The Last Days of the Han (Three Kingdoms AAR)

[Zamarak500]

Maybe do a Sengoku game? That is more character based but I haven't played it in years.

I've never played the CK2 one, only the new CK3 one. Also, I know nothing of the Sengoku period other than how it ended. Japanese history is one of my major historical blindspots.

 

[EtzelHoveri]

You poor child. I'm sorry for your loss.

Understandable though. Way too much history to be a master of all.

 

[Zamarak500]

You poor child. I'm sorry for your loss.

Understandable though. Way too much history to be a master of all.

Ironically, there are mods about my speciality (4th and 5th centuries Roman Empire):

• When the World Stopped Making Sense (CK2): which is about 476's Europe. Kinda forgot about that one, to be honest. They stopped developping it in 2020, though I heard it had some interesting submods. Don't remember how well the Roman Empire works. Only remember the barbarian tribes being fun.
• Fall of the Eagle (CK3): about 395 (aka the moment the Empire splits permanently). I don't really like the mod, and have often refered to it as "Medieval CK3 with a Roman coat of paint instead of a Roman game of CK3", which funnily enough were similar complains made by the creator of the CK2 Three Kingdoms Mod we're using for this AAR right now (he felt that CK2 couldn't reproduce the Imperial Bureaucracy well).

 

[Ixarys]

PS: First of all, congratulations to @Ixarys, as your character Xiao Ru managed to achieve the ultimate achievement: becoming Emperor. As with Yao Shuren, he shall now be called by his posthumous name, Emperor Cheng. I’d say that his rise was far more unexpected than that of Yao Shuren, as Xiao Ru crawled his way from nothing and struggled at every turn while Yao Shuren kinda cruised from success to success.

Of all the things I expected for this character, this was certainly not one of them!

 

[Zamarak500]

221-222: DRASTIC NONSENSE​

The end of the campaign also marked the end of Han support. From this point on, the Han was and would remain dead. Even members of the Liu Clan would from now on throw their lots with the new imperial regimes instead of seeking to restore their dynasty. The dream of a Han resurgence, once carried by the likes of Jiang Xian, Niu Fu, Liu Siyuan and Emperor Qianfei, was truly dead and buried. Even so, it all left a bad taste in the Emperor’s mouth. All he had done was crushed a problem that should have never appeared in the first place. On his way back to the Imperial Capital, Emperor Anwu’s reports to the court made it clear that he wanted some win for his dynasty that didn’t involve killing its own people.

Chancellor Pan Zheng had (as always) been waiting for such an opportunity to suggest ANOTHER campaign against the southern barbarians. Yes, his last two attempts had be complete disasters to astonishingly stupid levels, but that didn’t stop him from being convinced that this attempt would be the right one! Emperor Anwu proved receptive, although this time he wanted to take precautions against another fuck up. While the Chancellor would go south to prepare the campaign, the actual war would be waged by Xu Chu, who was still stationed in northern Yi Province at that point. The plan was for the Chancellor to prepare things while the Marquis of Longxi made his way to join up with him. With a confident expression, Pan Zheng made his way south in haste, arriving at his headquarters in late September. There, he was given a cup of milk that had turned bad. The milk was so bad that he died from food poisoning by the end of the day, aged 48.

Pan Zheng’s unexpected death caused something of a power vacuum in the provincial headquarters. Everyone would have expected his intelligent and ambitious wife Princess Xiaoya to ease herself into a sort of regency until her father could send a new official. Except that Pan Zheng had left his wife in Chang’an, finding her more annoying than anything and relishing this opportunity to get some alone time. In fact, he had left his entire family in Chang’an, including his son Pan Zhiyuan. At the time, Pan Zhiyuan had a terrible relationship with his father, as Pan Zheng refused to use his position as Chancellor to help his son’s career. It went so far as refusing his application to work for the Chancellery five times, with Pan Zhiyuan eventually landing himself a job in the Ministry of Justice. When Pan Zheng went south, he did not try to have his son accompany him, nor did Pan Zhiyuan express any interest in doing so.

This confusion about who was in charge was exploited by Zhuge Bogui and his sister Zhuge Xiaodong. When their father Zhuge Liang had been executed by Emperor Anwu, Pan Zheng had pleaded for their safety and taken them in his household. And now, their proximity with the Chancellor meant that they were present for the southern campaign, Zhuge Bogui as an officer and Zhuge Xiaodong as the wife of one. They declared themselves in control of Yi Province, with the brother as its new governor. Their father might have failed to create a powerbase in the south for himself, but his children would succeed. Soon, the rest of the province would be theirs, and the Imperial Capital would have to accept it as a fact. While it was unclear if they sought independence or simply to be acknowledged as the rulers of Yi Province in the Emperor’s name, it frankly didn’t matter.

Because two days later Xu Chu and his soldiers showed up at the city’s gate, still convinced that Pan Zheng was waiting for them to plan the campaign against the southern barbarians. Zhuge Bogui closed the gates and demanded Xu Chu to surrender him control of his troops. Xu Chu was utterly confused, but refused and demanded to see Pan Zheng so he could punch him in the face for even suggesting this. It was only when he was told of Pan Zheng’s death and that the city was under the Zhuges’ control that he finally understood the situation. He refused to surrender his troops again, and instead challenged Zhuge Bogui to a duel.

The tall and courageous Zhuge Bogui accepted, came out, and was brutally slaughtered by the great warrior, his head paraded in front of the walls as a warning. Zhuge Xiaodong then claimed herself the new Governor of Yi Province (even though she was a woman). But by then they had to barricade themselves into the mansion at the center of the city as the gates were being opened to Xu Chu. Two hours later, Zhuge Xiaodong’s insane belief that she still held control of the situation was ended when her husband killed her to save his own skin. It did save him, making him one of the few lucky ones not to be killed in Xu Chu’s violent reprisals.

When reports of this whole affair made their way to the Imperial Capital, it was said that Emperor Anwu was at a loss for words when presented the whole madness of this debacle. After the reports had been read in full, the Emperor just put his head in his hands and adjourned the court for the day. Once he did calm down however, he took two decisions. First, he cancelled the campaign. It was already going bad enough and he didn’t want to hear more of this kind of news. Second, he appointed the Marquis of Longxi as the new Governor of Yi Province. Xu Chu was already there and had been the one to end this mess, so it seemed like a fitting reward for his hound. And just like that, the most brutal general of the Liang Dynasty found himself with a massive province to administrate.

Not only that, but Xu Chu also received a keen prize that many sought through the empire: a betrothal between his family and the Yao Imperial Clan. The now widowed Princess Xiaoya found herself without a leg to stand on. For all the love her father had for her, the fact was that she had little political influence. This left her angry and frustrated, especially after years of being denied by Pan Zheng. In her ambition, she turned her eyes on Xu Chu. He was strong, competent, not too old and a clear rising force in the military. And more importantly, she would surely be able to act through him. She thus went to her father suggesting that Xu Chu should consider setting aside his wife to marry her. But the Emperor balked at this suggestion. She should be observing the customary mourning period, and he was not going to cause a scandal by allowing her to remarry yet. However, he did bring forward a compromise. Xiaoya would be betroth to Xu Jingze, Xu Chu’s third son who was only nine at the time. That way, Xu Chu would be promised a marriage and Xiaoya would be in the family of the general. Of course, this was not what the princess had hoped, but she realized that the matter was settled and could do nothing of it.

