Chapter 698: The Wei Emperor Has Come, and With Him, the Blue Sky

The first thing Diwu Lun did upon arriving in Shu Commandery was not to enter Chengdu, but to go straight to Pi County to pay homage to his late teacher. There was no lengthy, elaborate ceremony; everything was kept simple.

The Emperor had already been on the hill for a full half shichen. Dou Gu, serving as Commandant of Cavalry for the Five Virtues Guard, was so bored waiting he nearly yawned. He nudged Deputy Commandant Yin Xing, who was staring blankly beside him, with his elbow. "Junling, what do you think His Majesty is saying before Master Yang's grave?"

Yin Xing thought for a moment, then lowered his voice and replied, "My guess is that, in his capacity as Son of Heaven, he is offering comfort to the late master."

Yin Xing's family had fallen dramatically and risen again. Kidnapped into the palace as a child, he had nearly been castrated to become a eunuch. Having endured hardship alongside his elder sister, he was especially sensitive to shifts in status.

He said, "Xiang Yu once said that to grow rich and noble and not return home is like wearing brocade in the dark of night. Eighteen years ago, Master Yang was hounded to death by the Xin and Mang court. Eighteen years later, His Majesty has executed Mang, destroyed Cheng, and become Emperor. He is no longer the commoner he once was. Naturally, he should offer new sacrifices, repair the tomb, and make it fitting for the status of an imperial teacher."

Dou Gu, however, saw it differently. Deeply influenced by his uncle Dou Rong, he was mature beyond his years and prone to overthinking. He said, "I heard my uncle say that although Master Yang lived in poverty, he cared nothing for status or position. His Majesty surely knows this. I suspect His Majesty wished even more to tell his late teacher that Master Yang has now been enshrined in the Confucian Temple and is publicly recognized as a great Confucian sage!"

Years ago, Diwu Lun had traveled in person to Qufu, convened the northern Confucian scholars, and finalized the orthodox lineage of the Confucian school: Confucius's beloved disciples Yan Yuan and Zengzi; the great Warring States masters Mengzi and Xunzi; and Yang Xiong — these five were to receive enshrinement and sacrifices.

As Yang Xiong's student, Diwu Lun received the Yang school of learning and carried on his will. He executed the Xin and Mang, inherited the orthodox lineage, and would now once again inaugurate a golden age! It all followed a natural order!

The two young men guessed blindly here, but no one knew what Diwu Lun had actually said alone before his teacher's grave. Judging from later events, Dou Gu's guess seemed closer to the truth.

When Diwu Lun left, he burned two books as offerings for Yang Xiong. The first was titled *The Complete Collection of Ziyun's Rhapsodies and Verse*.

It contained Yang Xiong's youthful works like "Rhapsody on Mianzhu," "Inscriptions for the Four Corners of Chengdu City," and "Rhapsody on the Shu Capital," as well as pieces written after arriving in Chang'an, such as "Rhapsody on Hedong," "Rhapsody on Sweet Springs," "Rhapsody on the Feathered Hunt," "Rhapsody on Tall Poplars," plus "Admonition on Wine" and "Rhapsody on Expelling Poverty." It was printed on fine rattan paper, with a painting of Ba mountains and Shu waters as the cover.

The other book was titled *The Collected Works of Master Yang*. All of Yang Xiong's abstruse and difficult writings, such as the *Supreme Mystery*, *Model Sayings*, *Explications*, and *Admonitions of the Thirteen Provinces*, were contained within.

Both types of books were printed in over a thousand copies using woodblock printing. Although Diwu Lun did not forcibly include them in the imperial examination curriculum, they were respectively placed in the collections of the commandery and county "elementary schools" and the four "universities" in the four capitals, becoming the most accessible "extracurricular reading" for students entering school everywhere.

Yang Xiong's rhapsodies were already superb, perfectly suited for young people who force melancholy into new verses. As for the Imperial Academy students, most of whom were in their twenties or thirties and more inclined toward intellectual change, there should be some who could begin to understand works like the *Supreme Mystery*.

