Chapter 328: Nothing Like a Ruler of Men

Even though Wang Mang had already "perished," the poison pouch of "Grand Governor of Zhiping" Wang Hong still hung at his waist, ready for him to take the poison and end his life at any moment.

It was only because the number of people in this world who could bring about his death had grown greater than before.

"The Copper Horse bandits are to our north in Qinghe Commandery; King of Liang Liu Yong is to our south in Dingtao; the Wei army is to our west in Wei Commandery and Henei; and the Greenwood men are to our west in Chenliu."

The tiny Eastern Commandery had become a bird's egg caught in the middle of every power — whoever put their full strength into squeezing it could crush it in an instant. Fortunately, in recent months every side had been too preoccupied to look elsewhere, and Wang Hong had been able to keep the commandery's three hundred thousand–plus common folk safe.

But the good days had finally come to an end. As the Greenwood blades thrust eastward and county after county fell, Wang Hong could only hold fast at Puyang, utterly at a loss.

Surrendering to Greenwood was a fine solution, but earlier Wang Yi had burned himself alive for the Xin dynasty, and the Wang clan members in Luoyang had been slaughtered one after another by Greenwood. Wang Hong was an oddity among the Wangs — but would Greenwood stop to hear his explanation? It was said that the great scholar Cai Mao of Henei had been robbed and murdered on his way to join Greenwood; this affair had given the gentry of Yan and Ji provinces a terribly poor impression of Greenwood.

What was more, why did that Liu Xuan have to pick "Gengshi" as his era name, of all things? The common folk of Yan Province had once sung, "The Grand Preceptor we can still endure, but Gengshi slaughters us." Those two characters were naturally loathed. When they heard that the "Gengshi Emperor" was sending troops into Eastern Commandery, they all cried out in alarm, "Lian Dan has come back to life!" and, weeping and wailing, surged toward Puyang to seek refuge.

What could Wang Hong do? He had no choice but to seek help from Geng Chun of Wei Commandery and Ma Yuan of Henei, with whom he had at least dealt before, offering to submit Eastern Commandery to the King of Wei. He also did his utmost to ferry boatload after boatload of common folk across the river, so that they might escape the scourge of war.

If one said that Liu Bosheng, who had entered the pass, was the ceiling of Greenwood Army discipline, then Zhang Ang's division was the floor of order. After entering Eastern Commandery, they plundered powerful houses and middling households on a grand scale — truly living up to those two characters, "Gengshi."

The aging Wang Hong could only watch this scene helplessly, craning his neck as he gazed longingly toward the far bank of the great river to the west.

"I wonder if my nephew can persuade the Commandant of State and the Wei Chancellor."

Just as Greenwood was besieging Puyang from two corners, a roll of yellow banners at last appeared on the opposite bank. The relief force stretched from Baima to Huzi Crossing, looking vast and mighty, the column drawn out very long, its encampments and cooking fires also quite flourishing — it looked to be a full ten thousand strong.

But the men Ma Yuan had brought numbered only a scant three thousand. The two Green-Han marquises garrisoned at Henan and Chenggao had to be guarded against; the vital communication routes to Shangdang had to be held; and troops still had to be left behind to keep the various factions in Henei in check. He was stretched to the limit — this was every soldier he could bring, and compared to the ten-thousand-strong Greenwood army on the opposite bank, it was woefully inadequate.

The army had only just arrived, and Ma Yuan did not wish to expend his strength here. He had his accompanying staff officers each propose a stratagem.

A man from Henei offered a vicious plan: "Why not use water in place of soldiers?"

"At Huzi Crossing stands the Xuanfang levee, built in the time of Emperor Wu of Han, directly facing Puyang. We need only conscript laborers from Wei and Henei, breach the levee, and let the floodwaters rush forth. Not only will Greenwood destroy itself, but the several tens of thousands of bandits east and south of the great river — the remnants of the Red Eyebrows, the Cheng Tou Zi Lu, and the rest — will also be swept clean away!"

