Chapter 111: Alarm

"I heard Wenqi did something big last night?" At noon, within the Masters of Writing, Liu Tao, the Master of Writing for the Central Officials Section, was stroking his graying beard and frowning as he asked.

And behind him, several Gentlemen of the Masters of Writing and the Chief Clerk of the Masters of Writing were all stealing glances at Gongsun Xun with expressions that were both admiring and somewhat evasive... As for those who fawned upon the eunuchs and the disciples of the Yuan clan, naturally they would not be lingering here.

"I did nothing big," Gongsun Xun said with a face full of sincerity. "It was merely that I saw the eunuchs being too arrogant at the court assembly, felt indignant in my heart, so I went to Wang Fu's house to cause a disturbance, and then went to pay a visit to Grand Coachman Yuan, asking him to take the lead in curbing the eunuchs' arrogance..."

"Isn't it said that Brother Wenqi went to Grand Coachman Yuan's house and let loose a torrent of abuse, his voice shaking the courtyard, so that the neighbors on both sides set up ladders and leaned over the walls to listen?" Wang Lang could not help but interject and ask. "This matter had already spread by early morning."

"Jingxing's words are easily misunderstood." Gongsun Xun hurriedly corrected him. "At first hearing, one would think I was cursing Grand Coachman Yuan... In truth, although I did let loose a torrent of abuse yesterday, it was directed at the eunuchs in power! Think about it, the one hosting Yang Wenxian and me was the Grand Coachman's eldest son; how could I curse a man's own father in front of his son?"

"I knew it!"

"As expected, it was a baseless rumor."

The colleagues from the Masters of Writing around them all looked relieved.

"Then how exactly did Brother Wenqi curse the eunuchs?" The youngest among them, Wang Lang, could not help but press the question.

"Cursing people, it's nothing more than those kinds of words," Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh. "Some vulgar language, what is there to tell?"

"Let us set this aside for now." Liu Tao suddenly beckoned. "I called Wenqi out for official business; come with me... The rest of you must also return to work swiftly."

The crowd hurriedly voiced their assent, and although Gongsun Xun did not understand what was happening, he still quickly followed his direct superior to another part of the Masters of Writing.

"In truth, vulgar language can also grace the halls of elegance." Just as Gongsun Xun and Liu Tao were leaving together, an older Gentleman of the Masters of Writing suddenly spoke up, causing the crowd that was about to disperse to turn back again. "Just now with Lord Liu here, it was not convenient for me to speak... You do not know, early this morning, I met Yang Wenxian in front of the Southern Palace gates. He said that last night, sitting beside Wenqi, he was actually drenched in sweat and at a loss. I could not resist asking him to recite a few lines of Wenqi's vulgar language. Listening carefully, it was indeed satisfying!"

"Brother Han, please instruct us!"

"Why not recite it for us to hear?"

"Yes, here there are only us brothers, all comrades; what taboo is there?" The Gentlemen of the Masters of Writing immediately grew interested.

"It is only a few scattered lines."

"A few scattered lines will do!"

"Then I shall make a fool of myself." The man stroked his beard slightly. "I vaguely recall, first there were the words, 'The Han mandate wanes, eunuchs brew calamity, the state is in chaos and the years are dire, turmoil spreads in all directions'..."

The crowd could not help but shake their heads and sigh one after another.

"In the middle were the words, 'In the temples of state, rotten wood holds office; between the palace steps, beasts and birds feed on official salaries. Thus, wolf-hearted and dog-acting scoundrels surge forth to govern the court, and servile, groveling wretches in droves wield political power'..."

The Gentlemen of the Masters of Writing all composed their expressions, for these words seemed to carry the intent of pointing at the mulberry and cursing the locust tree; no wonder the rumor had spread that Gongsun Xun had fiercely cursed the Grand Coachman.

"However, the most satisfying part was the final words when Brother Wenqi rose to take his leave, the so-called 'White-headed old fool, beardless old villain, your crimes are deep and heavy, neither Heaven nor Earth can tolerate you'!"

"Excellent, excellent!" Hearing this, before the other colleagues could react, the youngest in the crowd, Wang Lang, immediately clapped his hands in admiration. "In all my life, Lang has never heard such thoroughly exhilarating words!"

The crowd naturally nodded and sighed in agreement; was Cao Jie not precisely that white-headed old fool, that beardless old villain... Eunuchs have no beards!

And just as Wang Lang was repeatedly cheering, Gongsun Xun had already followed Liu Tao into the official chamber of the newly appointed Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Wei Yangqiu.

