Chapter 36: Buying a Scholar in Runan

Gongsun Xun did not go to see those famous scholars and renowned clans of Yingchuan — it was not really so complicated... To put it bluntly, going to see them now would be useless!

The older ones would probably all be dead and gone by the time Gongsun Xun truly began his official career;

those in their prime would likely only rise to high office after the Prohibition of Partisans was lifted, by which time the Great Han dynasty would be on the verge of collapse;

and as for the younger ones — whether it was the still-unbound Xun Yu or Chen Qun, or Xun You who was about his own age, or even those already in office like Zhong Yao and Guo Tu — what would come of knowing them? Could a few words about the great trends of the realm make them treat a rustic bumpkin from Liaoxi as an honored guest? A man must know his own measure; one must have a clear sense in his heart of what kind of person he can hold sway over from what position!

To go meet them now — a so-called meeting would be just a meeting, nothing more, and would only waste time.

As for seeking an appraisal and thereby making a name for himself... it was not that this was impossible, but Gongsun Xun truly did not wish to provoke the ire of his teacher Lu Zhi, who wore a dark face all day yet saw through everything more clearly than anyone.

He sends you to Runan to deliver letters, and you suddenly start discoursing on "the great trends of the realm" with people in Yingchuan?

So, it was better to honestly go to Runan first and get the matter done!

And from Goushi to Runan, though it seemed to cross provinces and commanderies, it was really just a traverse of a single Yingchuan Commandery; moreover, being in the heartland of the Central Plains with level roads, in just a few days the party had already arrived in Runan Commandery.

In these years, Runan Commandery administered thirty-seven counties, with over forty thousand registered households and a population of over two million — it was plainly the essence of the Central Plains. After arriving in Runan, Gongsun Xun, Lu Fan, and their party did not go to Lu Fan's home or anything of the sort; instead, they went from north to south, following the geographical distribution, to deliver letters and explain the situation to the homes of several great Confucian scholars of the Old Text school, renowned clans, and officials living idle in the countryside. By the time this flurry of activity was done and they finally went to Pingyu to pay their respects to the current Grand Administrator of Runan, seven or eight days had already passed.

"My fellow junior brothers," after receiving a promise at the commandery administrator's office, as soon as they stepped out the door, Lu Fan took the initiative to cup his hands in salute. "Since you junior brothers have come to Runan, even if I, Lu Ziheng, have nothing but bare walls at home, I must still act as host. Why not take a trip to my home county of Xiyang (present-day Taihe, Anhui)? It happens to lie on the lower reaches of the Ying River, and on our return journey we could go back that way."

"That is exactly what I had in mind," Gongsun Xun said, not standing on ceremony. "The tasks our esteemed elder assigned have all been completed; there truly is no reason not to make a trip to Xiyang."

"Exactly, exactly," Liu Bei also nodded hurriedly, clearly not wanting to return to Lu Zhi's side so soon.

"Since we have come, there is absolutely no justification for not paying a visit to our senior brother's home," Gongsun Yue also expressed his agreement bluntly. "What does it matter if the walls are bare? Even if it is only coarse wine and simple fare, it is still the observance of proper rites."

"Since none of you three junior brothers scorn it, then let us make a trip to Xiyang," Lu Fan said with a smile at once. "You three, and that Han Yigong who has gone off who-knows-where again to inquire into local customs, are all men of Youzhou, and I fear you do not know that the saltwater ducks of our Xiyang are a unique delicacy. Even if I, Lu Ziheng, am poor, can I not still treat you to a few ducks?"

The group burst into laughter, all clamoring to go to Lu Fan's home to eat duck, and then they mounted their horses before the commandery office and rode off, heading straight for Xiyang.

From Pingyu to Xiyang, the straight-line distance was roughly less than two hundred li, separated only by a single Ying River. The party had not brought much luggage, and they were all youths; if they did not begrudge their horses' strength, they could actually make it in a day and a night. But in practice, probably because they had been in too much of a hurry before and had not properly taken in the scenery of the Central Plains, the group traveled extremely slowly. Not to mention Liu Bei asking questions endlessly along the way, Gongsun Xun also frequently went into villages and hamlets to inquire about local customs, examining the geography of one place and asking about the people's livelihood in another... In the end, this journey actually took a full four days and nights!

What left Lu Fan most speechless was that, though they had clearly crossed the Ying River by the evening of the third day and could see the walls of Xiyang County with the naked eye, Gongsun Xun suddenly proposed spending the night by the Ying River to pay posthumous tribute to the ancient worthy Ying Kaoshu... Heaven knows where he had learned that the Ying River got its name from Ying Kaoshu, nor had anyone seen him paying such tribute in Yingchuan!

