Chapter 457: Rewards and Punishments Clearly Meted Out

In late July, at the great court assembly in Zhangtai Palace, the First Emperor of Qin ordered the herald to loudly recite the victory dispatch Heifu had sent, so that all the ministers might listen well and learn well!

"The Xiongnu Chanyu Touman attacked us with his elite troops east of the Great River, engaging the Longxi and Beidi armies. Routed by General Li's sudden cavalry charge and pressed hard by our foot soldiers, they collapsed utterly. As dusk fell and a great wind rose, your servant and General Li closed in from both wings to encircle Touman. Realizing he could not match the Qin troops in battle, Touman fled alone across the You River with several thousand strong horsemen, while his remaining tribes scattered like stars. Just then a sandstorm struck, and our army could not pursue by night, so we turned back. General Li then led several thousand infantry and cavalry downstream, intent on chasing the Chanyu and severing his head to hang upon the watchtowers of the Forest Light Palace…"

"This battle seized several hundred li of Xiongnu territory east of the Helan Mountains, relieved the siege of the White Sheep tribe in Shang Commandery, and took or captured twelve thousand Xiongnu heads. Hearing of the Xiongnu defeat, the White Sheep and other tribes surrendered at the mere rumor of our approach. All land south of the Northern River is now Qin territory!"

After the reading, the First Emperor stroked his beard and said, "Driving long chariots, we trampled through the breach of Helan Mountain! Excellent! Only my Hound and Horse, my two generals, could accomplish such a feat of soaring, sky-challenging heroism!"

He swept his gaze over the assembled ministers and said with a cold laugh, "Gentlemen, who among you still wishes to say that this was merely the wild talk of shamans and diviners? Who still insists that attacking the Xiongnu must bring only harm?"

The ministers, especially the Confucian scholars and the alchemist-magicians, looked at one another in dismay.

A few days earlier, when Qiang Hui and Meng Tian had struck at empty air, the main Xiongnu force's whereabouts had become a mystery, and contact with Feng Jie and the interior had been cut off for days — they had done no small amount of reckless speculating about the campaign. They had argued that attacking the Xiongnu was recklessly opening a border conflict, that even if the Xiongnu were driven off, the gains would be far less than the costs, saying things like, "The Xiongnu lands are salt marshes and alkaline flats, uninhabitable."

At that moment, when the war's outcome was still unknown, had an entire corps been lost and tens of thousands killed or wounded, the voices of opposition in the court would likely have surged into a deafening clamor…

But now, every sound had been silenced — crushed by the great victory at Helan Mountain and by Heifu's line, "trampled through the breach of Helan Mountain"!

Even more fortuitously, the Xiongnu Chanyu whom Qiang Hui and Meng Tian — originally expected to be the main force — had utterly failed to find, had instead been encountered by Heifu and Li Xin. With a great victory now won, who still dared to say that the "White Horse and Black Hound's Western Expansion" was nonsense babbled by sorcerers? The Emperor, who had been half-doubting, was now utterly convinced in his heart.

By now, the reports from every army corps had come back one after another, and the court could finally piece together the full course of this war.

Apart from Heifu and Li Xin's routing of the Chanyu's main force, the other armies had achieved no significant kills.

The veteran general Qiang Hui, who commanded the largest force, had marched north with banners unfurled in a vast, majestic display, frightening the various Loufan tribes along the way into surrendering. They crossed the Great River smoothly and recovered the ruins of Jiuyuan, but found no Xiongnu — only a single tribe hiding in the forest. They killed all its males and counted them as severed heads, but could only scrape together five hundred. One hundred fifty thousand soldiers and laborers — how could five hundred heads possibly be divided among them? It was truly a rather ugly result…

Meng Tian's corps fared somewhat better. Yunzhong also had many chariots and cavalry; although they lacked the experimental high-saddle stirrups, they still possessed a certain fighting capacity. After discovering that the Chanyu's royal court and Touman City were completely empty, Meng Tian sent his scouts ranging in all directions. If they could not find the Xiongnu army, no matter — first find their herds!

