238-239: LONG DIVIDED, MUST UNITE
Xibaxiong had found himself in a difficult position at the end of 237. He had sent some minimal help to his tributary of Youbeiping, convinced that the forces of Tan Jifu would be easily dispatched. But then news came in December that Tan Jifu had seized control of Youbeiping, expulsed the local tributaries of the Despoiler and now ruled the commandery as an independent warlord. This was as humiliating as it was infuriating. Xibaxiong was fearful that some of the clans were now laughing behind his back as he failed to keep this small tributary under control. Angry and furious, the Despoiler decided to go on the offensive to remind everyone of his strength. But instead of attacking Tan Jifu, he turned his sight against the one enemy that had once defeated him: the Chen Dynasty. Just as Emperor Wu was obsessed with the recovery of the lost territories, Xibaxiong still wanted to avenge the humiliating peace he had to agree after
Hu Zan’s victory. He decided that now was the time to strike, now was the time to take revenge!
As he was celebrating in Luoyang, Emperor Wu was warned of two things. First that the Liang military was trying to reorganize to retake the city, and second that Xibaxiong was invading the Chen. This forced him to pause and think about his options. He could abandon the campaign and come to the rescue of his Dynasty, which was probably the safest bet. After all, he didn’t know how much territories Xibaxiong would try to seize, with the Chen Dynasty clearly in need of his leadership. And while the campaign against Liang was going fantastically, as Xiao Bin had told him it was not yet a done deal. Things could very well go south, and he would find himself with a diminished Chen Dynasty and a still surviving Liang Dynasty to oppose him. But at the end of the day, he decided that the unification of China would take precedent over the invasion of the Xianbeis. The conquest of the Liang Dynasty was the priority, and it would have to be handled as soon as possible.
However, that didn’t mean that he would leave the Chen Dynasty defenseless. He concurred that with the recent victories he could probably continue the campaign if he left a third of his army behind. Those troops would be enough to reinforce the garrisons and defeat the first waves of barbarians invading the Chen. To command this army, Emperor Wu picked Sun Feixin, son of Sun Ce, grandson of Colonel Sun Jian, one of the great generals of the Han Dynasty and a rival to Yuan Shu. Sun Feixin had entered the service of the Chen before the Dynasty was proclaimed by
Emperor Cheng in 220, though he only recently managed to make it up the military hierarchy. This would be his first real command. He would prove to be a good choice of general for this mission, as he easily defeated the first part of the Xianbei invasion, which were only small forces sent by lesser khans of the Confederacy.
Meanwhile, the Liang generals had finally regrouped enough to organize an attack against Emperor Wu. Lü Sun, now the prime officer of the Imperial Army, had to find a solution to fix Huang Dunli’s absence. He eventually settled on the weird yet simple option of lying about it. He had a soldier who looked similar enough to the Emperor’s cousin stand in for Huang Dunli during meetings, and even had the man appear in public wearing the armor of the General who Supports the Empire. Now, there was no hiding the fact that Huang Dunli had fled. Everyone had seen it, and there were too many people throughout the Dynasty who heard of it by now. Instead, Lü Sun pretended that Huang Dunli had returned, heroically coming back to lead them to victory. This led to a small boost in morale. After all, their commander wouldn’t have returned if the situation was desperate, the soldiers assumed.
This worked so well that Emperor Wu was convinced that he was facing Huang Dunli when he met the Liang army at the end of January 238. After all, the general had been seen in the army camp and in front of the troops, so why would he doubt his presence? Emperor Wu lined his troops and prepared his campaign, not knowing that he was in fact facing Lü Sun and not Huang Dunli. Not that it really mattered at the end of the day, as the Chen army had a clear advantage. While the Liang forces had been able to reform under “Huang Dunli”, they still had half the troops of Emperor Wu, who had just been reinforced by Liu Derun’s secondary army (though he himself was given new troops to go seize Ji and You Provinces). The ensuing battle was a total disaster for the Liang army, with only a few thousand troops getting out of it.
