Chapter 195: General

"General Ox!"

Every time he heard that title, Liu Xiu did not know whether to laugh or cry: "My surname is Liu, not Ox."

"Aye, General Ox!"

Even Zhu You, who had gone missing earlier, disguised himself as a refugee to travel south, and rejoined them during the Battle of Caiyang, was joking with Liu Xiu: "Wenshu, where's that divine ox of yours, the mount that won such great merit?"

Liu Xiu said helplessly, "It was wounded, so we butchered it to feast the troops. Right now, it's right there in your bellies!"

Everyone burst out laughing, the air filled with cheerful delight. They only dared to joke with Liu Xiu because the honest fellow never got angry; toward Liu Yan, there was only awe and reverence.

The story goes back to a few days earlier. After Liu Xiu, his elder brother, and their clansmen raised the banner on the winter solstice, nearly all the able-bodied men of Baishui Township and the Chongling Liu clan answered the call — they gathered three to four thousand men.

But because the Li clan of Wancheng was besieged, the hundred crossbows and fifty horses promised them never arrived. With mounts in short supply, Liu Xiu displayed his usual humility and voluntarily gave up his horse so his brother's retainers could form a cavalry unit, while he himself mounted the family ox.

"I'm bringing up the rear anyway — a slower pace doesn't matter."

The two brothers' styles were utterly different. If Liu Yan was the family's thousand-li colt, with the power of a fabled steed — when he reared and neighed, his voice reached the heavens like the ring of metal on stone — he had long made his name in the commandery as an undisputed leader. In their first battle after raising troops, the fight to seize Caiyang County, he too charged at the very front.

Liu Xiu, by contrast, was like the family's old yellow ox — bearing every hardship without complaint, silently tilling and building the estate, and in battle, steady and cautious to a fault, always bringing up the rear. This led his brother to tease him: "Wenshu, you're timid even before a petty foe."

One must not be careless even with a petty foe, Liu Xiu thought. Let his brother set the ceiling; he would take care of the floor. Among their clansmen, those like their uncle Liu Liang who were unwilling to rise in revolt were everywhere — many had been coerced into joining and were ready to flee at any moment. One man could lead ten in a rout, which was why he had to keep a close watch on the rear.

At the Battle of Caiyang, the Han troops won with ease, because Liu Yan had already planted his retainers inside the city. The gates were opened with almost no resistance, and the Magistrate of Caiyang was captured. The Caiyang Commandant, however, fled through another gate — and ran straight into Liu Xiu blocking his path.

So when Zhu You and the others caught up, all they saw was Liu Xiu astride his old yellow ox, swinging his ring-pommel saber and cutting the Caiyang Commandant down from his horse!

After seizing horses, Liu Xiu no longer had to ride an ox, but his nicknames — "General Ox" and "the Ox-Riding General" — had already spread far and wide.

Liu Xiu's actual rank among the Han troops, however, was the "Commandant" title his brother had conferred on him. As for Liu Yan himself, he styled himself "Pillar-of-Heaven Commander-in-Chief."

It sounded like horseplay, but it had a pedigree. Over a decade earlier, Zhai Yi of Dong Commandery had risen against Wang Mang and styled himself "Pillar-of-Heaven Grand General." By taking up that title, Liu Yan meant to proclaim that he would become the very pillar holding up the cause of restoring the Han!

After seizing Caiyang County, the Liu Yan brothers hung up the heads of the Caiyang Magistrate and Commandant and made a speech. Caiyang had once been the fief of Wang Mang's mother and enjoyed certain tax reductions; resentment toward the Xin Dynasty here was far weaker than in Jing-Chu or Yan Province.

But Liu Yan was a famed hero and gallant of the commandery, skilled at stirring men's hearts, and with Liu Xiu promising to distribute the county treasury's silks to anyone who joined, they won considerable support.

Nanyang was a rich and populous commandery, with two million people across the whole territory. Caiyang alone had a population of a hundred thousand, with many idle hands. In just a few days, after this burst of recruitment at Caiyang, the "Han troops" doubled in strength to seven or eight thousand men.

Everyone was delighted, but Liu Xiu alone said, "I have heard that in the time of our Exalted Ancestor, Chen Ying, the Marquis of Tangyi, rose against the Qin in his county and even gained twenty thousand followers. Yet those men had all joined on a momentary impulse; once time passed, most of them drifted away on their own."

At the end of Qin, it was common for a single county, after killing the Qin officials and rising up, to muster tens of thousands in a flash — but it was useless, all just a single wave. The reason the Han troops at Caiyang could now raise so many was that it happened to be the winter farming lull, and everyone was idle enough to follow. Once the weather turned colder, the numbers would halve in an instant; when the grain ran out and spring plowing began, they would return home in droves. To have seven or eight hundred left would be fortunate.

