Chapter 316: Advancing, Retreating, Then Crossing the River

The arrival of this messenger was only the beginning. Over the following days, more and more information was rushed by further couriers from the south to Guanzi City... and correspondingly, Gongsun Xun also learned more of the details.

For instance, just after the Son of Heaven died, after Jian Shuo accepted the task of protecting Liu Xie — whether it was swelling personal ambition or utterly baseless slander — it was said that he planned to kill He Jin while the officials entered the palace for mourning, and even harbored the idea of setting aside the elder to establish the younger, making Liu Xie emperor.

And as for the result — since the news could reach Guanzi City, it naturally shows that this idea remained merely an idea.

In reality, He Jin held great power. At the palace gate, a Military Major named Pan Yin, whom Jian Shuo had stationed there, directly chose betrayal. This man, gripping his weapon, repeatedly shot meaningful glances at He Jin, frightening Grand General He so badly that he turned his carriage around on the spot and fled to the military camp. Then He Suigao immediately mobilized troops, took control of the key government offices, and used the pretext of illness to direct the situation from outside the palace, pressing for the Crown Prince to ascend the throne.

In other words, He Jin never entered the palace at all to mourn the Son of Heaven.

Another example: as soon as the Son of Heaven died, in the mourning hall, his wife Empress He, who had just become Empress Dowager, and his mother Empress Dowager Dong, who had just become Grand Empress Dowager, cursed and threatened each other with the extermination of their clans... The discord between these mother-in-law and daughter-in-law was known to all, but with blades drawn outside and the succession of the prince at stake within, for the two dowagers, each with a prince in hand, to still be quarreling at such a moment — it was destined not to be dismissed as a simple domestic matter.

Yet another example: before the Son of Heaven died, he attempted once more to bring Dong Zhuo under control, and the method he used was exactly the same as the one applied to Gongsun Xun — ordering Dong Zhuo to go to Bingzhou as Governor of Bingzhou, and also giving him the task of pacifying the Baibo and Xiongnu rebellions.

But Dong Zhongying remained utterly fearless. He led his five thousand troops at a sluggish pace to the border of Hedong, and then simply refused to move further... And sure enough, the Son of Heaven soon could not hold on. Dong Zhuo then shifted to Fengling Ferry in Hedong, sitting and waiting for the most important person in his life to appear.

As for what happened after that, it was beyond what Gongsun Xun could know, because information took time to travel, and Gongsun Xun had long since left Guanzi City.

Indeed, Gongsun Xun did not know that the Son of Heaven's death was actually connected to him in some way. And at this stage, even if he had known, he probably would not have cared, because this General of the Guard had finally made up his mind under the impact of the great upheaval in Luoyang — he would swiftly end the chaos in Youzhou, complete the arrangement of first securing the interior before repelling external threats, and then turn south to pursue the immense political gains offered by the Luoyang crisis.

But all of this, every plan, required him to take Liucheng first... So he accepted Duan Riyuming's invitation, concentrated all seven thousand cavalry at Guanzi City, and advanced directly north to Liucheng.

"Grand General He will certainly win!" During the march, at the first halt to rest, Xi Zhicai reaffirmed his view beside the campfire. "Jian Shuo, a eunuch suddenly elevated, cannot command obedience. He cannot even firmly grasp the military power in his hands — what does he have to contend with the Grand General, who has the noble houses, the scholar-officials, and the righteous title of the Crown Prince on his side? Of the Second Prince Liu Xie's two pillars of support, Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong, neither will survive."

"That is inevitable." Gongsun Xun watched a tribal chieftain with braided hair beside him personally crumbling salted fish into a soup for him, and answered without a second thought. "But once Jian Shuo and Dong Zhong are removed and the Crown Prince's position is secure — what then?"

"That is indeed the question." Xi Zhong sighed. "The scholar-officials and noble houses have supported the Grand General for so long. If the Grand General cannot kill the Ten Regular Attendants for them, how could they let the matter rest? And the Ten Regular Attendants are intimately close with Empress Dowager He... Empress He. Zhang Rang even had his adopted son marry the youngest of the four He siblings. How could Grand General He easily make up his mind?"

