Chapter 105: Harvesting Wheat

In the eighth month of the first year of Dihuang (AD 20), the "lands within the passes and along the frontier" that Diwu Lun spoke of welcomed a bountiful harvest.

A south wind rose at night, and the wheat covered the ridges in gold; the golden millet and wheat ripened on time. The entire population of Tewu County turned out, everyone heading to the fields to rush in the harvest. The able-bodied laborers charged to the very front, bending at the waist, heads lowered, sickles flashing back and forth at the base of the wheat stalks like two-man saws. Each person took three to five rows of wheat, and those falling behind refused to be outdone.

The elderly and the women carried food in bamboo baskets and brought jugs of broth to the fields to deliver meals. The children were not idle either; braving the blazing sun, they followed behind the adults, heads bent to pick up the fallen ears of wheat, gathering them all onto the large carts.

As they pulled the carts laden with wheat ears to the threshing ground, the farmers did not forget to glance toward the beacon towers south of the Han Canal, both worried and relieved.

"Thankfully, they are watching over us, so no soldiers or bandits from other counties have come to harass us."

Stationed there was a squad of soldiers from the Fifth Battalion, yellow cloth wrapped around their foreheads, who had been coming to stand guard for many days in a row.

In normal times, if government troops came this close, even if the autumn harvest was so urgent that not a moment could be spared, the common folk would certainly have long since fled. For those who escaped too slowly, suffering humiliation was a minor matter; the real fear was being press-ganged into labor and dying in the army, never able to return home.

But today was different. Those Fifth Battalion soldiers were all very well-behaved, their backs to the farmland, their eyes fixed on the loess hillocks southwest of Tewu County. From time to time, riders passed back and forth between the beacon towers relaying messages.

What they were guarding against was not the theoretically already "exterminated" Commander Ma Qu, but the "remnants" of Lu Fang's forces, who had slipped into the Daluo Mountains and were waging guerrilla warfare across the hundreds of li of wilderness from west of Left Valley to the Yellow River.

Lu Fang's kindness and benevolence were directed solely at the people of Sanshui County. As a regional armed force, they were utterly vicious toward outsiders with different accents. Moreover, his ranks included many Qiang and Hu tribesmen, who, when starving, would come to the plains to plunder. Several villages in Xunjuan County in the neighboring Anding Commandery had already suffered.

However, Anding Commandery adamantly insisted that Lu Fang was already dead, merely sending commandery troops to drive them away, and conveniently sweeping through the hamlets already ravaged by Lu Fang once more, then pinning the blame on bandits. Why not take such a pleasure?

"So what we must guard against is not only Lu Fang's remnants, but also the 'friendly forces' from the neighboring commandery."

Zang Nu stood on the beacon tower, crossbow in hand. He now thoroughly agreed with what Major Boyu had said at the officers' meeting: "Friendly forces are the Fifth Battalion's greatest hypothetical enemy!"

In his daily earnest instructions, Diwu Lun often referred to the other armies of the Great Xin as "soldiers who prey on the people," while the Fifth Battalion was "soldiers who protect the people," demanding a clear distinction between the two.

He had delegated authority to the centurions and junior officers guarding Tewu's southern border: if the people-preying soldiers of Anding Commandery crossed the border to harm the common folk, they were to be struck down directly as bandits.

As the wheat harvesting in this area neared its end, the village elders, very perceptive, had the women smear mud on their faces and hide far away. Leading a group of old men carrying jugs and broth, he came trembling with fear to reward the Fifth Battalion soldiers.

Zang Nu's thick eyebrows relaxed, and his smile was quite pleasant: "All harvested?"

The elder hurriedly said: "Thanks to you, General, for standing guard for us, we had no need to fear bandits coming to harass us. It is all harvested."

Water and food were acceptable. Zang Nu refused none of it, letting the soldiers eat and drink as they pleased. But when the elders proposed giving them a cartload of the harvested grain as a reward, Zang Nu sternly waved his hand.

"I am no General. Furthermore, if Major Boyu learned of this, the punishment would be severe. Elder, do not bring harm upon me."

In the same beacon tower, there were also "military law officers" subordinate to Xuan Biao keeping watch. They were all stubborn by nature, upholding the rules set by Diwu Lun, and reported every matter, great or small. Not taking a single needle or thread from the common folk was impossible to achieve, but hauling away cartloads would be stopped immediately.

In accordance with Diwu Lun's requirement that "the army and the people must integrate," Zang Nu squatted on the ground and began chatting idly with the elder: "Venerable sir, we too come from poor backgrounds. I myself was once a field slave. Look at these calluses on my hands — they were all formed from gripping a sickle. I know the bitterness of the fields. Major Boyu has said that the grain to be levied is all included in the autumn land tax, with no additional levies. You deliver it to the authorities, and the authorities then give it to us as rations. That is sufficient."

