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Indeed. Looking forward to the rest of it but have fun with that Thesis.
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Only if that neighborhood is over 3/4ths of a mile away from a school. To be fair he is probably too busy to do anything
You produce much more content than me in a much faster time. Don't worry about anything.
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195-196: Not the War you Hoped
195-196: NOT THE WAR YOU HOPED
Xuan Su had spent the last few years removing rivals that could hinder his rise within Lü Bu’s inner circle. After the removal of Xu Rong, he had finally achieved his goal to become Lü Bu’s number two, accompanying his lord on his campaign against the Black Mountain Bandits. He had finally risen to the top… only to become the scapegoat for all the problems this campaign faced. It was a slow affair, something Lü Bu had no patience for. Xuan Su’s efforts to calm his master only made things worse, and soon he found himself reassigned to the defense of Bing Province, away from the battlefield. This demotion from active command left a bad taste in Xuan Su’s mouth. He had done all in his power to ascend, yet his ambitions had been thwarted by the foul mood of his lord. But he didn’t lament his fate for long, instead deciding to do as best he could with what he was given. After all, he was now in charge of the province once again, even if it was only under Lü Bu’s authority. So he turned to what he always did when Lü Bu left him in charge of Bing: expanding his territories.
After looking at his various neighbors, Xuan Su’s attention fell on Guo Wen, the Administrator of Yanmen Commandery. Guo Wen had been around for a while, being first appointed to his commandery at the start of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in 184. Since his appointment, he showed little to no talent in his duties, and so found himself stuck there for the last decade without any possibly of promotion. This also meant that he was left out of the loop on most events that shook Bing Province and the Han Dynasty since the rise of Dong Zhuo, as no one saw any advantage in letting him in. Guo Wen could see how people saw him as a handicap instead of an asset, which had started to make him resentful of others. He was especially jealous of Xuan Su, who had risen from a nobody to Lü Bu’s right-hand man in the span of four years. Xuan Su decided that it might be better to remove him before he tried anything against him. Guo Wen might not be the smartest man around, he was known to be quite bold. Striking first thus seemed like a safe bet.
As he was the regent of Bing Province in Lü Bu’s absence, Xuan Su had a lot of authority to abuse to his advantage. Feeling empowered, he did the same as he did the last time, accusing his target of being a traitor. He sent a letter to Guo Wen, telling him that he was considered a traitor and should surrender his territories to him or face the wrath of Lü Bu. Instead of bowing to the demands, Guo Wen panicked and sent pleading letters to Lü Bu. He trusted that Xuan Su was honest, but he also believed that Lü Bu might be willing to forgive him if he pleaded enough. For his part, the Inspector of Bing Province had no clue what this whole affair was about. He was on campaign and had just sent Xuan Su home, so what were these treason accusations that were being thrown around? He sent an angry reply to Guo Wen, telling him he didn’t know what this was about and to not bother him with this nonsense.
Realizing he had been played, Guo Wen now answered back to Xuan Su, who had also been made aware of Lü Bu’s knowledge of the situation. Guo Wen’s answer to the repeated demands of Xuan Su could be summarized in two words: “Make me.” Xuan Su thus tried his other approach, which was to trick his opponent into coming to the provincial capital, where he would be captured and executed. But by now Guo Wen was convinced that this was all a ploy by Xuan Su to take his territories (which it was) and refused to come. Instead, the administrator assembled his troops to protect himself. Using this as an opportunity, Xuan Su assembled his own men in late March 195, declaring war on Guo Wen. Using his power and connections, Xuan Su did his best to portray himself as the hero trying to put down an unlawful rebellion. He hoped this would be an easy war, unaware at the time that he just launched himself into a quagmire that would last more than a year.
Surprisingly, even with all the territories under his control, Xuan Su barely had two hundreds more men than Guo Wen. While he held massive territories, most of it was on the northern border, where few people lived due to the barbarian raids. Still, he had the numerical advantage. Planning for a quick war, he tried to goat his enemy into a battle to his advantage. He expected Guo Wen to be bold and too trusting of his intelligence network, which had already been infiltrated by Xuan Su’s agents. Yet for the next two months, there was no movement on Guo Wen’s part. The man wasn’t even avoiding battle. He simply refused to move. Xuan Su didn’t expect this, so he instructed his spies to find out what was going on, especially as his supply lines began to be raided by small squads of enemies.
As it turned out, Guo Wen had found himself a military advisor for this campaign, someone right out of Xuan Su’s past. Since his duel with the northern man in 190, the Xiongnu general Uchjulu had been forced to flee north, where he joined the Northern Xiongnus until he was kicked out over a personal feud, right before they were attacked by Lü Bu. He then offered his services to the Black Mountain Bandits, although he was only given garrison duties in their northern territories. He stayed there until 195, when it became clear to him that Zhang Yan was doomed and that his cause was not worth fighting for. When he learned that Guo Wen was seeking officers against Xuan Su, the barbarian quickly seized on the opportunity to fight his old adversary.
Xuan Su was actually happy when he learned that the Xiongnu was here. In the few duels he had done over the years, the one against Uchjulu had been the only one where his opponent had managed to escape. Now he could kill two birds with one stone. But Uchjulu was not going to make it easy for him. Remembering his own failures years ago, he advised Guo Wen to never engage the enemy, as Xuan Su was smart enough to always turn the situation to his advantage. Guo Wen, who was no military leader, relied heavily on the barbarian, and even agreed to let him lead small raids on Xuan Su’s supply. These raids were highly successful, making any rapid advance impossible.
For the next months, both armies either refused to move or played a long game of cat and mouse, with no battle or even skirmish fought between the two. This was starting to annoy Xuan Su, as many expected Lü Bu’s campaign to end by late autumn. If this little war was still going on when he came back, who knew how he would react. He might shrug it off and ignore it, or he might get into a rage and decide to have both men killed. In order to get things moving, Xuan Su threw his enemies a bone. He left a pass to his territories completely unguarded, which would allow them to move against some of the towns in his main territories. While Uchjulu believed it was a trap, Guo Wen bravely decided to lead the troops through, eventually reaching the other side and besieging a northern town. The problem was that it left the entrance to his own territories undefended.
So Xuan Su moved forward, finally attacking a city under Guo Wen’s control. Within a month, the city had surrendered to him. Meanwhile his enemies were still struggling in their own siege. Xuan Su was ready to advance deeper into enemy territory, but he would soon find it impossible to do so. While Xuan Su was excellent at warfare, his subordinates weren’t. One of them had to be left in charge of the supply, and soon enough Uchjulu launched a devastating raid that the subordinate was unable to handle, fleeing instead of fighting. Adding to this the large quantity of supply that was lost during that flight, and Xuan Su had no choice but to go back home due to the supply problems. This allowed Guo Wen and Uchujulu to retake the city that had been captured. And just like that, everyone was back to square one.
In November, Lü Bu finally defeated Zhang Yan and the Black Mountain Bandits, successfully conquering their territories before Gongsun Zan’s men could. As soon as he was back into Bing proper, the Inspector of the province found himself bombarded by messages from both sides, each demanding that he supports them in the conflict. Lü Bu was enraged, but also didn’t care at all about this little feud. He sent messengers to both, telling them to deal with their little feud by themselves and stop bothering him with it. Xuan Su also received criticism for taking advantage of Lü Bu’s absence for his personal gains (Lü Bu not aware or caring that Xuan Su had done the same before). As punishment, Xuan Su was relieved of his duties to Lü Bu and consigned to his northern domains until he ended this mess. Frustrated and not a bit resentful about this treatment, the scheming general still considered himself lucky that Lü Bu hadn’t taken more direct actions against him.
But by March 196, nothing had moved. It had been a year, yet no real battle had ever been fought between the two sides, and no gain had been made. In an attempt to break the deadlock, Guo Wen reached to another administrator of the province, and old man named Cui Jun. Cui Jun was in charge of Xihie Commandery, just south of Yanmen Commandery. If Cui Jun joined in the fighting, this might allow Guo Wen to gain the upper edge. The old administrator agreed to meet his messengers, but only because he wanted a concubine and hoped that Guo Wen could give him one. While the messengers tried to suggest the idea of an alliance against Xuan Su, Cui Jun kept coming back to the subject of the concubine. It got back enough that Cui Jun finally said “Just send me a good girl. Only then will we speak of alliance.” When the messengers came back, Guo Wen decided to send a concubine to Cui Jun, trusting that this would be the first step of his old neighbor entering the war. The second he had his concubine, Cui Jun stopped answering Guo Wen’s letters.
By May, the conflict had not advanced at all, which was turning into a massive annoyance for Lü Bu. At first, he simply didn’t care what his subordinate were doing, as long as hey did it outside of his court. But now he was setting his sight east, and he needed all the resources of Bing to achieve his ambitions. Having the whole northern border in chaos was not acceptable. So he delt with the problem in the most brutal way possible. He sent his general Zhang Yang with orders to end the fighting once and for all. Zhang Yang, who had become Lü Bu’s most reliable officer during the recent campaign, quickly agreed to the task he was given. He went north and sent missives to Xuan Su and Guo Wen, telling them to stand down or face the might of his army. Not wanting to fight the army sent under their lord’s orders, both men chose to stop. Uchjulu, guessing that he would not be welcomed in Bing once the war was over, fled Bing to go north, offering his services to Buguden Khagan of the Xianbeis.
After the two stood down, Zhang Yang forced them to come to the negotiation table to find a lasting compromise. This was perfect for Xuan Su, who was able to manipulate things to his advantage. In the end, Zhang Yang agreed that Yanmen Commandery would be better ruled by Xuan Su. After all, Xuan Su had done a terrific job protecting the border, with the local Chinese settlers seeing him as their hero and protector. His cynical views also left him with no animosity for the barbarians, who were surprisingly well treated within his territories. Meanwhile, Guo Wen’s commandery was a mess. Better to leave it in competent hands. Guo Wen did gain something out of it though, being guaranteed a position among Xuan Su’s advisors and a veto on any decision within Yanmen Commandery. The negotiation came to a conclusion in June 196, with those terms agreed by everyone.
