National Beauty

国色

national-beauty

Chapter 11

Liu Yuan was greatly shocked, momentarily unable to react. It wasn't until An Zheng anxiously called out "Big Brother" twice that he quickly came to his senses and let the person in.


 "Come in and talk!"


 Madam Zhang also tidied up to greet the guest, then busied herself with warming wine and preparing side dishes.


 Liu Nan and Liu Wan were sound asleep and not woken by the commotion. Only Liu Zhen entered the main hall and sat down, snuggling against Liu Yuan.


 Liu Yuan and An Zheng had long been accustomed to speaking without avoiding her. Liu Yuan, not bothering with anything else, immediately asked, "When did this happen?"


 An Zheng took off his straw rain cloak and bamboo hat, brushed the rainwater from his body, and then said with a bitter smile, "It's been more than three months. Changshe County isn't the capital of Yingchuan Commandery, and it's far from Xianyang. I only just learned from the County Magistrate that the current ruler of Qin is named Huhai, the eighteenth son of Qin Shi Huang."


 Liu Yuan was shocked again, this time so stunned his mouth hung open. "Why isn't it Prince Fusu?"


 Prince Fusu, the eldest son of Ying Zheng, even though he was never publicly proclaimed Crown Prince, was known by all under heaven to be the future heir.


 Fusu favored the ways of Confucianism and disliked Legalism. His political views were incompatible with Qin Shi Huang, so his father exiled him to build the Great Wall. This was also something many people knew.


 But even so, no one in the world thought Qin Shi Huang would pass the throne to anyone other than Fusu.


 Yet, the result was that Huhai, who had come out of nowhere, became the final winner.


 Before Liu Yuan could digest this, An Zheng dropped another, more shocking piece of news: "I heard that a month ago, someone in Daze Town started an uprising against Qin!"


 Liu Zhen had been listening intently from the start, and now she sat up even straighter. "Uncle, who are the leaders of the uprising?"


 Daze Town, that name was so familiar.


 An Zheng shook his head. "I haven't found out yet."


 Liu Yuan composed himself. "Prince Fusu has always had a virtuous reputation, known throughout the land. How could it suddenly be changed to Huhai?"


 An Zheng sighed. "Back when the six states had not yet been extinguished, the various princes fought to the death for the throne. Now that the Qin State commands the entire world, a territory of countless miles, how could Qin Shi Huang's sons be content to be mere companions? Prince Fusu has the great general Meng Yi by his side. How could Huhai succeed on his own? It's likely that even those around Qin Shi Huang have long since turned their allegiance and secretly aided him..."


 Liu Zhen couldn't help but blink. Her uncle was spot on with his guess. Huhai's usurpation of the throne indeed couldn't have happened without Li Si's help. The countryside was truly full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers.


 Liu Yuan pressed, "Then what's the story with the Daze Town uprising?"


 An Zheng sighed. "After Huhai ascended the throne, not only did he not halt the construction of the Epang Palace, but he instead sent more manpower to speed up the progress. He also ordered all commanderies and counties in the empire to increase taxes. I'm afraid the imperial edict will reach here soon!"


 He was in charge of the county's warehouses, so he was better informed about these matters.


 Liu Yuan's brow twitched as he said angrily, "The common people's lives are already difficult enough. If taxes are increased again, how can they go on living?!"


 If the change of emperors was too distant for them, at most becoming a topic of conversation after tea and meals, what An Zheng said next was directly related to their daily lives.


 As for the continued construction of the Epang Palace, if the conscripted civilian laborers were not enough, even minor officials like them would be forced into it. Liu Yuan had escaped from that very thing through great hardship; how could he be willing to travel thousands of miles to do that kind of bitter work again?


 An Zheng gave a bitter smile. "Let's see how the situation develops. Conscriptions won't reach Xiang Town for a while, so Big Brother, you can rest assured. What I'm worried about is the matter of Daze Town."


