Eastern Wu: Realm of the Sun Clan

By T. P. M. Thorne

The 3rd Century has started badly for Han Dynasty China: the chaos of nationwide rebellion has been replaced by a series of power struggles between a small group of 'super-warlords', and an epic battle between two such men - the wealthy nobleman Yuan Shao and Emperor Xian's self-appointed guardian, Cao Cao - is about to begin at Guandu.

In the south of the empire, a different battle is being fought: Sun Ce, chieftain of the Sun clan of Fuchun, has been freed from indenture by the death of Yuan Shao's cruel and ambitious brother, Yuan Shu, and has set his sights on making his home region, Yang Province, into a thriving independent state and finally avenging his famous father Sun Jian's death by destroying Liu Biao, the ruler of neighbouring Jing.

But when fate strikes and Sun Ce is struck down, his divisive brother Sun Quan inherits Ce's legacy: a period of unrest begins, and it is left to Ce's friends, Zhou Yu and L༠Fan, to restore order. There is some hope until the fearful Han government demands humility from the new state: it is left to Zhou Yu to lead the men of the south into the Battle of Red Cliffs that laid the foundations of the famous Three Kingdoms era.

• Language: English
• Publisher: PaMat Publishing
• Release date: Feb 2, 2018
• ISBN: 9780995658233

Book preview

PARTING

Two men in plain robes and simple black caps left the grand audience hall of their lord and moved to the treasury offices nearby; their short walk through the streets of the southern city of Chaisang was deliberately slow despite the general mood being one of great urgency. One of the men turned to the other upon reaching the building and said, After you.

No, after you, the other man replied mechanically.

Not much interested in etiquette today, Gongjin…? the first man asked dryly.

The second man - Zhou Yu of Lujiang, whose courtesy name was ‘Gongjin’ - smiled slightly and said, Have we not both had enough of ‘etiquette’ today, Ziheng…?

The first man - Lü Fan of Xi, whose courtesy name was ‘Ziheng’ - sighed and replied, I won’t disagree. But please, go ahead anyway, and I will have tea brought for us.

Zhou Yu nodded silently and passed his friend and colleague, who then turned to a junior official and said, Have a servant bring us tea, please.

Zhou Yu and Lü Fan were sat together in the meeting room of the treasury office within minutes, with Lü as host and Zhou as guest. Lü Fan sipped his tea from a dish and stared at Zhou Yu, who had opted to sit with an empty dish and stare at it blankly: the two were uncharacteristically silent for several minutes before Lü said, You’re absolutely committed to this plan of yours, then.

What other choice have I…? Zhou Yu retorted as his eyes turned from the dish to his friend. In some ways, Ziheng, nothing has changed: Jing is a problem just as it always has been, and ever since those first heady days when Bofu, you and I were first able to lead the people of Jiangdong into battle against Liu Biao and Huang Zu in an effort to avenge the death of Bofu’s father, I-!

But that’s not what ‘has not changed’, is it…? Lü Fan asked.

…No, Zhou Yu sighed. No, it isn’t.

Bofu was the courtesy name of Sun Ce, whose birth age was similar to Zhou Yu and Lü Fan and whose charisma, strength and courage had taken the grieving Sun clan forward and elevated them from leaders of a vassal militia to rulers of a quarter of Han Dynasty China.

What do you hope to achieve…? Lü Fan asked.

…Is that not obvious…? Zhou Yu chortled. I thought that you and I agreed on everything of this nature, Ziheng! I thought-!

Zhou Yu suddenly paused.

…Are you alright…? Lü Fan prompted.

Yes, yes, of course, Zhou Yu insisted. I was just thinking and became distracted, that’s all.

…Alright, Lü Fan said cautiously. To answer your question, Gongjin, I do, of course, agree with you on the ‘Liu’ matter and always did: the sudden improvement of the man’s fortunes - and in no other way more than his acquisition of an army of tens of thousands that includes bandits and Yuan Shu’s former- …What’s so funny?

Nothing, Zhou Yu insisted, despite the fact that he was smiling inexplicably; he gestured slightly and said, Please, go on.

…Alright, Lü Fan replied. As I was saying, I- …Oh, I see why you laugh: yes, that took me a moment… it is the same things, over and over… but I must continue. Yes, I want to see Liu’s threat eliminated and will resort to any scheme to achieve it because I see in him the greatest threat at present.

So why do you ask why I employ controversial schemes, make strange alliances and whatnot? Zhou Yu asked. Is there some other way to end the threat and work toward our other goals - the removal of Liu Zhang of Yi Province as a threat, confronting the ever-present Cao Cao, and the founding of a strong southern state that can grow and prosper under the benevolent rule of the Sun clan of Fuchun…?

…Not, I admit, that I can see, Lü Fan replied. Perhaps I just wondered whether this latest excursion was another great adventure, and that maybe you hoped to find yourself another beauty like Lady Qiao…?

Zhou Yu - whose epithets included ‘Handsome Zhou’ in reference to his appearance - smiled and said, My lady is enough for me, Ziheng, and I think that you are being flippant now. What is it that you fear?

…You are an irreplaceable foundation stone, Gongjin, Lü Fan replied. Your genius far exceeds mine; the army admire you as much as Bofu; you will one day be a great patron of the arts as well as our finest field officer and Chief Commander. Don’t take risks that-

I have heard this twice from Lu Su, Zhou Yu interrupted. I do what I must.

…Please promise me that you haven’t got grander things in mind for Lu Su, Lü Fan said suddenly. I know that you owe him for his generosity, but-

If - as you ever-so-slightly hint - the worst occurred, then I must think of the need for diplomacy while the state recovers its wits, after which I would hope that you would take my place, Zhou Yu replied. I think that Bofu would prefer that in the long term, and it is for him that I do all this, because the vision of a powerful, independent south is our shared dream.

It’s why we’re both doing all this in a way, isn’t it…? Lü Fan said wistfully. I wonder when we shall see our dream truly realised…

The sooner I leave, the sooner that question will be answered, Zhou Yu replied.

…Then I shall say ‘good luck’, Gongjin, and see you to your carriage, Lü Fan said. We shall not speak again for a while, quite possibly, while you proceed with your efforts, and…

…Perhaps, Gongjin replied: he was smiling sadly as he spoke, because he understood his friend’s fears and shared them. The future of the southern region of Jiangdong rested in Zhou Yu’s hands, and the next steps taken, if he faltered, might cause yet more upheaval in a vast and eroded empire that was already on the verge of collapse.

