Thread: Love Thy Enemy - A Tale of Romance In The Three Kingdoms (PF & LadyYunaFFX2)

Chapter 1 - The Yellow Turban Rebellion The power of the Eastern Han Dynasty had been on a steady decline since the reign of Emperor He. Political conflict washed over the lands like a torrential rainstorm and brought with it all of the economic problems that such turmoil was always sue to cause. A series of Han emperors ascended the throne while still youths, and de facto imperial power often rested with the emperors' older relatives. As these relatives occasionally were loath to give up their influence, emperors would, upon reaching maturity, be forced to rely on political alliances with senior officials and eunuchs to achieve control of the government. Political posturing and infighting between imperial relatives and eunuch officials was a constant problem in every corner of the land as a result. During the reigns of Emperor Huan and Emperor Ling, leading officials' dissatisfaction with the eunuchs' usurpations of power reached a peak, and many began to openly protest against them. The first and second protests met with failure, and the court eunuchs persuaded the emperor to execute many of the protesting scholars. Some local rulers seized the opportunity to exert despotic control over their lands and citizens, since many feared to speak out in the oppressive political climate. Emperors Huan and Ling's reigns were recorded as particularly dark periods of Han Dynasty rule. In addition to political oppression and mismanagement, China experienced a number of natural disasters during this period, and local rebellions sprung up throughout the country. In the third month of the year one-hundred and eighty-four, Zhang Jiao, leader of the Way of Supreme Peace, a Taoist movement, along with his two brothers Zhang Liang and Zhang Bao, led the movement's followers in a rebellion against the government that was called the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Their movement quickly attracted followers and soon numbered several hundred thousands and received support from many parts of China. They had thirty-six bases throughout China, with large bases having ten thousand or more followers and minor bases having six thousand to seven thousand, similar to Han armies. In respose to the Yellow Turban Rebellion, Emperor Ling dispatched generals Huangfu Song, Lu Zhi, and Zhu Jun to lead the Han armies against the rebels, and decreed that local governments had to supply soldiers to assist in their efforts... As Zhao Ra moved through the small, crowded base camp of the Han forces, his head reeled with all of the talented warriors with whom he would be working. He could name several of them even though he had never met them, their reputations preceding their arrival in this, the final conflict that would surely mark the end of the Yellow Turban Rebellion in the name of the Han. Some of these great warriors included Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Sun Jian, and Liu Bei along with his 'brothers' Guan Yu and Zhang Fei. With this much talent in one force, Zhao Ra was certain that this would be the final battle and he was honored to take part in it alongside such legendary generals, even if he was here virtually alone. Gongsun Yi, Zhao Ra's adopted father and the warlord to whom he served as a vassal, had not bothered to answer he summons of the Emperor himself. Instead he had sent only Zhao Ra and a small handful of freshly recruited soldiers from his province to aid the jointed effort. Ra suspected that Gongsun Yi was anticipating for the forces to suffer heavy casualties, which would weaken the provinces surrounding his own and allow him to use his unweakened armies to gain more land and reputation. Ra had advised him against this course of action, warning that it would brand him as someone whom could not be trusted, but the warning had gone unheeded. A heavy sigh escaped the young soldier as he took a seat alone next to a large bonfire. It was morning, and still dark as any night could have ever been, but the sun would be up soon and the forces were set to move with it. He could not help but contemplate how things had come to this. Growing up, he had always thought his father a strong man and wise leader but in the recent years, as his field experience grew and his tactical mind was sharpened with experience, he could honestly regard his father as a fool. A smile slid across his lips as he wondered what it would be like to serve under the ambitious Cao Cao, the passionate Sun Jian, or the virtuous Liu Bei. They were real leaders.