Chapter 504: The Fangshi

The finest location in Yeyi City was not the county office, but the "Lord Anping Manor," now renamed the "Tian Residence." The Tian Residence once faced south, overlooking its domain just like the Qi King's palace in Linzi. But now, this decades-old mansion was in utter chaos. The massive plaque had been hooked down and smashed onto the ground. Qin soldiers, fierce as wolves and tigers, trampled over it one after another; the fine wood creaked and groaned, shattered to pieces.

Yesterday, Heifu led his troops into Yeyi. With two thousand Qin soldiers from Linzi enforcing order, no major unrest occurred. He ordered Colonel Yan to search for Tian Du's retainers and arrest any fish that slipped the net, while he himself went to the Tian Residence to inventory the confiscated Tian family assets.

The monk might run, but the temple cannot. Tian Guang was convicted of "fomenting rebellion" and would suffer the extermination of his three clans, with all property confiscated to the state. Heifu merely glanced at the list drawn up by the Yeyi officials and broke into a smile.

"As expected, they did not disappoint me."

Good heavens, as befits a noble lord of ten thousand households who had amassed three generations of wealth. The Yeyi Tian clan's property included two hundred-mu mansions and over a dozen smaller estates scattered throughout Jiaodong, along with a hundred thousand mu of farmland—an unbroken stretch of fertile fields extending beyond Yeyi's outer walls.

And that was just the immovable property. Add to that several hundred male and female slaves, countless cattle and livestock, lacquerware and bronze vessels—the total value likely reached tens of millions of cash! Equivalent to Jiaodong's entire annual fiscal revenue!

"The Commandery Lord doesn't even need to open a gold mine—the Yeyi Tian clan is one giant gold mine!"

Gong Ao had men carry out basket after basket of copper coins the Tian clan had no time to take. They piled up like a mountain in the courtyard. Among them were not only Qin banliang coins but also vast quantities of Qi knife coins. Seeing the pile grow taller than himself, Gong Ao was so delighted he couldn't stop grinning.

In his eyes, the Yeyi Tian clan was a fat sheep ready for slaughter. He felt as if he had returned to those days a few years ago, following Heifu on a rampage through the lands south of the Chu River, plundering the various enfeoffed lords of Yuzhang and seizing their wealth and savings for military use.

It was just a pity that Tian Du had taken all the easily portable gold with him; otherwise, they could have seized even more.

Gong Ao clicked his tongue regretfully and added, "If you ask me, when Qi was first destroyed, they should have killed or relocated all these enfeoffed nobles. Had they done that, none of this later trouble would have happened!"

Heifu, however, shook his head. "General Wang Ben had his own considerations. If they had done that, I fear the hills and marshes all the way from Linzi to Jiaodong would be filled with the armed forces of powerful clans resisting the Qin army. Pacifying Qi territory might have taken another half year or more..."

Gong Ao's thinking was rather simple. He gestured with a sweep of his hand. "Couldn't we just slaughter our way through? The Tian Guang family is said to be the greatest noble house in Jiaodong, with hundreds and thousands of retainers and servants. Yet now that the Commandery Lord has dispatched troops, they could only flee in panic."

Heifu circled the "money mountain" once, then said:

"The situation has changed. Back when Qi had just fallen, they could still raise the banner of restoring Qi and rally everyone together. But now, Qi is long gone. Although some on the islands still vainly hope to restore it, and the various Tian branches surely maintain secret contact with one another, separated by commanderies and counties, their hearts may not necessarily beat as one. His Majesty is in his prime, and the Linzi garrison is close at hand. Unless the realm falls into chaos and the Tian branches see an opportunity, they will not risk the extermination of their clans by rebelling for the sake of distant kin."

A single tree cannot stand alone. Tian Du must have clearly understood this point, knowing that an arm cannot twist a thigh, so he fled in haste and chose to preserve his clan.

At that moment, Cao Can also returned to report that the fire had finally been extinguished.

Old Cao's face bore traces of charcoal ash. With lingering fear, he said, "Commandery Governor, that place appeared to be a granary, but it was actually the Tian family's hidden armory. When we dug through the grain, we found countless bronze and iron weapons. Bundles of arrows were concealed in the firewood and straw, and there were even suits of armor, war chariots, and crossbow mechanisms! Enough to equip several hundred men!"

The sheer quantity and the fine quality of the weapons left Cao Can speechless. Had Tian Du fought like a cornered beast and mobilized his retainers and the people of Yeyi to resist, the Qin soldiers would likely have faced a bloody battle!

Heifu nodded. "His Majesty long ago decreed that all regions must surrender their weapons. Crossbow mechanisms and the like are forbidden for private possession among the common people. Tian Guang and his son concealing weapons and secretly nurturing sworn assassins only further confirms their crime of plotting rebellion!"

He ordered Cao Can to immediately gather up the usable weapons and ensure none leaked into civilian hands. Tian Du had been too straightforward; had it been Heifu, before leaving, he would certainly have distributed these weapons to the gallants and commoners of Yeyi—enough to give the authorities a headache for a very long time.

Just as Heifu returned to the county office with the Tian property inventory, the Yeyi Deputy Magistrate came to report: "There is a fangshi outside, requesting an audience with the Commandery Lord..."

"A fangshi?"

Upon hearing the identity of his visitor, Heifu frowned slightly.

"Indeed, a fangshi."

The Magistrate of Yeyi had been dismissed by Heifu for accepting bribes, so the Deputy Magistrate was now acting magistrate. He replied, "Around forty years of age, with a refined and unusual appearance. He looks the part of a remarkable eccentric, and he claims to be a disciple of Scholar Lu, who serves as an Erudite in Xianyang."

