Chapter 283: Borrowing a Sword

"Diwu Lun has forgotten favors and betrayed righteousness!"

"Indeed! If we had not raised troops in response, could he have taken Weibei so easily and frightened Wang Mang into fleeing?"

"Now he has proclaimed himself king and handed out offices, yet we have not received a single post or rank. This is truly outrageous!"

There were indeed plenty of people dissatisfied with Diwu Lun's appointments — foremost among them the former Western Han marquises from his home county of Liewei, led by Marquis of Xiaoxiang Xiao Yan and Fan Zhu. They had gathered again at Changping Lodge, complaining endlessly to Wang Yuan.

Back when Diwu Lun had sent Wang Long to stir them into action, these men had done no small amount of shouting and rallying along the banks of the Wei River!

Wang Yuan, for his part, had been granted the honored position of "Grand Mentor." Though it carried little real power, Diwu Lun at least treated him with considerable courtesy out of regard for his friendship with Diwu Ba. And Wang Yuan's nephew Wang Long had been made "Minister of Ceremonies," ranked among the Nine Ministers. Whatever else, the Qiongcheng Wang clan was now secure in this "State of Wei."

With their leader unwilling to step forward and make trouble, the strength of the other families was more than halved. Diwu Lun had not forgotten them, and knowing that Wang Long was too honest a lad to deceive anyone, he dispatched the "Minister of Visitors" Feng Yan — a man of glib tongue — to deal with this crowd.

"Gentlemen, gentlemen, hear a word from me!"

Feng Yan wore at his waist the green seal and silver cord marking the two-thousand-bushel rank, and with considerable self-satisfaction he pointed at the crowd and said, "You are all truly muddled!"

"Have you gentlemen not received the appointment edicts from the Yuanshu Emperor in Longyou?"

The men looked at one another. They had indeed received them. On his way east to Yueyang, Liu Gong had long since sent men to deliver the edicts. Commanderies and counties were the territory of the powerful local clans, their roots deep and broad. Even in his own home region, Diwu Lun could only post men to guard the passes; he could not reach into every village and hamlet, nor could he block all the appointment certificates.

Since he could not block them, he might as well let the double-dealing rats show themselves.

Feng Yan smiled. "You gentlemen must also know that the Yuanshu Emperor sent the seal and cord of Chancellor to the King of Wei!"

The seal and cord had plainly been sent first, and only afterward had Diwu Lun honored himself as king, but Feng Yan slyly reversed the sequence here, transforming the nature of the matter entirely — as if Longyou had already acknowledged Diwu Lun as king.

Nor did he mention that Diwu Lun had never accepted the seal. With Liu Gong under house arrest, one might easily think, on first hearing, that Diwu Lun was both King of Wei and Chancellor of Han!

Feng Yan spread his hands. "Since you gentlemen have already accepted marquisate seals from the Yuanshu Emperor, how could the King of Wei enfeoff you a second time? That would be a usurpation of prerogative! And since you have already received enfeoffments in the various counties south of the Wei, and the King of Wei has now withdrawn north of the Wei, the lands south of the Wei River lie empty — naturally, they are yours for the taking!"

"Truly?" Xiao Yan and the others were half believing, half doubting.

Feng Yan spread his hands again. "Of course. To my knowledge, since the great army withdrew, the powerful clans south of the Wei have also been frantically seizing land. That land is your property, gentlemen. Go early and you shall have it; go late and there will be none!"

At these words, those powerful clansmen with longer vision or smaller courage shrank back, but the short-sighted and eager ones had already rushed out of Changping Lodge in a huff, ready to lead their clan troops south to "receive" their fiefs. Wang Mang had banned land annexation for over a decade, especially strictly in Guanzhong, and it had nearly stifled them to death.

Wang Yuan, however, had little interest in this. He only asked Feng Yan cautiously, "Dare I ask you, sir — since the King of Wei neither submits to the Han nor has accepted the Han seal, what exactly does he intend?"

