The Romance of the Three Kingdoms: Lu Bu is good at being filial

Chapter 35

＜ You cannot have two fathers under heaven (2) ＞

The position of the General of the Army is the ‘Guard’ that protects the capital.

The man holding the position of General of the Army, Cao Cao, was on the verge of losing that position to another.

To be precise, it was a promotion and a change of duties.

As the remnants of He Jin and the Ten Attendants were dismantled and transformed into the Five Commanders, Cao Cao was recommended for the position of ‘Xiao Qi Guard.’

By Dong Zhuo.

If he accepted, he could remain in the court as Xiao Qi Guard; if he refused, the position would pass to someone else, forcing him into a lesser role.

It was a dead end.

He would have to enter under Dong Zhuo to stay in the court.

I had many concerns.

Should I leave this place and build power in the provinces, or endure humiliation and bide my time for an opportunity?

The decision weighed heavily on my mind, causing sleepless nights, and I even took three days of sick leave, unable to go to work.

During this time, I heard the news of “Yuan Shu’s Imprisonment.”

Cao Cao suppressed the boiling emotions within him and crossed the palace gates with the mindset of it being his last day at work.

The sky was dark, and the winter rain poured down, seeping coldness beneath my official robes on this chilly day.

Cao Cao thought to himself.

“Your Majesty!! Please bear with Yuan Shu!!”

If I had not come here today, I would have regretted it for the rest of my life.

“I have committed violence against the Emperor’s official!”

Outside the court where the Emperor sat, in the very center of the palace, connected by 99 steps.

“Prisoner, bear with Yuan Shu and demonstrate the majesty of the national law!!”

Outside the court, where rain poured indiscriminately, a prisoner with disheveled hair knelt down.

His name was Yuan Shu, trembling with his head bowed, a sword at his neck.

It must be humiliating.

Cao Cao thought.

Doesn’t he look just like a traitor condemned for treason?

Not only was the palace gate closed to prevent escape, but the sight was utterly disgraceful.

“…It seems you are so disoriented that you cannot even find honey water. Heh heh.”

The soldiers standing to the left and right, though not holding weapons, were clad in armor, clearly watching over the prisoner.

Cao Cao could no longer contain his thoughts.

Where had the bravado gone, the one who boasted of being the legitimate heir even with his brother still alive, in the grand halls of the Three Dukes?

Where was the one who, during the time of the Eight Gates, had looked down on him, saying, “You, the grandson of a eunuch, if you are from a wealthy family, bring forth honeyed wine! Not this cheap stuff!”?

It was no wonder.

The imposing presence of those who pressured him was one thing, but the very fact that he was brought before the Emperor like a prisoner must have filled him with dread.

“They say he even sent someone to poison secretly!”

Dong Zhuo shouted with a booming voice.

The sound was so loud that the young Emperor seated on the throne swallowed hard, shrinking back in fear.

Cao Cao found it utterly amusing.

Until last year, the late Emperor—now posthumously honored as the Eternal Sovereign—had been manipulated by the eunuchs, yet he had wielded power over them, demonstrating the Emperor’s majesty.

However, what is this sight now?

Isn’t Dong Zhuo threatening the Emperor?

“I, I…”

“You scoundrel, Dong Zhuo!!”

The man opposite Dong Zhuo shouts.

Though he is a disheveled old man, he raises his voice, cutting off the Emperor before he can say anything.

“I hear and hear, yet you are so arrogant that you are not worth listening to! Here I am, openly in the palace, and you dare to order the death of Yuan Shu, who is like a son to me!!”

The Grand Tutor, Yuan Wei.

In terms of position, he is the Emperor’s teacher.

If one were to ask who holds a higher official rank between the Grand Tutor Yuan Wei and the Grand Commandant Dong Zhuo, it would naturally be the Grand Tutor.

Yuan Wei’s rank is indeed higher than Dong Zhuo’s.

But this position is not one where everything is decided solely by rank.

“If one commits a crime, it is only natural to be punished! The one who was poisoned was kind-hearted and had greatly contributed to the court; to have killed such a person in a drunken rage—how can that not be a crime!”

“Killed in a drunken rage! What nonsense is that!”

“He did not die on the spot; he was practically half-dead! And as if that were not enough, you poisoned him as well, which is akin to killing him twice!”

Yuan Wei shouts defiantly at Dong Zhuo.

