Answering the Call for Aid (2)
I decided to help Jiangxia Prefect Huang Zu.
But that didn't mean I had to follow him around.
"I'll head straight to Jiangxia first. If Sun Jian starts making moves, I'll send a fast courier right away, so please lend me your discerning eye. Hyah!"
Huang Zu was busier than I'd expected, and he firmly believed in my promise to send letters, so he set off for Jiangxia.
"He really took off in a hurry."
"Don't we need to rush to Jiangxia now to prepare for Sun Jian?"
Even while heading to Jiangxia, he'd made a detour to Xinya upon hearing Sima Hui's suggestion. I could guess why he'd come all this way.
Desperation.
He was utterly desperate. Wanting to survive Sun Jian was natural enough. But he wasn't just thinking about his own skin.
"Like anyone else, he's got ambitions tucked away."
"What kind of ambitions do you think they are?"
"Hard to say. Maybe he's a virtuous general who loves his men, or perhaps he just wants to claim a famous victory and become a renowned commander. Too soon to tell."
"Even you, who reads people so easily, can't judge him?"
"I only glanced at him briefly. Can't be sure from that."
I'd only spoken with Huang Zu for a short time. I didn't know if his desperation stemmed from loyalty—not wanting to let his cherished subordinates die pointless deaths against a powerhouse like Sun Jian—or from his own burning ambition to make it big in Jingzhou.
"But this much I know: that man truly wants to defend Jingzhou."
"Why?"
"He's not running away, at least."
If he truly cared only about his life, he wouldn't have come here.
He could've abandoned his post as Jiangxia Prefect long ago, retired from Liu Biao's service, and fled elsewhere. Or he might've bided his time and surrendered Jiangxia wholesale to Sun Jian's forces, stabbing Liu Biao in the back.
"But he doesn't strike me as the type to throw his life away defending Jiangxia, either."
"You think so too, Master Sima Hui?"
"Yeah. He didn't come here to die."
Not that he planned to toss his life away like a speck of dust or stake everything on holding Jiangxia. No—he'd live, block Sun Jian, earn fame as an outstanding general, and solidify his position in Jingzhou.
"If he really wanted to survive at all costs, he'd have considered handing over all of Jiangxia."
If I favored Sun Jian and thought he'd rule Jingzhou better than Liu Biao, I'd have urged Huang Zu to do just that.
But Huang Zu didn't seem the type.
'He bitches about it being a shit job, but in the end, he'll shoulder his responsibilities.'
Whether it turned out well or ill, he'd follow Liu Biao's orders and defend Jiangxia. He'd either live on as its guardian deity or die and haunt it as a vengeful ghost. Odds were higher for the latter.
'Not this time, though.'
If Huang Zu failed to stop Sun Jian's army, Jingzhou would fall completely into their hands. And that would plunge the realm into even greater chaos.
"Master Sima Hui, what do you think happens to Jingzhou if Sun Jian takes it?"
"It'll plunge headlong into these chaotic times."
Sun Jian's army swallowing Jingzhou would lead to one of two paths.
First: offering it up to Yuan Shu. That would give Yuan Shu a massive foundation in Jingzhou to build his power and march north on the Central Plains. Excluding the developed lands north of the Han, he'd control the granaries of Shouchun and the four commanderies south of Jingzhou—practically handing him hegemony over the center.
Or second: using Jingzhou as a base to stand against Yuan Shu.
'He could take Liu Biao's seat, ally with Yuan Shao, and make a play for it.'
By ousting Liu Biao and claiming his position, Sun Jian could stand eye-to-eye with Yuan Shu, absorb the troops "borrowed" from him into his own forces, and deal Yuan Shu a blow in manpower.
From Sun Jian's view, Jingzhou would be mouthwateringly tempting. Hell, who wouldn't covet it?
Jingzhou had everything: resources, talent, terrain—all fertile and abundant.
Except one thing: strong generals. With the Yellow Turbans and the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition making warriors famous everywhere, Jingzhou oddly had only a handful of notables.
"If I were Liu Biao, I'd turn the tables and lure Sun Jian in as one of my generals."
"Is that so? To me, Sun Jian doesn't seem the type to serve under anyone."
"He served as a guest general under Yuan Shu. Can't we handle him differently?"
"Hmm. You're saying that because you haven't met him."
Sima Hui shook her head at my assessment of Sun Jian.
"In the Spring and Autumn or Warring States era, he'd have been a king or hegemon. He's just under Yuan Shu now, but his ambitions run deep. Folks call him the 'Tiger of Jiangdong'—and I agree."
