As the boats passed Xiakou and Chibi, marshlands and water networks lined both shores.
This area was not only the ancient battlefield where the Three Kingdoms of Wu, Shu, and Wei had contended for supremacy at the end of the Han Dynasty, but also the northern region of the legendary Cloud Dream Marshes that had existed through the ages.
Due to erosion from the Yangtze River and Han River, along with massive sediment accumulation, the northern part of Cloud Dream Marshes had gradually silted up over these past several hundred years, forming extensive connected sandbars. However, the fertile Jianghan Plain that would become a land of fish and rice a thousand years later had not yet fully taken shape.
The southwestern part of Cloud Dream Marshes, west of Yuezhou, had gradually formed into the present-day eight-hundred-li expanse of Dongting Lake (including Qingcao, Chisha and other lakes) with its vast misty waters.
After enduring two incidents, things had finally settled down. From Ezhou all the way west to Yuezhou, Han Qian’s journey had been relatively peaceful, with no river bandits or lake pirates stirring up trouble or emerging to harass them.
Yuezhou was the territory of Ma Yin, the Military Governor of Tanzhou.
Ma Yin, the Military Governor of Tanzhou, not only directly controlled the military and administrative powers of his own prefecture—that is, Tanzhou itself—but also held authority over Yue and Lang prefectures. One could say that the prime areas of the eight-hundred-li expanse of Dongting Lake’s vast misty waters were all under Ma Yin’s control.
As soon as Han Qian’s group reached the borders of Yuezhou, they could see from afar over twenty naval warships, led by three tower ships, arrayed and anchored in the river waiting for them to arrive, their banners fluttering in the wind.
“The Ma family’s Five-Fang Army truly cuts an imposing figure.” From eight or nine li away, Han Qian used his monocular telescope to clearly see the opposing fleet’s banners. The thirty-plus naval warships were mainly oared sailing vessels, with the three leading tower ships being particularly massive and imposing.
Each tower ship exceeded ten zhang in length, with three levels of cabins, all equipped with parapets and battle grids. The hull rose over five zhang above the water surface, with over forty large oars on each side to propel the vessel. A rough estimate suggested each ship carried at least five hundred soldiers.
Though these heavy main warships couldn’t compare to the true Five-Fang warships of the previous dynasty, even among the elite naval forces directly controlled by Great Chu’s Imperial Guards, there were only a few such vessels.
Ma Yin’s Tanzhou provincial forces were divided into cavalry-infantry and naval divisions, each numbering nine thousand troops—far exceeding what ordinary prefecture and county militias could match. The fleet before them had three thousand soldiers and nearly thirty medium-to-large warships arrayed and anchored on the river surface, truly presenting an imposing and majestic sight.
“May I ask if the approaching vessel is the official boat of Prefect Han Daoxun of Xuzhou?” An oared skiff rowed downstream toward them, and a military officer called out loudly.
“We are indeed subordinates of Prefect Han. May we ask what instructions the officer has?” Fan Xicheng stepped to the bow, his voice booming in response.
“River and lake bandits run rampant. My lord was concerned that Prefect Han might encounter troubles on his journey to assume office in Xuzhou, so he specially dispatched our household’s heir, Five-Fang Vice Commander Ma Xun, to lead warships to escort Prefect Han through our territory. Our heir specifically requests that Prefect Han board our ship for a meeting.” the officer shouted.
“Tell them I caught a chill last night, am unwell, and unsuitable for receiving guests.” Han Daoxun instructed Fan Xicheng, then turned and walked back to the cabin.
Even though Ma Yin, the Military Governor of Tanzhou, held high position and great power with influence over the region, Han Daoxun as Prefect of Xuzhou was also directly subordinate to Jinling, so there was no reason he must pay a visit.
As Ma Yin’s son, if Ma Xun chose not to come pay his respects, that was one thing, but there was absolutely no reason for Han Daoxun to board their ship to pay respects to Ma Xun.
“The Ma family wants to play local tyrant, putting on this show of force—they just want passing prefectural officials to bow their heads a bit and not bare their teeth at the Ma family. How serious a matter can this really be?” Han Qian laughed dryly and instructed Fan Xicheng, “Tell that officer that my father is unwell, and I will bring gifts and board their ship to meet the heir of the Ma family.”
Fan Xicheng was slightly taken aback, not understanding when the young master had become so accommodating.
Han Qian thought to himself that if he commanded an elite naval force of three to four thousand men, he could point at Ma Xun’s nose and curse him until he cried for his parents. But now, bowing his head a bit in exchange for safe passage through Tanzhou for future Xuzhou merchant fleets—no matter how he calculated it, this was worthwhile.
