Chapter 260

Chapter 260

Can’t a strategist ascend the throne? Volume 8: Chang’an Wine Debate, Autumn Changes Chapter 260: The Parrot’s Ode

From Tian Feng’s perspective, Guo Jia was only holding a couple of scrolls in his hand, not looking like he was here to handle official business, but more like he came to Hongwen Hall to chat with Xun Yu. After all, finding Xun Yu at the Imperial Secretariat was much more troublesome than finding him at Hongwen Hall.

But his casual remark, “your son,” almost scared Tian Feng out of his wits.

Son? Whose son?

How dare he treat the lord’s son as his own!

But his momentary daze was clearly misinterpreted by Guo Jia as confirmation.

“That’s not fair,” Guo Jia shook his head and sighed. “I heard before that you’ve been working hard since coming to Bingzhou, all to give your family a better life and bring them here. With your current salary, it shouldn’t be difficult to achieve that.”

Tian Feng had already constructed his family background countless times in his mind, so even though he was worried about Yuan Xi being recognized, he instinctively replied, “Chang’an is the capital after all, and with the recent influx of people, the cost of living has increased, making it a bit tough. I only have a place to live because of Hongwen Hall, and I’m already grateful for the lord’s care. I wouldn’t want to trouble anyone further.”

As he spoke, he pondered how to get Yuan Xi out of this situation, only to hear Guo Jia reply, “You’re wrong about that. The lord actually wants us to ask for more care, so we can be more at ease and wholeheartedly serve her.”

“This kind of mutual cooperation, where the top provides resources and the bottom provides effort, is a healthy development, don’t you think, Yuan Gongzi?”

Yuan Xi, who was usually addressed as “Second Young Master Yuan” or “Young Master Yuan,” didn’t notice the difference between “Yuan” and “Yuan” when Guo Jia suddenly threw the question at him and instinctively replied, “Indeed.”

Guo Jia clapped his hands and laughed, “See, your son shares the same thoughts as you.”

Tian Feng: …

This sudden conclusion would have exposed him if it had happened when he first arrived as an undercover spy.

Thankfully, he had been tempered by repeated promotions and now maintained a calm demeanor.

In that split second, he clearly realized that if he denied Yuan Xi’s identity or tried to backtrack, it would only expose his true identity to Guo Jia.

It was better to go along with the story.

He silently apologized to Yuan Shao in his heart, trying to adapt to the sudden addition of a “son,” and then replied to Guo Jia, “That may be true, but they’re still not used to Chang’an… Even I’m still learning from my teacher, so…”

So it still made sense not to bring his family over.

But then he saw Guo Jia’s gaze fall on Yuan Xi, scrutinizing his clothing.

Tian Feng’s heart tightened.

Seeing that Yuan Xi’s clothes weren’t expensive and that he didn’t have the same striking appearance as Yuan Shao’s other two sons, Tian Feng relaxed a bit.

But the next moment, Guo Jia narrowed his eyes, his previously relaxed demeanor tightening. “I don’t think so.”

Tian Feng’s heart leapt to his throat, fearing that Guo Jia would say something like, “You two have a problem.”

He even felt that if Guo Jia hadn’t spoken softly, the surrounding people might have noticed the commotion.

Guo Jia, seemingly oblivious to Tian Feng’s tension, said in a playful tone, “I get it, you’re just afraid that your son will also be dragged here to work. If father and son are in similar positions, and the son gets promoted faster than the father, it wouldn’t look good on your face.”

Tian Feng stared in disbelief, unable to comprehend how Guo Jia came to this conclusion.

Guo Jia, however, seemed to find his logic flawless and continued, “Look at Jia Wenhe. At that time, both he and his eldest son, Jia Mu, were under the lord’s command as assistants. Jia Mu’s position was even more important than Jia Wenhe’s. This led to Jia Wenhe, after being abducted by Yan Yanming and brought to Chang’an, quickly turning to Dong Zhuo’s side due to accumulated dissatisfaction over treatment, even strategizing for him.”

“Zigu, you can’t do that.”

When Tian Feng, under the alias Yuan Feng, became a disciple of Chen Ji, he was given the courtesy name Zigu. Though he wasn’t entirely used to it, at least he wouldn’t fail to respond when called.

Guo Jia continued, “In my opinion, you should look at your teacher and Changwen’s situation. The father works hard to get promoted, setting an example for the son. This way, the younger generation won’t surpass the older one, and instead, you’ll have a tale of two generations building Chang’an together. There’s no need to avoid this topic.”

