The Emperor's Masterstroke
It was the fourth month of the fourth year of Zhongping, 187 AD. The bitter cold had finally retreated, and the days were beginning to warm. In Jinan, strange rumors began to spread.
“They say the Chancellor of Jinan has lost his mind.”
“He drove out all the county magistrates.”
“I heard he even smashed a temple to pieces.”
“The followers of the Sage King of Chengyang? They say he rounded them all up and wiped them out together.”
In the Taishan General’s Headquarters, I set down the stack of ledgers on my desk and rested my chin on my hand. Yu Byeok spoke carefully.
“My lord. Regarding Jinan… it appears Jo Jo recently submitted petitions to the court about the fourteen county magistrates across the commanderies and districts. Ten of them were dismissed. One of them had apparently paid a million coins to buy his position.”
A million coins for a magistrate’s seat? I’d love to see that bastard’s face. Is that son of a bitch Emperor Ling running a scam with the official prices too?
“And across all of Jinan, he destroyed every shrine dedicated to the Sage King of Chengyang. Thanks to that, corvée labor has been cut in half, exploitation has decreased, and the common people are shouting that he’s a blessing from heaven.”
I took a sip of wine and clutched my head.
“That crazy son of a bitch. He really tore them all down?”
“Yes. After demolishing the temples, he distributed rice to the people. Then he declared, ‘What kind of temple torments the living with the dead!’ and warned them never to do such things again.”
I couldn’t hold back the laughter that burst out of me and set my cup down.
“Fuck, that’s refreshingly bold.”
“Yet praise for him among the common people doesn’t stop. The people of Jinan are in an uproar, calling him ‘an official sent down by heaven.’”
I sat there in silence for a long time after hearing that. The face that came to mind was Jo Jo’s, the one I had seen at the beginning of the year.
“Ha. Fuck. If swapping out magistrates and smashing temples solved everything, who the hell would bother struggling? He’s got powerful backing, so of course he can pull this off. Fine. Let’s see how long it lasts.”
A hollow laugh slipped from my lips. Jo Jo the MILF hunter. That bastard had spoken of his ideals and cause, claiming he would ‘change the world.’ Seeing him actually doing it made it all the more absurd. He knows everything there is to know, so why is he acting like this?
“Hey, Yu Byeok.”
“Yes, my lord.”
“Let’s say he really did drive out the magistrates and destroy the temples. What do you think will happen to Jinan once our great Lord Cao leaves for another post?”
“…Pardon? I’m not sure.”
“I guarantee it’ll go back to the way it was in less than a year.”
I stared up at the ceiling.
That clever bastard is doing this and I still can’t figure out why. Did he need the fame that badly?
Sixth month of the fourth year of Zhongping, 187 AD. Spring had passed and the heat of summer was beginning to rise. In the eastern fields of Taishan, the sound of farmers’ hoes rang out.
“Haa… Fuck, farming is going to kill me.”
“Still beats starving to death.”
Near Chi County, two farmers wearing threadbare clothes sat on the edge of a rice paddy, wiping away sweat as they talked.
“Last year around this time, three people in our village alone starved to death. Compared to that, these days feel like paradise.”
“You’re right. The magistrates these days aren’t squeezing us as hard, are they? I wonder what wind blew in to change things…”
“It’s all thanks to that general. What was his name again? The Black Mountain bandit, Jang Yeon.”
The moment the name left his lips, a strange silence fell between them.
“At first I thought it was ridiculous—a bandit becoming a general.”
“These days, a bandit is better than an official. Unbelievable.”
In truth, ever since Jang Yeon had taken office, taxes and corvée labor in the three counties had been drastically reduced. The phrase “enough not to die” had become an expression of gratitude among the common people. Life was still harsh and difficult, but at least Jang Yeon didn’t strip families of their very pillars.
“Plus, the general’s soldiers don’t cause any trouble. They stay quiet. When I was a kid, just hearing the words ‘Black Mountain bandits’ would make me cry. These days they just train in silence.”
In front of the farmers working the fields, children had taken some torn clothes and were playing soldier. The farmers watching them chuckled.
“When you see the soldiers running in formation every morning, beating drums as they train, they really look like proper imperial troops.”
“Who would’ve thought bandits would sweat like that during training?”
The discipline within the Black Mountain Army had grown even stricter.
Touch the people and I’ll cut your fucking hands off.
Steal grain? Try it, you son of a bitch. I’m the one feeding you—why the hell would I rip your belly open for that?
Jang Yeon’s crude threats were not empty words. The people had seen him actually cut off hands and slit bellies. At first they trembled in fear, but now they felt reassured by it.
The common people who had feared Jang Yeon when he first took office still carried some of that fear, but within it, trust was slowly beginning to sprout.
