Taiheiki

Chapter 318 The Fox Divides the Cake
Duan Jiong was secretly alarmed upon seeing this: "This Kong Gui is incredibly extravagant!"

"Please, please!" As they spoke, the two entered the room, which appeared to be Kong Gui's study, with rows of teak bookshelves filled with books of all kinds. Kong Gui noticed Duan Jiong's gaze lingering on the bookshelves and smiled, "These are all from my family's collection. I planned to settle in Panyu for a long time, so I brought them from my hometown and put them here for easy access!"

"Prefect Kong is indeed from a family with a long tradition of learning!" Duan Jiong said with a smile. This was not a compliment. First of all, Kong Gui was a descendant of a sage, and no one could compare to him in terms of family background. Secondly, books were very expensive at that time. They were either in the imperial palace or government offices, or in aristocratic families. The threshold for ordinary people to study was very high.

"Just a little bit of empty fame left by my ancestors!" Kong Gui waved his hand: "You, Chief Secretary, have been to the General's library. As for knowledge, what is this old man's? Come, sit down, sit down!"

"The General is indeed learned and has a remarkable memory!" Duan Jiong nodded. "I never imagined that besides the methods of Sun Tzu and Wu Qi, he was also well-versed in so many other subjects!"

Kong Gui smiled and asked, "Chief Secretary, you went to the boat shop today to see me. You must have a lot on your mind!"

"Yes! I have come here today for the matter of the southern expedition!" Duan Jiong said, "Prefect Kong, if we take the sea route, how many soldiers and horses can the ships currently available in Jiaozhou carry?"

"It seems that Chief Secretary Duan has already made a plan!" Kong Gui did not answer Duan Jiong's question, but instead looked through the bookshelf, took down a silk scroll, turned to a page, and handed it to Duan Jiong: "When General Wei was in Jiaozhou, he often came to my residence to sit and chat. Every time he left, I would record his witty remarks and benefited greatly from them. If Chief Secretary Duan is willing, you can take a look!"

Duan Jiong hesitated before taking the silk scroll, his gaze sweeping over it before his brows furrowed: "A fox sharing a cake?"

"Not bad!" Kong Gui smiled. "Duan Changshi, do you think this story is for children? I think it's fine. In fact, many times we're not necessarily any smarter than those children!"

Duan Jiong remained silent, bowing his head to examine the silk manuscript closely. The manuscript told a fable: Two bears found a large pancake. They argued about how to divide it fairly, neither agreeing to the other's proposed division, feeling the other had taken too much. Just then, a fox passed by and, seeing the bears arguing, said, "Let me divide the pancake for you two." After obtaining the bears' consent, the fox divided the pancake in two, deliberately making it unfair, one piece larger than the other. This immediately provoked the bears' objections, so the fox took a bite of the larger piece and said, "Now is it fair?"

The two bears immediately objected: "You've bitten off too much! The once big pancake is now too small!"

So the fox ate most of the cake, taking bites from the left and bites from the right, and then "fairly" distributed the rest to the two bears. The two bears were not satisfied with the result, but they didn't know what was wrong.

"Master Kong, did General Wei tell you this story back then?" Duan Jiong asked in confusion.

"That's right!" Kong Gui laughed. "General Wei said that a fox is not as strong as a bear, but it was able to eat the biggest portion of the pie from two bears. Isn't that the wisdom of a man?"
At this moment, Duan Jiong had already discerned some of the implications: "Could it be that General Wei intends to play the fox himself, while treating those barbarians as bears?"

"That's right!" Kong Gui laughed. "You can turn to that page of the silk scroll; the next page contains what the General said back then!"

Following Kong Gui's advice, Duan Jiong turned the silk scroll and saw the following: "The southern barbarians stand in numerous groups, independent of each other. If we attack them with force, they will surely form alliances to defend us. Although we are strong, it will be difficult to defeat them all. Rather than this, it would be better to outwardly show appeasement while secretly ordering the Gou-ting Kingdom to send troops to attack them. A great river flows through the Gou-ting Kingdom to the barbarians and then to the sea. The Gou-ting army is strong and located upstream of the barbarians. They will build boats to sail downstream, and the barbarians will be terrified and seek refuge with us. At that time, we can be in the middle, balancing them on both sides, and act in accordance with the situation. With little effort, we can gain their advantage. Wouldn't that be better?"

"May I ask you, Master Kong, where is the 'Ting' mentioned in this text? Is there really a great river flowing through that country?"

