Chapter 374: The Tongma Emperor

Half a month ago, in early April, in Hebei's Ji Province, Hecheng Commandery, at the city of Xiaquyang.

Wang Mang had split the Han-era Julu in two — the southern part remained Julu, while the northern commandery was called Hecheng.

The Governor of Hecheng was named Pi Tong, courtesy name Wei Commandery, a man of Xindu in Hebei and from a hereditary two-thousand-bushel family of the Han. Amid the great chaos at the end of the Xin dynasty, Pi Tong cooperated with the powerful Geng clan to preserve the entire commandery, and later submitted to the Northern Han court, finding a measure of stability in those turbulent times.

But now, that illusory peace had been shattered by the Tongma Army. In a single month, with Liu Ziyu as their figurehead, every county in Hecheng Commandery had fallen to the Tongma. Even Songzi, seat of the commandery's most powerful clan, the Geng, had been overrun — though most of the Geng clansmen had gradually relocated to Wei Commandery and were thus largely preserved.

The remaining powerful families either retreated into their fortified manors or fled straight to the commandery seat at Xiaquyang, a strong-walled city where they hoped to find protection under Governor Pi Tong.

Pi Tong now felt like a single stone caught in a torrent. Looking out from the city walls, as far as the eye could see, an endless sea of ragged Tongma bandits had the city completely surrounded.

How many were there? Thirty thousand? Fifty thousand? Pi Tong had only two thousand commandery troops under his command. Even if he conscripted every able-bodied man onto the walls, they would number only a few thousand.

The Tongma, for their part, were not eager to storm the city. Instead, a herald bearing a banner of authority came calling at the gate and was hoisted up the wall in a basket.

"Governor Pi, His Majesty has sent me to deliver an edict. He hopes you will open the gates of Xiaquyang and welcome the imperial army. For this past month of stubborn resistance from the various counties, His Majesty is willing to let bygones be bygones."

As the most trusted minister and envoy of "Liu Ziyu," ever since joining forces with the Tongma at Xindu two months ago, this was already the seventh city Du Wei had been sent to persuade to surrender under imperial mandate.

"So the rumors are true — His Majesty really has gone east to hunt with the Tongma."

Pi Tong had refused to believe that Liu Ziyu had gone over to the Tongma Army. Now, it seemed, it was indeed a fact. No wonder his old friend, Li Zhong, Governor of Xindu, had submitted so quickly.

But Pi Tong did not docilely comply. Instead, with a mix of bewilderment and indignation, he shot back at Du Wei: "Does His Majesty truly understand what he is doing?"

Though Pi Tong did indeed have ties to the Geng Chun family, at the start of the chaos he had also been a staunch Han restorationist.

"Recall how, in the beginning, all under Heaven loathed Wang Mang's tyranny and suffered deeply from it. Thus the officials and common folk of Yan and Zhao have long sung songs of longing for the Han. Tales of the posthumous son of Emperor Xiaocheng spread widely in this region. And so when Emperor Sixing ascended the throne and proclaimed his august title, all of Hebei answered. Officials purified their palaces, commoners swept the roads to welcome him. One man raising a halberd and shouting was enough to make the remnants of the Xin Mang throw away their cities and flee, prostrating themselves and begging to surrender. Within a month, over twenty commanderies in You and Ji provinces all obeyed his edicts. Since high antiquity, never has there been such a stirring of hearts and moving of the people!"

It would be impossible to say Pi Tong was not moved in the slightest. Even later, when Geng Chun secretly wrote letters to win him over, telling him that Liu Ziyu was nothing but an impostor...

Pi Tong still remained half-doubting, half-believing. Yet his expectations for the "Northern Han" only grew lower and lower. The three Lius of Hebei fought for power and profit, and in the end it became a laughingstock — an emperor gone missing, princes waging civil war.

Now the Prince of Zhending had led his troops to besiege Xiangguo City, while Geng Chun had his Wei troops encircling Handan.

Governors like Pi Tong were thrown into disarray. They could only maintain a tentative neutrality, with little desire to get drawn in.

But what truly shocked everyone was Liu Ziyu, once dismissed as a "puppet." He had broken free of his shackles and actually invited the Tongma into the house.

Pi Tong felt no pleasant surprise at this. Instead, he sank into deep dread, because with this one move, Liu Ziyu had placed himself in direct opposition to the great clans of Hebei.

Now, faced with the "imperial edict," Pi Tong remained resolute: "This subject sees no imperial army — only Tongma bandits."

"The Tongma ARE the imperial army," Du Wei stressed. "Have you not heard the children's rhyme spreading everywhere of late? 'The Tongma Emperor sweeps Hebei, settles all under Heaven!'"