As it turned out, near the Yin Mountains, they did find an enormous herd belonging to the Xiongnu's Right Great Danghu tribe, which had failed to withdraw in time. The result went without saying: that Xiongnu force was routed, and Meng Tian's army took a thousand heads and captured fifty thousand head of cattle, sheep, and horses!

Wang Li, serving as Meng Tian's deputy, was not so fortunate. He and a commandant of Shang Commandery were ordered to lead twenty thousand men south across the Great River, pass through Loufan, cross the Kujie Sands to the lands south of the river, and search for Xiongnu traces. Instead, they lost their guides and their way — that is, they got lost. The twenty thousand men wandered at the desert's edge and in the end had to return to Loufan, by which time several hundred soldiers had died of thirst or gone missing.

This young General Wang would never shake off the title "The Lost Colonel."

Of course, compared to Feng Jie, his losses were nothing. Feng Jie's was the true disastrous defeat: three thousand chariots and cavalry were completely lost to the Xiongnu, and his infantry suffered heavy casualties. Worse, even while the Beidi and Longxi armies fought the decisive battle against the Xiongnu, Feng Jie had "watched from the ramparts." Although he argued that he had suspected a Xiongnu ruse and dared not strike rashly, the First Emperor did not intend to forgive him.

The First Emperor spoke slowly: "The art of war says that rewards and punishments must not be delayed. If rewards are late, doubt arises; if punishments are late, slackness sets in — and the army will not be well-ordered. In meting out rewards and punishments after a campaign, discussion must be broad and merit must be fully assessed to make it manifest. Today, let all ministers deliberate on the merits of each general!"

The Commandant of Justice Li Si was overseeing the army in Shang Commandery, the Chancellor did not handle such military matters, and the post of Grand Commandant had remained unfilled since the death of Wei Liao. So the First Emperor raised a hand and directly ordered the Imperial Secretary Feng Quji to preside over the court deliberation.

Feng Quji hurriedly stepped forward and said, "My unworthy son Feng Jie was defeated by the barbarians, losing troops and disgracing the state. As his father, I ought to recuse myself and not take part in this deliberation…"

The Emperor, however, said, "Qi Huangyang served as Commandant of Jin, in charge of punishments and military affairs. In recommending men for office, he did not reject a personal enemy; in recommending his own, he did not avoid his own son. As with recommendations, so with punishments. If he could do it, can you not?"

Standing below the dais, Zhao Gao shrank his head back. Anyone with sense could hear that the Emperor was angry — angry not at anything else, but at the fact that Feng Jie's defeat had marred what should have been a total victory.

His Imperial Majesty did not like blemishes.

Feng Quji could only obey. He then asked, "May I inquire of Your Majesty: in assessing the achievements of the commanding generals, should they be measured by heads taken, or by territory gained?"

These were the two methods by which Qin calculated merit: severed heads or captured cities.

The First Emperor said flatly, "Heads taken shall be the primary measure."

Feng Quji understood at once. After a brief discussion with the officials of the Imperial Secretary's office, they quickly produced an assessment of each general in strict accordance with the laws and ordinances governing the promotion of merit ranks.

The Beidi and Longxi armies had taken twelve thousand heads — a great merit, no doubt, and exceeding the benchmark by twofold, more than enough for Li Xin and Heifu to be promoted two full ranks. Meng Tian had seized Touman City and reached the Northern River, taking a thousand heads and capturing a vast number of livestock — this counted as a middle merit. Qiang Hui had subdued the Loufan and seized the old city of Jiuyuan, taking five hundred heads — this could only be counted as a minor merit.

Wang Li had lost his way, but since no one had ordered him to reach a specific place by a specific day for battle, it did not count as missing a deadline — a minor demerit!