As for the grain destined for the Fifth Battalion, Tewu County dared not skim any off.

After the elders had given profuse thanks and taken their leave, some soldiers still swallowed hard as they watched the grain and the farm women being led away. Taking advantage of the military law officer's absence, they asked Zang Nu: "Centurion Zang, I still don't understand. Even though Major Boyu makes us shout before every meal, 'Our food and clothing all come from the people, therefore we must be soldiers who protect the people and must not harm the common folk'..."

"But although the grain and clothes are planted and sewn by the common folk, if Major Boyu were not in command of the army, they wouldn't be given to us for free, would they?"

These few junior officers and sergeants were somewhat resentful. It was true that they had suffered bullying in the past, but toward those who had bullied them, they felt envy alongside their hatred.

After becoming squad leaders, they had originally thought they could learn from other units and act like masters over others, yet now they had to swallow their grievances.

They could not take the cloth they desired when they saw it, could not seize a pleasing young woman when they spotted her. According to Diwu Lun's doctrine, the army had practically become the farmhands' servants. On what grounds?

And so they muttered: "So in the final analysis, the food we eat is still Major Boyu's food, and the clothes we wear are still the Diwu clan's clothes. It has absolutely nothing to do with who farms the land or who weaves the cloth."

Zang Nu cursed: "If the Major or Company Commander Xuan heard those words, you would certainly be reprimanded and driven to the north of the county to plant alfalfa and sun-dry bittern salt — far more grueling than being south of the county."

Although Zang Nu could empathize, recalling his own days of hardship and agreeing with Diwu Lun's words, he could not help the fact that his men's consciousness was truly very low. Inarticulate, and incapable of the methods Diwu Lun and Xuan Biao used to lead the soldiers in recalling past bitterness and savoring present sweetness, he could only mutter: "Just obey the military orders! In any case, before meals every day, when Major Boyu says these things up front, you lot just clap with all your might!"

Those with even lower consciousness, who violated Diwu Lun's military orders and, on the march back from Sanshui, had imitated other units by seizing grain and cloth, had already been stripped of their rank as squad leaders and regular soldier status, and were merely driven to the Kushui River to do the work of "sun-drying bittern salt."

The method was nothing new — not to mention the seaside salt-sunning of later times — it was actually derived from the well-salt production methods Diwu Lun had seen in Shu when he escorted Yang Xiong's coffin back to Yizhou for burial.

Under the blazing sun, several shallow salt pans were built with loess along the middle reaches of the Kushui River. The bitter, salty water was channeled into them, and the soldiers labored there. Brine, already concentrated by the sun and wind, was drawn out and added to reed baskets filled with salt-filtering earth. The salt-filtering earth was a finished product processed long in advance, extremely high in salt content. Brine of even greater concentration slowly dripped into pottery jars.

If the weather was clear enough and the wind favorable, there was no need even to boil it; direct exposure to the sun, though slower, could also yield salt. If the weather was poor, they switched to boiling the brine with reed stalks, simmering over high and low heat repeatedly. After several filtrations to remove sediment and impurities, the salt settled in the cauldron like piled snow, congealing into lumps. Once cooled, it was taken out and stored.

This was all grueling work. Soldiers who had violated prohibitions but whose crimes did not warrant death were basically all driven here to perform hard labor, and their future fate was decided based on how they acknowledged their errors.

"After all, since we no longer embezzle from the payroll, we still need to gradually expand recruitment among local poor peasants who truly cannot survive, but we cannot imitate other units and extort grain from the common folk at every turn. We must find sources of income."

Diwu Lun tasted a few grains of the freshly produced salt. Compared to the coarse salt the common folk used to scrape directly from the shore and let dry naturally, it was indeed much finer, but that bitter taste still lingered. There was no helping it; the cost of removing the readily soluble impurities within was too high. But for most people, this was already rare, good salt.

By rights, salt was subject to the monopoly of the Five Equalizations and Six Monopolies, and private trade was forbidden. But while this measure worked within the passes, here on the frontier, where bitter water and salt lakes were everywhere, it was dead letter. Could you forbid the common folk from scraping salt off the rocks by the water, or stop flocks of sheep from licking salt-crust crystals on the loess plateaus?

As for the frontier armies transporting and selling salt locally, the court and the generals had long had a tacit understanding and granted tacit approval. The salt from the Huamachi Pool in Xuyan County to the east was also transported by the official carts and horses of the Northern Commandant of Weirong Commandery and sold to local wealthy households.

So Diwu Lun did not worry about violating the prohibition. What worried him was whether his own salt, whose quality could not be considered the very best, could be sold to the powerful families of Tewu in exchange for grain.

