The Protector of the Scholars
"I simply do not know how to repay Magistrate Yu's kindness. Not only did you save me, but you are sheltering my entire clan here in Yawang... *sob*..."
We had returned to Yawang. Zhang Fei had gone on a one-woman rampage to rescue Jeong Rim, then ordered him to gather his family and flee to Yawang for safety.
So now he was offering his thanks to Yu Bi at the county office. Yu Bi waved it off as nothing at all.
"Ah, no, that is not so. When the Grand Administrator uses such absurd pretexts to torment people who are living perfectly peaceful lives, how could anyone who draws a salary from the Son of Heaven simply stand by and watch? Please make yourselves at home as if this were your own house."
"Thank you... thank you..."
Jeong Rim and his family bowed until their foreheads nearly wore through the floor before they finally left the office. And then the storm broke.
"Have you lost your mind? Not only did you dare attack the men the Grand Administrator sent, but why on earth did you bring that dead weight back here?"
Guan Yu, of course. Ever since I had lost to Sima Yi last time, she had been picking apart every single thing I did.
"So what, I was supposed to just watch an innocent man get dragged off right in front of me? You clearly never saw those heads on the spikes, Guan Yu."
"Then you should have smuggled him across the Yellow River in secret. Why bring him here? Do you really think the Grand Administrator will just let it slide?"
"If you're scared, feel free to sit this one out. Nobody's stopping you."
"Do you want to die?"
Shing!
Without another word Guan Yu drew the Green Dragon Crescent Blade (Might +4) that Jian Yong had brought from his hometown. The raw power gap was already brutal; now she had gear advantage on top of it. I decided the smart move was to hide behind Zhang Fei.
"Wooong! It's Yide's fault! Yide said we should save him, and Do Yeop-nim gave permission!"
"Why would you even ask him for permission in the first place? And Jian Yong, what were you doing standing there without stopping them?"
"Me? How am I supposed to stop Yide? I just figured Hojji here had a plan."
Zhang Fei was taking all the blame while Jian Yong shamelessly ducked responsibility. In the end Lu Zhi had to step in and mediate.
"That is enough for now. Do Yeop, I do not believe the Grand Administrator's actions are just either. But if something is wrong, should we not report the facts to the Colonel Director of Retainers or the Intendant of Henan and resolve it through proper channels?"
"With Dong Zhuo already in power, the word 'lawful' feels pretty far away, doesn't it? The Grand Administrator of Henei, the Colonel Director of Retainers, the Intendant of Henan—every last one of them was appointed by Dong Zhuo. You really think they're going to start stabbing each other in the back over this?"
"..."
Lu Zhi seemed to accept the point; he closed his mouth. This time Yu Bi spoke up, worry plain on her face.
"Aigo... I understand what you are saying, Do Yeop-nim. But we have already struck the men the Grand Administrator sent. He will surely retaliate. Ah... I am so tired of living as a fugitive..."
"No need to run. If the Grand Administrator sends a summons, just ignore it. And if he gets angry enough to march troops over here, we simply drive them off."
"Th-that does not sound like you at all, Do Yeop-nim. Have you not always preferred to settle things peacefully?"
"Have you already forgotten I tried to assassinate Dong Zhuo? This is the peaceful solution. Since things have already gone this far, let's send people to the neighboring counties and rescue every single person the Grand Administrator has wronged."
"Hup... Would that not only enrage him further? Why would you..."
"I see. You intend to gather the hearts of the people around us that way, do you not?"
As expected, Lu Zhi's mind was sharp enough to catch my strategy at once. Exactly as he said—I had hit an unexpected reef and was forced to pivot the grand strategy.
I had approached the Sima clan to shore up Yu Bi's weak network of connections. But Sima Yi had caught me in a lie, so that avenue of help was closed.
Yet Henei still held plenty of famous scholar-officials. Wang Guang was clearly targeting the local magnates who had piled up wealth. By protecting them, I would cast us as the protectors of Confucian learning itself.
Things went smoothly. Guan Yu and Zhang Fei led their gangs through the surrounding counties and successfully rescued every person being oppressed by Wang Guang.
The number of people who flocked to Yawang already exceeded several hundred. Yu Bi treated them with full courtesy, providing food and shelter.
And I, for the first time in a long while, mounted a horse and set out for Wen County. Not that I was going back to the Sima clan again.
Knock knock!
