[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-346":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},1223105,1620,"Chapter 346: Where Can Boat or Cart Not Reach a Crossing?","overthrowing-han-chapter-346",346,"\u003Cp>\"Those Xiliang curs have gone too far!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>With a sharp crack, an earthenware pot full of hot soup inside the dwelling was kicked to pieces on the floor, and steaming vapor immediately rose from the ground.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>This was Xiaopingjin, on the banks of the Yellow River north of Luoyang. The time was noon of the twentieth day of the twelfth month, and the man who had kicked the pot apart was none other than Lu Bu, styled Fengxian, the Cavalry Commander of Luoyang's northern sector, dressed in brocade robes and wearing a he-guan cap.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It was quite clear that this famed general of Bingzhou, who had recently been enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed General of the Household, was not in a particularly good mood at the moment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My Lord Marquis, why let yourself be angered by such people? They are merely envious that the General has gained the Chancellor's trust and favor, especially the rare bestowal of a marquisate—the very first granted within the army since the Chancellor assumed governance! So they just spout sour nonsense.\" Among the several men who had returned to the dwelling with Lu Bu, the highest-ranking was only a Qu Military Marquis, a man called Huang Yuan, styled Qianjiu. He was a fierce and valiant warrior from Xihe Commandery in Bingzhou. Back when Lu Bu had just become a Captain, he had brought several dozen Bingzhou wanderers to pledge allegiance, and now he was naturally counted among Lu Bu's trusted confidants, second only to his brother-in-law Wei Xu and a few others. At this moment, he naturally felt duty-bound to step forward and offer counsel.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Having been made General of the Household, which more or less made him a general, and enfeoffed as a marquis, which more or less made him a Lord Marquis, even though Lu Bu was in poor spirits, hearing this form of address and consolation did somewhat ease his anger.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It's not that I don't know the caliber of these people.\" Lu Bu turned and sat down on a heated couch in the room, then shook his head repeatedly. \"Nor is it that I don't know they are jealous... But Qianjiu, these people are truly incapable of accomplishing anything and only ruin affairs!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What does my Lord Marquis mean by that?\" Huang Yuan was momentarily puzzled. \"Isn't it just that scoundrel Hu Zhen, seeing that Jia Xu, a renowned scholar of Xiliang origin, is the local authority here at Xiaopingjin and thus inconvenient to plunder, used Yuan Shao's main army to the east as an excuse to forcibly split the forces and take his men to the wealthy Wushejin? A little bit of wealth and goods—just let them have it. The Chancellor has never been stingy with rewards.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I am not talking about wealth and goods.\" Lu Bu sighed, then picked up a bow from the couch and gently stroked the bowstring as he spoke. \"I am talking about military achievements...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Yuan still looked completely baffled.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You are all men of slaughter, with limited experience, so naturally you don't understand.\" Seeing this, Lu Bu became somewhat rueful. \"But I am different. I met the General of the Guards when I was barely twenty, and following his advice, I seized the opportunity to become a disciple of Master Cai. Then, upon entering official service, I immediately became an Attendant Official in the province... Because of this, I came to a realization early on: in this world, there are beauties like clouds and countless treasures. If you only fix your eyes on seizing and fighting for these things, you will instead be like those monkeys in the wilds—gaining little and losing much!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then what should one do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is a principle I also came to understand during the campaign against the Yellow Turbans.\" Lu Bu's expression gradually grew solemn as he sighed. \"If you can occupy a high position, then the beauties and wealth of the world will gather around you. And if you occupy an even higher position, then even more beauties and wealth will naturally come into your hands. But if a mediocre talent occupies a position above you, you will instead fail to obtain what should rightfully be yours... So, I say, a true man born into this world must never be content to languish beneath others! This is also why, in my entire life, I have only submitted to the Chancellor and the General of the Guards—no matter what, these two men have never been stingy with rewards for those who have merit!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>From Huang Yuan on down, the several men in the room gained some insight.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This time, the reason I am furious that scoundrel Hu Zhen wants to split the forces and go to Wushejin is not that I worry he will snatch the wealth of Wushejin, but that I worry once the forces are split, I will only have five thousand cavalry, and with the weather freezing cold, I simply cannot cross the river to achieve any merit or great deeds!\" At this point, Lu Bu's anger flared up again, impossible to quell. \"Anywhere else, I would have already killed this man to enforce military discipline! But as it happens, Hu Zhen is a Xiliang man, a fellow countryman of the Chancellor... The Chancellor handles matters fairly... but given the current situation in Luoyang, we Bingzhou men absolutely cannot arbitrarily deal with Liangzhou men. If I truly killed him, even if the Chancellor were magnanimous, the other Xiliang generals would regard me as an enemy! So I can only let this scoundrel lead his troops east to Wushejin!