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

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“…It is good to have you here,” Yuan Shao said with a smile. “One day, when the chaos has ended and we have our rightful places in the imperial court… in whatever form that takes… we will be able to have banquets for our friends, and celebrate a new era of enduring peace; it may seem like an impossible dream, Mengde, but all it takes is one good turn, and Heaven will surely deliver us that boon any day now!”
“…After the locusts, I don’t share your optimism,” Cao Cao replied dryly. “But just this once, Benchu, I will pander to it, because… because Heaven knows, we have all of us suffered enough.”
“That I can drink to,” Yuan Shao said as he poured more wine into his dish. “No more politics, Mengde! From here on in, imagine better times and let us sing and share poems and anecdotes!”
“I need to… escape, just for a while, so… just this once, I shall,” Cao Cao replied.

The banquet continued for several hours: when it finally ended, Cao Cao left Yuan Shao and journeyed to his appointed quarters with Dian Wei and a worried Xu Yòu as an escort.
“What concerns you, old friend…?” Cao Cao asked drunkenly.
“…Nothing,” Xu Yòu lied.
“Suit yourself, Ziyuan!” Cao Cao chuckled as Dian Wei passed him and entered their quarters.
“…Alright, alright, I admit that your ‘bodyguard’ unnerves me,” Xu Yòu said at last.
“That’s why I did not have him in the carriage,” Cao Cao replied. “But do you see how he reviews my quarters for safety now…?”
“Yes,” Xu Yòu said. “But Mengde, he has the glare of a madman! Don’t you fear him turning on you in some moment of delusion…?”
“Not at all, Ziyuan, because I treat him well, and his ‘madness’ is common bloodlust,” Cao Cao replied. “Is she on her way…?”
“…Yes,” Xu Yòu sighed.
“Do not judge me,” Cao Cao growled.

“Would I dare…?” Xu Yòu chortled. “I just find it quite… unusual… for a governor, or indeed anybody except a travelling brothel-keeper, to have a live-in prostitute that goes with them on business journeys… or indeed any journey.”
“That is because other men have not got my foresight,” Cao Cao said calmly. “In years to come, maybe all men will follow my example.”
“…What, and insist on travelling with a psychopath and a prostitute…?” Xu Yòu chuckled. “An amusing thought, but unlikely. Anyhow, Mengde, I must see to Ben- …I-I mean Lord Yuan. Will you be staying long…?”
“I’m going back in the morning,” Cao Cao said regretfully. “I came all the way here, so I hoped to stay longer, but our enemies have changed our plans.”
“Yufuluo,” Xu Yòu supposed.
“And, perhaps, the Yellow Turbans of Runan,” Cao Cao replied. “Anyway, I…I’m a little drunk, a little tired… I need to retire.”
Xu Yòu clasped his hands, bowed and said, “Goodnight then, Mengde.”
Cao Cao clasped his hands together clumsily, returned the bow as best he could and said, “Indeed, Ziyuan… indeed.”
Xu Yòu turned and walked away: Cao Cao hesitated before he entered his quarters.
“Wei Zi… Lü Boshe… Zhang… Mengzhuo,” Cao Cao whispered; it was the first time in a long time that he had used the courtesy name of his friend Zhang Miao.
“Lord Cao.”

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