Receiving Instruction
Ye City. Jia Cong, on the point of laying down his office as Inspector of Jizhou, looked up into a blue sky so high and clear that the old saying rose in him unbidden—heaven lofty, and the horses fat. He had brought the chief civil and military officials of the inspectorate out beyond the city gate and stood ready to receive Jizhou's new master. The order replacing him had come without warning, yet the wrinkled face of that white-haired old minister betrayed neither grievance nor discomfort.
Incorruptible and unbending, he had labored since the day of his appointment, by relentless inspection, to root out the excesses, fraud, and corruption of the commandery administrators and county magistrates. That Jizhou, struck harder than any province by the Yellow Turban Rebellion, had recovered its footing so swiftly was due entirely to the blood and devotion of Jia Cong and the men who served under him.
"Excellency, once you step down, will you return to your homeland?"
Ju Shou asked it gently, regret gathered in his mild eyes. Excellency was the title by which one addressed an inspector with careful reverence. Jia Cong only shook his head in silence.
"An imperial command has come down. If there is a place that wants this old body, how could I seek the ease of home? This old life of mine must be given to the realm until it is ash."
He answered with a firm face, then slowly turned his head. His deep, clear gaze passed, one by one and with open fondness, over the pillars of Jizhou he had himself raised up and cherished through his tenure. There was Tian Feng, difficult as fire and yet possessed of a brilliance none could match, and Ju Shou, mild of manner with a keen edge beneath, a man to whom any matter might be trusted. Behind them stood Liu Zihui, clean-handed and upright; Shen Pei, fierce in his sense of chivalry; Min Chun and Geng Wu, whose integrity would not bend; and Li Li, exceptionally sure in the work of administration, a reassuring presence at their backs.
The generals were no less dependable. Cheng Huan and Zhao Fu were masters of the heavy crossbow; Qu Yi, out of Liangzhou, had a thorough command of tactics against cavalry; Gao Lan and Zhang He excelled in the handling of horse; and there was the young Zhao Yun, rigid and exacting, his martial skill that of a tiger.
"I leave Jizhou in your care. If you, who know its inner workings better than any, aid the new inspector with all your hearts, Jizhou will only grow firmer—and that firmness will be a fine foundation for restoring peace to the realm."
Jia Cong smiled with a father's kindness and went among the civil officials and generals, patting each shoulder as though they were his own sons, settling them. Then he turned his eyes south. The great procession that had been approaching beyond the horizon had drawn near enough that faces could be told apart.
Yuan Shao dismounted. In immaculate official robes, without a speck of dust upon them, he came forward with the easy, assured stride peculiar to a scion of the Yuan clan, foremost house beneath heaven. By office and by years alike he knew he stood more than twenty years behind Jia Cong, and he knew the older man's splendid reputation well. The moment he reached him, he clasped his hands, raised them high, and offered a bow of the utmost courtesy.
"Yuan Shao, appointed Inspector of Jizhou, offers Lord Jia his humble greetings. The benevolent governance you bestowed upon this province has resounded even as far as distant Luoyang. To look upon you in person is an honor without bound."
He bent deeply at the waist, sincere respect in the gesture. Jia Cong returned the courtesy just as deeply, without a shadow of arrogance.
"I too have long known Lord Yuan's lofty fame. I congratulate you with all my heart on taking office as Excellency of Jizhou."
From the tray Tian Feng held ready at his side, Jia Cong lifted with both hands, carefully, the seal and ribbon that embodied the grave authority of the Inspector of Jizhou.
"Jizhou is fertile and yields grain in abundance. It holds the fierce tribes of the north in check and stands as a pillar of Han, guarding Hebei. When I took up this post I rolled back the red screens of my carriage and strove without rest to drive out corrupt officials, and still the lives of the people are bitter and hard beyond measure. I ask that Your Excellency, in a manner worthy of your house's high renown, establish the proper Way here and look with warmth upon the people who go in want."
Yuan Shao reached out with both hands and received the seal, whose weight was no small thing, with all due reverence.
"I will carve Lord Jia's great and deep intent into my very bones. How could I dare bring shame upon the firm foundation you have spent a lifetime laying down? I shall tend the people of Jizhou with the same devotion I would give my own person. Set your heart at ease, and leave Ye without a care."
"Ha! Hearing you say so puts me truly at rest. Come—let us not stand about in this cold wind. We had best go in at once. There is a handover of office to see through, is there not?"
