Chapter 158: The Third Year of Dihuang

From Yecheng in Wei territory to Chongling in Nanyang, the journey is one thousand five hundred li.

An army would take two months; a messenger traveling light by carriage would take one month — that is under the most ideal conditions. If they encounter bandits, disasters, winter weather, or the like, it is even slower, and a round trip could take three months.

Now, when he first suddenly heard that Liu Jiao's real name was Liu Xiu, it gave Diwu Lun a great start, and he cried out in astonishment: "Xiu'er was right beside me all along."

His understanding of Liu Wenshu was actually not very deep. When they first met, he thought the man's talent was utterly unremarkable, inferior to Liu Long; only later did he learn from Diba Jiao that it was precisely Wenshu who had stopped the Imperial Academy students from acting recklessly. He then respected him for it and sent men to gift him charcoal. Later, hearing that Wenshu had taken the lead in fleeing the Imperial Academy, he merely laughed at his quick wits.

When they reached Nanyang and exchanged jade, it was still with a certain casualness. Diwu Lun only ranked Liu Wenshu below Cen Peng and Ren Guang.

It was not until now, having been thoroughly shown up by the man, that looking back on all those past events, he finally realized this person was in fact unfathomably deep, so capable of hiding his true self.

Although Diwu Lun had sent merchant teams searching everywhere these years and had found at least a dozen "Liu Xiu"s, this profound lesson made him feel that this Xiu was that Xiu.

But the Chongling Liu clan is like a weakened version of the Wu'an Li clan — both are great magnate houses capable of raising several thousand men. The difference is that what the Li clan relies on is generations of accumulation, while the Liu family relies on Liu Bosheng's personal charisma.

Diwu Lun looked around blankly and realized: he could not even control the Wei-territory magnates right under his nose — could he possibly control a magnate two thousand li away?

The only thing he could do was to send Diwu Fu and others again, taking a few stout, burly men and making another trip, hoping that by then Liu Xiu would still be properly in place as the headquarters' grain officer. Diwu Lun wrote a letter to see if he could trick Liu Xiu into coming. If that failed...

"Then tie him up and bring him!"

As for what he would do after tying him up, he had not thought that through either. He would just set it up this way for now, and then Diwu Lun had no more attention to spare for this matter, because at present, he could barely look after himself.

After entering the third year of Dihuang (AD 22), Diwu Lun was so busy he could not get away. Under the new calendar, the twelfth month was the start of the year, and Diwu Lun, as the commandery's Grand Governor, had to preside over all kinds of sacrificial activities: the great Nuo exorcism on the Laba festival, the dismembering of victims beside the city gates, and he also had to perform sacrifices to every famous mountain and great river in Wei territory, along with the shrine of Grandee Ximen Bao.

When leading the magnates in the rituals, Diwu Lun's expression was solemn, but afterward, Geng Chun mocked him, saying: "These are all illicit shrines local to Ji Province. Yet Boyu, as a man from Guanzhong, sacrifices at them without a doubt. Have you never heard it said: 'To sacrifice to ghosts not one's own is flattery'?"

The so-called "illicit shrines" are the general term for unofficial sacrifices — they can also be called folk beliefs, wild temples not recognized by the court and not allocated funds, and they have existed since ancient times. Toward these illicit shrines, the Qin dynasty directly and brutally smashed them, but the Han dynasty was comparatively indulgent, leading to a prevalence of sorcery, with shamans in the streets and invocators in the village lanes.

However, in Diwu Lun's view, whether a shrine was illicit or not made no essential difference — it was all spirit-dancing. Was a domestic-born spirit necessarily nobler than a wild one?

Moreover, after the Xin Dynasty replaced the Han, many of the former dynasty's temples to past emperors established in the commanderies and kingdoms also became "illicit shrines." On the contrary, Wang Mang was obsessively devoted to ghosts, spirits, and illicit sacrifices. From the Six Venerables of Heaven and Earth down to all the minor ghosts and spirits, some one thousand seven hundred sites all became official shrines. They used over three thousand kinds of the three sacrificial animals, birds, and beasts in the offerings; because these were insufficient, they offered chickens in place of ducks and wild geese, and dogs in place of deer.

If the Emperor himself was not particular, what was there for those below to be particular about? As long as it pleased the local people, he would bow to any god he saw — it cost him no piece of flesh. For the kindling used in the sacrifices, even under the government's financial strain, he still contributed a little to assist the rites. The stone stele he had promised to erect for Ximen Bao was also set up.

The major temples were handled by the government in official sacrifices, but against those village-lane shamans who used the name of sacrifice to deceive the common people into wasting vast sums of wealth and silk, Diwu Lun still struck with a heavy fist.

