Chapter 222: Left Corps, Rear Corps

"Fu Ziwei was the first outstanding man I befriended when I entered Yingchuan last year. Though he's only a Precinct Chief, he enjoys considerable local renown — we must not slight him."

Just as Diwu Lun left Wei and hurried toward Guanzhong, Liu Xiu had also led his army out of Kunyang city and marched north, reaching Xiangcheng county in Left Corps Commandery — Yingchuan.

His strict military discipline, so unlike the other Greenwood forces, had indeed proved effective: hearing that the Han army had arrived, men came to join him in an unbroken stream.

And the man who came to pledge allegiance today was none other than a local minor Precinct Chief, named Fu Jun.

"Fu Ziwei and Chen Zizhao share the same courtesy name." Zhu You laughed and glanced at the tall halberd-bearing officer walking close behind Liu Xiu.

This Chen Jun was a man of Xi'e county in Nanyang. When Liu Xiu and Zhu You fled south after their failed uprising in Wancheng, Chen Jun had cornered Liu Xiu in an alley and nearly arrested him — but thanks to Liu Xiu's relentless silver tongue, he persuaded Chen Jun, who had long gone without court pay, to let him go.

After the Gengshi Emperor took the throne, the Nanyang counties surrendered to the Han troops one after another, and Chen Jun surrendered with them. Liu Xiu specifically requested him for his own army, shared food and clothing with him, and grew deeply fond of him. That big fellow has now become Liu Xiu's loyal bodyguard.

"It's not just the same courtesy name." Liu Xiu laughed. "As it happens, when I fled official service and passed through Yingchuan last year, I stopped at the precinct under Fu Jun's jurisdiction — and he nearly seized me as a bandit."

It was another case of friendship forged through a fight. After the misunderstanding was cleared, the two became friends. Now, when Liu Xiu led his army here and Fu Jun heard it was Liu Wenshu arriving, he did not hesitate for a moment — he brought over a dozen precincts with him and surrendered, giving Liu Xiu several hundred more local youths as fresh troops.

The gift Fu Jun brought Liu Xiu did not stop there.

"Wenshu… General Liu, look who I've captured!"

Precinct Chief Fu Jun shoved forward a Xin Dynasty official bound tightly with ropes. The man had a large, powerful frame, but the cords bit deep into him. An ordinary Xin official, once captured by Han troops, would have kowtowed and begged for his life, yet this man was neither servile nor arrogant.

Fu Jun reported his achievement with smug delight: "This is the Western District Supervising Clerk of Left Corps Commandery, named Feng Yi, courtesy name Gongsun. This Supervising Clerk Feng came from Fucheng county, traveling a full day's journey. He reached the precinct station next to mine and was organizing the precinct guards to hold the county seat when I captured him. The man is fierce and immensely strong — he wounded quite a few of my men."

"So you are Feng Yi!" Liu Xiu's colonels instantly flared with rage.

This Feng Yi, acting on the orders of the Grand Governor of Left Corps Commandery, oversaw the five counties west of the commandery. He seemed highly skilled at warfare and had given Liu Xiu's army no end of trouble these past days. Because Feng Yi held Fucheng county, Liu Xiu's offensive had stalled again and again, forcing him to turn and attack Xiangcheng instead.

Now that he had been unexpectedly captured, everyone was seething with righteous fury and wanted to kill him on the spot.

But Liu Xiu noticed that Feng Yi stood as steady as a great tree, looking straight at him alone. Even with life and death hanging in the balance, his speech remained unhurried.

"I have long heard the names of Liu Bosheng and his brother. But you attack by stealth — what kind of heroes are you?"

"Even if we forgo a siege and draw up our troops to fight in open country, though my force is small, it would be you who are captured!"

At this, everyone clamored all the more to butcher Feng Yi. Only Liu Xiu studied him from left to right, a fondness growing in his heart. He burst out laughing and waved a hand.

"Untie him. As Feng Gongsun says — let him go back!"

……

In the early fourth month of the fourth year of Dihuang, while Liu Xiu was campaigning in Left Corps Commandery, Diwu Lun, too, led his eight hundred stalwart men and reached another great commandery: Rear Corps.

Rear Corps was Henei Commandery. It was early summer, the most pleasant season in Henei, but Diwu Lun had no leisure to gaze south at the Qi River's bend and admire its lush green bamboo groves, nor time to visit the Yin ruins at Zhaoge and reflect on past and present.

Even when passing through Ji county, he had no chance to see that legendary water-conservancy expert who was said to have built the water-powered bellows — Du Shi.

The eight hundred men under his command were practically a "mule-and-horse unit," riding donkeys, mules, and horses, traveling by cart instead of on foot, and moving at great speed.

After all, Wang Mang had demanded that Diwu Lun arrive at the capital by the first day of the fifth month. If he were late — well, A-Mang was a man of temperament, and in a fit of rage might revoke the military command. Wouldn't Diwu Lun's grand plan then go up in smoke?

Henei corresponds roughly to the part of later Henan province lying north of the Yellow River, and by rights should be counted as "Hebei." But ever since the Han dynasty, Henei had always been administratively assigned to the "Colonel of the Capital Province," grouped together with Hedong and Henan under direct central control — because its geography was simply too critical.

