Chapter 625: Kill Your Way to the Eastern Capital

Liu Xiu's edict establishing the capital was proclaimed publicly. The Embroidered Uniform Guard agents in the south had no trouble obtaining it; they copied the original text and sent it north, where Zhang Yu personally delivered it into Diwu Lun's hands.

The edict employed an ancient poem, namely "Xia Quan" from the Odes of Cao:

"Chill flows that down-springing spring, / Drenching the wolf's-tail grass. / Sighing I wake and sigh, / Thinking of that Zhou capital.

Chill flows that down-springing spring, / Drenching the southernwood. / Sighing I wake and sigh, / Thinking of that capital Zhou.

Chill flows that down-springing spring, / Drenching the milfoil. / Sighing I wake and sigh, / Thinking of that capital city."

In just three short stanzas, Liu Xiu's longing for Chang'an was clearly expressed. The edict went on to recall his experiences and observations as a student at the Imperial Academy in Chang'an, enumerating the splendors of Weiyang Palace, the Northern Watchtower, and the High Temple, and finally proclaimed to all under Heaven that Liu Xiu, as the heir of the Great Han, still dreamed wholeheartedly of leading the three armies north to pacify the Central Plains, expel Diwu, and return to the old capital! Therefore, the Great Han had only one capital: Chang'an. All others — Jiangdu, Jinling, and the like — were merely temporary imperial residences.

"Truly a worthy opponent." Diwu Lun could not help but admire him. Liu Xiu's choice had exceeded his expectations, yet it was also entirely within them — that was simply Liu Wenshu's nature: steady within boldness, and firm within steadiness.

Diwu Lun ordered the text copied and sent to the Three Excellencies and Nine Ministers of the State of Wei: "Let all the officials see this. Liu Xiu still has not forgotten restoring the Central Plains; between him and our dynasty it is a fight to the death. Those who think that once the north is pacified, the four quarters can be brought to heel with a mere proclamation — they need to wake up! With a fierce tiger from Jiangdong at our side, how can we sleep in peace?"

As a high frontier official, Li Zhong, the Inspector of Qing Province, naturally received a copy as well. Amidst his sighs, he could only feel that that man in the south truly possessed the bearing of a hero, surpassing Liu Ziyu.

At the same time, Li Zhong also realized this was a perfect opportunity!

After Diwu Lun arrived at Linzi and took up residence in the Han-era "Palace of the King of Qi," Li Zhong began recounting the history of this place to him.

"Qi, my lord, has the riches of Langya and Jimo to the east, the stronghold of Mount Tai to the south, the barrier of the muddy river to the west, and the advantages of the Bohai Sea to the north. Its territory spans two thousand li, and it is called the Eastern Qin, possessing the natural defenses of a twelve-fold stronghold. Therefore, no one but a son or younger brother of the imperial house could be made King of Qi. Thus, Liu Bang sent his eldest son Liu Fei to be king here, and rebuilt the Tian Qi royal palace."

Li Zhong offered his counsel: "Now times have changed, yet Qing Province's geographical advantages remain. The Qi region is separated from the Guanzhong heartland by ten thousand li, and centrifugal tendencies are strong. In Wang Mang's time, the Red Eyebrows rose in Langya and Donghai and held out in Mount Tai in Yan Province, but their ultimate rise to power came only after they plundered Qing Province. Your servant believes that merely establishing a single Inspector is insufficient to control all of Qi. There is only one method that can replace enfeoffment."

"Oh? And what method is that?"

Li Zhong said: "Establish an Eastern Capital at Linzi — it would surpass enfeoffing countless kings!"

"Furthermore, Liu Xiu obsessively thinks of a northern expedition to restore the Han. Though his military edge cannot yet reach Qing Province, the Huai River region will henceforth be a battlefield and is bound to be devastated. It urgently needs a stable rear area. Qing Province has a population of several million, rich and fertile soil, and its textiles clothe all under Heaven. Linzi is fully worthy to be an imperial capital; it will surely draw all quarters to converge here, and it would also be convenient for Your Majesty to conduct tours of inspection and exercise control."

Diwu Lun understood at once. It seemed this wind of contending for the Eastern Capital had already blown from Qufu in Yan Province all the way to Linzi.

His earlier reluctance to set the Eastern Capital at Qufu was because he did not wish to let Qufu become a genuine "holy land." Now that Li Zhong had presented Linzi as an alternative, Diwu Lun was similarly not very willing.

Diwu Lun was of course well aware of Linzi's past glory, when "its populace was numerous and wealthy, greater than Chang'an." In the hearts of Qing Province natives like Li Zhong and Dongguo Chang'an, this was their pride. But in the heart of the Emperor, who would wish for a situation where the branch outgrows the trunk, where the guest usurps the host? Even if it was only a secondary capital!

In Diwu Lun's view, Linzi's current decline — its population scale sharply reduced by nearly half, shrinking to become the third largest city under Heaven — was precisely what suited its status. Linzi was already an economic center; it had no great need to also be a political center.

But faced with Li Zhong's earnest recommendation, Diwu Lun only said one ambiguous thing to him.

