Chapter 381: Alive or Dead, the Same Integrity

The sacred mountain loomed solemnly; sunlight flooded the slopes, spring water murmured over stones, and the Xiongnu Huduershidaogao Ruoti Grand Chanyu — known simply as Chanyu Yu — now stood with his young son Pulu, gazing up at the proudly towering peaks of the Beiyi Mountains.

Chanyu Yu was a son of Huhanye, born in an age of Xiongnu decline. From childhood he had watched his father Huhanye and several elder brothers make the humiliating journey every few years to pay homage to the Emperor at the Han court.

Such submission could be traded for grain, silk, and even beautiful women — as a boy, Chanyu Yu had coveted the beauty of his stepmother Wang Zhaojun, but she died before he could succeed to the throne.

Within the tribe, some were content to be the Han dynasty's dogs, but others burned with resentment and refused to submit. With the fall of the Han house and the Xin Dynasty's pretext of exchanging seals and ribbons of office, the tributary relationship shattered. After his elder brothers had agonized for years, unable to decide whether to make war or peace with the Central Plains, Chanyu Yu finally made up his mind: he led the Xiongnu back onto the path of their ancestors and began launching frequent raids across the frontier.

"These are indeed the cliff paintings left by the ancestors of the Luandi clan."

A barbarian shaman wearing an animal-head headdress examined the stone cairns and the rough lines carved into the rock face, confirming that this was indeed a site where Xiongnu ancestors had performed sacrifices.

In the Xiongnu tongue, this mountain was called "Helan," meaning a fine steed. After their defeat by the Han, the Xiongnu had lost this fine horse for several generations.

The Xiongnu kept no official historians and had no script; they could only pass down their history through stories told from mouth to mouth. So although they knew this region had once been Xiongnu territory, exactly when it was lost had been forgotten — it had become a muddled, uncollectable debt.

Before the Xin Dynasty had even fallen, after several crushing defeats of the Xin armies, the oasis cities of the Western Regions had once again submitted to the Xiongnu. Chanyu Yu restored the Xiongnu to the stature of a great barbarian empire, and his greed grew insatiable; he turned his gaze southward.

Standing atop Mount Helan, Chanyu Yu let his eyes roam far and wide — heaven and earth stretched open before him. For a moment, his ambition surged: "Not just this land — the Hexi region, the lands south of the river, all of it shall return to the rule of the Northern Realm."

If he could reclaim these lands and once again set up the golden man to sacrifice to Heaven, then in the stories the barbarian shamans passed from mouth to mouth, he would become a hero equal to Modu Chanyu.

Of course, wherever Xiongnu hooves now trod, it was no longer all grassland. Times had changed. The land below Mount Helan and the Ordos Loop had been developed into farmland, walled towns, and cities, with a population that, added together, matched that of the Xiongnu heartland. How could the Chanyu possibly have the ability to govern them directly?

So Chanyu Yu applied the lessons he had learned in the Western Regions: he installed Lu Fang as a puppet, using him to govern the farming folk of the various commanderies, who would deliver tribute on schedule, while the Xiongnu stood behind him, backing him up.

When the sacrifice ended and they descended Mount Helan, they were greeted by waves of golden wheat. Xiongnu warhorses galloped through them without restraint, chewing on the ears of grain.

Under the tug-of-war standoff between the Xin Dynasty and the Xiongnu, the borderlands of Bing Province lay in ruins, and this year famine had struck as well. But Lu Fang's approach to famine relief was to shift the crisis outward — he invited the Xiongnu to invade and plunder southward.

The Xiongnu were masters of diversion. Chanyu Yu dispatched the Left Worthy Prince to advance south from Yunzhong Commandery and attack Xihe and Shang Commanderies, drawing the Wei army away to the rescue. Meanwhile, he and Lu Fang led the main force in a raid on New Qin-zhong — a land that had been a rare pocket of peace amid the chaos, with well-developed canals and widespread winter wheat. It was a fine place, well worth plundering.

Right now, Lu Fang's soldiers were frantically reaping the wheat. "Soldiers" was a generous term — their clothes were tattered, and they looked more like bandits. Not only did they have to bend at the waist to swing their sickles, but whenever a Xiongnu horseman rode past, they also had to bow and salute.

