Chapter 65: Imperial Han

"In the Han dynasty, it was called the Grand Minister of Agriculture."

"Early in our dynasty, the name was changed to Xihe."

"And then it was changed again to Nayen. What meaning does any of that hold?"

Every time he came to the Nayen Office, Diwu Lun could not help but want to vent: in the Xin dynasty, what exactly must one do to make everyone, from officials and clerks to the common people, all feel utterly baffled and inconvenienced?

The answer is: change the names. If that fails, then change them twice.

The pain and vexation belong to the officials and people; the joy belongs solely to the Emperor, Wang Mang.

Though its name had been changed twice, the nature of the Nayen Office's work remained unchanged: it managed coin and grain.

The court's finances had three main sources: zu, fu, and shui. Zu referred to the land tax, levied in grain and fodder; under the former dynasty it was one-thirtieth of the harvest, but under our dynasty it is one-tenth. Fu referred to the various levies, assessed per person or per household and paid in currency; it was the poll tax and the minor tax that, some days ago, drove the people of Liewei Commandery to the point where they had no choice but to sell their grain at a loss.

Diwu Lun's purpose in coming to Chang'an this time was to deliver his commandery's annual accounts for both the land tax and the levies to the Nayen Office.

The "Nayen Scholar" responsible for receiving him happened to be an old friend from their days serving together as Palace Gentlemen: Geng Chun, a man of Julu.

"It has truly been a long time since I last saw Boyu."

Geng Chun was overjoyed to see Diwu Lun. After shooing his subordinate clerks out, he did not even glance at the accounts Diwu Lun had brought, but first sat down with him on the same mat and began to chat idly.

"The day before yesterday, a letter came from Sir Jingsun."

"I received one as well." Diwu Lun smiled. "He is serving as Marquis Chancellor of Gude in Shuodiao Commandery (Shanggu), doing a fine job and frequently receiving commendations. He also said he owed much to Boshan. What connection lies behind that? Tell me quickly, let me hear it."

With no outsiders present, Geng Chun shed his official manner, sat casually with his legs stretched out and one foot propped up, and said: "Did I not tell you before, Boyu? The Geng clan of Maoling are kinsmen of my family."

"During the time of Emperor Wu of Han in the former dynasty, a branch split off from the Geng clan of Julu and migrated to Maoling. Over a hundred years have passed since then. This generation produced a Geng Kuang, who first served as a Palace Gentleman and then became Regional Chief of Shuodiao — who happens to be Sir Jingsun's direct superior."

"So I wrote a letter to my elder clansman recommending Sir Jingsun. He already had talent and ability, so naturally he stood out and gained favor. I fear he will not remain Marquis Chancellor of Gude for long before he is promoted."

Diwu Lun laughed. "Jing Shang, the Grand Preceptor and Xihe in the court, is Sir Jingsun's own clansman-brother, yet he was unwilling to help him. It is all thanks to your aid, Boshan. Truly, as the poem says, 'Though you have brothers, they are not as good as friends.'"

Geng Chun, however, paid this no mind and simply said: "I also have a clansman-nephew named Geng Yan, just sixteen years old, another young talent. It is a pity he is with his father in Shuodiao Commandery. If he ever returns to the Guanzhong region, I must introduce him to you, Boyu!"

After they had finished discussing their friend's recent news, Diwu Lun urged Geng Chun to quickly accept his annual accounts, while also asking with concern: "Boshan, give me a hint quickly — surely the Nayen Office will not impose another supplementary levy this year?"

In theory, the poll tax and minor tax, levied per head, were collected only once a year, but there were exceptions. This was because the primary use of the levy money was to fund military expenses, supplying the costs of armor, weapons, chariots, and horses. If frequent military campaigns left state funds insufficient, supplementary levies were often imposed.

Most of the time, what was increased was the "military substitution levy" — a commutation payment made by adult males who did not go to fulfill their border garrison duty. By the final years of the Former Han, the state treasury had grown increasingly empty, and even without war, collecting the military substitution levy had become standard practice. Not even the "disabled and infirm" could escape it.

