Chapter 225 - My CO Stash #25 - My Life as the Son of a Tyrant is... Complicate as Expected by Nelyahros01 (OregairuXRomanceOfTheThreeKingdoms)

-Another 8man Isekai~ This time around our favorite cynic got unlucky as he's arrived just before the start of the Collapse of the Han Dynasty, also he's the foster son of a future/potential cannibal, Dong Zhuo! (・_・;)

Sypnosis: ???

Rated: M

Words: 11K

Posted on: forum.questionablequesting.com/threads/my-life-as-the-son-of-a-tyrant-is-complicate-as-expected-oregairu-rotk.11648/ (Nelyahros01)

PS: If you're not able to copy/paste the link, you have everything in here to find it, by simply searching the author and the story title. It sucks that you can't copy links on mobile (´ー｀)

-I'll be putting the chapter ones of all the fanfics mentioned, to give you guys a sample if you wan't more please do go to the website and support the author! (And maybe even convince them to start uploading chapters in here as well!)

Prologue + Interlude

"Dong Yi(董夷), it was a brilliant idea to march my men in and out of the Capital at night. Now everyone thinks I have more men than I did when I entered. Now the issue is asserting control over the city." Dong Zhuo says this to me now as I alone out of his advisors are allowed to remain seated while he addresses from where stands.

There are perks to being the adoptive son of a warlord after all. But that said he did address the question to me so I take a sip of tea to wet my mouth before I replied "We found Emperor Shao outside the city, no we did not find him, we rescued him and the Prince of Chenliu from the chaos. He Jin was a fool to believe that the Eunuchs would not defile the sacred ground of the Palace with bloodshed."

Li Ru now perks up and says "Indeed Dong Yi speaks true, the Eunuchs have grown bold and brazen by growing fat of the yolk of the Han. They have been nestled in it's nectar for far too long and need to be removed permanently!"

I scoff at that before saying "The Eunuchs raised Emperor Ling from boyhood to be their puppet. They are also to blame for He Jin's rise to power. How does a butcher become the General in Chief (大將軍) of the Han?"

It is a perfectly good question, but inappropriate at this time and so my 'foster father' scolds me saying "Yi, stand up."

Sighing I obey his command as he now states "That sort of talk is fine with me when discussing the issues at hand. It is not fine when we are trying to discuss the solutions for the issues at hand. Now all of you, your job is to think up a solution to this mess. So I'm waiting?"

When Dong Zhuo asks you to think up something, it means that I can't think of a practicable solution himself. But while we all are thinking about solutions, trust Li Ru to think of other problems. "My Lord, we also need to address the matter of Emperor Shao and the Empress Dowager He."

He has a point, the Empress is also part of this mess. Her son, formerly Prince Bian and now Emperor Shao is weak and incapable of making decisions. If memory serves, Dong Zhuo manages to coerce her into letting Prince Xie become the Emperor. That said I do also believe that he then has her and her son exiled from the palace due to offending the late Empress Dong and then stripping them of their titles, putting them under house arrest and sentencing them to death.

Should I attempt to try to dissuade my foster father from this course of action or should I simply allow it to play out. By all accounts Empress He is not the nicest of people and her son was raised to be a puppet for her and He Jin. Which begs the question if there is any purpose to saving them at all? Perhaps I've been around Dong Zhuo far too long that I am thinking of simply abandoning people to be murdered by Li Ru?

That said pity the one who is made Emperor now, they have nothing but a title and clothes that can easily be taken away. Words are wind and clothes are something you can always misplace at the worst of times. That said I let Li Ru continue now when he says "Emperor Shao is nothing but a puppet for his mother the Dowager Empress He. You saw how indecisives he was yourself my Lord. He can't do anything without his mother while the Prince of Chenliu, Prince Xie was calm, collected and capable of making decisions and following instructions."

He's not wrong, but He Jin's lieutenants are still in command of his forces. Not to mention Ding Yuan is still around and still has Lu Bu with him. So cutting Li Ru off I say "Yes indeed but let us not forget that we only have three thousand men with us, Ding Yuan who would certainly oppose this dethroning Emperor Shao and has men nearby he can call on. Chen Yin, Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, all men who were followers of He Jin and will not let us do as we please. I motion that we assimilate the forces which are leaderless within the Capital as quickly as we can under the pretext of asserting order. That way Ding Yuan and the others will not be able to call our bluff and move upon us when we declare our goals."

Li Ru scowls, but he's not upset with me, he's upset with the fact that he didn't think of that. He's quite short sighted as it turns out and is willing to go for quick and easy solutions. Something which I used to do but now given where I am cannot afford to do. That said I've come a long way from simply being Hikigaya Hachiman, a new name, a new life, a new family and all I did was help the right person at the right time. Heck in hindsight I may not have helped that man had I known who he was.

"Indeed Yi you are correct while we seem to have more men we don't actually have more men. Thus if I decide to make any moves and anyone attempts to counter me. The ruse would be over and we may be all crushed. I believe we shall move towards assimilating those forces without any direction right now. After that we can deal with the Emperor and the Dowager Empress." It is a good thing that my foster father has not forsaken reason for madness, he too sees as I see and understands our precarious position. We will need to cement our position and make it unassailable before we make moves which no doubt are going to piss everyone off.