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Wang Lang was plying his old trade, relying heavily on all manner of prophetic and superstitious devices to make the Tongma serve his ends — predicting rain, staging spirit possessions by various Han ancestors, that sort of mystifying performance. Children's rhymes and prophetic texts were an indispensable part of it.

"If bandits become the imperial army, then what are we commandery soldiers?" But Pi Tong was not buying it. Du Wei had no choice but to resort to threats.

"Governor Pi's family is in Xindu. Li Zhong of Xindu has now become Chancellor. Your honored father, younger brother, wife, and children are all safe and sound."

This was using the lives of Pi Tong's family to coerce his surrender. Pi Tong's indignation only deepened. Was there ever such an emperor?

When the sovereign regards his ministers as his hands and feet, the ministers regard their sovereign as their heart and soul. When the sovereign regards his ministers as dogs and horses, the ministers regard their sovereign as a stranger in the street. When the sovereign regards his ministers as dirt and grass, the ministers regard their sovereign as a bandit and foe.

At this, the last shred of "duty between sovereign and subject" that Pi Tong felt toward Liu Ziyu was utterly spent. Along with it, he abandoned his self-identity as a "Han subject."

When class interests are violated, even a loyal minister of the House of Han can change heart in an instant. Pi Tong thought to himself: "It seems Geng Chun was right. Liu Ziyu is nothing but a low-born impostor, a thief deceiving the people and hoodwinking the eyes of the world with lies! Though he appears immensely powerful, he is merely a petty man puffed up with success, a rabble of motley followers. He looks fierce and formidable, but is in truth strong only in appearance, hollow at the core. Should the Wei troops march east, he will sooner or later be crushed."

But with the situation so pressing, how could a mere ten-thousand-odd men withstand a siege by over a hundred thousand Tongma? Pi Tong bowed and swallowed his pride: "The people fear the Tongma's plunder and slaughter, and so they absolutely dare not open the city gates. I understand that His Majesty and the Tongma intend to continue west to strike Zhending. I am willing to follow the example of Xindu and provide ten thousand bushels of grain. In this way, I can both fulfill a subject's loyalty and preserve the lives of all the commoners in this city!"

By the time Du Wei returned to Songzi County, south of Xiaquyang, his emperor, Liu Ziyu, was also there with a few thousand men of a hastily assembled "Feathered Forest Guard," meeting with the three great Tongma chieftains.

Two months ago, the three Tongma chieftains — Dongshan Huangtu, Shanghuai Kuang, and Sun Deng — had held no respect for Liu Ziyu. They had merely harbored the notion of "using him to trick open a few cities, then killing him." But by April, they had discovered that this Liu Ziyu could no longer be killed...

The reason was simply that Wang Lang was too good an actor, and he understood the spiritual needs of the low-ranking Tongma bandits. He began deploying his specialty, engaging in large-scale superstition. Now, at this very meeting with the three great chieftains, he was staging a possession by the ancestors to boost his authority.

"The Exalted Emperor, Gaozu, descends upon me!"

Amid an elaborate ritual, chicken blood was sprinkled. Liu Ziyu's entire body actually leaped into the air, then crashed to the ground in ceaseless convulsions, foaming at the mouth. When he kipped up and stood again, it was as if he had become a completely different person.

The Liu Ziyu who usually bore himself with the dignified bearing of a Son of Heaven now had the air of an old scoundrel, his eyes blazing with boundless bravado. He first had someone fetch a bronze mirror and looked into it, then burst into roaring laughter: "Worthy of my descendant — he looks just like me!"

This was a novel trick, one the Tongma had never seen before. They simply prostrated themselves in wave after wave.

"Liu Bang" then sat sprawled with legs outstretched before the crowd, stroking a thick, nonexistent beard. "I rose from the grass roots, took up a three-foot sword, and struck down the white serpent to raise the standard. In three years I destroyed Qin, in five I exterminated Chu, and won the realm of Han. Later, I sealed an oath with the blood of a white horse, declaring that none but a Liu could be made a prince..."

"But now the realm of the House of Han has been usurped by bandits. The various princes of Hebei, though of the imperial clan, refuse to heed Ziyu's edicts. Despicable!"

He pointed at the three men — Dongshan Huangtu, Shanghuai Kuang, and Sun Deng — and said: "It is you who are loyal and brave. If you can support Ziyu and restore the House of Han, then even though you are of different surnames, you may be enfeoffed as princes!"

With that, he raised his head and sighed: "My time is up. I must return to the Ninth Heaven above."

Finally, he glared fiercely at the crowd: "Should any dare not serve Ziyu, I shall surely strike them dead with heavenly thunder!"

