Not Only Heroic Tales Bloom in Chaotic Times
The swift boat sped along the current. By the time evening approached, we had already put a considerable distance behind us.
“Lord Cao.”
“Ah, General Dong.”
When Dong Cheng stepped onto the deck, I greeted him. He looked at me with a face full of concern and spoke.
“Thanks to your ingenious plan, His Majesty and the loyal ministers were able to escape safely. This is all because of you.”
“I was simply lucky.”
“That may be so, but we now face our greatest problem. His Majesty has not touched any food since yesterday. He has only been drinking water.”
Ah, right. The food issue.
In the original history, the Emperor—though called the Son of Heaven—was reduced to something like a beggar. He had abandoned even his loyal subjects and wandered from place to place. Without a proper carriage, he rode in a cart pulled by oxen borrowed from commoners. His silk robes were stained and filthy, his hair disheveled, and he barely managed to eat thin porridge scraped together from the people’s meager supplies all the way to Luoyang. Just reading the records made his plight feel utterly miserable.
“My thinking was too shallow. I will prepare the royal meal at once.”
“Oh? You even prepared food?”
When I told Dong Cheng I would take care of it, the court ladies and eunuchs responsible for cooking came looking for me.
“Lord Cao.”
“What is it, young master?”
“Did you bring the things I told you to prepare on the boat?”
“Ah, you mean the provisions? Yes, we have them. One barrel on each vessel!”
Dian Wei went into the ship’s hold and brought out a wooden barrel. I took one, pried it open, and found it packed full of dried vegetables.
“Ohh, Lord Cao. What is this?”
“I ordered these prepared in case we had to escape by boat. They keep for a long time.”
Inside were preserved dried vegetables—bracken, mugwort, eggplant, mushrooms, mallow, aster leaves, bok choy, and more. I had instructed them to dry everything thoroughly and pack it tightly.
“It would be better if we had meat, but that’s difficult to preserve. A shame.”
“Not at all! This is more than enough to serve His Majesty!”
The elderly eunuch looked visibly relieved at the sight of the barrels filled with vegetables and immediately began preparing to cook.
“We also have tea leaves for His Majesty, along with salt and various sauces to season the dishes.”
In this era, what they called “sauce” was not modern soy sauce or soybean paste, but an older fermented seafood paste known as haejeup. It was salty and perfect for seasoning. I had grown quite fond of it while living under Cao Cao’s roof in Yan Province.
“And this is steamed rice. Since we have to feed everyone on board, wouldn’t it be better to make porridge?”
“We will prepare the royal meal immediately.”
While the eunuchs and court ladies took out the steamed rice and vegetables from the barrels to begin cooking, I went with Dian Wei to inspect the other ships.
“When you told me to prepare this much, I thought there must be someone in Yan Province who really loved dried side dishes.”
“I didn’t expect us to end up with this many people either. It’s a good thing I prepared plenty.”
“Still, I’m worried there’s no meat. Maybe we should have caught a few of those horses we left behind at the cliff and prepared some horse meat!”
Dian Wei clicked his tongue regretfully as he thought about the horses we had abandoned during our escape. After all, while the Emperor might manage without it, a warrior like Dian Wei considered meat an absolute necessity for every meal.
“Just in case, I also prepared several fishing rods.”
“Oh, that’s excellent.”
If things calmed down later, we could even enjoy some leisurely boat fishing on the way to Luoyang.
Although the diet was mostly vegetarian, at least the Emperor, his consorts, and everyone else would not go hungry. The ministers, Dian Wei’s warriors, and the Wei Trading Company members could all eat the dried vegetables and steamed rice prepared on each vessel.
“Ah! I got one!”
Flap—flap—splash—
“Whoa, this one’s putting up a fight!”
Now that we had some breathing room, we could even fish from the boats. A carp thrashed wildly in the Yellow River before being pulled aboard.
“Got it! Let’s serve this one to His Majesty for dinner tonight.”
“Yes, sir! Lord Cao!”
The eunuch took the carp I had caught and went to prepare it. It really was a peaceful few days.
The other boats also cast their fishing lines into the Yellow River using the equipment we had prepared. Whenever someone caught a big one, cheers erupted. On one vessel, the women were busy sewing. Among them was Cai Yan, mending the torn clothes of officials and soldiers.
“There, it’s done.”
“Oh my, thank you so much. You truly have such a kind heart, young lady.”
Cai Yan handed the repaired outer robe to a Huben Army officer with a gentle smile. Looking at her like that, it was impossible not to fall for her.
That night.
After the fishing was done, I sat relaxed on the deck under the moonlight. At that moment, Cai Yan quietly approached.
“Hmm?”
She greeted me silently and laid out the items she had brought across the deck. They turned out to be the socks everyone on board had been wearing. She had washed them all at night and was now spreading them out to dry.
“Lady Cai, you shouldn’t be doing something like this yourself…”
“If I just sit still, I become nothing but baggage. This is a small way to pass the time. Besides, these are the socks His Majesty wears.”