Now as he walks by we all bow as is customary and begin to follow him out of this room. We must act swiftly to make sure no one else does what we are doing. But before I step out of the room as well Dong Zhuo raises his hand and addresses me saying "Yi, stay here and entertain the Emperor and the Dowager Empress until I return."

I am uncertain if he is doing this because he trusts me to keep them in place or if he doesn't trust the others not to do something stupid. That or he could be doing this because he doesn't want to risk me out in the chaos of the Capital city at this point in time. His motives aside I bow and say "Of course father, I will do as you command."

I am so glad the Dowager Empress He has not put the moves on me. Not because I cannot resist her, but she's an Empress, well Dowager Empress at any rate. It might be my own bias from being from the future, someone in such a high position is supposed to have standards. That said I am certain her lack of attempts to charm me is less due to her having morals and more due to her being xenophobic. This is China, ancient China, so racism and xenophobia run rampant, especially since most of their foriegn neighbors are marauding hordes and assholes.

That said she is trying to find a way to start a conversation because unlike me, she finds the silence disturbing. Of course it's disturbing she has no idea what is coming next. It is that silence when a child has done something wrong and they are uncertain if they have hidden it well enough or their parents just are deciding on the punishment.

It would appear that the silence is too unbearable for her and she breaks it asking "Your Master Dong Zhuo, he is going to secure the Capital and drive out the Eunuchs isn't he? And restore the proper order to Luoyang?"

"My Father is working on a solution to the chaos that has corrupted the Capital and the Imperial Palace. But the state of the city and of those within it require time and resources that we may have to gather." I say this politely now letting her know that I'm not a servant of any sort and in fact am the foster son of Dong Zhuo, which does take her back.

However her shock is replaced by indignation as she states "That's unacceptable, the General of the Vanguard (前將軍) should be able to restore order at once!"

I can't restrain my chuckle when she says this, clearly she has no idea what is going on. She has not a clue as to the scope of the rot beneath and within the Imperial Court. One would think that since she was in the Imperial Court and opposed the Eunuchs she should know. But then again the closer you are to something, the harder it is to see it. But of course she might just be trying to assert authority by being unreasonable. How unfortunate that I've had to handle and deal with the unruly people of my father's province, compared to that she's just a toothless old hag with no strength.

"Dowager Empress He, my Father was called here to put down the Eunuchs who had grown too powerful and too arrogant. But when we arrived we found the Emperor and his brother the Prince Xie outside the Capital alone with dead Eunuchs to blame. He was charged with putting down the Rebellious Eunuchs, it was not told that we would need to restore order to the Capital and rescue the Emperor. Which was the mess we encountered due to the arrogance and incompetence of the General in Chief." I don't name him, but the way her eyes burn at me as if she wishes for me to spontaneously combust is something that I find delightful. This cl.u.s.terf.u.c.k.i.e.d could have been entirely avoided had He Jin not thought it was a good idea to simply 'meet with the Eunuchs'.

She now threatens me saying "You dare, you dare insult my brother to my face I could have you killed for that!"

Oh this is good, is going to be entertaining as I now say "Okay then, have me killed for it?"

Looking at the guard now she stands up and points to him saying "You there, this man has insulted the General and Chief of the Han. The uncle of the Emperor and the Imperial Uncle, it is your duty as a subject of the Han to strike him down and kill him lest his shame be yours."

The man in question looks at her and does nothing, he is my soldier after all and is actually a Qiang. Which translates to his like and loyalty to the Han Emperor being questionable at best. Not to mention i pay him not her, so he just stays still and does nothing. Not just him but the next guard and the guard after that and the guard after that. She only stops because she can't leave the rather large room she is and finally sits herself down.

Making sure I am as polite as possible I inform Dowager Empress He "Dowager Empress, the Capital is in a chaotic state, the Emperor was almost murdered by the Eunuchs and we arrived to find that not only is the General in Chief dead, but his forces leaderless and complacent or complicit with the chaos at hand. I myself refuse to lie so I am only saying things as they are."

She is still furious, still enraged but seeing as she can't do anything she has stopped and is trying to calm herself down. It must be hard for her, since until a few days or weeks ago she had all this power and now she has none. But one can ask if she ever had any real power since it would have to be wielded through He Jin her brother. That said I am still not convinced that she needs to die, then again I am not convinced that there is any merit to sparing her and her son.

Killing her and her son will cause mass discontent in the Imperial Court, their deaths do not create a power vacuum. That was made by He Jin's death, their deaths though allow Dong Zhuo to gain the lion share if not gain the monopoly on the power vacuum. That said Dowager Empress now seems to have calmed down some more and also seems to have gained a little more insight to how desperate her situation is for now she asks "What will become of my son and I? Your Father is going to restore order and allow him to take his place upon the throne isn't he?"

"My Father will first stabilize Luoyang and then the Imperial Place while purging the Eunuchs and their supporters from the city. One should not worry about what he is going to eat for supper while he is in the middle of crossing a roaring river." In short it means that I actually don't know what is going to happen to them. I know that Li Ru is supposed to kill them, but I also know that things can change, of course that said they may just die all the same.

Prologue 2

It is taking longer than I would like for my foster father to take control of the forces within Luoyang. That said he may have already taken control of them and without me there listened to something Li Ru suggested. Of course if he is asserting order right now, that isn't a bad thing. Just leaves me here with a less than happy Dowager Empress and her child that cannot even talk without needing his mother's permission. There is a difference between being reliant on someone and then there is what Emperor Shao is, someone who was raised to be the puppet of others.