Of course, Xuan Su had no desire to respect his part of the deal. He had only agreed because at the end of the day, he would be the one with power and territories, while Guo Wen would be left as the weak magistrate of a small city. As soon as he had affirmed his authority over Yanmen Commandery, he would rescind on his promises and leave Guo Wen powerless. He suspected that by then Lü Bu would be busy with far more important matters to care about a small magistrate’s complains. And he was right. In September 196, using the opportunity that Gongsun Zan was distracted by a war in the east, Lü Bu launched an invasion of You Province, planning to take it from Inspector Liu Yu. This would prove the first move of a conflict between the three warlords, a conflict that would eventually result in northern unification.
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PS: FInished all my classes, gave my thesis first chapter... So yeah, more time to publish chapters now. Can't say how regular it will be, but you should expect me to start posting again, at least!
Attachments
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194-196: A Warlord Among Many
194-196: A WARLORD AMONG MANY
Yu Province had collapsed in mid-194 following the invasion from Yan Province, which was then followed by its collapse later the same year. Xiao Ru, who had been left in charge of the provincial capital of Chengguo, had hoped to become the new power of the region, only to be driven out by an angry populace that handed the city to another warlord. Still, Xiao Ru had control of Chen Commandery, which had been the territories of the Prince of Chen before he took over Yu Province. He retreated in his safe haven, swearing he would retake the provincial capital and expand again. But as much as he dreamed that this was the first step of his ambitions, that this was the moment he was finally going to rise to the top, he had to accept that he was only a small warlord, one of many that had risen out of the fall of two provinces.
So he fled to his domain, accompanied by his wife and two children, where he settled in his new role as an independent warlord. In this he was helped by Xu Shao, who had assisted Xiao Ru while he was regent of Yu Province. Xu Shao was an amazing scholar and an excellent administrator, with many regarding him in far higher standings than the murderer Xiao Ru. With his influence and talent, Xu Shao was proving to be the most powerful man in Chen Commandery, maybe even more than his lord. Xiao Ru, who already found Xu Shao indispensable, appointed him to the position of assistant administrator, making him his number two in the commandery. For this show of trust, Xu Shao pledged himself to his new master, promising loyalty and obedience. Although this loyalty would end up being challenged on multiple occasions, at that time he was all too happy to help his lord manage his new situation.
It didn’t take long for the two men to turn Chen into a manageable territory. Unlike most warlords, who found it hard to supply their territories without the help of the provincial administration, Xiao Ru and Xu Shao were quickly able to get traders to work with them. Most warlords coming out of Yu Province beneficiated from trades with the rebelling territories of Chen Wen, who saw many of his usual trade routes cut off by the Xu forces. Chen Commandery was no exception, and in late 194 they actually sent an ambassy that reached the general Hu Zan, who was fully open to the idea of doing deals with Xiao Ru.
They also made sure that laws were still applied and that the region did not fall into anarchy and banditry, something that Xia Ru was especially worried about. This however turned out to be a first sticking point between the two, as Xu Shao had to convince his lord that ruthless application of the law might had the opposite effect of the one desired, to which Xiao Ru relented.
Finally, in an attempt to gain legitimacy and authority, Xiao Ru had Xu Shao send a letter to Luoyang, asking for recognition as the administrator of Chen. However, the letter arrived just as Dong Huang was entering his fatal civil war, so it stayed on the shelfs until the rise of Duan Wei. Duan Wei, who envisioned to reunite Yan and Yu, chose to ignore it, and it would only be with the appointment of Niu Fu as Chancellor that Xiao Ru’s position would be confirmed by the Imperial Court.
But they weren’t the only ones trying to achieve things in the newly independent Chen Commandery. Xiao Ru’s wife, Lady Xia, wished to have a role in the local affairs. To this, Xu Shao balked. He tried to explain to her that her duties were to give children to Xiao Ru, “to which our lady is quite good at”, he added. His opposition wasn’t bounded to gender roles, however, as Lady Xia was the daughter of a merchant. Xu Shao didn’t want to see the rise of some merchant class that would pollute court. He saw merchants as greedy bastards that only wanted to enrich themselves. Seeing how Lady Xia’s main actions since arriving in Chen was to amass wealth for herself, his worries on that front seemed to have a ring of truth. But Lady Xia was patient, and for now she backed off.
But then she kept putting her nose in the affairs of state. She notably intervened on the debate over the enforcement of the law. While Xu Shao advised clemency and moderation, Lady Xia tried to push her husband to be stricter and crueler, which was more in line with Xiao Ru’s own vision. She arbitrarily dismissed maids and servants who had been appointed by Xu Shao. He tried to complain to Xiao Ru, but Lady Xia had fired them after they had made some slight mistake. In response to the complains, Xiao Ru simply shrugged and said “they d-deserve to su-su-suffer the consequences of-f-f-f-failure”. In late 194, Lady Xia was finally able to get a position of influence, being given the role to investigate servants and officials at court in Xiao Ru’s name. Frustrated at this, Xu Shao decided to help his lord free himself of his wife, advising him to take concubines. “My lord, your progenies will be the greatest allies you will have in your old age. A wife can only give you so much, so why not take more women? Why deprive the world of your great progenies?” Xiao Ru agreed, and soon enough he had three concubines at court, to his wife’s annoyance (doubly so because he gave part of her wealth to Xu Shao as a reward for this great idea).
But the downfall of Xu Shao at court would not be caused by his rivalry with his lord’s wife. In fact, this was completely unexpected at the time. When a general named Chang Lin came to Chen Commandery in early 195 seeking a lord to serve, Xu Shao was the first to welcome him. Chang Lin was a smart man, a man skilled in both administrative and military duties. Chang Lin had been a small-time officer in imperial controlled territories, having fought in most of the battle that engulfed the Dynasty over the last years. After losing an eye in the failed assault on Luoyang (the battle that made Duan Wei famous), he refused to accept that Duan Wei was now chancellor and instead chose to seek fortune elsewhere. He decided to go to Chen after hearing that Xiao Ru had been regent of Yu Province, which made him believe that Xiao Ru was a big player in the region. Xu Shao, who was all too happy to see worthy men assemble under his lord’s banner, praised Chang Lin in front of his lord, advising him to appoint Chang Lin to a command. Xiao Ru was thoroughly convinced by Xu Shao’s words and made him an officer. Neither Xu Shao nor Chang Lin expected that this would lead with the replacement of the former by the later.
As it turned out, Xiao Ru had been quite impressed by Chang Lin, a lot more than Xu Shao had expected. Within a month of his arrival, Chang Lin was promoted to designated regent of Chen Commandery, a role Xu Shao had assumed was his. Then Chang Lin, proving to be a great help in administrating the affairs of the state after enforcing a new conscription, entered Xiao Ru’s inner circle. Then the Administrator of Chen simply decided that Chang Lin was the man he needed right now and removed Xu Shao from his position, replacing him with Chang Lin as his new assistant administrator. This was soon followed by the replacement of the other high-ranking officials, with the exception of Lady Xia, who was allowed to retain her authority for the time being. This would be the first instance of something he would do for the rest of his life. Maybe he did so because he didn’t want officials to hold power for too long in fear that they would grow corrupt, or maybe he simply replaced them on a whim based on his daily tastes. Whatever the reason, his tendency to rotate advisors at an increasingly rapid rate would be the source of many problems over his life.
In his defense, the sudden rise of Chang Lin was also motivated by Xiao Ru’s growing desire to expand his domain, which meant he needed a military advisor instead of a civilian one. Everyone was now setting their eyes on expansion. If he waited too long, Chen might be left as a small commandery surrounded by strong warlords. His own attention was still on the provincial capital of Chengguo. While he had lost it to another warlord, the one who was in charge of it had disparate lands that weren’t connected, leaving him with little actual power to protect Chengguo. This left the city vulnerable to its neighbors, the Chen Commandery of Xiao Ru and the Runan Commandery of Liu Yi. Because of this, both men started to see one another as rivals for control of the region. It didn’t help that Liu Yi had been among the local officials who had been appalled when Xiao Ru was not only welcomed in the province, but promoted. In Liu Yi’s eyes, Xiao Ru was a murderer who did not deserve his current power.
When Liu Yi began to involve himself in the war between Chen Wen and Tao Shang, Xiao Ru decided that he could not allow the continued existence of such powerful rival south of his territories. While Liu Yi waged war to take control of Anyang, the forces of Chen were marshalled into readiness. Chang Lin was given much leeway in the preparations, spending months recruiting and drilling troops for the incoming war. The new right-hand man was all too happy to fulfil his obligations. Having always felt that he was unappreciated in his previous service to the Han, Chang Lin began to throw himself in his new work. He even made sure that there would be no supply problem, having heard of the infamous campaign of Sun Jian in 190, when the lack of supply stopped them from coming home for a full year. Liu Yi wasn’t blind to what was happening, and so in late 195 he began to speed up the negotiations with Tao Shang, fearing that Xiao Ru was on the verge of an attack. He was right to do so, as Chang Lin and his forced entered Runan Commandery within days of Liu Yi’s acquisition of Anyang County.
Chang Lin, realizing that there was no opposition (as Liu Yi had yet to come back from his previous campaign), raced his forces to Pingyu, Liu Yi’s seat of power. He met no resistance on the way, easily reaching the walls of the city. Chang Lin demanded that the city surrender, but the garrison refused. Chang Lin didn’t mind, though. He checked his army, confirmed that they had ample supply and then decided to put the city under siege. He was in no rush and wanted to make this right. Even the possible return of Liu Yi and his army didn’t bother him. In fact, he hoped for it and prepared accordingly. Taking the city and defeating the enemy force would probably secure victory. This was the kind of campaign that would make his career, turning him from a low ranked officer to one of the great generals of his time. The siege went without any issue, and by April 196 Pingyu had been captured. The only issue was that there was no sign of Liu Yi’s army.
While the siege was going on, Xiao Ru was being pestered by Xu Shao, who pleaded to be reinstated in his functions. He had served him so well, so why replace him? Xiao Ru was annoyed by this. Yes, Xu Shao had been a great advisor, and thanks to him Chen Commandery was now fully functional. But Xiao Ru didn’t need a civilian advisor anymore. Chang Lin could do the job just fine and lead the troops into battle. And besides, he had been generous when it came to compensating him, so what was Xu Shao complaining about? The magistrate warned his liege that only bad rulers change their council on a wimp, hoping that his lord would not continue upon that path. But Xiao Ru refused, just like he had refused to allow his wife any political power once he found out she was pregnant.
