Chapter 286: The Pawn Crosses the River (End of Volume Two)

Cold sweat didn't just break out on Liu Xiu alone. When the Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan — who was preparing to tour north to Kunyang to inspect the remnants of the great battle a month ago and incidentally urge his armies to attack Luoyang — learned the contents of that letter from the informant Li Yi, he too was filled with regret!

"I knew Liu Xiu and Diwu Lun had a past, but I never imagined their relationship had reached the point of entrusting wife and children to one another?"

If that were truly the case, and Liu Xiu could mediate between them, then his scheme to make Liu Bosheng and Diwu Lun clash — letting tiger and wolf fight until both were exhausted — would become a joke. And because he had grown anxious after hearing of the Western Han's reestablishment, and Liu Bosheng had already requested several times to attack the Guanzhong region, Bosheng had already led his troops northwest before Liu Xuan's northern tour began. There was no way to stop him now!

The Greenwood chieftains suggested: "Your Majesty, why not first seize Liu Xiu and hold him as a hostage?"

Liu Xuan, ever indecisive, replied: "But I recall that although Liu Xiu and Bosheng are brothers, their private relationship is not good."

This was something Liu Xiu himself had spread after the Battle of Kunyang. Though Liu Bosheng disdained to do such a thing, after the battle Liu Xiu deliberately told others: "After this battle, Bosheng probably won't look down on me anymore."

Liu Xuan also remembered that in their youth at Chongling, Liu Xiu was taciturn and often mocked by Bosheng, who said his lot in life was to be a small landlord forever, watching others labor in the fields.

Compared to Liu Xiu, wouldn't it be more useful to take Bosheng's wife and son, who remained in Nanyang, as hostages?

But whatever the case, this matter had to be clarified. So the Gengshi Emperor ordered an increase in speed toward Kunyang. After traveling half a day, he grew worried that Liu Xiu, learning the secret was out, might rebel — and recalling Liu Xiu's fame for routing three hundred thousand with three thousand cavalry, he hesitated again.

Yet just at that moment, he learned that Liu Xiu had actually taken the initiative to come greet him alone. He was overjoyed at once, and planned to set a trap just like the day they had laid the "Hongmen Banquet" for Liu Bosheng — executioners hidden outside the tent, waiting only for Gengshi to drop his jade pendant before rushing out to seize Liu Xiu!

But to his surprise, Liu Xiu was completely unguarded, his face full of delight. After paying his respects to Liu Xuan, he asked him to preside over a marriage.

"Your servant previously sent a matchmaker to General Zizhang (Ma Wu) to present the betrothal gifts, requesting his younger sister's hand in marriage. The wedding date has now been settled — the auspicious day is set for the day after tomorrow. In the army we keep things simple, so we wish to hold the wedding right here in Kunyang. I humbly beg Your Majesty's consent, and ask that you serve as witness for your servant!"

Huh? Liu Xuan was stunned. Wasn't Liu Xiu's fiancée the one who had been abducted to Guanzhong? What was the meaning of this? He glanced at the man beside him, and Zhu Wei asked with ill intent: "Wenshu, what of that Madam Yin of yours? If you marry them both, who will be the principal wife, and who the concubine?"

At this moment, Liu Xiu, suppressing the ache in his heart, put on the face of a cad and said: "Yin and I had not yet completed the wedding rites before she was seized by the Xin army. I fear she has already lost her chastity. Your servant is now a marquis by Your Majesty's grace — how could I marry such a woman and bring disgrace upon myself?"

"Moreover, as the proverb goes: when noble, change your friends; when rich, change your wife. Such is human nature. I hope Your Majesty will not laugh."

A fine line — "when noble, change your friends; when rich, change your wife." Liu Xuan laughed. He could understand that.

Liu Xiu then produced Diwu Lun's letter and voluntarily confessed: "Speaking of the Yin woman, your servant has one more matter to report."

Liu Xuan took it, read it, and feigned surprise: "So your Madam Yin is still alive, and was rescued by Diwu Lun, who invites you, Wenshu, to reunite with her in Guanzhong!"

His acting was subpar, a bit exaggerated, but Liu Xiu played his part to perfection. Hanging his head, he wept and cried: "Your Majesty, this is Diwu Lun's venomous scheme."

