Chapter 100: Rebellion! Rebellion!

By late June, the grass on the eastern foothills of the Helan Mountains had grown wild, already taller than the lambs. Amid the rapid drumming of hooves, Diwu Lun, summoned by Han Wei to attend a military conference at Shanghe City, hurried back to Tewu County.

Xuan Biao and the others came over to hold his horse. "Major, what did General Han say?"

Dismounting, Diwu Lun said with a smile, "After I delivered Lu Cheng and his confession to Shanghe City, the Swallowing-the-Hu General flew into a rage. He said that at a time when we are at war with the Xiongnu, a rebel force colluding with the Hu barbarians has appeared right in the army's rear, killing two of our Majors — how can this be tolerated?"

Dong Xi in particular was a kinsman of Dong Zhong, who had only recently taken office as Grand Marshal. That was precisely why Major Dong had acted so recklessly, secure in his backing. With Dong Xi dead, Han Wei had no way to account to the Grand Marshal and could only move swiftly to root out the culprits behind the murder.

The bandits' plundering and burning of the army's grain supplies, the Lu Fang brothers' collusion with the bandits south of Tewu County, and the bandits' conspiracy with Lu Cheng to assassinate Dong Xi and Diwu Lun — all of these were established facts. Moreover, Han Wei was already worried about instability in his rear. In this way, everything linked together, chain by chain, into a single line.

Diwu Lun said, "General Han said that if we turn a blind eye any longer, the bandits at Sanshui will surely become a major threat. The General has decided to launch an immediate campaign to wipe them out, with Colonel Liangqiu in command and myself as his second."

Liangqiu Ci had been rushed to the front to take command of Dong Xi's battalion, plus Diwu Lun's contingent, making a force of two thousand men. Their main task was to sweep clear the bandit camps along the banks of the Bitter River, annihilate them completely, and then follow the river upstream straight to the Anding Dependency.

"The Swallowing-the-Hu General has also notified Grand Governor Wang Xiang of Anding Commandery. Anding will dispatch commandery troops to coordinate the extermination of Lu Fang. The rendezvous is set for the fifteenth day of the seventh month."

"We have only five days left before we march. Are the provisions, fodder, armor, and weapons I ordered you to prepare all in order?" Diwu Lun swept his gaze across the camp. It was indeed a scene of bustling activity — no one had been slacking off while he was away.

Xuan Biao, one of the rare literate men in the battalion, had been handling all the logistics on his behalf. He reported, "Everything is ready. The six thousand shi of grain promised by the powerful magnate Zhang Chun has been delivered. His family and the local magnates of this county are willing to provide over a thousand retainers to help us transport the supplies."

A smile spread across Diwu Lun's face. It seemed the magnates, led by Zhang Chun, were extremely eager for Tewu County to return to "peace" as soon as possible — so the regular conscripts could get the hell out and they could sit down and negotiate slowly with Diwu Lun, who at least could still be reasoned with.

Di Biao also thumped his chest and guaranteed that the soldiers' training had not been neglected over the past few days.

Diwu Lun said with a smile, "Assemble the troops. I want to see for myself whether you've made any progress these past two days."

Now, ever since arriving at Tewu in the fourth month and barely gaining a foothold, Diwu Lun had begun drilling the troops. He had never served as a soldier, and grafting some later-era methods directly onto this setting would surely fail to take root. So Diwu Lun spent more time diligently studying military treatises, mastering the theory first before integrating it with practice.

Among the military texts Yan You had given him, The Art of War by Sunzi emphasized strategy and the nature of warfare. For training, Wuzi was far more detailed. Diwu Lun had spent months reading and copying it, and by now he knew it by heart.

In Wuzi, the chapter "Governing the Troops" specifically addresses issues of advancing, engaging, training, organizing units, and command.

"Wuzi says: Have them sit and then rise, march and then halt, go left and then right, advance and then retreat, divide and then combine, assemble and then disperse. Only when they are practiced in every variation do you issue them their weapons."

To put it plainly, this meant resting while seated versus standing ready for battle, the army marching versus halting, and also understanding left from right, learning to advance and retreat, forming columns and assembling, mustering and dispersing.

Diwu Lun had a sudden epiphany. He remembered people online always asking what use endless formation drills in military training were for actual fighting. So the military philosophers had been playing with these things as far back as the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods.

