Peach Sisters (3)
Zhang Fei and alcohol were inseparable.
Because of drink, Lü Bu had taken Xu Province from her,
and because of drink, she lost her life to the likes of Yan Gang and Zhang Da.
Drink.
It was all because of drink.
For peerlessly valiant heroes to cling to alcohol was only natural. Drinking was tolerated to the point that refusing a cup was practically taken as proof that a man was a petty nobody.
But Zhang Fei had crossed the line by a very long way.
She idolized benevolent, wise lords and warriors, but detested inept, cowardly nobodies and scholar-officials who knew nothing but empty theory. Her extreme disposition, absolute in its convictions, and the violence with which she mercilessly flogged her own troops the moment she became blind drunk, drove her to her own ruin.
I had to make her quit drinking somehow.
Because trouble was clearly never going to stop otherwise.
"Ahah! Ahahahaha! You damned bastards! Damned bastards!!"
Crack! Crack!
A beauty with flowing light-purple hair burst into merry laughter as she swung a whip.
A face as bright and cheerful as a child's.
And a whip.
She drove one foot down, trampling a soldier who lay prostrate on the dirt. The soldier, being flogged with apparent rapture, raised his head and lapped at her shoe with his tongue.
"Though I was ordered to move the Relief Grain today, I committed Dereliction of Duty like a sluggard! Please punish me more, hoo!"
"A sluggard? I know you, you sluggard!"
The beauty who raised the whip was flaunting an outfit that revealed every line of her slender figure.
It was practically skintight.
The beautiful curves of her female form showed vividly, radiating a bewitching allure.
Compared to her big sisters who boasted enormous breasts, her own chest was of ordinary size. But her lewd, childbearing hips and springy, tight rear emphasized her appeal.
"Me...! Please strike me!"
"I want to be struck as well! I wish to purge my rotten nature with Lady Yide's flogging!!"
An unbelievable farce was unfolding.
Stripped to the waist, the soldiers were clamoring for her to strike them.
Me!
No, me!
Humiliating violence and abuse were being dealt out.
And simultaneously, the soldiers' zeal and pleasure gushed forth like a fountain.
Crack! Crack!
The beautiful woman flogged them, her whole body shaking with the effort. Each time, the garment that hung precariously from her shoulders slipped a little further, revealing her modest breasts.
'Lady Xuande's and Lady Yunchang's huge tits are fine, but...! Lady Yide's pretty tits are irresistible!'
'A little more, and we might even see her nipples!'
Her half-exposed, modest breasts jiggled and swayed.
As if in response, the soldiers who were taking the flogging prostrate in the dirt moved their gazes up and down.
"Chair."
"Yes, ma'am!"
The moment the command fell, one soldier dropped flat on the ground.
Zhang Fei, breathing a little roughly, then planted her rear mercilessly on top of him.
She pulled the whip taut with both hands.
She crossed her long, slender legs and settled her weight.
A beauty with a slim figure could not possibly be heavy. Each time she put her weight down, the feel of her soft, plush rear was added, bestowing the ultimate reward on the soldier who had volunteered as a chair.
"Damn! You lucky bastard!"
"Next time, I'll be the chair!"
Envy. Jealousy.
Intense emotions were directed at him from the many soldiers.
A reward.
Such an enviable reward.
To the soldiers of Liu Bei's army, it might as well have been the highest honor.
Last time, she had sat on the face of a new recruit who had fallen to the ground. The recruit who had experienced the dense, sweet peach-like flesh of her rear had declared a resolute pledge: "I will fight for Lady Liu Bei's army all my life."
"This is... so impressive I hardly know what to say."
"Our youngest is terribly fond of the soldiers, you see. Perhaps that's why she's especially popular with them."
I pressed my temples as I communicated my impressions.
A beauty with flowing pure-white hair then let out a giggle.
'Liu Bei's army was a group bound together purely by loyalty. They wandered all over the Central Plains on empty stomachs, without pay, let alone the grain to supply them. I always wondered how volunteer soldiers from Zhuo Prefecture gave absolute loyalty to Liu Bei, who was perpetually broke... well, the Peach Sisters were beautiful enough that men could endure the overwork and starvation.'
The pay to send home to their families,
and even the rations to stave off their immediate hunger—they were always short.
The wandering army was sustained only by loyalty to the Peach Sisters.
Unbelievable.
How,
how in the world was that possible?
The pay and provisions to issue to the soldiers were always absurdly short. On top of that, Liu Bei's army was merely a mercenary band that joined the front lines by following the prevailing currents, without a clear cause.
Mercenaries.
Mercenaries who received no pay or provisions.
What an outlandish unit.
It was packed full of eccentrics to whom common sense simply did not apply.
"I was going to forbid corporal punishment from now on... no, if I forbid it, the soldiers will probably resent it. The one doing the flogging and the soldiers being flogged all look like they're enjoying themselves."
I decided to leave it alone.
I decided to give up on understanding the eccentrics.
"Does little brother perhaps... enjoy being on the receiving end, like the soldiers? Or are you inclined toward administering corporal punishment? I will accept either of little brother's inclinations. Is it not, after all, a big sister's natural role to indulge her little brother's deviant desires? So, you are welcome to toy with big sister's lewd flesh to your heart's content."
