The Last Days of the Han (Three Kingdoms AAR)

Zamarak500 · Apr 30, 2021

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)

Zamarak500 · May 13, 2021

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.

Zamarak500 · May 16, 2021

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…

Zamarak500 · May 17, 2021

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.
____________________________________________________

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.

_______________________
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.

Zamarak500 · May 24, 2021

196-197: MY SUCCESS IS YOUR GREATEST FEAR

The sudden death of Guo Si had come as a surprise to everyone, especially Yao Shuren. His relationship with his father-in-law had been falling apart over the last years as Guo Si had become more and more jealous (and drunk). Yao Shuren had done everything to stay in his good favors, understanding that he needed to keep his current position if he ever wanted to inherit the province one day. Guo Si’s pregnant wife certainly gave him worries that he might be pushed to the side once the governor had a biological heir. His wife Guo Yuyi, who also banked on her husband’s success, tried to help him by playing mediator between her adoptive father and Yao Shuren, but there was only so much she could do to resonate with a drunk. But then Guo Si died while fighting a small revolt, and suddenly he found himself as the new Governor of Liang Province. He was now in charge.

While the death of Guo Si solved his current difficulties, it didn’t mean that he would not honor his predecessor. His first actions as the new governor were to have all the captured rebels executed publicly. Those that caused the death of Guo Si could simply not be allowed to live. He also quickly led the funerary rites for his father-in-law along with his wife, the two of them being front and center of the whole ceremony. This was mostly an effort on their part to legitimize the changing of the guard and reaffirm their association with Guo Si. A sharp political move that had the intended effect. Most of the officials of the province, seeing how the filial attitude they had and the way he honored his predecessor, quickly accepted the transfer of power without much fuss. Many of them had been around since the days of Dong Zhuo. They all knew Yao Shuren and respected him for his military talent, having served with him for years. The oldest of them had even knew his father Yao Huan and had seen their new lord grow up. As for the new ones, they had either been appointed by Dong Zhuo or more recently by Guo Si, making the latter’s son-in-law an obvious candidate for the succession, especially with Guo Si’s wife having run off before giving birth.

But while he was secure internally, Yao Shuren still wanted official control of the province. The Han court might not be as mighty as it once was, but it could still pose a threat to an illegal governor. This was an issue, especially with Duan Wei in charge. The two had fought against each other in 194, and he was afraid that the Chancellor would never be open to a deal. So how happy he was when he learned in early April that Duan Wei had died and that the far more respectable (and less shrewd) Niu Fu was now in charge. He immediately sent the most flattering envoys, with orders to secure support from the Imperial Court. Support from Luoyang meant that everything he did as governor was in the right, as long as he justified it the right way. A powerful tool against other powerful governors like Liu Fan of Yi or Gongsun Zan of Ji. Ironically, Niu Fu’s lack of experience at court ruined Yao Shuren’s plans, as the new Chancellor found himself forced to rely on his military experience. For him, Yao Shuren was a follower of the dangerous Dong Zhuo and had played a key role in the revolt against imperial authority in 194. He wasn’t some new unknown like Administrator Xiao Ru of Chen Commandery, asking for a little recognition to help bring peace to a region in chaos. This was a dangerous enemy of the capital they were talking about. So Niu Fu refused, leaving Yao Shuren frustrated, but patiently plotting for another opportunity.

Over these first months of ruling Liang Province, Yao Shuren was quick to put his most loyal follower to good use, relying on his age and respectable reputation when needed. Hu Zhen had played a key role in ensuring his smooth succession and had always been supporting him when Guo Si was alive, something the new governor was not about to forget. Hu Zhen, for his part, had simply sticked to the early succession pushed by Guo Si, seeing the talent of the younger man. He also (wisely) suspected that it would be dangerous to get in the way of Yao Shuren. For his loyalty and his support, Hu Zhen found himself promoted to the position of Chief Clerk of the province, making him the highest administrative man in the region. While a better commander than an administrator, Hu Zhen would prove diligent and loyal in his duties, yet leaving the big decisions to Yao Shuren. Exactly what the young governor wanted.

But Yao Shuren also needed someone that knew the old texts, someone who knew the books of laws and the ancient writings. For this he was advised to go seek Duan Zuo. Duan Zuo was an official that had been appointed to a post in Liang in 188 and had stuck around ever since. Humble and trusting, he proved useful to Dong Zuo and the other Liang officers at times, which left most of them ignoring his crippling flaws. A lustful and greedy man, he was easily one of the most corrupt officials in the province, skimming money on the side and having his way with as many women as possible. However, he was an extremely knowledgeable and useful man, so his failings were usually ignored. Yao Shuren and Guo Yuyi, at least for the time being, decided to do the same as their predecessors. Th new governor needed a competent scholar to advise him at times, and sadly Duan Zuo was the best he had on hand. When he summoned the man, Yao Shuren noticed how stressed he was. Duan Zuo actually thought he was about to be executed for his corruption until he was given a position at his new lord’s side.

Having surrounded himself with competent advisors (if not always the most reliable), he now turned his attention to a torn in his side. Jin Xuan’s career had been declining over the years due to his many failures, even if he remained staunchly loyal to Guo Si and continuously tried to prove himself to him. What Yao Shuren simply couldn’t accept was Jin Xuan’s position during the succession, the way he tried to mess with his ascension. Showing his blind loyalty to Guo Si, Jin Xuan had insisted that his lord’s pregnant wife would give birth to a son, who was thus the rightful heir. Hu Zhen wisely insisted that Yao Shuren was the new governor, but that didn’t stop Jin Xuan from warning the pregnant wife of her husband’s death. This early warning prevented Yao Shuren from nipping this potential rival in the womb. While Jin Xuan eventually accepted the new order of things in the province, the new governor never forgave that move against his authority. In June 196, when he felt secure enough in his new position, Yao Shuren had Jin Xuan assassinated on a hunting trip. He would not tolerate such insubordination under him.

But as he dealt with the problems of the previous succession, he found himself having to deal with his own. This was an issue that was creating growing tensions between Yao Shuren and his wife Guo Yuyi. So far, the marriage had only resulted in the birth of two daughters, Yao Ki and Yao Xiangjun, with no son on the horizon. While he valued his wife as an advisor, her opinion on succession was unwelcomed at best. For obvious reasons, she wanted Yao Shuren to adopt her son Guo Bian, the bastard she had with Dong Zhuo. She insisted that this would only enhance her husband’s authority in the province and would allow him to firmly carry the legacy of Dong Zhuo. This was not something Yao Shuren wanted to do anymore. The old warlord had been dead for half a decade. The name Dong Zhuo did not have as much gravitas as it once had. Luoyang was controlled by a Han loyalist now, with little of Dong Zhuo’s old generals still around. As for Lü Bu, his many wars had allowed him to stand on his own without the need of his adoptive father’s name. Besides, most of Dong Zhuo’s followers in Bing Province had fled or were dead. To still cling to Dong Zhuo’s legacy would bring little reward for Yao Shuren outside of Liang anymore. So he continued to push back the issue of adoption, always hoping that his wife would eventually give him a true biological heir instead.

Even with this problem, Yao Shuren was able to cement his position as the new Governor of Liang. He had advisors that were influential in the province, most notably the old Hu Zhen, who was always ready to support him against any perceived enemy. While they often bickered, the ruling couple was proving a strong match that solidified power for themselves at the top. The many officials of the province quickly rallied around their young leader. By late July, he had solidified enough control over Liang Province that he could appoint and remove people as he pleased, centralizing more power into his own hands.

Needless to say, the quick rise of Yao Shuren was a worrying prospect for the remaining Liang rebels holed up in Jincheng. Most of them still remembered far too well the brutality used by Dong Zhuo to bring the province back under control during the rebellion, and Ma Teng had not forgotten how Yao Shuren had been given his former territories following the successful campaign of Guo Si a few years back. Han Sui was especially afraid that they were too weak to resist an attack should the new Governor of Liang Province decide to finally wipe them off the map. The old man was fully aware that their situation was precarious. They were the last holdout of a rebellion that started all the way in 184. Han Sui had a son, but he was not even a year old, not exactly leader material. If he was to die, tensions between the various rebels would be sure to rise up, if they hadn’t all been defeated by then. They couldn’t just sit there and wait, or their cause would be doomed. Something had to be done.

Han Sui thus summoned his main advisors to discuss the issue at hand. At his side were his fellow rebel Ma Teng, his protégé Chenggong Ying and the architect turned rebel administrator Mo Jie. They all seemed to agree that something had to be done for the cause of Liang liberation, that they couldn’t just sit there waiting for Yao Shuren to decide to crush them. Chenggong Ying supported the idea of continuing with their old plans of encouraging rebellions within Liang Province. After all, hadn’t Guo Si been killed fighting one of those? Mo Jie was all for that idea, as he had been the one handling most of this operation in the first place and was a firm believer in its success, refusing to take any criticism to the project. However, he proved so energetic in his answer that it came out sounding more like anger than excitement, and it was perceived as him pushing against the idea of continuing these operations. Ma Teng quickly used this to jump in and point out how all these small rebellions had failed.

No, what Ma Teng believed was needed was the support of the barbarians. Han Sui, who was intrigued by this, asked his old comrade for more details. Ma Teng insisted that what they needed wasn’t some small sporadic revolt to back them up. That had failed many times before. No, what they needed was to ally themselves with the Qianghaixi Khaganate, the horde of Qiang barbarians living to the west of their domain. They were the only force strong enough to help in their defence, and maybe strong enough to help them retake Liang Province. Han Sui agreed with the plan, believing that the Qianghaixi had a lot of untapped manpower that could be used in such war. The issue then came as to who to send to negotiate an alliance. Obviously, sending Mo Jie again would be a grave mistake considering how it led to a war the previous time. Since neither Chenggong Ying nor Ma Teng wanted to go, it was suggested that the young Ma Chao go as an envoy. The young officer agreed, happy to help the rebel cause. However, he soon found out upon arrival that Cheliji Khagan had never really forgiven them for defeating him and was envious of the rebels’ successes. He was highly rude and insulted Ma Chao on multiple occasions, and often refused to see him out of fear that the young man would assassinate him. In the end, Ma Chao was sent home packing, the plan for an alliance falling through.

Not only did Cheliji Khagan refuse to ally himself with the rebels, but he also started to raid the border between their territories. This annoyed to no end the magistrate in charge of the border, Qu Yan. His subordination to Han Sui had been forced, and so he used every opportunity to complain to his overlord and warn that he might revolt if things don’t go exactly as he wished. While no one among the rebel leadership liked these threats, they still had to take it into account. This was not the time to have Qu Yan revolt. They thus decided to hit two birds with one stone. They needed to end the raids against Qu Yan and they needed the manpower of the Qiang horde. So Han Sui decided that the best path of action here was simple: conquer some territories from the Qinghaixi Khaganate. Still, Chenggong Ying advised his lord that it would be wise to try diplomacy one last time. But Cheliji Khagan also sent these envoys packing. Seeing that no deal would ever be reached with the Khagan, Han Sui declared war in November 196.

While everyone, from Ma Chao to Wang Bi to even Mo Jie volunteered to lead troops, Han Sui refused them all. He decided that this campaign had to be handled by himself, although he also asked for his old ally Ma Teng to accompany him. The two old leaders took their army and marched through the mountain pass, reaching the territories of the Khaganate within a few months. They actually never saw the enemy force, even if Cheliji Khagan was leading his horsemen in the opposite direction. Having used another road, the Qiang horsemen soon found themselves against the walls of Qu Yan’s city, which had been reinforced by Chenggong Ying and Wang Bi. As it turned out, though, siege was not the speciality of the Qianghaixi Khaganate (as was the case of most horsemen encountering walls). The Khagan thus struggled in trying to besiege the city. No matter his efforts, he was always pushed back thanks to the efficient strategies of Chenggong Ying, who had taken an oath to not let the barbarians enter the rebel territories. And Chenggong Ying was not going to disappoint Han Sui.

Things were a lot easier for Han Sui and Ma Teng. All they found were villages and tents that easily surrendered to the incoming army. The only challenge was finding them. Thankfully, Ma Teng proved quite useful at this, his old network with his fellow Qiangs turning out pretty useful. Once they found guides willing to help the rebels free them of Cheliji Khagan’s control, they were led to the various locations which they secured with little fighting. By April 197, a large swat of territories had surrendered to Han Sui and Ma Teng. Meanwhile, Cheliji Khagan had made no progress whatsoever. Ma Teng suggested that they continue and conquer the whole Khaganate, but Han Sui refused. He forced Cheliji Khagan to accept the loss of territories and to end the war here. The Khagan was infuriated but saw no other option but to accept these humiliating terms. He thus went home, swearing that one day he would return and retake what he had lost.

Han Sui’s refusal to push any further was due to the many panicked letters he had been receiving from Mo Jie. As it turned out, the architect was far better at expressing himself clearly in writing than in words, and he made sure to express how dire the situation was. Because while they were at war, Yao Shuren had finally found a way to gain some official recognition from the Han Imperial Court. In March 197, he decreed that he would finally deal with the remaining rebels that “challenged the immortal imperial authority of the Han Dynasty”. Niu Fu, who was advised that not giving the ok for this would been seen as support for the rebels, agreed to recognize the campaign as an officially mandated one, which gave some legitimate authority to Yao Shuren. The worst fear of Han Sui had finally come true, and now it was time to see if the rebels would be crushed at last or if they could regain the momentum needed to bring their cause to fruition.

_____________________

Specialist290 said:
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?)

Well, you have two options for that. Option one is reading it now, and option two is continuing to not reading it, which means more chapters to read when you finally get back into it! Who knows what will happen to Yang Weili by that time! Maybe he<ll be dead, or a eunuch, or a prisoner again! Or good stuff could happen, but who cares about that?

Midnite Duke said:
Noble Death!

Indeed! I honestly would have enjoyed it more if he lived longer, but it was a good sendoff.

Zamarak500 · May 27, 2021

196-197: THE START OF HOSTILITIES

Lü Bu had emerged completely victorious of the Black Mountain Bandits. Zhang Yan had dared to threaten Bing Province, yet now he was fleeing in order to save his life. Lü Bu returned home victorious with little to worry about. That was until he learned of all this mess that was happening between Xuan Su and Guo Wen, the two administrators guarding the northern frontier. He found himself bombarded by messages from both sides the second he was back in his provincial capital. Each of the two men demanded that he supports them in the conflict. Enraged, but also not caring at all about this little feud, he more or less told them to deal with it themselves and to leave him alone. Other than baring Xuan Su from exerting his official duties while the little conflict went on, the Inspector did nothing to punish them for their private war. He had more important things to deal with.

No, what really bothered Lü Bu at the time was how Gongsun Zan had tried to steal his victory. Toward the end of the campaign against the Black Mountain Bandits, the Governor of Ji Province had ordered his subordinate Tan Weiping to go deal with the bandit raids. To Lü Bu, this was nothing else of an insult. He had been the one fighting this war, yet suddenly Gongsun Zan wanted to steal his victory? How dared he? The great Lü Bu would not share the glory with anyone! He was also made aware of the fact that Tan Weiping had been ordered to guard the border between their provinces. Another move that, from Gongsun Zan’s perspective, was justifiable for the safety of his territories. Yet it was interpreted as a challenge by Lü Bu. While he was advised to tackle the issue diplomatically, the letters he sent to Gongsun Zan were far closer to threat than official complains. Then again, subtlety had never been a talent of the great Lü Bu. It was only because Gongsun Zan was fully focused on his Jibei campaign at the time that tensions did not immediately rise up.

Lü Bu’s own shift toward belligerence was shortly halted in March 196 due to a barbarian revolt. The tensions in the north between Xuan Su and Guo Wen led many barbarians to lose faith in their Chinese overlords. An ambitious and slightly idealistic Xiongnu named Qiangpu certainly saw an opportunity in the situation. Watching the conflict being fought without battles, Qiangpu hoped to be able to free his people the same way, without a fight. He stubbornly believed peaceful rebellion would work, so all he did was have his men expulse all the local officials of his county and declare themselves free. But Lü Bu would have none of that crap. He called back Zhang Yang, the general who had assisted him during the war, and marched against this little shitty rebellion. When news reached him of the incoming army, Qiangpu refused to accept it as fact. He instead sent envoys demanding that his Xiongnus be allowed to go free. When the envoys’ heads were sent back, Qiangpu and his allies panicked. Soon enough, they were brutally crushed by Lü Bu, who had most of them slaughtered.

Once he dealt with the Xiongnu revolt and returned to his provincial capital, Lü Bu found himself bored of his administrative duties. He had just crushed a barbarian revolt, only a few months after defeating the dangerous Black Mountain Bandits. But now he found himself seeking more battles, more victories, more conquests. Yes, he was the invincible Lü Bu! Why would he need to wait and simply administrate when he could conquer more territories? Some advised him that he should move on Luoyang. Duan Wei had just died, which had surely left the capital divided and ripe for the taking. Controlling the Emperor would give their lord the authority to do anything he wished. But Lü Bu didn’t want to wage war in the name of a teenager. No, his accomplishments would be his own! Instead, he began to look at Gongsun Zan’s territories as a perfect target. Yes, continuing east would be a great boon to his expansion. Soon enough he began to conscript new soldiers, brutally forcing locals into his army. To make sure this was done right, he promoted Zhang Yang as his new Commandant, replacing the incompetent man Xuan Su had placed into the office as a puppet. Zhang Yang, while trying his best to be kind to the people, also proved quite resilient in his recruitment, which made him few friends among the populace.

By now, the little war between Xuan Su and Guo Wen wad more than an annoyance. It was now a distraction that slowed his own plans. Tired of this, he sent Zhang Yang to finally broker a peace and end this damn conflict. But with his Commandant absent, some disgruntled peasants decided that it was time for some payback. As Zhang Yang was brokering a peace north, a man named Gonggan decided he had enough of the brutal rule of Lü Bu. In mid-June, he assembled a thousand supporters, and with the help of other sympathizers inside the city, started a revolt from within the provincial capital. Xuan Su, who still had agents working for him, was made aware of what was happening, but allowed it to happen as a little payback to Lü Bu. And who knew? Maybe he could use this to his advantage, showing that without him his lord was defenseless. Lü Bu was certainly taken by surprise by the little revolt, but he was far from defenseless. He led his troops street by street, slaughtering the rebel forces. Gonggan, who hadn’t planned much further than that, was unable to offer an organized opposition to the Inspector of Bing Province. After a few days of fighting, the provincial capital was back under control, just in time for Zhang Yang to send a letter about the new peace on the northern border.

After securing his new territories, Xuan Su raced to the provincial capital. It seemed that Lü Bu wanted his insight on his war plans against Gongsun Zan. Xuan Su couldn’t be happier with this summon. He hoped that this meant he was back in the good graces of his lord. But if that was what he wanted, then he found himself quickly disappointed. Upon arrival, he realized that Lü Bu was already planning his strategies without him, relying on Zhang Yang to advise him on the issue. No, instead Xuan Su found himself heavily criticized for failing to prevent the peasants who stormed the provincial capital. He was forced to take the insults in silence, even if it was Lü Bu who forbid him to do his job in the first place (although, to be fair, he was aware of the revolt beforehand). Once they returned to the war plans, someone had the great idea of suggesting an alliance with Liu Yu, the Inspector of You Province. Lü Bu angrily rejected the idea. “I, the great Lü Bu, does not need the help of lesser men!” But Xuan Su shrewdly replied: “Then why not let lesser men like Liu Yu die for you, my lord? Why waste your time on the duties of weaklings?” This hit a cord with Lü Bu, who agreed that yes, lesser men like Liu Yu could certainly be used that way. Deciding that an alliance could be useful after all, he sent messengers to You Province to suggest a partnership against Gongsun Zan.

When the messengers arrived in early July 196, You Province was not in a great shape. Ever since the departure of Gongsun Zan, the province had been declining, and fast. Liu Yu had never reclaimed the Liaodong peninsula from Gongsun Du (no relation to Gongsun Zan), the man sent by Dong Zhuo to secure the region in 190. His Wuhuan tributaries had lost most of their lands to the rising power of the Xianbei Confederation, led by Budugen Khagan. Soon enough, the Khagan had turned against the province itself, with most of the coast now controlled by the Xianbei horde (with the exception of one county, still held by a loyal Wuhuan officer named Tabati Tanzhi). And Liu Yu, who lacked any real talent when it came to commanding his officials, found himself getting more and more jealous of some of his subordinates. One of them, Wei Yusheng, played on these jealousies and succeeded in presenting himself as a loyal ally of his lord. This allowed Wei Yusheng to convince Liu Yu to wage war against the Northern Xiongnus in order to reclaim some of his rightful territories, a move that had been opposed by most of the senior officers. When the messengers from Lü Bu arrived, this war had been going on for four months, with the tide finally turning in Liu Yu’s favor.

The offer of an alliance was a surprising one, but also something that the Inspector of You Province found himself open to. After all, he had a difficult relationship with Gongsun Zan, who had previously been one of his subordinates. The Commandant of the Province, the old Ding Kai, also known as “the Winged Tiger”, was quick to support the idea of an alliance. He admired the way Lü Bu and his men had taken the problem of the Black Mountain Bandits head on, unlike Liu Yu who ignored it. Seeing this as another show of insubordination and fearing this would give his Commandant too much influence, Liu Yu did a one eighty and began turning against the idea, now seeing it as a way to undermine his power. In this he was supported by the eminently efficient Wei Yusheng. Wei Yusheng greatly enjoyed the power he currently held in the province, as it could have been argued that he was actually the one truly in charge. Allying with Lü Bu would mean making the province dependent of the warlord, and more dangerously, would conflict with his own influence over Liu Yu. So Wei Yusheng advised to refuse any overtures from The Inspector of Bing Province.

What none of them could have predicted was the way Lü Bu would react to their refusal. He was enraged, seeing it as nothing else than a proof that they were in collusion with Gongsun Zan. He soon began to turn his attention on a way to make Liu Yu pay for refusing his gracious offer of alliance. Everyone quickly got behind Lü Bu’s new obsession, realizing that You was a far easier target than Ji. Besides, the resources of You Province would be useful when the time came to eventually strike against Gongsun Zan. So troops started to mobilize with plans to now conquer You Province and annex its territories. Xuan Su began to prepare himself for the coming campaign, but was told that he was not welcomed. He was instead assigned to stay in the provincial capital and protect the northern border in Lü Bu’s absence. This was seen by Xuan Su as another in a series of many slights, but he could do little to oppose it. In late September 196, Lü Bu declared war on Liu Yu, starting a conflict that would shape the future of northern China for the decade to come.

As for Liu Yu and his subordinates, they were shocked when they received news that Lü Bu was coming to attack them. They were knee deep in their campaign against the Xiongnus and could spare little to oppose their new enemy. Thankfully for them, Lü Bu had a large territory, which meant that it took time for all his troops to assemble. This allowed Liu Yu to continue focusing on his current war with the barbarians without much worries of the Bing forces appearing before the end of the year. Thank to that additional time, the forces of You Province were able to end the war before the arrival of the Bing army. By November, they had forced the Northern Xiongnus to surrender the territories that Wei Yusheng desired. He soon moved in, happy with the way he had pushed his lord into giving him more territories.

But a bigger problem soon arose. Unexpectedly, this one did not come from Bing Province, but from the heart of Liu Yu’s territories. In the northern province, there were as many barbarians as there were Chinese, and not all of them were loyal to the Han regime. The local barbarians had certainly held hope that their northern brethren could come down and free them from Chinese oppression. When this didn’t materialize, they decided to take the matter into their own hands. A Tengri shaman named Sufuwan of Wuhuan origin assembled a large army of followers, preaching the teachings of the Tengri faith and declaring that it was time to free themselves of the oppression of Liu Yu. In many ways, he tried to mimic his revolt upon that of the Yellow Turbans, that sectarian movement that rose up against the Han Dynasty a decade before. It seemed to have worked as six thousand barbarians assembled under Sufuwan’s banner, ready to free themselves of their Chinese.

Ding Kai quickly moved to lead the local garrisons, motivated by the fact his estates were in the region currently targeted by the rebels. Liu Yu ordered him to stay to fight Lü Bu, but Ding Kai answered “You would rather let the barbarians take our province rather than help a great man. What a worthless scum you are.” Showing clear insubordination, he left his duties and marched back to his domain, leaving only a thousand men to help the defence of the province (possibly in the hope Lü Bu could then quickly dispose of them and take over You Province). His first act was to write a missive to Lü Bu, declaring he did not support Liu Yu’s decision of resisting and welcomed him in the province. After that, he tried to focus on the barbarians, although there was little to be done due to their massive numbers.

When Lü Bu and Zhang Yang finally appeared in late January 197, the armies of You were disorganized and almost leaderless. Wei Yusheng panicked when the Bing forces finally appeared and fled his domain to join with Liu Yu in the provincial capital. This left the field empty for Lü Bu, who started to take the various cities and forts on the border without too much efforts. Within two months of his arrival in the province, he had already secured the entirety of the border. The fact was that many local officers simply chose to abandon Liu Yu and join with Lü Bu. Why stick with the incompetent old man who never appreciate your service when you can join a winning warlord? With the rate of defection and with Ding Kai trying to handle Sufuwan and his uprising, Liu Yu had only one general on who to rely: the barbarian Tabati Tanzhi. Well, he also had Wei Yusheng, but only the Wuhuan chieftain was willing to lead troops against Lü Bu. And Tanzhi’s motivations weren’t even noble in the slightest. He hated Liu Yu to his core and hoped that Sufuwan would triumph. The only reason he was helping was that he believed his brethren would have a far easier time against Liu Yu than against Lü Bu.

In late June 197, Lü Bu finally met the army of Tanzhi. The Wuhuan had been ordered by Liu Yu to go confront the enemy force before it was too late, as Lü Bu was now within weeks of the provincial capital. Tanzhi only had a thousand troops to oppose the four thousand men army of Lü Bu. Never the less, the barbarian general was stubborn and refused to let such a insignificant factor as numerical inferiority hinder his effort. The two armies met at Pincheng, were Lü Bu took the lead in charging against the enemy force. He didn’t even need Zhang Yang, who he left in charge of protecting the camp and harassing any enemy that tried to flee. His martial prowess did much to demoralized the You forces, and when the dust settled Tanzhi’s army had sustained ten time more casualties than the Bing soldiers.

With the defeat at Pincheng and Sufuwan’s revolt still going strong, Liu Yu was in a desperate situation. Wei Yusheng had been pleading him for months to go ask Gongsun Zan to assist them, but the Inspector of You Province refused. He wasn’t going to go crawl to his former subordinate for help. But as Lü Bu continued to approach with little resistance, he relented. Messengers passed the border between You and Ji and quickly reached Tan Weiping, who in turn sent them to the court of Gongsun Zan. The Governor of Ji Province was surprised that his former liege actually asked him for help, but that didn’t mean he hadn’t planned for this possibility. Following his successful campaign for Jibei, he had been preparing for an eventual confrontation with Lü Bu once his war with Liu Yu ended. But now he was given an opportunity to stop Lü Bu before he took You Province instead of reacting to such conquest. Gongsun Zan still consulted with his advisors and generals, who all agreed that Lü Bu had to be taken out. Now convinced that this was the right call, Gongsun Zan officially declared war to Lü Bu in July 197, turning this conflict into a massive war over the future of northern China.

Zamarak500 · May 28, 2021

196-197: THE WAR FOR SHANSANG COUNTY

After years of struggle, the rebels had finally defeated Tao Shang and gained their independence. This would have been a source of celebration for Liu Siyuan, had it not been for the fact that his father had passed away just as he was signing the final peace. News of this saddened him to the highest level. Liu Si had been a loving and caring father, always making sure Liu Siyuan stayed on the right path. He even tried to help his career by sending him to live with Liu He in 184, a decision that would lead his son to his current situation. The two had sadly never seen each other since, although they kept a lengthy correspondence. Liu Siyuan organized the whole funerary arrangements himself, refusing to leave this duty to anyone else as he was Liu Si’s only son. As much as the sadness of losing his father was the realization that Liu Si would never see his dream of a powerful Han come true. “You lived for the Han.” Liu Siyuan would say on his father’s altar. “Father, your hopes will not fade away with your passing. I shall carry your dreams to their fruitions. May our imperial ancestors be witnesses to my determination! The Han Dynasty will never fall! No villain or corrupt bureaucrat will stop me from restoring it to its righteous height!”

Liu Siyuan showed his filiality to his father by remaining in mourning for the rest of 196. While he retreated from public affairs, the strategist Jiang Gong and the general Su Ta handled the military affairs while his wife Lady Hao Huitong tried her best to keep the daily administration going. Liu Siyuan did however write a letter to the Imperial Court, demanding the return of his father’s body. He wished to build a family tomb in Xincai, starting with his father and hoping to one day also get his cousin Liu He’s body in it too. Chancellor Niu Fu was quick to acquiesce to this demand. He had nothing but the upmost respect for Liu Si, as both were at their core Han loyalists (even if Niu Fu ironically blocked Liu Si’s attempted restauration of imperial power). It is said that Niu Fu shed a tear when he read Liu Siyuan’s letter, impressed by the man’s filial piety. Niu Fu had Liu Si’s corpse escorted by an honor guard, carrying a letter of condolences from the Emperor himself, who was sad of the death of one of his main supporters. Amazed by this show of kindness, Liu Siyuan wrote a lengthy letter to the Court, thanking the Emperor for his generosity and the Chancellor for his kindness. This would mark the start of a lengthy correspondence between Niu Fu and Liu Siyuan that eventually led to a lasting friendship.

