Chapter 215: He's Panicking

Because of skewed and missing information, and with Wancheng under siege, many events were ambiguous by the time word got out — no one was even sure who had declared himself emperor. This led the court to assume, as a matter of course, that the man restoring the Han and proclaiming himself emperor in Nanyang was Liu Bosheng, who had raised troops at Caiyang — not the little-known nobody Liu Xuan, of whom no one had heard beforehand.

And so, in the Xin court's imagination, Liu Bosheng became the Han emperor he had always dreamed of being.

Because of this entirely understandable mistake, Wang Mang sent men to increase the bounty on Liu Bosheng: whoever killed Liu Yan would be rewarded with a fief of fifty thousand households, one hundred thousand catties of gold, and the rank of High Duke — a full tenfold increase over the previous reward!

At the same time, Wang Mang also ordered that Liu Yan's portrait be painted on the side halls of the capital's government offices and on the gate and wall surfaces of village posts throughout Guanzhong. It was hideously ugly — a pig-kidney face covered with large moles and tumors — and every day soldiers were made to shoot arrows at it. Though it could do no real harm, he could still draw circles to curse and hex him.

And so a strange sight appeared: Liu Bosheng's portrait and wanted notices plastered across every county in Guanzhong. Some old peasants from the backcountry, going to the village market, had originally known little of outside affairs — they might not have learned of the Nanyang upheaval for another three months — but seeing the notices and asking bystanders, they immediately learned that the Great Han had been restored.

"Good news!"

Life was growing harder by the day, and the mood of rejecting the Xin and restoring the Han was strongest in Guanzhong. Over a decade ago, many had entertained the thought that "changing the surname on the throne would make everything better"; now it had become "better not to have changed at all!"

In that case, why not try changing it back?

And Liu Bosheng, whom the Emperor so feared, was imagined by the common people to be over ten feet tall, with a prominent nose and a dragon's face, a splendid beard, and seventy-two black moles on his left thigh — looking exactly like Emperor Gao of Han. The one hundred thousand Han soldiers he led were all clad in plain white armor, wearing mourning for Emperor Xiaoping...

This scene, observed by the man of insight Wei Ao — a trusted confidant of the State Preceptor Liu Xin — made Wei Libationer shake his head despite himself: "Is this not just spreading propaganda for the rebel leader?"

It seemed the Wei clan, too, had to make plans early. As far as Wei Ao knew, the State Preceptor would not simply sit and wait for the Xin to collapse completely and be buried with Wang Mang.

Not only that, the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties also went to the Ding'an Residence to demand Liu Bosheng's "brother's wife," Yin Lihua, intending to punish her more severely along with the rest of the Yin clan — only to be rebuffed by the Princess Huanghuang in person.

Wang Yan saved this woman both out of sympathy — as the last Han empress, for the families of those striving to restore the Han — and out of calculation for her own future. Yin Lihua was now a person of the Ding'an Residence; without her permission, no one could take her away. The gates stayed firmly shut, and she wagered the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties would not dare force his way in.

Since they could not vent their anger on the living for the moment, that anger was taken out on the dead. In mid-second month, the Deyang Palace at the Yang Mausoleum north of the Wei River met with calamity.

Though called a palace, Deyang Palace was in fact the temple of Emperor Jing of Han. Through the temple-system reforms of the Yuandi and Aidi eras, the Han Jing temples in the commanderies and kingdoms had been abolished and restored several times. When Wang Mang took power, he abolished all these former-dynasty incense offerings, which had cost hundreds of millions of cash each year.

But the main temple before the imperial tomb still stood, though it had long been deprived of blood sacrifices. A few aged caretakers from the Han palace remained, gazing at the lush great chestnut trees that had grown for over a hundred years within Deyang Palace and reminiscing about the days of the former dynasty.

