Gods 060: Justifications, I Has Them
Ji Fa decides that while he couldn’t live with attacking his tyrannical king, he CAN live with paying said king a visit with a large army in tow, just to, you know, talk.
Transcript
Welcome to the Chinese Lore Podcast, where I retell classic Chinese stories in English. This is episode 60 of Investiture of the Gods.
Last time, Jiang Ziya and company were all ready to head East and deal some payback against King Zhou after fending off so many years of nonstop attacks from the Shang. But there was just one little problem. Despite Jiang Ziya’s best efforts, their Martial King, Ji Fa, kept refusing to ok the campaign. He apparently didn’t get the memo that hey when your dad told you on his deathbed to never attack King Zhou because you’re his vassal and it would be disloyal, that was one of those “listen to what I’m NOT saying” wink wink kind of things.
But then, one of the top ministers, San (4) Yisheng (2,1), chimed in and said, “The prime minister’s advice is in the best interest of our state; you must listen. All the nobles of the land have assembled at Mengjin (4,1). If you don’t send your forces to join them, then you will lose their trust and respect, and they will blame us for helping the Shang. If that leads to attacks against us, it would be a self-inflicted wound. Besides, King Zhou has attacked our territory time and again, causing much unrest and suffering. We just fended off the latest attack, and more is coming. There’s no end to these calamities. In my foolish opinion, you should listen to the Minister Father and lead your forces to Mengjin, so that you can lead the nobles of the land to march on the Shang. That will compel the king to change his ways. It would be a boon to the people. Also, that will allow you to retain the nobles’ faith in you so as to avoid drawing their wrath, and you can maintain your loyalty to the king while remaining filial to your father. That approach would address all your concerns.”
Oh, so … even though I’d be leading a massive army against the Shang, I won’t be going there to overthrow them, just to get the point across and convince the king to change his ways, because I’m sure he’d be in a listening mood. Now THAT convinced Ji Fa. No, seriously, it did.
“Minister, you’re quite right!” he said. “ How many troops do we need?”
San Yisheng replied, “Your highness must appoint the prime minister as your top commander and give him the symbols of command so that he may act on your behalf. That will make the campaign easier.”
Ji Fa agreed, and then San Yisheng suggested that he should emulate the Yellow Emperor and construct a terrace, upon which he should conduct an official appointment ceremony to let heaven and earth know that he was appointing Jiang Ziya to lead the campaign. Ji Fa also greenlit this idea, and then court adjourned, with everyone excited about the pending campaign.
The next day, San Yisheng went to see Jiang Ziya and suggested that he dispatch the generals Nangong Kuo and Xin (1) Jia (3) to go to Qi Mountain to construct the terrace. After some days, they reported back that the terrace was ready, so San Yisheng went to inform the Martial King. They picked the 15th day of the third month as the auspicious date on which to conduct the official ceremony.
On the 13th day, Jiang Ziya hung up a list of 17 commandments, putting all his troops on notice about the discipline he expected from them for the coming campaign. This list included things like thou shalt not lie, thou shalt not rape and pillage, thou shalt not grumble too much, and so forth, all of which, by the way, were punishable by death. And all the officers took it to heart.
On the 14th day of the month, San Yisheng went to see the Martial King about the next day’s ceremony, and Ji Fa asked how it’s supposed to go. San Yisheng told him, oh just do what the mythical sage ruler the Yellow Emperor did when he appointed his commander. And Ji Fa was like, ok, I can do that.
The next day, Ji Fa led his officials to the minister’s residence. After three rounds of music played inside, three explosives sounded, and the doors opened. San Yisheng led the way, and Ji Fa followed right behind as they went in. The attendants informed Jiang Ziya, and he hurriedly rushed out in his Daoist garb.
Ji Fa now bowed and said, “Commander, please ride in my carriage.”
Jiang Ziya hurriedly thanked him. They went to the door, where Ji Fa bowed, and the attendants helped Jiang Ziya onto the royal carriage. San Yisheng then asked Ji Fa to push the carriage, which the king did for three ceremonial steps. So all this was a grand display of respect and deference to Jiang Ziya.
They now marched out of the city. All along the 20-some-mile trek to Qi Mountain, the road was lined with large red flags and civilians old and young who had come to witness this historic moment. When they arrived at Qi Mountain, they saw a magnificent terrace about 30 feet high and square in shape. In the center of the first floor stood 25 guards in yellow, holding yellow flags. Another 25 stood on the east side in green, and 25 more stood on the west side in white and yet 25 more in the south in red. The last 25 guards were dressed in black and stood to the north. The second floor had 365 guards arranged in a circle, while on the third floor stood 72 generals, all wielding weapons. Ritual utensils and prayer manuscripts were also placed on each tier.