Jia Cong laughed brightly, took Yuan Shao by the hand, and led him through the gates toward the seat of administration. Behind them the existing civil and military officials of Jizhou walked on the left, at Jia Cong's back, while the new retainers of the Yuan clan walked on the right, at Yuan Shao's. The two great streams divided and moved.
I drew one step back from between those currents and, calmly, took in the faces of the unfamiliar Jizhou officials as quickly as I could.
Given Father's arrogance and his temper, fierce as fire, some of these proud talents of Jizhou are certain to be thrown clear. And even if not, he cannot satisfy every man if he means to advance the ones he brought with him.
All the long road to Ye I had heard, until the words were driven into my ears like wedges, of Jia Cong's outstanding administration and his excellent governance. If the histories of the Three Kingdoms judged this Jizhou the finest province under heaven, it was perhaps because of the splendid foundation that old minister had laid with his own sweat and blood.
In history, Father had seized Jizhou from Han Fu, the inspector who succeeded Jia Cong. At that time Tian Feng, Ju Shou, Shen Pei, Zhang He, Gao Lan, and Qu Yi, or thereabouts, were taken into service. The rest were driven out or put to death. Set that record beside the present, and it was certain some of these men would be cast aside. Even if they were not expelled, a demotion to lesser office would likely send them into withdrawal of their own accord.
I made up my mind to take into my own hands whatever talent slipped from my father's embrace. Turning only my head, I called softly to Ren Jun, who stood at my back.
"Sima Ren."
"Yes, young master. Speak."
He came up at an easy pace and inclined his head. I raised a hand and indicated the Jizhou officials walking off to the left.
"Every official of the inspectorate is a fine talent. Even so, it will be difficult to employ them all. His Excellency has brought a great many men of his own. But we cannot send every one of them back into private life. Even should it come to that, I wish to form a bond with them, so learn their circumstances in careful detail."
"Understood."
Ren Jun answered with confidence written plain on his face. In this age a man's face, his lineage, and his record of service were the calling card that spoke for him, and for Ren Jun—wide in his connections, sharp in his eye—a task of this order was no difficulty.
Once the order was given, a worry stirred. Recommendation was all I could offer, and if Father had already cast a man off, even that would grow hard. Somehow I had to leave a favorable impression and tie a bond in advance. Later, when power lay in my hands, I would have to bring them in and put them to use.
While I remained in Ye, I kept my breath as still as I could and watched every word and gesture of my father and of Jia Cong with a keen eye. A single remark, a single motion of the hand, from the two men who moved vast Jizhou would be the finest nourishment imaginable for honing my political judgment in the days to come.
Several days later, the handover complete, Jia Cong—his face eased at last—packed his baggage to leave Ye. He looked light, as a man looks when he has set down a burden carried all his life, and lonely somewhere beneath it.
How my father's great reshuffling of the officials would fall out was still lost in fog. Even so, there was a practical gain I meant to secure first, and I sought Jia Cong's lodging without hesitation.
"I have come to pay my respects. I am Shang, third son of His Excellency."
I was slight of frame and had not yet shed the look of a child, but I offered the courtesy as correctly and as precisely as I could. Jia Cong, about to drink his tea, set the cup down and smiled with mild warmth.
"His Excellency once spent a passing word in praise of his third son. You are only eleven, so I was privately doubtful. Yet seeing the uncommon light in the eyes of the boy standing before this old man, I know it was no empty talk."
"You honor me beyond my worth. I merely take the world in, little by little, from behind my father's shoulder."
"Young, and already well clothed in humility. Well then. This powerless old man is tying up his bundle to depart. What brings you to him?"
A warmth gathered at the corners of his clear eyes, as though he were looking upon his own grandson. I drew one quiet breath and met his gaze squarely before coming to the point.
"Your Lordship, grant me your instruction. Even a few days will do. How could I let a man of such renown throughout the realm pass before my eyes and simply send him on? Shameless as it is, I dare make this request."
"Hm."
Jia Cong stroked his beard and studied me in silence. Beneath the weight of that keen, measuring look, my mouth seemed to burn dry.
"At most I can spare a few days, however I try. If you mean to fill that brilliant head of yours, would it not be better to invite some renowned Confucian of Jizhou as a tutor and learn from him?"
