Chapter 467: Preserving the State May Preserve the Self

Compared to Mei County, Chang'an was even more unsettled in its people's hearts, and the situation was more chaotic.

If one says that in Mei County things remained only at the level of so-called probing, and moreover were primarily organized self-probing within Gongsun Xun's faction, then Chang'an, this natural political city, was filled with all manner of unimaginable political waves.

As the year's end approached, after Gongsun Xun led thirty thousand infantry and cavalry into Chang'an, the entire city was in chaos.

There were ignorant scholars blocking the road in the streets, asking Gongsun Xun to become the Son of Heaven; there were white-haired old men, heedless of the winter cold, standing barefoot at his gate and cursing Gongsun Xun as a traitor to Han; there were large numbers of Han court officials, especially those mid-level ministers from the Three Adjuncts, openly banding together to petition Gongsun Xun to become a king; and there were also prudent ministers who, after many days of reflection, widely coordinated to publicly request that Gongsun Xun assume the role of Grand Commandant and oversee the affairs of the Masters of Writing.

And amidst all this, there were also all sorts of strange auspicious signs and anomalies mixed in!

An earthquake struck the abandoned capital of Luoyang, a jade imperial seal was unearthed at Mount Zhongnan, a skull hidden in a golden casket was found in the Dan River, and most terrifying of all, on the very day Gongsun Xun entered Chang'an, a dragon emerged from the Wei River! Several hundred honest folk who never lie all saw it together — its eyes were as big as lanterns, there could be no falsehood!

However, amidst the chaos, a portion of the ministers and high officials who truly possessed status and political prestige, contrary to their usual conduct, maintained an eerie silence, which amid all the clamor was even more unsettling.

At the same time, General of the Guards Gongsun Xun was also clearly well-prepared. From the moment he led his troops into the city, those who asked him to become the Son of Heaven and those who cursed him as a traitor to Han were uniformly sent away with some hot soup — neither rewarded nor prosecuted. To those who asked him to become a king or to become Grand Commandant overseeing the Masters of Writing, he put on a humble and deferential posture, declining and yielding with courtesy.

Correspondingly, Gongsun Xun made intense and urgent arrangements to deal with the aftermath of the Son of Heaven's flight.

On one hand, he invited Huang Wan and others to jointly discuss Liu Yu's posthumous title; on the other, he had Zhong Yao, stationed at Wuguan, send envoys to Nanyang to "request the Central Plains lords to escort the Son of Heaven back to explain the matter." He pacified the remaining palace attendants and maids within the palace, while also unflinchingly making public the matter of Gongsun Zan's private execution of Wang Yun that day, submitting it to the court for deliberation of his crimes...

To be fair, much of this was merely going through the motions. For instance, the palace attendants and maids were never going to starve, but no one could fault Gongsun Xun for showing concern for their welfare. As for Gongsun Zan's matter, Wang Yun was a commoner convicted of crimes; Gongsun Zan had merely killed him ahead of time, and Gongsun Xun had already stripped him of his position as Guard Commander and his military authority before entering Chang'an — what more was there to say? The ministers were simply ratifying it after the fact. As for "requesting the Son of Heaven to return," how could the Son of Heaven possibly come back? This was clearly meant to hold the Son of Heaven accountable and to disgust the Central Plains lords. It might even carry the implication of further making the Chang'an ministers abandon all hope. Yet, strangely, no one could find fault with it; everyone felt there was indeed some reason to it, that they ought to invite and persuade him first before discussing anything else!

However, by year's end, as Liu He, son of Liu Yu, finally arrived in haste on fast horses from Liaoxi to mourn, and Liu Boan was formally laid to rest, everyone's gaze once again turned to this former Grand Commandant.

In response, the well-prepared Gongsun Xun, in the name of the governing general, delivered a final judgment on the life of this Han regent:

Liu Boan was posthumously promoted to General of Chariots and Cavalry, with the posthumous title of Dinglie — "Profoundly considering and calming the people is called Ding; pure conduct without fault is called Ding; securing the people through great consideration is called Ding; securing the people and emulating the ancients is called Ding. Having merit and securing the people is called Lie; upholding virtue and honoring one's calling is called Lie."

Come to think of it, Liu Yu governed the Han court for six years. When he took over, the Han court's governing capacity had already been completely lost. To have maintained court stability and prevented chaos under such circumstances was already remarkable. One could even say that the entire realm, in the preceding six years, had been able to develop from the all-out chaos of the Dong Zhuo era to the localized stability of today, and this was partly his historical achievement.

