Chapter 585: The Thirty-Third Year

That night, Dongmen Bao got dead drunk, bellowing things like: "I must be the vanguard for the Chief! I'll take up the long cord, bind the lords of the Hundred Yue as captives, and deliver them before the palace gates!" It took great effort just to settle him into the guest room to rest.

Li Xian, however, was not drunk. Every time they drank, Dongmen Bao would down a whole cup, while Li Xian kept his wits about him, merely sipping.

Once Dongmen Bao had finally quieted down and his snores began to sound, Li Xian sat in the courtyard. His son Li Cang had also settled Ji Ying in the neighboring courtyard and returned to report.

"It's been a long time since I've seen Uncle Dongmen so happy."

Li Cang only remembered that every time Dongmen Bao came to the commandery seat on business, he wore a gloomy face, as if someone owed him a great deal of money.

"You haven't seen what he's like on the battlefield."

Li Xian bade his son sit, and as he drank his sobering soup, he said: "Dongmen Bao is a born warrior, made for slaughter and battle. Though he is stationed on the frontier now, he can only catch petty thieves and small-time bandits. He feels his prime years are slipping away in vain, that the flesh on his thighs is growing back from disuse, and so he's been sullen and joyless. Now that he hears a great war may be fought in Yuzhang Commandery, how could he not be delighted?"

To be able to fight and earn merit and rank — on the matter of the "Southern Campaign against the Hundred Yue," Dongmen Bao was wholeheartedly in favor.

Ji Ying, a man content to be a wealthy householder, was ambivalent. He was no general of conquest, but once the great army massed in the south, the authority of the Postal Inspector, who oversaw the courier stations, would undoubtedly grow considerably. Thus, Ji Ying's stance was: "I support whatever the Chief supports."

In Li Xian's view, Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying represented the two attitudes of the Yuzhang southern campaign veterans toward this matter: some were itching to try, others felt it was fine to fight or not to fight. This was a far cry from the general desire for stability seven or eight years ago.

Back then, people's hearts longed for peace and needed rest. Now, Yuzhang had been stable for a long time. Thanks to Heifu, who had found the veterans a source of wealth in cane sugar, a great number of military-merit landlords had grown rich planting sugarcane, and even ordinary soldiers had gotten a share.

But they were not satisfied; they still wanted to expand their sugarcane plantations further.

Although Yuzhang encouraged land reclamation, most of what was opened up became public land. Private land still had limits tied to noble rank. Besides, even if one had more land, without the manpower to work it, it was useless.

Thus, bondservants became a hot commodity, and the main source of bondservants in the south was the Hundred Yue.

The current situation was that friction between the southern commanderies and the Yue people grew more intense by the day. Unlike the Yuzhang Commandant's version of events — where he, the wrongdoer, lodged the first complaint, claiming "the Yue are plundering merchants" — the truth was that Qin soldiers, under the pretext of suppressing rebellious tribes, crossing the border to seize people was the primary cause of the conflicts.

This was not yet obvious in Yuzhang, because Xiao Tao, who garrisoned the south, kept strict discipline over his men and maintained a hands-off policy with the Mei clan of the Five Ridges. But neighboring Changsha was different. Changsha had started planting sugarcane late, and exporting Yue slaves to Nan Commandery had become a major source of revenue for Changsha Commandery. However, the Western Ou ruler, Yixusong, was a man of fierce temper, unwilling to see his clansmen and subjects become bondservants, and he did not lack for retaliatory strikes. War between Changsha and Western Ou could break out at any moment...

It was precisely under these circumstances that the Governor and Commandant of Yuzhang, taking advantage of the Emperor's southern tour, had proposed the "Southern Campaign against the Hundred Yue." Changsha and Kuaiji Commanderies would surely support this proposal.

The Emperor's attitude was unclear. Commandant Yin Tong, fearing that someone at court might oppose it, wanted Heifu, who had recently achieved great merit and been enfeoffed as Grand Patriarch, to also cast a vote in favor. After all, who could be more familiar with the southern campaign than Heifu, who had written the *Record of the Southern Campaign*? The Emperor would certainly issue an edict to ask his opinion.

