Enemies on All Sides (1)
Liu Chong, King of Chen, had falsely proclaimed himself Emperor and declared a new era name. He had even gone so far as to perform the Heavenly Sacrifice, a privilege exclusive to the Han Emperor, and appointed his own civil and military officials.
A traitor.
He had now become an irredeemable enemy of the state.
Loyalists devoted to the Han Imperial House and the Imperial Court erupted with seething fury and a sense of betrayal. This was because they had believed, without a shadow of a doubt, that Liu Chong—who commanded the south—and Liu Seong-hwi—who led the Guandong Coalition Army—would subjugate the rebels of Xiliang and rescue the young Emperor.
That threadbare hope and expectation had been ruthlessly trampled.
In its place surged humiliation.
Liu Chong. Liu Seong-hwi.
Cadet imperial clan members who had betrayed the Han Dynasty.
Traitors to Han, to be ranked alongside Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo.
"To falsely claim the title of Emperor despite such earnest entreaties...! With the descendants of the Han Imperial House needing to unite and oppose an unprecedented traitor, they scheme usurpation during an emergency when the very lifeline of the Imperial House and court hangs by a thread! Liu Chong, Liu Seong-hwi...! You are enemies of the state, worthy of the infamy of Wang Mang and Dong Zhuo!!"
Governor of You Province, Liu Yu.
A face that was always gentle and benevolent was now suffused with fury.
Liu Chong.
A cadet imperial clansman of the south had falsely proclaimed himself Emperor.
He had even committed the atrocious blasphemy of using the era name Jianwu, originally declared by Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, upon his enthronement as Emperor.
"We must immediately command the lords of Guandong to subjugate Liu Chong!"
"The southern rebels have seized Xu Province and Yang Province in an instant! We cannot sit idly by!"
Commandant Yan Rou and Attendant Officer Xianyu Fu knelt and cried out.
Liu Yu nodded.
"Alas! For Liu Chong to betray the Han Dynasty, in the end...!"
On whom should he rely?
Whom should he oppose?
Dong Zhuo, who held the young Emperor and the court ministers hostage.
Liu Chong, who had declared himself a new Emperor and was committing usurpation.
Both were traitors deserving of divine punishment.
Liu Yu's military strength was far too lacking to oppose both sides at once. Yet to oppose only one side would simply benefit the other, so he could not make a rash choice.
"Dong Zhuo, the wolf of Xiliang... Liu Chong, the famous archer of the south... Both are warlords who represent the Han Dynasty. Hastily waging a full-scale war would make a crushing defeat hard to avoid. It would only plunge the soldiers of You Province into an abyss of death."
Liu Yu realized he was a white-faced scholar, utterly ignorant of tactics and strategy. How long could such a feeble bookworm possibly hold out against the warlords of Guanxi and Huainan?
Justice without power is merely impotence.
The benevolence and good reputation he had upheld all this time could never defeat traitors.
Power.
He needed the power to oppose them.
Through helplessness and resentment, he grasped the desperate necessity of power.
"Finally, the old bookworm's desk-bound brain begins to turn."
Footsteps that felt both light and weighed with authority.
A voice laced with mockery.
A woman with deep violet hair flowing down appeared.
"Gongsun Bogui...!"
"Governor of Beiping Gongsun Zan and the White Horse Volunteers shall lend you our strength, old man. Is not strength what you are most desperate for right now?"
Gongsun Zan.
The White Horse General.
The Demon of the North who plunged the foreign tribes into terror.
The beauty, clad in armor that accentuated her slender figure, used an archaic manner of speech more befitting an old aristocrat, in stark contrast to her beautiful appearance. Though she was an illegitimate daughter, she came from a prestigious family of high-ranking officials, and thus an aura of fierce valor and dignified grace could be felt from her.
"Gongsun Zan!"
"The elder ordered you to stand by in Beiping...!"
Yan Rou and Xianyu Fu openly displayed their hostility.
But Liu Yu raised a single hand to stop them.
"What business do you have, Governor of Beiping?"
"Benchu. I have heard you proposed an alliance to that venomous wench who swallowed Ji Province whole."
The sworn rival who had inflicted the humiliation of defeat at Jieqiao.
Liu Yu had proposed an alliance to Yuan Shao's army, the very force that had routed Gongsun Zan's army.
After seizing control of Ji Province, Yuan Shao's army had extended its sphere of influence even into Bing Province. It was currently engaged in a contest for Qing Province, half-occupied by Gongsun Zan's army, in cooperation with Kong Rong's forces.
Oil and water.
Ice and hot coals.
A relationship utterly incapable of coexistence.
They shared the common ground of being born of prestigious families but raised as the offspring of concubines, despised and mocked by the household from childhood. Yet despite this, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Shao had clashed repeatedly over the hegemony of Hebei, degenerating into mortal enemies with an irreconcilable grudge.
