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Among the basic skills of a politician, hypocrisy is an essential item—one that must be mastered to the point of absolute proficiency. Those who do not know how to disguise themselves, who cannot conceal their emotions, who are inept at bluffing and putting on a false front, will all eventually collapse utterly and become stepping stones for others.
Fei Qian looked at Ma Yan, who was commanding the vanguard up ahead.
Without a doubt, Ma Yan was an outstanding leader of troops, but he still seemed to fall somewhat short of being a true commander-in-chief. Or rather, one could say that Ma Yan was slightly deficient in that area which defined the traditional Chinese concept of a great commander: the realm of politics.
There were many matters buried deep within Fei Qian's heart, constantly circling and never settling, leaving him perpetually hesitant.
Take, for example, the matter of generals and commanders...
Since ancient times in the Central Plains, civil governance and military command have never been truly separated; they have always been fused into one. When political and military power are united in a single body, it easily breeds various kinds of autocrats, such as Dong Zhuo, or even, further down the line, Cao Cao—and of course, there were others as well...
Such a man enjoys absolute leadership and the ruling authority of the court. The advantages are glaringly obvious: government decrees are passed and implemented more conveniently, internal friction is reduced, external combat effectiveness is boosted, and the direction of the entire state can be centrally and efficiently driven forward. Yet, by the same token, such a man can just as easily steer the entire nation hurtling toward a bottomless abyss.
Fei Qian pondered these things as he moved with the main force. His warhorse beneath him needed virtually no command; it automatically kept its head slightly lowered and ran with the herd, requiring absolutely no worry from Fei Qian about controlling the distance to the front, back, left, or right.
This was the additional advantage brought by warhorses produced from large-scale, herd-based breeding programs in Bingzhou, the Hetao region, and other such places.
After long domestication by humans, whether a single horse is raised in isolation or in a herd makes little difference for an ordinary steed. But for a warhorse, those raised in a herd possess an innate superiority.
This is because horses raised in a herd have been accustomed since birth to the whinnying and neighing of other horses around them, the thunder of hooves, and all manner of clamorous noise. They are also adapted to the close physical proximity of other horses. Most importantly, when galloping across the grasslands, these herd-raised horses automatically, without needing any command, lower their heads slightly, fix their eyes firmly on the rump of the horse directly in front of them, and, under the lead of the alpha horse, charge headlong toward any destination...
Even toward a place of death.
Horses are naturally nearsighted. When moving at high speed, their sole point of reference is the backside of the horse ahead of them...
In contrast, those horses raised in isolation are accustomed to solitude, accustomed to viewing the world on their own. When placed in a formation, they are thus extremely ill-adapted. They are fearful and restless, unused to the various sounds, unused to having anything block their forward vision, and not even accustomed to the farts let loose by the horse in front of them!
Subsequently, they must endure a considerable period of scolding and lashing before they learn to confront the changed circumstances before them, before they can transform from a social horse into an army horse...
Indeed, these two types of horses bear a striking resemblance to certain situations and certain people, do they not?
The question, however, is this: how does one choose?
The Han Emperor, Liu Xie.
He was the greatest autocrat in the Han Empire, at least in name.
But even Fei Qian himself knew—and, indeed, included himself in this—how many people truly, thoroughly submitted to this autocrat?
This was the very system of the entire Han Dynasty. All politicians survived and fed parasitically within this structure, but everyone knew just how frighteningly fragile this currently operating Han system truly was.
The grand autocrat commanded the lesser autocrats, layer upon layer of hierarchy stretching from top to bottom. This became the structural model of the entire feudal society, and it continued uninterrupted for a very, very long time thereafter...
Ma Yan circled back from the front and inquired whether the entire force should be allowed to rest for a while.
Fei Qian looked up at the sky, then peered back towards the rear of the marching column, and nodded his head. When they had first set out, a few men on horseback had been tailing them, but as Fei Qian led his troops further and further north, those followers had grown fewer and fewer. By now, they had likely all withdrawn and turned back...
Ma Yan returned to the vanguard, issued his orders, and gradually slowed the pace. The entire formation then came to a halt.
