Taiheiki

Chapter 263 Unauthorized
Although the known intelligence was pitifully scarce, Yuan Shao immediately made an extremely confident judgment. The reason was simple: he knew Wei Cong too well. Feng Kun and Zhang Huan were both quite old, their chins practically buried in the yellow earth. They were both scholars from the border regions, marginalized members of the gentry in the political hierarchy of the Eastern Han Dynasty. They had spent their lives leading troops in the border regions, serving as lackeys for the court. Their greatest ambition was to squeeze into the core circle of the gentry, hoping that their descendants could climb one or two more steps up the social ladder. They spent their spare time studying the classics and writing books, fearing that they would give others ammunition to damage their reputation and be labeled "sons of soldiers," thus being kicked out of the scholar circle.

Otherwise, with their military achievements and abilities, if they had clung to the eunuchs, they would have been appointed as high-ranking officials in the central government long ago. Why are they still leading troops to fight against the Qiang, Hu, Xianbei, and E'zhai at their advanced age? Look at the surnames Yuan, Yang, Huang, Li, and Xu, when will they become Protector of the Qiang, General of the Liaodong, Commandant of each dependent state, or Prefect of the border prefectures—officials with no future?
If they had the guts to interfere in the central political struggle, would they have waited until today? Wei Cong is different. He truly lacks prestige and seniority, and has absolutely no resources or bargaining chips needed for central political struggles. Apart from a few thousand veterans and a lot of money, he has nothing. Just over a year ago, he was a lackey of Yuan Shikai. But there's nothing this man wouldn't dare to do. If these three stand together, the real mastermind is definitely Wei Cong, not the higher-ranking Feng Kun or Zhang Huan.

"Although Feng Kun and Zhang Huan are ranked above Wei Cong, Wei Cong is undoubtedly the mastermind among the three! However, the public probably thinks the opposite, believing that Feng Kun or Zhang Huan are the masterminds, and that Wei Cong was just someone who was coerced into joining the group by chance! If that's the case, we're in big trouble!"

Yuan Shao grew increasingly anxious. From the moment he learned of the three's alliance to rebel, he had no intention of joining Wei Cong's cause. The reason was simple: the current central government was a coalition of power led by the powerful Dou clan (relatives of the empress) and the scholar-official group headed by the Yuan clan of Runan. The connections between the Yuan and Dou clans were far too deep.
If Wei Cong and his two companions win, the newly enthroned emperor will undoubtedly reshuffle and purge the existing power structure of the court. Even if Wei Cong, out of past favors, lends a helping hand to protect them, it would be a miracle if half of the Yuan family of Runan escaped unscathed. Without the support of their family, even if they could continue serving as Wei Cong's subordinates, how could they compare to the prodigy of the Runan Yuan family, who controlled the outer court? Not to mention, Wei Cong might not even speak up for them; how many times in the world have friends been betrayed for personal gain?
The most important thing now is to get the truth about this turmoil to Luoyang as soon as possible, so that Uncle and Dou Wu can make the right decision! Yuan Shao first rejected sending a messenger. The messenger wasn't himself; he knew too little about Wei Cong's background. A letter alone wouldn't convince General Dou that Wei Cong, rather than the two renowned generals Feng Kun and Zhang Huan, were the masterminds. Besides, it was dangerous for him to stay here; he would become a hostage. It was better to take advantage of Wei Cong's current predicament and lack of time to worry about him, and escape overnight.

"Someone come here!" Yuan Shao walked to the hanging map, his finger sliding across it, his back to his trusted confidant who entered behind him: "How many assassins are there?"

“Fifty men!” the confidant answered without hesitation.

“Very good. Gather your men immediately, one man and three horses, with all their provisions. I’ll give you two quarters of an hour. Do not alert anyone else!” Yuan Shao said.

"Yes, sir!" the confidant replied, turned and left. Yuan Shao looked at the map on the wall and muttered, "The west is the Yunmeng Marshland, full of lakes and swamps, teeming with escaped bandits, so it's definitely out of the question. The Han River is definitely the focus of the search, and Wei Cong's navy is formidable. Feng Kun has already joined Wei Cong, so he can't go to Xiangyang either. That leaves us with no choice but to head north. Along the land route, once we pass Xinyang, we'll reach Runan Commandery, and then we'll be safe!"

——————————————————————————————

Late at night.

Nie Sheng silently got out of bed, skillfully put on his armor, and hung his bow, quiver, and sword at his waist, preparing to conduct his last patrol of the night.