I arrived at my destination and rapped on the gate. Presently a woman with a face full of worry opened the door. It was Shang Lin, the same woman I had met last time with Sima Lang.
"You were the one who came with the Magistrate of Yawang before... What brings you here so suddenly?"
"I was just passing by and thought I'd drop in. But is something troubling you? Your expression doesn't look very bright."
"Ah, it's nothing."
Shang Lin tried to hide her face, but the truth had already leaked out long ago. I knew the entire story yet pretended ignorance as I asked.
"Come to think of it, the Grand Administrator of Henei has been sending Confucian students all over the place to torment people lately, hasn't he? Our Magistrate couldn't stand it and has been protecting everyone who suffered unjustly at his hands."
"I've heard the talk. I never imagined Magistrate Yu was such a righteous man..."
"Anyway, if you have any worries of your own, feel free to speak up. The gates of Yawang are open to anyone."
"..."
Had the patient persuasion worked? Shang Lin lifted her head and met my eyes.
It was the look of someone who desperately wanted to pour out her grievances.
"The truth is... not long ago my uncle incurred the Grand Administrator's displeasure and was dragged off to Huai County."
"Really? I bet it was some completely ridiculous pretext."
"Of course it was. Fortunately we were able to ask Hu Mopyo—who happens to be from the same hometown as the Grand Administrator—and barely got him released."
"That's a relief. Your righteousness will be remembered for ten thousand generations."
"Haa... If only that were true. But now the Grand Administrator holds a grudge and will soon send men after us. I don't think we can stay here much longer."
"..."
Shang Lin hung her head and let out a long sigh. Exactly as I had expected.
I hadn't just happened to drop by today and heard some shocking news. I had already known from the biographies last time that trouble would arise with Wang Guang.
"Wouldn't it be better to ask for help? The Sima clan is a great house—surely they could protect you."
"I'm friends with Lang, but I can't make such a shameless request. I'll just flee somewhere like Shangdang and farm for a living."
"Hmm... Then how about this? You and your family move to Yawang and receive Yu Bi-nim's protection."
It wasn't even a particularly sudden suggestion. Yu Bi was already protecting Wang Guang's other victims the same way, and Shang Lin knew it.
"Impossible. The Magistrate would certainly suffer great misfortune."
"We've already obstructed the Confucian students Wang Guang sent and ignored the official inquiries. We're already on his bad side."
"It's completely different. Even if the Grand Administrator resents Magistrate Yu, he still holds office—he can't act recklessly. But I am a person with nothing, and I used Hu Mopyo to humiliate him. If you take me in, the Grand Administrator will no longer leave the Magistrate alone."
"Mm... Then let's do it this way. We'll pretend you're fleeing in the dead of night and sneak into Yawang. Wang Guang will think you've run far away, so Yu Bi-nim won't suffer any backlash either, right?"
"If it's like that..."
Shang Lin nodded, saying she could accept those terms. I helped her pack inside the house, then we slipped away under cover of night and fled to Yawang in secret.
A few days later I returned to Wen County. This time I went straight to the Sima residence without any pretense and knocked on the gate.
"Who goes there? Eh? Aren't you the one who came before? The master of the house ordered that you never be admitted."
"Go tell Sima Lang. I have news of Shang Lin. If she's curious, she can let me in."
"..."
At the name "Shang Lin" the gatekeeper darted inside and reported to Sima Lang. Before long I was invited in and stepped into the reception hall.
"I had no intention of ever seeing you again. But you say you have news of Shang Lin?"
Discomfort was written all over Sima Lang's face. Who knew a noble young lady who looked so gentle could make an expression like that?
"I know you don't think well of me. But the news was too urgent—I had to risk the discourtesy of coming."
"Where is Baekgo right now? I already know she fled to escape the Grand Administrator."
Naturally, Shang Lin had not even told her closest friend Sima Lang about the midnight flight, for the sake of absolute secrecy. I struck exactly at that point.
"This may come as a shock, but while fleeing she was caught by the Grand Administrator and dragged straight to Huai County. Her entire family with her."
"That can't be..."
Sima Lang's face darkened at terrifying speed. She was blaming herself for being powerless while her closest friend had been seized.
"I must speak to Father and request aid."
"You mean the Chief Clerk of the Masters of Writing? I'd advise against that. Wang Guang was appointed by Dong Zhuo—trying to impeach someone like him will only bring trouble."