"So He Suigao will inevitably seek to strengthen his own position..." Gongsun Xun suddenly had a flash of insight.

"Exactly." Xi Zhong also suddenly saw the light. "That is the only path. He must make his own power surpass all the old factions in Luoyang. Only then can he deal with the eunuchs at his leisure, or avoid being coerced by the partisans. However, outside forces inevitably come with their own allegiances and inclinations. The slightest misstep could lead to disaster. Only then will the moment for great endeavors truly arrive."

Gongsun Xun suddenly fell silent, and Xi Zhicai also abruptly shut his mouth.

It was not that they could not continue reasoning further, but that it was meaningless. Gongsun Xun was still on the road to Liucheng; discussing the situation in Luoyang thousands of li away was truly pointless. Besides, the two men speaking here were both somewhat frustrated in their hearts... The previous expedition had been carried out entirely by the two of them, lord and minister. And the result? They had circled around for a long time and gained nothing. It was even possible that this blind sortie had drawn Liu Yu and Zhao Bao to them.

They were the very epitome of a loss outweighing the gain. One could even say that the previous expedition had brought no gain at all, only loss.

And was this not precisely the important reason Gongsun Xun was here now? Both he and Xi Zhong wanted to end this war swiftly and turn to accomplish great things!

"Grand General!" Amid the silence, the soup with crumbled salted fish was ready. The tribal chieftain personally ladled a bowl of hot soup and brought it over. "With three parts salted fish... and a fresh fish found in the river. Please enjoy it slowly."

"Ah, my thanks for your trouble, chieftain. I do not yet know which tribe's hero the chieftain is?" Gongsun Xun took the hot soup without much thought and asked casually.

It must be said, because this was a hasty advance concentrating cavalry, and apart from the six hundred White Horse Volunteers and Gao Shun's thousand-man unit, which were the elite of the elite, the rest — whether the 'select' troops from various mixed Hu tribes or the 'select' knights-errant and sons of good families who had joined the army from various commanderies and counties — were all typical examples of organized but undisciplined forces. Thus, after a day's hard ride, except for Gao Shun's unit at the front and the White Horse Volunteers in the central army, which did not descend into chaos, most of the other troops had lost their original marching order. And at this moment, the ones who had collided with Gongsun Xun's own White Horse Volunteers were precisely a mixed Hu tribe of which Gongsun Xun himself had no impression whatsoever.

"Uh..." This tribal chieftain was momentarily at a loss, and only then cautiously reported his name. "To be honest with the Grand General, we are one of the Twelve Qifen Tribes. Because I have had sturdy legs since childhood, I am called Qifen Gong."

Grand General, my lord, lowly one — this kind of jumbled address was only used haphazardly by the mixed Hu of the border commanderies. But conversely, spoken language is the fundamental source of written meaning. From this perspective, the language used by these lowly and laughable people today might one day replace the refined tones of Luoyang and become a more vital form of expression.

And amidst this jumbled yet comprehensible speech, Gongsun Xun slowly nodded, and then naturally recalled the origin of this tribe.

The so-called Twelve Qifen Tribes referred to twelve mixed Hu tribes in the Liaoxi region who bore the surname Qifen. During the period when Tanshihuai rampaged across the steppe, these twelve tribes claimed to be Xianbei people. But those who knew their true background understood that their ancestors were Xiongnu. It was just that when the Xiongnu split in two back then, one Southern Xiongnu tribe was unwilling to go to Bingzhou, nor willing to follow the Northern Xiongnu in their westward migration, so they led their people to settle near Liaoxi, gradually splitting into twelve tribes, and that was how they came to be.

Actually, if it were only that, they might still be considered to have a long history. But in order to survive, these twelve Qifen-surnamed tribes intermarried everywhere with local natives, Xianbei, and Wuhuan, and their bloodlines had long since become a complete mess. Moreover, because these twelve tribes of the same surname maintained contact with each other and continued to be collectively called Qifen, yet were not under unified command, they swayed in all directions... Calling them mixed Hu could not be more accurate.

Therefore, when those tribal chieftains were previously brought into Lulong Fortress to be pacified, Gongsun Xun had not paid them much attention at all.

