Chapter 309: Can a Single Hand Build a City?

"It's really hot. This Yuzhang region of Jiangnan is far hotter than Shouchun."

The moment the boat passed Hukou Garrison, Zhang Han instantly regretted wearing a loose robe with wide sleeves. It was the sixth month by the lunar calendar, and the sun was brutally fierce. Even hiding inside the cabin left him stifled and drenched in sweat. He had wanted to go up on deck to catch the breeze, but it felt as if the entire Pengli Marsh was about to boil over…

"The Commandery Minister of Works is from Guanzhong, I take it?"

Zhao Tuo, a Grand Master of Officials long since accustomed to the local climate, smiled beside him. "This humble clerk is also from Hengshan Commandery. When I first came to Yuzhang, I couldn't stand the damp heat here either. Would the Minister of Works like to change into short clothes?"

Although Zhang Han very much wished to preserve the dignity of his rank as Grand Master, he truly could not endure it, so he let Zhao Tuo find him a light, short garment. Only then did he feel a little better.

As he stood at the prow catching the wind, he pointed at Hukou Garrison's crude wooden stockade tower and asked, "Is this a newly established checkpoint?"

Zhao Tuo replied, "Indeed. Half a year ago, the Separate Division Commander and I passed through Pengli Marsh and saw that this spot is the throat of Pengli Marsh and a transshipment point, so we dispatched a Platoon Chief to establish a garrison checkpoint here to control the passage of boats."

"Good judgment."

Zhang Han nodded, then asked, "Where shall we disembark tomorrow?"

"Fuqianyuan." Zhao Tuo supplied an intriguing place name.

Zhang Han said, "The 'Tribute of Yu' states: 'From the south of Mount Min, one reaches Mount Heng. Crossing the Nine Rivers, one reaches Fuqianyuan.' Could this be that very place?"

"The Minister of Works is truly learned."

Zhao Tuo was unstinting in his flattery and explained, "Fuqianyuan is the dock where we land. Beside it is Lü Town. The local Mount Lu there has uniquely splendid scenery."

Zhang Han did not take it to heart — until they landed at Fuqianyuan and gazed into the distance. Only then did he realize that Zhao Tuo's praise of 'uniquely splendid scenery' was far too shallow.

Gazing from afar, the great mountain had seven tiers of ridges, where wind and cloud poured forth and rivers and lakes girded it — high cliffs like inverted eaves, sheer precipices ten-thousand-ren deep. Now, as rain was about to fall, white vapors gathered upon the ridges, suddenly assembling, brushing the rocks and exhaling clouds. Paired with the green pines and cypresses on the mountain ridges, it made one unable to resist the urge to climb the mountain and take a look.

Seeing Zhang Han staring fixedly at the distant vista of Mount Lu, Zhao Tuo then related an amusing incident.

"Last month, after the Separate Division Commander returned from his southern campaign against Shanggan, he was making an inspection tour of the various towns under Poyang County's jurisdiction and invited me to meet him at Fuqianyuan. We climbed its peak and gazed afar — southward overlooking the Three Lakes, northward gazing at the Nine Rivers."

Although Hei Fu insisted that Zhao Tuo address him as a brother, except when the two were alone in private, Zhao Tuo still respectfully called Hei Fu by his official title.

Zhang Han was also an acquaintance of Hei Fu and immediately laughed. "That Hei Fu, he certainly knows how to enjoy himself."

"The Commander also made a point of having a local guide him to Incense Burner Peak to the southeast. That solitary peak rises with singular elegance. When drifting mists drape over it, the vapors seem like purple smoke. Below, a thousand-chi waterfall plunges straight down — extraordinarily spectacular."

Zhao Tuo recalled, "I saw the Commander gazing at the Mount Lu waterfall at that time, lost in thought, as if he were about to recite something. But several times he opened his mouth only to stop. In the end, he merely sighed and said something about this lad having no talent in his belly and being unworthy of such a poem, then went down the mountain in dejection."

From what Zhang Han remembered, Hei Fu came from humble origins and had never been known for literary talent. He merely assumed that Hei Fu had seen beautiful scenery and wanted to express something, but with an empty belly of ink could not compose anything, and thought nothing more of it.

……

The party rested a night in Lü Town. The next day, Zhao Tuo took his leave of Zhang Han. The one who came to receive Zhang Han was a local man named Xu Shu, who was now Hei Fu's advisor and had been enfeoffed as a Grand Master by Jiujiang Commandery for his merits. Upon meeting Zhang Han, he said that Hei Fu had gone south on an inspection tour and had sent him to welcome Zhang Han.

"I know."

Zhang Han took no offense and laughed. "This Poyang County under his governance is the largest county under heaven. In name it is a county, and its population is not large, but its territory is so vast it rivals a commandery in the Central Plains."

Xu Shu said, "The Minister of Works is right. The Commander also suffers from Poyang's governance area being too large and has already petitioned the Governor of Jiujiang Commandery to divide it into several counties."