"The people of the Middle Kingdom plant the five grains and harvest them according to the seasons." Chanyu Yu gestured at the bowing and scraping Hu and Han underlings, giving his son a lesson:

"The Hu people also ride south according to the seasons — and harvest them like grain!"

Most of the people from the three counties west of the Yellow River had fled, but some, unwilling to abandon their homes or clinging to false hope, had not managed to leave in time. Now they were tied together with ropes and driven north. Times were hard for the Xiongnu too — disaster had killed many of their slaves from the Western Regions — but from now on, they could draw a steady supply of replacements from the south. As long as the Central Plains remained divided, the Xiongnu's good days would never end.

Just as he thought: taking by force beats bitter toil!

When Chanyu Yu reached Shanghe City, the puppet emperor Lu Fang kowtowed before his horse, addressing him with intimate familiarity.

"Elder of my wife's clan!"

Lu Fang's imperial carriage and robes were a bizarre sight: though embroidered with the Twelve Symbols, the lapels closed on the left... In his court, the left side was also the place of honor. Above this son-in-law emperor, there was still a Chanyu emperor.

Within his domain, Xiongnu men frequently committed rape and plunder, but Lu Fang dared not intervene; instead, he would punish anyone who resisted the Xiongnu. He knew the Bing Province warlords under him looked down on him, and that without Xiongnu backing, his emperorship could not last a single day. So he resolved to exhaust the resources of Bing Province to win the Chanyu's favor.

Lu Fang also kept trailing behind the Chanyu, offering advice and stratagems.

"Great Chanyu, seizing these three counties below Mount Helan is only half of New Qin-zhong. Across the river lies Fuping County — the name alone tells you it is both prosperous and peaceful. In particular, the powerful local Zhang clan has stockpiled a great deal of grain, while most of the common folk and women have fled across the river. If we can take it, the spoils will be double those of Shanghe City!"

Lu Fang had come seeking revenge and to wash away his shame! Back then, when he had rebelled against the Xin in Sanshui County, Anding, Diwu Lun and others had crushed him. He had escaped alone, but his younger brother had been brutally killed by Diwu Lun, Ma Yuan, and the rest.

It was time to make the people of New Qin-zhong pay the price for what had happened that year.

And if they could seize all of New Qin-zhong in one stroke, it would bring many other benefits for the Xiongnu as well.

Lu Fang spared no effort in goading Chanyu Yu: "If you head west along the great river, you will reach Wuwei Commandery. Coordinate with the Right Worthy Prince, cut off Hexi, and retake it. Your servant is willing to present the four commanderies of Hexi to the Great Chanyu, so that the Xiongnu's lands stretch all the way to the foot of the sacred Qilian Mountains!"

Chanyu Yu was somewhat tempted, but asked, "Without boats or ships, how can we cross?"

Lu Fang proposed a venomous plan: "We can pretend to withdraw our troops northward, then, a hundred li north of here where the river is shallow, send ten thousand horsemen swimming across. After that, we ride south along the eastern bank of the great river. Once we break through the Hunhuai Barrier, we can enter Fuping territory!"

All last year, Lu Fang had been bogged down with internal affairs. The various powers on the frontier were quite fragmented, held together only by the Xiongnu forcing them into a single bloc. This year could not be wasted — they had to seize the moment when Diwu Lun was at odds with Northern Han and Western Han to take all of Bing Province!

"One day, I will make Diwu Lun, even from Sweet Spring Palace, see the beacon fires I light alongside the Xiongnu!"

As if heaven had sent a pillow just as he grew drowsy — just as Lu Fang and Chanyu Yu were finalizing their plan to further expand the fruits of this border raid, Lu Fang's subordinates came grinning to report:

"Great Chanyu, Your Majesty, Xuan Biao has been captured!"

When Xuan Biao fell unconscious from his wounds, he had a dream.

He dreamed of his first meeting with the King of Wei. Back then, Diwu Lun had been merely a commandery Revenue Clerk of the Xin Dynasty, traveling to the place where Xuan Biao's father, Xuan Bing, lived in seclusion on official business. He had stopped by to pay a visit, only to be berated at length by Xuan Biao, who in those days was hot-blooded and seethed with indignation at the world's injustices.

