Chapter 507: Pointing Southward, the Winter Journey Is Better (Continued)

Yuan Shu's coercion succeeded. After he put forward those two demands, which were clearly extremely insulting and carried special political implications, the following day, just as they reached Baishui Village in Zhangling, the young Son of Heaven, on the verge of turning seventeen, directly capitulated — and capitulated with utter thoroughness.

Yuan Gonglu, who half a month ago was still a prisoner under house arrest and just the day before was a mere commoner, by virtue of the two thousand troops left to him by his former son-in-law Lu Bu, transformed in a single stroke into the Grand General and Director of the Secretariat of the Great Han Dynasty.

There was no helping it — the post of Minister of Works was simply too shameful for the Son of Heaven to bestow... Cao Mengde had only been serving the state loyally for a mere seven or eight days; to do such a thing would be far too unconscionable! But the post of Grand General, after the Son of Heaven hastily installed Lu Bu's widow, Lady Yuan, as Empress, became somewhat reasonable and proper.

After all, since ancient times, having a maternal relative serve as Grand General could be considered a fundamental political tradition of the Han imperial house.

And from Yuan Shu's perspective, after Baishui Village, no matter what, the Yuan clan — the "Zhong" surname under Heaven, which had produced five officials of the Three Excellencies rank in four generations — had now even achieved the status of imperial in-laws... One could fully say that Yuan Gonglu had elevated the Yuan clan's standing to an entirely new level.

He could die without regrets!

Of course, although this matter seemed for the moment to be a cause for universal satisfaction due to the Son of Heaven's compromise, misgivings still remained.

For instance, many ministers could not understand: even if he wished to use the method of marrying off a daughter to gain the legitimate and proper authority to control the Son of Heaven, why did Grand General Yuan insist on making his eldest daughter the Empress?

It must be known that Yuan Shu had two daughters. Although the younger one had not yet reached the exact age for the hairpin ceremony, she was still thirteen or fourteen — forcing an early hairpin ceremony and marrying her to the Son of Heaven was entirely feasible... Relatively speaking, Yuan Shu's eldest daughter, Lady Yuan, the widow of Lu Bu, was somewhat delicate in implication.

It was not a matter of her being a widow — widows becoming empresses could also be considered a certain tradition in the Han imperial house. And interestingly, several widowed empresses had borne the Han house exceptionally outstanding heirs; the mothers of both Emperor Wen and Emperor Wu were of widow origin, and though they were not favored in the early period, later the mother became honored through the son.

But the problem was, had Lu Bu not just slipped and died?

A mere three to five days — not even the first seven-day mourning period had passed — and here they were rushing to marry her off as Empress. It could not help but give one the feeling that the Yuan clan was deliberately insulting the Son of Heaven.

In fact, on the road after Baishui Village, the few surviving ministers beside the Son of Heaven discussed it privately and could only come up with two possibilities:

First, Grand General Yuan was deliberately humiliating the Son of Heaven, and doing so without cause.

After all, everyone could sense that Yuan Gonglu's mental state was indeed somewhat abnormal at present. Many speculated that Grand General Yuan must have eaten too much pig and sheep offal during his earlier house arrest, such that his brain was indeed somewhat afflicted. Coupled with the fact that the situation had truly deteriorated to the extreme, he was thus so utterly lacking in scruples.

And second, some believed that it might be because Lu Bu had died suddenly, and Grand General Yuan could not actually properly control those crucial two thousand troops. His eldest daughter, Lady Yuan — now Empress Yuan — to some degree, by virtue of her status as Lu Bu's widow, still retained influence over this last armed force of the Han house.

Therefore, Grand General Yuan's action, which appeared utterly unbridled and arbitrary, was in fact carefully considered in his mind — killing two birds with one stone: he both controlled the Son of Heaven and seized political power, and also isolated his eldest daughter, thereby thoroughly controlling the army!

It could be called perfect!

But no matter what, on this hurried flight, with the dignified Han court withered to such a state and all dignity utterly lost, such discussions instead seemed laughable... To put it bluntly, at this moment, the authority of the Son of Heaven and the face of the ministers were not even as important as a bowl of hot water after making camp each day.

A bowl of hot water could relieve fatigue and provide warmth — what kind of thing was the dignity of the Han house?! Let us wait until we reach Jiangxia to speak of it!

