Chapter 157: True Elegance

In late November of the second year of Dihuang, at the headquarters of the General of Remonstrance in Wancheng, Jingzhou Forward Division.

Compared to when he had acted as matchmaker for Diwu Lun, Yan You's hair had grown even whiter, but fortunately his eyesight had not dimmed. Speaking with his deputy for this southern campaign to exterminate the Greenwood Army, the General of Rites Chen Mao, he asked:

"General of Rites, you have just come from the capital and must know the situation in the east. In your view, can the Taishan bandit Fan Chong truly be pacified by spring, as Jing Shang claims?"

Jing Shang had been ordered to attack Taishan for half a year and had always reported victories while concealing defeats. Now, if he did not strike again, his lies could no longer hold, so he had no choice but to boast to the court, promising to pacify Taishan by the third month.

Yan You, on another front in the south, did not believe it. He had always worried that the east would collapse, forcing the court to fight a two-front war.

Chen Mao's career closely resembled Yan You's. In those years, as one of Wang Mang's core confidants, he too had once served as Grand Marshal before being dismissed. Now, as Director of Rites — equivalent to the Grand Minister of Ceremonies — he had been given the title of General, an incongruous combination.

Seeing Yan You's concern for the east, Chen Mao did not first mention Jing Shang and Fan Chong, but instead spoke of the situation in Yiping Commandery (Beihai Commandery) in Qingzhou.

"The various commanderies of Qingzhou and Xuzhou are inept at defending against bandits, always timid and daring nothing. Only the Commandant of Yiping Commandery, Tian Kuang, has been consistently decisive and brave. This past summer and autumn, Tian Kuang mobilized over forty thousand civilians aged eighteen and above, issued them weapons from the armory, had the general's orders simplified and engraved on stone stelae for proclamation, and drilled the troops on a grand scale to resist the bandits."

"When Fan Chong and Mother Lü heard of this, they felt Yiping would be difficult to deal with and dared not enter the commandery's borders. Afterwards, Tian Kuang, because he had raised troops without issuing tiger tallies, impeached himself and also submitted a strategy for pacifying the bandits."

These were matters Yan You could only learn of through Chang'an after arriving in Wancheng. His interest piqued, he asked: "Oh? What strategy?"

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Chen Mao said: "Tian Kuang stated that when bandits first rise, they are like fledgling birds, their strength minuscule, easily captured by local officers and squad members. The reason they grow so large is that senior officials pay them no heed — the county deceives the commandery, and the commandery deceives the court. To avoid the Son of Heaven's censure, when there are actually a hundred, they report only ten; when there are actually a thousand, they report only a hundred."

"Thus, matters finally develop until they spread across several provinces, and only then does the court dispatch generals, envoys, and layer upon layer of supervisors. But the generals and envoys from Chang'an do not know the terrain or the people's circumstances of the commanderies and counties, nor can they personally lead officers and troops into battle. Therefore, they are often routed by the bandits, the morale of the officers is steadily wounded, and the people's coin and grain are wasted in vain."

"And when, in the summer, they were fortunate to receive the court's amnesty decree, the bandits of Qingzhou and Xuzhou wished to disband. But the generals and envoys, in order to report achievements, went back on their word and attacked them instead, causing the bandit hordes to be terrified, fearing they would be deceived and annihilated. No one believed in amnesty offers anymore, and within ten days their numbers swelled to tens of thousands. Add to this that the common people fear the imperial army even more than the bandits — this is the reason the bandits of Qingzhou and Xuzhou are so numerous."

Yan You praised: "Tian Kuang's every sentence is reasonable. He pointed out the cause, but did he propose a plan?"

Chen Mao said: "He did. He requested that Your Majesty should completely recall the relay-carriage generals and envoys to give the commanderies and counties respite, and delegate the tiger tallies and military authority to the Provincial Governors and Grand Governors, permitting large-scale conscription and extensive drilling of commandery braves and village militia. Then, with the various provinces and commanderies forming mutual defense pacts, take advantage of winter to strengthen defenses and clear the countryside, exhausting the bandits. In this way, whether by amnesty or extermination, success can be achieved."

