Chapter 242: Gongsun Xun Fights While Pondering

The great fire burned the linked encampments, its momentum unstoppable.

Yet that seemingly earth-shaking blaze was merely a means to paralyze the Yellow Turban command system and defensive positions; on the battlefield, the real killing blow against these hundred thousand Yellow Turbans was still dealt by the sixty thousand Han troops!

The sixty thousand Han troops, as the main force of this era's mightiest empire, equipped with perhaps the finest weapons, armor, and warhorses of the age, and enjoying perhaps the highest standard of logistics, could never have been pinned down by so-called hundred thousand newly risen Yellow Turbans in the first place!

And now, after lying low for several dozen days, these sixty thousand Han troops counterattacked together, and their momentum was the truly unstoppable one!

Ten thousand cavalry in the south, a mixed force of forty thousand infantry and cavalry swarming out from Changshe City itself and from behind Changshe City, plus another ten thousand infantry under Cheng Pu's command forcefully crossing the Wei River to launch a surprise assault from the north... the sixty thousand-strong army, divided into three fronts, advanced from east to west across the entire line while converging upon each other, and the Yellow Turbans, despite their hundred thousand numbers, could not organize any effective defense whatsoever, instantly reduced to mere slaughter victims!

Originally, Gongsun Xun had intended to prioritize the battle, so he merely left Sun Jian some provisions and water before hastily urging the main army forward. But the battle went so smoothly that Gongsun Xun lost all desire to command from the outset — not because he underestimated the enemy, but because once the great fire swept through the Yellow Turban encampment, the battle instantly devolved into a pursuit and scattered small-unit engagements; under such circumstances, even attempting effective command was difficult, and he could only rely on the mid-level officers to act on their own initiative.

And so, Gongsun Xun promptly dismounted on a patch of high ground, raised his White Horse banner to serve as a guiding standard, and then sat down on a small camp stool to observe the battle from afar.

As for the army's other two-thousand-bushel Cavalry Commandant, Cao Mengde, although the "core troops" assigned to him — those several thousand surrendered Yellow Turbans — had all been left back at the Wei River under Cheng Demou's unified command, faced with such a large-scale battle, he still could not contain his surging spirit and actually charged in with Xiahou Dun and several dozen personal cavalry guards, blades swinging.

For a time, only Gongsun Xun's longtime confidants remained at his side.

"Marvelous!" Lou Gui, watching the battle unfold ahead, could hardly restrain himself. "I had thought the fire was meant to inflict casualties, but now I see it was clearly driving the flames as a vanguard — a tactic of gods and spirits... It seems the subtlety of military art must place water and fire above all!"

"Wind, fire, water, ice — these forces of nature, these things that human strength cannot resist, are the very essence of military art." Gongsun Xun could not help but sigh in agreement. "Zibo, if your heart has grasped something, you should record it, and someday compile a compendium of military principles; I will have it published for all the realm to read."

"That... would that be proper?" Lou Gui immediately grew flustered. "Could a man like me truly write a book on military art?"

"Why could you not?" Gongsun Xun replied dismissively. "In my view, Zibo, just a few years ago you were merely a man of lofty vision but poor execution, possessing wisdom and stratagem yet accomplishing nothing. Now you can clearly be called a military advisor of genuine worth... Going forward, as your renown grows daily and your battle experience increases, who is to say that a thousand years from now you will not be held up as a paragon of divine generalship?"

At these words, Lou Gui and the nearby Han Dang and others could not help but laugh together.

After the laughter subsided, however, Lou Gui observed Gongsun Xun's expression, and suddenly his heart stirred; he could not resist probing softly: "My lord, if a thousand years from now I can be called a master of divine generalship, what then of you?"

Gongsun Xun narrowed his eyes, staring down below, and remained silent.

Han Dang immediately understood and with a wave of his hand led the surrounding White Horse Volunteers to withdraw several dozen paces before stopping.

"Zibo, why bring this up now?" Once the others had gone, Gongsun Xun could not help but sigh and question him. "We are in the middle of a battle!"

"Truly, my heart is merely troubled by some doubts." Lou Gui answered frankly. "And it concerns myself. Years ago on the Xia Embankment in Zhao, I thought my lord's ambition had already been set — to rise as the realm fell into chaos, and then to pacify all under heaven... Were the names of your two young masters not derived from precisely this?"

