CH 106

It was finally time to mobilize troops! Sima Teng nearly jumped with joy upon receiving his brother’s letter. He’d been waiting for this ever since he’d left Luoyang last year. Originally, they’d planned to catch the turtle in the jar, but Sima Ying had raised his guard after Zhang Fang suddenly looted the capital. He’d first sent his subordinates to take control of the palace, then, before he returned to Ye City, he ordered General Shi Chao and his fifty thousand soldiers to secure Luoyang’s twelve gates and kill all the imperial guards who opposed him.

There were no dependable powers left in Luoyang. A few princes, dukes, and high-ranking officials had even scampered to Ye City to grovel to the imperial brother-heir. 

Luckily, at least, the city hadn’t been entirely ruined by the looting. After lying low for several months, Sima Yue colluded with Defender General of the Right, Chen Zhen; Generals of the Palace,  Lu Bao and Cheng Fu; and a general who’d formerly served the Prince of Changsha, Shangguan Si, in secret to instigate a revolt. Naturally, he, as his younger brother, would be the first to be informed. When the declaration of war was made, he would muster troops and rendezvous with him, and they would both besiege the Prince of Chengdu!

What a monumental endeavor! If the plan succeeded, his brother could immediately take Sima Ying’s place, control the emperor and command the nobles. Then, his status would lift like a boat in rising waters; maybe he could try being a prince?

He paced around in his room with excitement. When his head cooled off, he sat back down at his desk and hurriedly scrawled out a letter. After checking it over, he ordered, “Servants, deliver this message to Wang Pengzu of You Province!” 

Wang Pengzu, birth name Wang Jun, was the regional commander of You Province. He was descended of the Taiyuan Wang clan, but he wasn’t of the main branch; he was the illegitimate child of the late Piaoqi General, Wang Shen. It was only because his father had no lineal sons that he had inherited the title of Duke of Boling. Then, he’d climbed the ladder one rung at a time, and entrenched himself in You Province for many years. 

But regardless of how much his father disliked him, he was still a descendant of the Taiyuan Wang clan; after Wang Hun and his son Wang Ji passed away soon, one after the other, he became the Taiyuan Wang clan’s most powerful and influential pillar. As the Taiyuan Commandery was under the jurisdiction of Bing Province, and he, the provincial governor of Bing Province, was normally on good terms with the Taiyuan Wang clan, their relations were naturally rather close.

This relationship obliged him to notify Wang Jun about their plan. As it happened, the fact that Wang Jun had once been part of Empress Jia’s faction and that he was situated right at Sima Ying’s back was quite concerning to Prince of Chengdu, so much so that he’d even sent the left major and the acting provincial governor of You Province to check Wang Jun. 

Wang Jun might even cooperate with him upon receiving the news. Then, their forces would march from Bing and You Provinces and storm the walls of Ye City in the tens of thousands. What chance did Sima Ying have of standing against them? With his brother’s arrangements, it was a surefire strategy!

By his reckoning, come fall, it would be time to send forth his army!

※

“Prime Minister, only Yunzhong and Langmeng have suffered plagues of locusts, the situation is still stable everywhere else….”

Liu Xuan let out a long breath. It wasn’t nearly as bad as he’d anticipated; if entire swaths of farmland were devastated, they wouldn’t be able to procure enough military rations.

“That’s good. Make sure to a close eye on other places as well. The moment there are signs of locusts, they must harvest as much as they can from the fields at all cost. As for skins and leathers, we can use them to buy rice when its price lowers.” 

Presently, grain was the most important. Thank goodness the Xiongnu had taken up farming as well after coming to this land, or that matter alone would have put them at the mercy of those who controlled its supply. Still, he was dissatisfied with the amount of grain they had at the moment. They’d simply have to rob other counties and commanderies after they rose up in arms. If they could feed a great army of a hundred thousand, even conquering all under heaven wasn’t out of the question.

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That Sima bastard! Liu Xuan’s white brows rose, “We can’t bother with all that anymore. Send someone to grease the wheels with Meng Huangmen, see if we can get him to speak a word or two.” 

