Surviving in Turbulent Times (9): Utterly Bewildering
Jia Xu had held a remarkably high position under Li Jue and Guo Si—truly a high-ranking official. Even during Dong Zhuo's time, she'd occupied a fairly lofty post. I'd met her once incognito before the Emperor fled Chang'an, back when she wielded power nearly equal to that of the Minister of Works.
So I'd looked into who this Jia Xu really was. And I'd realized she was something extraordinary.
-The one who mediated between Li Jue and Guo Si.
Whenever disputes arose between Li Jue and Guo Si, Jia Xu had stepped in repeatedly as the go-between. If she'd favored one side too much, she surely would've been murdered by the other. Yet after Dong Zhuo's death, right up until Emperor Xian fled Chang'an, she'd survived nobly between those two vultures, playing the judge.
But now? Not at all. I'd heard she'd resigned her post and vanished somewhere. The rumors said she'd secretly helped the Emperor escape and then fled Chang'an herself.
I never imagined that "somewhere" was under Zhang Su. Of all people, Zhang Su.
"Teacher Kim, you..."
"In a way, you could call me an enemy."
In a way. What an ambiguous phrase.
"Last time, didn't you speak casually to me?"
"Back then, Teacher Wenhou was hiding his identity but clearly a high official. Now I've resigned, with nothing to my name but my brains and body—so I must lower myself accordingly."
So Jia Xu and Wenhou were different people? Absurd, but if she insisted on formality, I had no reason to stop her.
"Let me ask: where were you last winter, Teacher Jia?"
"If it's the winter Teacher Kim means, I was in Wan."
"Wan, huh."
From Jia Xu's smile, I caught her drift.
-You already know most of it, don't you?
Yeah, I had my suspicions. That's why I was so confused.
For her, this place was a tiger's den—the gateway to doom.
Zhang Je's advisor, who'd plundered northern Jingzhou, showing up here? If she hadn't already been acquainted with me, the families of refugees and fallen soldiers from northern Jingzhou might've beaten her to death.
"Let's speak frankly. Teacher Jia, why are you here?"
"Self-defense. And seeking a path to survival."
"Then start with your self-defense."
I straightened my back and puffed out my chest. Right now, I held the power.
"Zhang Je's plundering of northern Jingzhou had nothing to do with my will."
Right out of the gate with the excuses. So brazenly, I was left speechless.
"You were Zhang Je's chief advisor—how could it have nothing to do with your will?"
"Zhang Je wasn't my subordinate. Even though I held high office, I couldn't control Li Jue and Guo Si at will, just like that."
"Still, couldn't you have reined him in to some degree?"
"Just as you knew of Cao Cao's deeds yet couldn't stop him from marching on Xuzhou, I simply failed to stop Zhang Je from plundering northern Jingzhou."
"Can't argue with that."
It was irrefutable logic. That's what made it so frustrating and infuriating. Every exchange, she slithered away like an eel, making my blood boil.
"But I wasn't one of Cao Cao's people."
"Nor was I one of Zhang Je's at the time."
Even more infuriating. Infuriating at myself. Because if I'd been in her shoes, I might've said the same. I'd already had similar thoughts about Cao Cao's Xuzhou massacre.
"I did my utmost from the position I held."
Her words echoed my own so closely, it sent chills down my spine.
"Feeling some self-loathing right now? Kin slaying kin?"
"Less kin-slaying, more self-loathing gained by viewing myself objectively through others."
"Unexpected. I figured you'd hate me."
"I only hate those who try to steal my land. It's not you I dislike, Teacher Jia—it's that talking with you makes me feel how others see me, through your eyes."
Through Jia Xu, I could sense how people viewed me. Thick-skinned bastard.
"Doesn't your conscience prick at all?"
"To keep excusing: Zhang Je actively wanted to plunder Jingzhou—hell, invade it outright. I suggested taking Wan since it was vacant, but he ignored me and pushed south."
"What of your failure to restrain your lord?"
"Zhang Je wasn't my lord then. I served Duan Wei and merely took shelter with Zhang Je after fleeing him. Even so, I did my best to tie Zhang Je to Wan."
"Didn't you consider Wan's people, suddenly saddled with Zhang Je as their prefect?"
"Wan's folk aren't Jingzhou people."
"Smooth talker."
"I've survived this long on my tongue alone."
Ah, infuriating. Infuriating, yet I couldn't counter it.
"Heh heh."