With Liu Derun now making his way north, Emperor Wu and Grand Commandant Xue Tang surrounded themselves with two younger officers who they believed deserved to be here. These were Hu Jingxuan, third son of Hu Zan, and Ba Feixin, youngest son of Ba Daiping. Hu Jingxuan was already in his late forties and had inherited his father’s marquisate, while Ba Feixin was twenty years old and left with little other prospects than a military career. But at the end of the day, they were both the sons of some of the greatest generals of the Chen Dynasty. Emperor Wu wanted them to be here to witness his greatest triumph, to see what their fathers had helped accomplished. If Hu Zan and Ba Daiping couldn’t be there to help him, then at least their sons would be present for the reunification of China.
A following battle with the remains of the Liang armies took place in late Spring, one last ditch attempt by Lü Sun to stop Emperor Wu from marching west toward Chang’an. Lü Sun desperately hoped that something would help him turn this war around. He sent letters to the Grand Commandant, the Chancellor and even the Empress Dowager. But he got no response from any of them other than to hold out and win this war. As if he could do it by himself. In a desperate attempt, Lü Sun sent a messenger to Xibaxiong, hoping that the Despoiler might be willing to help him out. But this messenger was caught by Sun Fuixin, who immediately sent news of it to Chenguo and to Emperor Wu. This prompted the Emperor to attack, and the ensuing battle would doom the Liang army, with a quarter of their troops killed or captured. Unable to oppose the invaders on the battlefield, Lü Sun would flee to Chang’an and prepare its defense.
It was around that time that Emperor Wu was informed of the death of his brother Xiao Cang, who died of the flu at the age of 36. The death of Xiao Cang hurt far more than the death of Xiao Hanhe. Not only was this his full-blooded brother, but he also felt an immense amount of guilt over his role in having him banished by Emperor Cheng. Xiao Cang had lived a life as an outcast, sometimes even living on the street in upmost poverty. And now he had died like a lowly peasant. What an end unfit for a prince whose only crime was his wish to help the Chen Dynasty prosper. Emperor Wu, out of guilt over his lack of help in his brother’s desperate times, would bring Xiao Cang’s son Hiao Huo back in the palace, and would eventually grant his nephew titles of his own. He would even posthumously restore Xiao Cang’s rank of prince as a last apology to him.
During 238, Liu Derun was able to make his way north. He first got support from Yuan Rei in removing the unpopular governor of Ji Province, Han Gongxin the Lewd. It was actually quite easy to get this man removed from office, considering how he never kept it in his pants, even when it came to women that he should never try to approach in the first place. Liu Derun was easily able to convince some local garrison commanders that Emperor Wu was a good and competent ruler that respected his subordinates, allowing him to eventually bring Ji Province under the control of the Chen. The next part was a lot more difficult, as Governor Ding Hou of You Province was a competent commander. However, there were already armed revolts against him, including one was trying to bring the region under Chen control. Liu Derun simply brought the two revolts together, and by the end of the autumn You Province was his.
News of these gains, as well as the victories of Emperor Wu earlier in the year, convinced the Son of Heaven to call his two brothers to him. He wanted them by his side once he achieved his greatest triumph. Xiao Bin and Xiao Dang travelled hastily to meet their imperial brother, who was waiting for them in Chang’an. There, the two brothers helped Emperor Wu produce a new imperial decree, one that would ensure the issue of the war. On the first month of 239, Emperor Wu decreed that any official of the Liang Dynasty who recognized the true Son of Heaven (aka Emperor Wu) would not only be retained in their current offices, but would even be given new titles of nobilities should they be holding one under the usurpers. Emperor Wu, seeing how he was winning this war, decided to prevent a fight to the bitter end by offering a way out to the officials of the Liang Dynasty.
When this offer spread, most of the officials took it. Few liked the regency of the Pan Clan, and this seemed like a great opportunity to get rid of them for good. Of course, this meant betraying the Liang Dynasty, which was problematic. Thanks to the reforms or
Mo Jie (or maybe because of their bad implementation), the provincial officials had gain quite a lot of autonomy that many were keen to keep. Most of them didn’t know a lot about the internal workings of the Chen Dynasty, but it was easy to guess that Emperor Wu would not allow them to mint their own coins or keep their own private army around. Saving the Liang Dynasty would allow them to keep these privileges. But then again, it was more likely that siding with the Liang would cost them everything. In the months following the decree, most officials made the only reasonable choice that they had left: they submitted to the authority of the Chen Dynasty.
