Chapter 422: The Northern Capital

Governor Feng Qin of Henei was a busy man. In autumn he had just finished supporting the King of Wei's march on Luoyang, and in winter he was again busy supervising the transport of Henei's grain and fodder north to Ji Province.

The Hebei campaign had been raging from late autumn into the twelfth month, its scale far surpassing every engagement of the past two years — this was a full-scale war to destroy a state. A hundred thousand Wei troops faced a coalition of nearly two hundred thousand under Liu Ziyu, clashing across four battlefields in Hebei, the fighting spanning commanderies and prefectures. As heavy snow fell from the sky, several fronts simultaneously ground to a stalemate; neither side had the strength to launch an offensive.

When a war reaches this stage, what it tests is logistics!

"In ancient times, when Qin and Zhao fought at Changping, in the later stages King Zhaoxiang of Qin personally went to Henei, granted the common people one step of rank each, and conscripted every male fifteen and older to Changping, cutting off Zhao's relief troops and grain supplies."

Bai Qi won the battle on the front line, but King Zhaoxiang's conscripts won the rear. It is the same now. Without Henei, that rich land of land and sea, if Henei had been devastated in the chaos of war and unable to produce a staggering four million dan of grain, Diwu Lun would have no way to fight this war at all.

Yet although Henei produced the grain, when it came to enthusiasm for joining the war, it fell far short of its neighbor, Wei Commandery.

To Feng Qin, a man of Wei Commandery, this was only natural. Diwu Lun had, after all, served as Grand Governor in Wei, where he had built up the foundation for his bid for supremacy in the chaotic world. Though he later shifted his campaigns to Guanzhong, his state name remained Wei! One could see how deep his attachment to this land was.

And the people of Wei Commandery, who had once enjoyed Diwu Lun's protection and favor, also eagerly answered the call to arms. Out of two hundred ten thousand households in the commandery, the number conscripted reached a terrifying ratio of one man per three households! They made up seven-tenths of the hundred-thousand-strong Wei army! They were the absolute main force on the central and eastern fronts.

Even those not directly fighting were conscripted from every county in Wei, pushing small carts as they set out for the front lines.

The scholars and powerful families of Wei Commandery had long since changed their attitude toward the King of Wei — he was better than the Tongma, at least. Countless numbers donated grain, and many young men equipped themselves with horses, armor, and weapons, serving under Geng Chun and Ma Yuan.

When Feng Qin once again arrived at Yecheng supervising a grain shipment, it happened to be the day of the La Sacrifice. But all the grain once used to brew wine had been sent to the army camps; even the rites were performed casually. In Yecheng, every household had someone at the front — who had the heart to celebrate?

Yet Feng Qin discovered that the city, which should have been cold and quiet in winter, was instead plunged into a kind of revelry!

Elderly men in their eighties and nineties, leaning on the pigeon-head staffs bestowed by the King of Wei, congratulated one another in the lanes. Women's faces bore smiles, as if they had forgotten their worries for fathers and brothers locked in bitter battle at the front. The children were even more overjoyed; after receiving malt sugar distributed by the commandery administrator, they ran and jumped through the streets and alleys, spreading the news.

Only when Feng Qin reached the commandery office and met Huang Chang, who was concurrently serving as Governor of Wei Commandery, did he learn the reason for the celebration.

After Diwu Lun's domain expanded, Huang Chang and Feng Qin were no longer so sharply antagonistic toward each other. In fact, being fellow provincials from Wei, they had developed a certain mutual respect. Huang Chang laughed and said, "The edict just arrived this morning, delivered by Zhu Di. You still don't know, Weibo? The King is implementing the Five Capitals system. From now on, Yecheng is one of them — it is the Northern Capital!"

Feng Qin merely gave an "Oh." With his breadth of knowledge, he would not make a great fuss over this.

The King of Wei's ancestors — the state of Qi during the Warring States period — had once implemented a Five Capitals system: Linzi, Gaotang, Pinglu, Jimo, and E. Each capital had a grandee stationed there directly subordinate to the King of Qi, and each had its own army. In other words, Qi's Five Capitals were actually "military districts."

Wang Mang had also established five capitals, making Luoyang, Handan, Linzi, Wan, and Chengdu his five capitals, and setting up Five Equilibration Officers in Chang'an and these five great cities to fully implement his economic reforms. Wang Mang's Five Capitals were a concept of metropolises, with the emphasis on economics.

Seeing that Feng Qin had misunderstood the King of Wei's intent, Huang Chang shook his head.

"The King's edict says: 'The Great Declaration states: On the day of wuwu, the King halted north of the Yellow River.' The lands of Hebei and Ji, ranked first among the Nine Provinces in the Yu Gong — how can they be without a capital?"

"The King is not merely making Ye a military district or metropolis, but establishing it as a capital equal to Chang'an!"

Now Feng Qin understood. His expression changed. "Like the Western and Eastern Capitals system of the Zhou dynasty?"

