[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-247":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing Han",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1223006,1620,"Chapter 247: Discerning Hearts by Sound","overthrowing-han-chapter-247",247,"\u003Cp>\"General.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At dusk, within Yingyang city, Yan Zhong walked into the county temple, where incense was burning, holding a bolt of exceptionally fine Shu brocade. \"Come and see this...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\" Huangfu Song, who had been sitting quietly in the hall, nearly lulled to sleep by the incense, looked up at the voice and couldn't help but smile. \"Oh, fine brocade!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed.\" Yan Zhong laughed as he walked. \"This is genuine Shu brocade — not Chu brocade, not Wu brocade, and certainly not that new-style Liaodong brocade so common in the Hebei markets. Look, General — the pattern is exquisite, the luster captivating, truly as if gold and silver were born upon the silk... This was specially brought out and offered to Commandant Wang by that surrendered local Yellow Turban minor chief. And though Commandant Wang's family is in Luoyang and he's seen countless treasures, he still felt this piece was exceptionally fine, so he dared not keep it for himself and had me bring it to you instead!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You people!\" Huangfu Song shook his head with a wry smile. \"This is indeed a fine treasure, but what use does a decrepit old man of fifty have for it?! Even if I had two robes made, would I have the face to wear them out?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That's true enough.\" Yan Zhong, still holding the Shu brocade, sat down behind a low table below Huangfu Song and smiled. \"General, your virtue and prestige are weighty — or rather, ever since General Ranming passed away three years ago, you, General, have been the very embodiment of virtue and prestige for us in Liangzhou... How could vulgar men like us compare?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then you keep this Shu brocade, Shude.\" Huangfu Song remained indifferent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After all, if even Dong Zhuo and Gongsun Xun knew to give all their wealth and goods to their subordinates, it wasn't as if Huangfu Song couldn't manage the same.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No.\" Yan Zhong casually placed the Shu brocade on the low table, but shook his head repeatedly. \"Treasures belong to the virtuous. If you, General, won't take such a treasure, how would I dare accept it? Even if you won't use it yourself, General, you might as well take it home and keep it for your sons to use...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"None of them amount to anything!\" Huangfu Song sighed, shaking his head. \"Brocade robes made from Shu brocade like this are best paired with purple ribbons and gold seals — but in this lifetime, how could they ever qualify for such rank?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And even if they did, what of it?\" Yan Zhong suddenly shook his head and laughed. \"Liangzhou is a poor, remote frontier land — so what if one is enfeoffed as a marquis or made a general? Doesn't the court still regard us as frontier rustics?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huangfu Song narrowed his eyes slightly, giving no reaction.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In truth, counting from the time Han Shizu Liu Xiu ascended the throne and proclaimed himself emperor, the Later Han had already passed through over one hundred and sixty years. Social problems were everywhere, and the Yellow Turban rebellion now sweeping through seven or eight provinces and twenty or thirty commanderies was clear proof of that.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But if one had to name the place where the problems were most severe, it could only be the now unusually quiet Liangzhou.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Before the Yellow Turban rebellion, the problems elsewhere were at least still concealed beneath the authority of the Han house, but in Liangzhou, they had been laid bare from the very beginning — and from the start, it was the most direct and bloodiest of violent wars.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, if one sets aside the wars of the founding period, then from the very year Emperor Guangwu breathed his last, Liangzhou had suffered four great upheavals, essentially without pause:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first, the Shaodang Rebellion, dragged on intermittently from the year 57 to the year 101, spanning over forty years;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The second, the Xianlian Rebellion, broke out in the seventh year after the Shaodang Rebellion ended — that is, the year 108 — and lasted eleven years... Though this one was brief, the price the Han house paid was exceptionally heavy: military expenditures on the books alone reached twenty-four billion, and it directly caused a population collapse across Liangzhou and Bingzhou, along with the alienation and disaffection of the common people. It was from this that the talk of 'abandoning Liangzhou' arose;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The third great upheaval was actually a suppression campaign by the central court, with the famed general and Protector of the Qiang Colonel Ma Xian as its commander. With outstanding military skill and brutal methods of suppression, Ma Xian carried out a bloody crackdown on the Qiang people of Liangzhou lasting nearly thirty years;\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The fourth was the thorough suppression of the Qiang by the Three Luminaries of Liangzhou during Emperor Huan's reign... Huangfu Song's uncle Huangfu Gui, Zhang Huan, whom Dong Zhuo had once followed, and Duan Jiong, who later threw in his lot with the eunuchs — all made their names through this.