Yan You did not entirely agree with the strategy of that Yiping Commandant Tian Kuang, but it had reference value. Then he saw Chen Mao's bitter smile and knew the memorial had not been adopted.

"In his memorial, Tian Kuang even spoke boastfully, requesting that Your Majesty 'entrust me, Kuang, with the bandits of the two provinces, and I shall certainly pacify them.'"

Yan You knew Wang Mang's ways very well. Alarmed, he realized Tian Kuang was in trouble: "How did His Majesty reply?"

"His Majesty said, 'Does Tian Kuang wish to gain the governorships of both Qingzhou and Xuzhou for himself?'"

Chen Mao sighed and said: "Then, using Tian Kuang's minor defeat against Fan Chong's Taishan bandits and the loss of a thousand men as a pretext, he quietly dispatched a replacement and sent an envoy to bestow upon Tian Kuang an edict bearing the imperial seal. Though Tian Kuang was fierce in his commandery, he dared not resist the edict. He traveled west with the envoy to Chang'an, where His Majesty enfeoffed him as a Count and appointed him Grand Governor of Shiwei Commandery."

Upon hearing this appointment, Yan You could only stamp his feet: "With Tian Kuang present, Qingzhou could still resist the bandit hordes. With Kuang gone, the land of Qi will fall!"

From Tian Kuang's unauthorized conscription of tens of thousands, his crossing of commandery borders to attack bandits, and his volunteering to take over military affairs in Qingzhou and Xuzhou, Yan You had already guessed he would not last long. For Wang Mang deeply detested those who overstepped their authority, and there was a limit of three times. Tian Kuang had shown himself far too proactive, clearly crossing the Emperor's bottom line, and instead aroused Wang Mang's fear and loathing: "I only hope Boyu can learn from Tian Kuang's lesson and not be overly arrogant and unrestrained, lest he incur His Majesty's suspicion."

And was Yan You himself, this nominal "Grand General of Remonstrance" overseeing southern military affairs, not also regarded with suspicion? When he left Chang'an in the autumn, he had been permitted to take only a little over a hundred subordinate officers and soldiers, traveling by boat from the Wei River into the Yellow River, only disembarking to use relay carriages at Huayin. He was ordered to recruit troops in Yuzhou and Jingzhou, but any conscription or deployment involving over five thousand men required prior petition to the court.

Yan You had lamented at the time: "To dispatch a general without giving him the military tallies, requiring him to petition first before acting — this is like tethering a Hanlu hound with a rope and then expecting it to hunt fierce beasts."

Though he said this, the work still had to be done. After recruiting ten thousand men, Yan You trained them in Wancheng, enduring the court's pressure to march, planning to head south only in spring.

And so it was that Wang Mang, growing impatient, had sent Chen Mao to urge him on, asking: Jing Shang in the east has promised to exterminate the Taishan bandits by spring; can you, Yan You, and Dou Rong accomplish the same?

Wang Mang could not afford to be impatient — his realm was already in crisis everywhere. The famine east of the passes had caused a drastic increase in refugees, yet military affairs were the one thing that could least be rushed.

After settling Chen Mao to rest, Yan You returned to handling official business and saw a wooden tablet written in an elegant, refined hand.

It was that minor grain officer, Liu Xiu, Liu Wenshu — after two months, tendering his resignation once again!

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……

That Liu Xiu had, by a twist of fate, become Yan You's grain officer was not because Yan You had actively recruited him, but because Liu Xiu had come to him on his own initiative before that. When Yan You had first arrived in Wancheng to establish his headquarters, military grain still had to be collectively raised from the powerful families of the Forward Division. Liu Xiu thus came to plead his family's case, arguing that the Chongling Liu clan had been subjected to property levies three times in the past year, paying over twenty-six thousand hu of grain rent and several tens of thousands in fodder tax, equivalent to more than half their harvest, and had already given their utmost.