*************

ACT I: THE LITTLE CONQUEROR

1

Han Dynasty China was vast, but the politics of the north - where the imperial capital was always based, regardless of the exact location - was far-reaching, as it was, above all, an empire. But one place seemed to be gradually slipping free of the bonds: that place was the harsh, sparsely-populated southern part of Yang Province in the southwest, which was physically divided from the north by the Yangtze River and known colloquially as Jiangdong - ‘East of the River’. Han influence had always been weak due to lack of commercial interest, since industry and agriculture were lacking and the main trade routes went north, toward the Middle East and Rome, rather than south, which simply led to tribal territories and the vast southern seas. That lack of influence was not always disadvantageous: the Han Empire had been subject to a number of mostly self-inflicted crises in recent times, and being unaffected by all but the worst of them was highly desirable.

Nowhere in the world was devoid of chaos: the Roman emperor Septimius Severus was busy trying to restore order in the wake of a damaging civil war, and that would mostly involve more resource-draining campaigns against foreign powers that were subject to Roman rule. For once, there was some similarity in situations: the Han Dynasty court was now trying to restore order in the wake of what had become known as the ‘Dong Zhuo Crisis’, the ‘Yuan Brothers Feud’, and, most recently, the ‘Pretender Crisis’ to name but three of the many disasters that had scarred the nation. But the people of the south had their own problems - some of them quite avoidable - and cared nothing for the political wrangling that was taking place beyond the north bank of the snaking Yangtze River.

Life in the Jiangdong region was tough: heavy rain, humidity, river pirates, marshlands and diseases and were a fact of life, as was the knowledge that a person was far less likely to be recognised for achievements by the history books. But once in a while, a person appeared that made the entire nation sit up and take notice: and at the heights of the so-called ‘Yellow Turban Rebellion’ - a million-man, Taoist-cult-instigated peasant uprising that brought the corrupt Han Dynasty to its knees 15 years earlier - a talented man appeared that outperformed most of the heroes of the north and quickly earned the moniker ‘Tiger of Jiangdong’. His name was Sun Jian.

…Do you think I’ll be remembered in the same way as my father…? Do you think that people will say, ‘Sun Ce was a great man, like Sun Jian’…?

The eldest son of Sun Jian asked the question as he moved his eyes back and forth between two of his most trusted advisers and friends - the famously handsome and clever Zhou Yu and the quiet, unassuming genius Lü Fan.

…Why wouldn’t they, Bofu? Lü Fan replied, deliberately using Sun Ce’s ‘courtesy name’ as a sign of their strong friendship.

I dunno, Ziheng… I suppose that I just worry that I’ll be remembered as a madman, Bofu chuckled. I know that Old Cheng and the rest say that Dad was ‘reckless’ - well, I know that well enough, ‘cause I saw it with my own eyes, but… he’ll be remembered for his loyalty to the Han, no matter what, but me, I’m… well, aren’t I risking being labelled a traitor…?

Zhou Yu - whose courtesy name was ‘Gongjin’ - laughed and said, Nonsense, Bofu, nonsense: what’s going on in Lujiang right now is what’s defined as ‘treachery’, ‘treason’ and ‘madness’, not what we’re doing.

And us taking a piece of Guangling Prefecture…? Bofu asked.

"Taking back a piece of Guangling Prefecture, Gongjin retorted. That place is no more a part of Xu Province than Danyang was."

Then there’s me exploding at Wei Teng last week, Bofu said. I saw you and that rude little friend of yours, ‘Lu Su’, sneaking off to discuss it, Gongjin: I’m sure that Ziheng probably took a few people off to one side for a chat, and Mother did too, probably.

Lady Wu and I took Wei Teng ‘off to one side’ to tell him how lucky he was, and to please not rile you up any more, because she nearly did fall in that well, Lü Fan replied dryly.

"Aiee… she scared me, mainly ‘cause I know she’d have done it, Bofu said. That’s what I mean! Even as ‘unpredictable’ as Dad was sometimes, did Mother ever threaten to throw herself down a well for anything he did…?"

If I might just return to my ‘sneaking off’ with Lu Su for a minute…? Gongjin asked. Yes, I wanted to discuss your outburst with him, because yes, you’re right, we do risk a bad reputation by your doing such things. Lu Su’s not as useless as you insist, Bofu: in fact, I see him as a future visionary.

If he ever learns to watch his tongue and not say stupid things, Bofu chortled; but after a pause, he sighed and added, "I… I suppose I shouldn’t criticise him for that. Me and my brother have a worse problem, one that we inherited from Dad… doing stupid things. Dad did things that had a price… and that’s what you were discussing with Lu Su, am I right…?"

Gongjin did not reply to the question, but his sombre expression betrayed his thoughts.

Sun Jian’s greatest quality - and his greatest weakness - was his fearlessness. The ‘Tiger of Jiangdong’ was willing to take risks that made his contemporaries balk, and his first famous act - repelling a small band of pirates single-handedly with a bluff - actually preceded his military career; it came as no surprise, therefore, when he showed similar ‘recklessness’ during the Yellow Turban campaign. Sun Jian and his initial allies - of whom the most notable were the noble Huang Gai, the cautious Cheng Pu, the plain-speaking Han Dang and Sun’s self-appointed bodyguard, Zu Mao - relieved the Yellow Turbans’ siege of Wan City in Jing Province in such a short time that people wondered whether Sun Jian - who breached the city alone and at night to open the gates - was sent by the heavens. The victories continued, but the rewards were slow to materialise: ‘The men of the north’, Cheng Pu often remarked, ‘look down on the south, so we should not hope for much’. Sun Jian was given other pacification assignments in the wake of the Yellow Turban Rebellion, however, and gained his first dedicated adviser in the wise Zhu Zhi as he travelled. It seemed to be inevitable that Sun Jian would one day become a national icon - but then the Liang Province Rebellion began.

The Imperial court had long been controlled by a small clique of elevated eunuch servants that were known as the ‘Ten Attendants’: they were corrupt and endlessly ambitious, and they had ensured that most senior roles were occupied by an ally or a person that was willing to pay their bribes. As a consequence, the rebellion in the northwest - which had, itself, resulted from local government corruption - was ‘managed’ by sending a succession of corrupt, inept or underqualified administrators and military leaders to confront the mixture of Qiang tribespeople and disaffected Han Chinese peasants. Sun Jian should have been called upon to lead an army, but he was made a military consultant and assigned to a contemptuous Han official that ignored all of his advice. To make matters worse, Sun Jian was fighting alongside a Liang Province general that had full autonomy and was playing both sides for personal gain: his name was Dong Zhuo, and within three years he would be the self-appointed Chancellor of State and an infamous tyrant that wielded the powerless boy emperor as a puppet and a tool.

