Chapter 140: Zhang Cang

By late March, Huyou Township lay in perfect tranquility. Here there were no floodwaters spilling over the walls as in Daliang, no unbroken chain of war beacons as in Taoqiu — rather, it possessed something of the peace of a hidden refuge in chaotic times.

The spring planting was already done. Peasants who had by luck escaped the calamity of war squatted at the edges of their fields, gazing at the green shoots of beans and wheat, their faces showing contented smiles. The flooding below Daliang's walls, the bitter slaughter between Wei's armored soldiers and Qin's elite warriors, the very survival of the Wei state — these had little bearing on the common folk at the bottom. Had it not been for the Qin-style dress and the unmistakably foreign accents of those outside the settlement, they would not even have known that their township had already changed flags.

The day after the Zhang clan hosted Heifu, several oxcarts set out from the Zhang residence in Huyou Township and slowly made their way toward the Qin army garrison. Escorting these carts was none other than Zhang Fu's son — the forty-year-old Zhang Zhong.

After he loudly called at the gate and stated his purpose, the camp gate slowly opened. A squad of soldiers filed out, and the moment Zhang Zhong saw their marching step, their armor, and their swords, he recalled that fierce, overbearing sword-dance from the day before, and could not help feeling his scalp prickle.

Fortunately, Heifu did not keep him waiting long. He soon came out together with Zhongming and, cupping his hands toward Zhang Zhong, said with a smile, "I know not what matter has put you to the trouble of coming here, Zhang Zhong."

His gaze flicked to the several oxcarts behind Zhang Zhong. "These are…?"

Although Zhang Zhong was twice Heifu's age, he had no choice but to bow to this Qin officer with clasped hands.

"The Patrol Officer, by order, has entered and garrisoned this township to safeguard the peace of the region and put a stop to marauding soldiers and bandits crossing the borders. Yet we heard that the camp holds only the ten-odd dan of grain left behind earlier. The Se Fu and the Three Elders, fearing it would not suffice for the soldiers' provisions, ordered me to take from my household one hundred and fifty dan of millet and thirty dan of fodder and deliver them here, to present to the Patrol Officer for use during the garrison period…"

"With sufficient provisions, the troops are sufficient. This, one may say, resolves this officer's most pressing need. I shall in person thank the Se Fu and the Three Elders another day."

Since Zhang Bo, under Zhang Fu's admonishment, had at last learned to be first haughty then respectful, Heifu likewise would not strike a smiling face. He helped Zhang Zhong up and exchanged a few polite words.

Heifu was not lying — the Zhang clan had indeed solved a major problem for him. These fifty-odd men, what with food, clothing, and daily necessities, required at least seventy or eighty dan a month, and the camp's grain stores were about to run dry.

Because of the war, grain prices in Wei territory had soared. In the war zones it had already reached a thousand cash per dan of rice. Even in Yangwu County, untouched by fighting, with the summer harvest not yet here, even stale rice had reached a high price of several hundred cash per dan. Moreover, Wei and Qin currency were not the same, so relying on an officer's own purchase to fill this enormous hole was impossible — they could only depend on provisions supplied by the local gentry.

For this reason, Heifu was sincerely grateful.

However, after he had Li Xian lead the soldiers to unload the grain and fodder the Zhang clan had provided and carry it into the storehouse, Li Xian came back and quietly told Heifu, "Patrol Officer, I made a rough count — these provisions and fodder are nowhere near the amount Zhang Zhong claimed!"

Heifu first frowned, but then it occurred to him that the Zhang clan had already put up the bulk of the contribution and would not stoop to petty tricks over this. Judging by Zhang Zhong's measured speech and his relatively honest face, he was not the sort to fleece his own family either.

The reason behind this — he understood it after a moment's thought.

"I nearly forgot. A Wei dan and a Qin dan are not the same!"

In the present age, the realm was still not unified, and each state still used its own weights and measures. For units of volume alone, Qin used dan, dou, and sheng, while Wei used hu, dou, and sheng. Hu and dan were interchangeable in name, but their actual sizes differed — it was perfectly normal for discrepancies to arise.

For units of weight, both Qin and Wei used liang, jin, and yi, but the specific weights likewise differed somewhat.

This was actually a relatively small gap, since when Shang Yang implemented the new system of weights and measures in Qin, he had taken the more advanced Wei system of the time as his reference. But Qi, situated on the Eastern Sea, had a system of weights and measures all its own, vastly different from the other states. It used dou, qu, fu, and zhong, with a mix of base-four and base-ten counting — one truly wonders how those merchants engaged in cross-border trade ever managed such bewildering conversions.

