212-213: AND SO IT ENDS
With the death of
Feng Zian, his sons chose to go their separate ways, unable to come to an agreement on what to do now that their father was gone. Feng Yong, the oldest and most respected, failed to convince his brother to follow him. Their troops now divided, the young man took what remained of his army and made his way for the Imperial Capital, knowing that the Liang army would await him there. Once he arrived, Feng Yong presented himself in front of
Yao Shuren and his officers. If Emperor Qianfei had hoped that the son would come to his rescue like the father had done, then he was soundly disappointed. Feng Yong chose to defect, submitting himself to the warlord. He did so out of a desire to end this conflict as fast as possible and avoid unnecessary deaths. Yao Shuren didn’t care for his reasons. What mattered was that he was bringing his troops and submitting to him. Due to this, Feng Yong was promised the position of Magistrate of Xinye, his father’s old office.
But most of the troops did not follow Feng Yong. While he was loved by the troops, his plan to betray the Han for Yao Shuren did not go down well with most, especially with Feng Guo ranting against him. Instead, the younger brother and the majority of the troops made their way south, hoping to link with general
Yang Weili and continue the fight. There was no way Feng Guo would accept Yao Shuren as his liege, especially now that his brother was with him. Surely if he joined forced with the rest of the Han army, they might be able to mount up a counterattack, destroy the Liang menace and save the Han. And then everyone would know who was the best son.
But his first stop would not prove to be Yang Weili’s camp, instead going to Fuyang for supply and support. The local magistrate was none other than the aging Tan Zilong, who had enjoyed a retirement in obscurity since he surrendered Luoyang to the Han restorationists two years ago. His loyalty had been to Yuan Shu, which is why his career had ended right then and there. Still, he had kept a correspondence with Feng Zian over the last two years. The late Grand Commandant had actually asked him to raise some recruits, although he had never been able to collect them. This duty would be fulfilled by his son. Tan Zilong was shocked at Feng Zian’s death, but he was reluctant to help. His loyalty had been to Yuan Shu, not the Han. He had no stakes in this. But Feng Guo told him
“I carry the last duty of my father. Will you not help me fulfill it? Will you not do this for your old comrade?” Tan Zilong, out of respect for Feng Zian, agreed to take command of the troops personally, coming out of retirement to help the Han cause.
By the end of May, this reinforced Han army was able to link up with Yang Weili and Jiang Gong. If Feng Guo had hoped to find a massive army awaiting them, then he was soundly disappointed. News of Feng Zian’s defeats and death convinced many of the Han troops to desert. While he still had more than a thousand men under his command, Yang Weili lacked the forces to face Yao Shuren head on, and everyone knew it. Still, linking up with the troops of Feng Guo and Tan Zilong proved useful to rebuild their base. Yang Weili even left Tan Zilong in charge of the whole war, once again preferring to take a back seat. Considering Tan ZIlong’s flimsy sense of loyalty to the Han cause, this would prove to be a mistake.
Yao Shuren didn’t leave them time to gather anymore troops. Once he learned that the enemy was reforming, he decided not to let this loose threat alone. Leaving around a thousand men to keep the defenders of Luoyang from trying anything in his absence, the warlord marched his whole army south to fight the Han loyalists. News of his arrival brought dread and panic among the troops, who were unprepared to face the mighty Liang army. Feng Guo tried to motivate the troops with a small success of his own: retaking Xinye. He was able to convince the former followers of his father to side with him, which gave the Han troops a base to work from. But when Yao Shuren arrived in July, the Han army proved no match.
However, the worse part came in the middle of the battle. Yao Shuren offered to open negotiations with the Han army. It seems almost like a miracle, and the Han officers were not going to waste it. As the leader of the army, Tan Zilong was sent to this meeting in neutral ground between their camps. But Yao Shuren played his cards brilliantly. Instead of going himself, he sent Feng Yong as his representative. Feng Yong and Tan Zilong had always liked each other’s, with the younger officer having been under Tan Zilong’s command during his first campaign. Feng Yong convinced his mentor that the cause of the Han was doomed, that to save as much lives as possible he needed to defect. Lacking real loyalty for the Han cause, Tan Zilong agreed. At the height of the battle, Tan Zilong switched side with a few hundred troops, turning the battle into a disaster for the Han loyalists.
