Chapter 334: The Hundred Surnames

Wugong County lies beside the Wei River. During the Xin Dynasty, this city held a special status — it was Wang Mang's enfiefed domain, renamed "Xinguang." The great auspicious omens that helped Wang Mang ascend the throne were "unearthed" here, and Wang Mang treated this city with great favor, exempting it from taxes and levies.

So when the Xin regime fell, the people of Wugong were rather regretful, for from that point on, the good fortune of tax exemption would likely be gone forever.

The greatest powerful clan in Wugong was the Su family, descendants of the famed Han minister Su Wu. They joined hands with the powerful families throughout the city, mustering several thousand retainers to defend themselves. When Diwu Lun, Longyou, Liu Bosheng, and other factions came to requisition grain, they would hand over a little, but absolutely refused to let their troops enter the city.

This attitude of strict neutrality did not change until after the tenth month, when "rumors" about Diwu Lun slaughtering prominent families and dividing up their lands spread along both banks of the Wei River.

At the start of the twelfth month, when Wei Ao's great army reached Wugong County, the elders of the city completely reversed their former stance and opened the gates to welcome him. Su Wu's great-grandson, named Su Hui, prostrated himself before Wei Ao's horse and said through tears:

"The Grand General has finally come! We, the powerful families of Wugong, and indeed all the prominent clans north and south of the Wei, have longed for the royal army as parched fields long for sweet rain!"

Wei Ao, still maintaining his attitude of humbly seeking worthy men, dismounted and helped Su Hui to his feet. Once inside Wugong city, the first thing he proposed was: "I wish to offer sacrifice at the shrine of the Right Section Director of Dependent States, Lord Su!"

This was Su Wu's official title. Wei Ao was making a statement of his stance, and the people of Wugong could not have wished for more, eagerly leading him into Su Wu's shrine.

Su Wu's statue stood there, holding a staff of office. Wei Ao removed his armor and performed a deep bow, saying: "Renowned among the Xiongnu, meritorious in service to the House of Han — even what is recorded on ancient bamboo and silk, or painted in vermilion and blue, how could it surpass Ziqing?"

After the sacrifice was complete, the Grand General, using the open ground outside Su Wu's shrine, inquired: "Are all the various clans of Wugong present?"

Su Hui reported that they were. At that moment, Wang Zun, a prominent clan leader from Baling outside the city, also hurried in, leading a group of people still dusted with snowflakes. Upon seeing Wei Ao, their eyes all brimmed with tears.

"These are all powerful families from south of the Wei. Some come from Duling, some from Zhouzhi. Our fortified manors in Baling, Duling, and Nanling have all been attacked and taken by Diwu Lun's troops. Only the Zhouzhi area is still holding out, day and night longing for the Grand General to rescue them!"

There were even powerful families from Meiyang and Haozhi north of the Wei who had fled here to seek refuge. Diwu Lun's forces were mainly concentrated in the Five Tombs region and east of the Jing River, so his control over the outlying small counties was not very firm.

Wei Ao looked upon the hall filled with gathered men and was quite gratified. He nodded for everyone to quiet down and said: "Gentlemen, do you know what 'the hundred surnames' means?"

In Longyou, a land teeming with gallant knights-errant, he was already renowned for his mastery of the classics and commentaries, and he was also practically a half-disciple of the elder Liu Xin. He naturally had a deep understanding of such terms that hinged on precise wording. This was also one reason why Wei Ao never failed to cite the classics in his speech, which greatly endeared him to powerful families and scholars.

Wei Ao then spoke: "I have a rough understanding of the classics and commentaries. In Chang'an, I studied the Mao recension of the Odes. In the 'Heaven Protects' piece of the Lesser Elegantiae, there is a line: 'The multitudes of the people, the hundred surnames, all practice your virtue.' The Mao commentary thus annotates: 'The hundred surnames are the official clans and noble houses!'"

"I have also read the Discourses of the States. In the 'Discourses of Chu,' there is a line: 'Of the people, those who thoroughly understand official duties number one hundred. The sons and younger brothers of kings and dukes, whose quality enables them to speak, to listen, and to thoroughly understand their official duties — to these, things are bestowed and surnames are granted.'"