Troops raised in haste not only had low combat strength — they could not last. They were nothing compared to that Lord Diwu, who could sustain seven or eight thousand standing troops only by drawing on the full resources of an entire commandery.

So they had to break the stalemate before the spring disbanding. Fortunately, the Liu Yan brothers had been mulling over rebellion for so many years that they had discussed strategy countless times.

Liu Yan pointed at the county map. "Take Wancheng!"

"Wan is the capital of a great commandery, with scores of linked cities, a dense and numerous populace, and abundant stores."

"In former days, when the Exalted Emperor raised his righteous host to strike west against Qin, he did not go through Hangu Pass. Instead, he traveled a thousand li to seize Nanyang, attacked and took Wancheng, and only thus was able to enter Wu Pass, take Lantian, and bring about Qin's downfall."

Unlike the Red Eyebrows' leader Fan Chong, who had no clear aim, Liu Yan's objective had been set from the very moment he raised troops: retrace the route and career of his ancestor Liu Bang — enter the passes and destroy the Xin!

But that was all long-term. With their present strength, even fighting their way to Wancheng would be no easy task.

Liu Yan already had a plan. "I will take the main force of five or six thousand north to attack Xinye, and join up with the Deng and Yin clans. With their support, our numbers can exceed ten thousand."

Only by rolling the snowball larger could they have the strength to fight when the Grand Governor of the Forward Commandery reacted and sent a major force to suppress them.

He looked at Zhu You and Liu Xiu. "Wenshu, Zhongxian — you two will take two thousand men to Tangzi Township, rendezvous with the Greenwood Army, and then seize Huyang County!"

Liu Xiu acknowledged the order. Huyang County was their mother's hometown; the Fan clan of Huyang were great magnates of the county, their influence only slightly below the Yin and Deng. His maternal uncles would surely be delighted to join their nephews.

And so, in mid-tenth month, Liu Xiu and Zhu You marched northeast.

Liu Xiu had a real knack for drawing local gentry into the fold. He would first drop his brother's name to build rapport; if they refused, he would tell them that the Han troops had already allied with the Greenwood Army, and anyone who did not join them would suffer Greenwood attacks.

With a mix of coaxing and intimidation, he indeed tricked over a thousand into joining. Liu Xiu, however, kept very strict military discipline and forbade them from molesting the villagers or the powerful families.

On the fifteenth day of the tenth month, as they neared Tangzi Township, the Han troops encountered the Greenwood vanguard.

This region was the ancient state of Tang, bordering the southern state of Sui. Greenwood had spent months gnawing at Sui County in the autumn; having finally taken it, they could not wait to push north, and here they joined forces with the Han troops.

The man the Greenwood chieftains sent to make contact was, as it happened, a relative of Liu Xiu.

A refined, scholarly man past thirty, he clasped his hands in salute from a long way off.

"Wenshu, it has truly been a long time."

Seeing the man, Liu Xiu was also quite delighted. "Shenggong, I trust you have been well."

It was Liu Xiu's distant cousin, Liu Xuan, likewise of the Chongling line.

The Chongling branch was large and tangled. In terms of bloodline, Liu Xuan was actually closer to the main line; in earlier years at Baishui Township, he had been wealthier than Liu Xiu and had also kept retainers. But because his character was somewhat timid, his fame was far below Liu Bosheng's.

And Liu Xuan had also had bad luck. Several of his retainers broke the law and killed a man, and the blame was traced back to him. Liu Xuan could only flee the law with Bosheng's help, escaping to Sui County, where he faked his own death so his family would not be pursued. He had been hiding in Pinglin Township ever since, dependent on the local magnates, the Liao clan.

As Greenwood moved north into Nanyang, the Pinglin Liao clan raised troops in response, and Liu Xuan, as a retainer, joined them — becoming the first of the Chongling Liu to join Greenwood. It was said he had built good relations with several Greenwood chieftains, who appointed him "Pacification Clerk," mainly responsible for liaising with the Chongling Han troops.

Gazing at the host of three thousand behind Liu Xiu, Liu Xuan's eyes filled with envy. He sighed, "Now Bosheng and Wenshu are both generals commanding thousands upon thousands of troops."

"What general?" Liu Xiu caught the trace of jealousy in Liu Xuan's words and said quickly, "Just a self-appointed Commandant, with a makeshift force of kinsmen and retainers — far, far below the Greenwood chieftains."

Liu Xiu flattered Liu Xuan for a while. What concerned him most now was the matter of allying with Greenwood, and the situation in Sui County. After Greenwood took Sui County, how had they dealt with the local magnates, officials, and common people? That would determine how far the Han troops and Greenwood could cooperate.

