Han Ji

Chapter 164 The First Cracks Appear

Chapter 164 The First Cracks Appear (Part 2)

Wu Si was startled. He looked around and lowered his voice, "Prime Minister, you can't say things like that! Wang Rao has ten thousand men under his command!"

"Ten thousand men, a rabble," Zhao Zhi said. "If a real fight breaks out, three thousand Imperial Guards will be enough to subdue them."

Wu Si fell silent.

He looked at Zhao Zhi with a complicated expression.

This scholar, who usually looks weak and frail, is unexpectedly so ruthless.

"Prime Minister," he said finally, "let's wait a little longer. Let's wait for Master Ma... let's wait for His Majesty to figure things out."

Zhao Zhi did not insist further.

He knew Wu Si was right. Moving against Wang Rao now would be tantamount to internal strife, and Prime Minister Ma would not allow it.

He turned and went down the city wall.

His back was somewhat hunched.

On the tenth day of the second month, the one who had the accident was a maid.

The maid's surname was Chen, and her name was Xiao'e. She was originally the concubine of the prefect of Luo County. The prefect died in the chaos of war, and she was captured and brought to Chengdu, where she was sent to the palace to serve Prime Minister Ma. She was pretty, literate, and could play the zither. Prime Minister Ma liked her very much and often kept her by his side.

That afternoon, Prime Minister Ma rested in a side hall while Xiao'e brewed tea. The tea was new tea from southern Sichuan, and the water was fresh water from the Tuo River; the brewed tea had a fragrant aroma.

Ma Xiang took a sip and nodded: "Good tea."

Xiao'e lowered her head meekly and said, "I'm glad Your Majesty is pleased."

Ma Xiang looked at her and suddenly asked, "Do you hate me?"

Xiao'e's hand trembled, and she almost knocked over the teapot.

"This servant... dares not."

"to be honest."

Xiao'e remained silent for a long time, then whispered, "I hate it."

Ma Xiang laughed: "That's right, you should hate him. I also hate Xi Jian, and I hate all those officials."

He paused for a moment, then said, "But hatred aside, life goes on. If you're with me, I won't treat you badly."

Xiao'e didn't say anything, she just poured more tea.

In the evening, Zhao Zhi hurriedly reported that a letter had been intercepted in the south of the city. It was sent out of the city by someone entrusted by Xiao'e. The letter was a plea for help from the governor of Jiangzhou, saying that the governor was tyrannical and requesting that troops be sent immediately.

Ma Xiang was stunned.

"She...did she really write that?"

"The letter is here," Zhao Zhi presented.

Ma Xiang took the letter and unfolded it. The handwriting was delicate, definitely a woman's. The content was very detailed: how Ma Xiang had allowed his troops to plunder, how he had indiscriminately killed innocent people, and how he had lived a life of extravagance.

He finished reading it and put the letter down.

Where are they?

"He has been detained in a side room."

Ma Xiang got up and went to the side room.

Xiao'e was bound behind her back, kneeling on the ground, her hair disheveled, her face streaked with tears, but her eyes were calm.

"Why?" Ma Xiang asked.

Xiao'e looked up at him and said, "Your Majesty killed my husband."

"That's a battlefield."

"Does that justify indiscriminate killing on the battlefield?" Xiao'e's voice trembled. "My husband was a civil official; he had never held a knife or killed anyone. He was hacked to death by the marauding soldiers in his study, still holding a pen in his hand."

Ma Xiang remained silent.

"Your Majesty says you hate officials," Xiao'e laughed, tears streaming down her face, "but isn't Your Majesty the highest-ranking official right now?"

Ma Xiang felt as if he had been punched in the chest.

He turned and walked out of the side room.

Zhao Zhi followed up: "Your Majesty, this woman cannot be allowed to live. If she is released, there will be endless troubles in the future."

"Keep her locked up," Ma Xiang waved his hand. "Don't kill her."

"Your Majesty!" Zhao Zhi exclaimed urgently, "Womanly compassion will kill everyone!"

"I said lock him up!" Ma Xiang roared.

Zhao Zhi shut his mouth, but his eyes were gloomy.

Ma Xiang returned to the main hall, slumped onto the tiger-skin chair, and felt utterly exhausted.

Xiao'e's words were like a thorn, piercing his heart.

Yes, isn't he the highest-ranking official now?

What's the difference between him and Xi Jian?

No, there is a difference.

Xi Jian was greedy and wicked. He was... He did it for revenge, so that his brothers would have food to eat.

