Chapter 259: The Western Liang Army

On the night of the fourth day of the sixth month, Feng Yan, who had just returned to Chang'an from Duling after arranging for his family to move to Weibei, was summoned by Diwu Lun to the camp.

Entering the main tent, he saw that Diba Jiao was also there, while Ren Guang was busy organizing relief grain distribution with Song Hong and Zhang Luo, working from dawn till dusk and now rarely seen.

Diwu Lun beckoned to Feng Yan. "Jingtong, come, let us appreciate this text together."

Only then did Feng Yan see the Longyou Wei clan's denunciation of Wang Mang. The date of issue was likely the twenty-eighth of the fifth month — the day before Diwu Lun crossed the Ba River, the very night the Venus-entering-Taiwei celestial omen appeared.

He immediately thought: At that time, Longyou may already have learned that the Grand General had raised troops at Hongmen, but our army's denunciation, lacking such brief news, traveled slowly and likely had not yet reached Longyou, correct?

"It must be so." Diwu Lun pointed to the phrases above. "The Wei clan were also outside allies arranged by Liu Xin. They had long harbored the intent to oppose Wang Mang and had already cut off the Long Pass road. Knowing I had risen in arms, and with Liu Xin fleeing west and arriving, they thus rebelled."

Because the two sides could not communicate at the time, they too had cobbled together a denunciation.

The opening listed the participants in the revolt: "Han General-in-Chief Wei Ao, Central Rampart General Liu Xiu, White Tiger General Wei Cui, General of the Left Wei Yi, General of the Right Yang Guang, Anzhong General Liu Long, and others — in all, thirty-one generals of our alliance, sixteen surnames, reverently obeying the Dao of Heaven, rising to aid the Liu ancestral line."

The three outstanding men of the Wei clan need no introduction. Wei Ao was an old acquaintance, but the true local power was his uncle, Wei Cui. This man was renowned throughout Longyou and could rally a hundred men with a single call.

The Central Rampart General Liu Xiu listed after them was none other than old Liu Xin, who had cast aside the title of State Preceptor and adopted his official title from the Han.

"Do you know who this Yang Guang is?" Diwu Lun recalled — wasn't this Emperor Yang of Sui? Had he also transmigrated?

"Yang Guang is a powerful magnate from Shanggui in Longxi, a great house with thousands of retainers." Feng Yan said, "The Wei of Tianshui and the Yang of Longxi — when these two families unite, Longyou takes them as its leaders. That is why they could bring sixteen surname magnates into the alliance."

So it was merely a coincidence of names. These magnate armed forces, gathered together with a motley assortment of others, gave the Longyou faction a military strength already rivaling Diwu Lun's forty thousand — enough to sustain them at least until the autumn harvest.

Moreover, the magnates of Longyou were not comparable to those of Guanzhong or Wei. The Han dynasty's good-family cavalry, who had battered the Xiongnu and opened up the Western Regions, were drawn primarily from the six commanderies of Longyou. These fierce men could be summed up in four words: brimming with martial virtue!

This was also why Diwu Lun had dispatched his trump card, young Geng, to the west. In the present situation, should the two sides become hostile, the threat from the Wei clan if the Western Liang troops marched on the capital would be even greater than that from Tian Kuang in the east.

As for the last name on the list, "Anzhong General," Diwu Lun looked toward Diba Jiao. "Jizheng, this must be Liu Yuanbo, who was exiled to the Western Sea with you a few years ago?"

Diba Jiao had told Diwu Lun that when the Western Sea was overrun by the Qiang, he had fled to Hexi, while Liu Long had fled to Longyou and become a retainer of the Wei clan — and so was now dragged into the revolt with them.

Liu Long's grandfather had been a Han imperial clansman who was the first to oppose Wang Mang at the end of the Han. His entire family was slaughtered, leaving him the sole orphan. The Wei clan's use of this name was exceedingly shrewd.

