Chapter 551: Violent Demolition

"Elder brother, what is to be done?"

The ancestral hall's door was pushed open once more. Tian Jian, the second family head of the Jimo Tian clan, strode in, only to see his elder brother Tian Jiao still kneeling before the spirit tablets of their ancestors, staring blankly in a daze.

Ever since the Ye Town Tian clan was annihilated by Commandery Governor Heifu half a year ago, Tian Jian had foreseen that his own family would sooner or later face the blade as well. Yet he had still harbored a sliver of hope. Under the orders of family head Tian Jiao, the Tian clan had reined in their arrogance, become obedient and law-abiding, no longer daring to act as the masters of Jimo as they once had. But what was destined to come had come nonetheless.

The situation was now as urgent as a raging fire. Qin soldiers had surrounded the Tian residence and proclaimed an edict from the First Emperor of Qin. Citing their involvement in the private salt trade, the Tian clan was convicted, and the entire clan was to be relocated to the distant Beidi Commandery in the Guanzhong region!

This was undoubtedly a bolt from the blue. The entire Tian clan was stunned. The military official Cao Can gave the Tian clan three days to settle their affairs, or else he would send soldiers in to "help"!

Tian Jian was as frantic as an ant on a hot pan. The pillar of the family, Tian Jiao, was even more soul-lost, having shut himself inside the ancestral hall for half the day already, refusing to see anyone.

Unwilling to see such a glorious great clan destroyed, Tian Jian knelt and pushed Tian Jiao, saying, "Elder brother, you have always been resourceful. Is there truly no way out?"

Tian Jiao merely glanced at his younger brother and smiled bitterly. "When Duke Kang of Qi was forcibly relocated from the Linzi palace to the seashore back then, what way out did he have?"

Tian Jian was stunned. That had happened two hundred years ago. How mighty the Tian clan had been back then: all governance of Qi fell to Tian Chang. Tian Chang's seventy-odd sons became the city lords of over seventy cities in Qi. They slaughtered the Bao, Yan, Jianzhi, and the Jiang-Lü ducal clans completely.

The Tian clan's replacement of Qi was already a foregone conclusion. Duke Tai of Tian Qi, finding the puppet Duke Kang of Qi an eyesore in Linzi, casually dispatched a subordinate to drive him away to Zhifu Island.

It is said that Duke Kang of Qi was not even given three days. The wealth and treasures accumulated by the Jiang clan of Qi over centuries were all forbidden from being taken along. Even his consorts had to be left behind. He could only depart utterly alone, with two elderly servants.

Upon reaching the coast, he had only a single small town as his fief. Later, even that small town was confiscated. The aged Duke Kang of Qi was a sovereign in name, but a beggar in reality. With no means of livelihood, he had to dig a hole in a slope to serve as a stove, catching sparrows and gathering sea clams for food...

The other members of the Lü clan fared no better. Their mansions and farmlands were all seized by the newly arrived Tian overlords. They could only be driven to the margins. One illustrious great clan after another, which had endured for centuries, thus fell into ruin...

But now, fortune's wheel had turned. It was the various Tian clans' turn to suffer calamity!

"Qin is to our family just as the Tian clan was to Duke Kang of Qi back then. Could Duke Kang of Qi defy the Tian clan's orders?"

Tian Jiao understood very clearly. In the beginning, the Qin officials did not understand the local language, nor were they familiar with the farmlands and taxes. Once outside the commandery city, they were completely in the dark, becoming blind and deaf!

To promulgate laws and collect taxes, every single matter required the help of the Tian clan. Although Tian Jiao and his younger brother Tian Jian did not hold office, Tian clansmen and retainers serving as minor officials were not few in number.

But ever since Heifu arrived in Jiaodong, he began to employ his methods. He supported the declining old clans from the time of Jiang Qi, such as the Yan, Guo, and Gao, having them send their descendants to join the government and replace the Tian clan's positions. Thereafter, he also established public academies and banned private schools, forcing the scholars of Jiaodong to revere only the government.

"Having done all this, Commandery Governor Heifu no longer needs the Tian clan to govern Jiaodong."

