New Year

Lu Song came quickly and left just as quickly.

Xi Yin hated to part with him, but there was nothing he could do. He could only sigh over the man's devotion to his teacher and personally see him out after finishing his rice porridge... And there was no need for Liu Acheng to ask Xi Chao for money: Xi Linhai eagerly offered a considerable sum in goods and valuables himself, terrified that the man might never return.

That did not mean Liu Acheng had failed to receive timely news from the north. Quite the opposite: several letters and notes from Liu Jili, delivered through Liu Dage, along with a crookedly written account from Liu Huzi, gave him a clear picture of something that had happened in Jingkou during the twelfth lunar month.

It was an affair full of twists and turns, reaching upward into the central political struggle at court and downward into the living conditions of Liu Rengong's Refugee Camp in Jingkou-Liu Acheng's only real fallback at present.

Cai Mo had made his move.

Only now did Liu Acheng learn that Cai Mo had actually been entrusted with the Northern Command army after Xi Jian's death. Though he had held the post for only three or four years, he had been deeply involved in suppressing the Su Jun Rebellion before that and had subsequently entered the central government to help govern. During his tenure, he had also been the man who actually established the so-called eleven garrisons and thirty-three beacon towers. His influence over the Northern Command and Jingkou was immense.

After hearing Liu Jili's report, Cai Mo had immediately trudged through the snow to inspect Jingkou Avenue in person. Then he had returned straight to Jiankang and submitted a memorial accusing Yin Hao and Xun Xian of leaving refugees dead and wounded in heaps through their struggle for power, erasing the sole achievement of Chu Pou's Northern Expedition.

He had even submitted the memorial publicly, so that all Jiankang heard about it.

That had struck Yin Hao straight in the lungs.

What this Sleeping Dragon Yin feared most now was having Chu Pou's fatal despair pinned on him. If that happened, he could jump into the Yellow River and still never wash himself clean. In fact, never mind Yin Hao-even the Prince of Kuaiji, Sima Yu, above him would find the affair a dreadful tangle, fearing accusations that he was bullying the empress dowager and the young emperor and trying to start another War of the Eight Princes.

And just after the commanderies and counties around Jingkou hurriedly opened their granaries to provide relief, Chu Pou really did die!

At this point, although the Xie Clan mediated, the empress dowager herself probably understood her own father's temperament, and Chu Pou, given his character, must surely have left her instructions, neither side intended to drag the other into mutual ruin. Yet the bloodshot-eyed Yin Hao could not help developing murderous intentions toward Cai Mo.

After all, this was not the first time Cai Mo had taken aim at Yin Hao. Yin Yangzhou wanted to be Zhuge Liang, wanted to launch a Northern Expedition, but Minister Cai simply thought the fellow was useless and bound to fail. Worse still, when Sleeping Dragon Yin's father suddenly died and he went home to observe ten months of mourning, those above, considering old Cai's prestige in Yangzhou, insisted that he fill in as Yangzhou Governor for those ten months-even though he despised the man. Old Cai was thoroughly disgusted and spent his tenure refusing to cooperate and making his displeasure plain.

Every day he told people, "I'm only filling in for Yin Yangzhou for a few months. The court has no use for an old wreck like me either. I won't be recruiting any staff, so do as you please." When Yin Hao returned and the court wanted him to continue as Minister of Works, he flatly refused. The position remained vacant even now.

In other words, theirs was a genuine feud, both public and private. From national political policy to Confucian and metaphysical values, right down to their individual characters, they opposed each other in every respect.

This time, Yin Hao truly wanted to kill Cai Mo.

And so, over the next few days, the men governing at court launched a sweeping attack on Cai Mo. They did not even discuss the current affair, but seized on a single point-the state had repeatedly summoned Cai Mo to serve as Minister of Works, and he had refused every time, leaving the young emperor waiting at court until he grew sleepy. Whatever else one might say, this showed contempt for the emperor and the institutions of the state.