Diba Jiao laughed. "Knowing Liu Long's temperament — he loves to blush — it may well have been he who actively urged the Wei clan to raise troops. Liu Long has always possessed the talent of a general and is indeed quite fierce and valiant. When we were in Western Sea Commandery, had it not been for him, I would nearly have died at the hands of the Qiang."

The lengthy discourse that followed could be skimmed — it was essentially proclaiming their side's righteousness and denouncing Wang Mang's crimes: poisoning Emperor Xiaoping, usurping his throne; forging heavenly mandates, fabricating talismans; making land into royal fields, forbidding its sale and purchase... in any case, all the standard tropes of a denunciation, a wholesale repudiation of the Xin's every act.

The final section expanded their claimed momentum: "Without, we have over two million troops from east of the mountains, who have already pacified Qi and Chu, subdued Shu and Han, settled Wan and Luo, our awe-inspiring mandate spreading in all directions, proclaiming our influence to the Central Peak." Such exaggeration — they had probably counted the Greenwood and Red Eyebrows among them. With a hundred thousand troops one can proclaim a million; pacifying one commandery one can proclaim the nine provinces of the realm. Before a regime goes public, it must trumpet and bluster. And don't scoff — some people might actually believe it.

The Wei family had even counted Diwu Lun as an ally: "Within, General Diwu responds, holding Hongmen, guarding Hangu, pressing upon Chang'an."

But when they raised their banner, they likely did not understand Diwu Lun's intentions, so their every word invoked "following the old institutions of Emperor Gaozu, cultivating the bequeathed virtue of Emperor Xiaowen." They had even erected a temple to Han Gaozu in Longyou, declaring themselves subjects and performing sacrifices, using spirit ways to establish their teachings.

After reading it, Diwu Lun asked Feng Yan, "Jingtong, what do you think of this text?"

Feng Yan declared without modesty, "Far inferior to mine."

Only then did Diwu Lun move his hand, revealing the signature hidden at the end. "This was written by Liu Xin."

Liu Xin was the paramount scholarly authority of the realm. Feng Yan immediately deflated and coughed. "Liu Zijun alone might perhaps match me, but the Grand General's denunciation was truly the posthumous work of Master Ziyun combined with my own. Ziyun's literary brilliance — since the Han, only Jia Yi and Sima Xiangru can be mentioned in the same breath. Our two brushes combined naturally far surpass Liu Zijun."

"What's more, Liu Xin was originally a chief architect of Wang Mang's usurpation of the Han, enfeoffed as a duke among the Four Supports. Now he has turned around to once more proclaim the restoration of the Han, retracing his steps. How can the words of such a fickle old traitor convince anyone?"

Having firmly committed to Diwu Lun, Feng Yan now began to verbally and textually excoriate the Han-restoration faction, drawing a clear line. But the present situation was not optimistic. Their denunciation could indeed rally those intent on founding a wholly new regime around Diwu Lun, yet for those magnates who merely wanted to muddle through, its appeal was actually inferior to the Wei clan's denunciation.

"In truth, the most interesting part of this denunciation lies in those scant two words at the very opening."

Diwu Lun pointed out the crux of the matter, a look of amusement on his face.

"Why did the Wei clan and Liu Xin not use the Greenwood Gengshi reign name?"

"Why the incongruous 'First Year of Han Restoration'?"

While Diwu Lun was vexed by the sudden occupation of the capital and the inability of his official ranks to keep pace, Wei Ao was also fretting at Long Pass in Tianshui.

But the reason Wei Ao fretted was that, though nominally acclaimed as "General-in-Chief," the one truly calling the shots was his uncle, the great gallant of Longyou, Wei Cui!

