“Turmoil”: Battle for the Han Empire sample -- TPMThorne.com

Yufuluo established a base in Ping County in the south of the province, but he had his own Southern Xiongnu peoples to contend with and could not extend further north. Collaborations with the Black Mountain Bandits and attacks on the Han loyalists followed, but Yufuluo dreamed of being accepted by his people as a whole, especially when the man chosen to replace him died and his successor was named as none other than Yufuluo’s brother, Huchuquan, with whom he was on good terms. Yufuluo’s eldest son, Liu Bao, was a minor chieftain in his own right and was active in Liang Province and the region north of Chang’an: his Chinese name indicated his blood connection to the ruling Han Dynasty by marriage, but he showed no interest in anything but pillaging and expanding his harem.
The uncouth, scruffy ‘Fixed Gaze’ was a founder member of the criminal coalition of smaller bandit gangs that operated in the northern Bing, Ji and Yòu Provinces. A fateful alliance between ‘Oxhorn’ Zhang and ‘Flying Swallow’ Chu Yan and the subsequent disastrous raid on a well-defended village left the latter with control of both men’s followers and a decision to make, and Chu Yan chose to adopt not only the followers of his popular rival, but his family name: ‘Flying Swallow’ Zhang Yan, as he was known thereafter, invited the rival gangs to consider an alliance against the weakened Han government for maximum benefit, and the ‘Black Mountain Bandits’ - named for their main base - were born. The coalition numbered in the hundreds of thousands at its strongest times, and none but the most powerful warlords - such as Yuan Shao of Ji, Cao Cao of Yan and Gongsun Zan of Yòu - could effectively counter their activities: but Gongsun Zan had decided to work with rather than against the bandits, and he often gave them support in their attacks on his enemy Yuan Shao.

The combined might of Yufuluo’s thousand- strong tribal following and the multitudes of bandits allowed for attacks beyond either group’s normal scope: Yan Province had been a repeated target since Yuan Shu - who did not care how Yuan Shao’s ally, Cao Cao, was ejected from that place - was supplying assistance and had briefly fought Cao simultaneously in the Fengqiu region of Yan before being ignominiously expelled. This time, however, there would be no Yuan Shu to help the rebels, and Gongsun Zan was too far away to lend aid, so Cao Cao’s aggressive reaction to the latest incursions was worrying.
“To run is to be like the cowardly deer, fleeing from a harmless dog that barked,” Yufuluo suggested.
“…We’ve run away before,” Fixed Gaze countered. “And what I’m hearing about doesn’t scream ‘harmless’, my friend.”
“Yes, we ran before, and then the dog Cao Cao turned back to his home, because he has no teeth behind his bark!” Yufuluo insisted. “So his men killed some of your men; that is what happens in war! If we run, we waste time! If we stay, we will win!”
“This isn’t Zhang Miao we’re dealing with now!” a lesser bandit leader suggested angrily. “He was a soft touch that much less hit us as tapped us on the wrist; Xiahou Yuan is tough, yeah, but he’s understaffed and don’t do much; this is Cao Cao, the provincial governor, and word is that he has some nutter called ‘Dian Wei’ working for him that-!”
“Dian Wei…?” another bandit exclaimed. “Did you say ‘Dian Wei’, Brother Big Eyes…?”
“I did,” ‘Big Eyes’ replied. “You heard of him too, Thin Wang?”

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