Chapter 175: Final Verdict

Hearing that Lady Gongsun had suddenly arrived, it was not only Gongsun Xun — even Shen Pei, Han Dang, Xu Rong, and the others tactfully rose and withdrew one after another… And Gongsun Xun, who had originally wanted to ride out to greet her, suddenly remembered that his own mother forbade him from riding when drunk, so he obediently dismissed Shen Pei and the others, had the courtyard cleared, and then waited alone in front of the gate.

Yet, though it was said she had long since entered the city, Lady Gongsun's convoy was nowhere to be seen — left waiting, right waiting, she did not come — causing Gongsun Xun's mood to grow increasingly uneasy. Several times he sent people to greet and inquire, only to find that the other party was simply traveling slowly.

Could it be that she deliberately meant to make him wait? After the third time, Gongsun Xun could only think so. But since his mother wanted her son to stand and wait, then stand he would — pure punishment standing!

Regardless, just like that, by the time the setting sun dipped west, Lady Gongsun finally, with the support of Aunt Jin, descended from the carriage and appeared before her son.

"Is Mother well?" Gongsun Xun, who had waited for roughly a full half-watch, hurried forward, bowed, and paid his respects — half greeting, half begging forgiveness. "Your unfilial son did not even manage to return home for the New Year…"

"Get up!" Lady Gongsun expressionlessly took a pair of spectacles from an attendant maid behind her, unhurriedly put them on, then signaled another cat-holding maid to set the fat cat on the ground, before walking straight into the courtyard. "You are doing great things here — how could I possibly hold you back?"

"Your son was at fault." Gongsun Xun kept his head lowered, watching the fat cat twist its rear and brush past his feet, and hurriedly chased into the courtyard as well. "I did not even inform Mother at the time."

"Does it matter whether you told me or not?" Lady Gongsun said as she walked inside, seemingly unconcerned. "In any case, this time you did not use the slightest bit of my help — you accomplished everything entirely by your own efforts. The troops and horses you scraped together yourself, the provisions you swindled yourself, even the Gongsun clan and your wife's family were all willing to secretly avoid me and help you, and even the Goguryeo side foolishly courted their own destruction, taking the bait first… What could I have said even if I had known?"

With matters laid out so plainly, Gongsun Xun could only wave his hands repeatedly, signaling all the servants in the courtyard to withdraw.

Led by Aunt Jin, everyone else tactfully withdrew beyond the courtyard walls. For a moment, only mother and son stood in the courtyard beneath the setting sun.

"Mother." Once the others were gone, Gongsun Xun gritted his teeth and knelt to the ground. "It is not that your son deliberately concealed things, I only wanted…"

"You only wanted to prove to your mother that your wings have grown strong enough to leave my shelter, is that it?" Lady Gongsun sighed quietly, then stepped forward, took her son by the arm, and pulled him up. "I understand what you mean, and I accept it!"

Gongsun Xun, now standing, was momentarily speechless, yet could not help feeling a trace of secret delight… What did 'accept it' mean? Did she accept this campaign, or accept his ambition? Could it really be so straightforward?

"I came this time specifically from Zuoyuan." Before Gongsun Xun could think further, Lady Gongsun released her son's arm, turned around, and surveyed the somewhat dilapidated courtyard. "I inquired in detail with the people left stationed there about the particulars of that battle, and along the way I saw the relocated Goguryeo households… So, Goguryeo is truly gone — this kingdom has been utterly destroyed and its people exterminated by your hand?"

"That is indeed the case."

"When I entered the city, I heard that even their ancestral graves were dug up by you?"

"That was not done by me." Gongsun Xun hurriedly explained. "The entire kingdom has been reduced to barren land, and the army is full of those disorganized and undisciplined miscellaneous Hu from the Mo Hubu, and on top of that the Goguryeo people liked to build their tombs clustered together…"

"That is still no reason to dig up graves!" Lady Gongsun cut him off without the slightest courtesy. "This time you dig up graves to wipe out entire lineages — next time will you be kicking down widows' doors? That your mother could raise you single-handedly depended entirely on the protection of custom and morality. If we truly disregarded rites and ignored virtue, we mother and son would have lost our lives long ago! The Great Han's excellence lies precisely in this — you grew up relying on it, yet you turn around and cast it aside. What does that make you?"

Gongsun Xun immediately flushed red to his ears, unsure whether his mother's words carried hidden barbs and pointed meanings.

"Let us set that aside for now," Lady Gongsun waved her hand at the sight. "But the destruction of a kingdom and the extermination of a people — that was your doing, was it not? I heard that outside the Goguryeo capital, you addressed over ten thousand soldiers, declaring that Goguryeo was to be destroyed as a kingdom and exterminated as a people, its sacrifices cut off forever… Is that true?"

