Chapter 432: Ask Not Whether the Realm Will Soon Be Cleared

In the midsummer of the fifth month, as Xiahou Yuan galloped back from Jinan, the whole realm seemed in an instant to enter an era of great harmony… Gongsun Xun, the mightiest man under Heaven, adopted a cautious posture and turned back to construct institutions, while the lords of the Central Plains, under the immense military and political pressure from Gongsun Xun, grew exceptionally close among themselves.

Envoys came and went without cease; the Sui River Covenant was revised anew. Cao and Sun pledged their children in marriage — that need not be elaborated. Tao Qian had no daughter, but he married the most outstanding woman of his wife’s clan to Liu Bei, who sat astride Huainan; she became known as Lady Gan.

What is worth noting is that the person who truly presided over and brought about this marriage was none other than Cao Cao’s own father, the former Grand Commandant Cao Song. As early as when Cao Cao went north to Yanzhou, disregarding his age and stout frame, he personally traveled back and forth between Xuzhou and Huainan in the capacity of Liu Bei’s elder. He met with Tao Qian to renew old ties and, moreover, on Liu Bei’s behalf, carried out the ritual inquiries and name-asking, and even straightforwardly paid out of his own pocket to help Liu Bei complete the most important gift-presentation rite. This gave the marriage pact enormous political significance under the witness of a third party, and Lady Gan thereby gained unprecedented political standing.

By comparison, as a concubine who came as part of the dowry, the younger sister of Tao Qian’s Attendant Clerk Mi Zhu — Lady Mi of Donghai — was unavoidably cut down by more than three heads.

The four great powers of the Central Plains were thus linked as one, advancing and retreating together, and under the great cause of the Han throne they temporarily maintained a certain political deference toward Gongsun Xun in order to preserve peace… For a time, it seemed as if the nearly eight or nine years of warfare that had begun with the Yellow Turban Rebellion were thus dissolved.

The common people, at least those in the Yellow River basin, could draw a ragged breath at the edge of life and death, and the scholars, who had likewise been plagued for over a decade by war, plague, famine, and bandits, once again welcomed a period of activity.

One must understand that those calamities are fair to everyone. Bandits might perhaps barely distinguish whether you are a renowned scholar and then only take your grain while sparing your life, but famine and plague would never regard you with any higher favor. In these eight or nine years, who knows how many aristocratic and renowned clans withered to the point where only a few young children remained, like the Wang clan of Shanyang? Even those who barely maintained their position — the acknowledged representative houses of the aristocracy, such as the Yuan clan of Runan — did they not die off until only Yuan Shu was left? And the Xun clan of Yingchuan — did they not first lose half their number, and then have people continually thrown into Dong Zhuo’s prison and Gongsun Xun’s frontier labor reform teams?

One must realize, these were the former heads of the ducal houses, the representatives of the aristocracy. If even they fared thus, how much better could those below them be?

However, once the situation had stabilized a little, unlike the common folk who pondered picking wild fruits through the summer in anticipation of autumn, the scholars who could draw a slight breath reacted first to the question of their career prospects.

Because for over a decade they had had no proper prospects to speak of.

In all fairness, if you encountered a lord adept at unearthing talent, like Cao Cao, Liu Bei, or Liu Biao, coming to your home region, that was fine — you could at least take office in the province or commandery. But what could you say if you met a lord like Tao Qian, who would throw you into prison if you declined office even once, taking it as a slight? What could you say if you met lords like Liu Yan, Jia Long, Shi Xie, or Zhu Jun, who fell to outright armed conflict because of regional tensions? And what could you say if you met someone like the Zhang Celestial Master of Hanzhong?

And Tao Qian, Liu Yan, even the Zhang Celestial Master could still be considered decent. If by chance you ended up with a lord like Yuan Shu, who had close ties with all the realm’s bandits, where could you go to reason with him?

This is no joke. Yuan Shu stirred up trouble in the south for four or five years, and apart from the achievement of his power gradually shrinking from the top three in the realm to the point where Sun Jian was now turning on him, his greatest bizarre accomplishment was gaining the support of all the realm’s bandits!

The Heishan Bandits had given Yuan Gonglu their distant support back then; the Bobo Bandits had also given Yuan Gonglu their distant support back then. When the Yellow Turbans of Yuzhou rose up and drove out Kong Zhou, they fought under the banner of the General of the Rear. Even when the Quebei Bandits, suppressed by Liu Bei, went north to plunder Xu Chu’s hometown, they did so hoisting Yuan Shu’s banner of sweeping through Yuzhou — to say nothing of those river bandits and lake bandits of the south. Whenever these men fell out with Zhu Jun and his two sons, who had been driven out of Jiaozhou and were entrenched in Jiangdong, they would raise high the banner of Yuan Gonglu!

