Chapter 181: Territory-Guarding Chief Officer

Feng Qin hailed from the great Feng clan of Fanyang in Wei Commandery — a family known as "Feng of Ten Thousand Bushels," a firmly established local notable. When Diwu Lun first arrived in the commandery last year and sent men to summon him for office, Feng Qin initially declined; he had no wish to be morally cornered by Diwu Lun, but in the end had no choice but to enter the commandery headquarters and take up a post.

When he left home, Feng Qin's mother had admonished him: "If the new Grand Governor is a false worthy, then feign compliance and string him along. But if he is a true worthy — while your mother lives, my son, do not lightly pledge your person to him."

After nearly a year, Feng Qin had reached a preliminary judgment: Diwu Lun was genuinely worthy. In Wei Commandery, he had not carried out sweeping reforms that tormented the powerful families and common folk alike; instead, he left everything as it was, letting them rest and recover, granting them a rare stretch of stable days.

Although conscripting troops from among the refugees drew faint murmurs of discontent from the powerful families, they gradually came to view it favorably, considering that it reduced the number of refugee bandits in the commandery, spared the Grand Governor from forcing each household to contribute men and disrupt production, and also served to fend off the Red Eyebrow bandits from outside.

Most powerful families preferred stability and feared upheaval. So when the Li clan appealed to the various houses for aid, speaking of shared danger, they all chose to stand by and watch. Feng Qin, for his part, actively ran about on Diwu Lun's behalf, hoping for a swift purge of the Li clan so that Wei Commandery could unite against external threats. He only wished that Diwu Lun would continue in this way, serving as the territory-guarding chief officer for all the notable families of Wei Commandery.

But what no one could have foreseen was that, after excising the Li clan — the largest independent armed force within Weicheng — Diwu Lun, who had kept up the act for a full year, would suddenly bare his fangs!

Feng Qin grew frantic, convinced that this move would instantly shatter the internal harmony of Weicheng Commandery and destroy the arrangement by which Diwu Lun governed jointly with the powerful and notable families.

"Feng Weibo is fearmongering!"

Huang Chang, for one, came from a humble small-landlord background — his position was not quite the same as the scions of the great powerful families. Moreover, as a subordinate clerk, he and the various officials under him relied more heavily on Diwu Lun's patronage, and so he opposed Feng Qin at every turn, retorting sharply.

"The Li clan of Wu'an harbored rebellious intent and colluded with bandits — their deaths were more than deserved. The Commandery Governor confiscated their lands and returned them to the government, rather than giving them to meritorious officers and soldiers. Was he supposed to keep them safe on Li Neng's behalf, or divide them among the commandery's notable families who stood by watching from the sidelines? Clerk Feng, could it be that you were hoping to get a few qing of fields and a few mu of homestead land for yourself?"

Truly a remark aimed straight at the heart. Feng Qin, kneeling on the ground yet still taller than the little runt, glared at him and cursed: "Villain! Anyone can flatter and fawn on their master. I am genuinely thinking of the Governor's interests."

He turned to Diwu Lun and pleaded earnestly: "The notable families of Weicheng were already hostile to outsiders. Now the Governor has wiped out the Li clan and divided their land among the Boar-Rush Braves. To feel pain at the injury of one's own kind is only human nature. The various families will surely harbor secret fear, suspecting that the Governor's refugee soldiers and troops will also covet their lands and suddenly exterminate them!"

But today, Diwu Lun was not as easy to talk to as he had been in the past. He frowned. "Feel pain at the injury of their own kind?"

"Is Weibo suggesting that the various powerful families of the commandery also intend to follow the Li clan's path and raise troops in rebellion?"

Feng Qin said hastily: "This subordinate meant absolutely no such thing, only that…"

Diwu Lun shook his head, rose, and helped Feng Qin to his feet, reassuring him: "Weibo worries too much. I am merely following the institutions of the former dynasty — granting fields and homesteads according to merit and distributing them to the soldiers. These men are all my old troops. They traveled a thousand li to help me suppress this rebellion and suffered heavy losses; I fear it would be difficult for them to return to the General of Renewal now."

"I intend to settle them in Wei territory. If I do not use the lands of Wu'an to resettle them, am I to place them in Yecheng or Wei County instead? Would the Ximen clan and the rest be willing to pay out grain and money to support them for me?"

That was, of course, impossible. Feng Qin fell silent. In the eyes of the local powerful families, the best outcome was for the Boar-Rush Braves to finish the fighting and get out as quickly as possible — any outside armed force made them uncomfortable.

"Using the Li clan's lands to settle the soldiers allows them to defend Wei Commandery's territory without harming the interests of the commandery's notable families. Whom does it harm?"

