Chapter 177: Wuan

The next day, after returning to Liangqi County, Feng Yan launched into full bragging mode in front of Diwu Lun, embellishing the process of how he had subdued Liu Lin with his tongue, omitting only certain details he dared not mention.

"This humble officer admonished Liu Lin thus: The land of Wei is girded by natural defenses and bounded by the river; Grand Governor Diwu's laws and decrees are clear; he gives the people rest and has deeply won their hearts. He has over ten thousand fierce tiger-guard soldiers, grain piled high as hills, officers and men who face hardship gladly and embrace death. The lord is enlightened and strict, the generals wise and martial, and behind them stands a royal army of a hundred thousand as support."

"If the Zhao Lius become embroiled in the Wuan campaign and stand among the rebels, then the Wei-Cheng war chariots will march north out of Liangqi, reach Handan within a single day, and sweep across all of Zhao! Not one of the Zhao Lius will be spared!"

And at the very end, Feng Yan bowed low and apologized: "Because Liu Lin had hidden armor and weapons inside the Zhao royal palace, this humble officer feared that repeating the Grand Governor's original words verbatim would drive him to rebel out of shame and fury. I therefore temporized and, aside from the terms the Grand Governor agreed to, said only that Wei-Cheng Commandery was willing to cooperate with the Zhao Lius in the future."

"You seem rather adept at ad-libbing, sir." Diwu Lun laughed. "What exactly would we be cooperating on?"

Feng Yan spoke as if telling a joke: "What else could we do? Naturally, as the descendants of the various lords like Liu Lin hope, together restore the Han ancestral altars."

As he spoke, he carefully observed Diwu Lun's expression, but seeing his face utterly blank, impossible to read as pleased or angry, he immediately changed tack and said: "Of course, that was merely an expedient stratagem. This humble officer was deceiving Liu Lin."

Is that so? I fear you might also be deceiving me?

Even before Feng Yan had come, Diwu Lun had felt the man could at best serve as a dog-headed strategist, and this time he had been forced to use him out of necessity.

To put it in an analogy, when Diwu Lun sent Feng Yan north, the basic message for Liu Lin was: "I am merely cleaning house. Do not interfere. There are police outside, and if I shout, you are finished."

But Feng Yan thought that phrasing was inappropriate, so he changed it to: "I am not exactly a good man myself. In the future, we can cooperate, and the prospects are bright. But if you dare interfere, I will let the police in, and we will all go down together!"

Diwu Lun, however, showed no anger. Instead, he laughed heartily: "Do not suspect the man you employ; do not employ the man you suspect."

"I have heard that when Emperor Gao of Han used Chen Ping to sow discord in Western Chu, he gave him tens of thousands of catties of gold and never once questioned how Chen Ping used it. I am the same. Whatever methods you use, sir, so long as they serve Wei-Cheng, I will never interfere."

"Persuasion and diplomacy are by nature treacherous and shifting, truth and falsehood impossible to tell. Therefore, I do not care what happened in the process. I will not ask what exactly you said to Liu Lin, which words deceived him, and which were true. I care only about the result!"

Diwu Lun fixed his gaze on Feng Yan: "In your judgment, sir, will the Zhao Lius raise troops in rebellion? Will they come to the aid of Wuan?"

This attitude moved Feng Yan somewhat. He let out a breath of relief and said: "After all, over a hundred thousand royal troops in Guandong cannot be faked. Liu Lin is also hesitant. He will not rebel quickly, nor will he fall out with Wei-Cheng over Wuan. He has already agreed to the Grand Governor's terms and only asks that the Grand Governor ensure the safety of the three counties of Hangou, Hanhui, and Jipei."

Those three counties were also the territory of the Zhao Lius, minor marquisates spun off in the past. They belonged to the junior branch of Liu Lin's family and were the Zhao Lius' bottom line. An outer in-law like the Li clan of Wuan could be sacrificed at any time.

The condition Diwu Lun had offered Liu Lin was that he would not touch those three counties. After all, combined, they were not as important as Wuan.

Wuan was not only a large county with a population of fifty to sixty thousand, possessing iron mines and workshops that produced ninety percent of the commandery's ironware, but its terrain was also critically strategic.

One could say that Wuan was Handan's western gateway, yet under the Han dynasty it had been assigned to Wei-Cheng Commandery purely by the court's design, precisely to ensure that administrative regions interlocked like dogs' teeth, preventing any one from monopolizing strategic advantages.

"From Liangqi northward, one can set out at dawn and reach Handan by dusk. Wuan, occupying the high ground, can also reach Handan in two days."

Diwu Lun thought to himself: "So long as the Zhao Lius do not intervene, taking Wuan will be no trouble at all. And when that time comes, Handan will be half-encircled, like a louse caught between my teeth!"

No sooner had Feng Yan left than Huang Chang, whom Diwu Lun had promoted to "Gate Clerk," came to lodge a complaint.