Once he found out she was pregnant, he decided that it was enough and forced her to surrender her political powers so not to strain herself. And she wasn’t the only one, as one of the concubines was also pregnant, with two sons named Xiao Hanhe and Xiao Bin arriving in the family in April and May 196 respectively. So everything was going great, which meant there was no need to bring Xu Shao back. But a few days after Xiao Hanhe’s birth, report came that the army of Liu Yi had been spotted. It had just entered the commandery, completely ignoring Chang Lin and his siege. Before he was himself stuck, Xiao Ru sent missives to Chang Lin telling him to come back.
Chang Lin was surprised when he heard of Liu Yi’s appearance in Chen, so he quickly prepared himself to go rescue his lord. After leaving a skeleton crew to garrison Pingyu, he marched north to go help his lord. When he arrived, Xiao Ru was still resisting the siege. While at first Xiao Ru had been effective in managing supply and grain, he soon started to be liberal in the portions given to the soldiers, making sure that everyone who had a role in the defense was well fed. While this was good for morale and health, this considerably reduced the amount of time they could endure the siege. The arrival of Chang Lin was thus a fortunate affair in term of timing. The ensuing battle was actually a clear victory for Chang Lin, forcing Liu Yi to break the siege and retreat. Instead of holding celebrations, Xiao Ru hastily ordered his general to push the offensive and capitalize on the victory. So Chang Lin pursued and won the ensuing battle, and the one after that, and the one after that…
News of the continuous victories were sent back to Xiao Ru, who was all too happy to hear them. The administrator eventually joined the army the share in the glory. Thankfully, he was smart enough to not think himself a military genius, leaving the decision making to the more experienced Chang Lin. The entire summer of 196 was filled with victories that served to crush Liu Yi’s hopes as he was pushed back into his territories. By October, the officials of Runan had enough and pressured Liu Yi to seek peace. Xiao Ru’s terms were simple. Liu Yi would submit and give him control of the commandery. Liu Yi tried to offer to pay tribute instead, but this was seen as inacceptable by Xiao Ru. He had won the war and all the battles fought over the summer. He had been victorious. So he would be the one dictating the terms. Having no other options, Liu Yi accepted, subordinating himself to his enemy. This was the first successful conquest within former Yu and Yan Provinces. Xiao Ru, who had been a warlord among many, was now the most powerful in the province. And he had no plans to stop there.
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I realized that one of the confusing things is that leaders of same culture and same rank often have widely different title.
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195-196: The Voyages of Pan Zheng, Part 1
195-196: THE VOYAGES OF PAN ZHENG, PART 1
The decision to leave Yi Province should have been a difficult one for Pan Zheng, yet he made it without much care. After all, what did he have left in the province? His father had told him that he was no longer welcomed in the family. The Governor Liu Yan more or less banished him from court, ruining any hope for a future career. He had just buried his father-in-law. The powerful officials of the province did not like him for his honesty and integrity. And then there were those dirty barbarians running around destroying towns and cities. No, there was nothing holding him here anymore. His wife Fang Xia, while still grief stricken after the death of her father, could see that her husband was unhappy and agreed that it would be a good idea to leave. The couple thus prepared their belongings for their departure. While Pan Zheng wanted to leave immediately, the local officials of the city begged him to stay, at least until a new magistrate was appointed. He agreed to manage the city in the meantime. But once the replacement arrived, he barely waiting for the night before leaving the city, unwilling to stay any longer than necessary.
Pan Zheng’s original plan was to go north and enter imperial service in Luoyang. Surely the Imperial Court would have use of such a distinguished scholar as him. So their plan was simple. They would first make their way to the territories of the Celestial Masters. After all, this sect was a vassal of Liu Yan. Surely, they would respect nobles from their overlord’s domain. From there, they would go to Chang’an, the former capital of Western Han. If possible, he would start getting in contact with local officials, who might be able to find him a job in Luoyang, where they would then settle and where he could prosper at court. That plan quickly fell apart at the first step, as Pan Zheng was unaware of the war currently going on. Half a dozen peoples were in the process of attacking the Celestial Masters when Pan Zheng arrived, unwittingly entering a warzone.
He went around doing his best to evade the fighting and find a city, but when he finally found one it was under siege by the forces of the warlord Yuan Shu. Still, he was welcomed in the camp and was brought to the commander, a scholar named Feng Zian. After a few minutes of talking, Feng Zian took a liking to the young scholar. He finally had someone to talk to about the ancient classics and the words of Confucius. He offered Pan Zheng and his wife a place as his guests. Having nowhere else to go, Pan Zheng agree to stay around, offering his services to Feng Zian, and by association to Yuan Shu. While he did know Yuan Shu by name, he knew little of the warlord other that he was of a prominent family, which seemed enough for him at the time. Pan Zheng helped keep the tabs at camp and did some of the administrative duties. Feng Zian was so satisfied with him that in a letter to Yuan Shu he wrote:
“I have found a man of great worth for your cause. My lord will surely find an appropriate position for him once the campaign is over. I would despair to see such talent pass through your fingers.”
That good opinion quickly changed, however, as jealousy and ego began to assert themselves. As always, Pan Zheng never hid his thoughts, even when it would have been better to do so. If Feng Zian had a good first impression of the young scholar, Pan Zheng quickly grew disappointed with his host. He continuously pointed out the mistakes in Feng Zian reasoning during their debates, and was not shy to criticize the opinions and morals of his host. He even told his wife at one point “General Feng should stick to the affairs of war, as he always finds himself outclassed in the affairs of the mind.” Arrogant as he was, Feng Zian immediately took offense to Pan Zheng stubborn honesty. He felt humiliated by the superior knowledge of the younger man. Five weeks after his arrival, Pan Zheng was publicly chastised by Feng Zian, who mocked him and insulted him in full view of everyone. But refusing to apologize, Pan Zheng was told the following day that he would be escorted to Yuan Shu’s court, mostly as a way to get him out of Feng Zian’s sight.
Yuan Shu had been curious about this young scholar ever since Feng Zian wrote to him about it. He personally considered all those self-righteous Confucian scholars more trouble than they were worth, always trying to prove how good they were. But any self-serving ruler needed to foster a good court, and that included scholars. Hearing the praises from Feng Zian (before his letters turned to criticism), Yuan Shu was all too willing to have a young man with such potential at court. When Pan Zheng finally arrived, Yuan Shu immediately started to flatter him with praises and gifts. The self-centered scholar was quickly charmed by Yuan Shu, who used the right words to convince him that he should stay. So Pan Zheng offered his services to the warlord, who in exchange began to sponsor his work. Pan Zheng and his wife were happy to have found such a nice place to stay. When he wasn’t doing his new official duties, Pan Zheng worked on finishing his own work, which he had been writing for a few years now. The Nánfāng Yěshòu (南方野獸, or Southern Beasts) was a treaty on the various southern barbarians. While clearly biased thanks to Pan Zheng’s views, the work made him a famous scholar in the south.
Other than sponsoring his work and giving him small duties at court, Yuan Shu also appointed Pan Zheng as the tutor to his 15 years old son and heir Yuan Yao. Instead of seeing it as a great reward, Pan Zheng saw it as a needless distraction from his work. Even if he lacked gratitude for the assignment, he still worked as hard as he could in his new duty. Just as had happened previously, his rapid rise at court made many of the sycophants and high-ranking officials jealous. They had been sucking up to Yuan Shu for years, yet now this newcomer got the job of educating the heir? In their eyes, this was unfair and unacceptable. The issue was that he wasn’t that happy with these new duties either. Yuan Yao was unambitious and satisfied with a simple life at court. A peacock focusing more on his dress than his future, Yuan Yao was a clear disappointment.
He was certainly a disappointment to Pan Zheng. While Yuan Yao tried his best to study and to fulfil the expectations of his tutor, he lacked the talent or the ambition to push himself forward. Pan Zheng didn’t care much that the young man tried hard or dressed well. He was a failure in his eyes, something Pan Zheng barely hid from his student. He came here to work and write, not to teach incompetent teenagers. In private, he openly despaired at the young man, telling his wife at one point that “I cannot fathom how such a failure is allowed to be the heir of such an important family.”
Either because of the court full of sycophants or the incapable Yuan Yao, Pan Zheng was growing more and more frustrated with his current situation. He also started to lose respect for Yuan Shu. While his lord was usually able to sweet talk him into compliance, it didn’t take long for Pan Zheng to notice how Yuan Shu was at managing the affairs of state. He clearly had more competent subordinates, but stalled their career and refused them the opportunity to access power, rewarding loyalty over talent. The scholar was also disgusted when Yuan Shu organized celebrations following the “victory” against the Celestial Masters. From his understanding, the war had been won by a subordinate of Chen Wen of Yang Province, yet Yuan Shu acted as if Feng Zian was the hero of the day.
By late January 196, Pan Zheng was sick of Yuan Shu’s court and decided to leave. His wife tried to convince him not to, as she was far happier here than he was. Fang Xia didn’t want to go running around China while they had a chance to build a life for themselves right here. But as always, Pan Zheng didn’t listen and thought of himself first and foremost. One day, he came forward and declared his intention to leave. When Yuan Shu tried to persuade him to stay, Pan Zheng coldly replied:
“I do not wish to wait for the sycophants to ruin this before your son could ever fail your legacy. And the simple fact that neither of these issues worry you make it clear that you too, my lord, have failed yourself. I do not believe that my place is here, because in all truth, this court does not deserve me. And neither do you.”
Feng Zian, who had just returned from the campaign, was so angry with these insulting words that he wanted to beat the scholar with his fists. He actually managed to land a first blow, to Pan Zheng’s shock, before he was restrained and ordered to stop. Yuan Shu told him to let the scholar go. After all, he was not holding them hostage or anything. No, in his magnanimity, he would let them leave, even offering them an escort. Pan Zheng refused, mostly because he didn’t want to owe Yuan Shu anything. While they were allowed to leave court, Yuan Shu had no plan to let Pan Zheng and his wife go free for insulting him. Pan Zheng needed to pay for refusing to serve him. So he paid bandits to go attack and kill the couple as they left his territories. That way it couldn’t be traced back to him. This idea worked so well that no one ever heard of this, because the bandits took the coins and left without fulfilling their job. Annoyed, but unwilling to turn this into a humiliating scandal, Yuan Shu dropped his whole scheme and went back to his own affairs, allowing Pan Zheng and Fang Xia to go free.
