Far Too Hard Without Imperial Uncle Liu
Some time later, the purge of the Yuan remnants still festering inside that disordered court finally came to an end.
Three senior ministers were dead. Yang Biao, Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, was cleared after interrogation by the Court of Justice, yet he cast his office aside and begged leave to retire to his hometown. I had that same Court audited over the affair, and the inquiry found that Man Chong, in the course of the interrogation, had subjected a gentleman-official to torture forbidden by the state.
I was curious what Cao Cao would do. The result was dismissal from the magistracy of Xu County, and a posting to Yanzhou.
"Cutting off the tail, I suppose — but in the end we've only managed to throw out one vicious interrogator from the Court of Justice."
"He sent the man to Yanzhou on purpose. He'll be back."
"A shame. In my heart of hearts I was hoping the post might sit empty long enough for me to ask you, Vice Censor-in-Chief, whether I might do."
Wang Ling clicked his tongue with open regret, ambition for a higher hat showing through despite himself.
"You prepare to leave for Wancheng at once."
"To recruit that scholar, Jia Wenhe?"
"Yes. Tell him I mean to recommend him as Military Counselor in the Left General's office."
At his age, Jia Xu was long past the seasoning of a mere attendant clerk or cavalry major. If he could be won, he was a talent of the first rank and had to be brought in. As Military Counselor to the Left General, he would stand closer to the lord in military affairs than even Lu Su or Guan Yu.
"Ah, and I called at Lord Yang's residence yesterday. He says he is retiring to the country, but I met his son and made plain our wish that he stand with Imperial Uncle Liu. He seemed genuinely interested."
"The guests lodging there — Master Wenju and Dezu — are talents we ought to recruit as well."
I had wanted to go myself, but Yang Biao, sunk in dejection, was refusing to receive senior officials of the court. In every respect, once Liu Bei returned, things would find their way back to normal somehow. Still, was the military grain actually getting through? If this was enough to send Cao Cao into a rage and make him withhold it, I would be paying him another visit.
The Ministry of Works, remodeled out of the Grand General's headquarters, wore an air far more splendid — and far more oppressive — than in days past. A man of weak spirit might have sunk to his knees under the sheer weight of it the moment he stepped inside.
"Yang Dezu, son of the former Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, Yang Wenxian... presents himself before the Minister of Works!"
"Raise your head."
Only days ago this same monstrous Minister of Works, Cao Cao, had branded Yang Biao a traitor, held him, and put him through a brutal interrogation at the Court of Justice. Now he had summoned the son, Yang Xiu. The young man was said to be brilliant, yet his face was faintly flushed beneath that crushing presence, and Cao Cao drew near with a smile softened to its utmost.
"Young man. How old are you this year?"
"I have turned twenty-three."
"Brothers?"
"I am an only son."
"Is that so? It must be hard, tending your parents alone. Is your father well?"
"He is... much improved."
That Cao Cao — cold, ruthless, without scruple — should come so close and speak so gently only put Yang Xiu more sharply on his guard. Cao Cao, however, dropped down before him and sought his eyes. Staring straight through Yang Biao's son, he smiled and opened his mouth.
"Tell your father I regret what happened. And tell him that Man Chong, who conducted that harsh interrogation, has likewise been sent off to Yanzhou."
"I shall convey it."
"Even so, there is a corner of this Cao Cao's heart that remains uneasy. So I mean to recommend you myself and have you serve in the Ministry of Works. What do you say?"
"!?"
"I will grant you the post of Registrar. I shall submit the memorial in person."
It was plainly an extraordinary offer, and yet his whole body seemed to freeze, as if a shard of ice had been leveled at his heart.
"I prefer a man who answers quickly. Are you the sort who must weigh every word?"
"Minister. This humble servant, Yang Xiu, will serve with all his heart."
"Hahaha — ahahahaha! Good, good. Become a more capable minister of the court than your father ever was."
Cao Cao laughed aloud and clapped, and servants of the Ministry came forward bowing, chests of gold, silver, and jewels in their arms.
"Take them. I hesitate to call it consolation money, but see to the repair of your house, and buy your father good food and good clothing."
"Th-thank you, Minister!"
"Off you go."
And so Yang Xiu, newly Registrar of the Ministry of Works and laden with treasure, went home wearing a dazed face.
Cao Cao was still smiling at the place he had left when a figure slipped out from behind the curtains. It was Guo Jia.
"The matter of Yang Biao should be more or less settled. The other old men of the court won't dare keep whispering, now that his son has entered the Ministry of Works."
"Fengxiao, that was a superb move. As expected, I cannot do without you."
"You were the one who spoke first, Minister. I merely hung a few ornaments on it."
