Are you really that good at fighting?
Are you really that good at fighting?
The Yellow Turbans were running rampant across the Han Dynasty.
True, they all wore the same yellow headbands, but their internal cohesion was never particularly strong, and their strength varied wildly from region to region.
Even so, the largest and most powerful force was unquestionably the one entrenched in Ji Province.
The faction led personally by the Great and Worthy Teacher, Zhang Jiao.
Unlike the other groups who simply stirred up ordinary peasants into revolt, these were elite troops, painstakingly trained over a long period.
Supplies secured in abundance from the rich resources of Ji Province.
And with Zhang Jiao's main camp located here, this place maintained a degree of discipline that set it apart from the Yellow Turbans in other regions.
While their counterparts elsewhere were treated as mere bandits, these were people who had not yet lost their original purpose: to save the suffering common folk.
What's more, the very fact that Zhang Jiao and his brothers were natives of Ji Province was a huge boost in winning over the hearts of the local population.
Swiftly seizing control of all Ji Province, Zhang Jiao's Yellow Turbans were consolidating their power.
But even amid their seemingly unstoppable momentum, one enormous problem was festering within their ranks.
And that was...
their leader Zhang Jiao's health was worsening by the day.
"Cough! Hack!"
The sound of a labored cough echoed from inside.
Listening to it grow more and more severe,
Zhang Jiao's younger brothers, Zhang Bao and Zhang Liang, stood before the door, their faces etched with deep worry.
A moment later,
when the physician who had gone inside emerged, the brothers shot him an urgent, anxious question.
"How is our elder brother's condition?"
"Forgive me... she is deteriorating by the day. We have tried every medicine with a good reputation, but the affliction is simply too chronic. There is no sign of improvement."
"Tch..."
"Sigh..."
Zhang Jiao had been suffering from a chronic illness long before the Yellow Turban Army had ever risen.
Until now, she had somehow managed to keep it suppressed, but once the rebellion began, the crushing workload and constant strain caused her condition to deteriorate rapidly.
His body, now wracked by coughing fits and occasionally spitting up blood, betrayed a severity that required no physician to diagnose.
Deeply troubled by the state of their elder brother, the very lynchpin of their great cause, the two brothers stood before Zhang Jiao as he lay in his sickbed.
"Brother, how are you feeling?"
"Cough... I'm fine. A little rest and this much will heal in no time."
"But..."
"I said I am fine. More importantly, what of the orders I gave? About mustering our full strength to conquer Henei."
"Yes, all preparations are complete according to plan."
"We have finished making contact with the forces in Guangping and Hedong, not to mention Henei itself. Once we march the main army down from here in Ji Province, seizing those regions will only be a matter of time."
"Good... well done. In the end, the crucial target is Luoyang. Once we capture Luoyang and drag out those vile ministers and the Emperor, our great work will essentially be finished."
Though clearly marked by illness, Zhang Jiao spoke with distinct will and tenacity.
Looking upon him, the youngest brother, Zhang Liang, who had been appointed commander-in-chief for this expedition, set his expression with resolve and replied.
"Leave it to me, Brother. I, Zhang Liang, will certainly conquer Henei and throw open the gateway to our great cause."
"Yes... I will put my full trust in you. And you, second brother, do not neglect preparations for the immediate follow-up campaign to take Luoyang."
"I will bear it in mind, Brother. We will, without fail, drape all under heaven in the yellow sky of the Yellow Turbans very soon."
Though the two made bold vows before Zhang Jiao, urgency and unease had already taken root in their hearts.
Zhang Jiao's worsening health was fueling anxiety not only for them but throughout the entire Yellow Turban Army.
If, in this situation, Zhang Jiao were to actually die,
the entire army would not only be severely shaken, but it risked further accelerating the splintering with the already poorly controlled Yellow Turban forces in other regions.
Meanwhile, the government forces, which had initially been purely on the receiving end, were steadily reorganizing their strength and beginning to attempt counterattacks as time passed.
Bad news loomed on the horizon for their own side while the enemy was gradually growing stronger.
