Chapter 258: Adrift

Faced with Diwu Biao's impatient urging to take the throne, Diwu Lun was not surprised. He finished writing what was in hand before looking up: "Is that all?"

"Exactly." Diwu Biao had expected Diwu Lun to decline three times and yield three times; he never imagined the man would neither refuse nor yield.

Diwu Lun only smiled and said: "Since we are family, I'll ask directly — is this something you thought of alone, or do the others think the same?"

"I thought of it alone." Diwu Biao was eager to claim credit, but realized his mistake the moment the words left his mouth and hurriedly explained: "The other troops don't know, but within the clan, young and old alike, everyone says in private that after the Liu and the Wang, it is now the Diwu clan's turn to sit upon all under Heaven! It's just that they are timid. I alone have the lord's interests wholly at heart, and so I speak plainly."

The clansmen had earned no small merit in seizing Weibei; their enthusiasm for urging the throne was hardly surprising. If Diwu Lun soared to the heavens in one leap, they would be imperial relatives, kin to the emperor.

In Diwu Biao's imagination, wouldn't everyone get enfeoffed as a marquis for fun when the time came? Nothing too grand — one title per branch. Those like the Sixth, Fourth, and Third branches, who had contributed nothing, could be fobbed off with a viscount or baron title. But someone like him, Diwu Biao, who had rendered great service and could stand shoulder to shoulder with Wan Xiu and young Geng, might even become a duke someday!

Yet their aspirations differed from Diwu Lun's. This time, overriding all objections to enter the Pass, what Diwu Lun wanted was the true name of having slain Wang Mang, not the hollow name of proclaiming himself emperor.

Did he have ambition, you ask? Of course he did. But to receive the realm's filth — that is to be master of the altars of soil and grain; to receive the realm's ill fortune — that is to be king of all under Heaven.

One should become the true master of all under Heaven through campaigning and governing, not rush to pin a title on oneself and then expect the eight directions to bow their heads and submit. That would be a monkey wearing a cap, and with the capital occupied, every power would rise up together to attack.

Diwu Lun understood. He only said: "A meal must be eaten one mouthful at a time."

"It has only been a few days since we drove Wang Mang out. Our foundation is not yet stable, and people's hearts are not yet won. There is no rush in this matter."

Diwu Biao had just begun to feel disappointed when he heard Diwu Lun add: "But having no formal title all along is also not appropriate. When the time is right, proclaiming kingship is something we can consider."

Diwu Biao was instantly overjoyed again. A king was not bad either. And since Diwu Lun did not tell him to keep it secret, Diwu Biao, that big mouth, was sure to spread the word through the entire camp within a single afternoon.

This was precisely the effect Diwu Lun wanted. Rebellion was a venture of enormous risk, and everyone pursued high returns. Many who followed him in running and fighting did so to cling to the dragon's scales and attach themselves to the phoenix's tail — to succeed and achieve their ambitions. If the leader had no title or rank, let alone the men below, some would grow disappointed and their loyalty would waver.

Even turn to ambition.

But Diwu Lun had not specified when or where he would proclaim kingship. Using Diwu Biao's mouth to let the men below know he had the idea, and to settle their hearts a little, was enough.

Remember: proclaiming kingship is a means to rally hearts, not the end.

Compared to hollow titles, what concerned Diwu Lun more now was the army's condition in Chang'an. Yet from Diba Jiao, who had been ordered to settle and oversee the troops, Diwu Lun heard hardly any good news.

It summed up in one line: the officers and soldiers in Chang'an city had all gone adrift with pride.

Diba Jiao reported: "Although the common soldiers are restrained by military law and dare not openly plunder, after the house confiscations, many Majors have begun leading troops to fight over and move into the vacated courtyards of the Northern Watchtower district, each vying to outdo the other."

"And bribery runs even more rampant. The old officials of the Xin and the minor clerks of the wards and hamlets heap flattery upon the military officers, sending gift after gift."

