Chapter 578: An Unbreakable Alliance

Unlike the great cities of the Central Plains, repeatedly ravaged and destroyed by war, Linzi still preserved the structure of the Qi capital from the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, with large and small walled wards nested one inside the other. The small ward in the southwest corner had been taken by Zhang Bu as his palace, its main hall built atop a rammed-earth platform called "Duke Huan's Terrace," rising twenty zhang high.

It was said that Zhang Bu had a hobby: scholars who displeased him were often thrown from the terrace. The unlucky ones died on the spot; the luckier ones broke a leg and escaped a death sentence.

Today, the two strongmen specially tasked with hoisting scholars up and hurling them down were staring fixedly at the visitor being received in the great hall. If he said anything that displeased the King of Qi, Fang Wang would get to experience the sensation of soaring through the air.

Zhang Bu sat arrogantly on his high seat, toying with a bronze goblet brimming with wine, his voice dripping with sarcasm: "I grow muddled. Is Sir Fang an envoy of Emperor Gongsun, or an envoy of Emperor Liu?"

Fang Wang had seen plenty of grand occasions and replied with a smile: "Both."

Patting his waist, he said: "Fang has been generously treated by two emperors and now wears the seals and ribbons of both the Cheng and Han states simultaneously."

He was not entirely boasting. After leaving Wei Ao, Fang Wang had relied on his glib tongue to thrive between Cheng and Han. Exploiting information gaps, playing one side against the other, was his common tactic, and he had actually managed to forge an alliance between the two states.

But Fang Wang made a distinction in his dealings with Gongsun Shu and Liu Xiu: Gongsun Shu had enfeoffed his own younger brothers and sons as kings, yet for Fang Wang, he was only willing to make him a mere Grand Master, not even one of the Nine Ministers. Liu Xiu, by contrast, was generous, directly granting Fang Wang the seal of "Grand Messenger," equivalent to the Eastern Han's "External Chancellor," placing him on the same level as his mortal enemy, Feng Yan.

Compared to the petty Gongsun Shu, this was the mark of a man who did great things. Fang Wang was gradually coming to feel that the banner of resisting Wei would have to be carried by Liu Xiu after all.

Considering that smashing Fang Wang at the foot of Duke Huan's Terrace might offend two emperors at once, Zhang Bu waved his hand to dismiss the fierce-looking strongmen and ordered a seat be given to this fellow Fang: "Then what guidance does Sir Fang bring to Linzi?"

Fang Wang smiled. "This past year, the Qi lands have been at peace, as if removed from the chaos of war. While outside, men have dashed their brains out on the ground, Linzi remains prosperous and content — a blessing indeed! Yet Fang Wang believes that in times of peace one must think of danger. Someone should come and inform Your Majesty of the war situation in the south."

Zhang Bu was indeed very concerned about the war in Jing-Xiang. From the first month until now, the forces of Chengjia, the Eastern Han, Wei, and the local King of Chuli — four powers — had been locked in fierce combat in Nan Commandery. The situation was so chaotic that even the generals and marshals nearby were dazzled and bewildered, let alone Zhang Bu a thousand li away.

A strategist is much like a pyramid-schemer; his greatest advantage lies in the information gap. Without caring whether a victor had actually emerged there or not, Fang Wang told Zhang Bu with absolute certainty: "In the Jing-Xiang campaign, the Wei army's defeat is already sealed!"

…

The strategist's second trick is telling only half the story.

When facing a potential client, they cannot tell all lies — that would be too easily exposed — but neither can they tell the whole truth, or the bleakness of their business would be laid bare. They can only mix truth and falsehood. And the balance between the two, the art of speaking — works like the "Letters of the Warring States Coalition Strategists" would never teach such things in detail. One can only grasp it through one's own efforts.

Fang Wang, having traveled among the feudal lords for many years, had indeed honed a formidable skill. He vividly recounted the war unfolding in Jingzhou to Zhang Bu and thoughtfully "helped" Zhang Bu sort out the battle situation.

"Now Deng Feng, Jia Fu, Ma Wu, and others have broken into Nanyang, throwing Cen Peng's rear into chaos. Moreover, the Han Emperor has ordered Grand Chancellor Deng Yu to lead tens of thousands of troops to reinforce Feng Yi. The Chengjia naval forces have also breached Jiangling and will advance north to provide relief within days. Cen Peng is now caught between a rock and a hard place; Xiangyang remains untaken after long delay. Once he is attacked from both within and without, his destruction is not far off!"