Wei Cui, like a certain gallant of Nanyang who day and night yearned to revolt — Liu Bosheng — had been contemplating opposition to the Xin for more than a year or two. He believed that Wang Mang's repeated defeats in external campaigns proved the Xin was utterly worthless. Moreover, the court largely employed Confucian scholars and imperial clansmen while increasingly alienating the good-family sons of the six commanderies. The annual quota of Lang guards for palace duty was not generously allotted to them, and there was even talk of moving the capital to Luoyang. Should that happen, the sons of the six commanderies would only grow ever more marginalized.

Thus he secretly communicated with various heroes and recruited fugitives as his retainers — men such as Liu Long and others.

When Wang Mang dispatched a great army east on campaign, Wei Ao fled home and told him of Liu Xin's plan, adding that Diwu Lun might also be involved. Wei Cui, seeing that Guanzhong was now empty, could endure no longer and in late May agitated to raise troops.

At this time, Wei Ao still harbored no great ambitions and tried to dissuade his uncle: "War is a calamitous affair. If we fail as Zhai Yi did, what crime have our clansmen committed?"

But Wei Cui's mind was made up. On the twenty-fifth of the fifth month — the very day Diwu Lun made his move — this impatient man led his clansmen and local partisans, several thousand strong, in revolt. Relying on his subordinate Liu Long and others, he infiltrated the Tianshui capital and killed the Xin dynasty Grand Governor of Zhenrong Commandery. In a matter of days, he had seized an entire commandery.

He then contacted the Longxi magnate Yang Guang. Thirty-some men of sixteen prominent surnames from the two commanderies gathered in council. It happened that old Liu Xin had fled to Longyou and informed them of the situation within the passes. The two sides struck an immediate accord, swore a blood oath of alliance, and decided that Liu Xin would draft the denunciation and that one man should be established as commander-in-chief to unify their hearts.

Liu Xin knew he could not serve as the figurehead, so he vigorously backed his old subordinate Wei Ao. Wei Cui, for his part, felt that his eldest nephew had always enjoyed a good reputation and was well-versed in the classics; though somewhat indecisive in action, having him as the nominal leader was no different from himself. Yang Guang of Longxi had married his younger sister to Wei Ao, so he too had no objection.

With the three parties in accord, they jointly acclaimed Wei Ao as General-in-Chief!

Yet there were few matters on which Wei Ao could truly have the final say. After they formally allied and raised troops, all the counties of Tianshui and Longxi had raised their flags in response. The various families pooled their forces, gathering a total of forty thousand soldiers. It was time to expand outward, but internally, a great divergence had arisen over the future path.

Liu Xin and Liu Long were single-mindedly set on fighting their way back to Chang'an to support Diwu Lun in exterminating Wang Mang. Wei Cui and Yang Guang, however, wished to strike north, to attack Anding Commandery, still held by Wang Mang's cousin Wang Xiang — to first unify Longyou and consolidate their own position before anything else.

Wei Ao, caught in the middle, found it hard to please anyone. In the end, he could only smooth things over and offer a suggestion: "Why not first seize Xiao Pass and Long Pass?"

Xiao Pass was the northern gateway to Guanzhong, and Long Pass its western gateway. If they could capture them, sallying forth from Xiao Pass would allow them to advance on Anding. And by severing the defile of Long Slope, the Longyou forces could advance to attack the Yong region of Guanzhong, or retreat and use the terrain to hold off ten times their number, shutting the gate and standing firm.

The assembly adopted this proposal. Thus Wei Cui and Yang Guang, with twenty thousand troops, fiercely assaulted Xiao Pass and engaged Wang Xiang, while Wei Ao, leading generals such as Liu Long and ten thousand magnate troops, seized Long Slope, whose garrison had fled.

Long Slope — its nine switchbacks, none know how many thousand spans high. Those wishing to ascend require seven days to cross, and the wind and snow at its highest point only thaw in the fifth month. It was now the sixth month, yet it remained exceedingly cool, the scenery utterly unlike Guanzhong: on the high ridges stood groves of low, gnarled birch forests, and vast grasslands like emerald waves blanketing the entire Long Mountain. Herdsmen in simple garb drove great herds of galloping fine horses.

