Han Qian and Fan Xicheng boarded the oared sailing vessel, accompanied and guarded by Zhao Wuji, Tian Cheng, Gao Shao, Lin Zongjing, Yang Qin, Guo Nu’er and others, sailing toward the flagship where Ma Xun, heir to the Military Governor of Tanzhou and Vice Commander of the Five-Fang Army, was stationed.
Ma Yin was not yet fifty years old, and his legitimate eldest son Ma Xun had just passed thirty. He wore a short mustache on his upper lip and though he tried hard to appear refined, his narrow face still appeared somewhat sinister.
On the spacious foredeck of the warship sat a high-backed official chair. Ma Xun occupied the central position, with over ten advisors and generals standing to his left and right. He cut an even more imposing figure than the Third Prince himself, his grandeur far exceeding what an ordinary Vice Commander could match.
“Han Qian, Deputy Commander of the Interior Guard of the Dragon Sparrow Army, pays respects to the Vice Commander.” Han Qian thought to himself that he couldn’t compete in terms of fathers, and comparing official positions, he was even less comparable to Ma Xun who effectively commanded Tanzhou’s Five-Fang naval forces. After boarding, he naturally performed his courtesies obediently and signaled for Fan Xicheng to have people bring the greeting gifts aboard.
Ma Xun’s deep-set, somewhat sinister eyes fixed on Han Qian, sizing him up without the slightest sense this was impolite.
Based on intelligence Tanzhou’s spies had gathered in Jinling, Han Qian was merely an insignificant figure. Ma Xun actually wanted to meet Han Daoxun more, thinking that this person who didn’t even want face, who schemed for the Third Prince regarding the Dragon Sparrow Army and ultimately secured for himself the position of Prefect of Xuzhou, must have some substance.
However, Han Daoxun refused to board and meet him, yet sent his son with lavish gifts instead. The implications were truly difficult to fathom, which made Ma Xun’s expression grow increasingly gloomy. Only after a subordinate advisor reminded him did he have someone bring a chair for Han Qian to sit and talk.
Ma Xun’s subordinates also made space, allowing Fan Xicheng, Yang Qin and others to stand beside Han Qian.
“Is Prefect Han unwell? Should you rest in Yuezhou city for a couple days and see a physician before continuing your journey?” At this point Ma Xun restrained his arrogant bearing, leaning forward with an expression of apparent concern as he inquired about Han Daoxun’s health.
Your father’s the one in a rush to travel! Han Qian silently cursed inwardly, but on the surface smiled cheerfully and replied, “Thank you for the Vice Commander’s concern. My father is simply unaccustomed to the local climate in Jiang and E regions, but considering Xuzhou’s climate is even harsher, we truly cannot rest now. Traveling slowly by boat across rivers and lakes, by the time we reach Xuzhou perhaps he’ll have adjusted. Otherwise, stopping two days in Jiangzhou, two days in Huangzhou—who knows what year or month we’d finally reach Xuzhou to assume office.”
The issues Ma Xun was concerned about were no different from what Han Qian had anticipated—nothing more than learning that Han Daoxun was bringing household soldiers and even bringing many of their family members to Xuzhou, worrying that Han Daoxun intended to establish roots and build influence in Xuzhou for the Third Prince long-term.
This was the situation the Ma family least wanted to see.
Han Qian then completely changed the subject, extolling Jinling’s prosperity and luxury, complaining about the hardships of the journey, worrying even more about contracting miasma illness after reaching Xuzhou. Regarding the death by illness of the previous Prefect of Xuzhou, Wang Yu, he was full of concern. He himself would rather die than live long in these barbarian plague-ridden lands. He also didn’t forget to hint that what the Third Prince’s side urgently needed at present was nothing more than extracting wealth from Xuzhou to support the increasingly extravagant military expenses of the Dragon Sparrow Army, and at most recruiting some additional personnel to Jinling to strengthen the Dragon Sparrow Army’s power.
In short, he made Ma Xun understand that his father, shouldering the heavy responsibility of collecting and extracting wealth, would inevitably have fierce conflicts with local wealthy families and would subject Xuzhou’s military and civilians to harsh levies and violent exactions. There was no need to worry that his father would win hearts or build influence in Xuzhou.
After this round of bluster, they could consider themselves acquainted, and Han Qian took his leave.
Ma Xun stood behind the parapet, watching as Han Qian took the oared sailing vessel back to rejoin Han Daoxun, his thick dark eyebrows furrowed like swords.
At this moment, a middle-aged scholar in a blue robe emerged from the cabin behind, walking to Ma Xun’s side and also gazing out at the river.
