Ji Han Liu Zhang

Chapter 399 White Horse General Gongsun Zan

Xudu.

In the residence of Fu Wan, the general who assisted the state and the third-rank official, a banquet was going on happily. However, the person that Fu Wan invited was Zhang Su, the envoy from Yizhou.

Since Zhang Su arrived in Xudu and met the emperor, officials and noble families in Xudu would occasionally invite him to banquets. One reason for this was that Zhang Su was a famous scholar in Shu and an extraordinary person. The other reason was that Zhang Su's current position was representing Grand Marshal Liu Zhang. Liu Zhang's reputation soared after he killed Li Jue and Guo Si, and all the people in the world were eager to pay homage to him.

Therefore, as an envoy sent by Liu Zhang to Xu Du, Zhang Su was naturally welcomed by the officials of Xu Du.

"Assist the country, please." Zhang Su raised the wine glass, addressed Fu Wan by his official title, and saluted him.

"Mr. Zhang, please." There was a faint smile on the face of the father-in-law Fu Wan, and he drank a cup with Zhang Su.

Today, Fu Wan invited Zhang Su to a private banquet. There were not many people at the banquet, and most of them were people Fu Wan trusted. So after a glass of wine, Fu Wan shook his head and said to Zhang Su, "Mr. Zhang, please don't mention the word 'Assisting the State'. I have already resigned from the position of General Assisting the State to His Majesty."

"Resign? Old man?" Zhang Su was puzzled when he heard this. He looked at Fu Wan's face and saw that Fu Wan was in his prime, with black hair and beard without a single gray spot. He was far from being an "old man". Moreover, Fu Wan was the father-in-law of the emperor, and the positions of General Fuguo and Yitong Sansi were just right for him. How could Fu Wan, who was in his prime and vigorous, resign from the position of General Fuguo?

Zhang Su put down the wine glass in his hand. Seeing this, the servant beside him immediately and quietly poured wine into the empty glass on the table in front of Zhang Su. Zhang Su saw the crystal clear wine pouring down, and he took this opportunity to bow to Fu Wan and asked.

"You are in your prime, and it is a good time to serve the country. Why do you want to resign from the position of 'General Fuguo'?" Zhang Su asked, but he was smart and guessed the connection.

As the father-in-law of the emperor, Fu Wan is also the closest relative of Emperor Liu Xie. As a relative by marriage, Fu Wan is naturally Liu Xie's close friend, and the kind of person who cannot easily draw a line between himself and Liu Xie. However, the emperor is now in decline, and all power is in the hands of General Cao Cao. Fu Wan holds the position of General Auxiliary to the Country, and he must be sitting on pins and needles, unable to sleep well.

"It should be a strategy to protect ourselves." Before Fu Wan could answer, Zhang Su came up with an answer in his mind.

When Fu Wan heard Zhang Su's question, his face darkened and his mouth opened and closed, but he didn't answer for a while. He had some concerns in his heart. After all, the true meaning of this matter could not be told to outsiders.

After thinking for a while, Fu Wan's face regained a calm smile. He said, "Although I am in my prime, my spirit has been worn out. I was kidnapped to Chang'an with the emperor, and now the capital has been moved to Xu County. The road has been bumpy and rugged. How can I still have any ambitions and the desire to serve the country?"

"As for me, I just hope that the world will be peaceful in the future, and I can become a rich man and enjoy my old age."

Fu Wan, whose hair and beard are all black and who seems to be in good spirits, speaks in a decadent and lazy tone, as if the words would be spoken by an old man who is about to die, and not at all like the words of a young hero.

"Everyone has his own aspirations, and we won't force them. I just hope that my ambition to assist the country can be fulfilled." Zhang Su did not continue to ask about Fu Wan's true intention of resigning from the post of General Assisting the Country, nor did he try to advise Fu Wan. Since Fu Wan just wanted to be a rich man, then let him do as he wished. There was no point for him, a mere envoy, to say more.

"Thank you, Mr. Zhang, for your kindness." Fu Wan picked up the wine glass that he had filled for the servant, and it was his turn to greet Zhang Su.

After another glass of wine, Fu Wan seemed to have thought of something. He sighed and said, "Fine wine and a good feast, a joyful time, will probably be gone in a while."

"Why is that? The court is just being settled, and Xudu is not a place of war. How can we not have fine wine and a good feast?" Zhang Su also finished a glass of fine wine. After putting down the glass, he asked a question following Fu Wan's words.

Fu Wan sneered and shook his head, saying, "Although the court has just been settled, the country is in turmoil, and the military and the country are in turmoil. Food, fodder, supplies, cloth, money and grain are all insufficient for a while..."

At this point, Fu Wan leaned closer to Zhang Su's position and whispered, "I heard that the general's shogunate has proposed a ban on alcohol, saying that too much grain is wasted in brewing wine, so it must be banned. Both the court and the people must ban alcohol and not drink recklessly."

