Chapter 275: A Mere Reckoning of Life and Death

Hearing his uncle’s question, Jing Ze hastily handed over the wine flask he carried at his side.

By all reason, both in the army and among officials, drunkenness should be strictly forbidden, but in reality, for a very long time, alcohol had been a necessity for nobles and military officers.

This had nothing to do with pleasure; rather, before boiled water became widespread, if nobles and officers wanted to guarantee they were drinking water that carried no risk of disease, common experience dictated that they could only choose to drink alcohol.

Therefore, for someone of the two-thousand-dan rank governing a commandery, keeping wine always at hand was entirely ordinary. All the more so since Hebei had just suffered a great pestilence with countless dead, and now they were trapped in the muddy Julu Marshes with no source of clean water at all.

“You drink some too.” Guo Dian had indeed only barely moistened his throat before handing back the nearly empty wine flask. “Remember, unless you are dying of thirst, absolutely do not drink the water here. If it is truly unavoidable, you must find running water to drink…”

Jing Ze immediately nodded in assent, then hastily gulped down a few mouthfuls, but carefully tied the flask’s seal shut again.

Leaning back against the edge of the damp mudflat, Guo Dian looked with satisfaction at his nephew’s still-vigorous appearance, then raised his head again to gaze at the starry sky and sighed softly: “When Shen is athwart and the Dipper turns… A-Ze, you are a proper heir of the Jing Clan’s Yi studies, you should understand the meaning of that phrase, yes?”

“Naturally.” Hearing these words, the still-youthful-faced Jing Ze rallied his spirits somewhat. “It is a phrase describing the star signs of spring. The former means that although the Shen constellation lies athwart the western sky, it is fated to gradually sink and vanish; while the Northern Dipper, though it has only just emerged from the northeastern corner, will turn upward day by day until it hangs high due north… Such star signs perfectly match the supreme principle of the year’s beginning, when the old and new alternate and all things shift their course.”

“Well said.” Guo Dian narrowed his eyes as he gazed at the starry sky overhead. “When Shen is athwart and the Dipper turns — the old, though mighty, cannot endure forever; the new, though newly born, is fated to shift its form and position and preside high in the north… In truth, the Dipper turns and the stars shift, the moon wanes and waxes — these are the supreme principles of heaven and earth. What is there to be unable to see past?”

Jing Ze sensed something amiss in his tone and hastily offered comfort: “Uncle, you must not lose heart. The Left General of Chariots and Cavalry to the south will surely send reinforcements as quickly as possible. When the time comes, we can coordinate from within and without — not only can we break free of this siege, we might even rout the bandits here!”

“Well said.” Guo Dian shifted his gaze from the starry sky to his nephew, then smiled faintly. “But it is not so simple. We must endure through tomorrow, perhaps even the day after, before we can speak such words…”

Seeing that his uncle was still in fair spirits, Jing Ze immediately breathed a sigh of relief. What did he understand of military affairs? He had merely parroted the words his uncle had used earlier to encourage the soldiers.

“The reason I sighed with emotion is that events have shifted far too quickly, leaving a decrepit old man like me somewhat overwhelmed.” Guo Dian continued with a bitter smile. “Though Julu is Zhang Jiao’s home, when I followed the General of the Guards to besiege Xia Quyang last winter, the people of the commandery were still split in two. There were still tens of thousands of men who, heedless of life or death, were willing to follow me and cross the river first to establish a rampart. So, although the situation was dire then, I never lost my resolve. And now?”

Jing Ze recalled how, all along this journey, they had been attacked everywhere and could find supplies nowhere, and he too grew despondent for a moment: “Uncle, if it truly cannot be helped, then resign from office! Didn’t Guo Xiang of Pingyuan voluntarily request resignation just days ago? The situation now stems entirely from the Son of Heaven betraying the people’s trust… Between the old crop and the new, war and chaos and great pestilence, and still forcibly demanding money — it is only natural that the House of Han has utterly lost the hearts of the Hebei people. Why should Uncle bear this condemnation in the Son of Heaven’s stead?”

