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Now that they had arrived at Yuan Shu's encampment, their lodging conditions were naturally much better than camping in the wild. Not only did the chief envoy Fei Qian and deputy envoy Yi Ji each get their own room, but even the military officers Huang Zhong and Huang Cheng were assigned shared quarters.
Of course, Fei Qian and Yi Ji had individual rooms, while Huang Zhong and Huang Cheng shared one.
Huang Zhong didn't seem particularly concerned about the accommodations. After the evening meal, he returned to his room, his expression still somewhat grave as he touched the object hidden in his robe. Clearly, he was still deeply worried about his son's illness.
Huang Cheng pressed his lips together and remained silent. Though he appeared simple and honest on the outside, his mind was far from coarse. He knew that offering hollow words of comfort would be easy but ultimately meaningless.
He had heard a little about Huang Zhong's son's condition and sympathized with Huang Zhong's plight. However, that didn't mean he could thoughtlessly shower Huang Zhong with cheap words of pity. Empty phrases might not bring comfort—they could even breed resentment.
Especially for someone like Huang Zhong, a man of exceptional martial skill, there was undoubtedly a strong sense of pride.
Huang Cheng felt that giving Huang Zhong some quiet space might be the greater comfort and support.
Before setting out on this diplomatic mission with Fei Qian, Huang Cheng had spoken with the Huang family patriarch, Huang Chengyan. The prospect of this journey had filled Huang Cheng with anticipation.
If Huang Chengyan had inherited more of the Mohist craftsman traditions—specifically those of the Mohist master Hu Feizi—then Huang Zhong and Huang Cheng had inherited more of the Mohist martial aspects.
During the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, the Mohist school had been a vast non-governmental organization that transcended state borders. Such influence would have been impossible without considerable martial prowess. However, over time, these traditions suffered heavy suppression from the imperial court and pressure from rival schools. As a result, the Mohists gradually shifted from accepting disciples to preserving their knowledge within families, no longer teaching outsiders. The Mohist school faded from public view, withdrawing from the grand stage it had once dominated.
Through generations of evolution, some knowledge was lost forever, while other elements were added. This meant that although Huang Zhong and Huang Cheng shared the same origins, their martial practices were not identical.
Among the Hundred Schools of Thought from the pre-Qin era, the most influential were Confucianism, Mohism, Daoism, and Legalism.
But by the Han Dynasty, Confucianism had risen to dominance, standing unchallenged. Daoism retreated from secular affairs, becoming a school of spiritual transcendence. Legalism, after the fall of Qin, never recovered, with many Legalists cloaking themselves in Confucian guise…
Only Mohism, after a brief moment of brilliance, vanished—both as a philosophy and as an organization—lost to the currents of history.
Was Mohist doctrine flawed?
Not at all. In "Zhuangzi·Under Heaven", it is said of the Mohists: "They labor in life and are meager in death; their Way is harsh. It brings worry and sorrow, and its practices are difficult to follow. I fear it cannot be the Way of the Sages, for it goes against the hearts of the people, and the world cannot endure it. Though Mozi alone could uphold it, what can he do for the world? To depart from the world is to stray far from the path of kingship!" Yet it also sighs: "Truly, Mozi was the finest of the world."
The problem was not that Mohism was bad—it was simply too idealistic.
There was another reason Mohism had to fade: under the rule of a centralized autocratic monarchy, any secular organization with strict internal discipline would inevitably arouse the court's deep suspicion.
Though the Mohists may have been driven by pure passion, without political ambition, what autocratic rulers feared most was not greedy villains but sagely men capable of political mobilization.
Thus, after Emperor Gaozu of Han consolidated his power, a retainer advised Chancellor Xiao He to "buy up large tracts of land and engage in usury to tarnish his own reputation"—only then would the emperor feel at ease. Xiao He followed the advice, forcibly purchasing land and houses from commoners at low prices, and sure enough, the emperor was delighted. Had Xiao He instead emulated Mozi's ideal of "wearing himself out from head to heel to benefit the world," the Weiyang Palace might have claimed another headless ghost.
Mohism flourished during the Spring and Autumn and Warring States periods, when the concept of a unified empire had yet to take hold. The rulers of various states faced their greatest threats from neighboring enemies, leaving their own subjects relatively unconstrained.
But once "the six kings perished, and all under heaven was unified," the monarch inevitably saw his subjects as adversaries. Not only could organizations like the Mohists no longer exist, even wandering knights who upheld Mohist ideals—sworn to oppose tyranny and champion justice—were deemed intolerable by the court for "using force to violate prohibitions."
In the early Han Dynasty, the last prominent Mohist leader, Tian Heng, rose in rebellion against Qin alongside Liu Bang and Xiang Yu. The outcome? Liu Bang became emperor, while Tian Heng and five hundred loyal followers perished on a remote island.
Emperor Gaozu, hearing of Tian Heng's popularity, feared future unrest and issued an edict: if Tian Heng surrendered, he would be enfeoffed as a prince or marquis; if not, troops would be sent to exterminate everyone on the island. To spare the lives of his five hundred men, Tian Heng set out for the capital with two retainers.
Thirty li from Luoyang, Tian Heng turned to his retainers and said: "I once stood as an equal to the King of Han, both of us rulers. Now he is the Son of Heaven, and I am but a fugitive bowing before him—the shame is unbearable… Moreover, the Emperor wishes to see me only to behold my face. If you sever my head now and hasten it thirty li to Luoyang, my features will not yet have decayed, and he may still gaze upon them." With that, he took his own life. His retainers carried his head to the emperor.
Deeply moved, Liu Bang buried Tian Heng with royal honors and appointed the two retainers as commandants. Yet after the burial, the two men dug pits beside Tian Heng's tomb and killed themselves.
Even more astonished, Liu Bang sent envoys to summon the five hundred islanders, intending to employ them. But upon learning of Tian Heng's death, not a single one answered the call. Instead, they chose another way to respond to the emperor—and to Tian Heng: all five hundred committed suicide.
From that moment, the Mohists vanished from history, their leaders gone.
Yet fragments of Mohist knowledge survived, though those who preserved it no longer called themselves Mohists.
Huang Cheng glanced at the silent Huang Zhong and thought to himself, 'At least I have two brothers in my family. If someone like Huang Zhong loses his heir, his family's martial legacy will die with him.'
Before this mission, Huang Chengyan had made it clear: risk and reward went hand in hand. But Huang Cheng believed the gamble was worth it. He didn't want his martial skills to fade into obscurity—he wanted to carve out his own legacy.
Suddenly, Huang Cheng heard a faint noise. He quickly rose and tiptoed to the door, cracking it open slightly to peer outside. He saw Deputy Envoy Yi Ji poke his head out of his room, glance around furtively, then lift the hem of his robe and sneak away into the night…
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A/N: Where did Huang Zhong's incredible martial skills come from? History doesn't say, so I'll just go with my version… Historically, the Mohists were indeed formidable—they could tell rulers, "Stop this war, or we'll stop you."
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