Chapter 110: A Night Visit

According to Chinese tradition, very few people are definitively judged as "a renowned official of a generation" while still alive, with all sorts of allusions, anecdotes, and supernatural tales then spun off from that.

But without a doubt, Qiao Xuan was an exception.

After all, this universally acknowledged renowned official of the Later Han became famous far too early!

Back in the government office in Taiyuan, Gongsun Xun and Dong Zhuo, holding a broken, bladeless knife, were flattering each other and then using Qiao Xuan's deeds as a role model... When was that? The answer is nearly forty years ago.

And to be honest, when Qiao Xuan brought down a two-thousand-dan official forty years ago, he was merely a minor clerk in a county, whereas Gongsun Xun at that time was a thousand-dan Major — the difficulty and skill level were truly not just a little bit apart.

Also, back when Liu Kuan had just been appointed Grand Commandant, Gongsun Xun and Yang Qiu were flattering each other in the Grand Commandant's residence, talking about tying up those who refused summons in front of the government office... This actually also had an allusion, and it was also related to Qiao Xuan.

About twenty years ago, when Qiao Xuan was Grand Administrator of Hanyang, he summoned a man to serve as a clerk. The man put on the airs of a famous scholar and claimed illness to avoid coming. So Qiao Xuan directly told him: if you dare not come, I will, in accordance with the administrative order encouraging widows to remarry, marry off your nearly fifty-year-old mother! This so frightened the entire commandery that people came one after another to plead for mercy, and only then did he relent... To be honest, this was worse than killing the man!

Besides this, there was also a mythical story about Lord Qiao that could be written into a collection of strange tales...

However, setting these aside, for figures in officialdom, what people most admired about Qiao Xuan were precisely the four words "indomitable despite a hundred setbacks."

These four words could not yet be called a set phrase at this time, nor had they become an allusion through inscription on some stele or record in a history book, but ever since a certain person inadvertently uttered them, they indeed became the common assessment of Qiao Xuan among contemporaries... Because in his youth, this Lord Qiao had repeatedly experienced the ups and downs of officialdom: once voluntarily resigning from office, once being imprisoned and made a wall-builder, and once being dismissed and reduced to a commoner. It was said he rose and fell three times, yet never lost the slightest bit of his ambition.

Of course, what Gongsun Xun did not know was that the event that would truly bind the four words "indomitable despite a hundred setbacks" irrevocably to Qiao Xuan and pass them down to later generations was actually something that had not yet had time to happen...

"Is this Lord Qiao's grandson?" When Gongsun Xun personally drove the carriage and delivered Qiao Xuan to the front of his residence, a little boy wrapped in a thick coat, sitting under the lamp by the door, at the so-called age of bound tufts — about eight or nine years old — excitedly came out to greet them.

"No." Qiao Xuan first totteringly embraced the little boy beside the carriage, then laughed and explained. "This is my youngest son... If he were truly a grandson, how could I dote on him so?"

Gongsun Xun could not help but size up this aged and decrepit renowned official of the Great Han once more, secretly admiring him.

Meanwhile, Qiao Xuan lowered his head and continued to stroke his youngest son's head, gave a few smiling instructions, then handed the ceremonial tablet in his hand to the boy and nudged him, saying it was cold outside and telling him to go in first and instruct the household servants to prepare a meal. Only then did he continue, leaning on Gongsun Xun's wrist, to walk inside the gate.

Now, although Qiao Xuan came from a good background and had been a two-thousand-dan official thirty or forty years earlier, his home was simple and plain, with only a few servants and pitifully few pieces of furniture and objects. Matched with the so-called vast, government-built residence, it truly appeared desolate and cold.

"I once served as General Who Crosses the Liao, with overall command of the northern frontier's military affairs, but now I am old and decrepit, and even speaking seems to lack energy," Qiao Xuan said as he walked. "So not many people are willing to come visit me. But interestingly, the occasional guests who do come are all young men around your age..."

Gongsun Xun's heart stirred slightly, and he could not help but say bluntly: "Lord Qiao, what I said earlier was indeed a slip of the tongue. If you have any instruction to offer, please speak directly."

"It was not a slip of the tongue." Qiao Xuan said dismissively, already supporting himself on the doorframe as he stepped through the inner gate. "Back when I was seven or eight years older than you, I was a subordinate clerk under the Intendant of Henan. When I went to report on work, that Intendant of Henan, Liang Buyi, made me stand while reporting the documents. I immediately threw the documents on the ground and resigned... Compared to me, your shrewish behavior of cursing someone behind their back is nothing at all. If you cursed him to his face, would Yuan Feng kill you?"