Therefore, the character "Ding" could not have been more fitting!

As for the two interpretations of "Lie," the former naturally follows from the meaning of "Ding" and needs no elaboration, while the latter passes judgment on both the Son of Heaven's flight and Liu Yu's own death.

How was it judged? Of course, just like the earlier cases of Yang Ci (posthumous title Wenlie) and Liu Kuan (Zhaolie), the character "Lie" was used to clearly indicate that his death involved loyalty to his duty, a martyrdom to righteousness and responsibility. And considering the rather special profession of these three men — they were regents, after all — if regents were loyal to their duty, loyal to righteousness, yet had no choice but to die... correspondingly, what did that make certain other people?

In short, this posthumous title very fairly reflected Liu Yu's historical achievements and personal virtue. Liu He even seemed somewhat moved to tears of gratitude toward Gongsun Xun, and Huang Wan and others, who had remained silent until now, finally began to soften their stance.

As for how Gongsun Xun, a mere General of the Guards, could posthumously promote a Grand Commandant to General of Chariots and Cavalry, no one cared anymore. After all, the dead take precedence, and matters of posthumous honor always evoke empathy among those of similar standing.

And by the twenty-eighth day of the twelfth month in the fifth year of Jian'an, as Liu Yu was formally laid to rest, prepared for burial at Changling on the northern bank of the Wei River, this atmosphere of posthumous honor deliberately cultivated by Gongsun Xun reached its zenith!

First, Gongsun Xun actually joined Huang Wan in personally supporting the bier, escorting the filial son Liu He as they buried Liu Dinglie and his wife, who had received a posthumous title, with the full rites of a General of Chariots and Cavalry.

That was not all. The General of the Guards had long since issued an order requiring all court ministers great and small, subordinate officials, Jingzhao regional officials, and military officers down to the rank of company commander to accompany the funeral procession. At the same time, he specially dispatched Lieutenant General Zhang Liao to lead two thousand cavalry from Yecheng to escort the procession along the route, all wearing armor and draped in mourning hemp!

It was the winter leisure of year's end, and the immense posthumous honor and funeral rites drew even more officials and commoners of Chang'an to see him off. For a time, along the road from Chang'an to the Wei River, the Jingzhao officials and people who came to bid farewell numbered no less than a hundred thousand!

And throughout this procession, the sound of weeping from those lining the route and the wailing demeanor of the accompanying ministers were ceaseless to the ear and endless to the eye. There were even unexpected incidents and farcical scenes of people demanding to be buried alive with him!

Faced with such a situation that exceeded all expectations and imagination, what was rather unbelievable was that most of the clear-sighted attendees at the funeral, including the planners like Gongsun Xun, Jia Xu, and Xi Zhong, though surprised, were not unable to understand. In fact, to some degree, they too felt a sense of shared sorrow, as if it struck a chord within their own hearts.

In truth, some people may have genuinely felt gratitude for Liu Yu's protection of the Han house and his pacification of Guanzhong, and some indeed had deep personal friendships with Liu Yu. But more people did not necessarily truly know Liu Yu or feel grateful to him. It was simply that Liu Yu's death signified the end of a long period of stability, and so they felt lost and uneasy about the future. Encountering this overwhelmingly powerful atmosphere of grief, they could not help but lose their composure and weep for themselves!

Come to think of it, in these times of nationwide death and chaos, who did not harbor some hidden sorrow in their hearts, usually kept tucked away?

The state, the individual; the future, the past; death, new life... First came a vast, hollow grief for the state of affairs, followed immediately by those concrete, vivid things and images — children who died young, brothers scattered during the relocation of the capital, parents who starved to death, neighbors who vanished, friends who left and never returned... Finally, there was a kind of inexplicable, indescribable, pure sorrow that, strangely, everyone could feel as if it were their own.

To put it plainly, Liu Yu's funeral was far more than just one man's funeral. And today's weeping — how could it be weeping only for this single day?

One can only say that human joys and sorrows, perhaps in part, can barely be shared. And Gongsun Xun, as the orchestrator, had merely started it; he had no way to control the subsequent outpouring of the people's hearts.

A day of unrestrained weeping gave many people a tremendous sense of shock. Perhaps because of this, when Gongsun Xun returned to the General of the Guards' residence in Chang'an that evening and had just changed into casual clothes, he suddenly received several unexpected guests.

