Crouching Dragon: The Journey of Zhuge Liang sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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“But, as you surreptitiously sidestepped there, Master… I was defeated again,” Liu Bei sighed. “Lü Bu inadvertently saved me by invading Cao Cao’s province while he was away, as you noted earlier.”
“…But at least, my lord, your stay under Tao Qian was productive,” Kongming suggested. “You earned the services of Mi Zhu, Mi Fang, Chen Deng and Chen Gui, married Lady Mi, and earned the trust and respect of the people of Xu Province. …So much so, that you were eventually named its governor when Tao Qian died, and you made peace with Yuan Shao, shifting your allegiance to Yuan Shao, Cao Cao and Liu Biao to ensure stability.”
“I did,” Liu Bei confirmed tersely.
“…But then Lü Bu was defeated by Cao Cao and sought refuge with you… you were betrayed by him, and forced to go to Cao Cao for help,” Kongming continued. “Eventually, Bu was dead, and you were forced to return to the capital with Cao Cao… but when Cao Cao and Yuan Shao parted ways, you fled the capital, joined forces with Yuan Shao-”
“And suffered defeat yet again,” Liu Bei interrupted.
“…Your fortunes are due to the games that you are forced to play,” Kongming insisted. “I am sure that you did not wish to switch your allegiance away from your friend Gongsun Zan, but… what choice did you have…? You did not dictate the sides you had to choose from.”
“I am glad you see things that way,” Liu Bei replied with a slight smile: Kongming noted a tear in his eye, and wondered if it was genuine.
“…But from that strategic move to join Yuan Shao, you then came to seek refuge with Liu Biao,” Kongming concluded. “I… I do not know what else to say.”
“You ended your synopsis of each of the other warlords with a brief opinion of their character, their moral fibre,” Liu Bei prompted. “I wonder, Master Kongming, what you make of a privately financed sandal weaver that shifted allegiances so many times that he is in danger of giving Lü Bu a reputation for constancy…?”
Kongming’s eyes darted about as he struggled, momentarily, for an answer: it came to him as a bolt of inspiration, and he smiled toothily.
“…Circumstance,” Kongming replied, “is your master at the moment, my lord. A man’s choices are his own, and yet at the same time are only as good as the options. And even then, there can sometimes be a right and a wrong.”
“…Go on,” Liu Bei urged.
“When the call for heroes was made, you could have won the love of weary, angry peasants by siding with the Yellow Turbans,” Kongming suggested. “However, you chose the Han court, because the Yellow Turbans were a cult, no better than the seditious eunuchs that ruined the court… in fact, worse.
“You rescinded from your role as Anxi governor because you faced slander… you had no choice. You fled from one warlord to another because they were forcing you to make choices… and you had to make tactical decisions.
“You joined Gongsun Zan because he was righteous; but his ally, Yuan Shu, later declared himself Emperor. Lord Gongsun should also have distanced himself from such a man. You went to serve Tian Kai and Tao Qian to protect Xu Province from Cao Cao’s genocides… but allied to Yuan Shao to save the province from invasion when Tao Qian died.
“You were then forced to take in Lü Bu because the man posed a threat if you immediately challenged him… his treachery was no fault of yours, and was inevitable. And it was that treachery that forced you to temporarily conceal your moral objections and join the villain Cao Cao, else Xu Province was at the mercy of Lü Bu. When Yuan Shao saw the light, you went to him, after finally eradicating Yuan Shu and Lü Bu.