Romance of the Three Kingdoms
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- Merchants on the Beijing ship watch a young man running in their direction. As he approaches, the merchant questions the young man: “Lad, what is your name? Are you the new worker here to carry goods overland? Why hasn’t the port sent more people? Surely, this is not enough for all our goods.” “No, my lords”, the boy replied. “My name is He Zicheng, and though I am poor, it is my greatest wish that one day, my mother may taste the tea from your homeland.” He then hands over a sack of coins. The merchant looks sheepish, then replies, “My son, this is too little to buy good tea from us, but I am impressed by your filial piety and so will sell you a small amount.” The boy is overjoyed and takes the small amount of tea in return for coins. On the way back, however, he is kidnapped by Yellow Turban rebels. Thinking he has nothing to lose, he agrees to join the rebels.
- Suddenly, Saburo Tani who had followed Chuko Ruchang to serve in Ts’ao Xin’s army volunteered himself, but Masayuki/Masahiro Aoyagi was arrogant. The great general asked, “How dare you present yourself? You are only a private. Do you think you even have a chance of beating a mighty general like Chang Biao?” Shin/Shinya Ashikaga said, “Wait, my lordship. Let this warrior have his chance.” For he had looked at the man in admiration, and he saw greatness in him. He gave him a cup of hot tea and said “Brave young man, let me drink to your courage. May you bring us victory.” To which the man replied, “My general, let me take your drink once the task is done.” So the warrior rode out and slew the general in a single stroke. He came back and drank the tea before it had cooled. Such was the man’s greatness!.
- So the three sworn brothers, Tao Ju, Saburo Omura, and Dai/Daisuke Mizuno, took up the challenge and led a small local militia against the Vermilion Turban Rebels. The Rebels were a powerful force. During the late Song dynasty, corruption of the Ten Eunuchs in the Imperial Palace spread over China. A man called Lu Chin-hsu claimed to be a sage and offered special healing powers. A great rebellion followed him, and they all wore the colored turban. He was their Supreme Commander. He was also called Commander of the Heavens by his followers.
- Unfortunately, the guards were up to no good. They were originally criminals who were given a second chance by the benevolent governor, but their evil habits died hard. One day, the guards murdered Noriaki/Noriyuki Matsudaira and fled with his treasures, including gifts Keishi Matsudaira had given him. Koji Kunisada was furious upon hearing this news. In his tantrum, he blamed the governor for his father’s death and led a great army against Yanzhou City. The governor had no chance against the vast army. He knew he was ruined. Just then, Fumiya/Fumiaki Takenouchi, who was residing with the warlord Xian Chin-hsu at the city of Rizhao, decided to rescue the old man. He set off with his tiny band of militia and send his younger brother Dai/Daisuke Kogure to negotiate peace with the general. He had no intention of signing a treaty, but events worked out in the negotiator’s favor. Just then, Kazuki/Kazuya Maenaka, now a warlord without land, invaded the general’s capital base at Laiyang. Pretending to accept the peace terms, the general quickly returned to the city where he did battle against the warlord.
- Unfortunately, the guards were up to no good. They were originally criminals who were given a second chance by the benevolent governor, but their evil habits died hard. One day, the guards murdered Takeru Date and fled with his treasures, including gifts Cao Zhi had given him. Tenyu Ebisawa was furious upon hearing this news. In his tantrum, he blamed the governor for his father’s death and led a great army against Yucheng City. The governor had no chance against the vast army. He knew he was ruined. Just then, Yasunobu/Yasuhide Inoue, who was residing with the warlord Takashi/Takeshi Inoue at the city of Ping Yuan, decided to rescue the old man. He set off with his tiny band of militia and send his younger brother Nobu/Nobuyuki/Nobuhiro Takabe to negotiate peace with the general. He had no intention of signing a treaty, but events worked out in the negotiator’s favor. Just then, Pian-te Hsiahou, now a warlord without land, invaded the general’s capital base at Gaomi. Pretending to accept the peace terms, the general quickly returned to the city where he did battle against the warlord.