But those troops were far inferior to the Five Schools of the Northern Army and the Sanhe Cavalry.
Deng Sheng did not say it aloud, but everyone understood.
Liu Yan spoke at the right moment. "The Eight Passes are steep, and Luoyang has high, thick walls. They are easy to defend and hard to attack. Even if the soldiers aren't elite, they should still be able to hold the city."
In truth, Luoyang was not easy to defend. When the Western Han was choosing its capital, Zhang Liang had said:
"Though Luoyang has these natural defenses, the territory within is small, no more than a few hundred li across. Its farmland is poor, and it faces enemies on all sides. This is no place from which to wage war..."
Luoyang's defenses lay not in the city itself, but in strongpoints such as Hulao, Huanyuan Pass, Hangu Pass, Longmen, and Mengjin Pass. Hold them, and Luoyang stood as firm as Mount Tai. Lose them, and it became a stack of eggs on the verge of collapse.
In other words, if the Yellow Turbans of Ji Province took Mengjin Pass and the other passes, Luoyang was all but doomed.
But there was no need to tell Liu Hong that and leave him frightened and imagining the worst.
Sure enough, Liu Yan's words put Liu Hong much more at ease. He told Deng Sheng, He Jin, Zhang Wen, and the others to continue discussing the transfer of troops from the provinces to Luoyang, then summoned Liu Yan to a side hall.
"May I ask why Your Majesty summoned me?"
Liu Yan was puzzled. He was the Clan Chief, not a commander responsible for moving troops, and he had no soldiers of his own. Why had the emperor called him aside?
Liu Hong lowered his voice. "Uncle, as the dynasty's Clan Chief, do you know anything about the legends of the Grand Progenitor High Emperor?"
Liu Yan froze. "The Grand Progenitor High Emperor?"
"Wasn't Gao Di said to be the Son of the Red Emperor reincarnated?" Liu Hong asked urgently. "Now that the false god Sovereign Yellow Absolute has descended upon the world, couldn't Gao Di return to the mortal realm again? Or send an Immortal God down to save our Flame Han?"
Liu Yan went numb. "Your Majesty, this... this tale of the Son of the Red Emperor's reincarnation was surely a story made up to invoke gods and ghosts, not the truth."
The Son of the Red Emperor, the slaying of the white snake—all of it merely lent Liu Bang an air of mystery, making it easier to deceive and rule his subjects.
Anyone who had read a few books would know better than to believe such nonsense. How could the emperor himself be asking about it?
Liu Yan was speechless. He did not know how to describe the absurdity he felt.
Liu Hong frowned, then pressed on. "What about Emperor Shizu? They say he summoned a falling star and crushed the enemy army. Wasn't he an Immortal God reincarnated?"
Liu Yan's face went blank. "Your Majesty, you must not entertain such fantasies. There have never been Immortal Gods, ghosts, or monsters in this world."
Liu Hong glared at him. "Then how do you explain God Huang Tian, who protects the Moth Bandits? Cao Cao and Dong Zhuo fled back to Luoyang for their lives. They said the false god Sovereign Yellow Absolute scattered beans that turned into soldiers and summoned fifteen Earth Giants to rampage through our ranks. That was how our army was routed. Otherwise, who knows which side would have won?"
Liu Yan had no answer.
Indeed, if there were no Immortal Gods, what was God Huang Tian?
Liu Yan had seen the fear and lingering horror on Cao Cao's and Dong Zhuo's faces with his own eyes. No one could have feigned those expressions.
And if God Huang Tian was real, perhaps the Grand Progenitor High Emperor and Emperor Shizu had been gods reincarnated after all.
Doubt stirred in Liu Yan's heart as well. Could Gao Di and Emperor Shizu have been Immortal Gods too?
Liu Hong watched him expectantly. After much thought, Liu Yan shook his head. "I truly do not know whether our forebears were gods, Your Majesty. Since you ask me, I dare not speak recklessly."
Liu Hong sighed. "Very well. If you do not know, Uncle, let it be. I shall go to the ancestral temple myself, offer sacrifices to our ancestors, and pray for their protection."
