Chapter 396: Life's Partings and Reunions Are Constant Companions (7.9k, Barely a 2-in-1)

The weather was unbearably hot, and the atmosphere around Ye City had become especially sweltering and restless because of the migrating crowds coming from the south.

This was of course understandable — tens of thousands of "refugees," plus several thousand fully armed soldiers — who would not be afraid? Even before the Yellow Turban uprising, refugees had already become a kind of routine disaster for the Great Han, not to mention that this time there was an added, more definite military threat mixed in.

Among the places affected, Ye City and the adjacent Wu City and Jiuhou City were still manageable — the three cities, one large and two small, formed a mutually supporting triangle, and Ye City itself was large and populous, so they had little to fear. Only Wu City, stuck between the Qingzhang River and its tributary the Wu River, was the most tense.

There was no helping it: first, Wu City was small; second, it was remote; third, Wei Commandery was in the midst of changing hands, so people's hearts were naturally unsettled; fourth, the news was already confirmed — probably because Shen Pei and Guan Yu did not want to cause extra complications, they had chosen this route farthest from Ye City, and the tens of thousands of migrating commoners from the south were now openly heading straight for Wu City.

Thus, it was no wonder that inside and outside Wu City, everyone was in a state of panic for a time.

However, fortunately, the authorities in Ye City had not forgotten Wu City. Two days before the commoners from Zhaoge reached the Qingzhang River, a certain Xun Jun, said to have served as a Gentleman Attendant at the Yellow Gate, personally led several dozen armored soldiers, escorting money, silk, and wine to Wu City to take charge.

This Xun Jun was young, only about twenty-seven or twenty-eight, with the courtesy name Wenruo, and he looked refined and frail, but he handled affairs in perfect order, inspiring confidence. The moment he entered the city, he publicly summoned the garrison officers and soldiers, first presenting a document bearing the seal of the Grand Administrator of Wei Commandery, Su Ju, and then, in public, personally distributed the money, silk, and wine he had brought according to rank and number of soldiers. The next day, he took even more direct action, leading the city's soldiers to clean inside and outside the city. He settled the old and weak within the city walls, and at the same time opened the granaries, using grain as wages to recruit able-bodied men to demolish the disorderly market outside the city. They then proceeded to erect many simple but remarkably neat mat-sheds, built numerous cooking stoves, and even dug several large pits over a hundred paces from the official road. That very evening, seeing that the people inside and outside the city had been calmed, he also dispatched the trusted "junior scholar" who had been following him — none other than Guo Jia, Guo Fengxiao — to cross the river and meet with the opposing commander, Guan Yu, Guan Yunchang.

After all, by that evening, the people of Wu City could already clearly see the enormous scale of the "refugee" camp on the southern bank of the Qingzhang River. Sending an envoy at that moment to communicate and prevent disorder was certainly wise.

However, the next morning, as the migrating commoners on the southern bank began taking advantage of the cool dawn to build pontoon bridges and prepare to cross the river, this Xun Jun made yet another unexpected move.

"Did Xun Jun not already send an envoy?" The defender of Wu City was a Company Commandant, and at that moment he was anxiously trying to dissuade Xun Yu below the city gate. "You even left them mat-sheds for shade and stoves for boiling water. Why must you personally risk danger and go out of the city to greet them? It would be better to wait for the envoy to return." At this point, he could not help but lower his voice and speak with earnest sincerity. "Xun Jun is the true master of this city. If anything were to happen to you, never mind how I would explain it to Ye City — even this tiny Wu City would likely be lost!"

"It will not come to that," Xun Yu replied unhurriedly, with a slight smile. "Last night, the two of us climbed the city wall and gazed at the campfires on the opposite bank from afar. They were clearly orderly and well-arranged. Company Commandant Zhang, tell me yourself — ordinary refugees cannot even set up a camp properly, let alone have campfires so orderly. Therefore, those coming are certainly not uncontrolled refugees, but indeed an organized migration. We have no need to be overly alarmed. As for the envoy, Company Commandant Zhang may not know, but that fellow townsman of mine is a chivalrous and unrestrained man by nature. He might simply be enjoying himself on the other bank and too lazy to return."

This Company Commander Zhang was momentarily speechless.

