Rising on the Wind (Part Two)

At these words, Xie An merely sneered. His meaning was plain: Go on, then. Let me hear your excuses.

"Master Eastern Mountain, my brother Jili's proposal to cleanse Great Jin was meant to carry on his great-uncle's work: to put the aristocratic clans and their debased conduct in order and give Great Jin a new face," Liu Acheng declared loudly from his folding stool. "But I believe that, with the realm now torn apart and our dynasty having abandoned the north entirely, the clans are clustered like hedgehogs in Jingzhou and the lands South of the Yangtze. There is no room left even to maneuver. Finances are straitened, and even official posts are scarce. Purging the aristocratic clans without regard for all this would only make Great Jin destroy its own foundations... So my idea of cleansing begins with bringing the north under control, driving out the various Hu peoples, and restoring the old order. Once the country has a little breathing room, an internal cleanup would have at least some chance of success."

Xie An put away his sneer and nodded seriously.

Whatever else might be said, a boy of this age with such insight already surpassed many sons of great houses, including his own nephews.

At the very least, this fellow understood that politics could not rely on brute force alone. It required financial, military, political, and even geographical room to maneuver.

"If you know your brother Jili's ambitions are somewhat fanciful, why not try to dissuade him?" Xie An asked sincerely. He truly wanted someone to talk Liu Jili out of it. The man was far too frightening.

"Master Eastern Mountain, if a man could be dissuaded merely because his ambitions were fanciful, why did Ji Kang go to his death? Why did Zhuge Kongming march out through Qishan time and again? Why did our dynasty's Zu Shizhi strike the water in midstream, and why did Liu Yueshi lament that steel tempered a hundred times had become soft enough to wind around a finger? Surely there were discerning men around them who knew their ambitions were almost certain to fail?" Liu Acheng delivered one question after another, speaking with easy confidence. "I know little about Brother Jili's great-uncle. But from what I do know, he has spent these years drifting around Jingkou and Jiankang. Though born to an aristocratic clan, he has been homeless, unable even to secure food and clothing, living among the lowest ranks year after year. When he sees aristocrats who once shared his table traveling with blades and axes clearing their path, making the common people freeze and starve with their every move, resentment has long since risen in his heart... Making him abandon his fanciful ambitions would hardly be easy, would it?"

"So that is how it is." Xie An nodded, moved inwardly, but then changed tack. "In that case, let me ask you, Liu Cheng: do you know that your own 'cleansing,' beginning with bringing the north under control, is also a fanciful ambition?"

Liu Cheng fell silent, and remained so for a long time. Though he had treated this meeting with Xie An as a major event before coming, he had never thought it would have any decisive effect on his fate.

This body of his was still very young, fifteen or sixteen, and he belonged to the lowest rank of aristocrats under an assumed surname. There was no reason for the other man to elevate him to some lofty position on the strength of one meeting, so that he could marry a fair, rich beauty and reach the pinnacle of life.

So far, that was indeed how things stood.

The other man showed little interest even in talking to him. His attitude was more like: Since you have gone this far, I may as well go through the motions and get things more or less sorted out for you, so you will not keep pestering me later.

Faced with such an attitude, at such a moment, was there any need to lay bare his true thoughts and outlook on life?

His basic goals had already been achieved: have Xie An acknowledge his aristocratic status, secure Liu Huzi some prospect such as becoming a Banner Chief, then keep running his Refugee Camp and establish a fortified manor. What more did he need to pursue?

Meanwhile, Xie An was indeed growing impatient. He remembered that he still had a lesson to teach, yet could hardly chase his visitor away.

"Lord Xie." Just then, Liu Cheng abruptly adopted a peculiar form of address. Xie An had only just reached thirty this year and had never entered official service, so the title scarcely suited him, but Liu Cheng used it nonetheless. "I have something to say from the bottom of my heart... In truth, I have always known that whether it is bringing order to the north or rectifying aristocratic conduct, this so-called cleansing of the realm has, in the present circumstances, scarcely any chance of success, even if I dare not call it one in ten thousand."