In addition, every school was required to hang portraits of Confucius and the Five Sages, with selected "famous quotes" excerpted beneath the portraits — such as Mengzi's "Without compass and square, one cannot form circles and squares," and Xunzi's "The gentleman says: Learning must never cease. Blue is taken from the indigo plant, yet is bluer than indigo."

When it came to Yang Xiong, the quote was: "A man must first love himself, and then others will love him; a man must first respect himself, and then others will respect him."

These were universal teachings. Even if students were not required to bow with clasped hands every time they passed by, after years of seeing them, through constant exposure and influence, even if they still could not understand Yang Xiong, they would at least remember his name and his words.

Diwu Lun knew that his teacher's dream in his later years had been to "become a sage" through his writings. Though sagehood was hard to reach, "worthy" status he had indeed attained.

As he left Pi County, Diwu Lun gazed toward that hill ridge, and at the "Ziyun Pavilion" soon to begin construction at its foot, and said softly:

"Master, you may close your eyes in peace."

"The name of Ziyun, the learning of Master Yang, has now spread throughout the realm!"

Throughout the entire ceremony of honoring the teacher, the only person permitted to stand within ten paces of Diwu Lun was his senior fellow apprentice, Hou Ba.

Eighteen years ago, Hou Ba had stayed behind to keep vigil at Yang Xiong's grave for three years. After the realm fell into chaos, he was appointed as a Grandee by Gongsun Shu and twice traveled between Chengdu and Chang'an, helping the White Emperor concoct a "Wei-Shu Alliance." But after relations between the two states broke down, he took up residence in Chang'an. Diwu Lun appointed Hou Ba to a post in the Ministry of Ceremonies, where he contributed greatly to the recompilation of Master Yang's collected works and other matters.

After the State of Wei destroyed Cheng, Hou Ba, recalling that Gongsun Shu had not violated his late teacher's grave and had shown him personal favor by promoting him, sighed with sorrow for a long time. Because Hou Ba had served as an official in the Cheng court and was familiar with local scholarly sentiment, Diwu Lun appointed him as "Libationer of Yizhou," still under the Ministry of Ceremonies, to oversee the civil and educational affairs of the province.

In his position, he planned its affairs. Upon arriving at his post early this year, Hou Ba had drawn up a lengthy roster of "Shu's Talented and Outstanding Men." Only tonight, upon returning to Pi County, did Hou Ba present this labor of love to Diwu Lun...

Diwu Lun was eating. The meal was very simple. Tired of rich meats and fish, he was having Shu rice with pickled bean paste from Pi County, regretting only that this era had no chili peppers to add a bit more flavor.

A pile of matters and a line of people were queued up waiting for Diwu Lun to handle them. As his territory expanded, the government affairs requiring his attention grew ever more numerous. He could only spare Hou Ba this brief moment, and so, pointing at the paper with his chopsticks, he said:

"Junfu, tell me one by one: what deeds have the people on this roster done?"

Hou Ba assented and said, "Ever since Gongsun Shu declared himself King of Shu and falsely assumed the title of White Emperor, he did seek out Shu's talented and heroic men. But many refused to answer his call. There were even those who, forced by conscription and unwilling to serve, chose suicide!"

For example, in Zitong County, Guanghan Commandery, there was a well-known Palace Gentleman of the Former Han named Li Ye. When Wang Mang took power, Li Ye saw things were amiss and resigned from office to return home. The Governor summoned him twice; Li Ye declined on grounds of illness. When Wang Mang heard of this, he too summoned him, but Li Ye would rather die than obey and lived in seclusion in his hometown.

After Gongsun Shu proclaimed himself emperor, he admired Li Ye's great name and sent envoys to summon him again. The man repeatedly refused. Gongsun Shu flew into a rage and declared that if Li Ye agreed, he would be granted a ducal or marquis rank; if he refused, he would be given poison. In the end, Li Ye, being equally unyielding, directly snatched the poison the envoy had brought as a threat and drank it down in one gulp!

With his death, Gongsun Shu's reputation among the famous scholars instantly turned to mud. The scholars cried out in alarm: "Gongsun Shu is worse than Wang Mang!" This instead stirred their blood, and incidents of resigning from office and committing suicide occurred several more times.

Hou Ba said, "There were also several others who managed to stay alive by luck, but still refused to serve Gongsun."

