Chapter 224: The Five Virtues

Source of *The Stubborn Bandit*:

The rebellion in Pingliang Prefecture lasted only two days from start to finish.

But after the rebellion was put down, with every household burying its dead and every family holding funerals, the prefectural city still had to face the chaotic aftermath of having no officials left and an economy in total collapse.

Pingliang Prefecture was a peculiar city — though in this era's northwest, most cities were peculiar, each in its own way.

This city's thirty thousand commoners supported the feudal prince, but from another angle, the feudal prince also supported this city.

After three invitations from the Han princes, the Lion Battalion had no choice but to take responsibility, wrapping white cloth around their arms and taking over the city's defenses, while Yang Dingrui sat in the prefectural office to govern.

On the twelfth day after the two-day rebellion ended, this city still had over 2,400 households and more than 16,000 people. Apart from the coffin-makers and paper-money shops doing thriving business, every other trade lay in ruins.

The first thing Yang Dingrui had to do was provide relief through public works, and that project was Prince Han's Life-Saving Tower.

Prince Han realized he had been led by the nose the whole way — Liu the Lion first made him believe Pingliang City was unsafe, then recommended a small town with sharp-angled bastions, then used building that town to provide relief to the commoners, and the ultimate goal was to lend him money.

Prince Han, realizing this belatedly, mulled it over and felt something was off.

He thought, it didn't seem like he was providing disaster relief — the prefectural office was running things, and Liu the Lion spent half a shichen every day personally paying the workers' wages.

But to say he hadn't provided disaster relief, his princely estate, because of the city construction, now owed Liu the Lion 1,650 taels of silver and 1,280 dan of grain.

Prince Han had spent his whole life lending money to others and living off the interest, and now he was in debt to a rebel leader for both coin and grain.

He wondered why that scoundrel Liu Chengzong hadn't been born in Pingliang — if he'd entered his princely estate, even alone, and used the estate's name to pull off empty-handed schemes, he could have turned the entire Pingliang Prefecture into the House of Han.

But Prince Han didn't dare say this. He was a little afraid of Liu Chengzong, because Liu Chengzong was taking him to attend a funeral — the funeral was for four executed soldiers of the Lion Battalion.

They were two squad leaders and two soldiers from the Cannon Sentinel.

On the first night after entering the city, they had very politely knocked on the door of a Bulwark Lieutenant's home. Three of them slept with the lieutenant's two concubines, while the fourth stayed outside to control the situation and keep watch.

The Bulwark Lieutenant discussed it with his relatives all night, and the next day, mustering his courage, brought the matter to the prefectural office, demanding twenty taels of silver in compensation.

Yang Dingrui couldn't make the decision himself and could only report it to Liu Chengzong — but Liu Chengzong made a decision that no one in the entire city expected.

The first day was calm. The Lion Battalion drilled outside the city as usual, and Liu Chengzong and Cao Yao borrowed Prince Han's Wave-Viewing Pavilion for a meal.

The second day, he bought wine and food and treated the three soldiers to a big feast, even getting himself drunk. After the drinking, Han Shipan seized them.

Fan Sanlang then led troops back into the Bulwark Lieutenant's residence, first paying ten taels of silver in compensation, then giving another thirty taels of silver, and took the two concubines away — half-seized, half-bought.

On the third day, the Lion Battalion assembled outside the city without drilling. The charges were read publicly, and the two squad leaders were bound and beaten fifty times, then executed; the two soldiers were executed.

Cannon Sentinel Commander Cao Yao was fined one hundred taels of silver and two horses. The two discipline officers under the two squad leaders were each fined fifty taels of silver and two horses. Every member of the two squads was fined ten taels of silver and one horse.

On the way back, Liu Chengzong's face remained ashen, making Prince Han too afraid to speak.

After deliberating for a long while, he finally said quietly to Liu Chengzong, "General, isn't the punishment too severe? I heard those four — two of them were officers."

