Chapter 24
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Translator: volt
Chapter Title: Harvest in Luoyang Plains
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The sun set over the plains in the harvest season of autumn.
The area around Mangjin had been turned into a scorched wasteland by Governor Ding Yuan's Black Mountain Bandits disguise and arson scheme, but afterward, the fields were quickly replanted and managed, barely making it to harvest time.
Our Bing Province Army had mastered plowing fields with spears and reaping rice with swords.
I led the way in learning those methods, and now the entire Bing Province Army was harvesting crops with joyful hearts.
The land is barren? Then clear new fields.
The soil is poor? Find land with better fertility.
Water is scarce? Dig channels to connect to a water source, no matter what.
If it doesn't work, make it work.
That's the mindset of Bing Province.
If even a group effort fails, consider whether there weren't enough people or strength.
This is ancient China.
The greatest resource of all is people.
"General."
"Zhang Liao. Instead of talking, reap one more stalk."
One person wasn't enjoying it much.
"Weren't we something like an elite guard? According to you, General, the capital defense force."
Zhang Liao, dressed not in uniform but as a farmer, gestured around him.
"What's all this with the soldiers?"
"Farming."
"No."
"There's nothing else to do for a while anyway. Better to keep training by moving our bodies like this than lying idle."
If bandits appear, just change clothes and charge out. Once patrols are done, what else is there to do with the remaining time?
"Nothing builds stamina and strength like farming."
"Is swinging a sickle to cut rice training?"
"Who knows. In a pinch, you might have to use it to sever a man's neck."
I dealt with Zhang Liao's grumbling as I reaped the rice.
"They say, 'The tillers are the foundation of the empire.' Farming is the basis of human life."
"Never heard that one before."
·····Oops.
A phrase from my father before reincarnation slipped out unwittingly.
But it's fine.
"My master said it, so take it at face value."
My master had said:
-The tillers are the foundation? How would you know··· Sigh. Fine. If you spout some weird nonsense and get scolded, just claim I taught it to you.
If need be, sell me out.
"General. What kind of man was your master?"
"Don't know."
"Don't know?"
"He hid his identity to the end and said I had no need to know."
A master is just a master.
That was what he wanted from me.
"You must know something about his background. Like he was from Bing Province."
".···Zhang Liao."
I set down my sickle and gathered an armful of cut rice.
Far tougher than modern varieties, but rice would still come from it.
"My master was of the Pure Stream Faction. He said he had countless disciples while in the court."
My master hadn't completely hidden his identity.
"Even after returning to his hometown, he considered raising more disciples, but after saving me, he focused solely on me."
"He said that outright?"
".···Well, precisely, 'Remember that the time I could spend raising hundreds of scholars is now devoted to you alone.'"
My master hadn't hidden himself thoroughly.
'He came to Bing Province in his later years to retire to his hometown.'
There were plenty of clues: discovering me after coming to his native Bing Province, or having enough wealth there to live comfortably.
And honestly.
'Finding traces of him was a relief.'
Researching records in the capital revealed hints of his deeds.
Not specifics, but uncovering parts of his life's traces brought joy.
In the capital filthy with corruption, he had embraced purity and justice to fight evil.
"My master left me those words for a reason."
There was a reason he didn't want me revealing him as my teacher.
"The moment I claim to be his disciple, his other disciples would strut around saying, 'I'm your senior brother.'"
".···"
"Senior uncles, junior uncles, grand-disciples···he didn't want any of that entanglement."
Because of scholarly connections.
"He said such ties would harm me more than help."
"Makes sense. If he was a leader of the Pure Stream Faction··· all sorts claiming the same would flock to you, General."
As he predicted, the Pure Stream Faction tried to push me forward.
Even fragments seen during the deposition process–if ties to them were revealed?
"They'd make me the center of an anti-Dong Zhuo alliance right away."
".···"
"What's wrong?"
"No, just··· hearing 'anti-Dong Zhuo alliance' sends chills down my spine."
".···Yeah."
Something about the phrasing felt off.
Simply put, it meant political forces opposing Dong Zhuo in the court.
"Anyway. Scholarly ties inevitably become political factions."
After the new emperor's ascension, the court reorganized around so-called 'gentlemen scholars'.
"Like old Master Nosik who retired muttering 'deposing him was a bit much', or the one Grand Commandant Dong fetched from the provinces."
"You mean Elder Cai Yong?"
"Yes."
Nosik, Cai Yong.
Before entering court, they were names heard in passing, each with hordes of disciples.
"Cai Yong's disciples rushed to serve him the moment he entered court. Nosik and his disciples mostly retired, filling the vacancies."
