The Truth of My Identity
I suddenly found myself dropped into the era of the Three Kingdoms.
No, to be precise, it wasn't even the Three Kingdoms period yet. It was the chaotic final years of the Later Han Dynasty.
I had read so many stories like this that I half-expected to be born into some powerful clan. Instead, I woke up as a dirt-poor commoner in Wu Commandery of Yang Province.
My parents came from a farming family. Because my father was in poor health, I had been gripping the plow and working without rest since I was fifteen.
Instead of becoming some hero of the Three Kingdoms, I had become an ordinary commoner of that era, trapped in the worst possible situation where every single day was consumed by the desperate struggle to survive.
By the end of the first month, I couldn't take it anymore. I even had suicidal thoughts, wanting nothing more than to return to my original world. But the parents I met in this life always protected me and cherished me.
That changed when my father died during an epidemic that swept through the village.
Local officials who should have provided relief from the plague? This place was ruled by bandit gangs. Proper Han administration didn't reach here. The leader of those bandits was a man called Yan Baihu.
After my father's funeral, I had no choice but to carry his remains up the mountain, build a crude hut, and hide there for three years under the pretense of mourning.
It was during that time that I met a man who claimed he owed my father a debt from the past. He helped with the funeral rites.
Then he asked me a question.
He then made me an offer.
In order to survive the coming turbulent times, I accepted his proposal. With no cheats, no special bloodline, and no abilities whatsoever, these were the only things I could learn if I wanted to live.
And so, in front of my father's grave, I trained under him. During the day I learned swordsmanship, archery, and spearmanship. At night, I studied literature.
Using what I learned to survive, I ended up doing things that would have been forbidden by proper etiquette—hunting dangerous beasts in the mountains for food.
Three years passed like that.
Huu—
I offered one final bow to my father.
"I will descend the mountain now."
The man who had stayed with me—the one I called Master—also bowed with a gentle smile. At last, we could leave the mountain behind.
"In the Central Plains, they say that a descendant of the Yuan family, who once held the positions of the Three Excellencies, gained fame throughout the world by observing three years of mourning for his father."
Since I already knew almost everything about this era, I could answer immediately.
"Are you speaking of Yuan Shao?"
"I've thought this for a while, but even though you've never left the southern lands, you seem to know everything about the Central Plains with your eyes closed? Hahaha—"
Indeed, there was a man in this era whose reputation spread across the world after he observed three years of mourning not once, but twice. Thanks to that image of filial piety, he had become a warlord with considerable power in the Central Plains.
My master patted my shoulder and said,
"Once we descend the mountain, I will teach you one final thing—the art of horsemanship. With that, my duty will be complete."
"Horsemanship?"
"I have occasionally gone down the mountain to speak with your mother. It seems there is enough money to prepare a horse for you."
For three years I had trained in the mountains. Now I would learn how to ride.
When we finally returned to the village, my mother, who had been tending the fields alone, embraced me and wept. Slowly, I began to feel like I truly belonged to this family.
After that, my master spent the next six months teaching me horsemanship. Of course, I didn't spend all day riding. Using the skills I had learned, I worked as a hunter to make a living and occasionally helped eliminate nearby bandit groups.
At some point, people began calling me the knight of Wu Commandery, Xun.
And so I celebrated my twentieth birthday in Wu Commandery.
It was a night of the full moon.
My mother and master called for me late at night.
"At this hour… what is the matter?"
Both my mother and master looked at me with extremely grave expressions. Whatever this was, it seemed quite serious.
After a long silence, my master spoke first.
"Xun, it is time to tell you the truth."
"…Yes?"
The truth? What was he suddenly talking about?
"Xun, we have always told you that our family were wandering refugees with no surname. But that was not true."
What? Did this family have some incredible secret?
"Then…"
"We never told you our family name while you were young. But our clan is one that has produced a Grand Assistant."
…What? My hidden origins were being revealed so suddenly?
To be honest, ever since I had fallen into this world without knowing why, I had simply accepted everything in order to survive.
But a family that produced a Grand Assistant during the time of the previous emperors? Since the current emperor was Emperor Xian, Liu Xie, that meant the Grand Assistant would have served under Emperor Ling or the young Emperor. It was an incredibly prestigious family.
"You are from the Cao clan of Qiao County in Pei State."
"What!?"
This was insane. And not just any ordinary family—the Cao clan of Qiao County!
There was only one such prominent Cao family in Qiao County of Pei State.
The eunuch Cao Teng, who had been Regular Attendant during the reigns of Emperors Huan and Ling, and his adopted son Cao Song, who had used the family's fortune of a hundred million coins to purchase the position of Grand Assistant.
And finally, Cao Song's son—the treacherous hero of this chaotic age, the genius minister Cao Cao.
In other words, I was a member of Cao Cao's family.
"But why were we living in the southern lands of Wu Commandery…?"
"You probably don't remember your childhood, but after the Yellow Turban Rebellion, we fled south to escape the turmoil."
"Ah…"
At that time, before I had possessed this body, I would have been the equivalent of an elementary school student. My memories of the past were faint, but if they had gone so far as to hide their identity in such chaotic times, something must have happened even in their ancestral village.
