Lü Bu Subjugation Battle (4)
Two weeks earlier. Before Lü Bu's army discovered the letter revealing that Liu Bei was colluding with Cao Cao.
"Why don't you join the campaign and observe the battlefield yourself?"
Xun You made the suggestion directly to me. It was sudden, but knowing I bore some responsibility for the Xuzhou campaign, I couldn't bring myself to refuse.
"With Geum Taeyang by my side, it feels reassuring just having you there. You'll be able to judge whether my proposal to Lord Cao Cao is sound."
Xun You had been appointed chief of staff for this Xuzhou campaign. Even with Xun Yu, who was held in even higher regard, I had no idea why Cao Cao had specifically chosen Xun You for the role. Xun Yu herself had explained that Xun You's tactics were better suited for sharper, more ruthless maneuvers. In other words, Xun You's strategies were colder and more incisive than Xun Yu's. While Xun Yu's approach leaned toward Liu Bei's style, Xun You's aligned more with Cao Cao's. That didn't mean Xun Yu was particularly in sync with Liu Bei as lord and vassal, but relatively speaking, she was more merciful.
Even so, I decided to join as a sort of unofficial aide to Xun You. It was more like an observation trip, and I wondered if it was appropriate to do this during an actual war to subdue Lü Bu, but fortunately, Cao Cao had readily approved.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Cao Cao."
"......"
"Haha, why the frozen stare? Am I that intimidating?"
"Ah, no, sir. It's an honor to meet you, Grand General."
Honestly, meeting Cao Cao left me utterly terrified. I hadn't even imagined I'd meet her in person. Her overwhelming presence made me feel like she could devour me on the spot. That single streak of white hair in her bangs—a supposed sign of emerging troubles—was an oddity I couldn't ignore. But the most shocking thing was how she didn't look much different from her adopted daughter, Cao Ang. They could pass for sisters, and if she toned down the makeup around her eyes, they'd be indistinguishable—twins, even the same person.
"......." No way.
Even thinking back on it gave me chills at the mere possibility. Thankfully, when I asked Guo Jia, Xun You, and Xun Yu, they confirmed it wasn't the case. If Cao Ang was just Cao Cao in disguise, I'd have to applaud the sheer audacity. Fabricating a nonexistent person just to let a mere scholar like me vent insults to her face, all while laughing it off nonchalantly—that's true hero of chaos for you. And I'd be dead meat.
One more thing: joining the campaign really opened my eyes to all sorts of things. I'd already experienced real combat fighting Zhang Ji's and Yuan Shu's forces, but witnessing the world's top warriors in action filled me with awe. It also reassured me that we could save Liu Bei's army, just as Zhuge Liang had hoped. As she said, it felt a bit tragic to see someone like that crushed in the Central Plains.
But then.
"Pleased to meet you. I'm Liu Hyun-deok."
"Ah, yes. What... what brings you here?"
"Just came to ask. As a strategist for Cao Cao's army, how do you view this situation?"
"......."
Officially, I'd joined the battlefield as Xun You's aide. No real duties, just wearing the aide's uniform. So I might look like one of Cao Cao's strategists. I had no idea why he'd approach me specifically.
"Do you know me?"
"No. That's why I came to ask. No one else under Lord Cao Cao watches the battlefield with eyes like yours."
"My eyes?"
"Yes. Your eyes."
"What do you think my eyes are seeing?"
"Well, to put it simply."
Liu Bei pointed to the corpses strewn across the battlefield.
"You look at soldiers not as mere troops, but as individual people. That's why I came to ask."
"...I'm not sure I see them that way."
It felt like he'd seen right through me. The chill of having my inner thoughts exposed made my skin crawl. What sly fox hid behind that likable face? My nape prickled suddenly.
"They're the enemy. I might feel sorry for our own losses, but pity for the enemy's deaths?"
"Then I apologize. I was just reminiscing about my old self and overstepped. Haha. Sorry if I offended you."
To the outside world, I was just one of Cao Cao's minor staff officers. Yet he apologized to me like this? I truly couldn't fathom his intentions. What was his game? Did he know I had influence at Suyeon Academy and was approaching to recruit talent? Or targeting Zhuge Liang, perhaps?
"......."
"Haha, no need to be so guarded. I just noticed some young men on the battlefield and got curious."
"Young men?"
"Yes. Pleased to meet you. What's your name?"
Liu Bei even bowed his head to Zhuge Liang, who was much younger. She too was dressed in a temporary Cao Cao army uniform, just like me.
"...Sima Seo."
Suddenly, Zhuge Liang poked me from behind. I couldn't understand why she was hiding her real name, but...
"I'm Sima Seo. This child is my disciple. It's her first time on the battlefield, so I'm watching over her."
"I see. So Cao Cao's army trains its young talents by exposing them to real combat."
Ah. Now I understood why Liu Bei approached us.
"You're scouting for talent. Looking for those who waver."