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, although these four great upheavals were all nominally Qiang rebellions, for the powerful families and common people of Liangzhou's middle and lower strata, the incessant warfare was there, the devastation of military turmoil was there — trying to placate them with simple ethnic conflict was no different from covering one's ears while stealing a bell! Not to mention that by the mid-to-late Later Han, Qiang and Han populations were heavily intermixed, the ethnic divide among the lower classes had actually grown smaller and smaller, and the officials sent from outside were mostly corrupt, brutal, and incompetent.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In short, one could fairly say that the middle and lower strata of all Liangzhou loathed the court no less than they loathed the foreign tribes... because the slaughter and warfare were simply too frequent!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Under such circumstances, the central government's attitude toward Liangzhou was, perversely, one of pervasive exclusion and discrimination — to say nothing of the comfort and compensation that should have been given; not bullying you was already giving you face.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Thus, Liangzhou's loathing for the Han house and the central government was essentially spreading in a state of suppression, and now even the scholars of Liangzhou had become deeply dissatisfied with the Han house and the central government.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And although the Huangfu Song family had made its name throughout the realm precisely through the military suppression of the Qiang rebellions and were genuine local representatives of the pro-Han faction, having been born in Liangzhou and raised in Liangzhou, how could he not know the mood of the common people? Moreover, his uncle Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan, as frontier generals who studied the classics and drew close to the scholars, had from the start stood in opposition to Duan Jiong — a frontier general who did not study the classics and threw in his lot with the eunuchs — over the question of extermination versus pacification.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So even knowing this sentiment, Huangfu Yizhen had no good solution; his only response was to pretend to be deaf and mute.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yan Zhong looked at Huangfu Song, as if he had long anticipated this, and said no more, smoothly bringing up another matter: \"General, what do you make of the fighting strength of the Northern Army's Five Colonels and the Three Rivers cavalry?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"They're passable, I suppose!\" Huangfu Song perked up slightly at this. \"After all, it's been a long time since the realm has seen war, but in the end, the institutional framework is there, and they have the fine equipment from the Luoyang Armory and the warhorses from the Western Garden stables... They should be enough to deal with the Yellow Turbans.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That goes without saying.\" Yan Zhong spoke slowly. \"With the Eastern Commandery Yellow Turbans annihilated at the battle of Cangting-Dongwuyang, and the Yingchuan Yellow Turbans annihilated at Changshe the day before yesterday — after these two battles, I doubt anyone under heaven still thinks the Yellow Turban rebels can succeed. Exterminating them is merely a matter of time.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One can't quite say that.\" Huangfu Song sighed. \"If the time drags on too long, problems will arise too... Earlier at Changshe, I read in the military reports that in Hebei, the three Zhang Jiao brothers have pulled all the Yellow Turban rebels from Julu, Anping, Qinghe, Wei Commandery, Hejian, and other places back into Julu Commandery alone, relying on two great cities, Guangzong in the south and Xiaquyang in the north, each gathering over a hundred thousand men, stockpiling several years' worth of grain they can't finish, along with the wealth, goods, and equipment gathered from several commanderies and kingdoms, preparing to make a desperate last stand... Shude, tell me, if they hold out for a year or two, wouldn't that be an ordinary thing? By then, who knows what chaos might break out across the realm!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Who says otherwise?