"Your servant and Diwu Lun merely met once, several years ago in Chang'an. There is no deep friendship between us."

"A shallow friendship?" Zhu Wei countered. "Then why have I heard that when Diwu Lun came to Nanyang on Wang Mang's orders, Wenshu exchanged jade tokens with him — and I've heard you wear it on your person and fondle it daily."

Liu Xiu explained: "When Diwu Lun first arrived in Hebei, he did send men to recruit me as an official. But I knew he had exterminated those who sought to restore the Han, and believed him a diehard loyalist of the Xin Dynasty, so I repeatedly refused. Still, I respected his reputation for filial piety and righteousness, and regarded him as a model. However..."

He shook his head: "Diwu Lun received generous treatment from Wang Mang, yet as a Xin general he betrayed Wang Mang — a subject driving out his sovereign. He merely saw that the Mang court was about to collapse and turned coat for opportunistic gain. How can such a disloyal, unrighteous petty man be trusted?"

"If Diwu Lun truly considered me a friend, he could simply have sent Yin back. In name this letter is an invitation, but in truth it is a threat. Given this man's every action, your servant is ashamed to stand in his company. I have already thrown the defiled jade he gifted me into the pigsty!"

Diwu Lun had said the same thing when explaining his relationship with Liu Xiu to Wang Mang — but his discarding of the jade was a pretense. Liu Xiu, forced by circumstance, had truly thrown it away!

Liu Xiu bared his heart to the Gengshi Emperor. His words were half truth, half lie.

"Diwu Lun's teacher Yan Erudite died in Wancheng — killed, in effect, by my elder brother Bosheng's own hand. Diwu Lun has always prided himself on loyalty, filial piety, and righteousness. Loyalty he can no longer speak of, but the filial piety owed to a teacher he absolutely cannot abandon. Between him and my brother — and me — there is now an irreconcilable feud to the death!"

"Now Diwu Lun sends this letter because he must have heard certain rumors — whispers that Your Majesty and my brother are at odds. He deliberately sows discord, hoping to make the Great Han fight within itself while he sits back and seizes Guanzhong! How did Liu Ying, who was always in Chang'an, suddenly end up in Longyou? Your servant suspects that this so-called reestablishment of the Western Han also bears Diwu Lun's handiwork!"

"Your servant will never yield to his threats. A wife is like clothing — at worst, one simply changes into another. Your servant already has the virtuous Ma maiden as a good match. How could I rush into the Passes for the sake of Yin, a woman now stained?"

"Your servant's liver and gall, loyal to his sovereign — I am willing to cut them open and offer them up!"

With that, Liu Xiu pulled open his lapels, bared his chest, and begged Liu Xuan to kill him and see whether his heart and liver were red or black!

Li Yi and Zhu Wei, standing nearby, still harbored doubts, but Liu Xuan already believed the greater half. He personally stepped forward and helped Liu Xiu up: "Wenshu is the hero of Kunyang, and shares over twenty years of friendship with me — we were playmates since we were children with our hair in tufts. Diwu Lun's scheme is clumsy; how could I have any misgivings?"

For a moment, sovereign and subject smiled together and entered Kunyang hand in hand. The Greenwood chieftains had already rotated the garrison here, and Liu Xiu's small number of trusted men had been moved to the pass. Liu Xuan and Liu Xiu climbed the pass fortifications together, and Liu Xuan pointed and inquired about the bitter battle fought here on the first day of last month. Yet Liu Xiu took no credit for himself, still deflecting praise onto Wang Feng, Wang Chang, and the others, behaving with extreme humility and self-effacement.

This was exactly the sort of man Liu Xuan liked — not the aggressive, overbearing type like Liu Bosheng. His suspicions toward Liu Xiu were temporarily laid to rest. Two days later, he even presided over the wedding of Liu Xiu and Ma Wu's younger sister. Ma Wu was especially delighted. Apart from Yin Lihua's elder brother Yin Shi, who sat drinking gloomily at the farthest seat, everyone was thoroughly pleased.

When the rites ended and the newlywed couple entered the bridal chamber hand in hand, the guests all made merry. Only Yin Shi, after vomiting outside for a while, murmured: "Liu Wenshu has betrayed my family."

