Chapter 503: A Fish Enters the Sea

From Pingdu Township all the way to Yeyi County, Heifu felt the hostility here at every step. When women in the village lanes saw the black army banners passing by, they instantly reacted as if facing a great enemy, clutching the children beside them as if what approached were not government troops but bandits and jackals. Farmers weeding the fields would, once the Qin soldiers had gone far, spit viciously at their retreating figures, and the half-grown youths beside them would eagerly imitate the act…

Because the Qin officials had arrested their beloved "Lord Tian." Tian Dan was to Qi what Yue Fei was to the people of Song — except Yue Fei failed, while Tian Dan succeeded. He preserved a state on the verge of annihilation and restored a kingdom utterly defeated. His deeds have been mythologized and spread throughout the Qi lands.

To borrow a phrase Fan Ju once used to counsel King Zhao of Qin: there were people in Qi who did not even know who the King of Qi was, yet they certainly knew Lord Anping, Tian Dan. Decades later, could anyone say the conquered people of Qi did not still yearn for another national hero like Tian Dan to arise in their homeland?

Moreover, Tian Dan's descendants had treated the people under their rule well, and life in Yeyi was relatively prosperous. The locals held Tian Guang and his son in deep affection and esteem. After the Qin dynasty took over the region, the taxes and levies only increased, which made the Tian clan's benevolence stand out all the more.

And so, all along this journey, Heifu constantly felt as though he were surrounded by a vast ocean of hostile commoners. Fortunately, he had applied to the imperial court in advance to transfer two thousand troops to Jimo to "guard the gold mines." Now, fully armed soldiers flanked him in tight, impenetrable ranks, deterring any local hothead who might fancy himself a champion of the people from acting rashly. Had it been otherwise, riding through town with only a hundred men, at any moment someone could have rallied the crowd with a single shout and surged forward to kill him.

The last time he had felt this way was in Huaiyang City, and at Daze Village. The Chu people hated Qin, and the Qi people were no different — Yeyi even more so. Heifu could already foresee that after he dealt with Tian Guang and his son, the entire county would hate him for a very long time.

But it was something he had to do. The assassination case that Magistrate Chao Ping of Chunyu County and Gong Ao had been jointly investigating, after half a year of overt and covert probing, ultimately pointed to the Tian clan of Yeyi. Since the other side wanted him dead, Heifu had to strike swiftly, ruthlessly, and with precision. How could he allow another to snore beside his own bed? Since they had attempted assassination once, there would surely be a second time!

But to Heifu's disappointment, when their party arrived at the still-smoking Yeyi City, where the fighting had only just ended, the Commandant of Jiaodong, who had arrived ahead of them, reported to him in a trembling, fearful manner: "Governor, your subordinate was negligent and failed to capture Tian Du…"

…

"Commandant Yan, you have over a thousand commandery troops under your command, and I notified you days in advance to bring your soldiers and encircle the area, to take Yeyi without fail and bring the Tian clan to justice. And yet you ended up alerting the enemy, letting Tian Du and his entire household escape — not a single one captured?"

By all rights, a Commandant was a senior official of the two-thousand-bushel rank, the deputy head of a commandery, and had no need to bow his head to a Governor. But at this moment, under Heifu's interrogation, this Commandant Yan was sweating like rain.

Heifu's guess was correct: this Commandant Yan was not clean either, having taken plenty of favors from Tian Guang and his son. Once he learned that the affair had been exposed, to avoid being investigated by the court, he would surely rush to Yeyi City and fight the Tian clan to the death, trying to silence them with murder.

In that case, Heifu's plan of killing with a borrowed knife would have succeeded, and the infamy of slaughtering Tian Dan's descendants could be gifted to this Commandant Yan.

Yet he had still underestimated the Commandant's sheer incompetence — he had actually let Tian Guang's son, Tian Du, get away!