"Please wait a moment, Chief Secretary Duan!" Kong Gui stood up, rummaged through the bookshelf, and took out a silk book, handing it to Duan Jiong, saying, "Start from page five!"

Duan Jiong took the silk scroll, turned to the fifth page, and began to read. It read: "Gou-ting was an ancient kingdom in the southwest, originating during the Shang Dynasty. It belonged to the southwestern barbarians and was renowned alongside the kingdoms of Dian, Yelang, and Louwo. They were skilled in copper and iron smelting, and their people were fierce and warlike. During the reign of Emperor Cheng, a rebellion broke out in Yizhou. The King of Gou-ting sent troops to assist the imperial army in suppressing it. Later, he also helped the imperial army conquer the small barbarian towns of Gu-zeng and Ye-yu, beheading and capturing tens of thousands. Their power was formidable, making them the strongest among the southwestern barbarians. A great river called the Lancang flows through Gou-ting, heading south into the barbarian lands, and emptying into the sea near Danqiu, stretching for thousands of miles." Following the text was a map depicting the location of the Gou-ting kingdom, the major mountain ranges near the river, their approximate distances, and so on. By the standards of the Han Dynasty, this map was remarkably detailed.

"Is this map real?" Duan Jiong suppressed his surprise and asked in a deep voice.

"The General has a more detailed map in the library of Jiaozhou. He used that map to conquer the Lin-yi Kingdom!" Kong Gui said. "Moreover, when he was in Jiaozhou, he exchanged envoys with the Gou-ting Kingdom. The kingdom is inland, has little salt, and its people mostly eat bland food. He used this to trade with them, bartering salt for goods. After obtaining the salt, the Gou-ting Kingdom resold it to various barbarian tribes and made a great profit. When the General led his troops to conquer the E-zhe, the King of Gou-ting sent two thousand infantry and cavalry to accompany him."

Duan Jiong remained silent for a long time, then sighed, "The General is truly a divine being, but why didn't he tell me these things back in Luoyang?"

"He naturally knows the principle that a general in the field may disobey the emperor's orders!" Kong Gui laughed. "Besides, times change. What was possible then may not be possible now. How can one control things from afar? Anyway, he has all these things in the library. You will know them when you come to Jiaozhou. Ultimately, how to use troops is up to you!"

"Thank you for your guidance, Master Kong!" Duan Jiong stood up and bowed deeply to Kong Gui: "I will certainly study it carefully and fulfill the General's entrustment!"

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Luoyang.

The carriage moved through the streets, its wheels churning the pavement, the hooves of the guards on either side making a rhythmic sound. Wei Cong yawned. After spending the day reading reports in the inner court and the Imperial Secretariat, he felt his neck was incredibly stiff. He twisted it, feeling both sore and swollen. It was truly unbelievable. Even though he was one of the most powerful people in the country, his quality of life was probably inferior to that of a white-collar worker two thousand years later. Flush toilets, 24-hour hot water, unlimited Coca-Cola and fried chicken, and car seats with spring suspension—these were still a distant dream for him.

It's true that white-collar workers have 30-year mortgages, but at least they don't have to worry about losing their jobs. Their wives certainly crave a sense of occasion, holiday gifts, and handbags, but his wife wanted even more. Thinking of this, Wei Cong suddenly remembered Lu Ping. Compared to the current one, the old one was much better!

The carriage suddenly stopped, interrupting Wei Cong's thoughts. He heard someone shouting something in front of the carriage, along with the hurried footsteps of guards. He pushed open the carriage window and looked out. He saw that both sides of the road were filled with gloomy-looking people staring at the fully armed guards and his own carriage.

"I don't like that look at all!" Wei Cong thought to himself. He waved to Meng Gaogong and asked, "What's going on?" "Someone's shouting something by the roadside," Meng Gaogong whispered.

"Just for this?" Wei Cong sighed. "People can say whatever they want; it won't kill anyone! Don't worry about it!"

"General, those guys are shouting treasonous and rebellious words!" Meng Gaogong said with a wry smile.

"Huh?" Wei Cong was slightly taken aback. Several guards had dragged over three young men dressed as imperial students. Judging from the bruises on their faces, they had probably been beaten quite badly. One of the guards bowed to Wei Cong and said, "General, these are the ringleaders. They've been brought here. We've sent men to chase after the rest. We'll have results soon!"

"The one who will usurp the Han throne is Gao Dangtu!" The young man at the front suddenly raised his neck and shouted at Wei Cong, "Wei Cong, you traitor who usurped the Han throne, even if you kill me today, you will not have a good end!"