"Our sworn enemy is, to the very end, Dong Zhuo and Liu Chong. The very survival of the Han Imperial House and court hangs in the balance, so how can a descendant of a noble house cling only to personal grudges?"
"Personal grudges? Yuan Shao is a cunning Venomous Woman who must not be trusted. Have you forgotten the miserable end of Han Fu?"
Governor of Ji Province Han Fu, against Gongsun Zan, had rashly allowed the allied Yuan Shao's army into Ye City, only to be stripped of all Ji Province's troops and talent, and he ended his life by suicide.
How could one trust such a venomous woman?
A woman who betrays once will surely betray again.
Her voice thick with humiliation, Gongsun Zan revealed her animosity toward Yuan Shao.
* * *
A trap of honor.
No,
The trap of a seductive swindler.
The Coming-of-Age Ceremony held in the late evening.
The household members who slipped away the moment the ceremony ended.
The guest room, neatly arranged so a man and woman could enjoy a passionate tryst.
I realized that the first night with Sun Ce had been a calculated operation orchestrated by the entire Wu Prefecture Sun Clan.
To think they would prepare so meticulously merely to produce an Imperial Crown Princess Consort for their clan. I swallowed hard, a cold chill running down my spine.
"Heh heh, so you've entered into such a relationship with the Governor of Yang Province?"
"..."
"My little brother seems to fancy young women. To take her virginity the very moment she completes her Coming-of-Age Ceremony... Truly, you possess ample qualities of a Conqueror who will command all under heaven."
"That's not exactly an expression for a situation like this."
Rumors spread fast.
Especially rumors concerning romantic entanglements between men and women, even more so.
A beauty with long, snow-white hair said this, a gorgeous smile worth a thousand gold pieces gracing her lips. I had briefly feared she might point out my infidelity, but instead, Liu Bei reacted with approval, saying, "Of course a Conqueror who commands the realm should delight in women!"
Something's odd.
It's a relief it didn't lead to a lover's quarrel, but...
"Do you intend to make her your Imperial Crown Princess Consort, brother?"
"It was a situation I was suddenly swept up in... but I intend to take proper responsibility."
"Hmm, so Yunchang and I were merely partners for a night of fleeting passion, were we? That sounds like discrimination, I'm sad to say."
"Of course, I will take responsibility for you and Yunchang too, elder sister! I will... make all of you my principal consorts!"
I will make all of them principal consorts.
At that answer, a bright smile spread across Liu Bei's beautiful face, which had just been clumsily feigning sadness.
"It is a privilege a hero of the age ought naturally to enjoy, to have three wives and four concubines! For one who will become the sovereign of the Han Dynasty, should it not be not merely three wives and four concubines, but dozens, at the very least? Including all the palace ladies, the number would be staggering."
"Sister, I might just die from sexual exhaustion at that rate."
"My brother is not an honest man. The truth is you are quite a lecher."
"...Well, I won't deny it."
Is there any man under heaven who dislikes women? Even scholars famous for their virtuous and wise character showed a tendency to keep three wives and four concubines, placing such value on female charms.
"Hmph... But to sleep with a woman who has only just completed her Coming-of-Age Ceremony, Your Highness the Crown Prince, that was rash. Even if you were caught up in the moment, you could have refused easily enough."
"..."
A woman with long, raven-black hair as lustrous as ebony spoke in a sullen voice. It was a tone as if she were complaining on behalf of her sister to a lover who had a fling with a younger woman.
In response, I roughly pulled the beauty to me by her slender waist.
"Ngh...!"
"Could it be you're jealous? Who'd have thought a warrior of One Against a Thousand would harbor jealousy like any ordinary woman."
"N-no, that's not it! I was merely concerned that hostile factions might criticize Your Highness the Crown Prince's actions...!"
"How dishonest. Present yourself at my bedchamber tonight at midnight."
I ought to make her polish the Green Dragon Crescent Blade for me.
Guan Yu's face flushed red at the blatant sexual harassment.
"Brother, spies from Zhuo Prefecture have sent word... They say Governor of You Province Liu Yu and my sister have formed an alliance, proclaiming joint governance of You Province. I don't know the details yet, though."
"Is that so."
The course of history—where the 100,000-strong army of You Province suffered a crushing defeat and Liu Yu was publicly executed by Gongsun Zan, and where Gongsun Zan herself met her decline after the gruesome execution of Liu Yu, known as the Sage Lord of the North—had derailed from its original path.
This was due to the 'alterations' I had continuously caused.
The flow of history had completely strayed from the main line thanks to those alterations.
"It will become difficult if the relationship between Liu Yu and my sister turns hostile."
"We will be isolated on all sides. Before that happens... I will secure a new path forward."
I had heard news that Cao Cao and Lü Bu, who had formed an alliance, were dominating Guandong.
Before we found ourselves completely cut off with nowhere to turn, I decided to reach out and make contact with the forces of Cao Cao and Lü Bu.