Chapter 357: Your Majesty, Why Do You Rebel?

Throughout the latter half of the first month, "Where has the Emperor gone?" became the question that every faction in Hebei was hoarsely shouting at one another.

Liu Ziyu, who was supposed to walk right into his trap and remain in Zhending for good, had suddenly vanished without a trace. The King of Zhending, Liu Yang, grew frantic with worry; the tumor on his neck swelled a size larger and pained him fiercely. Yet he refused to let any physician treat it, terrified that this "auspicious sign" might be cured away.

A renowned doctor had once offered to cut the goiter off for Liu Yang, and Liu Yang had him killed in a rage. Was it a tumor you meant to cut out? It was his imperial destiny!

After calming down and thinking it through, Liu Yang arrived at one possibility: "Could there be a spy among my own men, who let the King of Zhao learn that Zhending planned to hold Liu Ziyu hostage to command Hebei, so he took Liu Ziyu back? And then set this trap in reverse, to make the King of Guangyang suspect me?"

"That Liu Lin! You were the one who played matchmaker for Liu Ziyu and proposed the marriage — and now you're the one breaking the engagement!"

Liu Yang was full of suspicion, and then his men captured several of Liu Ziyu's personal guards who had fled after the incident near Boren. They confessed that this whole journey south for the bride had been the King of Zhao's scheme from the start: he meant to lure Liu Yang into Zhao territory and imprison him, so he could swallow up his lands.

Once he learned the truth, Liu Yang flew into a towering rage. If this could be endured, what could not? He immediately summoned Geng Zhi: "Ride south at once and tell Geng Chun: I accept his proposal. I will soon dispatch troops south to strike Zhao. Boshan, as planned, will seize and behead Ma Yuan at the Yecheng banquet, and we shall join forces at Handan!"

Meanwhile, in Xiangguo City in Zhao territory, the King of Zhao, Liu Lin, was equally stunned when he learned that Liu Ziyu had vanished without a trace.

But Liu Lin was so accustomed to Wang Lang's meek obedience that he never imagined Wang Lang could slip out of his grasp. Instead of considering that Wang Lang had fled on his own, he turned his suspicions on the King of Zhending — the men who had fled back to report also said that on the night of the incident, the Emperor had been perfectly normal; it was only when weapons clashed in the middle of the night that someone had shouted the cry, "The King of Zhending comes to welcome the Son of Heaven!"

"It must be that Liu Yang discovered my plan to lure him south, so he sent men to Boren to abduct Liu Ziyu and take him back to Zhending, to replace me in commanding all the Liu clans of Hebei!"

Shortly after, when he learned from the northern garrison that the King of Zhending, heedless even of the spring planting, had begun mobilizing his forces, Liu Lin grew even more alarmed. Liu Yang's power had swollen of late, and he had the aid of cavalry from Yanmen and Dai commanderies. The King of Zhao, on the other hand, had expanded eastward the previous year only to be defeated several times by the Tongma Army; his territory had shrunk rather than grown. Recently, Li Zhong, the Governor of Xindu Commandery, had been besieged by the Tongma, Youlai, and other roving bandit bands and had begged him for aid, but the King of Zhao was powerless to help.

Pressed from the south by Wei territory, and now stripped of the moral authority of controlling the Emperor, how could he possibly fight the combined forces of Liu Yang and Geng Chun?

Liu Lin could only dispatch an envoy at once, racing to Guangyang Commandery in You Province.

"When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. If Zhao falls, Zhending will surely swallow Guangyang. I beseech the King of Guangyang to raise his troops and aid this humble king, so that together we may rally to the throne and punish the traitors, and rescue the Son of Heaven! If we can destroy Liu Yang, we shall divide the lands of Zhending between us!"

"What? Liu Ziyu is gone?"

Geng Chun was just as dumbfounded as the two kings. When he received the news that his younger brother Geng Zhi had ridden south through the night to deliver, Geng Chun was utterly stupefied.

"I only meant to trick my maternal uncle into letting his ambition flare, so he would break with Liu Ziyu and the King of Zhao. But now that such a great event has occurred, I fear the three Lius of Hebei are about to plunge into a three-sided melee."

For the fourth power in Hebei, this was nothing less than a heaven-sent opportunity. Seeing that Ma Yuan had just concluded the battles at Baima and Guandu, Geng Chun immediately wrote a letter and sent it to Chang'an, to inform the King of Wei — this chance must be seized.

But after setting down his brush, well pleased, Geng Chun could not help but wonder: "So just which power has abducted this 'Liu Ziyu'? And where exactly has he gone?"

