Even a Frontal Assault, Properly Packaged, Becomes a Work of Strategic Art
"Come, all of you—look there. That is Luoyang!"
A shameful thing to shout at a ruin. And yet the mere fact of having come back to Luoyang was enough. They caught one another in their arms and wept, and at last the feeling broke loose that they were free.
"This old man... has lived to walk with His Majesty out of that escape!"
Shisun Rui too flung himself flat upon the ruined ground of Luoyang and knocked his brow to the earth, then turned to another quarter and offered four bows in succession. That, they said, was the direction of the tombs of the former emperors of Han.
I had only just set my own robes in order.
"Baijin!"
"You've come?"
The three sworn brothers of Liu Bei, out to welcome me—and with them Shisun Rui and the rest, offering their greetings.
"You are Liu Xuande? The Governor of Xuzhou whom Baijin follows."
"Liu Xuande of Xuzhou pays his respects to the Grand Minister of Agriculture."
"The Han has no shortage of heroes of the Liu clan, and yet the only one who saved His Majesty... is you."
Liu Yao, Liu Biao, Liu Zhang—and somewhere still in hiding, perhaps, Liu Ye, Liu Du, Liu Hua. In the end, the only scion of the imperial house to come to this place as a Liu was Liu Bei alone.
If one actually counted the degrees between Liu Bei and the present emperor, Liu Xie, they shared a surname and little else; the kinship was impossibly remote. But in a moment like this, were I the emperor, I would have clung to Liu Bei and called him Imperial Uncle.
And so Liu Bei stamped his face firmly into the memory of the elder ministers. While the rest of them were still offering their greetings, one figure came toward me.
"Master Zhang. On behalf of us all."
"Ah—you were the senior palace lady from the journey, weren't you?"
She still kept her face covered, nothing showing but two blinking eyes: the same enigmatic senior lady. She came up to me and bowed her head with perfect courtesy.
"I thank you with all my heart."
"That thanks belongs to the Governor of Xuzhou, who put me to use and called me here..."
"I am greeting Zhang Baijin, who saved us with his own hands."
"Ahahaha..."
She did go and pay her respects to Liu Bei in turn, of course. Then the palace women went on at a quick, mincing pace, into the burned wreckage of the imperial palace.
"Strange sort of palace woman. What's she hidin' her face for?"
"She will be a senior lady who has received the imperial favor. A palace woman graced by His Majesty may show her face to none but the emperor and the inner palace."
"Odd, though, that she named only Baijin and not our brother."
"Well, Baijin is the one who saved them and led them all the way here."
Zhang Fei grumbled, but once Liu Bei soothed him, everyone moved on as if nothing were amiss.
"We must have an audience with His Majesty. All of you, make ready."
"My lord, an audience with His Majesty requires more than the proper rites. A gift is needed."
Lu Su said it at once, and one thing came to mind. I had seen it somewhere, in some drama or other—at a time like this, when everyone has suffered, what you want for the weariness of the road and the ache of longing is something steaming, something fierce and hot—
"Make way! We bear the imperial meal to His Majesty the Emperor!"
With exquisite timing, Cao Cao came in at the head of his men. At his side, what Xun Yu carried was a great cauldron, steam curling off it in thick breaths.
"Ah, Brother Xuande."
"Brother Mengde. And that is?"
"The imperial meal, for His Majesty. I was wondering which of so many gifts I ought to present, when it happened that His Majesty said he was hungry. So I had rice cooked from our camp's military grain, slaughtered a fat horse, and boiled a meat soup to offer him. That is the errand I am on."
"Ah. Is that so?"
This was a coincidence of the cruelest kind. The moment the emperor said he was hungry, Cao Cao caught it, slaughtered a horse, boiled a meat soup, and presented it to the court. He offered the cauldron to the eunuchs before the great hall, and as he watched them carry the meal in to be served, he glanced this way and smiled, thin and sharp. Then, perfectly at his ease, he even waved a hand, as if to say, do your best.
"...So food is out, as a gift?"
"That bastard knew, didn't he? Sharp enough to slaughter a horse on the spot?"
While Guan Yu and Zhang Fei each put in a word, I spoke quietly to Liu Bei.
