Chapter 24: Chaos in Zhongshan

"You must ask my eldest brother about this; I truly have no idea where these horses came from. They could have come from the Hu tribes, the Zhang clan of Yuyang, or any of the various aristocratic families in Zhuo Commandery... There are so many possible sources for these horses that it is impossible to distinguish them."

Jian Yong truly did not know the origin of the horse named Jade Bow, as the eighty horses had already been mixed together by the time he arrived at Shili Pavilion.

"I must go and ask Brother Xuande! This horse must have been obtained from the villains who harmed my father; I have to know who that person is!"

Qian Zhao appeared somewhat agitated, which was only natural; anyone would be the same if such a tragedy had befallen their family.

"But my eldest brother is currently on his way to Luoyang, and I do not know how far he has traveled... Everyone who knows the origin of these horses is with him."

Jian Yong spread his hands. "Besides, I suspect even they might not be able to tell them apart."

"Brother Xuande has gone to Luoyang?"

Qian Zhao frowned, stroking the horse named Jade Bow, and suddenly vaulted onto its back. "I am going to Luoyang to find Brother Xuande... My father is frail, so I ask you, Xianhe, to look after him. I must let my father see his enemy die before his eyes!"

"Hey, hey, Zijing, the saddle! Put the saddle on!"

Seeing Qian Zhao's determination, Jian Yong did not object; he simply gave his own saddle to Qian Zhao. He had already seen Qian Zhao's father.

The elder Qian was sitting at the doorway, clutching the door frame with one hand, struggling to stand, but he could not—his legs were crippled, and he was missing an arm. Though only in his forties, he looked like a man in his seventies. His eyes were fixed intently on the horse named Jade Bow beneath Qian Zhao, but he could not utter a word, his entire body trembling.

Jian Yong realized that Qian Zhao’s father might not have long to live. Qian Zhao was surely desperate to find the enemy before his father passed, so that his father could see their vengeance fulfilled with his own eyes.

"Brother Zijing wants to find the enemy? Take Fei with you! I can also lend you a hand!"

Zhang Fei suddenly darted out from behind the elder Qian, holding a blood-stained kitchen knife, his face smeared with chicken feathers. He had been cooking for Qian Zhao’s father and had heard the commotion outside.

In truth, after arriving in Anping, Zhang Fei had failed to become a disciple of Le Yin. It was not for any other reason than that he had been honest with Le Yin, telling him about how he had injured Zou Dan in a disagreement and then broken out of prison. Le Yin did not care for those who defied the law with force, so he had not accepted Zhang Fei as a student. However, understanding that young people could make mistakes, Le Yin allowed Zhang Fei to study a little with Qian Zhao to keep him from getting into fights out of boredom. At the same time, Le Yin was helping Qian Zhao in this way, as Zhang Fei was a strong laborer who could help with chores around the house.

Liu Bei had given Zhang Fei plenty of money to bring to Qian Zhao, but Qian Zhao refused to accept it. Thus, Zhang Fei had been providing the food for the household during this time—staying at their home and managing the meals in exchange for rent, which made it difficult for Qian Zhao to refuse.

Zhang Fei’s family ran a restaurant and tavern, and through constant exposure, his cooking skills were quite good. In this era, the saying "a gentleman keeps away from the kitchen" had not yet been distorted; scholars did not consider cooking shameful, and instead advocated for food to be refined and meticulously prepared.

"Sigh... Go, go, go! I have duties to attend to and cannot join in the fun. I will look after your father..."

Jian Yong shook his head, tossed his horse reins to Zhang Fei, and took the kitchen knife from him. As a county official, he had responsibilities and could not wander about; he had only come to Anping under the guise of visiting his teacher.

...

Liu Bei had not yet reached Luoyang. He and Gongsun Zan were traveling south along the Qin Imperial Road, sticking to the main thoroughfares. However, Gongsun Zan was towing many carts laden with hay and fodder, and he had brought along several young women, which severely dragged down their pace.

When passing through Zhongshan State, both Liu Bei and Gongsun Zan remained on high alert, as they had seen many refugees along the way. Zhongshan was the ancestral home of the Liu clan—the place where the descendants of Prince Jing of Zhongshan resided—and it had originally been a prosperous region. But now, the state appeared chaotic, as if it had suffered a great disaster followed by a brutal war. Everywhere were tattered refugees, the old supporting the young, traveling timidly in groups along the imperial road.

Most seemed to be heading north, toward Zhuo Commandery. Upon seeing the grandeur of Gongsun Zan’s procession, these refugees would steer clear, yet they kept pointing at the cavalry, their eyes filled with hatred.

Liu Bei did not understand. There had been no major natural disasters this year, and Zhongshan was not a place that would normally suffer from Hu raids; how could things have come to this? He ordered Jiu Chi and the others to go forward and ask.

Only then did they learn that Zhongshan was currently conducting a horse levy, claiming it was a tax. Gongsun Zan’s party had many horses, and the refugees assumed they were there to collect them. The Xianbei raided every year, and the imperial court did indeed levy a horse tribute; according to regulations based on household counts, one horse could be levied for every thousand households. But this was not a tax; it was a tribute, a policy encouraging local governments to offer horses to the court as a means of supporting military readiness. Moreover, it was not a mandatory quota, as the court knew most regions did not produce horses. It was an additional offering, much like gifts of rare plants, birds, or fish from local officials.

Just as Gongsun Zan was offering white horses, such things could earn one merit. However, according to the refugees, the officials in Zhongshan had ordered that one household in every ten be designated for the horse levy, and that each designated household must provide a horse. If they could not pay, the entire family would be enslaved as punishment.

Each village (ting) usually consisted of only a hundred or so households, meaning one horse had to be turned in for every ten! Few could afford such a demand, and ordinary folk had no horses to begin with; those designated for the levy were almost certain to face ruin. Consequently, most of the designated families had become fugitives, resulting in the current state of affairs.

"To levy taxes to such an extent, a hundred times the imperial regulation—this is truly excessive."

Liu Bei was not surprised; such situations were common in these times, but Zhongshan’s methods were particularly ruthless.

"Heh, this is not about tax collection... this is about seizing land."

Gongsun Zan shook his head, his face showing disdain. "But the methods are indeed despicable."

"To seize land..."

Liu Bei frowned, then immediately understood. "Is this to force these medium-sized households, designated for the levy, to abandon their ancestral lands? But by doing this, are they not afraid of inciting a rebellion?"

"Zhongshan likely hasn't truly implemented the horse tax. They’ve merely designated ten households per village and spread the word about the levy, frightening them into abandoning their fields and fleeing. Once one or two households run, the rest will follow. This creates vast tracts of ownerless land, and prime farmland at that... These ownerless lands will then be auctioned off, and the proceeds from the sales are the real tax."

Gongsun Zan glanced at the refugees by the roadside and shook his head. "And those who can be frightened into fleeing are surely timid folk; they would have no courage to revolt..."

"That is hard to say... If the powerful clans seize the opportunity to stir up trouble, even the most timid people will rebel when they can no longer survive."

Liu Bei shook his head. This was likely the case in every commandery of the Great Han. By comparison, Zhuo Commandery was relatively stable; at least things had not been pushed this far.

"Powerful clans stirring up trouble?"

Gongsun Zan glanced at Liu Bei and smiled mockingly. "Your own Liu clan of Zhongshan is the most powerful clan in this state... I suspect the Liu clan will also use this opportunity to seize land. If a rebellion truly breaks out, heh..."