San Yisheng now approached the carriage and asked Ji Fa to dismount. After the king got off, San Yisheng told him he should go ask Jiang Ziya to dismount, so Ji Fa went over and bowed and made that request. Jiang Ziya hurriedly dismounted with help from attendants. San Yisheng then led Jiang Ziya to in front of the terrace and asked him to face south.
What followed was one lengthy speech after another. Each time Jiang Ziya ascended one tier of the terrace, a VIP made a speech. I’m not going to bore you with the details of the speeches. Needless to say, they’re all repetitions of the same themes — King Zhou is terrible, we’re awesome, Jiang Ziya is going to lead our army, blah blah blah.
At long last, a bejeweled golden helmet and a suit of golden armor were bestowed upon Jiang Ziya. He then received the seal, sword, arrow, and pennant of command. He accepted all of these items with great ceremony. Then, the Martial King made eight deep bows from the foot of the terrace to officially appoint him the commander of the Eastern expedition.
Jiang Ziya now asked one of his generals to carry the pennant of command and go to the foot of the terrace to invite the Martial King to come up. When Ji Fa arrived at the top of the terrace, Jiang Ziya asked him to sit facing south while he bowed to thank his lord. Jiang Ziya then kneeled and declared, “Your old servant has heard that a state cannot enjoy peace, an army cannot defend itself, and the ministers cannot serve their master well unless they perform their duties wholeheartedly. As you have appointed me as commander and invested me with power, I must do my best to return your kindness.”
“Minister Father, may you reach Mengjin quickly, meet up with the other nobles, and return soon,” Ji Fa said.
After Jiang Ziya offered his gratitude again, Ji Fa descended the terrace, and Jiang Ziya got down to handing out orders to the officers. He commanded them to assemble at the training grounds in three days to receive their orders. As for the rest of today, he was expecting a visit from all his Daoist brothers, coming to bid him good luck.
All this done, Jiang Ziya left the terrace and headed to the southern part of Qi Mountain. There, he was greeted by his Daoist followers, led by lotus boy Nezha. When they went to the reed pavilion, he saw the class of 12 from the Chan sect all coming up to him, applauding and laughing. They told him, “You really look the part of a commander! You’re truly a dragon among men!”
Jiang Ziya bowed and said, “Thank you all for your help. You were the ones who made today possible, not me.”
Just then, the leader of their sect, Heavenly Primogenitor, descended from the heavens. All the disciples kowtowed to welcome him into the pavilion. After he sat down, Jiang Ziya again kowtowed. Heavenly Primogenitor told him, “You studied the Dao for 40 years. Now, you’re a commander for a king, enjoying rank and wealth in the mortal realm. This is no small thing. When you march East and exterminate the Shang, you will have rendered immense service. You will receive your own fiefdom, and your descendants will thrive. I have come to congratulate you.”
He then offered Jiang Ziya half a cup of wine, which Jiang Ziya kneeled to receive and downed in one gulp.
“That cup was to wish you success in helping your sage lord,” Heavenly Primogenitor said.
He then offered another cup and said, “This is to wish you success in governing the state.”
After Jiang Ziya drank that cup, Heavenly Primogenitor offered a third cup and said, “This is to wish you a speedy journey to convene with the other nobles.”
After drinking all three cups, Jiang Ziya kneeled again, and his master asked him why.
“Thanks to your kind instructions, I have been given the command for the Eastern expedition,” Jiang Ziya said. “Can you tell me whether I will succeed on this campaign?”
“You’ll be fine,” Heavenly Primogenitor said. “Just remember this riddle:
Trap to slaughter immortals at Border Placard Pass;
Pestilence at Cloud Piercing Pass.
Beware of Da (2) Zhao (4), Guang (1), Xian (1), and De (2),
There’s peace after the Ten Thousand Immortal Trap.
Jiang Ziya thanked him and promised to remember those lines. Heavenly Primogenitor then took his leave. After they saw him off, the rest of the Chan sect celebrated, with each member offering Jiang Ziya three cups of wine. Then, the senior members of the sect prepared to depart. But all their disciples, having seen Jiang Ziya ask the sect leader for a little hint from the magic 8 ball, were now asking their own masters how they were going to fare on the campaign.