 Liu Yuan: "Could it be the remnants of the six states' clans who have taken up arms?"


 An Zheng shook his head. "It's said the leader is just a Tunchang. I haven't inquired about his name."


 A Tunchang was a very low-ranking leader in the Qin army, equivalent to a squad leader.


 Liu Yuan was very surprised. "A mere Tunchang dares to defy the world like this?"


 An Zheng didn't hide his worry. "I'm afraid that once the spark from Daze Town is lit, the flames of war will rise everywhere. The new emperor is not like Qin Shi Huang. If he can't suppress it, these few days of peace will be over, and there will be war again. Big Brother, you and Third Brother are both military men. If the situation worsens, I'm afraid the court will have to conscript soldiers again, and Third Brother..."


 Liu Yuan laughed heartily, feeling that An Zheng was thinking too far ahead. "The Qin army is invincible. Back then, it campaigned east and west, and even the Chu State was powerless to resist. Now, how could a few nobodies possibly stand against the ruler of Qin's million-strong army? I'm afraid they'll be killed off in no time!"


 Unlike An Zheng's worries, Liu Yuan didn't take this so-called "Daze Town Uprising" seriously at all. He had served in the Qin army, and no one here knew better than him how formidable its fighting strength was. It could be said that the reason the Qin State was able to unify the world and sweep across the six directions was not due to luck, but to strength.


 From this, he deduced that if the Qin State didn't even care about the six states, how could it possibly fail to eliminate a few scattered, roaming soldiers rebelling against the court?


 Liu Yuan believed that even if the remnants of the six states' clans tried to take advantage of this opportunity to fish in troubled waters, they would ultimately be defeated one by one by the Qin army. This judgment was not based on any great love for the Qin dynasty under the ruler's reign, but on a pragmatic assessment based on what he had personally witnessed.


 Liu Zhen, however, was a little worried. "Father."


 Liu Yuan turned his head and looked at his daughter's uneasy face.


 Liu Zhen: "Should we prepare to take refuge in the mountains? To avoid being caught up in the chaos of war..."


 Liu Yuan was a little surprised. He hadn't expected Liu Zhen to actually understand their conversation.


 Thankfully, Madam Zhang was in the inner room, coaxing their young son to sleep, and hadn't come out to listen. Otherwise, her reaction would probably have been even bigger than Liu Zhen's.


 "Ah Zhen, do not worry," Liu Yuan said, stroking her hair and giving her a comforting smile.


 Not only was Liu Zhen not comforted, but she grew even more worried, because she finally remembered who the so-called "Daze Town uprisers" they were talking about actually were.


 Chen Sheng, Wu Guang.


 Those were people for whom even the Grand Historian Sima Qian had dedicated a special section in his records.


 In truth, the uprising of Chen Sheng and Wu Guang didn't necessarily shake the rule of the Qin dynasty. Their greater role was to be the first to eat the crab, telling those who wanted to rebel after them, "Look, Qin Shi Huang is dead. Everyone can rebel now. If we can do it, you can too." Thus, after Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, wave after wave of rebels appeared, including nobles from the six states and daring commoners. Coupled with the Qin dynasty's own self-destructive actions, this ultimately led to the downfall of a powerful dynasty.


 So, what Liu Zhen worried about wasn't Chen Sheng and Wu Guang, but the rebels who followed them one after another. Who knew if a few rebels would also pop up in Yingchuan Commandery? When the world fell into chaos, although Xiang Town was not a prosperous place, once the scourge of war began, it might not be able to remain unscathed.


 But Liu Yuan didn't take it seriously, and there was nothing she could do, so she had no choice but to suppress the anxiety in her heart.


 A few months later, Liu Zhen's premonition became reality.


 With Chen Sheng and Wu Guang as the bellwethers, and without the terrifying mountain that was Qin Shi Huang pressing down on their heads, those who had long been lying dormant and eager to make a move finally saw a glimmer of hope. Radiating outwards from Daze Town in all directions, the rebellion movement rose and fell in waves, growing in momentum, and soon, news of it reached Xiang Town.