These words at once stirred righteous indignation: "But in doing so, Eastern Commandery would also be ruined. How would that differ from Qi and Zhao using their neighbors as a drainage ditch during the Warring States?"

"Even without a great flood, it's already been pretty much ruined by the Red Eyebrows and Greenwood by now." The Henei man argued obstinately: "A blank sheet of white silk is easy to paint on."

Huang Chang was by nature ruthless and venomous, yet on this matter alone he was quite opposed: "After His Majesty defeated the Red Eyebrow Chi Zhaoping, he sank a jade disc into the river, saying that sooner or later he would put an end to the great river's floods and restore peace to both banks. Yet you, you brat, want to do the exact opposite — wouldn't that be sullying His Majesty's good name for nothing?"

There was such a thing? The Henei man was stunned, and Ma Yuan, without a moment's hesitation, gestured with his hand: "Drag this man out!"

But Huang Chang then spoke to Ma Yuan with meaningful emphasis: "In the eighteenth year of King Huiwen of Zhao, the Zhao army reached this place and breached the river to drown Qi and Wei, bringing disaster upon Puyang. The floodwaters stretched for a hundred li; those who drowned from the breached levee numbered eight or nine thousand; the houses destroyed numbered over ten thousand; and a hundred thousand people suffered. Yet in later ages, who remembers this act of King Huiwen of Zhao? Everyone only remembers the Meeting at Mianchi and 'The General and the Chancellor Make Peace,' praising him as an enlightened sovereign of his age."

Ma Yuan shot Huang Chang a glance: "And that is why King Huiwen of Zhao had a generation of heroes — Lin Xiangru, Lian Po, Zhao She, Yu Qing, and the rest — yet could not achieve the great enterprise, and spent his whole life under duress from mighty Qin."

"Because in his heart there was only hegemony, not the people! And what the realm must hold in awe is the people alone. The people are more to be feared than flood and fire, tigers and leopards. King Huiwen of Zhao may have won for a time, but he lost the hearts of the eastern people, and in the end could not fully gain the lands of Wei west of the Ji River."

Huang Chang understood. He bowed with clasped hands and asked: "Then how does the Commandant of State intend to fight this battle?"

"First, seize every single boat at Puyang."

Ma Yuan watched the great Greenwood army beneath the walls of Puyang, grain carts being pushed forward ceaselessly from the west. He summoned Wang Hong's nephew, Wang Pan, to see him: "Where is Greenwood's nearest grain depot?"

"I venture to inform the Commandant of State: south of Baima Crossing, at Wuchao!"

…

In the middle of the eleventh month, word reached far-off Xiangguo City in Henei that Ma Yuan and Greenwood were locked in a standoff on the river, and the "Sixing Emperor," Wang Lang, was at once stirred to excitement.

Though Wang Lang was a fake Liu, an impostor who had stolen the name, he worked far harder than the two genuine Lius — that fool Liu Ying of Western Han and that mediocrity Liu Xuan of Green Han. He had no love for beautiful women, pleasure, or music. Day in and day out, he toiled bitterly at practicing every step and every bow of the Han court, polishing every word and every deed befitting an emperor. Even deep into the night, he studied the classics, striving never to utter a single wrong phrase.

How well had the great scholar of their Zhao lands, Master Xun, put it: "I wish to be honored though base, wise though foolish, rich though poor — is it possible? I say: only through learning!"

He too could, through learning, transform from the lowly Wang Lang into the exalted "Liu Ziyu"!

Under Wang Lang's efforts, aside from a handful like Liu Lin who knew he was a fraud, the suspicions of the assembled ministers gradually faded away. Even Liu Jie, the King of Guangyang — one of the Three Lius of Hebei — who came in person to pay homage, exclaimed with admiration: "Truly a son of Emperor Xiaocheng! He has the bearing of a sovereign!"

The polar opposite of Liu Xuan, who "looked nothing like a ruler of men."

Yet when outsiders were dismissed and only the King of Zhao, Liu Lin, remained for a "consultation," Wang Lang at once shed his pretense. Humbling himself and bowing low, he prostrated himself at the feet of Liu Lin, who sat openly upon the imperial couch: "King of Zhao, this is a heaven-sent opportunity to take the Wei lands and Henei to the south!"

