Chapter 37: Bring the Wine, Bring the Fire

Duan Jiong frowned as he saw a "jailer" emerge to question him. "Who are you?"

"I am merely a minor soldier from the Youzhou border, here only for the sake of peace in the frontier." Liu Bei spoke. "Wang Fu colluded with the Xianbei and has already met his end, but he surely left many of his lackeys behind in the borderlands. We must root them all out. Lord Duan, you have held military command for many years and were well-acquainted with Wang Fu; you must know some of the inside story. Can you tell us who else is complicit in his treason?"

"You just said that Colonel Zhang Sheng colluded with the Xianbei, killed innocents to claim merit, and even murdered the Administrator of Shanggu? Is this the truth?"

There was an inscrutable look in Duan Jiong’s eyes. "The Zhang Sheng you speak of—does he have a scar on his face?"

"It seems you do know him, Lord Duan." Liu Bei recalled the appearance described by Zou Jing. "He does indeed have a scar, so there is no mistake. Do you know of any other criminals of his ilk?"

"So that is how it is... so that is how it is!"

Duan Jiong did not answer further. Instead, he slumped down in defeat. "I shall die here..."

"What do you mean by that, Lord Duan?" Liu Bei was puzzled. He had only asked about Wang Fu's other lackeys; why this reaction?

Yang Qiu, standing nearby, suddenly asked, "Lord Jiming, is that Zhang Sheng... perhaps one of your own men?"

Liu Bei was struck with a sudden chill.

"Ha... yes, indeed."

"He was once my personal retainer... Hahaha..." Duan Jiong laughed bitterly in a low voice. "No wonder the Emperor ordered my imprisonment; so this is why. I should have known sooner... how foolish, how foolish I have been..."

He then sat on the ground and fell silent.

Liu Bei stepped back, feeling heavy-hearted. Zhang Sheng was actually Duan Jiong’s retainer? Duan Jiong had commanded armies for many years and had many former subordinates; it was normal for him to recommend his retainers for official posts after coming to the capital. But looking at Duan Jiong, it seemed he truly did not know what Zhang Sheng had done.

Zhang Sheng was Duan Jiong's retainer, and it was precisely during the time Zhang Sheng intercepted and killed Zou Jing that Duan Jiong was appointed Minister of War. Was this a coincidence? Furthermore, the Emperor’s decree for Duan Jiong’s imprisonment came only hours after Wang Meng was sent to the imperial prison! Was this also a coincidence?

Zhang Sheng was acting for Wang Fu; he was a mole. This meant that Duan Jiong, who had not colluded with the Xianbei, was actually a scapegoat for the eunuchs. Only Wang Fu could have cleared Duan Jiong's name. But Wang Fu was dead now! Even his corpse was shattered...

Liu Bei turned to look at Yang Qiu and saw that he, too, was filled with shock. Yang Qiu had not expected this either.

"The scar on Zhang Sheng’s face was an injury he sustained years ago while saving my life. I personally recommended him for the position of Colonel... I even betrothed a girl from my clan to him!"

"Since he has committed such great treason... I suppose I am also destined to die."

"Yang Fangzheng, do not trouble yourself with interrogating me. Just bring me some good wine!"

Duan Jiong sighed for a long while before seeming to make a decision. He stood up and began to tidy his clothes. He smoothed his cuffs and collar, stood straight, and stared ahead, though he seemed to be looking at nothing.

Liu Bei’s heart grew heavier. Duan Jiong was certainly doomed. In this era, if a retainer committed a major crime of treason, the master was viewed as the mastermind or, at the very least, an accomplice—taking in retainers was a grave matter, and collective punishment was no joke. Zhang Sheng was the executioner who sold out military intelligence, the contact who colluded with the Xianbei, and the perpetrator of countless rebellions in Shanggu. By the law, the extermination of three clans would be a light sentence. And he was also Duan Jiong’s kinsman by marriage...

But the question remained: retainers and masters shared honor and disgrace. Duan Jiong’s reputation and status were already immensely prestigious, and Zhang Sheng was his niece’s husband; why would he take orders from a eunuch to commit such acts of treason?

