Chapter 584: Old Comrades

In mid-September, the First Emperor had long since concluded his brief inspection tour of Nanchang, and the vast imperial retinue set off toward Hengshan Commandery. With the emperor gone, the officials of Yuzhang Commandery could finally breathe easy; the commandery governor granted the long-tense staff a holiday — a day of rest.

And it was on this rest day that Li Xian, the magistrate of Nanchang County, laid out a banquet at his home, and even had his son Li Cang keep watch by the gate from early morning.

Li Cang was no longer the grubby little boy from many years ago when Hei Fu had visited Li Xian's house. A youth of thirteen or fourteen, on the cusp of manhood, he was every inch a well-bred young clerk. Yet his clothes — a hemp jacket and black trousers — though proper, were truly rather plain, giving no hint that he was the magistrate's son.

Before long, an ornately decorated carriage stopped outside the Li residence gate. A middle-aged man wearing a flat-topped cap stepped down onto the back of a slave and dismounted. He was very thin, with a sparse beard, but his robes were exceptionally wide, making him look somewhat comical — like a scrawny monkey wearing a man's clothes.

"Uncle Ji."

Li Cang did not dare be remiss. He stepped forward and bowed with clasped hands. This man was none other than Ji Ying, the Postal Inspector of Yuzhang Commandery.

The post of Postal Inspector was newly established in the commanderies last year, after the emperor adopted the suggestion of Hei Fu, the governor of Jiaodong Commandery, to oversee the entire commandery's postal and courier relay system.

Yuzhang was a new commandery, with only eight counties, and eight postal assistants were appointed. Each postal assistant supervised twelve postal couriers, which meant that a single township had to rely on fewer than three couriers to maintain the flow of official documents and messages. Furthermore, the Postal Inspector was also responsible for managing the relay stations and roads — an authority that could not be called insignificant, though his rank and salary were low; he was merely a Three Hundred Bushels official.

Ji Ying had started out as a postal courier ten years ago; no one was better suited for the role. It was just that his noble rank was slightly insufficient for a commandery-level bureau head. In the end, it was only through Li Xian's recommendation and the approval of the commandery commandant Yin Tong that he obtained the appointment.

Li Cang had once overheard his mother complaining to his father, saying that this Ji Ying was lecherous, his daily conduct rather unseemly, and he often spoke without thinking. What if he committed some offense and implicated his patron? What would they do then?

Li Cang had wanted to slip away then, but his father called him back. Perhaps feeling that he was old enough to know certain things, his father spoke a meaningful passage right in front of him, addressing his mother…

"For us, the Anlu hometown faction, our greatest patron is Lord Commandant. As long as Lord Commandant is here, even if men like Ji Ying commit minor transgressions, so long as they don't make a grave error, who would dare do anything to us? If Lord Commandant were gone, even someone as diligent and meticulous in his official duties as young Tao could not avoid losing his influence."

To use his father's analogy, the people from Anlu were monkeys on the same tree — they prospered together and suffered together. At present, "Lord Commandant" was a thousand li away and could not possibly shield them in every matter. The group had to stick together down here, so that the governor and commandant of Yuzhang would have no choice but to rely on them to govern the commandery.

At present, the main inhabitants of Yuzhang Commandery were roughly thirty percent immigrants from Nan Commandery, thirty percent Chu natives, and thirty percent Yue people. The governor, commandant, assistant, and inspector were transferred from the Central Plains, but the local officials were predominantly from Nan Commandery — basically all military officers who had followed Hei Fu south to conquer Yuzhang back then, who had settled locally and put down roots.

In this wild and untamed southern frontier, the soldiers and civilians tilling the military colonies below trusted their old commanders far more than the newly arrived high border officials.

And so, the mud-legged poor youths of Anlu in Nan Commandery from days past, a decade later, had transformed themselves into the local bosses of Yuzhang…

Within this group, Nanchang Magistrate Li Xian was the mastermind, Poyang Commandant Dongmen Bao was the fierce warrior, Postal Inspector Ji Ying was responsible for liaising among them all, and Shanggan Commandant young Tao was the most reliable link.

