Things Left Behind by the Dead
The Cao army had finished securing the area around Xiapi Castle, and the many generals were each taking their well-earned rest after the battle.
I spread a leather blanket over myself, lit a campfire, and warmed my body with a cup of hot tea.
As time passed, drinking parties sprang up inside the tents scattered across the camp. I was summoned to Liu Bei’s seat and drank a single cup before excusing myself right away.
After that, Dian Wei, Xiahou Dun, Cao Ren, Yue Jin, and the others each came out in turn to share a cup with me.
I had drunk exactly one cup with each of them, listening to their stories, when I noticed a general standing guard with iron-tight discipline over the government office in Xiapi Castle, soldiers arrayed behind him.
It was Yu Jin.
“Colonel Yu.”
“Ah, is that not Young Master Zayul?”
“It’s freezing out here. Why put yourself through such hardship? Warm yourself up like the other generals and have a drink.”
“I do not care for such things. On the contrary, in a situation like this, standing vigilant guard over Xiapi Castle is far better.”
Yu Jin believed that the more dangerous the moment, the more strictly one must maintain the watch. It was an admirable attitude for a general, yet the ones truly suffering were the soldiers under his command.
“The soldiers seem to be enduring too much. Knowing when to let them rest is also a virtue.”
“Then who would guard this place? Until our lord leaves Xiapi Castle, I intend to keep watch exactly like this.”
“If you are that determined, then once the guard duty ends, we should at least give the soldiers suitable rewards.”
“Guard duty is only natural. How can you speak of private rewards for something so ordinary?”
Being upright was one thing, but being too rigid could become a problem.
“Colonel, from ancient times a true general must earn the trust and loyalty of even the lowest foot soldier. Even warhorses know who feeds them carrots and who only wields the whip.”
“…Hmm.”
“Once the guard duty at Xiapi is over, I will speak to the Chancellor myself. Do as I say.”
“If that is your will, then… understood. I shall do so.”
At that moment, I could sense the soldiers who had been shivering on guard around Yu Jin let out sighs of relief and look at me with grateful eyes.
“Since the weather is cold, I will have my men distribute new foot wrappings and leather blankets.”
“Thank you, Military Colonel!”
I ordered Yue Jin to ensure that Yu Jin’s troops received at least the minimum comforts while standing guard.
When I stepped inside the government office, the place was bustling with activity.
“This is the ledger recording all materials stored in Xiapi Castle, and these documents show the locations of grain and salt warehouses throughout Xuzhou.”
“My word, the quantities are completely different from the inspection ledgers compiled by the inspector a few years ago. Did a famine strike in the meantime?”
Inside, Xun You and Cheng Yu, along with the local Xuzhou officials, were preparing the formal handover. The generals’ work was finished; now it was the turn of the strategists and administrators like Cheng Yu and Xun You.
Together with the administrative staff they had brought, they would be occupied for some time with the takeover of Xuzhou.
“Hmm~”
Since I was already there, I continued wandering through the government offices of Xiapi.
The battle was clearly over, yet the atmosphere somehow felt subdued.
“Who is making those footsteps outside?”
“!”
I answered immediately at the sound of Cao Cao’s voice coming from within.
“Uncle, it is Zayul. I was simply looking around the government offices inside Xiapi Castle.”
“Zayul?”
The door opened at once and Cao Cao stepped out.
He had already shed his armor and was wearing fresh clothes obtained in Xiapi, relaxing in the official residence.
“Yes, it really is Zayul.”
Inside the room hung a single sword, armor polished to a gleam after the battle, and a crimson battle robe.
“Why are you alone, Uncle? You bestowed wine and meat upon the generals, and they are holding a grand feast.”
“I simply… wanted to be by myself for a while.”
Cao Cao wore a somewhat bittersweet expression as he claimed this solitary time for himself.
“Walk with me.”
He patted my shoulder and we set off together.
I had seen Cao Cao countless times before, but today he looked truly different.
It was probably because of Chen Gong.
The words Chen Gong had spoken before his death seemed to have struck him deeply. Even after the battle, his usual laughter had vanished, and some shift had clearly taken place in his heart.
Cao Cao was not normally like this. It appeared the matter with Chen Gong had truly shaken him.
“Zayul.”
“Yes, Uncle.”
“How many wars have you fought at my side so far?”
“After my first appointment in Yanzhou, once in Xuzhou, twice during the rebellion at Puyang, three times against the pursuit forces and the White Wave bandits while escorting the Emperor to Luoyang, four times at Qiao County when Yuan Shu invaded, five times against the Yellow Turban remnants in Runan, six times at Wan Castle, seven times with the capture of Shuchun, and eight times including today’s conquest of Xuzhou.”
When I listed them all, Cao Cao nodded and patted my shoulder once more.
“Then you may take up to eight concubines, I suppose?”
Why was he suddenly talking about women?
“Zayul, I have experienced many times more battles than you. Yet today, for some reason, I feel unusually gloomy.”
“If it concerns what happened with Lord Chen Gong, please pay it no mind. Before he died, did he not say everything he wished, curses and all?”
“Is that how you see it?”
Cao Cao nodded at my words and smiled.
“Then I should drink heavily and embrace some women. Let us tour Xiapi Castle together.”
Uncle… I am not Cao Anmin.