Even harsher was "levying based on property assessment." According to the statute "Ordinances on Money and Cloth, Section A," when war broke out in the border commanderies, the court could order the entire realm to share in its costs. Generally, a certain percentage of the total value of household property was levied. Payment was not required to be in coin alone; grain could be substituted.

Diwu Lun's worry had a basis: "I heard that in the third year of Tianfeng (AD 16), when the General Who Pacifies the Barbarians attacked the Gouding Kingdom (at the border of Yunnan and Guangxi), the court imposed a supplementary levy on the Inspectorate of Yizhou, taking five percent of the people's wealth through property levies."

In the end, they still did not win, because the troops were dispatched in high summer, and six or seven out of every ten soldiers died of plague.

"So the following year, the Son of Heaven again dispatched the General of Renewal, Lian Dan, conscripting cavalry from Longyou and one hundred thousand able-bodied men from the various commanderies of Ba and Shu as soldiers, plus one hundred thousand civilian laborers to handle grain and fodder transport — a second campaign against Gouding."

"Though there were minor victories at first, the war dragged on interminably. Military provisions failed to arrive in time, and the soldiers suffered from hunger and plague. The General of Renewal requested grain and fodder from the court, so once again a supplementary levy was imposed. This time, they directly requisitioned four-tenths of the household wealth of the powerful families and common people in all the commanderies of Yizhou!"

This was far too ruthless. Nearly half of their family property was taken for military expenses, leaving the people of Yizhou impoverished and their resources exhausted.

Diwu Lun darkly suspected that those extorted levies were not all used for military expenses, but had also found their way into the pockets of officials great and small. This war had now dragged on for two years, and no one even knew whether it was being won or lost.

Yizhou was utterly drained, not a drop of oil left to squeeze. To sustain the war, the court would have to impose supplementary levies on the Guanzhong region. This was a knife cutting into his own flesh — even Diwu Lun himself would feel the pain, let alone the poor farmers who, because of the poll tax, had already been forced to sell their grain cheaply just to scrape by. The smallholder economy was far too fragile; any harsh exaction would drive them to bankruptcy.

Geng Chun's expression turned strange. He did not answer, but instead rose, went to shut the door that had been left slightly ajar, and only then said to Diwu Lun in a low voice: "Boyu, your worry is well-founded. There is a rumor from the south. Let me tell you what I have heard."

Diwu Lun immediately perked up his ears, but when he had heard Geng Chun out, he could not help but be stunned.

"Rumor has it that the General of Renewal, Lian Dan, unable to win after a long campaign and fearing the Son of Heaven's censure, turned to the idea of slaughtering nearby barbarian tribes to falsely report military achievements. Instead, this provoked the Dongcan and Ruodou tribes of Jiuxin Commandery (Yizhou Commandery) to rise in arms. They stormed the commandery seat and killed the Grand Governor. And to the north, in Jisui Commandery (Yuesui Commandery), the barbarian chief Damou, unable to bear the conscription demands, killed officials and clerks and also rebelled!"

Now it was no longer just the Gouding Kingdom — two commanderies and three tribes had all revolted together, and the entire Nanzhong region was in utter chaos.

Diwu Lun could almost see it: the sparks in the east of the Pass had not yet caught fire, but the border fortresses were already billowing with beacon smoke!

"Now it is said that the General of Renewal has been recalled, and the Son of Heaven has dispatched the Grand Marshal's Army Protector, Guo Xing, to suppress the rebellion."

"Will this Nanzhong campaign continue?"

"It will continue!"

Geng Chun also could not fathom why the Emperor was so stubborn. The year before last, the Grand Governor of Jiudu (Guanghan) had submitted a memorial of remonstrance, arguing that the southwestern barbarians had been in rebellion for ten years, that the roads to Nanzhong were blocked, and that the region was thick with miasmic poison. No matter how many men were thrown in, the losses would be catastrophic, and even if they conquered the Gouding Kingdom, the gain would not outweigh the loss. He urged switching from punitive expeditions to pacification, summoning and enticing the barbarian chieftains to end the war.