Gongsun Xun's face flushed bright red, and he hurriedly let go of Qiao Xuan's hand, stepped back, and bowed again to apologize.

"At my age, I should no longer be meddling in these matters." Qiao Xuan paid no heed to the other's apology, but stopped walking and, as if to himself, folded his hands into his sleeves and spoke. "Besides, I entered official service in the reign of Emperor Shun and have experienced five reigns. I have seen too much, and I no longer have any particular thoughts about these matters of eunuchs and consort kin... Have you ever seen eunuchs and consort kin join hands to dominate court politics and hollow out an adult emperor? Have you ever seen a young emperor poisoned to death?"

Gongsun Xun was speechless.

"However, these eunuchs and consort kin are, after all, the household slaves and relatives of the Liu clan. All their power and influence come from the Liu clan, so even if they stir up a hundred different schemes among themselves, there is nothing much to say. Only," at this point, Qiao Xuan suddenly sighed softly, and the white mist of winter immediately spread across his face, "only this Yuan clan, to be honest, is the first time I have truly seen the leader of a ducal clan join hands with eunuchs. I truly do not know what that boy Yuan Feng is trying to do..."

Gongsun Xun felt his scalp go numb; he absolutely dared not pick up this thread of conversation.

"By the way, you, young man, earlier said 'this matter still has potential' and also said 'I already have a plan in mind'... Tell me honestly, are you thinking in your heart that the Son of Heaven, at his age, will inevitably purge the court? So whether it is Cao Jie and Wang Fu, or the old nobility of Luoyang, sooner or later they will all lose power. And then, you can calmly wait for an opportunity, hide behind the claws and fangs of the Son of Heaven, kill one or two eunuchs, and thereby make your name renowned throughout the realm?"

"Yes!" Gongsun Xun had no choice but to brace himself, bow, and admit it.

"You need not be alarmed." Qiao Xuan continued to stand at the inner gate and spoke casually. "It is just that I have seen such things so often that I can guess it with my eyes closed. It is not that I am old and wily, much less that I have some secret agents or investigators..."

Gongsun Xun was increasingly at a loss for words.

"However, it still comes back to that saying: if you just sit and wait for heaven to change, what is there to praise in such conduct?" Qiao Xuan continued. "Even if you gain some hollow reputation, it will only make those mediocre and petty men admire you. Do you think the true heroes of the world cannot see whether you are an opportunist or a man of indomitable perseverance?"

Gongsun Xun thought again of Tian Feng from earlier and could not help but raise his head and heave a long sigh: "What Lord Qiao says is absolutely right..."

"I also think it is absolutely right!" Qiao Xuan said mockingly, his hands still tucked in his sleeves. "You clearly carry a sharp blade and have a path of retreat behind you, yet you only bared your blade at the start against Duan Jiong, that dead tiger who has lost all ambition, and then spent your days engaging in schemes and secret plots, private collusions... What meaning is there in that? You are someone who has fought in battles; do you not know that political affairs are like military campaigns, and political struggles are like warfare? At the critical moment, it still depends on a surge of bloody courage and a formation advancing with open honor! Facing these scions of wealthy and powerful houses raised by women's hands, if you do not take the initiative to attack and instead sit waiting for some opportunity in battle, it is no wonder that after three months in the capital you have accomplished nothing!"

In his heart, Gongsun Xun naturally knew that Qiao Xuan bore him no ill will. Moreover, Tian Feng's departure had filled him with immense resentment and anger, so upon hearing these words, he felt both dazed as if lost and as if awakening from a dream. He hurriedly bowed his head in thanks: "Lord Qiao's teachings, Xun engraves with gratitude in his heart..."

"You need not engrave them with gratitude in your heart." Qiao Xuan slightly flicked his sleeve and said dismissively. "I merely wanted to see what kind of person this disciple was, whom that boy Liu Wenrao values so highly and for whom he is prepared to entrust his family... These words of mine are merely a lesson on behalf of your incompetent teacher!"

At this point, without waiting for the other to speak, this renowned official of the age waved his hand repeatedly: "My household has very few people, and even on the first day of the new year, we only made a little food. You are young and likely have a large appetite, so I will not keep you. Be on your way!"

