Chapter 294: The Twenty-Fifth Year

In the twenty-fifth year of the King of Qin, the first month (winter, the tenth month).

By this time, the north was already deep in winter, the weather bitterly cold, but along the banks of the Great River, only the forests by the shore had yellowed somewhat, and the climate was still pleasant.

Zhu City (present-day Huangzhou) was the easternmost county of Nan Commandery and the last Chu settlement taken by the Qin army. In 255 BC (the eighth year of King Kaolie of Chu), King Kaolie ordered Lord Chunshen, Huang Xie, to lead a northern campaign, destroying Lu and Zou, and relocating the ruler and people of Zou to this place to build a city and houses. Because the state of Zou was also called Zhu, it was named Zhu City.

However, the remnants of Zou had not been Chu subjects for many years before, as Chu once again shifted south to Shouchun, Zhu City was captured by the Qin army and turned into a key military stronghold for defense against Chu.

Now, by the riverbank south of Zhu City, the great banner of Commandant Li You stood planted on the shore, and Heifu, along with ten thousand Qin soldiers of Nan Commandery, was arrayed behind him in formation, waiting.

By this time, a full four months had passed since Heifu and the others had seen off the King of Qin at Chen County. According to the plan of the King of Qin and Wang Jian, the Nan Commandery troops were not to take part in the assault on Xiong Qi and Xiang Rong in Huainan, but were to regroup and return to Nan Commandery, wait until after the autumn harvest, then cross the river south to attack Chu's "Jiangnan territory"—the area corresponding to later-day Wuhan, Hunan, and Jiangxi.

On the way back, Heifu had also purchased, at Tongyang, the three hundred coffins the local steward had previously prepared, and adding the two hundred coffins bought in Chen County, he loaded up the Nan Commandery comrades and subordinates who had fallen in the two successive wars.

Li You also ordered several hundred war chariots emptied, their chariot warriors marching on foot, to carry everyone's pitch-black coffins. Chariots rumbled, horses whinnied, and they returned to Nan Commandery by the same road.

In mid-July, they finally stepped onto the soil of Nan Commandery, and with that, Heifu had fulfilled his promise to "bring you home"—a great stone in his heart settled at last.

But a new problem immediately arose: aside from a few like Huaimu, the bodies of most of the soldiers were unidentifiable, and could not be sent back to their respective homes.

While Li You was still vexed by this, Heifu offered him a suggestion.

"A public cemetery?" Li You was hearing this term for the first time.

Heifu said, "Indeed. The men have all turned to heaps of white bones, their identities beyond recognition. Better to set aside a plot of land in Nan Commandery as their common burial ground, and then fashion a great stele for them, inscribed with all their names. In this way, they are properly laid to rest, and it will be convenient for their kin and friends to come and make offerings in the future."

Li You heard this and sighed. "It seems there is no other way."

Heifu added, "I have heard a saying: 'In a marsh of ten paces, fragrant herbs are sure to grow; in a hamlet of ten houses, loyal men are sure to dwell.' Though these men were commoners and black-headed folk, they died for the Great King and for Qin, and may thus be called loyal men! Therefore, let this public cemetery also be called the Loyal Men's Memorial Park. The authorities can hire keepers to guard and sweep it, and every year, at set times, order local officials to lead the people in paying respects and mourning, so as to show that their deeds are not forgotten, and to inspire the living to fight ever more bravely, without fear of death..."

He had originally wanted to call it a "Martyrs' Memorial Park," but unfortunately, in this era, the term "martyr" referred to those who cherished a good name and refused to serve in office, which did not match Heifu's intended meaning.

Qin's treatment of soldiers who died in battle was decent—the rank they had earned through their battlefield merits could be passed on to their descendants—but that was all. A batch of soldiers died in battle, and the king had the next batch of grey livestock ready for use. Generation after generation of soldiers, through such heaps of white bones, piled up Qin's growing strength, until it finally unified all under heaven, yet their own names had long since scattered with the wind, remembered by no one.