What worries me now is ‘Excellency of Works’ Cao Cao’s future intent, Lü Fan admitted. Is he the new Dong Zhuo, or is he simply misunderstood…?

Maybe we shouldn’t worry too much about Cao, Bofu suggested. After all, isn’t Yuan Shao going to challenge him…? With an army that size, Cao’s a dead man… in which case, we’d be better off worrying about what kind of man Yuan Shao is, and after being a slave to his brother for most of my life, I can’t say I’m hopeful.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are as different as they are similar, Gongjin said. I do not think that Yuan Shao would dare to risk his inherited place in society. But I also start to seriously doubt his ability to defeat Cao Cao, since he was none too effective against Dong Zhuo.

True enough, Bofu sighed.

The Liang Province Rebellion was damaging to Sun Jian’s reputation, but it wrongly cemented Dong Zhuo’s reputation as a man of action and ensured him undeserved promotions. Sun Jian returned to Jiangdong with a label of a failure, while Dong continued the fight with the veteran general Huangfu Song; their assured victory against the weakened rebels was snatched away from them by the death of Emperor Ling, but Dong would enjoy another stroke of luck as an unforeseen opportunity allowed him to exploit the power vacuum that had been created in the aftermath of Ling’s death.

The new Empress Dowager and her brother, Commander-in-Chief Hè Jin, immediately seized power for Ling’s eldest son, but the surviving ‘Ten Attendants’ - who had been critically divided over who should inherit the throne - were keen to exert their authority over the Dowager and her son, now created Emperor Shao; the resulting feud led to the death of Hè Jin, the last of the ‘Ten’ and most of the palace eunuchs. Dong Zhuo - who had been invited to the capital Luoyang as additional military muscle by Hè Jin and his deputy Yuan Shao - used his newfound position as the highest-ranking military officer in the city to seize power, grant himself the highest civilian rank and establish his own followers as the new guardians of the young emperor. What followed was almost impossible to believe: Dong Zhuo deposed and quietly murdered Emperor Shao and the Dowager, and then he installed the deposed sovereign’s younger half-brother, Prince Liu Xie, as Emperor Xian.

In reaction to the regicide and a subsequent violent purge of disaffected courtiers, Yuan Shao - who was, in addition to being the late Hè Jin’s most trusted ally, the chieftain of one of the wealthiest and most influential clans in the empire - immediately called upon his fellow warlords to join his fight against Dong Zhuo. Sun Jian was one of the first to lend his might to the ‘Eastern Pass Coalition’ that hoped to defy the tyrant chancellor, but Jian’s place in society affected his role from the first moment: despite his considerable achievements and a recently-awarded title of ‘lesser marquis’, Sun could not lead his own militia, since he was not a landowner or high-ranking administrator. The only option was to pledge his allegiance to a man that had the rights that he lacked, and his choice of ‘master’ - a choice that would affect the rest of his life - was Yuan Shu, the embittered, jealous brother of Coalition Commander Yuan Shao. Yuan Shu eagerly accepted the service of such a famous hero, but his plans extended beyond Sun’s temporary servitude or his own place as the brother of his clan’s chieftain: he had the intention of challenging Shao for the clan chieftainship and command of the Eastern Pass Coalition, and Shao unwittingly gave Shu the chance to do so when his orders amounted to little more than ‘blockade the capital’. Dong Zhuo was barely challenged, and he continued to do as he pleased, including torturing and slaughtering anyone in Luoyang that was in any way related to the coalition members.

…As we’ve said before, it’s really Yuan Shao’s fault that our clan’s suffered in the way that it has, Bofu grumbled. "If he’d kept his brother in check, or done a better job against Dong Zhuo, maybe backed up Dad and Cao Cao instead of just sitting there…"

And at the same time, he’d be to blame for the whole country suffering, Lü Fan suggested. In his case, it is ‘that one commits as great an evil as an evil man by doing nothing to stop him’. Dong Zhuo might have been stopped in two years, and the peace restored in three. Instead, it has been fifteen years since the Yellow Turban Rebellion, and they still ravage Yu Province; it has been fourteen years since the Liang Province Rebellion, and now the Qiang tribes rule the region unopposed and kill each other over it; it has been ten years since Dong Zhuo murdered Shaodi and seized the capital, and the wounds are still open… because it has been eight years since the greedy, childish Yuan brothers began their all-consuming feud, which ended only because of the death of one of them.

And a gross miscalculation of their own power in the case of the one that died, Gongjin said. I imagine that Yuan Shao will also overestimate his strength…

But will a Yuan’s greed kill another Sun…? Bofu murmured.

The inactivity of the Eastern Pass Coalition drove two of its lower-ranking volunteers close to madness: Sun Jian was one, and Yuan Shao’s best friend Cao Cao was the other. Both men decided that they would defy orders and act: Cao’s efforts ended with a humiliating defeat, but while Sun Jian’s began in much the same way, they ended with a crushing direct attack on Dong Zhuo’s forces as the tyrant looted and burned Luoyang and began a westward retreat to the former Han capital Chang’an.

To the disgust of all, Dong Zhuo escaped, partly because Sun Jian’s men were under-resourced and exhausted but mainly because Yuan Shao did nothing once again: Yuan Shu took credit for his vassals’ successes and openly challenged his brother with a letter that denounced Shao’s illegitimate birth and apparent incompetence. Yuan Shao’s reaction was to order an attack on Sun Jian as he retreated from the gutted capital, which provoked a military retaliation from Yuan Shu: the Yuan feud had begun, and there was more fighting in the first few months than the coalition had seen in the years since it challenged Dong Zhuo.

The other leading coalition members were forced to take sides, despite their influence, because the Yuan clan outranked them all: the majority of the lesser members could go home or follow the warlord of their choice, but for Sun Jian - who just wanted to return to his hometown of Fuchun and never see a Yuan clansman again - a horrible truth awaited. Yuan Shu had, by the nature of the pledge that Sun Jian had made, seized full control of Jian’s army and, somehow, Sun Jian himself: the hero and his clan now ‘belonged’ to Yuan Shu and had to follow his every selfish command. The first of those commands - which should have been to pursue Dong Zhuo and rescue the abducted imperial court - was to attack Yuan Shao’s perceived ally Liu Biao, who was the Governor of Jing Province. Sun Jian was inwardly heartbroken as he returned to a place that he had once liberated from the Yellow Turbans, since his job was now to siege the same cities that he had once freed from sieges and attack the same people that he had so recently defended.

