Finding a Way to Live (3)
Of course, affairs in the Central Plains prick up my ears. Jingzhou is inextricably linked to the Central Plains. Just as the Xuzhou Massacre had flooded Jingzhou with countless refugees, Jingzhou had to move in response to whatever happened there.
Liu Biao wasn't a proactive figure. He merely lorded over Jingzhou as its hegemon without seeking to expand beyond it. Thus, Jingzhou always had to focus on movements elsewhere. That went for me as much as for Liu Biao.
But Liu Bei. I knew nothing about this Liu Bei. I'd never even heard the name.
The emperors changed so quickly that even their names are hard to remember.
A country bumpkin like me had no reason to memorize emperors' names, and interest in the emperor had already waned in the Central Plains since Dong Zhuo moved the capital to Chang'an.
The Liu clan's influence had faded too.
The only Liu's I knew were Liu Biao as the prime example, maybe Liu Yu whom Gongsun Zan had killed, or Liu Zhang who had become the king of Yi Province.
But Liu Bei. Wanting to learn more, I went shopping with Seo Seo as a pretext to gather info from the townsfolk.
"Liu Bei? Oh, the one who survived against Lü Bu?"
"What... did you say?"
Survived a fight against Lü Bu?
"You mean they actually battled? Where? He couldn't have been with Cao Cao's army."
"At Hulao Pass! Liu Bei and his two brothers fought Lü Bu together, and word is the three of them nearly overwhelmed him."
"...Liu Bei personally crossed swords with Lü Bu?"
This was no ordinary guy. Even seasoned warriors who challenged Lü Bu to single combat often lost their heads flying off. Even if they ganged up three against one, surviving a blade clash with that Lü Bu was impressive in itself.
Info one: Survived a fight with Lü Bu.
"Anything else special? Like his origins or how he fought?"
"Not sure on details, but they say he wields dual swords from horseback."
"Lies."
Seo Seo shook her head.
"Who could do that? Mounted dual-wielding—I've never heard of such a thing."
"That hard?"
"Hard doesn't cover it. Wielding dual swords means balancing on horseback with just your lower body—that implies legs of steel."
"Oh...."
Info two: Liu Bei has legs of steel. And not just anyone saying it, but Seo Seo, master of close-quarters swordplay—she meant a true sword prodigy.
"Thanks for the info."
"Impressive fellow. Chased that treacherous wretch out of Xuzhou, they say? Heh, how peaceful must the land he rules be!"
Liu Bei's tales had spread even to Jingzhou. We'd heard them while investigating why Cao Cao had turned back her army, but Liu Bei was clearly no pushover.
And now Tao Qian was handing him the governorship of Xuzhou.
I didn't know much about Liu Bei yet, but one thing I could guess.
"Seo Seo. I reckon Liu Bei might be Tao Qian's hidden bastard son."
"What nonsense is that?"
"Who knows? Maybe a secret affair with some Liu clan woman. Otherwise, how could he just hand the Xuzhou governorship to some outsider?"
"You're teasing me, right?"
"Halfway."
Half joke, half serious. Who tosses around the post of Xuzhou Governor lightly? No. Like Liu Biao in Jingzhou or Liu Zhang in Yi Province, that position was the foundation for ruling as a king in those lands.
Though Xuzhou was on the brink of ruin under Cao Cao's assaults, it was still a vital hub linking north and south on the Central Plains' eastern edge.
"If this era were the Spring and Autumn Warring States period, Xuzhou could form a little 'Western Kingdom.' And he's passing the throne to someone not even his son? Unbelievable."
"So Jingzhou's the Jing Kingdom and Yi the Yi Kingdom?"
"Exactly."
"...Then maybe Tao Qian never wanted to be king of the 'Xu Kingdom.' Just an ordinary governor caught in the chaos, crushed by bad luck with Cao Cao."
What happens when a sensible bureaucrat meets an absurd tyrant? Perhaps a prime example of how chaos breaks even its victims.
"Did Tao Qian have no heir to succeed him?"
"Even if he did, he might not want to burden his kid with it. Fighting Cao Cao must've taken a mental toll—no parent wants that legacy."
"But fine for Liu Bei?"
"Must figure he's up to it."
Just what was Liu Bei? My curiosity wasn't piqued, though.
I'll learn more later.
How would he handle Lü Bu? Sun Uk had predicted Lü Bu would seek refuge with Liu Bei. If he did, what would Liu Bei do? Take in a former anti-Dong Zhuo coalition comrade?