It's revolting really, to think that this child would be the Emperor in name, sit upon the throne. Then only do and say what He Jin and Dowager Empress He told him to. It is a childish notion to think that one such as Emperor Shao could ever hold the supposed 'Mandate of Heaven'. With Emperor Ling before him and now Emperor Shao his son on the throne I guess it is true. It is clear for all to see who but look that the rule of the Han is failing, the lineage is all but spent, its pride and dignity forgotten.

But I over think things like this too often and turn my attention to the rather present and worried Dowager Empress. I can tell the gravity of the situation she is in now has finally come to rest upon her shoulders. The extent of the damage that has been done has peeled away her pride and entitlement. The fury that she felt before with my rudeness to her brother has been replaced with concern and fear. She has no power here, though I would say she may have power over a few people still. Should she spread her legs for the weak willed, who knows what they might do for her.

Perhaps that is why my Foster Father placed me here, because he trusts me to neither kill her or give into her. He knows that it doesn't matter if she makes promises of titles, fame, wealth, women or even spreads her own legs for me. I cannot simply be bought by her, tempted by her or persuaded by her into doing anything. That and unlike Li Ru, I have a greater level of tolerance for verbal abuse. Had she threatened Li Ru instead of me, I am certain he would have had his guard slap her across her face in response to that.

"Your Father, the General of the Vanguard, is going to restore order to the city. He said he would do so, he is going to keep the Emperor and myself self while purging the Eunuchs from the Capital?" I can hear the desperation in her voice as clearly as I can see it in her eyes and upon her face. She knows that her world, her life and the life of her child rest on a knife's edge. She is intelligent enough to have put together those pieces at least by now.

That said while part of me wishes to be crueler to her, I can't help but pity her. Does she deserve death for her part in all of this, does her son? There is never any simple black and white is there, all is a mix of a vulgar and profane grey. A grey that we must all partake in and are all trapped in. Should my Foster Father instill the Prince of Chenliu, then keeping them alive would be unwise. They can be used against him to 'restore the true Emperor', a Casus Belli for the warlords. And yet killing them would also cause the same Casus Belli to occur, the call to restore the Han and throw down the Tyrant who murdered the Emperor.

It's strange, I don't see her as the Dowager Empress ordering me to get her and her son the Emperor out of harm's way. No right now she just seems to be a woman, a woman pleading for her life and that of her son to be spared. At the end of the day, free from all titles and responsibility, one could say she is just that. But to answer her question I inform her "My Father will do whatever it takes to restore order to the Capital. Rest knowing that he will not allow this Chaos to continue and he will find a way to purge the Imperial Palace of those responsible for this travesty."

It would appear that those words do not comfort her, because she understands that she is also to blame for this mess. I can say it is with the passing of each minute, she comes to understand more and more about how badly she has messed up. How odd that I don't feel any sense of satisfaction or glee from watching her world collapse around her.

Her eyes are almost pleading now as she asks "My son, my son and I will be safe, your Father will see to it?"

"All sons live in the shadow of their father, but that doesn't mean I can speak for him. My father is more used to dealing with rebellious Qiang and maurdading Xiongnu. The delicate and precarious nature of the Imperial Court Intrigues are alien to us and thus will be dealt with in less conventional means." I say this knowing that several of those means are mass purges that evidently drew inspiration from Xiang Yu's more infamous deeds, although I am unconvinced that the slaughter of the Qin soldier's happened or at least happened in the way the Han present it.

A soldier comes in now running in and falls to one knee before me saying "Young master, I have a report from your father!"

He hands me a silk missive which I now sigh and open and read quickly. "My Son, it is as you said the Capital is in Chaos. Fortunately I have been able to assimilate the leaderless elite units of He Jin into my forces so far. The Yuan Family has stayed put at their Residence and have fortified it in case of attack. Yuan Shu who is the Imperial Corps Commander of the Imperial Tiger Guards is cooperating with me right now in purging the Eunuchs. He is doing this with much gusto and enthusiasm."

I pause reading now as I recall that it is somewhat rumoured that Yuan Shu did purge the Capital of Eunuchs. But he also went overboard and killed almost any man or boy without facial hair. Then again if people refused to show their intact family jewels, Yuan Shu then has the excuse he needs to go on a murder rampage.

Returning to reading now my foster father has also said "There are still forces and those loyal to the Eunuch Faction within the Capital. It will take time to properly purge them, that said I require you to remain with the Empress until I return. Li Ru has been requesting that I relieve you of your duty and place him there. While I doubt he has the same taste in women as you-."

That's not a line I am just simply going to read. I've never shown any tendencies that would make me out to be like Cao Cao. Neither have I let it be known that I may or may not have a thing like that, either way I am displeased it has been brought up in this context. She's the Dowager Empress, the mother of the current Emperor and also a lady who seeks power. She no doubt was willing to use her late husband, her late brother and now her son to attain and hold onto power. Excuse me but that is planting red flags in my opinion as far as the eye can see.

It takes a great amount of personal resolve to read the rest of the message which I do sadly. "-Yet while I know you shall not do so nor can she persuade you to do so. Know that I am utterly disgusted with the state of the Capital, I am going to have to wash away the corruption and rot with blood. As to whose blood yet I am undecided, but believe we will convene tonight at our base and decide."

So it was both important and unimportant, looking at the messenger I say "I believe I've read the message, returned to my Father and let him know that I will do as he has asked.

