The Last Days of the Han (Three Kingdoms AAR)

[Bibliophile]

I’m am both impressed and infuriated at the successes Xiao Ru has been having so far. Xiao Ru, in regards to gaining power, currently seems like the luckiest man in the world who is the least deserving of his luck. On another note, I imagine that Zhuge Liang might be rather cross with his brother if he finds out that Zhuge Jin teamed up with Xiao Ru. This makes it even harder for me to imagine Zhuge Liang just peacefully returning home if he gets revenge on Xiao Ru. Zhuge Liang seems to me the “if you’re not with me you’re against me” type (or at least he is developing into the type).

 

[Midnite Duke]

Governor Tao is an emperor who bows his knee to a king. The wonderful council: 2 incompetents (below 5) and three super stars (above 20). Thank you for updating

 

[Zamarak500]

I’m am both impressed and infuriated at the successes Xiao Ru has been having so far. Xiao Ru, in regards to gaining power, currently seems like the luckiest man in the world who is the least deserving of his luck. On another note, I imagine that Zhuge Liang might be rather cross with his brother if he finds out that Zhuge Jin teamed up with Xiao Ru. This makes it even harder for me to imagine Zhuge Liang just peacefully returning home if he gets revenge on Xiao Ru. Zhuge Liang seems to me the “if you’re not with me you’re against me” type (or at least he is developing into the type).

In Xiao Ru's defense, he has been getting a better grip on things this chapter, and he hasn't done anything bad for once. I mean, except invade his neighbor, and maybe the shuffling of Gan Bogao to a county to be forgotten, but other than that he seemed fine for once.

Governor Tao is an emperor who bows his knee to a king. The wonderful council: 2 incompetents (below 5) and three super stars (above 20). Thank you for updating

It is a pretty weird council, but we've seen worse through the serie so far.

 

[Zamarak500]

204: ANNOYANCES​

Xuan Su had barely finished his little war that he was told of Gongsun Zan’s victory against Zhang Yan. His liege had finally pushed the former bandit leader out of Ji Province. Xuan Su allowed himself a sigh of relief at his perfect timing. Had he taken just a little more time, Gongsun Zan might have been made aware of the fact that he wasn’t really protecting to border up in Bing Province. Of course, some were sure to signal it to the Governor anyway. But without a war to point at, Xuan Su was convinced that he could deny any accusation with ease. His liege certainly started to have suspicions that his subordinate was playing him for a foil, especially with his son Gongsun Xu and Liu Bei telling him strange stories about Xuan Su’s actions in his absence. But without proofs, there was little he could do. He blatantly ordered his Chief Clerk to return to the provincial capital to do his damn job, or there would be consequences. Unwilling to see what these consequences were, he raced back to Anping. Considering how Gongsun Zan drank a lot more often than before, better make sure he arrived on a good day too.

Now that the wars were finally over, Gongsun Zan had to deal with the daily administrating of his territories. This included dealing with a surprising revolt soon after the defeat of Zhang Yan and a reshuffle of the council, which to the surprise of everyone included kicking Zhao Yun out of his post of Commandant, with Liu Bei appointed to replace him. Weirdly enough, Xuan Su was the only who managed to keep his place, even with Gongsun Zan’s growing distrust. It’s possible that his liege was just really drunk when he made that decision or that he feared the consequences of leaving out such a powerful subordinate, but the fact was that Xuan Su was actually proving decent enough at his job. Yes, he mostly used the position of Chief Clerk to enrich himself and further his own agenda, but when he had to do his actual duties, he proved pretty decent at it. He had to, if he didn’t want to get caught. Still, he could only smile at the fact that almost everyone had been sacked except him.

Then, in early 204, news came around that Liu Bei had suddenly died at the age of 43. No one really knew how he died. He just did. This shocked everyone and had a big impact throughout the province. Zhang Fei and Guan Yu screamed at the Heavens for taking their first brother, while both Zhao Yun and Gongsun Xu were quick to honor the memory of this great man they respected dearly. Gongsun Zan was especially affected by the loss of his friend. Adding to the growing pain from his gout, and he quickly found peace through the bottle, alcoholism becoming his main source of escapism. Everyone was sad, and many sought to find out how Liu Bei had died without any warning sign.

This left Xuan Su into a bind, because for all his attempts to kill the scion of the Han… he wasn’t even sure if he was responsible for his death. Only a few days ago, he did try to have Liu Bei poisoned, but the assassin he sent had been found dead in the streets. The theory was that the idiot got to a bar and accidentally drank the poison. But he might have been able to poison Liu Bei before killing himself, or did he die without completing his task? If Xuan Su knew he was responsible, then he could easily cover his tracks. But now there was a large enough chance that he actually had nothing to do with Liu Bei’s death, which meant that getting too involved might bring his own assassination plans to the surface. Unwilling to stick around for an investigation, he used the excuse that he wasn’t feeling well to skip out of town and return to his domain, fleeing a death that he might not have even been responsible for. But hey, better to be safe than sorry.

On his way back to Bing Province, Xuan Su came across Yao Xu, the man who now ruled some of his former (and he hoped soon to be) territories. Yao Xu was actually on his way to bring troops from Bing Province to Gongsun Zan, and he was immediately suspicious of Xuan Su’s presence. The Chief Clerk played it friendly, which only made Yao Xu more suspicious. Then Xuan Su started to compare their position, explaining how his was technically far superior to the general’s. While it made Yao Xu jealous and frustrated, he couldn’t exactly deny its veracity. In the end, Yao Xu got tired of hearing Xuan Su talk about his better position, at which point he just kicked him out of his army camp and told him to go on his way. Even with this, Xuan Su could only smile. After all, he had just spent a few days getting a better understanding of the man he would one day rob of his commandery.

Xuan Su arrived in his commandery during the summer, were he received a warm welcome from his beloved daughter Xuan Zhenfeng. After the death of her baby brother soon after his birth, Xuan Su became extremely doting of his only child, and their relationship improved for the better. The seven years old girl, who was already well liked by her father, found herself loved and showered with attention. Surprisingly, Xuan Su proved to be quite the understanding father, always making sure to respect his daughter. Even weirder, he expressed on multiple occasions his desire to let her choose her eventual husband instead of forcing Xuan Zhenfeng in a political marriage to serve his plans, a promise he would never go back on. When he told people about this, they were surprised that he would refuse to sacrifice his daughter for his ambition, considering the lengths he usually went through (allegedly). He would simply shrug, pointing out that if he needed to use his only daughter for political maneuverings, then he was pathetically out of options.

He also welcomed a new addition to the family in August with the birth of his newest child. One of his concubines had been pregnant for a while, and he was quite excited at the possibility of having another son (with the hope that this one would survive). After making it clear to everyone that there would be hell to pay if the birth did not go well, he was overjoyed to learn that he now had a perfectly healthy son. Well, not perfect. After observations, physicians told the Chief Clerk that his newborn son would grow up to become a hunchback, a disgusting birth defect. They presented their apologies to Xuan Su, who must have felt terrible to have such a failed son. This angered Xuan Su to the point that he almost had them killed, although he settled on kicking them out. His son was perfect! So what if Xuan Mei had a bad back? He would just learn to live with it, overcoming his problem himself or with the help of his father if necessary. Xuan Su quickly made it clear that comments at the expense of his son’s appearance would never be tolerated, and soon only rare remarks were whispers, and only when Xuan Su was not in the city.

Thankfully for those whisperers, Xuan Su would not stay for long. His mind was instead on dealing with a long-lasting problem. Well, calling him a problem might be overexaggerating. Uchjulu Luhou had never succeeded in being more than an annoyance to Xuan Su in their multiple confrontations, never achieving much in the process. The issue was that he was a recurring annoyance to a man who preferred to dispose of anything standing in his path as quickly as possible. So having this barbarian always be there made Xuan Su boil in anger. The barbarian had to meet his permanent end. Of course, this ran into the problem that Uchjulu wasn’t living in China, but among the Northern Xiongnus. It actually now stood as the only Xiongnu Khanagate remaining after Gongsun Zan’s successful campaign against them in 195. In late August, Xuan Su crossed the border and invaded the Northern Xiongnus, with the goal to capture Uchjulu and have him executed.