Lady Hao certainly assisted her husband as best as she could during this difficult time for him. She helped in the administrative duties of the two counties they controlled (although she had little experience in this domain) and tried her best to keep everyone calm. But she also spent much of that time with her husband, mourning her father-in-law out of respect and because he was family, even if she had never met him. Liu Siyuan greatly appreciated her presence by his side, and it also helped their relationship to spend a lot of time alone together. The two also tried to perform their “marital duties”. With the death of his father, the reality that he had no children of his own became a more pressing problem. The fact their time together would once again not result in a child only frustrated Liu Siyuan.

It was only in January 197 that Liu Siyuan finally awoke from his slumber, ready to work toward bringing back the Han Dynasty to its former glory. He was helped in this by Jiang Gong asking him to come back and take charge of the province, but he at first refused and continues to mourn. It was only when he learned of Chen Wen’s death that he decided that he needed to act. Now the strategist Yang Weili was in charge of Jing and Yang Provinces. In one of his first decisions, he reached out to Liu Siyuan, offering a non-aggression pact between the two. The scion of the Han agreed, but this also made him realize something. If push came to shove, he was the one who would need protection, not Yang Weili. He was the weakest one that couldn’t defend himself. This couldn’t stand. Liu Siyuan didn’t want to be dependent on someone else for his safety, and to do that he needed to expand his domain.

Some argued that he should go liberate Liu Yi, another member of the Imperial Clan who had just lost his territories to the warlord Xiao Ru, whose territories now bordered Liu Siyuan’s domain. While enticing, he pointed out that Liu Yi had not asked to be liberated, so his distant cousin might simply see it as a new invader replacing the previous one. Instead, his attention turned on Shansang County, controlled by Magistrate Li Tong. Li Tong was a man known for his strength and his good nature. In 193, he even came to the rescue of the Han Court when the Dynasty was threatened by barbarians. Considering the other two who led troops to defend the Court were the great Cao Cao and the highly respected Sun Jian, this made him famous throughout China.

Liu Siyuan first held hope that a man of such reputation as Li Tong would agree to join him and his cause without a fight. But Li Tong cared about his territories, having already lost some of it in the early 190’s to Yu Province before it collapsed. While he thanked the envoys, he also insisted that he would not surrender Shansang County without a fight. Liu Siyuan received this news without a nod of acceptance. He understood perfectly Li Tong’s reasoning. If anything, it only upped the magistrate in his esteem. They were warriors, and if Li Tong wanted a fight, then it would be unproper to not give him one. In late January 197, Liu Siyuan assembled his troops to go to war.

News of the small conflict quickly reached Jing Province, where the general Huang Zu still controlled a commandery. He had been grumbling ever since the end of Chen Wen’s revolt, as he did not feel rewarded for what he perceived to be his crucial support during the war. The likes of Hu Zan or Yang Weili had received most of the attention, which he blamed on the fact that they belonged to Yang Province and not Jing Province. But this argument was undermined by his complains of Chen Gengguo’s growing influence in the south of the province, who was quickly becoming the unofficial voice of the local officials. His standing dropped considerably more when he refused to go visit Chen Wen on his deathbed out of pride (and probably spite). He felt left behind by everyone, which only angered him more. So when he learned that Liu Siyuan, the general he disliked the most during the war, was planning to expand and gain influence, Huang Zu was enraged. He decided that he simply couldn’t let that happen, especially since his own territories bordered those of Li Tong. A few weeks later, the general declared he would take Shansang County before Liu Siyuan could get his hand on it. The race was on.

The entrance of Huang Zu in the war was a worrying prospect for Li Tong, enough so that he decided he couldn’t risk leaving the defence of his stronghold to someone else. He instead put trusted followers in charge of the army that was to march against… well, whoever showed up first. The subordinates believed that Huang Zu would need more time to assemble his army, which meant that Liu Siyuan would surely be the first threat to reach them. So they encamped close to the border with Xincai. They were actually swiftly spotted by a vanguard led by Su Ta. The soldiers encouraged their leader to launch a surprise attack on the Shansang forces, but Su Ta refused. He was not the kind of man to make these decisions alone, so he instead insisted that they return to their lord to report their findings. He didn’t want to attack cowardly like that without Liu Siyuan’s approval. When he returned to the main army, he was praised for his refusal to ambush the enemies. Jiang Gong especially lauded him for acting honorably in this circumstance. Su Ta simply said that he did as he was asked, which still warranted praises in Liu Siyuan’s eyes.

In June, after much wait, Liu Siyuan finally met the Shansang army in battle. The two forces met at the town of Zhanghuatai. It was clear from the get go that Liu Siyuan had the advantage. He had more troops, more experienced officers and a better strategical position. The battle seemed so obviously rigged in their favor that Jiang Gong suggested that they should offer their enemy a chance to surrender without fighting. But Liu Siyuan was in a mindset where he wished for a battle. After all, the battlefield was his element so he at least wanted one victory before the end of this conflict. News of Huang Zu’s involvement in the war also motivated him to fight, as he did not want his men to get sloppy due to a lack of fighting. If he ever had to fight Huang Zu, he wanted his men to make him proud. So the two armies fought, ending in the expected result of a total victory for Liu Siyuan. Half of the enemy forces were killed in the battle, and the rest promptly surrendered to Liu Siyuan.

Things were going from bad to worse for Li Tong. News of his army’s destruction were followed by the appearance of Huang Zu’s host on the horizon. The general had made sure to work his troops as hard as possible in order to get there first. Soon enough, the city found itself under siege by Huang Zu. While he commander the actual siege, he left his son Huang She in charge of the security and the defence of the camp. This would turn out to be a grave mistake, as Huang She was clearly unqualified for such rigorous duty. Like his father, he was arrogant and easily angered, annoyed to have to sit around watching security. Unlike his father, he was also incredibly lazy, and security was stupidly lacking in the besiegers’ camp.

Huang She’s ineptitude proved to be a great boon to Liu Siyuan. He learned of the siege and consulted with his advisors on what to do. Personally, he wished to ride down a hill and destroy Huang Zu in a heroic charge. Jiang Gong suggested patience, however, and instead offered to infiltrate the city and seek an audience with Li Tong. After hearing his full plan, Liu Siyuan agreed with Jiang Gong and allowed his strategist to partake in this difficult mission. The security was so lax that Jiang Gong easily walked (not sneaked, walked) through the camp and was able to enter the city secretly once he explained to some defenders that he was an envoy. While some of Li Tong’s supporters advised him to kill Jiang Gong, the magistrate was quick to reject this idea. What kind of man killed an envoy, in his own home, without even listening to him? So Li Tong invited Jiang Gong to his court to speak.

When Jiang Gong arrived, Li Tong asked him if Liu Siyuan also wanted his head, as Huang Zu had expressed a desire to have Li Tong executed. But Jiang Gong explained that Li Tong had gotten his lord all wrong. Liu Siyuan was only expanding to secure a base from which he could help restore the Han to its greatness. Never had his lord wished to kill or humiliate Li Tong in doing so. On the contrary, he still wished for the magistrate to join him. As Jiang Gong put it: “My master is the greatest hero of the land, but great heroes need great companions of your caliber, Li Tong.” Li Tong would even receive a position on Liu Siyuan’s staff if he agreed. Surprised but relieved by the proposal, the magistrate asked for the night to think it over. While some of his advisors still told him to kill Jiang Gong, hoping it might appease Huang Zu, Li Tong chose to instead take the offer. Liu Siyuan had showed great respect to him, and from what he was told the men captured after the battle were well treated. If a hero like that fought for such a noble cause as saving the Han, then maybe it was actually possible to do it. In early July 197, Li Tong wrote a letter of surrender, which Jiang Gong caried back to his lord. Li Tong offered Shanyang county to Liu Siyuan and submitted to his authority, promising to hold the city until his arrival.

With Li Tong now rallied to his cause, this left the issue of Huang Zu, who had yet to be made aware of the surrender. Liu Siyuan, not wanting his new subordinate to suffer for long, ordered his troops to race for the city to relieve the siege. In the meantime, he sent a letter to Huang Zu, which only read “I warned you once. Enter my lands and face the consequences.” Huang Zu had the man who brought him the letter killed out of rage. When Liu Siyuan arrived in late July, he left the actual command of the battle to Su Ta and Jiang Gong. No, he had things to settle with Huang Zu.

The two men searched for one another on the battlefield. Huang Zu kept screaming: “Liu Siyuan! Where are you hiding? You cannot cheat to win like last time, so you are hiding now? Come face me coward!” When he heard the general continuously screaming these insults, Liu Siyuan felt his blood boil. He quickly raced to Huang Zu, simply saying “Here I am, ready for you to die” before charging at his enemy. Huang Zu blocked the first hit and put some distance between them. Liu Siyuan charged at him again, hoping to stab him in the head. But to his surprise, Huang Zu jumped from his horse and landed onto him, throwing him off his horse. Thankfully, he was still young enough to recuperate quickly from that surprising attack, while the older Huang Zu took his sweet time to get up. This allowed Liu Siyuan to grab his spear. While the general tried to grab his weapon, but the scion of the Han broke it in one strike, after which he impales his enemy in the lower chest. With one swoop to the left, the stomach found itself open, with a bit of bone showing through the wound. Huang Zu fell to the ground, coughing blood.

But as Liu Siyuan was about to give the death blow, soldiers came to the defence of their commander and interposed themselves between the two men. While Liu Siyuan disposed of a few of them, it allowed other soldiers to save Huang Zu from a gruesome death. The need to help Huang Zu out of the battlefield was followed by another terrible news for the soldiers. Huang She, who was also commanding troops, had been captured by Li Tong, who had exited the city to come help Liu Siyuan in the battle. The forces of Huang Zu were forced to flee, their lord in pain but conscient enough to complain that Heaven had abandoned him. He was brought back to his domain, with plans to raise a bigger army and go avenge this defeat. Alas, it was not to be, as a month after the battle Huang Zu died of his wounds, with Yang Weili all too happy to appoint a replacement. The threat to Liu Siyuan was now no more.

News of Huang Zu’s death brought the question of what to do with his son Huang She. During his month of captivity, the man had actually suffered quite a lot. Early on, an infection to his eyes had forced the local physician to remove them in order to save his life, leaving him blind. And unlike the men of Li Tong, Huang She was not treated with respect but put in a cage like a common criminal. By the time of his father’s death, he was suffering from headaches and nauseas, clearly sick of something after weeks of bad living conditions. Some, like Jiang Gong, suggested that Liu Siyuan should show his magnanimity by having Huang She released. His father was the threat, and now that he was dead the son no longer had anything to do with this feud. But Liu Siyuan had always been a passionate man, including when it came to hatred. To the shock of much of his court, he instead had the blind man publicly executed for “acting against the interests of the Han Dynasty”. With Huang Zu’s second son having died fighting Yuan Shu’s forces in 191, the execution of Huang She put an end to the Huang Clan. The surprise of the execution (which was quite brutal) shook many of Liu Siyuan’s followers, but they rationalized it as their lord not wanting the son to take revenge for his father’s death. None of them expected this to be the start of his descent into violence, paranoia and megalomania. Oh, they had no idea…

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PS: Coming chapters

Xiao Ru's war for Chengguo (197)
A chapter covering the first two years of Niu Fu's time as Chancellor (196-198)
How Yang Weili is doing as Chen Wen's successor (197-198)
Yao Shuren vs Han Sui (197-198)
The first year of the big war north (197-198)
Problems Xiao Ru has to deal with (198)

Zamarak500 · Jun 1, 2021

197: THE PROVINCIAL CAPITAL

In October 196, Liu Yi had been forced by his subordinates to surrender to Xiao Ru, allowing his enemy to take over Runan Commandery. Liu Yi was forced to sweat that he would ensure things went smoothly, even if he didn’t really want to surrender in the first place. A man of honor, the scion of the Han had no choice but to respect this pledge, even if he had done it under duress. His determination would quickly be put to the test, as Xiao Ru took a cruel pleasure in publicly humiliating his former rival. He actually demanded that Liu Yi come deliver the surrender in person and acknowledge him as his superior in everyway. Unwilling to see Xiao Ru take his anger on the people if he refused, he did as he was told. In front of the court, he publicly praised Xiao Ru and declared himself “a worthless man of worthless origins”, just for his new liege’s satisfaction. At the victory banquet, he was seated with the regular troops instead of the officers and nobles, with the soldiers treating him like dirt. But Liu Yi held on calmly and did as he was told without flinching. This resilience actually impressed Xiao Ru, who had a quick change of heart. He allowed Liu Yi to keep two counties to govern in his name, and he even appointed him as his main scholar, reasoning that a member of the Liu Clan had to have been raised by learned men. Even with this sudden showering of favors, Liu Yi would still remember the humiliation he was forced to endure.

Among the now former subordinates of Liu Yi, none had more pushed for a surrender than Lou Tiankai. An ambitious man, Lou Tiankai saw which way things were going and pressured his lord to surrender, convinced that his actions would secure him a place at Xiao Ru’s side. But he made the mistake of arrogantly demanding reward for his securing of the victory. This did not sit well with Xiao Ru, who fancied his triumph against Liu Yi as a result of his actions and decisions alone (like the one of appointing Chang Lin as his second-in-command). Having this man claim that he was responsible for ending the war was perceived as an insult. So Lou Tiankai was brushed off as an arrogant fool. The magistrate, already frustrated by this rebuttal, was doubly insulted when Liu Yi was rewarded. Lou Tiankai hoped to receive his former lord’s territories, yet here was Liu Yi not only keeping them, but gaining a place at court that should have been his.

By January 197, Lou Tiankai decided that he was sick of being ignored. If his ambitions couldn’t be achieved through Xiao Ru, then maybe he could succeed by going around him. He wrote a secret missive to the Han Court, detailing how Xiao Ru’s brutal enforcement of the law showed that he was nothing less than an evil tyrant. Surely the court could see the wisdom in appointing Lou Tiankai as the rightful administrator of Runan Commandery. He was thus hoping to take over the commandery by using the lawful channels. Surely the Imperial Court wouldn’t pass this opportunity to reaffirm their prerogative to select provincial officials. His plans, so meticulously crafted, went down in flame when his messenger was intercepted and his letter sent to Xiao Ru. The administrator of Chen, angered at this betrayal, had Lou Tiankai captured and decapitated, after which Xiao Rou claimed his county for himself. This kind of betrayal could not be tolerated.

Another twist of fate, although a welcome one, was the return of Xu Shao into Xiao Ru’s council in early 197. Xu Shao had been an appreciated advisor for the first year of Chen’s independence, and many had not taken well to his sudden fall from grace due to his lord desiring a more military focused assistant. Xu Shao had been critical of Xiao Ru’s whimsical change, which he saw as an unwise abuse of power. Xiao Ru, for his part, saw it as his right to select and remove his advisors. But with his territories now doubled, he had begun to realize that he needed his former advisor back, at least for a few months until the people of Runan got used to his harsher laws. Thankfully, the return of Xu Shao didn’t mean the departure of Chang Lin, as Xu Shao now occupied the position of head of accounting in the commandery. Xu Shao, while thankful, continued to be an annoyance by insisting that his lord couldn’t simply do as he pleased.

After half a year as the new administrator of Runan Commandery, Xiao Ru assembled his advisors to present them with a new plan of his. He rented about his past, reminding everyone of the duties given to him by the Prince of Chen before his passing and the collapse of Yu Province.

“His l-l-late em-m-min-nence-ce-ce made me the Adme-Administrator of Ch-Ch-Chen, a clear si-sign of his sup-p-p-pport at the time. His pri-pri-principality, given to me as a commandery. What a-a-a s-show of trust, but a well-pla-placed gesture. He appointed m-me as the me-man in charge of the administration of the fi-fi-financial aa-and…” He then took a pose, trying to calm himself and get his stuttering under control. “And b-bureaucratic affairs in the province, a task I fu-fulfilled with more succe-ccess th-than anyone before me. But more importantly, he app-p-p-p-pointed me st-steward of his provincial capital in his absence. Y-ye-yet, when his absence was made p-per-perma-manent, his orders were refused by trea-treasonous su-subordinates, who conspired to take Chenguo from me. It is thus m-my right, no, m-my duty, to re-retake the city.”

To make a better point, he took out a map and showed it to his subordinates. His lands encircled the former provincial capital. With the city surrounded, he believed that it was now time to return triumphant. Liu Yi, who already had issues with his new lord’s ambitions, was quick to protest. Chenguo was under the control of the Prince of Liang, Liu Mi. Liu Mi was a good administrator, well known for doing a decent job and never seeking to rise above his station. Yes, he was a bit greedy at times, but he did his job decently enough. And besides, he was a member of the Imperial Clan. By default, it meant he was the best man to lead the provincial capital. Unsurprisingly, Xiao Ru was not convinced at all by this rhetoric. He was tempted to scream “Damn the Imperial Clan! What can they do anyway?”, but feared that it would sound idiotic with his stutter.

Liu Yi’s praises of his distant cousins did nothing to outweigh the massive target that represented Chenguo. It helped that Liu Mi’s territories were a patch of disparate lands that weren’t connected in any way. For some reason, the lands held by the Prince of Liang were divided between the four corners of Yu Province. This made them quite hard to defend now that Liu Mi was and independent warlord, and more importantly for Xiao Ru, easy to invade. Liu Yi pleaded that this was not the right way to do things. Out of sympathy for the new head scholar, Xu Shao suggested that maybe it could be wise to first demand the city from Liu Mi. Seeing the prestige is regaining Chenguo through peace, Xiao Ru gave his approval, and in early June he sent a messenger to Liu Mi, asking him to give him back the provincial capital. But with no bribe accompanying the envoys, Liu Mi refused. This was ironic, as Xiao Ru had been advised against his earlier idea of sending a massive “gift” with the demand, as it was deemed unproper by his advisors.

Having reached an unnecessary impasse, Chang Lin asked to be allowed to lead troops to take Chenguo in order to reclaim the provincial capital for its rightful owner. The general had been looking at the debate over the issue from the sideline, leaving the small politicians like Liu Yi or Xu Shao doing their duties while he awaited his turn. Seeing how their way expectingly failed, Chang Lin was quick to push for war. But as loyal as he was, he first requested that his lord give the order. Liu Yi immediately tried to counter this, but was interrupted by petty officers all trying to be the one ordered to take the city. They had little chance though, as Xiao Ru decided that he needed to be the one to personally take back Chenguo, a decision mostly motivated by his own hubris. In July 197, the forces of Chen Commandery started to mobilize against Liu Mi.

Of course, while Xiao Ru wanted to return to Chenguo a triumphant liberator, he had to admit that he knew little of military affairs. So he brought his loyal favorite Chang Lin with him. Chang Lin was a far more experienced officer who could manage the war while Xiao Ru racked the glory (although Chang Lin planned to do all in his power to share that glory). But the presence of the administrator brought an unexpected problem. Xiao Ru had always been someone to enforce draconian obedience to the rules, with cruel punishment for those that disobeyed them. His management of the army camp was no different, and he insisted on total discipline. The officers had a hard time enforcing the rules with the soldiers, as they were used to the far more relaxed and benevolent attitude of Chang Lin. As they approached Chenguo, a few dozen soldiers had enough and refused to obey their officer, actually killing him in a moment of rage. Realizing that they were in big trouble, the mutineers tried to flee the camp, but they were apprehended. Xiao Ru ordered that those who survived the six hundred lashes were to be used as target practice. With real arrows of course.

Chunyu Shenxi listened to the reports of the approaching army with worries. An administrator of good renown, he had been appointed as the magistrate of Chenguo by Liu Mi after Xiao Ru was forced to vacate the city. He had been kind and fair in his application of the law, and had garnered a good reputation among the local population. With Liu Mi far away, Chunyu Shenxi had also enjoyed quite a bit of freedom in the provincial capital, and he had come to fancy his position as the city’s magistrate. But Xiao Ru’s expansion put everything at risk. He now surrendered the provincial capital, with plans to retake it by force. The people might get slaughtered in some bloody siege, and that eventuality did not bode well for him. When the armies of Chen appeared on the horizon, Chunyu Shenxi did the only thing he could to save the city: he defected and opened the gates to his new lord. The magistrate awaited Xiao Ru in his mansion, where he welcomed him as a great man and offered his services to the administrator. Seeing how the man had done a decent job with the city in his absence, Xiao Ru allowed Chunyu to administrate the city in his name, although he expected it to be only temporary.

Xiao Ru thus settled in Chenguo with Chang Lin, happy to have retaken the city without a fight. While the crowd was apprehensive of his return, they were quickly won over by the coins Xiao Ru threw in events and celebrations for them. He had learned his mistakes from his previous time in the city, recognizing that the populace would probably be more tolerant of his harsh laws if he was to dangle the carrot before using the stick. The army also camped outside the city, as to not become a problem to the local residents. Things seemed to be going great until he received news in late August 197 from his other army. The troops he had left to go attack Liu Mi directly, led by a few lesser subordinates, had been defeated at Laixang. They were actually on their way to Chenguo as they fled the battlefield. Unwilling to leave this defeat alone, Xiao Ru quickly ordered Chang Lin to link up with the retreating army and tell them to turn back. Chang Lin wisely asked to bring their own troops with him, which he was allowed to do. As long as he could avenge this defeat, Xiao Ru was willing to give him quite the leeway.

Meanwhile, Xu Shao had been left in charge of Chen Commandery as his lord marched to Chenguo. But he found himself continuously stressed out by his lord’s wife, Lady Xia. The two never got along, so the fact that Xiao Ru had given her back some power despite his protests was not appreciated. He also became quite suspicious of the lady. As he continuously checked the accounts, he began to notice discrepancies in the numbers. He became convinced that Lady Xia was skimming money on the side. While she continued to deny it, Xu Shao still suspected her of stealing their lord’s coffers for herself, something that seemed evident due to the high-quality jewels and dresses she suddenly acquired out of nowhere.

Xu Shao finally got her when a maid, tired of how badly she was treated by Lady Xia, spilled everything. Finding herself cornered, she argued that she had the right to do so because she was the wife of the Administrator, and that rules didn’t apply to her. Both quickly wrote letters to Xiao Ru, explaining him the situation and forcing him to return in November. Upon arrival, Lady Xia rushed to her husband, trying to explain herself. But Xiao Ru simply slapped her and ordered guards to confine his wife to her quarters. He had all her wealth sold off, and from that point on would review all the goods in her possessions personally, not trusting her to only buy what she needed. Needless to say, he didn’t appreciate his wife stealing his gold.

Chang Lin finally fought the enemy force in December. Liu Mi, who was leading from the rear, offered Chang Lin a chance to surrender, as he had the numerical advantage. The general simply laughed and answered: “Dare Prince of Liang, how should I react to your offer? With pity that you believe it could be accepted, or with disdain for the insult you made me?” Seeing it was going nowhere, Liu Mi returned to his army and prepared for the battle. What he didn’t prepare for was an utter defeat at the hand of the one-eyed general. Demoralized and fleeing, Liu Mi was alerted to a messenger from Chang Lin. Hesitant at first, the Prince of Liang eventually allowed him to come in. The messenger offered friendship from Chang Lin, now that they had fought on the battlefield. Liu Mi, surprised, accepted this sudden friendship. The messenger said: “General Chang then hope that his friend the Prince of Liang shall quit while he still can. A wise man like him should see that he doesn’t need the provincial capital to be respected and beloved.” Liu Mi got the message, with the envoy returning to Chang Lin with news that Liu Mi was recognizing Xiao Ru’s rightful claim on Chenguo. And just like that, the Administrator of Chen had regained the center of the province.

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PS: I added it after posting on the last chapter, but for those that missed it here is what is to be expected for 198.

A chapter covering the first two years of Niu Fu's time as Chancellor (196-198)
How Yang Weili is doing as Chen Wen's successor (197-198)
Yao Shuren vs Han Sui (197-198)
The first year of the big war north (197-198)
Problems Xiao Ru has to deal with (198)

Zamarak500 · Jun 8, 2021

196-198: THOSE DAMN WANGS

Very much against his initial will, Niu Fu found himself as the new Chancellor of the Han Dynasty following Duan Wei’s disastrous campaign against Ban Ding. He didn’t really want the job, but was convinced after Cao Quan and Shisun Rui had insisted, pushing for him to take the position of Chancellor. And now here he was, the Chancellor of the Han and a loyal servant of the Emperor (although the Emperor now expressed disdain for the man who blocked his return to full power). He was a virtuous, hardworking and unambitious man who found himself the most powerful official of the Dynasty. But one thing he sadly wasn’t was a good politician, something others would be quick to try to exploit at his expanse.

At least he was aware that some saw him as just another military general taking over the capital. But he didn’t want to be such tyrant, so while he accepted the position of Chancellor, he made sure to avoid appointing too many military men to powerful offices, especially former generals of Dong Zhuo like Xu Rong, who were left in command of troops but little more. One exception to that rule was Cao Quan, the old man who had helped keep the capital at peace in the absence of Duan Wei. His dedication to his job and his refusal to be dragged into factional disputes impressed Niu Fu, who appointed him as Excellency of Works, one of the highest offices in the Han government. The old man, who had played such a key role in the rise of Niu Fu to the Chancellorship, wanted his time at the top to be a success, and so stubbornly performed his duties as best he could.

As a Han loyalist, he also tried to recruit as many loyal men as possible within his new government. This obviously meant Liu Si (Liu Siyuan’s father), who was appointed Minister of the Guard, so to ensure the security of the Emperor. While the old scion of the Han still held some resentment against Niu Fu for stopping a full-on Han restauration, he still held the belief that the general was their best shot at achieving this goal. At least he was the most honorable choice around.

But more than the old man, Niu Fu recalled to office the last surviving assassins of the tyrant Dong Zhuo: Shisun Rui and Jiang Xian. Shisun Rui had an excellent relationship with the new Chancellor and had supported his appointment wholeheartedly, a sentiment reciprocated by Niu Fu. For this, he was not only given back his position as Minister of Justice (a job everyone agreed he was great at), but he was also appointed Assistant to the Chancellorship. As for Jiang Xian, he was appointed Chief of the Censorate Bureau and Minister of the Imperial Household. The issue here was that Niu Fu had mostly factored Jiang Xian’s early career as a Han loyalist and honorable man, either not aware or choosing to ignore his recently more sneaky and despicable tendencies. And then there was the scholar Chen Xia, the director of the imperial academy. He was the last hold out of Duan Wei’s administration, but he seemed too competent to simply remove from his post.

So as Niu Fu took over, it seemed like the imperial government would be a stable and efficient one, and one truly loyal to the Han Dynasty. He had barely settled in his duties inside the capital that he received two letters from outside Luoyang, though. The first of them came from the respect Colonel Sun Jian. Hearing of the debacle that had resulted in the death of Duan Wei, Sun Jian asked for to be allowed to continue the imperial campaign against Ban Ding. This was a controversial request in the capital. Most feared that Sun Jian, already the father-in-law of the Emperor, would grow too powerful should he be allowed to become the capital’s neighbor by taking Ban Ding’s territories. Niu Fu personally feared that this would be interpreted by Ban Ding as deceitful, as he had signed a peace with the warlord. In the end, he consulted with his advisors. Only Jiang Xian opposed out of fear of Sun Jian’s growing power, while the rest believed this to be a good idea to let the colonel do the dirty work. It also helped that the Emperor was favorable to the idea, thanks to his wife’s whispers. Niu Fu thus promoted Sun Juan as General who Protect the Empire and sanctioned his campaign.

The second letter was even more surprising than the first one, as it came from magistrate Yao Xu, who pledged himself to the new regime and once more offered his services. This was a surprise, as many had believed the barbarian had stopped recognizing the Han authority following his master’s death. The former Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies under Dong Huang, Yao Xu had actually remained loyal to the capital following the revolt of 194-195. Duan Wei had ignored him, as the barbarian was one of the main criticisms of Dong Huang’s regime. But Yao Xu still continued to pledge himself to the Han. This was not out of some grand sense of loyalty though. Oh no. This was simply about survival. The county he was given a few years back now sat right in the middle of Bing Province, surrounded by Lü Bu from all sides. He could never dream of fighting him, which meant that he needed the protection of Luoyang. Surprisingly, most advised Niu Fu to recognize Yao Xu’s loyalty and dependency to the imperial government instead of abandoning him. Some argued that this was the right thing to do, but the most often cited reasoning was that it showed strength and put pressure on Lü Bu. This was a signal that imperial authority extended beyond Sili Province.

But not everyone was happy with the new status quo. Jiang Xian in particular felt like he had been robbed of the Chancellorship. When Duan Wei had died, he had hoped to be able to manoeuvre the Emperor and become Chancellor. That was until Niu Fu was hailed as Duan Wei’s successor, first by the old Cao Quand and then (to Jiang Xian’s dismay) by Shisun Rui. Seeing no other choice, Jiang Xian had been forced to retreat, which convinced Niu Fu that he was a loyal and virtuous official. This allowed the giant to be promoted to Chief Censor and Minister of the Imperial Household. That last one was especially important as it gave him easy access to the Emperor, which would be useful in time. He already had a good relationship with the Emperor, as the Son of Heaven still remembered him as the man who had helped him remove Dong Zhuo, and so trusted Jiang Xian. Jiang Xian hoped to possibly use this trust to eventually turn the Emperor against Niu Fu.

