Chapter 298: No Destruction, No Construction

"Grand Chancellor, the petty criminals in the vicinity of Chang'an have all been purged. The troops are deployed to the north along the banks of the Wei River. The great army may enter the city without worry!"

Liu Bosheng was the vanguard of the Gengshi regime's advance into the Pass, and his own vanguard was a kinsman of his, Lai Xi (courtesy name Junshu), who hailed from the prominent Lai clan of Xinye.

Lai Xi had actually been born in Chang'an. His father had served as Grandee Remonstrant under Emperor Ai of Han and had married a grand-aunt of Liu Bosheng and Liu Xiu, so he was quite close with the two brothers. During Liu Xiu's time studying at the Imperial Academy, Lai Xi often came to visit him.

When the Liu Bosheng brothers raised their banner in Chongling, Lai Xi was stranded in Chang'an and nearly arrested by the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties. It was only thanks to his acquaintance with Wei Ao of Longyou that he obtained the Wei clan's help to escape. But by the time he made his way back south, it was already too late — he missed the two great battles of Kunyang and the Siege of Wan, only joining up during Liu Bosheng's northern campaign.

Lai Xi was quite familiar with the Guanzhong region, and because he was fond of the knight-errant life, his social connections were very wide. With this fine kinsman, accomplished in both pen and sword, leading the charge, this journey to Chang'an was off to a good start.

According to Lai Xi, although Diwu Lun had abandoned the counties south of the Wei, he had still left a contingent of troops to garrison Chang'an and maintain order, only withdrawing them ten days ago. Those who did not trust the discipline of the Greenwood Army and were willing to abandon their homes and property had left along with them. Now there was no resistance within the city, and all the gates were under control.

"Good." Liu Bosheng fixed his gaze upon the capital with its wide-open gates. "Enter the city!"

Though Liu Bosheng was somewhat rash, he was no Greenwood ruffian after all. His subordinates, men like Lai Xi, were all scions of powerful families with learning and experience, and they had carefully considered the ceremony for entering the city.

"Chang'an has long been occupied by the usurping traitor Wang Mang, and Diwu Lun too never raised the banner of the Han. We must make our colors unmistakably clear, so that the people may once again behold the vestments and caps of Han."

Liu Bosheng was already tall and powerfully built. Today, clad in a crimson robe and tall cap, a long sword at his waist, he rode a tall, magnificent black steed, which only enhanced his majesty and bearing. To highlight the colors of "Han," the horse was fitted with a red bridle and red silk reins, and draped in horse armor lacquered crimson, making him seem a little figure of red — extremely conspicuous.

To his left and right were the fierce general Liu Ji and his brother-in-law Deng Chen; the surrendered general Cen Peng followed at the rear.

The soldiers chosen to enter the city were also elite troops, uniformly in red armor and red headscarves, impeccably neat. Those who peered out through cracks in their doors secretly nodded in approval: This color — it is the Great Han, no mistake!

The point of entry chosen was the main southern gate of Chang'an, the An Gate.

"Back when Liu Jia and I were studying at the Imperial Academy, we always passed through this gate when entering the city."

As Liu Bosheng passed beneath the gate arch, revisiting a familiar place stirred many emotions. Yet today was vastly different from the past. There was neither the bustling markets and peaceful flow of people and carts, nor the chaos of fleeing for one's life, calling for children. Every house was shut tight, and the broad streets and narrow lanes were utterly silent, broken only by the rapid clatter of hooves and the clanking of armored soldiers.

This scene made Liu Bosheng frown, and he could not help recalling a past event. When he had first raised his troops and entered Xinye, the common folk — men and women, young and old — had lined both sides of the official road several li outside the city to welcome him, truly overjoyed. The people of his home in Nanyang, often carrying pots and jars, had crowded up to his horse's head, tugging at the reins, wanting Liu Bosheng to drink a bowl of hot millet porridge before moving on. They had poured out their grievances to him about Wang Mang's misrule, the depredations of the Xin armies, and the tyranny of local officials. Not a bit afraid of him, they all regarded Liu Bosheng, so renowned in his homeland, as their savior.

He had originally imagined that upon entering the city of Chang'an, the spectacle would be ten times livelier than Xinye, that cheers celebrating the restoration of Han would shake the very tiles of Weiyang Palace. He had never expected it to be so cold and cheerless. Most people, terrified by the chaos south of the Wei over the past month or so, dared not come out.

