Volume 6 Chapter 6 (2/2)
Zhu Ji and Xiao Pan looked at Lu Buwei curiously, waiting to see how he is going to reply King Zhuangxiang.
Lu Buwei said confidently, “As the Crown Prince, Prince Zheng of course need not fear no one will teach him. However going to extremes is not good as well and sometimes when there are too many different views, one may be at a loss as to how to proceed. So in view of this point, I have summoned the world’s learned, capable, skilled and amazing people to gather and give their opinions on governing a country, from the principles of governing to farming and their conclusions will be written into a book which will cover every topic. When the book is completed, once the Crown Prince has it on hand, then there will be nothing he does not know.
Xiang Shaolong secretly sighed, for this ‘son’ of his, Lu Buwei really went into a lot of trouble.
King Zhuangxiang chuckled, “To think that Premier can think of such an idea. If Premier needs any help, just let me know!”
Lunch passed amid such light-hearted and warm atmosphere.
After the meal King Zhuangxiang and Zhu Ji returned to their Palace to rest and Lu Buwei, as the Premier, is also a very busy man and does not have the time for long chats. Xiang Shaolong told him about the attack on his way here and he left hurriedly after listening to the account, leaving only Xiang Shaolong who led Xiao Pan to the square to practice his swordplay.
Xiao Pan is no longer the same boy and no matter where he goes there’ll be a big group of imperial guards and palace maids accompanying him and the two of them could not even talk about what’s in their hearts.
Before they started the sparring, Xiao Pan can’t help but ask quietly, “Teacher! Can you not go to Handan? Without you, I will have nothing left.”
Xiang Shaolong saw that even the guards nearest to them were about 5 feet away so he pretended to correct his swordplay and asked, “Did they treat you well?”
Xiao Pan’s eyes reddened as he said, “Very well! I really treat them as my birth parents.”
Xiang Shaolong reprimanded him, “This will be the last time you think of yourself as Xiao Pan. From this moment on, even when in front of me, you will be Ying Zheng.”
Xiao Pan understood and nodded his head before asking again, “Can you not go?”
Xiang Shaolong replied with a smile, “Remember our gentleman’s agreement, Zhao Mu is mine, the King of Zhao is yours.”
As he finished his words, he slashed his sword across.
Xiao Pan jumped aside agilely and struck a pose.
Xiang Shaolong was secretly shocked on seeing this.
This lad has something that he never had before, and that is great confidence, which made a great change to his manner.
Damn!
This is the giant who will unify the world and become China’s first Emperor in future.
Once he thought of this, a rush of uncontrollable feelings seem to well up from his heart.
Right at this time an attendant came to announce that Qin Qing is here.
Although Xiang Shaolong very much wanted to take a look at this Widow Qing whose fame is on par with Ji Yanran, to see how beautiful and delicate she is. However he has no excuse to do so and it’s not something within courteous norms. Besides, Xiao Pan had to bath and change so he had to return to the Wu residence.
He had just stepped through the door when the guard came to report that Wang Jian has come to look for him and is now chatting with Wu Yingyuan and Tao Fang at the main hall, so he hurried in.
Wang Jian was joyous when he saw Xiang Shaolong and came forward to hold his hand in greeting.
Xiang Shaolong saw that he was dressed in an ordinary warrior’s outfit that exuded a strong military air and can’t help but feel a sense of camaraderie as he replied earnestly, “Sorry to have made Brother Wang wait so long!”
Wu Yingyuan and Tao Fang stood up and the former said, “Grand Tutor Wang is here to bid farewell to Shaolong.”
Xiang Shaolong was stunned, “Farewell?”
Wang Jian replied excitedly, “Yes! I am setting off to the northern frontier immediately to go to war with the Xiong Nus.*”
Xiang Shaolong felt uncomfortable and secretly thought that if he is going to battlefield, he’ll need the consent of King Zhuangxiang and Lu Buwei.