Moreover, they opened by severely punishing Jiang Bin, the son-in-law of Cai Mo's close friend, who had served as Xi Jian's military secretary and was now Imperial Censor-in-Chief. They sent him straight home, arguing that he had been Minister of Personnel when Cai Mo was summoned and had failed in his duties.

In effect, they had directly dismissed the court leader of the faction supposedly sympathetic to Cai Mo.

Then the court discussed Cai Mo's offenses again. This time no one spoke up for him, and at last someone called for his execution.

But old Cai had been tempered in water and fire himself. Upon hearing the news, he immediately did something that left Liu Jili utterly awestruck: this veteran statesman, the last of the Three Luminaries of the Restoration, took all his disciples and followers, Liu Jili included, to kneel before the palace gates and bid farewell. Then he put on a prisoner's clothes, went to the Court Commandant, sat down, and refused to move.

Come on! Here is my neck-please cut it! My disciples and followers outside are still standing by me, so clearly they are my sworn partisans. Implicate them if you wish! But you may not drag anyone else into this!

Reading this, Liu Acheng, though an outsider, immediately realized that the affair would have to end here.

The rulers above had made their choice... In truth, they could only choose Yin Hao and continue supporting the Northern Expedition. This was the great cause of the state and the shared desire of court and country. But by the same token, removing Cai Mo's faction from court was the limit of political struggle. If Yin Hao kept screaming for blood beyond that, he would only invite humiliation.

Rather than saying old Cai's final actions sprang from fear of implicating more distant friends and relatives, it would be more accurate to say that he knew he had nothing to fear and intended to dig in his heels to the bitter end.

Sure enough, as he read on, an odd rescuer appeared. Just as Yin Hao was preparing to kill Cai Mo, Xun Xian, who controlled the Northern Command army but had not yet formally taken command-and could even be considered the third-ranking figure in Sima Yu's governing group at this point-"happened" to arrive in Jiankang. He talked them out of it, saying that if they insisted on killing Lord Cai, morale in the Northern Command army would waver, and someone might well raise troops in rebellion to rescue him.

Yin Hao agreed, and Cai Mo was reduced to commoner status and went home to teach as before.

Leaving aside the fact that the original reason for demanding Cai Mo's head had been his refusal to take office and insistence on teaching at home, the real question was how Xun Xian's words had spread until everyone in Jingkou knew them, leaving the entire Northern Command army deeply grateful.

In short, this political farce announced that Yin Hao's faction, stumbling all the way, had finally purged the opposition from court.

Yet throughout the process, Yin Hao, who clearly held every advantage and possessed absolute prestige, the righteous cause, and the resources of the court, had put on a performance that left one at a loss for words.

After reading the letters, Liu Acheng even entertained a somewhat irresponsible guess. Could old Cai have grown tired of it himself, deliberately sharpened the conflict, and pulled his own forces back? After all, there is one very straightforward logic here: if Cai Mo truly believes the Northern Expedition is certain to fail, then withdrawing his friends and relatives from court now would serve his interests-and perhaps even the public interest-wouldn't it?

You're bound to fail anyway. Go ahead and make your mess. Once you've brought everything crashing down, we'll still have to clean up for the state. Meanwhile, I'll train a batch of future officials and wait for you.

Aside from that, Liu Jili had secured his position by steadfastly following Cai Mo throughout. After this ordeal, he had even firmly established his standing as the Personal Disciple... In his letter, Liu Jili actually suggested that Liu Acheng return to Jiankang and join him. Once the Northern Expedition ended in a few years, he would certainly be able to rise to prominence along with Lord Cai's disciples and followers.

Liu Acheng was genuinely tempted, because he had already noticed one enormous weakness in himself: he lacked an effective, systematic education in the classical culture of this age.

Studying with Cai Mo could effectively fill that gap.

The problem was that he had far too many gaps!

Here in Kuaiji, where seemingly everyone was a calligrapher, he could practice his handwriting-by now, if he wrote large enough, it looked quite respectable to his own eyes.

And he could now ride a little horse at a trot.

