Chapter 266: Heroes Like Dirt, Soldiers Like Iron (Part 1)

It was indeed good news, for Pingyuan was after all also in Hebei, right next to Qinghe, and did not fall outside the circle. More importantly, the gap in status between the two sides was too great. Gongsun Xun asked himself and found he had not wronged Liu Bei in the slightest, so as long as he himself did not fall, he had no fear that the other would slip from his grasp.

As for the matter of that Qu Commander surnamed Pei, he actually knew about it too... Thus, at this moment, aside from a sigh that this lad truly could win people over, there was nothing more to say.

He looked over the copied list in his hands a while longer, and the newly appointed General of the Guard, Gongsun Xun, was on the whole quite satisfied.

After all, setting aside Fu Xie, Lu Bu, Sun Jian, Li Jin, and those others who each had their own paths, the rest were all hastily recommended that very night after learning the court was going to re-establish the Commandant posts. In doing so, he had to consider each man's native place and record so the court could raise no objection, while also, with a measure of self-interest, striving to place them in relative proximity — Wei Commandery, Zhao State, Qinghe, plus the widow Gongsun Yue was soon to marry, and his own Henei, faintly forming a contiguous band that seemed to wrap around Jizhou.

To put it bluntly, if the Son of Heaven really did croak within half a year, then at that time, though he dared not claim to compare with the Yuans, whose four generations of Three Excellencies had disciples and former clerks filling the realm, at the very least he could contend for this small patch of Hebei.

Of course, Gongsun Xun understood in his heart that the reckoning could not be made so simply. If one truly spoke of former clerks, the man who would later become the grand Governor of Jizhou, Han Fu himself, was a former clerk of the Yuan clan — how could you compare? Even Dong Zhuo had been a subordinate officer under Yuan Kui when the latter was one of the Three Excellencies! And did that stop him from chopping off his old master's head?

Moreover, things could never be entirely smooth sailing. In officialdom, accidents were too many — today so-and-so's parents die, tomorrow some river-crossing dragon appears elsewhere — all were commonplace. Not to mention, though the court was at this moment exceedingly generous to the heroes who quelled the rebellion, the future suppression was almost palpable. In another year or half, how many of these men could truly hold their seats steady was hard to say.

In the final analysis, the greatest pillar of this small group that had faintly begun to take embryonic form was, from beginning to end, still himself — General of the Guard, Grand Administrator of Henei, Marquis of Ji, Gongsun Xun!

At this very moment, one could only say that looking over this list with a touch of wine in him felt rather good, that was all.

"What did the three Excellencies — Lu, Dong, and Wang — have to say?" This time it was Gongsun Fan who took the initiative to ask.

"What could they say?" Gongsun Xun replied, pulling the calico cat back over to scratch its chin while reclining sideways directly on the couch. "Half of Luoyang went out to welcome the three of them upon their release from prison. Teacher Lu and Excellency Dong had long since made their positions known. It is said that in a couple of days, when the reign name changes, they will take the chance to be reinstated. Excellency Dong may even take a route such as Court Gentleman and wait a while longer. Teacher Lu, I reckon, will return directly to the Imperial Secretariat. As for Wang Yun, Wang Zishi, his case is somewhat difficult."

"What difficulty is there in that?" Gongsun Fan, still sitting upright across a low table, could not help but be puzzled. "Excellency Lu and Excellency Dong are both doing so — should Excellency Wang not simply resume his post as Inspector of Yuzhou and continue his tour of inspection there?"

"That is what is being said," Gongsun Yan said, stroking the cat on his chest while gazing indifferently at the ceiling. "But it is still not the same. Teacher Lu and Excellency Dong's affairs were military matters; now that the Yellow Turbans are pacified, they have no lingering troubles. But Wang Zishi's imprisonment this time was the result of a head-on clash with Zhang Rang, ending in utter defeat... Do those eunuchs seem like the sort who do not hold grudges? So, if Wang Zishi knows what's good for him and voluntarily resigns to return home, then he will naturally be fine. But if he insists on continuing to serve as the Regional Governor of Yuzhou, I fear he will have to fight another round first."

"A man as unyielding as Wang Zishi — how could he possibly back down?" Gongsun Fan across from him shook his head. "The realm has only just settled into stability; it is precisely the time for rest and recuperation, yet the eunuchs still will not let people live in peace..."

Gongsun Xun let out a cold laugh: "You speak as if the scholars and partisans are willing to let the eunuchs off."

Gongsun Fan was instantly speechless.

"Let us just watch and see!" Gongsun Xun understood the matter in his heart, and thus brought the topic to an end.