Emperor Wu, his brothers, his Grand Commandant and his whole cadre of officers eventually made their way toward Chang’an. They knew that the city would be difficult to besiege, as it had a reputation for being impregnable. It was one of the reasons why
Emperor Anwu had made it his capital (along the fact that it was far closer to his territories than the exposed and damaged Luoyang). Xue Tang and Emperor Wu worked out a plan for the long term, neither of them wanting to come in the city by burning it down first. Still, the long weeks in the siege camps were difficult, especially due to the tensions between Xiao Bin and Xue Tang. The Chancellor expressed dislike that his brother relied so much on officers. Xiao Bin was convinced that generals were only treacherous, that if they weren’t kept on a tight leash, they would prove the doom of the Dynasty. After all, had the usurper Yao Shuren not been a general of the Han? But Emperor Wu dismissed these accusations, believing them to be complete nonsense. The Han collapsed because it lacked strong imperial authority. And he was not weak.
Inside the city, things were turning worse for the Pan Clan. Empress Dowager Pan still controlled the palace, but her authority with the troops defending the city was slipping. She did not trust Lü Sun to protect her, even though his ultimate goal was still to save the Dynasty. But all she saw was a general trying to take her power away. In normal circumstances, she would have been more level headed. But the stress of the siege and the collapse of the Liang Dynasty was weighing heavily on her mind. When her brother Pan Zhiyuan suggested that they blocked entrance to the palace and cut themselves from the rest of Chang’an to protect themselves, she actually agreed to it.
This infuriated Lü Sun, who couldn’t understand why the court didn’t want to put a united front in this hour of need. Still, he remained loyal, right up the moment one soldier didn’t. In August 239, a guard opened the eastern gate to Emperor Wu. Lü Su had to literally besiege the palace to force them to let him and his men in. When inside, he prepared to defend his emperor, but it was too late. The eighteen of August 239 would be the day Emperor Wu took Chang’an, the day he ended the twenty years old Liang Dynasty.
The Day he unified China.
____________________
The sun was so bright that day that he had to put his hand over his eyes as not to be blinded. It almost stopped him from admiring the magnificence of Chang’an. This was the first time of his life that he went so far West. Never before had he left the central plains, nor had his father for that matter. They always remained close to this important region of China, never going outside of their zone of influence. And now he made it here. It felt so strange, coming to the first capital of the Han Dynasty and the Zhou Dynasty, a place that had seen so many rulers of China. And now he was entering this ancient city as an emperor, the Emperor who ruled over the Middle Kingdom.
A soldier was holding the reins of his horse, guiding him through the streets. Chen troops lines the street that led to the palace, cheering him as his horse passed in front of them. It was expected that these people didn’t know how to react to the incoming change. All they had known so far were the dying regime of the Han and the cruel incompetence of the Liang. Surely their expectations weren’t high. But he hoped that in time they would come to appreciate the chance that they had to live under the Chen Dynasty.
He turned his head around to look at his brothers, who were both riding behind him. Xiao Dang seemed more bored than anything, as if he was forced to be here (he was, he definitively was). He had expressed on multiple occasions that he didn’t see the point of being present for this important moment and would have preferred to continue his duties in Chenguo. Meanwhile, Xiao Bin seemed pensive. Emperor Wu had to admit that his closest brother could be quite the enigma, being clearly better than he was at hiding his emotions. This was a skill that Xiao Bin had carried ever since his youth. Sadly, he had yet to learn how to dress properly for important events, looking disheveled in his dirty official clothes.
“Bin?” he asked his brother.
“Anything we could do for these poor people?”
“If his Majesty wish so, we could spread coins to them. We have more than enough for this.” Xiao Bin offered.
“Right. Let’s waste the Dynasty’s money. What a good idea.” Xiao Dang retorted.
“No, I agree with Bin on this.” Emperor Wu declared.
