Chapter 11: News from Afar

In just three short days, the atmosphere inside Lulong Fortress had already become turbulent.

Lady Gongsun, in her capacity as an elder, helped her son win over Cheng Pu and Han Dang, then left behind a few worldly possessions and took those refugees who had nowhere else to go back to the workshops in Lingzhi to settle them. But the Marquis and Grand Administrator of Liaoxi Commandery, the Grand Administrator of Youbeiping Commandery, and the former Central Xianbei my lord Kezuique — these three truly great figures — had once again gathered here inside Lulong Fortress.

Of course, it is worth mentioning that the my lord Kezuique, who arrived in a cart from the Anli Trading Company in Liucheng, came only as a head, and his mouth had been torn open, so he was in no position to join the two Grand Administrators in drinking and merriment. But that could not be helped, and fortunately the two high officials of the Two-Thousand-Dan rank were in excellent spirits and quite magnanimous, neither of them minding this point very much.

It must be said that over these past few days, the entire fortress, from top to bottom, had in truth been passing through a state of tension, elation, and anxiety, and this mood reached its peak with the arrival of the two Grand Administrators.

The elation and anxiety need no elaboration — having rendered such great merit, everyone was waiting to share in the rewards and commendations. As for the tension, it was naturally the worry over Xianbei retaliation.

This too could not be helped. At this very moment, the Xianbei had among them a hero of rare genius — that Great Khan Tanshihuai, who had unified the Xianbei as far back as the reign of Emperor Huan, forging a super-regime of nomadic herding and fishing-hunting that stretched fifteen thousand li east to west and five thousand li north to south. Moreover, this Great Khan Tanshihuai had always been a temperament that yielded to neither soft nor hard tactics. Back then, Emperor Huan had been deeply troubled by him, wishing to enfeoff him as a king, but he refused; wishing to arrange a marriage alliance with him, but he refused that too. In any case, he kept a perpetually hostile face and clashed with the Great Han Dynasty. And truly, for decades he had never suffered a loss, and under his rule the Xianbei had consistently maintained military dominance over the Great Han. Although this situation was largely due to the Great Han’s own severe internal troubles, in facing such a figure, everyone’s worry was certainly understandable.

In fact, before the Grand Administrator Wang of Youbeiping had come, he had already deployed a large quantity of military supplies and combat personnel, ready to reinforce Lulong Fortress at any moment. And before the Grand Administrator Hou of Liaoxi had come, he had even mobilized a full five thousand Liaoxi Wuhuan shock cavalry and placed them near Liucheng, thereby ensuring the safety of Yangyue City to his rear — only then did he set out for Lulong Fortress.

However, not long after arriving here, scouts quickly brought back intelligence: although the Xianbei had indeed massed a large force, they had not come this way, but instead had gone all the way west. And just as everyone was growing even more bewildered and uncertain, another day passed, and an urgent military dispatch came by relayed fast horses from Yanmen Commandery in Bingzhou, passing through Dai Commandery, Shanggu Commandery, and Yuyang Commandery in Youzhou. Only then did everyone understand — as it turned out, this truly was not a feint by Tanshihuai.

It transpired that just a few days before the brilliant night raid here at Lulong Fortress, a counterattack against the Xianbei had likewise erupted over in Beidi Commandery, Bingzhou.

The commander in charge was a famed general of this dynasty, Xia Yu, an old subordinate of Duan Jiong, one of the "Three Bright Men of Liangzhou." This Xia Yu was at the time serving as Grand Administrator of Beidi Commandery, simultaneously facing military pressure from the Qiang tribes to the west and the Xianbei to the north. Yet this time, faced with the Xianbei’s "routine" border raiding, Grand Administrator Xia did not endure it. Instead, he led his own commandery troops, joined forces with the Southern Xiongnu Chanyu — who was at this time very loyal to the Great Han — pursued them closely, and then chased the Xianbei all the way beyond the frontier, fighting a thoroughly satisfying field battle outside the border, directly taking over four hundred heads!