"The ink-black characters fixed in books I can learn whenever I wish. What I truly hunger for is the living experience Your Lordship won by throwing your whole body against a lifetime in office. Do not cast me off for want of manners. Grant me even a small teaching."
At that bold and certain answer, Jia Cong's eyes went perfectly round. A moment later he could not help himself, and broke into a great open laugh.
"Hahaha! So this is how you stole His Excellency's heart so thoroughly."
The sound of his laughter filled the room. It was a willing assent, and only then did I let out the breath I had been holding, relief hidden as well as I could manage. I moved at once to prostrate myself and offer the formal rite of taking a master, but Jia Cong hastily fluttered his wide sleeve and waved me off.
"A mere few days, and you would make us master and disciple? Before I go, simply keep a bored old man company in talk. Can you do that much?"
"I am grateful only for your deep consideration."
I brought my hands together and bent low at the waist.
From that day on, for as long as Jia Cong allowed it, I set every other duty aside and clung fast to his side. True to his word, he did not recite the stale lines of the classics. He unpacked, as vividly as if he were opening a bundle, the secret struggles of a hard life in office, the subtleties of administration, and the practical insight by which one handles the people. I drank his wisdom as greedily as parched earth drinks a sudden rain. It was a precious store for governing a vast realm—one that no wagonload of gold and jewels could ever buy.
That priceless learning settled the tangle in my mind. The shallow knowledge I had studied in a child's body and the vast memory of a former life, seated deep within me, had been grinding against each other. With this teaching they began, delicately, to mesh and turn like gears. The rasping noise sank away. Only a smooth concord remained, pleasant to hear. Notions from the modern world that had lain vague and broken apart, and my reading of the harsh reality of the late Han, were ordered cleanly into a system through Jia Cong's instruction. The lacking pieces inside me were being made whole.
He remained in Ye far longer than first expected—fully ten days. Across age and station we traded questions and answers without reserve, and before we knew it a thick bond had set firm between us. He cherished my quickness and stroked me with the affection he might have shown a true grandson. I, for my part, set down for a while the cold mask I wore and treated him with the warmth one gives a grandfather of one's own blood.
"Grandfather. Could you not unpack here in Jizhou this once, and remain at my side a little longer?"
"Look at this child. His Majesty has personally named this old man Administrator of Runan. I must be on my way."
"Your health is not good. Will you truly be all right?"
"Nothing comes before an imperial command."
"Please... you must keep well."
Instead of answering, Jia Cong smiled gently, deep lines cut into his face. Through ten days and nights of talk set face to face, I had seen through to the sickness lying thick in the depths of his color. I wanted him sent somewhere quiet to convalesce, and to spend what remained of his years in peace. Once a man became mine, I kept him and carried him by whatever means I had—that was my way. But this stubborn old minister, who had lived upright all his life, declared to the end that he would take up his failing body and obey the imperial command.
"Young master, grow upright and straight, just as you are now, and become a great pillar of this tottering realm. And remember. The higher the seat you attain, the less you may forget, even for a single hour, the hardship of the people covered in dust."
"I will carve it deep into my heart, Grandfather."
"I wish I could remain and watch you grow into a fine man. Truly, I regret it."
"In time our bond will surely meet again. Then I will come to you and ask once more to learn."
"I wonder. Whether capricious Heaven will grant me so much time..."
Jia Cong could not bring himself to finish, and let the words trail away into loneliness. In his fading voice there was the detachment of a man who knew his life was sinking, hour by hour. Even so, as I watched that bent back—old, ill, and still climbing without complaint into the carriage, toward the people and toward duty—a corner of my chest, always armored in thorough reason, went cold and ached.
With a soft tap, Jia Cong set a thin booklet on the desk.
"I wrote a few lines, thinking they might be of help."
Something rose in my throat, and the thanks would not come. He had given so many hours of teaching out of a sick body, and beyond that he had even made me a booklet. I could feel that he truly treated me as his own grandson. I was ashamed. I had come to him with a shallow heart, meaning only to take his experience and leave a good impression upon the officials of the inspectorate. I followed him now as I would a grandfather, and still the shame would not leave me.
"Please keep well. We will meet again. We must."
He said nothing, only smiled with a kindly warmth and stroked my head. If my father's touch was warm, his was rough and cold as the bark of an old tree. Watching the course by which a man with little life left to him was appointed Administrator of Runan, I felt once more how cold politics could be.