Chapter 21: The Youzhou Tower

  In the blink of an eye, three months have passed. The traditional Mid-Autumn Festival is approaching. On the eve of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Ao Lie, who has been strictly required and arduously trained by Wang Ao for the past three months, finally gets to relax temporarily.

  On the day of the Mid-Autumn Festival, Wang Ao and his apprentice still had time to climb the famous Youzhou Tower. The Youzhou Tower was built by Yan Zhao Wang of the State of Yan. It was originally called Huangjin Tower because Yan Zhao Wang piled up gold on the tower to attract talented scholars. Every time he recruited a talented scholar, Yan Zhao Wang would take some of the gold from the tower as a reward. Over time, Huangjin Tower became a symbol of Youzhou and Ji County. However, with the passage of time, the State of Yan no longer existed, and after experiencing the Qin and Han dynasties, the reputation of Huangjin Tower was also washed away by the years, becoming today's Youzhou Tower. Nevertheless, it remains a famous historical site.

  Ao Lie stood on the Youzhou platform, with a multitude of thoughts in his mind. For a moment, he felt indignant and sighed. Wang Ao saw that Ao Lie had something on his mind, stood on the platform, and asked leisurely: "Liet, do you have something on your mind?" Ao Lie turned around to look at his master, also sighing as he said: "Standing on the Youzhou platform, one can gaze up at the vast sky and down at the great earth, making one's heart feel carefree. However, in a place filled with the ancient deeds of sages, what I see is the precarious situation of my Great Han dynasty, the continuous invasions by the barbarians along the borders, which makes me feel very anxious."

  Wang Ao fell silent for a moment, then said: "Indeed, the Han Dynasty's mountains and rivers have long since changed. Unfortunately, the high-ranking emperor and officials are still unaware of this, and they continue to fight among themselves. Alas, my Han Dynasty is about to become mortally ill. I recall when I went to join the army as a young man, but was repeatedly looked down upon by my superiors. As a result, I had skills but no way to serve the country, so I hid in the mountains for over 20 years. Apart from your Shifu, no one else knew where I was hiding until you accidentally stumbled into the village that day. Seeing that you were talented and kind-hearted, loving the people like a son, I decided to emerge from seclusion and assist you."

  "Master, where is my uncle?" Ao Lie asked. It's worth noting that Ao Lie was eager to know the whereabouts of his uncle Tong Yuan not only because he admired him but also for another important reason. In history, Zhao Yun learned gunplay under Tong Yuan and eventually became one of the five tiger generals of Shu Han. Later generations even revered Zhao Yun, with the saying "one Lü, two Zhao, three Wei" circulating in the world, ranking Zhao Yun's martial arts second only to Lü Bu. It can be said that Zhao Yun was the embodiment of loyalty, a famous general who combined loyalty, bravery, wisdom, and strategy. Who wouldn't want such a great general? Therefore, Ao Lie was eager to know Tong Yuan's whereabouts, perhaps hoping to poach Liu Bei's wall corner and bring his fellow disciple and brother Zhao Yun over.

  Wang Ao didn't know what was on Ao Lie's mind, thinking that he just wanted to see his master uncle. So he said: "It's been a few years since I've seen your master uncle too, never mind, after we go down the mountain, I'll ask someone to deliver a letter to your master uncle and invite him to come and chat. Speaking of which, your master uncle is currently in Youzhou, not far from Jiguan, it won't take long before you can see your master uncle."

  The two of them lingered on the platform in Youzhou for a while before heading back down the mountain to their residence. After all, the Eastern Han was an era that placed great emphasis on etiquette, and if Liu Yu didn't see these two at the Mid-Autumn wine banquet later, he would probably blow his top.

