Warlords in the Middle Game
With the Empress's blessing granted, I had the court confer the office of Governor of Yanzhou upon Cao Cao.
The imperial envoy had only just been dispatched, so some time would pass before Cao Cao showed any visible reaction.
Gongsun Zan, meanwhile, was still marching on Jizhou, hard at work fighting Han Fu.
"Fighting," of course, was a generous word for it. In truth, the picture was Gongsun Zan simply thrashing Han Fu one-sidedly.
Han Fu wouldn't hold out much longer. Sooner or later, he would beg Yuan Shao for help.
Yuan Shu, who had taken root in Wancheng, was reportedly stripping the city down to its very pillars—expanding his war chest and conscripting soldiers at a furious pace. Clearly, he intended to use those troops to swallow up all of Yu Province. I couldn't help but chuckle at the thought, wondering how exactly Cao Cao would answer him. If history ran true to form, she would shatter Yuan Shu outright, chase him all the way back toward the lands of Gangdong, and seize Xuchang for herself…
A dry laugh escaped my lips as the thought ran on. No matter how the board turned, my job would ultimately amount to nothing more than clapping from the sidelines as they all beat each other bloody.
Given time—once we were at the midpoint of the warlords carving up the realm—the alliances would inevitably split in two along the fault lines of each faction's interests. By then, even if I crossed Hulao Pass and pushed into the Central Plains, the grudges between them would have festered too deep for a united front. The odds were high they simply wouldn't band together against me.
So how would the lines fall? If we counted only the truly massive powers—Yuan Shao and Cao Cao on one team, with Yuan Shu, Gongsun Zan, and Tao Qian on the other? That was probably it.
You might ask what Tao Qian was even doing in that camp, but his strength was nothing to scoff at. True, his temperament left something to be desired and his misrule of Xuzhou had driven three hundred thousand bandits into open revolt—but the fact that his regime hadn't wobbled under it proved he was genuinely formidable. Xuzhou itself was such a prosperous region that a strong faction there came as no surprise.
The only problem was that he'd eventually be trampled flat by Cao Cao once she set her sights on taking the province for herself. As time wore on, the lineup would shift—Liu Bei would join the Yuan Shu–Gongsun Zan side in Tao Qian's place, and then Lü Bu would come aboard after sticking a knife in Liu Bei's back, and so on. But through all the shuffling, one thing held fast: in the end, the Yuan Shao and Cao Cao team won.
The northern bully and the sweet-talker of Gangdong, beating Yuan Shao and Cao Cao? That would be a genuine miracle. Honestly, I'd love to see them try.
Just then, a booming voice rang out from outside my residence.
“General-in-Chief! It is I, Ma Teng! Might I be granted entry!”
“Back again, I see.”
When I'd cleaned up Liang Province, Ma Teng had been formally appointed Administrator alongside Han Sui—and ever since, he had made a point of tramping the long road to Luoyang whenever he could spare a moment.
The round trip was truly staggering, so these visits were few and far between, but visit he did. I called for the servant waiting nearby.
“You called, my lord?”
“Ah… yes.”
I stared, slack-jawed, at Diaochan, who had materialized the instant I'd so much as cleared my throat for a servant.
Fast. Incredibly fast.
Of late, Diaochan had a ghost's knack for appearing the moment I called for anyone. Unless she spent every waking hour drifting at my elbow, it simply shouldn't be possible. She held an official post now and had precious little free time—how did she manage it?
That was that, and this was this, so I gave her my reason for calling.
“There's a guest who traveled a long way just to see me. See him in properly.”
“At once, my lord.”
Diaochan bowed her head with perfect courtesy and withdrew at a graceful pace.
Ma Teng Shoucheng. According to Han Sui, Ma Teng regarded me as nothing less than his benefactor—and the evidence bore it out. Why else would a man in Jincheng make the trek to distant Luoyang? Contrast that with Han Sui, Administrator of Wuwei, who occupied a nearly identical position and managed nothing more than written reports. The difference was stark. Still, Han Sui seemed to work diligently enough, so I hadn't seen fit to prod him. A glance through his ledgers showed no embezzlement, and public order was quietly stabilizing under his watch—what reason was there to be difficult? I did send inspectors to Liang Province now and then, if only to keep everyone from going slack.
“Haha! General-in-Chief! Handsome as ever today, I see!”
Escorted in by Diaochan, Ma Teng took one look at me and threw his head back in a hearty laugh. I chuckled and answered him.
“No need to flatter me.”
“Flatter? What nonsense!”
So saying, Ma Teng guffawed and pressed on.
“I merely spoke exactly what my eyes saw and my heart felt!”
I shook my head slightly, letting him know I was powerless against this particular brand of talk.