Such as the great celebrity Qiao Xuan of Langzhong in Ba Commandery. He had served as an Attendant Gentleman under Emperor Cheng of Han, was a colleague of Huan Tan, and had dealings with Yang Xiong. During the Xin and Mang era, Qiao Xuan returned home to live in seclusion. Pressured by Gongsun Shu to serve as an official, the old man nearly drank poison. The Qiao clan donated ten million cash as a desperate bribe just to make the envoy relent.

Good heavens, in the darkest years of the Great Han, one at worst spent money to buy office. But here in your Gongsun Cheng house, one spends money to resign from office! If it were Diwu Lun, who declines five times and yields five times, wouldn't he resign himself into poverty?

Even more outrageous were Ren Yong and Feng Xin of Qianwei Commandery. As if by prior agreement, both feigned suffering from glaucoma — that is, cataracts — to decline the summons.

"Not old in years, how could they have glaucoma? Gongsun Shu did not believe it and sent men to spy on them. If the two showed any abnormality, they would be severely punished. To deceive Gongsun, Ren and Feng, when their wives and maidservants committed adultery with servants right before their eyes, pretended not to see. When Ren Yong's son fell into a well, he also looked on without seeing, only groping about in confusion after hearing the sound and shouting loudly. Though the child was rescued, he had been underwater too long and was left feebleminded."

These two examples were too extreme. Diwu Lun's chopsticks stopped; the bean paste in his mouth suddenly lost its savor. But on second thought, one could not prejudge them as inhuman. What truly drove people mad was Gongsun Shu's method of sending envoys carrying poison to conduct inspections and selections.

What's more, Diwu Lun cared about only one thing...

"Qiao Xuan, Ren Yong, Feng Xin, and the others — did they stubbornly refuse Gongsun Shu's summons because they still yearned for the Former Han? Or because they saw through Gongsun Shu as an unlikely capable ruler, realized that a separatist regime in Shu could not last, and sought to avoid disaster in advance?"

If the former, they were stubbornly obstinate. If the latter, they were far-sighted. The difference was enormous!

Hou Ba reported truthfully: "Qiao Xuan is an old minister of the Former Han. He once declared... 'Tang Yao was a great sage, yet Xu You deemed it shameful to serve; King Wu of Zhou possessed perfect virtue, yet Bo Yi chose to starve. Who were those men, and who am I? To preserve my resolve and keep my loftiness intact, what regret is there in death?' After this, Qiao Xuan lived in seclusion in the countryside. Hearing that Great Wei had destroyed Cheng, he still kept his door shut and made no gesture."

"Ren Yong and Feng Xin were different. Upon hearing of Gongsun Shu's defeat and death, both men washed their eyes with water. Ren Yong declared: 'When the world's way is at peace, the eyes will be clear.'"

And Feng Xin also told his fellow villagers: "The Wei Emperor has come, and with him, the blue sky!"

Diwu Lun was inwardly amused. He instantly grasped the fundamental character of these men. Curious, he asked further: "What became of the wives and concubines who committed adultery before their husbands' very eyes in the households of Feng Xin and Ren Yong?"

Hou Ba reported: "Ren Yong's wife, out of shame, committed suicide. Ren Yong watched her intently but did not speak a word to stop her. Feng Xin's maidservant also wished to take her own life, but Feng Xin snatched the knife away and drove her out..."

Understood. The former was a ruthless man. The latter, indeed, was a good man.

Diwu Lun's regime needed both types of people!

The reason Hou Ba had listed these people was that they enjoyed considerable renown in Shu. Yizhou's scholarly culture was unique, fond of moral critique, and its scholars did not easily submit to rulers from other provinces. Gongsun Shu had actually done a decent job, maintaining peace in Yizhou for over a decade, but he never gained the recognition of the locals.

If Diwu Lun emulated King Wu of Zhou and swiftly recruited a batch of scholars, it could give Shu a favorable impression and make them more actively align with the State of Wei.

Diwu Lun then said, "Feng Xin and Ren Yong may be summoned and appointed, first as commandery clerks, to observe their later performance. As for Qiao Xuan..."