Even when Gongsun Xun swiftly entered Qingzhou, the professional revolutionary Yu Du, active around Mount Tai, egged on Guan Hai to change the banner of the General of the Guard and proclaim himself a close ally of the General of the Rear…

To put it bluntly, even someone with power as vast as Gongsun Xun’s, when he wanted to establish a new system, had to bend down and make a show of compromising with the Confucian scholars of Qingzhou. Yet you, Yuan Gonglu, with such fine territory and power at the start, not only consorted daily with bandits, but to maintain a life of luxury, you plundered aristocrats, local strongmen, and commoners alike. No wonder even your own clansmen were unwilling to follow you and turned instead to follow Liu Bei!

Of course, for the scholars, seeking office was a serious matter, especially when one also had to consider the survival of the clan and the reality of de facto regional separatism. Thus, most maintained a cautious posture, lest they end up in Hetao, undergoing the punishment of shaved heads and sheep-herding. But as for the prerequisite for seeking office — that is, pursuing learning — there were far fewer misgivings… Word spread that the court was establishing a Grand Academy at Yecheng, that the Old Text classicism widely welcomed in the Guandong region had officially become a state-sanctioned doctrine, and that the Classicist Sage Zheng Xuan had accepted summons to become the Grand Minister of Ceremonies, presiding over teaching and talent selection at Yecheng. Not only in Hebei, but scholars throughout the Central Plains were stirring with eagerness.

“In my humble opinion, of the General of the Guard’s many new policies, aside from the measure of dividing provinces, the rest are all stopgap measures to rescue the times amid chaos. They may not endure, nor may they necessarily be intended to endure… Excessive speculation is profitless!”

In the latter part of the fifth month, at Zhuyi in Pei State, Yuzhou, by the banks of the Sui River, in a ‘Charity Lodge’ where everything cost money — that is, an inn and tavern established by Cao Hong’s household commanding a strategic point on the Sui River — one evening, as the world grew gradually calmer, the place became exceptionally lively. The scene of traveling scholars, carrying bundles, driving carts, and bearing books, engaging in spirited discourse at night, stirred some emotion in many of the older patrons.

“Your words, sir, seem somewhat frivolous, are they not?” The speaker had a mouthful of a Huainan accent and was a youth barely past his capping ceremony, traveling alone. In Huaibei, the heartland of the Central Plains, he could not avoid some discrimination. Thus, when he could not resist joining the discussion, a young scholar at the neighboring table, playing cards after his meal, immediately raised his voice in rebuttal. “Setting aside all else, just look at how the General of the Guard established laws on the Dragon Boat Festival, and immediately the proclamations of the new system were issued simultaneously everywhere in the name of the court. Within ten-odd days, the proclamations were posted here at the Sui River. It is clearly something he painstakingly outlined for a long time, with both diplomacy and domestic policy long prepared… This matter alone shows that he is determined to implement this new law!”

“I am Jiang Gan, styled Ziyi, of Jiujiang. Greetings, brother.” The young man, hearing someone argue, grew excited instead, and immediately turned around, speaking in his Huainan accent.

“So it is the prodigy of Jiujiang. I am Meng Jian, styled Gongwei, of Runan. Beside me is Shi Tao, styled Guangyuan, of Yingchuan… er… this card-playing friend is also from Yingchuan, called Xu Shu, styled Yuanzhi.” The one who had casually rebutted him, Meng Jian, seeing the other so courteous and recognizing a famous figure from Jiujiang, had no choice but to put down his animal cards along with his two card-playing friends and rise to return the greeting. “One table, four sides, three players short of a full game… If the prodigy is alone, why not join us at this table?”

“The title of prodigy is merely the flattery of my countrymen, not worth mentioning. To meet all you talents of the Central Plains on this journey is my honor.” Jiang Gan replied while directly carrying over his own bowl of mung bean soup and sitting down, not the least bit shy with strangers.

As it happened, Jiang Gan had been renowned from his youth in Huainan, yet he was neither arrogant nor impatient, but so amiable, which instead made Meng Jian and the others feel somewhat embarrassed.

Therefore, after everyone was seated, they shuffled the cards anew and began a four-player game, while at the same time continuing the previous topic with a degree of caution and politeness.

“What did Ziyi mean earlier when he said the General of the Guard’s new policies might not endure?” After a brief pause, to avoid awkwardness, it was Shi Tao who picked up the topic and asked.