Niu Fu suspected nothing of this whole affair of course, and this was just as Jiang Xian wanted. His two positions in the new imperial government certainly gave him a lot of power, although he often found himself alone when it came to decision making. This was proof enough that no matter how much he tried, he could not act alone against Niu Fu. No, what he needed was a little clique of officials, like in the good old days. And it was due to his fond memories of those good old days that he approached Shisun Rui with his plans for dissention. The two were the last remaining assassins of Dong Zhuo, so of course Shisun Rui would join him! He explained how they should be the ones in charge, not Niu Fu. He was a loyal general, yes, but he should never have been anywhere close to the position he was currently holding. No, careered officials like the two of them should be running court. But Shisun Rui quickly killed any dream of working together. He was fully behind Niu Fu, and warned Jiang Xian to “never entertain such devious and treasonous thoughts against our dear Chancellor.” But Jiang Xian was not deterred. With Shisun Rui out, he found himself with no choice but to gravitate toward his in-laws: The Wang Clan.

The Wang Clan had first started to rise to prominence in the 180’s, with the old Wang Yun occupying a series of important political offices in the capital. Following his death in 190, the Wang Clan’s influence continued through his brother Wang Hong and his son-in-law Jiang Xian, both of who served active roles under Dong Huang. As with many other factions, the rise of Duan Wei put a stop to their power, and the Wangs found themselves on the outside as most of them were identified as Han loyalists. But with Niu Fu now in charge, they had an opportunity. As it turned out, Wang Yun still had two living brothers, with one still active at the imperial court. Wang Mao was an old man, even if he was the youngest of the four Wang brothers. During his long life, he had climbed the ranks through the classic channels and exams (and possibly also his connection to his brothers). By now, he stood as an important politician within the imperial entourage. But unlike Liu Si, whose sole focus was to serve the Emperor, Wang Mao had grown arrogant and ambitious, seeking more power for his clan and himself. While Liu Si held him in check, Wang Mao would certainly gain much power should, let’s say, the old Liu clansman was to die.

But while Wang Mao was influential at court, he was not the more powerful member of the Wang Clan. No, that honor was reserved to Wang Hong. The younger Wang Hong was in fact the nephew of the older one, being the son of the second brother Wang Wei. Wang Hong was ambitious, stubborn and a decent talker. His ascension through the imperial bureaucracy certainly allowed him to be appointed as Administrator of Hedong Commandery, a position he had received in 189 (from Dong Zhuo) and which he had held ever since. But his main claim to prominence was not his career or his clan, but his marriage. Wang Hong had somehow managed to be wed to Princess Xiu, the youngest daughter of Emperor Huan (146-168). This personal connection to the Imperial Clan gave him much influence at court and outside of it, something he was all too willing to use.

So when Diaochan began to approach her adoptive family about Jiang Xian’s desire to undermine Niu Fu, they were all too receptive. Wang Hong had a personal beef with Niu Fu after he had been refused some territories he considered part of his commandery, and Wang Mao wanted to get out of Liu Si’s shadow. The Wang Clan thus started to form a small faction to oppose the Chancellor. They certainly didn’t waste time, as in July they were able to push for the replacement of many small-time officials, who Wang Hong and Jiang Xian pointed out had been appointed by Dong Zhuo, Dong Huang or Duan Wei. The two presented a petition to the Emperor, asking him to remove these traitorous officials. While Niu Fu was able to mitigate some of the purge, as he didn’t want competent politicians to be wasted, many did lose their jobs, only to be replaced by more “acceptable” candidates. Thankfully for Niu Fu, most of those that remained were high ranking officials and officers, like Xu Rong, who was allowed to retain a generalship. The former general of Dong Zhuo was quick to point that this would probably only be the beginning. Xu Rong insisted that they needed to act and purge their lesser enemies while they still had the advantage. Niu Fu refused to even entertain the idea.

The death of Liu Si in August 196 certainly helped the growing power of the Wang Clan. The old scion of the Han died at the age of 72, leaving a vacuum within the imperial entourage, a vacuum that was quickly filled by Wang Mao. At the insistence of many at court, Niu Fu agreed to let Wang Mao be a co-regent of the teenage Emperor. He hoped that the Wang Clan’s previous reputation as loyal and filial to the throne would motivate Wang Mao to work for the Han instead of himself. But while he was suspicious of the Wang Clan’s growing power, the Chancellor never entertained the idea that they were working against him, or at least not at the time. But with Cao Quan growing ill due to a cancer, the old statesmen who had supported him were growing weaker. The scholar Chen Xia, who liked the Chancellor, tried to advise him. “Your Excellency needs to cultivate loyal young talents to replace the old ones, young men loyal to you and you alone.” But this idea didn’t sit well with Niu Fu. Political parties and factions were illegal, and he wasn’t going to break imperial laws, especially for something as petty as personal ambition. No, he would not start building a faction loyal to himself. This would be unproper.

This decision did nothing to help him once Cao Quan died in October 196, his cancer taking him at the age of 66. This meant that there was a need for a new Administrator of Zuopingyi Commandery and for a new Excellency of Works. As it turned out, the Wang Clan would have one answer for both jobs. For the position of administrator, pushing one of their owns was easy. The commandery had previously been held by the older Wang Hong before Cao Quan replaced him in 194. Most of the local officials still held some respect for the Wang Clan. For this reason, Wang Chen (son of the older Wang Hong) was pushed as the new administrator. Known as a hardworking and patient man who didn’t like to fight, he seemed like a decent enough choice. Not wanting to make a fuss, Niu Fu went along with the appointment.

But the Wang Clan didn’t stop there. As the end of 196 approached, they pushed to get promoted, with some of their supporters presenting petitions to the court. While Niu Fu at first refused them, suspecting that there was something more to these petitions, he was eventually forced to relent. After all, continuing to refuse would be sure to frustrate many, and he wanted cohesion and harmony at court so they could all better serve the Emperor. Wang Chen became the new Excellency of Works and Wang Hong became the new Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies. While Wang Chen would prove decent enough in his new duties, Wang Hong lacked any military talent or experience, having only played a military role in the revolt against Dong Huang (and even then he had been a small player compared to Niu Fu and Shisun Rui). With Jiang Xian still in charge of the Censorate, the Wangs had just managed to stack the highest office with their relatives.

But this move finally awoke Niu Fu to the dangerous ambitions of the Wang Clan. Shisun Rui was quick to show the Chancellor all the corruption that was growing thanks to their influence. They didn’t want to do what was best for the Han or for the Emperor. No, what they wanted was to serve their own interests. Now seeing it for what it was, Niu Fu realized the danger of allowing them to control the Emperor. Thankfully, Shisun Rui had a plan. In early 197, when the Son of Heaven finally reached the age of 16, some were wondering if he should not be given the full reigns of the Dynasty. But Shisun Rui and Niu Fu feared that this would mean a Wang takeover. To avoid this, Shisun Rui presented a petition requesting that the Chancellor retain his power and authority. With Wang Hong and Wang Chen out of the Imperial Capital at the time, it was a perfect moment to strike. To the surprise of everyone, Jiang Xian also supported the petition, forcing many pro-Wangs to side with it. He would later claim that this was because he found himself trapped in Shisun Rui’s ploy, but it was probably because he feared the effect of a complete Han restauration on his career. While he wanted to refuse, the Emperor had no choice but to accept. As for Niu Fu, who had not been consulted on the whole affair, he did agree to continue to be the true power in Luoyang, if only because he was convinced that the Emperor lacked the skills to manage the Dynasty without the proper advisors.

Needless to say, Wang Hong was pissed when he returned to Luoyang. The Wang Clan had lost a perfect opportunity to weaken the Emperor, and they blamed Shisun Rui for it. So Wang Mao and his nephews started to work on their revenge, hoping to have the problematic official removed. But when approached, Jiang Xian showed quite a bit of hesitation at the idea of acting against his former ally. Yes, they no longer worked for the same goal, but he still had massive respect for the man. He wasn’t sure if he was up for it. But the Wangs needed him for this due to his control of the Censorate. Diaochan quickly realized that fact, which she pointed out to her husband. If they needed him that much, he could use this to become one of the main players of their little group. This was indeed an enticing idea for the tall official. After much reflection, he decided that his old friendship was not worth removing an obstacle to his rise. He did impose one condition to his support though, that Shisun Rui came out of this alive and well. He might betray him, but he didn’t want to hurt him.

So they began to work on their plan, with the Chief Censor assembling proofs of corruption and rule breaking supposedly committed by Shisun Rui and his staff. While the man himself proved quite clean, it turned out that his followers had been doing a lot of shifty things for him. Yes, they did so to ensure stability and good governance in the capital, but it didn’t change the fact that they were circumventing some of the rules. In April 197, they moved into action. Wang Hong presented accusations at court against Shisun Rui, accusing him of holding too much power and of having a bad influence on the Chancellor and the Emperor. To this, Jiang Xian brought all his investigation and his proofs, some fake and others real. Niu Fu was shocked, but the charges had the intended effect. It made Niu Fu doubt Shisun Rui. Maybe he did give the man too much power, after all. So against his ally’s pleas, Niu Fu removed him as Assistant to the Chancellor, just as the Wangs wanted. However, he did insist that Shisun Rui remain as Minister of Justice, as he still did an excellent job.

The removal of Shisun Rui left the question of who to appoint as his replacement. Niu Fu was a military man, which meant that he needed someone to assist him in managing state affairs. He consulted the scholar Chen Xia for advice. The old scholar, who believed that Niu Fu had the potential to become a great and powerful man, advised him to pick a man loyal to him. The removal of Shisun Rui should not mean the weakening of Niu Fu to the Wangs. But Niu Fu replied that Shisun Rui’s affiliation to him was exactly what had started this whole mess. No, what he needed was someone unrelated to the current tensions at court. So he turned to a man with good pedigree named Chang Xia. At the time, Chang Xia had the honor of serving as the Intendant of Jingzhao, thus making him the guardian of Chang’an, the former capital of the Han during the Western Han period (-206 to 9). A man holding such responsibility, and who stayed away from Luoyang, seemed like a perfect choice.

This would not be the case, though. First of all, Niu Fu seemed to either have ignored or not be aware that many officials had risen thanks to the corruption at court. And considering that Chang Xia’s only talent was in backroom dealings, there was a good chance that he rose in such manner. As it would turn out, Chang Xia also lacked any etiquette, making him a liability at court. Still, he took the office without flinching, ready to come help the Chancellor. His choice, which was supposed to be a neutral one, was actually highly criticized by the Wangs. They claimed that the appointment of the Intendant of Jingzhao was the first step of a plan to move the capital to Chang’an, where Niu Fu’s influence would be far greater. This, however, was quickly dismissed as idiotic, considering that Niu Fu was himself the Intendant of Henan (the region of the Imperial Capital), meaning he would actually lose power if he was to move the capital.

But if the Wangs mostly used the rise of Chang Xia to criticize Niu Fu, they were highly scared by the successes of Liu Siyuan. It was known that the Chancellor had a correspondence with the scion of the Han, the two holding much respect for one another, with Niu Fu even referring to Liu Siyuan as a friend. Following news of his successful annexation of Shansang County, Liu Siyuan was contacted once against by Niu Fu. The Chancellor expressed the possibility of making Liu Siyuan a Duke, something that had actually almost happened all the way before the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Niu Fu expressed a desire that Liu Siyuan officially submit to the Han court, an idea the warlord seriously entertained. There were even talks at court that he would make a fine Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies, someone who could bring back order to the Dynasty.

The Wangs wanted none of this, with Jiang Xian especially afraid of the way Liu Si’s son would treat them if he was given power. So the tall official, using his access as Minister of the Imperial Household, began to whisper to the Emperor’s ear that Liu Siyuan actually had designs on the imperial throne. This rumor spread quickly, and while Niu Fu refused to believe them, it stopped any traction to reward or promote Liu Siyuan in the imperial system. Angered by this refusal, the Liu clansman in turn refused to surrender his current autonomy again, especially considering how bad it went under Tao Shang. Instead, he wrote a letter to Niu Fu. “If his Excellency needs my help to clean the den of snakes, then his Excellency shall have it. Otherwise, I can do far more good on my own.” As always, Niu Fu balked at the idea, and so talk of the issue dropped.

The incompetence of Chang Xia was brought to the forefront in the last months of 197. His mismanagement of The Jingzhao region had led to a peasant revolt against imperial authority in Baling County. As the Grand Commandant, Wang Hong was quick to volunteer to go defeat this rebellion, which he liked to present as a proof of Niu Fu’s incompetence. But Niu Fu insisted that he go himself. He was a military man, after all, and so he was unwilling to let an incompetent commander lead troops against the rebels. He instead chose to lead the troops himself, bringing with him Xu Rong, who was probably the only former follower of Dong Zhuo who still held a generalship, thanks to his good relationship with the Chancellor. Since he couldn’t go lead troops against the revolt, Wang Hong elected to smear Niu Fu’s reputation in his absence. This was harder to do than planned however, as Jiang Xian refused to join them. Not that he didn’t want to, but he was playing the long game, which meant that he couldn’t just throw stupid insult each time Niu Fu had his back turned.

Niu Fu and Xu Rong arrived in Baling County in January 198 and faced the rebels in an uneven fight. Not wanting to let this embarrassing revolt to chance, Niu Fu had brought almost 8000 soldiers with him, which was more than enough to crush the peasants. The victory was quick and swift, and a good boost to the troops’ morale. Xu Rong certainly felt energized, as he boasted “Now let us march to Luoyang and remove the knives pointed at our backs!” The soldiers cheered, all too happy to help Niu Fu march on the capital. But the Chancellor then stood in front of them, his sword raised. “If you wish to attack the great capital, then I shall be the first man to die in its defense!” he screamed in outrage. But while he didn’t want them to march on Luoyang, he understood their frustration. For the last decade, they had been continuously fighting, and mostly winning. But now it had been two years since Duan Wei’s embarrassing debacle, with little for them to do. He knew the men wanted to fight, and so in order to satiate them, he made them a promise that the Emperor would declare a new campaign this year. The soldiers cheered at this announcement, even if all Niu Fu could think about was how he was going to convince court that such campaign was needed…

Zamarak500 · Jun 11, 2021

197-198: MISTAKES WERE MADE

1

The death of Chen Wen was a hard pill to swallow, especially for Yang Weili. Only a few weeks before, he was enjoying his life as a simple servant of his lord. Now he found himself as the most powerful warlord in China. While some might have seen this as a dream come true, the humble Yang Weili didn’t want this responsibility at first, although he was shrewd enough to understand that refusing would have endangered his lord’s dream. So he took the reins of power, showing this first and foremost when he took charge of the funerary rites and offered his protection to Chen Wen’s widow and daughters. This move, which was well received all around, was followed by another good decision on his part. Yang Weili certainly wanted to ensure that the transition of power would be done without incident, something that could always go more smoothly with marriage ties. In order to achieve this, he had his son Yang Boran betroth to Chen Jiner, the eldest daughter of Chen Wen. He hoped that this would make it clear that he was Chen Wen’s successor and that he was continuing his work.

But if Yang Weili wished to do as if Chen Wen was never gone, then he had a weird way of showing it. It was expected that the new Inspector of Yang Province would move to the provincial capital of Hefei, Chen Wen’s former seat of power. But Yang Weili surprised everyone by saying that he much preferred to stay in Xipingru. His reason for this decision proved especially lacking. The new Inspector had always been lazy when it came to his personal affairs, and that included his domain. The idea of having to handle all the transport and details needed to move his things and family to Hefei was simply too daunting for his tastes. It was too much trouble for nothing, so better stay home. This was, of course, ignoring all the hustle this would cause to the provincial administration, which had to move all its things to Xipingru. This made many officials grunt in frustration. Instead of moving to Hefei, Yang Weili appointed one such official named Lun Shi as Hefei’s magistrate to administrate the former provincial capital in his name. Yang Weili also invited Chen Wen’s family to come stay with him in Xipingru, but they kindly refused, preferring to stay in Hefei.

If this was seen as a bit strange, Yang Weili’s next move was perceived as outright disrespectful toward Chen Wen’s memory. Before his death, their late lord had ordered a campaign against the barbarians of Nanhai, a campaign that had been requested due to their raids on the southern border. Yang Weili’s first official announce was to annul these plans, as he felt it would be too costly. This was poorly received, especially among the southern officials who had been the victims of the raids. Chen Gengguo, who had travelled all the way to Hefei, was especially angered by the cancellation. He actually received news of it as he was on his way to his commandery in order to ready his troops for the campaign. Seeing it as an insult to Chen Wen’s legacy, Cheng Gengguo took a momentous decision: he chose to ignore his new lord, taking the campaign into his own hands.

As it turned out, Chen Gengguo would only be the first one to continue the campaign. Many southern officials, just as dissatisfied with the end of the campaign as he was, decided to follow his example and attack Nanhai. The ensuing conflict would take ten months and see some grueling fighting, but at the end of the day Chen Gengguo was able to take half the Nanhai for himself, a great victory that was only heightened by the fact that it gave Yang Province a port in the southern sea. This certainly helped elevate Chen Gengguo in the eyes of others, just as it diminished their opinion of Yang Weili. Chen Gengguo, in a victory speech to his troops, dedicated his victory to Chen Wen, and for the first time hinted at his possible family link with their former lord.

As it turned out, Yang Weili had not just cancelled this campaign for nothing. Instead, he first wished to start smaller, with a simpler campaign against weaker opponents. No, his current goal was to attack the barbarians currently the barbarians in Fuchun, led by the chieftain Yan Matun, one of the many of his clans to hold power in the region. But this campaign would be the opportunity to alienate another important player in the province. Hu Zan had been present for the mourning and the change in leadership. Now that Yang Weili was the ruler of Yang, the position of Commandant found itself vacant, and Hu Zan fully expected to fill that vacancy. He had literally won the province its independence from Tao Shang and had showed that he was the greatest military leader on hand. The only other possible contender would have been Huang Zu, but the grumpy general was clearly preparing for a personal war on his own, so he was easily out of the picture.

No, Hu Zan was the only sensible choice. Which is why he was infuriated when Yang Weili offered the position to Su Dai, the commander of Hufei’s garrison during the war. Su Dai was known for being quite incompetent at his job, having only done well due to the efforts of his subordinate Bu Baoxun. But thanks to that, the commander had gained the respect of his men, who always had praises for him. Besides, Yang Weili liked Su Dai. He was a righteous, humble and unambitious man, someone with who he could get along, someone he could easily work with. Su Dai was hesitant to accept the promotion though, and it was only the insistent push from Bu Baoxun that convinced him to accept. Meanwhile, Hu Zan could only watch, infuriated that he had been passed over by a man of far lesser talent.

The campaign was an affair of a couple of months, starting in February and wrapping up by late July. Of course, Yang Weili had hoped that Yan Matun would have surrendered when he learned of the coming Yang force, which was sure to outmatch whatever army he could put on the field. But Yan Matun was brave and didn’t care for his people. Better for them to die than for him to lose power. The barbarian chieftain actually inflicted a humiliating defeat to a small Yang force in March, forcing Yang Weili to go take command of the troops personally, with a larger army this time. He met the forces of Yan Matun at Jianmen in June, where he easily defeated the barbarian commanders. When he learned of this, the chieftain proved a lot more willing to discuss. He offered to submit to Yang Weili as a tributary, an offer that the Inspector accepted. Having won the war, he was now hopeful that this little campaign would be enough to be forgiven for abandoning Chen Wen’s last campaign.

In August, just after he had returned home, Yang Weili was informed that Huang Zu had died of his wounds following a battle with none other than Liu Siyuan. This was surprising news, but not unwelcome ones. Huang Zu had always been hard to deal with, so having the angry man no longer around was actually a positive thing, even if Yang Weili was smart enough not to say it out loud. To replace him, he quickly promoted a young and talented man named Xiang Lang. A local official of Jing Province, Xiang Lang had become famous for his administrative capacities. This was the kind of man that Yang Weili wanted at his service, and so it made sense to promote him. But the older officials of the province were a bit dubious at this, feeling like the young man got a free pass to a high-ranking position.

But Yang Weili was also demoting people and removing them from office. In fact, he started to do this a lot once he returned from his little campaign. A few magistrates and two administrators got bumped down the provincial ladder. A man named Zhou Xin had the worst of it, soon becoming the poster boy of these changes. Zhou Yin was an honorable and humble man who had served as administrator of Danyang Commandery since the Yellow Turban Rebellion. He wasn’t the best, nor was he the worst, but he was well respected by his peers. And in late October Yang Weili had him removed from all his posts without warning. Incensed at this treatment, Zhou Yin left for Ji Province, hoping to find more respect under Gongsun Zan. It is unclear why Yang Weili started removing officials like Zhou Yin. Some claimed that he was simply exerting his right to appoint and remove officials, while others believed he was trying to make the administration in the province more efficient by replacing the older officials by younger and better ones. Whatever his reasons, many perceived this as nothing less than the actions of a tyrant.

Many officials quickly lodged complaints to Lu Jun in the hope that he would do something to stop Yang Weili. However, the old official didn’t really care about their problems. While he was still bitter that he didn’t get to be the new Inspector, he had actually fared well under his new lord. He still held an important position at his court, and recently had even been given jurisdiction over Hefei, as Lun Shi proved unable to manage it adequately. So he had no reason to risk his neck for others. That changed in February 198, when Yang Weili hinted that he wished to replace Lu Jun. He suggested that after such a long career, the old official should probably retire with all honors. He had done enough for the province, let younger men take over. In particular, Yang Weili had an eye on the young Xiang Lang, who he was quickly grooming for a higher position at court. In a blunt and angry response, Lu Jun made it clear that he would never, ever, accept retirement. Yang Weili wisely chose to drop the issue, but it was enough to put fear in Lu Jun’s mind. Enough so that he began to envision a Yang Province without Yang Weili…

See, the problem with Yang Weili’s administration was due to his personal flaws. He was a skilled and learned man, who knew how to command troops in conventional and unconventional ways. He was also quite honest when speaking his mind and was humble in victory, all things appreciated by his former lord Chen Wen. The issue was that he was quite stingy with money in his personal life, and was quite bored when it came to doing things that didn’t stimulate him, like bureaucratic duties and paperwork. As a servant of Chen Wen, this was mitigated by his lord, who knew how to properly motivate him and mostly kept him in military affairs, which suited him just fine. Now that he was in charge though, his flaws found themselves dripping into all aspects of his administration. Spending was curtailed, especially for military campaigns. Daily administrative affairs often found themselves pushed aside out of laziness. His honest and direct attitude had the effect of alienating many of his officials. Chen Wen had little talents, but one of the few he had was the ability to cultivate loyalty among his subordinates. Yang Weili did not share that talent.

Even his most recent success, his small campaign against Yan Matun, turned into a joke when Yan Matun’s territories were annexed by a cousin of his, rendering the whole affair a waste of time. He seemed to have eventually realized his growing unpopularity, as in April 197 he started to talk about restarting that campaign against Nanhai that Chen Wen had declared. Most saw it as another attempt on his part to link himself to Chen Wen, but still, they were excited to finally finish this and destroy the barbarians once and for all. Yang Weili hoped for a quick and successful campaign when he declared war against the southern barbarians in May. In a way, he would get a better result than he ever imagined. Having failed to push back Chen Gengguo, High Chief Quaid Quach was smart enough to know that he couldn’t face the forces of Yang Weili. So he instead offered to become a subject of the Inspector of Yang, allowing his tribe to be annexed into Yang Province if he was allowed to continue to lead it. Yang Weili agreed, ending the war in two weeks without even fighting a single battle.

To Yang Weili, this was perfect. He had managed to win Nanhai without a fight. What a success! Most did not see it that way, though. They had been promised the demise of the barbarians that had raided their lands for so long. Instead, these same barbarians had been accepted by their lord. Many did not look well on this. Lu Jun certainly saw it as the last straw. Yang Weili had allowed such a threat to the province to be allowed in. This was unacceptable, and the final proof that the strategist was an unfit successor to Chen Wen. In June 198, Lu Jun rose in revolt against Yang Weili. He proclaimed that Yang Province needed an Inspector who would care for the province and the province only, not one who would act like a tyrant for himself. Some provincial officials rushed to join his banner, although neither Hu Zan nor Chen Gengguo chose to do so. Chen Wen had died eighteen months ago, leaving his territories strong and united. It was now going to fall into utter chaos.

Zamarak500 · Jun 14, 2021

197-198: A FUTURE FOR LIANG

Yao Shuren had finally found a way to get some recognition from the Imperial Court. Han Sui and his rebels had been a torn in their side for a decade now. So surely Niu Fu and his ilk would be all too happy to see them destroyed. And the Chancellor certainly took the bait. Whatever his opinion of Yao Shuren was, at least he paid lip service to the Capital, while the rebels were in outright opposition to the Emperor. Niu Fu gave his support to Yao Shuren’s attack on the rebels, even if the Wang Clan was highly opposed to this. This turned a personal campaign into a fully sanctioned one. Yao Shuren was all too happy with this news. It seemed that the lip service he had given to court was paying off, and now he had far more leeway in his authority. In March 197, Yao Shuren declared his first independent campaign, ready to enter the history books as the one who finally ended the Liang Rebellion. He left his trusted wife Guo Yuyi to handle his domain, as he trusted her more than any officials at his service, despite their recent disputes over succession. Convinced that Liang would be well managed in his absence, he took his generals and marched into the mountains.

Han Sui only learned of this a month later, as he was still fighting the Qinghaixi Khaganate at the time. He and Ma Teng were forced to sign a quick peace with Cheliji Khagan, taking some territories and using them to raise a quick army to respond. They had little time to handle such matter though, as the threat of Yao Shuren’s fast moving army could be upon them at any time. So Ma Teng suggested that he stayed behind to raise new troops. He was technically a Qiang, just like the local population, even if he had been raised under the Han Dynasty. Han Sui agreed, trusting his old companion to handle the recruitment while he went to deal with the problem of the invasion. And who knew? With some luck, they might not even need these extra recruits to defeat Yao Shuren.

At that time, the Governor of Yang Province was advancing on the rebel territories, leading his army through the difficult mountains of the province. Even so, he advanced so fast that by the time of the treaty between Han Sui and Cheliji Khagan, he was already within reach of a city. Surprised by this quick pace, Chenggong Ying wished to leave the rebels’ home base to go oversee the defense himself, but Mo Jie volunteered to go in his stead. He explained that Chenggong Ying was needed to manage the territories until Han Sui’s return. At least that’s what Chenggong Ying understood, as Mo Jie was actually meekly suggesting that as a siege expert and architect, he could probably defend the city from a siege. Mo Jie then wrote one last panicked letter to Han Sui to tell him to come back already before leaving. He was so determined to arrive fast that he only stopped to let the horse rest, eating and (more dangerously) sleeping on horseback.

He arrived just in time, entering the city a few hours before Yao Shuren’s arrival. The timing was so close that the Governor’s scouts spotted him entering the city and reported his presence. Whoever this Mo Jie was (Yao Shuren had actually forgotten all about their previous encounter), Yao Shuren was confident he could force him to surrender. As it turned out, Mo Jie was surprisingly stubborn when it came to holding out, even if he lacked the troops to keep the provincial army out forever. As it turned out, even under a gruesome siege, Mo Jie proved to care for his men, often refusing to eat so they had more, and never even stepping a foot within the official mansion so to stay closer to the people. He certainly gained a lot of sympathy and support from the locals for his caring management of the siege. Within a week, he proved so liked that any hope of finding someone to cooperate with the besiegers turned to dust. But popularity didn’t win a siege, and by mid-May Mo Jie was forced to flee the city, although not before he sent Yao Shuren a demand that the citizen be allowed to evacuate freely (something Yao Shuren refused).

But Mo Jie had gained just enough time for Han Sui to return. He passed through his home base to grab Wang Bi and Ma Chao to assist him on this campaign before moving toward Yao Shuren’s position. For some reason, Yao Shuren had divided his troops, and with some of his army still assembling back home, he now found himself with less troops than the rebels. Adding to this was the advantage of the terrain, which was far more familiar to Han Sui and his followers, while the Governor of Liang Province had to use local barbarian guides to help his army through some of the more mountainous areas. When the troops fought outside of Linqiang, things seemed to be in Han Sui’s advantage. Never the less, Yao Shuren proved that he was no slouch when it came to strategy. Even with a numerical disadvantage of almost 1000 men and a bad position, he was able to fight back with ease. He actually inflicted just as much damages to the rebel forces as what he received. But even so, he realized that if things continued like that for a few days, this brutal fighting would leave him at a disadvantage. So after a gruesome day of fighting, he retreated back to the city he had just claimed.

Besides, Yao Shuren had a plan B in motion. The reason why he had detached some of his troops was so he could send them through another route directly to the rebel base. That detachment of seven hundred men was led personally by Hu Zhen, the older general who had been so loyal to Yao Shuren when he rose to power. This seemed like an excellent choice for a commander to lead this side expedition, except for one factor he had not been made aware of. It seemed like Hu Zhen had started to have violent episodes, where he was like a raged beast or spoke nonsense. Whatever insanity was starting to afflict him, he was still able to hide it most of the times. But when these urges came, it was proving to be quite problematic to his daily life. One such episode happened when the expedition actually spotted Han Sui’s returning army. While a clearer head would have wisely retreated, Hu Zhen suddenly started screaming weird sounds and charged like a madman. His men, taking this as an order to attack, followed suit. While Han Sui and the rebels were initially surprised, they quickly overran their attackers, inflicting a devastating defeat on Hu Zhen’s force and destroying his detachment entirely.

