Chapter 686: Old Ties

The sun sank in the west, but the fighting that had lasted the entire day still had not ceased. The Wei troops, already on the verge of collapse, suddenly surged in morale upon seeing a string of brightly colored kites rise above the Changban encampment, and they repeatedly repelled the attacks of Wang Chang and Jia Fu.

Liu Xiu had heard that this was the Wei army's method of transmitting signals. Using a telescope, one could observe conditions over ten li away. Different colors and shapes of kites represented different messages. Liu Xiu could not know the specific "kite language," but he guessed that reinforcements had probably arrived...

A short while later, several Wei riders bearing the zouyu banner arrived at the Dangyang Bridge, claiming to be envoys of the Wei Emperor Diwu Lun. Cavalry Commandant Dou Gu, by imperial order, had come to see Liu Xiu and deliver the sacred edict.

The young Dou Gu was disarmed, his armor and sword stripped away, and he entered the enemy camp alone. Along the way, every pair of eyes glared at him with hatred. The Han soldiers' hands gripped their dagger-axes, spears, swords, and halberds tightly, ready at any moment to stab this northern boy to death. Yet Dou Gu did not disgrace his nation's dignity. Head high and chest out, he strode into Liu Xiu's tent. Facing Diwu Lun's old adversary, he merely pushed his hands forward in a slight bow, neither servile nor overbearing!

"The Son of Heaven of Great Wei commands Cavalry Commandant Dou Gu to inquire after the King of Wu's well-being!"

"How dare you!" The men in the tent flew into a rage, drawing their blades to force Dou Gu to kneel. Liu Xiu stopped them, saying only: "What a fine young man."

Diwu Lun's verbal edict was unimportant — nothing more than words inviting Liu Xiu to battle. The written challenge had already reached his hands during the body search; it was long-winded and tedious, most likely ghostwritten by an imperial scribe, unbearably dull to read. Liu Xiu's attention was entirely drawn to the "token" Dou Gu had been ordered to bring.

It was a jade jue ring. Its color was not particularly fine, and with age it had taken on a pale yellow hue, but the pattern upon it was very familiar to Liu Xiu: a single stalk bearing nine ears of grain.

He turned the object over in his palm, examining it back and forth several times. The jade jue gradually grew warm, and a familiar feeling washed over him. There was no mistake — this was the personal jade jue that had accompanied him for over twenty years...

Although Liu Xiu was a man of Nanyang, he had been born in Jiyang County, Chenliu Commandery, under the jurisdiction of Yan Province, where his father was serving as County Magistrate at the time. That year, under Emperor Ai's reign, the Han dynasty was already ravaged by famine everywhere; the common people suffered seven kinds of loss and seven kinds of death. Yet in Jiyang County, the grain and wheat ripened abundantly, and a "propitious omen" even appeared!

It was a rare stalk of wheat with nine ears, growing sturdy and tall, swaying proudly in the wind.

Besides reporting this matter routinely to please the court, when Magistrate Liu returned to the county seat, Lady Fan had just given birth smoothly to a healthy, lovely boy — the third son of the Liu family. Within days, the baby shed his wrinkled look and grew handsome and bright-eyed. Magistrate Liu was overjoyed. Recalling that auspicious fine grain, could this be an omen?

"'Fine grain' means xiu. The 'Sheng Min' ode says: 'It truly sprouted, truly eared; truly firm, truly fine'... I shall name you 'Liu Xiu.'"

Later, his father had this jade jue made and tied it upon Liu Xiu. The nine-eared jade jue accompanied him as he grew up little by little, as he went to the Imperial Academy in Chang'an, as he fled and returned home, and as he plotted rebellion with his elder brother and friends... His eldest brother Liu Bosheng, hearing that Wang Mang had dispatched Diwu Lun as a Grand Master to escort several imperial princes from Xindu in Nanyang to the capital, even planned to lead men to ambush and kill him.

