Chapter Eighty-Nine: Asking for Grain

Although young, the heir to the Jisun family was no ordinary child; in his heart he knew perfectly well that the Three Great Houses of Lu were no longer what they had once been. The Jisun clan could not even hold on to Fei City now. If, at such a moment, they were to join forces with the Shu Sun and Zhong Sun houses, it would be like seeking a tiger’s hide for its skin.

Should Yang Hu be brought down in the end, the Jisun clan might well be brought to ruin as well. Their only hope was for Yang Hu to arouse such fury throughout Lu that all would unite against him; only then would there be a sliver of hope, and only then might the Jisun clan perhaps survive.

Seeing Liang Huai about to speak further, Jisun Si gently raised a hand.

“Why did the Duke of Lu once punish the Jisun clan? It was only because the Jisun clan held power. Yang Hu may be overbearing now, but he is still a retainer of the Jisun house. If we ask the Meng Sun and Shu Sun clans to punish a retainer, that would be inviting disaster upon ourselves.”

At this, Liang Huai immediately understood. The danger Jisun Si feared might very well come to pass: once Shu Sun Zhouqiu and Zhong Sun Heji sent troops and seized Yang Hu, they might then turn their blade against the Jisun clan in the same stroke.

Then the Jisun family would not only lose its ruling authority, but might very well be destroyed altogether.

After thinking for a moment, Jisun Si gave his orders.

“I have heard that Fei City is developing quite well now. I should go and see it for myself. If that Meng fellow is a man worth befriending, then so much the better. Perhaps there will be a time when we may need his support.”

He had not expected Meng Di to take Fei City so quickly. This showed that the man was far from weak. If he could be drawn in as an outside ally, that would naturally be best, for Meng Di had no ties to the other two houses. He was the ideal partner.

When Jisun Si’s carriage reached the outskirts of Fei City, he suddenly ordered it to stop. He stepped down and looked at the fields beyond, where the common people labored. Though their faces were haggard, each worked with remarkable vigor, clearly not driven there by coercion.

Feeling puzzled, he inquired and learned that the lands of Meng had a land-rent system based on one-tenth. This greatly surprised Jisun Si. With taxes so low, how could Meng Di support his army?

One must know that in the Central Plains, a war chariot required a driver, an archer, and a spearman, and besides these there had to be seventy-two foot soldiers. Thus, to maintain a hundred chariots required nearly ten thousand men.

And that referred only to the combat troops. If one added transport and supply in the rear, with men and horses all needing food and fodder, the total would have to be multiplied several times over.

Such light taxation in Meng’s domain was beneficial to agriculture, but unfavorable for foreign campaigns. If war became frequent and grain consumption rose sharply, then defeat would come without even fighting.

After learning the situation, Jisun Si boarded the carriage and continued on. By the time he arrived, Meng Di had received the news and came out personally to greet him.

At a glance, Jisun Si saw the problem: among Meng Di’s forces, there were no war chariots at all. This was truly strange. After the formal greetings, he could not help asking in confusion.

“Lord Meng, why does your army have no war chariots? Is it that you lack the materials to build them? If so, my own clan still has some reserves and could supply you.”

Hearing this, Meng Di smiled, leading the way as he spoke.

“I do not favor those cumbersome chariots. I prefer warhorses instead. That way one may move swift as the wind and still gain some advantage on the battlefield. Moreover, Meng City has too few people. If we used chariots, the burden would be too great to bear.”

Hearing this, Jisun Si silently shook his head. He had once held some expectations of Meng Di, but from the present circumstances, it seemed he had been overthinking things. With an inward sigh, he entered the city.

From Jisun Si’s reaction, Meng Di could roughly guess why he had come. With Yang Hu’s power growing by the day, he must be worried that the Jisun clan would become Yang Hu’s puppet, and so had come here seeking aid.

For Meng Di, this was also an opportunity. If he could further expand his influence within Lu, he would gain a larger domain and truly secure his footing.

Once inside the city, Jisun Si noticed a great number of horses, and they all looked exceptionally robust. He found this odd. Lu did not breed horses, and in warfare the chariot still served as the main force.

Even in a state of a thousand chariots, the horses needed would only be a few thousand at most, yet the horses Jisun Si saw here numbered at least three thousand, enough to equip nearly a thousand chariots.

In truth, this was tied to population and horse breeding. Before the Zhou era of the Spring and Autumn period, the population was relatively sparse and concentrated mainly on agriculture. Horse breeding was therefore insufficient, and besides, armor and weapons in the Central Plains could still inflict effective damage on cavalry.

Thus the demand for horses was not especially great. But as society developed, more and more horse-breeding lands emerged, especially in Qin, Zhao, Yan, and the southern state of Chu, which became the most developed of all.

This created the conditions for large-scale cavalry warfare. It was only that most people had not yet seen the power of cavalry, and so they remained resistant to it.

After host and guest were seated, Meng Di did not bother with niceties and asked directly:

“Has Lord Heng come for the matter of Yang Hu?”

He had not expected Meng Di to be so forthright. Jisun Si was slightly taken aback, but soon understood. The lands of Meng lay on the border with Qi and could face war at any moment.

At such a time, he also needed support within Lu; otherwise, given enough time, he would certainly be unable to hold out.

Yet Jisun Si could not discern Meng Di’s stance, so he spoke with great caution.

“Yang Hu now governs in place of the Jisun clan in Lu, and this has caused considerable dissatisfaction among many of the lords of Lu. I have been thinking that since Lord Meng is on good terms with Yang Hu, if possible, you might advise him as best you can and persuade him to restrain himself.”

This sounded rather peculiar. After all, however one looked at it, Yang Hu was still a retainer of the Jisun house, and it was hardly Meng Di’s place to involve himself in such matters. Still, Meng Di heard the real meaning beneath the words: Jisun Si had come to ask for help.

That meant Yang Hu had already forced him to such an extent.

Meng Di pondered for a moment.

“Now I too am a lord of Lu. The steadier Lu’s internal affairs are, the greater the benefit to Meng City. And to be frank, I have already received word that after autumn, Qi will send troops to attack West Yun.”

Jisun Si had not received any such消息, but he knew this was certainly true. Though Qi and Lu had not fought major wars in recent years, small-scale conflicts had essentially never ceased.

This was chiefly because Lu was allied with Jin. If Qi acted too boldly, it would draw the Jin army, so they could only use this kind of limited warfare to gradually erode Lu’s territory.

Hearing this, Jisun Si’s heart sank. He had come seeking support, but from the way things stood now, it seemed Meng Di was the one who had demands to make of him.