Taiheiki

Chapter 291 Duan Jiong
It was late winter, and the riverbank was covered with glistening icicles. Wei Cong kicked his horse's flanks twice, urging it forward. The horse's hooves crunched on the icicles, making a series of crisp sounds. When they reached the riverbank, he turned his horse around, pointed with his whip to the raised rocky hill behind him, and laughed, "Look! That should be where the water was flooded during the summer, and this is where the water is low."

"The General has a good eye indeed!" said Yang Zhun, the chief craftsman. "That is indeed the place that was flooded during the summer!"

“Well, if that rocky hill is sturdy, then the iron chains that hold up the pontoon bridge should be tied there!” Wei Cong said.

"Yes!" Yang Zhun replied, "The general plans to divide the pontoon bridge into two sections, one from the south bank to the sandbar and the other from the sandbar to the north bank. This method is certainly good, but because of the sandbar, the current here is rapid, and there is silt deposited upstream, so the riverbed will change every few years; there is also the issue of navigation upstream and downstream, all of which must be taken into consideration!"

“I know that!” Wei Cong laughed. “I plan to divide this pontoon bridge into several sections, each section made up of four or five boats pieced together. These four or five boats will be fixed together with iron chains and wooden beams, and then each section will be connected to the iron chains linking the sandbar and the shore. In this way, if any section is damaged, it can be replaced with a new one, and it can also be disassembled without obstructing the upstream and downstream waterways!” As Wei Cong spoke, he drew on the muddy ground with his sword. Yang Zhun listened intently, pondered for a moment, and then replied, “It sounds feasible, but I don’t know if it will actually work, and the cost will probably be quite high!”

“Of course, something like this can’t be accomplished overnight!” Wei Cong laughed. “I’ve already ordered the construction of a shipyard on the sandbar. The shipyard will build the pontoon bridge’s wooden beams and pontoon boats. Take advantage of the dry season and quickly string together the iron chains connecting the two banks!”

"General, please rest assured, the iron chain will definitely be completed before the spring flood season!" Yang Zhun bowed and said.

"Furthermore, cities should be built at the bridgeheads on both sides of the river, and also on the sandbars! The cities don't need to be large, just enough to accommodate a thousand people!"

“Yes!” Yang Zhun said.

"Alright, I'll leave this matter to you!" Wei Cong mounted his horse and rode towards Luoyang City. Once a little distance away, he smiled and asked, "Marquis of Weiyang, how are you feeling?"

"This feels incredibly tedious!" Dou Ji glanced at the Yellow River behind him. "As a great general, you actually have to personally oversee even this small matter!"

“Building a bridge across the Yellow River is no small matter!” Wei Cong laughed. “If this bridge is completed, the journey from Luoyang to Yecheng will be shortened by at least two days, and the trip to Jinyang will be even faster. This will be of great benefit to the Han Dynasty!”

"Benefits? What benefits?" Dou Ji asked curiously.

"There are many!" Wei Cong smiled. "Let me give you an example! If we had this bridge back then, I probably wouldn't have dared to advance so directly and besiege Luoyang. Otherwise, the Hebei cavalry would have crossed the bridge and reached Mangshan, and by the time they reached Luoyang, there would be no natural defenses. They would have charged down head-on, and the city's defenders would have assisted from the inside. If I hadn't been careful, my entire army would have been wiped out!"

Dou Ji was taken aback when Wei Cong used his own experience of besieging Luoyang as an example. He looked up and carefully examined the man on horseback, only to find him chatting and laughing as if he were discussing something that had nothing to do with him.

"Then, aren't you afraid to build this bridge now?"

"That's why I'll build fortifications and station troops on both sides of the bridge at the sandbar!" Wei Cong laughed. "As long as we control the bridge, we can control Henan and the two provinces of Ji and Bing; or we can protect Luoyang!"

Dou Ji lowered his head, fiddling with the leather whip in his hand, his heart filled with growing impulsiveness. Finally, curiosity overcame caution, and he raised his head to ask, "General, are you really that indifferent to the siege of Luoyang back then?"

"Care?" Wei Cong tightened the reins. "What's the point of caring now that it's happened? Can I stop people from talking about me to my face, or stop them from talking about me behind my back?"

“But that’s not exactly something to be proud of, is it?” Dou Ji said.

"Hehe!" Wei Cong laughed: "Warfare is based on deception and driven by profit. I have always used troops for profit, seeking only victory, and have never thought about anything glorious or dishonorable!"

