Ways to Survive in Chaos (4): "Liu Bei Seeks Refuge in the Han Court"
"Liu Bei wishes to entrust himself to the Han imperial family," Cao Cao said, and all her generals nodded in unison.
It was the most obvious next step anyone could imagine—Liu Bei throwing himself on the mercy of Cao Cao's army—and now they were in a position to actively support him.
"My lord, can't we just ignore Liu Bei?"
"No, general. If we turn our backs on a man who was carrying out the imperial court's orders and now finds himself in dire straits, who would ever obey the Han court again?" That was the reasoning.
"I don't like the man much, but this is a chance to restore some dignity to the Han imperial family. Yes—protecting the feudal lords in the name of the Emperor."
Cao Cao fiddled with the silk cloth beside her seat and flashed a sly grin.
"Before long, the lesser warlords will one by one declare themselves servants of the Han court. Once that's done, all we'll need to do is crush the major traitors."
"Who are the traitors?"
"For now, Lü Bu and Yuan Shu. Heh."
Lü Bu's crimes: Expelling the court-appointed governor of Xuzhou and seizing the province for himself.
Yuan Shu's crimes: Openly preparing to declare himself emperor from his base in Shouchun, and refusing to deny it.
Those two for starters. In truth, anyone lording over a region like a king without court approval could be called a traitor, but the imperial family had bestowed real titles on a few of them, tacitly acknowledging their dominance—for the time being.
"We'll grant the newly sworn servant of the court, Liu Bei, the position of Governor of Xuzhou. Then station him in Xiaopei to serve as a bulwark against Lü Bu."
"The tables have turned."
Lü Bu had once stood against Cao Cao's army with Liu Bei at his back.
Now Liu Bei would stand against Lü Bu's army with Cao Cao at his back.
Same place, Xiaopei—but the alliances had flipped completely.
"Before we launch a full campaign to subjugate Lü Bu, we should tidy up the threats closer to home. Jeong Uk, the map."
"Yes, my lord."
As the map of the central plains unfurled, the generals scanned the warlords near Xuzhou and sighed.
"Yuan Shao in the north. Li Jue and Guo Si in Chang'an. Liu Biao in Jingzhou. Lü Bu in Xuzhou. Yuan Shu in Shouchun. And now one more."
"Zhang Su in Wan?"
"Yes. Nephew of Jang Je. He escaped Chang'an and set himself up in Wan. Word is Jang Je was killed while plundering northern Jingzhou."
"Leading private troops to seize a city and make it his base? Textbook traitor."
Cao Cao repeated Zhang Su's name a few times, then shook her head.
"Nephew of that fool who once insulted the imperial family—he's surely got his eyes on the court."
"Dangerous. He could threaten both Chenliu and Heohyeon at once."
Heading northwest from Wan, the mountains split into two major passes: northeast to Chenliu, southeast to Heohyeon.
"What if we build fortresses along the roads? We'd be ready to respond anytime."
"That would provoke not just Zhang Su, but Liu Biao in Jingzhou too."
"So who do we strike first? Crush Zhang Su and Liu Biao, and then Yuan Shao becomes the worry."
"Yuan Shu isn't fighting Liu Bei right away either—he might march on Heohyeon."
"Hahaha, they're all itching to stab us in the back."
Cao Cao rose from her seat with a refreshing smile.
"Still, it's harvest season—they won't start a war now, right?"
"Yes. Even if they send troops onto our lands to reap the fields, there'd only be scraps left after our harvest."
"Winter's coming too—no major campaigns anytime soon."
"Good. Very good. In that case..."
Cao Cao pointed to the spot marked Heohyeon.
"Fortify our defenses everywhere, then escort the Emperor to Heohyeon."
There were traitors aplenty in the land, but to crush them, the world first needed to see that the Han court still lived.
"Farmers will be out in the fields during harvest—they'll cheer without us even mobilizing them."
Cao Cao relocates the capital. To Heohyeon, renamed Heodo.
Xiaopei Castle.
Too small for a true city, too large for a mere fortress—this place seemed to prove that "if you're calling it a castle, it has to be at least this size."
Defending Xiaopei was Governor of Xuzhou Liu Bei, appointed by the court after his demotion from Xuzhou governor. He harbored no complaints.
He might feel a twinge of resentment toward the imperial family, but complaints? No—he couldn't afford those.
Not when his sworn brothers' blunder had caused the mess.
If anything, he was grateful the court had given him another shot as Governor of Xuzhou despite the failure.
"Hah! Hyaah!"
The bearded brute Zhang Fei, sweating buckets, swung his spear to drill the soldiers mercilessly.
