Chapter 129: Greenwood

After bidding farewell to Ren Guang, on the road to Wancheng, Diwu Lun invited the son of a powerful local clan who had come out to greet him to ride in the same carriage, and asked about Li Tong's background.

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Though tall and powerfully built, Li Tong had studied the classics and histories, and his outward manner was refined and modest: "In my early years, through my father's privilege, I went to Chang'an and served as a Palace Gentleman — an Outer Gentleman."

"Oh? Which year was Ciyuan an Outer Gentleman?"

"The second year of Tianfeng."

"Only two years before me." Officials also had their factions; those who had served as Palace Gentlemen through the proper path often looked down on local petty officers who rose rank by rank, and being Gentlemen in the same year was a mark of identity for forming cliques and alliances.

But afterward, Li Tong's official career did not go smoothly. He first served as an Attendant to the Five Majestic General, collecting auspicious omens for Wang Mang, and later became Assistant Magistrate of Wu County.

Not being made County Magistrate directly but serving as Assistant Magistrate showed that the Li family indeed had little real influence at court, yet it was still a proper official post with a salary of four hundred dan. But last year, Li Tong voluntarily resigned and returned home...

What a coincidence — you resigned from office too?

Diwu Lun immediately grew vigilant. He himself had resigned to gain fame and cultivate his reputation, so he could not help being especially wary of anyone who did something similar. He knew full well that such people were either harboring ulterior motives like his own, or seeking to avoid disaster and live in seclusion — in any case, none of them were loyal subjects of the Great Xin.

Li Ciyuan, however, laughed heartily: "Does Boyu know where Wu County is?"

Diwu Lun answered reflexively: "In Ba Commandery?"

Li Tong said: "No, in Nanshun — that is, Nan Commandery — at its westernmost edge, in the Wu Gorge. The mountains there stand as a great barrier between Chu and Shu. To get there from Yiling County, one must cross range after range. From the western end of Xiling Gorge to Wu Mountain, the peaks run unbroken. Except at noon and midnight, one never sees the sun or moon. The wind has no north or south — only up and down."

"The scenery is magnificent, but it is remote and bitter. There are not three days of clear skies in a year, nor three feet of level ground. It is shrouded in heavy fog year-round, and outsiders often fall ill and die young. After half a year, I could bear it no longer, so I resigned on grounds of illness and returned home."

Li Tong stretched out his hand from the carriage, feeling the warm March sun, and smiled: "It's a good thing I came back. Otherwise, I would have long since grown moldy in the clouds and mists of Wu Mountain. Nanyang is so fine — the land is flat and rich, the climate warm. I would rather be a commoner and a wealthy householder here than serve as an official in some remote backwater."

Li Ciyuan's words, every phrase, exuded a sense of world-weariness and lack of ambition, presenting himself as a man content with the ease and wealth of home, a leader in his village, and for that reason unwilling to serve as a petty official.

But was that truly the case? Diwu Lun smiled with his lips, but in his heart, suspicion stirred.

If Li Tong were truly a man without desire or ambition, then why, the moment Diwu Lun first arrived at Wancheng, had he inquired after news of him and come out to welcome him? Surely it was not because, as a member of the State Preceptor's faction, he wanted to huddle together for warmth. After the deposed Crown Prince's downfall, Diwu Lun had not even dared to visit Liu Xin's household and could only draw a clear line.

Or was it that the Li clan of Wancheng, knowing Liu Xin's power had collapsed, wanted to find a new patron, and so had set their sights on Diwu Lun, who seemed poised to become a new favorite at court?

That would be laughable. Diwu Lun thought to himself: "At this late hour, still hoping to take the high-level route — surely the foremost powerful clan of Nanyang cannot be so blind as that?"

In sum, throughout their exchange on the road, Li Tong presented himself in every way as utterly ordinary and mediocre. It seemed his caliber fell far short of Zhang Chun's — that old man's craft was something even Diwu Lun feared.

Wancheng was vast — the largest city Diwu Lun had seen since Chang'an, surpassing even Maoling and Changling. The city was divided into inner and outer sections, a small citadel nested within the larger city, situated in the southwest corner. That was precisely where the commandery offices and official residence were located, and where Diwu Lun and his party were headed.

