The Sorceress' Revolt -
Ko Eiji's Story
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Part Two: Zhengzhou
Waterworks were a constant fixture along the Yellow River, which was said to originate in Qinghai Province. Since ancient times, the river had flooded every two years, and the waterway was much changed by the flood damage as the river moved south. The vast plains in the river basin were fertile and had fostered the early development of agriculture, but floods caused the loss of many lives and property every year. The river basin was colloquially named “China’s Worry.”
Henan Province and its environs were located in the middle reaches of the Yellow River. There were many tributaries of the river that flowed to the east and west. The river had been a good source of drinking water for people in the province for centuries.
It was a calm, windless spring day. Construction on sluice gates along the riverbank was underway. Conscripted farmers were working hard under the watch of Imperial Guards. Spring was always a busy time for farmers on their own lands, which this work was keeping them from.
At the river ferry, travelers disembarked from a boat that had just arrived from upstream. Imperial Guardsmen carrying weapons kept a watchful eye on the travelers. The eastern capital, Bianliang, was just twenty miles (a few dozen kilometers) away.
In 1004 CE, the Chanyuan Treaty was ratified by the the ruling dynasty and the Khitan Empire. In theory, China should be at peace with its neighbors at the moment. In practice, things were more complicated. In 1038 CE, Li Yuanhao became the emperor of Western Xia, and a large army launched an invasion of the entire northwestern part of China. Privy Councilors Xia Zhongyan and Fan Zhongyan defended against this invasion with their own armies, but the war dragged on for seven years. Just two years earlier, in 1044 CE, the war finally ended with humiliating peace negotiations. Each year, Western Xia collected a kingly gift, just like what had happened when China’s Emperor Zhenzong of Song had surrendered to the Khitan Empire in exchange for peace. Both the Khitan Empire and Western Xia were dangerous, and the government was extremely nervous about spies. For this reason, imperial vigilance was especially strict in the Yellow River basin.
***
“You bastard, you liar!” An Imperial Guard shouted abuse at a farmer.
Only a few travelers had disembarked from the ferry, but they all turned toward the sound of the Imperial Guard’s voice. The Imperial Guard was beating an old farmer who had collapsed on the riverbank with the shaft of his spear.
“Ugh, I’m not lying, my stomach’s been bloated since the morning and I can’t move,” the farmer choked out.
“Are you just trying to be lazy, old man?”
Two young farmers came running up to the old man.
“Please, have some mercy on me,” the old farmer said. “I’m sick.”
The Imperial Guard glared at the young farmers. “Get him up. If you can’t do that, go back to work. You’re interfering where you shouldn’t be.”
“We’ll work,” one of the young farmers said. “We’ll work twice as hard in a minute. Please, let the old man rest for a little while.”
“Stop causing trouble and get back to work!” The Imperial Guard kicked the young farmer who’d spoken. He fell to the riverbank, clutching his stomach.
The other young farmer pounced on the Imperial Guard, his face lined with hatred. “We can’t take this anymore, you scum!”
The Imperial Guard rallied, stabbing the young farmer with his sword.
The other young farmer fell, but the Imperial Guard continued to stab him mercilessly. The unfortunate young man crawled to the riverbank, his face red with blood.
The travelers who’d taken the ferry turned away and fled the scene in fear, but one man simply stood there, staring. His eyebrows drew closer and closer together as the abuse went on. The young man was tall, broad-shouldered and lean. His clothing had seen better days, as had the tattered sack he carried slung over his shoulder. His noble mien was completely at odds with his impoverished belongings. His thick eyebrows and tightly pressed lips gave an impression of solemnity, and his dark, clear eyes shone with accumulated wisdom. He couldn’t have been more than twenty years old.
The Imperial Guard looked down at the farmer crawling along the riverbank and said, “These weapons are not just for show. Get out of my sight.”
“Ugh…” The farmer looked up and willed all his rage into the stare he gave to the Imperial Guard.
“And what are you looking at?” the Imperial Guard spat, walking up to the bleeding farmer.
“You bully the weak,” the farmer said. “You’re cowards. All of you. Stop hurting people who can’t fight back. Or is that something noble warriors do?”
“Insolent,” the Imperial Guard snapped. He poked the farmer in the shoulder with the tip of his sword.