Now Pan Zheng needed to find a new place to go. At first, he entertained the idea of going south to serve Chen Wen, the Inspector of Yang Province. He was by far the biggest player in the south, and he was renowned for treating his subordinates well. However, at the time his capital was occupied by the forces of Xu, and the issue of the civil war was yet to be decided. Pan Zheng didn’t want to find himself in the middle of a war again, and so instead turned his eyes toward the former Yu Province. He heard that the administrator of Chen Commandery, Xiao Ru, was seeking competent men to come serve in his court, so he began to make his way there. But another of the local warlord, Administrator Chen Yi of Lu, became aware of this wandering scholar. Unwilling to let him fall into a rival’s hands, Chen Yi sent messengers to Pan Zheng inviting him to his court instead. When they saw his hesitation, the messengers were quick to point the accusations of murder levied against Xiao Ru, which disgusted Pan Zheng and convinced him to follow them back to Lu Commandery.
Ever since the collapse of the province, Chen Yi had suffered from a shortage of competent subordinates, which made him even more motivated to invite Pan Zheng to his domain. Some of his current advisors were a bit worried about this newcomer, but Chen Yi brushed them off. When the scholar finally arrived, he received a great welcome from the whole court (since Chen Yi had everyone who opposed the decision arrested). Unaware of what had happened, Pan Zheng thanked he administrator for his warm welcome, although he expressed the believe that it was too much. “If I am deserving of a welcome worthy of the Son of Heaven, then I can only fear what kind of men advised you so far.” To which Chen Yi answered: “Do they matter? No! Not now that you are here!”
Unlike Yuan Shu, Chen Yi was a firm believer in the teachings of Confucius, although he often failed to uphold them in the face of politics and intrigues. He thus hoped that Pan Zheng could keep him on the right path. Such a stubborn scholar would be sure to advise him on what was right, no matter how little he wanted to hear it. First appointed advisor, Pan Zheng quickly found himself propelled at the top of the commandery, acting as Chen Yi’s closest subordinate and helping him administrate his territories. In many ways, his new functions were similar to those of Xu Shao in Chen Commandery a year before. The issue was that the dynamic between the lord and the advisor was nowhere near as functional. As much as he wanted to present himself as a wise man, Chen Yi was more knowledgeable in military affairs than anything else, leaving him with a short temper and a desire to be obeyed. Pan Zheng’s advices often fell on deaf ears. This annoyed Pan Zheng, who became more stubborn and repetitive in his advices, which in turned annoyed Chen Yi.
After two months in his new duties, it was becoming clear to Pan Zheng that this wasn’t working out. What was the point of advising a lord if you were ignored most of the time? While Chen Yi still held delusions that they had a functioning relationship, Pan Zheng was starting to wonder if he shouldn’t resign and retire to focus on his writing. He was still too stubborn to admit that he had made a mistake by coming to Lu Commandery, however. In May 196, Pan Zheng was presented with an opportunity for some change. Chen Yi was starting to take an aggressive stance toward his neighboring Taishan Commandery, still governed by the scholar Ying Shao. In order to pressure them, Chen Yi decided to send an ambassy led by Pan Zheng. He hoped that they would then submit to his authority without a fight.
When Pan Zheng left, he insisted that his wife accompanied him, as he didn’t want Chen Yi to somehow use her against him. She agreed to come, happy that her husband cared about her for once. They didn’t waste time and arrived quickly to the court of Ying Shao. The famous scholar had managed to learn of Pan Zheng’s writings and was impressed with his scholarly work. Still, as much as he wanted to speak with the newcomer, he was also suspicious of him. He had been a bit paranoid when meeting new people ever since the murder of Zhuge Gui. Having previously given his trust to Xiao Ru and deeply regretted it, he was now weary to do so again. For his part, Pan Zheng was highly impressed by Ying Shao and his administration. The man was known as one of the great scholars of his time, someone Pan Zheng could openly admit that he admired. For the first time, he found someone he genuinely wanted to serve.
Instead of doing what Chen Yi asked him to do, Pan Zheng quicky decided he much preferred to join Ying Shao’s court. No matter what the other messengers told him, how they tried to remind him of his duties to Chen Yi, Pan Zheng refused. He instead sent the rest of the delegation packing and offered his services to Ying Shao. The older scholar was at first hesitant, but at the very least offered hospitality to him and his wife. As for Chen Yi, he was taken aback by the defection, which made him seriously reconsider any plan to go against Ying Shao for the foreseeable future. If his best man had easily defected like that, what guaranteed that his officers wouldn’t betray him in the same way? So he backed off, and while he cursed Pan Zheng betrayal’s he could do little about it.
Pan Zheng now found himself in Ying Shao’s court, the third court he had served since the start of the year. Thankfully for his wife, who was sick of having to leave each time her husband grew frustrated with his duties, Pan Zheng would come to enjoy his life here. While Ying Shao was hesitant to fully trust this newcomer, and would never give him big official duties, he never the less welcomed the fellow scholar and allowed him to live at court. This was all right with Pan Zheng, who could focus on his personal writings without being bothered. Respect quickly grew up between the two scholars, and the early suspicions of Ying Shao disappeared, at least enough that Pan Zheng was given some small duties at court, like keeping the library organized or going on occasional trips to the local magistrates.
It was one of these trips in August 196 that pushed Pan Zheng to visit Fei County. The county was still administrated by Zhuge Jin, who had been appointed following the murder of his father Zhuge Gui. Zhuge Jin proved a great host to the scholar, who quickly grew close to the Zhuge family. He was impressed by the work Zhuge Jin had done as a magistrate, excelling in his duties. He would even send a report to Ying Shao, recommending Zhuge Jin for a higher position. Ying Shao would actually promote Zhuge Jin to a position at his court a few weeks later, although the role Pan Zheng’s recommendation played in this is debatable. What isn’t debatable is Xiao Ru’s role in Zhuge Gui’s death, something that was explained in length to Pan Zheng once he mentioned that he almost went to work for the murderer. Once he realized what kind of man was Xiao Ru (at least from the Zhuge brothers’ perspective), Pan Zheng declared “What a vile creature he is, and what a fool I was to consider joining him!”
But of all the Zhuge family, Pan Zheng found himself spending the most time with Zhuge Liang, the middle sibling. The murder of his father had a deep impact on Zhuge Liang’s psyche, and his desire to get revenge upon Xiao Ru had drove him to become unstable. This in turn drove a wedge between Zhuge Liang and his older brother Zhuge Jin, who did not appreciate his brother acting like an insane man at times. Pan Zheng was thankfully able to get pas that and enjoy deep discussions with him. The two were comrades and hung out together regularly. With something of a friend with who to talk of scholarly affairs, Pan Zheng could now say he had found a home. By the end of 196, he still lived in Taishan Commandery, with no desire to leave anytime soon.
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PS: My current plan for the next chapters
- Gongsun Zan's war to vassalize Jibei (195-196)
- Yuan Shu war with the barbarians (196-197)
- The first months of Yang Province's independence (196-197)
- Yao Shuren consolidates his power + Han Sui's war with the Qianghaixi Horde (196-197)
- Lü Bu's war to invade You Province (196-197)
- Liu Siyuan's war with Li Tong (197)
- Xiao Ru's war for Chengguo (197)
- A chapter covering the first two years of Niu Fu's time as Chancellor (196-198)
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Pan Zheng finally found someone to appreciate him. Pan and the lunatic, what story will they tell?
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Excellent to catch up with Pan Zheng again in his search to find a worthy master (so many disappointments). It seems he may have finally found a home among his intellectual equals. Even better, he is now friends with one of my favorite characters, young Zhuge Liang, who I've admired ever since the boy outwitted Xiao Ru.
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A lot, as it will turn out. The two will have some fun adventures, that I can say.
He had a lot of difficult or disappointing lords, but I think the guy is partly to blame here. If he could only accomodate a bit or just shut up when he should, he might still enjoy a good life in Yi Province. Then again, his potential masters were kind of bad.
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195-196: An Eastern Clash
195-196: AN EASTERN CLASH
After his victory over the Xiongnus, Gongsun Zan focused on building up his territories. Ji was one of the most populous provinces of the Han Dynasty. It was about time to do something with this manpower. The Governor of Ji Province began to raise larger armies, promising food and pay for those that joined voluntarily. This new recruitment effort came with a problem though, as it meant the heavy involvement of Yuan Tan in the military affairs of the province. While Gongsun Zan had promised to treat Yuan Tan as an equal, he did not actually want to share power with him, and was hesitant to rely too heavily on his new subordinate. It was during that period that the truth about their relationship became obviously clear to everyone, as the warlord told his “equal” not to involve himself in the military affairs anymore. He in fact offered him another more “important” position as Chief Censor in Ji Province. Yuan Tan, who wasn’t an idiot, realized that this was a play to remove him from his role of Commandant. While he first tried to oppose the change, he quickly realized that he was alone in his outrage, so he grudgingly agreed. Even if he still remained an officer after all that, he never forgave Gongsun Zan for this.
Gongsun Zan also wanted to do something to help the peasantry, something that he was always reminded of doing by his subordinates Zhao Yun and Liu Bei. To do so he began to rely on the old Tan Weiping, who had been in the province before he took it over. Tan Weiping, while a bit annoyed that he had been passed over for Yuan Tan’s replacement, was happy with the new role he found himself in. He started to work on an agrarian plan to ensure that there would be no abuses of the people and that the laws were fair. But it soon became clear that the biggest problem of the farmers (at least in the west of the province) was the Black Mountain Bandits. Facing an invasion from Lü Bu and his Bing troops, Zhang Yan and his bandits had begun to raid Ji for supply and “conscripts”. This was unacceptable to Gongsun Zan, who in mid-195 ordered Tan Weiping to retake the territories of the Black Mountain Bandits and end their threat. This had the effect of pushing Lü Bu to finish the campaign far quicker, and in the end the territories were annexed by Bing. Suspicious of Lü Bu’s eastern ambitions, Gongsun Zan ordered Tan Weiping to protect the border with Bing in his absence.
