Consolidation (1)
Dong Zhuo's great conflagration of Chang'an sent a shockwave through every mover and shaker in the realm.
No one had imagined he would stoop to such a thing, and sighs of dismay rose everywhere at the sight of a great city, second only to Luoyang, collapsing into nothing. When I, enraged by the atrocity, annihilated Dong Zhuo and delivered him to his punishment, people declared that even that was letting him off easy — a warmly favorable reaction, all things considered.
With every tendon in his body severed, Dong Zhuo was hurled into the streets of Chang'an.
Told to do with him as they pleased, the citizens set upon him with one heart and one mind. Some struck him in pure fury; others swung through tears, thinking of the family he had taken from them. Perhaps the crowd had reached some unspoken agreement among themselves, because Dong Zhuo clung to life considerably longer than expected.
"Ghhhhhhh…"
"Wow. Tough as nails. You're still alive?"
That he kept breathing even in a wretched state beyond recognition — I couldn't help but be impressed. He certainly was built of iron. If that were me, I'd have died long ago.
"Well now. Someone's been beaten to a pulp, haven't they."
I smiled faintly as I gazed down at Dong Zhuo, not one patch of him free of deep purple bruising. He'd been hit so thoroughly that the swelling made his already massive frame look even bigger, and whether his bones had broken or not, his limbs bent at angles no limb should.
"…Sa…ve…"
"What's that?"
Dong Zhuo tried to speak through his split lips, but I couldn't make out a single word. Blood oozed from every inch of him, his face a mangled ruin — but of one thing at least, I was certain. Right now, Dong Zhuo was in exquisite agony.
I crouched down in front of him.
"Live a decent life in your next one."
Flung into the street wearing nothing but a prisoner's uniform, Dong Zhuo was by now practically naked — the people's threshing had shredded the cloth into rags. And in the navel of Dong Zhuo, who even at death's door still flaunted that bloated bulk of his, a wick had already been planted. Probably some citizen had stuck it in there. I snorted a laugh. That was exactly what I'd been planning to do, but I suppose every era produces at least one clever soul.
"Dong Zhuo. You know what that is?"
"……"
"They say burning to death is the most painful way a person can die."
"St…op…"
"Show me yourself, then."
"……"
Empty of all strength, Dong Zhuo tried to say something more, then finally shut his mouth. I watched the sight for a moment before giving my order to a soldier.
"Light that wick."
"Yes, sir."
Command issued, I stepped back one pace to watch Dong Zhuo's final moments. The soldier set a flame to the wick in his navel, and the little fire began to devour him in earnest. I did find myself curious whether he would burn on without pause for days, just as the histories claimed.
"———————."
With flames engulfing his entire body, Dong Zhuo hurled a soundless scream into the air for a long while. Burning without rest, he lit up the night over Chang'an, and the people watched the spectacle with eyes gone distant and hazy. On the day Dong Zhuo took everything Chang'an had, what must they have felt? For those who had lost their lives to that nightmarish night, this was the only comfort I had to offer.
Dong Zhuo burned on for days exactly as the histories claimed, and when that tireless flame finally guttered out, he had been reduced entirely to ash.
The sky above Chang'an, for all its strange clarity, had always hung dim and heavy. But with Dong Zhuo's death, for the first time it showed itself utterly clear, without a single cloud. Perhaps the souls of the countless people felled by Dong Zhuo had found some small measure of solace at last. Human souls, and their passage into rest — I still didn't really understand any of that. Maybe the timing was pure coincidence. Even so, wasn't it better to take it as a good omen?
Another demon king to carry on Dong Zhuo's will!
No such thing happened.
We had assaulted Tianshui with all four sides sealed, leaving no gap for a quiet escape, and after taking the city we ransacked it from end to end, flushing out everyone with any connection to Dong Zhuo. And even if such a person were still hiding somewhere — with Dong Zhuo's entire power base smashed to pieces, how would they ever rise again? With his atrocities now known to every corner of the realm, anyone who strutted about proclaiming himself the heir of Dong Zhuo's will would be lucky to escape a stoning.
I arrested everyone with even the faintest tie to Dong Zhuo's clan, put them through individual investigation, and handed down a punishment to fit each. Those who, like Dong Min, had actively collaborated were put to death; those with any mitigating circumstance had their property confiscated and were made slaves.
Hm… was seizing their property and enslaving them too harsh, even so? Better than dying, I supposed.
The thorniest problem, unexpectedly, turned out to be Dong Zhuo's own family. The elders were one thing — but what was I to do with young children who knew nothing at all? Was it right to massacre innocent little ones for nothing more than the blood in their veins? For me, it was a genuinely wrenching choice. Back in Bing Province, all I'd ever had to do was smash barbarians and bandits without a second thought…
Guilt by association.
