“Intention”: War for the Han Frontier sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne

“I don’t intend to ‘defeat’ him, I intend to welcome him,” Liu Biao insisted. “I will be cautious, yes, but I must welcome him. Cao Cao forwarded a particularly nasty letter to me here, hinting that he will one day come for Jing ‘in the name of the Han’, and reminding me that my halted march on Xuchang - which barely got past my own borders, despite it being greatly exaggerated - was an act of treason against the puppet government that he’s built. Normally, I’d write back and publicly remind him which of us has an unborn prince’s blood on his hands, but there aren’t any heroes left to ally with, are there…? Yuan Shao’s a walking corpse, Sun Quan is a hankering pirate, Liu Zhang is a feeble coward and Liu Bei has no army or territory.”
“Not yet,” Kuai Yue said.
“…He intends no usurpation of my governorship… not if he knows what’s good for him,” Liu Biao retorted. “Now, gentlemen, to business: Liu Bei’s envoy, Sun Qian, wants to address the court, and I have allowed it.”
“And I presume that I am trusted to go and greet Liu Bei in reciprocation of the protocol…?” Huan Jie prompted.
“Indeed yes, but not at the border,” Liu Biao replied. “Liu Bei is headed for Xinye, and I should like you to meet him there and bring him to me here.”
“Xinye…?” Kuai Yue noted. “Mm… already, Lord Liu, our guest is presuming too much. He should have stayed at the border.”
“No, I invited him to move to Xinye,” Liu Biao explained. “Honestly, gentlemen, I am tired of hearing about how untrustworthy Liu Bei is! Who else is there…?”
Wang Can hummed thoughtfully. Liu Biao had pointed out the fact that there were no powerful warlords to turn to as allies in this new phase of conflict, and that the likely victor would be Excellency Cao Cao; Wang’s mind quietly turned to the future, and what decisions should be made in order to live to see that future, and his was not the only mind to do so.

Yuan Shao was dismayed to learn that Liu Bei had been driven out of Yu Province, and for a multitude of reasons.
“Cao Cao had his back to us; another missed opportunity!” Yuan Shao complained. “Further to that, I lose my remaining grip in my home region and any chance of a pincer attack on Xuchang!”
“We shouldn’t be too upset,” the adviser Guo Tu scoffed. “Liu Bei was a poor ally and known for his deceitful-”
“Yet again, slander,” the official Cui Yan sighed. “No man is without fault, Guo Tu: what matters, in the end, is his main intent. Liu Bei is a scion of the royal clan, and he is determined to see that house restored to glory after years of-”
“We… we know that, Mister Cui,” Yuan Shao interrupted. “I apologise for interrupting you, but I must decide what to do now. Without Liu Bei in Yu, my only hopes for pincers reside with the Qiang and Zang Ba; in the case of the latter, some negotiated change of allegiance may be possible, if expensive.”
“Zang Ba fears and owes Cao Cao too much,” the adviser Xin Pi suggested. “Word coming from Qing indicates that Cao Cao spared Zang and granted him autonomy, even after Zang allied his bandits to Lü Bu. Zang’s situation is complicated, and-”
“That’s precisely why I pin hopes on reaching out to him, Mister Xin!” Yuan Shao cried. “Zang’s past is well known! If I were to convince him that I, not Cao, stand for justice and true restoration of the Han, then he will come over to us and bring the disaffected peoples of Xu and Qing Provinces with him!”
“…It is worth a try, I suppose,” Cui Yan sighed.

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