\" Yan Zhong sneered. \"But that's not what I wanted to discuss today... General, what I see is that the Central Plains and Hebei are so rich and prosperous that even a treasure like this can be casually found in a single county, and the Yellow Turban rebels are, after all, nothing more than a moth-like rabble. So why let only the sons of the central elite from the Three Rivers and Five Colonels — men whose families are already wealthy and powerful — come and make their fortunes? Look at the General of the Household of All Purposes over there: the man came out to war and not only looked after his own home region but also took care of his old comrades from Bingzhou. In just a few days, he already has under him a commandant who has accumulated merit up to the two-thousand-bushel rank, and four thousand-bushel majors... and then there's that Liu Bei from yesterday, who looks set to be the fifth! Yet for us sons of Liangzhou, official posts are hard to come by, and making a fortune is just as hard... bitter!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huangfu Song was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head: \"I understand what you mean, Shude, but... you know the situation in Liangzhou. Letting soldiers and officers from those remote regions come into the interior — their wild nature is hard to control, for one thing, and the court is wary of it, for another. That's why, back then, I only recommended someone like Nanrong, who comes from a renowned family.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"True!\" Yan Zhong rose with a cold laugh. \"I have nothing to say against Fu Nanrong's talent and virtue, but how many such talents from Liangzhou — men who are both well-read and from renowned families like Fu Nanrong — are there in total?\" At this, without waiting for Huangfu Yizhen to respond, Yan Shude pointed again at the brocade on the low table and said, \"General, do you truly not want this top-grade Shu brocade? It is a token of heartfelt regard from those below.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huangfu Song could only force a dry laugh: \"Since it is everyone's heartfelt regard, I shall keep it.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did Yan Zhong smile faintly, take his leave, and depart.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huangfu Song watched him go out the door, sighed, and in the blink of an eye was drowsily sinking into sleep amid the incense, his eyes closing... There was no helping it; he was already very old, and the previous evening's banquet had made him particularly aware of this fact. Facing the young Gongsun Xun and Cao Mengde, and the many, many young heroes present then, he truly felt both envy and helplessness.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Brother Zhicai.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Back in Yangdi city, the sun was nearly setting. Inside a dilapidated, empty courtyard, Lou Gui, whose mood was utterly dejected, could finally hold back no longer. \"Whether you agree or not, could you at least give me an answer?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Let me first ask you, Master Zibo.\" Xi Zhong was in his thirties, with narrow eyes and fair skin. Judging by his clothing and his poorly tended beard, and by his deeply sunken eye sockets, his life did indeed appear destitute. \"These goods, treasures, and the carriage — are they all mine now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And even if I don't go, according to etiquette, these gifts need not be returned?\" Xi Zhicai continued to ask curiously, his hands clasped behind his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct!\" Lou Gui nodded helplessly. \"So, Brother Zhicai, please stop examining them. Whether you consent or not, I beg you to speak plainly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I won't deceive you, Master Zibo — I... don't know.\" Xi Zhong spread his hands and smiled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What do you mean, you don't know?\" Lou Gui felt the veins on his forehead throbbing. Wasn't it said that of these two men, one would bear any hardship without complaint and the other was brilliant in strategy and statecraft? Shouldn't they be one like Wang Xiu and one like Lu Fan? How had it turned into this today?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Not knowing means just that — not knowing.\" Xi Zhong stroked the gold on the tray before him and said, \"Master Zibo, I've been poor for nearly thirty years, and I've always been dissolute and unprincipled in daily life. Although I had Brother Yuanchang's recommendation, for that General of the Household of All Purposes to be willing to send someone in such haste with such generous gifts and weighty ceremony based on a single man's word alone — I am still quite astonished, and rather moved as well... In all honesty, a man is not made of wood or stone; faced suddenly with such a situation, it would be strange if my heart were not stirred.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But as the saying goes, a fine bird chooses its tree to roost, and a worthy minister chooses his lord to serve.