As Liu Bosheng neared the Arsenal, the welcome within the city finally arrived. Knowing that the "Han troops" would enter the city today, the remnants and scions of the Former Han whom Diwu Lun had not had time to slaughter began to surface, scurrying about, going door to door with the word: "The Great Han has recovered Chang'an! Hoist crimson banners at once!"

"What if we have no crimson cloth?"

"Then use reddish-brown as a substitute!"

People frantically dug out the crimson robes buried at the very bottom of their wardrobes, garments that had been largely forbidden under Wang Mang's dynasty. Fabric for making red clothes also became a hot commodity. Because Diwu Lun had practically swept away all the palace textiles when he left, some diehard loyalists, in desperation at finding no suitable color, actually resorted to using the reddish-brown uniforms of convicts, cutting them up and hoisting them as banners. For a time, the city was aflutter with reddish-brown flags.

Led by Xiao Yan, Marquis of Xiao Village and descendant of Xiao He, a crowd organized themselves to welcome the Han troops outside Weiyang Palace. When they saw the colors of Liu Bosheng's raiment and banners, they were all beside themselves with joy. Xiao Yan even shed tears and declared, "I never thought I would live to see the awesome dignity of Han officials again!"

Then came righteous indignation, as they denounced Diwu Lun's slaughter of elder statesmen like Gongsun Lu.

Lai Xi, however, leaned in and whispered to Liu Bosheng: "Most of those men have all accepted seals from the 'Western Han' puppet emperor."

Having accepted seals from both sides — anyway, the Han banner I'm flying, can you tell whether it's Western or Greenwood? This was the modus operandi of the Guanzhong powerful families.

Liu Bosheng seethed inwardly, but fortunately, his brother-in-law Deng Chen shook his head at him. They needed to rely on these people to control the various regions; this was not the time to settle scores. Calling for blood at the slightest provocation would only push them into the opposing camp. As powerful figures themselves, they knew best how to exploit and deal with other powerful figures.

"You gentlemen have rendered great service in preserving Chang'an. All shall be restored to your original noble titles and official posts."

Liu Bosheng extended his hand, took three feathered arrows from Lai Xi, and then, before the eyes of the crowd, broke them one by one.

"In days of old, when the Exalted Emperor entered Xianyang, he made a covenant of three articles. Today, I, Liu Yan, do the same!"

Immediately, a herald spurred his horse out of the ranks, and in the blink of an eye, from the middle of the street, proclaimed Liu Bosheng's words in a voice as resonant as a bronze bell, sonorous and forceful, to every ward and hamlet in the city:

"The General has decreed, let soldiers and civilians strictly obey."

"A covenant of three articles: murderers shall die."

"The great army enters the city; let the four classes of people not be alarmed."

"Let every house open its doors and carry on with business as usual."

"All officers and men of the three armies shall return to their encampments."

"Any who disturb the common people shall be executed without pardon!"

These words made the people of Chang'an look at one another, and all breathed a sigh of relief. When Diwu Lun had first entered the city, he had made a covenant of five articles — two more than this General Liu — and had still managed to mostly abide by it. Surely this great army, which styled itself the Han troops, could do the same?

The tense atmosphere in the city eased a little. Many people congratulated themselves for not having abandoned their homes and livelihoods, so dearly bought, to flee like those foolish neighbors.

Having set the tone for order in the city, Liu Bosheng appointed his brother-in-law Deng Chen as Metropolitan Commandant of Jingzhao to oversee civil affairs. He himself straightened his robes and cap, and went to do something he had long eagerly anticipated.

It was not to enter the palace for pleasure, but to pay homage at the High Temple!

Liu Bosheng had thought it through clearly, and he declared to the crowd: "The realm suffers alike under the tyranny of the Wang clan and yearns for the old virtue of the Exalted Emperor. The Spring and Autumn Annals record 'Qi Xiaobai entered Qi' without calling him a marquis, because he had not yet paid court at the temple. Now, though I, Liu Yan, have been enfeoffed as a king by the Gengshi Son of Heaven, I still dare not accept it. I must first offer sacrifice at the High Temple, and report the good tidings — that the traitor Wang Mang has been executed and the Great Han restored — to the Exalted Emperor!"

He held Liu Xuan in contempt. Though the bond of sovereign and subject had been settled in Nanyang, here in Chang'an, things were different.

