Twilight Over Han: Zhou Yu's Arrival and Cracks in Chang'an
The bloody execution, reeking under the twilight shadowing the Han, had come to an end. Sun Ce placed Huang Zu's head atop Sun Jian's altar, and the people erupted in cheers. Suchun's central square was swept up in the heat of victory.
Cutting through the clamor at the heart of that bustling square came a single man.
"Zhou Yu? That musical prodigy they're calling Zhou Yu?"
Yuan Shu indulged in luxury and pleasure, and no such indulgence was complete without music. Zhou Yu Gongjin, famed as a genius, was said to have talent in music as well—making him the perfect prize in Yuan Shu's eyes. He kicked aside his fur-draped chair and strode down from the dais. Then he seized Zhou Yu's hands in his own.
"Last night's dream of a dragon coiling atop Suchun's walls was surely an omen heralding a noble guest like you! Come in, come in! You've arrived at the perfect time!"
Yuan Shu bellowed his delight.
"So, you've come to join our ranks?"
As Yuan Shu released his hands, Zhou Yu stepped back gracefully and bowed with refined courtesy.
"Your praise humbles me, my lord. Zhu Shang, the Taishou of Danyang, is my uncle. On my way to visit him, I heard my friend Baekbu had joined the Rear General's army, so I stopped by briefly to see him."
Yuan Shu's face fell for a moment at those words, but he shook it off quickly. Clearing his throat, he slowly ascended the dais once more.
"Fortuitous timing, then. Tonight we hold a banquet in honor of the gates. Why not stop by? You could catch up with your old friend after so long. I've heard you're acquainted with Seowon as well…."
"Yes, Rear General. Thank you for your gracious welcome despite my sudden visit."
Zhou Yu bowed to Yuan Shu again, and Yuan Shu flashed a satisfied smile.
We moved to the prepared banquet hall. Yuan Shu took the seat of honor, and I sat to his right. Sun Ce took his left, followed by Lu Su, Qi Ling, Yeom Sang, and the other retainers settling into their places.
Yuan Shu grinned ear to ear as he sipped his honeyed water. Even as he drank and sampled the prepared dishes, his eyes never left Zhou Yu. I spoke quietly, for his ears only.
"My lord, you'll wear him out staring like that."
"Seowon, I'm thrilled today. A treasure like him has come to Suchun—I'll pull out all the stops to win him over. Watch closely, Seowon. I'll show you how this Gongjin snares talent."
Yuan Shu leaned slightly toward Zhou Yu and said,
"Gongjin, for a talent like you to be buried in the wilds is a loss to the realm. I wish to appoint you as our army's strategist—what say you? Won't you scheme for the world at my side?"
His words stunned all the retainers, myself included. Yeom Sang's brow twitched, while Lu Su smiled faintly, fanning himself as he watched the scene with keen interest. Handing the role of strategist to a total stranger flew in the face of common sense. I knew Zhou Yu's potential and what he'd shown, but to the others, he was just a fresh-faced youth.
Zhou Yu rose unperturbed from his seat and offered Yuan Shu a respectful clasped-hands salute.
"Rear General, your words overhonor me. I am but a green novice, shallow in learning and ignorant of the world's ways. My vessel is too small, my insight too immature to presume upon the realm. I beseech you—withdraw that command."
"Come now, such excessive humility. In my eyes, no talent rivals Zhou Gongjin. Have you truly no interest?"
As Yuan Shu smacked his lips in regret, Zhou Yu continued,
"Moreover…."
He trailed off, his gaze slowly turning to me. Those clear, profound eyes seemed to pierce right through.
"Is there not here a phoenix like General Seowon, who beheaded Hua Xiong, repelled Lü Bu, and captured Huang Zu to avenge his lord's kin? How could I dare speak of strategy with such a realm-shaking hero present?"
Zhou Yu bowed toward Yuan Shu again and made his polite request.
