Chapter 564: The Lord's Tally Must Be Matched

"Did I push the Zhu Tians too far?"

After Chen Ping reported to Heifu the news that the bandits had attacked Qiancheng and that Di County had rebelled, Heifu was initially somewhat taken aback.

He had not expected that, after the First Emperor of Qin's oral decree was proclaimed, there would still be iron-headed fools in this realm willing to crash headlong into it, just to test whether the Qin dynasty's foundations were solid or not.

Following the complete transformation of the "Bolang Sands" and "Eastward Voyage for Immortality" incidents, history had undergone yet another major upheaval: the one who fired the first shot against Qin was no longer Chen Sheng and Wu Guang — whom he still had not found to this day — but had turned out to be the three brothers Tian Dan, Tian Rong, and Tian Heng!

In his previous life, Heifu had been poorly informed; he had never even heard the first two names. Tian Heng, however, he vaguely remembered had some connection to the "Five Hundred Heroes." It seemed these three brothers were quite capable of winning the hearts of Qi's warriors and wandering swordsmen, and they also possessed a measure of the pride and backbone of the old aristocracy.

Thinking it over carefully, Heifu could also understand why the three brothers were so eager to rise in revolt. There was no other reason — it was his "relocate the local magnates and redistribute their land" policy in Jiaodong that had struck at the core interests of the Zhu Tians.

Heifu knew that in the political transformations of ancient China, the land question always played an extremely important role.

Reforms that did not touch the land were mere tinkering, but once land was touched, it often triggered violent political upheaval.

Take Shang Yang's reforms, for example: they began with land and met with considerable opposition; after his death, he was torn apart by chariots. Wu Qi proposed relocating the Chu nobility to populate the frontiers and was directly killed in retaliation by the enraged nobles...

Even the First Emperor, in those earlier years when he still harbored illusions about the nobles and scholars of the six kingdoms, employed a cautious and conciliatory approach — "let the common people register their own fields" — recognizing the land structure east of the Pass, hoping to pacify the magnates of the six kingdoms. But that could not pacify "terrorists" like Zhang Liang, who destroyed his own family to aid the cause...

After the Mount Tai Fengshan ceremony and the "using the past to criticize the present" incident, the Emperor's attitude toward the people east of the Pass greatly diminished, and policies began to tighten. To make room for Jiaodong's new policies, Heifu went with the flow and proposed the forced relocation of the Zhu Tians. This was a good thing for Jiaodong, but for the realm, it was adding fuel to the fire!

Just imagine: from childhood, you have lived in a grand mansion, with countless servants, high status, and your family even owns mines. Then one day, Qin officials come knocking, demanding that within three days you sell off all your immovable property and relocate to another place. The wealth accumulated by your ancestors over several, even ten generations, is reduced to less than a tenth. Your status plummets, and everything must start from scratch...

Who would be willing? Who could be content?

The Zhu Tians of Linzi, Jibei, and Langya saw what was happening in Jiaodong and understood perfectly well that the First Emperor's treatment of the Tian clan nobles in Qi was no longer about harvesting leeks or trimming grass — he intended to pull them up by the roots!

In later ages, during the early years of the Eastern Han, Emperor Guangwu, Liu Xiu, in order to increase tax revenue, issued an edict for land surveys. The so-called land surveys meant measuring the land to restrict powerful families from annexing fields and enslaving people. When some magnates were executed, the great clans of the commanderies and kingdoms rose in rebellion one after another, and it was only with great difficulty that they were suppressed.

If mere land surveys could provoke such a response, how much more so seizing land and forcibly relocating people? Merely touching your cake was no longer enough; they directly snatched the cake and then smeared it all over your face. For the Zhu Tians, who had been rooted in the seventy-two cities of Qi for two hundred years, this was no different from taking their lives!

Fortunately, this was the Qin dynasty; fortunately, the nobles of the six kingdoms had low status. Otherwise, the court and the countryside might well have been filled with cries of "Please execute Heifu!"

In this storm, cowardly families, after a few complaints, could only set out dejectedly. But those with hot blood were already sharpening their blades, preparing to rebel.

For a time, undercurrents surged, and the crisis in the various commanderies of Qi was several times more severe than in history!

At the same time, the bandits in northern Jiaodong were blockaded and in dire straits; to survive, they had to come ashore. Add to that the catalyst of the rumor that "the First Emperor is dead," and this fire thus ignited across Qi...

Having thought through the causes and consequences, Heifu looked at Chen Ping and asked:

"Do you think a single spark can set the prairie ablaze?"

Chen Ping, however, shook his head: "I fear it will be difficult for it to amount to anything."

