Chapter 322: Rising Dragon

On the eighteenth day of the ninth month, the very day Liu Bosheng fell in battle.

During those hurried wedding days meant to dispel the Gengshi Emperor's suspicions, Liu Xiu did indeed shed tears in secret at night — Feng Yi even caught him at it. But it lasted only a few days. After that, caught up in the rush of travel and living under another's roof, he had to worry about his small band's very survival, and the grief gradually faded.

Yet this morning, he wept with extraordinary force — when he jolted awake from a nightmare, the pillowcloth was already soaked through!

He could no longer recall the dream's details clearly; it seemed to be something from his youth, his elder brother's smiling face unusually vivid.

Liu Xiu wiped the tear stains from his face and reproached himself: "What has come over me? I have accomplished no great deeds, yet a little setback makes me weep and wail — I shame the descendants of the Exalted Emperor."

He immediately rose, straightened his clothes and cap, and walked out the door. This was a three-courtyard compound in the outer ward of Suiyang city in Liang territory. As guests of Liu Yong, the Prince of Liang, Liu Xiu and all his followers were lodged here.

Zhu You sat in the shade of a tree, reading a book he had found who knows where, two Go stones still twirling between his fingers. He had once been a senior lecturer at the Imperial Academy, and even in the ranks he never let a book leave his hand — refined and cultivated through and through.

Chen Jun and Fu Jun, the two military men, were sparring hand-to-hand in the courtyard, one wielding a halberd, the other a saber and hooked shield, trading blow for blow.

Feng Yi, with his thick brows and large eyes, crouched before the stove fanning the fire with a palm-leaf fan, the smoke making him squint.

Though a gentleman keeps his distance from the kitchen, Feng Yi was an exception — his cooking was surprisingly good. The men could not stomach Liang cuisine, and it was Feng Yi who could prepare a few Yingchuan and Wan-region dishes. And the diligent, taciturn Zang Gong was carrying manure buckets, watering the vegetables in the garden behind the compound — vegetables Liu Xiu had planted. They had been settled here for over a month now.

Liu Xiu had come east on the Gengshi Emperor's orders with two missions: first, to formally enfeoff the Prince of Liang and arrange for Gengshi regime officials of the two-thousand-bushel rank to take up posts in the commanderies controlled by Liu Yong and Dong Xian; second, to pacify and win over the Red Eyebrow Army.

But the first matter had never been settled, and the second Liu Xiu kept stalling, remaining in Suiyang merely to observe the situation.

When the men saw Liu Xiu emerge, they all stopped what they were doing and bowed to him with clasped hands.

Liu Xiu looked around and asked, "Where are the others?"

Feng Yi reported: "Yao Qi and Ji Zun have gone into the city with Wang Ba to gather news."

"And Deng Yu?"

Everyone laughed. "Deng Zhonghua is still asleep."

"Tch." Liu Xiu laughed and cursed, "That boy sleeps by day — truly a piece of rotten wood."

Laugh though he did, he knew why Deng Yu rose late every day. The intelligence his subordinates gathered was analyzed by Deng Yu through the night. Sometimes Liu Xiu and Feng Yi would yawn and go off to sleep, while Deng Yu still pored over the crude maps he had drawn himself for half the night.

Since the fall of Wang Mang's Xin Dynasty, the realm's situation had shifted like windblown clouds. Now there was the Northern Han, the Western Han, the Greenwood Han, the Hu Han, and with Liu Sheng in Runan also declaring himself emperor, five Han regimes stood side by side. And warlords seizing commanderies and counties were beyond counting — in just over a month, many new powers had sprung up everywhere.

Liu Xiu not only kept up his persona of "lover of farming" by planting vegetables in the garden and doing menial tasks, but also secretly kept a close eye on the great affairs of the realm.

And thanks to Deng Yu's collation, though stranded here in Liang city, Liu Xiu could still form a fairly clear picture of the current situation.

It was nearly mealtime when Deng Yu finally rose, dark circles under his eyes. Ignoring the food Feng Yi handed him, he first launched eagerly into an analysis of the present state of affairs for Liu Xiu.

"Right now, Gengshi is deploying the Greenwood commanders to attack Liu Sheng, the 'emperor' in Runan. I suspect Liu Sheng's defeat is near — he won't last until winter."

