Chapter 281: No One Knows How Many Will Claim the Imperial Title

Zhao King Liu Lin sent an envoy to Yecheng — less to win over Geng Chun than to deliver an ultimatum. Handan and Yecheng lay less than a hundred li apart, reachable by chariot in a single day. War could break out at any moment.

And from what Geng Chun knew, with the news arriving that Diwu Lun had turned against Guanzhong and fought at Kunyang, the already hollowed-out Xin Dynasty regime in Hebei collapsed with a crash. The local powers no longer hid behind the scenes — they either killed or imprisoned the two-thousand-bushel officials, brought out their assorted Liu-surnamed marquises, and turned the tables to become masters once more, exactly as they had for the past two hundred years.

Among them Liu Lin was the strongest, holding the three commanderies of Handan, Guangping, and Julu, with a population reaching a million. He restored his old kingdom and called himself Zhao King, rallied the powerful families and his own clansmen, and gathered thirty thousand armored troops at Handan, eyeing Wei territory with hungry intent.

Ma Yuan had also discussed with Geng Chun a few days earlier: should they follow Diwu Lun's plan and seize Henei with the main army, or directly take on Handan? Geng Chun strongly urged Ma Yuan to choose the former.

"When our lord departed, he said: 'With Geng Boshan alone, Wei territory will not be lost.' Wenyuan, believe it or not — I, one man in Yecheng, am worth more than thirty thousand troops! I shall ensure Liu Lin dares not invade our borders. You may go south and expand without worry; leave the defense to me!"

Geng Chun of course knew why, before leaving, Diwu Lun had been so stubbornly insistent on a marriage alliance with him.

"His marriage tie with the Ma family was aimed not at the Ma clan, but at Ma Yuan, his father-in-law!"

By the same logic, Diwu Lun betrothing their young children in a childhood match was naturally because he had his eye on Geng Chun, his future in-law!

Diwu Lun knew the value of Geng Chun holding Yecheng — and Geng Boshan himself knew it even better.

"The Geng clan is the preeminent surname in Hecheng Commandery — the northern part of Julu."

"And I am on close terms with Hecheng's Grand Governor Pi Tong. Whether Hecheng leans toward us or away depends entirely on my family."

"As for the Zhending King Liu Yang, whose strength is no less than the Zhao King's — he is my own maternal uncle."

Marriages between the Liu-surnamed princes of Hebei and the great local clans were commonplace. Geng Chun's mother was a Liu, the elder sister of Liu Yang. Liu Yang had been Zhending King under the Former Han; Wang Mang stripped him of his royal title. Now he had rallied the three commanderies of Changshan, Zhending, and Zhongshan, claiming a hundred thousand troops — his strength, if anything, surpassing the Zhao King's.

And north of Hebei lay Shanggu Commandery, famed throughout the realm for its You Province shock cavalry, pressing right against the backs of Hebei's two Lius. The Xin Dynasty's Shuodiao Regional Chief, Geng Kuang, was also a distant kinsman of Geng Chun.

With these three layers of connections, even if Liu Lin very much wanted to swallow Wei territory while Diwu Lun was away, he had to weigh the matter carefully — courtesy first, force only after.

This suited Geng Chun's purposes perfectly. Wei territory had no spare troops to fight the Zhao King. If they were to fall out, it would have to wait until the eastern and western forces linked up at Hedong. So with the envoy, he could only feign compliance. Geng Chun had long been exchanging letters with the Zhending King Liu Yang, recounting his and Diwu Lun's "longing to restore the Han," figuring he could string them along for a few months first.

Geng Chun had already received the letter Diwu Lun sent by a roundabout route through Shang Commandery and Taiyuan. Their hidden cards seemed to be multiplying. He said to Du Wei: "Since Diwu Lun, Boyu, has risen against Wang Mang, it is naturally to restore the Han. He has already occupied Chang'an, protected the Empress Dowager, and cleansed the palace halls, waiting only for the true Son of Heaven to enter and dwell there."

To others listening, these words seemed perfectly natural.

But Geng Chun had originally thought the various Liu factions in Hebei merely wanted to raise the Gengshi banner and respond from afar. He had never expected that Liu Lin had yet another astonishing plan. So when, after three rounds of wine, the envoy Du Wei revealed it, Geng Chun was instantly astonished — or rather, delighted!

"You mean to say... Liu Ziyu, son of the Filial Cheng Emperor, is still alive in this world?"

"Great King, please believe me — Zhao and Wei, with their borders touching and news carrying between them, cannot both survive. There must be a battle!"

Upon learning that the Zhao King would join hands with Wei Commandery, Li Neng — the powerful Wuan clan leader whom Diwu Lun had expelled, who had fled to Handan to attach himself to Liu Lin — was filled with righteous fury. He kowtowed once more and urgently remonstrated.