"So that's how it is." Zhang Su nodded after hearing this. He smiled and comforted Fu Wan, saying, "There was also a proposal to ban alcohol in Shu before. As the military has many things to do, all the food and grass should be used to supply the military, not to be wasted on brewing."

"Oh, is alcohol also banned in Shu?" Fu Wan blinked and asked. He was somewhat interested in the affairs of Shu. After all, Shu was a remote country, and they never thought that it had taken over Guanzhong. There must be things that could be studied there.

Zhang Su shook his head upon hearing this. He smiled and said, "It has not been banned, but private brewing has been turned into official brewing. The government is responsible for brewing. In this way, the scale of brewing can be controlled. After all, brewing too much does waste too much grain."

"That's good, but unfortunately, according to the news from the Shogun's office, brewing is prohibited in Xudu, whether it is privately brewed or officially brewed, it will be banned." Fu Wan sighed. As a wine enthusiast, he was very unhappy with this decree. After all, for a man like him who wanted to be a rich man, even if he decided to ignore government affairs, the only thing he could do was to hold a banquet to have fun. But how can a banquet be without wine? What kind of banquet is it without wine?

"The politics of Shu can be praised as good. I only hope that the general can take into consideration people like me who love drinking and not ban alcohol." Fu Wan prayed. Since the capital was moved to Xu County, the court was monopolized by General Cao Cao. The palace guards were all Cao's followers. The court almost became a one-man show of Cao Cao. Few people dared to stroke Cao Cao's beard. If Cao Cao made up his mind to ban alcohol, no one could stop him.

"There is no need to do this, Fuguo. Even if the court bans brewing, you, as the father-in-law of the emperor, can ask the general for an exception. The general will surely take your status into consideration and agree to your request." Zhang Su waved his hand, telling Fu Wan not to worry too much.

Fu Wan, however, still looked depressed. He was neither willing nor dared to ask Cao Cao for an exception. After all, his identity as the father-in-law of the emperor was not respected by others, but rather a bad sign. The one who held the power in the court was not the emperor, but Cao Cao. The emperor would consider him, but Cao Cao would not.

Seeing that Fu Wan still looked unhappy, Zhang Su changed his words to comfort Fu Wan: "Didn't the general say that he would set up military farms in Xu? And he appointed his confidant Zao Zhi as the military farm commander. I heard that Zao Zhi has always been good at comforting the people, encouraging farming, and storing grain. When he was in Dong'e, he was known as a good magistrate. With Zao Zhi supervising farming, I believe Xudu will not have to worry about food shortages in the future."

"That's right. The general defeated the Yellow Turban bandits in Yingchuan and Runan and seized a large number of oxen and farm tools. Zao Zhi advised the general to recruit refugees, reclaim land, and implement a policy of military farming." Fu Wan nodded. "But I don't know how effective it is yet." Although Zao Zhi had a reputation as a good commander in the past, Fu Wan felt that he could not make a definite conclusion about the results of military farming, and he still needed to wait and see.

Zhang Su said with a smile: "Fuguo, why worry about a bottle of wine? If you don't have wine in your house in the future, you can write to me and I will send someone to send you golden juice."

"Golden juice?" Fu Wan asked in confusion. He didn't understand, but since Zhang Su was willing to give him wine, he was very happy.

Facing the puzzled Fu Wan, Zhang Su explained: "Golden syrup is sugarcane wine, which is brewed from sugarcane, not grain. Because the wine is golden, it is called golden syrup. Now since the government-run winemaking in Shu, more and more people use this wine, which greatly reduces the loss of grain."

"It turns out to be brewed from sugarcane, but I don't know what it tastes like." Fu Wan became interested. It was a golden wine, and he didn't know what it would taste like after it went into his stomach.

……

"Yan is in the south, Zhao is in the north, the center is not in harmony, it is as big as a whetstone, only here can I escape from the world."

Ever since the children in Youyan began to sing this nursery rhyme, General Gongsun Zan, who had suffered successive defeats in Longcou and Baoqiu and whose bid for hegemony was blocked, became distracted and began to try to figure out the true meaning of the nursery rhyme.

The "漓" in "中心不合大如砺" means whetstone. Therefore, Gongsun Zan guessed that this nursery rhyme referred to an area to the south of Yan and the north of Zhao, which was as smooth and connected as a whetstone. Only here could one escape from the troubled times.

Gongsun Zan searched along the southern border of Youzhou and the northern border of Jizhou. Soon, he found this place and built the Yijing City here. The castle had ten layers of moats and thousands of towers, all of which were five or six feet high. It was very majestic.