In any case, one dan of rice in Wei was slightly less than one dan of rice in Qin.

Heifu was not about to quibble over every ounce and demand that the Zhang clan make up the rice according to Qin weights and measures. In any case, judging by the quantity, it would be enough for at least two months of eating and drinking.

What was more, because of that Zhang clan junior mentioned at yesterday's feast, Heifu now looked upon the Zhang brothers and suddenly found them far more agreeable.

…

"Zhang Cang…"

Sitting inside the camp, Heifu murmured the name, still somewhat unable to believe that the great mathematician Zhang Cang — who in history lived over a hundred years and spanned the Warring States, Qin, and Han — could have an unreliable uncle like Zhang Bo.

But according to the Zhang brothers' description, whether it was studying under Master Xunzi or serving as a clerk in the Censorate at Xianyang in Qin, everything matched Zhang Cang's biography perfectly. It had to be the man himself, without doubt.

As a disciple of the great Confucian Xunzi, Zhang Cang's renown was perhaps not as great as that of his two senior fellow-disciples, Li Si and Han Fei. Yet from the perspective of a modern man like Heifu, the contribution Zhang Cang made to Chinese history and culture surpassed both of theirs.

Just as the Zhang brothers had said, Zhang Cang loved books as his very life. There was nothing he did not read, nothing he did not master — he was a genius thoroughly versed in both ancient and modern learning. Otherwise he would not, upon first entering Qin, have been summoned by the Censorate to serve as the great Qin Empire's keeper of books…

Of course, he may also have gone through Li Si's connections. Although the Commandant of Justice, Li Si, out of envy, had schemed Han Fei to his death, toward this junior fellow-disciple Zhang Cang, whose domain did not overlap with his own, he had shown no excessive hostility.

With backing above and talent in his belly, Zhang Cang could thus peacefully browse the entire library in the Censorate and continue enriching his store of knowledge.

Heifu knew that, according to the original course of history, the hundred schools of thought of the Warring States would, a dozen or so years later, suffer a great catastrophe. Qin burned the Odes and Documents, and the disaster spread to the historical records of the six states, together with the writings of the hundred schools among the common people — all were burned. Only a portion stored in the Censorate's library survived. And Zhang Cang was, perhaps, the custodian of those sole surviving copies…

A few more years on, the Qin dynasty too fell. Just as the books were about to be utterly destroyed, it was Zhang Cang — already having pledged allegiance to Liu Bang — who, together with Xiao He, hurriedly salvaged a portion of the legal codes and statutes, though not very many.

Afterward, Xiang Yu's vengeful blaze at Xianyang burned up every last book hidden within the Qin palaces, leaving not a single word behind.

Chinese culture thus suffered a great rupture.

At this juncture, the many years of accumulation Zhang Cang had built up while stationed at the Censorate revealed their immense value.

In what is called the Han's inheritance of the Qin system, a portion of those statutes and institutions were passed down by this bookworm through rote memorization — and the same was even more true of the hundred schools of thought. That Chinese culture, that the fruits of the Contention of a Hundred Schools, could be preserved to any degree after the catastrophe at the end of Qin, was a merit for which Zhang Cang must be given great credit.

Moreover, Zhang Cang was not merely widely read — he was a polymath. From Xunzi, the foremost academic titan under heaven who had synthesized the learning of all the philosophers and hundred schools, he had not only studied Confucian arts and come to understand the teachings of the Nine Streams and Ten Schools of Jixia, but was also highly accomplished in law, music, calendrical science, astronomy, and geography.

Yet among Zhang Cang's many specialties, the most famous was still mathematics.

The renowned Nine Chapters on the Mathematical Art — it was Zhang Cang who edited and compiled it!

Heifu knew of this man precisely because of this ancient mathematical treatise. The mathematical problems recorded within it all reached a relatively high level, yet never strayed from practical application — Zhang Cang applied all of them to the national economy and the people's livelihood under the Han realm…

One could put it this way: judging Zhang Cang's achievements by the standards of a modern man like Heifu, he could be called a mathematician — even a scientist.

Craftsmen like Heifu's brother-in-law Yuan could, following Heifu's descriptions, produce devices and master the techniques with skill, but they could not summarize the underlying principles and turn them into scientific knowledge.

In this world, Heifu could find countless craftsmen to make implements in his stead.

