On the fifteenth day of the first month, amid mud that now bore every sign of spring rain, Liu Cheng drove out Jia Huo and seized Xiaqiu.
Furious that Han Bo had failed to keep his promise, he immediately sent someone to the southern foothills of Mount Tai to demand an explanation.
The next day, word reached Tuqiu Settlement. Just as Han Bo learned the news from the front, feeling astonished, delighted, and embarrassed, another piece of good news arrived: Xun Xian had awakened.
Han Bo put everything else aside and hurried to see Xun Xian.
Xun Xian seemed much better than he had over the previous few days. During those days, the master of the Northern Command had suffered intermittent fevers and bouts of unconsciousness, coughing incessantly throughout, unable to stop even in his sleep.
Now, the most obvious change was that, although he still had a low fever, remained listless, and had an audible rattle in his throat, his coughing had eased considerably. He could also just about summon enough energy to observe his surroundings and converse.
After hearing Han Bo's anxious yet excited account, Xun Xian quickly grasped the situation and could not help smiling faintly. "Attendant Han, do you know why no one obeyed you and went to drive the enemy out of Xiaqiu?"
Han Bo answered awkwardly, "I lacked sufficient prestige."
"No, it was because I was dying." Xun Xian lay on his couch with a bitter smile, as though drained of strength. "And you were, of course, an outsider."
Han Bo did not deny it.
Indeed, this was the fundamental reason Han Bo could accomplish nothing, just as it had been for Xi Chao before him. Han Bo himself understood perfectly well: over the past few days, everyone had thought Xun Xian was going