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No wonder my Lord Marquis says they are incapable of accomplishing anything and only ruin affairs!\" Huang Yuan also sighed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I originally wanted to win a battle before the new year, to let the Chancellor witness my military prowess, but who would have expected to encounter such a person?!\" Half furious and half dejected, Lu Bu waved his hand to dismiss the men. \"Go have someone prepare some wine and food, and also find Colonel Wei and the others. Let us, a few fellow Bingzhou countrymen, share a drink together.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Huang Yuan dared not delay and immediately led the order to go out and arrange the wine.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But just as he stepped outside the door, he heard the continuous thrumming of a bowstring behind him, and he couldn't help but quicken his pace.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be said, having followed Lu Bu for so long, how could Huang Yuan not know that this was the 'Lord Marquis' sitting on the couch, drawing his bow and releasing it empty as a way to vent his feelings? And how could he not know that this was a sign that the 'Lord Marquis's' mood was at its most suppressed?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A fierce tiger of the age, if it cannot roar long, can only sharpen its claws.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Leaving aside whether Lu Bu was drawing his bow or playing a zither, once Huang Yuan was out, he sent the men behind him to prepare wine and food, while he himself went personally to invite Wei Xu and the others... However, what Huang Qianjiu never expected was that one of those men, shortly after parting from his companions, turned into another dwelling in Xiaopingjin and then met face-to-face with a figure whom even Lu Bu held in wary respect.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Indeed, this man was none other than the Commandant of Xiaopingjin, Jia Xu, styled Wenhe.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Here, an additional word is necessary. Mengjin, Xiaopingjin, and Wushejin—these three fords, arrayed from west to east—were not simple ferry crossings, nor was Jia Wenhe a down-and-out man discarded by Chancellor Dong and sent out to watch a ferry.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, as the three major passages from Luoyang facing Hebei, these three fords north of the Luo had always been top-tier locations with military stockades, boats, civilian laborers, residents, officials, and merchants—integrated combinations of checkpoints, towns, and commercial districts.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even in a region like Henan, they had always been among the wealthiest and most critical places.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, returning to Jia Wenhe, one must understand that Jia Xu was a Xiliang man and also possessed 'military strategy,' so he was actually deeply trusted and heavily employed by Dong Zhuo.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In this standoff against the Guandong coalition army, Chancellor Dong and his trusted advisors had long ago guessed the opponent's strategy, which was to surround Luoyang's seven fords and checkpoints from three sides to pressure the city and force it to collapse from within... Therefore, correspondingly, Dong Zhongying had dispatched his most outstanding or most trusted men to the various checkpoints around Luoyang to respond.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For example, the skilled warrior Xu Rong had been sent early to garrison Huanhuan Pass; the commander of Dong Zhuo's trusted personal guards, Hua Xiong, had just been dispatched to defend Hulao Pass; and Jia Xu, after Xu Rong but before Hua Xiong, had been appointed as the Commandant of Xiaopingjin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>According to Han regulations, Xiaopingjin was one of the eight passes of Luoyang, with a specially appointed Commandant at the rank of two thousand shi, and this post had always belonged to the Imperial Guard establishment. And although Dong Zhuo valued military power above all else, this time he had specifically given Jia Xu three thousand troops. As for the enemy facing the three fords north of Luoyang, it was the leader of the Guandong coalition, Yuan Benchu, entrenched in Henei... Such an arrangement truly could not be said to show that Dong Zhuo did not value Jia Wenhe, nor could it be said that Jia Wenhe was not a core figure in the Xiliang army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Besides, back when Gongsun Xun first 'discovered' Jia Xu among the subordinate officials of the Grand Commandant and went on the campaign to Guanzhong, he consulted this man on every single plan... Others might not know this, but it would be a miracle if the soldiers in Luoyang and Guanxi did not know it.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So, to treat such a man as nothing more than a civil official watching a dock would be to have eyes but fail to recognize Mount Tai!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In fact, the root cause of Hu Zhen's insistence on splitting the forces this time was precisely that Jia Xu resolutely forbade the troops here from arbitrarily plundering the local populace and seizing women. And as it happened, Hu Zhen dared not truly offend Commandant Jia, so he adopted the attitude of 'if I can't afford to provoke you, I can afford to avoid you'—using the excuse that Yuan Benchu was encamped to the east, the weather was freezing, and the great river was frozen over, requiring precautions against Yuan Shao taking the chance to cross the river. Then he simply packed up and took his five thousand infantry off to ravage Wushejin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At this, Lu Bu flew into a great rage but was helpless, whereas Jia Wenhe seemed not particularly angry... because he knew that, given his reputation and authority within the Xiliang army, he could only barely protect Xiaopingjin and could manage no more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Is that what General Lu said?