The Sixth Year of Yonghe

Year Five of Yonghe had passed, and considering how arduous that year had been, Liu Acheng certainly did not look back on it with fondness.

Yet during these few days of the New Year, staying here at his paternal uncle Gao Rou's estate, that fellow truly felt quite at ease. It had been nearly half a year since his transmigration, and he had finally encountered a place that treated him like a proper guest. How could he not feel at ease? Besides, with so many gifts left sitting there, he could feel quite justified and at peace with his comfort.

On the very day they finished discussing serious matters, for the next few days they never brought it up again. He simply took Liu Dage to eat and drink his fill around the other man's estate, followed Gao Rou to the coast to look at the ocean, and strolled through the Cao'e Temple by the Cao'e River. Having heard that there was a temple fair after the spring plowing, he even had the Xi family's slave retainers who came to pick him up carry a letter back to Xi Chao. The massive sheet of writing paper bore a mere thirteen characters: This place brings joy; I do not think of Shu. I shall return on my own after the Cao'e Temple fair.

However, he was not in a hurry, but other people were.

Naturally, that person was not Xi Jiabin, but rather Xi Yin and Lu Song. Xi Yin had someone come ask Liu Acheng if he knew when Lu Song would be returning, and also requested this Young Retainer of their household to go to Qiantang to pick up the latter. Meanwhile, Lu Song, having bribed Master Du Ming's son and successfully obtained Master Du Ming's permission, hurriedly rushed back into Shanyin city to linger with other masters of the Daoist community there. Having somehow caught wind that Liu Acheng was actually here in Shangyu, he could no longer restrain himself and directly sent a letter asking when he should come.

These two kindred spirits were forced to dangle in suspense, truly a pair of star-crossed lovers.

Of course, Liu Acheng could only vent inwardly and continue to keep the two of them dangling, merely replying to each of them separately to tell them not to be impatient.

It was not until the seventh day of the first lunar month, when the Cao'e Temple fair began, that Lu Song truly could not endure it any longer and came straight to Qiuting to find Liu Acheng. Liu Acheng could certainly understand the other man, and it was hard to keep dragging things out. However, since he had told Xi Chao at the outset that this trip was not for meeting this northern Daoist priest, he naturally had to provide an explanation now. Thus, he first introduced Lu Song to Gao Rou, and then wrote a letter, having Dage personally deliver it to Xi Jiabin to explain the situation here and invite the young eldest son of the Xi family to come to Qiuting in person to discuss matters.

When young master Xi Chao arrived here with a furrowed brow, Liu Acheng made no attempt to conceal anything either. He gathered the individuals together in the main hall and formally laid out his entire plan.

Lu Song naturally had nothing to say. If this matter could be pulled off, he would be able to firmly establish a foothold in Kuaiji and cement his status before Xi Yin, though he was somewhat apprehensive and worried that he might not handle the affair well.

After all, it was one thing that he genuinely possessed the orthodox lineage of the northern Daoist school, and quite another that Liu Acheng had fabricated all sorts of northern Daoist rules for him.

Yet if you were to ask him whether he wanted to give up, that was naturally out of the question.

He was entirely unwilling to go back and serve as a Household Office clerk once more.

Besides, was there even a Household Office clerk position left for him if he went back now?

Xi Chao was the second person to understand this blueprint. Many things had been able to unfold precisely because of his tacit approval and promotion, but at this very moment, he could not help but echo Gao Rou and ask, what is it that you, Liu Acheng, want?

Liu Acheng did not hide it either, merely restating his ambitions once more. At this, Xi Chao had nothing left to say, and even grew somewhat eager to try.

To put it bluntly, when it came to stirring up trouble, Xi Jiabin was also... quite looking forward to it.

Especially things like assigning seats for the people here in Kuaiji, participating in and influencing the situation in the north-it all sounded tailor-made for him.

