Chapter 222: Mutual Suspicion Between Superior and Subordinate

After receiving the court's decree, Gongsun Xun, who had long been prepared, immediately set out from Quanzhou and headed for Zhuolu in Shanggu Commandery. There he assembled two thousand elite shock cavalry from Shanggu and Dai Commanderies, plus the one thousand Yuyang Iron Cavalry he had brought from Quanzhou — these were the three thousand Youyan Iron Cavalry that Guo Xun had prepared for him this time. Then, following the previously laid strategy, he reined in his horse and marched south without pause along the line of Mount Taixing!

As it happened, Gongsun Xun did not bring along those "famous generals" under his command whose array of talent appeared so overwhelmingly formidable. On the contrary, he had most of his subordinates return to Zhuo Commandery with Gongsun Yue, and merely had Lou Gui and Han Dang, his two ever-present trusted aides, lead three hundred White Horse Volunteers, with Zhang Fei added as an escort to increase his personal security.

This was unavoidable, because if he did not obtain a formal appointment in Luoyang on this trip, bringing those men along would be utterly meaningless — and they might very well be conveniently reassigned by the court to someone or other.

As for bringing Zhang Fei, it was nothing more than a small, deliberate gesture to draw him closer.

In fact, the ones truly commanding these three thousand cavalry under Gongsun Xun as guest officers this time were none other than Gongsun Zan and a Separate Division Major named Zou Jing — both were proper court officials. Men like Guan Yu, Liu Bei, or even Gongsun Yue simply lacked the qualifications to command such proper elite troops.

Of the two, the former — Gongsun Zan — had been appointed as the local leader of his commandery when the Grand Administrator of Yuyang detached the Yuyang Iron Cavalry to recover lost territory, and was subsequently requested from Yuyang by Guo Xun. Of course, this was also because Gongsun Zan had, for once, swallowed his pride, secretly sought out his own clansman, and with earnest words pleaded to follow and earn merit. Given such a situation, how could Gongsun Xun refuse?

So, his ability to come along was the result of Gongsun Xun, Guo Xun, and the Grand Administrator of Yuyang each exchanging greetings and arrangements.

As for Zou Jing, he was originally a Separate Division Major directly under the court, leading troops garrisoned at Zhuolu. He was supposed to properly obey the court and Guo Xun's orders and was specifically meant for this kind of task.

One rather interesting thing, however, was that Gongsun Xun had assumed this Major Zou had a prior acquaintance with Liu Bei. Yet upon asking, he learned that the man did not know who Liu Xuande was. On the contrary, he and Gongsun Zan were sworn friends who had faced death together, and although meeting Gongsun Xun for the first time, he was especially grateful and exceptionally respectful!

It turned out that on the day the Han army marched beyond the frontier from Gaoliu, this Major Zou had actually been under Xia Yu's command! And during the retreat, he had been trapped by the barbarians and was on the verge of committing suicide for the country's honor, when Gongsun Zan and Sun Jian, happening to be on the retreat route, heard the news, personally turned back, fought fiercely, and rescued him.

At this, even Gongsun Xun could only sigh with increasing emotion at the unpredictability of worldly affairs.

With the court decree, the three thousand iron cavalry set out from Zhuolu, traveling south all the way, first reaching Zhongshan Commandery.

Here, Gongsun Xun naturally had no lack of informants and influence, and he quickly gained an understanding of the situation in Zhongshan. As it turned out, just as he had thought, the newly appointed Grand Administrator, Zhang Chun, had been in office barely over a month. Confronted so suddenly with such an event, he too had panicked. Thus, with the fall of Anguo Principality, the two counties of Anguo and Jianwu on Zhongshan's southeastern border fell into rebel hands almost instantly. However, that was as far as it went, because some local prominent families who had previously received hints from Gongsun Xun, faced with their own life-or-death stakes, immediately reacted and mobilized that civilian defense force. The Huang Jin army ultimately advanced not a single step further.

Moreover, it was said that the new Grand Administrator, Zhang Chun, upon hearing of Zhang Bao's military defeat, had also been stirred to action, vaguely harboring intentions of recovering the lost territory.

Whether this matter was good or bad was unclear. The only certainty was that there must be room for maneuvering within it — but the timing was wrong. At this moment, Gongsun Xun's sole critical task was to head south immediately and secure an appointment from the central authorities. Otherwise, everything was pointless!