Meng Huangmen, Meng Jiu, was Sima Ying’s most favored eunuch. He’d had a hand in the death of the Lu brothers back then. If Meng Jiu were to advise his master, Liu Yuan might really be able to escape Ye City unharmed. If even that didn’t work, then taking the risk of privately absconding was the only option left.

What a shame that there hadn’t been another mess in Luoyang. Liu Xuan’s fingertips slowly tapped against his desk. The Sima princes’ violent infighting, if it were to occur again, would be the best opportunity for them to revolt. It only remained for him to see how long those people could bear Sima Ying… 

※

“Commander! Another seventy mu military fields to the west have been fully harvested.” Head dripping with sweat, Wang Long jogged all the way over. 

His name had formerly been Fulong, but when the Jie people had all adopted Han surnames, he couldn’t for the life of him figure out what his own clan should be called, so he picked an alright-looking surname and started using it. And wouldn’t you know it, it worked pretty well. Even his wife liked him a bit more, and said they had to have a baby as soon as they could, so they could send him to the estate’s school.

Although, Wang Long didn’t care a bit about schooling, it was his military fields that he depended on, and couldn’t afford to neglect. Any other time, he could let his family handle the plowing and sowing, but when the summer harvest came around, he’d gotten too antsy to sit still. What if it rained and all that good grain was ruined?! 

Luckily, their master was understanding, and had ordered them all to go out and harvest the military fields instead of forcing them to keep training during this time. The method was rather particular, too. It wasn’t just everyone harvesting their own fields, instead, they made headway along the ridges in teams. An arrangement like that meant some soldiers’ fields wouldn’t be harvested until later, making them work all the harder every day so that they could get to their own family’s fields as soon as possible.

Wang Long didn’t know what anyone else thought, but this method benefitted him greatly. He was a captain, after all, he had a lot of farmland to begin with. There was no way he could’ve harvested it all alone, but with a hundred or so people working all at once, his fields were swept clean in no time. Naturally, he was ecstatic!  

“Fifteen-minute break!” Yi Yan stood up, grabbed a handful of his clothes, and wiped his face.

Though it wasn’t mid-noon yet, the temperature was still unbearably hot. There wasn’t a dry spot on their bodies. Sweat flowed down his chest in rivulets, glistening on his chiseled muscles like a layer of oil. Yi Yan didn’t bother about the sweat on his body, rubbing his lower back instead. Harvesting grain wasn’t at all like their usual training. A day of bending over, staring at the ground was enough to make them hurt all over and put stinging blisters on their hands. Truth be told, it was even more grueling than training.

But no one in their entire battalion, him included, made a peep of complaint. It was their own comrades’ fields they were harvesting, private possessions won through real military merit. This was the treasure they risked their lives for. It could sustain a whole family, young and old, their wives and parents. Who wouldn’t give it their all? So, no matter how hard they were pushed, there wouldn’t be any unrest among them.

Everyone squeezed under the shade of the trees, some gulping water, some heaving like plow-pilling oxen. But before they got to enjoy their rest too long, Yi Yan stood up once more and shouted, “Keep working. Finish up on this hundred mu of land by noon!” 

They had even more to do in the afternoon. The soldiers didn’t dare dally and headed towards the fields in the distance. Yi Yan looked up at the sky, which was still blessedly cloudless. He only hoped that that wouldn’t change until after they’d finished harvesting all the grain.

The summer harvest continued for another half a month. After which, it was time to send the oxen out to plow the fields, and race to plant the autumn crops. And as if the completion of the summer harvest was a signal, the weather took an abrupt turn. The winds brought with them a heavy downpour.

Liang Feng, wearing a single-layer robe, sat beneath the eaves, watching the torrential pour, and sighed faintly, “Fortunately the grains were harvested in time.”

They wouldn’t have been so fortunate had they been just a few days late. He smiled at the young man, now a few shades darker, “The rushed harvest was difficult on you all. Give the militia three days of leave to rest up.” 

Yi Yan’s skin was no longer pale. It’d been sunned lightly brownish. But his eyes seemed even bluer. The sight of Liang Feng’s easy smile dispelled the prolonged weariness clinging to him. He carefully carved his image into his eyes and reported, “There are a few who’ve developed festering wounds on their hands. The doctors said they need to apply medicine to it. I’m afraid they’ll need an extra day or two.”

