“Intention”: War for the Han Frontier sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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“And yet you stubbornly cling to the myth that Cao Cao is the greatest
villain of our age, and all because of one misinterpreted ‘prediction’ by the
appraiser Xu Shao,” Wang Lang noted. “That same Xu Shao was less than kind
about Yuan Shao, and so it has come to pass. After Dong Zhuo fled west to
Chang’an, Yuan Shao perpetuated a feud with his brother for control of his clan
instead of pursuing the villain: that alone is wretched. Yuan Shu triggered the
seven year feud with a public condemnation that is disturbingly similar to the
one that Yuan Shao had Chen Lin write to condemn his former friend Cao Cao: to
repeat the crime himself is more wretched still. And when his brother Shu
needed aid as his false empire crumbled around him, Shao actually sent men led
by his own heir to rescue him, after all that had transpired between them,
which proves that to them, that life-consuming feud was just an amusing ‘power
game’ for two bored, spoiled brats! And, dear Wenju, by doing so he aided the
survival of a pretender to the throne: isn’t that treason in itself, brother or
no, and the most wretched thing of all...?”
“Of course it is,” Kong Rong protested, “but-!”
“‘But’, ‘but’, ‘but’,” Wang Lang heckled. “Yuan Shao conquered four
provinces in his own name and aided his brother as he fled Yang Province - some
say in exchange for the stolen Imperial Seal, just so that he could make his
own claim to the throne. He then declared war on the appointed Excellency of
Works - which, in truth, is declaring war on the court and Majesty - and
employed a ragtag army of bandits, barbarians and rebels to serve as his army...
which brings us neatly back to Liu Bei. You were here, Kong Rong, as was I:
didn’t Liu Bei and an army of bandits and Yellow
Turbans - cultists, plain and simple, whose shared life’s mission was to
bring an end to Han rule and establish a theocratic dictatorship - repeatedly
try to attack the capital while Cao Cao was in Guandu, and at Yuan Shao’s request...? Liu Bei started
his career by fighting them for his sovereign, and ends it by fighting the
sovereign at their side; that is farcical enough, but when Bei is known to want
power, it is worse still, since he would, were he to become an emperor, be a Han emperor.”
Kong Rong nodded silently.
“Liu Bei had an audience with His Majesty after Lü Bu betrayed him, took
Xu Province from him and chased him away; he received rank, had his
disinheritance placed under review, and enjoyed the friendship of His
Excellency Cao, who had every reason to hate him for past actions,” Wang Lang
continued. “And yet, despite such privilege, Liu Bei took the first opportunity
to steal a borrowed army, seize the capital of Xu Province, kill the
court-appointed governor of Xu and pledge allegiance to a tiny faction of
rebels whose mandate was a blatantly forged Imperial edict crafted by Dong
Cheng. Nobody made Liu Bei do that, Wenju. He chose to leave Xuchang, abandon
the sovereign, ally with Yuan Shao and a host of criminals and heretics, and
try to take Xuchang by military force. In what way, exactly, is Liu Bei a
‘victim of circumstance’...?
“Liu Bei now hides in the wastelands along the borders
of Yu and Jing Provinces with the remnants of his bandit-and-cultist militia
because he made bad choices. Yuan Shao, greedy fool that he is, was humiliated
at Guandu despite a massive numerical and tactical advantage because he made
bad choices. Neither man deserves your pity or support, Wenju: you are a loyal
servant of the Han, while they are fugitive seditionists that will soon face
divine retribution. They have far more to answer to their ancestors for than
self-perceived mediocrity. They tried to seize the throne, which would have
destroyed the Han and made prophets of the Yellow Turbans.”