“I cannot resign.” Guo Dian shook his head in reply. “It is true that the Son of Heaven lacks the Way and that the House of Han has utterly lost the people’s hearts, but it is also true that I have repeatedly received the grace of the House of Han. Last year, when I assumed office as Grand Administrator of Julu but had the entire commandery seized by Zhang Jiao, the Son of Heaven did not execute me then. From that moment, I already harbored the resolve to serve the state with all my heart. Just watch — once I endure this ordeal, I will likely be punished for my crimes. Whether I am sent to Luoyang in a cage cart or dismissed from office and sent home, I will have nothing to say.”

Jing Ze breathed another sigh of relief.

“In truth, after all this talk, other matters are of little consequence — except for you all…” Guo Junye placed his hand on his nephew’s shoulder. “I had originally thought the situation was improving, which is why I summoned you from our old home in Guanxi to assist me. Looking at it now, it seems I have only delayed your career and your studies.”

Jing Ze immediately laughed in spite of himself, but just as he was about to speak, his uncle stopped him.

“I have a serious matter to entrust to you.” Guo Dian’s expression suddenly turned solemn. “Whether I continue to hold out stubbornly in Julu or am punished by the court, Jizhou is no safe place. Our old home in Fufeng is no safe place either — it is too close to Liangzhou… Once we return to Yingtao City, you must take care of your aunt, your younger cousin, and your younger female cousin for me. The moment you see an opportunity, escort them back to our old home in Guanxi immediately. Once home, sell off the family property, then take the clansmen of both our families and seek refuge in Shu. A-Ze, I am bound by the grace of the House of Han and cannot act freely, but you all have no such obligation… especially you. As a man, you must shoulder your responsibilities.”

Jing Ze hastily knelt and assented.

“It is good that you understand this principle.” Guo Dian could not help but laugh. “Go now, and invite that County Commandant Wang of Pingxiang County here. I have serious military matters to discuss with him.”

Hearing this, Jing Ze scrambled up from the muddy ground and immediately went off on orders to find the man. A short while later, the county commandant who had followed them from Pingxiang County, south of the Dalu Marshes, arrived before Guo Dian leading several armored soldiers.

“Help me knock him unconscious.” Guo Dian sat in his mud hollow, leaning back against a raised edge of the mudflat, and calmly pointed at his nephew as he addressed the newcomers.

That County Commandant Wang, upon hearing this, was quite decisive. He directly struck Jing Ze unconscious with the scabbard of his ring-pommel saber — Jing Ze had not even grasped what his uncle meant.

“Gentlemen.” Seeing his nephew safely laid down, Guo Dian sighed, then forced himself to straighten his back. Sitting upright in the mud, he adjusted his cap. “If I am not mistaken, you are planning to defect to the local bandits outside tomorrow, are you not?”

“Your Excellency sees clearly.” In the night, County Commandant Wang also knelt in the mud, gripping his ring-pommel saber, to show both apology and respect. “In this world, those who cling to life and steal what days they can are always the majority… We too have no choice. I hope you can forgive us.”

“I understand your difficulties.” Guo Dian sighed. “The court demands ten cash per mu, yet the lands occupied by the eunuchs pay nothing. The reputable gentry clans merely pay once according to their own fields. To go and collect money from the powerful local magnates is no different from sending you to fight for your lives… And to go collect money from the common peasants over and over? Not to mention that it is the lean season between harvests and they have endured war after war — they have already poured every ounce of strength into the spring planting and cannot produce a single cash. Even for families of modest means, once, twice, five times, six times, ten times, eight times — how could they possibly scrape together the sums demanded above? That is why everyone has turned rebel and everywhere is in chaos. You are caught in the middle, oppressed from above, hated and resented from below, and have long been unable to bear it. Now, besieged here, being an official means risking your life, so it is better to become bandits and seek survival… After all, many among those bandits are your neighbors and old acquaintances, are they not?”

“At this point, what use is there in Your Excellency saying all this?” By starlight, County Commandant Wang pressed down with his saber scabbard and crushed a crab common to the marshes — the so-called bitter crab — and then spoke with a face full of helplessness. “Do you still intend to steady us? In my opinion, Your Excellency should stay hidden here in safety. Tomorrow, when we defect to the bandits, we will simply say that you discovered our movements during the night and fled into the marshes… We part ways here, and when we meet again, it will be as officials and bandits on opposite sides. Is that not acceptable?”

