Chapter 9: Teaching One’s Enemy How to Harm Themselves

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As a subordinate clerk of Zhuo County, Jian Yong was obliged to go and welcome the new magistrate. Escorting the chief official was the Bailiffs’ Office’s proper duty, and taking the horse along was no more than a matter of convenience.

In the years to come, Jian Yong would still have to make his living under Gongsun Zan. It was therefore essential that he make himself known to the man first.

At Lingzhi in Liaoxi, Jian Yong met Gongsun Zan, who was preparing to depart for his new post.

“So you are Jian Xianhe, the man who was delighted to be beaten by his mother? I have heard that name for some time now…”

Gongsun Zan was remarkably courteous toward Jian Yong. The story of Jian Yong rejoicing because his mother had the strength to thrash him had already spread throughout the commanderies of Youzhou.

Of course, Liu Bei had deliberately instructed the wandering knights-errant to circulate it.

That reputation was Jian Yong’s talisman. No one would willingly make trouble for a young man renowned for his filial piety.

“I know that Your Excellency’s valor is unmatched beneath Heaven. You have no need of my escort. But my elder brother, Liu Xuande, heard that Your Excellency would soon be taking office in Zhuo County and was desperate to meet you. He therefore sent me here with this fine steed, so that my brother might have the pleasure of seeing Your Excellency sooner.”

Jian Yong was a master of smooth speech. With a mixture of flattery and praise, he had even given Gongsun Zan a respectable reason to accept the horse.

If this had truly been a gift exchanged between friends, the story of welcoming a new official with a fine steed might well have become a celebrated anecdote.

In Liu Bei’s hands, at least, it certainly would. The wandering knights-errant were even better at drinking, boasting, and embellishing tales than they were at robbing robbers.

“I have always held filial sons in the highest esteem. Xianhe has shown pure devotion to his mother. This fine horse ought to be given to you, to honor such filial conduct!”

Gongsun Zan glanced at the brand on the horse’s hindquarters, frowned, and handed the reins back.

He was returning the horse to Jian Yong.

Clearly, Gongsun Zan recognized the Cao family’s brand. He had accepted the horse in appearance, yet declined it in substance. He was no fool.

But Jian Yong had always been wary. He immediately refused, saying, “This is a warhorse. It should not be driven by a minor clerk such as myself. Besides, I am no horseman. This steed is exceedingly swift, and I would not dare put it to a gallop. If Your Excellency has no use for it, then return it to its former master, lest such a splendid creature be wasted.”

In truth, the horse was docile enough for Jian Yong to ride. His horsemanship, however, was merely ordinary, and he genuinely did not dare urge it to full speed.

But what Jian Yong really meant was this: If you, Gongsun Zan, do not care for this gift, then return it to Liu Bei yourself. I know perfectly well that you are passing it back to me in an attempt to sow discord.

“In that case, Xianhe, serve as my guide and lead me to Zhuo County.”

Gongsun Zan was left somewhat embarrassed, and a trace of wariness appeared in his eyes.

Jian Yong had been sent to deliver the horse precisely because he was the most trustworthy man available.

Though Jian Yong’s reputation was considerable, he had shown such loyalty toward Liu Bei that Gongsun Zan would naturally have to deal with Liu Bei more carefully and reasonably.

…

Early in the second year of Guanghe, 179.

Gongsun Zan reached the borders of Zhuo County.

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Liu Bei went thirty miles north of the county seat to welcome him.

Going thirty miles beyond the city to receive an honored guest or close friend was an elaborate courtesy.

In truth, however, Liu Bei should not have been waiting to the north of Zhuo County.

Gongsun Zan had come from Liaoxi. By rights, if Liu Bei wished to welcome him, he should have gone east of the city.

But Jian Yong had deliberately led Gongsun Zan on a wide detour, taking the northern road.

This was, of course, at Liu Bei’s instruction. They were making straight for that false beacon tower.

The beacon tower stood thirty miles north of the city.

Gongsun Zan had actually taken a liking to the fine horse. He had ridden it all the way there.

Yet upon seeing Liu Bei, Gongsun Zan dismounted and returned it.

“Your younger brother has presented me with a magnificent steed, yet I have no gift with which to repay you. I would be ashamed to accept it and must return it… I have heard that Your Excellency enjoys a reputation for chivalry within the county, but I never expected you to be so lavish. This horse is a superb creature; it must have cost you dearly.”

Gongsun Zan wore a broad smile and spoke with consummate courtesy. He made no mention of their past dealings, but instead sounded Liu Bei out.

The implication was clear: This horse is worth a fortune. Where did you get it, boy? Is it stolen property?

“My household is bare as the walls, and I did not spend a single coin on this horse. It was a gift from Cao Mengde of Pei. I have long heard that Brother Bogui has won great victories in Liaodong. I have regretted that I could not hold your stirrup and lead your horse. Now that the Xianbei are running rampant, a renowned commander such as Brother Bogui ought indeed to be stationed here to defend the county…”

Liu Bei made it clear that he remained desperately poor. His face was wreathed in smiles, and his warmth resembled that of a man entertaining relatives during the New Year. His praise cost him nothing.