\" Xi Zhong clasped his hands behind his back and turned around, speaking slowly toward his low western wall, which was crowded with neighbors watching the excitement. \"I, Xi Zhong, have muddled through thirty years, not even daring to take a wife — and of course, no one was willing to marry me. Wasn't it all because I wanted to find a man to whom I could truly entrust my aspirations, so that I might display my learning? But what if your general is a man of splendid exterior but rotten within? Wouldn't I have entrusted myself to the wrong person?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Gui, standing behind him, started to speak but stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Zibo, becoming a man's personal retainer is just like marrying a woman or taking a wife.\" Xi Zhicai turned his head back and smiled. \"Tell me, if a new bride crosses the threshold only to find that her husband is, like me, a man who gambles and drinks all day long, wouldn't she have wasted her youth in vain? And I... if your general turns out to be a good-for-nothing, would you have me become a man who betrays his lord then? Do you think I'm that kind of person?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Gui finally clasped his hands and sighed: \"Brother Zhicai, these words of yours do carry a certain flavor of Legalist statecraft... So you mean to say, you wish to wait until my general comes to Yangdi and see him with your own eyes before deciding?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That won't be necessary.\" Xi Zhicai shook his head, hands still behind his back. \"Your general is the General of the Household of All Purposes bearing the imperial staff, and he has just set a fire at Changshe that destroyed a hundred thousand Yellow Turban rebels. When he comes to Yangdi city in majestic force, leading tens of thousands of victorious troops, with countless fierce warriors and fine generals under his command — for a dissolute wretch like me to go see him, I imagine I would only be drenched in sweat and lose my composure entirely.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what exactly do you want?\" Lou Gui was once again on the verge of losing his patience.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Master Zibo, don't be impatient.\" Xi Zhicai smiled slowly. \"I take it you are a trusted confidant of the General of the Household of All Purposes?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed!\" Lou Zibo declared proudly. \"Otherwise, why would he have sent me here?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And how long have you followed your general, sir?\" Xi Zhicai continued to ask.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Gui opened his mouth to speak, then seemed suddenly lost. Only after a long while did he answer: \"It's actually been eight or nine years... nearly ten, now! The concubines the old madam granted me have already borne me three children.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So that's how it is.\" Xi Zhicai's expression grew serious as well. \"From this, it seems that you, Master Zibo, and your general are as one — two sides of the same coin?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Perhaps!\" Lou Gui said with emotion. \"I understand what you mean now. You wish to test me, and thereby glimpse something of my lord's depth, is that it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Correct.\" Xi Zhicai nodded.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But my mind is mostly on military matters.\" Lou Gui shook his head. \"If it's the treachery of men's hearts you want discussed, Dong Gongren should be here; if it's the analysis of affairs and principles, then Lu Ziheng should be here...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No harm,\" Xi Zhicai shook his head. \"Seeing the great in the small does not necessarily mean discussing the grand trends of the world or the depths of the human heart... So all this gold, silver, and wealth is mine now?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly!\" Lou Gui was growing impatient again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does Master Zibo know how to play Animal Cards?\" Xi Zhicai smiled again. \"The two of us, plus one skilled gambler called over at random from these onlooking neighbors—I will divide the gold among this wealth into three parts, giving one part each to you two. How about we gamble a round? If you lose everything, nothing else is required; just leave the gold behind and depart on your own. But if I lose everything, then I shall submit to whatever Master Zibo decides!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Zibo stroked his beard and sneered coldly for a moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As the sky darkened, Gongsun Xun returned to the military tent. Aside from Yang Kai and Qian Zhao, who had already departed first to seize Lunshi and Yangcheng, the army's commanders—from Cao Cao and Cheng Pu down to Gongsun Yue—had mostly gathered here... It turned out that after more than half the corpses had been burned during the day, a restlessness had arisen in the ranks, and they were impatiently preparing to discuss the entire army relocating its camp to Yangzhai.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There's no need to delay here any longer,\" Cao Cao said with a yawn. \"The great battle was decided in a single day, Bo Cai has already been beheaded, Yangzhai is in our hands, and the task of sweeping the south of the commandery has been taken up by the two Commandants... In my view, although some corpses remain, they are scattered in various places and not worth the labor of the main army. We can fully entrust this to the local officials of Changshe, Yangzhai, Yingyin, and the like, and have them mobilize the local laborers to do it. Let us strike camp with the entire army and go to Yangzhai to rest and recover!