Heroes of Chaos (The Three Kingdoms Chronicles Book 2) by Baptiste Pinson Wu

Author:Baptiste Pinson Wu [Pinson Wu, Baptiste]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9784991276828
Publisher: Little Conqueror Press
Published: 2023-03-14T16:00:00+00:00

Infiltrating the Yellow Turbans proved easy enough. They had no organization to speak of, no defense, no daily password to be admitted inside a camp, and of course, no camp. Their number was their defense, the despair in their eyes their password. A set of rags and a tethered mule was all it took for those lost peasants to welcome me as if I had just left in the morning, as I declared.

In many ways, this situation reminded me of Julu, where the three founding brothers of the Way had based their headquarters. People moved like forever-hungry ghosts, mindlessly, with no hope for the next day. At least in Dongping commandery, they had found enough harvest for a few more weeks. As I quickly learned, the “camp” I penetrated was one of four such locations, and some of my new brothers insisted it was the most populated. The only great difference between Julu and this place was the lake nearby. They would not go thirsty, but the infesting mosquitos made it as close to torture as Julu had been. There must have been nearly seventy thousand people in Shouzhang, but no army to speak of. Everyone was a soldier, but no one truly was.

I can’t say I was nervous, even by myself. It was like coming back home after eight years away. Stripping the soldier out of me needed a few conscious adjustments; otherwise, I just behaved like I was seven again.

Those people were miserable, hungry, and tired. As I passed through this mob in search of anyone looking like a leader, Uncle Cheng’s voice echoed in my head. They had done nothing wrong. Their situation was just the result of the games played by men of power, men like my lord. Like black and white stones on a weiqi board, their lives depended on their value to the player. Lord Cao would use them to lift himself up in the world, and I was helping him. At least he wasn’t just planning on destroying them as Gongsun Zan had tried.

It took me two days to find the leader of this ragged mob, though leader might not be the right term. Shepherd would be more accurate. He could not order them, for that would imply a method of communication from the top to the bottom which did not exist. All this man could do was point toward the next destination and get the flock moving. Yet, he was all there was. Better still, I knew him. Back in Julu, when I had been introduced to the Adepts of the Way, he had been there and gave me the same poor impression as now. Bian Xi was a slim man with a long, thin mustache and eyes that belonged more on a weasel than a person. Years had not been kind to Bian Xi, but I would not pity him.

After a few shi of observing him doing nothing of interest, I understood that approaching him would not be difficult. Getting some privacy, though, would be more complicated.

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