Disclaimer: Koei owns Dynasty Warriors and the Romance of Three Kingdoms games. Luo Guanzhong is creator of the novel.
Author Note:This story takes some events from the novel and expands upon them. This story is fully written and will be posted as chapters are edited.
The year is 199. General Gongsun Zan, commander of the White Horse Cavalry and regional warlord of the late Han dynasty, began to feel the pressure of the encroaching powers of the soon to be Three Kingdoms era. After establishing a fierce reputation in his battles with northern barbarians and joining the anti-Dong Zhuo coalition, he found himself in the way of Yuan Shao's bid for dominance. For a decade vied for control of the North with him. He had granted refuge to a former schoolmate, Liu Bei, and briefly won the loyalty of a warrior by the name of Zhao Yun, however by now they had already gone their separate ways. The end of an era was swiftly approaching.
To Serve Man
Chapter 1
Sacrificial Lamb
Gongsun Zan's home was in flames and the reports were that his family was already dead. Cao Cao's soldiers flooded into the fortress and he rode his warhorse through the gate amongst them. His eyes scanned the interior to determine how much damaged there was. Yuan Shao had already attacked to end the long feud he had with the Gongsun army, however Cao Cao had quickly moved in to secure the site for himself. Yuan Shao had no need for it, but Cao Cao was going to need as many bases as possible for his next battle especially after he had agreed to an alliance with the man to eliminate Gongsun Zan, then slipped off to battle Lu Bu instead. After his victory against Lu Bu at Xia Pi, it was time to strike at Yuan Shao while morale was high and forces were in motion and his old friend decided to act upon his deception. "Pi, see to it that these fires are put out. We're trying to save this city for ourselves not have to invest time in building a new on one its ashes."
"Yes, father." Cao Pi gave orders to several subordinates and then noticed a small pocket of soldiers still fighting. "I'll see to it that the rest of those men are taken care of before you advance."
"I don't see any men." Cao Cao looked over at the burning house and at the one individual standing in the doorway with a spear. The soldier had just taken off his helmet to use as a projectile and his long hair spilled down over his shoulders. "I do believe that is a woman."
Cao Pi knew better than to question his father's judgment where women were concerned. Instead he followed him over to see who exactly this individual was.
Gongsun Lian stood in the door frame of her burning home. The flames engulfed the structure and provided an awe-inspiring backdrop for what would be the last stand of the Gongsun family. Her siblings and mother were dead on the floor inside; her father hanging from the ceiling by a noose of his own making. She watched as an imposing figure pushed through the blue-clad soldier and set her spear aside. "Prime Minister Cao, I suppose I should be honored you are seeing to this yourself. You're a little late; your friend Yuan Shao already destroyed the place."
Cao Cao dismounted and walked up to the woman, his eyes were immediately drawn to the gruesome scene behind her. "Your father showed some dignity in his death."
"Did he?" She looked over her shoulder as the body swung from a rafter momentarily before the beam snapped and both crashed to the floor.
Cao Cao reached out for her arm, as her hand was poised on her sword, still in the scabbard on her hip. "If you wanted to die you would have let him spare you this hell. I can only assume that you have some intention of taking care of your people. Hopefully to do a better job than he did. Give me the sword and quit wasting my time."
Lian laughed at him. "I'm sorry; do you expect me to see you as a savior? That you're here to free the people of this province from an egotistical warlords rule?"
He tightened his grip on her wrist as she looked into his eyes and didn't flinch. Few men could do that and no woman ever tried. "Something is to be said of the famed White Horse Cavalrymen if you can still be so confident amongst this despair."
"Now who is wasting my time?" She asked and slapped his face with her free hand. "Come now, Prime Minister, it's time to get your hands dirty. I am the reinforcements; I may be too late to make a difference but certainly not too late for a good fight."
Cao Cao released her hand, never expecting her to actual hit him. He could almost hear everyone surrounding them gasp. "For a supposedly brave warrior, you are nothing but a reckless suicidal fool. Just like your father."
Lian had her sword drawn and at his neck before he ended his sentence. Every man in the area took a step closer and she noted a few more famed Wei generals were now approaching. However Cao Cao made no move and simply stared her down with his cold brown eyes. "Still the cocky bastard you always were, Cao Cao. Rumor has it you were Yuan Shao's ally in this attack. What's wrong, did you get lost?"
"Go ahead and end it then, if you think you're capable Lady Gongsun." Cao Cao growled.
Cao Pi's mouth hung open. "Has he gone mad?"
Xiahou Dun shook his head as he stood next to his nephew's horse. "Yuan, just shoot her and put her out of her misery."
"Will do, brother." Yuan nocked an arrow and watched his bother fidget with the makeshift bandage over his eye. It was bleeding again and things were happening too fast for his brother to get proper medical attention. They had raced here from Xia Pi to secure the site and Dun wasn't going to sit out because of a 'mere scratch'. Maybe if they did join Yuan Shao instead of hunting down Lu Bu, his brother would still have his eye.
Cao Cao watched her hesitate and took the opportunity to push away the sword and pin her to the wall of the house as the roof caved in behind her. "What is it that you're after? Your father brought this on himself and his people turned on him. You turned on him, taking the opportunity to take control of the cavalry you so desperately wanted. So this is quite the theatrical performance for nothing. Too scared to take your own life, so you're going to force me to do it?"