Fan Xicheng glanced back and saw the family head’s form pause briefly for a moment, but he didn’t turn around to stop Han Qian from going to meet Ma Xun, the heir of the Military Governor of Tanzhou. So he followed Han Qian’s wishes and relayed the message to the officer Ma Xun had sent to communicate.
“What substantial gifts do we have below deck?” Han Qian asked Fan Xicheng quietly as he watched the skiff row back.
“Well, there are those two hundred bolts of silk and satin that the young master purchased in Jinling that are worth some money. Should we take twenty bolts as a meeting gift?” Fan Xicheng asked.
“Damn, damn, damn!” Han Qian cursed repeatedly.
Fan Xicheng thought Han Qian was frustrated about having to bow his head unwillingly, not knowing that Han Qian actually felt heartache over the money spent purchasing those two hundred bolts of silk and satin. He had originally hoped this batch of silk and satin could offset some of their losses.
“Load all two hundred bolts of silk and satin onto a boat. You’ll accompany me to meet the Ma family heir.” Han Qian said through gritted teeth.
“Two hundred bolts of silk and satin—transporting them to Xuzhou, we could easily sell them for four or five hundred thousand coins.” Fan Xicheng said somewhat reluctantly. He thought to himself that even though the family head served as Prefect of Xuzhou, his annual official salary was only four or five hundred thousand coins. To give it all away as a meeting gift at once—could one really be this wasteful?
In his view, gifting twenty bolts of silk and satin would already be quite generous.
“…” Han Qian glared at Fan Xicheng, telling him to stop babbling and go prepare quickly.
As Han Qian’s authority gradually increased, Fan Xicheng could now only mutter a few words under his breath. Seeing the family head gave no other indication, he could only very reluctantly instruct people to move the silk and satin from the bottom hold onto another oared sailing vessel, preparing to go meet Ma Xun.
While Fan Xicheng was preparing these things, Han Qian stood at the cabin entrance speaking with his father: “Ma Yin wants to play local tyrant. The more chaotic the situation in Jinling becomes, the more he hopes to see it. Therefore, the Ma family both desires yet is reluctant about Father assuming office in Xuzhou.”
Standing in the cabin passageway, Han Daoxun looked at the imposing ship formation opposite them. Naturally he could understand what Han Qian meant.
If the situation in Jinling were stable, even if the Crown Prince were unworthy and after ascending the throne allowed his maternal relatives the Xu clan to monopolize power, the Ma family’s days in Tanzhou would not be too comfortable. Therefore, the more the princes fought for power and stirred up chaos in Jinling, the more the Ma family anticipated it.
The Third Prince’s faction was the weakest, only now showing slight signs of catching up, and most feared being struck down.
With this mentality, the Third Prince had finally secured Xuzhou as an enclave with great difficulty, gaining some resources to support the open and covert struggles in Jinling. The Ma family should reasonably nurture this carefully, allowing this sapling that was the Third Prince to continue growing strong, so it would be qualified to stir the situation in Jinling into even greater muddiness and chaos.
On the other hand, even if the Ma family didn’t dare extend their reach eastward into Jiang and E prefectures at this time, they probably also didn’t wish for Chen, Xu, Shao, Heng and other prefectures south of Tanzhou to truly become territories firmly controlled by the Third Prince, thereby completely containing the Ma family’s influence within the three prefectures of Tan, Lang and Yue, losing strategic depth to the south.
Han Daoxun also understood this would be the most difficult and complex situation he would face upon assuming office in Xuzhou.
The Palace of Tranquility wanted him dead, while the Ma family wanted him compliant and weak.
If he were too weak, forget about implementing new policies—he might not even be able to get county officials and assistants to obey orders. But if he were too strong and tried to accomplish something, the Ma family would inevitably be the first to jump out and suppress him.
Although the Ma family’s sphere of influence was limited to Yue, Lang and Tan prefectures on the surface, this was only superficial. With three generations of operations in the Xiang-Hu region, how could the Ma family’s tentacles not have extended into the southern prefectures of Chen, Xu, Shao and Heng?
Moreover, if he truly tried to suppress powerful families in Xuzhou, the great clans and wealthy families of Xuzhou would very likely turn to the Ma family to oppose him.
Han Daoxun understood his son Han Qian wanted him to show deference to the Ma family and proceed gradually, but he couldn’t help wondering—was there really time to proceed gradually?
“Is Father worried that accomplishing things will be too difficult after reaching Xuzhou?” Han Qian asked, seeing his father’s expression gloomy and displeased.
“No matter how difficult things are, someone still has to do them.” Han Daoxun let out a breath and said.