On this day, it was the last day of the tenth month. The Son of Heaven's party, hastily traveling south, numbering about three to four thousand, entered the territory of Sui County, at the border of Nanyang Commandery and Jiangxia Commandery. Seeing that it was growing late and there was no time to enter the city, they simply made camp twenty li north of the city, on a desolate hillock beside the Zha River.

However, though it was called a desolate hillock, after making camp in the evening sunset, an accompanying official discovered a broken stele. Upon closer inspection, they realized that this place was actually the world-famous Snake-Severing Hillock!

The so-called Snake-Severing Hillock refers to the story that during the Spring and Autumn period, the Marquis of Sui encountered here a great snake that had been severed into two halves yet did not die. Deeming it a divine anomaly, he ordered medicine to be applied and the halves joined. After receiving the medicine and being joined, the great snake immediately slithered away as normal and left... Later, it took the initiative to bring a huge precious pearl in its mouth to present to the Marquis of Sui as repayment.

And this precious pearl was precisely the Pearl of the Marquis of Sui, which was equally renowned as the Heshibi jade disc.

Once everyone knew the origin of this place, naturally there was no lack of discussion about the past and present. And while others merely talked, the Son of Heaven, following this allusion, suddenly thought of the Imperial Heirloom Seal formed from the Heshibi. He recalled that back then, during the great chaos in Luoyang, when he was not yet ten years old, he had fled to Mount Mang with his elder brother, the young Emperor Liu Bian. After they returned, all six imperial seals were present, but the Heirloom Seal alone was nowhere to be found.

Now, as the Son of Heaven pondered this matter, on one hand, he could not help but associate it with the theory that the Han house had lost the Mandate of Heaven; on the other hand, he also recalled his innocent elder brother who had been forced to drink poisoned wine... For a moment, overcome with emotion and sorrow for the times, he turned and walked onto the desolate hillock beside his tent, stood by the riverbank, and gazed at the Zha River as tears streamed down his face.

And the more he thought, the more sorrowful he became; the more sorrowful he became, the more his tears could not be stopped.

Truly it is said: the mighty long river flows ceaselessly from ancient times; sorrow rises from within and cannot be severed.

The surrounding soldiers were seeing the Son of Heaven shed tears for the first time, and seeing that the so-called Son of Heaven, when crying, was no different from their own seventeen- or eighteen-year-old brats, they too discussed it animatedly and pointed at him.

It must be said that at this time, the Son of Heaven was essentially isolated. Apart from these soldiers assigned by Yuan Shu, only Empress Yuan and the two Honored Ladies could be by his side — and the two Honored Ladies had not dared to leave their tent for the past few days... Thus Empress Yuan could not help but feel anxious and ashamed.

This was only natural.

A couple joined midway, she had forcibly occupied the position of Empress by leveraging troops, and yet these past few nights there had indeed been the grace of physical intimacy between husband and wife. Moreover, Empress Yuan had matters weighing on her heart and always felt she had wronged the Son of Heaven... But no matter what, with the Son of Heaven now weeping like this and no one else around, as his proper wife, Empress Yuan could only steel herself and step forward to console him.

"The Empress does not understand!" When the Son of Heaven saw Empress Yuan coming to ask, he instead wept even more sorrowfully, even having to cover his face as he faced her. "I am thinking of my imperial brother, long deceased, and moreover I know in my heart that I cannot escape the same fate as my imperial brother of old — that is why I am so ill at ease..."

Empress Yuan was shocked and bewildered upon hearing this: "Why does Your Majesty say such a thing? General Cai behind us has not let the Yan rebels through — have we not already fled all the way to the border of Jiangxia? Once we reach Jiangxia, according to what the various ministers say, we can always have a few more years of stable days. We can make further plans then..."

The Son of Heaven shook his head repeatedly: "Why does the Empress bother to cover up? The one who kills me may not necessarily be the Yan rebels. And as things stand now, if the Yan rebels truly killed me, I would have nothing to be unwilling about... What I fear is precisely the Grand General!"

Empress Yuan was momentarily panicked, but could only force a strained smile and continue to persuade: "Your Majesty, please set your mind at ease. My father has no such intention."

