Taiheiki

Chapter 167 The Two Yuans
"Hehe!" Kong Gui laughed, "He is indeed a genius, so it's not unjust that you lost to him!"

"It's already like this, we should be grateful to have survived, why talk about injustice!" Zhang Xu shook his head, then changed the subject: "But what does it mean that he imprisoned us defeated generals in Panyu, neither killing us nor releasing us?"

"This—" Kong Gui smiled, "Wei Mengde must have his own plans, right?"

“Of course!” Zhang Xu said with a wry smile, “But there has to be an explanation for this, right? I don’t care, anyway, I’m not from Jiaozhou. Right now, the Emei bandits are at war with the imperial court, and the north-south transportation is cut off. Even if he lets me go, I can’t go back for a while. I have food, drink, and lodging here, so it’s quite comfortable. But my men are all scholars and heroes from Cangwu and Yulin prefectures. If they’re all held here, there’s no one to take care of their families. What if some barbarian bandits cause trouble and the prefectures are left empty?”

"Didn't Governor Wei set up arresting commissioners in each prefecture to handle the capture of thieves?"

"Master Kong, you must be joking, right?" Zhang Xu laughed. "I've heard about it too. It seems they only send a few hundred men to each prefecture. What good is that? Once an uprising breaks out in Jiaozhou, any barbarian chieftain could easily have several thousand or even tens of thousands of men. What can their small force do? In my opinion, they should kill those who should be killed and release those who should be released. They should give an explanation as soon as possible, otherwise things will change sooner or later!"

"Master Zhang, did you ask this question yourself, or did you ask it on behalf of someone else?" Kong Gui asked.

"What's the difference?"

"If you asked, I can pass on your message; but if someone else asks through you, I advise you not to intervene. Magistrate Wei may appear amiable, but he has his own ideas. Your current position is awkward; it's better to remain silent than to speak out!"

Zhang Xu remained silent for a moment, then nodded: "Kong Gong is right, I was inconsiderate!" He sighed: "The main problem is that those people followed me in raising an army, and now their homes, land, and servants have all been—"

"Brother Zhang, be careful what you say!" Kong Gui stopped Zhang Xu, his expression turning serious. "Wei Mengde is not a bloodthirsty man. Sooner or later, he will select talented people from among the scholars of Jiaozhou to serve him; but when and who he will choose? Only he knows! Neither you nor I have the right to urge him!"

"Alright!" Zhang Xu sighed, stood up to take his leave, and said, "Master Kong, perhaps I really am getting old!"

Kong Gui saw Zhang Xu out the door. It was almost evening, and the sun in the south was already close to the horizon. The sweltering heat had mostly dissipated. Twenty or thirty young scholars were exchanging ideas and discussing their knowledge under the shade of a tree. When they saw Kong Gui come out, they hurriedly went up to greet him.

"Hello teacher!"

"Hello, Officer Kong!"

"Good, good!" Kong Gui waved his hand, signaling the students to stand up. He asked the young scholars a few questions about their studies, and one of them suddenly asked, "Teacher, have you heard? General Dou of Luoyang led his troops to force the palace to a standstill, and executed all the palace eunuchs. The world is now at peace!"

"Is that so?" Kong Gui was startled. "Where did you get this information from?"

"It was written in a letter from home yesterday!" the young scholar replied. "I am from Sihui County. A few days ago, a boat from Guangling County in Yangzhou arrived, and this is what the merchants on the boat said. It has already spread far and wide!"

"Dou Youping has always been a cautious and prudent person. Why would he send troops to force the emperor to abdicate?"

"Teacher, look, this is a letter from my family!" The young scholar took out a letter from his sleeve: "The letter says that young scholars Yuan Shao and others led knights to kill the family members of eunuchs, and beheaded the eunuchs Su Kang and Guan Ba ​​who were outside the palace at the time. They then paraded their heads through the streets and pleaded with the general in front of the general's mansion, which is why the general sent troops to force the palace!"

Kong Gui took the letter, his gaze immediately drawn to the words, completely ignoring the scholar's subsequent remarks. After a cursory glance, he shouted, "Prepare the carriage and horses! I'm going to see Duke Wei! Immediately!"

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When Kong Gui entered the study, Wei Cong was sitting by the window, wearing a short-sleeved silk coat and a ruler-shaped knife hanging from his deerskin belt. He was speaking in his fifth tone: "I'm giving you ten days to quell the unrest in Hepu County. Asheng has been here for some time now, so let him come with you this time to broaden his horizons. The salt fields are right there; they absolutely cannot be affected in the slightest. I'm still counting on using salt to open up the trade route to Jingnan!"

"Young Master Sheng is going too, good! Leave everything to me!" Fifth Deng rubbed his hands together, eager to get started: "That idiot Qian Wen, I'll teach him how to fight! Master Kong—!"

