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Guanghe 7th year (184 AD), February.
A winter where thin ice had coldly settled over the parched wasteland.
"The blue sky is dead! From now on, it is the era of the yellow sky!"
Centered around the Great Peace Cult leader Zhang Jiao, they rose in rebellion against the state.
The court branded those wearing yellow headbands as "Yellow Turban Rebels"—mere bandits—and dispatched Zhu Jun, Huangfu Song, and Lu Zhi to suppress them.
And in Bing Province.
An edict from the court had arrived.
- Bing Province Governor Ding Yuan, exterminate the Yellow Turban Rebels.
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[Bing Province, Jinyang Fortress Barracks.]
"That's what it says, but it's utterly ridiculous."
I couldn't help but let out a hollow laugh at the contents of the edict that had made its way to even our barracks.
"Yellow Turban Rebels."
Having served under Ding Yuan for nearly ten years, enemies this absurd could be counted on one hand.
"Bandits."
It was more bewildering than when I learned my name was Lü Bu, or even when I realized this world was the Romance of the Three Kingdoms.
"These damn bandits just won't stop coming."
Bandits had appeared again. The Yellow Turbans might be significant, but whether they were Red Turbans or Blue Turbans, they were a headache all the same.
"The Xiongnu raid from the north whenever they get the chance, and the Black Mountain Bandits are swarming in the south. Now we've got Yellow Turbans on top of that."
"General, are they really bandits?"
One of my subordinates approached and asked.
"According to folks who came from afar, they're just a religious group."
"Deputy Song. They're bandits."
The subordinate I called "Song" scratched his head.
"Well..."
"If the court deems them as such, then they're bandits."
No matter what the Great Peace Daoists truly were, they had become bandits.
"Even if they don't pillage, they're bandits. Even if they raid corrupt officials' granaries and distribute grain to the starving poor—a righteous act—they're still bandits."
"...Even if they're innocent commoners?"
"The moment they tie on those yellow headbands, they become bandits. Under the name Yellow Turbans."
Yellow Turban Rebels.
"You've already seen it yourself. A hungry commoner grabs a sickle and ambushes travelers on a mountain path—that makes him a bandit in the end."
"..."
"This time, their scale is massive enough that even the court's in a panic."
"So they've finally come begging us for reinforcements."
They were certainly important figures, but ordering us in Bing Province to drive them out first elicited a "well..."
"We're already swamped dealing with the Black Mountain Bandits."
Bing Province had been fighting the Black Mountain Bandits for years now.
To be precise, it wasn't exactly the Black Mountain Bandits by name at first—we'd been at war with bandit gangs entrenched in every mountain valley.
No matter how many we captured or killed, they sprouted up like weeds afterward.
When those gangs gathered in the mountains and blackened the slopes, we started calling them the Black Mountain Bandits.
"The court wants us to handle the Yellow Turbans, but we're barely holding our own against the Black Mountain Bandits. And it'll only get worse."
"Worse than now?"
"With the Yellow Turbans rampaging across the plains down there, do you think the bandits around here will sit idle?"
The moment they sense the central authority can't reach Bing Province, the bandits will rampage even more than they do now.
"But aren't you here, General?"
"One man won't make the bandits vanish."
"...Still, thanks to you, plenty of potential bandits are quietly tilling their fields instead."
"We did work hard to make sure they were swinging pickaxes at the dirt instead of at people's heads."
Bing Province wasn't safe by any means.
But we were suppressing and controlling the bandits, reforming them so they could live off their own labor without stealing from others.
I was doing that.
"If even one of us four stepped away, those guys in the valley would slink out and raid the villages in no time."
"Ugh..."
"So, that edict is just an edict. Even if such an order came down to the Bing Province Governor, our esteemed Governor won't be sending an army all the way to the plains."
"Governor Ding Yuan..."
Deputy Song shook his head.
"Enough of that. Let's not talk about it. More importantly, the meeting's about to start. We should head over."
"A meeting."
A summons had come from the government office.
"We're already swamped training the soldiers."
"If the general spent his time tilling rice paddies in the fields instead of helping with administration at the office, there wouldn't even be meetings."
"Even if we hold one, won't our great Governor just ramble on until it's over?"
"That's exactly why you need to be there, General. At least he watches his step around you."
"Not a pleasant situation."
In many ways.
"Deputy Song. I'm not trying to gild my own face, but I've heard the rumors floating around there."
"Rumors that General Lü is eyeing the Bing Province Governor position?"
"...I've never aimed for it, so who's spreading that?"
"Who knows. Probably the common folk."
Rumors were circulating.
Malicious ones, at that—the people hoping I'd become Bing Province Governor.
"Troublesome. My relationship with Governor Ding is already strained after I turned down his proposal."
"Proposal?"
"He wanted me to become his adopted son."
"What? You refused that?"
"Huh?"
Deputy Song tilted his head.
"Governor Ding was thrilled when you became his adopted son."
"What nonsense is that?"
Oh no.
A curse slipped out before I knew it.
"Ridiculous. I'm Lü Bu. Not Ding Bu."
"...It's rare to change surnames immediately upon adoption anyway."
"This won't do. Deputy Song. I was planning to ignore the meeting anyway, but..."
I grabbed my official hat and robe from where I'd set them aside.
"Song Xian."
"Yes, General."
"Let's head to Jinyang Fortress government office. I need to hear directly from Governor Ding what he meant by that."