“Intention”: War for the Han Frontier sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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All eyes turned to Guo Jia, who smiled and said, “I agree with Mister
Jia Xu. After all, the only men that should be feeling guilty right now are
those that took Dong Cheng’s forged edict as their mandate, and only guilty men
resort to aggression as a means of silencing critics. The guilt is a perception
in the eyes of a misguided few that should not dictate your actions, Lord Cao.”
“That is very true, Excellency,” the adviser Xun Yu - whose courtesy
name was ‘Wenruo’ - volunteered insistently.
“So, now that the matter of ‘how to address the court’ is resolved,
might I ask what you intend to address them with, Lord Cao...?” Guo Jia asked.
“Actions taken thus far, actions for the weeks ahead,” Cao Cao
explained. “I admit that I am inclined to launch a full-scale expedition
against Liu Biao and Sun Quan now that Yuan Shao is humbled and stripped of his
best minds and swords, but I am aware that it is not considered to be ‘wise’ at
present.”
“No, it is most unwise to
disregard Yuan Shao, as we have just discussed,” Xun Wenruo protested. “While
he maintains his tight grip on Cangting, he might just be able to reassemble
his forces and attack us again if we turn our backs for too long, perhaps in
concert with Liu Bei or-”
“Liu Bei cannot do anything of the sort, not while we harass him as we
do,” Cheng Yu suggested. “But yes, I agree, we cannot leave Yuan Shao at
Cangting... just as we couldn’t afford to let Lü Bu and Chen Gong have the place
seven years ago.”
“...So you persist that I am to ignore the threats posed by Liu Biao and
Sun Quan, and continue to peck at a dying animal...?” Cao Cao asked pointedly.
“Hardly...!” Xun Wenruo
chortled. “Yuan still has two-hundred-thousand men, as has been said often
enough. Yes, he’s suffering insurrections across his domains in the wake of
Guandu, but he has the men to quell them and the will to return.
We cannot
leave him with a single scrap of land to the south of the Yellow River that he
can use for an easy crossing, no matter how small; and he must intend it, else
why hold and reinforce the place...?”
Cao Cao shook his head and said, “But Sun Quan-!”
“Mister Liu Fu is managing well enough,” Guo Jia suggested. “He is quite
incredible, in fact: we sent him to Hefei to monitor Sun Ce at a moment when we
were distracted by Yuan Shao and Liu Bei, little hoping that he might make a
little bit of progress with the Qian Hill Bandits while he was there, and yet
he has brought stability, pacified rebels, increased security and survived Sun
Ce’s fearsome rage! I doubt, after all that, that he cannot handle Sun Quan for
us for a while... especially when we consider the ‘little project’ conceived by
Mister Liu and Man Chong and what an obstacle that will make when it is
finished.”
All eyes turned to Assistant Officer Man Chong, who smiled humbly and
said, “I did nothing special: I made a small suggestion, that’s all.”
“A great suggestion that Liu Fu will make real,” Guo Jia insisted. “It
will ensure that the Sun clan of Jiangdong is as manageable a threat later on
as it is now.”