Chapter 208: My Father Is Feng Wuze!

Feng Jing's first impression on Heifu was one of impeccable courtesy — even toward a group of army clerks who stepped aside to make way on the road, he could cup his hands in thanks, though he merely went through the posture, his eyes holding no gratitude at all.

But from this one could see that the Feng clan's family upbringing was exceedingly fine.

Though Heifu's own status was not high, he had heard about some court affairs from people like Li You, Yang Xiong, and Chen Wujiu. In military matters, the King of Qin, Zheng, placed heavy reliance on the Wang and Meng clans, while at court, apart from Li Si, the "Three Fengs" enjoyed the greatest trust and favor.

The brothers Feng Quji and Feng Wuze held the posts of Deputy Censor-in-Chief and Deputy Minister of the Guard respectively; though both were deputy positions, they were the second-in-command just below the Censor-in-Chief and the Minister of the Guard. There was also Feng Quji's son, Feng Jie, who served as a Commandant in the Capital Administration.

The brothers Feng Quji and Feng Wuze were said to be grandsons of Feng Ting, the governor of Shangdang in Han who, "rather die than become a Qin subject," surrendered Shangdang to Zhao and triggered the Battle of Changping — yet now they had become the hottest new favorites at the King of Qin's side, which truly astonished people. The Battle of Changping had ended just over thirty years ago; wasn't this clan's shift in allegiance a bit too quick?

When Heifu actually sat face-to-face with Feng Jing before Li You, he gained a second impression of the man: he was a great talker.

After Li You introduced the two to each other, Feng Jing showed no interest whatsoever in Heifu, unlike the commandery clerks outside; he ignored him and launched straight into an amusing story he had been halfway through telling Li You earlier.

"This happened last year, in the eighth month of the twenty-second year of the King of Qin's reign. The Deputy Director of the Lesser Treasury in Huyang County, Nanyang Commandery, received a fifteen-year-old youth. The youth called himself Kui and claimed to be the son of my father…"

"Hold on."

Li You had not been in Xianyang at the time but had been transferred directly from outside to the Chu campaign, so he did not know of this matter and said with a laugh, "Aren't you an only son? Where did you get a younger brother named Kui?"

"Commandery Commandant, please hear me out."

Feng Jing continued: "Kui presented a letter he claimed was written personally by my father. It read: 'Feng Wuze, Fifth Rank Grand Master, dares to inquire much after the Director of the Huyang Lesser Treasury. Having heard that Nanyang has profitable land, I, your servant, am old. Kui is going out with others to work the fields but has not brought money or seed. I wish that the Director would lend twenty thousand in coin and loan provisions to last the year's end. When the crops ripen, it shall be repaid double. Do not refuse; if you refuse, Wuze will be unable to exert himself on the Director's behalf…'"

Heifu, listening from the side, understood the letter's meaning: Feng Wuze sent his regards to the Huyang County Deputy Director of the Lesser Treasury — equivalent to a finance bureau chief — saying he had heard Nanyang's land was fertile and suitable for starting a venture, so he was sending his son Kui to set up a farm. Having brought no money or grain, he hoped to borrow twenty thousand in coin and some provisions to last him until year's end; once the crops ripened, he would repay double. He hoped it would not be refused; if it were, Wuze would not be able to help the Deputy Director with his affairs…

In short, it all boiled down to one line: My father is Feng Wuze — you figure out what to do!

Feng Jing had barely finished when Li You shook his head and said, "What kind of man is Lord Wuze? All sons of the Feng clan are ranked as court guards — how would he send a son to do something like this? Moreover, the language of this letter is crude and simple, nothing like Lord Wuze's writing. How could a Fifth Rank Grand Master refer to himself as 'your servant' to a petty county Deputy Director? This Kui was certainly an impostor!"

That Kui reeked of shabby, small-time desperation from start to finish, and the letter was riddled with holes — not the least bit high-ranking-official style. With Heifu's one year of experience as the head of Huyang's police station, he knew immediately that this was a fraud.

He was just about to interject and echo this when Feng Jing said, "Indeed. The Huyang Deputy Director also sensed something was amiss and immediately had the youth detained and sent to the county jail for interrogation. Under questioning, the youth changed his story, saying he was my father's illegitimate son, that his mother had once been abandoned by my father, but that this trip to Nanyang Commandery was indeed arranged by my father…"

"Absurd."

Li You shook his head. Since childhood, he had followed his father Li Si's instructions to maintain ties with the Feng family and was well acquainted with Feng Jie and Feng Jing, so he understood the Feng clan's rigid, loyal, and earnest family character.

"What came next was even more ridiculous." Feng Jing showed no sign of anger as he recounted this, finding it merely laughable.

"While in custody, the youth also wrote a letter to the Huyang County Magistrate to defend himself. He claimed he had already gone to Xinye and successfully borrowed money and grain, so on what grounds was he being detained upon reaching Huyang County? He even threatened to appeal to the commandery and then to the Chamberlain for Law Enforcement…"

"This lad certainly doesn't lack for nerve."

Li You was amused, though he also knew this was impossible. If this case had truly reached the Chamberlain for Law Enforcement, he would certainly have heard of it during his time at home. Since he had not, it meant the matter had been resolved at the commandery or county level at the latest.

Sure enough, Feng Jing said that under interrogation in the Huyang County jail, the youth finally confessed to the fraud.

"He confessed that his real name was 'Xue,' his family was in Xinye County, Nanyang Commandery, and he had once been a student at a legal academy. Because he was frequently beaten and scolded by his father, who was a county clerk, in a fit of anger he had no choice but to run away from home to seek a living. Having spent a year at the legal academy, he could write and calculate, had studied some laws and ordinances, had seen a few official documents, and even knew the names of some high officials at court. So, with evil born of desperation, he stole a seal, forged a letter, impersonated my father's son, and planned to swindle a sum of money in Huyang County and flee to Chu…"

"What nerve."