Wei Cong turned his head. Kong Gui was one of the few people who could enter his study without being announced. He waved his hand, signaling Wu Deng to step back: "Is there anything unexpected?"

"A major event has occurred in Luoyang!" The letter in Kong Gui's right hand trembled like a fluttering butterfly: "Dou Youping is leading an army to force the emperor to abdicate—"

"Yuan Shao forced the Grand General to execute the eunuchs, is that right? I just received the news myself!" Wei Cong said calmly, "However, the authenticity of the news has not yet been confirmed, so I didn't tell you?"

"It's most likely true!" Kong Gui suppressed his excitement. "Otherwise, you and I wouldn't have received the same news!"

"You're right! But this should be considered good news!" Wei Cong laughed. "After all, eliminating treacherous eunuchs is a good thing!"

"Sigh!" Kong Gui shook his head in frustration: "Young scholars openly killed someone on the streets of Luoyang, and the General led troops to surround the Southern Palace. This is a disorder of the law. Of course, the eunuchs must be eliminated, but there is really nothing to be happy about in this way! Yuan Shao and those young people must be severely punished. Even if they are not executed, they should be driven out of the capital and never be employed again!"

"Kong Gong is right!" Wei Cong smiled. "However, that's probably unlikely. Putting aside Yuan Shao's current prestige, even just considering his uncle's reputation, the General wouldn't dare to punish him severely!"

"Yes!" Kong Gui sighed. After the late emperor's death, two people were appointed to oversee the affairs of the Secretariat—General Dou Wu and Grand Tutor Yuan Wei. Everyone knew that although Yuan Shao lost his father at a young age, he was well-loved by his elders. Based on this relationship alone, Dou Wu couldn't possibly harm the Yuan brothers. He couldn't touch the ringleaders, but punishing those who had been coerced would not only fail to uphold discipline but would also invite ridicule for Dou Wu's unfair treatment and picking on the weak.

"Mengde, how should the General deal with the Yuan brothers?"

“There’s no specific news yet, but according to the latest information, the Yuan brothers are still in Luoyang and haven’t left! So—” Wei Cong paused slightly, “they should be put to great use!”

Kong Gui shook his head. It wasn't that he thought Wei Cong's judgment was inaccurate, but rather that he was disappointed by Dou Wu's shortsightedness and lack of virtue: "Dou Youping, oh Dou Youping! What was clearly a matter of justice has been turned into a murder driven by personal grudges! The order of the court is in chaos; the Dou family's days are numbered!" Wei Cong largely agreed with Kong Gui's assessment. The reason was simple—like the eunuchs, the imperial relatives were, in fact, shadows of imperial power. Yuan Shao's faction's drastic measures in killing the eunuchs, without any punishment, had severely damaged imperial power and weakened Dou Wu's influence. The newly enthroned emperor was already thirteen years old, quite old for an emperor in the Eastern Han Dynasty, and his attacks on Empress Dowager Dou and Dou Wu's assumption of power were only a few years away. Caught between the radical scholar-officials and imperial power, Dou Wu's position was far less secure than it appeared. However, Kong Gui's insight was remarkable. Wei Cong decided to leak some information to him to see if he could be swayed to his side to help him deal with Yuan Shao's group.

"After November, the weather in Jiaozhi will be cool and dry, which is suitable for military operations! Therefore, I plan to send troops to conquer the barbarians at that time and quell the rebellion in the three prefectures of Jiaozhi, Jiuzhen, and Rinan!"

"Oh? What do you plan to do about Governor Zhang?"

“I could very well be the governor of Jiaozhou back then!” Wei Cong laughed.

"It's you?" Kong Gui was stunned. "You, what gives you the right to say that?"

"I'm prepared to offer one hundred million coins, or an equivalent amount of various precious goods, to the Emperor, or to someone else who can speak on my behalf!" Wei Cong held up a finger and shook it: "I believe it shouldn't be a problem to exchange it for a governorship of Jiaozhou with a salary of six hundred shi (a unit of grain).

"Are you planning to offer a bribe?"

"This is a perfect solution: I have money, and I am more suitable for this position than Zhang Pan, because I am more capable of suppressing the barbarians and protecting Jiaozhou!" Wei Cong laughed. "This hundred million coins did not come from exploiting the people. Besides, it's better to buy it with money than to rob it after tens of thousands of people die on the battlefield, isn't it?"

Kong Gui sensed the threat in Wei Cong's words. Knowing that advice was pointless, he asked, "I'm afraid Dou Youping can't be bought off with money, can he?"

"not him!"

"That must be Grand Tutor Yuan?"

