Taiheiki

Chapter 303 Monthly Review

"Thousands of miles?" The young man's mouth dropped open. "Really?"

"Yes! It's true!" Shiwu nodded. "Several thousand miles seems like a lot, but I estimate that this time we'll be traveling by sea. With ships sailing day and night, it wouldn't be surprising if they traveled two hundred miles a day. Three thousand miles would only take fifteen days!"

"By sea?" The young man grinned and said, "No matter what, I absolutely can't miss this opportunity. The group that followed Marquis Wei north to conquer the Moth Bandits last time, and they eventually captured Luoyang, now they have titles and rewards. As for spears and bows, I'm no worse than them!"

“However, this time the leader is not Marquis Wei, but Duan Jiong!” Shi Wu said coldly.

"Does it make any difference?"

"The difference? You don't actually think Duan Jiong can compare to Marquis Wei, do you?"

"Naturally, he can't compare. However, Marquis Wei has always been good at recognizing people and selecting good generals from among the soldiers. Duan Jiong is valued by Marquis Wei, so he must have some outstanding qualities, right?"

Shi Wu glanced around to make sure no one was watching, then lowered his voice and said, "Perhaps you're right, but Duan Jiong is, after all, from Liangzhou! He's come here with four or five hundred people with him!"

"Brother Shi, do you mean that Duan Jiong only uses his own people?" the young man asked hesitantly.

"Maybe yes, maybe no, you can see for yourself!" Shiwu said with a laugh, then turned and left, leaving behind the dazed young man.

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Luoyang, Nangong, the imperial court.

"The world is in chaos today, with bandits running rampant in the prefectures and counties, harming innocent people. Even officials with a salary of two thousand shi (a unit of grain) are unable to control them! Therefore, we will select skilled archers and horsemen, brave warriors, and military strategists from each prefecture and county to serve as pursuit officers. One hundred officers will be assigned to large prefectures and fifty to small prefectures. The task of apprehending bandits will be under the command of the Grand General's Office!"

The attendant's clear voice echoed through the magnificent court hall. The ministers exchanged glances, none daring to voice their opposition. Those present were all seasoned veterans, naturally understanding the implications of this edict. Compared to the state and county officials of the Song Dynasty and later, the counties and prefectures of the Han Dynasty possessed far greater independence. Each prefecture had its own army, commanded by the prefect. Although the central government had the power to conscript troops from various prefectures and counties, this was usually only a matter of wartime; in peacetime, no minister had the authority to directly intervene in local military forces. However, the establishment of the Pursuit Commissioner broke this precedent. A minister could now bypass the court and directly intervene with the military forces of various prefectures and counties—a highly unusual precedent.

"Your subject obeys the decree!" Wei Cong respectfully knelt and bowed to the Empress Dowager behind the curtain. He could feel the gazes cast upon his back, but he was already used to it. Every action he was about to take would be met with countless objections, but as long as he knew what he was doing, that was enough.

The court meeting was brief, lasting only about fifteen minutes. After respectfully seeing the Empress Dowager off, Wei Cong left the hall. Feng Kun cautiously approached and whispered, "Mengde, if I were you, I would increase your guards!"

"Does Master Feng mean that someone wants to assassinate me?"

“It’s obvious!” Feng Kun said in a low voice, “Given what you’re doing now, how could no one want to assassinate you? To be honest, I’m even thinking of resigning and returning to my hometown to avoid being implicated by you!”

"Hehe!" Wei Cong laughed, "If Lord Feng really wants to think that way, he can write to the Empress Dowager. After all, you've already served as one of the Three Dukes!"

"Forget it!" Feng Kun shook his head with a wry smile: "The Three Dukes can resign, but the Marquis of Ten Thousand Households can't. I'm already stuck. Even if I resign now, if you're finished, the new ones won't let me off the hook!"

"Then Lord Feng, you should stay in the court for another two years, until Duan Jiong finishes fighting in the south and comes back to take over your position!"

"You're still so optimistic!" Feng Kun said with a wry smile, "Have you ever considered this? Setting up pursuit commissioners in various prefectures and counties does give you jurisdiction over them, but it also provides targets for your opponents. Don't forget, many of the people who plotted in Lugu were from the Guandong gentry. They wield considerable power in the local prefectures and counties, and a mere hundred cavalrymen can't handle them!"

"That's still better than keeping everything under wraps like this!" Wei Cong smiled. "Only when things get out of hand can we have a legitimate reason to take action! Besides, I won't send out arresting officers to every prefecture and county in the country all at once!"

"What do you mean?"