In other words, this current plan was not only for the brothers themselves, but for the entire Yellow Turban Army, the first and final opportunity to make their great cause a success.
"The Azure Heaven Is Dead; the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise. In the Jiazi Year, Great Fortune Will Come to All Under Heaven."
"The Azure Heaven Is Dead; the Yellow Heaven Shall Rise. In the Jiazi Year, Great Fortune Will Come to All Under Heaven."
After chanting their slogan with such grim determination, the two brothers rose from their seats and immediately sprang into action.
To overturn the rotten azure sky of the Han,
and to open a new age covered by the yellow sky of the Yellow Turbans.
*
Clang!!!
"Hup!!"
A pair of spears clashed sharply.
Watching them exchange blows at a speed even an ordinary person would have trouble tracking with their eyes, I let out a small, inward sigh of admiration.
'As expected... apart from her trash-sounding speech, her skills haven't gone anywhere, have they?'
The two women locked in combat before my eyes.
My subordinate, the only named officer under my command, Ji Ling, and her opponent, the female officer with blue drill hair, Hua Xiong.
As for how it came to this,
it started from some idle chitchat between Dong Zhuo and me during a light drinking session while we were encamped.
"General Yuan, I hear your officer Ji Ling's martial skill is truly extraordinary. I happened to catch a glimpse of her prowess the other day—it is enough to call her the best under heaven."
"Haha... you flatter me. Even so, she could hardly match your fierce commander Hua Xiong. I've heard in detail of the valor that makes the barbarians of Xiliang and Bing Province tremble."
"Hoot... well, our Hua Xiong's courage is at a level that those in the know would recognise. After all, she's never once lost to anyone except me."
The kind of 'who is stronger' debate that inevitably pops up from time to time.
Of course, I already had a rough idea of the answer, but for the sake of a smooth social life here, there was no need to bring things like hard facts or pride into it.
In the first place, people only said that because no other named officers were active then. If someone like Ji Ling was supposed to be the best under heaven, then Lü Bu and Zhang Fei would have to be the supreme rulers of the universe.
It would have been so nice if the conversation had ended amicably right there, just some harmless small talk...
"Hoh... you're that good at fighting? Well, this is perfect timing. I've been itching all over lately, only fighting small fry."
"You're the one they call the best under heaven? You don't look it at all! I, Hua Xiong, will have to personally test your skills!"
"Bluffing is unacceptable. Hua Xiong. The ultimate representation of allied combat power."
"Uweeeeng... f... fighting is not a good thing, you know..."
"Huh?"
"Hoh?"
Before I knew it, the conversation had turned into a challenge to fight.
I hastily tried to stop the two of them, but Dong Zhuo, reacting with interest, moved to hold me back instead.
"This is rather intriguing. What do you say? Let us leave them to do as they wish. It will boost the soldiers' morale. And I would also like to enjoy an interesting spectacle."
"Hmm... if you say so, Governor..."
Now that things had escalated this far, forcing everyone to stop would have been awkward.
And since Dong Zhuo was the one who first suggested it, I chose to simply observe for now.
The result:
the situation right in front of me.
"Ooh... as expected of Colonel Ji Ling! To block an attack like that without even flinching!"
"Damn it! General Hua Xiong! Keep pushing! You can't possibly lose like this!"
Clang!!!
The two of them wielded their training weapons with vicious intensity.
Though this was a simple spar, they were riding the cheers of both sides' soldiers and clashing with full strength on the line, their respective pride at stake.
Although we shared the same objective and were traveling together, we were cooperating comrades on the one hand and, on the other, something like rivals secretly competing for military achievements.
A sparring match under these circumstances was, in essence, a contest of nerve between the two armies.
And I, too, found myself watching their spectacular martial display with a fair amount of interest.
However, I already knew.
While at a glance the fight seemed evenly matched so far, the truth behind the scenes was notably different from how it appeared.
The reality was that Hua Xiong was going all out,
whereas Ji Ling was, to some degree, deliberately matching her pace while fighting.
Others might not see it, but having watched Ji Ling for years, I could more or less guess what was going through her head while she fought.
That was exactly the expression on her face.
