Chapter 59

"How does the battle situation stand?" Gongsun Xun asked as he ran his hand over the grimy low table before him. The table seemed to have been looted, for there were even knife marks and traces of bloodstains left upon it.

"I bought this for half a leg of lamb," Mo Hugen hastily explained. "I didn't loot it. At the time, the men of the Tayou tribe were about to chop it up for firewood..."

Gongsun Xun couldn't help but smile, but he stopped touching the table. "Chief Mo Hu, just tell me how the battle situation stands."

"The battle situation is not very good," Mo Hugen sighed, but then immediately corrected himself. "No, actually the situation should still be quite favorable..."

"Is it good or bad?" Gongsun Xun asked with a faint, ambiguous smile.

"For us Xianbei, it is bad," Mo Hugen said with a serious expression. "But for you Han people, Young Master Gongsun..."

"I have already come of age and received my courtesy name. Just call me Gongsun Wenqi."

"I'd better still call you Young Master!" Mo Hugen gave a dry laugh. "I am now a first-tier downline member of the Anli Trading Company."

"As you wish," Gongsun Xun said, shaking his head. "Continue. Why are you not beneath the walls of Yangle City, but instead here, fifty li from Yangle?"

"The truth is that you Han people reacted far too quickly..." Mo Hugen hurriedly straightened his face and began to explain.

As it turned out, although the situation differed somewhat from what Gongsun Xun had imagined, the final circumstances were no different. The Xianbei were now caught in a dilemma, unable to advance or retreat.

First, Liucheng was far too sturdy, so much so that the Xianbei had wasted time there for nothing!

And if you thought about it, Liucheng was the gateway fortress facing the Xianbei directly beyond the frontier. The city was fully stocked with provisions, weapons, and soldiers. Even caught off guard, it was not something the Xianbei could crack. What a joke—they hadn't cracked it in decades, so could they crack it this time?

Second, the relief troops had come far too quickly and fiercely!

Two hundred li east of Liucheng lay Yangle City, and behind Yangle City were Liaodong Commandery, the Liaodong Dependent State (the name Changli Commandery might be more familiar), Xuantu Commandery, and Lelang Commandery... Lelang Commandery was a bit farther, but the relief troops from the first three commanderies could arrive at a moment's notice. And what's more, there were still the Wuhuan of Liaoxi. The primary purpose for which the Great Han dynasty kept this dog was precisely to deal with the Xianbei!

In fact, according to Mo Hugen's description, the abduction of Lady Zhao seemed to have backfired. Not only had it failed to force Zhao Bao to surrender the city, it had instead deeply provoked the surrounding Han troops, and even the Wuhuan felt as if their tails had been stepped on.

"So the current situation is that you split your forces to besiege Liucheng and prepared to use Lady Zhao as a hostage to force the surrender of Yangle City, but before you even reached Yangle, you ran head-on into the relief troops led by Governor Zhao himself?" Gongsun Xun asked seriously. "And the relief troops number a full twenty thousand cavalry?"

"Yes," Mo Hugen said, drawing a deep breath. "There are Han cavalry equipped with iron armor, and also Wuhuan shock cavalry who, like us, mainly use bows and spears. Mixed together, they number just over twenty thousand. Governor Zhao personally led them here... We absolutely dare not fight, but we also dare not retreat, because the Han troops opposite are all cavalry too. The moment we retreat, I fear we would be pursued and bitten at the tail, suffering countless casualties. So we can only barely rely on the encampment we built earlier to stand off against the Han army. But we can't hold this standoff for many days either, because no one knows how many more relief troops will arrive... From what I see, either a retreat or a decisive battle will happen within just a day or two."

Gongsun Xun stared at him, narrowing his eyes.

"That... that Governor Zhao's family are all still quite well," Mo Hugen, meeting the other's gaze, couldn't help but dryly swallow a mouthful of saliva. "Earlier, the Central Division Chief wanted to use these people to force the surrender of Yangle. Now he wants to use them to trade for Governor Zhao temporarily pulling back, so as to save his own skin... In any case, they are all of great use, so they have been treated very well all along. Even the maidservants haven't been killed; they are all guarded right in the central army..."