“Brother Gongwei misunderstood earlier.” Jiang Gan answered with a smile, his speech clear and articulate. “I did not mean that the General of the Guard has not put his heart into the new policies, nor do I doubt his resolve. Rather, I meant that these policies are not his personal innovations, but are mostly drawn from old policies. Judging by the past results of those old policies, these are destined to be useful only for a time… that is, during times when the realm is torn apart and when the world is first settling down. Later on, after the realm is at peace, these policies are destined to be difficult to sustain, or will have to be changed back!”

“We would like to hear the details.” Although Xu Shu was young, he appeared extremely steady and remained silent throughout. It was Meng Jian and Shi Tao who, after exchanging glances, took the initiative to ask.

“In truth, the General of the Guard’s many new policies are nothing more than three matters. First, suppressing the local strongmen, opening up sources of revenue and seeking wealth — such as abolishing the poll tax and incorporating it into the land tax, the three-chieftain system, and land surveys. Second, sweeping away the culture of pure talk and fame-seeking, and restructuring the path to officialdom — such as abolishing the recommendation system and permitting self-submission of name cards, establishing the Grand Academy at Yecheng, and setting up subject-based examinations for recruitment into office. Third, unifying military and civil administration — such as dividing provinces and splitting commanderies, and the nine-rank grading system for both civil and military officials.” Jiang Gan answered with a serious expression. “These measures, like the General of the Guard’s denunciation before the Weiyang Palace, laying the blame for the realm’s chaos on Emperor Ling, the aristocracy, and the local strongmen, all follow the same thread. Would you gentlemen agree?”

“Ziyi’s analysis is incisive.” Meng Jian nodded in agreement — these were matters known to all.

“Among them, the suppression of local strongmen needs no elaboration.” Jiang Gan, seeing this, continued with a serious expression. “In the Former Han, because the strongmen annexed land too severely, the people had no ground to stand on, so that bandits gathered in the hundreds of thousands, the Red Eyebrows and Green Woods rose up together, and Wang Mang seized the opportunity to usurp the throne… Back then, after Emperor Guangwu, the Founder of the dynasty, settled the realm, he was mindful of the Former Han’s decline. Therefore, as soon as the realm was slightly at peace, he forcefully pushed the policy of land surveys, and thus re-established the Han house for one hundred and eighty years. And now, how similar is the realm’s situation? The General of the Guard, disregarding all else, is re-implementing this policy, adding to it the three-chieftain system and the abolition of the poll tax for the land tax. One can only say it is a matter of course, with slight intensification.”

Though he said “needs no elaboration,” he spoke at great length, yet with such logical clarity that everyone could only nod in agreement.

“As for the Grand Academy and the examination policy, these too have long existed.” Seeing everyone listening attentively, Jiang Gan continued to speak with assurance. “Gentlemen, do not forget the present dynasty’s Imperial Academy and its student system. This system began under Emperor Guangwu and flourished under Emperor Ming… In the past, the Imperial Academy students studied at the Luoyang Imperial Academy, took renowned Confucians and Erudites as their teachers, set up subject-based examinations, and entered officialdom through them. And now, the General of the Guard establishes a Grand Academy at Yecheng, with the Classicist Sage as its head, sets up subject-based examinations, and recruits officials through them — is this not exactly the same? Only the revival of Old Text classicism can be called a rectification, a slight improvement.”

The crowd then suddenly understood… In fact, the Han dynasty had a long-standing practice of selecting officials by examination. Jiang Gan only knew of the Later Han’s Imperial Academy system and was unaware that such policies had existed in the Former Han as well, ever since Emperor Wu of Han established the Imperial Academy, annually selecting its outstanding disciples for direct appointment. Emperor Guangwu, himself a former Imperial Academy student during Wang Mang’s time, had merely repeated the old policy.

“As for unifying military and civil administration…” Jiang Gan gave a light laugh. “This needs even less elaboration. Since ancient times, whoever wishes to accomplish great things must build a new stove from scratch, no?”

The people around him smiled knowingly.

But after the laughter, Meng Gongwei still remembered the other’s initial words and pressed further: “Ziyi is well-versed in both ancient and modern times, plucking the sources of various policies with ease. Yet according to you, are these policies not just right? Why then can only the measure of dividing provinces endure?”

“Is it not obvious?” Jiang Gan had long anticipated this question. He lowered his head to drink a mouthful of mung bean soup to moisten his throat, then held his cards and smiled. “In the past, how did Emperor Guangwu throw himself into the land surveys without regard for himself, to the point that provinces and commanderies all revolted and meritorious officials were all cast aside? Yet after Guangwu, the land survey policy still existed in name, so why did it fall to the point where the General of the Guard must now re-implement it by force of arms? One must realize, had not a hundred thousand soldiers died in Hebei, how could this policy be carried out? And when the Imperial Academy students were at their height, they numbered thirty thousand, everyone vying to be a student. Why then are they nowhere to be seen now, so that those wishing to enter office must seek fame through pure talk and armchair discourse? Consider how Cui Yan was detested by the General of the Guard. Granted, there was the matter of him personally killing an old friend and then venting his anger, but as a man of frontier origin who rose through military merit to assist in governing the realm, could it not also be that in his heart he truly loathes these aristocratic and renowned clans to the extreme?”

