Chapter 394: Fine Bows

In the twenty-eighth year of Qin Shi Huang, during the last ten days of Yin month (the first month of the lunar calendar), spring had long since arrived in the south, but in Beidi Commandery the final frost and snow had only just fallen, and farm work would not fully begin until the second month.

The weather was just turning warm but still held a chill. A column of over a hundred men was marching along the banks of the Jing River, where the ice and snow were gradually melting…

This column had chariots and horses. At the very front, two war chariots cleared the way. Both the chariot-left and chariot-right were fully armed, some bearing dagger-axes and halberds, others carrying bows and arrows on their backs. Even the charioteers wore long swords and kept hand-crossbows close at hand.

Behind them came a tall covered carriage drawn by a team of four horses. Its canopy was black, and the side panels were painted red. Inside sat Heifu, Commandant of Beidi Commandery, upright and proper. He wore a formal cap, a crimson robe, a black cap, and a long sword at his waist, and he bore a silver seal with a blue cord. Front, rear, left, and right, he was guarded by halberd-bearing officers and soldiers.

Behind the covered carriage were several dozen riders and over a hundred foot soldiers following along. It could be said that the light chariots blotted out the sun and the vehicles and horsemen filled the road! There were even drum wagons beating out rhythms, and pipes and mouth-organs playing.

A warrior with a black turban wrapped around his head and a moustache above his lip rode a fine steed, moving to the beat of the pipes and drums as he roamed around the column on all sides, a rather smug expression on his face.

Finally, he rode up beside Heifu's carriage and said excitedly, "In the past, I only ever saw the Commandery Governor's spring inspection procession in Yan County, and I never thought much of it then. But today, clearing the way for the Commandant's county inspection—I truly feel incomparably majestic!"

This warrior was none other than Gong Ao, who had resigned from his post as Acting Chief of Nanchang two years earlier and had been living idle at home. When he learned that Heifu had been promoted to Commandant of Beidi, he found a way to obtain a travel tally and rushed to Beidi, declaring that even if he received not a single grain of pay, he would still serve as Heifu's retainer and house guest!

Toward this uninvited Gong Ao, Heifu's Chief Clerk Chen Ping harbored misgivings: "You, sir, were once a County Commandant, yet you resigned your office to become a guest of the Commandant. If this reaches the ears of those with intent, what will they make of it?"

Gong Ao had never much liked the look of that pretty boy Chen Ping, and retorted, "I am now a commoner with no rank, and I am not required to render service this year. Which law or ordinance have I broken?"

In the end, after some thought, Heifu still let Gong Ao become his "house guest"—in truth, the captain of his bodyguards. This man was a southerner and could not be of great use in northern warfare, but his loyalty to Heifu was something none of the officers and officials in Beidi could match.

More importantly, although Heifu was now in Beidi, he had not forgotten that his foundation was still the three thousand men of the Southern Commandery. And Gong Ao was the intermediary who kept him in close contact with them. Thinking of it that way, Gong Ao's resignation was truly a tremendous piece of good fortune.

Gong Ao had only been in Beidi Commandery a few days before Heifu took him, along with Chief Clerk Chen Ping, personal guard Wang Wei, cavalry commander Yiqu White Wolf, and others, out on a county inspection…

Back in Southern Commandery, Heifu had once accompanied his father-in-law Ye Teng on a county inspection and got drawn into the rebellion of the Ba people in Yidao. In truth, it was not only the Commandery Governor—the Commandant also had both the authority and the duty to periodically tour his jurisdiction. For a newly appointed official, it was especially important to begin inspections as soon as possible.

The art of war says: Know the enemy and know yourself, and in a hundred battles you will never be in peril. Know yourself but not the enemy, and you will win one and lose one. Know neither the enemy nor yourself, and every battle will end in peril.

Heifu harbored ambitions for the north, but he also clearly recognized that his enemy this time was not some petty, small-scale Rong tribe, but the Xiongnu.

Even though at this time the Xiongnu were still locked in a tripartite balance with the Yuezhi and the Eastern Hu and were not yet at full strength, the nomadic peoples were a nation in arms. The Xiongnu still had a hundred thousand men who could draw bows, and their territory stretched vast for thousands of li—they were not to be underestimated.

Therefore, before making a move, he first had to "know himself."

When Heifu had arrived in Beidi to take up his post the previous autumn, he had passed through several counties along the Ni River, but it had been a cursory glance without any deep investigation. So this time, he decided to spend a month or so making a thorough circuit.

The Qin dynasty did not permit officials to travel incognito on inspection—the emperor himself excepted—so Heifu could hardly avoid making a great show of his journey. Though his retinue was large, Heifu cut down on the social obligations at each county along the way. Setting out from Yiqu City in mid-first month, by the last ten days of the first month he had already turned onto the Huizhong Road and, following the smooth path, entered the borders of Jingyang County…

Hearing the pipes and mouth-organs from afar and seeing the procession approach, travelers and carts on the road all had to yield and make way. But occasionally, someone would run into the middle of the road, prostrate themselves, and lodge a complaint.

Heifu had his men stop the complainant and asked a few questions. It turned out to be a resident from a nearby hamlet.

A gaunt old farmer, clutching withered wheat stalks, wept and complained: "The field officials clearly said that if drought, violent storms, floods, locusts, or other insect pests damage the crops, we must report the acreage affected, and the authorities can reduce or remit the land tax. A few days ago, hailstones the size of a baby's fist fell and battered much of the heading winter wheat. We went to the township to request a tax reduction, but we were driven out. The field officials said they only handle disasters affecting millet, not the winter wheat harvest, and that the tax must still be paid as usual…"

After listening quietly, Heifu summoned a Commandant Clerk and instructed him to take this old farmer directly to the Jingyang County jail and hand him over to the County Deputy and the jail clerk in charge of hearing cases, letting Jingyang County adjudicate the matter on its own according to the law.