The rotten head had fled, but the rotten body remained. Even with a good head swapped in, the tainted blood of two centuries of accumulated ills, never replaced, still remained — and it would still be corroded.

The originally rather simple eight hundred officers and clerks, once they entered the capital, could hardly avoid contamination. They could not withstand sugar-coated bullets, to say nothing of the even simpler common soldiers. But if they were withdrawn, to whom could the defense of Chang'an be entrusted? The surrendered troops and officers?

Diba Jiao added: "Now the officers and clerks in the army are all quite arrogant, saying that having followed the Grand General to seize Chang'an is tantamount to having seized all under Heaven. The other regions can be pacified by a mere proclamation, and the Nine Provinces will bow their heads and press their ears."

"Because they do not know how vast all under Heaven truly is."

Diwu Lun had not been idle studying maps these days. The territory in his hands: to the east, Wei Cheng plus Shouliang — one and a half commanderies — with which contact was now lost, and he did not know whether Ma Yuan had begun moving against Henei according to plan.

And to the west, theoretically the Liewei, Jingwei, and Guangwei commanderies around Chang'an had all been seized. Three commanderies taken in under ten days — fast enough, right? In reality, even in his home commandery of Liewei, the majority of counties were controlled by powerful local clans, merely responding in name. Today they could raise your banner; tomorrow they could raise someone else's. It was only a matter of hastily stitching a flag.

Yet few men were as self-aware as he was. Even the generals had gone adrift.

"The day before yesterday, just after pay was issued, they came one after another begging for battle. This one said he would go take Hongnong; that one said he would go seize Longyou. There were even those who petitioned to strike Luoyang, to strike Hanzhong, to capture Wang Mang alive and present him…"

Clearly, this bunch had grown so arrogant they were floating in the sky, thinking themselves invincible under Heaven. But Diwu Lun did not refuse outright. He still wanted to test whether he could seize the passes around Guanzhong in one sweep, giving himself more room to maneuver.

So yesterday, the second day of the sixth month, the day after Diwu Lun distributed the gold ingots, he dispatched the greater part of his forces.

Assistant General Geng Yan led seven thousand troops west, toward Fufu Commandery — the area of later Baoji — with the final objective being Long Pass. Longyou was not expected for now, but Long Pass had to be taken.

Assistant General Wan Xiu led six thousand troops northeast. Grand Governor Tian Kuang of Shifu was Diwu Lun's first potential enemy in Guanzhong. This man was extremely capable and held the hearts of both the people and the soldiers of Shifu. And Puban Ford, which lay under his control, was also, according to the original plan, the obstacle to taking Hedong and opening communications with Wei territory.

Deputy General Peng Chong set out directly from Hongmen, leading five thousand troops east to seize Yifu Commandery in eastern Guanzhong — the area around Mount Hua, Huayin, and the Capital Granary. The old Hangu Pass was also there. Unfortunately, during the time of Emperor Wu of Han, the pass was relocated, and Hangu was moved east to the edge of Luoyang, a full thousand li from Chang'an. It was now probably under the control of the Xin Dynasty's Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang. As for the old Hangu Pass, it was laughable: abandoned for many years, Wang Mang deemed it one of the Four Olds of the Qin era and had it torn down!

After dispatching these three routes, Diwu Lun was left in the awkward position of having no great generals to use.

Diwu has no great generals — vanguard commanders will do.

But Diwu Ba was advanced in years, and Diwu Lun did not feel easy sending him on a long, exhausting journey. Diwu Biao was still in Weibei at the time. So he selected Zheng Tong, an old hand of the Boar-Rush Braves who had served for several years in Linqu Township, and appointed him Colonel. He ordered him to lead four thousand troops southeast, take Lantian, and then probe Yao Pass. As everyone knew, Wu Pass was the southeastern gateway to Guanzhong. However, within Wu Pass, in the Lantian valley, there was also a Yao Pass. The two were like lips and teeth, both under the jurisdiction of the Right Unit, Hongnong.

