Chapter 97: A Grave Miscalculation

Diwu Lun had once been curious, too — just what kind of looks did Zhang Fang have, that he could so utterly bewitch Emperor Cheng of Han, a man who already possessed a whole array of beauties in Empress Xu, Consort Ban, Zhao Feiyan, and Zhao Hede.

It was a pity that Zhang Chun, now past forty, already showed signs of age; one could catch a trace of feminine features in a man's face from his son Zhang Fen, though in sheer handsomeness, neither could compare to Ma Wenyuan.

Once inside the Zhang residence, the County Magistrate of Tewu was also present. It looked like a three-way discussion, but in truth the magistrate was nothing more than a Zhang family puppet.

The banquet held little worth remarking on. The fare at Zhang Chun's home was refined and understated, nothing like the extravagance Diwu Lun had seen at the Qiongcheng Marquis's mansion — even female musicians were a rarity. Everywhere there was a sense of plainness, yet the ritual propriety was impeccably correct. This, perhaps, was the difference between a century-old scholar-gentry clan and the newly rich.

The theme of today's gathering was, of course, the "Hemp Bandits" running rampant in the south of the county.

"When I was in Guanzhong, I never saw villains so utterly vicious and depraved."

Halfway through the feast, Diwu Lun rose and said, "Those wretches openly beheaded a Major, proclaiming they were carrying out Heaven's will, and even burned my subordinate, Company Commander Dai, alive. Heaven have mercy — Company Commander Dai was a generous and kindly elder, yet he met such a brutal end!"

"Now not only have our army provisions been raided, but the common folk are also harassed by these bandits. A gentleman of the Wu clan in South Township was taking a bride — amid joyful music and fanfare, she was abducted, and a letter was left demanding grain and money as ransom. In my view, this ransom absolutely must not be paid!"

Diwu Lun put on an extremely hard-line stance: "If we open this vile precedent, the bandits will grow even more brazen. From army officers above to commoners below, all will suffer their plunder and extortion."

"The Master said, 'If this can be tolerated, what cannot?' Therefore, these Hemp Bandits must be exterminated!"

These words won the County Magistrate's approval, and Zhang Fen also rapped the table in hearty agreement — this was exactly what the county's wealthy households were hoping for. Only Zhang Chun stroked his beard and smiled without speaking.

Diwu Lun shifted his tone and brought up his real objective: "But to resist the bandits, we must train troops. Otherwise, they will simply collapse at the first encounter, just like the men under Ru Chen."

"As you gentlemen know, my Boar-Rush Braves have long suffered from hunger and deprivation. If we are to train further, the daily grain consumption will increase. Yet all the grain and fodder Ru Chen collected has already been sent to the main camp. The higher-ups have only sent us armor and weapons — they will not disburse any grain or funds."

The County Magistrate caught on at once: "The Major means we should levy grain a second time?"

Diwu Lun shook his head. "Right now the new crop is not yet in and the old stores are exhausted — we cannot levy any more from the common people. I've heard that since Ru Chen was killed, within a single month, dozens or even hundreds of the poor have fled south to join the Hemp Bandits. If more common folk, unable to bear the extortion, abandon their land and flee, it will only swell the bandits' ranks."

He looked toward Zhang Chun and his son and smiled. "Since the wealthy households propose exterminating the bandits, why not let the leading families of this county contribute the grain? What do you say?"

Zhang Fen nodded. "May I ask the Major, how much grain needs to be contributed?"

Diwu Lun pondered and said, "My unit has two thousand men in total…" After reorganization and streamlining, he actually had fewer than twelve hundred — this was openly padding the muster rolls to pocket the rations!

"Training requires at least three months, and at the same time we must coordinate defense and drive off the bandits."

Diwu Lun held up a six. "We need six thousand shi of grain in total!"

This figure would let Diwu Lun meet this year's grain delivery quota and still net two thousand shi, to serve as seed capital for the next step.

To the Zhang family and the county's wealthy households, this was a mere drop in the bucket. If their own family members were abducted by bandits, the ransom demanded would be far greater.

Of course, if the other side bargained it down to five thousand, Diwu Lun could accept that too. What remained was the haggling over each family's share.

"An excellent proposal." To his surprise, Zhang Chun, who had not spoken a word the entire time, clapped his hands and laughed heartily.

"These six thousand shi of grain — my Zhang family will provide it all!"

…

Everyone was stunned. Diwu Lun had intended to haggle with Zhang Chun, to tell him that only if the Zhang family contributed would the county's four great clans follow suit — who would have expected such swift agreement!

