Jiangdong (2)
Chen Kingdom was the gateway to Jiangbei and the bulwark that had to be breached to advance into Jiangdong. That was why, even if a southern power captured Hefei in Jiujiang Prefecture, it would have to abandon any push into the Central Plains if it failed to pierce the kingdom.
The boundary line dividing two vast regions.
The corridor connecting the Central Plains to the South.
If Wei and Wu ever went to all-out war, Chen would inevitably be caught in the storm—like a shrimp caught in a fight between whales.
"We're marching north to the Central Plains. Get out of the way."
"We're moving south into Jiangdong. Open the road."
For those accursed reasons, the people of Chen had faced the crucible of a chaotic era from the moment the Yellow Turban Rebellion erupted in earnest. If not for a desperate, suicidal resistance that halted the rebels' human-wave attacks, every county in Chen would have been reduced to ashes long ago.
'Someday, once Cao Cao's forces take in Emperor Xian and sweep across the Central Plains, they'll naturally turn their eyes to Chen. No—even before that, will it be Yuan Shu, routed by Cao Cao just as in the original history and forced to shift his main base into Jiujiang Prefecture, who invades us first?'
The year was 189.
Dong Zhuo's faction had seized control of the government.
He had strangled Emperor Shao Liu Bian and Empress Dowager He.
And then he'd placed Emperor Xian Liu Xie, a mere child of eight, on the throne.
Unchecked coercion and violence inevitably provoke a backlash as fierce as a typhoon. As if proving that point, countless heroes and feudal lords rallied around Yuan Shao—who had fled Luoyang and settled in Bohai Prefecture in Ji Province—and began raising the banner of the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition.
"Hit! A direct hit!"
Thwack.
The arrow tore through the air.
Finally, the sharp arrowhead bored into the dead center of the red-marked target.
Thirty arrows.
Not one missed the center.
Every shot had struck a target set seventy bo from the platform—roughly ninety-seven meters.
A military officer stationed on the training grounds waved signal flags with both hands, confirming a perfect score. The moment I saw him, I let out a deep sigh and lowered my bow.
"What's the status of the Archery Tournament scheduled for the middle of the month?"
"Yes, Your Highness! They say the finest archers from every district will participate. With one hundred gold posted as the prize, they'll swarm in like clouds."
Archery.
There is no better method to counter human-wave attacks than bows and crossbows.
Liu Chong, both a descendant of the Han Imperial House and a master archer of Hundred Shots, Hundred Hits, actively encouraged the commoners to take up the bow in preparation for emergencies. He also held a monthly Archery Tournament to stir morale and fighting spirit.
Award one hundred gold.
Moreover, appoint the winner of the Archery Tournament as a military officer.
The kingdom had become so renowned for its dedication to archery that a joke had taken root: to weed out anyone not from Chen, all you had to do was test them on the bow and crossbow. Moreover, with its abundant timber, Chen held a natural advantage in the production of such weapons.
"There's nothing more reliable than the lure of instant wealth."
"It is not merely the prize money, Your Highness. Because the Crown Prince of Chen is the realm's preeminent master archer, the people take up their bows with redoubled courage."
"...Your flattery has improved."
"I merely stated a fact."
In siege defense, no weapon surpasses the bow and crossbow. Should a vast enemy host descend on us, these stout walls would turn the battle into a grueling siege.
Whether it's because of the prize money,
or thanks to a Crown Prince who knows only the bow,
as long as large-scale training allows us to reliably replenish our Archers and Crossbowmen, we'll find a way to survive the chaos ahead.
"I'll take my leave here. Wrap things up and head back yourself."
"Huh? You're leaving already?"
"Guests are set to arrive from Lujiang Prefecture today. I'd like to keep shooting for another half-day, but... welcoming guests comes first, doesn't it."
"Understood."
Guests were on their way from Lujiang Prefecture, located in Jiangbei.
It was the Wu Prefecture Lu Clan, a family with deep ties to my father, Liu Chong.
* * *
A young girl with silvery-white hair cascading like bellflower petals stepped forward with a confident stride.
Eyes a tranquil, clear blue like a lake's hue.
Refined features imbued with elegance, and skin as flawless as white jade.
Whenever the hem of her hemp skirt rustled gently, every gaze in the vicinity—man or woman—locked onto her. The girl looked intoxicated by the attention.
"Sun'er, you mustn't act thoughtlessly before His Highness the King of Chen, the way you usually do."
"Of course, Uncle. Don't worry."
Not that I believe you for a second...
Lu Kang, Governor of Lujiang, looked openly worried.
But his niece pressed on with a triumphant air, utterly undeterred by her uncle's concern.
"Every time I see you, my worries get the better of me."
"I'm a little worried myself. The moment His Highness the Crown Prince sees the perfectly demure young lady I've grown into, he'll certainly want to make me his Crown Princess Consort... Once I receive the proposal, I plan to turn him down at least once."
