Highness? What is the matter?”
“Forgive me, Duke Do. Even now, the mere sight of a yellow turban sets my heart racing.”
“Was what happened six years ago truly so terrible a memory?”
“I was far younger then. Rumors of the uprising that began in Hebei began to filter even into Yuzhou. One after another the fiefs of the imperial princes were destroyed—some entire houses wiped out. The shock was beyond words.”
If anyone suffered most from the Yellow Turban Rebellion, it was the imperial princes scattered across the realm. An official appointed by the court could simply flee; where could a prince of the blood abandon his own domain and go? From the bandits’ point of view, looting the granaries of wealthy royalty was far more profitable than squeezing peasants who, until recently, had shared their own lot. Zhao Yun’s former lord, Prince Liu Gu of Changshan, had collapsed under a single assault.
“You need not worry. His Majesty the Prince of Chen has already decided to pardon every one of those ten-thousand-odd rebels, has he not? If they possess any conscience at all, they will repay that mercy with lifelong loyalty.”
“How could that be His Majesty’s grace alone? Had you not broken the enemy from within, Duke Do, I dare not imagine how much blood would have soaked this ground. All of this is your victory.”
Liu Eun clasped her hands and spoke without once taking her shining eyes from my face. The intensity was almost unbearable—unbearable because she was that beautiful.
In the camp of Prince Liu Chong of Chen
“My daughter has told me everything. I expected a silent master of the sword—an righteous man who set out to strike down Dong Zhuo—yet I find a true hero who has mastered the art of war as well.”
Liu Chong was a sovereign who combined open-hearted vigor with deep gravity. He stroked his carefully trimmed beard as he praised my achievement.
“You flatter me. It was only possible because Your Majesty has long governed the people with benevolence and trained your soldiers with diligence. How could a mere commoner like myself overturn victory and defeat alone?”
“I tasted war to the point of nausea six years ago. Only then did I understand that the dramatic victories one reads of in the histories are nothing more than dry lists of results. War is a merciless torture that drains the blood and gnaws the bone. Yet you ended a fight that should have lasted a month before it even began. You kept the blood that should have dyed the mountains and rivers from ever being shed. How can you claim that did not decide the outcome?”
After months of nothing but contempt, the sudden praise left me not knowing where to put myself. Still, Liu Chong and I were surprisingly well-matched. That I was one of the righteous men who had tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo already struck the perfect chord with a prince of the blood. On top of that, I had helped his own daughter—who had recklessly slipped into the enemy camp—win enormous merit. He could hardly have been more pleased.
“I will not waste words. Will you serve in the Prince of Chen’s household? I have waited six years for a talent like yours to appear.”
“That may be difficult. I already have a lord I serve.”
“You mean Cao Cao? Why, then, are you acting separately from him?”
“Ah… Cao Cao and I are not nearly as close as the world imagines. You have probably heard the rumors: fundamentally I serve the Son of Heaven. Since I cannot return to the palace for the time being, I am serving another who can aid His Majesty.”
I explained about Yu Bi. When Liu Chong heard that a fellow member of the imperial clan was standing against the enemy in Henei alongside Yuan Shao, he nodded with genuine approval.
“You have found a proper lord, so I will press no further. Still, I would like to bestow some reward. Is there anything you desire?”
Of course there was. I turned at once to Yuan Huan.
“Yuan Huan here once served as a Palace Attendant Censor before recently returning home. Though she wandered for a time, she is in truth a talent capable of governing a state. Moreover she infiltrated the enemy camp with me and rendered brilliant service in driving out the rebel general He Yi. Might Your Majesty appoint her to the Prince of Chen’s household in my place?”
“I—I am not worthy, Duke Do!”
Yuan Huan waved both hands in panic. Liu Chong himself tilted his head as though the request struck him as odd.
“I understand that Yuan Huan here performed great service in this fight. But if she is so outstanding a talent, why do you not take her to Yawang yourself?”
“My lord is still only a county magistrate; he is not yet qualified to hold a talent like Yuan Huan. And recommending an outstanding talent to Your Majesty will also benefit my own lord.”
“For example?”
“Before long Dong Zhuo will fall and officials from every region will return to court. Yet one often flees the wolf at the front gate only to meet the tiger at the back. When that day comes, if my lord and Your Majesty do not join forces to protect the Son of Heaven, who else can stop that tiger?”
“I have long been wary of precisely that point; your observation is sound. Now I understand your meaning. You wish me, as a fellow member of the imperial clan, to act as patron to your lord.”
“I have nothing further to add.”