“Still, if a former bandit can do this much, he’s better than the governors the court sends down.”
“Exactly. Fuck, if a bandit keeps us from starving, he’s better than a governor any day.”
The Black Mountain region itself had improved greatly from before. Jang Yeon personally oversaw the soldiers’ training, cursing at them the entire time. As discipline took hold, the people gradually began to see the bandits as a real army.
At first, the label “bandit” had clung to Jang Yeon’s every action, but now the title “General” came naturally to the people’s lips.
Seventh month of the fourth year of Zhongping, 187 AD. I lay sprawled on the wooden floor of the general’s headquarters, fanning myself and wiping away sweat.
“Ha, fuck… why is it so hot? Feels less like sweat and more like money pouring out of me.”
Scattered before me were bundles of ledgers and bamboo slips detailing the army’s recent expenditures. Soldiers, rations, training, and even food costs—money bled out with every breath.
“Goddamn it. Feeding twenty-five thousand people is going to kill me. If I don’t start robbing again soon, we’ll barely scrape by.”
I muttered to the air and lifted my wine cup for a sip. Even the wine wasn’t as good as before. I was just wetting my throat with cheap grain liquor to save money.
As I sighed, Yeon So-yeon appeared cautiously.
“Lord Jang Yeon. A letter has arrived.”
I shot upright and took the letter she offered. The moment I tore open the envelope, only two words were written inside.
— Do Gyeom
I stared at it for a long time before letting out a small laugh.
“This old man really hasn’t changed.”
Yu Byeok, standing nearby, stepped closer.
“Is it from Do Gyeom? I believe he is still in Yangzhou…”
I leaned against the wall and unfolded the letter fully.
“They say the rebels in Yangzhou are multiplying endlessly. He’s getting old too, so he must be exhausted. He probably wants to pull out soon.”
“…Then will you honor the promise?”
Yu Byeok’s question sounded simple, but it landed heavily on me.
Honestly, I don’t have to keep it. But I did give him my word. And Do Eung is working well beside me… but still…
As I hesitated, Yeon So-yeon spoke softly.
“Lord Jang Yeon, you are no longer a mere bandit. You made that promise as Jang Yeon of the Black Mountain Army. If you break a promise made in your own name, who in the world would ever trust you again? Even if the people of the world never know, heaven will.”
I mulled over her words in a daze before answering after a long pause.
“…You’re right. Fuck. No matter how tight things are right now, I gave my word.”
I stood up and looked east. Xuzhou—that land wasn’t in complete chaos yet despite the Black Mountain Army’s presence. But even if it meant taking a loss, it was time to keep the promise.
“Yu Byeok. Start pulling our men out completely. We’ll take the loss. Those who become idle after we withdraw—put them to work in the fields.”
“What? Farming?”
Yu Byeok’s eyes widened as he sought confirmation.
“You think I’m going to let three thousand strong men sit around doing nothing? We already have too many expenses. We need to save wherever we can!”
Hearing the genuine anger over money in my voice, Yu Byeok hurriedly ran out of the headquarters.
Ha, fuck. I wish money would just fall from the sky.
Two years left.
Eighth month of the fourth year of Zhongping, 187 AD. On the surface, Xuzhou appeared peaceful. But that was only a temporary illusion. While Do Gyeom remained in Yangzhou, the noose around Xuzhou was slowly tightening.
Until recently there had been no problems. On the outskirts, remnants of the Yellow Turbans, bandits, and foreign tribes still ran wild, but in the central regions and trade routes, security had been somewhat maintained. However, starting a short while ago, merchant caravans traveling through Xuzhou began to shrink their activities, and incidents of escort guards suddenly vanishing started occurring.
“A village on the outskirts of Langya Kingdom has been raided by bandits!”
“A group believed to be Yellow Turban remnants has appeared in the southern part of Xiapi Kingdom!”
“The merchant caravans keep getting plundered!”
The number of imperial troops was pitifully small, and there was no way to respond. If the Inspector of Xuzhou had been competent, he would have taken these matters seriously and prepared countermeasures. But the man who had bought his position by offering a massive bribe to Emperor Ling was obsessed with filling his own pockets. Moreover, the governors and magistrates of Xuzhou’s various commanderies were also men who had purchased their offices. Instead of the chaos subsiding, it only grew worse.
Yellow Turban remnants, bandits, and tribes whose roots had never been pulled out—they all began to exploit the gaps in Xuzhou once more.
At a gathering of Xuzhou’s merchant leaders, representatives dressed in luxurious clothing shouted at one another with flushed faces.
“Bandits are running rampant again! What exactly is the Inspector of Xuzhou doing?!”
“When General Do Gyeom was here, none of this happened, did it?!”