"The Han seal? Grand Mentor Wang, which Han do you mean?" Feng Yan countered with a cold smile. "At present there are at least three Hans standing side by side. To accept the seal of the Western Han means enmity with the Greenwood Han, and vice versa. The King of Wei merely wishes, in this age of chaos, to be a regional lord, preserving peace in Weibei and the Wei lands — that is all!"

"Grand Mentor Wang, which side do you stand on?"

On the side of the victor, of course. But in the present situation, no one could truly say which Han would win the realm — or whether the land would remain sundered for a long time to come. Wei Ao was a good friend, but Longyou was too far away. As for the Greenwood Han, Wang Yuan had no one to recommend him there. Looking left and right, it still seemed Diwu Lun was the more reliable.

Wang Yuan merely bowed his head and said, "Naturally, I stand with the King of Wei!"

He added with a smile, "I have heard that when the King of Wei's grandfather left Chang'an, he suffered the painful loss of a beloved dog. Now that the fighting has briefly stilled and weapons are laid aside, I have raised several fine hounds of the Hu lands and wish to present them to amuse His Majesty's grandfather. I venture to ask you, Lord Feng, to report on my behalf to the King of Wei that Wang Yuan is by no means of the same ilk as Xiao, Fan, and their sort!"

"Grand Mentor Wang is a man of understanding."

That "Lord Feng" sent Feng Yan floating on air, and he agreed to everything at once. When he returned to Yueyang, he found that Diwu Lun had summoned all the ministers for an emergency meeting — because two great matters had come from the south.

The first: the vanguard of the Greenwood Army had already appeared at Yao Pass!

"The second: the Greenwood force under Liu Jia attacked Hanzhong, won a response from the locals, and thereupon killed Grand Governor Wang Lin. Hanzhong has surrendered to the Greenwood Han."

At this news, Diwu Lun did not know whether he ought to grieve or rejoice.

"There are rumors that Wang Mang, too, has died amid the chaos of battle!"

"Is this truly Wang Mang's head?"

In the early seventh month, the Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan sat in the temporary palace "Huang Hall" in Wancheng, scrutinizing this severed head that had just been delivered from Hanzhong.

Seated beside Liu Xuan was the patriarch of the Chongling Liu clan, the State Elder Liu Liang. Liu Liang was a good-natured old man and could not bear to look, for he had always felt that Wang Mang had treated the Chongling imperial clan rather well. He had consistently advocated capturing Wang Mang and, as Shang Tang had banished Jie of Xia, sending him off to some remote place to be confined until he died on his own — there was no great need to execute him.

The others, however, were exultant. One man said, "It is real. Liu Jia says he pursued Wang Mang in Hanzhong and drove him to leap from a cliff. He died on the spot. His robes were torn to rags by the trees, but one can still see they were the imperial crown robes."

"Wang Mang was over sixty. This man is also over sixty, his hair completely white. And it is said that Wang Mang had a large mouth, a jutting chin, big eyes that were red-tinged, and a voice both booming and hoarse. This man is the same!"

"Fake." Li Tong, courtesy name Ciyuan, of the foremost Wancheng clan, the most knowledgeable man among the Greenwood high officials, took one look and declared with certainty that this was a decoy — a man who had willingly or under duress played the part, so that the real Wang Mang could escape.

"I have heard that Emperor Shun had double pupils, and Wang Mang also had double pupils. Yet this man's pupils are no different from an ordinary person's."

Li Tong then, as one might check a horse's age by its teeth, squeezed the dead man's cheeks to expose the gums. "Your Majesty, look at these teeth — severely worn. This is absolutely not a man who lived on fine silks and rich foods."

Liu Xuan, who had grown plump since becoming emperor, glanced at the delicacies laid before him — leopard fetus, orangutan lips, and the finest millet and rice — and said, "But We have heard that Wang Mang was always frugal, fond of coarse grains and even husks and chaff."

Opinions were now flying in all directions. Liu Jia had not managed to capture many of Wang Mang's personal attendants either, for most had either died on the road or perished alongside Wang Mang. Even the most important items — the imperial seal and cord — had vanished without a trace. The Son of Heaven's sword and the Emperor Shun dagger had likewise disappeared. The only piece of evidence sent along was the bronze prestige dipper said never to leave Wang Mang's side...

