Better to Die as the Noble Rural Duke

Yang Zong looked at the youth before him in bewilderment.

Had he gone mad?

Had I provoked him too much?

Cao Mao released Yang Zong's collar and sat down beside him.

"There's something I need your help with."

Yang Zong said resentfully, "You would be better off asking those unwilling to drag out an ignoble existence."

"You're the only one who can help with this."

Yang Zong snorted. "Apart from the method I mentioned earlier, there is no other way."

"This isn't about me."

"I heard you and Sima Shi were at odds, and that Sima Shi wanted to kill you, but Sima Zhao saved you. Is that true?"

Yang Zong gave a disdainful laugh. "It is. Those brothers went to painstaking lengths to secure my loyalty. But what good does seeing through them do? None. None at all."

"Good. Once Sima Zhao rises to power, he will surely promote you."

Cao Mao said, "There's something I very much want to tell Sima Shi, but I know he would never believe it coming from me. That leaves you to tell him. Please remember: this is extremely important."

"These years of warfare have inflicted enormous losses on our land. The barbarians on all four borders are lying low, gathering strength. In places like Liangzhou and Liaodong, the Hu People have already grown into substantial forces. They are all waiting for their chance. Within fifty years, they will certainly raise armies and invade. When that happens, our land will be in peril!"

"When Sima Zhao entrusts you with important duties in the future, you must advise him to eliminate the barbarians around us in time and strengthen his control over them. He must be wary of these barbarians and never let down his guard. They are the greatest danger! He must launch campaigns and eliminate these foreign threats!"

"Also, you must persuade him never to revive the system of enfeoffment. Even if he grants fiefs, he must not give the feudal lords real power! Otherwise, rebellions among the princes will arise, just as they did in the early Han!"

"Lastly, you can also advise Sima Zhao that he had better not let Sima Yan inherit the throne. He's no good..."

Yang Zong was already staring, utterly dumbfounded.

He had been uncertain before, but now he was sure.

This man really had gone mad.

What nonsense was he spouting? Beware the Hu People? Those Hu People? Even when Great Wei was weaker than it was now, it could chase them down and beat them. Not long ago, Great Wei's expedition to Liaodong had sent the Hu People there scurrying like rats with their heads covered, driving the enemy back a thousand li.

Would they dare provoke Great Wei?

And what was all this about enfeoffment and Sima Yan? What did any of it have to do with anything?

Yang Zong asked doubtfully, "Are you planning to use the barbarians on the four borders to wear down the Sima Family's strength? Make them fight each other? Sima Shi won't fall for a trick like that..."

"And those barbarians are certainly no match for the Sima Family..."

Cao Mao laughed, the gloom on his face vanishing without a trace.

"I'm merely putting one final safeguard in place. If I die, at least I can still prevent a few things from happening."

"If I brought this up, Sima Shi would certainly react just as you have. But if you, as Sima Zhao's trusted confidant, submitted this advice to him, the result might be different."

"Though Sima Zhao falls short of his elder brother, he is quite willing to listen to counsel."

Yang Zong frowned. He could not understand any of this.

"What exactly are you going to do?"

"What I ought to do. I'm going to save the realm."

"You needn't try to dissuade me any further... I know this road leads to death. In fact, I know it even better than you do."

"Then why insist on charging down a road to death?"

"Because I am Cao Mao."

"Better to die as the Noble Rural Marquis than live as Emperor Xian of Han!"

Yang Zong was still dazed, but Cao Mao had already risen. He brushed the dust from his clothes and smiled.

He bent forward and bowed to Yang Zong.

"I'm entrusting those three matters to you. Please don't forget them, especially the matter of the Hu People. You absolutely must not forget that."

Yang Zong wanted to say something, but his entire body felt stiff, as though he had lost his voice. He could only watch Cao Mao walk away, unable to speak.

For a moment, emotions he could not put into words engulfed Yang Zong. He raised his wineskin again, tilted his head back, and drank in great gulps.

Wine spilled from the corners of his mouth, mingling with his tears and soaking his neck.

The residence was rather quiet. Guo Ze sat in his private study, reading peacefully.

His lips kept reciting the Book of Documents, but a thousand thoughts churned in his mind.

Everything unfolding around him was battering the pillars that sustained his spirit.

Only by reading aloud could he shore up his convictions and steel his heart.

Perhaps he would hold on like this for a few more years, until the emperor was murdered in the street. Then he, too, would collapse, completing his transformation from Guo Ze into Yang Zong, from Han into Jin.

But now, that process was clearly about to be interrupted.

"Lord Guo!"

Cao Mao burst into the study.

Guo Ze froze and looked up.

Something about Cao Mao had changed. His eyes shone brighter than before, and his whole bearing was like a keen-edged sword. He strode over and sat before Guo Ze.