One such invocator was arrested. He had organized a group of people to slaughter a plow ox as a sacrifice to "the Wei Prince Wuji." When seized, he still shouted: "These words are true! Whoever does not offer oxen to the Wei Prince will fall ill, and before dying, will first bellow like an ox!"

There were quite a few invocators like this, who had deceived many foolish folk. In the end, the beef was all eaten by these invocators themselves. What was even more outrageous was that some invocators had also brought harm to many women.

Diwu Lun showed them no mercy: "Circulate a document to the subordinate counties, proclaiming to the common people: any invocator or shaman who relies on ghosts and spirits to deceive and terrorize the foolish folk shall all be investigated and sentenced. The officials shall promptly carry out the punishment — let the punishment be like this!"

"Following the method of Grandee Ximen Bao, throw this man into the Zhang River!"

Good heavens, this was the depths of winter, the twelfth month, and the Zhang River was frozen solid. They could only chisel a large hole and stuff the invocator inside, leaving only his head exposed. Tilting his head back and exhaling white mist, he at first loudly cursed Diwu Lun, wishing him childless and worse, but gradually he wailed like a ghost and howled like a wolf, until finally even his voice was frozen still, becoming a frozen human head fixed upon the river.

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The sight was terrifying. The people of Yecheng were shaken, and the village-lane shamans and invocators cowered and shrank back, all feeling that Diwu Lun was even more ruthless than Ximen Bao.

And the government seized the opportunity to reiterate: with the spring plowing imminent, any village that wantonly slaughters oxen shall, in the third year of Dihuang, have its rent increased across the board! If there are sick oxen or dead oxen, report them promptly to the township, and the township shall report to the commandery and county — every single ox must be registered.

This time, Diwu Lun did not laugh at India. Toward these ancient tractors, he decided to treat them like gods. Even if rumors spread that cow dung could cure illness, cow urine could ward off evil, and cow tears could restore sight, that was still better than slaughtering oxen.

In the twelfth-month season, everything was sealed in ice for ten thousand li, but the government could not afford to be idle. On one hand, Diwu Lun, together with Geng Chun and Feng Qin,

set about auditing the annual reports, discussing the administrative outlines for the four seasons and balancing income with expenditure, and arranging the spring plowing affairs. They began selecting the seeds of the five grains for the official fields, calculating paired-plowing operations, repairing plows and hoes, and planning newly opened irrigation channels and the like.

By this time, Diwu Lun felt the trouble brought by the Wu'an Li clan's "separatist" control over the three iron-producing counties in the northwest.

"The bandits of Qinkou Mountain are causing trouble again, raiding Liangqi County. The Iron Office says the iron tools being delivered were also seized."

Now, relying on those "Qinkou Mountain bandits," communication between the three districts of Wu'an, She County, and Wushi was nearly cut off from Yecheng, and the iron tools in the mountains could not be transported out. Weapons were still manageable — the armory had plenty of stock — but farming tools were consumables that required large-scale replenishment every year. For a time, the price of iron in the commandery soared, and Diwu Lun had to send Huang Chang to Handan in Zhao territory to purchase iron.

Every bit they plundered, Diwu Lun remembered, and he would make them repay it tenfold.

"The feeling of having someone grip you by the throat is truly unbearable." Diwu Lun knew this was the Li clan watching their own thieves, sabotaging him. It seemed this wretch could not be left unresolved.

On the day before the Start of Spring, Diwu Lun presided over the rite of whipping the spring ox. Fashioning an earthen ox to send off the cold air was a tradition dating from the Zhou dynasty. The earthen ox, identical in size to a real ox, was adorned with various colors and silks and placed before the government office.

Diwu Lun emerged in full ceremonial dress, bearing a green banner and wearing black clothing. The staff in his hand was wound with five-colored silk — precisely what is called "raising the green banner and erecting the earthen ox." To the beat of drums, he held the whip and began to lightly strike the spring ox, while the surrounding officials and commoners shouted:

"The cold air descends!"

"The yang air rises!"

"The east wind thaws the ice, the hibernating insects begin to stir."

"Fish rise to the ice, otters sacrifice fish, the wild geese come!"

After Diwu Lun struck three times, he handed it to the Commandery Aide Geng Chun to strike further, and then had men smash the spring ox to pieces. The watching Yecheng populace had been waiting for this very moment and surged forward to scramble for the spring ox, for it was a folk belief that the crushed earth of the spring ox could cure ailments, and burying it in each family's fields could also increase harvests.

But what could truly make the fields abundant was advanced agricultural production techniques. Among the private followers Diwu Lun had brought were old farmers from Diwu Village. The curved-shaft plow and the Diwu clan's farming tools had also been brought along, and local craftsmen were set to copy them roughly, just waiting for spring to show their great skill.

