Chapter 291

From July to August, the Greenwood Army's assault on Luoyang had lasted a full month. What finally broke this great city was not their crude siege engines, but a single piece of news.

"Wang Mang is dead, the Xin are destroyed! Those who surrender will be spared!"

Whether the head said to be Wang Mang's, obtained at Wancheng, was real or fake, it was devastating tidings enough to shatter the defenders. As the Greenwood Army roared their cry, the morale of the Xin troops inside the city collapsed. The Xin Dynasty had never won the people's hearts; now that the court itself was overthrown and the Emperor dead, what were they still fighting for?

Had the city's defender been a capable commander like Yan You or Cen Peng, it might have been different — but the man guarding Luoyang now was none other than Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang, who had been routed and sent fleeing in panic by the Red Eyebrows at the Battle of Chengchang.

Wang Kuang was bound and hauled out of the city late one night by a group of colonels and soldiers eager to surrender. Stripped of his upper garments, he was forced to his knees with his bare torso pressed to the ground. He saw a pair of feet in straw sandals striding toward him; looking up, he saw a figure in martial attire — yet it was clearly a colonel's armor topped with a general's helmet, a mismatched ensemble that made those straw sandals all the more jarring.

The man had a great bushy beard. His left eye, injured in battle against the Xin army, was squeezed tightly shut, and he fixed his lone right eye on the defeated general. "Are you the false Xin Grand Preceptor, Wang Kuang?"

The Greenwood had risen too swiftly; Wang Kuang had no idea who this man was. He could only nod and plead for his life.

To his surprise, the one-eyed giant of a man simply kicked him. "You dare call yourself Wang Kuang?!"

As it turned out, this man was the Greenwood's great Canal Commander, the "Duke Who Stabilizes the Han" of the Green Han — and his name was also Wang Kuang!

When names collide, the weaker party is the one left embarrassed. Now one was the victor, the other a captive. The Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang could only stare in stunned silence; after a long moment, he suddenly kowtowed deeply.

"General, you misunderstand!"

"The General's 'Kuang' is the 'Kuang' that means 'to restore the House of Han'!"

"This humble one's name, in truth, is the 'kuang' that means a wicker basket!"

In an instant, Grand Preceptor Wang Kuang transformed into Wang Basket, drawing a great roar of laughter from the Duke Who Stabilizes the Han, Wang Kuang. He patted the man's face. "Wang Basket, is it? The false Xin Grand Minister of Works, Wang Yi, still holds out at Chenggao and Xingyang with tens of thousands of men. Are you willing to go and persuade him to surrender?"

Wang Basket hastily agreed. He was a man who clung to life and feared death; at the Battle of Chengchang, he had abandoned Lian Dan and fled a thousand li all the way back to Luoyang, leaving the lands east of the pass in ruin. He would never choose death so long as any path to survival remained.

Wang Kuang asked again, "Is the false Xin State General, Ai Zhang, in the city?"

This Ai Zhang had provided enormous comic relief during the siege of Luoyang. He had volunteered to come from the capital to assist the Grand Preceptor, bringing with him a large retinue of so-called "masters of esoteric arts." Facing the Greenwood assault, he boasted that all he needed was to gather exactly five hundred and fifty-five men according to the prophetic charts, perform a ritual to summon the Celestial Emperor Taiyi, and he would instantly wipe out the Han army to the last man.

The Grand Preceptor believed him — but then Ai Zhang added that he needed to perform the ritual on Mount Beimang, north of Luoyang…

And so Ai Zhang slipped out of the city. On the appointed day of the ritual, five hundred and fifty-five men took their positions at the four corners of the city walls, all clad in yellow robes. That day happened to bring thunder and rain; for a moment, heaven and earth changed color. Yet once the storm cleared and the sky brightened, the Greenwood surged forward once more.

As for Ai Zhang, he never returned. No one knew where he had fled. The Grand Preceptor was left to hold the isolated city alone — until this very day.

"Wang Mang entrusted power to men like this. How could he not fall?"

Wang Kuang was utterly contemptuous. He ordered this "Wang Basket" taken into custody, then raised his head to gaze at Luoyang as its great gates slowly swung open before him.