Of course, Emperor Anwu also needed to appoint a new Chancellor. While there were many officials and scholar that would have fitted the office just fine, he surprised many by turning to his old companion Hu Zhen. This immediately ringed alarm bells among the officials. Seeing this old insane general become the Chancellor was worrisome. Pan Zheng had been a famed scholar and a long-time member of the Imperial Bureaucracy before his appointment. Hu Zhen had been a general for most of his life, with only a few administrative duties all the way back in the 190’s and early 200’s. He was clearly unfit for the role, and was only getting this because of his close relationship with the Emperor. For his part, Emperor Anwu tried to alleviate his officials’ fears. Yes, this promotion was a disguised retirement package for the old general. And yes, he was not the most apt for the office, especially compared to his predecessor. But the Son of Heaven pointed out that after years of war, he was now back in Chang’an. He planned to be the one running the affairs of state, with his new Chancellor only here to advise him, not assist him. There was nothing to fear.

Pan Zheng’s body received proper funerals in the Imperial Capital, where people were given an opportunity to praise the work of the first Chancellor of the Liang, who had sadly died eighteen months into office. The likes of Duan Zuo certainly took this opportunity to praise his anti-barbarian views and his scholarly work. After all, Pan Zheng was one of the most learned scholar of his age, and his untimely death was seen as a lost by many (though his attitude would not be missed). Every single member of his family was present for the funerals, as was expected. This included his two grandsons Pan Jiazhen and Pan Shilang, and more notably, his half-sister Pan Yuyi. Pan Yuyi had, to the disgust of Pan Zheng, married a Sinicized barbarian named Cuan Fenli. This marked her as a pariah within her family, and she had not seen her brother in half a decade. Everyone paid their respect to the great scholar and Chancellor. While Pan Zheng had been a great scholar and an excellent statesman, his dream of reclaiming the south from the barbarians would be left undone, with this task now passing to the new generation of Liang officials.

At that time, the former barbarian rebel Duo was fleeing through the mountains of Liang Province. Earlier this year, he had abandoned the cause of his allies in order to save as much of his fellow Di barbarians as he could. They escaped together and made their way to the Qinghaixi Khaganate, which they hoped would be willing to give them asylum. But while the men were welcomed, Duo quickly understood that Khagan Dianlian would not risk the anger of Emperor Anwu by harboring a rebel leader. The Qinghaixi Khaganate was a tributary of the Liang Dynasty, and as its subject it could not openly hide such important enemies.

So Duo left the mountains of Liang Province and made his way to the Imperial Capital of Chang’an. His former companions were convinced that their commander was going to try to kill the Emperor in the name of their cause, to show the world what the Di tribes were capable of. But this was nowhere near the truth. Duo simply wanted to live, and to live comfortably at that. He didn’t want to flee each time, wondering if tomorrow he would be caught and executed as a rebel. Risking it all to save his life, he made his way to the mansion of the one man he knew might be able to save him: the Excellency of Works Mo Jie.

Mo Jie’s sympathies for barbarians were well known by this point. On multiple occasions, he had argued leniency against the non-Chinese living in Liang territories. While his efforts to help them had been mixed in term of successes, the barbarians still remembered his efforts. Even better, Mo Jie had the ear of the Emperor, even if their relationship had somewhat soured since the Emperor’s return to the Imperial Capital. Duo hoped that the old official might plead his case to Emperor Anwu and earn him a pardon. When he came to the house in which Mo Jie lived while in Chang’an, Duo fell to his knees and requested Mo Jie’s help. The old man was moved. Here was a barbarian who cared about the people ad who needed help. Immediately, Mo Jie declared: “I SHALL ADOPT YOU, MY SON!”

This left Mo Duo utterly confused, as he had come to ask for his safety. But Mo Jie saw in Duo the perfect heir to his ideas, the perfect man to carry the survival of the Mo Clan. In his sixties, Mo Jie had yet to produce a son to continue the family line, the pregnancies of his consorts always resulting in daughters. But now he had a man of the people in front of him, a good man. Mo Jie could not have hoped for a better son. He agreed to plead the case, but he also insisted on adopting Duo in his family. Duo, who saw this as his ticket to the good life he always dreamt of, quickly thanked his new father for the honor. And so Mo Jie announced the adoption of his new son Mo Duo, who he hoped to see pardoned for his former mistakes.

While adoptions were frequent in Imperial China, the adoption of a barbarian by a Chinese man was unprecedented and scandalous. Even worst was the timing, as Mo Jie announced this adoption only weeks after the funerals of Pan Zheng, when the memory of the anti-barbarian Chancellor was still fresh and celebrated. Officials were doubly outraged that Mo Jie was adopting a former rebel as his son. Had the old man gone senile? Ambitious young men, both in the army and at court, were also infuriated by this news. Some had been angling to be adopted by Mo Jie for years, yet this barbarian showed up in the night and now he was the heir of the Mo Clan? How unfair was this? And this said nothing of Mo Jie’s daughters, whose opinions of their new “brother” went from slight embarrassment to frustration that their husbands (and thus themselves) would be deprived of their father’s wealth once he passed away.

Mo Jie’s enemies were quick to use this to their advantage, spreading rumors that he must have been involved in the Di uprising. How else would he have been able to get in contact with Mo Duo? For his part, Mo Jie was confused at the situation. He just wanted to save his new son’s life. What was the issue? In the end, Emperor Anwu ended the discussion by granting Mo Jie his wish. After more than two decades of loyal service, the former rebel had earned this favor.

Mo Duo’s adoption was recognized and legalized. A pardon was also issued throughout the Liang Dynasty to celebrate the victory of the Emperor against the Han rebels. This official excuse was used to ensure that he did not appear to be favoring one official over others. But while the Mo Jie was granted his request, he was now political dead in the eyes of the Emperor. Be it the terrible timing of the request, the scandal it had caused, the favor that was cashed in or simply the adoption of a former rebel, this event marked the end of Emperor Anwu’s reliance on the former rebel. Mo Jie would find himself on the out. In 222, he would find himself removed as Excellency of Works. With no place in the inner circles of power, he and his new son would return to Kong Province, with the Emperor leaving his former subordinate to the provinces from now on.

By the end of the year, Pan Zhiyuan deposed a petition to the Emperor, suggesting that his sister Pan Xiaoji would make a good concubine for Crown Prince Yuan. He was eloquent enough in his words that the Emperor did see some value of his words. His son did need some concubines, and promoting a daughter of Pan Zheng would not see any pushback. Still, it was surprising to see Pan Zhiyuan make such a move, considering his tendency to avoid confrontation. Remembering his own daughter’s recent attempt to marry Xu Chu, he wondered if the boy was really the one who had the idea, or if he was just a mouthpiece for his sister. Never the less, Pan Xiaoji became a concubine of the crown prince, as requested.

The Emperor also asked around about Pan Zhiyuan, with officials saying mixed things about the late Chancellor’s son. Some found him arrogant and inept, while others said that he was well spoken and quite learned. He was certainly trying to make his career in the Capital without offending others, which often left him to be stepped on by his superiors. Deciding to give the young man a chance to make his proofs, Emperor Anwu appointed him Magistrate of Zitong, in northern Yi Province. This should give him some experience in administrative affairs, and maybe be the start of a promising career.

By that time, Emperor Anwu was already planning his next campaign. He could not sit idly as China was disunified, after all. But there was still one threat looming, one problem that needed to be fixed. The rise of the Han loyalists in his realm had taken him completely by surprise, and he was not going to make a similar mistake again. The Han threat needed to be neutralized before he left on campaign, or he might find himself with another Han revolt just as he left Chang’an. To achieve such internal peace, Emperor Anwu would turn to a ruthless solution.The thing that every Han revolt needed was a Liu Clansman to make emperor. The usurper Wang Man had been doomed by this sort of revolt placing a distant member of the Liu Clan on the throne, thus dooming his new Xin Dynasty. So the solution was simple: exterminate the Liu Clan.