"Is this Central Division Chief of yours Xianbei dreaming in broad daylight?" Gongsun Xun, relieved, couldn't help but mock. "Force the surrender of Yangle?"

"Indeed," Mo Hugen echoed. "From the very start, I thought this method was far too childish. How could you possibly trade people for a city? And it's the same now. But aside from this method, I'm afraid that new Central Division Chief is powerless to do anything else... Did Young Master Gongsun come for this matter? Did Governor Zhao send you?"

"I came for this matter," Gongsun Xun nodded. "No matter what, if I can preserve the lives of Governor Zhao's family, it will always be a great deed. But I was not sent by Governor Zhao... Think about it. If I had been sent by Governor Zhao, how could I have come from behind your lines, from the direction of your Mo Hu tribe?"

Mo Hugen was slightly taken aback.

"I was sent by Inspector Liu, who governs over a dozen commanderies across the whole of Youzhou," Gongsun Xun continued. "You know what an Inspector is, right?"

"I know."

"Good. To be honest, you Xianbei openly abducting a commandery governor's mother this time has truly crossed a line. It's not just here beyond the frontier that the response has been swift; it's the same at Lulong Pass. Troops from several commanderies are already in position. I won't hide it from you, Chief Mo Hu—before I came, Inspector Liu had already amassed thirty thousand troops there and urgently selected five thousand cavalry, preparing to strike swiftly at Liucheng and cut off your retreat..."

Mo Hugen's face changed drastically.

"Chief Mo Hu," Gongsun Xun said, leisurely tapping the low table before him. "You are a rare intelligent man. Even my mother says you are particularly clear-headed... That being the case, you ought to understand that my coming here is not only giving you a chance to earn merit, but also saving the lives of your entire tribe! If we succeed in this deal, I get promoted and you get rich. If we fail, I die here in this Xianbei camp, and your whole tribe will be buried alongside me!"

The tent fell so silent that it seemed even the sound of their breathing could be clearly heard. In fact, Mo Hugen's breathing did seem to grow clearer and clearer.

Just like that, after who knows how long, Mo Hugen finally let out a dry laugh. "Actually, even if Inspector Liu hadn't sent five thousand cavalry to strike Liucheng, I should still do my utmost to assist you, Young Master... The man commanding this central army is called Ke Zuitan, the very nephew of Ke Zuique. He only just succeeded to the position a year ago, and his standing is still not very stable. If he truly learned of that matter concerning Ke Zuique, I'm afraid he would kill me to rally the hearts of his own tribesmen..."

"And then?" Gongsun Xun interrupted impatiently.

"And then, I beg Young Master to save me once more, and to save my entire tribe once more!" Mo Hugen finally broke down, dropping to his knees with a thud, tears and snot streaming down his face as he kowtowed like a pestle pounding garlic. "I will do anything you ask of me... only, you must save me!"

Only then did Gongsun Xun nod with satisfaction.

"Please give your orders, Young Master. What do you want me to do?" Having finally wiped the tears and snot from his face, Mo Hugen immediately raised his head and asked with a face full of expectation.

"What are we going to do?" At that very same moment, in a small tent several dozen paces away from Gongsun Xun and Mo Hugen, under the dim light, Gongsun Fan set down the earthenware pot in his hands with a look of disgust and turned to earnestly ask the few men beside him.

"Only adapt to circumstances as they arise," Lou Gui answered frankly. "I also don't know what we are going to do."

Gongsun Fan stared blankly, then once again, as if meeting him for the first time, carefully scrutinized the man before him from head to toe. "Wasn't this your idea? Your brilliant stratagem is simply to infiltrate the enemy's main camp and then adapt to circumstances?"

"And what of it?"

"That..." Gongsun Fan wished he could slaughter the bastard right then and there.

"What Master Lou Zibo means is that military intelligence shifts with every breath. One can only set a general strategy; it is impossible to react before everything is clear," Cheng Pu, who had been drinking congee with his head lowered to one side, suddenly spoke up. "Moreover, we are only five men. There is not much we can do..."

"May I ask, Brother Demou," Gongsun Fan said, ignoring Lou Gui and turning instead to consult this Cheng Pu, who seemed more steady. "What exactly should this so-called general strategy be?"