"..."
The world swam before my eyes.
To have to manage such a pack of weirdos from now on.
The eldest sister who pursues a sinister love.
The youngest sister who had been tamed by sadistic violence.
I almost felt sorry for the peach tree that must have witnessed the Oath of the Peach Garden.
* * *
Since the eldest and the youngest were such magnificent freaks, there was no way the middle sister could be a normal, sensible person.
With that thought in mind, I decided to watch from the standpoint of an observer.
"Wicked bandits who prey upon the common people shall, regardless of rank, be dealt with by beheading. Although the eldest sister has been formally appointed Governor of Xu Province, many among the common folk still voice distrust and unease. Bear in mind, all of you, that a mishap committed carelessly can lead to a great disturbance!"
She delivered the military order in a grim voice.
Every officer accepted it with a military salute.
An airtight discipline could be felt.
A heavy, solemn pressure was keeping the troops under perfect control.
If the eldest, Liu Bei, won the hearts of the troops with her benevolent nature, the second, Guan Yu, reined in the troops beneath her command with strict control.
To command a group, a squad leader to emphasize rigorous military discipline was essential. As proof, the perverts who had been enjoying sadistic punishment last night were now receiving military orders with serious faces.
"You have come, Your Highness."
"How is the condition of the soldiers? You must be preoccupied with absorbing the officers and men of Tao Qian's army."
So at least the second daughter was a sensible person.
I thought, looking at the raven-haired beauty who displayed an impeccably competent manner.
"We are accepting Tao Qian's officers and soldiers on the condition that their existing ranks and authority are guaranteed. Though it will take time to win over all the forces that scattered from Pengcheng... we shall secure as many troops as possible by next year."
"Hmm, it would be a source of future trouble if the remnants of Tao Qian's army cross over to another faction."
"I, too, am concerned about the defection of the remnants."
"Do not push too hard. There is no benefit to holding onto them by force."
Hmm.
The second sister was normal.
Was she the only sane person in Liu Bei's army of eccentrics?
Her thoroughgoing character, which permitted no gaps, was striking. A heroine exactly like the head of a school disciplinary committee, who valued cool-headed discipline and control.
"If Your Highness permits, I would like to deploy the Tao Qian officers and soldiers who have been assigned to my command on patrol duty. Naturally, committing the local Tao Qian troops will make it easier to pacify the hearts of the people of Xu Province than using outsiders like ourselves."
"A wise decision. Permission granted."
It was a matter of familiarity and stability.
Naturally, the people of Xu Province, who had strong regional pride, would instinctively distrust Liu Bei's army of outsiders while trusting the locally drawn Tao Qian army.
Customs and culture.
Even a distinctive local dialect.
An army from another region carried the risk of creating unease and fear. That was why Guan Yu intended first to treat the Xu Province-born Tao Qian officers and soldiers favorably and thereby stabilize public sentiment in Xu Province.
'In the original history, Guan Yu was a famed general of the era who combined bold valor with Martial Power, and at the same time... she was also famous for having exercised excellent governance when ruling Jing Province on Liu Bei's behalf. Her art of handling people and the Art of Employing Talent were a little flawed, but it's said the people of Jing Province genuinely liked Guan Yu.'
She was both a renowned commander and a virtuous general.
Though she displayed a cool-headed and rigid side, she emphasized example and discipline.
Peerless Under Heaven.
If the Peerless Under Heaven of the first half of the Three Kingdoms era was Lü Bu, then the Peerless Under Heaven of the latter half was of course Guan Yu.
'Lord of the Magnificent Beard... No, since her black hair is beautiful, perhaps I should say Lord of the Magnificent Hair.'
In the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Emperor Xian Liu Xie was said to have admired Guan Yu's beard and given her the nickname "Lord of the Magnificent Beard." But the beauty before my eyes, who boasted a lovely appearance, had black hair as dark and rich as the night sky that was especially attractive, so the nickname Lord of the Magnificent Hair seemed to suit her.
Since ancient times, black hair and white skin had been called the orthodox characteristics of a beauty.
In that sense, the beauty before my eyes was a lady who combined orthodox good looks with Charm.
Beautiful black hair that fell to her hips.
Blue-green eyes filled with a thorough sense of duty.
Fair skin that shone like white jade without a single blemish.
And, to top it off, huge breasts rivaling her eldest sister's, along with a slender figure.
The black-haired beauty clutching the Green Dragon Crescent Blade was practically an idol to all female warriors. Though she always wore only light armor, an indomitable fighting spirit that never showed a single opening could be felt from her.
"If you will permit it, I wish to use some of the private funds I have been saving bit by bit to take in orphaned children who have lost their parents. Would it not be a great help someday to raise the homeless, starving boys who wander the district into sturdy young men?"
"An excellent decision. I will contribute as well."
She was outstanding not only in literary and martial arts and appearance, but also in character.
To take in poor, hungry boys...
Unlike her eldest sister and youngest sister, the middle sister boasted a flawless perfection in many respects.