"Indeed," Gongsun Xun replied slowly. "And I have never changed that ambition. Otherwise, why would I say that Zibo will leave his name in the annals of history? It is just that such things are best understood in the heart; why must they be spoken aloud?"

"As I said, my heart is merely troubled by some doubts." Lou Gui laughed wryly. "Given my lord's demeanor today, unless I hear you say it with my own ears, my heart cannot be at ease."

"You can see that I am hesitating over something?" Gongsun Xun could not help but ask curiously in return.

"Indeed." Lou Gui stretched out a hand toward the battlefield below, where shouts of slaughter rang out unceasingly. "If I did not see wrongly just now, while my lord was speaking perfunctorily, a look of pity actually showed on his face... Given the current situation, my lord cannot possibly be pitying the heavy losses of our own troops, can he?"

Gongsun Xun was speechless for a moment, and only after a long pause did he slowly reply: "It is my own womanish soft-heartedness... Those people may indeed be pitiable in their circumstances, but since they raised banners in rebellion, on the battlefield it must ultimately be kill or be killed. Zibo, rest assured, I understand this principle clearly in my heart, and I will absolutely not let it show before the officers and men again."

"I have followed my lord for many years." Lou Gui cupped his hands and sighed. "I understand certain things in my heart... My lord is proud toward superiors but compassionate toward inferiors — this is a good thing. Back on the river embankment in Dong Commandery, so many men looked upon death as a homecoming, and the sentiments stirred among the troops were not my lord's alone. But my lord, is this current state of the realm something we created?! Once the Yellow Turban rebels rose in arms, they attacked cities, seized territory, killed officials, and slaughtered clerks, throwing the realm into turmoil — can we afford to be soft-hearted? My lord, the more the situation crumbles, the more we must seize merit; the more the rebels surge forward wave after wave, the more resolute we must be! The Azure Heaven must die, but the Yellow Heaven is also a heretical path!"

"How could I not understand Zibo's words?" Gongsun Xun sighed along with him. "But what then?"

"What do you mean, what then?" Lou Gui asked blankly.

"If one day, you and I each fulfill our ambitions, do we then simply cease to care about affairs?" Gongsun Xun could not help but ask in return. "When that time comes, how should the situation be set right? Who will be used to set it right? Have you ever thought about this?"

Lou Gui was momentarily speechless: "The realm has only just shown signs of chaos, and my lord is already thinking so far ahead? Ziheng and I were just discussing why you have seemed so distracted and out of sorts lately, and we thought..."

"Zibo." Gongsun Xun rose from his camp stool. "Since that is the case, let me formally tell you once, and you can relay it to Ziheng later — I will not speak of it again..."

"My lord, please speak."

"My ambition has not changed, nor would I grow soft-hearted merely because of the brutality of a single battle." Gongsun Xun looked at his confidant and spoke earnestly. "It is simply that the more battles I fight, and the more things I witness, the more I feel that pacifying the realm in the future will be ever more difficult... For some reason, I always feel that I am still lacking something. This is what is meant by 'fighting while pondering,' and nothing more."

Lou Gui was taken aback for a moment, then simply cupped his hands in apology: "In that case, I was overthinking things! When I see Ziheng again, I will certainly tell him this."

"In truth, it is a good thing that men like you, Zibo and Ziheng, worry on my behalf." Gongsun Xun reached out to support him and spoke sincerely. "These days, it was ultimately my own gloomy thoughts, my own stubborn fixation, that caused it to fester and show on my face... It was my fault! Heaven's days are long and the earth endures; such matters can be discussed later. For now, let us focus on the present!"

"My lord speaks most rightly." Lou Gui also breathed a sigh of relief. "For now, let us indeed focus on the present situation!"

But though he said this, they did not watch the present situation for much longer. Gongsun Xun saw that the Yellow Turbans' final resistance had dissolved into nothing, and they were now collapsing in full retreat across the entire line. Just as he was about to move his banner and personally press forward, someone suddenly came to disturb him.

"General Huangfu invites me into the city?" Gongsun Xun pointed at the boundless battlefield before him and asked with a half-smile. "Right now?"