After these words were spoken, the two brothers sat each on their own couch, separated by a low table, and unexpectedly fell silent at the same moment. A short while later, they simultaneously seemed about to speak, then hesitated.

"Elder brother, please speak first," Gongsun Fan hastily deferred.

"You speak first," Gongsun Xun replied blankly, holding the cat and staring up at the ceiling.

"I wished to ask, when elder brother saw Excellency Lu earlier, was there anything said?" Gongsun Fan asked cautiously.

"Let alone Teacher Lu, even Excellency Dong felt somewhat awkward upon seeing me." Gongsun Xun laughed again at these words. "In former days, when I was a student of commoner status, Teacher Lu was already of the two-thousand-bushel rank; when I was a Major of a Separate Command, Excellency Dong was already the Regional Governor of Bingzhou; and now that I am General of the Guard, the two of them have just emerged from prison... How could they give me a pleasant face? For this reason, after performing the proper courtesies, I did not draw too near, and merely shared a table and drank quite a bit of wine with Wang Zishi."

"That is not what I meant," Gongsun Fan said helplessly after making an effort to hear him out. "I wanted to ask elder brother, are you aware that the concubine you previously had me deliver to Teacher Lu... is now clearly with child? It may well be that by the end of the year or early next year, she will add a young son or daughter to Excellency Lu's household."

Gongsun Xun was instantly speechless. Only after a long while did he fling the skinny cat from his arms, sit up, and force a dry laugh: "This is good news."

"Yes, this is good news," Gongsun Fan replied awkwardly. "Then what was elder brother about to say just now?"

"It is about Teacher Liu," Gongsun Xun hurriedly composed his expression and spoke with solemnity. "I see his health is growing worse and worse. As his students, we ought to do our utmost... But the day after tomorrow, after the reign name changes, I must leave Luoyang to take up my post. You, on your part, and A-Yue, who will hurry to his post after his wedding, must together take good care of him on my behalf."

Gongsun Fan naturally had nothing to say to that.

"Do not trust those witch-doctors. Have him drink more hot water. Wine is not entirely forbidden, but it must be warmed... It would be best to find some means and prescriptions to aid sleep. And during the winter, you must both ensure the kang in his residence is kept constantly heated, and also frequently ventilate to disperse stale air... Keep plenty of ginseng on hand... For a man of his age, the difficulty often lies in winter. If he can endure this winter, perhaps he will improve greatly."

Gongsun Xun spoke in a very scattered and rambling manner, and Gongsun Fan listened with extreme attentiveness. Yet after this rambling discourse went on for a few sentences, there was ultimately nothing more to be said. Even Gongsun Xun himself found it tedious, and merely let out a long sigh.

And so, the two brothers took their leave of each other. The younger brother went to the side courtyard, while Gongsun Xun, openly and without ceremony, carried the cat to the rear courtyard to seek out his concubine and his son.

Promotion in rank and elevation in nobility, a beloved young son and a cherished pet, coupled with a beautiful concubine's attentive service — of that night, there is naturally no need to speak further.

The next day, Gongsun Xun formally appointed Han Dang as Major under the General of the Guard; Lu Fan as Chief Clerk of the General of the Guard; Lou Gui and Xi Zhong as Attendant Internuncios of the General of the Guard; Wang Xiu and Zao Zhi as Ordinance Clerks of the General of the Guard; Wei Yue as Leader of Official Cavalry. Yang Kai, who was still garrisoned in Henei, was likewise pre-designated as a Leader of Official Cavalry... And from the White Horse Volunteers, twenty men whose seniority, ability, and origins were all beyond reproach were selected to serve respectively as Aides-de-Camp and Equerries to the General.

This was only right and proper. These men had followed Gongsun Xun for so many years; now that he could attend to both public and private interests, giving them proper titles and positions, it was naturally impossible to treat them shabbily any longer.

Of course, apart from this, according to regulations, Gongsun Xun could also recruit nineteen more Aides-de-Camp and twenty-one more Equerries, and even thirty ceremonial Official Cavalry... These positions, especially the Aides-de-Camp and Equerries, were all posts that straddled public and private duty, carrying the treatment of proper official status. Moreover, under the current recommendation system, they were recognized as a formal path of entry into officialdom and were highly sought after.

Thus, rather than saying they were for recruiting men to handle official business, it would be more accurate to say they were formal recommendation quotas bestowed by the court... However, it was quite obvious that all these would have to be filled gradually after arriving in Henei.