Ever since Shang Yang’s reforms in Qin, the tribe’s leadership power was wrestled away and they lost the right to succession. Governmental and noble ranks were granted based on military contributions. Any reassignment of more than 50 soldiers will require the approval of the King of Qin. This was an unprecedented move at that time. This made the central pillar of Qin power reach its peak.
All the great generals only hold one half of the token and without the King of Qin’s other half of the token, it’ll be difficult to reassign troops. Besides the military token, the King of Qin’s written document stamped with his imperial seal is also needed before it is recognized.
Therefore it is a lot more difficult to rebel in Qin as compared to the other countries.
Wu Yingyuan and Tao Fang knows that the 2 of them have things to say so they gave an excuse and left.
After the 2 of them sat down, Xiang Shaolong ordered the maids to serve scented tea as he wondered if Lu Buwei is so intolerant after all and deliberately transferred Wang Jian away so that he would not be able to fight with him for attention. Once he thought of this, he felt greatly apologetic.
Wang Jian asked quizzically, “Why do Brother Xiang suddenly look so terrible?”
Xiang Shaolong sighed and said, “Brother Wang has just been promoted to the Crown Prince’s Grand Tutor and now you have been transferred away. I feel injustice for you. No! I must speak to his Majesty on Brother Wang’s behalf.”
Wang Jian is a man with both brains and brawn. He was stunned for a moment before he suddenly understood and he was touched, saying, “Only now do I know that Brother Xiang really cares for me. But you’ve misunderstood, I was the one who spoke about this mission to his Majesty. Hai! To tell you the truth, seniority and experience plays a huge part in the military. Without some personal connections, one can forget about thinking of leading an army into battle. This time they did not want Brother Xiang to get the position of Grand Tutor so they had no choice but to get me out to duel with Brother Xiang. Now my status is no longer the same. When I met his Majesty this morning, he asked me what wish do I have and I immediately said I would like to offer my services at the northern frontier. After discussion with Premier Lu, His Majesty asked me again the strategy I have in mind and he than gave me the token on the spot and let me be the main commander at the northern frontier. This has always been my dream and I did not expect it to come true. I am here to tell you the good news and to thank you as well.”
This time it is Xiang Shaolong’s turn to be stunned. For a long time, the Xiong Nus and the Hus have been trying to invade the borders of Qin, Zhao and Yan and the 3 states, in order to gain control of central plains, have always used the method of building long walls along the border to keep them at bay but there’s still nothing they can do to the strong nomadic groups that travel around the high Mongolian plains.
Therefore every thinks that it is an arduous and thankless task to go into battle with Xiong Nus, and one may very well lose his life if he’s unlucky.
The Xiong Nus are nomadic and have hard lives therefore they are especially predatory. Using the advantage of the speed of their cavalry, their strategy is to attack when the enemy is retreating and retreat when the enemy is attacking. They frequently encroach into Central Plains and attack and pillage the various states whose main concentration is on farming.
And Qin is exactly one of the states facing this problem.
When Li Mu offended the King of Zhao, he was reassigned to the northern border and everyone knows that it is a form of punishment. Therefore, how could he have expected that it was Wang Jian who volunteered and begged to be reassigned to the northern border?
Looking at how concerned Xiang Shaolong is, Wang Jian said with a smile, “I can’t blame Brother Xiang for not understanding. Ever since I was young, my thinking has always been different from others.”
Xiang Shaolong was relieved and now he became curious as he asked, “Why don’t Brother Wang tell me about it?”
Wang Jian drank the scented tea in one gulp before replying seriously, “I have always admired King Wuling of Zhao*. If not for his great bravery in implementing the 2 reforms, the state of Zhao not only became one of the stronger states and he also changed the way of fighting battles in the world.”
Xiang Shaolong has long heard of this story and he nodded his head in agreement, “Is Brother Wang referring to his Hu uniform and horse archery?”
Wang Jiang became excited, “Exactly. At that time the clothes of the Zhaos had long sleeves, thick belts, wide collars and huge bottoms. Such long and huge robes is extremely inconvenient when horse riding or archery. Therefore King Wuling ignored the country’s senior officials old fashioned arguments about it being ‘against the people’s hearts that rules are changed’ and ordered the whole army to change into Hu uniform. The huge sleeves and long robes were changed into a refreshing look with smaller sleeves with short coats, belts and boots.”