"Governor Liu, when we first set out, we packed a great many changes of clothes into the baggage, didn't we?"
"We did. I asked why we had to haul so many changes when we weren't going on a picnic."
"Is there any left?"
"One crimson long robe, never once worn. Two suits of jacket and trousers. Two pairs of socks."
"Then that will do."
"Surely you don't mean— You want me to offer my own clothes?"
"Of clothing, food, and shelter, His Majesty has just had the food seen to. Doesn't he still need clothing, and a place to live?"
"—!"
"As for restoring the palace where he will reside, I have jewels I gathered along the way."
Liu Bei heard that, smiled, and nodded.
"Your Majesty, your servant Liu Bei, Governor of Xuzhou, and his brothers beg audience."
"Ten thousand years to His Majesty the Emperor!"
Cao Cao, they said, had brought only his younger cousin Cao Ren, together with Xiahou Dun and Xun Yu. Of Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, Liu Bei chose me. Lu Su had yielded the place himself, telling him to take me into the audience rather than himself. They would all be received together when merits were rewarded, so for now everyone simply pushed me forward.
"You may raise your heads."
An imperial audience, set up as best they could after clearing away what remained of the burned throne. He was still a young boy, but the will that had carried him all the way out to this place was more than enough in a man, and from here on a great many things would change through the work of upholding an emperor.
"Your Majesty, these are the gifts your servant Liu Bei offers."
"This is... clothing?"
He had only just bolted down his meal, and what he still wore—who knew when he had last changed it—was a grimy set of clothes, torn and frayed all over from the road of flight.
"Your servant raced from Guanzhong to save Your Majesty, and escorted you here to this audience. It is lacking, but it is what I prepared."
Before we went in, I had said only one thing to Liu Bei.
"Governor Liu, you must offer this."
"No. Unworn or not, these are my clothes. They won't even fit His Majesty, and where does a subject offer the Son of Heaven ordinary dress instead of robes of state?"
"I'll give the explanation myself."
"You will what?"
And so, once Liu Bei had presented the clothes, he made his report.
"Your Majesty, from my youth I have been poor with words, and so I have always led brothers who could convey my loyalty in my stead. I beg you to permit Zhang Qian to speak before your countenance, and explain the loyal heart offered with these garments."
"Very well. Zhang Qian, speak."
Half the emperor's question was honest bewilderment. The other half was wounded pride of the sort that asks why one is being handed an inferior's clothes, more than twice one's own size—do I look that shabby?
"I behold His Majesty the Emperor."
"Tell me... the reason."
"Your Majesty, I was born to a merchant house that ranged the whole continent, and after I became master of it I chose Lord Liu Bei, resolved to sponsor a hero who would end this age of chaos for the sake of the Han. And so, while attending Your Majesty, I came to offer these garments."
"Yes, but why?"
"—!?"
In that instant the emperor looked Liu Bei's crimson robe over again and again.
"A crimson long robe, made in the land of the great founding emperor..."
"And I have sponsored Lord Liu Bei, who has held Xiaopei in that same Pei County, all the way to this place. Because I had heard that the Lord Liu Bei standing here is himself a descendant of the Han imperial house."
"Th-that's right. Liu Bei! At Anyi you clearly said you were a descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan."
"It is so, Your Majesty!"
"In this Han, founded by Emperor Gao and raised again by Emperor Guangwu, the only man of the imperial surname Liu to come to Us... has been you, descendant of Prince Jing of Zhongshan."
"Your servant is overwhelmed, Your Majesty!"
"I should very much like to put this on at once."
The emperor draped himself in the crimson robe—symbol of the Han, made in the homeland of Emperor Gao—and could not get another word out.
This is how you build a promotion.
Before we could even hear the praise, the audience ended and we went straight into council. This time Lu Su and Chen Deng were with us, and on Cao Cao's side of the table sat Xun Yu and Cheng Yu.
"Xuande, I'll speak plainly. I had been thinking of a provisional capital in Yuzhou."
"I was of the same mind."
"Our thoughts align, you say? Now this is truly astonishing! As expected of Liu Xuande!"