Yang Weili, Feng Guo and Jiang Gong had difficulties ordering a cohesive retreat. Feng Guo was too focused on getting his family out of Xinye to do much to help, not that he was a good commander anyway. Jiang Gong could do little due to being blind. This left Yang Weili to put a last stand, to make sure that his troops could escape safely. With a few loyal officers, he managed to hold position at Xinye with only a few hundred troops. They were all captured or killed, but at least the majority of the army managed to flee (which was still a pale number of what it had once been). Yang Weili himself was gravely injured and captured by the Liang forces, with a timely rescue being the only thing that saved him from Yao Shuren’s grasp.
But while Yao Shuren was meeting success after success in Jing Province, his troops in Yi Province could not say the same, to his continuous annoyance. In particular, he was frustrated at
Xuan Su inability to achieve anything in the south. When it had been time to launch an offensive, the Commandant had failed to advance, his blunder going so far as to allow Yang Weili to enter Yi Province. Even when the strategist had to retreat, Xuan Su had proven slow to act. And now that there was a barbarian revolt, the Commandant was being far too slow to quell it. Yao Shuren knew that Xuan Su was probably plotting something in the south, but even then, he should have been able to achieve something!
Pan Zheng reports didn’t inspire him much confidence either.
Because of this, he decided to remove Xuan Su as Commandant. The general was failing, and his lack of achievements in the middle of a war seemed reason enough to have him replaced. And why not use this as an opportunity for propaganda? As the new Commandant of Liang Province, Yao Shuren chose Niu Yuanzong, son of the famous Han loyalist Niu Fu. Since his death more than a decade ago, Niu Fu’s reputation had only improved, becoming something of a folk hero and a symbol of loyalty to the Han. Yao Shuren hoped that having his son be the one officially in charge of the campaign might motivate some Han loyalists to defect. If the son of Niu Fu was supporting him, then he clearly wasn’t an enemy of the Dynasty, wasn’t he? Of course, this appointment would prove to have flaws. Niu Yuanzong lacked the noble character of his father, and was in fact something of a mess. Still, at the time it was a good move in term of propaganda.
It would be a temporary solution however. Niu Yuanzong had a history of sickness since his youth. While on his way to the Liang provincial capital, the nineteen years old fell ill and died in October. Stories want that he died at the exact same location as his father, a fitting imagery for the son of Niu Fu. But Yao Shuren now needed to appoint a new Commandant. There was no way he was reappointing Xuan Su, especially with the reports coming from the south proving that he was not up for the task. Instead, he turned to his most competent subordinate. Cheng Pu was on hand and had always been reliable. Who else but the old general to be his highest officer? Not only that, but he gave the vacated Hongzong Commandery to him too, another promotion for his loyal services. Cheng Pu tried to refuse, but in the end was persuaded that this higher position would help him serve better.
The main reason that Yao Shuren didn’t appoint Xuan Su again was because of news he had received from a battle in the south, one that took place a month before the death of Niu Yuanzong. Having been removed as Commandant, Xuan Su finally realized that waiting for an opportunity to act against Yao Shuren would cost him more than remaining loyal. Frustrated, he now had to finally agreed with Pan Zheng, who had spent the last months asking why they hadn’t killed the barbarians yet. Now on the same page, the two men took their troops to go face the barbarian army awaiting them. The old Hu Zhen, who had not gone on the campaign against the Han, was even sent south to assist them on orders of Yao Shuren. This was going to be a piece of cake, an easy way to prove his worth.
Except that when they met the barbarians, Xuan Su realized that they actually had the weaker army. Clearly, the revolt had picked up some steam over the last five months. Xuan Su now looked at this far more prudently, knowing that they needed to wait for the right moment to attack. Except that Pan Zheng did not agree with this at all. He just wanted to attack the barbarians, destroy them and crush their rebellion. An angry Xuan Su told him:
“Leave war to those that will keep you alive and go back to your studies!” But Pan Zheng didn’t obey and ordered an attack. This might have been recoverable, had Hu Zhen not gone into a manic rage and charged at the enemy, forcing Xuan Su to go out of his ways to save him (he suspected that Yao Shuren would hold him responsible for the death of his oldest companion). The Liang army was thus crushed, losing a third of its troops in this debacle.