The visitors were none other than Huang Wan, acting overseer of the Masters of Writing; Zhao Qian, the Minister over the Masses; along with Zhong Shao, Ma Midi, and Shi Sunrui. Besides them, there was also Zhao Qi of Jingzhao, who had once served under Gongsun Xun as Grand Administrator of Fufeng and Deputy Director of the Masters of Writing, and who was now retired at home, nearly ninety years old yet still hale and hearty. These were the very people who had maintained silence all along, the true remaining influential representatives of the Han house, and the core strength that had actually sustained the overall situation of the Chang'an court during Liu Yu's lifetime.

They had clearly just returned home, changed their clothes, and then come together. To be honest, Gongsun Xun had never expected them to come so quickly; he even felt somewhat caught off guard.

One advantage, however, was that in dealing with these true, and final, elites of the Han house, there was ultimately no need for pretense. They were, after all, genuine figures and would not act foolishly.

Uncharacteristically, Gongsun Xun did not receive his guests in the main hall but met them in the private quarters of the rear courtyard, and in the simplest manner afforded them the greatest respect in terms of etiquette — he personally brought Wang Xiu, Xi Zhong, and Jia Xu to sit facing the several ministers.

Once both sides were seated, servants naturally brought hot soup and the fried dough snacks that were gradually becoming popular for the New Year. Noticing that the guests' faces, haggard and still visibly tear-stained under the lamplight, Gongsun Xun even had servants bring hot towels for their faces.

"In truth, the moment the Son of Heaven's flight became a fact, we already understood clearly," said Huang Wan, sitting ramrod straight as he removed the gradually cooling towel and spoke in a deep voice. "No matter how modest and deferential the General of the Guards might be, he would have to take another step forward. Otherwise, how could the eleven provinces of Hebei be governed? At that time, though we were disappointed in the Son of Heaven and in the overall situation, we still considered ourselves Han ministers, and so we thought to simply feign deafness and muteness from then on, fulfilling the last bit of duty as Han ministers. At the same time, we would observe how the General of the Guards, at the moment of his greatest achievement and on the verge of ascending to this great position, would lose his composure, reveal his ugliness, and willingly degenerate... After all, the previous cases of the He clan, the Yuan clan, and the Dong clan — did they not all achieve success in a single stroke and hold great power? And what was the result? Upon gaining great power, they were at a loss, arrogant and ignorant, acting recklessly and without restraint. What did it matter if they had the status of imperial in-laws, the prestige of being the realm's foremost clan, or unmatched strength? All were like duckweed, scattered by wind and rain. We simply did not expect that the General of the Guards would, after all, prove a cut above, able to steady his mind in the face of such temptation, so calmly and methodically winning over people's hearts, making things unfold so naturally and logically..."

"It is precisely because of these cautionary tales that one must be careful to avoid their mistakes," Gongsun Xun replied, making no attempt to hide anything. "Moreover, since the overall momentum is already in my favor, why can I not do things openly and honorably, calmly winning over people's hearts?"

"These things are easier said than done," Huang Wan sighed. "Besides, we have not come today, like those petty men, to praise how brilliant and martial the General of the Guards is. If the General of the Guards is brilliant and martial, those who should rejoice are these few seated beside him today. What does it have to do with us, these old and frail remnants?"

"Please, Lord Huang, speak plainly!" Gongsun Xun immediately nodded, then pointed to the heavens. "Since you, my lords, have come in person today, and we meet in a private chamber, and since Lord Dinglie's spirit is at its strongest today, let us swear by Lord Liu's spirit that in our conversation today, there shall be no empty words..."

"That is precisely my intention," Huang Wan also crisply pointed to the heavens in response.

The two exchanged a brief glance, then lowered their hands. Huang Wan continued his questioning: "After the new year, when the envoys return from humiliating the Son of Heaven and the Central Plains lords, the years-long non-aggression pact between the Central Plains and Hebei will naturally be voided, and the General of the Guards' advancement in rank will also proceed smoothly. Setting that aside, we merely wish to ask the General of the Guards in advance: what position do you intend to occupy to govern Hebei? Chancellor of State, or king? Or do you plan to install a new emperor?"

"Installing a new emperor would inevitably be laughable," Gongsun Xun replied frankly. "The Son of Heaven, Emperor Ling, and the Young Emperor — no matter how lacking in virtue or ineffectual these three, father and sons, were, they are still the legitimate line of the Han house that has ruled the realm for nearly thirty years. Though the current Son of Heaven has lost virtue, there is no close branch of the imperial clan that can replace him. Even if I installed a new emperor, how could I convince the people of the realm?"