In short, none of them could be spared. Therefore, after his father was transferred to the post of Nanchang magistrate two years ago, whenever the "uncles" from below came to the commandery seat on official business, he would always gather everyone together.

And this "Uncle Ji Ying" was a regular guest at every banquet. Fond of wine and women, and a witty, pleasant talker, he now saw Li Cang waiting at the gate. After praising the youth's handsome looks, he teased him, saying:

"Waiting here since early morning — don't tell me you're waiting for your father-in-law?"

Li Cang immediately grew bashful. Two years ago, his father had arranged a marriage alliance with Poyang County Commandant Dongmen Bao, who had sired five daughters in a row. The Dongmen family's eldest daughter was betrothed to Li Cang, and they would be wed in a few years. Ji Ying, who had acted as the matchmaker, constantly teased him about it.

Speak of Dongmen and Dongmen arrives. Before long, a burly, bearded man in military attire rode up on horseback — it was precisely Li Cang's future father-in-law, Dongmen Bao.

Dongmen Bao leaped off his horse. Without a word, he came over and first gave Li Cang a heavy slap on the shoulder. His hand was as weighty as a bear's paw; Li Cang had to clench his teeth to keep from toppling over.

But Dongmen Bao frowned, disdainful that Li Cang was too bookish and refined. How would he ever behead enemies and earn merit in the future?

Ji Ying laughed and mocked him: "Ah Bao, the world is at peace now. From Luling to Poyang, how many years has it been since you fought a war? You've grown a belly and thickened at the waist — what chance does your son-in-law even have?"

In the old days at Luling, they could still suppress the Yangyue in the mountains. Once at Poyang, all they could do was catch thieves.

After so long in idleness, Dongmen Bao had indeed put on a lot of weight compared to before. But he scowled, glared, and said: "Though there are no external wars, if the Chu lands were to produce rebel traitors like the Qi lands did recently, and the village chief summoned us to quell the rebellion, your father here could still lift a halberd and charge a formation! As for you, Ji Ying, you'd only be fit to haul baggage!"

"Village chief" was the private name the Anlu old guard used for "Lord Commandant." Only the four of them could use it.

And so, the two began trading barbs, bickering back and forth.

Though both were in their thirties, they acted like children, never meeting without quarreling. Li Cang was used to it. He sent someone in to inform his father, while he himself led them into the inner courtyard.

Li Xian was waiting at the middle gate as well. The three were comrades who had faced life and death together; there was no need for pleasantries. After a round of laughter and banter, they linked arms and entered the feast.

The wine and dishes were already laid out in the hall. Since no outsiders had been invited, there were only three place settings.

The guests had all arrived, but it was not yet dark, so there was no rush for the meal. The three took their seats, drank wine, and chatted idly. Li Cang was kept by his father to pour the wine.

After joking for a while about how Dongmen Bao had gotten so fat, and discussing the recent situation in Poyang County, Li Xian began to speak of the reason he had invited the two of them to gather today.

"I have two pieces of news."

Li Xian looked at Ji Ying and Dongmen Bao and smiled: "The village chief quelled the Qi rebellion and achieved great merit. He has already been granted the rank of Grand Patriarch. He is just one step away from being enfeoffed as a marquis!"

The two were first stunned, then overjoyed. Dongmen Bao was so happy he drained a cup of wine on the spot, but then he grew somewhat dejected: "It's just a pity — the northern campaign against the Xiongnu, the eastern campaign to suppress the rebels — these two great wars both had nothing to do with us. What a pity, what a pity!"

Ji Ying gave a somewhat awkward smile, then asked Li Xian: "Gong Ao… he earned merit this time too, I suppose?"

Although Gong Ao had also joined their band of brothers very early on, shedding blood and charging into battle together, he was not from Anlu after all. Privately, the small circle of the four Anlu men still regarded him as a latecomer.