Seeing Liu Chengzong on horseback turn his head and stare at him expressionlessly, Prince Han hurriedly added, "This humble prince means, General need not put on a show for the imperial clan and the commoners."

"Make me kill my own soldiers, put on a show for others — are they even worthy?"

Liu Chengzong hadn't intended to say much, but with Fan Sanlang beside him, he said, "I don't care who they slept with. They violated military law. When superiors cannot correct and subordinates cannot report, death is the only option."

Prince Han squinted and said, "You could have fined them silver and gold, fined them mules and horses, stripped their rank, shaved them bald, and let them atone through service. I heard you people value your officers highly."

Liu Chengzong glanced around. Only Fan Sanlang, a Lion Battalion member, was nearby, and this question truly weighed on his heart, so he said, "Those two were officers, and those two soldiers were men who could be promoted to officers. In my army, officers are very important."

"There's no one else here, so I can tell you." Liu Chengzong halted his warhorse, his fist clenching the reins. "If they had killed that lieutenant and fled with the two women, I might have let the pursuers slack off and allowed them to escape."

"Even if they didn't run or were captured and brought back, I would have fined them all their wealth, armor, and warhorses. If they hadn't run, they'd atone through service; if they wanted to run, I'd still let them go."

Prince Han didn't understand. "What, what does that mean?"

"I am a soldier from Fish River Fort, and so were they. Unauthorized killing is a grave crime, but with their merits and hard service, I could protect their lives. I can bear some cost for the mistakes they make."

Fan Sanlang was just as baffled as Prince Han. "Then, then why did the Marshal kill those two?"

"Four. If I could have spared any of the four, I would have spared them all. But they weren't afraid." Liu Chengzong drew a deep breath. "They didn't kill the lieutenant. They just swaggered out like that. They thought the lieutenant wouldn't dare report them — or rather... they weren't afraid of him reporting them."

"Then no one could protect them."

Liu Chengzong turned his head and said, "Sanlang, a general has five virtues: wisdom, trustworthiness, benevolence, courage, and strictness. Wisdom is resourcefulness and knowing when to adapt. Trustworthiness is clear rewards and punishments that leave no doubt. And strictness is using stern discipline to keep the three armies in order."

Fan Sanlang recited the line once, nodded that she had memorized it, then asked, "Marshal, didn't Commander Cao try to dissuade you?"

"He did. I convinced him. He has his own way of leading troops, and making this decision was far harder for him than for me. Among these five virtues, wisdom comes first, because weighing and adapting are the most important."

Fan Sanlang blinked. Her impression of Cao Yao had always been of someone who convinced others — yet Liu Chengzong had convinced him. She quickly asked, "How did the Marshal convince him?"

"I said I can adapt. I just said it — bearing the cost. Strict enforcement of military law is not unadaptable. As long as you're willing to bear the cost, it has nothing to do with merits and hard service."

"They had some merits, but I have never shorted them on reward silver. When it's time to punish, naturally there should be no leniency."

Liu Chengzong said, "If they had been afraid, I would have spared them the death penalty. It would have made the soldiers in camp take military law a little less seriously, but in return I would gain the four men's absolute loyalty. Perhaps they would achieve even greater merit in the future, or save my life one day — worth it."

"They weren't afraid. I can't not punish them. I would bear the cost of military law losing its effect for them, and also bear the cost that they might hate me for the punishment and endanger the entire army's lives in the future. I cannot bear such a cost for them."

"I treat Commander Cao like my own elder brother. I told him all this, and said that if today he spoke up, said these four men must live, I could bear it for him. As long as he spoke, these four men could live."

Liu Chengzong slowly shook his head. "He couldn't speak."

"Righteous!"

As soon as Liu the Lion finished speaking, Prince Han beside him thrust out his arm, raised his thumb, and cheered, then asked, "But if he had spoken, would you really have not killed them?"

