Chapter 590: Two Thousand

"I did not come here to debate seniority with you, Sir Kong, trading courtesies and deferring to one another — I came to sweep away the Red Eyebrow remnants for the Emperor. If Sir Kong thinks me too young and untested, unworthy of such a weighty charge, then let the Kong clan endure a few more years under the Red Eyebrow bandits' tyranny!"

After Liu Penzi finished speaking, he turned to leave. Kong Zhi panicked and threw his arms around his leg. "Heavenly Envoy, do not be angered — just now Kong Zhi was discourteous. The Red Eyebrows' evil surpasses even the tyrannical Qin, surpasses Jie and Zhou. The Kong clan and the people of Qufu cannot endure another year — not even another month."

This was the truth. Xu Xuan might feign a fondness for the Confucian classics, but the rest of the Red Eyebrows had never learned how to deal with scholars and gentry. When foraging for grain, they often beat to death old village Confucians who refused to cooperate, and they had even committed the absurdity of burning bamboo slips and wooden tablets for warmth.

The Kong clan, coerced by this brutality, could only save a little face by claiming that "Confucius himself once paid a visit to the robber Zhi, hoping to reform him and turn him from evil to good." But the real reason they were so desperate to break with the Red Eyebrows was...

Anyone could see that the Red Eyebrow bandits had no future!

Kong Zhi's attitude toward Liu Penzi shifted dramatically. He asked respectfully, "May I inquire how the Heavenly Envoy is named?"

"Liu Penzi."

"A two-character base name..." Kong Zhi's old scholarly-aristocrat's bad habit flared up; inwardly he sneered at this, and only then did his attention shift from the given name to the surname.

"Liu?"

"Correct. The Liu of the Liu Han."

Liu Penzi made no secret of his identity. "I am a descendant of Prince Jing of Chengyang, a legitimate clansman of the former dynasty's Liu house, the second son of the Marquis of Shi in Taishan Commandery."

"I have been most remiss. So Lord Liu is a fellow countryman of Lu."

Kong Zhi was overjoyed — not because he and Liu Penzi shared a commandery bond, but because he was astonished by Diwu Lun's breadth of mind. He thought to himself, "There are many rumors abroad — that Diwu Lun is fond of heterodox arts and deviant studies, that he dislikes pure Confucians, that he shows no deference to great surnames and noble houses, and that he regards the Liu imperial kinsmen as mortal enemies!"

"Yet now he entrusts Liu Penzi with such responsibility. If he can treat the Liu clan so, how much more so the Kong clan? We, as descendants of the Sage, merely feigned compliance when Liu Yong declared himself emperor in Liang-Han. Faced with a true Son of Heaven, we can still offer our wholehearted allegiance."

Kong Zhi no longer worried about his family's treatment after submitting to Wei. The Marquis of Baocheng's line had weathered centuries of upheaval, had witnessed dynasties rise and empires crumble. Even the First Emperor of Qin, when he burned the books, had not dared to move against them. After the exclusive veneration of Confucianism, they had gained an iron rice bowl. Diwu Lun, he supposed, would follow the old precedents.

The Kong clan of Qufu was now resolved to submit to Wei. However, upon learning that the force Liu Penzi had brought consisted only of the dozen or so men before his eyes, Kong Zhi began to waver again. He could only mutter, "Too few."

"The Qi armies have pressed against Mount Tai, forcing Xu Xuan north to resist them. The Red Eyebrows around Qufu number no more than three thousand. For this uprising, the Kong clan must exert itself. Once Qufu raises the call, the entire Lu Commandery can be settled by a single proclamation." Liu Penzi said, "I have heard that the Marquis of Baocheng's house tends Confucius's sacrifices and holds an estate of two thousand households. Surely you can muster two thousand clan soldiers?"

Kong Zhi smiled bitterly and demurred. "The Heavenly Envoy does not understand. For centuries, the Kong clan has only stockpiled bamboo slips of the classics, the arts, and the Six Skills, but has never been keen on maintaining armed retainers. Two thousand? We could not even scrape together two hundred."

In the Qi-Lu region, there is a saying: "Pass on goods and coin — the man dies, the wealth is spent. Pass on soldiers and followers — by the second generation, they are gone. Pass on land — by the third generation, it is divided. Pass on virtue and grace — by the fifth generation, it is cut off."

"Pass on the Odes and Documents, and they endure a hundred generations without decay!"