"If he has no such intention, why is it that even the personal guards beside me have been driven away while we are within the army?" The Son of Heaven shook his head even more. "From Chang'an to here, I had only thirty or forty armored soldiers of the Tiger Guard by my side for protection. Now the Grand General, with two thousand troops encircling us, holds both title and military authority — what does he have to fear from thirty or forty men? Yet the Grand General insisted on driving away those mere thirty or forty men, and only two or three eunuchs remain... It is clearly as if he intends to kill me at any moment!"

When Empress Yuan heard this last part, she grew increasingly frantic and uneasy. But just as she was about to speak, the Son of Heaven had already stopped his tears and turned his head back, facing her with a solemn expression: "I must trouble the Empress to go and invite the Grand General! Tell him that although I am weak and feeble, I am still a descendant of Emperor Gaozu and do not fear death... If he wishes to kill me, let him do it today! Otherwise, let him return my original attendants to me!"

With these words, he turned his head away to gaze at the Zha River and did not look back again.

Empress Yuan was utterly embarrassed, yet could not avoid it. She slowly nodded and helplessly withdrew.

It must be said that although Empress Yuan was not very old, she could at least confirm two things. First, although her father indeed seemed somewhat mad, he actually had no intention of killing the Son of Heaven — at least not in the short term. Second, the Son of Heaven's grievance, worry, and sullen anger were beyond doubt and entirely understandable. Pushed to this point, even the old palace maids accompanying them were discussing it privately, let alone the man himself.

But then again, Empress Yuan was also reluctant, and even more afraid, to let her father and her "new husband" meet. Because she could see that her father's mental state was abnormal — even without that intention, it was not impossible that he might do such a thing. And the Son of Heaven was clearly carrying immense resentment... If the two met at this moment, even if Yuan Shu originally had no unspeakable thoughts, it was very likely that something unspeakable would happen.

And so, Empress Yuan turned and left the Son of Heaven. She first retrieved half a box of gold and pearls she carried with her, and then, instead of seeking her own father, she took the initiative to go among the ranks and summon the two Qu Military Commanders stationed near the Son of Heaven's ceremonial guard. She fairly and proportionally rewarded the two men and some of the junior officers under them with the gold and pearls. Then she personally gave orders to the former subordinates of her late husband, instructing them to lift the restrictions and allow the General of the Gentlemen of the Tiger Guard, Jing Ze, to come before the Son of Heaven and take charge of his personal guard.

It must be understood that the troops accompanying them at this time — whether the men Yuan Shu had recruited in Jiangxia and brought to Nanyang, or those Lu Bu himself had recruited in Nanyang, or Lu Bu's trusted followers — were all essentially under Lu Bu's command. Thus, just as those ministers had speculated, many soldiers' allegiance to Yuan Shu was largely based on the feudal instinct of personal dependency; they followed Yuan Shu on Lu Bu's orders as Lu Bu's father-in-law, rather than being directly loyal to Yuan Shu himself.

And besides, even if they were truly loyal to Yuan Shu, how many days had it been?

Therefore, when the current Empress, Lu Bu's widow and Yuan Shu's eldest daughter, stepped forward, and with special rewards to boot, these troop leaders had nothing to say. For the moment, the two Qu Military Commanders, without even reporting to Yuan Shu, who was personally bringing up the rear, directly obeyed the order and allowed Jing Ze, Deng Zhi, the several dozen armored Tiger Guard soldiers who had come from Chang'an, and the dozen or so eunuchs and such back to the Son of Heaven's side.

In all honesty, the young Son of Heaven himself had not expected matters to proceed so smoothly. Secretly delighted, he took the opportunity to discuss important affairs further with Jing and Deng. At this time, Deng Zhi proactively advised the Son of Heaven to ease up slightly and wait until they entered Jiangxia in a couple of days before making a move. His reasoning was that since the soldiers outside were so easily swayed, the Son of Heaven could also bestow favors to win them over, which would make things more secure then; and after a few more days, Yuan Shu's vigilance would further decline.

However, the Son of Heaven did not agree, and his reasoning was also quite sufficient — delay breeds change. Who knew when Yuan Shu would have another fit of madness and isolate him again? Never mind losing a golden opportunity, what if that scoundrel truly went mad and really killed him, the Son of Heaven?

Besides that...

