Chapter 154: Breaking an Arm

Before the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the Yellow River's old course ran near Neihuang County. Later the river shifted its course southeast twice, leaving behind only a vast marsh with yellowish water, stretching several dozen li across, where in some places the river embankments from the Warring States and Qin periods could still be faintly seen.

In times of peace, the people of Wei Commandery, where land was scarce and population dense, sought a living out in the marsh, building huts among its waters. Now that the times were no longer peaceful, even more refugees and tenant-serfs fled into it, until leaders gathered several hundred men and turned to banditry, occasionally raiding Neihuang in scattered attacks, but more often heading west to plunder the more distant territory of Henei Commandery.

Some said this was because the bandits could not bear to harm their homeland; others said an iron hand was pulling the strings behind them…

In the second year of Dihuang (AD 21), at the end of the ninth month, Ma Yuan had only just replaced the acting County Magistrate of Neihuang for a few days when the Yellow Marsh bandits suddenly poured out in full force, left the lake's surroundings, and, for the first time ever, launched an assault on the county seat.

Now, after Ma Yuan had seized his predecessor and taken control of the county's authority, he brought a hundred convict-soldiers to garrison the county office himself, and ordered the two light-errants of Wei he had recruited, Zhang Hu and Zhao Pang, each to take fifty men and guard the county seat's north and south gates. As for the east gate and the water gate to the west, those he had sealed shut, allowing no entry or exit — he had long been on guard.

But Ma Yuan had not been in office long, after all. That day, the squad patrolling the west gate was killed by "bandits" who had infiltrated the city, and then the west gate was opened from within. The Yellow Marsh bandits surged into the city and charged straight for the county office!

Hearing the shocking news, Huang Chang was terrified. Though he had always suspected the former Neihuang County Magistrate of colluding with the Yellow Marsh bandits, even hauling grain to feed them, he had never imagined the Yellow Marsh bandits would dare go this far. His courage failed him at once, and he could only urge Ma Yuan:

"Master Ma, the Yellow Marsh bandits number many hundreds, even a thousand! We should hold out inside the county office and wait for the commandery lord to send relief!"

Ma Yuan merely cast a sidelong glance at the dwarf, who was passable enough at clerical work but scared half to death the moment weapons were drawn: "Boyu handed most of his manpower over to me and kept barely a hundred men at his side — how is he supposed to come to the rescue? Are you counting on the commandery troops under the Li and Ximen clans?"

"Then what are we to do?" Huang Chang's face was pale. With strong foes outside and collaborators within, were they to die here?

Ma Yuan, however, had already donned his armor: "There is only one way. Strike out — take advantage of the Yellow Marsh bandits' hasty entry, rally our spirit in one surge, and drive them back into the lake!"

This made Huang Chang stare in disbelief. Where did Ma Yuan get such confidence? Though his martial prowess was outstanding and none among the convict-soldiers could last three exchanges against him, how could one man fight several hundred bandits?

"I have four advantages, and the bandits have four weaknesses."

"First, I have order; they have none." The convict-soldiers had trained for a month or so, and though they had only mastered standing in formation, the officers, Sergeants, and Corporals among them were all veterans of the Boar-Rush Braves — one leading five was more than enough.

"Second, I have armored troops and proper weapons, while most of them have nothing but fishing spears and wooden clubs." After Diwu Lun had seized control of the commandery and county armories, he had been issuing all manner of Han equipment wholesale to his own core forces, to the point that a single hundred-man unit possessed a great yellow crossbow and every able-bodied man wore armor — terrifying, wouldn't you say?

"Third, the bandits are not of one mind. They claim a thousand men, but in truth some want to plunder the wealthy households, some want to brutalize the common folk — of those actually coming to kill me, is there even half? Meanwhile, the convict-soldiers are an isolated force trapped here; if they do not fight, they die. A hundred men can serve as five hundred!"

"Fourth." Ma Yuan was brimming with confidence: "You have Ma Wenyuan — and the other side does not."

This string of arguments left Huang Chang dumbstruck, unable to find words to dissuade him. Ma Yuan even ordered him to take a dozen men to rally the county, contact Zhang and Zhao, the two subordinate officers at the north and south gates, and dispatch several dozen men to circle around to the west gate, to catch the bandit horde in a pincer and trap the turtle in the jar!

Was this the posture of a hundred men surrounding a thousand bandits? Huang Chang could only murmur: "Master Ma, your dispositions are so practiced — could it be you have fought bandits before?"

"I have never suppressed bandits."

Ma Yuan laughed heartily, blade in hand, and led his troops out the gate: "But no one understands bandits better than I do!"

…

The distance between Neihuang and Yecheng was a hundred and fifty li; even a relay-station fast horse took two days to cover it.

Diwu Lun and Ma Yuan had therefore agreed on a report every two days, and at the end of the ninth month, he received word that the Yellow Marsh bandits had attacked the county seat of Neihuang!

Hard on its heels came all sorts of rumors from the south: one moment the county seat had fallen, the next Ma Yuan was dead.