This battle had a massive impact throughout Yao Shuren’s lands. Frustrated at this failure and fearing that this might grow into something bigger, the warlord decided to go deal with it himself. Leaving half of his troops to besiege the Imperial Capital, he took the rest to go south and stop this revolt once and for all. He was soon proven right in his need to deal with this, as in December 212 other barbarians rose up. Inspired by what they were hearing in the south, some Qiang barbarians in Liang Province decided to try their luck at independence. Still, they weren’t bold enough to reclaim the whole province, instead simply trying to get a small patch of lands on the border with the Qinghaixi Khaganate. They even offered to pay tribute to Yao Shuren, to be a buffer between his lands and that of the Qiang horde. The Governor refused to answer these demands with anything but the severed heads of the envoys.
Yao Shuren finally made his way to the southern barbarian revolt in late January 213. It was about time that he ended this before it got out of hands. Upon his arrival, Xuan Su wasted no time to put the whole blame at the feet of the other commanders, pointing out how his own strategic plans had been ruined by Pan Zheng. While Yao Shuren agreed with his strategic assessment, it didn’t excuse his many other blunders, and the generals was pushed aside and left out of the military affairs for the time being. Xuan Su wasn’t even allowed a command, just to be safe. This obviously enraged the general, but Yao Shuren had more pressing matters. He fielded his army against the barbarians as soon as possible. The barbarians, arrogant from their recent victory, assumed that it would be just as easy as last time. They were wrong. The battle was a complete victory for the Liang army. The barbarian leaders were executed and the rebellion was put down.
The barbarians in Liang Province immediately started to panic. They saw the revolt in the south as an inspiration, yet now it was a taste of what would most likely be their own fate. Trying to turn around and act as if it never happened, they contacted the only man who might be willing to smooth things out for them.
Mo Jie was always happy to help the barbarians, but the envoys returned to their leaders convinced that Mo Jie had no intention to save them. So instead, they turned to the Qinghaixi Khaganate, still ruled by the ever-problematic Cheliji Khagan. Always willing to attack the Chinese, Cheliji Khagan declared war against Yao Shuren in March, planning to take a county or two for himself. Oh, and maybe assist the Qiangs who were revolting. If he had time.
One might expect that the absence of Yao Shuren might have been a gift for the Han loyalists. And at first, it did look like a massive opportunity to turn the war around. The Liang troops left behind actually abandoned the siege to go deal with the barbarian revolt in Liang. This allowed the Han army to come back to Luoyang and come help Emperor Qianfei. Except that when they finally had room to breathe, someone else attacked. One subordinate of Chen Province actually decided to use this opportunity to attack the Han for some lands neighboring his county. His army made it all the way to Luoyang until Yang Weili was able to dispose of him in March 213. By then,
Xiao Ru was made aware of what that idiot was doing. After having the man executed for his crimes, the Governor of Chen Province sent official apologies and gifts to Luoyang. He might not be a Han loyalist, but that didn’t mean he wanted to actively undermine it.
But Yao Shuren was on his way by now. Xuan Su and Xu Chu had been sent to deal with the barbarian revolt and the Qinghaixi invasion. Hopefully with a beast like Xu Chu by his side, Xuan Su would actually do something this time. Yao Shuren himself took Pan Zheng and Cheng Pu with him as they made their way back to Luoyang. As he advanced, he sent messengers throughout Jing Province. While he might be ruthless against his enemies, he was also a smart politician. He offered the Jing officers complete amnesty and to confirm their offices if they switched side, with the fall of Luoyang being the time limit of the offer. To Emperor Qianfei’s horror, most of them agreed. Wei Yan, who had no love for the Son of Heaven, was among the firsts to defect, setting the tone for the slow fall of Jing Province into Yao Shuren’s hands.
At this point, Yang Weili could see that the war was doomed. He had no chance of stopping the Liang army, no matter what Feng Guo told him. In the end, he raced to Luoyang with the goal of saving someone before it was too late. But he only had time to save one man, with his mind hesitating between the Emperor and the young Chancellor Liu Kun. In the end, he chose to take the son of
Liu Siyuan and fled before it was too late. The reasons for his choices are debated. Maybe it was out of lingering loyalty for the great scion of the Han, or a guilty need to atone for the murder of the older son by saving the younger one. His reasons might have also been more pragmatic. Yao Shuren needed the Emperor alive, while the child Chancellor was almost certain to face death if captured. And had he taken Emperor Qianfei, there was no way the warlord would have allowed Yang Weili to escape his grasp. But a child? What did it matter?