Cao Pi relaxed seeing that the woman was now pinned to a wall. "Now that is the father I know."
Lian blew her hot breathe on his face as his hand went around her throat. "I'm not afraid of you; you can't scare me. So here I am to defy you because I didn't want my family name to be a footnote in history."
"I can assure you, that won't be the case." Cao Cao leaned in closer and whispered, "I really was only after your cavalry, so in some respect your horsemen will get their revenge on Yuan Shao when I destroy him."
"Then either kill me or give me my sword back."
Cao Cao let her go and looked her over. "I suppose I have you to thank for keeping your command safe. You are the reinforcements after all…..mine."
"You do like to hear yourself talk, don't you?" She retorted.
Cao Cao smirked before slapping her and returning the favor for the handprint on his face. "Take that as a warning. I'll tolerate that from an enemy, but not my own officer. Gather your men and help save this city, then I expect a full report of the numbers, officers and morale of your unit."
Lian turned as the wall behind her fell inward and obscured any vision of the funeral pyre inside her former home. "Yes sir."
201 AD
Lian sat at a desk and continued to sort through requests from the people. Her husband scurried around the town making improvements, increasing productivity and bolstering troops as she tended to some menial tasks. Lian wanted to restore BeiPing to its former glory and the White horse cavalry to its full strength and that was quickly becoming a reality.
The battle of Guan Du had been impressive, she was surprised Cao Cao could so quickly dispatch of the great Lu Bu, secure YiJing and hurry to declare war on Yuan Shao. She didn't complain, the last thing she wanted was to wait a lifetime for revenge on the man who had destroyed her family. She didn't have some burning need for vengeance that most men had, she only wanted to do what seemed proper. In reality she saw the end of the Gongsun clan as her father's fault, but that wasn't how she wanted her family remembered. If she fought against Yuan Shao, perhaps she could dust off the ashes from the Gongsun name and let them rest in peace.
The battle itself was a true testament of Cao Cao's incredible skill. He possessed a kind of brilliance that bordered on insanity and the battle against overwhelming odds was a showcase of his talents. It didn't make her like him any, but she could see that he was not going to be an easy man to defeat. At Guan Du the White Horse cavalry was under the command of Cao Cao's cousin, Cao Ren. She wasn't sure how, but her performance there had truly impressed him. As they celebrated the victory over Yuan Shao's army, Cao Cao informed her that Ren wanted to marry her and there was no other time like the present. One minute she was trying to prove herself a capable commander and the next she was married to the man she was trying to dissuade from reassigning her to another unit.
She looked up as the doors flew open and the furious King of Wei stormed in. "If I had known you were coming I would have arranged for a sacking of the town."
Cao Cao swiped the papers off the desk and his hands slammed down on it with enough force to rattle the remaining inkpot off the edge. "I spare your worthless life and you use it to make my cousin miserable?"
She leaned forward, mere inches from him, and looked up at his furious face. "I've made him look good, isn't that what wives are for?"
Cao Cao had never encountered anyone who was immune to his rage. "You frigid little bitch…"
Cao Ren burst into the room in an attempt to stop his cousin from tearing his wife apart. He didn't intend for him to get so upset when he admitted that his new wife was somewhat mean. "Mengde, please!"
"Is this how you intend to keep me in line, Ren? Tattling to your cousin?"
Cao Cao hand was off the table and mid air as his cousin shoved him off to the side. "If you won't hit her, I will."
Lian leaned back as his hand narrowly avoided her face. "I'm waiting."
"Mengde, I didn't mean anything by it…." Ren tried to put himself between his angry cousin and his hostile wife.
"Ren, you're too kind for a woman like her. I'll rectify that." Cao Cao grabbed a scroll of the floor and threw it on the empty desk. "Get me a quill and ink. I'll annul this ridiculous marriage right now."
"Mengde, we can work it out!"
"Ren, she's already outlasted her use. You've done fine work rebuilding this city and I'm sure they won't miss her much. I said give me your pen!"
Lian dipped the quill in the ink on the floor and handed it to him only to have Ren snatch it from her. "Stubborn aren't you?"
"Nothing good will come of this Lian, I'm not going to give up and hand you over to be…" He stopped as Cao Cao grabbed the pen from him and began to write.
"Executed?" Cao Cao finished the sentence. "I'll find you a more suitable wife. One who won't revel in your bleeding heart."
"Mengde, I asked for this. You have to give me the chance to…"
"Have her rip you apart more?" Cao Cao shook his head. "I should have listened to Dun; he told me you'd see this as some attempt to rescue a rabid dog and keep her from being put down."
"Lian, please, say something." Ren looked over at the woman who had been married to him over a year, the woman who verbally skewered him every chance she got.
"Do you need help writing that, Lord Cao?"
"Here." Cao Cao handed the scroll to Ren and stared at the woman behind the desk who showed no emotion. "You're a bachelor again."
Ren took some consolation in the fact that he didn't order her execution in the same sentence.
Cao Cao glared at Lian, "You are a prisoner again."
"I always have been."
Ren watched Cao Cao grab her arm and drag her from the room. He should have kept his mouth shut.