Taiheiki

Chapter 221 Scout

Take the Gan River as an example. From its source to its confluence with Poyang Lake at Wucheng, it stretches 766 kilometers. By land, a long march would cover at most 30 kilometers a day; at higher speeds, soldiers and pack animals would quickly become exhausted. However, by water, at a rate of 5 kilometers per hour (actually faster, given the downstream flow), it would cover 120 kilometers a day, reaching Poyang Lake in about six days. Therefore, if Wei Cong can control Ganxian County and prepare a rapid deployment force and fleet beforehand, and establish intelligence stations at key points along this waterway, it is entirely possible to project power to Luoyang within about 20 days.

"Hearing you say that, it does seem quite possible!" Lu Ping watched Wei Cong draw and explain on the map, her eyes sparkling with interest. "But are you really not planning to move the base to Yuzhang? In my opinion, in terms of soil and climate, and population, Yuzhang is no worse than Lingnan, but in terms of convenient access to the Central Plains, Yuzhang is far superior to Lingnan!"

“But Yuzhang is not on the coast! Its hinterland for development is also much smaller!” Wei Cong laughed. “Without a coastline, it cannot trade with the countries of the South China Sea, and therefore cannot benefit from fish and salt. Moreover, in terms of arable land, most of Yuzhang is mountainous, with only some contiguous plains in the north. If you add up the three areas of Nanhai Commandery, Jiaozhi Commandery, and Linze in Lingnan, the arable plains are comparable to those in the Central Plains. Furthermore, Lingnan has a warm climate, allowing for three harvests a year, and its soil and water are fertile. With just a little cultivation, it will become a land of abundance. How can Yuzhang compare to it!”

"What about Yuzhang Prefecture?"

"After pacifying the Moth Rebels?" Wei Cong glanced at the woman beside him. "I plan to use this money to settle the surrendered Moth Rebels, just like the Five Pecks of Rice sect in Shu. I will appoint a chief priest to govern them, emulating the early Han dynasty, and implement the Huang-Lao policy of non-interference, allowing the people to recuperate!"

"That would be good, but I'm afraid the imperial court won't agree!"

"That's not up to them!" Wei Cong sneered. "After this battle, the southern part of Jing and Yang provinces will be almost completely ravaged. If they can hand over their annual poll tax and tax, they'll already be doing the court a favor. If the court isn't satisfied, they can fight for another ten years and see what happens."

"Hehe, you still have such a big mouth!" Lu Ping laughed so hard she could hardly breathe. "But it's strange, someone like you doesn't want to carve out a territory and become a king, nor does he want to conquer Luoyang and ascend the throne. He just wants to stay in Lingnan."

"You don't understand. If I were to declare myself king and establish my own territory, I would completely break with the court and force the scholars of Lingnan to choose sides. This would only weaken my own power. In the end, no one opposes me becoming the governor of Jiaozhou, but if I were to become the King of Great Yue, I wouldn't have as many supporters. At my age, I can serve for at least another twenty years. What difference does it make whether I am the governor of Jiaozhou or the King of Great Yue? Why make everyone uncomfortable for that empty title?"

"What about twenty years from now?"

"Then let's wait twenty years and see. Who can worry about things that far in the future?" Wei Cong rolled his eyes.

"What about Luoyang? Why are you completely uninterested in Luoyang?"

"Isn't that simple? A person's energy is limited. If I were in Luoyang, I could only focus my attention on governing the country. There was the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou, the Xianbei people in Youzhou and Bingzhou, the Zhongshi people in Shu, the Wuling barbarians in Jingzhou, as well as floods, droughts, locust plagues, and demon bandits causing trouble. There were all sorts of troubles that even three heads couldn't handle. How could I possibly have the mind to manage things in Lingnan? In the future, the history books would just mention it casually. But it's different in Jiaozhou. As long as I govern diligently and take over a third of the South Seas, the history books will definitely dedicate a chapter to me in the future. Of course, I choose to stay in Lingnan!"

"I never imagined you valued leaving your mark on history so much!" Lu Ping sighed, her expression somewhat somber.

"What's wrong? Isn't this good?" Wei Cong asked, puzzled.

“It’s not necessarily bad!” Lu Ping said in a low voice, “As you know, my family is from Chu. Since ancient times, people who are fond of fame have always lacked some blessings and fortune!”