With these two successes, the rebels felt pretty good about themselves. In June, Han Sui returned to his seat of power and met with his followers, who were all too happy to celebrate the recent victories. The Imperial Government had sanctioned a campaign against them, and yet they were winning. This was good news. When news of Ma Teng’s recruitment going well reached them, Ma Chao even boasted that if things continued like this, the dream of freeing the whole province would be achieved before the turn of the century. While the other rebels weren’t as confident as he was, they certainly started to dream of a brighter future. Han Sui strategized that with the recent defeats of the provincial forces, there wouldn’t be a need to send as much troops this time. After a month of celebration and planning, he decided to send an expedition of two thousand men to go retake the conquered city while he waited for Ma Teng’s reinforcements. Ma Chao, Wang Bi and even Mo Jie all volunteered to lead the expedition. Only Ma Chao’s request was understood though, so the other two were left behind.

But the rebels had made a grave mistake. They thought Yao Shuren would have been pushed back, or would have replied to reorganize. Instead, the young warlord had simply continued to push forward. When he was defeated, he simply retreated to the lands he had conquered instead of his own. While the rebels were regrouping and preparing for a counter attack, he simply went on the move. When Ma Chao arrived in the occupied lands in August expecting to fight the provincial army, he soon discovered that they had already left. He was then doubly shocked when he received news from Han Sui that Yao Shuren was actually right at their doorstep with a rejuvenated army. With most of the troops stuck with Ma Chao, Han Sui had little to offer against Yao Shuren. But the morale of everyone was still high, with the rebel commanders like Wang Bi or Chenggong Ying charging head first against the enemy forces. Han Sui and his forced were pushed out, but they inflicted more damage to Yao Shuren than they received.

Han Sui and his allies were forced to evacuate their home base to regroup with Ma Chao and his forces. Mo Jie didn’t want to abandon the city, so he had to be forcefully removed by the men. While Han Sui admired his courage, the administrator was simply too important to their cause to be left behind. Sadly, they arrived to find that Ma Chao had made little advances when it came to retaking territories. It seemed that Yao Shuren had reinforced the garrisons before advancing. They thus had to decide if they were going to go back to attempt to relieve the siege or continue with the reconquest of territories. Of course, Ma Chao advocated to stay, as he didn’t want his work to go to waste. Most of the other officers advised Han Sui to retake their home base though, so the rebel leader finally decided in early October to march back to their home… only to learn on the way that it had already fallen.

But Yao Shuren hadn’t stopped there. He continuously received reinforcements, his army now almost four thousand men strong. He had even hired Qiang barbarians as mercenaries, a dire blow to the morale of the rebels, who fancied themselves as their protectors. In fact, he felt so confident about the course of the current campaign that he invited his wife Guo Yuyi to come join him in the army camps. He missed her advices and her company, and the two would spend some lovely time together. Unbeknown to the couple, this “happy time” would result in another pregnancy, one that Yao Shuren firmly believed would result in a son this time. As they were enjoying their time late 197, they learned of Han Sui’s movements. Unable to return home or pierce the defenses he left behind, the rebels had decided to move to Lianju, an area they had conquered a few years back. Yao Shuren laughed at this. Yes, the barbarians would probably help them, but it also meant that they were surrounded now. Soon enough, victory would be his. He was sure of it.

Heaven clearly had a thing against the Liang rebels. As if things weren’t already going badly for them, their holdout territories in the west were attacked in December by none other than Cheliji Khagan. It hadn’t even been a year since he had been forced to surrender territories to the rebels, but he had been planning to avenge this humiliating defeat ever since. Ma Teng had actually approached the Khagan, hoping he would now see the menace Yao Shuren represented. Cheliji Khagan rebuked him with a laugh. He didn’t care about Yao Shuren! In fact, news of his successes would finally convince him to attack those damn rebels who took some of his territories. The Khagan unleashed his horde on the border, violently assaulting the defenses throughout the end of 197 and the beginning of 198, slowly but surely occupying his former territories.

The successes of Yao Shuren and the advance of Cheliji Khagan weighted heavily on the mind of Qu Yan. The fall of the rebel home base convinced him that Han Sui’s cause was doomed. He never liked the old man, so he was not going to get dragged down with him. All that mattered to Qu Yan was that he retained control of his county. But he also wanted to protect the people under his care. While he didn’t want to admit it, the rebel cause had swayed him to be better and more generous, and he feared what would happen to the people should his territories be left to the mercy of the horde. So in February 198, he entered in a secret correspondence with Yao Shuren, offering him his loyalty and pledging himself to the Governor of Liang. Yao Shuren saw this as an opportunity and agreed. If anything, Qu Yan was a good commander, meaning that he was the perfect man to protect the border with the Qinghaixi Khaganate.

Ma Teng, who was residing with Qu Yan, soon became aware of the treacherous correspondence. As he feared, Yao Shuren was quick to send a letter to Qu Yan asking him to execute the rebel general. But Qu Yan, out of some weird sense of camaraderie, surprised Ma Teng by allowing him to flee and save his life. Ma Teng was thankful, and promised to repay this debt when they eventually won, which made Qu Yan laugh. Ma Teng thus rode away with some of his recruits to join Han Sui, trying his very best to get through Yao Shuren’s territories, he was often forced to fight his way through checkpoints and refused to abandon a single man behind, even if it meant risking his life. In the end, he managed to reach the other rebels, although he only had thirteen men remaining by his side. Everyone was happy to see him, as they were preparing an attack against Yao Shuren in the hope of retaking their former base.

This desperate attempt at a rebel counterattack took place around the town of Yuanjie. The rebels were clearly outnumbered by Yao Shuren, who decided a simple defensive strategy would be enough to finally break them. But the rebels felt like this was their last chance, and they weren’t going to waste it. They fought with such determination that the provincial forces were taken by surprised. Weren’t these people supposed to be on the verge of surrendering? So why were they charging at them screaming? Panicked by this, the army of Yao Shuren quickly broke, although their leader managed to reorganize the vast majority of them in a coherent retreat. Those that didn’t were pursued by Wang Bi, which led to many of them falling of cliffs as they fled. Yao Shuren, who was leading from the frontline, even lost an eye in the fighting. But wanting to keep face, he would start telling a different tale of the loss of his eyes, claiming a dragon came to him, offering him a great destiny in exchange of his left eye. Whatever was the case, it was undeniable that he lost his eye during his retreat from the rebel force.

But that victory proved to be pyrrhic. This fast advance had stretched their supply line to its limit. Even if Mo Jie did an excellent job managing the supply, he lacked the manpower to protect it. Yao Shuren was quick to capitalize on this, launching a series of raids in early June that destroyed the line, causing many civilian victims in the process. Among the victims was the young son of Han Sui. The news of his death, adding to the realization that they once again had to retreat, broke the old leader. Chenggong Ying and Ma Teng tried to convince him to continue the fight, but he didn’t have it in him anymore. He was watching his dream of a free Liang die in front of his eyes, fourteen years of fighting for nothing, and this was proving too much. Refusing to live in a Liang Province dominated by Yao Shuren, Han Sui committed suicide in late June 198, just as the young governor was officially declaring victory over the rebels.

The death of Han Sui finally broke the rebel cause. Realizing that there was little chance of continuing the fight, the Ma Clan decided to leave the region altogether instead of risking falling in Yao Shuren’s hands. Wang Bi, who respected them greatly, chose to follow them in their exile, hoping to find a just cause to fight for elsewhere. They would all travel throughout China before eventually settling in the court of Governor Tao Shang of Xu Province, all the way east on the coast. Only two rebel leaders refused to join them. Chenggong Ying had never particularly liked Ma Teng assumption of leadership, and so refused to follow him anywhere. He instead decided to continue the fight on his own through guerrilla warfare in the mountains. His struggle would be short lived however, as he would die a few weeks later due to a smallpox epidemic that spread throughout the province (although fatefully his wife would survive him). Both Ma Teng and Chenggong Ying tried to convince Mo Jie to join them, but the architect refused. He was a son of Liang, and never would he abandon his home province. If this meant facing death, then so be it.
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The victory had been far harder to achieve than he had ever anticipated. He thought these rebels had been at the end of their rope, yet they defeated him more time than otherwise, which Yao Shuren found rightfully annoying. He had been raised all these years by his father to be the best general possible, only to be repeatedly defeated by a bunch of disorganized rebels. Well, it didn’t really matter in the end. He had still won. Now all he needed to do was to make sure that history only recorded the right version of this campaign.

“Is it here?” he asked the lieutenant accompanying him.

“Yes my lord!” the man answered. “General Hu found a rebel leader hiding in this village.”

“And he made sure to send for me before making any decision.” Yao Shuren completed.

Once again, Hu Zhen made the right call. It was good to have such a loyal and understanding subordinate. The older man had been a lot of help back when Guo Si was still alive, and now he was proving ever the more reliable. And even better, he didn’t take important decisions without approval from his lord first. Yes, a perfect subordinate, Yao Shuren thought, at least if it wasn’t for those weird rumors about his mental state…

Once he had received news from Hu Zhen that he had found a rebel leader, he made haste with an escort, curious about the man they had found. He would have actually liked for his wife to accompany him, as her advices were always appreciated. He had grown quite fond of her, on an intellectual and maybe even personal level. She really knew what his goals were and was able to support him in achieving them. Sadly, she was feeling quite sick these days and was in no state to travel long distances that fast. Probably something related to her pregnancy. She had been sick at times during the previous ones, after all. And if getting deprived of her was the cost for her to safely give birth to a son, then it was a small one. Finally, he was going to have an heir, and their whole dispute over her bastard could be pushed aside.

As he entered the village, he could see the local savages assembled outside of their homes. He had expected rustic homes for those Qiang barbarians to live in, but those were actually quite well built for the houses of savages. Surely it had been built by the rebels, who used their Chinese techniques to improve the Qiangs’ situation. The villagers had all been assembled in groups in the streets, watched over by his provincial forces. It seemed like Hu Zhen didn’t want them to try anything. Good. Yao Shuren would have been greatly disappointed if his right-hand man had been overpowered by barbarians trying to save the rebel officer. The soldiers were quick to salute their lord as he passed by on his horse, while his presence scared the locals. He was happy to see that the soldiers knew how to act in his presence. The last thing he needed was a bunch of unruly troops.

He was quickly greeted by a older man in armor, who quickly fell to his knees as Yao Shuren approached on horseback. He looked up at his lord, his slender but aging face clearly awaiting an order. Yao Shuren waved at him, telling him to get up. Still, the general waited, only getting up when his lord had dismounted. Hu Zhen was a bit taller than him, although he did not have the same presence as Yao Shuren.

“My lord.” Hu Zhen welcomed him with bow.

“You did well to call upon me, general.” Yao Shuren said. “Now where is this rebel?”

“Inside this house, lord.” Hu Zhen explained, pointing at the building behind him. “I placed soldiers to watch over him, just in case he tried anything.”

“We can never be too prudent.” Yao Shuren agreed. “Was he hard to find?”

“Not really. He wore his finest clothes, so he stood out quite easily among the poor populace. He did not even try to flee when he caught to him, simply surrendering as if it was expected.”

“Did he?” Yao Shuren responded; his curiosity now piqued.

He quickly entered the house behind Hu Zhen, followed closely by his guards and his second-in-command. The home, while looking fine from the outside, was quite in bad shape inside. Either his men had ransacked it (a high possibility, he had to admit), or the people owning this house had done a terrible job of taking care of it. At the center of it was a man pushing forty, patiently waiting on his knees. Hu Zhen didn’t lie when he said that the man was easy to notice, wearing a right green dress that was more appropriate for the Imperial Court than the country side. No wonder he had been caught. He also had a dark bushy beard and calm eyes, as if he was resigned about his fate. Soldiers surrounded both him and a pregnant young woman by his side, which Yao Shuren guessed must be the man’s daughter, considering the age difference.

“You are in front of the Governor of Liang Province.” Hu Zhen told the man. “Pay proper respect.”
The man’s eyes shifted to Hu Zhen for a moment before turning back to Yao Shuren.

“It is I, Mo Jie, is my name.” he said with a meek voice.

Wha-What was that? Was that supposed to be a proper introduction? Yao Shuren was a bit taken aback, both by the nonsensical words of the man and his weak voice. He expected him to be more boastful or challenging.

“Mo Jie… Where have I heard that name?” he asked out loud, as much to others than to himself.

“He was the man put in charge of the rebel defense of Linqiang, lord.”

Ah yes, that siege. The first obstacle they met during the campaign. This was supposed to be an easy affair, yet the man in charge of it refused to surrender and held for far too long. The rebels also had mentions of a man named Mo Jie in their papers, a great administrator or something. The more he looked at the man, the more he felt like he had seen him before, though… But that was irrelevant. What matter was that if that man was as good as he read, then it would be a waste to kill him here. Too bad he chose the wrong si…

“I serve Liang!” Mo Jie shouted.

Everyone looked at each other, unsure how to take this declaration. Yao Shuren had a pensive look on his face. There was certainly a lot of ways to interpret the sentence “I serve Liang”. Maybe he professed his support for the cause of the Liang rebels, even while facing imminent doom. Maybe he felt some stupid loyalty to the geographic notion of Liang, or maybe a sense of duty to its people. But there was also the possibility that he was offering his services to Liang Province, and thus to its governor. It wouldn’t be a first case of rebels asking to serve him, as Qu Yan had already demonstrated a few months ago.

“Do you now?” was his only response as he approached the rebel.

“I am a son of Liang and lived for it.” Mo Jie replied. “I am ready.”

Again, this was ambiguous at best, incomprehensible at worst. Thankfully for Yao Shuren, this could also be left to interpretation, and he felt generous today. If Mo Jie could prove useful to his ambitions, then so be it.

“I’ll find use for you.” he said with a smile.

“My lord?” Hu Zhen asked, just as confused as Mo Jie.

“He’s coming back with us.” Yao Shuren declared as he turned around.

“But…” Mo Jie tried, before he was interrupted.

“I am Liang, and you will serve your people by serving me.” Yao Shuren interrupted before pointing at some of the soldiers. “You, you and you. Escort Mo Jie and his daughter back to the provincial capital. Now.”

The men didn’t respond, simply grabbing the rebel and the teenage girl and carrying them outside the house.

“Find him a post, maybe as a small clerk to start with. I want to see the worth of the life I just saved.”

“Yes lord.” Hu Zhen answered, no longer questioning the decision.

“And general?”

“Yes lord?”

“Massacrer this whole village. If they were trying to hide a rebel, who know what they might try to hide from us in the future?”

“It will be done before sunset.” Hu Zhen promised.

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PS: Well, that’s it for the whole rebel storyline! Eight years of following that cast, and we had good times with them. But now, after what I think is my longest chapter so far, we reach the end of their story. Mo Jie is now part of Yao Shuren’s storyline, and while the Ma Clan will eventually reappear, they now serve Tao Shang, which is far closer to Yang Weili or Xiao Ru than Mo Jie.
PPS: I know we dunked a bit on Mo Jie for marrying a girl that is way younger to him, but I realized recently he’s not the only one with an icky marriage. Hu Zan’s (@patpekala ) second wife is actually… the stepmom of his first wife. So the second wife was married to her stepson’s grandfather. Kinda awkward. Never mentioned it cause it’s not really relevant to the plot, but still weird.

Zamarak500 · Jun 23, 2021

198: ME AND MY BIG HEAD

Everything seemed to be going right for Xiao Ru and his Chen Commandery. He had managed to first annex Runan Commandery, which was then held by his now subordinate Liu Yi, and then the following year he had managed to take the provincial capital of Chengguo after its magistrate surrendered it to him. Victories after victories. Throughout all that, he had been able to acquire a lot of competent subordinates, from the great general Chang Lin, who chose to serve him after his talents were wasted in Sili Province, to the recent addition of the scholar Chunyu Shenxi, who had defected to him when he came to take the provincial capital. Half a decade ago, Xiao Ru was on the run, having killed his hated rival Zhuge Gui. Now he stood as the most powerful warlord along of the region. And if you were to ask him about it, he would have answered that he deserved it. All of this. All this success was rightfully his.

But there were proving to be growing issues under that façade of success, issues that had been a problem for a while. While he was quick to reward his subordinates for their support, with some like Chang Lin having risen far higher than they ever dreamed before joining him, it was clear that this was all getting to his head. A little too fast and far too much, if you asked some of his followers. They were a big fish in a small pond, but Xiao Ru had started acting as if he was on the verge of reunifying China tomorrow. He certainly acted as if he had that kind of authority, at least. For a few years now, Xiao Ru had promoted and demoted individuals from his inner council based on what seemed to be his whims. It was actually more based on what the Administrator felt like he needed for a specific situation, but that hardly changed the problem. Many among his court, chief of which was Xu Shao, felt like this wishy-washy attitude to office appointments was tyrannic and undeserving of a righteous lord.

Xiao Ru’s growing pride and arrogance were in full display when he decided that it would be a great idea to demand the submission of the warlord Liu Siyuan, whose territories bordered Chen Commandery to the south. Both Xu Shao and Liu Yi opposed. Xu Shao pleaded his lord: “Liu Siyuan is a great warrior fighting for the even greater cause of saving the Dynasty. If we were to try to stop him from achieving this goal, would we not be the villains under Heaven?” Liu Yi was also quick to come forward, opposing any move against his distant cousin’s autonomy. Xiao Ru was greatly displeased by their opposition, so he suspended them from his privy council, telling them to return to their counties and prove their worth by administrating the territories. With the two complainers out of the way, Xiao Ru sent a letter to Liu Siyuan, offering him the honor of serving him. The scion of the Han was actually amused by the man’s arrogance, so he wrote back a passionate answer that could be boiled down to “No, and don’t ever contact me for such stupid reason.” Xiao Ru, who had heard of Liu Siyuan’s prowess on the battlefield, decided to drop the issue.

Xu Shao continued to try to persuade his lord to change his ways, although Xiao Ru mostly perceived it as unwarranted bickering from a man who was once again losing favors. But while Xu Shao still believed that he could convince him, others like Liu Yi had started to believe that more concrete actions had to be taken. Liu Yi never really liked his new lord, having lost his territories to him and having been humiliated once he surrendered. Yes, he now held a powerful position at court, but even there he felt like things were wrong. The wrong people occupied the wrong functions, and it was clear that while Xiao Ru expected his realm to be held by strict laws, his court was only under the sway of his personal whims. If he wanted things to change and improve, talking to Xiao Ru wouldn’t result in a solution. No, what they needed was to force his hand.

Liu Yi had great respect for Xu Shao, which is why he was the first who was approached with the idea of a rebellion. Xu Shao was at first turned off at the idea of taking arms against his lord, but neither did he leak this information to Xu Shao. In the end, two things pushed back toward Liu Yi. First was the news that he was permanently removed from his post on Xiao Ru’s council. He had hoped that his previous opposition over the Liu Siyuan issue would have been quickly forgotten. Sadly, his continuous complains had pushed Xiao Ru to reconsider keeping Xu Shao among his close advisors. Then there was Lady Xia, that damn woman. In his absence, she had managed to regain some autonomy at court and once again ambitioned gaining power. Still, she overplayed her hand, and soon enough Xiao Ru had her pushed to the side once again. While this was a quick affair, it made Xu Shao worried that his lord might allow his wife to actually regain power, or some other evil advisors to get close to him. Something had to be done, and if Liu Yi’s plan was the solution to this, then so be it.

In March, the two men approached another high-ranking official of Xiao Ru’s territories, offering Chunyu Shenxi to join them. The magistrate in charge of the provincial capital, Chunyu Shenxi had defected to join Xiao Ru when the warlord declared a war to reclaim the city from the Prince of Liang. Since then, he had done everything in his power to stay in the good graces of Xiao Ru, knowing full well how easy it would be to suspect the turncoat of being a potential traitor. It seemed to have worked too, as Xiao Ru had appointed him Censor of the Commandery earlier this year, even if he was pretty terrible at it. So, when Xu Shao and Liu Yi approached him with the idea of joining their plot, he panicked. Fearing what would happen if he sided with them, he quickly sent news of this potential betrayal to his lord. Xiao Ru was shocked by this. He might have expected Liu Yi to try something one day, considering how he took his territories. But Xu Shao? That, he never saw coming. He immediately ordered their arrest, only to find that they were nowhere to be found.

When they heard that Chunyu Shenxi had betrayed them, the two coconspirators quickly raced to their territories and assembled the troops at their disposals. However, not wanting to look like ambitious traitors who only wanted more power, they sent one last letter to Xiao Ru, demanding him to reform his entourage and make sure that he would respect his advisors and appoint them lawfully. Xiao Ru, who still felt like he could do no wrong, quickly refused their demands. He was not going to cave to a bunch of rebels, not when he was on his way to reunify Yu Province! He had gone so far thanks to his quick ability to appoint the people he needed and then replace them when they had outlived that use. No, these two had no idea what they were talking about. Xiao Ru refused their terms, leaving them with only one option: revolt. Liu Yi and Xu Shao officially declared themselves against the tyranny of their lord, with the goal to ensure that good and loyal advisors had their power and influence respected and honored.

Xiao Ru’s response to the rebellion was quick as he dispatched Chang Lin to go deal with it. Yes, the rebels were strong and had a lot of men, but they lacked a great advisor like Chang Lin. The general himself wasn’t that happy to have to leave though, as he was actually having a lot of “adult fun” with a woman these days. Then again, better get away before someone figured out that said woman was actually one of his lord’s concubine. That would not only be embarrassing, but extremely dangerous for his personal life, considering the circumstances. A more humble and reasonable man might have simply not gotten in that situation in the first place, but just like his lord, Chang Lin was convinced that he could do no wrong. He felt like he could do all that and get out of it just fine. After all, wasn’t he Xiao Ru’s best general? So after leaving his lover, he took over the loyal troops and went fight those damn rebels.

But Xiao Ru had greatly underestimated the strength of the rebellion. It turned out that Liu Yi and Xu Shao actually had four time more soldiers than he had. Never the less, Xiao Ru was confident that victory would be his, as it had always been since he arrived in Yu Province. He first hoped to hire some mercenaries, but all those he could think of were already hired in other wars throughout China. So instead, he decided to go help the troops by leading them himself. He wasn’t exactly a great commander, but he was certain that his presence would help boost the troops’ morale. It was a good idea, but a useless one. The rebels simply had too much territories, too much support. Liu Yi had no difficulty assembling his former supporters under his banner. Although they had pushed him to surrender to Xiao Ru, it didn’t mean that they liked the way their new lord was ignoring them. As for Xu Shao, his talent had allowed him to gain the respect of many, with more joining the rebels as they held him in higher esteem than their lord. This resulted in a series of defeats for Xiao Ru had his supporters.

By September, it was starting to seem hopeless. Their armies had been destroyed by the rebels, and soon his seat of power would find itself under siege. In a last-ditch effort, Xiao Ru sent for Chunyu Shenxi, demanding that the magistrate come to his aid. But Chunyu Shenxi had been depressed over the fact that his actions had led to a civil war. This had taken such a toll on him that he had fallen sick, to the point that he was unable to leave Chengguo. With the realization that there would be no help coming, Xiao Ru became realistic. He had to end this now before his authority took a bigger hit.

In October 198, the Administrator of Chen Commandery contacted his former subordinates. He agreed to their demands and asked them to end this revolt. While Xu Shao was happy with this outcome, Liu Yi wanted a more public proof that Xiao Ru wouldn’t go down the path of tyranny again. So they agreed to meet in the town of Gucheng. There, Xiao Ru agreed that he would never remove righteous officials, that he would respect their inputs and that the government of the commandery would be run justly, including at court. This official speech from their lord became known as the Gucheng Declaration, a weight that Xiao Ru would have to drag for the rest of his life. But while everyone saw this as a victory, the two sides differed on the meaning of the declaration. The righteous officials like Xu Shao and Liu Yi believed that this was something that would hold their lord for the rest of his life, something he would have to follow from now on. Xiao Ru had a different idea. To him, this was a deal with Xu Shao and Liu Yi. Meaning that if, let’s say, the two men were to die, he would be free of those obligations and could go back to his old ways, right? Right?

Zamarak500 · Jul 5, 2021

197-198: THE VOYAGES OF PAN ZHENG, PART 2

After more than a year of wandering around searching for a new home, Pan Zheng had finally settled in Taishan Commandery to start a new life, which seemed perfect for him. He lived under the care of an excellent and famous scholar, a man he highly respected. In Ying Shao, Pan Zheng had finally found a lord he wanted to serve, someone he could believe in. And the older scholar had proven to be quite a respectful lord. Unlike his previous employers, Ying Shao had not tried to force Pan Zheng in doing things that he didn’t want to, seeing the wisdom in letting him focus on his studies and writings. But that didn’t mean Pan Zheng didn’t want to help with the governance of the commandery. Having been offered a position at court, the scholar happily did his best to council his lord, giving sharp and wise advices that were generally welcomed.

But Pan Zheng had also found a colleague, a genius with who he could have discussions on the same level. Sadly, while Zhuge Liang was an excellent strategist for his young age, it was also clear that his personal problems were getting in the way of his greatness. Instead of focusing on his studies like Pan Zheng had done at his age, the young genius kept coming back to his father’s death at the hand of Xiao Ru. This had driven him to angry bouts of insanities,, leaving him so focused about his vengeance that he became unmanageable, all while he suffered from depression. This caused a lot of tensions with his older brother Zhuge Jin, who was starting to get pretty fed up with his brother’s attitude. So the presence of Pan Zheng, which seemed to calm Zhuge Liang and allow him to act more normally, was all too welcomed by Zhuge Jin. The older brother took every opportunity to invite the scholar to Fei County in order to keep his brother from causing more problems.

But this period of happiness would not last, as toward the middle of 197 Ying Shao came to them with an opportunity. As it turned out, the Imperial Court had sent envoys throughout the provinces in the hope of recruiting worthy scholars to come to Luoyang. Niu Fu and his supporters wanted good and competent men to help redress the Han Dynasty, a move that for once was supported by the Wang Clan (although they hoped these new officials would be loyal to them). Ying Shao, seeing it as an opportunity to help two young men, gave the names of Pan Zheng and Zhuge Liang as potential candidates. Soon enough, news came that they had been accepted and would be gladly welcomed inside the capital, at which point the two men were finally informed of the whole affair. Pan Zheng felt betrayed and refused to go. He went to Zhuge Liang, expecting him to support him in this call, only to find the younger man packing his bags. Zhuge Liang felt like he had no reasons to stay around, with Zhuge Jin and Ying Shao having done nothing to get back at Xiao Ru. If he ever wanted to avenge his father, rising at court seemed like a good opportunity to do so. But Pan Zheng still refused, and Zhuge Liang and his wife Fang Xia actually had to drag him away from the commandery, and it was only half the way through the trip that he finally agreed to go.

When the three of them finally arrived in Luoyang (alongside the few servants that accompanied them), they were amazed at the sight of the great city. While it wasn’t at its greatest, especially considering the damages dealt during the fall of Dong Huang, it was still an impressive city to people who had barely seen of the world or had been raised in the savage south. Clearly a place of wonders for the newcomer. Pan Zheng quickly called it “the greatest city, one only worthy of the greatest dynasty”, an opinion he would not hold for long. However, they didn’t have much time to play tourist. Thanks to the gifts and wealth given by Ying Shao at their departure, they were all able to secure themselves living arrangements within the city, and good ones at that.

Pan Zheng and Zhuge Liang were accepted as students at the imperial academy, which was headed by a scholar named Chen Xia. Chen Xia had read the work of Pan Zheng, but first wanted to see how much talent the younger man had in person. As for Zhuge Liang, he was still an unknown in the capital. So while they studied under Chen Xia and the other older scholars, the two men also received small official tasks within the academy. It was during those early months that the difference in their temper became clear, especially to their teacher. Pan Zheng was patient, hardworking, but also incredibly stubborn when it came to finishing the tasks he had started. Chen Xia was especially impressed by the younger’s scholar focus on his studies and writings. Meanwhile, Zhuge Liang proved emotionally unstable, even if he excelled in his duties and was one of the best military scholars of the academy. Chen Xia, who was afraid of giving such problematic young man a lot of influence, instead focused his attention on the oldest of the two.

As it turned out, Pan Zheng had mixed feelings about his time at the Imperial Academy. It was obvious that he didn’t want to be there at first, although he had since reconciled with the idea. However, he was working among famed scholars and learning more alongside the great minds of the late 2nd century. Or at least that’s what he had hoped. As it turned out, many of the great scholars had been promoted out of the academy to other functions, like Ying Shao, leaving only a few that stood on par with Pan Zheng’s knowledge. He also didn’t enjoy the fact that he found himself stuck in a lowly position, as he for once wanted to do more than menial works if he was going to live in the capital. Zhuge Liang was often occupied, leaving him without his comrade most of the time (and that wasn’t considering how his wife was acclimating to the capital’s social life far better than he did). But he still had access to what was probably the biggest collection of books and writings throughout China. The academy was truly the perfect place to start writing on another work. So at the end of the day, his current situation left him split between disappointment and satisfaction.

Chen Xia saw potential in the young man, though. In early 198, he came to the Chancellor with a recommendation for the young scholar. Surely Pan Zheng would be better used in the government, serving loyally Niu Fu. But the Chancellor, who was at the time preparing for his campaign against the Prince of Liang Liu Mi, once again expressed his disapproval with the idea of forcing his influence on the court. Still, he agreed that someone as competent as Pan Zheng had to be given a better post. Soon enough, the scholar was told that he was being promoted to a position within the Censorate, so to ensure the morality and the righteousness at court. It was a good jumping board into imperial politics and a respectable job. Niu Fu signed on the appointment and Pan Zheng found himself once again taken away from his environment and thrown into a new position. This time, he didn’t complain, as this was a step up from the academy.