Huang Chang nodded. "Exactly. Yecheng will have a temporary imperial palace. Wei Commandery is renamed 'Weicheng Yin,' equal to Jingzhao Yin, its status slightly higher than an ordinary Governor."

At this, even Feng Qin was quite pleased. For the people of Wei and Yecheng, this was an enormous morale boost. Even without extra tax exemptions, it was a matter of face — from now on, their household registrations would be those of a capital city!

For the state, a capital held special political significance. Diwu Lun had chosen to announce this at the time of the La Sacrifice. Aside from his belief that the Hebei region truly needed an administrative center the court could control, it was also to raise the spirits of the Wei people, who had contributed so much to this war. As an old revolutionary base, it deserved a bit of preferential treatment.

This way, if he later proclaimed himself emperor and changed the state name, the people of Wei might accept it more readily in their hearts.

At the same time, Diwu Lun also announced that the following year, Wei Commandery, Henei, Hedong, Taiyuan, and other commanderies that were the main sources of troops for the war would all have their land taxes and poll taxes reduced. He could only hope that each commandery could hold on and support the King of Wei in fighting this war to the very end!

Yet even as he felt joy for his homeland, Feng Qin also harbored a hidden worry. "Even the Zhou dynasty had only two capitals, east and west, when the Duke of Zhou built Luoyang. If the King initiates a Five Capitals system, perhaps in preparation for proclaiming himself emperor, might it not lead to grand palaces being built in the secondary capitals in the future, exhausting and toiling the people?"

"Furthermore, since Ye is the Northern Capital and Chang'an the Western Capital... if Luoyang later becomes the Central Capital, where will the Southern Capital and Eastern Capital be established?"

After Henei's grain reached Yecheng, it was divided into two routes. The eastern route went through Qinghe Commandery, heading for Xindu. The path was precisely the territory where Chengtou Zilu played hide-and-seek and waged guerrilla war with the Wei army. Even with the protection of local strongmen's fortresses dotting the landscape, the convoys still suffered attacks from time to time.

Fortunately, Chengtou Zilu's forces were also an outside army and were not liked by the people of Qinghe. Whether "the common people" or the common people, hearts were on the Wei army's side. Those who kept watch for the Wei grain convoys could also get a share of food, while those who followed Chengtou Zilu could only freeze in the wilds. As the moist snow fell, Chengtou Zilu's threat had greatly diminished.

The other route went straight north, reaching Julu City, and then was sent further north to the central-route army under Geng Chun.

Perhaps because a diversionary force of the Tongma had appeared north of Julu City to harass them, or perhaps because he was concerned about how the front-line soldiers were faring in this bitter cold, Diwu Lun specially chose the day of the La Sacrifice to personally escort grain and winter clothing to Boren County. Geng Chun, using the dense network of city walls and fortresses in this area, had blocked several attacks by the main Tongma force.

The Wei army's main camp was set up behind a defensive line formed by several county towns, close to a river for easy access to water. A heavy snow had fallen the day before; inside and outside the camp, all was a vast expanse of white. The cold wind blew, whipping up swirling snowflakes, and the accumulated snow made the felt tents tremble and quiver...

Wei soldiers shivered, draped in coarse hemp garments that, though thick, provided no warmth. They huddled in the camp huts, relying on the lingering warmth of charcoal fires to endure the freezing night, packed in tight little circles. After thousands of years of logging, the land of Hebei had no more timber than Guanzhong; heating in winter was a major problem. Even though the King of Wei had used his old trick, sending captives and slave laborers to dig coal from the deep mountains and transport it, there still was not enough to burn.

When the firewood distributed to each camp burned out, they could only wrap their bedding around themselves, stretch their hands over the ash pits that had not yet completely cooled, and squeeze together for warmth, wishing they could crawl into each other's clothes, as if that would warm them a little more.

They endured until the gong sounded for mealtime. The shivering soldiers instantly transformed into chowhounds, grabbing their pottery bowls, crude chopsticks, and wooden spoons and dashing outside, rushing in one breath to the camp mess.

From far off, a soldier with a sharp nose took a slight whiff and was immediately overjoyed. "Meat! I think I smell meat!"

His comrade beside him laughed at him. "The bitter cold must have frozen your nose. We're lucky to get coarse rice — where would meat come from... Hey, I smell it too!"

Their steps quickened. When they reached the mess area, they found many soldiers already running over, eyes fixed eagerly on the steaming cauldrons — the new cooking vessels in the Wei army. The cooking fires blazed fiercely. The cook soldiers were stirring the cauldrons with large wooden ladles, and the aroma of meat broth wafted everywhere.

When the contents of the cauldron were ladled into bowls, it turned out to be dough-drop soup. The thick, starchy broth was mixed with scallions, chives, and winter mallow — green and pleasing to the eye. There were also some chopped meat morsels, and a layer of oil droplets visible to the naked eye floated on the soup. One taste, and they found the salt was also plentiful!

