Chapter Twelve: Splitting Open the Palace Gate

  On the ferry, Taishi Ci frankly told Ah Fei about his past experiences. Four years ago, when Taishi Ci was only 21 years old, he served as a clerk in Donglai Prefecture. The governor of Donglai was Cai Yan, and the governor of Qingzhou was Zhang Yi. The two had a conflict over something and each wrote a memorial to the imperial court. The memorial from Qingzhou was sent first, so Governor Cai recruited someone to chase after it. Young and strong Taishi Ci took on this task. He traveled day and night and finally caught up with the officials from Qingzhou who were waiting in line to submit their memorial at the Gongche Gate in Luoyang.

  The provincial official did not know Taishi Ci, but Taishi Ci knew him. So Taishi Ci went up to him and asked: "Are you going to present a memorial? Where is the memorial?" The provincial official replied casually: "It's on the carriage." Taishi Ci asked again: "Is there any mistake in the title or format of the memorial? Let me take a look." The other party still thought he was an official guarding the gate, and foolishly took out the memorial and handed it over to him. Taishi Ci had hidden a small knife in his hand, and as soon as he got the memorial, "Ka Ka" two knives cut it to pieces.

  The county official was no longer calm, and he grabbed Tai Shi Ci's collar and shouted: "Someone has ruined my memorial to the throne!" Tai Shi Ci quickly leaned in and whispered to comfort him: "Don't shout, don't shout! If you don't give me the memorial, I won't be able to destroy it, will I? We both have a responsibility in this matter, and if we investigate, neither of us can escape. Let's just disperse now, each returning home, and not make a fuss, lest we both suffer punishment."

  At this time, the county official had already figured out the man's origin and asked: "You destroyed the memorial to the state, completed your mission in the county, you're satisfied, why do you want to leave with me?" Taishi Ci smiled bitterly: "I was just ordered to come and investigate whether the memorial to the state has been submitted or not. As a result, I was greedy for a moment and destroyed your memorial. Do you think the governor will not punish me if he hears about this? So, let's leave together, it's better for both of us not to say anything."

  The provincial officials believed his words and the two of them left Luoyang together. However, no one expected that Taishi Ci would soon abandon the provincial official and sneak back into the city alone, submitting the county's memorial to the throne. After the matter was exposed, the province hastily sent someone to re-submit the memorial, but the relevant department had already adopted the county's opinion and refused to accept it.

  There is no doubt that since only Donglai County's memorial was received, the matter was handled according to Donglai's opinion. When the news reached Qingzhou, Governor Zhang Yan was furious and immediately declared that he would arrest Taishi Ci, disembowel him, and cut him into a thousand pieces. To avoid disaster, Taishi Ci had no choice but to change his name and surname, and flee to Liaodong...

  Finally, he said: "I have an old mother at home, and I do not know whether she is alive or dead. Thinking of her makes my heart ache and my blood run cold. Previously, I was visiting friends in Korea, and when I heard that Mr. Zhang had retired last year, I took a boat to wait for his return to his hometown of Donglai."

  "Ah, I see," Afly applauded, "Brother Taishi is brave and clever, truly a hero of the world!" He didn't remember this piece of history, maybe he had seen it before, but it was quickly forgotten. Influenced by the novel, he thought that Taishi Ci was just a reckless person, similar to Zhang Fei, but unexpectedly, there was such a clever mind, fooling all the officials in the state, speaking nonsense with his eyes open. "You can't judge people by their appearance," he couldn't help but reflect, "Don't think that just because someone looks rough, they must also be rough-minded, dealing with this guy requires extra caution."

  Tai Shi Zai's words became more open, and his expression gradually became more relaxed and cheerful. He pulled Ah Fei's hand and said: "You and I have a good relationship, you don't need to call me Tai Shi brother anymore, just use my courtesy name." "This is too casual, Zi Yi, haha!" Ah Fei thought of proposing: "Since that's the case, why don't we cut off a chicken's head, burn yellow paper, and become sworn brothers?" But then he thought again, this was only something often seen in fiction, who knows if real scholars would go for it.

  No mistake, Tai Shi Cai is a scholar-official. According to himself, his family has been officials in the county for three generations, and their family condition is not wealthy, but they still have dozens of acres of land and hired several long-term workers - otherwise, how could he become the registrar of the county at the age of 21? This guy is also a local tyrant in Donglai!