“But I heard my father say that soldiers should act with righteousness in mind in order to be invincible!” Dou Ji said somewhat unconvinced.

"This—" Wei Cong thought for a moment and then said, "Your father is not wrong, but there are just too many kinds of righteousness in the world. Everyone has their own righteousness. In the end, it still depends on who can win and whose righteousness is real!"

"What do you mean?" Dou Ji asked.

“Take what we’re about to do for example!” Wei Cong said. “When soldiers make meritorious contributions, the emperor should reward them. As subjects, it’s our duty to do what the emperor should do, right? But the imperial garden is the emperor’s private property. As subjects, is it our duty to use the emperor’s private property to distribute it to the soldiers? So the same thing can lead to different conclusions depending on how you look at it!”

"Then, what should we do?" Dou Ji looked bewildered.

"There is no fixed standard for righteousness and unrighteousness, but success and failure are certain. Winning is winning, and losing is losing; there is no point in arguing about it. For example, the Qin state was a fierce and powerful state, but the Qin army did defeat the armies of the six other states, and no one can deny that. Your father is a renowned scholar of the classics and has many things to consider, while I am a warrior with a bow and arrow, so I only need to consider how to win. As long as I can win, there will naturally be great scholars well-versed in the classics to speak for me!"

Dou Ji was still a boy after all. After listening to Wei Cong's words, he pondered for a while and then asked, "But, but isn't this just being a scoundrel?"

"It seems that's really true!" Wei Cong laughed. "But this is all I know, and this is all I can teach you. Are you willing to learn?"

"I'm willing!" Dou Ji nodded: "Sometimes it's good to be a rogue!"

"That's good!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Your first task will be to follow the military officers and check the merit records!"

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Back at the General's Mansion, Wei Cong dismounted and went to the back hall. Just as he sat down, Huang Ping entered from the outer room: "General!"

"What's the matter?"

"The Marquis of Weiyang said he was ordered by you to accompany the military officers to inspect the merit register! Is that true?"

"Yes, he came with me to the Yellow River this morning to look at the pontoon bridge. He mentioned it to me a few times on the way back, and I agreed!" Wei Cong stroked his beard. "What's wrong? Did something go wrong?" "Nothing!" Huang Ping gave a wry smile. "It's just that this is the Empress Dowager's own brother, his status is too high. Asking him to do such a thing is a bit too much—"

"Too lowly?" Wei Cong chuckled. "There's no other way. To grant land, we need to know how many people have rendered meritorious service and received titles before we can decide how to grant it. Since we want him to follow along, we have to start from the bottom!"

"Why are you doing this?" Huang Ping said, "Everyone knows his identity. That's enough. You don't really want to train him, do you? That might not be a good thing for you."

"Really!" Wei Cong smiled. "This kid is quite interesting; he might be able to do a lot for us!"

"What do you mean?"

"It's very simple! Granting land is a good opportunity to find out exactly how many soldiers Feng Kun and Zhang Huan have, and then train them. If this is accomplished, they will become troops that I, Wei Cong, can command. However, I cannot do this myself, do you understand?"

Huang Ping suddenly realized: "You mean you want Dou Ji to do it?"

"Yes! To be precise, it should be the Empress Dowager who does it!" Wei Cong smiled. "Otherwise, it would be fine if Feng Kun did it, but Zhang Huan would probably object. He's from Liangzhou, and if he causes trouble, things will get unstable in Liangzhou!"

"You've thought this through very well!" Huang Ping nodded admiringly. "Indeed, Feng Kun seems to be planning to retire, but Zhang Huan seems to have other ideas!"

"It's good that he has the intention, but I'm afraid he doesn't!" Wei Cong smiled. "In my opinion, someone will definitely jump out in the next year or two. As a general, it's unlikely that I'll leave Luoyang. At that time, we'll see how sharp Zhang Huan's blade is!"

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Liangzhou, Shehu Valley (now west of Tianshui, Gansu).

Vultures swept across the valley and perched on a protruding cliff face. These ominous birds had gathered in large numbers; from a distance, the cliff face appeared dotted with them. They waited patiently, like a group of polite guests awaiting their host's announcement to begin the feast.

"Commander Duan!" Military officer Xia Yu cautiously reported to the middle-aged man at the head of the table: "The count is complete. This time, we have beheaded more than 13,000 people, seized more than 400,000 cattle and horses, and there are still more than 14,000 people who have surrendered on the ground!"