Gongsun Xun had originally wanted to ask about the relationship between the other and his teacher Liu Kuan, and whether the other, as his mother had said, had a deep connection with Cao Mengde, and how he compared to Cao Mengde, and he even wanted to bring up the proactive strategy that had flashed into his mind like lightning for the other's consideration... But a thousand words ultimately came to nothing but helplessness, and he could only bow again and take his leave.

When he came outside the gate, Han Dang, Wei Yue, who had earlier picked up Gongsun Xun from outside the palace and followed him the whole way, along with the other two attendants, hurriedly gathered around.

"Yigong." Gongsun Xun wiped the cold sweat from his forehead — which had actually long since dried — with his hand, and directly called his trusted aide over in front of the Qiao residence gate. "Tell me honestly, what is the level of the guards at these high gates and great households in Luoyang?"

"What does the Young Lord mean?" Han Dang was momentarily baffled.

"Can you come and go freely within these high gates and great households?" Gongsun Xun asked in a low voice.

Han Dang immediately understood and quickly replied in a low voice: "It would be very difficult in broad daylight, and even harder to infiltrate the inner chambers to kill someone. After all, these households are not lacking in elite and brave men, with layers of protection... But if it is merely sneaking in secretly and then suddenly shooting a cold arrow in the outer courtyard to cause a disturbance, that would be easy."

"Go back and change your clothes. Go with me now to Wang Fu's house and cause a disturbance."

"Yes!"

"Remember this." Gongsun Xun suddenly grabbed the other's arm and instructed. "Shout my name!"

Han Dang was dumbfounded.

"Just shout my name!" Gongsun Xun sneered. "Shoot a random arrow over, then shout: 'Gongsun Xun of Liaoxi has come to slay traitors for the state!' Once you've shouted, flee back! And if Wang Fu panics and shuts his gates, that's fine. But if he sends men to pursue, then have the Lady come out to deal with them."

"Yes!" Although still utterly baffled, Han Dang hurriedly assented, then mounted his horse and went home to prepare.

"Wei Yue." Gongsun Xun called out again.

"Commander of the Gentlemen!" Wei Yue hurriedly stepped forward and cupped his hands.

"You have been in Luoyang for several days now. Have you ever seen a truly great and noble household?" Gongsun Xun asked teasingly.

"Yue only feels that each mountain is higher than the last, and truly does not know which one counts as a truly great and noble household." Wei Yue hurriedly bowed his head. "A rustic boy from the frontier, I have disgraced the Commander of the Gentlemen."

"In that case, let me take you to witness the style of the foremost great household of the Great Han." So saying, Gongsun Xun immediately mounted his horse and, without the slightest pause, headed straight for a certain place.

And Wei Yue was immediately overjoyed and hurriedly spurred his horse to follow with the two attendants.

However, what Gongsun Xun did not know was that the place he was heading to, even though it was the evening of the first day of the new year, already had a somewhat unpleasant atmosphere.

"How can Uncle, my father, act in collusion with eunuchs?" Yuan Shao, dressed in plain, undyed hemp, was speaking with intense agitation to the man he called uncle, who was in fact his true "father." "We are a ducal clan. A ducal clan is the leader of the scholars. Moreover, our Yuan clan hails from Runan and is the natural leader of the partisans. Back during the Proscription, associating with that Regular Palace Attendant Yuan She already caused dissatisfaction among the scholars of Wan, Luo, Ru, and Ying..."

"That is your clan uncle. How can you refer to him by name?" Yuan Feng, who had been drinking noodle soup with his head lowered, calmly looked up and admonished his son born of a concubine. "I never expected that wheat meal, once ground into flour, would be so soft. As one gets older, one comes to like such things... Send someone to Hebei to buy more of it, and also have the household learn to grind it themselves."

A household servant behind him immediately assented.

Yuan Shao, upon hearing this, laughed in extreme anger but could only slump back into his seat.

"If you ask me," at this moment, a young man beside him, whose appearance was far inferior to Yuan Shao's, could not help but interject with a sneer, "Father does not know that our cousin here is judging others by his own standards... He is a model for the realm, and must consider the realm in all things. Otherwise, he would not have secretly run back from his thatched hut outside the city during the mourning period to remonstrate with us so passionately and vehemently... On the first day of the new year, he even frightened Mother away. However, he does not understand that Father, as the head of the clan, can only consider the interests of our clan. The realm is not something he dares to contemplate."

Yuan Shao cast a cold glance at this half-brother by a different mother, but could not be bothered to pay him any heed.

