The False Emperor (2)
Hwang Wol-yeong's adopted son, Cao Ang, getting tangled up in some scandalous affair with a widow quickly faded from people's attention. Most folks didn't even know Cao Cao had an adopted son, and it wasn't like some distant farmer in Ji Province named Zhang was suddenly going to see his life miraculously transformed. But if some event in the Central Plains was liable to upend my entire existence, I'd have no choice but to react with extreme sensitivity.
"I hear Yuan Shu's gone and crowned himself emperor. Even founded a new kingdom."
I gathered my disciples to discuss the current situation.
"What do you think drove Yuan Shu to claim the throne? One reason is the Han imperial house's prestige has hit rock bottom. Another is Yuan Shu's own inferiority complex. And a third is the sheer power of his forces. Let's start with Liang—give us your take on the Han imperial house."
Those were the three factors as I saw them. I directed the question about the Han house to Zhuge Liang.
"...The Han imperial house is effectively Cao Cao's now."
Zhuge Liang replied with a stony face.
"Ever since the puppet emperor took the throne, Cao Cao's wielded unchecked power. Sure, she bows her head to Yuan Shao, but she'll ram it right back up against the other warlords. Yuan Shu's no different. Right now, she's pretending to bow, but once the threats around her are cleared, she'd have come charging at Yuan Shu. In the name of the emperor."
"Exactly. Just like she did with Zhang Su—lead an army there and apply the pressure. Follow the Han imperial house, or become a rebel stirring up trouble in your corner?"
I slid my finger from Heodo across to Shouchun, where Yuan Shu held sway.
"Do you know who the court officially recognizes as the Grand Administrator of Shouchun?"
"No idea."
"Neither do I."
Zhuge Liang's expression darkened briefly.
"But we all know who the real Grand Administrator of Shouchun is. Who?"
"Yuan Shu."
"Right. Whether the court appoints someone or not, Yuan Shu can kick out any official they send and install his own man. He's basically the ruler of all Yeonam."
Yuan Shu. Back during the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, he looked weak and nasty—skimping on grain supplies to the lords, sending Sun Jian to attack Jingzhou. But he commanded forces rivaling—no, surpassing—Yuan Shao in the north.
"Rumor has it his army numbers a whopping two hundred thousand. Probably exaggerated, but even just his elite troops stationed in Shouchun must total at least fifty thousand."
That's the army that moves at Yuan Shu's direct command: fifty thousand strong. The other hundred fifty thousand are probably garrisons on the outskirts or forcibly conscripted peasants, but it doesn't change the fact that Yuan Shu wields overwhelming power.
That's why he didn't just declare himself emperor—he founded a whole new kingdom. You only pull stunts like that when you've got the muscle and the foundation to back it up.
"Yuan Shu's got an enormous base of power. Handing it all over to the Han house wholesale? Absurd. But aside from that, there's another reason Yuan Shu turned his back on the imperial house."
Of course, other factors must have played into it.
"Sima Yi, what emotion do you think Yuan Shu's harboring?"
"Inferiority complex."
Sima Yi nailed it right away.
"Inferiority toward Yuan Shao for becoming Grand General. Inferiority for failing to secure the emperor."
Yuan Shu has a massive complex about Yuan Shao. His brother has always loomed like a giant shadow ahead of him, and Yuan Shu's forever been measured against him. With rumors circulating even as far as Jingzhou painting Yuan Shu as hopelessly inferior, you can imagine how twisted up the man himself must feel by now.
"It must have grated on him that both the emperor and Cao Cao treated Yuan Shao as the top dog, when he sees himself as deserving far higher power."
"Precisely. Regardless of Yuan Shu's actual abilities, what matters is the position he imagines for himself."
Yuan Shu thought of himself as number one. But the world's judgment seemed to differ—vastly—from his self-image.
"He figured his power was more than enough to justify claiming the throne, so he did. Now, Seo Seo—what scale does he imagine his forces to be?"
"...Judging purely by land, he controls more than a tenth of the entire Central Plains."
The territory under Yuan Shu's control was currently the largest in the land. And it wasn't just Shouchun and the surrounding areas he'd long dominated in Huainan.
"Word is, one of his generals has subdued the Grand Administrators of Jianye, Kuaiji, and Wu."
"Exactly! He's taken all of Jiangdong."
They say even a tiger's son is usually a tiger, but...
"Sun Jian's rightful heir, Sun Ce, has seized nearly all of Dongwu with just a few thousand troops."
As if to prove it, Sun Jian's son Sun Ce had successfully conquered all of Jiangdong.
"They say the land he's taken with several thousand men rivals the combined size of Yan, Bing, Qing, and Xu Provinces."
He'd toppled formidable warlords on the fringes like Yu Yo, Wang Lang, and Yan Baek-ho, racking up victory after victory to emerge as a true warlord.
Yes—a true warlord.