"Uh..."

"First, we must know whether Lady Zhao is still safe," at this moment, Lou Gui suddenly spoke up again on his own, forcing Cheng Pu to continue drinking his congee. "If Lady Zhao has already met with misfortune, then there is no benefit in us staying longer. I'm afraid we would have to slip out immediately and go report to Governor Zhao. If Lady Zhao is still alive, then our priority is to rescue Lady Zhao... After all, this is the mother of the Governor of Liaoxi. A commandery governor is like a feudal lord, so she can also be considered the matriarch of the Gongsun clan, and moreover, it is the moral duty of Gongsun Wenqi, as a commandery clerk. Therefore, if we can rescue this person amidst an army of ten thousand, fulfilling Governor Zhao's path of loyalty and filial piety, not only would the Governor himself be overwhelmed with gratitude, but even all the people under heaven would each and every one cast sidelong glances of admiration! Of course, if we could also do something to aid the battle situation while rescuing her, that would be even better..."

Gongsun Fan, suppressing his disgust, retorted sarcastically, "As for how to rescue her, and how to aid the battle situation, I suppose, Master Lou Zibo, you only have those four words: 'adapt to circumstances'? And the rest is all for my elder brother to go risk his own life?"

"In the end, I was the one who thought of this point on how to break the deadlock for Wenqi," Lou Gui sneered. "I wonder what you, Gongsun Fan, as his younger brother, have done?"

Gongsun Fan's face immediately flushed bright red.

"You two," Cheng Pu, having by now gulped down a small pot of the slightly gamey and rank mutton congee, took the opportunity to set the earthenware pot on the ground. "One is Chief Clerk Gongsun's younger brother, the other is Chief Clerk Gongsun's retainer. This is what is meant by serving an elder brother, serving a lord... Right now, Chief Clerk Gongsun is out there alone, maneuvering with the enemy, his fate unknown, while you two are here, clutching your meat congee and bickering and competing in harsh words. Is this the proper way for a younger brother and a retainer to behave? I, Cheng Pu, came on this journey because I was moved by Chief Clerk Gongsun's courage and loyalty, and came here to accomplish great things. I did not come to listen to you two squabble like women!"

"Brother Demou is right," at this moment, Han Dang had also finished a pot and was helping himself and Cheng Pu ladle more meat congee from the bucket. "Although I, Han Yigong, know nothing of stratagems, I do know that on this journey there are only the five of us. So whether it's rescuing people, throwing the army into chaos, or even just fleeing for our lives, it will all require strength. And nine times out of ten, we'll have to fight for our lives... If you two don't eat, can you really hold out?"

Gongsun Fan and Lou Gui exchanged a glance, both faces full of shame, and then each lowered their heads and forced down the gamey, rank meat congee.

Just like that, time reached noon. While the four men inside the tent were bewildered and uneasy, Gongsun Xun had already followed Mo Hugen to the central army's main camp.

"Chief Mo Hu!"

"Lord Mo Hu!"

"Leader Mo Hu!"

"Chief Mo Hu, the Chief wants you to go in... Just leave your blade here, and the same for this warrior behind you."

Fortune's wheel turns. A little over a year's time, for some people, was nothing more than a trip to Luoyang where various high-end figures looked down on their intelligence. But for a small tribe on the border, it meant turning over a new leaf and becoming the master.

In the winter of the year before last, Mo Hugen was still just a marginal tribal leader who could only scrape together a hundred or so ragtag men. But now, he was a powerful chief who could field three hundred warriors, fully equipped with weapons, leather armor, and bows. The Xianbei concept of hierarchy is very direct—this kind of change was already enough to make those who once looked down on him turn to respect him instead.

"Chief Ke Zui." After removing his weapons, the moment he entered the great tent, Mo Hugen directly cupped his hands in salute and then prepared to kneel.

"Sit, sit, sit... don't stand on ceremony." The man seated in the place of honor, Ke Zuitan, was strikingly a young man with disheveled hair, a stubbly beard, and wrapped in a wolf-skin robe. To be able to command over ten thousand cavalry at this age—truly, comparing oneself to others is maddening.

In contrast, Gongsun Xun actually had to bow to the other man in a passable imitation of a formal salute... Thank heaven he wasn't made to kneel!