Wei Cong remained silent. Although Lu Ping's words had seemed incoherent, his close interaction with her over the past few days had allowed him to discern their underlying meaning. Unlike the Central Plains states where Confucianism and Legalism dominated with pragmatism, the State of Chu, since the Spring and Autumn Period, possessed a distinct cultural style. Schools like Zhuangzi's Daoism and the Yin-Yang School, combined with local witchcraft, gave rise to the prevalent alchemists and Daoists of the Han Dynasty. Lu Ping's family's learning stemmed from this school, which viewed Wei Cong, with his ambition for achievement and historical fame, as akin to Wu Qi and Shang Yang—a figure destined for a tragic end throughout history. As Wei Cong's woman, how could she not worry?
“I’m different from those people!” Wei Cong hugged Lu Ping tightly, kissing her lips, cheeks, then behind her ears and neck, murmuring, “Besides, don’t I still have you?”

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"Uncle, we've been surrendering without a fight all the way here, we haven't even had a chance to fire an arrow!" Liu Sheng soaked a cloth in a basin of water and wiped the sweat and oil off his skin. "When will we be able to kill the enemy and achieve merit?"

"Be patient!" Liu Qu said while picking his teeth with a blade of grass. "Besides, isn't it better to win without fighting? People die in battle, and can you guarantee you won't be the one who dies?"

"Uncle!" Liu Sheng threw down the wet cloth and began to put on his clothes. "You saw it all during this trip to Lingnan. Those nobody's are all high-ranking officials and nobles, and that brat from the Nie family has even been enfeoffed as a marquis. We're only lowly officials, isn't that too far behind? How can we earn merit without fighting? How—"

"Keep your voice down, keep your voice down!" Liu Qu quickly grabbed his nephew: "Young master, how can you say such things? He's the adopted son of Duke Wei now, understand? The past is the past. We've come to Jiaozhou, so we have to start afresh, understand?"

Liu Sheng snorted coldly, sat down, put on his coat, and muttered, "I'm just not convinced. We used to be on good terms, so why—"

"Friendship is friendship, and they did reward us with two hundred bolts of silk as a token of their gratitude. It's true that you have to earn a title through merit!" Liu Qu sighed. "Ah Sheng! You must understand, whether it's Duke Wei or Young Master Nie, their status has changed. If they acknowledge this favor, it's magnanimity and they haven't forgotten old friendships; if they don't, there's nothing we can say. Don't be foolish in this situation!"

"Two hundred bolts of silk, is that enough to send away a beggar?" Liu Sheng muttered, his voice lowered. He knew in his heart that times had changed and his relationship with Wei Cong and Nie Sheng had naturally changed as well. However, after arriving in Jiaozhou, seeing his old friends, with whom he had once been equals, now living high in the clouds while he was still stuck in the mire, his mentality collapsed.

"Liu Qu, Liu Sheng! Are you there?" someone called out.

"Yes, yes!" Liu Qu hurriedly replied. He stood up and saw a steward standing in the outer room. He quickly bowed and said, "What are your orders, Steward?"

"There is a military order from above!" Nadubo said, "You are ordered to lead the forward scouts of your respective units to rise at 3:00 AM tomorrow, have breakfast, and then set off!"

"Yes, sir!" Liu Qu hurriedly replied. Although both he and Liu Qu could only start as low-ranking officials, they still had dozens of relatives and retainers by their side. Therefore, after enlisting in the army, they didn't need to start as common soldiers. Liu Qu was a captain, leading fifty men, all of whom were his own relatives and retainers. After receiving the military orders, he immediately turned around and ordered his men to prepare. Finally, he said to Liu Sheng, "You see, in my opinion, Lord Wei still remembers us. Alright, get some rest! We have to get up early tomorrow!"

The morning fog is very heavy in Lingling in winter.

Although it had been quite some time since dawn, Liu Sheng still couldn't see clearly what was happening twenty or thirty paces away. He had to slow down to avoid letting his horse get stuck in the mud.

To be honest, Liu Sheng didn't really consider the beast beneath him a horse. Compared to his old mount back home, this one was much smaller and slower. He'd heard from others that these were traded with the barbarians of the southwest; though small, they were hardy and could run mountain roads. But riding this thing into battle? Liu Sheng didn't say it aloud, but he was very skeptical.

"Slow down, look ahead!" Liu Qu tugged at his nephew's reins and pointed ahead, asking. Liu Sheng looked and, through the white mist, could vaguely make out a few figures. Above them was probably a flag, but the design on it was unclear.