"As for if the other side truly harbors ill intent," Xun Yu continued calmly, "then given the commanding ability of this general opposite us — who manages the migration of commoners with such strict discipline — plus three thousand battle-hardened troops and countless support soldiers, and perhaps reinforcements sent by Chancellor of Zhao, Shen Zhengnan, tomorrow, what use would our tiny city of four hundred soldiers be, whether I am here or not? Since that is the case, it is better to open the city gates and go forth openly and honorably to greet this General Guan. Then, given his rumored character, he might actually be too embarrassed to deal harshly with us."

Company Commander Zhang sighed deeply: "Since Xun Jun sees things so clearly, I have nothing more to say. I can only do my utmost to maintain the defenses on the wall. I hope Xun Jun's journey goes smoothly."

As Xun Yu signaled the accompanying armored soldiers to open the city gates, he smiled and shook his head: "Company Commandant Zhang, you cannot just guard the walls. I am going to greet the people, but I hope you will bring out firewood, summon civilian laborers, help boil water, and set up markers for men and women at those deep pits to serve as latrines. Do not be alarmed. Please consider — this is actually for our own good. The weather is scorching. With tens of thousands passing through, we must guard not only against military disaster but also against plague. If they drink unboiled water, fall ill, move slowly, and leave filth everywhere, what benefit is that to us in Wu City? If time were not so short, I would even want to help build a pontoon bridge over the Wu River to the north."

Company Commander Zhang looked up and sighed: "I wanted to say a few words of praise for Xun Jun, but I lack the learning and do not know what words to use. I can only say that your coming to Wu City this time is truly our good fortune. Xun Jun, go ahead. Though I am dull-witted, I will certainly do my utmost."

Xun Yu unhurriedly gave him a slow, formal bow, then left the city, mounted his horse, and led twenty armored soldiers southward, preparing to pay a visit to that General Who Inspires Martial Valor.

However, whether it was to be expected or not, when he reached the riverbank, Xun Yu arrived just as the pontoon bridges were completed. Countless commoners from Zhaoge, leading their families, crossed the river in orderly fashion under the supervision of armed soldiers. He announced his name and stated his purpose, but for a long time received no summons from Guan Yunchang — even though Xun Wenruo could see with his own eyes that General Guan, standing conspicuously at nine chi tall, was right there on the northern bank of the pontoon bridge supervising the crossing, no more than a hundred paces away. Instead, Guo Fengxiao, who had disappeared to who knows where earlier, now came riding over at leisure, a sword at his side.

"What did you eat in Wu City last night, Wenruo?" Guo Jia asked casually as he dismounted.

"A fish, a serving of stir-fried pork, a bowl of stir-fried greens, with noodles as the staple," Xun Yu answered honestly without the slightest impatience. "I dined with Company Commander Zhang."

"What a coincidence," Guo Jia said, walking up easily with his hand on his long sword. "I ate almost exactly the same as you."

"Dined with General Guan?" Xun Yu understood immediately.

"Indeed," Guo Jia replied calmly. "The fish was caught from the Qingzhang River by his guards, the greens were wild vegetables picked by the roadside, but the pork was likely a regular provision."

"General Guan is a martial man; he must always keep meat on hand," Xun Yu could not help but glance again at Guan Yu nearby. The latter's nine-chi height was simply too conspicuous — a man born to be a towering general. "I heard from locals in Ye City that Zhang Fei, Zhang Yide, who slew Hua Xiong in battle, was once called a match for ten thousand men alongside this General Guan when they served under the General of the Guards during the Yellow Turban campaign. It seems that was no empty claim."

"Speaking of that," Guo Fengxiao suddenly laughed, "I heard something in the camp yesterday. It is said that General Guan's march north this time was under orders. And precisely because his former comrades have all won renown across the land while he sat idle for years, and in the end could only abandon his city and leave, he even threw a tantrum when the order arrived. Fortunately, the General of the Guards, knowing his temperament well, sent someone eloquent, and only then was he persuaded."

"That is only human nature," Xun Yu shook his head even more. "And Fengxiao, you must consider the other side of it. Guan Yunchang stayed in Zhaoge for a full six years, separated from the General of the Guards for a full six years. Yet after years apart, without title or recognition, even as his comrades around him were building their careers and winning merit, he alone kept a lonely watch over an isolated city. And all he showed was a little surface displeasure. Once the order came, he still obeyed and acted on it. Temper aside, are not the words 'loyalty and righteousness' equally worthy of admiration? Just as a distinguished general like him eats a meal barely different from a mere company commander — if that is not genuine compassion for those beneath him, then what is?"