“If you desire a drinking party, Uncle, I will personally guard you. It has not even been a full day since the occupation.”
“Hohoho, this boy.”
Only then did Cao Cao laugh again.
And just as he had declared, with the mindset of ‘drink until I drop and embrace women,’ he thoroughly scoured the government office district that Lu Bu had occupied until yesterday.
“Halt. Who approaches?”
“I am the Chancellor.”
“Ah, My Lord!”
The moment Cao Cao entered the rear garden of the government complex, the soldiers on identity duty rushed over in a panic to greet him.
“To which unit do you belong?”
“We are soldiers under the Pinglu Colonel.”
“Pinglu Colonel—that would be Yu Jin?”
“Yes. After the capture of Xiapi, we were ordered to guard the government offices and rear garden with utmost strictness to prevent any plunder or slaughter.”
“Yu Jin has disciplined his troops well!”
Cao Cao nodded in satisfaction, drew a silk handkerchief from his robe, and handed it to the soldier.
“Clean this place and give it to your family as a gift when you return home.”
“Th-thank you, Chancellor!”
“Then may I enter?”
“Yes, Chancellor!”
Including the officers, Yu Jin’s soldiers threw the rear garden gates wide open.
From here onward it was a forbidden zone that only Lu Bu had been able to enter freely.
“The lights are burning brightly inside.”
Cao Cao stepped in without hesitation.
Creak—
“!!!!”
The instant the door opened, the air was thick with the scent of flowers.
Beneath countless lanterns, women burned fragrant incense, filling the space with a soft, heady aroma.
“Just as I thought!”
Cao Cao burst into great laughter at the sight of the many beauties sitting rigidly in fear.
Especially striking was the woman at the very front.
She appeared to be in her thirties—a mature beauty whose makeup suited her perfectly. Her tight-fitting crimson silk robes accentuated a chest larger than her head.
The woman beside her was equally stunning. She seemed a few years older, possessing a mature allure, yet unlike the first woman she carried an air of deep sorrow. Her frowning expression somehow made the heart race even more.
“So all the beauties of Xuzhou were gathered here! Well then, is everyone safe?”
“Are you… perhaps Lord Chancellor?”
“I am.”
At that moment the woman in red at the front prostrated herself before Cao Cao and clutched the hem of his trousers.
“I beg the Chancellor of Han—please guarantee our safety.”
“Hoho, safety shall of course be guaranteed. Indeed, it shall.”
The face that had been gloomy from Chen Gong’s words and remained so even after the man’s death now brightened at once. Cao Cao looked at the beauties clinging to him and laughed heartily.
“Chancellor, all the women here belong to the great clans of the Xuzhou region.”
“Oh? Is that so?”
“Some of them once had husbands, but that utterly wicked Lu Bu forcibly abducted them, imprisoned them in his rear garden, and took them for himself. Please show them mercy.”
I had heard that Lu Bu’s lust was extreme, but the man had truly been insane. To kidnap women whose husbands still lived—daughters of Xuzhou’s most renowned clans—and build a harem with them in his private garden.
“And who might you be?”
“This humble one… is a woman of the Du clan from Bingzhou.”
“Oh, of the Du clan?”
So that mature beauty was a daughter of the Du family.
She then pointed to the woman beside her.
“And this lady was Lu Bu’s concubine, named Cho…”
It was then.
“Chancellor? Are you inside, Chancellor?”
It was Guan Yu’s voice.
For whatever reason, Guan Yu had pushed past Yu Jin’s soldiers and entered the rear garden that served as Lu Bu’s harem.
“Yunchang? Come in.”
The door opened and Guan Yu stepped inside.
“Chancellor, I was told you were here and came at once… Ah!”
Guan Yu had been urgently seeking Cao Cao to deliver a message, but he froze at the sight of the room filled with fragrant beauties.
In that brief instant, I clearly saw his eyes darting left and right across the women in the garden.
He’s a man, all right. Definitely a man.
“Ahem~ Yunchang, what did you need from me?”
“That is… although we have taken Xiapi, remnants are still said to remain on Mount Tai above. I came to report it urgently. If you grant me troops, tomorrow morning this one and my brothers will capture the man called Zhang Ba of Mount Tai and exterminate the remaining forces.”
“I see. So the independent warlord Zhang Ba’s forces still linger. Very well. We shall discuss it at the strategy meeting tomorrow morning.”
“Then I shall… take my leave.”
As Guan Yu turned to go after delivering his message, I noticed his eyes move once more.
Once Guan Yu had departed, Cao Cao sat quietly and asked the woman of the Du clan.
“It seems you are the representative of this garden, speaking on their behalf. Is there anything more you know?”
“Lu Bu’s principal wife and his daughter… escaped from Xiapi Castle.”
“Is that so? Do you know where they went?”
“That I do not know, but they cannot have left Xuzhou. The daughter possesses striking features—crimson eyes and hair like black silk. Such beauty cannot easily be hidden.”
“Hmm. So Lu Bu’s wife and daughter have vanished?”
As he spoke, Cao Cao gently stroked the Du woman’s pure-white cheek.
“Ah…”
“You are a wise woman, are you not?”
They were all undeniably beauties, including the woman of the Du clan, but I had no intention of choosing any.
Since Cao Cao was relieving his stress, I would simply stand guard outside, then return to my own quarters for a drink.