Chapter 480: Black Terror

A quarter-hour later, on the crystalline white ice of the Wei River, several blooming splashes of vivid blood had appeared. Two corpses were dragged ashore and laid side by side.

At the ferry-post pavilion, officials great and small of Chunyu County all held their breath and knelt on the cold, hard ground, their hearts uneasy and fearful. Only Heifu sat on a mat, drinking hot water personally boiled by his subordinates, as if nothing had happened.

He did not fly into a rage and pound the table cursing; instead, unruffled, he drank a few mouthfuls of hot water, set the lacquer cup gently on the table, and beckoned the Magistrate of Chunyu County — whose knees ached from kneeling — to come forward. Smiling, he said:

"This is the first time in my life I have been the target of an assassination. Magistrate of Chunyu, you and your lot have truly given me a grand gift for taking up my post!"

Though Heifu's dark face showed no trace of anger, and his smile was as genial as when they first met, the Magistrate of Chunyu was nearly frightened out of his wits. When he had heard that the newly appointed Commandery Governor was a "Senior Leader of the Conscript Ranks," he had wasted no time asking people traveling from Guanzhong to Qi: just who was this Commandant Wei?

People from Guanzhong told him: this was a close minister of the Emperor, deeply favored and trusted. During the northern campaign against the Xiongnu, the Eldest Prince, Fusu, served as army supervisor. In the Battle of Henan, he and Li Xin routed the Xiongnu Chanyu. After the battle, he buried several thousand Xiongnu captives alive. He was a man who could slaughter without blinking an eye…

The Magistrate of Chunyu had not even had time to curry favor, yet such a vile incident had occurred. Already terrified and at a loss, when Heifu questioned him, apart from kowtowing and confessing his fault, he was utterly stupefied.

"I truly don't know how this fellow ever became a magistrate."

Gong Ao shook his head vigorously. The retainers guarding Heifu were all one-in-a-hundred warriors. How could three scrawny fishermen be any match for them? They were dispatched in short order.

He had originally wanted to take one alive, but the man desperately fled toward a thin patch of ice, causing the river ice to crack. He fell into an ice hole and never resurfaced. The three men's original plan had also been to lure Heifu and the others to the thin ice, then use external force to crack it. Even if they couldn't kill the dog of a governor, they'd freeze half the life out of him…

This was clearly an organized, premeditated assassination, yet the Magistrate of Chunyu had been kept completely in the dark from start to finish. Had the assassins not been after a big fish like Heifu, the magistrate — who had let someone carry him across the river — would have long been dead. He was incompetent to the extreme.

It was not only the magistrate; the County Commandant in charge of the post and ferry also bore culpability.

Heifu let those two useless fellows kneel and clear their heads a while longer, then asked, "Where is the Deputy Magistrate of Chunyu?"

"This humble official is here."

An official around forty, speaking with a thick Nanyang accent, stepped forward to pay his respects to Heifu. He called himself Chao Ping. While the magistrate and commandant kowtowed and confessed their guilt, Chao Ping had not said a word, for he bore no responsibility for this. It was only after the fact that Heifu noticed Chao Ping had ordered his men to surround this post pavilion, forbidding anyone from leaving.

Heifu did not give direct instructions, but instead asked, "The Deputy Magistrate is the magistrate's second-in-command, specifically in charge of justice and criminal cases. With such an incident, what is to be done next?"

Chao Ping answered fluently: "First, a case must be filed, charging these three with rebellion. Though they themselves are dead, their corpses must still be mutilated, their heads severed and displayed in the marketplace to overawe petty criminals. Then, according to the penal code, their three clans must be exterminated!"

The so-called three clans referred to parents, brothers, and wife and children. The family members of the three criminals added up to ten or twenty people.

