The Sorceress' Revolt
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Ko Biji's Story
Part Eight: The Eunuch
Bianliang was a city that never slept. Kerosene lamps lit the main roads even in the dead of night. The southern gate leading into the Imperial Palace connected to a narrow road that led out into the city. The road crossed a moat some seven hundred meters distant from the gate, and was surrounded by fruit trees in full bloom. Willows sprouted new green buds with the change of season. People gazed up at the tall buildings that comprised the Imperial Palace and its outbuildings and went about their business on bustling streets. Government offices, temples, restaurants, theaters, mansions of the imperial family and high-ranking officials… all these buildings towered over the rest as a show of power.
After taking care of some business at the blacksmith behind the eastern wing of the Imperial Palace, Chō Ran ducked into the crowd and headed for the Huimin River. He wore a deep black hat and a black robe that resembled a Daoist uniform in style. As usual, he had a dried gourd hanging from his hip. He scanned his surroundings, trying to appear casual.
“It seems like they can’t infiltrate the palace,” he muttered to himself.
Under orders from Rai Ingyō, security at the checkpoints around his estate was heightened. Soldiers marched on every street during the daytime and continued their patrols in the middle of the night. It was hard to imagine that Ryū Gen’s salt smugglers would take the risk of infiltrating the city, but in the unlikely event that they tried, Rai Ingyō implemented every security measure possible to keep them away from his estate and the Imperial Palace.
Chō Ran hopped on a small boat that went from the moat to the edge of Rai Ingyō’s estate. There was a security checkpoint at the pier, but Chō Ran had no trouble passing through; he carried a scroll of special dispensation to travel from Rai Ingyō himself.
The street was packed with theater patrons, many of them inebriated, and the noise hit Chō Ran like a slap. It was almost time for the theaters to close, but the city of Bianliang didn’t keep to normal business hours. Many places stayed open all night. Young girls ran past Chō Ran, squealing with delight as if they found something funny. Ko Biji would probably be asleep by now.
Chō Ran glanced at the girls, and his face twisted in disgust. You white pig, have you no shame? He despised Rai Ingyō and the underhanded methods he was using to try to marry Ko Biji. All he could do now was take advantage of Rai Ingyō’s many weaknesses to free Ko Biji from his grasp. He would protect her on his own if he had to. He was going to kill Tanshi; he felt he owed her something for that.
He was jealous of Tanshi, since Ko Biji loved him. Chō Ran had loved a woman once, but he had abandoned her during his flight from the capital, in part because he had such poor control over his physical responses to women. He’d never resented his parents so much as when he’d left her behind. Since that time, he’d never had any trouble seeing women as people—people with struggles and triumphs, just like him.
He understood at least part of the pain Ko Biji was experiencing, being apart from someone she loved. He smiled bitterly to himself, reliving some of the anguish of his younger days. “There’s something wrong with me. There’s something wrong with everyone,” Chō Ran muttered. He let out a self-deprecating laugh.
The willow trees cast their shadows on Chō Ran’s face as he traveled. He passed by another small pier where a single boat was moored. The southern side of Bianliang was residential and fairly quiet. He couldn’t see any houses nearby, but in the middle distance there was a large loading area for goods traveling up and down the river. Kerosene lamps lit the dock as clear as day. Even at night, cargo ships from Chuzhou and Gangzhou to the southeast arrived and needed to be unloaded.
The shadow of a man bearing a staff stepped out in front of Chō Ran. Chō Ran’s senses warned him that this man was familiar with martial arts. He ducked into an alley a short distance away and watched the man pass him by.
Suddenly, the man stood up straighter and turned around, heading straight toward him. Pale moonlight shone down on the street near the river.
“Ryū Gen?”
“Chō Ran.”
There was only about three meters between them. They stared at each other as if they wanted to skin one another alive.
“You got through the increased security,” Chō Ran said. “Impressive.” He spoke quietly; his voice came out slightly muffled.
“Not really. I see that even Rai Ingyō’s guard dog made it through without any trouble,” Ryū Gen said in a scathing tone.
Chō Ran laughed.
Ryū Gen also chuckled softly.
Chō Ran reached for the gourd at his hip with his left hand.
“Don’t waste your bombs on me,” Ryū Gen said in a strident tone.
Chō Ran’s hand stopped moving.
In China, drilling for oil had started before 1 CE, when people living along the seashore used tools from Sichuan Province to bore through stone and extract crude oil. Chō Ran took this crude oil and refined it, creating the fuel he required in order to perform his fire magic—which was not magic, but technology.
Chō Ran appeared troubled. Knowledge of the bombs was secret, and Ryū Gen should not know anything about them. However, the salt smugglers had dealings with the Khitan Empire, the Jurchens and other enemies of the Imperial Court, so it was possible he had hidden sources of knowledge. The Jurchens were currently under the heel of the Khitan Empire.
Chō Ran laughed to hide his unease. “Even if you know what it is, the knowledge will not save you.”
“How do you intend to use it in the future, Chō Taihō?” Ryū Gen asked.
Chō Ran’s eyes widened in surprise. “You know my old name. How many more of my secrets do you possess, I wonder.” It wasn’t a question.
“You worked against the Emperor once. Why support him now?”
“I have my own way of fighting the imperials.”
“You’re up against their whole corrupt world. Your ways are hopeless. Don’t wag your tail and wait for a treat from the eunuch. If you’re going to fight, fight like a man.”
Chō Ran’s eyes narrowed. “I fight according to the requirements of the situation.”