Xie An narrowed his eyes slightly, his expression hovering between a smile and no smile, and drew up his knee again. "Come now. Surely the Northern Expedition still has some hope? I only said that your ambition was fanciful."

"It amounts to the same thing," Liu Cheng said calmly. "After all, the Northern Expedition is the most important part of my ambition to cleanse the realm. If one part is hollow, all is hollow; if one part is fanciful, all is fanciful."

"Everyone at court yearns for the north. They all believe the Grand Commander has suffered only a minor setback, while Later Zhao is disintegrating by the day and ever more substantial forces are surrendering. They do not think it will affect the prospects of the Northern Expedition." Xie An grew a little more serious. He suddenly remembered that this boy, who knew Ji Kang was not a subject to discuss, had just returned from the north. Perhaps he really did possess some additional insight.

"In my view, the Northern Expedition cannot succeed for two essential reasons. First, the north is actually stronger than the south in military strength, economy, and population. If even one capable leader can unite four or five parts of it, that will be enough to resist the south. Second, even with an opportunity as favorable as Later Zhao collapsing on its own, the southern aristocratic clans have been debased for so long that every great affair of state has been reduced to factional prejudice. They can neither unite, seize the moment, and march north with their combined strength, nor select the best men and send forward those who are practical and understand warfare... Naturally, success will be difficult." Liu Cheng gave his answer.

This answer was exceedingly blunt, especially what he said about the south. First, he established the corruption of the southern aristocracy as a premise. Then, with Xie An's cousin commanding the Western Command and his dying brother-in-law having previously commanded the Northern Command, he pointed out that these men lacked practical ability and military understanding. It was almost a slap in the face.

Yet Xie An knew better than anyone that this was precisely the greatest problem at present. It was also the conclusion he had reached after all his efforts over the past several months.

They simply could not unite. With Jingzhou and Yangzhou at such loggerheads, and the two houses within Yangzhou fighting like this, talking of unity was ludicrous! And they truly did not understand warfare. It was not just Chu Pou. He now had little confidence even in Yin Hao, the eager present-day Kongming, or in his own cousin... Yet the Northern Expedition was what everyone wanted, and success would bring enormous prestige. Even Cai Mo, convinced that the expedition was bound to fail, had merely chosen not to take office rather than continue opposing it. What could Xie An possibly say?

At that thought, though Xie Anshi had repeatedly acknowledged the boy's points inwardly, he could only accuse him of bias. "Whether the aristocratic clans are debased, whether the ministers understand warfare or deal in practical matters-these are not things for you to pronounce upon!"

"But did you not ask me to try explaining why my own ambition was fanciful, Lord Xie?" Liu Cheng replied with a smile.

"Then speak of your own ambition," Xie An reminded him earnestly. "Do not drag others into it."

"Yes." Liu Cheng bowed, then sat down again, head high and chest straight, and answered with composed assurance. "So, to cleanse the realm, I must first succeed in the Northern Expedition, gain control of the north, and use it to cleanse the south;

"Yet to succeed in the Northern Expedition, I must seize the opportunity presented by the north's collapse, achieve as much unity as possible, and throw all our strength into marching north;

"And to do that, as an individual, I would need a base like General Huan's Jingzhou or Yin Yangzhou's Yangzhou before I could even dream of discussing it;

"To acquire such a base, I would need either a reputation like Yin Yangzhou's or achievements like General Huan's;

"The former is out of the question. Even the latter requires prestige, troops, and opportunities to be built up layer upon layer. Most importantly, under the current military system, you need men you can trust to command your army for you...

