Chapter 221: Entrusting the Orphan

The Ximen clan had lost all contact with the court for two months now. They had no idea why this unprovoked calamity had befallen them, and could only assume that their earlier attempts to trip up Diwu Lun had been discovered, prompting this retaliation.

With the great army massed at Yecheng and Diwu Lun deliberately baring his fangs to intimidate the powerful families, the Ximen clan dared not refuse. Over a hundred members of the main lineage obediently relocated to Yuancheng — nominally a resettlement for the mausoleum, in reality house arrest. Yuancheng was now also under Diwu Lun's control in the name of "protection," and it was only a matter of time before the several hundred qing of imperial manor fields were quietly carved up and distributed to his ever-growing ranks of soldiers.

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Most people also had no idea that Ximen Junhui was the cause of this trouble. They simply assumed that, with rumors spreading through the commandery that Diwu Lun was about to leave, he had taken this measure to guard against the Ximen clan stirring up unrest. It was considered a moderate response — the Ximen clan was not like Yangping Marquis Wang Mo, who could be killed at a word. They had deep roots and sprawling branches, with marriage ties far and wide. If they were slaughtered outright, the commandery's powerful families would only grow more fearful for their own safety, and the moment Diwu Lun left, they would start brewing trouble.

At the same time, eight hundred elite officers and soldiers were gradually selected. The two commanders leading them were Wan Xiu and Geng Yan.

Wan Xiu's style of warfare was steady and reliable; he cared deeply for his soldiers and was, besides Ma Yuan, the person Diwu Lun trusted most — someone to whom he could disclose his true objectives.

"Wherever you go, my lord, Wan Xiu will follow."

Wan Xiu voiced no complaint about setting out on the road once more. Diwu Lun only told him to do his best to reassure the veterans of the Boar-Rush Braves under his command. These men had been in Wei for barely half a year; they had received their land allotments, some had even married, and just as they were beginning to enjoy a settled life, they were to travel far again. Many would likely have objections — the soldiers' morale work had to be done thoroughly.

Wan Junyou assented, then expressed concern for the thousand-odd soldiers of the "Diwu Battalion" still in New Qinzhong. Xuan Biao, Diyi Jiming, and the others remained stationed there. Once chaos erupted, what was to become of them?

"There's no telling whether the court will once more conscript border fortress troops to march south and join the fighting."

Diwu Lun was torn as well — he both hoped for it and hoped against it. The future likely held a realm plunged into chaos, with warlords rising on all sides. If those thousand-odd soldiers remained in New Qinzhong, they might hold their own for a time; without them, the place would probably soon fall to the barbarian dust. A divided Central Plain and a unified Xiongnu — it was unmistakably the situation at the end of the Qin dynasty all over again. Diwu Lun still harbored some attachment to the old base where he had first risen.

Geng Yan's style, by contrast, was the complete opposite of Wan Xiu's. He was young, brimming with sharp vigor, and fought with ferocious speed — quite reminiscent of Huo Qubing — but his concern for the soldiers fell short of the hardscrabble Wan Xiu. Diwu Lun did not trust him one hundred percent, and only brought up the strategy Geng Chun had proposed: returning to the Guanzhong region under arms to "escort the families out."

Geng Yan's family was the Geng clan of Fufeng. It so happened that he was under his father's orders to go to Maoling and evacuate their branch of the family. With their objectives aligning perfectly, he gladly agreed, and said no more about resigning his post.

With these two, both quite capable in battle — one for offense, one for defense — enough to shore up his own shortcomings, Diwu Lun felt somewhat reassured. Yet he named one more man.

The Nanyang man Peng Chong, Peng Botong.

The first reason Diwu Lun wanted him along was that, in his own absence, this man could not be left in Wei with any real authority.

"Peng Botong is not of one heart with us." Diwu Lun's judgment of character was keen; he always felt that Peng Chong's mind was perpetually elsewhere while in Wei.

The second reason — and the most important one.

Peng Chong's father, the former Han Governor of Yuyang Peng Hong, along with Bao Yong's father in Shangdang, had both been executed before Wang Mang usurped the Han — killed for refusing to submit to Mang! For Peng Chong, Wang Mang was the man who had slain his father.

Though Peng Chong was now wholly intent on avoiding calamity, this old enmity was something Diwu Lun could put to very good use.

When Peng Chong learned that his own name was on the list, it struck him like a thunderbolt. Inwardly he groaned, "Had I known this, I would have been better off taking a few trusted followers and fleeing to Yuyang to throw myself on my father's old subordinates!"

