Chapter 172: Decision (Repaying Debts)

"Flank them! Don't attack the palace or the treasury — those will definitely need to be sealed." Mo Huguan sat on his horse, his face full of fury and frustration. "I told you, don't charge straight ahead. What kind of brains do you have? Split up and seize the city districts, grab those noble estates — that's where the real loot is!"

"Don't rape the women! Just take the goods! If you have money, you can buy women and have them bear you a bunch of sons — isn't that better?!"

"Don't kill indiscriminately! These people are all going to be sent to Han territory as slaves. Kill too many and the General will be angry... But anyone who resists, man or woman, cut them down on the spot!"

"Time — do you understand time? Have you forgotten the huge characters on the Anli Company warehouse? Time is money! Forget the ladders, there are logs right over there — ram the gate!"

"How did I, Mo Huguan, end up with you idiots?! Do you even understand what I'm saying?!"

"Elder brother!" Amid the flash of blades and shadows of fire, in a pool of blood on the snow, Mo Hulu, his face covered in blood, suddenly burst out of a particularly large residence in panic. "I've caused trouble again!"

"What trouble could you possibly cause at a time like this?!" Mo Huguan's face was full of impatience. "Hurry up and clear out this residence for me! Don't leave a single valuable behind — even pry off the bronze characters on the gate!"

"I just cut someone down." Mo Hulu, clutching his elder brother's leg, was so frantic that tears were about to fall. "Only after I cut him did he say he was the adopted son of Lady Gongsun of the Anli Company... If this isn't causing trouble, what is?"

"Wh-what did you say?!" Mo Huguan, still on horseback, was dumbstruck.

"He said he was the son of Yayakelu, the nephew of Miru, the Anli Company's chief agent in Goguryeo, and that as soon as he was born, Lady Gongsun took him as her adopted son..." Mo Hulu was nearly breaking down. "Have I doomed the whole tribe? Are we not going to be able to take back a single wuzhu coin this time?"

"You bastard!" Mo Huguan brought the scabbard of his blade crashing down on Mo Hulu's head and face, leaving his own blood brother covered head to toe in blood. "Is this about whether we can take money back? Are you trying to destroy our Mo Hu tribe?!"

The people around them panicked at the sight, and trusted men like Que Li rushed forward to tightly restrain their chieftain.

"I was just following your orders, elder brother," Mo Hulu, kneeling in the snow with blood and tears streaming, tried to explain. "Don't waste time, cut down anyone who dares resist. I went in and told them all to get on the ground, but this one man just stood there talking to himself. I got impatient and hacked off one of his arms, and only then did I understand what he'd been saying..."

"You're blaming me now?!" Mo Huguan grew even more frantic. "Where is he? Dead or alive? Was anyone else nearby?"

"He's in the courtyard, still breathing. But quite a few Goguryeo people heard what he said — seventy or eighty of them. They must have been waiting specifically in this residence..." Mo Hulu hastily answered.

Hearing this, Mo Huguan's heart stirred slightly, and he couldn't help but look toward his trusted man Que Li.

Que Li, his hair in braids and his body all muscle, also paused briefly, then immediately caught on. He drew his blade at once and led men charging into the courtyard.

Screams rang out instantly. Mo Hulu also suddenly realized what was happening and turned to charge back in, but Mo Huguan shot him a fierce glare from horseback, and he obediently knelt back down.

Moments later, another plume of green smoke rose straight into the clouds.

"The royal palace was just put out — why is there a fire over there too?" Ju Teng, who had just entered the city, couldn't help but point curiously toward the rising smoke.

"See who's over there and send men to put out the fire," Gongsun Xun casually instructed, then continued forward as before.

A short while later, Gongsun Xun and Ju Teng, flying the White Horse Banner, arrived before the Goguryeo royal palace, only to shake their heads in unison. It turned out that although the fire before them had been jointly extinguished by the snowflakes and the soldiers, the brick-and-wood palace had already collapsed from the blaze. The Goguryeo king and Miru had both died inside the palace, their bodies half-charred and half-scorched.

"What a pity!" Seeing that one corpse still wore a royal crown, Ju Teng was immensely regretful. "To lead an army on a punitive expedition against a kingdom, to seize its ruler and question his crimes before the world — if we could have delivered this Goguryeo king, who reigned for decades, to Luoyang, it would have been a glorious event recorded in the histories. How could he just die like this?"

"What a pity!" Gongsun Xun also sighed with emotion as he looked at a corpse. "I never expected that Miru, and that Yubiliu by the roadside, would both have some backbone — one took his own life, the other burned himself alive... But then, what else can a man of a fallen kingdom do?"

Having spoken, the two exchanged a glance, only to fall into awkward silence. If they couldn't see eye to eye, what else could they do?

However, after a brief pause, Ju Teng finally couldn't hold back: "Wenqi!"

"Master Ju, please speak," Gongsun Xun replied calmly from horseback, his expression unchanged.

"Goguryeo, after all, was a royal title bestowed by our dynasty's Founder Emperor (Guangwu)," Ju Teng asked through gritted teeth. "Shouldn't we bury him with proper rites?"

"That is a sound point." Gongsun Xun nodded repeatedly. This was something easily done, and he couldn't be bothered to butt heads with Ju Teng any further. "The Goguryeo nobles favor lavish burials after death, and they are generally interred outside the city to the east, beside the Eastern Shrine... A lavish burial is out of the question, but he will certainly be interred according to ritual. And not just the Goguryeo king — the other nobles and citizens in the city, I will also have them all buried at the Eastern Shrine, and have the shamans and shamanesses there perform proper sacrifices before relocating them."

