Taiheiki

Chapter 107 Border Warriors
Even if he did nothing, this wave would still sweep across Jingyang, Wei Cong told himself. The longer he stayed in this era, and the more he understood the empire before him, the more firmly he believed one thing: the core of this empire was completely rotten. To defeat the enemies on the border and maintain the empire's basic dignity, he could only rely on the strength of the local military elites in the border states and counties—in other words, the border warriors.

The old model of large-scale conquests, with troops drawn from Luoyang, Sanhe and Wujiao as the core, and supplemented by conscripted troops from various prefectures and counties, was becoming increasingly unworkable. Such large armies, fraught with internal conflict and a lack of close ties between commanders and troops, even if they managed to achieve a few victories, would inevitably lead to dissatisfaction among local gentry due to the immense economic pressure on the region, leading to the escalation of the rebellion and ultimately a devastating loss. The immense financial pressure would force the emperor to impose new taxes and sell official positions, draining his scarce political and economic resources and ultimately leading to the empire's demise.

This trend manifested itself in the north through the rise of the Liangzhou warrior group, exemplified by the "Three Mings of Liangzhou," and in the south through the rise of humble warriors, exemplified by Sun Jian. These individuals shared a common trait: they rose through the traditional imperial elite career ladder: Confucian scholarship, county clerkship, recommendation, palace attendant, transfer to central government positions, exile to the rank of prefect of two thousand stone, and finally, the Nine Ministers and Three Dukes. Their advancement coincided perfectly with the empire's calamities, relying on military merit—in other words, their own military prowess, their prestige within their local communities, prefectures, and their closely intertwined, though perhaps small in number, military retainers with formidable combat effectiveness. The ancients referred to them as buqu (subordinates), langdang (personal soldiers), personal soldiers (private soldiers), knights (cavalry), warriors (warriors), keshig (keshig), jiading (guardians), and geshiha (goshkha), but they were essentially the same group.

Perhaps their political status was still low, unable to be compared with the aristocratic families with generations of officials holding 2,000 shi (two thousand stone) or three dukes (three officials), and in popular opinion, they were despised with derogatory terms such as "military strategists," "Guanxi people," "southern barbarians," and "island barbarians." But one thing was certain: the empire became increasingly dependent on them. They were able to continuously acquire wealth, land, official positions, titles, and even prestige through war. Time and again, they stepped over the fences of etiquette and law, ascending steps that were previously unthinkable. While the empire would punish them, it was often forced to pardon them, lest they be left without resources in the face of future barbarian rebellions or popular uprisings. Over time, their courage grew, and they eventually even coveted the throne.

Wei Cong, knowing the future, naturally knew that these frontier warriors ultimately failed. Taking advantage of the internal strife between the eunuchs and the imperial relatives, Dong Zhuo led the Western Liang army to seize control of Luoyang and the imperial court. However, the Guandong nobles united and forced him to retreat to Guanxi, taking the emperor hostage. He was soon killed in a conspiracy by the imperial authorities. Without their leader, the Western Liang army fell into civil strife. They recaptured Chang'an and the emperor, but ultimately, without a leader, they fell into endless internal strife, ultimately becoming bandits and mercenaries, ultimately being divided, cannibalized, and wiped out from the stage of history.

Gongsun Zan, Sun Jian, and Lü Bu were caught up in the chaotic wars that followed the fall of the empire, and each perished in battle. Sun Jian's sons withdrew from the conflict in the Central Plains, returning to their homeland in Jiangdong and successfully establishing their own territories. Meanwhile, Liu Bei, a warrior from the peripheral regions, fought for nearly twenty years in the Central Plains, hoping to restore the Han dynasty, but to no avail, ultimately ascending the throne in the remote Shu region. Both the Sun clan of Jiangdong and the Liu clan of Shu Han were ultimately annihilated by the aristocratic regimes that controlled the Central Plains.

During this period, Wei Cong learned that the fall of an empire did not equate to the victory of frontier warriors; quite the opposite. The rise and prosperity of Dong Zhuo and Sun Jian within the empire was not solely due to their own military prowess, but also to another equally important factor: the demilitarization of the inland counties and kingdoms. After the founding of the Eastern Han Dynasty, Emperor Guangwu of Han, Liu Xiu, implemented reforms to the county-state military system, effectively destroying the once highly organized social structure of the inland counties and kingdoms. As a result, while the inland gentry dominated the border prefectures and kingdoms politically, culturally, and economically, they were militarily weak.