Feng Yan, traveling with him, could once again display his talent for appraisal: "Henei commands the peril of Hulao Pass to the south, leans on the stronghold of the Taihang Mountains to the north, and is girdled by the Yellow River along its southern flank. Truly it may be called a land of mountains within and rivers without, straddling Jin and Wei in might, a hub of boat and cart, worthy of the name 'Land-Sea.'"

To the south, Henei faced Luoyang across the great river — it was from here that King Wu of Zhou crossed the river to destroy Yin.

To the west, vital roads led to Hedong and Shangdang. In the Qin-Zhao battle over Shangdang, the Qin army had prevailed precisely because it seized Henei, making its supply routes even shorter than Zhao's.

To the north, it thrust deep into Wei territory, serving as Wei's gateway — truly a case of "you within me, me within you." With such terrain, if Henei had a strong-willed Grand Governor, Diwu Lun would have felt as though someone were snoring beside his own bed, unable to sleep in peace.

Fortunately, compared to Henei's wealth and strategic crossroads, its military preparedness was utterly feeble.

"Because most of the commandery troops were conscripted by Wang Yi and followed the Grand Governor to assemble at Luoyang."

Diwu Lun understood this clearly. He had heard that Wang Yi's great army had already left the Six Garrisons and was about to march out of Hangu Pass. Aside from the able-bodied men forcibly conscripted from Guanzhong, the other commanderies had also scraped together some numbers. In the end, it might truly become, as Wang Mang had hoped, an army of four hundred thousand.

The man left behind to guard Henei was the local deputy, the Subduer in charge of military affairs. But he was no veteran general — rather, he was a renowned Confucian elder named Fu Zhan. His prestige was considerable, but how much skill he had in warfare was an open question.

And look — all along the hurried journey, whenever Diwu Lun stopped to rest, he never forgot his old trade: drawing maps. Feng Yan noticed it too, and one glance told him that Diwu Lun's intentions were far from benign!

"The common man is blameless; guilt lies in carrying jade."

Once the age of chaos truly began, Henei — this patch of rough-hewn peace — would be the first fatty morsel the Wei powers would swallow! Diwu Lun's march this time also served as a reconnaissance trip.

With an imperial decree in hand, their path was unobstructed. By the first ten days of the fourth month, the party reached the capital of Rear Corps Commandery: Huai county.

Diwu Lun did not enter the city. He did not even have time to pay a courtesy call on the local administrator, Subduer Fu Zhan. Yet someone took the initiative to seek him out, claiming to be a friend of Dou Rong and requesting an audience.

Diwu Lun and Dou the Duke of Zhou were, after all, surface-level friends. Hearing from his subordinates that the man was a local notable, and thinking that in a few months' time he might well have to make a move against Henei, Diwu Lun used the spare moments before departure to grant him a meeting.

The visitor was named Cai Mao, in his forties, courtesy name Zili, a native of Huai county in Henei.

Wang Long, who was traveling with Diwu Lun, had heard of him and said: "Cai Zili won renown for his Confucian learning during the reigns of Emperor Ai and Emperor Ping of Han. He was summoned and tested as an Erudite, presented a policy response on disasters and anomalies, and for his excellence was promoted to Court Counselor, then transferred to Palace Attendant. When His Present Majesty assumed the regency, Cai Mao pleaded illness and resigned, refusing to serve as an official of the Xin. He returned home and lived in seclusion in the marketplace, and has done so to this day."

Another loyalist of the Great Han, it seemed. Diwu Lun now had a measure of the man's character. And Cai Mao had not come alone — he had brought with him quite a few Henei notables and local prominent families. Like Feng Yan, they had come to urge Diwu Lun not to go west.

After the customary pleasantries and introductions, Cai Mao sighed and said: "Living in a neighboring commandery, I have long heard of Lord Diwu's name. You kept Wei Commandery secure, forcefully held back the roving bandits, and rendered great service to Hebei. Why abandon the millions of common folk and rush into the flames instead?"

Diwu Lun maintained his posture as a loyal minister of the Great Xin and said with solemnity: "When the sovereign summons, one does not wait for the carriage to be harnessed. The Son of Heaven has called — how could I, Lun, not go?"

Cai Mao could hardly deny the bond between sovereign and subject, nor could he directly say that Wang Mang was a usurper. He merely said: "I am a friend of Dou the Duke of Zhou. the Duke of Zhou has always been unwilling to be drawn into disputes, yet he was entrusted with a great task and ordered to lead troops south against the Greenwood. And what was the result? He fled in utter disarray, his whereabouts unknown. Lord Diwu, though you are widely reputed for valor, do you not fear following in Dou Rong's footsteps?"

Cai Mao and the Henei notables all hoped Diwu Lun would not go west and urged him strongly to return to Wei Commandery. Their words were couched in great tact and did not directly counsel Diwu Lun to raise troops in rebellion. But reading between the lines, they hoped that Diwu Lun, as a neighbor, could also ensure Henei's safety — after all, Wei territory was Henei's gateway, shielding it from the attacks of roving bandits like the Red Eyebrows and the Bronze Horses.

