Alliance (1)
“What is this?”
Zhuge Liang asked, studying the blueprint Guan Suo had handed him.
“While I was training in martial arts, I noticed water running off a roof and the idea came to me.”
It was a lie. The theory itself had already been sitting in his head, but if he explained even that much, Zhuge Liang would almost certainly push him into a civil post again. He had chosen his moment carefully and said only this much.
The moment Zhuge Liang took the drawings, his eyes lit up. What Guan Suo had shown him was a plan for sewerage works—complete with designs.
Roman methods, more or less.
In precise terms, it meant paving the walkways with brick, then building channels along both sides so water could flow freely. Shu, for all its rugged mountains, remained underdeveloped. Yet the reason the region was still famous as a granary and never lacked drinking water was the great dike system centered on Chengdu.
The lands of Ba-Shu drew their water from the Min River, a tributary of the Yangtze; whenever the waters rose, the floods were devastating. To prevent that, a man of the Qin named Li Bing had mobilized laborers for eight years and built both embankments and waterways.
That great work was the Dujiangyan. It held back the floods, guaranteed a steady supply of water, and expanded the arable land until, by the Three Kingdoms era, the region boasted formidable grain production. Zhuge Liang himself devoted careful attention to the upkeep of the Dujiangyan.
But the more water, the better.
Guan Suo’s plan was to link new channels to that dike system and connect them to sewers. When the monsoon rains or sudden downpours came, the water that ran across the brick paving would be carried into the sewers.
Screens would catch the impurities along the way; the process would be repeated until clean water could be obtained. Even if it could not serve fully as drinking water, it could still be used for daily needs and so conserve the pure supply.
“It will take men to maintain, of course, but if it is put to proper use I believe it will help us secure a great deal more water.”
“A truly excellent idea.”
Zhuge Liang was openly impressed by Guan Suo’s thinking.
“If we build such waterworks, the people’s lives will grow far more abundant.”
Used well, the system would not only improve the drinking-water supply; it would advance the people’s livelihood as a whole. Looking at Guan Suo, Zhuge Liang asked again:
“…Have you truly no desire to serve as a staff officer? As it happens, a post of Staff Officer in the Prime Minister’s Office has just fallen vacant…”
“I am sorry, but I believe I am better suited to be a military officer.”
Once more that day Guan Suo declined Professor Zhuge’s invitation to graduate school.
If I get caught here I’ll end up like Hwang Hui. I’d rather die on the battlefield—or of overwork in the army—than that.
Zhuge Liang smacked his lips in mild regret.
“I have heard your proposal. The final decision is not mine alone; I shall recommend it to His Majesty.”
Purifying the water might prove a little troublesome, but it would not be nearly as taxing as the Grand Canal projects of later ages under Emperor Yang of Sui.
If we keep advancing like this, one step at a time, Shu will grow stronger still.
Later he intended to propose improvements to weapons and other inventions drawn from history. Satisfied that he had made his case, Guan Suo left the Prime Minister’s Office and was just heading home when—
“Ah, Guan Youzhi, isn’t it?”
…Ah, fuck.
He had deliberately chosen a time when this particular man would not be around, yet they still ran into each other on the way back. The man greeted him with every appearance of warmth, but malice filled both eyes.
“Staff Officer.”
His name was Yang Yi—a staff officer of the Prime Minister’s Office, infamous for a rotten personality and for picking fights with anyone who crossed his path. Guan Suo privately called him a mad dog.
Guan Suo clasped his hands and offered a polite greeting. Yang Yi did not return it; instead he snapped in a voice thick with spite.
“If you’ve learned martial arts, you ought to be in the barracks. What are you doing cluttering up a place where civil officials are conducting state business?”
As Yang Yi began to scold him, passers-by cast pitying glances at Guan Suo—sympathy for someone bitten by a mad dog who seized on the smallest pretext.
“I came only for a short while to present a proposal to the Prime Minister.”
The man’s face was the last thing he wanted to see, but for the sake of getting by in the world he had to wear a mask and exchange civilities. Yang Yi’s problem, however, was that his temper was foul beyond measure.
“Haha, Youzhi. You really are a frightening fellow. At such a young age you’re already trying to accumulate experience and poke your nose into everything, is that it?”
Yang Yi had genuine talent for practical administration, yet his nature was venomous and he constantly picked quarrels. He had clashed especially often with Liu Ba, the Director of the Secretariat and a man Liu Bei himself had marked as a talent.
In the end Liu Bei had chosen Liu Ba and demoted Yang Yi to Administrator of Hongnong—a Wei city between Chang’an and Luoyang, which in practice meant no post at all.
Choosing Liu Ba and letting him issue the Direct-Hundred coins to stabilize prices through currency reform was a wise decision, looking back.
Opinions on the Direct-Hundred Five-Zhu coins still differed, but considering how Dong Zhuo had collapsed the value of money and how the reform had replenished the treasury, it counted as an achievement of sorts. It showed that Liu Bei’s eye for talent had been sound.