This new assignment led to Pan Zheng meeting the Chief Censor and head of the Censorate, Jiang Xian. The giant official was an impressive man to look at, even if he wasn’t that intimidating in term of personality. While their first meeting stayed with Pan Zheng, he didn’t have high feelings for or against his boss. He simply wanted to do his new job and do it well. Meanwhile, Jiang Xian first suspected this newcomer to have been appointed by Niu Fu to limit his own authority, and so kept a close watch on him (all the while acting friendly and supportive). But Pan Zheng didn’t seem interested in the imperial politics, even if he was fully aware of the current struggles. His focus on improving the administration within the Censorate, something that had fallen apart under Jiang Xian’s mismanagement, impressed the taller man. Soon Jiang Xian began to envision recruiting Pan Zheng to help the Wang Clan in their struggle with Niu Fu. While Jiang Xian was an excellent politician, he lacked any administrative skills, which would make Pan Zheng extremely valuable to have by his side.

The Chief Censor decided to use Pan Zheng in the middle of 198. Taking advantage of Niu Fu’s absence on campaign, the Wang Clan decided to implicate some of his close associates at court in a scandal of corruption. Planting a few evidences here and there, Jiang Xian then asked Pan Zheng to investigate these “claims” that the Censorate was receiving. Pan Zheng promised to be thorough and find out what was going. This pleased Jiang Xian, at least until he realized that the scholar was serious and competent enough to actually find out what was going on. As it turned out, Pan Zheng did such a good job that he was quickly able to throw the accusations out, instead finding a link to officials loyal to the Wang Clan. While Jiang Xian had covered his own tracks, Pan Zheng was able to accuse a few Wang aligned officials of conspiring to make false accusations against loyal officials. Jiang Xian tried to convince Pan Zheng to drop the issue, but he refused. By now he was suspecting that this was just another maneuvering between the powers at court. He didn’t care who came out on top, but he would be damned if someone stopped him from being thorough.

In the end, he implicated three dozen of officials with charges of corruption, conspiracy and factionalism at court. The charges were so tight that the Wang Clan could do little but watch their allies get the axe, often literally. The older Wang Mao was quick to complain to Jiang Xian that this newcomer was proving too much trouble and had to be removed. They were on the verge of becoming the imminent power in the Imperial Capital now that Niu Fu was absent, yet this scholar was getting in their way and ruining everything. Jiang Xian, who remained a lot calmer about the issue, pointed out that removing him now would make them look bad more than anything else. The man had just uncovered a lot of corruption at court and would surely get a recommendation. Trying to act against Pan Zheng now was political suicide. Better to let him have his few days of fame and then move against him once that was over.

He was proven right when the Emperor himself asked to see Pan Zheng after one official praised him in front of the court. The young Emperor was curious to meet this man who has so quickly risen through the ranks and ridded his court of such corruption. While annoyed that he himself had never noticed it while Pan Zheng had fixed the problem so easily, the Son of Heaven still wished to reward him for his service. Summoned at court, Pan Zheng did everything that was asked of him, following protocol and saying the right words at the right time. This was an audience with the Emperor, after all. He didn’t want to ruin such an important moment in his life. For his services, the Emperor promoted him to assistant-chief to the Palace Branch of the Censorate, so he could continue to watch over the officials. After the meeting, Pan Zheng would privately express his disappointment. The young Emperor certainly had ambitions, but he was too headstrong to listen and jealous of others’ successes. With such a man at the helm of the Dynasty, Pan Zheng began to wonder if there really was a place for him in Luoyang.

Still, there were some good news. It had become clear for quite a while that Feng Xia was finally pregnant with his child, something that brought him quite a lot of joy. Ever since the death of his older brother, the task of continuing the Pan Clan had fallen upon his shoulders, a task which he took on quite seriously. So when it became clear that his wife was with child, Pan Zheng could only express his joy. He had little time to spend with his wife due to his new work, however, which only soured his mood about his future in the capital. Still, his foul mood vanished once Feng Xia gave birth to a son in early November, a young boy that they named Pan Zhiyuan. Now the line was secured.

But their joy was soon crushed by news coming from Yi Province. A few weeks after the birth of his son, Pan Zheng was surprised to received a letter from his father, soon followed by a letter from Governor Liu Fan of Yi Province. Since he left the province, his father Pan Wei had worked tirelessly to restore his Clan’s reputation. It seemed to have worked quite well, as in late 196 he was appointed to the Yizhou Commandery in the south of the province. While not really efficient in his new job, he was surprisingly well-liked by the Governor. After almost two years in his new job, however, Pan Wei’s health had started to decline drastically as he started to suffer from stomach pains. He knew that his end would soon arrive, and so wrote a letter to his son asking him to return home, lifting his “exile” from the family. He also pleaded Liu Fan that his son be allowed to be appointed as his replacement. He Xiaolong, the old man who held most power in the province, wasn’t took keen on the idea. He personally disliked Pan Zheng quite a bit, seeing him as an arrogant youngling who didn’t respect his elders. But Liu Fan, who wished to have such a respected scholar serving under him, agreed to the demand, and when Pan Wei died in early November, he sent a missive to Pan Zheng offering him to be the new Administrator of Yizhou Commandery.

So Pan Zheng found himself with news of his father’s death, that he was allowed to return and that he had received an appointment. But what really motivated him to return was the fact that his father had left a pregnant wife behind. As the head of the Clan, it was now his duty to take care of her and the soon to be born child (a girl named Pan Yuyi). His father’s death gave him an excuse to resign from all his official posts and pack his bags to leave the Imperial Capital. Feng Xia wasn’t exactly happy to have to leave so soon after the birth of her child, but she had little choice in the matter as she was unable to convince her husband not to move again. In their trip, the family was also joined by Zhuge Liang. Unlike Pan Zheng, Zhuge Liang had failed to rise within the imperial bureaucracy, which only left him convinced that it was weak and working against him. So he chose to accompany his comrade south, hoping that he would be a strong lord to serve. The group quickly said their goodbyes and made their way south. After three years of wandering, Pan Zheng was finally coming home.

______
PS: Coming chapters

The first year of the big war north (197-198)
First part of Yuan Shu's invasion of Yingchuan (197-199)
Liang Province post-unification (198-199)
The second year of the big war north (198-199)
The first part of the revolt against Yang Weili (198-200)
Niu Fu's war for Xuchang (198-200)
Maybe a Xiao Ru Chapter, as I need to se up some changes in his administration here and there over that period (198-200)
Niu Fu's campaign to make Xiaban tributary, which makes him fight Yi Province (200)
Stuffs the loser of the big war north has to deal with (200)
Second part of Yuan Shu's invasion of Yingchuan (198-200)

Unless I forgot something, these will conclude the 2nd century of the story, as the chapter after these will start getting in the 3rd century.

PPS: Some might have noticed the lack of Liu Siyuan (@EtzelHoveri ) chapters in that list. That's because he spend the rest of the 2nd century mostly sitting around doing nothing, without much changes in his entourage. Some of the characters will get "sitting periods", and this is one of them. I'll cover it, but in a long chapter when we reach the end of it. Until then, his appearances will mostly be in others' chapters, like with Xiao Ru or Niu Fu recently.

Zamarak500 · Jul 21, 2021

197-198: A WAR FOR THE NORTH

Gongsun Zan wasn’t surprised when he received messengers from the old Tan Weiping. Things had clearly been heating up in the north, with Lü Bu finally invading You Province. From what he heard of the man, it was clear that Lü Bu would not have been satisfied as the Inspector of Bing Province, that he would seek to gain far more powers and territories. So far, his actions seemed to indicate that Gongsun Zan would be the one attacked, which is why the general had put Tan Weiping on the defense of the border. Attacking Ji Province was a stupid strategy, but Lü Bu didn’t seem like the cerebral type. To learn that Lü Bu had not only aimed for the weaker Liu Yu, but had also timed it to attack just as Gongsun Zan fought south was a complete surprise. Once he cleared things south, the general found himself hesitant. He still wanted to present himself as a righteous defender of the Han, which meant that he couldn’t just attack a distracted enemy. He wished to help Liu Yu, but his former liege would never accept it. He even entertained the idea of going for the capital while his rivals were distracted, but Niu Fu’s righteous reputation would make him lose most of his Han loyalists.

So he was quite relieved and happy when he received the messengers, who brought a missive that Liu Yu had sent to the border. It seemed that the Inspector of You Province was on his last leg. Unable to resists Lü Bu alone, he had finally asked his southern neighbor for help. Gongsun Zan couldn’t help himself from savoring that feeling, if only for an instant. But he had little time to lose. It was currently July, which meant that if he assembled fast enough, he might be able to achieve something before winter. Gongsun Zan summoned all his advisors and generals, with the exception of Tan Weiping, who was still guarding the frontier. He announced his intention to march against Lü Bu in order to save Liu Yu. However, many advised him not to take command personally, but to instead delegate that responsibility to another able commandant. While a few of them had eyes on personal glory, others were worried that their lord’s condition would be too much. After all, Gongsun Zan was now suffering from gout, which would make the trip to the frontline a living hell. But Gongsun Zan refused. “I was personally asked to come to Liu Yu’s help. How can I refuse that request? How can I insult our ally by not going myself?” he argued.

With Gongsun Zan set on going, this left the question of who would be left in charge of the province in his absence. Two men were quick to ask for the position. Tan Weiping, who had expected that Gongsun Zan would want to lead the troops personally, had instructed his messengers to speak on his behalf. He was the eldest statesman of Ji Province and had showed that he was amply qualified for the task. Many in the province respected and trusted him. He was the safest choice. No, the only logical choice. His agents worked out to push that last point when they promoted his candidacy.

But he wasn’t the only one wishing to be regent of Ji Province in its ruler’s absence. Yuan Tan had found himself outmaneuvered into the position of Chief Censor of the province last year, far away of any army. Well, now he had an opportunity to receive some civilian power and expected damn well to have it. Gongsun Zan had promised him power when he joined his side, so now was the time to pay up. And besides, who else was he going to nominate? Some old man? Bah! No, Yuan Tan fully expected to be left in charge of the province, an opportunity he planned to use for his personal advantage.

Gongsun Zan chose neither of the two men, seeing the obvious red flags that they represented. Tan Weiping was indeed respected in the province, enough so that Gongsun Zan had always been careful not to give him so much power that he could become a rival. While the general trusted his older subordinate, he wasn’t blind to the dangers he could represent. When it came to Yuan Tan, trust was never even considered as a factor, because there was none to be found. Leaving Yuan Tan in charge was folly. No, that man was better left in a subordinate position. So instead, the Governor of Ji Province tapped in one of his oldest friends, Liu Bei. Liu Bei was a man known for his righteousness and his humility, someone that could be easily trusted and who could garner the respect of the provincial officials. Out of all his subordinate, Liu Bei was the one he trusted the most to remain loyal, and one he knew would do the job well.

So he ordered Tan Weiping to stay on the border with Bing Province and told Yuan Tan that he would instead have to obey Liu Bei in his absence. Liu Bei first tried to refuse the appointment, seeing himself as unworthy of such trust, but Gongsun Zan insisted. “I need a friend I can believe in”, he told him. Seeing how his lord was pleading for his help, Liu Bei could only accept the position of regent and hope that he was the right choice.

With his rear secured, Gungsun Zan started to organize his forces into two. He would obviously command the main army that would go for Bing Province itself, but he also wanted a secondary army to go help Liu Yu in the north. For that secondary army, he entrusted a longtime subordinate that had followed him since his early days, the righteous Zhao Yun. Zhao Yun was the perfect man to trust with the command of a secondary army. He had already proved his military talent during the seizure of Ji province and in the dealing of some revolts last year. To assist him, Gongsun Zan also appointed one of Liu Bei’s sworn brother as a secondary commander, a brute named Zhang Fei. While Liu Bei had recommended him, Gongsun Zan was reticent to trust such a violent and brutish man with a large number of troops. But the scion of the Han vouched for him, and Zhao Yun could probably keep a tight leach on that man.

But with so many people either left behind or commanding troops in the second army, Gongsun Zan found himself in need of a competent officer to command the important right flank of his army. He first approached his cousin Gongsun Yue, his closest advisor and head of his personal military staff. Not wanting to relinquish a position from which he could more closely help his more powerful relative, Gongsun Yue refused to take the command. However, he once again spoke in favor of Guan Yu, one of Liu Bei’s sworn brothers. Guan Yu had received an important command in the recent campaign for Jibei and had proven to be an excellent commander. Gongsun Yue, who had recommended Guan Yu that first time, was all too happy to once again help such a talented officer get the attention. He wanted his cousin to have the best generals possible at his disposal, and in his eyes Guan Yu was the best of all. Gongsun Yan, who also knew of Guan Yu’s talent, welcomed the suggestion and ordered the tall officer to come take command of his right flank.

But sadly for Gongsun Zan, the recruitment of levies and the linking of his army took a lot more time than he would have wished. As his men were preparing themselves, Lü Bu was still within You Province, advancing and making quite a lot of progresses. When the warlord was informed that Gongsun Zan was assembling his troops to come to Liu Yu’s aid, he simply laughed. “What can he hope to do?” Lü Bu mocked. All this meant was that he would need to knock out You Province out of the war quickly (which he was already planning to do anyway) and then march south to annihilate the Ji forces. He could already see it in his mind. Yes, it would be that easy. Soon enough, he would not only control the northern border of China, but the whole north. Convinced that he was on the eve of his eventual triumph, Lü Bu ordered his men to quicken their pace toward victory.

His subordinate and Commandant Zhang Yang still made sure that this new haste to finish the campaign didn’t turn into indiscriminate slaughter out of expediency. After all, these people would soon be the loyal subjects of his great lord, so there was no need to deal with them too harshly. It helped that some people did rejoice at the arrival of Lü Bu and his troops. Liu Yu and Wei Yusheng had fortified to resist an approaching Lü Bu, more or less abandoning the local people, and Ding Kai was occupied defending his easter commandery from the massive Wuhuan uprising. With the You forces led by the barbarian Tatabi Tanzhi, many felt that Lü Bu was a far more trustworthy protector. Of course, not everyone was trilled to see the approaching army, and many actually opposed the troops and refused to resupply them. This angered Lü Bu and his generals, who were quick to order reprisal out of anger. However, under the influence of Zhang Yang, the Inspector of Bing Province was starting to realize the use of keeping the local happy, and so tried to keep the violence to a minimum in order to protect his reputation.

With the You forces collapsing in autumn 197, Lü Bu entered in contact with Ding Kai. The older general had already sent a missive indicating that he was open to the idea of Lü Bu’s takeover of the province. But said province would be greatly reduced if the barbarians were allowed to continue their rampage. Ding Kai had barely enough men to garrison key cities, and even then, the Wuhuans were progressing. Seeing it as both an opportunity to save You Province and a way for Lü Bu to expand his authority, Ding Kai asked the invading army for help. Lü Bu and Zhang Yang were all too happy to come to his aid. The warlord was particularly excited at the idea of crushing this barbarian force that had so far been undefeated. Lü Bu marched his troops so fast that the barbarians were actually surprised when they learned that his army was within two days of their position. Even with that time to prepare, they were unable to resist his raw military talent and his ability on the battlefield. The Wuhuans were crushed, and those that survived fled north, bolstering the ranks of the Xianbei Horde.

The victory against the barbarians had the intended effect. Seeing how Lü Bu had stopped the menace while Liu Yu cowered in his provincial capital, most officials within You Province switched their allegiance to the invading army. Lü Bu could only smile at this as his victory became assured. Zhang Yang offered to go take the provincial capital for his lord, but was angrily rebuked. How dare he try to take such honor from the great Lü Bu? No, Lü Bu would take the city himself. And he did, on the first day of December 197, capturing Liu Yu and his entire court. The older Inspector of You Province was already sick when he was captured, so Lü Bu decided that he wasn’t worth keeping around and had him executed. Some were a bit shocked by how fast he had executed his opponent, but then again, he was the adopted son of Dong Zhuo.

Many other courtiers were executed, but surprisingly, Wei Yusheng was not among them. Liu Yu’s main advisor was spared, in part because he secretly sent an offer of surrender to Lü Bu a few days before the city was taken. This was done in order to be sure that he would be kept alive, hoping that this would at least motivate Lü Bu to spare him long enough for him to convince the warlord of his usefulness. Ding Kai also vouched for his usefulness, as while the two men did not get along, the older general still recognized Wei Yusheng’s administrative talent. His record spoke for itself. Seeing some use in this man, Lü Bu freed Wei Yusheng and appointed as his main administrative advisor, something he desperately needed. Some were surprised by this, but Lü Bu was starting to learn the value of treating competent subordinates with respect.

One subordinate who did not feel respected was Xuan Su, who had been left behind as regent of Bing Province while his lord went on campaign. A few years back, he had successfully managed to become Lü Bu’s right-hand man, only for the warlord’s impatience to cost him his power. While he was still Chief Censor of Bing Province, a position that gave him quite a lot of influence, he still remained barred from the frontline. He could only watch as Lü Bu and Zhang Yang conquered You Province while he was stuck behind. It left him enraged and infuriated. Why was Lü Bu so stupid? He was the warlord’s best asset, yet he was always wasted!

So when he learned that Gongsun Zan’s army was approaching, he saw it as an opportunity. He quickly wrote to Lü Bu, saying that with the threat of the invading Ji troops, Lü Bu would surely need reinforcements. Xuan Su would be all too happy to bring new recruits, which he hoped could be raised from the Xiongnus living on the northern border. While the Chief Censor fought the northern barbarians most of his life, he couldn’t deny their fierce drive for combat. The Inspector of Bing Province answered almost immediately, forbidding his subordinate of doing anything of the sort. No, the great Lü Bu would never lower himself to recruiting savages to fight his own battles! Xuan Su was starting to overstep his bounds, but due to the good mood following the annexation of You Province, Lü Bu allowed it to slide. Xuan Su could barely contain his anger at this reply. He had just worked out the perfect plan to ensure victory, and his lord was refusing it out of pride? What an idiot! But Xuan Su also realized that he had control over the northern border. With the provincial censorate also completely under his sway, it would be easy to hide things within his territories. Against orders, he started to secretly recruit barbarians anyway.

Gongsun Zan had barely entered the mountains between Ji and Bing Provinces when he received news of what had happened north. Lü Bu had triumphed before they could do anything, and now Liu Yu was dead. This left the general in quite the predicament, as his casus belli had been about coming to his former liege’s aid. Now that he was dead, their campaign seemed a bit more tedious. First of all, he ordered the second army of Zhao Yun to join up with him, as there was now no need to go help You Province since it had switched side. This left him time to decide what to do next. Should he just abandon the campaign? This was a tempting choice. His gout had made the trip extremely difficult for Gongsun Zan, and he dearly wished to go home to relax instead of continuing through the mountains. But the encouragements of Gongsun Yue convinced him to push forward. His cousin insisted that the enemy capital was close. Once they passed the mountains, they would be within reach of Lü Bu’s seat of power, after which it would be easy to take over the province. Gongsun Zan thus decided to continue. Taking a few mountains and a capital was doable. He steeled his mind and pushed forward, even with the constant pain of his gout.

When he linked up with Zhao Yun, Gongsun Zan redevised his army. He left Gongsun Yue and Guan Yu with 3000 men to secure some of the cities on the border. Meanwhile, the Governor would take the rest of the army, alongside Zhao Yun and Zhang Fei, to go fight the surely coming enemy force. Guan Yu opposed this, believing that only he was strong enough to fight Lü Bu. To this, Zhang Fei laughed, saying “Bah! Second brother doesn’t need to worry with vermin like Lü Bu! I’ll deal with him!” Guan Yu looked at his sworn brother, but in the end decided to trust him. “Make First brother proud.”, Guan Yu replied with a nod. “And you better bring his head back.” Zhang Fei could not stop himself from boasting at this. “His head? I’ll bring back his whole dead army!”

As expected, Lü Bu did not leave such invasion of his territories without a response. The warlord had barely conquered You Province that he now had to turn around to go face the invading forces of Gongsun Zan. He left Wei Yusheng in charge of the newly conquered territories in his absence, not giving much thoughts to the issue. The man seemed competent, so he would surely be able to do the job. Ding Kai volunteered to come help his new lord, which Lü Bu accepted. Having already the competent Zhang Yang by his side, adding Ding Kai would surely make their army invincible. See Xuan Su? You aren’t needed here, so stop complaining. The three men advanced their army for a few months until they finally saw the enemy force on the horizon. The fighting started in March 198, when Zhang Fei, impatient to see some action, launched a first charge against the enemy.

After two days of fighting, Gongsun Zan was starting to feel nervous. They had the numerical advantage, yet the outcome of the battle seemed uncertain. Wishing to prove his strength, Zhang Fei declared that he would go challenge Lü Bu to a duel in front of the men and kill the bastard. Gongsun Zan was hesitant at this, and looked at Zhao Yun for advice. The younger officer told his lord that if someone could defeat Lü Bu, it was probably Zhang Fei. From what he had seen of the man, Zhao Yun confirmed that Liu Bei’s sworn brother was an exceptional fighter, if a bit too aggressive.

So Gongsun Zan agreed, allowing Zhang Fei to ride in front of the troops screaming: “Lü Bu! Come out, you coward! Come face your death! Come be slaughtered like a pig!” While Lü Bu was too far in the rear working on strategies to hear it, Zhang Yang definitively did. Angry at the insults thrown at his lord, Zhang Yang took a horse and rode in front of the Bing forces. “How dare you insult our lord!” he answered. “What kind of idiot are you?” Zhang Fei laughed at this, which only prompted an angry Zhang Yang to challenge him to a duel, which the brute accepted. The ensuing duel, fought right between the two army camps, was seen by most of the troops. And they saw how easily Zhang Fei was playing with Zhang Yang. The Commandant of Bing Province did block most hits at first, but it quickly became clear that there was a heavy difference of skills between the two. After a few minutes of this routine, Zhang Fei sped toward Zhang Yang and sent his snake lance through Zhang Yang’s neck, leaving him to bleed out for a few moments before the brute swung to cut his head off. He paraded it in front of the Bing troops, joyfully screaming: “Lü Bu! This will be your fate! Hahahaha!”

When Lü Bu was finally warned of what was happening, it was too late to save Zhang Yang or challenge Zhang Fei, who had returned to his own camp to present the head of the defeated general to his lord. Angered and infuriated, the warlord ordered an immediate assault on the enemy position, against Ding Kai’s advice. The old general could see how demoralize the men were after such a show. They needed to wait, perform the funerary rites for Zhang Yang and then motivate the troops to go out there and avenge their dead Commandant. But Lü Bu was only focused on the insult to his honor and wanted revenge now, damnit! The morale of his troops, lowered by the death of Zhang Yang, left them unmotivated and quite a bit scared. They certainly ran at the sight of Zhang Fei. At the end of the day, this first battle at Duxiang was a victory for Gongsun Zan and his forces, forcing Lü Bu to retreat and regroup.

As the battle was being fought and lost by Lü Bu, Xuan Su was handling another important event in the provincial capital of Bing Province. As part of his policies to increase his power, Lü Bu had arranged a marriage for his eldest daughter Lü Lingqi, who was now 16 and all readied to get married. She would probably had been married earlier, had Lü Bu ever thought about the issue of her marriage before 196. Xuan Su, who was the regent of Bing Province, was to welcome the in-laws for the marriage in the absence of his lord, who seemed to have forgotten this important day while campaigning against Gongsun Zan. The groom was Cao Ang, the eldest son of the small warlord Cao Cao. This was an alliance that Xuan Su had not been keen on, believing that he could have gotten a far better match for the girl if he had been involved in the selection process. First of all, Cao Cao had become famous by trying to assassinate Dong Zhuo, which made things extremely awkward. But then there was the fact that for all his talent, Cao Cao had not achieved much over the last decade. Other than a failed attempt to reclaim the territories of Henan around the Imperial Capital (to which he was beaten by the then Administrator Niu Fu) and coming to the help of Dong Huang against the barbarians, Cao Cao had not expanded or won major battles. Still, a man of such wasted talent might prove useful as an ally.

Xuan Su did his best to be the greatest host he could for the guests. In particular, he made sure to ingratiate himself to the groom, Cao Ang, something that Cao Cao did not fail to miss. The marriage proceeded without a hitch, and things were going relatively smoothly with Xuan Su in charge. But Cao Cao was no dupe, and so decided to confront their host about his all too friendly attitude toward his son. Xuan Su first feigned ignorance, but the Colonel made it clear that while he admired their host’s ability to hide his intentions, he was only willing to tolerate it for so long. Frustrated, Xuan Su dropped the façade and came forward with a proposition. Surely Cao Cao didn’t want his family to be restrained to a simple county. And if something was to happen to Lü Bu over the campaign, well Cao Ang would surely prove the best choice to succeed him. After all, Lü Bu’s eldest son Lü Sun was only 6, so he couldn’t really rule. And besides, there was precedent to a son-in-law succeeding, Xuan Su pointing to the example of Yao Shuren succeeding Guo Si. But Cao Cao could see where this was headed. Xuan Su wanted a puppet, not a master, and his son was the perfect candidate for this. He also knew that Lü Bu would not take well to this succession, since he actually had sons to pass his power to. So against the pleas of the regent, Cao Cao refused to let his son stay in Bing Province to “prepare him for successions” and brought the new married couple back with him to his territories.

Gongsun Zan, already happy with the recent victory, was doubly pleased when he received news from Guan Yu and Gongsun Yue. They had taken a few cities in the mountains, creating a launching base to invade the rest of Bing Province. While he was tempted to stay where he was, as his gout was acting once again, Gongsun Zan still chose the ride back and go meet the secondary army. Well, “ride” was a strong word. He spent most of the trip in a carriage, as riding a horse was starting to be extremely painful for him. When he arrived, he congratulated Guan Yu and his cousin for their successes and advised them to advance while they regrouped in Yuanshi. Surely, they could take a few moments to rest and prepare for a more active push against Lü Bu, now that the warlord had been defeated.

But Lü Bu was not the kind of man to abandon easily. Instead of regrouping and recruiting new soldiers, he decided to push forward. Appointing Ding Kai as his new Commandant (something that enraged Xuan Su as he was once again passed over), he asked him the best way to take Gongsun Zan and destroy him. Ding Kai suggested that with their reduced forces (and Lü Bu’s refusal to take time to recruit new men), the best way was to take the enemy by surprise. So this is exactly what Lü Bu did. He quickly ordered his army to storm down into Ji Province to attack Gongsun Zan from behind. That led many of his demoralized soldiers to desert, but he didn’t care. He was on a path to victory. He stormed through the border defenses of Tan Weiping. The old man was still in charge of protecting the border, but with Gongsun Zan on the offensive he didn’t expect to be attacked like that. Surprised and unable to resist, he was never the less able to inflict some damage to Lü Bu’s army, killing three hundred men before being forced to flee.

Lü Bu was able to advance quickly, intercepting any messengers sent by Tan Weiping to warn Gongsun Zan. So while the army of Gongsun Zan was still in Yuanshi, they were surprised in June to hear that Lü Bu and his forces were within range. They quickly prepared for battle and readied themselves for the fight. However, Gongsun Zan’s gout prevented him from taking direct command. Zhao Yun thus led the troops for the first few days of fighting, using a defensive strategy as advised by Gongsun Zan. And they were not trying to destroy Lü Bu in one stroke, like the warlord was trying to do with them. That was because Gongsun Yue and Guan Yu were not that far. They hoped that the secondary army would be warned of what was happening and come back to help them, thus striking a severe blow to Lü Bu’s army, a blow from which he might not recover. This strategy worked out in the end, as after two weeks of resistance, the forces of Guan Yu and Gongsun Yue appeared at the horizon and joined in the fighting. Attacked on both sides, the forces of Lü Bu collapsed and fled the battlefield.

Lü Bu and Ding Kai were forced to flee the area and retreat within Bing Province proper. Gongsun Zan, who now had his full army behind him, decided to pursue his enemies. With some luck, he might even be able to crush them. If things went well, he might even be able to capture Lü Bu. So Gongsun Zan rode forward, even if he was in pain due to his gout. Zhang Fei offered to lead a cavalry vanguard, to which Gongsun Zan agreed. He was starting to like this violent man for his willingness to always push forward, no matter the situation. They were eventually able to catch up to Lü Bu’s retreating forces in August, leading to a battle where the Bing forces were at a clear disadvantage. Once again, Gongsun Zan was able to score a victory, but Lü Bu still escaped his grasp, and this time, his less than a thousand men army was able to quickly flee before it could be pursued.

Xuan Su received news of these defeats with growing concerns. Lü Bu was supposed to be the greatest warrior of his time, yet he was losing each encounter, with massive casualties to that. If Lü Bu actually lost Bing Province, what would happen to him then? He lived his whole life in the province and had banked a lot on supporting Lü Bu over the last decade. He wasn’t calmed by Lü Bu’s request that he sent the entire garrisons of the province to fight on the frontline. This was insane and would leave the whole province defenseless. Forget about Gongsun Zan. What if the barbarians or the central government decided to use this opportunity to strike? And besides, this would not be enough to face Gongsun Zan. Maybe with the secret barbarian recruits, but that would require admitting that he disobeyed orders. So instead, the regent of Bing Province made sure that his lord’s orders happened to be lost in the mail.