“Your Majesty!! Yuan Shu has effectively been killed twice! This is a more horrific murder than a public execution; how can we treat Yuan Shu as a fellow official!”

“Dong, Grand Commandant. For now….”

“Your Majesty! Please consider this!!”

The Emperor raised a hand, trying to say something, but Dong Zhuo prostrated himself deeply before the Emperor.

“This way, we cannot appease the spirit of the deceased!”

“Dong, Grand Commandant! Please, rise!”

“No! That cannot be! I, Dong Zhuo, will not move an inch until the spirit of the deceased is appeased!!”

Is he really trying to hold his ground, prostrated before the Emperor?

How long can that heavy body endure? Cao Cao thought, but Dong Zhuo truly seemed resolute in his refusal to move.

“How can I remain silent when an official with the heart to advise His Majesty has been killed twice!!”

“!!”

Cao Cao swallowed a bitter laugh at Dong Zhuo’s plea.

Is he crying?

That author?

Tears weren’t streaming down, but the redness around the eyes truly resembled a loyal subject shedding tears over the worries of the royal family.

And it wasn’t just Dong Zhuo alone who felt this way—

“Your Majesty!!”

“Please, have mercy!!”

The group of the Qingliu faction lined up behind Dong Zhuo all bowed in unison, so how could this not be called public sentiment?

“…Dong Tawei, rise.”

The Emperor spoke with a trembling voice.

“Your Majesty!”

“Rise. For now.”

“I understand.”

Dong Zhuo struggled to lift his swaying body at the Emperor’s command.

No matter how one looked at it, he seemed to stagger under the weight of his own body, yet it also appeared as if he were a deeply moved subject.

“Th-That…!!”

Surely, he wasn’t the only one looking on like that.

On the opposite side, not aligned with Dong Zhuo, the glances of the Yuan family, centered around Yuan Wei, were far from kind.

Yuan Wei, and even Yuan Qi, who was so inconspicuous that one had to think for a while to recall who he was, shared the same sentiment.

“Your Majesty!! Do not be deceived!! It’s a slander!”

“Slander….”

“It is true that Yuan Shu made a mistake while drunk…!!”

Indeed.

That.

Cao Cao barely held back a laugh at Yuan Wei’s direct accusation of Yuan Shu’s crime.

If Yuan Shu had committed an act of drunken violence, wouldn’t such a situation have arisen?

Well.

No.

A similar situation would have undoubtedly occurred.

For instance, if someone had been assassinated and that person was one of Yuan Shu’s subordinates.

Yuan Shu would claim he never instructed his subordinate to poison anyone.

Then the subordinate would testify that he was threatened by Yuan Shu, saying, “If you do not comply, I will kill your entire family.”

Even Cao Cao himself thought such schemes were overflowing, so how could those present here not entertain similar thoughts?

And in the first place, this justification is not to accuse Yuan Shu.

While Yuan Shu conveniently provided a perfect pretext, all arrows aimed at Yuan’s family, whether from Yuan Wei or Yuan Qi, ultimately converge into one.

“Your Majesty! The official killed by Yuan Shu was investigating those who conspired against the state under my command, Dong Zhuo!”

At last.

Cao Cao clenches his fist.

For a moment, his heart trembles, but he himself bears no guilt regarding the edict that Dong Zhuo has brought forth.

“Under the command of General Hanjin, disguise yourselves as bandits and incite chaos!!”

That, Cao Cao had already declared was unacceptable.

“To uncover the mastermind behind Hanjin, he has investigated every corner of Luoyang under my orders!”

Even if he is held accountable, the question will likely be ‘why did you not report it?’ and he can easily fabricate a story about ‘attempting to report it but the Ten Regulars’ rebellion broke out.’

“And he has found that mastermind! That person is none other than Yuan Shao, who is not present here, a member of Yuan’s family!!”

Hanjin is currently classified as a ‘traitor’ for inciting chaos with the bandits.

“Yuan Shu killed the official who was investigating that traitor, and this is something everyone can understand!! To aid his half-brother, Yuan Shao!”

“N-no! Why would I…!!”

Yuan Shu shouts desperately, but who would easily believe him?

Cao Cao knows.

That Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu are both eager to kill each other.

Yet during the Ten Regulars’ rebellion, the two half-brothers joined forces to raid the imperial palace.

“Your Majesty!! Please command the eradication of the traitorous faction! I, Dong Zhuo, will uproot those harboring treasonous thoughts in Luoyang!!”

