Chapter 57: Asking for Stratagems

Having just returned home for four or five days before setting out to war again, and now back at Lulong Fortress after more than a year, Gongsun Xun felt somewhat dazed. Yet everything around him kept reminding him — the place remained but the people had changed; nothing was the same, nothing at all!

Last time it was winter, this time it is spring; last time the north wind cut like a blade, this time the south wind is balmy and intoxicating; and more importantly, last time he still needed to borrow the name of his clan uncle to throw his weight around here, but this time he alone controls the situation within the fortress!

This is truly no joke!

For the past several months, the man in charge of the fortress was none other than the Chief Clerk of Liaoxi Commandery, and a few days ago, after receiving Lady Zhao and her party, this Chief Clerk personally escorted the old lady out of the fortress... in other words, the man has most likely died for his country.

As for the remaining Qu Commandants in the fortress, to put it bluntly, with the commandery governor's mother taken hostage and their superior officer dead for his country, these men are all under a cloud of guilt, not to mention being caught off guard and utterly at a loss. And at this very moment, Gongsun Xun, who once won a battle here and made both Liaoxi and Right Beiping commanderies look at him with new eyes, has arrived as the first reinforcement, representing the Gongsun clan and Lingzhi County with several hundred elite troops... leaving these men no choice but to regard him as their pillar of support.

Of course, this is merely a stopgap measure until Liu Yu arrives — the current Inspector of Youzhou has already sent a fast rider with word that he will come in person to take command at Lulong Fortress.

In fact, there is no need even to wait for Liu Yu to arrive; if a court-appointed official comes from Right Beiping Commandery, they could also calmly take over the situation.

But returning to the matter at hand, as the saying goes, authority unused expires and becomes void — shouldn't he take advantage of this power vacuum in the fortress to do something?

In theory, yes, but Gongsun Xun racked his brains and found himself utterly powerless!

First, the enemy's troop strength is far too great.

After gathering more intelligence at Lulong Fortress, Gongsun Xun became even more certain that the army that appeared at Liucheng indeed numbered no fewer than ten thousand riders, and with the meager forces in the fortress, unless the entire army is deployed, any military action would be meaningless. But if the entire army is deployed, should Lulong Fortress be breached, the land north of the Yellow River lies flat and open... believe it or not, Luoyang would exterminate Gongsun Xun's entire clan.

Second, the enemy's situation is unclear.

Just as Gongsun Xun lectured Lou Gui, from Lulong Fortress to Yangle is a full five hundred li — who the hell knows where those ten-thousand-plus Xianbei riders are headed! Are they going straight to Yangle to confront Governor Zhao Bao face to face? Or will they, like last time, split their forces to block Lulong Fortress and Yangle, then leisurely besiege Liucheng and Guanzi City in between?

In short, Gongsun Xun, for once holding an army in his hands, found that he could only sit trapped behind the fortress walls! This feeling was utterly suffocating!

The next day, reinforcements from the other three cities within the passes of Liaoxi and from Right Beiping Commandery arrived one after another. The former three sent county clerks, so Gongsun Xun remained in charge; the leader of the latter was, astonishingly, Cheng Pu, who for some unknown reason had been transferred to the post of Left Clerk of the Commandery Troops... a clear demotion!

And Cheng Pu himself admitted frankly that ever since his old superior — Gongsun Xun's clan uncle Gongsun Zhao — was transferred to Liaodong, his days had been difficult. This time, because his direct superior, the Commandery Troops Clerk, claimed illness, this thankless task fell to him.

But now was not the time to discuss such matters, because although Gongsun Xun had gathered several thousand troops, his strength reaching an unprecedented peak, he still could not act rashly!

Another day passed, and a scout came flying in from Guanzi City with a report: the enemy's situation was now clear. The leader of these ten-thousand-plus raiders was the Xianbei's newly appointed Central Division Chief, Ke Zuitan, nephew of the former Central Division Chief Ke Zui Que. He had left part of his forces to besiege Liucheng, then taken the main army straight to Yangle City to confront Governor Zhao directly — apparently intending to use Lady Zhao as a hostage to force the governor's surrender!

Once the enemy's situation was clear, Gongsun Xun felt even more powerless... because the enemy was too far away. He could not possibly lead the few thousand infantry inside the fortress on a march of several hundred li to Liucheng to cut off the enemy's rear; but if he took only cavalry, he probably could not even defeat the enemy's rearguard left at Liucheng; and if he waited for Liu Yu to dispatch the elite troops from the various commanderies of Youzhou one by one, to put it bluntly, the cat he gave to Lady Zhao would probably be dead and buried with no burial place by then!

