"As expected of the strategist whom the little fat man values most."
"As expected of the Lord."
Inside the state prefecture of Pingyuan, Zhang Xin and Xun You exchanged a round of lighthearted flattery, caught each other's eyes, and burst into hearty laughter. The tactical consensus written on their slips of paper—Feigned Surrender—was the ultimate key to shattering Han Fu's layered traps.
Just as the laughter subsided, a personal guard stepped briskly into the hall.
"My Lord, Master Gong You has returned."
"Oh? Gong You is back?" Zhang Xin's eyes lit up, and he hurriedly waved his hand. "Quickly, invite him in."
"By your command." The guard turned and exited.
Despite his outward calm, Zhang Xin felt a sudden tightening in his chest. Sun Qian (Gong You) was the critical envoy he had dispatched to negotiate with Grand Governor Liu Yu in Youzhou. In the upcoming struggle for Jizhou, Liu Yu was the only wildcard who possessed the raw military weight to forcefully intervene and disrupt the campaign. It was no exaggeration to say that the outcome of Sun Qian's diplomatic mission would directly dictate whether the conquest of Ji Province would be a swift surgical strike or a grueling, bloody quagmire.
A moment later, Sun Qian walked through the doors, accompanied by another tall, imposing figure. Upon recognizing the guest, Zhang Xin's lingering anxiety vanished, replaced by a wide, genuine smile. He strode forward to greet them.
"Gong You, you have traveled far and worked tirelessly."
"Your servant pays his respects to the Governor," Sun Qian bowed deeply, his expression weary but filled with pride. "To receive the Emperor's bounty means to serve his realm. I dare not complain of hardship."
Zhang Xin warmly helped him up, offering words of comfort before turning his gaze to the man standing at Sun Qian's side.
"Xianyu Qing, what brings you all the way to Pingyuan?"
The visitor was none other than Xianyu Fu. Years ago, after being recommended as a man of Filial Piety and Integrity (Xiaolian), Xianyu Fu had remained unemployed in the capital due to a lack of vacant posts within the imperial bureaucracy. Recognizing his stellar reputation, Liu Yu had later recruited him as a senior official within the Youzhou prefecture.
During Zhang Xin's past campaign in Bingzhou, Emperor Ling (Liu Hong) had granted Zhang Xin supreme authority to oversee the military affairs of both Youzhou and Bingzhou. In preparation for his decisive showdown against the Southern Xiongnu, Zhang Xin had dispatched an official requisition to Liu Yu, requesting auxiliary troops. The commanders who had led those Youzhou reinforcing columns were Guan Yu and Xianyu Fu.
However, before the campaign could fully conclude, Emperor Ling had abruptly recalled Zhang Xin to Luoyang to command the Western Garden Army, causing the two men to miss their chance to meet in person.
"Lord! It has been far too long!" Xianyu Fu's voice trembled with visible emotion as he dropped to one knee, executing a grand military salute. "Xianyu Fu, your former Chief Clerk, pays his formal respects to the Lord!"
By using his old title from the Bingzhou days, Xianyu Fu was making a clear statement: he still viewed himself as Zhang Xin's loyal subordinate.
"Please, rise quickly." Zhang Xin lifted him by the arms, sighing with deep emotion. "Five years have flown by since we last crossed paths in Bingzhou during the Zhongping era. Time truly waits for no man."
"Indeed," Xianyu Fu agreed, standing tall with a look of profound admiration. "During these past five years, not a day has gone by where I haven't thought of the Lord. Your charisma remains as striking as ever, and your glorious name now shakes the four corners of the earth!"
Zhang Xin laughed, genuinely pleased. "When I was in Bingzhou, the late Emperor's sudden summons forced me to depart in haste, denying us a proper reunion. Even when I wed, your official border duties prevented you from traveling south. Now that Fate has brought us together again, we shall drink until we drop tonight!"
"I shall gladly obey the Lord's command," Xianyu Fu replied with a broad smile.
"Come, Xianyu Fu, you have arrived at the perfect moment. Let me introduce you to the core of our command." Zhang Xin led him to the sand table, introducing his generals and strategists one by one. Xianyu Fu exchanged warm greetings with those he already knew from past northern campaigns and bowed respectfully to the newer faces.
Once the pleasantries were concluded, Zhang Xin shifted his focus back to the primary issue. "Since Governor Liu Yu has dispatched his own trusted minister to accompany Gong You back, I presume my request has been granted? Youzhou will maintain strict neutrality and refrain from interfering in the affairs of Jizhou?"
Xianyu Fu was not only Zhang Xin's former Chief Clerk, but his very nomination as a Xiaolian official had been personally backed by Zhang Xin. Within the political landscape of Youzhou, he stood as the most steadfast, vocal supporter of the Pingyuan regime. If Liu Yu had intended to march south to aid Han Fu, he never would have chosen Xianyu Fu as his emissary.
"It is better than neutrality, Lord," Sun Qian interjected, a triumphant smile breaking across his face. "Governor Liu Yu has not only promised to completely ignore Han Fu's pleas for aid, but he has also agreed to dispatch a Youzhou column to actively assist our expedition! He sent Xianyu Fu here specifically to coordinate the logistics of a joint military operation."