But Wang Mang would not listen, deeming this weakness and appeasement, and dismissed him from office. The result was today's calamity.

That the grand and mighty central Celestial Dynasty could not subdue a single small tribe was probably a severe loss of face for Wang Mang. And so this war, under a change of generals, became the "Third Campaign Against Gouding."

After learning this inside story, Diwu Lun suddenly understood. "Is that why, even with famine breaking out east of the Pass, the price-equalization officers this year still kept grain purchase prices low to buy up grain from Guanzhong? Could it be in preparation for this third campaign?"

"Exactly." Geng Chun said. "Now Yizhou's wealth is exhausted, the barbarians in every commandery are restless, and even the registered commoner households are deeply resentful. If they impose supplementary levies again, I fear it will provoke a popular uprising."

"If the court persists in its delusion and insists on fighting again, I fear they truly will have to impose supplementary levies on Guanzhong. Boyu, you had best make plans early. Keep more coin and grain stored at home as a precaution."

Diwu Lun nodded. This was precisely why, whenever he earned money, he immediately converted it into grain and then poured it into the charity granary and into improving the tools of production.

In the Xin dynasty under Wang Mang, any attempt to accumulate wealth and savings was merely laboring for the court's benefit. Once wars became frequent, the military levy assessed on household property was enough to make ten years of profit vanish in an instant.

Diwu Lun had finally seen the truth clearly: in this absurd era, the intangible hearts of men were more reliable than tangible wealth.

Coin and grain could be seized by the Xin court at any moment through extortion, and one could not utter half a word of complaint. But the goodwill earned through accumulating virtue and good deeds was not so easily stolen.

As he took his leave of Geng Chun and departed the Nayen Office, Diwu Lun digested the day's news, sighing inwardly: "Later generations, whenever they mention Wang Mang, always say he usurped the Han. But from what I see now, Wang Mang was the most die-hard 'Imperial Han' of them all!"

That sense of superiority as a scion of the Huaxia people, that visceral contempt for the barbarians of the four directions — it was evident even in Wang Mang's favorite pastime of renaming things.

For example, Tianshui Commandery in Longyou was renamed by Wang Mang to "Fill with Rong."

This in itself was not objectionable and had precedents, but the problem was that the old man was far too industrious, and actually went and renamed a whole string of commanderies and counties all along the border.

Ji County in Youzhou was renamed "Smite the Rong"; Beidi Commandery was renamed "Overawe the Rong"; Longxi Commandery was renamed "Detest the Rong Commandery." Within Longxi Commandery, there was a place called Di Circuit, which was changed to "Crush the Caitiffs."

The Rong were cursed to a fare-thee-well, and the Di did not escape either. Yanmen Commandery was renamed "Fill with Di"; Dai Commandery was renamed "Detest the Di"; there was even a small place called White Wolf, renamed "Enmity with the Di" — ample proof of Wang Mang's deep-seated loathing for the Northern Di.

The character "Hu" did not escape unscathed either. Wuyou County in Bingzhou was changed to "Detest the Hu"; Pingyi was changed to "Pacify the Hu."

Langye Commandery, located in the Qi region, was renamed by Wang Mang to "Fill with Yi." The Changsha Kingdom was renamed "Fill with Man." East, south, west, north — in the principle of "within, the various Xia; without, the Yi and Di," not a single one could be omitted.

This was no mere spiritual victory method that ended with a name change. Wang Mang practiced what he preached, strictly following the Rites of Zhou to demote the kings of the Han dynasty's outer vassal states en masse to marquises. The results are known to all.

And toward those chiefly confederations that refused to submit to the Xin dynasty, Wang Mang's policy was a single word: "War! Whoever offends our Great Xin, though distant, shall be punished!"