Liu Xiu opposed this with all his might. He believed that Diwu Lun had also suffered harsh treatment from the Xin Dynasty, even bearing the enmity of a persecuted teacher, and could well be won over — he was not wholeheartedly serving Wang Mang. Liu Xiu wanted to leave an opening to win Diwu Lun over to the "cause of restoring the Han" in the future, so he had a servant drive a cart to catch up with the mission, carrying one hu of dried grain and thirty jin of dried meat as provisions. Feeling this was too slight and hard to be remembered, he then took off the jade jue he wore at his side and had a retainer deliver it along with the gifts...

From that time on, the jade jue left Liu Xiu. That departure lasted over a decade.

Right — how had Diwu Lun replied to him back then?

"A gentleman is like jade, warm to the touch. Holding this jade to my bosom, it is as if I clasp Wenshu's hand."

Diwu Lun accepted it gladly, and in return took off the jade sword-nose from his own blade as a gift. But that jade sword-nose, Liu Xiu had hastily thrown away when he fell under Gengshi's suspicion. Time had passed and circumstances changed; it could no longer be found.

He came back to himself from his memories, raised his head, and gazed intently at Dou Gu. That must have been in the second year of Dihuang. Diwu Lun was not many years older than this young Cavalry Commandant before him.

Only now did Liu Xiu believe that Diwu Lun had truly arrived — no wonder Cen Peng's division had suddenly rallied. He revealed a faint smile and lifted the jade jue. "This thing — Diwu Boyu actually still kept it."

Dou Gu faithfully relayed Diwu Lun's words: "His Majesty says: The urgent pleas at the Office of the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties, the old friendship of the jade gifted in former days — not a single day has he forgotten. It is a pity that different paths do not allow shared plans. The Han cannot be restored; Wei shall surely unite all under Heaven. If the King of Wu stubbornly resists, it is like a mantis raising its arms in rage to block a chariot's wheel-track — he is certain to fail, and in the end can only be mercilessly crushed beneath the wheels of Great Wei!"

He repeated once more the bluff of "eight hundred thousand troops," as if this were the unstoppable "wheels," and again, on Diwu Lun's behalf, invited Liu Xiu to a decisive battle.

"Hahaha, though a mantis's arm is small, it can still break the wheel of rotten wood." Liu Xiu laughed aloud, stopping the furious men in the tent. Instead, he tossed the jade jue back to Dou Gu: "Go back and tell your master: let him keep the jade jue a few days more. When I, Xiu, gallop my troops to victory, capture Diwu Lun alive, and share a drink with him to reminisce about old times, I shall personally return this object to His Majesty!"

"Then the King of Wu agrees to meet in battle?"

Liu Xiu did not answer, merely ordering his men to drive Dou Gu out.

But Dou Gu would not leave. He planted his feet firmly, his gaze sweeping over the officers in Liu Xiu's tent, and asked in a loud voice: "May I ask, which one is Liu Long, Liu Yuanbo?"

Everyone's eyes turned toward a man standing beside Liu Xiu. This general's face was as red as a date, though his thick beard had gained a few more white hairs compared to when he was in Hexi — all the result of the hardships Liu Long had endured on his thousand-li solo ride from Liang Province to join Liu Xiu.

Dou Gu had been young when he left Hexi for Chang'an as a "hostage" of the Dou family and had never met Liu Long, but he guessed this red-faced general was the man. He cupped his hands and said: "Dou Gu, on behalf of His Majesty, the Inspector of Liang Province, and my father the Governor of Wuwei, sends his regards to General Liu!"

Indeed, back when the Imperial Academy students, following Diba Jiao, kowtowed at the Office of the Master of Fates of the Five Majesties to rescue Diwu Lun, Liu Long had been the leader, his voice the loudest. He also had past grievances with Dou Gu's father, Dou You, the local power in Hexi. It was not improper for Dou Gu to deliver regards on behalf of these three men, but to choose this moment, handling public and private matters together? For a moment, the Han generals in the tent looked at one another, their expressions strange, and Liu Long's face grew even redder.