Xuan Su had prepared this campaign as a surprise against the barbarians, wanting to have every advantage on his side. Ironically, this proved far too clever for his own good. Huchuquan Khagan, the same khagan who had faced Lü Bu in 192-193, was still alive and ruling his people as best he could. But he had become a bit too paranoid of any potential danger, especially with the threat of Budugen the Great on his northern border. When he heard that a Chinese army was entering his territories, he panicked and immediately assumed that this was another invasion similar to Lü Bu’s. Unwilling to have some stupid last stand here, he abandoned the Xiongnuxi region to its own and returned to his own nomad camp in the neighboring area. By the time Xuan Su arrived, he found it annoyingly undefended. He attacked some villages here and there, but Huchuquan Khagan simply refused to come attack him. This continued to the point that the villages just had enough and all surrendered to the invader, seeing how their overlord had abandoned them.

Infuriated at being denied both Uchjulu and the battle he came for, Xuan Su chose to annex the Xiongnuxi region out of spite. He even appointed an official to oversea the local administration in early December 204. All that without even spilling blood. But the annoyance of Uchjulu remained. So he rode with his army to the Xiongnu camp and challenged Huchuquan Khagan to a duel. While the Khagan had now realized that Uchjulu was the cause of this and would have happily given him up, Huchuquan would never refuse any challenge to his authority. He agreed to the duel, which predictably was won by Xuan Su. He was no Zhang Fei, but he had spent his entire youth protecting his village from barbarian raiders. While he wounded his enemy, Xuan Su offered to spare the Xiongnu if he surrendered Uchjulu. Huchuquan Khagan answer that if this was the whole reason of this war then he would have happily surrendered him in the first place, had HE ONLY BEEN SENT A LETTER EXPLAINING THE SITUATION! By the end of the day, Uchjulu’s head was sent to Xuan Su’s camp. Huchuquan Khagan returned to what remained of his territories, dying of his wounds after they became infected in 207.

Xuan Su’s little northern conquest hadn’t been planned, nor had it been done as part of some grand strategy. It actually made the defense of the north harder for the Chinese. But what he quickly realized was the emotional value of this victory to the Han Dynasty, and it certainly made him famous throughout China. Propaganda around the conquest presented it as a sign of Chinese strength. The Han marches North! After the invasion of Budugen in Qing Province, this small victory did a lot to reassure Chinese that the northern savages were not that strong compared to Han might. Touching on a nostalgic cord, propaganda also tried to link this little war to the Han-Xiongnu War of Emperor Wu (141-87 BC), when the Han finally threw off the chackles of servitude to the Xiongnus and defeated them on their own turf. People started to compare him to the great generals of this war, a comparison he did not shy away from. Xuan Su, while known before this, soon became the most famous man throughout China. And he would have used this new fame to his advantage too, if it wasn’t for the fact that 205 would see his little war being eclipsed by a far bigger conflict grabbing everyone’s attention.

 

[Bibliophile]

Xuan Su: lovely father, horrible human being outside of that role. It’s always fun when you reach the point where you can’t even ascertain that the dead guy was your fault.
On a related note, sorry Liu Bei, this isn’t your story anymore. Do you have any clue how he actually died?

 

[Zamarak500]

On a related note, sorry Liu Bei, this isn’t your story anymore.

Yeah, the main three of the real Three Kingdoms aren't doing great so far. Liu Bei was more of a secondary character (although an important one at times) and died before he could truly save the Han. I'm going to spoil it, but Sun Quan never even makes an appearance in the AAR (he lives into his sixties, but he just never appear in the story), probably not helped by how his father Sun Jian got remo0ved from the story by Yuan Shu.

The only doing marginaly good is Cao Cao, and even then he has just been a one county warlord so far.

Do you have any clue how he actually died?

It was natural, or at the very least it wasn't assassination. Ironically, it seemed like Xuan Su had a pretty good plot level going on to kill him at the time, so Liu Bei was probably fucked either way.

 

[The Meme King]

With what happened to Jiang Gong as well as Uchjulu i'm really running out of characters to root for outside the main cast.

 

[Midnite Duke]

Thank you for updating. Xuan Su, Hero of the Han

 

[Zamarak500]

With what happened to Jiang Gong as well as Uchjulu i'm really running out of characters to root for outside the main cast.

I'm sure there are still people to cheer about! Like, hum... hum... a little help here?

Thank you for updating. Xuan Su, Hero of the Han

A true selfless hero, clearly.

 

[Bibliophile]

With what happened to Jiang Gong as well as Uchjulu i'm really running out of characters to root for outside the main cast.

I'm sure there are still people to cheer about! Like, hum... hum... a little help here?

I will tentatively suggest Zhuge Liang. Sure I’ve expressed doubts about him previously, but who doesn’t love to watch a good revenge story? Plus, seeing as the target of his revenge is Xiao Ru, and that Xiao Ru killed Liang’s father for such petty reasons, we can rest assured that this is a tale where the target of revenge absolutely has it coming.

 

[Zamarak500]

204: DEATH TO THE TYRANT’S COURT​

204 started with the people of Luoyang cheering and celebrating. After all, today was an important day. It was the day when their beloved monarch finally got married to his bride, Lady Jiang Chang. Jiang Xian spent as much as needed to make the event as grandiose as possible, even if it meant putting the Dynasty into massive amounts of debts. This was the day his daughter became empress, which meant that he would soon be Emperor Mu’s father-in-law. The Chancellor was a towering presence over the whole ceremony, both literally and figuratively. He even brewed the tea of the newlyweds, a privilege that was kindly granted to him by Emperor Mu. When he tasted it, the Son of Heaven told his Chancellor that it was better than his own imperial tea. Even with all his power, Jiang Xian humbly refuted this claim with a smile, claiming that his tea could never be as good as the one served in the Imperial Palace. Even so, the Chancellor was right next to Emperor Mu for the entirety of the day, only leaving him when it finally became time to perform his marital duties (and even then, he made sure that the servants spied on the imperial couple to make sure that the Emperor didn’t snub his daughter in private).


Soon after the marriage, an epidemic started to spread in Sili Province and northern Jing Province, soon spreading to the Imperial Capital itself. Due to Jiang Xian horrible management of the city’s administration, Luoyang was unprepared to deal with the consumption epidemic in the streets. Unsure what to do in this situation, Jiang Xian summoned his assistant Scholar Jia and the Chief Clerk Xie Pei, both being more loyal to him than to Emperor Mu. They needed to prepare a solution before court, and the Chancellor was open to all ideas. Scholar Jia suggested the coward way out of this problem: close the inner city, keep the palace safe and focus on the rest of the capital later. Xie Pei was incensed by this, and pleaded that the common people should not be left to their own device. “Is it not our duty to act in such a way as to protect His Imperial Majesty’s subjects?”, he asked. But Jiang Xian had made his decision. The court needed to continue unimpeded to project authority and power throughout the Dynasty. The illusion of a glorious court was their main (and possibly only tool) to keep an image of Han unity, and Jiang Xian wasn’t going to lose it because of a plague.

Jiang Xian eventually arranged a court session, where he had Scholar Jia present a petition requesting that the Chancellor put forward a plan for the crisis. Jiang Xian would then arrange for the palace and the court to be safely isolated from the rest of the city until the disease passed. He went to the Emperor with an edict ratifying his plan that the teenager simply acquiesced to. Soon it was read in front of the ministers, officials, courtiers and sycophants that populated the palace. This was a show, a farce where everyone played their part as Jiang Xian had arranged. And the officials were forced to smile at the puppet master while praising and thanking him for “protecting the Emperor of such vile plague”. Jiang Xian then humbly refused their praises and instead offered them to Emperor Mu, who himself just sat there in silence. No one fell out of line, knowing full well that Jiang Xian was not above purging his enemies if needed, even if it wasn’t his preferred method.