The few at the table fell silent for a moment. In the end, it was Meng Gongwei who pressed half a question further: “Why? Why has it fallen to such a state today?”

“This is because at the founding of any dynasty, those in charge are mostly like you and me, having witnessed with their own eyes the abuses of the past, and so can hold fast to their original intent and press forward without retreat. Once the realm is at peace, the powerful and noble dwell in comfort and corrupt themselves! The strongmen accumulate and arise of their own accord; the aristocratic clans accumulate office and form themselves. What use is any system then?” Jiang Gan set down the animal cards in his hand and spread his hands in rhetorical question. “After the land surveys of this dynasty, every commandery administrator of two-thousand-bushel rank who took office would deal with the strongmen and thereby be considered a capable official. Yet after Emperor Guangwu, the realm was at peace for no more than a hundred and twenty or thirty years, but the strongmen instead grew larger and larger, and the two-thousand-bushel officials gradually lost their power. Can the General of the Guard’s land surveys escape this pattern? Will the three-chieftain system not be controlled by the strongmen just as the village and ward system was? And will the policy of abolishing the poll tax and incorporating it into the land tax not become a mere formality because the minor officials are controlled by the strongmen?”

Hearing this, not only the few at the table, but many of the surrounding scholars also gradually fell silent.

Seeing this, Jiang Gan’s enthusiasm for discourse grew even stronger: “The same principle applies to the Grand Academy policy. The Imperial Academy policy of this dynasty was in fact abolished by the eunuchs. At that time, the recommendation system was instead a measure to rescue the situation, and it was precisely by relying on this measure that the unchecked power of the eunuchs was blocked. But later on, you recommended me, I recommended you. Once the ducal houses rose to power in a single morning, with disciples and former subordinates filling the realm, who was willing to yield their position to others? Thus we had the two Yuans, four generations of Three Excellencies, using this to blaze with power for a time and bring chaos to the realm. And now the General of the Guard establishes subject-based examinations as the new system. Who will serve as chief examiner? Since there is a chief examiner, there will always be the relationship of disciple and master, will there not? In the future, can it truly avoid the situation of disciples and former subordinates filling the realm? As for the nine-rank system, its introduction at this moment is even more a matter of balancing civil and military interests while establishing the system. In the future, when the realm is settled and at peace, and civil and military fall out of balance, who can say what will happen? That is why I said that only the measure of dividing provinces is the best… because by doing so, official posts will only increase. This alone is something no one will oppose.”

The crowd burst into laughter for a moment.

“So you are saying that all the General of the Guard has done is useless?” After the laughter subsided, it was the young scholar at the table who had remained silent all along, Xu Shu, who opened his mouth to ask a rebuttal question.

“That is not what I meant.” Jiang Gan laughed even more. “I merely wished to say that the General of the Guard’s new policies today are in fact utterly lacking in novelty. It is simply that, compared to Emperor Guangwu, he is more ferocious, his military might is greater, and his strategies are stronger… And since Emperor Guangwu in the past could use those old policies to extend the mandate of the Fiery Han by one hundred and eighty years, can the General of the Guard’s policies not secure a mandate of two or three hundred years? I will not hide it from Brother Xu — the purpose of my journey is precisely to go to Yecheng to see if I can enter the Grand Academy.”

The people around him burst into laughter again.

And Meng Gongwei simply rose to his feet, cupped his hands, and praised him: “No wonder people say that Jiang Gan of Jiujiang has a talent for debate unmatched in Jianghuai. Truly incisive!”

The atmosphere in the hall of the ‘Charity Lodge’ grew increasingly lively.

As it happens, just as Jiang Gan said, although Gongsun Xun, leveraging the prestige of his military victories, implemented many new policies, they were not necessarily earth-shattering, because everything Jiang Gan said was true… Even Lady Gongsun, after understanding some of the old systems of the Han dynasty, could only fall silent.

But Jiang Gan’s words were also completely limited by his own knowledge; he failed to see through to the essence. Or rather, he overlooked a ‘benevolent policy’ that Gongsun Xun had implemented very early on.

In fact, from Gongsun Xun’s own perspective, the hidden killer move that he and his mother, Lady Gongsun, had arrived at after research and discussion was none other than the process of gathering land and people through military and civilian agricultural colonies, and then disbanding those colonies.