Then came the hardest assessment. The imperial secretaries stole glances at Feng Quji. His expression was stern. Before the Emperor and the assembled ministers, not only did he not dare to go easy on his son, he even felt compelled to deliberately increase the severity of the punishment!

Just as the deliberation was concluded and Feng Quji was about to report the results to the First Emperor, another military dispatch arrived!

…

"It is a victory report from Li Xin."

The First Emperor took it and glanced at it, his dragon countenance beaming with delight. Since it was good news, he had the herald read it aloud before the assembly and ordered the court scribes to record it at once.

"Your servant, Commandant of Longxi Li Xin, bows twice and reports: Your servant pursued Touman with light cavalry and intercepted him at Fertile Field Ford, five hundred li north of Helan. With charging cavalry on land and boat-borne troops on the water, we killed and captured five thousand, and beheaded the Xiongnu Left Gudu Marquis. Just as Yunzhong troops were arriving to complete the encirclement, Touman, with his remaining thirty thousand horsemen, dared not give battle and fled west in utter rout!"

The dispatch was accompanied by a report from the army supervisor Meng Yi, which had already verified the number of heads Li Xin had taken!

By this point, of the sixty thousand men Chanyu Touman had brought to the lands south of the river, over half had been killed, wounded, or scattered. Meanwhile, Meng Tian had already led his army to occupy most of the Ordos Loop and had rekindled the beacon fires at the Gaique Fortress…

With the war fought to this stage, all the originally set strategic objectives had been fully achieved. The only regret was that Touman had fled too fast, and they had been unable to annihilate the Xiongnu completely.

Feng Quji had no choice but to have the secretaries recalculate everything, and then, following the order of punishment before reward, he announced:

"Reporting to Your Majesty: Feng Jie suffered over four thousand casualties, lost all his baggage and supplies, lost the battle and disgraced the state — a major demerit! He shall be demoted four ranks in succession, to Fifth Grand Master! He is stripped of the post of Commandant of Shang Commandery and shall return to the capital to await judgment!"

The assembled ministers fell silent. Many inwardly pitied Feng Quji. In recent years, the Wang clan had been raised high by the Emperor, yet Wang Jian had been allowed to retire in old age and Wang Ben had not been summoned back to court. Instead, the Meng and Feng families had gradually been given greater responsibilities. Feng Quji had even been a strong contender for Chancellor. But after this affair, Feng Quji would likely be dragged down by his son, and his standing in the Emperor's heart would suffer a severe blow…

"Wang Li is demoted one rank, to Left Chief of the Masses!"

At this, everyone's faces remained expressionless. Even if Wang Li were demoted to a commoner, what of it? The old general Wang Jian had not many years left. By custom, after his death, since Wang Ben himself was already a marquis, the title could pass directly to his grandson, Wang Li…

But a marquisate earned through military merit and a marquisate inherited were as different in weight as heaven and earth.

Next came Qiang Hui's reward and punishment. He was promoted one rank, to Steed-and-Chariot Chief of the Masses! This was the First Emperor showing special consideration to the old general. After this campaign, Qiang Hui would also retire.

Feng Quji continued his report: "Next, Meng Tian and Heifu. Meng Tian is promoted two ranks, to Steed-and-Chariot Chief of the Masses. Commandant Heifu is promoted two ranks, to Junior Grand Master!"

Meng Tian becoming Steed-and-Chariot Chief of the Masses was within everyone's expectations. Heifu, however, had repeatedly achieved merit in recent years, leaping ranks in promotion at an astonishing speed!

"A Junior Grand Master at twenty-seven. The Metropolitan Superintendent Ye truly found himself a fine son-in-law…" So thought everyone in their hearts.

Finally, the moment everyone had been waiting for with bated breath arrived…

"Li Xin shall be accounted first in merit! He is promoted directly to Grand Master!"

"Grand Master!"

The ministers' expressions varied — some astonished, some sighing with emotion. Grand Master — that was the rank Li Xin had held at the very height of his power!

