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

Chapter 11

＜ The Spring of Luoyang (5) ＞

[A little later, in the Bingzhou army camp stationed south of Anyi in Sayeju.]

“Lord Jeongwon. I report to you. Ye Bongseon has eradicated the bandit group.”

Jeongwon nodded silently at the scout’s report.

“Yes. They were eradicated. And after that?”

“…….”

“Are they returning?”

“They are chasing the fleeing bandits and collecting the bodies, so it will take time to return….”

“Argh!”

Jeongwon shouted.

“Tell them to return immediately! Hurry!”

“My lord!”

“Does he truly not understand what is important right now?”

Jeongwon pounded his chest and shouted.

“Time, time! Tell them to let the Hane County handle the dead, we must go to the capital immediately!”

Jeongwon was clearly anxious.

“Even at this moment, someone else might enter the military gate before us, how can he…!”

“My lord….”

“He thinks he’s the only righteous one! He can’t see the forest for the trees! And with such brute strength…!”

Jeongwon’s hands trembled.

“If only I were twenty years younger…!!”

His hands were wrinkled and as thin as a withered old tree.

“Moksoon.”

“Yes, my lord.”

“Who is the magistrate of Byeongju?”

“Of course, it is you, Lord Jeong Geonyang.”

“Yes. But… did you see? The cavalry moved in perfect order as soon as I gave the command, following Lu Bu.”

“…….”

“It was absurd. The cavalry captain was the worst. He said he would be loyal to my orders, but as soon as Lu Bu raised the military flag, he followed like a loyal dog!”

“That is….”

“Argh!!”

Jeongwon’s shout tore through the tent and soared into the sky.

“The mandate of heaven is with us now, so why does the sky give me such trials!!”

The mandate of heaven.

Though it was not a phrase easily spoken, Jeongwon recited it as if he could no longer bear it.

“All the energy is now converging on Luoyang! It’s a battle to see who arrives first! Wolves from all over are heading to the capital, and where is the time to clear away the corpses of the dead!!”

“…….”

“Truly, can the sky be like this? I have surpassed the age of fifty, and I am moving according to the mandate of heaven!”

“Master….”

“It’s not too late. Go immediately and tell Lu Bu to return! If there is any delay, then, then…!!”

Jeongwon’s hands trembled, but he could not utter the rest of his words.

Because Lu Bu is here?

No.

By now, he must be digging the ground with a shovel to bury the corpses.

Just.

Even if Lu Bu refuses to return, what power do we have to call him back?

“……Ugh!”

“Master!!”

Jeongwon spat blood.

“The opportunity given by the sky, that opportunity…!!”

The lieutenants beside him could not understand why Jeongwon was so distressed.

“No, it surely isn’t too late.”

Even as Jeongwon spat blood, his eyes sparkled with a glimmer of hope, sending chills down their spines.

“Yes. A few days, no, a day or two late won’t change anything.”

Jeongwon’s eyes, lifted up, were filled with a strange aura.

“The mandate of heaven is with Jeong Geon-yang…!”

* * *

“Talking about the mandate of heaven.”

“Ack!”

Huseong groaned in pain.

I only hit the back of his helmet with the shovel, but Huseong retreated from me with a face full of grievance.

“Isn’t that too much, General!”

“We’re trying to catch the traitor, aren’t we?”

“A traitor!”

“You still haven’t been beaten enough. Zhang Liao, explain why Hu Sheng is being punished.”

“Isn’t it because the term ‘Heaven’s Mandate’ is usually associated with rebellion?”

“That’s right.”

As expected of Zhang Liao.

“Heaven’s Mandate. The will of heaven. It can also be called destiny, but in the context of chaotic times…”

“A revolution.”

“General.”

“I’m not saying we should do it, but we should be cautious because such words exist.”

Shouting about Heaven’s Mandate could easily lead to execution.

“This guy is just riding the mood.”

“General! That is…!”

“If you wanted to boost the soldiers’ morale, you should have just kept saying that you are with the undefeated god of war of Bingzhou. Why did you say such things?”

The more I thought about it, the angrier I became.

“Sigh. You should be grateful that you’re hearing this from me and not my master.”

