The Fraudster with a Royal Seal

"Who are you?"

"You've never heard of me? Of Zhao Wei of Cao Wei?"

He spoke with the air of a man genuinely baffled that anyone could fail to know him. Of course I had no idea who he was. We'd never met.

I glanced at Fei Yi, but he looked just as blank.

When he said "Cao Wei," I'd first assumed he meant the Cao clan's kingdom of Wei. But no — his surname was simply Zhao, and his given name was Wei.

"Hah. Aren't you the envoy party bound for Xuchang? How could you possibly not know me?"

"Might you be a member of the Wei royal house?"

Given the surname Zhao, I wondered if he might be related to Cao Cao's clan. I hardly had the Cao royal genealogy memorized, after all.

"Hmm. Well now. I might be, and I might not."

Still no clear answer.

"Then, might I ask what office you hold?"

"Hah~ One cannot judge a man by his ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠office alone."

This time Fei Yi tried, but the man kept circling around every question. It was maddening.

"Could you tell us what business brings you here? We need to prepare for tomorrow's schedule."

At my question, he cleared his throat with a theatrical ahem.

"Do you know Sun Quan, King of Eastern Wu?"

"Yes. Of course."

Was there anyone who didn't know Sun Quan, King of Wu? But why was his name coming up here, of all places?

"I, you see, personally exchange letters with King Sun Quan of Wu."

"Pardon?"

"With His Majesty the King of Wu?"

It was an unexpected claim. Corresponding directly with Sun Quan… Still, it wasn't something to take at face value.

"Indeed. Allow me to show you."

He squared his shoulders with more force than anything I'd seen from him yet, then produced something and held it out.

"That is…?"

A scroll. And not ordinary bamboo slips, either — a fine letter backed with silk.

"Here. Look at this."

He unrolled just the very end of the scroll. At the bottom of the letter was a seal impression — large, intricate, and clearly no ordinary stamp.

"That—!"

Fei Yi drew a sharp breath.

"That appears to be the genuine seal of His Majesty the King of Wu…"

He hadn't unrolled the full letter, so its contents remained a mystery, but the seal at the edge was plain enough to see.

I couldn't have said whether it was truly Sun Quan's seal, but Fei Yi, as a civil official, seemed to recognize it.

"Correct! A personal letter written by King Sun Quan of Wu and sent to me. Now do you understand who I am?"

Given Fei Yi's reaction, the letter from Sun Quan was probably genuine. But so what?

"Then, might we see its contents?"

He thrust out a palm and cut me off cold.

"Ah-ah! This is not something one shows just anyone! A personal letter from the king of a nation, addressed to me. And it isn't as though I've received only one ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠— we have exchanged many over time."

"But why do you correspond with His Majesty the King of Wu?"

At my question, Zhao Wei puffed himself up to his fullest.

"Why? Because the King of Wu wishes to stay in my good graces, of course."

Someone Sun Quan wanted to impress.

Not Liu Bei, not Cao Pi. Not a power broker of any state like Zhuge Liang or Chen Qun. Sun Quan wanted to curry favor with a man whose name I'd never even heard? Could he actually be some Zhao clansman of the royal house I simply didn't know about?

"Then why would His Majesty the King of Wu wish to stay in your good graces?"

"You are a suspicious sort, aren't you? Very well — I'll tell you a little. King Sun Quan of Wu is a man who intends to surrender to His Majesty King Cao Pi of Wei."

"What? Surrender?"

"Yes, that's right. I trust this is not news to you. Allow me to continue."

Fei Yi interjected in mild surprise, but Zhao Wei pressed on as though it were nothing of consequence.

"Did the King of Wu not recently declare himself a vassal before the King of Wei? That means he will soon place himself under Wei's authority. But for the King of Wu, the real problem comes after. What rank will he be promised? How much of his wealth can he keep? Those are his worries — and I have been mediating on his behalf, ensuring he receives a respectable position in the end. That is why Sun Quan seeks my favor."

Something about this felt off.

"Then what brings you to us?"

"Hah! How dense. I'll leave you this — read it carefully and think it over. I'll come for your answer tomorrow."

He tucked Sun Quan's letter away and handed over a bamboo slip instead.

"What is this?"

Fei Yi accepted it and asked.

"It contains something I wrote. Read it with care and deliberation. I shall return tomorrow."

He started to rise, then paused to add one last arrogant remark.

"I came in haste today and brought nothing of particular note, but tomorrow I shall bring something more impressive to show you. So if you don't wish to regret it, think carefully about what you ought to do."

With that, he walked out.

"What on earth was that man? Strange fellow. All swagger, and he left without ever getting to the point."

"Agreed. More importantly, Lord Fei Yi — what does it say?"

I rather wanted to punch the arrogance right out of him, but with Sun Quan's letter in his possession, it seemed unwise to treat him roughly. For now, we would examine the bamboo slip he'd left behind.

Fei Yi unrolled it. A poem was written there.

"Is this from the Classic of Poetry?"

"Yes. It's the poem Tuyuan from the Shijing."

Fei Yi answered my question. I half-remembered the poem from my studies with Liu Shan.

"The rabbit represents one skilled in the arts of survival; the pheasant, one too weak in worldly cunning, who suffers unjust treatment."

As expected, Fei Yi's learning far outstripped mine.

"What does it mean, then? That we should stay in his good graces and navigate the world wisely…?"