"Submitting in submission?" The middle-aged man stood up, his expression cold. "The Qiang people have been like this for a long time: when they are strong, they are enemies; when they are weak, they are subservient. I sent envoys long ago to explain the consequences. Those in Shehu Valley are all stubborn and unyielding; exterminate them all, lest they leave a future threat for our descendants!"

"Look! According to the prisoners, another four or five thousand people broke through the encirclement and fled westward!"

"Divide our forces and pursue them; we must not let these vile scoundrels escape!"

Xia Yu was not at all surprised by his superior's order. The middle-aged man was Duan Jiong, the Protector-General of the Qiang, and one of the Three Bright Men of Liangzhou. Since he took office as Protector-General of the Qiang in 159 AD, except for a period of time when he was unjustly imprisoned, he had served as Protector-General of the Qiang for almost ten years, leading troops to suppress the Qiang rebellion. During this time, his troops were mostly outnumbered, leading them deep into barren lands and fighting the Qiang people in extremely harsh climates. Through his ten years of hard work, he finally suppressed the Qiang rebellion that stretched for thousands of miles from east to west.

Compared to Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan, who were also from Liangzhou, Duan Jiong's attitude towards the Qiang people was much more extreme. Due to the wars and destruction at the end of the Western Han Dynasty, as well as the eastward shift of the economic center, neither the Sanfu region nor Liangzhou could compare to the population size and economic prosperity of the Western Han Dynasty. Large tracts of land were left uncultivated and vacant, which became a major incentive for the Qiang people to migrate eastward. Therefore, after defeating the Qiang rebellion, Huangfu Gui and Zhang Huan advocated relocating some of the surrendered Qiang people to the Guanzhong or Liangzhou regions to fill the void and strengthen the Eastern Han Dynasty's power in the Guanzhong region.

Duan Jiong, however, believed that the Han population in the border regions of Liangzhou was already small. Relocating the Qiang people to these fertile, agricultural areas was like transplanting thorns into good fields—it would cause endless trouble. Rather than that, it would be better to simply exterminate them all, cutting off their roots so they could never reproduce. Therefore, Duan Jiong's number of beheadings in the wars against the Qiang was unparalleled in the Han Dynasty. In the eighth year of the Yanxi era (165 AD) alone, Duan Jiong's campaign against the Western Qiang resulted in the beheading of over 23,000 people.

After his subordinates left the tent, Duan Jiong turned his attention back to the letters on the table. These had just been delivered. This time, he had annihilated the last rebellious tribes of Dongqiang in Shehu Valley, and his footprints covered a large area of ​​wilderness. During that time, he had been cut off from news for several months and had no idea about the situation of the court.

"Spare me!"

"Spare your life!"

"Duan Gou, I'll never forgive you, even if I die!"

"You traitor Duan, you'll die a horrible death!"

Outside the tent came shrill curses and screams, the Han army dealing with the Qiang people who had surrendered after exhausting themselves. Duan Jiong, however, seemed to hear nothing, continuing to read the letters on the table. His brows furrowed more and more, not because of the Qiang people being executed outside the tent.

"Guards!" Duan Jiong suddenly shouted.

"Yes, sir!" A guard appeared at the tent entrance.

"Drag those Qiang dogs further away to execute them!" Duan Jiong said, "Don't disturb me while I'm reviewing the documents!"

"Yes, sir!" The guard bowed and disappeared. After a moment, the commotion outside subsided considerably. Duan Jiong began to read the letter again, his brow furrowing more and more. Finally, he stopped reading, stood up, and paced back and forth in the tent.

"Who is this Wei Cong? How did he suddenly become a general after conquering Luoyang? And Feng Kun and Zhang Huan were also renowned generals of their time. Why would they obey his orders and collude with him? It's all very strange! There are just too many suspicious things going on! No, I can't stay in Longxi any longer. I need to return to the Three Auxiliary Regions and find out what exactly happened in Luoyang!" With that thought, Duan Jiong returned to his desk and began to write furiously. After he finished, he called his trusted confidant: "You two set off immediately and deliver these letters. Make sure nothing goes wrong on the way, understand?"

"The villain understands!"

After finishing the letter, Duan Jiong stepped outside the tent. A cold wind, carrying the stench of blood and rotting corpses, blew against his face. He tightened his clothes and thought to himself, "I have fought for ten years in this bitterly cold land of Longxi, and my temples are already gray. I finally managed to pacify the Qiang and Nu tribes, but such a great commotion has occurred in the court. Is my childhood dream of achieving great merit and becoming a high-ranking official just like a flower in a mirror or the moon's reflection in water?"

(End of this chapter)