The military movements of the four powers over the past few months were broadly accurate, but Fang Wang exaggerated the Wei army's predicament, portraying the Han-Cheng alliance he had single-handedly built as unbreakable, and dismissing Cen Peng's deliberate feigned retreat to lure the enemy as the man's arrogance and stupidity.

Most crucially, Fang Wang did not yet know that Diwu Lun had personally rushed to Wancheng to cover the risks of Cen Peng's gamble. He was now like a boulder anchoring the state, a move that would render all rear-harassing petty schemes utterly ineffective…

"This is the situation this outer minister heard of north of the Huai before coming to the Qi lands."

Fang Wang continued: "At this very moment, perhaps Cen Peng has already been beheaded, the Wei southern expeditionary army has collapsed in one stroke, and the two states of Cheng and Han are already preparing to invade Nanyang!"

He laid out the possible developments to come: "Though Wei is powerful, it faces enemies on all sides. Its vast armies are dispersed across the provinces and are not actually so numerous. Diwu Lun will surely lose Jingzhou and Nanyang — this will be the greatest defeat since the founding of the Wei state!"

Fang Wang hoped it would be so. The myth of the Wei army's invincibility would be shattered, and the realm would return to a balance of power.

He stepped forward, looking at the pensive Zhang Bu, and tempted him: "At such a moment, can the King of Qi truly remain unmoved?"

Zhang Bu was not so easily fooled. He shook his head. "Even if Cheng and Han win and Wei loses, so what? I have already concluded an alliance with the Wei Emperor, declaring myself a vassal and paying tribute. How could I rashly violate faith and righteousness?"

This matter traced back to a year ago. Diwu Lun had just fought a major battle against the main force of the Red Eyebrows. His troops were resting and regrouping, and he temporarily lacked the strength to launch an eastern campaign against Qi. He therefore dispatched his trusted aides Zhang Yu and Fu Long into Qingzhou, where they concluded an alliance with Zhang Bu: the state of Qi would exist as an external vassal lord to the Wei Emperor. At the same time, borders were demarcated, and several counties of Qiancheng and Jinan commanderies north of the Ji River were all ceded to Wei — the pretext being that Di County in Qiancheng Commandery was the ancestral home of Diwu Lun's forebears.

Zhang Bu, also fearing conquest by Diwu Lun, complied in order to secure peace. The two states thus took the Ji River as their border and had remained at peace for a year.

Even if defeated in Jing-Xiang, Wei was still the strongest power in the realm. It was best not to provoke them.

Upon hearing this, Fang Wang burst into loud laughter. "Hahaha! The King of Qi means to speak of faith and righteousness with Diwu Lun?"

"Diwu Lun, as a subject of the Xin, suddenly rebelled before Wang Mang bestowed the axe and tally for the southern campaign against the Greenwood, and overthrew the Xin dynasty. This is disloyalty."

"When Wei was first established, its power was weak, and it feared that all under Heaven still yearned for the House of Han. Diwu Lun thus sent envoys to Longyou and Hebei, persuading the Wei clan and the King of Zhao to each set up an emperor. In this way, a Western and a Northern Han stood side by side, and with the Greenwood Han, the many Han states warred among themselves, while Wei seized the chance to grow strong."

Fang Wang's original plan had been entirely wrecked by Diwu Lun and his ministers. He cursed from the depths of his heart: "Diwu Lun is like the tyrannical Qin — the most perfidious of states. How can he be trusted?"

"What is more, after this outer minister arrived in Linzi, I saw that this city is exceedingly rich and well-stocked, its people high-spirited and proud. The ancients said: Linzi has a hundred thousand households, a market tax of a thousand gold pieces, a vast and wealthy populace greater than Chang'an — truly no empty words. Now Chang'an and Luoyang are both ruined, their household counts halved. Linzi may be called the greatest city under Heaven! This outer minister privately reckons that even if each household contributed only one man, this single city alone could field a hundred thousand mighty soldiers! Add the various commanderies of Qingzhou, and producing another hundred thousand would be no trouble at all!"

Good heavens — with a mere flick of this strategist's lips, Zhang Bu suddenly had two hundred thousand troops at his disposal, twice as many as Liu Xiu. Although Linzi was indeed, as he said, now a first-rank metropolis, the city's residents were mostly merchants and petty craftsmen — the kind of recruits generals and marshals detested most, their minds full of distractions and their fighting strength quite low.