He could only feel that this scene was terribly familiar. Wasn't it a replay of how he himself had paid the poll tax for the villagers in Linqu Township? Could Zhang Chun also harbor grand ambitions? After all, the Zhang family's interests had suffered greatly when Wang Mang usurped the Han.

Zhang Chun, however, had his son entertain the puppet County Magistrate while he personally led Diwu Lun on a tour of the fortified manor. As they walked, he said, "Major Boyu, you seem to have misgivings. Surely you don't think I'm deliberately taking the lead in bleeding myself, hoping to entice the wealthy and the commoners to donate grain in turn, after which the Zhang family will split the spoils with you?"

Was that not the case?

Zhang Chun shook his head. "I won't hide it from you, Boyu. Before he died, Ru Chen had the same idea. When he heard there were bandits south of the county, far from being worried, he was delighted. He even came to my door to discuss it. We agreed that after tricking the whole county into donating grain, he and I would split it seventy-thirty. Who would have thought he'd die at the bandits' hands in the blink of an eye? Served him right."

"But toward Major Boyu, Zhang Chun is utterly sincere. Not only will I provide grain — I will provide men as well!"

Diwu Lun grew even more puzzled. He saw Zhang Chun clap his hands once, and immediately, retainers came carrying two sedan chairs.

"My estate is large; walking around it takes half a shichen. Better to use these to get about."

Diwu Lun climbed onto a sedan chair and followed Zhang Chun through the central courtyard. He had no idea how many gates they passed, but at every door stood household guards bearing weapons. At last they exited the fortified manor and arrived at an open area.

This was a drill ground, spread with fine sand and set with many archery targets. The able-bodied men maintained by the Zhang family were there, drawing bows and shooting.

To his shame, in both the number of archers and their accuracy, they far surpassed the Boar-Rush Braves under Diwu Lun.

In the distance, there were even mounted riders shooting from horseback. Zhang Chun pointed at them from afar and said, "I am willing to provide two hundred foot soldiers and fifty cavalry."

This was roughly half of the Zhang family's fighting strength. He added, "The other leading families need not donate grain; they need only send their retainers, bringing their own rations. That should muster another six or seven hundred men."

Zhang Chun looked at Diwu Lun. "Add Major Boyu's two thousand soldiers, and we have three thousand fierce tiger guards — why fear a handful of petty bandits?"

"This old man is willing to do so much, and I have only one request."

Diwu Lun, increasingly unwilling to underestimate this man, cupped his hands and said, "Please speak, Elder Zhang."

Zhang Chun's face darkened. "The bandit extermination must be swift. It cannot be delayed for three months. Within this very month, we must throw the entire county's strength into sweeping them clean in one stroke, so that no hidden peril remains afterward!"

Diwu Lun pondered. "Haste in war leads to failure. Why is Elder Zhang in such a hurry?"

Zhang Chun did not answer directly. He merely had the sedan chairs continue moving and brought Diwu Lun to a pasture one li outside the Zhang family's fortified manor.

This was a broad stretch of grassland on the eastern bank of a great river. Long-haired sheep, black and white dappled, were being pinned to the ground by grown slaves. Their four hooves were bound tight, and they bleated in terror.

Yet what greeted these sheep was not a sharp bronze knife, but a bone wool-comb. The long wool about to shed from their bodies was sheared off, tuft by tuft, and placed into leather pouches. The now-bare sheep were driven back into their pens, while a few chosen ones were led straight to the riverbank to be slaughtered, destined for their master's feast the next day.

Zhang Chun asked, "What does Major Boyu see?"

Diwu Lun narrowed his eyes. "Sheep. And herdsmen."

Zhang Chun said, "Exactly — 'herding the people.'"

"In ancient times, there was a worthy minister in the east, Guan Yiwu, who called the governing of the common people 'the art of herding the people.' The princes, kings, and officials are like shepherds, and the common people are the sheep. That is why the former dynasty and our own have the office of Provincial Shepherd."

What Zhang Chun said next stayed with Diwu Lun for a very long time.

"The government and the powerful families are like the herdsmen and the butcher. They are the masters of the flock, yet they also depend on the flock to live. So long as they are not fools, they know that wool must be sheared season by season, and when they crave meat, they must pick and choose which to slaughter. If they slaughter every sheep in the pen with no regard, they will eat their fill this year, but next year they will have neither clothing nor food."

