Chapter 633: From a Position of Strength

"The best strategy?"

Jing Dan was very curious — Diwu Lun's so-called best strategy for dealing with the Xiongnu, just how "best" could it be?

"Since it differs from the Zhou, the Qin, and Emperor Wu of Han, could it be the 'virtuous transformation' strategy that the worthies and scholars have been trumpeting since after Emperor Wu's time?"

Jing Dan knew that after Emperor Wu of Han, during the regency of Huo Guang, a "Salt and Iron Conference" had been convened for the purpose of attacking the political rival Sang Hongyang, mainly to debate whether to keep or abolish the decades-old salt and iron monopoly policies; but during the discussions, the topic veered far off course, and they began arguing about how to deal with the Xiongnu.

With the suppression of Emperor Wu of Han gone, the worthies and scholars naturally rebounded fiercely; whether of the Qi school or the Lu school, when facing their common enemy, the "utilitarian faction" ministers, they united as one, denouncing the expansion and campaigns of Emperor Wu's era as utterly worthless and regarding them as "the worst strategy."

In their eyes, how should the Xiongnu be subdued? By influencing them with benevolence, righteousness, and morality, of course; the marriage-alliance policy of the Wen and Jing eras must certainly be restored — exhausting the material resources of the Central Lands to win the Xiongnu's favor, avoiding the outbreak of war as much as possible. After all, marriage alliances sent off Liu clan princesses, but the local worthies didn't have to contribute money or men, whereas war meant paying a huge amount of tax, and when military funds ran short, they'd even resort to the "reporting of wealth" edict to outright rob people.

According to this set of theories, as long as one "stores benevolence and righteousness to influence them, broadens virtuous conduct to embrace them," the Xiongnu could be made to willingly submit and wholeheartedly accept the civilizing influence of the Great Han.

These words could originally have been laughed off as a joke, but the fatal thing was that by the time of Emperor Xuan of Han, the Xiongnu actually did come to submit. Originally, this was the achievement of mixing the hegemonic and the kingly ways — Emperor Xuan of Han used the big stick in one hand and the carrot in the other, even fomenting division within the Xiongnu, which finally forced the Chanyu to come to court. It's just a pity that Emperor Xuan died not many years later; by the Yuan and Cheng eras, Confucian ministers already held great power, and they naturally attributed the Xiongnu's submission to the achievement of "virtuous transformation," and the logic instantly became self-consistent.

Even today, there are still many old Erudites of the Imperial Academy who yearn for the days when the Xiongnu were obedient during the Han, and grumble that Wang Mang's arrogance in humiliating the Chanyu led to the northern barbarians once again starting hostilities with the Central Plains! They still regard "marriage alliances" and "pacification" as the best strategy — could it be that Diwu Lun, after his tour through Qi and Lu, has also been poisoned by this crowd of worthies?

Diwu Lun laughed loudly at this and, for once, spoke a word in defense of old Wang Mang.

"For the Xiongnu's break with the Central Lands, Wang Mang certainly bears blame — his fault lay in vainglorious ambition. Demoting the Chanyu to a lesser title was merely changing a name; what real loss was that to the Xiongnu? As for the later delusion of splitting the Xiongnu into sixteen small states, the idea itself was not wrong, but the measures taken were truly laughable. As for those worthies and scholars, they are even worse than Wang Jujun."

"The reason the Xiongnu submitted to the Han was the result of over a decade of continuous war and calamity. The Dingling raided their north, the Wusun struck their west, the Wuhuan rebelled in their east — the Xiongnu's strength was insufficient; had they not submitted to Emperor Xuan of Han, they likely would have been destroyed. Now, having enjoyed several decades of recuperation, the Xiongnu's population and livestock have recovered, the struggle among the five Chanyus has ended, and they are once again unified. Even if Wang Mang had still practiced 'virtuous transformation of the barbarians,' the Xiongnu rebellion would only have been a matter of time."

Diwu Lun raised a hand and sighed: "This so-called virtuous transformation is feeding meat to a tiger. When the tiger was sick and wounded, it could still bow its head and flatten its ears; now that it has licked its wounds clean, it naturally bares its fangs at us, ready to sever our left arm — Hexi!"

Therefore, in Diwu Lun's mind, barbarians could only be broken by force. Facing a resurgent Xiongnu, the method still had to be war! Fight until the Xiongnu Chanyu no longer dares to think he can "speak with the Central Plains' Emperor from a position of strength"!

