Han Ji

Chapter 126 Qu Chengmin Appendix

On the fifteenth day of the ninth month of the second year of Zhongping, the Mianshui Canal was opened to water.

The canal head is ten miles south of the city. The newly built rammed earth embankment has its sluice gates covered with sheet metal. At the beginning of the morning, just as the sun had climbed over the eastern hills, more than a thousand people had already gathered on the embankment. Refugees, canal workers, and elders from the surrounding villages stood densely packed on the slope.

Liu Bei stood before the gate tower, dressed in coarse linen clothes and sandals, not in his official robes. To his left stood Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, and to his right Jian Yong and Qian Zhao. Wang Wu led three hundred able-bodied men from the river camp, holding spears and standing tall with their heads held high.

"The auspicious time has arrived—" Jian Yong drawled.

Liu Bei raised his hand. Two burly men turned the winch, the iron chains rattling, and the sluice gate slowly rose. The Mian River rushed into the new canal, white waves churning, flowing along the compacted canal bed towards the parched fields to the east.

The crowd erupted in cheers. An old farmer knelt down, kowtowed, grabbed some damp soil, covered his face, and wept.

Guan Yu whispered, "Brother, Su Gu didn't come."

Liu Bei glanced towards Nanzheng. Han flags fluttered atop the city walls, but the city gates remained closed.

"I'm claiming illness to avoid coming." He smiled. "That's fine."

Wang Wu suddenly stepped forward, walked to Liu Bei, and knelt down with a thud. Behind him, three hundred strong young men knelt down in unison, their spear shafts striking the ground with a resounding thud.

"Captain!" Wang Wu roared, his eyes bloodshot. "You led us to build this canal! You provided the food, you paid the wages, you showed us how to make a living! We refugees and laborers were treated like livestock by the government! Only you... treated us like human beings!"

He kowtowed deeply, his forehead smeared with mud: "I, Wang Wu, fled from Fengyi during the famine, and I was lucky to survive. Today, in front of all the elders and folks of my village, I beg the Commandant to take me in! We, three hundred men, are willing to join the army, to lead your horse, lift your stirrups, and shield you from swords and arrows!"

Three hundred men roared in unison, "We are willing to follow the Commandant!"

There was a moment of stillness on the slope. The wind blew through the canal, making a gurgling sound.

Liu Bei stepped forward to help Wang Wu up. Wang Wu couldn't get up, so Liu Bei used his strength to pull him up.

"Good! Organize three hundred men into the River Camp." Liu Bei turned to Zhang Fei and said, "Yide, they are under your command. Train them twice as hard as new recruits."

"Understood!" Zhang Fei grinned.

Wang Wu was about to kneel again when Liu Bei pressed his shoulder down: "Remember, from this day forward, you are soldiers of the Hanzhong Commandery. Your swords are wielded for the people, and your lives are dedicated to Hanzhong. Anyone who deceives the people, fears battle, or disobeys orders—" He scanned the three hundred men, "military law is merciless."

"I swear to serve you to the death!"

After the water-pushing ceremony concluded, the crowd gradually dispersed. Liu Bei mounted his horse and returned to the city, with Guan Yu riding alongside him.

"The people's hearts are like water." Guan Yu looked at the people who refused to leave the canal. "Wherever the canal flows, that's where the water goes."

"Water can carry a boat," Liu Bei said, shaking the reins, "but it can also capsize it."

In the afternoon, the county council meeting was held.

Su Guzhen was ill, wrapped in a thick robe, and sat in the main seat, coughing occasionally. Zhao Lü was dead, and the newly appointed clerk, surnamed Wu, was bowing his head and taking notes. More than twenty officials from the prefecture sat on either side, with Liu Bei on the right.

After discussing the canal transport and autumn taxes, Su Gu put down his teacup, his voice hoarse: "There is one more matter. Commandant Liu has rendered outstanding service in suppressing bandits and pacifying the people, and his troops now number over a thousand. With the banditry in Hanzhong gradually subsided and the Qiang region temporarily pacifying the border, should we... reduce some of the troops to conserve resources for the prefecture?"

All eyes in the hall turned to Liu Bei.

Liu Bei didn't look up, twirling the bamboo cup in his hand. The cup contained plain water.

"What Lord Su says is quite right," he began. "However, last month, caravans along the rice-growing route were robbed seven times, and remnants of bandits from the Bashan Mountains are still roaming freely. North of the Ju River, scouts from the Baima Qiang tribe frequently appear. With fewer troops, defenses will falter, and with faltering defenses, bandits will rise up. Does the Prefect intend to repeat last year's chaos?"