Unless... unless Zhang Sheng knew that it was not treason. It was... loyalty to the Emperor!

Yes, in the eyes of the Emperor, Duan Jiong had to die regardless. Duan Jiong held immense prestige in the military; he was the greatest general of the age, with former subordinates all over the world. The Qiang people respected him, and the eunuchs had good relations with him, too. Moreover, he was not entirely willing to submit to the Emperor’s arrangements—the Emperor wanted him to be Minister of War, but he refused, preferring to lead troops in the borderlands...

What was the nature of this? It was a risk! Emperor Liu Hong did not care about the charges; he cared about the risk, just like he had with Prince Liu Kui of Bohai. Perhaps Duan Jiong was a loyal subject, and the probability of him committing treason was low. But Liu Hong would not gamble his throne on a subject’s integrity!

That was why former subordinates of Duan Jiong, such as Xia Yu and Tian Yan, were sent to campaign against the Xianbei. If they won, Liu Hong would possess the prestige of Emperor Wu, and these generals would become his pillars, balancing each other out so that he would no longer have to worry. If they lost, he would at least have clipped Duan Jiong’s wings and removed a major threat. It was only because Wang Fu had colluded with Tanshihuai in secret that the battle ended in such a crushing defeat, exhausting the Han dynasty's vitality—Liu Hong had not expected such a disastrous loss.

Now that Yang Qiu needed to deal with Wang Fu, Liu Hong had sent the unruly Duan Jiong as well! The wealth that Wang Fu and his clan had accumulated over the years would be used by Liu Hong to buy back the loyalty of the troops and officers left behind after Duan Jiong’s death!

In other words, no matter what Yang Qiu did, Liu Hong would kill Duan Jiong and then use Duan Jiong to confirm the charges against Wang Fu—for Liu Hong intended to kill Wang Fu as well. He simply wanted Yang Qiu to bear the entire burden of the blame.

Thinking of this, Liu Bei looked at Yang Qiu. Yang Qiu was also lost in thought; he had likely realized it too. That face, usually as fierce as a wolf, now appeared somewhat dejected.

"Lord Fangzheng, bring the poisoned wine." Duan Jiong said softly in the cell. "I failed to judge people correctly, causing the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers... they were my comrades-in-arms. I truly deserve to die."

"...Lord Duan..." Yang Qiu’s hands began to tremble, and his voice followed suit.

Liu Bei sighed deeply. One was thinking of his clan and choosing suicide, while the other was thinking of his clan and forced to be the scapegoat...

"If I alone drink the poison... it is better than having my entire clan exterminated." Duan Jiong’s emotions were calm, as if he were discussing someone else’s affairs. "Bring the wine."

Yang Qiu bowed low, not knowing what to say. He was likely worrying about his own future as well.

"Lord Duan! If you die, your entire clan will be exterminated all the same... If the Prefect Yang executes you with poison, he will be cast out by the world and will also face certain death." Liu Bei suddenly spoke up and walked to the cell door. "If you wish to save your clan from disaster, you must disappear..."

"What do you mean?" Duan Jiong turned his head to look at Liu Bei, dressed as a jailer, then looked at Yang Qiu. "Does Prefect Yang dare to let me out of the imperial prison?"

"He certainly does not... but I dare! Prefect Yang, if Lord Duan were to set fire to this prison, would you stop him?" Liu Bei turned to Yang Qiu. "If Lord Duan commits suicide, you will certainly die, Prefect Yang. Only by setting fire to this prison and turning everything inside to ash can you save your own life! Only by keeping your life can you continue to root out traitors for the country!"

Yang Qiu did not speak; he slowly closed his eyes.

Liu Bei walked straight to the jailer’s station, took the keys, and threw them into the cell. "Lord Duan, you must light the fire yourself... Having led troops for years, you surely know that the unknown is the most terrifying. If no one knows whether you are dead or alive, then no one will dare to persecute your clan."

"Bring the fire!"