By Han law, executing the lot of them would indeed have been correct — and doing so would have left no loose ends to haunt me. To think the day would come when I would have to enforce the very collective punishment I'd always despised. After long agonizing, I sent every adult painlessly on their way, sparing only those under twenty. I simply couldn't bring myself to lay a hand on the children.
Yes — saying that, I did go on to make the children slaves… but taken under my command as they were, at least they would never know hunger for the rest of their lives. This was the best I could do.
"This decision of yours will surely be talked about later. Are you certain it is wise, my lord?"
As I watched the children of Dong Zhuo's clan scrubbing at my floors with their tiny, delicate hands, Diaochan, standing nearby, spoke up. I answered with an even expression.
"No one chooses their parents before they're born. Making them die for nothing more than the misfortune of a traitor's household — that's too cruel."
"……"
Say what you would, this was still an age of chaos. The world swarmed with men committing far worse than anything I had done — was anyone really going to rake me over the coals for this? If they did, it would simply be because they disliked me and were grasping at any pretext to curse me.
"Anyone with a real grievance can come out and say it to my face."
If sparing Dong Zhuo's family truly offended them, they were welcome to act on it themselves. Whether I would tolerate that, of course, was another question. At my words, Diaochan's lips curved into a soft, unreadable smile.
"I've work waiting — I should be going."
As I rose from my seat, I noticed one of the girls staring holes through me. One of Dong Zhuo's clan, newly taken in as a slave; I hadn't bothered to memorize the names yet. She had abandoned her cleaning entirely to gawk, so I opened my mouth.
"What are you looking at?"
"…I…"
I waved a hand side to side.
"Never mind. I'm busy right now, so tell me later. And once you've finished cleaning, get yourself something to eat."
Putting a child who looked not even ten to work scrubbing floors left me feeling strangely off. Still, she seemed to be settling in, which was a relief — worth the time I'd carved out of my schedule to stop by.
Rising, I made my way toward Han Sui, who would be waiting for me at the court. Waging the war had been one thing, but the cleanup afterward kept me just as mercilessly busy — so busy that even with the days galloping past, I barely noticed them go. At this rate I really would work myself to death…
After the jam-packed year of 186, the year 187 finally arrived.
In Xiliang, incursions had dwindled since we began taking in the frontier tribes, but the sorts who loved making trouble were still happily stirring their pots. Han Sui, who had lent a hand in the campaign against Dong Zhuo, beamed when I pardoned his crimes and tossed him a suitable official post. Ma Teng got his appointment too — I hadn't forgotten him — and he stared at me so thunderstruck, so profoundly moved, that it was frankly uncomfortable. Xiliang I could safely leave to the wily veterans already living there; by all appearances, Han Sui and Ma Teng were now following me absolutely.
Bing Province. Sili. Xiliang.
With all three territories swallowed whole, even a casual glance at the map made it plain that ours was the strongest power in the realm.
And yet, why was that?
My mood was strange. A bizarre premonition crept over me — as though some vast, unknowable current of history was about to come calling.
…It'll be fine. Probably.
Shaking off the feeling, I turned to the one enormous problem I'd been carrying of late: I was busy. Even by the standards of busy, it was far too much. In the span of barely a single year, Sili and Xiliang had both been folded under my command, and the workload had exploded overnight.
"…God, this is really bad."
Even with the Zhang Jue sisters sharing the burden, we had reached the point where it simply couldn't be managed. Talent kept flowing into Luoyang, but it was all junior clerks — I was starved for anyone I could trust with matters that actually mattered.
Lü Bu and Zhang Liao. Gao Shun and Xu Huang. Xu Rong, holding Tianshui's defenses — and the rest of the list besides. Every last one of them a field commander, and all utterly useless for civil administration.
Where was a talent like that, anyway?
Wait, actually, there are. People close at hand right this moment — like, oh, say, Jia Xu? Or Xun You…?
Feeling my head begin to ache, I set down the documents in my hand and leaned back into the chair.
"Seo Yeo."
"Yes."
"Come here a moment."
"…?"
At my call, Seo Yeo approached, a question mark practically floating above her head. I stretched out both hands and took hold of her cheeks.
"??"
And pulled. And pulled.
"???"
They stretched magnificently. God, this addictive feel. I couldn't stop.
"Pffheheh."
Just as I was giggling away, playing with Seo Yeo's face, the door abruptly banged open.
"Hey! Someone here says they want to see— …the hell are you doing?"
Lü Bu, who had come looking for me, was staring at me like I'd lost my mind.
Someday soon, I'll have to try it on Lü Bu, too.