Specifically, starting from this autumn, beginning in Youzhou, Gongsun Xun would gradually disband the military and civilian agricultural colonies, and then grant land to the original colonist families based on the number of able-bodied individuals. This process would then be repeated in the post-war regions of Jizhou, Yingzhou, Qingzhou, and the already depopulated Shanzhou… And this policy, later called the ‘Equal-Field System,’ was precisely the key that, after the collapse of the old Qin-Han system and centuries of disorientation, finally turned toward the Sui-Tang system in history.

All the three-chieftain system, the large-scale land surveys, and even the examination system originated from or served this policy. Divorced from this policy, these systems were nothing but trees without roots, water without a source, because in an agricultural society, land is the most important means of production, and the ownership of land is the foundation of all systems and all human relationships.

The collapse of the Qin-Han system, and the subsequent five-hundred-year period of disorientation in history, was in essence the evil fruit of land annexation by rural strongmen. Compared to this, the ossification of the middle and upper classes seems more like an inevitability triggered by it.

And the crux of this policy lies in the fact that the farmland does not belong to private individuals, but is owned by the Son of Heaven. However, in eras of political clarity, the common people can, based on the number of able-bodied individuals in their household, receive allocations of government land by household unit… In other words, land ownership is split in two from the strongmen: upward, it is assigned to the Son of Heaven; downward, it is granted to the commoners. The mainstream of society thus becomes small independent farmers, and the strongmen will gradually lose their dominant position within this social structure.

Of course, it was only natural that Jiang Gan could not see through it or did not notice, because this policy was secretly hidden behind the agricultural colony system, and the agricultural colony system, because everyone needed to fill their bellies, had long been imitated by the lords of the realm… Under such circumstances, no one paid attention to Gongsun Xun’s large-scale agricultural colonies and their disbandment.

Moreover, Jiang Gan’s argument was not entirely wrong. Even if Gongsun Xun completed this Equal-Field policy, great landlords would by no means disappear, the policy would not be a once-and-for-all solution, and it is not to say that later great landlords would cease land annexation, or that the powerful and noble would not become corrupt, and so on… But the problem now is that the Qin-Han system has indeed reached its end. Historically, it collapsed completely from the end of the Han, and it took five hundred years to grope toward a new system. Thus, the era, in any case, needs a new system, and the decay and backwardness of this new system do not need to be discussed by those currently caught in war, utterly helpless before the old system.

From another perspective, if they could truly leap over five hundred years of disorientation in one bound and allow the realm to directly enter the next historical stage, then Gongsun Xun and his mother would truly have a clear conscience before Heaven and Earth. And given the current situation, it might truly not be impossible… After all, compared to the Northern Wei dynasty that historically completed this process, Gongsun Xun may well possess the same might as the Northern Wei. What the Northern Wei could do, he might also be able to do; what the Northern Wei could not do, he could also do; and the difficulties the Northern Wei could not overcome, he simply does not have.

And the most crucial point is that, even from Lady Gongsun’s lofty, strategic perspective, Sui-Tang compared to Qin-Han did not truly involve much of a leap in productive forces. It really was just a re-establishment of the system… and nothing more.

Of course, mother and son were not that pure and noble either… The land was ‘owned by the Son of Heaven,’ and then the government, on behalf of the ‘Son of Heaven,’ distributed land to the common people. Once the civilian colonies in Youzhou were disbanded, from whose hands these common people actually received the land — that needed no asking.

So, once this system is complete, some people will be Sons of Heaven without being the Son of Heaven… Jiang Gan did not fully grasp this, but his words already carried a vague inkling of it.

“I truly never imagined that these scholars today would have such insight, yet be so bold — are they not afraid that I, a man born of the greatest powerful family in the Central Plains, might go down and cut them down? Do they not know I am stationed here?” Listening from the upper floor of the charity hostel, in a room facing the Sui River with its window open, beside a low table piled with wine and dishes, a man of martial bearing shook his head and laughed ruefully. This was none other than the famed general of Yanzhou, Li Jin, Li Tuizhi.

“I didn’t even know, so how would they?” The man sitting opposite Li Jin was even more imposingly built, with a green cord and silver seal hanging at his waist — none other than the renowned general of the realm, Zhang Fei of Zhuo Commandery, Zhang Yide. “Besides, these scholars have just come of age, having grown up almost entirely in times of chaos. They have seen life and death so often, what is there left for anyone to fear?”

“That is true.” Li Jin smiled and raised his wine cup. “Setting aside their boldness, I never expected that being reassigned here would let me chance upon you, Yide… For that alone, it is worth a full cup!”

Zhang Fei laughed heartily, and the two raised their cups and drank together.

After draining a full cup, Zhang Yide could not help his curiosity: “Today we are friends, not foes, so I am truly puzzled — why is Tuizhi here?”

