Chapter 423: A Bird in Flight as if Finding Its Forest

Gongsun Xun idled and amused himself without restraint beneath the walls of Handan, yet not a single person stepped forward to remonstrate or dissuade him.

Among them, the rank-and-file soldiers and junior officers in the army were naturally delighted with this… They loved cuju, loved going to the Anli Company’s army market to exchange their pay or so-called subsidy vouchers across the distance for cloth, coin, and grain, then designate their home address and take a discount to have the goods delivered for them. If someone had a restless temperament and couldn’t resist exchanging directly for cash, they would inevitably take advantage of their leave to enjoy themselves a little in Handan, that world-famous great metropolis.

In truth, after enduring half a year of siege and military standoff, Handan had recovered with almost grotesque speed, relying on army logistics.

As for the high-ranking generals and some of the staff officers and military clerks in the army, it was not that no one had thought of having Gongsun Xun press southward to Wei Commandery while riding his victories.

But for one thing, Wei Yue’s death had brought an extra psychological shock to everyone; for another, Guan Yu and Shen Pei’s advances were extremely swift — one had already seized Liyang, completing a wide encirclement from the rear, and the other had already crossed the Zhang River at leisure in a long drive, entered and garrisoned Guangzong, pointing directly at the vital spot on Yuan Shao’s waist and belly. And since this strategic maneuver was already complete, in any case one could not speak of delaying military operations. More importantly, apart from Gongsun Xun himself, the truly crucial figures in the army — namely the three military advisors, plus Dong Zhao, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Xu Rong, these three generals and one garrison commander — had actually completely unified their stance, clearly putting forward the concept of winter encampment and spring battle, having the whole army emulate Wang Jian’s campaign against Chu: conserve strength, build energy, and quietly await the great battle. This made it even more impossible for those below to open their mouths.

And as time passed, everyone in the army, from top to bottom, and even inside and outside Handan, had virtually all become certain that Gongsun Xun was waiting until after spring to fully commit the entire army and shut the door to beat the dog in Wei Commandery!

And so, from the tenth month to the eleventh, from the eleventh to the twelfth, winter snow had fallen several times, yet the fifty to sixty thousand strong army remained contentedly encamped south of Handan. Apart from some minor rotations with a few nearby cities midway, it could be called holding the troops still!

Some busybody calculated that Gongsun Xun had idled away the greater part of the winter beneath the walls of Handan, wasting countless amounts of army pay, military supplies, and army provisions, only to exchange it for seven grand army-wide baths, fifteen army market days, and a staggering fifty-three cuju matches held! And according to this General of the Guard, the thirty-two teams in the army had to complete a full eight-times-eight, sixty-four matches before it could be considered complete, and only then would the sole victor be determined.

However, on that very afternoon after the fifty-third match had finished, which was also the time of the army’s eighth large-scale water-boiling and bathing session, countless mounted scouts, braving the green smoke and steam, came rushing back from various points to the south, bringing news that Gongsun Xun had waited an entire winter for — Yuan Shao had finally dispatched his troops!

The army numbered no less than forty thousand, densely massed and assembled at Yecheng, then moving eastward along the Zhang River, clearly heading straight for Guangzong. One could imagine that once there, he would likely gather the troops from Anping and Qinghe, along with some newly recruited soldiers from Yanzhou and Qingzhou, to once more drum up a so-called “grand army,” attempting to make a final struggle and effort beneath the walls of Guangzong.

The news could not be concealed at all, nor was there any need to, and so the Gongsun army beneath the walls of Handan was for a time wholly roused. Yet faced with such military intelligence, Gongsun Xun still maintained a composure that people found hard to accept — he continued to finish his bath, changed his clothes, and only convened a military council as evening approached. Moreover, it was merely a small council with a few army high commanders in joint discussion, clearly showing he had long since made up his mind.

“At the end of the tenth month, Yuan Shao, citing the merit of recovering Yecheng, appointed Ju Shou as Grand Commander, giving him overall charge of internal and external military affairs. Compared to Feng Ji, who inherited the position of Chief Clerk from Chen Gong, Ju Shou is in truth the true head of the general staff.” Beside a stove with a chimney, having changed into a new headpiece, his hair still damp, Gongsun Xun showed a look of curiosity. “And earlier, it was precisely because Ju Gongyu and various local figures in Wei Commandery kept remonstrating that Yuan Shao never left Wei Commandery. Why, in the end, did he still depart eastward in a single morning? Is there any account of this?”

“What reason could there be?” Tian Feng glanced at the posturing Gongsun Xun. Perhaps because the matter involved his old friend Ju Shou, he felt an inexplicable irritation in his heart. “The General hangs back without attacking, like a drawn bow not released, and then uses spies within. Yuan Benchu in the end grew afraid, and then was pushed along by petty men, and under the pretext of attacking eastward, actually fled… Is this not exactly what the General sought? Why, when events fulfill your own wish, are you instead puzzled?”