Although Heifu had once diverted the Emperor's attention with the western expansion, causing the previously scheduled southern campaign to be shelved, times had changed. Now, this war would benefit Heifu's old comrades... Presumably, Heifu's thinking would have changed as well.

But Li Xian had his own thoughts on the matter.

"Dongmen Bao and Ji Ying, along with many old friends from our home district, are mostly thinking about whether they can profit from this. They haven't considered the pros and cons of this matter for the Chief..."

This was a point of great pride for Li Xian. Toward Heifu, the old comrades all regarded themselves as subordinates. Only Li Xian had long since begun privately calling Heifu "my lord." Though he was not a formal retainer, he surpassed a retainer, acting as Heifu's agent in Yuzhang.

Therefore, although Li Xian did consider his own interests, he weighed more heavily whether a southern campaign would benefit the entire collective.

After sending his son to bed, Li Xian sat down in his study and spent the night carefully composing this crucial letter.

He believed this letter would determine the future of the entire Nan Commandery home-district faction!

This was also the most important reason he supported the Southern Campaign against the Hundred Yue!

"Once the southern campaign begins, in terms of rank and seniority, there is no one more suited to be commander-in-chief than my lord!"

Just as he was about to set brush to paper, a servant rushed in, saying that Dongmen Bao had woken again and was in a drunken frenzy, demanding more wine, crying and making a scene, and seven or eight men couldn't hold him down.

Li Xian frowned and threw on a robe to go check. But as soon as he entered the door, he heard a clamor and the sound of heavy objects hitting the floor. Several of his servants ran out with bruised and swollen faces, not daring to go back in no matter what.

"What a brute."

Li Xian shook his head, but when he pushed the door open and entered, he saw that Dongmen Bao, who had beaten off several men, was already sitting on the couch, seemingly asleep again.

At that moment, Ji Ying from next door also arrived upon hearing the news.

Seeing Dongmen Bao in this state, they thought it was nothing and turned to leave. But Dongmen Bao suddenly opened his eyes wide, raised his head, and roared a few words at them.

"Everyone asks, I, Dongmen Bao, have fathered five daughters in a row, with no one to inherit my rank — why do I still think of war and merit day after day?"

Turning his head, Dongmen Bao's eyes were red, but his mind was still fairly clear. He stared at Li Xian and said:

"If you, Li Xian, have not lied, and this campaign can truly have the Chief as its commanding general, then we can once more serve as the Chief's foot soldiers at the front of his chariot, break through enemy lines and seize their banners for him, and earn a word of praise..."

"Then I, Dongmen Bao, even if I father five more daughters, will have no regrets in this life!"

Ji Ying stood stunned for a long moment, then burst into loud laughter. This man, who could not hold his liquor well, also roared that he must drink a few more cups with Dongmen Bao for those words.

And Li Xian, always so composed, felt a sudden sting in his nose at this moment and turned his head away.

Yes...

To hell with schemes and profit — in the final analysis, this was the true heart of why their group wished for this war to begin!

By Qin system, the tenth month of each year marked the start of the year. In this month, the "submission of accounts" was held, where the household registers, tax revenues, banditry cases, lawsuits, and other records of each county were compiled into account books. Officials were dispatched to report level by level, first to the commandery, then presented to the imperial court for performance evaluation.

When there were important matters, county magistrates, commandants, and assistants even had to make the trip to the commandery office in person.

In the early tenth month of the thirty-third year of the First Emperor of Qin, Xiao Tao, the Commandant of Shanggan, came to Nanchang together with the accounting officials to discuss the matter of reinforcing the troops at Limen Fortress.

After finishing his official duties, Li Xian and Ji Ying invited him to a banquet as usual.

At the Li residence, with a similar scene and a similar opening, once the three had drunk their fill, Li Xian and Ji Ying declared their stance on the "Southern Campaign against the Hundred Yue" and invited Xiao Tao to sign his name alongside theirs in a letter to Heifu, proposing that he support the campaign against the Hundred Yue.