The Garrison Cavalry Battalion previously stationed at Lantian had fled south with Diwu Lun's old nemesis Kong Ren. The army advisor Feng Yan dismissed them lightly: "The Garrison Cavalry Battalion and the Grand Governor of the Right Unit will soon cut off Kong Ren's head and come to surrender."

But Ren Guang thought it was not so certain.

"Southeast of Hongnong and Wu Pass lies Nanyang. Those men — they have another choice!"

Indeed, if Hongnong surrendered to the Greenwood, then matters would become truly troublesome.

Thus, over half the troops had been taken away. Adding the five thousand men stationed in Weibei, Diwu Lun had only a little over ten thousand men at hand, firmly tethered by Chang'an city.

He did not want to conscript for now. The greatest difficulty was not a shortage of troops, but a shortage of officers. Many men whose ability only suited them to be Company Commanders or Majors, leading five hundred or a thousand men, had already become Colonels. Could you expect them all to become generals overnight?

Diwu Lun's power was now a giant with feet of clay. The head was gold — he at least was not yet muddled or swollen with pride. The chest was silver — Wan Xiu and the others were still fairly reliable. The trouble was that trusted civil officials were too few; the rule over the three commanderies and one city was nominal, effectively free-range grazing. The belly and waist were iron — the eight hundred officers and clerks, though hard and rigid, were easily corroded by long soaking in a nest of soft pleasures. The legs were copper — the forty thousand soldiers' actual combat strength was not great, and they were prone to going soft. As for the feet, the foundation of rule, they were made of mud, and sinking deeper by the day.

Conquering the realm is hard; governing it is harder. Diwu Lun felt this deeply. Merely digesting the capital and a few commanderies had already exceeded the capacity of his organization. For a time, he was stretched thin. It seemed the measures to recruit worthy talents must be implemented immediately.

Diwu Lun also reflected: "Perhaps my expectations were too high?"

He did not want to be like Wang Mang, merely changing the dynasty's name and leaving everything else as before, with the new regime thoroughly rotten before it even opened for business.

A man is destined to die, but one cannot just muddle through the days; one must always try to strive in the direction one believes is good. By the same logic, for a regime, the difficulty of escaping the cycle of historical dynasties and the certainty of destruction after a few centuries is no reason to now feed on its dregs and sip its lees.

And by the next day, the fourth of the sixth month, the reports trickling back from the periphery proved that Diwu Lun had indeed expected too much of his generals and soldiers…

"Colonel Zheng Tong, blocked at Yao Pass, has lost several hundred men. He begs the Grand General's forgiveness."

…

After hearing the report, Diwu Lun was quite dejected. Zheng Tong had actually assaulted Yao Pass with four thousand men. And how many defended the pass? Including the Garrison Cavalry Battalion, perhaps as many as five thousand.

Assaulting a pass with fewer men than the defenders, without siege equipment, and with not a single man from officer to soldier having any experience in storming fortifications — it would be a ghost if they could take it. It was just that taking Chang'an had gone so smoothly that his men thought every place would fall without a fight.

"Order him to withdraw to Lantian to rest and regroup, and await reinforcements."

Diwu Lun ordered Diwu Biao to lead four thousand men south to support Zheng Tong and bolster the army's strength. He personally gave them strict instructions face-to-face, telling them on no account to rashly assault the pass again.

"If Hongnong cannot be persuaded to surrender, I fear I will have to campaign personally on this southeastern front." Diwu Lun had no great generals left at hand and felt a headache coming on. But in the present circumstances, if he left Chang'an, without his restraining presence, the troops garrisoned there would probably give him a big surprise immediately!

Zheng Tong's case was still a minor setback, but another piece of news was truly vexing.

"General Peng marched a hundred li a day and reached Huayin."

That was fast!