Another day passed, and the central government issued an edict: with the Yellow Turbans pacified, the reign name was changed to Zhongping, making it the first year of Zhongping.

On the same day, the request of the General of Chariots and Cavalry of the Left and Governor of Jizhou, Huangfu Song, was granted, and the poll tax for Jizhou was remitted for one year.

On the same day, the central government issued another decree: in light of meritorious service in quelling the rebellion, and with bandit unrest still persisting in various places, all those who had attained official rank through military merit were exempted from entering Luoyang and from paying the office-purchase fee, and were to proceed directly to their posts.

On the same day, Dong Zhuo was reinstated as Court Gentleman, Lu Zhi was reinstated as Master of Writing, and Wang Yun was reinstated as Inspector of Yuzhou.

Such was the scene; one could only say that the realm, perhaps, possibly, was truly about to enter Zhongping — a time of peace and equilibrium.

And on that very same day, after hastily bidding farewell to Liu Kuan and having Gongsun Fan take his place to say goodbye to Lu Zhi, Gongsun Xun took the light carriage on the familiar route, crossed Meng Ford, and once again arrived in Henei Commandery.

However, this land he had traversed back and forth countless times had now become territory under Gongsun Xun's governance. And precisely because of this, Gongsun Xun traveled with greater attentiveness this time. After crossing the river, he headed east from Meng Ford toward the administrative seat at Huai County, inspecting and looking about ceaselessly along the way. Not content with that, when he reached Wen County midway, he even made a special stop.

This was both natural and unavoidable — as an outsider newly arrived, faced with a large commandery of a million people and over a dozen counties, he had to, and could only, choose the local great clans and prominent households as his point of entry.

The only difference was that a capable man could seize the initiative in this process and keep these clans firmly suppressed and compliant, while a fool would be led by the nose by the clans in the process.

In fact, back in Zhongshan, Gongsun Xun had also started with the Zhen clan and gradually gained control over the entire Zhongshan.

"Tell Sima Lang that a colleague of his father, Sima Fang, has come to pay a visit to the Sima clan, and bid him come out to lead the way." Outside the hamlet gate where the Sima clan resided in the outskirts of Wen County, Gongsun Xun, with immense malice, called out the personal name of Sima Lang's own father to the somewhat flustered hamlet gate warden.

He wanted to see what reaction that child, who had once jumped out to posture sanctimoniously because he had uttered his father's personal name, would have now when faced with even greater teasing from himself.

Yet, an interesting scene immediately unfolded. Faced with five hundred awe-inspiring White Horse cavalry riders, faced with a nobleman in full regalia with purple cord and gold seal, this mere unranked hamlet gate warden, an old greybeard of forty or fifty, as he gritted his teeth, trembled, bowed low, and prostrated himself, at the same time cautiously spoke:

"Noble sir, I shall go at once to fetch the eldest young master of the Sima clan from the western quarter for you. But there is one word I must speak... You, sir, are a nobleman, and should all the more observe propriety. To call a son by his father's personal name before him is truly a lapse in decorum."

Not to mention Gongsun Xun, even his attendants Lu Fan, Lou Gui, and the others were dumbstruck... So, even the gatekeepers of the Sima family had this much backbone?

"Nonsense!" Just as Gongsun Xun and the others were left speechless, Wei Yue suddenly leaped out from behind, directly drawing his blade and bellowing. "My lord is the court-appointed General of the Guard, Grand Administrator of Henei, and Marquis of Ji! That you people can dwell here in peace at this moment is entirely thanks to him commanding the military at the front and sweeping away the Yellow Turbans! He merely called out a man's name — how does that warrant being rebuked by a mere hamlet gate warden?"

The hamlet gate warden, from the moment the other drew his blade, had panicked and toppled backward onto the ground. Yet, faced with Wei Yue's utterly unrestrained action, neither Gongsun Xun, nor Lu Fan, nor Han Dang made any move to stop him.

——————— I am the dividing line of the smug villain ——————

"The Grand Ancestor, through his achievements, rose to General of the Guard, Marquis of Ji, and concurrent Grand Administrator of Henei. At that time, Henei had repeatedly suffered from bandit troubles. Hearing that the Grand Ancestor was arriving, the bandits fled into hiding, and the scholars and commoners were roused to joy. Along the roads, seeing the white horses' tracks, they welcomed him with baskets of food and gourds of drink." — Old Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, the Martial Emperor

PS: The word count is a bit awkward, but can you all guess who the first talent Xun the dog recruited in Henei was? A very obvious hint has already been given. A figure from the official histories, a key minister of Cao Wei.

(End of Chapter)