Chapter 249: Speaking of Aspirations

"Aspirations?"

The group exchanged glances, each nudging the other forward, but no one stepped up to speak first.

Heifu simply called on someone directly. He turned to Jing, who was sitting beside him, and said, "My younger brother, you go first — tell us your aspiration!"

"Me?"

Jing had assumed he could just watch the excitement today; he never expected Heifu to single him out. With everyone's eyes on him, the eighteen-year-old felt a bit embarrassed. He scratched his head and said, "My aspiration… is to graduate from the study chamber, and then, then to marry the virtuous daughter of the Yan clan!"

As soon as he said it, a burst of laughter erupted.

Heifu shook his head helplessly, but he didn't blame his brother. Jing was originally an ordinary village youth with no particular talent. From entering the study chamber to his betrothal with Yan Zheng's family, everything over these past few years had been arranged by Heifu. Jing had already exhausted himself coping with an unfamiliar environment and new learning; it was hard for him to develop any other pursuits.

"That's not an aspiration."

Heifu corrected him. "That's something you'll easily obtain within a year or two. Think about it — after that, what do you want to do?"

After racking his brains, Jing cupped his hands toward Heifu and said, "Your younger brother has no grand aspirations. I only wish to follow my elder brother from now on, and use what I've learned these past few years to contribute my strength to you!"

Heifu didn't have high demands for his own brother; this was enough. He then pointed to Dongmen Bao, who sat below Jing. "A'Bao, and you?"

"My aspiration…"

Dongmen Bao had drunk a bit too much. When Heifu asked him, he answered without a second thought: "To have a son!"

"Hahahaha!"

This aspiration was truly concise and to the point. The group couldn't hold back and burst into roaring laughter. They recalled how Dongmen Bao had gone on about it for an entire year, even picking out a name for his son, only to go home and find he'd fathered twin daughters — and the look on his face then.

Dongmen Bao's face flushed red, and he cursed, "What are you laughing at! My father died early, and I'm the only son in the family. I fought tooth and nail on the battlefield to earn this rank. If there's no son to inherit it, won't it all vanish in a single generation?"

The group stopped mocking him, because Dongmen Bao's worry was a legitimate one. As the ancients said, there are three unfilial acts, and having no heir is the gravest. In Qin, whether one had a son or not affected not only care in old age, but also the inheritance of rank.

Qin had a specific law called the *Statute on Establishing Heirs*, which was the equivalent of the "inheritance law" of this era, governing the succession of rank and property.

Regarding property, when an adult male died, the first-order heir was his son; if there were multiple sons, the eldest son by the principal wife took precedence. Only when there were no sons did it fall to the deceased's parents. A wife could also serve as an heir, ranked after the husband's parents, and last of all came the deceased's daughters…

But for noble rank, it was restricted solely to sons or to brothers of the same mother sharing the same household.

Such strict regulations also led to some bizarre cases. Because matters of rank inheritance were also under the jurisdiction of the Commandant's offices at the commandery and county levels, when Heifu served as Left Clerk of the Troops Section, he had handled one such case:

In Jiangling city, there was a man of the Bugeng rank who had a congenital functional impairment and "could not perform the human relations." Naturally, he had no son. So he came up with an idea: he had his wife bear a child with a distant uncle and passed it off as his own son. In the end, a neighbor reported the matter, and all involved were severely punished, with the rank stripped away…

Beyond this, there were countless examples of people adopting relatives' children and passing them off as their own to preserve a rank. Therefore, the authorities were especially strict when determining an heir's identity. It had to be guaranteed by the village chief, the elder of the five-family unit, and over five members of the same unit before it could be established. It was also stipulated that those who had committed crimes warranting the "shaving of the beard" punishment or worse, as well as the descendants of suicides, were ineligible to inherit rank…

As a result, Chu's suicide rate ranked first among the seven states, while Qin's suicide rate ranked last.

Dongmen Bao was now twenty-six or twenty-seven, no longer young, and of course he didn't want to end up without an heir. Calling this an "aspiration" was not entirely out of the question.

As for his official career, Dongmen Bao was quite satisfied with his current post as Township Patrolman. He got to brandish swords and spears with the garrison soldiers, put on a show of authority, and the salary wasn't low either. After hearing him out, Heifu said nothing and toasted him, urging him to keep laboring diligently…

Next, it was Xiao Tao's turn.