“That is not what I meant.” Guo Dian slowly shook his head, his graying hair swaying gently. “As the lord of a commandery, yet unable to secure a path of survival for its officials and people — with what face could I forcibly keep you here? And as a subject of the House of Han, having lost battles and forfeited territory, and now instead sitting by and watching my own subordinates rebel — with what face could I pretend that nothing has happened?”

As he spoke, he slowly bowed three times, prostrating himself toward the several armored soldiers before him.

County Commandant Wang and the others were momentarily stunned, then abruptly understood. Somewhat somberly, they said: “Your Excellency, go your own way. Why must it come to this?”

“Gentlemen, these three bows have their reasons.” Guo Dian rose and once more adjusted his cap as he spoke. “The first is that, as lord of a commandery, I could not let you live in peace, and I feel shame in my heart — so I bow once to beg forgiveness. The second is that I hope you can help me take this nephew out of the Julu Marshes… He lost his father in youth, and my elder sister has only this one son. If I die, so be it, but I truly cannot bear to let him die here at a young age, to be devoured by snakes and insects — so I bow once to beg the grace of saving his life. The last is that, as lord of a commandery, holding the rank of two thousand dan, I am after all a key minister of the state. I absolutely cannot allow you to take my head to terrorize the four directions. I implore you to leave my corpse intact.”

With these words, Guo Dian forced himself to rise by leaning on his sword. Facing west — toward the Shen constellation, toward Luoyang, and toward his old home in Guanxi — he cut his own throat with one stroke of his blade, then crashed thunderously into the reed marsh behind him.

He was forty-three years of age.

From County Commandant Wang on down, all knelt and kowtowed.

The next day, to prevent the fish and shrimp from gnawing at the body, before setting out with the tightly bound Jing Ze, County Commandant Wang set fire to half the reed marsh. Only then did he go to meet his fellow villagers. And because he had served as a county commandant and arrived with several dozen armored warriors, he was instead elected as leader by the local bandits of Pingxiang who were gathered around the Julu Marshes.

Although County Commandant Wang dared not refuse, he still harbored some fear of the court in the end. So he concealed his real name and called himself Ku Qiu — the Bitter Crab — thus formally raising the banner of revolt and adding yet another named bandit force to Jizhou.

A few days later, roughly just after County Commandant Wang had released the utterly despondent Jing Ze, news suddenly arrived. A man from Boling called Zhang Niujiao had raised the banner of a successor to the Way of Great Peace and was traveling from Taishan through Pingyuan and Anping toward Julu. His momentum was immense, and it was said he intended to storm the Julu commandery seat of Yingtao and re-establish the Yellow Heaven!

Ku Qiu, who had been utterly directionless, immediately set out. Just like streams flowing into the Julu Marshes, he led his followers to join Zhang Niujiao, exactly as all the other bandits of Jizhou, great and small, were doing.

Jing Ze, who had just returned to Yingtao, had not yet had time to follow his uncle’s last words and take his aunt, younger cousin, and younger female cousin back to their hometown to escape the chaos, when he was once again besieged in the city by countless bandits — including Ku Qiu, who had just released him. Jing Ze, who called himself the direct heir of the Jing Clan’s Yi studies, now felt that everything he had learned was a joke.

Beneath the great tide of events, individual fates are of course laughable.

Another person whose fate the great tide and destiny had played a joke on was Chu Yan, the Chief of Yingtao.

This man, who in the original course of history should have been a bandit leader outside the city, had, due to a twist of fate several years ago, been placed by Gongsun Xun as the defender of Yingtao City. Now he faced the tens of thousands of bandits outside the walls with a pounding heart… The Commandery Assistant had shoved all responsibility onto him.

In theory, this city was very easy to defend, because Huangfu Song was in Jizhou. Chu Yan knew perfectly well that as long as the Left General of Chariots and Cavalry could carve a path out of the bandits’ quagmire and lead his elite troops to the city walls, the motley rabble below would inevitably scatter in a single battle.