The two fell silent for a moment.

Then it was Guo Jia who delivered the final judgment: "What Ju Gongyu said in the provincial temple hall a few days ago was correct, and so were the folk rumors in Hebei. This General Guan is proud toward superiors and compassionate toward inferiors, peerless in talent yet burdened by pride, unswervingly loyal and righteous, and hates evil as his enemy. He is a perfect match for the General of the Guards."

"That aside," Xun Yu glanced again at Guan Yu, standing straight as a mountain not far away, and could not help but ask about something else, "with such a sharply defined character, how did you manage to be so easily received by him and even dine with him?"

"Naturally, it was thanks to this sword," Guo Jia answered calmly, pointing again to the sword at his waist. "But mainly, it is because I carry myself like a wandering knight, not like someone from a great clan, so General Guan did not make things difficult for me, but rather felt a kinship. Whereas someone like you, directly announcing the name Xun Yu of Yingchuan, naturally invites dislike."

Xun Yu glanced at the eight characters engraved on the other's scabbard — "Study hard and make progress every day" — and could not be bothered to say more. He then glanced at the sun overhead, which was gradually showing its power, and turned back of his own accord.

Guo Fengxiao had no choice but to follow. Guan Yunchang, watching from his height, remained as indifferent as before.

However, as the sun grew fiercer and countless commoners crossed the river in orderly fashion over several pontoon bridges, able to rest briefly in the mat-sheds outside Wu City and drink water to escape the heat, just as Xun Yu had expected, Guan Yu was moved in his heart. He eventually took the initiative to send someone to the city to summon Xun Yu and Guo Fengxiao.

"You call yourself Xun Yu, Xun Wenruo of Yingchuan. May I ask what your relation is to Xun Zhongyu?" Guan Yu sat upright under the shed, stroking his beard as he inquired. Surprisingly, he did not ask about his relation to Xun Gongda.

Xun Yu, however, was not surprised. Xun Zhongyu's views — that powerful families annexing land and great clans monopolizing official careers had caused chaos in the realm — had now been embraced by Gongsun Xun as theoretical guidance. Many of Xun Zhongyu's writings had even been specially printed and distributed in the name of the imperial court to officials everywhere, under the fine-sounding name of "study and discussion." Given Guan Yunchang's sharply defined character, it was only natural that he would respect Xun Zhongyu more and ignore Xun Gongda, who held a higher position in their own faction.

"He is my clan elder brother," Xun Yu answered frankly.

"Where is your esteemed brother now?" Guan Yu asked with rare earnestness.

"My elder brother has just returned to Yingchuan," Xun Yu said, making no attempt to hide anything in front of Guan Yu. "Our entire clan came to Ye City previously only to escape the chaos of war in our homeland. Now that a great battle is about to break out in Hebei, the thought of returning home has arisen again, so we asked my elder brother to go ahead and assess the situation in our home region."

Guan Yu frowned slightly: "A pity. I never had the chance to meet him. But you various clans of Yingchuan, especially your Xun clan, are mostly former subordinates of the Yuan family. This time, with Han Fu offering up his city, it was all thanks to people like you. Should you not naturally stay here and take office? Why leave?"

"We are only making preliminary inquiries," Xun Yu replied unhurriedly, still candid. "We must see the situation clearly on both sides before deciding."

"I understand," Guan Yunchang said, narrowing his eyes slightly. "It is nothing more than wanting to observe Yuan Benchu's magnanimity, making preparations on all fronts. Perhaps if you look down on Yuan Shao, you will still leave someone to assist him. In any case, you great clans have many sons; placing one in each camp is never a loss. Even at the General of the Guards' side in Chang'an, you have a Xun Gongda who has become some Rear Army Advisor and General of the Household. When the time comes, no matter how the realm's situation turns out, you will always be able to sit back and reap the benefits."

At these words, a silence fell over the shed.

Xun Wenruo stood before Guan Yu, and after a brief pause, he remained candid: "If the General puts it that way, we have nothing to refute, because we do indeed have such plans. However..."

