Chapter 92: The Diwu Column

The main gate of Linhe Township in Tewu County was tightly shut. Behind the low wall, villagers craned their necks to peer out, keeping their weapons and farm tools hidden. Outside the wall stood several hundred Boar-Rush Braves, the foremost hundred fully armed and even carrying crossbows.

The township Bailiff stood atop the watchtower, bowing with clasped hands as politely as he could to the uninvited guests: "Major, wasn't the property tax already collected just last year? Why collect it again?"

Ru Chen, who had personally led a large force to requisition grain, laughed: "You Bailiff truly lack sense. You ate today — will you not eat tomorrow? You paid taxes last year — can you skip them this year?"

The Bailiff was horrified: "By that reasoning, has this become a permanent levy?"

Ru Chen replied: "That I do not know. But after checking the township household registers with the County Magistrate, this township has two thousand households, nearly ten thousand mouths. You must pay one-tenth of your property in grain and fodder for military use."

He was quite good with numbers and began counting on his fingers: "The whole township can't all be poor households, can it? Total wealth must be at least twenty million. Two million cash converted to grain — that's ten thousand dan. You have ten days. Quickly gather ten thousand dan of grain and hand it over."

The Bailiff cried out in misery: "Company Commander, at market price, grain is four hundred per dan — we'd only need to pay five thousand dan! Why has it doubled?"

Ru Chen's face hardened: "I use the fixed price set by the Price Equalization Officers — grain at two hundred per dan, constant and unchanging. Who's calculating market price with you? If grain prices suddenly crashed to a hundred cash per dan someday, would you want to pay more?"

That was what he said, but everyone knew that for over a decade, grain prices had only risen — when had they ever fallen? No, wait — there was one time: every autumn, when farmers urgently needed cash to pay taxes, the so-called "constant and unchanging" grain price set by the Price Equalization Officers would plummet, as if they wished they could just take the grain from the farmers' hands for free.

This scene at Linhe Township was also playing out in several other townships south of the county. This second property levy was not something Ru Chen had fabricated — it came from an imperial edict.

It was said that after last year's property levy, Tian Kuang, the Regional Chief of Yiping (Beihai) in the east, had submitted a memorial pointing out that the commanderies and counties had assessed property dishonestly, that local authorities often underreported and concealed the truth — this was deceiving His Majesty the Emperor!

No wonder last year's property tax had yielded so little. Wang Mang had a sudden epiphany, deemed Tian Kuang a loyal minister concerned for the realm, enfeoffed him as a Count, and rewarded him with two million cash.

Then, following good advice, he decided to collect property tax once more this year, at one-thirtieth. And at this very season when the old grain was exhausted and the new not yet ripe, the border commanderies were assigned a million dan of grain to supply the great army's offensive against the Xiongnu.

Of course, by the time it reached Major Ru Chen, one-thirtieth had magically transformed into one-tenth.

The wealthier townships gritted their teeth and scraped together the grain. The poorer villages could not squeeze it out no matter what. The autumn harvest was long past, the summer harvest still far off, and the old grain was nearly all eaten. If they handed over that last bit of grain at the bottom of the jar, the common folk would have nothing left but to gnaw wild grass outside.

"You people are making things very difficult for this Major."

Ru Chen sat in camp, shaking his head and sighing as he tallied the grain delivered by each township. It still fell short of the amount he had demanded. Word had it that some poor villages had refused to hand over grain. It seemed the people of the borderlands were still too simple. In the Guanzhong region, powerful families and wealthy households colluded with officials to shift the grain quotas onto the poor — you only needed to ruin a few dozen families, and the grain would appear on its own.

And so the grain seizure that threw the borderlands into chaos began. The hundred-odd elite troops Ru Chen maintained through embezzling payroll and skimping on rations donned armor, strapped on swords, and stormed into homes like ravening wolves and tigers, smashing pots and pans, turning everything upside down, searching out every last grain of rice — and conveniently confiscating some fine utensils along the way.

The villagers dared not stop them and swallowed their rage. The elderly knelt and kowtowed, pleading; women and children wept without end; the able-bodied men watched, grinding their teeth in hatred. In the shoving and struggling, the soldiers even killed farmers who resisted the grain seizure.

And when they came upon households that truly could not produce any grain, Ru Chen simply had his men seize the people — his camp was short on able-bodied laborers.

"Worse than the Xiongnu," Wan Xiu muttered through clenched teeth. Wearing a bamboo hat and disguised as a farmer, he watched the scene from afar. When he had been in Guanzhong, he had witnessed officials extorting grain too, but never so rampant as here on the border.

In the days since he and Ma Yuan had taken to the wilds of Beidi, they had first roamed free and easy, then gradually, after a few bouts of thrashing tax collectors and righting wrongs, drawn some poor folk to join them — first a few households, then slowly a dozen, then dozens, until today they numbered over a hundred households. Even Ma Yuan had not expected it.

Their own grain was tight; they could only rely on herding to sustain themselves, and they had no clear goal for the future. Diwu Lun's proposal had kindled the fire in Wan Xiu's heart.

