Chapter 380: The Garrison Conscripts' Cry

From Lanzhou to Xianyang, a later-age high-speed train needs only three hours, but Heifu trudged along for an entire month. Only by late in the seventh month did he, travel-worn and dusty, feel his way to the Duyou Post Station, ten li west of Xianyang city…

The sky had already darkened; rushing back to Xianyang overnight was out of the question, so he could only rest at a traveler's lodge. Fortunately, two old friends, having heard of his return, were already waiting here for him — Zhang Han and Chen Ping, respectively.

"We have long awaited the Right Chief of the Masses!"

Zhang Han and Heifu counted as friends, and the gap in their status was not large, so they exchanged a greeting of equals. Chen Ping, however, was more like a retainer to Heifu, and he bowed deeply with clasped hands.

Heifu hurriedly got off the carriage and helped him up, saying with a smile, "I've kept Shaorong and Scholar Chen waiting a long while."

"Not long, not long." Zhang Han was in rather good spirits and waved his hand. "Talking freely with Chen Ping, I didn't even notice the sky growing dark."

"Oh?" Heifu glanced at the two of them, a little worried that Zhang Han might be poaching talent, and asked, "What were you two discussing?"

Zhang Han said, as if it were only natural, "Being here at Duyou, what we were discussing was, of course, the matter of the former Lord Wu'an."

Bai Qi was the most renowned and illustrious general in Qin history. The Battle of Yique, the Battle of Huayang, the Battle of Yan-Ying, the Battle of Changping — this whole series of campaigns are classics that every Qin general must revisit. In his lifetime, Bai Qi expanded Qin's territory by a thousand li, took over seventy cities, and slew over a million enemies. The name of Lord Wu'an shook the world.

But for all his brilliant battle achievements, this general's end was utterly miserable. After the Battle of Changping, over the issue of attacking Handan to destroy Zhao, he clashed with the Qin Chancellor, Fan Ju, on two separate occasions. In a fit of rage, Bai Qi repeatedly claimed illness, and even when King Zhaoxiang of Qin personally asked him to campaign against Zhao, he refused the command.

In the end, the Battle of Handan turned out exactly as Bai Qi had predicted: Qin suffered a great defeat, losing soldiers and generals, and the gains from Changping were thrown away completely.

Because word reached the king that Bai Qi had said, "The King would not heed his subject's counsel — how is it now?", King Zhaoxiang of Qin flew into a great rage, vented his fury on Bai Qi, stripped him of his noble rank down to common soldier, and banished him to Yinmi. When he reached Duyou, the king sent an envoy chasing after him, bestowing a sword for him to take his own life.

"It was right here."

Zhang Han pointed to a corner inside the pavilion and said, "I heard from the local elders that it was here that Lord Wu'an sighed with lament, and then drew the sword and cut his own throat. It was the eleventh month of the fiftieth year of King Zhaoxiang. The people of Du pitied him, gathered his bones, and returned them for burial. And in the villages and townships of Guanzhong, every year in the month that begins the year, they still offer sacrifices to him…"

As a man of Xiayang in Guanzhong, born of a military-merit family, Zhang Han must have experienced similar sacrifices as a child.

"Lord Wu'an, when banished, still looked resentful and unsubmissive, and had words left to say — what sort of crime is that?"

Zhang Han deeply regretted Bai Qi's fate, dying for a crime he did not commit. But in Heifu's view, to an emperor, a subject "harboring resentment in his heart" was indeed a grave crime — let alone someone like Bai Qi, a fierce general whose achievements overshadowed his sovereign and whose backbone was extremely hard, never yielding or softening.

"And what does Scholar Chen think?"

Heifu wanted to know what Chen Ping had said that made Zhang Han praise him so highly.

Chen Ping said in a low voice, "The execution of Lord Wu'an is no isolated case. In Qi, Sima Rangju fell under suspicion; in Wei, Wu Qi fled far away; in Yan, Yue Yi was slandered; in Zhao, Li Mu was framed. Why is this? Forget the fatuous rulers like Duke Jing of Qi, King Hui of Yan, and King Qian of Zhao — but even Marquis Wu of Wei was a ruler who preserved his inheritance, and King Zhaoxiang was a man of great talent and bold vision. Could they not have known the loyalty of Wu Qi and Lord Wu'an?"

"In my view, a general campaigning abroad, holding military authority and the tiger tally, is inevitably estranged from his sovereign. Sometimes, even with achievements, he will still be met with suspicion. If there are political enemies in court slandering him, it is adding frost atop snow. A filial son becomes suspect when accusations pile up; a tiger in the market becomes real when three men swear it. Thus, even loyal ministers will again suffer the execution of Duyou."