  When the two returned to the state government, the wine party was about to begin. According to the Han law, the main officials within the Youzhou border had to come to the state government on the Mid-Autumn Festival to report their work for the year. Of course, not all officials were qualified to report to Liu Yu, only the eleven county governors and national ministers under the jurisdiction of Youzhou, as well as the ninety county magistrates, had this qualification. In the early Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu implemented the policy of "enfeoffing relatives" to prevent vassals from becoming too powerful, allowing local kings to divide their territories into smaller parts and give them to their sons and nephews. This policy stabilized the rule of the Han Dynasty but also caused chaos in the administration of the thirteen states and counties. For example, Youzhou was divided into ten counties and a Liaodong subordinate country, with the highest administrative official being the governor, and Liu Yu had previously served as the governor of Jiuyuan in Bingzhou. The highest official of the subordinate country was called the national minister, also known as the minister. For example, during the eighteen vassals' rebellion against Dong Zhuo, one of the vassals, Bao Xin, the minister of Jibei, was the minister of Jibei State. In the Han Dynasty, people were accustomed to adding the name of the official in front of their position, so Liu Yu was called Liu Youzhou, and Bao Xin was called Bao Jibei, and later Dong Zhuo, who dominated the court, was called Dong Xiangguo after he became the minister.

  As soon as they entered the state government office, Ao Lie immediately felt a festive atmosphere. It wasn't his sixth sense that was at work, but rather the flowing banquet for officials from all over the place had already been set up from the main hall to the courtyard. All the doors and windows of the main hall were open, allowing people inside to see clearly what was going on in the courtyard outside, and also making it convenient for those sitting in the courtyard to toast those inside the main hall at any time. Ao Lie followed behind Wang Ao, walking towards the main hall. The officials who had already taken their seats looked at the old and young duo walking towards the main hall with an air of arrogance, and began to discuss in hushed tones.

  "Look, who are those two? How can they be so rude? It seems like they're going to go straight into the hall and take a seat."

  "Exactly, as a county magistrate, we can't even sit in the main hall, these two people, have they gone mad?"

  "In my opinion, Bao is just a fame-seeker who comes to make a show of himself."

  "Hush! Silence! Haven't you seen the battle reports from Pingzhou?"

  "Look, our Governor has killed tens of thousands of Xiongnu elite soldiers. With such a great achievement, he was promoted to be the Governor."

  "Since you've read the battle report, shouldn't you know who that young man is by now?"

  "Who is it? Ah - could it be the young master of the provincial governor, known as 'Little Overlord'?"

  "Besides 'Little Overlord' Ao Lie's second son, who else dares to sit in the main hall with such an air of righteousness?"

  In an instant, the courtyard was silent as a cicada in winter, and no one dared to make any comments. Joking aside, who could afford to provoke the "Little Overlord" who had annihilated several thousand elite Xiongnu soldiers with just a flick of his finger and beheaded the Xiongnu Left Wise King with just one move?

  Although Wang Ao was nearly seventy years old, he had sharp ears due to his daily cultivation and heard the discussions of the people in the courtyard without missing a word. He smiled and turned his head to say to Ao Lie in a low voice: "Lie'er, you are quite famous, so many people know your name, and they even gave you the title 'Little Overlord'." Ao Lie lowered his voice and flattered him with a gentle pat on the back: "It's all thanks to Master's excellent teaching!" Wang Ao chuckled softly and scolded: "You rascal, when you defeated the Xiongnu, I hadn't seen you yet, what are you doing for me?"

  Two men walked into the hall, whispering to each other. The hall was packed with people, and Liu Yu, as the governor of Youzhou, sat in the central seat. The first seats on either side of him were empty. Starting from the second seat, the officials directly under Liu Yu's command sat on the left: Longshi Yan Rou, Duhou Qi Zhou, Dingyuan Xiaowei Shi Huan, Bie Jia Tian Kai, and Xianyu Fu, Xianyu Yin brothers, and other familiar officials were all present. Zhang Liao and Tian Chou from Ao Lie's department were also among them. On the right-hand side sat local officials from various parts of Youzhou. In the second seat sat a general wearing a white brocade robe with a stern expression, who appeared to be in his thirties. At this moment, the general was looking at himself with great interest. Below him sat over a dozen people, likely county magistrates and vassal kings from Liaodong.