Guo Ze put down his book and made to bow.

"Never mind the formalities. I've come today because I want you to resolve the doubts in my heart. There's something I wish to ask you."

Guo Ze murmured, "This past year, you've rarely come to seek my guidance..."

"What would you like to ask about this time? The Book of Documents? Or the Spring and Autumn Annals?"

"Neither."

"I wish to ask you how to slay the traitors to our state, uphold the realm, and bring peace to the people. Would you be willing to instruct me?"

At that moment, a shiver ran through Guo Ze.

It was as though something had spread from his heart throughout his body.

"Yes!"

Inside a great residence in Yuan City.

Three men sat in a study, with a mounted guard stationed at the door.

Wang Su occupied the seat of honor. He always seemed somewhat dull, slow to catch on and half a beat behind, giving the impression that he was not particularly clever.

Yet no one dared underestimate him.

This Lord Wang Su was not especially famous in history. On the contrary, his father, daughter, son-in-law, and grandson were all far more famous than he was.

His father was none other than the renowned Wang Lang, Minister Wang.

The historical Minister Wang had not been scolded to death by Chancellor Zhuge. He was a genuine eminent minister of Cao Wei, one of the Three Excellencies with real power, a great figure admired throughout the realm.

And Wang Su's daughter was named Wang Yuanji. Yes, the very woman who had married Sima Zhao.

As for his grandson, he was naturally the famous Goat-Carriage Son of Heaven, Sima Yan.

Displeased that Cao Shuang had repeatedly entrusted He Yan, Deng Yang, and others with important duties, he had openly insulted them. Cao Shuang therefore found an arbitrary pretext to dismiss him as Grand Minister of Ceremonies, and he was later appointed Court Steward instead.

After Sima Yi rose to power, he once again entered the inner circle of the Imperial Court.

He was a staunch member of the Sima faction. One grandson was Sima Zhao's eldest legitimate son, while another had been adopted as the legitimate son of the childless Sima Shi.

As for the two men seated beside him, Hua Biao needed little introduction.

His father, Hua Xin, had been a great figure whose fame equaled that of Wang Su's father, Wang Lang, and the two had been close.

The other minister, who had remained silent throughout, was named Zheng Mao and served as Privy Treasurer.

Zheng Mao was the son of the renowned scholar Zheng Tai. He had lost his father when young, but his intelligence had won him fame at an early age. Even Xun You could not help praising him.

He had first been raised by Hua Xin, who was exceedingly fond of him and treated him even better than he treated Hua Biao.

Later, Wang Lang had recommended him for office and placed great hopes in him.

Now, though still relatively young, he already held the office of Privy Treasurer.

Through their fathers' connections, the three men were extremely close, with Wang Su taking the lead. Because of Wang Su's ties to the Sima Family, all three counted as ministers of the Sima faction, differing only in how closely they were attached to it.

Hua Biao was the first to speak.

"What are we to do?"

"Should we wait for the Grand General's orders?"

Wang Su abruptly furrowed his brow. "Nonsense! We came here under the empress dowager's decree to receive the Son of Heaven. What does this have to do with the Grand General?"

Hua Biao lowered his head, not daring to utter a word, though resentment filled his heart.

Yes, yes, yes. You're above it all. You have absolutely nothing to do with the Grand General. I was the one who dispatched that rider racing to the Capital last night!

Wang Su fell silent for a while, then looked at Zheng Mao, who sat upright beside him.

"Lord Zheng, you have always been a fine judge of character. What do you think we should do?"

Wang Su was probably somewhat torn himself. This business of declining three times and yielding three times was not something the young Son of Heaven before them could afford to meddle with. The Grand General was not so good-natured that he would tolerate such presumption from a member of the imperial clan.

Yet if anything went wrong with this matter, he feared it would tarnish his own unsullied reputation.

Zheng Mao said solemnly, "When Shun sought to abdicate the throne to Yu, Yu refused because he was virtuous. Later, when the Han Emperor sought to abdicate to Emperor Wen of our Great Wei, Emperor Wen refused three times because he was virtuous."

"From what we can now see, His Majesty is a virtuous sovereign like Yao, Shun, and Yu. There is nothing improper about the empress dowager personally bestowing the Imperial Seal upon him."

"It is precisely because of His Majesty's virtue that we should persuade him to ascend the throne."

"How could we allow the realm to miss out on such a wise sovereign?"

Zheng Mao spoke at length, but Wang Su heard only a few words.

Yao and Shun. Abdication.

The empress dowager. Personally bestowing.

"Lord Zheng is quite right. Lord Hua, have everyone make preparations. Tomorrow, we shall ask His Majesty to take the throne again!"