The False Son of Heaven (1): Yanzhou
Cao Cao fluttered her blue fan, gazing endlessly at a pair of carp frolicking in the river below the bridge. The fish looked like a devoted couple, and she simply watched them in silence. No one dared guess what thoughts swirled in her mind. Only Sun Uk, who understood her deepest intentions better than anyone and shared the easiest conversations with her, attended her closely.
"Sun Uk."
"Yes, my lord."
"You said that once winter passed, Liu Bei and Lü Bu would turn on each other."
"Indeed."
Liu Bei and Lü Bu were nothing more than hyenas temporarily banding together to devour one another. Their alliance was built on sand, destined to crumble when one inevitably betrayed the other first.
"I heeded your strong advice against aggressively attacking Xuzhou. You said time would naturally drive a wedge between them."
"Yes, that was my counsel."
It had been Sun Uk's recommendation, and Cao Cao had accepted it. Betrayal would come soon enough. Lü Bu was the sort who had personally slain his foster fathers twice over, while Liu Bei had gobbled up his base in a flash, earning the people's trust but lacking firm support from the clans.
"Lü Bu and Liu Bei are both hyena-like scum. Right now, they're united in fear of the tiger stretching its limbs, but one of them will have to settle for scraps, driving the other to eye the bigger prize."
"Yes. That's what you told me back then. And you even said they'd quarrel over petty matters. It turned out exactly that way. Apparently, Liu Bei's brother stole the Red Hare."
"Yes. They say Lü Bu's face turned as red as the horse itself, and he flew into a rage."
"Exactly. That's how they clashed."
With so many sources of unease between them, rumors even swirled that one of Liu Bei's sworn brothers, drunk on liquor, had stolen Lü Bu's horse.
"They just bicker with words and never come to blows. Someone's bound to snap and hurl a blade at the other, but instead, they groan and stew without throwing a punch."
"It's fear of you, my lord. They itch to tear out each other's throats, but they know better than anyone that the moment they do, the tiger will rip theirs out next."
"A side effect of our army being too strong? Haha, splendid. How amusing."
Cao Cao tossed fish food from the railing. Ripples spread across the calm surface, and nearby fish swarmed the bait in an instant.
"...Even fish strike so eagerly, yet those fools show no twitch. What are we to do?"
"Worry not, my lord. The moment they move, we'll strike like lightning. We've already predicted Liu Bei and Lü Bu's every possible action and prepared countermeasures for them all."
Thus, Cao Cao's advisors had devised strategies assuming various betrayals. If Lü Bu seized Xuzhou Castle while Liu Bei shifted his forces elsewhere, they would request reinforcements from Gongsun Zan in the north or strike Yuan Shu in Nanyang. Or if Liu Bei stabbed Lü Bu in the back while Lü Bu fought Cao Cao, the army would secretly collude with Liu Bei's forces during the battle, sandwiching Lü Bu from both sides. And in the wild case where Liu Bei and Lü Bu mutually destroyed each other in madness—petty grudges between warlords had escalated into massive battles before. Hadn't Cao Cao herself mobilized vast forces over her feud with Tao Qian?
"We will not disappoint you, my lord."
"Good. I hope something stirs soon. Lately, I can't even look east at the sunrise. Every time I do, Xuzhou dances before my eyes, robbing me of sleep."
Alone together with no others around, Cao Cao turned to Sun Uk with a sly smile.
"You know how desperately I crave Xuzhou, don't you?"
"Of course. You're the one who uses anything for ambition, aren't you?"
"Haha, you make me sound like a heartless monster."
Sun Uk saw Cao Cao's ambition. Cao Cao saw Sun Uk's longing. Where it would lead was uncertain, but for now—and for the foreseeable future—their paths aligned. Expanding their power, vying for supremacy over the realm, becoming a true overlord. For Cao Cao, the grand first step was seizing Xuzhou, but regrettably, those long ears had snatched it whole.
"Xuzhou, Xuzhou. Ah, I want it so. If we hold Yanzhou and Xuzhou, we'd control the continent's waist, wouldn't we? A man needs a solid core, after all. Right, Mun-yak? What do you think?"
"......."
Sun Uk said nothing as Cao Cao patted her own waist.
"Such a bore. Fine, let's talk about your husband instea—"
"My lord! Urgent news! A messenger from Chang'an!"
"...Chang'an?"
Cao Cao and Sun Uk's expressions hardened in unison.
"Why would someone from Chang'an come to our army?"
"The Emperor has escaped Chang'an! He's seeking a Han army to protect him!"
The Son of Heaven's plea for aid reached every corner.
At that moment, in the government office of Ye Castle in Giju.
"What say you all?"
Yuan Shao first sought his advisors' opinions. For other matters, he might have consulted his generals, but this time, only those closest to him had gathered.
"Speak in turn."
"......."
No one rushed to speak. Especially the six advisors seated nearest Yuan Shao, who eyed each other or sank into thought without a word.