The Kong clan was indisputably a "great house passed through the ages," but it was a house passed on through classical learning. Land, houses, and slaves made up only a small part of their wealth. Their greatest inheritance was Confucius's virtue and grace, and the Kong family knew how to manage it, producing works like the Kong Family Sayings and the Kong Congzi, never relinquishing their scholarly foothold. During the reign of Emperor Wu of Han, several ancient-script classics were unearthed from a wall in the Kong residence, and the great Confucian Kong Anguo emerged, briefly restoring the Kong clan to the center of academic life.

Land and houses could be seized, but so long as Confucian learning remained the preeminent doctrine of the realm, the Kong family would always be upheld and protected by emperors seeking to burnish their legitimacy through the veneration of Confucius. It was, indeed, a unique path to survival.

Kong Zhi wanted the Wei army to rescue them, but his family was adamantly unwilling to risk themselves lightly: what if the uprising failed and the Red Eyebrow Army retaliated?

One side wanted to stir up something big; the other would only passively wait. The two could hardly continue their discussion. Liu Penzi's mission stalled for the moment. He could only be temporarily lodged by the Kong family, smuggled into the city disguised as servants of the Kong household and housed near the Kong residence.

Once settled, Liu Penzi consulted the Embroidered Uniform Guard agents hidden in the city and reached a conclusion:

"The Kong clan's in-laws, old friends, and associates — if you tally them all, the able-bodied men number far more than two thousand. Most are Confucian scholars and gentry, but the gentleman's Six Arts include archery and charioteering. Since the Red Eyebrows entered Lu, the Kong manor has secretly stockpiled not a few weapons. Kong Zhi simply does not want his clansmen to risk themselves."

The agent acknowledged this. "Indeed. This humble officer believes the Kong clan could produce five hundred men at best."

"No! It must be two thousand. Only that can turn Qufu."

Liu Penzi said, "The Inspector of Qing Province and Colonel Ju Wuba have already tied down the Red Eyebrow main force. But a winter campaign, with mountains and rivers blocking the way, and Xu Xuan moving north to resist — a breakthrough will be difficult for a time. We can only rely on ourselves. The arrow is on the string; it must be loosed!"

"How can any undertaking be without risk? Since Kong Zhi lacks the nerve, then we shall help stiffen his spine — and scrape together those two thousand!"

As Liu Penzi had surmised, although the Kong clan had appealed to Diwu Lun for help, they had no intention of getting too deeply involved in the war.

There was a bitter lesson behind this. The Kong clan had already survived the Qin dynasty's book-burning holocaust intact, but Kong Fu — Confucius's ninth-generation descendant and a great Confucian — upon hearing that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang had risen in revolt, took up his ritual vessels and went to join them, actively working for the Zhang Chu regime. When Zhang Chu collapsed, Kong Fu was implicated and killed.

After that, the Kong family grew wiser and, as far as possible, refrained from personally entering the fray. During the Chu-Han contention, because Xiang Yu had been enfeoffed as "Duke of Lu" and possessed an indisputably noble pedigree, the Confucian scholars of Lu supported the Chu army — only the Kong clan remained aloof, beyond the conflict.

Later, when Liu Bang indeed proved victorious, the stubborn Confucian scholars of Lu still insisted on upholding their duty to their "Duke of Lu," Xiang Yu, and resolutely refused to surrender to Han. The Kong clan, however, actively welcomed him, which greatly delighted Liu Bang. He not only enfeoffed the Kong clan as "Lord Keeper of the Sacrifices" but also personally traveled to Lu to perform rites to Confucius, establishing the foundation for the Kong clan's two centuries of status.

Now, though the great trend of the realm seemed nearly settled, the final outcome between Han and Wei was still unknown. In Kong Zhi's view, his family should still follow their ancestors' wisdom, remaining aloof from the strife and only placing their bet at the very last moment. They had the standing to do so...

But what happened next made the entire Kong clan stamp their feet in fury — they could no longer sit still!

First, a fire suddenly broke out at the Yan family residence in the same city. The blaze was huge. The people of Qufu, not knowing what was happening, grew panicked. The only talk on the streets was: "The Red Eyebrow Army is about to be defeated. Before they withdraw, they intend to loot the great houses. The Yan clan is only the beginning — next it will be the Kong clan's turn!"