After hearing this, Heifu could not help but sigh. This youth was only fifteen, even younger than Jing, who was also a student at the legal academy. Yet his audacity and the sheer scale of the bluff he pulled off were beyond what ordinary people could imagine. This dizzying string of maneuvers was comparable to Xu Yang, the Centurion from Tongyang.

But on second thought, scams involving impersonating the children of high officials were still common even in the twenty-first century, and some people repeatedly got away with them.

The reason that youth was exposed so quickly was that although he had learned a bit of knowledge, he did not really understand what the Qin court's big shots and their children were actually like; he could only rely on guesswork to impersonate them, and as a result, his story was full of holes.

True children of high officials, like Li You and Feng Jing, received an excellent education from childhood and had their future paths arranged by their families. Before coming of age, they first thoroughly studied the Qin legal code; after coming of age, they would enter the palace as court guards — this was the group the King of Qin most liked to promote. Figures like Wang Ben, Meng Tian, and even young generals like Li Xin were all products of the court guard system.

After leaving the court guards, they would generally be sent to commanderies, counties, or the army to gain experience. This was because the Qin people believed that "prime ministers must rise from the provinces, fierce generals must emerge from the ranks." This saying of Han Feizi had become the guiding principle for selecting officials in Qin; even the second generation of officials had to be thrown into the localities to struggle and grind before they could continue to be entrusted with important posts.

However, someone like Feng Jing, who at seventeen had just been registered for corvée and had not yet had time to enter the court guards before being dispatched to Li You's side as a clerical aide, was rather rare.

"Could it be that the Qin court big shots heard Wang Jian was coming out of retirement to attack Chu, so they hurriedly sent their sons to prepare in advance, wanting to catch this last chance to gild their resumes?" Heifu speculated darkly.

"What was the final judgment on that youth?"

Li You was more concerned about the fate of that audacious young man.

Feng Jing said, "Huyang County sent a dispatch inquiry to Xinye County to verify his registration and identity. This person was indeed under seventeen, and his height had not reached the adult standard either!"

Feng Jing then sighed, "When Nanyang Commandery notified my family, my uncle and my father were both stunned for a long while — who would have imagined such a thing could happen? That youth was also pitiful; if not for his father's abuse, he probably would not have resorted to such a foolish scheme."

"Actually, being stopped at Huyang County was his good fortune."

Li You, however, shook his head and said, "If this lad had truly reached the Qin-Chu border, at a time when the two states were about to go to war and border troops were massed in great numbers, a mere youth like him would absolutely never have been able to cross. He might have been sentenced as a fugitive crossing state lines, a far heavier punishment, or been swept up onto the battlefield when the two states clashed… Well, regardless of what happened to that youth, we should discuss serious matters now!"

Li You clapped his hands together, ending this idle chat, and his expression turned solemn.

Heifu also breathed a sigh of relief. Although the earlier conversation had seemed like casual small talk, Feng Jing and Li You had chatted away eloquently while he could not get a word in edgewise, which had been rather awkward.

Although Li You regarded him as a trusted aide, in terms of closeness, he was far less intimate than Feng Jing. These children of high officials had their own small circle, with their own familiar social graces and topics; a grassroots man like Heifu could never be admitted into it.

Though Feng Jing appeared polite on the surface, while chatting idly with Li You, his eyes had not once glanced toward Heifu, treating him merely as background scenery listening in. It was clear that behind that high-official-scion modesty and courtesy, Feng Jing still thought little of Heifu.

At that moment, Li You suddenly posed a question to Heifu: "Heifu, take a guess — why have I, just recovered from serious injury, come to Nan Commandery to serve as Commandery Commandant?"

"It must be to coordinate Nan Commandery's military affairs and train the troops."

Heifu smiled. "If my guess is correct, the King has already decided to launch a second campaign against Chu within this year, hasn't he?"

"Correct."

Li You praised him, but only to that extent. The King of Qin's determination to destroy Chu was resolute; a second campaign against Chu was only a matter of time. Any clear-eyed person could see that.

"Could it be that General Wang Jian will command this campaign?" Heifu continued.

Li You clicked his tongue in amazement, and Feng Jing, for the first time not out of habitual politeness, looked directly at Heifu.

This matter was far harder to guess than "the King of Qin will attack Chu." Only the high officials in Xianyang knew of it; at the commandery and county level, it would not be announced until at least the fifth or sixth month. Still, anyone familiar with Qin's internal affairs could see that since Li Xin had been defeated, the man most qualified to take up the heavy task of attacking Chu was the old general Wang Jian.

Unexpectedly, Heifu's next "guess" was even more outrageous!

"Then may I ask, Commandery Commandant, how many men does General Wang Jian intend to take to attack Chu — six hundred thousand?"

At these words, Li You was instantly astonished and blurted out, "This is top-secret military intelligence — how do you know?!"

Only after speaking did he realize with a start that he had let it slip, and he immediately glanced at Feng Jing beside him.

The atmosphere turned awkward. Feng Jing, the high-official scion who had just moments ago been perfectly composed and chatting away about amusing anecdotes, now wore a face of utter bewilderment. He looked at Heifu, then at Li You, his mind a churning sea of shock.

"Six hundred thousand? What does that mean? How come I don't know about this matter they're discussing?"

…

PS: This chapter is adapted from a real case in the Qin bamboo slips; see the Yuelu Qin Slips, "Forging Private Letters." Well, you've been tricked — I still pushed myself to write last night after all, since it's the last day of the month. Seeing as I stayed up late to write, I'm begging for a wave of monthly tickets!

(End of chapter)