More importantly, staying in Kuaiji could rapidly improve the most fundamental measure of his survival in this era: acceptance by the gentry. If Wang Xizhi, Xie An, Xi Yin, and all the others truly acknowledged him, his status as a member of the gentry would be entirely secure, and so would his reputation as a distinguished gentleman.

Even historians in later ages would have to use that as grounds for concluding that he came from the lower gentry.

Who could wait while he shut himself away with Cai Mo to study for three or four years?

Compared with the excitement on Liu Jili's end, the news from Liu Rengong and Liu Huzi was much drier... There were only two matters. First, the court had genuinely begun providing relief, so Liu Acheng could rest easy. Second, after delivering the Tiger Hide, Liu Huzi had actually been enrolled in the military headquarters. He was not a proper officer, since he was still young, but he had been granted reserve status and allowed to draw government grain and basic equipment to recruit men and train them in Jingkou. Liu Acheng could rest easy about that as well.

That, at least, had been expected.

And so, after another two days with the Xi Family, with just two days left until New Year, Liu Acheng suddenly announced his departure to Xi Chao.

"What are you up to now?" Xi Chao was plainly wary. "Are you worried that Lu Song will panic and lose his footing again, so you're going off early to arrange things?"

"Jiabin, what sort of man do you take me for?" Liu Acheng was utterly speechless. "Isn't it almost New Year? I noticed long ago that although some in your family follow Buddhism and others follow Daoism, you have a rare harmony at home: loving fathers and filial sons, affectionate mothers and devoted children, kindly elder brothers and respectful younger brothers. Even your honored parents share a deep bond as husband and wife. At New Year, you're sure to enjoy the pleasures of family life. Wouldn't my staying here get in the way? Especially as you're growing older, Jiabin-you might leave to take office any day, and then even seeing your parents and brothers will be difficult. You should treasure this all the more. As it happens, an old family friend from the north, my uncle Gao Rou, courtesy name Gao Shiyuan, is also in Kuaiji. I hear he's somewhere around Qiuting in Shangyu. I'll spend New Year at his house and come back afterward."

At first, hearing phrases such as loving fathers and filial sons, Xi Chao could not help feeling embarrassed. By the end, however, his gaze had turned peculiar. He merely sighed. "I never knew Gao Shiyuan was an old friend of your family. Though he himself was the one who crossed south, he came early. Ten years ago, when my grandfather was still alive, he supposedly served as his military adviser... How about this? I'll prepare some gifts for you, and you can go!"

Though Liu Acheng found his later expression strange, he was naturally delighted at the prospect of more free gifts.

Very soon, when he set out that afternoon, Liu Acheng noticed what was wrong: the gifts were rather lavish, and there were far more of them than he had imagined.

They filled an entire boat.

Of course, any quantity of goods was nothing unusual for the Xi Family. The problem was that there was no need for so much... Liu Acheng was only a household guest, while Gao Rou, Gao Shiyuan, had served under Xi Jian after crossing south and was also a typical member of the lesser gentry. What called for all these things?

"Jiabin, isn't this a little too much?" Liu Acheng pointed at the boat behind him.

"Brother Acheng." For once, Xi Chao seemed to remember that the other man was a year or so older than him, and even took the initiative to salute with clasped hands. "I'm truly ashamed. You've been in our home only half a month, but we felt like old friends from our first meeting and have talked about everything, so I learned your background early on. Yet only today did I suddenly realize that although you recount your experiences lightly, you have weathered every frost and storm... As for me, I've always prided myself on being clever and understanding everything. Only in a moment of bewilderment today did I learn that without experiencing certain things myself, as you have, it is all merely what you described: 'viewing flowers through the mist, fishing the moon out of the water.'"

At this, he tipped his chin slightly toward the boat. "Just a few worldly goods, so you won't look destitute before your family friend and uncle and stir up painful feelings."

Liu Acheng finally understood what was going on.