The importance of this border defense was in part due to Gongsun Zan’s attention shifting elsewhere. He had looked at the Yan Province as it collapsed, leaving a bunch of petty warlords unable to reclaim control of the province. No, they didn’t have the resources for that. But Gongsun Zan did have the resources, and he was now fancying the idea of reunifying Yan Province under his rule. This would be a double win, as he would not only appear outwardly as a man restoring order to a region in chaos, but it would also confirm his prominence among the many warlords of China. Yes, this would be the perfect plan, as long as Lü Bu or Liu Yu in You Province didn’t attack him while he was distracted. His ambitions now stood in front of him, his plans drawn. All that was left was chosing who would be the first target.
His attention would fall on the neighboring territories of Jibei, which were held by an imperial scion named Liu Yuan. Unlike many of his relatives, Liu Yuan could boast a closer family link to imperial ancestors than most. His great-grandfather was Liu Shou, the Prince of Jibei, whose title had been passed down through the generations. Notably, Liu Yuan’s grand-uncle was the child Emperor Liu Yi, who reigned for half a year in 125 before dying. But while he often boasted of such illustrious ancestry, he did nothing to live up to his family name. Liu Yuan was a lazy man who spent more time being jealous of others than actually doing things. Added to this was his reputation as a spineless swine, which did nothing to improve the opinions of others on his subject.
Because of this, Gongsun Zan assumed that he would be easy to push around. He only needed to send the ambassy and the threat of war to convince him to surrender. The issue was that someone had already done so a few months ago, as Liu Yuan had already agreed to pay tributes to the Inspector of Qing, Tan Zhihan. Tan Zhihan, who was a distant relative of Tan Weiping (Tan Weiping’s cousin’s son, to be exact), had been partially responsible of the collapse of Yan Province in 194. He had planned to conquer it in one swoop, but the collapse of any central authority put an end to this. Instead, he started slowly encroaching over the local warlords, starting with Liu Yuan. When Gongsun Zan sent messengers to Jibei in November 195, Liu Yuan cowardly sent demands of aid to his overlord. Tan Zhihan was quick to respond, making it clear to Gongsun Zan that Jibei, and in fact all of Yan Province, was off limit. Gongsun Zan, fearing that his authority would take a dangerous hit if he backed down, refused, and instead launched his troops against Jibei in December 195. This prompted Tan Zhihan to go to the defense of his tributary, as he didn’t want it to fall into the hands of his new enemy. Gongsun Zan still tried one final diplomatic overture to Liu Yuan, but the warlord refused, as he preferred paying tribute to Qing than be more directly subjugated under Ji.
A problem arose in northern Ji Province just as everyone was preparing for war. After Gongsun Zan moved into Ji Province and turned his attention south, his former home base had been left unattended. Gongsun Zan had to consolidate his hold on his new territories, leaving him with little time to care for the old. To this frustration was added the new conscription of men into the local army, which was unpopular in the area. This was quite the volatile situation. Enters a man named Boqing to make it all blow up. Boqing was tall and impressive, which made him a perfect target for recruitment. The issue was that he didn’t want to go die in a stupid war, hoping to inherit his father’s large farm. When pushed around, he accidentally killed one of the recruiters. This bolstered the locals, who drove out the rest of the recruiters out of the village. They then declared Boqing their leader and moved to the next village, doing the same. At first appalled and afraid of the consequences this would entail, Boqing realized this might be an opportunity to make a name for himself, maybe even become someone important. By early February 196, Boqing had two thousand angry peasants under his command, just as Gongsun Zan needed to focus on his war for Jibei.
At the time, Gongsun Zan was about to launch his plan against his enemies. News of the revolt came as a complete surprise to him. Annoyed at this distraction, he stopped his plans to consider how to deal with Boqing’s little uprising. For this, he turned to one of his best generals, and certainly one of his earliest. He called upon Zhao Yun and asked that he go deal with the revolt as fast as possible. In all truth, he had planned to use Zhao Yun in the campaign for Jibei, but he needed someone he could trust to deal with the problem. Zhao Yun, as loyal as he was, was quick to accept the mission. Gongsun Zan asked his young general if he needed any more troops than what was available. Zhao Yun was hesitant to ask, but his lord insisted that he speaks his mind. So Zhao Yun asked to be allowed to borrow one man. Gongsun Zan was quite surprised by the request, but agreed as long as Zhao Yun told him which man he needed. Zhao Yun asked for Liu Bei, the old friend of his lord, to accompany him. He had been extremely impressed by the virtuous scion of the Han and wanted to spend more times with him. Gongsun Zan asked Liu Bei, who was all too happy to spend more time with this prodigious young man. After this was agreed, Zhao Yun and Liu Bei departed north to deal with the revolt.
With Zhao Yun and Liu Bei out, Gongsun Zan found himself forced to rework his plans. He had first hoped to have Zhao Yun lead an army to Qing while he himself went after Jibei. But with the young general gone, he needed a replacement. Yuan Tan was quick to volunteer, but this was shut down immediately. Gongsun Zan wanted Yuan Tan to accompany him and be his second-in-command on the field. While at first this might seem as a better position, this choice of affectation was mostly motivated by a lack of trust. Gongsun Zan did not trust Yuan Tan, so he wanted him close to keep an eye on him. This did not sit well with Yuan Tan, but he could do little but agree. But who else to appoint? Liu Bei and Zhao Yun were stuck fighting the revolt in the north, Tan Weiping was guarding the border against Lü Bu’s possible threat, and his cousin Gongsun Yue was left in charge of the province. This was actually that last one who came up with a solution. Gongsun Yue recommended to his cousin one of Liu Bei’s “brothers”. He had seen the giant Guan Yu in action and was mightily impressed. Gongsun Yue, not wanting to see this man wasted as Liu Bei’s subordinate, encouraged Gongsun Zan to promote Guan Yu and give him command of the second army. Trusting his cousin, the warlord appointed Guan Yu to a commandery before giving him the reins of the attack against Qing.
So the two armies were launched, leading to two battles in April 196. In Jibei, Gongsun Zan and Yuan Tan found themselves faced with a surprisingly large resistance, as Tan Zhihan had already sent troops to help Liu Yuan in his struggle. This left Gongsun Zan in a difficult position. Thankfully, he had two advantages. First, he was one great commander, far better than anything Liu Yuan had in his service. With Yuan Tan being no slouch either, this pitted two competent commanders against a bunch of far less experiences officers. The other advantage he had was the fact that all of Tan Zhihan’s reinforcements were stuck in Qing Province. Guan Yu and his troops had been fast enough to block their path and take them by surprise. Unlike Gongsun Zan, Guan Yu had a clear numerical advantage on his enemies, prompting him to declare in disdain that “It is a shame that I was assigned the weakest of the enemy. What a sad fate for them. Had I faced their main force, they might have proved a challenge.” In the end, both battles proved a resounding success for Gongsun Zan. Tan Zhihan, who had been forced to remain within his own domain, realized his mistake of leaving the war to his subordinates. He had failed to contain Gongsun Zan.
Meanwhile, Zhao Yun and Liu Bei had been making their way north to deal with the revolt. As they travelled, the two got along extremely well, expressing mutual admiration for one another. Zhao Yun admired the virtue of Liu Bei and his dedication to the restauration of the Han, while Liu Bei complimented the younger officer on his honorable conduct and on choosing such a righteous lord to serve as Gongsun Zan. After long discussions, Zhao Yun even became convinced that the right path, the only path for the future of China, was the restauration of the Han Dynasty. This was the start of Zhao Yun’s turn toward being one of the biggest Han loyalists among Gongsun Zan’s followers, putting him in clear opposition to the likes of Yuan Tan, who only served their lord out of self-serving ambition.
While the two men did get closer over the course of their voyage, they never forgot their goal. It was in July when they finally reached their objectives. By that time, Boqing had already taken over a few cities without much difficulties. The tall peasant leader had been bolstered by his successes, and now hoped that he could gain control of the whole commandery without much difficulties. He was in fact already in talks with Liu Yu, the Inspector of You Province. Boqing hoped that the old imperial scion might welcome him as his subordinate, in exchange of keeping the cities for himself. While the idea was enticing to Liu Yu, especially as he hated Gongsun Zan, he didn’t trust some lowly commoner to succeed. This proved to be the right move, as the arrival of Zhao Yun and Liu Bei quickly crushed any hope that Boqing had of ever becoming a powerful man in the region. The peasants found themselves outnumbered and easily defeated. In a battle in late July, the revolt was completely crushed on the open field. Boqing actually tried to flee as the battle was starting, but he was quickly found and killed.
The end of the revolt allowed Zhao Yun to return to the actual war, alongside with a few more thousand men. Gongsun Zan, who was already winning the war, found his victory secured once Zhao Yun arrived in late 196. With his help, and with Guan Yu blocking the way for any new reinforcement, Gongsun Zan was able to take Liu Yuan’s seat of power. While the Prince of Jibei escaped, he quickly realized that it would be a bad idea to continue the fight. Tan Zhihan invited Liu Yuan to come to Qing Province, but he refused. It would leave him without a domain, without anything. Instead, he chose the path that would allow him to at least keep his territories. He presented himself in front of Gongsun Zan, begged to be spared and pledged himself to his new lord. Not wanting to make it difficult on himself, Gongsun Zan welcomed his new subordinate, annexing Jibei into his territories. Tan Zhihan, while frustrated at this setback, could do nothing but prepare for the invasion of his own territories. Thankfully for him, the attention of his enemy did not turn south, but north. While Jibei was being annexed, the warlord Lü Bu had launched a campaign against Liu Yu. Now Gongsun Zan had to decide how to react to this turn of events, a decision that would have a massive impact on the future.
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Considering the speed each storyline goes, you'll probably have bitten your whole hand before we get to the pay off.
Well I played up decades in advance (I'm went up to the 240's so far), so I know what happens. As for what each chapter talks about, I go through my screenshots and have another document which details each war and stuffs like that and their date, then I strike out the events done and move on. Also tries to see what happens internally at times when nothing happens for a while somewhere. That way I have a good idea of what happens. going forward, and having played a lot I know where the main characters end up and can move to story toward that. Don't know if that helps.
