The fifteenth and sixteenth years of Jian'an were known as the years when kings arose.
During those two years, following Cao Cao's oath at the Luo River, all the somewhat stronger feudal lords throughout All Under Heaven proclaimed themselves kings.
Although they did not openly proclaim themselves emperors and stand against the Han Dynasty as rival northern and southern courts as Yan State had, they had likewise broken free of Han control.
Only in Jingzhou had Liu Biao failed to proclaim himself king. Blocked by the four great families of Huang, Kuai, Cai, and Pang, he had not taken the title and still observed the Han Dynasty's calendar.
Counting them carefully, of the three provincial governors of imperial blood throughout All Under Heaven, Liu Biao alone had not proclaimed himself king.
Some people throughout All Under Heaven who valued deeds over intentions praised him, but Liu Biao himself felt stifled beyond measure. Sores broke out on his back, and he became bedridden.
He remained in bed for an entire year.
Jingzhou's affairs lay in the hands of the four great families, with Pang Tong, Kuai Yue, Cai Mao, Huang Chengyan, and others in charge. These gentry families had always sustained Jingzhou, so Liu Biao's presence or absence made little difference.
But over that year, internal disputes in Jingzhou had also grown extremely severe, sparked by Wu State's campaign against Jingzhou.
In the thirteenth year of Jian'an, Yuan Shao and Cao Cao fought a great war with Liu Bei in the Central Plains, subsequently dragging Guanzhong, Yan State, Bingzhou, and the Three Rivers into it.
They had all gone.
She feared Liu Biao would die too quickly to pass his position to her son.
Liu Biao reached out and took a piece of white cloth, slowly writing on it in blood