Chapter 118: The Second Year of Dihuang

"Winter's bitterest month is nearly upon us — where am I supposed to find wild geese for you?"

Ma Yuan's request had well and truly stumped Wan Xiu. At this season, the migratory birds had all flown south for the winter — how could anyone hunt geese? Wan Xiu could only send his soldiers out searching everywhere, and in the end, at a farmstead, they bought a male goose that had injured its wing and been penned with the farmer's domestic geese.

A domestic goose was still a goose. The first rite of the six marriage ceremonies, "Presenting the Gift," could at last proceed smoothly. Wan Xiu was also earnestly entreated by Diwu Lun to make a cameo appearance as the matchmaker.

Conditions were limited, so they dispensed with excessive ceremony. Ma Yuan, his face stern, accepted the goose that Diwu Lun presented with the utmost deference and said: "The marriage rites descend from above; the presenting of the gift uses a wild goose, chosen because it follows the seasons north and south without missing its time, signifying that the woman's season shall not be taken from her. It is also chosen because in flight they form lines and at rest they form ranks, signifying that the rites of marriage observe due order between elder and younger, with none overstepping. Boyu, can you do this?"

"Yes. I, Lun, reverently accept this charge!"

Diwu Lun understood in a flash: from now on, he could no longer address Ma Yuan by his courtesy name. What a loss.

"Elder of the wife's family." Diwu Lun addressed him thus, but Ma Yuan did not respond — it simply felt too awkward.

Before this, no matter how Ma Yuan looked at Diwu Lun, he found him pleasing to the eye. Today, however, no matter how he looked at him, it only stirred his ire.

Shortly after, Ma Yuan took his leave of Diwu Lun and Wan Xiu. He had to head south before Diwu Lun did.

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Before departing, he gave Diwu Lun only this instruction: "Boyu, when you return to Chang'an, pick an auspicious day, and bring another goose to my home."

This was, of course, telling him to carry out the second procedure of the marriage rites: asking the name. And of the six marriage rites, five required the use of a goose — and one goose could not be eaten five ways; they had to be presented separately.

The reason for his haste to return was, first, that Ma Yuan, as the youngest son of the family, was not the clan head. For a matter as weighty as a family alliance through marriage, he had to go and inform his two elder brothers. Diwu Lun's "great ambition" he absolutely dared not mention. The Ma family were new nobility of the Xin Dynasty; his second and third brothers were both men loyal to the sovereign — at least, they still were for now.

Second, Ma Yuan had resolved to do one more thing "done on a whim and carried out at once": he would raise the mother of his eldest daughter — that is, his concubine — to the status of principal wife. Henceforth, Ma Yuan would be a man with a wife, and the Ma family's virtuous daughter would, in one transformation, become the legitimate eldest daughter!

"That Diwu Lun is a cunning scoundrel. I cannot let my daughter suffer indignity at his hands because of her status."

……

Diwu Lun could not catch up with Ma Yuan, who rode alone with but a single spear. He had barely left the military camp's barrier fort when he was stopped.

In Lian County, which had suffered the worst damage from the barbarians the month before, when the people learned that Diwu Lun was leaving, the Elders and powerful families took the lead, and over a thousand people came outside the barrier fort to plead with him to stay, unable to bear his departure.

For a time, the old and weak clung to one another and wailed, blocking Diwu Lun's carriage. The elderly and the children clung to the carriage and kowtowed to the horses, weeping and following alongside, so that in a whole day they advanced only a few li.

Some even behaved with utter shamelessness, ignoring the snow on the ground and lying down across the road, so that the procession was forced to halt.

The village elders all bowed deeply to Diwu Lun: "The barbarians are at our flank, and mediocre generals cannot fend them off. We beseech you, General, to remain for one more year!"

Diwu Lun understood that the people of Lian County feared that after he left, the barbarians would invade again, and the officials would all be like Liangqiu Ci — clinging to life and fearing death, unwilling to come to their rescue. He merely clasped his hands toward the elders from atop his carriage: "The character of the people in New Qinzhong has always been fierce and martial. The folkways favor martial prowess, and many generals and commanders have come from here. The sons and younger brothers can all ride horses and shoot arrows. In the eras of Han Wudi and Han Xuandi, they often served as Feathered Forest Guards, or followed generals north to strike the Hu, sending the Chanyu fleeing far away, not daring to gaze southward."

"The earlier incursion of the barbarians, seizing the chance when we were unready, was only because these past few decades military preparedness has grown slack. The numbers of the barbarians' Right Division do not even match those of New Qinzhong's four counties — why should you fear them?"

"My subordinates will remain here, keeping vigilant watch. At the first sign of alarm, they will raise beacon smoke in advance, and the common people may also practice the five weapons alongside the soldiers. You will not only be defending the realm, but also protecting your homes!"

Although the Xiongnu had rested and recovered their national strength, they were far from the might they possessed in the age of Modu and Laoshang. A full-scale invasion was not easy for them. Small bands of Hu raiders, so long as the locals took up martial virtue again and had Wan Xiu and Diqi Biao to organize them, could be thoroughly driven back.

