Chapter 108: Zhang Zifang

"In the twenty-first year of King Zheng of Qin, the ninth month, the King of Qin appointed Wang Ben, son of Wang Jian, as general, leading a hundred thousand troops to attack Chu."

When this news reached Anlu County in Nan Commandery and was learned by the village headman Heifu, it also reached Xinzheng County in Yingchuan Commandery, a thousand li away, and was laid upon the desk of a certain future great figure.

Yingchuan Commandery was the former territory of Han. And Xinzheng, even more so, was an ancient capital with a long history — from the ruins of the Zhurong clan to the capital of Zheng and Han, it had always been the wealthiest city in the Central Plains, ranking alongside Luoyang and Daliang, with a population exceeding a hundred thousand.

Four years ago, Xinzheng surrendered without a fight under pressure from Teng, the Governor of Nanyang Commandery of Qin. Aside from the King of Han being taken captive and imprisoned, the city's nobles and royal relatives were not subjected to much harassment.

After all, Qin's rule in the Central Plains was not yet stable, and Qin officials could not, in a short time, establish as tight a system in Han territory as in Guanzhong or Nan Commandery. For the time being, they could only rely on the hands of the old Han nobility to collect enormous market taxes in Xinzheng, trying every means to harness Han's abundant manpower, artisans, and merchants for their own use.

The Zhang clan, located in the east of Xinzheng City, was one of the families that had luckily preserved its wealth and status amid this delicate situation.

The Zhang clan had produced two Chancellors of Han. Immensely wealthy and powerful, their gate, in the "viewing-the-mountains" style, was built exceptionally high — one look and you could see the grandeur of a chancellor's threshold. Within the whitewashed walls and vermilion tiles, pavilions, gardens, and towers were faintly visible, arranged in a pleasing, staggered manner. On the garden path, a grey-haired old servant, extremely deferential, led a guest, walking briskly toward a small pavilion by the water.

The guest was about eighteen or nineteen years old, wore a swordsman's attire, and stood eight chi and five cun tall — wherever he went, he stood out like a crane among chickens.

He cast his gaze around and saw that all three hundred-plus servants in the Zhang residence were male. Each performed his own duties; without anyone giving orders, everyone quietly went about their own tasks — some pruning flowers and trees, some sweeping fallen leaves. There was no whispering, nor any laughing or roughhousing.

The guest could not help nodding to himself in approval.

"The rumors are true indeed. These three hundred servants of the Zhang clan have all been trained and disciplined with military methods. If these men could be used by Lord Hengyang, why worry that the great cause would not succeed?"

Precisely because of this, such a vast household, with several hundred people living within, was extremely quiet. Only from the small pavilion they were drawing closer to came the sound of a resounding qin melody...

The pavilion had a four-cornered pyramidal roof and was surrounded by flowers and slender bamboo. Now it was late autumn; the flowers had withered, and the bamboo was sparse, mostly yellowed, trembling faintly in the sound of the qin...

The one playing the qin was a white-robed youth in loose robes and wide sleeves. He sat on a bamboo mat, his black hair draped over his shoulders, appearing unconcerned with minor formalities. His ten fingers were long and slender, his features delicate and handsome, his eyes slightly closed, his expression one of deep concentration.

The melody was initially plain and indifferent, as if calmly recounting the long history of this kingdom, or like a gently flowing stream, enumerating the past glories of this clan.

But slowly, it all turned into a sigh. The melody became tinged with the player's emotions, beginning to crack apart. The qin notes grew sharp, laced with anger, transforming into a fierce interrogation:

"In the marsh, the carambola trees, so graceful are their branches. Tender and glossy, I envy your lack of knowledge!"

If someone well-versed in the Odes were present, they would recognize that the white-robed gentleman was playing "In the Marsh, the Carambola Trees" from the Odes of Kuai, a local piece from Xinzheng, which metaphorically speaks of the kingdom nearing its end while the ruler remains unenlightened, a fallen state not knowing how to plan for itself...

Although the guest had a heroic and valiant appearance and still carried a hint of noble bearing in his manner, he was a boorish man who did not understand the Odes or the Documents. Stopped by the old servant and not allowed into the pavilion, he had long grown impatient. How could he be in the mood to listen to the meaning within the qin music? Seeing that the piece was finished, he shouted loudly:

"Zifang, is this how you treat a guest?"

