Chapter 76: Ju Wuba

The Ziwu Road stretched over six hundred li, and Diwu Lun took a full twenty days to traverse it. In the wind and snow, he nearly froze to death like a dog, and he almost missed the reporting deadline for the General of Renewal's encampment.

The moment he left the valley and stepped onto the Guanzhong Plain, Diwu Lun turned back, clutched his chest, and heaved a long sigh.

"Truly a natural stronghold. Even with just two or three bodyguards and attendants, the journey was this arduous — how much worse for an army of thousands or tens of thousands? But that is also a good thing. If the realm falls into chaos one day and I can make Guanzhong my base, I must never strike out in all directions. Send one mediocre commander with a thousand-odd men to block the Ziwu Valley, and not even ten thousand could force it open!"

Once past the Ziwu Valley, Guanzhong suddenly opened wide, with no more natural barriers to defend.

Diwu Lun spurred his horse north at full speed and entered Guangwei Commandery, where the imperial capital region lay.

Gazing west, he could make out the pines and cypresses lingering around Emperor Xuan of Han's Duling mausoleum; to the east, beside the Ba River, lay a village district called Bailuyuan — the White Deer Plain.

The next day, he turned right at Ba Bridge, left Guangwei Commandery, and reached Yiwei Commandery. He traveled with the looming, massive shadow of Mount Li in the distance, and when he drew parallel to it, he entered the bustling streets and wards of a flourishing city — this was Xinfeng.

As for this city's origin: in the early Han, after Liu Bang became Emperor, his father, Liu Taigong — who had nearly been boiled into soup by Xiang Yu — was honored as the Retired Emperor.

After arriving in Guanzhong, Liu Taigong, like any parent who moves to a big city to be with their children, grew sullen and unhappy. The food was different, the speech utterly alien, and there were no old village folks to chat with. It was too hard to bear, so he constantly longed to return east.

To accommodate his father's feelings, Liu Bang rebuilt the city walls, temples, and streets near Hongmen, making their layout exactly identical to his hometown of Feng Yi. He then relocated the people of Feng Yi and gave them metropolitan household registration. Hence the name Xinfeng — "New Feng."

Because most of those relocated were knights-errant from Feng and Pei, between Liang and Chu, that ethos has endured to this day. Compared to the solemn imperial capital, Xinfeng was more like a middle-aged man in gaudy clothes on a spirited horse. In the markets, young butchers and vendors hawked wine and cakes; cockfights and cuju games made the place incredibly lively.

The only change was that Xinfeng had demolished the Retired Emperor's temple. The old site had become the "Headquarters of the General of Renewal" — also the command center for Wang Mang's second planned war against the Xiongnu. The "Boar-Rush Braves" conscripted from various commanderies were encamped and training at Hongmen to the east.

Diwu Lun used his official tally to find a Retainer Clerk in the General of Renewal's headquarters and stated his purpose.

"So you are the filial and righteous Diwu Lang, who offered himself in his teacher's stead and volunteered for military service."

The Retainer Clerk was somewhat short, not even seven chi tall, and slightly older than Diwu Lun, with a fair complexion. He looked up, sized Diwu Lun up, and said with a smile, "The capital knows the Son of Heaven permitted you to escort your teacher's coffin back to Shu for burial. Why have you returned so quickly?"

Diwu Lun simply replied, "The Master said, 'When the ruler's summons comes, do not wait for the carriage to be yoked.' I am already late."

The Retainer Clerk, unimpressed, cupped his hands and introduced himself: "Feng Yan, courtesy name Jingtong, a man of Shuizhang County. Just call me by my courtesy name... In truth, I am also fond of fu poetry; it is only a pity I never had the chance to seek instruction from Master Yang."

Shuizhang County was Duling. Diwu Lun had passed through there just the day before, and he guessed the man's family background: "Could you be of the Feng clan of Ten Thousand Shi?"

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Having served as a Revenue Section Clerk, his eye fell not only on the lower strata but also scrutinized the pedigrees of great houses, even making a point of inquiring about neighboring commanderies. Thus Diwu Lun knew that in Duling, in Guangwei Commandery, there were three households that had held ten-thousand-shi rank for generations, and the Feng clan was among them.

