Chapter 508: The Fox Borrows the Tiger's Might

When Lu Ao ended his trip to Zhongnan Mountain and returned to Xianyang, it was already three days later. He did not go straight back to his residence, but instead strolled through the bustling market streets.

He had been to many places and knew well that every city has its own "character." Over a hundred years ago, when Xianyang was first built, it was just an unremarkable little town. Shang Yang, deeply influenced by Wei culture, constructed Xianyang in the style of Anyi. From the streets to the watchtowers, everything was an imitation of the East.

Even though the imitation was quite decent, in the eyes of Easterners, Xianyang still exuded a rustic air. The people here were best at farming and fighting, but they had not a shred of urban sophistication.

In those days, if a Xianyang native, a Daliang native, and a Linzi native met and talked about the cities they lived in, while others boasted about "shoulders rubbing and heels touching, daily rents of a thousand gold," the Xianyang native would have nothing to say.

A hundred years have passed, and Xianyang has undergone tremendous changes. Not only have the palaces grown taller and the city walls expanded, but the mentality of Xianyang's people has also taken a great leap forward.

Now living at the feet of the Son of Heaven, they are proud and high-spirited, and their tongues have become much sharper.

After all, today's Xianyang has far too many things to brag about. Which city in the world has a larger population? Have you ever seen the lofty Xianyang Palace from afar? The streets and alleys here are the cleanest under heaven; those who relieve themselves anywhere but the public latrines are severely punished.

The Emperor loves to get things done, and events from all over converge in Xianyang. Thus, new things happen here every day, becoming fodder for conversation in the market life of Xianyang's people.

This was exactly what Lu Ao needed. The marketplace was the most convenient way to gather information. Lu Ao listened to the conversations of others without missing a single word; they would become the knowledge he needed to build his own reputation.

The reason he had become famous in Yan and Qi back in the day was precisely because he claimed that immortals often carried him away in his dreams to roam through ancient times.

He had once attended a banquet at the court of King Jian of Qi. Among the guests was an old man over ninety. Lu Ao asked the old man his name, and after the old man told him, Lu Ao said:

"In a dream, I was once brought back several decades by an immortal to travel and feast with your grandfather. At that time, you were very young and were also by his side."

Then, he described in vivid detail where that old man had been decades ago and what his home looked like back then, as if he had truly seen it with his own eyes. The old man nodded continuously, confirming his account. Everyone at the banquet was astonished, and Lu Ao's fame spread.

But in reality, he had simply prepared thoroughly; his stories were half-truths and half-falsehoods.

After arriving in Xianyang, Lu Ao repeated his old trick. Once, during an audience with Qin Shi Huang, Lu Ao saw a gold vessel displayed in the court. He pointed at it from afar and said, "I recognize this gold vessel. King Huiwen of Qin once kept it on his desk."

When they checked the inscription, it was indeed an artifact from the time of King Huiwen of Qin. Thus, even Qin Shi Huang began to think that Lu Ao might have some real ability. Although he claimed to be seventy, he looked only in his fifties, with a ruddy complexion, smooth skin, and teeth as even as a youth's.

After layering himself with these heavy shrouds of mystery, Lu Ao could make people believe that he had truly seen immortals as a child, visited Penglai, and could seek the elixir of immortality for the Emperor.

Of course, he could only stroll around and could not touch any food, for that would ruin his image of being able to stay healthy and long-lived without eating the five grains. There was nothing more pathetic than a fangshi who craved the pleasures of the palate.

It was now the beginning of the seventh month of the thirty-first year of Qin Shi Huang. The new policies Heifu was implementing in the far east drew no attention. What the people of Xianyang relished discussing were the two wars in the west and the south.

The campaigns of Ba Commandery and Shu Commandery against Qiongdu, and General Li Xin's campaign against the Yuezhi...

The people of Xianyang had never even heard the name Qiongdu. It was too far away and too small. It had overestimated its strength by blocking the Qin army's construction of the Five-Foot Road, and as a result, the Commandant of Shu beat them to a pulp. After several clashes and witnessing the Qin army's might, the King of Qiongdu sued for surrender. One of the Commandant of Shu's conditions was that the King of Qiongdu must come to Xianyang to pay homage to the Emperor.