The result was that after Dong Zhuo entered Luoyang with several thousand Liang Province soldiers, he immediately annexed the original central army, arbitrarily dealt with officials and ministers, and even deposed and enthroned the emperor. The large number of prefecture-level troops gathered by the Yuan brothers at the alliance were simply no match for the Western Liang army. The only real force was the private soldiers of the southern border warriors led by Sun Jian. When Lü Bu was defeated by the Western Liang army and fled Chang'an, he had very limited forces with him, only a few hundred men, at most one or two thousand. However, in the battle against the Black Mountain Army under Yuan Shao, he was able to lead dozens of cavalry to repeatedly charge the enemy's army and achieve great victories. Later, when fighting Cao Cao in Yanzhou, the troops Lü Bu brought from Hanoi to Yanzhou were also small, at most three or four thousand men, but he was able to repeatedly defeat Cao Cao. In the end, famine forced them to withdraw.

However, the weaknesses of these borderland warriors were also obvious. While their armies were elite, they lacked prestige and numbers. Without a strong network of clan members and former officials, they could win a few battles, but the losses were difficult to replace. While the Central Plains aristocratic groups might initially lose battles, they would eventually learn warfare through civil war (those who couldn't were eliminated). Once they learned warfare, they were undoubtedly the victors. Only the Sun brothers and Liu Bei, who had traveled to the borderlands, survived, but they were ultimately eliminated by the Central Plains regime due to the vast disparity in strength.

From the above history, Wei Cong learned two lessons: first, at this time, there is no need to worry about being punished by the court for breaking the law. If there is a chance to strengthen your own strength, you must be bolder. As long as you don't raise the banner of rebellion, the empire is still very generous to capable border warriors; second, when the core of the empire collapses, don't rush to Luoyang, that place is a fire pit.

Although the nobles were not very good at leading troops in battle, they were very good at plotting and orchestrating palace coups. If I played the power game with them in Luoyang, I would lose my life sooner or later. In this regard, I should follow the examples of Gao Huan and Minamoto no Yoritomo. I should firmly distance myself from Luoyang, manage my own strength, organize my border warriors into groups, and localize them. I should establish a military and political organization of my own that is independent of the imperial court. I only need to send an agent to monitor the capital Luoyang.

As for the religious rebels led by Lu Ping and Liu Xin, Wei Cong maintained a respectful distance. The reason was simple: with his limited strength, he simply couldn't defeat them. Even if he became a general, he would only be sidelined and reduced to a puppet. Rather than this, it would be better to use the business opportunity to strengthen himself first, and then take sides when the situation became clearer.

If Liu Xin and Lu Ping could succeed, compete with the imperial court and even break into Luoyang, he would be considered to have followed the emperor and it would not be difficult for him to get a share of the spoils; if Liu Xin and Lu Ping failed, Jing and Yang states would surely be in a mess, and the imperial court would not allow Feng Gun to continue to mess around in the south with an army of more than 100,000. It would need a powerful local person to clean up the mess, and that would be his chance. He could accept the legacy of these believers, occupy territory and gather people, and then bribe the imperial court to recognize the fait accompli. Anyway, both sides would win, and it would be a waste of time to win.

"My dear!" The voice of Diwu Deng came from outside the door.

"What's the matter?" Wei Cong asked in a deep voice.

"A guest has arrived! He's from Yuhan County! He's brought the payment for the seized ironware, and the informant!"

"I understand!" Wei Cong took a deep breath and said, "I will leave you as a guest. Please treat us well and bring the informer to me!"

"Here!"

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When Yuan Tian saw the camp again, he knew that his death was near.

Yuan Tian still knew very little about the whole story. Everything had gone smoothly. The county magistrate met with him and ordered a search and seizure of Zhu An's home, where he discovered a large sum of money and a staggering amount of high-quality ironware. Although Zhu An himself and the thieves' boat were not apprehended, the thousands of knives, sickles, and axes proved his claims were true. Yuan Tian was only disappointed that the magistrate hadn't immediately ordered a raid on He Ji's Ironware Shop, which would have been the only way to uncover the whereabouts of the ironware. But things took a turn for the worse. Just as Yuan Tian was contemplating how to force the magistrate to investigate the matter as he wished, disaster struck. A thief official, accompanied by four or five archers, shackled him in wooden shackles and imprisoned him in the lowest level of the dungeon. For the next few days, Yuan Tian scrambled in the darkness to uncover the true cause of his arrest—until he was taken aboard a boat sailing up the Poyang River. He finally understood that a prominent figure in the county was implicated, and that his report had stumbled upon a den of thieves.