The farmer fell on his stomach and lay still for a moment. Then: “Do you only know how to use violence to control people?” the farmer asked as he pushed himself up. “Aren’t there better ways?” His tone was polite, but his questions were just as pointed as the Imperial Guard’s sword.
“You just won’t shut up. Looks like I’ll have to teach you a lesson.” The Imperial Guard smacked the young farmer in the face with the blunt end of his spear, making the farmer bite his tongue. Blood gushed from the farmer’s mouth and dripped down his chin.
The farmer glared as he wiped his mouth with the back of his hand.
The Imperial Guard pointed the tip of his spear at the farmer this time. “I’ll kill you.”
Just then, a few other Imperial Guardsmen rushed over and stopped their comrade. They needed every worker if they were going to finish building and maintaining the waterworks along the river.
“Stop it, he’s just a fool brat. Not even a man yet, see? Let the kid go.”
The young farmer slowly got to his feet, then limped away.
The Imperial Guard who’d attacked him watched the farmer go and muttered darkly to himself. “That fool brat should be grateful to be alive.”
***
Zhengzhou Castle was about six miles (ten kilometers) south of the work site close to the river. The sun was starting to set in the west, but the weather was unseasonably warm for spring, so no one was settling in for the night yet.
The young farmer who had stood up to the Imperial Guard and gotten hurt for his trouble was named Ou Soku. After work for the day was over, he went for a walk along the Yellow River, and soon he started climbing uphill until he reached a high plateau overlooking Zhengzhou Castle.
Below him lay the ruins of Liu Bang’s residence. Liu Bang defeated the Su Dynasty and became the first emperor of the Han Dynasty (202-195 BCE). To either side of the residence were more ruins: these belonged to the estate of Xiang Yu, who fought with Liu Bang for supremacy over the world and was defeated. Xiang Yu took his own life after his defeat.
The Yellow River moved like a serpent far below the ruins. Ou Soku believed that vengeful spirits would haunt this place of all places, but he sensed nothing. Perhaps the river had washed all the spirits away. To the river, all human strivings and ambitions were irrelevant. Or maybe the river did notice such things, but only the most important ones—goals and desires capable of reshaping the entire world.
Ou Soku turned his face to the opposite bank, which was obscured by fog. Liu Bang must have looked down from here as well long ago, before he vowed to seize the world for himself.
Ou Soku grinned, brave and fearless. “Liu Bang was originally a farmer, wasn’t he?”
***
The sun set over Mt. Song in the distance. The city of Zhengzhou was visible just ahead. From the foot of the gentle hills, a vast plain stretched out to the southeast. In Ou Soku’s mind, Zhengzhou was a wonderful place, rich with history and culture.
Zhengzhou had been populated in some form or another since the Neolithic Period (c. 9000 – 3000 BCE) and was the imperial capital of the Yin Dynasty, China’s oldest historical dynasty. The Yin Dynasty flourished until it was destroyed by the Zhou Dynasty in 1027 BCE. In modern-day China, there are two historical heritage sites preserved in Zhengzhou from the Spring and Autumn Period (720 – 480 BCE) and the Warring States Period (476 – 221 BCE).
Throughout the ages—during the Qin Dynasty, the Han Dynasties, the Eastern Wei Dynasty, and beyond—the city carried the same name: Zhengzhou. Located to the west of the ancient capital of Luoyang, Zhengzhou’s fertile plain was a strategic military location that had been much contested during its long history. The blood of tens of thousands—no, millions—no, tens of millions of warriors had soaked into the soil beneath Ou Soku’s feet. Farmers, townspeople, the young and the old: no one was immune to death in military conflict. Ordinary people tended to resent soldiers and warfare. It was not just the blood of warriors that soaked Zhengzhou’s ground.
After Bianliang became the Song Dynasty’s capital city, Zhengzhou was finally at peace—for awhile.
***
It was shortly after sunset when Ou Soku entered Zhengzhou.
There was no glow from the streetlights like the bright nights in Bianliang, but there were faintly shining lamps lining the streets at odd intervals. The city’s denizens strolled about, enjoying the warm spring evening. A soft breeze caressed Ou Soku’s face as he walked. The sky was hazy from clouds and a sliver of moon rising late. Ou Soku turned off the main road and onto a side street. He was used to finding cheap lodging in unfamiliar places, so he wasn’t too concerned about where he’d spend the night.