"Emperor Gaozu of Han's followers from Feng and Pei are too distant an example. Looking only at today's customs, nine times out of ten those men are sons of your own clan... General Huan's father's generation won fame through pure conversation and metaphysics, and in his generation he has scores of brothers and nephews to sustain his position. Your family is much the same, Lord Xie: a deep accumulation now coming to fruition. These young people in your courtyard are all like fragrant orchids and flourishing trees. In another ten or twenty years, their canopies will surely gather like clouds... Really, it is no wonder those thriving great clans look down upon small households with only a single family line. On this point alone, however accomplished an individual from such a family may be, he cannot shoulder the greater undertaking even if he exhausts every ounce of strength."

"Your Liu Clan of Pengcheng actually has deeper roots and more luxuriant branches than our Xie Clan. You may well be able to put them to use. That Liu Jili seems to trust you quite deeply." Xie An had been listening intently, and only came back to himself when the boy mentioned his own family. He smiled. "You are only fifteen or sixteen. If you can unite the Liu Clan of Pengcheng, you may yet accomplish something."

"That is what I have thought, and what I have been doing," Liu Acheng admitted frankly. "But Lord Xie, even if the Liu Clan of Pengcheng becomes united, why must they necessarily follow me? I am not saying they certainly would not, only that it would be terribly difficult... And that is the key... Please consider it, Lord Xie. From my present circumstances to my ambition of cleansing the realm, every stage and every step is so difficult. What happens when they are all piled together?

"Taken together, it means every single step and every single stage must succeed. Is that not one success amid ten thousand difficulties, a tower hanging in the air, a fanciful ambition?"

"So, after saying all this and explaining all this, you have merely proved one point: your ambition is exceedingly unlikely to succeed. Is that it?" Xie An could not help laughing.

Now he truly found the boy interesting. Discussing these matters with him seemed as enjoyable as engaging in pure conversation with those other men.

Moreover, something about this person felt faintly familiar, though he could not recall who he resembled just then.

"Your question is fair, Lord Xie." Liu Acheng laughed as well. "You asked my ambition, and I said I wished to cleanse Great Jin, attacking the north and cleansing the south to bring order to the realm, entirely unlike Brother Jili. Then you asked whether I knew my ambition was as fanciful as his, and I said I did... At that point, we ought to have laughed and left it there. Yet I insisted on explaining to you, layer by layer, why my ambition was so fanciful... I did so because there is still another layer to my ambition that I have not spoken of."

Xie An drew up his knee once more and held his Dust-Tail Fan crosswise, peering at the boy through its crimson animal hair, as though trying to see exactly whom he resembled.

"Lord Xie, I know full well that my ambition is fanciful. Indeed, I often think in private that I could not accomplish these things in an entire lifetime, and would be better off becoming a Wubao Lord and living freely and happily. But I also often wonder: if an opportunity comes one day to advance even a little along the path of that fanciful ambition, should I abandon my notion of preserving myself in a fortified manor and strive to climb one step higher?" Liu Acheng answered slowly. "I have thought about it for a long time, and I believe I would take that step forward... Whatever use that step might have for the greater undertaking, and whether my fanciful ambition remains just as fanciful afterward, I must take it. Otherwise, my heart will never be at peace."

At this, Liu Acheng rose and bowed. "Lord Xie, today's meeting is precisely an opportunity to take that step forward. For the sake of my fanciful ambition, please help me take it, and cut off my path of preserving myself in a fortified manor. Liu Cheng will surely be moved to tears with gratitude."

Xie An finally realized whom the person before him resembled.

Not one person, but a mixture of two... One was Huan Wen, General Huan, whom the boy before him had mentioned repeatedly. But Huan Wen was already thirty-seven or thirty-eight, so there was also the faintly overlapping figure of another boy, outwardly broad-minded but inwardly stubborn, likewise mature beyond his years to an absurd degree.

Interestingly, this boy also differed distinctly from both of them.

This conclusion did not mean Xie An had begun to admire the boy. Quite the reverse: just as he had disliked Liu Jili earlier, he now disliked the boy before him, because this boy's ambition weighed upon people's hearts in the same unnerving way.