What was more, Zhang Bu was actually a man from Langya in Xuzhou. Though he had luckily gained mastery over the Qi lands, he still had to rely on the great clans of Qingzhou just to keep his footing. How could he have the ability to conscript so many soldiers? Even if he forcibly pressed men into service, scraping together seventy or eighty thousand from the whole state would be doing well.

Yet under Fang Wang's flattery, Zhang Bu actually began to feel a little light-headed, wondering if he had been too timid in the past.

But then Fang Wang's tone shifted: "The Qi lands have repeatedly produced hegemons. In ancient times, there was Duke Huan of Jiang Qi, who nine times assembled the feudal lords, brought order to all under Heaven, and was chief of the Five Hegemons — none of the lords dared defy him."

"As for Tian Qi, there were King Wei of Qi and King Xuan of Qi, who swallowed Song, shattered Yan, besieged Wei to rescue Zhao, and gathered the twelve lords of the Si River region, for a time standing alongside Qin as the Eastern and Western Emperors."

"Even when Tian Heng and his brothers restored Qi, they stood independent between Chu and Han. When Han Xin was King of Qi, if he leaned right, the King of Han would win; if he leaned left, the King of Xiang would win. With a single thought, he could have divided the realm into three."

Fang Wang glanced sidelong at Zhang Bu. His words had made Zhang Bu's face flush with shame. "Now, with Your Majesty's worthiness and Qi's wealth and strength, your power rivals that of Cheng and Han. Yet you do not proclaim yourself emperor, but stoop to be a petty king, facing west to serve the Wei Fifth, bowing your head and declaring yourself a vassal. This outer minister is privately ashamed for Your Majesty!"

In short, of all the powers that had ever existed in the Qi lands from ancient times to the present, you alone are the most cowardly and timid.

Had it been anyone else, Zhang Bu would have waved his hand and ordered the strongmen to hurl him off the high terrace to his death. But Fang Wang's next words startled a cold sweat out of Zhang Bu.

"Does Your Majesty think that temporarily submitting to Wei means safety?"

"The king who lost Tian Qi, King Jian of Qi, thought the same! He served Qin with deference. The First Emperor of Qin attacked the Three Jin, Yan, and Chu day and night. The five states each turned to Qi for help, but Qi barred them from its borders. For over forty years, Qi suffered no military incursions, made no preparations for offensive or defensive warfare, and gave no aid to the five states against Qin. The First Emperor of Qin was thus able to slowly conquer and destroy the five states. Once the five states had fallen, the Qin army marched into Linzi, and the people of Qi dared not resist…"

Fang Wang pointed at the banquet spread before Zhang Bu. "After King Jian of Qi surrendered, his fate was to be left among the pines and cypresses to starve to death! Does Your Majesty wish for such a day as well?"

Zhang Bu grew displeased. "I am a founding sovereign. How can I be mentioned in the same breath as that king who lost his state?"

Fang Wang continued to prod Zhang Bu. "Not so. Your Majesty's state has even less geographical advantage than Tian Qi!"

"In ancient times, Qi had Mount Tai to the south, Langya to the east, the Turbid River to the west, and the Bohai Sea to the north — this was what is called a state protected on all four sides. Hence the saying 'the Eastern and Western Qin.' As long as grain was sufficient and armor and weapons were sharp, it could indeed hold a corner of the realm on its own."

"But now, Mount Tai is held by the remnants of the Red Eyebrows, and Your Majesty has ceded Di County and other lands to Wei, taking only the Ji River as the border with Wei. The Ji River is shallow and narrow. Wei's Youzhou shock cavalry advance like arrowheads, fight like thunderclaps, and disperse like wind and rain. Should military operations arise, they can ford the plains, cut across the Ji River, and appear beneath the walls of Linzi!"

Fang Wang's original intent was to frighten Zhang Bu, to make him join the coalition alliance and apply pressure on Diwu Lun from the east, so that Wei would face enemies on all sides and ultimately splinter apart.

Yet somehow, no sooner had his words fallen than Zhang Bu's ministers came panting and gasping up the high terrace to report shocking news to the King of Qi.

"Your Majesty! Wei has launched a war without declaration! The Youzhou shock cavalry have crossed the Ji River and are striking straight at Jinan!"

…

In the western part of the Qi state lay the barrier of the Clear and Turbid Rivers.