After leaving his home in Hebei Province, Ou Soku had traveled around Luoyang and Zhengzhou for quite a while. He was accustomed to traveling and sometimes even enjoyed it.
Ou Soku passed by a large building. In the light of the streetlamps, he saw an imposing gate flanked by two Imperial Guardsmen, their spears planted on the ground. The Imperial Guardsmen were talking and laughing about something.
The building was the provincial government office. Ou Soku snorted in disdain. He remembered the Imperial Guardsmen stationed at the ferry on the Yellow River. If the governor was a morally upright official who performed his duties well, the men under his command would know to follow the laws and not harm or persecute good citizens.
Ou Soku thought the governor was bad at his job, though he’d never met the man. It was rare to find a governor with integrity like Bao Zheng.1 Most governors were tyrannical and showed off their power to the people, and Zhengzhou’s governor was no exception.
At that time, only those who passed China’s civil service examination became officials and were assigned to local posts. It would seem like common sense that they should be knowledgeable and cultured, but knowledge and character were two different things. There was likely never a more corrupt era for government officials in China than this one. Even with the Khitan Empire and Western Xia eagerly targeting China like a prize, petty officials spent all their time squabbling with one another. It was only natural that all local officials would commit fraud, which was presented as beyond their control.
The wound in Ou Soku’s mouth hurt. He spat out blood-stained saliva and kept walking.
“Xia Song2 is the true mastermind behind this misrule, and the emperor who turned a blind eye to it is a fool.” Ou Soku’s rage boiled whenever he thought of this.
Suddenly, Ou Soku’s gaze fell on the high tiled roof of the government office. A blue light like the flash of a meteor falling from the sky spun across the rooftop and disappeared.
“Foxfire?” Ou Soku asked, dumbstruck.
It was widely believed that foxes could spit fire from their mouths.
The blue light flashed again, then again, then again, and then many blue lights appeared all at once. Foxfire didn’t behave that way. Could it be vengeful spirits? Lost souls? The blue lights gradually increased in number, so much so that Ou Soku’s surroundings brightened.
The guards at the gate and passersby noticed the blue lights and looked up in trepidation. The mysterious blue lights appeared as if they were dancing in the air, and then they disappeared into darkness. The whole phenomenon was strange.
“They’re fireballs!” someone shouted.
“Monsters will come out,” someone else said in a hushed tone.
The blue lights began to fall from above, concentrating their illumination on the government building. The two guards at the gate panicked, shouldered their spears and ran into the city. Other bystanders also fled. Soon, Ou Soku was the only one left on the street looking up at the lights.
The sounds of Imperial Guardsmen shouting to one another and the clanging of weapons echoed from the courtyard outside the government building.
Ou Soku quietly passed through the main gate of the building.
Imperial Guardsmen crowded the courtyard beyond the gate, brandishing spears and swords as they stabbed at the falling blue lights. They frantically swung their weapons around, fearful because this was something unknown. When the blue lights were stabbed or slashed, they simply vanished.
Suddenly, a large mass of light appeared above Ou Soku’s head, scattering sparks in all directions.
“They’re monsters! Monstrous bats!”
They certainly looked like bats. The huge black creatures swooped down on the Imperial Guardsmen, swiping at them with sharp claws. One of the Imperial Guardsmen went down screaming with his face clawed in half.
“They’re demons!” an Imperial Guard shouted.
Instead of causing panic, the guard’s voice imposed sudden calm. Imperial Guardsmen understood what to do about attacks at night, though none of them had ever been attacked by demons before. This was a threat, and the Imperial Guards formed up to meet it.
A giant bat appeared in the sky limned in blue light, spreading its black wings wide. In the new illumination, the Imperial Guards saw that this bat was no bat at all, but a person dressed all in black and wearing a winged costume.
A sorcerer.
The sorcerer’s face was completely hidden by a black hood. All of the bat creatures were sorcerers whose faces were hidden. They stared down at the Imperial Guards, silent, and attacked all at once.