"What?"
Zhang Xin froze, his brow furrowing in sheer disbelief as he demanded a full report. This development defied everything he knew about the Grand Governor. Given Liu Yu's rigid, pacifist nature, securing a promise of non-intervention was already a massive diplomatic victory. The idea that he would voluntarily send Youzhou soldiers to fight in an offensive war was borderline unthinkable.
To Liu Yu, every military campaign meant the deaths of common conscripts. Given his legendary, almost pathological compassion for human life, how could he willingly order his own men into the meatgrinder of Jizhou?
"To tell the truth, Lord, Governor Liu Yu's sudden change of heart was entirely due to the dying efforts of Master Wei," Xianyu Fu explained, his smile fading into a somber expression.
"Master Wei? Wei You?" A wave of warmth and nostalgia surged through Zhang Xin's chest. "How is the old master faring these days? If my memory serves me, the old gentleman must be well over seventy by now, correct?"
"Alas, his condition is exceedingly grave..." Xianyu Fu let out a long, heavy sigh, before detailing the harrowing events that had transpired in the north.
The Crumbled Mission
In truth, Sun Qian's initial diplomatic mission to Youzhou had been an absolute failure.
Just as Zhang Xin had anticipated, Han Fu had dispatched his own silver-tongued envoy, Zhang Jingming, to Liu Yu's court first. The Jizhou envoy had thrown himself at Liu Yu's feet, weeping bitterly, painting a horrific picture of an impending invasion and decrying how the innocent commoners of Jizhou would be slaughtered by Zhang Xin's ruthless vanguard.
Liu Yu's deeply compassionate heart had instantly flared with righteous indignation. He immediately ordered his scribes to draft a formal, authoritative decree to be sent to Pingyuan, commanding Zhang Xin to halt his mobilization under pain of imperial displeasure.
When Sun Qian finally secured an audience, no amount of sophisticated rhetoric could sway the Grand Governor. To every logical strategic argument Sun Qian put forward, Liu Yu offered the exact same stubborn, unyielding response:
"War is about to erupt, and the innocent will die. I will not permit it."
Recognizing the danger, a powerful coalition of Youzhou officials—including the Xianyu Fu and Xianyu Yin brothers, alongside senior court ministers like Cheng Xu and Wei Dun—had collectively petitioned Liu Yu. They argued fiercely that Yuan Shao and Han Fu were corrupt, treacherous usurpers, and that Zhang Xin's punitive campaign was a righteous endeavor aligned with the mandate of Heaven.
But Liu Yu, blinded by his singular desire for peace, grew furious at their insubordination. In a fit of rage, he had the entire group thrown out of his private chambers.
Sun Qian was barred from the court, his mission seemingly dead in the water. Yet, because of Liu Yu's innate nobility, he did not cast the envoy out into the streets; instead, he arranged comfortable quarters for him within the state prefecture. During those agonizing days, Sun Qian paced his room in such a state of panic that his hair nearly turned white overnight.
Realizing they had reached a total impasse, Xianyu Fu took a desperate gamble. Under the cover of darkness, he traveled secretly to the private estate of Wei You, laying the entire geopolitical crisis before the venerable elder. He knew that if there was a single man left in the entire northern realm whose counsel Liu Yu still revered, it was Wei You.
At this point in time, Wei You was over seventy years old, ravaged by a severe, incurable illness, and completely confined to his bed. Yet, the moment he heard that Liu Yu intended to shield the treacherous Yuan-Han alliance, the old statesman's eyes flared with his youthful fire.
"Construct a litter!" Wei You gasped, coughing violently as he gripped Xianyu Fu's arm. "Carry my bed directly to the Governor's palace tonight! I must see him before the sun rises!"
The Dying Counsel
When word reached Liu Yu in the dead of night that the bedridden Wei You had been carried to his gates through the freezing darkness, the Grand Governor was struck with shock and alarm. He rushed to the entrance, personally guiding the servants to place Wei You's litter down within the warm confines of his private bedroom.
"Master Zishan (Wei You's courtesy name), why have you come here in such a state in the middle of the night instead of resting your weary bones at home?"
"Ugh... ah..." Wei You groaned, struggling with immense effort to push his frail body upright.
Liu Yu quickly stepped forward, placing a soft silk pillow behind the old man's back to support him.
"Sigh... I am truly old and broken," Wei You wheezed, taking several shallow, ragged breaths before letting out a weak, self-deprecating chuckle. "A useless, dying old man."
"Birth, aging, sickness, and death are the immutable laws of the universe; who among us can escape the march of time?" Liu Yu pointed a comforting hand toward his own silver-streaked hair. "Look at me, Zishan. Am I not showing my age as well?"
"Indeed," Wei You murmured, his fading eyes filling with deep, nostalgic emotion. "I still remember the day I first met you, Governor. Your hair was as black as coal, and your step was light. In the blink of an eye, our youth has vanished, our heads have turned to frost, and I am standing on the precipice of the grave..."