But Diwu Lun grew even more worried. Peng Chong had previously been ordered to garrison Xinfeng and Hongmen and watch the rear route; he had not been able to cross the Ba River and enter Chang'an with the rest. His merit was comparatively small, and now he was a bit impatient. After receiving his orders, he had rushed east in haste.

Sure enough, barely half a day later, word came back from the front: Peng Chong had been ambushed by Tian Kuang below Mount Hua and returned in crushing defeat!

The Colonel's camp and Mount Hua are separated only by the Wei River. Worse still, the supply boats were already under Tian Kuang's control. Peng Chong had advanced too fast; his column stretched long and thin through the Mount Hua valley, and he walked right into Tian Kuang's trap — a replay of the Qin–Jin battle at Yao. He lost more than half his troops and fled in disarray back to Zheng County (Hua County, Shaanxi).

Diwu Lun was so furious his lungs nearly burst. His men were also clamoring that Peng Chong should be stripped of command — or even executed on the spot!

But Diwu Lun could only leave Peng Chong to hold Zheng County. He didn't have a single man to send as a replacement, and if he frightened Peng Chong now…

"I can rebel against Wang Mang — can't Peng Chong rebel against me?" Diwu Lun never believed in loyalty without cause.

Tian Kuang, however, did. He even wrote a letter bitterly denouncing Diwu Lun for betraying the Emperor and being disloyal to the state.

"It seems the Hot-Spring Marquis is dead set on being a loyal leftover of the Xin."

The opposite of Peng Chong was a certain fellow Diwu Lun wished would move faster.

"Where has General Wan reached?"

"He has taken Gaoling County and is about to arrive at Yueyang."

Wait — that pace was barely thirty li a day. Diwu Lun scratched his head: Wan Xiu was simply too cautious. Now that the intelligence was all coming together, he understood: Tian Kuang had played a trick, sending men west of the Luo River to make a show of force, making Wan Xiu think his main strength was there, so he advanced with extreme care.

One too fast, one too slow — the two armies that should have been able to support each other had become disconnected.

Tian Kuang seized that opening, rushed his troops south across the Wei River, and caught Peng Chong completely off guard.

"A pity, truly a pity." Diwu Lun deeply regretted that Tian Kuang had become his enemy — and regretted even more that when his pig of a teammate had been exposed, he had been forced to rise up, which caused Tian Kuang, who had nearly been lured into the capital, to turn back halfway upon hearing the news. Now the man had become a dagger at his elbow.

Summing up all three columns, each had its own problems. A strategy set in advance loses its meaning when the details go awry; in the end, everything still depends on the commanders' judgment in the moment.

Every time he met a setback, every time things fell short, Diwu Lun truly wished he could take the field himself and micromanage for them!

The only one who never gave him a moment's worry was young Geng, off to the west.

"General Geng and the Yue Cavalry Battalion have passed Huaili (Zhouzhi) and taken Wugong County."

Marching seventy or eighty li a day — neither fast nor slow. But what stood before Geng Yan was an entire Fufei Commandery, neither enemy nor friend. To fight or not to fight — the order had to come from Diwu Lun.

Diba Jiao was now helping Diwu Lun coordinate the various armies, relaying orders up and intelligence down. He handed over an urgent report from the west: "The Chencang gallant Lü Wei was promoted by Wang Mang to Commandery Administrator of Fufei. After the Grand General raised his banner, Lü Wei also raised his in response and seized Chencang and other places. Now Lü Wei has sent word that he recently received a proclamation from Longyou, and he begs the General to read it."

Diwu Lun unfolded it and glanced at it — then burst out laughing despite himself. It seemed that while he had been stirring up trouble in Chang'an, others had not been idle either.

"The Wei clan of Tianshui's proclamation against Wang Mang!"

And the proclamation's opening, its very premise — like the Spring and Autumn Annals opening with "In the first year, spring, the royal first month" — used a reign title to declare the stance of the Wei clan and the powerful families of Longyou.

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"First year of Hanfu, bingxu day of the fifth month!"

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PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.