Taiheiki

Chapter 160 Big Change
"What's wrong, General? Is something amiss?" Yuan Tian asked cautiously.

"It's nothing!" Zhao Yannian sighed. "Most of the wealth you mentioned was probably given to General Feng and his men. Lord Wei plans to use General Feng to open channels so that the court will acknowledge what he did in Jiaozhou!"

"Then, what should we do?" Yuan Tian asked anxiously.

"Don't be anxious!" Zhao Yannian thought for a moment, "If there's no money, there's nothing we can do. Besides, General Feng isn't a greedy person, and it's not that Lord Wei was unwilling to give it; it was just robbed on the way. At most, he can make up for it later. I have some face in front of General Feng, so I'll just throw away that face and present Lord Wei's letter!"

"Thank you, General Zhao!" Yuan Tian breathed a sigh of relief and quickly bowed, saying, "Otherwise, I really wouldn't know how to explain this to Master Wei when I got back!"

"Don't worry, Lord Wei isn't that kind of harsh person!" Zhao Yannian waved his hand. "There's one more thing. I have someone here who is an old friend of Lord Wei. He wants to go to Jiaozhou to see Lord Wei. When you go back this time, please escort him there safely!"

"An old acquaintance of Lord Wei?" Yuan Tian nodded without much thought: "That's easy to explain, I remember!"

After the agreement was made, Zhao Yannian wrote a reply and handed it to Yuan Tian. He then summoned Cao Cao and said to him, "This man is the envoy of the Duke of Wei. He will escort you to Jiaozhou!"

Cao Cao sized up Yuan Tian, ​​then cupped his hands in greeting: "I am Cao Cao from Pei State. Greetings, Your Excellency. Thank you for your trouble!"

"My name is Yuan Tian of Chen State, I am unworthy of such an honor!"

Upon hearing Yuan Tian's place of origin and name, Cao Cao's heart stirred, but he said nothing more, only nodding. The next morning, the group boarded a boat and headed towards Yuzhang Commandery.

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E County, Han Army Camp.

Night fell, turning all the flags black. The Han army's camp stretched for miles between the Yangtze River and the official road. Scattered campfires, like stars in the sky, dotted the road and the great river. The daytime battle was over; both sides were licking their wounds, awaiting the arrival of the next day. Arrows fell with the sunlight, indiscriminately claiming the lives of soldiers on both sides, until night fell again, and peace and tranquility returned to this land.

"General, from which direction do you think the enemy reinforcements will come?"

Inside the tent, Ying Feng asked, holding a candle in his hand and looking at the map below: "North, east, or should we just go around here!" As he said this, he drew an arc on the map with his finger, pointing to Jiangling and Xiangyang.

“It’s impossible to bypass this place! Although the Moth Bandits have many soldiers, they are poorly trained and cannot carry out such a complex operation!” Feng Kun said, “Moreover, the one guarding E County is Zhang Song, the eldest disciple of the Great Teacher of the Virtuous and Good, and the reinforcements will definitely not abandon us!”

"The general is right!" Ying Feng nodded: "Then we'll have to fight a battle here!"

“Not bad!” Feng Kun nodded: “If we defeat the reinforcements, E County will fall without a fight. If we can’t—” At this point, he sighed, and his usually rock-hard face showed a rare look of exhaustion.

Just as Ying Feng was about to say something to comfort his old friend, a soldier entered from outside: "There is an urgent message from Luoyang!"

"Luoyang?" Ying Feng's expression shifted slightly. He said, "Leave the letter here, and you may leave!"

"Here!" The soldier left the letter and went out. Ying Feng picked up the letter and handed it to Feng Kun, but Feng Kun did not reach out to take it. He shook his head as he lay half-reclined on the couch: "Uncle, read it to me! I'm a little tired and want to rest for a while!"

"Alright!" Ying Feng then remembered that Feng Kun hadn't rested properly these past few days, and his old eye ailment had flared up again; he couldn't even see the slightly smaller characters clearly by candlelight. He opened the letter and read: "Bo Shi (Situ Hu Guang's courtesy name) respectfully greets you. Seeing this letter is like seeing you in person; opening it brings a smile to my face. There was a major event in the capital the other day..." At this point, Ying Feng suddenly stopped, his gaze blank, his mouth agape, looking completely stunned.

"What major event has occurred? Uncle, why don't you continue reading?" Feng Kun asked.

"Oh, oh!" Ying Feng finally realized what was happening. He gritted his teeth and continued reading: "Yuan Shao, Yuan Shu, Zhang Mengzhuo, He Boqiu, Wu Ziqing, Xu Ziyuan, and others led their guests and youths to attack and kill the eunuchs, set fire to their mansions, and behead Su Kang and Guan Ba. They held the heads on their spears and rode through the bustling city of the capital, proclaiming that they had killed the treacherous eunuchs. For a time, the crowds were so large that cheers reached the heavens and could be heard even in the palace..."