The other document for my timeline and notes looks like that:
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196-197: It's not Over Until It's Over
196-197: IT’S NOT OVER UNTIL IT’S OVER
Zhang Lu and his Celestial Masters had not only been driven back, but completely erased from the maps. Considering Yuan Shu was on the verge of losing his capital only a few years before, this was an excellent outcome. He had triumphed and defeated the cultists and the barbarians and reaffirm his place as a prominent lord of the Han Dynasty! It didn’t matter that he wasn’t the one to take their territories (although that would have been an added bonus), he still counted this as his victory and his victory alone. Wanting to celebrate, he sent orders to Feng Zian to come back home. Grand festivities were definitively in order. But two men in his court did not approve of such celebrations. Tan Zilong, one of his key advisors, tried to convince his lord that this would prove costly and that they were in no state to organize such an event. Meanwhile, the young scholar Pan Zheng expressed disdain at the idea of celebrating a victory that wasn’t theirs, something that would only increase his desire to leave. Yuan Shu, while aware of their opposition, explained that such celebration was necessary and dismissed their complains.
In a way, he was right, as his Commandant did expect to be celebrated as a hero once he returned. Hearing news of the event being planned, Feng Zian left his subordinate Chang Nu in charge of the border and left for Yuan Shu’s capital city. His ego, which had been rising over the years, was now completely inflated. He expected to be welcomed as nothing less than the sole savior of the Yuan Clan. After all, he had turned a disastrous situation into a series of victories in the span of a few years. And once he arrived, Feng Zian was not disappointed. Yuan Shu had done everything in his power to make the celebrations as opulent as possible, with a big festival organized to also satisfy the populace. This was a great way to boost morale and support among the people and the army. Tan Zilong again tried to point out that they didn’t have the money, but Feng Zian angrily rebuked him. “Our lord has the right to do as he sees right. And I deserve this.” he insisted.
The army was welcomed in the city as heroes, with Yuan Shu being by Feng Zian’s side as they traversed the streets to the populace’s acclamations. Yuan Shu then proceeded officiate a few public ceremonies to celebrate their victory, accompanied by all his subordinates. This was followed by a few banquets, during which there were multiple toasts in the honor of Yuan Shu (and he made sure there were also a few for Feng Zian). Everyone was happy with the celebrations. Well, everyone except Pan Zheng. Soon after the celebrations, the young scholar demanded to be allowed to leave, causing a scene in front of the whole court. The insults spoken by Pan Zheng made Feng Zian’s blood boil, and the general took it upon himself to teach the scholar a lesson. But he was only able to land one punch before he was stopped. This event, which resulted in Pan Zheng leaving court, also made it clear to Yuan Shu that Feng Zian was easy to provoke, especially in defence of his lord. Yuan Shu was relieved to see he had such a loyal man to his disposal. More importantly though, it showed that Feng Zian was someone who could be easily provoked, which meant he could be easily manipulated.
But as all this was happening, Chang Nu was still on the border, watching to see what happened with the barbarians and Zhang Lu’s former territories. And he soon realized that their enemy had not renounced his plans to take the territories of Yuan Shu. While Zhang Lu and his sect had lost their own territories, they simply fled to their Di tributaries. The barbarians, while exhausted after defending the Celestial Masters in the recent conflicts, still grudgingly agreed to continue the fight for their former liege. Even if he was now landless, Zhang Lu still had a good relationship with Yi Province, making the Di barbarians fear the might of the southern province if they refused. When Chang Nu realized this, he quickly sent words to Yuan Shu, who felt humiliated. He had just celebrated the victory of a war that was still being fought. He now looked like an idiot to everyone. Angry, he ordered Feng Zian to go deal with the issue. The Commandant was himself frustrated that the barbarians still continued the fight. Did they want to be beaten that badly? But neither of them realized that this time they weren’t just fighting a sect leader and a bunch of barbarians. No, this time, they were also fighting the mighty force of Yi Province.
Things had changed since Pan Zheng had left his home province. At the time, it was still administered by Liu Yan and too focused on dealing with the barbarian revolts to come to Zhang Lu’s aid. Since then, Liu Yan had committed suicide and his son Liu Fan had taken over. While Liu Fan was far less competent than his father, he was still hardworking and interested in both administrative and military affairs. But having arrived only recently, he knew little of the province, which led him to rely heavily on an old advisor of his father, He Xiaolong. He Xiaolong was actually one of the main reasons why he was in charge now, having placed him as the new governor following the death of his father. While Liu Fan fancied himself the man in charge, many saw it in a different way. To most, like Commandant Wu Mengjie, the real power in the province was now He Xiaolong. He was the one handling most of the important decisions, even if Liu Fan prided himself in managing the daily affairs.
With a new administration in the province and the barbarian revolts dealt with, they could finally respond Zhang Lu’s pleas for help. He Xiaolong wasn’t keen of the Celestial Masters, and didn’t see the point in helping them. After all, Liu Yan’s goal in giving them these territories was to put a buffer between Yi Province and the Imperial Capital. With Inspector Chen Wen of Yang Province now in charge of these lands, there was still a buffer between them and Luoyang. But this was one issue where Liu Fan would prove pushy. He found himself motivated when he saw how the Di barbarians were still fighting the war (which was ironic, considering they only did so out of fear of Yi Province’s backing of Zhang Lu). Wishing to prove himself in a war, Liu Fan decided to lead the troops himself and go fight against Yuan Shu. Leaving He Xiaolong in charge of the province, he first expected Wu Mengjie to come with him, but the Commandant refused. After consulting with He Xiaolong, Wu Mengjie decided that he would be more useful staying in the province handling recruitment and defence.
His Commandant having managed to refuse an order from his lord without offending him, Liu Fan instead turned to a rising star within the province, Huang Quan. Huang Quan had actually been the one to free him from the rebels’ siege shortly after the death of his father, something Liu Fan had not forgotten. His actions during the war were impressive enough that He Xiaolong and Wu Mengjie both advised that the younger general be promoted, something that Liu Fan needed no convincing to do. By the end of 195, Huang Quan rose to the position of Administrator of Guanghan Commandery. For this, the humble man pledged himself to the service of Liu Fan for the rest of his life, swearing it upon his honor and his family. After this, why wouldn’t Liu Fan trust Huang Quan to help him in this campaign?
So when Feng Zian prepared himself to go join Chang Nu on the border, he was fighting not only barbarians but also a whole province. Once again, he chose to leave his family behind, not wanting them to get in the way of having fun with the local women. As he departed, he told Tan Zilong that he was taking as much troops as possible. Better knock the barbarians out as fast as possible and be home by the end of the year. Tan Zilong saw the problem with this, so he began to conscript new recruits to defend their territories while Feng Zian went to war. Already annoyed by the continuous war, Feng Zian was infuriated by the reception he received from Chang Nu and the other subordinates he had left on the border. Chang Nu quickly expressed his anger and frustration over being left behind while Feng Zian and the rest of the army were allowed to celebrate with Yuan Shu. The Commandant did not appreciate this honesty and put his subordinates back into their place. After some harsh reminder of who was in charge, he managed to get Chang Nu to agree that they should focus on actually winning the war instead of complaining. After all, no one would be allowed to actually celebrate if they lost.
It was as Feng Zian was departing to the barbarians’ territories that Yuan Shu received news of what was happening in the Imperial Capital. The Chancellor Duan Wei had been killed in what was supposed to be an easy campaign. Luoyang was divided between factions and engulfed in chaos. Niu Fu, who had been appointed as the new Chancellor, was barely holding on. Now, some of these panicked news might have been highly exaggerated, but it didn’t stop Yuan Shu from believing them. This might be the opportunity he had always dreamed of. As the head of the prestigious Yuan Clan, surely the Capital would welcome him and offer him a high-ranking position. Maybe he could get his old position as Intendant of Henan! After that, it would only be a piece of cake to use the chaos in the capital to take over. Tan Zilong insisted that his lord focus on the current war before making new plans. Yuan Shu grudgingly agreed, although not because of his subordinates. The main problem was that between him and the capital stood his former subordinate, Sun Jian. There was no chance that Sun Jian would allow Yuan Shu to pass through. The general had already ensured his own power in the capital and was now the Emperor’s father-in-law. Sun Jian would fight to keep Yuan Shu out of Luoyang. So the warlord had to abandon his plans to take over the capital, cursing Sun Jian for blocking his destiny.
It was in June that Feng Zian and Chang Nu finally reached the Di barbarians. Seeing their villages and their lands, Feng Zian is said to have been “less than impressed”, although this might be due to his then belief that they were too dumb to know when to stop fighting. They found the barbarians assembling their troops, but saw no signs of the Yi forces. This was an opportunity that they simply could not ignore. If they waited for Liu Fan and his men to arrive, who knew how many enemies there would be to fight. Instead, but attacking now, they would easily overrun the Di barbarians. Neither of the two generals took the time to wonder why the Yi troops weren’t there and thanked their luck for this opportunity. The attack on Yinpingxia did not last long. As soon as his troops began to clash with Feng Zian’s men, the Di chief Li Doumao ordered a retreat, which led to a disorganized flight of the barbarians. Almost a hundred more of them died as they fled to their villages.
But there was a reason why Liu Fan and his army never linked up with the barbarians. This was because his plan was never to go defend them. Huang Quan had advised his lord to be bold and charge head on in enemy territory. Liu Fan, overjoyed by his general’s audacious plan, agreed. “We shall strike them at their heart!” he proclaimed to his troops. Yuan Shu was thus shocked when the Yi army showed up at their gate in August. With Feng Zian gone, there were little forces to defend the city. Thankfully, Tan Zilong had the foresight to conscript new men for such eventuality. After seeing Feng Zian empty the province of troops, he had feared that the enemy might attack them while defenceless. So he had trained new troops for the defence of the cities, which now proved extremely useful. When Liu Fan demanded that Yuan Shu surrendered, it was Tan Zilong who answered. He declared that his lord would never surrender his lands to Zhang Lu and his sect, refusing to open the gates. Unlike Huang Quan, who wanted to fight and fight now, Liu Fan told him to wait. He was patient, and could wait as long as needed.
This thus became a race, as Feng Zian had to make the barbarians abandon their war before Yuan Shu was forced to surrender to Liu Fan. In this, Feng Zian had the clear advantage. Not only had he arrived far sooner than Liu Fan, but the fortifications of the barbarians were rudimentary at best compared to those of Yuan Shu. Tan Zilong had also resupplied the city in the case of a long siege, so they could hold as long as necessary. In January 197, Feng Zian finally forced the barbarians to surrender. Chiefs Li Doumao and Dan Shu, sick of this war that had cost so much to their people, expulsed Zhang Lu from his domain and swore that he would never again threaten Yuan Shu. This was not enough for Feng Zian, who extorted them a large sum of gold for the trouble.