Whatever the pretext, it is a scheme to root out the entire Yuan family, starting with Yuan Shao.

“…….”

Cao Cao covers his mouth with his hand, like the other officials.

Last year, chaos erupted because of the traitors, and how terrifying it is that the remnants of those traitors still linger in the court.

“……Hmph.”

Or perhaps, he could not suppress a laugh that escaped him.

“Your Majesty!! This is unjust!!”

Yuan Wei kneels before the Emperor.

“Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, and our Yuan family are innocent!!”

The gazes of the court officials directed at the desperately shouting Yuan Wei were chillingly cold.

“The Yuan family is not traitors!!”

* * *

[At that moment, beyond the eastern gate of Luoyang.]

“Having run in the rain, yet what awaits me are soldiers drenched in the same rain.”

Yuan Sha pulled on the reins of his horse as he was about to enter Luoyang, halted by a hundred cavalrymen blocking his path.

“They’re not from the Grand Commander’s office; they seem to be under Dong Zhuo. What’s your affiliation?”

“I am Li Jue.”

“I am Guo Si.”

Two armed men stepped forward.

“We are the twin chariots of General Dong Zhuo.”

“Hey, you! This is Luoyang. You should address him as the Grand Commander.”

“Shut up, Guo. A general is a general.”

“Tsk….”

Yuan Sha frowned at the two men, who displayed no semblance of decorum.

“Such a lack of manners….”

Behind the two, soldiers who appeared to have come from the Grand Commander’s office wore chains around their waists, as if to capture a prisoner.

“So, what is the reason for blocking my way?”

“That’s not for you to know. We are to take you to the Grand Commander by order of General Dong Zhuo.”

“I apologize for the rudeness on our first meeting.”

“Ah, my apologies for the lack of manners. Now, sir, would you kindly shut up and follow us to the Grand Commander?”

“…….”

Their openly mocking attitude was evident.

Their expressions were outright derisive.

“You rascals! Do you even know who this is, to dare raise your heads so defiantly!”

From behind Yuan Sha, Jin Lin rode forward and shouted.

“The true heir of the great Yuan family, which has produced the Three Excellencies, is Yuan Sha himself!”

“And who are you? A subordinate? You look like a mere ink-slinger.”

“W-what?! Truly barbaric, just like the people of Xiliang!”

“Xiliang?”

Li Jue and Guo Si’s faces twisted as if they had received a monstrous insult.

“Hah, I was trying to be polite…. Hey, Guo, can we curse at them?”

“It’s Luoyang. Even General Dong Zhuo endures insults, so why would we not?”

“Ha, sir… But that guy is calling it ‘Xiliang’ right now…!”

“There’s more than one Yangzhou; if we’re referring to the Yangzhou in the west as Xiliang, what else would we call it?”

Yuan Shao opened his mouth.

“Yangzhou is already separately located below the Yangtze River.”

“Ha, sir… So you’re saying that we’re in such a backwater that we can call it Xiliang separately, is that it?”

“It seems the handsome young master of Luoyang is under some grand delusion, thinking it’s funny that we’re speaking nicely.”

“It’s not funny. It’s just…”

Yuan Shao smirked and turned his head.

“It’s amusing to see them babbling foolishly, unaware that they’ve created a justification for us.”

Ta-aat.

“Go!”

“Your, your lord!!”

Yuan Shao kicked the horse’s flank and pulled on the reins.

Soon, the horse turned its head and began to gallop eastward, with Jin Lin urgently chasing after.

“Wh-what?!”

“What are you doing?! Chase them! If you let them go, we’re done for!!”

Yigao and Guo Sha were hastily urging the soldiers, who grimaced and mounted their horses.

“Your, your lord…!!”

Jin Lin lowered his body as if to lie flat on the horse, looking at Yuan Shao.

“If this continues…!”

“Dong Zhuo has come to capture me.”

Yuan Shao ran toward the forest, stopping the horse in a clearing and spoke to Jin Lin.

“Regardless of the reason, the moment we enter the capital, we will die. …Did Lord Sun Wu even foresee this?”

“Wh-what do you mean…?”

“Dong Zhuo has drawn his sword to strike at me. The reason for that…”

Yuan Shao looked down with a bitter smile but soon shook his head.

“Ha. There’s no helping it. If this is the flow of the times, then we have no choice but to draw our swords.”

“Your, your lord. That’s…”

“Jin Lin, listen well. The court is now controlled by the young emperor and his faction.”

