If you surrender peacefully, there will be no bloodshed
If you surrender peacefully, there will be no bloodshed
Liang Province
In Romance of the Three Kingdoms, it is called Xiliang, but that name does not actually exist in this era.
Simply because it sounds similar to the Yang Province that holds Jiangdong, later generations coined the term Xiliang—meaning "Western Liang"—to distinguish the two.
At any rate, the situation in Liang Province at this moment was tangled beyond measure.
The Later Han government troops holding the region.
The Qiang tribes, who had settled near Liang Province and crossed the border like an annual rite to ransack cities and villages.
And the rebel army of Han extraction, keeping an eye on the government troops while maintaining an ambiguous relationship with those Qiang—neither fully allied nor entirely apart. The forces of Ma Teng and Han Sui.
Originally, the government troops led by Dong Zhuo had overwhelmed them, but ever since Dong Zhuo took the core combat strength and departed for Luoyang, these three factions had been locked in a rough equilibrium of power, none daring to make the first move.
From the Qiang perspective, the Han government troops they had always clashed with were trouble, but Ma Teng and Han Sui—originally their own commanders—were also an awkward presence in many ways.
Since Ma Teng's wife was of Qiang origin, open hostility was off the table, but the relationship remained too delicate for a full alliance.
Meanwhile, Ma Teng and Han Sui, rebels though they were, still retained a measure of pride as former Han generals.
Opposing the government troops who wanted their heads was only natural, yet the way they regarded the Qiang could hardly be favorable either.
For their part, the government troops were warily watching the situation, eyes blazing, worried that the other two factions might join hands.
And so, within that complicated and delicate atmosphere, the three factions were sizing each other up and sharpening their blades—until one day a messenger from Luoyang began to alter the picture.
"What? An imperial envoy has come from Luoyang?"
"So it is, Ma Teng. They say he came in person bearing an imperial edict from Her Majesty."
"Hm..."
At Han Sui's words, Ma Teng fell into brief thought.
Just then...
"If he came from Luoyang, he's a bad guy, right? Father, wait just a moment and I'll go kill him right now and—"
"Enough, daughter. This is not a matter to treat so simply."
"Tch..."
A young girl who reined in her billowing killing intent and put on a regretful expression.
She looked barely into her early teens at most,
but as he watched her—a girl with a wild impression and thick, curly golden hair—Ma Teng let out a small sigh inwardly.
'Honestly... she's my daughter, but I do worry about her future...'
A daughter already showing a rough edge at such an age, perhaps because she took after her Qiang-born mother.
Wondering if she could ever marry like that, Ma Teng began to turn his mind toward handling the situation right in front of him.
'If they brought an edict rather than an army, it can't be a purely bad story...'
A large army from Luoyang would have been dire, but the arrival of an envoy at least meant there was room to talk.
Above all, unlike when Zhang Rang's faction had occupied it until recently, Luoyang was now held by Yuan Shu and his supporters.
Since even the emperor they served had changed, the attitude toward them might have shifted as well.
Having reached the conclusion that listening first would be best,
Ma Teng issued an order to his subordinates.
"Escort the envoy inside. As he bears Her Majesty's edict, show proper courtesy."
"Yes, General."
"Are you sure about this? He might be a spy sent to assess our situation."
Han Sui voiced his concern.
To which Ma Teng slowly shook his head.
"If they meant to employ a spy, they would likely have approached by a more covert method. More to the point, bringing Her Majesty's edict just to probe the likes of us is far too inefficient, is it not?"
"Hm... well... you're right about that."
Say what you would, they were still nothing more than a handful of brigands at the end of the day.
The truth was that their standing fell short of warranting such a conspicuous method of espionage.
With a rueful smile at that bitter reality, Ma Teng and Han Sui met the imperial envoy who had brought the emperor's edict.
But...
"Hmm~ it's been a while, it has. Have you been well all this time, it has?"
"! Y-you...!"
A blue-haired woman speaking with the strong accent of the Liang Province dialect.
Hua Xiong.
Dong Zhuo's foremost fierce general, the very person who had once carved through Ma Teng and Han Sui's forces as casually as wringing chicken necks in a coop.
The moment they realized the envoy was such an extraordinary figure, Ma Teng and Han Sui's wariness sharpened several degrees.