Mo Huguan sat cross-legged on a filthy felt mat beside the entrance, while Gongsun Xun lowered his head and stood behind him. The moment he took his place, he heard a cat's meow…

Sneaking a sidelong glance, he discovered that the reason Ke Zuotan had been too lazy to make them perform their courtesies was actually because he was playing with a cat! Should he be thanking this feline ancestor?

"Chief Mo Hu, coming to me so suddenly… has someone been stealing from your Mo Hu tribe again?" Ke Zuotan asked, stroking the cat with a somewhat helpless tone.

"Exactly!" Mo Huguan's face flushed crimson at these words. "My lord Ke Zui, you must see justice done for me! This is the fifth time already — four or five bags of grain, seven or eight weapons, all lost one after another. Even the wealthiest tribe can't endure being robbed like this, can they?"

At these words, the trusted chieftains of the Ke Zui tribe sitting around the tent all burst into laughter.

"I am aware of this matter," Ke Zuotan said from above, also somewhat helpless. "But Chief Mo Hu, you needn't fret over it too much… I won't hide it from you — tomorrow we shall march our army to a decisive battle with the Han forces. Those savages from Mobei won't get a sixth chance to steal."

The excuse he had prepared was blocked before it could even be raised, and Mo Huguan faltered for a moment. But as he felt a gentle prod against his back, he immediately shook his head again: "My lord Ke Zui, it's not that I wish to trouble you, but our Mo Hu tribe cannot spend even a single more night camped alongside those other tribes… This morning, had I not exercised firm control, it would have erupted into open bloodshed on the spot… My people's fury is too great!"

Ke Zuotan released the kitten in his hands and frowned involuntarily: "Then what do you propose? Chief Mo Hu, I must warn you — the Han army is watching us from the front. You must keep your people in line… If chaos truly breaks out, I will show no mercy!"

"My lord," Mo Huguan said with an earnest expression, "that is precisely why I came to you… With so many Han soldiers ahead, if chaos truly erupts, the entire camp will suffer. Yet my people's anger grows fiercer by the day… What I mean is, could we, right now, move the Mo Hu tribe to a different location? It would prevent any real trouble from occurring."

Ke Zuotan did not answer immediately. Instead, a trusted confidant of his own tribe, sitting nearby, scrutinized Mo Huguan with unconcealed wariness: "And where does Chief Mo Hu wish to move?"

"How about the rear camp?" Mo Huguan asked, his face full of hope.

At these words, every other person in the tent changed color, and Ke Zuotan let out a cold laugh: "Why not just ask me to let you withdraw today? Everyone says you, Mo Huguan, are as cunning as a ghost — today I see it's true… Are you planning, the moment battle begins tomorrow, to lead your tribesmen straight back home? And perhaps swallow up a couple of weakened small tribes along the way?"

Mo Huguan shook his head repeatedly: "How could that be? My lord, you must believe me — am I the sort of despicable scoundrel?"

"Chief Mo Hu!" Ke Zuotan sat up straight, cross-legged, and spoke with a stern countenance. "I tell you plainly: tomorrow's battle depends on the strength of your warriors. I will absolutely not permit you to go to the rear camp. Do not raise this request again. If you persist, do not blame me for being merciless!"

Mo Huguan's expression turned awkward: "Then… what about the central army?"

"What?" Ke Zuotan did not quite catch his meaning.

"The central army…"

"Meow…"

At that very moment, the guards bearing blades and spears within the tent, the 'officials' of the central Xianbei, the trusted chieftains of the Ke Zui tribe, and Ke Zuotan himself — all were suddenly drawn by the sound of a cat's meow… They saw that the 'strange beast,' which had been looted from the carriage of Prefect Zhao's family and looked very much like a tiger cub, had somehow made its way behind Mo Huguan and was meowing persistently at the tall warrior retainer who accompanied him… and even trying to climb up his trouser leg.

Gongsun Xun stood motionless, but his back was already drenched in cold sweat.

Just moments ago, he had been thinking of thanking this feline ancestor — raising it for months had not been in vain, sparing him the humiliation of kneeling. Yet now, because of those same months of care, was he instead going to meet his death here?

