“Scholar Hou Xun is my respected mentor. How did you know him?”
“I am one of his followers and confidants.”
Having heard that Liu came from Hou Xun’s residence, he took the letter and opened it. The letter advised him to stay and guard Wuchang rather than moving his army to Nanjing. Having read the contents General Zuo sighed and said, “Who knows the extent of my loyalty to the court? At present, Wuchang has been ravaged by war and nine out of every ten houses are vacant. Three hundred thousand soldiers are lacking food and the morale of the troops is low and unpredictable. Under such circumstances, I am becoming helpless.”
Liu Jingting grunted angrily, “Since time immemorial, it has been the generals who command the soldiers. I have never heard of soldiers commanding their generals!” With these words, he threw his cup onto the ground, smashing it into pieces.
General Zuo was furious: “How dare you be so rude in front of me?”
Liu Jingting laughed: “I would never dare to be so rude! I was just so happy that I dropped my cup onto the ground by accident.”
“By accident?” asked the General. “Can’t your mind control your hands?”
“Ha-ha! If you allowed your mind to take control, you would not allow your men to persuade you into making such rash mistakes.”
Now General Zuo understood what Liu had alluded to. He laughed and said, “You talk sense! But, my soldiers are starving, that’s why I agreed to march the Nanjing to survive. I had no other option.”
Liu Jingting said, “I come from afar and I am hungry, why doesn’t General Zuo entertain me to some food?”
“Ah, yes. How rude of me to forget,” said the general who ordered his soldiers that a meal was quickly served.
Liu Jing ting then repeated ly r ubbed his stomach and shouted, “I am famished! I am famished!”
While General Zuo Liangyu urged his soldiers to serve the meal, Liu Jingting suddenly stood up and shouted, “I can wait no more. I will have my meal inside!” With these words, he began to walk to the back room.
General Zuo was angry. He stopped Liu and asked, “Who gave you permission to enter the house?”
Liu Jingting turned around and replied, “I am famished!” “Even if you are hungry, you must not run about.”
“Ha-ha, ‘Even if you are hungry, you must not run about.’ So, the General understands this principal too!”
Having heard these words, General Zuo could not help but laugh: “You are an eloquent and persuasive man. What you say proves how bad my decisions have been. Very well, I have made my decision not to go to Nanjing. I am in great need of talented men such as you around me. I sincerely ask you to stay and assist me. Do you agree to my request?”
Liu Jingting saw that General Zuo was a man of loyalty and bravery. He agreed to stay with the army.
Back in Nanjing, Ruan Dacheng still bore a grudge against Hou Fangyu and looked for ways to wreak his vengeance. When he heard that Yang Wencong had asked Hou to send a letter to General Zuo Liangyu to persuade him to withdraw his army, Ruan quickly hatched a plot. He planned to falsely accuse Hou Fangyu of colluding with General Zuo in a secret plot to march on Nanjing. He made this accusation in front of the Minister of Defense, who had called together civil officials, military officers and local gentry for their opinions about the war situation. Shi Kefa, the governor of Huai’an, strongly refuted the rumors. He believed that Hou Fangyu had always been an honest man, loyal to the court, and that it would be absolutely impossible for him to hatch such a treacherous plot. Nevertheless, Ma Shiying, the governor of Fengyang, was convinced that Hou had colluded with General Zuo in an attempt to overthrow the court so he suggested that soldiers be sent to arrest Hou.
As a friend to both Ruan and Hou, Yang was keen to please everybody and so he supported both sides. Yang intended to defend Hou but found that the situation was irreversible. Thus he hurried to the Meixiang House to meet with Hou and discuss the matter.
Upon arrival at the Meixiang House, Yang grabbed Hou Fangyu and said, “Brother Hou, disaster is imminent!”
Hou Fangyu was puzzled and asked, “What has happened? Why are you in such a panic?”
Yang replied, “When we were discussing official affairs today, Ruan Dacheng accused you of colluding with General Zuo Liangyu in a plot to march on Nanjing. Some officials in power believed his words and they plan to arrest you.”
Shocked, Hou asked, “I have no animosity towards Ruan Dacheng, why would he frame me like this?
“Well, I am afraid that you may have offended him by returning Xianjun’s dowry. In my opinion, you would be wise to leave here to evade imminent arrest.”
Hou Fangyu thought for a moment and quickly realized that this perilous situation left him with no choice but to flee the city. However, he hated to part with Xiangjun. His wife knew his thoughts and said solemnly, “You have always proclaimed yourself to be a patriot and a hero. Why do you become so emotional at such a critical time? Don’t worry about me, I’ll be fine.”
“I understand what you say, but I have no place to hide”. Hou Fangyu was indeed getting anxious in the face of war, revolts and lootings throughout the country.
Suddenly, Yang Wencong had an idea: “While we were in the meeting, I noticed that General Shi Kefa tried his utmost to defend you. This reminded me that he and you are old family friends.”
“Yes, Shi Kefa was my father’s student.”
“If this is the case then why don’t you follow him to Huai’an where it’s safer? You can stay there for some time and wait for good news.”
Hou thought this was an excellent idea. Having confirmed where General Shi Kefa was staying, he quickly bade farewell to Li Xiangjun and left the Meixiang House.
After Hou left, Li Zhenli, the owner of the Meixiang House came to her senses and began to blame Yang, “This is no trivial matter and it was you who caused the problem. You should take up the matter yourself and resolve it. Suppose the soldiers do come to arrest Hou tomorrow, what do you say we should do, my lord?”
Yang tried to comfort her and said, “Don’t worry, now that Scholar Hou has left, you and the Meixiang House will have nothing to do with all this.”