After encountering a detached unit of the Tongma Army at Julu Marsh, Liu Ziyu's party had now, under their escort, entered the territory of Xindu Commandery, east of Julu Commandery.

Du Wei looked at the ragged Tongma bandits to either side, his heart deeply uneasy about the road ahead. Wang Lang, by contrast, sat bolt upright in the traveling carriage, eyes closed in meditation. This composure was truly remarkable and set Du Wei and the others somewhat at ease.

Even the Tongma bandits found it strange. A young nobleman like Wang Lang would normally be scared out of his wits with just one fright, yet this one showed no fear at all. Could it be, as he claimed, that he truly was the Emperor, Liu Ziyu?

Du Wei, too, had his own uncertainties. He asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, before we traveled east, why did we deliberately spread different reports to the south and north, to make Zhending and the King of Zhao suspect and fight each other? If the two sides go to war, I fear Diwu Lun will seize the opening..."

Wang Lang opened his eyes and sighed. "Even if I did not stir them up, would the King of Zhending and the King of Zhao not fight?"

Even half a year ago, Wang Lang had still placed great hopes in the three Lius of Hebei, believing they were the pillars on which he could avenge his family.

But half a year later, only disappointment remained.

"The three kings cannot unite their hearts to restore the Great Han. The King of Zhao is bent on swallowing the other powers, while the King of Zhending and the King of Guangyang care only for their own selfish interests and territory. Before Hebei is even unified, they have already begun scrambling for power and profit, pushing out anyone who is not one of their own."

"And in external affairs, Liu Yang at least managed to seize several commanderies, but Liu Lin is adept at internal strife and inept at external warfare. He was repeatedly defeated by the Tongma, lost several thousand troops, and even surrendered half of Julu Commandery."

Wang Lang shook his head. "And in this half year, how much has Diwu Lun accomplished in the west? He drove out Wang Mang, shifted his campaign to Weibei, swept away the remnants of the Xin Dynasty, seized Hedong, and then slew Liu Bosheng, shocking all under heaven..."

Though Wang Lang was a puppet, he paid close attention to everything about Diwu Lun, knowing that this enemy of his family had not rested a single day.

"Liu Lin and Liu Yang still think they can win Diwu Lun over with the title of a different-surnamed king? Wishful thinking! At this rate, Diwu Lun will soon unify Guanzhong and will sooner or later come back to kill us all!"

When that time came, would the divided Northern Han cooperate with all its strength in the face of a great foe like Diwu Lun? Wang Lang held out no hope. Most likely, the King of Zhending would be cowed by Geng Chun, the King of Guangyang would stand by with folded arms, and the King of Zhao, a lone tree that cannot hold, would be defeated first. If Wang Lang were still in Xiangguo City then, he would perish along with them.

The fear of the King of Wei, that pressing sense that time was running out — this was the crucial reason that drove Wang Lang to take this step.

"Rather than let the Han of Hebei be nibbled away and destroyed piecemeal by Diwu Lun, it is better to let them start fighting now, while Diwu Lun has yet to turn his gaze east. Let them fight to their hearts' content — that will make it easier for me to bring the Tongma Army in to sweep up the wreckage!"

What Wang Lang had his eye on was precisely the fierce spirit and battle strength of the Tongma. But Du Wei still had no confidence whatsoever that they could actually make the Tongma serve their purposes.

This Minister Du was also from a powerful, prestigious clan and had no experience dealing with roving bandits and outlaws — naturally, he was no match for Wang Lang, who had followed his father all across Hebei since childhood, swindling and deceiving wherever they went.

Wang Lang called out to Zhang Wen, the Wulou bandit chief, who was riding ahead and constantly turning his head back to observe him.

"Commander Zhang, how many more days' journey to the Tongma main camp?"

"Soon, soon."

"Can we arrive by the gengwu day of the first month?" Wang Lang pressed.

"Yes."

Zhang Wen's answers were terse. He did not dare speak too much with this Emperor, because as the conversation went on, he always found himself drawn in by his words.

Years ago, Zhang Wen had led the Wulou bandits in a raid on Wei territory and was driven off by Diwu Lun. He had only escaped with his life by selling out his companions. Later, he led his followers west to Juye Marsh and occupied that vast, fertile marshland to make a living.