Hou Ba had assumed that Diwu Lun, for the sake of his teacher's old friend, would bestow some empty title of honor and favor upon Qiao Xuan to win him over. To his surprise, Diwu Lun said coldly: "I hear that Master Qiao is advanced in years and nearing his end. If he came to Chengdu, fell ill, and passed away prematurely, how would that be handled? Better not to summon him. Let him live or die on his own!"

If the pigeon-staff, wine, and meat were sent over and old Qiao Xuan threw them back out, how much face would Diwu Lun lose!

In dealing with these solitary recluses who emulate Bo Yi and Shu Qi, one can neither conveniently kill them with axes and poison — that would only perfect their fame — nor conversely commend them — that would only fuel similar defiance. It would also put officials who actively stayed in office under Gongsun Shu and are willing to continue serving the Wei dynasty in an awkward position.

The best method was to leave them out in the cold!

Diwu Lun further instructed Hou Ba: "Our dynasty's system is naturally different from Han and Xin. Apart from recruiting and selecting a small number of men, the proper path is still to rely on civil service examinations to choose talent."

Hou Ba assented: "The special Yizhou examination at the end of the third month is fully prepared."

According to the Wei dynasty's rule of holding examinations every other year, there was originally no examination this year. But considering that Yizhou had just been pacified and there was an enormous gap in the official ranks, Diwu Lun had decided to hold a special examination in Chengdu. With no restrictions on age or status, anyone who was literate could come and sit for it! This would draw all of Shu's talent into his net and conveniently help break the monopoly of Ba and Shu's powerful clans over local official posts.

Diwu Lun said, "In the time of Emperor Wen of Han, Governor Wen Weng of Shu Commandery established official schools, daring to be the first in the realm. The people of Shu grew ever more ardent in their pursuit of learning, and the culture of Yizhou was thereby greatly transformed. In the two hundred years since, a succession of famous men emerged — Sima Xiangru, Wang Bao, Yan Junping, Master Yang, and others. In truth, they all originated from the blessings of the Stone Chamber Academy."

"So I am rather looking forward to the talents of Shu!"

One can say with certainty that in Shu, where a culture of learning flourishes, the literacy rate rivals that of the Five Tombs. In an age that still relied solely on recommendation, men like Sima Xiangru and Yang Xiong, after hitting a wall, all sharpened their heads to carve out another path and charge into the wider world. If you gave them a fair examination, wouldn't they immediately start grinding!?

Now only one matter remains unresolved.

Hou Ba said, "The Chengdu examination opens in ten days. I beg Your Majesty to bestow a policy essay topic."

Diwu Lun finished the last bit of bean paste mixed rice, thought for a moment, and said, "Test them on this…"

"Gongsun Shu faced south and called himself orphaned, falsely assuming the title of White Emperor, and was for a time a hero of his age — why could he not succeed?"

…

When Diwu Lun arrived at Chengdu, he did the opposite of his low-key approach at his teacher's grave, instead making a great display.

He entered through the Xianyang Gate, the great northern gate of Chengdu, with several thousand officers and troops in his retinue, the six-steed imperial carriage, phoenix banners and yak-tail cavalry, halberds arrayed before the steps, and then the palanquin borne through the palace gates.

This spectacle drew the gentry and women of Chengdu to watch from the roadsides, and they all nodded, saying, "The Son of Heaven of Wei's regalia surpasses that of the White Emperor."

Diwu Lun did this because he considered: "I have heard Yangzi say that the custom of Chengdu esteems extravagance and disdains simplicity — that is their old tradition. Therefore I cannot go with light carriage and few attendants as I did when I went to Qufu, and let them look down on me."

Different eras and different regions each have their own unique customs. Since the Qin and Han, the land of Shu has been fertile and beautiful, with river waters and rich wilds, and the Dujiangyan was built so that water and drought follow man's will. Add to that an abundance of mountain forests, bamboo, timber, vegetables, fruits, and provisions, and there have been almost no years of severe famine. Thus the customs of Shu are free from distress and hardship — to use Yang Xiong's assessment, "frivolous, indulgent, and pleasure-seeking, soft by nature and fond of literary ornament."