“Why else?” Li Jin shook his head with a bitter smile. “I had not wished to speak of this before you, Yide, but it cannot be avoided… My presence here is tied to one matter — the very ‘new policies’ of the General of the Guard that those young fellows downstairs were just discussing!”

Zhang Fei raised his brows in rare surprise.

“It is like this.” Li Jin spoke frankly. “After Commandant Xiahou returned to Yanzhou, he spoke to General Cao about the matter of the Lishui Reservoir. General Cao, and that Mr. Xun Wenruo who governs Yanzhou, though they had much to say about the General of the Guard’s unilateral division of provinces and the establishment of a university at Yecheng, they were quite approving of the land-survey and other measures to deal with powerful families… And my family is precisely the foremost powerful family of Yanzhou, spanning three commanderies, with tens of thousands of registered households. If our lands cannot be surveyed, then this whole policy becomes a joke.”

“Tuizhi came here of his own accord?” Zhang Fei, blunt yet perceptive, felt a stir in his heart. “To avoid making things difficult…”

“Partly of my own accord, partly going with the current, and partly under orders.” Li Jin grew increasingly helpless at this. “Ever since my nephew died beneath the walls of Handan, my elder brother has been rather resentful of me. When I was commanding troops abroad, it was one thing, but returning now would be unavoidably awkward. Moreover, General Cao is a man of benevolence and honor, and still wishes to employ me… So this deployment is one part General Cao and Adjunct Clerk Xun’s stratagem to lure the tiger from the mountain, one part my elder brother’s own disdain for me, and one part an open and aboveboard political strategy. This place is the old home of Lord Cao’s family — he wants me to take advantage of Grand Commandant Cao’s absence in Xuzhou to carry out the land survey here!”

Zhang Fei suddenly understood: “In that case, it is actually a good thing!”

“A good thing both publicly and privately.” Li Jin sighed, but under Zhang Yide’s gaze, he changed the subject. “But what of you, Yide? I heard that before the Dragon Boat Festival you had already sealed your gold and returned your seal, departing Qingzhou. Should you not have returned to Huainan long ago? Why are you still here now?”

“On my journey back, I recalled a matter.” Zhang Fei chuckled lightly at this. “In the past, when the refugees of the Shaobei bandits in Huainan suffered famine and moved north into Yuzhou, I encountered a brave warrior surnamed Xu. Passing through here with nothing to do, I thought to recruit him for my brother Xuande, so I went searching for quite some time…”

“Did you find him?”

“He was conscripted by your General Cao last year.” Zhang Fei could not help shaking his head. “I heard he even went along to Chang’an, and at the General of the Guard’s mansion there, he had a contest with Lu Fengxian. It is said he lost the mounted bout, then stripped to the waist for a foot bout and won, drawing the old madam’s praise on the spot as ‘Tiger Fool,’ and was gifted brocade robes.”

“Was he the one with a waist ten spans around and a height of eight chi?” Li Jin mused thoughtfully. “Now that you mention it, I have seen him…”

“Let us not speak of him.” Zhang Yide shook his head all the more. “The General of the Guard once said himself that your general and my brother Xuande are both able to win men’s hearts. Once a brave warrior like that enters the fold, there is no chance of him leaving. So I tried again in Yuzhou to find some other talents to bring to Huainan… Unexpectedly, I suddenly heard that my brother was to be married, and dared not delay further — only to run into you, Tuizhi, right here!”

Li Jin seemed about to speak, then stopped, and instead personally poured wine for the other: “Wandering the rivers and lakes, let us simply get drunk today! Tomorrow morning, I shall see Yide across the Sui River!”

“Let us get drunk!” Zhang Fei accepted the wine with proud bearing.

The two drank freely for a time, but before they could truly enjoy themselves, they were disturbed by a clamor from downstairs… It turned out that urgent military intelligence had reached Zhuyi City. Soldiers had gone to the camp to find Li Jin but failed, and had tracked him all the way here. Upon learning that Li Jin was drinking with Zhang Fei, they dared neither disturb them nor easily leave, and instead had alerted the many traveling scholars carrying their bookcases.

Li Jin had no choice but to halt the merry drinking with Zhang Fei. The two rose and went downstairs together, calming the scholars and merchants while also inquiring about the military situation.

