Surviving as Guan Yu in the Three Kingdoms

“I’ve come with an urgent matter. May I see Lord Zhang?”

As soon as those words were spoken, the voices of Zhang Shiping’s servants could be heard from inside the door.

“Eh, what beggar is causing trouble at this late hour!”
“Lord Zhang is too kind-hearted. Even at this hour, there are dog-like fellows making a fuss asking for rice!”

The door swung open wide and they all came running out, holding clubs.

Even though I came late at night, if they’re going to try to beat me up like this, I’ll have no choice but to fight back.

How can I subdue them without causing serious injuries…

Should I imitate some judo techniques?

An older servant who seemed to be the leader ordered loudly from behind:

“I don’t care what gutter rat crawled out, beat him to a pulp!”

However, as soon as the servants saw me, they lowered their clubs and replied to the older servant:

“Um, well. The one outside the gate is Lord Guan Yu.”
“Lord Guan Yu?”

The older servant immediately changed his attitude upon seeing me, as if flipping his palm.

Normally, such an abrupt change in attitude would have upset me, but I was the one being rude first in this situation.

Moreover, coming to a rich household late at night in this late Han period is practically the same as saying you’re here to rob them, so it’s only natural for them to come running out with clubs.

“Isn’t it Lord Guan Yu? What brings you here at this late hour? We nearly clubbed you, the benefactor of both Lord Zhang and us.”

Even for a benefactor, it would be right to tell me to come back another time at this late hour.

I wouldn’t have come at this hour either if it wasn’t urgent.

“After observing Lord Zhang’s residence today, it seems his life is in imminent danger, so I came to warn him.”

The older servant’s face showed displeasure upon hearing this.

“Even if you are our benefactor, it’s hard to tolerate such reckless words. Please leave now.”

At those words, the surrounding servants gripped their clubs tightly.

Their reaction isn’t because they intend to hit me, but rather a warning that if I don’t leave now, things could turn unpleasant for both sides.

While a lowly servant might not, someone high up in the household of a great merchant like Zhang Shiping should be intelligent enough…

I need to logically prove to some extent that I’m not lying, so they’ll at least relay the message to Zhang Shiping.

Even if Zhang Shiping had told them never to let us in again.

“When I observed the Lord’s residence today, I saw no officials or merchants from Xu County, only merchants who had come from afar to see the Lord. Doesn’t this mean that the Lord has greatly angered the Magistrate of Xu County?”

The servant shook his head at my words.

“That’s not something for you to concern yourself with.”
“My lord, Liu Bei, has received many favors from Lord Zhang, so I cannot simply ignore his crisis. And isn’t the Lord trying to bribe the Magistrate to change his mind, but to no avail?”

The servant couldn’t deny those words.

“At this rate, begging the Magistrate for your life will be like a cornered rabbit pleading with a tiger.”

After saying that, I spread out the mat I had brought from Liu Bei’s house and sat down heavily in front of the gate.

“Please tell Lord Zhang that Guan Yu, style name Yunchang, has come to see him. I will not move a single step from here until I can meet with Lord Zhang.”

At those words, the servant’s expression became very troubled.

Beyond his personal feelings of me being his benefactor, he must be thinking that if they chase away someone who is practically a benefactor to all of Xu County, Zhang Shiping’s reputation would plummet.

And the resulting losses would be enormous, so he’s hesitating, unable to chase me away.

“I will relay your words directly to Lord Zhang.”

**

The older servant immediately went to Zhang Shiping’s room.

“Sir, are you still awake?”

It was now 2 AM, a time when any ordinary person would have gone to bed, but…

Zhang Shiping, who hadn’t slept a wink again today, answered in a worried voice.

“Again today, the Magistrate only took my bribe without a single word about protecting us. How could I sleep? If things go wrong, not only my family and I, but even my household members will be implicated…”

In this era, there were two types of gangsters.

One was the corrupt officials who bought power guaranteed by the state through official positions and ruled over people. The other was self-proclaimed xia ke who exploited the common people with their own strength and influence.

A great merchant like Zhang Shiping could somewhat easily handle the latter type of self-proclaimed xia ke…

But he had to bow his head and seek protection from the very strong gangsters that were the corrupt officials, who could freely use hundreds or thousands of government troops for extortion.

However, now the Magistrate wasn’t sending any signals that he wouldn’t touch him…

“It wouldn’t be strange if my head flew off at any moment. Thinking about that, I can’t sleep, and food won’t go down my throat.”

Zhang Shiping lamented, beating his chest.

“From the beginning, I believed that to become a great merchant rooted in one region, one must share some of the earnings with the local people and always repay kindness received. By following this, I survived for a long time while countless other merchants who competed with me collapsed every time the Magistrate or Governor changed… I never thought I’d face ruin for the crime of winning the people’s hearts.”