Ju Teng was utterly speechless: "Could you not leave some people behind to perform the sacrifices? At this point, I won't speak of restoring a fallen state or continuing a broken line — after all, that kingdom's royal clan has been completely wiped out. I only hope your methods won't be so extreme..."

"Then what does Master Ju propose?" Gongsun Xun continued to ask. "What method would not be so extreme? Leaving some people to maintain that kingdom's sacrifices would not be extreme?"

"Exactly."

"Then how many people should be left?" Gongsun Xun couldn't help but sigh. "If we leave too few, do you believe they won't run off on their own, or be wiped out by the Woju or the Yemaek? If we leave too many, won't they use that as a foundation to regroup and eventually make a comeback? Master Ju, it's not that I don't understand your meaning. It's just that once we've made up our minds, we must be thorough — we absolutely cannot waver."

"Wenqi, it's best that you understand my meaning." Ju Teng earnestly advised. "When have I ever cared about such things? It's just that if we practice more kingly ways, there will be less talk in Luoyang..."

"If we don't practice kingly ways, if we don't restore fallen states or continue broken lines, will there really be talk in Luoyang?" Gongsun Xun finally couldn't help but sneer. "A mere Goguryeo — it's already destroyed. Could they really punish us for that?"

Ju Teng also gave a dry laugh.

"The powerful ministers of Goguryeo usurped authority, and internal strife never ceased, to the point of disturbing the border." Gongsun Xun replied somewhat listlessly. "And I, as Prefect of Xiangping, entrusted by the two Grand Administrators, Master Ju and Master Gao, led the troops of two commanderies to seize Zuoyuan as a deterrent. Unexpectedly, the Goguryeo people overestimated themselves and came with their whole nation to contest it, and I wiped out every able-bodied man in their kingdom in a single battle. That is the fault of war, not our lack of benevolence..."

"That is only natural," Ju Teng immediately affirmed. "Though the casualties at the Battle of Zuoyuan were heavy, it does not harm the greater righteousness."

"This battle before us also does not harm the greater righteousness." Gongsun Xun suddenly pointed at the charred corpses at his feet and said sternly. "Their own Goguryeo king, regent, and nobles fell into dispute because of their military defeat, to the point that they all died in internal strife and even burned their own capital... What does that have to do with us? And since their kingdom now has no king, no nobles, and all the able-bodied men are dead, I took pity on the old and weak left behind with no one to rely on, so I relocated them into Han territory to preserve their lives. Is this not the compassion of a soldier? The people of Liao and the ten thousand troops before us all benefit — would anyone truly wish to make trouble for everyone over this? Restoring a fallen state... Master Ju, why not go ask the commandery soldiers of your Xuantu if they'd be happy about it!"

Ju Teng looked up, speechless, and only after a long while replied: "These words can certainly be cobbled together, but to send an entire nation into slavery — I still feel we cannot hide this from the lords in Luoyang..."

"Why must we hide it from them?" Gongsun Xun said dismissively. "I spent over half a year in Luoyang and have some understanding of the situation there. Among the court lords, as long as you can give them a plausible account, how many are truly willing to investigate to the very end? Besides, if we present a third of this Goguryeo kingdom's wealth to the Son of Heaven, I refuse to believe the Son of Heaven won't be moved... No matter what, when the time comes, could Master Ju possibly be denied a marquisate?!"

Ju Teng was thoroughly at a loss for words — or rather, he no longer wished to say more.

It must be understood, in the past, Emperor Gaozu of Han sacrificed a white horse and swore an oath: "None without merit shall be made marquis; any not of the Liu clan who becomes king, the whole realm shall strike him down."

Although this oath had been repeatedly violated — for instance, eunuchs being enfeoffed as marquises and the open sale of the title of Marquis Within the Passes — on the whole, it was still largely upheld. In the Great Han dynasty, for someone not surnamed Liu, a marquisate remained the pinnacle of noble titles, and its prestige was still fully intact.

Even when the Son of Heaven sold offices at the Western Garden in the middle of this year, he only followed the example of Emperor An in selling the title of Marquis Within the Passes — and even that was a castrated, fake marquisate that could not be passed down. He never sold any proper, legitimate marquisate.

In short, for Ju Teng, if he could truly obtain a marquisate — not asking for a Township Marquis like Gongsun Xun's father-in-law next door, nor even a Village Marquis, but just a full marquis — then his life would not have been in vain, would it? Even if it were only a Marquis Within the Passes, one earned through merit rather than the kind bought and non-hereditary, that would still be enough to make him hold his head high, wouldn't it?

That being the case, what more nonsense could this man possibly have to say?

Did you fight the battle?

For a moment, the two men sat still on horseback, each silent, just staring blankly at the sky. And beneath Mount Changbai, the snowflakes were as large as woven mats!

In truth, a heavy snowfall followed by a brief cold snap was a great thing from a farming perspective, but it severely hindered the post-war cleanup in Goguryeo, to the point that many operations were forced to a halt.

Of course, Goguryeo's entire state, from army to officials, from king to nobles, had basically been completely wiped out. And once the Han army occupied the Goguryeo capital, the rear supply line from Liaodong, Xuantu, Zuoyuan, and Gulsengol was entirely unobstructed. What remained was simply to wait for the snow to melt in spring and then slowly tidy things up.