“Brother Yuanhao misunderstands.” Dong Zhao, who had likewise just bathed and thus appeared even darker and fatter, raised his head and answered with a slight smile from the side. “The Lord merely asks about the trigger of the event, not delving deeply. And this matter indeed has some accounts to it…”

Most people’s expressions remained unchanged; only Tian Feng frowned more deeply.

It must be said, Tian Yuanhao ordinarily only clashed frequently with Gongsun Xun; with colleagues he was amiable enough. But when facing Dong Zhao, he could never manage a pleasant expression — firstly, Dong Zhao’s conduct and character were what they were, a natural incompatibility of fundamental values; secondly, Dong Gongren, as one of Gongsun Xun’s old followers from the early days, upon returning to the army this time, had naturally and logically received the same trust and importance as Guan Yu and Shen Pei. To put it bluntly, this naturally and inevitably shook the political structure formed earlier in Chang’an, which had seemed stable but was destined to be only a temporary measure. And finally, Dong Zhao happened to concurrently hold an extremely important yet extremely unlikable post.

Indeed, it was military law and intelligence… Although there was no term for “spymaster” in this era, similar things were understood without being said. Cao Cao’s army had “Inspectors”; Yuan Shao’s army also had “Registrars”; even that scoundrel Wang Kuang, in a mere half year in Henei, had created “Disciples” to probe popular information and use it for extortion.

No one should point fingers at anyone else about this thing; since ancient times it has been an indispensable force in military and political settings.

In fact, as a Military Advisor and General of the Household with immense authority in the army, Tian Feng had long known that the army’s various division Military Adjutants and Registrars had additional tasks. Earlier in Chang’an, he had also known that Zhong Yao and Xi Zhong were vaguely doing something. And this time in the army, he knew even more clearly that Zhang Ji, the civil affairs leader of the White Horse Volunteers, was responsible for some additional intelligence.

But compared to Dong Zhao, what did the previous Zhang Ji amount to?

Dong Gongren, as an old follower from the early days, had his seniority, official rank, achievements, hard toil, and even depth of emotional bond all laid out plainly. After he took over this duty, combined with his personal ability and style, it greatly increased the threatening nature of this post, and naturally aroused the vigilance of those of traditional Confucian scholar-official background.

After all, others might be one thing, but how could clever men like Tian Feng be deceived by Dong Gongren’s dark face? And among them, Tian Yuanhao was simply naturally incapable of concealing his expression.

“Do tell!” Gongsun Xun was indeed greatly interested. “What does Gongren know?”

“To tell the truth, it’s quite simple. I only learned just now, after questioning a spy who returned from Yecheng, that before Yuan Shao left, he had his only son past the age of binding his hair, that is, his eldest son Yuan Tan, formally take Ju Shou as his teacher. And for this campaign, he specifically left Yuan Tan behind in the city of Yecheng, in charge of the keys to the General of Chariots and Cavalry’s office…”

“So that’s it!” A look of sudden realization appeared on Gongsun Xun’s face. “Yuan Benchu actually used a son to stop Ju Gongyu’s mouth. How could Ju Gongyu, a proper scholar, endure such an act… Unexpected, yet also within reason. One can only say Guo Tu has skillful methods!”

“How is this Guo Gongze’s skill being brilliant?” Dong Zhao, hearing this, let out a scoff. “In the end, while the Lord indeed left space for Guo Tu and those people to fight with peace of mind, if Yuan Shao had not nodded his assent, how would Guo Tu dare use his own lord’s eldest son by the principal wife to bind Ju Shou and wait for death in Yecheng? Just as Brother Yuanhao said a moment ago, if Yuan Shao himself had not grown timid and wanted to flee eastward, then no matter how resourceful those Yingchuan men like Guo Tu were, how could they move Yuan Shao? The only thing worth sighing over in this matter is that, exchanging a son’s life for the father’s, Yuan Benchu could actually bring himself to do it — it truly broadens one’s horizons.”

Tian Feng finally lost his patience: “Administrator Dong, that Yuan Shao fled east out of fear is not wrongly stated by me, but one matter is one matter… Though he is of an enemy state, Yuan Tan is Yuan Benchu’s eldest son by his principal wife, moreover his only son past the binding of hair, his only usable son. Yuan Benchu’s action here is clearly a case of acting under duress in a moment of mental confusion, not seeing his own conduct clearly. How does it become, in your mouth, as if he deliberately treated his own eldest son as a discarded object?”

Dong Zhao smiled and said nothing.