“So, in this situation, you’d like to take my head?” Ryū Gen asked.
“I’d prefer to take Tanshi’s first.”
“Tanshi and I fight together.”
“And you’ll die together.” Chō Ran raised his hands to chest level, and Ryū Gen’s body erupted in flames.
Ryū Gen jumped back toward the river, twirling his staff and dispersing the fire harmlessly all around him. “Setting off a bomb so close to yourself is reckless,” he said. White smoke floated all around him.
Surprised by the explosion and smoke, patrolmen and porters rushed over from the loading dock to see what was going on. Chō Ran realized that it was not a good idea to continue the fight here. The people at the dock would summon guards and soldiers and cause more trouble.
“I will take the eunuch’s head,” Ryū Gen said.
“You can certainly try,” Chō Ran shot back.
They exchanged fearless smiles under a bright moon, then disappeared into the darkness like wind.
***
When Daoists made elixirs from minerals such as cinnabar, they needed saltpeter (potassium nitrate) to dissolve them. Sulfur was also an essential mineral for elixirs. The compound of saltpeter, sulfur, and charcoal in the correct amounts was basically gunpowder, and it was only a matter of time before the Jurchen people figured that out.
Saltpeter was produced in abundance especially in Wuchang (in the east of Hubei Province). When Chō Ran fled to the Jurchens after the fake sacred scroll incident, he acquired gunpowder and independently developed his own version of a thunder crash bomb.
Ge Hong, the author of Baopuzi, invented an explosive and highly toxic gunpowder by adding arsenic into the mixture. The gas produced by this compound was what Sei Koko used on the three National Guardsmen who had tried to arrest her.
In 1067 BCE, the Emperor learned of the importance of saltpeter and sulfur, banned their sale to foreigners and made them both government-only trade goods. Control and sale of gunpowder happened two thousand years earlier in China than it did in the European nations.
***
Chō Ran decided to take a boat back to Rai Ingyō’s estate. The expression on his face was difficult to interpret. “He saw right through me… Ryū Gen is even more dangerous than I believed.”
As the boat slid over a tributary of the Huimin River, black clouds passed over the moon.
“Ryū Gen is… terrifying.”
Even Rai Ingyō was unaware of Chō Ran’s true ambitions and intentions.
The fake sacred scroll incident had happened fifteen years before. It was a conspiracy to seize control of the known world orchestrated by Wang Qinruo, Zhu Neng, and Chō Ran. The Imperial Court dismissed the incident as a simple case of forgery, and no one uncovered the deeper plot. Ding Wei’s slander led to the downfall of Wang Qinruo, Zhu Neng was executed, and Chō Ran was lucky to survive.
That was his plan. Chō Ran thought it was auspicious that he shared the same surname, Chō, as the two men. Chō Ran needed to be pardoned and clear his criminal record before he could gather followers openly. So he’d asked for pardon and the title of Master on the condition that he become a bodyguard for his old friend, Rai Ingyō, who was being targeted by Ryū Gen.
If he was granted the title of Master, he would be inundated with followers as a matter of course. Peasants dissatisfied with the government could rise up in revolt at any time if a leader with supernatural powers appeared. Historically, peasants had played a major role in uprisings, but there was no doubt that salt smugglers also took part in rebellions. Peasants who had fallen on hard times ended up becoming salt smugglers. In their ideology of rebellion against the Imperial Court, Ryū Gen and Chō Ran were of one mind, but their methodologies couldn’t be more different.
Chō Ran had a powerful ally at his back: the Jurchens. The Jurchens lived to the northeast of China. Among them, the Wanyan tribe were particularly courageous. While technically subordinate to the Khitan Empire, the Jurchens acquired weapons and developed their military, eagerly seeking independence.
Chō Ran’s father was a Jurchen who later moved to Hebei Province and married a Chinese woman. Chō Ran was born in Hebei Province, but it was understandable why he fled to his father’s people after the incident with the fake sacred scroll. China wasn’t safe for him while the new Prime Minister, Ding Wei, was in power. Ding Wei was the enemy of his master, Zhu Neng. Chō Ran intended to kill him when he was granted a pardon and could move openly in the Imperial Court again. He reminded himself that every step along his path was leading to his destination.
Being interrupted in his fight with Ryū Gen irked him. Ryū Gen and Tanshi were in the way, but Chō Ran’s real conflict was with Rai Ingyō, who he was using for his own ends.
The boat entered the moat that surrounded Rai Ingyō’s estate. Chō Ran gazed up at the stone guard towers. “I’ve come this far… it’s time to settle things once and for all.”
Translator's Notes
1 震天雷: The thunder crash bomb, also known as the heaven-shaking-thunder bomb, was one of the first bombs or hand grenades in the history of gunpowder warfare. It was developed in the 12th-13th century Song and Jin dynasties. Its shell was made of cast iron and filled with gunpowder. The length of the fuse could be adjusted according to the intended throwing distance. ↩
2 張角: Zhang Jue (Chō Kaku in Japanese) (died c. October 184 CE) was a Chinese military general and rebel. He was the leader of the Yellow Turban Rebellion during the late Eastern Han Dynasty of China. He was said to be a follower of Daoism and a sorcerer. ↩
3 五斗米道: The Way of the Five Pecks of Rice, or the Way of the Celestial Master, was a Chinese Daoist movement founded by the first Celestial Master Zhang Daoling (Chō Ryou in Japanese) in 142 CE. At its height, the movement controlled a theocratic state in the north of Sichuan Province. ↩
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