Orders were sent throughout the Liang Dynasty that any man of the former Imperial Clan be rounded up and executed, not matter the rank, the wealth or the age. Through December and January, dozens of individuals were killed. Throughout the empire, men were taken out of their homes to be decapitated, their heads sent back to the Imperial Capital in the hope of a reward. Some Liu Clansmen survived the purge of their family by being close enough to the Chen border to flee. Some babies were spared by the kindness of a few morally upright officials. And some people were killed only for sharing the same surname as the former Imperial Clan. This was an efficient purge that doomed any lingering hope of Han restauration. It was so efficient in fact that Emperor Cheng actually considered doing the same in his empire. Why not rid himself of a similar threat? But his son Crown Prince Tung convinced him against it. “The Liang has showed its evils.” he argued. “As the successors of the Han, is it not our duty to protect our predecessors? By doing so, we stand over our rivals through morality and righteousness.” Emperor Cheng, liking the thought of having the moral high ground, agreed with his son (if only for cynical reasons).

________________________________________________________
PS: I just want to thanks @Dunaden for giving us Pan Zheng (173-221). He was one of the most peculiar characters of the story. Unlike the rest of the cast, he was neither a general nor a politician, just a scholar. And while at times it left him less involved in the story as I would have wanted, he did leave his mark. His stubbornly strong personality was definitively a memorable feature of his character. And for a man who only wanted to study in peace, he did have quite the rise to power, eventually becoming the first Chancellor of the Liang Dynasty, and a competent one at that (if you ignore his wild attempts to conquer the southern barbarians). His unexpected death took me by surprise, and he will be missed.

 

[Dunaden]

Pan Zheng! Oh no! The barbarians obviously poisoned his milk.

Awesome to see how Pan Zheng prospered despite his indifference, rising to such great heights as Governor of Yi, first Chancellor of the Liang Empire, and son-in-law to the Divine Emperor. Just sad his marriage to Princess Yao Xiaoya didn’t produce a grandchild for the Divine Emperor with their shared genius trait (I don’t think his departed son Pan Ciqing was the Princess’s child). But it looks like his daughter Xiaoji may yet bear a future Emperor.

Thanks for documenting his life and providing the family tree, good to see he has two grandsons to carry on the family name.

 

[Bibliophile]

I was caught by surprise by Pan Zheng’s death, especially so early into the chapter. He was a fascinating character, and he will be missed (his racism against barbarians will be less missed). Fate really seemed determined to dash his dreams of subjugating barbarians. That last campaign against the southern barbarians seemed like it could of worked out; then Pan Zheng has the misfortune to die before the campaign even starts.

Also, Mo Jie’s adoption of Duo…..that was certainly something. I’m honestly kind of amazed that would happen. I should of known something would go wrong when their was no misinterpretation of his word’s. The one time people actually understand what he says, the way he meant it, and it results in him committing political suicide and being kicked out of Anwu’s inner circle. Hopefully being politically dead is the worst thing to come from the ordeal, but I wouldn’t doubt this adoption might cause further trouble down the line.

 

[Zamarak500]

(I don’t think his departed son Pan Ciqing was the Princess’s child). But it looks like his daughter Xiaoji may yet bear a future Emperor.

Pan Ciqing is indeed not the son of Yao Xiaoya. He's the last child of Pan Zheng with his first wife Feng Xia. He was also a genius and seemed destined for greatness before he died at the age of five, leaving Pan Zhiyuan as the only son to continue the family.

And yeah, Pan Zheng might be dead, but his children seem to be doing just fine without him.

I was caught by surprise by Pan Zheng’s death, especially so early into the chapter.

His death was at first supposed to be at the end the last chapter, but it felt kind of irrelevant to the whole Han revolts storyline and it would have been weird to start this story with Mo Duo's arc. So I moved it here, allowing me to turn this chapter into one about Pan Zheng and Mo Jie. Felt nice giving non military guys a full chapter for once.

 

[HistoryDude]

I didn't see the adoption of Mo Duo coming. Mo Jie's playing with fire here.

Of course, the Liang Dynasty remains very unstable.

 

[Midnite Duke]

The Mo clan will live on! Pan Zheng, rest in peace, hopefully with a good book and some lemonade. Thank you for the update. Good Luck with your studies.

 

[streaker77]

Thats a short lived coup for the Zhuge, challenging the fearsome Xu Chu is an....interesting decision. Very interesting to see what happens with the former Di abrbarian...now heir Mo Duo, one thing ive been meaning to ask, did that happen naturally or did you switch to Mo Jie and give him a little help with preserving his house, either way was a very interesting twist.

 

[Zamarak500]

Of course, the Liang Dynasty remains very unstable.

The Liang Dynasty does seem to have some internal problems, though it could be worst. At least the governors and the officers are fully loyal to the Emperor.

The Mo clan will live on! Pan Zheng, rest in peace, hopefully with a good book and some lemonade. Thank you for the update. Good Luck with your studies.

Actually deposed my master thesis yesterday. Big weight off my shoulders, though I now have to take classes of latin and ancien greek to prepare for the doctorate, so still some studies occupying my life (-_-). Anyway, still means I will probably have a bit more time in the coming month for this AAR. Probably.

one thing ive been meaning to ask, did that happen naturally or did you switch to Mo Jie and give him a little help with preserving his house, either way was a very interesting twist.

I'm going to be honest... I don't remember. I feel like this is something I would do, but I can't remember doing it at all. It's possible that it was natural, since the other big adoption in the story (that of Guo Yuyi) happened naturally without my input.

 

[Zamarak500]

220-222: A BRAND-NEW DYNASTY​

The Han was dead! The four centuries old dynasty had now been succeeded by the Chen, with Emperor Cheng as the true Son of Heaven! That usurper in Chang’an might claim that he was the true emperor of China, but Emperor Anwu was nothing more than a weak pretender. Chenguo hosted the real Son of Heaven, one that had far more prestige and grandeur than the usurper. True, his gout made it impossible for him to lead armies, or leave his palace… or sit on anything other than comfortable cushions without erupting in pain. And yes, his stutter wasn’t the most emperorlike trait that you could find in a monarch. But that didn’t change the fact that he held the Mandate of Heaven! Long live Emperor Cheng, the true ruler of China!

But with the disappointing agreement that ended the conquest of Qing Province, one threat still remained to the newly established dynasty. Ying Mo and his host, while weakened, were still marching through Qing Province, trying to seize it and hand it over to the Liang Dynasty. This could not be allowed to happen. Emperor Cheng had previously tried the diplomatic route with the son of his former liege, but this had proven to be a failure. Now he would need to dispatch a quick army to deal with the problem. He sent a small contingent of troops under the orders of General Ma Chao, who was promoted to General who Supports the Empire for this occasion. However, Ma Chao had been severely injured during the war with Tan Shenquan, leaving him hardly in a state to lead a glorious charge against the enemy. And with Emperor Cheng trying to influence this campaign, Ma Chao found his hands tied by the orders of the Imperial Court.