"You wretch! How dare you show your face here...!"
Ma Teng's daughter, weapon already drawn, was about to charge forward.
Recalling the humiliation she had suffered before, she was ready to cut that woman down then and there, thick killing intent rolling off her.
However.
"Stop! Will you not control yourself!"
"B-but Father!"
"Have you forgotten that she is Her Majesty's envoy? Whatever happened in the past, show proper courtesy now!"
"Kuh..."
Her father's words, stern beyond measure.
Usually he was practically a doting fool for his daughter, but precisely because of that, when he came down as firmly as this, even his bullish child had no choice but to tuck tail.
"I apologize for the discourtesy to the envoy. Please forgive a young daughter's rudeness."
"Well, it doesn't matter, it doesn't. I, Han Imperial House-friendly Hua Xiong, am magnanimous, I am. Especially right now, bearing Her Majesty's edict, my heart is as vast as the spirit of the sea, it is."
"Thank you for saying so."
Amid the cooled, frosty atmosphere, Hua Xiong spoke wearing her distinctive beaming smile.
Then she drew from her bosom the ornate edict she had carefully kept there.
"Now, all of you, receive the Imperial Edict, you will!"
The moment the edict came into view, Ma Teng, Han Sui, and their subordinates solemnly knelt.
Ma Teng's daughter, too, wore a thoroughly unwilling expression but had no choice for the moment but to kneel before Hua Xiong.
"Listen well, Ma Teng and Han Sui, ringleaders of rebellion in Liang Province, and all followers who serve them."
Hua Xiong switched to standard speech as she read the edict's contents.
The emperor's message, which she had brought, could be summarized as follows.
—I am well aware that you were once loyal servants of the Han. That you became ringleaders of rebellion was surely due only to the tyranny of the Ten Regular Attendants and the Turbid Stream Faction who followed them.
Now that those traitors have been driven from Luoyang, I intend to grant you another chance to serve the Imperial Family and the great Han dynasty.
Swear loyalty once more to me and the Han Imperial Court.
If you do, I shall appoint Ma Teng as Governor of Jincheng, and Han Sui as Governor of Wuwei.
Should you accept this opportunity, your past crimes of rebellion shall be pardoned.
Should you refuse, you too will be recognized as vile traitors and subjugated in the emperor's name.
Act wisely and see that you do not disappoint me.—
In short, an edict in which conciliation and warning coexisted: if you surrender peacefully, there will be no bloodshed, but if you resist, you will see blood.
Having heard it, Ma Teng and Han Sui looked at each other for a moment.
'... What should we make of this?'
'Isn't it obvious? We must accept, of course. There's no reason to commit the folly of refusing when Her Majesty offers us grace.'
'But we don't even know if those words are true.'
'The edict bears Her Majesty's own manual endorsement. Would it not be stranger to think it false? Furthermore, if we refuse now, that means war. That woman Dong Zhuo will certainly try to kill us for good this time.'
'Hrrrm...'
They were well aware that matters on Yuan Shu's side were not exactly good.
Driven from Luoyang though they were, Zhang Rang's faction was watching for an opportunity from Bing Province,
and the other lords had also formed a coalition and were preparing to attack Yuan Shu.
Yet at this moment, for Ma Teng and Han Sui, the most fearsome presence was neither General Ding Yuan in Bing Province, nor the other Liu Clan lords cavorting about calling themselves vassal kings.
She was the second-in-command of the Yuan Shu faction—General of Agile Cavalry, and the person still retaining the office of Inspector of this very Liang Province.
Dong Zhuo.
Having learned the terror of that fiendish bitch through excruciating experience in the past, Ma Teng and Han Sui could all too easily picture what would happen if they refused this offer.
Unorthodox generalship, and horrifying martial might as she swept across the battlefield astride Red Hare.
Moreover, Dong Zhuo was a person who meted out merciless and thoroughly ruthless punishment to her enemies.
The Qiang tribes who had foolishly challenged her and been erased from the map alone were too many to count on both hands.
As a result, Dong Zhuo reigned as an object of terror for the Qiang,
and the same held true for Ma Teng and Han Sui, who had barely escaped with their lives after nearly being annihilated before.