"Politely, it's filial piety to their master. In truth, political factions, right?"
"Exactly."
And those disciples became officials under them.
"If my master was a scholar like them, or greater, his disciples would surely try linking via scholarly ties. He worried about that."
Truthfully, I worried about something else.
In wuxia terms, a seniority issue.
'The last disciple of a long-lost previous sect leader appears? Seniority gets messy.'
I asked my master if I'd harm his other disciples.
-I'm reluctant to badmouth my own, but they're all at least twenty years older than you. Think they'll leave you alone? They'll try using you. And you, with your manners, won't speak freely to elders anyway.
My master fretted to prevent them exploiting my nature.
-With your temperament, someone will try using you, so be cautious not to get exploited. Don't worry about my disciples. You're just the disciple of an nameless Bing Province rustic.
So, I had no choice but to heed him and stay cautious.
"Enough. Keep reaping. This will feed our families and brothers back home."
"A gift··· Well, this is truly what Bing Province desires."
I turned with Zhang Liao.
Piles of rice sacks too numerous to count by eye.
".···Shame we can't take it all."
"Grown in Luoyang lands, it should be shared here."
Not a bumper crop, but impressive for sporadic farming.
Luoyang's soil was far better than Bing Province's for farming, and no bandits stealing made it satisfying.
"We couldn't carry it all anyway?"
Haul multiple sacks across the Yellow River and mountains to Jinyang Fortress? Until every grain is moved?
Good training, but even I wouldn't push that harshly.
"Enough for Bing Province folk to share. Our farms there didn't fail."
"Honestly, it's a waste."
"Not with what we've gained instead. Better to use what we can't carry to aid Bing Province."
Most would be offered to the emperor and imperial house.
In exchange, we'd gained plenty, so no regrets.
If anything was regrettable–
"Ah, right. Zhang Liao. Time to reorganize the troops. The whole Bing Province Army will escort these provisions to Jinyang Fortress."
"Escort···? General, not leaving it to the supply train?"
"What we eat, we escort ourselves."
That would invite bandits.
"If bandits smell the rice cooking and come steal, we kill them on the spot, right?"
[Capital Luoyang, Grand Commandant Mansion.]
"Ahh, I crave some plundering."
Lounging sideways and munching peaches, Dong Zhuo muttered loudly.
"Uwaaa··· I wanna plunder!!"
What did he want to plunder?
The peeled peaches before him?
"Plunder, arson, murder, rape··· Uwaaaa!!"
"Restrain yourself, brother."
A man resembling Grand Commandant Dong Zhuo closely fiddled with his beard while eating a peach.
"Didn't we secretly plunder these peaches? Be content with that."
"I've risen to Grand Commandant. Think I'll settle for mere peaches?"
Dong Zhuo held up a peach slice crudely, then crushed it in his fist.
"You think I, Dong Zhuo, rushed to Luoyang just for a few peaches?"
"Wasn't it?"
"What?"
"This Dong Min loses sleep every time I hear market talk."
Dong Zhuo's younger brother, Dong Min, chuckled and raised his cup.
"'Despite his looks, he's righteous and manly. Bing Province folk are said wild and fierce as Xiongnu, but turns out they're the most chivalrous!' What nonsense."
"That's the image of us spreading in Luoyang now, brother."
Dong Zhuo suppressed a twitching smirk.
"People judge us by what we've shown in Luoyang so far. We've···suppressed our true nature."
Dong Min pointed at Dong Zhuo's attire.
"That's why they trust and follow Grand Commandant Dong now? If the Pure Stream fools saw your true face, they'd flock under Lü Bu."
"As if those fools would···"
"What if they egg Lü Bu on? Easy to face Lü Bu and Bing Province Army?"
".···If I bring all troops from Chensu and Chang'an?"
"Mutual destruction. Not one left. Lü Bu alone surviving atop the pile."
"Tch. Still···"
Dong Zhuo grinned with his cup.
"Little brother. Haven't we held back plenty?"
Dong Zhuo asked his brother Dong Min earnestly.
"Don't you think we've truly endured a lot? Huh?"
"Endured what? Watch your tongue in the Grand Commandant Mansion."
"Everyone here is my man. Who'd dare leak our words outside!"
Dong Zhuo pointed ahead.
A few officials worked in the mansion, all brought by him.
"Or will you betray me? Like deposing the emperor for Prince of Chenliu?"
"You of all people, who enthroned Prince of Chenliu, say that? Are we like them? They're half-brothers; we're blood."
"Blood brothers can say this, right?"
"Sigh. Outsiders would faint. Praising such a man as 'Lü Bu's equal'."
"Ahem."