It was the expression she wore whenever she found a toy that was perfect for playing with.
Meaning: an opponent who was not weak, but one she would not lose to even if she held back a little.
And I had already anticipated this gap in their skills well before the sparring even started.
In some games, Hua Xiong, who gives off a mid-boss kind of vibe, is often rated quite highly for her martial strength, while the comparatively less impactful Ji Ling is often treated as a decent but generic stat block.
However, by the standards of the Original Timeline... more precisely, by the Romance of the Three Kingdoms, Hua Xiong can never beat Ji Ling.
Guan Yu was the one who annihilated Hua Xiong "before the drink could cool."
What's not very well known, though, is that Ji Ling fought that very same Guan Yu for over thirty bouts and, while unable to win, proved herself strong enough to at least hold her ground and contend.
This alone made it clear that Ji Ling was, without question, a step above Hua Xiong, and the situation unfolding before my eyes confirmed it.
The reason a seemingly close match had been maintained, despite all that, was partly because Ji Ling found it purely fun, but even more than that, because she was tactfully considering the surrounding circumstances.
As mentioned, this was a contest of nerve between the two armies.
What would the atmosphere become if she just unilaterally crushed Hua Xiong here?
The immediate catharsis would be one thing, but there was a real risk of breeding emptiness and resentment toward an ally we were supposed to fight alongside from now on.
Given that, it was far better to show a narrowly pulled-off win, fostering a healthy competitive spirit and friendly ties between both sides.
Watching Ji Ling handle the situation so tactfully filled me with pride. I made a mental note to reward her later.
My satisfaction lasted only a moment.
"Hmm..."
"...?"
When I came to my senses, Lady Dong Zhuo was somehow already seated right next to me.
Sure, it made sense to move your seat and adjust your angle to watch a spar comfortably, but... even so, wasn't this a little too close?
'Huh?... W... wait a moment...'
The next instant, her body softly tilted toward me, radiating a gentle warmth.
At the same time, this large, heavy sensation that began to press against my shoulder was unmistakably...
'?!'
I didn't even need to think about what it was.
I could not let it show, but inwardly I was awestruck.
I already knew, just by looking, that they were big, but how can something even be bigger than a person's head...?
And this feeling... it was an insane softness and snug warmth that made me doubt whether this substance could truly exist in the world.
Fuck... so this was why that bastard Lü Bu killed his own foster father and went over to Dong Zhuo.
In this world, he was probably recruited with the condition, "Come to me and I'll let you motorboat these every day," instead of being offered Red Hare.
Under the assault of these ridiculously fearsome weapons—which sent a person's mind into a daze from a simple touch to the shoulder without even using my hands—my face was starting to flush slightly...
Still, I tried my utmost to let none of it show, and without even a glance to the side, I gave it my all to keep my gaze fixed straight ahead.
Fortunately, living as Yuan Shu had trained me to maintain a facial mask called a poker face.
If you want to survive in the political world, you have to be proficient at hiding your emotions.
Even so, the destructive force of this woman's single blow sent cracks racing through that mask. Only the knowledge that my opponent was Dong Zhuo kept me from losing my head entirely.
The tantalizing fruit touching my shoulder was sweet but laced with a deadly, potent poison.
I couldn't tell if this was a simple mistake, or something intentional.
But given my position, where I had to be wary of her getting both too close and too distant, I told myself that, no matter which it was, I could never let it show if I wanted to live, and I desperately struggled to redirect my attention to the front.
Fortunately, Hua Xiong chose that moment to surrender.
"Pant... pant... I... I'm beaten! Hua... Hua Xiong concedes defeat!"
Hua Xiong collapsed, exhausted, with perfect timing, while Ji Ling stood before her, hoisting her spear high in victory.
Seeing this, I deliberately rose from my seat as quickly as possible and immediately walked over to give her my praise,
and right along with me, Dong Zhuo also promptly stood and walked over to Hua Xiong.
The look on Dong Zhuo's face that caught my eye at the end—an expression mixing shock and something akin to regret.
That's an expression of regret over Hua Xiong's defeat... right?