“Intention”: War for the Han Frontier sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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“All of my nephew’s children are legitimate,” Yuan Cheng noted. “In that
case, gentlemen, it is a matter of who is oldest, in order to avoid problems.”
“Oldest, maybe… or who is most
competent,” Shen Pei said. “Yuan Tan is, as Lord Yuan has said often enough,
aggressive and unstatesmanlike, while Yuan Xi is too meek; Yuan Shang has long
been said to have qualities that would be needed to maintain the strength of
the Yuan clan, and as Mister Pang has indirectly said, sometimes the first
choice is not always the best: what would Yuan Shu have done had he been
chieftain, other than drive the entire clan to ruin instead of his own branch
alone…?”
Yuan Cheng pondered the point silently as he stared at Yuan Shao and
Yuan Shang.
“…See sense, Elder Yuan!” Pang Ji implored. “Tan is too violent, and Xi
too quick to yield: we need balance, or the Yuan clan will not survive!”
“…You ask that I risk the destabilisation of the clan domains and the
division of the clan itself for a second time in a decade,” Yuan Cheng
protested. “You think that Tan is going to accept his brother usurping his
chieftainship…? You think that-?”
“Tan!”
All eyes turned to Yuan Shao, who was grasping at empty air once again
while Yuan Shang backed away.
“Tan, where are you???” Yuan Shao cried. “Tan’er!”
“…It will not be long now,” Yuan Cheng supposed. “What happens then is
up to you, it seems, more than me, despite my nephew inviting me here to help
him make decisions. Whatever you decide, I’ll abide by it, for I feel that I
have little choice… but Heaven forgive you all if you are wrong.”
Lady Liu scoffed and walked to her husband’s side.
“Where… are my other sons…?” Yuan Shao croaked. “Tan… Xi…!”
“I am here, my husband,” Lady Liu whispered. “And so is my Shang… the
only son you need.”
Yuan Shao passed away ‘without ever giving any clear indication of who he intended as his heir’. The first actions of Yuan Shao’s widow, Lady Liu, were a chilling indication of what might unfold in the years to come: Yuan Shang, Lady Liu’s daughter-in-law Lady Zhen and the household staff watched with horror as Lady Liu set about murdering and disfiguring every one of Shao’s five beautiful young consorts, saying afterward that “They will not appeal to him in the afterlife now”. Lady Liu’s son, Yuan Shang, was quickly announced as the heir to the Yuan clan chieftainship, and their new allies - who included and were led by Pang Ji and Shen Pei - began immediate preparations for military reprisals by, at the very least, the eldest of Yuan Shao’s sons, Yuan Tan. A new age of Han Dynasty politics was about to begin, one where a new generation of feuding Yuan brothers would play a major role, and the Imperial court - along with the rest of Han Dynasty China - watched with interest and growing discomfort.
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~ End of free sample ~