Tien Shin's Journey - A Political Liability

It had been a couple of months since Liu Bei and his sworn brothers had made an oath to protect the land and serve the Emperor. Thanks to their wholehearted desire to help the people and bring about a change in the realm, they had managed to gain a following of other volunteers who thought as they did and followed Liu Bei as their leader.

Most of them were ordinary folks who wanted a chance to prove themselves and others who were simply looking for a steady form of employment in order to feed themselves or their families.

Then there’s those who were gloryhounds who only wanted to make a name for themselves. And the worst of them was Tien Shin. His impulsive nature, natural talents and disregard for decorum were already causing some trouble for the more measured Liu Bei, the stern Guan Yu and the easily angered Zhang Fei.

However, they couldn’t just abandon the boy or send him away simply because of some “youthful bravado”. In truth, he was their best fighter by far. Even the likes of Guan Yu had trouble trying to match the boy’s natural talent and skill. Sadly, his overconfidence made him neglect his training - not that anyone in Liu Bei’s ragtag volunteer army could hope to beat Tien Shin. He was a necessary asset, but one that was quickly becoming a headache.

As the volunteer army moved to join the Imperial Army liaisons, Liu Bei pondered how to control the unruly Heavenly Sword of Freedom. He had tried to appeal to his sense of justice, but the boy’s views were far too straightforward. Guan Yu had tried to discipline the boy with his strong sense of duty, but it was rejected due to the boy’s own sense of duty. And Zhang Fei? Well… Zhang Fei just couldn’t help in that area. They were too much alike.

“Master Liu Bei! We’re arriving at the Imperial Camp!”

Finally breaking free from his musings, Liu Bei gave instructions for the men to rest from the march while he made the necessary presentations.

“Guan Yu, Zhang Fei. I need you with me when we speak to the Imperial officers.” The two brothers nodded at Liu Bei who was looking around for a certain dancing rascal. “Zhang Fei, where is Tien Shin? Surely he didn’t wake up on time and missed the march!”

Zhang Fei held his hands up in ignorance.

“I’ve not seen that scamp since last night, brother! For all I know he probably is still asleep atop that tree.”

“This is what happens when you don’t keep an eye on the boy, Zhan Fei.” Guan Yu shook his head with an exasperated sigh. This made Zhang Fei’s face contort in anger.

“Are you saying it’s my fault that the kid isn’t here? It’s not like I’m his dad or anything!” Zhang Fei huffed indignantly.

Another headache for Liu Bei to handle… already showing a grimace on his face, the benevolent Elder Brother stepped up.

“Nobody is blaming you for Tien Shin’s absence, Zhang Fei. We just thought you’d know where he might be since you two get along very well, that’s all!” Liu Bei smiled and patted Zhang Fei’s shoulder kindly. This had the effect of calming down some of the burly man’s anger. “And Guan Yu, there’s no need to be so hard on Zhang Fei or Tien Shin. They’re just… more spirited than other volunteers.”

Guan Yu nodded gravely but still didn’t lose the steel in his eyes as he spoke: “In any case, we still have lost the boy somewhere. That indisciplined child is going to be the death of us one day. Where could he be at this time!?”

“Been here the whole time, Pops!”

The Three Brothers turned around to look behind Liu Bei and saw Tien Shin grinning at them.

“Tien Shin! Where-” Guan Yu bellowed out.

“Oh! I was just jumping around ahead of the army,” the Tien Shin interrupted, “I wanted to make sure nobody would lay in ambush or anything. Turns out these rebels are either cowards or not really smart. I could use a little entertainment!” The young swordsman laughed sheepishly.

“Hah! So you were just looking out for us, weren’t you, Little Brother?” Zhang Fei approached the boy and slapped him on the back, making the boy groan with pain. “I knew you wouldn’t ditch us without reason!”

“Stop making these decisions on your own, Tien Shin! You ought to follow orders from time to time, learn some discipline.” Guan Yu stepped up to the boy with a stern gaze.