Tian Feng wanted to argue that he hadn’t thought that far, and he certainly hadn’t expected to replace the lord as Yuan Xi’s “father.”

But Guo Jia didn’t give him a chance to refute, adding, “Look at our Pingbei Middle General in Bingzhou. His daughter, still studying at Leping Academy, has already declared that she will compete with her father in military achievements. That’s how you motivate the younger generation.”

“Or… should we consider Wenruo and Gongda as two generations?”

“Guo Fengxiao.” Xun Yu’s voice came from behind, making Guo Jia quickly turn around and bow. “Just a joke, Wenruo, don’t take it to heart. I’m just advising Zigu on how to motivate the younger generation.”

Guo Jia turned back to Tian Feng, “Last time, you were too shy to publish that news in the paper, but I went ahead and did it. I’ve been meaning to apologize. Now that your son is in Chang’an and I happened to run into him, why don’t we combine the apology with a welcoming feast? What do you think?”

Tian Feng thought it was a terrible idea.

After all, the astronomical grain debt Yuan Shao owed was signed by Guo Jia when he came to Yuan Shao’s camp.

Even though Qiao Yan never explicitly stated who came up with the explosive interest rate clause, Tian Feng was sure it was Guo Jia’s doing.

This made him highly wary of Guo Jia.

Even though the young man casually mentioned that the alcohol restriction hadn’t been enforced yet, and he could sneak a few drinks under this legitimate reason, it didn’t ease Tian Feng’s wariness.

But at this moment, he had no suitable reason to refuse and was dragged away by Guo Jia.

What made him especially alert was that Guo Jia seemed to follow his earlier logic. Halfway through the welcoming feast, Guo Jia suggested taking Yuan Xi around Chang’an.

“With the wine debate approaching, not to mention the many famous scholars and experts arriving, all departments in Chang’an are busy. It’s a good time for your son to see where he might fit in.”

Seeing the reluctance on Tian Feng’s face, Guo Jia smiled again, “I know…”








It’s not easy to change your way of thinking, but even if it’s just to broaden your horizons here, it’s still good. When you go back, you can talk to people about it, so it’s not a wasted trip to Chang’an.

After being kidnapped by Guo Jia and getting on the carriage, when Yuan Xi followed Tian Feng to their temporary residence, they couldn’t help but look at each other for a while.

“Mr. Yuanhao, now…”

What should we do now?

Yuan Xi never expected that just as he was transitioning from the shadows to the light in Chang’an City, he would face such a difficult situation.

When Tian Feng asked why he was the one who came to Chang’an, he didn’t dare to tell Tian Feng that it was because his father was suspicious of his subordinates and, under the state of vigilance towards the forces in Chang’an, feared that others assigned to this “important task” might also be turned by them. He only said that Yuan Shao was very worried about Tian Feng’s safety.

Hearing this, Tian Feng sighed heavily.

He really shouldn’t have harbored any resentment towards Yuan Shao for his delayed response.

He shouldn’t have felt any sympathy or emotion when Qiao Yan and the Qiao family of Yanzhou split, and when she proposed to establish a separate branch in front of Liu Yan.

“Let’s take it one step at a time. I will try to get you out of Chang’an as soon as possible.”

Tian Feng’s main area of activity didn’t overlap much with Guo Jia’s, which would inevitably make Yuan Xi’s interaction with Guo Jia an area where he couldn’t intervene much.

Guo Jia, being such a shrewd person, could serve as the nominal and actual second-in-command in Qiao Yan’s Grand Marshal’s residence, which was definitely not something Yuan Xi could handle.

If Guo Jia managed to extract any information from him, all previous efforts would be wasted.

Therefore, Tian Feng built a complete life framework around the fake name “Yuan Xi” he gave to Yuan Xi, making him memorize it at night.

Yuan Xi felt dizzy but knew this was indeed the most appropriate way to adapt at the moment, trying to blur the habits of being the second son of the Yuan family and preparing fully for the next day’s encounter with Guo Jia.

But what he didn’t expect was that Guo Jia sent a message the next day, postponing the planned outing for two days.

The Lord has important matters to entrust, and he needs to leave Chang’an City for two days.

Thinking that he could delay the encounter with Guo Jia, Yuan Xi’s previously poor appetite suddenly improved.

“Is this the essence of cat and mouse?” Qiao Yan was almost amused by Guo Jia’s technique of tightening and loosening.