Liu Chengzong glanced at him and shook his head. "I said, I treat Commander Cao like my own elder brother. So I understand him, just as I understand my own elder brother."

"He is very shrewd, not some fool who only knows how to talk big. He has rich experience in saving his own skin, even more cautious than I am."

Prince Han sighed, pointed a finger at Liu Chengzong, and shook his head. "Couldn't you just lie to me? I'd just started thinking you were quite righteous, and now you make me think you're very cunning."

Liu Chengzong smiled but said nothing. Fan Sanlang asked, "What about benevolence?"

"A general has five virtues, but possessing these five virtues does not make one a good general. The ultimate goal is victory. Showing small benevolence to a few soldiers, letting the entire camp's discipline slacken — then when battle comes, soldiers loot everywhere. I send you to stop the looting soldiers, and then you join their looting party. In the end, you're defeated. How many would die? That is not benevolence."

"Benevolence in peacetime is treating soldiers well — well-fed and warmly clothed, well-equipped, well-trained, with strict discipline. And in wartime, achieving victory, using the best tactics to win regardless of casualties, ending the war as quickly as possible — that is the greatest benevolence."

Fan Sanlang understood, and nodded her little head very firmly.

Prince Han, however, was completely baffled. He thought it was far too much trouble — leading troops had so many twists and turns.

Truth be told, he was far more interested in how Liu Chengzong had tricked him into taking on that debt.

He just felt that asking outright would make him look very stupid, so he was too embarrassed to ask.

He said, "General, everything you've said ties back to leading troops. You've already turned the Lion Battalion into an army of benevolence and righteousness — so why did you still half-buy, half-snatch those two concubines from the Commandant?"

Actually, Fan Sanlang, who had carried out the mission, was even more interested in this.

She had even secretly wondered whether her Grand Marshal was like Cao Cao in the Three Kingdoms, with rather particular tastes — a preference for married women.

That sort of thing was not easy to ask about.

"You've hit the nail on the head. This matter has nothing to do with leading troops, but it does have to do with what I told you — I won't and don't need to kill my own soldiers to put on a show for others. 'Won't' is because I don't want to, but 'don't need to' — do you know why?"

Liu Chengzong pointed at himself. "Because I'm a bandit."

"As long as I enter a city without letting my troops run wild killing and looting, commoners and princes alike will heap praise on me — names like benevolent and righteous, restrained and measured — even if a small problem occurs, apart from the person directly involved, everyone else will be very forgiving toward us."

The Prince of Han found himself nodding. If those outside were government troops, the imperial clansmen would already be armed and manning the city gates.

They wouldn't give government troops a chance to slip up — they absolutely wouldn't let them into the city.

He heard Liu Chengzong ask, "Why is that?"

The Prince of Han did not know.

Liu Chengzong said, "This is called: a widow losing her chastity is worse than an old prostitute turning virtuous."

"Even though my soldiers were in the wrong, I didn't want to pay that Bulwark Commandant a single copper coin. He should have fought my soldiers to the death. Killing them would have been best; even if he couldn't win, I would have avenged him."

"But he didn't. A full-grown man of five chi, quite imposing in appearance, went to file a complaint the next day — not to have me punish the soldiers, but to demand twenty taels of silver. From start to finish, he never thought of protecting his own women."

The Prince of Han frowned. "Those were just two bought concubines, and you wanted him to risk his life..."

"What do you mean, 'just concubines'? They're two people. Suppose I go to Willow Lake right now, scoop up the brocade carp you keep in the pond, scale them, and fry them with salt."

The Prince of Han's eyes went wide. He stiffened his neck. "You can only scoop up one!"

"I was just talking, damn it. Look at you — and you call yourself a prince. Just a few carp, and now you're not afraid of risking your life."

Liu Chengzong spread his hands. "I'm not blaming him either. The fault lies with my men. But those four defiled the innocence of two women. In a great household like yours, what would happen to those two?"

