A noble person in such a humble place...
"Jing Province, you say?"
"That is correct. The intelligence reports all agree, and in truth, the majority of the Jing Province army under General Wen Ping has already departed for the north."
"Hoo... That's a relief. At least the enemy isn't bearing down on us for now."
At this report from his subordinate Ze Rong, a deep sigh escaped the lips of Liu Yao, Inspector of Yang Province (Jiangdong).
Ever since Cao Cao's occupation of Xu Province, Liu Yao had been seized by constant anxiety.
It was true that his own greed had made him foolishly accept the title of Vassal King,
and as a result he had firmly made an enemy of the Luoyang faction... but Liu Yao had little confidence in his abilities in battle, if he was honest with himself.
Of course, Yang Province had always been a region favorable to defense,
and short of an incursion from the Jing Province side, it was no easy place for a large army to penetrate.
It was also reassuring to know that Jing Province was prepared to intervene immediately if danger arose...
The problem was that their opponent was Cao Cao, who had swept away those ferocious Yellow Turbans and swallowed even Xu Province in a single gulp.
Tao Qian, for all his indecision, was certainly no easy foe, and Xu Province's central city had possessed formidable defenses.
Facing that wildcat of a woman, who had chewed up and swallowed such a place in barely a few days, could only be an enormous burden.
And even if he somehow managed to defeat Cao Cao, the magnitude of the threat would remain the same.
Behind Cao Cao stood a monster far more terrifying than her: the unbeaten master of war, the General-in-Chief, Yuan Shu.
At this point, if you asked every single one of the lords under heaven whom they least wished to fight, he topped the list without exception.
Of course, having chosen this path, the inevitability of clashing with that monster remained unchanged, but even if he won by luck, the process would surely demand staggering losses.
In that regard, the recent news of Yuan Shu and Yuan Shao's campaign to conquer Jing Province brought Liu Yao profound relief.
That terrifying monster was raising hell in the neighbor's yard instead of his own—how could that not bring peace of mind?
If fortune smiled and the monster got himself killed, that would be the best outcome;
even if not, so long as they could meet the enemy in Jing Province and drive them back, the chance that the bastards would covet Yang Province for a while would drop dramatically.
And to that end,
Liu Yao gave the order at once, so as not to repeat his earlier mistakes.
"Fan Neng, Yu Mi. You are to lead the army and head for Jing Province immediately. The moment Yuan Shu's attack begins, cross the border at once and go to Jing Province's aid."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I shall carry out the command, Your Highness."
At that moment.
"Your Highness, please wait a moment."
"Hmm?"
A sudden voice of opposition rang out.
Liu Yao scowled and turned his head toward the voice.
Standing there was a junior officer under his command.
She had light brown hair and was fairly beautiful, but that aside, she was a woman who didn't possess a single speck of feminine charm...
"Taishi Ci, what is your complaint this time? Am I not dispatching reinforcements without delay just as you noisily insisted before?"
"It is not a complaint. I merely... wished to say that this matter requires more caution. To move the army when war has not yet even broken out..."
"Caution? Ha! I did not know you had grown so fond of caution. Coming from someone who flew into a rage about having no time to dilly-dally during the Xu Province affair."
"Your Highness, the situations then and now are different. At that time, Cao Cao's invasion was clearly in progress. Now, however, one cannot rashly leap to conclusions..."
"Enough. I have no wish to hear any more of your whining filled with nothing but discontent."
Taishi Ci had once argued more forcefully than anyone for dispatching troops to Xu Province.
And indeed, failing to follow her advice had resulted in Xu Province's fall, but regardless of that fact, Liu Yao simply disliked this creature called Taishi Ci.
A mere slip of a girl who was still green, talking back to her elders point by point, and spouting opinions opposing him at every turn, seizing on any pretext—the sight of it grated on him.
As a result, Liu Yao ignored her entreaty to observe the situation a little longer and issued his command to his subordinates as he had decided.
"Proceed as I have just resolved. Move the main force toward Jing Province at once. Once war begins, go and aid the Jing Province army and bring back the head of that bastard Yuan Shu."
"Yes, Your Highness."
"I, Yu Mi, shall surely lay Yuan Shu's head before Your Highness."
The two generals bowed their heads resolutely at Liu Yao's command.
Watching this, Taishi Ci felt her insides burn with frustration.
It was true that the preponderance of evidence suggested the enemy would attack Jing Province.
From the circulating rumors to the army's movements.
Yet in Taishi Ci's mind, a deep doubt lingered regarding all this.
Why in the world?
Why had they begun to target Jing Province, of all places?
In Bing Province to the north, there was another emperor and the Zhang Rang who had orchestrated all of this.
Here in Yang Province, a gap had opened with the fall of Xu Province, and at the same time the momentum of victory could be maintained, allowing a higher chance of success.
In truth, until recently most people had thought the enemy would invade Yang Province rather than Bing Province, which posed more challenges.
But Jing Province?
Even if it bordered the sphere of influence of Yuan Shu's elder sister Yuan Shao, it was a place with scant reason for an immediate attack.
'There seems to be something... I don't know exactly what, but the enemy would surely not have done this without a reason.'
An ordinary person might chalk it up to simple caprice or an advantage of Jing Province unknown to them.
But the one orchestrating all of this was the General-in-Chief Yuan Shu himself.