Among roving bandits, there was an unwritten rule: whoever was the strongest, everyone would adopt his name. Thus, when the Red Eyebrows were still roaming Yanzhou, the Wulou had also called themselves a detached unit of the Red Eyebrows. And when the Tongma Army rose in Bohai and repeatedly routed the King of Zhao, the roving bandits of Hebei all styled themselves Tongma...

In truth, under the Tongma banner were dozens of separate bands — Datong, Gaohu, Chonglian, Tiejing, Daqiang, Youlai, Shangjiang, Qingdu, Tanxiang, Wufan, Wulou, Huosuo, and others — each scattered and only occasionally sending envoys to one another.

But the person the Wulou had encountered this time was far too extraordinary, forcing Zhang Wen to make the trip in person.

Several days earlier, a procession of over a hundred men with carriages and horses had entered the vicinity of Julu Marsh, where the Wulou operated. A small band of roving bandits had harassed them and been beaten back. In the end, Zhang Wen himself took the field, intending to plunder them — but to his surprise, they had come seeking him out. Their opening words were: "Liu Ziyu, the Continuously Prospering Emperor of the Great Han, has come here on an imperial tour and wishes to meet the Grand Commander of the Tongma!"

Zhang Wen was stunned. He had long heard that the various Lius of Hebei had enthroned Liu Ziyu, a figure who always held a place in popular legend, but he had never imagined the man would deliver himself to their doorstep.

Though he often joked with his underlings about what they would do if they ever captured the Emperor or the feudal kings, now that the matter had actually come before him, he was at a complete loss.

They had not dared to harm a single hair on Liu Ziyu's head — and this was precisely Wang Lang's confidence.

"In the eyes of common folk, the Emperor is unattainably lofty."

The reckless and ruinous reforms of the Xin dynasty under Wang Mang, compounded by the Yellow River bursting its banks and flooding, had made the people of Hebei hate Wang Mang to the bone. By contrast, they felt a measure of sympathy for the House of Han that Wang Mang had supplanted — not for the equally overbearing feudal lords, but for Liu Ziyu.

The story of Liu Ziyu had spread across the land ever since Emperor Cheng's death, and this tale had been refined and adapted by Wang Lang's father. As he traveled through Hebei, he spread it in every place he went, until it became a folk legend known to every ear. To let his own son impersonate the Emperor, the old father had spent at least ten years building up the momentum.

Otherwise, how could it be that after Liu Lin enthroned Liu Ziyu as Emperor, the Northern Han was able to secure vast territories by mere proclamation, with the common people largely believing it?

"The Tongma roving bandits were once commoners too. Most of them are simple, honest, and easy to deceive."

Wang Lang was, fittingly enough, a physiognomist and diviner by trade, raised in the marketplace. Throughout the journey, he plied his old profession. Speaking with Zhang Wen, he remarked, "You have rendered the first merit of rescuing the throne, and you have the face of one destined to be Grand Marshal and Grand General."

Then he brought out his skill with the "Star Almanac." After observing for several nights, he suddenly pointed to the sky and declared to the crowd, "Today it will rain."

Du Wei and the Tongma bandits looked up — it was broad daylight with clear skies.

Yet when evening came, a sudden downpour truly struck. The Tongma bandits all raised their eyes to Wang Lang in reverence, deeming him divine. Du Wei was astonished too — none of them had known the Emperor possessed such an ability.

Wang Lang, however, simply revealed a mysterious smile. What was this, after all? And the rain prediction was not entirely accurate — on the gengwu day, that was when the real show would begin!

And so, except for Zhang Wen, who still harbored doubts, the Tongma bandits whom Wang Lang often struck up conversations with all believed his imperial identity to be true. They even said, "No wonder they say the Emperor is a divine man who knows things before they happen — it's really so! Reading my face, he could directly tell which son I was in the family, and how many brothers had died before me!"

After traveling for several days across the plains, desolate and ravaged by war, the group arrived beneath the walls of Xindu. This place had been a secondary capital of Zhao during the Warring States period and was a major stronghold in Hebei — only now it was besieged by the Tongma army.

The true Tongma army was no more elite than the Wulou bandits and other detached units. They too wore tattered clothes and garments of every color looted from others. The able-bodied young men wore not a scrap of armor, while the old, weak, women, and children mingled among them, traveling with the army. It was truly hard to imagine how they had repeatedly defeated the elite chariots and infantry under the King of Zhao.

When Wang Lang and his party entered, everyone stopped what they were doing and stared at them in unison.

Du Wei could hardly endure the stench of the bandit camp and those malicious gazes; he nearly retched.