He had no inkling of Diwu Lun's true purpose, and assumed they were simply following court orders to fight the Greenwood rebels. Having just crawled out of the fiery pit of the Chengchang debacle, he was now to be dragged back into the storm — he was utterly unwilling.

But Peng Chong had not been in Wei long. He had spent most of his time working under Geng Chun, was not close to Diwu Lun, and his performance against the Red Eyebrows had not been particularly outstanding. He dared not, as Feng Yan had done, forcefully urge Diwu Lun to "not be a diehard loyalist of the Xin, but instead fortify this great commandery, steady the officers and men, and await the shifting times." So he could only offer a lukewarm assent.

Feng Yan was also forcibly taken along, serving as an army clerk. Diwu Lun did not trust this dog-headed advisor left behind in Yecheng walking on eggshells. What was more, Feng Yan, too, was to play an extremely critical role in Diwu Lun's grand scheme!

But Feng Yan was equally oblivious to this, and only vehemently opposed Diwu Lun's rush to Chang'an, going so far as to beat his chest and stamp his feet.

"My lord will not heed my good counsel — Yan has no choice but to take his leave!"

Diwu Lun was amused. Playing the resignation card in front of me? Go ask that other Feng, Feng Qin, whether he succeeded. That man is now a Merit Evaluator in Shouliang Commandery!

Sure enough, Feng Yan was detained by a single sentence from Diwu Lun.

"The Feng clan of Duling is still within the Passes. Once chaos erupts, who knows whether they can be kept safe. Jingtong, do you not wish to bring them here to Wei?"

Dog-headed though Feng Yan might be, he still possessed the talent of a military advisor. That one sentence was enough for him to sense that Diwu Lun was perhaps not simply bent on dying a loyal martyr for Wang Mang — that there was some larger scheme afoot. He tilted his head, thought it over, and decided he might as well tag along and see.

Having selected the men he would take with him, Diwu Lun received a piece of news from Yecheng and hurried back at once. This was the reason he had racked his brains to delay again and again.

"The lady is about to give birth!"

Though he had lived two lives, this was Diwu Lun's first time becoming a father. Looking at the tiny, wrinkled life in the swaddling cloth, he was for a moment utterly at a loss — wanting to hold the child, yet not daring to, terrified that his own roughness might harm him.

Ah, those brows, that nose — exactly like his own. In that moment, a hundred emotions mingled; he was so moved he wanted to weep, and yet...

"Why isn't he crying?"

Diwu Lun took this as a sign that the child lacked strength, and grew deeply worried.

"The General jests. He hasn't even been fed yet — where would he find the strength to cry all the time?" The Ma family's contingent of experienced nursemaids and maidservants took on the duty of caring for the child. In this age, infant mortality was exceedingly high; they were so terribly fragile. Wealthy households fared slightly better, but the outlook was still far from optimistic.

Though the wet nurses Diwu Lun had found could have formed a line stretching to the commandery office gates, and despite her own frailty having just given birth the day before, Ma Chanchan insisted on nursing the child herself.

Diwu Lun, however, did not leave. He simply stood to the side, hands clasped behind his back, watching with curiosity. Though they had been married over a year, there was still a measure of shyness. Sensing Diwu Lun's eyes fixed on that spot, the woman, now a new mother, raised her head and said with bashful anger, "Does my husband not mean to avert his eyes?"

"I simply wished to gaze upon my wife and child a little longer — I begrudge every moment lost." Diwu Lun gave a rueful smile. To witness his child's birth with his own eyes, he had delayed until now with great difficulty. Should the delay provoke Wang Mang's wrath, that would be ill. With departure imminent, truly, every glance might be one of the last.

These words softened Lady Diwu's heart. She paid him no further mind, focusing entirely on feeding the child in her arms, a smile emerging as she gazed at him.

Even with her hair still disheveled and her face bare of makeup, that smile was truly beautiful — different from the filial daughter seeking news of her father in Chang'an, different from the maiden who had gifted the saddle in Maoling. It now carried the gentle beauty of maternal love, as though a sacred halo ringed her head.

And looking again at the child — though still wrinkled, eyes unable to open, the bond of flesh and blood made him more endearing the longer one looked. The only regret was...

"A pity that his great-grandfather is still within the Passes, and cannot yet see the great-grandson he has so longed for."

On one hand, the reluctance to part after gaining a son even stirred in Diwu Lun the thought of "going nowhere at all." On the other hand, it made him all the more resolved to press forward — not only for his own great ambition, but so that his family could truly be reunited.

The child whimpered and cried for a while longer, each sound making Diwu Lun's heart clench. Gradually the cries subsided, and the baby drifted off to sleep. Ma Chanchan raised her head and asked Diwu Lun:

"Husband, have you chosen a name?"