“Reporting to the General!” The messenger bowed hastily in the brightly lit hall and spoke rapidly. “Liu Biao of Xiangyang, seeing General Sun’s offensive so fierce, felt that when the lips are gone the teeth grow cold. A few days ago he suddenly reversed course — not only making peace with Yuan Shu, but there are vague signs he is secretly aiding Yuan Gonglu’s moves… General Sun, in great fury, has mobilized all troops from Runan, Yingchuan, and Nanyang, and at the same time sought reinforcements from Lord Cao of Yanzhou. Lord Cao has ordered that since the troops of Runan, Yingchuan, and Nanyang are all present, there is no need to actually send troops to help. He only instructs the General to make some preparations, detach a small force to escort some grain and fodder westward, and simultaneously notify Lord Liu of Yuzhou on the south side of the Sui River, asking him to strike Liu Biao from the Huainan flank!”

“Understood.” Li Jin, slightly tipsy, was actually unperturbed by this, and directly offered a brief explanation to Zhang Fei. “That Mr. Xun Wenruo had long anticipated this, and I have long been prepared… And with Brother Yide here, it saves me even more trouble.”

Zhang Fei, also somewhat tipsy, shook his head repeatedly: “I understand the matter, but when my brother first established himself in Huainan, he leaned on Tao of Xuzhou to the left and relied on Liu of Jingzhou to the right. Knowing his character, he may not be willing to kick a man when he’s down.”

“Then the lands of Jing and Xiang will fall to Sun Polu.” Perhaps it was indeed the wine, but Li Jin spoke freely there in the charity hostel hall. “Liu Biao is a mere scholar — how can he restrain a fierce tiger? I fear this time it is simply fulfilling Sun Polu’s wishes! If so, our Lord Cao gains the six commanderies of Yanzhou for nothing, Sun Polu rampages across the river — would your esteemed brother not fall behind others?”

Zhang Yide still shook his head: “If he falls behind, so be it. A war without righteousness — how can one wage it?”

“In chaotic times, blades must cross and the realm must be contested. Clinging to benevolence and righteousness alone is useless, is it not?” Li Jin argued further.

“If one loses honor for the sake of gaining the realm, that is even more useless.” Zhang Fei replied with proud bearing. “Since my brother already has a foothold, he will not lightly do such a thing. As for Sun Polu, let him take Jing and Xiang on his own.”

The scholars and merchants in the hall had long known the identities of the two men. Hearing this exchange, they were all stunned into silence, not daring to speak. Amid the stillness, Li Jin slowly nodded and argued no further… However, the matter was indeed of great importance, and Zhang Fei still had to cross the Sui River immediately to reach the half of Pei State that Liu Bei held on the southern bank. So the two men, heedless of the darkness, went out together, preparing to cross the river.

As they stepped outside, before they could mount their horses, they heard another commotion behind them. It turned out that one of the scholars, named Xu Shu, Xu Yuanzhi, because military conscription had arisen again and his elderly mother remained alone in Yingchuan, was about to part ways with Shi Tao and Meng Jian — with whom he had studied in Nanyang — and the newly acquainted Jiang Gan, and was hurrying off alone into the night toward his home in the northwest.

Seeing this, Zhang Fei dismounted again, called the man over, and gave him his own horse. Xu Shu was overwhelmed with gratitude and bowed on the spot to give thanks.

After this interlude, Li and Zhang rode together along the Sui River to the ferry crossing not far from the charity hostel, and boarded a boat together… The Sui River was merely a tributary of the Huai River, and even with the summer swell it was only two or three hundred paces wide. In an instant they reached the opposite bank. The men at the pavilion on the far shore received Zhang Fei, and Li Jin, in turn, handed over the fine Hebei steed he had specially brought across the river to Zhang Fei… Yet as he offered the reins, he hesitated for a moment.

“What does Tuizhi mean by this?” Zhang Fei could not help laughing. “Reluctant to part with a horse for me?”

“That is not my meaning. It is you I am reluctant to part with, Yide. The rivers and lakes stretch far, and once we part north and south, with war rising again, who knows when we may meet once more?” The Milky Way reflected upon the Sui River. Li Jin, one hand gripping the horse’s reins in hesitation, spoke with earnest sincerity.

“You and I are men of blade and war. To meet once after a great battle is already a joyous thing — why imitate the manner of a young maiden?” Zhang Fei laughed all the louder.

“Very well.” Li Jin simply placed the reins into his hand. “Riding after wine, be sure to take care.”

“In Zhuo Commandery, it was as if I was born on horseback.” Zhang Fei thought nothing of it, and simply mounted the horse in one motion, then prepared to clasp his hands in farewell from the saddle.

“Yide!” Seeing this, Li Jin instead stepped forward and grasped the other’s hands. Under the torchlight beside them, his expression grew ever more earnest. “Earlier in the hall, there were some words I could not speak before those loose-tongued scholars. Even now, it smacks of sowing discord. But I truly wish to warn you… Those who hold power — their original hearts are most prone to change. Your own heart is selfless, and the realm looks up to you. But have you considered: if one day your brother Liu Xuande were to commit an act that betrayed righteousness, and you were beneath him, what would you do?”