 Xiang Town was not a major transportation hub, so news generally arrived later than in other places. For instance, the news of Qin Shi Huang's death had arrived three months late. Of course, this was also partly due to Zhao Gao and Huhai deliberately concealing the news of his death to buy time for their usurpation.


 For various reasons, news of the rebellion had been flooding in continuously from the very beginning. It wasn't just people like Liu Yuan and An Zheng who worked in the government offices; even ordinary commoners knew that people were rebelling against Qin.


 More and more people were rising against Qin. Chen Sheng and Wu Guang were just one group among them. There were also many who were originally commoners or criminals, living in fear and barely surviving under the rule of the Qin dynasty.


 Just as Chen Sheng had shouted in his slogan, "Are kings and nobles born to their station?" The death of Qin Shi Huang and the incompetence of Huhai allowed many to see the hope of overthrowing the Qin dynasty. They not only wanted to carve out a path to survival for themselves, but also naturally wanted to seize glory and wealth through rebellion. Everyone is born of a mother and father; on what grounds can you be an emperor, but I cannot?


 If one were to select the most inspiring slogan for the youth of that era, Chen Sheng's famous words would undoubtedly rank first.


 At the same time, the former nobles of the six states were not content to remain idle and followed suit one after another. Their family fortunes and connections were far richer than those of the commoner rebels, so the forces they could rally were naturally much larger. Chu, Han, Zhao—the nobles of the six states once extinguished by Qin Shi Huang emerged one after another. Back when he swept through the six states, Qin Shi Huang had wiped out many of their ruling houses. Of course, it was hard to tell whether these people rebelling under the banner of their former royal clans were genuine or fake.


 In the tenth month, Liu Zhen finally heard a rather shocking piece of information amidst the chaotic news and rumors from various sources: Xiang Liang, the son of the former famous Chu general Xiang Yan, had raised troops to rebel against Qin.


 This name was not unfamiliar to Liu Zhen, because rebelling with him was his nephew, the man who would in the future contend with Liu Bang for control of the world and vie for the imperial throne: the Hegemon-King of Western Chu, Xiang Yu.


 However, if Xiang Yu had already made his appearance, where was Liu Bang?


 This news came out during a chat among Liu Yuan, An Zheng, and Xu Zhongfang when the latter two came to the Liu house for a meal.


 Liu Zhen, as usual, played the role of a listener. This time, Madam Zhang and Liu Nan were listening in as well.


 The first to be unable to hold back was Xu Zhongfang: "The old factions of Chu State, Zhao State, and Wei State have all started uprisings. There's no telling when it will be our turn here. Big Brother, Second Brother, what are your plans?"


 An Zheng: "Third Brother, what do you mean by this?"


 Xu Zhongfang let out a cry. "Second Brother, don't beat around the bush with a crude fellow like me. Haven't I made myself clear enough? Regardless of whether those who have risen up are truly remnants of the six states' clans, if they can start an uprising today under the banners of Chu, Zhao, and Wei, then tomorrow someone will surely do it under the banner of Han. Our Xiang Town was also part of the territory of the old Han State, and it's a large town at that. It doesn't matter for a farmer like me, but you two are both serving in the government. What if those rebels want to kill someone to consecrate their banner?! I've heard that Chen Sheng and Wu Guang killed many Qin officials in Chen Commandery. Big Brother, Second Brother, you must make plans early!"


 Madam Zhang became flustered upon hearing this and quickly looked at Liu Yuan.


 "Chen Sheng and Wu Guang only kill people like Governors and County Magistrates. Why would they go to the trouble for two insignificant, minor officials like us?" Liu Yuan said slowly. "You've come at the right time today. I also have some news to tell you. The Assistant Governor intends to recommend me to the County Magistrate for the position of County Commandant."

National Beauty

National Beauty

Chapter 11 - Chapter 11

Sleepy