The result was provocations on every front — east, south, west, and north — the equivalent of fighting four wars simultaneously.

If he could win, he would truly be an emperor for the ages. But the awkward truth was that the Xin armies, much like the national football team, suffered repeated defeats no matter whom they faced, and the old tradition of "one Han matching five Hu" was gone.

The Western Regions were lost, the Southern Heartland was in shambles, the Western Qiang were on the brink — only Yan You's column had beaten Goguryeo down to a pulp and won.

Diwu Lun had discussed this with Yang Xiong before, but Master Yang Ziyun believed none of it mattered. The Former Han had also started wars with the surrounding barbarians, and in the end they swept their lairs, cleared their dens, and beat every neighbor into submission.

As expected, picking a border fight was no crime — being useless at it was the real sin.

Only the Xiongnu were the exception.

Yang Xiong had already said it in his "Memorial Advising Against Granting the Chanyu an Audience": "Only the Northern Di are different — truly the firm foe of the Central States. Compared to them, the other three frontiers are trivial. Former generations took them with the utmost gravity; they are not to be treated lightly!"

Yang Xiong held that Emperor Wu of the Former Han fought for forty years and still failed to destroy the Xiongnu. It was not until the time of Emperor Xuan of Han that the best method was found: the Xiongnu submitted to Han and were kept under loose rein, north and south maintained peace — that was the most cost-effective and trouble-free way to coexist.

According to the views of Yang Xiong and Yan You, so long as Wang Mang was not foolish enough to start another war with the Xiongnu, all other places were merely minor troubles close at hand, which the vast Central Plains would sooner or later resolve.

Now the old Xiongnu Chanyu had recently died. Perhaps the envoy sent by the new Chanyu — Xu Budang, the Right Gudu Marquis and son-in-law of Wang Zhaojun — could reach a peace agreement with the Emperor.

Just as Diwu Lun was thinking this, he saw a young yellow-gate eunuch from the palace gallop up to the gate of the Remonstrance Bureau. The moment he entered, he raised the imperial edict in his hand and began reading it aloud.

"An edict from the Son of Heaven!"

"Since the second year of Tianfeng, We have bestowed much gold and treasure upon the Chanyu, and thereby instructed him to change his title, calling the Xiongnu 'Gongnu,' and the Chanyu 'Shanyu.' Yet the Left Worthy Prince has continued his plundering as before."

"Now the Wulei Shanyu is dead, and his younger brother, the Left Worthy Prince Yu, has succeeded him. Yu formerly often entered the northern frontier to plunder, and the border regions have suffered harm. We are greatly grieved by this. Therefore, Yu is not fit to be Shanyu."

"The Xiongnu Right Gudu Marquis Xu Budang is the husband of the Ninghu Yanzhi. He left the frontier and returned to righteousness, harboring sincere and honest intent, and has come to surrender with proper ceremony. We now appoint him as the Xubu Shanyu, bestow upon him the seal and cord, and shall dispatch a great army to support and install him."

"Does the Odes not say? 'We smote the Xianyun and drove them to Taiyuan. Wen and Wu, Jifu — a model for all the states!' We shall send the Grand Marshal You and the General of Renewal Dan, commanding a million troops, to cross the Western River, cut across the Great Desert, break through Zheyuan, and strike the royal court. We shall pursue them to the ends of their land, chase the fleeing, pursue the routed, plow their courtyards and sweep their dens, execute the Shanyu Yu, and install Dang in his place. Then We shall divide Gongnu into fifteen kingdoms, sweeping them away like clouds, so that no calamity remains thereafter!"

Truly worthy of Brother Mang. This operation was so outrageous that everyone in the Remonstrance Bureau, from Remonstrant Lu Kuang down to Geng Chun and the other officials, was stunned.

Even Diwu Lun stopped in his tracks on the steps, his mouth hanging open for a long moment.

The edict, in a single sentence, boiled down to: "Our Great Xin declares war on the Xiongnu!"

……

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