"Rest assured, my minister."

"My mind is made up. The Eastern Capital will definitely be established in Qing Province!"

……

To Li Zhong's ears, this was practically a verbal promise that the future Eastern Capital would be set at Linzi. After all, for a thousand years, Linzi had been the absolute center of the Qi region — who else could it be?

Although Li Zhong lacked strong opinions and was easily swayed by others' views, his professional competence as a bureaucrat was still intact. In his year governing Qing Province, he had restored the region quite well. Diwu Lun did not stay long in Linzi; a few days later, he moved his entourage north, entering the borders of Qiancheng Commandery.

Qiancheng Commandery was split in two by the Ji River. This was a miraculous river. According to the "Yu Gong," the Ji River was channeled by Yu the Great to control the Yellow River. It originated in the Wangwu Mountains north of the great river, yet through underground channels, its middle and lower course ran south of the Yellow River, flowing east from Xing Marsh, then diving underground again before finally emptying into the sea in Qiancheng Commandery — this was its three risings and three fallings.

Standing at a Ji River ferry crossing, Diwu Lun gazed at the yellow-brown water and sighed: "The ancients said, 'The Ji is clear, the He is muddy.' Now even the Ji River has turned turbid."

Not only was it turbid, its flow had also greatly diminished. Diwu Lun had heard that in ancient times, the Ji River was the main route for tribute to be sent eastward to the Xia capital in Ji Province. During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Ji River was also a vital trade artery between Qi, the Central Plains, and Hebei. One could imagine, year after year, a thousand sails racing on the Ji River, ten thousand oars swinging in unison, fleets of boats traveling back and forth between the states — what a magnificent sight that must have been.

Yet now, the Ji River had dried up to the point that large boats ran aground midstream like clumsy giant beasts. This northern "natural barrier" of the Qi region had become a mere ditch — no wonder Geng Bozhao's You and Ji Province army corps had crossed it so easily.

Diwu Lun inquired of the officials and learned that the Ji River's silting up had begun during Wang Mang's reign. According to the theories of the water engineers, the Ji River's underground channel passed through lakes like Xing Marsh and Daye Marsh near the Yellow River, but the Yellow River had burst its banks and blocked this channel, causing Xing Marsh to begin drying up and the lower Ji River to grow shallower and narrower by the day.

That in itself was merely the loss of a transport artery and a reduction in water supply, leading to the decline of the once-prosperous agriculture and commerce on both banks of the Ji River. But according to the memorials submitted by the various commanderies between the Yellow and Ji Rivers in recent years, another latent danger had become a sword hanging over the heads of the local people!

Du Shi, the Superintendent of Waterways and Parks — the official in charge of the empire's water conservancy projects — happened to be inspecting the Yellow River and had reached Qiancheng Commandery. He came to pay his respects to Diwu Lun and reported his findings.

"Since the third year of Wang Mang's Shijianguo era, when the Yellow River breached at Wei Commandery, its old course was abandoned, and the great river took a new path."

However, this so-called new path was not stable. The Yellow River's waters twisted and turned across the great plain like a giant python. Twenty years had passed, and the lower course was still not fixed. Sometimes, when its temper flared and its movements were too violent, it would even encroach upon the vicinity of the Ji River.

"This is the source of the Ji River's turbidity." Du Shi explained the gravity of the situation to Diwu Lun: "In Pingyuan Commandery, the distance between the Yellow River's new course and the Ji River's channel is, at its narrowest, a mere twenty li!"

For a great river stretching thousands upon thousands of li, twenty li was merely the distance of turning over in one's sleep. Du Shi had been monitoring this for several years. According to the observations of the Superintendent of Waterways and Parks' officials, the great river indeed showed a tendency to shift southeastward and seize the Ji River's channel!

Diwu Lun could not help but draw a sharp breath upon hearing this. The Yellow River and the Ji River were originally equals among the "Four Waterways." If they were to merge into a single channel, the problem would be immense — in later ages, the Yellow River would indeed seize the Ji's course to enter the sea, causing the Ji River, that famous waterway, to vanish entirely from history.

What would vanish would not be just a river, but also the fertile lands of several commanderies along its banks. If the northern part of Qing Province, nourished by the gentle Ji River, were truly to be scoured by the surging waters of the Yellow River, it would likely be another catastrophe like the Xin dynasty's Yellow River breach. Not to mention Qiancheng, even Jinan and Linzi might not be safe. Within a few months, it could create a million refugees for Diwu Lun — was this rushing to send fresh recruits to the Red Eyebrow remnants on Mount Tai?

Bearing these worries, Diwu Lun held a river-sacrifice ceremony as he crossed the Ji River.

"The mountains have the Five Sacred Peaks; the waters have the Four Waterways. To the east is the Yangtze, to the north the Ji, to the west the Yellow, and to the south the Huai. When the Four Waterways are in order, the myriad people have a place to dwell. Now the Yellow and Ji Rivers are restless, and the common people are uneasy. I, too, cannot sleep at night."