Diwu Lun knew what Huang Chang had come for and motioned for him to enter the rear hall to speak.

The short man entered and immediately prostrated himself: "Grand Governor, Feng Jingtong may have struck a deal with Liu Lin and betrayed you."

"What makes Menggao say that?" Diwu Lun certainly knew how Huang Chang could know. Although what they had assembled was only a makeshift organization, Diwu Lun had still set up a simple oversight system: every time Feng Yan was dispatched on foreign missions, one gate clerk and one clan member were always sent along to assist, effectively serving as surveillance.

The clan member reported directly to Diwu Lun, while the gate clerk relayed matters to Huang Chang, who then issued warnings to Diwu Lun.

In this way, at the very least, Diwu Lun would not be completely ignorant of Feng Yan's actions, nor would it be easy for the gate clerks to collude and slander worthy talent.

Huang Chang said: "The gate clerk who accompanied him saw Liu Lin personally escort Feng Yan out of the Zhao royal palace. They sighed and parted as if no one else were present. Liu Lin offered a carriage, offered gold and silks, and only lacked offering concubines."

"Feng Yan refused the carriage, but the gold and silks — those he accepted. The gate clerk saw it with his own eyes!"

Diwu Lun slapped his thigh: "Thank heaven for Menggao!"

"I am aware of this, but we must not alarm him. Everything continues as before."

Diwu Lun took no further action, only instructing Huang Chang to continue doing his job well and properly managing the various clerks under him. Huang Chang left thoroughly satisfied.

In truth, Feng Yan had already informed Diwu Lun of this matter, volunteering it himself. He said that if he had not accepted, he feared Liu Lin would grow suspicious, and he even offered to hand the gold and silks over to the public treasury.

But Diwu Lun told Feng Yan to keep them for himself. After asking the quantity of those silks, he gritted his teeth and had the commandery treasury give him a reward of equal value.

Huang Chang said Feng Yan was not loyal to Diwu Lun. Well, that was stating the obvious.

"There is only one person who is one hundred percent loyal to me."

"Myself!"

Diwu Lun remembered that when reading at Yang Xiong's house, he had come across a passage in the Han Feizi that put it well: even parents do not treat their children with complete selflessness, but with a calculating heart; how much more so between lord and vassal, who lack the bond of father and son?

Men like Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu had shared life and death with him in New Qinzhong — they were loyal men to whom he could entrust his very life. And Geng Chun, though he had not staked his entire clan to help, at the very least would not betray Diwu Lun.

As for those who had come to serve after he arrived in Wei-Cheng Commandery, their loyalty had to be discounted. It was just as his father-in-law Ma Yuan had said to him, drunk, some days ago — and how true those words were: "Boyu, you must remember: in this age, it is not only the lord who chooses his vassals; the vassals also choose their lord!"

Especially with someone like Feng Yan, even the formal bond of lord and vassal was not solid. At most, they were a superior and subordinate putting on a show, merely using each other.

He and Diwu Lun were neither kin nor clan, neither old acquaintances nor friends. There was no great debt of gratitude between them. He was merely taking shelter under the eaves of Wei-Cheng's fine house. If he saw a better dwelling next door and could not resist the temptation to switch allegiance, it would be entirely reasonable.

When such people make up ninety-nine percent of one's subordinates, can one simply discard them all? Impossible. One still has to win them over, identify each talent's needs, and gradually raise their loyalty. That is what a lord ought to do, not complain: "Why are you not loyal?"

As for a fellow like Feng Yan, who plays the game of vertical and horizontal alliances — if he deceives you, can you not deceive him?

Just moments ago, Diwu Lun had heaped praise on Feng Yan: "Jingtong roams freely among the three commanderies, his wisdom rivaling Zifang, his stratagems rivaling Chen Ping. Truly breathtaking!"

He flattered Feng Yan until the man was walking on air. He had to coax him into continuing his work. Liu Lin's side needed Feng Yan to keep spinning tales, and the connections in Shangdang needed him to cultivate.

Self-interest was no problem. Just as Diwu Lun had said, he truly did not care one bit about the process. When Zhang Yi forged the horizontal alliance of the six states for the King of Qin, what did he say when he stood before the six kings? How many of Qin's secrets did he sell? Did the King of Qin know all of it? Did Zhang Yi secretly help certain states that bribed him, even interfering with Qin's strategy — did he do any less of that? It was all for himself. But so long as the outcome truly benefited Qin, if Zhang Yi wanted to keep a foot in several boats, then let him!

"Just pull away the boats he's standing on, one by one, and see where else his feet can go."

For a man like Feng Yan, Diwu Lun had his own calculations: "When the outcome is good, he is my strategist."

"If he messes up, then all that remains is the dog's head!"

In late July of the third year of Dihuang, at the stronghold of the great magnate Li Neng of Wuan County, the enemy vanguard was already at the city walls, and yellow turbans blanketed the banks of the Ming River.