That had happened in the fifth month. Yesterday, the Qiongdu surrender envoys, having crossed mountains and rivers, finally arrived!

Near the south gate where Lu Ao was passing, Xianyang residents were still heatedly discussing the Qiongdu people's bizarre attire: the commoners of Qiongdu were practically naked above the waist. Only the chieftains wore felt cloth, their heads wrapped in a large black headdress, with the edges stitched into horn-like corners. Men and women, young and old alike, all went barefoot, walking on the ground as if it were level ground. Some even wore rings through their lips and noses, fastened with metal hoops.

"Southwestern barbarians indeed," the people of Xianyang thought with contempt. Even the height of these barbarians and their skin, tanned dark brown by the sun, became objects of their ridicule.

Also brought back were the Qiongdu people's weapons: spears and arrows made from local mottled bamboo, crudely made tiger skins, and small, short-statured horses. Upon learning these were horses, the Xianyang people burst out laughing: "They're as small as donkeys, their shoulder height not even five chi. How can they be called horses?"

The novelty these southern barbarians brought to the people of Xianyang lasted only a single day. Everything was planned in advance, as if an appetizer of cold dishes was immediately followed by a platter of exotic-flavored roast meat. The very next day, which was today, the Yuezhi prisoners that Li Xin had sent back under escort also entered through the west of Xianyang City.

"They're coming, the Yuezhi prisoners are coming."

Unlike Qiongdu, the Qin people had heard a great deal of news about the Yuezhi over the past few years, including the case of the Yuezhi prince who, while a hostage in Guanzhong, had beaten a man to death while drunk—a hot topic at the beginning of the year.

Moreover, many of the troops Li Xin had led to attack the Yuezhi were sons of respectable families from Xianyang's military-merit landowners. Thus, the people of Xianyang were all emotionally invested in the west. The surprise river crossing, the great victory at Wuwei—every time a battle report arrived, it invariably triggered waves of cheers, followed by imaginings of how many heads their own sons had taken.

Now, General Li Xin had won another great victory: with tens of thousands of Qin troops applying pressure and the Wusun raiding their western flank, the King of the Yuezhi abandoned Zhaowu City, planning to defeat the Wusun in the west and then migrate to the Western Regions. But unexpectedly, he was killed by one of his own Xihou, who presented his head to Li Xin.

With that, the King of the Yuezhi was dead, and his direct-line subordinates scattered, fleeing south through the Qilian Mountain passes into the Qiang lands. Of the five Yuezhi Xihou, one had been wiped out by Li Xin at Wuwei, and two surrendered at Zhaowu City. The other two fled north with twenty thousand followers, reaching Juyan Marsh, and then, with the Xiongnu's help, escaped far into the northern desert to join forces with Modu Chanyu.

When the news came back, Xianyang City was momentarily immersed in excitement. The entire populace emptied their homes to come out and watch the prisoner-entry ceremony.

Lu Ao was among them, but he could not even squeeze into the front row. He could only listen from a distance to the Xianyang people's fervent discussions.

They said the Yuezhi people were tall and fair-skinned. Though their hair and eyes were black, their eye sockets were slightly sunken and their noses high-bridged, a stark contrast to the narrow eyes and flat noses of the Guanzhong natives.

While they did not think highly of the Yuezhi men, the small military-merit landowners were quite interested in the exotic-looking Yuezhi women. Some were already inquiring whether they could buy a few from the authorities to serve as foreign maidservants.

Besides people, the spoils Li Xin had plundered from the Yuezhi capital of Zhaowu City were considerable. Apart from the tall, fine horses unique to the Hexi and Qilian Mountain grasslands, there were also metal implements from the West with designs vastly different from those of the East, and all sorts of spices that the Central Plains people had never even heard of.

After the people of Xianyang had feasted their eyes on all these items, they were sent one after another into Xianyang Palace for Qin Shi Huang to inspect.

The whole process was bustling. Lu Ao stood in an inconspicuous corner of the street, silently watching it all. The people of Xianyang were the greatest beneficiaries of the Ranked Land and Residence system, and they wholeheartedly supported Qin Shi Huang's military campaigns near Guanzhong, so that their sons could continue to earn merit and noble ranks.