Pausing briefly, Gongsun Xun then casually brought up another matter: "Actually, last night before Lord Liu Boan's funeral, his son Liu He spoke with me. He said that the debt of a father's murder cannot coexist under the same heaven, and that he hates the Son of Heaven to the bone, yet is constrained by the duty of a subject and his own insufficient strength, making it difficult to accomplish anything. So, if I were preparing to install a new Son of Heaven, he would be willing to cooperate and serve as a puppet Han emperor, asking only to avenge his father... Afterward, he would be willing to directly abdicate in my favor!"

"A fool!" Huang Wan slammed the table.

"Indeed foolish," Gongsun Xun sighed. "What he proposed might have one or two operable aspects, but did he not consider that if he became a puppet Han emperor, his father's lifelong reputation would become a laughingstock? For an old minister of Han, apart from reputation, what else is there left to seek at this point? So I dissuaded him."

Huang Ziyan stared fixedly at him, but ultimately his expression dimmed.

"As for becoming a king," Gongsun Xun continued when he saw the other man's silence, but then suddenly laughed inexplicably, causing a slight pause in his speech, "Emperor Gao swore by the white horse that none but the Liu clan could be made a king. This is an iron law of the Han house. If I were to become a king now, it would be hard to say who between the Son of Heaven and myself had truly lost more virtue. The people's hearts that I have painstakingly gathered would scatter once more... Therefore, it is better to establish a ducal state and set up a government! At the very least, the Han house has no rule that none but the Liu clan can be made a duke, right?"

"A fiefdom duke?" Huang Wan and the others were not surprised. "You are a man of Liaoxi, enfeoffed as Marquis of Ji, and rose from Youzhou. To be promoted further to duke and receive a proper and elegant title, it could only be Duke of Yan!"

"Is not Duke of Yan perfectly fitting?" Gongsun Xun replied solemnly. "Have you, my lords, considered this? The state of Yan originated with the Duke of Shao, and the Duke of Shao did not reside in his fiefdom year-round but instead jointly assisted in governing the court alongside the Duke of Zhou, dividing Shan and governing separately — the Duke of Zhou governing eastern Shan, the Duke of Shao governing western Shan. For me to receive the title of the Duke of Shao and govern the administration of Chang'an — does this not perfectly accord with Confucian allusions and ritual propriety?"

"The Duke of Shao was of the Ji surname..." Shi Sunrui could not help himself.

"The Gongsun clan is also of the Ji surname, and my lord's family has dwelt in Liaoxi for generations. Who is to say they are not the direct descendants of the Duke of Shao?" Xi Zhong retorted, feigning ignorance.

"That is not my meaning. I meant that the Zhou Son of Heaven was also Ji..."

"Enough!" Huang Wan could not help but interrupt Shi Sunrui's rambling. "At this point, what more is there for us to dispute? And this rhetoric from the General of the Guards is not meant for our ears anyway... It is just, General of the Guards, that by becoming a duke today, you may indeed have exploited a loophole in the Han house's institutions, allowing many people to find a cover and feel at ease. But as you yourself said, that applies to others. For us, old ministers of Han, all we have left to our names is but a single reputation. And if you can be a duke today, you can be a king tomorrow, and the day after, you can usurp the throne. When that time comes, what are we, trapped as we are by your manipulation of the Son of Heaven and Liu Boan's death, supposed to do? Or could it be that you are truly a loyal minister of Han, content only to serve as the Duke of Shao?"

The sarcasm in the other's words was unmistakable, but Gongsun Xun's expression remained as calm as ever: "I have just sworn an oath to speak no lies today, so to Lord Huang's question, I will not answer. However, what I can guarantee is this: I will govern for now with the rank of duke. And until the former territories of the Han's thirteen provinces are reunified into one, I will not take a single step further. As for you, my lords, Han ministers abandoned by the Son of Heaven — those who wish to retreat and preserve themselves will have ample time to withdraw slowly, without worrying about their posthumous reputations. Those who wish to accomplish something can also calmly shift their stance... In short, I will never coerce you, nor will I exploit the current situation, in which you have been abandoned by the Son of Heaven, to cause you to lose even the last shred of your good name."

Huang Wan and the others looked at each other. Then Zhao Qian, the Minister over the Masses, sighed: "You, sir, possess ten thousand, and so can naturally be so magnanimous. We, left with barely enough to preserve ourselves, cannot but accept!"