"I am not yet ready to enter official service. But if the Rear General permits, I would stay awhile in Suchun and seek instruction from General Seowon. To broaden my horizons under him would be the greatest honor for me."
Yuan Shu stared at Zhou Yu, momentarily lost in thought. It was a clear refusal, yet so elegantly and humbly phrased that pressing further would only undermine his own dignity.
"Very well. Make yourself at home here."
I swallowed a wry smile. This was humility masking distance. Zhou Yu saw little appeal in Yuan Shu, but couldn't abandon Sun Ce, so he'd use me as a shield to linger. If things soured, he'd claim his studies complete and whisk Sun Ce away.
In that case, I'd play along.
I looked at Zhou Yu and said,
"Gongjin, you wish to learn from me?"
"Indeed. I yearn to witness and study your valor and wisdom up close."
"Hahaha! Instruction? Hardly fitting. With that brilliant mind of yours, Gongjin, it seems I'd be the one learning a thing or two."
I feigned lighthearted banter, then my eyes gleamed as I murmured low,
"But if you insist on staying by my side, I won't stop you. Just know my lessons come at a steep price—can you bear it?"
Zhou Yu arched one brow in intrigue.
"A steep price… What do you seek?"
"Gongjin, how could I not recognize your extraordinary gifts? A pearl in the pocket, as they say—it shines through no matter how you hide it. I may wield spear and sword on the battlefield, but in the art of governing the realm, I fall short of you."
I stared him down and took a step closer.
"I fully grasp your intent to return to Jiangdong. But Gongjin, Jiangdong is narrow. The waters there are too shallow for a great peng to spread its wings. For a man of your caliber to rot away, idly fishing and gazing at those waves… it would be a criminal waste of talent."
Zhou Yu's eyes flickered. I'd struck true.
"Gongjin, set aside that humble talk of apprenticeship. I seek no pupil—I want a partner to share the grand game called the world. Come with me. I'll show you a far vaster, more majestic realm than you ever dreamed in Jiangdong's backwaters."
Zhou Yu smiled faintly and folded his fan.
"A grand game…. I grant your valor is peerless, felling Hua Xiong and capturing Huang Zu. But the world's map isn't drawn by blade alone."
"Of course. The blade clears the path; wisdom reads the currents, patience bides its time."
Tension crackled between the two geniuses. Lu Su had ceased fanning, his eyes alight as he watched the breathless duel unfold.
The probing was over. Now came the baring of hidden cards.
Bam! The doors to the hall burst open.
"Urgent—urgent report!"
A mud-caked spy stumbled in, collapsing to the floor. The sudden intrusion shattered the hall's tension.
Yuan Shu snapped irritably,
"Argh! Just as it was getting good—what's this racket? Has Dong Zhuo claimed the throne or something?"
The spy gasped for breath, trying to speak but coughing instead. Yuan Shu eyed him and muttered, "He'll keel over like that. Someone fetch water."
A nearby maidservant poured a cup. The spy gulped it down with a grateful "Thank you, Rear General!"
Refreshed, he pressed on.
"Lü Bu and Dong Zhuo—their relations have soured!"
Murmurs rippled through the hall. Even Yuan Shu's eyes widened. A rift between that ironclad father-son pair? It could upend the world.
The spy continued.
"Lü Bu was caught consorting with Dong Zhuo's maidservant. Words flew like stones afterward! They say Dong Zhuo, in his rage, even hurled a spear at Lü Bu!"
At those words, Zhou Yu's gaze sharpened. The humble scholar's mask shattered, revealing eyes like daggers piercing the realm's currents. He unfurled his fan and traced a line in the air—as if an invisible map lay before him.
"No mere quarrel."
His voice carried icy certainty.
"Wang Situ has moved. A linked-ring stratagem. Lü Bu's brute courage, Dong Zhuo's paranoid nature—Wang Yun has wedged into that gap. Like tossing bloodied meat to a starving wolf to catch a tiger."