"Elder brother, if you wish to achieve something now, only an unorthodox stratagem will do." Atop Lulong Tower, Gongsun Fan carefully watched Gongsun Xun, who stood in the very center gazing northward. He truly had not expected that this clan brother, only a few months his senior, would command such authority within this fortress.

"Do you have an unorthodox stratagem?" Gongsun Xun, his face as black as the bottom of a cauldron, shot back without even turning his head.

"I do not," Gongsun Fan continued to answer carefully. "But wasn't there that scholar who came back from Luoyang with you, elder brother, who kept shouting that he had an unorthodox stratagem? Now that things have come to this, you might as well hear him out."

Gongsun Xun could not help but heave a long sigh at these words... What he sighed about was not that Gongsun Fan failed to judge people clearly, but that he himself was so utterly cornered that he had to go listen to that man's 'unorthodox stratagem'!

Indeed, Gongsun Xun still decided to hear Lou Gui's opinion — not because he had suddenly changed his mind and decided that Lou Gui's petty cleverness had transformed into great wisdom, but because these past days, from Cheng Pu to Han Dang, from Gongsun Yue to Gongsun Fan, from the several Qu Commandants to the county clerks who came as reinforcements, every single one was at their wits' end.

That being the case, perhaps even petty cleverness was worth a listen.

"Summon him here!" Gongsun Xun sighed and waved his hand helplessly.

It was not Gongsun Fan who responded, but Gongsun Yue — the former did not yet have the standing to order around the people in Gongsun Xun's retinue. And shortly after the latter bowed and departed, he returned with Lou Gui, who wore a headscarf and had a long sword at his waist.

"Wenqi." Lou Gui was in high spirits; as soon as he ascended the tower, he gave Gongsun Xun a slight salute and immediately spoke up on his own. "I observe that you sit trapped in an isolated city, your breast surely devoid of stratagems, thus unable to advance or retreat, with surplus strength but nowhere to apply it. The Art of War says, precisely..."

"Brother Yigong!" Gongsun Xun suddenly turned his head and shouted. "If he utters one more word of nonsense, throw him off this tower!"

Lou Gui promptly shut his mouth... Clearly, he had sobered up again and once more grasped his own situation. And after Han Dang walked over, expressionlessly took away his sword, and stood with hands clasped at his side, Lou Zibo then weighed his words and, somewhat cautiously, spoke again:

"Young master, I do have an idea."

"Speak." Gongsun Xun stared at him and urged.

"Please dismiss your attendants, young master, or follow me to a private room." Lou Gui responded, slightly nervous.

"Do you think I truly dare not kill you?" Gongsun Xun was nearly laughing from anger.

"Young master!" Lou Gui turned his head to glance at Han Dang beside him and hurriedly saluted. "It is not that I maliciously show off, but the situation is truly dire. Only by sending out an unorthodox force and undertaking a perilous venture can there be any effect. And since we must send an unorthodox force, it means you, young master, must gamble with your life... Is this something that can be spoken of in public?"

Gongsun Xun's expression softened slightly, but he still replied coldly: "Do you think someone on this tower would leak information to the Xianbei?"

"Young master, military affairs are fraught with peril, and the human heart is unfathomable — neither can be controlled by human effort." With that, Lou Gui gritted his teeth and bowed his head in salute once more. "Take, for example, your clan brother Gongsun Fan beside you. To my knowledge, this man is of the direct lineage of your Gongsun clan and ought to be the foremost among the clan. Yet now, it is you, young master, whose name shakes Henan and who commands awe in Hebei, and on this campaign you are entrusted by the clan and the county, acting entirely as the principal... So how do you know that he does not harbor secret jealousy and resentment in his heart? What if this man were to leak word to the Xianbei?"

Gongsun Fan, who had just recommended Lou Gui, was dumbstruck and even forgot to be angry.

"And these several Qu Commandants who have been following at your side these past days," Lou Gui had simply thrown caution to the wind. "This time, with Lady Zhao abducted and the commandery's Chief Clerk dead for his country, can they truly escape responsibility? To put it bluntly, if this matter does not end well, I fear that without waiting for the court to punish them, Governor Zhao himself will chop them down one by one to vent his hatred... That being so, young master, how do you know that among them there is not one who clings to life and fears death, who would abandon his family and defect directly to the Xianbei?"

The several Qu Commandants turned pale; one even drew his blade at these words, but in the end, with a face full of dejection, he shoved it back into its sheath.

"Young master, dismiss them!" Lou Gui glanced at the Qu Commandant who had drawn and then released his blade, and continued through gritted teeth. "Whether your life or mine, Lou Zibo's, it cannot be entrusted to these men..."

"Insolence!" Gongsun Xun could finally endure no more and erupted in fury once again. "I should never have called you up here! A'yue, take him and get back to his room, or I'll have Brother Yigong throw him off!"