Correspondingly, however, Gongsun Xun, Ju Teng, and the ten thousand troops were all trapped in Goguryeo for the New Year — something that couldn't be helped.

Yet during the New Year period, one very interesting thing was that Lady Gongsun, who was close at hand and should have reacted long ago, remained utterly silent. There were no letters, nor did she personally "move her seat" to visit. Even the normal greetings that should exist between mother and son were completely absent, leaving Gongsun Xun uncertain and at a loss for what to do.

Fortunately, however, the Anli Company did not go absent after the war, which allowed Gongsun Xun to glimpse a bit of the true situation. So he temporarily suppressed his feelings and resolved to wait until he returned with the army in spring to meet her in person before saying anything.

On the other hand, with an entire kingdom destroyed and urgent military matters at hand, even the heavy snow did not stop Lu Fan, Shen Pei, Lou Gui, and others from wielding their brilliant brushes, nor Ju Teng and Gao Yan from applying their seals one after another. Barely ten days after the New Year, a lengthy joint memorial from the Grand Administrators of Liaodong and Xuantu commanderies was sent straight into the Imperial Secretariat in Luoyang!

Since it concerned Goguryeo, the memorial was immediately assigned to the Guest Section, which handled affairs of foreign tribes and vassal states. And because it was co-signed by two officials of the two-thousand-dan rank, the person responsible for handling the document was none other than Cui Lie, the Minister of the Guest Section himself.

Inside the government office, warm as spring, Minister Cui Lie opened the document, read only halfway, and felt dizzy and lightheaded. He immediately stood up — sending the Gentlemen and Chief Clerk of his section to summon the ministers of the other sections, while he personally carried the document to the office of Cao Jie, the Prefect of the Imperial Secretariat and Grand Prolonger of Autumn.

After the already white-haired Cao Hanfeng finished reading it, he too felt a spell of dizziness, and hurriedly sent men to invite Grand Commandant Liu Kuan, Minister Over the Masses Yang Ci, Minister of Works Yuan Kui from across Bronze Camel Street, and the Supervisor of the Yellow Gate, Zhao Zhong, from the Northern Palace to come together.

Thus, once the Three Excellencies, the Supervisor of the Yellow Gate, and the various section ministers of the Imperial Secretariat had all assembled, Cao Jie finally passed the document around for them to read.

But what was very interesting was that after the document had been circulated among everyone, for a moment, none of these great personages representing the authority of the central government spoke a word.

"Is this a false report of military intelligence?" After a long pause, it was the Eunuch Supervisor Zhao Zhong who raised an eyebrow and could not help but fiercely question it. "A young lad, leading a force of ten thousand scraped together from two commanderies, wiped out a kingdom that had stood for over a hundred years in a single month... an army of forty to fifty thousand annihilated in one battle — is that even possible?"

"How could such a thing be falsely reported?" Since Zhao Zhong had made his stance clear, Liu Tao, the Minister of the Central Officials Section, naturally rose to refute him indignantly. "A kingdom overthrown, its capital fallen, its king dead, its able-bodied men all lost... even if one were to fabricate such an event, how could it be concealed from the world? Eunuch Zhao, you have been confined within the palace for so long that you likely fail to recognize the heroes of the realm. What is so impossible about ten thousand men destroying a kingdom? Back when Ban Chao was in the Western Regions, did he not destroy a kingdom with just thirty-six men — was that not the stuff of legend?"

Zhao Zhong sneered and said nothing.

"So it is true, then?" Cao Jie, the Prefect of the Masters of Writing and Grand Prolonger of Autumn, responded as if in sudden realization, as though he had only just confirmed the document's authenticity.

"Naturally, it is true," Cui Lie, the Minister for External Officials, also affirmed. "In truth, if one thinks carefully, the crux of this matter lies in the Battle of Zuoyuan. The Goguryeo people suddenly lost Zuoyuan and mustered their entire nation to attack, but could not sustain it. This allowed Gongsun Xun to seize the opportunity of battle, and as the enemy withdrew, he swung his army into a pursuit, leaving corpses strewn for a hundred li. Such examples of holding firm, counter-attacking, and using the few to defeat the many are, in fact, frequently seen throughout the historical records."

"Hard within and sharp without, his edge is the keenest under Heaven," Yang Ci remarked with a faint smile to Liu Kuan beside him. "The evaluation that the late Lord Qiao gave to Lord Liu's student back then truly hit the mark. Setting other matters aside, though he is young, when he wages war, he faintly possesses the bearing of the great generals of old."

"Indeed," Cao Jie also said with a smile. "Regardless of anything else, when it truly comes to the clash of swords, this student of Lord Liu and Lord Lu is someone who can be relied upon."

Liu Kuan lowered his head and rubbed his dark hands together, smiling slightly, but did not directly reply to the two men: "Be that as it may, since this matter is already a foregone conclusion, we, as the chief administrators of the central government, should promptly devise a plan for handling the aftermath — first, to report to the Son of Heaven, and second, to properly placate the meritorious officers and soldiers."

"Indeed," Cui Lie also nodded immediately. "Goguryeo is, after all, merely a petty state. With forty to fifty thousand of its able-bodied men lost in a single campaign, its destruction is only a logical consequence. Moreover, now that the kingdom has already fallen, there is no use in discussing these things further. The Secretariat should focus its discussion on the aftermath of this war!"