Men like Huaimu did not know what great era they were living in, but they had given their lives and made their contribution to the unification of all under heaven. So Heifu felt that, from the Qin perspective, they were heroes! They deserved such treatment!

In this vast war of unification, within the Qin army, how could there be only a thousand, only ten thousand men like Huaimu?

Heifu's idea, in one stroke, transformed those lonely, wandering ghosts who had died on the battlefield, unidentifiable and with only a collective list of names, into loyal men honored by the state. Though it could not bring the dead back to life, it made their names immortal—this was the last thing Heifu could do for the fallen.

Upon hearing this, Li You's eyes lit up at once, and he praised Heifu profusely for another fine idea.

"Not only does it gather the officers' and soldiers' remains, ensuring that 'a fox dying must turn its head toward its home hill,' but it also spreads their posthumous fame, letting their names flow through the world. Excellent!"

But then he immediately criticized, "However, the word 'mausoleum' must not be used carelessly. Let it be called the Loyal Men's Cemetery instead!"

"A slip of the tongue from your subordinate!"

Heifu froze, then caught on, cold sweat breaking out as he hastily apologized. Li You, knowing his humble origins and lack of familiarity with certain ritual details, did not pursue the matter.

Li You believed this move could earn him a reputation as one who "cherished his soldiers," which would benefit his future career, so he immediately wrote to his father, Li Si, asking him to jointly petition the King of Qin with himself to implement this policy. He figured the King of Qin would surely agree, and might even extend the practice in future wars.

At the same time, having obtained the consent of Teng, the Governor of Nan Commandery, a plot of land was marked out in Yan County. The living and the laborers were ordered to dig pits and build tombs, arranging the coffins of the several hundred soldiers neatly, in squads and platoons, in orderly companies, like a military formation. Seen from afar, it was somber, orderly, and imposing.

And a great stone stele, two zhang high, meticulously carved by skilled stonemasons, inscribed on all four sides with the names and native places of over five hundred men, stood prominently at the center of the public cemetery, like a battle flag commanding them all...

"You fellows, though dead, are truly as if still alive..."

Looking upon this deeply stirring sight, the people of Yan County clicked their tongues in wonder, and the Nan Commandery soldiers could not help but have their eyes brim with hot tears, praising Li You while feeling even greater admiration for Heifu, who had proposed the idea.

And at Heifu's urging, Li You, who had received the true transmission of his father Li Si's calligraphy, inscribed four large characters in vermilion at the top of the great stele:

"Eternal and Imperishable!"

After this matter was concluded, it was already late July. Li You issued orders for the various company commanders to lead their troops back to their respective counties, letting the men return home with their spoils of war to take part in the autumn harvest. At the same time, the wounded and sick were to be discharged, and new recruits selected to fill the ranks...

Thus, Heifu and the others had only stayed at home for a little over a month, just finishing pounding the grain and storing it in the granaries, when, at the start of the tenth month, Li You personally led an army of over ten thousand, first arriving at Anlu to rendezvous with Heifu, and then the group marched east to Zhu City, preparing to cross the river and attack E City, where the Chu banner still flew...

E City, the area of later-day Ezhou in Hubei, was the largest and oldest city in Chu's Jiangnan region. The Sanmiao of the Yu and Xia eras had established tribes here; during the Yin era, a state of E was founded here, exploiting the rich copper deposits of Tonglu Mountain and enjoying a period of great wealth.

Later, Chu conquered this place and built an even larger city settlement. Over several centuries, it enfeoffed many "Lords of E" to rule here. Though Chu had now fallen, the Lord of E still stubbornly held his fortress, refusing to surrender.

"The E region is a strategic chokepoint on the Great River, with Pengli to the left and Dongting to the right, gripping the River and the Han, girdling Wu and Chu, shielding Jiujiang and Jiangdong to the southeast, a bulwark both outside and in, most strong and secure. If we do not seize the E region, the grain ships and naval forces from Ba, Shu, and Nan Commandery will be unable to sail smoothly east to Jiangdong to link up with the old general Wang Jian."