After the disaster at Yiling, however, Zhuge Liang had reinstated Yang Yi as a staff officer. Liu Ba had died while Liu Bei was campaigning at Yiling, and Zhuge Liang needed to restore internal administration quickly; he therefore brought Yang Yi into the Prime Minister’s Office.
We do need every capable man we can get, true enough.
Even though Ma Liang, Huang Quan and others had been saved, Yang Yi was still employed. With more talent surviving, his standing was lower than in the original history—yet his foul temper remained unchanged. Resenting that Guan Suo was catching the eyes of both Liu Bei and Zhuge Liang, Yang Yi seized every chance to provoke him.
…He never starts anything when I’m with Zhao Yun.
Guan Suo forced down his anger and looked at Yang Yi with a gaze edged in irritation. Narrow-minded and petty, Yang Yi paid it no mind at all. Jealous of Guan Suo, he pressed him with one pretext after another until he finally crossed the line with outright abuse.
“Borrowing your dead father’s connections so you can stroll in and meet the Prime Minister of a whole country as if he were the neighborhood uncle—ah, it must be nice for those of us who weren’t born into such fine blood.”
At Yang Yi’s thoughtless insult, genuine rage surged through Guan Suo. He had sent word ahead and obtained permission before coming. The moment his father Guan Yu was mentioned, veins stood out on his forehead and his fists clenched tight.
…This inferior knock-off of Ma Liang really knows how to run his mouth. Should I just kill him?
Yang Yi outranked him. So he treated the man like a company superior who had nothing better to do than torment juniors, and simply stood there taking it. As the words went past all bounds, murderous intent rose in him.
That Yang Yi possessed ability was beyond dispute. But set beside Ma Liang—called White Eyebrows for his gentle nature and outstanding administrative skill—or Wei Yan, Yang Yi’s bitter rival and a true military talent, the man was merely ordinary. A petty soul inflated with self-regard far beyond his worth: that was Yang Yi.
Yang Yi flinched for an instant at the killing aura that rolled off Guan Suo, then opened his mouth again, determined not to yield.
“Clenching your fists at a civil official! This is why illiterates—”
Just as the confrontation reached its breaking point—
“Guan Suo! There you are!”
A general spotted him and came running.
“What is it, General Yao?”
The newcomer was Yao Hua, who held the rank of Colonel of the Separate Camp. When Yang Yi demanded an explanation with a look of pure dissatisfaction, Yao Hua smiled blandly.
“We’re about to drill the troops in the barracks and are short of hands. The General of the Central Guard ordered me to bring Guan Suo.”
“Tch. Take him, then.”
Yang Yi’s expression soured; he had been robbed of the chance to finish his meal. Had it been his enemy Wei Yan, he might have refused—but an order from Zhao Yun, General of the Central Guard, could not be ignored.
“Are you all right?”
Yao Hua turned and looked Guan Suo over carefully.
“Ah—yes. I’m fine.”
“You did well to hold back. And I’m sorry—I should have found you sooner.”
Yao Hua apologized with genuine regret.
“There is no need for the General to apologize.”
Of all the officers in the army, none besides Zhao Yun was more well-disposed toward him than Yao Hua. Having once served under Guan Yu, the man took special care of both Guan Suo and Guan Xing.
“The order from the General of the Central Guard was only an excuse to get you out. You may go home as you are.”
“Thank you. I hate that you got dragged into this because of me…”
If Yang Yi learned of it later, the trouble would spill onto Yao Hua as well.
“Think nothing of it. It was only natural.”
With those words Yao Hua turned and headed back toward the military offices.
…This won’t do.
Guan Suo looked back toward the Prime Minister’s Office where Yang Yi still was. He was only a minor general—a General of the Standard. That he possessed connections through his father Guan Yu was undeniable.
…At first I even thought of telling Liu Bei that Yang Yi had spoken of Guan Yu…
That would have been enough to make Liu Bei fly into a rage and demand Yang Yi’s head. But after his recent mistakes, Liu Bei trying to kill Yang Yi would not look well. Besides, Yang Yi was far from the only man who envied him. If he ran to Liu Bei or Zhuge Liang and borrowed their hands, he would only hand ammunition to those who already muttered that he lived off his father’s glory.
…Before the Northern Expedition begins, I’ll need to rack up plenty of merit in the southern campaign against the Nanman.
Originally he had planned to ride along with the southern expedition without great ambition, simply following the flow of history. Having saved so many officers and men at Yiling, he had wanted to concentrate on developing Shu and on his own growth.
Training under Zhao Yun had already brought his martial skill along by leaps and bounds; now ambition for advancement had begun to stir as well.
They called him Guan Yu’s son and claimed he traded on connections. This time he would show them every scrap of ability he possessed.
Later, when he’s serving under me, we’ll see if he still dares to run his mouth like that.
Gritting his teeth as he stared at the Prime Minister’s Office, Guan Suo made the vow, then turned and set off for home.
A few days later, before setting out on the expedition against the Nanman, Zhuge Liang dispatched an envoy to the kingdom of Wu.