But that fellow was not only brave in battle, but also stubborn and bluntly honest. When Lord Commandant got married, he actually resigned his post as acting commandant of Nanchang on the spot and ran off to drive the secondary wedding carriage for Lord Commandant. After that, he stayed by Lord Commandant's side as a retainer. He missed neither the campaign against the Xiongnu nor the pacification of the Qi rebellion. According to Li Xian, he had even slain the rebel army's "Grand General" at Pingyuan Ford, making his name renowned throughout the Qi lands.

Li Xian took a sip of wine and said flatly: "He earned merit. He is now a Fifth Grand Master."

"Fifth Grand Master…"

Dongmen Bao felt a sense of loss. He had once achieved the merit of capturing a flag, and after the destruction of Chu, he had held the highest noble rank among Hei Fu's subordinates. But over the past seven or eight years, he had only advanced one rank and was now merely a Grand Master. Gong Ao had only been a Gentleman back then, yet now he had leaped above him.

Even within a small group, there was competition and mutual comparison. The feeling of being overtaken by a latecomer was not pleasant, especially since Dongmen Bao felt his own abilities were superior to Gong Ao's.

"So, when we see Gong Ao again, we'll have to bow to him?"

Ji Ying gave a few dry laughs. He had a similar feeling. The four of them had once been the "village chief's" most trusted subordinates, the earliest to follow him. They could only hate the court's regulations — when an official took up a new post, his subordinate clerks could not follow, unless they were retainers serving only in a temporary capacity.

Gong Ao and Chen Ping had exploited that loophole to follow from the northern frontier to Jiaodong. That fair-faced boy Chen Ping, it was said, had also accumulated enough merit to become a Grand Master. The story of him entering the Xiongnu camp alone to sow discord between the Xiongnu Chanyu and his son was enough to make one slap the table in amazement!

So many great events worthy of spreading their fame across the world, and Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying had missed them all.

Back then, Ji Ying had also attended the village chief's wedding. Why hadn't he thought of resigning his post to follow him then?

But not resigning had its own advantages. The early years in Yuzhang had indeed been bitter, clearing wasteland every day. But in recent years, Nanchang's registered households had multiplied. As sugarcane cultivation flourished day by day, those who had been the first to plant cane had also made a tidy profit — the village chief's family sugar mill still gave them a considerable "dividend" every year. This was also the reason they had lived free from want for many years, with no need to prey upon the common people or engage in graft and bribery.

Ji Ying was content with such a life, but Dongmen Bao, who rejoiced at the news of battle, was gloomy and unhappy. He sighed:

"Ten years ago, the village chief once said, 'Are dukes, marquises, generals, and ministers born from seed?' Now the village chief is just one step from being enfeoffed as a marquis, yet we are still stuck in place. This truly shames me to death!"

As he spoke, he kept pouring wine down his gullet.

Li Xian rose and stopped him, flipping his wine cup upside down on the table. "Stop drinking for now."

Displeased and fueled by the wine, Dongmen Bao immediately slammed the table and shot to his feet, veins bulging on his forehead. "Fine, Li Xian! Your father here gave you face by agreeing to the marriage, and you won't even let me drink your wine?"

His voice boomed like thunder. Li Cang jumped in fright. Ji Ying stepped forward to mediate, but Li Xian was long accustomed to this. He wiped the spittle Dongmen Bao had sprayed onto his face and sneered:

"You stay sober for now. After you hear the second thing I have to say, I'll get drunk right along with you!"

Dongmen Bao was still angry, his chest heaving, his fists clenched as if he might hit Li Xian at any moment. But in the end, he withdrew his hand, glanced at Li Cang, and muttered:

"If it weren't for the village chief saying before he left that Li Xian is older and steady, and that we should listen to you more from now on, your father here wouldn't be drinking with you!"

Despite his words, he sat back down in a huff. Only after he had calmed down did Li Xian speak:

"The day before yesterday, after His Majesty left Nanchang, Commandant Yin Tong came to me and said he had strongly urged His Majesty to campaign against the Hundred Yue. His Majesty's mind was somewhat swayed, and upon returning to Xianyang, he will have the ministers debate it."

"Yin Tong hopes that I can send a letter urging the Bailiff to step forward when the time comes and support the proposal for the southern expedition!"

PS: Chapter 2 in the evening.

(End of chapter)