Chapter 22: Borrowing the Blade

As the story goes, after Gongsun Xun told Jia Chao the whole story and rescued Jia Ping, the two brothers naturally embraced and wept bitterly. And after talking it over, though they were reluctant to part, they understood this was probably the best possible outcome. So the two of them kowtowed to Gongsun Xun once more — one went home to comfort his wife who had shared his hardships, while the other, having only been home a single day, once again followed Gongsun Xun and left his hometown... It truly makes one sigh with emotion.

We need not speak of Jia Ping’s situation for now. As for Gongsun Xun, after taking Jia Chao along and witnessing such an incident, this young lord Gongsun had by now lost all interest in “inquiring into local customs.” Instead, his mind heavy with concerns, he headed straight for Tangyang City to find Gongsun Zan, Zhen Yi, and the others.

However, when they finally managed to reach Tangyang City around dusk, they learned that the main group had already left Tangyang early that morning and headed straight for Yingtao City, the administrative seat of Julu Commandery... This was within expectations, so Gongsun Xun paid it no mind. He simply rested for the night in Tangyang City and set out to catch up the next day.

Who could have known, as the saying goes, “hardly has one wave subsided when another rises”? Gongsun Xun never imagined that missing them by this one night would stir up yet another incident.

“What happened?” Encountering Liu Bei on the road, who claimed he had come to receive him, Gongsun Xun was naturally somewhat baffled. “Why would it require you to come receive me?”

“It’s nothing major.” Liu Bei sat on his horse with an air of proud self-satisfaction, not even knowing to dismount and offer a greeting — in just a few days, he had clearly been molded by that pack of noble youths into the manner of a little ruffian. “Last night we lodged at a prominent household in Yingtao City. The host held a banquet, and at the feast there was a eunuch’s son, said to be a clan nephew of Regular Attendant Zhao...”

Han Dang and the others behind him stirred slightly, and Gongsun Xun also lifted his eyelids with an expressionless face.

“Brother Xun, you don’t understand.” Liu Bei continued his explanation. “Although this man was seated at the host’s place of honor, he had absolutely no sense of propriety. When he heard that Brother Dayin (Zhen Yi) was the nephew of the current Bearer of the Gilded Mace, he called Brother Dayin over and insisted on forcing him to drink. Brother Dayin was unwilling at first, and the man cursed and insulted him in front of everyone, even bringing up his ancestors... But later, for some unknown reason, Brother Dayin swallowed his resentment, drank the wine, and apologized. Because we were seated far away, we didn’t understand at first. It was only when we came back and saw him weeping alone in his guest room that we learned the whole story. Brother Bogui said that even if we aren’t normally on the same path, we are still fellow students, and we absolutely cannot watch him suffer such humiliation in vain. So the brothers from Youzhou are discussing it now, saying we should teach that so-called clan nephew of Regular Attendant Zhao a lesson, let him witness the mettle of Youzhou men, and then be on our way...”

Liu Bei rambled on and on, while Gongsun Xun listened expressionlessly. Then the latter suddenly spurred his horse straight toward Yingtao City. Behind him, Han Dang and the others followed closely without a word, leaving Liu Bei shouting and yelling behind them, caught completely off guard.

Inside a certain prominent household in Yingtao City, an entire row of side rooms had now been turned into temporary guest quarters. And at this moment, one of those rooms was bustling with activity.

“I say, tonight we also hold a banquet and invite that fellow surnamed Zhao over to drink. At the feast, we’ll force him to drink until he drops! This is what they call ‘repaying him in his own coin’...”

“Hold on — where does this phrase ‘repaying him in his own coin’ come from? It sounds rather refined.”

“A common saying from our Youbeiping, what allusion could there be? I’ve heard it since I was born.”

“I’m from Shanggu, how come I’ve never heard it?”

“Stop squabbling, all of you. I say this plan won’t work. Look, the crux of this matter is that Brother Zhen’s ancestors were insulted, not that he was forced to drink...”

“Then we’ll just insult that fellow Zhao’s ancestors in return.”

“But if we do that — Brother Zhen’s uncle is the Bearer of the Gilded Mace, his ancestor was Grand Guardian, while that fellow Zhao’s uncle is merely a eunuch, and his ancestors were merely a family of modest means, people whose very names are unclear... If we trade insults back and forth, wouldn’t we come out the losers?”

“That’s true enough.”

“Then what should we do? You don’t know — Brother Zhen wept so miserably last night. They say that after vomiting midway through, he even called out the names of his wife and son. Truly, those who heard it were heartbroken, and those who listened shed tears.”

“I say, we men of the border commanderies shouldn’t bother with these roundabout tricks. Tonight we’ll just say we’re hosting a banquet. When that fellow Zhao arrives, we’ll demand he apologize. If he makes excuses, we’ll just beat him up. If he still refuses to submit, we’ll draw our blades and hold them to his neck, make him kneel and kowtow to Brother Zhen!”

“That’s straightforward enough.”

“Let’s just do that!”

“What does Brother Bogui think?” Having finished their discussion, the high-spirited scholars from the border commanderies finally turned their gaze to their leader here, Gongsun Zan.

Gongsun Zan, who had been sitting sprawled to one side, pondered for a moment and finally nodded as well: “Then let’s do that. No matter what, we must vent this grievance for Brother Dayin!”

“You must not!”

“Absolutely not!”

Just as Gongsun Zan nodded and was about to finalize this simple and direct act of retaliation, two voices rang out from outside the door — one near, one far. The crowd looked up: the near one was none other than Zhen Yi, Zhen Dayin, who had risen at some unknown time and was now clinging to the doorframe, his face pale and his eyes red-rimmed.

