Chapter Ninety-Five: The Corvée Draft

For some time now, Zhen Qian had been buying cloudy wine from the Zhao and Han households, and the two sides had become business partners of a sort. Though both men knew that Zhen still possessed the secret formula for distilled spirit, that liquor was too fierce and biting for scholar-gentry who drank with abandon, and it was hardly the finest thing in the world anyway, so their earlier curiosity had faded.

What mattered most was weighing gain against loss. They had no absolute certainty that they could wring the secret of the spirit from Zhen’s hands.

Some men disliked the fiery burn of it, but others loved the bold rush of strong drink. One cup of distilled spirit could ease the body and mind of a man worn out by a day’s labor, while also dispelling cold and fatigue. For that reason, the moment this sharp liquor appeared on the market, it won favor with two kinds of people: warriors, and the herdsmen who lived amid the ice and snow of the northern plains.

After the Sogdians in Luquan County tasted it, they at once prized the liquor as a treasure and, like Zhao Wen-shan and Han Guang-yu, immediately sought to buy the method of making it.

Ten night-glow pearls, each as large as a baby’s fist, were offered as payment. Yet Zhen Qian did not budge at all; he merely agreed to let the Sogdians take the liquor north to sell.

The Sogdians, seeing profit, naturally had no desire to become Zhen’s delivery men. If Zhen had not held an official title, they would likely not have resorted to stealth at all, but simply seized it outright.

As for the two households of Zhao and Han, they were unwilling to sell grain directly to Zhen Qian. A dou of cloudy wine fetched only ten or twenty cash, while even the poorest distilled spirit could sell for one hundred thirty or forty cash per dou. The profit in between was the same kind that had tempted men in every age.

But now the two households had no choice but to bow their heads and sell Zhen their surplus grain. Of course, they did not know that Zhen’s spirit was not brewed from grain like ordinary liquor, but from cheap crops such as sorghum and soybeans.

“It is settled, then. From now on, whatever wine and grain your two houses have, I will sell on your behalf. The Zhen estate will also provide both of you with a method for penning livestock. If after raising them you have no market for the animals, you may come to me and I will arrange the sale as well. What do you think?”

When Zhao and Han heard this, they both began calculating in silence. Their families were not among the top landlords in Luquan County. The greatest landowner there was the Peng clan, who held tens of thousands of mu of land. In the county seat, as many as three tenths of the shops bore the Peng name. To say they drew in wealth by the cartload would not be an exaggeration.

By comparison, Zhen Qian’s terms were excellent. They would gain, almost without spending a single coin, a secret method for seed grain that could yield four shi per mu, and on top of that, the Zhen estate would provide free guidance on raising livestock in pens. Merely thinking of it made them want to laugh in their sleep.

So long as they were not asked to part with real silver and gold, neither household had any reason to refuse. In this age, no one even bothered with formal contracts; even landlords kept their word as if it were worth a thousand pieces of gold, with no thought of backing out.

And so, with smiles and laughter, a deal worth ten thousand strings was sealed, leaving both families grinning from ear to ear.

Zhen Qian had just been about to keep them for lunch and further deepen their ties when Wang You came in from outside and said, “Young master, County Office Clerk Peng requests an audience.”

In the Tang dynasty, only the county magistrate, deputy magistrate, chief clerk, and county sheriff were official posts. The clerk of household affairs was an administrative functionary, ranked first among all such clerks, and his power was by no means small. A man like that would not ordinarily deign to come down to the countryside.

This county clerk, named Peng Le, was a local strongman and major landlord. He had even sent his own sister to the county magistrate’s bed before winning the first clerical post in the county office. For such a venal creature to suddenly come calling, Zhen Qian could not help wondering what Peng Le had come for.

The moment Zhao and Han heard that Peng Le had arrived, they immediately made themselves scarce, having lost all appetite for further conversation. With a clasped-fist salute, they took their leave.

“Clerk Peng, what fortunate breeze has brought you, esteemed guest, to my humble home today?” Zhen Qian went out to welcome Peng Le into the sitting room. Once host and guest had taken their seats, he offered fragrant tea and began an exchange of pleasantries. “Clerk Peng is now a celebrated man in the county office. In future business in the county seat, I will still have to rely on your kind favor and protection.”

Peng Le was tall and thin, with a square face, large eyes, and a high nose bridge. The wispy goatee on his chin gave him something of the air of a legal adviser’s assistant. Yet his character was notorious throughout Luquan County. If there had been no need, Zhen Qian would not have bothered with him in the slightest.

“You are too modest, Young Master Zhen. Who in Luquan County does not know that you are generous and benevolent? Here you are known as both a timely rain and a latter-day Mencius. Brother, I have been busy with affairs and only today found the leisure to call on you. I hope you will not take offense.”

A cat that comes into a house by night never comes for no reason.

“Clerk Peng, you flatter me. It is an honor I can hardly hope to receive, much less refuse. Why not stay for a simple meal at my humble home at noon?”

“Very good. Then I shall trouble you for it.”

Peng Le seized the opening at once and agreed without delay. Zhen Qian had only been exchanging courtesies, but when he saw that Peng Le showed no sign of leaving, he knew at once that the man had come prepared.

They say that when one receives guests, one must have fine wine and good dishes. Still, it depends on who the guest is.

“We prepared in haste and not very well. I hope Clerk Peng will excuse the simplicity,” Zhen said.

The banquet for Peng Le amounted to a pot of sharp distilled spirit and the standard four dishes plus a soup: braised fish, a plate of cabbage, a dish of cured meat, a bowl of dried mushrooms, and a large basin of seaweed-and-egg soup.