…By your last statement, Bofu, I presume you mean ‘Will adding your sword to the cause fought by Yuan Shao lead to your own demise’, Gongjin said. It does not have to be the case: after all, you’re an independent warlord now, appointed by the court as ‘Marquis of Wu’ and ‘Rebellion-supressing General’, with a region the size of Yuan’s own four provinces under your control, even if you lack the population or resources to match. But why would we join Yuan anyway? What mandate for attacking the imperial capital does the man have…?

…True, Bofu replied. Cao Cao could surprise us all and be a benevolent guardian for the emperor.

Lü Fan smiled and said, Perhaps.

…But all this talk about Yuan Shao just makes me think about Yuan Shu more and more, and about Father, and… and what happened to him, Bofu admitted. "And when I do that, I think about Liu Biao… and how I hate his kinsman Liu Xun for dragging me away from Jing, where I was so close to avenging Dad…!"

Sun Jian’s Jing Province campaign was not a personal one: he had no quarrel with Liu Biao, but orders were orders. Sun did as he was told, and Liu Biao was soon placed under such pressure that there was only one solution if he did not want to cede the province to Yuan Shu: he ordered his followers to find a way to rid Jing of Sun Jian, even if that meant killing him by underhanded means. Liu Biao’s powerful ally, Huang Zu, lured Sun Jian into an ambush and killed him; that ended Yuan Shu’s Jing campaign and placed the role of Sun clan patriarch in the hands of Bofu’s cousin Sun Ben, since Bofu was considered to be too young and inexperienced. The Sun clan’s militia retreated to Yang Province, but the unsympathetic Yuan Shu was only interested in what service his human ‘property’ could still provide; in addition to that, Liu Biao’s unapologetic stance left Bofu and his allies embittered and determined that Liu - and, if at all possible, Yuan Shu - would suffer for their attitudes somehow in the years to come.

…The feud with Liu Biao will have to wait, Lü Fan insisted. Right now, we-

Yeah, yeah, I know… we have to focus on Liu Xun, and what’s left of Yuan Shu’s following, Bofu grumbled. "…I still can’t believe that Zhang Xun let himself be talked into going to Lujiang! Why didn’t he come here…?"

Who knows, Gongjin replied. If he survives this, we’ll ask him.

He was always loyal to Yuan Shu… even after ‘that’, Bofu sighed. In a way, I shouldn’t forgive him, but…

When Bofu came of age, he demanded that Sun Ben - whose late father was Sun Jian’s twin brother - relinquish control of the clan to him; regardless of whether Ben was glad to be relieved of the burden of dealing with Yuan Shu or it was genuine willingness to see Bofu inherit his father’s role, the wish was granted. Bofu then confronted Yuan Shu and demanded the return of his father’s men, to which the response was ridicule: the young, untested Bofu would need to prove his worth first by showing that he could raise an army of his own, a task which Yuan Shu dismissed as impossible. Bofu so impressed his father’s surviving allies - Cheng Pu, Huang Gai, Han Dang and Zhu Zhi - that they joined his cause: Bofu had started to gather his own allies as well, including Gongjin, Lü Fan and a number of enthusiastic relatives. The new militia’s first battle was with the local bandit king Zu Lang, who almost killed Bofu before retreating: the outcome impressed Yuan Shu enough to consider giving ‘the boy’ assignments, although the ambitious Shu continued to seek greater service from Sun Ben and Sun Jian’s brother-in-law Wu Jing.

The first of Bofu’s campaigns would be to seize Lujiang Prefecture in northern Yang Province from its Han-appointed Administrator, Lu Kang: the elderly Kang had rebuked Sun Jian and his son for taking orders from Yuan Shu, and a ‘past offence’ - Lu Kang having refused to see Bofu as he returned from Jing with his father’s coffin - gave Bofu the ‘reason’ that he needed in order to carry out his mission. Lu Kang perished, and Lujiang became Yuan Shu’s: the hungry warlord then ordered Bofu to seize the adjacent Jiujiang Prefecture, and then the prefectures in southern Yang, and Bofu complied. The appointed governor, Liu Yao, the tribes of Wu Prefecture, the powerful Buddhist cultist Ze Rong, the bandit king Zu Lang and the infamous wandering mercenary Taishi Ci were all pitted against Bofu, and one-by-one they were defeated, killed or compelled to join him.

The Sun clan’s victories contrasted greatly with the losses that Yuan Shu was experiencing against his brother Shao and Cao Cao in the north, but hubris and insanity were driving Shu’s actions by this point, and when Cao Cao - who had risen, four years into the Yuan feud, from Yuan Shao’s vassal to imperial guardian by pure circumstance - suffered a disastrous self-inflicted loss whilst uprooting one of Dong Zhuo’s former vassals from Wan City in Jing Province, Yuan Shu declared himself as the First Emperor of the Zhong Dynasty, an act that made him an isolated heretic and traitor at a single stroke. Thousands deserted Yuan Shu, and the Sun clan - who, by then, controlled most of Jiangdong - seized the opportunity and broke ties with Yuan Shu, removing his main military arsenal and exposing him to a coalition of warlords that eventually forced him to burn his capital to the ground and consider seeking refuge with, of all people, Yuan Shao. The Yuan brothers were reconciled at a distance, but Yuan Shu died on a dirt road with nothing to show for all of his efforts.

That should have been the end of it: Bofu was now free to take his revenge on Liu Biao, and he wasted no time in mobilising an army and a navy to advance to southern Jing and conquer it. But fate had been cruel: Yuan Shu’s last surviving loyalists took his coffin to Lujiang Prefecture to seek refuge with Yuan Shu’s chosen Administrator Liu Xun, but Liu betrayed them and declared as an independent warlord. The replacement of the divisive Yuan with imperial relative Liu Xun acted as an attractive and cohesive force for Yuan Shu’s men, whether they were former loyalists or former deserters; they journeyed to Lujiang in their thousands, giving Liu Xun an army but providing him with a supply problem that he remedied by invading Jiangdong, attacking the rural farming region of Haihun County and assuming control of food production that was fuelling Bofu’s campaign against Huang Zu. The threat forced Bofu to withdraw from Jing, as Liu Xun - who had a lot of new mouths to feed, and was hungry in other ways - had set his sights on the rest of Yang Province, and that meant Jiangdong.

…I swear that I’ll kill Liu Xun for this, Bofu growled.

Please, Bofu, stick to the plan! Gongjin said. We-!