"Lord Yang, that is how it is." Liu Tao stroked his beard and said to Yang Qiu. "What do you think of Wenqi?"

"Lord Liu is the Master of Writing for the Central Officials Section; why must such a matter be discussed with me?" Yang Qiu was still very deferential toward Liu Tao, whose seniority and age far exceeded his own. "Besides, since Shixie has encountered trouble, who else but Wenqi can take up this post of Attendant Official of the Central Officials Section?"

Gongsun Xun was momentarily bewildered.

"You still do not know?" Liu Tao could not help but sigh at his expression. "Word has come from Jiaozhou that Weiyan's (Shixie's) family members were involved in the rebellion. According to the law, he must resign from his post. This is why Weiyan did not come today..."

Gongsun Xun was briefly startled, but then immediately let it go.

After all, the Shi clan to which Shixie belonged was the only noble family in Jiaozhou that had held the rank of two thousand piculs for generations, having migrated there from Shandong during Wang Mang's rebellion. Their power and influence spread throughout Jiaozhou... Therefore, both the court and the local natives valued their family greatly.

To be honest, if four commanderies in Jiaozhou had rebelled in one go without implicating the Shi family, that would have been truly strange! But it was also of no consequence, because given the Shi family's pedigree, if the court wanted to pacify Jiaozhou, it would ultimately have to rely on their family. It was not impossible that this Shixie Shi Weiyan, having resigned, might turn around and become a Grand Administrator somewhere in Jiaozhou.

So, there was no need at all to worry about this man.

"As for the Attendant Official of the Central Officials Section." Yang Qiu stood up and continued to explain. "It was created because the court, mindful of the heavy responsibility of public order in Luoyang, specially selects one Gentleman of the Masters of Writing from the Central Officials Section, adding the title of Attendant Official, in order to link the Masters of Writing with the Colonel Director of Retainers, facilitating on-the-spot handling of matters..."

A look of sudden understanding appeared on Gongsun Xun's face. This was actually a good thing; after all, no matter the institution, matters within Luoyang were the most critical. Becoming the person in the section responsible for Luoyang affairs could be considered a promotion in disguise.

Not to mention, the four words 'on-the-spot handling of matters' were the most pleasing of all!

Moreover... just yesterday he had 'personally' run to Wang Fu's house to cause a disturbance, a genuine case of trespassing, and today he had become the head of public order, theft prevention, and disaster control in Luoyang within the Masters of Writing. Could Wang Fu, Attendant Wang, even feel the malice in this?!

Of course, what Gongsun Xun did not know was that at this very moment, in a small courtyard somewhere in the Northern Palace, Wang Fu no longer needed this malice to add to his vexation.

"Lord Cao!" Wang Fu questioned with a face full of grief and indignation. "Why do you forbid me from seeing His Majesty?"

"I did not say I forbid it; I merely advised you not to go." Cao Jie responded dismissively. "Tell me yourself, without any solid proof, why must you disturb His Majesty over this?"

"Indeed!"

"Attendant Wang, calm your anger."

"Lord Cao also means well." The other older Attendants in the courtyard also hurriedly tried to dissuade him without pause.

"How is it without solid proof?" Wang Fu grew even more resentful, but restrained by Cao Jie's authority, he dared not flare up and could only turn to explain to the other Attendants. "Gentlemen, you do not know, I saw it with my own eyes yesterday. That scoundrel shot an arrow that directly knocked the wine cup from my son Wang Meng's hand, nearly taking his life! Not only that, after missing with the first strike, he even dared to shout before fleeing that sooner or later he would take my life... All the guests in my house and the surrounding neighbors heard it clearly!"

Why didn't that one arrow kill you? The Grand Prolonger of Autumn, Cao Jie, listened and thought to himself speechlessly. If it really had killed you, I could then impartially enforce the law, use that as a pretext to kill that brat and intimidate this group of overly lively young men—wouldn't that have been perfect?

Of course, Cao Jie's expression remained very calm: "Attendant Wang, is this Gongsun Xun some stray cat or dog that you can eliminate just because you wish? At the Son of Heaven's side, there is naturally Attendant Zhao to plead his case; at the Masters of Writing, there are Lu Zhi and Liu Tao to protect him; and even when he returns home, that is next door to Lord Wenrao. If you have no evidence..."

"Grand Prolonger of Autumn!" Wang Fu nearly jumped up. "I already said, that arrow came straight at us..."

"Did you see his face?" Cao Jie finally grew impatient and actually put his hands behind his back to question him darkly.

