Chapter 119: Awaiting Death

Gongsun Xun returned home reeking of drink, then, with the help of his wife and several maidservants, slumped into the uppermost chair in the inner hall, nearly crushing the ever-fatter cat to death under his backside.

However, after wiping his face, he immediately regained his clarity, promptly dismissed his wife and the maids, and instead summoned Lu Fan and Han Dang.

"Ziheng, does Luo Mu have any word regarding Cao Jie?" Gongsun Xun asked Lu Fan directly.

"According to him, after Cao Jie was stripped of military authority by the Son of Heaven so mercilessly, he has been living in constant terror, and so has been honestly shutting his doors to protect himself... At first, I thought he was just defending Cao Jie, but according to the information we gathered from investigating in person, it seems to be true — Cao Jie has just been sitting idly at home the whole time, as if self-imprisoned."

Gongsun Xun looked up thoughtfully, but then set the matter aside: "The arrow is already on the string and must be loosed; we can't worry about so much anymore. Has the evidence Yang Biao promised still not been delivered?"

"Presumably, with Yuan Feng suffering a stroke, the Yang clan has reined themselves in somewhat..." Lu Fan could not help frowning as he replied. "However, Wang Zishi over at the Censorate has sent over a large quantity of evidence."

Gongsun Xun also immediately frowned.

"Isn't it all the same?" Han Dang asked, puzzled. "It's all evidence..."

"Yigong, it's not like that." Lu Fan quietly explained to Han Dang. "The evidence is the same, but who sends it is not. Wang Yun's evidence is not only evidence, but also the attitude of the Censorate, and Yang Biao's evidence is not only evidence, but also the attitude of the Yang clan of Hongnong... They carry different weight with the Son of Heaven!"

Han Dang remained puzzled, and Lu Fan could only leave his words at that; beyond this point, it could only rely on personal insight and understanding.

"Tomorrow I will go to the Yang residence to urge them," Gongsun Xun shook his head. "It would be best to present Yang Biao's and Wang Yun's evidence together!"

"Wenqi saying this, could it be..." Lu Fan could not help verifying a thought in his mind.

"Yang Qiu as Colonel-Director of Retainers, Qiao Gong as Minister over the Masses overseeing the Masters of Writing, Teacher Lu as Minister of the Ministry of Personnel, Liu Tao, Lord Liu, as Minister of the Capital Officials, and I as an Attendant Official of the Capital Officials." Gongsun Xun listed them one by one, reeking of alcohol. "Add to that the Son of Heaven's great power and his clear intent to purge the court... It is time to strike!"

Both Lu Fan and Han Dang were awed.

"Yigong," Gongsun Xun turned his head again to look at Han Dang. "It's been nearly half a year since we came to Luoyang. I wonder what thoughts the volunteers have? Does anyone wish to return home?"

"Young Lord jests," Han Dang repeatedly shook his head. "Although these men are all sons of prominent clans in Yanmen, prominent clans do not mean wealthy households. The reason they were willing to follow Young Lord to Luoyang in the past was either because they had no support at home, or they felt staying in the countryside offered no future. Coming to Luoyang to broaden their horizons, or following Young Lord to seek a career — how could they grow tired after just half a year? Besides, Young Lord treats them extremely generously..."

"Can they still kill?" Gongsun Xun interrupted him bluntly.

"Young Lord jests again," Han Dang was utterly speechless. "Sons of the border counties, born and raised in the army — if they can't kill, what use are they?!"

"Then have them sharpen their weapons and feed their horses, and prepare to kill," Gongsun Xun exhaled a long breath of alcoholic air and said casually.

The night passed without further words.

The next day, after Gongsun Xun had endured half a day at the Masters of Writing, and seeing that the edict appointing Qiao Xuan as Minister over the Masses overseeing the Masters of Writing had passed through the office, he used the pretext that the previous day's case of Qiao Xuan's youngest son being held hostage needed to be settled with the Colonel-Director of Retainers' office, and directly left the Masters of Writing... However, after leaving the Southern Palace, he did not rush to find Yang Qiu, but instead headed to Yang Ci's residence.

