Chapter 527: Different Paths

To Wu Han and the other generals, this prophetic text called the "Red Latent Talisman" was nothing short of timely rain!

Ever since Liu Xiu had moved from Jiangdong into Huainan and gained a foothold, his followers had urged him to take the throne countless times.

The arguments for enthronement followed only a few familiar scripts. Generals like Ma Wu, Liu Xiu's brother-in-law, who valued strength above all, urged him thus: "Great King, when you first campaigned at Kunyang, three hundred thousand Xin troops collapsed of their own accord; later you seized Huainan and pacified the southeast; you straddle provinces and hold territory, with a hundred thousand armored soldiers — it is time to declare yourself Emperor!"

But at that time, Liu Xiu said his strength was no match for Diwu Lun's — if Lun did not declare himself Emperor, Xiu would not either. Now Diwu Lun had long since occupied the imperial throne. You defeated the Red Eyebrows, and I too have defeated the Red Eyebrows — is it not time to stand as equals?

Former Greenwood heavyweights like Li Tong urged Liu Xiu with fervor: "The Han suffered Wang Mang — the ancestral temples were abolished and desecrated, heroes raged, and the countless people were plunged into misery. The Great King and Bosheng first raised the righteous army at Chongling, yet the imperial throne was stolen by the Gengshi Emperor Liu Xuan, and the people of Nanyang have been indignant for a long time. Now Gengshi has ruined the order of the realm, been defeated by the Red Eyebrows, and fled into southern Jingzhou. The imperial throne cannot long stand vacant. We beseech the Great King to consider the altars of the state and keep the common people in his heart, and swiftly settle the great succession."

Yet Liu Xiu repeatedly declined, using the excuse that Liu Xuan was still alive.

Li Tong and the others put their heads together and concluded they should follow Xiang Yu's example in doing away with the Huai King of Chu: have the two generals Deng Yu and Feng Yi, who were campaigning against the four commanderies of southern Jingzhou, eliminate Liu Xuan — either drown him in a river or strangle him.

To their surprise, Liu Xiu repeatedly gave strict instructions, sending letter after letter, saying that the army entering Jingzhou had gone to "rescue the sovereign" and that Liu Xuan must be delivered safely to Pengcheng. He even dispatched trusted aides to oversee the matter. Judging by appearances, he was entirely serious, not feigning.

At this, the assembled officials grew frantic. One nudged the other, until finally Lai Xi, who was closest to Liu Xiu, paid him a solemn visit: "We, your followers, abandoned our native lands and brought our kin and sons to follow the Great King through arrows and stones. Beyond deeply sensing the Great King's heroic brilliance and divine wisdom, we simply wish to secure a worthy legacy of merit."

"Among the contenders of the realm today, the strongest in power is first Diwu Lun, and next Gongsun Shu and the Great King. Both Diwu and Gongsun have already declared themselves Emperor. If the Great King continues to delay and does not formally assume the imperial title, loyal and earnest men like us may let it pass, but the rest will likely begin to harbor other thoughts. What is more, the Great King is bent on welcoming Liu Xuan back — do you intend to let him remain Emperor while you serve as his subject? The moment cannot be held back; the multitude cannot be opposed. If the Great King should yield to Liu Xuan, never mind others — even I, Lai Xi, would refuse to serve beneath him!"

This speech finally made Liu Xiu realize the gravity of the situation. He no longer declined with the excuse that "the bandits are not yet quelled and we are beset by enemies on all sides." Instead, he summoned Lai Xi, Li Tong, Ma Wu, and the others and spoke the truth to them.

"Do you think I do not know that succeeding to the imperial throne can no longer be delayed?"

"But to achieve the imperial enterprise requires both the civil and the martial. Otherwise, one ends up like the many who have brazenly declared themselves Emperor these past years — the common people do not cleave to them, the powerful clans do not submit, and in the end they are abruptly destroyed, becoming a laughingstock."

Liu Xiu was not inflated by the great victory at Pengcheng: "In martial strength, though I control Xu, Yang, and half of Jingzhou, I can at best match Gongsun Shu, let alone Diwu Lun."

"Since martial strength is insufficient, then in the matter of civil virtue, we cannot be careless."