"The Prince of Liang, Liu Yong, taking advantage of Gengshi having no attention to spare for the east, has used Liang, Shanyang, and Dingtao as a base to seize Pei County, where he personally performed sacrifices to the Exalted Emperor. He has also sent Dong Xian eastward to attack Donghai Commandery."

"Several hundred thousand Red Eyebrows are still in Huaibei, in the Xin Dynasty's Wufu Commandery, but since autumn began, their grain has been running short, and they are gradually spreading westward into Chen and Huaiyang."

"The situations in Hebei and Ba-Shu are unclear."

Deng Yu rattled all this off in one breath, then raised the most critical point: "And your elder brother Bosheng, my lord, has led troops into Guanzhong. Ostensibly to strike the Western Han in Longyou, but in truth, Gengshi has enfeoffed him as Prince of Pingyi. Given Bosheng's temperament, I fear he may end up fighting Diwu Lun!"

"Chang'an is a trap. I wrote to warn him, but Bosheng still plunged headlong in. If he starts a war with Diwu Lun on top of that, I fear he'll come out the worse for it." Liu Xiu was deeply worried, and could not help recalling last night's dream, his heart greatly troubled.

But on the surface, he feigned optimism: "With Bosheng's valor, who could stop him?"

So saying, he smiled and pushed the meat and vegetables toward Deng Yu, who shared his dining mat: "Zhonghua, eat quickly — it's gone cold."

Liu Xiu had no leisure to worry about others. Before long, an official arrived on the Prince of Liang's orders to call upon him.

"Envoy Liu."

Liu Xiu bore the imperial credentials and carried out his mandate across the land, hence this title. The Liang palace official said: "The Prince of Liang invites Envoy Liu to hunt in Liang Park!"

Liang territory was a populous region, yet right near the great city of Suiyang there was a park to rival the Shanglin Garden. Here, palaces and lodges stood linked; rare fruits and fine trees, exotic birds and strange beasts — nothing was absent.

Liu Yong, Prince of Liang, as host, introduced the place to Liu Xiu with no small pride: "In former days, Prince Xiao built the Yaohua Palace and laid out the Tu Garden. This mountain at the foot is Bailing Mountain; on it are the Inch-Skin Stone and the Ape-Falling Crag. Wenshu, doesn't that look just like an ape?"

You look more like an ape leaping up and down to me. Liu Xiu smiled politely and said, "The resemblance is indeed striking."

"This is the Cultivated Bamboo Garden. The bamboo and trees here are the finest gathered from all the realm, and wandering scholars from every quarter have each composed rhapsodies upon it."

Liu Yong did not stint in displaying his literary cultivation, reciting from a "Rhapsody on the Prince of Liang's Tu Garden": "And so in late spring and early summer, the beauties of Handan and Xiangguo, of Yi and Zhuo, and the wandering gallants of Yan and Fen mingled together and flocked thither."

One could truly imagine it: in those days, when Prince Xiao of Liang first built Liang Park, Zou Yang, Gongsun Gui, and Yang Sheng of Qi; Mei Cheng and Yan Ji of Wu; Sima Xiangru of Shu — men of letters from every region came flocking as guests, lingering among the rare flowers and lush groves, the dense bamboo and tall trees. One saw tiered towers rising through the mist, flying pavilions wreathed in haze; in the detached palaces and lodges, endless rainbow-hued silks and kingfisher sleeves, never-ending songs and music night after night. Whether under bright blazing sun or in moonlight pale and breezes clear, Prince Xiao and the literati, stirred by their surroundings, traded verses in reply — truly a golden age of letters...

But the purpose of Prince Xiao of Liang in building this park was surely more than mere pleasure, was it not? Proud of his own merit in repelling the Wu and Chu rebels, wild ambitions stirred in his heart, and he began laying the groundwork of public opinion for his own rise. Liang Park was, on one hand, a display of wealth; on the other, a preparation for recruiting worthy men.

And the present Prince of Liang, Liu Yong — from Liu Xiu's observations over the past month — harbored ambitions no smaller. Today, his intent lay not in touring the park, but in Liu Xiu himself.

Liu Xiu's status was no ordinary one. He was among the first to raise the banner at Chongling, and the hero of the Battle of Kunyang, where three thousand routed three hundred thousand. Liu Yong reckoned: if he could win this man to his service, what great enterprise need he fear would fail?

And if he refused?