That smug smile—what was she hiding behind it? And why seek me out, proclaiming herself Zhang Su's advisor?
I had my suspicions...
"Teacher Kim, do you know why I came to see you?"
"How should I?"
"You must have some idea."
"Deny it, and I'd be lying."
I subtly pushed back the bamboo slips behind me. They detailed Zhang Su's predicament.
Cao Cao was raising troops to subdue him. Naturally, Zhang Su needed a way to survive her.
The closest path led here.
"Zhang Su seeks refuge in Jingzhou? With Cao Cao moving to subdue him, he's turning to Jingzhou to escape her."
"Precisely. But you're viewing this from an individual's perspective, Teacher Kim."
"Individual?"
"General Zhang plans to stay in Wan. Surrendering to the Han court."
"Surrender to the Han court... Ah!"
I smacked my knee without thinking.
"Your idea, Teacher Jia?"
"I advised it."
"Never seen a woman this sharp."
"A path you could've thought of too. Just a difference between an official's view and a recluse's."
"I get it."
I hadn't thought like a warlord. I'd imagined seeking shelter with Liu Biao in Jingzhou for some quiet fief. Jia Xu had thought like one: Zhang Su wanted to preserve his forces intact and survive the chaos with an official post.
"Surrender meekly for a post?"
"With the Emperor in tow, Cao Cao will rise ever higher."
"Hm..."
If it were me, I'd tell him to ditch the Wan prefecture title.
"Isn't it risky?"
"Risky how? Cao Cao's potential growth?"
"If you saw that as risky, you wouldn't surrender to her first."
Jia Xu's smile deepened.
"What comes after surrendering to Cao Cao. She could send you lot to the front lines."
"That much we must brace for."
Zhang Su's forces join Cao Cao's. Officially surrendering to the Han court, but really bending the knee to Cao Cao.
After coercing the Emperor, various warlords had abandoned bases for the court—or handed them over wholesale to curry favor with Cao Cao.
And Cao Cao was dispatching them to the most perilous fronts.
"If Zhang Su gets Wan's prefecture, Cao Cao will use him as a spearhead against Li Jue and Guo Si. If he marches to Heodo, he'll be vanguard against Yuan Shu or Lü Bu."
"Spot on. Or to check Liu Biao in the south, set up opposing horns."
Wan was one gateway to Heodo, its fortress atop mountains ideal for ambushing passersby.
The whole city was a stronghold.
If Liu Biao advanced north from Sinyahyeon to strike Heodo, even three thousand from Wan could block the road.
Studying with Xun You paid off.
Back when Xun You lived at Suyeon Academy, we'd pored over the tactical value of Jingzhou's terrain—mostly her teaching me, but now I had an eye for military matters.
"...Was settling in Wan your idea too, Teacher Jia?"
"Didn't ponder deeply, but it's a spot with great future value."
"Good lord."
This woman and I were cut from the same cloth. I'd thought our directions differed, but no.
I viewed land as assets; she as strategy.
"Wan becomes a tough nut with more troops. When Yuan Shu held it briefly, he fortified the whole city into a fortress—thousands of archers could hold for a month minimum."
"That many soldiers...?"
"No. Not at all. They couldn't even stop troops hammering the walls now."
Unexpected candor. Jia Xu laid bare Zhang Su's forces' reality.
"To the point: Teacher Kim, I want a secret alliance between Liu Biao's army and Zhang Su's."
"Secret?"
"Yes. After weighing every scenario, to prepare for one case."
"That case being...?"
Jia Xu smiled meaningfully, as if challenging me to guess. From her view, Zhang Su's...
"Cao Cao attacks Zhang Su's forces despite the surrender."
"Exactly. If she goes on a mindless conquest rampage, walking the path of the slaughtering tyrant, Child-King Xiang, we need a way to survive, right?"
The worst-case assumption. A "Xuzhou" massacre in Wan.
That's why she'd come to me.
"Understood. Your path, and Zhang Su's. But why me? Why not head straight to Yangyang?"
"Obvious, isn't it? Convince you, and Liu Biao follows."
"Have me sway Liu Biao?"
"You have influence with the Cai family, don't you?"
"Ha, then you'll have to move me first—"
Slipping her hand onto my shoulder.
"I told you. A woman who's survived on her tongue. And this? Special persuasion, just for you."
"...Hey?"
"Getting cocky after a kid props you up a bit."
Jia Xu licked her lips.
"By tomorrow night, you'll be heading to Yangyang."