"The three of us can all sign, but we absolutely cannot do without you!"

Li Xian knew that although Xiao Tao was plain-looking and the most low-key and taciturn among them, he held great trust and regard from Heifu. Moreover, Xiao Tao was not only the Commandant of Shanggan but also bore the responsibility for the defense of Limen Fortress. Half of Heifu's three thousand veterans were concentrated under his command, so Xiao Tao's voice carried immense weight!

When Xiao Tao heard that their "Chief" might use this as an opportunity to return south as commander-in-chief and lead them in conquest once more, he too was quite stirred.

But after he calmed down, he fell silent. Only after a long while did he raise his head and say:

"I, I... I..."

Xiao Tao was a born stutterer; whenever he got excited, he stammered. He was stuck on the word "I" alone for a good while, making Li Xian and Ji Ying anxious.

Finally, Xiao Tao slammed both hands heavily on the table, breaking his own stammer, and managed to speak a complete sentence.

This reticent army commandant, who back when Heifu held military councils had always remained silent and only listened intently, now firmly stated his view.

"I oppose it!"

The Qin dynasty had a complete postal and courier system. The letter departed from Nanchang City, crossed the Yangtze and Huai Rivers, and passed through the Si River region and the Haidai area. Though the riders urged their horses on at top speed, traveling day and night, by the time it reached Jimo City in Jiaodong, over a month had passed...

The thirty-third year of the First Emperor of Qin, the winter solstice, Heifu's thirtieth birthday.

Half a year had passed since the pacification of the Tian clan rebellion. The decayed corpses nailed up at the post houses had been taken down, and the gloom of slaughter had gradually dispersed, yet Heifu's renown in Jiaodong was still at its zenith. Jiaodong officials, scholars, and commoners came in an endless stream bearing gifts, forming a long line before his gate. But Heifu politely declined them all, shutting his door to visitors. He only wanted to spend the day peacefully with his family.

And on this special day, Hei Fu also received local specialties from his old subordinates far away.

"Luling chicken, Pengli duck, Shanggan tangerines, Poyang lotus root, Yugan kudzu root, and Nanchang rice wine, dried bamboo shoots…"

These southern novelties in the eyes of Ye Zijin and the two children made Hei Fu beam with delight as he took inventory.

Ye Zijin said curiously, "They've actually piled our courtyard full. Husband, did your old subordinates hire a merchant caravan? They truly hold you in their thoughts. And while you refuse all other gifts, you're genuinely delighted by these."

"They, of course, are different."

Hei Fu laughed. "Whether it's filling the courtyard or sending a goose feather from a thousand li away, I accept it all without exception. No matter how far apart, the four of them always remember me, their 'village head.'"

Hei Fu was very proud of this — it was a bond of brotherhood forged through life and death, incomparable to ordinary relationships of interest. He still thought of his old subordinates, sending them some benefits and regards every year.

And accompanying these local specialties were two letters…

Chatting and laughing with his wife and children, he opened the letters, but the moment he unfolded the first one, Hei Fu's brows furrowed.

The room fell silent. Ye Zijin did not press him, only held the second child while letting the eldest tug at the hem of her dress, watching Hei Fu.

After a long while, Hei Fu finally raised his head and sighed, "What was bound to come, has come after all!"

PS: A friendly novel recommendation

Transported to the late Warring States period, yet facing the moment of his kingdom's destruction — confronting mighty Qin, confronting the domineering First Emperor, what path should he, a soldier of Wei's elite troops, take? Is he to stretch out his neck and await slaughter?

Just because he is the Eternal Emperor of all ages?

No, he raises his long halberd — then let there be war!

A man born between heaven and earth, if he dares not struggle against heaven, dares not fight for his own destiny, how is he any different from a salted fish?

"The Wei Elite Soldier of the Warring States," a meticulously researched old-school plain-style novel, worth a read.

(End of chapter)