But it was also not easy to defend, because facing so many bandits and the unstable hearts of the people within the city, Chu Yan had no idea whether he could hold out until Huangfu Song arrived.

Truly… on what grounds?

Ever since his youth, he, Chu Yan, had been a bandit for so many years, always cautious and fearful of being wiped out by government troops. And now, after he had fought bitterly and endured countless hardships to become a county magistrate, the world had suddenly flipped!

Why was it that now being an official meant living in constant caution, while being a bandit had become an open and honorable affair?

Gripped by an inexplicable dread of the situation, Chu Yan, who was in charge of the city’s defenses, received an old acquaintance from the former Zhao Kingdom atop the city walls.

“You’ve become a bandit too?” After dismissing his attendants, inside the corner tower where the duty soldiers usually rested, Chu Yan was utterly speechless. “It’s true that you are a proper heir of the Way of Great Peace, and it’s true that you are a disciple of Zhang Jiao. But back when Zhang Jiao was so mighty, you never rebelled. Now that the Yellow Turbans have been reduced to ashes, how is it that you’ve become a bandit instead?”

The lean-faced Zhang Cheng gave a hollow laugh and could not help but flex his wrists, which had been bound when he entered the city: “County Magistrate Chu, the way you ask that — do you truly not know the reason? In this life, I have no other pursuit; I only wish for my followers to live in peace… Back when the Great Worthy and Good Teacher rebelled, most of my followers could still survive. Add to that the strict oversight of that fatty Dong Zhao, and naturally it was not convenient to become a bandit. But now, the common people mostly have no place to shelter themselves. How could I watch them be swept away by the great pestilence, losing one in ten, and then be hounded by officials and clerks until they starve to death?”

Chu Yan shook his head and asked in return: “Did you not go and beg Commandant Dong?”

“I begged, but it was useless.” Zhang Cheng spread his hands. “Bandits are everywhere, chaos is everywhere. He is utterly overwhelmed too. Besides, you know him — fat-faced and black-hearted. There’s no telling what he might do to guard against a Yellow Turban remnant like me stirring up trouble. That’s why I hastily led my followers out of Zhao Kingdom to seek out Zhang Niujiao… He is indeed a disciple of the Great Worthy and Good Teacher, a former Yellow Turban commander from Qingzhou, and an old acquaintance of mine.”

Chu Yan let out a long sigh, then sat down on the couch and nodded slightly, as if to show he understood.

“Surrender the city!” After explaining his reasons for coming, Zhang Cheng stated his purpose bluntly. “If the General of the Guards were in Hebei, I naturally would not drag you into this. But now the General of the Guards is in Henei, and that black-hearted fatty Dong Zhao will not care whether you or I live or die…”

“Surrendering the city is useless!” Chu Yan looked up and sneered repeatedly. “Though Yingtao City is the commandery seat, it is no great city — it is not even as large as Xia Quyang to the north or Guangzong to the south… Once the Left General of Chariots and Cavalry’s great army arrives, this city will be retaken in the blink of an eye.”

“So what?” Zhang Cheng replied proudly. “As long as we enter the city and kill those few Zhao clan sons who just returned, then all the hundreds of thousands of bandits across Hebei will take us as their leaders.”

“Us?” Chu Yan was suddenly stunned.

“That man Zhang Niujiao — I had dealings with him in my early years,” Zhang Cheng explained. “He is dull and ignorant, lenient and generous to a fault. His immediate failure after rising up in Qingzhou is clear proof. You are skilled in battle, and I am a direct disciple of the Great Worthy and Good Teacher. If you and I join hands, we can easily seize his authority.”

“And what use is seizing it?” Chu Yan was utterly exasperated and flung his sleeves as he sat on the couch. “Though I also worry about the city suddenly falling and being held accountable then… what future is there in being a bandit? Back when the Great Worthy and Good Teacher had several hundred thousand followers, I saw with my own eyes how the General of the Guards shattered them with ease. Can you and I possibly be stronger than the Great Worthy and Good Teacher?”