First, Jinzha went to his master Wenshu and asked about his fate on this journey. Wenshu said, “You have been trained to traverse mountains, so what need have you to worry about entering the five passes?”
Ok, that sounds promising. Next, Nezha went to ask his master, Fairy Primordial, who told him, “You will unveil your lotus essence and perform miracles at Sishui Pass.”
Awesome! The third brother, Muzha, posed the same question to his master, Universal Virtue. And his master said, “The expedition will rely on your sword. You will do justice to your training.”
Another of the young Daoist disciples, Wei (4) Hu (4), went to talk to his master, Divine Virtue. And his answer was, “You’re not like others. Of the countless ones who follow the Dao, you will stand out from the rest.”
So this was getting better and better. Thunderbolt now talked to Master of the Clouds for his fortune, and his master said, “Two apricots will bring peace to the realm, leading to 800 years for the House of Zhou (1).”
Remember that Thunderbolt was transformed into his current winged avenger form after eating two magical apricots, so this was a pretty good omen for him.
Then, Yang Jian went to his master, Jade Tripod, who told him, “You’re also different from others. All your training will allow you to stride across the realm.”
Nezha’s father, Li (3) Jing (4), went to Master Burning Lamp for his fortune, and Burning Lamp said, “You’re also different from others. You will ascend to heaven without shedding your mortal coil and become the protector of Divine Hawk Mountain.”
And finally, Flying Tiger’s eldest son, Huang Tianhua, went to talk to his master, Virtue of the Pure Void. His master looked at him, then looked down, seemed to deliberate for a while, and then said, “My pupil, since you’re asking about your future, I have a riddle that you must keep in mind. If you remember it and follow it carefully, you will be ok.”
Umm, that sounds like a lot of hedging after everyone else got a straightforward “Oh you’ll do great!” Virtue of the Pure Void now spoke the riddle:
When you encounter heights, do not fight.
When you encounter success, turn back.
On the head of the Golden Rooster,
Watch for the swarm of bees and know it’s time.
Stop after you have rendered service,
And your name shall live for ages.
Ignore the warning signs,
And you shall suffer calamity.
Huang Tianhua listened to the riddle, but didn’t particularly pay it too much attention. Meanwhile, Tuxing Sun went to his master Juliu (4,2) Sun, who also gave him a riddle:
Skilled in traveling underground,
You must be careful on the way.
An animal will lunge and take a bite
In front of a cliff a beast shall be dressed in red.
And with that, the senior members of the Chan sect all took their leave of Jiang Ziya and went back to their respective mountain abodes. Jiang Ziya and his officers then accompanied the Martial King back to Western Qi. Three days later, all the officers assembled at the training grounds to await their orders.
The next day, Jiang Ziya went to court to thank the Martial King and to present the officers’ roll. After more ceremony and speeches, Ji Fa asked Jiang Ziya when he would set out, and Jiang Ziya told him that he would let him know after finishing some drills. They then shared a cup of wine and Jiang Ziya took his leave.
The day after that, Jiang Ziya went to the training grounds at 5 a.m. to watch his troops go through their drills while he called the officers’ roll. He thought to himself, “With 600,000 troops, we must appoint four people to lead the vanguard.”
So he summoned Nangong Kuo, Wu (3) Ji (2), Nezha, and Huang Tianhua to the top of the terrace and appointed them to lead the vanguards. They drew lots to see who will get which part of the army. Huang Tianhua got the front column, Nangong Kuo got the left, Wu Ji, the right, and Nezha the rear. Jiang Ziya then presented them with wine.
Next, he appointed Yang Jian, Tuxing Sun, and Zheng Lun to serve as the three provisions officers and gave them wine as well. He then went through the rest of the roll, which included Flying Tiger, all his blood and sworn brothers and sons, and a number of the Martial King’s brothers. Remember that Ji Fa’s father had 100 sons in all. Of those, 36 were trained in the martial arts, but 16 had died in previous battles against the Shang, so the remaining 20 were part of the officer corps. There were also all the guys who had defected from previous armies that King Zhou had sent to attack Western Qi, and there were the two female warriors, Deng Chanyu and Princess Long (2) Ji (3).
After handing out the appointments, Jiang Ziya summoned Flying Tiger and told him, “Even though the Shang has run its course, they must still have skilled men within their borders. We must be on guard. Fight and attack when the situation is right. And our troops must practice their formations so they’re well-versed in the tactics for advancing and retreating. Only then can we defeat our enemies.”