Perhaps this is why Shu produces so many literary men. As for the common people, in times of peace they had plenty to spare, but now they have been tormented into considerable destitution by Gongsun Shu's exhausting militarism. To put it in later terms…

"The common people have become poor devils, with no more oil to squeeze!"

If the County Magistrate of Wu entered Brocade City still putting on a deliberately frugal pauper's act, the people of Shu would probably worry that he too had come to scrape the earth. Better to flaunt wealth and honor, set the Shu people's minds at ease, and make them believe Diwu Lun's promise of "three years' exemption from poll tax and suan tax."

After half a year of recovery, Yizhou's economy had somewhat revived. The autumn harvest of last year was beyond saving, but this year's spring planting was solid and steady. The Cheng family's armies were completely disbanded, and the soldiers returned home to tend the farmland. Trade also gradually recovered, for Ba and Shu abound in products — from well salt to ginger, cinnabar, stone, copper, iron, bamboo, and wooden wares, all can be sold abroad. Shu brocade especially, that flagship product, had been absent from the Central Plains for over a decade.

The nobles and magnates of Wei are very fond of this stuff. Once the water and land trade routes reopen, northern merchants and hot money will pour into Ba-Shu, reintegrating an economy long severed, and only thus can the separatist tendencies of Shu be thoroughly severed.

And Grand General of the Agile Cavalry Ma Yuan, ordered to garrison Yizhou, and Feng Yan, temporarily serving as Inspector of Yizhou in his capacity as Grand Herald, both greeted the Emperor at Xianyang Gate.

Feng Yan had entered Shu twice in his early years and was very familiar with Yizhou, especially skilled in dealing with the frontier barbarians. At present, the Di, Qiang, and Southwestern Yi on the borders were growing powerful and had become a hidden threat to Shu. No one was better suited than Feng Yan to maneuver among them.

Diwu Lun in his early years considered this man's writing to outstrip his substance. After many years of tempering and hammering, seeing that Feng Yan had grown increasingly competent with age, he finally gave him some real authority — barely usable now.

After entering the White Emperor Palace, Diwu Lun dismissed the crowd, keeping only Ma Yuan and Feng Yan for a meeting.

"The Wei army takes relieving the people from hanging upside down as its duty. If we instead use troops to set fires and brutalize the people of Yizhou, that not only harms the people, it also slaps me in the face!"

Ma Yuan was somewhat embarrassed. His Western Army was a mix of Hua and Rong, and its military discipline was indeed far inferior to Cen Peng's column. Although there had been no great slaughter when Chengdu was taken, the attached Longyou troops and Qiang troops had indeed violated discipline and done many bad things.

Diwu Lun only touched on it lightly: "Fortunately, as I traveled through Shu, I saw only Cheng family officials submitting, people's livelihoods recovering, carts and travelers gradually increasing, and the fields lush and green — I am quite gratified."

"I have already agreed that Yizhou shall be exempt from poll tax and land tax for three years. But as Ba-Shu recovers, the campaign to pacify the south must also be put on the agenda."

Diwu Lun had compiled the petitions for battle submitted over these months by the great generals from various regions, selected the best strategies to follow, and added his own insights. Today he would finalize the preliminary plan with Ma Yuan and Feng Yan.

Feng Yan's speech drifted again as he flattered Diwu Lun: "Great Wei now possesses nine-tenths of the realm's provinces and commanderies, nine-tenths of its population. Liu Xiu's main force is utterly lost; Jiaozhou is remote, and with half of Jingzhou and half of Yangzhou, his people number no more than two million — no longer worth worrying about. In the space of a single messenger's journey, the realm shall surely be settled."

With the flying dragon riding his face, how could he lose? Diwu Lun, however, shook his head and said, "Not so. Ninety miles is but half of a hundred-mile journey. I have thought much on the road — if we wish to destroy Liu Xiu, we still cannot begrudge the trouble. We must still proceed in ten steps!"

Among these, the first four steps are: build ships, build ships, build ships, and goddamn build ships!

This was the consensus throughout the State of Wei. Diwu Lun had solicited the opinions of veteran generals everywhere, from Ma Yuan garrisoning Yizhou and Cen Peng stationed in Jingzhou, to Xiao Geng guarding Yangzhou and Xu, and even General of the Campaign East Zhang Zong far off in Qingzhou — all had raised this point.