The Feng clan's ancestors could be traced back to Feng Fengshi, General of the Left during the reigns of Emperors Xuan and Yuan — a ruthless man who had earned merit and a marquisate through campaigns in the Western Regions and Qiang lands. His sons, Feng Yewang and four others, all served as Han officials at the two-thousand-shi rank, hence the "Ten Thousand Shi" designation. His daughter, Consort Feng, married Emperor Yuan of Han and was the grandmother of Emperor Ping of Han.

However, after the Xin Dynasty replaced the Han, this family had declined.

Feng Yan waved his hand dismissively. "The glory of my ancestors is already a thing of the past. What Ten Thousand Shi is there now? I am merely a petty Retainer Clerk, lingering in a minor post."

Diwu Lun said, with feigned sincerity, "Not so. In this time when the state needs capable men, who is to say Jingtong cannot restore his ancestors' honor?"

Feng Yan laughed. "My ambition does not lie there. I only wish to cultivate the substance of virtue and not seek the fame of the present age. Thus I disregard trivial formalities and let slip worldly affairs. My pursuit is to keep my person upright and my conduct straight, to be content and follow my own will — that is all!"

Diwu Lun's purpose on this trip was to pay his respects to General of Renewal Lian Dan and confirm his position among the Boar-Rush Braves. Feng Yan, however, said, "Boyu, you have come at a truly inconvenient time."

Feng Yan cast his gaze toward the marketplace. "Or rather — a perfectly opportune one!"

As the two spoke, a wave of clamor erupted in the Xinfeng marketplace. Men and women, young and old alike, cried out in alarm. Diwu Lun turned to look and saw people all along the street fleeing desperately, as if they had spotted some monster.

Wine-sellers and cake-vendors abandoned their money and scrambled backward; dogs didn't even dare yelp and ran off with tails between their legs; the cockfighters and cuju players scooped up their roosters and balls and slipped away, shouting as they retreated, "Tiger! Tiger! Tiger!"

There is an idiom: "Three men make a tiger." But by all common sense, a tiger should never appear in a marketplace. Surely it hadn't escaped from the Shanglin Park?

Only the young butchers and peddlers remained fairly composed. Gripping their sharp knives, eyes bulging wide, they gathered on the road, relying on numbers to embolden themselves, hoping to play the part of tiger-slaying heroes.

But they were roughly shoved aside by soldiers. As the crowd parted, the first thing Diwu Lun saw was actually a...

"A giant!?"

The "giant" had arrived at the Xinfeng city gate riding a large cart pulled by four black horses, then proceeded on foot. He walked down the center of the road, towering nearly half a body's height above the townsfolk. If ever there was a crane among chickens, this was it!

Diwu Lun estimated the man was at least one zhang tall — a truly magnificent figure of a man. He thought to himself, "A fair bit taller than Yao Ming, isn't he?"

He was not only tall but also massively built, ten wei in girth, like a wild bull. He wore a great fur cloak of leopard skin, and hanging from his waist were not sword or saber, but two thin iron rods, as long as an arm and thick as a thumb — what kind of weapons those were, no one could tell.

Most outrageous of all, the giant held two dog leashes in his hand, and tethered to the ends of those leashes were actually two great beasts with slanted eyes and white foreheads!

The two tigers entered the market streets and wards, utterly unafraid of people. Spotting a child, separated from its parents in the chaos, sitting blankly in the middle of the street and wailing, the larger one bared its ferocious nature, opened its blood-red maw wide, and moved to pounce and devour!

Diwu Lun was horrified, but there was no time to rescue the child. Just as the tiger took a single step, the giant yanked it back with one tug of the leash. Seizing the chance, a young butcher rushed forward and scooped the child away.

The giant's strength was so immense that the tiger tumbled awkwardly across the ground. It scrambled up and turned on its master with a vicious, low growl — how could the king of beasts be humiliated like this by a mere man?