“Your master, General?”

“Yes.”

In fact.

“I also once uttered ‘Heaven’s Mandate’ and got scolded… no, lectured all day.”

I didn’t know the true meaning of the word ‘Heaven’s Mandate.’

‘I just thought it was a noble phrase.’

Thinking it was a term related to fatalism, I carelessly said it in front of my master and suffered for a week.

“In essence, what is Heaven’s Mandate? Heaven’s Mandate is….”

Suddenly, my master’s rapid-fire teachings came to mind, but there was no time to recite them now.

“Enough. Hu Sheng, let’s just say you ignorantly uttered it. The punishment will be ten strokes of the cane.”

“This is unfair!”

“Even if it’s unfair, there are things you can and cannot say.”

“Did the General get beaten by his master?!”

“I got hit on the thigh with a bamboo stick.”

Lying face down.

When I was told to lie down to get some beating, I instinctively took the position, and my master was very pleased, saying that I had taken the correct posture.

“What?”

Jangryo was surprised.

“The general… is getting beaten?”

“How could a disciple avoid the rod of love wielded by the master as a lesson?”

It was the same before reincarnation, and it is the same now.

“The rod is certainly violence, but the intention contained in the hand and heart wielding that violence is guidance and discipline.”

I didn’t know when I was being beaten.

I was just busy reciting ‘I was wrong’ to avoid the pain of the moment.

“The rod wielded out of a heart wishing for everything to go well. So, it can be called the rod of love.”

I realized it after becoming an adult.

“Avoiding it is choosing to become a beast while knowing you are going astray.”

“……You wouldn’t be someone who would take it quietly.”

“If he were a thug who felt joy in beating his disciples, I would have beaten him to death instead. Our master wasn’t such a person, was he?”

“…….”

“After the master was more hurt, I was punished by transcribing the Analects on a rock, but let’s put that aside for now.”

Ka-ang.

“It hurts!”

“Don’t forget. There are words that should not be spoken carelessly.”

“…….”

“Hoosung.”

I put down the shovel.

“Hoosung. The heavenly mandate you mentioned was literally the mandate of heaven. Right?”

“That is….”

“Who is the heaven of this country?”

“…….”

“It is His Majesty the Emperor.”

I nodded deeply towards Hoosung.

There were many eyes watching us around.

“We follow the imperial command and the emperor’s decree. He has ordered us to eradicate the bandits, and we have shown the majesty of this nation according to the solemn will of heaven. Right?”

“…Next time.”

Huseong closed his eyes heavily.

“I will make sure not to use words carelessly.”

“Good. If I make a mistake later, let me know. We don’t want people to misunderstand us as traitors.”

I approached Huseong and grabbed his shoulder.

“I know what you meant by those words.”

“General.”

“Since I know, let’s leave it at that. …There are many eyes watching.”

Although it is only the cavalry of Byeongju, even if I trained the soldiers, they are not ‘my soldiers.’

I never intended to have private soldiers in the first place.

“Sometimes, the path of a fool is the wisest path.”

“…….”

Huseong nodded silently.

“If you understand, that’s enough. Cavalry commander!”

“Yes.”

The cavalry commander, who had been giving orders to the soldiers on horseback, approached me.

He had been waiting silently behind me since the moment I struck Huseong’s head.

“Sorry to keep you waiting.”

“It’s alright.”

The cavalry commander, who had dismounted, saluted me.

A general leading the cavalry under Jeongwon’s military authority.

Although his armor was stained with blood, he had tidied up and dressed neatly without any disarray.

A person who strictly adheres to the principle of command and obedience, and is used by Jeongwon like a limb.

‘He feels more like an FM company commander than Jeongwon’s man.’

If there is an ideal model of a soldier, it would be this man.

Although he did not fight alongside me during the battle because I charged ahead first, he followed me after I defeated the enemy commander and cleared the remaining bandits.

“So, what is it?”

“Jeongwon’s magistrate has sent someone.”

“Is it an order?”

“Yes.”

The cavalry commander closed his eyes for a moment, alternating his gaze between the shovel I was holding and the shallow mound of earth that had just been covered.

