Jinting Han people

Chapter 208 Goodbye Lu Ji (4k)

After four years, Lu Ji seemed to be the same person again. He wore a simple and elegant Confucian robe with wide sleeves and bird patterns, a long sword at his waist, and a small crown on his head. His appearance was spotlessly clean, even his beard was neatly trimmed. With his fair skin and noble temperament, he looked less like a Confucian scholar and more like a graceful and elegant young man, like Qu Yuan, who could travel to the celestial palace, making others feel inferior.

As soon as Liu Xian saw him, he recalled many happy memories, such as discussing the Jiangshan during an outing in Longmen Mountain, or drinking wine and discussing swordsmanship in a hunting cave. Chen Shou's teachings and the hustle and bustle of the East Market seemed to emerge in his mind.

Time flies by so fast! Liu Xian has been having a hard time recalling these events lately, but when he saw Lu Ji, those distant memories suddenly came alive again. His past self and his present self were once again in the same space and time, as if nothing had changed. Although, in reality, many things had changed.

But the joy of this long-awaited reunion could not be concealed. When Liu Xian saw Lu Ji, both of them were very excited. They seemed to have a lot to say, but they didn't know where to start. So they excitedly held hands and pulled each other into the house. Outside, a spring breeze blew through the courtyard, and the branches that had just sprouted new buds rustled.

Liu Xian first prepared a bowl of tea for Lu Ji. This was tea that merchants from Lingnan were selling in Guanzhong. When passing through Xiayang, Liu Xian bought eight taels of it. He usually wouldn't drink it, but when Lu Ji arrived, he immediately served it to him. Before the teapot began to bubble, Liu Xian asked with a smile:
"Where did this wind come from, blowing Lu Wenhai all the way to my poor village?"

Lu Ji smiled back and said, "Huai Chong, how can you call your place a poor and destitute place? I came from Luoyang and saw along the way that, apart from Chang'an and Bacheng, your place is the most prosperous!"

He glanced at Liu Xian's residence and sighed, "I've heard all about your experiences in Luoyang. When you were banished here, everyone said that someone as arrogant as you, in this poor and remote place, coupled with the suppression from above, might end up like Kong Beihai, never to recover. But unexpectedly, we all lost."

Lu Ji said that he lost, but the expression on his face showed that he was genuinely happy for Liu Xian. At this time, the tea was boiling. Liu Xian poured a bowl for Lu Ji and another bowl for himself. The two of them clinked their cups together and then drank it all in one gulp.

Lu Ji continued, "Huai Chong, the court has concluded its reward process for the Hedong campaign. I came to Guanzhong as an envoy to Chang'an to deliver the imperial decree, and I came to see you on the way."

Oh, so that's how it is! Lu Ji seemed to have previously served as a writer, and had the task of delivering imperial decrees. Liu Xian immediately asked curiously, "How did the court calculate the outcome of this rebellion?"

He himself had long given up hope of receiving fair treatment from the court, but this time the war had turned out to be such a mess because of the court's arbitrary interference and the replacement of generals at the last minute. Liu Xian really wanted to know how Jia Mi and Zhang Hua could celebrate their funeral.

But Lu Ji still seemed to feel that he was still too optimistic. He sighed sympathetically and said, "The court is still involved in the lawsuit! Jie Xi submitted his impeachment, and Sun Xiu followed suit with a confession. Neither side can agree on a single case, so Sun Xiu's reward or punishment has yet to be decided. I'm here to read out the rest of the article."

The rest of the story was quite simple: Zhang Guang was promoted to Beidi Commandant, Li Ju was granted the title of Guannei Marquis, Beigong Chun was granted the title of Guannei Marquis, Li Han suffered two defeats in battle and was demoted to Shiping Magistrate, Fengyi Commandant Bai Yun suffered defeat in battle and was demoted to Chiyang Magistrate...

As expected, Liu Xian wasn't mentioned in the story, but the content still left him feeling deeply moved: Back when they overthrew Yang in the capital, there hadn't been any major battles; the fiercest engagement had only involved a few thousand men. Yet, the rewards afterward were so lavish that Liu Xian still vividly remembered them: seven or eight men were given the title of Duke, and countless others were given the titles of County Marquis and Township Marquis. He hadn't expected that after this massive battle involving tens of thousands of people, the highest reward would be a mere Marquis of Guannei, with not a single person worthy of the fifth rank.

Liu Xian couldn't help but ask Lu Ji, "Isn't the imperial reward a little too little? Can it really earn the soldiers' unwavering support?"

