Chapter 190: King Dong

The Great Wild Marsh overlaps geographically with the later Liangshan Marsh, lying between Liang, Song, Qi, and Lu. It is a vast reservoir lake in the middle reaches of the Ji River, stretching hundreds of li around — deep mountains, still waters, dense thickets and forests. When the realm was at peace, it was the hunting ground of the King of Liang, the King of Changyi, and other feudal lords. In times of chaos, it became the outlaw refuge of bandit chieftains like Robber Zhi and Peng Yue.

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Dong Xian, who led the lakeside "Liangshan Red Eyebrows," had a background much like Peng Yue's during the Chu–Han transition — both were fishermen of bitter poverty. After the court imposed the Six Monopolies and other measures that heaped heavy taxes on fishing and hunting, he turned outlaw and took to banditry, gathering a band of young fishermen. When the Red Eyebrows rose, he borrowed their name, and sure enough, it drew more men to his banner. In half a year he had tens of thousands, becoming a power in his own right.

But unlike Peng Yue, who sat waiting for "two dragons to fight" and idled through the entire anti-Qin uprising, Dong Xian became a mainstay in the fight against the court's armies. First he repelled the Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang's fifty-thousand-strong force, then led his troops to join the battle at Chengchang, where they routed the eastern-pacification imperial army in one blow.

Though Dong Xian came from the lowest rung, he had heard plenty of stories about Peng Yue and others who rose from commoner to renowned king, and his head was stuffed full of that "kings, lords, generals, and ministers" dream.

Before, when he called himself a detached division of the Red Eyebrows, he had others address him as "General." Now, after this great victory, General Dong's fame was about to spread across Yan Province, and Dong Xian grew all the more smug and ambitious, his wild hopes swelling — he felt that in the future he might just become…

"King Dong!"

But he could not flaunt that title just yet. Dong Xian reckoned that at best he was a Wu Guang right now; the true "Chen Sheng" who had launched the realm's first righteous rising was still Fan Chong of the Mount Tai Red Eyebrows. Now that the imperial army had collapsed, it was time to meet with him and discuss the Red Eyebrow Army's next move.

Although they had defeated the government troops together, the two divisions were not under unified command, and even their accents differed somewhat. To avoid a clash and bloodshed, the Liangshan Red Eyebrows camped south of Chengchang, occupying the Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang's old fortifications. The Mount Tai Red Eyebrows camped north of Chengchang, eating the provisions abandoned by the troops of the General of Renewal.

Since the other side was stronger and he was the weaker, Dong Xian had to make the gesture of calling on them first. He had men bring along trophies like armor and helmets and set out for Fan Chong's camp. Lowborn though he was, now that he had won a great battle, Dong Xian began to care about pomp. He had the regalia abandoned by the Grand Preceptor borne aloft and wore a suit of captured armor, polished to a gleaming shine.

Guided all the way by several "Clerks," when Dong Xian reached the General of Renewal's main tent, he found a crowd of disheveled, grimy Red Eyebrow soldiers huddled outside around a fire. At their head was a tall, burly man, the brown dirt still unwashed from his forehead, laughing and joking as he shared captured grain and hot rice with those around him. He used no bowl or chopsticks; his filthy hands clutched a scoop, yellow grains clinging to his thick beard.

Looking up, Dong Xian saw Lian Dan's head hanging high. So hated was he by the people of Wuyan that the locals, who had a blood feud with him, had even eaten parts of Lian Dan's corpse. His eyes had been gouged out, leaving only two bloody sockets.

Just then the tent flap lifted, and a middle-aged man of striking bearing stepped out. He had a firm, straight nose, was properly dressed, and wore iron armor. Standing among the Red Eyebrows, who were indistinguishable from peasants, he was like a phoenix among chickens.

Dong Xian instinctively assumed this was Fan Chong and bowed to him with clasped hands: "King Fan!"

The man started, then quickly said it was a misunderstanding: "I am a Red Eyebrow Attendant, Xu Xuan of Linyi in Langya."