Back then, after his catastrophic defeat in the campaign against Chu, the First Emperor had stripped Li Xin of all rank, reducing him to Fifth Grand Master and sending him to the northern frontier as a colonel. Ashamed and humiliated, his hair had turned white overnight.

But Li Xin had not sunk into obscurity. He had seized every opportunity to win new merit, and he had never failed again. Now, in this war against the Xiongnu, he had fought two great victorious battles and washed away his former disgrace in one stroke!

"In ancient times, there was Duke Mu, who thrice employed a defeated general; today, Your Majesty has raised General Li once more. Mengming Shi vowed an oath and crossed the river to crush the Jin army, and General Li, with a few thousand light cavalry, has swept away the Xiongnu!"

"Indeed! General Li is truly the Mengming Shi of our age!"

"The White Horse Flying General!"

Praises poured forth in an unending stream. All the ministers sensed that after this war, Li Xin would once again become one of the generals most trusted and relied upon by the Emperor.

The First Emperor was also deeply gratified. Li Xin, ah, Li Xin — at last, he had not let him down.

Rewards and punishments were settled. After a great battle, the Qin military underwent drastic changes — some fell into deep valleys, some remained mediocre and achieved nothing, and some distinguished themselves…

"Meng, Li, and Wei — these three will be the most heavily relied-upon generals of Great Qin on the northern frontier for the next decade!"

……

In mid-August, word of the rewards and punishments reached Helan Mountain, stirring a great commotion.

Amid the congratulations of "Junior Chief of the Masses" from his subordinates, a discordant note sounded.

"If the General had listened to me and led the troops north together to pursue the Chanyu, he would probably be a Grand Chief of the Masses by now!"

Gong Ao, who had become a "Grand Master" thanks to his bravery in battle last year and this year, stamped his feet in frustration, feeling sorry for Heifu.

Heifu, however, took it calmly, without the slightest envy toward Li Xin. He even secretly rejoiced: "Thank goodness Li Xin took the bullet for me."

His wife had long advised Heifu that achieving success young and showing too sharp an edge was no good thing — the faster you climb, the harder you fall.

So in this war, Heifu had often hidden himself behind Li Xin's brilliance.

Thus, Heifu did not rush to claim the foremost merit. Instead, he set up camp on the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain, built city walls, and ordered soldiers and laborers to open up fertile fields, dig irrigation ditches, and plant winter wheat.

Right now, outside, two very different moods prevailed: the Qin soldiers were cheering — thanks to the heads taken from those executed captives, all thirty thousand troops of the Beidi and Shangjun armies received rewards, each man promoted one rank in nobility. The cavalry who had gone north with Li Xin to pursue the Chanyu even got two ranks per man!

The laborers, however, were somewhat dazed. Faced with the court's rewards, they were half glad and half worried, keeping silent.

It turned out that along with the ranks and rewards for the officers and soldiers came the First Emperor's reply to the proposal by Heifu and Fusu. The Emperor, perhaps in a good mood from the great victory, proved receptive to advice and agreed to share merit with the laborers.

"The victorious merit of Great Qin extends grace even to oxen and horses — none fail to receive its virtue. How much more so the black-headed commoners?"

Thus, the dead among the laborers were granted pensions, the same as fallen soldiers, and were permitted burial in a Loyal Soldier Cemetery to be built locally. Once commanderies and counties were established, the authorities would conduct seasonal sacrifices there.

As for the survivors, the Emperor strictly upheld military law and deemed it inappropriate to grant noble ranks, but allowed that, according to statute, those without land be granted fifty mu of farmland.

But the problem was, the land granted was all on the eastern foothills of Helan Mountain!

"Those with families, wives, and children are permitted to move back to their native registers upon completing their service… Those without wives or children shall settle and garrison Helan Mountain, their household registration fixed there, and the authorities shall take local White Sheep and Loufan Hu women as wives for them!"

When Heifu read this clause, he first froze, then muttered under his breath:

"What did us single dogs ever do to anyone?"

(End of chapter)