"This battle is precisely to make all under heaven abandon their illusions and prepare for a long-term struggle with the Xiongnu in the north."

But Diwu Lun had only stated the overall strategy; the details of how his "best strategy" would operate he still did not directly reveal, focusing only on bridging the dispute between Jing Dan and Wan Xiu. He said to the two men: "What is most urgent right now is still how to rescue the officials of Hexi and the three hundred thousand soldiers and civilians. This is the pressing crisis. Sunqing, you have no objection, correct?"

Jing Dan's opinion had mainly concerned the future question of whether to abandon or hold Hexi, but the people on that land absolutely had to be saved. He bowed his head in assent.

Diwu Lun then asked Wan Xiu: "Junyou, you have guarded Guanzhong for me for two years now, training new recruits day and night. I know that Longyou has only just been pacified, and the west still faces the Qiang and Hu tribes. Neither the Jing-Xiang campaign nor the Lianghuai campaign required Guanzhong to send troops. Now that trouble has arisen in the northwest, how many fresh troops can Guanzhong conscript?"

This was Wan Xiu's own area of responsibility. He reported: "The household registers in Guanzhong are relatively well-maintained, especially the registration of able-bodied young men in the counties of the Three Adjuncts, which is basically accurate. During the slack farming season, they can participate in county training, twice a year. Now, tallying the registered commandery troops across all commanderies, there are a full thirty thousand men; those who have participated in training at least once number fifty thousand."

Diwu Lun made the decision: "The summer harvest is already finished, and before the autumn harvest there is no major farm work. Draw out twenty thousand commandery troops, plus thirty thousand new recruits."

Having said this, he looked again at Jing Dan: "Junyou oversees military affairs, while Sunqing manages funds and grain. Consult with the Grand Minister of Agriculture, Ren Guang, and see how much grain can be raised?"

"There's no need to ask the Grand Minister of Agriculture — I can tell Your Majesty right now: the provisions for fifty thousand troops on a distant campaign to Hexi absolutely cannot be scraped together!"

Jing Dan directly knelt before Diwu Lun, once again removing his official hat and holding it to his chest, with an attitude of "grain I have none, my life you can have." He wailed: "To go to Hexi, even calculating by the nearest point, Wuwei, the journey is nearly two thousand li! The roads are rugged, the summer weather is unpredictable, and we would still have to cross Long Slope and the Wushao Ridge. At the fastest, it would likely take two months to arrive."

"Each man consumes one and a half dan of grain per month. For fifty thousand men on a distant campaign, you need fifty thousand men to transport the grain. The grain consumed just on the road alone will amount to as much as three hundred thousand dan! Add what's needed for the mules and horses, losses from collapse and spoilage, and in the end it will reach five hundred thousand dan."

And this would only guarantee the main army's arrival in Hexi; adding subsequent investment, this was a rhythm hurtling toward the million-dan level!

If they had saved up several years' worth of resources to fight such a battle, that would be one thing, but the problem was that ever since Diwu Lun declared himself king, there had practically not been a year without war. Never mind the distant past — last year's Jing-Xiang campaign used over fifty thousand troops and consumed a million dan of grain. The Huaibei campaign was even more outrageous: over a hundred thousand troops, and the two million dan of grain stored in Guandong were completely used up in half a year, barely lasting until the wheat ripened and gave them a brief reprieve.

The finances were already stretched to the limit; if they had to throw another million dan into the northwest, even if the autumn harvest was quite abundant, next year would still be miserable.

Diwu Lun understood Jing Dan's difficulties, but still said: "As for next year's grain shortage, I will think of some other way. As long as the treasury has it, use it for now. Furthermore, the final grain consumption will not be that high."

Not that high? Jing Dan grew anxious — could it be that the Emperor doubted his calculations?

Diwu Lun, however, shook his head: "Who said these fifty thousand reinforcements are going to Hexi!?"

…

North of the Wei River in Guanzhong lay the Five Tombs: Changling, Anling, Yangling, Maoling, and Pingling — all new cities born during the Han dynasty, long famous far and wide. But within these five cities, which one was the boss had always been a matter of dispute.