"My lord, allow me to speak first."
"Speak, Guo Tu."
"What meaning does the Emperor hold? In this fractured world?"
Murmurs rippled through the room. Guo Tu's bold opening shifted the advisors' faces instantly.
"The current Emperor wields no power. He's a hollow figurehead. To enshrine such a one as our realm's sovereign? I doubt we could even pay the court officials' salaries properly."
"Doesn't inheriting the Han imperial line grant legitimacy enough?"
"Heh, Master Xun You believes an empty name holds value?"
"Of course! The Emperor isn't a dead force. If he were, Li Jue and Guo Si wouldn't have chased him all the way from Chang'an toward Luoyang's west. The Emperor has value simply by being Emperor."
"Even if it's the one Dong Zhuo enthroned?"
Feng Ji cut in at Xun You's retort.
"Who is this Emperor? After the late sovereign's death, Dong Zhuo installed him—a puppet he made to serve his whims. How could our lord enthrone Dong Zhuo's creation? It contradicts the banner we raised against Dong Zhuo's coalition and defies our late lord Liu Yu's will to crown a true Emperor!"
"The Emperor's legitimacy can be forged anew with any Emperor we choose. Does Master Feng Ji intend to besmirch our lord's honor?"
"W-what?! Chunyu Qiong, you bastard!"
The man called Chunyu Qiong twisted his lips in a sneer.
"Ignoring a fleeing Emperor would earn us scorn as heartless. It's not about aiding him. It's a golden chance to wield the imperial seal and pressure the realm's warlords. Issue edicts to make them slaughter each other—how entertaining!"
"Your thinking is utterly vulgar."
"Xin Pi, what did you say?"
"Issue edicts, and they'll kill each other? Hardly. What power does an Emperor who's lost the seal even have to issue them? True authority springs from the living."
Xin Pi bowed deeply toward Yuan Shao.
"The hegemon of Hebei sits here—how could we place a mere earthworm above him!"
"Heavens, do you not see how much aid that earthworm could provide?!"
"We must protect the Emperor unconditionally! Or face humiliation from others later!"
"Protect him? Ha, Gongsun Zan will come charging in delight."
"Let him come. You've already crushed his pride at Jieqiao, my lord. Victory is already yours!"
From Guo Tu to Xun You, Feng Ji, Chunyu Qiong, and Xin Pi, they thrust their views forward, veins bulging in their necks. Yuan Shao shook his head in exasperation, drumming the armrest.
"Enough."
The room fell silent at once.
"Lu Su, what is your view?"
The sole woman among the advisors. Lu Su quietly set down her tea.
"If you enshrine the Emperor, my lord, where will you place the palace?"
"Well..."
Yuan Shao fell silent at her question.
"Indeed. I understand your intent, Lu Su."
Yuan Shao rose from his seat and drew his sword.
"In the end, it's a matter of 'I,' isn't it."
Could Yuan Shao truly accept a higher authority? Even in pretense, could he bow before the Emperor? Use honorifics and fawn over a boy emperor younger than his sons, fulfilling a minister's duty?
He was the hegemon of Hebei, yes. But Yuan Shao's pride was another matter.
"Listen well."
Yuan Shao flung the silk on the table into the air and slashed with his sword.
Shwick.
The silk split in two. The meaning was clear: one thing only.
"My Emperor is the late sovereign alone."
Yuan Shao had chosen his path.
"To issue commands to this Yuan Shao, bring an edict stamped not with Dong Zhuo's forged seal, but the true one!"
Yuan Shao ignores the Son of Heaven's plea for aid.
"What shall we do?"
"Enthrone him, of course."
"We must move before Yuan Shao does."
"A golden opportunity. Assemble swift cavalry with the generals... no, my lord, go yourself."
Cao Cao's advisors unanimously urged enshrining the Emperor.
"A tiger without teeth is still a tiger. Even in death, its pelt remains—no loss for us."
"Talents loyal to the Han court will flock to our banner."
"Rescue His Majesty and receive an edict pardoning the Xuzhou affair—how about that?"
"Excellent, splendid! Backed by the Emperor, we're invincible?! Hahaha!"
Cao Cao grinned broadly and turned to Sun Uk.
"Sun Uk! Surely..."
"In the past, Taeyang said this: Dong Zhuo's greatest fear."
Sun Uk veiled her mouth with her fan.
"'Collaborator, rebel?'"
"What? Ahaha! Spot on! Yes! Defy the Emperor's edict, and you're a rebel!"
Those who ignored the Emperor's command, disloyal to the Han court, would be traitors.
"My lord, rescue the Son of Heaven and borrow his voice and hand."
"Haha, perfect! You there—prepare for march!"
Cao Cao straightened her hair and gripped her beloved sword, the Sword of Benevolent Heaven.
"I'll escort His Majesty myself. I refuse to become a rebel. Heh heh heh."
Cao Cao accepts the Son of Heaven's edict and marches on Luoyang.