Besides Xun Yu, there was one other man who could remonstrate with Cao Cao, and that was Guo Jia. The moment Man Chong came under investigation, Guo Jia had him tucked away in Yanzhou with instructions to call him back once the noise died — and he settled the Yang Biao affair just as swiftly.
"Fengxiao. About the vacant post of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness. Wenruo says he has a formidable slate of candidates. What do you think?"
"Tell him to withdraw it. Summon exactly one man, and seat him there."
"Oh? Who?"
"Minister, you took a peerless beauty out of Nanyang. Is it not time you sent betrothal gifts to her family?"
"Wh-what?! Betrothal gifts?"
"You brought a widow in and lay under the same quilt. Of course you must send betrothal gifts."
Guo Jia had dragged Lady Zou into the open and needled him with her. Cao Cao flustered for a moment, then simply laughed it off.
"Heh heh heh. And what sort of betrothal gift did you have in mind?"
"Send a general's commission to Zhang Xiu, Administrator of Nanyang. And that advisor of his, Jia Xu — you yourself called him quite the talent, did you not? Make that man Grand Master of Splendid Happiness."
"Fengxiao, I had the same thought. But his past is the problem. He was a strategist under Dong Zhuo and Li Jue. I may not care, but do you think the fools who'll raise a clamor over it number only one or two?"
"True, he served under Dong Zhuo and Li Jue. But when he withdrew to the countryside, he also devised the plan to shelter the Son of Heaven in Hongnong and have him flee when the moment was right. Emphasize that before His Majesty, and summon the man to the capital."
"Oh — oh ho!"
"That merchant brat Zhang Qian is already throwing lines out in every direction. Once Jia Xu and Yang Xiu come into the Ministry, it'll turn his stomach."
"Ha — hahaha! Will it, now?"
Having landed a solid blow, Cao Cao laughed long and loud for the first time in a while, and Guo Jia laughed with him, patting his superior on the shoulder.
"Minister, you are the only hero who can bring this age of chaos to an end. You need only curb the habit of being a little too emotional now and then."
"Wenruo holds the reins of my feeling, and you, Fengxiao, hold the reins of my reason, do you not? That is why you must remain at my side for a long, long time."
"A little less anger. A calmer reason. Then the road ahead of the realm will come into view, step by step."
He had meant to sweep away every irritation while Liu Bei was absent, and Zhang Qian had gone and scattered ashes over the whole design. So Cao Cao, eager both to land a blow of his own on that man and to swell his faction at court, took up Guo Jia's scheme with both hands.
Cao Cao had gone and recommended Jia Xu to the court as Yang Biao's successor in the post of Grand Master of Splendid Happiness.
I had deliberately handed Xun Yu an impossible-to-refuse slate for the next Grand Master — Chen Gui, Song Zhong, and Zheng Xuan — and Cao Cao had sidestepped the whole thing and recommended Jia Xu instead!
"And Lord Yang's son, Yang Xiu, has gone to the Ministry of Works as well. On the surface it's a reconciliation with Lord Yang, but this is plainly..."
Watch a football match or a baseball game and you'll learn the same lesson: nothing infuriates quite like another club hijacking the ace who had already agreed to sign with yours. I had offered Jia Xu the Military Counselorship, and as for Yang Xiu — who was it that cleaned up the wreckage around Yang Biao? And then this!
"Vice Censor-in-Chief."
Speak of the tiger and he comes. Yang Xiu, properly robed for court, hurried over and bowed.
"Aren't you Registrar of the Ministry of Works?"
"I wish to apologize. You exerted yourself to save our house, and you had the officer of the Court of Justice who tortured my father dismissed. You rendered the Yang clan of Hongnong a great kindness, and yet..."
"On second thought, the Ministry of Works looked like the real power after all?"
"...I am sorry. The Minister summoned me privately and proposed, in person, that I serve in his ministry."
The apology was sincere.
"The Minister bestowed treasure as consolation, and my father instructed that it be presented to your household, Vice Censor-in-Chief. It is a paltry thing, but I will deliver it this evening."
"No, let it be. We all eat the same court rice now. Put what you received to good use later."
If he would bow his head this low, and if we were bound to keep crossing paths at court, then there would be another chance in time.
"Let's see each other often from now on."
"Yes — yes, Vice Censor-in-Chief! Whenever you call, I will come gladly."
I sent Yang Xiu off with that, and found myself wondering what sort of face that gentleman Jia Xu would wear when he arrived. Honestly, if Liu Bei had been here, I would have gone and fetched Jia Xu myself long ago. Imperial Uncle! The hole you leave is far too large.
So today, once again, I meant to lean on them over the supply train.