"Now, many Han states stand side by side, but though there are many Han emperors, there is only one High Temple!"

Liu Bosheng had been determined to enter the Pass for a long time, with his own calculations in mind. Back then, when Huo Guang installed Liu He, he deliberately prevented the Prince of Changyi from paying homage at the High Temple, and in the end declared that "the ancestral temple is weightier than the sovereign; having not received his mandate before the High Temple, he cannot inherit the celestial succession, serve the ancestral temple, or be father to the myriad clans."

Aside from Liu Ying of the Western Han, who might have been carried there by Wang Mang as a child, had that "Liu Ziyu" of the Northern Han, or Liu Xuan of the Greenwood Han, let alone Lu Fang — had any of them come to pay homage?

The first to pay homage at the High Temple under the name of Han would be him, Liu Bosheng!

The High Temple was located north of Xiangshi Street, east of the office of the Left Fufeng Intendant. As the temple of the "Exalted Emperor, Grand Progenitor," it was a building within the city even more important than Weiyang Palace. Yet when Liu Bosheng arrived there, full of anticipation, wanting to prove that his title "King of Fufeng" came not from Liu Xuan but from the Exalted Emperor, he was shocked to discover...

The High Temple — was gone!

A stretch of blackened, empty ground. The High Temple, once flourishing with incense and offerings, had in the end not lived to see the day of Chang'an's liberation.

The old clerk who had guarded the temple reported: "When the General raised his troops in Chongling, and Gengshi succeeded to the throne in Nanyang, Wang Mang, detesting the spirit of the Han High Temple, dispatched Tiger Guard warriors into the temple. They struck in all four directions, used iron axes to destroy the doors and windows, flogged and splashed the walls with reddish-brown whips, and doused them with peach-wood decoction."

Wang Mang had originally ascended the throne by relying on the tale that "the Exalted Emperor personally manifested his spirit and abdicated." But when he discovered that the Han restoration had turned from nightmare into reality, he was both terrified and alarmed, and directly ordered that fine High Temple to be destroyed.

But at least the framework had still stood. However, when Wang Mang fled and the city descended into chaos, the High Temple caught fire and was burned to this patch of empty ground.

"When Diwu Lun entered Chang'an, he extinguished the great fire and ordered the collection of the remnants and the spirit tablet of the Exalted Emperor. These were placed in a side building and properly preserved. They are here now."

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Now Liu Bosheng had no temple to worship at either. He could only kneel upon the scorched, blackened ground, have someone blow the dust off the half-burned, somewhat damaged spirit tablet of Liu Bang that had been rescued, and, his heart surging with emotion, weepingly intone: "Your distant descendant Liu Yan reverently bows twice!"

"The house of Han — is restored!"

Liu Bosheng and Liu Xiu were ninth-generation descendants of Liu Bang. The Chongling line had a relatively senior generational standing, equivalent only to that of Emperor Cheng of Han. So even if that so-called Liu Ziyu were genuine, he would still be a generation junior to the two brothers, and Liu Ying was even more so a junior of juniors.

Since paying homage at the High Temple had fallen through, Liu Bosheng could only proceed into the palace to take a look.

He entered the palace through the north gate, the Xuanwu Gate, rather than the east gate, the Canglong Gate. The imperial way, normally reserved for the emperor, now lay open before Liu Bosheng.

Deng Chen hastily urged him: "Bosheng, there are spies of Liu Xuan in the army. This is probably improper. You should take a side gate."

Liu Bosheng had just stewed in fury at the High Temple — how could he listen to his brother-in-law's blunt advice? He ordered the main gate thrown wide and strode right in!

He had come to Chang'an many times, yet could only gaze at the High Temple from afar and crane his neck up at Weiyang Palace. The sons and grandsons of the High Emperor within these high walls and deep courtyards had proved worthless — they had actually lost the realm. Now that the Chongling branch had restored it, Liu Bosheng felt that he, more than the Cheng, Ai, and Ping emperors, and even more than Liu Xuan, was qualified to be master of this palace.

But when the main gate slowly swung open, what appeared before them was a great tripod — dumped right there!

Xiao Yan came to report: "This is the Taiyi Tripod. When Diwu Lun plundered the palace, he found it too cumbersome and simply abandoned it here."