"However, General Guan is not being entirely fair," Guo Jia, who had remained silent all along, suddenly interjected. "May I ask the General — in the past, when Dong Zhuo usurped power and flaunted his might for a time, did you ever see the Xun clan waver in their loyalty? Minister of Works Xun and Gentleman Attendant Xun Gongda, who remained in the capital, plotted to assassinate Dong. One died, and one was thrown into prison. And the Xun clan members who stayed in Yingchuan — when they fled in haste, only half made the journey; the other half all perished in the chaos of war in Yingchuan. How innocent were they? The General may certainly look down on the sons of great clans, but speaking solely of the Xun clan, high and low, has there been a single person who betrayed the state above, failed the common people below, or let down the circumstances of the times? Why should they not be allowed to each pursue their own aspirations?"

Guan Yu narrowed his eyes slightly again and looked at Guo Jia. Finally, he released his beard-stroking hand, and while giving Xun Yu a slight cupped-hand salute, he sighed with emotion: "If it were not so, why would I have spoken so many words with you? Regardless, meeting by chance like drifting duckweed, I still thank you, Xun Wenruo, for setting aside your stance and taking the initiative to assist the migrating commoners."

"In these chaotic times, what crime have the common people committed?" Xun Yu sidestepped to avoid the salute and replied calmly. "My actions today are simply because, during the chaos two years ago, I organized my fellow townsmen and clan members to migrate a thousand li, and thus I understand the hardships involved. It was not solely for the General's sake."

Guan Yu nodded slowly and said no more.

Since their temperaments were so incompatible, Xun Yu had nothing more to say and turned to leave. However, after taking only a few steps outside the shed, he suddenly remembered something and turned back again: "There is one more matter I wish to ask the General about."

"Speak," Guan Yu said indifferently.

"Why must the General relocate the people?" Xun Yu asked with a serious expression. "You must know that a great battle is imminent, and in times of war, provisions and supplies must be managed with particular care. Although it is only one commandery away, relocating tens of thousands of commoners like this will surely exhaust the stores accumulated in Zhaoge over these years, will it not? And you are abandoning the crops already growing in the fields. Once they reach Zhao, it will also require considerable grain reserves to settle them. Furthermore, in matters of relocation, the slightest misstep can lead to the disaster of plague, and what if disorder breaks out? As far as I know, Grand Administrator Zhang Yang of Henei, though he has achieved no great things, has done a decent job of suppressing bandits and pacifying the people. Why not relocate only the military families and leave the rest of the commoners behind?"

"You think too much, son of the Xun clan," Guan Yu answered proudly. "It was not my sole decision to relocate them. I originally intended to move only the military families. But the commoners of Henei, first, have followed me for a long time, and second, during the campaign against Dong Zhuo, they witnessed with their own eyes how Yuan Benchu over-conscripted and brutalized the people in Henei like a bandit. These ten Battalion Commander, over forty thousand people — they all willingly abandoned their crops and followed me to escape disaster. Do you think that when I sent word to Ye City saying the commoners feared Yuan Shao to this extent and were relocating voluntarily, it was a lie? Tens of thousands of commoners are right here. Would the son of the Xun clan like to go ask them personally?"

Xun Yu hesitated, wanting to speak, but finally laughed and nodded: "The General would not deceive me."

"Son of the Xun clan," Guan Yu suddenly rose, clasping his hands behind his back, and strode out of the shed. Looking down from his great height, he said, "I am no ignorant man. How could I not see that you are a person of ability? But if you think that because you have experienced one wartime migration, you understand the sufferings of the common people, that is utterly laughable. Yesterday, the son of the Guo clan asked me about old times with the General of the Guards. Though I spoke at length, there was one matter I did not mention. In fact, ten years ago, right here in the vicinity of Ye City, the General of the Guards and I once encountered a migration of refugees. At that time, there were well over a hundred thousand of them — disorderly, chaotic, a pitiful sight to behold — and they were all flocking to join Zhang Jiao. At that time, the realm was not yet in chaos, nor had we seen Dong Zhuo wreak havoc. Tell me, why were there already countless refugees abandoning their homes and livelihoods, fleeing a thousand li?"

"Is the General suggesting that, according to my brother Xun Zhongyu's argument, it was because the Son of Heaven at that time was without the Way, powerful families annexed the land, and great clans like ours monopolized official careers, so that the people of the realm had long been left with no path to survival?"