"Bandits care nothing for this. What they steal is pure profit — it was never theirs to begin with. They fix their eyes on the fat sheep and devour them, hide, fleece, and bone. But their numbers are small; at most they can snatch a few sheep at a time."

"And since hostilities resumed in the north and south, the Xiongnu have been raiding the borderlands frequently, coming and going like the wind. They not only steal the sheep, they also try to carry off the herdsmen as slaves."

At this, Zhang Chun heaved a long sigh. "But more hateful than bandits and Xiongnu alike are the imperial troops!"

"Major Boyu must know this well. Most government soldiers know no restraint; they are insatiably greedy and always prefer to swallow sheep and herdsman together, leaving not even the bones. Compared to raiders and barbarians who come and go in haste, government troops can garrison a place permanently. Wherever an army encamps, thorns grow; wherever it passes, it scrapes clean as a fine-toothed comb. And what is most terrifying of all — the bows and blades that can be used against bandits and barbarians are useless against them, because the court and the law protect them."

"Thus, to the flock, among powerful families, bandits, Xiongnu, and imperial troops, it is the powerful families who do the least harm, and the imperial troops — the government soldiers — who do the greatest."

A dyed-in-the-wool gradualist indeed, Diwu Lun thought. He smiled and said, "Elder Zhang, these words must not be spread abroad."

Zhang Chun, however, was unafraid. "This is a truth everyone in the world knows. The generals of the new army know it too."

He looked toward Diwu Lun. "That is why meeting a Major like Boyu, who cherishes the common people and can be reasoned with, is truly rare."

"I know everything Major Boyu has done north of the county seat. He levied just enough grain to keep the soldiers fed and to satisfy the main camp, then stopped. To spare the people south of the county from further exploitation, he sought donated grain only from us powerful families, and never took more than needed — he stopped when it was enough."

"Compared to Ruchen, who knows no restraint, I would much rather have Major Boyu take charge of the entire county's defense and be stationed here permanently."

"And for that reason, we must swiftly exterminate the bandits!"

Diwu Lun said, "I still don't understand what connection there is between the two."

Zhang Chun laughed. "The realm is aflame with beacons everywhere. In my opinion, the reason those great bandits in Haidai and Jingzhou can never be put down is that too many officials lack the courage to actually suppress them — but they are bold enough to use the pretext of bandit suppression to amass wealth and grain!"

"Yet the prerequisite for doing that is having no one above to interfere."

Is he hinting that I should keep the bandits alive to bolster my own importance?

Zhang Chun continued, "But now it is different. The Major reported them as petty thieves, yet General Tunhu cannot help but suspect they are major bandits. Otherwise, how would they dare openly hijack the army's grain?"

"And if one thinks more deeply — with the main army on the verge of marching beyond the frontier, and such a major incident erupting in the rear, could it be that the dependent-state Qiang and Hu intend to answer the Xiongnu, raiding and burning our supplies, striking the new army from both front and rear?"

Diwu Lun understood. Stroking his chin, he said, "What you mean, Elder Zhang, is that once he thinks that way, General Tunhu will feel a thorn in his back and will certainly dispatch regular troops south to suppress the bandits!"

Zhang Chun said, "Exactly. And when that time comes, this Tewu County will no longer be under Major Boyu's command. I know the character of the rest of them very well — they will happily station themselves here and butcher Tewu County like a fat sheep. The common people will suffer, and it will bring disaster upon the powerful families too. By then, the losses will be far more than six thousand dan."

"If things reach that point, it benefits neither me nor Major Diwu, does it?"

Diwu Lun nodded and cupped his hands toward Zhang Chun. "Many thanks for your guidance, Elder Zhang. Diwu Lun understands."

On the way back, Diwu Lun broke out in a cold sweat. These past two days he had indeed let himself get carried away, smugly proud of his brilliant scheme to eliminate Ruchen — yet he had overlooked something so important. It had taken Zhang Chun to point it out. How foolish of him.

"I was truly careless. I flattered myself as clever and treated the local powerful families as utter fools. That kind of thinking must stop."

Zhang Chun had, on one hand, demonstrated his own strength, while at the same time obliquely hinting to Diwu Lun that he saw through all his little calculations. Then he laid out their shared interests and showed his willingness to cooperate.

A man of outstanding talent — this old fellow truly is a man of outstanding talent.

It seemed he really would have to talk things over with Ma Yuan and the others and stage a show: the bandits successfully suppressed, those fellows fleeing far away.

