Chapter 39: The Beginning of Chaos (5)

An Lushan’s words made Lu Ji’s heart tremble for no apparent reason.
At first glance, An Lushan’s words seemed meaningless, but upon closer inspection, they revealed his sarcastic mockery of his own status. What did it matter if he was an imperial envoy or a vice minister of Rites? They still had to curry favor with him, An Lushan.
After all, in this land of Youyan, he, An Lushan, was like an emperor, able to decide the life and death of anyone. And since that included everyone, it naturally meant the imperial envoys as well. The northern regions were bitterly cold, and if an envoy fell ill and died, the imperial court would likely not hold a high-ranking military governor accountable for it.
He was warning him!
Cold sweat beaded on Lu Ji’s forehead, but he forced himself to stand straight and smile. “Back in Chang’an, His Majesty often told me that the Prince was one of the most loyal officials in the Tang Dynasty. With you guarding the borders, he was completely at ease!”
Whether from nervousness or bluntness, Lu Ji’s words inadvertently offended An Lushan. An Lushan’s expression darkened immediately. Though he still tried to maintain a smile, Lu Ji could easily sense the murderous intent rising within him.
Realizing he had said the wrong thing, Lu Ji hurriedly tried to make amends. “See, the Khitans and Xixia tried to invade the northern regions to plunder, but you, Your Highness, drove them all away. In my opinion, in the eyes of the northern tribes, you are like General Li Guang from the Han Dynasty! You know, the one who said, ‘As long as General Li Guang is there, the barbarian horses shall never cross the Yin Mountains!’” Lu Ji managed to recall a widely known Tang poem and rushed to use it as a makeshift response.
But he had forgotten that An Lushan himself was of barbarian origin. By saying that, hadn’t he also insulted An Lushan?
An Lushan showed no signs of emotion and said calmly, “I dare not compare myself to General Li Guang. But I can indeed keep the borders peaceful. I wonder what brings Lord Lu all the way to Fanyang.”
“Hehe, hehe…”
Lu Ji took out a handkerchief from his wide sleeves to wipe the cold sweat from his forehead and swallowed hard. What was wrong with him today? Why was he making such mistakes repeatedly? If this continued, he might die of fear even without An Lushan taking action.
After calming himself slightly, Lu Ji bowed slightly and said, “Actually, it’s nothing serious. It’s just that the Imperial Concubine hasn’t seen you for a long time and misses you. She hopes you can spare some time to return to Chang’an and spend time with her.”

Some problems are unavoidable. To solve them, one must first identify where the root of the issue lies. Fortunately, Lu Ji was sharp enough to come up with a reason that seemed acceptable to An Lushan for now. But as for how much An Lushan believed this reason, he himself had no idea at all. Sure enough, An Lushan snorted and said, “Is that really the case?” “Ah!” Lu Ji hadn’t expected An Lushan to say such a thing and blurted out in shock, feeling quite embarrassed. “Haha, haha! I was just joking with you. Look how scared you are! Are all Han people like this?” An Lushan’s expression suddenly softened, his smile returning as he patted Lu Ji’s shoulder and spoke loudly. This sudden change in An Lushan’s attitude really scared Lu Ji badly. The vice minister of the Rites Department of the Tang court was now drenched in sweat, completely losing his composure. If the old officials in the Censorate saw him like this, they would surely accuse him of failing to maintain the dignity of a court official. “I guess it’s because my mother dotes on me. Look, she thought of me again in less than a year.” An Lushan smacked his lips and began to show off to Lu Ji, ignoring the latter’s pale smile and occasionally throwing in a few single-syllable Turkic words that he found amusing. “Hehe, hehe…” Lu Ji had intended to steer the conversation toward the rice paper, but this cunning man diverted it again, leaving him helpless. “Lord Lu, how many people in this Tang dynasty can be considered heroes?” An Lushan suddenly grew solemn and said firmly. “Ah!” Before Lu Ji could recover, An Lushan changed his attitude again, leaving him at a loss for words. “Heroes, huh…” Lu Ji frowned deeply, his mind racing. Why did An Lushan ask this? What kind of answer did he want? “If it comes to leading troops, the heroes of the Tang dynasty are only the prince, Ge Shu Han, and the old duke Gao Xianzhi. As for governing the country, it’s of course the emperor…” After much thought, Lu Ji managed to come up with such a weak answer, which even he found ridiculous. “Oh? I wonder if Lord Lu enjoys reading the Romance of the Three Kingdoms?” An Lushan looked at Lu Ji with interest, as if examining a canary locked in a cage. (Note 1) “Of course I do!” At this, Lu Ji straightened his back for once. He might not be as good as An Lushan in other aspects, but when it came to reading, few in the aristocratic families could compare to him, Lu Ji.