Lu Ji smiled bitterly and said, "Huai Chong, this is the result many people have worked hard for. After all, this battle was truly ugly, with over 5,000 soldiers killed in one battle. Just dealing with the aftermath and providing compensation is a headache for everyone."

That was indeed a reason. In this battle, Liu Xian's own six hundred county soldiers alone lost nearly two hundred men. If the imperial court could truly shoulder the burden of compensation, Liu Xian wouldn't have much to complain about. However, the fact that the value of one life varied from person to person still left Liu Xian feeling sad.

But during the conversation, Liu Xian suddenly remembered something and said to Lu Ji, "But if this happens, you will be looked down upon a lot in Chang'an, right?"

Most of the people serving in the army are rough men, and all they desire is promotion and wealth. Lu Ji brought about such a result, and he must have been blamed a lot.

Lu Ji waved his hand and sighed, "I can't fight in the battlefield to protect the country and the people, so what does it matter if I get looked down upon?"

Having said this, he paused and said to Liu Xian, "Speaking of which, Huai Chong, I envy you so much for being able to participate in such a great battle and realize your ambitions! Are you interested in telling me what happened?"

Upon hearing this, Liu Xian immediately remembered their conversations in Luoyang. Feeling a little itchy, he immediately said with a smile, "Great! Shi Heng! I also have a lot of things I want to ask you!"

"Old rules?"

"Old rules!"

The old rules the two men talked about were formed when they were chatting and discussing everything in Luoyang. When the two men had decided how many hours they would debate, they would first play a game of chess. Based on the outcome, the loser would go to the tavern to treat the other party to a private room, and then the two would have a long conversation in the room until they had finished the two pots of wine.

Back in Luoyang, their chess skills were roughly equal, with Lu Ji slightly outperforming Liu Xian. However, during his time in Xiayang, Liu Xian had rarely played and had forgotten many of his chess records. Now, when they compared, their skills were like heaven and earth. Liu Xian couldn't last more than sixty rounds against Lu Ji before the situation collapsed. Liu Xian was also very decisive and simply resigned.

"Shi Heng, when it comes to playing chess, I am far inferior to you now!" Liu Xian had expected to lose the game, but he didn't take it to heart. After all, he was the host, and logically, he should take the initiative to treat Lu Ji to a meal and welcome him.

Lu Ji was packing up his chess pieces and said to Liu Xian, "It's just that you've neglected practice. What a pity! If Huai Chong and you return to Luoyang now, I'm afraid I'll eat you three times a day."

The two chatted and laughed, but for a moment, perhaps it was Liu Xian's illusion, he felt that Lu Ji was a little depressed and seemed unhappy. But this emotion was gone in a flash, and Liu Xian could no longer catch it, so he just thought it was his own misunderstanding.

After Liu Xian and Lu Zhu exchanged a few words, they led Lu Ji to the market in Xiayang City. They found a rather elegant tavern with partitions and ordered two pots of rice wine, a plate of goose meat, and a plate of cabbage and tofu. They sat on the steps, eating and drinking while discussing their experiences of the battle. Speaking of the two battles in Hedong, Liu Xian's greatest impression was the obvious influence a good commander had on the outcome of a battle.

He had personally visited Fenyin to scout the enemy situation and found the Xiongnu in the rear to be a truly disorganized mass. Not only were they undisciplined, they also lacked tactical skills and were incapable of even basic flag and drum communication. Furthermore, their march from Shangdang to Hedong was like a swarm of locusts, accomplishing nothing more than stoking conflict between the Hu and Han peoples of Hedong and causing famine.

In contrast, the Jin army far surpassed the Xiongnu in terms of individual bravery, the quality of their armor and weapons, their collective deployment, and the military prowess of their mid-level officers. Although outnumbered, they had no worries about food and fodder, and should have easily won. Instead, they suffered one crushing defeat and one tragic victory. How unbelievable!
In fact, if you think about it carefully, the reason why the fight turned out like this is nothing more than the difference in quality between Hao San and Sun Xiu.

Therefore, he concluded to Lu Ji: "A good commander must first be able to gain the support of his subordinates. If he cannot win the support of the people, the internal strength that should be there will not be brought into play, and the strategic intentions will not be implemented."

"Hao San was able to defeat the strong with the weak because he treated his soldiers like his own sons, prioritizing the interests of the public over his own. In times of crisis, he bravely led his troops, fearlessly attacking and challenging the most difficult situations. Therefore, the Xiongnu people respected him, and he was able to unleash all their potential, turning around several near-collapses."

