Chapter 453: A Mountain Recluse Plays the Qin by a Grave as Ghosts Blow Out the Lamp

Liu Yu’s despair did not stem solely from Gongsun Xun’s arrogance and hostility, but also from the complex factions within the pro-Han camp… some things are not as simple as they appear on the surface, and even Liu Yu himself, the nominal leader of the pro-Han faction, could not fully articulate them.

In this regard, the one thing Liu Boan was certain of was that in a special place like Chang’an, the so-called pro-Han forces formed by four centuries of Han authority and virtue actually far exceeded surface imagination, and among them were no shortage of radicals. And this time, with the General of the Guards returning to Chang’an, Liu Boan’s response of requesting that Gongsun Xun be made Grand General and that his daughter be made Empress had in truth already been a desperate attempt born of necessity.

Why had it come to this?

It is rather interesting to speak of — the authority and virtue of the Han house had always been an exceedingly elusive thing. When Emperor Huan launched the Partisan Prohibitions, he utterly lost the hearts of the scholars; when Emperor Ling imposed additional taxes after the war, he lost the trust of all under Heaven; and when Dong Zhuo reduced Luoyang to scorched earth… at those times, this thing seemed not to exist at all — otherwise, how could things have fallen to such a state today? And how could those events have happened in the first place?

But when a definite, visible person or organization truly appeared, and when that party seemed indeed to possess the ability to cover over and replace this colossal entity that had endured for four centuries, that had inscribed its political system, folk customs, cultural geography, and everything else into the hearts of all under Heaven — then everyone grew fearful, even terrified.

Moreover, most people — including those who had previously participated in resisting, attacking, and dismembering this colossal entity — felt from the bottom of their hearts that they had a moral obligation to stop all of this.

Among them were noble houses and powerful clans entangled with the Han house for generations, traditional scholar-officials steeped in the Confucian classics who believed in loyalty to the sovereign, and even Liu Bei and Cao Cao — even though they understood in their hearts that once they themselves became the strongest under Heaven, they too would certainly entertain some notion of replacing the Han house, yet at this moment they genuinely felt a sense of mission to save the Han.

This is neither mystical nor hypocritical.

Because throughout history and across the world, such sentiments have been widespread — whether it be the present “upholding the Han house,” the later “expel the barbarians and restore China,” or even “oppose the Qing and restore the Ming,” as well as “Rome eternal” or “long live Persia” — these were never simple slogans; the widespread existence of loyalist remnants truly represented a considerable degree of popular sentiment.

In fact, this widespread nostalgic sentiment for old regimes is so prevalent that it has even reached a level definable in psychology — the psychological study of how, during dynastic transitions, the majority of people morally recognize the old dynasty is a field of research in its own right.

In other words, from the perspective of that scientific reasoning which Gongsun Xun so obsessively admired and yearned for, the people under Heaven upholding the Han house and resisting his Gongsun clan’s rule was not only a behavior worthy of esteem and recognition from the standpoint of traditional morality, but was also, astonishingly, a very scientific phenomenon.

After all, in this era, only two people could view matters through a novel set of values regarding right and wrong, civilization, and history — everyone else still used the most simple and traditional worldview to form their understanding and judgments. And from that perspective, no matter what, usurpation was always wrong, was it not?

One could even say that for these people, upholding the Han house was in itself both the most basic and the highest moral imperative — just as in some people’s eyes, “I can take his place” was itself the most conventional yet also the highest historical achievement… The era being what it is, what more is there to say?

Even men like Xu Yuanzhi and Chen Yuanlong felt doubt and confusion — how much more so for others who had experienced more alongside the Han house? Not to mention that Gongsun Xun himself had a great many latent enemies.

So everyone was confused. Even though Gongsun Xun had spoken of “a fallen world” and “a fallen state,” they were still confused. And confusion leads to hesitation and choices, to betrayal and steadfastness, to great numbers of people laying down their lives for the so-called four centuries of Han grace.

So returning to the matter at hand, men like Liu Yu, Shi Sunrui, and Huang Wan were truly the moderate faction within the pro-Han camp. Liu Yu had come from Hebei and knew the formidable strength of Gongsun Xun; Shi Sunrui was a steady, traditional Confucian notable native to Guanzhong, who feared that if Guanzhong went wrong it would turn into the hellscape that Henan had become, and so he had a natural need for compromise; Huang Wan, for his part, owed much to Gongsun Xun for sparing him from the Li Jue rebellion of another timeline, and thus had lived a few more years and traveled a bit further — after completing a circuit through the Central Plains, Jingxiang, and Bashu, he had seen through certain things and was utterly free of desire or ambition, wanting only to die a loyal minister of the Han.