Emperor Cheng thus decided to use this opportunity to try and secure the loyalty of some of the Qing generals. His attention fell upon Ba Daiping, who had been Commandant of Qing Province and had been in favor of submission to the Chen Dynasty. An offer was sent to the general, suggesting that his oldest son Ba Gongbi be betroth to Princess Cha, the Emperor’s youngest daughter. This way, he might be able to move Ba Daiping away from Tan Shenquan and secure his loyalty to the new dynasty. This would not prove as successful as hoped, however. While the betrothal went through in November, Ba Daiping remained close to Tan Shenquan, with the former governor infuriated that the emperor went over his head in such a sleazy way. He was already starting to regret his submission to the Chen Dynasty.

But Emperor Cheng was not the only one making alliances through marriage. His crown prince also had an eligible daughter he was seeking to marry off. While Xiao Tung had been declared Crown Prince in a move to solve the issue of succession before it became a problem (like in the Liang Dynasty), that didn’t mean that the two of them saw eye to eye. One issue on which they didn’t agree was the general Hu Zan. While Emperor Cheng’s relationship with the general had been deteriorating over the years, Crown Prince Tung had grown closer to him, with Hu Zan doing his best to foster the military ambitions of the prince.

Desiring to seal this friendship with family ties, Xiao Tung offered to marry his older daughter Xiao Qiaoyun to Hu Zan’s second son Hu Weizhi. Of course, he first consulted with his wife Crown Princess Tanshihuai (Changle). At the time, Changle was pregnant with another child (which would be their last child, a girl named Xiao Zhi), so the thought of having her daughter leave her just as she was gaining a new child wasn’t a pleasing one. But after consideration (and accepting the fact that Xiao Qiaoyun would have to marry to someone), she gave her ascent to her husband. Hu Zan had always been respectful toward her despite her barbarian origins, and Hu Weizhi seemed a decent enough young man from what she heard.

The only one who wasn’t keen on the union was Xiao Qiaoyun herself, who found Hu Weizhi gross (he didn’t particularly take care of his appearance) and too old (she was 12 while he was 22). But with her parents now in agreement and Hu Zan excited at the prospect of this union. But her parents (and her father especially) were now dead set on the match, and Hu Zan was keen to obtain this connection to the Crown Prince. This left the young girl to go ask her grandfather Emperor Cheng to stop the match. But she was surprised to find him approving the marriage. While he didn’t like Hu Zan, he saw this as a good political move from his son to secure the Chen Dynasty once he passed away. Xiao Tung would need loyal generals, and Hu Zan was not a bad one to have by your side. Angered, Xiao Qiaoyan kicked her grandfather in his big toe, triggering immense pain due to his gout. In anger, he had the girl escorted by guards out of the palace.

Emperor Cheng also decided that he wanted some of his sons closer to him, if only to prepare them for important roles in the dynasty. Xiao Min and Xiao Dang were already competent enough, and Xiao Cang was currently serving under the Grand Commandant Chen Tiao. With the Crown Prince already living in the palace, this left Xiao Hanhe as the only son he felt he needed to prepare… or see, for that fact. It felt like his second son had been purposely avoiding him for years, even abandoning a place among his advisors to instead become Administrator of Chenliu Commandery. He didn’t even attend the proclamation of the new dynasty! Well no more! This time, he forced his son to come, summoning him to take his place as an advisor to the emperor. Xiao Hanhe agreed to this demand out of fear, afraid of what his violent father might do if he refused.

By January 221, some good news finally reached Chenguo. Ma Chao had challenged the troops of Ying Mo in Bocheng, one of the cities that had only recently been returned to Emperor Cheng by Budugen the Great. Ying Mo had hoped to seize these new territories before they could be reinforced by Chen garrisons, but the towns refused to accept him and instead warned Ma Chao of his presence. Sadly, the weakened Ma Chao had been unable to lead his small force to a quick victory. But this had been accounted for, as a large force led by Ba Daiping and Hu Zan marched to reinforce Ma Chao, resulting in a victory in the last week of December. Ying Mo was still able to weasel out of the battle alive though, leaving the war to continue until he was caught.

By that time, Emperor Cheng had decided to do his first reshuffle of the imperial government. He felt like some of these office holders had been either too incompetent in their duties or had simply been allowed to stay too long in their offices. The first one to get axed was Dian Wei, who served as the first ever Chancellor of the Chen Dynasty. And surprisingly, the popular general was proving decent at it, transitioning from the battlefield to the court with ease. He was well spoken, always certain of himself and clearly in a position of strength. But Xiao Ru decided that his general might be better used on the battlefield, and thus fired him only three months after his appointment. Dian Wei was shocked by this betrayal, which would eventually prove to be one too many for the great hero.

The choice of his replacement proved a lot more difficult than expected, with most of the potential candidates suggested by the court being other generals. And if Emperor Cheng was going to appoint another general as Chancellor, then he might as well have kept Dian Wei! Eventually, someone suggested the 29 years old Administrator of Liang Commandery, Ding Gongsi. Ding Gongsi had previously served as Assistant Administrator of Chen Province and was the son of a respected former official of the emperor, Ding Yan. More importantly, he was mostly known as a career bureaucrat, although he had a decent grasp of military affairs. Convinced, the Emperor summoned him to the Imperial Capital to take his post. Except that Ding Gongsi despised Emperor Cheng. He only accepted the office because he was a supporter of Crown Prince Tung and feared that the kind hearted prince might be pushed out of the succession by other princes like Xiao Hanhe.

Another casualty of these changes was Ying Hansheng, the brother of Ying Mo. While he had been a steadfast and loyal subject of the Emperor, keeping him in the inner circle was bound to invite controversy. Better to remove him before it came to that. Using the excuse that Ying Hansheng had failed to convince his brother to stand down, Emperor Cheng sent the official back to his county in disgrace. In his stead, the emperor would offer Tan Shenquan a place by his side, a move which surprised many. Emperor Cheng hoped to move his former enemy into the Imperial Capital, where he would be weakened and less of a threat. But Tan Shenquan saw the gilded cage that he was offered. While he thanked the Emperor and informed him that he would be on his way as soon as possible, he never left for Chenguo. There was no way he was risking a trip to the Imperial Capital.

With the war going well and his new Chancellor recently appointed, Emperor Cheng decided to start working on new imperial mint and on reworking the law books. The first plan was deemed too drastic to implement immediately, as both the Emperor and his Excellency of Works Yang Qub agreed that they didn’t have access to copper mines like the Liang Dynasty, which made the casting of new coins difficult. To go around this, Emperor Cheng suggested that the people should be encouraged to hand over the copper in their possession in exchange of back cash. While Yang Qub believed that they should simply take the copper as to not further weaken the treasury, he did not dare oppose the Emperor.

But what Emperor Cheng truly wanted reformed was the law system. While his enforcement of justice had always been seen as harsh by his contemporaries, he found himself limited to the Han law code. Now he wanted to make a new, harsher legal code that would reflect his views of law and justice. To set the tone of this legal reform, Emperor Cheng asked some of his scholar to go through the ancient laws of the Qin Dynasty to find worthy rules, even if the Qin was a dynasty known for its cruelty and was four hundred years old. Punishments were sure to be more severe under the Chen, with leniency against the lawbreakers a luxury that should no longer be afforded. Chancellor Ding Gongsi, who also believed in the use of cruelty against wrongdoers, hoped to put his own mark on this reform to enshrine his name in the history of the Dynasty. Needless to say, these incoming reforms was not popular.