I meant ‘after the plan’, Gongjin, Bofu insisted. I know the plan… I hate it, but I know it, understand it and intend to follow it, like it or not.

…I hope so, Gongjin said. Our success depends on it.

…I’m going riding… maybe I might go hunting, Bofu decided.

Alright, Gongjin said. Are you going ‘alone’…?

If you want to come along, you’re welcome to, Bofu replied. As you say, I won’t be alone, will I…? I’ll have a load of guards to protect me.

I think that I shall go back to the chancellery, Lü Fan said. Enjoy your hunt.

Bofu smiled and said, I’ll try to. You’ll get a share of what I catch, Ziheng, so hope that I get lucky!

Bofu left his home with Gongjin and his bodyguards and walked to the barracks stables: he was greeted by smiles and respectful bows at every stage of the journey.

You promise that you’ll stick to the plan…? Gongjin said.

Yes! Bofu replied.

And you promise that you’ll let us keep up…? Bofu’s chief bodyguard - his distant cousin Sun Hè - asked bluntly.

…We’ll see, Bofu replied.

"Aiee… he’s unbelievable, Sun Hè said to his colleague Song Qian. We have to get ourselves fast horses or he’ll be off on his own again."

Bofu entered the stables and slapped the chief stable-keeper’s arm, saying, Hey, Old Yin! Is he ready to go?

‘Old Yin’ laughed and said, Of course, Lord Sun!

Then let’s not waste any more time! Bofu said.

Can you not give us those nags you gave us last time, Yin? Sun Hè implored. We want to be able to keep up with him!

Bofu grinned and looked at Old Yin, who said, I shall do my best.

Bofu led his bodyguards and Gongjin out of Qu’e City and onto the path that led to the hunting grounds: once again, Bofu was greeted by smiles, bows and calls by people of every age, class and profession.

Perhaps he doesn’t need us: the most that anyone might want to do is invite him to dinner, Sun Hè joked.

Bofu was grinning as he kept his horse at a steady trot; once he felt that he had fooled his guards for long enough, he urged his horse to a gallop and shouted, "Race you!"

"AAAAAGH! Stop! Come back! I’ll give up being a ‘Sun’ and go back to being ‘Yu Hè’ if you keep doing this to me!" Sun Hè cried.

"We have to catch up! Song Qian urged. Everyone hurry!"

Gongjin laughed, stirred his horse and sped after Bofu, who was cackling maniacally and whooping with excitement. People were forced to move out of Bofu’s way as he sped toward them, but most just laughed and waved him off: to some, it seemed that the Sun clan were Jiangdong, and Jiangdong was the Sun clan.

Hours later, Bofu led Gongjin and his exhausted bodyguards back to the city: they had caught a lot of game, and spirits were generally high.

We’ll let some of the men have some meat, Bofu said as he travelled. Is there anyone I promised some meat to that I didn’t already keep my promise…?

…Were we supposed to keep a list…? Sun Hè asked.

Bofu laughed at the notion.

…Do you think that you can stick to the plan now…? Gongjin asked knowingly.

Yeah, Bofu replied. It’ll hurt, pretending to be a toady… especially after Yuan Shu… but yeah.

*************

2

The busy court of Lujiang Prefecture’s Administrator, Liu Xun, had suddenly become a place where the future was completely uncertain. The administrator’s chief adviser, Liu Yè, shook his head and said, I am at a total loss, my lord, as to where we go from here. We’re both distant relatives of His Majesty, so what we do now makes even less sense to me. We’re independent, but from what…?

You’re one of the many people in this room that told me to capture Yuan Shu’s remaining vassals! Liu Xun retorted. "We’re independent from Yuan Shu’s defunct regime and the web of control that is being weaved by Sun Ce! And we’re also independent of the rest of Yang Province, which is controlled by who right now…?"

The officials exchanged nervous glances as Liu Yè replied, "The government: the Han government in Xuchang. Yuan Shu’s appointed provincial inspector, Hui Qu, is a rebel with nowhere to run, if he is even still alive…"

Liu Xun waved his hand and said, The Han government has no jurisdiction in Yang Province! The place is lawless! The Qian Hill Bandits, tribes, pirates and Sun Ce control the province now: I cannot hope to survive, and Lujiang cannot hope to remain out of Sun Ce’s grip, if we do not act independently. The court’s choice of governor, Liu Yao, is dead, so I shall act as a ‘governor in waiting’ might do and pacify the region myself. By capturing Yuan Shu’s heir and minions, we prove to the court that we are not their enemy: that leaves us free to attack Jiangdong and start to take the region back - for the Han, of course - from that thief Sun Ce!

For the Han, ‘of course’, Liu Yè snickered. But will Sun Ce just let you do as you intend…? He also claims to be taking over Jiangdong ‘for the Han’, and he has titles from the court.

But Sun Ce is not, as you have pointed out, an imperial relative, as I am, Liu Xun retorted. He’ll defer to my newfound might or fall by my sword!

…He’s unlikely to ‘defer’, and he defeated us very easily last time, when he had far more distractions, Liu Yè noted. We should not be so overconfident.

On the contrary, I say to you that you should not underestimate what we can achieve, Liu Xun said. "Yuan Shu’s army was divided by his last treacherous proclamation, but now that he is dead they seek a new man to follow, one that will not alienate them from the rest of the world. I am that man, Mister Liu Yè: already - just two weeks after Yuan Yao and the rest came into my possession - men have started to come here, turning over wanted Yuan family members and conspirators to us and asking if they can be part of what is to come! Thousands of men are already here, and thousands, maybe many tens of thousands more will follow!"

The officials murmured optimistically.

…Sun Ce’s actions will dictate the ease with which your plan will work, and the Han court’s opinion is not yet known, Liu Yè suggested. Your ‘newfound might’ mainly consists of locals and deserters, and we don’t know if we can control them.

Liu Xun flicked his baggy sleeve as a sign of the highest contempt and said, Stop demoralising my court! The Han’s Excellency of Works, Cao Cao, is an old friend, and Sun Ce is an excitable pirate whose days of acting freely are at an end!

One of Yuan Shu’s loyalists - the adviser Yan Xiang - had been moving backwards and forwards between his lord’s various domains in the months leading up to the inevitable end; he had at one point been feared missing, perhaps dead, only to reappear with some hired men to assist his lord’s crossing into Xu Province. When that crossing failed, Yan Xiang left his lord once again and tried to secure an alternative escape route from a base near the Yang-Yu provincial border; he reacted anxiously at the news that Liu Xun was being self-servingly cautious, but the news that his lord was dead and that all of his efforts had been for nothing left him silent for some time.