In Yin Shi's view, their Yin clan had made an enormous sacrifice. He had stubbornly gone his own way, against his father's opposition, ruining the family and exhausting its resources to throw himself into the cause of the Chongling Liu clan. In the end, it brought ruin to his family — father, mother, younger sister, and younger brother all abducted. He had believed Liu Xiu was a man who valued sentiment and loyalty, and that once there was word of his sister and brother, he would go rescue them. Who could have expected him to take a new bride instead?

Feng Yi, however, patted Yin Shi on the back. There were some things he could not easily say aloud. Ever since the Battle of Kunyang, Feng Yi had been utterly devoted to Liu Xiu, and their friendship was the deepest of bonds. The two had even reached the point of discussing military strategy and the world's affairs deep into the night, then simply sharing the same bed to sleep.

So Feng Yi knew that in the days after Liu Xiu received the letter, though he appeared to laugh and talk as usual, at night he secretly choked back sobs and shed tears. The next morning, Feng Yi would look and see the pillow and mat stained with the marks of weeping. It was clear that his feelings for Yin Lihua were genuine — outward cheer concealing inward grief, by no means as lighthearted and heartless as his words claimed.

Deeply moved, Feng Yi even helped change the pillow and mat so no one else would discover it.

He knew Yin Shi was trustworthy, so he told him in a low voice. Yin Shi listened, stunned. Feng Yi knew that given Liu Xiu's temperament, he was perhaps too ashamed to face Yin Shi, so he advised him: "Better to go west and catch up with Liu Bosheng. March into the Passes together and see if you can rescue your sister and brother. Someday, perhaps, you may reunite with Wenshu."

Yin Shi wiped the corner of his mouth, bowed to Feng Yi, and resolved to return to Wancheng, gather the few hundred remaining Yin clan retainers, and resolutely ride west!

Yet although Liu Xiu had escaped disaster through his own quick wits, the reason Liu Xuan did not kill him was not merely old friendship. It was also because too many among the Chongling imperial clan were fond of Liu Xiu — from elders like Liu Liang and Liu Ci, to those posted elsewhere like Liu Jia, all shared a deep bond with Liu Xiu. And the various generals also greatly admired Liu Xiu's humility, his sharing of credit and wealth, and revered his achievement at Kunyang. If Liu Xuan truly dared kill Liu Xiu, he would certainly lose the people's hearts.

After much thought, "borrowing another's sword to kill" was still the best course.

So on the third day after Liu Xiu's wedding, Liu Xuan brought up an old matter and dispatched Liu Xiu to tour the eastern regions of Chen and Liang on his behalf. That area was the territory of the Red Eyebrows' Dong Xian and Fan Chong, and of Liang King Liu Yong — a tangled web of powers. And the men Liu Xuan agreed to let Liu Xiu take shrank from several thousand to just over a hundred, effectively stripping him of his military command.

"The east will submit upon receiving the imperial edict. Wenshu is fully capable of this task."

This was outright persecution of Liu Xiu, yet Liu Xiu accepted with pleasure. After receiving the seal and cord of "Grand General Who Smashes the Caitiffs," he departed Kunyang.

Liu Xiu left Kunyang with only a hundred men. Zhu You, who had been both teacher and friend since their Imperial Academy days, and Chen Jun, who had once pursued him at Yuyang City and became a friend through that clash — these two Nanyang men naturally accompanied him.

The rest were all men of Yingchuan. Feng Yi of Fucheng went without saying; he had already become Liu Xiu's diehard loyalist.

Feng Yi also recommended to Liu Xiu a man of the same commandery, Yao Qi, renowned for his supreme filial piety and of towering, powerful build. He was appointed as Bandit Bureau Clerk — after all, Liu Xiu had received the title "Grand General Who Smashes the Caitiffs" and was entitled to open his own headquarters.

Fu Jun of Xiangcheng, the man who had once bound Feng Yi and brought him to surrender, had been a minor Precinct Chief. Before the Battle of Kunyang, his entire family, young and old, had been slaughtered by the Xin army. He had just finished burying his kin when Liu Xiu passed through Xiangcheng; he immediately led over a hundred of his retainers, traveling day and night, to catch up with Liu Xiu, willing to serve as a foot soldier at the vanguard.