While Yang Weili had decided that the war was over for him, that didn’t mean he would surrender to Yao Shuren. He planned to oppose the man and continue to hold the Han loyalist banner, even if he had to submit to someone else. But this placed him in a similar situation to that of
Hu Zan four years ago. Yang Weili’s options were limited. Since loyalty to Yao Shuren was out of the question, this left him with two possibilities. The first one was to submit himself to Yang Province, but this would be suicide. There was no way that the former Inspector of Yang Province would be allowed to return home, or to live for that matter. Lu Xun would not tolerate a rival. So just like Hu Zan, Yang Weili found himself with a single choice: Chen Province. The strategist quickly wrote a letter to Xiao Ru, offering his loyalty and control of Xipingru to him. As always, Xiao Ru welcomed new subordinate, and by September Yang Weili had officially joined Chen Province.
Just as Yang Weili was submitting to Xiao Ru, the walls of Luoyang fell against the Liang siege. The besiegers had finally entered the Imperial Capital. The last two sieges of the city (Yuan Shu’s and the Han restorationists’) had taken great care to keep the city intact, to make sure that they were welcomed by the populace. Yao Shuren did not share such worries. He allowed his men to indulge their wrath upon the Imperial Capital. Houses were burned, corpses of the citizen laid in the streets, and Liang soldiers pillaged what wealth they could get their hands on. But there was one place they were forbidden to touch. The Imperial Palace remained free of violence. After all, the Emperor had not officially surrendered and welcomed his savior. Yao Shuren was yet in charge of the Han. To solve this, the Governor of Liang Province sent an agent to get past this little hurdle. Surely, a man of such wisdom could help Emperor Qianfei see the light.
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It wasn’t Pan Zheng first time in Luoyang. Once before he had come to the city, all the way back when he was travelling China in the middle of the 190’s. Back then, the Han was also entertaining a resurgence of Han loyalists and seeing an effort to restore the Dynasty to its greatness, although that one had been driven by the Chancellor Niu Fu instead of the Emperor. The scholar had worked in the Imperial Censorate at the time, serving under the evil
Jiang Xian. Back then, Pan Zheng had found himself embroiled into court intrigues and rivalries between the Han loyalists and the Wang Clan. He didn’t really understand the intricacy of the situation, as he focused on his duties and cared little about politics.
He still didn’t care about it either, which is why he was annoyed when Yao Shuren asked him to be his envoy to Emperor Qianfei. The Son of Heaven was hiding in his palace and someone needed to convince him to do what was needed. Pan Zheng asked his liege why he was chosen. Why not send one of the generals or go himself? To this, his liege had smiled and told him that a general entering the palace with troops would be unacceptable, while a great scholar would surely be well received. He never explained why he didn’t go himself though.
As he made his way through the ruins of the cities, Pan Zheng pushed a sigh of annoyance. Not at the sight of the once majestic city burning, or the corpses laying in the streets (although that did disturb him). No, he just thought that age was really starting to get to him. He was forty now, and his shape was slipping. While not fat, his belly was noticeable, and he hated having to walk up to the palace. He had actually asked Yao Shuren for a cart, but his lieged believed that humility needed to be at the center of this mission. Walking to the palace would show this to everyone. This meant that the scholar war already tired when he walked up the stone stairs to the palace. He almost tripped on his robe once or twice, but thankfully his aides carrying the gifts were able to save him from a humiliating (and dangerous) fall.
The inside of the palace was still well preserved, although dirt and waste lying around made it clear that most of the servants had either deserted or been killed outside, leaving no one to clean the building. Only a few dozen loyal officials stood where hundreds had previously been. Many had been caught on trying to escape and executed. The eunuchs in particular had been hunted down and slaughtered to the last. But the one thing Pan Zheng noticed was Emperor Qianfei, the young monarch sitting on his throne with a wary look. For all his failures, he still looked then time more worthy of the Jade Throne than Emperor Xian had. But the arrogance of youth was clearly visible too when Pan Zheng looked at the monarch.