“Yuanhao need not be so vehement.” Gongsun Xun also hurriedly changed his expression to one of solemnity. “Gongren and I did not mean that. This matter has two sides. Militarily, it is indeed Yuan Shao wanting to take his main force and flee, but in terms of principle and ritual propriety, his action, no matter how you look at it, cannot be said to have wronged Ju Gongyu. It is also enough to make the local people of Wei Commandery feel at ease and submit, and even carries a hint of lord and minister finding rapport with each other…”

“Why must the Lord be so magnanimous?” Dong Zhao also finally put on a solemn face and retorted. “Advisor Tian is merely deceiving himself, just like Yuan Shao… Yuan Shao is clearly fleeing in fear, yet he deceives everyone, even himself, saying he is using offense as defense, that he must go east out of Wei Commandery to pull out the nail that is Shen Zhengnan. And Advisor Tian, though he clearly knows in his heart what the truth is, because he feels it unworthy for his old friend, insists on imposing a rationale on Yuan Shao’s action, as if saying so will ensure Ju Gongyu’s name is preserved in history in the future… Is this not deceiving oneself and others?”

Tian Feng instantly felt a tightness in his chest, and the central army tent fell into a stifling silence for a moment.

Yet Dong Zhao, rarely showing anger, did not even look at Tian Feng and continued to speak sternly: “As for Ju Gongyu himself, a famed scholar of Jizhou, harboring great aspirations from youth, his talent and intellect surpassing others, known to nearly everyone in Hebei. But because he looked down on the Lord’s frontier commandery origins, and relying on his own ability, thought that by his own strength alone he could overturn the world and go against the tide, he ended up serving an unworthy lord and obtaining this result. One can only say he sought benevolence and obtained it. To presumptuously make excuses for him may seem to speak on his behalf, but in truth it destroys the only thing of value in the man… In my humble opinion, for such a hero of an enemy state, one should rightly kill him to fulfill his virtue, overthrow him to redeem his ambition! If one praises him excessively, then I dare ask you, my lords, where do you place those who have died one after another for the peace of the world?!”

The central army tent grew even more silent, and Tian Feng finally became dejected.

In truth, those present were all the most brilliant minds under heaven. Without needing to say anything else, without even needing Dong Zhao to bring up the matter that Yuan Shao had, several days earlier, already sent his second wife Lady Liu and his youngest son Yuan Shang to Wulu City, Tian Feng and the others understood in their hearts… To put it plainly, since Yuan Shao was now leaving eastward, then regardless of whether he was deceiving himself into thinking he was going to deal with Shen Pei, the fact was undoubtedly that he was evading Gongsun Xun’s heavy troops and the encirclement of Wei Commandery. And since he was fleeing, what use was leaving one son here? Was this not, in his subconscious, already making a choice?

The only thing was that he had actually abandoned a son, and seemingly his eldest son by his principal wife. Given the special status of the eldest son by the principal wife in Confucian thought, it was simply unimaginable to everyone.

And Ju Shou, as a Confucian scholar-official, was unable to oppose Yuan Shao any further precisely for this reason — the eldest son by the principal wife had been entrusted to you, Ju Shou; the eldest son by the principal wife had been placed in Yecheng to live or die with the city. What more did you want?

To persist further would be a personal insult to Yuan Shao as lord, and moreover a denial of traditional Confucian values. For a subject, a private retainer in chaotic times, even if sent to your death, with a successor of your lord accompanying you in death, what reason did you have not to die?

This was an inescapable ethical binding of this era. Even if explained with the most naked calculations of interest and power, it remained inescapable — father and son are one body, thus the father substitutes with the son; lord and subject have hierarchy, thus the subject dies for the lord!

“Let us set this matter aside for now.” Gongsun Xun followed this train of thought for a while, remained silent for half a day, then shook his head repeatedly. “Now that things have come to this, I think we can wait until Yuan Shao’s main force advances east to beneath the walls of Guangzong, then fully commit our troops, to prevent him from stopping again and turning back to camp. What do you all think?”

The military advisors looked at each other wordlessly, for this was precisely what had been discussed before.

“Then let it be so.” Gongsun Xun raised his hand to signal. “Everyone return to your respective duties. Be sure to pacify the army’s officers, have them wait at ease, and prepare to spend the new year here. After the new year, we will discuss military matters again… My lords, the present is not like the past. Yuan Benchu appears to be attacking, but is in truth fleeing; appears to still have momentum, but in his heart is already timid. Let us entrust the overall situation to Shen Zhengnan. Once he has worn down this last breath of Yuan Benchu’s, we will dispatch the entire army to conclude the Hebei situation!”

The crowd, originally somewhat unsettled by this sudden dispute, upon hearing these words felt as if a heavy burden had been lifted, and then prepared to depart separately.

“Yuanhao, go and look after Gongtiao a little, give him a slight warning, lest when he suddenly realizes the truth in the future, there will be much that the man finds hard to bear.” As the others rose, Gongsun Xun casually added an instruction. “Zibo and Yigong, stay… I have other matters to discuss.”