“…Governor Jeongwon said that the crisis in the capital is urgent, and we must cross the river as soon as possible.”

“Hmm.”

“I convey the orders. General Ye-“

“We are cavalry, and if we ride fast, we can return quickly. Do we have about two hours?”

“…….”

The cavalry commander looked around.

There were still many bodies that had not been recovered.

“General. Right now….”

“If we leave them unattended, maggots will swarm, and crows will come to peck at the corpses. They are someone’s fathers too, and I don’t want to show such a sight to their children.”

“…….”

“And if we leave the bodies unattended, that’s a problem in itself. Wild animals that eat the corpses and get sick might come up to Byeongju and spread disease, right?”

“…….”

“One hour. I won’t ask for more than that. We will run as fast as we can when we return-“

“Half.”

The cavalry commander approached the bodies.

“I’ll help, so let’s finish in half an hour and go.”

“Thank you.”

All fifteen hundred, or slightly fewer, cavalrymen dismounted and began to recover the bodies.

* * *

On the way back.

While Lü Bu was running at the forefront, Zhang Liao stealthily approached Housheng.

“Are you alright?”

“Bite your tongue and talk while running.”

“If a Byeongju cavalryman can’t talk while riding, that’s a bit…”

“That’s true.”

Housheng scratched the back of his head.

“Did you get a bump?”

“It just made a loud noise. You know the general’s temperament, don’t you?”

“Still.”

“For a big slip of the tongue, this is a cheap price to pay.”

Huseong let out a deep sigh.

“I really am a mess. I couldn’t hold back and just blurted it out. I was intoxicated by the fervor of the battlefield.”

“…….”

“Mandate of Heaven. Yes. It’s a dangerous word. It’s not something to be said lightly… but it’s also the word that will be used the most in these chaotic times.”

“General Huseong.”

“What do you think? Do you believe the General has the Mandate of Heaven?”

“That is….”

“I’m not saying we should become traitors. It’s just, I was frustrated and blurted it out.”

Huseong smiled bitterly and urged his horse forward.

“The General hates rebellion. That’s because it means he would become a thief, a thief who steals the country.”

“…….”

“Unless it’s a decision to save the nation, he wouldn’t easily commit such an act of insubordination. I know, but it’s still troubling.”

“He acts when he needs to.”

“I know. Better than anyone. It’s just….”

Huseong scratched the back of his neck.

“I just hope that my slip of the tongue serves as a catalyst for the General to make a decision.”

“…The commanders are hoping for that, so if he makes a decision, will they always follow?”

“That’s a given.”

“Then…?”

“Even though I was the only one who spoke, didn’t all the cavalry on the battlefield agree with my words?”

“…….”

Jangryo couldn’t definitively say ‘no.’

“Was it because they couldn’t hear my words due to the heat of the battle? No. All the cavalry on the battlefield clearly felt it. Where the will of heaven is heading.”

“The topic is getting heavier.”

“Shall we talk about something lighter? Look, the sun is setting.”

Huseong pointed beyond the horizon, in the direction of the setting sun.

“The General is the sun rising in the sky, while the Governor of Jeongwon is already a sun that has set and is entering the night.”

“…….”

“If people had regretted the decline of Governor Jeongwon’s energy, the General would have forcibly placed Governor Jeongwon in the mid-heaven. If he were that kind of person.”

Huseong’s expression hardened coldly.

“He would have accepted that proposal already, more than 10 years ago.”

“Proposal…?”

“Ah, you don’t know. Hmm. Don’t say I told you.”

Huseong lowered his voice, and Jangryo leaned in slightly.

“The first trigger that caused the rift was….”

* * *

“Yeobongseon. From now on, you are my adopted son.”

“…What kind of nonsense is that all of a sudden?”

As soon as we arrived at the camp, Jeongwon’s words made me laugh involuntarily.

“Are you still saying that?”

“It’s different now.”

“Different? What do you mean?”

“Back then, I truly intended to make you my adopted son, but now it’s not the case.”

10 years ago.

I almost became Jeongpo, not Yeopo.

Jeongwon didn’t have a daughter to marry me to, so he chose a more certain way to make me his person.