While Fei Yi fretted over the poem, I sank into thought.

Zhao Wei. Did any such name survive in the records of the Three Kingdoms era? ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠I ransacked everything I knew from both the novel and the official histories.

There is one Zhao Wei who comes to mind.

Among the retainers of Liu Yan and Liu Zhang, there had been a man named Zhao Wei. But he had operated in the Yi Province region, and more importantly, he had died before we even entered Shu. Even if he were somehow still alive, he'd be grandfather age by now. This man looked to be in his thirties or forties.

Zhao Wei. Zhao Wei… Had there been a Zhao Wei active in this period?

Ah. I had it.

Around this time, there had been a man named Zhao Wei who exchanged letters with Sun Quan and demanded bribes. He'd even harbored ambitions of using those connections to mingle with famous scholars.

For the record, his occupation: unemployed. Naturally, he was no relation to the Cao clan either.

In short, a jobless freeloader who fleeced Sun Quan for bribes and dreamed of building a social network off the proceeds. An absurd ambition.

In a word: a conman.

The historical record of his correspondence with Sun Quan existed, so the letter itself was probably genuine. But that was all. He was a fraud with neither office nor power.

And his end?

He was eventually executed. By whom, the records don't say, but he was surely put to death by either Sun Quan or Cao Pi after the scheme came to light.

If you're going to run a con, keep it modest. Pull one on this scale and of course you'll get caught.

Charitably, a man of drive and ambition. Uncharitably, a man whose guts had swollen far past his station.

The world is full of odd characters, but he was peculiar enough to have lodged in a corner of my memory — which is how I'd dredged him up now.

"General Jin. What do you make of this? It almost makes sense, and yet… He does seem like a swindler, but I can't quite…"

While I was sorting my thoughts, Fei Yi was still wrestling with the poem.

"Ah. He's a conman, all right. Don't give him another thought."

"Pardon?"

"Looking back over what he said, the answer becomes clear. He's a fraud not worth engaging."

"Is that so?"

"Yes. He claimed that Sun Quan had declared himself a vassal of Wei and would soon place himself under their authority. But Sun Quan has no intention of truly submitting to Wei. The declaration of vassalage is nothing more than a diplomatic ruse."

Sun Quan had once bowed his head and declared himself a vassal to Cao Cao while planning the surprise attack on Jingzhou. But that had been pure misdirection — a means of securing an alliance with Cao Cao so the Jingzhou raid could succeed. He had not the slightest intention of genuinely submitting. He might go through the motions of sending tribute, but that was all.

He would simply watch how the situation developed and shift his strategy toward whatever benefited his own power.

"But that man spoke as though Sun Quan would truly place himself under Wei. He doesn't understand Sun Quan's diplomatic strategy at all. How could such a person possibly help Sun Quan? Moreover, he never properly identified himself — not his office, not his bloodline, not a single thing. If he held any office, he would have announced it immediately. He has no power of his own. He simply brandished Sun Quan's letter and swaggered."

"Hmm. That does make sense. And yet the seal of Sun Quan appeared genuine."

"The correspondence with Sun Quan itself is probably real. He likely posed as someone of high standing in Wei. Sun Quan, erring on the side of caution, would have sent a few letters — better not to snub someone and risk derailing a diplomatic strategy."

"Ah. That is possible. Then what of this poem?"

Fei Yi looked down at the bamboo slip Zhao Wei had left, the one bearing the verse.

"That was simply left to make you think."

"Simply to make me think?"

"Yes. You fretted over that poem for quite some time, didn't you? If you failed to produce an answer, he'd have all the more reason to preen later. And if, after fretting, you arrived at something resembling an interpretation, you'd have marveled — 'Ah, so this poem held such profound meaning!' The more you ponder, the more muddled your mind becomes, and the deeper you fall into his trap. He probably doesn't know the real meaning himself. There never was one."

"Ah. I see. A ‍‍‌‌⁠​​⁠‌​​‍​​‍​‌​⁠‍‌‍⁠⁠‌⁠‌‍‌‍‌‌‌‍⁠​‌​‌​‌‍‌‌‌⁠‍​​‌‍⁠‌‌⁠⁠waste of fretting, then… Ugh…"

Fei Yi grumbled and rolled the bamboo slip back up, tossing it onto the desk.

"Yes. That's how he's been fleecing people all along. How long he can keep it up is another question."

"Ah. Then the reason he came to us was to approach General Jin, extract something, or at least borrow some of your renown."

"Most likely. Word that an envoy from Shu was coming would already have spread. Best to simply ignore him. If he shows up again, we'll send him on his way."

"Still — to see through his designs at a glance. Remarkable."

"Oh, it's nothing…"

Truthfully, I already knew the answer, so I'd just fitted the pieces together…

"Then what shall we do about him?"

Fei Yi asked, and I thought for a moment before answering.

"We have no investigative authority here, and the charge of fraud is still only a conjecture. The most we can do is report him to a Wei official, I suppose."

Or should we just leave him be, free to cause more chaos in Wei? We'd be gone once our business was finished, after all.

In any case, I'd fretted that Cao Pi might pull some petty stunt on us as envoys — and before we'd even laid eyes on Cao Pi, this kind of fly had already come buzzing around.

Sure enough, the fly returned first thing in the morning — before we'd even finished packing to depart.

"Well? Have you settled on an answer to the verse I left you yesterday?"