Even on this desperate flight, she maintained her dignity—washing dirty socks and undergarments. I couldn’t just watch, so I helped. Cai Yan quietly sat down beside me. Honestly, after everything we had been through together, wasn’t this the natural progression?
“Thank you for following me out of Chang’an and staying with me all this way.”
“Not at all. It was my honor to escort His Majesty’s carriage and escape the traitors’ grasp. Moreover, you saved my younger sister as well, didn’t you?”
Cai Yan bowed, expressing gratitude toward me instead. I looked at her and spoke without further hesitation.
“Since we are alone at night, I will speak plainly. I wish to take you in.”
“…”
“I will protect you so no one can treat you carelessly, and I will treat you well.”
“That… I will give you my answer once His Majesty safely reaches Luoyang.”
After speaking, Cai Yan quietly left. Still, the faint smile on her lips suggested she wasn’t entirely opposed. Or was she simply someone who always smiled?
The distance from Luoyang to Chang’an was greater than from Seoul to Busan in modern Korea. Moreover, this was the third century. Even though we traveled by water along established routes, the journey still took a long time.
When we finally arrived at the northern harbor of Luoyang after the long river voyage, everyone looked at me with eyes filled with deep emotion.
“Your Majesty, we will soon reach Luoyang.”
“Indeed. We have finally returned to Luoyang.”
“It is fortunate we arrived, but from now on we must find horses and carriages again.”
That was true. Since we had come by boat, there were no carriages ready to transport the Son of Heaven. After some desperate inquiries, we managed to obtain a single small carriage—likely one used by local nobles. The Emperor and his consorts squeezed inside, and we set off toward Luoyang.
“We have to walk all the way to Luoyang?”
“Everyone else is walking too, you know? Once we reach Luoyang, we’ll be able to rest.”
Upon hearing we still had to walk the remaining distance to Luoyang, Cai Lin kept rubbing her legs in complaint, but Cai Yan gently comforted her sister.
Of course, I walked alongside them as well, escorting the two sisters as if on a military march.
“Young master, once we reach Luoyang, our trading company’s people should be there. I heard they have been repairing the city and preparing temporary lodgings in advance.”
Once we arrived at the ruined Luoyang, the Emperor could stay in the temporary quarters prepared by the Wei Trading Company. Then the Cao army from Yan Province would arrive. If that happened, the plan to escort the Emperor would truly be a success…
“Kuaaaagh!”
“?”
“Enemy forces! The enemy is coming!”
“What the—!”
From the rear came the screams of eunuchs and soldiers struck by arrows. We had barely made it to Luoyang, yet the enemy was pursuing us again.
The banners of the charging force kicking up clouds of dust belonged to the White Wave Bandits.
“Yang Feng and Han Xian, those persistent bastards, actually chased us all the way here?”
The White Wave Bandits had followed the Emperor’s party all the way to this place. We had no horses, very few soldiers, and it was uncertain how much help Dian Wei’s warriors could provide.
But we had to stop them.
“Your Majesty, it’s dangerous!”
“Immediately escort His Majesty and move the carriage to safety! We must evade the enemy!”
Dong Cheng, half out of his mind with panic, tried to calm the terrified Huben Army soldiers and urge the imperial carriage forward.
“Sister, what do we do?! The White Wave Bandits… mmmph!”
“…”
Cai Yan covered her noisy younger sister’s mouth and nodded. However, even on her usually calm face, cold sweat was now visible.
“Damn it! How many times do we have to defend the rear?”
I drew my sword and shouted.
“Leave this place to me and move forward, everyone!”
We had no horses and only a single sword. The enemy numbered in the thousands. But we could not allow ourselves to be caught here.
At that moment, Dian Wei moved his massive body and stood beside me.
“Young Master Cao, have you forgotten? My mission is…”
Dian Wei gripped his large blade in reverse, aimed carefully, and hurled it with terrifying speed toward the oncoming enemy commander. The blade flew like a missile, piercing straight through the rider’s chest and knocking him from his horse.
“I am here to protect you on my lord’s orders!”
He threw a sword from that distance and killed a cavalryman? He truly was a monster. Having Dian Wei beside me felt incredibly reassuring. We might actually be able to pull this off.
“Sohui! Take your sister and flee immediately. I will hold them here…”
At that instant, an arrow whistled past just above my head.
“!?”
“Young master! Look! Reinforcements are coming!”
“Reinforcements?”
From another direction, a cavalry unit was charging forward, kicking up dust as they moved to intercept the White Wave Bandits. They fired arrows from horseback, blocking the enemy’s advance.
Their banners fluttered with the character “Cao (曺).”
“We’re saved! It’s over now!”
I snatched a bow from one of the Huben soldiers, nocked an arrow, drew the string, and shot down one of the bandits.
“Wenlie! I’ve come!”
You bastard… You really are a friend for life.
Cao Ang had arrived with three thousand cavalry to rescue us in Luoyang.
With Cao Ang’s cavalry now engaging the White Wave Bandits, we had finally seized the momentum for good.