Zhang Fei was silent for a moment, then answered slowly: “I do not believe my brother would do such a thing.”

“Yet even so, there is one matter that cannot be avoided!” Li Jin continued without hesitation. “The General of the Guard holds half the realm and implements new policies, clearly intent on claiming the realm within ten years. And your brother Xuande, in the name of his younger brother, sits firmly in Huainan, effectively participating in the Central Plains alliance. One day in the future, when the General of the Guard, with the great righteousness of the realm, swallows up the Central Plains, and your elder brother, as a regional lord, defends against him — that too could be considered a righteous war… You, caught in the middle — how will you find your place?”

Zhang Fei smiled at these words: “Tuizhi, today in the charity hostel, I listened to those young fellows discuss the great trends of the realm and found it all tedious. For beneath the walls of Handan, the General of the Guard once entered the city drunk after a rest day, and grasping my hand, he spoke of such things… That man said then: the great trend of the realm — long divided, it must unite; long united, it must divide. That is all there is to it!”

Li Jin’s heart was shaken beyond words.

And Zhang Yide continued his calm narration: “At that time, the General of the Guard asked me — he was determined to pacify the realm within his lifetime, but what of Yide, and what of Xuande — what was to be done then?”

“How did you answer?” Li Tuizhi, recovering himself, was also curious.

“I said… My Lord once declared he would not betray the realm; my brother Xuande declared he would not betray my Lord; I too once declared I would not betray my brother, nor my Lord… The sun and moon shine brightly; a man must only hold himself dear, and thus not betray. What the two of them do, I do not know. But I, Zhang Yide, will never commit an act that betrays righteousness. I imagine neither my Lord nor my brother would ever make me do a faithless deed.” Zhang Fei looked at Li Jin and answered slowly. “And so, when my Lord marched east on campaign, after the shield-wall at Jie Bridge, before he had even settled on a general’s title, he hurried north. Yet before he reached Qingzhou, he specially sent a man to give me a seal as General Who Upholds Righteousness, to fulfill my sense of honor… Tuizhi, though these are chaotic times, this realm does not consist solely of power and stratagem. Or rather, precisely because these are chaotic times, the word ‘honor’ is all the more needed! Look at those who truly achieve great things — do they not all possess a certain heroic spirit?”

Li Jin sighed deeply and moved to withdraw his hands: “It was the heart of a petty man speaking…”

“That is not so.” Zhang Fei grasped his hands and continued. “I do know the difficulty of your situation… Under Yuan Shao, holding clan troops for your own use made you an object of suspicion; under Cao Fenwu, you bear the added status of a surrendered general; and now you are disdained by your own elder brother. The reason they all still employ you is because you still hold troops. But Tuizhi, you must heed this one word from me: no matter what — whether to preserve your clan, or for the valor of a general — in these chaotic times, you must hold to something. You must not, for the sake of temporary hardship, abandon your original heart. If it truly came to that, you would be as laughable as grass and trees. A true man born into this world — how could he be so?”

Li Jin slowly nodded, but a sourness rose in his nose, and he nearly shed tears… To think that he, while striving with all his might to preserve his clansmen and fulfill the duty of a general, had been repeatedly suspected, to the point of being relegated to escorting grain in the rear. And in the end, it was an old acquaintance, met only twice by chance over several years, who understood his plight.

Of course, Li Tuizhi was after all a veteran general of the battlefield. With a slight adjustment, he steadied his heart, then stepped back several paces and gave a solemn, formal bow. Seeing this, Zhang Fei said no more. He knew well that his own magnanimity toward others stemmed from the magnanimity that Gongsun Xun and Liu Bei had shown him — judging others by himself, he had come to this.

And so, beneath the river of stars, with a slight clasp of hands, he turned and departed.

——————I am a dividing line split into pieces——————

“Zhang Fei was on good terms with Li Jin. Fei was about to cross south to return to Liu Bei. By the Sui River, Jin said: ‘You, my lord, owe no allegiance to north or south. Yet the north is strong and the south is many. When north and south one day contend, where will you stand?’ Fei laughed and said: ‘Your name, my lord, is Advance-Retreat. If one day the great trend presses in and you are caught between advance and retreat, what name will you bear?’ Jin could not answer. Fei then said: ‘I once heard from the northern side that the great trend of the realm — long divided, it must unite; long united, it must divide. This is not something raised by human effort. You and I, both common men born into chaotic times, should simply hold to our original hearts. Parting north and south, why ask of advance and retreat?’ Jin sighed deeply, crossed the river, gifted a horse, and made a grand bow before returning.” — Records of Heroes at the End of Han, by Wang Can

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(End of Chapter)