Diwu Lun, however, could not wait to see that scene in Yecheng. Just after the Start of Spring, he handed government affairs over to the Commandery Aide Geng Chun to manage, and himself, taking one hundred personal guards, the Accounts Clerk Feng Qin, and others, left Yecheng in haste by carriage.

For this journey, Diwu Lun brought out the pomp he had seen Gongsun Shu display in Shu: five subordinate officials — mounted clerks, halberdiers, lance-bearers, outriders, and boundary wardens — clearing the way and serving as escort; an axe-carriage as the vanguard; a drum-and-fife carriage to project authority; and four mounted clerks as bodyguards. Beyond these, there were also detached cavalry and foot soldiers accompanying the procession. Truly, one could say the light carriages blotted out the sun, and the horsemen filled the road.

And the officials and commoners who saw this display all said: "It is Lord Diwu making his tour of the counties."

Touring the counties was the commandery governor personally inspecting all the counties in his jurisdiction. On one hand, he could review prison cases and conduct spot checks on county officials — if commoners had wrongful convictions they wished to appeal, this was an excellent opportunity. Beyond that, he could also visit famous scholars, pay respects to elders, and recruit talent to fill the commandery offices.

Of course, since Diwu Lun set out just after the Start of Spring, it should be called "touring the spring," and it also served the purpose of urging on the spring plowing.

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For Diwu Lun, this trip had other purposes as well.

"Although I have basically taken control of Yecheng, government decrees are still limited to Ye and the three southern districts of Liyang and Neihuang. Touring the spring is an excellent opportunity to display the new Grand Governor's authority and dignity to the officials and people of every county."

Within the commandery seat it was still fine, but once traveling, a mere hundred-odd men could easily be attacked by "bandits." Therefore, after leaving the city, Diwu Lun had his men head directly south. He intended to tour the spring counterclockwise, first going to Neihuang in the south of the commandery to pull in some manpower and bolster his courage.

Over the entire winter, Neihuang County had transformed from a den of thieves of former days into a training ground. The refugee soldiers under Ma Yuan's command now numbered as many as eight hundred.

The sun was out today. Ma Yuan took Diwu Lun on a tour of the camp and, pointing to the soldiers on the parade ground who were familiarizing themselves with flags and drums and training with weapons, said: "When I came south, I brought a hundred men from the Boar-Rush Braves and convict soldiers; they have all now become squad officers and sergeants. The other seven hundred were all recruited in succession. After winter set in, more people could not survive and wanted to come to the army for a bowl of food. There are still several hundred awaiting screening and selection. By the first month, we will have a full battalion of a thousand troops."

A full-strength unit with no empty rations. To keep them clothed and warm, Diwu Lun had emptied the Yecheng armory. Every man had winter clothing — far better equipped than when he was in New Qinzhong.

Diwu Lun personally inspected the camp and had the troops feasted with wine and meat. His mouthful of the Wei-territory dialect made the refugee soldiers, their faces flushed red from the cold, feel a great sense of kinship. The Wei natives even began arguing with the refugee soldiers who had fled from Zhiting to join the army.

"Lord Diwu is definitely a Zhiting local."

"Nonsense, from his accent, he's clearly a Wei man."

"Judging by his features, he ought to be one of our Henei people!"

The common soldiers did not even know where Diwu Lun came from. Some had no clear idea of Guanzhong's location at all; they often knew their local magnates but not the commandery governor who had descended upon them from nowhere.

"From now on, people should know Diwu Lun — and not the Xin Dynasty."

Diwu Lun was mulling this over when he noticed Ma Yuan was not very happy: "The troops are trained. When can I leave?"

As it turned out, Ma Yuan's original plan had been to help Diwu Lun secure his footing through the winter, then return to Guanzhong and personally escort his daughter here.

He had not expected the situation in Wei territory to be far more complicated than he imagined, and with the need to lead this band of refugee soldiers, he simply could not get away.

Diwu Lun could not afford to lose this great commander either. If Ma Yuan left, the fighting strength of his forces would likely plummet. By the time Ma Wenyuan returned, a promising son-in-law might well have become a dead son-in-law.

Diwu Lun had no choice but to reassure his father-in-law, saying it would be soon — once that stumbling block was eliminated, the day he controlled the entire commandery would not be far off, and he would certainly bring his beloved wife here then.

"To be honest with you, on this spring inspection tour, my next stop is Fanyang, and the stop after that is Wei County, where the Commandant's office is located. I intend to take over the commandery troops under the subordinate magistrate and make them serve me!"

"The bandits on Qin Pass Mountain are formidable." Diwu Lun gave a cold laugh. "First they seize grain, then they cut the roads and plunder iron."

"It seems these bandits, surnamed Li, must be exterminated. If they are not exterminated, this cannot stand!"

……

PS: Chapter 3 at 18:00.