"That is only natural… a mere petty kingdom, comparable to a single commandery of Liaodong." Gongsun Xun quickly responded in explanation. "So to destroy it in one battle is nothing out of the ordinary."

"Ordinary or not, you and I both know that it should not have perished, and you could have chosen not to let it perish." Lady Gongsun stared at her son through her spectacles. "What does this signify? Or rather, what did you wish to demonstrate through this? Why did you have to go so far? Do you hate it that much?"

Hearing this, Gongsun Xun finally straightened his body and exhaled a long breath heavy with the smell of wine: "Mother, it is exactly as you think."

"I do not even know what I myself am thinking." Lady Gongsun could not help shaking her head in self-mockery. "I do not know whether you wish to tell me that you are fully capable of handling matters of a kingdom or a city on your own, or whether you wish to tell me that you can easily alter the great currents of history?"

"Mother," Gongsun Xun closed his eyes for a moment, then, borrowing the courage of the wine, suddenly knelt, raised his head, and spoke. "This action of mine was indeed somewhat willful, but have you ever considered the unwillingness your son has harbored all these years? Yuan Shao, Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and my elder clan brother Bogui — I have met all these men, and dealt with all of them… May I ask, at this moment, am I truly inferior to them? And if at this moment I am stronger than they are, then what they can achieve in the future, why can I not achieve as well?"

Lady Gongsun remained expressionless, simply staring fixedly at her son as he launched into his lengthy discourse.

"Mother asks what my purpose is?" Gongsun Xun grew increasingly impassioned at the sight. "I simply wished to tell Mother that what others can do, your son can do as well, and what others cannot do, I may not necessarily be unable to do! At this point, I will not even speak of Cao Cao or Yuan Shao — taking only that clan brother of mine, Gongsun Zan, in what respect am I not far superior to him? He can carve out a domain in the north and contend with Yuan Shao for supremacy — why can I not? And since I far surpass him, and even he could contend with Yuan Shao for many years before suffering a crushing defeat, if I were to do it, it would not necessarily end in such a result, would it?!"

"Mother… truly, just as you have thought, the great age of contention lies ahead, a sharp blade is already in hand, and the mandate of heaven has already been shattered before Goguryeo — yet you still tell me not to contend. Your son's heart is ever unwilling!"

"If you wish to blame your son for disobedience, you must first blame yourself for raising your son so outstandingly, and for telling him so many things that should not have been said!"

"So you have finally spoken these words aloud!" At this point, Lady Gongsun suddenly interjected, choking her son into silence.

"I have indeed long wished to say this to Mother." After a long while, Gongsun Xun finally gritted his teeth and replied.

"It is just that I also have a word I have long wished to say to you." Lady Gongsun gave a cold laugh. "In this great age of contention, for you to contend wielding that broken blade of yours, you must stake your life on it! And not only your life alone, but the lives of your entire family, your entire clan! Once defeated in battle, from your mother on down, to your lovely wife and beautiful concubines, your brothers and subordinates — what fate would befall them? Have you ever truly thought about it?"

Gongsun Xun was momentarily stunned.

"In truth, there is no need to think at all." Lady Gongsun pointed at the ruined courtyard and continued with a cold laugh. "This Goguryeo, nearly stripped bare and carted away, is a perfect example. Gongsun Xun, are you truly so selfish? For the sake of one man's grand ambition, you would make everyone around you gamble their lives?!"

Gongsun Xun, kneeling on the ground, was actually left speechless.

Twilight descended — the hour of dusk, neither full day nor full night. And in this haze, unclear whether it was from having drunk too much earlier, Gongsun Xun, kneeling in the courtyard, seemed to grow somewhat dazed… In one instant, he felt his mother's words were very reasonable, that he was indeed too selfish; and in the next instant, he felt his mother's words were somewhat sophistry, that a true man ought to contend for supremacy and hegemony; and upon further reflection, he felt both were somewhat amiss, yet he simply could not grasp the crux of the matter.

"Get up!" Lady Gongsun, seeing her son lower his head in silence, suddenly grew exasperated.

"Yes!" Gongsun Xun hurriedly rose to his feet.

"Wenqi." Through her spectacles, Lady Gongsun fixed her son with a complicated expression, yet her tone was exceptionally resolute. "If you truly wish to contend, then go and give it a try!"

Gongsun Xun was immediately thrown into confusion: "What does Mother mean by this?"

"I mean nothing else." Lady Gongsun sighed. "In this great age of contention, to contend is indeed a near-certain death, yet not to contend does not guarantee safety either… Once a chaotic age descends, so many people die, and ninety-nine out of a hundred are those who did not contend! This truth I have long understood in my heart."

