Chapter 323: The Grand Administrator Pacifies Liaodong in Half a Month

April turned to summer. Over a month had passed since the Son of Heaven departed the world, and Luoyang was already steeped in bloody storms and treacherous currents. Yet for Liaodong, thousands of li distant from Luoyang, not the slightest hint of an approaching tempest could be felt here.

Or to put it bluntly, even if there had been some small winds and rains here, they had long since passed.

Over half a month ago, Zhao Bao, General of the Right and Governor of Liaodong, who had come crossing the sea, almost immediately upon taking office began issuing tallies without pause, levying twenty thousand troops from several commanderies to besiege the Liaodong Wuhuan. Yet this stirred no ripples at all... This was because the Liaodong Wuhuan were truly weak in strength. Su Puyan, who styled himself the Qiao King, fought on interior lines, straining the entire tribe's strength, and even with some mixed Hu he had coerced into joining, could only scrape together five or six thousand riders.

And facing the overwhelming might of the Han army bearing down like Mount Tai, Qiu Liju west of Mount Wulu had simply gone back on his word, sending not a single soldier as reinforcement. This left Su Puyan, outmatched in both troops and equipment, with no choice but to suffer defeat after swift, clean defeat!

Having been routed all the way to his present state, the man had now lost his homeland entirely, with only a pitiful seventy or eighty men left at his side. At this moment, they were laboriously crossing the Liao Marshes, preparing to seek refuge with Qiu Liju at Liucheng, hoping merely to cling to a wretched existence.

"My King!" Facing Su Puyan, who styled himself the Qiao King, this miserable remnant soldier of the Liaodong Wuhuan, returning from scouting the path, used a rather distinctive form of address. "I've found the way! Follow this winding branch on the left, and we can travel all the way to the southern side of Mount Wulu, then go straight to a crossing point on the Daling River... I scouted it from afar. Four or five large boats, but only a dozen or so Han soldiers, all locals from the original post station in front of the crossing, men specifically assigned to watch the station. They have no fighting strength."

Upon hearing this, the crowd of remnant soldiers and defeated generals all lost their composure. Su Puyan even slumped down into the mire and let out a long breath.

Here, it must be reiterated what the terrain beyond the frontier was like in the Han era... Liaoxi, needless to say, was typical hilly terrain. Liaodong, also needless to say, was flat plain terrain. And between Liaodong and Liaoxi lay the famous Mount Wulu, known as the Northern Guardian, along with several vast marshlands stretching both north and south — the Liao Marshes, which would later vanish entirely.

As for the major rivers, aside from the Liao River, which flowed from north to south forming the Liao River Plain and serving as the principal waterway, the Daling River and Xiaoling River were also two rivers in this region that could not be ignored... Mainly because the courses of these two rivers were far too intriguing.

Setting aside the Xiaoling River, the Daling River originated in the hills of Liaoxi, flowed northward for several hundred li, and upon reaching the area outside Liucheng, suddenly turned eastward. It then reached Mount Wulu, but was blocked by the mountain range and forced to turn southward, finally emptying into the Bohai Sea.

In other words, this was a great river shaped like a walking staff, enveloping all of Liaoxi within its embrace. The traditional territory of the Liaoxi Wuhuan lay within this area enclosed by the Daling River. Correspondingly, the Han Empire had also constructed Liucheng, Guanzicheng, and Lulong Fortress, forming a defensive line that both protected the Liaoxi corridor, guarded against the Xianbei, and cut off the Wuhuan.

As for why Qiu Liju and Tadun had been constantly worried that Zhao Bao might suddenly arrive, it was not without reason. First, separated by Mount Wulu and the Liao Marshes, the climate in Liaodong was entirely different from Liaoxi... In other words, if it was raining in Liaoxi, it was not necessarily raining in Liaodong. And although the Liao River's water level would rise due to its tributaries, if the skies were clear, Zhao Bao still had the opportunity and ability to organize a river crossing. Second, the terrain conditions were too complex. In this era, between Liaodong and Liaoxi, there were marshes, rivers, mountains, and cities all intermingled. In such circumstances, it was truly difficult to track the movements of an army.

By the same logic, Su Puyan, already driven to the utmost extremity, was naturally overjoyed upon hearing that a crossing point on the Daling River lay ahead... After all, the Daling River basin had now cleared. If his seventy or eighty men could launch a surprise attack and seize a crossing point, then cross the river at their leisure, would they not have escaped from the jaws of death?