Lü Bu now only had 800 men at his disposal. But he was confident that these low numbers were temporary. He sent Ding Kai to You Province to supervise the recruitment of new conscripts, and Xuan Su was supposed to send him the garrisons of Bing Province as troops to fight. Until he received these reinforcements though, he was pretty vulnerable. For the next few months, he used the small size of his army to avoid the Ji forces, which had once again been divided between two armies. This cat and mouse game might have been fun for Lü Bu, had he been the cat. But being the mouse was making him boil down inside, his anger waiting for an outlet. In late December, he got sick of waiting for reinforcements. He decided that if he couldn’t face his enemies in open battle, he could at least attack them at night and hurt them considerably. Yes, and maybe he could even kill that damned Gongsun Zan.

On the night of December the 31st, as 198 was becoming 199, Lü Bu and his men launched a night assault on Gongsun Zan’s camp. The Ji forces were at first taken by surprise, as most were sleeping. But as soon as the troops started to react, it became clear that the Bing troops were not numerous enough to successfully carry out this night raid. Their situation was made worst by many people, like Zhang Fei, rushing out like madmen at the defense of their camp without even taking the time to equip themselves. Zhang Fei was actually nude at the time, with only his spear in his hands and running around searching for Lü Bu. This time, he was able to get the warlord’s attention, who charged at this naked man screaming his name. They exchanged strikes, but neither was able to land an actual blow on the other. Lü Bu would have probably stayed to make Zhang Fei regret his insults had his men not started to run in panic. Forced to abandon his duel, the warlord fled with his remaining troops. In this attack, he had lost more than half his men, and now the Ji forces were once against pursuing them. If things continued like this without some serious change, who knew how long Lü Bu could keep this up? Who knew how long until defeat finally came to the greatest warrior of China?

Zamarak500 · Aug 1, 2021

197-199: TIME FOR EXPANSION

The barbarians had been pushed out, Zhang Lu and his strange cult had been removed and Yi Province had been kept at bay. Yuan Shu could only smile at his success. Everyone tried to take him down, yet he had persevered and gotten through thanks to his talents, his army and his wealth. And also some decent enough subordinates, but they barely mattered in the grand scheme of thing. All they had done was simply do what Yuan Shu had planned for them. And he always planned things perfectly. Some might argue that things had gone south at various points, but Yuan Shu just saw it as temporary setbacks on his road toward his grand destiny. After all, he still held great territories. Meanwhile, his brother Yuan Shao was dead and his son was subjected to another warlord. No, Yuan Shu was doing just alright.

There was still the issue of his Commandant, the heated scholar Feng Zian. Unlike Sun Jian or Tan Zilong, Feng Zian was easy to manipulate when you pushed the right buttons. And at first, he had proven loyal and servile to Yuan Shu’s cause. But over the years, Feng Zian had started to prove a bit too “confident” about his role in the hierarchy, even going as far as bully his own lord to get the position of Commandant. What kind of respected scholar did that? Yuan Shu had appreciated the man’s willingness to fight while they were all in danger, but now that the situation had calmed… Some might argue that Yuan Shu was a bit paranoid when it came to his successful subordinates, seeing enemies where there wasn’t and turning against him competent individuals that would have been fine staying under his command. But those that said such things were idiots who lacked Yuan Shu’s wisdom and perception! Sun Jian would have certainly revolted had he not pushed him into revolt, and Feng Zian needed to be reminded who was truly in charge of the troops.

Yuan Shu was quick to recall Feng Zian, ordering him to come back alone in advance of the returning army. Separating the Commandant from his troops was an important part of Yuan Shu’s plan. But when he received the letter, the scholar barely read it before discarding it. Feng Zian was in the middle of the army camps, where his fair treatment of the men garnered him a lot of love from the troops. Feeling bolstered by his successes and his men, he felt like this order didn’t really apply to him, or that he needed to follow it. Surely, he had won the right to take a bit of a break, right? So he refused the order and continued with his army back home. This was followed by a second letter asking once again that he return in advance. This time, the letter got him angry and annoyed. While his subordinate Chang Nu agreed that his Commandant was not being well treated and shared in his anger at the request, he still pleaded that Feng Zian should obey. Going against their lord was a bad idea and would only follow in the precedent of the traitor Sun Jian. Chang Nu even promised to whip the army into a forced marched, so they could arrive faster if something went wrong.

Not wanting to be compared to a disgraceful scum like Sun Jian, Feng Zian decided to follow the letter and rode back to his lord, putting his trust both into Yuan Shu and in Chang Nu’s ability to bring the army faster. This left him time alone with his mind and his new conflicting opinions. On the one hand, he never entertained the idea of directly going against Yuan Shu like Sun Jian had done. This was not something he would ever consider, as he had invested too much in fighting for him to just switch side. But damn was Yuan Shu getting on his nerves! By Heavens, why was he recalling him before everyone to their capital? Feng Zian, not the most familiar in the art of backstabbing and court politics, could only guess that it was a stupid decision on his lord’s part, one made out of idiocy and incomprehension. Still, he couldn’t stop himself from remembering the way Sun Jian had been treated before, and how the older general had revolted. While he continued to deny that he would ever go down that path, he slowly wondered if he would do what Sun Jian had done, should he be pushed into a corner.

Upon arrival, Feng Zian was welcomed by Tan Zilong, the tall general who had served as Yuan Shu’s right hand man over the recent years. While Feng Zian was away campaigning and going on the offensive, Tan Zilong had remained behind and organized the defense of their territories. He had also proven an excellent administrator, being the sole reason why the coffers of Yuan Shu were still full after all these years of war. He had done such a good job that he now stood as Yuan Shu’s main administrator, doing more work in that department than their lord himself. Tan Zilong noticed how riled up Feng Zian was about his sudden summon. This made him worried, and he rightly suspected that things would get worst once he realized that Yuan Shu wanted to act against him. So the tall man did his best to remind his colleague of their duty to their lord, and the loyalty they had always showed to him. This did put Feng Zian’s mind at ease, if only temporarily.

But it seemed (at least at first glance) that they didn’t have to worry about anything. Instead of being critical or arrogant, Yuan Shu welcomed his Commandant with praises and celebrations, thanking him for the good work he had done so far. They celebrated all day and had multiple private banquets over the following weeks. During those, Yuan Shu forbit the relatives and family of his officials to attend, instead bringing prostitutes and escorts he had hired to “entertain” the guests. This was greatly appreciated by Feng Zian, who was afraid that his return home would mean the end of his fun. He could relax at these celebrations while still acting as a family man at home (not that he was really good at it). Feng Zian even started to wonder what he was so worried about? After all, Yuan Shu had treated him like a true prince since his arrival. Surely this meant that all his fears were for nothing!

But this was exactly the kind of reaction Yuan Shu wished for. He had planned all this in order to lead Feng Zian into a false sense of security. Those celebrations were all traps to make him lower his guard, the fool! No, Yuan Shu planned to have him removed from command now that he was away from his troops, after which he would humiliate him in front of the court for all his disrespect. This plan would have clearly been perfect and obviously successful, had it not been for the sudden arrival of the rest of the army, still led by Chang Nu. Chang Nu had forced marched the troops as fast as he could, which allowed him to arrive far earlier than Yuan Shu had anticipated. Yuan Shu scrambled to organize a welcome ceremony for the troops. But as he came to inspect them, they shouted “WE AWAIT OUR COMMANDANT!” Taken aback and scared by this demonstration, Yuan Shu immediately abandoned any plans to remove Feng Zian, instead calling the Commandant to go review the troops himself.

Now, this fast-paced advance had left a lot of troops unable to follow, so over the rest of 197 Yuan Shu was surprised by the constant arrival of troops that had been “slowed down by unexpected conditions”. This was annoying to the warlord, as he was hoping to expand and wanted his troops ready as soon as possible. Some might argue that after fighting on the defensive for so long, a few years of peace and prosperity might be beneficial. But those people couldn’t see the big picture like Yuan Shu! No, Yuan Shu decided that now that he was no longer threatened by his enemies, it was time to go on the offensive. He spent the rest of 197 having his advisors and generals write battle plans for their eventual invasion. All that was left was to pick a target, and he had a perfect one in mind: Yingchuan Commandery.

Yingchuan Commandery was still ruled by Ban Ning, who had been in charge of the commandery ever since the fall of Yu Province. He had come to China’s attention after Duan Wei’s failed campaign, which ended with Ban Ning executing the Chancellor in a show of force. The local administrator felt quite good about this, to the point where he reaffirmed his control over the commandery by officially calling himself “the Lord of Yingchuan”. But if he hoped that his execution of Duan Wei would have convinced others to leave him alone, then he was soundly mistaken. This blatant execution of the Han Dynasty’s highest-ranking official painted a target on his back. Avenging Duan Wei had become the perfect excuse to attack Ban Ning and conquer his territories. By the time Yuan Shu declared war against him in late December 197, Ban Ning was already facing six other invasions from all sides, his defeat already assured.

Among those already attacking Ban Ning was Sun Jian, Yuan Shu’s former right-hand man who revolted and went his own way a few years back. While he had spent the last few years solidifying his hold on the county he controlled, Sun Jian also understood that he couldn’t just sit around waiting for Yuan Shu to attack him. He needed to expand and gain new territories if he wanted to resist his former lord. So Sun Jian, like everyone else, saw an opportunity in Ban Ning’s execution of Duan Wei and his challenge for anyone else to dare try. With his son Sun Ce leading a vanguard into Ban Ning’s territories, the Sun army started its invasion of Yingchuan Commandery, quickly becoming the most likely winner of this all-out race to defeat Ban Ning. News of this only motivated Yuan Shu to attack, unwilling to let Sun Jian outperform him, or any of the other invaders for that matter. No, Yingchuan Commandery would be his, and his alone!

It wasn’t long before Feng Zian was sent at the head of an army to go march against the enemy. He didn’t need much motivation either, as he really wanted to test his own skills against Sun Jian. The two had never gotten along when they were on the same side, and Feng Zian was still frustrated that he had been unable to stop his former commander’s revolt. A chance to prove that he was the better general was not something he would ignore. But finding Sun Jian in the mess of the many invaders was difficult, as was the fact of attacking Ban Ning’s bases, most of which were already under siege by other armies. Feng Zian was getting quite frustrated by the situation, and had Chang Nu not found a way to some of Ban Ning still free cities, he might have just packed home out of anger. The cities quickly surrendered, already quite demoralized by the failure of their lord to protect his domain. No need to risk their life for a man who had already lost, after all.

Feng Zian did eventually meet an army in April 198, but it was neither Ban Ning’s or one of the invaders’ armies. Instead, it was an army led by Xu Shao, who was fighting a civil war against his liege Xiao Ru. The Chen Commandery was in the middle of a struggle over Xiao Ru’s personal power, and the rebels had to organize and outmaneuver their weakened lord. Mistaking them for another enemy army, Feng Zian ordered an assault against the troops of Xu Shao. Chang Nu volunteered to lead a flanking maneuver on the unexpecting force, a demand that was granted. It was only in the middle of fighting that they realized that they were attacking an unrelated force. After what proved to be a decent victory, captured soldiers were able to confirm that these were indeed soldiers completely unrelated to the current conflict. Xiao Ru, who was happy when he learned of this unexpected good news, wrote a letter to Yuan Shu praising Feng Zian. “A subordinate of that caliber is worth more than any of us could buy. What sadness this truth brings met, as I am left with the sole option of envying your luck for having such a man in your service.”

By July, things went just as many predicted. Sun Jian was able to remove many of his rivals and defeat Ban Ning decisively, claiming Yingchuan Commandery for himself. When this became known, many of Feng Zian’s officers hesitated. They had fought alongside the colonel before, and were now seriously wondering if they couldn’t just return home instead of fighting their former ally. This situation was made more difficult by the arrival of Cheng Pu, Sun Jian’s most trusted advisor. Cheng Pu came with an offer of peace that went in the same sense as the officer corps. Why fight? They were all great generals wishing to fight righteous wars. They didn’t need to fight. In fact, the only one that wasn’t righteous was Yuan Shu. That snake was trying to make them fight and pocket what was left. Cheng Pu thus offered Sun Jian’s support if they wanted to remove Yuan Shu, or maybe even defect to their side. His words seemed to be getting through until Feng Zian made it abundantly clear that this was not going to happen. In fact, anyone who even thought of deserting would be punished like any lowlife deserter and hanged. There was no way Feng Zian was going to betray his lord for Sun Jian, or work with the colonel in any way. Cheng Pu tried to appeal to the rest of the officers, but Feng Zian’s presence scared them enough to refuse politely. Seeing how his efforts were coming to naught, Cheng Pu returned to his lord to prepare for war.

But the two armies refused to face each other, with Sun Jian knowing that he didn’t have the numbers and Feng Zian warry that Sun Jian might lay a trap. Because of this, no battle was actually fought over the span of 198 between the two sides, which mostly focused on them besieging and retaking cities. This left Yuan Shu quite annoyed and suspicious of his Commandant. Why wasn’t he fighting? He had the numbers! With Xiao Ru’s letter already putting him on edge, he was now starting to be increasingly worried that his subordinate might not be working in his best interest. It didn’t help that Feng Zian’s support within the army made Yuan Shu jealous. All these feelings and suspicions grew over the months, and by early 199 the warlord decided that he needed to replace Feng Zian. He summoned Tan Zilong and appointed him as the new Commandant. Tan Zilong tried to dissuade him, but Yuan Shu staid firm. At the very least, the tall new Commandant was able to have Chang Nu appointed as temporary commander in his absence, so that the army would be left without leadership.

A small group of envoys was thus sent to tell Feng Zian the news, and when they arrived, he was not happy about it. They wanted him to return while he was fighting a war? Were they idiots? What kind of orders were that? Chang Nu and many other officers also opposed this. Showing once again a bit too much arrogance, Feng Zian refused to leave, seizing the temporary command given to Chang Nu and saying that he would give control of the army… when Tan Zilong showed up for it. The envoys had little choice by to acquiesce. Still, they had brought another surprise for the former Commandant, one he arguably found even worst. The envoys had brought with them his eldest son, the nine years old Feng Yong. His mother believed that it was damn time for his father to teach him in the art of war. With Feng Zian already a high ranking general, this might be the first step in a military career for Feng Yong. This did not please Feng Zian one bit. He enjoyed three things: commanding troops, studying texts of philosophy and strategy, and having “fun” with the ladies. Being a father was none of those things. And besides, he wished for his sons to become scholars, not officers. But with his son around, he had no choice but to take him in.

But having learned from their war with Jing Province, Sun Jian decided to use the same tactic that had cost them so much time and attacked the supply lines of Feng Zian. This left their army stuck in enemy territories, with the Sun forces between them and their home. Because of this, the envoys were unable to return to Yuan Shu, and the warlord’s efforts to send Tan Zilong to take over the troops were foiled by Sun Jian and his men. This left everything in a difficult situation. The army was cut off, left in the command of a man that had technically been relieved of his functions and was quite pissed off about it. Sun Jian, while leading a smaller army, was still a dangerous threat that could either strike at the isolated force of Feng Zian or the undefended territories of Yuan Shu. And worst of all, Feng Zian was stuck with his curious brat following him everywhere! How was he supposed to lay with women when his son was around?

Zamarak500 · Aug 2, 2021

198-199: LIANG UNITED

After more than a decade, the Liang rebels had finally been crushed. Yao Shuren could only smile at this thought. He had been only sixteen years old when his father brought him along during the early stage of the imperial response. His father Yao Huan had served under Dong Zhuo during these campaigns, helping push the rebels to their western territories. Even then, his father insisted that he learned strategy and warfare on the battlefield. This paid off in the early 190’s, when he helped Guo Si take out the rebel Ma Teng. He had done so well during the campaign that he had been awarded Ma Teng’s territories. And now, after all these men that had preceded him, Yao Shuren had finally put the final nail in this rebellion by vanquishing Han Sui’s forces. It wasn’t to say that some rebels didn’t escape. His scouts told him that Chenggong Ying was planning to hold up in the mountains and resist to the bitter end with loyal followers. But this was worthless, as they were little more than brigands now. No, this page of history was over. Still, it didn’t stop him from feeling bitter at the cost. He would have done without the loss of his eye and the damages to his face.

Now that the fighting was over, Yao Shuren had to admit that he was happy to return to the task of administrating the province. While most rebels fled, either in the mountains or more often out of the province, some had wisely surrendered to him. Though most were executed, a group of competent rebels had been kept around to be integrated in the provincial administration, head of which was Mo Jie. At first, he wasn’t sure what was the deal with that man. But the weird speaking rebel did lead a successful defense against the Liang troops, and information gathered on him indicated that he was one of Han Sui’s closest advisors. Having such a man around was quite useful, and Yao Shuren didn’t waste any minute dangling him around as a proof of his generosity. In the first weeks after the reunification of the province, the administrator was used as a tool to draw out his fellow rebels out of their hiding place.

This fact and the fate of those rebels (often the one reserved to traitors of the Han) was kept hidden from Mo Jie, who was still confused about his new situation. It took him a while to understand what he had signed for. When he did, he played with the idea of suicide or of joining Chenggong Ying in the mountains. Once again, miscommunication had resulted in a situation he didn’t wish for. However, he settled on the idea of serving under Yao Shuren out of consideration for his pregnant wife Ma Yunlu. The girl was pregnant with his child, so fleeing or killing himself out of loyalty would leave her vulnerable and alone. He had refused to abandon his duties to Liang, but he also had duties to his wife, and to general Ma Teng who entrusted her in his cares. So he would stay and try to help the people of Liang from under this master.

But the return home was not all joys. The former rebel territories had been the epicenter of a smallpox epidemic, which had started to spread in the army camps. This plague did have the beneficial side effect of killing Chenggong Ying and some of his remaining supporters, ending any hope that the rebels might come back as a cohesive force. However, Yao Shuren was struck by this plague in a far more personal way. His pregnant wife Guo Yuyi hadn’t been feeling well recently, which most people attributed to the fact that she was in the last months of her pregnancy. But the symptoms of smallpox quickly began to appear on her body in early July. While Yao Shuren wanted to be with her, he also understood that the disease was dangerous, and so instead only communicated with her through letters written by a scribe. As her force began to fade, she did manage to request one last meeting with him. Knowing full well how ruthless her husband could be, she managed to make him swear to keep all her children safe (including her bastard son Guo Bian). Guo Yuyi died on July the 11th, at the age of 24.

Yao Shuren was heavily shaken by her death. It is debatable if they had ever been in love, but they truly cared for one another. And more importantly, she was the one person who truly understood him, the closest advisor he had at all times. To this was added the horror that she had died before giving birth, dooming what Yao Shuren would always believe to be his “true heir”. Throughout the rest of his life, he would always reminisce on this double loss. The memory of his perfect companion and the son she never gave him would poison his new relationships, as in his eyes nothing would really equal what he had lost. The return home, which was supposed to have been a moment of happy celebration after their victory, turned into a funerary procession for those that had died of smallpox.

With Guo Yuyi dead, he did have to face the issue of Guo Bian. His late wife had always wanted him to adopt the child, but now that she was gone, he saw no point in it. In fact, the boy was more trouble than worth due to his parentage. Hu Zhen, always loyal to his lord, advised him to dispose of the child. But Yao Shuren couldn’t do this to his late wife, and so kept him around (although Guo Bian lost a lot of the privileges he had as the governor’s son-in-law). Guo Bian’s career from that point on would be benign and irrelevant in the grand scheme of things. At the age of thirteen, in 204, he would be made Magistrate of Xiping County. In 213, he changed his name from Guo to Han, wisely embracing anonymity, and would eventually die in 222 at the age of 31 from illness, leaving three sons behind.

Even if the Governor of Liang had been his mortal enemy a few months back, the kindhearted Mo Jie couldn’t stop himself from being sad for the man. After all, Yao Shuren had just loss his beloved wife. He at first entertained the idea of trying to say some words of sympathy to his new lord, but his wife Ma Yunlu told him that they should instead exercise patience. Mo Jie took it as meaning that Yao Shuren would probably prefer to deal with this loss alone and needed time. What she really meant was that it was already hard to handle the pregnancy without the stress of her husband mistakenly putting them in danger through his bad speeches. That didn’t stop Mo Jie from trying to approach Yao Shuren on multiple occasions in the following weeks. Thankfully, the warlord understood it as Mo Jie seeking a job as had been promised to him. So in August, he gave him a small administrative position under Hu Zhen. Hu Zhen still served as his Chief Clerk, even if it was widely understood that Yao Shuren was the one making the decisions. Mo Jie came out happy with the unexpected reward.

Mo Jie thus started to settle in his new life as a small official at court, handling basic administrative duties around the provincial capital for Hu Zhen. But while his talent was praised, his mind wasn’t really into it at first. No, all he could think about was the incoming child that his young wife was carrying. Just like all men, he dearly hoped for a son to carry out his name once he passed away. It was in late October that he was told while working that his wife had gone into labor. The issue was that he was focused on an important review of the local education spending (Yao Shuren had decided to sponsor the local scholars of Liang and their schools in the hope that it would produce him competent subordinates and advisors). He raced to his superior Hu Zhen and pleaded to be allowed to leave to go attend his wife, but was denied the chance to meet him. Undeterred, he managed to get his way in an hour later. Sadly, he found Hu Zhen in one of his insane rages, which meant that he wasn’t receptive to Mo Jie’s request. Undeterred, Mo Jie raced to the great mansion of his lord, asking to be temporarily relieved of his duties to attend to his wife. But he was once again denied entry. He waited for hours until Yao Shuren was finally notified of his presence. At first, he denied his request, no understanding why the birth of a child was so important (he could just see the child after he was born). But the still vivid memory of his pregnant wife made his finally agree to it. Mo Jie raced to his home, only to find out that he was late. Ma Yunlu had already given birth to a daughter, Mo Daiyu.

Yao Shuren had no time to waste on the birth of his subordinate’s daughter, or on his own mourning for that matter. As Ma Yunlu was giving birth to Mo Daiyu, the Governor of Liang was tackling news of a massive threat appearing on the northern border of his province. In September, news had arrived that barbarian horsemen had started to be a bit too bold, sacking cities that laid at the far northern limit of his territories. He first expected it to be another Khan trying his luck, like it had been during Guo Si’s time. Who knew, maybe it was even the same one giving it a second try. But as of mid-October, reports were indicating a far scarier prospect. The first indication that it was not a simple Khan was envoys from the Han Court. Niu Fu had been notified by Xuan Su (who was still regent of Bing Province in Lü Bu’s absence) that hordes of Xianbei horsemen were moving West on the border. Xuan Su had done so in the hope that Niu Fu might provide aid if Bing was the target, but Niu Fu still informed Yao Shuren of it. While the Chancellor didn’t like neither Lü Bu nor Yao Shuren, he would be damned if he allowed their provinces to fall to the barbarians.

Shortly after the imperial envoys arrived, Yao Shuren began to prepare his troops on the border, sending Hu Zhen to prepare a strong defense just in case. Hu Zhen made sure to bring Mo Jie with him, as Mo Jie had been both a fortification architect and a siege expert. If they were going to fight horsemen, then a man able to prepare strong walls would be quite useful. Mo Jie took the assignment and went on the northern border. Hu Zhen arrived in haste and immediately put everyone to work, inspecting the garrisons and making sure that everyone was ready. Mo Jie did his own inspection of the fortification, finding them whole fully inadequate and madly maintained. It turned out that Guo Si had used a lot of the money supposed to go for the border fortifications to prepare his campaigns, first against the rebels and then the central government in Luoyang. And now without the Han Court sending money to repair those fortifications, things were a mess. Yao Shuren was actually hoping to finally get through the books and find how he could optimize taxations and incomes for his province when he learned of the incoming barbarians.

Scouts confirmed that a massive barbarian force was amassing beyond the border, with at least a few Khans among them. This was extremely scary to the garrison forces, even as they were reinforced by regular conscripts. Hu Zhen, unsure how to proceed, decided to send a request for direct orders to his lord. But before he could finish writing it, soldiers came to tell him that the barbarians had sent envoys. Xianbei horsemen came in requesting to speak with the “lord of Liang, servant of the southern throne”. Hu Zhen explained that he was his representative and would arrange that their message be sent to his lord, which seemed to be enough for them. Hu Zhen thus sent their demands with his own, making sure to mention who had sent them. Yao Shuren, who was on his way to the border when he received these messages, was appalled. The Xianbei horsemen demanded a few territories and that he become their tributary. But most of those territories were key to the trade routes to the West. Giving control of this to the barbarians was unimaginable, especially as the wars and the devastation stopped him from benefiting from that trade, which had mostly stopped since the 180’s. But then again, the one demanding was none other than Budugen the Great, Khagan of the Xianbei Confederation.

Budugen Khagan had gained quite the reputation up in the northern plains. Born in 165, he came in control of the Xianbei Confederation in 187, overthrowing his older brother Kuitou. Kuitou would fail to stop his brother and flee the steps, working for the rest of his life as a mercenary captain for various Chinese lords (including Xuan Su, who previously hired him when he needed barbarian mercenaries). Budugen could have been satisfied with the fact that he was the strongest nomadic leader in the northern plains. But he had greater ambitions. He wanted to match the power of the old Xiongnu Horde, which four hundred years ago had been so strong that they forced the nascent Han to become its tributary and nominal vassal. To get closer to this dream, he started to expand east, taking territories from the Wuhuans and You Province, at the time still controlled by Liu Yu. These territorial gains were done through brutal and violent warfare, with Buguden slaughtering everything that stood in his way, often preceded by massive amounts of raping and pillaging on the part of his men. It was said that he one day lost his hand in battle, only to use it to bludgeon his opponent to death. Through his raids and accumulation of wealth, it was rumored that he was as rich as the Son of Heaven himself.

This was the man standing at the door of Liang Province. Yao Shuren had no choice but to take care of the matter himself, sending all his troops on the northern border and praying that things wouldn’t get bad. He also immediately sent envoys to Budugen, offering to open talks in order to avoid fighting. He heard how cruelly the prisoners were treated and had no which to end up like that if he loss. Thankfully, Budugen proved open to the idea of negotiations. The Great Khagan didn’t really plan to invade, only building up this preparation for war in order to keep his vassal Khans occupied and under his watch. He was also receiving news that in the east the remnants of the Wuhuan were starting to make some waves, and that the Buyeo Kingdom might be a far easier target for conquest. After two months of negotiation, a deal was struck between Yao Shuren and Budugen the Great in January 199, with alcohol playing a big role in those negotiations. A massive one-time payment would be made for the Khagan to leave, an amount big enough that Yao Shuren would spend the whole of 199 bleeding the populace dry for it. Also, if trade with the West ever restarted, Budugen wanted a part of the gains. Finally, in order to avoid any new invasion if Budugen changed his mind, Yao Shuren was able to secure a betrothal between their two families. Budugen’s second son Xibaxiong would be betroth to Yao Xiangjun, Yao Shuren’s second daughter. The marriage was arranged mostly as a way to safeguard Liang Province. At the time, Yao Shuren had no idea how important that marriage would be, or that this two years old child he betroth his daughter to would one day outshine his father to the point of earning the nickname “the Despoiler”.

After the crisis was averted, Mo Jie went back to the provincial capital, and by early 199 he had started working once again on all that education financing that he had been tasked to survey. He quickly approached the Head Scholar of the province, a man named Duan Zuo, asking for books and accounts on the issue. However, Mo Jie came out sounding aggressive and a bit too accusatory to Duan Zuo (even if it wasn’t Mo Jie’s intention at all), leading to the scholar refusing to divulge any of the financial records of the various schools. This ticked off Mo Jie the wrong way, and he asked on multiple occasions again over the following months. But Duan Zuo continued to refuse for some unknown reason. Mo Jie ended going through the proper channels, asking for Hu Zhen that he procure him the books to do his job. But Hu Zhen, who knew what the problem was and trusted that his lord was already aware of it, refused to do anything without Yao Shuren’s explicit order. He did transmit the request to the Governor, however. Yao Shuren, who was at the time working to build up the payment to Buguden, sent orders to Duan Zuo that he sent his financial books to the clerks, hoping they would find some useless expanses to cut off.

Duan Zuo, trusting his lord that nothing would be found out, finally gave his books to Mo Jie, who tirelessly compared them with the other financial records at his disposal. After a month of checking everything multiple times to make sure he wasn’t wrong, Mo Jie was horrified at his conclusion. Duan Zuo and all the scholars serving him had been skimming money out of the schools and the temples, pocketing most of what was supposed to help others in order to enrich themselves. Duan Zuo was especially guilty of this, spending it either to help promote his disciples or to hire women to entertain him. What kind of scholar did that? Mo Jie was quick to report it to Hu Zhen, hoping to have Duan Zuo exposed and arrested. But Hu Zhen was already quite aware of the scholar’s avarice, as was Yao Shuren. The Governor had picked him as his main scholar despite being aware of this, as the man was talented in his erudite knowledge. So for the time being, Yao Shuren buried this whole affair, insisting that Mo Jie focus on working on his report.