Xu Xuan had been a prison clerk in the county and had even studied the Book of Changes. Not only was he literate, he could also divine by yin-yang. He was the second-in-command of the Red Eyebrow Army. He had already heard that Dong Xian was coming and simply guided him over to the Red Eyebrow fighters sitting in a circle outside the tent. Pointing at the thick-bearded giant whose face was smeared with millet gruel, he said: "This one here is Elder Fan!"

This was the last thing Dong Xian had expected. Apart from being tall and powerfully built, Fan Chong bore not a single ornament to mark his status. His clothes were no different from anyone else's.

"King Fan…" Dong Xian had no choice but to step forward and salute, but the man's face hardened: "Call me king, duke, or general again, and I'll turn hostile!"

Dong Xian was stunned. He had originally planned, as the few scholars who had joined him had advised, to flatter Fan Chong with: "General, you have donned armor and taken up sharp blades, punished the unrighteous, and slain the tyrannical Xin — your deeds merit kingship."

And then they could proclaim each other kings at Chengchang — he would be King Fan, and he himself would be King Dong!

Xu Xuan hurriedly explained to Dong Xian: "Among the Mount Tai Red Eyebrows, there is no high or low, noble or base. Though we have Elders, Attendants, and Clerks, in daily life everyone addresses each other as 'Giant.'"

What kind of damned rule was that? If it wasn't to rise above others, why rebel at all? Dong Xian simply could not understand. But since he was on their turf and wanted to enlist Fan Chong for great undertakings, he could only apologize for the offense.

Only after he changed his form of address did Fan Chong break into a smile. He bade Dong Xian sit and spoke of the last few days' battles with animated delight. When Dong Xian expressed gratitude for the Mount Tai Red Eyebrows coming to the rescue, Fan Chong waved his hand: "No need for formalities. Since we all call ourselves Red Eyebrows, we are one family!"

Before long, another Red Eyebrow leader who had fought at Chengchang arrived — Chi Zhaoping, the female chief of the "Great River Red Eyebrows." Her attire was deliberately mysterious, as her persona was that of a fairy priestess.

The three great Red Eyebrow chieftains were thus gathered, and they began to discuss the path ahead.

Dong Xian said: "Giant Fan killed Jing Shang at the start of the year and defeated twenty thousand government troops. Now we have also killed the General of Renewal Lian Dan and routed a hundred thousand imperial soldiers. The Red Eyebrows are invincible under heaven. As long as Giant Fan leads us westward with our forces, I believe we can take both Puyang and Dingtao!"

The court had emptied its treasuries to fight this war and would not be able to muster another army of over a hundred thousand to attack for several months. The commanderies east of the passes were no match for the Red Eyebrows — this was the perfect moment to expand their power.

"I propose we march southwest and strike Dingtao!"

Dong Xian grew positively rhapsodic describing Dingtao's wealth: "Dingtao is a great metropolis. The granaries hold enough food to feed all three Red Eyebrow divisions for a full year. It is the center of the realm, with silk hanging at every household's door. Seize it, and we can sweep all of Liang and Chu into our hands."

Unexpectedly, Chi Zhaoping spoke in opposition: "Dingtao has just been eaten empty by a hundred thousand government troops over several months — what surplus grain could be left? Giant Fan, in this humble woman's opinion, we should go north instead and strike Hebei!"

Chi Zhaoping described the stability of Wei, insisting with certainty that great stores of grain must be hoarded there. Of course, her ultimate goal was to lead the Red Eyebrow host in an assault on Yuancheng.

"Killing the General of Renewal is not enough. Only by burning Wang Mang's imperial temple and digging up his ancestral graves can we surely win even more people to our cause."

Each had their own agenda and earnestly tried to persuade Fan Chong. But Fan Chong just ate the rice in his hand without a word, then finally wiped his mouth and said: "Winter is almost here."

"When it comes to warmth, what place is warmer than home?"

"I miss home."

Fan Chong rose to his feet and looked at the Red Eyebrow fighters sitting around him, each bearing their own wounds: "The men feel the same."