"Besides that, think on this, my ministers." With the Tiger Guard soldiers he had been accustomed to since childhood now around him, the Son of Heaven spoke much more comfortably, and the sorrowful indecision of the evening was gone, replaced by a somewhat irrepressible resolve. "Given Liu Biao's current posture, although he is somewhat vacillating, his intention to use me to stabilize the Great River region is still there, and he is indeed prepared to yield Jiangxia... Since that is the case, if we can eliminate this wretch before entering Jiangxia and enter Jiangxia unencumbered, then although we cannot hope to rally immediately and counterattack, we might well seize this opportunity to gain control of a commandery and no longer have to bend and stretch in such difficulty."

Once these words were spoken, although Deng Zhi still had misgivings, he said no more. Jing Ze, however, appeared thoughtful and then nodded repeatedly.

Having thus decided, the three no longer hesitated. Deng Zhi set out immediately, taking advantage of the setting sun to head to the rear army to seek Grand General Yuan Shu. He said that the Son of Heaven had a chest of court treasures brought from Chang'an — not essential items — and given the current difficult times, he wished for the Grand General at the rear and the Grand Commandant at the front to come over together to distribute them as rewards to the ministers and soldiers to maintain morale.

Yuan Shu, upon hearing this, had nothing to object to... Although the pursuing troops behind had been blocked by Cai Mao, in just this short half month, quite a few people had already deserted along the way, and such a measure was indeed called for. Moreover, hearing that Yang Biao was also going, and confident in his control of the troops, he felt completely safe and rode directly with a dozen or so horsemen following Deng Zhi.

By the time they reached the camp at the center of the column where the Son of Heaven was staying, it was already dark. Yuan Shu could no longer distinguish between the soldiers. He only saw from a distance that the Son of Heaven was sitting by a fire at the foot of the small hill by the Zha River. He dismounted and strode forward, shouting: "Why is the Son of Heaven out here in the wind? It is already dark — why not retire to the tent with the Empress and rest, and beget an imperial prince sooner? Just point out the treasures to this old minister!"

The Son of Heaven's face flushed red, yet he nervously rose to his feet.

Yuan Shu continued forward, completely failing to notice Deng Zhi behind him turning away. He pressed on with his questions: "Why is Wenxian not here? Where are the treasures?"

The Son of Heaven answered with difficulty: "The Grand Commandant is ill and did not come, or perhaps he will come later. This chest of treasures is right here..."

Yuan Shu continued forward, but suddenly noticed figures stirring to his left and right. Only when he looked closely did he realize that several dozen armored soldiers were closing in on both sides, and they were directly drawing their blades!

In his shock and fury, Yuan Gonglu had no time to retreat. Yet in his desperation, a flash of wit struck him — he smoothly drew the sword at his waist and lunged toward the Son of Heaven, clearly intending to seize the Son of Heaven as a hostage to control the situation!

One could only say that he was truly worthy of being the man who had once burned the Northern Palace in Luoyang — no matter how rotten he was, he still had this much experience.

And the Son of Heaven, panicked for a moment, also tried to draw his own imperial sword, but he was merely a boy of ten-some years who had never even killed a chicken in his life — how could he be as decisive as the man before him?!

In an instant, Yuan Gonglu, his face twisted with savagery, had already reached the Son of Heaven’s side with his sword raised, while the Son of Heaven, in his panic, could not even draw his blade and instead fell to the ground in fright.

But at that very moment, suddenly, a figure flashed out from the shadows behind the Son of Heaven and with a single sword thrust calmly pierced through Yuan Gonglu’s belly — it was none other than the General of the Rapid as Tigers, Jing Ze, Jing Youxi.

The Son of Heaven glanced back at Jing Ze, gratitude overflowing in his eyes, and then, looking again at Yuan Gonglu, who still drew breath as he lay prostrate before him, cold sweat poured forth even as he erupted in towering rage:

“One who intends regicide — this crime is beyond pardon! He shall be torn apart by chariots!”

————I am the dividing line of chariot-tearing————

“The punishments of the death penalty are: chariot-tearing, waist-chopping, public execution, beheading, and dismemberment.” — The Han Code: Annotated Exegesis, by Lu Zhi

PS: Thanks to book friends “Bear Roaming the World Riding a Ghost Tiger,” “Benchu’s Remnant Soul Returning from the South Pole,” and “Huanhuan’s Huanhuan” for their tips. Thanks to new Alliance Master “Weixiao Wang.”

(End of Chapter)