But Lu Ao believed that the greatest beneficiaries of this war were not even them, nor even Li Xin, who was destined to be promoted two ranks in a row.

"Rather, it is that Heifu, far away in Jiaodong..."

Even though this man had gone to the distant east, the "Western Expansion" plan he had first proposed was still being carried out by the Emperor. With every success, the Emperor would remember him once more, and his favor would deepen.

Furthermore, that Heifu had also timed it perfectly, doing something in Jiaodong that thoroughly offended the various Tian clans.

Lu Ao recalled a letter his disciple Shi Sheng had sent him. Shi Sheng had written: "The Commandery Governor has divided the lands of Yeyi among the left-lane dwellers, hired laborers, and tenant farmers, committing a great taboo under heaven. The various Tian clans of Qi are all in a state of panic, and those wishing to raise troops to kill Heifu are countless!"

Shi Sheng predicted that Heifu was playing with fire and would soon invite the hostility of the Tian clans. His tenure as Commandery Governor would likely end in turmoil.

"My disciple is still too young, his gaze limited to the small corners of Jiaodong and Qi..."

Stroking his beard, Lu Ao stood amidst the Xianyang markets celebrating victory and thought to himself: "Shi Sheng cannot see that, at this very moment, Xianyang is celebrating a great victory in the west. But Heifu must have guessed this, which is why he dared to do something so audacious!"

"Given His Majesty's temperament, once the western affairs are settled, he will surely resume the long-delayed eastern tour. The Feng and Shan sacrifices, viewing the sea—within just a month or two, he will reach Jiaodong for an inspection tour. At that time, with thousands of the Tiger Guard accompanying him and tens of thousands of commandery troops providing protection, any Tian clan that dares to stir up trouble during this period will be courting death! The world fears the First Emperor of Qin as the hundred beasts fear the tiger. As long as the Emperor lives, absolutely no one dares to openly rebel. And with Heifu acting as the Emperor's vanguard, won't the hundred beasts of Jiaodong tremble in fear?"

He could not help but sneer: "What a fine strategy of the fox borrowing the tiger's might! I see this man is not just a black dog of the Qin Emperor, but also a cunning black fox!"

Lu Ao's guess was correct. Sure enough, the next day, after holding a prisoner-presentation ceremony, Qin Shi Huang announced the establishment of Qiongdu Circuit, with Ba and Shu Commanderies continuing to open the Five-Foot Road. In the Yuezhi's Hexi territory, a new commandery was established: Zhangye Commandery! The name signified "spreading the nation's arms to connect with the Western Regions."

At the same time, Left Chancellor Wang Wan, Imperial Secretary Feng Quji, and Tongwu Marquis Wang Ben and others petitioned the First Emperor: "Since ancient times, what emperor who has received the Mandate of Heaven has not performed the Feng and Shan sacrifices? Your Majesty has unified all under heaven, settled the Nine Tripods, commanded the Tiger Guard to trample the Helan Mountain passes, driven the Xiongnu north, and established Shuofang Commandery—this can be called an unprecedented achievement. The Yuezhi are Di barbarians, and Qiongdu are Yi barbarians, yet now both Yi and Di have submitted, something also unheard of since antiquity! Your Majesty should tour east and perform the Feng and Shan sacrifices to proclaim the Qin's accomplishments!"

Qin Shi Huang said: "Approved." He ordered the Chancellor, Imperial Secretary, and over seventy Erudites to arrange the Feng and Shan ceremonies and to immediately tour east to Xue, Linzi, Jiaodong, and Langya!

Immediately, the Emperor dispatched a messenger to ride swiftly east. At the beginning of the eighth month, an imperial edict was delivered into Heifu's hands in Jimo City.

"Command the Governor of Jiaodong, Junior Chief of the Multitudes, Wei Heifu, to arrive at the foot of Mount Tai on the fifteenth day of the eighth month to witness the Son of Heaven's Feng and Shan sacrifices!"

PS: Got back late from house hunting, there should be another chapter before midnight.

(End of Chapter)