"Was it not so?" Guan Yu, under the scorching sun overhead, stroked his beard and sighed with emotion. "You think that because your Xun clan lost half its people, it is some great tragedy, yet you do not realize that even in the so-called era of peace and purity before, the common people could no longer afford to raise their children. You think the Disaster of the Partisan Prohibitions absolves you of responsibility for the realm's descent into chaos, yet you do not realize that you partisans did nothing, yet controlled public opinion, praised each other, and still blocked men of action and merit from serving in good offices and cleansing the realm. You think your talent for assisting a ruler can support one side in chaotic times and achieve something for an era, yet you do not realize that as long as people like you manage the realm's affairs, as long as great clans privately hand the state's heavy vessels to one another, as long as powerful families control the villages, then what use is a temporary peace? Sooner or later, chaos will return. In the past, I only concentrated on reading the original classic of the Spring and Autumn Annals. Later, the General of the Guards taught me to read history, and only then did I gradually awaken. Even Emperor Guangwu, with his great resolve, carried out land surveys and could be said to have succeeded. Yet the men he employed were mostly powerful families from Nanyang and Hebei, so in the end, there was no fundamental change. Thus, a mere one hundred and forty years after the Founder of the Dynasty passed away, the realm has returned to an age of great contention. Is this not a matter of cause and effect?"

Xun Yu stood dazed and speechless.

"I do not mean to lecture you," Guan Yu said, glancing at Xun Yu, then turned back and raised his voice to Guo Jia. "If it were an ordinary person, I would have waved them away long ago. But yesterday, I discussed military strategy and law with the son of the Guo clan, and today I see the son of the Xun clan so methodical and orderly. I truly know that you two are talents worth molding, men worth speaking to. That is why I have rarely laid bare my heart. You think that following Yuan Shao or the General of the Guards is merely a wager on who will prevail, a path to building merit and a career. But you do not realize that I sat idle in Zhaoge for six years, reading books and practicing martial arts, observing the situation, and I have long seen clearly: in this realm, only the General of the Guards can open the road ahead. For any man of ambition, not to follow him is to oppose him — there is no other path! And this is the true intent behind the 'Order Seeking Worthies' that the General of the Guards had your clansman Xun Gongda write, to seek out comrades! The General of the Guards' 'Order Seeking Worthies' is not merely about seeking worthies; it is about declaring his resolve to the entire realm!"

"I have been taught," Xun Yu said with utter sincerity, bowing deeply in a grand salute.

"This young fellow has also been taught," said Guo Jia, who had just undergone his capping ceremony, referring to himself as "this young fellow" — which was perfectly acceptable.

"I have said all I have to say," Guan Yu shook his head and sighed. "You may return now."

Xun Yu and Guo Jia exchanged a glance, then respectfully took their leave and departed.

As it happened, thanks to Xun Yu’s thorough preparations, that very night Guan Yunchang led forty thousand commoners to the banks of the Wushui to set up camp. Early the next morning, they met the relief force sent by Shen Pei, crossed the murky Wushui tributary of the Zhang River, and then naturally proceeded north all the way toward Handan.

Xun Yu and Guo Jia, having perfectly fulfilled the commission from Yecheng, also avoided the midday heat and rode eastward side by side at dusk, heading back toward Yecheng.

However, at twilight, when the two men reached the crossing where the Wushui and the clear Zhangshui converge, preparing to cross to the opposite bank and proceed to Jiuhou City, Guo Fengxiao could finally contain himself no longer as they waited for the ferry.

“Well?” Guo Jia asked, somewhat vaguely.

“Well what?” Xun Wenruo countered softly from horseback, his back to the setting sun. “Well about Guan Yunchang? Well about the General of the Guards? Or well about how the General of the Guards compares with Yuan Cheqi? Or well about what Guan Yunchang said yesterday?”

“Well about all of it,” Guo Fengxiao said, direct and to the point.

“Guan Yunchang is no common general. The General of the Guards knows men and uses them well. As for Yuan Benchu…”

“What about Yuan Benchu?”

“What can one say about Yuan Benchu? Did we not decide to leave Yecheng and seek another path precisely because, beneath his outward magnanimity, he secretly ordered our two elder brothers to dispose of Geng Wu and Min Chun — proving him outwardly generous but inwardly jealous? Yet only today, seeing how the people of Henei flee him as they would a tiger, do we realize that even his outward magnanimity extends only to those within his sight. Those he does not see, he simply ignores, even doing evil without knowing it.” Xun Yu could not help shaking his head. “By comparison, though the General of the Guards is strict in his conduct and often harsh toward others, he governs all with a single standard. Gongda wrote that he has no matter he cannot discuss with others, no action he cannot let others observe… Such a man is the one who is truly magnanimous.”