Liu Yan nodded. "That is only right."
Even if the Grand Progenitor High Emperor and Emperor Shizu were not gods, it was only right for the Son of Heaven to worship and pray to them when the dynasty faced a great calamity.
After Liu Yan withdrew, Liu Hong waved a hand. A pale, beardless eunuch entered from outside the hall with a fawning smile.
"Father, is that thing ready?"
That Liu Hong called a eunuch Father would have shocked anyone. But once they learned the man was Zhang Rang, it would be no surprise.
"Attendant Zhang is my father, and Attendant Zhao is my mother." Liu Hong often said this to his favored courtiers.
Zhang Rang glanced around, then slipped a small paulownia-wood Puppet from his sleeve like a thief. The four characters for "Sovereign Yellow Absolute" were written on it, along with a birth date calculated from the legendary first day of the Descent of the Yellow Heaven God. Sharp silver needles had been driven all over its body.
Had the court officials seen that Puppet, their faces would have changed at once. They knew the thing far too well, and its infamy stank to high heaven.
The witchcraft of sympathetic curses!
It was a dark art that had brought immense suffering to the Han dynasty.
During Emperor Wu of Han's Yuanguang era, Empress Chen Ajiao had fallen from favor. She made a small Puppet to curse Wei Zifu. When Emperor Wu discovered it, he deposed Chen Ajiao, and "more than three hundred people implicated, including the witch Chu Fu and palace attendants, were executed."
That had been a minor affair, with few implicated. What truly terrified the realm's subjects was the witchcraft calamity that began in the eleventh month of the first year of Zhenghe.
The calamity dragged on for years. Among those implicated and executed were the crown prince, the empress, the two chancellors Gongsun He and Liu Quli, the two princesses Zhuyi and Yangshi, and three imperial grandsons. Many high ministers and other important figures were caught up in it too. The dead numbered in the tens of thousands!
After that disaster, the mere mention of witchcraft and sympathetic curses made people tremble. Yet here and now, at the center of the realm, a paulownia-wood Puppet had appeared once more inside the Luoyang imperial palace.
Zhang Rang carefully handed the Puppet to Liu Hong. "Your Majesty, it is ready. But to work a sympathetic curse, we must bury it in or near the victim's dwelling so it can seize his soul. That false god is far away in Ji Province. How can we curse him?"
Liu Hong was troubled too. He paced the hall with the Puppet in hand, then suddenly had an idea. "I'm about to visit the ancestral temple anyway. I'll take it there and ask the Grand Progenitor High Emperor to curse the false god to death from afar!"
The emperor's sudden idea threw Zhang Rang into a panic. "The ancestral temple is sacred ground. How could we bring an unclean object inside?"
Worshipping one's ancestors with a witchcraft Puppet was filial piety indeed. If anyone found out, Liu Hong might escape punishment, but Zhang Rang, the Son of Heaven's "father," would certainly die!
Not even the emperor could save him!
Liu Hong waved him off. "Oh, don't panic. I'll be careful. No one will discover it."
Zhang Rang wanted to protest further, but Liu Hong's stern gaze stopped him.
Soon afterward, Liu Hong took the Puppet and set out for the Gao Temple with only a light carriage and a small retinue. The temple lay southeast of the imperial palace, not far away, and they arrived before long.
Liu Hong passed through the Gao Temple's gates and courtyard, then waved away the attending eunuchs. Alone, he knelt before the Grand Progenitor High Emperor's jade spirit tablet.
He took the Puppet from his robes and set it before him. In a low voice, he said, "I, your unworthy descendant Hong, beg the Grand Progenitor to manifest his power. Send your great divine might down from the heavens and curse the false god Sovereign Yellow Absolute to death from afar. Restore peace to our Great Han!"
When he had finished, he kowtowed several times with utter sincerity.
In the Guangzong City county office, God Huang Tian watched the scene with a strange expression. He could not help bursting into laughter, clear and ringing. The maidservants waiting outside the door grew curious.
"Could the Holy Venerable have sent his spirit wandering beyond the heavens and seen some ridiculous person or deed?"
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