Chapter 114: A Gap in the Helan Mountains

It would take Feng Yan at least ten days to half a month to return north to Jilu Fortress and deliver the "real situation" in New Qin to Lian Dan, and this stretch of time became the hardest for Diwu Lun to endure.

Liangqiu Ci was "Viscount of Pingli," Dou Rong was "Baron of Jianwu," and he was "Baron of Dingli."

All three held noble titles and commanded troops, yet laughably, the one who would decide their future fate was Feng Yan, a mere three-hundred-bushel Retainer — a single ounce tipping a thousand-pound scale.

"When I served as Inspector, it was the same."

Afraid of being recognized by men from the Jingwei garrisons in Dou Rong's and Liangqiu Ci's forces, Ma Yuan simply went to a sparsely populated camp near the Helan Mountains to help Diwu Lun train his cavalry, taking up the post of drillmaster.

Seeing Diwu Lun's anxiety as he awaited the General of Renewal's decision, Ma Yuan could not help but smile and say, "A County Magistrate is an official — not only higher in rank and salary than an Inspector, but appointed by the court. An Inspector is a clerk, hired and dismissed at will by the commandery's Grand Governor."

"Yet when this lowly Inspector toured the counties, the Magistrates, Commandants, and Assistant Magistrates all bowed their heads and held their tongues, terrified of giving offense. And I truly used that status to severely punish several utterly disgraceful County Magistrates in Jingwei Commandery."

Diwu Lun shot Ma Yuan a sidelong glance — and no one ever tied you up and gave you a flogging for it?

His eyes then fell on the saber Ma Yuan never let leave his side. Of course, even if they'd tried, they couldn't have beaten him.

The Inspector was a commandery-level oversight officer; above him were the Provincial Governors and their deputies, the Provincial Inspectorate Deputies,

who functioned much like the Inspectors of the Han dynasty.

But the Governor of Bing Province was far away in Taiyuan, clearly unable to reach Shuofang and Wuyuan thousands of li distant. Wang Mang's understanding of this region relied solely on the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties and the Palace Commanders and Embroidered Robe Enforcers planted within the army.

Yet the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties' writ did not extend beyond the Six Lieutenancies and Six Townships; he could muster no authority on the frontier. And the Embroidered Robe Enforcers had long since become thick as thieves with the local grandees, the army, and the powerful clans, raking in money hand over fist and doing no real work.

A colossal breakdown in reporting from below and orders from above meant the Emperor could learn no truth, glimpsing only a sliver through official memorials.

By the end of the tenth month, Feng Yan returned. Bearing the tally bestowed by the General of Renewal, he summoned Dou Rong, Liangqiu Ci, and Diwu Lun to Lingwu County town.

The three met. It was plain to see that Liangqiu Ci had fared even worse these past days — as if he had aged ten years, the bags under his eyes drooping nearly to his cheeks. Sleepless nights and food that had lost all savor, no doubt.

Feng Yan announced Lian Dan's decision: "Colonel Liangqiu Ci failed in his duty to defend against the enemy, allowing the Hu brigands to invade and ravage New Qin. Fortunately, Baron of Jianwu Dou Rong and Baron of Dingli Diwu Lun joined forces to drive out the Xiongnu and preserve the commanderies and counties. Liangqiu Ci is at fault, while Dou Rong and Diwu Lun have rendered meritorious service!"

At this, with the matter now settled, Liangqiu Ci showed no shock at the reversal, only letting out a long sigh.

Earlier, Liangqiu Ci had been utterly panicked, ready to await death with bound hands. It was his subordinate Major and the Magistrate of Lingzhou County who had goaded him into those foolish acts. One lie demanded an even larger one to sustain it, and afterward he was overcome with regret — but once on a single-plank bridge, he could only steel himself and press forward, dreading a single misstep that would send him plunging down.

Now that Diwu Lun had stabbed him in the back and kicked him off that bridge, Liangqiu Ci instead felt something like release. After all, Lian Dan had not exposed his crime of fabricating merit, only stripping him of his post and ordering him escorted back to Chang'an to await judgment — he might yet keep his life.

"A lowly officer, incompetent — I deserve this punishment."

Liangqiu Ci did not shout or wail, only accepting his fate in dejection. He lifted the military cap from his head and shed his robes, transformed from the master of a regiment into a prisoner, letting the manacles be locked onto his hands.