Diwu Lun spoke with meaningful weight: "Weibo may set his mind at ease. I know where to draw the line. For the notable families of the commandery, those who follow my will shall prosper — I will promote their sons, protect their fields and homesteads, and keep the soldiers disciplined, committing no offense. But those who, like the Li clan, defy me… shall surely perish!"

"She County surrendered early; its powerful families and officials are not to be punished for past deeds. But Wu'an and Wushi counties resisted stubbornly. For all who joined the rebellion, their fields and homes shall be confiscated entirely to the commandery headquarters — the quantities must be clarified. Of course, the land survey is limited to these two counties and will by no means extend to the whole commandery. In this matter, I still hope Weibo will carry it out. Are you willing?"

Feng Qin saw that Diwu Lun's mind was made up and felt like resigning on the spot, but then he recalled those words — "Those who follow me prosper; those who defy me perish" — and lowered his head. "This subordinate… shall respectfully obey the Governor's command!"

Only, from this day forward, Feng Qin, who had very nearly been deceived by Diwu Lun into "pledging his person," grew even more taciturn.

After Feng Qin left, Huang Chang spoke much ill of him, insisting that these sons of noble and powerful houses could never be trusted.

Diwu Lun merely listened with a smile. There was indeed some truth to it. Since he had entered the commandery, the scions of the great powerful families had never been particularly eager to attach themselves to him; they would only grudgingly emerge from their retreats when he personally visited to summon them.

By contrast, scholars from humble small-landlord families like Huang Chang were quite eager to enter official service. They possessed a certain level of education and culture, but were constrained by their pedigree and family background from holding high office. The several dozen subordinate clerks Diwu Lun had recruited were all of this background.

Compared to the sons of powerful families, he made greater use of these men, forming an "inner court" within the commandery headquarters that was beginning to sideline the various section heads. They would also be sent out to Wu'an and Wushi counties to fill the vacant posts — he needed to test whether this group could control the counties and villages.

But to extend this across the entire commandery, he still lacked sufficient manpower. He would have to take it one step at a time.

In Diwu Lun's view, today's dispute came down, in the end, to the questions of "with whom to share the dividends" and "upon whom to rely in the future."

The powerful families very much hoped that Diwu Lun would lean on them as his mainstay, depending on them the way his predecessor Li Yan had.

But Diwu Lun had his own calculations: "Li Yan served in Weicheng Commandery for a full ten years. He was an excellent territory-guarding chief officer, winning much praise and allegiance from the powerful families, maintaining balance and stability in Wei."

"Yet the moment he revealed his own plans, which ran counter to the interests of the notable families, he was met with a stab in the back from every single one of them."

And Diwu Lun did not even measure up to Li Yan.

When the powerful families cleave to you, you are "Lord Diwu."

When they stab you in the back, you are "little Diwu Lun."

"So, if I don't rely on the Boar-Rush Braves and refugee soldiers I raised with my own hands, am I supposed to count on local powerful families who weren't even eager to buy in, suddenly growing a conscience and throwing themselves at my feet when the crisis comes?"

"If the powerful families abandon me, or take the initiative to remove me, whoever takes over Wei Commandery will still rely on them — and be even more obedient. They cannot possibly be loyal to me; they only bow their heads because the situation compels them."

"But the soldiers I raised with my own hands are different."

Diwu Lun gazed at the Boar-Rush Braves outside the city, their hearts full of hope at receiving a piece of land of their own, settling down and building a life here, and he smiled, sharing in their joy.

"Without me, Old Master Li's homecoming regiment could strike back at any moment and strip away every bit of land they've been allotted."

That was why Diwu Lun had endured a full year without touching anyone's piece of the pie — observing, waiting, slowly growing his wings. Now, with his feathers fully grown, he seized the moment and made his choice.

After striking down the Li clan, the leading great powerful family that had rebelled, he immediately distributed dividends to the soldiers, creating many small military-merit landlords. Even if each only got twenty mu, it was still land.

As for the tenant farmers who had previously worked the Li clan's fields, they remained tenant farmers still — only now they worked the land of soldier-lords instead of Old Master Li. That was all. At most, Diwu Lun would take it upon himself to reduce their rent by one-tenth.

This was no land revolution at all — merely the old trio of military-merit ranks, land-grant institutions, and registered-field-and-homestead systems. From what Diwu Lun had learned in his years of reading and studying history, this stuff had been rolled out at least three times from the Warring States through Qin and Han — a reheated leftover that had never failed.

Though these leftovers had been stir-fried again and again, as long as the heat was right and the ingredients suitable, they still smelled delicious — far better than being content to lick up the scraps from the powerful families' teeth.