Reality proved he had worried too much. At a banquet where the powerful families had gathered, when Diwu Lun had someone bring out the glistening white salt and subtly hinted at his intentions, Zhang Chun, whose family possessed a thousand catties of gold, immediately made the decision: "The salt from the neighboring county may look good, but in truth, it upsets this old man's stomach."

He was truly not a plant arranged in advance. Zhang Chun, with great emotion, voluntarily advertised for Diwu Lun: "A region's water and soil nourish its own people! As a man of Tewu, one naturally ought to eat Tewu salt. From this day forward, my family will no longer eat Huamachi salt, but only the salt of the Kushui!"

With the Zhang clan taking the lead, the first batch of salt produced by the Fifth Battalion's production brigade was snapped up by the local powerful families within a single day, exchanged directly with the hard currencies of grain and cloth. Xuan Biao was so delighted he could not close his mouth. At this sales volume, the Fifth Battalion could trade salt for grain and sustain itself for a while.

However, inside the Zhang residence, Old Master Zhang Chun, who had just moments ago proclaimed "a region's water and soil nourish its own people," still used Huamachi salt whether for eating or for rinsing his mouth with a willow twig. The Kushui salt was only given to the household's retainers and clan laborers to consume.

This greatly puzzled his son, Zhang Fen: "Father, since you look down on this salt, why did you take the lead in buying it at a high price?"

"Was it salt that I was buying?" Zhang Chun laughed. "What I bought was Major Boyu's goodwill."

"I know that Diwu Lun is earnestly doing things, wanting the soldiers to develop income sources and enterprises, not to be idle. But in truth, even if what Diwu Lun had brought out was pitch-black mud, I would still have gladly bought it all!"

Zhang Chun admonished his son: "Ever since the court dispatched a great army to strike the Hu ten years ago, throwing the border regions into great chaos, military units seizing by force has become the norm. Those like Ru Chen, timid, only dare to plunder ordinary commoners; when you encounter the likes of Dong Xi, they directly target the powerful families. Even worse, some have already begun impersonating Xiongnu or bandits, attacking cities and massacring settlements!"

He sighed: "In these times, someone like Diwu Lun, who can sit down and talk about rules, and is even willing to trade and exchange with powerful families, is already rare. If you encounter one, you must cherish him, so that he remains permanently stationed in Tewu and keeps the region safe."

"Moreover, this Kushui salt is truly of decent quality. To exchange for it with grain and cloth that he could have simply seized by force — why not take such a pleasure?"

Even if it were a forced transaction, even if the price offered was inflated, Zhang Chun would accept it.

Zhang Chun admonished his son: "In short, the more frequent our dealings with Diwu Lun, and the more intertwined our interests, the safer our family will be. You too should visit the Fifth Battalion often."

At last, Zhang Chun looked at his five-year-old daughter playing in the courtyard and lamented: "It is a pity that our family line is not flourishing, and we have no daughter of a suitable age. Otherwise, it would truly be worthwhile to form a marriage alliance with Diwu Lun!"

By the ninth month, just as he was gaining a firm foothold in Tewu County and preparing to expand and strengthen his forces for future plans, Diwu Lun received a summons from the Xiongnu-Subduing General and once again came to Shanghe City.

The main camp was vastly different from the last time he had visited. After several months of rest and replenishment of combat strength, four thousand regular soldiers were fully equipped and ready to march — half cavalry, half infantry. Also setting out beyond the frontier were two thousand auxiliary conscripts and three thousand mules and horses, carrying a month's rations for the army.

Upon learning that he had not been selected for the expeditionary force, Diwu Lun let out a long breath of relief. It seemed that his ploy in the memorial of playing up his misery and self-reporting his "casualties" had been the right gamble.

Also remaining behind to guard were two thousand men under Liangqiu Ci, ordered to garrison Shanghe City as well as Lingwu and Lian counties, ready at any time to receive the army upon its return.

Of course, this made General Tunhu — who had already revised his opinion of Diwu Lun considerably — detest him all over again, feeling that this young man was utterly listless, completely lacking in drive.

Han Wei himself, by contrast, was nearly seventy, yet still sharp and ambitious, seeking only to match the deeds of Wei Qing and Huo Qubing and win a marquisate.

Only when issuing orders did he set his face sternly and say: "Diwu Lun, do you know why I am keeping you to guard Tewu?"

"This subordinate knows. It is because the remnants of the Sanshui rebels have not yet been wiped out!"

Diwu Lun drew closer and made a pledge before the aged General Tunhu: "Lu Fang has already died twice. If he dares come out of the mountains and move north to raid the border, this subordinate can take yet another of his heads!"

……

PS: Ran late fixing the punctuation. Begging for recommendation tickets.