Nevertheless, the party ultimately followed Gongsun Xun's lead, and no one could really gainsay what he wanted to do, so they all had to hold their noses and stay a night in the pavilion hostel by the Ying River, incidentally taking a good bath in the river.

And when the next morning came, as soon as Lu Fan rose from bed, he immediately began to dress with meticulous care... After all, he had been away from home for nearly half a year, and once he entered the county town he expected to run into acquaintances everywhere; it was always good to dress neatly. But though he called it dressing up, it was merely a matter of choosing among the few silk robes Gongsun Xun had gifted him on the day of his capping ceremony.

Truly, comparisons are odious. Although Lu Fan had never shied away from speaking of his family's poverty, how could a young man just turned twenty not care about such things in his heart? His parents had died early, his elder brother and sister-in-law treated him poorly, and after his capping they had divided the household — his own words about bare walls were no lie. The entire worth of his household probably did not match that of a single silk robe. And this time, saying he would treat these junior brothers to duck, the money for the duck would probably also have to come from these robes gifted by others!

Pitiful that he, full of learning and of imposing bearing, should be scorned by his fellow villagers because of poverty, to the point that... In any case, he did not know when this kind of life would come to an end!

As he thought, Lu Fan suddenly smiled wryly and looked down at the boots beneath his bed — that Gongsun Xun seemed like a man who could accomplish great things, so how could his household be so careless? They had only given him robes, a tall cap, and a fine horse, but had not thought to give him two good pairs of shoes, so that he now had to return home wearing silk robes above and patched boots below. He did not know whether to laugh or cry.

That, however, saved him the trouble of deciding which silk robe to wear... need it even be said? Whichever one best covered the boots, that was the one to wear!

Having finished tidying up, Lu Fan opened the main door of the pavilion hostel, only to find, quite unexpectedly, Gongsun Xun standing outside in full formal attire, clearly having waited for some time.

"Brother Xun, what is the meaning of this?" This sight could not help but make the ever-shrewd Lu Fan bewildered and uncertain.

"It was my carelessness as well," Gongsun Xun said with a smile, hands clasped behind his back. "Brother Ziheng rarely returns home; how could he not wear brocade to dazzle his neighbors?"

As he finished speaking, two young maidservants appeared from behind Gongsun Xun, one of them conspicuously holding a robe of Sichuan brocade!

Lu Fan swallowed and hastily shook his head. "This will not do, it is far too precious!"

How could it not be precious? This was a robe made of Sichuan brocade!

It must be known that among the households of the Han realm today, there was a saying: to see whether a family was truly wealthy and noble, one must look to see whether they possessed Yizhou's Sichuan brocade, Liangzhou's grape wine, Jiaozhou's pearls, and Youzhou's ginseng... Only if these four items were all complete could a household be considered illustrious!

As for how this peculiar saying had emerged, one would have to ask the Anli Trading Company, which had monopolized ginseng — that newly popular tonic — and had long ago secretly begun brewing "Liangzhou"-brand grape wine.

"Brother Ziheng overstates the matter," Gongsun Xun said dismissively, signaling the maidservants to change Lu Fan's clothes. "It is but a common object. If it can help Brother Ziheng gain face before his neighbors, then it will have served its purpose."

Lu Fan was at a loss, and could only let the two maidservants help him change into the Sichuan brocade robe right at the doorway of the hostel lodging.

"What an imposing and dignified figure, Lu Ziheng!" Once the other had changed into the brocade garment, Gongsun Xun could not help but clap his hands in praise. "But there is still one thing missing."

Before his words had faded, another maidservant emerged from behind him, holding in her hands a pearl-inlaid swaying crown!

Lu Fan drew a sharp breath, but no longer resisted... Did he not also long to return home in silken robes?

Thus, having changed into the Sichuan brocade silk robe and the pearl swaying crown, Lu Fan was dazedly pulled by Gongsun Xun to the main courtyard of the pavilion hostel, where he then encountered Liu Bei, who was leading a white steed!

"Brother Xun," Liu Bei called out excitedly. "A tall horse is the mark of a true man! Why not let Brother Ziheng ride your divine white horse into the city, what do you say?"

"Nonsense!" Gongsun Xun strode over, snatched the white horse's reins with a swift motion, but then thrust them back. "To ignorant country folk, riding in a carriage is the mark of high station — where is the sense in riding a horse?"

Lu Fan could not help but laugh at this — Liu Bei was truly too naive... A party must have a hierarchy of primary and secondary; no matter what, Gongsun Xun was the leader of this group. Though he gifted himself brocade robes and pearl crowns, those were things he had in surplus! If just anyone could casually give away the things one cherished and used daily, then how could Han Xin have been so firmly bound by Emperor Gaozu Liu Bang's act of stripping off his own robe to clothe him and pushing his own food to feed him?

