Crouching Dragon: The Journey of Zhuge Liang sample -- TPMThorne.com

“…Liu Bei, Cao Cao and Sun Ce are the champions of the age,” Kongming continued. “Liu Bei, while weak now, is a man who has the aura of a hero… Cao Cao is once said to have told Bei, ‘Of all the warlords in China, there are but two heroes: you, and I’. Liu Bei is the only one Cao Cao truly fears, despite his having no land and nearly no troops… because fate is on his side, and his hardships are merely tests before his true purpose can be fulfilled.”
“…But can Liu Bei do anything without land…?” Pang Tong taunted. “He has but the hair on his head and a horse these days, since losing Xu Province… he’s hiding behind Yuan Shao, and his best general now serves Cao Cao loyally… does that sound like a man with a bright future to you…?”
“Quite right,” Xu Shu suggested; Kongming fanned himself slowly, pondered how best to answer, and cleared his throat.
“…In war, one’s fortunes are not consistent,” Kongming countered. “Today’s great giant is tomorrow’s forgotten fool, and an ambitious vassal, tomorrow’s titan. Take Yuan Shu as an example of the former, and Sun Ce as the latter.”
Pang Tong and Xu Shu nodded agreeably.
“When Sun Jian died, Sun Ce was inheriting nothing more than the role of ‘mercenary for hire’. But with a few good allies, charisma, drive, ambition… he now controls much of the south. Eighty-odd townships below the Great River are either his to rule or they soon will be,” Kongming declared. “Tell me now, who could foresee that of the son of a vassal of Yuan Shu…?”
“I…!” Xu Shu began; Kongming gestured with his fan that he should let him say his piece to the end.
“Cao Cao had little but a handful of retainers and some connections,” Kongming continued. “…Now, he is the Imperial court: he has his own fief, and great warriors and generals flock to his side, sensing his greatness.”
Xu Shu concurred silently.

“A storm is brewing,” Kongming concluded. “Cao Cao, Liu Biao, Sun Ce, Liu Bei, Yuan Shao… they will fight relentlessly until at least two of them fall. That fighting will leave no place in the land untouched… there will be nowhere to hide for the pacifist scholar, not even Jing Province… in fact, especially not Jing province.”
“Great,” Xu Shu sighed miserably.
“…I see great promise in Sun Ce,” Pang Tong mused. “I… I wonder that I might end up going that way… see if I can get myself a post.”
“Not a bad idea,” Kongming said with a smile. “My brother recently entered his service, and is being treated very well… so I can hardly criticize.”
“…And what will you do, Kongming…?” Xu Shu asked pointedly.
“I won’t be going to Sun Ce,” Kongming chuckled. “No… I intend to find a wife, settle here, and till the fields… the world’s problems don’t concern me.”
“…Liar,” Xu Shu chortled. “You know more about the affairs of the day than most scholars in the Imperial court do. Nobody knows as much as that, and makes a statement like ‘there will be nowhere to hide’, and then intends to do nothing.”
“…Perhaps I just like to know the politics of the day,” Kongming suggested with a wry grin. “And soldiers need grain… so a farmer’s life is a stable one.”
“…We should head back into town,” Pang Tong proposed as he got to his feet and dusted his robes off nonchalantly.

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