On this day, however, the Han Jing temple was unusually bustling. Many Tiger Guard warriors came from the Northern Army, storming into Deyang Palace in a great show of force. Weapons in hand, they hurled and struck wildly in all directions, knocked the spirit tablets to the ground, hacked at doors and windows with axes, splashed peach-wood decoction into the corners of the rooms, and lashed the walls with whips dipped in red earth — as if locked in a battle of wits and courage with ghosts.

This was not the first or second time Wang Mang had smashed the Han dynasty's "Four Olds"; he had previously destroyed the temples of Han Wudi and Han Xuandi to bury his own descendants. The reason he had now set his sights on the low-profile Jing temple was that, tracing genealogies, he had discovered that the Chongling Liu Bosheng line descended from the Prince Ding of Changsha, and Prince Ding of Changsha was a son of Emperor Jing of Han — as was the Prince Jing of Zhongshan, for that matter.

The Han Jing temple thus took a stray bullet and suffered this unprovoked disaster. After it was thoroughly wrecked, Wang Mang had a Colonel of Light Chariots quartered inside, using baleful and inauspicious qi to suppress that "kingly qi."

"The Emperor is panicking." Any clear-eyed observer could see that Wang Mang was truly growing desperate and frantic.

Originally, the debate over which posed a greater threat to the court — the Red Eyebrows in the east or the Greenwood in the south — and which should be dealt with first was still ongoing. The strategy of fighting two wars at once had utterly failed with the destruction of the General of Renewal and Yan You's siege at Wancheng; there had to be a sequence.

And now Wang Mang knew which target the Grand Minister of Works and Grand General of the Tiger's Teeth Wang Yi's still-mustering "million-man army" should strike first!

"The Greenwood, of course!"

While conscripting troops, Wang Mang also broadly summoned all under heaven versed in military strategy. Some claimed to transmit the art of war of the Marquis of Huaiyin, others inherited the art of war of the Lord of Guangwu, and some even styled themselves the great-great-grandson of Sunzi. Wang Mang promoted them all to military advisors, sixty-three men in total.

And recently, the Duke of the Straight Road and General of the Guard Wang She, who enjoyed Wang Mang's trust, also recommended a man of great general's talent to Wang Mang.

"The old Chancellor Wang is aged and lethargic; he is more than adequate for maintaining the status quo, but not aggressive enough. The distance from Chang'an to Luoyang is less than a thousand li, yet the Grand Chancellor took a full two months to travel it. I fear he is unsuited for the role of deputy commander on the southern campaign. Why does Your Majesty not appoint a keen and enterprising young general as second-in-command to the Grand Minister of Works?"

A general from the younger generation? Wang Mang raised his head blankly. If there were still men he could use, why would he have sent the State General Ai Zhang — who could do nothing but boast — to the front lines? Dou Rong, the Grand General of the Bo River, in whom he had once placed high hopes, had also lost and now fled to Yingchuan, making a complete waste of Diwu Lun's earlier high praise for the man.

"Whom do you have in mind?"

Wang She lowered his eyes. Although he had rehearsed this several times under the guidance of his household retainer and fangshi Ximen Junhui, now that the moment had come, he still felt a twinge of guilt.

"It is none other than Diwu Lun, who has just smashed the Red Eyebrows' one-hundred-thousand-strong army!"

By generational seniority, Wang She was Wang Mang's grandnephew.

His family was greatly favored by the Emperor. After all, Wang She's father, the Han dynasty's Marquis of Quyang, Wang Gen, had served as Grand Marshal and General of Elite Cavalry assisting the government under Emperor Cheng. It was during Wang Gen's tenure that Wang Mang was confirmed as the family's next leader, allowing him to climb to the pinnacle and taste power for the first time.

Returning the favor, after Wang Mang became emperor, he promoted Wang She in office and title, ranking him among the "Four Generals," appointing him to the palace guard with access to the inner chambers, and changing his title from Marquis of Quyang to Duke of the Straight Road.

But this Duke of the Straight Road's mind was anything but straight; it twisted and turned in all directions. At this moment, in the Wanglu Hall, he was laying out the reasons why Diwu Lun should be given important responsibilities.

