Jia Xu smacked his lips, patted his belly, and sprawled contentedly. "Your place is really something. Look at all this beef—I can't even finish it..." He picked up another piece of beef, intending to eat it, but as soon as he tilted his head back and opened his mouth, he let out a loud belch. Reluctantly, he put the meat back on the plate with a look of regret.
Li Ru had already finished eating and was sipping tea while reading a scroll. Hearing Jia Xu's words, the corner of his eye twitched slightly. "If you can't finish it, you can take the leftovers back with you."
"Take it back? What for? I won't be able to eat it anytime soon. And if someone sees it and wants a share, do I give it to them or not? Why bother with the trouble? Hmm... you still have the mood to read? The chaos outside—that's your doing, isn't it?" Jia Xu said casually.
"Mm," Li Ru grunted in acknowledgment, dismissing the need to answer such an obvious question.
Jia Xu counted on his fingers, "First, ruin Dong Zhuo's reputation, then spread rumors about him monopolizing power and causing chaos, then divide and win over the generals under Dong Zhuo, and finally make a grand entrance to save the day... I mean, are you really okay with just following their script?"
"What's the problem?" Li Ru replied nonchalantly, still looking at the scroll. "I was planning to do exactly what they expect."
Jia Xu was taken aback. He blinked, confused. "Wait, that doesn't make sense... If you follow their plan, the only path left for you is the path of tyranny... Why are you abandoning the path of benevolent rule? When did you change your mind?"
Li Ru didn't answer directly. Instead, without looking up, he asked as if it were an idle thought, "Wenhe, you're skilled in military strategy. How about I give you a problem to solve?"
"A military exercise?" Jia Xu's interest was piqued, and he even slipped into formal speech. "Lay it out for me!"
Li Ru chuckled. "Alright, Wenhe, you have an army of ten thousand, made up of local militia and bandits... Oh, and they're short on weapons, horses, and supplies..."
As Li Ru listed the shortages, Jia Xu's face darkened. "What else are they lacking?"
"Nothing else. Listen carefully—you have ten thousand..." Li Ru continued calmly.
"Ten thousand ragtag troops... Got it. What's next?" Jia Xu, unimpressed by the idea of leading such a disorganized force, slumped back in his seat.
Li Ru went on, "You're trapped in a small city, and there's a relief force of about ten thousand..." He glanced at Jia Xu, "...also ragtag troops..." Instantly, Jia Xu slumped even further.
"Your enemy is—four hundred thousand regional troops and imperial guards... Your ultimate goal is to achieve a decisive victory overnight and crush the enemy!"
Jia Xu was speechless. After a long pause, he pointed at Li Ru and said, "Are you messing with me? How can such a force possibly defeat the enemy?"—Li Ru, are you kidding me? Twenty thousand ragtag troops against four hundred thousand professional soldiers? Even if they stood in line and let you chop their heads off, your blades would go dull before you finished! At a certain point, quantity becomes quality. Forget twenty thousand against four hundred thousand—even two against forty would be a losing battle. How are you supposed to crush the enemy? And you want it done overnight? Do you think every one of those ragtag soldiers can transform into a superhuman?
Li Ru handed the scroll he was holding to Jia Xu, signaling for him to read it himself.
Jia Xu took it and glanced at the label. He couldn't help but exclaim, "Emperor Guangwu's annotations? How did you get this? Did you raid the imperial library?"
Li Ru replied indifferently, "No need to raid it. I just had it delivered."
Jia Xu skimmed through the scroll, his eyes darting across the lines. When he finished, he said in disbelief, "This is—this is unbelievable! Utterly absurd! Look here—"
Jia Xu pointed to a line in the scroll, clearly unable to believe what he was reading. The text read: "At night, a meteor fell into the enemy camp. During the day, clouds resembling collapsing mountains appeared above the camp, descending but dispersing before reaching the ground. The soldiers were all terrified." Wouldn't people in later generations find this description eerily familiar?
Li Ru said, "So, how do you think twenty thousand troops could defeat four hundred thousand in a single night? In the end, only three thousand of the enemy remained!"
"This—" Jia Xu was at a loss for words.
Li Ru pointed to the pile of scrolls stacked like a small mountain beside him and said, "I've always been puzzled by that inexplicable defeat two hundred years ago. Everything was going so well, and then suddenly, it all fell apart. The more I read these scrolls, the more uneasy I feel. There might be forces in this world beyond our understanding."
Li Ru frowned, tapping his head with his finger. "The path of benevolent rule takes too much time. What if something like this happens again in the meantime? How would we handle it?"
"So you chose the quicker path of tyranny? But that means facing even greater challenges!"
"Which do you think is easier—facing these challenges or dealing with something like this?" Li Ru pointed to the scroll in Jia Xu's hand.
