[{"data":1,"prerenderedAt":-1},["ShallowReactive",2],{"origin-assuming-the-langya-surname":3,"chapter-assuming-the-langya-surname-assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-7":6},{"origin":4,"title":5},"chinese","The False Clan of Langya",{"chapter":7,"nextChapterSlug":19,"prevChapterSlug":20,"totalChapters":21,"novelImage":22},{"id":8,"novel_id":9,"title":10,"slug":11,"index":12,"content":13,"wordcount":14,"created_at":15,"updated_at":15,"volume":16,"translator":17,"content_hash":18},2273803,4442,"Chapter 7: Yongming","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-7",7,"\u003Cp>Shush shush shush.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The squad leader led his men back to camp.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He glanced at the thin, small soldier beside him: “Xiao Chan, spit it out—don’t dither.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chan kept pace with the squad leader as he said: “Boss, I think this thing’s fishy... No matter how well he talks, it’s all empty words. What if it’s really like those two said... this... that...”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The squad leader slowed his step: “I’ll ask you—do you think those two are North Spies or not?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chan hesitated slightly, then answered without doubt: “Of course they’re North Spies! Killing four spies is bound to earn a merit, maybe even a cash reward!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Then why the hell are you asking?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Xiao Chan frowned: “But what if that man is an impostor—”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Are you stupid? We’re just here to report. Whether he’s real or fake is up to Xue Duizhu and Wang Wenshu to decide—what’s it got to do with us?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The squad leader turned and shouted: “Listen up, all of you! Keep your mouths shut when you get back! Know what to say and what not to say! This is your own life—don’t end up getting yourselves and your brothers killed! Da Du, especially you! Your mouth’s a sieve! Watch yourself!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>A gentle breeze rustled; the dawn moon rose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-haired spearman somehow found a large, flat-topped rock, carried it sweat-drenched to Wang Yang’s side, then vigorously wiped its surface with his sleeve and said eagerly:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, sit here and rest. I’ll go get you some water.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Water’s here!” Ding Jiu ran up, holding a brown water skin, beaming:\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Young Master, this is fresh mountain spring water I just fetched—please drink and quench your thirst.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang had no interest in their flattery. Using the surname Langya was just a temporary cover—he’d soon have to face an even more formidable squad leader. Worse, he still didn’t even know which dynasty he was in.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>All he knew was a broad range: Eastern Jin and Southern Dynasties. In later eras, these were called the “Five Dynasties,” five regimes that ruled south of the Yangtze: Eastern Jin, Song, Qi, Liang, and Chen.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Of the Five Dynasties, Wang Yang knew Eastern Jin and Chen best, then Song and Liang, and least of all was Qi—the shortest-lived and most chaotic of the five. So he most hoped to have been transported to Eastern Jin.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He didn’t choose Chen because it was the dying days of the Southern Dynasties—if he’d landed during the Sui’s conquest of Chen, with war breaking out and blood flooding the land, he might not even survive.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>No.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had to figure out which of the Five Dynasties he was in before Xue Duizhu arrived—only then could he fabricate lies with purpose.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But how?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Directly asking would be inappropriate. Could the Langya Wang clan possibly not know the dynasty’s name?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Try to find coins to examine?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Still no. Southern Dynasties currency was chaotic—old and new coins circulated together, impossible to distinguish.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>After thinking a while, Wang Yang had an idea. He sat down on the rock with deliberate ease, took the water skin, and asked casually: “How long have you been soldiers?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Jiu answered first: “I’ve been a frontier soldier for five years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-haired man said: “Your Lordship, I’ve served eight years.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang said: “Oh, so you’re veterans. Why join the army?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Both black-haired man and Ding Jiu stared at Wang Yang, their eyes strange.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Shit.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang immediately realized his blunder. He suddenly remembered: the Northern and Southern Dynasties still operated under the hereditary soldier system.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hereditary soldiers” meant the state forcibly required soldier families to serve generation after generation—also called “soldier households.” To expand recruitment, criminals, stateless people, fugitives, slaves, and even barbarian captives were often forced into soldier households.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Coupled with heavy corvée labor, poor treatment, and strict control to prevent desertion, soldiers’ social status sank lower and lower—worse than ordinary commoners.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>These two were soldiers because their fathers and grandfathers were soldiers. It was common knowledge—hence their odd reaction to his question.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Realizing his mistake, Wang Yang calmly added: “Ah, so you’re soldier’s sons—not recruited commoners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Liu Yuxi’s “Ode to a Humble Abode” contains a famous line: “Laughter and talk are with great scholars; no commoners come and go.” Here, “commoners” meant “ignorant people.” But in the Northern and Southern Dynasties, “commoner” specifically meant a civilian recruited into the army.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Alongside the hereditary system, the Southern Dynasties also had conscription. But if every recruit became a soldier household, binding descendants to military service forever, who would ever volunteer?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So the court decreed that conscripted soldiers formed separate units, their families not classified as soldier households, their names not registered in military rolls—in short, they remained free.