With these words, his eyes closed and he toppled straight backward. A long moment later, he opened his eyes again, and his usual refined and cultured expression had returned. The great chieftains were left looking at each other, unable to openly declare their disbelief. The ordinary Tongma masses, however, regarded Liu Ziyu with even greater awe, as if he were a deity. There were even plants in the crowd who claimed that when the Exalted Emperor possessed him just now, they had glimpsed the shadow of a dragon upon Liu Ziyu!

"The Exalted Emperor has issued an edict." Wang Lang rose and pointed at Dongshan Huangtu and the other two. "Once we take Zhending, I shall enfeoff you as princes! May your domains endure like the Yellow River, firm as Mount Tai, your states forever at peace, down to your distant descendants!"

"And the lesser chieftains of every band shall be made marquises, each with their own fief! Henceforth you shall have your own territories, no longer forced to wander as refugees!"

The crowd erupted in cheers. The great chieftains could only bow their heads and assent. The Tongma Army had already grown somewhat dependent on Liu Ziyu. Flying his banner truly could trick many a stoutly defended city into opening its gates, allowing them to enter and eat their fill.

Now, in the lean season before the harvest, famine was sweeping across Ji Province, especially in the commanderies of eastern Hebei. The Tongma and various righteous armies, driven by desperation, had no choice but to move west into the territories of the princes and the domains of the powerful. And Liu Ziyu was the one figure capable of uniting dozens of armed bands and giving them a path to survival!

Kill him under these circumstances? The Tongma would tear themselves apart in civil strife! Ah, so be it, so be it. They would endure a little longer.

Du Wei was utterly convinced. He had not imagined the Emperor could pull off such a stunt. He simply went forward and reported on his experiences at Xiaquyang.

"Governor Pi is very disappointed in me," Wang Lang sighed. "He and the great clans of Hecheng do not trust the Tongma, and by extension, their loyalty to me has also waned."

Even Du Wei felt that leaning entirely toward the Tongma would alienate a great many powerful families and commandery governors from Liu Ziyu. To protect their own, they would rather surrender to the Wei army, which could at least bring order...

"But do I have a choice?"

Wang Lang had once held hope for the great clans and the imperial house. But after discovering that they were experts at infighting and amateurs at fighting external foes, and that continuing to cling to them would only lead to mutual destruction, he resolved to throw his lot in with those more easily duped by his prophecies and divine arts — those who would fight and die for him.

"The Analects say: 'Where there is gain, there is loss; where there is loss, there is gain. Matters rarely allow for both.' This is a choice I am forced to make."

Studying more was indeed useful. The line that followed was: "False gain, true loss; false loss, true gain — the distinction is subtle indeed."

By now, he was increasingly thinking of himself as Liu Ziyu, and no longer as Wang Lang.

"It matters not if Xiaquyang does not open its gates. Providing a batch of army rations will suffice."

Wang Lang's goal lay still farther west, in the territory of the King of Zhending — his clan's granaries there were the largest in Ji Province! The "Empress" he had not had time to wed was still waiting for him there!

"Hebei is in great famine; a million disaster victims have joined the Tongma, Youlai, and other bandit gangs, just seeking a way to stay alive."

"The world has been in chaos for so long, the heavens are parched and the land is tinder-dry, with no sweet rain falling. Those people are like a forest set ablaze — as long as the fuel is not exhausted, the fire will not die out."

"And those great clans, prominent surnames, and various kings are nothing more than panicked deer and wild beasts fleeing through the burning ground."

Liu Xuan could rise to power relying on the Greenwood Army, Diwu Lun could destroy Xin relying on refugee soldiers — why could he, Liu Ziyu, not do the same?

"We would rather burn together with a million roving bandits and have a chance to set all of Hebei ablaze, than be a fowl or deer roasted to death in the fire!"

Wang Lang raised both hands before the campfire; he would also invite Emperor Xiaowen to possess his body, using that emperor's fine reputation to promise the Tongma Army that once they reached Zhending, every man would have food to eat, and hereafter corvée and taxes would be light — as for whether it could be fulfilled? A promise made by Xiaowen — how would he, Liu Ziyu, know?

If he was already playing the part of Liu Ziyu, what difficulty was there in playing Han Gaozu or Han Wendi?

"So long as We stand within this raging inferno, We are no false emperor in the land of Zhao, no puppet emperor!"

"But the Tongma Emperor!"

……

The starving were not only in Hebei. Just as Diwu Lun and his ministers had predicted at the start of spring, when the fourth month arrived, the old grain was eaten up, the new wheat not yet ripe — the gap between harvests. A great famine sweeping the whole realm arrived right on schedule!

"That year there was drought east of the passes; in Yu Province, men ate men!"