What will we do now, Mister Yan? one mercenary asked.

…I… I don’t know, the thin, weary Yan Xiang admitted. I’d planned for this moment from the second that he insisted that he would become… what he said that he had become. But now the moment is finally here, I’m strangely numb: I am not sure whether I should now honour my lord’s memory, or think of the populace, or…

No offence, but we only want to know if we’ll be paid, the mercenary said. If Yuan is dead, then-

You’ll be paid, Yan Xiang promised. And I’ve decided: the best thing to do now is go into Yu Province, try and gather more forces, and then return to Yang and restore order, perhaps with Yuan Yin or the late lord’s son as an untainted new ruler. That new order will need men like you, so expect to be paid extremely well, better than Cao Cao would pay you.

The mercenary smiled and said, Well put, Mister Yan. It isn’t that I was considering turning you over, necessarily, but there are other men that would.

I know that very well, Yan Xiang replied as he examined a tear in the left sleeve of his weathered state robes. Shall we go northward, then…?

Lead the way! the mercenary said through laughter.

Bofu’s cousin Sun Ben was based in a fenced military camp close to the Lujiang-Jiujiang prefectural border; Ben’s younger brother, Sun Fu, had joined him once again so that they could plan their part of removing Liu Xun from Lujiang Prefecture.

…Is Zhou Yu really serious about grovelling to Liu Xun? Sun Fu asked of the reflective Sun Ben.

Completely, Sun Ben replied. My only worry is that it will be an obvious ruse: when has Bofu ever grovelled to anyone?

…Liu Xun is arrogant, and quite stupid too, Sun Fu suggested.

I agree, but he has counsel that may see through it and warn him, Sun Ben replied.

…We’re throwing everything at Liu Xun, are we…? Sun Fu asked.

I’m not sure, Sun Ben admitted. We were forced to abandon a campaign against Huang Zu in order to do this, and that will arouse suspicions that we might be vulnerable, so we have to leave good people in northwest Yuzhang to guard against Huang and Liu Biao.

What I don’t get is why Liu Xun attacked Haihun County if he’s on the Han side now: so are we! Sun Fu said. He’s abducted Yuan Shu’s heir, Yuan Shu’s coffin and whatever money and people he had left. What’s he up to…?

Liu Xun isn’t loyal to Yuan Shu’s cause now, but he’s determined to destroy us and be lord of something more than Lujiang, whether that’s the court’s will or not, Sun Ben replied. Now that Xun’s got a growing army, he’s been sending scouts to places that we haven’t taken yet and envoys to our enemies throughout Jiangdong: that indicates that he’s planning more raids to gather food and stage a ‘pacification operation’, whether it is of his own design or on behalf of the Han or Cao Cao, and that’s bad. We need to take Lujiang, turn his new army’s thinking to our way of thinking, and then show Cao Cao that we’re loyal to the Han; if Liu Xun achieves too much, he’ll fully inherit Yuan Shu’s army, say we’re rebels and eliminate us.

…I really cannot be bothered with any of this anymore, Sun Fu said. We never get a moment’s rest!

Don’t worry, it all changes after Liu Xun and Liu Biao are defeated, Sun Ben replied. We’ll get recognition from the Han government for our efforts, and then we can start to enjoy life a little more.

…I hope so, Sun Fu sighed.

Liu Xun was determined that he would secure the allegiance of all of Yuan Shu’s former officials; he had already coerced an oath of allegiance out of Yuan Shu’s cousin and former adviser Yuan Yin, but General Zhang Xun and the adviser Yang Hong - both of whom were part of Yuan Shu’s retinue when he attempted an escape to Xu Province - were proving to be more difficult. Liu Xun had each of the two men brought to him individually so that he could reason with them.

I don’t understand, Liu Xun chortled theatrically. If Yuan Shu is dead, then who is it that you follow now, Zhang Xun…? If Yuan Shu’s blood cousin can forget a dead past and look to a living future, why can’t you…?

Zhang Xun looked around Liu Xun’s private study and asked, What part of this room - the room itself, or what is in it - came into your possession without Lord Yuan’s having willed it so…?

Liu Xun sneered and replied, "Your attempts at turning my arguments against me will not work, General! I am nobility, unlike you, little shopkeeper’s boy! I watched you crawl up from the rank of private to where you are now, fighting and grovelling for every promotion! I am Administrator of Lujiang Prefecture because I am entitled, as a scion of the royal house, to a position of high status! Yuan Shu gave me this place after Sun Ce took it from Lu Kang, because Sun was a rustic soldier, while I am an educated official! I have what I have not because of Yuan Shu, but because status is my birth-right! I would be an administrator or governor anyway! Where would you be, though…? That’s why you are loyal: I see that. But he’s dead. Not only that, General, but he died a beggar after betraying the Son of Heaven, by having the audacity to announce to the world that His Majesty was no longer mandated, and that the sun now rose for him!"

Yet you remained loyal, despite that announcement reducing the status of you and your clan, Zhang Xun retorted. "Why, Administrator Liu…?"

Liu Xun stifled rage and said, Because, little soldier, I valued the bond of lord and vassal, as you do… but when the lord is no more, the vassal must be open-minded.

I have a lord, Zhang Xun replied. Lord Yuan Yao, son of-

No, no, Liu Xun said disparagingly. Yuan Yao is not your lord, General Zhang. Heaven has struck Yuan Shu’s clan down for its treachery: when, exactly, did Yuan Yao rebuke his father…? Did he not accept the title ‘Crown Prince’ willingly…? That makes him a traitor to the Han as well, and I intend to turn him over to Cao Cao at some point.

But you want my service, Zhang Xun prompted.

I know that you ultimately planned to go southward, to Sun Ce, Liu Xun said. I know that this was a short stop for you… but Sun Ce is a rebel, General Zhang, a rebel bent on conquering Jiangdong and then northern Yang. I must do as Governor Liu Yao and Administrator Wang Lang once tried to do, and oppose him.

Bofu is not a hankerer, Zhang Xun insisted. He only wants-

Where is his tribute to the Han? Liu Xun asked. He has sent an empty pledge, nothing more, a promise that he is not Yuan Shu’s vassal anymore. But when the province cried out for stability after Yuan’s death, what did he do…? He annexed southern Guangling and attacked Jiangxia!

Zhang Xun lowered his head and sighed.

You see Sun Ce as a friend, and that is very nice and all, but it isn’t practical, Liu Xun continued. You have always known that, General Zhang, else you would have betrayed Yuan Shu when he did: you like the man at a social level, but when it comes to your politics, you are completely polarised.

