Chapter 425: Left for the World to Judge

After Wang Dou received the imperial edict and the various rewards, the imperial envoy smiled and said to him, "Loyal and Brave Count, congratulations. A duke, marquis, or count, upon entering the court, may oversee the Five Chief Military Commissions and command the six armies; upon leaving, he may hold the general's seal as Grand Marshal and Supervisor, governing the grain transport system. You can see how highly His Majesty regards you."

Wang Dou said, "Many thanks, Eunuch. May I dare ask your honored name?"

The imperial envoy smiled and said, "I am Wang Chengen. I shall inevitably seek to become better acquainted with the Loyal and Brave Count."

Wang Dou was taken aback for a moment, then said, "Eunuch has endured the hardships of the road. Dou has a travel gratuity to offer; please do not refuse it."

Wang Chengen smiled faintly and said, "Very well."

The crowd surged like the tide to congratulate Wang Dou. Below the platform, the soldiers of the Shunxiang Army—now to be called the Jingbian Army—let out mountain-toppling, sea-sweeping cheers. Their Grand General, not yet thirty, had been enfeoffed as a count and invested with the great seal of 'General Who Subdues the Caitiffs.' Many had hot tears brimming in their eyes, overwhelmed with emotion.

The common people watching were equally stirred. Today they had witnessed the birth of a miracle, and one wrought by the widely admired Grand General Wang.

They joined in the cheering, their voices merging into a single roar: "Loyal and Brave Count! General Who Subdues the Caitiffs!"

"Loyal and Brave Count! General Who Subdues the Caitiffs!"

"Loyal and Brave Count! General Who Subdues the Caitiffs..."

Wang Dou ascended the drill-review platform and raised a hand to acknowledge the crowd, drawing cheers like thunder.

Seeing the roaring sea of voices below and the surging mass of heads, and witnessing Wang Dou's immense prestige and popularity, men like Zuo Liangyu outwardly feigned indifference, but inwardly they were seething with jealousy.

Liu Yuanbin even snorted coldly, "What's there to be so smug about?"

The imperial envoy, Wang Chengen, watched Wang Dou's retreating figure, a thoughtful expression appearing on his face.

Afterwards, the officials and generals of Xiangyang held a welcoming banquet for the imperial envoy. At the feast, Wang Dou and Wang Chengen became the center of attention. The Regional Commander Yang Sichang, gravely ill, was unable to attend.

After the banquet, the imperial envoy Wang Chengen rested in an elegant official residence arranged by the Xiangyang officials. The eunuch Liu Yuanbin paid a secret visit.

The moment he saw Wang Chengen, he fell to his knees and wept, "Please, Eunuch, take up my cause."

Wang Chengen was admiring a piece of calligraphy on the wall. Seeing Liu Yuanbin act this way, he frowned and said, "What matter requires me to take up your cause?"

Seeing Wang Chengen's inscrutable expression, Liu Yuanbin felt a chill in his heart. He knew the man before him: a Eunuch of the Brush in the Directorate of Ceremonial. Though merely one of many such eunuchs, he was someone Liu Yuanbin could never hope to compare with. This man had followed the Emperor since childhood; he was cunning, ruthless, and feared not only by the inner court servants but by many outer court officials as well. Yet he was utterly loyal to the Emperor and deeply favored by His Majesty.

Seeing Wang Chengen eyeing him with faint disdain, Liu Yuanbin stammered for a moment, then steeled himself and said, "That Wang Dou is domineering and insolent. He cursed me as a slave in front of all the officials and generals."

At these words, not only did Wang Chengen's face twitch, but the faces of the many attendant eunuchs in the hall also changed color.

Wang Chengen clasped his hands behind his back, walked up to Liu Yuanbin, and said in a sinister tone, "And what did you do to make the Loyal and Brave Count curse you so?"

Liu Yuanbin opened his mouth, then finally said in a low voice, "My camp lacks warhorses. That Wang Dou captured a great many horses. So..."

For a long while, he heard no movement before him. He stealthily raised his eyes and saw Wang Chengen's cold, dark gaze fixed unblinkingly upon him. He shuddered and ventured, "Eunuch..."

Then he heard Wang Chengen bellow, "You, Liu Yuanbin! His Majesty placed great trust in you, appointing you as Army Supervisor. Is this how you supervise? Have you taken His Majesty's solemn charge to heart? Who is the Loyal and Brave Count? Even His Majesty deeply admires him. And you dare try to extort him? Think carefully on this. If this continues, even I will impeach you before His Majesty!"

Liu Yuanbin had never expected this outcome. His face turned pale, then flushed. He cried out urgently, "Eunuch, please hear your servant's explanation!"

