Eastern Han Dynasty, not the Three Kingdoms

The day after the great victory in Chang'an, the morning light pierced the heavy curtains of the Prince of Liang's mansion. Ma Teng bent over his desk, his wolf-hair brush rustling across the plain silk. In his battle report, he detailed the rout of Yuan's 50,000-man army with dramatic force, and at the end, he specifically circled the words "Yuan Tan captured alive," his ink so thick it practically seeped through the paper. On his desk, piled high were letters from home, each one stained with the scent of women's rouge, each line filled with the earnest hope, "When will my dear return?"

"Come here." Ma Teng carefully sealed the battle report and family letters into a sandalwood box. The word "Ma" on the wax seal glowed dark red under the candlelight. "Send it to Xiliang immediately at an express speed of 800 miles." He looked at the letters in the box that were still warm, and remembered the scene a few days ago when Yuan's army was approaching, and he locked the urgent military report into the secret compartment - at that time he paced in the study all night, and finally burned the bamboo slips filled with "Chang'an is in danger", just to let Ma Chao concentrate on fighting outside the Great Wall.

Now, with the victory news and the letter home, Ma Teng gazed at the black battle flag fluttering outside the window, a smile finally forming on his lips. A chill wind, whirling the remaining snow across the eaves, couldn't dispel the relief in his eyes—it was time to let his son know that not only had Chang'an been defended, but Yuan Shao's weak spot had also been grasped.

A northerly wind, swathed in shattered snow, swept across the Central Plains. Twelfth lunar month had arrived, and the battle flag with the Chinese character "Liang" (Liang) hung high atop the Chang'an city walls rustled in the chill wind. News of Ma Teng's victory over Yuan's 50,000-man army reverberated like thunder among the princes—the once powerful army that had swept across Hebei had been completely annihilated, with even the eldest son, Yuan Tan, imprisoned. Wherever the news reached, the heroes were horrified.

At this time, the Central Plains was in turmoil. Cao Cao's Tiger and Leopard Cavalry crushed the frost and snow of Xuzhou, causing Tao Qian to vomit blood and die. His son, Tao Shang, led the civil and military forces to surrender the city, and Xuzhou became Cao's territory. Liu Bei and his three brothers, holding their young son, fled in panic under the iron hoofs of Cao's army, eventually seeking refuge with Liu Biao in Jingzhou. The remnants of their army took refuge in the small town of Xinye, sighing as they gazed at the winding Han River in the twilight.

On the eve of the fall of Xuzhou, the setting sun stained the city walls like blood. Liu Bei suddenly heard of Ma Chao's victory in Xiliang. His knuckles turned white from the exertion, and the words "The Monument of the Great Han Dynasty's Heavenly Power" seemed to still be stained with the wind and sand of the Western Regions. "Great! Great!" He slammed his hands on the table, his eyes a long-lost brilliance. Turning to Guan Yu and Zhang Fei beside him, he said loudly, "My junior brother, even though we're thousands of miles apart, is still the same Ma Chao who hated the suffering of the people! His hatred of evil remains undiminished!"

However, this euphoria didn't slow the wheels of fate. After Tao Qian's death, the Xuzhou gentry supported Tao Shang, viewing Liu Bei as a formidable threat. On a cold night, Zhang Fei angrily smashed a copper basin inside his tent, sending sparks flying: "Brother, these rats are trying to drive us away! How about..." Guan Yu stroked his beard and sighed, interrupting his brother's outburst: "Xuzhou is no longer a place to stay. We must not act rashly."

As Liu Bei led the remnants of his army into Jingyang and Xiangyang, the cold December wind lashed him with the cold gazes of the aristocratic families. Cai Mao, from the city wall, surveyed the exhausted army with a scornful smile; Kuai Liang didn't even glance up as he flipped through the documents. Liu Bei, led by his horse, gazed at the tattered Han flags on the Xiangyang city walls, the whispers of the common people echoing in his ears. The heroic spirit he once shouted for the "Resurgence of the Han Dynasty" was reduced to a helpless sigh amidst this indifference.

