“Turmoil”: Battle for the Han Empire sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne

-

JavaScript is off/unavailable on your browser. You will not be able to experience this website as it was intended without JavaScript enabled.

“I inherited a lot of men from Han Fu,” Yuan Shao noted. “A few, such as Dong Zhao and Qu Yi, have not worked out: others - such as Ju Shou, Zhang Hè, Guo Tu, and Xun Chen - are invaluable.”
“What a lot of people we’ve met!” Cao Cao said. “When you start to think about it, it’s quite incredible… that thirty years ago, I was the son of a wealthy minister, and you were heir to one of the most famous and influential clans in the land… we had a relatively small circle of friends, and certainly no ‘vassals’! Now look at us, Benchu… look at what we’ve become.”
Cao Cao had been smiling when he had started talking; both he and Yuan Shao were melancholy by the time he had finished.
“We need wine, not tea,” Yuan Shao grumbled. “Bloody locusts… curse them all, every last little one of them!”
“What food will we eat?” Cao Cao wondered. “Is there any food?”
“Yes,” Yuan Shao said. “We have stocks… forgive me if I don’t say where, since like you, I have trouble with trusting people… not necessarily you, but if you were to mention anything to one of your more entrepreneurial advisers, then-”
“I understand,” Cao Cao promised.
“Ah… what a world,” Yuan Shao said. “I haven’t been home at all.”
“Me neither,” Cao Cao realised. “Juancheng is my home now. I don’t have much to go ‘home’ to, now. My family is in Yan now.”
“…As most of mine - the part I acknowledge in these troubled times - is here, in Yè,” Yuan Shao said. “Oh, Mengde, why must my cousin - who is, in truth, my brother - be so foolish…? Why did he have to be so spiteful? So many of our clan were cruelly slaughtered by Dong Zhuo, and yet he continues this feud! All that he has to do is apologise, Mengde, and accept me as the head of the clan, and we could be brothers again, and pay respects at the tombs of our ancestors and kin! Why must he do this to us…?”
“I wish I knew,” Cao Cao sighed.

Four of Yuan Shao’s servants brought trays of cooked meat and rice and a jug of wine.
“Go easy on the wine, though, since we can’t waste rice on it at the moment,” Yuan Shao whispered as his staff placed the trays on the floor between them.
“…Do you ever think that we’ll save the emperor…?” Cao Cao asked once the servants were gone.
“The problem, Mengde, is what we call an emperor these days,” Yuan Shao replied. “Is ‘Xiandi’ really mandated, or is he still the Prince of Chenliu? Have we an emperor…?”
“Until the locusts, I was a lot more certain!” Cao Cao joked.
“Yes, and you’re not the only one,” Yuan Shao chortled as he took a piece of seasoned chicken from a tray. “Some of my staff grumble about it, and I hear them; in some regions, they’re calling the locusts’ appearance another ‘sign’.”
“…Yes, I think that it’s not going unnoticed by the majority of the poor,” Cao Cao said sadly. “In fact… and I know you’re not going to like me saying this… but…”
“…But what…?” Yuan Shao asked.
Cao Cao lowered his head and exhaled loudly.
“…You suspect that the Yellow Turbans will rise up again,” Yuan Shao realised. “But they would need leaders, and it’s my understanding that the likes of Liu Pi now serve my brother-cousin as paid mercenaries.”
“Are they the only leaders the fools could find…?” Cao Cao said.

<< Main Product Page

<< Previous Page

Next Page >>