“Relax, Pops.” Being called Pops didn’t seem to make Guan Yu happy as he grumbled to himself. “When we get to a really good fight, I’ll be taking anyone’s suggestions into consideration. For now, let’s meet the head guys! Lead the way Boss!”

Liu Bei wasn’t too keen on letting Tien Shin lead him or his brothers like that. Even after the boy said those words, he walked ahead of them without a care in the world, even as Imperial soldiers and officers were looking at him like an unwelcome nuisance. “This really doesn’t bode well for us.” He thought to himself.

When they reached the main war tent, the Three Brothers and Tien Shin walked inside with Liu Bei finally taking the lead. In front of them were some Imperial officials with some generals who were discussing their next assault against the Yellow Turbans.

“Excuse me!” Liu Bei spoke with great care in his words and minding his place. One of the officials took notice of the polite man and his companions.

“Yes? What do you want?” The other officers and generals turned to look at the newcomers.

“My name is Liu Bei, and I’m leading a volunteer army in hopes to help restore the land to peace. We were hoping we could be of some aid to you, my lords.” Liu Bei bowed his head politely.

“A volunteer army? Hmmm… it’s true we do accept volunteers in this crisis. What is your position and rank?” The official asked brusquely. His lack of respect didn’t sit well with Guan Yu, Zhang Fei and Tien Shin, but Liu Bei remained impassive.

“I have no position nor rank, my lord. I simply wish to serve the Emperor as any good citizen of the Han would.”

“Hah! An idealist? With no position or rank?” A loud and booming voice came from deep inside the war tent. “This rabble would be no different than the rebels we’re slaughtering left and right.”

All of the officials turned to look at the source of the voice. A large man, clad in armor stood up slowly and approached Liu Bei and his companions. His massive size wasn’t like Guan Yu’s imposing height or similar to Zhang Fei’s burly build. This man was abnormally fat, yet still retained the mobility of a trained soldier. His loud and heavy steps boomed inside the tent.

“You think you can defeat the Yellow Turbans with idealism alone? Don’t be naive, peasant.” The massive general looked down on Liu Bei while he stroked his bushy and unkept beard.

It was clear to onlookers that the large man’s insults were annoying Liu Bei and his brothers. The young man beside them didn’t seem to be paying attention to the fat man.

“And you are?” Liu Bei tried his best to maintain his composure.

“I am Dong Zhuo! A noble general and warlord from the West. You would do well to remember my name, boy. One day you might have the privilege to serve under me, if the rebels don’t kill you first.” Dong Zhuo laughed loudly with a wheeze. Nobody joined in his mirth, except for the stifled laughter of Tien Shin, which made the Three Brothers turn to look at him with concern.

“Did you find something funny, kid?” Dong Zhuo stepped up to Tien Shin who was still trying to keep himself from laughing.

“As a matter of fact… hehehe… I do… but… hahaha… I don’t want to… interrupt your war council.” Tien Shin was trying his best not to burst out in laughter.

“Hmph! Is this the sort of ‘soldiers’ we can expect from the volunteer army? An idealistic fool, a long-bearded giant, a drunk musclehead,” Dong Zhuo turned his full attention to Tien Shin who suddenly lost his smile, “and a scrawny scarecrow? If anything, you wouldn’t even serve as sacrificial peons.”

“Scrawny scarecrow!? At least I’m not a fat pig who can’t even look at his own toes!” The impertinent tone Tien Shin used made the officials look at him with outrage. “Let me guess! You think you’re ‘healthy as a horse’? Well, that’s only because you ate that horse for breakfast didn’t you?”

“WHAT DID YOU SAY TO ME, YOU WORTHLESS LITTLE INSECT!?” Dong Zhuo’s fury exploded and had to be restrained by some of the generals from assaulting the boy. At the same time, Liu Bei and his brothers looked at Tien Shin horrified at what he had just said!

