Chapter 271: The World Changes, Times Shift

Xiangli Ge looked at Heifu and saw a man as dark-skinned as himself — a complexion that, for most, came from years of outdoor labor. "Black-headed folk," they were called, because their heads were black.

So this Qin official likely also came from humble origins, yet though still young, he was seated below Commandant Li You — proof that he was a trusted lieutenant, not to be underestimated…

Xiangli Ge therefore said, "May I ask what this Centurion means by those words?"

Heifu replied, "Master Xiangli himself noted that when two armies contest cities and seize land, the slain number in the tens of thousands at most, in the thousands at least. That being so, would it not be better for Master Xiangli to return and have the city garrison surrender, sparing unnecessary bloodshed? If possible, let the Southern Moists also go to Shouchun, have the King of Chu offer his head, and let the Commandant escort him back to Xianyang to answer for his crimes. Then we would have no need to attack, the people of Chu lands would come under Qin, and naturally be spared the fallout, able to live and work in peace under a new order…"

Xiangli Ge's face darkened. "Is this Centurion joking?"

Heifu laughed. "And was Master Xiangli not joking as well? You know full well that Chu will not lay down its arms and surrender over a few words. The Commandant and Centurions here are carrying out the King's and the General's orders to take cities and seize territory — we merely follow orders. How could we abandon our duty because of a few sentences from you? So no matter what you say, standing here wagging your tongue, it is all equally futile!"

Xiangli Ge seemed to have anticipated this. He sighed. "When I left the city, the Master and the others tried to dissuade me in the same way. But I simply wanted to try… to see if I could, like Master Mozi in his day, stop Chu from attacking Song and avert a calamity of war. As things stand now, the Commandant's intent cannot be changed?"

Li You cast an appreciative glance at Heifu, then said with a stern face, "The destruction of Chu is the King's will, the will of Qin's millions! It absolutely cannot be changed! Master Xiangli need say no more!"

"In that case…"

Xiangli Ge swept his gaze over the assembled men, clasped his hands, and said, "We can only see this through to the end, and receive you with the Moist art of city defense! Contest the city with battle, and the slain shall fill the city — but in this fight, the dead will mostly be Qin men!"

Mere verbal sparring could not persuade anyone. The greatest asset the Southern Moists had relied on in past lobbying of the feudal lords was the Moist art of city defense, planting doubts in attackers about the losses they might incur.

"That is not entirely so. Master Xiangli mistakes the Qin army for the Chu army."

Heifu said, "You spoke just now of the great Qin army waging war, leaving the common people's plowing and planting, harvesting and stockpiling neglected at home, causing countless to die of hunger and cold. Master Xiangli has never been to Qin and does not know its customs. Its common people are simple and honest, and from the capital's offices to the hundred officials, all are disciplined and solemn. We only dispatched troops after a great autumn harvest. In Nan Commandery, the harvest was bountiful this year — the commandery's public fields yielded an extra six hundred thousand dan! Enough to feed and clothe the entire army for a month."

"Moreover, Qin's laws and ordinances are strict. It is sternly forbidden to conscript brothers who live together, so every household has labor left behind. Government field overseers organize the farming, and skilled artisans craft tools and equipment, sparing the people's labor. Nan Commandery is so, and all of Qin's commanderies are so. Thus when Qin's several hundred thousand troops go on campaign, soldiers need not be conscripted three times over, grain need not be transported for three years, and domestic production is not greatly affected. After months of stalemate, because the General feasts the troops and feeds them well, morale only rises higher."

"Look instead at the Chu army: after months of stalemate, their faces are sallow with malnutrition. Unable to hold out even a few months, they can only pull their troops back east to defend, the common people along the way fleeing with them, abandoning green shoots in the fields, forsaking countless hamlets, villages, and cities…"

"So this war inflicts greater harm on Chu's soldiers and people — that is the truth. As for contesting cities and seizing land, besides us, a force ten times larger will arrive shortly. A host of a hundred thousand, besieging a small city of three li — it can be broken from dawn to dusk! Not to mention, there are Moists in the city, but there are also Moists in our army. Moist defense, Moist offense — which shall prevail?"

Xiangli Ge glanced at Cheng Shang and said with regret, "Has Qin Mo truly ceased to keep faith with the Way of Master Mozi?"

