Chapter 166: The Wave Before and the Wave Behind

Besides Diwu Lun's wife, Ma Yuan's escort convoy also carried many members of the Ma clan — Ma Yuan's own wife and concubines, his two sons — and all of them, Ma Yuan included, were dressed in mourning white.

Diwu Lun had finally been reunited with his wife, and seeing her step down from the carriage filled his heart with joy — who wouldn't delight in such a pleasing, lovely face? Yet outwardly he had to keep it in check, stepping forward with solemn gravity to ask after her well-being.

"Has Governor Ma's funeral been properly settled?"

"If it hadn't been settled, could I have come back to Yecheng?" Ma Yuan was a little short-tempered — for no other reason than that his mood was foul.

The reason Ma Yuan had dropped everything and left Diwu Lun to hurry back to Guanzhong was calamitous news from home: his elder brother, Ma Yu, Governor of Yang Province, had died of illness at his post. The coffin was transported back to the family home in Maoling. Ma Yu's two sons were both very young, so Ma Yuan as the younger brother naturally had to go back and arrange everything. Compared to his elder brother, a son-in-law hardly mattered.

Diwu Lun had met his wife's uncle Ma Yu only once — back when Diwu Lun was implicated by Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu and arrested by the Office of the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties. Ma Yu, then serving as Colonel of the Central Ramparts, had stepped forward to testify and saved Diwu Lun.

And when Diwu Lun and Ma Chanchan were married, though Ma Yu was far off in the southeast, he still sent back lavish gifts of cloth and silk. Diwu Lun had secretly rejoiced that Ma Yu, a dignified Provincial Governor, could one day coordinate with him from north and south. He never imagined the man would pass away so suddenly.

This was also what gnawed at Ma Yuan. His elder brother was not much older than himself and had been robust and healthy. The officials who escorted the coffin back would only say, "Yang Province is low and damp — husbands die young there." But a subordinate clerk also told Ma Yuan: "The Governor of Yang Province fell ill from rage after failing to win over the Kuaiji bandits."

According to their account, after Ma Yu became Governor of Yang Province, he carried out Wang Mang's amnesty policy and sent men to win over the great Kuaiji bandit Gua Tianyi. The matter was nearly settled when, unexpectedly, Gua Tianyi died suddenly. Ma Yu had no choice but to have his men continue negotiating with the lesser bandit leaders below. But Li Xian, the Governor of Lujiang, saw this as an opportunity and launched troops to strike them. This made the bandits lose all trust in the authorities, and they rose in revolt once more. Now over a hundred thousand men are in rebellion across the river.

The court in turn rebuked Ma Yu. Rage and frustration mingled, he fell ill, and that was how he died.

You could say a Provincial Governor is a pitiable figure. He seems to hold high office and heavy authority, yet in practice he is worse off than even a commandery Grand Governor. A grand regional official parachuted in from above is often nothing but a puppet, because a Provincial Governor must contend not only with the powerful local magnates but also with the two-thousand-bushel officials and with the Deputy Inspector the court sends to keep watch over him. Were it not for the court's authority looming behind him, a single County Magistrate or a powerful clan with a few hundred men could drive out a Provincial Governor who has neither territory nor troops.

Ma Yuan could only secretly hate that there was nothing he could have done. If back then he had not come to Wei Commandery to help Diwu Lun but had gone instead to Yang Province to aid his elder brother, perhaps...

But that was impossible. Given his strict elder brother's temperament, Ma Yuan certainly would never have wanted to be at his side. And now, separated by heaven and earth, even if he wished to hear his elder brother scold him a few times, it could never be.

At this thought, a fresh wave of sorrow rose in Ma Yuan's heart. He changed the subject: "Boyu, in the three months I've been away, nothing has gone wrong in Wei, I trust?"