What else could he do? With a proper Grand Administrator right there, what right did a former Grand Administrator have to interfere? Did he truly think the laws of the Han house were empty?

Thus, Gongsun Xun merely used the pretext of consulting on military intelligence to meet with a large number of local officials, gentry, and prominent families along the line of Guangchang, Shangquyang, and Xinshi. After offering some brief reassurance, he hastily led his troops away, heading toward Changshan Principality.

Changshan was similar to Zhongshan — after the Huang Jin uprising, a few small towns had been affected by the spillover from Julu. Perhaps soon, when Zhang Bao returned with his army, battles would erupt here, but for now, one could truly only say that matters were largely without major hindrance. Gongsun Xun merely urged the local commandery administrators and county magistrates along the route, in places like Zhending, Luancheng, and Fangzi, to quickly mobilize military forces and defend their villages, and then continued south.

As for Zhao Yun of Changshan, Gongsun Xun still paid him no attention whatsoever. The reason was simple: first, he was in a hurry, and had no proper grounds to summon him; second, with Gongsun Zan, Zou Jing, and Liu Bei all under his command now, he rather wanted to see — if this Zhao Yun truly did enlist, where else could he possibly go?

If Zhending ultimately remained untouched by war, or if the man had no intention of entering official service and merely defended his home village, then so be it. But if he truly had the ambition to serve and could still escape Gongsun Xun's grasp — well, one could only say, such a man might as well be dead!

However, the journey was hurried. When passing through Zhongshan, because the commandery was too vast and Gongsun Xun was rushing through from the west, he had no time to inquire in detail about the situation in the east. When passing through Changshan, he had absolutely no trusted informants there, so he could not necessarily know any truly accurate information. It was not until he reached Zhao Principality, entered the large northern county of Boren, and met with the County Magistrate of Boren, Dong Zhao, that this Grand Administrator of Zhuo Commandery, ordered south, learned of some additional circumstances.

"I will not deceive you, my lord. Although the surface appears stable and Zhao Principality has not fallen, the situation is extremely dire." Dong Zhao, bringing local prominent figures with cattle and wine to provision the troops near the pavilion outside the city, took the opportunity to tell Gongsun Xun of a phenomenon the latter had never anticipated. "Because the countryside, and even the cities, have already rotted through entirely. After Zhang Jiao rose up, he first dispatched troops from the west side of Dalu Marsh, leading Zhang Liang himself to strike south, and sending Zhang Bao to strike north. Boren here has not suffered the slightest military action. Yet among the poor left-lane villagers in the countryside, the commoners in the city markets, and even among the clerks and commandery soldiers, desertions have been extremely numerous!"

"Were they frightened?" Gongsun Zan, standing nearby, interjected out of momentary curiosity. "That is quite common. In our You Province, the fallen areas south of Yuyang were not many, yet they were almost entirely emptied by flight."

"They left voluntarily, to join Zhang Jiao." The short, stout Dong Zhao, hearing this, gestured somewhat helplessly toward the east. "I expended enormous effort merely to maintain the surface situation. My lord, I will not deceive you — had you not come on this trip, I fear the powerful and prominent families in the city would have colluded with the county clerks to rise in rebellion!"

"No wonder that in places where the Taiping Dao flourished, local officials everywhere fled in large numbers." Lou Gui, at his side, also sighed with emotion. "This situation is like sitting atop a roasting fire — how many can endure it?"

"You said 'extremely numerous' — exactly how many?" Gongsun Xun, seated in the place of honor, finally spoke with a serious expression to inquire.

"In the countryside, roughly one in three," Dong Zhao said, clasping his sleeves. "Among the city's gentry, commoners, and clerks, I fear one or two in ten as well. And it is by no means limited to Taiping Dao believers! Does my lord still remember the two assistant carriage clerks from when Lord Xiang was Chancellor — the two who guarded the main gate of the Changcao Official Temple?"

"Naturally I remember." Gongsun Xun said, suddenly recalling. "One was called Wang Ran, the other Li Ming. When I left, I had briefly considered giving them some advice in recognition of their hard work, but then thought that Lord Xiang would not remain Chancellor much longer either, so I paid them no further attention. What of it?"