Back then, Xiao Tao's family circumstances had been the worst among them all — truly a house with bare walls, not a single grain to spare, nearly reduced to hired farmhands, and with a half-crippled father. Now, he was a Bugeng, serving as a Platoon Leader with fifty crossbows under his command, respected by others. His family had also moved from a remote little hamlet to the county town. For a youth who was once content just to have a full belly, this life was something he could never have dreamed of in the past.

"Tao… Tao can have this day only… only thanks to the County Commandant, for whom I am overwhelmed with gratitude. I only seek to assist the County Commandant in drilling the troops with all my might, and dare not, dare not harbor any further extravagant hopes!"

He had a natural stutter, which would greatly limit him in an official career. Being diligent and doing his current job well was satisfaction enough; he too had no great aspirations.

Heifu nodded and looked toward Ji Ying. For once, the fellow wasn't grinning cheekily, but wore a rare serious expression.

He thought for a moment and said, "I still remember when I first met the County Commandant, at a guest lodge by the shores of Cloud Dream Marsh. At that time, Lord Xi was also there. The lodge keeper brought his daughter and served Lord Xi fine grain and meat, while we had only warm broth. I was terribly envious then, but it was merely a craving for a bite of meat and a longing for a woman to serve me…"

"But now!"

Ji Ying declared proudly, "I oversee the postal relay for an entire township, I eat meat every day, I've taken a new wife, and my rank has reached Zanniao, not far from the rank of Grandee! My aspiration is to attain the rank of Grandee by the time I reach Lord Xi's age! To have people honor me with the title Ji Ying the Grandee!"

No one expected that Ji Ying, the least talented of the group, would have one of the bigger aspirations. Heifu couldn't help but tap the rhythm in praise for him!

At this point, only Li Xian remained.

Li Xian could be said to have the brightest future. He was now a Zanniao, serving as a Commandant Clerk. With the death of the Li clan patriarch, many clan members serving as officials had been dismissed, and he had suddenly become the highest-ranking person in the Li hamlet. Moreover, since he had actually "saved" Li Ping's wife and children, the Li clansmen not only bore him no grudge, but gradually began to regard him as their leader. In a few more years, he might well become the new patriarch of the Li clan…

Heifu was also a little curious — what kind of aspiration would such a capable man have?

On an ordinary day, Li Xian would certainly have kept his mouth tightly shut. But today, with the group reunited and drinking to their hearts' content, and having just heard the others speak of their aspirations, he too was now itching to try. He cupped his hands toward Heifu and said, "If I speak, I hope the County Commandant will not take offense, and I hope you fellows will not mock me!"

"We all know each other well; this is just idle chat. What crime could there be? Speak freely, without reservation!" Heifu told him to boldly speak his mind!

"Then I shall speak."

Li Xian bowed deeply to Heifu, and when he raised his head, his eyes were gleaming.

"Before I die, I hope to attain the position the County Commandant now holds!"

…

The group fell silent for a moment, and then all burst out laughing. Dongmen Bao clapped Li Xian on the shoulder and teased, "Li Xian, coveting the County Commandant's position — you've got some nerve!"

Li Xian was about to explain, but Heifu, far from being angry, was pleased. "Li Xian, that's a fine aspiration. With your talent, given time, the post of County Commandant is well within your reach!"

Greatly encouraged, Li Xian said, "I borrow the County Commandant's auspicious words!"

Having heard everyone's aspirations, Heifu felt he had a good grasp of their current states. People like Jing and Xiao Tao had no clear goals; they simply wanted to follow Heifu and serve as his support. Someone like Dongmen Bao, once the most zealous for merit, was now, after brutal combat, fairly content with his lot, seeking only a warm wife and children by a heated kang bed — presumably not as eager to risk his life as before.

Ji Ying and Li Xian, on the other hand, each had their own goals: one aimed for the rank of Grandee, the other to become a County Commandant. They still had reasons to keep striving.

However, aside from Li Xian, who harbored a slight ambition, on the whole, the group's aspirations were those of common peasants. Summed up, they still couldn't break free from the bounds of three *mu* of land, two oxen, and a warm wife and children by a heated kang bed…

"I recall studying a piece in my past life, 'Zilu, Zeng Xi, Ran You, and Gongxi Hua Attending Upon the Master,' about Confucius asking his disciples their aspirations."