“Dang, why don’t you go handle this?”
“Yes your Majesty.” His brother said, though he was clearly rolling his eyes as he rode away.
Soon after this discussion, soldiers were handing coins to the assembled crowd in an attempt to win them over. At first hesitant to grab the money, the citizen of Chang’an eventually realized that this was a gift for them from their new emperor. Finally, they cheered the Emperor, chanting “Long live the Chen!” as he passed in front of them. Emperor Wu could only smile. Finally, a welcome worthy of his accomplishments.
“Your Majesty, I think we need to discuss what to do with the current emperor of Liang.” Xiao Bin told his brother.
Emperor Wu frowned. This was not going to be a joyful discussion.
“What do you have in mind?”
“The potential threat this usurper pose to the regime of his Imperial Majesty cannot be tolerated.” Xiao Bin explained with a cold expression.
“The problem needs to be dealt with. Immediately.”
“Bin, we are talking about a child.”
“We are talking about the only person alive to have claimed the Mandate of Heaven other than his Majesty.” Xiao Bin retorted.
“Today is a day of celebration, Bin.” Emperor Wu protested.
“It is an important issue that need to be dealt with.”
“Not now, brother.”
Emperor Wu noticed that they were arriving at the palace, which gave him the opportunity to silence his brother on the issue. Awaiting his arrival was his Grand Commandant Xue Tang. He immediately helped his sovereign get off his horse when Emperor Wu stopped. Xue Tang clumsily offered to help Xiao Bin too, but the Chancellor refused. Emperor Wu sighed at this. It seemed that his brother still had a distrust of their generals. Xiao Dang also returned soon after, still annoyed that he had to go waste coins for the people.
“We welcome his Imperial Majesty.” Xue Tang told him.
“How are things going so far?”
“The Palace is completely ours, your Majesty.”
“You mean ‘his’.” Xiao Dang corrected, but Xue Tang wisely chose not to respond.
“We apprehended the Chancellor and his sister.”
“Make sure that the Pan Clan never see the light of day again.” Xiao Bin declared.
Xue Tang looked at the Son of Heaven, who nodded in agreement. From what defectors had told him, the Pan Clan was responsible for the collapse of the Liang Dynasty. While he had proven lenient toward Liang officials so far, he would need to punish at least a few enemies. While he had no reason to put them to death, a live in imprisonment would surely be enough to keep them from power ever again.
“What should we do with General Lü Sun?” Xue Tang asked.
“He was the general who organized the defense of Chang’an, wasn’t he?”
“Yes, your Majesty. He also faced us on numerous occasions alongside Huang Dunli.”
“And he surrendered?” Emperor Wu asked, genuinely surprised.
“He only agreed once we promised that the Liang usurper would be treated with respect.”
“What an honorable thing to do.” Emperor Wu commented.
“Make sure that he is not punished for his actions. A man of such loyalty could one day be useful to us.”
“Not while the source of his loyalty still lives.” Xiao Bin interjected.
“Good.” Xiao Dang declared.
“I was worried that I missed the execution.”
“His Imperial Majesty might be interested in meeting with the child emperor?” Xue Tang suggested.
After some hesitation, Emperor Wu nodded.
“Bring the child.” he decreed.
Soon after, two soldiers pushed a child in front of the Emperor. He must have been six years old at most, wearing imperial robes that were far too big for him. Any other imperial insignia had been removed by the soldiers upon captures, as only the rightful emperor of China could wear these. The boy was clearly nervous, unsure how to act in front of the bearded man that stood in front of him. Emperor Wu tried to smile at him, but it did nothing to ease tensions.
“W-Who are you?” the child asked.
Emperor Wu smiled and fell on his knee, lowering himself to the child’s level to talk. From the murmurs of disapproval he heard from his entourage, it was clear that most disapproved of this. He was the Emperor, so he shouldn’t lower himself to this boy’s level.
“I am the Emperor.”
“But I am the Emperor.” Yao Hao answered, clearly confused.
“How dare you pretend to this title, child?” Xiao Dang shouted.
The Excellency of Works stepped forward to slap the child, but was stopped by the Emperor, who simply raised his hand to told him to stop. He then returned his attention to the scare child.