"Putting these two passages together, one can see that in the Three Dynasties and the Xia, Shang, and Zhou eras, the 'hundred surnames' referred to the official clans and noble houses. Applied to the present..."

Wei Ao revealed a smile and pointed at the assembled crowd: "It is you — the prominent clans and powerful families!"

A person's origins and the position they occupy determine what they see and think.

In Wei Ao's eyes, this realm under heaven was upheld by hundreds and thousands of such "hundred surname" families like themselves. Whomever they supported would secure the realm.

Wang Mang's rise to power was supported by the powerful families. Whether it was the Liu imperial clansmen whom Wang Mang deliberately curried favor with, or the descendants of meritorious officials who were endlessly grateful to him for restoring their marquisates, all fervently hoped that the Duke Who Pacifies the Han could replace the visibly failing House of Han as regent and safeguard their own interests. For this great sage, the powerful families of the realm sang no small number of hymns of praise.

But no one expected that wretch Wang Mang to be so utterly unworthy. Once in power, he tore off his mask and launched sweeping reforms, deeply infringing upon the interests of the powerful families with the royal fields and private retainers policies. Consequently, the powerful families went from covert non-cooperation to open collective opposition in the later period, and Wang Mang's Xin realm promptly disintegrated.

Though the Xin has fallen, the ways of the world remain unchanged. If you doubt it, just look: among the heroes of this chaotic age and the various emperors and kings — aside from Lu Fang, who is somewhat exceptional in being supported by the Xiongnu — which house is not propped up by a group of "hundred surnames"?

Although the Greenwood Han was founded by the Greenwood men, what ultimately sustained the regime was the powerful families of Nanyang.

The Northern Han, needless to say, was cobbled together from the start by the three Lius of Hebei and several dozen minor Liu marquises.

The King of Shu, Gongsun Shu, in Yizhou, is merely the spokesman for the powerful families of Ba and Shu who wished to stabilize order in their region.

Their own "Western Han" is even more obvious. The raising of troops in Longyou, unlike Diwu Lun's reliance on a host of impoverished soldiers, was fundamentally built upon the alliance of sixteen powerful families, who mustered tens of thousands of troops to achieve their goal.

Although the Wei surname is now the greatest, with Wei Ao and his uncle and nephew elevated as the Three Excellencies, the official posts below are essentially all divided among the sixteen families. The interests of the so-called Western Han court, in the final analysis, are the interests of those sixteen "hundred surname" families.

That is why the "Western Han" regime has set things right, denouncing as utterly worthless Wang Mang's reforms — the splitting of commanderies and kingdoms, the severing of the earth's veins; making fields royal fields, forbidden to buy or sell; restricting mountains and marshes, seizing the people's fundamental livelihoods — and reverting everything to the old ways.

Wei Ao was keenly aware of his regime's fundamental nature, for whom they should speak out, and whose interests they should protect.

But there was someone who did not understand.

Wei Ao thought to himself: "Diwu Lun has only just driven out Wang Mang, yet he has already fallen into the same error as Wang Mang."

"After defeating Liu Bosheng, the King of Wei has grown ever more arrogant and conceited."

"He fancies that he can swallow Guanzhong and that his great enterprise is already accomplished. He has lightly humiliated the various clans, carving up thirty-three families north of the Wei and distributing their lands to common peasants and lowly soldiers. Against the powerful families south of the Wei, he also cries out for their blood, besieging their fortified manors and plucking them out one by one like nails. So much so that the prominent clans of Guanzhong are terrified — and this is why we have the grand spectacle of Wugong coming out with kettles and flagons to welcome Longyou."

Had it not been for this, Wei Ao, ever cautious and hesitant, would have been firmly opposed to launching this campaign. But now, the powerful families south of the Wei are in an uproar, and the families north of the Wei that have not yet been wiped out are all looking at each other in dismay, waiting for the right moment.

Should they sit and wait for Diwu Lun to sweep clear Guanzhong and then advance westward at his leisure, or should they take advantage of his internal turmoil and the fact that a large portion of his forces is tied down by the Greenwood Han to launch a probing attack?