As for why Gongsun Xun could still recall their background among the hundred mixed Hu tribes beyond the frontier at this moment, it was not that their story was particularly interesting, but rather that the surname Qifen was far too interesting... Qifen is a Xianbei word, and translated, it means Heavenly King.

In other words, these Twelve Qifen Tribes of mixed Hu in Liaoxi, when translated, were the Twelve Heavenly King Tribes of Liaoxi... With a name like that, it would be hard to forget, wouldn't it?

Of course, most of the time, these twelve tribes, along with their mighty and domineering name, merely served as a laughingstock... The Twelve Heavenly King Tribes, with barely two or three thousand people combined, could hardly even protect themselves.

"Qifen Gong," before the campfire, Gongsun Xun took a casual sip of the salted fish soup and smiled as he inquired. "Of your Twelve Qifen Tribes, how many came seeking me this time, and how many went to Qiuliju's side? Speak truthfully, I will not blame you."

Qifen Gong had probably experienced too many such situations, or had long been prepared, for he knelt and kowtowed almost without thinking: "Grand General, your insight is clear. Our Twelve Qifen Tribes are too scattered. I am unclear about the situation in the north, but when the three southern tribes heard that the Grand General had arrived at Lulong Fortress, they all followed one after another. I imagine that in a few more days, when the remaining four central tribes hear of the Grand General's movements, they will certainly take the initiative to come and reinforce us... The Grand General and the Gongsun clan's kindness to us is something we have never forgotten."

Gongsun Xun chuckled lightly, still not taking it seriously, and merely gestured for the other to rise. This time he was making a swift raid with light troops; every bit of fighting strength was extremely precious, and he could not demand perfection.

Qifen Gong was overjoyed and immediately rose. Seeing Gongsun Xun lower his head to drink the soup, he hastily turned and barked at the people behind him in the Xianbei tongue, seemingly telling them to fetch flatbread... Of course, it went without saying that this dry flatbread was surely what Gongsun Xun had bestowed upon them earlier when they left Lulong Fortress.

Gongsun Xun continued to drink his soup with his head lowered. When he looked up again, he saw a dark-skinned youth in a dirty leather robe kneeling before him, holding up a hard flatbread with both hands.

Gongsun Xun casually took it, but as soon as he received it, he could not help but laugh. It turned out that this dark fellow was probably somewhat nervous and had gripped the bread too tightly. Now that he released it, an extremely obvious black handprint had been left on the white bread.

Beside the campfire, Xi Zhicai, Tian Yu, and Qifen Gong all saw this scene. The first two were naturally displeased, and the latter immediately stood up, kicked the dark-skinned person on the ground to the ground, and scolded him repeatedly. The dark-skinned youth of the Qifen tribe also hurriedly knelt in panic, allowing Qifen Gong to kick him at will.

Gongsun Xun understood a little Xianbei and immediately made out that this person was Qifen Gong's son... He was speechless at this tribal chieftain's performance.

Thereupon, Gongsun Xun calmly tore off the piece of bread crust stained with the smudge and clutched it in his hand, then took two bites of the bread with his soup before stopping the other: "Chieftain Qifen, his hands are so dirty precisely because he has been toiling on the march under my military orders for my campaign. How can you chastise him for such a thing? I have already eaten the bread. Do not blame him. Let him rise."

Qifen Gong immediately kowtowed in gratitude along with his swarthy son.

"What are you called?" Years of training as a superior had seeped a certain affectation into Gongsun Xun's very bones. Although deep down he truly looked down on these mixed Hu, since he needed to borrow their strength at this moment, it was not as if he could not put on his usual demeanor.

"In reply to the Grand General, my son is called Black Badger... He has been dark since he was little!" Qifen Gong, clearly afraid his son would cause more trouble, hurriedly kowtowed and answered before his son could. "And he liked to burrow randomly in the river beside the tribe, so we just casually gave him that name."

"Let him speak for himself." Gongsun Xun held his soup bowl and bread, eating as he spoke dismissively. "I see he has a sturdy build and is a brave warrior. He should understand the Han tongue as well. Why must you speak for him?"

"I am called Black Badger." The dark fellow hastily repeated it himself. "Because I have been dark since I was little."

