Chapter 159: Stir the Yellow River, and All Under Heaven Revolts

In the first month of the third year of Dihuang, after leaving Fan Yang County, Feng Qin's hometown, the spring inspection procession traveled northeast and gradually entered the borders of Wei County.

Diwu Lun asked a question that sounded like circular nonsense: "Why is Wei County called Wei County?"

It sounded as pointless as asking "why is Lun called Lun, why is Xiu called Xiu," but Diwu Lun had genuinely been puzzled by this for a long time.

"I've heard that in ancient times, the Marquisate of Wei was based in Zhaodui (Hedong), and during the Warring States period, the State of Wei also set its capital at Anyi, so that region was called Western Wei."

"But this land north of the Great River belonged to Wei for barely a hundred years before it fell to Zhao. So why was a Wei Commandery established here, and then a Wei County? Weibo, tell me."

Feng Qin was quite clear on the commandery's historical lore and answered at once: "This place was originally called Jipu County. It's said that during the reign of Marquis Wu of Wei, a secondary capital was built here, with walls erected, and many Wei ducal sons and officials came to reside. The locals thus called it Wei City."

So it was originally a local term for the rulers' residential quarter, but when the Han Dynasty later re-designated the commanderies and counties, they heard the locals' name 'Wei City' and accordingly named it Wei County, and the commandery Wei Commandery. The name stuck. The local people, who during the Warring States should have been Zhao folk, now regarded themselves as Wei people — though two thousand years later, this area was incorporated into Handan City, and they became sons of Zhao land once more.

Wei County lay only half a day's journey away, but Diwu Lun was in no hurry. He had Ma Yuan rest the three hundred accompanying refugee soldiers at a post station, while he himself instructed his five subordinate clerks and his personal guard Zang Nu to head east: "First, take me to see the old course of the Great River."

From a distance, loess plateaus like a long wall appeared on the horizon. Feng Qin, who had been here in his youth, pointed at them and told Diwu Lun: "Commander, those are the Zhao Embankments. During the Warring States, Qi and Zhao each used their neighbor as a dumping ground and built river dikes here."

When they drew near, Diwu Lun climbed the earthen embankment and gazed out. Across the still-frozen land, he saw a spectacular scar like an earthworm's trail!

It snaked its way from the west, spanning the land of Ji, like the track left by a primordial giant serpent — yet its elevation stood much higher than the surrounding terrain.

This was the old course of the Yellow River. Laden with silt, its turbid waters had flowed confined between the great dikes of Qi and Zhao, shaping a true suspended river. The riverbed sat high above, and the remnant dikes higher still.

In the broad grooves atop the ridge, frozen marshes and puddles lingered. In spring, clumps of half-submerged vegetation would sprout here, along with vast stretches of barren sandy hillocks interspersed with woods and thickets.

Occasionally, dense accumulations of fish bones and mussel shells could be seen on the ground, stark white, like the skeletal remains of some dead giant beast.

Of the thousands upon thousands of rivers under heaven, the Yellow River alone had a uniquely violent temper. Since the Spring and Autumn period, she had raced along this old course for six hundred years, but in the third year of Shijianguo (AD 11), she furiously tossed her sleeves and departed.

Diwu Lun called Feng Qin up onto the dike and asked him: "How old were you, Weibo, when the river breached that year?"

"Thirteen or fourteen." Feng Qin was a few years older than Diwu Lun.

"Do you still remember what it was like?"

Of course he remembered.

The moment Feng Qin closed his eyes, he could recall the reek of fish, an endless surfeit of fish meat that autumn throughout Wei Cheng Commandery.

He was still a child then, studying at home, when a neighbor's kid came running excitedly, saying the river had dried up and everyone was gathering fish.

The children rushed at once toward the great river a day's journey away. When they arrived and climbed up to look, the mighty river, normally several li wide and surging, had indeed run dry in what should have been its abundant season!

The pools were full of fish struggling on the verge of death, packed one against another. The young men of Wei land scrambled down to gather them as if possessed.

But unlike the young men's excitement, on the faces of the older generation, Feng Qin saw only shock, fear, and despair. Some elders of seventy or eighty even collapsed onto the earthen dike, weeping bitterly like children who had lost their mother.

"All is lost," they wailed to the heavens. At the time, Feng Qin did not understand.

Because the Yellow River had breached near Puyang in Zhiting Commandery, Wei Commandery was extremely fortunate — it lay outside the flood zone and escaped the catastrophe of inundation. But Yanzhou and Qingzhou to the southeast suffered terribly. Once the Yellow River broke free, it rampaged like an unbridled wild horse, seeking new channels, devastating over a dozen commanderies. Countless people lost their homes; the common folk were displaced and destitute.

Neighbors lost everything overnight, but Wei Cheng Commandery's disaster was slow and lingering. After the Yellow River abandoned its old course, Wei Cheng's climate grew increasingly erratic. Rain and snow no longer followed the seasonal rhythms; crops became difficult to grow. The young men of Wei, who at first thought the vicious river's departure was a blessing, began to miss her after being battered by life.

