The Night Before the Storm (2)
Dong Zhuo holed up in Meiwu Fortress and, like a wastrel, indulged only in luxury and pleasure. The dissatisfaction of Dong Zhuo's officers with his meaningless conduct gradually intensified.
Liu Chong was falsely proclaiming himself Emperor.
Furthermore, the southern rebels had reached a point where they even threatened the Central Plains.
Ill-omened tidings flew in that they had formed an alliance with Cao Cao's army, which had swept across Guandong. The officers of Dong Zhuo, hearing this, feared, saying, "Liu Seong-hwi will raise a Capital Expedition Army," and "Now even Chang'an City is not safe."
"Heh heh! Come, satisfy me."
"Yes, my lord..."
A middle-aged man boasting an obese frame.
Nine beauties, baring their snow-white bodies to satisfy him, climbed onto the bed.
Palace maids who had attended the Emperor.
Wives of high-ranking officials.
And daughters from prestigious families.
Regardless of status, every beautiful woman had been brought into Meiwu Fortress. They were toys for a defeated man, robbed of his once-seething will to fight and ambition, and now mired in despair.
The youthful ardor to conquer the realm,
even the desire to enjoy absolute power for all generations—
Dong Zhuo delegated military authority to his close aides Li Jue and Guo Si and continued his secluded life of debauchery. This was because his fighting spirit had been completely shattered by the momentum of Liu Seong-hwi, who had threatened Luoyang by rallying the lords of Guandong.
"My lord!"
However long the decadent revelry had continued,
a man in official robes entered Dong Zhuo's chamber with a resolute expression.
It was the Director of the Palace Gentlemen, Li Ru.
"Kyaa!"
"M-my lord...! The Director of the Palace Gentlemen has arrived!"
The beauties, who had been crying out with dizzying moans, hurriedly gathered the clothes strewn across the floor. Covering their breasts and private parts with both hands full of clothes, they fled the chamber.
The current of pleasure was broken.
The obese man rose, his face twisted into a vicious scowl. As though regretful that his carnal enjoyment had been cut short, he smacked his lips while watching the women's voluptuous buttocks.
"The warships of Jing Province have assembled at Jiangxia Prefecture! The army of Yi Province is stationed at Hanzhong Prefecture, awaiting your command! The cavalry of You Province have also completed their preparations to march south into the Central Plains! It is time for you, my lord, to lead the lords of the realm and subjugate Liu Chong and Liu Seong-hwi!!"
The moment had come to repay Liu Seong-hwi, who had threatened Luoyang by mobilizing the lords of Guandong.
And also,
it was the perfect opportunity to judge Liu Chong, who had declared his usurpation.
The fleet of Jing Province. The infantry corps of Yi Province. The cavalry of You Province.
A coalition army of cadet imperial clan members was assembled to subjugate Liu Chong's forces, who had falsely claimed the imperial title. With Dong Zhuo's army in Guanzhong and Guanxi serving as its mainstay, a great host approaching one hundred fifty thousand was born.
Had it not been for the presence of the era's master strategist, Jia Xu, this unprecedented punitive army that drew in the cadet imperial clan members could never have been formed. An army of one hundred fifty thousand was sufficient to sweep away all of Liu Chong's forces occupying Xu Province and Yang Province.
"As you did when you seized Luoyang and commanded the realm...! Give your orders again, my lord! Did you not proclaim that you would slaughter the rotten civil officials and open a world for the warriors of the frontier?!"
"I am already too old. No, the truth is that I am afraid of dying. I am utterly terrified of Liu Seong-hwi, who slaughtered Hua Xiong, the greatest hero who once reigned supreme in Xiliang, and his subordinates...!"
The reason he had only wallowed in strong wine and the flesh of women all this while was to forget, even slightly, the horrible fear and sense of defeat.
He was afraid.
Deathly afraid of Liu Seong-hwi.
He dreaded facing another crushing defeat at that bastard's hands.
The loss of fighting spirit and ardor inevitably gives rise to an impotent sense of deprivation. Having abandoned Chang'an City and shut himself away in Meiwu Fortress to escape reality, Dong Zhuo bore the complete appearance of a loser.
"Hua Xiong and countless other officers died to protect you, my lord! And yet you cannot even exact vengeance to soothe the vengeful spirits of your loyal officers? What has become of Dong Zhongying, who installed a new emperor and brought the realm to its knees?!"
"..."
Baaang-.
Li Ru flung open the door of the chamber.
At once, Li Jue and Guo Si, armed in full armor, revealed themselves.
"Give us your command!"
"For your realm, my lord, we would gladly lay down our lives!"
How many warriors of the frontier had been forced to bear unreasonable sacrifices due to the oppressive exactions of the rotten Han imperial house and court? Even after defeating rebels and foreign enemies that threatened the Han and winning military merit, they were made to wander the borderlands merely because their origins were lowly.
They would open an era for the warriors.
It was to this resolve of Dong Zhuo's that countless heroes had pledged their loyalty.