The only difference was that when Qin and Han implemented the land-grant system, the land was vast and the population sparse. Now, however, Diwu Lun had to snatch food from the hands of the powerful families, and the conflicts of interest were enormous. This was precisely what Feng Qin worried about — he feared that everyone would grow anxious, thinking Diwu Lun was targeting them, that sooner or later he would turn his blade on the other powerful families, and that fear would drive them to rebel.

"The fields and lands are arrayed among the powerful families. To reform them rashly would breed resentment and chaos, making the system impossible to implement. So this land-grant system cannot be openly rolled out; it must be limited to settling meritorious soldiers. Those who cooperate obediently must not be touched. We can only pick off the bird that sticks its head out and divide its land. The commandery's notable families must still be placated — we must even give those who actively assist a share of the benefits, to divide them…"

Diwu Lun had several County Magistrate and Assistant positions in hand. His subordinate clerks lacked the seniority and were unqualified for them — a perfect opportunity to promote a few section heads from powerful-family backgrounds. Once back in Yecheng, he would also host a banquet for the various notable families to soothe their hearts.

But the pie that was Weicheng could only be sliced so many ways. Some would inevitably be dissatisfied. As Feng Qin had said, what if some powerful families, from this point on, became disaffected with Diwu Lun and even colluded with outside forces to rebel…

"Then let them become disaffected!"

A ruler does not need everyone to like or support him. He only needs a single diehard core of loyal followers — that is enough to accomplish great things.

Diwu Lun understood that he had chosen a path destined to be difficult.

"But it is also the only path suited to me!"

…

Unlike Feng Qin's staunch opposition, Ma Yuan, though also of a great-family background, was always an oddity among the powerful families. He had tended horses and been a bandit, often walked among the common folk and mingled in the ranks, and so understood their hardships. He supported Diwu Lun's measures wholeheartedly.

"Both Qin and Han built their states and strengthened their armies on the registered-field-and-homestead system. Why can it not be used in Weicheng?"

"I agree as well. This move will let the soldiers settle in Wei territory with peace of mind."

Wan Xiu had led the Boar-Rush Braves for nearly two years and knew their toil and their longings. He too was quite supportive, and even took the lead in declaring that he himself needed no land — distributing it to the soldiers came first.

Diwu Lun was deeply moved. In private, he said to Wan Xiu in a low voice: "Junyou, you concealed your true name to command the Boar-Rush Braves for me, and upon receiving my letter, traveled a thousand li without hesitation to reach Wei territory, keeping the soldiers' hearts united. Taking She County, seizing Wu'an — your toil and merit are such that a hundred qing of land would hardly suffice. If it were possible, it would be enough to make you a marquis!"

As for the other hero who had captured Wu'an, Geng Yan, he was utterly indifferent to the matter. He had come merely to amuse himself from the start. Even if Diwu Lun were abandoned by all, and Weicheng exploded on the spot, it was no concern of his.

What concerned Ma Yuan most was still the problem of "inequality rather than scarcity." After the Boar-Rush Braves had been allotted land and a precedent set, the three thousand refugee soldiers were watching with eager eyes too!

"In the past, a single full meal would satisfy them, but now they have one more hope. The heart of one man is the heart of a thousand, ten thousand men — Boyu, you must not attend to one and lose the other."

On this, Diwu Lun had no solution either — there was always an order of precedence, and haste made waste: "My subordinate clerks have made a rough check of the land deeds. Wu'an is mostly mountainous. All the land the Li clan concealed adds up to about forty thousand mu, just enough to divide among the Boar-Rush Braves. Over in Wushi County, we can probably free up over ten thousand mu. We can select soldiers with outstanding merit from the three thousand refugee troops and allot it to them first, to set an example."

Twenty mu per person as a baseline — not seeking much, only seeking to spread the benefit so that everyone is bound to the war chariot.

The troops recruited from now on will only grow more numerous, and their appetites will grow larger too. If we want several thousand men under our command all to receive land, I fear we will have to knock down one or two more great powerful houses before it is enough.

Diwu Lun felt that the tens of thousands of mu of imperial temple estate in Yuancheng would do nicely… He had not sent men to guard Yuancheng and prevent the Red Eyebrows' Chi Zhaoping division from raiding it merely to work for free.

But as long as the Great Xin still stood for even a day, Yuancheng could not be touched for the time being. However…

"How can we confine our gaze within the borders of a single Wei Commandery?"

Diwu Lun went to inspect the Wu'an iron mine. Climbing to a hilltop, he gazed eastward longingly. From here, the broad plains and open fields of the Handan plain lay unobstructed before him.

"Come to think of it, the Zhao-Liu are the greatest landlords in Hebei!"

…

PS: Chapter 3 at 18:00.