What is a xia? A man who harms himself to benefit his cause, who begrudges not his own body, who rushes to the aid of those in distress! That was what Yuan She had taught him. Though even the great Xia Yuan might not always live up to those words, Wan Xiu wanted to try!

Now, watching these soldiers plunder everywhere, seizing grain and goods, where was the bearing of a royal army? He touched the scabbard hidden at his waist — after all, back in Maoling, Wan Xiu had once gotten his hands on a red pellet.

But Ma Yuan stopped him.

Ma Wenyuan was more strategic in his actions. He said quietly: "Boyu said it too — the crux is Major Ru Chen. But he rarely leaves his camp between the Qin Canal and the Han Canal. These men are just petty thugs. Killing them does nothing for the bigger picture and will only alert the enemy."

Wan Xiu nodded. The two were just about to pole their small boat away along the canal when a soldier searching for grain in the distance spotted them. Delighted, he brought several men chasing after them, shouting: "Halt! What township, what village are you from? Show me your large-cloth yellow-thousand coin and your travel permit!"

Meanwhile, the soldier was signaling with his hand to the men behind him, hinting at them to ready the ropes — he had not yet met his quota of able-bodied laborers promised to his superior today! These few would be perfect to make up the numbers.

Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu looked at each other. Well, well — impressment had come knocking on their own heads!

"Wenyuan, shall we drop the act?"

Ma Yuan tossed aside his bamboo hat and sighed: "I suppose we have no choice but to drop it."

And so by evening, Ru Chen heard the tearful complaints of those bruised and battered soldiers: they had encountered farmers of extraordinary martial skill who openly resisted, beat them up, then dove into the water and escaped.

Ru Chen paid it little mind, only instructing his men to use this as a pretext to extort another hundred-odd dan of grain from that nearby village.

He cared about only one thing: "Get the able-bodied laborers assembled as quickly as possible. On the fifteenth of the fifth month, I am to escort the grain and fodder to the ferry crossing together with Diwu Lun."

Ru Chen smiled: "By then I will have requisitioned five thousand dan, far exceeding the three thousand expected by the Swallowing-Hu General. And as for him, with all his love for the people, he'll have a thousand at most. The difference between us will be plain for all to see!"

That night, the campfire by the Kushui River had moved to a new spot. Diwu Lun could not help but laugh when Ma Yuan mentioned that the two of them had gone to scout Ru Chen's grain seizure that afternoon and had nearly been impressed themselves.

"Ha ha ha! Why didn't you two just give up resisting, let yourselves be captured on purpose, follow them back to camp, and serve as our inside agents?"

Wan Xiu took a swig of wine and laughed: "I wouldn't have minded, but I feared Wenyuan is too fair-skinned and handsome — once inside that bandit camp, his chastity might not survive."

He then received a kick from Ma Yuan and went tumbling to the side.

This was no joke. In the long-repressed atmosphere of military camps, men were often violated. Even Diwu's camp had such incidents, let alone elsewhere.

Diwu Lun took out a map and handed it to the two of them: "I told you long ago, you didn't need to go. The true state of Ru Chen's camp, his daily routes, even the location for sending grain westward — I have already had men scout it all out clearly."

Although Diwu Lun was only stationed north of the county, it was routine for his men to go to Tewu County town on purchasing errands, bearing Major Diwu's orders and passing through without hindrance.

Diwu Lun had also put Diwu Fu in charge, organizing Zhang Yu and a few other loyal, quick-witted personal followers into a group that specifically roamed south of the county with Diwu Lun's tallies, gathering intelligence.

Diwu Lun had even given them a designation: "The Diwu Column!"

He himself had even stooped to learn from his inferior, making a trip to Ru Chen's camp to discuss the grain transport and arrange to go together.

Thus came this map and the plan that followed.

Diwu Lun pointed to the fortified camp where Ru Chen was stationed: "This camp was built in the time of Emperor Wu of the Former Han. The barrier walls are high, situated between the Qin Canal and the Han Canal — easy to defend, hard to attack. Even though Ru Chen has barely a hundred men under him who can fight, trying to break through the gate with a hundred-odd mounted men, take his head, and leave would still be extremely difficult."

His finger moved west, to the ferry crossing west of Tewu County town: "On the fifteenth of this month, Ru Chen and I agreed to deliver grain together to the Swallowing-Hu General's main camp in Hexi."

"The fort is no more than thirty li from the county town — two to three shichen at most. Ru Chen has extorted as much as ten thousand dan of grain this time, but he's only sending half. He will certainly leave men behind to guard the rest."

Diwu Lun predicted that on that day, Ru Chen would have about fifty armored, armed personal guards as his elite, plus five hundred Boar-Rush Braves driving carts and hauling wagons. Those starving, oppressed laborers need not be factored in — at the first twang of a bowstring, they would scatter in a panic.

And the hundred-odd mounted men that Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu could field would be just enough to handle them.

"Indeed, far easier than ambushing Ru Chen at Linhe Township at the end of last month, or storming the fort."