"The calamity in the Forward Corps actually originated with Wei Cheng in Jizhou."

"Does Your Majesty still remember Li Yan, the Grand Governor of Wei Cheng, who plotted treason the year before last?"

How could he not remember? Wang She brought up the prophetic verse that Li Yan had concocted: "The House of Han shall rise again; Li is the sign. Sign is fire, and shall be the Han's support."

"And there was an apocryphal text saying, 'Jing and Chu shall rise.'"

"It was precisely upon hearing this prophetic verse from Wei Cheng that the Li clan of Wancheng conceived their wicked scheme, colluded with Liu Bosheng of Chongling to revolt, and brought about today's upheaval!"

Wang She knew that the Emperor, though outwardly indifferent, was in fact extremely concerned about these rumors unfavorable to the Xin. As early as last year, when the Emperor heard the prophecy that Jing and Chu would rise with the Li clan as support, he superstitiously believed it and specially selected two ministers surnamed Li as Inspectors of Jingzhou and Yangzhou, hoping to show that the prophecy favored the Xin dynasty — but it was utterly useless.

The General of the Guard gradually linked these two events, one south and one north: "And who was it that swept away Li Yan's rebel faction with the force of a thunderbolt? It was Diwu Lun!"

"Your Majesty sends garrison soldiers to shoot at Liu Bosheng's portrait and orders the Tiger Guard to destroy the Han Jing temple, but the fangshi under my retainer have calculated that the man truly capable of hexing and suppressing this false prophecy is none other than Diwu Lun."

"And Your Majesty has bestowed upon Diwu Boyu the title 'Grand General Who Pacifies the Red.' The southern rebels also raise red banners as their sign of fire. In the unseen workings of fate, Diwu Lun is precisely the rebellion-suppressing weapon that August Heaven and the Supreme One God have prepared for Your Majesty!"

Wang She had long known that Wang Mang was superstitious about prophetic texts, so he first made his case through mysticism. Only after that did he present the military reasons: "Moreover, Diwu Lun is a disciple of Yan Erudite. Knowing that his teacher is trapped in Wancheng, he must be eager to go to his rescue. Add to that his mastery of military strategy — he can defeat the Red Eyebrows, so what challenge would the Greenwood pose?"

Forced into this connection by Wang She, it did sound somewhat plausible, but Wang Mang still hesitated: "But I have only just appointed Diwu Lun as Inspector of Yanzhou. If I transfer him south, what of Yanzhou? The Red Eyebrows have three branches. Though one, Chi Zhaoping, has now been eliminated, the two bandits Fan Chong and Dong Xian remain. If they move west to threaten the river defenses, without Boyu, who will defend Yuancheng?"

The new capital had already been crushed by the Greenwood; the ancestral tombs in the old home of Yuancheng concerned the dynasty's very fortune and absolutely could not suffer another mishap.

Others might not understand Wei Cheng, but Wang She did. His retainer Ximen Junhui was a scion of the Ximen clan of Yecheng. Last year, before Diwu Lun had grown powerful enough to control the entire commandery and make the powerful families bow their heads, old man Ximen had communicated with him frequently, so Wang She knew the true situation in Wei Cheng like the back of his hand.

"Your Majesty need not worry about the river defenses. Diwu Lun's ability to defeat the Red Eyebrows relied heavily on his father-in-law, Ma Yuan. Ma Yuan is fierce and valiant in battle, repeatedly achieving extraordinary merit, which is why Your Majesty promoted him to Grand Governor of Wei Cheng. There is also the son of the former Company Commander of Jiping, Geng Ai. With Ma and Geng working together, and with the ice melting after spring, the bandits have no boats to cross — how could they get over? This is enough to guarantee Yuancheng will not be lost. As for Yanzhou..."

