[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-overthrowing-han":3,"chapter-overthrowing-han-overthrowing-han-chapter-80":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","Overthrowing Han",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},1222839,1620,"Chapter 80: Chicken Soup (Part 2)","overthrowing-han-chapter-80",80,"\u003Cp>\"Speaking of which, since Fengxian's family has just settled down over in Gengyang, how is it you have time to come to Jinyang City?\" As he casually asked, Gongsun Xun, disregarding his own status, personally ladled a bowl of chicken soup from the pot for the other man, flustering Lu Fengxian so much that he hurriedly received it with both hands.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Ah!\" Lu Bu took the chicken soup and let out a sigh. \"I won't hide it from the Sima...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"No need for such formality, just call me Wenqi... The weather is damp and cold, and Fengxian has been caught in the rain. Why not drink some soup first to warm yourself up before we talk?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh, then... Wenqi, I truly won't hide it from Wenqi.\" Lu Bu had a massive frame and practically downed the bowl of chicken soup in one gulp, then wiped his mouth and hurriedly continued explaining. \"My father was once a county clerk in Jiuyuan County. When the garrison was withdrawn this time, the County Magistrate of Jiuyuan also gave my father an official document, telling him to come here and use the document to seek another post in the county here. But my father felt that he is getting on in years, and since I have already come of age and received my cap, he gave this opportunity to me. So, father and son, we took this document to Gengyang County, hoping to secure a post for me...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun could not help but sneer inwardly upon hearing this... This kind of document, clearly meant to brush people off, would be ignored by anyone to begin with, and you father and son still tried to pass it off privately. It would be a wonder if they actually acknowledged it!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Sure enough, at this point, Lu Bu became dejected: \"But, although Gengyang County is ten times richer than our Jiuyuan, the great households there are also ten times more numerous! My father took me to deliver the official document to the Gengyang County Magistrate, but the man bluntly said there wasn't even a village chief's position available in the county...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>You, the mighty Lu Fengxian, can't even land a position as a village chief? Gongsun Xun was immediately speechless, but then he thought that the other man was around his own age... This, this somehow made it even more pitiable!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There was no other way!\" Lu Bu continued, lowering his head and sighing. \"My father pleaded bitterly with that Gengyang County Magistrate, and the man finally relented a little, giving us a bit of face. He wrote a letter of recommendation for me to come to the commandery seat...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun was already too tired to even complain... You actually believed in the validity of this kind of document a second time?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"So, I came to the commandery seat again, hoping to request an audience with the Administrator.\" At this point, Lu Bu slightly cupped his hands toward the window as a gesture of respect, but then dejectedly lowered them. \"I spent a lot of money, and even gave two horses as gifts. With great difficulty, I arranged today to meet with his gatekeeper for a visit... Unexpectedly, I only found out this morning when I arrived that the Bingzhou Provincial Governor had suddenly come in person to this commandery. To avoid any suspicion, the Commandery Administrator actually shut his main gates and refused to see anyone! I waited there for half the day, watching the rain get heavier and heavier, and truly could not wait any longer. That's why I brought a group of companions from Jiuyuan here to this tavern for some soup!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Upon hearing this, Gongsun Xun stood up again and personally filled the other man's bowl with chicken soup, then suddenly slammed the table and loudly voiced his indignation on the other's behalf: \"Fengxian's talent—if others don't know it, do I not? Even serving as a Commandery Military Affairs Clerk would be more than sufficient! That Gengyang County Magistrate and this Taiyuan Commandery Administrator Wei Jin are truly blind! It's a pity I am merely a military Sima and have no opportunity to recommend you... Such a pity!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Hearing this, Lu Bu felt both somewhat overjoyed and inevitably a little disappointed, so he simply downed this bowl of hot chicken soup in two gulps again.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>However, after the chicken soup went down and his stomach warmed up a little, Lu Bu could not help but ask: \"At Wenqi's age, how did you manage to become a thousand-bushel Sima?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Oh!\" Gongsun Xun, with a nonchalant expression, briefly explained to him. \"I am also from a border commandery in Liaoxi, from a family of two-thousand-bushel rank. My teacher must be a renowned Confucian scholar of the realm, my wife must be the only daughter of a Grand Administrator, and then my teacher also became the Grand Commandant of the current court. Only then was I summoned by public carriage to the capital and appointed this Sima...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Bu and his companions looked at each other, momentarily at a loss for words.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Fengxian!\" Gongsun Xun suddenly stood up again to fill a bowl of chicken soup for the other man, then sighed. \"Don't think these things are all that remarkable... Actually, after saying so much, the most crucial point is none other than this: my teacher is a renowned Confucian scholar of the realm! You must understand, with such a teacher, the gentry will consider you one of their own. And once you become one of their own, naturally there will be a Grand Administrator who will arrange a marriage alliance with you, and naturally there will be a public carriage summons to the capital, directly appointing you to office! Actually... I didn't finish what I was saying earlier. Seeking office and position the way you are doing is probably of little effect. Because in the eyes of those gentry, no matter how good your archery and horsemanship are, you are nothing more than a martial brute!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"But how can I find such a teacher?