"I..."

"You only heard a voice?"

"..."

"Why could it not be someone else framing him? Someone else in disguise?"

"..."

"Do you know that last night, that Gongsun Xun was still at Grand Coachman Yuan's house, cursing the eunuchs for ruining the state all evening? Saying things like 'White-headed old fool, beardless old villain'..."

"Ha?"

"With Yang Wenxian there as a witness, even His Majesty would not disbelieve it! If you insist that he went to your house, you won't even get past the Yuan and Yang clans."

"But I don't believe it!" Wang Fu suddenly retorted. "So what if Yuan and Yang testify? Who knows if he didn't fail to kill me first, and then ran to Yuan Feng's residence to put on an act? All I know is that scoundrel nearly killed the son I took under my knee for decades, the one I raised to care for me in old age and bury me! Such a reckless and audacious villain, if I cannot kill him, how will the world view me, Wang Fu?"

"Attendant Wang." Cao Jie grew increasingly exasperated. "We just barely got through the grand court assembly yesterday. This is not the time to quibble over such matters, much less the time to stir up any new disputes with the Yuan and Yang clans."

"I just don't understand!" Wang Fu's face suddenly flushed red, and he stepped forward aggressively. "Grand Prolonger of Autumn, are the affairs of this world not decided by you and me?"

"Nine years ago, Dou Wu and Chen Fan were so arrogant — weren't they also broken by us in a single morning, their bodies dead and their clans wiped out?"

"Five years ago, when the Imperial Academy students stirred restlessly and wrote on the palace gates, reviling us as eunuch scum, we didn't even need to act ourselves — we simply had Duan Jiong step forward, and thousands of Academy students were dealt with... How is it that now, we instead have to be wary of this one and wary of that one?"

At this point, Wang Fu looked directly at an elderly, beardless man from a two-thousand-dan official's residence: "Yuan She, you tell me — if I, Wang Fu, wish to kill a man, do I need to care about the words of the Yuan and Yang clans?"

Yuan She, who had been acknowledged as a brother by Yuan Feng and made a member of the Runan Yuan clan, stammered and dared not speak... After all, among the group of senior Regular Attendants, Wang Fu's arrogance and tyranny were notorious.

"And Lord Cao!" Wang Fu suddenly turned his head again toward the Grand Prolonger of Autumn, Cao Jie, stepped forward several paces, and stood face to face with him. "Have you grown as old and useless as Duan Jiong? If you've lost your nerve, then hand this post of Grand Prolonger of Autumn over to me — that would at least be fitting..."

"Slap!"

Before the words had fully landed, Cao Jie struck him directly across the face with a palm.

Wang Fu, dizzy and disoriented, his cheek swollen, was nonetheless sobered considerably, and hurriedly bowed to beg forgiveness. The other Regular Attendants who had in fact not been involved in this matter, such as Yuan She and Chunyu Deng, also immediately bowed and apologized.

"Gentlemen." Cao Jie exhaled deeply, then clasped his hands behind his back and addressed the old-guard eunuchs before him. "Do you think I do not wish to kill that brat who leaps up and down? Do you think I do not wish to make the court as peaceful as it was before? But have any of you considered why the court, which was so peaceful before, is now so roiled by surging undercurrents?"

"We beg the Grand Prolonger of Autumn to instruct us." Wang Fu lowered his head and answered with effort.

"Wang Fu." Cao Jie stared coldly at the man before him. "The questions you just asked were actually quite good... But I would also like to ask you — when the two of us joined hands to execute Dou Wu and Chen Fan, how old was His Majesty? When we had Duan Jiong arrest thousands of Imperial Academy students in one sweep, how old was His Majesty? And now, after this first day of the month, how old is His Majesty?"

The bodies of the senior Regular Attendants all trembled in unison.

"Or is it, Regular Attendant Wang, that you think His Majesty is a fool who can be manipulated at will? Or perhaps you regard Regular Attendants like Zhang and Zhao as nothing at all?"

Wang Fu no longer dared to speak either.

"Gentlemen, we are a group of eunuchs — all our authority comes from this Northern Palace behind us. And now that His Majesty has come of age and is exceedingly intelligent and sagacious, the outer court naturally understands that His Majesty must at this moment make a decision, which is why they stir so restlessly... To speak honestly, if His Majesty wishes to continue entrusting matters to us, we must naturally serve with all our heart and strength. But if His Majesty no longer wishes us to handle affairs, then given our age and status, we can only do our utmost to secure a retreat for ourselves at this point!"