At present, Jiujiang Commandery had only established Poyang as a single county in Jiangxi. Jiujiang Commandery could not spare the hands, so it simply tossed everything to Hei Fu to manage.

Hei Fu thus proposed subdividing it: using Pengli Marsh as a boundary, establish Jiujiang County at Xun Town, governing the western shore areas of the lake such as Mount Lu, Lü Town, and Fuqianyuan. Then, using the Great Stream as a boundary, newly establish Yugan Circuit in the southern region, allowing the Wu clan of Ganyue to maintain autonomy. The broad region along the middle reaches of the Gan River would be established as Luling County (present-day Ji'an). The upstream Shanggan and Limen Fortress would be placed under the jurisdiction of Gan County.

Adding the retained Poyang County, Jiangxi would then have five county seats.

But Hei Fu was still not satisfied. After returning from distant Shanggan, he again proposed to Jiujiang Commandery that a new city composed purely of Qin settlers should be built on the lower reaches of the Gan River, one that would command the advantages of the rivers, lakes, mountains, and forests, able to lead the five counties and overawe Yuzhang.

His proposal was approved by the Governor of Jiujiang Commandery, who then dispatched Zhang Han — who had remained in Shouchun as Commandery Minister of Works ever since the conquest of Chu — to assist the Prefect of Poyang, Hei Fu, in selecting a city site and planning the new city. This was the reason for Zhang Han's journey south…

Guided by Xu Shu, Zhang Han followed him past Ai Town, crossed the Xiu River, and traveled for several days along muddy lakeside roads, until at last he caught sight of the emerald-green flowing Gan River. Ten li upstream, he spotted a camp on the eastern bank.

Hei Fu had assigned Zhao Tuo to oversee the patrol between Xun Town and Pengze, and had also divided his three thousand men to separately garrison Poyang, Shanggan, Luling, and various small towns. Thus, he had only a little over a thousand soldiers at his side — not a large force, but orderly and disciplined. One had to realize, they had just endured scorching weather and penetrated a thousand li deep into the south, and had only been resting and reorganizing for a month, yet they no longer showed any signs of bedraggled dejection. It was truly no easy feat.

"Hei Fu is truly skilled at leading troops."

Zhang Han could not help but sigh with admiration. Although he was in charge of civil engineering, he was also very interested in military command and troop leadership. During the campaign against Chu, he had not learned little by observing Wang Jian and Meng Wu on the sly.

He felt that Hei Fu also possessed shining points he himself could learn from — for instance, the use of small details like diluted salt water and leg wraps, and also how he loved his hometown soldiers like brothers, so that the soldiers in turn regarded him as a father or elder brother and were willing to die for him.

When Hei Fu heard that Zhang Han had arrived, he ran to the waterside to greet him. The moment Zhang Han's small boat reached the eastern bank, the swarthy man, who had grown two arrow-shaped whiskers above his lip, came over with a great laugh and gave Zhang Han an affectionate bear hug…

"Shaorong, it has truly been too long!"

Zhang Han also laughed. "I was cooped up in Shouchun drawing maps and calculating construction credits, while you conquered a thousand li of territory in the south. I led men to demolish passes and bridges across Huainan, while you are about to raise great works of construction and build a new city here. I am truly envious."

"What thousand li of territory? It's all wild jungle. At present, within the entire jurisdiction, the registered commoners number at most a few thousand households. The rest are Yangyue and Ganyue tribes, and Chu people hiding in the mountain forests."

Thinking of the eight characters he had seen months ago at Limen Fortress — 'Though Chu be but three households, Qin shall perish by Chu' — Hei Fu could not help but sigh with emotion. "Some Chu people are truly stubborn. The Chu state has been destroyed for a year now, and Xiong Qi, the last to usurp the title of King of Jing, has been dead for half a year, yet they still refuse to submit. We can only capture them as bondservants. But that's fine, too — it gives us the manpower to build your city and mine."

During this southern campaign, Hei Fu had captured large numbers of resisting Chu people, over a thousand in total, mostly partisans of the Lord of Poyang, the Lord of E, and the Lord of Pengze — fierce and hard to tame, perfect for hard labor.

Zhang Han was not worried about manpower. Even if Hei Fu did not have enough men here, more could be sent from Jiujiang Commandery. After the destruction of Chu, the number of Chu people reduced to bondservants was beyond counting, and the same was true of Jiangdong and Kuaiji, which Wang Jian and Meng Wu had just conquered.

He was far more interested in why Hei Fu had chosen this place as the site for the new city.

"I won't hide it from you, Shaorong. I took a fancy to this place as early as the second month, when I passed through here on the southern campaign!"

Hei Fu had Ji Ying bring the map forward, and the two got down to business. "First, this place commands the advantage of the Gan River, with water and land routes extending in all four directions."