"Scholar Lu, huh..."

Heifu knew of this man, one of the three fangshi most favored by Qin Shi Huang. When Scholar Lu entered court service, Heifu had already left for the northern lands, so he had little opportunity to interact with him, merely having met him in passing.

Scholar Lu's origins were also quite mysterious. Some said he was from Yan, others that he was from Jiaodong in Qi. Yeyi happened to have a Lu Village, the ancestral origin of all people surnamed Lu under heaven.

After pondering for a moment, Heifu had the fangshi brought in. He would see what sutra this "local monk" had come to chant.

Wei Yang, encountering such a person for the first time, could not help but be curious. "Uncle, what do these fangshi actually do?"

Heifu asked in return, "Do you still remember when your grandmother donated a shrine to the Lesser Master of Fate by the shores of Yunmeng Marsh?"

"Of course I remember." Wei Yang nodded. It had been to give thanks for the Lesser Master of Fate's protection of Heifu's wife and children. People from villages for miles around had come to offer their support; it had been quite lively.

"I heard that on the day the shrine was established, quite a few wandering shamans and sorcerers from the rivers and lakes showed up. Some muttered incantations, claiming to be possessed by the Lesser Master of Fate; others tried to peddle my family secret recipes for having many sons and grandsons."

He chuckled. "These fangshi are essentially a variant of those shamans and sorcerers, only more glib-tongued and more adept at the theories and methods of deception. They no longer preach about the spirits and ghosts worshipped by common folk, but instead tout vague and elusive overseas immortals, immortal islands, and immortal elixirs, claiming they possess the means to make a person live forever without dying..."

As far back as the Spring and Autumn period, Duke Jing of Qi once sighed to Yanzi, "If one could grow old without dying, how delightful would that be?" Those who possess states and families, living in comfort and ease, who does not yearn for longevity or even immortality? This longing of rulers gave rise to the profession of fangshi, who sought methods of deathless longevity.

At first, fangshi had no profound foundation and were no different from wandering shamans. But swindlers are not frightening; what is frightening is when swindlers become learned. Gradually, this group wised up and began to package themselves, borrowing the "Way of Long Life and Enduring Vision" proposed in Laozi's Dao De Jing as the core philosophy for their mystical posturing. Each one appeared to possess the air of an immortal, making it easy to gain people's trust.

Later still, they relied on Zou Yan's perfected "Greater Nine Continents Theory" and the "Yin-Yang and Five Phases Theory" as the theoretical basis for their practice, finally having a systematic theoretical foundation.

This group called themselves the "Fangxian Way" or the "School of Immortals," and had already ranked among the Nine Schools and Ten Houses. They respectively specialized in skills such as astronomy, medicine, immortality, divination, physiognomy, and geomancy, but their common thread remained unchanged: they all revolved around the feudal lords of the various states, advocating that consuming substances and seeking immortals could achieve deathless longevity.

These fellows were originally scattered across the various states. When Qin unified all under heaven and only a single sovereign remained, they swarmed like ants to rotting meat, gathering in Xianyang to peddle their arts of seeking immortality to Qin Shi Huang, thriving and flourishing.

Although the heads of the various factions gathered in Xianyang, quite a few disciples remained behind in their hometowns.

Jiaodong, where Heifu served as Commandery Governor, was precisely the region where fangshi were most active. However, he had only ordered Chen Ping to seek out lesser fangshi with knowledge of mineral identification and elixir refining, relying on them to locate mineral veins. As for the prominent fangshi renowned throughout the commanderies and counties, he had only sent people to inquire about the whereabouts of a fellow named "Xu Fu."

The reply from his subordinates was that Xu Shi, styled Fu, was in Langya and was a guest of honor of the Langya Commandery Governor.

Heifu was too overwhelmed with affairs within his own Jiaodong Commandery and had no time to deal with Xu Fu in Langya for the moment. Thus, he lost all interest in other fangshi and never summoned the disciples of Scholar Lu either.

Now, the other party could no longer hold back and had come knocking on his door.

Before long, the Yeyi Deputy Magistrate ushered in a middle-aged man of handsome features, dressed in a plain dark-blue robe. He was tall and slender, with a long beard under his chin that fluttered lightly in the breeze. His gait seemed almost ethereal. Approaching, he bowed with neither servility nor arrogance. "Shi Sheng of Lu Village, here to see the Commandery Governor!"

"Dispense with the formalities."

Heifu had heard that this Shi Sheng was Scholar Lu's senior disciple. He smiled and said, "Why is Shi Sheng not at home practicing inedia, nor out seeking immortal islands overseas, but instead comes to this place of mine, cluttered with official documents and mundane affairs?"

His words carried a hint of sarcasm, but Shi Sheng merely smiled faintly. "I have come for no other reason than to rescue the Commandery Governor from imminent peril!"

"What nonsense are you spouting?" Wei Yang and the others in the room were taken aback and barked out a rebuke, but Heifu's expression remained unchanged.

Seeing this, Shi Sheng immediately turned grave. Pointing at Heifu, he emphasized his words: "Commandery Governor Wei, do you still not realize that a great calamity is about to befall you?"

"Oh?"

Heifu was inwardly amused. He did not follow the script by slapping the table and demanding of Shi Sheng, "Whence comes this calamity?"

Instead, he leaned to one side, patted his own forehead, and said, "Master Shi, is your next line going to be that my forehead is darkened with ill fortune?"

(End of Chapter)