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“…Is there no end to this…?”
Two brothers that were also relatives of the emperor - Imperial Clerk
Liu Dai and Ceremonial Assistant Liu Yao - sat and stared with disbelief at the
latest defamation attempt by the ‘Ten’.
“Lu Kang is a fine man, a xiaolian,”
Liu Dai continued. “This man has turned remote and lawless places into promising
settlements! What was there to arrest him for? ‘Disrespectful tone’, indeed!
‘Contemptuous traitor’, indeed! All that he has done in his memorial is point
out that the sovereign would be wrong to raise taxes and ‘recruit volunteers’
to build a bronze statues when the country is beset with all manner of woes:
such a move would be, as he has said, unpopular with the common people and
nobles alike. But the eunuchs, their evil greed is boundless… even princes and
empresses are not immune!”
“That being the case, then neither are we,” Liu Yao said. “Brother, you
have rank: if you go against them, you risk an accusation of sedition, citing
our link to the Han. I don’t want to say such things, but… perhaps we should
remain silent. If all good men hand themselves to these dogs so easily, then-”
“Lu Kang is a good man, and I intend to speak on his behalf,” Liu Dai
insisted. “The case I present will be fair and devoid of anything but legal
proceedings: if the eunuchs win, then so be it, but I can’t just sit here and
do nothing.”
“…Alright,” Liu Yao murmured. “Heaven be with us, then.”
Liu Dai was fortunate: his petition had no consequences, and
three-times-Administrator Lu Kang - who had faced imprisonment and worse for
the crimes that he had been accused of - was released, relieved of all rank and
status and sent home to Wu Prefecture in Yang Province to endure the life of a
commoner.
“How many years has it been now, Benchu?”
Cao Cao was sat in the living quarters of his old friend Yuan Shao’s Ru
County home once again, enjoying heated wine. The two had been exchanging
whimsical poems and reciting songs in an effort to avoid a conversation that
Cao Cao now felt was unavoidable.
“…Too many,” Yuan Shao replied bitterly. “So many times, they have
gotten so close to discovering us… and so many times, we have been lucky. But
when-”
“I meant ‘How many years has it been since our current emperor ascended
the throne’, though it’s my fault for not being specific,” Cao Cao said
miserably.
“Nine… no, ten,” Yuan Shao realised.
“Ten…?” Cao Cao snickered as
he sipped his wine. “I thought it was less than that.”
“No, it really was ten years ago,” Yuan Shao chortled. “Ten long,
insufferable years… but does His Majesty get better…? …No… he gets worse.”
“Forgive me, I’m a little ‘out of touch’ with things since my
‘promotion’,” Cao Cao said with a self-deprecatory smile.
“…Yes,” Yuan Shao chuckled as he recalled the reason for Cao Cao’s
polite removal from the capital. “I must admit, your rash idiocy almost risked
our divine task, and still annoys me a little.”
“Can you blame me???” Cao Cao chortled. “Yes, I know that I am the son
of a man whose status is owed entirely to a good-natured eunuch adopting him,
and there are still some good eunuchs, like Lü Qiang… so unlike you, I retain some
impartiality.”
“But…?” Yuan Shao prompted.
“But,” Cao Cao continued, “seeing a man that is related by blood to one
of the ‘Ten’, strolling confidently, ignoring good moral conduct… can I not
punish him?”