Upon arriving there, Yang Ci, who had just stepped down as Minister over the Masses and had also paralyzed his own in-law, actually received Gongsun Xun in person... To be honest, this left the latter somewhat astonished.

After all, not only was the disparity in status between the two sides far too great, but more importantly, the two sides did not share any deep acquaintance.

Of course, thinking about it the other way, since there was no deep acquaintance and yet the other party still received him in person, it probably meant this meeting was to discuss important matters.

"Wenqi." Yang Ci's expression was stern, completely lacking the amiable manner he had when meeting juniors before, and his tone was extremely serious. It is said that this Lord Yang is amiable to subordinates and stern to superiors; it seemed Gongsun Xun was now a figure worthy of his sternness. "I fully understand the purpose of your visit, but I wish to ask you one thing... The matter is of great importance; are you truly confident?"

"What is Lord Yang saying?" Gongsun Xun, who had long been prepared, stiffened his neck and immediately flew into a rage. "To exterminate the eunuchs is the duty of scholars — should we simply not do it just because we lack confidence? The Yang clan of Hongnong has produced three Excellencies in three generations. Since Yuan Feng, Lord Yuan, was not granted the mandate by Heaven, then you, Lord Yang, are the leader of the noble houses and the model of the scholars! And now, we juniors are willing to charge to the front without regard for our lives — why is Lord Yang instead hesitating and uncertain? To be so timid and hesitant — if word gets out, won't the whole world laugh at us?"

"Uh..."

To be honest, Yang Ci was momentarily bewildered, because it had always been him condescendingly berating others; he truly never expected that one day he would be berated by someone else... And these words sounded so familiar no matter how he heard them, as if they were exactly the things he often said himself.

Of course, Yang Boxian was, after all, a one-time imperial tutor and a scion of three generations of Excellencies, so he quickly regained his composure and burst into loud laughter:

"Wenqi need not be angry. I was merely testing you with words. I have long had a firm plan for the matter of exterminating the eunuchs!"

"So that is how it is." Gongsun Xun also showed a look of sudden understanding and promptly prostrated himself. "It was I who was rash."

"No matter." Yang Ci gave another dry laugh, then immediately resumed a solemn expression. "To be honest with Wenqi, my son Wenxian has been at his post as Governor of Jingzhao for only a few days, and already discovered that Wang Fu and his faction are running amok in the Western Capital, to the point of incurring the wrath of both heaven and the people... Do you know how much money he has extorted in the Western Capital under the pretext of handling the case of Empress Song?"

How could Gongsun Xun possibly know? But it certainly wouldn't be a small amount.

One must understand, this wave involving Empress Song was not merely about the empress being deposed and the Song clan being exterminated. Behind this lay the downfall of a host of non-Liu nobility that had been continuously supported by who-knows-how-many emperors before the current Son of Heaven's ascension... These nobles were mainly distributed across the core regions of Chang'an, Luoyang, and Nanyang. Which of them had not lasted for several generations, with deep and tangled roots? In fact, had it not been for Cao Cao's grandfather, the Grand Prolonger of Autumn Cao Teng, being too ferocious back in the day, the Cao clan might not have been able to squeeze their way in.

It would not be far-fetched to say that this group of people was part of how the Liu emperors maintained their ruling authority over the capital and the Guanzhong region. Sometimes Gongsun Xun even vaguely suspected that later, after Dong Zhuo's death, the reason a bunch of Xiliang soldiers could so utterly disdain the authority of the Han house might well have been because this massive bloc of forces directly subordinate to the Son of Heaven had been swept clean.

Of course, this was just firing a hindsight cannon from the historical high ground of his mother's eighteen-hundred-years-later knowledge. At this very moment, never mind saying the Han was about to fall — that archetypal cruel official Yang Qiu was even clapping his hands in approval, saying the Son of Heaven was acting with thunderous decisiveness and showing great vigor, and that this was exactly how a clean sweep should be done...