Because this happened in the third year after Wang Mang became Emperor, people gradually began to say it was a warning from Heaven to a usurping traitor. Rumors spread that Zhai Yi was still alive, that Emperor Cheng's son Liu Ziyu was still living. The tide of 'Longing for Han' began that very year.

Feng Qin also asked Diwu Lun a question he had long puzzled over without finding an answer: "The Grand Governor served at court — does he know why, back then, the Emperor did not send men to return the great river to its old course?"

Diwu Lun actually knew a bit about this, because his old friend Huan Tan had happened to be serving as an aide to the Grand Minister of Works when the great river breached, and was assigned to this matter.

Huan Tan had also been ordered to preside over the water conservancy experts' working meetings on Wang Mang's behalf and kept records. Hearing that Diwu Lun was coming to Wei Cheng Commandery, he had given him those documents to read. Diwu Lun had found them quite instructive.

Diwu Lun intended to draw Feng Qin into his inner circle. Since this quiet man had rarely taken the initiative to speak, he had to seize the moment, and so said: "At the time, the Emperor solicited river-control experts by the hundreds. Their proposals were not all the same."

"The Colonel of the Chang River and others believed that the breach points of the great river were often at Zhiting, Shouliang (Dong Commandery), and Heping (Pingyuan Commandery) — areas where the terrain is low and the soil soft. According to the 'Yu Gong,' in ancient times these regions were uninhabited, reserved specifically for flood discharge. They proposed relocating the populace, emptying those three commanderies, and ceasing all construction of official posts and civilian dwellings there."

Good heavens — to empty three entire commanderies just to give the great river room to flood. These three commanderies were all rich and populous, with a combined population of over two million. How to relocate them? Where to? Pure defeatism. A disgrace to Great Yu.

Another censor proposed the complete opposite, a grand blueprint: "Your servant observes that the 'Yu Gong' contains the phrase 'the nine rivers were channeled.' Great Yu controlled the waters by dredging nine rivers, all in Ji Province. We should broadly excavate north of the river. Even if we cannot cut nine channels, opening four or five should still be beneficial."

To forcibly dig nine river channels — not even Qin Shi Huang or Emperor Wu of Han likely had that capability. Even more impractical.

After all the discussions, the only thing they really clarified was that the chief culprit behind the Yellow River's breaches was that "the river water is heavy with silt — it is said one dan of water carries six dou of mud." Diwu Lun had been to New Qinzhong on the upper reaches of the great river; there, the water was crystal clear.

But in the Guanzhong region along the middle reaches, it was different. The ecology had already been damaged by the growing population; soil erosion had intensified, making the river water increasingly turbid. During the rainy season, breaches were easy, forcing them to raise the dikes higher and higher until they towered above the flatland — like building walls to store water. Once a breach occurred, the consequences were unthinkable.

The river had burst once under Emperor Wu of Han, and now it burst again. The scholar-officials in Wang Mang's court did not understand the methods of water control, yet their obsession with restoring antiquity extended even to this. Not a single proposal they offered was reliable.

As for Huan Tan, he was a layman too. He only suggested that they should follow Emperor Wu of Han's example and take active control measures: "Under Emperor Wu, ten thousand soldiers were dispatched to build a blockage. He ordered that a dam be constructed from firewood and stakes made from the bamboo of Qiyuan to plug the breach, successfully diverting the great river from Huzi back to its old course."

"If our dynasty could emulate this, with the plan settled before implementation, the cost would be no more than a few hundred million, yet we could tame the great river and give the refugees downstream work to do and food to eat, so that in their desperation they do not turn to banditry. In this way, above we could carry on Yu's enterprise, and below we could relieve the people's suffering."

Yet the result was that Wang Mang ultimately did not adopt Huan Tan's proposal. Instead, he felt that blocking was inferior to channeling, and decided to follow the water's nature, letting the river flow freely along its new course and never returning it to its old one.

So why, ultimately, was it not controlled? Diwu Lun had said so much yet still had not given Feng Qin a clear answer. But the locals had secretly speculated: "If the great river returned to its old course, it might submerge Yuancheng on its banks — and the Emperor's ancestral tombs are there!"

Let the common people become fish food, or let the ancestors' bones soak in a bath — was there really any choice?

Brother Mang's thinking was hard to guess. It was hard to say whether this was conspiracy theory or fact. After all, from Diwu Lun's perspective, Wang Mang indeed placed extreme importance on his hometown. In theory it belonged to Wei Cheng, but in practice it was more like a directly administered territory. The County Magistrate of Yuancheng answered to the Minister of the Imperial Clan and did not even need to submit annual reports to Wei Cheng — yet Diwu Lun had the obligation to defend Yuancheng's safety. On what grounds?

In truth, the breach under Emperor Wu of Han had also been left unaddressed for over a decade because the Chancellor Tian Fen wanted to protect his private estates north of the river. This time, too, many court officials repeated the error of that year, believing the river's breach was Heaven's will and that blocking it would defy the High Heavens.