"Times have changed," Zhang Cheng leaned forward and said calmly. "Right now, Hebei is full of bandits everywhere — they simply can't be wiped out completely. Even Governor Guo was driven to exhaustion and died without his body being found, let alone anyone else. Huangfu Song may have been a famous general for a time, but in the current situation, won't he too become worn out? Besides, Hebei isn't without places to shelter after a failure. That thousand-li stretch of the Taihang Mountains — wasn't that where you once roamed freely? If you have the great mountains at your back and the court can't suppress you, then when the time comes, you might even be able to take the initiative to seek surrender and trade it for a better official post..."

Chu Yan was momentarily bewildered... because this was exactly the best outcome he had imagined in his youth. Yet the crucial problem was — he was already an official now! Why should he take a roundabout path to become an official again?

Of course, Chu Yan quickly laughed at himself with self-mockery — now he was besieged in the city, his situation precarious as a stack of eggs; once the city fell, his very life would be in danger, and even if he survived the city's fall, the court would still punish him for losing his territory.

But if he surrendered the city, no matter what, the thousand-li Taihang Mountains lay just to the west — he could always preserve his useful self and plan slowly from there.

In the end, he, Chu Yan, was long accustomed to being a mountain bandit.

"What do you say?" Zhang Cheng pressed relentlessly.

"I still feel I would be letting down General Wei," Chu Yan continued to shake his head slightly.

"How could General Wei possibly know what kind of life we've been living in Jizhou?" Zhang Cheng asked somberly in return. "Didn't your second son die in the epidemic? My eldest son as well... even though we were already so careful."

Chu Yan fell into a somber silence for a moment, then after a long pause, suddenly raised his head:

"Is Zhang Niujiao truly generous and kind?"

The second year of Zhongping, the third month.

Because of Chu Yan and Zhang Cheng, Yingtao City did not barely hold out as it did in another time and space. Zhang Niujiao easily stormed the city, killed the clansmen of the Regular Palace Attendant Zhao Zhong inside, smashed the commandery office, and once again raised the banner of the Yellow Turbans.

In despair, facing Ku You who was the first to charge into the city, and in order to protect his family, Jing Ze could only raise Ku You's banner and become a bandit himself... Fortunately, County Lieutenant Wang felt guilty toward him and accepted him once more.

Of course, such minor disturbances amid the great tide were not enough to change the true course of events. Just as all the clever people had imagined, Huangfu Song soon arrived with his forces, retook the city in a single battle, and smashed this rabble.

Zhang Niujiao suffered a crushing defeat and was forced to lead his forces toward the Taihang Mountains.

However, halfway there, he suddenly died from his arrow wound, and then, as a matter of course, handed his forces over to Zhang Cheng, who was likewise a direct disciple of Zhang Jiao.

Zhang Cheng, citing his own lack of skill in battle, recommended Chu Yan in turn. Chu Yan changed his surname to Zhang, led the forces west back to the Taihang Mountains, and took the Purple Mountain where he had once dwelt as his banner, calling himself the Purple Mountain Bandit.

At the same time, some of Zhang Niujiao's former followers, unwilling to accept Chu Yan, instead raised a man named Yu Du, a man from Henei who had joined Zhang Niujiao very early, as their leader. Yu Du led his troops south, heading straight for his hometown of Zhaoge in Henei. However, as soon as he crossed the border, he was met head-on and dealt a crushing blow by Zhaoge Magistrate Guan Yu and Commandant Han Dang, a subordinate of General Wei, leading commandery troops, county troops, and the White Horse Volunteers together.

Yu Du's forces scattered, and he fled into the Black Mountains of Henei with only a few hundred men, henceforth calling himself the Black Mountain Bandit.

Of course, whether Black Mountain or Purple Mountain, that is a story for later.

As for the immediate aftermath of that battle, it was fortunate that Guan Yu was not a man who killed indiscriminately. Thus, Jing Ze, whom Yu Du had deliberately brought to this place, was able to report his background in time, and then, through a twist of fate, finally brought his maternal uncle's family dependents to safety, barely surviving.