This is the darkest time of day, or as the fishermen in the mountains who believe in ghosts and spirits say, this is when ghosts and demons appear. The soldiers serving under Wei Cong all say that the spirits of those who died violent deaths and were not properly buried manifest themselves at this time every night. They wreak havoc, and only highly powerful sorcerers and Taoist priests can drive them away. Especially at this time, if anyone walks outside, they will be stopped by a blood-stained, armored ghost riding a horse, wailing and begging for food and life.

Nie Sheng, of course, didn't believe in such things, but the fierce river wind sweeping across the remaining reeds and woods in the distance, the sounds it evoked, reminded him of that night when he led his men across the mudflats, charging towards the Moth Bandits' rear camp. So many people had been burned to death in their tents, driven into the swamp and into the fires. Even if only one-tenth, one-hundredth, of those people became evil spirits, that would still be a large number, wouldn't it? Thinking of this, Nie Sheng unconsciously gripped the hilt of his sword, thinking to himself, "Even if a ghost comes, I'll cut it in two with one stroke!"

Nie Sheng was halfway through his patrol when he suddenly heard urgent shouts behind him: "Captain Nie, Captain Nie!"

"What is it?" Nie Sheng turned around. The person who came was Zhebie, who had been promoted to the rank of Marquis of Qu. That night, he was in charge of commanding a sentry post on the north side of the camp. He quickly walked to within two or three steps of Nie Sheng, bowed, and said in a low voice, "Colonel Nie, Yuan Shao has escaped!"

"What? Yuan Shao ran away?" Nie Sheng still didn't understand what was going on: "Explain it clearly!"

"Around the hour of Chou (1-3 AM), my night sentries spotted about a hundred cavalrymen heading north, their expressions suspicious. I used crossbows to wound several of them, but the group of riders ignored the wounded and continued north. I interrogated the wounded, but they remained tight-lipped and refused to say a word. However, we found valuable artifacts on a packhorse with Yuan's inscription on them. Therefore, I believe Yuan Shao is among them!"

"What about the equipment?" Nie Sheng asked.

"Look!" Jebe took a silver wine cup from his subordinate and handed it over. Nie Sheng examined it for a moment by the light of his subordinate's torch and indeed found an inscription made by the Yuan family craftsmen. He pondered for a moment: "This matter is of great importance. I must go and report to my godfather immediately. You wait in my tent. Do not leave before I return, and do not reveal this matter to anyone else!"

Jebe, aware of the implications, quickly nodded: "Don't worry, Captain, I understand."

"Go!" Nie Sheng instructed his soldiers to escort Zhebie to his tent, then strode towards Wei Cong's tent. When he was about seventeen or eighteen steps away, he heard someone shout in a deep voice, "Who dares to disturb the general's camp!"

"It's me, Nie Sheng!" Nie Sheng stopped and let his men's torches illuminate his face. "I have urgent military news and need to see my godfather!"

"Please wait a moment, young master, while I go inside and inform them!" The officer on duty recognized Nie Sheng, and his tone softened considerably. Nie Sheng knew this was standard procedure, so he nodded. After about half a cup of tea's time, a burly man approached. It was Meng Gaogong, who nodded to Nie Sheng: "Young master, please follow me!" He led Nie Sheng to the door, gesturing for him to go inside, while he waited at the entrance.

Nie Sheng entered the tent and saw two whale oil candles on a table, illuminating a long-haired woman—it was Lu Ping. She looked tired, her hair disheveled over her shoulders, clearly having just woken up. From behind the screen came the sound of snoring; Wei Cong was still fast asleep. The tent was divided into two parts by the screen: the outer room was for receiving guests, while the inner room was Wei Cong's bedroom. Lu Ping beckoned to Nie Sheng, yawned, and whispered, "Asheng, sit down and talk. Your godfather hosted a banquet for the officers and clerks of Feng Kun and Zhang Huan's camp tonight, and it went on very late. He just went to bed not long ago. What is it that you need to say? Can't we wait until tomorrow?" "Fairy Lu, Yuan Shao escaped during the night!" Nie Sheng took out the silver cup from his sleeve and handed it to her. "He fled north with over a hundred knights. On the way, they encountered a night sentry from one of our army's commanders. The sentry wounded several of them with a crossbow bolt, and the others escaped. The wounded were captured alive and beaten to death without saying a word. We only confirmed it was Yuan Shao after finding this on the packhorse!"

"Hmm, such exquisite vessels must belong to Yuan Shao! These aristocratic scions really don't skimp on themselves; they even take these things with them when they flee for their lives!" Lu Ping examined the inscriptions on the vessels by candlelight and sneered, "Asheng, you did the right thing. The north is Runan Commandery, Yuan Shao's hometown. His hasty escape in the dead of night must mean he intends to harm your adoptive father! I'll wake him up immediately and send troops to capture him!"

