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

With Liu Bei holding Xu - which had a border with southern Qing - and Gongsun Zan holding Yòu and northern Qing, the next step might have been the two working together to annex Qing entirely and then turning to the weakened Yuan Shao, whose reputation had been damaged for his blatant territory annexations, his failure to defeat Dong Zhuo, his apparent acceptance of the regency government and the actions of his friend Cao Cao; but Yuan Shu - whose agenda was entirely his own - had decided to wrest Xu Province from whoever governed it. He had, initially, vied with Tao Qian for territory in the southeast, and made no changes to his plans when Cao Cao - the closest ally of his rival Yuan Shao - attacked Xu as well; when Liu Bei accepted the seal of office from Tao Qian’s officials and took control of the province, Yuan Shu immediately demanded that Bei cede the province to him or face invasion. Liu Bei had an unrepentant and murderous Cao Cao on his western border, Yuan Shao’s forces at his northwest border, Yuan Tan looming to the north and Yuan Shu posturing to the south: Xu Province could not survive another attack by the first of those men, and the last of them would not guarantee any stability. Liu Bei had decided - against much public remonstrance from many of Xu’s officials and his own preferred allegiances - to surrender to Yuan Shao on the condition that he forced Cao Cao to stay his hand. Yuan Shao had ignored Cao Cao’s feelings and accepted the surrender; Yuan Shu vowed that he would soon invade Xu Province, but further massacres had been averted.

“It’s quite simple!” Gongsun Zan cried. “He aids my enemy!”
“Surely this is not as simple as you make it sound,” Guan Jing said. “Surely you know that, and surely the best course of action now is-”
Gongsun Zan exhaled noisily, buried his head in his hands and said, “Leave me be.”
Guan Jing groaned miserably, bowed slightly, and said, “As you wish, Lord Gongsun.”

Once Guan Jing was gone, Gongsun Zan groaned miserably. His feud with Yuan Shao was not over, and he had the next phase of that conflict to plan for; now he had to factor his closest friend into his list of potential enemies, and that hurt him greatly.

“…I wonder if my friend Gongsun Bogui will reply…?”
The Governor of Xu Province, Liu Bei, asked the question of a gathering of his miserable, hesitant allies in his new provincial capital Xiapi. He was knelt in the host’s place of his private meeting room and overlooking his small entourage, who were sat in rows to Bei’s left and right.
     The closest on Bei’s right - all of whom were the men that Bei had adventured with for a decade - was Jian Yong, a childhood friend that was known for his irreverent mischief, frankness and unwavering loyalty; next to Jian Yong was Guan Yu, a tall and intimidating fugitive-turned-officer with a lofty air and famously well-kept beard that had joined Bei to fight the Yellow Turbans; next to Guan Yu was Zhang Fei, a swarthy, wild-eyed, thick-whiskered and ill-mannered former pig butcher that had not only fought at Bei’s side but financed Bei’s first militia with his own savings.

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