He had once been just an ordinary farmer, arrested by the authorities for resisting taxes, whipped through the night before he killed the tax clerk and turned outlaw. The others were much the same.

"Before, the government troops blocked and hemmed us in so we couldn't go back. But now, who can stop us? It's time to take back the things we lost!"

The lands swallowed up by powerful magnates, the taxes and levies forcibly seized by the officials, the scattered parents, wives, and daughters — and the peaceful, contented lives they had once known!

Fan Chong grew elated: "Tomorrow, we divide the captured grain and clothing and disband. Those who want to return to Mount Tai, return to Mount Tai. I'm taking the old brothers who've followed me for years and heading back to our homeland — Langya, Chengyang, Donghai!"

This was not necessarily what Xu Xuan and the other Elders and Attendants wanted, and it ran counter to Dong Xian's hope to emulate Chen Sheng and Wu Guang — to grow stronger and greater, to become kings, lords, generals, and ministers. For Donghai and those places lay in the east, at the far margins of the realm. Once they went there, how could they still lead the great enterprise against Xin? How could they summon the realm to answer their call?

But it was surely what the rank-and-file Red Eyebrow soldiers yearned for. The Red Eyebrow troops were weary of fighting, and now that their plunder was plentiful, they really ought to go home and show it off. They all burst into cheers.

Fan Chong took a sip of wine and looked at the dumbstruck Dong Xian and at Chi Zhaoping, who could only rely on him:

"Dingtao, Wei Commandery — they're all fine places. You two go ahead; I won't be traveling with you. Fan Chong only wants to lead his men and fight his way back to the old home for the winter!"

……

"After this battle, the Red Eyebrows have truly become the next Chen Sheng and Wu Guang!"

In the eyes of Geng Chun, who was leading a band of routed soldiers toward Weicheng Commandery, the Red Eyebrows, having fought the Battle of Chengchang, now held the advantage of heaven, earth, and man.

Last year the eastern provinces suffered a great disaster — locusts swarmed everywhere. Not just along the Great River, but across all the provinces and commanderies, the number of refugees had likely surpassed the two million of Emperor Wu of Han's time. The common people's tolerance for the New Policies had reached its limit. This was the advantage of heaven.

And with the Red Eyebrows' great rout of the government army, the Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang had fled west, and east of Luoyang there was no longer any imperial force of over ten thousand men to block the Red Eyebrows. Geng Chun thought to himself: if he were the Red Eyebrow leader, the urgent task would be to unite the Liangshan, Mount Tai, and Great River divisions, then mass a hundred thousand troops and march west to take Jiping…

Yes — Dingtao, where his father Geng Ai served as the two-thousand-bushel official. This made Geng Chun all the more anxious.

"Since the Spring and Autumn period, Dingtao has been the center of the realm. South, it borders the Huai and Si rivers; north, it reaches toward Wei and the old Wei lands. It straddles the roads of Yu and Yan provinces and commands the outskirts of Liang and Song. Since ancient times, it has been a battleground for the four quarters. The Red Eyebrows will surely besiege and take Dingtao, then dispatch a general to seize Puyang in the Wei region and hold the ford of the Great River. This is the advantage of earth."

"Thanks to Li Yan's help — hasn't he been spreading that prophecy everywhere, 'On the rivers and lakes there is a bandit, calling himself King Fan, surnamed Liu, ten thousand men in a line'? If I were Fan Chong, I would surely answer that omen and, at Dingtao — the very place where Emperor Gao of Han declared himself emperor — proclaim myself a clansman of the Han house, surnamed Liu. That would fool a whole group of scholars into backing him, and the situation of Chen Sheng first establishing Zhang Chu would surely take shape!"

Once that banner was raised, the advantage of man would also be complete. In commanderies and counties that suffered under Xin, the Liu-surnamed magnates everywhere would surely execute their local officials and kill them in response to the Red Eyebrows. Many places could be pacified by a mere proclamation. Before the court could conscript a new army and march east again, everything east of Chenggao and the Ao Granary would likely be lost.