It is late into the night now when all have convened back at the base. My foster Father looks tired or at least appears to look tired but there are some things that cannot wait. For example how to properly purge the Eunuch Faction and their supports while also incorporating the rest of the people in the Capital into our own forces. Thanks to the fact that we acted quickly, we've started to absorb He Jin's troops, his most elite were first to join us. To be honest I find it slightly annoying at how little any of the rank and file care for who they serve just as long as they survive and get paid.

Even the elite units are somewhat like this since Dong Zhuo has managed to absorb them. I know not everyone can be Liu Bei or Cao Cao, but this is just sad. Regardless of what I feel though my foster father now declares "We have begun the process to absorb He Jin's forces and are doing so even now. At this point we have increased our number almost five times over. Ding Yuan's forces here are also purging the Eunuchs, although he is quite opposed to my wardenship of the Emperor. It would appear that he believes that we should restore the Emperor to the Imperial Palace first."

Now he pauses as if trying to give someone else a turn to speak. Which is promptly taken by the conniving Li Ru who says "That is unacceptable, my Lord we are not fools who would return the Emperor to a crumbling house. We must first rid the Capital of the filth before the Emperor can be restored. Anything else would be disgraceful."

He has a point sadly, we cannot simply put the Emperor back into the Imperial Place which isn't a feasible location to defend. While it has its merits and we do have the manpower, there are many things about it we don't know. We also established a base here so extending ourselves out there is a bridge too far at this point. I speak up voicing my approval of this and adding an edition of my own when I say "Li Ru is correct, we cannot possibly seat the Emperor on the throne without overextending ourselves. We have to exert our control from strategic point to strategic point. Only then can we secure the Imperial Palace and known that we will have both enough men and adequate supplies to put down any resistance that might spring up or seek to take advantage of the young Emperor."

"Dong Yi speaks truly my Lord, as does Li Ru. We need to complete your consolidation of power here before we make any more moves." Li Su says this although I find him more detestable that Li Ru. I would hazard a guess that he is just as ambitious as Li Ru, but unlike Li Ru is far more willing to take a longer approach.

My Father takes in all that was just said before nodding "Indeed we cannot overextend ourselves and grasp the Imperial Palace just yet. The Eunuchs alone are not to blame for this tragic turn of events, if they were, then those Yuans would have been able to take control of the situation by now."

He is right after all, the Eunuchs are not the only ones to blame for this situation and thus there is much yet to be done. I however am not eager to assign blame before we can adequately punish those responsible for it. Let alone the fact that we can't waste resources on pursuing tasks which drain what strength we have to do what needs to be done. So with this in mind I advise my Father "Father if I may be so bold, we must first stabilize the Capital and solidify our position here before we decide to assign blame and allot punishment. Right now there are five factions with the city, the Yuans who are murdering the remnants of the Eunuch Faction and anyone caught in between. The Eunuchs who caused most of this mess. Ding Yuan who was also called here like yourself, father to restore order. Ourselves who of course are doing our best to restore the Emperor and of course the leaderless people be their soldiers or civil officials."

I stop now because I hoped by pointing out this fact I let them know how chaotic a five way struggle for power in the Capital city can be. Also they should be aware that a five sided battle would ruin the Capital in every way and form. It would appear my Foster indeed sees this as well and says "Very well my son you speak wisely as always. We shall send for more men and we shall do what we can to secure as many men and supplies we can. Also we must make sure that the Dowager Empress and Emperor are adequately guarded at all times."

When my Father says that last bit about 'adequately guarded' he means enough troops who will not listen to her words or pleas. Which might be harder to do than some would expect because while the Dowager Empress is no longer young. She is not old either and has had the lifestyle that allowed her to maintain her beauty or at least the superficial beauty that she would put on.

That said we must also find men who won't listen to her, but do not hate the Han enough to dare to have their way with her if things get chaotic. Until our base here is beyond reproach and all other factions have been dealt with, we must safeguard the Dowager Empress and Emperor Shao. My foster Father no doubt knows this, which is why he is yet to discuss removing the Dowager Empress because she's too dangerous to be left alive at least from his point of view. I am yet to be convinced there is any merit to saving her and Emperor Shao's life. Live or die they will be used against my foster Father because of what they represent.

Clapping his hands now my father raises his voice and says "Come now, we all must rest after last night, I give you all leave to do so. But Yi, stay back there is still something I wish to discuss with you."

Well that doesn't sound ominous at all does it father?

Prologue 3

When we are alone my Foster Father asks me "You've been in the presence of the Emperor and the Dowager Empress, tell me your honest opinion of them. Don't omit certain judgements this time, there is only me here now, this way no one else can take advantage of it. Li Su, though doesn't comprehend why you are bitter about what he did."

He doesn't understand, then he's an idiot for not understanding, fool is more short sighted than Li Ru is at times. But what he did which annoyed me is not the topic at hand so I honestly answer my foster Father "I believe that the Emperor has been raised to be a puppet, he has no initiative, no ambition of his own nor does he seem capable of making decisions without the approval of his mother. He's been raised to be the ideal puppet but only for certain people. I can't help but pity him, his life has been ruined by those who should have raised him to be better."

