Chapter 3

Fifth Ba was not one to just talk tough; he immediately got up, cursing and swearing, and grabbed a nearby fire tong to beat Fifth Lun.

If Fifth Lun had run just a bit slower, he would have been hit by the fire tongs on his legs, which would have been excruciatingly painful.

He hurriedly fled in a panic, knowing that it was better to take a small beating and run away from a bigger one.

Fortunately, the kitchen was crowded, and relatives and servants came to intervene, from the cook to the major slaves.

"Old Master, you can't hit him!"

"If you injure Young Master, who will inherit the Fifth Clan's ancestral temple?"

"You're right, this little rascal is deliberately trying to anger me to death so he can inherit the family property!"

Fifth Ba was truly furious and shouted, "He even gave away the prestigious Imperial Academy quota I obtained with great effort. If this large family business falls into his hands, it will surely be ruined quickly. It would be better to beat him to death now. I have plenty of cousins and brothers! Do I have to worry about who will attend my funeral?"

Although he said this, being stopped by others did calm him down a bit.

Indeed, his two sons and one grandson had all died in a major epidemic years ago, leaving only Fifth Lun as the sole heir. If he really injured him, wouldn't he just be benefiting those relatives he didn't even respect? Besides, Fifth Ba had always doted on his grandson, and it would pain him to see him with a bruised face and swollen nose.

In the end, Fifth Ba did not say harsh words like "expel from the Fifth Clan." He only threw the iron tongs in the direction Fifth Lun had fled and then sat by the well to catch his breath.

Only then did Fifth Lun cautiously return. The old man had a short temper, and it was useless to talk to him when he was enraged, but he could still reason with him once he calmed down.

He presented the fire tongs with both hands: "Grandfather, please listen to your grandson's explanation. You can beat me afterward if you're still angry."

"I won't listen!"

With a thud, Fifth Ba threw the fire tongs directly into the well. He turned his face away, not wanting to speak to his grandson, but thinking about it made him angry again. He turned back and pointed at Fifth Lun, scolding him: "No wonder you haven't opened a book for half a month. You've been pestering me to learn hand-to-hand combat and either hanging out with merchants from Guandong or light-hearted knights in the county town, neglecting your studies. It seems your mind is no longer on the classics."

"Yes." Fifth Lun bowed to Fifth Ba: "Grandson believes that reading the Five Classics is of little use."

The old man was taken aback, his eyes filled with complex emotions. He sighed, patted the well edge, and asked Fifth Lun to sit down, speaking earnestly:

"Lun, over fifty years ago, when I was your age, I also thought reading was useless. I followed my companions and became a light-hearted knight, mocking scholars and using their tall hats as urinals."

"Later, I was arrested by the governor of Jingzhao and had to flee to the border to become a soldier. I thought I could emulate Fu Jiezi and Zheng Ji, earn military merit, and return in glory. Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

Fifth Lun nodded. The war the old man participated in was the final battle between the Western Han and the Xiongnu. As a low-ranking soldier, Fifth Ba followed Chen Tang and Gan Yanshou on a long expedition to Kangju, beheading the Chanyu Zhizhi, and leaving the famous words, 'Those who dare to offend the mighty Han will be punished, no matter how far they are!'

Fifth Ba's eyes were full of nostalgia for those glorious days: "Fighting with the Righteous General and Commander Chen was exhilarating. We crossed snow-capped mountains and deserts, invaded Kangju, razed the Five Cities, seized the flag of the King of She, and beheaded the Chanyu Zhizhi, hoisting our banners thousands of miles away! The city-states of the Western Regions were all terrified, and the Hu girls lined up to sleep with us. Each of us received a lot of money, silk, and exotic treasures."

His gaze dimmed: "But do you know what awaited us when we returned to the capital?"

Fifth Lun shook his head; he didn't know what happened afterward.

Fifth Ba said resentfully, "There was no welcome from the people, no enfeoffment or rewards. As soon as the army entered the Jade Gate Pass, the Inspector of the Capital issued an edict, saying that Commander Chen had acted without authorization and should be arrested. They also ordered local officials to inspect the wealth we had seized from the Xiongnu and Kangju, confiscating it all! There must have been Xiongnu spies in the court, wanting to investigate us to avenge the Chanyu Zhizhi!"

"Commander Chen appealed, and Emperor Yuan finally ordered the army to be received, but the rewards were delayed. It took years for Commanders Gan and Chen to be enfeoffed, and we ordinary soldiers received almost nothing!"