Wang Lang groveled on the floor, his rear sticking up high, and spoke with fervent eagerness: "Though the King of Zhao had this humble one move the capital to Xiangguo, it is only a little over two hundred li south to Yecheng, and the terrain is flat and open — chariots and cavalry can reach it in two days!"

"Now that Diwu Lun has honored himself as king, retaining the seals and credentials of the various Han offices but refusing to accept them, and has even defeated Liu Bosheng, his might shakes all Huaxia. His ambition is already plain for all to see. To expect him to submit to Sixing is, I fear, impossible."

"If Diwu Lun unifies Guanzhong, he will then march his troops eastward. At that time, with Hedong striking Shangdang and the Wei lands enveloping Hebei, Xiangguo will be like a thing in the palm of his hand."

Wang Lang bowed again and put forward his own plan: "It would be better to take advantage of this winter moment, when the Copper Horses have temporarily pulled back to Bohai and Hejian and the pressure is somewhat lighter, to have Bao Yong of Shangdang sever the Zhi Pass road, so that the Wei army cannot coordinate east and west. Then let the King of Zhending strike Hedong from Taiyuan, while the King of Zhao leads his forces south to strike Wei and Henei."

"In this way, the rich and fertile lands between the two rivers can fall into our hands. With the mountains and rivers as our outer and inner defenses, we can then check Diwu Lun's momentum."

The words were earnest, but Liu Lin only looked at Wang Lang and said: "I know — you have a vendetta against Diwu Lun."

A vendetta for the murder of his father! Wang Lang's father had also been a spirit medium. Not only had he packaged for him the identity of "Liu Ziyu," he had also planned to "restore the Han" together with the former Grand Governor of Wei Cheng — only to have Diwu Lun, acting on Wang Mang's orders, come and sweep them away. His father had died, and Wang Lang could only retreat to Handan.

Now that Liu Lin had laid it bare, he did not bother to hide it, merely shedding tears as he said: "A vendetta for one's father brooks no sharing of the same sky, but this humble one is also genuinely thinking of the King of Zhao's interests."

"I know that." Liu Lin was also vexed. At present, although the lands north of Zhao and west of Liaodong all obeyed the orders of the Northern Han and used the "Sixing" era name, most of the territory had been taken by the King of Zhending, Liu Yang, and the King of Guangyang, Liu Jie. Liu Lin himself had been dragged down by those heaven-cursed Copper Horse troops, so that in the several months since the state's founding, his own territory had not expanded one bit.

How could this go on? Though he held the "Son of Heaven" in his hands, Liu Lin knew this one was a fake; he still needed his own strength to be solid. The King of Guangyang was tolerable, but that Liu Yang, who spent every day stroking his tumor, also harbored a surging ambition of his own…

The Wei lands and Henei — Liu Lin had been coveting them for far more than just a day or two, yet he still shook his head: "We must wait a while longer."

"The King of Zhending will not agree to go to war against his own nephew, Geng Chun."

"This winter, let us first root out the influence of Geng Chun's family in Hecheng Commandery, drive away that Governor of Hecheng, Pi Tong, and remove the threat at our backs."

Liu Lin revealed his own plan: "After that, when the twelfth month comes and you are wed to the King of Zhending's niece, Guo Shengtong, we will take Liu Yang hostage at the wedding banquet — only then can we carry this out!"

And let the King of Zhending busy himself with swallowing up Taiyuan, Yanmen, Dai, and the other commanderies — sooner or later, they would all be his!

"Yes!"

Wang Lang assented. The hour was growing late. Liu Lin rose from the imperial couch and let Wang Lang take his seat back upon it. When the attendants were summoned in, all they could see was Liu Lin bowing with the utmost deference to Wang Lang as he took his leave.

And after Liu Lin had gone, Wang Lang discovered that his own hands could not stop trembling.