If ranked by age, the tomb town of Emperor Gaozu of Han, Changling, should occupy first place. But if judged by scale, Maoling, as the second largest city in Guanzhong — whose registered population, not counting outside merchants and officials, exceeded that of Chang'an — could also contend for the top spot. The roads within Maoling city crisscrossed in a pattern of "three horizontal and seven vertical," dividing the entire county seat into more than thirty wards. The widest main thoroughfare was straight and magnificent, able to accommodate four or five horse-drawn carriages running side by side; high caps and ornate canopies came and went like clouds. Its great families favored culture and ritual, its rich men pursued profit through commerce, and its gallants practiced chivalry and consorted with outlaws — a scene of bustling vitality.

Your Changling may be old, but it has declined!

However, ever since the Han-Xin dynastic transition and the founding of the Great Wei, this question was no longer in dispute. Changling, as Diwu Lun's old home, monopolized the top spot among the Five Tombs as the "Imperial Homeland." The wealthy and prosperous Maoling could only curse under its breath as it retreated to second place, envying its neighbor's good fortune.

Yet the people of Maoling were not truly convinced in their hearts. When idlers in the ward taverns got drunk, they would even mutter quietly: "Changling produced an emperor, but our Maoling also produced an emperor!"

Then they would immediately be silenced by their drinking companions — that "emperor" from Maoling was the White Emperor, Gongsun Shu.

But even if Gongsun Shu were struck from the rolls, Maoling could still be counted as a place of outstanding people. If you doubt it, just look at the most spectacular sight within the city: the Three Generals Ward.

This name was newly coined, because this one tiny ward had actually produced three great generals of the State of Wei: Grand General of the Swift Cavalry Ma Yuan, Grand General of the Chariots and Cavalry Geng Yan, and General of the Vanguard Wan Xiu.

Among the three family mansions, the Ma clan's was naturally the highest, being kin to the Empress, with a merit plaque personally bestowed by Diwu Lun. The Geng family, separated only by a single alleyway, though its descendants were numerous, was exceptionally low-key — this was, after all, the consistent style of its patriarch, the Grand Mentor of Wei, Geng Kuang.

Geng Kuang's actual age was only a little over fifty, but listening to him speak, one would think him an old man of seventy or eighty.

This Grand Mentor's favorite activity was to hold the Laozi's Five Thousand Words and engage in self-reflection: "Better to stop in time than to fill to the brim. A blade too keenly sharpened cannot long preserve its edge. A hall filled with gold and jade none can safeguard. Wealth and honor joined with pride bring ruin upon oneself. To withdraw when the work is done — this is the Dao of Heaven."

"Family fortunes have their seasons of bloom and wither, but the rise and fall of a lineage is boundless. Careful reflection, prudent action, knowing when to stop and leaving room — this is the way to pass down the family. Our Geng clan has received His Majesty's favor and honor; this old man is unworthily made an Elder; my son serves as Grand General of the Chariots and Cavalry, each year enjoying countless emoluments and rewards. We should be content."

True to his youthful study of Daoism, Geng Kuang had no attachment to power. After Diwu Lun took Hebei, he promptly retired at the height of his success, stubbornly refusing to hold any substantive office, enjoying only the honorary title of "Grand Mentor," and preparing to live out his remaining years in peace.

Not only did he demand this of himself, Geng Kuang also frequently admonished his eldest son, Geng Yan, who had returned home to recuperate: "Your nature is arrogant and proud. You are now only twenty-six, younger than His Majesty, and among military officers, you are already second only to Ma Wenyuan. Do not contend for more. Use the excuse of injury and illness, learn from Jing Sunqing, spend more time in the capital recuperating, and keep your distance from meritorious deeds!"

Geng Yan was utterly exasperated, but being a filial son, he could not very well snap back at his father the way he cursed people in the army. He could only silently acquiesce, usually reclining under the shade of a tree, reading the training manuals Diwu Lun had personally compiled, and reflecting on his own shortcomings in the last Huaibei campaign.

But three to five days were fine; after Geng Yan had been recuperating for over a month, he grew more and more restless. Life at home was too boring; in his dreams, he even often returned to the clash of arms and the iron steeds of war. Only those times of matching wits and strength with the enemy made him feel truly alive!

Diwu Lun's description of him — greedy as a wolf, greedy for merit and high renown — was indeed correct.

Geng Yan's days of torment came to an abrupt halt in the middle of the seventh month of the fourth year of Wude!

On that sweltering day, as Geng Yan was looking at his nearly worn-out military texts and feeling agitated by the piercing drone of the cicadas, a sudden commotion stirred outside. Before long, someone strolled into the courtyard, stood within the moon gate with hands clasped behind his back, and smiled at Geng Yan.

"Bozhao, have your wounds healed?"