Chapter 40 Yuan Shu's Plan

At this moment, Yuan Shu was presenting the plan he had racked his brains and pondered over the entire previous night to Yuan Wei.

Yuan Wei quietly perused it. Although his expression remained placid, inwardly he felt quite satisfied. To have devised an entire procedure—from initiation to retreat—single-handedly in just one night was remarkable. While there were still some minor flaws, every aspect had been addressed, and on the whole, the merits far outweighed the shortcomings.

As he read, Yuan Wei asked, "How do you intend to persuade Cao Aoman?"—How do you plan to convince Cao Cao to participate in this endeavor?

Yuan Shu replied, "Cao Cao is a man who has been fond of taking perilous risks since his youth and cares deeply about his reputation. Therefore, I told him that although the Emperor has been deposed, the new Emperor will not reign for long. Such an enterprise is tantamount to an epoch-making achievement. Cao will undoubtedly take the bait."

"Why did you choose to seek out Cao for this joint undertaking?" Yuan Wei continued to question. Why didn't Yuan Shu do such a lucrative deed himself instead of involving Cao Cao?

"The palace is in chaos, and the situation is extremely urgent. Without Cao, it cannot be done." Cao Cao had connections within the palace and knew where the deposed Emperor was being held. Otherwise, given how urgent the matter was, there would simply be no time to search the palaces one by one.

Yuan Wei nodded, accepting Yuan Shu's rationale, and then asked, "When shall it be launched?"

"Around the evening meal time; crowds will be leaving the city then, making it easier to conceal our movements." In ancient times, people ate two meals a day, with the evening meal hour falling roughly between 3:00 PM and 5:00 PM. At this time, people entering the city began heading back out; otherwise, once dusk fell, the city gates would be locked and leaving would become impossible. Thus, it would be easier to blend into the crowd and conceal their tracks.

Yuan Wei laid the manuscript aside, looked at Yuan Shu, and asked expressionlessly, "What do you reckon are our chances of success in this affair?"

"If Cao Cao asks, I shall tell him there is an eighty percent chance of success," Yuan Shu paused, "but in my heart, I know there is not a single shred of chance!"

"Splendid!" Hearing this, far from being surprised, Yuan Wei smiled faintly. He then pointed out the few slight deficiencies in Yuan Shu's plan, refined them, and dismissed Yuan Shu to make preparations. He placed Yuan Shu's written proposal into a brazier that had been prepared nearby and burned it to ashes.

Had Yuan Wei not continuously emphasized the importance of a retreat route yesterday, Yuan Shu might have genuinely believed they were going to rescue and abduct the deposed Emperor. However, upon returning to ponder it carefully, he realized that his uncle Yuan Wei had spoken mostly of how to secure an escape route, framing it as a venture where they could either succeed or fail, yet never once mentioned how the Emperor ought to be handled. After all, if they were acting in concert with Cao Cao and truly rescued the Emperor, they could hardly split one Emperor in half, could they?

Therefore, Yuan Shu concluded that Yuan Wei's intention was merely to put on a show; there was no need to actually abduct the deposed Emperor. In this way, the risk would be reduced to the absolute minimum while still allowing them to reap the boost in prestige that the action would bring.

After all, if the deposed Emperor Liu Bian were truly abducted, Dong卓's side would go berserk. But if it were merely a commotion and the deposed Emperor remained safe and sound, it would amount to nothing major.

Consequently, Cao Cao would be cast as the ultimate scapegoat. Yuan Wei's original words were to "let him take charge of the affair." Therefore, if anyone were to be held accountable, naturally the person in charge would have to take the blame. If the person in charge didn't take the blame, was an accomplice supposed to bear it instead? Who told you, Cao Cao, that you were familiar with the terrain, capable, and possessed informants within the palace? You say our Yuan Shu was also involved?

He was simply led astray by Cao Cao and deceived by him; Cao Cao was the truly heinous criminal...

When all was said and done, Yuan Shu only needed prestige; he had no use for a useless deposed Emperor. Yuan Shao had opposed the deposition of the Emperor, resigning his seal and office, and was praised by the moral purists as a man devoted to the state who dared to act. Now, Yuan Shu would go a step further and brave immense risks to rescue the deposed Emperor from the fires of peril—what a touching sentiment and lofty virtue that would be!

Only in this way would Yuan Shu's position as the future head of the clan—shaken by Yuan Shao's departure—be firmly re-established. Moreover, Yuan Wei had already made arrangements for him: upon reaching Nanyang Commandery, funds and men would be readily available, sparing Yuan Shu any worry.