I went straight to the Imperial Secretariat, and sure enough Xun Yu, Xun You, Guo Jia, and the rest were there.
"The five-day margin the younger Master Xun promised was never to be trusted, was it? Do you gentlemen truly wish Imperial Uncle Liu's army to fail in crushing the traitor Yuan Shu?"
"That is utterly outrageous!"
Xun Yu, usually the picture of mildness, stiffened and waved the charge away.
"I want to hear it from the younger Xun — the one actually moving the supplies."
I had deliberately dubbed the two of them the elder Xun and the younger Xun, and both their faces grew wonderfully colorful.
"They say the prolonged rains through Yuzhou brought landslides, and that restoration work has begun. I really ought to go and see for myself."
"Yes. Allow me to guide you. If you go, you will find a considerable number of soldiers who died when the debris they were clearing collapsed on them again."
"It's that bad?"
"Oxen and horses simply cannot move. Men are carrying the military grain on their backs, climbing the collapsed slopes, and hauling it over that way."
"Pissing on a frostbitten foot. Filling the Yangtze by tossing in a single stone."
"Vice Censor-in-Chief, we truly are doing our utmost!"
Clap.
And in the midst of it, Guo Jia suddenly applauded.
"I understand the situation well enough. As military advisor to the Minister of Works, I will report this to him. And there is one way."
"A way?"
"Vice Censor-in-Chief, could you come to the Ministry of Works around tomorrow? I will see it resolved without fail, and send a proper supply train to Shouchun."
"Saying one thing and meaning another..."
"I will stake my neck on it. Bring a sword tomorrow, if you like."
For Guo Jia to go that far, he had to have something to lean on. Ah, Imperial Uncle. Are you truly all right in this great battle against Yuan Shu? It had not been so very long a campaign, and already I wanted to see Liu Bei again.
Since Guo Jia had staked even his own neck on the promise, I left the Secretariat for the time being. And he wanted me at the Ministry tomorrow? I would prepare one very large gift — something substantial enough to settle the score for hijacking Yang Xiu and Jia Xu.
When I returned home, I glanced toward the upper room. Two women, knowing I had come, had shut the door fast. They were the daughters of the great scholar Cai Yong, lodging as guests in this house: the elder, Cai Zhaoji, and the younger, Cai Wenji.
"Ah, brother-in-law, you're home?"
"After the mirror, today it's cosmetics and a necklace?"
I said it at the sight of ornaments that, by any stretch, were nothing Zhuge Liang would wear himself. He hid them in a rush, his face blazing red.
"Brother-in-law, this — this isn't what it looks like!"
"Which of the two Misses Cai in the upper room is it for?"
"That is..."
"Depending on your answer, that wish of yours might just come true."
"The elder Miss Cai! No — Lady Zhaoji, the elder sister."
"Bring her to the main hall."
I had made up my mind. First I called everyone, and I summoned Zhuge Liang and Cai Yan to the main hall as well. Into a room where Zhuge Xue, Huan Ying, Zhao Mi, and Diaochan still looked thoroughly unimpressed the moment the Cai sisters were mentioned, Zhuge Liang and Cai Yan arrived.
Hers was a graceful, intellectual beauty that would not have been outshone even beside my own wives. She was a good many years his senior, yet as she offered a courteous bow with lowered head, breeding showed in every line of her.
"Kongming will be delighted, but I mean to make a very difficult proposal here."
"Husband."
"I intend to preside over the wedding of Kongming and Miss Cai. Is that acceptable?"
"It isn't a difficult question at all, brother-in-law."
"Liang!"
I stopped Zhuge Xue's mouth for a moment, and Cai Yan hesitated, then spoke with careful courtesy.
"Vice Censor-in-Chief, I am more grateful than I can say that you took us in when we had nowhere to go. But I am a woman already betrothed by parents who have passed on, and there is also the difference in our ages."
I cleared my throat, and Huan Ying spoke.
"What do birth or age matter? By that measure, I was a war orphan out of Xuzhou."
"!"
Huan Ying said it quickly and nodded, and Diaochan added her piece.
"I was... originally a maid in Minister Wang's inner chambers, and then one of the maids Lü Bu kept, before I met my lord..."
"Right? The past doesn't matter in the slightest, does it?"
For a moment Zhao Mi opened her fox-eyes wide, as if she meant to speak, then could not bring herself to mention her father. She only offered that slit-eyed smile and clapped, as if to say that what was good was good.
"My lady. It's three to one."
"...If you will go so far, then I too will give my consent."
With even Zhuge Xue's permission secured, it was time for what came next.
"And the two of you?"
"Thank you, brother-in-law."
