Fei Qian only heard about the events at Wenming Garden the next day.
However, he was somewhat puzzled. Logically, such news shouldn't spread so quickly, yet it seemed to have spread throughout Luoyang overnight. Could someone have deliberately leaked it? No wonder there were several versions of the story—some said Dong Zhuo was arrogant, others claimed Wang Yun and Yuan Wei silently agreed, and some even said Ding Yuan led his troops to confront Dong Zhuo...
Another thing Fei Qian couldn't understand was why someone like Cai Yong, a court official, didn't attend the banquet. Cai Yong was, after all, a high-ranking official. When Fei Qian left Cai's residence yesterday, Cai Yong was still there. Did he go after I left? But then again, it might be for the best that he didn't go. Dong Zhuo's banquets were never peaceful; he was always quick to resort to violence. It's said that he clashed with Ding Yuan yesterday—does that mean the legendary warrior Lü Bu is about to make his appearance?
I need to speed up my plans...
The most important thing right now is to build up some reputation.
In the Eastern Han and Three Kingdoms period, reputation was like a talisman—it could sometimes save your life.
Fei Qian remembered a story about a mad scholar named Mi Heng, who once stripped naked in Xuchang in a dramatic display of modern performance art, showcasing his pure skin and unyielding spirit. He performed a bold act of "stripping and drumming to curse Cao Cao," which reportedly gave Cao Cao such a headache that he almost had a migraine on the spot.
But the clever Cao Cao didn't want to bear the stigma of killing an intellectual, so he swallowed his anger and passed Mi Heng off to Liu Biao, the Governor of Jingzhou. Liu Biao, being a crafty old fox, then passed Mi Heng to Huang Zu, the Governor of Jiangxia. Huang Zu, having no one else to pass him to and unable to tolerate Mi Heng's provocations, impulsively had him executed.
Mi Heng, thanks to his reputation, managed to provoke Cao Cao and Liu Biao without losing his life. But when he reached Huang Zu, his reputation ran out, and he was killed.
This shows that a high reputation might be worth two lives... Even if you can't use it as dramatically as Mi Heng did, having a good reputation still brings many benefits. Famous scholars were treated with respect and hospitality wherever they went—it was like having a golden pass in the Three Kingdoms era.
But the question now is, where can I gain reputation?
In the vast city of Luoyang, reputation isn't something you can just acquire out of thin air. It requires people to praise and promote you. For someone like me, who's not well-known, should I also go to the streets and perform some kind of performance art? Fei Qian shuddered at the thought. No, I'll have to find another way.
*************
Yuan Shao had already moved out of the Yuan residence and was temporarily living elsewhere. Although he hadn't explicitly discussed it with his uncle Yuan Wei, the fact that Yuan Wei didn't question his move and even arranged for some servants and maids to accompany him showed that Yuan Wei tacitly approved of Yuan Shao's decision.
Yuan Shao chuckled darkly. He had done what Yuan Wei wanted him to do, so was this some kind of compensation?
The current head of the Yuan family, Yuan Wei, favored Yuan Shu, which greatly annoyed Yuan Shao but left him helpless. Yuan Shu was the legitimate son, while Yuan Shao was born to a concubine. Although Yuan Shao was the eldest son, in this era, lineage mattered more. So, when Yuan Shao's uncle Yuan Cheng had no sons, Yuan Shao's father quickly arranged for Yuan Shao to be adopted by Yuan Cheng.
Originally, this adoption wasn't a bad deal, as Yuan Shao would inherit Yuan Cheng's estate. Unfortunately, Yuan Cheng fell seriously ill and died young before the adoption could be formalized. As a result, Yuan Shao was left in an awkward position—partly belonging to Yuan Cheng and partly to Yuan Feng, with no clear inheritance from either. Yuan Feng already had a legitimate son, Yuan Shu...
It was from that time that Yuan Shu began to distance himself from Yuan Shao, becoming cold and aloof.
Yuan Shao couldn't help but sneer at the memory. Only short-sighted people cling to their ancestors' legacies. A true man should surpass his predecessors. What Yuan Shu values, I, Yuan Shao, don't even care about!
Unfortunately, General He Jin died, and Yuan Shao later realized that Yuan Wei was involved in his death. This was one of the main reasons why Yuan Shao moved out of the Yuan residence.
Yuan Shao initially connected with General He Jin without any help from the Yuan family, relying instead on a connection through one of He Jin's advisors, Zhang Jin. In that sense, Yuan Shao's current position wasn't entirely due to the Yuan family's influence—most of it was his own doing.
After learning that Yuan Shao was working under He Jin, Yuan Wei took advantage of the situation by assigning him tasks that were unfavorable to his reputation, using him as a mouthpiece for the Yuan family. But what Yuan Shao didn't expect was that Yuan Wei, in order to achieve his own goals, not only betrayed He Jin but also set up Yuan Shao.
Although Yuan Shao managed to act decisively at a critical moment, leading the charge against the eunuchs and earning praise from some scholars along with Cao Cao, it still couldn't make up for his losses.
Yuan Wei had effectively cut off Yuan Shao's path.
But Yuan Wei was both the head of the Yuan family and his uncle. What could Yuan Shao do? Unless he was willing to give up the Yuan name, there was little he could do.
Yuan Shao was aware of Cao Cao's recent change in attitude, but his pride prevented him from explaining himself to Cao Cao. Those who understand me will understand. Although Cao Cao also suffered losses, and it wasn't entirely Yuan Shao's fault, the proud Yuan Shao still felt that if Cao Cao didn't understand him now, he would find a way to compensate him in the future.
After all, they were once brothers.
Yuan Shao couldn't stay in the Yuan family any longer, or he would eventually lose his patience. Remembering the story of Chong'er from the Spring and Autumn period, who thrived in exile, Yuan Shao decided to leave the Yuan residence.
This was just the first step. Next, Yuan Shao planned to leave Luoyang altogether!
Only by leaving Luoyang, the stronghold of the Yuan family, could Yuan Shao completely escape Yuan Wei's control. Otherwise, no matter how well Yuan Shao did in Luoyang, as long as Yuan Wei continued to support Yuan Shu, Yuan Shao would inevitably become a stepping stone for Yuan Shu.
But before leaving Luoyang, Yuan Shao felt he needed to do something to build his reputation. As someone born into a prestigious family, he knew all too well the benefits of a good reputation. So, before he left Luoyang, he had to do something that would earn widespread praise.
He wanted the world to know that he, Yuan Shao, Yuan Benchu, was not just a member of the Yuan family, but a bold and heroic figure who dared to take responsibility and set an example for all!