Chapter 611: Three Thousand Li of Rivers and Mountains

The southwest monsoon over the Bohai Sea usually blows from the fifth month to the ninth month of the Xia calendar. Once the tenth month arrives, it turns into a cold, gloomy north wind.

At the end of the ninth month of the thirty-third year of the First Emperor, riding the last of the west winds, Heifu, the army supervisor of the Great Qin Eastern Expedition, finally left his nest in Jiaodong after receiving the Emperor's reply, heading to the peninsula across the sea to take a look.

Supervisor Heifu was in good spirits throughout the journey, and even busied himself arranging for the fleet to use their mounted heavy crossbows to shoot at the great whales in the sea. It was a pity that, though the towered ships were large, they were not professional whaling vessels, so he could only watch helplessly as the huge sperm whale sank to the ocean floor with crossbow bolts stuck in its body.

Watching the water spouts from the distant whale pod, Heifu was filled with regret:

"So much meat—catching one would feed a whole ship's crew for several days."

He looked toward Xu Fu: "Once we return to Jiaodong, we absolutely must build ships specifically for whaling!"

Besides whaling ships, Heifu also hoped to make large nets capable of deep-sea fishing as soon as possible. In this era, the Yellow Sea was teeming with whales, seals, fish, turtles, shrimp, and crabs. For the middle and lower classes of Jiaodong, who could not afford to eat meat more than a few times a year, it was practically a vast treasure trove. And Heifu at this moment was like a pauper guarding a treasure vault, yet still hadn't crafted the key.

Xu Fu acknowledged the order, but then brought up an unrelated matter:

"From Xianyang to Jiaodong, a round trip, even using the fastest urgent missive and running over ten horses to death, still took more than two months. His Majesty, upon hearing of the passing of the old general Yang Duanhe, was indeed concerned for Prince Fusu and ordered you, Commandery Lord, to go nearby and supervise the army. To put it plainly, he was asking you to help the Prince and prevent any trouble from arising. But in reality, this edict was actually an unnecessary move…"

Xu Fu was speaking with Heifu at the bow of the ship, but Heifu shot him a glare.

"His Majesty's edicts are golden words and jade sayings—how can you call them unnecessary?"

"This commoner spoke out of turn!"

Xu Fu hastily begged for forgiveness, but inwardly he thought: Wasn't it you who, defying the crime of deceiving the Emperor, seized and detained me back then?

However, Xu Fu did have a point. Hindered by the lack of an edict from Xianyang, Heifu had spent these two months only able to watch the fire from across the shore in Jiaodong. And on Fusu's side, quite a few incidents had indeed occurred…

First, at the end of the seventh month, while the army was encamped at Manfanhan, five thousand Yan conscripts rioted in the camp, trampling and killing each other. After Fusu led his forces to quell it, the left camp had suffered over a thousand casualties and another thousand had fled. The Yan conscripts, already suspicious of the Qin army, were completely broken. Fusu did not even dare to bring them into Joseon, and could only have Ren Xiao use the naval forces to transport the remaining two-thousand-odd Yan men to Jiaodong, to be kept under watch by the coast and perform labor.

Regarding this matter, Heifu suspected Chen Ping was involved, but Chen Ping never mentioned a word of it after returning, and continued to diligently and responsibly handle his clerical duties, seeming somewhat more subdued than before. The lord and vassal thus shared an unspoken understanding.

And after this series of upheavals, Fusu could only lead five thousand Guanzhong elite troops into Joseon.

Although the Manfanhan camp riot showed Joseon that the Qin army was perhaps not as formidable as imagined, the towered ships and warships at Liekou were undeniably real. The capital Wangxian faced a constant threat, a knife pressed against its chest, so they could only clear the path and request Fusu to pass through.