Fei Qian swung down from his saddle and tossed his reins to a nearby personal guard. He walked straight over to a tree, sat down beneath it, and rubbed his thighs...
In a later life, the flesh on the inner sides of his thighs would have been soft. Now, it was covered with a layer of calluses. Fei Qian shook his head. Sometimes it seemed as though a few options were available, but in the end, there was often only one path left...
Ma Yan also came over, and without ceremony, dropped down to sit on the grass beneath the tree. He leaned his back against the trunk and stretched out his legs. After sitting in the saddle for so long, simply being able to straighten one's legs and relax them was a form of bliss.
"Chengyuan, I plan to turn eastward once we are a bit further ahead," Fei Qian said softly.
Ma Yan turned his head and replied, also in a quiet voice, "So soon? Very well... But what if the Xianbei truly do come south in force?"
"Then we proceed according to plan, following the old Qin Straight Road northwards..." Fei Qian removed his helmet, and as he spoke, he reached inside to adjust the inner lining. "...However, the two tigers battling for supremacy in Ji Province will draw the attention of most people, including even the Xianbei. So Kebineng will also have to guard against the possibility that the two tigers might suddenly turn around and devour him first... After all, no one likes having a wolf crouching right beside them when they are in the middle of a fight, right?"
If Kebineng crouched without moving, then Budugen naturally could not make any major moves either. Otherwise, Budugen might find his own home base raided by his own supposed allies before he even had to wait for Fei Qian to dispatch troops...
Thus, the likelihood of a large-scale Xianbei southern incursion was actually not high at all.
However, effective intelligence always rests in the hands of a very few. Much of the time, what is placed on the surface for all to see is invalid and meaningless information. Just as Fei Qian could no longer recall the exact reason why Yuan Shao and Gongsun Zan erupted into conflict—or perhaps...
There was never any real reason needed in the first place...
Yuan Shao seemed to have some sort of agreement with the Wuhuan people. By that logic, Gongsun Zan might also have had some pact with Kebineng. Or perhaps one had to factor in the Black Mountain Bandits as well?
And there was also that block of Qing Province, with the lingering, massive remnants of the Yellow Turban rebels who had once stirred up such earth-shattering turmoil... Or perhaps they could no longer even be called rebels. In Qing Province, several of the Yellow Turban leaders had originally been local gentry strongmen, and they were still that now. They had merely changed the signboard hanging over their gates, and conveniently no longer needed to pay taxes to the Han Dynasty...
Then Chang'an itself would also descend into chaos. The struggle there was simply over who would run at the front and who would be staring at whose backside.
When these heavy, tumultuous pieces of news mutually influenced one another, the ripples spreading across the water's surface would conceal Fei Qian's figure moving beneath.
"I will take eight hundred riders and leave... Have Xianliang wear my general's armor, raise my banner, and hold the seat at Pingyang... If anything happens, handle it according to our previously laid plans. If an unexpected incident occurs, the three of you—you, Jia Liangdao, and Huang Shuye—discuss and decide together!" Fei Qian looked at Ma Yan as he spoke.
Whether Ma Yan could evolve from a mere general into a true commander depended entirely on this single opportunity now before him. A general need only consider military matters thoroughly, but a commander-in-chief must conduct an overall balancing act and make political compromises. Whether Ma Yan could, during Fei Qian's absence, display political capabilities beyond the purely military would determine his future path.
Of course, this trial was not only for Ma Yan; it applied just as much to Jia Qu and Huang Cheng.
Leaving his center of power, delegating authority, and heading for Jing Province and Xiangyang—though this course of action carried some risk, it still had to be done. Fortunately, at this present stage, the various regional warlords were, for the most part, still watching and waiting. Many were simply biding their time, waiting for the two Yuans to decide a victor between themselves first.
Therefore, Fei Qian's departure from Bingzhou was, in a certain sense, still relatively safe. Yet a window of opportunity like this would only exist for this brief sliver of time. Further down the line, from Liang Province to Yong Province, from Ji Province to Yu Province, from Qing Province to Xu Province, and from Jing Province to Yang Province—once everyone had thoroughly ripped off all pretenses and the most vile and despicable tactics began to emerge one after another, the risk of making a move would skyrocket.