The tripod had three fins and six wings, its surface covered with taotie patterns and cloud-and-thunder motifs, but after being left out here so long, wind and rain had coated it in mud and filth.

Hearing that this was a Han treasure, Liu Bosheng — who had just been grieving over the High Temple — had over a hundred men come to lift it upright, intending to haul it back to the front hall.

But at that moment, Lai Xi, who had gone ahead into the palace to inspect it, came back to report: the ministerial offices were still all right, but the palace itself was utterly empty — nearly everything had been stripped bare, and much of it defiled.

Liu Bosheng assumed Diwu Lun was entirely to blame, but learned from Xiao Yan that a few days earlier, before Diwu Lun's last contingent of troops maintaining order in Chang'an withdrew, they had issued an order from the "King of Wei" — and it had driven the whole city into a frenzy.

"The rare and precious objects in the palace, amassed over the Han and Xin dynasties, are all the fat and blood of the common people."

"Taken from the people, they should be used for the people."

"People of Chang'an — go and take back what belongs to you!"

From Shoucheng Chamber, Changle Palace, and Mingguang Palace, Diwu Lun had emptied out everything of value and easy to carry, leaving behind only the "pots and jars" he did not want. Imperial couches and fine beds, carved beams and painted pillars, Han roof-tiles and bricks and rubble — even the Sichuan-pepper mud on the walls of the Pepper Chamber — were all fine things in the eyes of ordinary folk.

Everyone got a share; no one was left out. For those few days, all of Chang'an went mad. The leftover loyalists of the fallen dynasty tried to stop it, but they could not hold the crowds back.

For several days and nights on end, tens of thousands of people scrambled over one another to enter the palace halls and have a look. Lowly peddlers and old farmers could tread the Emperor's steps and even make off with many things as souvenirs: the richly patterned and colored eaves-tiles from the roofs could be set on their own eaves; the floor-bricks could be pried up to build pigsties; the trees in the gardens could be chopped down for walking sticks. Some even set their sights on the precious tripod Diwu Lun had abandoned and left by the Xuanwu Gate — but it was simply too heavy; they could not budge it.

Before the next master could arrive, they accomplished what Diwu Lun had not: they stripped every portable thing from the many palace halls until nothing was left!

Diwu Lun's pass had been only a coarse comb, yet he filled his bowls and basins; then he let the people of Chang'an in for a second pass, like a fine-toothed comb, scraping until practically nothing remained. Now, in all one hundred and sixty wards of Chang'an, any household that did not have a bit of palace ware was too embarrassed to go out and greet the neighbors.

Ruin precedes renewal.

The people of Chang'an, overjoyed, threw themselves into it body and soul — and completed the "ruin" on Diwu Lun's behalf!

Deng Chen, who had intended to emulate Xiao He by securing the palace archives, imperial edicts, laws, and maps, also discovered that he had arrived one step too late.

"The Privy Treasury is empty. Diwu Lun carried off all the gold and silk — he did not leave a single bolt of fabric."

"The Great Granary is empty. The several hundred thousand shi of grain Diwu Lun could not take with him, he distributed to the entire population of Chang'an over the course of a month!"

"The Armory is empty, too. Armor and weapons, chariots, horses, and ceremonial regalia — whatever could be carried off, not a scrap remains!"

"Diwu Lun even swept away all the artisans and government slaves."

And so what was left for Liu Bosheng was an utterly empty palace compound, a mess just like the burned-out High Temple and the toppled precious tripod.

Liu Bosheng sat mandate omen on the steps, and just then his fierce general Liu Ji returned. Delighted, Liu Ji said: "Your Majesty, of the several thousand palace women, some fled, and Diwu Lun released some back to the common folk. Several hundred more refused to leave, or dared not, and remain shut up in the halls awaiting judgment. Would Your Majesty like to go and see them?"

"Get out!"

Liu Bosheng was so furious he kicked this subordinate — who charged first into battle and first into pleasure — then drew his sword, glared toward the north of the Wei River, and cursed: "Wenshu always says Diwu Lun can be befriended and won over — he must be blind."

"Now I see it clearly. Liu Ying and Liu Ziyu are mere house-thieves — but Diwu Lun is the Han dynasty's national enemy!"

……

PS: Recommending two friends' books: Divine Constable: I Have a Classic of Mountains and Seas

Smoke and Fire of the Republic.

Tomorrow's update will be at 13:00.