"Zilu said he wanted to govern a state of a thousand chariots, to save it from famine, and to give the people the courage to defend their country. Ran You wished to govern a territory of sixty or seventy *li*, to make its people prosperous. Gongxi Hua desired to preside over the rites of sacrifice and alliance — the traditional work of a Confucian scholar."

When Heifu first read this piece, he hadn't felt much. Only now did he realize that while Confucius's disciples' aspirations varied, they all reached the level of 'cultivating oneself, regulating the family, and governing the state.' Their aspirations encompassed personal pursuits and also the hope of achieving merit in the world.

This was the gap between the aspirations of common peasants and those of the scholarly class. But after a moment's thought, he let it go. Even Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, before the world fell into chaos, only thought, 'In office, I would be the Bearer of the Gilded Mace; in marriage, I would win Yin Lihua' — and was even mocked by his elder brother for it!

As Heifu was lost in thought there, the others continued, "If Gong Ao were here, what kind of aspiration would he have?"

Although Gong Ao was from Yan County, he was also a member of Heifu's small circle. The group had been comrades for a year, and having not seen him for so long, they missed him a little.

"If that fellow were here…"

Ji Ying guessed, "He'd definitely have his nose in the air, saying he looks down on any official post!"

Everyone laughed. At that moment, Jing, who had been listening quietly for a long while, suddenly asked Heifu, "Elder brother, we have all spoken of our aspirations. What, then, is your aspiration?"

Everyone stopped talking, their gazes all turning to Heifu. They were very eager to know too.

Li Xian recalled something: "I remember last year when we went north for corvée service, Bu Cheng cast a divination for the County Lieutenant. At the time, he said the County Lieutenant would one day become a Commandery Governor. The County Lieutenant also said that becoming a Commandery Governor was his ambition…"

"Rivers shift course with the terrain, and a man's ambition changes with his vision and experience."

Heifu took a sip of wine and laughed. "After the campaigns to destroy Wei and attack Chu, after traveling through the Central Plains and north of the Huai, and after half a year in the commandery city, my ambition is no longer the same!"

The men perked up, all eager to hear what Heifu had to say.

Seeing their expectant, curious eyes, Heifu knew the atmosphere was just about right. Today, he had asked everyone to speak of their ambitions not only to gauge his subordinates' current state of mind, but also to reignite their desire to achieve merit and pursue gain!

A man alone cannot go far in this era. Heifu needed people at his side who would follow him all the way!

It was time to boast a little. Whether true or false, he would start by startling them awake from their cozy dreams!

So Heifu said: "When I was at the commandery office, because I had no clan name, I often endured the mockery of the sons of powerful officials and magnates."

"Some advised me to just make one up. Others urged me to pick a false ancestor from among the feudal lords or ministers who once established themselves on this land of Southern Commandery, to use their clan name to adorn myself and cover up the fact that my family, for eight generations, were all wild men and commoners."

The things Heifu had encountered, Jing, Ji Ying, Bao, and Xiao Tao had all experienced too. Like Heifu, they were of commoner origin, without clan or family name, and had endured no small amount of mockery after becoming minor officials.

"I hesitated too, until one day, a young woman said something to me that made me suddenly see the truth!"

Everything that had happened at the Double Third Festival was still vivid in his mind.

Heifu said: "She said, 'When the Son of Heaven established virtue, he bestowed surnames according to birth and granted clan names along with fiefs!' Clan names did not exist from the beginning. In ancient times, when feudal lords, ministers, and high officials achieved merit and received enfeoffment, they took their fief as their clan name. For example, this Anlu was once the ancient state of Yun, which is how the Yun clan came to be…"

"Nowadays, the era of enfeoffment and state-founding is long gone. Qin is not a state that favors kinship and rank; it no longer looks at ancestral origins, but strictly grants titles based on military merit. Those of great merit are honored; rewards are given upon seeing merit, and offices are granted according to ability. Therefore, I should take pride in the merit I have earned with my own hands, and need not be ashamed of having no clan name!"

"Well said!"

At these words, everyone was stirred with excitement. It truly spoke the hearts of those who had risen from humble beginnings. The times had changed — could the titles earned through one's own blood and sweat be inferior to a clan name inherited at birth? Even Li Xian, a collateral branch member of the Li clan, deeply agreed.

Heifu waited until the cheering died down before adding: "Still, I do want to earn a clan name for myself. After all, shouting 'Heifu, Grand Master,' or 'Heifu, County Lieutenant' all the time doesn't sound very good. And in Qin, such an opportunity still exists!"