This climate of fear made Yi Ciwen even more frustrated than before. Why were people tolerating this? Already when he had first arrived in Luoyang, he found the oppressive climate difficult to tolerate. After all, he had tried his best to rise to come serve the Han Dynasty in the Imperial Capital, only to find a tall villain, suffocating all things righteous with his iron grip on power. While he had managed to get a post at the imperial academy, he was still seen by many as a neophyte in Luoyang. That, coupled with his deep sense of chivalrous loyalty to the Emperor clearly marked him as an idealist, the kind that didn’t exactly fit in Jiang Xian’s regime. While he did have to play the loyal little subject like everyone else, he could only dream of saving Emperor Mu from his evil captor.

He eventually received the visit of the Head Scholar Mu Bofu, his teacher and a close ally of the Chancellor. Mu Bofu barged in his home unannounced, but then made him wait for a while before explaining the reason of his presence. This all made Yi Ciwen even more nervous. Eventually, Mu Bofu bluntly told his student “Stop being an idiot and accept the opportunities offered by his Excellency.” Confused, Yi Ciwen asked what his mentor was asking. The Head Scholar answered that the Chancellor got wind of Yi Ciwen expressing his disapproval about the handling of the plague. “As good Confucians, we should thrive to do good to spread good.” Yi Ciwen explained, hoping to convince Mu Bofu. Mu Bofu simply shook his head in disbelief and reminded his younger colleague that this would probably be his only friendly reminder. “Ideas can be bent for the greater good. His Excellency knows best.”

Heading the warning, Yi Ciwen worked harder on playing the loyal little official who did lip service whenever he could. With the visit of Mu Bofu, Yi Ciwen was panicked and afraid for his life. So he began to act as loyal as he could, as inconsequential as he could. When he was offered a post in the Imperial Palace as Minister of the Ceremonies, he refused, suspecting that it was a test by Jiang Xian. When one official asked the Chancellor how he planned to reunify the Dynasty with their weak army, a veiled criticism, Yi Ciwen jumped in and countered by saying:

“His Excellency has saved the Han, protecting it from wicked generals and impious subjects! His radiant grace was enough to restore dignity to the realm. His accomplishments speak of his great service to the Dynasty, yet you dare ask more of the man who gave us so much?”

Jiang Xian stopped him before he could continue, visibly uncomfortable with these praises. Which was all good with Yi Ciwen, as he wanted to puke for saying these words. His speech of support for the tyrant still accomplished its goal, with the authorities finally leaving him alone.

But one man who didn’t leave him alone was the esteemed Pei Mao, The blind old man saw the truth behind his actions, that of a scared man. He was also a righteous and humble official
who remained loyal to the Dynasty instead of being seduced by Jiang Xian’s corrupting influence, his lost eyes taken by Dong Zhuo being a constant proof of his eternal loyalty to the Han. Yi Ciwen had a lot of respect for the man, and the two began to talk in secret, wondering what could be done to save the Han from the grasp of the Chancellor. Of course, it was mostly talk, as neither believed they had any chance right now at overthrowing the man. Still, the two became close associates, with Pei Mao seeing in the chivalrous Yi Ciwen a protégé who could continue working for the restoration of the Han should he die.

Pei Mao was certainly a great influence on Yi Ciwen, helping him find his place as an opponent of the current regime. While blind, Pei Mao still enjoyed the classics, and Yi Ciwen was all too happy to read them to him. He showed the younger man kindness and respected him as if he was one of his sons. And of course, Yi Ciwen finally had someone with who he could discuss his complains about the current regime, as Pei Mao also wished to save Emperor Mu. Sadly, the good times did not last. In early June, Wang Yun fell ill to the point of being bedridden. On his deathbed, Pei Mao called for his protégé, who had stayed in the Pei house as the old man’s health deteriorated.

“Y-Yi… Ci-wen… Where… Where are you…”

Yi Ciwen quickly made his way to his bedside, answering. “I am here!” while holding his hand.

“The… The Han… Dynasty… must be… saved… you must… oath…”

“I will not rest until the Han is saved from the villain Jiang XIan. I will not forsake my duties to the Han by abandoning it for my personal safety. I will see the tyrant dead and the Han restored.”

Yi Ciwen felt lost after the death of his only ally. But as it would turn out, Pei Mao had not asked his young friend to make an oath thinking he would have to act alone. Yi Ciwen would in fact soon learn that the blind man had already been plotting the downfall of Jiang Xian with other officials. When the funerary rites took place, Yi Ciwen was approached by Pei Mao’s youngest son, the gifted Pei Hui. He quietly approached the scholar and offered him to “talk more” once everyone had left. Intrigued, Yi Ciwen stuck around before going to talk with the host. Pei Hui first thanked the scholar for his help in taking care of his father, doing small talk as to convince Yi Ciwen that they were between friends. He then dropped the bomb when he was sure that Yi Ciwen was in a good mood. He was part of a small group of conspirators that worked toward overthrowing the tyrant and freeing the Son of Heaven. Pei Mao had actually been part of the conspiracy, and his death had left quite the void among the conspirators. Pei Hui had observed Yi Ciwen and believed that he would be perfect within their group of conspirators. Yi Ciwen said he would think of it overnight and then took his leave. He barely waited a week before answering that he would happily join Pei Hui, trusting every word he said.

Outside of the low-ranking officials who supported the conspiracy, there were two main players other than Pei Hui. The first was unsurprisingly his older brother Pei Qian, the grumpy but righteous soldier. Considering that his father and his brother were part of the plot, it would have been surprising that he would be left out. Of the Pei clansmen, he was probably the least likeable, his timidity often hidden being a rough and cruel attitude toward others. If it hadn’t been for a previous criticism against Jiang Xian’s policies, Yi Ciwen would have thought the older brother right at home in the Chancellor’s regime. But Pei Hui vouched for him, so the scholar quickly extended him his trust.

The other man, and probably the leader of this little group of conspirators, was the esteemed Wang Mao, member of the esteemed Wang Clan. Wang Mao had been an important official in the capital under Niu Fu, with his family occupying various important posts. He was known as an ambitious supporter of the Han Dynasty and vocal opponent of the Chancellor, which is why he had been swept aside when Jiang Xian took over. Over the years, he had come to deeply regret his role in enabling Jiang Xian’s rise to power and wished to correct his wrong. These days Wang Mao sat in his home, unable to serve the Dynasty or help his Clan. Yi Ciwen humbly welcomed the man and offered him a prime seat. Wang Mao smiled at him and replied “I am thankful to know that you can recognize the righteous from the wretched. Truly you are needed by our side when we overthrow the traitor.”

Wang Mao then explained what their plan was, or at least the basics of it. First, they needed to gain access to Emperor Mu so that the Emperor could give them an imperial decree declaring Jiang Xian a traitor and ordering all righteous men to slay him. Then they would restore the rights of the righteous officials and the honor of the Han, with Wang Mao acting as Chancellor and regent of his Imperial Majesty until the Son of Heaven was of age. Now, Yi Ciwen immediately saw a few problems with that plan. How where they going to get access to Emperor Mu without making Jiang Xian suspicious? And even then, how would they kill Jiang Xian? The tall tyrant had spies everywhere and bodyguards ready to protect him. And what about the garrison? Would they be coiled into submission so easily after seeing their lord dead? Also, wasn’t this plan similar to the one used to kill Dong Zhuo a decade ago? You know, the one Jiang Xian participated in?

Pei Hui answered that they sadly had yet to find a way to overcome these problems. While they had access to the palace as officials, they would need inside help to get to Emperor Mu. As for Jiang Xian, even he didn’t have ears everywhere The garrison was far easier to deal with, as they needed the court more than ever in their reduced state. Killing Jiang Xian would surely coil the garrison in submission. As for the plan having already been used against Dong Zhuo, Wang Mao simply said that it proved how efficient it was. And the garrison would fall in line, just as it at done then. Pei Qian finally stated that “Our fate at the hand of the garrison does not matter. As long as we slay the tyrant, we will have done our duty, and generations to come will thank us for our service to the Dynasty and honor us as heroes.” To Yi Ciwen, truer words had never been spoken, and the young scholar readily agreed to join them. And besides, it wasn’t like he had anyone else to turn to.