At this point, Cui Lie paused briefly before continuing: "For our External Officials Section, this matter is ultimately a tremendous good. Goguryeo was a great enemy in the Liao region. Now that this kingdom has suddenly collapsed, it is as if a heavy burden has been suddenly lifted from one's body. Henceforth, if we can continue to maintain amicable relations with Fuyu, and then apply both kindness and authority to the Samhan, Okjeo, and Yemaek, the situation beyond the borders of Youzhou will be completely opened up. The three commanderies of Liaodong, Xuantu, and Lelang can then truly rest and recuperate."

"Indeed," even the perpetually worried Liu Tao, Minister of the Central Officials Section, could not help but show a trace of delight on his face. "The state is beset by difficulties everywhere right now, and Goguryeo has harassed us for a hundred years — it is an enemy, not a friend. So regardless of anything else, the five border commanderies have finally been rid of a mortal threat. This is a great good. It is just..."

"Just what?" the Prefect of the Masters of Writing, Cao Jie, asked seriously.

"It is just that this memorial states that Goguryeo has a population of four hundred thousand, its able-bodied men are all lost, its nobility is in civil strife, and even their king and royal palace were burned. The border commanderies are already preparing to relocate its people into the interior?"

"Correct."

"If that is the case, how should the former territory of Goguryeo be handled?" Liu Tao furrowed his brow and inquired with a serious expression. "If that kingdom still had a means of survival, we could simply assign Holbon Fortress and the Goguryeo capital to Xuantu Commandery, then allocate one city to allow the Goguryeo people to revive their extinguished state and continue their ancestral line, making them a tributary state. Xuantu Commandery could then continue to oversee the affairs of the Fuyu, Okjeo, Yemaek, and other tribes. Would that not be perfect? Yet according to the current report, they have already begun dispersing and resettling the remaining Goguryeo women and children... other matters aside, will the cultivated lands on both banks of the lower Yalu River not simply go to waste?"

"What does Lord Wenrao say?" Cao Jie turned again to look at Liu Kuan. "You are the Grand Commandant of the court, and this matter concerns border defense. The Secretariat must always hear your opinion on this."

"My opinion..." Liu Kuan folded his hands and said with a smile, "Since things have reached this point, there is no need to be overly critical. We might as well go with the flow."

"Please, Lord Liu, elaborate in detail."

"Back when the court established Xuantu Commandery, it was specifically to connect with Fuyu and oppose Goguryeo. Now that Goguryeo is gone, it can still connect with Fuyu to oppose the Xianbei. My idea is to transfer the two cities of Wulu and Wangping, on the western side of Liaodong Commandery which directly faces the Xianbei, to Xuantu. The lands of the upper Liao River can also be returned to Xuantu. Xuantu would then remain a border commandery, bearing the heavy military responsibility. As for the lands on the lower Yalu River, the western bank below Holbon Fortress can be assigned to Liaodong. This would relieve Liaodong of military concerns, allowing it to rest and recuperate in peace. The lands on the eastern bank of the Yalu River can be assigned to Lelang, and Lelang Commandery would then be specifically responsible for managing the smaller tribes like the Samhan, Okjeo, and Yemaek..."

"Excellent!"

"A brilliant plan!"

"Lord Liu's words are truly those of a seasoned statesman planning for the state!"

Everyone nodded in approval... Although the cities and common people were gone, the land could be divided and absorbed by the three commanderies. Moreover, such a division plan would give each of the three commanderies a specific responsibility. It was probably the best temporary solution for the moment.

And so, with the central government's top officials each adding a word here and a detail there, they finally managed to produce a rough plan for the aftermath of Goguryeo's territory, which could then be reported to the Son of Heaven.

But this was not the end of it.

"Since the matter of dividing Goguryeo's former territory after the war has been settled," Yuan Kui, the Minister of Works, who had remained silent all along, finally spoke after everyone had finished their discussion, "should we not also discuss the matter of rewards? Ju Teng of Xuantu, Gao Yan of Liaodong... and Gongsun Xun, the commanding general of this campaign — can they all be enfeoffed as marquises?"

The Minister of Works was, after all, one of the Three Excellencies, originally transformed from the Imperial Counselor, and theoretically oversaw the duty of inspecting the entire realm. Yuan Kui's question was thus perfectly reasonable.

"Is enfeoffment as a marquis not going a bit too far?" Zhao Zhong, who had earlier doubted the truth of the report, suddenly responded sternly again. "It was merely a small tributary state."

"Goguryeo is an enemy, not a friend," Liu Tao, as always, rose to meet the challenge. "It harassed our borders for over a hundred years — this is a matter of public consensus. To destroy an enemy state in a single campaign, and to annihilate a force of forty to fifty thousand — how can he not be enfeoffed as a marquis?!"

"Lord Liu is the Minister of the Central Officials Section. This matter is not yours to debate," Zhao Zhong glared coldly at him before turning his head to look at Lu Zhi. "Lord Lu, you are the Minister of the Civil Service Section. You speak!"

Lu Zhi, who had been sitting upright in the office like a wooden statue, finally made a sound upon hearing this: "Gao Yan and Ju Teng are already high officials of the two-thousand-dan rank, and with the achievement of destroying a state, they naturally cannot be denied the reward of enfeoffment as marquises. But Gongsun Xun's case can be further discussed!"

"I knew Lord Lu would recommend the worthy and avoid his own kin!" Zhao Zhong was slightly taken aback upon hearing this, and could not help but laugh dryly. "Much better than some people."