Wang Chengen flicked his sleeve. "See the guest out."

Liu Yuanbin could no longer contain the terror in his heart and collapsed to the ground, paralyzed.

That day, the imperial envoy's arrival caused a stir not only with the news of Wang Dou's enfeoffment as count. In the afternoon, the envoy visited the Regional Commander Yang Sichang and presented a personal letter from the Emperor, summoning the Loyal and Brave Count to withdraw his troops and reinforce Jinzhou. The Jingbian Army was required to set out beyond the pass by a set date and reach Ningyuan by the twentieth day of the seventh month.

Of course, the personal letter also stated that it could be left to Yang Sichang's discretion. If he firmly refused to release the man, the Emperor would not force the issue.

Everyone who heard the news was closely watching Regional Commander Yang Sichang's decision. To be honest, Yang Sichang's feelings were mixed. He wanted Wang Dou to stay in Huguang and continue his great campaign of bandit suppression, but he also knew that Wang Dou was at odds with Zuo Liangyu and others, and he did not want further trouble to arise in Huguang after his death. In the end, he decided to release him and let Wang Dou withdraw his troops.

When the news spread, Zuo Liangyu and his ilk celebrated, while men like He Renlong, Meng Ruhu, Sun Yingyuan, and Huang Degong felt conflicted.

Regardless of what others thought, Wang Dou decided to leave. He would depart early on the morning of the ninth.

On the seventh and eighth days, those seeking to host banquets came like the tide. For these people, being able to form a connection with the world-renowned Loyal and Brave Count was something worth boasting about. Even Ma Zhi, the Army-in-Action Assistant Regional Commander under Meng Ruhu who had been resentful that day, now shared in the reflected glory.

On the eighth day, Regional Commander Yang Sichang requested a meeting with the Loyal and Brave Count Wang Dou. Wang Dou, who was just about to bid farewell to Yang Sichang, went to the Regional Commander's headquarters.

When he saw Yang Sichang, he found his spirits much improved and a ruddy glow on his face. Wang Dou knew this was a final rally before death and could not help but sigh inwardly.

Yang Sichang also carefully scrutinized Wang Dou. Seeing him in his python robe, his bearing extraordinary, with the aspect of a dragon among men, he felt both admiration and regret. He said, "His Majesty once bestowed a poem: 'With one sweep the bandit miasma shall henceforth be quelled, and we look to an era of nurture and livelihood for the people.' I am ashamed that I could not complete this task. Loyal and Brave Count, you are a veteran of military affairs. Tell me, can the bandits of this realm ever be completely eradicated?"

Before Wang Dou's eyes appeared the scene of his army arriving at the Qi River, where the starving refugees vied to throw themselves into the water. A look of sorrow appeared in his eyes. He said, "Military mutinies stem from lack of pay; popular uprisings stem from hunger and cold. To annihilate a single band of rebels is easy; to annihilate them all is difficult."

Yang Sichang sighed, "Those last two lines were spoken by Lu Jiandou. Tell me, when Viceroy Lu died in battle that day, did you blame me? Did you hate me?"

Wang Dou looked at the expectant expression on Yang Sichang's face, at his gaunt, emaciated frame—truly a man who had exhausted his heart and strength for the affairs of state. He also recalled Lu Xiangsheng dying in grief and rage at Julu. Bit by bit, scene after scene of the past surged into his heart. He rose to his feet and sighed, "Who can truly say what is right or wrong? Let it be left for the world to judge."

He gave a slight cupped-hand salute. "Take care of yourself, Your Excellency."

He turned and strode away, leaving Yang Sichang staring blankly at his retreating figure.

This was the last time Wang Dou saw Yang Sichang.

The imperial envoy Wang Chengen, because of Yang Sichang's grave illness, temporarily remained in Xiangyang.

In the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, on the morning of the ninth day of the third month, Wang Dou led his army out of Xiangyang.

The entire city of Xiangyang turned out to see them off. Some people were even determined to follow the Jingbian Army eastward.

Also seeing them off were the various officials of Xiangyang, the Huguang Provincial Governor Song Yihe, Army Supervisor Wan Yuanji, He Renlong, Meng Ruhu, Sun Yingyuan, Huang Degong, Zhou Yuji, and others. The eunuch Lu Jiude was also among the crowd. Only Zuo Liangyu and Liu Yuanbin were nowhere to be seen.

The officials and generals escorted them several li past Fancheng before stopping, a chorus of voices calling out, "Loyal and Brave Count, farewell! Take care on the road."

Huang Degong shouted even louder, "When we meet again, we shall not stop drinking until we're utterly drunk!"

He Renlong also called out, "Brother, you've risen in the world—don't forget your older brother now!"