In Fifth Ba's view, this was due to treacherous officials in the court! Anti-war scholars and officials, such as Chancellor Kuang Heng and eunuchs like Shi Xian, conspired to block the rewards. Later, they even dismissed Chen Tang from his post. While Commander Chen was greedy and lustful, his merits far outweighed his flaws. Why focus on his minor faults?

Since there were no rewards, the soldiers who participated in the war could only return home in disgrace. They found that a scholar they had mocked in their hometown had already risen to prominence in the capital, exempt from corvée and with a bright future. They had fought for the Han Empire in a foreign land, suffering injuries and illnesses, but received nothing in return.

Why should this be?

After that, Fifth Ba never achieved much. He served as a village head and a local patrol officer, solving many cases. However, no matter how well he performed, whenever it was time for promotion, the county clerk would always ask, "Do you know the classics?"

Fifth Ba, of course, did not. He hadn't even studied the Classic of Filial Piety or the Analects, having spent his youth being brave and reckless. Could he follow the example of Chancellor Yu Dingguo from the reigns of Emperors Xuan and Yuan, who studied and became successful later in life? He lacked the perseverance and talent.

In fact, he had attended lectures at the county school, but the teachers only repeated the same few sentences, never teaching practical governance. How could someone like him, a military officer, have no hope of advancement and spend his life as a minor official? Meanwhile, scholars who had studied at the Imperial Academy and passed the examination could directly become officials and rise to high ranks. Even local magistrates no longer followed the law but consulted scholars for "Spring and Autumn Judgments."

Thus, his promotion was always put on hold, and Fifth Ba spent his life as a local patrol officer. In contrast, his less capable colleagues, who had studied the classics, rose through the ranks.

Why should this be?

It didn't matter if he couldn't understand it, but the old man finally saw the trend of the Han Empire favoring scholars. Whether in civil or military roles, mastering a classic was a prerequisite for high office and wealth.

Therefore, to prevent his descendants from suffering the same fate, Fifth Ba put great effort into his grandson's education. He sent Fifth Lun to the county's "primary school" at the age of seven or eight and hired scholars to tutor him at home, finally cultivating a talent capable of passing the Imperial Academy examination.

The Xin Dynasty, compared to the Han, placed even greater emphasis on the classics, expanding the Imperial Academy to ten thousand students and elevating the status of scholars—after all, Emperor Wang Mang himself was a scholar.

Given this trend, it seemed best to focus on the Five Classics, which might be the only way for the Fifth Clan to transform and rise.

But he never expected his grandson to be as ignorant as he once was. How could Fifth Ba not be angry?

"Can't beat them, so join them?"

Fifth Lun admired his grandfather's approach to adapting to the trend. Thirty years earlier, this would have been fine, and even twenty years later, it would have been understandable.

But it was a mistake to follow this path during the short-lived Xin Dynasty. Although he didn't know much about this period, he knew that after the Xin Dynasty came the Eastern Han, a time of great turmoil and suffering. It was unlikely that the transition would be as peaceful as Wang Mang's abdication.

Fifth Ba, seeing Fifth Lun's interest in military affairs, thought he might have military aspirations. He lowered his voice and advised his grandson, "Joining the army to seek merit, like I did, is no longer feasible. The emperor is provoking conflicts everywhere, not just with the Xiongnu, but also with the Western Qiang, the Western Regions, the Southern Barbarians, and even Goguryeo..."

"Jorye." Fifth Lun smiled, "I heard the emperor has issued an edict to change Goguryeo's name."

Another antonym, very Wang Mang.

In just ten years, the Xin Dynasty had turned against all its vassal states, launching wars on all fronts. While the front lines reported frequent "victories," those who returned from the northern Xiongnu and southern Southern Barbarians told of the heavy losses and the stalemate in the wars.

Fifth Ba was worried: "In recent years, the government has increased taxes and corvée, which have been assigned to the clans. Our Fifth Clan sent three people last year and six this year. Are they planning to increase the number of soldiers?"

"The troops sent to the Western Regions to quell the rebellion were said to have won a great victory, and the general was enfeoffed as a viscount and a baron. But those from our Fifth Clan who were conscripted never returned, perhaps they died there. There are rumors that the Protector General of the Western Regions has been killed by the Western Hu, and the reinforcements have been defeated by the city-states' coalition, with the remnants trapped in Kucha, cut off from the court."