But the giant only stared at it coldly. Man and beast locked eyes for a moment, and in the end, it was the tiger that backed down. It let out two reluctant, dry roars, lowered its body in submission, and continued padding forward.

After all, if this giant were to attempt a sliding tackle, he really could slit a tiger's belly wide open.

When the giant reached the gate of the General of Renewal's headquarters, the two tigers crouched to his left and right, allowing him to reach out and rub their heads. Beneath his hand, the fierce tigers were as docile as tiny milk-kittens.

Like the townsfolk who had drifted back to watch the spectacle, Diwu Lun had never seen anything like this in his life. He clicked his tongue and thought to himself, "Is this... some kind of master beast-tamer?"

If he were to put on a horned helmet, he would truly look the part of a Tauren hunter.

It was the Retainer Clerk Feng Yan beside him who supplied the information: "This man is called Ju Wuba."

"Ju Wuba?" Diwu Lun suddenly understood. Of course he had heard the term, he just hadn't known its origin.

Feng Yan said, "Ju Wuba is a man of Penglai in Qing Province. Over a month ago, he heard that His Majesty intended to campaign against the Xiongnu, so he went to pay his respects to the Regional Chief of Suye (Jiaodong) and expressed his wish to join the army and strike fiercely against the Hu barbarians..."

"This man must use a great drum as a pillow to sleep, and must eat with iron chopsticks — that pair hanging at his waist. The Regional Chief of Suye believed this to be a divine and auspicious sign, and dispatched men along with a hundred Tiger Guards to escort him to the capital. He has arrived just today."

Isn't that my script? Diwu Lun didn't know whether to laugh or cry. It seemed he was not the only one who knew there were tigers in the mountains and headed straight for them.

Although similar in kind, the court clearly attached far greater importance to this Ju Wuba. The gates of the General of Renewal's headquarters were thrown wide open, and Lian Dan personally came out to welcome him, even reading aloud an edict from Emperor Wang Mang.

The gist of it was that Ju Wuba was to remain in Xinfeng and join the army, and his surname was changed to Jumu Shi. This was because the giant's sudden appearance was a manifestation of the late Empress Dowager Wenmu, Wang Zhengjun, sending a hegemon talisman to her great-nephew Wang Mang... Diwu Lun could not fathom the logic of this at all.

Lian Dan finally proclaimed: "A giant born of Heaven, able to command tigers and leopards — with such a one to overcome the enemy, what foe cannot be crushed? This is the August Heaven's means of aiding the Xin. Let great armor and a high chariot be made, and robes fit for Meng Ben. Appoint Jumu Ba as Colonel, to strike the Xiongnu and bring peace to all under Heaven!"

Colonel was a mid-ranking officer in the Xin army, commanding five or six thousand men, with a rank of six hundred shi. Ju Wuba, a commoner, was directly promoted to a Yuanshi rank. After all, he was far too impressive; Wang Mang, so fond of auspicious omens, naturally had to make a grand propaganda display of it.

But this only made Diwu Lun, who had been the very first to volunteer to strike the Hu, seem all the more utterly ordinary. General of Renewal Lian Dan personally ushered Ju Wuba into the general's headquarters, while Diwu Lun could only stand in the crowd like a mere underling.

He lingered in the office, chatting idly with Feng Yan until dusk, before Lian Dan, in the midst of a hundred pressing matters, finally granted Diwu Lun an audience.

This perpetually defeated general, barely forty yet already prematurely gray, never once lifted his head throughout the entire meeting. He simply assigned Diwu Lun a military post at random.

"By His Majesty's command, you are appointed Major, with the designation 'Major of Filial Piety and Righteousness.'"

……

"The clan head is back!"

When Diwu Fu's shout announcing his grandson's return reached him, Diwu Ba was roasting himself by the stove, casually charring the chestnuts he loved to eat.

He sprang to his feet at once and hurried to the kitchen door to peer out, but after a moment's thought he did not rush outside. Instead, he went back to the stove, fished out the scalding chestnuts with the fire tongs, blew them cool, and then carefully peeled them into a small bowl.