“Scholar Wen, did you happen to hear what that young man said earlier?” Ma Xun asked the middle-aged scholar quite respectfully.
“This Han Daoxun had administrative ability in Chuzhou and Guangling. He received Wang Jixiong’s recommendation to enter the court as Junior Supervisor of the Secretariat and has always harbored ambitions for revolutionary reform. This time he’s bearing an evil reputation to help the Third Prince accomplish his goals—it’s extremely likely he’s placing his aspirations on the Third Prince. The heir must not be careless.” the middle-aged scholar said.
“What kind of tricks can Han Daoxun play in Xuzhou?” Another advisor beside Ma Xun said dismissively. In his view, Chen, Xu and other prefectures had extremely complex local conditions with powerful tribal forces—not something three to five people could accomplish alone.
“Han Daoxun helped the Third Prince scheme to establish the Dragon Sparrow Army. Only recently have people discovered the truth, and the Xu clan was thoroughly played. As Han Daoxun’s son just revealed, Han Daoxun taking office in Xuzhou is to raise funds for the Third Prince’s struggle for power. How could the Xu clan fail to anticipate this now?” the middle-aged scholar said. “From Chizhou to Yuezhou, across a thousand li of waterways with river bandits running rampant, if Han Daoxun had died along the way, no one could blame the Xu clan for ruthlessness. But I ask Brother Gao—did you see even half a mark of damage on Han Daoxun’s flagship? Is this because the Xu clan is merciful and soft-handed, or is there something unfathomably skilled about this Han Daoxun?”
That advisor was slightly taken aback, not knowing how to respond.
“We’ll observe what Han Daoxun accomplishes in Xuzhou before judging. My father won’t be deceived by a few bolts of cloth and some nonsense,” Ma Xun said. “Scholar Wen, you were in the cabin earlier—what impression did you form of Han Daoxun’s son?”
“This young man’s words and actions appear frivolous, but everything he said was what the heir wanted to hear. Yet his gaze was concentrated and sharp, secretly assessing the situation. So the frivolousness is merely pretense,” the middle-aged scholar said. “If it were me, I’d rather believe that a tiger father has no dog for a son. The heir must not underestimate this young man.”
“In that case, after they reach Xuzhou, we still cannot let them be too comfortable!” Ma Xun said lightly.
“Will Ma Xun believe what the young master said?” Fan Xicheng looked back and saw that they had pulled three or four li away from Ma Xun’s flagship, but Ma Xun, heir to the Military Governor of Tanzhou, still stood at the bow gazing in their direction. He asked with some concern.
“What’s there to believe or not believe? I didn’t speak a single false word.”
Han Qian sat at the ship’s side, removed his stuffy heavy boots, and extended his bare feet into the cool river water. From time to time waves would splash up and sprinkle on him, so even under the scorching sun he didn’t feel hot. He smiled and asked Gao Shao and Tian Cheng:
“You’ve done plenty of bullying men and forcing women in the military before, haven’t you? Manager Fan and the others don’t have much experience in this—my father kept them on a tight leash. After we reach Xuzhou, you’ll have to teach them well, display my father the Prefect of Xuzhou’s authority properly, and let me properly experience the taste of exploiting the countryside.”
Gao Shao and Tian Cheng’s old faces reddened. In their past military service, their hands had been stained with blood—how could they be good and kind people? It was just that compared to others, they had somewhat more boundaries.
Though they understood in their hearts that Han Qian intended to break the deadlock with a tyrannical posture, hearing Han Qian speak so shamelessly about exploiting the countryside, they still felt somewhat embarrassed.
……
……
Of course Ma Xun wouldn’t personally lead ships to escort Han Daoxun through the territory, but having made his show of force, Tanzhou still needed to maintain a low profile, so in the end they dispatched one battalion of naval forces for escort.
Han Qian’s group then entered Dongting Lake from Yuezhou, entered the Yuan River through Yuanjiang County of Langzhou, and after passing Wuling County of Langzhou, they entered Chenzhou territory. The Five-Fang Army’s naval warships, having reached Wuling County, completed their escort mission and returned to Tanzhou.
Once the boats entered the Yuan River, they were in the old Wuling Commandery, also the origin place of the Five Streams tribes.
A thousand years ago, the famous General Ma Yuan had died of illness during the campaign to suppress the Five Streams tribes in the Hutou Mountains, located in the middle and upper reaches of the Yuan River under Chenyang County of Chenzhou.
Tao Yuanming’s “Peach Blossom Spring” recorded events from Wuling.
