Chapter 48: The Flames of War Spread Across Provinces and Counties

“Big brother, don’t be so despairing.”

Wang Ze, the governor of Dai Commandery, fanned himself leisurely as he watched the farce unfolding before him.

His elder brother, well over fifty, stood by the pond with a flushed face, stretching his neck while holding a wine gourd, keeping a cautious distance from two attendants beside him, as if threatening to jump into the water.

“If I weren’t so despairing, I wouldn’t be doing this here in front of you.”

“Damn it—Liu Yu wronged me, I might have endured it, but you, my own flesh and blood, dare to humiliate me like this! What meaning does my life hold now? Better to die, better to die!”

Though he shouted fiercely, Wang Rou’s movements were light as a feather, his sharp eyes fixed on the two attendants.

“I’m going to jump, don’t come near me! I’m going to jump!”

Unable to withstand such a desperate gaze, the two attendants finally gritted their teeth and rushed forward, carrying Wang Rou down.

“Big brother, we’ve been brothers for decades. What’s the point of this act in front of me?”

Wang Ze rolled his eyes.

“Liu Bo’an may have been given the imperial order to quell the rebellion, but he’s just a local official. Why fear him? If he orders you to go, just go.”

“Don’t pretend to ask! You think I’m acting? You’re sending me to my death!”

Wang Rou puffed his beard, slamming his hand on the table.

“There’s a saying: a cat in power is fiercer than a tiger; a phoenix stripped of its feathers is worse than a chicken. Now Liu Yu enjoys the emperor’s favor and commands the mighty forces of Youzhou—it’s debatable whether he’s a fierce tiger or not. But I, your brother, am now a lone commander without troops—hardly worth a chicken. You want me to meet him? If he questions me about the whereabouts of the Xiongnu troops the emperor assigned, how am I to answer?”

To understand why Wang Rou, the dignified Xiongnu colonel, hides in his younger brother’s official residence and fears the governor of Youzhou, Liu Yu, one must look back to the rebellion led by Zhang Chun and Zhang Ju in Youzhou after the Yellow Turban uprising.

The details can be set aside for now. But as the rebellion worsened, the court grew dissatisfied and appointed Liu Yu as the governor of Youzhou, giving him full authority. At the same time, Wang Rou received an imperial edict to mobilize the Xiongnu forces to assist.

Wait a moment—astute readers might find something amiss here.

Why would a local governor, who should be supervised by the Xiongnu colonel, issue orders to his former superior?

Aside from Liu Yu’s imperial kinship and formidable reputation, the main reason lies in the expansion of provincial governors’ powers after the Yellow Turban Rebellion. Liu Yu was no ordinary local official anymore; he was a full-fledged governor!

Not long ago this year, Liu Yan, the Minister of Ceremonies and the highest official among the Nine Ministers, petitioned the court. He pointed out that magistrates and prefects were bribing their way into office and exploiting the people, causing widespread resentment.

He argued for selecting honest officials from the court to govern the provinces and commanderies, granting them the title of governor to stabilize and secure the realm. As royal kin, they should contribute, even volunteering to govern Jiaozhi as an example.

Though well-intentioned, this policy effectively concentrated financial, military, and personnel powers into the hands of one man, making these governors akin to feudal warlords.

Liu Yan himself was well aware of this. Later, when the attendant Dong Fu discreetly informed him that Yizhou bore the aura of an emperor, Liu Yan immediately prepared to relocate there.

Returning to the main point: the result of this grand delegation of governors was that superior officers with few troops under their command found it nearly impossible to command these powerful local lords as they once did.

Indeed, the famed Xiongnu colonel had very few personal troops. His garrison at Meiji, on the northern grasslands by the Yellow River, could only support a few hundred men. His real power came from the central authority’s command over the Xiongnu mercenaries under his influence.

True, when local officials refused to obey, he still had control over the Xiongnu troops. This was why the court did not simply abolish his position but ordered him to lead the Xiongnu forces to assist.

Yet, misfortune after misfortune struck.

Shortly after Wang Rou brought three thousand men from the old Chanyu, Yufuluo’s unit, to Youzhou, news arrived that the Southern Xiongnu royal family had rebelled, colluding with the previously rebellious Xiutu tribes, besieging Meiji and attempting to enthrone a new king—one calamity after another.

Though he had strictly controlled information, somehow the news reached Right Wise King Yufuluo.

That detestable Yufuluo, seizing the opportunity of Liu Yu’s troop rotation orders, bound Wang Rou and abandoned him by the roadside before fleeing under cover of night.

If traveling merchants hadn’t rescued him the next day, Wang Rou would have become the first Xiongnu colonel of the Later Han to starve to death abandoned by his own troops by the roadside!

“It’s over, all over!”

Wang Rou pressed his hands to his face and howled skyward.

“Last time, when I still had troops, that Liu Yu barely dared to put a common weaving mat seller on equal footing with me. Now I’ve lost all my men—he surely wants to execute me as a sacrificial offering!”

“Weaving mat seller?”

Wang Ze paused, not knowing whom his brother was angry at, but still tried to comfort him:

“In my view, Liu Bo’an isn’t such a cruel and heartless man.”

“Appearances can be deceiving!”

“But even if you hide here with me, you can’t bring Yufuluo back.”

“So... you want me to just die!!!”

No troops, afraid to approach Liu Yu, no base of operations, and no courage to face the emperor.

Wang Rou was trapped on all sides, with no way out, utterly hopeless!

“That’s not true, not true,”

Wang Ze grabbed his brother, who was again pretending to jump.

“I have a plan to ease your worries.”

“Oh? What plan?”

“This plan is called ‘hiding,’ but not here with me. You’re going back to Jinyang.”

“Jinyang? You dare send me home?!”

Seeing his brother’s furious expression, Wang Ze explained patiently.

He had just received the imperial dispatch from the capital. The newly appointed governor of Bingzhou, Ding Yuan, had completed his report and would soon depart to assume office.

“Bingzhou is in utter chaos. The court obviously doesn’t have time to remember you for now. And I’m on good terms with Liu Bo’an; as long as the court issues no orders, they won’t trouble you.”

“Can the court really forget me?” Wang Rou found it hard to believe.

“You’ve been away beyond the passes for so long, you probably don’t realize how chaotic the realm has become.”

Wang Ze fanned himself and said,

“Besides the Youzhou rebellion, there’s the escalating unrest in Xiliang, with the allied forces of Han Sui and Ma Teng ravaging the Sanfu region around Chang’an and besieging Chencang. Left General Huangfu Song and Former General Dong Zhuo rushed to aid, but the outcome is still uncertain.

“And then the governor of Bingzhou, Zhang Yi, was killed by the rebellious Xiongnu Xiutu tribe. The Bingzhou forces were nearly wiped out overnight. The court urgently appointed Ding Yuan to quell the unrest, and nowhere in the entire dispatch was your name mentioned. You can rest easy now.”

Hearing his brother’s words, Wang Rou’s face turned pale and flushed in turns.

It was good that the court forgot him—his life was safe.

But for a noble northern commander of the Han to be so utterly forgotten was worse than death—it meant the court no longer placed any hopes on him. How infuriating.

Yet, on reflection, the fires of war had spread from the northwest to the northeast, from Liangzhou to Bingzhou to Youzhou. Nowhere along the northern frontier was safe. The realm was perilously unstable. How could they expect anything from a lone commander like him?