The servant shed tears at those words.

He felt it was unfair that his master, who had never done anything wrong until now, had to suffer knowing he would collapse so futilely.

“That aside, what brings you to see me at this hour?”
“Actually, Lord Guan Yu is insisting on seeing you, sir.”
“Tell him to leave. We owe Lord Guan Yu a great debt, but it’s best if we don’t get entangled with each other now. It’s regrettable that we can’t repay the kindness we received, but what can we do?”

At those words, the servant added:

“Lord Guan Yu said he absolutely won’t leave until he sees you, sir. And he’s insisting that he has figured out your situation and has a plan to save you that he must tell you.”
“Lord Guan Yu is not one to speak empty words, but what do you think? Should I meet with him now?”

The servant pondered upon hearing this.

After thinking it over, he answered:

“Meeting Lord Guan Yu one more time won’t further enrage the Magistrate. And forgive me for saying this, but aren’t our lives already like candles in the wind, sir? So I think it would be good to meet him, even if it’s like grasping at straws.”
“You’re right. Bring Lord Guan Yu here.”

**

After waiting a bit, the servant brought me to Zhang Shiping’s room.

As soon as Zhang Shiping saw me, he said:

“If you’ve come at this late hour, it must surely be an urgent matter, so please get straight to the point.”
“The Magistrate has already completely lost the hearts of the people and local strongmen. So he’s trying to cut down anyone who could potentially receive more support from them than himself.”

There was an old saying like this:

Some small-chested moe character nonsensically said that to become busty herself, she just needed to kill all the women with bigger breasts than her.

What the Magistrate is trying to do now is exactly that.

“So he will now weed out you, sir, who has gained some goodwill from the people of Xu County and amassed great wealth. You and your family will be framed as traitors to Han and killed, and your household members will be implicated and have all their property confiscated. He will use this to set an example of what happens to those who don’t support him.”

The method of framing would be surprisingly simple.

They would forge a letter showing that Zhang Shiping was in cahoots with the Yellow Turbans, use that as evidence to accuse him of collaborating with the Yellow Turbans, and kill him.

At first, no one would believe it, but once Zhang Shiping is dead, there would be no one left to claim his innocence, so people would gradually come to believe it.

Zhang Shiping’s face darkened considerably.

“This is already beyond the point where you can reverse the flow by offering bribes and flattery to the Magistrate, sir. To survive, you must leave.”

At those words, Zhang Shiping shook his head, trying to deny it.

“But if I keep giving money, won’t it be difficult for the Magistrate to just kill me outright? So if I offer more bribes…”
“While it would benefit the Magistrate to keep receiving bribes over a long period, rather than keeping someone alive who could threaten his position in exchange for bribes, it would be more profitable for the Magistrate to just devour you whole and put another merchant in your place.”

What’s the reason executives in companies are replaced countless times whenever the chairman, president, or executive director above them changes?

It’s because there are plenty of other capable people who can replace that position.

From the Magistrate’s perspective, Zhang Shiping would be such a person.

“Haven’t you already gotten a sense of this after meeting him several times?”

Zhang Shiping tried to deny my words but then sighed.

“…Then what do you want me to do?”
“You must leave Xu County, sir.”

If Zhang Shiping leaves Xu County now, it would feel like pulling an aching tooth for the Magistrate.

Although he wouldn’t be able to extort money in the process, he would feel both regretful and relieved to let go of the troublesome Zhang Shiping.

He wouldn’t want to face unnecessary backlash from the people.

“Take all the wealth you currently possess with you, and quickly dispose of your land. And if it’s alright with you, how about coming with us?”

At those words, Zhang Shiping smiled for the first time.

“I understand your advice to flee. But with the wealth I’ve accumulated, I could start anew wherever I go. Why should I specifically follow Lord Guan Yu and serve Lord Liu?”
“In this godforsaken world, you can pursue great ambitions without being tossed about by the whims of corrupt officials. Isn’t that enough?”

Even if Liu Bei is said to be a promising seedling, from Zhang Shiping’s perspective, it might be better to liquidate all his assets and flee to start anew, as he said.

So for now, this was the only way I could persuade him.

However, Zhang Shiping slapped the table and laughed heartily.

“Indeed, living with grand ambitions as you say would be better than constantly watching out for corrupt officials. And thanks to your enlightenment, I can protect my family and household members one last time. I, Zhang Shiping, will stake everything on the great ambition that Lord Liu Bei harbors, alongside Lord Guan Yu.”
“Thank you, sir.”

Zhang Shiping gave me a profound smile.

“If you can wait about a month, I will quickly dispose of all my assets and follow Lord Liu.”

With this, we’ve secured the capital for Liu Bei to raise an army…

Soon, we’ll be setting off to suppress the Yellow Turbans.