Having fought in the Western Regions for years, Fifth Ba still cared about the region. He sighed, "The current emperor is a close friend of Commander Chen Tang and is highly praised by him. He treats the barbarians as Chen Tang said, 'though far, they must be punished.' But how could the war be so poorly conducted, lacking the might of our victories in the Western Regions back then..."

Don't say such obvious truths. The Xin army's combat effectiveness was indeed poor, with a pitifully low success rate in foreign wars. So, pursuing a military career was also risky, as it could cost one's life.

Fifth Lun interrupted his grandfather: "Grandfather, the reason I don't want to study the Five Classics at the Imperial Academy is that reading and seeking office is only possible in peaceful times."

"But in times of chaos, the complex Five Classics are of no use against sharp swords!"

"Chaos?" Fifth Ba was shocked, looking at Fifth Lun, "What are you trying to say?"

These words couldn't be leaked. He followed his grandfather to the south wall of the fortress, standing in the vegetable garden, looking at the evening sky. Fifth Lun shared his judgment.

"Grandfather, I think the world is about to fall into chaos!"

...

"You brat, what nonsense!"

Hearing this, Fifth Ba was terrified. Although he had seen the world in his youth in the Western Regions, he was still a small landowner, with a limited view of the Guanzhong region and the small county of Changling. He was insensitive to the subtle changes in the outside world.

In Fifth Ba's view, while the Xin army's defeats in the border regions were embarrassing, they were too distant. The domestic situation was still relatively stable, and life was far from unbearable, not to the point of rebellion.

But Fifth Lun was different. Not knowing the historical details of this era, he was more diligent in gathering intelligence. He often went to the county town and even sent people to the capital and Hedong to investigate, and the information he gathered made him anxious.

"Last year, the Guandong region suffered from drought and floods. In the southeastern Yangzhou, a man named Gu Tianyi led a group of bandits, and it's said that half of Kuaiji Prefecture is in chaos."

"In the eastern Xu Prefecture, a woman named Lü Mu, whose son was unjustly killed by the county magistrate, gathered hundreds of poor young men, captured the county, killed the magistrate, and now operates along the coast, with a following of ten thousand people."

"Also, this year, the Jing Prefecture has suffered from prolonged drought, and the people, suffering from hunger and poverty, have turned to banditry, gathering in the Green Forest Mountains, with their numbers growing..."

Fifth Lun had heard of the Green Forest Bandits in his previous life and knew they would become a significant force in the future.

He had only gathered this much information so far, but there were likely more disturbances hidden by the government. They seemed like small fires, but would they spread into a raging inferno in a few years?

After all, the Xin Dynasty's reforms were full of flaws, and all social classes had many complaints. With Wang Mang launching wars on all fronts, even someone who didn't know history like Fifth Lun could see that the Xin Dynasty was in both internal and external crises, on the brink of collapse.

"But these are just a few bandits and rebels. Lun, you really haven't seen the world. Such small thieves exist in every dynasty and every year."

Fifth Ba didn't take the uprisings in Guandong seriously, leaving Fifth Lun speechless. Was this the same attitude of Wang Mang and the ruling class?

Reflecting on it, he realized that unless one knew the Xin Dynasty would quickly collapse, it was hard for a normal person to believe that this relatively peaceful world would suddenly fall apart in just a few years.

Fifth Ba still didn't accept Fifth Lun's warnings and changed the subject, asking about the main issue.

"Lun, even if you don't want to study at the Imperial Academy, you could just not go. Why did you give the quota to the Eighth Clan? Aren't you just benefiting them?"

Fifth Lun was about to explain his reasons when a commotion came from a distance. They saw a group of people approaching the south gate of the fortress from the western road, and the gatekeeper reported, "Master, the Eighth Clan's patriarch and his son, Eighth Jiao, have come to visit!"

Fifth Ba was surprised: "The Eighth Clan has a grudge against us. Why would that old man come today?"

"They have to come."

Fifth Lun was not surprised. He knew that the news of his giving up the quota had reached the Eighth Clan.

"Just sooner than I expected!"

...

Meanwhile, in the county town, the county magistrate, Xian Yu Bao, had prepared a night banquet to entertain two doctors from the capital, Huan Tan and Liu Gong.

At this moment, Liu Gong thought about the afternoon's events and turned to Huan Tan, who was absentmindedly picking fish bones.

"Junshan."

"Do you think that Fifth Lun giving the Imperial Academy quota to his clan brother today was a genuine act of humility and brotherly love, or just a way to gain fame and profit?"