The oil lamps in the Xinye County government office flickered in the cold wind, casting Liu Bei's shadow on the mottled earthen walls, sometimes bright and sometimes dim. The young master in his arms babbled, his chubby hands clutching at his faded brocade robe, oblivious to the dangers of troubled times. The news of victory from Chang'an, lifted by the wind, ripped its edges. The words "50,000 Yuan troops annihilated" stung his eyes, making them burn.

Guan Yu stood by the window with his arms folded, the cold light of his Green Dragon Crescent Blade intertwined with the snow: "Brother, the Xiliang army is so powerful, if your majesty had..." Before he finished speaking, Zhang Fei had kicked open the half-closed wooden door, and the snow on the iron armor fell off: "Humph! If that tyrant hadn't treated Jin Ma Chao like that, how could Cao Cao, Yuan Shao and other villains be so arrogant!"

Liu Bei patted the young master's back gently, a bitter taste welling up in his throat. The candlelight suddenly flickered, illuminating the newly gray hair at his temples with even greater glare. If the late emperor hadn't suspected and suppressed Ma Chao, how could the Han Dynasty be so crumbling? Chang'an could now defeat Yuan Shao's elite troops with just the remaining troops. If Ma Chao were in charge—perhaps Cao Cao wouldn't dare take Xuzhou easily, and Yuan Shao would have to consider the 100,000 cavalrymen in the north. Thinking of this, he gazed at the drifting snow outside the window and murmured softly: "If the Western Liang cavalry were still here, what would the world be like..."

The remaining snow fell softly on the walls of Xinye. Liu Bei leaned against the crumbling rammed earth wall, his gaze piercing the mist, a trance transporting him back to the day he first entered Xiangyang. Back then, Liu Biao, clad in a brocade robe with a nine-chapter design, the jingle of his jade pendant mingling with military music, had personally come out of the city gates to greet them ten miles away. The old shepherd's wrinkled hand gripped his wrist tightly, a wolfish glint in his cloudy eyes. "Brother Xuande! We are both relatives of the Han Dynasty. If we could unite our forces..." He suddenly lowered his voice, the warm aroma of alcohol wafting across Liu Bei's ears. "Cao Cao's Yanzhou, Ma Chao's Xiliang—why wouldn't we take them? When he establishes his hegemony, this world..." His words trailed off abruptly, yet they evoked a more agonizing feeling than any other words.

Zhang Fei's furious shout suddenly shattered his memories: "That old bastard is clearly using us as pawns!" His rough palm slammed down on the table, sending the cold tea splattering from the cup. Guan Yu stroked his beard in silence, but fiercely pushed the garrison map aside. It was a secret letter Liu Biao had sent the day before, its words filled with earnest words: "I'll borrow your might to fight Cao Cao and Ma Chao together." But now, it felt like a rope tying someone up.

Liu Bei gently rocked the sleeping child in his arms. The golden dragon embroidered on the swaddling cloth flickered in the candlelight. He remembered that day in the Jingzhou meeting hall, when he untied the brocade handkerchief to reveal the child's tiny face, Liu Biao's wine glass, lifted mid-air, clattered to the ground. Liu Biao's gaze, initially startled, shifted to a vigilant, venomous warning as he stared at the dragon-emblazoned swaddling cloth. "My dear brother... this child is of noble birth, I'm afraid..." Before he could finish his words, Cai Mao strode forward, seamlessly blocking Liu Biao behind him.

Looking back now, Liu Biao's boasts of "restoring the Han Dynasty" were nothing more than a carefully crafted decoy. His goal was never to restore orthodoxy, but to leverage the bravery of Liu Bei and his brothers to transform the Jingzhou army into a powerful weapon for world domination. The supposed joint resistance against Cao Cao and Ma Chao was actually intended to make them the vanguard of the charge; those passionate ambitions would ultimately serve as stepping stones for Liu Biao's ambition to conquer the Central Plains.

The sound of the night watch was particularly piercing in the silence. Liu Bei stared out the window at the dark sky, a drop of cold rain hitting his face. Outside Xinye City, the faint sound of Liu Biao's patrolling horses could be heard, but it no longer had the same thrilling effect as when he first entered Jingzhou. It turned out that from the beginning, he had been just a pawn on the chessboard of an ambitious man.

On a cold night in the small town of Xinye, the sighs of the three Taoyuan brothers mixed with the young master's ignorant laughter and dissipated in the vast sky and earth.