It was around that time that news of the pro-Han revolts in the Liang Dynasty finally reached Chenguo. These were certainly mixed news for the Emperor. On the one hand, any report of instability within the Liang was to be welcomed. But it also left Emperor Cheng worried, as it might mean that he too would soon have to deal with Han loyalists within his territories. And he was right, though not in the way he had though. Ba Daiping, after abandoning command of the troops to Hu Zan and Ma Chao, launched a “coalition” against the Liang Dynasty to restore the Han. Tan Shenquan then immediately joined force with his general, hoping that this would prove the path back to power he desperately sought since submitting to the Chen.

Emperor Cheng was furious when he was informed of this. While Ba Daiping and Tan Shenquan sent envoys to Chenguo to convince him that they were in fact acting in the best interests of the dynasty, the Son of Heaven wasn’t stupid. He could see how his generals were trying to build their own power outside of his influence. Had his troops not been chasing Ying Mo (who was still alive with cities under his control), the Emperor would have ordered them to attack Ba Daiping and Tan Shenquan. But the absence of his generals provided one opportunity. Prince Hanhe and Prince Bin both suggested to their father that he should use this opportunity to capture the families of the wayward generals. And while Ba Daiping had taken his on campaign, the daughter of Tan Shenquan was found and taken back to Chenguo as a hostage against her father. This left the general enraged, especially when the coalition ended up in complete failure.

Of course, the betrothal between Princess Cha and Ba Daiping’s son was annulled after this incident. This opened the door to another general seeking to get closer to the Emperor: the administrator of Jiujang Commandery Ding Zhiguo. The one eyes uncle of Tan Shenquan had been serving Emperor Cheng for half a decade by now, but had always been seen with mistrust due to his previous loyalty to the Tao Clan. He now offered to enshrine his loyalty by marrying into the imperial family. He had been a widower for three years and hoped to be allowed to take Xiao Cha as his third wife. Emperor Cheng wasn’t convinced, as the man had a reputation for alcoholism. And at the end of the day, he was Tan Shenquan’s uncle. Ding Zhiguo thus promised that he would never touch Princess Cha, which strangely seem to endear the general to the princess. With this strange condition added and the opportunity to gain the permanent loyalty of such subordinate, Emperor Cheng eventually relented in September, with the couple being married at the end of the month.

In October, Ying Mo was finally defeated after spending most of the year escaping the Chen troops. The cities he had conquered were liberated, and his army quickly disintegrated. Even his support from the Liang Dynasty dried up, as Emperor Anwu found himself focusing his resources on the pro-Han revolts and then the planned southern expedition. The invader was finally captured thanks to the efforts of Hu Zan, who took full credit for this victory (even though Ma Chao was also present). Ying Mo would be transferred to Chenguo, where he would languish in a cell before being executed in February 222.

For his reward, Hu Zan was removed from command and ordered to return to the Capital to serve as the new Excellency of the Masses. This also put him at the Head of the Imperial Censorate, which was basically the same job he had been fired from two years ago. This series of firing and reappointments were starting to get on Hu Zan’s nerves, as he never stayed in one post long enough to leave a mark, to achieve the greatness he knew he was capable of. But even so, he was not about to refuse his first office within the new dynasty. Yet this would not be the lasting appointment he was hoping for, as five weeks later an official named Ren Duo was appointed in his place. Ren Duo was a master of court intrigues, and thus maneuvered to have the ambitious general sent back to his commandery as quick as possible. This worked perfectly, leaving Hu Zan feeling slighted by the whole affair.

But this appointment also marked the removal of another official: the Excellency of Works Yang Qub. Some believed that he was too young to occupy such an important position and that he only got the job because of his late father, the general Yang Weili. Yang Qub tight grip on the coffers of states and his paranoia about the various constructions projects he saw as wasteful did not gain him any friends either. As always, he was too shy to defend himself in front of court, resulting in Emperor Cheng removing him from office only a year after his appointment.

To replace him was an older official, Luo An. In his defense, Luo An was just as competent as Yang Qub, and had views that aligned far more with the Emperor than his predecessor. Even better, he had passed Han Imperial examination in the late 190’s, meaning that he had an actual right to governmental offices. Unlike the appointment and replacement of Hu Zan, the choice of Luo An was welcomed by everyone, who saw him as a perfect fit to be Excellency of Works.

It was around that time that an interesting offer came to the Imperial Court. On the northern border of the Chen Dynasty stood Bohai Commandery. It had been ruled since 193 by Yuan Tan, who had been instrumental in the fall of the great warlord Gongsun Zan and had since been able to rule his territories as an independent warlord. But Yuan Tan had died from cancer last year, leaving his territories to his fourth son Yuan Rei, who was only four at the time. Due to his age, a regency had to be put in place, which explicitly excluded Yuan Rei’s ambitious uncle Yuan Shang. After a year of trying to get control of his nephew, Yuan Shang took more drastic measures and revolted in March 221.

Now the regents of Yuan Rei were seeking allies to help them against Yuan Shang. With the rebellious uncle blocking their path west, they had no choice but to send envoys south to the Chen Dynasty, asking Emperor Cheng for support in saving the rightful administrator of Bohai Commandery. But the Emperor looked at this situation and simply saw an opportunity to expand his dynasty. He proudly declared that he would send the Imperial Army to Bohai Commandery to restore peace and ensured that Yuan Rei kept his post as a subject of the Chen Dynasty. This last part was not what the envoys wanted, and they tried to plead the Emperor to simply assist Yuan Rei, for which Bohai Commandery would become a steadfast ally of the Chen. But Emperor Cheng was set on conquering the commandery. The envoys were forced to return home and warn the regents that an invading Chen army was to be expected.

But two threats from the inside would slow down this planned expansion. First was a peasant uprising from the Fangyu countryside at the end of November. Fangyu was the city from which Hu Zan was administrating his commandery. He ruled it efficiently and with kindness toward the populace. But he was a bit too efficient for their taste when it came to collecting taxes, which the general always made sure to collect in full. With the new harsher laws being introduced by the Emperor, some peasants decided that they had enough and rose into revolt. Within a week, four thousand peasants had joined under the banner of rebellion.

But they were disorganized and inefficient, something showed by their inability to force Hu Zan to surrender Fangyu even though his garrison was ten times smaller than their peasant army. The general even managed to rout them after a courageous exit that pushed the rebels away from the region. They were then crushed by the Grand Commandant Chen Tiao. At first ordered to come to Chenguo to plan the invasion of Bohai, the revolt saw the court forced to change plan and send him to deal with the problem. The old man was quick to destroy the peasants, ending this uprising before the end of the year.

The second issue came in March 222. By that time, the Imperial Army had reached Bohai Commandery and was fighting the forces of the rebellious uncle Yuan Shang, who had the upper hand in the Bohai civil war. But these early successes in Bohai threatened to weaken Tan Shenquan even more than before. He wished to reclaim an independent Qing Province for himself, now fully convinced that his surrender to Emperor Cheng had been a massive mistake on his part. If Bohai was conquered, then it would leave his free Qing Province surrounded by the Chen Dynasty. Unwilling to find himself trapped by his enemy, Tan Shenquan decided to risk it all and rose in revolt against the Chen Dynasty. Fifteen months after its founding, the Chen was facing the first civil war of its history.

To his dismay, most of his former subordinates refused to join him in his challenge of the Emperor. Even He Jintao and Ba Daiping decided to stick with the Chen Dynasty, believing the revolt doomed and that the odds of an independent Qing Province were far weaker against the Liang Dynasty than that of the Chen.

