Chapter 17: Missing the Deadline Means Execution?

Hearing the centurion say they would be punished under "the crime of missing the deadline," Heifu was instantly alarmed!

Would he really dare to kill me!?

But then he heard the centurion add: "Twenty strokes of the bamboo!"

Ha, so it's a beating, not execution for missing the deadline? Heifu was stunned.

The county conscripts grinned savagely, rubbing their fists and palms, and grabbed the bamboo planks nearby, ready to give Heifu a harsh beating.

Heifu shut his eyes, weighing the pros and cons. Since it was only twenty strokes, should he refuse to swallow the humiliation and rise up to resist? Or should he silently endure it — a gentleman's revenge may wait ten years?

But just at that moment, he heard another burst of footsteps in the distance, followed by a loud shout: "Stop!"

Heifu opened his eyes and saw a young officer, also dressed as a centurion, jogging over with a few men. He shouted at the county conscripts about to strike: "What is this! Stop at once!"

"Centurion Chen, what is the meaning of this?" the officer who had ordered Heifu seized said coldly.

"I should be the one asking you that, Centurion Bin." The officer called "Centurion Chen" was not tall, with a small tuft of beard under his chin. His build and bearing were no match for the other officer, but he did not back down in the slightest.

Pointing at Heifu and the other man, he said: "Centurion Bin, what crime have these two committed to warrant flogging?"

Centurion Bin huffed angrily: "They missed the deadline. They deserve punishment."

Centurion Chen laughed: "That's not right, is it? According to the Statute on Corvée, for corvée laborers and rotating conscripts who miss the deadline by one to five days, a reprimand; by six to ten days, a fine of one shield; by more than ten days, a fine of two suits of armor. These two are late by only a few hours — at most they deserve a public scolding. Which ordinance stipulates a harsh beating of twenty strokes?"

"This…" Centurion Bin was momentarily at a loss for words.

Centurion Chen stepped closer and smiled: "Furthermore, I heard that this Heifu and Ji Ying encountered bandits on the road, captured them and brought them to justice, and afterward assisted the county court in hearing the case, which is why they arrived late. The County Assistant has already informed the County Commandant's office. The County Right Commandant personally told me they are permitted to report tomorrow… Centurion Bin, you seized them without asking the reason — could it be you want to vent anger on behalf of that Huyang Village Chief who broke the law and was sentenced to penal labor as a 'firewood gatherer'? I've heard he is your cousin by marriage!"

Centurion Bin's expression froze when his motive was exposed: "Centurion Chen, we are colleagues after all — do not slander me! I take orders directly from the County Left Commandant. How would I know what orders the County Right Commandant issued?"

"So that's how it is." Centurion Chen gave a meaningful "Oh," then said: "Since it was a misunderstanding, please release them!"

Seeing Centurion Chen invoke the law, and that the beating could no longer proceed, Centurion Bin glared at Heifu, waved a hand to have his men release him, then left a parting word in Heifu's ear: "You little brat, you got lucky today!" and stormed off.

Heifu stood up, rubbed his aching arms, and stared at Centurion Bin's retreating figure for a long while. Then he bowed to the small-bearded Centurion Chen: "Many thanks to you, superior officer, for saving me!"

Ji Ying, still in shock beside him, also bowed with clasped hands: "Had the centurion not intervened, we might have lost a leg."

"It wouldn't have come to that."

Though Centurion Chen's words were polite, he accepted their deep bows with an air of swaggering confidence. He then looked Heifu up and down and praised him: "The rumors these past few days are indeed true — tall, strong, able to fight several men, and now you've even been made a Gongshi for your merit. Excellent! Anlu County has gained another stout warrior!"

"The superior officer flatters me undeservedly. My meager merit and common courage are not worth mentioning."

Heifu then asked cautiously: "The superior officer just said that this Centurion Bin is a relative of the Huyang Village Chief?"

"Indeed he is…" Centurion Chen said meaningfully: "Centurion Bin is the son-in-law of the County Left Commandant, and the Huyang Village Chief Zhen is the County Left Commandant's nephew. They are in frequent contact. Now that the Huyang Village Chief has been severely punished, he is naturally resentful."

Heifu suddenly understood. So there was this layer of connection behind it — no wonder that merchant in the county court today had buckled under pressure and given false testimony for the village chief.

With that, Centurion Chen pointed at Heifu and laughed: "So for the next month, you had better be careful. Watch your words and deeds, and do not make any mistakes. If he truly gets something on you, I won't be able to protect you…"

"Many thanks for the centurion's guidance. Heifu will never forget the centurion's kindness."

Heifu tactfully bowed again. Centurion Chen accepted their courtesy openly, nodded, and smiled: "It's good that you understand…"

……

Centurion Chen had the county conscripts beside him escort Heifu and the other man to the rotating conscripts' quarters. Along the way, Ji Ying sighed with lingering emotion, saying this was nearly the second time today he'd been beaten — and twenty strokes at that. He was lucky to have been saved, or his backside would have been split open.