As for internal affairs, with Ma Yuan, his great commander, absent from his side, Diwu Lun had no way to move against the Li clan. So he had endured in silence all along. The Li clan, for their part, had not been pushed to the point of brazen rebellion. Both sides maintained the status quo. Diwu Lun's decrees could not penetrate the three northwestern counties, and Li Neng no longer dared come to Yecheng. Thus the entire spring passed in peace, and the common people were able to farm their fields in earnest.

Outside, however, things were blazing hot. The Red Eyebrow Army of Mount Tai had won great renown after slaying General Jing Shang. The Red Eyebrows had begun seizing cities and territory across Taishan Commandery, and the commanderies and counties could not stop them.

In the regions around Mount Tai, bands of outlaws everywhere, whether they knew each other or not, all borrowed the Red Eyebrow name to boost their own prestige. The great bandit woman Chi Zhaoping was active in Shouliang Commandery, while Dong Xian of Liangshan controlled the lands around the Great Wild Marsh. Each claimed to command tens of thousands of followers. The former in particular — if she came to Wei again, she would not be so easy to deal with as last time.

It was at this point that Ma Yuan noticed: though Diwu Lun was talking with him, his eyes kept darting toward Ma Yuan's daughter.

And his daughter, while settling the family dependents and her younger siblings, would also lift those bright eyes from time to time to glance this way. Occasionally their gazes would meet — at which Diwu Lun would break into a smile, and Ma Chanchan would lower her head.

Ma Yuan realized he was an eyesore here. Irritated, he rose to leave, but Diwu Lun hurriedly stopped him.

"Father-in-law, there is one more matter."

"If you have the leisure, you might visit the Yecheng military camp. Someone has been waiting there for you — for quite a few days now!"

Long before Ma Yuan left, he had already helped Diwu Lun accomplish a major undertaking: purging the commandery troops.

The militia who had verbally sworn "loyalty unto death" to Diwu Lun were brought into the commandery seat to take over all defense duties. Of the thousand troops in the Yecheng garrison, five hundred had been phantom payroll slots to begin with. They simply weeded out all those too old or too young, and the remaining old campaigners were either executed or driven off. What was left was basically an empty shell.

Then, using this shell, they stuffed the poor men's militia inside wholesale — new wine in old bottles, complete. Though some were dissatisfied and spread rumors, saying the poor men's militia were mostly refugees and bandits — wasn't this just using bandits to guard against bandits? During that period, Yecheng was in a state of panic. Merchants shuttered their doors, common folk dared not venture out at night, and the powerful families were full of suspicion, fearing Diwu Lun's soldiers would loot them.

Fortunately, the Ximen family was fairly cooperative, and the Li clan had turtled up in the three northwestern counties. No one staged a "one bowl of noodles or two" case against Diwu Lun.

And so, several months later, it was proven that the poor men's militia, bound by strict military law, had far better discipline than the imperial troops. Any infraction was immediately met with severe punishment. Gradually, Yecheng returned to its former daily rhythms.

Now that Ma Yuan was back, he saw that the Yecheng military camp had expanded considerably. Diwu Lun's method of raising a banner and cooking gruel to recruit soldiers was by now well-practiced. There was no shortage of refugees and tenant farmers eager to enter the army for a meal. Diwu Lun's goal was to recruit another thousand men before autumn.

During Ma Yuan's absence, aside from personally attending more to military affairs, Diwu Lun had also put Zhao Pang, the Bandit Suppressor, and Zang Nu in charge of disciplining the troops. In peacetime, the two were indeed well suited for the task.

When Ma Yuan entered the campgrounds, he found many soldiers gathered around the parade ground, cheering incessantly. He went over to look and saw a large chariot racing ahead, while close beside it a white-horsed youth kept pace.

It turned out they were playing the game of "stealing the trace horse."

This is a riding skill meant to show off horsemanship. While chariot and horses speed along, the rider reaches out and unhitches the outer trace horse — that is "stealing the trace horse." The rider must have an exquisite grasp of the horse's speed, the distance, and the timing.