Zhang Lu, now forced to flee, tried his luck in Yi Province. But He Xiaolong, who had never been fond of the war nor the Celestial Masters, received him coldly. He allowed Zhang Lu and his followers to come to the provincial capital, but only if he abandoned his insane war with Yuan Shu. The ambitious sect leader refused, which in response saw the old official banish him to the southern wilderness of Yi Province. He Xiaolong then sent a messenger to Liu Fan, informing him that the war was lost and that they didn’t had the resources to pursue it. Disappointed, Liu Fan still obeyed his main advisor and returned to his province, leaving Yuan Shu once again “victorious”. But if He Xiaolong thought he was done with Zhang Lu’s nonsense, then he was wrong. The Celestial Masters would not forget the way they had been treated, and Zhang Lu would continue to hold a grudge against the old official. And he swore that one day, He Xiaolong would pay…
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196-197: Freedom at Last
196-197: FREEDOM AT LAST
The three years of civil war had finally paid off. Yang Province was no longer under the influence of Tao Shang. Chen Wen and his supporters could finally start building a future for the province and its people. But more importantly for Yang Weili, the end of hostilities meant that he could go home. Having spent most of the war in a jail cell, he was overjoyed when he learned that Chen Wen had insisted on his release. The Inspector of Yang Province had actually been quite adamant that his friend needed to be freed for any negotiation to take place. Brought on the border between the two provinces, he was personally welcomed by his liege, something extremely difficult has Chen Wen had yet to recover from his severe injuries and had even lost a leg in the fighting. Yang Weili then returned to his own domain, where he was welcomed by his relieved wife, his concubine and his two children. Finally, he was home.
With the peace agreed in late August, the two men could finally sit together and appreciate their success. Years ago, Yang Weili had advised his lord to do two things to bring prosperity to the province: take over Jing Province and free themselves of the influence of Tao Shang. And now they had done it. While Yang Weili was satisfied with what he had achieved in his career, Chen Wen insisted that he stayed, not only as his Commandant but as his closest advisor. “I have accomplished much thank to you.” Chen Wen said, “but there is still much to do going forward.” Yang Weili asked why not pick Hu Zan instead, as he was the one to win the war. But Chen Wen insisted that he needed Yang Weili. He wanted Yang Weili. Hu Zan would simply serve in another role. Seeing how insistent his lord was, the strategist humbly accepted the new responsibility given to him.
Hu Zan wasn’t happy when he learned of this. He had been the one fighting the war while Yang Weili had been captured. He had been the one still standing at the darkest hour when Liu Siyuan packed his bags and went home. He had been the sole reason this whole war had been turned around and won! He had hoped that this was proof enough that Chen Wen didn’t need his old strategist anymore, that Hu Zan was far more fit for the position of Commandant. But instead, Chen Wen ran back to Yang Weili and gave him back his old post and more. Now, Hu Zan didn’t have any personal enmity toward Yang Weili per say. The strategist was a competent and learned officer, if a bit lazy in his daily life. He was all too happy that the man had survived the war. But he had been the de facto Commandant, and now he was deprived of it instead of being made official. Thankfully, this didn’t mean that his accomplishments had been forgotten. Chen Wen was quick to reward his general with a large quantity of wealth, which he could now afford since he received the local taxes. Hu Zan, who greatly appreciated the new riches, was doubly pleased when he found himself promoted to the rank of Administrator of Jiujiang Commandery. This was a strategic role, as the commandery covered the whole border with their former overlord. This sign of trust was welcomed by Hu Zan, who went from disgruntled to fully satisfied in the span of a few weeks.
Everyone could agree that such victory as theirs had to be celebrated with adequate festivities. Even Yang Weili, who advocated for a tighter grasp on the provincial purse now that they were independent, agreed that celebrations were in order. All the high-ranking officials of Yang and Jing Provinces were invited to Hefei for a massive banquet. Chen Wen even sent an invitation to Liu Siyuan. After all, while his departure in the middle of the war had created tensions at the time, they now stood as allies who won their freedom. But Liu Siyuan refused, as he was still in mourning following his father’s passing. The absence of the scion of the Han did not stop the celebrations, and Chen Wen happily welcomed his subordinates in his provincial capital. The banquet also proved an occasion for him to reward each of them handsomely for their support and help during the war. Even those that simply managed their domains and stayed loyal were given gifts and honors, and the few who used this opportunity to expand were thanked for strengthening the province. The celebrations proved to be a great show of unity. Even the old Lu Jun, who had been critical of Yang Weili and Chen Wen’s plans from the beginning, admitted that things seemed hopeful. “If this is a sign of what is to come, then my future is as secured as that of the province.” he declared while giving a toast.
And there were many reasons to be hopeful. While Chen Wen was not the most competent administrator, he was surrounded by great men who could assist him in his duties. More than anything, the Inspector of Yang Province wished for his province to prosper and for the common folk to live good lives. This was a goal everyone in Yang Province could get behind. As for the officials of Jing Province, they had first been unsure about Chen Wen, fearing they might just be exploited for Yang’s advantage. But soon they found a lord that cared about them, who rewarded them handsomely and was willing to fight by their side (no matter how bad he was at it). This care and energy solidified their loyalty to him, and many made sure to send everything they could to support him during the rebellion. Geographically, Chen Wen was also gifted with a great position. Yang Province had a large coast from which it could do trade through the sea while Jing Province was a breadbasket and a prime recruitment ground. Of course, even Chen realized that this idyllic situation would eventually be challenged. After all, the rest of the Han Dynasty was still in turmoil. But they would deal with this when the time came. For now, he simply enjoyed what he had achieved.
But as always, there were no rest for those that ruled, and even this cloud of goodwill couldn’t stop problems from arising. This time it came from the south of the province, where a barbarian chief had continued to be an annoyance for everyone. Quaid Quach was a Nanyue, one of the many barbarian groups existing in the south of China. In 192, he had successfully led his tribes into revolt against the Han appointed governor of Jiaozhi Province, securing a large swat of territories for his people. His success would be the first step toward the province’s fall to the barbarians in the later decades. Such victory against the Chinese gave him the gravitas to unite the local tribes and declare himself the High Chief of Nanhai. After failing to “convince” the chief of Nankang to join him, Quaid Quach turned his sight on Yang Province. During the whole struggle for independence, The Nanyues took to raiding the southern borders of Yang and Jing, causing troubles where it wasn’t needed. Due to the fight in the north, Hu Zan (and Chen Wen by association) couldn’t spare men to deal with this issue, leaving it to the southern administrators to handle this. Now that the war was over, many clamored that it was high time to deal with the problem.
No one pleaded more for this than Chen Gengguo, the Administrator of Lingling Commandery. Chen Gengguo’s actual relationship with Chen Wen was dubious and debatable, although he would himself later claim that their fathers were cousins. What was not debatable was his virtuous reputation and his loyalty to his potential relative. A competent official, he showed a decent ability to handle pretty much any tasks his duties as a magistrate would require from him. In 195, just as Hu Zan and Chen Wen were regrouping south, Chen Gengguo was appointed to Lingling Commandery in order to supply the war effort and because they needed someone trustworthy to watch the border with the barbarians. While he did as he could, he found himself depressed at the situation, unable to do more due to his resources being sent to the war effort. Now that the war was over, Chen Gengguo went as far as travelling to Hefei to plead the issue.
So as December 196 was moving to January 197, it was decided that something had to be done about the Nanyues. Chen Wen wanted to go lead the troops himself and ride into battle, but he was convinced by pretty much everyone that it was a terrible idea. He was so hurt he couldn’t even walk. Leading troops was out of the question. He complained, but being unable to get out of bed due to the pain he relented, instead appointing Yang Weili to the task. The Commandant accepted the new affectation and left Hefei to prepare the troops. While he didn’t want to go genocide the barbarians, he did believe that they had to be brought under control. This meant crushing them and crushing them hard. So started writing new strategies for the war to come. It didn’t last long. Barely a few days after he had set up camp, Yang Weili received terrible news from Hefei, news that put the entire campaign on indefinite hold.
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He entered the grounds of the Inspector’s mansion walking as fast as he could, adjusting his hat as he made his way through. He had donned a small white dress that he had grabbed from one of his subordinates. He had forgotten most of his court clothes home when he left for the army camps to prepare the campaign against the Nanyue. He was actually criticized by one of his officers for it. At the time, Yang Weili simply answered with an awkward laugh and a sorry, although he joked that it was not as if this was going to be useful. Oh, how much did he regret not bringing them now.
As he approached the gate of the large building, he was stopped by two guards. They put their spears in front of him, blocking him access. Lacking even his overdress, it wasn’t that surprising that the men didn’t recognize him as an important official.
“Halt!” one of them declared.
“I am to meet with Inspector Chen Wen. Please move aside.” Yang Weili told them.
He was in a hurry, but it didn’t mean that he had to be insulting about it.
“We have orders. His excellency will not be taking his appointments for a while.”
They were blocking access to the Inspector? Things were worst than he expected. He tried saying once again why he was here, but the guards continued to refuse him passage. He searched in his clothes for an identification or something to prove his identity but stopped. The command tally given to him had been left to the camp so the officers could act if needed to be. He should have been more thoughtful!
“Please, I do not have any time to waste!” he pleaded.
“We have orders. Now move along!”
“Then go fetch your commander! He will vouch for me!”
The guards looked at each other with a hint of hesitation. After standing looking at Yang Weili, who looked tired and stressed out, they decided to indeed go fetch their commander. It didn’t take long for him to come running. Following the end of the war, Su Dai was kept into his post of commander of Hefei’s garrison, one of the many rewards he was given for his loyal service. The Jing official tried to decline, mostly because he preferred a peaceful life to a successful career. But Chen Wen had insisted and he found himself forced to accept, in part due to the insistence of his own subordinates that he take the position. Over the last few months, he had actually done a decent job. It helped that he had gained the loyalty and respect of the city troops for his courageous defence of Hefei.
Su Dai was at first suspicious of this man who didn’t even dress properly for court. It was only when he approached that he recognized Yang Weili. He quickly pushed the other guard aside to open the way for Yang Weili.
“What are you doing?” he asked the guards. “Let him through!”
“But he isn’t even dressed formally.” one guard protested.
“This is the Commandant of Yang Province that you stopped from meeting his lord!”
The two guards’ eyes went wide as they realized the error of their way. They quickly dropped to their knees, begging Yang Weili for forgiveness.