"Gentlemen, have you heard a story from the Red Eyebrow captives? After Diwu Lun captured Wang Mang, he did not execute him outright. Instead, he pretended to have the Wei soldiers, the Red Eyebrows, and others cast tiles to decide Wang Mang's fate, calling it a 'public vote.'"

"The great clans and noble houses all considered this act frivolous — great affairs of the realm are decided by the sovereign and the scholar-officials themselves; why ask the common folk? But I, on the contrary, find Diwu Lun's move exceedingly brilliant!"

Liu Xiu would repeatedly ponder and analyze every move Diwu Lun made: "Heaven hears as our people hear. In this way, the execution of Wang Mang became an act that answered the people's hearts below and received Heaven's mandate above. With a million common people sharing the burden with him, he did not have to bear alone the name of having murdered his former sovereign!"

In Liu Xiu's eyes, Diwu Lun had raised the art of feigned righteousness to its pinnacle — and this gave him some inspiration.

"Diwu Lun already holds nearly half the realm, yet he remains so cautious. How could I afford to be careless?"

Liu Xiu laid his cards on the table to his trusted aides: "Recently I received a report from Deng Yu in southern Jingzhou. He says that under the banner of rescuing the sovereign, he has taken Changsha, accepted the surrender of the Greenwood remnants, and captured Liu Xuan. He will return east to Pengcheng shortly. Whatever past grievances there may be, between Liu Xuan and myself, there remains, after all, the bond of sovereign and subject."

"But Liu Xuan, after Deng Yu's 'counsel,' has come to deeply feel his own incompetence and mediocrity, that he has hindered the great plan to restore the Han, and he intends to abdicate..."

Brilliant! This retreat and advance — was it not far more dignified than drowning Liu Xuan in a river and then shedding a few hypocritical tears? Although Liu Xuan had treated their brothers unjustly, many who had come to join them were former Greenwood men who had also kicked him when he was down. If they truly settled accounts, their own ranks would fall to mutual recrimination.

The assembled men suddenly saw the light. Having secured Liu Xiu's promise, their minds were at ease. It happened that Qiang Hua arrived to present the Red Latent Talisman, making the whole affair fall perfectly into place.

Thereupon, all declared: "Of the talismans that convey the Mandate, the human response is paramount. That a token from ten thousand li away matches our conviction — without prior discussion, yet in perfect sympathy — how could the white fish of the Zhou even compare?"

The reason they specifically mentioned the white fish of the Yellow River was that rumor had it Diwu Lun had received the same auspicious omen when crossing the river. But what Liu Xiu did not know was that Diwu Lun, who never believed in prophetic texts, had stewed that fish...

Liu Xiu himself, however, was quite a devout believer in prophetic texts.

"The response of talismans and auspicious signs is manifest and widely known. Now the realm is in chaos, and bandits have usurped the throne. The Great King should answer the divine spirits, to satisfy the hopes of the multitude."

Amid the clamor of the crowd, upon learning that Deng Yu, with Liu Xuan in tow, had already reached Huainan and would arrive in Pengcheng within days, Liu Xiu finally ceased his five refusals and five deferrals and ordered Li Tong and the others to make preparations.

"Since Heaven's will is thus, command the relevant officials to set up an altar and grounds at the Sishui Pavilion in Pei County. When the time comes, I shall, together with my two kinsmen — elder brother Gengshi and nephew Jianshi — jointly offer sacrifice to the heroic spirit of the Exalted Emperor, Great Ancestor Gao, and thereby put forward a son of the Liu clan to inherit the great Han imperial line!"

Jianshi? Was that not the reign title of Liu Yong of Liang Han?

The men looked at one another in bewilderment, and finally understood what Liu Xiu had been waiting for.

Liu Xiu revealed the answer: "The remnant Red Eyebrow force under Xu Xuan, seeing the southeast impassable, broke north into Lu Commandery and seized the city of Qufu. Liu Yong lost his last city and was rescued by a detachment of my army. He too will soon arrive at Sishui Pavilion in Pei County!"

In the chaotic last years of the Xin dynasty, the place where the Red Eyebrow Army first rose was very close to Qufu, yet miraculously, Lu Commandery had remained intact throughout. This was largely thanks to the defensive skill of the Governor of Lu, Yun Chang, but the Kong family claimed it was Confucius protecting the region!