Furthermore, even if Yuan Wei outwardly expressed agreement with the deposition of the Emperor, other purist scholars would naturally fill in the blanks themselves: look, both of the Yuan family's sons opposed the deposition; one left, and the other actually went to rescue the deposed Emperor. How could Grand Tutor Yuan Wei possibly agree to the deposition? He must have been seized by the wrist by Dong卓 and coerced into submission...

Everything was perfection itself.

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Admitting students into the Imperial Academy was also a spectacle in Luoyang. Sheds had been erected along the sides of the streets well in advance, and at this moment, Cao Cao was observing the ceremony from within one of the sheds.

After all, Cai Yong was his master, and since he was taking on new disciples, Cao Cao, as his senior fellow apprentice, needed to come and witness the occasion.

His master Cai Yong truly acted on every whim, actually having this disciple participate in the ceremony right here at the Imperial Academy. Yet, it was rather interesting to watch Fei Qian trailing obediently behind a group of Imperial Academy students, following every standardized ritual. Cao Cao couldn't help wondering why Cai Yong hadn't put him through such a spectacle when he took him on as a disciple.

Cao Cao found Fei Qian amusing to watch, failing to realize that for Fei Qian, performing this set of rituals alongside the academy students was no easy task.

The movements had to be solemn and standardized, walking required straight lines and right angles, and during the rites, expressions had to remain stern—no twitching of eyebrows, making faces, or giggling and frolicking.

Accompanied by ritual music, they first arrived outside the gates of the lecture hall for the first kowtow, paying homage to heaven and earth. Then, guided by the high-pitched, drawn-out chants of the academy officials, they rose, formed neat queues, and walked in a circle around the academy grounds. Finally, they proceeded to the southwest of the academy—specifically, standing at attention just south of the western steps of the Biyong.

The Biyong was a three-tiered, grand palace-style building erected upon a circular, elevated terrace. Its shape somewhat resembled the Mingtang built by Wu Zetian of the Tang Dynasty in films that Fei Qian had seen in his later life, though not quite as towering and exaggerated as in the movies.

The Biyong was perfectly square, a large terrace-style building structured in the shape of the character "Ya," constructed at the center of a high platform. Surrounding the Biyong was a large square courtyard enclosed by perimeter walls on all four sides, outer gates facing the four directions, and corner-shaped eaves at the four angles. Encompassing the exterior of the terrace was a circular water channel, symbolizing the concept that "water surrounding makes a Biyong," representing perfection and wholeness. The water in the channel flowed ceaselessly throughout the year, implying that the moral teachings of the King's Way were equally endless and complete.

The entire architectural complex formed a dual layout of "inner square, outer circle," featuring a circular water channel enclosing a square courtyard, combined with a circular base supporting a square terrace.

At the four corners of the topmost tier of the Biyong, there were small, square, rammed-earth platforms. At the center of the main platform stood a large square chamber named the "Taishi" (Grand Chamber). Additionally, a smaller chamber was built upon each of the four outer corner platforms, which together with the Taishi constituted the five chambers of the upper central structure.

On the middle tier of the Biyong, a hall was built on each of the four sides of the platform. These four halls were the Mingtang, Qingyang, Zongzhang, and Xuantang. Together with the five chambers of the upper tier, they formed the nine chambers. The overall structure was solemn and dignified, imbued with a magnificent and grandiose beauty.

The lowest tier of the Biyong consisted of staircases facing the four cardinal directions—east, south, west, and north—which connected to the approach bridges spanning the water channel. Uniquely, the southern side had three approach bridges, while the other sides had two each.

The ritual officer walked before the Biyong, stood beneath the eastern steps facing west, and began chanting in a three-fold refrain. Only then did Cai Yong and a group of erudites emerge from within the Biyong, standing south of the eastern steps to face the scholars across the distance.

At this juncture, the ritual attendants led the Imperial Academy students forward in teams to pay their formal respects to the erudites and present their tokens of tuition—strips of dried meat. After accepting them, the erudites offered a few words of encouragement. At this moment, attendants bearing wine vessels and offering tables stepped forward; after the erudites placed the tuition tokens aside, took up the wine to drink with the students, the students withdrew.

Only then was the complete set of initiation rites for an Imperial Academy student fulfilled.

Just as Cao Cao was waiting to see Fei Qian step forward last, he suddenly noticed someone approaching from his side. Turning his head, he saw, to his astonishment, that it was none other than Yuan Shu!