By early November, the plot had gained many new conspirators, and soon there were a few dozen of smaller officials working with the four main leaders. This amount of people, to which you added the administrators outside the capital who supported their cause. Was it a surprise then that the plot was leaked out? A spy finally got wind of the conspiracy and went to rat them to the Chancellor. But instead of going directly to Jiang Xian, the spy followed the proper channels and reported it to the Head of the Censorate, Xing You. Xing You took the threat against his master very seriously. During one of the conspirators’ private meetings, the Head of the Censorate made an uninvited visit and revealed his knowledge of the plot. He told the conspirators that he would not give them up, and in fact offered his help. He was Minister of the Guard, which meant he could give them access to Emperor Mu. He only had the condition that he be appointed Grand Commandant of the Imperial Armies once Jiang Xian was removed. While not really convincing, the conspirators realized that they didn’t have a choice. So they readily trusted Xing You. Especially Yi Ciwen, who was happy to see that even Jiang Xian’s inner circle was ready to get rid of him.

They had planned to act in late December 204. That way they could start 205 with a fresh regime, rid of the Chancellor suffocating tyranny. While they wanted to wait for the last possible moment, Wang Mao felt sick from the epidemic of consumption. Afraid that he would not see this through, the older conspirator pushed for the plot to be put in practice within a week. Pei Hui tried to dissuade him, but he refused to have it any other way. With Pei Qian also wanting this done quickly, Pei Hui and Yi Ciwen were forced to put the plan into action. It would happen on the 17th of December. Yi Ciwen had the task of infiltrating the imperial palace and make Emperor Mu sign the edict condemning Jiang Xian. All was in place to remove the regent. All was ready for the plot to go off without a hitch.

______________________

Yi Ciwen easily entered the Imperial Palace. As agreed with Xing You, most of the guards would be posted elsewhere allowing the scholar to sneak in and quickly get to the Emperor. He didn’t even meet any servant or eunuch as he entered, always taking the routes Xing You had told him to take. Finally, he reached the entrance to Emperor Mu’s bedroom. Looking at the floor as he entered, he quickly bowed in from of the bed.

“Your Majesty, I humbly ask that you listen to the request of your unworthy servant!”

“What request do you have for the Emperor, Yi Ciwen?”

Panicked, the scholar looked up to see that it wasn’t the young monarch who stood in the room, but the tall Chancellor, all dressed in his basic court attires. Yi Ciwen immediately recoiled back, surprised and shocked at the sight of the man he was trying to remove from power.

“Y-You! Jiang Xian!”

“I also bowed down until the Emperor told me to rise.” Jiang Xian calmly informed him, before waving at someone behind Yi Ciwen. “GUARDS!”

Upon the signal, armed men stormed out of their hiding place and swarmed the room, quickly getting a hold of Yi Ciwen. For his part, the scholar was still trying to grasp the sudden reversal of situation. What had happened? They had planned everything right! Things were happening so fast that he was still grasping the edict in his hand, the one that was supposed to doom the corrupt Chancellor.

“Your boldness amazes me.” Jiang Xian continued. “As is your desire to use Yang Biao’s old plan. Did you really expect me not to notice when you tried the exact same thing we did?”

“Where is the Emperor?” Yi Ciwen asked, still incredulous.

“I made sure that his Imperial Majesty was safe. A good servant of the Han would do no less.”

“You do not serve the Han!” Yi Ciwen spat at him. “You only serve yourself.”

“Is this why you wanted to remove me? Because you cannot accept how much I tried to help the Dynasty?”

“We would have saved the Han!”

Jiang Xian sighed. How these words sounded familiar to his ears.

“Villain! Tyrant!”

“Villain? Me?” Jiang Xian asked. “I only acted in the best interest of his Imperial Majesty.”

“Is that why you lost Sili Province because of your ambitions?”

“I will admit that this was an unexpected consequence of my earnest attempts to help. But I helped bring peace to the court. Bring unity to it! Niu Fu failed to ensure it, and you would have only brought back chaos to the tranquil life of the Son of Heaven!”

Yi Ciwen spat at him, landing on his dress. Jiang Xian had enough of this. He needed this dealt with, and he had other things to do. He quickly waved, and soon enough the Minister of the Gard Xing You entered.

“Your Excellency?” Xing You asked, kneeling in front of his master.

“Y-You?” Yi Ciwen gasped. “W-We trusted you! Traitor!”

“I remained loyal to the court.” Xing You defended himself. “As every loyal subject should have.”

“Coward! You…”

“Enough!” Jiang Xian cut off. “I can be magnanimous. Give the Emperor a proof of your loyalty, and he might allow me to exile you.”

“I accept death in my loyalty to the Han. Better to die then serve a traitor.”

Jiang Xian observed the young man. His honor, his loyalty to the idea of the Han Dynasty, his willingness to sacrifice anything for it… Looking at Yi Ciwen made him weirdly uncomfortable. He knew that once upon a time, he would have been willing to say those exact same words, and it made this whole scene unbearable.

“Take him away.” the Chancellor ordered as he avoided the scholar’s gaze.

Xing You quickly signalled to the guards, who started to drag Yi Ciwen away.

“Even in death, I will make you pay! My ghost will hunt you, Jiang Xian! Traitor to the Han! Tyran…” he screamed, his voice eventually disappearing in the distance.

Jiang Xian sighed. A plot against him. How had it come to this? How had he allowed things to go that far? He quickly turned to Xing You.

“Did they tempt you?” he asked.

“Not for a second, your Excellency. I understood my place and did as you told me.”

Jiang Xian nodded. At least this was a man he could count upon.

“And the other main conspirators?”

“Wang Mao was sick, which made it easy for us to apprehend him. I regret to inform that the Pei brothers have yet to be found.”

Jiang Xian couldn’t stop feeling wrong about all this. Han loyalists plotting against him? No, it must have been just another excuse from Wang Mao to grab power. Wang Mao was no Yang Biao. If he was, then it made Jiang Xian place in this analogy unbearable. He was a simple advisor to the Han, doing everything to keep it from losing what little it had left. He was no tyrant. He couldn’t be. Yet this had all happened. He mumbled curse, both to himself and to the Heavens. How things were simpler back then, when he was trying to overthrow Dong Zhuo. Back when Yang Biao and Feng Fang were still alive. Now only two of them remained, and he hadn’t heard anything from Shisun Rui since their last meeting. How he wished to have his old comrade by his side to make sense of all this…

Xing You interrupted his reflections by handing him a scoll he had taken on the ground. It took a moment for Jiang Xian to look up at him.

“The edict they wanted to present the Emperor, your Excellency.” the Minister of the Guard explained.

Curious, Jiang Xian grabbed the scroll and opened it, reading its content carefully. His eyes widened as he recognized the words written on the edict.

“Word for word…” he whispered, a sad laugh escaping his lips.

With the exception of a change of the name, the content was exactly as he remembered it. He put a hand on his eyes, trying to hid his attempt to stop himself from crying.

“Your Excellency?”