Liu Yong believed this claim and accordingly made Qufu his final base, maintaining his laughable title of "Emperor."

Yet even the venerable Master Kong could not bless Liu Yong's dynasty with longevity. Just a few days earlier, as the Red Eyebrow remnants, fleeing Wei army pursuit, poured into Lu Commandery from the west and south, Liu Yong sent troops to resist. He had thought that against the starving Red Eyebrows, who had lost all fighting spirit, he could easily win and wipe away his disgrace. To his shock, his troops still collapsed like a landslide, and the Red Eyebrows were soon at the city walls.

Can't beat the Wei army — you think we can't beat you?

Liu Yong fled in panic. He had intended to go north and throw himself on the mercy of the Qi King, Zhang Bu, but was intercepted mid-journey by troops sent by Liu Xiu and taken to Xuzhou.

Liu Yong could flee, but the Kong clan, with its vast estate and great enterprise, could not. They could only retreat, together with the local great clan, the Yan clan of Eastern Lu, to defend the Kong residence and temple, watching in terror as the Red Eyebrow army entered the city.

Though the Kong residence in Qufu was not on the scale it would reach in later ages, it had already stood for several centuries. Ever since Liu Bang, after pacifying Ying Bu in Huainan, passed through Queli in Qufu on his return journey and performed the Grand Sacrifice to Confucius, an officially sanctioned Confucian temple had risen from the ground. Though it later suffered indignities such as the Prince of Lu breaking down the walls of the Kong residence, the temple's status had climbed step by step. Since the end of the Former Han, Confucius had been enfeoffed as a duke, and the Kong family held a marquisate for generations. The "Jianshi Emperor" Liu Yong had even posthumously elevated Confucius to king in one stroke!

Within the temple grounds, ancient trees soared to the heavens, lush and verdant, complementing the magnificent complex of buildings. It was said that many of them had been planted by the seventy-two disciples of Confucius. But as the Red Eyebrow army marched in, the hundreds of herons that ordinarily dwelled in the ancient trees were startled into flight — and the hearts of the Kong clan head, the Yan clan head, and their families and disciples were even more panicked than the birds.

The Kong clan went without saying. Even the descendants of Yan Hui — who in his day was famed for poverty, "a single bamboo dish of food, a single gourd of drink, living in a mean alley" — had now become a renowned and eminent lineage. Every generation produced several high officials, and their economic standing had swelled day by day, making them the greatest powerful clan in Lu Commandery after the Kongs. It was just that the heads of both clans emphasized classical scholarship, so their methods of acquisition were not as unsightly as those of local magnates.

Seeing the Red Eyebrows about to arrive, the Yan clan head was quite uneasy. He said to Kong An, the seventeenth-generation descendant of Confucius, "Brother, I have always heard that the Red Eyebrows are all ruffians from the poor quarters, who hate nothing more than families that dine off bells and tripods. Though you, Brother, have the heart to preserve the Kong temple and residence, our bellies are full of classical learning — that works well enough against the likes of Liu Yong and Zhang Bu, but when we meet the illiterate Red Eyebrow army, how do we reason with them?"

In his opinion, fleeing was the priority. They could not carry away the classics or the residence, but they could bundle up the gold, silver, and valuables. Apart from the Red Eyebrows, whether they went west to Wei, north to Qi, or south to Wu, as descendants of the Sage, they would be honored as esteemed guests wherever they went!

But Kong An was still unwilling to abandon the Confucian temple his family had guarded for generations. The Kong clan had endured for several centuries, surviving the Lord of Chunshen of Chu extinguishing Lu, the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, Qin destroying Chu, Xiang Yu destroying Qin, Han destroying Chu, and other cataclysms. Countless dynasties and heroes had risen and fallen; only the Kong clan had persisted to this day.

They had long perfected the art of adroit maneuvering. Even when facing the tyrannical Qin, Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, or Xiang Yu, they had smoothly switched allegiances. The Confucian scholars of Lu had backed the wrong side during the Chu-Han contention and were nearly blacklisted by the Han dynasty. The Kong clan alone had managed to make Liu Bang, who had always disliked Confucians, come in person to offer sacrifice, securing an iron rice bowl for the family.