That alone was not enough to easily shake the Tian clan's foundation. But Commandery Governor Heifu was a blunt man. In dealing with the Tian clan, he had no desire to boil a frog in warm water. Instead, seizing the opportunity of the First Emperor of Qin's eastern inspection tour, he employed a drastic measure to pull the rug out from under them, intending to violently demolish the entire Jimo Tian clan!

The First Emperor of Qin's eastern tour was accompanied by at least three thousand soldiers as guards. The strength that the Jiaodong government could rely on had suddenly surged. Heifu, like a fox borrowing the tiger's might, could order the Tian Jiao brothers to relocate, or even arrest and execute them. With the First Emperor of Qin stationed in Jimo, no one dared to resist or act out...

Although the various Tian clans constantly yearned to restore Qi, they also harbored a tremendous fear of the First Emperor of Qin. With a fierce tiger at their side, they could only tremble in fear, not daring to move a muscle.

"The situation has changed. To resist now is to walk the path of death!"

Tian Jiao took the sword hanging from his younger brother Tian Jian's waist and flung it far away!

"Then can our family only allow ourselves to be butchered?"

Tian Jian was utterly despairing. He knelt painfully before the ancestral spirit tablets, burying his face in his hands and weeping.

Although the government had given them three days, the Tian clan's estate was vast and their business immense, with hundreds of thousands of mu of land, accounting for nearly half of Jimo's fields. They also had nearly a thousand guests and retainers, and countless estates and pavilions. Now, forced to relocate the entire clan, all their past accumulations were to be abandoned. At most, they could take some gold, silver, and silk on the road. Their family property would be bought by the government at a low, unfair price. The foundation and spirit they had built over a century in Jimo would also be destroyed in a single day.

A great tree, toppled with a crash and transplanted elsewhere, would likely wither and never recover. In Tian Jian's eyes, what their family was losing was not just the past and the present, but also the future!

"It is still better than having not a single person survive after the clan's extermination!"

Tian Jiao, however, had his own thoughts. He helped his younger brother up and pointed to the very top spirit tablet in the ancestral hall, saying, "The Tian clan is not native to the Qi region. Our ancestor, Tian Jingzhong, 讳 Wan, came from the State of Chen, from Huaiyang..."

Chen Wan was originally a prince of the State of Chen. Later, due to internal strife in Chen, he fled Huaiyang with his family and dependents, wandering to the Qi region, where he sought refuge with Duke Huan of Qi.

That was merely a matter of over four hundred years ago. When Chen Wan arrived in Qi, he was initially just a minor "Grand Master of Works," a low-ranking position. But later, step by step, he rose to the rank of Minister, and even usurped Qi to declare himself king...

"The phoenix flies, its cry resonant and harmonious. The descendant of the Gui clan shall be nurtured among the Jiang."

Tian Jiao sang this ancient ballad. After wiping away his tears, Tian Jian joined in:

"In the fifth generation, they shall prosper, ranking among the chief ministers. After the eighth generation, none shall rival their capital!"

This was the epic of the Tian clan, and also a truth their family believed in:

No matter where they were relocated, no matter how humble they were at the start, as long as they lived, there was hope!

Tian Jiao had made up his mind. He would take a different path from the Ye Town Tian clan, who had risen up in resistance.

"Immediately dismiss the servants and scatter all family wealth to the Tian clan's in-laws, neighbors, and retainers. Apart from easily portable gold, silver, and valuables, for this westward relocation, we shall take only two things."

"One is the spirit tablets of our ancestors!"

Tian Jiao carefully picked up the spirit tablets of Chen Wan, Tian Chang, and the Grand Master of Jimo, Tian Zhongshou, wiping them spotlessly clean and holding them to his chest. They represented the history the Tian clan took pride in, and could absolutely not be lost.

Clutching the spirit tablets, Tian Jiao strode out of the ancestral hall. Outside, winter was about to end, and sunlight once again bathed the earth, shining upon the faces of the dozen or so Tian clan descendants who had been kneeling for a long time. They were either indignant, despairing, or hesitant.

"The second is our descendants! As long as our descendants survive, even if the Jimo Tian residence is demolished, even if we go to Beidi, even if our family is forcibly divided into dozens of households, we can still reunite beneath the ancestors' spirit tablets, multiply and thrive. After five generations, after eight generations, we shall surely become a great clan again, and the phoenix shall fly!"