"Master Zishan, why do you speak such bleak words tonight?" Liu Yu's brow furrowed, a sense of unease settling over him. "Please, tell me what weighs so heavily on your mind."
You didn't have your servants drag your dying body through the midnight chill just to remind me of our mortality, Liu Yu thought.
"I have heard the reports regarding the crisis in Ji Province," Wei You revealed, cutting straight to the heart of the matter. He fixed his piercing gaze onto the Grand Governor's eyes. "If you truly intend to lend your prestige and troops to shield those treacherous rebels, are you not simply courting your own destruction?"
Liu Yu's face instantly darkened, his tone turning defensive. "Did you drag yourself here merely to echo the complaints of Xianyu Fu and the others? Master Zishan, Zhang Xin has unilaterally ignited the flames of war, plunging the innocent populace of two massive provinces into bloodshed and misery! His actions are devoid of both benevolence and righteousness! The crimes of Yuan Shao and Han Fu are for the imperial court in Chang'an to judge. Zhang Xin is merely the Governor of Qing Province—by what legal or moral right does he launch an aggressive invasion into a neighboring domain?"
"Yuan Shao was merely the Prefect of Bohai. Han Fu was merely the Governor of Ji Province. Liu Dai was merely the Governor of Yanzhou..." Wei You countered, his weak voice suddenly gaining a sharp, ironic edge. "By what legal or moral right did they launch a bloody, unprovoked surprise invasion into the sovereign territory of Qingzhou last year?"
Liu Yu choked on his words, his mouth opening slightly, but no sound came out.
"The Governor claims that Zhang Xin is an unrighteous, power-hungry warlord, but is that the objective truth?" Wei You pressed further, refusing to grant him an opening. "How could a man devoid of righteousness and loyalty travel thousands of miles through hostile territory, risking his life to serve the Emperor and fight to the death against the tyrant Dong Zhuo? He successfully breached the passes and captured Chang'an itself!"
Wei You paused, taking a series of ragged, painful breaths before continuing. "If Yuan Shao, Han Fu, and their treacherous cabal hadn't betrayed the coalition, breaking their solemn oaths to launch a cowardly sneak attack on Zhang Xin's home province from the rear, the Emperor would have already been rescued, and the Han Dynasty would be restored! How can you blame the man for returning to punish the backstabbers who ruined the empire's salvation?"
Liu Yu sat in absolute, stunned silence, completely speechless.
"Yuan Shao and Han Fu are nothing less than thieves of the state," Wei You concluded, his voice ringing with absolute conviction. "Han Fu used the sacred guise of the 'Campaign Against Dong' to systematically extort the populace of Jizhou, levying catastrophic taxes and exhausting the lifeblood of the peasantry until the common folk were utterly overwhelmed with misery. Zhang Xin's impending assault on Ji Province is a righteous act of punishing the guilty and delivering the suffering populace from their abusers."
"Governor Liu Yu, I ask you plainly: Do you intend to go down in history as a man who sabotaged a loyal minister of the Han Dynasty to safeguard the domains of treacherous rebels?"
Liu Yu's face flushed a deep, embarrassed crimson. "But... but once the legions clash, regardless of who is right, it is always the common people who suffer the consequences of the slaughter..."
"A small, short-sighted heart is the ultimate thief of true, grand benevolence!" Wei You interrupted ruthlessly, his eyes flashing with fury. "Governor, look around you! If it weren't for Zhang Xin's past campaigns against the northern nomads, which struck such terror into their souls that they dare not lift a blade, how could Youzhou enjoy such unprecedented peace and tranquility today?"
"Think back to a few short years ago, before Zhang Xin arrived in the north! The nomadic raiders swept down from the steppes every single autumn, burning our villages, and the Wuhuan tribes were in a state of constant, bloody rebellion! What kind of agonizing lives did your precious people live back then?"
Liu Yu's expression became deeply conflicted, his hands clenching his robes as old memories of border massacres flashed through his mind.
Seeing the cracks in the Governor's resolve, Wei You delivered the final, fatal blow to his logic:
"Governor, use your political foresight. Even if you deploy the Youzhou legions and successfully help Yuan and Han repel Zhang Xin this time, what happens next? Do you truly believe those two men will content themselves with peace? They harbor wolfish, insatiable ambitions and have already established a de facto, independent separatist regime.
To the south of Ji Province lies Yanzhou, and to the southeast lies Qingzhou. Zhang Xin and Sun Jian are bound by an unbreakable bond of brotherhood. If those two titans join forces for a secondary campaign, Yuan Shao and Han Fu will be utterly obliterated. To the west of Jizhou lies the Black Mountain, stretching for thousands of miles, completely blocking their expansion.
If Yuan Shao and Han Fu wish to survive and expand their power base in the future, they will have only one direction left to turn: They will march north to annex Youzhou!"
Wei You leaned forward, his voice dropping to a harsh, rattling whisper. "When that day comes, Governor, will your short-sighted 'benevolence' tonight have saved the people of Jizhou, or will it have systematically condemned the innocent populace of your own Youzhou to fire and sword?"