The others merely paused briefly, then each walked away as instructed.

“My Lord, may I ask what matter?” Once the others had left, Lou Gui and Han Dang immediately cupped their hands and inquired.

“Nothing else.” Gongsun Xun replied seriously. “It’s just that, speaking earlier of Yuan Shao entrusting Yuan Tan and leaving Ju Shou no room to obstruct, it made me think of Changping… Did I forget to tell you that around the new year, Ziheng will arrive here?”

Lou Gui and Han Dang each started.

But very quickly, Lou Gui, the first to react, asked a key question: “If Ziheng comes here, where will the young master Ding and the Lady go? Could it be Chang’an? Or Liaodong?”

Gongsun Xun immediately nodded: “My original intention was to have mother and son make a trip to Liaodong, but my wife sent a letter here saying she will go to Liaodong herself to visit my father-in-law’s family, but the children need not necessarily go. She intends for everyone else in the household to go to my mother in Chang’an, but for A-Ding alone, she hopes I can personally teach him a little, and so she will have him accompany Ziheng here…”

“Then what is the Lord’s meaning?” Lou Gui grew even more cautious.

“Originally I paid no mind to this.” Gongsun Xun confessed. “But today’s matter of Ju Gongyu made me feel that if I let A-Ding accompany Ziheng here, it may not be a good thing for Ziheng, and for A-Ding it is also too early — he hasn’t even bound his hair yet…”

Han Dang found this stranger the more he listened, and finally could not help but interject: “My Lord, since you are here, if Ziheng and young master Ding come, they come. How does it come to good or bad?”

“That is precisely the crux of the matter.” Gongsun Xun looked at Han Dang and smiled slightly. “I intend that, once the spring ice melts and we strike a successful blow at Guangzong, I will no longer remain with the army. Instead, I will have Ziheng, in the name of my Chief Clerk, act as the principal, with you two as deputies. The three of you will jointly oversee the various military advisors, the regional and commandery officials, and the army’s generals and captains, to take overall charge of the Hebei campaign and annihilate Yuan Shao.”

“Then where will the Lord go?” Han Dang was stunned for a long time before carefully asking.

“Counting the time, that will be just the spring plowing season. I originally planned to turn back and inspect Youzhou. It happens that A-Ding will come here, so I will take him and walk around a bit behind your lines, to see what the foundation of the state truly is.” Gongsun Xun answered slowly. “What do you think?”

“Whatever the Lord decides.” Han Dang truly had no thoughts to offer. “Your subordinate will obey orders… But with your subordinate present, I will certainly do my utmost in the army to help Chief Clerk Lu maintain things. And I imagine, given Chief Clerk Lu’s past prestige, the various generals in the army should not be disobedient.”

“Your subordinate also thinks it feasible.” Lou Gui, after a moment’s thought, also voiced his agreement once more. “But we might as well remove your subordinate and have Shen Zhengnan serve as this deputy; perhaps that would be better…”

Gongsun Xun, hearing this, pondered briefly, then nodded slightly again.

In the twelfth month of the first year of Jian’an, Yuan Shao entrusted Wei Commandery and his eldest son Yuan Tan to Grand Commander Ju Shou, then departed east for Guangzong, gathering Feng Ji from Anping and Cui Yan from Pingyuan, obtaining an army of eighty thousand. Yet he besieged the city for over ten days until the new year without taking it. And almost simultaneously, Gongsun Xun finally awaited the arrival of his eldest son Gongsun Ding and his Chief Clerk Lu Fan, along with a large accompanying shipment of provisions and baggage.

After the new year, on the third day of the first month, General of the Guard Gongsun Xun finally hesitated no longer. He administered an oath to the army beneath the walls of Handan, issued a proclamation to all of Hebei, and then the entire army of sixty thousand, casting aside Wei Commandery, immediately turned eastward and rushed straight for Yuan Shao.

At the same time, Guan Yunchang likewise abandoned his advance on Wei Commandery. Instead, he left behind a small defensive force and concentrated twenty thousand elite troops, striking straight for Dong Commandery along the Yellow River, which was still in the grip of ice breakup.

When Yuan Shao received the news, he was for a moment so bewildered that he did not know what to do, hesitating indecisively for days beneath the walls of Guangzong City.

————— I am the dividing line that is about to die —————

"In former times, when the Han was in decline, heroes rose together to contend for the realm, each wielding the assets with which they contended. The two Yuans relied on influence, Dong Zhuo on strength, Liu Biao, Liu Yan, and Tao Qian on their appointments, while Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Jian each grasped at the meager and incomplete fragments of their own wisdom and valor. Only Xun achieved success through people." — Records of the Late Han Heroes, by Wang Can

(End of Chapter)