\" Lu Bu held this bowl of chicken soup, utterly unable to drink it. \"No, I don't even expect to study under a renowned Confucian scholar of the realm. Wenqi, can you teach me how to even be accepted by the gentry?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"That is easy.\" Gongsun Xun said frankly. \"Just cater to their tastes!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Cater to their tastes?\" Lu Bu was bewildered and at a loss. \"I only know archery and horsemanship... You also said that skills in archery and horsemanship are dismissed by the gentry.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then learn something beyond archery and horsemanship.\" Gongsun Xun said dismissively. \"The classics and commentaries, music and pitch, poetry and rhapsodies... mastering one is enough!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"My mother taught me to play the qin when I was young... but I've been wild-natured for many years and have almost completely forgotten it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Then pick it up again!\" Gongsun Xun slapped the table. \"As the saying goes, the thing one fears most is earnestness. With your talent, Fengxian, if you can settle your mind and earnestly study the qin for two years, who knows, you might become another Cai Bojie in the future! Do you know of Cai Bojie? He was summoned to court by both the late Emperor and six marquises of the current court precisely because he played the qin so well, and his official career has been smooth sailing ever since.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"There was actually such a thing?\" Lu Bu was utterly astonished.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"This is common knowledge; could I deceive you?\" Gongsun Xun said dismissively. \"To put it plainly, Fengxian, the inner commanderies and provinces are ultimately different from the border regions... To become a high official, one must ultimately affect some cultured refinement!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Lu Bu pondered for a moment, then raised his hand and drank this bowl of chicken soup clean: \"Many thanks for Wenqi's guidance. Only today have I understood some of the inner workings of this... Isn't it just playing the qin? While practicing martial arts, I'll settle my mind and learn it!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun clapped repeatedly, then abruptly stood up to take his leave: \"Today, meeting Fengxian felt like old friends at first sight. I had originally wanted to share a bed and talk through the night with you, but I have urgent official business and must rush back to Yanmen... How about this: let us make a pact of three years. If you still cannot enter official service by then, come find me at Pingcheng in Yanmen, and I will certainly sponsor your career! Alright, let us meet again in the future! Farewell!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Wenqi, take care!\" Lu Bu also cupped his hands in farewell.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The rain gradually lessened. On the official road outside Jinyang City, Gongsun Xun and Han Dang, wearing straw rain capes, rode their horses side by side.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Was the Young Master just now using the household method of teasing a cat to tease this tiger?\" Once they were out of the city, Han Dang truly could not hold back. \"Stroking, teasing, circling... and finally tossing out a fish bone that only had a fishy smell!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Yigong, your insight has truly grown.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Having followed the Young Master for so long, how could my insight not grow?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"However, I didn't expect the effect to be so outstanding.\" Gongsun Xun could not help but laugh. \"This fellow is, after all, fresh out of the thatched cottage and understands nothing.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Uh...\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"What is it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Actually, if this tiger can be placated with the method of teasing a cat... why doesn't the Young Master simply take the opportunity to raise it?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun could not help but sigh deeply upon hearing this: \"I am a timid person, only daring to raise cats, not daring to raise tigers.\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Han Dang nodded in understanding.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Just at that moment, a shout suddenly came from the fine curtain of rain behind them: \"Sima! Gongsun Sima! Please wait a moment! With rain like this, there's a risk of mountain floods. You are from Liaoxi and probably don't understand these things. Allow me and Wei Yue to escort you for a stretch!\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"Exactly, exactly, Sima, wait a moment!\" Another person's voice approached from afar.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"By the sound of it, that's Cheng Lian and Wei Yue?\" Gongsun Xun reined in his horse and laughed.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>\"It is them.\" Seeing the other man laugh, Han Dang could not help but laugh along. \"Young Master, from the look on your face, you don't dare raise a tiger, but you are willing to take in these two wolfhounds?\"\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Gongsun Xun threw his head back and laughed heartily, too lazy to even explain to Han Dang.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Actually, Cheng Lian and Wei Yue aside, on this trip to Taiyuan, within a single day, first there was Dong Zhuo, then Lu Bu... Though he dared not rashly claim how these two men were! But no matter what, judging solely from their attitudes, he, Gongsun Wenqi, did not seem so very inferior after all!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>In the beginning, when the Grand Ancestor was in Bingzhou, from the Inspector and two-thousand-bushel officials above, down to commoners and black-headed folk below, he treated none without utter sincerity and heartfelt candor. Over several months, it reached the point where superiors and subordinates were of one body, and heroes flocked to him. — *Old Book of Yan*, Volume 1, Annals of the Martial Emperor, Grand Ancestor\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>(End of Chapter)\u003C\u002Fp>",1897,"2026-06-04T19:42:03.441Z",1,"Novelzhen Translator","12e91d60b230614b15df1fdb2bb0c53b38dee55ae9e930e2d4bba3a08a6a0f3b","overthrowing-han-chapter-81","overthrowing-han-chapter-79",548,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Foverthrowing-han-cover.jpg"]