Besides, he had never said he admired Huan Wen or that other precociously mature boy.

He disliked every one of them.

But Xie Anshi had no intention of suppressing anyone on that account. It was not in his nature. Besides, even in this small stretch of land South of the Yangtze, there were far too many helpless people and helpless situations. If he tried to crush everyone who displeased him, he would probably be the one beaten to death.

Moreover, he already knew where to send this boy... He had originally intended to recommend him to Xun Xian, but now he had changed his mind. Someone like this should not be exposed at the very forefront too early.

"You are too young. At your age, you ought to be studying." Xie An set down his Dust-Tail Fan, picked up the paper and brush Liu Jili had placed there earlier, and began writing on the Armrest. "Of course, many sons of great houses possess less insight, experience, and strength of character than you, yet already receive numerous offers of prestigious, unburdensome offices at this age... I recommended Liu Jili to Lord Cai, but that would not suit you. In any case, you are a boy alone in the world. Rather than drifting around Jingkou, you would be better off going to Kuaiji. With your intelligence, you will surely be like an awl in a sack: your sharp point will reveal itself... This is a letter of recommendation. I cannot go to Kuaiji until after the New Year, but you can go ahead and seek out Xi Linhai. First, his family has children about your age, and you may be able to study alongside them. Second, given the Gaoping Xis' established position in Jingkou, at the very least they can let you return and set up a fortified manor here. Third, since your ambition points north, yet you have little faith in this Northern Expedition, forming ties with the Xi Family may allow you to accomplish something in the Northern Command's army one day."

As he spoke, he slipped the letter into an envelope, then raised a hand to indicate something. "There are visiting cards over there. Take one yourself, then light that candle with the flint and bring it here."

Even though Liu Acheng had prepared himself inwardly, hearing that he had been recommended to the head of the Gaoping Xis still gave him an enormous lift. He hurried to do as instructed... After all, even in the worst case, if he went there and failed at everything, surely, out of respect for Xie An, they would give him some prospect such as a post in the Household Office of an Expatriate Commandery when they sent him back?

With such prospects, just as Xie An had said, setting up a fortified manor in Jingkou would be simplicity itself.

And if he made a name for himself among the Xi Family, or even among Kuaiji's celebrated scholars, his future truly would be boundless.

Thus, when he saw Xie An finish sealing the envelope with wax and hand it over, Liu Acheng could not help bowing again in heartfelt gratitude. "I will never forget your kindness, Lord Xie."

Xie An nodded, thought nothing of it, and waved him out.

Back in the service courtyard, he immediately encountered Liu Jili waiting there. The latter was still pacing in circles, and on seeing Liu Cheng return, he hurried forward to ask, "Well? Was anything decided?"

Liu Cheng made no show of mystery, merely smiling and nodding.

"What exactly did he say?" Liu Jili pressed impatiently. "It only just occurred to me that you are too young to be given a proper career. Is he having you become Lord Cai's student with me?"

Liu Cheng shook his head with a smile. "He found me a different place to stay. I am to become a retainer of the Xi Family."

Liu Jili froze at that, then broke into delight. "That is already excellent."

Indeed it was. Liu Cheng was essentially a rootless wanderer, with neither home nor support, and at an awkward age. Previously, to put it nicely, he had been staying with Lord Ren of their own clan, but in truth he was simply a retainer in Lord Ren's household, as was Liu Jili. Moving now from Lord Ren's household to the Xi Family, the masters of Jingkou, truly meant ascending in a single step.

At this point, Liu Jili also told him quietly, "I have been recommended to study under Lord Cai-Cai Mo, one of the Former Three Excellencies. Much the same sort of arrangement."

Liu Acheng's delight grew still greater. He was about to say something when the courtyard behind him grew noisy again, evidently because lessons were about to resume. He merely nodded in reply. "Let us put our excitement aside, collect our payment, and go back to Lord Ren. Have him take over the camp, and have Huzi bring the Tiger Hide. We should settle all this properly."