When winter arrives, what withers is not just a single tree, but the entire forest. In this twelfth month of the thirty-second year of the First Emperor of Qin, it was not only the Jimo Tian clan that suffered violent demolition, but also the "various Tian clans" across the counties of Jiaodong Commandery. Whether guilty or innocent, the Tian clan with the most prominent wealth and prestige in each county was to be relocated to the Qin dynasty's homeland, either to Beidi or to Fang County, and so on.

Furthermore, according to the order of their relocation, the First Emperor of Qin, with a grand sweep of his brush, bestowed new clan names upon these "various Tian clans," distinguishing them by sequence, dividing them into the First through Eighth clans...

Thus, Tian Jiao of the Jimo Tian clan had the honor of becoming "Di Yi Jiao." His younger brother, forced to split off into a separate household, became "Di Er Jian." The rest of the various Tian clans were ranked from Third, Fourth, all the way to Eighth, and so on.

In the eyes of the various Tian clans, this was a tremendous humiliation, but they were helpless. With the First Emperor of Qin stationed in Jiaodong and land and naval forces massing here, what could they do?

The Qin officials had only given the various Tian clans three days. There were those who had not finished disposing of their family property by the deadline and begged for a few days' extension, only to be met with the Qin officials' disdainful glares:

"His Imperial Majesty will be leaving Jiaodong within three days. All the Tian clans must set out before his departure. What virtue or ability do you people possess to dare make His Majesty wait?"

The minor officials were right. On the first day of the first month, just as the first spring breeze blew into Jiaodong, while the various Tian clans were dejectedly migrating west, the First Emperor of Qin's carriage also departed from this winter retreat palace...

As an accompanying official, Ye Teng also had to bid farewell to his daughter, son-in-law, and little grandson. Before leaving, he secretly told Heifu, "It is said that during His Majesty's eastern visit this time, he left a one-word appraisal for each of the three places where he stayed longer: Xue Commandery, Linzi, and Jiaodong."

Heifu pricked up his ears. "What was it for Xue Commandery?"

Ye Teng smiled. "Short!"

Heifu couldn't help but laugh. This was probably because the First Emperor of Qin had a poor impression from the Feng and Shan sacrifices at Mount Tai. Although the sacrifices were completed, the proud First Emperor of Qin had turned around, raised his pinky finger at Mount Tai and Mount Liangfu, and disdained them for being too short.

The center of the world that the Confucian scholars had planned for the ancient kings could not bear the weight of the First Emperor of Qin's grand ambitions. What kind of mountain, then, could make the Emperor gasp in awe?

"I'm afraid only Mount Kunlun or the Heavenly Mountains would do..." Heifu grumbled inwardly.

As for the Emperor's appraisal of Linzi Commandery, it was "Noisy."

Linzi had many people. The markets of Zhuang and Yue were crowded with jostling heads, and without legal officials using statutes to regulate it as in Xianyang, it appeared somewhat clamorous and chaotic. Moreover, the Confucian scholars who had been rebuffed at Mount Tai were不服 and, in Linzi, praised the past to condemn the present, slandering the Emperor. This provoked the First Emperor of Qin's furious rage, so his disdain for Linzi's racket was inevitable.

"What about Jiaodong? How did His Majesty appraise it?" Heifu asked Ye Teng.

Ye Teng stroked his beard and raised his right thumb. "Still one word: Good!"

Good means excellent, but to earn that appraisal from Qin Shi Huang is truly no easy feat…

From the moment the Emperor entered Jiaodong, Heifu had been showcasing his governing achievements at the Xiami salt flats, then at Yeyi he had Chen Ping and the left-side commoners of the Lü shout "Long live His Majesty" three times, singing the Emperor's praises and pulling out all the stops on image-building projects.

The Emperor, after all, had never seen the even more exaggerated versions of later ages, so he still fell for it.

In between, at Zhifu Island, he nearly had the spotlight stolen by the fangshi magicians. Fortunately for him, their luck was a little short — they never got their mirage, and Heifu intercepted the key figure Xu Fu right from under them, disappointing the Emperor time and again until they lost all capital to compete.

Only then could Heifu pull this journey of seeking immortality back onto the proper track of "asking after the common people."