In the next few days on the ship, Yuan Tian was always looking for a chance to escape, but there was no chance at all. In the end, he had no choice but to pray to his ancestors and gods, asking them to let him die with honor.

When the boat stopped rocking, Yuan Tian was roughly dragged out of the cabin. The sunlight rushing in made him quickly close his eyes, which had become accustomed to the darkness. Tears flowed from the corners of his eyes and slid down his cheeks. Yuan Tian heard someone laugh and say, "This guy knows how to cry now, but it's too late!"

"Hey, it's too late to cry when the time comes!"

"I'm not crying because I'm afraid of death!" Yuan Tian tried to defend himself, but then realized it was ridiculous. What was the point of a dying man arguing about this? He would die in this desolate corner, and his death would be silent. If he had known this would happen, why would he have fled his hometown? Wouldn't he have confessed his crime and accepted the punishment? At least he could be buried in the family cemetery, not be a lonely ghost!

"Just leave the person to me!"

Yuan Tian raised his head. His eyesight had improved a bit now, and he could recognize that the person standing in front of him was Diwu Deng, one of the people Wei Cong trusted the most. The guards on the ship pushed Yuan Tian over, and he staggered over. The short iron chain between his knees restricted his movements, forcing Yuan Tian to move in small steps, which made him feel even more humiliated.

Diwu Deng gestured, and two soldiers stepped forward, grabbing Yuan Tian's arms and half-dragging, half-supporting him. As he moved, the chains struck the stone slabs on the ground, making a crisp sound. Was he being dragged off to his death? Yuan Tian's heart trembled. He wanted to curse, but when he opened his mouth, no sound came out. His own cowardice filled Yuan Tian with shame, and tears streamed from his eyes, gradually wetting his cheeks.

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Inside the room, Wei Cong sat at a desk, his charcoal pencil moving rapidly across a piece of paper. He was calculating how to best deploy the labor force Lu Ping would soon be sending him. With these thousand men, he could remove all the existing unskilled personnel from their labor positions and re-integrate them into the army. Wei Cong planned to organize a few hunting expeditions first, both to practice the teams' ability to follow orders and to obtain food and leather.

"Oh, and we need to hurry up on the shipyard!" Wei Cong slapped his thigh. In Yuzhang County at the time, not having a boat was like not having legs. The few boats they had were enough for now, but if Lu Ping and his men started a rebellion, transportation would undoubtedly be controlled by the government, and water transportation would be the only way to get around.

"My lord, Yuan Tian has been brought here!" Diwudeng's voice came from outside the door.

"Well, bring him in!" Wei Cong put down the charcoal pencil in his hand, looked up, and was surprised to find that the man who was dragged in had tear marks on his face. "What's wrong with your face? Did they torture you on the way here?"

"Who tortured him?" Diwu Deng glanced at Yuan Tian's face and snorted coldly, "I've asked about everything. He was locked in the cabin the whole time and wasn't even touched. This kid is just a coward and afraid of death. My dear, why ask questions about this kind of loser? Just drag him out and chop him up!"

"Forget it!" Wei Cong didn't look down on those who feared death. After all, he himself was very afraid of death. "Untie the wooden shackle. Even if you're going to kill him right away, there's no need to torture him here."

Yuan Tian flexed his wrist to let the blood flow through the numb area. He looked up at the man sitting at the head of the table, who was observing him with interest. Yuan Tian had to admit that he was handsome and possessed considerable style. A man like him could only come from one of the prominent families of Kanto. What had brought him to this point?
"Tell me! Why do you want to report me?" Wei Cong said with a smile.

"Gathering together privately to mine and smelt iron is already a serious crime!" Yuan Tian said coldly, "Not to mention that you also secretly sold so many iron tools to criminals. Anyone who knows what you did will report you to the county magistrate!"

"Hahaha!" Wei Cong laughed. "What you said is not wrong, but you are different from others. There is no benefit in reporting me!"

(End of this chapter)