"Being dark comes from the toil of much running about. It shows you are a pillar of your tribe in daily life." Gongsun Xun offered a word of encouragement. "Do not take today's matter to heart... Tian Yu."

"Your subordinate is here." Tian Yu, who had not yet received his coming-of-age cap, immediately responded.

"Take one of those fine ring-pommel swords used by the Volunteers and give it to this Black Badger Heavenly King." Gongsun Xun instructed thus, then lowered his head to focus on his soup, paying no more attention to the antics of the father and son before him.

The night passed without a word. Early the next morning, Gongsun Xun set out again, hurrying swiftly toward Liucheng.

It must be said, whether it was the Great Han Dynasty or Rome tens of thousands of li away, or even a thousand years later, any regular, formed, classical-style large force that wished to maintain a certain level of combat effectiveness after a march generally had a speed limit of around forty-plus li per day.

It was not impossible to go faster, but it required sacrificing combat effectiveness or resorting to unconventional measures... such as arranging supplies along the route, discarding the baggage train, or launching a full cavalry raid.

What Gongsun Xun was doing at this moment was precisely a full cavalry raid... no setting up camp, no erecting stockades, carrying seven or eight days' worth of dry rations, not sparing the horses, bearing iron pots and necessary supplies, marching in haste.

Even so, in order to preserve combat effectiveness upon reaching Liucheng, they could only cover sixty or seventy-plus li a day. And the distance of three hundred li theoretically required five days to reach.

The first two days passed without any issues. In fact, on the afternoon of the second day, Gongsun Xun even received absolutely good news from a mixed Hu tribe he encountered on the way — his father-in-law, the former Grand Administrator of Liaoxi and current General of the Right acting as Grand Administrator of Liaodong, had indeed swiftly crossed the sea and reached Liaodong. And as soon as this man appeared, before he had even mobilized his troops, he so frightened the Liaodong Wuhuan chieftain Su Puyan that Su Puyan hastily sought aid from Qiuliju. Qiuliju also immediately coerced and summoned a large number of mixed Hu from near the Daling River, crossed the Xiaoling River to the east, and headed toward the direction of Mount Wulu, clearly going to support Su Puyan.

The surrounding tribes all knew of this matter, and this information also meant that Duan Riyuming had not lied!

Thus, at noon on the third day, Gongsun Xun did not hesitate to lead his forces across the Daling River, entering the latter half of the journey. But that very evening, Gao Shun up ahead suddenly personally delivered another messenger from Duan Riyuming.

"Lord Marquis, proceed swiftly!" This man was drenched in sweat. Upon seeing Gongsun Xun, he immediately knelt and kowtowed. "My master sent me to inform the Lord Marquis that Qiuliju's main force is all east of the Xiaoling River and has not crossed Mount Wulu... Liucheng is likely a trap!"

The crowd was momentarily shocked and alarmed upon hearing this... Gongsun Xun said nothing, merely lowering his head to take a light sip of salted fish soup. Then, suddenly, he fiercely smashed the pottery bowl in his hand onto the soft spring turf.

In the glow of the campfire, the salted fish soup spilled onto the ground, and the pottery bowl rolled around with a gurgling sound, yet remained perfectly intact.

"My lord, your person is worth a thousand pieces of gold and must not be risked. The entire army is to withdraw west of the Daling River!" Xi Zhong gritted his teeth and issued the order on Gongsun Xun's behalf. "Our troops are all cavalry; once we cross the river, there will be nothing to worry about!"

————I am the most superb dividing line of salted fish soup————

"When the Grand Ancestor fought the Wuhuan, he crossed the Daling River with over seven thousand men. Suddenly, a messenger came from the Duan tribe of the Xianbei to report that the Wuhuan Chanyu Qiuliju had led twenty thousand troops in ambush east of the Xiaoling River and was coming to attack under cover of night. At that time, the troops were cooking hot soup over campfires in the wilds. They all turned pale and stood up in alarm, spilling soup all over the ground. Only the Grand Ancestor's expression did not change. He slowly sipped his soup, then raised his bowl and said: 'This bowl can trap the bandits!' Only then did the troops calm down." — The Old Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, the Martial Emperor

(End of Chapter)