  They set out in the morning and finally reached the shore at noon, which was already within the territory of Huang County, Donglai Prefecture. As soon as Taishi Ci got off the boat, Ah Fei felt that this big Han had become even more spirited, with his chest puffed out and his chin raised, having a kind of "I'm Hu Han San again" heroic spirit. He suggested to Ah Fei: "My home is just outside the south gate of Huang County, let's go into the city first, pay our respects to Governor Cai, stay overnight, and then follow me back home tomorrow, no need to rush to Beihai."

  He could meet with the two-thousand-stone governor, and Ah Fei had no reason to refuse. The power of the Han dynasty's governor was very great, in charge of an area equivalent to a prefecture-level administration, but in reality, it included all powers such as local administration, military affairs, finance, and public security, except for the fact that they could not be inherited unless appointed by the imperial court, it was almost the same as the vassals. The governor's rank was two-thousand-stone, on par with central government officials, in other words, they were treated as ministers or deputy ministers.

  Taishi Ci led Afei on a winding path, and after walking not far from the harbor, he suddenly opened the door of a house with a loud "bang bang bang". An old man came out leaning on his cane, saw Taishi Ci, and immediately his eyes widened like copper bells: "Ziyi, you're back!" It was as if the people of the old district had seen their son return after being occupied. Then he called out, and suddenly a large group of people appeared from nowhere and surrounded Taishi Ci, holding his hand and asking about his well-being, with several of them even shedding hot tears.

  A Fei thought to himself, find a chance to ask around and see what that public case was about four years ago. Why did Tai Shi Cai help the county win the lawsuit, and become like a living Buddha who saves lives?

  Tai Shi Zi finally squeezed out of the crowd and told the old man that he wanted to enter the city immediately to visit the governor, so he borrowed a set of clothes and two fast horses. The old man did not say a word and completely followed his instructions. An hour later, A Fei and others proudly rode into Huang County City.

  Another commotion on the road, Ah Fei couldn't help but think: "One day I'll be that majestic too, it's worth dying for!" After finally pushing through the crowd, he arrived at the county government office, and the sky had already darkened.

  Cai Taishou heard the news and personally ran out to welcome him, holding Tai Shi Ci's hand, with tears in his eyes, saying: "I was unable to protect my son, causing you to flee far away, I am truly ashamed!"

  Tai Shi introduced Ah Fei to Cai Taishou. Ah Fei, seeing a high-ranking official for the first time, was somewhat nervous and his heart was racing. Moreover, he wasn't a genuine aristocrat, so he had a guilty conscience and didn't dare say much. He just tried his best to be polite. Immediately afterwards, the governor invited them into the living room, where they were treated to fragrant baths and wine feasts.

  At the banquet, Ah Fei's mouth was only used for eating, and he didn't answer any questions from the governor to avoid revealing his true identity. However, his ears were always perked up, patiently listening to the conversation between the governor and Taishi Ci. But they couldn't discuss anything in depth, just exchanging some sentimental remarks about the current situation - perhaps Ah Fei was even more familiar with certain details of the vassals' rebellion against Dong than they were.

  The governor wanted to appoint Taishi Ci as the chief clerk of the county, but Taishi Ci declined, saying: "My elderly mother is at home, and I have not been able to fulfill my filial duties for many years. It is not the behavior of a human son. Moreover, let me return home to take care of my elderly mother for a while, and then respond to your summons." Ah Fei thought to himself: "This even involves the governor, you two are really close!"

  He did not know that the so-called monarch-subject relationship in the Han Dynasty was not only between the emperor and his subjects, but also applied to all superior-inferior relationships, especially among officials such as taishou and cishi who were formally appointed by the imperial court and their subordinates who were recruited by themselves. Calling superiors "jun" (lord) and referring to oneself as "chen" (subject) was a very common practice. Taishi Ci simply calling him "zhu gong" (because he had been Cai's privately-appointed clerk, and since then had not responded to anyone else's summons), could not reveal any emotional issues at all.

  The next day, Tai Shi Ci took Ah Fei and fled to the south gate of Huang County, more than three miles outside the city, and returned home. As soon as he saw his mother, Tai Shi Ci pushed the golden mountain and overturned the jade pillar, crying and kowtowing on the ground, saying: "Mother is above, child is unfilial..."