Liangqiu Ci paused only for a moment when passing Diwu Lun. He looked at this young subordinate who met his gaze squarely, without flinching, and said in a low voice, "I only hope that Boyu can walk far, and that one day, he does not become as I have."

Diwu Lun thought he was mocking, complaining, and smiled. "End up like Lord Liangqiu, in prison? I've already been there."

"No." Liangqiu Ci shook his head, raising his shackled hands, on the verge of tears. "Do not become like me — the grand ambitions of youth worn away, your mind blinded by power and wealth, sinking into mediocrity and incompetence."

With those words, he was shoved away, leaving Diwu Lun staring blankly for a moment.

Punishment was matched by reward. Feng Yan smiled at Dou Rong and Diwu Lun and said, "The General of Renewal says that you two joined forces to drive out the Hu brigands, taking over a thousand heads — your merit is outstanding. The memorial reporting your achievements has already been sent to Chang'an; the Son of Heaven will surely bestow rewards next month!"

After the "real situation" had made a round trip to Lian Dan, several hundred heads had doubled to over a thousand — the boast had blown up considerably.

With Liangqiu Ci stripped and removed, Diwu Lun was promoted by Lian Dan, elevated in place to "Acting Colonel," with the formal appointment pending court approval. Dou Rong was stationed in Shanghe Fortress, forming a pincer position with Diwu Lun.

"The General of Renewal worries that, with midwinter approaching and Han Wei now leading them, the Hu may at any moment sweep south again."

Good heavens — in the reports of Lian Dan and the other frontier generals, Han Wei had been resurrected and turned into the arch-villain leading the Xiongnu in their invasion and ravaging of the border. This struck Diwu Lun as absurd all over again.

Having delivered the General of Renewal's orders, Feng Yan joined Dou Rong in congratulating Diwu Lun: "Boyu is now a Colonel. What is the first thing you will do upon taking office?"

Diwu Lun thought for a moment, then said in earnest, "Redress over a hundred wrongful convictions!"

"Take care — don't drop them."

Diwu Lun's first order upon taking office was to have Meng Ze lead the locally recruited "cavalry squad" back to Shanghe Fortress, ascend the walls, and take down the hundred-odd heads of the innocent that hung from the battlements of Shanghe Fortress and Lian County.

The winter cold had sheathed the dead's ashen skin in a layer of white frost, preserving them from decay — only some had been mutilated by crows and vultures pecking at them.

They were all common folk brutally slaughtered by the Xiongnu; some had even had their scalps cut away, said to be important horse ornaments for the Hu. They should have been properly laid to rest, but instead Liangqiu Ci had exploited them once more.

And Meng Ze and his men loathed that "former Colonel" to the marrow: "If not for Major Boyu... Colonel, these people would have died for nothing."

"Dead, and still branded as traitors who joined the Hu — what an injustice."

The several hundred family members of these innocents — first ravaged by the Xiongnu, then rounded up by the imperial army under guilt by association — were also released. Only, several dozen had already frozen or starved to death, and a few more, unable to bear such treatment, had taken their own lives.

So although Liangqiu Ci's parting words had been well-meant, Diwu Lun could muster not a shred of sympathy for him. Mediocrity was no excuse for doing such things.

The heads of those who still had living kin were each claimed, amid profuse thanks to the soldiers, and the mourners departed weeping. By day's end, a dozen or so remained unclaimed.

"Their whole families were probably wiped out by the Xiongnu, or carried off captive."

"And there's no telling who they were, or which hamlet they came from."

"They are our countrymen, after all. Let's bury them together."

"Where?"

"On the west bank of the great river." Meng Ze proposed — the Fifth Regiment's fallen soldiers were also buried there.

They returned to the place where they had fought half a month before, dug a dozen-odd graves at the edge of the cemetery, and laid the heads to rest with care. Not knowing their names, they could only plant wooden boards marking them as graves of the suffering people of New Qin, then stood there in silence for a long while.

Meng Ze swore an oath to them alone: "So long as we guard the long wall beneath the Beiyi Mountains, we shall never let the Hu brigands breach the passes. And one day, like my ancestor General Meng, I shall ride beyond the passes to strike the Hu, so that the Hu brigands never again dare to drive their horses south!"