"Why should Wenqi's achievements be further discussed?" Liu Tao, his hair and beard disheveled, immediately furrowed his brow and turned to face Lu Zhi directly. "Zigan, are you not truly avoiding the appearance of favoritism? Forgive my bluntness, but for the achievement of destroying a state, if the commanding general does not receive a just reward, I fear the ten thousand officers and soldiers below him will also have grievances."

The various lords in the room all remained silent, simply staring fixedly at Lu Zhi, waiting for his explanation.

"I will not even mention how he, a mere Prefect of Xiangping, became the commanding general of a joint army from two commanderies, nor how he went to Zuoyuan," Lu Zhi said slowly, his expression unchanged. "After all, Governor Gao and Governor Ju have both already acknowledged it. I will only say this: as the commanding general of the army, he stood by and watched the internal strife in Goguryeo, resulting in the near-total death and injury of the royal house. He must understand that the Goguryeo royal title was originally granted by Emperor Guangwu, the Founder of the Han..."

"Lord Lu is being somewhat sophistical," Cui Lie frowned and retorted before Lu Zhi had even finished. "So what if Emperor Guangwu enfeoffed them? They rebelled a hundred years ago! Was it not our own two-thousand-dan border commandery governors who attacked Zuoyuan twice in the last decade? Was it not this very Mingnim Dapbu, the Goguryeo regent mentioned in the memorial, who annexed several hundred li of land on the upper Liao River over the past twenty years, forcing our Great Han to abandon several cities? Even fifty years ago, when the Goguryeo king allied with the Samhan and Yemaek to besiege Xuantu City, was it not our Han army that had to humbly beg the Fuyu people for aid? A hundred years of enmity — they are an enemy, not a friend. To speak of enfeoffment or not at a time like this is simply self-deception. I do not know Lord Lu's view on the matter, but here in the External Officials Section, we have treated Goguryeo as an enemy state for the past fifty years!"

"Indeed," Liu Tao also retorted defiantly. "Moreover, the memorial already makes it very clear. It was not that we were disrespectful to the Goguryeo royal house, but that the capital had already been in internal turmoil for several days before our great army entered the city. The enmities among the six tribes of Goguryeo are clearly written out. The royal palace and the Goguryeo king were also seized and burned by rebel ministers before the army entered the city... Most importantly, the Goguryeo royal clan was already slaughtered by powerful ministers decades ago, leaving only a single person. Now that the Goguryeo royal line is extinct, must we also blame Wenqi for that?"

"Are we to believe everything just because he says so in his memorial?" Lu Zhi's face also rarely darkened. "Heaven knows what the actual situation was?!"

"It is not a matter of believing it just because he says so," Yang Ci also suddenly spoke up. "It is because the governors of the two commanderies, and everyone in the army, from top to bottom, all say so. And the Goguryeo side has already been utterly wiped out. Are we to ignore the achievements of those in the Liao region because of the groundless suspicions in our own hearts?!"

"Enough," Cao Jie timely halted the argument. "Stick to the matter at hand, and let no one lose their temper. Lord Lu, everyone's opinion is already very clear: Goguryeo is an enemy, not a friend, and this campaign is an achievement, not a fault. What else do you have to say?"

"Then I will only say one more thing," Lu Zhi stated expressionlessly. "This business about 'Goguryeo's able-bodied men are all lost, and fearing they have no means of support, we have therefore relocated the remaining Goguryeo people into the various commanderies of the Liao region, with each household supporting one person'... Are they being distributed as slaves, or settled as commoners? The memorial is evasive on this point — does it truly think we are all fools? Would any Han commoner truly be willing to accept barbarians as family members?! What's more, this involves hundreds of thousands of households across the five commanderies of the Liao region! To arbitrarily distribute the entire population of a state as slaves — what is this supposed to be?! A state of four hundred thousand people, having lost forty to fifty thousand able-bodied men, truly cannot survive?! Does the term 'overbearing' apply only to Liang Ji alone?!"

For a moment, everyone was speechless.

"Well said, Lord Lu!" In the silence, it was again Zhao Zhong who suddenly spoke. "In that case, this overbearing general should be brought to Luoyang in a prisoner's cage, to show that the central government cannot be deceived!"

Everyone was rendered speechless, and although Lu Zhi stared fixedly at Zhao Zhong, he was ultimately helpless.

"Zigan," Yang Ci, after surveying the room, also spoke at the appropriate moment. "We are not unaware of the expectations you, as a teacher, hold for your student. But private feelings are private feelings, and state affairs are state affairs. Is now the time for you to be teaching your student? Although Wenqi's actions were somewhat rash, under these circumstances, punishing him alone is absolutely out of the question... If you punish him, must you not also punish Ju Teng, who was with him on the front lines? Must you not punish his direct superior, Governor Gao Yan? The troops of two commanderies were all under his command — must they all be punished together? All five border commanderies received Goguryeo slaves — must they all be punished as well? If the court enfeoffs Gao and Ju as marquises, how can it possibly leave out this army's commanding general? 'Without achievement, one may not be made a marquis' — who fought this war?"

Lu Zhi felt dejected... This was precisely what he found so difficult to accept!

As a man from Youzhou who had personally suppressed bandits, how could he, Lu Zigan, possibly care whether some barbarians were made slaves or not? Nor was there any book in the Confucian classics that taught him to treat prisoners of war like ancestors.

What he cared about was that Gongsun Xun, as a mere county prefect, could so easily command the troops of two commanderies to attack Goguryeo, and not only win but also use the spoils of war afterward to win the hearts of the people across all five border commanderies.