"...Yuan Shu sees Sun Ce as one of his subordinate generals. That's why he counts Jiangdong as part of his own power."
"Isn't that right? Jiangdong's his foundation. Plenty of territory to build a new empire on."
"That's Yuan Shu's thinking. ...But don't you suppose the Sun clan's view might differ?"
In the past, when Sun Jian fell to Huang Zu due to schemes from me and Xun You, I'd looked into the man a bit. Would his heirs really come after me for revenge? I'd pondered it seriously.
And now, honestly, I was going nuts.
"Will Jiangdong's Little Conqueror, Sun Ce, really hand over every inch of land he's conquered to Yuan Shu?"
"What do you think, Master?"
"If I were Sun Ce? Hmm, I'd have to meet Yuan Shu face-to-face to judge the man, but..."
If I were Sun Ce, the answer's set in stone.
"My lord, the time has come. Declare independence from Yuan Shu."
Sun Ce stood before his assembled generals, silently gazing down at the bamboo slips before him.
"Indeed. Even treating us like hunting dogs has its limits—what kind of nonsense is this?"
"Who conquered Kuaiji, Jianye, and Wu through war? You, my lord. Yet that bastard Yuan Shu appoints his own men as Grand Administrators here and summons us back to Shouchun. What does that mean?"
"Hunting dogs."
All eyes turned to the fair-voiced youth.
"One path is to avenge your father by striking Jingzhou's Liu Biao. Another is to ally with Lü Bu and take Xiaopei from Liu Bei."
"Impossible. We've been at war for nearly two years straight. March to battle again?"
"Yes. So a choice must be made, my lord. Decide."
"...Gongjin."
"Zhou Yu stands ready."
"Our steps began at Yegang Castle, and now we've come this far. From the moment I borrowed troops from Yuan Shu, I've had but one thought."
Sun Ce raised his sword and slashed fiercely at the bamboo slips.
Shwick.
The cords binding the slips snapped, scattering to the floor. Yuan Shu's order appointing Sun Ce as a general of his "Zhong" kingdom became instant trash in a heartbeat.
Sun Ce is hereby appointed General of the Zhong Kingdom.
Obey and administer Jiangdong accordingly.
"The Sun clan is no one's bastard pup. We've worn the collar until now, but it's time to snap it and soar free!"
Sun Ce thrust his sword skyward and roared.
"I'll send a manifesto to the court! We'll crush the traitor who dares mock the Han house and usurp the throne!"
"""HwAAAAH!!!"""
The long era of oppression and humiliation was finally over.
"But my lord, our strength alone won't suffice. Yuan Shu's forces are far too mighty."
"We must join with those facing him head-on: Cao Cao, Liu Bei, Lü Bu. We must pull those three in."
"Agreed! Send envoys to each. If this alliance fails, Yuan Shu will come for us first."
Yuan Shu's army: two hundred thousand. Sure, most were useless peasant levies who could barely fight, but Sun Ce's forces numbered less than ten thousand.
"Let's form the Anti-Yuan Shu Coalition."
They had to link up.
"Today, I, Sun Ce, shall be reborn as a true warlord here in Jiangdong!"
Sun Ce declares independence from Yuan Shu.
"You don't buy land that's one bad shake away from collapsing. Weak foundation means you can't even build on it properly—crops fail, structures topple. Why bother?"
The "Zhong" kingdom Yuan Shu founded was a house of cards. He dreamed of being another Liu Bang, founder of Han, but in truth, he was just another rebel in the Central Plains' bloody history.
"Sun Ce's the new Lü Bu, Yuan Shu's the new Dong Zhuo. History repeats."
"So Yuan Shu dies, and Sun Ce wanders?"
"No need to guess. If it were me, I'd petition the emperor with an edict claiming no ties to Yuan Shu and distance myself hard."
Sun Ce would ditch Yuan Shu. It was the path to survival for him and his faction.
...So should I help Yuan Shu out of worry that Sun Ce might avenge his father on me later?
No.
"Yuan Shu has to die. It's good for everyone."
Him falling here benefits all sides in so many ways.
"Not because I hold some grudge against him."
"A grudge?"
"Yeah."
Yuan Shu had founded a new kingdom. With his visible might and even Jiangdong under thumb, everyone hoped something new might emerge.
"My land in Heodo..."
"Ah."
It hadn't risen in value as much as it should have.
Even with Zhong's founding—which should've spiked land prices—my Heodo holdings had barely budged.
"Zhong's establishment killed the momentum; Heodo prices should've soared higher, but they just crept up a bit."
Should've tripled; doubled instead.
Forgive you? Never, Yuan Shu.
"Time to write some letters. Everyone, gather 'round—we'll brainstorm together."
Me. Sima Yi. Zhuge Liang. Seo Seo.
The four of us set to devising a plan to crush the traitor Yuan Shu.
Definitely not because he'd bought up every last drop of honey, jacking the price sky-high so I couldn't get my fix.