The clear, bright qin notes stopped at once. The youth pressed his hand on the strings and looked at the uninvited guest, his expression calm. Those eyes were even more like water in an ancient well — dark and deep.

"Young master." The old servant prostrated himself and announced: "Gongsun Xin has come to visit."

The white-robed gentleman rose and said flatly: "So it is Zicheng who has come. Please, sit quickly. Prepare hot water."

"No need!"

Gongsun Xin strode into the pavilion, rudely plucked at the qin strings, and rebuked him: "Zifang, oh Zifang, all the noble sons in the city have gathered to discuss great matters, and you alone can sit at home, even playing the qin! Do you not know that Qin has sent Wang Ben with troops to strike Chu, and has already broken Shangcai and advanced to besiege Chenying!"

The white-robed gentleman bowed to him with clasped hands and said softly: "Has all of this not unfolded exactly as I predicted? After breaking Zhao and Yan, the King of Qin's next step is to destroy Wei. But before destroying Wei, he must first give Chu a beating, to eliminate any future trouble when besieging Daliang. I have spoken of all these matters to Lord Hengyang; there is no need to repeat them."

"That is not important. What is important is, at this extraordinary moment, what can we, the people of Han, do!"

Gongsun Xin's eyes blazed: "Zifang, Qin may go to war with Wei and Chu at the same time. This war will surely drag on for years. The time for us to restore our kingdom and take revenge has come!"

The white-robed gentleman shook his head: "Gongsun, I understand your purpose in coming. But please reply to Lord Hengyang: this war will not last too long. The time has not yet come. For this uprising, the Zhang clan will not participate."

"Zhang Liang!"

Gongsun Xin angrily called him by his full name: "Have you not yet had enough of this tyrannical Qin's rule? Of the six states east of the mountains, Han was the first to fall. Our king was taken captive and imprisoned; the royal family and descendants were all relocated to Xianyang, becoming slaves and servants to the King of Qin. It is a disgrace beyond compare!"

"And those of us who have luckily remained either become the hawks and hounds of the Qin, helping them poison the land of Han, or see our family properties devoured day by day. From what I can see, your Zhang clan's situation is no better!"

He pointed at the servants outside and said: "I remember when I came to the Zhang residence as a child, the gardens were still full of beautiful, luxurious maidservants and slaves dressed in silks and satins. But now? Look how shabby it has become! I refuse to believe you can endure such days any longer."

"Furthermore, your grandfather served as chancellor to Marquis Zhao of Han, King Xuanhui, and King Xiang'ai. Your father served as chancellor to King Xi and King Daohui. Though you are young and have not yet held office, the Zhang clan has served as chancellors of Han for five generations — have you forgotten all of that?"

"How could I forget?"

Zhang Liang looked at the rippling water of the pond, a flash of anger passing through his eyes: "Gongsun Xin, you are the grandson of King Xiang of Han, so you constantly think of restoring the kingdom and taking revenge. Do you think that I, Zhang Liang, have forgotten our national enmity and family hatred entirely?"

"I did not bury my younger brother when he died, and used all the family wealth to seek a single brave warrior — for what purpose? Was it not to emulate the affair of Crown Prince Dan and Jing Ke? I painstakingly sought out military texts and secretly trained the three hundred servants in my household — for what purpose? Was it not so that one day, I could rise up, restore Han, and avenge our kingdom?"

Gongsun Xin was puzzled: "Then why do you not join Lord Hengyang's uprising this time? As long as each family sends out its servants tomorrow, seizes the armory, and kills all the Qin officials, we can rouse the entire city's Han people and go together to rescue the King!"

"I fear otherwise. What we would likely be waiting for instead is the Qin army's suppression — and the King's severed head."

Gongsun Xin said angrily: "Zifang, how can you be so disrespectful to the King?"

"I am merely speaking the truth." The wisdom in Zhang Liang's eyes once again overpowered his anger. He said flatly: "It is still the same words: the time has not yet come. A rash uprising will not only fail to benefit the situation, but will only cause the deaths of those Han people who aspire to restore the kingdom."

"I know that over these past two years, Lord Hengyang has traveled tirelessly among the states, using Han's bitter lessons to try to unite Wei, Chu, and Qi together against Qin. This is a good thing, but unfortunately, his methods are wrong."