“Commandant Yang! Please forgive us!”
“We were wrong! Please forgive our ignorance!”
“Up, up.” Yang told them.
He didn’t enjoy being looked at as if he was some great man. He was just that, a man, one that had simply been lucky enough to be noticed by Chen Wen.
“Come now.” Su Dai told him, grabbing him by the shoulder and guiding him within the building.
The walked through the courtyard and entered the garden. Its beauty was one of the many examples of Chen Wen’s more extravagant spending. There were even plans that Yang Weili had never seen elsewhere. He had once asked Chen Wen where he got some of these plants. His lord had happily answered that a merchant from the western nation of Parthia sold it to him, saying that these plants grew frequently in Daqin (Roman Empire). Yang Weili suspected that Chen Wen might have been scammed, but never cared enough to investigate the issue. It seemed trivial then and even more trivial now.
“Commandant, may I ask what took you so long?”
“I had a few things to deal with before coming.”
By a few things he meant putting the brakes on the campaign against the barbarians. He had to send orders to stop the mobilisation, as the future of the campaign was now on hold. He also needed to work out the amount of supply needed to keep the remaining troops fed as they waited. His first orders included food and equipment for a whole campaign of a few months. Most of it would rot or be useless now. Then he had to decide which of the subordinates to leave in charge, giving one of them his command tally (a decision that almost stopped him from entering). This whole affair set him back by a few days, which is why he was so late.
“Is there anyone else still absent?”
“Most could not come due to local affairs.” Su Dai responded. “Of those expected, you are the last one.”
They approached the door to the chamber just as the doctor was exiting. He looked old and wise, surely the kind of man that could do something. But instead of reassuring him, the expression on the doctor’s face only gave Yang Weili more worries.
“This is Li Zhu, the physician that was requested.” Su Dai said, introducing the old man.
“Please tell me, have you found a way to help our lord?”
“I gave his excellency herbs to help his harmony, but the damages to his bones and his whole… vessel… are not something I can fix.” he answered in a raspy voice.
“I see…”
“While I would not normally suggest it, maybe an alchemist could be of use. I heard a good mercury concoction can prove beneficial.”
Yang Weili thanked the old man for his advice before he entered the room. Officials stood by the side, their head down and their expression full of sadness. A screen had been placed in front of the bed, making it difficult to see their lord as he laid down. The fact that they felt it was better to hide the sight of Chen Wen was not a good sign. He could see the wailing wife of his lord, holding their three daughters close. The sound of Yang Weili entering the room made everyone look at him, and soon he found himself as the center of attention.
Among the officials that looked at him, three stood out of the lot. The first was the old Lu Jun, always well dressed as if it was a normal day of court. His over garment was placed in such a way as to hide his belly, as the old man often did. He did not like to be called out for his great appetite. Yang Weili saw him mutter something to another official next to him, but was too far to hear. What he could be sure was the look of disappointment he was given. Surely Lu Jun was disapproving of his late arrival.
Close to him was another man in his late forties, maybe pushing fifty. He looked distressed, probably having difficulties handling the current situation. He walked in circles, shaking his head with a defeated expression and only stopping when he noticed Yang Weili. Yang Weili had only met Chen Gengguo on one previous occasion, when the man came to plead Chen Wen to launch a campaign against the Nanyues in the south. He had since been a welcomed guest of their lord, even if he personally had expressed a desire to return to his commandery to prepare his troops for the war. His presence in Hefei meant that he was probably among the firsts to be alerted to the current situation.
And then there was the young and talented Hu Zan. Instead of wearing formal clothes like the rest of the officials, he was standing in a full military uniform. And from the look of it, a new and costly one at that. He held his helmet in his arm and had placed his hairs in a bun atop of his head. He was clearly trying to distinguish himself of everyone else by showing up in armor. This seemed to have mitigated success as most officials did not stand close to him, leaving him a bit isolated in the room. He welcomed Yang Weili with a simple nod and a smile, although for a moment the strategist could have sworn he saw frustration in the young general’s expression.
“Commandant Yang?” said Chen Wen from the other side of the screen.
Yang Weili was surprised by how painful these words sounded, as if each movement from Chen Wen was agonizing. He clearly tried to move on his bed, but stopped short and shouted a sharp grunt of pain. Attendants came to him behind the screen, begging him to remain still.
“Uggh… My friend… come closer…”
“Yes, my lord.”
He approached the screen, ignoring the looks everyone was giving him. As soon as he was in front of it, he fell to one knee and looked to the ground, awaiting words from Chen Wen. Looking down also made him notice the many pieces of cloth and bandages that laid on the ground. To his horror, they were all dirtied by blood.
“I was starting to… to be afraid you might not com…” he had difficulties finishing his sentence.
“I am sorry for making you wait, my lord.”
“Well…” he stopped to groan. “We… We did a lot together.”
“I might have made the strategies, but nothing would have been possible if you had not given me a chance to prove myself.”
“Yes, I am… pretty great…” Chen Wen answered.
His lord tried to laugh, but it soon turns to a bunch of ouch and ow. After he calmed himself, Chen Wen pushed a long sigh of frustration.
“Wh… What has the doctor told you?”
Yang Weili was taken aback by this question. He was unsure how to respond, if his lord was ready for the truth. But if he was in his position, Yang Weili wouldn’t want to be given false hope, so in the end he chose to tell it as it was.
“The physician Li Zhu told me that his…” he paused a bit, hesitant.
“Go on.”
“… that his skills could not help his excellency.”
There was a silence following this. No one among the courtiers and officials dared to speak, and Chen Wen was not saying a word. This silence was stressful enough that Yang Weili looked up to see if everything was alright.
“I achieve so much… I finally freed the province… Only for Heaven to play a cruel trick on me and put an end to me!”
Chen Wen threw something which resonated as it bounced on the ground. It seemed to have been quite the difficult task, as attendants rushed to his aid.
“My lord, please refrain!” said one of the officials behind Yang Weili, soon joined by most.
“Please do not exert yourself!”
It took a minute or so before things calmed down again.
“Why should I… uggh… why should I care about my health, now that I am doomed?”
“Please do not speak like that, your excellency!” Hu Zan screamed. “You will pull through this and lead Yang Province to glory as you did before.”
“Hu Zan… What a wise decision Commandant Yang had, recommending you y… years ago.”
“My lord!” Hu Zan said, falling to his knees. “I can only thank you for this!”
“It is only sad that I will not be able to en… joy your service any longer…” Chen Wen continued.
“My lord!” Hu Zan exclaimed again, genuine sadness in his voice.
“Soon I will leave you all… But… but if I can…not protect our people anymore, I can at least protect its future…”
Behind the screen, Yang Weili thought he saw Chen Wen nod, slowly and with difficulty. Soon after, a servant came forward and opened a box in front of Yang Weili. His eyes went wide when he saw what was inside.
The Seal of Yang Province, the ultimate symbol of the Inspector’s authority and legitimacy.
“My lord…” he said, out of words. “I cannot…”
“My lord, he is not fit for the job!” the old Lu Jun complained.
“There are other options to consider!” Hu Zan added.
The officials soon erupted in a cacophony of support and opposition, their words drowning everything else in the room. Meanwhile, Yang Weili stood silent, his eyes still on the seal. As the people continued to argue, Chen Wen clearly became annoyed. To the surprise of everyone, he actually tried to stand up.
“SILENCE! I DECIDE WH…” but he stopped and coughed blood.
Chen Wen, unable to hold himself up due to the pain and his missing leg, came crashing through the screen. The court went in panic as people rushed to his help, crying in horror.
“My lord!”
“My lord!”
Hu Zan and Yang Weili quickly came to his aid, and helped him stand up, using their shoulders under his arms to bring him back to his bed. They noticed how pale he was, how sickly he looked. His days were clearly numbered from the looks of it. Hu Zan pushed a gasp when he noticed the white dress of Chen Wen turning redder and redder in some areas, a clear indication that his injuries had reopened again.
“Please stay in bed, my lord!” Hu Zan pleaded.
“Do not exert yourself, your excellency.” Yang Weili added.
It seemed that Chen Wen was barely listening to them, too much in pain to really hear what they were saying. The two men did their best to help him back into his bed.
“Please, my lord!” one of the attendants began as he came to Chen Wen’s aid. “Try to move as little as possible!”
“F… ine…”
Everyone was clearly nervous after this. The sight of their lord in such bad shape had hushed everyone, the previous debates now replaced by complete silence, with the exception of a few people crying for their lord.
“C…Commandant Yang… will succeed m… me…”
“My lord, I…” but then he saw the pleading eyes of Chen Wen. “I-I will accept your request, my lord.”
“Thank… you…” Chen Wen managed to say.
“What about Jing, my lord?” Chen Gengguo asked, the eagerness in his voice barely hidden.
“Y-Yang… and Jing… can only prosper… together…” Chen Wen responded. “I trust Yang Weilli… for this… too…”
This was followed by another attendant bringing the Seal of Jing Province. This time, Yang Weili simply accepted it without a word, and no one voiced any opposition in fear of creating another incident.
“Serve him… as well as you have… for me…”
“Yes, my lord…” the officials answered.
Yang Weili looked at his lord, who laid on his bed injured and bloodied. The reality that he would have to take over dawned on him, and the weight of Chen Wen’s expectations felt heavy. In that moment, he did not notice Lu Jun, the oldest official of the province, with frustration on his face at the fact he had been passed over. Nor did he notice Hu Zan’s jealous looks or Chen Gengguo disdainful expression. No, all he could think of was his lord, and the task that had just been given to him.
In the evening of the following day, January 12th, 197, Chen Wen passed away in his bed after long hours of suffering.
He was 37 years old.
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PS: Well I don't know about you, but I'll kind of miss Chen Wen. I liked writing stories he was in. He was kind of incompetent yet had a gift when it came to attracting competent subbordinates. But now he's death, the third important character to die early three years in a row (195: Dong Huang, 196: Duan Wei, 197: Chen Wen). Also, congrats to @Specialist290 , considering his character just became the most powerful warlord of the Han Dynasty.
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I always knew he had it in 'em
(This just reminded me of how terribly far behind I am in this AAR. Ah well, what better motivation to get caught back up?)
(This just reminded me of how terribly far behind I am in this AAR. Ah well, what better motivation to get caught back up?)
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