Su Gu coughed a few times: "The Commandant is overthinking it..."

"Overthinking it?" Liu Bei reached into his robes, pulled out a scroll of bamboo slips, and slammed it onto the table.

The bamboo slips were unfolded, containing copies of battle reports. The handwriting was messy and stained with mud.

"On September 12th, on the Rice Warehouse Road, a caravan of three carts was robbed, resulting in the deaths of two guards and injuries to five others."

"On September 14th, in the Black Pine Forest of Bashan, a woodcutter was kidnapped, and the ransom was 500,000."

"On the sixteenth of September, thirty li north of the Ju River, more than twenty Qiang cavalrymen plundered more than a hundred sheep from a herding household."

Liu Bei pointed to the last item: "This happened four days ago. Lord Su, is this what you call the banditry gradually subsiding?"

Su Gu's face darkened.

Wu Gongcao whispered, "Commander, these... the prefecture hasn't received any reports..."

Liu Bei rose and walked into the hall: "Disbanding the army will only save a few bushels of grain and a few bolts of cloth. But if the disbandment causes unrest, and bandits rise again and the Qiang people plunder again, then recruiting soldiers and suppressing bandits again will cost more than ten times as much. What about the dead and wounded civilians and the destroyed fields and houses?"

Su Gu stared at him for a long time, then suddenly smiled: "The Commandant has thought things through thoroughly. Then... let's postpone the dismissal for now."

"Thank you for your understanding, Prefect."

As the meeting was adjourning, Su Gu called out to Liu Bei, "Xuande, please wait."

After the officials left, only two people remained in the hall. Su Gu had shed his sickly appearance, and his eyes were cold and clear.

"You took in those three hundred refugees?"

"Yes."

"A good tactic." Su Gu nodded. "Building a canal won over the people and also gained three hundred loyal soldiers. Liu Xuande, I underestimated you."

Liu Bei cupped his hands in farewell: "It's all for the sake of protecting the territory and ensuring the safety of the people."

"Protect the territory and keep the people safe..." Su Gu murmured, then suddenly said, "At yesterday's tea party, my wife returned and said that a woman in the family made a slip of the tongue, saying that your Commandery is strong and well-liked by the people, and that you might be planning to take my place as governor."

Liu Bei looked up: "Su Gongxin?"

"Whether I believe it or not is not important." Su Gu walked to the window. "What's important is that this news has spread. The powerful families and officials of Hanzhong will all be wondering: Do you, Liu Xuande, really want to be the governor?"

Liu Bei remained silent for a moment.

"Lord Su," he said, "if Bei truly wants to seize the throne, he doesn't need to wait for rumors."

Su Gu turned around.

"Last winter, when Zhao Lü framed me, could I have used that opportunity to launch a counterattack?" Liu Bei's voice was calm. "This spring, when Xi Jian inspected the area, could I have used that opportunity to present evidence of his crimes? Last month, when the displaced people rioted, could I have allowed it to escalate and then used the pretext of suppressing the rebellion to regain power?"

With each question he asked, Su Gu's face paled a little more.

"But I didn't." Liu Bei walked up to Su Gu. "Because I know that Hanzhong cannot be thrown into chaos. Chaos will cause suffering to the people, it will breed bandits, and it will give the Qiang people an opportunity to take advantage. Lord Su, we are in the same boat. If the boat sinks, no one will survive."

Su Gu's Adam's apple bobbed: "Then... what exactly do you want?"

"Hanzhong is at peace." Liu Bei said, each word distinct. "The people are at peace, the army is strong, and the granaries are full. As for who sits in this seat—" He pointed to the prefect's seat, "If Lord Su sits firmly, I will be the Commandant. If Lord Su does not sit firmly, I will be the shield, the spear, the hand that keeps this ship from sinking."

He cupped his hands in greeting, took three steps back, and turned to leave the hall.

Su Gu sat alone in the empty hall for a long time, then chuckled softly.

"Shield? Spear?" He shook his head. "You're the one who wields the shield and spear. Me? I'm becoming nothing more than a decoration on the ship."

That night, at the military camp in the west of the city.

Jian Yong reported: "We've taken over three shops in the West Market, all managed by an old man from Zhuojun. One is a grain shop, one a cloth shop, and one an ironware shop. The location is excellent, and our network of informants can cover half the city."

Liu Bei nodded: "Keep the accounts clean, so no one can find fault with them."

"I understand." Jian Yong hesitated. "Brother, what Su Gu said today..."