By the time they met again, Xuan Biao's father had been arrested by the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties, and Xuan Biao himself had been reduced to a Boar-Rush Brave. The King of Wei did not hold Xuan Biao's earlier rudeness against him; instead, he extended a hand to him.

"Xuan Bohu, there is injustice in this world — are you willing to follow me and set it right?"

Diwu Lun had not lied. In the days that followed, acting as Heaven's agent in New Qin-zhong and striking hard at every sort of allied army that abused the people, Xuan Biao had felt an immense, exhilarating satisfaction. Then Diwu Lun had led them across the river to strike the barbarians and rescue the common folk of that region.

But the King of Wei was clearly not content with a tiny New Qin-zhong, and in the end, he left. Xuan Biao, however, was left behind. As Wan Xiu, Diqi Biao, Meng Ze, and the others also departed one after another, he became the chief military and civil officer of the region. Last winter, when Zhang Chun returned, he brought Xuan Biao a letter and a seal and ribbon of office from the King of Wei.

He was appointed Commandant of Shanghe, with a rank of one thousand shi, and enfeoffed as a "Bo."

Xuan Biao treasured that seal, fondling it every day. He had started a family in New Qin-zhong; this place had become half his homeland. Every day after finishing his duties, Xuan Biao would gaze southeast from the walls of Shanghe City, hoping that one day he might go to Chang'an to pay his respects to the King of Wei, and hoping even more that the King, despite his myriad pressing affairs, might tour the frontier and visit this land where his dragon ascent began — to see that he, Xuan Biao, had not slacked off, but still guarded these mountains and rivers with tireless diligence.

In the dream, he seemed to truly see Diwu Lun riding the waves once more aboard a boat, bringing thousands of armored soldiers with him...

"Cough, cough."

A bucket of cold water was dashed over Xuan Biao's head, and the dream came to an abrupt end. Tied to a post, he lifted his head and saw only ferocious-looking Hu and Han soldiers. Looking further ahead, his gaze fixed on the left-lapelled collar of Lu Fang's robe.

So, in the end, he had failed to hold this New Qin-zhong after all... A sharp pain shot through him. He looked down — the arrow in his leg was still there, blood still flowing steadily, leaving him weaker and weaker.

"Xuan Biao? Xuan Bohu?"

Lu Fang walked over to him, hands clasped behind his back, looking immensely pleased. This man was one of Diwu Lun's trusted confidants, the very one who had driven him out of Sanshui back then. Today, he had become his captive.

But Lu Fang did not rush to take revenge. Instead, he spoke with feigned sympathy: "Commandant Xuan, to ensure the common people could flee east, you personally stayed behind to cover the retreat. Truly a fine official."

Lu Fang lacked Liu Ziyu's acting skills. Knowing full well that Xuan Biao was aware of his true background, he did not bother with the pretense of calling himself the great-grandson of Emperor Xiaowu or the legitimate Son of Heaven of the Great Han. He simply resorted to blunt threats and bribes.

"But in Diwu Lun's eyes, you, Commandant Xuan, don't even rank at all."

"Of all those who followed him back then, some are now Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers, some have been enfeoffed as marquises and appointed generals. You alone, Lord Xuan, have been tossed aside on the northern frontier, serving as a mere Commandant."

Lu Fang held up the captured seal and ribbon of Xuan Biao: "And your noble rank is only Bo. Truly, it makes one sigh with pity."

Indeed — he could not compare himself to Ma Yuan or Wan Xiu. Even Diqi Biao, a man of equally middling ability, had now risen to be one of the Nine Ministers. Zheng Tong, who had once been Xuan Biao's subordinate, had become a General of Miscellaneous Title. Even Meng Ze was nearly on equal footing with him now.

The old comrades in New Qin-zhong seemed to have been forgotten. To say he felt no resentment or grievance at all would be nonsense.

Lu Fang extended a hand, offering wealth and rank: "As long as Commandant Xuan is willing to surrender to Us, We shall let bygones be bygones. We can even grant Lord Xuan the rank of Nine Ministers and the title of marquis. What say you!"