Cao Cao had meant to persuade Liu Bei to move the provisional capital to Yuzhou, and when the answer came back like that at once, he smiled.
"Good, then—let us go to Yuzhou! I have Xu County in Yingchuan Commandery in mind. The place teems with extraordinary men, the soil is fertile, and the walls are stout. Until Luoyang is restored, it will serve more than well as a provisional capital."
He spoke seeking Liu Bei's agreement, but I shook my head. Of course I did. I had settled on Yuzhou too—and on a different place.
"Brother Mengde, we both thought of Yuzhou, but our destinations differed. I chose Pei County in Yuzhou."
"Wh-what?! Xiaopei?"
"Yes."
Xun Yu stepped forward at once.
"I beg pardon for speaking out of turn, but that cannot be. Governor of Xuzhou—when you joined our lord to save the Son of Heaven, did you think of escorting His Majesty into your own domain?"
Xun Yu had stepped in. Then I had to step in too.
"I'm not sure I follow what Master Xun is saying. Governor Liu is Governor of Xuzhou, and Xiaopei lies in Yuzhou. It is also very close to Yanzhou."
"Even so, that is no land on which to raise a capital. Compared with Xu County it is badly wanting in water transport, in soil, and as a line of defense—ground unfit for a provisional capital!"
This time Cheng Yu stepped in, and he made a very large slip of the tongue.
"Are you saying the land where Emperor Gaozu, founder of the Han, was born is no auspicious ground?"
"I—I didn't mean it that way..."
"Baijin, Xu County may lie in the homeland of the great Emperor Gao, yet the place where Gaozu was actually born is Feng County, right beside it. And Pei County is ground where the threat of war still lurks—far too dangerous. That is what Registrar Cheng meant."
I was just about to answer that when—
"I report! Urgent news!"
A messenger burst in, and he was one of ours.
"What is it?"
"Governor of Xuzhou, I report in haste. Right now..."
What? I had a bad feeling.
"Wait! The Governor of Yanzhou and the men of Yanzhou are in this room. If it is a matter of Xuzhou, step outside and—"
"No, no! We'll simply withdraw."
Cao Cao took Xun Yu and Cheng Yu and walked out, and for an instant I caught a smile at the corner of his mouth.
What? Don't tell me...
"What is it?"
"Grave news. Right now, at Xiaopei, Lü Bu's army..."
"Wh-what?!"
Now? At this timing, Lü Bu hits Xiaopei again? The madman!
Liu Bei hurriedly unrolled the bamboo slip the messenger had given him, and all of us could see it.
To the Governor of Xuzhou:
Lü Bu, who has taken up position in southern Yuzhou, has invaded Xiaopei once more, and your servant Zhuge Jin is holding him. Their numbers, however, are not so great, and together with the generals remaining in Xuzhou I will stake my life to hold them. Until the Governor returns, Xuzhou will keep the enemy out without fail. This I report.
A bastard of a timing—and a timing that made no sense besides. We had only just settled on Xu County for Cao Cao and Xiaopei for ourselves, and right on that cue Lü Bu came crashing in. And if Zhuge Jin had written outright that the scale was nothing special, had they come merely to poke and see? If so, then the instant this report went up—
"What! Is that true? Lü Bu's army is moving on Pei and Liang? Isn't that Yanzhou's own front yard?"
A messenger from Yanzhou seemed to have arrived outside the tent as well. And I might have been imagining it, but unlike ours, he was shouting as if he very much wanted to be heard. Then Cao Cao came swaggering into the tent and cried out.
"Xuande! A very grave matter has arisen! That beast Lü Bu seems to have raised an army to strike at empty Yanzhou!"
Saying it right out in the open. Unfortunately, this was a trap. I had been thinking of other lands in Yuzhou besides Xu County, lands close to Xuzhou—and in the middle of that, Lü Bu moves. In the end Lu Su, Chen Deng, and I looked to Liu Bei, and Liu Bei nodded.
"By an unhappy chance, the report that just reached us said the same. Lü Bu seems to have his eye on Xiaopei as well."
"Xiaopei? Xiao—pei? Now, how shall I put this... No, no, that's not it. Yes! Xiaopei, the State of Liang, and the State of Lu all lie against one another. He means to swallow whichever of the three he can!"