At these words, Cao Jie's expression grew even more somber: "The problem now is that although His Majesty has preserved some face for us, his intent to replace the old with the new has never changed... And here you all are, instead of thinking how to preserve yourselves, still thinking of murder and arson? All these years, relying on His Majesty's trust, how many things have you done to offend people? In the quiet of the night, when you search your hearts, is there truly no moment when you have been so afraid that you broke into a sweat?"

In the first month, the cold wind still blew, yet Wang Fu was drenched in sweat, his mind in utter turmoil!

"To be frank with you, Teacher," Gongsun Xun said to Lu Zhi, chest out and head high, explaining, "Your student did this, firstly, to stand forth after the grand court assembly on the first day of the month and tell all under Heaven that the blood of us scholars has not yet run cold, and that we will not waver because of a temporary setback — what is called striving forward in adversity, transforming oneself into a pillar that stands firm in midstream..."

Lu Zhi expressionlessly raised his head to glance at his student, then lowered it again to continue writing his official documents... It should be said that nowadays, except for the most critical documents in the court, most had already begun to use paper. However, this had not earned the Gongsun clan much more money, because imitation paper had quickly appeared. The "Gongsun paper" now used in Luoyang, unless it was for a calligrapher like Cai Yong who was obsessively perfectionist about paper quality, was all bought from local Henan workshops.

Here, seeing his teacher's reaction, Gongsun Xun could not help but feel somewhat embarrassed, and hurriedly lowered his voice to continue explaining: "Teacher, in any case, His Majesty's intent to replace the old with the new is real. Since that is so, we should grasp the greater trend and take the initiative to strike. First, we must lay out arrangements in advance, positioning our own people in certain key posts, waiting for the right moment to act; second, we should use various means to pressure the situation, making matters fierce and uncontrollable as early as possible, forcing the other side to reveal their weaknesses — what is called using the vigor of blood and courage to drive the majestic formation forward..."

"Hold on," Teacher Lu finally set down the paper and brush in his hands. "Yesterday, when you went to revile Yuan Feng and intimidate Wang Fu, was that to pressure the situation?"

"Yes!"

"Were you not afraid of being killed by Wang Fu?"

"In the Southern Palace or at home, I am not afraid of him making a move." Gongsun Xun replied calmly. "And on the road, I arranged an escort of thirty cavalry — all are northern elite troops returned from bloody battles. If he dared to come, the one who died would certainly be him!"

"..."

"What does Teacher think?"

"Who taught you this?"

"What?"

"Who taught you to 'pressure the situation'?"

"...Lord Qiao!"

Lu Zhi's eyes suddenly widened, and only after a long while did he nod slightly: "If it was Lord Qiao who told you to do this, then it must have its reasoning. You also spoke of laying out arrangements in advance... is that also Lord Qiao's idea?"

"No." Gongsun Xun could not help but tense up. "That was my own heartfelt thought. Teacher, look — I have just been appointed as an Attendant Officer in the Capital Officials Section, in charge of theft prevention, fire prevention, and anti-banditry in Luoyang. I could not help but reflect that with such a post, if I obtained the approval of the Imperial Secretariat and the Colonel-Director of Retainers, then any person below two thousand dan in Luoyang could be captured as easily as reaching into a bag. Therefore, we should place someone who dares to act into the post of Colonel-Director of Retainers, and let a person of great moral integrity command the Imperial Secretariat."

"That would still be useless." Lu Zhi said darkly, then once again lifted a document box from beside his feet. "Anyone above two thousand dan, no matter what, requires an imperial decree. And the Regular Attendants are all two thousand dan, and most are also enfeoffed as marquises."

"But if we have such preparations in advance, then when the time comes, we need only His Majesty nod his head, and the matter can be accomplished in an instant!" Gongsun Xun urged with effort. "Teacher, as the Minister of the Personnel Section, you must have some clarity in your heart about this."

Lu Zhi could not help but laugh aloud: "Then Wenqi, you, a mere thousand-dan Court Gentleman, might as well tell me, this Minister of the Personnel Section — who is the one who dares to act, and who is the person of great moral integrity?"

"The current Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat, Yang Qiu, styled Fangzheng, can serve as Colonel-Director of Retainers!" Gongsun Xun lowered his voice and spoke with a solemn expression. "And the Grandee-Advising the Palace, Lord Qiao, is most qualified to be this Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat!"

Lu Zhi was slightly taken aback, and then actually nodded slowly: "Yang Qiu is even more audaciously bold than you, and Lord Qiao's integrity and righteousness are the crown of all under Heaven. So, although these two statements of yours are somewhat overstepping, they are truly beyond refutation!"