The Yellow River was murky and was called the Turbid River; the Ji River's waters were clear and was called the Clear River. Generally speaking, when a Qi power was strong, its borders could expand to the Turbid River, but when it was weak, it could only hold the line at the Clear River, the Ji.

The Ji River was the first line of defense of Zhang Bu's forces against the Wei army. But now, that defensive line had already been broken. The battle to cross the Ji River had long since ended. The southern bank was strewn with corpses, and dejected, listless captives were under orders to dig pits in the ground, burying or burning their fallen comrades.

Many of these corpses were a gruesome sight, their skulls nearly split open by blunt weapons, brains splattered out. The captives had to suppress the bile rising in their throats as they handled them, their gazes darting toward the "giant" washing his weapons in the water not far away. With a body a full zhang tall, wielding a pair of iron maces that roared like the wind when swung, no one could withstand a single exchange with him. His heavy armor and great helm rendered him nearly invulnerable to blade and spear, making him the greatest contributor to seizing the riverbank shallows and allowing the follow-up troops to force a crossing of the Ji River.

"This Juwuba is not bad for leading the vanguard."

The Wei army commander, General of Chariots and Cavalry Geng Yan, stepped across the swaying pontoon bridge over the Ji River. He was normally a man with very high demands of his subordinates, but he could find no fault with this clean and decisive forced river crossing, and so he was full of praise for Juwuba.

Juwuba was Wang Mang's most loyal guard. Before Wang Mang was executed by Diwu Lun, no one knew what last words he left Juwuba — yet they somehow made this brute submit to the Wei Emperor. But Diwu Lun dared not keep this human weapon by his side either. Because Juwuba was a native of Donglai in Qing Province, he was dispatched to Geng Yan's army. Geng Yan, reassigned from Bing Province, had an audience with Diwu Lun in Luoyang that winter. After receiving his commission, he traveled east in secret to take command of the You Province troops stationed between the Yellow River and the Ji River.

This military operation to force a crossing of the Ji River had been planned half a year in advance, timed precisely for the moment when the Han army's main strength was pinned down in Jing and Xiang, leaving them no leisure to relieve Qi.

Breaking through the Ji River line was only the beginning. Although Zhang Bu was nominally a vassal of Wei, his military preparedness had certainly not slackened. He had stationed troops at Lixia, Zhu'e, and other points in Ji'nan Commandery, each supporting the other like horns, forming a second line of defense.

Just as Geng Yan advanced into Ji'nan and closed in on Lixia City, Zhang Bu dispatched his younger brother Zhang Lan as an envoy. Zhang Lan hastened to the Wei camp and sought an audience with Geng Yan.

The moment they met, Zhang Lan questioned Geng Yan with great indignation.

"General Geng, the King of Qi has served the suzerain state with reverence. Our tribute has never been delayed, and we even ceded the lands north of the Ji River to the Wei Emperor. Now Qi is without fault — why do you attack us?"

After all, as the "Celestial Dynasty and suzerain state," they could hardly play the rogue and answer with "We are barbarians." Nor could Diwu Lun's pet phrase — "How can one allow another to snore beside one's own bed?" — be spoken openly.

Geng Yan therefore turned to his traveling companion, the Imperial Household Grandee Fu Long, who had been sent as an envoy to Linzi the previous year to conclude the treaty. "Grandee Fu, do tell the Qi envoy the reason, so that they may die understanding."

Fu Long was an honest man who liked to do things openly and aboveboard. Though he also handled diplomacy, he was utterly different from strategists like Fang Wang and Feng Yan.

But this time, Fu Long could only flush red as he spoke the pretext for breaking faith that Zhang Yu had devised for the Wei Emperor back when the treaty was sealed!

"In the first month, the abalone and 'sea gentlemen' that Zhang Bu sent as tribute were fed to dogs — the dogs died. Fed to condemned prisoners — the prisoners perished!"

Since Diwu Lun himself had sanctioned it, Fu Long cast aside all shame. He produced a small glass jar filled with white powder and brandished it before Zhang Lan's face.

"The imperial physicians at court extracted this substance from them — it is a poison of lethal virulence! That villain Zhang Bu plotted to murder His Majesty the Wei Emperor — the evidence is plain as day! This wicked act surpasses even Jing Ke's dagger. How can such a rebellious wretch not be executed? How can such a monstrous crime not be punished with war?"