Everyone looked bewildered, except Li Xian, whose expression shifted slightly — he had already guessed what Heifu meant.

"That's right."

Heifu drank another cup, then threw it down and laughed loudly: "I no longer wish to be just a Commandery Governor. My ambition now is that one day, I may achieve merit and be enfeoffed as a Marquis! And not a Marquis of the Interior, but a Full Marquis! Thus I would obtain a fief for sustenance. When that time comes, I shall use the land of my enfeoffment to name my own clan! Clinging to no one, relying on my own two hands, I will create a clan!"

"I will not be someone else's descendant — I will be the founding ancestor!"

If Heifu's earlier quotation of the Commandery Governor's daughter had roused the men, then his declared ambition of becoming a Marquis truly left everyone present speechless with shock.

"A Marquis!"

Xiao Tao stammered for a long while without getting a word out, gazing at Heifu with adoration, nearly falling to his knees.

Dongmen Bao, who had thought merely having a son would satisfy him, gaped wide, his entire worldview profoundly shaken.

Ji Ying, who would have been content to attain the rank of Grand Master in this lifetime, rubbed his eyes. Was this truly the "Brother Heifu" he had met by the shores of Cloud Dream Marsh?

And Li Xian, who had set his heart on becoming a County Lieutenant, suddenly felt that his own pursuit, compared to Heifu's ambition, was like mud against the clouds!

"A Marquis…"

Jing was also speechless for a long time. What Heifu spoke of far exceeded his imagination. A Full Marquis — the highest of the twenty orders of nobility, an honor only someone like Lord Wu'an could enjoy.

Heifu was currently a Grand Master, merely the seventh rank…

Heifu's superior, Li You, as Commandery Commandant, was only a Left Chief of the Masses, the tenth rank…

After a long while, he finally murmured to himself: "This… can it really be done?"

"It can be done!"

Heifu swept his gaze over everyone present, patted his own chest, and declared: "Heifu, without clan or family name, of commoner soldier origin, will use the reward of a marquisate to prove one thing to all under heaven!"

Inwardly, he thought: "Chen Sheng, my apologies," and then loudly proclaimed the heroic words that rightfully belonged to every man of this great era of deeds and gain!

"Are kings, lords, generals, and ministers born of any seed?"

…

In the distant Huai River north of Chu, in some obscure, impoverished hamlet, a young Chu man about the same age as Heifu's brother Jing, dressed in tattered coarse hemp, was hoeing weeds under the scorching sun, laboring bitterly, drenched in sweat.

After bending over to work for a long while, he suddenly set down his farming tool, a look of dejection crossing his face.

"When will this life ever end?"

Farm work was grueling, and what was more, this land was not even Chen Sheng's own. The previous year, when Yangcheng had become a battlefield, Chen Sheng had been forced to flee his hometown, wandering and begging for food north of the Huai.

He had become separated from his clan and could only end up hiring himself out as a farmhand. He had barely managed to settle down here, but regardless of winter or summer, he was roused to work just after the cockcrow, with only a bit of thin gruel and foul paste for each meal.

Humiliation and resentment lingered in the heart of this young man who thought highly of himself yet had lost everything.

When resting on the field ridges with the other hired farmhands, everyone drank murky water and discussed their plans after the autumn harvest. Their work on this plot was nearly done, and no one knew if they would be hired again the next year. But most of what they talked about was merely drifting along, living day by day, without a shred of uplifting ambition.

Listening to this, Chen Sheng thought of all the days they had labored together, yet the future was hopelessly distant. Suddenly overcome with melancholy, he said to the others: "If any of us finds wealth and honor, let him not forget the rest!"

If one day any among us becomes rich and honored, do not forget the brothers who labored together today!

Yet the others were silent for a long moment, and then burst into scornful laughter.

"Chen Sheng, what are you saying? We are all hired laborers. Not starving to death is good enough — what talk is this of wealth and honor?"

Wealth and honor? Those two words were far too distant for these men.

Humiliated, Chen Sheng flushed red. He turned away amid the mockery of the hired hands, walked to the center of the field, and gazed at the wild geese flying across the western sky. Feeling utterly alone, he let out a long sigh and said:

"Alas! How can a sparrow know the ambition of a swan!"

PS: A big chapter of four thousand characters, it took a bit longer, so the catch-up updates will start tomorrow. The second chapter will be in the evening.

(End of Chapter)