"If you say so, Master... So he's a hunting dog that'd chew through its leash and bolt?"
"Hunting dog...? Isn't that a bit harsh?"
"Harsh? Absolutely. Do you know how much trouble Sun Jian's caused this academy?"
The Jingzhou Inspector had died. Every time chaos erupted, the academy students went home. Income dried up, and I had to scrape by on scraps to keep Suyeon Academy afloat.
"Look at this sun-baked brown skin from farming. These muscles from tilling fields. Do you know about Sima Yi? A girl not even grown handles the plow better than I do. We had to farm just to put food on the table!"
"Wasn't the real hit your land prices dropping?"
"No need to say it twice... Ahem."
I cleared my throat.
"Anyway, I don't like Sun Jian."
"I get why—you hate him for tanking your land values. But his abilities are top-notch, aren't they?"
"That's the problem. I'd rather he betray us outright."
Jingzhou lacked generals.
If a battle-hardened veteran like Sun Jian joined this Jingzhou, short on even one-against-a-hundred fighters? It'd feel like gaining a thousand troops. Liu Biao would welcome him with open arms.
"Master Sima Hui, do you think Liu Biao can really keep a tiger as a house pet?"
"Wol-yeong, have you ever seen someone raise a tiger as a pet indoors?"
"Right? Normally, it'd bite the owner, no?"
"If it only bites, count yourself lucky. Tigers eat their masters."
Even if Sun Jian accepted Liu Biao's welcome, he'd eventually drive him out. One slip, and he'd kill him.
"What if Sun Jian or Yuan Shu becomes Jingzhou's ruler?"
"Neither would be good for Jingzhou."
If Sun Jian betrayed Yuan Shu and opposed him, he'd hoard Jingzhou's resources for war. If he stayed under Yuan Shu, those resources would fuel a future clash with Yuan Shao.
"Suyeon Academy goes under?"
"Xinya becomes Sun Jian's forward base for pushing into the Central Plains. It's the end of the land route from Chang'an to Yangyang."
"Perfect spot to strike north from Yangyang."
"War means requisitions—grain, men, land, everything."
All my investments in Jingzhou would go to waste, and I'd be drafted into Yuan Shu's or Sun Jian's army as some foot soldier "Kim."
'Can't let that future happen.'
To protect my assets in Jingzhou, I had to stop Sun Jian.
My best outcome: Sun Jian's failure. Sorry, Sun Jian, but if we make him never look at Jingzhou again, the province stays safe for the next 15—no, 10 years.
So how could Huang Zu beat Sun Jian?
"Master."
"Yes?"
"No matter how fierce the tiger, it can't win against wise humans, right?"
My gaze naturally turned toward the quarters where the strategists lodged.
"Let's catch that tiger."
* * *
At that moment, in Nanyang—Yuan Shu's base—a massive army was assembling.
Most wore yellow symbolizing the Yuan clan, but amid them, a middle-aged man with a red turban shook his head at the sight of the troops.
"Is it really right to attack Liu Biao with this force?"
"Haha, why worry so much?"
The white-bearded old general clapped the turbaned man's back.
"Don't fret, my lord. That Huang-whatever they propped up as Jiangxia Prefect? I can smash him with one punch."
"Isn't he the same surname as you, General? How don't you know his name?"
"Sheesh. How am I supposed to know every Huang out there? You're quite the joker, my lord. Do you know every Sun?"
"I know all my people. Ah, there's my son coming."
A young man rushed toward the turbaned man and the Huang-surnamed general. He looked just old enough to pursue scholarship, but his face lit with excitement as he clenched his fist.
"Father, let me go to the battlefield too!"
"......You brat. You're not old enough yet."
"Why not? I'm a full-fledged scholar now!"
"At least wait till you're thirty. What does Lang say?"
"General."
Another youth approached from behind the young man—similar age, with long hair and features so refined he could pass for a woman.
"I'll keep an eye on him. No need to worry."
"Haha, good. Take care of him. ...But Yuya."
The turbaned man cautiously asked the pretty youth he called "Yu."
"Next time, try a more manly hairstyle."
"!!"
The pretty youth bit his lower lip and stepped back. The turbaned man laughed heartily, clapping his son and son-like companion on the shoulders.
"Just wait a bit. Once I return victorious from this war, I'll take you both to the front."
"Father...!"
"Sun Ce, Zhou Yu. Listen well."
The turbaned man—Sun Jian—stooped to meet their eyes.
"When this battle ends, we'll break free from Yuan Shu."
Ambition blazed fiercely in Sun Jian's eyes.