He analyzed: "Decades ago, during the reign of King Zhao of Qin, the state of Qin was powerful. It took Ba and Shu in the south, and in the east carved away the fertile lands of the Three Jin and Jing-Chu. The feudal lords were terrified, formed alliances, and plotted to weaken Qin. They made the King of Qi the Vertical Alliance leader. Sparing no rare treasures or rich territories, they gathered the talents of the realm, formed a united Vertical Alliance, and became as one. They appointed the famous general Kuang Zhang as commander and Lord Mengchang as army supervisor, agreeing to unite the Vertical Alliance and break the Horizontal Alliance. Combining the forces of Qi, Han, Wei, and Chu, they pressed westward to threaten Qin, hundreds of thousands of troops knocking at the pass to attack Qin."

"Although they exhausted three years of effort and finally broke into Hangu Pass, a spent arrow cannot pierce even thin Lu silk. Thus the alliance scattered and the pact failed. Qin continued to exploit its advantages, carving up the feudal lords, and finally unified the realm."

"Now the Tian brothers have risen hastily, with only four thousand remnant warriors of Qi — not comparable to the peak strength under Kings Wei, Xuan, and Min. In forming a vertical alliance and recruiting talents, they do not match Lord Mengchang's ability to attract men. In the art of marching and warfare, they lack Kuang Zhang's wisdom and strategy. They can only act with the courage of common men, inciting wandering swordsmen to revolt. Even if they succeed by luck for a time, they will ultimately be extinguished..."

Chen Ping was analyzing this from the perspective of overall strength. In his view, back when Qi was at its zenith, it invited several states to join a vertical alliance against Qin and still could not achieve its aims — how much less so now, like pitting a zhu weight against a yi?

As of now, the rebellion of the Tian brothers has swept through several counties on both banks of the Ji River, rallying over ten thousand men and preparing to attack Linzi. It looks formidable, but compared to the hundreds of thousands of troops the Qin dynasty can mobilize once it calls the whole realm to arms, what does it amount to?

In the seven years since Qin unified the realm, it has not put its weapons to pasture. Warfare has continued along the borders, the soldiers have maintained their fighting strength, and it possesses powerful logistics. Truly, it can be said: "Elite generals with strong crossbows guard the strategic points; trusted ministers and crack troops display sharp weapons — who dares challenge them?"

In contrast, the armed forces of the Tian brothers, though they have hidden weapons and seized the armories of several counties, when distributed among over ten thousand men, are still of uneven quality. The training level of these wandering swordsmen is also low: brave in personal assassination, cowardly in pitched battle. Facing the combat-effective Qin regular army, they would surely be unable to withstand a single blow.

"You are right."

Heifu nodded. Chen Ping's analysis was sound. As long as the Qin dynasty did not court death the way the historically-known regime of the Second Emperor did — turning a blind eye to the "bandit gangs" east of the Pass, allowing them to grow unchecked, and only hastily dispatching troops after each commandery had been picked off one by one — the situation would not spiral out of control. If too much time dragged on and the various warlords all rose up in imitation, then the realm would truly rot away completely.

He also believed that the Tian brothers' uprising against Qin this time would not only fail to succeed, but probably would not even stir up a ripple. There was no other reason: with the First Emperor still alive and the realm still stable, it was very easy to mobilize a large army and shoot the bird that sticks its head out. Before anyone in the old lands of the six kingdoms dared to follow suit, the Tian brothers would already be annihilated.

"Furthermore, failing to mobilize the masses, it is merely a pure aristocratic restoration movement — that has no future..." Heifu thought to himself.

This uprising, nominally to restore Qi, had as its main force none other than the Zhu Tians and their retainers, several thousand aristocratic soldiers unwilling to submit to Qin who had become sea bandits, plus local wandering swordsmen constrained by laws and decrees, frustrated and unfulfilled.

For the vast common people of Qi, although Qin's taxes were several times heavier than those of the Tian Qi state, they had not yet reached the point where they could not survive. There was no reason to risk clan extermination by following the rebellion. They would only remain neutral bystanders, watch the situation, and at most help with a few shouts of encouragement.

Of course, one should not expect the authorities to be able to rely on the common people to suppress the rebellion — that was impossible. In the eyes of the Qi people, at least the Qi people of Linzi, the Qin people were nothing good; they were even seen as foreigners and invaders.

Finally, Chen Ping also cited the historical example of the Rebellion of the Three Guards after the Zhou dynasty unified the realm, arguing that the Qi rebellion did not even reach one-tenth the scale of Wu Geng's uprising and would end fruitlessly.

As for when it would be extinguished, that depended on when the imperial court dispatched troops from neighboring commanderies to suppress it...

Heifu understood the implication behind Chen Ping's words.

"Dispatch troops from neighboring commanderies? So you believe that Linzi Commandery alone cannot resolve this matter?"