“Are you insane? Do you think there are no ears here? Do you want your head to fly off before you even finish insulting the Inspector?!”
Silence fell. But soon someone muttered.
“…Still, we’ve already been plundered too much. Even the caravans from Yanzhou and Qing Province have stopped coming. At this rate, we’re all going to die.”
Into the merchants’ minds rose the image of one old general. A stubborn, sharp man who had ended Xuzhou’s chaos in a single stroke. General of the Resolute Cavalry, Do Gyeom. Only two years after his departure, Xuzhou was once again falling into a crucible of disorder.
In the Taishan General’s Headquarters, the hot wind stirred faintly each time Do Eung exhaled. His hands, which had been organizing the bamboo slips, paused for a moment. The documents he had just sorted were records of military rations and protection fees, yet his gaze was already elsewhere.
Is this really the right path…?
Raised as a Confucian scholar and as Do Gyeom’s son, he had always lived according to his father’s will. The belief that one must be fair, strict, and uphold principles had been the framework of Do Eung’s life. But lately that framework was beginning to shake.
“Jang Yeon.”
Do Eung lightly straightened the bamboo slips and repeated the name. That man was crude and vulgar, swearing at the end of every sentence. Yet he did not starve the people, he fed the soldiers who sweated for him, and he pondered sustainability rather than personal greed.
He collected tolls from merchants and turned a moderate blind eye to the magistrates’ exploitation, but he made sure no one actually starved. Thanks to that, even with exploitation, the number of people dying of hunger had decreased and the corvée burden on the common people had been reduced. His words were harsh, but his actions were different.
“Do Eung, you said the protection fee records for Langya were strange?”
“Yes, General.”
“Then investigate thoroughly and root them all out. Those sons of bitches dare try to steal my money?”
He speaks like that, yet…
Do Eung knew that Jang Yeon possessed a temperament completely different from the ideal gentleman he had learned about in Confucian studies. Yet Jang Yeon had never once doubted him. Even though he knew full well that Do Eung was sending reports to his father, he had never shown any wariness. Instead, he had given him even more responsibility, to the point where Do Eung now oversaw the entire treasury.
That trust and faith.
If only my father had shown this kind of trust…
Do Gyeom had always managed Do Eung with iron discipline and scolded him for the slightest deviation from his will. But Jang Yeon was different.
“I trusted you and gave you the job. If you think you can’t handle it, tell me. I’ll take the responsibility. Fuck, if I trusted you with it and you say you can’t do it, then you really can’t. I’m not so narrow-minded that I’d throw a tantrum over that, you brat.”
Those words had remained deeply with Do Eung. He still respected his father. But respect and trust were different things.
One day when Jang Yeon had been drinking, Do Eung had lowered his head and asked quietly.
“…General, why do you trust me this much?”
Jang Yeon had laughed heartily and poured a cup of wine.
“If you’re not here, who’s going to do the job? Betrayal? If you betray me, I’ll just cut your head off then.”
“……”
“And you’ve been doing everything I’ve asked you to do quite well so far, haven’t you? So why wouldn’t I trust you? I’ll overlook it if you skim a moderate amount of bribes, so just do your job well. Understood?”
Do Eung had quietly lowered his head.
If anything, the general is closer to a true gentleman.
That day, Do Eung felt a small, dark sense of doubt toward his own father for the first time. And that doubt quietly but surely began to tip the scales in favor of the name Jang Yeon.
Eleventh month of the fourth year of Zhongping, 187 AD. Luoyang Court.
Emperor Ling, dressed in red dragon robes, sat upon the throne. The ministers, led by Grand General Ha Jin, all pressed their foreheads to the ground and held their breath. After a long silence, Emperor Ling slowly opened his mouth.
“The world is in chaos.”
Though his voice was not loud, it echoed throughout the entire audience hall.
“The remnants of the Yellow Turbans still harm the people, and the barbarians plunder the borders. The officials who should stop them only pursue their own desires, so my children fall into suffering. They have no place to look up to, no parent to rely on…”
Emperor Ling briefly raised his gaze. Sunlight leaking in from outside the hall illuminated the incense smoke beside the dragon throne.
“As the Son of Heaven and the father of all people, I have heard their painful cries. The Son of Heaven is the father of the people. He is the one who receives the will of heaven. Therefore, I shall call myself the ‘Supreme General’ and establish a new army solely for the stability of the realm.”
The hall stirred for a moment.
What did His Majesty just say? He called himself ‘General’?
He heard the painful cries of the people?
Could it be—His Majesty! At last!
Some ministers wept with emotion, but the eyes of the eunuchs seated at the far end of the court were ice-cold. On the other hand, the faction led by Grand General Ha Jin, who had recently gained power, frowned deeply.