There was also Wang Ba of Yingyang, who had likewise fought at Kunyang — skilled in both letters and arms, and, come to think of it, Liu Xiu's "senior" from the Imperial Academy. He followed in the capacity of Chief Clerk for Merit Evaluation.

Zhai Zun, also of Yingyang, was a county clerk. The Battle of Kunyang had taken place right on the edge of his hometown. After the battle, he sought audience with Liu Xiu many times, and finally obtained a post as a subordinate officer under him.

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There was also Zang Gong of Jia County, originally a subordinate of the Greenwood chieftain Ma Wu. Now that Liu Xiu and Ma Wu were bound by marriage, Ma Wu, uneasy about his safety, sent Zang Gong to accompany him.

Looking back at the crowd following him, Liu Xiu joked: "Don't look at how few men I have — my generals, however, are many."

But Wang Ba and the others were deeply worried. The current situation was chaotic; their tiny force could be scattered by a single bandit gang. And it was said that Liu Yong in Liang, though he had accepted the Gengshi title, refused to let the two-thousand-bushel official Gengshi had sent enter the city. The Red Eyebrows were even more complicated.

Zhu You even brought up the old matter again: "Wouldn't it be better to take a detour north and join up with Liu Bosheng in Guanzhong?"

But Liu Xiu only furrowed his brow and gave no answer. Thus they argued all the way, wavering between entering the Passes to join Liu Bosheng and heading east to strike out on their own. Just as they neared Fanyang Pavilion in Yingyin County, someone else came chasing after them.

"Wenshu! Wenshu, wait!"

Liu Xiu turned around and saw a tall, handsome young man galloping toward him. It was his good friend Deng Yu, who had shared a dormitory at the Imperial Academy back then. He was no longer the little runt of the past — he had shot up in height considerably. A donkey could no longer carry him; he had to ride a tall, large horse now.

"Why has Zhonghua come?" Liu Xiu knew that the Deng clan was also flourishing under the Gengshi regime — his brother-in-law Deng Chen and his nephew Deng Feng had both attained two-thousand-bushel rank — yet Deng Yu, because of his boy-prodigy fame, had been repeatedly summoned by Gengshi envoys to office, but the young man had stayed home reading military texts and refused to serve.

When Liu Bosheng went west, he had not followed either, so why had he come today? He was panting heavily, a heavy bundle strapped to his back — judging by Deng Yu's tastes, it would be bamboo-slip books and scrolls — a bamboo staff in his hand. After dismounting, he strode forward a few paces and actually prostrated himself before Liu Xiu.

Liu Xiu was delighted to see Deng Yu arrive and teased him: "Zhonghua, I am now 'Grand General Who Routs the Caitiffs,' with authority to bestow titles and appointments. You have come so far — could it be you have thought it over and are willing to take office?"

Deng Yu shook his head. "I am not."

Liu Xiu was puzzled. "If you do not desire office, why have you toiled through wind and dust to seek me out?"

Deng Yu raised his head and looked at Liu Xiu. As far back as their Imperial Academy days, he had admired Liu Xiu's character. After returning to Nanyang, everyone had regarded Liu Bosheng as the leader; only Deng Chen and Deng Yu felt that the one truly capable of achieving great things was Liu Xiu!

And so Deng Yu, for the first time, altered his form of address to Liu Xiu and bowed his head to the ground before him.

"I only hope that Your Grace's might shall extend across the four seas, and that I, Yu, may render some small measure of service and leave my name upon bamboo and silk — that would be satisfaction enough!"

These words shook Liu Xiu deeply. A long moment later, he burst out laughing.

Everyone was saying, "The east is perilous; better to go west and join Bosheng." But first, turning back now would directly cause a rupture between Gengshi and their brothers, cutting off Bosheng's rear. And second, ever since Kunyang, a voice in Liu Xiu's own heart had been stirring restlessly.

And now it was Deng Yu who had spoken that voice aloud.

Extend his might across the four seas? Who could say that was not his own aspiration?

"Zhonghua's arrival is like adding wings to a bird."

Liu Xiu helped Deng Yu up and, looking at the assembled followers, laughed. "In Nanyang and Yingchuan, beside Gengshi and the Greenwood, I was like a bird in a cage, a fish in a net. This journey east — it is like a bird rising to the blue empyrean, a fish entering the vast sea."