Chen Ping smiled: "Commandery Lord, do not forget that the garrison of Linzi Commandery originally numbered ten thousand. But last year, because gold mines were discovered in Jiaodong and needed protection, two thousand were transferred here. This year, His Majesty decided to move against the sea bandits and transferred another thousand to Jiaodong to guard the salt fields. Thus, the defending troops in Linzi now number only seven thousand..."

"Seven thousand men can barely fill the walls of Linzi. As for the locally conscripted foot soldiers, they are all Qi people and cannot be trusted; on the contrary, manpower must be diverted to guard against them. One must realize, Linzi has seventy thousand households, four hundred thousand people, yet only forty Qin senior officials!"

Therefore, it would be quite good if the Governor and Commandant of Linzi Commandery could hold Linzi itself. To demand that they suppress the rebellion on their own was truly asking too much.

In truth, Chen Ping only wished the trouble were bigger. If Linzi handled the rebellion by itself, how could Jiaodong get a share of the spoils?

"I believe it will not be long before the Emperor orders Jiaodong to dispatch troops."

Heifu nodded, and at the same time asked Chen Ping: "Has His Majesty currently reached Sishui Commandery?"

Chen Ping replied: "He should be at Pengcheng in Sishui Commandery."

"That is still quite far."

Heifu calculated: the news would take at least another five days to reach Pengcheng, and another five days for the court's orders to return to Jiaodong. Dispatching troops to Linzi would be at least half a month away. In the interim, far too many things could happen.

If Linzi fell, the chaos in Qi would persist for a long time and might even affect Jiaodong — something he did not wish to see.

So Heifu began to ponder whether he should communicate with the Linzi side and have Jiaodong send part of its troops over first to assist in suppressing the rebellion.

According to the Qin system, the governors and commandants of each commandery could not dispatch troops beyond their borders without orders from the imperial court. To deploy troops, an envoy of the Emperor bearing a tiger tally had to come and mobilize them.

Jiaodong Commandery had a gold-inlaid tiger tally, held by the Commandery Commandant. Inscribed on it were the words: "Whenever raising troops and donning armor, employing fifty soldiers or more, the lord's tally must be matched before daring to act." The two halves had to be joined and verified to take effect; otherwise, it was a violation of the law.

However, Qin law was not so rigid. After the tiger tally inscription, there was another line: "For beacon-fire matters, even without the matching tally, act..." Meaning, when beacon fires were lit and local rebellion arose, even without the Emperor's command, local forces could move out.

Of course, the prerequisite was that Linzi actively requested aid. Then the responsibility would lie with Linzi, not Jiaodong, and it would suffice to report the matter clearly to the court afterward.

"Send an envoy bearing my handwritten letter to Linzi to discuss this matter. Then have the Military Affairs Bureau assemble those three thousand troops borrowed from Linzi. Once Linzi sends an official dispatch requesting aid, use them as the vanguard... Furthermore, inform Commandant Ren to dispatch the naval forces to wipe out the bandits' lair on the islands!"

Since the sea bandits had come ashore, they should never think of going back to sea again!

After Heifu issued a series of orders, Chen Ping still seemed to hesitate, wanting to speak. Only after a long moment did he say:

"Ping worries..."

Chen Ping smiled and said, "The player in the game is blind, the bystander sees clear. The Commandery Governor sees the situation with perfect clarity, but the senior officials of Linzi Commandery may not necessarily see it so plainly!"

Chen Ping's guess was spot on — not everyone in this world is clever. A few days later, new word arrived: when Hei Fu sent someone to Linzi to ask whether Jiaodong needed to send troops to help suppress the rebellion, he met a cold rebuff.

The official Hei Fu had sent reported back: "The Governor of Linzi Commandery not only rejected Your Lordship's goodwill, but even spoke insolently, claiming that Jiaodong let several thousand sea bandits slip away and failed to notify Linzi in time, which led to the fall of several counties..."

Hearing this, Chen Ping couldn't help but laugh in disbelief. "The Governor of Linzi is like a desperate patient clutching at any doctor. To shake off the charge of dereliction and losing territory, he's biting wildly in every direction."

Not only did he treat Jiaodong's goodwill as ill intent, the Governor of Linzi even reported to Qin Shi Huang, saying that as long as Jiaodong returned the three thousand soldiers it had previously borrowed to Linzi, and placed them under the command of the Linzi Commandery Commandant, this gang of petty clown-bandits could be swiftly put down — there was absolutely no need for a neighboring commandery to intervene...

He even boasted shamelessly, "Linzi has only a bunch of bandits — what rebellion is there!"

After the official finished relaying this, Chen Ping looked at Hei Fu, only to see that Hei Fu, who always put on the act of a civilized man, could not hold back a crude outburst — and even cursed with a phrase Chen Ping could not understand at all...

"Fucking retard!"

(End of chapter)