The Wei troops, holding the high ground and the initiative, began writing letters to demand the surrender of Lü Wei, who held Chencang City in Fusui Commandery.

Lü Wei, however, who commanded several thousand troops, was a slippery fellow. He replied that he had simultaneously received denunciations from both Diwu Lun and the Wei clan and did not know whom to obey.

Only then did Wei Ao learn that Chang'an had already fallen, that Wang Mang had fled. He examined the content of Diwu Lun's denunciation and inwardly groaned — this was trouble.

"Diwu Boyu's denunciation contains not a single word about restoring the Han. Could it be that he harbors other intentions?"

If so, should they press further east, would they meet Diwu Lun's subordinates in armed conflict?

On the fourth day of the sixth month, three thousand cavalry of the Changshui Encampment, fleeing from Guanzhong, arrived at Long Slope and knocked at the pass, weeping bitterly.

They were all Qiang and Hu people from the various dependent states of Longyou, though their dress and speech no longer differed greatly from those of the Central Plains. With Wang Mang in flight, they too had withdrawn west from Weinan. They said there was no foothold left for them in Guanzhong and they were unwilling to accept Diwu Lun's offer of surrender. All kowtowed, begging to be allowed to return to their native villages.

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The men looked at one another, debating whether to open the pass and let them in, suspecting a trick. Then they saw an ugly scholar, draped in a sheepskin coat, emerge from among the Changshui Hu cavalry and shout up at the pass: "Jimeng, I have brought you three thousand Changshui Hu cavalry — all men of Longyou, your own countrymen. With them, you can achieve hegemony. Why do you hesitate and keep the pass shut?"

It was none other than Fang Wang, a Confucian scholar of Pingling whom Wei Ao had once tried to recruit. Wei Ao was now in desperate need of a strategist to offer counsel. Overjoyed, he adopted Fang Wang's advice, had the Changshui Hu cavalry dispersed and admitted through Long Pass, warmly entertained the Changshui Colonel, and appointed him Assistant General, intending to digest this armed force and make it a trump card under his own command.

"At last, Zhanzhi has arrived." Wei Ao bowed deeply toward Fang Wang.

Fang Wang had already seen the Wei clan's manifesto on his westward flight. Now, stroking his beard, he smiled and said, "I suspect the reason the General chose 'First Year of Han Restoration' rather than 'First Year of Gengshi' is that he feels the outcome between the Greenwood's Gengshi Han Emperor and the Xin's Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi is still uncertain."

Wei Ao nodded. "Exactly. At the time, I considered that if Wang Yi won, Gengshi would collapse. Though we still don't know the result in the east, Diwu Lun has already seized Chang'an, and Wang Mang has fled — the situation has changed…" If Gengshi ultimately lost, using their era name would be foolish. Han Restoration was different: as long as the man who took the realm was surnamed Liu, it could be justified either way.

Until this moment, Wei Ao still harbored no great ambition to advance. But Fang Wang said, "Though the situation has changed, the great tide of the realm honoring the Liu clan and restoring the Han will not change. Diwu Lun fails to grasp this fate; I see him as merely a vanguard for a king, blocking powerful enemies for you gentlemen in the Passes. The Wei clan's Western Liang army, on the other hand, has a greater chance to achieve the deeds of the Duke of Zhou and the Duke of Shao!"

"In the world to come, there will be countless who usurp titles, but only one man is truly qualified to inherit the Great Han!"

Fang Wang had his carriage drawn in. "I have brought not only the Chang River Hu cavalry, but also a great gift for the General!"

"The Han dynasty's legitimate Crown Prince."

As the carriage curtain was lifted, the young Liu Ruzi, gnawing on a cooked pig's shoulder and smeared with grease all over his body and hands, stared blankly at Wei Ao, who was slightly bent over outside, peering in at him.

"Liu Ying!"

……

PS: Tomorrow I'll make up the chapter I owed from New Year's Eve.