  This brought him into the family, and he became sworn brothers with the fierce general. Ah Fei was able to become sworn brothers with this fierce general, it was truly a great honor, his spirit was lifted, and he immediately stirred up his three-inch tongue that never rotted, coaxing the old lady until she smiled and her eyes sparkled, even her bones felt lighter by three points.

  The old lady comforted her son, saying: "For these years, I have not suffered as a mother. Kong Beihai often sends people to deliver medicine and food. You should go and thank him sincerely."

  She said "Kong Beihai" referring to Kong Rong, the Prime Minister of Beihai State, whose courtesy name was Wenju. At this time, Taishi Ci intended to go with Yide to visit Kong Rong in Beihai State. However, Yide's intention was to deceive people, and he felt that it would be too easy to get entangled if he went with a fierce general like Taishi Ci, so he barely managed to persuade him to stay behind. He said: "Zi Yi has been avoiding disaster for several years and cannot bear the joy of being under your knees again. We have just reunited, how can we leave immediately? Kong Beihai has shown great kindness, merely going to his door to thank him is not enough to repay him. Recently, the situation has been turbulent, and bandits are rampant everywhere. I'm sure there will be a chance to repay Beihai in the future, and it's not too late to meet again then."

  Taishi Ci found his words reasonable, so he temporarily put aside his intention to go to Beihai. As a result, Afly stayed at his home for three days, and Taishi Ci gave him a strong mule, a good bow, and let him ride the mule to rush to the State of Beihai.

  Beihai State's capital, Juxian County, is located in the southwest of Huang County. Lü Bu's destination, Yingling, is southeast of Juxian County and about 400 miles away from Huang County. Although there is a main road that can be taken, recently the eastern regions have been plagued by the Yellow Turbans, making it unlikely to be peaceful on the roads. Fortunately, although he lost his own soft bow in the sea disaster, the bow given to him by Taishi Ci was of even better quality (Taishi Ci said that it was one he had used before he was ten years old... Lü Bu felt a bit humiliated...), and the quiver of arrows that came with it were all made of goose feathers and wolf teeth, sharp and shining. With this child's naturally cautious nature, they traveled without incident, and three days later entered Yingling City.

  A Fei deliberately abandoned his horse before entering the city, grabbed a handful of dirt and sprinkled it on himself, pretending to be dusty. After entering the city, he stopped passersby to ask where the Shi family lived. Fortunately, this family was a big surname in the country, but there were no side branches, only one household. With the guidance of passersby, he quickly found the right place.

  This is a fairly large building complex, with a wide gate painted with colorful clouds and two door rings hanging down, which can prove the owner's noble identity and rich family property. Ah Fei came to the side of the gate, stretched out his hand to knock on the door ring, and instinctively raised his head to take a look, only to see that on the earthen wall above the lintel was stuck a brand new baked brick, with two bold cursive characters - "Is Mansion".

  A Fei was so shocked that he hadn't even touched the door handle, and he took three steps back with a "thud thud thud". In his mind, it was like a flash of lightning - Oh my god! It's actually him!

  I am honest

  Some friends are worried that this book will be too censored, I must solemnly declare that it definitely won't.

  Those familiar with me know that I'm not one to casually abandon things... Well, in the past, I dug many holes, all of which were for entertainment purposes. Whether or not to write something is up to me, and even if it's a bit unfair to readers who like my work, it won't have any negative impact on others. I'm a very honest person, and once I've promised to do something, I'll never go back on my word. So whether it's writing an article or a book, as long as I've promised the editor, I'll absolutely never miss a deadline, even if it's just a single book review or recommendation. I've never delayed submitting a manuscript by more than one day.

  So everyone can see that this book is signed by A, which means I have promised the editor to complete it on time and with quality, so I absolutely won't cheat or abandon it. In theory, unless something irresistible happens, there will be no hiatus either.

  So, I hope that friends who like this book will collect it, recommend it and comment on it. I won't let you down. At the same time, please pray for me and my family to be safe and healthy, pray that our country does not break out in a big war, and pray that the capital does not break out in a big flu... I think these are probably the factors that made me delay submitting my manuscript.