Father and Son (Cao Cao)

[Cao Pi]

Cao Pi sat quietly in the small room he had for himself. Before him sat a beautiful woman playing softly on her qin. His eyes closed and a half smile across his face. He loved moments like these, where he could close his eyes and just waste away moments like this. However, he knew that this wasn't to last very long. The girl, who is very beautiful, wasn't the greatest qin player, and he knew this. Soon he could hear her mess up slightly within song. It annoyed him, but he made no comment.

The piece of music reached its climax, a beautiful crescendo of notes that usually transcend Cao Pi to another place of existent, one of pure bliss and happiness. Usually, it's played right, but this day, it was terribly messed up as a string broke on the qin. Instantly all sounds stopped and the girl looked frightened. Cao Pi stood up slowly and walked towards the girl. He looked down at her in rage.

"You told me you practiced." Cao Pi said deathly. She started to open her mouth to say something when Cao Pi slapped her hard across the face, "Get the hell out. Learn it and come back." Cao Pi then turn and strutted out of the room. His mood today was now ruined, and when he was like this there was only one thing to do. Weapons training.

As he made his way through the palace, he stopped by the barracks to grab a sword. He then stepped out into the courtyard, and shed his upper garb, exposing his toned and defined chest. He then took his stance and began to go through the many forms he knew. A few minutes passed before he motioned two guards to join him.

He rushed at them as soon as they took their stances, sweeping one of the guard's spears away while kicking another one. He then took the flat of his sword and smacked it across the first guard's chest, indicating a kill. The second guard lunged at Cao Pi and he dodged it, hitting the guard on the head with the flat of his blade. Two kills in a matter of seconds. Cao Pi smiled and sheathed his sword. He put back on his upper garb and turned to head inside.

[Cao Cao]

~The King of Wei~

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Cao Cao sat beside the throne of the Emperor of the Han Dynasty, the throne he could not deny he dreamed about. It had happened again last night; a dream of he, the Hero of Chaos, deposing the emperor and assuming the throne for himself. At his heels were thrown the heads of Sun Ce the Little Conqueror, Liu Bei the Hero of the People, Yuan Shao the Thorn, and Ma Teng the Pretender. All of his greatest enemies.

But here he sat, beside the young emperor and very tired, despite it being the mere thick of noon. It was a dream, and that is all it will ever be. I will not conquer all of these enemies. That will fall to my heir. To Cao Pi. His son was talented, but rough, and currently unfit to rule. If Cao Cao were to fall dead today, he would sooner trust Cheng Qi to serve as regent of his kingdom until Pi was prepared. I lost more than a son at Wancheng. Ang… you were to be my heir. But that day, the world needed the Hero of Chaos more than his heir. Today, I would rather have the heir.

It was not that Cao Cao didn’t love his second son, but Cao Ang was great. It was unfortunate that his greatest accomplishment was holding an army at bay for his father to escape, turning his back to a son who was about to die. That is not how it should be. I should have held the sword, and him the reins. I should have fought, and him fled. There were two things that haunted Cao Cao: the flames on the Chang Jiang, and hearing the clash of steel that he knew was his son giving his life for his father. It should have been the other way.

Mengde looked over at the emperor. “The King in the North, hmm?” The emperor looked over, his eyes showing the fear they always did when he looked at the King of Wei. “Quite a heroic tale.”

“Very heroic indeed,” The emperor replied, “A king rises in revolt to free his emperor from the tyrant that seeks to rule him.” Cao Cao laughed at that as well.

“Seeks?” He looked tauntingly at the young emperor. “You are young,” He continued, “And listen to far too many songs. Songs of heroes and their legends. This man is a rebel and a traitor. He rises against you, and you thank him? It is no wonder that two men have ruled over you.” Cao Cao stood up.

“Where do you think you’re going?” The emperor inquired.

“It is still the day, and I now have three wars to win to defend your greatness. I, unlike some, am a very busy man.” He left the hall and made it outside. The warm spring winds soothed his newly wrinkled skin and the sun sunk into his weary bones. If only I could be young forever. The world would bow to me in three life’s time. Like a second shadow, Shen Ha appeared behind him, armored in palace armor, with his mighty spear in hand. He was a loyal man and a fine soldier. Perhaps it will be Shen Ha who cuts off Bai Kun’s head.