"Hang themselves? Throw themselves down a well?" The Prince of Han wasn't clear on these things either, but he had the basic common sense about widowly chastity. "I don't know. That depends on the women themselves. Preserving chastity is something the upper class does. For the middle class, remarrying after the husband dies is no big deal. As for the lower class, as long as they don't plot to murder their own husbands, anything goes."

The Prince of Han laughed. "If the world were full of chaste and heroic women, there'd be no need to hand out chastity archways."

Liu Chengzong was very calm. "That is shameless."

The Prince of Han spread his hands in bewilderment. "How is that shameless? No one forces them!"

"Do they even need forcing? Are those two women of far-reaching insight, or of indomitable character? Never mind that the Bulwark Commandant did nothing — I fear idle gossip alone can kill more effectively than I can."

Liu Chengzong pointed at himself, then continued. "From childhood, their minds have been filled with this: after the husband dies, the first rank is to follow him to the grave — that is heroism. The second rank is to preserve chastity and live in widowhood. The third rank is to do the human thing and remarry. Every story they've heard is about proving one's purity through death. So when something like this happens, what can they do?"

Liu Chengzong had never expected that the Prince of Han would not argue back, but instead nod thoughtfully. The one who raised an objection was actually Fan Sanlang.

Fan Sanlang said, "But Grand Marshal, if social custom exalts chastity and the common folk are still unchaste, what would happen if we didn't exalt it?"

Liu Chengzong glanced at her with approval. Fan Sanlang wasn't arguing for argument's sake — she truly had thought this through herself. This was the progress that came with experience. He said, "You have a point. Having moral standards is very important. But people are not sages; moral standards should not be too high, and even less should they be pointlessly high."

"A person may choose not to remarry, but should not commit adultery — that concerns loyalty. But if the husband dies, remarry if you wish. What meaning is there in widowhood or even dying for love? And in a case like this, violated by others — what good does hanging or throwing oneself down a well do?"

"What's more, these are all upper-class families. The 'Book of Rites' speaks of the meaning of marriage and the duties a husband ought to fulfill: to be a lord, a parent, and a teacher to his wife — a model of guidance."

Liu Chengzong raised his hand and pointed toward the nearby Pingliang prefectural city. "Two women merely met with misfortune; they did not willingly lose their virtue. The upper-class men in this city — the city has fallen, the princely state is lost, a disgrace to the nation. Why don't I see anyone throwing themselves down a well or hanging themselves to die for their country?"

"Instead, a whole crowd ran out of the city to watch the excitement of a black donkey being put to stud." As he spoke, he glanced at the Prince of Han and said to Fan Sanlang, "I suppose the king's virtue is lacking."

"Hey, you — I was just starting to think you made sense." The Prince of Han was so agitated he nearly jumped up on horseback, and yet he felt so shamed he was burning with embarrassment. He shot a glance over. "How is that not an insult?"

Liu Chengzong and Fan Sanlang exchanged a look, both smiling at the Prince of Han's flustered expression.

"Ugh, you're so annoying. I know my wits are no match for yours." The Prince of Han wanted to change this humiliating subject as quickly as possible. He said, "Just tell me — what do you want me to do now?"

"It's already done." Liu Chengzong spread his hands with an innocent look. "These past few days have been too heavy. Let's lighten up a bit."

With that, he signaled to Fan Sanlang and spurred his horse toward the city.

The Prince of Han, furious, spurred his horse from behind while cursing. "Count yourself lucky! If my relatives didn't keep doing the enemy's work, with your character, would I ever be friends with you?"

The two young men galloped and chased each other in horseplay, until they ran straight into the Chief Clerk coming out of the city gate.

The Chief Clerk dismounted, glanced first at Liu Chengzong, then bowed to the Prince of Han. "Your Highness, return to the palace. An angel eunuch has arrived with an imperial decree to proclaim. General Liu, your good fortune has come."