“Your servant, Pan Zheng, Administrator of Yizhou Commandery, does homage to his liege.” he said in a monotone yet loud voice, echoing in the court.
Pan Zheng fell to his knee and saluted the Son of Heaven before kowtowing in the throne’s direction thrice. He then stood up, got closer, and did it again. He then waited on his knees, awaiting the Emperor’s answer. Both men locked eyes for a full minute, silently trying to judge the other (although Pan Zheng mostly wanted to get up again and wondered how long it would take).
“Rise up, sir.”
The Emperor’s voice was forceful and nervous. He was clearly stressed by the situation and trying his best to keep control. Either that or he was just annoyed, like Pan Zheng would be in his place (not that he ever thought of being on the Jade Throne or wanted to).
Pan Zheng stood up and signaled his two aides to bring the gifts forward. The two men dropped boxes full of precious stones at Emperor Qianfei’s feet. The Son of Heaven barely even gave it a look, clearly not interested with these lavish gifts.
“My lord offers you the best that could be obtained from Liang.” Pan Zheng explained.
And it was true. Yao Shuren had actually bothered his ass for a whole week, ordering him to buy as much as possible, and only the best quality. More than one merchant met their end that last week trying to sell overpriced gems.
“I do not see your lord.” Emperor Qianfei retorted with spite.
“Governor Yao will not present himself without being summoned first by your Imperial Majesty.”
“Yet he sends his lackeys to torment me.”
“Your Majesty, please!” whispered a panicked official.
Pan Zheng frowned. Clearly that young monarch didn’t care about diplomacy as much as he did.
“The Governor just wants to make sure that his efforts to save the Han are recognized.”
Emperor Qianfei clearly wanted to spit something out in anger, but was calmed down by one of his officials. Pan Zheng didn’t understand what was the problem. The Han had been controlled by eunuchs and children. Yao Shuren was cleaning this mess and installing a good and efficient imperial government in its place. Yet Emperor Qianfei didn’t seem to get that.
“Recognized?” Emperor Qianfei said, incredulity leaking out of his attempted calm.
“What has he accomplished? Governor Yao has so far only managed to pillage Luoyang. He hurt the Dynasty more than Dong Zhuo, Jiang Xian and Yuan Shu combined.”
“According to protocol, are such sacrifices made for the Han not worthy of a reward?”
“And I should just accept that Yao Shuren destroyed my work out of concern for my wellbeing? No. I will not reward him for his crimes.”
“I ask you to reconsider this decision, your Imperial Majesty.” Pan Zheng insisted.
It seemed that the Emperor wasn’t suicidal at least. Instead of ordering Pan Zheng to leave, he ruminated in silence, weighting his options.
“I will not allow another Yuan Shu.” Emperor Qianfei finally said.
“My lord is no Yuan Shu.”
“Indeed. He is far more dangerous and violent.”
“Forget injuries. Never forget kindness.” Pan Zheng advised, quoting Confucius out of memory
“I was not injured.”
Clearly, the Emperor didn’t know his classics. Annoying and disappointing. Maybe Emperor Qianfei wasn’t that good after all.
“I mean that all things done can be forgiven with well-deserved kindness.”
“I should forgive his actions?”
“Yes, your Imperial Majesty.”
“… Fine. Let us play his game.” Emperor Qianfei sighed.
“Go tell Governor Yao that for his… “help”… he shall hereby ascend to the title of Marquis of Tianshui.”
The Emperor looked around court at his last loyal officials. Pan Zheng wondered why he cared about them. Then again, if that helped him make the right choices, then they might as well be useful.
“… and is ordered to take the office of Grand Chancellor.” Emperor Qianfei finally spat.
“My lord will be thankful for the immense generosity of his Imperial Majesty. A thousand thanks to the Han!” Pan Zheng spoke.
“Although…”
“What? What else could he want? I gave him everything he wanted!” Emperor Qianfei snapped.
“Governor Yao may feel that the rank of Marquis might not reflect the extend of his service to the Dynasty.”
And here it was. The moment Yao Shuren had him prepare for. He had to learn this word for word.
“I would like to petition that his Imperial Majesty, in his infinite wisdom, grant Governor Yao Shuren the rank of Duke of Liang.”
This sent the court into a shock.
“A duke?” some said.
“There are no duke!” someone else whispered.
