“Yellow Sky”: Crisis for the Han Dynasty sample (Act I) -- T. P. M. Thorne
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The regions to the north of ancient China were home to dozens of tribes,
of which the most well-known to the Han Chinese were the Xiongnu. That tribe of
people had continually argued with the Han Chinese over the centuries, and that
had occasionally culminated in a series of costly battles that eventually led
to one Han Emperor setting out an agreement that included marrying his
daughters to chieftains and trading to keep the peace. As such, the Xiongnu
were seen as unruly neighbours, and at times even agreeable ones; factions of
the military, including imperial defence forces, often contained Xiongnu regiments,
and a large part of Bing Province was home to the Southern Xiongnu, who lived
alongside the ethnic Chinese and contributed much to the society around them.
But there were other
so-called ‘barbarians’; the Wuhuan in the east and the Qiang in the west enjoyed
autonomy from Chinese rule and were seen as an unending threat that had to be
pacified inexpensively and carefully; and in the far north, a confederacy
called the Xianbei formed from
several tribal groups and began a more aggressive campaign against their
neighbours, including Han China. A decade before the first ‘Partisan Disaster’
and centuries before the famous Mongol khans, Genghis and Kublai, did the same
on a grander scale, the Xianbei chieftain Tanshihuai was named Khan of the
Xianbei, and his natural leadership skills soon brought a number of other
tribes together - including disaffected Han Chinese migrants and Xiongnu
peoples in the tens of thousands - and allowed him to call the collective
region the Xianbei Empire. That
empire was in direct competition with China for land and resources, and the two
had clashed repeatedly with little result.
The possibility of an
invasion by a barbarian army had not quelled the personal dreams of the
influential in the Han capital of Luoyang; nothing had changed for the better
since the eunuchs had seized power.
Yuan Shao would often travel to his clan home in Ru County, which was to
the southeast of the capital Luoyang and part of Runan Prefecture in Yu
Province: the area neighboured Xu Province, the ancestral home of Cao Cao’s
family, and Yan Province, where Cao Cao was now based as Magistrate of Dunqiu.
“Ah, Mengde!” Yuan Shao hailed as Cao Cao entered his Ru County
residence.
“It is,” Cao Cao snickered. “What’s all the fuss I’m hearing about?
There are preparations for war going on in the capital, or is it me…?”
“Yes, and all of the generals are toadies appointed by the eunuchs!”
Yuan Shao complained. “The eunuchs must think it’s a game, they must do… simpering and mincing around in
there, giggling at the ladies’ gossiping, completely unaware of the exigencies
of the age!”
“…Is my eunuch friend Jian Shuo still meddling in military matters,
then…?” Cao Cao scoffed. “Do you know, I only wish it was him that I could have
had flogged, rather than his uncle.”
“That got you ‘promoted’, ‘Magistrate of Dunqiu’,” Yuan Shao scolded.
“Flogging Jian Shuo would have got you executed,
Mengde.”
“I do know that,” Cao Cao chuckled as he sat opposite Yuan Shao. “It’s
called ‘wishful thinking’; funny that you don’t recognise it, Benchu, since you
excel at it.”
“So how do you fare with the eunuchs…?” Yuan Shao asked at last. “Has
your father managed to get you a ‘pardon’…?”