"Yuan Gonglu!" Yuan Feng suddenly put down the noodle soup he had been eating with relish, his expression unchanged. "Go kneel at the doorway. Your father has a question for you!"

"Yes!" Yuan Shu hurriedly left the dining table, retreated several steps to the doorframe of the inner hall, then knelt and pressed his forehead to the ground.

"Would the young and high-ranking Yuan Shu, scion of a line that has produced four generations of the Three Excellencies, please explain to your father what 'Yuan Gonglu, the Vicious Ghost of the Roads' means?" Yuan Feng asked with a face full of curiosity. "All these years, just how many green seedlings have you trampled outside Luoyang? How many passersby have you terrified within Luoyang city? How exactly did you earn such a nickname?"

"Pfft!" Yuan Shao, standing to the side, burst out laughing.

Yuan Shu could only hurriedly kowtow.

Yuan Feng turned his head to glance at Yuan Shao, who was born of a lowly maidservant, and sighed with even greater feeling: "And you still have the face to mock your elder brother? Do you not know that your elder brother's nickname is Yuan Benchu, the Paragon of the Realm, while you are Yuan Gonglu, the Starving Ghost of the Roads... Is there anything more shameful than this under heaven?"

Yuan Shu kowtowed even more incessantly.

"Yuan Shu."

"Your humble servant is here!" Yuan Shu hastily answered.

"Remember this: among those you associate with, aside from Chen Gui of Guangling, who is somewhat older, steadier, and possesses some caliber, the rest are all unreliable. Sever all ties with them!"

"Yes!" Yuan Shu, trembling all over, agreed with exceptional alacrity.

"Very well, rise now." Yuan Feng smiled again. "And while you are at it, go to the woodshed and fetch an axe..."

Yuan Shu, who had just risen, was at a loss, and even Yuan Shao frowned in puzzlement.

"You will do it yourself," Yuan Feng said lightly, picking up his earthenware bowl once more. "Smash those perfumed carriages of yours to splinters, and behead those prize horses. Then tomorrow, go to the market and buy the simplest cart you can find... Go now. I will wait for you right here."

At these words, not only did Yuan Shao's expression instantly change, but even Yuan Ji, the eldest of the three brothers, who had been eating with his head down and sitting rigidly upright, was momentarily stunned before continuing his meal with lowered head.

Yuan Shu opened his mouth as if to speak, but could only bow shiveringly, turn around, and go off to find the axe.

Yuan Feng continued his meal, while Yuan Shao no longer dared to utter a word.

However, just at that moment, a household servant came from the front to report that the Excellency over the Masses Yang Ci's son, and Yuan Feng's son-in-law, the Court Consultant Yang Biao, had arrived with his wife to visit her family.

Yuan Feng sighed upon hearing this and set down his earthenware bowl again: "Who visits their wife's family on the evening of the first day of the new year? Yang Wenxian has come on his father's behalf to demand an accounting... Well, sending Wenxian at least shows an unwillingness to completely tear face, though a round of harsh questioning is unavoidable."

"Father," Yuan Ji, who had remained silent all along, said with his head slightly lowered, "let younger sister go see Mother. Wenxian is also of the junior generation; I will go and handle him."

"That will have to do." Yuan Feng waved his hand with some impatience. "Even on the first day of the new year, they won't let a man eat a peaceful meal."

Yuan Ji immediately rose, rinsed his mouth and washed his face, and went to receive his brother-in-law.

"Father," Yuan Shao spoke up again once both his elder and younger brothers had left, but this time with a different tone and form of address, "I truly do not understand why you, my lord father, must act in this way? Not to mention that I am now being constantly questioned by the sons of the Partisan faction, but even within our own ducal clan, is there not suspicion cast upon our Yuan family?"

"Benchu!" Yuan Feng let out a long sigh and was about to speak, but stopped abruptly. It turned out his eldest son and heir, Yuan Ji, had returned. "What is it?"

"Reporting to my lord," Yuan Ji answered carefully, "the household servants report again that the Gentleman of the Masters of Writing, Gongsun Xun, has arrived unexpectedly and requests an audience with you, my lord!"

"The student of Liu Kuan and Lu Zhi, the one who killed Xia Yu and Tian Yan and then drew his blade on Bronze Camel Street to force back Duan Jiong?" Yuan Feng asked with a frown. "That so-called White Horse Commandant of the Inner Bureau, the chicken-feeding cook of the Imperial Secretariat?"

