Educating Liu Shan
Liu Shan entered my official residence wearing that same ever-present, sunny smile of his.
"It's already late into the night. Shouldn't you be asleep?"
"I was reading something, but there was a part I didn't understand. May I ask you about it, General?"
"Of course. What were you reading?"
Oh, so he'd been reading. That was rather commendable, at least.
"I came across the phrase jinjeok-geumwang. What does it mean?"
Jinjeok-geumwang — Capture the Thief by Capturing the King. The eighteenth stratagem of the Thirty-Six Stratagems. It meant: if you wish to catch the bandits, seize their king first. In short, to defeat an enemy, take their key stronghold or capture their commander, and victory will follow.
I was turning the meaning over in my mind when he spoke again.
"We have a cat at home named Geumwang — Golden King. Is it talking about our cat? I keep a cat in Chengdu, you see. Its fur is golden, so we call it Geumwang. It's so adorable that just looking at it makes me smile. It used to gobble up the fish I gave it. Come to think of it, I miss Geumwang. I hope it's doing well."
And why, exactly, was his cat entering the conversation…? Liu Shan's words tumbled out without rhyme or reason. I managed to dredge up his original question and answered it.
"…No. The geumwang here means capturing the king. When facing an enemy, you must first seize the leader — the commander or the king."
"Ah, so that's what it meant. I heard 'Geumwang' and wondered why our cat was involved. Then why is it better to capture the leader first?"
"…Because the leader is the core. In any organization, if the commander falls, the entire structure is likely to collapse."
"Ahh. Father often mentioned Cao Cao. If we capture Cao Cao first, will this war end? But then why didn't we capture Cao Cao at Hanzhong?"
If it were that easy, we would have done it long ago. Ah, Red Cliffs came to mind. If we'd only caught him then, we wouldn't be going through all this hardship.
"Because it is no simple matter. And while capturing Cao Cao would put us at a great advantage, it is not certain the war would end. There are still many ambitious men under heaven, and Wei has others who could take the mantle of leadership."
"Why? Didn't you say capturing the leader first is best?"
"For example, if a supreme commander is captured or killed in battle, that particular battle is likely to end. If you consider cases such as these…"
"Why is that?"
"Well, if you consider cases such as those…"
It felt like a conversation without end. Every answer I gave was met with another "why?" On top of that, his mind was so scattershot that he would veer off topic mid-sentence without fail. For instance:
"There's something else I'm curious about. It's about General Huo Qubing of the Former Han."
"Yes. Please go on…"
"I heard Huo Qubing was an outstanding general. But why did he throw away all the provisions in his wagons while his soldiers were starving? General Jin Cheong, you always share food generously with your troops. Why did Huo Qubing simply discard dozens of wagons of grain? Wouldn't it have been better if the soldiers had eaten it together and filled their bellies? And I heard that Huo Qubing's uncle, Wei Qing, treated his soldiers well. Why did the two of them act so differently even though they were related? By the way, do you think my cat is eating properly?"
"Young Master, if you could ask one question at a time… First of all, the two men came from different backgrounds…"
He fired off questions in a barrage, and unfortunately his comprehension was not particularly strong. No matter how carefully I explained, he would tilt his head or say something completely off the mark.
If Wang Ping understood two things for every one I taught him, Liu Shan managed to confuse two for every one. The more I taught, the more it felt like we were going into the negative. I hated to say it, but he was a long way from being sharp.
And yet, with a child's peculiar stamina and curiosity, he kept pouring out disjointed questions and remarks without pause.
The more he talked, the more my head ached. Suppressing the throbbing in my temples, I answered each of his words one by one.
Before I knew it, the conversation had drifted to the subject of unifying the realm.
"For those reasons, our lord has set the unification of all under heaven as his ultimate goal. That means, Young Master, that one day you may become master of the realm yourself. If you were to become the foremost man under heaven, what would you wish to do?"
"Me? Hmm, hmm. I'd like to go boating."
"Boating…?"
"Yes. I did it a few times when we were in Jingzhou. Ever since we came to the Western Shu, it's been ages. If I were master of the realm, I could sail around the whole world by boat, right?"
"Yes… I suppose so…"
I pressed my fingers hard against my temples. It was a childlike answer, to be fair, but knowing history as I did — and being charged with his education — only deepened my unease.
"Um, General? Are you all right? Are you in pain somewhere?"
"Ah, no. I just have a lot on my mind…"
It rose before me — the future of Shu Han. If I failed to prevent its fall, I would join Zhao Yun as a name forever on the lips of Three Kingdoms fans for thousands of years to come. Why did you save Liu Shan and bring him back?
Liu Shan looked at me with pity.
"Oh dear. You must have so much work that it weighs on your mind."
"…Yes. There's quite a bit ahead of me… And my head aches a little…"
"Hmm… Is there anything I can do for you? Worrying like that will ruin your health."
Well, you could just sit still and not do anything…
Liu Shan thought hard for a moment, then said:
"Later on, I'll prepare some good food or medicine for you, General. I saw Father looking after Lord Fa Zheng. Before we left, Lord Fa Zheng looked unwell. I'll ask Father and make sure you're taken care of. Then you're sure to feel better."
"Yes. I am grateful for the Young Master's kindness…"
He was a good person. A good person, at least.
"Father often used to say something. That once the realm is at peace, one must govern the world through virtue. And he told me not to take him as a model, since he himself lacked virtue, but to cultivate my own. Isn't that strange? Our father, lacking virtue?"
In my opinion, Liu Bei was indeed a man of virtue. But his ambition was every bit as great.