Commandant Hei also explained to the old farmer: "This is a matter for the Commandery Governor and the Commandery Deputy. It is not my place to intervene. Elder, you had best follow the legal procedure and appeal!"

After the old farmer was led away, Gong Ao was somewhat disappointed: "I thought the Commandant would hear the case right there at the field's edge, and then send us to bring those corrupt and harsh officials to justice."

Chen Ping was speechless. Gong Ao had once been a County Commandant—how could he be so "lawless in his disregard for the king's law"?

He said, "Why use an ox-cleaver to kill a chicken? What the Commandant did is far more astute than personally intervening. Now that Jingyang County sees the Commandant's own clerk personally escorting this old farmer to bring his accusation, how would they dare not enforce the law impartially?"

Chen Ping's opinion matched Heifu's. Matters that were not within his purview were to be left entirely alone. The Commandery Governor, Zhao Hai, was not a strong governor like Ye Teng, who was accomplished in both civil and military affairs. The two men carefully maintained the boundary of their respective authorities. Heifu did not wish to make Zhao Hai unhappy, and Zhao Hai, on the verge of retirement, did not wish to offend a newly favored official like Heifu, who carried an imperial mandate…

Thus the two men worked together cautiously, enduring each other for the sake of the state. How could this delicate balance be destroyed by a few acres of winter wheat battered by hail?

Those who follow different paths cannot make plans together. Chen Ping and Gong Ao rather looked down on each other, and on the journey that followed, the things each man concerned himself with were also quite different.

Chen Ping observed the amount of farmland along the roadside, silently calculating, and discovered that of all the counties along the route, this one had the flattest land, the best irrigation, and the most diligent farmers.

"I have heard that west of the Longkou pass in Jingyang, all is pastureland with rich grass and fine water. Only Jingyang, lying to the east, farms a single county, yet it can supply the military provisions for Wushi, Chaona, and Xiao Pass. The stability of Beidi is tied to this place…"

Conversely, the vast herds of livestock from Wushi and Chaona also aided Jingyang's ox-drawn plowing. Every household in Jingyang had either an ox or a horse, saving a great deal of manpower during the spring plowing season.

"When the Commandant campaigns in the north in the future, Jingyang and Qi County will surely be his granaries. The matter of establishing military farms and stockpiling grain must be set in motion this very year!"

Chen Ping's mental abacus clicked and clattered away. Though the day when he would "carve up the realm" was still far off, helping Heifu manage the military affairs and provisions of a single commandery already gave him a great sense of accomplishment.

Gong Ao, on the other hand, was fond of martial matters and saw an entirely different scene.

He noticed that whether they were passersby on the road or local farmers, most of them traveled on horseback! The young and able-bodied men by the roadside wore the trousers and riding tunics of the Rong and Di, yet they saluted Heifu with the standard Central Xia bow with hands clasped. Short swords and long blades hung from their waists, and some even carried bows on their backs. All had sturdy arms and thick waists, standing a full head taller than this southerner…

"The common people of this place have made a custom of honoring martial prowess."

Gong Ao sighed to Heifu, "Even farmers tilling the fields wear weapons and look ready to draw a bow and shoot at any moment! They far surpass Southern Commandery!"

"If they were not so, how could the Qin soldiers west of the pass have swept through the six states east of the pass?"

Heifu laughed. "Beidi, Shang, and Longxi Commanderies all press close to the Rong and Di. Though the Long Wall separates them, the locals must still practice warfare and maintain readiness in order to resist the Rong and Di's periodic raids. Add to that the mixing of Xia and Rong peoples, and they have absorbed the Rong custom of honoring death in battle and shaming death by illness. The local men all esteem physical strength, can ride horses, favor swords and blades, and excel at archery and hunting."

Chen Ping nodded in agreement. "Indeed. That is why the ancient 'Qin Airs'—the 'Chariots Rumble,' 'Four Teams,' and 'Little War Chariot' odes—all speak of chariots, horses, and the hunt. They describe the customs of Longxi, and Beidi is the same. Its spirit and customs have been so since antiquity, and to this day its songs are stirring and its traditions still endure."

Though the men of Yan and Zhao also sang stirring, tragic songs, what they favored more was private feuding. The Qin people west of the pass were different: tamed by the laws of Shang Yang, they took joy only in public warfare and dared not engage in private feuds!

This unique geographical environment and the quality of its populace naturally made it a key source of troops for the Qin state.

And as the county with the most immigrants from the Central Plains and the largest registered commoner population, Jingyang was Heifu's first choice for selecting soldiers and commanders!

He said to his two trusted followers, Chen Ping and Gong Ao, "I wish to use the surrendered Rong people as hunting hounds, to seize the crafty hares beyond the frontier for me. But no matter how loyal a dog, it is still a beast. When its wild nature erupts, it will bite. I also need some fine bows to hold in my hands—bows that can not only shoot down the birds soaring high above, but can also keep their aim trained on the hounds' spines at any moment, so they dare not rebel…"

In the afternoon, when they arrived at the Jingyang county seat, the County Commandant and other officials were already at the gate to welcome them. After exchanging a few pleasantries, Heifu gave the order:

"Go at once to the county seat and every township, and summon the local sons of good families who excel at riding and archery and honor martial skill to come see me!"

The "fine bows" Heifu sought were precisely a special group among the Qin people west of the pass: the sons of good families!

(End of chapter)