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Liu Lin, however, shook his head emphatically. "If Wei territory had no Geng Chun, this Yecheng could be attacked at once, without hesitation."

But Diwu Lun had deliberately placed this man there, making the Zhao King wary of crushing the rat for fear of breaking the vessel. Just as Geng Chun had calculated, Liu Lin harbored a grand plan in his heart. If he wanted to draw the Zhending King, Hecheng Commandery, and Shanggu's Geng Kuang into his scheme, he had to treat Geng Chun with an amiable face. If he started a war outright, it was hard to say who would end up beset from front and rear.

He merely consoled Li Neng: "Geng Chun has agreed that in the future, the Wuan fields and iron mines will be returned to your family, and all lost property will be fully compensated. If Zhao and Wei are at peace, both benefit; if they fight, both are ruined."

A king cannot control another king — only an emperor can. The Zhending King Liu Yang had already agreed to jointly support Liu Ziyu as their banner, uniting all the Liu factions of Hebei — but the precondition was that Zhao and Wei must reconcile.

"And Diwu Lun has already taken Chang'an. Geng Chun guarantees that he too will present his territory registers and jointly honor Ziyu as Emperor!"

What was more, Diwu Lun now held Chang'an and the Filial Peace Empress Dowager — this made Liu Lin's heart stir considerably. The Liu Ziyu in his hands was, after all, a fake, but if he could obtain the Filial Peace Empress Dowager's acknowledgment, many more people would believe.

He recalled that when Feng Yan had come as envoy earlier, he too had said Diwu Lun's heart was set on restoring the Han. Though Diwu Lun had expelled Li Neng, he had not encroached in the slightest on the three minor-line Liu Lin kinsmen in Wei territory.

Compared to the enormous benefits of cooperating with Diwu Lun and Geng Chun, Li Neng's personal grievance was utterly beneath notice.

Moreover, Liu Lin believed their greatest enemy at present was still the Tongma bandits, who were rampaging across two provinces, had seized several commanderies in Bohai and Hejian, claimed numbers in the hundreds of thousands, and were growing ever stronger!

Liu Lin had already thought it through: with Diwu Lun at Chang'an blocking the Gengshi Green Han, and Geng Chun and Ma Yuan blocking the Red Eyebrows and the Xin Dynasty remnants, their "Northern Han" could develop at its leisure.

"Once we crush the Tongma and absorb their army, all lands north of Zhao and west of Liaodong will bend like grass before the wind. Then I shall hold the Son of Heaven to command the princes, and with the armored troops of Ji and You Provinces, gaze south upon the Central Plains!"

The day "Liu Ziyu" was to proclaim himself Emperor was set for the first day of the seventh month, but the location was not the Zhao Palace in Handan.

Because Wang Lang, exercising his old trade, had divined that "Hebei has the aura of a Son of Heaven, and the city of Hao, on the border of Changshan and Julu, is the most auspicious." Moreover, since this enthronement was led by the Zhao King and the Zhending King, it was better to choose a midpoint. So they shifted the army to Hao.

Because long ago, Liu Bang had lodged here during his northern campaign, the local Qianqiu Pavilion still had a regional Gao Temple with unextinguished incense, convenient for sacrificing to the ancestors. They also set up an altar at a place called "Wuchengmo."

Every major power in Hebei sent representatives. Geng Chun, however, used the excuse that "the Tongma have joined forces with the Five Towers bandits and are again raiding our commandery borders," and sent only his two younger brothers, Geng Zhi and Geng Su, to observe the ceremony. They were also nephews of the Zhending King Liu Yang, and upon arrival they immediately paid their respects to this Hebei powerbroker.

The Zhending King Liu Yang was in his forties, with a large fleshy tumor on his neck, reddening to purple. But Liu Yang felt no shame in it, for a fortune-teller had told him it was an auspicious omen. Tilting his neck, he accepted the Geng brothers' bows, then exchanged courtesies with the Zhao King Liu Lin, acknowledging the goodwill of shifting the army to Hao specifically for "Liu Ziyu's" ascension.

Liu Lin took the opportunity to raise a matter: "Though the Zhending King has no daughter, His Majesty has long heard that your niece, the Lady Guo, is gentle, virtuous, and versed in propriety. He wishes to take her as Empress and has asked me to act as matchmaker on his behalf. What does the Zhending King think?"

"My niece is young and frail, unversed in ceremony. To suddenly become Empress would be far too hasty."

Liu Yang, however, was noncommittal. Stroking his great tumor, he narrowed his eyes and looked at "Liu Ziyu," who was making his grand entrance, resplendent in the imperial crown and robes.

Say what you will — though "Liu Ziyu" was a fake, he was far better than his two "predecessors": the Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan, who had been so nervous at his ascension he didn't know what to do with his hands and feet, and the Yuantong Emperor Liu Ying, who had gone mad in public and bitten his ministers. And in bearing and ritual decorum, he was beyond comparison with the half-baked Hu-Han Emperor Lu Fang.