Being surnamed Ma — "Horse" — and having loved and raised horses since childhood, and having commanded cavalry units on the northern frontier, Ma Yuan was of course an expert at this himself, though he had not played it for many years now that he was older.

But even by Ma Yuan's discerning eye, the skill of the rider in the field was truly extraordinary. He had a lithe, athletic build, and the white horse beneath him was clearly an old partner of many years' cooperation, matching its master's every move. Even when pressed extremely close to the war chariot, it showed no fear or shying — at most, it would let out a whinny.

The rider's movements were nimble. One leg braced hard against the stirrup — this era needed no Diwu Lun to invent it; stirrups already existed. In just one circuit, he seized the fleeting instant when chariot and horse were at equal speed, reached out, and unhitched the trace horse. The fluid, seamless sight made the crowd hold their breath. When he succeeded, they were even more utterly silent — after all, this man was a newcomer, and there was a hint of smashing up the place about it. Only after a long moment did a few voices call out in admiration.

"Just one circuit! Bandit Officer Zhao needed two to do it — he's lost!"

Zhao Pang, whom Ma Yuan had personally discovered and promoted back in the day, looked rather embarrassed. He cupped his hands toward the approaching rider — who was leading the trace horse with a grin — to concede defeat. When the man removed his helmet, Ma Yuan saw just how young he was: probably no more than eighteen or nineteen, his brow and eyes full of a young talent's pride.

How strange. If such a figure had been in the army before, how could he himself have failed to notice?

It was then that the crowd realized Ma Yuan had returned. Several old clerks hurried over to pay their respects, adding in low voices: "Lord Ma, this brat is far too arrogant, with no regard for anyone. You must put him in his place!"

"It was you who tried to bully him, and got put in your place instead, wasn't it?" Ma Yuan said with a laugh, but inwardly he understood. This man was most likely the one Diwu Lun had mentioned, the one who had "been waiting for him for days."

【Send Red Envelopes】 Reading perks are here! You have a cash red envelope up to 888 yuan waiting to be claimed! Follow the WeChat official account 【Book Friends Base Camp】 to draw your red envelope!

Unwilling to let it go, the former subordinates added fuel to the fire: "Not just us — he even declined and refused Lord Diwu's offer of appointment! And he said the only reason he stays in Ye is to meet you, Lord Ma."

"No wonder Boyu made a point of telling me to come meet this man." Ma Yuan understood even more clearly now. He gestured for the crowd to withdraw, and the youth also came forward to pay his respects.

The white-horsed youth sized up Ma Yuan, his gaze holding the haughty pride of heaven's favored son and the eager restlessness of a rear wave unafraid of the wave before. He stood ramrod straight as he saluted: "Geng Yan of Maoling, come to pay my respects to Colonel Ma!"

Geng Yan was the son of the Governor of Shuodiao and also Geng Chun's clan nephew. After receiving his uncle's letter, he had come south to Ye to see the situation for himself.

Diwu Lun had also entertained him with great fanfare. He had assumed Geng Yan's willingness to come to Yecheng meant he was accepting the post of Commandery Adjutant — only to have him decline Diwu Lun's kind offer at the banquet, pleading that he was too young.

Too young? The last person who said he was too young to hold office is now Grand Governor of Wei Commandery.

Diwu Lun did rather admire Geng Yan and thought perhaps the official post he had offered was too low for this high-ranking scion to consider worthwhile. He was about to sweeten the offer when Geng Chun twisted the knife: "What my nephew Bozhao looks down on is not the post."

"Then what is it?" Diwu Lun asked reflexively. Had his hospitality been lacking?

Geng Chun was thoroughly delighted. Clapping Diwu Lun on the shoulder, he said: "It's you!"

This was rather awkward. Diwu Lun had to admit to himself that, from looks to ability, he was indeed utterly unremarkable. It was entirely by trading on reputation, cultivating prestige, and operating with an eye for the big picture beyond his era that he had gotten to where he was today... He was not the type who made others fall over themselves in admiration at first meeting.

