Warlords' Contention (2)
To claim ownership of the Imperial Jade Seal—the treasure of the Central Plains dynasty that symbolizes the Heavenly Mandate and Heavenly Fortune—rather than returning it to the Imperial House was, in practical terms, no different from rebellion.
Rebellion.
It meant becoming a traitor who had betrayed the Imperial House and the Imperial Court.
In every age and every land, the line between treason and revolution is drawn solely by success or failure. Fail to raise your army, and you are an eternal traitor; succeed, and you are lauded for all time as the great emperor who founded a new dynasty.
"If we fail, the brand of traitor will be upon us forever. Knowing this, will you still follow me?"
I put the question to the Tiger of Jiangdong.
In reply came a resolute voice without a sliver of doubt.
"A man of great stature gives his life for the benefactor who recognized his true worth! Your Highness took in this lowly officer and my soldiers when we were being shuffled through petty posts and treated with contempt! Whatever disgrace may attach to my name henceforth, I will follow Your Highness!"
Sun Jian cried out, making his formal obeisance.
His subordinate commanders did the same.
Cheng Pu. Huang Gai. Han Dang. Zu Mao.
The officers of Sun Jian's army likewise swore they would gladly follow this thorny path.
'In the original history, the moment Yuan Shu falsely claimed the imperial title he plunged off a cliff into one collapse after another and met a miserable end... He believed the Han Imperial House and Court were truly extinguished, but Cao Cao defeated numerous rivals, succeeded in Holding the Emperor, and revived the imperial house and court.'
Of course, the decisive reason Yuan Shu's army was doomed to annihilation was Yuan Shu's own staggering incompetence. From beginning to end he displayed nothing but helpless ineptitude, which was precisely why he failed to build a new dynasty.
Honey Water Emperor.
Because the bastard was so profoundly useless and stupid.
But I am different.
While I have been planning a new dynasty, I have thoroughly prepared the arrangements, and I have also clearly laid out a method for overturning the corrupt and impotent Han Dynasty.
"As Your Highness commanded, all the remains have been collected and the desecrated royal tombs restored."
"Well done."
We restored the royal tombs of past emperors and feudal lords that Dong Zhuo's army had dug up at random to pillage gold, silver, treasure, and rare grave goods. The tombs, stripped even of their last shred of dignity and reverence, were at least able to keep some form of a burial mound.
Yet many of the tombs had lost their remains entirely.
This went beyond destruction and verged on insult.
They must have scoured everything down to the last copper coin.
"There were many lords who endorsed Your Highness's legitimacy... yet there were also lords who dared to question the legitimacy of Your Highness, chosen by the Imperial Jade Seal. Did not Zhang Miao, the Governor of Chenliu, raise his voice in especially heated objection to Your Highness?"
"Zhang Miao is known even among the renowned men of the Pure Stream Faction as a singularly obstinate figure. He is genuinely loyal to the current Imperial House and Court. The reason Zhang Miao advocated for war so actively among the coalition lords was solely his conviction that he must rescue the imperial house and court from the grasp of the traitor."
Governor of Chenliu Zhang Miao
Right up to the moment the Coalition Army dissolved, he argued for the restoration of the Imperial House and Court.
We must rescue the young Emperor and the court ministers held captive by Dong Zhuo's army. It was the argument of a loyalist, brimming with resolute fealty, but sadly it lacked any realism.
And so it failed to draw the other lords' interest.
Only his younger brother, the Governor of Guangling Zhang Chao, lent weight to his opinion.
"Strike the banners! Strike the camp tents!"
"Beat the drums and signal the withdrawal! We return to our homeland from this moment onward!"
We return to our homeland.
The great southern army stirred clouds of dust as it prepared to withdraw.
The faces of the soldiers packing weaponry, equipment, and supplies were bright. They could not help but be glad, for they were returning home having won a great victory in the war to punish the eternal traitor.
'The moment the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition Army disbands, the lords of Guandong will begin feuding and splitting apart... They will hurl their resolve to defeat the eternal traitor and restore the Imperial House and Court onto the dirt.'
Dong Zhuo had burned Luoyang and fled to Guanzhong.
Now the Central Plains would enter a new upheaval as warlords staked out their domains in every region.
The Imperial Jade Seal.
The supreme treasure symbolizing the emperor of a unified empire.
The very reason I had joined the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition Army from the start was to obtain the Imperial Jade Seal.
I had gained everything I desired.
And so I turned my horse's head without the slightest hesitation.
* * *
To Sun Ce, her father Sun Jian was an object of adoration.
And not simply because he was her father.
As a warrior, she revered the Tiger of Jiangdong who had suppressed countless rebellions across the Central Plains.
That was why Sun Ce had come to resent the Han Imperial House and Court, who had let a peerless warrior of the age be shuffled through trifling, insignificant posts simply because he came from a newly risen local gentry family. Given his achievements, he should naturally have held a key office in the military.