One in the east, one in the west — the two battles complemented each other perfectly. But compared to the engagement here at Lulong Fortress, the battle over in Beidi was undoubtedly far more eye-catching — because whether it was the Han army pursuing beyond the frontier, or the grassland field battle, or the Southern Xiongnu’s full-throated participation, all of it undoubtedly carried immense political significance. The occurrence of this counterattack completely shook the very foundations of Xianbei hegemony over the grasslands!

Therefore, if Tanshihuai wanted to carry out military retaliation, he must, and could only, concentrate his forces and respond in the direction of Bingzhou! And as for Youzhou, even though a Kezuique had died here, he could only choose to abandon it.

"A pity!" That morning, as the cold wind rose again, in an open space below the Wangri Tower of Lulong Fortress, Han Dang, upon hearing the news, hopped about in great displeasure. "If the Xianbei had come to our Lulong Fortress, given the strategic defensibility of this place, we would surely have made him lose troops and generals again. Why did they have to go to Bingzhou?!"

"Is Yigong speaking nonsense?" Cheng Pu, hearing this, was utterly speechless. "You know that Lulong Fortress has treacherous terrain and is a key to the mighty pass — do you think Tanshihuai does not know that? Is he mad or a fool to come crashing against this place?"

"Brother Yigong is hardly muddled," Gongsun Xun, standing nearby, could not help but laugh. "He is merely coveting Long after already having obtained Wang. Having rendered such great merit this time, just yesterday he was calculating with me, wondering whether he could be promoted to Platoon Commander. Then the next moment he turned around and worried that since he had deployed troops without authorization, his superiors might make trouble for him, and his mood grew agitated again... The Lord Grand Administrator’s reward is about to arrive — he is just beating the drums here, that’s all!"

Cheng Pu burst out laughing at this, which made Han Dang somewhat embarrassed... Over these past few days, Gongsun Xun had deliberately cultivated their friendship, and the few of them had long since grown familiar with one another.

"Registrar Gongsun." Just as the group was chatting and laughing in the cold wind, a smiling middle-aged clerk descended from the tower above. As soon as he came down, he greeted Gongsun Xun with great warmth — it was none other than Tian Kai, an Assistant Clerk in the Merit Evaluation Section of Liaoxi Commandery. "Come quickly, the Lord Grand Administrator wishes to see you!"

Gongsun Xun naturally dared not delay, and stepped forward to offer a salute. There was no helping it — although this Tian Kai was of the same rank as himself, the Merit Evaluation Section he belonged to was responsible for the promotion and appointment of officials, known in officialdom as the "highest post in the commandery," and anyone had to maintain courtesy toward it.

"What a pity." Watching Gongsun Xun and that Assistant Clerk from the Merit Evaluation Section chatting and laughing as they went upstairs, Han Dang was the first to lose his composure. "This time, it truly is a pity for our Registrar Gongsun."

"Who says it isn’t?" Even the steady-natured Cheng Pu could not help shaking his head. "It is indeed a pity."

"What is a pity?" The one who spoke up was none other than Gongsun Yue. He held no office or rank, so earlier he had simply not bothered to stand in the cold wind waiting to be summoned, and had just arrived in time to overhear this exchange. "What are you two talking about? Where has my elder brother gone?"

"Actually, thinking carefully, it may not necessarily be so." Cheng Pu looked at the bewildered Gongsun Yue, and his heart stirred slightly. "Perhaps it is you, young master, who is about to have a stroke of luck."

Han Dang was also taken aback, then nodded repeatedly.

Gongsun Yue remained utterly bewildered.

In truth, the topic Cheng Pu and Han Dang were discussing was exceedingly simple — it was about the attribution of Gongsun Xun’s merit in this campaign.

It must be understood that this time, Gongsun Xun had truly rendered merit as vast as the heavens. Setting aside the foremost merit of the night raid that day, the head of Kezuique, with half its face torn open, had been secretly delivered by the Anli Trading Company! No one else could even contest it!

Besides, he was, after all, a son of the Gongsun clan, and this Lulong Fortress was right beside Lingzhi City, so there was no need to worry about this merit being stolen away by anyone... It was just that — and this is the "just that" — leaving aside the rule that one cannot be promoted before coming of age, the main thing was, wasn’t Gongsun Xun about to go to Luoyang to study?!