These actions — perhaps the elite of the empire's central government before him could all perceive the impropriety in them, but none of them seemed to care much... After all, who else could be as clear as he was that this student of his was a man without a sovereign or a father?!

The Gongsun clan was already widely distributed along the Bohai coast, and the Anli Trading Company even more so. Once Gongsun Xun, this man without a sovereign or a father, arrived in Liaodong, he was like a fish in water... Of the five commanderies of Liaodong, his father-in-law controlled two. Judging from his ability to mobilize the troops of Liaodong and Xuantu to attack Goguryeo, he could likely manipulate these two commanderies with ease as well. And he happened to be an extremely capable man — with ten thousand men against a kingdom, he actually managed to destroy the state and exterminate its line!

If, by any chance, the realm fell into chaos, and this scoundrel's ambition was aroused, would it not be effortless for him to sweep across the entire region beyond the borders in one stroke? At that time, what would he, Lu Zigan, be considered?!

One day in the future, when the annals of history are clear for all to see, what would his deliberate actions today be considered as?!

Even if Heaven knows, Earth knows, you know, and I know, could he truly have a clear conscience?!

At this thought, Lu Zhi abruptly rose to his feet in the office of the Prefect of the Masters of Writing. His height, among this circle of people, truly stood out like a crane among chickens... Of course, if Ji Kang could know of this matter, he would surely be happy to concede this particular analogy.

"Enfeoffment as a marquis is acceptable!" Lu Zhi declared sternly after sweeping his gaze around the room. "But one matter is one matter. As the Minister of the Civil Service Section of the Secretariat, I will absolutely not allow this brat to act so recklessly and without restraint any longer!"

"Lord Lu means... you want to transfer Wenqi to Luoyang?" Liu Tao was immediately taken aback. "To keep him close and discipline him?"

"Absolutely not!"

"Out of the question!"

Cao Jie and Zhao Zhong refuted him almost in unison.

"Do you think the trouble he caused last time wasn't enough?!" Zhao Zhong glared unceremoniously at Yang Ci beside him. "Does Lord Yang share this opinion as well?"

Yang Ci shot the other party a cold glance but said nothing… He was the Emperor’s teacher, and his age spoke for itself. If Cao Jie had asked, he might have replied, but a Zhao Zhong who had yet to formally take over the inner court’s authority was not enough to intimidate him.

“Lord Yuan,” Cao Jie indeed spoke up as well, but his words were directed at Yuan Kui. “Yang Qiu is dead. Have you now set your sights on Gongsun Xun as a new sharp blade?”

“Lord Cao, set your mind at ease — there is absolutely no such matter.” Yuan Kui lowered his head and answered, then turned back to his wife’s senior fellow apprentice. “Zigan, this is not appropriate!”

Lu Zhi, standing there, looked down upon everyone in the room from a commanding height, as if he had long anticipated this: “That still does not mean he can be left to remain in Liaodong!”

“That is of no concern.”

“Having rendered such exceptional service, he ought to receive some promotion…”

“There is no need for promotion either!” Lu Zhi said coldly. “A marquisate is sufficient!”

“How can there be a lord marquis who is not of the two-thousand-bushel rank?!” Even Cui Lie, a bystander, could not bear to listen. “Lord Lu is being too extreme.”

“He is too young. How can there be a two-thousand-bushel lord marquis barely past the capping ceremony?”

“Lord Lu,” Liu Tao also pleaded helplessly. “With Wenqi’s achievements that day at Mount Danhan, he could in truth have been enfeoffed as a marquis long ago. It was precisely because he was deemed too young that he was held back then… But why must you go to such lengths? You can hold him back for a time, but can you hold him back for a lifetime? He is twenty-three this year. If you suppress him for two more years until he is twenty-five, can you still deny him two thousand bushels?! Among the various noble houses and the sons of Palace Attendants in Luoyang, which one does not hold a two-thousand-bushel post at a young age? Compared to Wenqi’s achievements, what are they worth?!”

“Indeed, born of a renowned lineage generation after generation, apprenticed to a famous teacher, and with such achievements — if even he cannot be made a two-thousand-bushel official, how can one win the allegiance of all under heaven?!” Cui Lie also urged again.

“Is Gongsun Xun the only one under heaven who does not receive two thousand bushels?” Lu Zhi retorted through gritted teeth. “How would that fail to win the allegiance of all under heaven? And what harm is there in waiting until he is twenty-five to make him a two-thousand-bushel official?”

“In fact, there is no harm in making him a Commandant of a border commandery, as a transitional step,” Cao Jie said, chuckling again. “This post is not prominent; after two years he can assume a regular appointment.”

“As a mere Magistrate of Xiangping he was able to destroy Goguryeo. If he were made a Commandant of a border commandery, would he not go and fight Mount Danhan all over again?” Lu Zhi could not help but sneer. “In my view, let him continue as a county magistrate for two more years. Going to Zhao to serve as Magistrate of Handan would be quite suitable. When he reaches twenty-five, then let him start as a Commandant in an inner commandery or principality. If he is still outstanding then, how could I obstruct him from becoming a Grand Administrator before the age of thirty?”

Cui Lie, Liu Tao, and the other bystanders looked at one another in dismay. Only now did they realize that Lu Zhi was truly furious with his own student!

This arrangement practically suppressed Gongsun Xun’s official career to an extreme degree, all within the bounds of “reasonableness”!