"That you would accept someone as lacking as I into the family — I am truly grateful."
The couple was made. Next came the wedding preparations.
"When Imperial Uncle Liu returns, we'll hold the ceremony in grand style — but as for the officiant. There is someone I wish to invite..."
In that instant a tremendous scream rang through the house.
It was a truly difficult question. In the end the groom himself, Zhuge Liang, gave his assent, and everyone else followed.
The next day I dressed in formal robes and went to the Ministry of Works.
In a truly bleak atmosphere I saw soldiers gripping spears and glaives, and Cao Cao in the rear garden, practicing the sword.
Clang — ching—
"Hm!"
For all the splendor of that sword dance, his body moved with a startling lightness. I stood quietly and watched him spar against Dian Wei and Xu Chu.
"Hoo — ah. The Vice Censor-in-Chief has come?"
Cao Cao wiped his sweat, passed the sword to Dian Wei, and with a great laugh bade me enter. Inside the Ministry, with Guo Jia on his left and Xun Yu on his right, he served me tea.
"Good of you to come here, Vice Censor-in-Chief. Have a cup of tea, and let us speak in peace."
"I am here because I extracted a sworn promise from the Minister's military advisor."
"You mean the grain support for the Left General?"
Xun Yu reported at once.
"According to the reports, the Left General's army has not only crushed the remnants of the White Wave bandits, but has driven all the way to Shouchun in victory after victory. Once the city of Shouchun is besieged and taken, Yuan Shu's power will collapse."
"And until that collapse, what matters most is the supply train. The military grain. Something to eat."
Guo Jia. And how exactly did he mean to solve this in a single day?
"I will order it in my name as Minister of Works and Governor of Yanzhou. The military grain and horse fodder stored in Yanzhou — not in Xudu, and not in Yuzhou — will be sent down."
"!"
"I feel a responsibility for this support as well. It will set out from Dongjun in Yanzhou, by way of my brother Xiahou Yuan. That fellow can move a supply train at more than double anyone else's pace, so the grain will reach the Left General as fast as can be managed."
So he meant to route the grain around through Yanzhou and deliver it to Liu Bei. He had probably had the plan in hand all along, and was only now taking it out.
"General Xiahou is going in person?"
"Yes. I already sent word by the fastest horse, so he will have set out at once."
Cao Cao nodded with an easy face, as if to ask whether this would do. Hijacking Yang Xiu and Jia Xu, appointing Kong Rong Chamberlain under the Nine Bestowments, and on top of it all supplying Liu Bei's army with grain — Cao Cao had done every one of those things. So I would have to say my piece with a smile as well.
"Minister, politically we stand as we do, but there ought to be good news as well, shouldn't there? I like it when everyone is smiling."
"Heh heh heh. On that, I am of the same mind."
"So I too have a piece of good news to share. Nothing else — there is a celebration in my house. A wedding."
"Oh ho, is that so? I never refuse free wine and meat. Which kinsman is marrying, and who is the bride?"
"My brother-in-law is to be married. The bride is Miss Cai — given name Yan, courtesy name Zhaoji."
"Wh-wh-what?!"
In that instant Cao Cao spilled the tea he was drinking, and his hand trembled.
"She is the daughter of Master Cai Bojie, the great literary master of Yanzhou, a gifted lady of exquisite verse."
"Cai Yan... Yan'er is surely..."
"By good fortune she escaped Chang'an, and having nowhere to go, I took her in. I never expected she and my brother-in-law would fall for each other... but Master Cai Bojie would be pleased as well."
To Cao Cao, the man had been a teacher of letters, a great scholar he revered absolutely.
"I have heard, Minister, that you promised to support Master Cai Bojie's daughter no differently than if she were your own. Might you serve as officiant at this wedding?"
"Officiant... you say. I, this Cao Cao..."
"It would be a great honor for so fine a young couple."
"Ha — hahaha. Very well. A descendant of Master Cai Bojie, marrying... into your house..."
"A great many people will come. The new Grand Master of Splendid Happiness, and the officials of the Ministry of Works as well..."
I took Cao Cao's promise to officiate, offered a courteous bow, and quietly withdrew.
Cao Cao sat in the Ministry of Works with his soul gone out of him, unable to finish even half his tea. Guo Jia, unable to watch any longer, sighed and addressed him.
"Minister, for now you may simply let your feelings—"
The words were barely out before Cao Cao hurled the teacup.
Crash!!!
In a single instant, Cao Cao had taken a truly solid blow from an entirely different direction. He had promised Liu Bei the military grain, the court was settling back toward normal, and he had firmly secured the advantage in factional strength — and then, out of nowhere, came a strike straight at the mind.