He then ordered his men to set up 10 placards with the names of battle formations on them. Now, the book here clearly says he set up 10 placards, but immediately proceeds to list the names of 12 formations. So I don’t know. Maybe he was printing double-sided on a couple of the placards. Anyway, Jiang Ziya now told the generals Flying Tiger, Deng Jiugong, and Hong Jin to lead the troops through the first formation, the Long Serpent Formation. So they went down to ground level and put the troops through their paces, and it was … well, not quite up to Jiang Ziya’s expectations.
Jiang Ziya called the three generals back up to the top of the terrace and lectured them, “The Eastern expedition is no small thing. We will be facing a formidable foe. If our troops are not well drilled, they would be an embarrassment to the commanders. How would we be able to wage a campaign then? You three must drill the men day and night. Don’t take it lightly and damage the army’s discipline.”
After that little tongue-lashing, the three generals went back down and drilled the men carefully. Jiang Ziya then dismissed everyone for the day and told them to prepare to set out.
The next day, Jiang Ziya went to see the Martial King and said, “All the troops and provisions are ready. Your highness may march East now.”
“Who should I entrust with overseeing the internal affairs of state while we’re gone?” Ji Fa asked.
“Minister San Yisheng can be put in charge of the government,” Jiang Ziya said.
“And what about external matters?”
“Flying Tiger’s father, the old general Huang (2) Gun (3), can be entrusted with overseeing military matters.”
Ji Fa was delighted with those recommendations, and so after court adjourned, he went to the private quarters of the palace to see his mother and inform her that he was setting out on the Eastern expedition, assuring her that he was just going to politely ask King Zhou to change his ways and then he would come right back. And she told him to just do whatever Jiang Ziya advises.
The next day was the 24th day of the third month. Jiang Ziya marched his army of 600,000 out of the city. Ji Fa rode out as well, accompanied by his elite royal guard. At the pavilion outside the city, they were greeted by many of Ji Fa’s brothers, who had set up a going-away feast to see them off. After sharing some wine, the army resumed its march.
The stout and joyous army crossed over Yan (1) Mountain and was headed toward Sun Peak Mountain when they noticed two men who were dressed like Daoists standing in the middle of the road, blocking the way. They shouted to the oncoming troops, “Whose army are you? We want to speak with your commander.”
So soldiers sent word to the main column of the army that two Daoists were asking to see Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya. They invited the two men in and exchanged greetings. So, these two guys were named Boyi (2,2) and Shuqi (1,2). They were brothers and princes from a vassal state of the Shang. Now, there’s a whole backstory about how they came to be living in the kingdom of Zhou, and I’m going to save that for a supplemental episode. For now, it’s sufficient to say that they were widely praised for their virtuous conduct.
Anyway, Boyi and Shuqi now asked Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya where they were going with this large army. Jiang Ziya said that they were on their way to attack the Shang since King Zhou was just, you know, the worst. But Boyi and Shuqi said, “We have heard it said that ‘A son does not speak of his father’s faults, and a vassal does not speak of his lord’s misdeeds.’ The father may criticize the son and the lord may criticize his vassal. But we have only heard of vassals who are grateful to their lords, never vassals who attack their lords. King Zhou is your lord. He may be unvirtuous, but why not do your utmost as his vassal and advise him wholeheartedly. That would be the loyal thing to do. Your father was his loyal subject and never once complained. We have also heard it said, ‘Great virtue can touch the heart of the wicked, and great love can win even the savages along the borders.’ If you are virtuous, you can turn the wicked into the good. In our foolish opinion, you should return to the boundaries of a vassal and obey the ancient division between lord and servant, like your father.”
To all this, Ji Fa said nothing. Jiang Ziya, though, replied, “Gentlemen, your words are wise, and it’s not that I don’t understand. But that is just one perspective. Right now, the land is in chaos, the people are suffering, and all rules and customs have been shattered. Both heaven and men are enraged. All is topsy turvy. Yet heaven takes pity on the people, so whatever the people wishes, heaven will allow it. Heaven has already called upon our kingdom to carry out its wishes. If we do not follow heaven’s will, then we would be punished. We must go.”
Jiang Ziya now tried to order the army to resume its march, but Boyi and Shuqi now kneeled in front of Ji Fa and Jiang Ziya’s horses and grabbed their reins, trying to physically prevent them from moving forward while saying, “We have enjoyed the late king’s kindness and must therefore fulfill the duties of vassals. Your highness may make the land follow you based on your compassion and honor, but how can you disregard your late father? Is that the act of a filial man? How can you wage war on your own liege? Is that act of a loyal man? We worry that you will be criticized by posterity.”