The wise Liu Chong grasped my intent at once. To believe that the coalition’s victory and Dong Zhuo’s fall would automatically restore the authority of the imperial house was hopelessly naïve. In the end Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, or Cao Cao would contend among themselves for power. Of those three, not one would ever prove useful to Yu Hyeop. Therefore, when Yu Bi eventually entered the court, she would need a powerful backer. Liu Chong—possessing the prestige of the imperial bloodline, the base of Chen State, and a sterling reputation—was the ideal patron. In short, I was forging a political alliance with Chen.
“Sister!”
The audience with Liu Chong had ended and we were withdrawing from his tent when a young woman of about twenty suddenly called Yuan Huan’s name and came running. It was her younger sister Yuan Min, whom I had seen once before outside their house. Yuan Huan rushed to her in surprise.
“How did you know to come here?”
“Her Highness the Princess sent word that you were here. Is it true? All this time you turned your back on Mother and Father so you could spy on the Yellow Turbans?”
“Th-that…”
Yuan Huan hesitated, not knowing how to answer. Liu Eun stepped forward and explained in her place.
“Forgive me for not telling you sooner. Your sister was helping me scout the enemy. Tell your household there is nothing whatever to worry about.”
“If Her Highness says so, then it must be so. Does that mean Sister is coming home now?”
“She will serve in the Prince of Chen’s household from this day forward.”
“You’re taking office again, Sister? That’s wonderful… truly wonderful!”
Thanks to Liu Eun’s quick thinking, everything ended happily. Yuan Huan’s eyes reddened as she looked from me to Liu Eun, then turned back to her sister.
“When I have time I will visit. Until then, take good care of Mother and Father.”
After that brief reunion Yuan Min returned home. Yuan Huan approached Liu Eun and offered her thanks.
“I have received such great kindness from His Majesty and Your Highness that I do not know how to repay it.”
“The kindness came not from me or my father, but from Duke Do here. And for you, Yuan Gong, it may prove more than a simple reward. Settling more than ten thousand bandits with me will leave us short even if we each had ten bodies.”
“Even with Your Highness’s help, I do not know whether I alone can accomplish such a task.”
“Mmm… you are right. Why not have Duke Do remain a little longer in the Prince of Chen’s household and assist us? The bandits all follow him, after all.”
Liu Eun curled the corners of her mouth as though she had been waiting for this very moment. It was not a bad idea, yet I was a busy man; lingering for months was impossible.
“I will recommend someone who can help you both. In Zixian there lives a man named Yang Xi—still young, yet fully capable of administering the realm. If it is difficult to ask His Majesty, why not take him into Your Highness’s personal service and put him to work?”
“Duke Do is not only gifted in strategy but well-informed of every rumor. I had hoped you might stay a little longer…”
When I behaved as though I were about to leave at once, Liu Eun pouted and pushed out her lower lip. When she acted like that my resolve weakened for no good reason…
Until the new moon rose I was still a useless blockhead who could do nothing but bewitch Yellow Turbans. So I decided I might as well stay a little longer.
That night Liu Chong held a banquet to celebrate the victory. His daughter Liu Eun, of course, and Yuan Huan and I as well were invited to seats of honor and granted the privilege of receiving wine poured by his own hand.
“Duke Do? I would like to pour you a cup.”
At some point Liu Eun had come right beside me, wine jar in hand. Was it really proper for the Princess of Chen herself to do such a thing?
“Ah… Your Highness? I find this a little inappropriate.”
“There is no problem. The former emperors poured wine for victorious generals returning from the field any number of times, yet I have never heard it said that such an act violated propriety.”
“That may be true, but…”
Yet you are not my lord, and you are only a princess, not even Liu Chong himself.
I glanced sideways. Even Liu Chong merely looked our way once, then resumed his conversation with Xu Chang without further reaction. So it was acceptable, then?
Thus the wine trickled… I accepted the cup she poured and took a mouthful. Ahh! Wine poured by a beauty truly tasted better.
“His Highness the Crown Prince has arrived!”
At that moment a personage of no small stature entered the banquet late. He was a young man wearing armor that looked slightly oversized on his short frame.
“You have come. How went the matter at Sanzhao?”
“Since Cao Cao’s defeat, not one of the Sanzhao crowd has stepped forward to pick a fight. That aside, I hear something major occurred in our own domain?”
“Do not even speak of it. Remnants of the Yellow Turbans had the gentry addicted to drugs and were preparing an uprising when they were caught. Had it not been for your younger sister and Do Yeop over there, we would have been stabbed in the back before we ever faced Dong Zhuo.”