At the start of the eighth month, Fusu arrived at the Joseon capital of Wangxian, located by the Rye River (the Daedong River), and encamped his troops outside the city. He also overrode all objections and, at Ji Zhun's invitation, entered Wangxian City with only a small retinue to meet with the Marquis of Joseon, Ji Fou, to discuss Joseon paying tribute to Qin and providing civilian laborers to transport grain for the Qin army.

Compared to his inexperience in commanding troops, Fusu performed quite well in such diplomatic settings. It happened that the Jiaodong naval forces played the villain, and he subsequently played the hero. This "force before courtesy" approach yielded good results. The Joseon nobility were awed by Fusu's aristocratic bearing and agreed to Qin's conditions one by one. The opposing voices in the court were also suppressed by Ji Zhun—the Ji clan had left the Central Plains too early, it seemed, and did not know the allusion of "when the lips are gone, the teeth will feel the cold."

The subsequent march was smooth all the way, with no further troubles. In the middle of the eighth month, Fusu led his forces to Liekou, where the naval and land forces successfully rendezvoused. After several days of rest and reorganization, they took a month's worth of provisions and quickened their pace, advancing toward the endpoint of this long and arduous expedition!

The roads in Joseon were worse than those in Liaodong, and the population even sparser. By the time Fusu and his men, guided by Joseon scouts, reached Canghai City, which bordered Joseon, it was already the start of the ninth month…

Apart from the ruling Ji clan and the nobility, who were remnants of the Yin-Shang people, the populace of Joseon were mostly of the Huimo tribes. Thus, the surrounding areas of Joseon were also dotted with city-states and settlements established by the Huimo, scattered like stars.

And Canghai City was clearly a famous one, because the opposite shore was the Qi region. Over the past few decades, no small number of people from the Six States had come riding the southwest monsoon. They brought the culture and advanced production tools of the Central Plains, which made the Lord of Canghai the most civilized of the Huimo city-states.

As Fusu's great army arrived at Qin Island (Ganghwa Island), where Canghai City was located, a grand drama of the First Emperor sending his eldest son to punish the would-be assassin was about to unfold.

According to the script, the Qin soldiers who had trekked a thousand li and the noble-minded patriots who cherished the Six States and would rather flee to the ends of the earth than submit to Qin were about to fight a great battle, a struggle to the death.

Yet the result was unexpected. The Jiaodong naval forces, who had arrived first, discovered that, let alone Canghai City, for hundreds of li around "Qin Island," not even the shadow of a fisherman could be found.

The expeditionary force had delayed too long. The Canghai City side had long since learned of the Qin army's punitive expedition and had fled without a trace, taking both people and livestock with them. Fusu and his men had come up empty-handed, occupying only an empty city and an island stripped of all its grain…

Several days ago, Heifu's first reaction upon learning this news was:

"The Lord of Canghai is no fool…"

If it were Heifu, he would certainly have chosen the best of the thirty-six stratagems: retreat.

Although the Huimo people were the only ones among the northeastern and peninsular natives who practiced agriculture, they also had a strong tradition of fishing and hunting. They were not Qin officials, bound to defend a single city or territory; abandoning their city and fleeing was no difficult matter at all.

A previously unthought-of problem was suddenly laid before Fusu: The Lord of Canghai had fled with his people, but what was the expeditionary Qin army to do?

Pursue? Hold? Withdraw?

Heifu, knowing full well there was no battle to be fought at the front, still steeled himself to cross the sea precisely to help Fusu solve this problem.

"Commandery Lord, Qin Island is in sight!"

Several war canoes were waiting to greet them in the open sea. The one leading them was none other than Wei Yang, who cheerfully boarded the ship and saluted Heifu and Xu Fu. Heifu noticed that after running around at sea for several months, he was now tanned as dark as himself. Now, the two of them looked even more like true uncle and nephew…

Wei Yang began pointing and explaining things about this island to Heifu. He said that, using the star-guiding technique taught by Xu Fu, he had measured the island's latitude and found it to be almost identical to that of Zhifu Island!