By now, the officer corps was getting pretty annoyed with these two guys holding up the march, and they were about to just take care of things with their weapons. But Jiang Ziya checked them and said, “You must not. They are honorable men.”
He then ordered guards to escort the two off to one side so that the army may pass. Now, this is not the end of the story for Boyi and Shuqi, and I’m going to talk about what they did after this in the supplemental episode. For now, let’s follow the Zhou army on their march. They crossed over Sun Peak Mountain and continued until they reached Golden Rooster Peak. Here, they saw an army hoisting two large red banners atop the peak, blocking their way.
When Jiang Ziya got word of this, he ordered the army to pitch camp and then sent scouts to find out who was blocking their path. But before the scouts even headed out, word came that a warrior was outside demanding combat. Jiang Ziya had no idea whose army was out there, so he sent the general Nangong Kuo out to see what’s up.
Nangong Kuo rode out and saw a warrior dressed in steel armor, seated atop a black horse and wielding a long spear.
“What no-name army are you? Where are you going?” Nangong Kuo asked. “How dare you block the army of Western Qi?”
“Who are YOU, and where are YOU going?” the warrior threw the question back at him.
“My commander is leading a campaign against the Shang on heaven’s decree,” Nangong Kuo replied. “How dare you block our way?!”
And with that, he let out a huge roar and galloped toward his foe. They fought for 30 bouts, and the nameless warrior was so skilled with the spear that Nangong Kuo was soaked through with sweat.
“We just set out and now we’ve run into such a foe,” Nangong Kuo thought to himself. “If I return to camp in defeat, the commander will surely punish me.”
But just as he was distracted with that thought, his foe let out a roar, grabbed him by his belt, and lifted him off his saddle. But then the guy said, “I’m not going to harm you. Go tell Commander Jiang to come see me.”
So he released Nangong Kuo, who returned to camp and reported what happened. Jiang Ziya was irate.
“You are the vanguard of the left for our army of 600,000!” Jiang Ziya fumed. “You have blunted our momentum, and yet you dare to come see me? Guards, take him outside and execute him!”
So the guards hustled Nangong Kuo outside the camp gate and were about to chop off his head. But now, the nameless warrior saw this and shouted, “Spare his life! I just want to see Commander Jiang. I have important intel for him!”
So the soldiers reported this to Jiang Ziya, and that just made him even angrier.
“That scoundrel! He captured our officer but refused to kill him and instead sent him back. And now he’s asking us to show mercy?! I’m going out with our troops to meet him!”
So the army marched out en masse, and Jiang Ziya asked his foe who he was. As soon as he saw Jiang Ziya and his army, however, the warrior dismounted and kneeled on the side of the road, saying, “My name is Wei (4) Ben (1). I had heard that your divine troops were waging an expedition against the Shang, so I came to join you in hope of rendering some minor service. But I dared not intrude before seeing whether you were for real. Now that I see how stout and disciplined your troops are, how can I dare to not follow you and help you take on the tyrant and appease the anger of all the people of the land?”
Jiang Ziya now ordered Wei Wen to follow him into camp. Once inside, Wei Ben again kneeled and said, “I have been learning to fight since my youth, but had not met a worthy master. Now that I have met the sage lord and his commander. All my training has not been in vain.”
Jiang Ziya was delighted at this new addition. Wei Ben now kneeled and pleaded, “Commander, even though General Nan suffered a defeat, I hope you can spare him.”
Jiang Ziya said, “Nangong Kuo may have lost a fight, but it’s an auspicious sign for us to have gained your service.”
He then ordered Nangong Kuo be released and summoned into the tent, whereupon Jiang Ziya told him, “You are a veteran general of the Zhou. You should be executed for losing your first battle, but Wei Ben turned a bad thing into a good thing by joining us. Nonetheless, you shall let him take your position as vanguard of the left, and you will remain with the main army.”
With that little swap done, Jiang Ziya ordered the army to resume its march. To see what will happen when they encounter their first real opposition, tune in to the next episode of the Chinese Lore Podcast. Thanks for listening!
Music in This Episode
- “Sao Meo” by Doug Maxwell / Zac Zinger
- “Desert City” by Kevin MacLeod is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution license (Source: http://incompetech.com/music/royalty-free/index.html?isrc=USUAN1100536; Artist: http://incompetech.com/)