“I said that you stink like the pig you are, Lord Pork!” Liu Bei had to rush towards the boy to stop him from speaking any further. But the angered Heavenly Sword kept pushing the Three Brothers away from him.

“You… foul mouthed… INSOLENT CUR! I’ll have your tongue cut out and gutted for this insult!” Dong Zhuo roared out at the boy who simply laughed at him with a sardonic grin.

“First, you’ll have to catch me, Lord Pork! And judging by your size, you’d get tired just getting out of your seat. Am I right?” The way Tien Shin was hopping side to side on his tip toes, taunting the bloated general only made the furious warlord’s face turn red with fury.

“Liu Bei! Get this boy out of here and teach him some manners!” One of the Imperial officials finally steps between them to stop this nonsense. “And you, Dong Zhuo, you will refrain from antagonizing anyone. If you two cannot work together, I will have you both dismissed and arrested! Is that clear?”

Liu Bei bowed his head respectfully and nodded. “Yes, my Lord. I deeply apologize for my companion’s rudeness.”

“I’ll let this go… for now.” Dong Zhuo growled under his breath as he headed back to his seat at the end of the tent.

Tien Shin smirked in triumph, but was quickly stared at by the Three Brothers - two with disappointment and one with a hidden grin.

“Now! Liu Bei, since you and the volunteer army have no real lord to serve, you will regroup with one of our officials as soon as we’ve made preparations. Until then, wait for our orders… and keep that boy on a tight leash.”

“Are you-” Tien Shin had started to say something but was quickly dragged outside by Zhang Fei and Guan Yu as Liu Bei nodded and bowed towards the lords.

Once outside the war camp, Liu Bei sighed heavily and shook his head. This wasn’t working at all…

“Boy! You don’t speak to a general of the Imperial army like that! We have to remember our place!” Guan Yu was scolding Tien Shin who clearly was used to these lectures but didn’t seem to pay attention to him.

“Look… Little Brother, I’m with you when it comes to putting loudmouths like Lord Pork there in their place. But that isn’t going to earn us many friends, you know?” Zhang Fei couldn’t help but feel odd giving advice to Tien Shin, especially since he felt the same way he did.

“Hey! Lord Pork was insulting you and me, alright? Who does he think he is to talk to us like that!? We’re fighting the good fight to save the people and bring freedom to the land. All this guy does is grow fatter every time he breathes.” Tien Shin huffed angrily.

“Tien Shin, I know you had good intentions trying to fight back when people are insulting us. Believe me, in a way, I’m grateful that you did.” Liu Bei spoke softly as he admitted this truth. “But we cannot hope to serve the Emperor and help protect the people by making enemies of our potential allies. Of course they will look down on us, we’re not important to them yet. But if we show that we’re more than capable to fight well and earn recognition.”

Tien Shin sighed dejectedly and rolled his eyes.

“You look like you could use some time to rest and cool down, Tien Shin.” Liu Bei smiled benevolently and handed the boy a small bag with coins. “Enjoy a drink or two, rest for a while and when you’re ready, return to us. I’ll settle all misunderstandings with the lords here.”

“Alright! I’ll take you up on it!” Tien Shin grinned, took the bag and ran off at full speed.

“Are you sure that was wise, brother?” Guan Yu looked at Liu Bei with concern.

“Yeah! Who knows if he’ll go looking for that Dong Zhuo guy and start picking a fight again.” Zhang Fei felt like chasing after the boy.

“This isn’t to give HIM time to rest. It’s to give ME some time to relax…” The distraught Liu Bei sighed heavily again.

“I have to find a way to control Tien Shin. If he’s not following our advice or our orders, how can we hope for him to aid us in our future battles? Is there no one in this realm who can rein in this Heavenly Sword of Freedom?” The thoughtful Liu Bei grimaced again.

Meanwhile, Tien Shin was happily walking beyond the war camp and was heading to the nearest town, which he knew very well.

“I got some coins and some free time. Guess I’ll go visit Mei Lin!”