With terrain this complex, the Han army would be unable to pursue them in time, right?

With this thought, and recalling the hardships of this journey through the marshes, and moreover with these seventy or eighty brave warriors at his side who had not abandoned him, the Qiao King Su Puyan was for a moment moved to hot tears. Then the man actually drew a small knife, cut his palm to draw blood, and swore an oath before everyone:

"All of you, if we successfully cross the river this time, it shall prove that Heaven has not abandoned me, Su Puyan! In ancient times, my ancestors received Heaven's pitying favor, and from a mere ten-odd settlements grew to over a thousand. Then I, Su Puyan, shall surely achieve great things again in the future! And as you have not abandoned me today, I shall in the future regard you all as my trusted confidants. Whatever spoils we seize shall be divided equally; whatever hardships we face shall be endured together!"

Seeing this, the assembled followers all dared not be remiss. Each knelt, likewise cut open their palm, and swore an oath of allegiance.

After this round of exertions, these seventy or eighty remnant soldiers somewhat rallied their spirits. They then forced themselves to continue marching along the winding branches within the marshes. When they followed the guiding scout all the way to the post station before the crossing point, they were even more beside themselves with joy... Indeed, the scout's report had contained not the slightest falsehood. At this post station crossing, there truly were only a dozen or so Han soldiers, completely off guard, and yet moored at the crossing were four or five large boats!

This band of Wuhuan fugitives, having long since lost their warhorses and crossbows in their earlier disarray, now let out a great roar and charged behind Su Puyan, gripping spears and running barefoot like wild men. The dozen or so Han soldiers, seeing the approaching men, were all terrified and immediately fled into the courtyard of the post station before the crossing. Seeing this, Su Puyan was even more overjoyed and repeatedly shouted to spare these Han soldiers' lives... for he still needed these Han soldiers to help them row the boats.

But when this clamorous crowd of Wuhuan, led by the Qiao King Su Puyan, noisily burst into the post station courtyard, they instantly fell silent, like ducks seized by the throat.

It turned out that in the courtyard of the post station, before the main hall and directly facing the main gate, there had been placed a simplified version of the Grand Commandant's chair common in Liaoxi — the kind without armrests. And upon that chair sat a Han army warrior. This man was tall of stature and handsome of countenance, clad in iron armor, with sturdy boots on his feet and a white plume standing atop his helmet — truly a sight of awe-inspiring majesty.

Yet what was even more striking was that although this man sat there motionless, he held in his hands an exceptionally conspicuous ox-horn heavy bow, an arrow already nocked and the bowstring drawn, aimed directly at the gateway, poised but not yet released!

From Su Puyan down, the crowd of Wuhuan fugitives who had surged into the courtyard were all terrified into silence upon seeing this man, even frozen rigid, not daring to move rashly. It was clear they had long known who he was.

And just as these men stood with parched mouths and tongues, momentarily petrified, a commotion stirred inside and outside the post station. From within the building surged several dozen Han soldiers bearing blades, while from outside the courtyard came the sound of hoofbeats and the screams of Wuhuan men.

It was all too obvious — Su Puyan had walked into an ambush. At the end of his road and now caught in a trap, there was no room whatsoever for maneuver.

"Nobody move." The Han army warrior sitting in the chair, bow drawn, was perfectly composed and unhurried. "The first one to move, I shoot dead..."

At these words, from Su Puyan down, the crowd grew even more terrified.

"That one over there, the one who brought the message — don't be afraid." Seeing that these men had quieted down, the Han army warrior then nodded toward a certain Wuhuan man opposite him and indicated, "I am a man of my word. Since I promised you a reward of fifty thousand coins, I will certainly give it to you. I promised to help you find your family, and I will do my utmost. Walk over slowly, come with us. The same goes for the rest of you. Shave your heads, wash your faces clean, and honestly go find work at the Anli Trading House. At the very worst, you can help the Anli Trading House herd horses — is that not better than fleeing for your lives with this so-called Qiao King? By Liaodong's rules, so long as you throw down your weapons and each squat down with your hands on your heads, I absolutely will not kill you."