“Word… for… word…” Jiang Xian whimpered.
____________________________

So it has been five years since the last full map. So here is the situation of each of the main cast at the start of 205:

• Liu Siyuan (@EtzelHoveri ): As of 205, he is the Governor of Jing Province and the most powerful warlord of southern China. Although his mental state is not at its best right now, he still aims at saving the Han Dynasty. He has three children: two sons from his wife Lady Hao (Liu Tao, 199, Liu Kun 202) and one daughter from a concubine (Liu Aiqin, 204).
• Xiao Ru (@Ixarys ): Is a rising power in the former Yu and Yan Provinces, now the Governor of Chen Province. Currently in a war with Tao Shang of Xu Province. Currently has six children, a daughter (Xiao Xiaowen, 191) and four sons (Xiao Tung, 193, Xiao Bin, 196, Xiao Dang, 199, and Xiao Dang, 202) from his wife Lady Xia, as well as a son (Xiao Hanhe, 196) from a concubine.
• Jiang Xian (@Massinissa the Wise ): Has been the Chancellor of the Han for four years now, with a strong grip on power. He has two daughters (Jiang Chang, 191, Jiang Xiaofan, 203) and a son (Jiang Wenguan, 198), all from his wife Diaochan.
• Feng Zian (@Idhrendur ): While no longer Commandant of Yuan Shu, Feng Zian is still an important general and Magistrate of Xinye. Has two sons (Feng Yong, 189, and Feng Guo, 194) and four daughters (Feng Yunxian, 191, Feng Nuwang, 199, Feng Xianjun, 201, and Feng Qieluo, 202), all from his wife.
• Xuan Su (@HistoryDude ): Xuan Su still now controls four commanderies and continues to serve as Chief Clerk of Gongsun Zan, even if he barely does the job at time, instead focusing on his personal ambitions. He has one daughter (Xuan Zhenfeng, 196), and two sons (Xuan Bohai, 200-200, and Xuan Mei, 204).
• Hu Zan (@patpekala ): Hu Zan is and independent warlord holding the rank of Administrator of Jiujiang Commandery. His position is difficult, being surrounded by Yang, Jing, Chen and Xu Provinces. He has four sons, Hu Da (191) from his first marriage with Feng Ai, and Hu Weizhi (198) , Hu Jingxuan (200) and Hu Ah (201) being from his second and current marriage with Zhu Fanjing.
• Yang Weili (@Specialist290 ): Yang Weili has lost Jing and Yang Provinces, now serving as an advisor and general for Liu Siyuan in Jing Province. His position is tenuous, as while he does want to help his liege he can do little to stop Liu Siyuan from being paranoid of his intentions. Has three children with his favorite concubine Linfeng, three daughters (Yang Jicong, 191, and Yang Nenniang, 197, and Yang Shou, 202) and one son (Yang Boran, 193), as well as one son with his wife (Yang Qub, 197).
• Yao Shuren (@binobo ): Yao Shuren is currently the uncontested ruler of Liang and Sili Provinces, becoming one of the most powerful warlords of China in the process. Has two daughters (Yao Ki, 194, and Yao Xiangjun, 195) from his late wife Guo Yuyi, a daughter (Yao Xiaoya, 202) and a son (Yao Xiu, 203) from his current wife Cheng Guanglie, and two daughters (Yao Shanxiang, 202, and Yao Suying, 204) from a concubine named Xiaofan.
• Mo Jie (@Midnite Duke ): Mo Jie occupy multiple position in Liang Province. His full responsibilities are Assistant Administrator, Chief Attendant and a general in charge of the border. He has three daughters, two from his wife Ma Yunlu (Mo Daiyu, 198, Mo Xiaowen, 204), and one from a concubine named Shaoming (Ma Zanghua, 203), making him the only character of the cast yet to have a son.
• Pan Zheng (@Dunaden ): Pan Zheng is currently serving as administrator of Yizhou Commandery in his home Yi Province. In the current civil war, he stayed on the side of Zhang Fu, occupying the position of General of Prosperity (with Zhang Fu also trying to make him his apprentice within the Tao Society to convert him to their ideologies). He has one son (Pan Zhiyuan, 198) from his wife Fang Xia.

TOP 3 CHINESE WARLORDS BY REALM SIZE:

1. Gongsun Zan
2. Yao Shuren
3. Xiao Ru

TOP 3 CHINESE WARLORDS BY ARMY SIZE:

1. Gongsun Zan
2. Yao Shuren
3. Liu Siyuan

_____________________________
PS: What to expect from the following chapters:

• What Gongsun Zan has been doing since defeating Zhang Yan (203-205)
• The Yi Civil War (203-205)
• Xiao Ru and Zhuge Jin vs Tao Shang and Tan Shenquan (204-205)
• Liu Siyuan ruling Jing Province in peace (204-205)

 

[Bibliophile]

Jiang Xian has now had the depressing realization that he has become the Dong Zhou analog in this story; which is even more sad seeing that he was once as noble as Yi Ciwen and is the reason Dong Zhou isn’t alive to be the literal worst human being. This was an incredibly tragic chapter, both for the failure by our noble POV character Yi Ciwen to stop the tyranny of Jiang Xian, and for Jiang Xian realizing he has become the anthesis of who he once was and hating himself for it. This was another one of those chapters in your story where even the person who “won” didn’t really win.

 

[Zamarak500]

Jiang Xian has now had the depressing realization that he has become the Dong Zhou analog in this story; which is even more sad seeing that he was once as noble as Yi Ciwen and is the reason Dong Zhou isn’t alive to be the literal worst human being. This was an incredibly tragic chapter, both for the failure by our noble POV character Yi Ciwen to stop the tyranny of Jiang Xian, and for Jiang Xian realizing he has become the anthesis of who he once was and hating himself for it. This was another one of those chapters in your story where even the person who “won” didn’t really win.

It's moments like these that makes me feel that Jiang Xian has one of the most interesting stories of this AAR. His rise and fall from honorable and hero to corrupt puppet master of the Imperial Capital has been an interesting ride with his idealism slowly peeling away with each new regime takeover.

Jiang Xian under Dong Zhuo would have probably been at the top of @The Meme King 's list of best to worse person. He was the one who tried the hardest to make the various conspirators work together under Dong Huang, eventually giving up and focusing on himself and his family as he became disillusioned with their group. Duan Wei left him out of power, but after tasting it (and feeling he could do more good with power than without) he desperatly tried to get it back, ploting against the Chancellor. When Duan Wei died, he tried to step in but was twarted by the timely arrival of Niu Fu. Even if Niu Fu gave him important offices, he still allied himself with the far more selfish Wang Clan (although to be fair they were his in-laws). An earlier Jiang Xian would have jumped at the chance of helping Niu Fu, but instead he backstabbed both the honorable chancellor and his own allies to take power. When he lost Sili Province, it should be noted that at no point he ever consider stepping down, and when the emperor himself threatened his position, Jiang Xian had him killed, being the first man to kill an emperor since Dong Zhuo.

Although while there has been a lot of comparisons between the two, I will come to Jiang Xian's defence a bit:

• Dong Zhuo rose through brute force and violence, while Jiang Xian did use proper court channels, even if he was pretty dodgy in it. He never forced the Emperor to appoint him, he just manipulated Emperor Xian.
• While Dong Zhuo never care one bit for court etiquette, Jiang Xian has been using it to further his grip on power and is carefully observing it in public. After all, that was one of the reasons why they removed Dong Zhuo in the first place.
• Unlike Dong Zhuo, he doesn't go around killing anyone he think is an enemy. Yes, he has purged on one or two occasions, but his control is a lot more subtle and based on his influence and his spies keeping everyone in check. Still wrong, but less bodies in the street.
• Finally, Dong Zhuo clearly never cared for the Han and just wanted to usurp it. So far, Jiang Xian has shown no inclination toward ending the Han, and seems satisfied with being the power behind the throne (showed by forcing Emperor Mu to marry his daughter).
• On a side note, while Dong Zhuo did some damages to Luoyang, it was because of his pillages and his violent takeover of the city. Meanwhile, Jiang Xian is leaving the capital to wither cause he lacks ressources and is just a horrible administrator who really fail at that aspect of the job. So I guess on this point Dong Zhuo did a better job...

 

[The Meme King]

Jiang Xian under Dong Zhuo would have probably been at the top of @The Meme King 's list of best to worse person.

Can definetly confirm that, yeah. Early Jiang Xian was pretty much as morally righteous as you can get.
I have to praise you for this new angle to Jiang Xian, don't know how long it will last, but seeing Jiang Xian as remorseful, self-aware and introspective after all his misdeeds is a fantastic twist to his character and is making me really excited to see what will come of it, maybe there is still redemption for him yet! excellent job like always @Zamarak500 !