Father strokes his beard taking in what I just said, it is likely that I am damning the Emperor and Dowager Empress Shao with my words right now. That said I am not going to simply lie for no purpose, there is no guarantee that I could get them spared as my foster Father is no fool. He understands the threat they pose and will act accordingly, that said he now says "Indeed, I cannot help but feel disgusted that the Han has fallen to this. His brother, the Prince of Chenliu showed far greater decivincess and majesty when they stumbled upon our forces."

I would correct that statement, majesty is the wrong term. The Prince of Chenliu had a keen mind and the will to act upon what he saw. There is a fine line between majesty and being someone who isn't weak willed, I believe my Foster Father knows it, but chose those words to emphasize his point. He clearly believes that it would be better to place the Prince of Chenliu on the throne. He must have picked up or at least viewed the current Emperor as a figure head whose strings can only be pulled on by certain people. But my Foster Father now bids me "Tell me, what is your opinion of the Dowager Empress, not the one you told before, tell me your full assessment of her."

Oh so that means I'm given free reign then to talk as required no matter how crass, brass or rude I am. Taking in a deep breath I inform him "The Dowager Empress He has climbed far to get where she is now. It is unfortunate that her allies were a bunch of idiots and that she herself has made missteps that can be seized upon by her enemies. She deposed Empress Song for one, the Grand Empress Dowager's ill health and family being murdered He Jin are also there."

Dong Zhuo nods before stating "I and the Grand Dowager Empress share the Dong Name (董)."

There is a slightly dangerous tone to his voice, it is not directed at me, but I know the cause for it. He is recalling how the foster mother of the Prince Liu Xie is of his clan. I also should be have kept my mouth shut because there no reasonable way to explain how Dong Zhongs death which was supposed to be suicide was He Jin's doing. Well History tells us it was He Jin's doing because he kicked out the Grand Dowager Empress and then arrested Dong Zhong. The court officials could probably tell where she was sent since they approved it, another nail in their coffin so to speak.

He nods to me to continue and I say "She and her brother managed to out play Jian Shuo who wished for Liu Xie to be made Emperor instead of Emperor Shao. They had managed to gather everything they needed and the Dowager Empress was now in control in all but name with her brother. Then He Jin underestimated how far the Eunuchs were willing to go to stop him. His arrogance lead to his stupid and completely avoidable demise which leaves the mess we are in. The Dowager Empress she has supped from the Mandate of Heaven and grown drunk on its power."

"Don't try and put it in a way for simpletons to understand, I believe you care not for the Mandate of Heaven. She was drunk on the power she got, go from there." My Foster Father does not allow me to simply mock the 'Mandate of Heaven', even though at this point he takes it seriously while I do not.

Taking in a deep breath again I say "In short she has drunk to deeply and she and He Jin acquired a taste for power and became intoxicated with it. These events have been sobering for her, but sadly once you sip from chalice, you never wish to stop. Let her and her son live, she will try to bring you down and have you laid low while she tries to cling to whatever power she might gain from it. Kill her and her son, then you have justification for every member of the Eastern Han to rise up and cry 'Tyrant'. Killing her son the Emperor will cause her to try to kill you no matter what, killing her son and not her would leave you with, well you know what I said about him before."

Stroking his beard my foster Father states "Indeed, we are at a disadvantage. Even if we incorporate all of He Jin's forces Ding Yuan is still here and people from the Capital might join him. That and I hear he has a very impressive bodyguard who if on hand might cause serious damage to us. Li Su has suggested bribing the man to kill Ding Yuan for us. I am unsure if it will work, but I am willing to take that risk."

"That's a dangerous gamble and sets a very dangerous precedent should he accept." I say this now cutting into whatever else my foster Father was about to say. He looks somewhat confused me and strokes his beard once more.

Sighing he says "Which one our people told you everything we found out so far, I told you before if you keep this up. I might just stop having people discover and validate information and instead come straight to you and demand you to explain everything that is going on. Regardless, elaborate on what you mean, also do you know his name?"

"Yes I know his name, Lu Bu, styled Fengxian. I do believe he serves Ding Yuan as his foster son." A look of understanding comes across my own Foster Father's face as he strokes his beard again.

But it is lost now as he looks confused and my Foster Father asks "How did you stuck with the Dowager Empress find out so much. I don't recall allowing you to go ahead with what was that called that AL protocol?"

"Alpharius Protocol, no I have not gone ahead with it, but the Capital isn't silent Father. A man can hear many things if he listens." I say this now as I politely wish I had a mustache to twirl.

Which now prompts Dong Zhuo to tell me "Actually off topic, now that we are in the capital, I request that you refrain from cutting your hair. Only a few believe that you're my foster son, many believe you're my youngest and latest son, my relatives know that you mean no disrespect when you do so. Not everyone else understands that though."

I now return to focus saying "Should you bribe Lu Bu Fengxian and he betrays Ding Yuan, it would mean that you managed to convince him to murder his foster father for a bribe. So how great a bribe will he betray you for, the title of Marquis perhaps? Also if I might add, he may call you 'Father' then you'd have a man known as the 'Bastard of Three Fathers' serving you. If he just calls you 'Master' then he'll be the slave of three surnames."

"You seem mightily opposed to Lu Bu joining us Yi, it is most unlike you not to seize talent." He says this to me without understanding that unlike him I do know that in almost every media, iteration and translation of the Romance of the Three Kingdoms and History itself, Lu Bu kills Dong Zhuo ninety five times out of a hundred, but how can you tell a man that.