He was afraid. On one hand, he had to make use of Liu Lin to avenge his father. On the other hand, Wang Lang also knew that the moment Liu Lin used the wedding banquet to swallow up the King of Zhending's power and grew strong enough to no longer need him — that would be the moment "Liu Ziyu" suddenly succumbed to a vicious illness and dropped dead!

Perhaps before that, they would even stage a farce of the Sixing Emperor "yielding the throne" to the King of Zhao!

In the traveling palace at Xiangguo, deep in the night, Wang Lang only whispered to himself: "Shun was not Yao's son, and Yu was not Shun's descendant, yet both were able to become sage sovereigns of their age and carry on the governance of the Three Dynasties."

"Though I am not of the true Liu line, I can still be a better emperor than Cheng, Ai, Ping, and even that Liu Ying and Liu Xuan!"

"Are kings, lords, generals, and ministers born of fixed stock? Are the Sons of Heaven of the Han born of fixed stock?"

…

The east and Hebei were in turmoil, but in Guanzhong, the "nail-pulling" plan was proceeding in a methodical and orderly fashion.

And Diwu Lun's wife and children, after he personally went to Puban to escort them, had also arrived at the Lanchi Palace beside the Chengguo Canal. This place could be traced back to the Qin dynasty, when the First Emperor of Qin diverted the Wei River to encircle it, then dug a pool and built an island to create the Orchid Pool, modeled after the immortal mountains of the sea.

"When I first entered Chang'an years ago, passing through this place with Wang Long and Jing Dan, I once gazed out over the pool and pondered the past and present, recalling how the First Emperor of Qin had encountered bandits here. I never imagined that today this place would become my family's temporary residence."

Diwu Lun was very satisfied with Shi Chen's renovation of Lanchi Palace — not overly luxurious or wasteful of the people's labor, yet still elegant, fully meeting the needs of a temporary traveling palace.

But he had little time to spend with his wife and children; often he would receive battle reports at first light and rise hurriedly to depart.

Diwu Lun had no habit of sharing a bed with men, and toward ministers he wished to show trust in, he would at most clasp their arms in fellowship — he even felt some aversion to same-sex physical proximity. Thus, unlike typical emperors, he would not let male servants or eunuchs change his clothes or attend to such intimate matters as relieving himself.

The same went for the opposite sex — he would not even let a maidservant get too close while tying his sash.

It was not that he lacked desire for women. Ma Chanchan had heard that during her absence, Diwu Lun had indeed had two or three bed-warmers, but they were all fleeting impulses; he never let them stay the night, and each time it ended very quickly...

Diwu Lun, that old scoundrel, had not concealed this from her but told her truthfully, even declaring with righteous conviction that "**clouds the judgment."

Though Ma Chanchan was a little displeased, she also knew...

"The King is, in truth, deeply suspicious by nature. Aside from those whose roots he knows inside out, who would he ever allow to stay long by his side?"

So Ma Chanchan thought to herself as she drew close and tied his sash for him. Diwu Lun teased his son for a moment, then hurried away.

Only then did the Queen of Wei have the time to make a thorough inspection of Lanchi Palace. She would need to settle the women who had been with Diwu Lun separately in a side hall — she could not let things go on muddled, with children born and no one knowing whose they were.

During her inspection, however, she spotted a strikingly beautiful maidservant who stood out from the rest, dressed in elegant finery, a crane among chickens. The other maids treated her with the utmost deference; she did no work herself, only directing the women to do this and that, looking for all the world as if she were the mistress of Lanchi Palace.

Ma Chanchan said nothing, only watched from above with a faint smile for a while. She inquired of others and learned that this was not a woman the King of Wei had favored, but someone who had arrived at Lanchi Palace only the day before, and whose status was far from ordinary. She then had the girl summoned for questioning.

Time is unkind — this girl was younger than her, only seventeen or eighteen, and her delicate features even surpassed her own somewhat. She had the look of a well-bred young lady, her etiquette perfectly polished. She bowed low and her voice was very sweet:

"This lowly servant is called Shi Luo. By my father's command I have entered the palace, to serve as a maidservant to the Queen."

PS: Chapter 2 at 18:00.