"Sun Xiu has no reputation within the army, and he's incapable of accepting advice or standing firm with the army. He's preoccupied with his own gains and losses. As a result, the entire army is preoccupied with their own gains and losses, even engaging in intrigue. Our once formidable force has become eroded internally. If luck hadn't been on our side, we would have been completely defeated."

"So the lesson I learned from this battle is that we must maintain military morale at all costs, ensuring unity between the ranks and the three armies. Otherwise, I'm afraid every battle will be a complete failure."

These words came from the heart, and were the valuable experience Liu Xian gained in the bloody battle. In his dreams, he often remembered the wave of movement mobilized by Hao San at the last moment of risking his life, which made his heart surge.

He thought Lu Ji would agree with him, but after listening to the whole thing, Lu Ji had a different opinion:

"I believe there are some disagreements within the army; this is inevitable, and there's no need to be overly critical. People are selfish, and even a few friends who share life and death are rare. How can you expect the entire army to truly be united with you? In my opinion, there was certainly a gap between the two commanders, especially during the Battle of Jishan. But during the Battle of Fenyin, according to Huai Chong, Sun Xiu had already relinquished power, so why was he attacked at night?"

Liu Xian wanted to retort that it was Sun Xiu who had caused the army's morale to decline and the guards to slack off, but Lu Ji stopped him with one sentence: "In my opinion, you underestimated the enemy!"

"As the saying goes, a lion will fight a rabbit with all its might. But the generals underestimated the enemy simply because they were a motley crowd. According to Huai Chong, Beigong Chun and his men planned to give Sun Xiu a hard time before the battle, hoping to force him to surrender power by fighting for two days. Isn't this underestimating the enemy?"

"Sun Tzu said, 'Warfare is a matter of great importance to a state; it is a matter of life and death, a matter of survival and destruction; it must be carefully considered.' Taigong Wang also said, 'Do not underestimate the enemy because of the sheer number of troops; do not regard receiving an order as a grave duty and expecting death; do not despise others because of your own nobility; do not go against the majority because of your own opinion; and do not assume that arguments are inevitable.'"

"In this battle, the enemy was a desperate foe, trapped in a trap. No matter what, they would have fought to the death. Yet, not only did you not take it seriously, but despite being outnumbered, you boasted that you were a skilled soldier and general, and that victory was inevitable. You committed at least three of the five mistakes Taigong Wang mentioned."

"Sun Xiu certainly has his problems, but as Huai Chong said, didn't the other generals also not take the possibility of defeat seriously? On the battlefield, anything can happen. By harboring such thoughts, you have sown the seeds of failure for the outcome of the Battle of Jishan."

"The same goes for the Battle of Fenyin. There were certainly issues here, but if the enemy wasn't the Xiongnu led by Hao San, but the Xianbei led by Tufa Shujineng, would you still allow them to launch a night attack?"

"That's absolutely impossible. The reason the night attack was successful this time was simply because the generals presumed that the Xiongnu were a motley crowd, and their generals were incompetent, so they wouldn't resort to such a tactic."

"When my father was alive, he taught me the first rule of war: never underestimate your opponent. Use your strength to the greatest extent possible to avoid war. If war becomes unavoidable, approach it with the utmost vigilance, only engaging when you are 80% confident of victory."

Liu Xian didn't care at first, but as Lu Ji continued to talk, he felt like he was struck by lightning. Thinking about his attitude towards Sun Xiu and the subtle plots that Sun Xiu had been making around him, was it really impossible to detect? Of course not, it was just that he was too conceited and didn't want to detect it. Thinking about it this way, he had to admit that Lu Ji's words were insightful and had touched upon his own character weaknesses. He then bowed his head and apologized, saying:

"Shi Heng is absolutely right. I do look down on others and treat war as a joke."

Hearing this, Lu Ji was of course very happy. After all, nothing could make one happier than convincing one's friends.

The two men clinked glasses of wine and drank them all. It was already dark and there was no one around. Lu Ji felt the time was right, so he said to Liu Xian:

"Huai Chong, to be honest, I came here with another mission."

"Really?" Liu Xian said with a smile, "What kind of problem has our powerful Duke Lu given you?"

Unexpectedly, after saying this, Lu Ji did not say anything for a long time. Liu Xian raised his head to look at him and found that his face was flushed, unlike usual, as if his words just now had hurt his personality.

Liu Xian was startled, and then realized that he had spoken out of turn. He hurriedly tried to apologize to Lu Ji, but Lu Ji waved his hand and said:
"It's not Duke Lu's business. It's the order of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince. He asked me to persuade you not to fight Sun Xiu anymore."

It took a long time after this sentence was spoken for Liu Xian to roughly understand what Lu Ji meant.

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(End of this chapter)