At this moment, Feng Kun had already sat up: "Are these guys crazy? How dare they do this!"

Although Ying Feng himself was the kind of guy who dared to incite Feng Kun to lead troops north to force the court to execute the eunuchs and reform politics, he thought the same thing as Feng Kun at this moment—no matter how bold his plan was, he was still orchestrating a large army behind the scenes. These guys simply led dozens of guests and strong men to kill and burn people in Luoyang City, cut off the heads of the eunuchs and stuck them on the tips of spears to ride horses and show off in the streets. This was no longer a matter of courage; it was that they had completely disregarded the court.

"Yes, yes! That's incredibly bold!" Ying Feng exclaimed after a long pause.

"And then what? Let's see how the General deals with these madmen!" Feng Kun urged.

"Yes!" Ying Feng finally realized that since this had already happened, Dou Wu's reaction was the most crucial factor. However, as soon as he unfolded the silk scroll to the next line, he froze.

"Uncle, Uncle! What's next? What's next?" Feng Kun became even more anxious upon seeing this, bombarding him with questions. "Lord Feng, I think you should take a look for yourself!" Ying Feng sighed, handed over the silk scroll, and moved the candle closer to illuminate it.

"After the matter was concluded, the Yuan brothers, Zhang Mengzhuo, He Boqiu, Wu Ziqing, Xu Ziyuan, and others, along with their companions, all stripped to the waist and went to the General's mansion. They kowtowed and begged the General to heed the petitions of the scholars of the land, execute the eunuchs, and restore the reign of Emperor Ming and Emperor Zhang! If this could be done, they would gladly accept the execution by axe without regret. Tens of thousands of imperial students gathered in front of the General's mansion to watch, all shouting, 'Execute the treacherous eunuchs and restore peace to the world!' The General had no choice but to send five schools of soldiers to surround the palace and beg the Empress Dowager to issue an edict to execute the eunuchs..."

Upon seeing this, Feng Kun loosened his grip, and the silk scroll slipped to the ground. He sighed, "What a pair of Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu! Aren't they putting the General on the hot seat?"

"Yes!" Ying Feng sighed, "The General must have been grinding his teeth to powder at that time. If he didn't agree to Yuan Shao and his group, he would become an accomplice of the eunuchs. Not only would he lose face in front of all the scholars in the world, but he wouldn't be able to deal with all the students from the Imperial Academy outside the General's mansion. But if he agreed to Yuan Shao and his group, then the credit for eliminating the eunuchs wouldn't go to him, Dou Youping. When future generations mention the elimination of treacherous eunuchs in this dynasty, they will only mention Yuan Shao and his group. Dou Youping would probably just be a buffoon in the middle. He was truly caught in a dilemma!"

"Alas!" Feng Kun sighed. "Uncle, you're only thinking about Dou Youping's gains and losses, but have you considered the consequences of Yuan Shao and his gang's actions? No matter what, eunuchs are close to the emperor, and many of their relatives are court officials. Yuan Shao and his gang dared to openly kill and set fires in the capital with only a few dozen guests and retainers. Is there no law? Is there no order? If ministers in the court have conflicts in the future, can they just lead men to attack and kill each other, then parade their heads around the capital? And those imperial students, the court originally recruited them to Luoyang to teach the classics and cultivate and select talents for the court, but instead, they directly surrounded the General's Mansion, supporting Yuan Shao and other troublemakers. If this continues, what kind of country will this be? What kind of court will this be?"

"Then, what does Lord Feng mean?" Ying Feng asked.

"Dou Youping probably won't get through this without killing the eunuchs. But regardless of whether he kills them or not, the Yuan brothers must be severely punished afterwards. Zhang Mengzhuo, He Boqiu, Wu Ziqing, Xu Ziyuan, and others should either be executed or exiled. We absolutely cannot let these people take this opportunity to rise to prominence, otherwise there will surely be imitators later, and that would be a disaster that will be endless!"

Hearing Feng Kun's words, Ying Feng couldn't help but smile bitterly. Feng Kun's words were indeed reasonable, but putting them into practice would be harder than climbing to heaven. Ultimately, Dou Wu was the leader of the partisans, and his ascension to the position of Grand General was due to the support of the scholars throughout the land. While the actions of Yuan Shao and his ilk had endless consequences, they perfectly suited the tastes of the Eastern Han scholars at the time. If Dou Wu were to execute Yuan Shao and his associates over this matter, he would immediately become a target of public criticism, something he didn't dare to do. More importantly, after becoming Grand General, Dou Wu had been locked in a stalemate with the Empress Dowager over the matter of eliminating the eunuchs for so long, without even harming a single eunuch. If Yuan Shao and his group hadn't taken the risk, who knows how long the stalemate would have lasted? It was Yuan Shao and his group of young scholars who risked everything to push the matter of eliminating the eunuchs to a halt, while Dou Wu, by attacking Yuan Shao and his associates, would only be seen as siding with the eunuchs.