"This little creature… actually recognizes a warrior of Chief Mo Hu's tribe?" Ke Zuotan could not help but ask Mo Huguan with a smile.

"Speaking of which, this warrior looks rather unfamiliar?" A bald Xianbei chieftain sitting opposite Mo Huguan also spoke up. "I was about to ask earlier — wasn't Chief Mo Hu always accompanied by a warrior with braided hair? I believe he was called Que Li…"

Mo Huguan turned his head back stiffly and exchanged a glance with Gongsun Xun… To be honest, the former was by now too tense to utter a word.

The cat at his feet meowed again and once more attempted to climb Gongsun Xun's trouser leg. Around them, people were already craning their necks to scrutinize the lowered head of Gongsun Xun.

And at this critical moment, Gongsun Xun suddenly reached his hand into his bosom… This gesture made Mo Huguan's heart turn ice-cold, convinced that all hope was lost for him. Indeed, the Xianbei warriors around them had already grown alert, and some had even subtly aimed their spears at him.

But in the very next instant, this tall warrior with disheveled hair and black grease smeared on his face pulled a piece of dried meat from his bosom, crouched down, and with lowered head fed it to the 'strange beast.' And the 'strange beast' obligingly began to lick it from his hand.

The entire tent erupted in laughter. Even Ke Zuotan, seated above, could not help but slap his own knees.

Mo Huguan's face flushed red, yet he could not suppress the smile spreading across it: "My lord and honored chieftains, please forgive the spectacle. This man is the greediest of eaters — even following me out here, he still carries dried meat on him…"

"What of it?" Ke Zuotan said, shaking his head and laughing. "Just now I thought a trusted retainer of Prefect Zhao had infiltrated us and was about to assassinate me!"

Mo Huguan laughed sheepishly once more.

"Did Chief Mo Hu just say he wished to move his camp to the central army?" The trusted confidant of the Ke Zuotan tribe seated at the head also recalled the earlier conversation.

"Yes!" Mo Huguan hurriedly collected himself and addressed Ke Zuotan with earnest entreaty. "If we come to the central army, my lord can no longer suspect me of wanting to flee, can he? Even in tomorrow's great battle, I could serve as the vanguard, arrayed at the very front alongside my lord's own central army…"

Ke Zuotan ceased his laughter and fixed his gaze on Mo Huguan with keen interest… Or perhaps he was fixing his gaze on the 'strange beast' beside Mo Huguan, diligently gnawing at the dried meat — it was hard to say.

In any case, after staring for a long while, this young lord of the central Xianbei finally spoke: "Very well, granted… As it happens, there is a matter here in the central army that requires the Mo Hu tribe, proficient in the Han tongue, to handle!"

Gongsun Xun, his head still lowered as he fed the cat, felt his heart stir.

"The border commandery of Liaoxi faced the Xianbei directly and suffered repeated incursions. The Grand Ancestor dwelt there and, at the age of a mere youth, repeatedly fought back against them. Once he raided an enemy camp at night with only thirty riders, where life and death hung by a thread; another time he infiltrated an enemy army of ten thousand with only a handful of men, confronting the enemy chieftain face to face, narrowly escaping disaster. He was a man who did not begrudge life or death, and thus his name spread throughout the province and commanderies. His mother often reproached him for his recklessness; the Grand Ancestor would apologize to her face, yet never changed his ways. Many in the province and commanderies praised his loyalty and righteousness; the Grand Ancestor would decline such praise to their faces, then laugh heartily afterward. None understood this, until Lou Zibo, who had followed him the longest, was pressed insistently for an explanation. Zibo said: 'His family has long been engaged in commerce and trade, so from childhood he has known where profit lies… He raided the camp with thirty riders to block their path; he infiltrated the army of ten thousand with a few men because he knew merit lay there. In his conduct, one might say he forgets his life at the sight of small gains, yet in great undertakings he likewise does not begrudge his person! Why reproach him, and why praise him?'" — New Book of Yan, Volume 70, Biographies 20, Lou Gui

PS: Managed to get it out after all… I feel like I'm dying… If there are any typos or errors, definitely @ me in the group.

Also, the new book group — interested students can join: 684558115.

(End of Chapter)