For a scion of a great clan with far-reaching ambitions, studying the classics was a necessary procedure. It was like — without a basic academic degree, do you think you can become a municipal party secretary? Even if you just have your name on the roster, you still have to get that degree. But if that were the case, then who knew who would end up benefiting from Gongsun Xun’s heaven-storming merit.

Of course, at present, it seemed that Gongsun Yue was likely the greatest beneficiary — that much seemed certain. And both men still had one more thought they did not voice aloud: over these past few days, Gongsun Xun had more than once expressed his intention to advocate for both of them in the matter of merit. In this very meeting with Grand Administrator Hou of Liaoxi, he had specifically mentioned beforehand the Platoon Commander position that Han Dang so earnestly sought... So presumably, the second beneficiary would be Han Dang.

Arriving at the top floor of the Wangri Tower of Lulong Fortress, where the Grand Administrator was temporarily staying, Tian Kai voluntarily withdrew. And standing guard before the Grand Administrator’s door was none other than the man Lady Gongsun had called one of the protagonists of the Three Kingdoms — the Grand Administrator’s beloved son-in-law, who had recently activated his cheat, Gongsun Zan.

"Elder brother." Gongsun Xun honestly performed a salute, then cautiously drew near. No matter what, he still hoped to walk a few steps alongside this big shot in the future. "What is the Lord Grand Administrator’s mood?"

"Rest easy." Gongsun Zan pressed down on his clan brother’s shoulder and replied in a low voice. "That Kezuique’s head has left my father-in-law exceptionally satisfied, not to mention the large amount of valuables you had me deliver the night before last... Today’s business will only be good news. Whatever thoughts you have, take this opportunity to raise them." At this point, he could not help but grumble quietly. "If only I had been here that day too, I would surely have been able to gain some achievements. How did this sort of thing end up falling to you and A-Yue?"

Gongsun Xun had no doubt whatsoever about this.

This clan brother of his — perhaps because of his unfavorable background, his personality was a bit prickly, but in all other respects, he was truly not lacking in the slightest.

Setting aside his eight-chi stature, outstanding appearance, and loud voice... well, in any case, it was by these that he had been taken as a son-in-law by the Grand Administrator. Take his skill with bow and horse — after all, he was a son of a frontier commandery’s great clan, and the military education and training he had received since childhood far surpassed that of those sons of humble families who could not even find the door. To say he was adept with bow and horse, daring and fierce in battle, required no further explanation.

In fact, after experiencing that battle a few days ago, Gongsun Xun had gained some intuitive insight into certain things. He knew very clearly that this clan brother of his truly did possess a couple of outstanding skills. That double-headed long lance of his was no mere showy flourish, and he was not necessarily inferior to Han Dang.

No wonder he would later be able to rampage across Hebei!

Of course...

"Elder brother is newly married and deeply in love. Even if you had wanted to come that day, sister-in-law would probably not have been willing to part with you." Gongsun Xun lowered his head and smiled.

Gongsun Zan also broke into a helpless laugh, and then stepped aside to yield the path... Such words were probably something only Gongsun Xun, as both brother and colleague, could say to him.

"Lord Grand Administrator!" Gongsun Xun stepped into the room and, before even raising his head, directly prostrated himself on the ground.

In the Han Dynasty, the commandery was treated as a state, and the Grand Administrator was akin to a sovereign. Thus, at this moment, this Grand Administrator Hou was the sky above Gongsun Xun’s head, and also the sky over Liaoxi Commandery. All matters great and small within Liaoxi Commandery could be decided by his single word.

"(Third year of the Xiping era), twelfth month: The Xianbei raided Beidi; the Grand Administrator of Beidi, Xia Yu, pursued and attacked them, routing them. The Xianbei also raided Bingzhou." — Book of the Later Han, Annals of Emperor Xiaoling.

For now, there is no plan to create a new group... The new book is not yet large in scale, and the old group is a two-thousand-person group that still has space. Interested readers can go there.

(End of Chapter)