"Yes!" The messenger was a scholar in his forties, speaking with a Liangzhou accent. He immediately cupped his hands and replied, "My general says that the battle's outcome is already decided; let the young men earn their merit. For someone of my lord's stature, it would be better to enter the city and sit at ease. Of course, if my lord wishes to oversee the battle, it is also fine not to come."

Gongsun Xun and Lou Gui could not help but exchange a glance, and then each shook his head and laughed wryly. Even the scholar who had come to deliver the invitation laughed along with them.

It must be said, the three Han commanders on this battlefield were theoretically equals... This was because titles like Left and Right General of the Household of the Five Offices, or noble ranks, were utterly meaningless before the imperial staff that represented the Son of Heaven's authority. If one had to establish a hierarchy, it could only be said that by seniority, Huangfu Song was the eldest, and everyone showed him respect — that was all.

That being the case, why was Huangfu Yizhen now putting on this posture and inviting Gongsun Xun into the city?

The answer was simple: this was to yield the merit to Zhu Jun!

And the reason Gongsun Xun and Lou Gui exchanged a knowing smile was that they had long been prepared for this.

In fact, before they had even arrived in Yingchuan, Dong Zhao, who was at that moment guarding the main camp and watching the battle from across the river, had been the first to raise this issue on the road. Dong Gongren's words at the time were direct and simple: Zhu Jun had suffered a defeat and needed merit, otherwise he would likely face punishment. Gongsun Xun, on the other hand, did not need merit. Therefore, after arriving in Yingchuan, he should wait for Huangfu Song to take the lead and then take the opportunity to yield the merit.

The former was easy to understand, but what of the latter?

Dong Gongren again provided an explanation that struck straight to the heart — in this campaign to suppress the rebellion, one must not be the person with the greatest nominal merit, nor the person who won the most hearts, or else there would surely be future troubles! These troubles might come from ambitious schemers, or from the eunuchs, or even from the Son of Heaven himself... but no matter what, they would certainly come.

After pondering this carefully, Gongsun Xun deeply agreed and prepared to act according to Dong Zhao's stratagem.

Thus, yielding merit to Zhu Jun, who might face punishment, was to avoid being the one with the greatest merit; waiting for Huangfu Song to take the lead was to avoid being the one who earned the most popular support; as for why he still personally exerted himself and fought this bitter battle, that was Gongsun Xun's own stubborn insistence... After all, he knew that in the eyes of those who truly understood, especially within an army that had gathered countless heroes, everyone would ultimately understand what had really happened.

This battle could not have been fought in vain! The true rewards could not be measured solely by the merit ledger and the favors of great men!

In summary, Gongsun Xun and Lou Gui had long been prepared for Huangfu Song's invitation. Was it not simply to have him enter the city, leaving Zhu Jun alone outside to command?

Let him have it — a mere owl feasting on a rotting rat.

And so, Gongsun Xun immediately agreed. Then, taking Lou Gui, Han Dang, and three hundred White Horse Volunteers, he crossed the battlefield without a second glance and headed toward Changshe City, several li away, in the company of this aide of Huangfu Song's.

An interesting thing was that on the road, as the shouts of slaughter gradually faded into the distance, and as he felt the lingering heat of the great fire, while also listening to Lou Gui converse ceaselessly with this aide of Huangfu Song's, Gongsun Xun finally learned that this man was also someone of notable background.

"Sir, you were the former Prefect of Xindu (the capital of Anping Principality)?" Lou Zibo asked curiously.

"Indeed." The man gave a dry laugh and cupped his hands from horseback. "Prefect of Xindu. When Zhang Jiao rose in revolt, I fled in haste. When I reached Luoyang, the central government did not punish me because the entire Anping Principality had fallen, but I was dismissed from office nonetheless. As it happened, I am from Hanyang in Liangzhou, and as it also happened that I was in Luoyang, I went to seek service under my general. I must beg my lord and Zibo's forgiveness for such a tale..."

"What of it?" Lou Gui said dismissively. "Who could have done anything in that situation? However, since you, sir, are a man of Liangzhou and served as a thousand-bushel Grand Prefect, you must surely be a celebrated scholar of Liangzhou... May I ask your name?"

"Yan Zhong!" the man answered crisply. "Courtesy name Shude."