 

[Midnite Duke]

There were people in the plot who only wanted personal power so maybe Jiang Xian is not so bad as the devil that we know. Thank you for updating

 

[Zamarak500]

203-205: HE WHO RULES THE NORTH OF CHINA​

Gongsun Zan was by far the most powerful man in China. He had finally gotten rid of Lü Bu and had managed to push back the threat of Zhang Yan’s invasions. He should be celebrating, or at the very least take care of himself and his gout. But Gongsun Zan was a general, and war would always remain at the forefront of his mind. It hadn’t been two weeks since the defeat of Zhang Yan that a new war was started. Still, some of his advisors wanted him to settle down, rule his new territories and regroup their resources. In particular, Zhao Yun believed that continuous warfare might be putting a strain on the people. But other than recalling Xuan Su to the provincial capital, the warlord did little to cater to his advisor’s worries.

This time his new target would be a warlord on his southern border, Administrator Qiao Mao of Dong Commandery. Qiao Mao had been a big actor in Yan Province before its collapse and had since held his territories relatively well, even pushing back against Chenliu, the previous rising power of the region. But the problem Gongsun Zan had with him was that Zhang Yan was passing through his lands to flee. So why hadn’t Qiao Mao done anything to capture the former bandit. The older warlord tried to defend himself by saying that he wasn’t even aware of Zhang Yan’s presence in his lands (which was a lie) and that it wasn’t like he had a beef in their fight (which was true). So why should he intervene? This response was not the one Gongsun Zan wanted to he3ar. While drunk, the Governor decided that Qiao Mao deserved to be punished. Ji Province mobilized for another campaign, this time to annex Dong Commandery.

But this new campaign turned out to be a lot more unpopular than expected. Qinghe Commandery had been at the forefront of the war with Zhang Yan. It was its lands that were besieged, pillaged and conquered by the army of the former bandit leader. Its administrator, Yong Gao, only wanted to rebuild the commandery. So when he heard that Gongsun Zan wanted to put his commandery in danger again, he was enraged. Yong Gao, acting without much forethought, declared himself in revolt against Gongsun Zan, refusing to have any part in the conflict with Qiao Mao. Within a week of declaring his war on Dong Commandery, the Governor of Ji Province now had a revolt on his hands, one he had to deal first. Zhang Yan had been defeated three weeks ago.

Having no choice but to respond, Gongsun Zan turned the army he was assembling against his rebellious subordinate. When came the time to chose his command staff, the Governor obviously brought Zhang Fei with him. The violent man had become inseparable from his liege. While Zhao Yun lobbied for the other command, Gongsun Zan refused, and instead offered it to the relatively unknown Gao Gan. Gao Gan had been appointed as Administrator of Shandang Commandery by Lü Bu in the last years of Bing Province’s conquest. Because of this, he had never been given a chance to shine due to his former loyalties, especially with the continuous war with Lü Bu over the years. It was only when the famous warrior was dead and buried that Gao Gan was given another chance, being appointed as a general to help deal with the revolt. Gao Gan seized on the opportunity, hoping that it would lead to his rise into Gongsun Zan’s inner circle if he played his cards right.

Gao Gan quickly made his way to Gongsun Zan’s side, helping him organize the campaign against the rebel Yong Gao. However, if he hoped to do a good impression on his liege, then he failed miserably. He came into the army camps believing he had this in the bag, quickly finding his way to Gongsun Zan and gravitating around him all day. He gave his inputs, talked a lot and was generally helpful. But he was always there, to the point that the Governor started to get annoyed by his presence. He couldn’t have a single moment of damn peace. Zhang Fei had it even worse, calling him a suck up in public. Feeling rightfully insulted, Gao Gan confronted Zhang Fei and demanded that Gongsun Zan pick a side. The Governor did just that, sending his new general away. In late January, Gao Gan was sent alongside Yuan Tan to lead a two hundred men expedition to Bing Province. Officially, this was to protect the border while they waged war south. Unofficially, this was to check on Xuan Su’s territories. The actual reason was that Gongsun Zan just wanted them out of the way. Gao Gan was thus removed from the war, left frustrated by the whole ordeal. Which made him all too receptive to Yuan Tan’s words…

It was then that Liu Bei died, a death that led to a sudden stop of the campaign. The death of a man who had been so supportive of his goals crushed Gongsun Zan, who quickly sought recomfort in booze and alcohol. For a full week, Liu Bei was praised throughout Gongsun Zan’s territories, everyone having something good to say about him. Still, his death remained quite strange. It had been so sudden that many started to suspect foul play. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei were quick to demand an investigation, even if some like Xuan Su just wanted to put the man to rest. “Let us not turn on each other in the name of his memory.” Xuan Su explained, even if he only said that to save his own skin. In the end, Gongsun Zan agreed with Liu Bei’s sworn brothers and ordered an investigation, which resulted in nothing concrete (especially with Xuan Su having fled the provincial capital by then). In the end, they were all forced to accept that they would never know why the best of them died, ending his life on a sour note.

Liu Bei’s death did allow Gongsun Zan to find Gao Gan’s replacement, as Guan Yu featured prominently in the investigation and the funerary rites. Remembering how his cousin Gongsun Yue had always been fond of the man and after being pushed by Zhang Fei, Gongsun Zan offered Guan Yu a command, which the giant accepted. However, the two men immediately started butting heads. While not as undisciplined as Zhang Fei, Guan Yu was a lot more independent minded, and often believed that he knew best. This came to a head during a siege in March, when Guan Yu launched an unauthorized assault on the enemy position. It worked, but he did disobey orders to do it. After a heated argument during a drinking session, Gongsun Zan had enough and sent the giant back to his commandery. When he arrived home, Guan Yu found a letter from Yuan Tan, which for now he would ignore. For now.

In the end, the third and last pick to command by his side would surprise everyone. Instead of going for one of the many officers who had served him all these years, like Zhao Yun, he chose Lü Bu’s most loyal officer. Tian Chou had found it difficult to switch side, but at the end of the day he did it to save the lives of his men. This sense of honor toward his troops had endeared him to Gongsun Zan, who in his drunken states found it easier to deal with humble men than strongheaded ones. So Tian Chou presented himself as an excellent choice of a commander, especially with the recent loss of Liu Bei. Gongsun Zan needed an honorable man by his side now more than ever. While many pointed out that Zhao Yun might have been a better choice, it seemed like the Governor was angry at him, refusing to even hear him in person. No, Tian Chou would do the job, and the choice was final. It proved to be a good choice, as there would be no need to replace him for the rest of the revolt.

Trying to use the quick succession of commanders to take advantage of the situation, Yong Gao launched an assault on Gongsun Zan’s position. The warlord had yet to assemble his full army, leaving Gongsun Zan with only a few hundred more troops than his rebellious subordinate. With the change of Guan Yu to Tian Chou opening a window to attack, Yong Gao launched a surprise offensive his enemies. But the Ji forces proved far too efficient under the command of their leader, with Zhang Fei even launching a brutal counter attack that decimated the rebels’ ranks. Meanwhile, The Ji forces lost less than a hundred men, a clear victory for them. Taken aback by this, Yong Gao tried to regroup for a second assault, only for Tian Chou to successfully attack his camp before he could do anything.

Yong Gao was forced on the defensive, but his situation was becoming critical. Gongsun Zan also noticed this, and soon enough he launched an all out advance on the rebel lands. Tian Chou led a series of efficient sieges, lowing the Ji army to retake most of the rebel territories by June. By the end of the month, Yong Gao was becoming so desperate that he contacted Qiao Mao and suggested that they join force against Gongsun Zan. They had a common enemy who they couldn’t defeat if they didn’t work together. Qiao Mao, decided to follow this advice and started mustering his troops, “started” being the important part of it. As it turned out, He had yet to muster his troops, believing that with Gongsun Zan distracted he could just take it easy. So Yong Gao surrendered in July, months before Qiao Mao’s men arrived to help. When he finally showed up, his army was quickly disposed of by Gongsun Zan, who then proceeded to besiege Dong Commandery at an alarming pace. By November, Qiao Mao submitted to his new liege authority too.