Su Puyan dared not turn his head, but he could already hear a continuous clattering behind him — clearly, the vast majority had already betrayed him. Yet as a man who had styled himself a king, he still had some sense of face. And recalling the scene just moments ago when they had all sworn oaths together, he was filled with grief and indignation. This grief and indignation finally reached its peak when, out of the corner of his eye, he saw that scout who had earlier guided the way gleefully walking around him toward the Han army warrior on the opposite side!

Sure enough, seeing this man approach before him, Su Puyan hesitated no longer. Gritting his teeth, he gripped his long spear, attempting to kill this man to vent his hatred. Yet, in the split second it took to act, as soon as Su Puyan raised his hand, he felt a numbing jolt in his palm... followed by a piercing, bone-deep agony! The man immediately burst into tears and mucus, clutching his long spear as he rolled on the ground.

It took the surrounding men a long moment to understand what had happened. It turned out that the Han army warrior sitting in the chair had, from over a dozen paces away, loosed an arrow that nailed Su Puyan's right hand to that long spear!

Yet faced with this archery, whose power and accuracy had reached the level of a performance, none of the surrounding Han soldiers — nor even the Wuhuan captives — showed the slightest astonishment.

After loosing that arrow, the warrior himself shook his head with a sigh for a moment. Then he once more took up his bow, nocked an arrow, rose, and walked over, speaking as he went: "I already said, so long as you throw down your weapons, put your hands on your heads, and prostrate yourselves on the ground, you may keep your lives. Why did it have to come to this?"

A nearby Han soldier, hearing this and sensing something amiss, hastily reminded him: "Commander, do not be muddled. Our Lord Zhao's reward is for live captives... dead men are worthless."

The warrior shook his head even more at this. He planted one foot on the shoulder of Su Puyan, who was still writhing in pain, pinning him immobile, and only then turned his head to explain: "That is not what I meant. A man without trust cannot stand. Since I just said that the first one to move, I would shoot dead... Su Puyan moved first, so I must shoot him dead. Otherwise, how will the people of the world regard me in the future?"

The surrounding Han soldiers were speechless.

"Does this mean you intend to kill me?!" Su Puyan, pinned to the ground, with the pain in his hand unbearable, his mucus and tears smeared into the dirt, had actually understood the other's meaning.

"Precisely." The warrior, while slightly easing the pressure under his foot, nonetheless pointed his bow and arrow at the other's neck, still speaking with perfect composure. "I have heard it said that when a man is about to die, even a wretch as lowly as a Hu dog-slave should be permitted to leave final words. You are, after all, a noble scion of the Wuhuan who has roamed across Liaodong for over a decade... If you truly have words to say, I can convey them on your behalf to my Lord Zhao!"

"Lord Zhao made his name shake the lands beyond the frontier a decade ago, when over a thousand settlements of the Liaodong Wuhuan were destroyed by his hand. I have nothing to say to him." Su Puyan endured the pain, gritting his teeth as he spoke from the ground. "There is only one matter... My most trusted younger brother died under your arrows. The two trusted generals I relied on most also died under your arrows. Now even I myself am to die under your arrow, yet I still do not even know your name. How can I be reconciled to this?!"

"Then I shall let you die with full understanding!" The Han general holding the bow gave a light laugh, still unhurried. "The one killing you is Taishi Ci of Donglai! Favored with the regard of the General of the Right, I currently serve as Commandant of the General of the Right's headquarters staff!"

As his words ended, Taishi Ci's bow and arrow loosed with a twang. A white-feathered arrow entered through the back of Su Puyan's neck, nearly piercing entirely through his throat, then embedded itself three inches into the ground — clearly, like the previous arrow, delivered with full force. It had nailed Su Puyan's neck dead to the ground.

"Do not be afraid!" After killing the chieftain of the Liaodong Wuhuan, Taishi Ci still paid it no mind. The man put away his bow and arrows, walked behind that chair to pick up two hand-axes which he strapped to his back, and then turned to comfort that Wuhuan scout, who had long since been scared out of his wits. "I, Taishi Ci, have never in my life broken faith with anyone... If a dead Su Puyan cannot be exchanged for reward money, I shall use my own merits to exchange for the money. No matter what, I will give you the promised fifty thousand coins. However, if you truly can ransom back your family, it would be best not to harbor rebellious thoughts again in the future... With our Lord Zhao in Liaodong, people like you will never be able to rise up!"

The scout opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out. He could only kneel and kowtow... In truth, whether the Wuhuan men on the ground or the Han soldiers standing by, everyone had already come to realize that the Liaodong Wuhuan, which had lasted a hundred years, had with that single arrow from Taishi Ziyi just now, come to its final end.