Wang Dou saluted them and took his leave, sighing inwardly, "I hope we can meet again."

Before departing, Yang Shansong pressed a bundle into Wang Dou's hands. "Loyal and Brave Count, my father asked me to give this to you."

Wang Dou thought it somewhat strange but thanked him and accepted it.

Mounted on his horse, he turned his head to look back. The warm sunlight pierced through the thin mist, seeming to drape the vast world in a layer of golden light.

He cracked his horsewhip and shouted, "Home!"

A wave of cheers erupted, and a rousing song rose up:

"Have you not seen, Han Zhongjun, barely twenty, bound the Caitiff and pleaded for a long rope."

“Have you not seen, Ban Dingyuan, light cavalry racing through distant lands, urging the clouds of war?”

“A true man should hold perilous duty in high regard. How can he let the scholar’s cap ruin this life?”

“Moreover, the nation’s prestige is fragile as a pile of eggs; feathered dispatches race without a moment’s pause.”

“Cast aside my brush of former days, don my wartime tunic, with one call ten thousand comrades rally, singing battle songs we march together to the army.” …

Watching the great army roll away into the distance, Wan Yuanji could not help but sigh: “Truly a remarkable man of this age.”

……

On the road, Wang Dou opened the bundle Yang Shansong had passed on. Inside were some poetry collections and literary volumes by Yang Sichang, including Collected Poems of Yang Wenruo, A Brief Account of Wuling’s Dragon Boat Races, The Wild Wanderer’s Green Sandals Collection, and The Earth Official Collection.

Wang Dou sighed. He wrapped them up again.

The weather was warm now, and all living things were reviving. The great army marched several tens of li each day, passing through Nanyang Prefecture and entering the borders of Kaifeng Prefecture, far more leisurely than during last year’s campaign. The large amount of captured baggage, provisions, and fodder also slowed the march.

Wang Dou’s great name had long since thundered across every part of Henan. Moreover, he bore a general’s seal and had been enfeoffed as Count of Loyal Valor. Every city he passed, officials and officers came out to welcome and see him off, all seeking to build ties with Wang Dou.

Yet Wang Dou’s brows were tightly furrowed. He saw that no rain had fallen anywhere for a long time and feared another year of great drought.

That day, the great army reached Kaifeng City. Henan Provincial Governor Li Vanguard Commander, Regional Inspector Gao Mingheng, Regional Commander Chen Yongfu, and others came out to welcome him. Accompanying them were Military Defense Vice Commissioner Wang Yinchang, the Prefect of Kaifeng, the County Magistrate of Xiangfu County, and others.

At this time, Li Vanguard Commander was still Provincial Governor. Chen Yongfu had finally been promoted to Regional Commander, his face glowing with health and his complexion excellent. Yet compared with Wang Dou… Chen Yongfu’s expression was joyful yet mixed with complicated feelings. Wang Dou had in the blink of an eye been granted a seal and enfeoffed as count. Meeting again, he had to observe the rites of a subordinate officer.

Li Vanguard Commander’s welcoming scene was quite grand. In the crowd, Wang Dou also spotted an old acquaintance — Li Zhen, the former Department Magistrate of Baoanzhou, now Prefect of Guide Prefecture. It turned out that, hearing of Wang Dou’s arrival, he had made a special trip from Guide Prefecture to Kaifeng. Of course, what pretext he used was anyone’s guess.

When Wang Dou went to Henan last year, he had exchanged letters with Li Zhen but had not yet met him in person. Seeing him now, Wang Dou could not help but be startled.

In former days, Li Zhen had a long three-part beard, was in his prime, and cut a dignified figure. Now, Li Zhen’s temples were streaked with white. Though only in his forties, he looked as if he were fifty or sixty.

Wang Dou came before Li Zhen and sighed: “Sir Li, how have you come to this?”

Li Zhen bowed and said: “Your subordinate pays his respects to the Count of Loyal Valor. Ah, I recall that my days in Baoanzhou were the most leisurely and elegant of my life. Those times cannot return.”

His face was full of sighs and boundless emotion.

As Wang Dou spoke with Li Zhen, all the officials watched Li Zhen in surprise. From their tone, could Prefect Li be an old acquaintance of the Count of Loyal Valor? Even Provincial Governor Li Vanguard Commander cast a few extra glances at Li Zhen.

That evening there was another banquet. After the officials dispersed, Li Zhen came to the official residence where Wang Dou was staying to pay a visit. The two recalled the days of old, and both were overcome with sighs.

