Banquet at Chu County (2)
Cao Cao's army and Liu Chong's army each deployed five hundred soldiers to ring the Pei Cao Clan estate.
Five hundred men.
No more than ten armed officers.
Everyone was on a hair trigger, braced against any unforeseen calamity.
The drone of field insects.
The hurried footfalls of serving girls carrying the banquet dishes.
The Pei Cao Clan manor was bustling and quiet in the same breath. The troops from Cao Cao's army and Liu Chong's army stood at their posts, weapons in hand, more solemn than ever.
"If you join the great cause of raising an army, I am authorized to promise you the status of first-rank meritorious retainers. My father has declared that he will recognize the spheres of influence you have already carved out across Yan Province and Sili Province. Furthermore, every advisor and commander beneath you will receive posts of consequence in the new Imperial Court."
We genuinely need Cao Cao's army and Lü Bu's army. That's why I laid out such sweeping terms to the two leaders who had called this alliance conference.
The honor of being first-rank meritorious retainers.
High ministerial offices and fiefs of several thousand households.
And a pledge to supply troops and matériel without reservation for the all-out war against Dong Zhuo's army.
Liu Chong's army was the only force that could provide full-scale support to the armies of Cao Cao and Lü Bu, who together dominated Guandong. We could offer those terms because we held the breadbaskets of Xu Province and Yang Province, with their overwhelming agricultural output.
"The alliance's achievement will be the destruction of Dong Zhuo. He murdered the late emperor and the late Empress Dowager, enthroned a child emperor, reduced the Han Imperial House and the Imperial Court to irrelevance, and plunged the people of the Thirteen Provinces into misery. By cutting down that arch-traitor of all ages, we will set the realm's law and order to rights."
Dong Zhuo.
The destruction of Dong Zhuo's army is our ultimate objective.
And we will pass judgment on the aged cadet Imperial Clan members who joined Dong Zhuo's side.
Once the alliance between Guandong and the south was concluded, we might even raise a Capital Expedition Army. Liberating the central Guanzhong and western Guanxi regions from Dong Zhuo's brutal tyranny, rescuing the child emperor and the court ministers held hostage in Chang'an City—none of it would be impossible.
"Decent terms. I like them."
Kill Dong Zhuo and free millions from oppression. The proposal had captured Lü Bu's purpose exactly, and she responded with approval.
Cao Cao was the same.
The beautiful woman with flowing black hair answered with the demure stillness of a doll.
"I trust I do not overstep, but may I ask one question?"
"Of course."
The question came from a woman who appeared to be one of Cao Cao's advisors—her voice firm and resolute. She was a beauty with a composed face, her ivory hair falling all the way to her hips.
Xun Yu.
Talent Assisting a King.
The gifted woman who represented the Yingchuan Xun Clan.
And, within Cao Cao's army, a person loyal to the Han Imperial House and the Imperial Court.
Not every close retainer serving Cao Cao would favor the alliance. I had predicted that Xun Yu, with her loyalty to the Han Imperial House and the court, would prove an obstacle to concluding it.
"Once the great undertaking of unification is complete... how does the Crown Prince intend to treat the persons of His Majesty the Emperor and the court ministers held by Dong Zhuo's army? I wish to know your true intent."
Daughter of Emperor Ling of Han, half-sister to the late emperor by the same father.
The child emperor, who carried the blood of the previous sovereign, was a threat to the legitimacy of our usurpation.
The usual course would be to eliminate the ill-fated young emperor who threatens that legitimacy. The aged cadet Imperial Clan members, if they seized the realm, would not hesitate to remove a child emperor who was nothing but a puppet.
"If the abdication is carried out properly, I will honor him as Retired Emperor, having yielded the throne to us. I will swear that before every past emperor and all the powers of Heaven and Earth."
"...Thank you for your answer."
Her skepticism was only natural.
Why would she believe the bold promises of a usurper who had declared rebellion?
We had schemed treason and raised a revolt. A pledge to elevate the child emperor to Retired Emperor would be dismissed as pure hypocrisy.
Xun Yu and many other eminent figures loyal to the Han Imperial House and court would treat it as hypocrisy. Not that they'd be wrong.
"Advisor. It is extremely ill-mannered to interrupt during talks. Withdraw."
"I obey."
Cao Cao snapped her eyes wide and gave the order.
Xun Yu offered a courteous salute and withdrew from the main hall along with the other officials.
"Forgive me. Pardon my subordinate's discourtesy."
"She was fulfilling her duty. Is it not an advisor's role to serve her lord with all her strength?"
"...You are generous to see it that way."
"Mm."