Cao Cao passed a bridge with a high archway, where he saw Fan Xiang and Cheng Qi discussing their policy for their new command. It seemed like they were arguing, but in a way where they would reach a middle ground. It was good to see them working together. Mengde knew Cheng Qi wouldn’t like going with the young Xiang, but the two of them would be the future of Wei. He invested training in Fan Xiang and faith in Cheng Qi, and both were some of the most fruitful investments he had made.

He passed over to an open wing of the palace grounds, an open courtyard of limestone brick with a surrounding garden of peach flowers. He heard the ringing of steel and, looking over, saw his son and heir making fools out of two guards in a spar. He stepped lightly toward the session, watching intently.

Cao Pi held a sense of pride as he won the bout, and he fastened his upper robe back around his waist and tied his sword to his belt. Turning to head back inside, he came face to face with his father. “Good evening, son.”

Cao Cao placed him around his son’s shoulder and led him back to the training grounds. “I trust you have received word by now. The King in the North they say. The people of the Great Wall and surrounding counties have crowned a freerider to be their king.”

He dropped his arm to his side, leaving Cao Pi in the middle of the stone courtyard, drawing his own sword and placing it in his son’s hand. “A foolish move, but one that puts our kingdom in jeopardy.” Our kingdom. I’ll say that to no other man, my son. “So tell me, as my heir, and speak as true as if what you say now was mine own command. What would you do to quell this king’s rise, and bring the people who cherish him back to kneeling before us?”

Cao Cao looked over to Shen Ha and motioned for him to enter the courtyard while he took five steps back, creating a battlefield for his son and his finest soldier.

“If you are to be King of Wei, you must know how to solve such issues. And you must be a conqueror. You have training in swordsmanship that few others have, being my son. Jiyuan is a fine soldier, doubtless a finer opponent than you have ever faced. Why not see how you fare against Shen Ha?”

As if that was his que, Shen Ha stepped forward and brandished his spear, setting it forward to face Cao Pi, his two strong hands tightly gripping the thick wooden shaft.

[Cao Pi]

Cao Pi was slightly startled by the sudden arrival of his father, but it always seemed that his father was around the corner. He smiled slightly at his father, sort of annoyed by his sudden appearance but also pleasantly surprised, "Hello father. I guess you saw me training out here today." He let his father lead him back to the training grounds and he smiled widely as his father told him about being the King of Wei, "Of course I did." Though he was smiling, it was a shallow smile. He hated the fact that his father was so high in station. He knew that deep inside, he would have to overcome his father's immense shadow.

Cao Pi did not respond to the challenge at first, but instead looked at a nearby bird who had made it's way to the area. Cao Pi shook his head and laughed, "The King of Wei? Seems a little ridiculous to me."

"I'd take the man and bring him before all of those people that were under him, and execute him. The bastard had no right to go against us. He's just another vermin for us to stomp on." Cao Pi said with a deathly voice. He would rip his heart out before their eyes. If there was one thing both father and son had it was ambition and drive.

However, he didn't have his father's patience or temperance, this he knew. Cao Ang had that. Along with calm understanding. And with that thought crossing his mind sadness passed in his eyes. He looked up at his father and asked, "Father... Do you wish that Cao Ang was still here?" Pi knew that he was not the best choice for when Cao Cao died. But it was this fact that drove him to be the best at everything he did.

He shook those feelings off and removed his upper garb once again, a look of determination and focus now upon his face. He drew his sword and entered his stance, poised like a viper ready to strike, "I will face you Shen Ha. Know that I will defeat you." As soon as he was done he lunged forward with his sword with a sharp hit tried to knock the spear away. He then pushed forward with a horizontal slice across the chest. He pulled back into his defensive stance waiting for Shen Ha's move.

[Shen Ha]

~The King’s Guard~

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"I'd take the man and bring him before all of those people that were under him, and execute him. The bastard had no right to go against us. He's just another vermin for us to stomp on." Cao Pi spoke to his father. While Shen Ha knew much of warfare and the martial arts, he knew little in the ways of deceit and trickery akin to the likes his lord Cao Cao loved to employ.

