Chapter 678: Ciyuan

"Why is that rooster crowing so early?"

A cock's crow at the dead of night, in the third watch, jolted Li Tong, Marquis of Gushi in the Eastern Han, from his dreams — and he could not fall back asleep.

Li Tong, courtesy name Ciyuan, came from a family that was once the foremost name in Nanyang. The turning point of his life began the day he dismissed Diwu Lun as a "nobody." The Li clan swiftly fell into opposition against the Xin Dynasty, then formed an alliance with the Liu clan of Chongling, lifting the curtain on Nanyang's revolt against the Xin. During the rebellion, Li Tong, whose strength was badly depleted, quickly abandoned the brothers Liu Bosheng and Liu Xiu and threw his support behind the Gengshi Emperor. Both he and his brother were enfeoffed as kings — a deed that could be counted as bringing glory to the family name…

It was only a pity that the Gengshi court collapsed just as fast. Li Tong then led his family through yet another dazzling leap from a sinking ship: before the Red Eyebrow Army could capture Wancheng, he took his clan's private troops and made his way circuitously to the hilly country between Mount Tongbai and the Dabie Mountains — the so-called "Three Ming'e Passes" region (around present-day Xinyang, Henan) — and absorbed a large number of Greenwood remnants, men like Wang Chang, Ma Cheng, and Lai Xi. Once his strength was restored, Li Tong promptly coordinated with Liu Xiu to send troops into Huainan, contributing his share to the founding of the Eastern Han.

Although the Chongling Liu clan and the Wancheng Li clan had once gone their separate ways, Li Tong was clever enough to have married Liu Xiu's elder sister well beforehand, wasn't he? On the strength of past ties and new merits, Liu Xiu appointed Li Tong as Commandant of the Guards, and his wife was enfeoffed as the Elder Princess of Ningping. Whenever Liu Xiu went on campaign to the four quarters, he often left Li Tong to guard the capital.

But this year — the tenth year of Jianwu — Liu Xiu changed Li Tong's posting, appointing him "General of the Van" and ordering him to take command in Jiangxia Commandery.

Liu Xiu's instructions to Li Tong were these: "We shall soon have business on the Jiang and Han rivers. The four commanderies of southern Jing and Xiakou will be the army's rear, with Deng Yu coordinating the fleet, provisions, and baggage. Sui County and the Three Ming'e Passes will be the flank, to guard against a Wei army attack. Sui County is garrisoned by General Who Supports Might, Zang Gong; the Three Ming'e Passes We entrust to General Who Pacifies Yue, Pang Meng, each commanding two to three thousand men. But both positions still require someone to coordinate them — Ciyuan, you can shoulder this heavy responsibility!"

The old grudges had faded with time, and Li Tong had once again become one of Liu Xiu's most trusted men — hence this weighty commission.

Li Tong was deeply moved and set off at once for his post, but instead of staying at the Jiangxia commandery seat of Xiling, he soon shifted his field headquarters to Anlu County (present-day Yunmeng, Hubei).

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"The commandery seat is too out-of-the-way — it cannot compare to Anlu. This place lies squarely on the route south from Sui County and the Three Ming'e Passes, and it is also the northern gateway to Xiakou. I should make my headquarters here."

From that time on, Li Tong toiled diligently, forwarding grain and supplies to the two forward passes. As a north-south communications hub, the terrain was extremely rugged, the land poor and hilly, yielding very little grain. The Three Ming'e Passes in particular were nothing but barren mountains and foul waters — the troops stationed there could not even sustain themselves by farming military colonies, and relied entirely on rear-area supply to survive.

Li Tong also paid close attention to maintaining good relations with his two subordinates. Jian Tan, who garrisoned Sui County, was a man of Yingchuan, belonging to the "Yingchuan faction" of Feng Yi, Fu Jun, and others — men who had been Liu Xiu's right-hand ministers in founding his enterprise.