No, no, no, not at all. It was clearly this brat Geng Yan who had eyes but failed to recognize a worthy lord!

In any case, Geng Yan had simply been unable to refuse his uncle's invitation and had come to Yecheng to spend a few days seeing the sights of Wei. Incidentally, his family was from Maoling, and since childhood he had often heard of Ma Yuan's reputation for superb horsemanship and martial skill. It was only a pity that he had followed his father far away to You Province when young and never had the chance to test himself against the senior. This rare opportunity had come, so he stayed to wait for Ma Yuan.

In other words, he had come here not for Diwu Lun at all.

Where was the promised scene of the hero giving a mighty shudder and worthy talents throwing themselves at his feet, of great clans sending money, grain, and daughters? Well, Ma Yuan had indeed sent one...

Diwu Lun was rather vexed. More talk would do no good, so he decided to have his father-in-law teach this brat a lesson on his behalf, and then find a way to keep him here.

And on reflection, Diwu Lun realized that ever since he had come to Hebei, his plan to recruit worthy talents had never once gone smoothly.

Cen Peng was being put to important use by Yan You — nothing to be done about that. Ren Guang had recommended the Nanyang fugitive Wu Han, saying he was somewhere in the You and Ji regions of Hebei and that Diwu Lun could very well go look for him. But did you know how vast You and Ji are? Dozens of commanderies — one circuit takes a year. How in the world was Diwu Lun supposed to search?

And because Jing Dan had been treated generously by Geng Kuang, the Commandant of Shuodiao, he politely declined Diwu Lun's invitation. Fortunately, when recommending talents in You Province, he had also mentioned Wu Han: "Wu Ziyan of Nanyang is a remarkable man. He fled to Yuyang and travels between Yan and Ji. Boyu, you could send someone to recruit him."

One mention might be coincidence, but two meant he truly was a remarkable man. Diwu Lun grew even more interested. The subordinate clerk he sent to You Province first went to Ji County in Guangyang. The people of Ji County said Wu Han had gone to Yuyang.

He went on to Yuyang, where the people said Wu Han had gone to Youbeiping.

So he chased him to Youbeiping, only for the people there to say that Wu Han had left the month before. Where to? Hey, Youbeiping's a big place — no one knew. Maybe he'd gone beyond the frontier to the Wuhuan.

This was a wandering knight-errant in a foreign land, a dragon whose head you glimpse but never its tail. The subordinate clerks ran their legs off and exhausted their funds, and could only return to report.

Hearing their accounts of Wu Han's deeds in You Province, Diwu Lun grew even more intrigued. But there was nothing to be done — the fateful moment had not arrived. He could only wait for the next chance.

As for the other "great worthy" whose home was known, the men Diwu Lun sent to "invite" him fared even worse.

That was Liu Xiu, Liu Wenshu. When Diwu Lun learned his real name from the letter politely declining the post of Chief Clerk of the Records Office, he was greatly astonished and could only think: "Could this be the 'Child of the Plane'?"

He then sent Diwu Fu and several subordinate clerks, with hired muscle, to make another trip. They set out brazenly declaring, "Rest assured, Clan Head — we'll tie him up and bring him back if we have to." And the result?

Heh. Even now, Diwu Lun could not forget the pitiful sight of Diwu Fu and the others when they returned, utterly crestfallen.

"We reached Wancheng and found the army camp as before, but heard that Liu Xiu was no longer serving under Lord Yan. He had fled to avoid legal trouble. So we pursued him to Caiyang. But no sooner had we entered the county and merely asked a roadside farmer where the Chongling Liu clan lived — we hadn't even mentioned Liu Xiu's name — than that very night, while lodging at the county post station to discuss our plans…"

"We were tied up by men sent by Liu Bosheng!"

…

PS: There will be an extra chapter tomorrow.