And after Taishi Ci had successfully resolved the last hidden threat of the Liaodong Wuhuan, he directly took his leave of the post station chief at this crossing, openly stating that he would report the other's contributions. Then he took the captives, Su Puyan's head, and those four or five ferry boats, and traveled northward along the Daling River... It turned out that his mission on this trip also included gathering boats for the Liaodong Han army to use in crossing the river.

As for Su Puyan, he had merely happened to encounter a scout who had surrendered, and dealt with him as a matter of convenience.

However, when Taishi Ci was marching northward along the river with the boats he had gathered, after less than half a day, suddenly several riders on white horses — Han soldiers — came pursuing along the river from the south on the opposite bank... Only upon asking did he learn that these few Han cavalrymen had originally intended to cross the river at the ferry crossing, but upon hearing the ferry boats had been taken away, had no choice but to pursue along the river.

They were all Han soldiers, and there might even be urgent military intelligence. Taishi Ci naturally had no reason to refuse, so he immediately ordered men to send boats across and bring them over the river.

"May I ask this comrade-in-arms his rank, and where he is headed?" Once the other party reached this side of the river, a greeting was only proper. Moreover, the man leading these Han soldiers was eight chi tall and of extraordinary bearing. Taishi Ci also noticed at a glance that this man actually wore a black silk cord and a bronze seal, clearly indicating he was at the very least a Qu Commander. He could not help but be greatly surprised.

One must understand that according to previous intelligence, at this time most of the territory on the opposite bank should have been occupied by the Liaoxi Wuhuan rebels, and the majority of military officers had died in battle. Only the two great cities of Yangle and Changli still remained Han territory, but even there, the court-appointed officials of six-hundred-dan rank and above were few in number... How had an officer like this suddenly appeared?

"I was just about to ask you, sir — what post do you hold, to be here?" This man had also naturally noticed Taishi Ci's rank and this contingent of troops, and was equally curious.

"Oh!" Taishi Ci paid it no mind and immediately raised his head to speak again. "Taishi Ci of Donglai, currently serving as Commandant on the headquarters staff of the General of the Right and Governor of Liaodong, Lord Zhao. Lord Zhao has already pacified the Liaodong Wuhuan and is about to cross the river, hence I am here."

"So that is how it is." This man, upon hearing this, was likewise unhurried. "I have met Commander Taishi. I am Zhao Yun of Changshan. Favored with the regard of the General of the Guards, I currently serve as Qu Commander. I bear my general's orders to go pay my respects to the Elder Lady Gongsun of Liaodong..."

"The General of the Guards... For five hundred li, all of Liaoxi is enemy-occupied territory. Since Commander Zhao comes from the General of the Guards' side, how did you travel five hundred li to reach here?" Taishi Ci grew even more puzzled. "Should you not have come by sea?"

"I shall not hide it from Commander Taishi. Five days ago, that is, the day before the skies cleared, my lord had already retaken Liucheng, slain Tadun, and captured Qiu Liju. Over ten thousand heads were taken, and over ten thousand captives. The chieftains of the hundred tribes of Liaoxi all came in white garments to pay homage... The chaos in Liaoxi has already been quelled." Zhao Yun answered composedly. "And my journey here is precisely by my lord's order, to invite the Elder Lady to visit Liucheng, to discuss how to settle the aftermath."

Taishi Ci started to speak, then stopped.

—————I am the dividing line that needs to settle the aftermath—————

"Taishi Ci, courtesy name Ziyi, was a man of Huang in Donglai. In his youth he was fond of learning and served in the commandery as a Memorial Clerk... At the end of the Zhongping era, due to commandery and provincial affairs, he feared being caught in the resulting calamity and thus fled to Liaodong. He encountered Zhao Bao, General of the Right and Governor of Liaodong, who had crossed the sea to Liaodong and was about to undertake operations against the Wuhuan. Because Taishi Ci was renowned in that era, Zhao Bao recruited him as a Commandant." — New Book of Yan, Volume 60, Biographies, Chapter 10

PS: Thanks to the new Alliance Master, Cardinal Richelieu... the twenty-third Alliance Master... truly grateful beyond words... terribly embarrassed, actually didn't notice there was a new Alliance Master.

(End of Chapter)