Heifu observed and found the climate and scenery here were not much different from northern Jiao, except that compared to the increasingly bustling Yantai, many places on Ganghwa Island were completely deserted.

Before long, they began to enter a narrow waterway. Wei Yang introduced it: "This island is no more than two li from the mainland. Because the gap is so narrow, the locals call it the Salt River. Don't be fooled by its narrowness; the hydrology is extremely complex, with a large tidal range and many hidden reefs. The main army expended no small effort when crossing it."

From Heifu's many years of experience leading troops into battle, this island was indeed a natural stronghold, easy to defend and hard to attack. It was a pity that, once naval supremacy was lost, the natural stronghold became a smooth path—this was probably the reason the Lord of Canghai abandoned the island and fled.

They navigated the narrow waterway for several hours, carefully skirting the reefs, and rounded to the other side of the island. The so-called "Canghai City" was situated there.

Seeing the crude and low "city," Heifu couldn't help but laugh:

"I finally understand why the Lord of Canghai was willing to abandon this city."

It turned out that this so-called city was merely the size of a small village town in the Central Plains, its walls no more than a zhang high, built of piled stones below and plastered with mud above. Regular troops could easily breach it!

Shortly after, the group disembarked at a makeshift dock, along with boatloads of cabbages, radishes, and military coats.

Prince Fusu came personally to receive them. From afar, Heifu saw the tall and straight Fusu approaching with his men, so he went up to meet him, cupping his hands in salute: "General Fusu!"

Fusu was taken aback for a moment, then returned the salute: "Supervisor Wei!"

This form of address was indeed a bit unfamiliar.

Heifu couldn't help but feel a touch of emotion. Several years ago, he had been the general and Fusu the supervisor; now, their roles were reversed.

Heifu had heard that Fusu had also experienced many things over the past half-year. His face was more gaunt, and his beard was no longer neatly trimmed but left to grow freely, giving him somewhat the bearing of a military commander.

But that melancholic look in his eyes remained the same as before, only with a little less world-weary compassion and a little more weather-beaten hardship…

To be honest, judging from Fusu's performance after quelling the camp riot, he had done quite well, at least bringing the army to its destination fully intact.

Once the two were seated inside the command tent, Fusu mentioned that he had sent men to scout for enemy activity within a hundred li but found nothing. A hint of dejection appeared on his face as he gave a bitter smile:

"To you, Lord Wei, Fusu will not speak empty courtesies. I only have one doubt that I have yet to resolve. In the past, at Beidi Commandery, when Fusu questioned the necessity of the northern expedition against the Xiongnu, you told me that the Hu are a great scourge to the Central Lands. It was precisely with this in mind that His Majesty decided to eliminate the Xiongnu in one stroke, to nip disaster in the bud. It was not purely for expanding territory and showing off merit. Therefore, no matter how great the cost of the northern expedition, it was worth it."

He spread his hands: "But now, under the pretext of punishing rebellion, an army of over ten thousand has marched a journey of four thousand li. Along the way, the casualties and losses alone number in the thousands. Even more incalculable coin and grain have been spent, disturbing the peace of the people in Liaodong and Jiaodong commanderies. Yet in the end, we have come up empty-handed. Fusu is indeed incompetent, causing the three armies to suffer hardship and allowing the enemy bandits to flee. As things stand now, I can no longer see clearly—what exactly was this war for?"

Though he had changed much, Fusu was still Fusu. His doubt was also the doubt of this empire; his confusion was also the confusion of its myriad subjects. A farcical beginning, a helpless commander-in-chief, and a result that made one not know whether to laugh or cry—if this could be considered an ending…

"It was, of course, so that Great Qin could gain a resolute and courageous good Prince, and also this…"

Heifu's answer was completely off-topic. He pointed toward the vast land east of Qin Island, as if wanting to grasp it in his palm:

"Three thousand li of rivers and mountains!"

(End of chapter)