How to put it? If this kind of execution power could truly be maintained unshaken for thirty years, this Son of Heaven would indeed be a ruler of restoration... But this was just something to think about and leave at that.

"Please instruct me, Lord Yang." Regardless, Gongsun Xun knew the meat of the matter had arrived, and he immediately bowed deeply.

"Seventy million cash!" Yang Ci could not help but sneer. "In just a few short days, he has extorted seventy million!"

Even though Gongsun Xun had long been mentally prepared, he could not help but be stunned, and then immediately put on a solemn face: "He deserves to die!"

"That is precisely the word!" Yang Ci's expression grew increasingly severe. "My son has already prepared the evidence; it is here in the residence. You may take it with you when you leave... But Wenqi, there is one matter I must clarify with you: exactly when do you plan to launch the attack?"

"This matter still needs to be discussed with the Colonel-Director of Retainers," Gongsun Xun replied frankly. "But forgive my bluntness, I believe that although we already have every preparation in place, as for the Empress... as long as the Song clan has not been executed, it will not be convenient for us to act."

"That Wenqi has this insight puts my mind at ease," Yang Ci could not help but sigh. "In truth, His Majesty acted too hastily and too fiercely in the Song case. As his teacher, I am also very helpless. Although I offered some remonstrance, it was utterly useless..."

"Lord Yang need not blame himself," Gongsun Xun quickly urged. "The Son of Heaven is set on his course; the matter is already decided, so there is no need for such sentimental posturing. On the contrary, if we can use this matter to exterminate Wang Fu, it may also help relieve some of the resentment among the Song clan's friends and within the court."

Yang Ci could not help but nod.

In truth, the words the two men spoke were still somewhat veiled. What they meant by "only after the Song clan is exterminated can we act" was fundamentally that they could only act after Empress Song was dead!

It was just that these words could not be spoken plainly.

One must understand, as long as Empress Song lived a single day, the Son of Heaven and the various new nobles in the palace would not feel at ease for a single day, and would need to keep Wang Fu around to do the dirty work. But once Empress Song was dead, the Son of Heaven and the various new nobles would instead be impatient to cast this wretch aside... After all, everyone knew that the witchcraft accusations against Empress Song were pure nonsense. The Son of Heaven and the new nobles simply wanted to depose the empress and clean out the old nobility left by previous reigns; they knew better than anyone that the empress was innocent.

And in this era, the innocent and tragic death of an empress who was the model for all under heaven was, without doubt, a tremendous psychological burden for all those in the palace who had initiated it... Who knows, perhaps even the Son of Heaven, with such a hard heart, might be startled awake by nightmares some night!

Of course, both Yang Ci and Gongsun Xun also knew of Empress Song's innocence, but this was politics... In a massive political vortex, the innocence of one woman was utterly meaningless. And on the contrary, when a matter had already become a foregone conclusion, any slightly rational statesman or politician should understand how to use the impact of this political event to achieve their own goals.

And this was precisely what they were doing.

The two men looked at each other in silence; there was no need to talk further. After waiting a moment, Gongsun Xun formally took his leave of Yang Ci. Outside the door, boxes of evidence had long been prepared and loaded onto the carriage, and they followed Gongsun Xun directly to the office of the Colonel-Director of Retainers.

However, interestingly, just as Gongsun Xun was about to drive off to see Yang Qiu, in the room where he had just spoken with Yang Ci, a person suddenly swept in.

"Father," this person gave Yang Ci a grand bow... It was actually Yang Biao, who should have been at his post as Governor of Jingzhao. "Your son still does not understand something."

"What don't you understand?" Yang Ci abruptly turned and questioned him. "For us scholars, is not exterminating the eunuchs a matter of course? And was it not you who agreed that day to search for evidence in the Western Capital?"

"That is not what your son means," Yang Biao replied with effort, prostrated on the ground. "Your son is worried about other aspects..."

"There are only us, father and son, here. Speak plainly," Yang Ci said expressionlessly, looking toward the door. "Isn't it just that you feel, having paralyzed your father-in-law, we should now exercise some restraint, lest people gossip behind our backs?"