"The Qi Chancellor Hou Sheng has accepted Qin bribes and made the King of Qi keep the kingdom's gates tightly shut, indifferent to the fall of the other states. He cannot be counted on."

"As for Wei, ever since Lord Xinling died, its backbone has been broken. The King of Wei spends his days in song, dance, wine, and pleasure, knowing only to blindly serve and appease Qin, living day by day. He cannot be trusted either."

"And Chu, though it bears the deepest hatred toward Qin, suffered internal turmoil just two years ago. Prince Fuchu murdered King Ai of Chu and set himself up as king. Chu's internal unrest has not yet settled. Although General Xiang Yan is training troops and preparing for war in Huainan, and has sent many spies to various parts of Qin to gather intelligence, the King of Chu has always believed that Qin would destroy Wei first, and so is not particularly vigilant."

"This time, Chu has been suddenly attacked by Qin's Wang Ben. Within half a month, Shangcai has fallen, and now it looks like Chenying will not hold either. With such panic among the people, they may very soon negotiate peace with Qin and cede territory. How can one speak of counterattacking and fighting a prolonged war? The people of Chu have always been like this — accustomed to laxity. Unless pushed to a desperate situation, they cannot unite their efforts. Once the Qin army takes Chenying, it will cut off the Honggou Canal by which Chu could reinforce Wei. Then, with three armies from the east, south, and north converging to besiege Daliang, Wei will surely fall within the next year!"

Zhang Liang's analysis was sound in every point. Gongsun Xin quickly said: "That is why Lord Hengyang also said that we Han people absolutely cannot wait any longer! If we sit and watch Qin crush Jingchu, then turn back and destroy Wei, cutting off Han territory from Qi and Chu, then Han will never be able to be restored!"

"Wrong. Completely and utterly wrong!"

Zhang Liang, somewhat angry and helpless, rebuked him: "To rise up at this moment is merely to use the strength the Han people have painstakingly accumulated to carry firewood to put out a fire! Restoring the kingdom must be done slowly; do not be impatient. Do not think of achieving it in one leap. It requires long-term planning. You must ensure that if one strike fails, you can still preserve yourselves, so as to accumulate strength again for the future. How can you gamble everyone's lives on a single desperate throw, like a gambler? Lord Hengyang has been playing too much Liubo!"

In Zhang Liang's view, only by acknowledging Qin's strength could one clearly understand what could be done now and what could not.

"I have already advised Lord Hengyang, but he insists on having his own way. Therefore, I will not let the Zhang clan be drawn into this matter. Those three hundred servants will not appear on the streets of Xinzheng holding blades tomorrow! Xin, I urge you to leave Xinzheng quickly as well. This uprising absolutely cannot succeed! Preserve your useful body and wait for the true moment to strike back against Qin!"

Gongsun Xin was already somewhat shaken: "If not now, then when?"

Zhang Liang's gaze was resolute: "It should be when Qin desires to destroy Chu in a single war! That will be the final chance for Han, for the six states, for all under Heaven!"

PS:

King Xi of Yan fled to Liaodong. Jian then pacified Yan and Ji and returned. Qin sent Jian's son Wang Ben to attack Jing; the Jing army was defeated. He turned back to attack Wei; the King of Wei surrendered, and thus the land of Wei was pacified. — Records of the Grand Historian: Biographies of Bai Qi and Wang Jian

Twenty-first year, Wang Ben attacked Jing... Xinzheng revolted. — Records of the Grand Historian: Annals of Qin Shi Huang

The Marquis of Liu, Zhang Liang, his ancestors were men of Han. His grandfather Kaidi served as chancellor to Marquis Zhao of Han, King Xuanhui, and King Xiang'ai. His father Ping served as chancellor to King Xi and King Daohui. In the twenty-third year of King Daohui, Ping died. Twenty years after his death, Qin destroyed Han. Liang was young and had not yet served in an official post in Han. When Han was broken, the Liang family had three hundred servants. His younger brother died, but he did not bury him, and used all the family wealth to seek a retainer to assassinate the King of Qin, to avenge Han, because his grandfather and father had served as chancellors of Han for five generations. — Records of the Grand Historian: Biography of the Marquis of Liu

(End of Chapter)