Chapter 64: Interlude

Zhao Bao could not stay long… To be precise, after the Grand Administrator of Liaoxi arrived, he only had time to glance at his family with great emotion, and once he confirmed they were all unharmed, he was once again sternly driven away by his mother.

After all, several hundred meters away tens of thousands of men were still fighting a battle — this truly was not the time for tender family reunions.

And so, Administrator Zhao continued to urge his great banner forward to command his troops, while the Elderly Lady Zhao, escorted by a group of Liaoxi commandery soldiers, returned to the Han army main camp to rest… And what of Gongsun Xun?

Gongsun Xun did not follow this group back to the Han army main camp. He did not even take leave of the Elderly Lady Zhao. He simply hastily tied up his hair into a bun, borrowed a set of Han army clothes, and then directly led a few familiar commandery soldiers, along with Lou Gui and Cheng Pu, to go search for Gongsun Fan and Han Dang.

Now, this was not because he did not know to strike while the iron was hot and secure his merit firmly before the Elderly Lady Zhao, but rather because this iron had long since been forged into steel… It must be understood that this was Liaoxi, and with him and Gongsun Fan involved, no one could possibly steal the credit for their group's achievements. And besides, given the Elderly Lady Zhao's caliber in instructing her son on the battlefield, there was simply no need to worry about some melodramatic scene of ingratitude and betrayal.

Under such circumstances, the safety of Gongsun Fan and Han Dang was naturally more worthy of attention.

Searching for people on a battlefield is no easy task, but fortunately the Han army had won swiftly and was entirely cavalry, so the bulk of the force had quickly pursued the fleeing enemy westward along the road, which rapidly exposed that cluster of the Mohu tribe.

"Elder Brother!"

"Young Lord!"

Gongsun Fan and Han Dang were both covered in blood and grime, and the former had even taken a blade wound to the arm, but fortunately neither injury could be called serious… Ultimately, they still had to thank the fact that the Han army's earlier earth-shattering charge had been a diagonal thrust from both flanks. If it had truly been as they had imagined before the battle, with the Han army charging straight into the enemy formation head-on, then Gongsun Fan and Han Dang would very likely have been trampled into meat paste or shot into sieves at the very first moment!

And speaking of meat paste, Han Dang could not help but feel a small regret.

"No matter!" Gongsun Xun grew even more excited upon hearing that the other man had shot Ke Zuitan dead with a single arrow. "Seen by the entire army, even if the head cannot be found, no one can erase your merit… This time, let alone a Platoon Commander, we must secure a six-hundred-dan Qu Military Marquis for Yigong!"

Unexpectedly, upon hearing these words, Han Dang, who that very day had been ready to abandon his post because he could not even obtain a Platoon Commander position, this time showed no sign of joy whatsoever. Instead, he seemed to want to speak but held back, and in the end only offered a slight cupped-hand salute from horseback. It was unclear whether this was a case of once bitten, twice shy… It must be known that the last time Gongsun Xun had sought a Cavalry Platoon Commander position for him, it had been empty words, and afterward he had been too ashamed to face the man.

However, this was not the time to dwell on that matter, for there was another pressing issue right before Gongsun Xun that required his handling!

"Mohu Kou!" Gongsun Xun turned his head, pointing his horsewhip at the man below, his anger truly surging. "How dare you flee from me midway?! Do you realize that if Cheng Demou had not displayed his tiger-like might today, I would have nearly been killed here because of you?!"

Lou Gui, who was behind him, was startled by these words and immediately reined his horse back several steps, pretending to go admire the scenery.

And Mohu Kou, kneeling on the ground, had nowhere to hide and dared not hide at all. He could only kowtow while wailing loudly: "Young Master Gongsun… regarding the matter of deserting before battle, I dare not offer the slightest defense… Think about it, I am a Xianbei man; seeing tens of thousands of Han soldiers charging over, how could I not be afraid?… I dare not ask for anything else, only that for the sake of our Mohu tribe, which suffered nearly half our number dead or wounded while striving to protect your clansman, after you kill me, you must spare the lives of my entire tribe! Would that quell your hatred?"

Gongsun Xun was so furious he laughed, and was just about to open his mouth to grant the man's wish — when he suddenly choked on his words. He now realized that this Mohu Kou was truly difficult to deal with!

The reason was actually very simple: killing Mohu Kou was easy, but the Mohu tribe was not easy to handle.