Diwu Ba had also told Diwu Lun that battle is not a village brawl over water rights — order can often overwhelm disorder.

So throughout the entire fourth and fifth months, whenever Diwu Lun had a spare moment, he led his Boar-Rush Braves in formation drills. Using the method of a cloth shoe on the left foot and a straw sandal on the right, chopsticks in the left hand and a spoon in the right, he taught them for over a month. They could at least tell left from right now and could keep up with the unit's movement instead of swarming around chaotically.

And for those who disobeyed orders, besides corporal punishment, endless toil and drudgery awaited them after training. Diwu Lun could not bear to execute anyone outright just yet — labor was far too precious.

Di Biao, who had also served as a soldier, was muddled about these matters and offered Diwu Lun no help; he still preferred fighting alone. It was Company Commander Jin Dan who explained the army's methods of warfare and provided considerable assistance. After Dai Gong's death, Company Commander Jin Dan was terrified out of his wits and became utterly subservient to Diwu Lun.

But Diwu Lun still promoted Di Biao to Company Commander. He needed one of his own men in charge of the combat troops. Based on the Boar-Rush Braves' differing physical conditions, Diwu Lun divided them into two groups. The six hundred stronger men were trained according to the methods for regular conscripts. Once they completed formation and unit drills, they were formally issued armor and weapons.

Then, following the principle of "the short bear spears and halberds, the tall bear bows and crossbows," he divided the six hundred men into six squads.

One hundred men who were taller and had good eyesight, able to exploit the crossbow's advantages, were selected for the Skilled Archer squad.

If they had to train with bows from scratch, it would probably take three to five years before they could be of use. Crossbows were relatively simpler; even with zero foundation, one could achieve basic competence after three to five months of study.

The Xin Dynasty had a ban on crossbows for commoners — ordinary people could not get their hands on them. But now Diwu Lun nominally commanded two battalions, so he could still scrape together over a hundred hand-crossbows.

Those Boar-Rush Braves who had earlier stepped forward with blades to cut down Ru Chen's personal guards were organized into the Saber-and-Shield squad. After half a month of full meals, their physiques had somewhat recovered. Wielding ring-pommel sabers and round shields required a certain level of physical strength, but even more important was courage!

The man who had been the very first to raise his hand and step forward that day was named Zheng Tong. Diwu Lun appointed him Centurion. Though gaunt, he possessed a ruthless streak that feared neither heaven nor earth.

It was only recently that Diwu Lun learned from the soldiers: "Major, the reason Zheng Tong was willing to be the first to take up a blade that day was because he bitterly hated one of the personal guard officers…"

It was a story difficult to speak of. During the long march, that officer, who had peculiar proclivities, had violated Zheng Tong — many times.

After being penetrated, Zheng Tong developed an intense interest in penetrating others with a real blade. That day, he hacked at that officer dozens of times, each cut deliberately avoiding the vital points. Only when ordered to stop did Zheng Tong flip his blood-soaked enemy over and drive the blade straight into his rear!

Then Zheng Tong threw down the saber and wept bitterly. This scene left a deep impression on Diwu Lun.

"If this man is used well, he could be a man who would die for me."

The remaining four hundred men, possessing no outstanding qualities, were formed into four Spear-and-Halberd squads. Zang Nu was among them. These squads did not emphasize eyesight, nor did they care about individual skill or courage. They relied on collective strength, wielding long weapons, advancing and withdrawing in unison. It was training so tedious it numbed the mind.

As for the six hundred or so men of weaker constitution, following the principle of "the weak are assigned to logistics," they continued to serve as auxiliary conscripts. Xuan Biao was promoted by Diwu Lun to Company Commander, with Diwu Pingdan as his deputy.

This was the entirety of the training for the sixth month. Up to this day, the soldiers had not even had time to learn flag and drum signals. They had only crammed this in over the past two days while Diwu Lun was away at the main camp.

Now that Diwu Lun had returned, everyone wanted to show off their achievements. On the broad grasslands by the river, over six hundred men were drilling formations or practicing flag and drum signals. Responding to the sounds of the gongs and drums, they advanced or halted, struck or retreated — it truly looked the part.

But when Diwu Lun ordered them to start beating out more complex flag and drum signals, such as the drums for "march, quick-march, charge," their deficiencies were exposed.