Li Zhen poured out his grievances to Wang Dou: the torment of the drought demon, the common people eating earth and wild greens, yet tax collection could not be omitted, governance was impossibly difficult, and bandits howling in the forests and thickets made it like sitting atop a mountain of fire. He said: “The Count of Loyal Valor is a veteran of many battles and knows the roving bandits best. Tell me, will great bandits and roving brigands rise again across Henan?”

Wang Dou was silent and heavy-hearted. Would large-scale roving bandits rise again? Looking at the year’s prospects, he had no confidence.

Li Zhen sighed: “Your subordinate understands.”

He bowed deeply to Wang Dou: “Should that day come, I beg the Count of Loyal Valor to extend a helping hand to my family.”

Wang Dou reached out his hand: “Sir Li, there is no need for this. I will naturally look after your family. If matters become impossible, you must abandon your post and leave.”

Wang Dou knew that Li Zhen’s ancestral home was in Qingxu, Shanxi — the birthplace of Shanxi aged vinegar. The Li family was also a famous large clan in the area, specializing in the vinegar trade.

The family members who had followed him to Guide Prefecture back then — his wife, concubines, daughters-in-law, and the like — had already been sent back to the Shanxi ancestral home when the roving bandits surged last year. And his own branch of the family was sparse to begin with; his only son had died. If anything else befell him, the remaining old wife and daughters-in-law, all women, could well imagine what their days would be like within the clan. Hence his words.

Hearing Wang Dou’s promise, Li Zhen felt somewhat reassured. At the latter words, he sighed: “Eating the sovereign’s salary, one must be loyal to the sovereign’s cause. How could I abandon my post and flee, committing such an act of having neither sovereign nor father?”

The next day, Wang Dou rendezvoused with the full logistics battalion that had been left to guard Zhuxian Town and led the great army onward north. In the army now was also Chen Yongfu’s son, Chen De. …

Turning back to look at Li Zhen’s desolate figure among the crowd seeing them off, Wang Dou’s heart sank. Would large-scale roving bandits rise again in Henan? If roving bandits rose again, what fate awaited the defending officials of Guide Prefecture?

In the Great Ming of this time, not a few military officers surrendered before the battle lines to the bandits. Yet civil officials, whether loyal or treacherous, mostly died with their cities. In history, it was only after Li Zicheng breached Beijing and the Chongzhen Emperor died that large-scale surrenders of civil officials began. If the city fell, Li Zhen would surely die.

The shadow of these chaotic times truly made it hard to breathe.

That day, the great army reached Xingtai. They had left Henan and entered the borders of Shunde Prefecture in Northern Zhili. Heading up and to the right was Julu; straight up was Lincheng.

Seeing Wang Dou halt his horse and gaze toward Julu, the officers all crowded around him and asked: “General, shall we go to Julu?”

Wang Dou nodded gently. Julu was the place where he had once fought a bloody battle, the place where Viceroy Lu had died. He had heard that now, beside the battlefield, many temples had been built, their incense flourishing, with throngs of commoners coming to offer sacrifices. Several years had passed — it was time to go and see.

He said: “All officers and men who fought in that battle will go. The rest will be led by Garrison Commander Chi. The two forces will reunite at Lincheng.”

The officers had no objections. Just as they were about to divide the troops and set off, suddenly a stir ran through the great army. People kept pointing to the horizon and saying: “What is that? Look, what is that?”

Wang Dou’s face darkened. His great army would not change color even if a mountain crumbled before them. What could cause such a stir?

He followed the direction everyone was staring at and was also greatly shocked.

Xie Yike shrieked loudly: “It’s locusts! Heavens, so many locusts!”

Wang Dou stared blankly. In the sky, flying locusts came like sun-blotting black clouds, that dark mass seemingly boundless. Everyone standing upon the earth could not help but feel their hair stand on end.

……

In the spring and summer of the fourteenth year of Chongzhen, great drought arose again in the Two Metropolitan Regions, Shandong, Henan, and Huguang. Flying locusts blotted out the sun. Of the people, three in ten starved to death, three in ten died of pestilence, and four in ten turned to banditry. In summer, Suzhou Prefecture suffered great drought without rain; locusts rose in swarms. The price of rice reached four taels of silver per shi. Refugees and beggars filled the roads, many dying huddled together.

Luo Rucai went north into Henan, entering the Ying and Huo mountains, and joined forces with the Five Battalions of Ge and Zuo. The cunning and ferocity of Ge and Zuo were no less than those of Xian and Cao; their skilled fighters numbered no fewer than several tens of thousands. The rebel army’s momentum revived.

Hearing that Wang Dou had left, the various bandits dusted off their caps and celebrated. During the feast, Luo Rucai proposed linking up westward with Li Zicheng’s remnant forces, so that they might rampage across Yu, E, and Wan. The assembled bandits all approved!

End of Volume Seven