Mythical Three Kingdoms

After this declaration was issued, many a noted scholar felt that Liu Yu was truly benevolent for not holding his grudges against Gongsun Zan and even advising his subordinates and the Hu People to make peace. All in all, Liu Yu’s reputation improved greatly.

This brought immense joy to Liu Yu, who valued his reputation more than life itself. His animosity towards Gongsun Zan dissipated significantly, and he focused contentedly on bolstering his renown. Upon learning this, Liu Bei and Chen Xi were completely relieved, as it meant far fewer troubles from Gongsun Zan.

As a result, the number of methods that had been considered to dissolve Gongsun Zan’s influence diminished further, and the task of ending Gongsun Zan’s domination by Sheni Pei from Youbeiping grew even more challenging.

However, Lyu Bu’s return to the north provided a glimmer of hope for the conflicted Sheni Pei. Despite the monumental difficulty, Sheni Pei, caught between a rock and a hard place, decided to give it a try after careful analysis.

Resolute as he was, Sheni Pei hardly hesitated upon realizing there was a thread of hope, and with a staunch loyalty to Yuan Shao, he entrusted the military affairs of Youbeiping to Gao Gan and set out on his journey.

Inside Changli City, Gongsun Zan eyed the black-robed figure, whose face was even covered by a mask, with particular perplexity. It wasn’t yet time for the grain from Mount Tai to be escorted here, he thought curiously.

Back when Taishi Ci and Gan Ning had taken Liu Yu away, Gongsun Zan’s anger towards Liu Bei had nearly peaked; yet, after a few days, once Gongsun Zan’s mind cleared, he realized that Liu Bei’s actions had actually been to save him!

Regrettably, Gongsun Zan’s stubbornness would not permit him to acknowledge his mistake. Even though he knew he was wrong, it would be impossible for Gongsun Zan to admit it.

For this reason, Gongsun Zan thought his relationship with Liu Bei had come to an end; after all, he had written a letter fiercely rebuking Liu Bei, which had quite a face-slapping effect. However, Gongsun Zan later discovered that Liu Bei had explained the reasons to him and, through concrete actions, proved that Gongsun Zan’s investment in him had not been mistaken.

Addition is easy in times of prosperity, but offering help during adversity is tough. That’s why Gongsun Zan always felt indebted to Liu Bei, especially when consuming the grain Liu Bei sent punctually every quarter. Gongsun Zan would silently contemplate how he could repay Liu Bei.

Gongsun Zan, well, it’s better to say he was more of a general than a feudal lord. He possessed all the qualities and personality traits expected of a military leader but lacked the duplicity typical of the feudal lords.

Whether in romance or historical records, or even in this world, Gongsun Zan had lent troops to Liu Bei, and after lending them, had never asked for them to be returned. The difference was that in this world, Gongsun Zan did not lend as many troops as he was capable of, only sending two thousand men. However, in terms of friendship, this already spoke volumes.

This was Gongsun Zan’s most praiseworthy trait—he was genuinely deeply loyal. But as a general by trade, Gongsun Zan shared the common faults of many soldiers: quick to anger, rash when enraged, downright inconsiderate in his fury, stubbornly unapologetic, yet he would always remember a debt and make it a point to repay it someday.

These characteristics combined to form a very contradictory Gongsun Zan. Precisely because of his loyalty, he would seek to repay Liu Bei, knowing well that the greatest support Liu Bei could offer was in the form of funds and supplies. As for military support, that would only be possible if Liu Bei was prepared to enter a decisive battle with Yuan Shao.

After much consideration, Gongsun Zan concluded he truly had no opportunity to repay Liu Bei. In the past, he was Liu Bei’s elder brother, protecting him, but now he was no longer needed. Liu Bei had grown strong, even stronger than Gongsun Zan at the zenith of his power.

Gongsun Zan never cared for the afterlife’s promise of straws tied with rings; what he valued was the brotherhood, the grudges, the repayments of this life. And it was this very aspect that caused Gongsun Zan the greatest pain. He could think of how to repay Liu Bei, but doing so contradicted the beliefs he had long held.

As Gongsun Zan sat in Changli, looking back over his life, whether it was the initial charge into the Northern Frontier where he broke the Wuhuan, or the early days of the White Horse when blood dyed the land beyond the Great Wall, his life could be described as one of joyous vengeance. This included all the members of the White Horse Righteous Followers who died in battle. Although Gongsun Zan regretted some of his decisions, he was clear about one thing: he owed nothing to those Righteous Followers.

The White Horse Righteous Followers were exactly that, elite soldiers who rallied to Gongsun Bogui out of a sense of righteousness, who had earned the recognition of the people of Youzhou after defeating the Northern Frontier Barbarians, and who had then sworn allegiance to his command out of admiration for his valor, entrusting him to leave a peaceful Youzhou in their wake.

”Heaven as witness, White Horse as reflector,” this oath was a symbol of their brotherly bond and also a testament to his valor. Every member of the White Horse Righteous Followers was willing to follow him and risk their lives because he had fulfilled all of their oaths: as long as he lived, Youzhou would have no worries.

So although Gongsun Zan grieved for the fallen Righteous Followers, he knew he owed them not a bit, as he had fulfilled the ultimate promise for all the Righteous Followers, and in return, they had entrusted their lives to him.

Although he might regret it, after he had crushed the Northern Frontier Barbarians and protected Youzhou, the land behind the Righteous Followers, they never again spoke of regret.

He owed only one person, and that was Liu Bei. Gongsun Bogui was not a fool; he was just quick to anger. Anger could cloud one’s judgment, and Gongsun Bogui’s rage made him overlook many things, but that did not mean he was unaware of his faults when calm prevailed.

To repay Liu Bei was both simple and difficult for Gongsun Bogui. It was simple because to the west of Beiping, he had thirty thousand Youzhou infantry and cavalry at his command, his last trump card, which he had already entrusted to Tian Yu.

Only he and Tian Yu knew of these infantry and cavalry, his final line of defense against the Hu People. As for Yuan Shao, there was almost no chance he would find out, unless Tian Yu revealed it himself. Otherwise, these troops would only emerge when the Hu People breached the defenses and stepped onto the soil of Youzhou.

This final line of defense given to Tian Yu was in fact Gongsun Zan’s promise to the people of Youzhou and the White Horse Righteous Followers. To fulfill his obligation to Liu Bei would be truly simple if he just abandoned the promise to the people of Youzhou and the White Horse Righteous Followers, relying on those thirty thousand troops.

Yet for Gongsun Zan, it was also most difficult. He couldn’t let go of his promise. White Horse had perished, but Gongsun Zan couldn’t forget his oath of brotherhood, nor could he forget his promise to the people of Youzhou, unable to free himself from the shackles of his heart.

In truth, Gongsun Zan was aware that all it would take was for him to order Tian Yu, on his deathbed, to strike south against Yuan during the fiercest part of the conflict between Yuan and Liu, and that would suffice to repay all debts.

Similarly, by that time, he would be dead, and his past vows would already have turned to dust of history. Who would remember his vow made atop the walls of Jicheng: any Hu person venturing into Youzhou shall be slain!

It’s truly a pity when one thinks about it. Why did he listen to that meddler, Liu Yu, talking about ”venturing in”? He should have just killed them all. (To be continued. If you like this work, we welcome you to come to Qidian ) to vote, monthly ticket, your support is my greatest motivation. Mobile users please visit m.qidian.com to read.)