Commandant Yan was a descendant of Yan Jun Chuli Ji from the time of King Hui of Qin, a distant scion of the Qin royal house, yet he possessed not a shred of his ancestor's reputation as the "Brain Trust." He reported guiltily:

"Tian Guang's son, Tian Du, somehow learned of the news in advance. He had several of his retainers seize the Magistrate of Yeyi and pretend to defend the city, while he himself fled with his family…"

Heifu pressed, "Fled where?"

Commandant Yan replied, "To a fishing port north of Yeyi, called Linju. I have already dispatched several hundred men in pursuit, but Tian Du's retainers and followers are numerous, and they resisted every step of the way. By the time the soldiers captured Linju, they saw that Tian Du and his family had already boarded a large ship, hoisted its sails, and sailed away."

Heifu rolled his eyes. Once they were out at sea, there was truly no catching them now.

The people of Qi lived off the sea. As early as the Spring and Autumn period, they were famed for the "profits of fish and salt" and were the first to develop a seafaring industry. During the time of Duke Jing of Qi, he sailed the Bohai Sea several times, once lingering on the coast for as long as six months before his ministers strongly remonstrated with him and he reluctantly returned.

When King Fuchai of Wu contended for hegemony, the Qi navy fought the invading Wu fleet off the coast of Langya in East Asia's first naval battle — and won…

When Qi fell, the Grandee of Jimo and the Commander of Yongmen strongly urged King Jian of Qi not to surrender, to resist to the end, but the King of Qi would not listen. Later, the Grandee of Jimo followed the King of Qi west to Guanzhong and dashed his head against the Ba Bridge, dying there — Heifu was present at the time. The Commander of Yongmen, meanwhile, fled to the coast, rallied the fleet, and sailed out to sea with a large group of scholars from the Six States who saw Qi as their final base.

As for the fate of these holdouts, opinions have always varied.

Some say they went to the large islands beyond the sea, living among the barbarian savages. Some say they pledged allegiance to the "Lord of the Vast Sea" on the opposite shore; for years, people have returned from there to the Central Plains to carry on the anti-Qin cause. Still others say they are entrenched on the islands north of Jiaodong, strung like a strand of pearls, raiding the coastal counties, townships, and salt fields of Jiaodong, and that it is this very group who kills every Qin official on sight.

The Qin side, by contrast, was a bunch of land-lubbers from west of the pass. Coming to the seaside and staring out at the boundless, misty waters, all they could do was glare helplessly. They could barely manage things on shore, but against enemies whose traces were unfathomable at sea, they had no recourse.

In the parlance of later ages, command of the sea was not in the government's hands. Once they left the shore, Tian Du and his retainers and family could come and go as they pleased…

Unable to conjure a fleet out of thin air to root out the weeds, Heifu could only coldly interrogate Commandant Yan.

"Commandant Yan, you are stationed in Huang County, right next door to Yeyi. How could you not know that the Tian clan kept a multitude of retainers and guests, and colluded with sea bandits to plot sedition? Why did you not prohibit this earlier?"

"And after Tian Guang's assassination plot against this official came to light, you disregarded my proposal and attacked rashly, thereby alerting the enemy and letting Tian Du escape. These two matters together constitute the crime of aiding and abetting bandits!"

Commandant Yan had a massive headache. This Governor Heifu was a man who could speak directly with the Emperor. One impeachment memorial from him, and his own official career would be finished, and the entire Yan Jun clan would suffer disgrace. He could only swallow his pride and plead with Heifu:

"Your subordinate acknowledges his error, but I beg the Governor to give me one more chance! I will surely round up all the remnants of Tian Guang and his son's faction left in Yeyi and elsewhere in one fell swoop!"

Heifu remained silent and pondered. Only when Commandant Yan was on the verge of kneeling before him did he sigh and say: "I have thought it over carefully. The Tian clan has ruled Yeyi for three generations. In Yeyi, the common people know only Tian Guang and not the Qin officials. Many are willing to act as their eyes and ears. And Tian Du is cunning, escaping by a ruse. This was not something you, Commandant Yan, could have controlled…"

"Although I will report the events in Yeyi truthfully to the higher authorities, whether or not I impeach you, Commandant Yan, will depend on your performance from now on."