"Should we not?" Yang Biao asked with a serious expression.

"Just now, that young Gongsun was hopping up and down before me, utterly insolent, but he said one thing extremely well." Yang Ci rose proudly. "Yuan Feng was not granted more time by Heaven, so my Yang clan must naturally lead the scholars of the realm! In my view, our chances in this extermination of the eunuchs are extremely high. That being the case, how can we abandon such an excellent opportunity for the sake of some trifling reputation?! If the matter succeeds, perhaps you could even replace Yuan Shao as the leader of the partisans! Besides, Yuan Feng himself wrote to his own family that it was the Son of Heaven who killed him, not me! He's paralyzed — what does that have to do with me?"

Yang Biao wanted to speak but stopped.

"Is there anything else you wish to ask?" Yang Ci cast a sidelong glance at his own eldest son by his principal wife, the future leader of the Yang clan.

"Your son wishes to ask... has my father-in-law truly become paralyzed?" Yang Biao could not help but lower his voice.

"Paralyzed!" Yang Ci truly could not hold back, and the corner of his mouth could not help but twitch upward — though fortunately, his son could not see it. "He is truly paralyzed, and writing with his left hand grows more labored by the day... Barring any unforeseen events, his days are numbered as well. When the time comes, you will just be stepping down from your post as Governor of Jingzhao, and you can observe several months of mourning for him, to show your reverence. For now, return to Jingzhao as soon as possible, lest you be criticized for abandoning your post without leave."

Yang Biao was momentarily speechless, and could only bow once more: "Yes!"

And just a few li from the Yang residence, within the Yuan residence, another conversation between father and sons — one that also touched ever so slightly upon Gongsun Xun — was likewise underway.

Of course, the conversation here was inevitably somewhat more difficult.

It is said that within the bedchamber, the Grand Coachman Yuan Feng, who once bestrode the imperial court, lay pale-faced upon the bed, drool occasionally sliding uncontrollably from the corner of his mouth, while his three sons stood in a row beside the bed, each expressionless, with only Yuan Ji stepping forward from time to time to wipe it away.

Interestingly, however, within that vast bedchamber, there was not a single maidservant or household servant present.

"I have called you here today for no other reason than that your father's left hand grows increasingly labored," Yuan Kui began with a sigh. "And so, after much thought, he feels he must do his utmost to explain certain matters... Yesterday, he traced out several sand tables, and I silently memorized them at his side... Some matters were entrusted to me, but others are things you must know... In short, this is of grave importance, so you would do well to take it seriously."

Upon hearing this, the three Yuan brothers could not help exchanging several glances. Then, Yuan Ji stepped forward and bowed to his uncle: "We beg Uncle, on behalf of our father, to instruct us."

"Your father said yesterday... observing the Son of Heaven's conduct, he knows neither gravity nor balance, and the realm may soon descend into chaos... If it does not, there is nothing more to say; but if it does, our Yuan clan may not be unable... may not be unable..."

"May not be unable to take his place?" Yuan Shao, his head still wrapped in mourning cloth, could not help interrupting.

"In-in-indeed!" Yuan Kui immediately broke out in a cold sweat.

Hearing this, Yuan Ji was momentarily at a loss, but Yuan Shu could not help stepping forward: "Was it not said that the talk of a second-surnamed Son of Heaven was the malicious act of others?"

"It was indeed the malicious act of others," Yuan Kui hurriedly explained. "According to your father's speculation, it was likely the work of that faction — Gongsun Xun, Yang Qiu, Wang Yun, and the rest — in order to eliminate the eunuchs... But..."

"But that does not mean it is without merit, does it?" Yuan Shu could not help twisting his short beard as he countered. "'The one to replace the Han shall be Dang Tu Gao' — though man-made, it may not be without reason."

"As a son, is this the time to be thinking of such things?" Yuan Shao beside him immediately flew into a rage. "Since we know it was the doing of these men, then they are accomplices who aided the Son of Heaven in harming our father... The Son of Heaven is beyond reach, and Colonel-Director of Retainers Yang Qiu requires long-term planning, but what of Gongsun Xun?"