But what of the others?

Those of unyielding temperament, those of narrow vision, those of short sight, those seeking to speculate, those harboring ill intent? And the great clans of Guanzhong whose vital interests had been harmed by Gongsun Xun’s new policies? Those who had grown excessively nervous because of Gongsun Xun’s military expansion? Even the Son of Heaven himself?

One can only say that certain matters and certain figures inevitably exist, and inevitably exist in great numbers.

For example, at the head of Baqiao Bridge, Gongsun Xun had in fact overlooked an extremely important group — over the past two years, the Son of Heaven and some pro-Han figures had not merely been requesting that the imperial harem be filled. In truth, after the Son of Heaven had bound his hair and come of age, it was rather ordinary for him to establish a few Beauties at fifteen or sixteen in order to continue the line. What the Son of Heaven and those around him had truly put their efforts into were the positions of Palace Attendant and Gentleman of the Yellow Gate.

According to Han institutions, Palace Attendants and Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate were close ministers who could be near the Son of Heaven. Thus, at the end of last year, Chang’an formally proposed the matter of selecting Palace Attendants and Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate from Chang’an itself, and at the time Gongsun Xun had actually agreed to let Chang’an make its own selections, with only a limit on the number of positions — six Palace Attendants and six Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate.

“That the General of the Guards was enraged by the matter of the external consort clans and focused all his attention on the three houses of Wang, Dong, and Fu is a good thing,” said the Grand Palace Grandee Wang Yun, who for the past few years had been residing in Chang’an under an idle title. Beside him were several of those who had earlier participated in the welcoming at Baqiao, and the place they were in was a private chamber in the rear courtyard of Wang Yun’s residence, without even a single servant, only the flickering light of candles. “Only thus will he not delay our greater plan… Besides, after today’s events, men like Liu Boan and Yang Wenxian, as well as those several Palace Attendants and Gentlemen, should also come to a sudden awakening. Given the Son of Heaven’s intelligence, he too will likely come to his senses — this is, on the contrary, a good thing for us!”

Having said this, he suddenly turned to a dark-faced man sitting cross-legged in silence and addressed him with a solemn expression: “Well, what does Palace Attendant Ma have to say now? General Ma Teng thought he could muddle along, but the General of the Guards clearly does not intend to let you off, does he?”

The dark-faced man was naturally Ma Yu, one of the six Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate. At these words, his face grew even darker: “Why must Lord Wang mock me? The General of the Guards spoke of attacking Shu — what does that have to do with us in Xiliang?”

Wang Yun pressed his questioning in an even deeper tone: “Why must Lord Ma deceive himself? From where would one march to attack Shu? Would Wudu have to be yielded to let the General of the Guards pass? And if Wudu allows the General of the Guards’ ten thousand elite riders from Yexia to enter together with Xu Rong’s forces, plus the half-commandery of Hanyang long since held in the General of the Guards’ grasp — may I ask how the two generals Ma and Han of Xiliang are to preserve themselves? Besides, who sends their own eldest son, held as a hostage, back to persuade surrender when attacking Shu? Who uses only cavalry to attack Shu? This is clearly a gesture to placate Liu Yizhou while turning back to stabilize him!”

Ma Yu tried to speak but could offer no rebuttal.

“Moreover…” Wang Zishi continued to speak solemnly and eloquently. “Is not the leader of the Volunteer Corps, Pang De, a famous general of Xiliang and the son-in-law of General Han? Is not the deputy general beside the Lieutenant General Zhang Liao that great magnate of Xiliang, Yang Qiu, who was pushed out by the two men Ma and Han? Even General Ma Teng’s eldest son, Ma Chao — is he not now serving beside that Commandant of Cavalry Zhao Yun? To attack the land of Shu, yet all the famous generals are of Xiliang origin? Lord Ma, the General of the Guards’ attack on Shu is in name only; in truth, it is the annexation of Xiliang. Anyone with the slightest discernment can see this at a glance. And even if his intentions are not upright, in matters of military deployment, how could one ever underestimate him? I urge you to contact the two men Ma and Han at once, inform them that the deadline for their survival is at hand, and have them make their resolve early!”