For soldiers on the battlefield, compared to dry rice with bean paste, this was already a rare delicacy. The sound of ravenous slurping rose throughout the camp, and from time to time someone would burn their mouth from eating too fiercely.

"Don't just rush to eat!"

A camp official stood on an earthen platform nearby, shouting loudly: "Today is the La Sacrifice. The King of Wei has come in person to honor the troops! A special meal with meat is added! All officers and men are invited to share it with the spirit tablets! Everyone, let us together thank the Great King!"

"Long live the Great King!" The soldiers were overjoyed. Even those with dough soup still in their mouths lifted their heads and mumbled in agreement.

Similar scenes played out in every camp of the central-route army, while the King of Wei and Geng Chun were in a watchtower, eating the same thing to the sound of the three armies' cheers.

Geng Chun clearly did not like eating this stuff, but with his mouth he had to praise it endlessly. "Don't judge this dough-drop soup by its poor appearance — it's far less pleasing to the eye than water-pulled noodles. But its advantage is that it's easy to make. One bowl down, and the chill is completely gone!"

He added: "The Art of War says: 'Regard your soldiers as your infants, and they will follow you into the deepest valleys; treat them as your beloved sons, and they will die with you.' The Great King, braving the winter cold and snow to come personally to the front lines, is certain to win the soldiers' devotion unto death. This great battle will surely succeed!"

"Don't just focus on flattery." Diwu Lun set down his spoon. Seeing that Geng Chang had gotten soup on his beard while eating the dough drops, he used his own sleeve to wipe it for him. They were in-laws, after all — what was wrong with a little intimacy?

He said: "This Boren is the ancient state of Xing, and later a strategic location of the Zhongshan state. It lies east of the Taihang Mountains, with Shangdang to the west. Both places are vast in territory and rich in resources, facing each other east and west like the two wings of the Taihang range. Travel and communication between them are direct and easy."

"It is precisely because of this that we have been able to block the main Tongma army here. But this battle has been fought for several months now. I do not wish to drag it out any longer!"

Geng Chun was full of confidence. "Our troops still have hot soup to eat. Over on the Tongma side, they're already reduced to drinking thin gruel and are on the verge of running out of food!"

He was not boasting. Within the Tongma army, not everyone was willing to throw away their lives for the imperial enterprise of Liu Ziyu, the man supposedly "possessed by the spirit of Emperor Gao." As the weather grew colder and colder, sometimes Geng Chun would send men with cooking gear to the front lines to plant a flag and shout: "Brothers of the Tongma and Zhending armies, come over and eat!" They could trick dozens or even a hundred starving Tongma soldiers into rushing over to grab food, after which they were willing to defect and serve the Wei army.

This was only natural. Diwu Lun could hold on thanks to the support of Henei and Wei Commandery. The Tongma had even more men, but eating next year's grain had its limit — their supply was already on the verge of collapse.

"If we just drag it out another ten days or a month, the Tongma will defeat themselves!"

Geng Chun laid out his plan: to launch the attack at the end of the twelfth month. It would be a battle unprecedented in scale since the founding of Wei — an encirclement and annihilation of a hundred thousand men!

The only problem was that, even though Diwu Lun had repeatedly conscripted the people of Henei and sent them here, to encircle and annihilate the Tongma, who were bandits by origin, they were still a little short. It would be very easy for them to slip away, just as Ma Yuan had fallen one move short at Xindu.

And if they could not achieve a war of annihilation, even if Liu Ziyu's regime was destroyed, bandits like the Tongma would still tie down the Wei army in Hebei for a long time.

That was why they needed the help of the eastern-route, western-route, and northern-route armies. As long as any one of them could outflank and close in, Diwu Lun's plan could be smoothly realized...

Yet the hardest battle to fight in this world is a pitched engagement.

"Lord Jingsun on the western route is gravely ill — he cannot even rise from his bed. I have dispatched an imperial physician. Tell him to do what he can; there is no need to force himself. The King of Zhending, Liu Yang, is holding the passes firmly and simply will not come out to fight. I fear there is no chance of breaking out of Mount Chang."

"The northern-route army has also sent no word. Perhaps it has been blocked by heavy snow and failed to march south on time."

"We can only pin our hopes on the eastern-route army." Diwu Lun had already issued an edict urging Ma Yuan onward. No matter how foul the weather, how dire the supply situation, or how much the rear was harried by the Chengtou Zilu bandits, they still had to fight and win one more battle — to close in from the east and coordinate with the main central force to end this war!

Yet just at that moment, a scout came rushing in with a report.

"Your Majesty, Chancellor of the Left — the Tongma vanguard at Guang'a has suddenly pulled back!"

…

PS: The checkup found a minor health issue; I'll need to make a few trips to the hospital. May is rather busy, so for now I only have the energy to maintain two updates a day. I'll make up the missed updates in June or July. Tomorrow's updates will still be at 18:00 and 23:00.