"Both abandoned their posts and left, to join the Huang Jin army." Dong Zhao said with a cold laugh. "The central authorities probably knew that Lord Xiang was accomplishing nothing in the principality, so the new Chancellor who arrived at the end of the year before last was Liu Heng, Lord Liu. This man is a pure Confucian of the highest order — his personal virtue, conduct, and style are beyond reproach. Thus, after arriving in the principality, he greatly praised the public academy affairs; the number of renowned Confucians in the academy grew, and the treatment of students improved. However, he was also quite dissatisfied with the previous clerical appointments in the principality, believing that those men's family backgrounds were undistinguished and insufficient for holding prominent posts in the state. So he imposed additional assessments, and based on family status or administrative performance, demoted or dismissed many. Alas for those two assistant carriage clerks — under Lord Xiang's tenure, they sat idly for years because of Lord Xiang's inaction; later, when Lord Liu arrived, they were dismissed for 'incompetence.' As soon as Zhang Jiao rebelled, they went one after another to Julu to join the rebels. I hear they are already minor commanders!"

Dong Gongren had not finished speaking.

In fact, a moment's thought made it all clear. The dismissed Wang Ran and Li Ming leaving in resentment was certainly personal conduct, but could those low-ranking powerful families of Zhao Principality who had likewise been dismissed from office not feel resentment? Could they not send some of their sons and younger kin to place a bet on Zhang Jiao's side?

Yet, low-ranking powerful families found it hard to obtain high-level clerical posts, while the somewhat larger powerful families were scorned by these scholar-officials and pure Confucians. This phenomenon was itself the norm; it was Gongsun Xun's previous actions in Zhao Principality that had been somewhat unorthodox. In other words, this state of mutual hostility between superiors and subordinates, of resentment between scholars and commoners, was probably widespread. No wonder that barely twenty-some days after Zhang Jiao first rose up, the heartland of Jizhou — Anping, Julu, and Qinghe — had been swept clean.

And one could imagine that with commoners deserting at a rate of one in three, and clerks and townsfolk at one in ten, the Huang Jin army would likely continue to expand for some time yet.

The three thousand-plus You Province cavalry were encamped outside the city to begin with. Dong Zhao had come to provision the troops, and seats were set up in the open field. Yet, though the south wind of the third month blew warmly and the soldiers beamed with joy, the few at the head seats, pondering this matter, all felt a sudden chill and fell into solemn silence.

"This matter is the Chancellor's responsibility. I am now the Administrator of Zhuo Commandery, and have received imperial orders to lead troops south to Heluo — I have no leisure to attend to this." After a long pause, Gongsun Xun raised his cup from behind the armrest and spoke, feigning indifference. "However, where are Chu Yan and Zhang Cheng? I entrusted those two to you, Gongren!"

Upon hearing this, Dong Zhao could not help but rise with a light laugh, cup in hand: "My lord, rest assured. When I was reassigned as Magistrate of Boren, I specifically brought Chu Yan, County Commandant Chu, with me, still entrusting him with the county's public order. And Zhang Cheng remains in Xiangguo as before. However, he is deeply grateful to my lord. That Zhao Principality, adjacent to Julu, did not erupt en masse this time was largely thanks to him pacifying the faithful locally. And prominent figures in the principality, such as Lord Wei, are well aware of his hard work, so he has not been made to suffer any grievance."

"That is good." Gongsun Xun gestured toward Dong Zhao from a distance, but raised his cup without drinking. "Summon Chu Yan to come and have a cup."

Dong Zhao immediately stepped away from his seat and laughed awkwardly again: "My lord, you are putting me in a difficult position. I came out of the city to provision the troops; naturally, the County Commandant must remain behind to guard the city."

"With such an arrangement, are you not afraid that they might suddenly rise up and seize the city?" Gongsun Xun asked unhurriedly in a soft voice, yet the matter he raised was astonishing. "You said earlier that if I had not come this time, you feared county clerks would rise in response to Zhang Jiao. Were you not speaking of him?"

Among those around, some, like Gongsun Zan, Zou Jing, and Zhang Fei, were baffled; others, like Lou Gui and Han Dang, were momentarily shocked.