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The others also spoke up one after another, but most agreed with Cao Cao's words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even Guan Yu, who never went along with the mainstream, stroked his beard and spoke plainly, saying the weather was too hot, and after such a great slaughter, the soldiers were quite exhausted... there was indeed no harm in doing so.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, Gongsun Xun, the only one who could make the decision, though he too loathed this place and wished to go to Yangzhai to recover as soon as possible, could not help but hesitate and worry. What he worried about was not that the locals would slack off or the like... after all, with lives at stake, presumably no one would be negligent... but how long would it take to assemble these local laborers? And did they truly possess that 'scientific' awareness of prevention?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The weather was so scorching hot that corpses would begin to rot within two or three days. With him, Gongsun Xun, here watching, making the soldiers and captives cover their mouths and noses and forbidding them from stripping the rotting corpses' clothes, presumably no one would dare disobey, right? But what if he were not here?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this thought, Gongsun Xun gritted his teeth and acted the autocrat—according to his military orders, the wounded, most of the baggage train, and the utterly exhausted cavalry along with their horses could proceed to Yangzhai first. But the majority of the infantry, a small portion of the cavalry, and all able-bodied captives were to remain here, continue searching for corpses, and burn them on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun's prestige in this army grew day by day. Since he had formally issued a military order, though the men were dissatisfied, not one dared to voice complaints publicly; they simply accepted it on the spot.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>And with that, the military council came to an end.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But that very night, a disturbance suddenly arose in the camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is all this noise about?\" When Han Dang woke Gongsun Xun, he was utterly baffled. After stepping out of the tent and facing the various commanders who had hurried over, he even felt a surge of anger. \"When have their rewards ever been lacking? I merely ask them to stay an extra day or two—why must they raise a clamor at night? Can one be careless about something like a plague?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, do not be troubled,\" just then, the short and stout Dong Zhao, belly thrust forward and clothes draped over his shoulders, also hurried over. As soon as he spoke from a distance, he immediately calmed Gongsun Xun down. \"It is certainly not our own soldiers. If soldiers raised a mutiny under a lord who provides for them as you do, where in the world would there not be chaos? In my view, it must be that rumors have arisen among the captives.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Not only Gongsun Xun, but everyone suddenly understood.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A short while later, the Army Protector Major Gongsun Yue indeed investigated the entire sequence of events and came to report in full battle gear.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It turned out, just as Dong Zhao had surmised, that rumors had arisen among the captives. After the day's military council, the baggage train and cavalry had all been packing their gear, and then fully armed infantry had shifted camp to the perimeter of the captive camp to guard them. At that time, the captives were already at a loss and growing suspicious. Later, when Wang Xiu, following military orders, sent men to pick out the wounded, old, and weak among the captives to prepare to depart the next day with the cavalry and baggage train, the captives became even more panicked!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, at the time, the Han army had just finished shifting camp in full battle gear, so they dared not voice their discussions aloud. Only when night fell could they no longer restrain themselves from talking to one another. And after a round of discussion, they became extremely suspicious that they would be collectively buried alive the next day, yet had nowhere to flee! Hence the panic, the weeping in each other's arms, and even the clamorous agitation!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord, do not be troubled,\" a moment later, as more and more people gathered around Gongsun Xun, Cheng Pu also finally arrived in full battle gear. \"I have already ordered the camp to stand to arms and made proper arrangements... Over twenty thousand captives with no weapons in hand cannot stir up any real trouble.