Liu Xuan glanced left and right, drew Liu Xiu aside, and said in a low voice, "The Greenwood chieftains bitterly resented Sui County for resisting for months. After they broke the city, they carried out a great slaughter. Apart from the Pinglin Army's Liao and Chen clans, who rose in response, all the other surnames and officials were killed. The common people also suffered greatly — some were killed, some were coerced into the army. The Greenwood the Xin troops have now swelled to twenty thousand strong."

The very words Liu Xiu had used to frighten the landlords along the road into providing grain and men had come true in Sui County — a prophecy fulfilled.

Greenwood was now much like the Red Eyebrows: after leaving their home base, they were all roving fighters, living for the day's plunder, with no thought at all of long-term governance.

The Liu clan's alliance with Greenwood had both advantages and drawbacks. The advantage was that it increased troop strength and gave them the confidence to face the government armies. The drawback was Greenwood's unrestrained violence. Once word of the Sui County massacre spread, it would likely drive some of Nanyang's powerful families to the government's side — a hidden worry that began to gnaw at Liu Xiu.

"It seems that though Greenwood and the Han troops have temporarily joined forces against the Xin armies, truly becoming one and the same will be difficult!"

…

While the cause of restoring the Han surged like wind-driven clouds in Nanyang, Diwu Lun's persona as a "Great Xin loyalist" was once again reinforced.

In late tenth month, at Yecheng, Diwu Lun also received an edict from Chang'an. As before, he bathed and burned incense before opening it, and even made a bet with Geng Chun: "Boshan, guess — is this a reprimand or a commendation?"

Paper cannot wrap fire. The court had more or less heard rumors about him intercepting the Boar-Rush Braves and privately sending troops into a neighboring commandery — especially the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties, who would surely spare no effort to find dirt on Diwu Lun.

Yet Diwu Lun's petty maneuvers, set against the backdrop of the Grand General of Renewal and the Grand Preceptor's great defeat, instead made him look like a loyal pillar of the state, a bulwark of Hebei.

"That depends on whether His Majesty knew the outcome of the Battle of Chengchang when the edict was issued," Geng Chun said, watching as Diwu Lun took the edict delivered by the Palace Gentleman.

After reading it, Diwu Lun's expression turned strange. Only when he and Geng Chun were left alone did he say, "It is indeed a commendation. It seems His Majesty does understand the situation east of the passes."

But as to what kind of commendation, Geng Chun refused to guess — after all, everyone knew this Emperor often defied convention; nothing he did would be surprising.

He laughed. "Whether they make Boyu a Provincial Governor or transfer you back to be one of the Nine Ministers, I wouldn't find it strange at all."

Diwu Lun shook his head. "Because the Red Eyebrows have ravaged Yanzhou and killed the Grand Governor of Shouliang, His Majesty has ordered me, in addition to serving as Grand Governor of Weicheng, to temporarily hold the concurrent post of Shouliang Lianshuai."

Grand Governor, Lianshuai, Zuzheng — all meant Governor. Diwu Lun could not fathom why Wang Mang had to invent three different names for a single office.

Shouliang and Zhiting were both new commanderies created after Dong Commandery was split in two. The seat of Shouliang was Dong'e City, historically part of the broader Qi region and Jixi, but after the Yellow River changed course, six of its counties ended up "north of the River." Diwu Lun had already dispatched Ma Yuan to lead troops in and secure the river defenses.

Wang Mang still cared deeply about his ancestral home of Yuancheng. This appointment allowed Diwu Lun to march his forces into Shouliang openly and legitimately, truly achieving a position that "spanned provinces and linked commanderies." The problem was that across the Yellow River, the Shouliang commandery seat of Dong'e, along with several counties, had already been seized by the Red Eyebrows. For the time being, Lianshuai Diwu could only gaze at the river and sigh.

Even more interesting was the second commendation Wang Mang bestowed upon Diwu Lun.

The court now operated on a merged military-civil administration. Duke Yan, as one of the Nine Ministers, also held a general's title, while a Grand Governor was equivalent to a Lieutenant General but bore no general's title.

"But I have now received an imperial decree, and like the Wave-Water General Dou Rong, I am a formally appointed Assorted-Title General."

Diwu Lun's feelings were mixed. He showed the decree to Geng Chun.

"The General Who Pacifies the Red!"

Geng Chun laughed. "It means to wipe out and pacify the Red Eyebrows. This shows they place great hopes in Boyu. Isn't that a good thing?"

Diwu Lun shook his head, for he disliked it intensely.

"The post of Lianshuai I will accept for now. But this general's title — tell me, can I decline it?"

……

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.