Wei Cong smiled without saying a word. Having received his answer, Kong Gui sighed, "Going down the Yuan family's route is certainly an option. They don't seem to care about money, and the Yuan brothers currently enjoy an excellent reputation among the literati. A mere governor of Jiaozhou—no one will dare criticize him! You're right, it's better to solve things with money than with lives! But one hundred million coins is no small sum!"

"Master Kong, I've discovered a secret!" Wei Cong picked up an exquisite metal plate from the table: "Take a look, what is this made of?"

Kong Gui took it, examined it, and carefully weighed it before answering, "Silver?"

“That’s right!” Wei Cong smiled. “I’ve discovered a way to extract silver from tin slag. This plate is made of silver! Now, every day, a hundred pieces of silver weighing this plate are flowing into my treasury!”

Because of the casting of bronze, the ancient Chinese had a long history of mining and refining tin. They also knew that although this silvery-white metal looked very similar to silver, they were two completely different metals with vastly different values. Wei Cong was saying that he could extract silver from tin slag (silver and tin are often found together, especially in the large tin mines of Guangxi, from which silver extraction is now one of the main sources of silver in China), which Kong Gui interpreted as him being able to turn tin into silver. He couldn't help but sigh: "No wonder you can produce a hundred million coins without exploiting the people. Well, indeed you are more suitable to be the governor of Jiaozhou than Zhang Pan."

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Luoyang, Yuan Mansion.

Wearing a brand-new embroidered brocade robe, holding a staff, and with a tiger tally at his waist, Yuan Shao entered the study, bowed to his two uncles, Grand Tutor Yuan Kui and Grand Master of the Palace Yuan Feng, and then stepped aside, standing with his hands at his sides.

Yuan Shu had already seized another position. The matter of the Yuan brothers killing the eunuchs Su Kang and Guan Ba ​​two months ago and parading their heads through the streets had finally come to a conclusion: Yuan Shu was appointed as a Gentleman of the Three Offices, and Yuan Shao accepted the appointment of General Dou Wu as a Censor under the General, which was the same as the "Embroidered-Robed Envoy" during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, also known as "Embroidered-Robed Censor" or "Embroidered-Robed Inspector".

Clearly, this was the result of a power struggle between Dou Wu and the Yuan family. The title of "San Shu Lang" was a collective term for the officials in the three departments under the Guanglu Xun (Langzhongling) of the Han Dynasty: the Wuguan Zhonglangjiang, Zuo Zhonglangjiang, and You Zhonglangjiang. It was a "promotion-pending club" for the sons of nobles. The Shiyushi was even more powerful. Subordinate to the Yushi Zhongcheng, he had the power to investigate all officials and impeach those who broke the law. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, he was granted the authority to carry imperial edicts and inspect the four directions. If he discovered any illegal activities, he could act on behalf of the emperor and even directly mobilize troops to enforce the law and arrest thieves. He was known for his low rank but great power. Jiang Chong, the notorious cruel official during the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, was a Shiyushi.

"This matter is finally settled!" Yuan Feng laughed. "You two have really given your Uncle Ciyang (Yuan Wei's courtesy name was Ciyang) a big problem!"

"My nephew acted rashly, please punish me, Uncle!" Yuan Shao bowed deeply to Yuan Kui, and Yuan Shu, seeing this, had no choice but to kneel down reluctantly as well.

"Alright, get up, both of you!" Yuan Wei smiled. "You two weren't sincere either. Considering the outcome was relatively good, I'll let you off this time!"

"The result is good? You mean the matter of Ah Shao and me being appointed to official positions?"

"Hehe!" Yuan Feng laughed. "A Gentleman of the Three Departments and a Censor may seem impressive to others, but what do they mean to the Yuan family? The important thing is your uncle. With the two of you causing such a commotion, your uncle's position in the Ministry of Personnel will be much higher!"

"Really?" Yuan Shu's eyes lit up, and he turned his gaze to Yuan Kui: "You've already surpassed General Dou in the Ministry of Personnel?"

"Well, not at all!" Yuan Wei coughed awkwardly twice. "After all, the Empress Dowager and the General are blood relatives, and no one can compare to that!"

"Then Uncle and the General should be able to divide the responsibilities in the Secretariat equally, right?" Yuan Shao said with a smile.

“Originally it wouldn’t have been enough!” Yuan Wei smiled. “Considering the reputation you’ve accumulated this time, it should be about right!”

Yuan Shao and Yuan Shu exchanged a glance, both seeing undisguised joy in each other's eyes. Since Emperor Zhang of Han, most Eastern Han emperors had short lifespans, with young sons ascending the throne and empress dowagers ruling as regents becoming a common practice. Because the power center of the Eastern Han government was the Secretariat, after the empress dowager assumed regency, she would often appoint her father and brothers as Grand Generals and put them in charge of the Secretariat, effectively making them the heads of the inner court.

(End of this chapter)