Liu Xuan examined this bronze prestige dipper, even hefting it in his hand. In the end, under the counsel of the Greenwood chieftain he trusted most, Zhu Wei, he made his decision.

"Wang Mang must die!"

Even if this head was fake, they would treat it as real! Liu Jia, Jia Fu, and the others were ordered to continue searching Hanzhong. At the same time, following the suggestions of his assembled men, Liu Xuan performed a ritual: the head was hung in the Wancheng marketplace. In imitation of King Wu executing King Zhou, he drew a bow and shot three arrows at it, then struck it several times with a "light Lü" blade. Finally, it was hoisted atop a white flagpole for public display, proclaiming that the Gengshi Emperor had completed the great work of slaying Wang Mang!

Whether compelled or of their own accord, upon hearing that Wang Mang was dead, the people of Wan, who had just endured half a year of siege by the Greenwood forces and been reduced to cannibalism, now surged out in droves. They cursed and spat upon "Wang Mang's" head, took it down to kick about like a football, and some even cut off the tongue of this days-old corpse and chewed and swallowed it.

Liu Xuan stood upon Huang Hall watching this scene, chewing a cooked tender ox tongue, and could only sigh with emotion. "If Wang Mang had not usurped the throne, he would not have come to this day."

One of his favored consorts, standing beside him, laughed and said, "If Wang Mang had not done so, how could Your Majesty have won the realm?"

Liu Xuan was greatly pleased and burst into hearty laughter. He then had the favored consort feed him another ox tongue from her own lips — unlike Diwu Lun, in his half year as emperor, he had already nearly filled out the ranks of the Six Palaces, Three Madames, Nine Concubines, Twenty-Seven Hereditary Consorts, and Eighty-One Imperial Wives.

Indeed, after the breaching of Wancheng and the great victory at Kunyang, the realm seemed unstoppably to throw itself into Liu Xuan's embrace. The heroes of Jingzhou and Yuzhou responded as one, each killing their provincial shepherds and commandery governors, proclaiming themselves generals, adopting the Gengshi reign name, and awaiting edicts of appointment. Within a mere month, this spread across the lands east of the passes. Every day, vast numbers of seals, cords, and edicts had to be sent out. This led to a shortage of metal for carving seals, and in some places they even used stone instead.

And Liu Xuan, with Wancheng as his capital, enfeoffed the Chongling imperial clansmen and all the generals without restraint — those made marquises numbered over a hundred!

Yet Liu Xuan also had an enormous vexation. The breaching of Wancheng — at which the Greenwood forces, unskilled in siege warfare, had long toiled without success — had been a hard battle fought by Liu Bosheng. On the other front, the earth-shaking battle of Kunyang had Liu Xiu, Bosheng's younger brother, as its greatest hero — though Liu Xiu insisted on placing Wang Feng and others above himself, once gold begins to shine, there is no concealing it.

Amid the laughter and cheer over Wang Mang's execution, Zhu Wei reported a matter to Liu Xuan: "Your Majesty, Liu Bosheng has a colonel under his command named Liu Ji. Half a year ago, when attacking Luyang, upon hearing of Your Majesty's accession, he was greatly defiant and spoke insolently. Now he has repeated those words. He said..."

"Said what?"

Zhu Wei, speaking for the attitude of many Greenwood chieftains who deeply feared and guarded against the Bosheng brothers, said, "Liu Ji declared: 'Those who first raised troops and planned this great enterprise were the Bosheng brothers. What is this Gengshi doing here?'"

"What audacity!" Though Liu Xuan was a puppet, he still had a temper of his own. Within the Greenwood Han, there were now three factions: the Bosheng brothers; the Chongling clansmen like Liu Liang and Liu Jia; and the Greenwood chieftains.

He had been raised to the throne purely as the result of the Greenwood chieftains overriding all opposition. The Chongling and Nanyang heroes did not submit to him — they submitted to Liu Bosheng. Now, half a year later, with the Bosheng brothers repeatedly winning great merit and their renown growing daily, these voices had begun to rise again.