Years ago, when he was just a young fisherman casting his nets by the marshes, Wang Kuang had never imagined that one day he would become the "Duke Who Stabilizes the Han" of the Great Han and accomplish such deeds. And he, who had once been so reluctant to leave Greenwood Mountain, had never expected that one day he would enter the great city of Luoyang — the proclaimed "Center of All Under Heaven" — as its conqueror.

The Greenwood soldiers were likewise eager and restless. They had long heard of Luoyang's splendor, said to rival or even surpass Chang'an: merchants from Qi and Lu to the east, from Liang and Chu to the south, a gathering place for all goods, teeming with people. Now at last they could enter and see for themselves. Every face showed naked greed. Though they marched under the Han banner, the Greenwood's old rule was that upon taking a walled city, they were permitted three days of unchecked plunder. During that time, whatever they did, the Duke Who Stabilizes the Han would turn a blind eye. Luoyang was going to be quite the playground.

The elders of Luoyang who had surrendered alongside the garrison watched this "Han army" with fearful, trembling hearts. The Xin troops had been wolves — would these newcomers prove to be tigers? They watched as Wang Kuang and his officers entered the city: many wore official caps and headscarves, yet some soldiers were clad in women's garments, with embroidered jackets and short coats thrown haphazardly over their armor. The onlookers exchanged bewildered glances.

One elderly man among them murmured, "I see no sign of Han official dignity."

Watching these "Han soldiers" rush eagerly into Luoyang, following their lesser canal commanders as they scrambled to loot government offices and wealthy quarters, even the most diehard "old loyalists of the Former Han" felt unease in their hearts. "Indeed — they do not look like Han soldiers. More like roving bandits…"

Some laughed; others sensed disaster and fled in fear. Still others said, "I hear a Han has also arisen north of the Yellow River — Liu Ziyu, son of Emperor Xiaocheng. I wonder which is more legitimate, this Northern Han or the Green Han!"

…

The seventh and eighth months were a time when every power was shouting battle cries and carving up the remnants of the Xin Dynasty. Just as the Green Han seized Luoyang, the "Northern Han" was also expanding its territory.

The first to make his move was still Liu Yang. His power base was rooted in Changshan and Zhongshan, relying chiefly on his title "Prince of Zhending," which he had held since the Former Han, as well as the Liu-surnamed marquises left over from the long-abolished Changshan and Zhongshan kingdoms. He had gathered tens of thousands of troops and claimed to have a hundred thousand.

His strength was on par with that of the Prince of Zhao, Liu Lin. Liu Yang was not particularly interested in Liu Lin's proposal to "resist the Bronze Horses in the east." Besides, with Hecheng and Julu standing as a buffer to the east, the Bronze Horses and the Hebei roving bandits could not break through anyway.

Liu Yang thus confidently turned west to seize territory. Between Changshan and Taiyuan Commandery lay only the Taihang Mountains and Jingxing Pass. In early August, Liu Yang led his army to Taiyuan. Relying on his title as "Grand Minister of Works" of the Northern Han, he persuaded Guo Ji, the Governor of Bing Province who controlled Taiyuan, to surrender, along with the ten-thousand-strong Xin army that Wang Xun had dispatched there — all of them, having heard that the Xin Dynasty had already fallen and that Diwu Lun was attacking Hedong, promptly switched allegiance.

Though the livid purple tumor bulging from Liu Yang's neck was an offense to the eye, he still treated men of talent with courtesy. He raised Guo Ji, the Xin Governor of Bing Province, to his feet with a smile. "I have long heard of the name of Guo of Maoling. Meeting you today, I see you truly live up to the legacy of the great knight-errant Guo!"

The "great knight-errant Guo" he referred to was Guo Jie — Guo Ji's great-great-grandfather. Although Guo Jie had been executed by Emperor Wu of Han, the Guo clan of Maoling had gradually prospered. By the time of the Aidi and Pingdi reigns, Guo Ji had served under Grand Minister of Works Wang Yi, then been transferred as Commandant of Yuyang, Grand Governor of Shanggu, and finally Governor of Bing Province — one of the few local officials with real authority who could at least control a commandery.

It was also because he had held office in Hebei that he had some ties with the various Liu clans of the region.

After Wang Xun sent troops into Taiyuan, Guo Ji had outwardly feigned cooperation while inwardly perceiving Wang Xun's intent to ally with the "Hu Han." He grew deeply anxious.