Faced with Wang Yun’s repeated questions and demands, Ma Yu remained utterly speechless.

Only now did some of those around them realize that Gongsun Xun actually intended to swallow up Xiliang, rather than to attack Shu… Of course, they could hardly be blamed — they truly did not understand such matters.

“We can also go and contact the several young masters of the Liu clan,” Wang Yun continued. “Previously they repeatedly declined our invitations, but today that may not be the case…”

“Is it not a matter of attacking Shu in name while in truth pacifying Xiliang?” someone asked earnestly — it was none other than another Gentleman of the Yellow Gate, Zhang Chang. “If so, what use is there in seeking them out?”

Wang Yun looked at Zhang Chang, inwardly helpless.

It must be said, Zhang Chang was the son of Zhang Huan, one of the Three Bright Men of Liangzhou. Yet back in the day, in order to shed his identity as a man of Liangzhou, Zhang Huan had not only toiled bitterly at studying the classics but also used his military merits to exchange for a household registration in Jingzhao, becoming a man of the interior. But that was not all — he had likely become somewhat obsessed with pursuing the image of a scholar-official, and so when educating the next generation, he insisted they study literature and practice calligraphy. Take Zhang Chang, for instance: as Zhang Huan’s legitimate son, he and his deceased elder brother Zhang Zhi were both renowned calligraphers. Zhang Zhi was the progenitor of cursive script, hailed as the Sage of Cursive Script, while Zhang Chang excelled in both cursive and clerical scripts, and relying on his elder brother’s fame, was hailed as the Second Sage of Cursive Script. And in present-day Chang’an, his clerical script was the only one qualified to be mentioned in the same breath as Zhong Yao’s.

Only his younger brother Zhang Meng still possessed some of their father’s lingering prestige and had considerable renown in Guanxi, which was why he had been specifically recruited.

And Wang Yun, upon seeing Zhang Chang speak out, was reminded by the principle of emulating the virtuous of yet another matter — Huangfu Song, who ranked among the Three Excellencies, after hesitating for a long time, had suddenly departed directly, and his son Huangfu Jianshou had also firmly resigned from the post of Palace Attendant, the entire family leaving Chang’an to flee from calamity, with only a discontented Huangfu Li remaining here.

For this, Wang Zishi bore no grudge against the Huangfu clan. The Huangfu clan had served the Han house with all their heart and strength, and at the end had merely withdrawn rather than turning against it, so he only sincerely felt regret. Because if the Huangfu father and son had been wholeheartedly loyal to the Han and willing to remain in Chang’an, then with the Huangfu clan’s prestige and military influence in Beidi, Hanyang, and the Three Adjuncts, they would absolutely have had great potential in facing Gongsun Xun’s attempt to annex Xiliang this time.

“Men suffer from never knowing contentment — having pacified Long, they gaze upon Shu,” seeing Zhang Chang inquire while Wang Yun was momentarily distracted, another man, a scion of a local renowned family of Guanxi, the Palace Attendant Jin Xuan, could not help but interject to explain. “Military matters are impossible to fully articulate. Back then, Emperor Guangwu, having obtained Long, gazed upon Shu, and the situation today is bound to be the same… If the General of the Guards can easily swallow up Ma and Han, he will inevitably attempt to attack Zhang Lu in Hanzhong in order to secure all of Long. And if Hanzhong is then easily taken, attacking Shu will no longer be a pretext, and the matter will simply proceed as a matter of course.”

“So that is how it is,” Zhang Chang said, suddenly enlightened. “Then I shall go and speak with Palace Attendant Liu Dan. The two of us are close friends, and I can certainly convince him, and then have him persuade his elder brother — on this journey to Shu, he must observe the situation and be ready at any moment to move troops north…”

“Do not seek out Liu Dan,” Wang Yun hastily waved his hand. “The Liu brothers have always been unwilling to join us. Firstly, because Shu has always been at peace with the General of the Guards, and secondly, because both brothers are constrained by the General of the Guards… The year before last, when Liu Yizhou sent an envoy requesting the return of his sons, the General of the Guards only sent back the middling third son, Liu Mao… In other words, at this moment, only Liu Fan himself, who is about to leave Chang’an and return to Shu, can be entrusted with important matters. Liu Dan is not worth the risk.”

Zhang Chang slowly nodded.