The whole way, Diwu Lun never once mentioned the purpose of his journey, and Li Tong did not ask. Only at the city gate did he descend from the carriage and bow to Diwu Lun with clasped hands: "Once Boyu's official business is concluded, if you have leisure, Li Tong will certainly take you on a fine tour of Wancheng."

After Diwu Lun had entered the inner city with the commandery soldiers sent by the Grand Governor of the Vanguard to escort him, Li Tong's smile faded, and he sank into thought. His cousin Li Yi, who had been trailing at the rear of the procession the whole time, rode up, looking rather puzzled.

"Elder Cousin, why are you so concerned with Diwu Lun?"

Li Tong did not answer. He led his retainers and followers back to the family estate near Wancheng, and only after entering a private chamber did he resolve Li Yi's confusion.

"Our father was the State Preceptor's Clan Master. Now that the deposed Crown Prince is dead, the State Preceptor has utterly lost power. All the investment our family poured in over these ten-plus years has gone down the drain. We must start over from the beginning."

Li Yi suddenly understood: "So Cousin wants to win over Diwu Lun and make him the Li clan's new patron at court? But he is merely a Grand Master of Remonstrance — his rank and salary are indeed rather low."

Li Tong smiled: "Rank and salary do not matter. Father's letter says that Diwu Lun has lately won the Emperor's deep trust. However, my true aim is not Diwu Lun."

"It is the mission he has come south to carry out!"

At this, Li Tong held back the key point and only told Li Yi to guess what business Diwu Lun had come for. Li Yi guessed several times and missed each one. Finally, Li Tong gave the answer, lowering his voice: "Last month, the deposed Crown Prince and the King of Xinqian both died. The Emperor now has no sons by his primary wife, but he still has two sons by concubines left in the Xindu fief. I suspect Diwu Lun has come bearing an imperial tally, and his procession carries a royal carriage — he must be here to escort them back to Chang'an!"

As they spoke, a letter arrived from Chang'an, written by Li Tong's father. It mentioned this matter and instructed Li Tong to receive Diwu Lun well — little knowing that his son had already done so.

As Li Tong read, he shook his head: "Father also says I should select two younger female cousins of suitable age and send them to the two princes of Xindu as concubines."

Li Yi clapped his hands: "Excellent! That way, the Li clan can leap from the sinking ship of the State Preceptor and gain a new patron! I hear that of the two princes of Xindu, Wang Kuang is timid and fond of wealth, while Wang Xing is bold and fond of women. Our family can cater precisely to their tastes — apart from good looks, the cousins we send can be accompanied with plenty of riches and goods. I refuse to believe the two of them won't accept."

Li Tong's words were icy: "And then, when Wang Mang kills his sons again, the entire Li clan can accompany them in death?"

Li Yi was instantly stunned. He heard Li Tong sigh with deep feeling: "Wang Yu, Wang Huo, Wang An, Wang Lin, and that Wang Zong — so many have already died, and Father still hasn't seen clearly. At this moment, to bind ourselves to these Xin princes who cannot even secure their own lives — how utterly foolish!"

Li Tong had always felt that his father's decision to attach himself to Liu Xin and invest in the Crown Prince had been the wrong path. Now, in a panic, it seemed the Li clan's future would have to be decided by himself. His family's roots were in the great commandery of Nanyang; they had to rely on the heroes of their own native soil. There was no point counting on Chang'an or any outsider — when trouble came, distant water could not quench a nearby fire.

"Jiwen." Li Tong looked at his cousin: "Send trusted men at once to the market. Spread the news that Diwu Lun has come to escort the two princes of Xindu north — let it circulate through the markets of Wan."

Wancheng had a population of over a hundred thousand and was a great southern city. A piece of news tossed into the marketplace would soon spread everywhere, with no way to trace its source.

Li Yi was puzzled: "Why do this?"

Li Tong said flatly: "No particular reason. I simply want to see whether, in this vast Vanguard Commandery, there are a few bold rebels daring enough to attack the delegation escorting the princes!"