The public school education in Jimo, a steaming bowl of cabbage and tofu soup on a winter's day, the proposal to establish practical studies in agriculture and industry, and finally the relocation of the various Tian clans. Compared to the hidebound Xue Commandery and the chaotic Linzi, Qin Shi Huang saw a Jiaodong that was thriving under Heifu's governance.

The Emperor had assigned Heifu to serve as commandery governor, and within a year, Heifu had handed in a thoroughly satisfying answer sheet. What was even more precious was that many of his institutions could serve as models for the whole empire and be promoted widely.

"By now the Emperor should know that I can not only serve as a general — given time, I can also enter the court as a chancellor…"

Heifu mused to himself in secret, but as he was seeing Qin Shi Huang off from Jimo, he was summoned before the imperial carriage!

…

Qin Shi Huang was the same as ever, extremely prudent with both rewards and punishments. He did not overly show encouragement or praise for Heifu; he merely reminded Heifu of the deadline to "exterminate the sea bandits within one year," and then suddenly asked him a question.

"Minister, could it be that you still have no courtesy name?"

Heifu was taken aback. He lowered his head and said, "Your servant is of lowly origin. When I came of age, I did not even have a clan name, let alone a courtesy name…"

A courtesy name was the privilege of noble men, as the saying goes, "At the capping ceremony he is given a courtesy name, out of respect for his given name." After the capping ceremony, the "courtesy name" would replace the "given name" and become the ordinary form of address.

After the Warring States period, ordinary minor gentry landowners could not even afford a courtesy name; only the great nobility had them. For example, Zhang Liang's courtesy name was "Zifang," and Xiang Ji's was "Yu." Zhang Cang's "Zihu" was given by Xunzi at his coming-of-age ceremony.

Crude fellows like Heifu and Liu Ji had their given names chosen so casually, let alone courtesy names.

Though Heifu had risen to prominence, it had never occurred to him to get himself a courtesy name.

Qin Shi Huang laughed heartily. "That is excellent. Minister, you are now a high-ranking frontier official, your rank is Grand Superior of the Ninth Order, your status is already esteemed — how can you lack a courtesy name? This day, We shall bestow one upon you!"

All the ministers were astonished, and even Heifu was quite taken aback. He had wondered how Qin Shi Huang would reward him after pronouncing the governance of Jiaodong "good."

Perhaps verbal commendation, perhaps a reward of gold — he had never expected it to be the bestowal of a courtesy name!

Though he knew this was a tactic, Heifu still felt a trace of being moved. He fought to suppress his emotions, lowered his head, and said in feigned alarm, "What virtue or ability does your servant possess, to dare receive a courtesy name bestowed by Your Majesty?"

This was the proper show of trepidation expected of a subject, but the Emperor's words brooked no dispute and could not be taken back.

"Li Xin's courtesy name was also chosen by Us for him." Qin Shi Huang recalled his beloved general — the white horse and the black hound. Li Xin was already a marquis, but what Heifu had done in Jiaodong was also a great achievement. He was too young to be enfeoffed as a marquis just yet, but there were other ways to show special favor.

Qin Shi Huang pondered for a moment, as if considering how to choose appropriately. What Heifu was thinking, however, was that he had heard a courtesy name could not be chosen carelessly; generally it had to correspond with the given name. For instance, Duanmu Ci's given name was Ci, and his courtesy name was Zigong; Kong Qiu's given name was Qiu, and his courtesy name was Zhongni — Ni, from Mount Ni where he was born.

So, how would Qin Shi Huang choose a courtesy name for him?

"It won't be 'Blackboard' or 'Zice,' will it…"

Heifu recalled how Qin Shi Huang had once smilingly asked him if he was the "Public Latrine Colonel," and his scalp couldn't help but tingle.

But unexpectedly, Qin Shi Huang swept his gaze over the surroundings, then pointed at the city behind the enormous procession and said:

"Jimo!"

"Ah?" Heifu and the assembled ministers looked up in confusion.

Then they heard the Emperor laugh heartily. "Black is ink. Heifu governs Jimo most excellently — let his courtesy name be Jimo. This shall make a fine tale!"

PS: No need to wait tonight.

(End of chapter)