Dong Zhao stood frozen in place for a long while, but in the end could only set down his cup and bow helplessly in apology: "My lord, your perception is clear. It is not that I harbored malice, seeking to borrow a knife to kill; nor was I imitating the Earl of Zheng's indulgence of Duan, deliberately letting him run loose. In deliberately leaving him in the city this time, I merely wished to borrow my lord's awe-inspiring presence to intimidate him somewhat, so that he would never dare to harbor rebellious thoughts again!"

"So, according to you, it was entirely good intentions?" Gongsun Xun frowned. "Yet I must still ask you — what if they had rebelled and seized the city? Then, with my main army nearby, we could certainly retake it swiftly. But what crime had the city's common people committed?"

"I, your humble clerk, would not have let them truly seize the city!" Dong Zhao responded without hesitation. "I had long made arrangements around him. It is just, my lord, that I too have my difficulties. For three years, I have served in Zhao Principality, and everyone in the state knows that he was assigned to me by my lord. If I were to execute him without prior admonition, how could I face my lord in the future?"

"Summon him here!" Gongsun Xun sighed. "The realm is in chaos, and men's hearts are restless. Though this is precisely the time for sincere cooperation, in reality, superiors and subordinates are ceaselessly suspicious of one another. I cannot be too harsh on you either."

"Many thanks, my lord." Dong Zhao finally let out a long breath.

An hour later, Chu Yan arrived alone and bowed with utmost respect.

"The state's affairs are urgent and dire." By this time, Gongsun Xun had already finished packing and mounted his horse, ready to continue south. "I have no lengthy words to exhort you. On this journey into Luoyang, if I can obtain a regional command to lead troops in quelling the rebellion, I will certainly recommend both of you to serve at my side! Until then, assist Magistrate Dong well. This man's wisdom and schemes are manifold; he thoroughly understands the human heart. Do not harbor too many thoughts of your own."

Chu Yan bowed repeatedly, not daring to say much.

Setting out once more, compared to the high-spirited excitement of the previous journey, Gongsun Xun was now considerably more restrained and composed. Since the Huang Jin uprising began, Gongsun Xun had initially been tense and uneasy, then utterly disappointed. Later, the battle against Cheng Yuanzhi had, for the first time, made him feel the sweeping tide of the era, stirring within him a certain soaring ambition.

Yet today's events had opened a new perspective, adding a layer of grave contemplation to his thoughts on the two words "Huang Jin." After all, though one must rise with the wind, one must at the very least know the ground beneath one's feet, and guard against losing control and being snapped in two by the gale!

The south wind suddenly surged.

On the twenty-third day of the third month, Gongsun Xun passed by Handan without entering, not even accepting the troop-provisioning gifts from the Prince of Zhao and Chancellor Liu Heng. He proudly led his troops out of Ye City, turned west, and entered Henei.

On the twenty-sixth day of the third month, Gongsun Xun led three thousand cavalry, joining forces with the Henei Commandery troops to smash the remnant Huang Jin forces of Ma Yuanyi at Mengjin. The region between the Yellow River and Luoyang was momentarily invigorated.

On the twenty-eighth day of the third month, Gongsun Xun had Gongsun Zan and Zou Jing encamp at Mengjin, while he himself, taking a few trusted attendants, crossed the Yellow River and arrived once more at Luoyang. That very night, he entered the capital's guest quarters to pay a visit to his former acquaintance — Grand General He Jin!

—————— I am the dividing line of helplessness ——————

"Liu Heng, styled Yuanzai, was a man of Dongpingling in Jinan. In his youth, he was specially selected as Prefect of the Gentlemen of the Palace in Bohai, then recommended as Abundant Talent of the province, appointed as Magistrate of Xiu County, transferred as Commandant of the Zhangye Dependent State, summoned on grounds of illness as a Gentleman Consultant, then transferred as Commandant of the Liaodong Dependent State — which he did not take up — and then appointed as Chancellor of Zhao. He held the post for three years, largely cultivating virtuous governance and excelling in moral transformation. His generation called him a pure Confucian." — From the *Dianlue*, annotated by Pei Songzhi of Yan

PS: Let me tell you a joke. Today was the last day of the holiday. I held my phone from morning until past three in the afternoon... just choosing takeout... and in the end, I went out to eat. The whole day was wasted just like that.

Yet I am also in despair!

(End of Chapter)