But Tan Shenquan found supporters, ones that had previously served Emperor Cheng against him. First was Ma Chao, who was furious at the court’s attempts to interfere with military affairs. Not only that, but joining a revolt against an evil tyrant like Emperor Cheng reminded him of his old fight in the Liang mountains with the rebels like his father, Han Sui or Mo Jie. In his heart now burned a flame that had been extinguished two decades ago, the flame of justice against a tyrant. But more surprising was the presence of Dian Wei, who had been serving the Emperor for almost two decades by now. Yet the constant barrages of appointments and firings had taken a toll on his loyalty. His removal as Chancellor had proven too much, and now he sought another man to fight under. With these two great generals by his side, Tan Shenquan could hope that maybe victory would soon be in his grasp. And Xiao Ru would pay for taking away his province.

 

[Bibliophile]

A civil war so early on; things are not looking good for the Chen Dynasty.

I also hope the emperor knows what he is doing when hiring two (or more) people for the council who hate him. Hope that doesn’t come back to bite him in the rear end (but it probably will).

 

[HistoryDude]

The Chen and the Liang are two of the Three Kingdoms here. Will that rebellion form a third?

 

[Midnite Duke]

Never a moment of peace for China. Rapid advisor turn-over can not be stablizing. Thank you for updating.

 

[streaker77]

Tan Shenquan certainly looks like a formidable character, interested to see what his fate is, not surprising to see rebellion against the Chen, looking at the opinions of Emperor Chengs vassals of him, it appears they do not share the same view of goodness as his nickname suggests.

 

[Zamarak500]

222: ANWU VS CAO CAO​

When he formed the Liang Dynasty, Emperor Anwu’s plan to unify China was to conquer the bigger threats first, thus leaving the other warlords no other choice but to submit to him. He had started this strategy by invading Yang Province, which had proven to be a great success. But the creation of the Chen Dynasty and the pro-Han revolts led the Son of Heaven to reconsider his approach. The appearance of a dynastic rival changed the whole game, and he now needed to consider this carefully. Yes, he could probably conquer this new dynasty in one campaign, but this was not a certainty. Such war would be extremely costly for the Liang Dynasty, even if he won. This might leave the path open for a third player to rise up and seize the day. If Emperor Anwu was annoyed by the existence of a second dynasty, the appearance of a third would be enraging. Better to clean up the other warlords before duking it out with the Chen pretenders.

And the first warlord of that list was Cao Cao. In the last years of the Han, he had surprisingly expanded to the point of being the third biggest warlord in China. While the troops at his disposal were nowhere near that of the Liang (or the Chen), the genius of Cao Cao could surely compensate for this or any disadvantage that he faced. His surprising expansion was extremely frustrating to Emperor Anwu, considering that the man’s only claim to fame was a failed attempt on Dong Zhuo’s life 33 years ago. He spent most of his life since as a small warlord with little to no impact on China, someone who shouldn’t have become a problem. Yet here they were, with Cao Cao forming a literal wall between the Liang and the Chen. If someone was to ever form a third dynasty, it was this man. Which is why the Emperor needed to take him off the board as quickly as possible. In late January 222, the Liang Dynasty launched it’s campaign against Cao Cao, with the goal of claiming his lands for the Liang.

As he made preparations for the military campaign, Emperor Anwu received a written request from his Excellency of Works Mo Jie. He was seeking a marriage for his new son Mo Duo and wondered if Princess Xiaoya was still available to remarry. Emperor Anwu thought this was some sort of joke. His favorite daughter was still betrothing Xu Chu’s son, after all. But it turned out that no, Mo Jie was genuinely asking for this betrothal to be annulled so that Yao Xiaoya could marry someone closer to her age. Surely this was an acceptable deal, right?

This enraged both father and daughter. The Emperor had allowed the adoption and pardoned Mo Duo, but this was too much. His daughter marrying a lowly barbarian, and a traitor at that? Unacceptable. And the princess hated the idea just as much. Already she was going to marry the son of a great general instead of the general himself, and now she should settle for an even lower marriage? There was no way she would allow this savage anywhere near her. Even Crown Prince Yuan, now sixteen years old, presented a petition at court condemning this insulting proposal by the Excellency of Works. Mo Jie tried to justify himself, being extremely confused at the controversy, but as always it only made things worst. By the time Emperor Anwu left Chang’an to go on campaign, Mo Jie had been removed from office and ordered to go back to his province, leaving the Imperial Capital humiliated. As for Mo Duo, he eventually married Bao Mingyue, daughter of a dead official from Yi Province named Bao Ming (a contemporary of Pan Zheng in the late 190’s).

Believing that this campaign would be an easy war due to the size of the Liang army, Emperor Anwu decided to go take command of the troops himself as to shore up his prestige. The familial scandals, the rise of the Chen Dynasty and the pro-Han revolts had left a blemish on his new regime, which he now felt needed to be rectified. Another war just like that of the Yang campaign to show everyone that he was the true holder of the Mandate of Heaven. Of course, he also took by his side Xu Chu, his fastest rising general. In the three years since the founding of the Liang Dynasty, Xu Chu had become Marquis of Longxi, General who Manifests Might (a title he was once again given on this campaign) and Governor of Yi Province. Quite a career that seemed only to be waiting for a place among the inner circle of Chang’an.

But the Emperor also ensured that some younger officers were brought on this trip as to build up a future generation of military leaders. Among those were the brothers Guan Tie and Guan Ping. Guan Tie, the second son of Guan Yu, had already been noticed by the Emperor, and had made sure that the young man served under him against Ba Daiping’s “coalition”. However, his older brother Guan Ping was also proving to be a competent military leader, though he lacked his brother’s skills to be anything else. Guan Ping now served as Administrator of Zhao Commandery, an office previously held by their father. While Guan Ping was considerably older than his younger brother (he was 43) and injured due to a hunting accident, he still had the potential of rising within the ranks if he did well on this campaign.

Ass the troops assembled, Emperor Anwu also took a good look at his Crown Prince and became worried. Clearly Yao Yuan was not made of the same mold as he was. Understandable, considering that he spent his life in army camps, while the Crown Prince spent his at court. The boy was learned, yes, and he did manage to make his way through court politics well enough. But he clearly lacked an understanding of the state. The multiple pathetic excuses used by the Crown Prince to avoid going on campaign only made the Emperor more worried about the future. Thankfully, he had prepared for this, and over the last few years he had written a book for his eventual successor, which he called “The Seven Founding Principles to Rule”. He hoped that this book would be useful to Crown Prince Yuan once he took the throne, and hopefully help him become a better monarch.

But while all these preparations were taking place, Cao Cao made an early move. Instead of attacking the center of the Liang Dynasty and move against a symbolic target like Luoyang or attack the rich Jing Province in the south, he moved toward the northern mountains of Bing. He planned o take the important fortified cities between Bing and Ji Province and force the Imperial Army to face him in disadvantageous situations, all while he pillaged Bing Province. Of course, news of this move did not sit well with Xuan Su, the Governor of Bing Province. He might have been happy to let the Emperor and Cao Cao duke it out in the south. But now that his territories were threatened, he found himself forced to act.

Xuan Su immediately started to raise troop and prepare the defense of the mountain passes. He raised around half the number of troops under Cao Cao’s command. Xuan Su quickly took position in a mountainous pass that he believed defendable enough and prepared himself. Envoys sent to the Emperor to warn him of the enemy’s approach never came back, making Xuan Su fear that they had been captured by Cao Cao. All he could do was hope that the Imperial Army would arrive in time to assist him. The Cao army finally appeared in May, scouts reporting that it was camping close to their position. And no sign of Emperor Anwu…
_______________________

Xuan Su was sitting in the home he had requisitioned at the center of the village. Jingxing was a village situated on the hills that separated the mountains of Bing Province and the plains of Ji Province. A good position to stop the enemy from entering Bing Province. Even if they were defeated (which they would probably be without imperial support), they could retreat to the mountains and slow down Cao Cao’s advance.