"Alright!" Nie Sheng smiled slightly. "Thank you for your trouble, Fairy Lu!"

"We're all family, no need for formalities!" Lu Ping smiled, got up and walked inside, but after taking only two steps, she turned back and said to Nie Sheng, "No need to wake him up, just send troops to chase after Yuan Shao now!"

"Huh?" Nie Sheng was stunned: "Why is that?"

“Your adoptive father is a kind-hearted man. Yuan Shao and he were close friends, and Yuan Shao had done him a great favor in the past. If he knew that Yuan Shao had fled overnight, even if he knew that the man was not a good match for him, he would probably soften his heart and let him go without sending anyone to pursue him. Even if he did send someone to pursue him, he would most likely order him to be captured alive. Yuan Shao is a decisive man, and he has been to Jiaozhou before. He knows too much about your adoptive father and the situation in Jiaozhou. If he is allowed to return alive, he will definitely become a great threat to your adoptive father. It would be better to keep it from him and chase after him tonight and kill him to save yourself the trouble!”

"This, this isn't right!" Nie Sheng was instinctively afraid when he heard that they had to act behind Wei Cong's back.

"What's wrong with that?" Lu Ping sneered. "I'm his woman, and you're his adopted son. We're not doing this for ourselves; it's all for his own good. If he finds out later, he'll just scold us a couple of times. Is he going to kill us? Besides, you know your adoptive father's personality. Sometimes he's just too kind and soft-hearted. If we don't help him, who will? Outsiders can stand by and watch, but are we supposed to stand by and watch too?"

“The fairy is right!” Nie Sheng was convinced: “Then I’ll go after Yuan Shao right away!”

"Wait!" Lu Ping snapped, "Go outside and wait for me for a moment!"

"Waiting for you? You're coming too!"

"Nonsense! In the dead of night, how would you know which road Yuan Shao would take? What if you chase the wrong one?" Lu Ping sneered. "Besides, Yuan Shao has over a hundred cavalrymen, all of whom are his loyal followers. If you want to be absolutely certain of taking him down, you'll need at least three hundred cavalrymen, right? Without his seal of authority, can you mobilize that many troops?"

"Ah! You want to use your adoptive father's seal for personal use? Forget it, with me and Zhebie here, even if Yuan Shao has a hundred men, he is no match for us!" Nie Sheng was startled. According to the laws of the Han army, it is a capital offense to mobilize more than fifty men without their seals. According to Lu Ping, mobilizing three hundred cavalry is definitely far more than that.

"That's just reckless courage!" Lu Ping cursed. "If he were your godfather, he would never fight five against one when ten of him could take him down! Wait outside for a moment, I'll be right out!"

Nie Sheng emerged from the tent, looking disheveled. He glanced at Meng Gaogong, who stood guard at the tent entrance, a figure as imposing as a small mountain. Only then did he feel reassured, thinking to himself, "Lu Xiangu is right. Sometimes I act too recklessly. Tonight's most important task is to hunt down Yuan Shao; everything else can be put aside!"

A moment later, Lu Ping emerged from the tent, now dressed in a short robe. A gleaming veil could be seen through the collar, and her hair was styled in a bun with a gold hairpin. A long sword hung at her waist. Before Nie Sheng could speak, Lu Ping whistled, and a golden-eyed leopard silently appeared from behind the tent—it was Ah Li. She held the silver cup to Ah Li's nose: "Ah Li, following the scent of this cup, everything is in your hands!"

The leopard growled, nodded to Lu Ping, and turned to run forward.

"Come on, hurry up and catch up!" Lu Ping laughed. "This is the seal of office. Go and mobilize the troops. We'll meet at the North Gate. Don't worry, with Ah Li, even if Yuan Shao grew wings, he wouldn't be able to escape!"

————————————————————————————

Even with only three horses, Yuan Shao had to allow his men to dismount, rest, and eat; otherwise, some would fall and break their necks. Yuan Shao had heard from friends in the border regions of You and Bing provinces that the Xiongnu herdsmen could eat, drink, and even sleep on horseback. A friend who had been an envoy to the Wuhuan said that the Xiongnu guards who accompanied him on his mission looked thin and weak, carrying only horn bows and arrows, short swords and maces, and wearing no armor. They were no match for the Han soldiers, yet these men only needed a little dried meat, a little cheese, some dried fruit, and some ground grain flour each day. They also ate some grass roots and drank a small bag of water, enough to sustain them for eight or nine days on the grasslands, plus a nap for an hour or two on the bumpy horseback. The supplies needed to feed one Han soldier were enough to feed three Xiongnu.

(End of this chapter)