Gongsun Xun continued in a low voice: "Also, yesterday when Yang Biao and I left the Yuan residence gates together, he took my hand and said that he would soon be going to Jingzhao to serve as the Governor of Jingzhao, and regretted that he could not lend me a hand. I said to him, Jingzhao is prosperous, and eunuchs like Wang Fu will inevitably wreak havoc there — he might as well secretly gather evidence there and send it to me, to keep in reserve!"

"Ha!" Lu Zhi could not help but sneer, then once again set down the document he had just picked up. "Yang Wenxian has actually been pulled aboard your boat as well? Just how many things did you accomplish in a single night?"

"It truly was a chance encounter." Gongsun Xun explained helplessly. "I met Lord Qiao when court was dismissed, Yang Wenxian at the Yuan residence, and the matter of Yang Fangzheng suddenly occurred to me just now when Lord Liu took me to receive my appointment — did he not shout in front of the Imperial Secretariat before... something like, if he were Colonel-Director of Retainers, how could he allow such monstrous evil to run so rampant?"

"Is there more?" Lu Zhi could not help but press. "Besides these three, is there anyone else who wants to board this pillar-standing-in-midstream boat of yours?"

"No more." Gongsun Xun quickly shook his head, then urgently pressed again. "Is this not enough? Teacher, your Personnel Section is truly too critical — if you could assist just a little..."

Lu Zhi lowered his head to read the documents while repeatedly shaking his head: "Wenqi, this pressure you speak of has yet to take effect. At this moment, neither Cao Jie nor Yuan Feng has shown signs of disorder... Maneuvering for deadly posts like Colonel-Director of Retainers and Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat is practically alerting the other side to be on guard."

Gongsun Xun was naturally disappointed, but he also knew that his teacher's words were not wrong, and after all, it was only his first day of turning passivity into initiative — he had not thought too much of it. So, with this thought, he could only bow slightly and take his leave.

However, just as Gongsun Xun left the Personnel Section's offices and was preparing to return to the corridor of the Capital Officials Section, a Secretariat Gentleman carrying a wooden document box met him head-on and called out to him with a laugh:

"Wenqi, your scolding yesterday was most satisfying."

Gongsun Xun naturally responded with repeated modesty, and only after the two had exchanged a few pleasantries did they prepare to return to their respective posts.

Yet, just as the two passed by each other, this Secretariat Gentleman of the Personnel Section suddenly spoke in a low voice, holding his document box: "Wenqi is truly formidable. That Grand Coachman Yuan seems to have been made somewhat flustered by your scolding — he has already submitted a memorial attributing some disasters and calamities to himself, preparing to request a voluntary demotion."

Gongsun Xun merely nodded slightly, not taking it seriously... After all, for a legitimate son of the Yuan clan, official posts were the kind of thing that went down today and came back up tomorrow. A man like Yuan Feng would never be able to avoid a position among the Three Excellencies.

But just as he was about to lift his leg, Gongsun Xun suddenly jolted as if struck by lightning, then stood stunned on the spot for a long while. Finally, he actually turned around once more and headed back toward Lu Zhi, the Minister of the Personnel Section.

"In the beginning, when the Grand Ancestor of this dynasty was in Luo, he made a pact with the various lords to execute the eunuchs. However, Cao and Wang were fierce and licentious, while Yuan and Yang were muddled and base, and thus time and again the moment was missed. As this dragged on, the court gradually took on a gloomy and defeated air, with words of weariness and despair. Come the first day of the month, the Grand Ancestor toiled through the night to act — first startling Wang Fu, then rebuking Yuan Feng, and further persuading Yang Biao to join the conspiracy. The next day, he hastened to see Lu Zhi, Minister of the Personnel Section, requesting that Yang Qiu be made Colonel-Director of Retainers and Qiao Xuan be made Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat, so as to swiftly settle the people's hearts. When Luoyang heard of this, none could look on without turning aside, and all regarded the Grand Ancestor as a pillar standing firm in midstream." — A New Account of the Tales of the World, Chapter on Boldness

PS: My condition hasn't been good these past two days. After that 9.6k day, perhaps because the weather changed in Beijing that night, I woke up with a terrible headache, and then four ulcers broke out on my lower lip... All sorts of unbearable discomfort, difficulty concentrating, and writing has been very strenuous... I'll do my best to adjust, and I hope everyone will be patient.

Reader group 684558115, everyone can join.

(End of Chapter)