"Since you, my lords, know that my lord possesses ten thousand, you should also understand that my lord has truly done all that is humanly possible and right today," Xi Zhong said sternly, seeing that some of them still appeared hesitant and resentful. "And if you, my lords, truly insist on continuing to forcibly go against the tide, do you think that we, his subordinates, would be as lenient and benevolent as our lord? When it truly comes to the critical moment, does the one who possesses ten thousand really need to care about the one who clings to a single fragment?"

"Of course, we also know that you, my lords, care nothing for that either..." Jia Xu finally spoke. "But what meaning would there be in doing so? Today by the banks of the Wei River, a hundred thousand officials and commoners of Jingzhao gathered and wept together. Were they weeping for the Han house? Were they weeping for Lord Liu? Were they not weeping because the realm has yet to be unified, and people's hearts have yet to be fully at peace? And you, my lords, are outstanding men by nature; you should be able to see clearly: what the Han house can secure, my lord can secure; what the Han house cannot secure, my lord can also secure. No matter how much you, my lords, cling only to that single fragment, no matter how much you adhere only to the way of the minister, even as a minister, one must first be a human being before being a minister, no?"

"If we did not understand the will of the people, how would we have come to this?" Huang Wan replied with equal sternness, yet at the same time seemed so dejected as to be utterly listless. "Very well! At this point, further thought is useless. Let it be duke, then. After the new year, we will naturally cooperate! I only hope that the General of the Guards will remember today's words: so long as the realm is not unified into one, you will not advance a single step further!"

"Absolutely no falsehood," Gongsun Xun hastily answered aloud.

"Then let us go!" Huang Wan rose directly to his feet.

Gongsun Xun also immediately rose to see them off.

However, when Huang Wan and the others reached the threshold of the dwelling, the eldest among them, Zhao Qi, who also had the closest personal friendship with Gongsun Xun, suddenly turned back. Right there in the doorway, he bowed to Gongsun Xun: "Regardless of all else, although this affair was meticulously orchestrated by the General of the Guards, the fact that the General of the Guards could conduct it as openly and honorably as possible, without using power to oppress, and especially could grant a good outcome to Liu Boan and us old ministers — for this we are still endlessly grateful…"

Zhao Qi was nearly ninety years old; how could Gongsun Xun dare to act presumptuously? He hastily led the three behind him to return the bow.

"There is one more matter," Zhao Qi opened his mouth to ask again the moment the other party had straightened up. "Just now I saw the General smile at the mention of the White Horse Oath. Why was that? Could it be that you think the White Horse General breaking the White Horse Oath is Heaven's will?"

"Indeed," Gongsun Xun blurted out, then immediately froze along with everyone else.

"And after all under Heaven is settled into one, what then?" Zhao Qi continued, standing in the doorway and blocking the way out as he asked. "How shall Yan face Han?"

"It shall cover Han!" In the room where only the sound of breathing could be heard, Gongsun Xun, having regained his senses, simply stopped bothering to hide it.

"What do you mean by cover?" Zhao Qi pressed relentlessly.

"To cover and destroy it is one meaning of cover; to cover and overlay it is another!" Gongsun Xun answered frankly, his hand resting on the broken blade at his waist. "That is exactly what I mean! Lord Zhao, are you now going to pull an iron hammer from your sleeve and fight me to the death? Given your age and reputation, if you were to die here at my place… I fear I would be just as laughable as the Son of Heaven."

"I can fight no more," Zhao Taiqing turned away amid the dazed bewilderment of the others — Huang Wan, Zhao Qian, Shi Sunrui, Ma Midi — and the wariness of Pang De, tucking his hands into his sleeves as he walked. "And in the past, I could not fight Dong Zhuo; I could not fight the Proscription of Partisans; as a military advisor in Pingliang I could not fight the Qiang rebellion; as Inspector of Bingzhou I could not fight the Xianbei. Why then would I come to fight you today? I only borrow the words Lord Huang just spoke, and hope that you, sir, will remember what you have said today."

Once Zhao Qi had left, Huang Wan, Zhao Qian, and the others, after a moment of silence, followed suit one after another. Most of these men were already visibly aged, and in the cold air they could not help but shrink into themselves, appearing all the more desolate.