Fuping County had been run by the Zhang Chun family for generations, and with the fortified manors around it, even with Xiongnu help, it wouldn't be as easy to take as these three counties. But if he could win Xuan Biao's surrender, he might use him to open the way and persuade a batch of people to come over…

Xuan Biao hung his dripping-wet head, his lips barely moving, his voice faint. Lu Fang thought he was wavering, but he never expected that after mustering his breath, Xuan Biao would curse: "Lu Fang, you whelp."

"You are nothing but a Hu slave herding sheep at Sanshui. A beast draped in human clothes, painted with a human face, who changed his name to 'Liu Wenbo' — does that make you a man? A monkey wearing a cap, nothing more!"

Lu Fang instantly flew into a towering rage. He had men beat Xuan Biao and drive the arrow still stuck in his leg a few inches deeper, yet Xuan Biao's curses still rang in his ears without cease.

"You take the caitiffs as your father, lead the Hu in to plunder, kill our common folk, destroy our homes. Xuan Biao, though I am without talent, unable to defend the borders, and have had the misfortune to be captured by you — yet ever since I received instruction from my father, the Palace Aide to the Imperial Censor Lord Xuan, I have known the way of loyalty to one's lord and upholding righteousness. The King of Wei showed great kindness to my family. Without the King of Wei's support, Xuan Biao would long ago have died in the Boar-Rush Braves camp — how would I have this day?"

"I only regret I cannot behead you to make amends to the King of Wei. How could I ever bow and scrape to the Xiongnu for your sake, willingly becoming a subject and concubine? I would rather be Su Wu than become Li Ling!"

When he first met Diwu Lun, Xuan Biao had said outright that he wanted to be a man of honor.

To tread righteousness and brave peril, to hold the same integrity in life and death — that is my wish!

Though he had no great talent, no accomplishment in letters or arms, how could he fail to uphold this single word, "righteousness"?

Lu Fang, rebuked until he felt as though he sat on a mat of needles, knew he had underestimated this man. Shame turning to fury, he ordered his men to use a knife and cut out Xuan Biao's tongue!

The Hu soldiers pried open Xuan Biao's mouth and slashed his tongue to pulp; blood poured from his mouth. Lu Fang felt somewhat relieved, and with smug satisfaction, he walked before him and sneered: "Xuan Biao, can you curse me now?"

No sooner had the words left his mouth than Xuan Biao suddenly raised his head and spat a mouthful of bloody froth onto Lu Fang's chest and face! Then he burst out laughing.

"Drag him out! Tie him to the city wall and let the sun scorch him to death! Let everyone see what becomes of those who defy Us!"

Lu Fang, wiping the bloody filth from his face, was beside himself with rage. He had men drag Xuan Biao out and bind him atop the walls of Shanghe City, where whips lashed him without pause. And Xuan Biao, though his tongue was gone, still cursed unceasingly.

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Until his breath was nearly spent, yet there was still a faint sound. Xuan Biao was already very dazed, his body wracked with unbearable pain everywhere, but in his heart there was a trace of self-satisfaction.

"To tread righteousness and brave peril — that I had no ability to do. But to hold the same integrity in life and death… I managed that, didn't I?"

The Helan Mountains were at his back, the sun's shadow falling upon him. Flies and gadflies buzzed chaotically about. Below the wall, the common folk captured by the Xiongnu, ropes tied around their necks, watched Xuan Biao with grief, indignation, and sympathy.

Xuan Biao's gaze, however, passed beyond them. In his dazed confusion, he saw a great river cutting across the new lands within the Qin borders, its waves broad and wide.

As if he saw again a sovereign, not tall in stature, standing proudly at the prow of a ship, sword in hand, cleaving the waves as he came!

And behind him, a thousand sails, ten thousand steeds, dragon banners raised high, dagger-axes and spears like a forest, sworn to recover lost lands and drive out every last Hu caitiff, not one remaining!

The King of Wei hated evil as his foe, the King of Wei would surely avenge any wrong — Xuan Biao knew his lord's nature well. Before his breath ceased, as if he already saw the outcome, a smile appeared on his face.

"The doom of Lu Fang, the calamity of the Xiongnu — it begins with me!"