In any case, Wang Mang had already been driven off by Diwu Lun, and the Xin were on the verge of collapse. Guo Ji personally persuaded the deputy general Wang Xun had sent, then urgently contacted Liu Yang, expressing his willingness to bring all of Taiyuan Commandery, along with Yanmen and Dai commanderies, over to the Northern Han. He hoped to use them as a backing to block the Hu Han and Lu Fang — over the past month or so, with Xiongnu aid, Lu Fang's territory was no longer limited to Wuyuan and Shuofang; even Yunzhong and Dingxiang commanderies had submitted to him.

The realm was in chaos, torn apart and fractured. Guo Ji did not know who would ultimately prevail — he only knew that the Xiongnu's puppet must never be allowed to gain real power!

And it was from Guo Ji that Liu Yang also learned: Diwu Lun, to whom their Emperor "Liu Ziyu" had sent a chancellor's seal, had not only attacked Hedong and seized the lands south of the Rat Sparrow Valley — he had actually declared himself a king!

"King of Wei?"

Liu Yang clutched his tumor, digesting this sudden news. His nephew Geng Chun had told him nothing of this. Had he also been unaware, or was it…?

But even now, Liu Yang had not yet reached the conclusion that Diwu Lun intended to go it alone. He merely muttered, "It seems Diwu Lun's ambitions are not small. He wants to follow Han Xin's example — secure Qi and declare himself king, forcing us to grant him a royal title as well!"

"Does he not know that in our Great Han, kings not of the imperial surname all meet wretched ends?"

…

The white-haired head of old Minister of the Masses Wang was, in the end, hunted down and severed by Geng Yan. It was delivered to Anyi and laid before Diwu Lun and Ma Yuan.

"Though Geng Bozhao killed Wang Xun, he was still a step too slow and could not enter Taiyuan Commandery."

This time, Ma Yuan could hardly laugh at Geng Yan for attending to one thing and losing sight of another — for he himself had been blocked at Ekou Pass for over a month. Assaulting fortified positions was still not Ma Yuan's strong suit.

"And Taiyuan has now been taken over by Liu Yang. To its north, Yanmen and Dai commanderies will likely submit to the Northern Han along with the Governor of Bing Province, Guo Ji."

Diwu Lun nodded and smiled. "Wenyuan, it seems the days of racing to claim territory while the Xin and Wang Mang collapse are over."

The thunderous collapse of the Xin Dynasty in the Guanzhong region had brought a vast, dazed paralysis to the realm. Diwu Lun had seized that window to take the three commanderies north of the Wei River, win the surrender of Shang and Xihe commanderies, and capture Hedong. Add to that Ma Yuan's effortless seizure of Henei from Wei territory, and his power had expanded to nine commanderies in just two months.

But as the calendar turned to July, the various powers began, one after another, to come to their senses and join the scramble for the Xin remnants. With Wang Xun destroyed and Bing Province surrendered, and with recent word that Luoyang had also fallen to the Green Han, the good old days of sweeping through and seizing a commandery with ease were likely gone for good.

Diwu Lun toyed with the chancellor's seal sent by the "Northern Han." So far, they had not yet torn face with the three Liu clans of Hebei; he had merely ordered Geng Yan to halt his troops at Pingyang and hold the Rat Sparrow Valley.

"What does Wenyuan think we should do next?"

Ma Yuan, having been stymied at Ekou Pass of late, had done much thinking. He simply said, "When Zhang Yi forged the Horizontal Alliance for Qin, he persuaded the King of Wei, saying: 'If Wei allies with Chu in the south but not with Qi, then Qi will attack its east; if it allies with Qi in the east but not with Zhao, then Zhao will attack its north; if it does not align with Han, then Han will attack its west; if it does not befriend Chu, then Chu will attack its south — this is what is called the path to being torn apart and fractured!'"

"Great King, your state is named Wei, and its strategic situation is just like Wei in the Warring States period — torn apart and fractured!"

Ma Yuan pointed to the large map Diwu Lun had commissioned. The eastern territories were Wei Commandery, Henei, and the lands north of the Yellow River — Shouliang and Dong Commandery — which together amounted to roughly one commandery. Though these three commanderies were shielded by the Yellow River, the Taihang Mountains, and the Wangwu Mountains — a "fortress of mountains and rivers" — the lands south of the river were already controlled by the Green Han. To the east lay the remnants of the Red Eyebrows and roving bandits like the Bronze Horses. To the north, they faced pressure from the "Northern Han"; if relations soured, a strike from Handan to Yecheng would take just a single day.