There was a reason for this. When Liu Long had seen the "Western Han" collapse, with Wei Ao revealing his true colors, betraying his lord for personal gain, and having no intention whatsoever of restoring the Han, he had been utterly disillusioned. He had thus entrusted Liang Province to Diba Jiao and gone south himself to join Liu Xiu, who was building his cause in the southeast. After all, as a steadfast imperial clansman for Han restoration, he had to live up to his surname.

However, Liang Province was ten thousand li from Jiangdong. Liu Long traveled under an assumed name, wandering through Shu, and then encountered the continuous warfare along the Yangtze and Han rivers. He was even forced to detour through southern Jing, taking several years to finally reach the Han court. By then, Liu Zhi had already died in battle at Pengcheng. Liu Xiu respected Liu Long deeply; though he had brought not a single soldier, he still honored him as the head of the imperial clan and appointed him "General Who Supports the Han."

It happened that Gongsun Shu, colluding with the Xiongnu and Western Qiang, was raiding and plundering the northern frontier. The ministers and generals under Liu Xiu all hoped to seize this opportunity to capture the Yangtze-Han region and recover Huaibei in one stroke. Liu Long alone, citing the great principle of Hua and barbarian righteousness, strongly urged otherwise. Although the final decision to rest and recuperate was made by Liu Xiu, Deng Yu, and others in consultation, the ministers laid the blame for halting the northern campaign squarely on Liu Long's head...

After this, Liu Long was even more ostracized. Apart from a handful like Deng Yu, he had hardly any friends, reduced to an isolated imperial clansman with little voice or influence.

Dou Gu's words now made many cast sidelong glances at Liu Long. After all, they had just received word: General Who Pacifies Yue, Pang Meng, deeply trusted by Liu Xiu, had brazenly defected to Wei, which was what had allowed Geng Bozhao to drive straight in. Besides Liu Xiu's deep regret at having misjudged the man, the Han camp was also in a state of mutual suspicion, always feeling there were still Wei spies hidden among them. An outsider like Liu Long, who had joined halfway, naturally drew even more suspicion.

And Liu Long had no way to explain himself. Fortunately, after Dou Gu was driven out, Liu Xiu smiled and defused the situation for him: "One takes on the color of one's company. This Dou Gu, constantly attending upon Diwu Lun, has learned bad habits. So young, yet he already knows how to use the stratagem of sowing discord."

Liu Long breathed a small sigh of relief, but after what had just happened, the remonstration that had been on the tip of his tongue was now hard to voice. Otherwise, he would face the condemnation of a thousand pointing fingers!

Yet in the end, he could not hold back. After hesitating several times, he stepped forward and cupped his hands toward Liu Xiu: "Your servant has a matter he wishes to report personally to Your Majesty!"

Several of Liu Xiu's original follower officers were already suspicious of Liu Long, their glances repeatedly hinting that Liu Xiu should beware of an "assassin." But Liu Xiu ignored them as if he saw nothing, dismissing everyone else and keeping only Liu Long: "What was it Yuanbo wished to say just now?"

Liu Long was straightforward by nature and could not keep things hidden. He blurted out at once: "Though your servant joined Your Majesty midway, my loyalty to the Great Han can be witnessed by sun and moon! The matter is of grave importance. If Generals Feng and Wang were here, they would surely urge Your Majesty. Your servant dares not remain silent either."

He spoke with earnest and heartfelt words: "Diwu Lun is leading the campaign in person, yet our army's fierce assault on Cen Peng has long yielded no result. If we remain locked in prolonged battle without withdrawing, the troops will grow ever more exhausted, and I fear we shall be encircled by the Wei army! We can hesitate no longer. Your Majesty, we should immediately withdraw from the battlefield, fall back to Jiangling City, and order the naval forces to cover our crossing south, to make long-term plans."