And so Wang Mang let the great river run rampant, while picking fights with the Xiongnu and the Gouding.

Truly a single thought's deviation, Diwu Lun mused to himself: "If, back then, the money, grain, and manpower spent warring against the four barbarians had been used to control the river — to do everything possible to plug the breach and return the river to its old course — the Yellow River would be clear and calm, the realm would sing his praises, and perhaps you, Wang Mang, would have been a true sage."

Follow the public account: Book Friends Base Camp — follow and receive cash and coins!

But history has no 'if.' For over a decade, many commanderies in Yan and Qing remained flood zones, and more than half the Mount Tai bandits were refugees from the river disaster.

Last year in Heping, several thousand more refugees rose up under the leadership of a woman called Chi Zhaoping, who claimed to be an immortal. It was turning into a script of "Stir the Yellow River, and All Under Heaven Revolts."

After viewing the river, Diwu Lun had to continue his journey. He observed that Wei Cheng Commandery's strategic situation was quite excellent: backed by the Taihang Mountains to the west, linked to the River and the Ji to the east, its form strong and its position secure, commanding both banks of the great river. In the Spring and Autumn period, Qi and Jin had contended here. By the late Warring States, Wei had used it to resist Zhao and oppose Qi. Since the Qin Dynasty, the strategic passes of Liyang and Baima had always been preeminent in the realm. The victory and defeat of Chu and Han were decided here.

A land of kings... of hegemony!

But regrettably, after the breach, Wei Cheng Commandery's geographical advantages had greatly diminished, far inferior to the Qin-Han era. In other words... its defenses had been broken.

Diwu Lun looked back at that dike, like a mangled corpse: "The natural barrier of the great river has shifted away. For an external enemy to invade Wei land from the east has become much easier!"

Although the capital of Wei Cheng Commandery was at Yecheng, the center of the eastern counties was Wei County. The Commandant's office under the Han, and the Subordinate Commandant's office under the Xin Dynasty, were both stationed here. This was the purpose of Diwu Lun's trip: to try to win over the eastern powerful families and seize control of the commandery troops in this area.

The commandery troops numbered four thousand, stationed in three locations: one thousand at Yecheng, which, after Li Neng took a step back, were now under the control of Diwu Lun's appointed Bandit-Suppressing Officer Zhao Pang. But their composition was uneven, their combat effectiveness highly questionable. Moreover, the junior officers were mostly sons of Yecheng's powerful families, large and small, making them hard to purge. Diwu Lun would rather use the shell to go public and train new troops to replace them.

In addition, two thousand were at Wei County and one thousand at Yuancheng County. In theory, all were under the Subordinate Commandant's command. If Diwu Lun wanted to deal with Li Neng, their support was indispensable — at the very least, he had to ensure they wouldn't stab him in the back.

Hearing that the Grand Governor's spring inspection was passing through Wei County, the Subordinate Commandant — who had arrived in Wei Commandery even later than Diwu Lun — immediately led his officials out to welcome him.

The Commandery Clerk Shi Xiong was promoted to his post by the Colonel of the Northern Army. His family background was no ordinary one — they were the maternal grandmother's clan of Emperor Xuan of Han, the same as the Marquis of Ping'en, the Xu clan of this commandery. They counted as Han dynasty imperial in-laws, but under the Xin Dynasty they had not fallen into decline; on the contrary, they had been enfeoffed as the "Marquis of Heping."

Shi Xiong was the eldest son of the Marquis of Heping, a scion of a noble in-law clan, in his thirties. He had always stayed in the hothouse of the Northern Army and had never witnessed the brutal struggles of the outside world. Diwu Lun had clearly warned him back in Yecheng, yet as soon as they arrived here, this big simpleton had been hollowed out by the powerful local magnates of the commandery's east.

After their conversation by the great river, Feng Qin had become more willing to provide Diwu Lun with information: "The man who truly controls the two thousand commandery troops of Wei County is the Military Section Chief, Chai Rong."

But before Diwu Lun could meet this man, the moment Wei Cheng Commandery Clerk Shi Xiong and Military Section Chief Chai Rong first saw him, they told him a piece of news of the utmost urgency.

"Grand Governor, the Magistrate of Yuancheng has sent a man to request reinforcements."

"The river-bandit refugees from Heping have come out to plunder for food. Several thousand of them are raiding Yuancheng and they request that Wei Cheng rush to the rescue!"

Speak of the devil!

This was internal troubles not yet dispelled, and now external calamity had arrived. Diwu Lun could only recall that eerily accurate prophecy he had made beside the great river embankment and curse himself inwardly.

"Lun, you jinx!"

……

PS: For the debates on river management during Wang Mang's reign, see the "Treatise on Canals and Waterways" in the Book of Han. Comrade Huan Tan attended the discussions and recorded them.

(Silver Alliance bonus chapter 4/11)