"I have."

This matter, over which countless parents agonize endlessly, had been settled in Diwu Lun's mind long ago.

"Ming."

"He shall be called Diwu Ming."

There was no other reason — only that "Ming" was his own name from his former life.

Upon learning that Diwu Lun had a son, his subordinates from all quarters beamed with delight and came one after another to offer congratulations. These congratulations were not purely celebratory; Diwu Lun inevitably had to summon each person in turn and arrange the affairs to be managed after his departure.

The most important, of course, was the "Shouliang Regional Chief" Geng Chun. He and Ma Yuan were the ones staying behind — the two outer steeds that would keep Wei moving forward while Diwu Lun, the "shaft horse," was away.

When it came to drilling troops and waging war, Ma Yuan was naturally supremely adept. But when it came to governing a commandery, to handling the complex relations among powerful families, scholars, and commoners with skill and grace, and maintaining stability in Wei — among Diwu Lun's subordinates, only Geng Chun could shoulder such a weighty task.

"Boyu, to have your first heir only at twenty-three — that is truly far too late. You have no idea: in the commandery, from myself down to minor clerks like Huang Chang, we have all been waiting day and night for this day."

Geng Chun had taken some wine, and with Diwu Lun had reverted to the banter of friends, even beginning to boast. He himself had fathered offspring at eighteen, and now already had both a son and a daughter.

"I can't compare to Boshan."

Five years ago, when Diwu Lun first met Geng Chun at the Gentlemen's Bureau and heard him loudly declare he would visit the pleasure quarters on his rest day, he knew the man was a lecher — but now his tone shifted: "How old is Boshan's eldest legitimate daughter?"

"Three."

Diwu Lun clapped his hands and laughed. "There's a saying in Linqu Township: 'A wife three years older, a golden cake to hold her.' Perfect!"

"Boshan, would you agree to a marriage pact with me — to bind our children as in-laws?"

This was an unexpected delight. Geng Chun had not anticipated it. After a moment's deliberation, he smiled. "Nothing would please me more."

Diwu Lun had seen the Geng family's legitimate daughter once. Though she was utterly adorable, he was not truly eager to betroth his son in a child-marriage the moment the boy was born — he did it because he had no choice.

Great undertakings carry risk. It is not only the officers and soldiers under one's command who must hazard their lives — the same goes for oneself. The plan was well laid, yet Diwu Lun felt his luck was rather poor; the process always went a little awry, and he dared not guarantee flawless success.

On this venture into the Pass to pursue a great cause, if he himself came through unscathed, all would be well. But if anything went wrong, this marriage tie to the Geng family might become his child's greatest support in the future. With Geng Chun, that local powerbroker of Hebei, as a father-in-law, no matter what the future held, the child's wealth, honor, and safety would be assured.

This sentiment became even plainer when Diwu Lun summoned Ma Yuan alone — it was practically entrusting his orphan to him!

"On this venture into the Pass, should anything untoward befall me…"

Too many people had come to offer congratulations, and Diwu Lun was already somewhat drunk. Only by riding that drunken courage could he speak these words to Ma Yuan, whose face was brimming with joy at having a grandson.

Diwu Lun grasped Ma Yuan's arm. "Father-in-law, these eighteen counties of Wei, these hundreds of thousands of people — they shall be yours!"

This Wei territory — it was plainly a father-and-son-in-law succession!

"Whatever the state of the realm, with your ability, Father-in-law, at worst you would be a regional lord."

Diwu Lun bowed to Ma Yuan with clasped hands. "My wife and child — you shall raise them!"

Only to Ma Yuan could these words be spoken without impropriety.

Diwu Lun was hinting, openly and obliquely, at a future feudal lordship. Yet Ma Yuan was no happier at this than he was at having a grandson. He, too, riding the drunken mood, patted Diwu Lun's face and scolded him: "Boyu, what drunken nonsense are you spouting?"

"A man of ambition grows firmer in hardship, sturdier in age. Since you have resolved on a great cause, you must carry a heart set on certain victory into peril. How can you imitate Jing Ke, wailing, 'The hero goes forth and shall never return'?"

"My lord — let me still call you my lord, in your absence."

"Your son is not merely my grandson."

Ma Yuan raised his hand and swore an oath to Diwu Lun — a pledge that would let him press forward without hindrance and leave all his rearward cares behind.

"He, too, shall be my Ma Yuan's 'little lord'!"

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PS: Chapter 2 at 13:00, Chapter 3 at 18:00.