And the one who had shouted from a distance was precisely Gongsun Xun, who had just strode up behind Zhen Yi.

“Why must we not?” Gongsun Zan straightened up dismissively and asked in return. “Brother Dayin, we are doing this to vent your grievance! How could you swallow the humiliation you suffered yesterday? You must understand, the ones he cursed were your ancestors, not my Gongsun Zan’s.”

“Even if I can’t swallow it, I must.” The one who spoke for Zhen Yi, whose face had flushed red with shame, was naturally Gongsun Xun, who had already arrived before them. “Elder brother, this matter requires long and careful consideration.”

Gongsun Zan raised an eyebrow. Although his personality was somewhat prickly, he was older after all and had served as a commandery clerk. Now, seeing his clansman and Zhen Yi, the person involved, react this way, how could he not know there must be some hidden circumstances? He quickly waved his hand and made the pack of over-energetic youths settle down again.

As the story goes, once everyone was seated again, this time it was Zhen Yi who spoke first. He began by thanking these fellow students, who after all meant well, and then anxiously began to educate these sons of the border commanderies about the overbearing power of the eunuchs’ kin here in Jizhou.

However, all this fellow could produce were adjectives — “power that sways the court,” “ruining families and exterminating households,” “utterly unrestrained” — and he could not offer a single convincing concrete detail. And in the eyes of these young and impetuous border youths, Zhen Yi’s behavior was purely that of a coward afraid of trouble.

Seeing that this pack of reckless brats who knew neither the height of heaven nor the thickness of earth was starting to clamor again, Gongsun Xun could finally watch no longer. He stood up and recounted to everyone the story of how the Magistrate of Xiapi had “killed for sport” the daughter of the Grand Administrator of Runan.

This had an immediate effect. Not to mention this group, even Gongsun Zan’s face turned pale. Liu Bei, who had arrived later and happened to catch this story, was even more at a loss, directly clamoring to flee... No wonder — this fellow had only just bound his hair, he was still a bear of a child.

“So you’re saying that in these inner commanderies and kingdoms, the eunuchs actually hold the greatest power?” Gongsun Zan asked with difficulty.

“Exactly.” Zhen Yi nodded helplessly. “Now do you understand why I had to endure and yield last night? It’s not that I have no sense of shame, but that one misstep could easily drag my family into disaster... Do you fellow students not have families of your own?”

The whole room was awed into silence.

“So, I appreciate the good intentions of all my fellow students!” So saying, Zhen Yi rose to his feet and bowed to the group. “But please, do not let the matter of one man drag everyone else down. Let this matter end here. While we are all gathered, let us quickly pack up and leave the city!”

The crowd remained silent... Although in their hearts they now believed it and had already grown somewhat fearful, they were still youths at heart and could not bear to lose face. For a moment, only the young Liu Bei was muttering something, and then he followed Zhen Yi as he fled out in panic. Gongsun Zan and the others, however, remained where they were, their faces ashen, motionless.

“I will go and see to the travel arrangements on behalf of all my fellow students. Jizhou is rich and fertile, and the roads are smooth. If we travel quickly, perhaps we can still lodge within a city tonight.” Gongsun Xun stood up with a composed expression, showing no intention of paying them any further mind.

And so, the crowd dispersed with gloomy faces and left Yingtao City, heading south all the way. That evening, they lodged in Boren City, which was actually quite close. We need not dwell on the host’s warm hospitality. Let us just say that Gongsun Xun returned from the evening banquet, and instead of sleeping or reading, he took out his blade in the guest room, sat by the bedside, and carefully wiped it by candlelight.

“Why hasn’t A-Xun slept yet?” Once the surroundings had gradually grown quiet, Gongsun Zan suddenly walked in through the open door.

“I was waiting for you to come find me, elder brother,” Gongsun Xun answered boldly.

“I thought as much.” Gongsun Zan sat down solemnly across from his clansman. “The eunuchs may be powerful, but we cannot let that make us fear them. When we brothers were in Liaoxi, whether mingling in the commandery’s official circles or fighting for our lives against the Xianbei, when did we ever lose our nerve? This matter is the first difficult thing we brothers have encountered since leaving home. If we cannot overcome it, how can we rise above others in the future?! You’ve always been full of ideas since you were young — I imagine you already have a plan in mind?”

“The eunuchs’ power sways the court, and they truly act erratically and without restraint, so we indeed cannot confront them head-on.” Gongsun Xun replied while continuing to wipe his blade. “If we wanted a resolution to this matter, the best would have been at that banquet that day — to seize back the momentum before things escalated, and then simply leave... Of course, it’s a bit late to say that now.”

“Then say something that isn’t too late.” Gongsun Zan fixed his gaze with keen interest on the blade in his clansman’s hand.

“If it’s not too late, elder brother, what do you think of this? We can pretend nothing happened and continue traveling slowly south for another two days. Once we’ve left Julu Commandery, everyone will have forgotten about this matter. At that point, we brothers can take advantage of the night, ride back swiftly with a few of our fellow students, and finish off this fellow surnamed Zhao with one stroke of the blade. How about that?” So saying, Gongsun Xun, his face perfectly calm, turned the hilt outward and handed the blade to his clansman Gongsun Bogui.

“Excellent!” Gongsun Zan took the blade without the slightest hesitation.

“The Grand Ancestor studied together with his clansman Gongsun Zan and his clansman Gongsun Yue at Mount Goushi... The sons of Yan and Zhao mostly admired the valor of these brothers and vied to attach themselves to them, considering it an honor.” — Old Book of Yan, Volume 67, Biography 17

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(End of Chapter)