"Do those people still expect Us to abdicate the throne to Liu Bosheng?" Liu Xuan was deeply vexed, but he also knew his own mediocrity — he could never match Liu Bosheng's ability to summon a hundred responses with a single call.

"Would it not be better to..."

Zhu Wei proposed a venomous scheme to Liu Xuan: "Take the occasion of summoning all the generals to Wancheng to discuss the next steps for sending troops to settle the realm. Hold a banquet in Huang Hall. Conceal loyal and brave men with blades and axes behind the curtains. When the Bosheng brothers arrive, let Your Majesty raise your jade pendant as the signal — then they shall burst forth together and hack those men into mincemeat! Thus shall future troubles be eliminated forever!"

……

Yet the next day, after the banquet ended, Liu Xuan returned to his temporary palace with a dark expression. Zhu Wei followed behind, thoroughly baffled:

"Your Majesty, at today's feast you clearly took Liu Bosheng's sword to examine it. Why did you not, at the moment he presented it, accuse him of plotting regicide and kill him on the spot?"

So this was their brilliant scheme: under the pretext of rewarding the troops, they would assemble the generals and officials, then Liu Xuan would strike up a conversation with Liu Bosheng, deliberately remarking on how unusual his sword was and asking to see it.

If Liu Bosheng refused, death.

If he took the sword, in the moment he bowed his head to unbuckle it, someone nearby would shout, "Liu Bosheng plots treason and regicide!" — death again.

Yet Liu Xuan, whether out of fear or a change of heart, held Liu Bosheng's sword in his hand after it was presented, but merely lowered his head and toyed with it for a long while without any reaction, driving the Greenwood chieftains to great anxiety.

They were capable of more than just such brilliant schemes. Zhu Wei was originally a country bumpkin, but in the half year since arriving in Nanyang he had become quite studious. After hearing some stories from the early Han, he actually wanted to reenact the Feast at Hong Gate. He signaled his accomplice Shentu Jian to present a jade pendant, hoping Liu Xuan would make up his mind sooner. Yet Liu Xuan still uttered not a word, and in the end actually laughed heartily and returned the sword to Liu Bosheng. Liu Yan took the sword and strode out, the crowd dispersed, and the matter was dropped.

Now, under Zhu Wei's questioning, Liu Xuan stammered wordlessly, looking utterly guilty, and only said: "Liu Xiu is still in Yingchuan and has not returned. If he learns of his brother's death and rallies the masses to rebel, what then?"

The others took him for merely weak and hesitant, secretly resenting Liu Xuan's incompetence, yet they could do nothing but wait for the next opportunity.

However, though Liu Xuan lacked great wisdom, he possessed the petty cunning of an ordinary man. He too had pondered: "Although the Greenwood chieftains have enthroned me, they do not truly submit to me — it is only to counterbalance Liu Bosheng. Once Liu Bosheng is dead, the Nanyang heroes will certainly be even more dissatisfied with me, and even within the Chongling clan, men like Liu Jia will turn away."

As far as Liu Xuan knew, Li Tong had married Liu Bosheng's youngest sister, and Liu Xiu, he had heard, was also negotiating marriage with Ma Wu's sister…

If these two died, the resentment would be too great.

By then, he would become the target of universal grievance, a true puppet at the mercy of the Greenwood generals. The temper of these crude military men was unpredictable — perhaps one day they might want to change emperors? Who could stop them then!

This was the reason for Liu Xuan's hesitation. There was another cause as well: when he had asked to borrow the sword for a look, Liu Bosheng had shown not the slightest wariness, but had unbuckled his sword and handed it over with complete openness, as though he had no concern at all that Liu Xuan might harm him. This made Liu Xuan somewhat ashamed.

In his youth, Liu Xuan had some friendship with Liu Bosheng and his brothers, and his relationship with Liu Xiu had been the closest. Seeing this, he could not bear it for a moment. If only Liu Bosheng did not covet the throne — ah, if only he were as humble and tactful as his younger brother Liu Xiu, how wonderful that would be…

In truth, Liu Bosheng was merely overconfident, thinking Liu Xuan weak and not worth deep concern. Liu Bosheng's mind was now wholly set on leading the great army to strike into Guanzhong, and he paid no heed to Liu Xiu's letters urging him to conceal his abilities and bide his time, requesting a posting to Runan or Huainan.