Lou Gui was stunned by these words, but in the end, he slowly lowered his head, saluted in farewell, and walked down the tower under Gongsun Yue's escort.

The crowd atop Lulong Tower, seeing this man descend, mostly breathed a sigh of relief.

"Everyone, disperse as well," Gongsun Xun said helplessly after a while, waving his hand. "Since there are no good ideas, rather than stand here baking in the sun, we might as well go back and rest well, and quietly await the Inspector's arrival!"

Everyone also felt it was pointless and took their leave one after another.

For a moment, only Gongsun Xun and Han Dang remained on the tower.

The two said nothing; Gongsun Xun even stared blankly at the Luan River flowing through the fortress.

"Young master..." After a long while, Han Dang could finally bear it no longer, but hesitated to speak.

"Don't speak." Gongsun Xun turned around at these words. "Follow me."

Han Dang was bewildered, but hurriedly followed.

Thus, the two walked unhurriedly down the tower and went straight to Gongsun Yue's room. And when they pushed open the door, Han Dang was instantly stunned.

"Young master!" Lou Gui, sitting inside the room, showed delight upon seeing the visitor. "I knew you would come! That day when I saw you establish that charity hostel, I understood — you and I are ultimately the same, unwilling to be left in obscurity!"

"Spare me the nonsense." Gongsun Xun sternly rebuked him. "A'yue and Brother Yigong, guard the door for me... Let me hear just what this 'unorthodox stratagem' of yours is! If it is still the same grandiose but impractical talk as before, I will kill you right here!"

Time passed minute by minute; Gongsun Yue and Han Dang, guarding the door outside, exchanged glances several times, but each time came to nothing... It was not until the sun slanted westward that the door finally opened.

"Elder brother!"

"Young master!"

The two greeted him in unison.

"Lou Zibo's plan, though crude, upon careful consideration, actually seems to have a fair chance of success." Gongsun Xun glanced at the two of them and said. "And I have already made up my mind to carry out this perilous stratagem! Yigong, go invite Cheng Demou here. Remember, call only him."

"Aye!" Han Dang felt as if a great stone had been lifted from his chest, so light and relieved was he.

"A-Yue." Once Han Dang had walked away, Gongsun Xun turned his gaze back to Gongsun Yue. "I still need you to stay behind and hold this place for me…"

Gongsun Yue opened his mouth to speak, but in the end he merely gave a slight nod.

"There's no other way." Gongsun Xun helplessly pressed a hand on the other's shoulder and explained. "The people I can truly trust are too few, and what Lou Gui said earlier up on the tower may not be something we can afford to ignore… I will leave tonight, and you will stay here at Lulong Fortress to control the situation on my behalf and quietly await the arrival of Imperial Inspector Liu. And whether it is before Inspector Liu arrives or after, if those few Company Commanders make any suspicious moves, just find a way to kill them outright. We have the numbers anyway, and they are all men bearing guilt. After killing them, pin a charge of attempted desertion on them — no one will quibble over it!"

Gongsun Yue slowly nodded, then could not help but ask: "Then… what about Gongsun Fan? What do you say about him?"

"You should call him Elder Brother." Gongsun Xun laughed in spite of himself. "He is your third elder brother."

"Yes."

"As I just said, he is after all one of us brothers." Gongsun Xun continued, still smiling. "We cannot very well treat him as a thief to guard against just because of a single word from an outsider, can we? So on this journey I will take him with me, to show him trust and favor, and incidentally see whether he is of any use…"

Gongsun Yue slowly nodded again: "I will go and call… Third Elder Brother here!"

That very night, Gongsun Xun took Gongsun Fan, Cheng Pu, Han Dang, and Lou Gui — a party of only five men, each with three horses — and rode light and fast out of the pass under cover of darkness, heading straight for Liucheng.

"The Grand Ancestor was open-minded and receptive, knowing men well and accepting counsel readily… At the end of the Xiping era, the commandery was suddenly invaded by ten thousand Xianbei horsemen, who seized the commandery governor's mother at Liucheng and carried her off to threaten the commandery seat at Yangle. The Grand Ancestor arrived at Lulong, gathered several thousand troops, and was poised to act. Yet Liaoxi was vast — three hundred li from Lulong to Liucheng, five hundred li to Yangle — and what he feared most was being powerless to help. At that time, Lou Gui was at his side and offered a daring stratagem, proposing that the Grand Ancestor personally brave the danger. Those around him were all enraged, and several times they drew their blades and bared steel. The Grand Ancestor then overruled the crowd, saying: 'Zibo abandoned his home to join me, following me for a thousand li. I regard him as a trusted right-hand man — how can I doubt him?' And so he set out." — Old Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Grand Ancestor, Martial Emperor

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(End of Chapter)