Chapter 303: Feeling the Tail

"Drinking poison to quench thirst."

Diwu Lun had left quite a few spies in Weinan and Chang'an, and even some powerful magnates hedging their bets had informants coming and going — Liu Bosheng's big moves could not be hidden from him.

And these four words were Diwu Lun's assessment — not disparagement, but admiration.

Diwu Lun did not burst out laughing the way he had when burning Wang Mang's Nine Temples; he parceled out palaces to the officers and clerks under his command, carved up the Imperial Park for the Weinan magnates. At a rough glance, what nonsense was this? A wastrel selling off his father's land. But after a closer look, Diwu Lun was startled.

"Is this Liu Bosheng a fool masquerading as clever, or a great mind feigning foolishness?"

Since the treasury had been hollowed out by Diwu Lun and there was no grain to distribute, he simply smashed the pot and went all in — directly dividing up fixed assets, selling the stove to buy fuel just to maintain his credibility with the army: the Pillar Heaven Grand General was even willing to give away palaces; once more territory was conquered, what were noble titles and official posts in comparison?

Sufficient troops, sufficient food, the people's trust — these three points he has grasped, except he has only satisfied the army's rations, and the "people" he cares about are also the powerful magnates. This Liu Bosheng truly does not harm a single hair of the Weinan magnates — worthy of a man from a great clan lineage, he knows his class position very clearly, unlike Diwu Lun, who likes to stand with a foot in both camps.

Setting everything else aside, just throwing out these two moves at least projects tremendous momentum, highlights his grandness — that gallant, chivalrous temperament hits you right in the face. No wonder this man dared to be the first under heaven, the first imperial clansman to raise the banner and openly oppose Wang Mang.

But his vision is shallow; his actions often disregard long-term consequences. No wonder he was sabotaged by that gang of Greenwood ruffians and had the peach plucked by Liu Xuan — the great founding hero of the anti-Wang Mang uprising, fallen to a point where not advancing means death. If the Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan learned of the fine deeds he has done in Guanzhong, he would fall out with Liu Bosheng completely. So he has poured himself a cup of poisoned wine, but at least for a month or so, this thirst can be quenched.

If he can win a victory within ten days or a month and roll the snowball bigger, Liu Bosheng will be able to sustain his position.

"Even if the Weinan magnates hand over all their grain, it won't be enough for the people of Chang'an to eat through the winter. Liu Bosheng has briefly boosted morale and will surely have to use his troops quickly. The question now is whether he will strike at Chencang in Right Fufeng, or stake everything on one throw and attack my Weibei!"

Chencang is clearly easier to hit. According to intelligence, Liu Bosheng's vanguard is also pushing westward. If that were the case, it would be ideal — if he dares to touch Chencang, he will inevitably be locked in a fight to the death with the Longyou forces that have begun crossing the Long Mountains and expanding eastward.

But from the matter of smashing the pot, Diwu Lun already understood the man's true colors.

"A gambler."

He detested gamblers! The defenses of Weibei had to be tightened — this battle now seemed unavoidable.

Jing Dan was also somewhat worried: "My King, if Liu Bosheng's move spreads, our earlier claims that he burned Chang'an may fool the common folk, but they won't fool the magnates of the Five Tombs. Those people may stir at the rumor."

Diwu Lun's style contrasted starkly with Liu Bosheng's. Apart from Wang Yuan, none of the other Weibei magnate families had gained any benefit from the establishment of the State of Wei from beginning to end — because they had only waved flags and shouted once when Diwu Lun first raised his troops, making no other contributions, and Diwu Lun did not have that much cake to divide.

Jing Dan's point was: for the upcoming bestowal of ranks and rewards for merit, should they consider the several dozen magnate families of the Five Tombs in Weibei — former Han Marquis houses — and grant them a noble title to pacify them? Otherwise, if Liu Bosheng went to war with Weibei, they could not rule out the possibility that some short-sighted people, coveting those imperial parks that Diwu Lun could not and would not give, might do something foolish.

"Desires are insatiable." Ren Guang, who was usually gentle in his approach, broke character and vehemently opposed it.

"Those people want to restore their ancestral noble ranks, and they even want Your Majesty to divide up the official parks and hunting grounds of Weibei the way Liu Bosheng did. How can we satisfy them one by one? What would the officers and soldiers under your command think? Has Liu Bosheng ever cared whether the people of Chang'an live or die?"

The Chang'an that Diwu Lun had deliberately left him was a gaping hole of several hundred thousand mouths, utterly impossible to fill — an investment with no return. Just like fawning over the Weibei magnates with a shameless grin: when the time comes for them to betray you, they will still stab you in the back without the slightest hesitation.

Everyone must understand their own base. As the first conferral of noble titles since the founding of the state, the foundation must be laid well — institutional construction concerns the nation's fate for a hundred years; that is the long term. But outright ignoring them won't do either, for while this group is inadequate to accomplish anything, they are more than adequate to ruin things; that is the immediate concern.