\" Jia Wenhe's expression remained unchanged after listening to the man's report. \"I understand. Go prepare the wine and food.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The man immediately kowtowed and left, and in the blink of an eye, the room was once again cold and desolate, seemingly with only the owner left once more.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Watching the man depart, Jia Xu's face showed neither joy nor anger. He simply sat blankly on the couch for a moment in thought, then rose and walked to the warming stove in the room, taking a bowl of hot ginger soup from the earthenware pot hanging above it. He did not go to the heated couch, nor did he sit down. He just stood there, head lowered, disregarding all decorum, drinking the soup in small sips without stopping, exactly as he had looked back in the day when he served as a military clerk in the Grand Commandant's office.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It must be said that in all of Xiaopingjin, from top to bottom, everyone could drink ginger soup in the winter—this was entirely Jia Xu's doing. After he arrived to take up his post, unlike the military men elsewhere who killed and plundered indiscriminately, treating the people under their jurisdiction like cattle and sheep, he had only used his authority to do two things that overstepped the norm.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The first was to take, without announcement, the goods left behind by fleeing merchants in the local trading posts, and then use these items to trade with surrounding areas for large quantities of cloth, medicine, and... raw ginger. The second was to massively mobilize corvée labor under the pretext of building military camps and repairing defenses, forcing the local gentry and commoners to go into the surrounding areas to fell trees and gather firewood... For this, the local people actually harbored much resentment against him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, as the latter part of winter arrived and a military standoff suddenly took shape, with troops everywhere, no one daring to go out, and transportation completely cut off, many people around Luoyang, especially those near strategic military points, suffered from cold and hunger. Only here in Xiaopingjin was there not only a supply of firewood, but if you were willing to work for the army, cloth was even distributed as wages. There were even clerks who brewed large cauldrons of ginger soup daily and distributed it freely throughout the ford, from officials to clerks, from soldiers to civilians, treating everyone equally.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>By this time, the local people's praise came flooding in, yet Jia Xu still wore that same indifferent, deadpan expression.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Taking small, slow sips, he drank three bowls of ginger soup in succession. Jia Wenhe, dressed in ordinary cloth robes with a leather coat underneath, wiped his mouth with his sleeve in a thoroughly undignified manner, then abruptly left the warm dwelling and walked out into the bone-chilling wind.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A moment later, he had arrived outside Lu Bu's bustling quarters... The attendants at the door hurriedly reported his arrival, startling Lu Fengxian into hastily leading his men out to welcome him.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The two exchanged a brief half-sentence of pleasantries before entering the dwelling together. But as soon as he stepped inside Lu Bu's quarters, Jia Xu suddenly stopped in his tracks: \"The General of Tiger's Might is in excellent spirits!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The room was littered with the remains of wine and food, and Lu Bu, standing inside the door, was momentarily embarrassed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, perhaps due to the morning's events, and the fact that he had drunk quite a bit of wine by now, his temper showed through somewhat: \"Commandant Jia, since you meddle in such broad affairs, why haven't I seen you restrain Captain Hu from arbitrarily splitting the forces? Instead, you come to reproach me for drinking? The weather is freezing, and I only have five thousand cavalry who cannot easily cross the river. If I don't drink here, what else can I do?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Naturally, you should achieve merit and establish great deeds, to accomplish great things!\" Jia Xu stood tall, hands tucked into his sleeves, his expression unchanged, his body motionless.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Lu Bu couldn't help but throw his head back and laugh loudly, his wine-laden breath shaking the roof tiles. After he finished laughing, he then responded with a cold face: \"Is Commandant Jia joking? Did I not just say, I only have five thousand cavalry, and now the great river is frozen solid. If we force a crossing, I fear two thousand horses will be crippled by the time we reach the opposite bank... And you speak of achieving merit and great deeds?! If Commandant Jia is bored, he can go boil ginger soup. Why come here to mock me?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"You can wrap the horses' hooves in hemp cloth and remove it once you reach the other side.\" Jia Xu spoke unhurriedly, without anger or irritation. \"This way, the cavalry can cross the river with ease.