The Grand General's Assembly
In the audience hall where the Grand General’s council was held at the headquarters in Luoyang, the subordinate officers of He Jin’s faction began gathering one after another. Leading them was Chief Clerk Wu Guang, who had met with Jian Yan that morning, followed by Major Wang Guang, Yueji Colonel Wu Bu, Special Military Marquis Wu Yi, Grand General’s Advisor Jian Yan, and nearly twenty other men. These were not fair-weather opportunists who drifted like migratory birds according to the shifting tides of power; they were the true core of the Grand General’s headquarters, men who genuinely followed He Jin.
They entered the hall in sequence, offering one another light bows before taking their assigned seats.
“The Grand General is entering!”
At the guard officer’s sharp announcement, the waiting subordinates straightened their clothes, rose to their feet, and bowed deeply toward the direction of He Jin’s approach.
He Jin was often depicted as incompetent in historical records and games, yet in reality he possessed both virtue and ability. His greatest flaw was an indecisiveness that left him unable to make firm decisions. Even so, because he genuinely cared for those who followed him, the generals and officials under his command offered him sincere loyalty.
With a heavy thud, He Jin entered the assembly hall wearing an exhausted expression and collapsed weakly into the large central chair reserved for him.
“Those damned bastards in Youzhou are making every single day a living hell. We have no troops left to mobilize, yet trouble keeps erupting. The eunuchs and officials in the imperial palace offer no real support, but they never stop running their mouths, demanding why we haven’t suppressed the rebellion yet.”
“Grand General, you look utterly drained. Did you fail to sleep properly again last night?”
“I spent the entire night worrying about Youzhou’s affairs, so I didn’t sleep a wink.”
“The people in the imperial palace ought to recognize how tirelessly you labor for the sake of the realm. Still, we and the common people across the land constantly sing your praises. Please don’t let anger consume you—take heart, sir.”
In response to He Jin’s grumbling, Wu Guang offered comfort on everyone’s behalf and gently steered the mood of the assembly.
“Right, then. Does anyone have a report? If there’s nothing urgent, I’ll rest briefly in my office before heading straight to the imperial palace.”
“Grand General, a letter has arrived from Advisor Jian’s main family in Zhongshan Commandery of Jizhou. I believe you should read it yourself.”
“What does it say? Your expression is grim, Chief Clerk Wu. Is the news bad? Bring the letter here.”
Wu Guang approached quietly and handed the missive to He Jin. The Grand General unfolded it and began to read. As his eyes moved down the page, his face hardened exactly as Wu Guang’s had earlier.
Bang!
“Those filthy liars! Lies should at least have limits!! If this is true, then the entire official dispatch was nothing but fabricated nonsense!!”
“Grand General, what exactly does it say to make you so furious?”
Wang Guang, still unaware of the letter’s contents, asked with open curiosity. Everyone except Wu Guang and Jian Yan stared at He Jin with the same questioning look.
“Sigh… Major Wang, read it yourself. Then pass it around so everyone can see.”
A brief, heavy silence fell. Once Wang Guang and every other attendee had read the letter, every face in the hall turned rigid as stone.
“If the contents of this letter are true, there could be no more blatant example of a false report than this!!”
“If they’ve submitted a forged dispatch, shouldn’t we punish both the Jizhou Inspector’s office and the Zhongshan Administrator’s office?!”
“It is almost certainly true. I heard nearly the same story yesterday from a merchant who just returned from Jizhou.”
Angry condemnations of the Jizhou Inspector’s office and Zhongshan Administrator’s office poured forth. When even Wu Guang added his confirmation, the assembly hall erupted into a clamor like a marketplace.
Bang! Bang!
“Enough!” He Jin roared, slamming his hand down on the table. “We cannot deal with them directly right now in any case! I will report this clearly to His Majesty at today’s grand court meeting. Since they have guilty consciences, they will surely react. So stop wasting energy on rage and think instead—tell me what response would turn this situation to our advantage.”