This matter, come to think of it, was ultimately Diwu Lun's fault — he had insisted on linking the attack on the imperial prince to the powerful families, forcing them to contribute grain to clear their names.

Several other scions of powerful families had come to plead their cases as well, but Yan You had taken particular notice of the handsome, full-bearded Liu Xiu. Ignoring the others, he conversed only with Liu Xiu, and in this conversation found that Liu Xiu answered with fluency and ease, which pleased him greatly.

Hearing further that Liu Xiu was acquainted with Diwu Lun — what a coincidence — he thereupon appointed him as a grain officer.

The reason Liu Xiu had half-reluctantly accepted this post was not a sudden budding hope for the Great Xin, but rather the thought of "know yourself and know your enemy, and you will win a hundred battles."

By the time Liu Xiu left the headquarters of the General of Remonstrance and returned to his hometown of Caiyang, it was already the end of the second year of Dihuang.

In the Chongling Liu household, the little rebellion cabal was still operating in secret. His eldest brother, Liu Yan, and his old friend Zhu You both pressed him: "Well?"

They were asking about Yan You, about this newly recruited Xin army. Liu Yan's plan to ally with Greenwood for rebellion had been delayed by Yan You's sudden arrival.

Liu Xiu finished the water in his cup and said unhurriedly: "Yan Erudite lives up to his reputation as a famed general of the age. He has a real skill for drilling troops and setting up camp. Over these two months, I have learned a great deal from him."

Liu Yan furrowed his brow: "Then in Wenshu's view, if Yan You leads his army south, how would he fare against Qin Feng of Nan Commandery and the various chieftains of Greenwood?"

"Hard to say." Liu Xiu said: "The way of warfare encompasses military stratagem, military topography, military technique, and several other schools."

"Yan You belongs to the school of military stratagem. He long served as Grand Marshal, opposing attacks on the surrounding barbarians and guarding the state with rectitude. He also once served as a commander, attacking Lower Gouri, using surprise in warfare, and beheading the barbarian marquis. He also emphasizes planning before battle, spending entire nights at headquarters with the Wave-Water General Dou Rong and others, war-gaming military scenarios. He combines topography, encompasses yin and yang, and employs technique — one could call him a complete talent."

"But I observed him for a long time, and after several question-and-answer sessions, I discovered that Yan You also has a weakness."

Liu Yan was overjoyed: "What is it?"

Liu Xiu said: "Lord Yan's heart worries for the whole realm; his gaze is always fixed on the overall situation, and he thinks too much. He is better suited to be a supreme commander, not a field general. What's more, the Emperor constantly urges him to march and sends men to hinder and watch him, preventing Yan You from arranging things according to his own preferences. If a military stratagem expert cannot control the overall situation and must fight in only one corner, I fear he would be no match for an expert in military topography."

And the true state of Yan You's army — its strengths and weaknesses — Liu Xiu had also thoroughly probed by taking advantage of his official duties, knowing every Colonel and Major under Yan You's command like the back of his hand.

In the past, Liu Xiu had focused solely on managing property and farmland, reading the sages, and befriending wandering knights of the jianghu. This was the first time he had been able to enter the military, and though Liu Xiu himself had not noticed it, he indeed possessed uncommon talent in the art of war.

This post had opened the door to a new world for him, but Liu Xiu did not intend to continue in it.

He explained to his elder brother: "For one, this grain officer post carries great risk. Yan You governs the army strictly — within two months, he has already executed four of them!"

"Secondly, I am often ordered to press the powerful families and great households for grain contributions, which easily earns their enmity. This is disadvantageous for our future plans to contact the various powerful families of the Forward Division to rise up."

Although the armies of Yan You and the Governor of the Forward Division kept them suppressed, after being forced to hand over grain contributions time and again, the powerful families of the Forward Division harbored even deeper resentment toward the Xin Dynasty — surpassing even their fear of the Greenwood Army.

Therefore, Liu Xiu believed that before the great army marched south to strike Greenwood, it was time to withdraw.

"I have already placed several of our clan's sons and old Chongling acquaintances among them as minor officers; we can still know the army's true state."