The fifty or so Imperial Guards standing in the courtyard regained their composure and readied their weapons as they realized that they were facing a human-shaped threat. But they had no chance of winning against an organized attack from above. Those who fought bravely were slashed to death, those who fled were pursued, and those who stabbed up with their swords and spears were surrounded and swiftly killed. The blue light had served as a distraction to cluster all of these men in one place, and now the sorcerers picked them off one by one, directing one another to attack in places where they saw weak defenses.
Ou Soku watched, moving from shadow to shadow near the main gate leading into the courtyard. “There are military tactics like this?” he whispered to himself. Rather than being terrified by the ferocious battle, he was impressed by the brilliant magic of the sorcerers.
***
The governor of Zhengzhou noticed something was wrong when he awoke next to a naked woman in his bed. He heard shouts below that informed him that the building was under attack by sorcerers. He stepped out into the corridor to escape, but a man in a black hood with a sword hanging from his hip stood in his way. Sharp eyes caught and held his gaze from two holes in the hood.
“S-spare me. I’ll give you anything you want.” The governor bowed with his hands together and trembled in fear.
Governors with military backgrounds would not be so cowardly, but governors with civilian backgrounds quickly become subservient at even the slightest hint of violence. The governor’s usual arrogance, which he often put on proud display before the people of Zhengzhou, was nowhere to be seen.
“What I want is your life.”
The black-hooded man cut off the governor’s head with one blow.
The woman that the governor had been with that night grabbed her clothes and tried to run out of the bedroom, but then another black-hooded man came in.
The woman was startled and staggered backward.
The man in the black hood clasped both arms together in front of the woman and chanted a weak spell. The woman twisted her hips as if she were about to fall over, threw off her clothes, and panted as she lay back down on the bed. The man in the black hood tossed away his over-robe and undergarments and climbed on top of the woman.
The woman groaned and clutched the sorcerer’s head with both hands. The black hood slid off easily, revealing Go Saburō.
Go Saburō was with the woman. Jin Sen was in the hallway. He’d killed Zhengzhou’s governor.
***
In less than half an hour, the sorcerers were victorious. The governor of Zhengzhou had embezzled public funds from the construction of the Yellow River’s waterworks, illegally conscripted peasants, and confiscated rice from poor farmers. Peasants who’d resisted had been tied up, alive, and thrown into the Yellow River. The local people were also forced to pay high taxes. No one in Zhengzhou would mourn the governor’s demise.
After the sorcerers left, people swarmed storehouses all over the city, stealing food and household goods. Some even broke into the government building and stole the governor’s things—and his money. This was an opportunity for revenge, and the people of Zhengzhou did not waste it.
A group of Imperial Guards arrived at the government building after receiving an emergency report, but the rice in the government storehouse was already gone. The sorcerers had carried off many of the governor’s coffers as well.
Under the orders of the acting governor, security was heightened throughout the city and a search for the attacking sorcerers was begun. The people of Zhengzhou disliked this new tense state of affairs, but no one complained openly. Everyone could agree that sorcerers were dangerous.
The problem was that many people were branded with the cursed label of “sorcerer” even if they hadn’t done anything wrong. Calling someone a sorcerer was a good reason to persecute them, and the people of Zhengzhou knew this. The acting governor of Zhengzhou was an independent authority that didn’t have much clout with the Imperial Court, so it wouldn’t surprise anyone to hear that he was lying about sorcerers in order to better consolidate his own power.
The power system of this time period was diffuse and unregulated; it was never concentrated in one place. Recently, there had been cases of robbery and murder by sorcerers in various places along the Yellow River basin like Shānxi, Shanxi, Henan, Hebei, and Shandong, but not a single sorcerer had been arrested. According to the government, there was nothing that could be done about these evil sorcerers.
In response to strict instructions from the Imperial Court to deal with the problem, prefectural governors made even innocent people into sorcerers. Problematic people were called sorcerers and hanged as scapegoats. As soon as the people of Zhengzhou robbed the storehouses blind, they hunkered down, locked themselves in and hid their treasures, even from their neighbors. No one wanted to be the next scapegoat.
***
The city was deserted after the night attack. All was silent. Ou Soku wandered the streets alone, looking for a place to stay and finding little success. He was wary of the sorcerers and wanted to find some shelter, but everyone’s homes—and even the lodging houses—were locked up tight.