Li Yi was greatly alarmed. He had known since childhood that this elder cousin, who appeared before others as a refined and cultured gentleman, was inwardly possessed of tremendous daring. But what benefit was this to the Li clan? Could it be... rebellion?

Li Tong spread his hands: "It was not my family who leaked the news, nor my family who attacked the delegation — what has it to do with me? Nor does it need to succeed. The mere occurrence of an attack on the delegation, like the Marquis of Liu's strike against the First Emperor of Qin at Bolangsha, would be enough to shock the realm. And no matter who did it, once my family spreads the word a little, it will ultimately be said to have been instigated by the Greenwood Army, seeking to harm the Emperor's offspring."

Li Yi was even more confused. After all this roundabout talk, was Li Tong's real target the Greenwood?

Li Tong nodded: "Among the bandit bands of the south, the Greenwood is the largest. The Governor of Jingzhou, Fei Xing, conscripted twenty thousand troops, intending to go south and pacify Greenwood Mountain. But it has been months now, and he still delays. The army is stationed right here in Nanyang, feeding itself. Last year, this commandery suffered a severe drought — the farmers have little food or clothing left. In this lean season when the old grain is gone and the new not yet in, you simply cannot squeeze much out of them."

"So the Governor of Jingzhou and the Grand Governor of the commandery have hinted that we powerful families should contribute funds. My family, as the leader, was assigned a large share — a thousand dan a month! If we refuse, they impose direct property taxes."

Whatever the Governor of Jingzhou's calculations — whether he was nurturing the enemy to bolster his own importance, or simply acting with caution — from Li Tong's perspective, he wanted this war to start as soon as possible. The longer it dragged on, the more the common people would suffer — and that was the lesser concern; the powerful clans would also have no peace.

"Moreover, only by swiftly pacifying the Greenwood can my family's business in the south continue."

And if the princes were attacked by "Greenwood bandits," it would make the court realize the gravity of the situation and force the Governor of Jingzhou to march south and engage.

Li Yi suddenly understood, but thought of another possibility: "Elder Cousin, what if, in this campaign, the Greenwood wins?"

Li Tong laughed even more heartily. His tone now was brimming with ambition — the polar opposite of the mediocre, ordinary man who had sat in Diwu Lun's carriage.

"If that happens, so much the better. Our family will then have to prepare for a different kind of great enterprise — one with greater risk, and far greater reward!"

Li Yi was full of admiration. Only as he was about to leave to carry out his orders did he jest: "Is Cousin not afraid that too many people might attack the delegation, and that Diwu Lun, with whom you chatted and laughed so pleasantly, might also lose his life?"

Li Tong laughed loudly: "Diwu Boyu is merely a fellow traveler. If he dies, he dies — what is that to me?"

All the way to Wancheng, Diwu Lun saw that Nanyang was indeed a great commandery, cutting across the rich soil of Zhou and Chu, straddling Jing and Yu as its borders. Even in a prolonged drought, one could still see a dense and flourishing population, with villages clustered thickly together.

Though he had not directly seen the precise figures in the household registers, he had heard that the entire commandery had over three hundred thousand households, and the population likely reached two million!

That was staggering. Diwu Lun's hometown, Liewei, had just over a million; the pitiful Beidi Commandery had a mere two hundred thousand. Judging by population alone, one Nanyang was worth ten Beidis.

But this also meant that the problem of land annexation in Nanyang was even more severe than in the Guanzhong region. Moreover, being so far from the capital, the court's power projected here was already somewhat weak — likely it could not even prohibit annexation or the slave trade.

And so, when the Governor of Jingzhou wanted to pacify the Greenwood Army in the south, he did not recruit troops elsewhere but fixed his gaze on Nanyang to fleece it, ordering the Grand Governor of the Vanguard, Zhen Fu, to conscript twenty thousand men. These were trained at Xiangyang, their provisions and supplies dependent on the Vanguard's logistics.

"Diwu Lun pays his respects to the Marquis of Chengxin."