“I refuse. Then and now.”

And I refused.

“Do you really want me to say the reason with my own mouth? Governor Jeong Geonyang.”

In life, there are people you can consider like a father.

Even if the term ‘father’s military number’ can be just a joke, it applies to a mentor or an elder who saved your life.

“Hey, General Yeo!”

“Stop.”

The deputy, who had a bandage on his head, tried to step forward again, but Jeongwon immediately stopped him.

“Everyone, step back.”

“But!”

“Quickly.”

At Jeongwon’s words, everyone else stepped back.

“Lu Bu.”

Me too.

“Support for Bingzhou.”

“…….”

I start to follow but stop in my tracks.

“If the outward appearance is enough, that will suffice. I won’t ask you to become my adopted son, but act as if you were.”

“Act like a trusted subordinate, is that what you mean?”

“Exactly.”

“Why?”

“Because that’s the only way to win the favor of Grand General He Jin.”

So, he is trying to align with He Jin.

“Could you explain in more detail?”

“Grand General He Jin needs soldiers. He plans to gather troops using local warlords to eliminate the Ten Attendants. He needs a massive and high-quality force.”

“……Isn’t that a rebellion?”

“There is a nice term for it: suppressing traitors.”

It feels like a cover-up, but since the target is the eunuchs, I can somewhat understand.

“The reason I am in such a hurry is that General He Jin is running out of time.”

“Running out of time…?”

“Yes. Although he is the Grand General, he has nothing but enemies in the capital. The eunuchs, although currently on the back foot, have held the power of the court firmly since the previous emperor’s reign.”

“…….”

“If things go wrong, General He Jin could lose his position.”

“Isn’t he the Empress Dowager’s brother?”

“The Empress Dowager… is very close to the eunuchs. Her younger sister is the daughter-in-law of Zhang Rang, one of the Ten Attendants.”

“Zhang Rang?”

“Not the Zhang Rang who came last time. There is another Zhang Rang among the Ten Attendants.”

I see.

“But still, he is her biological brother.”

“They are half-siblings.”

“…….”

“The Grand General wants to kill the eunuchs, but the Empress Dowager is stopping him. That’s why he called us in this situation.”

Jungwon lowers his voice.

“If you become General Haejin’s strength, you will receive strong support for Byeongju in return. General Haejin prefers commanders with exceptional martial prowess. If you provide significant help, he will reward you accordingly.”

“…….”

Just a little.

Something unpleasant brushes by.

Should I call it insight?

From the experience of watching Jungwon for a long time, I caught a glimpse of something I felt when I first met him.

“Governor. Speak honestly.”

I ask.

“Isn’t your rush to the capital because you’re worried that someone else will catch Haejin’s eye and you’ll become a latecomer?”

At the anxiety visible in his eyes.

“Are you urging because you’re worried that someone else might help Haejin and finish the grand task already?”

“…….”

“In addition.”

I ask.

“If Haejin falls from power, aren’t you planning to take his place?”

At the ambition flowing from his entire body, piercing through his skin.

That ambition could also be expressed as ‘greed of an old man.’

“…….”

Jungwon does not answer.

“Are you aiming for the position of the grand commander of the court, beyond the governor of Byeongju?”

“At least.”

Jungwon glares.

“Isn’t it better for Jeong Geonyang to become the grand commander than for a butcher’s son to become the grand commander because his sister gave birth to a royal child?”

“…….”

“I promise. If I become the grand commander, I will send the best talents to Byeongju. Or you can become the governor of Byeongju.”

“You’re already dividing the spoils of war.”

“Lu Bu.”

“I’m not interested. Whether you become the grand commander or not. I respect the decades you’ve worked for Byeongju, but don’t expect more than that.”

“…….”

“In the first place, I-“

Swish.

“Sir!!”

“We’re in the middle of an important discussion… Wait. Are you from Zhangyang…?”

“Urgent news!!”

A man in black clothes urgently knelt down.

Those black clothes seemed somewhat familiar, yet-

“General He Jin has been assassinated!!”

“……?”

＜ The Spring of Luoyang (5) ＞ End