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang thought he’d shifted the topic smoothly, unaware that “soldier’s son” carried heavy contempt—almost an insult. Being a soldier household was one thing; having someone openly label you as one was another.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Moreover, “commoners” were recruited only in specific periods and usually assigned to frontline combat. Men like the black-haired man and Ding Jiu, guarding camps and patrolling tirelessly, were almost always soldier’s sons.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>So Wang Yang’s attempt to recover was clumsy. Though nobles looked down on soldier households, insulting them now was unwise.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Jiu’s face flushed red, his brow darkening with resentment.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-haired man chuckled bitterly: “Your Lordship is right—we have no fortune to be commoners.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang sensed the tension, though he didn’t fully grasp why. He guessed he’d messed up. If he could choose, he’d rather stay silent—but to extract dynasty information, he had to keep talking.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Hmm. Can you read?” Wang Yang asked as if making idle chat.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Ding Jiu’s face twitched; his anger flared—he thought this pampered young master was mocking them!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Even among ordinary households, few could read—how much less so among soldier families!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He growled: “Can’t!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang heard Ding Jiu’s irritation but pretended not to notice.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The black-haired man still smiled politely: “A few characters.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang, pleased the black-haired man responded, feigned astonishment: “What’s your name? You can read? That’s rare.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Your Lordship flatters me. I’m called He Han. I learned a few characters just to teach my daughter—barely know any.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang studied He Han and thought: He Han—he truly lived up to his name: “He Han, let me test you—what does our era name mean?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>At last, after this small talk, Wang Yang reached his goal: asking the era name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Han looked embarrassed: “Era names are set by the court officials in the capital—I wouldn’t know!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang said: “No matter. Just say what you think.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Han thought a moment, then ventured: “It means... forever... bright?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forever bright?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Forever bright...\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang turned the phrase over in his mind—and suddenly froze.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Fuck!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Could it be Yongming?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He Han, seeing Wang Yang’s expression, quickly said: “I’m just guessing—please correct me, Your Lordship!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang steadied himself: “First, tell me—what is an era name?”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Yong... Ming?” He Han sounded unsure even saying the name.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>It really was Yongming!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>The era name of Qi—the dynasty he knew least among the Five Dynasties!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Why did he know so little about Qi?\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Because Qi was the shortest-lived and most chaotic of the Southern Dynasties!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Worse—he had no idea how chaotic it actually was!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only remembered Qian Mu’s dismissive tone in “Outline of Chinese History,” calling Qi: “Its figures and fortunes were the lowest among the Southern Dynasties.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>“Fortunes” meant dynasty’s fate. Qian Mu called it “lowest”—there must be a reason!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He had no idea how it was “lowest.” He didn’t know the emperors, their number, the ministers, or any major events.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>He only knew Qi was short-lived and replaced by Liang. He’d heard “Yongming” only because of the “Yongming style” in ancient literary history—the precursor to regulated verse, or “near-style poetry.”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>But what good was that knowledge?!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Wang Yang would gladly trade this useless tidbit for a “Genealogy of Qi Emperors”—at least to know the exact year Qi fell!\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>————————————\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Note: ① During the Wei-Jin and Northern-Southern Dynasties, soldiers’ social status was extremely low—calling someone a “soldier” or “troop” was nearly an insult. In “Romance of the Three Kingdoms,” Guan Yu, upon hearing Huang Zhong named one of the Five Tiger Generals, rages: “What sort of man is Huang Zhong, to be ranked with me? A true man will never serve alongside an old troop!” This is adapted from the “Records of the Three Kingdoms,” where the original reads: “Yu heard Huang Zhong was appointed Rear General; he angrily said: A true man will never serve alongside an old soldier!”\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>Whether “old soldier” or “old troop,” the insult lies not in “old,” but in “soldier” or “troop.” A similar incident happened to Zhang Fei, but he was the one insulted: Liu Ba refused to speak to Zhang Fei; Zhuge Liang urged him to reconcile, but Zhang Fei retorted: “A true man should associate with heroes across the land—why speak to a soldier’s son?” Here, “soldier’s son” is also a slur. In “Shishuo Xinyu,” scholars looked down on Huan Wen, uttering the word “soldier”—same meaning. (“Shishuo Xinyu · Fangzheng”: “I see Wen Du has become a fool again, afraid of Huan Wen’s face! Soldier! How could you marry your daughter to him?!”) The degradation of soldier households is further shown later. See below.\u003C\u002Fp>\n\u003Cp>② The habit of addressing officials as “Great Man” emerged very late. At the time, only specific titles like “Mingfu,” “Shijun,” or “Fujun” were used, or officials were addressed by their post—but some posts are unfamiliar to modern readers. For example, a later nobleman surnamed Liu held the post of “Ba Dong Wang You,” a high rank. Many readers might find “Liu Wang You” less intuitive than “Liu Great Man,” so for clarity, “Great Man” is retained here, though historically inaccurate.\u003C\u002Fp>",1633,"2026-06-19T23:36:03.373Z",1,"Qwen3-Next 80B","8d5898325fb5cf56d85bc6eb64f10f8a5fa12cf0ac408e158d7a7903ff7262fc","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-8","assuming-the-langya-surname-chapter-6",62,"https:\u002F\u002Fnovelzhen.com\u002Fimages\u002Fcovers\u002Fthe-false-clan-of-langya-cover.jpg"]