Fortunately, the noble ranks Diwu Lun had devised could solve this problem perfectly.

The conferral of noble titles in Wei was imperative and could not be delayed further. After all, Western Han, Greenwood Han, and Northern Han were all handing out hundreds of marquisates as if they cost nothing, and even people like Geng Chun had received them. The wise would not take them seriously, but they would still harbor some thoughts in their hearts. Like the hasty assumption of the royal title, this was also to unite his followers: everyone line up and sit down, time to share the fruit.

"In ancient times, the achievements of a subject's service were ranked in five grades: establishing ancestral temples and securing the altars of state through virtue is called 'meritorious service'; using strength is called 'achievement'; using counsel is called 'labor'; making one's rank clear is called 'distinction'; accumulating days of service is called 'seniority.' Now that Wei is newly founded, noble ranks are set at five grades: those of meritorious service may become State Dukes, those with achievement become Marquises, those with labor become Counts, and those of distinction and seniority become Viscounts and Barons."

The Great Wei's institutions were indeed a patchwork monster. Diwu Lun had actually discarded the Han-era Marquis and Secondary Marquis and brought in the five noble ranks of the Xin Dynasty and even the Zhou Dynasty.

The lowest rank, Baron, was granted a hamlet of one li of households; a Viscount was granted a village of one ting of households, drawing their stipend from it. Diwu Lun decided that in a few days, when fixing the noble ranks at Yueyang, he would enfeoff the several dozen Weibei magnate families who had once raised banners in response — the larger ones as "Viscounts," the smaller ones as "Barons." This could also count as satisfying "seniority and distinction," at least tossing them a title to placate them for a few months.

In any case, given Diwu Lun's current administrative efficiency, the magnates' territories could basically only be left to free-range management — it was nothing more than acknowledging an established fact.

Viscount and Baron were consolation prizes, but Diwu Lun was quite cautious about bestowing Duke, Marquis, and Count. Such matters touched upon the art of rulership and were not to be discussed too deeply with others. He could only rely on his own experience and continue to cross the river by feeling the tail of the previous dynasty and the dynasty before that.

Wang Mang was clearly a classic case of failure. The five noble ranks were not a bad idea in themselves — stretching out the advancement curve so that meritorious officials would not reach the top too quickly: for the sake of promotion, those who should pay would pay, sending their lord money, grain, and territory; those who should grind would grind, selling their strength and stratagems — everyone could have something to look forward to.

Yet when Wang Mang first enfeoffed the eleven Upper Dukes, aside from filling several seats with incompetent sons and younger kinsmen of the Wang clan, he actually let Ai Zhang, a cake-seller, and a gatekeeper slip in among them. The Xin Dynasty's noble rank system lost all credibility from the very start and ultimately became a huge joke.

"The mirror of Yin is not far off — it lies in the age of the Xia sovereigns. And men do not worry about scarcity but about inequality; indiscriminate enfeoffment is worse than no enfeoffment at all."

So Diwu Lun happily decided to leave the ducal rank vacant and enfeoff not a single person! The ducal rank would just sit there! Not even a tenth of the realm had been conquered yet; gentlemen, you must still exert yourselves. When the day comes to proclaim the imperial title, only those whose meritorious service is sufficient to establish ancestral temples and secure the altars of state will be qualified.

What needed focused consideration were the two ranks of Marquis and Count. In this regard, the tail of the Xin Dynasty was already bald — utterly without reference value. But when Diwu Lun leafed through documents left from the early Han, he discovered something very interesting.

From the founding of the Great Han to the twelfth year of Han, when the Exalted Emperor Liu Bang pacified Ying Bu, a total of 143 meritorious Marquises were enfeoffed. However, they were not enfeoffed all at once, but in batches and over time.

The first time Liu Bang enfeoffed his followers as Marquises was on the very day of his accession — only ten people. No Xiao He, no Fan Kuai, no Zhang Liang. The first was the Marquis of Pingyang, Cao Can, who was skilled in both civil and military affairs. The rest included several people — Wang Xi, Xue Ou, and the like — whom Diwu Lun had never even heard of!

At first glance it looked like a farce — how could any Tom, Dick, or Harry be enfeoffed as Marquis in the first batch? But Diwu Lun patiently and carefully examined these men's records and discovered that this bestowal was far from ordinary. Savoring it carefully, Diwu Lun grasped the subtle brilliance of it and could not stop praising it.

"The Exalted Han Emperor's way of employing men is truly that of a heavenly being!"

…

Diwu Lun discovered that among the ten men Liu Bang enfeoffed as Marquis in the first batch, there were the most trusted Pei County meritorious officials, there were sons of Feng Yi who had once betrayed him, there were surrendered generals, and there was Chen Ping, who was in charge of covert warfare and intelligence. In addition, there were subordinate generals of the Grand General Han Xin and figures from the Western Chu surrendered general faction — basically covering the different factions and origins under Liu Bang's command.