Heifu smiled and dismissed the profusely grateful Commandant Yan.

Wei Yang, standing nearby, was somewhat puzzled and asked in a low voice, "My lord Governor, this Commandant is incompetent. Why keep him?"

Heifu glanced at his nephew. Young man, he simply didn't understand the subtleties at play here.

"Even if I impeach him and have him stripped of his post, what then? The court will quickly dispatch a new Commandant to Jiaodong — perhaps a fierce general from the army."

Wei Yang was even more confused. "Wouldn't that be a good thing?"

Heifu laughed. "One mountain cannot hold two tigers. A strong Governor can seize the Commandant's authority; a strong Commandant can monopolize military affairs, leaving the Governor unable to intervene at all. Therefore, I don't need a strong Commandant. A man with a handle in my grasp, who follows my lead, is the best option…"

Wei Yang felt his entire worldview being overturned. He stood stunned for a moment before saying, "But this man's abilities are mediocre. I fear he will hinder the capture of the criminals."

"Did you think I would rely on him?"

Heifu said, "Among my subordinates, there are quite a few with exceptional abilities who just need an opportunity to prove themselves!"

Like Gong Ao, like Cao Shen. Hmm, Liu Ji was the exception — Heifu would keep him firmly suppressed. Aside from hard, grueling labor like escorting prisoners and prospecting for mines, he would give him not a single chance to earn merit. Next, it would be best to send him to be the constable of some barren, godforsaken coastal islet where not even birds shit, to grow old and die there alone!

…

At the same time, on the sea over ten li north of Jiaodong, two "Great Wing" ships drew alongside each other, rocking and swaying under the battering waves.

Tian Du, who had played by the seaside since childhood, had no need for a gangplank. He simply grabbed a rope and swung across. The men on the neighboring ship were mostly bare-chested, armed with blades, and eyed Tian Du warily.

At that moment, a big man wearing a red headband parted the crowd. He wore a close-fitting martial outfit, a sheathed sword hanging at his waist, his slanted brows reaching his temples and his beard curling upward in an exaggerated flourish — elegant, yet carrying a hint of pride.

Upon seeing this man, Tian Du breathed a sigh of relief and saluted him with clasped hands. "Many thanks, clan brother, for coming to our aid! You have saved the lives of my entire Yeyi Tian clan!"

"Clan brother, you are too polite."

The big man stroked his beard and laughed. "The Yeyi Tian clan has provided us with no small amount of shelter and convenience over the years. Without the Lord of Ye, we could never have gained a foothold on these islands."

As he spoke, he took Tian Du's hand and raised it high, shouting to the warriors on the ship: "Years ago, Lord Anping restored over seventy cities to Qi from just a single city. Now, Lord Anping's descendants have joined us. With several islands as our base, who is to say we cannot do the same?"

"Restore Qi!"

The men on the ship roared in unison, their spirits high. It was clear the big man commanded immense prestige among them.

After the shouting died down, the big man, with a mix of jest and command, ordered everyone to weigh anchor and hoist the sails. Only then did he say to Tian Du:

"Let us discuss how to rescue your esteemed uncle."

"My father has likely already met with misfortune."

Tian Du ground his teeth and said, "Before he left, he said that if he did not return, I was to follow the proposal Zhang Liang made before his departure: take the entire clan and flee, cross the sea to seek refuge with the Lord of the Vast Sea, and preserve the lives of our clansmen."

The big man shook his head. "The Lord of the Vast Sea is too far. Those who go there rarely return easily. Better to come with me first to Shamen Island to pay respects to the Commander of Yongmen and get settled. After that, we can plan our grand strategy together! We will make those Qin dogs pay!"

He thumped his chest and declared, "Rest assured, all the Tian branches of Qi are one family. The vengeance of the Yeyi Tian clan is my, Tian Heng's, vengeance!"

(End of chapter)