"......Don't misunderstand. Otherwise, it looks like I'm trying to poach you for my own side."
The fact that he'd thought deeply before speaking meant he had that intent. The picture was coming into focus. Fresh-faced aides shaken by the horrors of war that Cao Cao had unleashed. He'd approach with his friendly face, offer comfort, and subtly suggest they leave Cao Cao for him.
"You'll see scenes like this for the rest of your life. If you get sick of it, come find me."
"What difference would it make? You don't even have a base."
"Haha, we can build one. For instance, if you joined..." Hmm, sorry. Excuse me.
What was scary was that this man, Liu Bei, genuinely believed he could realize his ambitions better under his own command than under Cao Cao's. If I'd been ambitious for office and enlisted with Cao Cao, I might have been swayed by his words. A man with nothing to lose is the most dangerous. And what was truly terrifying was that he seemed different from the boastful frauds. He was the type to gather people and stir up something massive.
"May I ask Lord Hyun-deok one thing?"
Oh no. Zhuge Liang had bitten the bait Liu Bei dangled.
"You've been saved by Cao Cao. What will you do now?"
"......."
Liu Bei had two paths. We hadn't heard his decision from Xun You yet—or perhaps he hadn't told Cao Cao—but he'd likely made up his mind. Stay holed up in Xiaopei. Or advance on Xuzhou Castle with Cao Cao. Probably the latter.
"We must reclaim Xuzhou Castle. No—reclaim all of Xuzhou from Lü Bu, little Miss Sima."
"And hope to become Inspector of Xuzhou?"
"I've never once desired the post of Inspector of Xuzhou."
His words surprised both me and Sima Seo—Zhuge Liang.
"I became Inspector out of necessity, never because I wanted it."
"What necessity?"
"The need to protect the people where I am."
"......."
Liu Bei turned east with a bitter smile.
"In the past, I became Inspector of Xuzhou to protect its people from Cao Cao. Now, I'll move to protect Xuzhou's people from Lü Bu. I hear Cao Cao's army has devised a truly ruthless plan?"
"To call it ruthless in front of Cao Cao's army..."
"Haha, I said it outright in front of Lord Cao herself. I don't know who devised it, but it's truly cruel."
"......."
The part Liu Bei called cruel had come from our own minds.
"Labeling them traitors. I know Lü Bu once sought a marriage alliance with Yuan Shu, but dragging up something from so long ago to corner him now is masterful. And pinning it solely on the 'Lü clan' is even more so."
Liu Bei shook his head in disbelief.
"Not just the Lü clan, but everyone working for Lü Bu will be branded traitors. Perhaps even innocent Xuzhou soldiers."
"Do you pity them, Lord Liu? Do you see them as people too?"
Liu Bei had said he came because he pitied the dying. But now it felt like he meant the people of Xuzhou.
"They're bandits. Thieves who live by seizing others' possessions. Just ones who failed to steal a kingdom and got caught, now facing death."
"I know. I'm not pitying them. What I mean is..."
Liu Bei was genuinely sorrowful.
"The common people of Xuzhou who suffer caught between the quarrels of the high and mighty. Lü Bu is the true thief, but I'm just worried that because of him, all of Xuzhou's people will be labeled traitors and die."
"...Aren't you one of the high and mighty?"
"Right, you claim descent from Prince of Zhongshan Jing."
"Haha, that's true. But how many Lius are there in the realm? Maybe even someone without Liu blood but with imperial lineage—like a woman of the imperial clan, say, carrying a princess's blood."
Liu Bei silently lifted his gaze to the sky.
"I've thought about becoming a high official. If I hadn't, I wouldn't have accepted Inspector of Xuzhou. But I'm not attached to the position. I just do what I can."
"Gather people, become a warlord—what then?"
"......That's hard to say. Haha. If the day comes when you leave Lord Cao Cao, come find this Liu Hyun-deok."
Liu Bei nodded lightly and turned away.
"With power like Cao Cao's army, do you think you could pacify the realm?"
"......At the very least."
Liu Bei.
"I'll do my utmost to prevent tragedies like Xuzhou's and wars like this. To minimize the deaths."
Was it sincere, or an act? I couldn't view with pure eyes someone who'd approached with intent.
"...He seems like a good person."
Sima Seo—no, Zhuge Liang—shook her head, watching Liu Bei's retreating figure.
"Whether he'll be the same in ten years."
"What do you think? We even ended up talking directly."
"He seems good. As a person."
Zhuge Liang looked up at me with a smile.
"But you taught me, Master, that being a good person isn't enough to survive in this world."
"......I did."
I patted Zhuge Liang's back.
"I don't know how long that man will stay good, but that's what I felt. Even if he's good like me, there's a decisive difference."
I'd seen it facing Liu Bei eye to eye.
"There are two ways to purify a filthy stream. One is living in it and changing it bit by bit. The other is rising from it as a dragon to control the winds and rains, cleansing the whole land."
This man called Liu Bei.
"He wants to become a benevolent dragon."