Then, turning around to listen to Liu Acheng's analysis, he discovered to his utter bewilderment-and subsequent fury-that he had learned of Cai Mo's predicament four or five days later than Liu Acheng. You must understand that it was not merely a matter of knowing about this four or five days later than his own study attendant; he still knew nothing of many details to this day, not even that the Northern Command army was about to rise in armed revolt to rescue Cai Mo.

Even if it were a rumor, shouldn't he have been among the first to know?

Yet he could only flare up with anger, then swallow it back down on his own, sitting upon the couch while listening to the two Northern Migrants, Lu and Liu, sit upon their rope beds and hash out all manner of discussions.

"I can pull together all the ritual paraphernalia," Lu Song said earnestly and urgently. "Over these past few days, I have thought it through meticulously. Master Du Ming and the Daoist community are willing to support this, so manpower is available. Since Lord Xi is willing to spend money, the materials naturally pose no problem either, and there is enough time. But there are still two most troublesome matters remaining, both related to your celestial music. For such a grand ritual, we cannot use just a single melody. Aside from 'Orchid Grass' (Orchid Grass), 'Praise to Heaven' (Only Mom Is Good in the World), and 'Ode to the Mighty Tiger' (Two Tigers) that you played before, it would be best to have another tune or two that match the Shangsi Festival."

"We have them, these are definitely available." Liu Acheng very readily picked up his bamboo flute and on the spot performed another tune: "Let Us Row Our Oars".

When the tune finished, let alone Lu Song, even the onlookers Gao Rou and Xi Chao were somewhat dumbfounded. Especially when Lu Song immediately summoned a female Daoist follower of the Way of the Celestial Masters who had tagged along, and had this person replay it, it left the austere main hall of Gao Rou's residence plunged into a momentary, pin-drop silence.

For this tune was simply too fitting.

"Fitting, right?" Liu Acheng naturally had to claim the credit. He had thought for a very long time before coming up with a tune that was both appropriate and simple enough for him to play directly on the spot. "This tune is named 'Shangsi Ode'. It is inherently a melody dedicated to the Shangsi Festival, telling of how young women, still following their teachers in learning manners during the spring days, boarded small boats to roam the waters of the Yi. When the time comes, you can simply claim that this was originally an old melody of the northern Shangsi Festival."

"Splendid!" Lu Song snapped out of his daze, greatly emboldened. "Splendid... Are there any others? If we could have one more piece praising the beauty of spring, it would be complete."

"We do." Liu Acheng had someone call the musical female Daoist back in to perform "Little Swallow" on the spot, and then spoke with absolute certainty. "This is 'Returning Swallows Ode', a tune about spring swallows returning to their nests, yearning for the vernal scenery of years past, and lingering with affection for their old homeland."

"Brother Acheng, you have already done your utmost, leaving only a single matter remaining-yet it is still related to music." Having listened to the female Daoist finish her repeat performance, Lu Song clearly suppressed his increasingly fervent emotions, first impatiently shooing her out before pointing at her retreating back as he spoke. "There truly is no tradition of instrumental performance within the southern Daoist school, and Daoist followers here who can play like this are exceptionally rare. Take this one, for instance-she was formerly a singing girl for the Yuan Family of Runan, and was cast out once she grew older... Otherwise, I couldn't even find a single person of her caliber."

"Indeed." Liu Acheng nodded, then looked toward Xi Chao, who was seated ostentatiously upon the couch.

Xi Chao furrowed his brows slightly: "How many people do you require?"

"I have already asked. Ideally, there should be twelve or thirteen people, each managing their own instruments-flutes, zithers, drums, and xiao..." Lu Song spoke earnestly.

"No, no, no. The more, the better," Liu Acheng directly interrupted the other man. "At best, we should reach the scale of eight rows of dancers in the courtyard, to the point of even making up the numbers like Nanguo. Twelve or thirteen people are far too few; twenty or thirty would naturally not be considered many, but if we could get eighty or a hundred, that wouldn't be excessive either... In truth, apart from the musical accompaniment, it would be best to have dancing as well, but that is truly beyond me."