With this victory, Gongsun Zan was now expanding his influence south encroaching on Yan Province at the expanse of other warlords like Tan Shenquan and Xiao Ru. But within his own ranks, some started to voice worries. Zhao Yun, who had always been loyal and diligent in his service of Gongsun Zan, noticed how his lord had changed, especially since the death of Liu Bei. His growing alcoholism, which first started to be a problem as Gongsun Zan tried to drown his painful gout in liquor, seemed to now be dominating his daily life. He had lost any filter, often treating his subordinate with a harshness that was sometimes perceived as cruelty. But what made Zhao Yun truly despair was that every since Liu Bei’s death, Gongsun Zan had been slowly but surely abandoning his commitment to the Han. His rhetoric about saving the Dynasty started to disappear, replaced by a “need to bring a strong unified leadership”. While he still talked of reunifying the realm under the Han banner, it was becoming clear that Gongsun Zan’s priorities were changing. Zhao Yun couldn’t accept that, which is why he so readily accepted Yuan Tan’s offer.

In January 205, Gongsun Zan took a massive step. Taking advantage of the death of Tan Zhihan and Zhuge Jin’s revolt, he declared his intention to pacify the troubled Qing Province and bring back law and order in the region. This invasion of Qing province threatened almost every warlord of the region, as they feared that Gongsun Zan might become invincible if he was able to expand that way. But this also marked the tipping point for many of his subordinates, as well as the perfect excuse for Yuan Tan to spring into action. Proclaiming Gongsun Zan a villain and a threat to the peace of the Han Dynasty, the disgruntled general rose up against his liege, not to take his lands but to “destroy the empire built in the blood of loyal soldiers of the Dynasty”. Zhao Yun and Gao Gan quickly joined him in opposing Gongsun Zan. But this wasn’t Yuan Tan’s ace. No, because Yuan Tan didn’t work all year to build a simple revolt. As he was preparing, he sent a letter to every single warlord of northern China, suggesting that they form a coalition to destroy Gongsun Zan’s large territories and get rid of him once and for all. And so Yuan Tan started the Anti-Gongsun Zan Coalition, a war that would engulf the entirety of northern China.

__________________
PS: Sorry for the absence. Was both occupied and had difficulties with this chapter for some reason. So just decided to sit down, get through it, and move on, instead of staying stuck here.

 

[Bibliophile]

Glad to see your return!
Gongsun Zan is now faced with the danger of the empire he has sought to build being torn down. This will be a monumental war. Whatever the outcome of this conflict, it is sure to be realized atop mountains of corpses and through the spilling of oceans of blood.

Also, can you refresh my memory on who Yuan Tan is? I can’t quite remember what his role in the story was prior and, as a consequence, what is driving him to wage a war for the sole purpose of dismantling Ji province (if I read what that war was correctly).

 

[Zamarak500]

Also, can you refresh my memory on who Yuan Tan is? I can’t quite remember what his role in the story was prior and, as a consequence, what is driving him to wage a war for the sole purpose of dismantling Ji province (if I read what that war was correctly).

Right, so first, you're right about the war. If Gongsun Zan loses it, then he will lose control of his three provinces and be left with only a commandery or two that he directly control. It would nutter him, if not permanently then for a long time.

As for Yuan Tan, it's true that he did not appear for a while, so I understand that you don't remember him. For context, he's the eldest son of Yuan Shao (Gongsun Zan's ill fated partner in conquering Ji Province) and the nephew of Yuan Shu. He joined Gongsun Zan when the warlord was consolidated his rule over Ji Province, on the condition that they would be equals and that he would be Commandant. He was eventually shuffled through various positions at court as Gongsun Zan diminished his power and left him frustrated. Yuan Tan was angry that he being seen as a subordinate. He actually led troops during the war for Bing Province against orders, which led to Gongsun Zan arresting him after the war was over. He did forgive him and allowed him to stay as a commander, which was his last mention in the story (so around 200). He has since been shimmering with anger and envy, all directed toward Gongsun Zan. So he's really motivated by petty revenge and a desire to put Gongsun Zan in his place.

 

[Zamarak500]

203-205: A WAR OF NOTHINGS​

The rebellious Gao Rou and Wu Mengjie had finally had enough of the Celestial Masters’ regime, especially now that Zhang Lu had passed away and been succeeded by his far less competent son. Zhang Fu certainly lacked his father’s charisma and tact, trying to force his way and trusting his sycophantic followers far too much. Disgusted and fearful that they would lose their power, the two generals chose to rebel, with plan to restore the Liu Clan in power. While it was a smaller revolt than what they had hoped for, they still managed to assemble the majority of the province troops under their banner, leaving them with the numerical advantage. And meanwhile, the troops Zhang Fu was able to raise up were raw recruits, sometimes zealous followers of the Way of the Celestial Masters with little to no military experience. The rebels certainly had the advantage here.

But what they had failed to secure was the support of Huang Quan, the other great general of Yi Province. Unlike the two rebels, Huang Quan had refused to join them after the debacle of Zhang Lu’s own coup a year ago, leading to the death of Liu Jishan, who he had sworn to protect. This soured any relationship between the generals, so when they came knocking and asking for his support he refused them, instead choosing to remain loyal to the current regime. Not out of some sense of deep respect for Zhang Fu, but out of a desire to help stabilize the region. Did Gao Ru and Wu Mengjie think that overthrowing another governor would help things in the province? These two were acting out of ambition, something that Huang Quan could not support. Considering how he was the greatest general on the loyalist side, he was quickly put in charge of the provincial forces and ordered to go take command of the war. Surely, he could push back the enemy and ensure the survival of Zhang Fu’s regime.

But while Huang Quan was trusted with the war, many were surprised to see that he was not promoted to Zhang Fu’s inner circle. It had been expected that he would be appointed to one of the high Generalships of the council, an idea that Zhang Fu vehemently opposed. Considering how the last two great generals to have been allowed power in the province were currently revolting against him, some might argue that Zhang Fu had good reasons not to trust another one. However, he needed the support of the army now more than ever, and leacving such a popular figure out of his inner circle didn’t help him one bit.

Instead of promoting Huang Quan, Zhang Fu’s inner circle was composed of two groups of individuals. First were obviously the followers of the Way of the Celestial Masters, those that had been loyal to his father for all those years. But while Zhang Lu had exalted leadership and kept a firm grip on them, Zhang Fu failed to assert his authority. Instead, he trusted and relied on the members of the cult, who often pushed their beliefs and agendas beyond what was reasonable in the current situation. Ironically, his second clique of advisors were old officials from local land-owning families, the same group that He Xiaolong had relied upon during his time in power. This meant that, in a strange turn of fate, things were going back to the way things were under the old regent, the same man Zhang Lu had overthrown. Zhang Fu explained this by the need to placate local nobles to his side, instead of rising upstarts like Huang Quan.

But there was one notable exception to this rule. For one reason or another, Zhang Fu had set his eyes on bringing Pan Zheng into his inner circle. The scholar was respected and well known, and so Zhang Fu made sure to appoint him to his council as General of Prosperity. He made sure to always write to Pan Zheng, describing him as a “good friend” and someone of value. For his part, Pan Zheng was more annoyed by this attention than anything, suspecting (rightfully) that the Governor hoped to make him join their sect. Zhang Fu did his first step in that direction when he invited him in a secret society of Taoist as an apprentice. While Pan Zheng wasn’t interested in the least, he did agree to attend out of scholarly duty. The more knowledge, the better, even if it was the wrong one. So while Zhang Fu did everything to please Pan Zheng and make him loyal to him, this turned out to be a mostly one sided relationship.

