East of the River: Home of the Sun Clan sample -- TPMThorne.com

“Do not judge them harshly,” Sun Jian pleaded.
“I am aware that a lot of soldiers are former convicts, Brother-in-law, and that they render fine service to atone for mast misdemeanours,” Wu Jing promised. “So long as they fight alongside us and defend their country, that’s all I care about. I was merely jesting, just as Mister Cheng does when he implies that my sister is the master’s hand in your family home.”
Cheng Pu laughed and said, “Would I do that…?”
Wu Jing smiled dryly.
“So where are we going?” Han Dang asked.
“Southern Yu Province, of course,” Cheng Pu replied tersely.
“The Turbans are all over the place, ‘Demou’,” Han Dang said. “What do you mean by ‘of course’…?”
“…I suppose that did sound pedantic,” Cheng Pu said with a sigh. “Sorry, my friend. Commander Zhu is based there, and the worst of the threats to the south come from Yu Province. We might go further north if we defeat them there, to Yingchuan, or maybe west, to Nan County in Jing Province.”
“It’s unbelievable that they’ve managed to entrench themselves in Jing, Yu, Ji, Yan, Xu, Qing and Yòu,” Huang Gai said. “Only the far northwest is spared, then.”
“They’re in Central Province as well, but there’s a ring of defence works around Luoyang,” Cheng Pu explained. “And yes, I… I worry. Though I have little love for northern politics, my ancestral home is on the frontier.”
“Beiping, near where I hail from,” Han Dang noted. “You must’ve seen a lot o’ the Wuhuan when you were up that way too.”
“You had it worse in Liaoxi, Yigong!” Cheng Pu chuckled. “But yes, I saw a lot of incursions… and little or nothing done about any of it by the-”
“I… I only narrowly avoided a very similar conversation to the one we’re about to start, but with my nine-year-old son,” Sun Jian interrupted. “Can we just do what we’ve been asked to do, and do the politics later?”
“It’ll have to come up sooner or later, Wentai,” Cheng Pu suggested.

“Later, then, Demou,” Sun Jian insisted. “My family’s coming to see me off.”
Many women and children were approaching: Sun Jian walked to his own family and said, “I’m glad.”
“You look amazing!” Sun Ce exclaimed as he looked at his father’s armour.
“…In this tatty stuff?” Sun Jian chortled. “Oh, well, I suppose you’re young, and the sight of any army is impressive.”
“Be careful,” Lady Wu said as she struggled with the excitable Sun Quan. “That’s all I came to say… be careful.”
“I will be,” Sun Jian promised.
Lady Wu smiled slightly, turned and retreated without waiting to see or speak to her brother.
“Ayah… is she already going?” Wu Jing complained as he hurried to Sun Jian’s side. “I was in the middle of-”
“Go after her then, Brother-in-law,” Sun Jian said. “Perhaps she has last-minute instructions for you.”
Wu Jing grimaced and ran after his sister.
“…Are you really so impressed…?” Sun Jian asked as he looked down at his eldest son.
“When I’m older, I wanna be a general,” Sun Ce replied. “I’ll beat up cultists, pirates, bandits… anyone.”
“…I’d not say ‘anyone’, but I’m proud of your spirit,” Sun Jian chuckled as he wiggled his son’s cloth turban.
“Hey! Don’t do that! My hair might fall out!” Sun Ce exclaimed.
“You’d better go, then, before I do it again,” Sun Jian said. “Go on… I need to get my men ready to go.”
“…Goo’bye, Father,” Sun Ce replied.

<< Main Product Page

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>