Wan Xiu, however, recalled something and looked at Diwu Lun: "Boyu, have you gathered the grain you need to deliver that day?"

Diwu Lun shook his head: "Not yet. Right now it's the lean season — I cannot bear to press the common people. And the so-called wealthy households north of the county, no matter how much I threaten them, can't produce much grain either. Barely enough to feed my eight hundred men — how could it be enough to send to the main camp?"

Hearing that Diwu Lun had not extorted the common folk, Wan Xiu was relieved, but then worried: "Then what will you use to deliver grain that day?"

Diwu Lun only smiled: "No matter. That day I will be bringing up the rear. Upon hearing that Ru Chen is under attack — he is a friendly force, after all, and when the lips are gone the teeth grow cold — I will of course rush immediately to his aid."

He vividly painted the scene that might unfold that day: "But this was merely a bandit ruse. Though I arrived after Ru Chen's death, I saved his grain convoy and drove off the bandits. Yet when I turn around, I discover that my own grain convoy has been attacked!"

Diwu Lun closed his eyes in deep sorrow: "My Boar-Rush Braves were no match and scattered. The bandits had no time to carry off the grain, and, furious that I had foiled their plans, they simply set it all ablaze..."

Of course, the grain sacks were stuffed with nothing but withered grass.

"Boyu, this is a brilliant scheme." Ma Yuan clapped his hands in admiration. This way, Diwu Lun could also clear himself of suspicion: Look, Ruchen merely lost his life, but I — I had an entire grain convoy burned to ashes!

Wan Xiu still felt something was wrong. "General Swallow-the-Hu won't care who died. The grain he demands must still be delivered. He'll certainly force you to hand it over again."

Diwu Lun laughed. "No matter. By then, the grain will already be there."

"Already there? Where?" Wan Xiu was an honest man indeed; he hadn't caught on. Surely they couldn't do like in that story Diwu Lun told, and have Wang Mang's newly recruited Li Army make some kind of soldier ration pills.

Ma Yuan, however, had grasped it. Clutching his stomach, he laughed. "Junyou, oh Junyou, how do you still not understand? Boyu's grain is sitting nice and tidy in Ruchen's barrier-fort granary!"

Seeing that daybreak was approaching, the three had finished their discussion. After agreeing to dispatch messengers frequently over those days to exchange news, Diwu Lun prepared to return to camp.

But then he recalled one matter, and turned his head. "Wenyuan, Junyou, your bands of followers — have you not yet chosen a name for them?"

The two shook their heads. Wan Xiu had no clear plans for the future yet, and Ma Yuan was simply taking things one step at a time.

Diwu Lun said, "Nowadays, the realm is unjust and taxes are arbitrary, so bandits swarm like hemp. I've heard that in Qingzhou, Xuzhou, and the Haidai region, there is a man named Fan Chong, who has gathered a multitude of ten thousand at Mount Tai. They call each other 'Giants,' and so they are called the Giant Bandits."

"In Jiangxia in Jingzhou, there are Wang Kuang and Wang Feng, who settle disputes and lawsuits for the people. They have gathered seven or eight thousand men and operate on Greenwood Mountain, hence they are called Greenwood."

"And in the lands north of the Yellow River, there are also many small bands of outlaws, some called Bronze Horses, others named Iron Shins, Green Calves, or Five Pennants — all simple, easy-to-understand names."

Diwu Lun smiled. "Why don't we choose one as well?"

Ma Yuan was somewhat hesitant; after all, he came from an official family. Wan Xiu, however, was very much in favor, and offered an idea. "Our band was founded single-handedly by Wenyuan. It has absorbed many Han, Hu, and Qiang herders, and has many horses, coming and going like the wind. Why not call them Horse Bandits? Horse Brigands?"

Might as well call them Horse Rebels!

Diwu Lun objected. The reason was that after Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu had taken to the wilds, they had even concealed their real names. After all, their families were still in Guanzhong. Fleeing justice was a minor crime, which the Ma clan and Yuan She could still cover for them. But if they raised a banner as outlaws, that would be outright rebellion, and would bring disaster upon their clans.

Seeing that Ma Yuan remained silent and brooding, knowing he still had some resistance to rebellion, and that Wan Xiu was already proposing names like "Bitter Water" or "Special Arms," Diwu Lun then said, "I do have an idea."

"What do the common people hate most? The Embroidered Cloaks. The Embroidered Cloak Envoys sent by the court commit countless evils, riding relay carriages through commanderies and kingdoms, a dozen missions a day, extorting grain everywhere. And high officials and great officers are mostly Embroidered Cloaks too. So when the common folk see an Embroidered Cloak, they turn and flee."

"What is the opposite of an Embroidered Cloak?"

Diwu Lun clapped Wan Xiu and the others on their clothes. "Hemp! This is what the commoners wear. Since we intend to speak for the people and carry out Heaven's way, we must make them feel a sense of kinship. Wear coarse hemp, cover your faces with hemp cloth — why not call ourselves..."

"Hemp Bandits!"

PS: Chapter 3 at 18:00.