"..."
Even Sima Lang could not be ignorant of Dong Zhuo's tyranny. Getting her father entangled in something pointless would be disastrous, so that path was closed as well.
"But that doesn't mean there's no way at all."
"What do you mean by that?"
"The Sima clan of Henei is the foremost great house of the Later Han, stretching back to the Former Han. If the eldest daughter of that house, Lady Sima, goes to Wang Guang herself and persuades him, he will not be able to refuse."
"Is that not... a little dangerous? The Grand Administrator is throwing people into prison as if no one can stop him. If I go there and something happens to me..."
"If you're scared, then don't. You're not the type to risk your own life for a friend, after all."
"..."
Sima Lang's expression hardened in an instant. She had been praised as a woman of talent and lofty character; now I had just called her a country bumpkin who wouldn't even stake her life for a friend. Of course she was rattled.
"That is not true. If I can save Baekgo, I will stake my life as many times as needed."
"Then go to Huai County and request the Grand Administrator's mercy. That is the last way to save Shang Lin. Oh, and for reference, it would be best to keep this secret from your second sibling. She'll definitely oppose it."
"..."
Having placed a ten-thousand-catty stone on the good-hearted Sima Lang's conscience, I strolled leisurely out of the house. But I already knew by instinct.
In the end, Sima Lang would do exactly as I had said.
I returned to the county office. Along the way I ordered several of Yu Bi's sworn brothers to keep thorough watch on Sima Lang's movements.
Two days later, a scout finally returned and reported that Sima Lang had left Wen County.
"I have something to say."
I immediately summoned everyone to the office. While they all pricked up their ears wondering what I would announce, I dropped a bombshell none of them could have expected.
"Sima Lang has gone to Huai County to request Shang Lin's release."
"Wh-what are you saying? Is Shang Lin-nim not currently here in Yawang?"
"I lied. Once she arrives the lie will be exposed, and Wang Guang will almost certainly fly into a rage and detain Sima Lang."
"A-are you insane? Why would you tell a lie like that?"
Jian Yong stared at me as if I were a madman for deliberately putting someone in danger. But genius and madness have always been a hair's breadth apart.
"Because we are going to Huai County ourselves to rescue Sima Lang. That way Yu Bi-nim becomes both a righteous person who resisted tyranny and the benefactor who saved the eldest daughter of the great Sima clan."
A true two-for-one deal. We already enjoyed considerable renown in Henei just from protecting the scholar-officials; if we added the Sima name on top of that, our fame would spread throughout the entire province of Sili, if not the whole realm.
"Have you lost your mind? You're just scamming the entire world!"
If Guan Yu didn't pick a fight here, she wouldn't be Guan Yu. I shot the question right back at her.
"It's what they call a 'white lie' that makes everyone's ears happy. Or are you scared now that I mentioned storming the Grand Administrator's office?"
"Why would I be scared? Forget the rest of you—I can go alone and bring her back."
Huff huff... As expected, poke her pride and the arrogant woman immediately throws a fit. Meanwhile Zhang Fei had already fetched her eighteen-foot serpent spear and was standing in front of me.
"Wooong! Then let's go right now!"
"No need to rush that much. It would actually help raise Yu Bi-nim's name more if we wait until the rumor that Sima Lang has been detained has spread a little first..."
"I do not think so. We must hurry at once."
"...?"
But here Lu Zhi suddenly said something unexpected. Yu Bi, who had agreed with me, tilted her head and asked.
"If Do Yeop-nim has already set the matter in motion, would it not be better to wait for the rumors to spread?"
"That is only because you do not know Wang Guang. Hoo... Originally that fellow was so righteous and free of greed for wealth that even Cai Yong praised him. But after the late He Jin summoned him to the capital, the man completely changed."
"I-I did not know that. But I still do not quite understand what we should be worried about..."
"He developed a late taste for lust and started causing all sorts of trouble. Especially—perhaps from some inferiority complex about being from the frontier—he goes completely mad whenever he sees daughters of great houses, and He Jin barely managed to cover up the scandals he caused several times."
"I-is that true? Then that means..."
So that was it. Wang Guang was a classic case of a man who had tasted power and completely rotted.
And he happened to have an especially strong lust for the daughters of great houses—and Sima Lang fit that condition perfectly.
"..."
I... may have done something a little dangerous.