"This matter will likely not be easy!"

"It's not easy, but we have to do it, otherwise the country will cease to be a country!" Feng Kun stamped his foot and said, "If the General doesn't dare to be the villain, then I will. We can't just watch this country and the world be destroyed by these opportunistic fools!"

"Lord Feng, please calm down!" Ying Feng quickly stopped Feng Kun: "You are right. Yuan Shao and the others should naturally be dealt with, but we cannot do it now. Moreover, we must first send troops from outside the capital!"

"Foreign troops entering the capital?" Feng Kun asked, "What do you mean?"

"The five military schools in the capital have always been in awe of the eunuchs. Dou Youping intends to exterminate all the eunuchs, which will inevitably weaken the five military schools. Yuan Shao and others come from noble families and are deeply respected by the literati. If we were to prosecute them, it might cause trouble. Therefore, we must first send troops from outside the capital to suppress any potential dissent before we can proceed!"

"Uncle is right!" Feng Kun nodded. "You've thought things through very well. Alright, write a reply to Minister Hu for me, expressing my opinion: We cannot sacrifice the future of the country for our own personal gains and reputation! When talented people are in power, they must be eliminated. Even if some people are talented and outstanding, they must be killed!"

"Yes!" Ying Feng replied, took out paper and pen, and was about to write when he stopped: "Master Feng, there is something I should say!"

"Then let's talk!" Feng Kun said. "Now that things have come to this, is there anything between us that we shouldn't say?"

"Shouldn't you consider your own way out?"

"A way out? What way out?"

"In Jingyang, the suppression of the E'zhai (a type of bandit) is clearly not something that can be resolved in a short time. Furthermore, the events in Luoyang have revealed signs of decay in the central government. Coupled with the Qiang people in the northwest and the Xianbei people in the north, the situation for the Han Dynasty is far from optimistic. Jingxiang connects to Wancheng in the north, Xiang and Gan in the south, Bashu in the west, and Wu and Kuaiji in the east; it is truly a crucial hub of the realm. You now command significant military power and occupy a pivotal position. If the realm changes, you can either protect the Emperor or defend your own territory—"

"Enough!" Feng Kun interrupted Ying Feng's advice: "This is not something a subject should say; you must not say any more!"

Ying Feng glanced at Feng Kun's aged face and lowered his head: "Very well!"

Ying Feng quickly wrote a reply, showed it to Feng Kun, then stamped it with his signature and gave it to the messenger to take back. He returned to his tent, wrote a letter, summoned a trusted aide, and said, "You set off immediately and deliver this letter to General Zhao Yannian himself. Remember, it must be him. Then bring back his reply!"

"Yes, sir!" The confidant bowed, took the letter, and left the tent. Ying Feng stepped out of the tent; the cold wind was biting like a knife. Watching the departing riders, he thought to himself, "Yuan Shao and his ilk are all rising stars among the scholars. For such a thing, the people of the capital are all cheering. This shows the state of public sentiment. Heaven's will is the people's will; if the people's will is like this, then Heaven's will is clear. Even if one or two ministers are devoted to their country and family, what good will it do? Feng Kun doesn't understand Heaven's will and sits idly by, waiting for a golden opportunity. I must not perish with him!"

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The southwestern wilderness of Nanye County, Yuzhang Commandery, Yangzhou (present-day Shaoguan City, Guangdong Province).

The distant mountains rise abruptly from the dense forest, stretching for dozens of miles, their peaks visible from miles away, buffeted by strong winds. These dark red rock walls take on various strange shapes, which later tour guides, using their imaginations, have contrived, depicted as incense burners, lions, candles, or other bizarre contraptions to pique the curiosity of tourists. Wei Cong, a geology graduate, naturally recognized this as a type of Danxia landform. In ancient times, flowing water eroded these rock layers, and the dark red color of the rock indicates a high content of iron oxides; in other words, this area likely contains high-quality iron ore.

"Lord Wei! Legend has it that in ancient times, Emperor Shun passed through this place and played the Shao music while climbing the mountain. The beautiful music moved the surrounding rocks, which turned into these strangely shaped rocks. Therefore, the locals call them Shao rocks!"

Wei Cong turned around and looked at Kong Gui, who was trying his best to introduce the legend of Emperor Shun to him. He decided to temporarily give up recalling the knowledge about the mineral deposits in Shaoguan, Guangdong from his university courses and echoed the other: "I remember that Emperor Shun died in the wilderness of Cangwu. If it refers to Cangwu County in Jiaozhou, then it is not too far from here!"

(End of this chapter)