"Ugh..." Jia Xu began to feel a headache coming on. "I guess the path of tyranny it is... If what's written in this scroll is true, then there's really no other solution..."
Both Li Ru and Jia Xu were among the top minds of their time, so they considered things more deeply. For example, Li Ru's concern was that while the path of benevolent rule was ideal—relying on steady, step-by-step progress with a solid foundation—it required too much time to prepare. The deeper the roots, the faster the final push would be. On the other hand, the path of tyranny involved weakening and absorbing enemy forces to rapidly expand one's own power, suppressing conflicts with successive victories. However, if not handled carefully, internal and external conflicts could erupt simultaneously, leading to rapid collapse.
Originally, when Li Ru was helping Dong Zhuo in Xiliang, he had followed the path of benevolent rule. He had built the Xiliang army into an unshakable force, with a strict hierarchical structure. The core was made up of elite Xiliang soldiers, supplemented by surrendered Qiang and Hu tribesmen. Each layer of the hierarchy was designed so that if a soldier died in battle, the next layer would automatically rise to replace them, ensuring seamless execution of orders and unparalleled efficiency.
However, after arriving in Luoyang, Li Ru began to investigate the mysteries that had long troubled him. He accessed the imperial library and discovered that the longer he waited, the greater the risk of encountering unforeseen variables—especially when those variables were beyond imagination.
What Li Ru and Jia Xu were discussing was one of history's greatest unsolved mysteries, a turning point in the Han dynasty. Unfortunately, the great pioneer who attempted to navigate this turning point failed to succeed.
This great pioneer was Wang Mang.
At the time, it was the late Western Han dynasty, over a hundred and fifty years after its founding. Wang Mang was born into the Wang family, one of the most prominent imperial in-laws. His aunt was the empress, his uncles took turns serving as Grand Commandant, and even the least successful members of the family held titles like general or marquis. The entire family was illustrious.
Wang Mang, however, was different. He devoted himself to study and lived a simple life, in stark contrast to the decadent and corrupt lifestyles of his peers. After his father and brother passed away, he took care of his mother and widowed sister-in-law, raised his brother's orphaned children, and looked after the elders in his family. He also befriended scholars and virtuous men, quickly gaining the attention of the entire court. His reputation grew steadily.
By his twenties, Wang Mang was recommended for an official position due to his reputation for virtue. As an official, he remained humble and frugal, becoming a model of integrity. He often donated his salary and property to the poor and to scholars. As a result, his rank and reputation continued to rise. Both the court and the common people praised him as a paragon of virtue, and he won the hearts of both the elite and the masses.
With such a solid foundation, surely his roots were deep enough, right?
In the first year of the Common Era, Wang Mang was granted the title of Duke of Anhan, effectively consolidating power. He rewarded nobles and officials, provided for the widowed and orphaned, and extended his benevolence to all social classes. Every stratum of society was grateful to him.
He led by example, living a simple life. Records show that he donated a million coins and thirty acres of land to help the poor near the capital, and officials followed his lead. The following year, when a severe drought struck the country, Wang Mang led over two hundred officials in donating their land and homes to the victims. He also built free housing, ensuring that the displaced could settle down. In the Han dynasty, he achieved what we now call "affordable housing"!
At this point, the entire world hailed Wang Mang as a sage, worshipping him. All obstacles were removed, and every path was open to him.
In the year 8 CE, Wang Mang smoothly accepted the abdication of the infant emperor Ruzi Ying, declared himself emperor, and changed the dynasty's name to "Xin." The court and the people celebrated, with almost no opposition. Logically, Wang Mang had successfully followed the path of benevolent rule, with such a solid foundation and widespread support from all levels of society. He should have had a perfect ending. But history seemed to play a cruel joke...
Wang Mang then introduced a series of new policies, some of which were quite intriguing:
- **Nationalization of land**: Land was no longer privately owned but became state property. Sound familiar?
- **Redistribution of farmland**: Confiscating land from large landowners and redistributing it to landless peasants. Even more familiar?
- **Abolition of slavery**: Directly bypassing the feudal serfdom system. Hmm...
- **Centralization of currency**: Local governments lost the right to mint coins, and the central government took control.
- **Government intervention in the economy**: The government set prices and established state monopolies on salt, iron, and other industries.
There were more details, but just these few policies should give you a sense of déjà vu. Keep in mind, this was the late Western Han dynasty, around the beginning of the Common Era—when Jesus was just a child...
*****
A/N: The record of Liu Xiu, the "Forbidden Curse Mage," summoning meteors and fire rain comes from the annals of Emperor Guangwu. Historians need not dwell on it. But if Wang Mang were also a time traveler, he would have been a model comrade from the early days of the People's Republic to the era of reform and opening up. You know why... The fact that affordable housing existed in the Han dynasty makes me, a struggling modern-day person, feel even worse...
(End of Chapter)