Cao Jie turned his head to look at Zhao Zhong and found that the other man could only keep a sullen face and remain silent. He glanced at Liu Kuan and discovered that this elder renowned throughout the realm was already drowsy and on the verge of sleep. He could not help but sigh inwardly… Of the two teachers, one paid no heed whatsoever, while the other strove mightily to suppress his own student’s career — it left him and Zhao Zhong with no leverage at all.

He wondered how Poshi was faring in the Liao lands, and whether Zhi’er had come into conflict with Zhao Zhong’s niece.

“In that case,” after struggling to cast aside these tangled thoughts, Cao Jie suddenly declared, “let the general plan be settled according to today’s deliberations! I must trouble the various Ministers to draft the documents, and then deliver them directly to the Huangmen Supervisor, Regular Attendant Zhao, requesting him to take them into the Northern Palace for the Son of Heaven’s final decision!”

With that, everyone dispersed.

The day passed easily. By evening, Lu Zhi, his expression dark, strode out of the Secretariat and headed toward Bronze Camel Street… None of his colleagues around dared say a word. After all, when a person who ordinarily never loses his temper suddenly erupts in fury, that is the most fearsome thing.

Of course, there was someone who was not afraid.

“Zigan!” On Bronze Camel Street, Grand Commandant Liu Kuan, his hands tucked into his sleeves, called out to Lu Zhi with a beaming smile.

Lu Zhi was slightly taken aback, but he obediently followed. The two of them climbed into Liu Kuan’s ox cart, and the old servant of the Liu household drove the old ox, swaying and jolting along toward the Liu residence.

When they arrived at the Liu residence and entered the main hall, they did not specially lay out a banquet. They simply placed a jug of wine, two small dishes, and two cups on the tall-legged side tables between the two Grand Commandant’s chairs, and then began to chat idly, warmed by the underfloor heating in the hall.

“Zigan lost his composure today,” Liu Kuan said. Though he was smiling, his opening words were blunt.

“I am not like Lord Wenrao, who treats all matters with leniency,” Lu Zhi replied, still visibly displeased. “Unmoved by all things.”

“Never mind, let us not speak of this for now,” Liu Kuan said, raising his cup and downing it in one gulp, yet still smiling. “Do you know where I was coming from when I went to find you?”

“I do not.” Lu Zhi likewise raised his cup and drained it in one gulp.

“I had just come from the Northern Palace,” Liu Kuan said without any concealment. “Zigan only knows how to forcefully restrain the various lords in the Secretariat using his status as Wenqi’s teacher, but did it never occur to you that the Son of Heaven is the one who makes the final decision?”

Lu Zhi was instantly stunned. Not even pausing to set down his wine cup, he demanded indignantly: “Is Lord Wenrao saying that Zhao Zhong went directly before the Son of Heaven and altered the Secretariat’s resolution?!”

“Why would Zhao Zhong alter it?” Liu Kuan immediately laughed. “He and Grand Administrator Zhao Bao are irreconcilable enemies… The one who stepped forward to praise Wenqi was Regular Attendant Zhang Rang. And when the Son of Heaven heard that one-third of the Goguryeo spoils reported in the memorial would be delivered to Luoyang, he was overjoyed.”

“Deceiving themselves!” Lu Zhi’s blood surged, and it was unclear whom he was cursing. “Deceiving themselves!”

“I will say it again: Zigan lost his composure today,” Liu Kuan could not help but slowly shake his head. “And you need not be troubled over this. Because I had anticipated it, I made a point of paying attention this afternoon and went to have an audience with the Son of Heaven. I told the Son of Heaven directly that Wenqi is my student and that I am deliberately tempering him. Therefore, the Son of Heaven also made no changes — Wenqi will still be enfeoffed as a village marquis and reassigned as Magistrate of Handan!”

Only then did Lu Zigan breathe a sigh of relief. He turned back to Liu Kuan: “It is Lord Wenrao’s foresight that is truly admirable. Wenqi indeed needs some tempering.”

Liu Kuan slowly shook his head, noncommittal: “I did not speak those words for Wenqi’s sake. I only saw that Zigan’s blood was up, that decades of self-cultivation had been utterly lost today, and I did not wish for you to lose all measure — that is why I went to see the Son of Heaven.”

Lu Zhi was momentarily speechless.

“As for Wenqi’s campaign against Goguryeo,” Liu Kuan continued, “does Zigan know that Wenqi sent me a letter several months ago?”

Lu Zhi grew even more bewildered: “Could it be that he sought your counsel in that letter?”

“He did seek counsel, but it was not about the Goguryeo matter. Yet, reflecting on it now, it cannot be said to be unrelated to the Goguryeo matter either.”

“Now that is strange,” Lu Zhi could not help but chuckle under his breath, then poured himself a cup of wine and drank it. “What exactly do you mean?”

“What Wenqi asked me about in the letter was the matter of Zhang Jian, Zhang Yuanjie,” Liu Kuan said calmly. “Quite a few people know that Zhang Yuanjie has been wandering beyond the frontier these years, but they do not know that it is precisely under the protection of the Gongsun clan and the Anli Trading Company that he has been living in seclusion in Xiangping, teaching.”

“That the Gongsun clan and the Anli Trading Company have influence spread throughout the frontier — I had long suspected as much,” Lu Zhi shook his head even more. “Isolated beyond the frontier, with one family dominating all, how could they not be entangled? But setting that aside, what did he ask about Zhang Jian?”