"Dark clouds are gathering — how could I not know?" Liu Xiu said with emotion. Diwu Lun had arrived a day or two faster than he had anticipated, turning Liu Xiu's plan to first annihilate Cen Peng into a fleeting illusion.

"But Diwu Lun claims to be coming south with eight hundred thousand troops — I absolutely do not believe it!"

Liu Long grew frantic: "Eight hundred thousand is the claim, but even if it is only as General Fu Jun's letter says, with Diwu Lun bringing around a hundred thousand men south, our army is exhausted and still insufficient to contend with them. Your Majesty, think of Emperor Gao! In contending for the realm, one cannot be swayed by the gain or loss of a single place, or a single moment's advance or retreat!"

"No. A hundred thousand, eighty thousand — that was when they left Lankou Settlement." Liu Xiu was not clinging to wishful thinking; he began to analyze coolly: "An army rushing fifty li for advantage arrives with only half its strength — how much more so for two hundred li? Given Diwu Lun's methods, if he had superior numbers, he would first use cavalry to raid our rear while the main infantry force silently envelops us and wipes us out in one stroke. Why go to the trouble of sending an envoy first to arrange a battle? Truly, he is trying to conceal his weakness by making a show of strength!"

Based on Liu Xiu's years of experience crossing swords with Diwu Lun, this fellow had not the slightest notion of the noble, upright, formation-to-formation battles of the Spring and Autumn era aristocrats. Instead, he was full to the brim with the soldier's arts of deception!

"Therefore, the troops at his side number at most ten thousand, perhaps even a mere eight thousand!"

Liu Xiu made a bold prediction: "Sending Dou Gu to deliver the challenge is nothing but a bluff, meant to make the Han army fearful and flee under cover of darkness. That way, he can lift the siege of Cen Peng without a fight and combine his forces. It is also one hundred fifty li from here to Jiangling. The Wei army has many cavalry, and with Geng Bozhao behind us, they have plenty of ways to pursue and intercept."

Liu Xiu reached his conclusion: "Now, to think of withdrawing unscathed — it is already too late!"

Liu Long was greatly shaken. Liu Xiu's thinking reached even further than his own. Seeing that the Han army was about to fall into a desperate situation, he thus requested an assignment: "As an imperial clansman, your servant has been in the south for many years, enfeoffed as a marquis and appointed a general, enjoying wealth and rank, yet without achieving even an inch of merit, I have nothing with which to repay your grace. I am willing to take five thousand men, hold the rear for Your Majesty, and resist Diwu Lun with all my strength!"

There was no helping it. After joining the Han, Liu Long had suffered ostracism from the Yingchuan, Greenwood, and Jiangdong factions. In name a general, he had no personal troops of his own and could only rely on Liu Xiu to grant him military authority.

Liu Xiu still shook his head: "Yuanbo possesses great courage, but it should not be spent on shattering like jade."

"Diwu Lun expects that I will shrink back. That is because he still does not understand me well enough."

Liu Long was astonished: "Your Majesty means..."

Liu Xiu lifted a corner of the tent flap and looked outside. Tonight, the moon was bright and the stars sparse — fine weather for a night battle.

He let the curtain fall, returned to the tent, and looked at Liu Long with piercing eyes: "Yuanbo is well-versed in the art of war. You must know — what is meant by 'deadly ground'?"

Liu Long responded: "So-called deadly ground... if one does not fight swiftly, one perishes. Fight swiftly, and one survives!"

In an instant, he saw the light. And Liu Xiu placed a commander's tally into Liu Long's hand: "Precisely — cast them onto deadly ground, and then they survive! Tonight, I shall order Feng Yi to turn around and launch a surprise assault on Changban. Yuanbo, take ten thousand Huainan troops as support. Before Diwu Lun's main force arrives, and while cavalry are poor at night fighting, we can break the enemy in one stroke!"