----

In the Sikong Mansion in Xudu, ambergris burned brightly in a copper censer, yet it couldn't dispel the gloom from Cao Cao's brow. Clutching the blood-stained victory report, he paced back and forth, his knuckles rubbing the words "Xuzhou Pacificated" on the parchment. Staring at the stained bronze sword on his desk, memories flooded back. The flickering candlelight cast his shadow on the wall, distorting it into the smoke-filled battlefield of that time:

He remembered that day, a torrential downpour. He stood in front of the muddy central military tent, watching the "Liu" banner atop Xia Pi City wall flutter in the fierce wind. Guan Yu stood on the battlements, sword drawn, his Green Dragon Crescent Blade cleaving through the hail of arrows. Zhang Fei's roar pierced the rain, sending soldiers from the ladders crashing to the ground. He clenched the ivory order, his knuckles turning white. Thirty thousand Tiger and Leopard Cavalry had been defeated before this tiny city. The daily mountain of casualties reported cut into his heart like a sharp blade.

Forced into a corner, he had to dispatch Lu Bu to contain the three brothers Liu, Guan and Zhang, while he himself crossed Xia Pi City to deal with Xuzhou City.

Outside Xuzhou, Cao Cao's army tents stretched like a dark cloud looming over the city walls. The chill of late autumn wind rustled the military flags. Cao Cao stood before his tent, hands behind his back, gazing at the large banner bearing the Chinese character "Tao" fluttering overhead, his brow knitted in a knot. The sporadic sound of war drums in the distance added to the awe-inspiring atmosphere.

"My lord, Master Guo requests an audience." Cao Cao's personal guard's announcement interrupted his thoughts. Guo Jia, dressed in a green shirt and holding a feather fan, walked in gracefully, his eyes full of a confident smile.

"Yuan let them attack for three days, losing over a thousand soldiers, but Picheng is still as strong as a rock." Cao Cao turned around, his tone showing his anxiety, "Does Fengxiao have any good ideas?"

Guo Jia gently waved his feather fan, his eyes falling on the map of Xuzhou on the desk: "A frontal attack would probably result in heavy casualties, so it would be better to break it from the inside." He pointed at the names of Tao Shang and Tao Ying, "Tao Qian's two sons, although they appear to be harmonious, are actually eyeing the position of Xuzhou Mu. If they think that the other party wants to take Xuzhou for themselves..."

Cao Cao's eyes flashed with a gleam, and then turned into a sneer: "What a good plan to drive the tiger to devour the wolf!"

Three days later, undercurrents surged within Xuzhou. In Tao Shang's study, a secret letter glowed eerily in the candlelight. It promised Cao Cao his eternal garrison in Pengcheng if he surrendered Xuzhou. Almost simultaneously, Tao Ying received news that his brother had reached a secret agreement with Cao Cao. The brothers' former friendship crumbled under the allure of power.

Inside the Tao residence, the sounds of quarreling raged. Bedridden, Tao Qian, upon hearing of the falling out between his two sons, was so enraged that he vomited blood and passed out. When scouts arrived to report Tao Qian's death, Cao Cao was polishing his sword. The blade reflected the sneer on his lips, but also the flames rising from the distant Tao residence.

A few days later, in the morning, Tao Shang surrendered. As the banner bearing the inscription "Tao" fell, Cao Cao's army surged into Xuzhou. Astride his majestic horse, Cao Cao gazed at the dejected Xuzhou soldiers flanking the city gates, a strange chill rising in his heart. He turned to look at Guo Jia behind him, only to find the strategist remained impassive, as if all this were merely a pawn on his chessboard.

Cao Cao was lost in his memories when he suddenly heard footsteps behind him, interrupting his thoughts. Cao Cao rubbed his aching head and sat up straight.

"Lü Fengxian has gone too far!" Xun You's voice came from behind the screen, but he couldn't hide the worry in his voice. "Today, he actually smashed the cup at the celebration banquet and said something like, 'Without Wenhou's cavalry, Xuzhou would have become Liu Bei's lair'..."

Another headache suddenly came, and Cao Cao suddenly waved his sleeve to sweep the bamboo slips on the table. The crisp breaking sound startled Xun You into silence.