His grueling regimen left troops collapsing in exhaustion.
"On your feet! Move! You won't last five minutes against Lü Bu's men at this rate—your heads'll roll!"
Zhang Fei pushed them relentlessly. Some deserted midway, but no one dared complain about his brutal training.
"Next squad! Come on! Hit me, and that guy's off duty today!"
Zhang Fei wielded a staff against five-man teams in succession. Soldiers formed lines to take him on, but none prevailed.
This was Zhang Fei sober and serious—no booze. No one could touch him lightly.
"Yun Chang."
"Yes, brother."
"If this Zhang Fei fought Lü Bu now, who wins?"
"At least three hundred clashes of spears, minimum."
"And after?"
"The one whose horse tires first loses."
"Hah. So it comes down to the horse, not the man."
Patrolling the training grounds, Liu Bei sighed at the cavalry drills.
"In the end, it's our lack of foundation that hurts us. Lucky Cao Cao took us in—otherwise, we'd be gnawing pine needles on the roadside."
"...Many Xuzhou recruits have deserted. If not for Cao Cao's aid, we'd have been in real trouble."
"Watch it. It's the imperial court, not Cao Cao."
"My apologies, brother."
Pride? Or loyalty to the Han? Liu Bei hammered home that their support came from the court, not her.
"Cao Cao's just a servant of the Han too. No matter how high she flies, she's under the Emperor."
"...But brother, what you said last time when you were drunk."
"Ahem."
Guan Yu shut his mouth at Liu Bei's warning glare. Too risky with others around—especially "Cao Cao's reinforcements" training nearby.
"Just as Cao Cao framed her attack on Yuan Shu as an imperial decree on the surface, we must see these troops as sent by the Emperor himself."
Liu Bei clenched his fists, grinding his teeth.
"Yes. The Emperor's reinforcements to drive out that fatherless cur Lü Bu."
Liu Bei was visibly uneasy. Normally he'd call off Zhang Fei's harsh drills with a "that's enough," but now his own eyes burned.
With his wife left behind in Xiabi, who knew what she faced? He tossed sleepless nights away in worry.
"If—if Lü Bu so much as lays a finger on my wife..."
He turned west.
"By any means necessary, I'll have that bastard's head."
That same moment, in the Xiabi Castle camp.
"We should use Liu Bei's wife as a hostage to force him against Cao Cao."
"Isn't that going too far?"
"Too far? Our reputation's already in the gutter."
"Grab someone else's family, and yours becomes the next hostage."
Three generals gathered in the Xiabi camp for "military training" were debating how to sway Liu Bei.
The method? Hostage, naturally—his wife, Lady Gan.
"What does the advisor say?"
"She says hold her tight and never release. Ruthless, even for a woman talking about another."
"Yeah, she knows how Lady Yeo gets around pretty girls."
Lü Bu. Pretty women.
...If she weren't Liu Bei's wife and such a valuable hostage, she'd have met a grim fate already.
"Still, they say Lü Bu's treating Liu Bei's wife with utmost respect?"
"Respect? You know what that means with our general. Same as with Lady Cho—his old affliction acting up."
"Sending silk and grain to Lady Gan's house—was that his idea of 'courting'? Insane. Got two wives already, now eyeing another man's."
The subordinates shook their heads.
"Good thing it's not my wife."
"Amen to that."
"......"
One general couldn't speak. He shot a pitiful glance at the relieved man, then forced a smile.
"But... is Liu Bei's wife really that pretty?"
"Yeah. Honestly, way prettier than the general's big sister-in-law."
"They say she rivals Lady Cho?"
The three swallowed hard in unison.
"Then she's done for, right?"
"Done for? Ahem, careful what you say."
"Who knows. The general loves women so much. Maybe he's hot for Cao Cao too—that's why he's obsessed with catching her."
"Hm..."
The generals couldn't deny the thought nagging their minds.
"You all know how he melts for women."
"Right. That's why our General Lü... ahem, loves the ladies so."
"Word is... whoa."
They scrambled to school their faces. Approaching the camp was a group including Lü Bu's first wife—and other beauties.
"......Whoa."
A pink aura that suited her perfectly. A national beauty if there ever was one—anyone could see it.
And beside her, another woman.
"......Damn."
"What's Lady Gan's name again?"
"Something like Gan or Gan... anyway... wow."
The three could only smack their lips and wag their tongues.
"I serve under Lü Bu, but if he stole a wife like that? I'd lose my mind."
Lady Gan trailed Lü Bu's wives with a gloomy face, staring west.