"Build a dock here, and going downstream, one can enter Pengli Marsh in a single day. Luling and Shanggan can also come here from upstream. Water transport is several times more convenient than overland routes! And if one travels by land, whether going to Xunyang, Poyang, or Yugan, the distances are all suitable."

"Second, the land here is flat and broad. One can construct a great city, open up fertile fields, and fill them with convicts and commoners. In less than ten years, it will be a rich and fertile territory of a hundred li of thriving fields. When that time comes, there will be no need for Jiujiang Commandery to administer it from a thousand li away. This city can serve as the commandery seat of a new commandery!"

"A new commandery?"

Zhang Han's heart stirred. Indeed, it had taken him nearly a month to travel from Shouchun to this place, to say nothing of Shanggan in the south. Were it not that the population was too sparse to form a commandery, the Yuzhang region south of the Yangtze would indeed be large enough to qualify as a commandery. Hei Fu's line of thinking was indeed viable; that way, whatever changes occurred in the south, they could respond with ease.

Hei Fu pointed at the city site, where not even the foundations had been laid, and imagined. "Shaorong, what you and I build today may only be a small city. But after two or three generations, perhaps this wild and barbarous land will become a metropolis as prosperous as Nan Commandery or Huainan. When that time comes, there will no longer be a distinction between Qin people and Chu people. The Yangyue, the Ganyue, and the hundred Pu barbarians will also flock to this city to learn the Xia tongue and bathe in the Hua wind."

"Well said! This is true pioneering work!"

Zhang Han was somewhat stirred, feeling only that his past year in Shouchun had been a waste of time.

Rubbing his hands together in excitement, he said, "What we are about to do is just like the feudal lords of the Zhou dynasty who received their investiture mandates and went to the frontiers to establish fiefs and build cities!"

Zhang Han, accomplished in both civil and martial arts, recalled a poem he had read, which told the story of how, centuries ago, the Marquis of Han, by order of the Zhou King, went north to construct the city of Han and open up the frontiers.

Vast is that city of Han, built by the Yan host. Since our ancestor received the mandate, through the ages among the hundred Man.

The King bestowed upon the Marquis of Han the Zhui and the Mo. He received in full the northern lands, and thereby became their chief.

In the wild borderlands of the barbarians, to construct a new city, to colonize and open up the land — this was what Huaxia had been doing for a thousand years. Eight hundred years ago, the sons and grandsons of the Zhou house, spurred on by the great Duke of Zhou, Dan, set out one after another from Zongzhou, bringing their own artisans, merchants, and countrymen, and arrived in the vast east, south, and north where the tongues were incomprehensible, dwelling together with the Yi people, the Man people, and the Rong and Di.

Beside river after river, atop hill after hill, they began to ram earth and build new walled towns. Diligent farmers drained the muddy marshes and burned down the dense forests, turning them into fertile farmland. Through the efforts of dozens of generations, they extended their rule bit by bit, from scattered walled towns, to the linear Zhou roads, and finally into a vast, continuous domain.

The entire Central Plains did not truly become a single contiguous whole until the late Spring and Autumn period. No longer were there Rong, Di, Man, or Yi tribes wedged between the states — they had either been assimilated or annihilated. Nor was there any longer a distinction between "capital dwellers" and "wilderness folk"; all were registered households and common subjects. Only then could the more powerful Seven States of the Sashed and Crowned arise in response to the times.

Now, Qin is on the verge of completing the unification of China, but the expansion inherited from Yin, Zhou, and even Chu will not cease…

In a flash, Heifu suddenly understood, to some degree, why the First Emperor of Qin would, a few years from now, so obsessively launch the campaigns to conquer Baiyue.

Perhaps it was not merely an insatiable lust for conquest, but also a tradition stretching back a thousand years?

The Huaxia of this age was no decrepit dynasty, indifferent to lands beyond its borders and content to barricade itself in. It was a youthful, soaring, vigorously rising sun, regarding expansion and pioneering as its manifest destiny!

And Heifu, Zhang Han — though they were not feudal lords, what they were doing now was no different from the Marquis of Han and the armies of Yan centuries ago.

"Build the walls, build the moats; measure the fields, measure the tithes. Offer their panther skins, those red leopards and yellow bears… Truly I hope the foundation we lay today can be just like this!"

After his emotional reflection, Zhang Han asked Heifu, "What does Heifu intend to name this city?"

"When the idea of building a city first came to me in the second month, I already drafted a name and had Commandant Li submit it on my behalf to Xianyang. The day before yesterday, I just received the King's reply."

As he spoke, he picked up a silk document that had been respectfully placed on the table. Unrolling it, one could see Heifu's proposal for the city's construction, along with the Qin King's批示 in his own hand.

"The King declares: This name is most excellent. The establishment of this new city shall be as you, minister, have proposed — to prosper the southern frontier!"

Shifting his gaze upward, Zhang Han also caught sight of this new city name that had won the Qin King's praise.

"Nanchang!"

PS: Second chapter in the evening.

(End of chapter)