But Mo Jie didn’t listen, as he was too disgusted by Duan Zuo’s actions (and also lacked any political survival skills, having never been a member of an actual court). Instead of producing a report explaining what was to be cut and what was to be kept, as Yao Shuren had expected, Mo Jie wrote a long article on how to reorganize education spending to make it more efficient and less wasteful. This way the money would go to the right places and wouldn’t be wasted or taken by corrupt scholars. That last part went into a long rebuke of Duan Zuo and his associates, which was more than enough to tipped off the scholar about Mo Jie. While Duan Zuo petitioned his lord to ignore this whole report, Yao Shuren actually listened to some of it. After all, good scholars needed some financial support to handle their housing and books. And the fact was that upon his return he did find some complains that had been lodged while he was on campaign. Yao Shuren decided to have administrative officials under Hu Zhen handle the financing of schools from that point on, meaning that Duan Zuo and his ilk lost access to that source of revenue.

Angered at this, Duan Zuo made sure to come back at Mo Jie. In a petition to his lord, he did convince Yao Shuren that Mo Jie should be removed from the education finances. He argued that a man who helped build a policy should not be allowed to close to its implementation, out of fear that he would use his innate knowledge of the policy to enrich or empower himself. This made sense, and Yao Shuren hadn’t taken this money out of the corrupt hands of Duan Zuo only to see Mo Jie fund a new rebellion with it. While Mo Jie was proving useful, it didn’t mean that he had the full trust of his lord yet. So the former rebel was instead reassigned to work on the massive payment to the Xianbei Khagan, in particular when it came to the barbarians, both within the province and those paying tribute to Yao Shuren. His fondness for the barbarians and his kindness for the people in general made him far less efficient at this new task, as he was hesitant to go extort them as Yao Shuren wanted.

During the summer of 199, Yao Shuren decided to make a trip to his southern border to receive the annual tribute from the Di tribe living there. Hey had been forced to submit to Liang Province back when Guo Si was in charge. When Yao Shuren had taken over, the tribe leader Dan Shu smartly continued to pay tribute to the new governor, fearing what a break up of relationship would mean for his people. Normally, Yao Shuren had just shrugged and allowed the tribute to be sent to his provincial capital, but with the big payment to Budugen the Great due for the end of the year, he wanted to personally supervise it and go take it himself. Who knew when bandit could strike up, after all? He took Mo Jie with him, mostly because as a rebel he must have been familiar with the local barbarian tribes.

Duan Zuo opposed this, suggesting to instead approach the barbarians following the ideas of the scholar Pan Zheng, whose text the Nánfāng Yěshòu about southern barbarians had been read a lot in the border regions. “Savages are savages,” Duan Zuo argued, “so why waste your time lowering yourself at their level by meeting them?” But Yao Shuren didn’t agree with it. Not that he had any morale quarry about slaughtering barbarians into submission, but simply that he found the whole idea quite impractical. Better to make them think that they are equals, at least. So Mo Jie did his best (which wasn’t great) to explain to Yao Shuren how the Di barbarians lived and how to get on their good side. In the end, the Governor simply treated them as subject, and everything went smoothly as he recuperated his tribute.

As summer was making way for autumn, Mo Jie was still working as an administrator under Hu Zhen, although his talent was starting to get recognized. One night, while working at home, he received a surprising visit from his past. In his home as a guest was Cheng Lihua, the widow of his former rebel companion Chenggong Ying. Back when the rebellion was crushed, Lady Cheng had fled into the mountains with her husband and daughter, only to see him die of smallpox soon after. After that, she had spent the year bouncing from places to places, trying to find sympathetic individuals to host her, or just people who pitied her enough. However, in order to secure some decent future for her daughter and herself, she had often used these stays to steal from her hosts to survive, which had forced her to stay continuously on the move. By now this was becoming an increasingly impossible lifestyle. Hearing that Mo Jie was still alive and working as an official, she came to him in the hope that he could help her. Living as the widow of a rebel was becoming unbearable, and she wanted some stability to raise her daughter. She pleaded Mo Jie and his wife Ma Yunlu on her knees, asking for their help.

Mo Jie, who cried as she told her story, promised to do everything in his power to help her. After a few weeks of trying (and failing due to misunderstandings), he was finally able to obtain an audience with Yao Shuren for Lady Cheng, with the promise that she wouldn’t be arrested and executed because of her late husband. She made her case in front of the Governor, pleading for his forgiveness (although, just like Mo Jie, she didn’t prove to be a great communicator in public). But Yao Shuren barely listened to her speech, instead focusing on how useful she could be. The taxes he had levied to pay Budugen had left many in the province with a lot of resentment for their governor, something that could easily be exploited by the former rebels to start a new revolt. After all, there were still a few of these idiots holding in the mountains.

But Chenggong Ying had been popular with them, as was Lady Cheng out of the fact that she was his wife. Finding a way to associate himself to her might help bring these potential enemies to his side. It had now been more than a year since the death of Guo Yuyi. Since then, Yao Shuren had taken concubines (something he hadn’t done while his wife was alive), but he had yet to remarry. Deciding that this was a chance that couldn’t be wasted, he informed Lady Cheng a few days after her appearance at court that she would be pardoned and her daughter protected. One condition, though. She was to marry Yao Shuren. Pleasantly surprised at his request, she found herself blinded by the dream of all the wealth this marriage would involve, far more than she had as the wife of a rebel commander. She barely hesitated before accepting, marrying him in October 199. As predicted, what opposition was left rallied under Yao Shuren, now that he had both Lady Cheng and Mo Jie as proofs of how well he could treat former rebels. As for Mo Jie himself, he was given recommendations and gifts for unknowingly arranging this marriage, accidentally helping his career.

Zamarak500 · Aug 11, 2021

199: RISE AND DECLINE

Lü Bu was on the run, pursued by the forces of Gongsun Zan. He could only curse at the failure of his plan. Damnit! Why had it failed? He should have been able to defeat them thank to his surprise attack, even if he had far less men. It was probably Ding Kai’s fault for leaving him without support! Yes, his plan would have worked had his Commandant been present! After all, the great Lü Bu couldn’t be defeated that easily. His temper only got worse as a small force of a hundred reinforcements were sent from You Province by Ding Kai, who was trying to raise as much men as possible to come to his lord’s help. Only one hundred? That was so little! He needed more men! And on that note, why hadn’t Xuan Su sent any of the garrisons as demanded? They were supposed to have arrived so long ago! But Lü Bu could do little but complain about his small number of recruits, or the fact that he was forced to run away in his own lands.

For his part, Xuan Su was weighting where his future was. He wasn’t as keen on his lord as he was before, and he hadn’t been that keen on him for a while anyway. Lü Bu had barred him from any military campaign, which was immensely frustrating. It was clear that he wasn’t really valued by his lord, especially when it came to his advices. On the other hand, Lü Bu had been pretty tolerant of his landgrabs over the years, allowing Xuan Su to secure quite the territory on the northern border. But it didn’t change the fact that Lü Bu was currently losing, which seemed to make him even less calm than usual. His orders were starting to be more threatening and erratic. It might be time to consider a future without the warlord around. Just in case, Xuan Su began to assemble the barbarians he had levied or hired, with plan to bring them to the provincial capital. After all, who knew when he might need to use their services?

Meanwhile, Gongsun Zan was pursuing Lü Bu with all the momentum of victory behind him. With the competent Zhao Yun and the brutish Zhang Fei by his side, he seemed destined to win. Which is why it was so frustrating when news from his provincial capital forced him to slow down. The first missives came from Liu Bei, who had been left in charge of Ji Province while Gongsun Zan went on the offensive. Liu Bei had done a good job ruling the province in his absence. Most official were respectful and obedient of the regent, and he proved kind toward them in return. Even Tan Weiping, who on the border felt that he could still go through Gongsun Zan directly, sent reports to Liu Bei so that the regent could keep tab on what was happening. Really, it seemed that there would be no problem at all. But there was one official who was proving unmanageable, and that was Yuan Tan.

Yuan Tan had ostensibly been left in charge of the provincial censors, a post which had been given to him with the express goal of limiting his actual power. But even there, he had started to cause problems, ordering Liu Bei to give him more responsibilities and demanding that he receive more power. He also butted heads with Gongsun Xu, Gongsun Zan’s son and heir. Unlike his father, Gungsun Xu had little time nor the talent to deal quietly with this problem. So instead, he made his case to Liu Bei, arguing that Yuan Tan was reckless and unworthy of holding an office. He made quite a speech, which was enough to convince Liu Bei that Yuan Tan had to be removed temporarily. Yuan Tan angrily shouted that they couldn’t do this, but they did it anyway. Still, Gongsun Xu and Liu Bei made sure to write to Gongsun Zan immediately after the fact, hoping to explain why they had to take this step without consulting him.

If that had been the end of it, then it would have been alright. But Yuan Tan continued to ruminate and complain in private, angry that he was always being left out of the action. He often hung out with the soldiers left behind as garrison, men who were getting more disgruntled as reports of new victories arrived. Yuan Tan was also sick of the stress of daily work (he was still given menial duties of paperwork and had to rule his commandery). He was just sick of all this, and one morning he decided to simply leave and go take command of troops without prior authorization. Many of the garrison, wishing to see some action and spoils for themselves, followed him, against the orders of Gongsun Xu. The heir then quickly alerted Liu Bei, who immediately ordered that a missive be sent to Gongsun Zan about the situation. The Governor of Ji Province found himself in a pickle. He didn’t like Yuan Tan taking such liberties, but he also knew that refusing Yuan Tan might lead to a revolt, and he couldn’t have that spoil his soon to be victory. So instead, he sent envoys to Yuan Tan’s little force, ordering them to go fight under Guan Yu. This chance to see some of the war would mollify Yuan Tan, for now.

Gongsun Zan finally caught up with Lü Bu around the beginning of May. The warlord was trying to stay in the mountains between Ji and Bing Provinces, still awaiting the reinforcements he was convinced would arrive any day now. Lü Bu, realizing that he was about to be found out again, started to harass the Ji army from his position in the mountains. These little attacks were nothing more than an annoyance, but it did rile up the troops enough that Zhang Fei and other hotheaded commanders dropped all strategy. Thankfully, Zhao Yun was able to stop them before they made some stupid decision. “How dare you endanger our victory? How dare you challenge our lord’s ultimate success?” This was enough to convince them to fall back in line, and Gongsun Zan was able to easily dislodge the enemy force from his mountain position with almost no losses whatsoever. Lü Bu meanwhile loss half of his men once again, this time choosing to retreat deeper within Bing Province.

But soon enough, Gongsun Zan’s seemingly unstoppable advance was once again forced to halt to dealt with a problem within its own ranks. This time the fault laid solely at the feet of general Zhang Fei, Liu Bei’s sworn brother and probably the most violent man under Gongsun Zan’s command. Zhang Fei had been among those most annoyed at Lü Bu’s little attacks, left bitter over the fact that their enemy had once again escaped. Angered, Zhang Fei passed his frustration through alcohol, which then led to him beating and mistreating his men. Training turned in a beating session for the soldiers, who were nothing more than punching bags for their drunk commander.

This was already starting to be a problem when an official named Mu Zi arrived at the camp. Mu Zi had been a close associate of the old Tan Weiping and promoted to Magistrate of Nangong by Gongsun Zan as a reward for the old man’s years of service. He arrived at camp to bring a report of Tan Weiping about the northern frontier. It mentioned that while Ding Kai was trying to recruit soldiers, he couldn’t do much to come help against Gongsun Zan. In fact, Lü Bu was actually dealing with a revolt in the region. Unlike Ding Kai, the Wuhuan general Tabati Tanzhi had been satisfied under the rule of Liu Yu, serving him loyally until the end. Now he found himself with a lord he had all the reasons to fear, convicned that Lü Bu would try to have him removed. With his territories already isolated from the rest of the province due to the Xianbei Confederation’s expansion under Budugen the Great, he decided that now was the time to strike. In June, Tabatai Tanzhi revolted and declared himself independent from Lü Bu, convinced that the weakened warlord wouldn’t be able to do anything to stop him.

Once Mu Zi had delivered his message to Gongsun Zan, he made the mistake of staying with the troops of Zhang Fei. The soldiers quickly confessed the terrible “training” that they were receiving from their commander. Seeing an opportunity to both further his career and his influence (both in the army and with his lord), Mu Zi agreed to help the soldiers. He publicly declared that Zhang Fei had committed many crimes and should be brought in front of their lord to explain himself. Gongsun Zan was unsure about this, as he had started to appreciate the brute for his uses. Before he could make his mind how to proceed, Zhang Fei confronted Mu Zi in a heated argument that turned deadly. In a fit of anger against the well-spoken accusations of the official, Zhang Fei struck Mu Zi with his snake spear, leaving him to die bloodied on the ground.

Needless to say, this caused quite a stir both at camp and within Ji Province. Zhao Yun immediately jumped Zhang Fei and had him put under arrest, a decision that was quickly confirmed by an annoyed Gongsun Zan, who was recovering from his worsening gout when he learned of the incident. Needless to say, Tan Weiping demanded justice for one of his former subordinates, asking Gongsun Zan to reward the guilty general “the same way anyone who killed a loyal official would be treated”. On the other side, Liu Bei wrote some letters asking for clemency for his brother, and letters from Gongsun Yue indicated that Guan Yu might entertain the idea of rebellion if Zhang Fei was executed. Using his gout as an excuse (even if it was a real issue for him), Gongsun Zan was able to push back the issue for as long as possible, only dealing with it in early August. What tilted his decision was Liu Bei’s letter, requesting that he and Guan Yu be at least allowed to die with Zhang Fei, as they had sworn to die on the same day. Refusing to lose three talented subordinates over this issue, Gongsun Zan played dirty. He had Zhang Fei receive thirty lashes for his crime and “demoted” him from general to captain of his personal bodyguards. While some saw it as a sleezy decision to avoid dealing real justice, it still ended the issue without too much fuss (although it did stain Gongsun Zan’s reputation from that point on).

For his part Lü Bu was not even yet aware of the revolt in You Province, and probably would have dismissed it as nothing urgent compared to the army of Gongsun Zan. While they stopped for a while due to unknown reasons, they were now marching once again into Bing Province. But Lü Bu had the fastest horse and the smaller army, allowing him to maneuver easily toward his provincial capital. There he would take over from this bumbling idiot Xuan Su and assemble an army to push back Gongsun Zan and destroy him! He quickly sent envoys to his seat of power warning them of his approach. He expected a grand welcome with Xuan Su on his knees. Instead, he barely dodged an arrow to the head, with the two men flanking him not as lucky. The gates of the city were closed and it looked like barbarians were mending the walls. What was going on? Lü Bu and his men were forced to stop in their advance, judging the situation. Atop the walls, he finally noticed the silhouette of Xuan Su, smiling at him.

“Xuan Su? What is the meaning of this?”

But the man stayed silent.

“ANSWER ME! I am your lord!” he screamed as he approached.

His horse was stopped by a few arrows landing before him, making it clear that he was not to advance.

“My lord…” Xuan Su answered before laughing uncontrollably. “My lord? I follow a victorious lord, a lord who will reward me for my loyalty. And this man is not you, ‘lord’.”

“Xuan Su, how dare you?”

“I dare because I can, you imbecile!” Xuan Su shouted.

“Traitor! Come face me in a duel instead! Or will you coward behind your walls?”

Xuan Su seemed to really consider this. After all, Xuan Su was known to be a good duelist, having fought barbarians on the border multiple times and triumph against each of his opponents. Sadly for Lü Bu, Xuan Su was not stupid enough to endanger his current position.

“Shoot again at this idiot.” he ordered his men.

By the time Lü Bu arrived, Xuan Su had already been set on defecting to the winning side. Had Lü Bu been winning, he would have tolerated the way the warlord was treating him. But since he was losing, he could survive the regime change and get a bit of cold served revenge. He had the local garrison arrested and replaced by his barbarian recruits and mercenaries. Once upon a time, he might have slaughtered them, but living as their commander for years had made him fond of them, even if he couldn’t truly count on their loyalty. Bribing them might have worked, but Xuan Su had proven a bit stingy wen it came to opening the coffers. Still, he was able to get everything ready for Lü Bu’s arrival. The warlord had almost fell into his trap, and would have probably died here had his horse not been the fastest in all of China.

He immediately ordered a pursuit of Lü Bu, which he led personally. That allowed him to stop his former lord from reaching other Bing officials, although he was unable to capture the great warrior. Lü Bu’s family, which had been kept hostage until then, used this opportunity to flee and join him in You Province, which was still firmly in his control. Frustrated at this, Xuan Su returned to the provincial capital and prepared himself for the arrival of his new lord. He immediately dispatched envoys to Gongsun Zan, welcoming him and telling him how he had chosen to switch side. Still, he did make sure that the letter did paint him in a more altruistic light, so that he didn’t come across as the frustrated opportunist that he was. He even sent his own troops to pacify the province, so that no revolt against the new administration could rise up to disturb his plans.

In December 199, two years after the start of the war, Gongsun Zan entered the provincial capital of Bing Province. The gates had been left open and a small reception awaited him. Having been left with a lot of free time, Xuan Su also had the financial records falsified to show how good of a job he had done as regent of the province. This seemed to work on Gongsun Zan, who shortly after being acclaimed Inspector of Bing Province appointed Xuan Su as his new chief clerk. He saw how good of a job the northern official had done, and how his support had allowed a peaceful conquest of this large territory. This shocked most of the Bing officials, who saw Xuan Su for the snake that he was. But they could do little, as he had maneuvered himself into the inner circle of their new lord with ease.

This great war north was now over. When it had started, three men stood in the region, each vying for power over the others. Now Liu Yu was dead and buried, and Lü Bu was left in control of You Province with his weakened forces. Meanwhile, Gongsun Zan now controlled two provinces, his power and might now noticed by everyone throughout China. Some with envy, others with fear. But everyone now knew the name Gongsun Zan.

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PS: So we officially finished the first decade of the story! Things changed quite a bit, didn’t it? Also, as requested, here is the current situation of each characters at the start of 200, although it will be vague at times as I haven’t caught up with all the storylines up to 200.

Liu Siyuan (@EtzelHoveri ): As of 200, he is still the independent Magistrate of Xincai, Chengfu and Shansang, making him a small warlord (although he does have some control over the important waterways of the Han River and the Yangtze). He just had his first son (Liu Tao, 199) with his wife Lady Hao.
Xiao Ru (@Ixarys ): A warlord within former Yu Province, controlling Chen and Runan Commanderies. Currently has five children, a daughter (Xiao Xiaowen, 191) and three sons (Xiao Tung, 193, Xiao Bin, 196, and Xiao Dang 199) from his wife Lady Xia, as well as a son (Xiao Hanhe, 196) from a concubine.
Jiang Xian (@Massinissa the Wise ): Still an important official within the imperial court as of the end of 199, holding notably the position of Minister of teh Imperial Household. He has a daughter (Jiang Chang, 191) and a son (Jiang Wenguan, 198), all from his wife Diaochan.
Feng Zian (@Idhrendur ): Is the highest ranking general under the warlord Yuan Shu (although if he is still Commandant is debatable). Currently fighting a war with Sun Jian for his lord. Has two sons (Feng Yong, 189, and Feng Guo, 194) and two daughters (Feng Yunxian, 191, and Feng Nuwang, 199), all from his wife.
Xuan Su (@HistoryDude ): Xuan Su now controls four commanderies, although now under Gongsun Zan instead of Lü Bu, also serving as his Chief Clerk. He has one daughter (Xuan Zhenfeng, 196).
Hu Zan (@patpekala ): Hu Zan is the administrator of Jiujiang Commandery, serving under Inspector Yang Weili. He also serves as Master of the Hunt, designated regent and as one of Yang Weili's main generals in the current civil war. He has two sons, Hu Da (191) from his first marriage with Feng Ai, and Hu Weizhi (198) , from his second and current marriage with Zhu Fanjing.
Yang Weili (@Specialist290 ): Yang Weili is currently the Inspector of Yang Province and the Governor of Jing Province, having inherited these titles from his predecessor Chen Wen. While the biggest warlord south, he is currently fighting a civil war with Lu Jun for control of Yang Province. Has three children with his favorite concubine Linfeng, two daughters (Yang Jicong, 191, and Yang Nenniang, 197) and one son (Yang Boran, 193), as well as one son with his wife (Yang Qub, 197).
Yao Shuren (@binobo ): Yao Shuren is currently the uncontested ruler of Liang Province, after defeating the Liang rebels in 198. Has two daughters (Yao Ki, 194, and Yao Xiangjun, 195) from his late wife Guo Yuyi.
Mo Jie (@Midnite Duke ): Mo Jie currently serves as a rising official within the administration of Yao Shuren, the Governor of Liang Province. He has one daughter (Mo Daiyu, 198) from his wife Ma Yunlu.
Pan Zheng (@Dunaden ): After a long period of travel, Pan Zheng is currently serving as administrator of Yizhou Commandery in his home Yi Province. He has one son (Pan Zhiyuan, 198) from his wife Fang Xia.

Zamarak500 · Aug 27, 2021

198-200: FROM BAD

Lu Jun had spent most of the decade being ordered around by Chen Wen, who more often than not ignored his advices in favor of Yang Weili. He had tolerated it as it brought great successes for Yang Province. But once Chen Wen died, the old man simply couldn’t understand how Yang Weili was the one to succeed him as Inspector. Chen Wen had been blinded by friendship and made a terrible mistake. This was quickly right proven when Yang Weili put the provincial capital under Lu Jun’s control. A man who couldn’t rule the provincial capital didn’t deserve to be in charge of the province. Then the new Inspector started to replace old and loyal men for younger ones, with Lu Jun suspecting that he was himself among those soon to go. And let’s not mention his military mishaps. By June 198, Lu Jun had enough. Convinced that he could rule the province far more effectively than Yang Weili would, he rose into revolt against his new lord. The fact that the provincial capital celebrated his decision and opened their doors to him said a lot about the mood in the province.

Lu Jun had some small support among the two provinces, but he barely got two or three commanderies to rally his cause, still leaving most of the territories in the hands of Yang Weili. But it didn’t change the fact that the old official had amassed a large army to defeat his enemy. Still, most of the good generals stayed loyal to the Inspector of Yang Province, and Lu Jun had no knowledge of military affairs whatsoever. But the old man had a remedy for that. Ever since the death of Chen Wen, or maybe even since independence from Xu Province, Lu Jun had been hiring and recruiting former rebels and bandits into his service, making the greatest of them his genera ls. The Han Dynasty had been rocked by a lot of revolts over the last decades, starting with the Yellow Turban Rebellion, so there were a lot of experienced rebels willing to take his offer.

Out of all of those, two struck out as the bests and quickly became his main advisors in military affairs. The first was none other than Zhang Yan, the former leader of the Black Mountain Bandits. After being defeated by Lü Bu, he had arrived in Yang Province right on time to help Chen Wen win the war for independence. Deciding to stick around after the victory, he was offered a place at Lu Jun’s side. Of all his officers, Zhang Yan was by far the most talented, acting as his de facto second-in-command when it came to the war. But their cooperation was hindered and fragile, as neither really trusted the other. Zhang Yan feared that Lu Jun would betray him once he had outlived his usefulness, while Lu Jun suspected that the bandit leader would use this opportunity to seize control of the province for himself. But whatever their opinion of each other, their mutual loathing for Yang Weili kept them working together.

The other general was Sima Juhe, who had been one of the many leaders of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, commanding the forces on the coastline between Qing and Ji Provinces. His territories had eventually been conquered by the now dead warlord Kong Rong, forcing him to bounce from small rebellion to small rebellion. When he learned of Lu Jun’s offer, Sima Juhe jumped at the opportunity to gain some long-term security. While he was not in any way Zhang Yan’s equal, his past as a Yellow Turban Leader ensured that he had the loyalty of most of the rebel commanders, forcing Lu Jun to rely on this gruff no nonsense general to ensure that his officers stayed in line.

Yang Weili was quick to send requests for support to all his officials in both provinces. Su Dai, the Commandant of the province, was on his way back to his own commandery when he received orders from to get back and assemble the troops. He was more than a bit hesitant about this. He didn’t feel competent enough to handle the war, and in fact would have certainly liked to leave it to someone more talented. His low opinion of Yang Weili (as even Su Dai disapproved of his lord’s actions over the previous year) eventually convinced him to go home. It was only there that his loyal subordinate Bu Baoxun chastised him for his decision and bullied him into going back. Su Dai was popular with the men and had a good shot at becoming the second-in-command of the whole province, and Bu Baoxun wasn’t going to let him waste that opportunity.

Most chose to stay loyal to Yang Weili for now, or at the verry least stay put and watch the two men fight it out. That was certainly the case of Chen Gengguo. Still on the southern border, he saw little point in helping one side or the other, as he didn’t care much for the future of Yang Province. If Yang Weili won, then it was business as usual, and if Lu Jun won, then Yang Weili would still have support within Jing Province. Besides, it was better to be patient, should an opportunity present itself. So, he humbly answered that he couldn’t, in good conscience, get himself involved in this war, out of respect for his (self-proclaimed) cousin Chen Wen. Yang Weili pointed out that if Chen Gengguo was acting out of respect for Chen Wen, then he should clearly back up his chosen successor, but got no response whatsoever. Chen Gengguo preferred to stay south, talking with other local administrators about the future of their province. Just in case…

Envoys requesting his aid both for and against the rebellion reached Hu Zan around the same time. Lu Jun hoped to rally such a commander to his side, promising him an important military position at his side (although his envoys didn’t utter the term “Commandant”). As for Yang Weili, he simply assumed that Hu Zan would be loyal and help, asking him to come lead troops and appointing him Master of the Hunts. This highly ceremonial title was not exactly what Hu Zan had hoped. He was convinced that surely Yang Weili would have seen his mistake by now and pleaded him to be his Commandant, to which Hu Zan would have gladly agreed, happy to be recognized and all too willing to put their previous issues behind them. Instead, he was just asked to come take command of some troops. That didn’t make the offer of the rebels any more interesting though, as Hu Zan had little love for the old grumpy Lu Jun. Chances were that any opportunity for expansion (and thus for personal glory) would disappear if Lu Jun won, even if he was given a higher position within the province.

Hu Zan asked the envoys (who he received at the same time, in the hope that they would try to outbid one another) to retire for the day. He then discussed his options with his second-in-command Cai Zhong. Cai Zhong was far older than Hu Zan, being in his forties by the time of the revolt. At first annoyed at being passed over as administrator by this upstart, the two quickly got along as they realized that their goals aligned. Both were seeking greater power, and Cai Zhong decided that his best bet was to attach himself to the rising star of Hu Zan, who was proving an excellent master to serve, always kind and respectful of his subordinates, if a bit stingy on the money. Hu Zan also began to like the inputs of the competent magistrate, who was proving useful in all most affairs. The two had spent the last year building up the defenses with Xu Province in anticipation of a possible attack, and had done an excellent job at it.

Cai Zhong was surprised by the civil war, having expected nothing more than a few revolts against Yang Weili’s bad management. But even with this massive backlash, he advised Hu Zan to stay loyal to Yang Weili, at least for now. It seemed that Lu Jun had little support, which meant that joining him was a risky move. He also reached the same conclusions as Hu Zan, that Lu Jun could not really be trusted and that his victory would mean the end of any opportunity for glory and power. After all, Lu Jun presented himself as the protector of the old local nobility and the careered officials of the province, and Hu Zan was neither. Both thus agreed that it was better to stick with Yang Weili. Cai Zhong also advised that the rebel envoy should be executed and his head sent to Yang Weili as a proof of loyalty, but Hu Zan refused. Not only did he not support that kind of cruel betrayal, but he also felt that Yang Weili didn’t need proof of his loyalty. After all, he stayed, didn’t he?

Su Dai and Hu Zan thus assembled with Yang Weili, both bringing their second-in-command with them as well as some reinforcements for the main army. Yang Weili put the rendezvous point in the center of the province, close to the southern rebel territories. This was a surprising decision for many, and one highly criticized by Hu Zan. They could have assembled faster in the north. Yang Weili’s seat of power was in the north, as was the provincial capital of Hefei. Even the rebel army was moving north! But Yang Weili quickly explained his odd choice and his overall strategy for this campaign: minimizing casualties. The northern part of Yang Province was both the most populated and the only one with a Han Chinese majority, with the rest of the province still populated by barbarians living in uncivilized wildlands. On a more practical front, while the center of the province meant that they were further from the action, it allowed the Jing troops to link up faster.

In that same way, both Bu Baoxun and Hu Zan were shocked when Yang Weili explained his next step. Most officers expected that the plan would be to run right at the rebel army, or at least to stay on the defensive. Instead, Yang Weili ordered a campaign of sieges in the rebel territories. This annoyed Hu Zan, who felt as if he was being deprived of the opportunity for glory. But Yang Weili explained that these rebels had been his men only a few months back, and he didn’t want to waste lives that could be used to protect the province. So instead, the strategist hoped that a prolonged campaign won through sieges would demoralize the rebels and push them to surrender. Hu Zan wasn’t convinced, but Su Dai (at the insistence of Bu Baoxun) sided with his lord, ending the debate fairly quickly.

Ironically, the exact same debate was happening in the rebel camp. Lu Jun had decided to go on the offensive and ordered his men to besiege key positions on the northern border, hoping that it would push the local aristocracy to abandon Yang Weili as he proved incapable of protecting the province. But Zhang Yan wished to go on the offensive. Unlike what the loyal forces believed, the rebel army was two times bigger than reports indicated, which meant that it could be easy for them to crush Yang Weili and his generals. Zhang Yan argued hard for an offensive push against the enemy force to annihilate them fast. Yet, just as had been the case with Hu Zan, Zhang Yan was ignored and his ideas refused. But while Yang Weili had a strategic plan to offer as counterargument, Lu Jun simply refused to obey the suggestions of his subordinates. This created tensions within his high command, not helped by the growing rivalry between Zhang Yan and Sima Juhe.