“I shall establish the Western Garden within the palace and place the Eight Colonels beneath it. They shall receive my will and become the blades that will pacify rebellion and turmoil throughout the realm.”
Emperor Ling immediately raised his hand and opened a register.
“Upper Army Colonel: Palace Attendant Jian Shuo. Middle Army Colonel: Colonel of the Resolute Cavalry Won So. Lower Army Colonel: Colonel of the Encampment Po Hong… Colonel of the Exemplary Army: Chancellor of Jinan, Jo Jo…”
With each name called, the ministers’ faces changed color.
“Left Assistant Colonel: Jo Yung. Right Assistant Colonel: Pung Bang. Left Colonel: Grand Master of Remonstrance Ha Mo. Right Colonel: Soon Woo-gyeong.”
Emperor Ling raised his hand once more.
“These eight colonels shall all serve under the command of Upper Army Colonel Jian Shuo, who receives my will, and shall deploy troops only upon my command. Since this army was established by me personally, it shall suppress the turmoil of the realm!”
For a moment, the court fell into a silence so deep it seemed even breathing had stopped. More precisely, the ministers held their breath within that silence, while some were so moved that their eyes reddened. Soon after, great wailing began.
“Your Majesty! Your imperial grace is boundless! Your imperial grace… is boundless…!”
As weeping spread through the court, some ministers bowed their heads with expressions of deep emotion, as if the dynasty had been reborn. Even Minister of Works Yu U pressed his forehead to the floor and muttered in a trembling voice.
“Your imperial grace shall spread across heaven and earth…”
Yet behind this moving scene, at the very edge of the hall, a thin smile rose to the lips of Jang Yang, one of the Ten Eunuchs seated in the shadows. Beside him, Jo Chung tilted his head slightly and murmured.
“Hehe, I wonder how long they will continue to cry.”
Dan Gyu silently tapped his lips with a finger, while Son Jang and Pil Lam exchanged glances. And Grand General Ha Jin was staring directly at Emperor Ling. The smile on his lips was forced, but his eyes saw only one truth.
His Majesty… is trying to check me now…
Emperor Ling had declared himself Supreme General and placed the eunuch Jian Shuo at the head of the new force, appointing eight new colonels. Many of them were close to the eunuch faction.
Your Majesty… why do you not recognize your servant’s loyalty?!
For the first time, a subtle displeasure bloomed in Grand General Ha Jin’s heart.
Meanwhile, a minister in a corner of the hall quietly spoke up.
“Your Majesty… this servant dares to report.”
All eyes turned toward him. His speech was slow, but his voice was clear.
“Reports state that the Yellow Turban remnants, bandits, and foreign tribes in Xuzhou are causing turmoil once again. The bandits are burning government offices and attacking merchant caravans… chaos is spreading across Xuzhou.”
The court stirred again. Immediately, the Palace Secretary stepped forward.
“Your Majesty. This is the perfect opportunity to test the Eight Colonels recently established in the Western Garden. We too wish to know how sharp that blade truly is.”
Another minister nodded.
“Now is the time for the army Your Majesty has created to display its might!”
The ministers’ eyes began to shine one by one. However—
The gaze of Emperor Ling, who had been quietly watching from the dragon throne, grew icy cold. He looked down at his ministers without a word. The momentum he had shown earlier had completely vanished.
“…It is still too early.”
The hall fell silent.
“The Eight Colonels have only just been established. The army is not yet organized, and equipment is insufficient. This is not a blade to be drawn lightly.”
Several ministers’ faces stiffened.
“The chaos in Xuzhou will not last long. I have already prepared a countermeasure.”
Emperor Ling slowly turned his head and toyed with a jade tablet adorned with golden decorations. His fingertips remained gentle and his tone calm, but his mind was calculating rapidly.
“The General of the Resolute Cavalry, Do Gyeom, who is currently pacifying the rebellion in Yangzhou. Dispatch him to Xuzhou to quell the disorder.”
“…!”
Grand General Ha Jin’s veins bulged at the open realization that Emperor Ling was checking him. Won So blinked. And the corners of Jang Yang’s mouth among the Ten Eunuchs curved thinly upward.
“Do Gyeom is an old general of proven loyalty who has already once pacified Xuzhou’s chaos. He will be more than capable of suppressing the disorder.”
Having made his decision, Emperor Ling rose from his seat. His red dragon robes flowed elegantly as the air in the hall gradually settled.
“The Eight Colonels are my blade. However, now is not yet the time to draw it. We must ensure the people are not cut by its edge.”
With those words, Emperor Ling slowly walked out of the audience hall. The ministers could not speak again. The brilliantly established Western Garden and its Eight Colonels. Yet their first step had been buried in shadow.