Liu Jili nodded repeatedly. "Exactly what I was thinking."

Thus, the two put their thoughts aside, went to fetch their carrying loads, and had someone hurry Steward Qian along. After some fuss, Steward Qian finally returned, settled the arrangements for this batch of Dyed Paper, and paid them. Only then did Liu Jili and Liu Acheng give in to the urge to tell him that they might no longer come in person. They would have the men escorting the carts take their place, and he could pay those men when settling accounts. Everything else would continue as before.

Steward Qian naturally had no objections. Especially on learning that the two had secured prospects, he only became more careful, and perhaps even felt relieved inwardly.

Having dealt with these matters, they left the storeroom and returned to the service courtyard. The weather was overcast, and the courtyard two walls away had become as noisy as before. Xie An's voice rang out again, and the two wondered whether they should listen to another lesson.

Yet they had only sat a short while before both were visibly unable to contain themselves.

Liu Jili cared about appearances and naturally would not say so. Liu Acheng saw it clearly and simply began speaking with a smile.

But just as he opened his mouth, a cold wind suddenly swept in from the northwest, filling his mouth with an icy chill. Nor was that all: beyond the two walls, everything erupted into disorder as well.

After a moment, the gust passed, and Liu Jili finally asked, "What were you saying?"

"I said, 'With the good wind lending its strength, it carries me up into the blue clouds.'" Liu Acheng chose an auspicious phrase.

Liu Jili smiled at that too. "Exactly. This time, we really have caught Xie Eastern Mountain's pure breeze and risen effortlessly into the sky..."

As he spoke, he pointed upward.

Liu Acheng followed his gesture and looked up. The sky was still as gloomy as it had been all day. The only change was the wind. With the cold wind rising, bits of dust danced through the air and felt icy when they landed on his face.

Then he lowered his head, about to ask Liu Jili whether they should simply leave. Why keep up the pretense of listening to a lesson?

But again, the words never left his mouth. The boy had plainly realized something and raised his head once more. Liu Jili also sensed something unusual and slowly looked up. Then the smiles gradually faded from both Lius' faces, and at last they looked at each other in silence, their expressions complicated.

At that moment, beyond the two walls, the courtyard that had only just quieted erupted into noise again. It finally settled with difficulty under Xie An's calls. Then the two stiff-faced Lius heard Xie Anshi, ready to teach his nephews and nieces anywhere and at any time, ask, "Look, white snow has suddenly begun to flutter down. What might we compare it to?"

Snowfall was rare in the south, and the Xie children had all been excited, only for their teacher's question to silence them completely.

After a moment, Xie Lang, or Xie Ahu, who most enjoyed showing off and considered himself a prodigy, finally spoke. "Salt scattered in the air might serve as a comparison."

Before Xie An could comment, Xie Daoyun's voice suddenly rang out. "To my mind, it would be better to say willow catkins rising on the wind!"

Xie An burst into delighted laughter on the spot, laughing heartily and at length.

White snow fluttered down, arriving without warning. After two years, snow fell once more upon the lands South of the Yangtze-and it was a heavy snowfall, a sudden snowfall.

Expressionless, the two Lius went to Changgan Lane to pay the customary levy. On their way back, a thin, creamy layer of white had already formed on the ground. Those with shops were few, after all. Many vendors who had entered the city and paid the one-tenth commercial tax gazed at the sky and sighed, yet could not bear to go home just like that. They could only shiver by the roadside, pacing back and forth to keep warm, hoping to sell a few more goods.

They left through the Three-Hedge Gate and headed north. Outside the city, things were still tolerable. There were patrols along Jiankang's palisade walls... Though the patrolling soldiers were now plainly shrinking from the cold and looked nothing like soldiers, at least the road was clear.

Until the two Lius reached Jiangcheng.