"Then…"

"After you conquered Goguryeo, your second granduncle in the clan immediately sent a letter." Lady Gongsun suddenly brought up another matter. "It said that those two lads, A'Fan and A'Yue, have always regarded you as their pillar… Among the younger generation, there are only four outstanding figures in total, and two have already pledged themselves to you, so they could hardly say anything else. The clan is also willing to regard you as the core of the next generation, and is willing to heed your words more."

To this, Gongsun Xun felt no particular additional sentiment… Since he had resolved to supplant Gongsun Zan, the power of the Gongsun clan had always been within his plans. Besides, judging from Gongsun Yu's actions and reactions, and from how smoothly Gongsun Yue and Gongsun Fan had arrived here, the clan should have long been leaning in his favor.

"So, in your name, I suggested that the clan relocate to Liaodong." Lady Gongsun continued.

Gongsun Xun immediately saw the light: "Mother means… to secure a retreat first?"

"Having done such a great deed, you… your Teacher Lu will inevitably have some reaction." Lady Gongsun did not answer him at all, but simply continued speaking on her own. "So you will inevitably have to leave this time — this is also one reason I have no choice but to let go. But no matter where you go, I am also prepared to set the foundation of the Anli Firm firmly in Liaodong."

Gongsun Xun could only slowly nod in agreement.

"And there is Gongsun Du… make a good effort to win over Xu Rong — that way you may not need to kill him. But if things look amiss, you must absolutely kill him before Dong Zhuo enters the capital."

"Yes."

"As for that clan brother of yours, Gongsun Zan — he is, after all, a man of talent, and a relative who grew up together with you since childhood. Since you have made up your mind to achieve things on your own, if you can win him over, then win him over… otherwise, send him far away to the side. By no means create a laughingstock of internal strife like the Yuan brothers."

"That is only natural."

"Lastly, no matter where you go to take up your post this time, do not bring Bian Yu with you for now…"

"Why is that?"

"Because she is with child!" Lady Gongsun finally revealed yet another reason. "It was only discovered after the New Year. I have already decided — regardless of whether it is a boy or a girl, after this child is born, I, the grandmother, will raise it first. That way, even if you die out there, I will still have something to remember you by and to lean on!"

Gongsun Xun was dazed and bewildered — first great joy, then immediately an inexplicable surge of grief: "Your son's wings are now full, and he has some ability and support — after all, he will not simply die out there so easily!"

"Take good care of yourself." After saying this, Lady Gongsun shook her head, said nothing more, simply removed her spectacles, directly called for servants to come in and light the candles, and then, with that fat cat, went inside.

Beneath the night sky, his drunkenness completely gone, Gongsun Xun stood in the courtyard and suddenly understood… His mother was no ordinary person after all. Over such a long time, she must have long seen through her son's intentions and resolve, and long known the outcome of his arrangements — Lu Zhi's reaction she could likewise predict, and likewise could not interfere with.

In other words, she knew in her heart that an irreversible change had long since occurred. It was just that her long-held established policy and her protective affection for her son made it difficult for her to accept. And it was only when the successive repercussions of Goguryeo's destruction appeared one by one as expected, and then Bian Yu was suddenly confirmed pregnant, that she finally made up her mind to come in person and release her son from his shackles.

While he was summoning the wind and rain here in Goguryeo, his mother was torn between conflicting choices because of his willfulness? The grief he had felt just now probably stemmed from this. Alas, the hearts of parents under heaven — once their children, heedless of all else, have created an established fact, how many parents would truly persist in their own course?

Most of them, while angry, would still patch up their children’s clothes from behind and go along with the flow!

Gongsun Xun walked out of the courtyard as he thought this.

And just at that moment, beneath the clear breeze and bright moon, a patrol of soldiers happened to pass by. Seeing him, they hurriedly bowed in unison and only left after he waved them off. And once the soldiers had gone far away, Gongsun Xun suddenly felt inexplicably invigorated again… No matter what, the campaign against Goguryeo had ultimately given him a hidden confidence!

The Goguryeo kingdom, which had originally possessed a national destiny of several hundred years, had been destroyed by him alone. So if there truly was a Mandate of Heaven, then that mandate was with him! And if the Mandate of Heaven was with him, how could he die a violent death abroad?

His mother’s heart was full of kindness, but in the end, she was worrying too much!

End of this volume.

—————I am the dividing line that just lagged—————

The poem says:

A plain sash and linked rings bind the battle robe, the horse’s head plunges through snow to cross eastern Liao. Rolling up the banners, a night raid on the Chanyu’s tent, slashing wildly at the barbarians, the precious blade is notched.

PS: This time it really wasn’t my fault… It clearly lagged when uploading just now… Also, new book group 684558115, everyone can join.

(End of this chapter)