"We have weathered great storms and waves in the past. The Red Eyebrow army is but a minor bump in the road." Kong An's expression was calm. "What is more, the commander who has entered Lu this time is Xu Xuan. He is one of the few among the Red Eyebrows who has studied the classics. The reason the Red Eyebrows did not violate Qufu in the first place was largely thanks to his efforts in dissuading Fan Chong."

And so Kong An decided to take a gamble!

The outer gate of the Kong residence was pushed open, and the Red Eyebrow army streamed in. But these rough, raggedly dressed men of the wilds did not, as they had when breaching other cities, call for the killing and plundering of the fabulously wealthy great clans. Instead, restrained by Xu Xuan, they were ordered not to harm a single blade of grass or tree on the Kong residence.

Kong An also went out smiling to greet them and had his men present the gifts he had prepared.

"I have long heard that when Master Xu served as a clerk in Donghai, he was most proficient in the Book of Changes. The Kong family does not possess a thousand pieces of gold, but we do have ten thousand scrolls of books. Here are a few copies of the Changes annotated and glossed by the elders of our house. I hope Master Xu will not disdain them."

Xu Xuan was dressed rather presentably today, and had even donned a tall cap — something that had been forbidden in the Red Eyebrow army under Fan Chong's leadership. The giant Fan disliked this sort of artificial "elevation above others."

But now Fan Chong was a prisoner in chains. Feng An and Yang Yin had died in battle. Xie Lu, too, had been ambushed and captured by Dong Xian at Daye Marsh while fleeing into Lu Commandery.

Of the Red Eyebrows, only Xu Xuan remained. It was now his turn to take charge and, according to his own ideas, seek a way out for the Red Eyebrows.

And so, Xu Xuan actually accepted the copy of the Changes that Kong An presented with both hands and said with deep feeling, "I have heard that in his later years, the Sage Kong was most fond of the Book of Changes."

Kong An breathed a sigh of relief. "Indeed. Confucius in his old age delighted in the Changes. In reading the Changes, the leather thongs broke three times. He also said that if Heaven could grant him a few more years, he would achieve great mastery in the Changes."

"How rich and refined is the learning of the Sage Kong."

"High as the mountain we gaze up at; bright as the great road we travel. Only by coming to Qufu, to the Kong residence, can one truly grasp this."

Xu Xuan held the classic in his hands, raised his head, and gazed up at the Confucian temple atop the steps — like a disciple once defiant and rebellious, now returning to the fold, kneeling once more beneath the gate of the Confucian school, hoping to be accepted by the powerful clans.

And the red eyebrow markings on his forehead had long since been washed away.

"Though I too have studied the Book of Changes, my learning is shallow and I failed to fathom its depths, so that I could not restrain the Red Eyebrows. I allowed Fan Chong and the old villain Wang Mang to run amok, wrecking the halls of sacred learning and shattering the homes of good gentry. Today I have come especially to the Kong residence to listen to the sage's teachings. I have nothing else to offer, only this shao lao sacrifice."

Xu Xuan grasped Kong An's hand and said with a smile, "Master Kong, we must let the people of Qufu, Lu Commandery, and even all of Yan Province know…"

"The Red Eyebrows are not what they once were!"

…

Meanwhile, at the western end of the realm, Diwu Lun's chariots and riders with their five-colored banners had already threaded through the narrow Hangu Pass road and entered the flat lands of Guanzhong.

Wang Mang tilted his head and could see the towering Mount Hua looming into view — this was the old capital he had been parted from for so long.

Ever since Liu Xin died at Luoyang, Wang Mang had been like a wilted plant. Though they had betrayed and broken with each other, Liu Xin had after all been a true kindred spirit in his life — the sight of one of his own kind wounded him. On the journey west, he had been dazed all day long, and even when Diwu Lun prodded him with words, he no longer had any desire to strike back.

Zhu Di, under Diwu Lun's orders, came to the rear of the column to see whether old Wang Mang could still endure the rigors of the journey. When he was done, Zhu Di added one more remark, rather proudly.

"On the road ahead, Old Wang, you had best take a good look."

"Chang'an is not what it once was!"