"I should not have let Wenyuan go to Neihuang and take such a risk in the first place." Geng Chun now felt Diwu Lun had overreached, that the attempt to seize Neihuang had been too hasty. And having spent only a short time with Ma Yuan, he had taken Ma Wenyuan for merely a man of outstanding personal valor and courage.

It was impossible for Diwu Lun to feel no alarm in his heart — there was even a trace of regret — but in the end he held firm.

"I believe in Wenyuan!"

Ma Yuan had been a bandit on the upper Yellow River; he had beheaded Ru Chen and defeated Lu Fang, displaying the caliber of an excellent commander. Now on the lower Yellow River, he was an official — was it not obvious that he would know how to deal with bandits?

What was more, though the convict-soldiers had trained for barely over a month, with the Boar-Rush Braves veterans forming their backbone, their fighting strength was by no means something scattered bandits could match.

Still, in Diwu Lun's heart, he only expected Ma Yuan to be able to hold the county office. Relief was necessary, but the commandery troops were unreliable. The Bandit-Suppressing Officer Li Neng outwardly showed Diwu Lun every deference, yet when it came to mustering troops, he dragged his feet — though that was, admittedly, the standard speed of commandery soldiers.

Diwu Lun therefore summoned Zang Nu, hoping he would lead another hundred convict-soldiers south, but Zang Nu refused.

"I am the Captain of the Personal Guard — I absolutely cannot leave the General's side!"

Zang Nu stood as immovable as a mountain. Though he was not very clever, he could see that the commandery seat was likewise fraught with danger; without men like himself protecting Diwu Lun, it would not do.

"Let me go." Though he did not understand why Diwu Lun was so certain Ma Yuan would not be defeated, as a friend, Geng Chun was still willing to help. Of the clan troops he had brought from Julu, a mounted company of fifty men had remained in Yecheng. Their Geng clan, after all, was a great house with two thousand retainers and dependents.

And Geng Chun, Geng Boshan, was more than just a man who could tour five offices in a day. Yan and Zhao teemed with men of stirring valor and lament; on the streets, men drew swords at the slightest provocation. If one could not handle both pen and sword, one would be too embarrassed to greet anyone.

But before Geng Chun could lead his men out of the city, and before Li Neng could secretly rejoice that his scheme had succeeded, the two-day contact Ma Yuan and Diwu Lun had agreed upon arrived right on schedule.

The subordinate Patrol Officer Zhao Pang held the victory dispatch high and proclaimed it loudly along the main avenue of Yecheng!

"County Magistrate Ma has repelled the Yellow Marsh bandits! Two hundred heads taken, four hundred captured!"

…

After that battle to strike down the bandits, the officials great and small, the wealthy households, and the powerful families of Neihuang, who had initially been full of misgivings about the new County Magistrate, could only shuffle forward on their knees before Ma Yuan.

It had been an unimaginable battle. With the help of collaborators within, over nine hundred Yellow Marsh bandits had breached the west gate and entered, but the moment they were inside the city, they stopped obeying their leaders' orders. More than half scattered to raid the wards and plunder the rich households; only four hundred advanced along the main road to besiege the county office.

No one expected that Ma Yuan would lead a hundred convict-soldiers and array them directly in the main street, torches held high so no one could tell how many men there really were.

First came a volley of crossbow fire, its accuracy touching in its ineptitude, which nonetheless scared the bandits into halting their advance. Then, with no technical finesse whatsoever, they leveled their halberds and spears and strode forward — and just like that, they pushed the bandits all the way back to the west gate.

Zhang Hu and Zhao Pang, true to Ma Yuan's judgment of them, were bold as well. Following orders, each took thirty-odd men to block the gate, making the bandits think they were surrounded by superior government troops. In their panic and rout, the bandits became headless flies and were utterly defeated.

Huang Chang rushed to call upon the wealthy households to send out their clan troops to strike the bandits. At first, no one was willing to move; they all turtled up inside their ward strongholds to protect themselves. Only when they saw Ma Yuan winning against the odds and realized the government troops were about to triumph did they hastily scramble out to help.

In the end, only three hundred bandits escaped. A count of heads showed over two hundred killed, most of whom had died trampling each other in the chaos; even the chief leader perished beneath the crowd's feet. Four hundred were captured, so many that there were not enough ropes to bind them all.

The bandits were stripped of their clothes and left shivering, heads hung in dejection, crouched inside the sheep-and-horse walls. Ma Yuan had the surrendering sub-chiefs and the county elders identify them one by one. Those who had committed many evils were pulled to the left, to become convict laborers repairing the destroyed gates and inner walls. Those who had truly been unable to survive and turned bandit, and had not yet had time to do too many bad deeds, were pulled to the right, where they were shown clothing and hot food and asked:

"Are you willing to enlist?"

Well, of course they had to say yes. Those who refused were conveniently marched off to the other side, to serve as hard labor.

Over three days, Ma Yuan incorporated a total of three hundred Yellow Marsh bandits. He had them led by the Boar-Rush Braves and the veteran convict-soldiers, all promoted one rank, and after drilling them for ten days, he sent the best performers back into the marsh to recruit more refugees and bandits to come out.