These ten men were templates, exemplars. Those enfeoffed as Marquis afterward were measured against these ten as references and matched to seats according to the magnitude of their respective achievements and their affiliations.

And the different numbers of households granted represented Liu Bang's praise, reminders, or even suppression of each faction and each individual.

"Cao Can was first, enfeoffed with 10,600 households. His achievements were the greatest, so no one else could object. Xiahou Ying was second, with 6,900 households. He was Liu Bang's closest subordinate, had also saved Emperor Hui of Han and Princess Luyuan, and commanded the chariots and cavalry — his achievements were not small either."

"These two were an answer to the Pei County sons most loyal to him, telling everyone that they would inevitably be the main recipients of future Marquis enfeoffments, and they would certainly be richly rewarded. Stabilizing the Pei County sons was equivalent to stabilizing the foundation of the Han court."

Who were his own "Pei County meritorious officials"? The men who had "executed Heaven's justice" together with him in New Qinzhong — led by Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu, followed by Diwu Biao, Zheng Tong, and others, who had followed him all along, persevering from start to finish.

Diwu Lun continued reading and analyzing as he went: "Jin She and others represented the people from east of the Pass. These men were not ministers who followed the dragon from the start, but the Chu-Han Contention had proven their ability and loyalty. Stabilizing these men undoubtedly stabilized the main force of the Han army."

"Fu Kuan represented the faction of the Grand General Han Xin. During the Chu-Han period, these men left Liu Bang's side and followed Han Xin into battle. In terms of battle record and achievements, they were all outstanding. However, their relationship with Liu Bang was more distant. These seasoned veterans of the battlefield needed pacification, but with only 2,600 households, it was indeed suppressed a bit low."

His own "meritorious officials from east of the Pass" were basically the core team after he arrived in Wei territory — led by Big Geng Chun and Little Geng Yan, with later defectors like Jing Dan and Ren Guang also counting. As well as people like Huang Chang and Feng Qin, who were now working in Wei territory and Henei. Though slightly more distant, they could not be forgotten, and certainly not suppressed.

"And then there was Chen Ping, representing the covert front. Ever since proposing the stratagem of sowing discord in the third year of Han, he had continuously conducted espionage operations against Chu. He caused discord between the ruler and ministers of Western Chu, and with timely intelligence transmission, his achievements were enormous. A full 5,000 households in one go represented Liu Bang's attitude: although what Chen Ping and others did could not be revealed to the world, Liu Bang had not forgotten their achievements and would enfeoff them one by one."

Diwu Lun's own covert front was also newly established. Feng Yan was the equivalent of a budget version of Chen Ping. Until a more suitable candidate appeared, he would make do with him — could he really break up with him?

"Chen Ying was placed last. He represented the surrendered generals of Western Chu — some from the Xiang clan, some high officials of Western Chu. Since the stability of Western Chu's Jiangdong region was involved, enfeoffment as Marquis was certain, but Liu Bang would not give too much. After all, even someone as proactive as Chen Ying only got 1,800 households."

Surrendered generals, huh… The two old faces of Dou Rong and Shi Chen surfaced in Diwu Lun's mind.

Right, and there were also the "Feng County sons." Similar to Liu Bang's complicated relationship with his old hometown fellows who had once betrayed him, the magnates of Changling, led by Wang Yuan, were in fact also lukewarm toward Diwu Lun. The bonds of hometown affection were very fragile in the face of dividing interests.

This was the whole story of the Great Han founding's first batch of Marquis enfeoffments — relationships intricately intertwined and ever-changing. If the distribution was unfair or unequal, it could very easily provoke discontent and resistance from below, and thus it was extremely easy for upheaval to arise. After all, men do not worry about scarcity but about inequality.

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One could also see from this Liu Bang's skill in employing men and his ability to lay out the board. He could accurately grasp the key points — richly rewarding those who deserved rich rewards, suppressing those who deserved suppression, and abandoning those who deserved abandonment. In this regard, he was on an entirely different level from Xiang Yu.

"From carving meat to carving a state, to carving the realm — similar yet not quite the same. It is indeed a great field of study." Diwu Lun had not forgotten his own clansmen either. Their ability might be insufficient, but their loyalty was the highest. Many were not suited for important posts, but noble titles could not be skimped on — they would start being granted from Viscount and Baron.

Having fully grasped it, Diwu Lun basically knew how to divide these shares. He merely set down the scroll and rubbed his hands, sighing with emotion: "The tail of the Great Han is long and lush — truly good to touch. Unlike the Great Xin's rabbit tail…"

"So short!"

…

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.

(Chapter 3 at 23:00.)

My schedule's been unstable, and the pressure of rushing extra chapters is too much. From now on, any bonus chapters will be at 23:00. If that's too late, feel free to read them the next day — or I can just do fewer bonus chapters, so as not to inconvenience everyone (dog head).