His uncle, Wei Cui, the true power-holder of the Wei clan, insisted on striking out. Wei Ao had originally wanted to wait for Fang Wang to return, but unable to resist the pro-war sentiment within, he could only go along with the current.

Though somewhat reluctant, Wei Ao was a clear-sighted man. He knew that he was the public face of Longyou and had to perform his role well, or else his position as "Grand General" might not be entirely secure — after all, he too had been lifted up by the hundred surnames, and could be replaced at any time.

So be it. Although Wei Ao knew that Diwu Lun would certainly not, as some claimed, face "imminent doom" for offending the powerful families, he would at least be somewhat constrained. No opportunity to weaken him could be let slip.

"I reiterate my command to the hundred surnames: each shall rest secure in their place, and all old properties shall remain untouched."

Wei Ao raised his voice within Su Wu's shrine, proclaiming to the "hundred surnames" the Wei clan's policy, which was starkly different from Diwu Lun's.

"When the hundred surnames have plenty, how can the sovereign alone be in want? When the hundred surnames are in want, how can the sovereign alone have plenty? Wang Mang and Diwu Lun do not understand this point, but the Wei clan does."

Wei Ao bowed with clasped hands to the assembled crowd: "At this moment of life and death for every clan and lineage, I hope that all gentlemen south and north of the Wei will contribute grain and effort, and join me in resisting the perverse and tyrannical actions of Wei the Fifth!"

"The Wei forces have split into two routes. One route, led by their White Tiger General Wei Cui, has taken several thousand cavalry to occupy Haozhi."

In Xiliu Camp, a war-game exercise was underway at Diwu Lun's central command. The flags representing Longyou had been planted at Haozhi north of the Wei and Wugong south of the Wei.

"In my view, they are trying to emulate Liu Bang's campaign to pacify the Three Qin."

Diba Jiao rarely used his right hand — missing a little finger, it was not quite presentable — and pointed with his left hand at the map, saying: "At that time, Liu Bang's main army marched out via the old road, and after reaching Chencang, he sent Cao Can with troops to Yong County, then struck Haozhi, and finally attacked the city of Feiqiu where the King of Yong was located — that is today's Huaili County. Further east lies the Five Tombs region, and finally, they crossed the Jing River to attack the King of Sai at Yueyang."

Diwu Lun nodded and looked toward Ren Guang, who managed logistics: "What does the Grain-Seeking Colonel think?"

Ren Guang replied modestly: "I only manage provisions and baggage; I dare not presumptuously discuss military strategy."

"No matter." Diwu Lun smiled. "Speak freely. I'm not really asking you to lead troops into battle."

Ren Guang assented, but analyzed from a logistical standpoint: "The Wei forces are not numerous, and their grain and fodder are not particularly ample. Their hasty opening of hostilities against us this time is likely just a probe, with no intention of seeking a decisive battle to settle things once and for all."

It sounded like he had spoken, yet it was hardly different from saying nothing. Ren Guang was leaving the more substantive remarks to Jing Dan, not wanting to steal the limelight from this Imperial Counselor, whose star was at its zenith after the battle of Tongyuan.

Jing Dan's analysis came closest to what Diwu Lun had in mind: "Wei Cui's army may be attempting to sever the King's communication with Beidi, so that together with the Longyou troops in Beidi, they can pincer-attack Geng Bozhao and Yuan She!"

"But we must not overlook that the main force of the Wei clan is still at Wugong County."

"Wei Ao is assembling the powerful families from south and north of the Wei at Wugong County, issuing proclamations fiercely denouncing the King for reviving Wang Mang's policies, for seeking to equalize the lands of the prominent clans, for being insatiably greedy... Recently, rumors have been spreading everywhere in Guanzhong, all saying that the King intends to exterminate every prominent clan within the Pass."

Diwu Lun scratched the short whiskers on his chin. This was... not entirely rumor.