Seeing that the other seemed somewhat unconvinced, Wang Yun could not help but lower his voice and exhort them earnestly: “Gentlemen, even I must admit that the General of the Guards has indeed rendered great service to the court, and what he said at Wei Bridge was particularly capable of beguiling people’s hearts. Add to that the strength of Hebei’s troops and horses, and now he has brought ten thousand elite riders here, causing men to tremble with fear… Under the present circumstances, it is entirely possible that someone, seeing the situation turning unfavorable, will directly become one who betrays the grace of Han. Therefore, when you gentlemen make your contacts, you must be exceedingly cautious — you absolutely must not put on an air of self-satisfaction, to the point of leaking secrets and bringing about the extermination of your entire clans! Especially since the General of the Guards is in a fit of anger this time and has not paid much attention to you Palace Attendants and Gentlemen — we must be all the more careful and absolutely must not be exposed. For once exposed, it will inevitably provoke suspicion and bring about collective punishment. At that point, it would be no matter if we ourselves die and our clans are wiped out, but the grace of Han must not be betrayed!”

The men in the room said no more, but together bared their left arms, imitating the allusion of Zhou Bo exterminating the Lu clan — all who sided with Liu bared the left!

Wang Yun nodded slightly. The gathering then dispersed, and as they emerged from the secret chamber into the starlit courtyard, they also saw the figures of Palace Attendant She Jian, who came from a great clan of Guanzhong, and Huangfu Song’s nephew Huangfu Li — this was hardly surprising.

To put it plainly, the Palace Attendants and Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate were close ministers to the Son of Heaven, and when the Son of Heaven had taken advantage of the pretext of binding his hair and studying to reestablish these two positions, his original intent had been precisely to use them to recruit talent and seek political allies.

Only, compared to those three external consort clans, it appeared somewhat more open and aboveboard.

A moment’s thought makes it clear: of the six Palace Attendants, aside from Huangfu Jianshou who had resigned and left, the remaining five — Yang Qi and Yang Zhong were scions of the foremost clan of Guanxi, the Yang clan of Huayin in Hongnong, and were cousins of Yang Biao; Liu Dan was the second son of Liu Yan; She Jian and Jin Xuan were the helmsmen of great local clans of Jingzhao.

And of the six Gentlemen of the Yellow Gate, Ma Yu was a relative that Ma Teng had recognized anew in the Three Adjuncts after gradually establishing himself, and fundamentally represented Ma Teng; Ding Chong was a man of Qiao in Pei, a fellow townsman of Cao Cao, and at this moment he absolutely did not know the fate his two sons would meet in another timeline; Fu Gan was of the Fu clan, the foremost great clan of Beidi, and the son of the famous minister Fu Nanrong; Gai Shun was in the same situation as Fu Gan — his father was Gai Xun, and his clan was deeply rooted in Hanyang; as for Zhang Chang and Huangfu Li, both were descendants of the Three Bright Men of Liangzhou, which needs no further elaboration.

These men either had ample reason to be loyal to the Han house, or ample reason to oppose Gongsun Xun, and all were men of substance — either they could find military allies from outside, or they came from great local clans, or they wielded enormous political and military influence in Liangzhou, the Three Adjuncts, and elsewhere… It is evident that the Son of Heaven, who had just bound his hair, and the loyal ministers around him had indeed put considerable effort into selecting these men at the time.

Among them, She Jian, who came from a great clan of the Three Adjuncts, slipped out of Wang Yun’s residence and secretly turned into a small alley. After sighing for a long while, just as he was about to take a roundabout route on foot to find his carriage parked far away, he was unexpectedly stopped by someone.

“Palace Attendant She,” the man was a trusted servant of Wang Yun. “My master requests that you turn back for a moment.”

She Jian dared not delay and hurriedly turned back. Returning to Wang Yun’s residence and re-entering the secret chamber, he saw that his colleague Jin Xuan was also there. The two nodded to each other, and before She Jian had even settled into his seat, Wang Yun spoke words that startled them: “Palace Attendant She, Palace Attendant Jin, there is a matter I wish to entrust to you both… Could you two separately go to the General of the Guards’ residence and secretly report today’s gathering?”

She Jian was immediately dumbfounded.

But Jin Xuan quickly understood: “Does Lord Wang feel that the General of the Guards will sooner or later become aware of us? And so wishes to disrupt his mind in advance?”