“Cough! Heh…”

Damnit. He was coughing blood again. He felt frail as he continued to spit blood. Years of fighting a sickness that did not want to surrender had left him a pale shadow of the vigorous young man he once was. He was already stressed enough by the handling of his multiple schemes, but now he had to endure his weakening body. At least he still had enough strength to lead the defense.

“Cough!”

“Father!”

Xuan Lu came to his father’s side, but Xuan Su immediately shoved him off in anger. It was already humiliating to be in this state. Receiving help would be unbearable. And if the troops heard that he had become too old and sickly, then it might affect morale.

“Let me be!” he shouted as he pushed his son away in frustration.

Xuan Lu, taken aback by this, simply obeyed and took his distances. Honestly, Xuan Su didn’t understand why his son had even wanted to come. He knew that the boy was aiming for a promotion within the imperial bureaucracy, but there were other ways to do so than accompany him on this campaign. Xuan Lu had his place not in the army camps, but at court, where he could dress well and entertain others with his oratory skills. While he did like the mountains, it was only because it allowed him to interact with the barbarians. Xuan Lu was one of those young idealists who bought Mo Jie’s ideas of friendship and cooperation with the barbarians. While Xuan Su knew how to use the northern barbarians to his advantage, that did not mean he considered them his equals. With ideas like that, he had no place on the battlefield. But Xuan Lu was ambitious, and so insisted that this was the faster way to get the promotion he sought. And really, it was not like Xuan Su could tell him not to follow his ambitions.

So Xuan Lu was present for the defense against Cao Cao. That was not the case of his oldest (living) son, however. If Xuan Lu felt at odds within the army, Xuan Mei would have been a source of ridicule. The hunchback had always been looked down by others, much to the annoyance of Xuan Su. But while he could see that his son had developed a tendency to avoid conflict because of this, he also noticed that Xuan Mei was taking pride in his lineage. Yes, he was a hunchback, but he was the heir of Xuan Su, the greatest man of China. And Xuan Mei was a decent enough speaker with some basis in administration. When Xuan Lu asked to join the defense, Xuan Mei instead offered to administrate Bing Province in his father’s absence. Xuan Su could only agree. If something happened to him, then at least Xuan Mei would be safe to retain all the power he had built (assuming that Emperor Anwu didn’t oppose it).

“Didn’t I tell you to go check the supply, Lu?” he finally asked after he finished coughing.

“I was but…”

Xuan Lu stopped himself, looking around at some of the other officers present. There was clearly something that none of them wanted to say, but someone needed to spit out. Xuan Su frowned. This only happened when they had terrible news for him. Knowing that none of them would come forward without a small push, Xuan Su decided to point of the officers out as to save his son from the embarrassment.

“You…. Cough! Heh… spit it.”

“Governor, we, hum… We caught deserters. A least three dozen of them.”

“By Heaven, can things get any worse?” Xuan Su complained.

“We still have no news from his Imperial Majesty and the Grand Imperial Army.”

Xuan Su glared at the officer who was stupid enough to answer this open question. He sighed and took a moment to think.

“The deserters.”

“Y-Yes?” one officer answered.

“Cough! Cough!... Are they still alive?”

“We have them in custody, father.” Xuan Lu explained. “We can have them flogged whenever you give the order.”

“Flogged? No, no, no. We won’t flog them.”

“We could hang the ring leaders.” one officer suggested.

“Lingchi. All of them.”

“Governor?”

Looking at the confusion in their eyes, Xuan Su grunted in annoyance.

“Death by slow process. The lingering death. The death by a thousand cuts. Doesn’t that ring a bell? Anyone?”

“Father… All of them?”

“Yes.” Xuan Su answered.

“B-But Governor. We need every man available.”

“Which is why we better give the soldiers a taste of what awaits them if they try to desert.”

“But… hum… how should we even process doing this?”

“You cut the arm, then the body, always avoiding vital points! I’m not asking you to write a thesis on Confucius, I’m asking you to kill a man! SO GET TO IT!”

“Y-Yes!”

“Wait.” Xuan Su ordered before most of them left. “If the men start protesting too much, just execute the deserters. I want to convince the soldiers to stick around, not drive them into mutiny.”

“Yes, Governor!”

The officers left to go prepare the executions, with only Xuan Lu staying behind. There was going to be a lot of screams in the camp for the days to come. Maybe even enough to drown the sounds of his awful cough. He was in the middle of one of these bloody coughs when a man in uniform entered the building and fell to his knee.

“Governor!”

“Cough, cough! What now?”

“Cao Cao sent an envoy! He gave us a letter for you.”

The soldier presented a bamboo scroll, which Xuan Su coldly snatched out of his subordinate’s hands.

“Leave me.” he ordered the soldier.

“Yes!” the man said before making his hasty exit.

Xuan Su started to read the letter in silence. It was a safe decision, considering its content. His eyes grew wider as he took in the words written in the scroll. He had to admit it, Cao Cao knew how to make an enticing offer.

“What does it say?” Xuan Lu asked, the curiosity getting the better of him.

With a smile, Xuan Su simply answered:

“Cao Cao wants me to join him.”

“T-To betray the Emperor?” Xuan Lu asked, troubled.

“He wants us to join force. Once we defeat the Liang and split Ji Province, we would both stand as two of the most powerful men in China. He even wrote a rough strategy on how to achieve such victory.”

“What will you do?”

“Cao Cao clearly gave this idea some thoughts.” he said with a wicked smile. “I should thus do the same.”

Joining Cao Cao and betraying Emperor Anwu. This idea certainly had value. If Cao Cao was as good as they said, then this might be doable. He would finally reclaim the power and independence he had been craving for all those years. Maybe he could even declare himself Emperor of his own dynasty. If this Xiao Ru fellow could do it, then why no him. Yes… Emperor Xuan Su certainly had a nice ring to it. He had spent years trying to build his own powerbase in the north, and now he was given an opportunity to put it to good use.

But his eyes then noticed a red stain on the ground. Blood, his blood. His eyes then darted to Xuan Lu, and this sadly put everything back into perspective. Even if this betrayal succeeded, his declining health meant that he would probably not be the one handling what came next. Had it been ten, maybe even five years ago, he would have been confident that he could build a state from such betrayal and leave it stable enough for his sons. Now though… With Cao Cao and Emperor Anwu on his border (and that didn’t even account for the Xianbei Confederacy), his successful betrayal would only doom his family once he was gone. As much as it pained him to admit it, he needed to remain loyal. At this point, his own dreams would have to play second fiddle to the future of his Clans. If he could not achieve greatness, then he needed to make sure that his sons were in a position to do so. And this was not going to happen by pulling such a wild and dangerous betrayal.

“Burn the letter.” he ordered his son. “Never mention its content to anyone.”

“Should we send a reply to Cao Cao?” Xuan Lu asked.

“Why?” Xuan Su answered with a grin. “The doubts over my loyalty may be our only advantage, so why waste it?”
_______________________________________

But whatever advantage Xuan Su hoped to gain proved useless. Once Cao Cao and his generals realized that Xuan Su wasn’t going to switch side, they launched their assault. They spent the first two days harassing the defenders. While it resulted in minimal casualties, it certainly affected the morale and the resources of Xuan Su’s soldiers. Some Cao soldiers even managed to make their way in Jingxing and destroy the granary. Now doomed to starve if things didn’t improve, the defenders were made aware that Cao reinforcements had blocked their escape route After two more days of waiting, Cao Cao ordered the conquest of the city.