The officers of Cao Cao's army were marked by absolute loyalty. Their military authority was firmly in the hands of the Pei Cao Clan's kinsmen, led by Cao Hong and Xiahou Dun.
The gifted woman of the Yingchuan Xun Clan was no different. She harbored doubts about an alliance with Liu Chong's army, but she and the other advisors from Yingchuan Prefecture still gave Cao Cao their loyalty.
They were not lacking as sworn allies.
I could trust an army with the fortress-like solidarity of Cao Cao's and Lü Bu's.
After that short exchange,
Cao Cao lifted her head and declared her stance on the alliance.
"I accept your proposal."
"Is that so? Then I feel as though I've gained a host of ten thousand."
Now Cao Cao's army and Lü Bu's army were our allies.
If they blocked Dong Zhuo's army and Liu Yu's army from linking up with each other on the Guandong front, we would have a far easier time confronting the combined forces of Liu Biao's army and Liu Yan's army. I let a breath of relief escape while I confirmed once more that the alliance had been concluded without trouble.
"I will send an official document to Shouchun City certifying that the alliance has been formed."
"That won't be necessary. My father the King has delegated full authority to me. And I've brought the Imperial Jade Seal."
I signaled Zhao Yun, who was standing behind me.
She produced the Imperial Jade Seal, which had been stored inside a brocade box.
* * *
They had only accepted the alliance in order to oppose Dong Zhuo's army. They had not formally recognized the legitimacy of a new emperor intent on overthrowing the Han Imperial House and court.
Lü Bu's army gave a clear answer, but Cao Cao's army listed ambiguous conditions and hesitated to commit. She still needed to persuade the people of scholar-official background—Xun Yu, Zhang Miao, and the rest.
The alliance was concluded.
I couldn't trust it completely.
But I decided to be satisfied with a positive answer from both Cao Cao's army and Lü Bu's army.
"Crown Prince!"
"..."
"Fine, fine! Gege! Happy now?!"
"Say it like you mean it. You're short on respect for your husband."
Gege.
An affectionate address for a beloved lover.
I looked at the bewitching beauty with her lustrous ash-blonde hair. Lü Bu bristled like a rose thick with thorns, and I let a faint smile show.
"Back then... when we pulled out of Luoyang. Remember what you said to me?"
"Not sure. It was a long time ago."
There was no way I didn't remember.
The fortress swallowed by a sea of fire.
The screams of common folk choked in dense smoke.
And Lü Bu's army, poised for a final assault at the front line.
I remembered it all as vividly as something that happened last night. I listened to Lü Bu's account and gradually replayed the scene.
-A villain, huh... I'm delighted to hear it. Mark my words: soon enough, I'll make a notorious name for myself as the vicious arch-traitor who threatens the Han Imperial House and court.
Did I actually say that?
I must have gotten carried away by the atmosphere and run my mouth.
As if I'd remember every line I've ever spouted. If Lü Bu hadn't told me, that emotionally charged, mortifying line would have stayed buried in oblivion forever.
"You really did turn into a vicious arch-traitor. It suits you."
"That depends on your point of view. Our side sees a war hero; the enemy will treat me as a villain."
"You have no idea how surprised I was. You reached out your hand to the unfilial degenerate who'd murdered her own foster father—the scandal of the age. Teased me that I was a bitch with three fathers. No one's ever treated me that rudely, Crown Prince. You're the first."
"..."
That didn't sound like a compliment.
Was she telling me to hurry up and apologize for my past discourtesy?
"A-and you also said...! That you couldn't do without me, that it had to be me...! You confessed it in a ringing voice, right in front of Wenyuan and all my officers!"
"...?"
Confessed?
Did I really?
I don't know.
I don't remember.
I was completely overwhelmed back then.
"I did think you'd cause a cataclysm one day... But falsely claiming the title of Emperor? You've turned the whole Han Imperial House and court into enemies. You really became the vicious arch-traitor you once boasted you'd be. To think you were already preparing your usurpation before you'd even joined the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition."
"If I wanted to bring the Peerless Under Heaven Lü Bu into my service, I had to have the guts to make the whole world my enemy."
"You talk a good game. Well—we're in the same boat now, so I can't say I'm unhappy about it."
"That so?"
I reached out my hand.
And gently stroked the head of Lü Bu, who was wearing a slight grin.
"Dong Zhuo and all the cadet Imperial Clan members will be coming for Gege's head. But don't you worry. Gege will be protected by the Peerless Under Heaven Lü Fengxian herself. Just like last time... I want to have another archery match with you. Next time, I'm definitely winning."
"Sure."
I'm glad to have Lü Bu as my sworn ally.
Watching that heroine declare her bold promise, I felt genuine relief.