Pang Meng, who held the Three Ming'e Passes, was somewhat more complicated. By origin he came from the Greenwood's Xiajiang troops and belonged to the "Greenwood faction" of Wang Chang and others, but he was a native of Yanzhou and not close to the southern generals — he had more the air of an "isolated minister." When Pang Meng first submitted to Liu Xiu, he was only a Colonel. He first distinguished himself in the battle to capture the Wei cavalry general Gai Yan, and was promoted to Lieutenant General for that achievement. Later he swept away the Shanyue, and was therefore enfeoffed as "General Who Pacifies Yue," winning considerable trust from Liu Xiu.

How did Liu Xiu praise Pang Meng? Something like: "One to whom a six-foot orphan can be entrusted, and a hundred-li command committed — that is Pang Meng!"

Such lavish praise was rarely heard, and even Li Tong felt a touch of envy on hearing it.

So with these two men guarding the northern passes, whether in loyalty or ability, there was absolutely no problem. Together with Li Tong, they formed a triple safeguard. Only after Liu Xiu had secured his flanks could he set his mind at ease and deploy his forces on the Jiang and Han.

And yet, precisely at the place where nothing should have gone wrong, a colossal blunder occurred!

On a summer night in mid-May, Li Tong was woken by a rooster's crow. The heat made sleep impossible, and just as he was growing irritable, a personal attendant who had been at his side for over ten years hurried in to report: "Master."

"Lord Jiwen has come!"

"Who?"

At that name, Li Tong gave a violent start, flipped up from the cool sleeping mat, his face full of shock.

Though it was the height of the dog days, goosebumps broke out all over Li Tong's body.

"Isn't Li Yi enjoying his wealth and ease in his fief in Yuzhang Commandery? Why is he here, at this time, in this place!"

…

Li Yi was Li Tong's younger cousin. They had grown up together on the Wancheng estate, as close as full brothers. Even from a distance, just from the shadow of his walk, Li Tong knew — the visitor was none other than his younger cousin!

Li Yi came forward, removed his bamboo hat, and bowed to Li Tong with the utmost respect, his voice tinged with a sob: "I never thought I would live to see my elder brother again!"

The two of them had submitted to Liu Xiu together, but their fates had diverged greatly. Li Tong continued to receive trust and important posts, while Li Yi was only enfeoffed as a minor marquis and packed off to his domain in Yuzhang Commandery, utterly removed from power — and one could not blame Liu Xiu. It was Li Yi who had first betrayed the alliance with the Chongling Liu clan, curried favor with the Greenwood chieftains, and backed the Gengshi Emperor, afterwards gaining the princely title "King of Wuyin." He had also envied the Liu brothers and constantly stirred up trouble between them and Gengshi and the Greenwood. After the great battle of Kunyang, Liu Xiu was sent away to the provinces, and Liu Bosheng was dispatched to Guanzhong to his death — all Li Yi's doing.

Liu Xiu, magnanimous as he was, did not make things difficult for Li Yi, but neither could he ever entrust him with important responsibilities again.

Since Li Yi had been enfeoffed far away, Li Tong had not seen him for several years. He had heard that Li Yi was fairly well-behaved, and that the surveillance by local officials had gradually relaxed. He never imagined that his cousin would actually run off!

Li Tong did not take up his younger cousin's emotional tone, but said sternly: "Jiwen, did you obtain His Majesty's permission to leave your fief?"

The Eastern Han had inherited the institutions of the Former Han. Without reporting to the Chancellor of his marquisate and without petitioning the Emperor, a Marquis could not leave his fief without authorization. Li Yi held no other official post or assignment — his rash arrival here was clearly a grave violation!

To his surprise, Li Yi was utterly unconcerned and laughed: "Elder Brother, who knows how many more years the Han altars in this southeast can hold out? Who still cares about fief regulations?"

Li Tong grew angrier still and struck the table: "Insolence! How dare you speak such words!"