The fighting was ferocious, but the sickened Xuan Su knew that they were doomed. At least until his men came to him with tears in their eyes. They screamed: “The Emperor! The Emperor is here!” And indeed, as he looked down on the plains, he could see the massive Liang army, led by Emperor Anwu himself. Now caught between Xuan Su’s forces and the far larger imperial army, Cao Cao found himself trapped. Just as the Emperor had planned. He quickly ordered XU Chu to launch a daring charge on the enemy, followed by a relief effort from the rest of the troops. Xuan Su and his men were broken out of their encirclement, and now victory seemed certain.

What happened then? They had the numbers, the defensive advantage, the knowledge of the terrain, and great commanders to win the battle. So why did this become the greatest defeat of Emperor Anwu’s entire life? Well, there were many factors. Cao Cao had planned for this and prepared accordingly. Xu Chu, while a great commander, was not the best tactician. The Liang army was divided between the task of defeating Cao Cao and breaking free the encircled troops of Xuan Su. But really, one of the main causes of this failure was the overconfidence of the Emperor. His whole life had been nothing but success after success, victory after victory. By now, this had led him to become somewhat arrogant about his military capabilities. The idea of actually meeting a match on the battlefield never even crossed his mind. For him, Cao Cao, while competent, did not compare to him. No one compared to him. So this defeat proved quite the reality check for the Emperor.

But he was not the only one to be shocked by this turning point. For many across China, this brought into question the legitimacy of the Liang Dynasty itself. After all, a clear sign that one held the Mandate (and the favor) of Heaven was victory on the battlefield. While it was clear that Emperor Anwu had previously been favored by Heaven, considering his unification of more than half of the Han territories, this embarrassing defeat opened the door to a simple question: did he still hold the Mandate. The Chen Dynasty was quick to answer with an enthusiastic no, even as it was struggling with a civil war within its borders. But a large group of peasants reached the same conclusion, rising in revolt close to the site of the battle. Obviously, this revolt was only possible thanks to a hefty amount of support from Cao Cao.

Xuan Su had a plan on how to salvage this debacle. Yes, they had lost, but they shouldn’t focus on that. Instead, they should promote his defense of Jingxing and the ability of the soldiers to resist the invader. They didn’t fail to push back the enemy; they stalled its dangerous advance. This ought to be celebrated! Emperor Anwu loved this spin on the facts, but he hated that it meant rewarding Xuan Su. Still, this proved the best victory he could hope for, so he agreed with the propaganda idea. For his efforts, Xuan Su received two rewards for his sons. Xuan Lu was given the promotion he had always dreamed of, as he was soon appointed Magistrate of Leiyang. This appointed in the south of Jing Province was a move on the Emperor’s part to distance the Xuan Clan from their home in Bing Province, which he hoped would weaken their powerbase.

The second reward was a betrothal between Xuan Zian, Xuan Su’s third oldest living son, and Princess Ki, the Emperor’s oldest child. Yao Ki had been widowed a year ago and was still young enough to produce children (she already had four, including her bastard son with Hu Cheer). Unlike her sister Yao Xiaoya, Yao Ki was happy at the prospect of marrying the young son of such a powerful governor. She certainly saw the advantages that could come from this, both for her and her now fatherless sons. But while the marriage would take place, it would prove an unhappy one. Xuan Zian would never been keen on his older wife, and the lack of children from their union led to rumors that he shunned his wife’s presence as much as possible.

But the propaganda and the rewards did nothing to improve the situation in the camps. Morale among both soldiers and officers was low after the defeat at Jingxing. While Xuan Su and the likes tried to enforce strict military discipline, Emperor Anwu tried to give his soldiers some leeway as to give them a chance to recuperate. Except these looser standards came just as an epidemic of slow fever erupted in the camp. The disease cost the lives of a few hundred men, including the promising young officer Guan Tie. Emperor Anwu had singled him out as a promising example of the future generation of Liang officers. Now he was dead at the age of 24.

But all these depressing developments were turned upside down by unexpected news in June. Cao Cao was dead. The victory at Jingxing would prove his last trick, and he died in the first weeks of June at the age of 67. The problem (at least for Cao Cao’s supporters) was that almost every single one of Cao Cao’s son had preceded him in death. Because of this, his succession was never fully settled, leaving the whole question up in the air when he died. His generals quickly abandoned the campaign and retreated to Dong Commandery and declared the only son of Cao Cao as their leader. But Cao Mang being only a year old, this meant that the generals would be the ones running the show.

Yet not everyone in the family agreed with this. Since the generals had brought their whole forces in Dong Commandery, the rest of the territories controlled by Cao Cao found themselves without support from the army. This left many civilian officials frustrated, a frustration that was exploited by Cao Xi. Cao Xi was the result of the marriage between Cao Ang, Cao Cao’s eldest son, and Lü Bu’s daughter when the two warlords formed an alliance against Gongsun Zan. As the eldest son to the eldest son, Cao Xi had a lot of reasons to expect to be the next heir. When he wasn’t, the competent young men took things into his own hands. He managed to seize the Julu and Qinghe Commanderies, which represented two thirds of his father’s territories.

And then there was the third Cao heir: Cao Fang. Cao Fang was something of an anomaly, mostly because he was neither the son nor the grandson of Cao Cao. He was instead the son of Cao Ren, a distant cousin of Cao Cao and one of his key generals. But Cao Fang was not with his father when Cao Cao died; he was in control of the city of Julu. Realizing that the situation could allow him to make his own path (and that he had more troops in his county than Cao Xi in his two commanderies), Cao Fang refused the authority of Cao Mang or Cao Xi. He now saw himself as a new independent warlord, free to achieve his own ambitions.

This proved a welcomed development for Emperor Anwu, who only weeks before was facing the full might of Cao Cao. With most of the Cao troops serving under Cao Mang, the Emperor decided to turn his attention on the other two. He quickly dispatched an envoy to Cao Fang and convinced him that he would recognize him as the true heir of Cao Cao in exchange of his submission. Seeing this as a way to preserve his territory and hoping for further advancement, Cao Fang agreed. With him neutralized, this left the massive target that was Cao Xi. If Cao Xi was defeated, then this whole campaign could be salvaged. In late June 222, Emperor Anwu announced that soon they would be reclaiming Ji Province, starting with the lands held by Cao Xi.

 

[Bibliophile]

Xuan Su’s star is fading. As he himself acknowledges, the days of bold schemes and betrayals is over. He can’t guarantee he would live to see those schemes to completion; so the best he can do is make sure his clan continues to prosper when he’s gone.

Also, that campaign against Cao Cao turned into quite the shaggy dog story. Cao Cao wins a seemingly impossible battle; Anwu and his forces scramble to deal with the fallout; this all seems the set up for a long, difficult war between Liang and Cao Cao (with a possible hint of Xuan Su dying during that war)…..then he just drops dead and his realm fractures.

Then again, this is CK2, why should I be surprised? Shaggy dog stories are just as much the bread and butter of a CK2 AAR as stories of conquest and epic dynastic struggles are.

 

[HistoryDude]

The Cao clan is split, but they haven't lost yet. Emperor Anwu should still beware them.

The Xuan family is doing very well. They might yet form a dynasty.

I wonder what the Chen think of this? Will they also attack the Cao clan's lands?