When he had moved against the thirty-three remnant families of the former dynasty north of the Wei two months ago, he had been prepared for a fierce backlash. Sure enough, while there was no open rebellion internally, the powerful families south of the Wei, who always "sided with whoever was winning," immediately became unwilling to surrender.

Many fought to the death in their fortified manors, forcing Wan Xiu to take the Wei army's newly established engineering units to root them out one by one. This had indeed tied down a large portion of their forces and made the relationship between the prominent clans and the King of Wei even more irreconcilable.

It was only because Diwu Lun kept stressing that this was a political purge, not aimed at all powerful families — that clans which had not thrown in with Liu Bosheng would be left untouched — and because he had also fire-promoted a large batch of sons from prominent Wei River families into office, that they avoided real disaster.

Moreover, with forces spread somewhat thin in the southeast as they tangled with the Greenwood men at Yao Pass, the Wei clan saw an opening to strike.

After Ren Guang and Zhang Yu withdrew, Jing Dan smiled and said, "Does Your Majesty ever regret it?"

He meant the Changping Hall banquet and the hardline measures taken against the powerful families. Had they chosen conciliation then, the south bank of the Wei might well have fallen by now, and the Wei clan would have found no gap to exploit.

"I do not regret it."

Diwu Lun had always believed that those seemingly smooth shortcuts were in fact riddled with pitfalls; he would rather walk a bramble-choked footpath.

"But I need a blade." Diwu Lun stretched out his hand in a measuring gesture.

"To hack open the thorny, bramble-tangled path for me, and then to slaughter those Wei curs who think to trade defense for offense and seize You Fufeng."

"Has Sunqing sharpened this blade for me?"

Jing Dan knew what Diwu Lun meant. "After a full month of sorting, the land for the three armies and thirty thousand soldiers still in the pass has all been allocated."

"We originally thought that from the thirty-three powerful clans north of the Wei, striking only the major lineages would yield no more than ten thousand qing. We never expected to end up with nearly twenty thousand qing. These matters were reported to Your Majesty earlier."

Diwu Lun laughed. "Quite a few cases where minor lineages were struck as major ones, and relatives dragged in — wrongful convictions and frame-ups, I take it?"

"There were."

Jing Dan was not ashamed to admit it. The men executing the orders were human, bound to be a mixed lot. The whole case had begun with Diwu Lun purging the crime of "harboring rebels," resorting to framing and entrapment — the methods were crude and time was tight. It would have been strange if every case had been handled with perfect impartiality.

"But precisely because of that, the land seized was more plentiful, and the distribution more even — fifty mu per man." The soldiers were Diwu Lun's base, and the blade's edge.

"And the tenant farmers on that land have had their rents reduced — all by one tenth."

That might not seem like much, but with the realm in chaos and regimes everywhere — the Western Han under the Wei clan, for instance — all raising land rents on commoners by one, two, or even three tenths to scrape together grain, Diwu Lun had still managed to cut them by a notch.

It was like taking a small step forward while everyone else was taking great strides backward; the gap was still quite stark.

"As for the debt bonds those people owed to various powerful families in the past…"

Diwu Lun had already decided. "Tomorrow at Maoling, summon the elders of the Five Tombs and the senior men among the tenant farmers to bear witness."

"Your Majesty means to…"

"Burn the bonds to purchase righteousness — use the ceremony to set an example." Diwu Lun smiled. "Isn't the Wei clan summoning powerful families at Wugong, loudly proclaiming he will treat the 'hundred surnames' well?"

"Since I have already lost the support of the powerful, I must contend all the more for the true hearts of the common people. Conscripting them for transport and labor in the twelfth month would otherwise draw no small amount of resentment."

"This is not merely a war between the State of Wei and the Western Han for You Fufeng — it is also a war of one 'hundred surnames' against another!"

"If the soldiers are my blade's edge, then the common people north of the Wei are the thick, solid body of the blade!"

Diwu Lun thought to himself, "Can my ideas truly be realized in this age?"

"How great is the armed strength of the Guan-Long powerful families? Can it really overturn all my efforts with a single slap?"

"Let this battle give us the answer!"

…

PS: A bit late. Tomorrow's update at 13:00.