Prophecy to the Fierce Tiger
The defeat at Horoguan was enough to instill terror in Dong Zhuo. To save his own skin, he resorted to the worst possible measure: relocation of the capital.
Dong Zhuo massacred Luoyang's wealthy elites, plundered their riches, and set fire to the palaces and common homes. The heart of the Han dynasty, which had endured for centuries, was reduced to a massive funeral pyre.
When we entered Luoyang, all that greeted us was black smoke and the acrid stench of burning corpses. Not even a dog's bark echoed through the once-splendid capital.
"This can't be... That traitorous bastard has truly set the world ablaze..."
Cao Cao ground his teeth as he stared at the palace ruins. The other warlords gazed at the devastation in stunned silence, but their eyes betrayed different motives. Less sorrow, more calculation.
I signaled to Yuan Shu beside me, and he immediately covered his face with his sleeve, bursting into loud wails.
"Aigoo! Your Majesty! To see the realm in such a state—your servant Yuan Shu cannot bear to look upon it!"
His booming cries reverberated through the ruins. But I saw it: behind that sleeve, his narrowed eyes were slyly scanning the surroundings.
Reading my lord's intent, I quietly summoned my subordinates.
"Supply units, move discreetly. Secure any unburned granaries, books, and usable equipment. While others wallow in grief seeking justification, we seize the profits."
That was the way to survive in these chaotic times.
Days passed, but the coalition army made no move. Cao Cao stormed into the command tent in a fury.
"Dong Zhuo's forces must be scattered as he flees to Chang'an! If we pursue now, we can take his head. Yet you lords sit here swilling wine and wasting time!"
But Alliance Leader Yuan Shao and the others offered only excuses: troops were exhausted, supplies short, ambushes a risk. Their minds were elsewhere. With Dong Zhuo gone from Luoyang, they were playing a game of who could grab the most spoils.
"You filthy insects! I won't scheme with the likes of you!"
In the end, Cao Cao spat curses and led his army out alone. I clicked my tongue at his retreating figure.
"Too hasty. Sima Lang is guarding the passes."
The result was disastrous. Cao Cao's army fell into an ambush in the treacherous terrain of Henei and suffered devastating losses. Even Cao Cao himself took an arrow and barely escaped with his life.
The warlords didn't console the bloodied Cao Cao upon his return—they mocked him instead. In that moment, the grand anti-Dong Zhuo coalition dam crumbled completely.
And that night, the wheel of history turned inexorably onward.
At an old well south of the Jianzhang Palace, in the dead of night when all slept, Sun Jian secretly ordered his men to fish something from the depths. I watched from the shadows.
From the water emerged a box radiating brilliant multicolored light. When it opened, a jade seal appeared, its corner mended with gold.
Received the Mandate of Heaven:
Both Longevity and Eternal Prosperity
The Imperial Jade Seal. The emperor's proof of legitimacy—and a cursed stone that would drag its owner to ruin.
Sun Jian's eyes gleamed with greed and ambition.
"Heaven... has abandoned the Han and entrusted the realm to me, Sun Jian!"
As he reached with trembling hands to pocket the seal, I stepped out from the darkness.
"That stone will lead your house to utter destruction."
"Who's there!"
Sun Jian jolted in alarm, drawing his Fixed Sword. Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang leveled their weapons at me. Murderous intent prickled my skin, but I calmly emerged into the moonlight.
"Se... General Seowon?"
Sun Jian's eyes wavered. I was the benefactor who had saved them days ago from peril, but now that I knew this secret, his gaze said he couldn't let me live.
"I saw the multicolored light rising from the well. The jade seal, right?"
Sun Jian's face hardened. Ignoring the blade at my throat, I stepped closer.
"General, that thing is poison. The moment you grasp it, you become the realm's public enemy. Yuan Shao may already know through spies that you've taken it."
"Yuan Shao...?"
"Yes. If you leave Luoyang for Jingzhou, he'll surely send a secret missive to Liu Biao, blocking the passes and ordering your death."
Sun Jian paled. My warning was too precise, too real.
"If Liu Biao bars the way... it'll be a brutal fight."
"So take care. The seal won't empower you—it'll be the noose around your neck."
Sun Jian gripped the seal tighter. He understood my words rationally, but the ambition in his heart wouldn't let go. I didn't press further. Fate couldn't be defied.
Instead, I turned to Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, and Han Dang behind him.
"If calamity befalls General Sun one day, and Jiangdong's heirs lose their way... come to me without hesitation."
Sun Jian's brow twitched.
"What do you mean? Calamity for me? And you'll shelter my men if they need it... that's saying you'll take in Ce, isn't it?"
