“Turmoil”: Battle for the Han Empire sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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“Of all the things to happen, this was the thing I expected least of all!” Gongsun Zan
continued. “Ten years ago, we fought the Yellow Turbans together, he and I, and only recently I made a leader of
men out of him… and… and now we are enemies!”
“…Enemies…?” Guan Jing exclaimed.
“…I hope our paths never cross, but yes, we are,” Gongsun Zan replied. “In this world of chaos,
we are allies by our choice of enemies, and enemies by our choice of allies. Yuan Shu opposes his brother, so he and I
are allies. By that same rule, if Yuan Shao is Xuande’s lord now, then… then he and I are enemies.”
Gongsun Zan was initially content to aid the Black Mountain Bandits that plagued the western regions of
Yòu and Ji Provinces, but he eventually met Yuan Shao in a famous encounter at Ji Bridge: few foresaw Gongsun as being
beatable, but Yuan’s army humiliated Gongsun, decimated his famous White Horse Cavalry using stratagem, and sent
Gongsun Zan home to Yòu Province as the loser. An imperial decree prevented Gongsun from making another incursion and
forced him to return to aiding the Black Mountain Bandits and Yuan Shu from the shadows.
But the rest of the country was just as unstable as the northern
frontier: the governor of the western-central province of Xu, Tao Qian, had granted passage to Yan Governor Cao Cao’s
father, Cao Song, despite the two technically being on opposite sides of the Yuan feud. Cao Cao lauded Tao for his
magnanimity and sent his father word that it was safe to leave the troubled north and go home to Pei County: Cao Song did not
survive the journey. His entire entourage was slaughtered and their not-inconsiderable cargo of money and treasures was seized
by what Tao Qian insisted were bandits: Cao Cao did not believe his neighbour and declared all-out war on him.
Cao Cao’s army marched eastward into Xu and razed every settlement that they encountered: Tao Qian pleaded for assistance from Yuan Shu - who declined assistance - and the horrified Tian Kai, who despatched Liu Bei - a former vassal of Tao Qian’s - to Xu Province immediately. Liu Bei arrived just as Cao Cao launched a second, even more violent attack on western Xu that had forced the civil administration to flee the capital: Bei’s efforts were futile, and Cao Cao only retreated after his own best friend Zhang Miao and senior adviser Chen Gong rebelled and invited Lü Bu to help them seize Yan Province from their master’s loyalists. The aging and ailing Tao Qian died shortly thereafter, and Liu Bei somehow - reports were vague as to the exact circumstances - inherited the province, rather than Tao’s two adult sons.
“You say that Yuan Shu is an ally, but… I beg to differ,” Guan Jing said nervously.
“Oh, I know,” Gongsun Zan chortled. “I… I know who he is, what he is… but like I said, our allies are
determined by our enemies.”
“You would judge your friend so harshly…?” Guan Jing prompted.
“Xuande betrayed me, just as Yuan Shao betrayed me!” Gongsun Zan barked half-heartedly. “He… he…!”
“…And Yuan Shu has not…?” Guan Jing said pointedly.
“Yuan Shu and I were never as brothers as Xuande and I were!” Gongsun Zan retorted. “His is the worse
offence! He… he…!”
“…But yet you still call him ‘Xuande’,” Guan Jing noted.