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Only then did everyone finally breathe a complete sigh of relief.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My lord,\" at this moment, Wei Yue, standing behind him, suddenly interjected. \"Such rebels, and now this kind of trouble—why go to the painstaking effort of relocating them to Yangzhai for settlement? If you ask me, we might as well truly bury them, to prevent future trouble!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wei Yue, Wei Zidu, was a scoundrel from the border regions, as everyone in the army well knew. Therefore, few paid any heed to his words—only Guan Yu narrowed his eyes and glanced at him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, just as Gongsun Xun was about to rebuke him, he suddenly caught sight of someone beside him, and his heart stirred. He turned directly toward that person and asked, \"What does Brother Mengde think? Should we administer a slight punishment?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Cao Cao pondered for a moment, but then immediately shook his head repeatedly: \"After all, there is a reason for this. Burying them alive is far too absurd... My idea is that we can pick out a few ringleaders who stirred up trouble and, according to the squads and fives previously organized for the captives, apply collective punishment!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"And what does Xuande think?\" Gongsun Xun then called upon another person by name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I...\" Liu Bei, who had remained silent all along, pondered for a moment, but surprisingly did not give his own opinion. \"I truly do not know how this should be handled. I beg my lord to judge clearly.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun nodded slightly at these words, but then slowly shook his head.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He nodded because his internal assessment and judgment of Cao Cao and Liu Bei had been correct.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Among them, Cao Mengde had quite the Legalist style, but he was not cruel by nature, still less could he be a born villainous hero. How could a man think of massacring cities and killing captives the moment he first stepped onto the battlefield? In truth, the Cao Mengde of whom his own mother spoke—'I would rather betray the world than let the world betray me'—was more a figure gradually nurtured by the chaos of the age. Liu Bei was similar: facing a world of chaos just beginning, still very young and utterly without a clue, he did not even have his own opinion, and so could only remain silent, choosing to learn and observe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>They both still needed experience... whether positive or negative... but both had great prospects.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As for shaking his head, it was because Gongsun Xun had long since made his decision. To be honest, if these were newly surrendered troops he intended to take for his own use, Gongsun Xun might well have staged a drama of spending the night in the surrendered troops' camp to win their hearts. However, these twenty thousand or so men were merely captives who had escaped with their lives because remnant troops still existed throughout Yingchuan. Was he mad, to play such a game?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gentleman does not stand beneath a crumbling wall!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Guard them closely, intimidate them severely. If any try to flee, kill without mercy. If they do not rebel, pay them no heed!\" Gongsun Xun instructed Cheng Pu, then turned directly and headed back into his tent, seemingly intent on continuing his sleep.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men were momentarily bewildered.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why bother with these captives?\" Lu Fan suddenly grasped the point and laughed. \"Tomorrow they will naturally know we do not intend to bury them alive. In a few more days, once the imperial court's decree arrives, they will likely have nothing more to do with us! Since Demou has already made proper arrangements, let each of you return to your own camps and pacify your own troops. That is all!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The men suddenly understood and silently returned to their camps.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after a night of panic, none had slept well, and when they awoke in the early morning, most were weary. But fortunately, the twenty thousand or so captives gradually came to their senses and settled down, and after this incident, they became even more diligent and honest, which actually made the work of collecting corpses considerably easier.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Yet there were exceptions—Gongsun Xun, for instance, seemed to have slept extremely well the previous day, only rising leisurely when the sun was already high, which drew particular envy.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Two pigs!\" Inside Yangzhai city, Lou Zibo, who had not slept all night, his eyes bloodshot, calmly threw down two of the five wooden cards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Zhicai, his own eyes bloodshot and his forehead drenched in sweat, looked at the single wooden card left in his hand, truly helpless, while the neighbor beside him also shook his head repeatedly.