…I must concede that you are right, Zhang Xun said. Bofu is a friend that is always ‘just out of reach’, because he and I differ in our attitude to loyalty, and that puts a chasm between us. But that chasm exists between you and me as well, Administrator, because I owe the Yuans a debt that I must pay in full.

… … …You are unbelievably stubborn, Liu Xun complained. Can you not see that you have repaid the debt already…? You stayed with him until his last breath! Look at how many other men did not do that, men that owe him as much, like his senior adviser, Yan Xiang, and General Chen Lan!

Yan Xiang did not betray Lord Yuan, Zhang Xun insisted.

Then why is he not with you…? Liu Xun heckled.

…You know that he is alive, Zhang Xun realised.

Of course! Liu Xun chuckled. He was securing military reinforcement for Yuan Shu after the loss of Ji Ling; he then joined you for the failed river crossing, whereupon he fled westward yet again in order to try and secure a different escape route: I am right, am I not…?

…You are, Zhang Xun admitted. You were approached…?

He sent a man to request reinforcements, Liu Xun replied nonchalantly. "But what could I do to help? I had Sun Ben and Li Shu to worry about. That isn’t the point, though: the point, General Zhang, is where he is now."

…You insinuate that Mister Yan has abandoned our cause, Zhang Xun prompted.

What ‘cause’? Liu Xun scoffed. Yuan Shu is a corpse! His capital, Shouchun, is a pile of rubble! His money is spent, his army is scattered, and his name is forever tarnished as a heretic! What will it take, Zhang Xun, to make you see that Yuan Shu is no more and that you must now see things differently???

Zhang Xun was silent.

…Fine, Liu Xun conceded. "Go back to your quarters and rot, then. GUARDS!"

…Wait.

Liu Xun was forced to gesture to his newly-arrived guards in order to stop them from taking hold of Zhang Xun.

If, by aiding you militarily, I guarantee the life of Lord Yuan’s son, then the debt is repaid, Zhang Xun suggested. I will do nothing that threatens Lord Yuan’s family or provokes needless hostility between you and Sun Bofu… but in all other things, I will support your army.

…Very good, Liu Xun said. You may retire to your quarters to collect your family and belongings, whereupon you shall go to the barracks. You will be a consultant for now.

Zhang Xun clasped his hands together and said, As you wish, Administrator Liu.

"Aiee… what a difficult man, Liu Xun muttered as he watched Zhang Xun and his guards depart. I hope that Yang Hong is more immediately receptive."

"You hankerer, traitor and wretch! Yang Hong screamed at Liu Xun within minutes of his arrival at the private study. After all that Lord Yuan did for you, you kidnap his family, his coffin and his loyal subjects! You’ll die a thousand deaths!"

…I’m sensing that you will not be as flexible as Zhang Xun, Liu Xun retorted. I despair, Mister Yang: you are an adviser by profession, and yet you are even more stubborn in clinging to the will of a treasonous corpse! What has Yuan Shu - a man that was rude, condescending and aggressive to even his staunchest loyalists and most prestigious allies - done to deserve such loyalty from smart men…?

Yang Hong flicked his sleeve and said, Liar! Traitor! Thief and fiend! Stealer of coffins, keeper of land and kidnapper of your dead lord’s army and children!

…Still, at least you do not call him ‘His Majesty’ anymore, which is a start, Liu Xun sighed.

Only because it was his will in his last days! Yang Hong protested. "The Han’s mandate has been exhausted! Yuan Shao or Cao Cao will be the instrument of the Han’s end now, and if not them, their progeny! And they are each of them only half the man that Lord Yuan was!"

I admit that Yuan Shu was a hero once, but I’ve had my eyes opened, Liu Xun countered. "The bumbling Yuan Shao is an unfit chieftain, and the devious, licentious Cao Cao is a madman that will probably have to be replaced as Excellency of Works - preferably by a member of the Liu clan - when his usefulness has ended; but in his last days, Yuan Shu was both mad and unfit for purpose! And now he is dead, so please… see sense…?"

Your ‘sense’ consists of seizing Lujiang, befriending the ‘defiler of aunts’ in exchange for recognised authority - which will, no doubt, involve harming Lord Yuan’s family - and luring your lord’s lonely vassals to you with promises of wealth, no doubt with a view to building a kingdom of your own and supplanting Cao Cao as the operator of the imperial puppet in Xuchang, Yang Hong heckled. Look for another man to help your wicked plan: I would sooner die than betray my lord’s last wish that I protect his children.

…Fine, Liu Xun said. "You will be glad to hear that I have no intention of harming Yuan’s children or you, despite your needlessly offending me: you’ll be returned to your quarters, where I hope that you’ll do some thinking. GUARDS!"

"I think only of what might have been! Yang Hong said as he was led away. Enjoy your brief grip on power, Liu Xun: your own arrogance will soon rob you of it!"

"…Demented imbecile, Liu Xun grumbled. …Still, I have Zhang Xun: what, then, does Sun Ce intend to do, I wonder…?"

Yuan Shu’s former adviser, Yan Xiang, was intercepted in Yu Province as he travelled along a quiet road with his small retinue: he was taken to a nearby military camp and eventually brought before Cao Cao’s adviser Xun Yòu, who had hurried to the camp from the Han capital Xuchang to learn of Yan’s intentions.

Well, well, Xun Yòu chuckled. Who’d have thought that the devious Yan Xiang would end up being captured so easily…? Have you come to donate your head to His Excellency, as Mister Han Yin did before you, or join him as Yuan Huan has done…?

People speak of ‘wise Xun Gongda’, Yan Xiang said politely. I hope that I have heard correctly.

I don’t know which people you refer to, Xun Yòu retorted. Why were you aimlessly wandering, Mister Yan…? Your master is dead, so what is your plan?

…I’m not sure, Yan Xiang replied. He passed away as I was on my way here… I learned of it as I crossed the border. I had hoped to find friends among the men that he inspired, I suppose…

The Yellow Turbans of Runan…? Xun Yòu prompted.

"Liu Pi, leader of the former Yellow Turbans of Runan, Yan Xiang replied. My lord was not inclined to ally himself with cultists."

But he was inclined to declaring himself as an alternative sovereign, Xun Yòu challenged. And you, Mister Yan, were happy to serve him regardless.

I remonstrated, Mister Xun, Yan Xiang insisted. Time and time again, I remonstrated, but he had astrologers that observed celestial changes, political analysts that saw enduring weakness in the successive Han courts that spanned many decades, and his own personal belief that the Han were doomed.