Xi Chao had been too clever for his own good. Hearing Liu Acheng praise the Xi Family's harmony and urge him to spend more time with his parents, lest an official career make future meetings difficult, he had instinctively thought of the household guest saying those words-Liu Acheng himself... This fellow had come south alone, so surely his entire family had met with disaster. That must have been why he could only seek shelter with members of his clan upon arriving, why he had been too poor even to have clothes and had gone begging from Lu Song. Now, in Kuaiji, he was still thinking of a rare old family friend and insisted on visiting even for New Year. Surely the scene before him had stirred memories of loved ones: seeing the Xi Family had made him think of his own parents, and so he was fleeing it.

Hence this response.

At that thought, Liu Acheng could not help finding it amusing. But thinking again, he felt sincerely grateful. After all, the other man was genuinely putting himself in his shoes and caring for him. And when Liu Cheng's own thoughts turned to the gulf separating his two lives, he really did feel a little lost.

In the end, he did not seize the chance to play on the other man's sympathy. Instead, he solemnly returned the salute, patted his wrist, and boarded the boat with Liu Dage.

Watching from behind, Xi Chao saw that the other man's genuine feelings had surfaced, yet he could still forcibly suppress them, and naturally felt all the more moved.

From here to Qiuting, they simply followed the Cao'e River downstream to the north, without even needing to turn into Mirror Lake. It was only a night's journey... Aboard the boat, Liu Acheng made his arrangements early. He first questioned the accompanying Slave Retainers and learned that quite a few had families. Then he opened the gifts before everyone. There was no money inside, but there was plenty of cloth that could serve as currency, so he unpacked it and distributed it directly. Whether they were armed guards, boatmen, or ordinary field Slave Retainers carrying the goods, everyone received a share. He told them to return directly in the empty boat to celebrate New Year after delivering him the next day, and to come fetch him after the holiday, once their wives had made them new clothes.

He even remembered to give one steward two extra bolts of cloth, asking the man's wife to make Dage another new set of spring clothes.

Now, the Xi Family's household discipline was strict, and Liu Acheng was already friendly with Xi Chao, who actually managed the household, accompanying him wherever he went. These people could scarcely curry favor fast enough as it was. Now that they had received these gifts and could go home for New Year, the whole boatload of Slave Retainers was overjoyed, and naturally everyone showered him with flattery.

When they reached their destination the next day and drew alongside the landing, Liu Acheng was still asleep. The Xi Family's armed retainers, however, had already energetically volunteered to go find Gao Rou's Household. Who knew whether they had frightened ordinary people along the way and driven them to hide behind trees?

By the time he woke, members of Gao Rou's household had already arrived and were helping unload. Liu Acheng stumbled off the boat, only to feel thoroughly uneasy: among the crowd standing there, he could not tell which of the men in long robes and Futou headcloths was his uncle Gao Rou, Gao Shiyuan.

Had he come? Should he have come? Were these people merely here to watch, or to use the landing?

But if he really had come, should I cry a little when I see him?

... A scene break I do not recognize ...

Gao Rou, courtesy name Shiyuan, was originally from Bohai and later moved to Le'an. When Later Zhao plunged the north into chaos, the Gao families could find no peace. Rou went south alone to open a path for them. Clear and refined in talent and judgment, he practiced benevolence and righteousness with ease and soon became known in the south. He served as military adviser to Situ Xi and was also esteemed by Xie Shang, thereafter taking office as magistrate of Angu. Yet in the end, as a northern refugee who had come alone, he remained among the lowest ranks, scorned by the gentry of the day, and withdrew into seclusion at Qiuting in Kuaiji.

During the Yonghe era, great turmoil broke out among the Jie Hu. His younger cousin Gao Jian brought the entire clan south, and only through Gao Rou's unstinting support were they able to settle under the Northern Command. Later, Emperor Taizu also came south with Liu Rengong and relied entirely on Gao Jian's support. A year afterward, Emperor Taizu traveled through Kuaiji and stayed in Qiuting. Upon seeing him, Rou laid a hand on his shoulder and wept bitterly: "Now that Acheng has arrived, we shall at last no longer be slighted by those South of the Yangtze."

-Chronicle of Jiangzuo, Pei Songzhi of Qi.