"Can't we just go back to Lujiang Prefecture?"
"We're already here. What's done is done."
Lu Xun.
Governor of Lujiang Lu Kang's niece.
And the bratty daughter of the Wu Prefecture Lu Clan.
The girl with the flowing platinum-blonde hair burst out in a giggle—she'd caught sight of the dark cloud that had settled over her uncle's face.
A prodigiously talented young lady who combined superior intellect with outstanding looks.
The moment any man met her eyes, he'd likely lie awake staring at the ceiling all night.
Maybe it was because she'd been raised like a princess by the Wu Prefecture Lu Clan? Or maybe the scholar-officials and local gentry of Lujiang had spoiled her beyond all reason?
Together, those influences had left the Lu Clan's daughter with a narcissistic streak and far too much confidence in her talent and beauty.
"I bet His Highness is out shooting his bow again, right? He's always at the training grounds whenever I visit the royal capital... He's already utterly captivated by my beauty and charm, but he's such an adorable person, deliberately playing coy."
Her blue eyes, bearing the depths of a lake, glittered more radiantly than ever.
She was the very picture of a much-younger cousin who loved tagging along with her far-older cousin.
* * *
When it comes to expanding armaments and extending one's influence, alliances with the scholar-officials and local gentry are essential. This is especially true in the borderlands, where the central government's control is weak and the power of the local clans runs strong.
Jiujiang and Lujiang Prefectures in Jiangbei.
The successive Kings of Chen had long treated the local officials of Jiujiang and Lujiang with special favor.
If Jiujiang and Lujiang were blockaded, all goods flowing up from the South would be choked off. Conversely, supplies descending from the Central Plains would also be severed, and so every time new local officials were appointed, the Chen kings forged close ties.
"...The Wu Prefecture Lu Clan's bratty little lady should be barging in any moment now."
"The most beautiful and loveliest girl in all of heaven and earth has arrived!"
Her words were barely finished,
when the worry that had been floating through my head materialized right into reality.
The tomboy with the flowing platinum-blonde hair made her entrance, radiating an aura of overwhelming self-importance. As if she had not a shred of hesitation in proclaiming herself the greatest beauty of the age, she thrust out her utterly flat chest with all her might.
"You never change, Sun'er."
"And it's a relief Your Highness remains just as gallant as ever. I heard you repelled a massive Yellow Turban force just days ago! That's the big brother I know!"
She'll turn into a magnificent villainess once she grows up a bit.
I watched the girl laughing cheerfully with exaggerated gestures and thought to myself.
I still can't quite believe it.
That the girl before my eyes, suffering from this severe case of delusional grandeur, is the supreme commander of a later era.
The Commander who conquered the sprawling lands Sun Jerry had yearned for,
who brought down the peerless general who had slain countless greats,
and who crushed the ambitions of that big-eared bastard who'd gone totally senile—snatching away Shu's future in the process.
Wu's strongest Commander.
'Hah. I really screwed myself by starting this run with the Beautiful Female Officers DLC... The one thin silver lining is that not every single officer got gender-swapped into a supermodel. Only the major players in the Three Kingdoms Setting got the looks upgrade.'
The Beautiful Female Officers DLC.
The accursed marketing gimmick from the devs where major characters in the Three Kingdoms Setting spawn as gorgeous beauties or pretty girls.
It was only natural for gamers to prefer handsome men and beautiful women over enormous meatheads loaded with nothing but beards and muscles, and a vast legion of players—myself included—got caught in their predatory web. True to form from a gaming company more serious about milking DLC sales than improving the actual game.
"You know, just looking at my reflection in the mirror today, I found myself tearing up for no reason?"
"..."
"Even before my coming-of-age ceremony, to be this beautiful... what's going to happen when I finally mature into a truly stunning, elegant woman? My future and potential are so infinite it actually brought me to tears. Whew. Beauty really is a sin. Especially for a girl like me, it's got to be a capital crime."
"...You still haven't taken your meds, have you?"
Mm.
I can see now why Sun Quan would purge her in her later years.
Was this an aberration caused by the Beautiful Female Officers DLC?
Or was the original Lu Xun always this solipsistic by nature?
I stroked the head of this demure young lady so smugly evangelizing her own charm. The moment I did, Lu Xun, who'd been rhythmically chanting her sermon as if intoning a sutra, halted and merely shrugged her shoulders.
"I just came from meeting the Governor of Lujiang, but I didn't see you with him. Looks like our paths crossed for a moment."
"No worries! I'll just hunt him down myself."
In the original history, Lu Xun met a miserable end.
Rejected entirely by the emperor she'd served, she died vomiting blood in despair over his coldness and Wu's spiraling collapse.
If I want to change that future,
if I want to rewrite that history.
If I want to save this girl, who's no different from a little cousin to me, from that brutal fate,
then the only path forward is to replace Wu and the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan myself.