As for the claim that a carriage showed status more than a horse, that also depended on what carriage and what horse. A white horse like Gongsun Xun's — how many carriages would you need to trade for one?

Thinking this, Lu Fan looked around. From the sound of it, a carriage had been prepared for him, but in the courtyard of this pavilion hostel he saw no trace of any carriage.

Just as he was pondering, Gongsun Xun grabbed Lu Fan's hand and pulled him outside the pavilion hostel, and as soon as he stepped out the door, Lu Fan was struck dumb.

For no other reason than this: on the official road by the Ying River before the gate, there stood arrayed over a dozen carriages, lined up in perfect order, a magnificent sight — some horse-drawn, some ox-drawn. And on every carriage was placed a large chest, with maidservants and servants flanking each vehicle. What astonished him even more was the carriage at the very front of the line; even though Lu Fan had never seen such a thing before, one look told him this was a treasure of a carriage. Its form, its materials, its inlays, its carvings, its lacquer — all were of the highest grade. Even standing beside it, one could smell the fragrance of incense wafting from it.

"Brother Ziheng," Gongsun Xun said with a smile, pointing to this carriage in explanation. "To be honest with you, I am not one for riding in carriages, and for a time I could not produce a good one. But fortunately, that Zhen Yi, Zhen Dayin, among our fellow students had a rare treasure of a carriage, which I managed by some means to obtain... Please make do with it!"

So saying, Gongsun Xun directly pushed Lu Fan onto the carriage, and poor Lu Ziheng, already dizzy by now, half-resisting and half-yielding, climbed onto this thief of a carriage. Only when he stood upon it did he notice Han Dang standing on the other side of the carriage, and he hurriedly smiled — by now, how could he not understand that Han Dang's disappearance these past few days had been precisely to go ahead and prepare these things for him here!

"What is the matter with the shoes?" Just at that moment, Gongsun Xun on the other side began exclaiming again, clearly having noticed the shoes on Lu Fan's feet because he was standing on the carriage. "I am truly muddled, to have forgotten to prepare shoes for Brother Ziheng... Quickly, go fetch a pair of silk shoes!"

Shoes, or lü, could be considered the most formal footwear of the Han dynasty; ritual even explicitly stipulated that lü be worn on formal occasions. So-called silk lü were essentially shoes with silk uppers and single-layer hard hemp soles, generally worn by the wealthy and noble.

"Young Master," after bustling about for a while, a household retainer of the Gongsun clan with some standing ran over to explain. "The matter was urgent, and in the rush we truly could not find silk shoes. Will other shoes not do?"

"How could other shoes possibly do?" Gongsun Xun demanded with a stern face. "Go look again! If you cannot find them, bring my own silk shoes!"

Lu Fan, standing on the carriage, wanted to protest, but when he opened his mouth, not a single sound came out.

However, after the retainer and the maidservants had made a round, they returned empty-handed once more: "Young Master, even Young Master's own silk shoes could not be found anywhere; we servants are truly incapable."

Gongsun Xun was slightly taken aback at these words, then lifted his own robe and looked down — as it turned out, his silk shoes were already on his feet... This was now rather awkward.

Lu Fan laughed again; by now he had recovered a measure of clarity, and he hurriedly spoke to dissuade him: "Just bring any pair of shoes."

Before his words had faded, Lu Fan was once more struck speechless, and even the servants, the household retainers, the pavilion chief and pavilion soldiers watching the excitement, and even Liu Bei and Han Dang were all dumbfounded — for Gongsun Xun had directly taken off his own silk shoes, turned around, and was about to personally put them on Lu Fan.

Lu Fan was caught completely off guard; his two patched boots had already been removed. He hurriedly tried to stop the other. But he, a scholar from a poor family since childhood who could not even afford to eat duck more than a few times, how could he be a match for Gongsun Xun, who had grown up on the frontier watching men and pigs being slaughtered? Gongsun Xun firmly pinned him down with one hand, then used one knee to brace both of Lu Fan's feet, rendering him utterly unable to move.

Only then did Gongsun Xun, working with a single hand, unhurriedly slip his own silk shoes onto the other's feet!

"The Grand Ancestor gathered heroes to his side, thirsting for worthies as one thirsts for water — thus was his success assured!" — The Old Book of Yan, Volume 1: Annals of the Martial Emperor, Grand Ancestor

PS: I went to look up Lu Fan's stats in the Records of the Three Kingdoms... Damn, are these the stats of a Governor of Yang Province, Grand Marshal, and founding minister of a dynasty? A random roadside mob, more like?

There is also a new book group. Interested readers can join: 684558115.

(End of chapter)