The Fat Dong's Rule 4 - (Supernatural Asia, DongZhuo!SI)
Expansion through war had been a topic I had thought about.
Something that could expand the current 'core' territory owned by loyal governors while also providing more resources to Luoyang without fearing the involvement of rebels or bandits. I had thought about having Lu Bu take care of the Liang Province controlled by Han Sui and Ma Teng.
The idea was to find a way to acquire minerals within the region, but I had shelved the plan upon proper study on the topic.
Not only was Ma Teng the man keeping the order and suppressing Han Sui's Qiang people and their interest to regain territories, but there was also the issue of Xianbei, which was the decentralized state made by nomadic pre-Mongolian people that... had a lot of land.
They were decentralized in various warlords, but their armies presented a noticeable threat that forced us to be careful in expanding the border with that northern issue.
Alas, with the plan of expanding west scrapped, I thought that the best thing to do was to slowly integrate the various semi-autonomous regions in the south back in the fold through diplomacy... when a situation happened in modern-day Yunnan as some natives caused issues to his domain.
His request for support was not exactly something new as old documents requesting troops had been agreed by those before me. Manpower was supplied, and the bandits were repelled but... this was a constant threat. The Yi province was safe from northern invasions due to its mountains, but it was ill-prepared to the better-trained bandits coming from the south.
Plus, Liu Yan was a potential threat if given reason to ally with Ma Teng and Han Sui so... trying to win him over with a more definitive effort felt like a good plan (and it meant giving him a taste of military might we could muster, further scaring any chance of rebellion from him).
So, I ordered Lu Bu to march with his best troops in regard to mountain fights to march south and assist Liu Yan in restoring order 'once and for all'. He wasn't just to go down there and push back the bandits, but wage war to them until their forces were obliterated.
I had to also warn the tough general that they were employing 'fire-magicians' from what Liu Yan said in his reports which... was 'normal' in that side of China. Still, Lu Bu sent a positive response that 'the fire will hardly burn him away'.
A bit scary considering how much of an action-junkie the guy was... oh well, I trusted him to do a clean job.
For three months, I had just rare messages from both Liu Yan and Lu Bu. The former were kept in a formal tone as they elevated the 'gratitude' owned to Luoyang due to the impressive force sent to help them, while Lu Bu confirmed the presence of 'fire benders'.
Albeit not as dangerous as those from fucking ATLA, these people were scary due to the fire and... because Lu Bu had names on their leaders. Nanman Chieftain Meng Huo and... Lady Zhurong. The latter name was most worrisome as that was the one that was most known out of the two- she named herself 'Zhurong' since she thought herself as the reincarnation of the Fire Deity Zhurong.
She was definitely a threat, especially since Lu Bu labeled her as the 'source of the worst attacks'. At this point, both of these individuals had not 'flourished' - they were not at a stage of their lives where they had enough experience, popularity and soldiers to make the difference. So, Lu Bu made short work of their troops.
Ambushes were favored, countering the raids and dwindlings their troops until the news of Meng Huo's death in battle reached the capital. As the end of the year approached, Lu Bu had supposedly followed my last letter's request as I made my position clear on what was to be done with the Nanman: Lady Zhurong and any children of hers were to be brought to court in shackles while their tribe was to be turned in a tributary state under any officials Lu Bu saw fit to leave behind for the chore.
This last bit would have gotten the ire of Liu Yan if not for the fact I had sent a letter confirming his territories now spanned to a new length from the Nanman tribe's own former domain and that he could enjoy peace from any worrisome bandits.
It took Lu Bu almost two months to make it back to Luoyang and 190 thus begin without any assassination attempt against me.
My 'good son of the military side' was praised and lavished by the citizens as he paraded his troops in the capital. His two prized prisoners were far from pleased, but they were bound both by shackles and by an oath to not attack anyone unless provoked and unless their tribe was destroyed.
The most unusual bit was that these two had... some interesting red hair.
Lady Zhurong herself was particularly 'despairing'. Her eyes held some well-hidden fire, but gone was the fighty attitude that may have led her ferocious battles, now replaced by a sense of resignation.
