Crouching Dragon: The Journey of Zhuge Liang sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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“You insinuate that I must be conqueror of my own kin,” Liu Bei noted.
“…Jing can be ‘held’ by maintaining good relations with Liu Biao’s heirs, if needs be,” Kongming suggested. “Liu Zhang accepted rank from Cao Cao in exchange for his remaining neutral, thereby betraying any covenant you could ever have had with him to restore the Han… he has lost the confidence of his vassals, such as Zhang Lu, who now seeks to devour him. You only protect what has been in the possession of the Liu family for generations by replacing him as the prefect of that land.”
Liu Bei nodded seriously, as if to agree.
“We must work with the situation as it is, and exploit advantages, rather than focus on the disadvantages. The advantage of three states - where yours is on good terms with one of the others - is that your ally will constantly serve as another enemy to your enemy, and keep their forces permanently divided,” Kongming suggested. “With three, some external, grudge-bearing players that might not follow one ally might follow the other, rather than your enemy… were there to be only two, then it would be a bloody war of attrition that would end only after decades and decades of relentless war, and if there were more than three - as there are now - then there would be endless intrigue, with so many possible alliances and borders to watch… and the smaller the states are, the more likely that the barbarian tribes on our borders, like the Qiang and the Nan, will rise up as enemies to us all.
“Also, three partitions guarantees periods of nervous stalemate, and in fact, in this case, two are easier to defeat… two halves of a larger whole, split between its two enemies. The key to this will be maintaining good relations with Sun Quan at all times, however… if he were to be driven into serving as a vassal of Cao Cao by an act of aggression, that would be fatal. …Of course, we can occasionally threaten to break faith and go to Cao Cao when they make unreasonable demands… that can be used to control them as well.”
“…I understand your plan,” Liu Bei said hesitantly.
“But you do not fully trust it,” Kongming supposed.
“No… no, it is enlightening,” Liu Bei said with a smile of gratitude. “I, Bei, have long sought guidance on matters such as this: here, all of this makes perfect sense! By using this plan, I, Bei, can grow… this plan is especially beneficial to one that must first have a base… yes, this is how I must proceed!”
“…I am glad you understand,” Kongming said quietly.
“You have thought this through with me in mind,” Liu Bei noted gratefully. “I, Bei, can never thank you enough for this guidance… it is like being without sight, and seeing for the first time!”
With that, Liu Bei began to prostrate himself in obeisance at Kongming’s feet once again, prompting Kongming to say, “Please, my lord, do not be so humble…”
“You have shown me the way,” Liu Bei sobbed as he got to his feet. “I, Bei… can never repay you.”
Kongming was stunned: the humility that Liu Bei was showing was unheard of, especially to a man of limited rank, when Liu Bei was related to the Emperor. A rush of emotion swept over him: in a move that even surprised Kongming himself, he threw himself to the ground in prostration at Liu Bei’s feet, saying, “To have come three times to visit me in my thatched cottage, my lord… to have shown me such respect… if you would so unpretentiously ask my service… then I am yours to command.”
Liu Bei helped Kongming to his feet, and said, “It is fate that we stand here today, you and I… today, we are not only lord and vassal, but friends. Today you’ve shown me what I must do… together, let us defeat Cao Cao, and restore the fire of the house of Han!”
The two men locked gazes and smiled, sure that together, anything was possible.