"The imperial edict makes it very clear: the world is in chaos, bandits are rampant, and the prefectures and counties are unable to govern. That's why we've dispatched arresting envoys. So, where to set up arresting envoys and where not to is entirely up to me!" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"So where do you plan to send them?"

“Runan and Yingchuan in Yuzhou, Dongjun, Chenliu, and Dongping in Yanzhou, Xiapi and Donghai in Xuzhou. And Wen County in Henan.”

Upon hearing the place names Wei Cong mentioned, Feng Kun's face immediately turned ugly. The reason was simple: the counties Wei Cong mentioned were the most economically and culturally prosperous places in the Guandong region at that time, and the most powerful aristocratic families. To put it simply, this was like pouring cold water into a pot of hot oil. Wei Cong, are you doing this on purpose?
"Hehe, does Master Feng think I'm going against the grain?" Wei Cong laughed.

"I'd better think about how to write my retirement letter," Feng Kun said with a wry smile.

"Don't be so pessimistic!" Wei Cong laughed. "Lord Feng, you've spent half your life on the battlefield, why are you becoming timid in your old age?"

"Half my life has been spent fighting the Qiang, Xianbei, Wuling barbarians, and bandits! This time, I'm fighting the virtuous scholars of Ruying. A hundred years from now, the taste of having a tarnished reputation in history won't be pleasant!"

"I never imagined that Lord Feng cared so much about his reputation!" Wei Cong stopped in his tracks. "Do you know that as long as my achievements are great enough, even if future historians are unwilling, they will have no choice but to leave some marks on me?"

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Pingyu, Runan.

The army from Luoyang set off with the warm morning sun, winding its way out of its original camp like a giant metal river emerging from its lair.

The cavalrymen wore neat lamellar armor, and to prevent rust, their plates were painted, making them gleam brightly in the oncoming sunlight. Their banners and cloaks looked colorful, appearing faintly in the monotonous fields, mixed woodlands, and bare mounds of earth.

Behind the cavalry were spearmen and crossbowmen, followed by dozens of four-wheeled wagons and pack animals—their supply train. Behind these were a small detachment of leather-shielded soldiers acting as the rearguard to ensure they wouldn't be attacked by the enemy. Farmers and passing merchants along the road made way for this fully armed army; they could sense the murderous aura emanating from them, a far cry from the county soldiers who drilled twice a year.

Qian Wen, riding a red stallion, looked at the young man behind him with a headache. The young man was struggling to move on the horse's back, his face twitching, probably from a chafed inner thigh. "Gentlemen, would you like to rest in the carriage behind?" Qian Wen asked.

"Okay, okay!" Dou Xuan nodded hurriedly, feeling as if he had been granted a pardon. "Thank you!"

Qian Wen jumped off his horse, helped Dou Xuan dismount, and helped him limp to the carriage. After he got in, he said, "Please hang in there a little longer, I'll go and fetch the doctor!"

"Fine!" Dou Xuan grimaced and inhaled sharply. "How far is Pingyu from here?"

"Pingyu, it should be another hour or so, right?"

"Move faster and reach Pingyu before noon!"

"It shouldn't be a big problem!"

"Alright, shall we have the army bypass Pingyu then?" Dou Xuan asked. "I'll just enter the city with a small entourage!"

"Why is that?" Qian Wen asked.

"Haven't you heard of the Monthly Appraisal?" Dou Xuan's eyes gleamed with excitement. "The Xu brothers are from Pingyu! If we make such a big fuss, I'm afraid it will cause controversy!"

"I don't know!" Qian Wen shook his head blankly. "I was only ordered to bring you here safely, young master. If anyone dares to disobey, just suppress them!"

"Alright, I forgot, you're just a military strategist!" Dou Xuan waved his hand in disappointment: "Of course you wouldn't know these things!"

Qian Wen sensed the disdain in Dou Xuan's tone, but he wasn't angry. After all, the other party was from the Dou family and naturally looked down on a martial artist like himself. However, remembering the instructions given before his departure, he still advised, "Young master, don't forget your mission in coming to Runan this time!"

"Of course I remember. It's just about apprehending thieves, isn't it?" Dou Xuan snorted coldly. "I really don't understand why I was made to do something that a county magistrate could do. If I hadn't known I was coming to Pingyu to see the Xu brothers, I wouldn't have bothered leaving Luoyang!"

Qian Wen lowered his head to avoid revealing his anger to the other party. He carefully closed the carriage door, mounted his horse, and shouted, "All troops, quicken your pace! Head to Pingyu County!"