“And yet…” Guo Fengxiao suddenly interjected.

“And yet, as for Guan Yunchang’s words — on one hand, they certainly came from his heart and most likely reflect the General of the Guards’ own intent; on the other hand, I still find them somewhat biased,” Xun Yu answered frankly.

“Biased in what way?” Guo Fengxiao pressed relentlessly.

“The principle is correct, but unlike powerful magnates who are lawless by nature, if a noble clan can uphold morality and deal fairly with the matter of official advancement for all under Heaven, why must it inevitably fall into decline?” Facing his close friend, Xun Yu held nothing back. “And even if we follow the General of the Guards’ and Guan Yunchang’s intent and strip the noble clans of their path to office, allowing humble families and good households to rise in their place — if even noble clans with strict family traditions will decline, how will the suddenly risen humble families and good households not also decline? And what is a noble clan, after all, but a family that has produced officials for generations? One man rises from a good household, his son in turn takes office and can be called a humble family, and by the third generation, how is that not a new noble clan? Sons succeeding fathers is the constant way of men — can it be stopped? Rather than focusing solely on suppression, would it not be better to focus on moral education and the establishment of proper institutions?”

“The General of the Guards never said he wanted to slaughter all the noble clans,” Guo Jia said, shaking his head repeatedly. “Observing his past conduct, he clearly already has a clear understanding of what you, Wenruo, are saying. That is why he only seeks to break the noble clans’ monopoly on official careers… If you think carefully, you and he are actually already quite similar in thought.”

“Though the meaning aligns, our attitudes are utterly different.” In the distance, a boat appeared within view, but Xun Yu lowered his head and continued. “I, after all, believe that moral noble clans can serve as the pillars of the realm, whereas the General of the Guards, while willing to employ men fairly, clearly regards the noble clans as the chief source of calamity for the realm… And there is another matter. Do you know that the General of the Guards openly refuses to marry his daughter to the Son of Heaven as Empress? In the future that the General of the Guards wishes to create, what place will the House of Han have?”

Guo Jia’s lips moved slightly; he seemed about to speak, then stopped.

“I know you wish to persuade me not to abandon the chance to establish merit and a career over such abstract matters, but… but Fengxiao… let me ask you one thing…”

“Please speak, Brother Wenruo.”

“Can you smell the fragrance on me?”

“I can… I was going to mention it earlier. Going to meet a man like General Guan, and you, a scion of a noble house, still wearing a sachet — and in such sweltering heat, mingling with the sweat-stench of the migrating commoners. No wonder he gave you a cold look at first.” Guo Jia shook his head with a wry smile.

“I have not worn a sachet these past few days,” Xun Yu said quietly. “It is just that after decades of being steeped in it, I have long since become a piece of cured meat perfumed by incense…”

Guo Fengxiao did not laugh.

“Fengxiao, in a man’s life, the ideals in his heart mostly take shape in his youth. And when a young man’s aspirations first sprout, every word, every deed, everything around him becomes embedded in his person for a lifetime… I am a son of a noble clan. The fathers, grandfathers, and brothers I have seen are all men of morality. The four words ‘scion of a noble clan’ are, to me, a matter of honor and pride. You ask me to envision a well-ordered world without noble clans in my heart — can I do it? From childhood, I was called a talent fit to assist a king. What I studied were the Confucian classics. My clan has received the grace of the Han for generations. When my father and grandfather taught me, they also wanted me to unfold the learning in my heart and support the House of Han… Tell me, in the age of great order after this age of great strife that I envision in my heart, how could there possibly be no place for the House of Han? This is just like you, Guo Fengxiao, who has admired the General of the Guards since youth — the older you grow, the harder it is to forget. Is it not the same thing?” By the end, Xun Yu had, uncharacteristically, lost his composure.

“But now the question is not what you wish, but what you can do?” Guo Jia earnestly urged. “And with the situation having reached this point, what can you possibly do in time? You did not take the chance to establish your own power during the campaign against Dong. Now two years have passed, and the General of the Guards and Yuan Benchu are about to fight a decisive battle. At this moment, if you refuse to follow either side and go seek someone else, is there any suitable candidate? And even if you found one, the overall situation here is already settled — what use would it be?”