Over the months, Hu Zan became more and more dissatisfied with the strategy of his lord. The sieges were slow and often demoralizing, with some soldiers deserting when the city didn’t surrender fast. During one such siege in March 199, he was actually wounded by an arrow, forcing him to hand over the command to Cai Zhong for a few days. He also felt that he could do a better job of managing the war than Yang Weili or Su Dai, who was becoming more and more a puppet for Bu Baoxun’s ambition. News that his commandery was the one being conquered by the rebels only confirmed his belief that he was in the right and the others in the wrong. He talked of this with Cai Zhong, who advised him to make a stand and demand a change. But Hu Zan didn’t go that far yet, realizing that if Yang Weili called his bluff, he would be forced to go home, leaving him in a dire situation.

Things started to go worst and worst for Yang Weili over the span of 199. As Hu Zan was recuperating from his arrow wound, news came of a barbarian invasion. Seeing an opportunity in this civil war, the Shanyue chief Zu Shan led his army into Yang Province, ready to expand his territories and kill as many of those Chinese invaders as possible. While Yang Weili was worried by this, he still considered the rebellion the biggest threat, and so did little outside of sending reinforcements to the garrisons endangered by Zu Shan. Facing little to no opposition, the campaign of Zu Shan proved successful and brutal, many in the south falling to his assaults. It was so successful in fact that it inspired an uprising in August, with local barbarians in the south trying to throw off the yoke of Chinese domination. It was such a problem that Quaid Quach, the barbarian who had submitted to Yang Weili, asked him for help to quell this potential challenge to his authority. Once again, Yang Weili preferred to stick to his plan, even as their successes had slowed considerably by August, while that of the rebels continued uninterrupted.

But Yang Weili wasn’t the only one receiving bad news. The most western parts of his territories, the former lands of the Celestial Masters, had sided with Lu Jun in the current civil war. Seeing how all the troops were centered in Yang Province, Governor Liu Fan of Yi province was convinced by his generals that they should exploit this opportunity to strike. Yi forces began to mobilize troops on their northern border in August, with clear intent to soon cross and invade the rebel territories. The local rebels asked Lu Jun for help, but the old man didn’t answer. His sight was only on Yang Province, so why should he care about some far away commandery? In fact, Yang Weili was far more troubled by this than his opponent. These were formerly his territories, left to him by Chen Wen to protect. Seeing his former lands being invaded by neighbors brought him absolutely no joy.

All these barbarian revolts were starting to take a toll on the province, and support for Yang Weili was starting to wane down. Hu Zan was growing increasingly frustrated that he couldn’t got destroy these revolts and save the day and felt slighted after being ignored so often. In fact, he starting to discuss with Cai Zhong the possibility of simply going their own way. Bo Baoxun was trying to push his lord to take a more active role in the war, but Su Dai’s lack of ambition caused issues, and he was having difficulties recuperating from a wound he had received during a siege in July (in a similar manner to Hu Zan a few months before). Chen Gengguo spent most of the year receiving visits from administrators and officials of Jing Province, fearing that the chaos of Yang Province would spread to their home, to which Chen Gengguo often answered: “I could only sympathize with you, who would be willing to protect the province from its internal threats.” He was suspiciously vague about what threat he spoke of. And then there was Xiang Lang, the Chief Clerk of the province who was left to manage the bureaucracy in Yang Weili’s absence. His monthly reports were often accompanied by panicked letters and requests to be allowed to tax Jing Province more for the war effort, requests that were often denied.

Su Dai’s situation turned for the worse as his wound didn’t heal, and the Administrator of Changsha Commandery eventually died on November 24th, 199, at the age of 39. He had been the first one to submit to Chen Wen in his expansion into Jing Province, after which he had been loyal to his new lord. During the war for independence from Xu Province, he served as Commandant after the capture of Yang Weili, a position he regained after Chen Wen’s death. His lack of talent or ambition didn’t stop him from cultivating the loyalty of subordinates like Bo Baoxun or the respect of the army for his defense of the provincial capital. He was arguably Yang Weili’s strongest defender in Jing Province. And now he was gone.

Bo Baoxun made his way to his former lord’s commandery to get his affairs in order. He hoped that this show of loyalty would convince Yang Weili to appoint him as Su Dai’s successor, and indeed this was the Inspector’s original plan. But Hu Zan had grown tired of Bo Baoxun’s interference during the campaign and spoke heavily against the appointment, making it clear that he would not accept the angry general as his equal (although this was also to cut out Yang Weili’s main supporter from the war to leave himself as the real decision maker). Hu Zan was easily able to get the soldiers on his side, as many of them had grown frustrated with Yang Weili’s current strategy. Seeing the pressure he was facing, the Inspector of Yang Province agreed to instead appoint a man named Teng Dexia as the new administrator of Changsha Commandery. Teng Dexia’s credentials for the job were his complete lack of ambition, or talent, or skills of any sort. Needless to say, Bo Baoxun was infuriated when he learned about this.

But if Yang Weili had hoped to placate Hu Zan by agreeing to the appointment of Teng Dexia, then he was soundly disappointed. Even worst, Hu Zan was in many ways proven right to have criticized the long siege strategy when two news arrived simultaneously in January 200. First, the unchallenged barbarians ravaging the south had been joined by another group. With Yang Weili refusing to go fight them, barbarians understood that it was their time, now or never. The Inspector received dozens of missives asking him to please handle the barbarian problem already. Wasn’t he supposed to protect them? Already bad, this was followed by news of a damaging blow to his cause. Sima Juhe had successfully besieged Yang Weili’s seat of power, conquering it for his lord Lu Jun, and in the process capturing Yang Weili’s whole family. The loss of his home base and his family hurt Yang Weili in the eye of his allies. With this disastrous turn of event, he now had no choice but to switch tactic if he ever wanted to turn things around. But was it even possible at this point?

Zamarak500 · Sep 3, 2021

198-200: THE DYNASTY ON THE OFFENSIVE

The tensions within the Imperial Capital had been a problem ever since Niu Fu reluctantly took over as Chancellor. If he had hoped that his presence would help bring peace back to the court, then he was soundly disillusioned after two years at the helms. In fact, his early dreams of paving the way for the return of imperial powers were pushed back out of fear that the Wang Clan would come to simply dominate the young Emperor. This had forced him to continue to act with greater authority, only to have the young Emperor start to turn against him. Seeing how many enemies the Han had from within shocked Niu Fu to the core. And to make things more difficult, his only allies kept trying to push him into assuming more powers. He feared what they would do if he gave them any authority. And besides, giving power to their friend was what tyrants did. So he voluntarily weakened himself out of principles, which did nothing to help his situation. After all that, is it such wonders that the Chancellor was falling down the path of depression?

But even with his current disposition, his allies did their best to help him in his duties, no matter how frustrating it was to see him refuse the opportunities offered to him. Niu Fu appreciated this help, as it showed that these men were willing to put their ambitions aside to assist him in saving the Han. He had never been a good administrator himself, so having these men that he could rely on certainly helped him. So he was greatly distraught when he learned of Chen Xia’s death. Chen Xia had been the head of the Imperial Academy for years and a key supporter of Niu Fu ever since his hesitant rise to power. Alongside Shisun Rui, they had helped steer the imperial bureaucracy into the right direction while Niu Fu tried to stabilize the Capital. Having already been forced to remove Shisun Rui, the death of Chen Xia made Niu Fu’s position tenuous at best.

When it came to appointing a new top scholar, many choices presented themselves. Some wanted one of the more experienced scholars to have the job, but the Emperor didn’t want to appoint some old incompetent men. So even if these great men had spent their careers waiting for this, Niu Fu followed the Emperor’s wishes and passed them over for a younger candidate. The famous scholar Pan Zheng was considered as a potential candidate, as Chen Xia had talked highly of him when he served in the academy. However, Pan Zheng had just been transferred to the Censorate Bureau, so bringing right back to the Academy seemed contradictory. Instead, a young scholar named Wang Man (no relation to the Wang Clan) was able to show his talent and use connections at court to get the status of Chief Scholar. Unlike Chen Xia, Wang Man was a self-serving young man who had little loyalty for anyone. At first, he thought of aligning himself with Niu Fu, but once he realized that the Chancellor’s influence was in decline, he revised his plans and entered in contact with the Wang Clan.

With things starting to deteriorate for him at court, Niu Fu decided to focus on a project that had been dear to his heart for a long time: the reunification of the Han Dynasty. To do this, he would need to expand and lead campaigns, something he was far better at than managing court intrigues. In May 198, he asked permission from the Emperor to plan a war to retake Imperial territories. The Son of Heaven was obviously ecstatic at the idea of the Dynasty regaining its lands from the rebels and warlords, an opinion shared by many at court. The only ones who were a bit more timid about this were the Wangs and their allies. Wang Hong in particular feared that all their efforts would be for nothing if Niu Fu returned from the war a victorious hero. But as the Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies, he would endanger his position by opposing the campaign, and so supported Niu Fu. He went so far as to push his family to do the same, and promised full cooperation with the Chancellor to ensure the success of the war.

Niu Fu already had a target in mind when he suggested the campaign. The easier place to start was east, where the collapse of Yu and Yan Provinces left the regions disorganized and under the control of feuding (and weaker) warlords. This seemed like a good region to go on the offensive, starting with the neighboring Xuchang city. Xuchang and its county were controlled by the Prince of Liang, Liu Mi. Liu Mi’s territories were widely spread and difficult to defend, which made him a prime target for expansion. This had been proven when he lost the former provincial capital of Yu province the previous year after a short conflict with the warlord Xiao Ru. Niu Fu started moving troops on the eastern border as soon as he had the Emperor’s approval, leaving to go supervise the preparations himself. In a show of decency (or stupidity), Niu Fu sent a letter to Liu Mi asking him to surrender Xuchang peacefully, citing his duties to the Emperor and the Dynasty. Liu Mi, feeling a lot more brace than he should be, refused outright to surrender it. These were part of his domain, a domain he had inherited from the previous generations. In early August 198, Niu Fu went on the offensive against the Prince of Liang.

While the Chancellor intended to lead the war personally, that didn’t mean he was going alone. As always, Niu Fu took with him Xu Rong, the former Dong Zhuo general who had survived multiple regime changes by now. He had proven loyal to Niu Fu, if a bit insistent that he take power for himself. This was not surprising, as the general had previously served men of less than noble characters. Never the less, Niu Fu knew that he could count on Xu Rong, as the man was both an excellent military commander and a man of honor. Before the campaign, he had him swear that he would never march his troops against the Imperial Capital. Xu Rong felt a bit offended that Niu Fu could suggest such a thing, but never the less swore to uphold this promise. Satisfied, Niu Fu appointed him as his second-in-command. But of course, Wang Hong and the Wang Clan wouldn’t just let the Chancellor leave like that. Using the excuse that they couldn’t fully trust Xu Rong due to his previous loyalties, they managed to have an old officer promoted to serve on the campaign. The old Zhang Ji was actually quite respected within the military for his talent and his care for his duties, so Niu Fu welcomed the appointment with open hands.

The absence of Niu Fu and his allies in the military proved a perfect opportunity for the Wang Clan to act. The first among their allies to do so was none other than Jiang Xian, the tall official who had once played a key role in the assassination of Dong Zhuo. Using his position as Chief of the Censorate and Minister of the Imperial Household, he decided to move against the officials that were perceived as too loyal to the Chancellor. Launching false accusations against them, he left the task to investigate this to the recently appointed censor Pan Zheng, hoping that he would convict the “guilty” and be done with it. This backfired spectacularly, as Pan Zheng did a far more thorough job than anyone expected, debunking the false accusation and instead leading the arrest of many Wang Clan supporters. While Jiang Xian tried to stop the young censor, Pan Zheng remained stubbornly aggressive in his inquiries, hoping to purge court of as much corrupt officials as possible.

This drove a small wedge between Jiang Xian and the Wang clansmen, who were incensed that he had accidentally endangered their position without even consulting them. Wang Mao arrogantly asked Jiang Xian “We welcomed you within our Clan because you could serve us well, so why do you act as if you were our equal?” While the giant excused himself and showed signs that he would reconcile himself with his in-laws in public, in private he started to suspect that they would leave him to hang the first chance that they got. Still, better to have his wife Diaochan pacify the complains of her relatives. Although they were a bit hesitant to listen to her at first, as they looked at her with disdain due to being adopted in the family, she was able to charm them and convince them that her husband was doing his best to help the Wang Clan. Jiang Xian could only bless the Heavens for giving him such a lovely and loyal wife.

Jiang Xian, in an effort to fix the mistake he had accidentally done, tried to reshuffle the whole Censorate to promote more loyal men. No longer did he want someone like Pan Zheng to get in the way of his plans. He wanted to do this slowly and softly, so that no one at court could really see what was truly going on until it was far too late. But Wang Mao came in and insisted that Jiang Xian deal with the situation as fast as possible, with the Wang Clan pressuring him into a quick reshuffle of the Censorate Bureau. This forced him to act far faster than he had originally planned, and with far less care. Because of this, his efforts to turn the Censorate into his loyal organization were easily noticed by officials unsympathetic to his cause, notably Pan Zheng. He might have acted against Jiang Xian, but news from Yi Province convinced him to leave the Capital behind and return home in November 198. He did write a letter to the Chancellor before he left, though.

Niu Fu had hoped that leading the campaign (which was turning into a series of sieges as Liu Mi refused to fight him) would help cheer him up, but the growing number of missives from the Capital only made him more stressed. News from what Jiang Xian was doing finally convinced him in January 199 that he had to leave and come back to the Imperial Capital to oversee things himself. Clearly, it seemed like Chang Xia (his assistant who was also in charge of the easter capital of Chang’an), was unable to handle state affairs in his absence. He prepared things for his departure from the frontline to make sure that the war went smoothly in his absence. He wished to leave Xu Rong in charge, but while the man was popular with the rank and-file, the officers were far less keen on that former enemy. So instead, he left the more respectable Zhang Ji in charge, knowing that the old man would do a good job. Xu Rong was frustrated by this, as he felt he should have the task of leading the troops, but could do little about it.

Niu Fu returned to the capital in February and was quick to make his presence felt. Chang Xia had clearly proved unable to handle the issues, so Niu Fu had to clean house a bit. However, his early frustration calmed down, and he realized that doing too much might seem tyrannical. So instead of purging the whole Censorate of its dubious elements like he had originally planned to, he simply fired the most obvious symptom of the disease: Jiang Xian. The tall official lost his position of Chief Censor, having clearly showed that he was using it to his advantage. His abuses were big enough that even Niu Fu felt like he had to act. At this news, Jiang Xian felt doubly angered. Niu Fu had fired him from such an influential position, yes, but that might not have happened if the Wang Clan hadn’t pushed him to make mistakes. To replace him, Niu Fu named an older official whose main merit was that he was the father of the Governor of Jiaozhi Province. The Chancellor thus hoped to bring the province back in the imperial orbit with this appointment, although he would be left completely disappointed on that front.

However, Niu Fu made the fateful decision not to remove Jiang Xian as Minister of the Imperial Household, allowing the official to keep his close access to the palace, which in term allowed him to have the Emperor’s ear. This was done after Niu Fu consulted Emperor Xian and his staff on Jiang Xian’s performance in his duties, wondering if the abuses of powers were restrained to the Censorate. But through manipulation and bribes, Jiang Xian had covered his tracks and kept a clean record in his duties as Minister, receiving glowing praises from the servants and imperial attendants. The Emperor himself spoke highly of Jiang Xian and forbid Niu Fu from continuing any prosecution against one of his favorites. To the Son of Heaven, Jiang Xian was still this official who had sneaked into the palace years ago to make him sign the edict against Dong Zhuo, thus saving him from this brute. He saw in the tall man his best hope of ever regaining his full power and removing Niu Fu, and he would be damned if he lost that support. Unwilling to oppose the Emperor, Niu Fu dropped the whole affair, which meant that Jiang Xian kept most of his supporters within the Censorate and the Imperial Palace.

With the war going well, the court started to debate the issue of Sun Jian. The general had been expanding his territories on the southern border and was embroiled in a conflict with his former lord Yuan Shu. Some wanted military actions to be taken to help Sun Jian, especially among those that supported Empress Sun. The young empress was now considered an adult, but her attempts at establishing a prestigious court had so far failed. Her lack of care for her appearance had started to be humiliating, while her greed and kindness were often exploited by individuals of lesser morality. Even Jiang Xian had started to be disgusted by this, all while the Wang Clan had exploited the new empress’s weaknesses to their advantages. Jiang Xian also feared that Sun Jian might just take over the Capital if he was allowed to act freely. To stop this, he used every influence he had to convince Niu Fu that helping Sun Jian was a bad idea. The Chancellor, already hesitant over the issue, was swayed in the “right” direction and refused to help the Emperor’s father-in-law, another move that undermined him in the eyes of the Son of Heaven.

For the rest of 199, Niu Fu had to counter the many plots of the Wang Clan, which proved surprisingly easy to oppose. This was in part due to Jiang Xian, who was starting to distance himself from his unreliable in-laws. In order to gain more personal influence at court, he silently undermined their own positions my sabotaging their efforts. This was helped by the fact that both Wang Hong, the Grand Commandant and head of the Clan, and Wang Chen, the Excellency of Work, started spending more and more time in their respective commanderies, plotting from there to stay out of Niu Fu’s reach. This leaved only Wang Mao, who had such a low opinion of Jiang Xian that he didn’t notice how the giant is zapping his own authority from under him. Wang Chen, who was attempting to introduce Taoism as the main court philosophy (as opposed to the favored teachings of Confucianism), didn’t help their case either.

While the Wang Clan’s influence was starting to wane at court, Jiang Xian made sure that his support did not dip with them. Most notably, he made an ally of the young and ambitious Head Scholar Wang Man. Wang Man had spent most of 198 and early 199 aligned with the Wang Clan, but seeing how their fortune had turned around after a few blunders, he started to seek other opportunities. Jiang Xian still had lot influence in the Censorate and at court, even after his punishment, so he was able to convince Wang Man that he was a strategic alliance would be beneficial for the both of them. But more importantly than anything, Jiang Xian had access to the Emperor. The Wang Clan didn’t have that power, and Niu Fu did his best not to exploit it. This meant that Jiang Xian could easily whisper whatever he wanted in the Emperor’s ear, including promising him that he would help him finally regain control over his own empire. And just like that, Jiang Xian was slowly becoming the most influential player at court.

News from the frontline pleased Niu Fu, who had once again started to fall back into depression due to court affairs. Zhang Ji and Xu Rong had been doing a great job over the year, although the later was complaining at the lack of battles. It turned out that Liu Mi had refused to engage the Imperial Army as he was being attacked by other warlords, who hoped to use the imperial campaign to their advantage. By January 200, Liu Mi finally yielded Xuchang, fearing that the imperial force might march all the way to his seat of power. The fact that they had won territories without a fight was great news for Niu Fu, who considered continuing the campaign east. But the Wang Clan insisted that the army had to celebrate this victory with a glorious parade in the capital (as they didn’t want Niu Fu to achieve more victories at their expense). The Emperor also agreed, jealous of his Chancellor’s successes. So the Imperial Army returned home, welcomed as heroes for helping reunify the Empire. Little did anyone expect that this victory would be followed by the collapse of Han controlled territories, all by the end of the year.

Zamarak500 · Sep 4, 2021

199-200: BACK TO YI PROVINCE

Pan Zheng was unsure how things would be once he returned home. He had first been banished from the provincial capital by his father and had been on bad terms with the then Governor Liu Yan. And that said nothing of the older officials who had never been keen on his rise within the provincial court. So how would they react when he returned as a famous scholar and a man who had received praises from the Son of Heaven himself? His voyages hadn’t exactly helped him gain much trust in others either, as most of the lords he served had been petty, angry or simply trying to use him to their ends. He couldn’t stop himself from suspecting the worst when he passed through the territories of Yang Weili to go from Han lands to Yi Province. Seeing how the lands he came through were in full revolt against their lords, he feared what violence might be awaiting him when he arrived in his province.

His fears seemed to be confirmed when he found a welcoming committee on the other side of the border. It was a small force, led by the general Huang Quan. As the Administrator of Guanghan Commandery, Huang Quan was in charge of defending the northern border. He was only a magistrate and a protégé of the Commandant Wu Mengjie when Pan Zheng had last seen him. At the time, Huang Quan was helping his mentor put down barbarian revolts. The scholar wondered when he had been promoted. When he saw the soldiers awaiting his arrival, he stopped, waiting for Huang Quan to make the first move. The general was quick to come face to face, but before he could say a word, Pan Zheng cut him off with a question.

“Are you here to dispose of me, to betray what trust I had in my home?” he asked dryly.

“You seem to misunderstand the situation.” Huang Quan tried to explain.

“Really? How should I feel when I am welcomed by armed men in full armor?”

“The Governor simply asked us to escort you directly to the provincial capital.” the general explained. “With the civil war going on within our neighbors, we can never be too sure about your safety.”

The scholar hesitated, but then again, it wasn’t like he could outrun these troops if he ran, especially with his companions by his side. Feeling trapped, Pan Zheng, his family and his friends followed the escort back to the provincial capital. As it turned out, he had little to worry about, as the Governor simply wanted to meet him in person. In fact, he would probably have gone wait for Pan Zheng himself had he not been recuperating from a wound. To ensure his safety, Liu Fan had sent his most loyal general to escort Pan Zheng to him, although he now felt pretty insulted that the scholar thought this was some sort of trap. No, what he wanted was to meet this famous scholar. While many of the Governor’s advisors had nothing good to say about the blunt upstart, he seemed to have garnered a great reputation throughout the Han Dynasty. Liu Fan thus wanted to meet him in person to make sure that he was as good as rumors said.

The Governor was indeed impressed by the young man. When presented at court, Pan Zheng ignored almost everyone to go meet the Governor as fast as possible, either not caring or unaware of the other officials trying to get his attention. Liu Fan made him wait for a long time, just to test his resolves (and at the suggestion of his advisors, who wanted to humiliate Pan Zheng). The scholar waited for two hours without speaking to anyone, stubbornly turning around when someone tried to approach him for small talk. When Liu Fan finally welcomed him, Pan Zheng proved quick to express his desire to simply go deal with his father’s affairs and prepare the funerary rites. Touched by the filial piety of Pan Zheng (which was mostly an excuse to leave and go take his post), Liu Fan sped through the appointment process and confirmed the scholar as the new Administrator of Yizhou Commandery.

While Liu Fan was satisfied with Pan Zheng and happy to have such a subordinate at his disposal, not everyone shared his enthusiasm. Probably the man least happy with Pan Zheng’s return was the old He Xiaolong, who was the chief administrative advisor of Yi Province. He had never liked the scholar, feeling that he lacked humility and respect for his elders. He had certainly been happy to see him leave the province for good, and was still opposed to his return, afraid that he might undermine his authority. Had this happened a year before, things might have gone his way. While Liu Fan had heavily depended on He Xiaolong at first, he was now becoming his own man, to the old official’s horror. Liu Fan was starting to rely more and more on the generals and military staff, which He Xiaolong saw as a mistake. A province was first and foremost the purview of administrators and bureaucrats, and He Xiaolong needed to make sure that it stayed that way.

But what could he do when the military officers were now part of the Governor’s inner circle? This became obvious when shortly after the return of Pan Zheng, the Commandant Wu Mengjie was able to get a position on the Governor’s council for one of his protégés, Gao Rou. Like Huang Quan, Gao Rou had served in the campaigns against the barbarians in the mid-190’s, coming out of it with a stellar reputation. And just like Pan Zheng, the officer had managed to inherit his current Shu Commandery from his father. Protecting the lands around the provincial capital, Gao Rou was still hoping for a more important task, and petitioned Wu Mengjie to help him in achieving a more deserving station. So the Commandant was able to have Gao Rou appointed as the assistant of the Governor, making one of the most influential figures in the provincial capital. He Xiaolong wasn’t keen on this, but obeyed his lord, not wishing to offend him or destroy the alliance he had with Wu Mengjie. At least for now.

Pan Zheng found a big surprise waiting for him when he arrived in his new commandery. He found his father’s widow (a woman named Lingxuan) awaiting him in the house. He felt a bit awkward at the sight of the baby she was carrying, unsure how to feel at the idea of having another sibling. Meanwhile, the woman was clearly anxious in his presence, fearing what he might do to her child. After all, what she heard of her son-in-law were not positive praises, but criticisms of a man who did not care for others. The scholar mostly ignored them while he focused on preparing the proper funerary arrangements for his father, and then proceeded to see what his commandery was like. It was a bad surprise for him to discover that it was full of barbarians, and that he in fact had few Han Chinese to call upon his service. Lingxuan also kept harassing him in order to discuss her position under him, pushing to have some authority within the household. But he wanted nothing to hear from his sister’s mother, who was after all younger than he was. If it wasn’t for his wife Feng Xia trying to play negotiator between them, the two might never have been willing to tolerate one another due to how stubborn they were.

By August, Liu Fan assembled his advisors to discuss what was to be done about the situation in their neighbor’s territories. Yang Weili was fighting a large civil war that left him completely occupied, which meant that he would probably be unable to act if they were to invade some of his western territories. Everyone seemed to be in agreement that there was an opportunity to exploit here, and Wu Mengjie suggested that they launched an attack this instant. Liu Fan was happy with his enthusiasm and agreed, although there was still the question of who they would attack: the rebels or the loyalists. In order to not damage their relationship with Yang Weili too much should he win; it was decided that an attack against the rebels would be a safer bet politically. Liu Fan ordered Huang Quan, his most loyal general, to go lead an army in their new invasion.

Still, He Xialong and Wu Mengjie agreed that this might not be enough. To ensure a bright future for Yi Province, they needed to truly destabilize Yang Weili’s domain, or maybe even break it apart. To achieve this goal, the older official contacted his brother He Shimin, who just happened to serve under Administrator Chen Gengguo of Lingling Commandery. Chen Gengguo had not taken any side, although many in Jing Province were trying to push him to revolt and take over the province, as he claimed to be related to the late Chen Wen. This was certainly something that the officials of Yi Province could use. He Shimin started to pressure his lord, telling him that he should really reclaim what was rightfully his. But once again, Chen Gengguo chose patience, even if he let it be known that he would never criticize anyone for acting in the best interest of their beloved province. Some started to interpret it as a sign of support for their plot, although Chen Gengguo was probably just being literal.

Liu Fan, happy that he was expanding his territories, now wished to bring Pan Zheng into his confidence. Before He Xiaolong could voice his opposition at the idea, Liu Fan ordered Pan Zheng to come serve as the Chief Censor of Yi Province, his previous tenure within the Imperial Censorate Bureau being proof enough of his credentials. Pan Zheng refused at first, as he was planning with Zhuge Liang for a way to get rid of all those pesky barbarian chieftains in his commandery. Chief among those was the annoying Meng Huo, son of the Meng Shamoke who had led a first barbarian revolt earlier that decade. But the Governor insisted, and he sent envoys to force the position on the scholar, whenever he wanted it or not. After extracting the right to perform his duties from home until he dealt with his local problems, Pan Zheng grudgingly relented in late 199.

A barbarian revolt finally erupted in January 200, although ironically this one had nothing to do with Pan Zheng’s anti barbarian actions (those had sparked a revolt from Meng Huo around the same time). This barbarian revolt hoped to take advantage of all the wars in the south to reclaim their own tribe lands, freeing it of Chinese influence. Of course, Liu Fan was not going to let that happen. He first wished to go deal with it himself, but his wound was still a problem and he was advised to focus on recuperating. This left him with no choice but to send his Commandant Wu Mengjie (the other option, Guo Rou, had just been sent to reinforce Huang Quan’s army). The Commandant was experienced in fighting barbarians by now, which left him pretty confident in his chances of success. Taking only a few hundred men with him, he swore that he would return victorious with the head of the rebel leaders.

When he left to deal with the revolt, it would be the last time that the Commandant saw his lord. Shortly before he engaged the barbarians in April 200, a messenger arrived in panic. Liu Fan had died of his wound at the age of 41, leaving the province to his only son Liu Jishan, who was only two years old. He Xiaolong, being the only influential man in the provincial capital when Liu Fan died, acted quickly. Once again, he seized the death of the previous governor as an opportunity to affirm his authority over the new one. He was quickly declared regent of the toddler by the court officials, who were all too happy to entrust this responsibility to him. He Xiaolong’s first move was to quickly remove Pan Zheng as Chief Censor, replacing him with a more “respectable” choice. This put everyone on edge, and the various generals stopped their respective advances, unsure how to respond and fearing for their own positions. But any worries about this unexpected change were pushed aside when news came from their barbarian tributaries. The Imperial Army was marching toward them, and they were approaching fast.

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PS: Follow up chapters. 201 is quite the packed year.

Niu Fu's campaign to make Xiaban tributary, which makes him fight Yi Province (200)
Second part of Yuan Shu's invasion of Yingchuan (198-200)
Pan Zheng’s war with Meng Huo (200-201)
First part of Gongsun Zan’s second big war (200-201)
Xiao Ru war for Pei Commandery (201)
Yang Weili’s civil war continues (200-201)
Liu Siyuan chapter (198-201)
Big news from the Imperial Capital (201)
Yuan Shu attacked by Chang Lin (200-201)

The Last Days of the Han (Three Kingdoms AAR)

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