Li Yi sat down uninvited and said: "Back then, our uncle served State Preceptor Liu Xin in the Xin court and obtained the heavenly writ and prognostications, which said, 'The Liu shall revive, the Li shall assist.' We believed it to be true, thinking that the realm was in turmoil, the Xin was doomed, and the Han would rise again. Among the Nanyang imperial clansmen, only the brothers Liu Bosheng and Liu Xiu were broadly loving and welcoming to all, men with whom great plans could be laid. That is how the later raising of troops against the Xin came about."

"But as things stand now, everyone under heaven knows that the Han dynasty can hardly be revived. Diwu Lun already holds two-thirds of the world, and the hearts of men all turn to him. Liu Xiu, failing to recognize the times, stubbornly insists on restoring the Han — is that not like striking a rock with an egg? How could he not be defeated? That is how the drowning at Xiangyang and the loss of Huaibei came about. Only by relying on the natural defenses of the Jiang-Huai region and the Ming'e passes has he barely managed to hold on to this southeastern corner. Next it will be the turn of Jiangxia to be lost, Huainan to be forfeited, and then he will fall back to hold the river line — and he won't last many years that way either. Once Diwu Lun has swallowed Ba and Shu at his leisure and Gongsun Shu is destroyed, Liu Xiu will be next… By then, even if the river is wide, it will be useless. This much, even I, tucked away in Yuzhang, can see clearly. Elder Brother, you are at the center of power, commanding the front line — can you really not see it?"

Li Yi had, after all, been a princely lord under Gengshi, and his insight was not negligible. Li Tong rebuked him: "Nonsense! Have you not yet heard? Grand General Feng has held Jiangling, and His Majesty is personally leading the great army to the Jiang-Han region — word of victory will surely come back within days."

"Even if by luck you win for a moment — so what?"

Li Yi shook his head: "Diwu Lun has a million troops at his command, a thousand officers in his ranks — he glares down like a dragon or a tiger. His talent and strategy are nothing Wang Mang could compare to. The south is absolutely no match for him."

Li Tong knew what he was driving at: "Jiwen, speak plainly."

Li Yi said: "In the Former Han, though the Li clan of Wancheng possessed a fortune of a thousand gold pieces, we only held the petty post of Iron Office, without power or influence. At the slightest stir in court, our family faced the danger of confiscation and forced relocation. In the Xin period, by presenting auspicious omens, our uncle managed to enter the court and became a minor official. By the Gengshi period, we cast our lot with Liu Xuan, and our family produced two princely lords at once — what glory that was!"

Li Yi could never forget the splendor of those few years as a princely lord; he had tasted power and craved it ever since. Now, packed off to Yuzhang by Liu Xiu, in a climate damp and oppressively hot, his mood was utterly dejected.

On the surface he enjoyed wealth and rank, but in truth he was nothing more than a prisoner. And right next to his fief was Haihun County, the place where the Former Han's deposed Emperor Liu He had died. Li Yi, measuring the gentleman's heart by his own petty one, always suspected that Liu Xiu would one day hold a grudge against him — a single cup of poisoned wine, and his life would be forfeit.

And so, in fear and unwilling resignation, he kept a constant watch on the situation under heaven.

Li Yi said: "Neither to the Xin nor to the Han can we claim any true loyalty. We acted only for our own wealth and rank, for the prosperity of our family. Now that the Han nest is fated to topple, to keep the Li clan from total destruction, submitting to the Wei Emperor is the only way to preserve ourselves!"

"You… could it be that you secretly went over to Wei long ago?" Li Tong pointed at Li Yi, his voice trembling.

Li Yi was not ashamed to admit it: "That's right. Years ago, after the officials Liu Xiu sent relaxed their surveillance, I began having contact with agents of the Wei Embroidered Uniform Guard, and I have often sent out information. Since the start of this year, Liu Xiu has been frequently shifting troops to Xiakou and Chaisang — did he think he could hide it from Diwu Lun?"