Peng Le lifted his cup and took a sip. The fierce, nose-searing burn made him slightly dizzy. He could not understand why the northern tribes and warriors enjoyed drinking such spirit. In any case, he had never cared for it.

“Today I came to the countryside on account of the winter corvée levies. Young Master Zhen, have you heard about it yet?”

Zhen Qian had only learned of the news in the county seat the day before, and he had not expected the authorities to move so quickly. It seemed someone was going to have a hard winter.

He asked, puzzled, “Has the corvée not already been levied for this year? Why is there another call for labor?”

Since Zhen Qian held an official title, he naturally did not need to perform corvée labor. Ordinary people, however, were not so fortunate. What puzzled him was how suddenly this labor call had come. Could it be that An Lushan was once again preparing to raise troops against the Khitans?

Peng Le sighed. “Young Master Zhen, you do not know the full story. In the eighth month of the tenth year of the Tianbao era, General An led sixty thousand men to attack the Khitans. Unexpectedly, the Xi tribe revolted, and General An lost both men and horses. Then in the third month of the eleventh year of Tianbao, he again sent two hundred thousand cavalry and infantry, both nomadic and Han, against the Khitans, only for Abusi to suddenly rebel against Tang and return to the northern deserts, which delayed the army’s opportunity. Now General An wishes to strike the Khitans once more and has ordered the three prefectures under his command to prepare six hundred thousand shi of grain and fodder. Luquan County alone must transport ten thousand shi to Youzhou, so there is no choice but to levy labor in advance.”

To preserve his own life, Zhen Qian had once studied the official bulletins of the past twenty years in great detail.

In the eighth month of the tenth year of Tianbao, An Lushan marched the sixty thousand troops under his control against the Khitans, using two thousand Xi cavalry as guides. After the army had crossed more than a thousand li beyond Pinglu, it reached the Tuhu River and was struck by heavy rain. An Lushan led his troops night and day for more than three hundred li until they arrived at the Khitan yurt camp, where the Khitans were greatly alarmed to see Tang soldiers. Because the rains had gone on so long, the sinew glue on bows and crossbows had soaked through and loosened. General He Side said to An Lushan, “Though our army is large, it has traveled far and is exhausted. Its fighting strength is weak. Better to lay down our arms and rest the troops for a while. In less than three days, the Khitans will surrender on their own.”

An Lushan flew into a rage and wanted to kill He Side. He Side begged for pardon and asked to be sent in the vanguard to attack the Khitans. Because He Side and An Lushan bore some resemblance in appearance, the Khitan soldiers mistook him for An Lushan and concentrated their attacks upon him. He Side could not withstand them and was killed. The Khitans believed they had slain An Lushan, and their morale surged. At that time the Xi rose in rebellion as well and joined forces with the Khitans to attack the Tang army from both sides, inflicting a crushing defeat. The Tang troops were nearly annihilated. An Lushan’s saddle and horse were struck; his hat was knocked askew and one shoe lost. He escaped only with twenty or so cavalrymen. Under cover of night the Khitan pursuers halted, and only then did An Lushan manage to flee into Shizhou, in the northeast of present-day Inner Mongolia.

Afterward he laid the blame on the Turkic Prince of the Left, Gejie, and on the Hedong military commissioner Yu Chengxian, and had both men killed. Shi Siming, the military commissioner of Pinglu, fled into a mountain valley and hid there for nearly twenty days before gathering scattered survivors, obtaining only a little more than seven hundred men. When Shi Dingfang, the Pinglu commander, arrived with two thousand elite troops to rescue An Lushan, the Khitan army withdrew, and An Lushan escaped disaster. By the time he reached Pinglu, most of his troops had already scattered. Shi Siming came out to meet him, and An Lushan was overjoyed, gripping his hand and saying, “Now that you have come, I have nothing to fear.”

After Shi Siming withdrew, he told others, “Had I met An Lushan earlier, I would have been killed together with Gejie.”

The Khitan army again surrounded Shizhou, and An Lushan sent Shi Siming to drive them off.

In the third month of the eleventh year of Tianbao, An Lushan mobilized two hundred thousand step and mounted troops from among the peoples of the steppe and the Han to strike the Khitans, intending to erase the humiliation of his defeat the previous year. Before this, the Turkic Abusi had come to surrender. Emperor Xuanzong of Tang received him with rich gifts, bestowed upon him the name Li Xianzhong, granted him the title King Fengxin, and appointed him deputy commissioner of the Shuofang frontier command. Li Xianzhong was talented and had ambition; he was unwilling to bow beneath An Lushan, and so An Lushan harbored resentment against him. Now An Lushan memorialized the throne, requesting that Li Xianzhong lead several tens of thousands of Tongluo troops to assist in the attack on the Khitans. Li Xianzhong feared An Lushan would have him killed, so he told the acting prefect Zhang Wei to petition the emperor and ask that he be kept in place and not sent away, but Zhang Wei refused. Li Xianzhong then led his men to plunder the depots and stores, rebelled, and returned to the northern deserts, and An Lushan thus halted his advance. In the ninth month, Abusi invaded and besieged Yongqing Stockade, west of present-day Guyang in Inner Mongolia, but was driven back by Zhang Yuangui, the stockade commander.

An Lushan had already launched two campaigns against the Khitans: one ended in a rout, the other lost the chance for victory. Yet now he still wished to attack them again, and not only was he levying labor from every district, he was also gathering vast amounts of money and grain to replenish the army’s supplies.