"The very same," Yuan Ji continued in a low voice. "Moreover, this man has been in close contact these days with Wang Yun and Tian Feng of the Censorate, and Tian Feng is precisely that Distinguished Talent of Jizhou who openly resigned his post outside the palace hall today, putting Father and Uncle in a difficult position."

"Then he has naturally also come to demand an accounting," Yuan Feng said, increasingly helpless. "Block him on my behalf as well!"

"Yes!" Yuan Ji immediately took his leave.

Thereupon, Yuan Feng turned his gaze once more to his son born of a concubine—the one among his three sons with the best looks, ability, and reputation: Yuan Shao, Yuan Benchu.

"Father," Yuan Shao exhaled deeply, then lowered his head, clearly urging his father to continue what he had been saying earlier.

"Benchu," Yuan Feng said with a slight frown, "this matter arose by chance. Who could have known that so many calamitous portents would appear in the Southern Palace in a single day, and so vividly, witnessed by all? I had no time to make arrangements for you. Let us do this: once this affair has passed, find an opportunity to have your trusted confidants openly clash with the eunuchs, so that all under heaven will know that you, Yuan Benchu, are still that Paragon of the Realm. Then seize the chance to return to our ancestral home in Runan. That place is the very root of the Partisans. There you can observe mourning, cultivate your reputation, and freely befriend the Partisans and denounce the eunuchs. In this way, you will absolutely not be troubled by the situation in Luoyang any longer."

Yuan Shao, his head wrapped in mourning cloth, nodded slightly, but then could not help shaking his head: "Be that as it may, your humble servant still does not understand why my lord father must do this? A ducal clan and the eunuchs—it is truly unheard of... My lord, our Yuan family is the leader of the ducal clans, the foremost of the scholar-officials. We do not need to rely on fawning over eunuchs like the Xu family to obtain high office, do we? Look at the Yang family; they have never given the eunuchs a pleasant word or look..."

"That is because the Yang family is merely the second most renowned clan under heaven," Yuan Feng suddenly sneered. "Our Yuan family is the first..."

Yuan Benchu was even more perplexed: "Forgive your humble servant's ignorance."

"You will be told sooner or later!" Yuan Feng smiled faintly, then once again raised his head to look toward the doorframe of the inner hall. "Why have you come back again?"

"Father," Yuan Ji glanced at his half-brother born of a concubine, then replied in a low voice, "that Gongsun Xun spoke with fierce words, and Wenxian, compelled by the circumstances, also followed suit with insolent remarks. Your son truly could not hold them off..."

"Gongsun Xun is a military man from the border commandery of Liaoxi," Yuan Shao suddenly said with a laugh, without turning his head, and it was unclear to whom he was speaking. "I only knew that Ziyuan, Yuantu, and Zhongzhi all told me this man is a sharp blade, exceedingly skilled at killing. I did not know he also possessed a sharp tongue, exceedingly skilled at cursing."

"Did you hear that?" Yuan Feng demanded upon hearing this. "Whether it's that brat Yang Biao or this so-called chicken-feeding cook of the Imperial Secretariat, no matter how unpleasant their words, you will treat them with courtesy. Let them speak; once they've said their piece, isn't that enough? If you do wrong, are you not allowed to be criticized? Is it you who doesn't know the eunuchs are scoundrels, or is it I who doesn't know? Besides, they are merely speaking. Can they truly curse a man's own father in front of his son? Endure it!"

Yuan Ji lowered his head slightly. Although his expression showed some difficulty... in the end, he dared not disobey his father, so he cupped his hands and hurried away.

Yuan Feng immediately let out a sigh. These three brothers... they were truly enough to drive him to drink. And the reaction of the ducal clans and the scholar-officials was indeed coming faster and more fiercely than he had anticipated.

It seemed he needed to proactively make some kind of gesture to quell public opinion.

—————I am the dividing line, skilled in both letters and arms—————

"Xun once entered the residence of the Regular Palace Attendant Wang Fu in the dark of night. Fu became aware of him and called out his guests to surround and block him. Xun thereupon whirled a hand-axe in the courtyard, leaped over the wall and escaped. From atop the wall, he loosed arrows and felled several guests, then shouted again: 'Sooner or later, Xun shall slay this villain for the sake of all under heaven!' His talent and martial prowess were unmatched, and Fu could do him no harm. Greatly terrified, Fu dared not move against him." — Records of the Heroes of the Late Han, by Wang Can

PS: Book recommendation, "Descent of the Demon Blade in the Pirate World," a new book by an old friend.

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(End of Chapter)