Though Cheng Shang had earlier retreated in shame under Xiangli Ge's rebuke, after listening and pondering at length from the sidelines, he finally mustered his courage once more and said to Xiangli Ge, "Master Xiangli is mistaken. Qin Mo, too, is fulfilling Master Mozi's Way of Conforming Upward — in its own manner!"

"Master Mozi said: In ancient times, when people first came into being and there were as yet no penal codes or governance, the opinions people expressed in words under Heaven differed from person to person. Thus one man meant one standard of right, two men meant two standards, ten men meant ten standards — the more people, the more divergent the standards. Everyone believed their own standard correct and others' wrong, and so they attacked one another. This is the origin of conflict."

"In recent ages, the feudal lords under Heaven, likewise divided by conflicting views, have all used water, fire, and poison to harm one another, until all under Heaven is chaos, like beasts tearing each other apart."

"Thus Master Mozi said: It is many mouths that produce conflict and stir up war. To quell arms and warfare, the standards of all under Heaven must issue from a single mouth! The nine provinces and ten thousand states must be united under one state! Only then can the Way of universal love and mutual benefit be furthered, and the Great Unity under Heaven be realized!"

Having spoken these words, Cheng Shang felt immensely relieved.

Although all Moists recite the Moist Canon, different schools emphasize different aspects.

The tenets of Qin Mo are "officials have no permanent honor, and commoners have no permanent baseness," and "unify the standards of all under Heaven." Mozi held that disunity of governance and decree could only lead to social chaos, so management must be implemented from top to bottom, with everything unified under the higher authority. This highly centralist ideology happened to coincide with Qin Legalism, which is why successive Qin kings tolerated Qin Mo's existence. Aiding Qin to unify all under Heaven was also the path by which Qin Mo could realize its ideals.

The Southern Moists, however, leaned toward "universal love and non-aggression," and "words must be trustworthy, actions must be resolute — make words and deeds match as closely as the two halves of a tally." They still followed the code of conduct the Moists had upheld two hundred years ago.

Thus the two could never see eye to eye, each regarding the other as a revisionist heresy.

"So Qin Mo chose Qin, the state called a land of tigers and wolves… to brutally exterminate every dissenting voice, one by one? And in the end, offer all under Heaven to the King of Qin alone?"

Xiangli Ge was unconvinced. He did not believe that a brutal state of harsh punishments and severe laws could embody the Way of Master Mozi.

Cheng Shang, too, had misgivings in his heart, but after a long silence he still insisted, "Because only in Qin can the Moist aspiration — officials have no permanent honor and commoners have no permanent baseness — be realized!"

Heifu was the most qualified to speak on this. He added, "Indeed. In Qin, chancellors must rise from the prefectures, fierce generals must emerge from the ranks. Clansmen of the royal house who have no military merit to their name may not receive fiefs or be listed in the clan registry. Those with military merit, regardless of origin, may all enjoy rank and emolument. Take me, Heifu — a black-headed commoner without clan or surname — yet because of military merit, I now rank among the Grandees."

"Chu, by contrast, is the opposite of Qin. I have heard that the King of Chu places his favored jesters, clansmen, and elder and younger kin around him. Regardless of their ability, he installs them as principal officials, letting them form cliques for private gain and conceal good counsel. Had I been in Chu, would I not still be nothing more than a menial slave today?"

On this point, Xiangli Ge could not deny it.

"Thus over the past century, Qin has grown ever stronger, and Chu ever weaker. Before the war even began, the outcome was already decided! In this war, Chu is doomed and Qin will surely win!"

Five hundred years of warfare among the feudal lords had caused too much suffering and had to be brought to an end — though Qin, which would end it, could not escape its own fate of collapse. And though Qin Shi Huang would standardize cart tracks and unify the script, seeking the Great Unity under Heaven, he could not curb his desire for conquest. Hasty warfare and hasty governance could not sustain the Moist hope of universal love and non-aggression, of extinguishing war.

But this whole process was like the pangs of childbirth — one cannot kill the infant in the womb just to avoid the pain.

Heifu concluded, "Qin has a saying: 'The world changes, times shift — changing the laws is fitting.' It is like a physician treating an illness: the illness changes a myriad ways, and the medicine must change a myriad ways too. If the illness changes but the medicine does not, a prescription that worked in the past will only worsen the patient's suffering!"