"So it is true then — Lord Guo is indeed dead?" Gongsun Xun, reining in his horse on his way to Zhaoge to handle the aftermath, encountered Jing Ze's party midway. He first went to see Guo Dian's widow and children, then came back out to meet Jing Ze, already mentally prepared.

"Yes," Jing Ze prostrated himself on the ground, unable to hold back his tears for a moment.

"I had old ties with Lord Guo," Gongsun Xun said, standing by the roadside, at this moment truly somewhat numb. "Attend to your aunt and go to Huai County to settle down in peace. After some time, when I have secured a posthumous honor for Lord Guo from the central court, you may return home to make final arrangements."

Jing Ze was naturally overwhelmed with gratitude and kowtowed in thanks.

"I still do not know your name," it was only then that Gongsun Xun had the presence of mind to ask the other's name.

"Jing Ze, courtesy name Youxi..." Jing Ze spoke with some grief. "I lost my father as a child; this courtesy name was given by my maternal uncle."

"The Book of Changes says: 'For an illness not caused by recklessness, do not use medicine, and there will be joy.'" Wang Xiu, following behind Gongsun Xun, could not help but remark with a touch of emotion. "This courtesy name is similar to Qüji or Qübing — it seems Governor Guo regarded you as his own son and wished you peace and long life."

Jing Ze's tears flowed even more freely.

"This is indeed a fine courtesy name..." After hearing the explanation, Gongsun Xun also gave a rare, bitter laugh. "The third month is ending, the fourth month is about to arrive. Borrowing his courtesy name, I hope there will be more joyful tidings in the days to come."

Everyone voiced their agreement.

Thereupon, the two parties parted ways on the road. Jing Ze naturally attended to his aunt and led his young cousins toward Huai County, while Gongsun Xun also mounted his horse and led the people of his staff onward toward Zhaoge.

Yet, halfway there, a messenger came hurrying after them.

"If it's another messenger from the Western Garden sent by the court to urge additional taxes, then there's no need to report!" Gongsun Xun was in a poor mood and spoke from afar while still on horseback. "Just because Henei is close, they come two or three times a day — isn't it annoying?!"

"It is not a Western Garden messenger from the court!" The messenger galloped up, drenched in sweat, dismounted, and came forward to report only a single sentence. "Chief Clerk Lü sent me to tell you, my lord, to return at once. He says that Sima Shuyi is dead."

"Sima Shuyi is dead?" Gongsun Xun could not quite grasp it for a moment. "Wasn't he fine during the great epidemic earlier? I remember the court even summoned him to take up an official post..."

"It was suicide," the messenger caught his breath, then lowered his head and said. "He took his own life at Mengjin. Before he died, he summoned Sima Lang there, and after his death, he sent word to the commandery office, saying he had left something for you, my lord, to handle on his behalf."

Gongsun Xun, not thinking much of it, directly turned his horse around to head back. But he had not gone two steps when he glanced at Zhao Zi — a student of Sima Zhi — who stood there stunned, his lips trembling wordlessly... and then he suddenly realized:

"Alas, Brother Shuyi is dead!"

—————I am the dividing line of life's impermanence—————

"Guo Dian, courtesy name Junye, in the early Zhongping era, served as Grand Administrator of Julu. Through the campaign against the Yellow Turbans, he had long been on good terms with the Grand Ancestor. In the second year, bandits rose up everywhere in Jizhou, their numbers beyond counting — the larger groups numbering twenty to thirty thousand, the smaller ones six to seven thousand. Dian campaigned against the bandits and became trapped in the Julu Marshes. That night, observing the stars, he saw the constellation Shen setting in the west and the Northern Dipper about to rise, and knew the Mandate of Heaven was about to change. He then summoned his nephew and said: 'The Shen constellation shifts, the Dipper turns, sun and moon and stars move — the realm is about to change. Yet now, in my role as a minister of Han, I cannot defend its land; in my name as commandery lord, I cannot comfort its people. I must die. After my death, you must escort the family southwest, and there you will find safety.' The nephew knelt weeping and obeyed his words. Meeting the Grand Ancestor in Henei, he was thus firmly preserved." — Old Book of Yan, Biographies of the Solitary and Exemplary

(End of Chapter)