And what was even more fatal: because Shangdang stood as a barrier, this eastern territory was connected to Hedong only by a single narrow road through the Zhi Pass — just like Wei in the Warring States period, forming a "barbell" shape: thick at both ends, thin in the middle.

"Hedong has just been seized and is not yet secure. It borders Guo Ji's Taiyuan to the north and Bao Yong's Shangdang to the east. Across the river, Hongnong has already surrendered to the Green Han."

The western territory north of the Wei River was likewise bordered on all sides by other powers — that went without saying: the Hu Han to the north, the Western Han of Longyou and the neutral Yuan She of Beidi to the west, and to the south, the main Greenwood army now beginning to enter the pass, intent on occupying Chang'an.

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The four borders — east, west, south, and north — all lack defensible terrain. It is practically a replay of the situation under King Hui of Wei.

"How did Wei decline? It fought on five fronts — contesting Hexi with Qin, vying for the Central Plains with Chu, seizing Song territory from Qi, and internally falling out with Zhao and Han, seeking to swallow them and unify the Three Jin."

It was one step short of also declaring war on Yan, which it didn't even share a border with. Fighting five wars at once — even if you win more than you lose, the Wei heavy infantry could not withstand the attrition. In the end, it battered its own hegemony into oblivion and sank into a second-rate state.

"Your Majesty must on no account repeat the blunder of King Hui of Wei."

Diwu Lun nodded. Wanting everything everywhere, refusing to let go of any front, ready to fight anyone — that was exactly the mindset of his generals right now. After taking Hedong, they had grown swollen with confidence. Little Geng wanted to go seize Taiyuan; Seventh Biao clamored that the time had come to retake Chang'an. Take two commanderies a month, and in under two years you'll have united the realm — wouldn't that be splendid?

But is land grabbed by galloping horses truly your territory? Surrender to you today, surrender to someone else tomorrow — it means nothing.

Just as Ma Yuan had said, they appeared to be advancing smoothly but were in truth perilously fragile, making enemies everywhere. One lost battle and the whole thing could collapse. This theory of swift victory had to be resolutely curbed!

"For now, we will not take Taiyuan. Having Liu Yang and Guo Ji in the north blocking Lu Fang and the Xiongnu is not a bad thing."

"Even less will we go take Chang'an and Weinan." This was Diwu Lun's established strategy — let Greenwood keep that hot potato.

Then where would they strike next? The generals looked at one another.

Diwu Lun's answer was: nowhere at all!

Shangdang had to be taken by some means, to prevent the enemy from cutting them off through the middle; the Northern Lands must be coaxed into surrender, so as to link up with their old forces in New Qinzhong. But Diwu Lun absolutely could not open a war on two fronts, let alone three. So everything had to be slowed down. After finishing one campaign, it was time again for stratagems and diplomacy — Feng Yan, the Chamberlain for Dependencies who handled foreign relations, would be very busy indeed.

Though he had taken the title of king, for now — whether Western Han, Northern Han, or Greenwood Han — all wished to draw Diwu Lun to their side. The initiative lay with him — unless Diwu Lun could not resist proclaiming himself emperor.

"Before you covet the rice in someone else's pot, first eat the meat in your own bowl well."

Diwu Lun admonished them all: "The three commanderies north of the Wei, plus Hedong, Henei, and the Wei lands — the great grain-producing commanderies, the commanderies with the largest registered populations, are all in my hands. It is the others who ought to be anxious. For now, we lower our banners and still our drums. Pull half the troops back north of the Wei to guard against a Greenwood offensive. Have the soldiers help thresh the grain and ensure a good autumn harvest. Before winter sets in, I do not intend to use troops abroad again."

Consolidate rule — train the troops where training is needed, farm the fields where farming is needed. Ranks of nobility must be settled, internal administration must be clarified. In Diwu Lun's view, the crisis facing the State of Wei at present did not lie with Zhuan Yu, but within the screen-wall of the court itself!

In the end, Diwu Lun used six words to sum up the strategic decision he and Ma Yuan had reached after deliberation.

"Build high the walls, amass grain in plenty!"

……

PS: Chapter 3 at 18:00. (Will be about an hour late.)