But Wang Lang was long accustomed to it. In his youth, he and his father had roamed the streets and alleys, going deep into village neighborhoods and dealing with the poor — had he not done plenty of that?

The further in they went, the more the Tongma bandits gradually included soldiers wearing armor and bearing iron weapons. Their gazes remained unfriendly, and some even leveled spears and bellowed orders: "Dismount! Dismount!"

The Handan guards, who after half a year of courting had completely given their hearts to Wang Lang, drew their blades and shouted back: "The Great Han's Restored Emperor is here! Will you not pay your respects?"

Both sides stood at daggers drawn. More and more Tongma bandits gathered around. Du Wei was already drenched in anxious sweat, but Wang Lang was utterly unafraid. He merely slowly opened his eyes and said, "We have heard that the Tongma have besieged Xindu for over a month without taking it, suffering heavy losses. Grieving the casualties on both sides, We have come especially to halt the fighting. Why are the three Canal Commanders unwilling to see Us?"

A deep, resonant voice rang out: "Let him come over."

The three Great Canal Commanders sat with legs splayed apart on foreign stools, utterly lacking in courtesy.

According to Zhang Wen, the leaders of the Tongma were three men: Dongshan Huangtu, Sun Deng, and Shanghuai Kuang.

Among them, Dongshan Huangtu was the head chief. His hair was truly bald, and he made no effort to cover it, leaving it exposed with only a gray-blue headwrap tied around it. Watching Wang Lang, composed and unhurried atop the cart, he merely laughed and said, "Zhang Wen says this is the Emperor of Xiangguo. I say this is a fake emperor, no? Otherwise, why would he come running here."

The two beside him also spoke with great rudeness: "This Emperor of yours — could it be you've come to rescue Xindu city!"

"The way I see it, he's come to surrender!"

"Surrender! The Emperor surrenders!" The Tongma bandits roared with glee. Du Wei grew even more afraid — this was not quite the same as what he had imagined, where the Canal Commanders would kowtow the moment they heard the Emperor had arrived.

Wang Lang was afraid too, terrified that the whole act would blow up in his face. But his father had taught him: in their line of work, no matter the situation, one must remain calm and self-possessed. The closer one was to being exposed, the tougher one's mouth had to be.

"If you cannot even deceive yourself, how can you deceive others?"

Those who could reach the pinnacle of divination, physiognomy, esoteric arts, and alchemy were all, without exception, people who truly believed themselves to be immortals.

"Is it harder for a mortal to pass himself off as an immortal, or for a commoner to pass himself off as an emperor?"

Under the gaze of all, Wang Lang raised one hand. Without the Great Canal Commanders needing to silence them, the clamor of the Tongma bandits seemed to subside bit by bit, as if suppressed by his hand. They might jeer for the fun of it, but they could not resist their curiosity and excitement — they all wanted to know what the Emperor had to say.

The eyes must be confident, the words resolute, the bearing graceful and imposing enough to dazzle. He — he was the true Emperor, the true Liu Ziyu.

Wang Lang smiled and said, "We have come neither to surrender, nor to offer amnesty."

Half a year ago, Liu Lin had sent men to demand their surrender with insolent arrogance. At that time, the Tongma Canal Commanders, delighted to hear that Wang Mang was dead, had been inclined to submit to "Liu Ziyu." But because Liu Lin would not even part with a marquis title, showing not a shred of sincerity, there had been no further progress, and in the end, they had turned to armed conflict.

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Then what had he come for? The curious grew even more numerous. Even the three Tongma Canal Commanders showed puzzled expressions — this matter was simply far too strange.

Then they heard Wang Lang say: "All of you were originally sons of farming households, driven to rebel by the Yellow River's flooding and Wang Mang's tyranny. You rose together to overthrow the Xin of Wang Mang — you are a righteous army. After We ascended the throne, We originally intended to offer amnesty and pacification, to enfeoff the Canal Commanders as marquises, to bestow official posts, and together revive the Han enterprise. Who would have expected that the Three Lius of Hebei would refuse to accept the imperial edict, preferring to attack you with soldiers, leading to countless deaths and injuries."

Having shifted all blame onto Liu Lin, Liu Yang, and the others, Wang Lang then emotionally recounted his own experiences once more, from escaping Zhao Feiyan's murderous hands to wandering Hebei: "We were born among the common people and know your hardships. Utterly disappointed in those men, We have therefore come in person to the Tongma righteous army, to comfort the suffering common folk and to punish the three guilty kings."

"So that all under Heaven may know: between wicked kings and righteous people, We — We forever stand on your side!"