"Every person has their own color. Temperaments differ, dispositions differ, and so do the circumstances they face. I believe what he meant was that you should carefully consider your own situation, your own nature, and the people around you — and practice the virtue that fits."
"Hmm, hmm. I see. Father is a good man, but there are many times I don't understand what he's saying or what he's thinking."
I felt the same. Back in the modern world, I had dug through both the novel and the official histories, but Liu Bei was a man hard to define. His heart was truly inscrutable.
Even now, working under him, he remained a man I could never quite pin down. He would treat me well one moment and then dump some grueling task on me the next…
And yet somehow, he was the kind of man who made you want to follow him all the same.
"Virtue that fits. Then what is virtue, exactly?"
I found it difficult too. Virtue. Benevolence and righteousness. Clearly things of value, yet hard to pin down in a single phrase.
"There are many people around you, Young Master. You could express gratitude to those who have helped you, or give them what they need in turn."
"Is that so? Then I should think carefully about what my own virtue might be — what I can offer people."
"Yes. Don't take it too seriously for now. Just let it come to you calmly."
Liu Shan nodded, rolling his eyes this way and that, then said:
"Hmm. When I succeed Father someday, should I give General Jin a great position? You could accomplish far greater things than you do now."
Ah, no. That was not it. Once the realm was stable, I wanted to retire and live a life of leisure. I had no interest in an ending of the "he requested to resign, but it was not granted" variety.
"…Rather than looking so far into the future, there are things you can do right now. Think of those closer to you — the people who have helped you."
Liu Shan rolled his eyes again.
"Come to think of it, I should look after General Zhao Yun and General Jin Do as well. I heard they both saved me at Dangyang when I was little. Repaying them like that would be a way of cultivating virtue, wouldn't it?"
"Yes, of course. Your father and General Zhao Yun would both be delighted."
"But is there anything else I can do? I don't really know how to do much yet…"
Recognizing one's own shortcomings was a fine attitude in itself.
"You are still young, Young Master. But even a small strength can be of help somewhere. Everyone has areas where they fall short and need assistance. I do as well. Don't be impatient."
"Yes. Then when I find someone who needs help, I'll think about what I can do for them."
"Yes. That is an excellent frame of mind."
It had been a roundabout path, but I felt I was beginning to understand his nature. With the right people at his side to support him, he might turn out better than expected.
And so, deep into the night, I sat talking with Liu Shan, turning over many thoughts of my own.
Xiangyong appeared peaceful on the surface. Internally and externally, I continued gathering intelligence, gauging when the time would come to march.
In the meantime, various pieces of news arrived. The most important among them was Liu Bei's ascension as King of Hanzhong.
Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, had begun his great enterprise of unifying the realm right there in Hanzhong. Emulating that precedent, Liu Bei submitted a memorial to the Son of Heaven and took the throne as King of Hanzhong.
I had expected this ever since we took Hanzhong. It was a little disappointing not to attend the enthronement ceremony, but there were more pressing matters at hand.
"Come! Let us all raise our cups for His Majesty the King of Hanzhong!"
"Long live His Majesty the King of Hanzhong!"
Fei Yi seized the opportunity and threw yet another drinking party, while Deng Zhi quietly went about his duties, letting the laughter from the banquet wash past his ears.
Word also arrived that Guan Yu would soon march on Xiangyang, along with several other reports.
Another major piece of news concerned Guan Yu himself.
Guan Yu had been granted the office of General of the Front by Liu Bei, along with the post of Grand Administrator of Xiangyang and the Jiajieyue — the ceremonial axe of imperial authority.
Had it stopped there, all would have been well. But discord followed. When Huang Zhong was elevated to General of the Rear, Guan Yu reportedly protested:
"That an old soldier like Huang Zhong should stand in the same rank as I? This cannot be!"
The General of the Rear was one of the Four Directional Generals, a rank considered equal to the General of the Front. For Guan Yu, whose pride soared to the heavens, the idea that a man who had only recently joined their army should stand as his peer was intolerable.
But Fei Shi, the envoy Liu Bei had sent, persuaded him by citing precedents from the Han dynasty, and in the end Guan Yu accepted.
After Liu Bei's enthronement as King of Hanzhong, the appointment of Guan Yu as General of the Front was the next great topic of conversation.
But I was waiting with bated breath for different news entirely.
Word from Xu Shu in Jingzhou should be arriving any day now.
"A letter has arrived for the Pingdong-general."
It's here!
This was what I had been waiting for. The letter Xu Shu had sent me in secret. Feeling my heart pound, I carefully unfolded it.
The writing was deliberately circuitous, phrased so that anyone unfamiliar would not grasp its true meaning. But summarized, it said this:
Unseemly movements have been detected within.
— Xu Shu
Excellent. Xu Shu seemed to have sniffed it out properly. I had been more concerned about the interior of Jingzhou than Xiangyong, and this letter put my mind somewhat at ease.
Before Xu Shu left for Jingzhou, I had quietly shared several things with him.
Among them was Mi Fang's betrayal.
How he would collude with Eastern Wu, open the city gates, and how that would lead to the loss of Jingzhou and Guan Yu's death. Guan Yu's death, above all, was something I had to prevent.
Truthfully, even as I told him, I had fretted over whether such a thing would actually come to pass. Events had not always unfolded exactly as I knew them.
So if Mi Fang truly did betray us, I was not sure whether to be glad or not.
Still, preparing in advance was a hundred — a thousand — times better than being stabbed in the back unawares.
Hoping Xu Shu would handle things well, I now had to turn my efforts to supporting Guan Yu.