While he didn’t care about not receiving a position of power, Huang Quan was a bit annoyed at the lack of respect from the provincial court. He was humble and simply trying to do his job. So why did the sycophants speak against him behind his back? He was also getting frustrated by the way his enemies were conducting the war. All he wanted was a pitch battle to charge at the enemy position in service of Yi Province. He wanted to fight the traitors with his own sword, to kill them by himself. But Gao Rou and Wu Mengjie instead chose a more prudent approach, even if they had the numerical advantage. Better to avoid a direct confrontation. Who knew what kind of wild move Huang Quan could pull off, and who knew if it would succeed?

So instead, Huang Quan was forced to do a siege war, going straight for the territories of Gao Rou as soon as he had his army raised and assembled. By early 204, he was already besieging Gao Rou’s main city, which certainly took the rebels by surprise. The sieges were quite fast too. Huang Quan was still popular with the rank and file, maybe even more than Gao Rou or Wu Mengjie by this point. His humility made him close to the men, who also respected his bravery. Because of this, the soldiers guarding the city quickly defected. This would be the first of many defections across both lines over the year. After all, the rebels were their former leaders who had commanded them for years, so they too gained support from the loyalist soldiers at times.

Seeing this, Wu Mengjie decided to launch his own assault on the provincial capital of Chengdu. This caused some dispute between the rebel leadership, as Gao Rou was worried about his family and wanted to go rescue them instead. But his mentor convinced him that this move would be more effective, and so the general agreed. Hearing that the rebel forces were moving upon them, the Celestial Masters’ leadership decided to skip town before they were surrounded. Zhang Fu wanted to stay, and no amount of convincing managed to change his mind. So they just dragged him out cursing. The Governor and his retinue eventually fled to the safety of Yizhou Commandery (Pan Zheng’s commandery in the south). By the middle of 204, the two sides had controlled of each other’s main base, an awkward situation to say the least.

Now in control of the provincial capital, the rebel commanders decided that it was high time to invite their puppet governor to move in. Funnily enough, Liu Dan had not joined the revolt, paranoid that this was a plot by enemies (or ghosts of his enemies) to get rid of him. So technically, he was still loyal to Zhang Fu. But now that things seemed clear, the mad imperial clansman made his way to Chengdu and was welcomed as the rightful Governor of Yi Province, with Gao Rou proudly declaring the restoration of the Liu Clan. But their power wasn’t as strong as they made it sound. Only a few counties north, Huang Quan and the Zhang Fu aligned army was still operating, although the general chose not to come to the rescue of the provincial capital. Too much of a glory seeking risk, he thought. And then there was the rightful Governor of Yi Province, who still ruled with his court in exile in the south as a guest of Pan Zheng. The scholar didn’t exactly like having all these people around disturbing his daily work, but he didn’t mind the easier access to the rooms of power and politics. This stalemate continued for months, with neither side willing to risk their position to make possible gains.

By the end of the year, a new problem arose for the rebels. As had been so frequent in the south, the weakening of Chinese authority convinced barbarians that now was the time to strike for independence. Right in the north of Wu Mengjie Commandery, an army of four thousand barbarians rose up in December with a desire to free themselves from the authority of the rebels. However, these barbarians had adopted Taoist thoughts as their main philosophy and religion, one of Zhang Lu’s main successes during his one-year tenure as governor. Ba, the leader of the revolt, might have just joined the fight on Zhang Fu side if he had been allowed to do so. But the Governor was still trying to do everything in his power to win Pan Zheng over, which meant adopting his anti-barbarian views when it came to policies. Because of this, he declared the barbarians in rebellion, forcing Ba to wage war for his own independent Taoist barbarian state instead.

Ba’s revolt continued undefeated, as Gao Rou and Wu Mengjie didn’t want to leave an opening to Huang Quan by leaving to deal with Ba. Even if Ba had never intended to fight for barbarian independence in the first place, he was now becoming a beacon of the cause, and by early 205 many other barbarians followed in his footsteps. In northern territories still controlled by Zhang Fu, barbarians coalesced around a man named Qinnijian. Unlike Ba, Qinnijian was a barbarian through and through, following their old traditional ways and being a fervent believer in their local beliefs. Chinese influence had to be cast out of Yi Province. Seeing how Ba was succeeding in doing just that, the barbarian leader launched his own revolt. While Ba had never intended for this, Pan Zheng jumped on the occasion as a proof that the barbarians were working together. “See? The savages are working together against us.” he told Zhang Fu.

Huang Quan, who was the closest to this new revolt, was being pestered to go deal with it. Zhang Fu had started to send members of his sect to “assist” him in leading the war effort, something that most of the officers saw as blatant interference in their duties. While they pleaded Huang Quan to do something to deal with these religious idiots getting in the way, Huang Quan chose to let them be at first. If he liege wanted to send someone to help, it was his right. But when they started to counter his orders and just cause chaos in the camps, Huang Quan lost his nerves. During an epidemic of consumption, their interference cause many to caught the disease needlessly, including Huang Quan. When they finally faced Qinnijian in late March, the Taoists’ meddling prolonged the fighting, costing far more losses than necessaries and giving the barbarians the advantage. Huang Quan was sick of this. He packed his bag, and with the rest of the officers, left to go home. With any competent commander now absent, the Celestial Masters failed to lead the men, losing the battle to Qinnijian.

But Huang Quan had not just left. By now he was convinced that Zhang Fu would fail to keep Yi Province stable. Even if he won this civil war, others would rise up against him in a never-ending cycle of wars. He didn’t care about the people either, only about his damn sect. No, the province needed a strong hand, someone that could protect it and help it prosper. To do so, he rose in revolt against Zhang Fu. But instead of joining his former comrades, he built his own coalition, far bigger than that of Gao Rou and Wu Mengjie. In total, he had five commanderies and a few counties at his disposal, all sick of Zhang Fu’s terrible management. Huang Quan even made an offer to Pan Zheng to join them, but while the scholar didn’t like Zhang Fu, he enjoyed the prestige he had at his court. So he refused the offer, sticking with the devil he knew. Within a month, Huang Quan’s army was the biggest of the province, with many asking him to take over. But that wasn’t the goal. No, Huang Quan instead fought for a man that he knew would keep peace in the province. In May, he went a step further, sending that man a messenger and asking him to join the war. Together, they could make him the Governor of Yi Province, ensuring his power and his control over the region.

When he received this letter, Yao Shuren smiled. How could he refuse this offer?

________________
PS: So just to recap, we now have five sides of this civil war. First what remains of Zhang Fu and his supporters, mostly concentrated in the south on the border with Jing Province, who are the weakest side right now. Then Those fighting for Liu Dan, with their territories in the north. Huang Quan (helped by Yao Shuren), with his rebellion making a line right from the top to the bottom of the province, splitting in two his opponents domains. And then you have the barbarian revolts of Ba and Qinnijian, who have very different ideas of what their realm would look like. Normally these would be irelevant, but Ba had been making gains with no one stopping him, and Qinnijian is I think the first barbarian rebel to actually win a battle in this AAR.

 

[Bibliophile]

Yi province is falling into chaos! I can’t believe I’m saying this, but Yao Shuren might actually be the best shot Yi province has; or maybe not. I’m mostly just intrigued by the idea of Yao Shuren becoming even more ridiculously powerful. Though Yao Shuren has done a decent job of ruling so far so maybe my initial impression was right.
Pan Zheng, meanwhile, continues to not really care as much as he should.

I just realized, if Yao Shuren conquers Yi Province. That increases the likelihood that ‘barbarian-hater’ Pan Zheng interacts with ‘unintelligible friend to all peoples’ Mo Jie. Oh won’t that be a conversation.

Pan Zheng: so I heard you were forced to live amongst horrible, savage, ugly barbarians. How did you endure?
Mo Jie: *unintelligible defense of the supposedly “savage” people he worked alongside*
Pan Zheng: Ah I see *no he doesn’t* and what, from your experience, should be done with uppity barbarians?
Mo Jie: *unintelligible insults aimed at Pan Zheng*
Pan Zheng:…unconventional, but I will carry this out at once and make their children watch. Thank you for your advice friend!
Mo Jie: *visible confusion and concern*!?