"Sir Shude is surnamed Yan?" Gongsun Xun suddenly interjected with curiosity. "Then may I ask, does Sir Shude know Jia Wenhe, Han Wenyue... ah, and also a man named Yan Xing?"

Yan Zhong in turn studied Gongsun Xun with curiosity: "The White Horse General's might shakes the realm, but he is ultimately a man of Youzhou. How does he know these names?"

"You actually know all of them?" Gongsun Xun was momentarily delighted, then quickly masked it. "These are all names I casually picked up in the past while associating with Han Wenyue and Fu Nanrong in Luoyang; I heard they were all talents of Liangzhou..."

"That explains it!" Yan Zhong couldn't help but sigh. "Han Wenyue goes without saying — he was already a renowned scholar of our Xizhou, so the General naturally knows him. As for that young fellow Jia Wenhe, though he's always been obscure, he is a close friend of mine, and I know very well in my heart that this man possesses the strategic genius of a Zhang Liang or a Chen Ping... But when I tell others, they always laugh at me, saying I'm wildly exaggerating... The truth is simply that Wenhe comes from humble origins, and they look down on him. As for Yan Xing, the Yan surname in Liangzhou is mostly my own clan, and my clan is quite numerous — perhaps he is one of those whom Wenyue associates with! However, my elder brother's eldest son is also called Yan Xing, but he has not yet come of age this year, so I imagine it cannot be him."

Gongsun Xun immediately laughed in embarrassment. "Liangzhou truly produces talents in abundance!"

Yan Zhong, hearing this, was half proud and half resigned. "It's a pity — men from the frontier, no matter how great their ability, are always looked down upon."

"Where is Jia Wenhe now?" Gongsun Xun could not be bothered to follow him in lamenting such things. "Didn't Brother Shude say he has the strategic genius of a Zhang Liang or a Chen Ping? Could you introduce him to me? I would like to invite him to serve as a Thousand-Dan Army Major..."

"After Wenhe was recommended as Filial and Incorrupt, he has been at home reading ever since." Yan Zhong shook his head ruefully. "But I have known Wenhe for a long time. He is a man who prepares for danger in times of safety, and he would absolutely never travel a thousand li to answer a recruitment call. The General need not entertain the thought."

Gongsun Xun pondered this carefully, but there was nothing he could do. After that, he said no more, merely letting Lou Gui and this Yan Zhong continue their conversation and probing, until their column of several hundred white horses rode easily to the front of Changshe City, where they saw from afar the group led by Huangfu Song waiting to welcome them outside the city gate.

Gongsun Xun dared not be remiss. He immediately led his Volunteer Followers in dismounting.

But unexpectedly, at that very moment, Yan Zhong suddenly took his horse by the reins with one hand and pointed with the other at a man behind Huangfu Song, saying: "Since the General of the Household Gongsun wishes to seek talented men for his staff, why search a thousand li away for us men of Liangzhou? Yingchuan abounds in renowned scholars... Not to mention the Xuns or the Chens — during the ten-odd days I have been in Changshe City with my General, I have already come to know an outstanding talent of the Changshe Zhong clan. My lord, look — this man is called Zhong Yao, styled Yuanchang. He carries strategies in his breast and truly possesses the talent of a Chancellor of State!"

Gongsun Xun was dumbstruck, but then broke into a bitter smile.

—————— I am the bitter smile dividing line ——————

"Master Sun once said there are five methods of fire attack: the first is called 'firing men' — when the enemy is near grass, burning them by riding the wind; the second is called 'firing stores' — burning their accumulated supplies; the third is called 'firing baggage' — burning their heavy equipment; the fourth is called 'firing armories' — sending spies into the enemy camp to burn their weapons stores; the fifth is called 'firing the plummet' — 'plummet' meaning to drop, using fire dropped into the enemy camp. In former days, when I followed the Grand Ancestor in pacifying the Yellow Turbans, we used fire attack to destroy a hundred thousand rebels at Changshe — that was employing both 'firing men' and 'firing the plummet' simultaneously." — The Zibo Art of War

PS: Book recommendation — Old Zhao's new book, The Number One Dandy of the Warring States. He has a completed Warring States novel, Zhao the King of the Warring States. Both his character and writing are beyond reproach.

Is eight-thirty okay? If not, should I revise it?

(End of Chapter)