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When Fei Qian stood at a distance in front of Li Ru's residence, he still felt hesitant, unsure whether he should enter.
Li Ru's sudden deployment had completely disrupted Fei Qian's plans.
Originally, Fei Qian had expected Li Ru to strictly guard the eastern and southern fronts of Luoyang, as well as the Xiaopingjin crossing to the north of the city. This would serve two purposes: cutting off Luoyang's communication with the outside world and preventing a surprise attack from the gentry of the eastern regions…
However, he had not anticipated that Li Ru would also seal off the western side of Luoyang. Now, anyone entering or leaving the city had to first obtain a travel permit from Dong Zhuo's forces. In Han Dynasty terms, this was called a guosuo—essentially a wooden board about five inches long, encased in a sealed wooden cover with an official stamp.
All previously issued permits for merchants, traveling scholars, and other travelers were declared invalid, requiring everyone to re-register and obtain new ones. Compounding the problem was the fact that many low-level officials had already been dismissed or killed, making it impossible to process the sudden influx of applications through normal channels.
This left Fei Qian with only two options. The first was to wait for Dong Zhuo's forces to arrange transportation—after all, the imperial court officials also needed to relocate to Chang'an, so there would inevitably be some arrangements made. The second was to seek connections. Among Dong Zhuo's subordinates, the only person Fei Qian knew who had both influence and authority was Li Ru.
If he chose to wait for Dong Zhuo's arrangements, while safety and transportation wouldn't be an issue, the sheer number of officials being relocated meant that the carriages and horses allocated to Cai Yong would be limited. There was no guarantee that all of Cai Yong's books could be transported. Moreover, the most challenging aspect was that Dong Zhuo's forces would undoubtedly escort the convoy all the way to Chang'an, making it impossible for anyone to deviate from the route or leave the group midway. Thus, the first option was entirely unfeasible…
As for the second option, Fei Qian had little confidence. Although he had met Li Ru a few times and there was a slight connection—stemming from a favor Fei Qian's father had once done for Li Ru—Li Ru had already repaid that debt by introducing Fei Qian to Cai Yong. If Fei Qian now brought up his father's past kindness, it would come across as shamelessly exploiting a debt.
Furthermore, given the current circumstances, Li Ru would not easily agree to Fei Qian's request. Otherwise, with so many officials in Luoyang, if one came begging for this and another for that, wouldn't Li Ru's blockade become meaningless?
So the second option was also fraught with difficulty!
From a distance, Fei Qian watched the steady stream of people entering and exiting the gates of Li Ru's residence, his mind racing as he struggled to make a decision…
××××××××××××
While Fei Qian hesitated, far away in Ye County, Yuan Shao was also finding it difficult to make up his mind.
When Yuan Shao had hung his official insignia on the eastern gate and fled to Ji Province, the tales that spread across the land made it seem as though he had ridden alone like a lone hero from Luoyang to Ji Province. In reality, however, Yuan Shao's actions had been carefully planned—his dramatic gesture at the city gate was nothing more than a performance. He had taken all the necessary personnel and supplies with him…
Feng Ji and Xu You were among those who had followed Yuan Shao to Ji Province.
Both Feng Ji and Xu You were from Nanyang and had long been Yuan Shao's strategists. When Yuan Shao was deciding where to flee, these two had strongly recommended Ji Province.
During the Han Dynasty, the two most prosperous regions, enjoying the most preferential policies and boasting the most powerful gentry clans, were Nanyang and the area north of the Yellow River (Hebei).
After all, when Liu Xiu ascended the throne, he had relied heavily on the support of these two regions. As a result, Liu Xiu and subsequent Eastern Han emperors had shown great favor to the people of these areas, and their officials dominated the imperial court…
At the time, Nanyang had already been tacitly assigned to Yuan Shu, leaving Ji Province as the next best choice.
Feng Ji had met Yuan Shao when the latter was serving under Grand General He Jin. At the time, He Jin and the eunuch Jian Shuo were locked in a bitter feud, each eager to eliminate the other. He Jin's confidant Zhang Jin advised him to recruit talented individuals to rid the court of its evils, and thus Yuan Shao was brought into the fold. Later, He Jin expanded his recruitment of strategists, and Feng Ji was among those who joined his faction.
Unfortunately, though He Jin had gathered capable men, he lacked the ability to utilize them—a mistake from which Yuan Shao ultimately benefited.
Yuan Shao had treated Feng Ji with great respect, even humbling himself to befriend him, which deeply moved Feng Ji. Shortly after He Jin's death, Feng Ji formally pledged his loyalty to Yuan Shao and began advising him.
Xu You, on the other hand, had caught up with Yuan Shao on the road after the latter left Luoyang.
Xu You had been friends with Yuan Shao and Cao Cao in his youth, so their relationship went way back. Moreover, Xu You was a ruthless character. In the first year of the Zhongping era (184 AD), he had conspired with Ji Province Governor Wang Fen and Zhou Jing of Pei State to rally heroes and overthrow Emperor Ling of Han, replacing him with the Marquis of Hefei. They had even tried to persuade Cao Cao to join, but he refused. Wang Fen planned to mobilize troops under the pretext of defending against the Black Mountain Bandits during Emperor Ling's northern tour, but the emperor ordered him to stand down and summoned him to court. Wang Fen, fearing punishment, committed suicide, while Xu You and the others fled.
Xu You's stated reason for opposing Emperor Ling was the emperor's background as a collateral descendant of the Liu clan, as well as his rampant sale of official titles, his favoritism toward eunuchs, and his persecution of the gentry through the two "Partisan Prohibitions." However, this incident also demonstrated Xu You's considerable influence in Ji Province…
Thus, when Yuan Shao reached Ji Province, Xu You appeared before him and became one of his most trusted advisors…
This time, after receiving a secret letter from Grand Tutor Yuan Wei instructing him to quickly march to Henei and pressure the northern front of Henei and Luoyang—even preparing to attack via Mengjin or Xiaopingjin if necessary—Yuan Shao handed the letter to Feng Ji and Xu You for their review.
Both Feng Ji and Xu You were deeply impressed by Yuan Shao's openness in sharing such critical information. They accepted the letter respectfully and read it carefully.
After finishing, Xu You returned the letter to Yuan Shao, and both men fell into silent contemplation, refraining from speaking rashly.
After all, this matter was of grave importance, involving numerous complexities—especially since Ji Province was not yet firmly under Yuan Shao's control…
Yes, Yuan Shao had remained in Ye County precisely to secure Ji Province. To this end, he had even bestowed upon himself the title of General of Chariots and Cavalry (Cheqi Jiangjun).
The rank of General of Chariots and Cavalry was second only to the Grand General (Da Jiangjun) and the Swift Cavalry General (Piaoqi Jiangjun), placing it on par with the Three Excellencies. Thus, Yuan Shao's current position was now higher than that of Ji Province's Governor, Han Fu…
All that remained was the final step: forcing Governor Han Fu to relinquish power. Feng Ji and Xu You were already working on this, making the present moment critical. Yet Grand Tutor Yuan Wei's order for Yuan Shao to immediately leave Ye County for Henei would render all their previous efforts meaningless.
On one side was the command of Grand Tutor Yuan Wei, the head of the most prestigious clan in the land. On the other was the long-coveted, fertile territory where Yuan Shao could realize his ambitions. Now, these two choices lay before him. What should he decide? Where should he go?