At present, the sole remaining advantage of the Eastern Han was their fleet, which held the defense of the Great River's peril. Last year Cen Peng and Xiao Geng had both sent ships to probe, and they indeed could not prevail.

But once the war machine of Wei fully revs up, the disadvantage in ship tonnage will be swiftly erased, and from quantity to quality, all will rapidly overtake!

"Yizhou builds ships at Jiangzhou; northern Jing builds ships at Jiangling and Yunmeng Marsh; Yangzhou builds ships at Chao Lake and the Huai River. Qing and Xu cannot stand idly by either — I have already ordered General of the Campaign East Zhang Zong to build one hundred seagoing vessels within a year!"

Corresponding to the shipbuilding is the large-scale recruitment of men from north of the River, enlisting those youths adept in water skills as naval troops, so that there are enough men to operate the vast numbers of warships. This is the fifth step.

And the sixth step is Ma Yuan's proposal.

He reported: "In the Warring States period, Su Qin once foretold to the King of Chu that Qin would surely raise two armies — one issuing from Wu Pass, one descending upon Qianzhong — and then Yan and Ying would be shaken."

"Later, after Qin had consolidated Ba and Shu, Sima Cuo indeed floated the river to attack Chu, entering the Fu River to seize Chu's lands south of the River, making Wu and Qianzhong into Qianzhong Commandery."

Qianzhong Commandery is the present-day Wuling Commandery in southern Jing. This commandery had originally paid distant homage to Gongsun Shu; when the Cheng family fell, the astute Feng Yi dispatched troops to control it. Ma Yuan hoped to emulate Sima Cuo, having the Western Army take the land route to seize Wuling, and thereby threaten southern Jing from the flank, placing Feng Yi under attack from both front and rear. Meanwhile, Cen Peng in northern Jing would take the seventh step:

Using the water and land forces of Jingzhou, divide the troops to attack the Jing Pass at Changsha and Xiakou at Jiangxia! Together with the Western Army that had seized Wuling Commandery, they would jointly encircle Feng Yi's forces, making him, like the King of Chu in the Warring States period…

"Able only to flee east, unable to escape south to Jiaozhou!"

Ruthless. Diwu Lun could only sigh thus. Ma Yuan and Cen Peng meant to cut off every escape for the Han army in southern Jing — Feng Yi would most likely be unable to withstand it.

And far to the east, the General of the Campaign East, who had not participated in frontline combat since the Battle of Huaibei, was not to be outdone. He had grasped Diwu Lun's requirement to "build many seagoing ships at Langya and Donghai in Qing and Xu," and believed that the method by which King Fuchai of Wu and King Goujian of Yue had attacked Qi by sea in the Warring States period should be used in reverse.

"With the seagoing ships of Qing and Xu, coast along the shore, hoist sail southward, cross the lands of Wu, and strike straight at Kuaiji!"

In Zhang Zong's view, since Wu and Yue had done it five hundred years ago, why could it not be done now? A magnificent plan indeed. Liu Xiu might guard the Great River with strict death-defying defense, but could he handle an attack from the sea?

Diwu Lun approved the "eighth step" that Zhang Zong strongly advocated, but this was still only a diversionary force. He was very clear that the true decisive battle would erupt at Ruxu Dock south of Chao Lake!

"Liu Xiu has ordered Deng Yu to garrison Wuhu and build a dock fortress on the Ruxu River, seeking to prevent the Yangzhou fleet from entering the River."

So the ninth step is to concentrate one hundred thousand water and land troops from Xu and Yang and strike fiercely at Ruxu Dock!

Once that fortress changes hands, and with Wuling, Xiakou, and the sea route all launching simultaneously, Liu Xiu will surely be at a loss, scrambling left and right — and then only the tenth step will remain.

"The final step."

Diwu Lun drew countless sharp arrowheads on the map, from north to south, predetermining the outcome for this plan that still existed only in paper calculations.

"Two hundred thousand mighty troops of the northern realm cross the Great River!"

"Overthrow the Han in a single stroke!"