Considering that awful woman's filthy temperament,
if they refused this "mercy," it was clear she would come herself this time and make absolutely sure to finish them off.
Throw in their lot with Zhang Rang on the other side, then?
Ma Teng had no wish to associate with those open traitors in the first place, and even if he forced an alliance, the chances of fellows with no ties here—unlike Dong Zhuo—coming all the way out to distant Liang Province to help them were simply nonexistent.
Thus, a realistic and well-founded terror of Dong Zhuo, coupled with practical reasons.
On top of that, Ma Teng still genuinely held loyalty to the nation in his heart and had privately wished to return to being a Han general if only the chance came.
The moment the two men concluded their brief exchange of looks,
they immediately prostrated themselves with solemn courtesy.
"We shall uphold Her Majesty's edict. Though I, Ma Teng, briefly walked an errant path, I shall henceforth do my utmost for the nation."
"I, Han Sui, shall shatter my bones and grind my body to dust to live up to Her Majesty's grace, vast as the ocean. The imperial favor moves me beyond words!"
The two offered their thanks with grand phrases.
In that moment, Ma Teng's gaze turned toward his daughter, who, while still not enthusiastic, had at least knelt.
'More than anything... when I think of that child's future, this is far better than staying here as a rebel.'
Being a governor's child, rather than a rebel's, would surely benefit her advancement far more.
With a father's heart for his daughter in his chest, Ma Teng repeatedly knocked his head to the ground according to the rites.
"Long live Her Majesty, long live, ten thousand years upon ten thousand years."
"Long live, long live, ten thousand years upon ten thousand years!"
And so Ma Teng and Han Sui, once rebels who dominated this region, declared their complete submission through a single edict.
Meanwhile,
watching the scene, Hua Xiong felt joy, but inwardly she also let out a sigh of relief.
'Whew~ it's truly fortunate, it is. It could have been dangerous, but it resolved well, it did.'
Naturally, had they refused to accept the edict, the first person whose head would have flown would most certainly have been Hua Xiong.
Of course, given her martial ability, she wouldn't have gone down easily, but emerging unscathed from the middle of an enemy camp was no simple matter even for her.
'One way or another, earning merit is truly difficult, it is. But with this, Hua Xiong becomes a general too, she does! From the spirit of a brook, she has become the spirit of a lake, she has!'
Even if it was her lord's command, Hua Xiong had not walked into this death trap with nothing to show for it either.
Pleased that she would finally receive the general's post she had so desired, Hua Xiong beamed a grin at the "former" rebels, who were shouting "Long live the Emperor" and pressing their heads to the floor.
*
"Ma Teng and Han Sui have surrendered."
"Well done, my wife. I do like how swiftly you handle things."
As I looked over the letter Dong Zhuo had sent, a deep smile settled on my lips.
Ma Teng was a figure known as a loyal subject, even within Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
In the novel, he was a man who died trying to destroy Cao Cao—who had made a puppet of the emperor and wielded absolute power—and against this backdrop, I had guessed that if we gave him an opening, he would bow his head to us.
Of course, even so, it was clear that entrusting the matter to Dong Zhuo had settled things more quickly than I expected.
Feeling once again—trite as it sounds—just how capable my wife really was, I pulled my thoughts from that burden for now and leaned back in my chair.
'Liang Province has been resolved like this... next would be that place, I suppose.'
A force that, unlike the Original Timeline, had not become part of the coalition army and had maintained an unbroken posture of a bystander.
Considering how history had warped, the situation there must have changed in many ways. I was keeping a close watch on how they would move going forward.
'Still, in the novel he was portrayed as a fairly decent fellow... but by the Records of the Three Kingdoms, he was a rather complicated character.'
Just as I was turning a certain someone's name over in my mind...
"My lord! Urgent news!"
"Urgent news? What's happened?"
Ji Ling rushed inside in a hurry.
But from the delight plainly written on her face, I could guess that this urgent news was not bad news.
However.
"It's news of Sister Aman! She swept away the Yellow Turbans of Qing Province and pacified the whole area!"
"... What?"
That very person I had been thinking of a moment ago—
Cao Cao's conquest of Qing Province.
And Dong Zhuo had struck home in a different sense.
Events were unfolding... far faster than I had anticipated.