Diwu Lun thanked them for their goodwill. After he saw the group off, Feng Yan was rather pleased: "The hearts of the people in Henei are weary of the Xin and yearn for peace. It can be used."

True enough. But there was one more point that further confirmed Diwu Lun's conviction: as the situation shifted abruptly, among the scholar-officials, "opposing Wang Mang" would very soon become the most politically correct stance under heaven, far outweighing the bond between sovereign and subject. This journey into the Pass — he absolutely had to go.

The next day, just as he was about to set off, Cai Mao came again. This time, he brought Diwu Lun an old friend he had not seen for many years.

A group of several dozen, their clothes in tatters like beggars. The man at their head had a round face and a long beard — it was none other than Ren Guang, whom Diwu Lun had met a few times in Wancheng two years before! Diwu Lun had sent men to recruit him, but Yan You had snatched him away first.

"Boqing! What brings you here!"

"Lord Diwu! Ren Guang thought he would never see you again!"

Ren Guang bowed to Diwu Lun from afar. He had suffered bitterly on this journey. In the first month, he had taken his family and left Wancheng, fleeing north. In peacetime, with a fast horse and whip, he could have reached Yecheng in just over a month.

But this was an age of chaos. Behind him were the Greenwood and Han troops, seizing cities and territory without pause; ahead were routed Xin soldiers, all of the same ilk, until one could no longer tell soldier from bandit. Ren Guang at least still had his retainers and the several dozen men Cen Peng had assigned him, yet the journey was still desperately hard, like fleeing a famine. He lost count of how many armed clashes they fought along the way — Ren Guang himself had to take up a sword and kill men.

As a result, their pace was a crawl. Even his retainers and men began to slip away and desert. He had barely managed to avoid the wolf-like, tiger-fierce vanguard of Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi, and used the last of his silks and valuables to bribe the ferryman at the crossing. After crossing the great river into Henei, he could advance no further.

A stranger in an unfamiliar land, in his despair, Ren Guang could only seek help from Dou Rong's friend Cai Mao, begging him to provide some travel funds so he could continue north.

He had never imagined that Diwu Lun would also arrive here. Ren Guang now hurried to pay his respects. Even a seasoned, quick-witted, and steady old clerk like him could not hold back the tears streaming down his face at this moment. How he regretted it — regretting that he had once thought Wei too far, that he had clung to his native soil and clan, and had not accepted Diwu Lun's summons back then.

The seal of Recorder that should have belonged to Ren Guang now hung at the waist of the smug, posturing Feng Yan — and Feng Yan was eyeing his rival sidelong even now.

"Boqing, you are not late at all." Diwu Lun had no choice but to pause a moment, ordering the post station to bring out food to fill Ren Guang and his men's bellies, and to fetch clothes for him to change into. Only after wiping the dust and grime from his face did Ren Guang begin recounting all he had seen and heard along the way, and how Cen Peng had resolutely entered the city to aid Yan You.

As he spoke, he stole glances at Diwu Lun. Was this journey to the Guanzhong region truly meant to lead troops to the relief of Wancheng?

But Diwu Lun only sighed with a single line of praise: "Worthy indeed of Lord Yan and Cen Junran — to hold a lone, terror-stricken city for more than three months without losing it."

Then he merely stroked the head of Cen Peng's son, Cen Zun, and fell silent, offering no promise of "I will surely save my teacher and Junran."

Diwu Lun wished in his heart to save them, but his strength could not reach so far. Even if he truly changed his plan and fought this battle for Wang Mang, leading a mob of hastily conscripted levies out of Guanzhong, by the time he reached Wancheng it would likely be June or July. That meant Yan You and Cen Peng would have to hold out three more months — far too difficult.

And that was not all. Diwu Lun would also have to hope that Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi's column could win a swift victory in Yingchuan. Otherwise, his lone force, marching with raw recruits and exhausted troops to Wancheng, would be nothing more than delivering a shipment of equipment to the Greenwood Army.

A battle where you have to pray that your deadweight allies win is the hardest kind to fight.

Wang Yi might be a god of war, but he, Diwu Lun, certainly was not.

Ren Guang also noticed that, compared to Dou Rong, who had been beaten into a bedraggled flight, Diwu Lun's words showed far keener concern for Liu Xiu — he seemed desperate to know the man's every move, every glance, every smile.

When he learned that Liu Xiu had already taken Kunyang and was seizing cities and territory across Yingchuan, Diwu Lun paused, faintly startled, as though the place name stirred some memory in him — but in the end, it only resolved into a dawning smile.

From the moment he had stepped out of Wei with eight hundred soldiers, his objective had been set, agreed upon with Ma Yuan, and would not be rashly altered.

The realm was a chessboard, but Diwu Lun was only a piece with a will of its own. All he could decide was the road ahead of him. This journey to Chang'an was precisely to leap up and become a player — only then would he be qualified to move the pieces. And so this war…

"You fight yours."

"I'll fight mine!"

…

PS: A bit late, sorry. Chapter 3 at 18:00.