“You truly never run out of silver words. Sit down, will you.”
“Thank you!”
He dropped into his seat before the sentence had even finished. Watching him, I asked:
“So. What brings you today?”
“The same as always!”
Ma Teng produced a single bottle of wine from within his robes.
“I have come into a most precious wine!”
“Precious wine?”
“Indeed! Have you perchance heard of Dukang Wine?”
“Dukang Wine?”
Dukang was one of the figures credited in China as the originator of wine itself. For a drink to bear his name meant it had to be spectacularly rare. Poets of old treasured their bond with it and sang its praises in verse—even Cao Cao, that dutiful prodigy currently in Yanzhou, had composed poems on the subject of Dukang Wine.
“I assumed 'I came across a fine vintage' was just your usual excuse again.”
It was true that Ma Teng always brought wine when he visited, but it had ever been merely a pretext to secure an audience with me. Fine wine, yes—but never anything that precious.
“Haha! This time it's real!”
At my look of surprise, Ma Teng laughed and said luck had simply smiled on him.
“Have you ever tasted it?”
“No. I haven't had the pleasure myself.”
Luoyang was the capital where all the riches of the realm converged, and I held the favor of the very Emperor who ruled it. I could have obtained it if I'd truly wanted—but I wasn't much of a drinker by inclination, so I'd never bothered.
“Then how about a cup to start?”
“Why not.”
I nodded, and Ma Teng and I drank together. There was only the one bottle, but it satisfied. It certainly lived up to its rarity—neither the taste nor the aroma was anything to scoff at.
As we were deepening our cordiality, Ma Teng raised a different topic.
“General-in-Chief. The truth is, there is one more reason for my visit.”
“There's more?”
Well, this is unexpected.
“In the past, did you not show interest in my daughter?”
“……I did.”
It was true that I'd kept a fond eye on Ma Chao during my time in Liang Province. But something about the way he said it was… off.
Ma Teng continued in a tone rife with room for misunderstanding.
“And my daughter has shown interest in you in return—so for me, it is a most fortunate thing indeed.”
“…….”
Anyone overhearing would think I had been seducing Ma Chao. Knowing Ma Teng's character, though, he wasn't saying it on purpose.
I stole a glance at Seo Yeo, a step behind me. Her face wore the same expressionless mask as always—meaningless to anyone else, but I could read it plainly.
She's a little angry right now.
The air had sharpened almost imperceptibly, and Ma Teng evidently felt it too, for a faint shiver ran through him.
“Hmm. One would think warm wine would have the blood flowing, yet I feel a slight chill just now.”
“…Is that so.”
True to his trade, a general who lived at the front lines—the man had instinctively sensed that something had gone wrong. Shivering faintly and glancing this way and that, Ma Teng then burst into hearty laughter.
“Haha! My body must simply be run down! I shall have to eat more and toughen myself up!”
“…….”
That's not it.
He had apparently convinced himself the chill came from his own advancing years.
“Take care of yourself as well, General-in-Chief! Tend to your health while you're young, and it won't trouble you later!”
“Thank you for the concern.”
Still, I supposed this artless, down-to-earth quality was exactly what made Ma Teng the man he was. I let out a silly little laugh and gave him my thanks.
Ma Teng glanced up at the moon hanging in the sky, then shot bolt upright from his seat.
“Goodness! Look how late the hour has grown…!”
“Heading back?”
“…Agh. Reluctantly, yes.”
Scratching his head, Ma Teng went on.
“But I intend to stay in Luoyang for some time yet, so we shall meet often.”
I nodded.
“I'll look forward to it.”
“Thank you!”
Still at full bellow, Ma Teng boomed his farewells and made to withdraw. And yet something seemed to be forgotten…
Oh.
“Before you go—one thing I must ask.”
“Ask anything!”
“What was your second matter?”
“…Ah!”
Judging by his reaction, he'd forgotten it too. Perhaps it was the wine, but both our heads seemed to be turning a touch slowly.
“My daughter is now saying she wishes to come up to Luoyang!”
“…Hm?”
“Hahaha! She has grown into a great beauty—you may look forward to her arrival!”
With that, Ma Teng let loose one last thunderous laugh and withdrew.
His words set me thinking for a moment. So, in other words—the Splendid Ma Chao was formally entering our fold.
…Well, good?
Wearing a satisfied smile, I beckoned Seo Yeo—still radiating cold from every pore—to come close.
“…?”
Seo Yeo drifted over and planted herself before me, her gaze like a hook. Still seated, I wrapped my arms around her in a tight embrace.
“…….”
At that, Seo Yeo settled obediently into place, a faint trace of satisfaction showing that her mood had mended.
So easy to soothe her.