Every step and pause, every bow and halt, had been drilled over two long years within the Zhao King's palace, practiced day and night — who knew how much sweat had been shed.

The scene moved some white-haired Liu-surnamed marquises to wipe away tears. All sighed with emotion: "Never did we think we would see the majesty of Han rites again in our day!"

Even the Zhending King, who harbored doubts about his identity, nodded slightly. This one, at least, could hold his own on the public stage and deceive the majority.

The ceremony was much the same as those of the other Han claimants: burning a pyre to announce to Heaven, offering pure sacrifices to the Six Venerable Ones, gazing in worship to the host of spirits, and then issuing the ascension edict.

"Edict to the Regional Inspectors and Commandery Governors: We are Ziyu, son of the Filial Cheng Emperor. In former times, we suffered the calamity of the demon Empress Zhao, and thereafter Wang Mang usurped and murdered. Relying on those who knew fate to protect Our person, We dissolved Our form by the riverbanks and entrusted Our body to Zhao and Wei."

"Wang Mang stole the throne and incurred Heaven's wrath. Heaven's mandate protects the Han. Therefore did the Dong Commandery Governor Zhai Yi and the Yanxiang Marquis Liu Xin raise troops to campaign against him, moving between Hu and Han. Throughout all under Heaven, all know We have been hidden among the people. The many Lius of the Southern Peaks have been Our vanguard."

"We looked up and observed the celestial patterns, and thus arose here. On the renchen day of the seventh month, We assumed the throne at Hao. Auspicious vapors steamed forth, and timely rain was obtained. We have heard that in ruling a state, a son succeeds his father — this has never changed from ancient times to now. Liu Shenggong does not yet know of Us, and therefore temporarily holds the imperial title. All who raise righteous armies to assist Us shall have their lands divided and enjoy blessings passed to their descendants."

This was directly casting the Gengshi regime as "the vanguard clearing the way for the true king," and hoping they would renounce their imperial title of their own accord.

The ceremony concluded, the capital of this "Northern Han" was set, after discussion among the princes, at Julu City. Although Liu Lin was inclined to accept Liu Yang's suggestion and join hands with Diwu Lun and Geng Chun, he still kept a precaution against Wei territory. Handan was too close and unsafe; it was prudent to move the main base to Julu, which was easy to defend and hard to attack.

They also set the era name as "Sixing" — to make clear that Liu Ziyu was the true descendant of the Filial Cheng Emperor, and that the Great Han had, yet again, been restored!

The Zhending King, the Zhao King, and the Guangyang King continued their noble titles. Their combined fiefs totaled eight commanderies. And the several dozen Liu-surnamed marquises whom Wang Mang had deposed each regained their positions, each occupying a county and granted the office of Grand Master, filling the court.

Official titles were also set, based on those of Emperor Cheng of Han's time. Emperor Cheng too had reformed the system, once issuing an edict abolishing the General rank, making the Grand Marshal of Agile Cavalry simply the Grand Marshal, and the Imperial Counselor the Grand Minister of Works — together with the Chancellor, they were called the "Three Excellencies."

The Zhao King Liu Lin, as was only right, became Grand Marshal. The Zhending King Liu Yang was next, as Grand Minister of Works. The Guangyang King Liu Jie, who because of the great distance had sent only sons and nephews to attend, became Superintendent of the Imperial Household. Even Geng Chun and Ma Yuan were promised the positions of the Nine Ministers and enfeoffed as marquises.

The post of "Chancellor," however, was deliberately left vacant at the Zhao King's suggestion. The seal and cord were carved, and the envoy Du Wei was dispatched once more, taking a roundabout route through Taiyuan, to deliver the Northern Han's chancellor's seal to Diwu Lun, far away in Guanzhong!

And just as the "Northern Han" was noisily drumming and gonging its way into existence, Diwu Lun — who had just refused the seal of the "Western Han" chancellor — had also chosen the first day of the seventh month as the auspicious date to declare himself King of Wei!

Although Diwu Lun insisted that everything be kept simple, a ceremony was still necessary. It was to be held at the Qin palace in Yueyang City. The Seventh Biao donned the newly made ceremonial robes and prepared to set off. Though he looked like a monkey wearing a crown no matter what he wore, that didn't stop him from swaggering down the road. At the entrance to the alley, he ran into Diba Jiao. Brother Biao warmly hailed Old Eight to come along, but on the way, he suddenly posed a soul-searching question.

"Jizheng, tell me — for the King of Wei's official system, will we use the new system?"

"Or the Han system?"

…

PS: Woke up late, so this is a bit short.

(Chapter 2 at 13:00. Will be about an hour late.)

(Chapter 3 at 18:00.)