But what happens after revenge?

Do the brothers have food to eat? Yes, but it's stolen grain. And the people? The people are weeping and dying.

He closed his eyes.

My mind was filled with Xiao'e's calm eyes.

The next morning, Zhao Zhi reported that Xiao'e had committed suicide in prison.

He hung his body on the beam with his belt, and by the time he found it, it was already cold.

Ma Xiang stared at him: "How did you die?"

"Commit suicide," Zhao Zhi repeated.

"Who's guarding it?"

"Imperial Guards".

Where is Wu Si?

"Wu Weiwei patrolled the city last night and only returned this morning."

Ma Xiang remained silent.

He walked to the window and opened it. It was just dawn outside, and the streets were still a mess. A few early risers were picking up the scattered grain, their movements furtive, like thieves.

The wind is blowing in; it's cold.

"Your Majesty," Zhao Zhi said from behind him, "In chaotic times, harsh measures are necessary. Being soft-hearted will cost everyone their lives."

Ma Xiang did not turn around.

"go out."

Zhao Zhi bowed and withdrew.

Ma Xiang stood alone by the window for a long time.

Then he turned around, walked to the desk, picked up the scroll of official titles, and looked at it again and again.

Eighteen generals and thirty-six prefects.

The name was unfamiliar, and the face was blurry.

He suddenly felt that the chair was a little cold.

February 15th, Hanzhong, Nanzheng.

The snow had completely melted, revealing blackish-yellow mud on the ground, soaked and mushy from days of light rain. The Mian River was rising, its muddy waters carrying withered branches and fallen leaves, rushing downstream with a thunderous roar. The willows along the riverbank were sprouting tender buds, tiny specks of green, barely visible in the overcast sky.

The atmosphere in the military camp was even more somber than the weather.

Inside the central command tent, the charcoal brazier burned brightly, but no one felt warm. Liu Bei sat in the main seat, with Guan Yu and Zhang Fei to his left and Jian Yong and Qian Zhao to his right. Xun Cai sat to his side and slightly behind, wrapped in a silver fox fur coat, his hands tucked into his sleeves. His face was somewhat pale; his morning sickness hadn't completely subsided, but his eyes were clear.

Jian Yong returned secretly last night.

He was covered in dust from the journey, his robe splattered with mud, and his face showed signs of fatigue, but he was in good spirits. He was giving a report, his voice not loud, but every word was clear.

"...On the fifteenth day of the first month, an uprising broke out in Mianzhu. Ma Xiang killed the county magistrate Li Sheng, opened the granaries to distribute grain, and gathered several thousand people. On the twenty-second day of the first month, Fuxian was captured, and Commandant Zhang Ren was killed in battle. On the third day of the second month, Luoxian was captured, and Prefect Xi Jian... was beheaded."

He paused, then took out a thin book from his pocket and spread it on the table.

"This is a rough estimate of Ma Xiang's current troop strength: about 3,000 core elite troops, his old comrades who followed him from the salt wells. About 20,000 of them are refugees and bankrupt farmers. The total strength... is said to be 30,000, but the actual number should be around 25,000."

Zhang Fei gasped, "Twenty-five thousand?! That many people have left in just one month?!"

Jian Yong nodded: "Prime Minister Ma opened the granaries and distributed grain, and also raised the banner of punishing Xi Jian, so many people came to join him."

Guan Yu narrowed his phoenix eyes: "Where's the equipment?"

"Poor." Jian Yong turned a page. "The core three thousand men are armed with swords and armor, which they looted from the armories of Fuxian and Luoxian. The remaining twenty thousand or so are mostly armed with bamboo spears, farm tools, and some even carry wooden sticks. They have very few bows and crossbows, and almost no cavalry."

"forage?"

"The grain stored in the warehouses of Fuxian and Chuxian counties totals about several hundred thousand shi (a unit of dry measure). This is enough to feed 25,000 people."

...a whole year.

A whole year.

Liu Bei tapped his fingers lightly on the edge of the table.

After a whole year, the food ran out.

Either continue fighting, or collapse.

"Where is Ma Xiang now?" he asked.

"Chengdu," Jian Yong said. "On the eighth day of the second month, we entered Chengdu, occupied the governor's mansion, renamed it Dacheng Hall, and proclaimed ourselves Emperor Dacheng. We appointed officials... eighteen generals and thirty-six prefects."

""

Zhang Fei scoffed: "Emperor? He doesn't deserve the title."

"