But in this age, there was only one Zhang Cang.

Thus, in Heifu's imagination, if he were to choose one ancient to whom he could slowly teach the modern subjects — at a middle- and high-school level — inside his own head, so that they might spread and benefit the world, then Zhang Cang was, beyond any doubt, the perfect candidate.

And so, when at that day's feast the Zhang brothers brought up Zhang Cang, hoping to use him like the fox borrowing the tiger's might to intimidate Heifu, Heifu, far from being troubled, was actually delighted.

Not only did he act extremely excited, he even turned the tables, earnestly and at length lecturing Zhang Bo.

Heifu said that Zhang Cang's future prospects were boundless, and that as his uncle, Zhang Bo ought to let him pursue his official career in Xianyang in peace. Therefore the Zhang clan must also behave themselves, strictly observe the laws and ordinances, cooperate well with the Qin officers, and not bring trouble upon Zhang Cang…

Heifu could not yet make direct contact with Zhang Cang, but at the very least he had now located his old home and knew where he held office. That being the case, if an opportunity to go to Xianyang arose in the future, finding him would be convenient, and he could even falsely claim some slight connection with the Zhang clan — it would not seem abrupt…

Now it was Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu's turn to stand dumbstruck as wooden chickens. Zhang Cang might not hold any real power, but he was after all an official in Xianyang — yet this Heifu was not the least bit afraid. Instead, he adopted a tone of speaking entirely for Zhang Cang's own good and lectured them. It was truly outrageous!

And so, the Zhang brothers' trump card was gone, and they instead began to feel that this minor officer Heifu was somewhat unfathomable.

Afterward, Zhang Fu said to Zhang Bo with great puzzlement, "That Heifu is clearly a Qin man who does not even have a clan name — why is he so bold? And his speech and bearing, the various methods he used today — I would believe it if you told me he was a company commander leading a thousand men. This man will be no ordinary figure in the future."

Zhang Fu had some skill in physiognomy and was always a good judge of character, so Zhang Bo believed him. In short, after that banquet's game of probing and testing, the Zhang clan no longer dared to look down on Heifu, or on the Qin people.

Heifu had made clear to them the great trend that Wei was doomed to fall, and had also demonstrated the military force under his command. Though he had only fifty men, they could match several times their number in servants and gallant bravos. He plainly set himself up as the local spokesman for the Qin army — any arrogant attitude toward him could be seen as defiance of Qin rule, and any murderous intent or rebellion aimed at him would invite the brutal suppression of the great Qin host.

Thus, toward Heifu's garrison presence, the Zhang clan, however much they disliked it, could only hold their noses and accept it.

For Heifu, although he had won a great victory in this round of maneuvering, the Zhang clan had invited all the village elders and worthies of the township to the feast, displaying to him their network of connections and their status as the leading family in the district. At least until the war was over, if the Qin army wanted Yangwu, wanted Huyou Township to remain stable, then it could not do without the Zhang clan.

So Heifu could not do anything to the Zhang clan. Without the Zhang clan's cooperation, Qin rule in this township would likely collapse at once. These fifty-odd Qin soldiers would not be able to take a single step out of the camp, and would not last even half a month.

Besides, for Zhang Cang's sake, so long as the Zhang clan behaved themselves honestly, he would not go so far as to make things difficult for them.

They were all mature people and would not quarrel over a moment's pique. And so they ended their contest of moves, returned to their mats before the low tables, unclenched the fists they had been holding tight, and showed each other smiling faces.

Delivering grain to relieve the emergency was the best way for the Zhang clan to show goodwill toward Heifu.

From that day on, Heifu and the Zhang clan's dealings grew more frequent.

According to the Qin state's system, the Se夫 handled litigation and collected taxes; the Patrolman patrolled to suppress bandits; the Three Elders oversaw moral instruction. Each performed their own duties. Heifu would not interfere in local customs and daily life, still less overstep his authority to meddle in household registrations or taxes. He only needed Zhang Bo and Zhang Fu to deliver grain to him and help him maintain local order. They cooperated within limits and reached a tacit understanding.

To borrow a phrase to describe the relationship between the two sides: the local tyrants and evil gentry had begun colluding with the foreign imperialist invaders, jointly exploiting the broad masses and suppressing patriotic souls burning with righteous fervor.

Time passed slowly like this, and by the fourth month, everything had been peaceful and uneventful. But Heifu never expected that a piece of marketplace gossip would drag him into a historically famous case...

(End of chapter)