However, he had also stood next to Cao Cao for the last few years, and he sat in on many council meetings Cao Pi were not present at. He knew Cao Cao’s mind well enough, and he knew such a response was not the kind Cao Cao would enjoy.

“That would work well only for a common bandit, my son, or a mere bug. This vermin has an army, and the backing of the people also, and the defensive structure that has kept the border of our kingdom safe for centuries. I fail to believe that his army or his subjects would allow you to walk into the Great Wall, pull him from his throne and execute him.” Cao Cao’s voice was cold, and devoid of love for the moment.

“I will send you three military mantras tonight. Tomorrow, you will know a little bit more of war-time strategy, and you will revise your answer for me.” Shen Ha could see how much this impasse was harming Cao Pi, and he did his part to appear like a guard, and nothing more. To these two, I doubt I am even here.

“Father,” Cao Pi whispered, “Do you wish that Cao Ang was still here?” There was a void that lasted less than a full second before Cao Cao replied immediately, as if he was expecting the exact question. “Every day.” He said emotionless.

My lord is harsh to those he loves to see their greatness achieved. Every day at council he thunders one of his most cherished advisers, before accepting their ideas as his very own. Cao Cao was a man made of stone, Shen Ha knew this. Cao Pi must have as well. Even so, being his son must have been difficult. “Know that I will defeat you.” He heard Cao Pi taunting. Shen Ha didn’t respond, rather he thud the blunt end of his spear to the ground below, and began jogging toward his opponent.

He met Cao Pi’s first strike. It was a strong slash, aimed to carve Shen Ha’s defense, but from Cao Cao’s own mouth, Shen Ha was invincible with a spear in his hand. His own spear was made of heavy, thick oak. He blocked the blow with easy. Cao Pi is well trained, but I received the same training. His sword has spilt not the blood of another man as this spear I hold. Something about that experience makes a soldier stronger. Not only more experienced, Shen Ha was also stronger, simple as that.

Shen Ha was still advancing, and met Cao Pi’s second horizontal strike with an easy block from the shaft of his spear. As Cao Pi recovered from the recoil and started to leap back, Shen Ha, who had never stopped his advance, charged closer and bashed the blunt end of his spear out to strike Cao Pi’s temple, and twisted his shoulders around, dipping the blade of his spear below to immediately follow with a horizontal slash across Cao Pi’s slash as he was recovering from his first attack.

[Cao Pi]

“That would work well only for a common bandit, my son, or a mere bug. This vermin has an army, and the backing of the people also, and the defensive structure that has kept the border of our kingdom safe for centuries. I fail to believe that his army or his subjects would allow you to walk into the Great Wall, pull him from his throne and execute him.” Cao Pi's eye twitched. He was just disappointing his father even more. It angered him. He hated his father. He hated himself. He was sick and tired of it all. But other than the eye twitch no other negative emotions showed. He nodded to his father.

As soon as the battle started he knew that he was outclassed and outmatched. Shen Ha was a veteran, not just some run of the mill guards. Once again he had underestimated his opponent and overestimated himself. Once again he proved how much he hated himself. Despite this, he was smiling. Not a normal smile, but the sick twisted smile of a lunatic.

Cao Pi thought to himself, I know I'm not going to win, so lets make Shen Ha remember this fight. As soon as that thought passed he laughed. It was a cold laugh, one reminiscent of his father's "evil" laugh. And with that he lunged forward now pushing the offensive against Shen Ha. Cao Pi pushed in close, leaving no room between the two men. He did not bother with strong strokes, but light, quick, fast ones. It was a whirlwind of his blade and he spun around like a dancer.

And just like that he retreated back, laughing. His hair, once in a bun, now hung around his shoulders. The smile on his face and look in his eyes showed dark man, yet a refined one. He readied into his defensive stance ready for Shen Ha's next advance. If there was one thing he knew about Shen Ha, it's that he likes to attack. He smiled at his opponent and said, "It's been a while since I've actually fought someone good.. no great. Thank you, this battle will be a wonderful teacher."