The man sent to Handan to seek aid from Liu Lin had also returned with a reply.

"The court's royal army is in Guandong and cannot interfere in Wei-Cheng's affairs, or it would be tantamount to rebellion? But my family is already at war with Diwu Lun!"

"That Liu Lin! In vain have I joined families with yours in marriage. What a gutless brat! Diwu Lun's forces are not many. If the Zhao Lius would help me, Wei-Cheng would surely be defeated!" Li Neng erupted in furious curses.

The message was clear. Li Neng understood that neither Liu Lin nor his relatives in Zhao would send anyone to support him. At most, they would secretly ship him some armor and grain. He then looked at the two proposals Liu Lin had written in the letter.

"The inferior plan: hold out for a while longer. If you can deal Diwu Lun a heavy blow and prevent him from taking Wuan for a long time, his prestige will plummet. Seize the chance to incite the various families in Wei-Cheng to rebel. If you can drag things out until the government troops and the Red Eyebrows decide victory, the Zhao Lius can also raise troops to help."

Of course, the premise was that the government forces suffered a major defeat at the hands of the Red Eyebrows. Otherwise, Liu Lin would still ignore him.

This was simply too difficult — though the enemy numbered only four or five thousand, Li Neng did not know whether he could hold out longer than the General of Renewal and the Grand Preceptor had.

He was more drawn to the best course that Liu Lin had proposed: "Spread the word that Diwu Lun will slaughter Wu'an. Take the clan, sweep up the common folk, destroy the iron mines, fill in the wells, and march tens of thousands of people into Zhao territory — Liu Lin will properly settle us all."

It was a vicious scheme, but looking upon Wu'an, where his family had flourished for centuries, Li Neng still found it hard to let go.

Just then his younger brother Li Lu came to report that the iron-office convicts had been issued weapons and could reinforce the county seat at any moment, bringing their forces level with the enemy's. Li Neng's heart settled at once, and he resolved to try once more to save his home before resorting to the best course.

"Even if we must leave, we fight a battle first! We cannot disgrace our ancestor, Lord Wu'an!"

…

Meanwhile, Ma Yuan and his party, having joined forces with Wan Xiu, had also reached Wu'an's borders. Looking at the map and this small town perched between mountains and plain, its terrain perilous and commanding, Ma Yuan could not help recalling his family's past.

"Wu'an and my house, in truth, share deep ties."

In the Warring States period, Qin adopted the strategy of befriending distant states while attacking near ones and began nibbling away at Zhao, seizing Yuyu in an attempt to cut the corridor between Handan and the western territories. To pin Zhao down, they also sent troops north from Henei and Yecheng to occupy Wu'an, which lay less than a hundred li from Handan, leaving the people of Zhao unable to sleep at night. In the end, it fell to Ma Yuan's old ancestor Zhao She to ride out — feigning a southward march to relieve Wu'an, he instead force-marched through the night to counterattack Yuyu and annihilated the Qin army in one stroke.

"For his deeds, our ancestor was enfeoffed as Lord Mafu, and from this our house took its surname."

Ma Yuan believed that battle held great inspiration for today. The reason Zhao She had abandoned Wu'an rather than take it was that the city was indeed easy to defend and hard to attack — with the Ming River as a barrier and the mountain terrain to its advantage, it was deeply unfavorable to the attacker. This would require careful thought.

At this point Wan Xiu recalled something: "This Wu'an — was it not the fief of Zhao's famed general Li Mu? The Li clan are his descendants."

"So, put this way, today it is you, the descendant of Lord Mafu, who has come to attack the descendant of Lord Wu'an?"

Wan Xiu's imagination began to run: "I wonder, if on the field today it were Lord Mafu Zhao She and Lord Wu'an Li Mu crossing swords, who would win?"

"Both were famed generals of Zhao, both great masters of warfare. It's only a pity that when my ancestor passed away, Li Mu had yet to make his name — they probably never even met. How could one know?"

But it was indeed a fine question. If Zhao She absolutely had to take Wu'an by storm, how would he have deployed?

Ma Yuan fell deep into thought, when a brash youth beside him — who seemed to have inherited his uncle Geng Chun's gift for twisting the knife — spoke up: "What a coincidence. I do know of another battle, one where Mafu and Wu'an also fought."

Ever since Wan Xiu had joined forces with Ma Yuan, Geng Yan had found himself unable to get a word in. The youngster was growing bored, and now he could not resist adding: "That would be the Battle of Changping. The result was a great defeat for Mafu, and a great victory for Wu'an!"

Put that way, Mafu already had one loss against Wu'an.

Ma Yuan's fists instantly hardened. Ignoring young Geng, he narrowed his eyes and gazed at the enemy city.

"Very well. In this campaign, Wu'an shall be defeated!"

…

(Silver Alliance bonus chapter 8/11)