That was simple too. Liu Yong was just then looking to borrow a blade to kill — to set the Red Eyebrows and Greenwood forces at each other's throats so he could reap the fisherman's profit. This Liu Xiu would make a perfect fuse. He would shortly hint at his ambitions; if Liu Xiu refused, then when he set out on his mission to the Red Eyebrows, Liu Yong would deliberately send men to tail him, smear red on their brows, and strike him down!

The Red Eyebrows' organization was chaotic anyway — such incidents happened all the time. Then he would have men pose as Greenwood troops and strike a Red Eyebrow detachment, thus sowing enmity between Greenwood and the Red Eyebrows.

With this thought, Liu Yong said, "Wenshu, you really should get out and about more. Tending a vegetable patch in a courtyard — how can that compare to the pleasure of hunting and sightseeing here?"

The two walked to a garden called "Rising Dragon Enclosure" and sat down. After a few cups of warm wine, Liu Yong's mood for talk swelled, and he began to speak of things he normally would not reveal.

"Does Wenshu know what 'Rising Dragon' means?"

Liu Yong answered his own question: "It means to make the dragon rise and travel, bringing rain."

"Last month, I went to Feng and Pei to perform sacrifices to the Exalted Emperor. I heard the locals say that the Exalted Emperor's mother, Dame Liu, once rested by the banks of a great marsh and dreamed she met a god. At that moment, thunder and lightning darkened the sky. The Grand Emperor went to look, and saw a scaly dragon lying upon Dame Liu. Afterward, she became pregnant and gave birth to the Exalted Emperor."

Though it carried the implication that Liu Bang was not the Grand Emperor's own son, this heavy-flavored tale of cuckolding had been passed down with such vivid detail that the various Liu clans believed it as truth, indeed regarding themselves as noble dragon seed.

"Now the Xin and Mang are destroyed, yet many Han states stand side by side — like a dragon that has spawned five sons, each devouring the other. In Wenshu's opinion, which among them is the true dragon?"

Liu Xiu pondered the question, gauging Liu Yong's purpose, and only smiled guilelessly. "As a subject of the Gengshi Emperor, the true dragon goes without saying. However..."

"In Nanyang, the words 'Rising Dragon' do not mean a heavenly dragon traveling the clouds and spreading rain. They refer to a landslide."

"My homeland is surrounded by mountains. After rains, they often collapse. The locals say it is caused by a snake transforming into a dragon — hence they call it 'Rising Dragon.'"

"Today, too, a host of snakes are transforming into dragons, five dragons contending. But perhaps there is also a horned serpent, hidden and coiled in the mountains, biding its time, waiting to ride the momentum and rise, to fulfill its ambition and course across the four seas?"

Liu Yong was startled. "Does Wenshu mean your elder brother Bosheng?"

"No, I do not mean Bosheng." Liu Xiu shook his head. His foolish brother had already plunged headlong into the dragon-trapping snare — who knew how he fared now.

"Then this horned serpent Wenshu spoke of — the future true dragon — is..."

Liu Xiu smiled and said nothing, only looked at Liu Yong and gave a slight bow, his expression saying "you know what I mean." Liu Yong first stared blankly, then was overjoyed.

So it was me all along!

"I understand Wenshu's grievances."

Liu Yong warmly took Liu Xiu's hand and said with feeling: "Raising the banner at Chongling, Little Chang'an, the Tang River, and finally Kunyang — Wenshu's achievements are no less than Bosheng's, and far surpass those of the Greenwood chieftains."

"Yet Gengshi would not even grant you a single princely title. While the birds are still many, he already wants to put the good bow away — this truly chills the hearts of all bold men under Heaven!"

"My reason for refusing the two-thousand-bushel officials Gengshi sent into Liang was precisely this worry. In my view, Gengshi is no true dragon!"

"Dong Xian has not received a princely title either, yet in the east, he is still 'Prince Dong'! Wenshu, stay here in Liang. In days to come, you shall surely establish the rites of a feudal lord!"

Though he did not say outright that he too harbored imperial ambitions, this was already an open hint — so long as Liu Xiu was willing to submit to him, Liu Yong would not be stingy with a princely title!

He was waiting with full expectation for Liu Xiu's answer when a trusted aide came running in, saying there was an urgent matter to report.

"Speak openly here." Liu Yong struck a pose. "Wenshu is my uncle — one of our own!"

Liu Yong was a tenth-generation descendant of Liu Bang, a generation junior to Liu Xiu. If Liu Yong's scheme succeeded and he could proclaim himself emperor, he might even have to call A'xiu "Imperial Uncle" in the future.