Heifu, however, seemed lost in thought. Besides pondering what had just happened, he muttered under his breath: "So the punishment for missing a corvée deadline isn't even as severe as for seeing someone in danger and not saving them. What happened to 'missing the deadline means execution'? Did someone get it wrong? Or was I fooled by my history textbook again…"

He couldn't figure this matter out for the moment, so he set it aside. By now, Ji Ying was already exercising his gift for chatter, cozying up to the county conscript leading the way.

It turned out the county conscript was also from Yunshui Township, named Zhao. Though called a county conscript, apart from the dagger-axe in his hand and the armor on his back, he was no different from Heifu and the others. Being fellow townsmen, after just a few steps, Zhao was already chatting with Ji Ying in the Yunshui Township dialect, and by the time they were halfway there, the two were quite familiar with each other.

Heifu observed this and secretly marveled — this Ji Ying really did have some social skills. He pulled Ji Ying aside and whispered a few words in his ear. Ji Ying nodded in understanding.

"Brother Zhao." As they neared the rotating conscripts' quarters, Ji Ying suddenly asked: "Centurion Chen and Centurion Bin — they don't get along, do they?"

Zhao laughed: "Didn't you just see it with your own eyes? It's plain as day! Centurion Bin was originally a Gongshi. He followed the County Left Commandant into battle on the sands of war, earning merit by taking heads and slowly rising through the ranks. Centurion Chen inherited his father's rank — he became a Bugeng as soon as he came of age, and he's a graduate of the schoolroom. He was promoted by the County Right Commandant and directly entered the army as an officer. From their very first day working together, they've never seen eye to eye. We've seen plenty of scenes like this."

Heifu listened and nodded silently. No wonder Centurion Chen could recite statutes and ordinances so fluently — he came from the "schoolroom," which was basically Qin's cadre training program.

Looking at it this way, had he saved him just to make Centurion Bin unhappy? That was too straightforward. If it were him, he would have watched from the side a while longer, waited until the planks had landed a few times, and only then stepped out to call a halt. That way, he could impeach Centurion Bin for abusing punishment — even if it didn't get him dismissed, he'd at least eat a fine and disgust his rival. On top of that, it would make Heifu and his companion hate Centurion Bin even more and feel even more tearfully grateful to Centurion Chen. Truly killing two birds with one stone…

Heifu suddenly felt that, compared to the straightforward people of this era, modern people were really so dark and calculating. Of course, he wouldn't dare compare himself to outstanding figures like Zhao Gao and Li Si.

Then he heard Ji Ying ask again: "So the County Right Commandant and the County Left Commandant — they don't get along either, do they!?"

Zhao was startled by the question and immediately denied it flatly.

"I never said that. The two commandants always seem perfectly amiable on the surface…"

He then glanced around somewhat paranoidly. Only a patrol of county conscripts with drawn blades passed by in the distance. Once they were far away, he lowered his voice and said: "But these days, the two commandants often issue orders separately to their own centurions, without even informing the other side. It's only us lowly soldiers who suffer, never knowing whose orders we should actually follow…"

Heifu understood from this that the two leaders of the Anlu County public security bureau were likely not on good terms either.

He had already guessed that Centurion Chen's reason for saving them was absolutely not out of impartial law enforcement like Clerk Xi. He had his own purpose — to make Centurion Bin unhappy, and at the same time to make Heifu, the "stout warrior" who had just made a name in the county, feel deeply grateful to him.

Looking deeper, this also involved the open strife and veiled struggle between the two commandants of Anlu County!

It seemed that not only was the aftermath of the Huyang Village Chief case not over, but he had also inadvertently gotten himself entangled in even more troublesome "political struggle"…

Although a deputy bureau chief of public security wasn't a high official, he was still the fourth-in-command in Anlu County. A casual flick of his finger could make Heifu suffer dire consequences. Even if the County Left Commandant was constrained by public opinion and the law from dealing with him personally, he could still have Centurion Bin find excuses to make things brutally difficult for Heifu.

"It looks like this one-month service term will be tougher than I imagined."

Heifu shook his head helplessly, lamenting his ill-fated journey. He'd just won a lawsuit, and now he'd stirred up more trouble.

At that moment, a fine drizzle began to fall from the sky, pattering softly. Zhao cursed his bad luck, stopped walking, and pointed to a row of low, dilapidated buildings ahead. He said to them: "The rotating conscripts' quarters are here! Go on by yourselves — the one on the far left is it!"

……

PS: The discovery of the Yunmeng Qin bamboo slips' "Statute on Corvée" has cast serious doubt on the direct cause of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang's Daze Village uprising — "missing the deadline, all executed by law." Currently, historians hold two main views on this.

First, during the reign of Qin Er Shi, Zhao Gao "revised the statutes and ordinances," and in this revision, the punishment for missing a deadline was changed to beheading.

Second, the men Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were escorting were garrison soldiers headed for frontier defense, which fell under military conscription, not ordinary corvée labor, and thus had to be handled according to military law. In the early Western Han, there was a case in Nan Commandery where a barbarian chieftain who evaded garrison duty was sentenced to waist-chopping. Of course, even if execution was mandated, only the two commandants and Chen and Wu themselves would have died — the rest could not possibly have all been executed.

(End of Chapter)