Just as Kong Zhi was struggling to learn the truth, a trusted aide rushed in to report: "Young clan head, word is spreading through the city that Wei spies have infiltrated Qufu and that the Kong clan intends to rise up with them and switch sides. The Red Eyebrow Elders were shocked by this and have sent men to the Kong residence, demanding that the young clan head come in person to the Lu Prince's Palace to explain himself clearly!"

This damned "rumor." Kong Zhi was momentarily thrown into panic. As he hesitated over whether to go, Liu Penzi arrived with his men, every one of them now wearing a sword at the waist.

"The moment Sir Kong enters the Lu Prince's Palace, you will be meat on the block and they the cleaver. You will certainly be held hostage by the Red Eyebrows, or even killed!"

"Then what is to be done?" Kong Zhi had already lost his nerve.

Liu Penzi said, "The Red Eyebrows in Qufu number no more than three thousand, and they are dispersed along the four walls. The Lu Prince's Palace, on the contrary, is not heavily manned. Sir Kong might pretend to enter the palace, but in truth lead men straight into the hall, bringing sworn swordsmen to kill the Red Eyebrow Elders. With the bandits leaderless, Qufu can be taken. This is the best plan."

But Kong Zhi did not dare at all; his face had gone deathly pale. In truth, Liu Penzi did not have that much capability either, so he retreated to the next best option. "There is also a middle plan: announce publicly that the Wei army is closing in and that the Red Eyebrows intend to slaughter every last person in Qufu. The Kong clan will call upon the people of Qufu to resist the Red Eyebrows, gathering armed men and retainers at the Kong manor to fight the Red Eyebrows for control of the city."

Kong Zhi still hesitated. With a mournful face, he bowed to Liu Penzi. "Lord Liu, may I ask what the worst plan is?"

Liu Penzi said crossly, "The worst plan? To sit still and await death, of course!"

While the two were still deliberating, someone else came from outside to report: "The Red Eyebrow Elders garrisoning Qufu, seeing that Sir Kong has delayed in coming, are now marching toward the Kong manor with several hundred men!"

"Ah!" Kong Zhi's legs went weak with fright, and he collapsed to the ground.

"The Red Eyebrow bandits have thrown off all pretense!"

Liu Penzi, who had deliberately had men spread the rumors, now drew his sword and rose abruptly. He looked at Kong Zhi and said, "Years ago, when the Red Eyebrow bandits passed through Shi County, my father, the Marquis of Shi, hesitated in just the same way. He would not fight, nor would he flee. In the end, he opened the gates to welcome the bandits, hoping they would eat their fill and move on."

"Who could have known that the Red Eyebrow bandits were insatiable? They not only looted all of Shi County, but killed my father and abducted my brothers!"

Unlike the ignorance of his childhood, Liu Penzi now understood, more or less, why his feelings toward the Red Eyebrows were so complicated. He had learned much in the Red Eyebrow Army, had even blended in among them. But when he lamented that the Red Eyebrows had taken a different path, he felt no sorrow — rather, a sense of relief, as if it had been expected all along.

"You see, they really are not good people!"

That came from the bone-deep hatred seared into his memory as a child, in the moment his family was destroyed and his home lost.

Class hatred! Family hatred!

And today, Liu Penzi let that hidden hatred show, without the slightest concealment.

"The Red Eyebrows are going to slaughter the Kong clan, just as they slaughtered the Marquis of Shi's domain."

Liu Penzi spared no effort in terrifying Kong Zhi. "They will not only kill every last male and dishonor every woman, but also defile the image of Confucius, burn the classics and the Confucian temple, cut off the Kong family's centuries of blood sacrifices, and sever the Sage Confucius's line of cultural transmission."

"I ask you, Sir Kong: now, at this moment of life and death, how many of the Kong clan can take up blade or wooden stave to resist the enemy?"

Kong Zhi, dazed by Liu Penzi's relentless barrage of threats, had by now placed all his family's hopes on this mere eighteen-year-old youth before him.

"The Kong estate, near and distant branches, retainers and clan kin — their able-bodied males together number over two thousand."

Kong Zhi knelt at Liu Penzi's feet, kowtowing and begging for his aid:

"All can resist the bandits, and all will obey Lord Liu's command!"

"Good." Liu Penzi nodded, hauled Kong Zhi up, and told him to muster the clan's men — they had to hold off at least the Red Eyebrows' first assault.

But the moment he turned his head, Liu Penzi grinned smugly at the subordinate who had been gambling with him the night before:

"Look — in my hands, I now have two thousand men!"