But what the trusted aide reported once again dashed Liu Yong's imperial dream.

"Liu Sheng of Runan has already been attacked and destroyed by the Greenwood chieftains dispatched by Gengshi!"

"So quickly?" Liu Yong was stunned. It had been barely two months since Liu Sheng, egged on by surrendered Xin-dynasty generals, had proclaimed himself emperor. Liu Sheng had recruited tens of thousands of men, claimed a hundred thousand, and held a major commandery — yet at the Greenwood attack, they scattered at the mere rumor of approach. It seemed the Greenwood Army's fighting strength was still formidable! No wonder even men as strong as the Liu Bosheng brothers — one could only be squeezed out and sent to Guanzhong, the other had to slink eastward in defeat.

He had been wise not to directly proclaim himself emperor and oppose Greenwood. Liu Yong made his calculations in his heart: slowly annex the eastern commanderies and counties while secretly working to make the Red Eyebrows and Greenwood fight each other — that was the proper course.

Follow the public account: Book Friends Base Camp, follow and receive cash and coins!

Liu Xiu also let out a breath. The reason he had been lingering and making no progress at Liang City was precisely that he had been waiting for this very matter!

After seizing Runan Commandery, a great commandery with a population of over two and a half million, and adding Nanyang, Yingchuan, Luoyang, and other rich heartland regions, the Gengshi Greenwood faction was still the strongest power.

Only after them came Diwu Lun, Northern Han, Western Han, and the rest — the Prince of Liang was yet another tier lower. After this campaign, the Prince of Liang at least would not dare to jump up, and the southern regions could be settled by mere proclamation. Flying the Gengshi banner was still more useful than submitting to the Prince of Liang or hastily setting up on one's own.

And so Liu Xiu knew what he must do next.

He then bowed to Liu Yong: "Since the Gengshi Emperor has now taken Runan and freed his hands, I dare not linger too long, or Gengshi will surely grow suspicious!"

Liu Yong looked at him sideways: "Wenshu still means to obey orders and go to the Red Eyebrows?"

"Sent forth to the four quarters, not disgracing the mission — that is what may be called a gentleman. Though the Red Eyebrows are fierce and hard to tame, I must still go."

Toward Liu Yong's recruitment, Liu Xiu neither agreed nor disagreed, maintaining an ambiguous attitude. He only said quietly: "Does Your Highness wish Gengshi to succeed in recruiting the Red Eyebrows?"

"What does Wenshu think?" Though Liu Yong hated the Red Eyebrow Army to the bone — they had dug up the burial mounds of several generations of Liang princes — he understood the principle that when the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold.

"With Liu Sheng of Runan gone, the only thing left standing between me and Gengshi is the Red Eyebrows."

"Then I know what I should do when I reach the Red Eyebrows." Liu Xiu said this with a smile, giving Liu Yong an ambiguous stance, just to keep him confused for a while — lest the moment he left Liang territory, this man send troops disguised as Red Eyebrows to do him in!

He then took his leave of Liu Yong. As he departed, he glanced toward the Dragon-Rising Park, beside which lay the Wild Goose and Duck Pond, with Crane Islet and Teal Shoal within it.

These ponds stretched four li around. It was late autumn, and the northern birds gathered here in clouds — a splendid sight indeed. But this place was, after all, only a temporary dwelling. When harsh winter came, they would soar on, flying southward!

So too with Liu Xiu. He told himself in a low voice: "Fair though the Liang Gardens may be, they are no home to linger in for long!"

"At last we are leaving this Liang City."

When they heard that Liu Xiu was about to set out, all the men under his command were overjoyed. The climate here was fine, the girls lovely — their very bones had gone soft from the stay. They had followed Liu Xiu because they admired this god of war from Kunyang and wanted to achieve great things. The Liang Gardens were no place for a true man to linger long in a chaotic age.

But some were still heavy with worry about the future. Wang Ba asked Liu Xiu: "My Lord, are we truly going to recruit the Red Eyebrows?"

Liu Xiu smiled without answering and shook his head.

Of course not! He could see clearly too: Gengshi sending him to the Red Eyebrows was also a venomous scheme. That fierce and unruly Red Eyebrow Army was not so easily subdued. Liu Xiu had not idled away this month in Liang City — he had sent Wang Ba and others to find men who had escaped from the Red Eyebrows and question them carefully. It was said that their leader Fan Chong bitterly hated the Liu family, and that in their prisoner camp there were over seventy members of the imperial clan herding cattle!