When it comes to psychological tactics, she herself is an expert, but her strategists are not inferior.

While Qiao Yan’s focus was on the interest game with various families, someone performing such a good show for her was really stress-relieving.

Guo Jia sat opposite her, seeing that Qiao Yan didn’t blame him for secretly lifting the ban during the welcoming banquet, he comfortably sipped his tea again, “In two days, I’ll take that Yuan second son to places like the river canal to lower his guard. I’ll also let him know about the war situation in Yuzhou.”

Yuan Xi and Ju Shou set off from Ye City together, and Ju Shou and Gao Shun’s surprise attack on Runan was fast, not long from now, which was unknown to Yuan Xi.

His father regained the initiative in the battle against Yuan Shu, which would surely calm Yuan Xi’s panic.

If not, how could he be led into the trap steadily?

Guo Jia felt regretful in his heart, it was because he left too deep an impression on the Yuan family last time, otherwise there would be less trouble.

Yuan Xi obviously couldn’t appreciate Guo Jia’s good intentions in this tightening and loosening, thinking that having more time to familiarize himself with his new background was the best situation.

When he received Guo Jia’s invitation two days later, he could already directly immerse himself in the role of “Yuan Xi”.

Even when Guo Jia asked him if he had a brother named Yuan Dong since he was called Yuan Xi, and this naming method was indeed simple and crude, he didn’t show any unusual expression, only saying, “Perhaps because my father knew he would come from the west of Ji Province one day.”

Guo Jia smiled, “You are more eloquent than Zigu.”

Before taking Yuan Xi out of the city for a tour, Guo Jia first led him to Chang’an Road again.

He strolled around the posted works with his hands tucked in, just like an old man coming to the bulletin board to check the daily news.

However, Guo Jia really saw a new work.

“Mi Zhengping…”

Since Mi Heng said he wanted to compete with Wang Can, he really completed his work.

He told Yang Xiu that he didn’t want to write using the theory of communicating with gods, and indeed used the method of borrowing objects.

He wrote about the communication between a parrot from a foreign land and a local sparrow in Chang’an, titled “Ode to the Parrot.”

The parrot from the foreign land “stands out with its natural grace, embodies the essence of gold, and combines the brightness of fire,” with “blue feet and red beak, green clothes and emerald collar. Its colorful appearance and melodious voice” are beautiful, seeing the Chang’an sparrow perched on the roof ridge, it felt it was rustic.

But the Chang’an sparrow said, this parrot is just “following the cage to look up and down, peeking through the window hesitantly,” has it ever seen the scenery of Chang’an from a high place?

The sparrow is different, it has seen it.

In Mi Heng’s writing, the Chang’an sparrow refers to the new road of Chang’an, or the people of Chang’an.

As for who the foreign parrot refers to, that’s up to the reader’s interpretation.

Guo Jia found it quite interesting.

Mi Heng, while having some grievances against Qiao Yan, fairly outlined the prosperous scene of Chang’an in his writing, finally expressing praise with the line “The river water may dry up, but the morning light will always shine, and I will continue to wander,” showing he hadn’t completely lost his mind.

At most, using the sparrow, a plain and simple creature, to refer to Chang’an, still formed a stark contrast with Wang Can’s “goddess” theory.

But compared to the sparrow’s ugliness yet practicality, his statement about the parrot’s situation, “relying on past kindness,” was more offensive, worthy of his sharp-tongued old habit.

Those who read this couldn’t help but wonder, does this parrot refer to those officials in Ye City who can’t distinguish their situation, or those noble sons who are self-important?

Unfortunately, since Mi Heng used objects to refer, he naturally didn’t make it clear.

Let people guess.

But in Guo Jia’s view, many people would be hit by his indirect criticism.

Needless to say, Guo Jia turned around and saw that Yuan Xi, who was with him, looked at the “Ode to the Parrot” with a complex expression.

After all, Yuan Xi would be hit by the two most obvious possibilities.

His experiences in Chang’an these days naturally made him identify with the parrot’s perspective.

When he saw the line “Looking at the damaged wings, even if I strive, where can I go?” he couldn’t help but feel a bit of sadness and confusion.

Until Guo Jia coughed lightly, he came back to his senses, realizing that he shouldn’t have such an expression.

Guo Jia looked at him for a while, making Yuan Xi feel nervous, then said, “You recognize all the characters? Then like your father, you’re also a genius!”

Mi Heng is not Wang Can, he likes to use rare characters in his odes!