As soon as these words left his mouth, the other three men present could not help but stare in blank dismay.

Clearly, the entire small clique engaged in this scheme felt that this fellow was being far too radical. Xi Chao and Gao Rou had seen plenty of the world, while Lu Song had transitioned from an orthodox northern Daoist school to the southern one, yet all of them found it preposterous.

Xi Chao was the first to shake his head: "My household will pour its full strength into this. Summoning people from Linhai, Jingkou, and Jiankang, a musical troupe of twenty or thirty people can still be cobbled together, but anything beyond that is genuinely difficult."

"Twenty or thirty people is the absolute limit," Gao Rou chimed in as well. "My worthy nephew might not know, but Xie Renzu (Xie Shang) is famed for his extravagant lifestyle, and Green Pearl's pupil Song Yi has remained at his estate all this while. Yet even so, the musical troupe of the Xie residence numbers at most a dozen or so people. If the second-rank aristocratic clans pool together those who understand music, it will come to just as Jiabin said-twenty or thirty people at the absolute extreme."

"Aren't twenty or thirty people already enough?" Lu Song also exerted himself to persuade them. "I never even imagined twenty or thirty people playing together; twelve or thirty would actually suffice."

"I never said it strictly had to be that many; twenty or thirty people will do. But what about the dancers? Can we scrape together a few more?" Liu Acheng explained earnestly. "I truly am not intentionally troubling everyone, but rather, when it comes to a ritual ceremony, the grander it is, the more breathtaking its impact. Take music alone: the music performed by a single person, a few people, a dozen people, scores of people, or hundreds of people-even if it is the exact same piece-yields utterly distinct effects. Especially since what we are staging is a Daoist ritual, which demands a sense of the divine and the sacred. Yet even the simplest music, when played by a hundred people in unison, will shock listeners and cause them to lose their composure. If we can instantly overawe all the eminent scholars of Kuaiji, leaving aside the fact that Brother Song's status in Kuaiji will become unshakeable, the crucial point is that in the subsequent arrangements of the ritual, those scholars will not dare to easily quibble or find fault, allowing us to do precisely as we please."

"That is certainly one way to look at it." Xi Chao nodded in approval. "This is what they call seizing the initiative to overawe the opponent. But unless it is within the imperial palace, where on earth are we to find a musical troupe of a hundred people? Borrowing from other clans might be feasible in theory, but first, since you harbor ulterior motives, it is best to keep it strictly confidential. To put it simply, if this blows up into a massive uproar, whether Wang Lantian wishes to usurp this leadership position or those individuals within the Way of the Celestial Masters grow green with envy, it will spell trouble. Second, the more people there are-especially with such a motley mixture of backgrounds-the harder it will be to seamlessly rehearse them into alignment within two short months. This sort of thing is by no means simpler than drilling troops."

"Jiabin speaks correctly. That is indeed the truth of the matter." Liu Acheng was instantly persuaded. "We must not bite off more than we can chew. Regulations and formats can gradually be built up later; the primary objective is to pull this matter off successfully... Twenty or thirty people at most would be ideal, and if not, a dozen or so will do. There is completely no need to summon people from Jingkou and Linhai. The third day of the third month seems quite distant, but in reality, there are less than two months remaining."

"Then we won't gather so many people." Lu Song heaved a sigh of relief. "Sorry to trouble... sorry to trouble Brother Jiabin to assemble the musical troupe of your clan. I will do my utmost to gather a few more people from among the Daoist followers, and we shall hurriedly converge upon Shan County to practice behind closed doors."

Xi Jiabin watched the other man speak in such a manner with considerable relish, merely smiling: "Easily done, easily done. In the future, I will still have to trouble Master Lu."

"Actually," right at this moment, Gao Rou, who had remained silent for a long time, suddenly spoke up. "I know of a certain family whose musical troupe numbers a full hundred people, and they practice together on a regular basis. What is even more marvelous is that these people are located quite close by. If we could borrow them, nothing would be delayed."

The other three turned to look at him in collective astonishment.