“Yao Shuren plans to destroy the Han.” someone pointed out. Pan Zheng simply stayed silent.
“Duke? No, I-I cannot grant this rank to him in good conscience.” Emperor Qianfei answered.
“Have you not granted it to the Prince of Xincai?” Pan Zheng pointed out.
“Both came for you, yet Governor Yao is unworthy of it?”
The Prince of Xincai; Liu Siyuan’s posthumous title. It was true that Liu Siyuan had first been granted the rank of duke after the fall of Yuan Shu. But he had been dead and was a member of the Imperial Clan. In the whole history of the Han, only one man unrelated to the Liu Clan had ever been granted the rank of duke: Wang Mang, the usurper who ended the Western Han Dynasty. Demanding the title of duke was nothing more than an overt declaration of your intention to follow in Wang Mang’s footsteps. If this was granted, then the Nine Bestowments would soon follow. And after that, what was left but to remove the Emperor? Yet here was Yao Shuren, telling Emperor Qianfei through his envoy that this was his plan.
“I will not do it.” the Son of Heaven declared.
“I will not doom the Han. Not on my watch. I will not humiliate my Imperial Ancestors like that, dooming the future of what they built”
“I cannot speak for the future of the Dynasty, but by refusing you are ensuring that there will be none.”
“I will not permit another Wang Mang.”
“Then you condemn the palace to suffer the same fate as the city.” Pan Zheng told him in all honesty.
Officials started to panic and weep. Some threw themselves at the Emperor’s feet, pleading him to save them. The Son of Heaven looked at them with a broken expression.
“… do I have a choice?” he asked.
“Your choice is to end the Han now, or gamble that you can save it later on.”
“… fine. Go tell Yao Shuren that he is now the Duke of Liang. Now leave. Get out!”
The Emperor was covering his face with his hands, as if he didn’t want anyone else to see his eyes. Pan Zheng didn’t mind, and didn’t care. He was just happy that he could return to the camp a job well done to engulf himself into his studying.
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“What do you mean, he refused?” Emperor Qianfei asked in confusion and anger.
“My lord has brought new gifts for his Imperial Majesty to thank him for his generosity.”
“If he wants to thank me for my generosity, then why is he refusing the position he asked for?”
To this, Pan Zheng had no answer. He was just as confused and frustrated as the young monarch about Yao Shuren’s refusal of the Dukedom. Clearly, he wanted to replace the Han with his own dynasty. Yet now that he could take the first step toward this goal, he refused. Pan Zheng simply didn’t understand this fickleness. He asked his lord why he was refusing, and all he got as a response was a snarky “humility.” This made no sense.
“I cannot guess what he is thinking.” Pan Zheng bluntly admitted.
“Are you two playing with me? I gave you what he wanted. I gave him everything he wanted! Yet now he settles for the rank of marquis instead?”
“It seems to be so.”
The young emperor seems to be lost in his thought, as was Pan Zheng for a moment.
“Does he plan to refuse the rest too?” Emperor Qianfei asked with hope in his voice.
“Governor Yao has expressed a willingness to answer the Son of Heaven’s request to serve as his Chancellor.”
“Yes, ‘my’ request…”
“Indeed.”
“Then where is the great Yao Shuren? Should he not come rule the court?”
“Only the Son of Heaven can rule.” Pan Zheng pointed out.
“You know what I mean.” the monarch answered with spite.
“Why hasn’t he come yet?”
“Because you have yet to summon him, your Imperial Majesty.”
“Yet you are here.”
“Yes, but I am a mere envoy. My lord would not dare to violate the sanctity of the court without your invitation.”
This was followed by an awkward silence. Clearly Emperor Qianfei was thinking of a way to get out of this, to avoid the humiliation of summoning his victorious enemy. But Pan Zheng knew that there was no escape. And soon enough, the emperor came to the same conclusion.
“Summon the Chancellor.” he grunted.
Pan Zheng turned to one of his attendants who had brought the gifts and ordered him to go seek Yao Shuren. It wasn’t a long trip, as the Governor was actually waiting outside the palace. After all, everything was going as he wanted. A dozen minutes later, he appeared at the entrance in full armor, although he left his weapon outside out of a desire to follow decorum.
“I, your humble servant Yao Shuren, have come to serve his Imperial Majesty.” He declared with a victorious grin.