Diwu Lun had thought it through. In dealing with Zhang Chun's family, armed struggle was a dead end. He would switch to a battle of wits, and at the same time he had to keep one thing firmly in mind: extorting grain was not his ultimate purpose in Tewu.

Yet this realization came a little too late. By the time he returned to camp, a letter sent by Liangqiu Ci's man had just arrived.

Xuan Biao and the others were curious about what it said, but after reading it, Diwu Lun felt both joy and worry.

"General Tunhu has dispatched Major Dong Xi with over a thousand regular troops south to suppress the bandits. Our unit is to follow his command!"

…

At the same time, at White Earth Ridge by the Kushui River, where Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu were stationed, a visitor arrived from Sanshui County in the Anding Dependent State to the south.

The visitor introduced himself as a Sanshui powerful-family man, the younger brother of the famously celebrated "Liu Wenbo" — Liu Cheng. His real name, in fact, was Lu Cheng.

Back when Diwu Lun's rear-guard unit had passed through Sanshui, the three Lu brothers had watched from atop the loess plateau. Now, having heard of the "hemp bandits" attacking government troops south of Tewu County, they were overjoyed. Lu Fang had sent his younger brother to make contact.

Lu Cheng swept his eyes over the plank house where Ma Yuan and Wan Xiu were staying, finding it utterly crude and shabby. Without wasting words, he began introducing himself.

"The great-grandmother of us three brothers was the elder sister of the Xiongnu Guli Hunye. Later, she became the Empress of the Great Han's Emperor Xiaowu and bore Emperor Xiaowu three sons. The Crown Prince was one of them."

Lu Cheng said, "Later, during the Jiang Chong rebellion, the Crown Prince was killed, and the Empress was likewise killed because of it. The second son, Liu Ciqing, fled to Changling. The youngest son, Liu Huiqing, fled to Zuo Valley in Sanshui County, Anding Commandery, and lived there in seclusion."

Ma Yuan had been sitting comfortably in his barbarian squat, but upon hearing this, he nearly burst out laughing.

What kind of joke was this? Ma Yuan's own ancestors, Ma Tong and Ma Heluo, had been Jiang Chong's very accomplices!

And Ma Yuan's aunt had been a Favorite Beauty of Emperor Cheng of Han. His family had lived in the Guanzhong region for generations — how could he not know the Han imperial lineage inside and out?

The Empress of Emperor Wu of Han: first there was Empress Chen of the "golden house," then Empress Wei. If not them, then at the very least it should be Lady Li, shouldn't it? Where did this Xiongnu Empress come from?

Moreover, Emperor Wu of Han had six sons in total:

The eldest, Crown Prince Li, born of Empress Wei — he had no full younger brother from the same mother.

The second son, Prince Huai of Qi, Liu Hong, born of Lady Wang, died young. Prince Ai of Changyi, Liu Bo, born of Lady Li, lived to adulthood and left behind a son — the deposed emperor Liu He — then died.

Prince Ci of Yan, Liu Dan, ordered to commit suicide for plotting treason.

Prince Li of Guangling, Liu Xu, a man of immense strength, committed suicide for plotting treason. These two, at least, were full brothers from the same mother.

The last was the youngest son born of Lady Zhao, Liu Fuling, who became Emperor Zhao of Han.

Where were these so-called Liu Ciqing and Liu Huiqing?

Yet Lu Cheng continued recounting his family's glorious lineage: "Later, General Huo installed Liu Ciqing as Emperor and sent men to welcome Liu Huiqing. But Liu Huiqing would not leave Zuo Valley and dwelt long in the Anding Dependent State. He begat a son, Liu Sunqing. Liu Sunqing begat us three brothers. My elder brother Liu Wenbo is the son of the principal wife…"

Wan Xiu did not know the history well and believed it in a muddled haze. Ma Yuan, however, was thrown into even greater confusion. He thought to himself: "The one Grand General Huo Guang installed — wasn't that Emperor Xuan of Han, Liu Bingyi? He was the grandson of Crown Prince Li. How has he turned into a son of Emperor Wu of Han? And he was an orphan besides, with no brothers or sisters."

This was nothing but a tale cobbled together by some rustic herdsman after picking up scraps of hearsay! It might fool the locals, but when it ran into a scion of a scholar-official family like Ma Yuan, the holes were glaring beyond count.

Seeing that Lu Cheng was still bragging, Ma Yuan could listen no longer. He slammed the table and cursed, "You wretch, do you take me for an ignorant fool? Tell me, which Han dynasty are you talking about?"

…

PS: Chapter 3 at 18:00.