Li You had been ordered to attack the E region, not only to take the Jiangnan territory, but also to coordinate with Wang Jian's military operations in the east. When Heifu and the others had returned to Nan Commandery, Wang Jian and Meng Wu had also launched another general offensive against Ying, Liu, Huaiyin, Juchao, and other places in Huainan, killing Xiang Rong. King Xiong Qi of Chu had fled to Jiangdong with only three thousand men.

But Chu's naval forces remained intact, still massed on the waters of Jiangdong, attempting to prevent the Qin army from crossing the river. Thus, the Qin naval forces from Ba, Shu, and Nan Commandery were needed to take the field...

And the Lord of E's warships became the appetizer before the navy's eastward advance.

Now, the Qin soldiers waiting on the shore all turned their eyes, as if by agreement, toward the middle of the river, where a naval battle was nearing its end...

Although the Lord of E still maintained a naval force of "fifty ke"—that is, one hundred and fifty warships—compared to the "Towered Ship Armada" that Qin had spent ten years building in Ba, Shu, and Nan Commandery, it was still somewhat weak. At this very moment, the Lord of E's warships were gradually succumbing in battle.

"The Chu men are defeated."

Reaching out a hand to feel, Heifu discovered the wind was blowing from the northwest toward the southeast, and his smile broadened.

Within his line of sight, the Qin army had several enormous towered ships, three stories high, with broad, sturdy hulls that made them float on the river like massive水上 fortresses, awe-inspiring and majestic. Each level of the ship's tower had its own use—a place to conceal troops, a storehouse for arrows, or a rowing deck—all meticulously divided. And the combat method of these colossal vessels was the arrow tower, packed with soldiers bearing bows and crossbows. The powerful bows and crossbows, combined with the towering height of the ship, allowed Qin's towered-ship marines to rain down arrows from above upon the Lord of E's small skiffs, slaughtering them without giving them any chance to fight back.

Besides the forest-like masts, oars, and sails of the towered ships, the Qin navy also had one after another of various warships—Great Wings, Lesser Wings, Skiffs, and so on. These had been built over several years at Jiangling on the orders of Governor Teng by the King of Qin. During the Yidao revolt the year before last, it was precisely by relying on them that the Qin army had swiftly crossed the river to reach Chanling.

The strength of a single lord, after all, could not compare with that of a state. Seeing the Lord of E's remaining few dozen battered, defeated vessels break away from the chaotic battlefield and flee downstream with the wind and current, the Qin army did not pursue deeply. The naval forces began to clear the battlefield, while one of the tallest towered-ship flagships slowly drew near the port of Zhu City...

Li You, bringing Heifu and other military officers forward, congratulated the big-bearded, middle-aged naval commander descending from the towered ship.

Li You praised him, saying, "In this battle, Commandant Tu, you were truly like an autumn gale sweeping away fallen leaves. With your aid, this natural moat of the Great River is like level ground!"

Heifu also cupped his hands and said, "With one move of Lord Tu's towered ships, the wind and waves across the river grew calm, and the petty villains fled. Heifu's eyes have truly been opened!"

The big-bearded commander dared not be remiss; he smiled at Heifu, then said respectfully to Li You, "It was but a minor skirmish, not worth mentioning. Though the towered ships are large, they can only flaunt their might on the water. To capture the E region and Jiangnan, we must still rely on the General and all you officers and men. Tu Sui is merely here to assist the General!"

The man commanding the ten thousand towered-ship marines of Ba, Shu, and Nan Commandery was none other than Tu Sui. During the year Li You was away from Nan Commandery, he had been drilling troops at Jiangling and was appointed by the King of Qin as Acting Commandant of Nan Commandery, hence he was addressed as "Commandant Tu Sui"...

PS:

He also sent Commandant Tu Sui to lead the towered-ship marines south to attack the Hundred Yue, and sent Inspector Lu to dig a canal to transport grain, penetrating deep into Yue; the Yue people fled and hid. — Records of the Grand Historian, "Biographies of the Marquis of Pingjin and Zhufu"

(End of Chapter)