The horse had originally been Cao Cao’s mount. Under ordinary circumstances, it would never easily have fallen into another man’s hands.

Though the horse had indeed been stolen and could technically be considered bandit loot, no one else knew that. The only man aware of the truth was Cao Cao.

Cao Cao and Gongsun Zan had no friendship, and Cao Cao would never mention the matter to anyone. Otherwise, would not his collusion with Liu Bei in robbing the Li family’s grain at Lihu be exposed?

Cao Cao still cared about his reputation. The realm had not yet fallen into complete disorder, and he could hardly afford to bear the name of a noble-family plunderer.

Since he had failed to kill the “Big-Eared Bandit” at Lihu, he could not pursue Liu Bei afterward. In practical terms, therefore, the horse really had become a gift from Cao Cao to Liu Bei.

Even Cao Cao himself could only describe it that way.

Liu Bei took the reins and tethered the horse to the beacon tower. “This is a warhorse. It ought to be ridden by a renowned commander such as Brother Bogui. Since Brother Bogui is too upright to accept private gifts, let it instead be my contribution to the county’s military stores, for the defense of our borders and the expulsion of the northern barbarians!”

This was no mere performance. Liu Bei was guiding Gongsun Zan’s thoughts.

What did it signify to offer a warhorse as military supplies?

Cavalry, naturally.

And the presence of a frontier watchtower within Zhuo County’s territory was hardly ordinary.

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“Since my younger brother has shown such concern, then let this horse serve as a reward for whoever earns the first merit.”

Gongsun Zan still did not accept the horse. Instead, he turned his gaze toward the beacon tower Liu Bei had built.

“Yet I had assumed that Zhuo County lay in the heartland of this province and should therefore be secure. I did not expect to find a watchtower here to guard against raiders as well… Do the Xianbei often ravage this county?”

Many people in the county knew that the beacon tower had been built by Liu Bei. But apart from Liu Bei and Jian Yong, no one knew that it existed to provide merchants and bandits with a convenient landmark for arranging robberies against one another.

In the eyes of a man like Gongsun Zan, who had spent years fighting on the frontier, the purpose of a watchtower was naturally to prevent the northern barbarians from invading.

Gongsun Zan’s promotion to magistrate of Zhuo County had actually stripped him of his military authority in Liaodong. He would therefore naturally be interested in any means of earning military merit.

Under normal circumstances, however, a county magistrate could neither command troops at will nor casually recruit the villagers into an army. Liu Bei thus had to find him a pretext.

The gift of a warhorse, the welcome at a beacon tower, and the designation of the horse as military supplies were all intended to plant suggestions in Gongsun Zan’s mind.

When Gongsun Zan brought up military affairs exactly as Liu Bei had expected, Liu Bei felt greatly reassured. He nodded and sighed.

“The Xianbei are growing ever more brazen, repeatedly crossing the border to plunder us. I once proposed that the county’s criminals be formed into penal soldiers to defend against them, but my teacher would not agree…”

The proposal to establish penal soldiers was genuine.

Liu Bei and Jian Yong had been working together to rob robbers for so long that they had captured far too many bandits. The county prison could no longer hold them all.

After seeing the prison filled to capacity, Liu Bei had suggested organizing the criminals into military units and compelling them to serve, effectively subjecting them to labor reform.

Such convict-soldiers were known as penal troops. The practice had been a longstanding tradition since the Han dynasty and was entirely reasonable and lawful when the Xianbei were invading.

The real reason Le Yin had refused was that not a single Xianbei had ever entered Zhuo County.

Instead, Le Yin had ordered the prisoners to raise money and pay silk to redeem their crimes. The little girl Jian Yong had purchased was the daughter of one of those prisoners.

In truth, Liu Bei had mentioned the warhorse and the penal soldiers for the purpose of making Gongsun Zan realize that cavalry could be established once again in Zhuo County.

At the same time, he was handing Gongsun Zan a method of bringing about his own downfall. After all, in Gongsun Zan’s eyes, Liu Bei himself was a convicted criminal with a record.

Liu Bei knew that Gongsun Zan was certain to suspect the truth behind Gongsun Yue’s death. He simply had no proof yet. If he had been certain, then given Gongsun Zan’s temperament, he would have already drawn his sword and cut Liu Bei down.

Of course, even without certainty, Gongsun Zan certainly did not want Liu Bei to remain alive.

Liu Bei knew the dark history of Gongsun Zan’s orders to his subordinates to plunder merchant caravans, especially the robbery of a caravan belonging to Yuan Shao’s retainers.

For the moment, however, Liu Bei was Le Yin’s disciple, and Gongsun Zan could not simply kill him outright. Sooner or later, though, he would find a way to ruin him.

As the chief official of the county, Gongsun Zan would find it exceedingly easy to destroy a commoner without office.

Therefore, rather than wait to be framed through some hidden scheme, Liu Bei might as well teach him how to ruin him properly and lawfully…

For instance, he could have Gongsun Zan treat him as cannon fodder and send him to the battlefield.

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