"Hit them! Hit them now! You indestructible thief!" The guards, both shocked and enraged, pounded the three youths with their sword hilts and fists, quickly rendering them speechless. Seeing Wei Cong's increasingly grim expression, Meng Gaogong hurriedly shouted, "Stop! Stop it, all of you!"

"Let them go!" Wei Cong shouted.

The guard hurriedly said, "Let go, let go!"

The three youths were covered in blood, but they still stood as straight as possible, glaring at Wei Cong with hostility. Wei Cong sighed, "Have you all lost your minds? You dare to spout such nonsense? Let's not even talk about how the truth of this prophecy is uncertain; even if it were true, what does it have to do with me, Wei Cong?"

"Hmph! Wei means two watchtowers, towering and majestic in the middle of the road. How could it not be related to you?" said the leading youth.

“Isn’t this utter nonsense? How many people in the world are surnamed Wei and whose place of origin is Wei? Do you think they all deserve this ‘Tu Gao’? Do you think they all want to replace the Han dynasty?” Wei Cong said angrily.

"Of course not! You're the one who becomes the Grand General and holds the power, not them!"

Upon hearing this, Wei Cong felt only utter absurdity. Oh, so because I'm surnamed Wei and have power, this prophecy refers to me, and not someone else? If this prophecy is true, doesn't it mean my usurpation of the Han Dynasty is in accordance with Heaven's will? Are you guys against me or support me?

“I don’t know who’s behind you making you spout this nonsense!” Wei Cong said, “But this person must be a treacherous and cunning individual. Otherwise, why would they make you do something so dangerous? If you’re to be punished, not only will you be executed, but your families will also be implicated. Hundreds of people will lose their heads, including women, children, and the elderly. What have they done to deserve this? Just because of a few words of nonsense from you, disaster will strike you down from the sky.”
"Furthermore, you say that Gao of Dangtu will replace the Han dynasty? Are you implying that my usurpation of the Han is ordained by Heaven? Too young, too foolish! Guards, take them back to their commanders and tell them what happened today. Give them a good talking-to. Their precious youth should be spent studying, on things more beneficial to the country and the court. If they are used by those with ulterior motives and cause a great disaster, it will be too late for regrets!"

Both the young men and the guards beside them were stunned by Wei Cong's words. After a moment, the guard who had brought them over asked cautiously, "General, are you letting them go?"

"Of course! Didn't you hear me?" Wei Cong suddenly flew into a rage.

"Yes, yes!" The guard was startled and hurriedly replied, "Quickly, release them!"

For the rest of the journey, Wei Cong became silent and frustrated. He knew, of course, that there were people behind those young college students, but he had no interest in investigating further or bringing the mastermind to justice. The reason was simple: investigating would only amplify the impact of the matter, like a person covered in mud trying to shake themselves off—it would only make more things dirty.

There are tens of thousands of students in Luoyang alone. Could he possibly imprison them all? Leaving aside the question of whether he could do it, doing so would be political suicide. Even Emperors Huan and Ling, as emperors, suffered disgrace after the Disaster of the Partisan Prohibitions; how much more so would he, a mere general?

Back home, as soon as he got off the carriage, Wei Cong whispered, "Prepare hot water and call that massage woman over; my neck is really stiff!"

"Here!"

Exhausted, Wei Cong went straight to his study. The maids had already prepared hot water and a wooden tub. He took off his clothes and stepped into the tub. As the hot water washed over his body, he couldn't help but groan. It felt so good; this was the kind of life a person should live.

"Master, shall I massage you like this, or would you like me to dry you off before you come out for the massage?" came the familiar voice of the masseuse.

"Let me soak a little longer, then I'll dry myself off in the hot spring before lying on the brocade couch for a massage!" Wei Cong said.

"Here!"

The maids carefully poured hot water into the wooden tub continuously to ensure the water remained at the right temperature. Wei Cong closed his eyes, leaning against the tub's side, feeling his mind and body relax and rest. After a while, he stood up, and the maids on either side quickly came forward to dry him off, then helped him lie face down on the brocade couch. The masseuse stepped forward, first applying fragrant ointment, then skillfully tapping and kneading.

"Hmm, a little harder, a little more, I can handle it!" Wei Cong said softly, his eyes slightly closed. This masseuse was a household servant sent by Dou Yun as part of her dowry. She had excellent technique and memory. After massaging him once or twice, she remembered Wei Cong's strength and habits. Wei Cong liked her very much and was thinking of finding an excuse to release her in a couple of days and give her a sum of money to make her a law-abiding citizen.

(End of this chapter)