“Chase them─!!”

As the soldiers rushed toward the forest, Yuan Shao reached out his hand forward.

“They’re trying to imprison the Yuan family, the biggest obstacle to their seizing power, by framing them for treason, and some are even plotting to kill them. Just like now.”

Pabababat!

Something poured out from both sides of Yuan Shao, flying toward Dong Zhuo’s soldiers.

“Ugh?!”

“It’s an ambush!!”

Li Jue and Guo Si, who were chasing behind the soldiers, hurriedly deflected arrows, but the arrows struck their horses, causing both of them to fall off.

“Ah?! You coward, aiming for my horse?!”

“Ah, damn it!! My horse?! No, not this one!! I brought it directly from Yangzhou!!”

“…How disgraceful.”

Yuan Shao shook his head at the two generals, who were rolling on the ground to dodge the arrows before being trampled.

“Go tell Dong Zhuo. Who the true traitor is! I, Yuan Shao, am temporarily stepping aside for the greater cause!”

Waving his hand, Yuan Shao turned back toward the forest.

The soldiers continued to shoot arrows at Yuan Shao’s signal, preventing Dong Zhuo’s men from advancing into the depths of the forest, and the pursuers showed no signs of entering further.

“My lord…! Is, is this really dangerous…? No matter how much power the Yuan family has, to have private soldiers near Luoyang like this…!”

“Haah, Jinlin Gong.”

Yuan Shao let out a deep sigh.

“Luoyang is already under Dong Zhuo’s control. The fact that his soldiers have come this far means they are determined to kill me.”

“Th-that’s…!”

“But there is still a chance.”

Wiping his eyes with his sleeve, Yuan Shao smiled.

“As long as I, Yuan Shao, am alive, the Yuan family is not dead yet.”

“Y-yes…?”

“If I flee, all of the Yuan family in Luoyang will die. Framed as traitors.”

“…….”

Jinlin could not see.

Even if he could, he did not want to.

Fearing that a smile might linger on Yuan Shao’s face as he ran out into the rain.

“Even if the head of the Yuan family in Luoyang dies, and Yuan Shu dies, and the Yuan clan is framed for treason and killed.”

Thud.

Wonso pounded his chest with his fist.

“As long as I, Wonso, am alive, the Yuan family is not dead yet.”

“Ah, that…!!”

Jinrim asked back with a face pale with fear.

“Abandoning the Yuan of Luoyang… and you, my lord, will seize the Yuan of Yernan… No, more than that.”

As Jinrim’s eyes rolled from side to side, Wonso’s smile deepened.

“Lord Jinrim. First, let’s head to Yernan. There, we shall… circulate the proclamation.”

“The world will not easily believe it. Ah, of course, I trust you, my lord…!”

“I don’t believe it either. What I believe in is—”

Wonso pointed to his heart.

“The ambition that the warlords in the provinces hold towards the central power.”

“Ambition…!”

From noble mtl dot com

“If Dong Zhuo annihilates the Yuan and seizes power, that news will spread throughout the land. As the sole survivor of the Yuan, before I speak of bloody revenge, I will aim my sword at Dong Zhuo, who seeks to control the court and make this country his own. Not for personal vengeance, but to establish justice for this nation.”

“…So, you intend to gather the local lords.”

“Yes. If I act alone, it would be treason, but if we all stand together…”

A grin.

“It will become a gathering of heroes who wish for the peace of this country and its people, fallen into the mire.”

“Heroes…!”

“The times are indeed chaotic.”

Wonso slowly steered his words, straightening his back.

“Even in a situation where my entire family has been slaughtered, and amidst the tragedy of escaping from the enemy camp, I shall not lose hope and raise my spear for justice.”

“…Is this not the very birth of a hero!”

“Haha. Lord Jinrim. The heroes will be those who gather in response to my proclamation. …Yes.”

Wonso pounded his chest, laughing with shining eyes.

“Heroes are indeed born in times of chaos.”

Tap, drip.

“Look, Lord Jinrim. Even the heavens seem to welcome me, do they not?”

Wonso slowly lifted his head towards the fading rain.

“It seems the heavens are welcoming me.”

* * *

“Your Majesty—! It is reported that Yuan Shao has killed the garrison and fled to the east!!”

The news that reached the palace.

“……What?”

Wang Wei gaped in shock, and Dong Zhuo threw the cap he was wearing onto the floor.