As Ou Soku stepped onto a little-used side street, he was accosted by a patrolling night watchman.
“You, there! Stop!”
Ou Soku stopped. The remains of a city wall from the Yin Dynasty were nearby.
From behind the night watchman came several Imperial Guards carrying lanterns.
A lantern illuminated Ou Soku’s face.
“Who are you and where are you going?” an Imperial Guard asked.
“Well…” Ou Soku frowned very deliberately and did his best to look stupid. He was exhausted from walking and he had only disgust for imperial soldiers at the best of times.
“Well, what? Spit it out.”
“I came here from Henan by boat. If you’re looking for the sorcerers who attacked the government building, they’re long gone.” His tone was casual and seemed to annoy the Imperial Guards.
“You are a rude brat,” one of the guards said.
“I told you the truth,” Ou Soku said stiffly. “I came here from a lodging house in Henan.”
“Then how do you know about the incident at the government office?” a guard asked.
“Everyone knows that,” Ou Soku said. A playful mood was on him. He kind of felt like teasing these guards, since they were annoying him and barking questions at him for no reason. “I saw some beautiful blue fireworks. I heard the governor was murdered and that the Imperial Guards stationed in the government office were cut to pieces.”
“You know quite a lot.”
“Yep. I also heard that the sorcerers disguised themselves and escaped. Like I said, they’re long gone. "
The guards’ attitude became even more stern.
Ou Soku saw their faces in the light of the lantern and realized he might have taken the teasing a little too far. If he continued like this, he would be taken to the barracks and imprisoned.
“You’re under arrest. Follow us,” one of the guards said.
It was just as Ou Soku thought. If he followed the guards now, he would be called a sorcerer and executed even though he’d done nothing wrong.
Ou Soku took a gamble: he sprinted at one of the guards full-force.
The guard staggered out of the way and made an unsuccessful grab for Ou Soku. “What in the eight hells are you doing, brat?”
Taking advantage of the guard being off-balance, Ou Soku ran for his life.
“Get him! He’s a sorcerer!” the guard yelled behind him.
The guards chased after Ou Soku. He thought that if he could just escape, everything would be all right. Since he was in an unfamiliar place, he had no choice but to run blindly and hope for the best.
Ou Soku ran into a back alley with three fast guards chasing him. It was a dead end. Ou Soku gave up and stopped. The guards flanked him to either side, their spears drawn. They japed to each other and jeered at him like cats tormenting a trapped mouse before it was eaten.
Ou Soku stood still, resigned to what would happen next. “I really am sorry if I was rude to you,” he said, knowing that the guards wouldn’t listen to anything he said now. It was too late to talk his way out of this.
He regretted ever coming to Zhengzhou. The guards would assume he was a sorcerer just because he’d tried to run. All he’d done was give them more evidence to use against him. He would surely be tortured, and then hanged. For a moment, the memory of the hometown he’d left behind crossed his mind. But he’d sworn to never return there. That was why he was here now. He’d made his choices, and he had to live—or die—with them.
Still, Ou Soku sulked. He was not old or wise enough to accept things as they were without defiance and stubbornness.
The guards were less than three feet (one meter) away from him.
Blue light flashed from the darkness to one side, and then the lantern flew out of the guard’s hand. The flame in the lantern went out with an audible whooshing noise.
The guards were taken aback. The blue light was gone as soon as it had appeared, and the surrounding area was bathed in nothing but thin, pale moonlight.
“Who’s there?” a guard asked the surrounding half-darkness.
Translator's Notes
1 包拯 Bao Zheng (5 March 999 – 3 July 1062), commonly known as Bao Gong, was a Chinese politician during the reign of Emperor Renzong in China's Song Dynasty. During his twenty-five years in civil service, Bao was known for his honesty and uprightness, with actions such as impeaching an uncle of Emperor Renzong's favorite concubine and punishing powerful families.↩
2 夏竦 Xia Song (985 - 1051 CE) was a Northern Song Dynasty official who held many posts over a long career. History does not remember him as particularly corrupt, but as a scholar and a poet who kept being shuffled around to various Imperial Court positions. The list of crimes that comes later in the chapter would be typical of any corrupt Imperial Court official of the time period. ↩
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