“This is not a matter of usefulness, but a matter of whether my aspirations can follow my heart’s intent,” Xun Yu answered, shaking his head. “Yuan Benchu is outwardly generous but inwardly jealous. Gongsun Wenqi has no regard for the House of Han. If I cannot walk with them, then I cannot walk with them. I, Xun Yu, am the same within and without — how could I be a man who betrays his own heart? So I say, if there were a comrade of like mind to join hands with, even if the hope of success were utterly remote, I would certainly do my utmost to realize my ambitions, because that is my own aspiration. And if there is no such comrade, then as General Guan mocked, with Gongda in Chang’an and Brother Youruo in Yecheng, our Xun clan will, after all, avoid the calamity of clan extermination. I will simply return home, shut my door, read books, and never emerge for the rest of my life!”

Guo Jia once again seemed about to speak, then stopped.

“Fengxiao, jade may be shattered, but its whiteness cannot be altered; bamboo may be burned, but its integrity cannot be destroyed!” Xun Yu said of his own accord. “Your meaning is very clear to me, but my heart is resolved. You need not try to persuade me further. I thank you for the trouble of accompanying me this far. Go now, and do not betray your own ambition to establish merit and a career!”

With these words, he dismounted on his own, boarded the boat that had long been waiting, then ordered his accompanying armored soldiers to follow and urged the boatmen to depart swiftly.

A single boat traveled eastward. Standing at the crossing, his back to the setting sun, Guo Jia gazed at the figure within the boat, momentarily overcome with sorrow. Yet in the end, with one hand resting on the long sword at his waist and the other gripping the reins, he turned and headed north.

In truth, with Guo Fengxiao’s intelligence and his understanding of Xun Yu’s outwardly gentle but inwardly unyielding character, how could he not have known that this journey was a waste of effort? How could he not have known that this journey could only leave one feeling dejected for no purpose?

But just as Xun Wenruo, knowing full well the House of Han could not be revived, still wished to revive it, and knowing his ideal could not be realized, still insisted on realizing it — no one had the right to stop Guo Jia from making this futile journey of accompaniment, knowing it was impossible yet insisting on doing it anyway. He knew perfectly well in his heart that after this parting, who knew when they would meet again — perhaps they would never meet again in this lifetime.

The sun set in the west. Guo Jia reined in his horse, hand on his sword, riding slowly northward alone without pause.

Behind him at the crossing, Xun Yu had long since crossed the river successfully and vanished into Jiuhou City. Only the clear Qingzhang River and the murky Wushui continued to merge into one at this spot, flowing slowly eastward without cease.

—————I am the dividing line where clarity and murk merge—————

“Guo Jia, styled Fengxiao, was a man of Yangzhai in Yingchuan. Early on, he followed his fellow townsmen to Yecheng to escape disaster. When Yuan Shao was about to arrive, he said to Yuan’s strategists Xin Ping and Guo Tu: ‘The wise man is judicious in assessing his master; thus every undertaking succeeds, and merit and fame can be established. Lord Yuan merely wishes to emulate the Duke of Zhou in humbling himself before scholars, yet he does not understand the art of employing men. He is full of schemes but lacks focus, fond of planning but incapable of decision, outwardly generous but inwardly jealous, attentive to superiors but neglectful of inferiors. To join him in overcoming the great calamity of the realm and establishing the enterprise of a hegemon — difficult indeed!’ Thereupon he departed. Earlier, when the Grand Ancestor had pacified the Yellow Turbans and passed through Yingchuan, he once sat in the residence of Zhong Yao. At that time, Jia was young and also present, and the Grand Ancestor especially valued him and offered encouragement. After Jia left, he intended to travel west to seek the Grand Ancestor. Reaching Wucheng, he saw Guan Yu leading the commoners north. They met, and Jia asked many questions about the Grand Ancestor’s affairs; Yu answered truthfully according to the facts. Jia sat and listened, then joyfully stroked his sword and said: ‘Truly, this is my lord.’ He then returned to Handan together with Guan Yu.” — Old Book of Yan, Volume 72, Biographies, Chapter 22

PS: Just noticed — during my previous leave, Brother Xiongxingtianxia sold me another Ghost Tiger and became an Alliance Master… I didn’t even notice… A grave sin, a grave sin.

By the way, among the book’s characters, Lady Gongsun’s birthday has been set on July 19th. If it can reach Level 2 or something before July, it seems Qidian’s official side will have an event, and I hope everyone will go like or check in or something — apparently there’s this function… Anyway, you all certainly know more than I do. Hand on sword.

(End of Chapter)