His own fate — he would have to grasp it with his own hands from now on.

"From here on, we brothers climb the mountain, each striving on his own. Bosheng goes west, and I — I go east!"

…

As Liu Xiu took the bold spirits of Wan and Ying eastward, in the distant west, within the city of Chengdu — already under the control of the former Xin dynasty Daojiang Troop Commandant — Gongsun Shu received from his younger brother, who had come south, that object regarded by Qin and Han alike as a supreme treasure.

Wang Mang's unfilial bastard son Wang Xing knelt trembling in the hall below, while Gongsun Shu, now master of the western Shu region, knelt before the low table as well, carefully untying the brocade pouch. His hands trembled so much that it took great effort; the onlookers grew anxious but dared not help.

Inside the brocade pouch was a small vermilion casket, locked with a golden clasp. Gongsun Shu gently opened it and saw, lying within, a jade seal: four inches square, carved above with six coiling dragons intertwined; one corner missing, mended with gold; upon it, eight seal-script characters reading: "Having received the Mandate of Heaven, may the reign be long and prosperous."

"No mistake. It is indeed the Imperial Heirloom Seal."

Gongsun Shu let out a long breath. Holding the seal, he rose to his feet and laughed heartily.

The will of Heaven — this was the will of Heaven!

"Elder Brother, Gengshi has already broken through Hanzhong and sent men to deliver proclamations to the Shu territories. Should we… submit?"

"I will not restore the Han."

Over the past half-month, Gongsun Shu, who had already seized control of the Shu and Guanghan commanderies and proclaimed himself "Governor of Yizhou," had still been hesitating. But now, having obtained the seal, his resolve was set!

"Send men to feign welcome of the envoys, then have others pose as Han soldiers to rampage through Guanghan Commandery with burning, killing, and looting, stirring the Shu people's loathing. Then I, under the pretext of pacifying the populace, shall expel the Han envoys, seal the Shu roads, and hold them!"

"I shall unify all of Yizhou, then declare myself king. In time, I may even establish an imperial enterprise!"

Gongsun Shu cradled the treasure. He was a superstitious man — with the Imperial Seal in hand, the Mandate of Heaven was his!

"Xin has lost its deer; all under Heaven now chase it."

"And in this chase, the Gongsun clan is destined to have its share!"

…

Meanwhile, in Yueyang City north of the Wei River, the newly founded "State of Wei" held its first military council since its establishment. Diwu Lun wore no crown or ceremonial robes but was dressed in martial attire. Before him and his assembled ministers lay a vast map: a topographical map of the realm, produced in frantic haste, encompassing at the very least the regions of Yong, Sili, Bing, Ji, Yu, Yan, and even Jing provinces that Diwu Lun had measured and gathered with his own footsteps over the years.

Unlike ordinary maps, this one was three-dimensional — much like the model that, because it had been made too well, had shamed Ma Yuan into smashing his rice-mountain. Military markers and banners represented the different powers: the Greenwood Han were green, the Red Eyebrows were red, the Xin dynasty was yellow, and Diwu Lun's own power had been upgraded to gilt.

Diwu Lun picked up the marker representing his own forces and moved it across the Yellow River.

"We are crossing the river again."

But before, in New Qinzhong and in Wei Commandery, Diwu Lun had been a mere pawn, advancing by the rules within the Xin dynasty system, or else rampaging blindly when he crossed back west into the Pass to rebel.

Now, he had risen from chess piece to chess player, to the hand that moved the pieces.

Under the gaze of Wan Xiu, Jing Dan, and the assembled officials, the King of Wei — Diwu Lun — thrust the marker firmly down upon Hedong Commandery, the land of Yao's capital and Yu's fief, the place of mountains and rivers without and within! He raised his head, his eyes blazing with intensity, and looked at the officers and ministers he had gathered and forged with his own hands.

"Gentlemen."

"Let us begin!"

In this realm under Heaven — who shall claim the deer?

…

PS: End of Volume Two. (Volume One was before the paywall launch. I had originally planned to end Volume Two at Chapter 223, but after some hesitation, I placed it here.)

Going to sort out the outline. The second chapter is postponed. As per the usual rule, I'll make up the updates tomorrow and the day after (three updates a day for two consecutive days).

Also, the entire book will have five volumes in total. Five words — done!