Dong Zhuo fiddled his goatee uncomfortably.
"Equals, huh. Heh. Someone said: Northern Lü Bu and Western Dong Zhuo flank the emperor—a blessing for the court."
His displeasure wasn't from comparisons to 'loyal Lü Bu' or name order—
"Never heard you called the incarnation of patriotic loyalty before!"
".···Loyal Dong Zhuo. A faithful minister who plays the villain for the greater good··· Heh, kekeke!"
It was the discomfort of ill-fitting clothes forced on.
"Kuhahaha!!"
Dong Zhuo slapped the floor laughing heartily.
"Absurd, isn't it! They see us as loyalists!"
"We suffered killing our natures for this."
"Yes. All because of··· Lü Bu."
Dong Zhuo rose.
"Little brother."
"Yes, brother."
"Seems time to do as we please."
Standing his massive frame, Dong Zhuo drew the broadsword beside him.
"What's the plan?"
"Lü Bu heads to Bing Province soon."
".···!!"
Dong Min paused mid-peach bite, shifting posture.
"Really?"
"Yes. Returning his Cavalry Commander post temporarily, hauling harvest from Luoyang area to Bing Province."
"Emperor allowed it?"
"Who stops a soldier guarding the border? Especially autumn. Savages come reaping; he saves the emperor's people. How to hold him?"
"Not the emperor's archery master?"
"Does he look loyal to anyone?"
Dong Zhuo shook his head.
"No, no. He's a true soldier, rigidly so. Hard to handle here, same there. He'll go to Bing Province for sure."
Though he asked, Dong Zhuo had already decided on Lü Bu.
"So, while he's gone, let's fill our empty pockets."
".···Back to those days? Chensu's brutes?"
"Sharpened blades while He Empress took half my stipend. Tch. Her greed was staggering."
"Finally showing your true colors?"
"Yes. Start with Hongnong, where the deposed emperor and empress are."
Dong Zhuo toyed with his broad blade, eyes gleaming.
"Must show them what 'extracting' means."
Lick.
"Show them taxation properly."
"How much to extract?"
"He Empress demanded half my stipend, so from Hongnong folk···"
Dong Zhuo raised one finger.
"Lightly, start with this?"
"A tenth? Haha, brother. They'd think 'Lü Zhuo'. Caught Lü Bu's chivalry? His father?"
"Chivalry contagious? Heh, you're the infected one, Dong Min."
The brothers grinned at each other.
"Brother, as expected···"
"Take all but a tenth."
"Truly my brother. Worried I'd die after changing ways in old age."
"Uhahaha! You little··· Ahem."
Dong Zhuo coughed, thumping his chest.
"No, can't. Loyal Dong Zhuo won't spew vulgarities. Not··· now."
Dong Zhuo swallowed.
"Lü Bu's still in Luoyang."
".···"
"Jia Xu said before leaving: Lü Bu's pure white, untaintable by my color."
".···"
"But even white paper yellows with time, stained black by ink. Who lacks greed? Material or lust."
"He seems low on lust···"
"No, no. That solid? He's just holding back!"
Dong Zhuo slapped his arm laughing.
"Suppressing manly urges with such loyalty. Wish he'd be my son for real."
"That's···"
"Sorry to my dead boy, but sometimes I think Lü Bu as my true son."
"Like Ding Yuan?"
"Uhahaha!!"
Dong Zhuo slapped the wall laughing.
"Does father mean adoptive? Not necessary!"
".···What then?"
"Family ties don't need adoption. Firmer ways exist."
"No, brother. Surely not···"
"Let me see··· Tch, just one?"
Dong Zhuo folded and unfolded fingers counting, then nodded grinning.
"Next meeting, he'll call me 'grandfather-in-law'. Prepare."
"Show true colors in Luoyang, and instead of son-in-law, he'll swing Fangtian Halberd at you like Ding Yuan?"
"Heh. As always···"
"No catch, no problem?"
"Exactly!"
Clank.
"Even if caught··· our Dong Bai works hard, right?"
Dong Zhuo wiped peach juice from his hand on his mouth, smirking slyly.
"Would he abandon or behead a woman he impregnates! If it succeeds, I'm practically his father-in-law!"
The court.
"Promote General Lü to Left General———!!"
"No, Grand General———!!"
Chaos erupted.
"He set our hearts ablaze, how can he leave for Bing Province!!"
".···"
"If truly going, trample us first!!"
".···"
"General Lü."
If only Pure Stream ministers rampaged, I'd crush them underfoot and flit away.
"How can it not be···?"
".···"
"I, no, this disciple begs you."
My ankle was caught.
"Master. Truly leaving for Bing Province···?"