Before passing the imperial examinations, he was already renowned as a book enthusiast. Whether it was classics of Confucianism, historical texts, or legendary poems and melodious songs, nothing escaped Lu Ji’s attention. In his view, every book that had survived to the present must have its value, and since it had value, it was worth reading. He vaguely remembered, in his youthful exuberance, traveling to the East Sea with his classmates, pointing at the Jieshi rocks and expressing his grand ambitions. How full of vigor he had been then, believing that with his own abilities he could transform the world and its systems. But after entering officialdom, he realized that matters in the world were far from as simple as he had imagined. Black wasn’t necessarily white, and white wasn’t necessarily black—this was probably what was meant by the Doctrine of the Mean. Day after day, year after year, time mercilessly smoothed out all his edges. He became a highly respected vice minister of the Ministry of Rites, but he was no longer the youthful man who had once stood by the sea, brimming with ambition. A hero? What was a hero? This unfamiliar term suddenly entered his mind, stirring up turmoil. “Oh, then in Lord Lu’s opinion, who in the era described by Chen Shou can be considered a hero?” An Lushan refused to give Lu Ji a chance to back down, pressing him further. “If we really have to say, there were so many heroes in the Three Kingdoms era!” Lu Ji sighed deeply. “Liu Xuande started from scratch, pacified Bashu, secured Yizhou, and captured Jingzhou—he truly was a hero of his time.” After a brief pause, he added, “Sun Zhongmou carried on his father and brothers’ legacy, gathered talented people, defended along the rivers, and founded Eastern Wu—he was also a hero.” By this point, Lu Ji was completely immersed in his own world, unaware of the disdain on An Lushan’s face. “As for Cao Mengde, although his methods were ruthless, he did establish the Wei state and unify the Central Plains. From that perspective, he can also be considered a hero. If I were to rank them, Liu Bei would be first, Sun Quan second, and Cao Cao last,” Lu Ji replied, stroking his beard in satisfaction. But after hearing this, An Lushan sneered and said, “I certainly can’t agree with your views. Liu the Big Ears was merely good at using emotions, and Sun Zhongmou was at most a mediocre ruler who preserved what he had. In my opinion, the only true hero among these three is Cao Mengde!” Lu Ji was shocked. He had thought An Lushan was using him to learn about the Three Kingdoms, but he never expected this barbarian to know so much about it. Wasn’t he a barbarian? How could he be so interested in Central Plains history?

“If there were no Cao Cao in the world, who knows how many would claim to be emperors and how many would claim to be kings! How could someone who could say such things be an ordinary person? Compared to Liu Bei and Sun Quan, Cao Cao had no prominent imperial uncle background nor the strength left by his fathers and uncles; he had to carve out his own path through those chaotic times with his own hands. Yet, such a man was slandered by those so-called orthodox scholars, who mercilessly labeled him a traitor! But those corrupt scholars didn’t realize that if it weren’t for Cao Mengde, the magnificent lands established by the Han dynasty over four hundred years would have remained submerged in endless wars for centuries!”
An Lushan said coldly, “Orthodoxy? What is orthodoxy? Emperor Gaozu of Han, Liu Bang, was nothing but a pavilion keeper, yet he resolutely raised an army to attack Qin. Was he orthodox? The people of the Central Plains love to get entangled in such complexities. If they truly revered orthodoxy, shouldn’t the world still belong to the Zhou emperor today?”
An Lushan took a deep breath and continued, “I admire Cao Mengde’s boldness! Are nobles and generals born to their status? Why must the world be ruled in turn by just a few people? Why must the descendants of commoners remain commoners? The nine tripods of the world belong to those who are capable! With war raging across the nine provinces, true men should strive to dominate the Central Plains!”
Lu Ji was stunned, taking a long time before reacting with a bright smile, “My lord, you’re talking nonsense again. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear these words, okay?”
An Lushan, however, smiled coldly and said, “I’m not confused at all! If the Han people truly revered orthodoxy, why would Yang Jian seize the throne of the Northern Zhou? If they truly revered orthodoxy, why would Li Yuan take his cousin’s throne!”
“Oh, my lord, please be careful with your words!”
Unexpectingly, An Lushan brought up the matter of establishing the dynasty’s rule. Lu Ji was terrified and quickly tried to persuade him.
Isn’t what this Central Plains dynasty values most precisely those so-called titles and positions? If someone were labeled as having seized power unjustly, that would be disastrous…
Note 1: This refers to “Records of the Three Kingdoms,” one of the Twenty-Four Histories, written by Chen Shou of the Western Jin dynasty.