Jiangcheng adjoined Jiankang and lay north of Jingkou Avenue, already within the broader Jingkou area. Compared with places farther east, there were still relatively few refugees here, but the scenes the two Lius had anticipated were already unfolding. Especially now, as snowflakes grew denser, overlapping flake upon flake until they covered heaven and earth, mountains and rivers, all the refugees who had been begging and wandering around Jiangcheng had vanished, no one knew where.

But those people could hardly have found anywhere good to go, because the refugees one rung above them-those who had followed Liu Rengong and the others here and could obtain some work, but had no fixed housing-soon came into the two men's sight.

Snow that was not even particularly thick had dyed their shacks a single color. Their inhabitants, old and young, able-bodied and frail alike, huddled in the corners. Only a very few family breadwinners still walked about in thin clothing wrapped with straw, seemingly trying to find fuel, or perhaps hoping their neighbors surnamed Liu from the Huai River region would open the doors of their earthen houses and let the women and children shelter inside.

Carrying their loads, the two Lius stood at a distance on a small mound beside the avenue, looking at it all. For a time, they actually dared not descend, until snow had settled on their Crimson Futou, their shoulders, and their simple carrying poles... After all, they knew perfectly well that once they went down, Liu Rengong would certainly agree to return to the camp, and many of its former residents could be taken in and saved. But even more people would still be firmly turned away, because their camp's money and grain were limited too.

"How is this falling salt? How can anyone speak of willow catkins? It is plainly raining knives." Liu Jili's face was bleak.

"Judged only by poetic feeling, willow catkins are still the best comparison." As ever, Liu Acheng tried to maintain an objective assessment.

As he spoke, he took the initiative and headed toward the settlement at Jiangcheng. With the snow and the downhill slope, he stumbled and only just managed to steady himself. Then he stopped at the junction below, turning to look at his companion, who still had not moved, and sighed. "Brother Jili, when I studied the poems of earlier sages, I never understood their subtleties. Only today, after experiencing all this for myself, have I learned that some poems truly are the words of a sage."

Liu Jili still did not understand. "What poems? What do you mean, the words of a sage?"

"Oh, for countless thousands of spacious rooms, to shelter all the world's cold scholars and bring joy to every face, unmoved by wind and rain, secure as a mountain." Liu Cheng carried his load downhill, reciting loudly under Liu Jili's almost horrified gaze. "Alas! When will such a house rise towering before my eyes? Then, though my own hut alone were broken and I froze to death, I would be content!"

His voice was so loud that it pierced the falling snow.

-----A scene break in the snow-----

On a cold day, Grand Tutor Xie gathered his family indoors and discussed literary meaning with the younger generation. Suddenly, the snow fell thickly, and he said with delight, "What does the swirling white snow resemble?" His elder brother's son Hu'er said, "Salt scattered in the air is a fair comparison." His elder brother's daughter said, "Not so good as willow catkins rising on the wind." He laughed heartily in pleasure.

-New Account of Tales of the World, "Speech," second section

Emperor Gao, the Great Ancestor, was returning from Jiankang and preparing to go to Kuaiji when snow suddenly fell thickly. At the time, Chu Pou had been defeated on his northern campaign, and grief and anger had worsened his illness. Those at court fought for power, while tens of thousands of refugees in Jingkou received no relief; on both sides of the avenue, people lay frozen stiff. Liu Lang was beside him and turned to Emperor Taizu, saying, "The swirling white snow is all like knives. Were it not for our efforts, even our neighbors from Pengcheng would not be safe. That is comfort enough." Emperor Taizu sighed. "Oh, for countless thousands of spacious rooms, to shelter all the world's cold scholars and bring joy to every face, unmoved by wind and rain, secure as a mountain!" Liu Lang was deeply ashamed. "Only today have I heard the words of a sage."

-Old Book of Qi, Imperial Annals, volume one, "Annals of Emperor Gao, the Great Ancestor," part one

P.S. My endless thanks to Shuhai Milu for becoming a League Leader. I am deeply grateful.