Seeing that they could not make him stay, the people of Lian County had no choice but to let him go. The elders, however, came forward bearing large bowls of warmed yellow wine, saying the weather was freezing and the road would be cold, and asking Diwu Lun to drink to warm his body.

Diwu Lun refused no one. He lifted the bowls and drank them down to the last drop.

He spent the night in Shanghe City, sharing wine and pleasant talk with Dou Rong, who would not head south until the following month. The next day, he left the city and reached the banks of the great river, where he was stopped once more.

This time, those who stopped Diwu Lun were several newlywed couples. It must be said that ever since the Fifth Battalion had led its troops across the river to strike the Hu, the people of New Qinzhong, who had once been deeply wary of the soldiers, had gradually shifted their attitude and come to believe they were "troops who protect the people." In the past, farming households had regarded the Boar-Rush Braves as relocated convict soldiers and bandits; now, when they saw soldiers passing by, they would of their own accord call out and offer them a drink of water.

What was more, some still-unmarried centurions and junior officers had thereby resolved their lifelong affairs. Diwu Lun had kept his promise: for any man in the army who married a local girl, they found the matchmaker themselves, and Diwu Lun was responsible for providing the betrothal gifts. Some chose to marry into the bride's family, for they had been slaves in the past and did not even possess a surname; others styled themselves as belonging to the "Diwu clan."

In Shanghe County, many women had lost their husbands to the Hu calamity. The more remote the frontier, the looser the strictures of ritual and moral principles. To keep themselves and their children alive, there were plenty who remarried barely a month after their former husband's death. The soldiers who had followed Wan Xiu to rescue the villages became hotly sought-after prospects, and there was an element of "repaying kindness" in this as well.

Whenever Diwu Lun had leisure, he would personally preside over soldiers' weddings. Today, hearing that he was leaving, several couples who were soon to marry moved their wedding dates forward. They waited for Diwu Lun beside the frozen great river. The newlyweds, in their plain and simple clothes, pleaded: "General, your great kindness to us — we dare ask you to drink a cup of wedding wine before you go!"

Could he refuse this wine? He could not. After leaving several generous gifts of ceremonial cash, Diwu Lun once more downed three large cups in hearty drafts.

Yellow wine, mind you — do not be fooled by its low alcohol content; drunk too quickly, it goes straight to the head. As he made his way slowly across the frozen Yellow River, Diwu Lun's vision was already blurring and his ears burning.

He never expected that upon reaching the opposite bank, an even greater spectacle, and even more wine, would be waiting for him.

From a distance, all he could see against the vast white snow was a dense, dark mass — several thousand common folk, at that. The residents of Lian County and Shanghe had organized themselves spontaneously, but in Tewu County, it was the officials who took the lead. From the County Magistrate down to the Commandant and the Assistant, the person who had truly rallied them was Zhang Chun.

As the representative of the county's elders, Zhang Chun led his clansmen and fellow villagers from afar in song: "The mulberry puts forth no extra branches, the wheat stalk bears two ears of grain. With Boyu governing, our joy cannot be contained."

He then led them in beating time and singing: "The town is cheerless and ill at ease, longing for our Diwu. When will he return again, to bring peace to us common folk below!"

These were not verses from the Book of Songs, but a matching song of the common people. When they drew near, Zhang Chun led the people of Tewu forward to welcome him and said: "In the greater half-year that the General has been stationed at Tewu, he has not only driven out bandits abroad and struck the mighty Hu in the west, but has also been incorruptible, benevolent, and worthy. The entire county has been bathed in his grace. Now that he is departing, how can we who have received his bounty not jointly repay his benevolence and virtue?"

With that, he produced a grand gesture. The local powerful families had pooled together donations of oxen, horses, implements, and goods worth several hundred thousand in value, which they hoped the General would graciously accept. Diwu Lun, of course, could not take them. He declined with polite thanks and accepted nothing whatsoever.

Since he would not accept things of material value, Zhang Chun then offered something priceless: "In the time of the Former Han, under Emperor Xuan, there was a Chancellor named Yu Dingguo. His father, Yu Gong, served as the Prison Clerk of Donghai Commandery and as the commandery's Judicial Assessor. He decided legal cases with perfect fairness. Even those who were punished, so long as the judgment came from Yu Gong's hand, bore no grudge. So much so that the commandery built a shrine to him while he was still alive, calling it the Shrine of Yu Gong."

"We wish to emulate the affair of Yu Gong of Donghai, and likewise build a shrine for the General beside the great river in our county, so that the local people may remember the General's grace for generations!"

Diwu Lun declined once more, but Zhang Chun was most insistent, and the common folk behind him shouted: "If the General departs, we shall build it anyway!"

The scene before him made Diwu Lun sigh with emotion that his own persistence had indeed not been in vain, but it also filled him with deep wariness toward Zhang Chun.