Yuan Shu and Yuan Ji immediately changed countenance.

However, just as the three brothers were about to decide on a course of action, a sudden gasping sound came from the bed behind them. The four of them, including Yuan Kui, turned back to see Yuan Feng opening his mouth as if to speak, his left hand tracing wildly, drool ceaselessly spilling from his mouth — and they hurriedly gathered around to tend to him.

And after staring blankly for a moment, Yuan Kui suddenly realized: "Your father's meaning, I fear, is that you must not move against these men for now... He gave instructions on this yesterday."

"Not move... Is Father worried that the situation in Luoyang is unstable, and that acting rashly would invite retaliation?" Yuan Ji could not help pressing the question.

And without waiting for Yuan Kui to reply, Yuan Feng, who had been propped up, immediately blinked twice.

"So that is how it is." Yuan Shao hurriedly assured his father, "Then we shall wait until after the matter is settled to make our move..."

Yuan Feng said not a word, only staring fixedly at his younger brother Yuan Kui.

Yuan Kui was stared at for a long while before suddenly understanding. He immediately waved his hand and said: "Nor does he mean for you to make a move afterward — at the very least, do not touch Gongsun Xun. You do not know this, but yesterday your father wrote down a sentence... precisely concerning Gongsun Xun and the Gongsun clan of Liaoxi."

The three Yuan brothers immediately held their breath.

"His meaning is that if the realm falls into chaos, the Gongsun clan shall be as the Geng clan, and this man Gongsun Xun shall be the Master of the Northern Lands!" At this point, Yuan Kui could not help swallowing a mouthful of saliva, and he strove to lower his voice as he spoke. "He also said, if you truly possess the Mandate of Heaven, you may take him for yourselves!"

Master of the Northern Lands — or rather, it should have been Master of the Northern Road, and Yuan Kui had deliberately mispronounced it to avoid the taboo... But no matter, the meaning was correct. It referred to Geng Yan, who ranked fourth among the Twenty-Eight Generals of the Cloud Terrace. This young famed general, whose father was then Grand Administrator of Shanggu Commandery, had witnessed the brilliance of Emperor Guangwu and, as a representative sent by the border commandery powers of Youzhou to assess the situation in the Central Plains, had actually gone so far as to hand over the entire elite military strength of the Youzhou border commanderies to Liu Xiu, aiding the latter in achieving his imperial enterprise.

Thus, Liu Xiu would often say with a smile that Geng Yan was his Master of the Northern Road.

As a subject under the Later Han, no one failed to understand the meaning of this allusion.

And upon hearing these words, Yuan Ji remained silent, for according to the arrangement, he was to hold fast in Luoyang to the death.

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu, however, could not help but be suddenly enlightened, and each harboring his own thoughts, they exchanged a glance in unison.

Another glob of drool spilled over, and this time, not one of the three brothers thought to wipe it away for their aging father... This caused the latter to be overcome with despondency, so much so that a trace of viscous liquid slid from the corner of his eye as well.

Leaving aside the private calculations of the Yuan and Yang clans, let us turn around. By the tenth day of the third month, the entire Song clan had not only been publicly executed and their bodies abandoned in the marketplace, but the Son of Heaven had also openly decreed that no one was permitted to collect the corpses! Hearing such news, Empress Song, who was enduring hardship in the Laundry Prison, finally lost her last shred of hope and merely awaited death.

—————— I am the dividing line with tears sliding from the corners of my eyes ——————

"In former times, when the Grand Ancestor was in Luoyang, his talent and virtue were both manifest, like a crane standing among chickens. The Grand Coachman Yuan Feng observed him and spoke in secret to his sons: 'This is again a Master of the Northern Lands; I know not who can take him!' When the Grand Ancestor heard of this, he detested the Yuan clan all the more." — Old Book of Yan, Volume 26, Hereditary Houses, First

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(End of Chapter)