Zhang Han thought Chen Ping's summary was very high-level, but Heifu caught the implication behind Chen Ping's words…

Although Heifu appeared to enjoy favor, after the Qinian Palace deliberations, the sudden dispatch of Neishi Teng back to Xianyang had already been noticed by the sensitive Chen Ping. He, too, had vaguely guessed that Heifu might be at odds with some close minister of the Son of Heaven.

Heifu had already planned to have Chen Ping help him deal with Zhao Gao, but he did not intend to bring the matter up here. He smiled and said, "Indeed. Except for His Majesty, who is magnanimous, trusts men without suspicion, and allowed the old general Wang to retire peacefully, generals of high rank and heavy authority, from ancient times to now, have rarely met a good end… Let's not speak of it. The sky is dark; shall we rest here in Du Town tonight?"

"We have already found the best traveler's lodge in the town and prepared a banquet."

Zhang Han added with a mysterious air, "To wash the dust from Heifu's journey, and also to celebrate your promotion!"

Heifu shook his head. "Promotion? Why am I unaware of it?"

Zhang Han feigned anger. "Don't play dumb. Your own proposal — how could you not be clear about it?"

Heifu spread his hands. "I've spent this entire month or more on the road. How would I know what's happened in Xianyang?"

Zhang Han only then remembered this, clapped him on the shoulder, and said, "Alright, alright. Tonight I'll tell you properly — just how great a storm those two memorials of yours have stirred up in court!"

…

Duyou was once just an ordinary post station, but with the influx of immigrants from east of the mountains, it has now become a bustling little town. According to Chen Ping, most of the residents are wealthy households and merchants from the Wei region.

Entering the lodge, the three of them had an entire floor to themselves and ordered the servants to lay out food and drink. But instead of ordinary millet rice, what was brought out was a steaming basin of soup-cakes…

The policy in the Neishi region, forcing immigrants from east of the mountains to only grow and eat wheat, had been in effect for over a year. With watermills being built one after another along various rivers, wheat-based foods had become their signature fare. This soup-cake, too, was first created in Heifu's own kitchen: first, mix finely ground flour with cold meat broth, knead it, then cut it into chopstick-thick strips, each a foot long, and boil them in water. Add chicken broth, chive leaves, sauce, vinegar, and the like, and it becomes a bowl of food that fills the belly.

A pity — there was no oil-splashed chili, and the noodles weren't chewy enough. It still fell far short of the Shaanxi noodles in Heifu's memory. But no matter; he was fine as long as he had his rice.

Zhang Han and Chen Ping had also grown accustomed to this food. After the three had filled their stomachs, Zhang Han, picking his teeth, asked Heifu to tell them the detailed contents of his memorials again.

Zhang Han said, "This rank of Left Chief of the Masses I hold — I only muddled into it by helping you with papermaking. I never got to take part in court policy decisions; I only know the rough course of events."

"Then let's start with the 'Memorial on Establishing Military Farms to Guard the Frontier,' which General Li Xin and I jointly proposed."

Heifu said, "This was an idea that came to me after a trip to the Fuhan Fortress in Longxi Commandery."

He looked at Chen Ping and asked, "Has Scholar Chen ever served in the rotational conscript labor?"

Chen Ping said, "Since four years ago, for one month every year, I have performed corvée in the commandery or county, never missing once."

Heifu nodded. "Your current rank is Zanniao. This year's rotational service still cannot be exempted. However, since you are now my household steward, you can perform your corvée nearby in Xianyang."

Apart from the rotational conscript labor, people living under Qin rule had another obligation, which could not be exempted until the rank of Fifth Grand Master — that was "garrison service."

Among these, garrison conscripts were further divided into capital garrison and border garrison. Capital conscripts meant that every adult male, once in his life, had to come to the capital to perform labor. Border garrison, as the name implies, was to guard the frontier commanderies.

In his memorial, Heifu argued that when Lord Shang enacted these laws, Qin was merely a land of a thousand li west of the pass, and sending commoners to garrison the borders could not be considered very far.

But now things were different. Qin had unified all within the seas, possessing the vastness of the world, with thirty-six commanderies whose languages were mutually unintelligible and whose climates and customs differed greatly.

He dipped his finger in water and began drawing a map on the table: "For example, a batch of garrison conscripts from Chen Commandery is levied and sent to guard Yuyang. Just the journey takes two months. Food, clothing, and expenses along the way all come out of their own pockets — no small cost, enough to bankrupt a left-lane household. That is why, when levying conscripts for distant garrison duty, left-lane households are generally not conscripted. Once they arrive, the southern conscripts cannot acclimatize and cannot endure the bitter cold of the north. When winter comes, often one or two out of ten will die. This is what is meant by 'the transported collapse on the road, the garrisoned die at the frontier.'"

"After finally making it through the year, these Chen Commandery conscripts have just gotten used to life on the border, but their garrison term ends, and they begin the journey home. The next batch of conscripts arrives here, starting all over again as raw recruits…"

This was the complaint Heifu heard after going deep into the Longxi border fortresses, eating and living together with the garrison conscripts. Qin had only been unified for two years, and conscripts from distant lands were already suffering unbearably — that was why desertions occurred.