He's not wrong, we do need him to get rid of Ding Yuan, either to kill him or not be around when we move on Ding Yuan. That said a solution comes to me and I say "Fine, bribe him and take him and do what you want. But know that you cannot actually trust him. You should never ally with anyone who cannot put down."

Father plans to purge to Court, Seventy Civil Officials, Fifty Military Officials and over three thousand to three thousand six hundred Imperial Relatives. What's one more name to that list? It's not much to ask, except that the name I need to get down is 'Wang Yun'.

Prologue 4

A full day or more has now passed since we entered the Capital and my foster Father has kept me out of most of the action. I've been stuck back here writing reports and letters to people although I am certain it is his tactic to keep me out of the way. But that said it has allowed me to make sure the list of potential threats and people we will needed to take out includes Wang Yun. So while I was kept out of the fighting which I am not entirely unhappy about, I was able to make sure that if there are purges or rather 'when' there are purges. Wang Yun will not simply escape notice.

As we have all gathered here now, my foster Father states to us all "I have come to my decisions, Li Su you are to bribe this Lu Bu offer him Chì Tù (Red Hare) and whatever else you see fit to give him. I require him to be brought to my side if we are to move forward and take control of this situation."

Li Su bows and goes off to do just that, it would appear that my Father has moved to gain Lu Bu's help after all. It may come to bite him, or rather come back to stab him. But regardless of that I have done my best to remove the threat of Wang Yun, but of course in this fickle era someone else is always ready to step up and take up that role.

My father addresses us all again and this time says "I have thought long and hard about it and have taken on the counsel from all of you on the matter. But I have decided, Emperor Shao was put there by the scheming of the Dowager Empress and his Uncle the General in Chief. He is unfit to bear the Han name or the Mandate of Heaven, to secure the future we must remove him and install Prince Liu Xie."

Things are happening fast, a little too fast for my liking. But it does make sense if you take into account that the person who is able to act first seals defeat for all his rivals. Especially in a power vacuum this large, acting too late may cause you to die. Dong Zhuo goes on to finish saying "We will 'inform' the Dowager Empress that she is required to abdicate her titles and that of her son. Once stripped of their titles they will remain under house arrest."

I can tell that is not the only thing that is going to happen to them. But I keep my mouth closed because there is no reason to save them. To kill them is to start a warcry to bring down 'the Tyrant'. To let them live is to allow a viper and her puppet to strangle you in your sleep when the time suits her. It is a loss that we will have to take either way not to mention the further discord that can be sowed by the Dowager Empress should she remain alive.

"Yi I assign that task to you and will leave the Empress and her son in your care. If she refuses to do as we ask, remind her what could happen to her and her son. And that I am a relative of the Grand Empress Dowager and so are you. I Li Ru and the rest of you shall move forward and seize the Imperial Palace today." He says this as if it is going to be done, but it is not done, it's not done.

Politely I raise my objection saying "I object Father, I wish to be with you when we secure the Imperial Palace and not with the Dowager Empress."

"You may do so if you can find a replacement for your own task, who will do exactly as I say, not be tempted by the Dowager Empress's promises among other things which you yourself know. Go ahead find me a man you can trust without fail to do as I asked you to do. Is there anyone here who is willing to take up the task of my Son?" Several of them here civil and martial men both take a step forward after my foster Father says that.

But he just waves them all of saying "None of you have proven yourselves and thus none of you can do it. This is not the task to prove yourselves this is the task you get once you have proven the strength of your character. Which is why this to Yi my son and no one else."

Li Ru speaks up now saying "My lord I don't wish to be rude, but most men here have no idea why you trust your son so implicitly. They might think this is unwarranted favouritism of your son because they don't know how... ?"

There is a pause now as Li Ru tries to think of what he is supposed to say next. He seems to settle on "How strong his strength of character is. They do not know that he might just be the only man under Heaven to never take a bribe, big or small in private or official matters."

"Yes after we have all done our duties today, we can recount on those deceased fools who thought they could bribe Yi to betray me. He is my son and thus would never betray me." I want to remind him that he is getting Lu Bu to do the same thing. But I do not speak up partly because it will do no good and partly because I will need my self control to deal with the Dowager Empress when the time comes.

We all bow now and prepare to leave as my Foster Father declares "Today we shall purge this city completely and restore order! We move now knowing that Heaven is with us and that we are favoured by it!"

"You want me to relinquish the titles I have, to say my son isn't Emperor and that we will be forced out of the Imperial Palace and forced to acknowledge this Prince Xie as the new Emperor. You, you fiend, you villain, you want to rip the future of my son that is rightfully his away from him!" She says this with no doubt every intention of believing her own words.

But I am unaffected, I don't care for either her anger or her tears. I can see now why I was tasked with this, some men might have been moved and think her a good mother. I can see while she does mourn for the fact that her son is no longer Emperor, she is also mourning for herself. All that she and He Jin did to make Emperor Shao into Emperor Shao has come undone. Not only that but the Grand Empress Dowager's relatives are now here and taking their due from her. "Dowager Empress, I am informing you of this politely, I would like to remind you that my Father is a Dong (董). The ill treatment of the Grand Empress Dowager Dong and your brother's arrest and murder of Dong Zhong has not gone forgotten."

"You seek to settle that now while the Capital is in chaos and ruin whatever chance there is for stability?" She actually earnestly asked me this which does cause me to sigh deeply and shake my head at her. She no doubt believes that she and her son are the best option for the Han. The sun is setting on the Han and in dying hours twilight hours she thinks she and her son can avert that, there is no averting it Dowager Empress He.