As it happened, the Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang thought the same, which was why he had fled a thousand li at a stretch, heading straight for Luoyang.

The one thing Geng Chun had not anticipated was that Fan Chong, a tactical genius who could make a hundred thousand men follow him without any formal military structure, was, in strategic vision, a different story altogether. To put it bluntly, he was shortsighted, never considering the long term, going wherever he felt like going.

In any case, after this battle the whole situation had changed drastically. Dingtao, one of the Geng family's "three refuges," had become the most dangerous place. That was why Geng Chun was so intent on pulling more soldiers to Weicheng Commandery, to strengthen Diwu Lun's power and resist the Red Eyebrows, while at the same time…

"It will also give me more weight to speak in Weicheng."

So Geng Chun redoubled his efforts in recruiting the scattered troops. Yan Province was already in total chaos, and Hebei had clearly become the best sanctuary. The routed soldiers and defeated troops were like startled birds, terrified the Red Eyebrows would pursue. When they heard that Weicheng was shielded by the Great River, and Geng Chun talked up its stability, they all flocked to join him.

The further west they went, the larger their column grew. Stragglers kept joining, and a force that still maintained its unit structure inspired trust.

When there was no food on the road, Geng Chun simply led the men, calling themselves Red Eyebrows, to storm a small stronghold of a local magnate. They took half its stored grain but did not harm the magnate's life.

As for those who tried to take advantage of the chaos to harm the women, Geng Chun ordered them executed. Without realizing it, he had already become the leader of this defeated force; everyone vied to prove themselves, hoping for better treatment once they crossed the river.

By early October, when they reached Baima Ford, the column had grown many times over. A rough count put it at no fewer than three thousand men, and Geng Chun had shouted orders the whole way until his voice was raw.

Wei Cheng Commandery had already received word of the outcome of the great battle at Chengchang. Diwu Lun had also anticipated that, aside from refugees and wealthy households fleeing disaster, there would surely be remnant soldiers and routed troops fleeing blindly into Hebei.

The garrison at Liyang County ferry on the opposite bank had been doubled, and they had even sent a company of men onto the territory of Baima Ford in Zhicheng Commandery to keep order.

But he still had not expected so many routed soldiers to arrive all at once — and still in formation, at that. The defending troops were on high alert until Geng Chun came forward to explain. He left Peng Chong on the south bank to maintain order and crossed the river to explain the situation to Diwu Lun.

Looking back from the boat, Geng Chun saw three thousand pairs of expectant eyes.

Even though the defeated soldiers he had gathered were a mixed bag, even though some among them had slaughtered the people of Wuyan, Geng Chun resolved that he must persuade Diwu Lun to let them cross the river.

Only then could he, Geng Chun, have troops in his hands like Ma Yuan. If Dingtao were truly besieged one day, and Geng Chun needed to "borrow troops" from Diwu Lun to rescue his old father, he would at least be able to open his mouth.

This was Geng Chun's private motive beyond his public duty. The post of Deputy Governor of Wei Cheng Commandery was no longer just helping a friend — he had to manage it as a place for his clan to find shelter.

When he stepped onto the north bank, he saw Diwu Lun in full robes and a tall cap, a fur-lined cloak draped over his shoulders, already at the ferry in person, craning his neck as he waited for him.

Geng Chun jumped off the boat, seeming to have recovered his old free-and-easy manner. Laughing heartily, he walked toward Diwu Lun, though his form of address for his friend had quietly changed.

"Lord Commandery, I have gathered three thousand soldiers and come to join Wei Cheng. Is this cause for celebration?"

Diwu Lun heard the hoarseness in Geng Chun's voice. As he drew near, he saw the bloodshot eyes from days without sleep, born of worry over the situation and his father's safety, and could imagine the hardship of the journey. He walked to the river's edge and actually took off his cloak to drape it over Geng Chun, who was shivering in the river wind.

"Compared to gaining three thousand soldiers, what gladdens me more is that you, Boshan, have returned safe and sound!"

……

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.