First the songs, then the gifts of wealth, and finally a living shrine — truly an endless array of stratagems. Zhang Chun had both helped Diwu Lun spread his fame, bringing this relationship to a proper close, and used the occasion to win the goodwill of the Fifth Company, so that the mighty dragon and the local serpent could continue to dwell together in harmony.

Diwu Lun only thought to himself: "Wan Xiu, Xuan Biao, Diqi Biao — my three-horse chariot team left in New Qinzhong, even combined, is no match for Zhang Boren."

This filled Diwu Lun with a few extra degrees of worry for his subordinates. Within two years, they would still be the Fifth Company. After two years, there was no telling what they might become.

The troops of the Zhang family? Or the troops of some succeeding general?

After all, human hearts have an expiration date. Diwu Lun could not leave everyone stranded here for too long.

"In the future, I'll still have to find a way to transfer the Fifth Company back. What pretext should I use? For instance… entering the capital to rescue the sovereign?"

Just as he was thinking this, Zhang Chun came over bearing wine: "In the old days, Yu Dingguo could drink a full dan without getting drunk. I wonder how much Boyu can drink?"

It was another brimming cup of warmed millet wine. After Diwu Lun downed two of them, the common folk all clapped and cheered, but he himself was growing rather muddled. He only saw that the third cup was truly large and round, but with several thousand pairs of eyes watching, he still forced it down.

That day, Diwu Lun got thoroughly drunk.

How this farewell send-off finally concluded, Diwu Lun was dazed and only dimly aware. He only remembered that they escorted him for over ten li in the freezing cold, and after waving them off several times they still followed, and under Zhang Chun's lead they sang another song.

"I gaze into the distance, and suddenly you are gone from sight; in melancholy, I once lingered and paced. Your grace and bounty are truly hard to forget; long and forever shall my heart hold them dear!"

And when Diwu Lun awoke from his sleep in a post-house lodge in the desolate wilderness, he found it was still daylight. He had probably slept soundly through the entire night, for he had given orders that they must set out at dawn, and so his subordinates had half-supported, half-carried him onto the carriage.

Rubbing his disheveled head, Diwu Lun asked what day it was.

"Clan Head, with this one sleep, you've slept straight through an entire year!"

Zhang Yu, who was handing him a sobering warm broth, said: "Today is already the first day of the twelfth month — the second year of Dihuang!"

……

This was the first day of the second year of Dihuang (AD 21).

In the Liu clan's great residence at Whitewater Village, Caiyang County, Front Column Commandery, Liu Xiu, just as in years past, clad in crimson robes, knocked at the door and reminded his elder brother: "Liu Bosheng, have you forgotten the wrong of Wang Mang usurping the Han?"

Afterward, he sat alone in the courtyard eating his morning meal. Broth dripped onto his beard, and when Liu Xiu went to wash it off, he stroked the whiskers he had grown so long and could not help sighing at the passing of time.

"In the blink of an eye, it has been two years since I returned home from the Imperial Academy in Chang'an."

Liu Xiu had not been idle these two years. Among the Liu brothers, Liu Bosheng took charge of the offensive, recruiting bold heroes and training the clan troops. Liu Xiu took charge of holding the foundation, concentrating his energy on storing grain. Last year Nanyang suffered a disaster, yet Liu Xiu's fields alone saw a bumper harvest. At this, even his eldest brother, who had always mocked him for focusing only on farming, could not help but praise him.

With grain, one has everything. In famine years, common folk who could not survive either fled into the mountains to become bandits or threw themselves upon the households of powerful magnates. The court's control in Front Column was lax, the bandit hordes of Greenwood Mountain to the south growing ever larger. The Liu clan's kinsmen and retainers were also slowly gathering, already numbering several hundred. If they mobilized the common people, two to three thousand could answer the call.

The moment for raising arms that Liu Bosheng yearned for was drawing ever closer.

Yet every time he could not resist wanting to raise the banner, Liu Xiu urged him with all his might.

"Wenshu, I have said it: Dihuang shall be that villain Wang Mang's final era name. I will surely destroy him."

"Elder Brother, under the false dynasty's new system, I hear Dihuang is to be used for six years. Only one year has passed — let us wait a while longer!"

Such was Liu Xiu's disposition: he did things without haste or delay, steady and solid. Time was on their side; let the realm fall into chaos a while longer first. Yet every time he went out and witnessed refugees crossing the borders and harsh officials levying exorbitant taxes, Liu Xiu was also deeply pained.

Just at that moment, the courtyard gate was pushed open, and a man rushed in like a whirlwind, seized Liu Xiu, and began dragging him outside.

It was none other than Liu Xiu's close friend and fellow student from the Imperial Academy, Deng Yu.

Liu Xiu laughed. "Zhonghua, you came to Caiyang without even a word. Where are we going? Let me at least change into something fit to be seen outdoors."

"Your very beard is on fire, Wenshu, and you still care about changing clothes!" Deng Yu was frantic on his behalf. Stamping his foot, he said:

"I came here to tell you: over in Xinye County, someone has come calling to propose marriage to the girl of your heart, that virtuous maiden of the Yin clan!"

PS: Chapter 2 at 13:00.