As soon as the combined flag and drum drill began, the Boar-Rush Braves revealed their true colors. The left squad could not find the right squad; the crossbow Skilled Archers somehow ran in front of the Spear-and-Halberd squad; the Saber-and-Shield squad simply exploded on the spot and split into two halves.

They looked as if they were about to start fighting each other, let alone form a battle line against an enemy.

"At their core, they're still a loose band of stragglers. They need more drilling." Diwu Lun shook his head, but he was not too disappointed. In just two months, to go from a mob of able-bodied men who could scatter at any moment to the average standard of new regular conscripts was quite decent.

Diwu Lun held a meeting with the officers. "We have five days left before we break camp and head south. Focus on practicing the flag signals and gongs and drums. It doesn't need to be too complex. At the very least, learn that a lowered flag means quick-march, linked pennants mean fierce attack, the sounding of gongs means retreat, and the beating of drums means advance. Do not make any movements contrary to my flags."

Fortunately, this operation into the mountains would be fought on narrow terrain, making it difficult to assemble an entire battalion. They would mostly advance in separate squads, relying on each squad to act on its own. Often, the head and tail would be separated by several li and unable to call to each other, so the flags and drums would not matter as much.

Diwu Lun swept his gaze over the assembled men. "On this campaign, we too will serve as auxiliary conscripts, following behind the regular troops. But we may still see combat."

Among the officers, some were fearful, some were excited, and even more were eager to give it a try.

For Diwu Lun, this was a rare opportunity. Even if it was just following behind to fight a battle with the wind at their backs, it was still real combat.

This would be the first battle of the Boar-Rush Braves.

Diwu Lun had little interest in winning merit for your Great Xin. All he sought was to give the Boar-Rush Braves another round of training. Conveniently, the enemy was not strong either — just worthless rabble and bandits. Even if the fight turned out to be an ugly spectacle of amateurs flailing at each other, they still had to go!

It would let them see blood, and they could conveniently wipe out the Han traitors colluding with the Xiongnu along the way. Why not take pleasure in it?

Then again, that wasn't quite right. Lu Fang had been shouting all along about restoring the Great Han. Could he really be called a Han traitor?

Apart from this, another scheme was turning over in Diwu Lun's mind.

"The terrain along this campaign route is complex. If there are one or two righteous men who can guide our way, that would also be a meritorious service."

"Ma Yuan has far too many acquaintances in Maoling, and there are a great many men from the capital region in the army. It's inconvenient for him to show his face. But this is a perfect opportunity for Wan Xiu to clear his name!"

…

Far away in Sanshui County in the Anding Dependency, at Zuo Valley Township, which Lu Fang had already seized by impersonating an identity, this "Liu Wenbo" stood atop a loess ridge, gazing north toward the middle reaches of the Bitter River, his heart heavy with worry.

"My younger brother has been out of contact for ten days."

The last time his brother Lu Cheng sent word, he said he had made contact with Chief Ma. The other party was willing to cooperate and could even assassinate Majors Dong Xi and Diwu Lun of Tewu County as a gift to join the cause.

Lu Fang, however, was worried rather than pleased. He felt this was somewhat rash and sent men to stop his brother. But the men he dispatched never returned. This made Lu Fang sense that something was wrong.

When they sent men to scout again, they found that White Earth Ridge, where Ma Yuan and his group had been, was completely deserted!

Ma Yuan, seeing that Lu Fang had grown suspicious, had stopped pretending and focused solely on moving his followers into the mountains and the Gobi, to avoid the innocent getting caught in the crossfire. As for the lives of the Lu brothers, what did he care?

Today, Lu Fang learned news that made his heart tremble.

His elder brother, Lu Qin, came to report: "The County Magistrate of Sanshui has sent a man, asking Wenbo to go to the county seat. They say they want to recruit you as an official."

"An official? More like a ghost!" Lu Fang burst out laughing, immediately guessing Anding Commandery's trick. Drawing his sword on the spot, his face dark with anger, he said: "This is a ruse to lure me to the county seat, then ambush and kill me with hidden troops."

"It must be that my younger brother's plot has failed, and the authorities want to wipe me out. Since things have come to this, I might as well rebel!"

……

PS: My creative state fluctuates. Sometimes when the time comes, I feel I haven't written enough, the plot could use a bit more, the phrasing and word choice could be tweaked, and there are even typos and punctuation errors... yet I have to publish, because I know everyone is waiting. Please forgive me if it feels short.