Chao Ping stated flatly: "Characters shall be tattooed on their faces with ink, their noses sliced off, their left and right arms chopped off, and they shall be flogged to death with whips. Then their heads shall be cut off, and their mangled, bloody corpses discarded in the main street. During the execution, if anyone cries out or curses, their tongue shall be torn out! Only thus can the common people be awed, so they dare not imitate such crimes!"

This was the harsh punishment for the crime of "rebellion." Heifu had once seen Gao Jianli and his friends suffer this penalty.

This was a cruel era. You didn't want to be slaves to a conquered nation; in a moment of righteous fury, raising your arm in revolt felt satisfying, didn't it? Dying on the spot was the easy way out. Your surviving family would instead face even harsher treatment. The Qin Code stipulated: if your family and wife proactively reported you before you committed a crime, they could avoid implication. If not, they could not escape involvement.

Heifu nodded coldly. "As it should be." Then he asked, "And after that?"

Chao Ping said: "The statutes state: five households form a wu, ten households form a shi. Unauthorized relocation is forbidden. They must supervise and denounce one another. If a crime is not exposed, all ten households share the punishment. The shiwu, neighbors, village chief, village deputy, and village gatekeeper of these three criminals shall all be collectively punished, detained, and interrogated. The guilty shall be convicted of rebellion; the negligent shall be sentenced to hard labor as bondservants."

Anti-Qin activity inevitably involved personnel comings and goings and secret plotting. Their behavior would certainly differ from ordinary people. If their neighbors and village chief knew but did not report it, or knew but turned a blind eye, they too could not escape culpability.

Chao Ping continued: "Also, the Wei River ferry post where these three operated for years — the post chief, thief-catchers, post father, post soldiers, and boatmen, over ten people in all, must all be arrested and interrogated."

By sheer coincidence, letting three men who harbored grievances against Qin act as guides — the post chief and his people certainly could not escape involvement.

In this way, those arrested and punished swelled from three people to nearly a hundred.

This was not Heifu deliberately expanding the scope of the crackdown, but standard Qin procedure for handling rebels. Shang Yang had thought it through clearly back then: every person has social ties. Some may not care about themselves, but they must consider their parents, wife, children, neighbors, and friends. Thus, following the threads of interpersonal connections, combing through them one by one, then casting a net to haul them all in and investigate one by one — sooner or later, the accomplices in this assassination attempt would be found.

For example, the wandering swordsmen who had close dealings with the three, the merchants and peddlers who provided them with intelligence, the officials with the authority to arrange for them to guide people across the river here, and even the powerful local clans of Jiaodong secretly organizing anti-Qin forces…

After hearing the deputy magistrate's report, Heifu was very satisfied. He nodded and smiled: "It seems that in Chunyu County, there is at last one senior official who can get things done."

"This humble official merely acts according to the law." Chao Ping bowed his head, knowing he had seized his opportunity.

Thereupon, Heifu exercised his authority as Commandery Governor and decreed: "The Magistrate of Chunyu is old, muddled, and incompetent. After five years in office, he still does not understand the local speech and cannot recognize malefactors. He occupies a post without performing its duties. He is hereby removed from the position of county magistrate, to be concurrently held by Deputy Magistrate Chao Ping!"

"The County Commandant likewise — his governance of the county has been negligent, allowing treachery to sprout and conniving at rebels infiltrating the post house, nearly causing a great calamity. He is likewise stripped of his post! Sir Gong Ao, of the rank of Gong Dafu, shall serve as Acting County Commandant."

The Magistrate and Commandant of Chunyu looked at each other. They had not imagined that on the very first day of the new Commandery Governor's arrival, they would lose their official seals. Yet they dared not raise any objection. They bowed their heads and accepted their guilt. They would follow Heifu to the commandery office to be dealt with by the Supervisory Censor.

Deputy Magistrate Chao Ping had languished in frustration under the incompetent magistrate for years. Now suddenly promoted, he was naturally excited, eager to roll up his sleeves and thoroughly investigate this case.