…And you did not entirely agree with him…? Xun Yòu prompted.

The Han is weak, but the question is whether the answer is to kill the patient to ‘end their suffering’ or give them medicine in order to help them recover, Yan Xiang replied carefully. I have always been an advocate of trying medicine before resorting to other things. Lord Yuan was being guided by the wrong voices, many of them in his own head, and that is very sad, since he was once a valiant hero that rode into the imperial palace, side-by-side with his brother, to slaughter the ‘Ten’ and save the same dynasty that he later came to torment.

Xun Yòu smirked and said, I suspect that you are bargaining for your life.

If you want to kill me, kill me, Yan Xiang retorted. "If my life had been paramount, Mister Xun, I would have deserted Lord Yuan, not do everything I could to preserve him and the stable, prosperous state that he had built… a state that now teeters at a precipice as villains vie for it. Sometimes a much-needed ‘balancing force’ can take an unusual form, and it must not be dismissed for being imperfect."

…I am inclined to agree, Xun Yòu said as he thought of his own lord Cao Cao, whose more questionable actions included two successive genocidal rampages in Xu Province and forcing his affections on the aunt of a recently-surrendered general.

I do not deny that Lord Yuan strayed from the path in later years, but he was once a man that wanted to maintain the order we cherish, Yan Xiang continued. I believe that he still wanted order, Mister Xun, but that hubris and desperation clouded his judgement and caused him to mistake chaos for order. But the fact is that he is dead: right now, I am more concerned for northern Yang, for Yang Province as a whole in fact, and also for Yu Province, both of which suffer without a single point of light to look to.

Xun Yòu hummed thoughtfully and said, Answer honestly, Mister Yan: would you say that you were widely respected…?

I was able to find men to aid Lord Yuan when his capital still visibly burned and his head carried a high price: I appealed to their need for stability as well as their love of money, Yan Xiang replied. I survived a meeting with Chen Lan, and angry men in Yu let me leave their company despite disliking my words… I suppose that is because I am respected, yes.

…And I find your having survived to be an impressive feat in itself, Xun Yòu admitted. I think that you can yet be of use to the Han Dynasty; would you like to be of use to the Han Dynasty, Mister Yan…?

A man of talent wants nothing more than to be useful, Yan Xiang replied. I will serve the Han directly as I once did, Mister Xun: loyally, and without rest. I erred in allowing Lord Yuan’s dreams to draw me away from the light, and even he saw, in the end, that he should have me call him ‘lord’ and not ‘majesty’. Now I am offered a chance to redeem myself fully, and I would be a fool to refuse it.

…Then you shall accompany me to Xuchang, Xun Yòu declared. I cannot guarantee that you will meet His Excellency, but you will, at least, meet my colleagues and face their scrutiny: if you are deemed sincere, then you will soon have your chance to restore stability in the south…

And if I am not, I join Han Yin in the afterlife, Yan Xiang said with a smile.

Xun Yòu reciprocated the smile and said, I’m glad that we understand each other.

Days passed. Bofu sat in front of the desk in his private study and stared at a half-finished letter to his enemy Liu Xun; he grimaced at every ingratiating character that he had scrawled and fought the urge to say what he actually felt.

"…This is ridiculous, Bofu whispered as he stared at the flickering fires that lit the room; it was night, and he had been trying to pen the letter for hours. This is ridiculous… I’m the son of the ‘Tiger of Jiangdong’, not a… a…!"

Bofu’s beautiful young wife - who, because she was the elder of the two Qiao sisters, was known as Daqiao - shuffled into the room and giggled, saying, You’re still trying to be a toady!

"Yes, and it’s killing me, Bofu groaned. I want to tell him that I want to-! …Well, you know… something violent… but instead, I have to…!"

Just think of it as something that has something good happen after you do it, Daqiao suggested. Like… like maybe when our children are born. Giving birth is very painful, but I don’t mind, because then we’ll have our own children!

Bofu smiled, turned around fully and placed his hand on Daqiao’s swollen stomach.

I sound silly explaining it the way that I am, I know that, but I’m tired, Daqiao explained. But you know what I mean.

Yes, I do, Bofu replied. I’ll write this piece of grovelling rubbish and send it… because it’s just as you say… at the end of it, I can deal with him properly. I was worried that it might tarnish my reputation, but it won’t.

Everybody knows that you’re a hero, Daqiao insisted.

…Including Liu Xun, Bofu noted. "He surely won’t believe that I mean this load of… … …but I have to hope that he does believe it, or we’ve got a worse war on our hands. I’d better be sure and make it sound convincing, not too grovelling but more ‘I’m scared of Liu Xun’s potential’… which I suppose I should be, really…"

Whatever you write, I’m sure that he’s stupid enough to fall for it, Daqiao replied. Anyhow… I just wanted see if you were going to try and get some sleep or not.

I’ll be a few minutes more, Bofu promised. I can do this now.

Daqiao smiled and retreated to the sleeping quarters.

"…For everyone that’s depending on me, Liu Xun, I’ll kiss your behind for now, just this once, Bofu said as he started to write again. It’ll only make kicking it that much more of a pleasure."

But Bofu would have to do more than write one letter, and he knew it: wooing Liu Xun’s court and fooling them into thinking that the famous Sun Ce had suddenly lost his nerve would be a long, emotionally-taxing process. But the future was at stake: a quick victory would allow the Sun clan to take full control of Lujiang and return their focus to destroying the rulers of Jing Province, while a single misstep could lead to anything, such as a Lujiang-Jing pincer or an admonishment by the imperial court.

The initial signs were good: to the dismay of many of the more cynical minds in Lujiang’s capital Huancheng, Bofu’s flattery worked and Liu Xun entertained the idea that the ‘son of the tiger’ might be a future ally, or even a vassal. The Administrator of Lujiang was succumbing to hubris once again.

*************

3

…All is ready.

Gongjin was stood on his porch and watching the night sky as he spoke; his wife - who was the younger of the Qiao sisters, and known as Xiaoqiao - frowned and asked, What is ready…?

The pieces on the board are all placed correctly, Gongjin replied. Liu Xun responds as I had hoped he would, readily accepting the gifts that Bofu sends him and grinning like a fool at every flattering word. Sun Ben and Sun Fu have relocated their forces in a show of weakness, but they are poised. And I am ready to set sail at a moment’s notice. All that is left to do now is plant the false suggestion…

And then you will take Lujiang back, Xiaoqiao supposed.

Bloodlessly, hopefully, Gongjin said. "As well as selfishly worrying for our clans’