"Liu Seong-hwi, Liu Seong-hwi... What kind of man is he, I wonder? He was the first to recognize Father's true worth, so I'll at least give him credit for his eye for talent and his discernment."
The Crown Prince of Chen Kingdom.
Greatest Archer Under Heaven.
The Hero of the South who had repelled countless foreign enemies.
And the man acclaimed as Alliance Leader of the Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition Army.
What kind of man was he?
He must be a remarkable figure of the age—there is no doubt.
"If he is the lord to whom Father has sworn allegiance... then he is also the lord I must serve. And he is the lord of our Wu Prefecture Sun Clan as well."
"If you go by natural order, yes."
The girl with flowing red hair murmured with her arms crossed.
Then her friend, who had been watching, answered.
"But I only believe what I witness and experience for myself. I don't care about the common people's praise and cheers, or the rumors and war stories that tale-spinners and famous scholars blather about. I don't want to praise someone just because I've been swept up in public renown and gossip, and I don't want to approach a total stranger with prejudice from the start either."
"Well... If Liu Seong-hwi really is the remarkable man the rumors say, you'll recognize his worth the moment you see him."
Rumors and hearsay matter nothing to me.
I will judge only by what I see and experience for myself.
It was bold talk, full of strong confidence.
Through it, one could guess that Sun Ce was a valiant woman who took after her father.
"Young lady! Armed troops have just crossed the border! It's Tao Qian's army from Xu Province. They look like scouts sent from Pengcheng Kingdom to observe our forces' movements."
"They crossed the border again? I'll capture every last one of those Xu Province bumpkins."
Three hundred men.
It was a rather large number to simply be called scouts.
Tao Qian, the Inspector of Xu Province, had frequently raided the neighboring provinces of Yan Province and Yu Province and revealed his ambitions. In particular, he had his eyes fixed covetously on Chen Kingdom, with its rich granaries and stable finances.
The Hero of the South was absent.
He must have judged the house to be empty and sent a large scout detachment.
"Fine! We'll beat down all the bumpkins!"
"Wait. We must first obtain His Majesty the King of Chen's approval."
"What a bother. Can't we just beat them down?"
"You are now a military officer commanding an army. You need to cultivate the responsibility and prudence befitting that."
Every word was correct.
Sun Ce groaned at Zhou Yu's retort but nodded.
"Fine, I got it. I said I got it. Coming from a Goody-Two-Shoes, I'm sure it's right."
"Who are you calling a Goody-Two-Shoes!"
Goody-Two-Shoes.
It was the nickname pinned on the boy who expounded only correct and upright arguments, as if reciting the classics.
The boy scowled and shouted back.
* * *
The process of beating down Tao Qian's scout detachment was very simple. Ambushed by Sun Ce and the private soldiers of the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan, half the scouts fled and the rest were captured.
Throw the bastards in the dungeon.
With a wave of my hand, I had the Tao Qian soldiers, now prisoners, hauled away.
"Young lady!"
After heeding the Goody-Two-Shoes' advice and obtaining the King of Chen's approval, she had taken the Tao Qian soldiers alive. Just when she was feeling pleased with her first achievement,
a messenger arrived.
He was a soldier of the Wu Prefecture Sun Clan bearing an urgent dispatch from Luoyang.
"What is it, running in here all out of breath? You're gonna lose your balls."
"The old master is returning, they say! The Anti-Dong Zhuo Coalition Army that retook Luoyang has disbanded, and the old master is returning with the Crown Prince, leading the great army!"
"R-Really?! Father is coming back! If this turns out to be a false rumor, you're dead."
"Huh?"
Father.
Father is coming back.
At the glad tidings, a rosy blush and a smile spread across the girl's beautiful face.
"Did you hear? Father is coming back!"
"First, wipe the blood off your face. The old master will be truly disappointed to see his daughter's face in such a sorry state."
"Tsk, when did I get blood on me...?"
"When you brought down that last struggling Tao Qian soldier with your fist. You finally got a plea for mercy out of the Tao Qian soldier who wouldn't stop thrashing."
Among the countless predators, the leopard is famed for its particular ferocity and savagery. It hunts beasts with temperaments as vicious and cruel as its own without hesitation.
Female Leopard.
That must be why she had earned the name Female Leopard.
She felt no fear, even when facing vast armies. Sun Ce always achieved the remarkable feat of charging in alone on horseback and taking the enemy commander's head.
"Hoo, I don't know who's going to end up taking you. The old master must be thinking the same thing now..."
"I told you. Unless he's a hero of the age who will conquer the realm, I'll refuse whoever you bring. The young masters from famous clans who push nothing but their own background and bloodline are genuinely revolting. If the hero of the age... a tall, handsome hero especially, isn't the one, then I'm not marrying at all."
"Think about it calmly. What could such an incredible hero possibly be lacking that he'd accept you as his consort?"
"Shut up!"
Every word was correct.
There was nothing to say in rebuttal.
That was precisely why it was more insulting than any other provocation.