Meanwhile, I was baffled to learn that Huaman was actually real in this world. The fictional daughter of Lady Shurong was indeed there, but she looked far from defeated. Young and arrogant, her fiery red eyes were burning in anger as she looked around with shame and upset.
There were more guards to her side so... I guess it made sense why Lu Bu had tightened security around this warrior girl. Feisty and dangerous.
The Emperor was able to see this unfold, the child confused by the events that led to their capture, but I explained to him that the two were quite powerful and dangerous, which is why it was best for the Emperor to not get anywhere close to those two.
Lady He understood my serious warning, nodding as a promise to keep an eye on her son from getting too close with either of the two.
Lu Bu was the one that 'served' them to me and... Diao Chan was there too. She had a giddy smile, and it really scared me a bit as I took care of handling the formalities within the situation.
"Zhurong, you and your daughter shall be my guest at the Chancellery. You shall access to proper rooms fitting of honorable guests, but you will be monitored for the duration of your stay."
The woman appeared relieved at the overall lack of 'me making them my concubines', but I really didn't want my cock roasted. Beautiful or not, this Oyakodon was far from being fuckable as far as I was concerned.
Despite my clemency, there was a little scene that almost ruined it for the two 'guests'/hostages.
"This is unfair!" Huaman exclaimed, teeth gritting like a wild animal that was ready to bite at someone's throat.
"Unfair?" I inquired, slowly standing up. "You think 'this' is unfair, child."
"She doesn't mean to-"
"I will just lecture her, Zhurong. Please, be quiet."
The older redhead tensed up but spared a tense look at her confused daughter before nodding.
"Child, perhaps you don't understand what would have been the alternative. Your father and your mother have taken to arms to attack a legally-sanctioned province that has existed for a very long time. They did so knowing that it was a bad thing, expecting for victories to ultimately led them to glory. Sadly for your parents, this is not the case."
"I-"
"If it had not been my personal request to not slaughter your tribe, child, General Lu Bu would have done what was best in a matter of criminals- kill the threat and burn all that is left of it," I interjected sharply. "If it had not been my personal request, you and your mother, together with any woman or girl in your tribe, would have been claimed and sold as things to pleasure old men, to become less than people."
At this point, the girl was struggling to keep her eyes on me. Anger was wilting away, replaced by a degree of fright that was quite common but... I wasn't done.
"If it wasn't for me, you would have either died a horrible death or lived a worse life. I don't need you to tell me 'thank you', but I think that, rather than hurl yourself into an early grave, you should respect your mother's own efforts to sacrifice her pride to keep you both alive."
Shivering, barely holding back the tears, Huamai looked far from the fiery brat from before. The lecture harsh but sending the message through her thick school.
"I think that what truly risked your life here now was not stupidity. I doubt you are a dumb girl, yes?"
She looked up at me.
"Are you a dumb girl?"
"N-No."
"Then, the issue is education. I doubt your tribe has access to ancestral wisdom, so... I guess you could do well as a student. Yes, I wouldn't mind an apprentice."
"A-Apprentice?"
"Working with paperwork can be tedious and I need a mental distraction. Yes, I shall teach you writing and proper common sense. Maybe that will spare yourself and your mother further embarrassments."
As I said this, Zhurong spoke up. "Chancellor Dong, is this- is this... fine?"
It wasn't a question about this being an acceptable outcome, it was her being worried I was trying to claim her daughter as a concubine.
"If I wanted her to be anything else but a scholarly student, I would have ordered as much. She will just study proper books, nothing more."
My bluntness drew a relieved nod from Zhurong but... I wasn't looking forward to play Elementary Teacher with someone around a grumpy short-tempered teenage girl.
Despite all of that... well, the written description of the scene made for a fancy tale to highlight my moral standing. And it would be the set up leading to some interesting circumstances with those two.
AN
Dong Zhuo tries to dodge a deadly Oyakodon but... what he's doing is down-right delaying by a few years that fiery threesome. With the brat being the 'spark' for that bomb. Also for Zhurong and Huamai, I am using as reference pics Risty from Queen's Blade and Eris Greyrat from Mushoku Tensei respectively.