Three Kingdoms: Starting as a Refugee

The Refugees’ Declaration of Ambition, also known as The Grand Ancestor’s Ode on Clarifying His Ambitions

I was young when chaos engulfed the land, and I wandered homeless through Yingchuan. When the Yellow Turbans rose, I was the last and least scion of a collateral branch of the Xun clan, with no kin or friends to rely on. All I wanted was to survive the winter and keep my small family from freezing or starving. That was how it began.

When I first arrived in Xu County, I had not even a peck of rice in my purse or a scrap of cloth on my back. Later, the commandery and county offices recruited me. I began as a clerk in the household registry office, was promoted to the finance office, and then transferred to the post of county commandant. I quelled the Zheng Shi rebellion and saved Xu County from danger. My ambitions grew: I wanted to govern a commandery, establish sound laws and teachings, build a reputation, win the support of my clan, and bring peace to my home region. That was my aspiration.

When Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, the realm fell apart. I assessed the situation: the Han dynasty was in decline, and warlords were rising everywhere. There was no way to simply keep to myself. I could neither die a martyr as a Han official nor bear to be a plaything of the powerful, so I led my followers away to defend our territory and protect the people. People of the time mocked me as a traitor. I did not defend myself.

Later, I took control of a province and defeated one warlord after another: I crushed Yuan in the north, subdued Sun in the south, and conquered Shu in the west. More and more of my subordinates urged me to declare myself emperor. I smiled and agreed. I would not shirk my duty.

Had I not lived in those troubled times, who knows how many would have called themselves emperors or kings, how many bodies would have been left in the wilderness, and how many children would have been sold in the marketplace?

Now the realm is more or less at peace, and I am old. Someone asked me, “Is this the limit of your ambition?”

I laid a hand on my sword, gazed into the distance, and slowly replied:

Beyond the four seas, there are still other lands. My heart is set on what lies beyond the Central Plains.