Young as they were, their low spirits were fleeting; soon they were grinning and jesting again. Meng Ze, puzzled by the current state of affairs, asked their Company Commander Wan Xiu, "Company Commander Ren, by rights, Colonel Boyu should take over the entire defense of New Qin. So why are those two thousand men under Liangqiu Ci not being given to him, but handed to Dou Rong instead? On what grounds?"

"On the grounds that he's the General of Renewal's direct subordinate."

Wan Xiu did not fully grasp the intricacies either; he had only overheard Diwu Lun and Ma Yuan discussing how the new army distinguished between direct-line troops and ragtag units, and how the generals trusted former subordinates, the sons of friends, or relatives far more.

Dou Rong was the elder brother of a lesser wife of Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi, and had followed him in the campaign against Zhai Yi; Lian Dan had also served under Wang Yi. The connection was plain as day, so Dou Rong could claim top merit without much effort.

Diwu Lun, by contrast, was practically a stepchild, relying entirely on solid battle results just to occupy a few characters' space in Lian Dan's memorial.

Nothing to be done about it — who could he call on at court?

"It's just as well those worthless troops under Liangqiu Ci aren't coming."

Wan Xiu consoled the soldiers: "Otherwise, with Colonel Boyu's temperament — hating evil as a foe — he'd surely send heads rolling by the score again!"

Meanwhile, over a hundred li west of the Yellow River, at the foot of the Beiyi Mountains — the Helan Mountains — Diwu Lun and Ma Yuan were riding through the terrain, surveying its features.

Reining in his horse to gaze at the snow-blanketed Helan peaks in the winter light, Ma Yuan only said, "The Fifth Battalion has been upgraded to the Fifth Company — Boyu has gotten his wish."

Diwu Lun shook his head. "What company? It's just two battalions, while drawing the payroll of three."

One battalion, made up mainly of Boar-Rush Braves, remained garrisoned at Tewu. The other, mostly locals recruited from Lian County and Lingzhou, was stationed at Lian County, tasked with holding the gaps at the southern foot of the Helan Mountains alongside the beacon-station troops.

This must be what later ages would call "the Helan Gap." The north-south Helan range, like a colossal city wall, shields the Houtao Plain — blocking the dry, freezing wind, the boundless sands, and the covetous eyes of nomad horsemen. Those barren ridges and blade-sharp peaks form a natural barrier nearly impossible to cross.

Only in the south is there a route leading beyond the frontier. An earthen rampart and long wall built in Han times once stood here; it cannot stop men, but used rightly, it can stop barbarian horses.

Yet since the reigns of Emperors Xuan and Yuan, frontier defense has slackened and border troops have been cut, leaving only a handful to serve as beacon-station lookouts. Breaches that appeared over time were never repaired in time, allowing large Xiongnu forces to enter with ease.

Rebuilding military readiness — this was what Diwu Lun had to set about at once, not scrambling for power and advantage.

"Wenyuan, just as you and I foresaw, yielding the credit to Dou Rong and handing over the story the General of Renewal needed got me appointed Colonel. But I feel neither joy nor pride."

Diwu Lun spat on the ground. "I just feel sick — as if I'd swallowed a mouthful of flies and mosquitoes."

Ma Yuan burst out laughing at this. "So Boyu now understands why I threw away my office and fled back then? Will you too cast aside your seal and vanish into the rivers and lakes?"

"I can't bear to part with it." Diwu Lun shook his head. Ma Yuan dropped the jest and at last asked the question he had been holding back for a long time.

"Boyu, you joined the army and came to the frontier, toiling and building your position. You don't covet wealth or silk, you have no taste for beautiful women, you drill your troops with single-minded devotion and win men's hearts — what exactly are you trying to do?"

Diwu Lun fixed his gaze on the Helan Mountains. "I won't hide it from Wenyuan."

"I simply want things to be the way they ought to be."

Diwu Lun murmured his most basic hopes for this world.

"That an Emperor's edicts won't change overnight."

"That money is simple and usable, lasting ten years or a hundred, without fear it will be abolished tomorrow."

"That grain prices are fair — neither high nor low — so neither farmer nor merchant nor artisan gets cheated."