Liu Yan naturally hoped his younger brother could return: "Did Yan You permit you to resign?"

Liu Xiu shook his head: "He did not. Using my uncle's illness as a pretext, I only obtained a few days' leave to come home and see."

"Then how does Wenshu plan to resign?"

Liu Xiu had heard that Diwu Lun had declined appointment many times and had kept it in mind. But this time, he intended to use a method that even Diwu Lun had never tried.

That was… to resign outright!

As if uttering a prophecy, Liu Xiu described what he himself would do in the days to come: "The retainers under my elder brother's banner are always turning brigand — drinking too much, raising hell, even beating and injuring people. It happens every year; how could the twelfth month be any different? Just say it was actually me who did it, and that after the beating I fled in panic, dodging the law and going into hiding."

The offense would be minor, the authorities would not make trouble for the Chongling Liu clan, yet Liu Xiu could forcibly extract himself: "Though I am ashamed to betray Lord Yan's generous treatment, I would rather leave early than wait until the moment comes and then have to turn against him."

"Then where does Wenshu intend to go to dodge the law?"

Liu Yan sneered: "Surely not Wei Commandery in Ji Province? Diwu Boyu invited you too, to be his petty Records Office Clerk."

Liu Xiu shook his head. For a man who harbored great ambitions and was ready to make his mark on his native soil, uprooting himself because of a single word or a single letter was always going to be hard — especially after Diwu Lun had put down the Han-restorationist Li Yan and his stance was clear; it was even more impossible for them to stand together now.

Yet Liu Xiu always had a premonition that Diwu Lun would likely not give up, and would send someone once more. Going into hiding was not just to evade official duties, but also to avoid Diwu Lun.

"Han and Xin cannot both stand!"

That was what Liu Yan believed. He thought Diwu Lun was a loyal minister of the Xin Dynasty, fated never to walk the same path as the Liu clan, and he harbored considerable ill will toward Diwu Lun for trying to take his younger brother from him.

"That is not necessarily so." Liu Xiu still clung to a thread of hope, and counseled his elder brother: "Today we may be enemies, but even men like Yan You and Diwu Lun, who are now ministers of Xin, might yet become ministers of Han in days to come. Many who now serve the false dynasty do so only because they are bound by their clans, unable to act freely. Wenshu's sole wish for you, elder brother, is that when you rise up in the future, you do not simply slaughter the Xin officials, but instead win them over. Only thus can great things be accomplished."

"I know it." Liu Yan nodded. The plan was set — so where exactly did his little brother intend to go?

"Yingchuan."

Liu Xiu smiled: "This I learned from Yan You: in all matters one must survey the whole situation, not fixate on a single corner. I hear that Yingchuan and Ru'nan abound in bold and outstanding men. I shall go and see for myself. If there are those of like mind, I can recruit and enlist them for you, elder brother."

A-Xiu had only just returned, yet his resolve to leave was already firm. Liu Yan was somewhat loath to part with his younger brother, but when he raised his hand and clapped it on his shoulder, he only laughed heartily: "Wenshu, time is short — exert yourself!"

"Exert yourself" was Liu Xiu's favorite phrase. He too bowed to his elder brother: "Elder brother must also exert himself!"

"Restore the enterprise of the Exalted Ancestor, settle the ages for ten thousand autumns!"

"All will be decided in the third year of Dihuang — AD 22!"

……

PS: (Liu Xiu) went to the Grand Marshal's office on behalf of his late uncle, the former Marquis of Chongling, to appeal the land tax of twenty-six thousand hu and fodder tax of several hundred thousand in coin from before the renyin day of the twelfth month of the first year of Dihuang. At the time, Zhu Fu of Wan was also appealing a tax on behalf of his maternal uncle before (Yan) You. You stopped his carriage and spoke only with the Emperor, paying no heed to Fu. — Dongguan Han Ji. Historically, Liu Xiu and Yan You had a single encounter.

(Chapter 2 at 13:00.)

(Chapter 3 at 18:00.)