“Father going to Xuzhou doesn’t mean things can’t be accomplished—it just depends on whether Father is willing to bear the reputation of imposing harsh levies and violent exactions…” Han Qian said.
“Yes, the Ma family isn’t afraid of me struggling fruitlessly in Xuzhou, nor will they fear the Third Prince using me to extract wealth from Xuzhou. They only fear me winning over people’s hearts.” Han Daoxun, having governed at the local level for many years, naturally had no difficulty understanding these subtleties. He said with a bitter smile.
“For Father to accomplish things, you must inevitably strike at the great clans and powerful families. This matter must proceed in parallel with extracting wealth to obscure intentions and avoid alerting the Ma family.” Han Qian knew his father still had no intention of becoming involved in the succession struggle, so he patiently urged.
Han Daoxun sighed. The situation in Xuzhou was too complex.
Xuzhou’s former name was Wuzhou, named after Witch Mountain from the saying “Having once seen the vast ocean, other waters seem insignificant; except for clouds at Witch Mountain, other clouds are not clouds,” and the Witch River, a main tributary of the Yuan River. It was renamed Xuzhou in the middle to late period of the previous dynasty because it was near Xupu County, which belonged to Chenzhou.
As former territory of the Five Streams tribes, it was also the heartland of the Five Streams tribes. Under its jurisdiction were three counties with a total registered population of over twelve thousand households. Among these, the primary households comprising over sixty percent of the total population were descendants of the Five Streams tribes, still maintaining more traditional tribal systems.
To avoid unrest in the regions of the old Wuling Commandery, and also at the request of Ma Yin, the Military Governor of Tanzhou, county and township officials in Chenzhou, Xuzhou and other areas were mainly hereditary positions held by the chieftains of the great tribal clans in these regions. The neighborhood administrative system had simply never been established.
Besides the primary households, refugees who had migrated south along the Yuan River over the generations due to warfare and famine had settled in Xuzhou territory, forming nearly five thousand secondary households.
Local conflicts between natives and migrants were extremely severe, mainly manifested in disputes over land. By comparison, the exploitation of common people by the great clan chieftains and powerful families among the secondary households was temporarily hidden beneath these native-migrant conflicts.
Now adding the Ma family factor made the situation he would face upon assuming office in Xuzhou even more intricate and complex. An ordinary official wouldn’t even dare think about stirring anything up—they would just honestly wait for their term to end and find a way to transfer to a better place or take office in the capital.
No wonder so many officials viewed appointments to these regions as a dreaded path.
If he wanted to accomplish things and strike at powerful families, establishing authority was the first step. But this would inevitably arouse the Ma family’s vigilance.
As his son Han Qian suggested, if he took the benefits squeezed out from striking powerful families and didn’t use them to rescue common people from their dire straits or win over hearts, but instead promptly transferred them to Jinling, transferred them into the Third Prince’s hands—he would earn an evil reputation locally for harsh levies and violent exactions, and would face fierce backlash from the native powerful families. But at the same time, he wouldn’t need to worry about the Ma family being deeply wary of him or forcefully interfering to disrupt things.
This would eliminate the greatest obstacle, thereby making things appear slightly easier.
Of course, the deeper consequence was that he might sink ever deeper into the quagmire of the succession struggle.
Han Daoxun raised his head to look at Han Qian and asked, “You’ve had this idea all along, haven’t you?”
“The key is what Father thinks. Perhaps when I reach Xuzhou, I can still throw around the weight of a wastrel young master for a few days.” Han Qian said with a laugh.
“…” Han Daoxun shook his head with a bitter smile. At this moment Fan Xicheng came over to report everything was prepared, so he said to Han Qian, “You all go meet Ma Xun.”
Yang Qin had just boarded with Tian Cheng and Gao Shao to report on the situation along both riverbanks, and hadn’t yet departed.
The cabin was cramped—even if they wanted to avoid hearing the conversation, there was nowhere to go. So Yang Qin and the others had also heard Han Daoxun and Han Qian’s words.
Even if they didn’t fully understand Han Daoxun’s feelings about having no intention of becoming involved in the succession struggle, or Han Daoxun’s true grand aspirations, they could understand that the evil reputation Han Daoxun had spread before was definitely not as simple as it appeared on the surface. Just like this journey to assume office in Xuzhou—before even reaching Xuzhou, Han Daoxun had already prepared to bear the reputation of harsh levies and violent exactions. In reality, there were extremely deep calculations behind it all.
They could also discern that Han Qian was the most direct driver of these calculations.
Yang Qin, Tian Cheng and Gao Shao exchanged glances. Hearing Han Qian’s summons, they also emerged from the cabin to accompany him to meet Ma Xun, heir to the Military Governor of Tanzhou…