"Dismount!" Liu Sheng carefully dismounted himself, and all the horses had their muzzles restrained to avoid neighing and revealing their position. They cautiously slipped into the roadside bushes, prepared their bows and crossbows, and aimed them in the direction the road was coming from.

As they drew closer, Liu Sheng and his group finally realized it was a troop of about two hundred people. A banner fluttered above the heads of the troop, bearing a tiger with wings on its sides—the banner of the Wuling Barbarians. The uncle and nephew exchanged a glance, both seeing tension in each other's eyes.

"It's a thief!" Liu Sheng's voice was barely a whisper: "Let's make our move!"

“They outnumber us!” Liu Qu was more cautious, after all, those behind them were either clan members or retainers and guests. The Liu family only had this much capital, and losing even one of them would be painful.

"As long as we shoot the bandit leader first, we have nothing to fear!" Liu Sheng lowered his voice: "In the fog, the bandits won't know how many of us there are!"

"Alright!" Liu Qu hesitated for a moment, then nodded. At this distance, there was no time to retreat and avoid it. Even with the fog, getting any closer would likely result in being discovered by the enemy. Rather than that, it would be better to make a move first.

Liu Sheng selected a duck-tongue arrow from his quiver. These arrows, shaped like a duck's tongue, would cause a large, difficult-to-stop wound. He nocked the arrow, drew the bowstring behind his ear, and aimed at the enemy about thirty paces away. He slowly exhaled and released his thumb from the bowstring.

A scream pierced the fog, and Liu Sheng could see the unfortunate man fall from his horse. The scream acted as a signal; the ambushing soldiers hidden in the roadside bushes drew their bows and opened fire. The ambushed enemy screamed in panic, running around in circles, trying to find their leader. But in the fog, nothing could be seen except for arrows flying from all directions and screams. Soon, the ambushed's will to fight crumbled; they dropped their weapons and flags and fled along the path they had come from.

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barracks.

"These guys are colluding with the Wuling barbarians and even accepted official positions bestowed by the Wuling barbarian elites!" Wen Sheng's face turned red with anger.

"Godfather, we must punish these two-faced bastards severely!" Nie Sheng said.

Wei Cong remained silent, merely examining the letters recovered from the enemy corpses. The letters, from the Wuling barbarian leader, ordered him to provide the troop with provisions and fodder, and to strengthen vigilance towards Jiaozhou. He was instructed to immediately dispatch a messenger if any movement was detected. Clearly, the Wuling barbarian leader was not entirely unprepared for Jiaozhou; he simply hadn't anticipated Wei Cong's swift action and his choice of the Jingnan route. He had only pacified the Linyi Kingdom a few months prior, and now Wei Cong had attacked.

"What about the rest of you?" Wei Cong turned his gaze to the others and asked in a low voice, "What do you think about this?"

“It’s no surprise that these people are so two-faced!” Liu Jiu said in a deep voice. “After all, this place is so far from Luoyang, and it’s surrounded by barbarians. They have to survive!”

"Then why didn't they inform us when we arrived here?" Wen Sheng asked angrily.

"How should we report this?" Liu Jiu said with a wry smile, "Tell the young master that we previously bowed to the barbarians in order to survive, but now that you have attacked and are stronger, we have turned against you. Although it is true, no one in the world would like such a fickle person, would they?"

"You know they are fickle and treacherous people? Then why do you oppose punishing them?"

"The problem is that there are too many treacherous and treacherous people. In recent years, whenever the Han army and the Wuling barbarians have attacked from Jingnan, those who are not treacherous and treacherous people will probably have a hard time surviving. We can't just kill them all, can we?"

Inside the tent, the men were arguing fiercely about how to deal with the local bullies of Lingling County. Clearly, these people had submitted to the Wuling Barbarians to protect their homes. Such people were naturally not trustworthy, but dealing with them severely was difficult because there were simply too many of them. If they were dealt with too harshly, it would drive the rest of the men to the opposite side.

Wei Cong remained silent, repeatedly examining the letter as if he had discovered some hidden treasure. Finally, everyone stopped arguing and sought Wei Cong's arbitration.

Wei Cong nodded noncommittally: "The leader of the Wuling Barbarians should already know we're here!"

Everyone nodded. The answer was obvious: those who were ambushed would bring back the news. Any leader of the Wuling Barbarians who wasn't a fool could draw that conclusion; at most, they would just need to send someone to verify it.

(End of this chapter)