  Wang Ao and Ao Lie walked up to Liu Yu's front, and sat down in the first empty seat on either side of Liu Yu. As the two men took their seats, a low hum of gasps rose from the hall. Those who could sit in the main hall were all prefectural governors, and their vision and information were naturally not comparable to those county magistrates outside. Even if they were surprised, they only made a sound of gasping, but no one discussed it.

  The white-robed general who had previously paid attention to Ao Lie looked at Ao Lie sitting in front of him, hesitated for a moment, and then said to Ao Lie: "I suppose this young hero is the Weiyuan General who defeated the Xiongnu and killed the Left Wise King in the past?" Ao Lie heard this and didn't dare to be slow, hurriedly bowed his fist and saluted: "I am Ao Lie, I haven't asked for your honorable surname and name yet." The white-robed general smiled slightly and said: "I am Gongsun Bogui, the Taishou of Liaoxi." Ao Lie looked at Gongsun Zan in front of him with a shock, his heart filled with a sense of shock. In history, his father Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan had different political views. Liu Yu advocated for a strategy of combining kindness and severity to deal with the Xianbei and Wuhuan tribes on the border of Youzhou, gradually sinicizing and subjugating them. Gongsun Zan, on the other hand, adhered to the idea that "those who are not of our kind must have different hearts", advocating for the complete elimination of the barbarians on the border, leaving none alive. In Ao Lie's view, both men's policies were correct, or rather, they should be combined into one effective policy. The Han Dynasty had suffered greatly from the Yellow Turban Rebellion and its people's strength was severely depleted. It was necessary to absorb external labor forces to recover and rejuvenate. However, for those stubborn elements among the barbarians who viewed the Han as their enemy, there was no need to ask questions - they should be killed directly. But due to historical limitations, Liu Yu and Gongsun Zan had not seen this point. As a result, the two men went from initial cooperation to eventual enmity, with Gongsun Zan ultimately launching a coup, killing Liu Yu, and taking over as the Governor of Youzhou himself. Looking at Gongsun Zan, the white-robed general who had killed his father years ago, Ao Lie's emotions surged, unsure of what to say next.

  Liu Yu coughed and said to Ao Lie, "Lie'er, how can you be rude to General Gongsun?" Ao Lie came back to his senses, realizing he had been distracted earlier, and hastily said, "I have long admired General Gongsun's reputation. The White Horse General's name has intimidated the Xianbei and Wuhuan, making me feel deeply reverent." He then bowed his fist to Gongsun Zan and said, "Just now I was rude, please forgive me, General Gongsun." At this moment, Ao Lie also opened up, thinking that Gongsun Zan's rebellion would happen years later, and it was useless to think about it now. Moreover, when Liu Yu first took control of Youzhou, Gongsun Zan had been quite cooperative, and their collaboration had been very pleasant.

  Gongsun Zan returned a courtesy: "General Ao, your words are too much. Although I have some achievements and am called the White Horse General, how can I compare to the title of 'Little Overlord' that you hold? Who in this land of Yan and Zhao does not know your great name?" Perhaps it was because of Ao's fierce battle against the Xiongnu and his beheading of the Xiongnu Left Wise King that Gongsun Zan felt a sense of kinship, so when he spoke to Ao, his tone had a hint of mutual admiration.

  Liu Yu saw Ao Lie and Gongsun Zan getting along harmoniously, felt a wave of joy in his heart, and immediately arranged for the attendants to serve wine and dishes, officially starting the banquet.

  At the banquet, officials clinked cups and exchanged toasts, enjoying themselves immensely. Some of the officials who were well-versed in poetry began to recite poems and compose couplets on the spot, earning a round of applause.