One could well imagine, with another ten years of accumulated resentment, what would happen then?

Chen Ping deeply agreed. The Qin people of Guanzhong were one thing — they were already used to this system. But the remnants of the six kingdoms east of the pass could not bear it.

"I will not hide it from the Right Chief of the Masses."

Chen Ping said, "Once they encounter the border garrison service, when the people from east of the mountains see their menfolk off, wives and children wail as if they are going to the execution ground. They even call it 'penal garrison duty.'"

These border garrison conscripts were often levied first from among live-in sons-in-law and merchants. In Heifu's view, once such conscripts reached the border, apart from manning the Yan and Zhao long walls and making a show of force, they had no ability whatsoever to go beyond the passes and fight. It was already good enough if they did not rebel or desert.

Zhang Han chimed in agreement: "Heifu's proposal is excellent! It's not just the people east of the mountains. In the past, when the Qin people of Guanzhong were sweeping away the six kingdoms, beheading the enemy brought rewards of official posts and noble ranks. These benefits were enough to cover the cost of food and clothing for distant campaigns. That is why the Qin people rejoiced at the news of war, fought bravely on the battlefield, and looked upon death as going home."

"Now it is different. Last year, the court dispatched troops to garrison the regions of Changsha and Cangwu in Jiangnan. After the men of Guanzhong went there, they were unaccustomed to the southern heat and humidity, and with malignant diseases like water parasites, two or three out of every ten soldiers died. Those who survived and returned from service received not a single coin in compensation. That is why the men of Guanzhong all regard going south as a perilous road…"

This was also why the military-merit nobility of Guanzhong unanimously supported Heifu's "westward expansion" strategy — that way, their sons and younger brothers would not have to go south.

Therefore, Heifu suggested to Qin Shi Huang that the time had come to change the old laws in accordance with the shifting situation. It would be better to divide the empire's thirty-six commanderies into several large regions: north of the Yellow River as the North, west of Hangu Pass as the West, south of the Huai River as the South. Strictly stipulate that southerners garrison the South, northerners garrison the North, and westerners garrison the West! In this way, while saving the cost of garrison duty, it would also ensure that conscripts were familiar with the local environment, greatly reducing their psychological resistance to serving.

On this foundation, further implement the policies of migrating people to strengthen the borders and establishing military farms for garrison defense.

"The Right Chief of the Masses's proposal is truly a policy that benefits both the state and the people!"

It would benefit not only the Qin people of Guanzhong, but also the remnants of the Six States east of the mountains. While Chen Ping admired this, he was also secretly astonished.

"He once saw that I harbored the ambition to rule all under heaven, but these proposals of his mostly target the ills of the present age. Though he has yet to formally set foot in the imperial court, he is already pointing out how to govern the realm!"

He was even more convinced that coming to Xianyang to join Heifu was the most correct decision he had ever made.

What Chen Ping did not know was that, at this very moment, what surfaced in Heifu's mind was a scene from three years ago. After the decisive battle between the Qin and Chu armies south of Qichun, he had pursued the routed enemy under Wang Jian's orders. Traveling northeast of Qixian, he had spent a night at a place called Daze Village.

A poor little town, an old Chu man who dared not voice his anger, Chu children whose eyes could not hide their fear and resentment…

Heifu could not forget that scene, and so a question often surfaced in his heart.

Later generations would say: The garrison conscripts raised their cry, and Hangu Pass fell. The Chu people lit a single torch, and pitifully, it all turned to scorched earth.

The Land of Abundance within the passes, the hundred-li palaces of Xianyang, the bustling market towns before his eyes, the place where millions of Qin subjects lived.

Although Heifu was a man of Nan Commandery, he was quite fond of Guanzhong: he loved the endless stream of carts and horses on Wei Bridge, loved the dazzling array of goods in the southern market of Changyang Street, loved the new mansion where he and his wife shared their deep affection, loved the leisurely afternoons spent reading and gaining knowledge with Zhang Cang in the archive chamber, loved the steaming hot soup-cakes of the Shandong immigrants in Duyi, and he also loved the papermaking workshops by Hao Pool that worked day and night—that was Heifu's painstaking effort…

He loved this life of peace.

Having personally taken part in the process of the Six Kings being vanquished and the realm united, he knew just how hard-won peace truly was.

If an age of chaos were to come again, everything before his eyes would be utterly destroyed in a single day. That would be a tremendous pity, and also a tragedy and regret for civilization itself.

However.

"If this oppressive government could be abolished, if the garrison duty at Yuyang were simply eliminated, then Chen Sheng and Wu Guang would not need to travel far. Would that fire at Daze Village still have ignited?"

(End of Chapter)