“They didn’t treat their blisters properly?” Liang Feng raised a brow. Then he suddenly asked, “How are your hands?”

“I’m fine.”

Liang Feng didn’t believe him, “Let me see.” 

Yi Yan only paused for a moment, then extended his palm. Liang Feng grabbed it and meticulously looked it over. Another layer of scratches and dried blisters had formed over his thick calluses, and there was a bit of bruising. But at least that was the worst of the damage.

Letting out a breath, he said, “All’s well if you’re alright. Those who are injured must be treated at once. It’s too hot now to indulge any delay.”

When those soft, slender hands slid from his palm, Yi Yan nearly forgot to snap back to reality. There was a brief pause before he nodded. 

The blue lightning flashing in the clouds high above and the roaring thunder drew Liang Feng’s attention away. He frowned, “This rain, it had better not start and never cease.” 

※

The imperial city rang with clamorous noise, clashing metal, and screams of shock. But soon, those sounds all vanished without a trace.

A squad of armored soldiers pushed open the massive palace doors and stormed in. The one at the head strode up to the imperial bed, “Your Majesty, your subjects have come late to the rescue!”

Huddled against the corner of the wall, a disheveled middle-aged man stammered, “Minister of Works, why are you rescuing me?” 

He hadn’t been harmed by anyone. Clearly, he’d been sleeping; why had they barged into his room saying they were rescuing him?

Sima Yue’s face twitched, but he’d long since gotten used to the emperor’s behavior, and kept any hint of disrespect from showing on his face as he gently said, “The Prince of Chengdu launched an uprising, deposed the empress, unseated the crown prince, and disrupted law and social order. Should it continue, all under heaven would be in danger! Thus, your subject has led troops forth, to beseech Your Majesty to personally lead an imperial campaign with your subject and bring that knave to justice…”

“Lead an imperial campaign?” Shuddering from head to toe, the middle-aged man fiercely shook his head, “I don’t want to go to battle. You people can just do the fighting yourselves. I’m not going!”

The arrow was nocked on the string already, there was no backing down. Sima Yue didn’t care what that Son of Heaven was blabbering, he stood and raised his voice, “Servants, attend to His Majesty! Summon the Three Excellencies and all the officials to the palace to discuss!” 

A flock of eunuchs and palace maids scrambled to get the still-sleepy emperor changed into imperial regalia. Sima Yue smirked ever so slightly at the rather unwilling man.

So long as he brought the emperor to the battlefield, the other nobles would naturally fall in line. With righteousness and a powerful army on his side, he was only waiting to see how Ye City’s Sima Ying would oppose the emperor’s imperial forces!

The author has something to say:

Wang Jun and Wang Wen are cousins. They have the same great-grandfather. 

Wang Jun’s father is Wang Shen, Wang Shen’s father Wang Ji died young, so he was raised by his uncle Wang Chang since childhood, and Wang Chang is Wang Hun’s father.

Wang Hun was the last famous high-ranking official of the Taiyuan Wang clan in the Western Jin era. As Minister of the Masses, it could be said that he was one of the big players in crushing the Wu Kingdom. He also had an extremely famous son called Wang Ji, the wastrel mentioned countless times in A New Account of the Tales of the World, the son-in-law of Sima Yan. They weren’t murdered by anyone, they died naturally. Plus, Wang Ji died before his father Wang Hun. There’s another thing about Wang Ji, and that is that he once pleaded on behalf of Liu Yuan and saved his life. That’s why Liu Yuan was pretty amicable with that father and son of the Wang family for three generations.

Wang Wen, on the other hand, is Wang Hun’s fourth son. He was likely birthed by the wife of the Yan family that his father remarried to. Because the one who inherited Wang Hun’s noble title was Wang Ji’s non-lineal, he isn’t the heir of the Jinyang Wang clan, but only a lofty, do-nothing noble. 

Afterward, Wang Jun had his daughter married off to the leader of the Xianbei, and later enticed them to fight their way into the central plains. He was a very ambitious fellow.