The hall fell silent once more.
“Should we not dispatch military investigators and censors for a proper inquiry?”
“That is obviously necessary, but it is a matter for the grand court to decide, not us. What I want is for you to consider how we can exploit this situation for the benefit of the Grand General’s faction.”
He Jin raised a hand, cutting off Colonel Wu Bu’s suggestion at once. Wu Bu was a man of integrity and loyalty, yet he lacked the ability to read the room and possessed a rigid, slow-thinking nature. The idea he had voiced was something everyone was already considering and would naturally arise in the grand court. What He Jin sought was a way to turn the crisis into concrete gain for his own side.
“Since the Jizhou Inspector’s office and Zhongshan Administrator’s office belong to the Zhuo faction anyway, shouldn’t we extract concessions regarding military operations for this rebellion from them?”
“If we recruit those who have truly earned merit and bring them to our side, they would make excellent allies. In particular, I believe we must secure the warrior known as Seo Jun—the man they even called the Heavenly General.”
Amid the flurry of opinions, Wu Yi—Wu Guang’s clansman—raised his hand and spoke. Though young at only twenty-one, Wu Yi’s exceptional martial prowess and strategic insight had already earned him recognition from He Jin and the prestigious post of Special Military Marquis. In a headquarters sorely lacking competent strategists, he was the only one whose mind moved with any real agility.
“Military Marquis Wu, why do you feel so strongly? We already have many skilled warriors here—including yourself. The Grand General’s faction is hardly short of capable fighters.”
“We must verify whether the letter’s claims are true, but if they are, then Seo Jun’s level cannot be measured by ordinary standards of martial skill.”
Wu Yi’s face was slightly flushed with excitement, as though he had encountered the protagonist of one of the old wuxia tales he had devoured as a boy. In truth, the feats attributed to Seo Jun in Jizhou were so extraordinary that they felt like something out of those very novels.
“From the stories alone, it seems he may have no equal across all thirteen provinces of the Han. Our Grand General’s faction currently lacks any warrior who can be called the undisputed pinnacle of martial arts—like Wang Yue of the Huben Army or Yue Jin of the Cheji Army. If such a man were to enlist and serve close to the Grand General, he would provide immense stability in these turbulent times, allowing us to respond far more effectively to any sudden crises.”
Warriors such as Wang Yue—called the greatest sword of the capital—Yue Jin, known as the greatest blade north of the Yellow River, Lu Bu of Bingzhou who had pacified the province and earned the title Blood Dragon Flying General, and Sa-a, the Black Wolf Sword who wandered the world as a yuxie, were all regarded as men competing for the title of the greatest under Heaven. Factions that possessed such absolute experts enjoyed high morale; their members held an almost blind faith that if their champion stepped forward, any problem could be solved.
Yet He Jin, the man considered the greatest general of the Han, had no such figure. That was why Wu Yi proposed trying to recruit Seo Jun.
“So you’re saying that because this warrior’s skill seems exceptional, we should bring him over and either keep him as my personal guard or employ him as a subordinate general?”
“Yes, that is correct.”
He Jin fell into thought for a moment, then nodded.
“It seems like a good idea. But how do we get this Seo Jun to join our headquarters? He won’t come simply because we summon him.”
“If the Censorate’s dispatch confirms the letter’s contents, we can recommend him as a Xiaolian and call him to the capital from our side. Fortunately, the region where this warrior resides is Shuofang. The Administrator of Shuofang maintains a rather favorable relationship with you, does he not? If you ask Administrator Jang to recommend him as a Xiaolian, I do not believe he would refuse.”
“A Xiaolian recommendation… If he learns that we paved the way for it, he will naturally come to us. Yes, that will work. Military Marquis Wu, you have given us an excellent suggestion today. You have done well.”
And so the morning assembly at the Grand General’s headquarters in Luoyang drew to a close. Without Seo Jun ever knowing, the path to Luoyang and the official position he had been aiming for had been smoothly arranged for him.