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Another two pigs!\" Lou Zibo threw down two more cards.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This time, Xi Zhicai's face flushed red all the way through.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"One ox.\" Lou Zibo slammed down the last card in his hand, then said calmly, \"You two, give me the money.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Zhicai looked down at his last ingot of gold, pursed his lips and said nothing for a long moment, but in the end, gritted his teeth and pushed that ingot of gold out: \"A bet is a bet.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Seeing this, that neighbor also hastily threw out an ingot of gold, then clutched his remaining five or six ingots and hurried away.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lou Zibo swung his legs off the couch, opened the window, and under the blinding sunlight, he abruptly narrowed his eyes. Then, stroking his beard, he turned back and fixed his gaze intently on the sole remaining person on the couch. Xi Zhicai, unnerved by the stare, forced himself to remain composed and boldly met the other's gaze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I recall that Brother Zhicai has no wife?\" Lou Gui suddenly asked a baffling question while stroking his beard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Th-that is correct!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Judging by the state of your home, I presume your parents also passed away early?\" Lou Gui continued, stroking his beard.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Everyone knows that,\" Xi Zhicai could not help but sweat again on his forehead. \"Otherwise, how would I have fallen into such dissolute wandering?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Earlier... yesterday, you also said you would accept the loss and submit to my disposal?\" Lou Gui asked, still stroking his beard as if he had not heard the other's words, his gaze growing increasingly strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Indeed!\" Xi Zhicai answered with effort. \"A true man...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That settles it, then. Men!\" Lou Zibo suddenly shouted. \"Tie up this incorrigible gambler, put him in a large wooden chest... and carry him through the streets right now to the county office, to Judge Shen Zhengnan!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xi Zhicai was dumbstruck, then tried to speak but stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"If it weren't for this unbearable summer heat, and you being so frail,\" Lou Zibo stroked his beard and sneered, \"I would certainly have you put in a wooden chest and delivered directly to my general... You should count yourself fortunate!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With that, he strode out haughtily with his hands behind his back.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>As several sworn followers swarmed in, Xi Zhicai once again tried to speak but stopped.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>—————I am the tried-to-speak-but-stopped-again dividing line———————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"In the past, Xun routed the Yellow Turbans and subdued tens of thousands. At nightfall, encamped at Changshe, suddenly a disturbance arose in the night and fires broke out, throwing the entire army into chaos. Xun then said to those around him: 'Do not move. I treat my soldiers as my own limbs; how could they turn against me? This must be the surrendered troops stirred by rumors, causing a slight disturbance.' He then ordered all units in the army to remain seated, weapons in hand, and reassembled the officers under his tent, and calm was restored. When the matter was settled, it was indeed found that because the army was relocating camp, the surrendered troops were all fearful, with rumors spreading that they would be buried alive. In the night they huddled together weeping, until the clamor grew so restless that they set fires in resistance. All were filled with admiration. At the time, Cao Cao served as deputy general and argued that the surrendered troops had violated discipline and could indeed be buried alive. Xun remained silent and did not respond, then simply put on a single layer of clothing and entered the surrendered troops' camp, lodging in the central tent. The officers were all astonished and stood guard without rest. By daybreak, Xun emerged from the tent with composure, and the surrendered troops all kowtowed without ceasing, deeply moved by his virtue. All admired him even more.\" — Records of Late Han Heroes, Wang Can\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: This chapter is for tonight... because I have to go out and take care of some things this evening, I stayed up late to write it out. It's a bit rushed, please forgive me.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",5393,"2026-06-04T19:42:26.060Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","3b95daf049371dd3583c9e2b3d51987cb2b2d8d404bc1a830e305f14c31b988b","overthrowing-han-chapter-248","overthrowing-han-chapter-246",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]