"Truly shameful... I cannot raise my head before your unwavering loyalty. Hua Xiong, who burned with fidelity at Yangren, and countless officers and soldiers must surely be weeping in the underworld."
He had shown the face of a cowardly and petty man.
Rubbing his eyes, Dong Zhuo acknowledged his own cowardice.
"Liu Chong and Liu Seong-hwi have falsely claimed the imperial title and have fallen as traitors to the realm. You, my lord, must bring the young emperor and the court ministers to the fore and declare that you are the personal army of the imperial house and the court, sent to punish the rebel faction in the south. So long as we hold a clear Just Cause..., even the cadet imperial clan members will not dare to act rashly."
"Indeed. I shall follow this path for the sake of the great enterprise."
Using the emperor as a figurehead to command the lords of the realm.
Dong Zhuo's army declared itself the personal guard army protecting the imperial house and the court. It was possible because, even though they were traitors of the ages who had murdered the late emperor and the late empress dowager, they held the young emperor and the court ministers in their custody.
* * *
The warships of Xiangyang Prefecture, commanded by Cai Mao and Zhang Yun, and the warships of Jiangxia Prefecture, led by Huang Zu, assembled, giving rise to a fleet numbering several hundred vessels.
That was not all.
Transport ships were mobilized to carry local products, including grain and salt. The purpose was to land the troops of Dong Zhuo's army, stationed in Guanxi and Guanzhong, in the south.
Everything was proceeding without a hitch.
Like reassembling catapults that had been dismantled into small parts.
'Dong Zhuo's military officer Li Ru should be nothing more than a schemer specialized in sowing discord and intrigue... So it's Jia Xu, is it. Yes, the only person capable of crafting such a meticulously complete military strategy has to be the S-rank advisor, Jia Xu. Since Dong Zhuo is still alive, Jia Xu must have remained with his army as well.'
Jia Xu.
An S-rank advisor of the Three Kingdoms setting, famed for a thousand transformations.
Behind Dong Zhuo's army, which had drawn in the cadet imperial clan members, there was certain to be the Ever-Changing Strategist.
The forces of Liu Biao. The forces of Liu Yan. The forces of Liu Yu.
They had brought in not only the cadet imperial clan members but also Ma Teng's army and Han Sui's army from Xiliang.
To confront the coalition of Dong Zhuo's army and their tag-alongs, troops were concentrated at Shouchun City. With soldiers conscripted from Xu Province and Yang Province, a great army of one hundred twenty thousand was organized.
"Cao Cao's army in Guandong has sent intelligence. The forces that marched from Chang'an City are reportedly swarming in Nanyang Prefecture in Jing Province like mountains and seas. I dare estimate that they number at least one hundred fifty thousand."
"One hundred fifty thousand, huh... If a full-scale war breaks out, we should assume it will swell to two hundred thousand."
"For now, we cannot make a hasty judgment about the scale. I will have the spies we have infiltrated into Jing Province continue to gather information."
"Mm."
The scale of the troops was difficult to gauge.
I nodded at the reply of the beautiful youth with flowing light-green hair.
"I shall drown every last pig of Jing Province in the Yangtze!"
"Once the battle begins, the fish of the Yangtze will enjoy the feast of a lifetime!"
Zhou Tai. Jiang Qin. Lü Fan. Pan Zhang. Chen Wu.
These were the officers selected by Zhou Yu, who had been stationed in Yuzhang Prefecture.
In the original history, they were fierce generals famous as the Twelve Tiger Generals of Jiangdong, who represented the state of Wu. And befitting officers of Wu, all were from Yang Province and specialized in naval warfare.
Kahaha-.
Hearty laughter rang out.
Despite being fated to face innumerable enemies.
"Commander, is there a way to win over the pirate chief, Gan Ning? Even if we cannot recruit her to our side, if we can exclude her from the battlefield, it would give us a much greater advantage."
"Yes, I shall consider a countermeasure."
There was a high probability that Gan Ning was, true to the original history, engaged in a feud with the Governor of Jiangxia, Huang Zu. To a regional warlord like Huang Zu, Gan Ning was a vicious traitor and criminal who had come down from Yi Province.
"If the fleets of Jing Province and Yang Province come to clash, is there a battlefield you already have in mind?"
"I plan to draw Cai Mao and Zhang Yun to Red Cliffs."
Red Cliffs.
It was a strategic point for advancing into the Yuzhang Prefecture area.
If their goal were merely to advance, they could attack Jiangdong using another waterway. However, a rash advance into Jiangdong would risk having their rear attacked by the Yang Province fleet arrayed at Red Cliffs.
Cai Mao and Zhang Yun were famed generals who represented Jing Province.
The same was true of Huang Zu of Jiangxia Prefecture.
To be surrounded by enemies on the Yangtze River meant annihilation. Before they could even attempt to retreat, they would find themselves blocked by fierce wave attacks, their ships entangled with one another, leading to the worst disaster of self-destruction.
They would have no choice but to pass through Red Cliffs and smash the Jiangdong fleet stationed in Yuzhang Prefecture.
And that was why Zhou Yu spoke with such certainty.