Zhen Fu, Grand Governor of the Forward Detachment, had airs enough that he did not ride out of the city to greet Diwu Lun, but waited for him to come pay his respects instead — for who could blame a man of such high birth? Zhen Fu was the head of the Zhongshan Zhen clan. His father, Zhen Han, had been one of the key lieutenants in Wang Mang's founding enterprise, serving as Grand Marshal — one of the Three Excellencies — in the Shijianguo era, and was enfeoffed as Duke of Chengxin.

By Zhen Fu's generation the title had been lowered from duke to marquis, but he remained in favor. The man was utterly loyal to the Xin Dynasty, and it was for that reason that Wang Mang felt safe entrusting the vast Forward Detachment to him.

Zhen Fu invited Diwu Lun to take a seat. "When Boyu departed, had the generals sent to suppress the eastern bandits already set out?"

"They left Chang'an a few days before I did."

"Who was appointed general? How many troops did they take?"

Diwu Lun replied: "His Majesty made the Grand Preceptor, Xi Zhong Jing Shang, Assistant General, and the Army Protector, Wang Dang, Deputy General. They took only a few thousand of their own personal guards and private retainers. Once they reach the east, they are to coordinate the troops of Qing Province, Xu Province, and Yan Province for a joint campaign to exterminate the three bandit leaders: Lü Mu, Fan Chong, and Li Zidu."

"He also dispatched the State Preceptor, He Zhong Cao Fang, to summon the Longyou troops and march south to strike at Gouding…"

"They're still going to attack Gouding? This will be the third time." Zhen Fu found it incomprehensible. He had assumed that once the court ended its campaigns against the Xiongnu, it could turn its full attention inward, and that the tens of thousands of men bogged down in southern Yizhou could be pulled back. Who would have thought Wang Mang still had not given up?

And as for the court's strategy of sending generals to the east while leaving Jingzhou to fend for itself, Zhen Fu had his own objections: "I have heard that Boyu studied military strategy under Yan Erudite, so you ought to know — the bandits of Haidai may appear formidable, but they are a mere affliction of the armpit and elbow. The bandits of Jingzhou, on the other hand, could easily become a fatal disease of the heart and vitals."

"This commandery shields Jing and Xiang to the south and controls Ru and Luo to the north. Since the Spring and Autumn period, it has been a place of strategic importance. Word from the south says the Greenwood grows stronger with every passing month. Though for now they merely lurk in the mountain forests and marshes, the moment they push north, they will threaten Wancheng. The ministers at court ought to send troops to pacify the Greenwood first, and only then exterminate the eastern bandits."

He was probably right — after all, even Diwu Lun, historical ignoramus that he was, knew the name "Greenwood"; odds were they rose to prominence in history. But Diwu Lun offered no opinion. Even if he did, it would be utterly useless. He was still counting on a great Greenwood victory to draw the court's main forces south. He merely said, "Perhaps His Majesty believes that with the Grand Governor's talents, the south can be kept secure?"

Having caught the scent of the great battle brewing in Nanyang, Diwu Lun now wanted nothing more than to promptly collect Wang Mang's two sons and return to court — and to increase the escort numbers along the way. If anything happened to those two, he would be in trouble too deep to escape.

Though using troops that were not his own was awkward — could even cut his hands — Diwu Lun had no choice but to ask Zhen Fu to assign him a few more men.

Zhen Fu was somewhat displeased. "Is Boyu worried that bandits within my jurisdiction might attack the mission?"

Diwu Lun patted the envoy's tally staff and smiled. "With a heavy trust from the Son of Heaven, a little caution never hurts. I have always been timid by nature. Three hundred from the Yueqi Camp, plus two hundred commandery conscripts — only then can I set my mind at ease."

He had only one requirement for the men Zhen Fu assigned: they must be loyal. For this one occasion alone, Diwu Lun did not need any rebels.

Zhen Fu considered for a moment, then said, "This old man does have one candidate. I can send him to lead troops and assist you."

"Who?"

Zhen Fu replied, "The County Sheriff of Jiyang — Cen Peng. That man's loyalty to the Xin is absolute, never wavering!"