Cao Cao, the corners of your mouth are hitched to your ears.
"Brother Mengde, forgive me, but I must go to Xuzhou and drive Lü Bu off."
"As you should. No—I must go as well! Let us do it this way. I too will go strike Lü Bu, and I will lend you seven thousand of my soldiers. Of course, when it is all over, they must be sent back to Yanzhou. What do you say?"
Three thousand of Liu Bei's men, plus seven thousand borrowed from Cao Cao, made ten thousand. With that he would aid Xiaopei, while Cao Cao himself led an army to plug the State of Liang and the State of Pei in Yuzhou. Cao Cao had stepped forward offering to help in person. There was nothing for it.
The emperor's move to Xiaopei was canceled. Plan B, then.
"I thank you for the offer. Brother Mengde, I'll go to the tent at once and form the army."
"Do. I'll make the report to His Majesty, so make ready quickly!"
We hurried into the tent to talk, and of course Guan Yu and Zhang Fei exploded.
Crash!
"Damn that Lü Bu! This time I'll fight him three hundred bouts and kill him!"
"I won't be left sittin' on my hands! That stray-dog whelp has to be caught for good!"
Of course that was how Guan Yu and Zhang Fei took it.
"Governor Liu, I am sorry. I never thought Lü Bu would move of a sudden, in a moment like this."
"Not at all. From this moment on, you have already rendered merit beyond what I expected."
"Did that Cao Cao not tell Lü Bu that Xuzhou stood empty?"
"Lord Yunchang, I don't believe so. Had Cao Cao done such a thing, the talk would already be that Yuzhou itself is dangerous ground, and a transfer of the capital there is impossible."
Well, it had broken Cao Cao's way all the same...
"Then what bastard picked the day so clean, this impossible moment..."
"It could be someone at court whose loyalty has gone crooked. Or there may be a capable hand among the White Wave bandits we took for mere brigands."
"I agree with Yuanlong. This is surely a third party's hand."
Chen Deng and Lu Su had the measure of it at once. And I had a fair guess who stood behind it, so there was one thing I swore in that room. The moment Liu Bei came back, that bastard was finished.
So I made the request.
"Governor Liu! Leave me even a portion of the army. And just one reliable commander..."
"Yunchang, I'll give you two thousand. Stay at Baijin's side."
"B-Brother?!"
"This is the work of attending His Majesty as well. Someone has to guard the Son of Heaven here!"
Good. With that, even if Liu Bei and Cao Cao were both gone, no one would try anything foolish.
"A truly enormous business. How did that Lü Bu shove himself into Xiaopei in the middle of all that? I'll admit it—when Xiaopei came up, my heart lurched."
Cao Cao smiled as he strapped on his armor, but Xun Yu shook his head.
"My lord, this is not a thing to rejoice over. In the end, Xiaopei and Xu County are both Yuzhou land."
"No. It is precisely a thing to rejoice over. Whoever stands behind the man who arranged this is certainly someone we are meant to strike."
Xun Yu looked at the beaming Cao Cao and asked, sidelong.
"You take there to be a strategist among the bandit bands?"
"Even under Dong Zhuo, the greatest bandit of them all, there were men who used their heads like this."
"Whatever the case, you must hurry. Drag it out, and the man who drew this picture may play another move while you and Liu Bei are absent."
"And that is why I am leaving Cao Ren, and you, is it not? I leave it in your hands."
Even if Cao Cao had not done it himself, he had come to want the fellow who drew this picture in his own grasp, without fail.
"Show Xuande a little generosity, lend him the soldiers, and suggest we go down to Xu County together. That will settle it. We'll be back before long."
"My lord, be careful. It is still Lü Bu."
"Yes. Lü Bu is a truly frightening man. He broke me once in the campaign to punish Dong Zhuo, and I paid him back in Yanzhou. One victory, one defeat."
Cao Cao was a man who turned everything into an opportunity, and Lü Bu's army in Yuzhou would be cleared away quickly. He was certain Lü Bu was only poking to test them—and that was why both he and Liu Bei meant to go, and come back at once.