Liu Chong generously attributed every merit to me. Liu Eun, standing nearby, introduced him.
“This is my elder brother and the Crown Prince of Chen. His name is Du.”
“…”
A man of the Liu clan named Du… The characters were completely different, of course, but did they really have to give him that name?
“Why is Eun pouring wine for that man?”
Our Crown Prince, it seemed, did not welcome the fact that I was the hero of the evening. When he abruptly took issue with Liu Eun’s conduct, Liu Chong answered.
“What is the problem? Do Yeop aided Eun and performed great service; pouring him a single cup of wine is nothing.”
“Then let me ask: has that Do Yeop entered into a lord-and-vassal relationship with Eun?”
So that was it. Liu Eun had offered a plausible excuse, yet pouring wine for a man who was not her vassal still violated the rites.
“He has not. But who can say what the future holds? He serves another lord for now, yet one day he may come to serve Eun.”
“At least he does not now, correct? An unmarried daughter is pouring wine for an outsider, and Your Majesty remains so untroubled?”
“Do not speak so. That Do Yeop over there is a loyal subject of Han who attempted to assassinate Dong Zhuo at the Son of Heaven’s enthronement last year. He is also the benefactor of our Chen State who infiltrated the enemy camp and forced more than ten thousand Yellow Turbans to surrender without shedding a single drop of blood.”
“…”
Trembling… Liu Du’s nipples quivered violently. While his younger sister—who was not even the heir—won great merit, the Crown Prince himself had merely gone on a diplomatic errand; the contrast clearly rankled.
“Duke Do, was it? I have heard you displayed swordsmanship bordering on the divine, cut down a thousand Imperial Guards, and rescued Xiahou Yuan. Is that true?”
“Pardon? Who on earth is spreading such rumors… How, in any reasonable world, does one cut down a thousand men?”
“Then who is spreading false rumors? Could it be you yourself?”
“What?”
Liu Du had now begun picking a fight with me directly. Liu Eun, sensing the situation turning ugly, rose from her seat to restrain her brother.
“Elder Brother? Why are you behaving this way in front of a guest? Even a crown prince must not be discourteous to a visitor.”
“The ones who first committed discourtesy are you and that man, are they not? I distinctly recall arranging a match between you and the legitimate son of the Nie clan. Have you met him?”
“Th-that… I have been so busy with the camp that I have not yet had the chance.”
“He and I have known each other for a long time. Moreover Elder Nie has held high office at court. You ignore such a request and then dare speak to me of discourtesy?”
“…”
The atmosphere grew steadily more murderous. From the look of things, Liu Du had introduced a friend to his still-unbetrothed younger sister. Yet she, far more interested in affairs of state, had not only broken the arrangement on her own but was now pouring wine for an outsider; he clearly felt slighted.
I had no choice but to rise.
“I am a poor drinker, so I will take my leave.”
“…”
Even Liu Chong could not ask me to remain under those circumstances. The moment I stepped out of the banquet tent, Liu Eun followed at my heels.
“Duke Do, wait! I will apologize in my brother’s place for his rudeness.”
“There was nothing particularly rude… More importantly, Your Highness? If you follow me, will the atmosphere not grow even worse?”
Liu Du was not blind; he could not have failed to see his sister trailing after me. When I kept glancing back toward the tent, Liu Eun heaved a long sigh.
“Haa… I have no intention of marrying yet, but Father and Elder Brother keep arranging matches. For now, confronting Dong Zhuo is more important, so I refuse whenever I can…”
“Parents are all the same. I support you, Your Highness. Finish everything you want to do first; marriage can wait.”
“I am grateful you say so. Mmm… Duke Do? If it is not too forward, may I ask one thing?”
“Anything.”
“This member of the imperial clan you say you serve… is there perhaps some ‘other’ reason you serve that person?”
Liu Eun set aside her pride as a princess for a moment and asked the question bluntly. In other words: did I regard Yu Bi not merely as a lord, but as a lover?
“Not at all. I serve that person solely because she can be of use to the Son of Heaven. We have never even properly established a lord-and-vassal relationship.”
“That is a relief… Then are you returning to Henei now, Duke Do?”
“No. For a while I intend to wander the realm and observe the state of the world.”
“Then before you return to Henei, might you stop by Chen State once more?”
“Of course.”
She seemed to want it, so I promised a reunion. At once the corners of her mouth curled upward; she gazed at me steadily with a smile of pure, simple innocence.
Could it be that she had taken a liking to me?