"Seo Seo, what would you do?"
"You mean if I were Liu Bei in Xuzhou and Lü Bu, defeated by Cao Cao, begged to be a guest general?"
"Yeah."
"I'd bar the gates and tell him to go elsewhere."
Seo Seo mulled the name Lü Bu repeatedly before shaking her head.
"No matter his prowess, swapping fathers twice is too much."
With her deep filial piety, she couldn't look kindly on the profoundly unfilial Lü Bu. No one would.
"Swapping out, huh. Pretty harsh phrasing."
"But not wrong, right? Rumors say he killed Dong Zhuo and briefly called Wang Yun 'father,' so including his birth dad, that's four fathers. Who else in the realm picks parents so casually?"
"Picks parents? Heh. I've got three dads myself."
"Pardon?"
Seo Seo froze solid. I patted her stunned back to ease the tension.
"Haha, kidding. Think I'd pull Lü Bu-level stunts?"
"R-right? Haha."
"First dad abandoned me. Second raised the abandoned me. Third I didn't serve long, but I handled his funeral myself. So if you're cursing Lü Bu, don't call him a scumbag with three dads."
It stung a bit. Calling it "choosing parents" really stuck in my craw.
"Choosing parents...."
"W-well, Master. Do you know about your birth father?"
"Well...."
I'd looked into it while in Jingzhou, tracing my roots to see what my parents were.
"They're alive and well off. But I don't really want to call them parents."
"Why not?"
"They birthed me but didn't fulfill parental duties. The ones who raised me with heart—those are my parents."
"I see...."
We'd veered from Lü Bu talk, but it felt refreshing anyway.
"From the first, I got blood and flesh. From the second, I learned about humanity."
"And the third?"
"He's... a bit different."
"How so?"
"He left me a great inheritance."
Specifically, money to buy land in Heohyeon. A life mentor, really—thanks to him, I could live with ample leisure.
Long and thin. On my own terms.
"Inheritance, huh...."
"Hey, what's with those eyes? Know how vital wealth is? As the saying goes, a full granary keeps a man alive. Without it...."
Whoooosh.
A chill wind blew from the northwest.
"Even kings starve to death."
Imperial Palace.
A spider had webbed the ornate jade throne, and the gaunt young emperor perched upon it looked ready to collapse any moment.
"......."
This was the Emperor of Han, staring blankly at the crumbling ceiling as if it might cave in.
His unfocused gaze tracked a bug crawling across it.
Sizzle.
The bug fell into a web spun by two spiders on the beam. They ignored their ensnared prey, extending forelegs in a tussle over it.
"Ha, haha...."
The emperor let out a hollow laugh. Because that bug mirrored him? No. A vain hope that even devouring it might fill his starving gut.
He was that famished.
So.
"!!"
He recoiled at the savory aroma wafting to his nose. So sweet it seemed poisoned.
"Wh-when did you...?"
"I smell blood on you."
The black-haired woman approached and offered him porridge. He took the bowl but dared not lift the spoon.
"Eat. You must eat plenty in times like these."
"...Who sent you? Li Jue? Guo Si? Both? Have you come to kill me and find a new emperor?"
"Neither. I...."
She paused, then pointed at the ceiling.
"The Sun sent me."
"What...?"
"Kidding. Hehe."
Who dared joke with the emperor? But she could. The emperor was, in truth, under the protection of this woman—Jia Xu.
"May I ask Your Majesty: If heaven revealed a path to life, would you follow it through any hardship?"
"...A way for me to live?"
"Yes. Despair may lie ahead. You might climb from a well clutching a single rope toward a pinpoint of light, only to find it a mere sliver piercing solid rock at the top."
Jia Xu drew a small item from her sleeve and quietly placed it beside the throne.
"The choice is Yours, Majesty."
"......If I follow that light."
The emperor's voice cracked.
"At least I won't starve at the well's bottom, right?"
"Of course."
"Can I trust you?"
"No."
"Ugh."
He bowed his head. A tear splashed into the white porridge.
"You... are truly selfish."
"If I were truly selfish, I wouldn't be here."
Jia Xu bowed and withdrew.
"Your subject Jia Xu hereby resigns. I hope... hehe... to see you again."
Jia Xu departed.
The emperor unwrapped the small cloth she'd left.
"......."
He peered inside, then tucked it away.
Crunch, crunch.
Chewing the spoon whole, he shoveled down the porridge and rose from the throne.
The next day.
The throne sat empty.