“Indeed,” Wang Yun replied earnestly. “I have thought about it at length. The General of the Guards may indeed have been enraged by the marriage matter on Baqiao, and for a time his eyes were only on the three external consort clans. But given his intelligence and his longstanding prejudice against me, sooner or later he will be on guard against me, and from me will think of you Palace Attendants and Gentlemen. In that case, rather than sit and wait for death, it is better to disrupt his mind first… And I also know that for great clans of Guanzhong such as Palace Attendant She and Palace Attendant Jin, although you are exceptionally dissatisfied with the General of the Guards because of the new policies, you fear his overlord’s broken blade even more — otherwise you would not have superficially submitted back then. And now that the General of the Guards has returned to Chang’an with ten thousand riders, even if you were truly loyal to the Han house, I would not dare to use you!”

She Jian and Jin Xuan exchanged a glance, then both tried to speak at once.

“There is no need to defend yourselves. This is in truth a strategy that serves both sides perfectly. On one hand, it can be considered that you have done your utmost for the Han house; on the other, you can spare your clans from calamity and extricate yourselves from this — whether the endeavor succeeds or fails in the future, you can rest at ease… Since that is the case, why not gladly accept it?” Having said this, Wang Yun bowed low. “Just consider it as the two of you enduring a temporary grievance for the sake of the Han house, and serving as doomed spies!”

She and Jin each sighed, and could only bow in return.

After rising, Jin Xuan took the initiative to ask: “When we go to the General of the Guards, whose names should we report? I beg Lord Wang to speak plainly.”

“Naturally, report my name, that of the Colonel of the City Gates Dong Cheng, the two Generals of the Household of the Left and Right Fu and Wang, as well as the Gentleman of the Yellow Gate Huangfu Li, and your own two names,” Wang Yun replied frankly, clearly having already thought it through. “The three external consort clans are too obvious — the General of the Guards deeply hates them, and the General of the Guards has long since harbored a bone-deep resentment toward me as well… Although Gentleman Huangfu is valiant, since Lord Huangfu and his son have already left, he most likely cannot command his uncle’s old troops. And the General of the Guards, out of regard for Lord Huangfu, will probably not make things difficult for this man who is already of no use — he is perfect to use as cover.”

Hearing these words, She and Jin knew that Wang Yun had long since devised a proper plan — how could they say more? They merely bowed once more and departed in haste.

The next morning, at the General of the Guards' residence.

"In other words," Gongsun Xun looked at Liu Fan before him, thoughtful. "Wang Zishi sought you out, and told you that after returning to Shu, not only should you not urge your father to surrender, but you should instead urge your father to raise troops and resist me? And then he also said he would join Dong Cheng, Fu Wan, Wang Bin, and others in carrying out a great undertaking in Chang'an, to coordinate with you?!"

Liu Fan nodded repeatedly without pause.

"History advances in a spiral, not a circle — how is it you people still don't understand?" Gongsun Xun gazed at the man before him, the eldest son of Liu Yan, who fully qualified as an old acquaintance, and shook his head for a moment. "If I recall correctly, without me, you'd have died long ago, you brat!"

Liu Fan grew increasingly flustered... Setting aside that last line, as for the one before it — he understood every single word, so why did he not understand them at all when strung together? And that last line was somewhat bewildering too — which occasion exactly was it referring to? It should be referring to Dong Zhuo moving the capital, right?

However, this did not delay this first heir of Yizhou from immediately nodding and speaking with earnest sincerity: "The General of the Guards' grace and virtue — this young one has never forgotten it. If I harbor even half a thought of betraying the General of the Guards, may I die beneath a volley of stray arrows!"

—————I am a dividing line that doesn't understand anything when strung together—————

"When the Grand Ancestor arrived at Chang'an, the crowd of villains trembled in terror. Wang Yun joined with the various traitors to conspire against the Grand Ancestor, renewing old oaths. Before long, of the eight who met, four turned informant!" — Old Book of Yan, Volume 2, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, the Martial Emperor

PS: Couldn't sleep. Originally planned to take a day off, but after sending the leave notice, I ended up writing two chapters through the night... But I still need to take leave, there might be nothing tomorrow. Just consider the leave notice moved to tomorrow. Mainly I'm afraid my sleep schedule won't flip back and I'll drop dead, so I'm planning to take melatonin tonight after getting home to force my schedule back... Off to move bricks now.

Come to think of it, I say I'm taking leave all the time, yet last month I exceeded the quota, and this month it's 27k in five days — what exactly is there to complain about?

(End of Chapter)