He specially built a ten-zhang-high palace in the middle of the moat for himself to live in, and stored three million hu of grain inside. He built an iron door, dismissed his attendants, and prohibited men over the age of seven from entering. He lived there only with his wives and concubines.

Then Gongsun Zan asked the women to practice speaking loudly so that their voices could be heard hundreds of steps away to convey his orders. In this way, he would not need men to convey his orders, and no men would be close to him. In this way, his life and property would be safe.

As for the foreign enemies Yuan Shao and Liu Yu's old subordinates, Gongsun Zan no longer took them seriously after building Yijing, because there is a saying in the art of war: 'A hundred towers should not be attacked'. Now he has a thousand high towers and three million hu of grain, so he does not need to worry about any foreign enemies and can only sit in Yijing and observe the situation in the world.

The battle situation was exactly as Gongsun Zan had predicted. As he had built a thousand high towers and stored three million hu of grain, the army sent by Yuan Shao to attack him did not cause any harm to him. He spent each day in Yijing City at a more leisurely pace.

On this day, Gongsun Zan climbed up the city wall of Yijing and looked out at the changing clouds and life. He was not wearing armor, but only a single piece of clothing. Under the clothing was his strong body, like a tiger ready to pounce.

Unfortunately, despite having such a strong and brave figure, Gongsun Zan's expression did not show any trace of ambition. Instead, his face revealed extreme laziness and fatigue. After competing with Yuan Shao for hegemony over Hebei for several years, his ambition was greatly hit, and he no longer had the heroic spirit of the White Horse General in the past.

Gongsun Zan, who had driven out the rebellious Hu people from the border and wiped out the Yellow Turbans in Mengjin, and who believed that the world was under his command, now believes that the affairs of the world are beyond his control and it would be better for him to rest his weapons, farm and raise grain to survive the troubled times. Therefore, he built Yijing and planned to sit back and watch from there.

If a fort was built in Mei, seven zhang high and thick, comparable to the city of Chang'an, and Dong Zhuo, the traitor to the country, said, "If it succeeds, I will dominate the world; if it fails, I can live out my life defending this place." When he saw the White Horse General Gongsun Zan's behavior, which was no different from his, he would have said that the "heroes" think alike.

It’s a pity that Dong Zhuo, who wanted to spend the rest of his life in Meiwu, was set on fire, and he almost never got to see Gongsun Zan, nor did he get to see Gongsun Zan’s end.

After watching the white clouds and flying birds for a while, General Gongsun Zan felt a little tired. He thought he had been away for too long and it was time to go back to watch singing and dancing, drink and have fun.

However, Gongsun Zan was not idle. After going downstairs, he met the Chief Secretary Guan Jing and his son Gongsun Xu who came to see him. Although men were generally not allowed to enter the high-rise building where he was, Guan Jing, as the Chief Secretary, and his son Gongsun Xu had exceptional privileges.

"What's the matter?" Gongsun Zan asked with annoyance in his tone. He really didn't want to bother with mundane affairs and just wanted to enjoy the present moment.

The Chief Clerk Guan Jing pulled out a piece of silk cloth from his sleeve, held it in both hands, and handed it to Gongsun Zan respectfully, explaining, "General, Yuan Benchu ​​sent an envoy to deliver a letter."

"Yuan Benchu, I have no friendship with him, why did he hand me a letter?" Gongsun Zan sneered. He took the silk cloth from the hand of the chief secretary Guan Jing, unfolded it, and sneered, "Could it be that Yuan Benchu ​​sent troops to attack me many times, but was defeated by me every time. Since he couldn't do anything to me, he thought of asking for peace with me."

Gongsun Zan unfolded the silk cloth with drooped eyelids and read the text on it. However, the content on the silk cloth made veins bulge on his forehead and his eyes became bloodshot.

I saw the words written on the silk cloth: "Your ambition is not yet satisfied, so you gather the remaining embers and lead my bandits to burn Bohai. I still cannot find peace, so I have to attack the army of Longhe. The weak soldiers are lured forward, and the army has not yet arrived. Your courage is broken and the people are scattered. You are defeated without a fight. The soldiers are in chaos, and the king and his ministers are in flight. This is also your fault, not mine. Since then, the disaster has deepened, and my army has been unable to control its anger. As a result, the city is piled with corpses and the fields are filled with skulls. I pity those innocent people and I have never failed to shed tears."

In the letter that Yuan Shao handed to Gongsun Zan, he mentioned Gongsun Zan's defeat in Longcou, and he looked compassionate, trying to persuade Gongsun Zan to surrender. Such words naturally made Gongsun Zan angry for a while.

"I am now guarding Yijing. What can Yuan Shao do to me? How dare he look down on me like this?" Gongsun Zan held the two ends of the silk cloth with his hands and exerted a little force. Suddenly, the silk cloth was torn into two pieces and thrown on the ground.

(End of this chapter)