“You might be too young to understand this, but your family never truly ruled the land. They lied about holding the Mandate of Heaven and tricked the people into serving them. Only I hold the Mandate of Heaven, which my father passed to me and which he inherited from the Han Dynasty. Does that make sense?”
“Huh…” the boy answered, clearly confused.
“Too many big words for you. I get it.”
Emperor Wu stopped talking and looked at the boy in silence. This was his rival for control of China, the grandson of the usurper Yao Shuren. And he was now at his mercy, ending the last two decades of struggle for control of China. He wondered how his father would feel about this. Would he be happy that the Chen Dynasty triumphed over the Liang, or would he be frustrated that Xiao Tung was the one to accomplish it and not him? Who knew? Did it even matter? After all, the old man had died thirteen years ago, and he was the one standing here triumphant. All that remained to be decided was what to do with the child.
“His Majesty should have him executed.”
Yao Hao clearly panicked at that sentence, tears rolling from his eyes as he started crying. This sight was too much for Emperor Wu, who was already not keen on the idea.
“No.” he declared.
“I will not be Yao Shuren.”
“Then what, your Majesty?” Xiao Dang asked.
Emperor Wu turned to his brother as he made his way to his horse.
“He shall be granted a dukedom.” Emperor Wu decided.
“Let him live in Chang’an with his mother under close guard. I want him to have a decent life so he can live in peace.”
After mounting his horse, he started to ride away from the palace, but stopped at the last moment to turn to his brothers.
“Now come you two. There is still much to do.” Emperor Wu said with a smile.
___________________________
PS : So that was it. China has been reunified by Emperor Wu, which technically means that @Ixarys family was the one to reunify China, so congrats to Ixarys! Which also means that the Liang Dynasty (219-239) is over. So what doomed it? Was it Emperor Anwu picking the wrong heir? Was it Emperor Wen’s lack of spine? Was it Mo Jie’s reforms? Or was it the Pan Clan killing Emperor Yuan that doomed the Dynasty? I’d be happy to hear your thoughts.
I also want to thank @EtzelHoveri , @Ixarys , @Massinissa the Wise , @Idhrendur , @HistoryDude , @patpekala , @Specialist290 , @binobo , @Midnite Duke and @Dunaden for giving this stories their amazing characters. They all had amazing lives, each leaving a big impact on the story in their own way, even if the story eventually moved past them all. I hoped you all enjoyed their lives in this tumultuous period. I also want to thank everyone who liked, commented or read this story. This support always helped me continue and eventually reach this point.
Which kind of bring me to the current situation (and stay with me please, cause I’m going to ramble a lot). The reunification of China was the end goal when I started, though on multiple occasions I expressed an interest in continuing past that point. But as I got closer and closer, I felt like ending it with Emperor Wu unifying China would be a good end for this story, that it might be better to call it a day on a high note instead of continuing it. It would also be my first proper ending to an AAR, as my first one ended because I lost the saves and the second one I ended cause it was advancing far too slowly. And I even had an idea for a next AAR. I went so far as to ask for authorization for the next AAR.
But then I struggled to write this chapter because I like this world and its characters. And honestly, I was a bit scared to let it go. The Last Days of the Han is not just my favorite AAR I did so far, but it would also mean saying goodbye to my favorite mod (sorry for fans of Dan Kukati and Dragon Kin. Still love them, but Dan Kukati was my first go at AARs and I struggled far too much writing Dragon Kin). Plus, I’m kind of worried it wouldn’t be as interesting as this one (I mean, I don’t know another mod where simple courtiers can end up as Emperors in a lifetime). And then my idea for the new AAR kind hit a brick wall, because well… the CK3 mods for it keep crashing the game 4-5 years in. So I’m left without a backup AAR, but unsure if I want to continue this story or not.
So what about you? Do you want to see the story of the Chen Emperors after unification? Is this something that interest you guys, even if it’s just the story of the Chen Dynasty, and not that of your characters? I’d be interested in getting your input on this, cause I’ve been racking my brain about it for hours now without a coherent answer. 