Yet Zhu Wei and the others were set on killing and would not let the matter rest. Just as they awaited the next opportunity, Li Song — whom Liu Xuan and the others had dispatched to Wu Pass to accept the surrender of Kong Ren and others, and incidentally to send scouts to probe the situation in Guanzhong — sent back a man with shocking news.

"Diwu Lun's great army has withdrawn from Weinan and yielded Chang'an, leaving only a small force to guard the palaces, proclaiming that they await the arrival of the true Son of Heaven."

"However, the heroes north of the Wei, bearing the seal and cord of the 'Yuantong Emperor,' have seized several counties and are now fighting the heroes south of the Wei, who have accepted Your Majesty's seal and cord!"

"The Yuantong Emperor?" This was the first time Liu Xuan had learned of affairs in the northwest, and he was momentarily dumbfounded. Which mountain hollow had this one sprung from!

Only after hearing the report did he realize that he himself was the country bumpkin. This Yuantong Emperor was none other than Liu Ying, the last Crown Prince of the Former Han, who had actually been acclaimed by the powerful clans of Longyou and Liu Xin, and had also been made a Son of Heaven of the Han!

The Greenwood chieftains and the Chongling Liu clan immediately erupted in uproar. Yet their denunciations of Liu Ying as a "usurper" lacked conviction, for compared to the Chongling line, descendants of a minor marquis under the King of Changsha, Liu Ying was the legitimate great-great-grandson of Emperor Xuan of Han. Had Wang Mang not usurped the Han, he was the one who should have succeeded!

The situation in Guanzhong was now extremely complicated. Diwu Lun occupied the land north of the Wei, his attitude unfathomable, while Fufeng Commandery and other places had already accepted the seal and cord of the "Western Han" and proclaimed themselves the orthodox line. This was openly defying the Gengshi regime!

Amid the clamor of ministers and generals, Liu Xuan, already deeply insecure about his own status, had no mind left for internal strife or killing the Liu Bosheng brothers. Only one thought remained in his heart.

"Exterminate them. This so-called Western Han must be crushed!"

Recalling the moment at the banquet days before, when he had borrowed Liu Bosheng's sword, a perfect plan began to take shape in Liu Xuan's mind.

Had not Liu Bosheng repeatedly broken through enemy lines and encircling forces, his valor surpassing the entire army, his sole desire to enter the Pass? Then let him enter!

Order Liu Bosheng to take his trusted troops and march west in full force, to seize Guanzhong, to attack Longyou. If Diwu Lun refused to submit to Gengshi and would not hand over the Empress Dowager of Xiaoping, Wang Yan, then let Liu Bosheng strike him down as well!

This was killing with a borrowed sword!

Borrow Liu Bosheng's sword to kill Liu Ying and destroy the Western Han, then find a way to borrow Diwu Lun's sword to kill Liu Bosheng!

And what Liu Xuan wished to borrow was not only the sword of the northwest, but also that of the northeast!

"Send a man to Yingchuan with an edict. Tell Liu Xiu he need not follow the Duke Who Stabilizes the State, Wang Kuang, in attacking Luoyang."

Liu Xuan lacked great wisdom, but he had petty cunning.

"For his merit at Kunyang, enfeoff Liu Xiu as Marquis of Wuxin. Order him, in his capacity as Bearer of the Gilded Mace, to take a few hundred men and go east on Our behalf to pacify the Liang lands, and to summon the Red Eyebrow Army to surrender!"

Though he felt somewhat sorry toward Liu Xiu, who had always treated him well and with full courtesy — well, to be an emperor, one must be ruthless!

In that moment, Liu Xuan was as fierce and ruthless as an owl.

"We shall borrow the sword of the Red Eyebrows' hundreds of thousands of mutinous soldiers to kill Liu Xiu!"

……

PS: Tomorrow's update at 13:00.