Gao Rou did not drag out the suspense, directly unraveling the riddle: "Back when the Shen Clan of Wuxing was at the height of its power, that fellow Shen Chong had an extreme fondness for song and dance. Just as he established a copper foundry in Longxi and cast a vast quantity of Shenlang Coins that circulate to this day, he also specifically established a Qianxi Music Troupe right here in Qianxi—not far from this very location—making the entire village learn song and dance for visual and auditory entertainment, and even composed the 'Qianxi Song' himself. Later on, he met his death, but the singing and dancing of Qianxi have never ceased to this day. Even ordinary folk of Jiangnan who can no longer make a living and wish to have their daughters become singing girls specifically send them there to study. Hence why I say that if we can borrow the Qianxi Music Troupe, this matter will be effortlessly resolved."

The crowd was startled, but Xi Chao immediately furrowed his brow: "The Shen family belongs to the Punished Family. It's not that we cannot borrow them; moreover, as long as we borrow them in the name of my grandfather, eight or nine times out of ten it will succeed. But first, the rights and wrongs of the Wang Dun Rebellion are as clear as day and night, yet my grandfather was a meritorious official who resisted Wang Dun and annihilated the Shen Clan back then. Over several decades of traveling through Wuxing, we have never once gone to establish ties with this household. How could we go and associate with them now simply for the sake of a musical troupe? Second, I have heard that Shen Jin has constantly been striving to break away from the Punished Family. If he manages to attach himself to us over such a minor matter and stirs up all sorts of gossip, what kind of outcome would that be?"

"Jiabin speaks correctly." Gao Rou immediately restrained his expression and replied. "I was solely focused on thinking of a nearby musical troupe and completely forgot about this. We must never ruin a major goal for a minor gain."

"Indeed." Liu Acheng also nodded immediately. "We must never traffic with the Shen family in the Xi family's name. Letting people know about it spells nothing but trouble."

Are you kidding me? Striking down the Shen Clan was originally a part of Xi Jian's meritorious achievements and one of the political foundations of the Xi family's current status... Even if so much time had passed that this matter was now utterly negligible to the present Xi family, the problem was: why on earth should a noble lineage like the Gaoping Xis lower themselves to give face to a punished household like the Shen family for no reason?

Are mere singing girls who can play music worth sacrificing even a ten-thousandth of the Xi family's slender reputation?

"Then we shall disregard it." Lu Song swept his gaze across the group and immediately chimed in to state his stance. "We had best continue striving with our own household's resources. When-when should I depart for Shan County?"

"Wait until the Cao'e Temple fair concludes," Liu Acheng offered his suggestion. "You can first participate in the rituals of the Cao'e Temple. Elder Uncle Gao is somewhat acquainted with the local shamans of the Cao'e Temple. As long as we don't take their money and refuse to help for free, these people are naturally easy to talk to. You can treat it as experiencing and practicing the rituals here in the south... Do not rush off to Shan County just yet."

Xi Jiabin and Gao Rou both nodded slightly.

Seeing this, Lu Song had no choice but to nod along.

Such temple fairs were all tied to the spring plowing, basically entailing multiple rounds of sacrifices, prayers, and trade from after the New Year until the spring plowing. It was estimated that once the fuss here was finished and they finished preparing their costumes and gear, arriving over there would coincide with the period following the Lantern Festival after the imperial court sessions resumed. Yet considering that the musical troupe had to be prepared there as well, going too early truly would not serve much purpose. As for the scholars contacting one another, that was something best done only after the spring plowing.

Seeing that the matters had been properly settled, the four of them divided their tasks. Lu Song remained at Gao Rou's place to gather personnel and conduct rehearsals, while Liu Acheng gave up the Cao'e Temple fair and returned with Xi Chao to prepare the musical troupe... primarily because young master Xi Chao, although he agreed with and actually presided over and promoted this endeavor, could not possibly manage such specific trivialities himself.