It must be understood that in this battle, while Mohu Kou had indeed done a vile thing that stirred ill will in Gongsun Xun, the entire Mohu tribe had truly rendered merit of the highest order! That "nearly half dead or wounded" was nonsense spouted by Mohu Kou, but the fact that they had suffered significant casualties while throwing the entire Xianbei formation into chaos, allowing the Han army to arrive at leisure and break through with a single strike — that was something no one could obscure. Moreover, their earlier help in concealing the group's movements was undeniable, and shielding Gongsun Fan amidst the chaos of battle left no room for criticism.

Of course, if it were only these things, it would not matter. He could simply give a meaningful glance to that black-hearted Commandery Merit Evaluator Assistant Clerk Tian Kai beside him, and taking advantage of the Han army's absolute superiority, just kill them all right here… They were the most authentic Xianbei heads, after all — who would dare deny it?!

However, the one true crux of the matter was that the merits of Gongsun Fan and Han Dang were essentially bound together with the Mohu tribe. In other words, if he denied the Mohu tribe's merit, it would be equivalent to denying the hard-won merit of Gongsun Fan and Han Dang — and that was utterly unacceptable!

And once he circled back to this point, if he acknowledged the Mohu tribe's merit, how could he so easily kill Mohu Kou, their deeply trusted headman? It must be known that the very reason the Mohu tribe was willing to turn their coats on the battlefield and undertake such a great deed was primarily because they had a headman who was well-versed in Han culture, clear-headed, and yet deeply enjoyed the people's trust, was it not?

Indeed, do not be fooled by this fellow Mohu Kou's cowering timidity, utterly devoid of any heroic spirit. As far as Gongsun Xun knew, this man handled tribal affairs fairly and was adept at developing the tribe through his role as a middleman trader, and was thus greatly supported by the entire tribe, high and low. Even now, his crying here about exchanging his own death for the tribe's survival had already stirred unrest among the Mohu tribesmen before him.

One must ask: kill their chieftain and then reward his tribe… what comes next? Raise a den of wolves beside Liucheng? Was there no fear of repeating the Elderly Lady Zhao's past tragedy someday?

And furthermore, setting aside ethnic prejudice and looking at it from a fair standpoint, killing this Mohu Kou today would be easy, but in the future, how many of these semi-sinicized small Xianbei tribes along the border would still be willing to trust you?

For a moment, Gongsun Xun's face alternated between blue and red. And as it happened, Lou Gui, his sole "advisor," had slipped off to who-knows-where, leaving no one to give him a way out… In the end, Gongsun Xun could only force two dry laughs, hold his nose, dismount, and personally help the wretch Mohu Kou to his feet.

"What words are these from Headman Mohu?" Gongsun Xun said with strained, dry laughter. "With such great merit from your Mohu tribe, I must still request rewards for you from the Governor. How could I kill you? That outburst of anger just now was merely human nature… Pay it no mind."

Mohu Kou stood up trembling, but after glancing at the Han cavalrymen riding back and forth around them, and at that Assistant Clerk Tian who kept sizing up his tribe, his legs went weak again. He once more fell to his knees, wailing loudly, and this time he clung tightly to Gongsun Xun's thigh, refusing to let go:

"Young Master Gongsun's grace is like being given a second life! Before you and the Elderly Lady Gongsun, I, Mohu Kou, and the Mohu tribe hereby swear that for all our lives we shall be loyal subordinates of the Anli Trading Company, and we will never again dare to do anything like what happened today!"

Gongsun Xun was utterly disgusted, yet try as he might to pull his leg free, he could not extract it. Gongsun Fan, who was having his wounds treated nearby, watched this scene utterly dumbfounded, sighing repeatedly in amazement.

"The Grand Ancestor of this dynasty, when serving as a minor official in his hometown, always possessed both grace and authority. The scholars of Hebei and the borderland chieftains all revered and submitted to him. Fan, with his hair bound but not yet capped, observed this and found it remarkable, so he asked: 'Elder Brother, how have you achieved this?' The Grand Ancestor replied: 'By subduing men through virtue.' Fan pressed further: 'What is this virtue?' The Grand Ancestor said: 'For scholars, it is the Odes and Documents; for chieftains, it is the sword and blade.' Fan, hearing this, revered the Grand Ancestor all the more." — A New Account of the Tales of the World, The Virtuous Conduct Chapter

PS: There is also a book friend group, 684558115, welcome to come chat… Also, a question for everyone: according to official history, besides Zhang Liao and Chen Deng, who else has met Cao Cao, Liu Bei, and Sun Quan in person?

(End of Chapter)