One after another — by the time the golden chestnut meat filled the bowl, Diwu Lun had just reached the kitchen door.

"Grandfather, I'm back."

"Mm."

Diwu Ba turned his head, calm and composed, but when he saw his grandson travel-worn and far thinner than when he had left, a pang of heartache struck him.

Not one to put feelings into words, he simply handed over the pottery bowl and told Diwu Lun to come eat while warming himself by the fire. Beside the blazing stove, grandfather and grandson talked in fits and starts.

"Has Grandfather been in good health?"

"Fine. I can put away three bowls of rice a day, and still sleep with two maids in my arms."

"While I was away, no trouble broke out in the clan, I hope?"

"What trouble could there be?" Diwu Ba waved a hand. "The First and Fourth branches are busy making coal cakes at the coal pits to earn money. There are imitations on the market now, but those new beast-head briquettes of ours still sell well among the wealthy households."

"The Third, Sixth, Eighth, and Seventh branches are opening limestone quarries for you and making that cement, each taking a tenth share of the profit. A few days ago when it snowed, First Guan wanted to force the clan members and bondservants to keep working in the bitter cold — the Eighth and I scolded him roundly, and he didn't dare make another peep."

He looked at his grandson. "Ever since you paid the wealth tax for the entire clan at the autumn reckoning in the eighth month, who would dare not support you, not support the Diwu clan? Your position as clan head is rock-solid. Though you were away, the clan rules you set down are still followed. The clan youths, especially the Seventh branch, I've kept them in check too — won't let that lot bully the weak."

Diwu Lun breathed a sigh of relief, stuffing chestnuts into his mouth, when Diwu Ba added, "Your teacher's burial — all properly settled?"

"Everything is in order. My senior brother Hou Ba stayed behind to keep three years' mourning at the grave. The local officials hold Master Yang in deep respect, so there is nothing to worry about."

Diwu Ba sighed with emotion. "Last year, when Yang Ziyun came to Diwu Village for the spring festival — though the man spoke so bookishly this old fellow could barely understand him, I could tell he was a fine teacher. To have become his disciple is your great good fortune."

At this, the old man's eyes lit up. "Ah, that's right — doesn't this mean our family now has not just a gate of hereditary distinction, but a master's lineage as well?"

Diwu Lun smiled. "Grandfather, what Master Yang passed on to me was not the Five Classics, only his own philosophical studies and miscellaneous learning — of no help at all for an official career."

Diwu Ba did not like the sound of that. "Learning is learning, all those twisty-turny words the villagers can't understand. Now we have the Five Classics, the Six Classics — who's to say later they won't add a seventh, an eighth?"

Though he had long grown used to his grandson resigning office at the drop of a hat, Diwu Ba was, at heart, still that old office-chaser. Today, however, Diwu Lun did have good news to tell him.

Diwu Ba peered again at Diwu Lun's cheeks and could not help cursing. "How did you get so thin?"

Diwu Lun said, "On the road I mourned and kept a vegetarian diet. Five days would have been enough, but Hou Ba, Wang Long, even Huan Tan all held firm — how could I sneak off to eat on my own?"

Diwu Ba ordered the kitchen to prepare a meal at once. "These next few days, you'll stay home and build yourself back up properly. You missed the winter sacrifice — there's plenty of cured meat left from that day, and the sheep are fat now too."

Diwu Lun had already eaten every chestnut in the bowl. "I can't stay long, Grandfather. I've already visited the headquarters of the General of Renewal in Xinfeng and received my seal and tally. Before the first day of the first month, I must report for duty at the Boar-Rush Braves camp at Hongmen."

Hearing this, Diwu Ba felt a stir of worry over his grandson's campaign, yet still could not keep his brows from dancing with delight. "Oh? And what office did the General of Renewal give you? Truly a Company Commander?"

"One rank higher than Company Commander, but still a yellow cord."

Diwu Lun, however, was far less elated. "I've been made a Major, rank of five hundred bushels, a Mandated Officer — commanding a mere thousand men, that's all!"

PS: Chapter 2 at 13:00.