"That taxes and land rents need be paid only once a year, and serving corvée labor doesn't feel like parting with the living for the dead."

As Diwu Lun spoke, he seemed to see again all the strange and bizarre things he had witnessed these past two years — things that made him want to clutch his belly and laugh, and also to sing long laments as if weeping.

His anger gradually rose, as though he were roaring at the Helan Mountains.

"That soldiers can properly kill brigands and fend off invaders, without turning their blades on innocent commoners."

"That if they win merit, it will be truthfully reported and rewarded — not like us, exhausting our wits, scheming and maneuvering. We are plainly, honorably, men of merit, yet we have to beg like paupers before meritless generals for a reward, and what finally reaches our hands is nothing but the cold leftovers they've chewed over! One careless moment, and we'll be branded rebels."

"What I hope for most is that the common people can live and work in peace — not worrying that taxes will suddenly rise tomorrow, not having to drown their own infants, not being seized as conscripts and dying far from home just for going to market. Not having to endure, on top of natural calamities, even more brutal man-made disasters and tyrannical laws, until they are driven from their homes and end up as starved corpses by the roadside!"

How I miss the later age. Things taken utterly for granted then — returning to antiquity, to this absurd and grotesque era — have become so precious.

Listening to Diwu Lun's rare outburst of fury, Ma Yuan was silent for a long while. At last he only said, "As Boyu puts it, this realm is ill."

"It has been ill for a very long time."

The Ma clan had risen high and fallen low during the Han, deeply entangled in court struggles, and Ma Yuan thus knew a great deal. "In Emperor Wu of Han's time, the realm nearly collapsed — it almost sickened to death once. Fortunately, under Zhao and Xuan the revival came: the people were given rest, governance was improved, and it was nursed back to health."

"But the root of the illness was never removed."

"To put it in terms of a metaphor: under Emperor Yuan, the sickness was in the pores."

"Under Emperor Cheng, it was in the flesh."

"Under Emperor Ai, it penetrated the stomach and bowels."

Ma Yuan continued, "As the ancient physician Bian Que said: when sickness is in the pores, hot compresses can reach it; in the flesh, needles and stones can reach it; in the stomach and bowels, herbal draughts can reach it — in all these stages, there is still a cure."

"But now, after more than ten years under the Xin's rule, far from healing, the sickness has sunk deep into the marrow. When it reaches the vital regions between the heart and diaphragm, it belongs to the Master of Fates — even a divine physician can do nothing. That is why the realm today is rotten everywhere, covered in tumors that can't all be cut out, and the way of the world has long since strayed from what it ought to be."

"That is why I said: even if you swap the head, it's useless."

Ma Yuan returned to the discussion he, Diwu Lun, and Wan Xiu had held by the Yellow River before the beacon fires flared. "That day, Boyu said there was a way. What way can save the realm, can set this age back on the right track?"

"The realm is not a person. It has more than one life."

——————

Diwu Lun said, "Perhaps it is like the phoenix on the parasol tree of the south, as the legends say: when it grows decrepit, it casts itself into blazing flames — yet from them it can be reborn in nirvana!"

Ma Yuan drew a sharp breath. "That is a body consumed by fierce fire, the realm torn utterly apart. Easy to say."

"You're right, it's not easy. It will take the united strength of thousands upon thousands of men of resolve to change heaven and earth and forge the cosmos anew!"

Diwu Lun pointed at the eternally unchanging Helan Mountains. "Let the mountains be whetstones — that is my resolve! Wenyuan, will you walk this road with me?"

"A fine Diwu Lun indeed."

Ma Yuan, however, did not answer directly. He looked at Diwu Lun and only sighed. "Boyu, ah, Boyu. Back then, when I threw away my official seal and fled with Junyou, and asked you to come with us — were you a little hesitant?"

A little? I was utterly, thoroughly hesitant! Even now, Diwu Lun was not ashamed to admit it. "At the time, I simply thought Wenyuan was a true man of valor, daring to do anything — not like me, timid and cautious, overthinking everything."

"But now," Ma Yuan cast a sidelong glance at Diwu Lun, turned his horse around, and as he rode off in the opposite direction, cupped his hands toward him. "It is I who harbor misgivings, and deeply revere your resolve!"

…

PS: Had to fix some formatting, so it's a bit late. Chapter 3 at 18:00.