With that, the four parted ways. Putting aside how the two Gao and Lu went about their business, let us speak solely of Xi and Liu boarding a boat together, sitting at the bow and watching the vessel slowly journey upstream against the current.

Before they had traveled even a few miles-not even reaching Shangyu yet-Liu Acheng suddenly withdrew his gaze from the scenery beside them, turned to look at the person seated at his side, and spoke: "Jiabin, I have two questions for you."

Xi Chao felt a shock in his chest and summoned up twelve-tenths of his spirit, though his expression remained as calm as ever: "Speak freely, Acheng."

"If I were to seek out Shen Jin directly and tell him that the Xi family desires his household's Qianxi Music Troupe, yet remains unwilling to have a shred of overt entanglement with your family, wishing instead to utilize them solely in the name of the Way of the Celestial Masters—and if Shen Jin agrees—do you reckon we could make use of the Qianxi Music Troupe?" Liu Acheng asked earnestly.

Xi Chao did not answer directly, instead asking with astonishment: "You yet again know what kind of person Shen Jin is. Will he agree?"

"Based on my understanding of this man, he should agree," Liu Acheng gave a frank assessment. "This person is extremely pragmatic."

Xi Chao felt increasingly eccentric: "How on earth do you know Shen Jin?"

There was naturally nothing to conceal about this matter, so Liu Acheng recounted what had transpired along the road when they arrived.

After listening earnestly, Xi Chao was clearly shaken within: "If it is like this, it is actually not unfeasible. How many years have passed? Yet the two houses are fundamentally as distinct as the Jing and Wei divide, with mountains standing tall and rivers flowing separately. Is there truly any need?"

Liu Acheng nodded and continued his questioning: "Indeed there is no need. Then let me ask you my second question... You already know about the affairs in Jiankang. When do you reckon Xun Xian will officially be appointed General of the Northern Army, concurrently serving as Inspector of Xu and Yan Provinces, and taking full command of the Northern Command army?"

Xi Jiabin was stunned for a moment, then sat at the bow of the boat, crossed his arms over his chest, and scrutinized the peer seated before him as he slowly asked: "Acheng, what do you mean by this?"

"My meaning is that the northern situation is changing with each passing day, and your honored father has no heart for the north. Thus, the court's appointments should be issued shortly, with Xun Xian taking full command of the Northern Command army, at most employing your uncle-who is still serving at court-as his military bureau secretary, just as Xun Xian was previously employed as the long history to Grand Commander Chu Pou," Liu Acheng stated earnestly. "And given Xun Xian's age and temperament, he will surely strive to the utmost to establish meritorious achievements. If he fails, so be it; but if he accomplishes even a fraction, then given his age, background, and seniority, for the next ten, twenty, or thirty years-provided he does not stumble himself-the Northern Command army will belong to him, Xun Xian. But as for your future, Jiabin, have you ever given it thought?"

"Acheng, I understand every word of what you are saying." Unexpectedly, Xi Chao did not display any obvious emotional fluctuations; he merely furrowed his brow. It was not that he did not care about the issue the other man raised-quite the contrary, he cared about this matter far too intensely, to the point that he had repeatedly pondered this question concerning his own future destiny and already had his own well-calculated plans in mind. "I merely wish to ask you: in discussing such a matter with me, are you actually doing it just to haggle over a musical troupe?"

"Of course not." Liu Acheng smiled as he rested his hand against the gunwale of the boat. "However, I must first concede that the musical troupe is of great importance to me. Because although the two of us are of the same age and sit in the same boat, our statuses are vastly different. Matters that you dismiss as beneath your notice are, for me, obstacles I am forced to clear. Therefore, I truly wish to secure the Qianxi Music Troupe, and listing my name on that letter is, to me, the most crucial matter of the present moment... But since we are speaking of the north, and even bringing up the Northern Command army, the Inspector of Xu and Yan Provinces, and the grand strategy of the Northern Expedition to bargain with you, it would be utterly laughable if I myself cared for nothing more than a musical troupe."

Xi Chao remained completely silent, waiting for the other man to continue.