Politely I clear my throat and say "We are not settling debts and grievances Dowager Empress. We are doing what we can to assert order within the Capital from the chaos. The chaos you and your brother the late General in Chief created from your schemes to remove the Grand Empress Dowager and have your own blood on the throne. But a tower that is built too high can only fall and thus it has happened and now we are here."

Before I left, father had given me instructions on what to do if she refused to do so. On matters of principle I cannot simply follow through with that order and he knows it. One thing about my foster father that I can say no one can challenge is that he is a filial member of the Dong Clan. Seeing as Dong Zhong and the Grand Empress Dowager were both members of the Dong Clan, I can understand why he is willing to allow his men to do what he wrote. The fact that he wrote it down rather than say it means he didn't want others in the room to know that he had this planned.

The matter of principle is that I do not tolerate the **** of a woman as as a suitable form of punishment. It may be that I am from the modern era originally, but it is not a line I will cross. That is probably why he told it to me, because I will do what I can to convince the Dowager Empress to relinquish her titles and that of her son. Even though my foster Father does treat me like his son, he is also devious and willing to use my morals against me like this.

But my attention is brought back to the Dowager Empress as she tries to stop her tears to say "You're going to kill me if I don't agree to this aren't you? You villains are going to murder me here right in the Capital along with my son and place that boy on the throne regardless of what I do or say?"

"The depths of villainy do not end with death alone Dowager Empress. You may not know it but there are fates worse than death." I tell her this because I believe she has the right to know that we are not going to kill her. My father has a worse plan in mind and I am not willing to be part of it so she must be coerced at least into agreement.

To this she snidely asks "Oh and what will that be then, tell me what is worse than death?"

"There are so many things that I can tell you Dowager Empress, do you really wish for me to tell you them all?" I say this keeping the polite tone I had been using the entire time, but it seems my message got across to her. It may or may not have something to do with the look that I shot her just then or the fact that I am deadly serious that she will wish we killed her if she doesn't comply.

Stepping back now in fear she stumbles and falls over while trying to move away from me. She doesn't hit the ground hard but she does hit it hard enough that she doesn't rise up straight away. She instead just looks at me now and sees me staring down at her. "Is there, is there no end to this, what type of wicked, twisted and inbred monsters are you?"

I don't wish to hear talk about inbreeding because my parents were certainly not brother and sister, the same can't be said of He Jin who walked right into the Eunuchs ambush. "Dowager Empress for your sake and your son's I urge you to agree and relinquish your titles and that of your son's. If you do not I will be unable to guarantee your assured safety from now on. That and my Father is not a forgiving man when it comes to someone who has harmed the family."

"Don't pretend that you care villain, you are wicked and twisted, a vile monster with no heart who seeks to dethrone the Emperor like your father under the pretense of restoring order. Your thrice damned inbred family seeks to grab onto power now and will do and say anything for it. You filthy swine, I bet that you would have your way with me now if you could!" She says this to me now her eyes filled with anger and the tears flowing once more, she hasn't understood the gravity of what I said before and I can't help but sigh in response to this.

Shaking my head I enlighten her to the facts "It may be indeed as you say Empress Dowager. My father indeed may be seizing power under the pretense of restoring order. But such a feat is only capable by him due to the General in Chief empowering the Warlords in the manner he did. You and your brother too lied, cheated and killed your way to where you are now. So therefore there is nothing you can invoke of calling me or my father those names because they fit you all too nicely. But there is one thing you are utterly wrong about: can you guess what that is?"

She doesn't answer but looks in defiance of what I just said, but I know my next words will as I say "It's not that I can't have my way with you. In fact I certainly can if I desired, I just don't care to do so because I despise that sort of thing. That is why nothing as cruel and profane as that has occurred to you Dowager Empress. It is the one thing that stops the men who enter here, mine or another of my father's commanders men from doing that as well."

I pause and let her take in what I just said and it seems as her eyes widened in realization. Perhaps finally I have gotten through to her and she now throws herself at my feet kowtowing before me begging "No please, please don't let them do that to me. I'll do it, I'll do what you ask just keep me and my son safe please!"

How revolting to have the Dowager Empress groveling at my feet, it is not something befitting a lady of her station. But then again she may not be Dowager Empress for much longer and well. It was from nothing that same came and it is to nothing that she will go. At least she has the decency to beg for her son's life as well, I couldn't be sure that she would do so after all, there are no limits to which people like her can sink.

To make sure she is now completely enlightened to her predicament I inform her "Everything that has a beginning inexorably has an end Dowager Empress. Dread it, run from it. Destiny arrives all the same. But you already are aware of this. Why else would my father have been called to the Capital and it burst out in chaos like this before we arrived?"

I leave the suggestion if it was fate or destiny to her to decide, while I don't care for it. I am certain that the Empress Dowager believes in something like that or at least fooled herself into believing it. But getting to business at hand I say "Your son will relinquish his claim to the Mandate of Heaven and you will relinquish the titles you've taken. That is what we require of you Empress Dowager. So stand up and treat your officer with the respect it is supposed to hold for you will not hold onto it for much longer."