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Fengxian was suddenly stunned.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Hu Zhen is a man who possesses brute courage but no intellect, and even his brute courage is not one ten-thousandth of the General of Tiger's Might's.\" Jia Xu stood within the threshold and continued calmly. \"And for this battle, infantry are not needed. So, his leading the troops away this morning was a stratagem I deliberately employed to drive him off... I intentionally used him as a decoy force.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>For a moment, Lu Bu was somewhat dazed, yet also somewhat expectant. But after a moment, as he pondered briefly, he couldn't help but frown: \"Commandant Jia, please do not toy with me. Across the river in Henei, there are two armies. Wang Kuang leads twelve thousand men directly opposite us, and Yuan Benchu leads thirty thousand troops ten li further east from Wushejin... And since Hu Zhen has left, even if you and I combine forces, we have only five thousand cavalry and three thousand infantry. How can we possibly fight? We may not even defeat Wang Kuang, let alone the fact that Yuan Benchu can send reinforcements to attack at any time!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Does the General of Tiger's Might know how the General of the Guards pacified the Wuhuan of Liaoxi?\" Jia Xu remained serious, showing no sign of jest.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Although I don't know the details, I have heard the general outline. I heard that he took advantage of the rain, crossed the river before it rose, followed the enemy's retreat route, and then...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Why so many words?\" Jia Xu directly interrupted him. \"In the final analysis, it comes down to these eight words: strike where they least expect it, attack where they are unprepared! Since ancient times, countless victories of the few over the many have arisen from these eight words!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Bu also grew solemn. His heavy breaths reeked of alcohol: \"Commandant Jia is a wise man of the realm, praised even by the General of the Guards. Please, I beg you to instruct me!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"I have a stratagem. Do you have the courage?\" Jia Xu, hands tucked in his sleeves, finally glanced at the other man. It was the first time he had looked at Lu Bu since entering the room, though it was a sidelong glance.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Bu laughed in extreme anger: \"I regard the rebels in Henei as mere fools who have stuck a sign on their heads offering themselves for sale! Why does Sir Jia look down on me so?!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then it will be easy.\" Jia Xu finally turned to face Lu Bu directly as he spoke. \"The plan is simple. This morning, Hu Zhen already led five thousand troops in a grand, swaggering manner downstream toward Wushejin. Tomorrow morning, I will take my three thousand infantry, along with the local laborers and able-bodied men, in a vast, mighty procession, pretending to be a large army, and head upstream toward Mengjin... As for you, General, simply keep the banners furled and the drums silent in camp, lie low until dusk tomorrow, then wrap the horses' hooves in hemp cloth, cross the river, and smash the camp directly opposite Xiaopingjin. After breaking the camp, light a fire, ignore what is behind you, and head directly downstream to strike the first wave of enemies that come to meet you. And if you still have strength left, you can fight all the way to Yuan Shao's main camp and light another fire there. After the second fire is lit, still do not linger in battle, but turn back upstream and once again smash the enemy facing you... In this way, General, you can return victorious, and your might will shake the three fords!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The group of military officers crowded outside the door had long been shivering from the cold, yet Lu Bu still stood there, dazed and uncomprehending.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>——————I am the dividing line of insufficient brainpower——————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"When Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang, Jia Xu, as Grand Commandant's Assistant, was made Commandant of Pingjin. At that time, Zhuo had just seized power and was violent without restraint. When an attendant transgressed the rules and the Censor submitted a memorial, Zhuo immediately had him hammered to death, then said: 'I am the Chancellor, honored above all; even my dogs must not be disturbed by such wretches!' The various Liangzhou divisions thereafter knew no bounds — a word of disagreement and they would take a man's head; seeing beauty on the road, they would seize a man's wife. The army grew daily more arrogant and insolent. Only Jia Xu and Duan Wei of the same commandery restrained themselves, possessed virtue, and guarded the land to pacify the people. At that time the weather was cold, and countless among the common folk froze and starved. Jia Xu then gave out all his rewards and family wealth to purchase ginger to make soup, saving countless lives... To this day, in Henan they still call ginger 'Jia.'\" — Dianlüe, Yan, annotated by Pei Songzhi\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>PS: Alright, Valentine's Day is over, continuing to kowtow and pay New Year's greetings... Also thanks to the thirty-fifth Meng, classmate Huang Lao Jiu\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The new group is 931557287, those interested can join.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",3519,"2026-06-04T19:42:26.060Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","429550fcab5fdc84133aa8001d91a7fbf0c542e9480142933ae4e746777928dd","overthrowing-han-chapter-347","overthrowing-han-chapter-345",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]