He eyed me suspiciously, sharply.
"This is you pledging to protect my house—why frame it as my men's request? Shouldn't I be the one bowing to beg?"
I met Sun Jian's gaze steadily and replied calmly.
"I admire General Sun's valor and spirit. I don't want to see a hero's bloodline extinguished. And your son Sun Ce—he's a qilin who will one day shake the world. I only want to ensure he doesn't fall in vain."
Sun Jian stared at me, speechless for a moment. Unlike those coveting the seal to steal it, here was an enemy general foreseeing his death and worrying for his family's future. He sheathed his sword with a deep sigh.
"Seowon... you're truly an enigma. Serving under Yuan Shu, yet your vessel dwarfs his."
Sun Jian clasped his hands and bowed deeply in respect.
"I'll etch your warning and kindness into my bones. If misfortune strikes me, I entrust Ce to you. Until we meet again."
Sun Jian hastily rallied his men and vanished into the night. I watched his retreating figure with a bitter smile. The Fierce Tiger was walking into the trap after all.
The next morning, the coalition command tent erupted into chaos as expected. Yuan Shao, informed by spies, berated Sun Jian to hand over the seal.
"Sun Wentai! Think I don't know you've hidden the jade seal? Hand it over now!"
"I have no such seal!"
Sun Jian brazenly denied it, even swearing to the heavens.
"If I possess the seal, may I die by blade and arrow before my time!"
The horrific oath silenced the tent. In the end, Sun Jian feigned illness and departed Luoyang. Enraged, Yuan Shao—as I had foretold—sent a secret missive to Liu Biao of Jingzhou.
Sun Jian has stolen the jade seal and fled. Block the passes and strike him down.
With that, the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition disintegrated entirely. Even Cao Cao left in disappointment, and Gongsun Zan turned his army homeward. Only bickering warlords remained amid Luoyang's ruins.
Yuan Shu fumed at Sun Jian's unceremonious departure.
"That ungrateful wretch! I fed him, saved him, and he slinks off without a word? He must've snatched some treasure!"
Yuan Shu didn't know about the seal, but instinct told him Sun Jian had profited.
I calmed my excited lord with a cup of honeyed water.
"My lord, don't waste thought on one fleeing rat. Sun Jian will pay soon enough."
"Still infuriating! Do you know how much my rice costs!"
"The past doesn't matter now. The coalition is broken, and the age of the strong devouring the weak has begun. We must return to our lands and build strength."
I unrolled a map on the table.
"Luoyang is ash, Nanyang surrounded by foes. We need broader, richer territory."
My finger pointed to one spot on the map.
"Shouchun—and Jiangdong."
Yuan Shu's eyes lit up.
"Jiangdong... sweet lands indeed."
"Yes. Sun Jian will clash with Liu Biao and take heavy losses. When he falls, Jiangdong becomes masterless. If we claim it and base in Shouchun, we can forge an empire no Cao Cao or Yuan Shao can challenge."
The word "empire" hooked Yuan Shu's lips into a grin.
"Excellent! Seowon, I trust only you! Pack up—we march to Shouchun!"
On the day we left Luoyang, I sought out the departing Liu Bei and his sworn brothers, who were following Gongsun Zan back to Pingyuan.
"Lord Xuande, Lord Yunzhang, Lord Yide."
They halted their horses at my call. Guan Yu greeted me warmly.
"General Seowon, you're off too."
"Yes. If fate wills, we'll meet again on the battlefield."
Liu Bei grasped my hand regretfully. His eyes, still pure, had deepened from Luoyang's horrors.
"General Seowon, your talents are wasted under Yuan Shu. If you ever change your mind, come to us."
I smiled and shook my head.
"Lord Xuande's virtue is lofty, but I have my path. Stay safe. And..."
I looked at Liu Bei meaningfully.
"Beware Cao Mengde. He's no ordinary man. This defeat will only harden and terrify him more."
Liu Bei nodded gravely in agreement.
"Just as I thought. He shows the makings of a usurper in these times. I'll remember."
I bowed deeply to Liu Bei and turned my horse. Behind me stood Yuan Shu's 50,000 elite troops, reborn under my command. Their eyes shone with absolute trust in me—the man who beheaded Hua Xiong and repelled Lu Bu. A far cry from the ragtag mob of old.
Yuan Shu lounged in his ornate palanquin, sipping honeyed water contentedly.
"Seowon! Hurry up! They say Shouchun's fruits are divine!"
I nodded.
"Onward, my lord."
In 191 AD, the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition dissolved into farce. And under my command, Yuan Shu's army took a path diverging from history—the first step toward rebirth not as a doomed warlord, but as the continent's mightiest predator.