And when Gongsun Xun caught up again and personally saw these few surviving old ministers of the Han dynasty out of the General of the Guards' residence, before they even had time to bid farewell and part, suddenly, in the cold air, a crisp crackling sound came from the neighboring street. The several Han old ministers, who had been grieving all day, and the few on Gongsun Xun's side all froze together at first, then found themselves speechless. How could they not know? This was the sound of impatient children, unable to hold back any longer, setting fire to bamboo stalks early to hear the crackling of firecrackers bidding farewell to the old year!

Truly it is said: the old calendar has passed, the new calendar has arrived!

Returning to the matter at hand, although private exchanges between key figures can resolve practical problems — for instance, the visit by Huang Wan, Zhao Qi, and the others effectively removed the last practical obstacle to Gongsun Xun being declared Duke — small meetings are ultimately just small meetings. They can only solve problems; what truly confers legal and rational authority remains the grand assembly, the grand court conference.

Only a grand assembly, where everyone appears together in broad daylight at a venue of political significance, can make all participants jointly bear political responsibility for the final outcome, thereby giving that outcome political binding force!

Just as before, ten thousand words spoken by Gongsun Xun in private did not carry the political weight of that single rebuke he delivered before the Weiyang Palace.

In the sixth year of Han Jian'an, the Bingzi year, early in the first month, the Son of Heaven, who was in Wancheng, upon meeting the envoy, still refused to return. At the same time, he instead issued a proclamation to all under Heaven, ordering the feudal lords of the realm to rally to the throne and protect the imperial carriage in Nanyang, and to march west to punish Gongsun… the charges being the murder of the Grand Commandant and conspiring in sedition.

Upon receiving the reply, Chang'an erupted in an uproar. And General of the Guards Gongsun Xun, after dispatching the palace attendants and maids of Weiyang Palace to Nanyang, immediately led the hundred officials in recommending the Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Huang Wan, as Grand Commandant and Recorder of the Masters of Writing, and recommended Shi Sunrui as Minister of Works. At the same time, he filled the vacancy by appointing Ma Midi as Commandant of Justice, and made Handan Rong the Commandant of the Guards.

And once the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers were fully appointed, on the seventh day of the first month, the Three Excellencies, in turn, convened a grand assembly of all officials at Weiyang Palace. Citing the precedent of the Duke of Shao in the early Zhou and the old example of the Gonghe Regency under King Li of Zhou, the hundred officials jointly deliberated and proposed to confer upon General of the Guards Gongsun Xun the title of Duke of Yan, continuing to exercise military command over the eleven provinces of Hebei.

After three ritual refusals, and without any lobbying activities beyond legal and rational bounds, Gongsun Xun calmly accepted the Gonghe proposal of the Chang'an officials. An edict was issued by Grand Commandant Huang Wan, acting as Recorder of the Masters of Writing, formally ascending him to the position of Duke of Yan, with actual enfeoffment in the five commanderies of Liaoxi, Youbeiping, Yuyang, Guangyang, and Zhuo, within the provinces of You and Ping. Thereafter, he still exercised military and administrative command over the eleven provinces, acting on behalf of the fugitive Son of Heaven to carry out the duties of republican governance.

The entire process flowed smoothly like drifting clouds and running water, without the slightest hindrance.

However, after receiving the title of Duke of Yan, Gongsun Xun, in order to show respect, and before an heir, state consort, or state chancellor had been established, sent She Jian as an envoy to Nanyang to deliver documents. These provided a detailed explanation of the hundred officials' recommendation, while once again emphasizing the fact that the Son of Heaven's murder of the Grand Commandant had been witnessed by countless people with their own eyes, and once more urging the Son of Heaven to return to Chang'an to address the doubts of the hundred officials.

A somewhat fortunate matter was that when this envoy, dispatched on his errand during the great first month, reached Wuguan, he happened to encounter the Nanyang envoy Deng Zhi. It turned out that Cao Cao, Liu Biao, and Liu Bei had, with great difficulty, jointly persuaded the Son of Heaven to hold back, and were just preparing to confer upon Gongsun Xun the title of Grand General! And so, under the guidance of Zhong Yao at Wuguan, the two envoys exchanged documents with each other, and then simply turned around and went back, thus sparing themselves a fruitless journey during the great first month, and even avoiding potential mortal danger.

————I am the dividing line that bids farewell to the old and welcomes the new————

"The Azure Heaven is dead; the Vast Heaven is not yet established. The year is Bingzi; all under Heaven is greatly auspicious!" — *Sanfu Juelu*, by Zhao Qi

(End of Chapter)