But Gong Ao had resigned as Commandant of Nanchang County back then precisely to follow Heifu. Now being asked to serve as Acting Commandant, he was utterly unwilling and only wanted to stay close and protect Heifu.

Heifu, however, patted him on the shoulder and said in a low voice, "I still have dozens of retainers and fellow villagers from Nan Commandery by my side. You've led them for so long; it's time for them to stand on their own. Besides, when you handle matters, I can rest easy. Once this case is concluded and the new county commandant arrives, you can return to my side. I have other important tasks for you…"

Gong Ao had no choice but to nod and accept the order.

Heifu had always felt that Gong Ao was loyal and brave, and that being a mere guard captain was a waste of his talent. This was an opportunity for him to gain more experience and, incidentally, help Heifu firmly control Chunyu County — the western gate of Jiaodong.

"This is also the beginning of my governance of Jiaodong," Heifu thought to himself.

"This case is hereby entrusted to you two to handle. It must be concluded within one month!"

Heifu did not intend to expand this case beyond Chunyu County. Within the county, he could unleash a bloody storm and impose high-pressure rule, dismissing all incompetent officials. This would help him establish his authority.

But for other places, they must not be affected for now.

Arranging for trusted aides to take charge and conduct a mass search of one county — that Heifu could do. But if it spread to the entire commandery, just as he was newly arrived and Wang Ben was leaving Qi to return to Qin, a single misstep in control could lead to a major disaster.

Jiaodong Commandery had 130,000 registered households, over 700,000 people. There were probably a few dozen senior officials and hundred-bushel clerks from Qin territory; the rest were native officials. Including the retainers and followers brought by Qin officials, the Qin people in Jiaodong numbered no more than a thousand. There were another two thousand garrison soldiers in Jimo City, but the garrison's origins were mixed, mostly locals, and they were also unreliable.

To put it bluntly, if not for the ten-thousand-strong garrison force stationed in Linzi keeping things in check, any two powerful clans in Jiaodong could join hands and overturn the commandery office in Jimo at any time…

Relying on these people to purge the entire commandery, offending everyone indiscriminately — the real enemies who wanted Heifu dead would probably laugh out loud in their dreams.

"Unite the majority, strike at a small handful. If I cannot achieve this, I will be unable to gain a foothold in Jiaodong!"

…

Having made up his mind, Heifu stayed in Chunyu County for only two days. These were two days of utter turmoil throughout Chunyu County.

On the third day, Heifu's convoy was about to leave Chunyu. Passing through the marketplace, a light snow began to fall again. Heifu looked out the carriage window and saw a horrifying sight.

The extermination of the three clans was being carried out here. Over twenty blood-drenched corpses, subjected to the "Five Punishments," hung displayed outside the marketplace. Heifu could smell the stench of entrails and bloody flesh.

The weather was cold, and the steaming blood and flesh quickly stiffened. Limbs were twisted, faces ghastly, like ice-sculpted demons.

This terrifying scene deeply shocked the locals who had been ordered to come and watch. Their legs trembled; fear overcame anger. Resistance came at a heavy price. Thus, when Heifu's carriage passed by, the native locals were all afraid, and none dared look at him directly.

Three men rebelled, and it implicated dozens or hundreds to be executed, and hundreds or thousands to be punished and sentenced to hard labor. In the coming month, Chunyu County, shrouded in frost, snow, and white mist, would be enveloped in the black terror of Qin officials!

This was merely having the local officials handle matters according to the law, without any admixture of personal rage or vengeance. "Tyrannical Qin" was not just an empty phrase.

The wind and snow outside seemed to intensify. Heifu closed the carriage window and shut his eyes.

"Terror can overawe for a time, but if only terror remains, can such rule be stable and lasting?"

The carriage and horses traveled east, leaving Chunyu behind, leaving only two lines of bloodstained wheel tracks in the snow…

…

PS: There are many theories about which three clans the "Three Clans" actually refers to; only one version is adopted here.

(End of chapter)