And Ma Yuan personally set up a five-character great banner by the marsh's edge to recruit soldiers: for the able-bodied, hot meals provided.

As for the weak-bodied, they could mend and sew clothes for the officers, weave straw sandals, or open up wasteland by the marsh to plant beans — they could always be put to use.

With those who returned testifying from their own experience, the promise of food alone was enough to stir the remnants of the Yellow Marsh bandits, whose backs Ma Yuan had broken and who now, with winter setting in, had no food or clothing. In just a few days, over a hundred came out.

Diwu Lun had already canceled Neihuang's tax and grain levies for the year; nothing needed to be handed over to the commandery office. The grain went directly to Ma Yuan for training troops, and if it was not enough, several thousand more shi could be sent over from Yecheng.

The son-in-law was counting on his good father-in-law to raise a force of a thousand men from Neihuang by the following spring, so that Diwu Lun's gun-barrel could grow hard enough to jab the powerful families in the back. For now, there were at least five or six hundred.

As one side waxed, the other waned. The Yellow Marsh bandits, once boasting a thousand men, had collapsed in a single battle, and even the refugees who were the wellspring of their resurgence had been intercepted by Ma Yuan.

At the start of the tenth month, when the latest news from Neihuang reached Yecheng, the forces behind the Yellow Marsh bandits — and the Bandit-Suppressing Officer Li Neng, the thief crying "stop thief" — were both furious and vexed. Clutching his left hand, Li Neng was filled with regret.

"I had intended to break off one of Diwu Lun's arms — who would have thought he would be the first to break one of my limbs instead! How painful!"

…

After October arrived, good news kept pouring in for Diwu Lun: first, Ma Yuan won a great victory over the Yellow Marsh bandits in the south, and the plan to recruit soldiers and buy horses was already halfway complete.

This battle was a display of Diwu Gong's military might, making the effect of killing the chicken to warn the monkeys all the more striking; the county magistrates fell over themselves to send their autumn harvest account books, along with this year's land tax, to Yecheng.

The tax in coin Diwu Lun paid no mind to — the Xin Dynasty's currency was worth even less east of the passes; even after the Large Spade Yellow Thousand was abolished, the devaluation could not be halted, and in some large cities it had already reached the point where one dan of rice could buy two thousand cash.

As for outside the cities, the common folk had already reverted to barter, and cloth and grain had become hard currency.

What mattered most was grain. In the past, back in Diwu Village, Diwu Lun could only rely on doing business and the bitter toil of farming to slowly build up a store, but now, by the authority of a commandery governor — and this was still the little authority that remained to an official of the Great Xin — a single administrative decree sent down, and tens of thousands of dan of grain came in with effortless ease.

"As expected, holding office is still the fastest way." Watching the granary fill up bit by bit, Diwu Lun felt an immense sense of security.

Next came the problem of distribution. In theory this was public grain, but just as the imperial house often blurred public and private, a commandery lord could play it the same way; when it came time to divide it, of course the honest men got priority, and his own trusted men got priority!

But it was not all good news. Geng Chun informed Diwu Lun: "The three counties of Wu'an, Shexian, and Wushi sent out a combined six thousand dan of grain, but while passing through Qinkou Mountain, it was seized by mountain bandits!"

This was as shocking as the Yellow Marsh bandits besieging the county seat.

What did six thousand dan mean? Enough to feed over a thousand men for six months!

Diwu Lun's heart ached at that, but he held it in and did not let it show. Only after returning to the commandery office did he say to Geng Chun: "Wu'an, Shexian, and Wushi are located in the northwestern part of Wei Commandery, backed against the Taihang Mountains. They all count as the territory of the Li clan of Wu'an."

"Li Neng has served as Bandit Suppressor for so many years, his power is formidable, and his younger brother is the Iron Commissioner. It is said they have launched troops to suppress Qinkou Mountain no fewer than three times, squandering countless government funds and provisions, and yet to this day they still have not wiped them out!"

"Is this because Li Neng is incompetent, or because he is far too competent?"

According to the confession — obtained through interrogation and lacking any material evidence — of the Yellow Marsh bandit leaders captured by Ma Yuan, behind the Yellow Marsh bandit chief there was a powerful clan supporting them with iron weapons, delivered to the Yellow Marsh bandits through the hand of the former Prefect of Neihuang.

Ha, come to think of it, it was exactly the same trick he himself had played with Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu back in New Qinzhong. It seemed he had met a kindred spirit in the trade: no one understood officials and bandits being one family better than Diwu Lun — he and Ma Yuan had truly become one family now.

Add to that the hearsay Huang Chang had dug up, the rumors circulating in the commandery, and all manner of other matters, and Diwu Lun had his own logical deduction. A powerful clan entrenched in the commandery was secretly working against him, using various petty maneuvers, unwilling to let his plan to bring Wei Commandery under control proceed smoothly.

"Seen in this light, behind the Yellow Marsh bandits and the Qinkou bandits, that friend who prefers to remain nameless…"

Diwu Lun said coldly: "Is surnamed Li, most likely!"