Wang She prostrated himself deeply and said carefully, "Your servant will speak a blunt truth. Apart from Zhiting and Chenliu, which are still in the court's hands, the other commanderies of Yanzhou are already overrun with roving bandits, a thousand li of barren land. With a mere few thousand troops, Diwu Lun would likely be unable to turn the tide. In any case, the Red Eyebrow bandits are mostly ignorant men without banners, drums, or proper command. Though they can harm commanderies and counties, they are mere hopping-bandits who delight in plunder and raiding; they cannot achieve great things. Let the Grand Preceptor and Grand Chancellor hold Chenliu securely, and that will be enough to ensure nothing west of Chenggao is lost."

"To the Xin, the Red Eyebrows are merely a malady of the armpit — no matter how much they stir, they only wreak havoc in Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and Yanzhou. But the Greenwood is a disease of the heart and vitals — they cry incessantly of restoring the Han, and they will not rest until they fight their way to Chang'an! Nanyang presses close to the Central Plains. Once they take Wancheng, they can move north to threaten Luoyang, and then I fear everything east of Hangu Pass will no longer belong to the Xin! Even more frightening, they might even reuse Emperor Gao of Han's old strategy, marching west to strike at Wu Pass! Our dynasty must on no account repeat the mistake of the Qin, when Zhang Han and Wang Li fought Xiang Ji north of the Yellow River and allowed Liu Bang to enter the passes with ease!"

Wang Mang pondered in silence for a long while, then asked Wang She for his next suggestion: "Then according to your strategy, should Diwu Lun take the troops of Wei directly south to the Forward Corps?"

"No, he should be recalled to Guanzhong." This point was crucial, and it was the true objective Wang She and his faction sought.

"As Your Majesty rightly worries, the troops in Wei are needed to guard against bandits in the east and serve as the gateway to Jizhou, Henei, and Bingzhou; the local soldiers absolutely cannot be moved. It would be better to have Diwu Lun return to Guanzhong to raise troops."

"Though Your Majesty has ordered the commanderies and counties west of the passes to conscript soldiers, the pace is far too slow. Everywhere, the ignorant commoners are unwilling to let their sons join the army; some flee into the mountains and forests, others band together as robbers."

"But the military situation at Wancheng is urgent as fire. I fear we cannot wait to assemble a full four hundred thousand troops before setting out together. Better to let the Grand Minister of Works take a vanguard of over three hundred thousand, march to Luoyang, and head south first, while Diwu Lun takes a rearguard of tens of thousands and goes by the Wu Pass road straight to the Forward Corps. Then they can join battle together at Wancheng and utterly exterminate these crafty rebels!"

He brought up something Wang Mang did not know well: "Your servant has heard that in Wei, Diwu Lun mostly recruits refugees into his army, using refugees to strike roving bandits, and he often wins. Now a great disaster has struck east of the passes, and over a hundred thousand refugees have entered the passes. Your Majesty, in your benevolence, has ordered relief officials to set up gruel stations to feed them. These people are a burden to the court, but if their able-bodied young men can be recruited into the army to serve the state, would that not kill two birds with one stone?"

"No one but Diwu Lun can accomplish this!"

From prophetic texts to military strategy to the overall situation, Wang She had said all he could. His reasoning was quite sufficient, but Wang Mang still hesitated, saying only, "Let me consider it."

"Aye!"

Wang She bowed twice in farewell. After leaving the Wanglu Hall, he realized his back was already soaked with sweat. The Emperor was desperate now — only then had they dared to seize the moment and make the proposal. Surely it wouldn't be discovered?

Once Wang She returned to his residence, he summoned his retainer Ximen Junhui in a private chamber.

"We can send someone to the market ward to make contact with the State Preceptor's people."

"Tell them: His Majesty is already inclined toward the proposal to recall Diwu Lun to the capital!"

With the news that the "Son of Heaven of Nanyang" had proclaimed his enthronement and the restoration of Han, Wang Mang was not the only one growing desperate — they, those unwilling to perish along with the capsizing boat, were desperate too.

"Excellent!"

Ximen Junhui raised his head and said with a smile, "Once the battle-hardened Diwu Boyu enters the capital, the great enterprise that the General of the Guard and the State Preceptor have planned can be set in motion!"

……

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.