After the ceremony ended, he said to Du Shi and Qing Province Inspector Li Zhong: "The great river's breach occurred twenty years ago. Times have changed, and it is indeed difficult to make the Yellow River return to its old course."

"But the great river seizing the Ji — I must prevent this!"

"Even if I cannot see the Yellow River run clear and a sage emerge, I must at least make the Ji River clear again and preserve the fertile lands and the lives of the millions of common people in Qing Province!"

……

After crossing the Ji River, Diwu Lun arrived at the final destination of his Qing Province tour: Di County.

Di County was very ordinary. In scale and population, it was not even a tenth of Linzi; it was not even the administrative seat of Qiancheng Commandery. The reason for its strange name, it was said, was that during the Spring and Autumn period, it had once been occupied by the tall Changdi people...

After entering the Warring States period, Di County's only moment on the stage was as the last city of the State of Yan in the Qi region. It had been besieged by the famous general Tian Dan, who failed to take it after three months. In the end, it was the Confucian scholar Lu Zhonglian who persuaded it to surrender, and the city was recovered without a fight, thus ending the century-long war between Yan and Qi.

Then, at the end of the Qin dynasty, another major event occurred in Di County: Tian Dan of Di killed the County Magistrate of Di and declared himself King of Qi. Tian Dan's younger brother was Diwu Lun's nominal ancestor, Tian Heng.

So Diwu Lun's trip here could also be considered "returning home in brocade robes," a visit to pay respects to his ancestral homeland. Di County had belonged to the State of Wei for several years now. The local Commandery Governor and County Magistrate had long since swept the Tian clan ancestral tombs spotlessly clean, and had even found a group of "relatives" — people who had once borne the surname Tian but had changed it in the early Han to avoid forced relocation — to welcome Diwu Lun.

Diwu Lun treated these distant relatives with reasonable warmth, giving each person a bolt of cloth and each household a side of meat as compensation for their trouble. But as for their plea to be entered into the imperial clan registry, change their surname to "Wu," and enjoy tax reductions and exemptions, Diwu Lun had the Ministry of the Imperial Clan politely decline.

The imperial surname was not something to be handed out casually. Even the close collateral branches in Changling — the First, Second, Third, Fourth, and Fifth clans — had to have descendants who earned merit or passed the examinations before they could receive recognition. In other words, sharing the Emperor's surname was not something achieved through thin blood ties alone; it also required personal effort.

Similarly, Di County, as a city between the Yellow and Ji Rivers, had once been fairly prosperous. Now, however, it was like a city fallen into a trap. Not only was its economy in decline and its people gaunt with hunger, but its inhabitants lived in constant fear that the Yellow River's waters might come pouring through one day, turning the city walls where countless generations had lived into a boiling moat.

Thus, among the local elders and relatives who welcomed Diwu Lun, there were many who wept and pleaded, hoping the Emperor would allow them to move to Chang'an. But Diwu Lun remained silent.

Di County was small and poor; they could not even find a decent temporary imperial residence, and its notable figures were few and unremarkable. After Diwu Lun had paid his respects at the ancestral tombs, there seemed to be nothing left to do.

Yet it was precisely in this shabby little place that Diwu Lun announced a major decision that shocked everyone.

"Our dynasty has the system of Five Capitals. The Western Capital Chang'an, the Central Capital Luoyang, and the Northern Capital Yecheng are all already established. Now that the east is pacified, a secondary capital is still lacking. I observe that Di County is the location of our ancestral tombs, a place of outstanding people and propitious land. It also controls the shoulders and back of the Three Qis and is the throat of the Hebei region. It should be established as the 'Eastern Capital.'"

In terms of culture, it could not compare to Qufu. In terms of economy and population, it could not compare to Linzi. And it constantly faced the danger of the Yellow River seizing the Ji. Why?

Diwu Lun, however, said solemnly: "Just now, some people wept and complained, saying that the great river runs rampant and that Di County, lying between the Yellow and Ji Rivers, could at any moment become a watery realm, and they hoped to move away."

"A single family can move away easily."

"A single clan can still make the journey."

Diwu Lun asked the crowd in return: "But can the tens of thousands in Di County, the hundreds of thousands in Qiansheng Commandery, the million souls between the River and the Ji — can they simply up and leave? The living may go, but what of their ancestors' graves and tombs?"

"Twenty years ago, to protect his ancestral graves at Yuancheng in Wei Commandery, Wang Mang let the Great River breach its banks and did nothing to save the people. I shall do the opposite! To shield the million lives between the River and the Ji, I will establish a secondary capital right here, and I will dispatch the Three Excellencies and high ministers to mobilize laborers, build dikes and embankments, and stop the Great River from seizing the Ji's course."

Diwu Lun knew that on the question of the secondary capital, his own choice had to ring with even greater weight than Liu Xiu's!

"Two years ago, I witnessed the river flood and drown the Wei army and the Red Eyebrow bandits alike — the good and the wicked perished together. Filled with righteous fury, I declared war upon the Great River! Those words still echo in my ears. Today, the first battle shall be struck. The Eastern Capital shall stand here; the traveling palace shall be placed here. I vow to live or die together with Di County and the lands between the River and the Ji!"