Considering she was never one to act without cause, Taishi Ci had concluded that the enemy's current moves could never be taken at face value.
Yet whatever she thought, there was no way to change the situation.
For her lord Liu Yao was once again refusing to hear her words.
*
A host of troops moving rapidly.
At its head were the generals Ji Ling and Xu Rong, whose very names were synonymous with the banner of Yuan Shu.
Clad in conspicuous armor, they led a force of thirty thousand southward.
Those who saw them, and the spies hidden among them, could tell with certainty where they were headed.
'It's Jing Province after all... If even Ji Ling and Xu Rong, Yuan Shu's right and left arms, are moving, there is no room for doubt now.'
'We must inform our lord of this at once. Make haste.'
Having spoken thus, the spies began to move with urgent speed.
Meanwhile, as she led the army in plain view of everyone, Ji Ling let a small sigh escape her lips.
"Haa... honestly. Still, for it to come this far..."
"Please be quiet. We are currently accompanying the General-in-Chief Yuan Shu. You must not let careless words slip out."
"I know that, but... I'm still a newlywed, and to go this far is a bit too much, you know."
"You are a general before you are a wife. Please do not forget that."
Grumbling even so, Ji Ling obeyed the order faithfully for now.
She had her complaints, but as this was also part of "the duties of a principal wife," she could only endure and move past it for the moment.
"Well, I suppose... there is a promise to make up for it later..."
"Make... up? What do you mean by that?"
"Ufufufu..."
At Xu Rong's question, Ji Ling let out a lewd little laugh.
Xu Rong showed a puzzled expression at this reaction...
but soon one particular thought began to surface in Xu Rong's mind.
And.
"! ... Krhmm. Were... were you not saying it was very hard on you because of that...?"
"That's true enough, but... perhaps it's become an addiction, I simply can't endure without it. Fufufu. How should I put it... it's like a drink you found bitter when you were young but now cannot live without. That feeling, when my husband's august presence pounds and pounds upon the door of my little girl's room..."
"Gulp..."
Xu Rong swallowed hard despite herself at Ji Ling's words.
For her, who had absolutely no experience with men, it was in many ways uncharted territory,
but at the same time, the fact that someone who had been in the same situation until recently was saying such things stirred her curiosity and anticipation.
Even more so for her, who also wished to become her lord's woman, even if not the principal wife.
"Mmm... well, anyway, let's just get moving quickly. Sister Yuan Shao will have received word ahead of us and be waiting."
"Ah... yes!"
*
The city of Xu Province lay wrapped in tranquility.
Scarcely a few months had passed since the change of masters brought about by war, yet the city's atmosphere was, to put it simply, tranquility itself.
When the Governor of Xu Province, Tao Qian, had been dragged down and Cao Cao's army marched in, the people had felt anxiety and concern, but their worries soon proved unwarranted.
Cao Cao swiftly restored order in the city, lowered taxes, and bestowed benevolent rule upon the populace.
The change in leadership through war had not been entirely seamless, but what truly mattered to ordinary people was, after all, whether they could live well and eat well in peace.
The danger of war still lingered because the realm was troubled, which worried them, but for the time being most people were satisfied with the brief peace and went about their days without great complaint.
And in this placid Xu Province,
one man was living quietly in Langya, a backwater within it.
This man, named Kyu,
was bowing his head respectfully as he greeted the group that had arrived at his house.
"Welcome, General. I am deeply honored that you have visited my humble home."
"I am obliged for your warm welcome, Family Head."
The crimson-haired woman at the very front said with a smile.
Who she was—there was now no one among the people of Xu Province who did not know.
Cao Cao.
General Who Conquers the East, the one who held not only Xu Province but also Yan Province and Qing Province beneath her feet, and who was also known as the arm of the renowned General-in-Chief Yuan Shu.
At her visit, Kyu, the family head of an obscure household here in Xu Province, paid his respectful greetings.
Kyu had once formed a friendship with Cao Cao's father, Cao Song, who had dwelled in this very Langya, out of pure goodwill.
The reason Cao Cao had come here in person was partly to deliver gifts sent by her father, and partly to express her gratitude to the one who had kept close company with her father in his solitude.
So it appeared on the surface, at least.
"Then let us go inside. I have also brought gifts for you, as my father requested."
"Heh heh, I did not particularly expect such a thing, but I am truly grateful that you did not forget me. You have come a long way, so let us eat first. I have prepared what little I could for my guests."
"Then let us do so."
After ordering the porters who had brought the gifts to unload them,
Cao Cao went inside along with her subordinates.
In the process, Kyu stole a glance at the figures of Cao Cao and those who appeared to be her direct subordinates.
The tough-looking general standing to Cao Cao's left.
Beside her, a woman who appeared to be a strategist, wearing a single-lens eyeglass.
And standing behind them, a pair, a man and a woman wearing wide-brimmed hats that covered their faces, seemingly acting as guards.
Each of them exuded an extraordinary air, and Kyu went inside feeling curious as to who they could be.
Immediately thereafter, since a great guest had arrived, he began to call for the people he had kept waiting.
"Jin! Liang! Jun! The heroine of the age, General Cao, has arrived! Come quickly and pay your respects."
The moment his words fell, three girls appeared at once.
Right after that, the eyes of one person watching them glinted faintly.