Interlude

"Are you certain this isn't going to be a waste of time my son? The training routine you

propose is rather, demanding to say the least and savage to say the worst." Dong Zhuo states to this to me after I presented him with my training program. I got Li Ru's support for it, but even Li Ru said that it was a tad bit too far. Then again, how many armies of antiquity practice as hard or as harshly as this? Well they do drill the men harshley like the myths of Zhang Fei doing so badly his men hated him so much that they killed him for it, or was that one of the actual reasons he died?

None the less I politely bow and say "Lord Dong, I am certain it will work. The harshness of the training will build character. The saying goes 'hard times create strong men. Strong men create good times. Good times create weak men. And, weak men create hard times'. Best to stimulate the men into a harsh environment to make them stronger."

There is a pause now from Dong Zhuo who seems to think about what I said. It must be a strange concept to them, because they only drill their men in certain ways. No matter how hard or how often you drill your men, if those drills only encompass a few things then those men will only be versed in those few things. "First call me father not Lord Dong. two thirds of forces and those under my protection believe you're my legitimate son and the other third are too damn scared to say anything else. But back to the topic at hand, you believe you can turn these men into a fighting force within a year be worthy to take on my own personal forces? That is some boast?"

"Give me the time and the proper resources available to embark on this endeavour and I shall prove it true." I say this now as I think over just what the differences will be from the men who have a more twenty first century training regime to those who have what antiquity training level regime? Since we still have time and plenty of men, there is no need for me to worry about losing anything, well anything but face and since when do I care about my face.

After another pause as Dong Zhuo takes in what I said, no doubt he is considering if it is worth it again. I don't blame him for having cold feet. This is something new and outlandish and unknown and most people fear or hate what they don't properly understand. Once more he speaks and says "Then go with my blessing son and do as you see fit. That said do not expect me to reward you for failure. You have one year to get this task done, see that you do my son."

Don't worry I wouldn't reward me for failure anyway, but I don't say that. Instead I just say "I will see it done by the end of next year's end. I will make sure that I train the men into being the deadliest weapon on earth."

"If you are going to reference wisdom, make sure that it is meaningful wisdom my son. Don't quote something that someone may have said at some point. For all I know you may have heard that on the street or at a bazaar or even a Brothel." He says this to me as if he doesn't understand that I am quoting the fact that men who are trained one how to use their weapon and how to adapt to using other ones are indeed the deadliest weapons on earth.

Ah woe to the uneducated and woe to the ignorant, Dong Zhuo will understand once he sees results. But then again only the most willfully ignorant of fools don't believe once they have solid proof in front of them. That or they are in denial because they want to believe. That said it is not going to be smooth sailing, I'll have to make sure that I can do what the men can do and that is not going to be easier. But while I do ponder if this is worth it, I mean I am basically helping out the Tyrant who is going to hasten the demise of the Han.

He who is going to commit mass and burn the capital of Luoyang for his defeat at the hands of the coalition. A man who in his fifties l.u.s.ts after the young Diaochan which is rather creepy. That said he is the man who has taken me in and the last days of my youth are either going to be with him or are going to be my last days alive. Even if he calls me son I am no fool, one misstep and I am dead. There are so many lies around here it makes me sick, but at least the lie of youth doesn't exist in this world. And I am left to wonder about the purpose of my existence here and all.

I walk now and see the lines of men who have arrayed themselves, quite a few of them and Qiang which means they are not the regular 'Han'. Which is good, because they are hardier folk when compared due to their own lack of luxury.

I have, say what five thousand volunteers. I wonder how many of them will last because now I let them know "I wish for all of you to know that this Brigade as I am going to call you is an experimental one. I am going to subject you some of the strangest and cruelest training drills you are ever going to experience. Right now you are men of flesh, but once this is over you will be 'Iron Men'. Our lord expects that every man will do his duty."

"Know that I will be there right beside you every step of the way. The first step is that you are men, not children. You will carry your own armour, you will carry your own weapons. You will carry around 15 days worth of rations with you and you will train, march and drill with this. Today I will be splitting you into your separate squads. Make sure you get to know the men you are with well, because they will eat, drink, train and sleep with you." I inform them of this before I Fan Chou and Xu Rong who have been assigned to assist me move about to do just that.

While modern military schemes are more complex than say the roman ones, a man has to keep in mind that a squad is say from between seven to fourteen men I think? But a Roman Century only had eighty fighting men due to two out of every ten men being an engineer or support worker for the other Legionaries. The first set of training that I have planned is going to be a fullpack run. Them with all of their kit and one holding the flag leading them at the front. Will be forced to run ten miles like the Rangers from the JSDF.

This will strengthen their muscles and get them used to carrying a heavy load and increase the strength and stamina of the men. Something which I feel is going to be useful in drawn out engagements. A strategy and plan can only work if the troops are capable of pulling it off. Weak troops are a burden not an asset so mass recruitment without adequate training will lead to a disaster worse than my first confession. Well almost worst, there are some scars that cut too deep and that is one of them which I am still unable to get over. Perhaps that is a flaw within my own character or nah it is part of who I am and makes me stronger, when it comes to being alone and losing I am the strongest.

That aside I must also keep in mind that I don't want the men to hate me. To fear someone is different to hating and fearing someone. Because if you hate someone, then you are more likely to raise your arms in rebellion against them. I do believe that Zhang Fei learned this the hard way when his men murdered him and took his head to Sun Quan. Fear is alright but one should make sure that the fear is not overbearing because then hatred will take root. To be respected is ideal but also hard to achieve, regardless of that, the first step on my task to create an elite fighting force begins here!