"Jiabin," Liu Cheng spoke with solemnity. "For someone of my background, seeking to establish meritorious achievements, one cannot hope to be like Xun Lingze or like you, Xi Jiabin, who can take holding command of the Northern Command army as a matter of course. People like you, once you reach a certain level, simply wait for opportunities and then rely on your capability to see whether you can seize that opportunity... Seize it, and you become Wang Chilong or General Huan; fail to seize it, and you naturally turn into Chu Pou."

"Yet you still cannot place your hopes on the Shen family." Halfway through listening, Xi Chao grasped the other's intent and directly refuted it. "Once I become commander of the northern army, I will naturally summon and appoint you as my secretary or long history... Furthermore, you have your clan brothers from the Liu Clan of Pengcheng. When the time comes, you can recruit several commanderies of troops into your ranks, making both name and reality match. But if you pin your hopes on following the Shen family, when and where will you ever achieve success?"

"Jiabin speaks to me with absolute sincerity." Liu Acheng met his gaze openly. "I am naturally delighted by this. Yet I, Liu Acheng, having journeyed from north to south and experienced so much, have come to understand one principle: if one pins all hopes on others, nothing can ever be accomplished... This has nothing to do with whether you hold me in high regard or trust me, but rather that even you, Xi Jiabin, must bide your time watching Xun Xian's current state of affairs, having no inkling of when you will be able to reclaim the Northern Command army, am I right?"

Xi Chao lowered his arms, opened his mouth as if to speak, and ultimately remained silent.

"As for the Shen family, the beauty of it lies in the fact that they are a Punished Family. Aside from Wang Huzhi, no one pays them any mind, yet Wang Huzhi happens to be paralyzed," Liu Acheng continued with unwavering earnestness. "And compared to the second-rank aristocratic clans, they are willing to grant me that extra shred of regard. Moreover, Jiabin, have you ever considered what you will do if, one day, you fail to reclaim the Northern Command army, yet are unwilling to waste your years and need to start anew from somewhere else to forge achievements? When that time arrives, are the half-commandery's worth of wealth and able-bodied men belonging to the Shen family truly unworthy of today's modest slice of face?"

"Do you reckon you can hold the Shen family together for my sake?" Xi Chao furrowed his brow slightly.

"I have no idea," Liu Acheng shook his head in response. "Who dares to make a guarantee on such a matter... For all we know, tomorrow Wang Huzhi might recover from his illness, and Shen Jin himself might launch a Northern Expedition directly. I am merely saying that if we weigh our options from the perspective of your Gaoping Xis' future, the future utility of the Shen family surpasses this bit of surface pride. As for myself, I indeed harbor selfish motives-I wish to leverage utilitarian ties between you, Xi Jiabin, and Shen Jin, thereby using it as a stepping stone for my own upward struggle."

This speech was spoken with such candor that even someone as clever as Xi Chao could not refute it. Yet just as Liu Acheng had stated, Xi Jiabin's status was right there, meaning certain matters were merely options to him; thus, rather than making a resolute decision, he instead fell into a silent reverie, gazing blankly at the lush spring grass sprouting along the riverbank. Liu Acheng naturally had no intention of forcing the other man to make a decision, nor did he say anything further. For a time, nothing could be heard except the splashing of the oars cutting through the flowing water, drowning out the breathing of the two men and the boatmen.

-------I am the selfish dividing line-------

Upon arriving in Kuaiji, the Xi family's estates were overflowing with opulence, and Emperor Taizu served them as a guest. Xi Linhai's son, Chao, was of an age similar to Emperor Taizu, and they were close friends from the start; the provisions and supplies provided were exceedingly lavish. Emperor Taizu, distressed by his northern origins, finally found a measure of ease upon reaching this place, and consequently took little pleasure in reading books or practicing calligraphy, developing instead a moderate fondness for fine horses, music, and dance.

-- "Old Book of Qi", Volume 1, Annals of Emperor Gao, the Great Ancestor, Part 1