“He asked me why Zhang Jian, who in former days was sharp and unrestrained, is now so muddle-headed and silent on all matters?” Liu Kuan said bluntly.

“And how did Lord Wenrao answer?” Lu Zhi could not help but press.

“I did not answer directly. Instead, I told him the story of Fan Pang,” Liu Kuan said, and as he spoke, he too could not help but feel a sense of melancholy. “Back then, Zhang Jian sought refuge at every door, and countless people were implicated by him, their families ruined and wiped out. Yet Fan Pang, though also a partisan, acted in a manner utterly opposite to Zhang Jian. When the edict ordering his arrest reached the county, he went alone to surrender. The county magistrate wanted to cast aside his own seal and cord and help him escape, but Fan Pang, unwilling to implicate anyone, chose to die.”

“Does Lord Wenrao mean to say that Zhang Jian, in his youthful impetuosity back then, implicated so many people, and is now largely consumed by self-reproach?”

“That is not what I mean,” Liu Kuan said, slowly shaking his head. “What I wished to convey to Wenqi were the two sentences Fan Pang entrusted to his son when he was arrested and taken to Luoyang for execution.”

Lu Zhi, widely learned and possessed of a strong memory, was instantly struck by a sense of loss.

“After bidding farewell to his aged mother, Fan Pang instructed his son thus: ‘I wish for you to do evil in the future, yet there is no principle under heaven that teaches a son to do evil; I wish for you to do good and be a gentleman of virtue, yet I have come to such an end precisely because I was a gentleman of virtue — so I truly do not know how to teach you!’” At this point, Liu Kuan grew uncharacteristically somber. “Thus, in my letter to Wenqi, I said that Zhang Yuanjie today is probably much like Fan Pang was then — he too understands the hardship of the world, knows that heaven and earth are turned upside down, and therefore does not know whether to teach others to do good or to do evil. Fortunately, beyond the frontier, no one has any ties to him, so he can simply choose to say nothing at all…”

“What Lord Wenrao truly means is that you, too, like Fan Pang, do not know whether to teach Gongsun Wenqi to do good or to do evil, is that not so?” Lu Zhi could not help but heave a long sigh. “To do good brings no good end, yet to do evil is not what a teacher ought to teach. So you could only write about someone else’s story in your letter! Still, with Wenqi’s intelligence, he probably did receive your instruction, Lord Liu… just as I today have also been graced with your instruction.”

At these words, Lu Zigan rose, walked to the center of the hall, and then bowed to Liu Kuan with the utmost respect: “Lord Liu, as you said, I was far too uncomposed today.”

“Zigan,” Liu Kuan rose and supported him. “I do not mean to rebuke you, but you need not be overly harsh with Wenqi and the others either. If the entire world were set in perfect order by us elders, all affairs clear and bright, and Wenqi and the others still harbored wicked thoughts, then that would naturally be their fault, and we as teachers should indeed strictly supervise them. But if we ourselves have not managed to set this world in order, so that those who do evil soar to the heights of blue clouds while those who do good die without a burial place, then what right do we have to demand this or that of our students?”

Lu Zhi slowly nodded, but then shook his head and asked: “If that is so, why did Lord Wenrao go to the Son of Heaven to lend me a hand and suppress Wenqi?”

“It comes back to that same point…” Liu Kuan could not help but laugh ruefully. “Is there any teacher under heaven who would indulge his student in doing evil? The Gongsun clan dominates beyond the frontier, and Wenqi is a man of ability. To let him run rampant beyond the frontier — I fear that even in a time of peace under heaven, he could carve out a state within a state. As a minister of Han, how could I tolerate that? Whereas if it were someone of Gongsun Bogui’s caliber, I would simply let him be.”

Lu Zhi sighed with deep emotion and said no more. The two men each returned to their seats and drank until they were thoroughly drunk.

—————— I am the silent dividing line ——————

“When Fan Pang was about to face his end… his mother bid him farewell. Pang said to his mother: ‘Zhongbo is filial and respectful, fully capable of supporting you. I follow Lord Longshu back to the Yellow Springs; the living and the dead each find their proper place. I only ask you, Mother, to set aside the unbearable pain of parting, and not to add to your grief.’ His mother said: ‘Now that you are to share equal renown with Li and Du, what regret is there in death? Since you have attained a fine reputation, and yet seek long life as well — can both be had at once?’ Pang knelt to receive her teaching, bowed twice, and took his leave. Turning to his son, he said: ‘I wish to make you do evil, yet evil cannot be done; I wish to make you do good, yet I never did evil.’ Those who heard this along the road all wept without exception. He was thirty-three at the time.” — Book of the Later Han, Biographies of the Proscribed Partisans

PS: There is also a new book group 684558115 that everyone can join.

Let me tell everyone a true story… Last night, after deleting what I had written because I was dissatisfied, I felt especially ashamed. I kept feeling that I had let everyone down terribly, that I was failing you all, especially given the half-alliance reward from sao Ruijun earlier and the major recommendation spot from the editor. So at night I had one of those dreams with an intense sense of urgency — constantly being chased, being hounded, always being late, and so on… Specifically, yesterday I dreamed that the rent on the house was due day by day, but I had no money to pay it (laughs).

But somehow, in the latter half of the night, the dream took a turn — it became me getting hacked at… A group of people grabbed me, chopped off my left hand, and said they’d leave the right one so I could keep typing… When I woke up, the guilt vanished in an instant.

(End of chapter)