Within Langzhou territory, the terrain was still relatively gentle and the Yuan River quite wide, conducive to navigation. But after passing Wuling County, towering mountains rose steeply on both banks, the river surface narrowed to within three hundred zhang, and the current became increasingly rapid.
Moreover, the peaks blocked the wind, so at this point, forget about sailing with the wind raised—even using two oared sailing vessels ahead to row and pole, dragging Han Daoxun’s flagship upstream, if they could cover thirty to fifty li of waterway in a day, that would be excellent.
This was the difficulty during spring and summer when water levels rose and currents were rapid. Come autumn when water levels dropped, the dangerous shoals in the Yuan River would be exposed, making navigation even more difficult.
This was also the key reason why the Han Dynasty established Wuling Commandery under Jingzhou, but by the previous dynasty, the prefectures and counties divided from Wuling Commandery had not been thoroughly pacified and were mainly administered through the loose rein system—to say nothing of the even more remote and inaccessible Qianzhong region.
With the Five-Fang Army’s naval warships already returned to Tanzhou, Han Qian’s group decided to rest and reorganize in Wuling County for two days, making more thorough preparations before continuing forward.
The boat stopped before Wuling County city of Langzhou. It was already mid-June, a month since departing Jinling. Han Qian stood at the bow, not rushing to disembark, but gazing with his father at the distant rolling blue mountains.
Three to four hundred Shanyue tribal people with disheveled hair and bare feet waited by the river beach. Their exposed lean dark chests and legs covered with scars from gravel and thorns, with most having piles of thick long hemp ropes beside them—clearly these were trackers who made their living pulling boats for passing vessels on the river beach.
If Han Qian’s group wanted to pass through Chenzhou territory more quickly to enter Xuzhou, they also planned to hire trackers in Wuling County to pull their boats.
However, Han Daoxun’s flagship displayed no banners, and having been escorted by the Five-Fang Army’s naval warships until reaching Wuling County, where they separated and docked, the trackers waiting by the river beach didn’t yet know business had arrived. They assumed these three rather imposing large vessels had Wuling County as their destination.
Han Qian also didn’t rush to have Fan Xicheng and others go find the trackers on the river beach. Seeing a black-canopied boat tilted on the river beach two or three li away, observing the black-canopied boat covered with white cotton and yellow hemp mourning cloth, he said to his father with considerable surprise, “That boat should be the one the Wang family used to escort Wang Yu’s coffin home. How did it end up capsized on the river beach?”
Unless special circumstances arose, the scouts who had infiltrated Langzhou, Chenzhou and Xuzhou in advance would only leave messages periodically at agreed locations rather than actively contact Han Qian’s group. This was mainly to prevent any traces from falling into the eyes of the Ministry of War’s intelligence operatives.
So four days ago, Han Qian’s group had already learned that the Wang family had only days before taken a boat to escort the coffin of Wang Yu, the previous Prefect of Xuzhou who died in office, downstream from Xuzhou, preparing to transport it back to his hometown for burial.
“Go take a look and we’ll know.” Han Daoxun said.
“Isn’t that a bit inauspicious?” Han Qian asked.
Hearing Han Qian say this, Fan Xicheng and others all deeply agreed, thinking that if Wang Yu were being transferred normally, meeting along the way, they would inevitably gather to talk enthusiastically to show the sentiment between new and old successors. But Wang Yu as the predecessor had died in office—they couldn’t avoid the bad luck fast enough, how could they actively run over to court misfortune?
“Of the ten teams the Left Bureau dispatched from Jinling, you immediately sent two to Xuzhou. In the three intelligence reports transmitted along the way, all mention Wang Yu’s burial matters, clearly at your special instruction,” Han Daoxun looked at Han Qian. “To be honest, I somewhat suspect that the boat transporting Wang Yu’s official coffin having an accident here—did you arrange for someone to tamper with it?”
Hearing the family head say this, Fan Xicheng, Zhao Kuo and others all looked at Han Qian suspiciously. Yang Qin also suddenly understood—if they could truly find something to exploit in Wang Yu’s death from illness, wouldn’t that help Han Daoxun break the deadlock in Xuzhou better than any other method?
“Father, you’ve misunderstood your son. How could your son do such an unconscionable thing?” Han Qian said without changing expression.
Had Han Qian not explained it would have been fine, but this explanation made Yang Qin even more convinced that the capsizing of the boat transporting Wang Yu’s coffin was Han Qian’s doing. Thinking of the destruction of the Yang Lake Stronghold, his heart ached once more.