On hearing this, Xiang Shaolong thought it was interesting as well and said with a laugh, “This reform affects their reputation and the change in society, and naturally there will be strong opposition to it.”
Wang Jian gave a cold snort, “Compared to dying for the country, what is this little reform?”
He continued, “Another more thorough reform is to abandon the method of using carriages as the main force of attacks and change to using cavalry as the main force of attacks. In a short time he built up a huge and strong team of cavalry who not only swept the Xiong Nus but also Central Plains, becoming invincible and numerous generals gained fame. If not because of the appearance of that muddleheaded King Xiaocheng, we might not even win the battle of Changping even if we have Bai Qi, the unparalleled military genius with us.”
Xiang Shaolong was enlightened, “Therefore you want to go to the northern frontier to follow in King Wuling’s footsteps and bring a whole new change.”
Wang Jian smiled confidently, “Although I am experienced in battles, I’ve always been on the frontlines and never had the chance to lead an army. When will I ever have the chance if we’re fighting the other states in the east and south. Therefore I volunteered so that I can have a taste of leading an army. At the same time I can practice my horse archery and find some Xiong Nus to sharpen my sword with.”
He continued in a low voice, “At that time King Wuling swept a thousand miles across the land and he took over the territory of the Linhu people. Those Linhu who are good in horse archery also became Zhao’s cavalry, which greatly increased their strength. I’ve always had this idea as well. This is called killing two birds with one stone. As long as we don’t get rid of the Xiong Nus, how can we talk about unifying the world?”
Xiang Shaolong reached out and placed his hand on his shoulder and said with sincerity, “Brother Wang is indeed an extraordinary man to be able to think of so many advantages from a task that everyone regards as torturous. Your precious sword and arrows will definitely lead the way when the time comes in future to unify the world.”
This is the first time Wang Jian met a person who did not say that he is an idiot. He raised his hand and grabbed his arm tightly and said with gratitude, “Brother Xiang is the extraordinary man instead, the only reason I have this day…”
Xiang Shaolong interrupted him, “If you mention that again, then you’re not treating me as your brother.”
Wang Jian’s eyes reddened as he said earnestly, “Brother Xiang, please do not think that I am regarding myself highly. The mission to conquer the north this time is fraught with danger and I might not even come back alive. I came here today…. Hai!”
Xiang Shaolong saw him hesitating and asked curiously, “If Brother Wang has anything to say, please go right ahead!”
Wang Jian blushed as he said, “Actually I have been impressed with Brother Xiang once I met you, I wonder if we can become sworn brothers. We will share weal and woe together in future, if there is any ounce of deceit, may I be destroyed by heaven and earth.”
Xiang Shaolong exclaimed joyously, “I should be the one who is not good enough. But I have 3 other loyal friends, why don’t we copy how Liu, Guan and Zhang sworn brotherhood at the peach garden and let our names go down in history as loyal brothers.”
Wang Jian was confused, “You’re talking about what Liu, Guang and Zhang about sworn brotherhood at what peach?”
This time it was Xiang Shaolong’s turn to feel greatly embarrassed.
Liu Bei, Guan Yu and Zhang Fei’s sworn brotherhood happened during the era of the Three Kingdoms so naturally Wang Jian has never heard of this.
He immediately gave some nonsensical answers and muddled his way through.
He found Teng Yi and Wu Zhuo and the four of them, together with a recovering Jing Jun, made the serious vow of brotherhood together at Jing Jun’s bedside.
A big feast followed it before Wang Jian left happily.
That night Xiang Shaolong was in a great mood and had fun with Wu Tingfang and the rest, throwing aside all his worries and his lovesickness for Ji Yanran for the time being.
Suddenly, Xiang Shaolong felt as if he is at the happiest and proudest moment of his life.
As soon as he fetches Ji Yanran back to Xianyang and capture Zhao Mu, then he will have nothing more to ask for.