"Now, Qin destroying Chu and unifying all under Heaven is the irresistible trend. The Southern Moists' single-minded obstruction of war is already of no avail. Better a short, sharp pain than a long, dull ache — like Qin Mo, aiding Qin to hasten the pace of unifying all under Heaven is what suits the times! Master Xiangli, this is what I meant when I said you still live two hundred years ago, unaware of the changing seasons!"

A sorrow flickered in Xiangli Ge's eyes. "What this Centurion says seems not wrong. But Qin Mo wishes to keep faith with its own principles, and the Southern Moists must also keep faith with theirs! Even if it runs counter to this so-called irresistible trend, the resolve in our hearts cannot be altered. Farewell!"

With that, he turned to leave. But Centurion Meng Jia, who had been listening at length from the side, placed a hand on his sword and blocked Xiangli Ge's path, saying coldly, "You still intend to go back?"

The short-weapon guards at the entrance also leveled their halberds, barring Xiangli Ge's way.

Xiangli Ge turned around, looking at Heifu, at Cheng Shang, and at Li You, his eyes now filled with the resolve to die.

"My Master and over thirty Southern Moists already stand ready on the walls of Ruyin, armed with defensive implements. The Southern Moists' conduct of aiding the weak against the strong, and our resolve for universal love and non-aggression — even if you kill me, it cannot be extinguished!"

…

In the end, Li You waved his hand and let Xiangli Ge leave.

On the road back to Ruyin, Xiangli Ge recalled the arguments within the tent and could not help but sigh deeply.

When Li You had let him leave the tent, he had told him that even if the Southern Moists could hold Ruyin for an extra day or two, once the main Qin army arrived, it would still be unable to escape the fate of falling.

Moreover, even if they managed to delay this one Qin column slightly, the main Qin force north of the Ying River would continue taking cities and seizing territory, locked in brutal slaughter with the Chu army that resisted step by step — contesting the field with battle, the slain filling the fields.

So everything the Southern Moists did was no more than a mantis in the middle of the road, facing thousands upon thousands of war chariots hurtling forward, raising its arms high to try to stop their advance — crushed to pieces itself, it would stir not the slightest ripple…

Did they not know this full well?

"Yet words must be trustworthy, actions must be resolute — make words and deeds match as closely as the two halves of a tally. This is what a Moist must abide by. Meng Sheng, for this very reason, died with one hundred and eighty Moists in the calamity of the Lord of Yangcheng. Even if we cannot turn the great trend, we have already pledged ourselves to Ruyin. Even if the Qin army truly attacks with a hundred thousand troops, the Southern Moists will do what cannot be done, and live or die together with this city!"

Riches and honors cannot corrupt, poverty and low station cannot sway, power and force cannot bend — though these are words of the Meng Confucians, applied to the Moists, they are the very code by which they act!

At this thought, Xiangli Ge clenched his fists and quickened his pace. Everything he had seen and learned today in the Qin army's main camp would be of no small help for the city's defense! He had to hurry back and tell the Master and his companions.

Yet when he was halfway there, he heard the dense sound of hoofbeats and the rumble of wheels behind him!

Amid swirling dust, two war chariots and ten mounted riders swept around from the rear and blocked his path!

Xiangli Ge looked — standing in the chariot was none other than the dark-faced Centurion who had spoken so remarkably in the tent…

"Centurion Heifu."

Xiangli Ge watched the riders closing in on him and said coldly, "Did Commandant Li not let me leave? Could it be he has gone back on his word?"

"The Commandant only agreed to let you leave the main camp. He did not guarantee your return to Ruyin."

Xiangli Ge's face stiffened. He had thought he could withdraw unscathed, just as Master Mozi had when he went to Chu! Who would have expected Heifu, a man with no regard for good faith, to ambush him halfway!

"Good faith?"

Heifu laughed dismissively. "This isn't the Spring and Autumn period, and I'm no Mohist. When two armies clash, each side drives the other to death — who still talks about good faith? You said it yourself: with a Mohist defending the city, Qin casualties would multiply several times over. I thought it over and realized that if you go back, tell the defenders inside all about our army's strengths and weaknesses, then set up ingenious devices on the walls and direct the Chu soldiers and civilians in defense, you might kill ten more of my men — even a hundred more of my subordinate soldiers! Soldiers are like my own hands and feet, my brothers. I brought them out here, and I mean to bring them back. Would I let them die for nothing over so-called good faith?"

With that, Heifu waved a hand. "You lot, tie this man up and take him back to camp. Until Ruyin is breached, he stays locked up!"

(End of Chapter)