“How could Yuan Shao kill the garrison!! There must be at least a hundred soldiers in the garrison!!”

“Th-that is!!”

“Is it true that Yuan Shao possesses the monstrous strength to cut down dozens of men with a single stroke?! Even if such a person exists, how could dozens of elite soldiers not capture him?!”

“I-I am embarrassed to report this…!!”

The messenger bowed deeply.

“Yuan Shao fled into the forest, and as we pursued him, his private soldiers lay in ambush and shot arrows at the pursuers…!!”

“…What?”

The first to react to the messenger’s report was none other than Wang Wei.

“P-private soldiers!! In the land of Luoyang, in the capital, private soldiers! What nonsense is this….”

As he shouted in utter confusion, Wang Wei suddenly froze in place.

“…A, a baseborn…!!”

Wang Wei’s face twisted in anguish.

“His filial piety was commendable, taking in the child of a servant and treating him like a son, yet he dares to use us to devour our clan…!!”

Like a beast he had raised long ago biting him, like a loyal minister betraying him.

“Uaaah!!”

Wang Wei spread his arms and screamed.

The officials in the court were taken aback by a display they could not have imagined before the Emperor.

“Yuan Shao!! Uaaah!! Cough, cough!!”

As Wang Wei howled Yuan Shao’s name, he coughed up blood, leaving the others at a loss for words.

“Uncle!!”

Yuan Qi rushed to Wang Wei in desperation, but Wang Wei merely trembled, frothing blood from his mouth.

“The leader of the traitors, Yuan Shao, has indeed abandoned his family and fled!”

Dong Zhuo shouted.

“He disguised soldiers as bandits to plunder homes and commit arson, and now he has abandoned even his own family to escape alone!”

Some sensed a hint of amusement in his voice, but even as they rolled their eyes, it was already too late for the situation.

“Your Majesty!! Command us!! Let us slay all the traitors of the Won family!! I, Dong Tak, shall strike them all down!”

The ministers were taken aback by Dong Tak’s rough strides as he approached the Emperor.

“An order! Just give the order! Quickly!”

“Dong Tak!!”

Only one minister stood in Dong Tak’s way.

“Are you threatening His Majesty the Emperor!!”

The Minister of War, Wang Yun, shouted with a twisted face, filled with betrayal.

“Show some decorum!”

“I, Dong Tak, come from ‘Seoryang,’ as the ministers speak of behind your backs, and I apologize for my ignorance of proper etiquette!”

Dong Tak glared at Wang Yun as he stepped closer.

“But please recognize my loyalty to this country and to Your Majesty!”

“W-Wang Taiwei…!”

“I, Dong Tak, am here with unwavering loyalty to Your Majesty…!!”

Creeeak—

The palace doors swung open.

The ministers’ eyes all turned toward the once-closed palace gates.

What they saw was a throng of people.

What was peculiar was that the soldiers were entering through the ‘back’ of the palace.

Crash!

They stumbled.

Having aimed their spears at something, they were pushed and fell into the palace.

As if.

While aiming their spears at a monster, they instinctively tried to widen the distance as the monster drew near, resulting in their fall.

Step, step.

Amidst the parted soldiers, a man slowly entered.

Thud.

Before crossing the palace gates, he planted a spear, a symbol of authority, into the ground and stepped over the gates with bare hands.

“Ah!”

The Emperor sprang up from his seat as if propelled.

A man clad in black military attire.

It felt as if mud had been smeared all over his body, yet the traces resembled the dragon’s muddy blood splattered about.

“It is the court.”

With hair flowing like silk, a man entered the palace and lowered his voice.

“Who dares?”

Step by step, he approached.

“To raise one’s voice before His Majesty the Emperor?”

Though he did not shout loudly, the warrior’s words settled like a thick fog in the court.

“Your Majesty.”

Before even ascending the stairs, the warrior bowed deeply toward the Emperor.

“I, Yeop, have rushed here with the heart of a returning son.”

“General Ye…!!”

Only the Emperor raised his voice from the highest place.

“Come quickly, how long I have…!”

Only the Emperor’s voice echoed.

Thud.

“…been waiting…?”

Even the loud sound of rain outside the palace had ceased.

“…General Ye.”

The only sound resonating in the palace was the Emperor’s voice.

“How have you come?”

“If you ask how I arrived.”

And the answer.

“I simply came to see Your Majesty.”

The rain had stopped.

＜ There Cannot Be Two Fathers Under Heaven (2) ＞ End