"In Greenwood I was the Ox-Riding General. If I go to the Red Eyebrows, I fear I'll be the Ox-Herding General!"

Liu Xiu had always been witty, and the men all burst out laughing at this. Zhu You's eyes lit up: "Then... shall we make our way to Guanzhong and reunite with Bosheng?"

Liu Xiu shook his head again. His elder brother was likely already trapped in Chang'an by now; if he went himself, it would do no good.

Surely they couldn't go back to Nanyang? The men looked at one another in bewilderment. Only Deng Yu and Feng Yi exchanged a glance, then nodded to each other.

Deng Yu was the first to step forward and speak: "My Lord, although the Gengshi Emperor has secured the Central Plains, the east is not yet settled. Rabble like the Red Eyebrows number over a hundred thousand at a stroke, while men like the Prince of Liang harbor great ambitions. Throughout the commanderies and counties, bandits and great raiders gather in swarms, borrowing titles and names. Not to mention Northern Han, Western Han, and Diwu Lun dominating the north — this is an age of warring states!"

"Gengshi has neither defeated the various heroes, nor are those men willing to obey a mere proclamation. The Greenwood generals possess only momentary courage — in truth they are but mediocre men, their minds set on pleasure and wealth, vying in the use of force, seeking only sooner or later to indulge themselves. There are few among them loyal, wise, and far-sighted. The realm is splitting apart, the shape of things plain to see. Though My Lord has rendered the service of a bulwark and vassal, and wholeheartedly seeks to honor the sovereign and bring peace to the people, I fear it will all come to nothing."

This was also the reason Deng Yu had refused to take office in the Gengshi court and instead had come chasing after Liu Xiu.

"The best course now is to remain in Xu and Yang provinces, draw in heroes from all quarters, and save the lives of the common people. With My Lord's virtue and talent, the southeastern provinces and commanderies can be secured!"

Feng Yi also offered his counsel: "My Lord, all under Heaven suffer alike under the Wang clan and have long yearned for the Han."

"Yet now, with multiple Han regimes standing side by side, the officers and generals are perplexed. And the Gengshi generals run rampant and tyrannical, plundering wherever they go. The common people are disappointed and have no one to rely on or look up to."

"This is an age of tragedy and ferocity, but it is also an opportunity for heroes to rise! Only when there was the chaos of Jie and Zhou could the achievements of Tang and Wu be seen; when men have long hungered and thirsted, it is easy to fill and satisfy them."

His words were far more naked than Deng Yu's: "Now that My Lord has sole command over a region, if you can tour the commanderies and counties that Gengshi and the Prince of Liang have overlooked, and with My Lord's Kunyang renown, extend grace and virtue, redress grievances, and spread benevolence, you will surely gain power!"

Liu Xiu looked at the two finest men under his command. Deng Yu excelled at stratagem, while Feng Yi saw the shape of the world clearly — they were his two wings. And the rest of his men were his claws and fangs.

Everything was ready — only a territory was lacking!

Liu Xiu at last made his decision and said in a low voice: "After we leave the Prince of Liang's jurisdiction, we shall feint southward for a stretch, then turn east — to Pengcheng!"

Deng Yu and Feng Yi were right. The days of living under another's roof — whether Gengshi or the Prince of Liang — he, Liu Xiu, had had enough!

Like his elder brother, he would carve out a realm of his own!

"When the time comes, east and west will join forces, and we shall meet our armies in the Central Plains to achieve great things together!"

But reality was far harsher than the ideal. As they left Suiyang, the sky churned with wind and clouds, dark clouds pressed down, and at last a sudden downpour fell in torrents. Without the shelter of Liang City's roof tiles, they were all somewhat bedraggled.

While taking shelter from the rain at a dilapidated post station, they saw in the distance, amid the storm, a cliff of earth on a spur of the Mangdang Mountains come crashing down in a landslide with a roar, to everyone's horror!

But within it, might there also be serpents lurking hidden beneath the waves, transforming into true dragons that rise soaring through the cosmos?

Liu Xiu then laughed heartily: "Zhonghua, Gongsun, all of you!"

"Look."

"The dragon rises!"

……

PS: A bit late. Chapter 2 at 18:00.