Zhou Yu turned to me.
With his fan's tip, he pointed west, lips curling.
"General Seowon. Do you not hear it? From Chang'an… that chilling clash of iron. The grinding of chains as they bind each other tight."
"I hear it well. The thrashing of beasts caught in the trap."
My calm reply narrowed Zhou Yu's eyes. I set down my teacup and added softly,
"The snarling of sworn father and son tearing at each other's throats. Wang Yun Situ has at last fitted the tiger with a bell—or rather, shackles."
I swallowed silent admiration inwardly. Zhou Yu was Zhou Yu indeed. From scant whispers out of Chang'an, he'd pierced Wang Yun's linked-ring ploy clean through.
With my confirmation, realization dawned, and the hall filled with cheers.
"If it succeeds… toppling the traitor Dong Zhuo is only a matter of time. The Han may yet have its chance!"
"Perfect! Let the traitors devour each other to ruin!"
"Wang Yun's done it! Dawn breaks at last for the Han!"
Yeom Sang clenched his fist in glee; Sun Ce and Lu Su buzzed with visions of an optimistic future. Kill Dong Zhuo, and the emperor regains authority, peace returns—their naive hope.
Then—
Clink.
Yuan Shu set his silver cup of honeyed water on the table. Staring into the rippling golden liquid, he let out a deflating chuckle.
"You lot truly buy that old fool's delusions? Think Wang Yun's success changes the world?"
Zhou Yu furrowed his brow.
"With the traitor Dong Zhuo dead, how could the world not shift? The court's discipline would—"
"Naive fools."
Yuan Shu waved dismissively, slouching deep into his chair, head cocked.
"Gongjin. Power abhors a vacuum."
His eyes gleamed coldly.
"No sooner had Emperor Huan died than the Ten Eunuchs were swept away—and before the blood dried, Dong Zhuo planted his arse there. No time to warm the seat before the master's changed. You think it ends if Dong Zhuo falls? Li Jue, Guo Si, Zhang Ji—the wolves gnawing corpses at his feet. Think they'll whimper 'oh no, scary' and flee?"
He nodded toward me.
"Seowon. Before you showed your talents, remember the situation? I withheld grain from Sun Jian. Yes, out of greed—my gut ached at the thought of that fierce tiger gobbling Luoyang first."
Sun Ce flushed, but Yuan Shu pressed on.
"Those lofty warlords? All the same breed. Me, Yuan Shao, Cao Cao. Lips preaching Han restoration, hearts tallying gains. If we'd truly been united, Dong Zhuo would've been dust long ago. Right?"
Yuan Shu drained the rest of his honeyed water. Gulp, gulp. He wiped his mouth roughly with the back of his hand—like forcing down bitter reality with sweetness.
"Wang Yun's wrong. Rotten flesh needs carving out; makeup won't make it fresh. Does an old man embracing a peerless beauty suddenly rejuvenate?"
Zhou Yu's eyes wavered. Lu Su's fan stilled.
"A fleeting thrill, perhaps. But he'll collapse spent, dying in ecstasy. Wang Yun's loyalty to Han? It's poison hastening the dynasty's end."
I swallowed dryly. Yuan Shu's rare flashes of chilling insight unnerved me. Instinct of a noble house, or the senses of a monster forged in chaos?
Yuan Shu rolled his empty cup, muttering,
"Fools…. A sinking ship isn't patched—you switch vessels."
Heavy silence blanketed the hall. Zhou Yu bit his lip. Yuan Shu had doused their romantic dream of Han restoration with filthy, ice-cold mud.
Yuan Shu beckoned a servant with a flick.
"Here—another cup of honeyed water."
His voice returned to its usual languid drawl. But no one there saw him as lightly as before.
Unbeknownst to all, storm clouds gathered over Chang'an's skies.
The twilight over Han draped ever thicker.