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The first day of each month was a special day for Pingyu. Even ordinary peddlers and laborers in the city would proudly tell outsiders about the gathering of Xu Shao and Xu Jing, brothers from the local area, on that day at the river sandbar with other scholars. They would hold discussions on various topics, praising and criticizing current affairs, and commenting on figures both in and out of office. Because it was held on the first day of every month, it was called the "Monthly Commentary." Those whose names were commented on became famous overnight. Many renowned scholars from all directions came to admire them, and over time, a market formed near the river sandbar.

That morning, Xu Shao boarded his boat and went up to the sandbar as usual, arriving at the pavilion. There were already more than a hundred people there, all of them well-known scholars from Runan and neighboring prefectures. When they saw Xu Shao, regardless of whether they were older or younger than him, they all stood up to greet him.

"Brother Zijiang, you've arrived earlier than usual today!"

"I heard that Brother Wenxiu (Xu Jing's courtesy name) fell ill a few days ago. I wonder how he is doing?"

"I heard that this month's evaluation is for a very important person in the capital. I wonder who it is? Could you give me a sneak peek?"

"Yes, could you give us a hint so we can have a better idea of ​​what's going on?"

Xu Shao smiled and nodded to each of the people who asked the questions, but he did not answer them. Instead, as usual, he walked to his seat in the pavilion, closed his eyes, and began to rest. Hosting a discussion was a mentally taxing task. Today, his elder brother Xu Jing was not here because he was not fully recovered, and he was alone on the sandbar. He needed to conserve his energy even more.

"Brother Zijiang!"

Xu Shao opened his eyes and saw Fan Zizhao, a county official. He was originally a turban vendor who had become famous because of Xu Shao's critiques, which allowed him to embark on an official career. Fan Zizhao looked worried and said, "Brother Zijiang, have you heard? A few days ago, the imperial court issued an edict ordering all prefectures to establish arrest commissioners to apprehend thieves. If you continue to critique people like this, I'm afraid you'll bring trouble upon yourself. Why don't you stop for a while and observe the situation?"

"How can that be!" Xu Shao shook his head: "If you shut up at the slightest hint of trouble, are you still the Xu Zijiang of Runan? If that's the case, I'd rather die!"

"This—" Fan Zizhao was speechless for a moment. Before he could say anything more, Xu Shao had already stood up: "Time's up, don't block my way!"

Fan Zizhao had no choice but to step aside. Xu Shao walked straight out of the pavilion, and the people waiting outside quickly came to greet him. Xu Shao cupped his hands in greeting and said, "Thank you all for coming today. Someone, show us today's topic!"

"Yes!" The servant behind him responded and removed the cloth covering the white wooden board behind Xu Shao, revealing a line of words underneath: "The debate between righteousness and profit."

The crowd immediately began whispering among themselves. Xu Shao's "debate on righteousness versus profit" was an old topic in ancient China, with various schools of thought from the late Spring and Autumn period to the Warring States period, and even the Confucian school during the Han Dynasty, all offering their own answers. Of course, Xu Shao wasn't here for academic discussion; he was writing this to prepare for his subsequent critique of historical figures.

Xu Shao sat down behind a table in the center, coughed, and everyone immediately fell silent. Xu Shao pointed to the four characters: "You have all heard many of the ancient sages' discussions on the distinction between righteousness and profit. The reason I'm listing these four characters today is because the person I'm evaluating has made great contributions to our Han Dynasty, which is advantageous, but his actions are not in accordance with righteousness. This person is Duan Jiong, Duan Jiming!"

As soon as Xu Shao finished speaking, the crowd erupted in commotion. Everyone naturally knew of Duan Jiong's reputation, but Xu Shao usually commented on people from the Guandong region or his fellow townsmen from Runan. To suddenly bring up a man from Liangzhou, especially a high-ranking official who had just quelled the Qiang rebellion in Liangzhou, was truly a rare occurrence.

"The Qiang rebellion has dragged on for decades, ravaging the land. The imperial court has spent billions of coins without success. Duan Jiming's ability to quell the Qiang rebellion is a great service to the nation. This is not only beneficial but also righteous!"

"Indeed, the Qiang bandits did not only harm Liangzhou, but also Yizhou, Sanfu, Henan, and Bingzhou. Lord Duan's achievements deserve to be recorded in history!"

"But I have heard that this person is lawless and fond of deception. He even forged an imperial edict to fight the bandits. Later, when he was pacifying the Qiang, he also massacred many surrendered women and children. How can such a person be a role model for the world?"

(End of this chapter)