My mother then pointed to my master standing beside me.
"This man who taught you martial arts was a comrade-in-arms who fought alongside your father on the battlefield after the Yellow Turban Rebellion."
So that was it. A veteran of the Yellow Turban campaign. Everything made sense now—why he had taught me literature, martial arts, and horsemanship all this time.
"Master, I understand now."
"It was a promise I made to my friend. If he died first, I was to guide his son until he became a true warrior."
I bowed deeply to my master once more.
My heart continued to pound after learning this truth.
After four years of training, I had finally seen the light. I was a member of the Cao clan.
"This mother of yours will now tell you your real name instead of your childhood name. Your given name is Xiu. The courtesy name that was to be given to you when you came of age is Wenlie."
Oh my god!
Cao Xiu, courtesy name Wenlie.
A member of the Cao clan from Qiao County in Pei State, a distant relative of Cao Cao. He would later become a member of the Cao Wei imperial family by marriage and rise all the way to Grand Marshal.
Using every bit of knowledge from my days as a Three Kingdoms otaku, I recalled that Cao Xiu's exact birth year was unclear. Due to certain circumstances, he had left his hometown of Qiao County. After his father's death, he lived with his widowed mother before joining Cao Cao when he raised his army. He would go on to serve three generations—Cao Cao, Cao Pi, and Cao Rui—as a distinguished general.
Although he didn't achieve any particularly outstanding merits in the major battles, the trust he received from the Cao family combined with his background as a member of the imperial clan with military power was more than enough to change history.
My identity was Cao Xiu. If I had known this from the beginning, I would have taken my parents and gone straight to Cao Cao!
"Now that you are an adult, I will call you by your courtesy name. Wenlie!"
"Yes, Master."
The name 'Xun'.
The moment I shed that name and became 'Cao Xiu, Wenlie,' something surged up from deep within my chest.
…Yes. I am Cao Xiu, Wenlie.
The four years of hardship I had endured were washed away by this truth… It was truly ironic.
"It is time to leave Wu Commandery and return to the Cao clan."
"Are we going to Yan Province?"
"No. You will go to Xu Province."
"To Xu Province…?"
The Cao clan… Xu Province… the great massacre… Something about this felt ominous.
"The greatest elder of our clan, the current Grand Assistant, is staying in Langya of Xu Province. He will soon move to Yan Province. Take this letter and go pay your respects to him."
I received the letter sealed with wax.
"You want me to go to Langya and greet the Grand Assistant in person?"
"That is correct. In the meantime, I will safely escort your mother back to our hometown in Qiao County of Pei State."
My mother would return home under my master's protection, while I would head to Xu Province to meet the Grand Assistant.
That Grand Assistant was none other than Cao Cao's father, Cao Song. And the Langya where he currently resided was the very land where the Cao clan massacre would soon take place.
This was truly fate. This was an opportunity.
I had been given the chance to change history.
"Can you leave first thing tomorrow morning?"
"I will depart immediately."
"Hahaha, now you truly look like a man! Wenlie."
My master laughed heartily and handed me a sword.
"Since you will be leaving tomorrow morning, consider this a coming-of-age gift."
"Th-thank you."
"Pay your respects to the Grand Assistant, establish yourself and seek fame within the Cao family. I will pray for your future success."
My master praised me with a benevolent expression. My mother also smiled quietly as she handed me a small box.
"Open it."
Inside were new clothes, shoes, and a small amount of silver.
"Since you are leaving this place, I sold the house and the fields to prepare these clothes and traveling expenses."
"Mother…"
"I'm sorry for making you suffer all this time."
Emotions suddenly welled up inside me.
I had thought I had fallen into hell itself, but looking back, this woman had continued to care for me despite living in poverty.
"I hope you will be recognized by the main family and make a name for yourself in the empire."
For a moment, my chest burned with overwhelming emotion.
Another mother who had guided me through an unfamiliar world.
Despite all the hardships she had endured, she had protected me until the very end.
And only now was I finally saying these words.
"Thank you, Mother."
The next day.
Before mounting my horse and leaving, I took one last look at the lands of Wu Commandery.
It was a place where I had lived in despair for four years. Now it was time to say goodbye.
When I returned, it would probably be as a general under Cao Cao's command, arriving as part of an occupying force.
The distance from Wu Commandery in Yang Province to Langya in Xu Province was a journey of just under ten days. As I rode, I organized the current situation in my mind.
This was the year 193 AD, before the Xu Province Massacre. Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, and the rest of the clan were still staying in Xu Province and remained alive and well.
Yes. There was still time to save them.
The act that earned Cao Cao the greatest infamy in the Three Kingdoms was the Xu Province Massacre. The cause had been the annihilation of his own family in Xu Province.
But what if I arrived first and saved Cao Cao's father and the entire clan?
What if I safely escorted them to Cao Cao, revealed that I was from the Qiao County Cao clan, and gained the support of Cao Cao's father?
That would be the beginning.
From there, I could forge my own destiny in this Three Kingdoms world!