With a sharp ring, Li Tong drew his sword and pressed it against his cousin's chest: "So the Wei agents sent you here to persuade this old man to surrender?"

"Exactly." Though Li Yi answered boldly, his heart was full of misgivings. In truth, a down-and-out Marquis like him had no access to the Han state's central military secrets; he could only provide third- or fourth-hand information. His rank in the Embroidered Uniform Guard's intelligence network was very low — why would the other side take the risk of using him for something important…

He knew the capital he brought to this defection was insufficient, and it gnawed at him. After summer began, he caught the scent of an imminent great battle, and when he heard that Li Tong had been appointed General of the Van and placed in charge of the northern defenses of Jiangxia, Li Yi traveled day and night to get here, hoping to win his elder brother over to "rise up" together, so as to achieve great merit and secure a marquis's or earl's rank in Wei — even if he still gained no real power, at least he and Diwu Lun had no personal grudges, and he would not have to live every day in fear of being force-fed poisoned wine.

Li Yi knew Li Tong extremely well, and understood that his elder brother would never kill him. He continued earnestly: "Elder Brother, we too have ties with Diwu Lun! Now the Wei Emperor is surrounded by a host of brilliant men, and the common people flock to him. If our family can recognize success and failure and settle on a great plan early, we can still, like Weizi or Xiang Bo, achieve merit according to our deeds and turn calamity into blessing. If we hesitate, once the northern tiger guards and charging cavalry come driving straight in and surround the city with stern troops, even if we regret it, it will be too late!"

"Silence!"

Li Tong said in sudden fury: "When the Greenwood entered Nanyang, I trusted your words, and under coercion from the Greenwood chieftains, I changed course and set up Gengshi as Emperor. If at that time I had backed the brothers Liu Bosheng and Liu Xiu, without selfish clan calculations, and wholeheartedly devoted myself to reviving the Great Han, how could Diwu Lun have killed Bosheng and taken the north so easily?"

"Now His Majesty, with an army of righteousness, is about to encircle and annihilate Cen Peng's cruel and violent host. Even if this plan does not succeed, Jiangdong has crack troops and ample grain, and possesses the natural barrier of the Long River — it can still preserve the dynasty. Li Tong has received generous favor from the imperial grace — how could I, heedless of the world's scorn, betray my lord and bend the knee to surrender to rebels?"

"I made a mistake once before. Now, I will never make a second one!"

With these words, Li Tong sheathed his sword and turned his back: "You need say no more. Go…"

Li Yi's attempt to persuade him to surrender had failed. His face was ashen. He stared at his elder cousin's back, fingering the dagger in his sleeve, but in the end he could not bring himself to strike. He could only withdraw in resentment. At parting, he bowed once more and said: "I understand Elder Brother's meaning — you want me to go quickly and defect to Wei. Though I cannot offer great merit, at least I can preserve my life. Please rest assured, Elder Brother: on the day the Han tripod in Jiangdong topples, even if Elder Brother is determined to die a martyr for Liu Xiu, your younger brother, unworthy as I am, will still exert his utmost to ensure that the Li clan of Wancheng is not extinguished!"

Li Tong's body trembled. No one knows a brother like a brother — Li Yi had seen through him completely. He did not turn around, but only raised a hand and waved it weakly, ordering his trusted man to escort Li Yi away, and to provide him with a good horse, guards, and traveling funds. Thus the brothers parted ways. Though it was still somewhat unfair to Liu Xiu, doing this could indeed place the Wancheng Li clan in a position where it would not be wiped out.

From that day on, Li Tong continued to serve Liu Xiu with diligence, strictly guarding the northern part of Jiangxia. Sure enough, in late May, he detected critical intelligence:

"The Wei Grand General of Chariots and Cavalry, Geng Boyao, has advanced from Huaibei through Runan and is bearing down on the Three Ming'e Passes!"