The Warring States, Books 1-3

by Greg Strandberg

  “I didn’t think that an old man had the need of so many chariots,” Wen said to Jing as he escorted him through the gate. “Don’t tell me you brought that young wife of yours along and she needed a dozen chariots for her personal wardrobe?”

  Jing chuckled and shook his head. “You’re confusing me for a younger man, Wen, and one a few steps behind us.”

  “The chariots are mine,” Lie said as he caught up to them, having heard the remarks. “I insist on a show of force when traveling through other state’s lands!”

  “And did the peasants we passed by on the way here tremble at the might of Zhao or simply at the shaking of the earth from the unnecessary disturbance to their peace?” Jing was quick to ask.

  Wen didn’t have to look to know that Lie was frowning at the older man’s comment.

  “So I heard that everything went well in Zhongshan,” Lie said, changing the subject. “That was quite an audacious move you pulled, flooding the city like that.”

  Wen nodded and noticed that Jing was suddenly paying very close attention.

  “Yes, it went rather well. The city is already returning to normal and most are quite happy to now call themselves part of Wei.”

  “I hope that remains the case,” Lie said. “Now that you’ve left the city perhaps the people will feel differently.”

  “That’s always a possibility,” Wen admitted, “but one that doesn’t worry me. As you no doubt know, I’ve left thousands of troops stationed within Zhongshan in case there’s any resumption of hostilities from the local populace.”

  “I just wouldn’t think a people would so quickly embrace their attackers, especially after the flooding of their capital.”

  “The flooding of a capital is no minor thing, as your own people well know,” Wen said.

  “Yes,” Lie admitted after a moment, his voice a bit cooler. “But Jinyang had the good fortune of never falling to the enemy.”

  “Your great-grandfather was wise in soliciting the aid of Wei and Han,” Jing said.

  “He was,” Lie admitted after a few moments of silence. “But that was so long ago, more than fifty years,” Lie said.

  “Not too long,” Wen said. “Unlike you, Lie, I served at Jinyang and saw the devastation that the Zhi siege brought to the city.”

  Lie nodded. “Yes, that was before my time. You’ve seen much more than me in your long reign, Marquis Wen.”

  Wen nodded and all three men let the conversation lapse. Within a few moments they were into the compound and making their way to the small building that housed Duke Kang. Soldiers stood at attention as the four men passed by, and before they reached the door that would take them to the duke General Zhai Jue stepped out toward them.

  “This is the man that captured Duke Kang a few days ago outside of Linzi,” Wen said when the General was in front of them. “General Zhai Jue.”

  “An able commander,” Jing said. “I wish it’d been my own men that had taken the Duke. Perhaps then we’d be meeting closer to Yangzhai and I wouldn’t have had to travel so far.”

  Zhai Jue bowed to Jing at the remark. “Thank you for your kind words, Marquis.”

  “You should not have fled the battlefield with your prisoner in tow,” Lie said suddenly. “Two other generals, men that you were to cooperate with, were not informed of what had occurred.”

  “Things happened so fast that I wasn’t able to comprehend what was going on until it’d been done,” the general said. “My profound apologies, Marquis,” he finished with a bow.

  Lie made ready to chastise Zhai further, but Wen spoke first.

  “The battlefield can be a confusing place, where many things can happen too quickly for us to fully understand their significance,” he said, casting a knowing eye at Lie, whom was too young and sheltered to have fought in battle.

  “But despite that,” he continued in an effort to assuage Lie, turning his attention back to Zhai, “there are things I would have done differently. Still, I’ve a feeling that within a few days we’ll be thanking the General for what occurred that day outside of Linzi.”

  Zhai Jue bowed low for Wen and offered his thanks before stepping aside so that the men could continue on toward where Duke Kang was being held.

  Wen reached the door first and pulled it open, holding his arm up for the three men behind him to go on through ahead of him. Jing smiled up at his kind gesture, but both Lie and Tai stepped through the door with the same haughty expressions they’d worn since reaching the compound. Wen only shrugged and stepped through behind them as Zhai Jue followed before closing the door.

  A short hallway ended at another door, this one flanked by two soldiers. Both men stood at attention when they realized that their Marquis was coming toward them, and the door was quickly thrown open for them. Jing was the first one through, followed by Lie and Tai. Wen paused and turned back before entering.

  “It is better if you wait outside, General,” he said to Zhai Jue.

  Zhai nodded and grasped the door, holding it open until Wen stepped through and then closed it tightly behind him.

  Jing was already moving toward the chair that Wen suspected Duke Kang had been sitting in when they’d entered. The ruler of Qi stood with his arm held out, motioning for Jing to sit down in the only chair in the room. Jing nodded at Kang in thanks as he stepped past him and sat in the chair, and Lie and Tai both stared on in silence. Jing was the first to speak after he’d become settled.

  “It has been some time since I saw you last, Duke Kang.”

  “Yes, not since my father was still Duke and King Weilie called his last meeting of the Seven States in Luoyang,” Kang replied.

  “That was before I was even Marquis myself, so long ago it was,” Jing replied.

  Kang nodded. “And in that time it seems that we’ve gone from being friends to being enemies,” he said with a glance up at both Wen and Lie.

  “Such are the vagaries of politics,” Lie said.

  Kang stared at the younger man, a frown on his face. “And what do you know of politics, Marquis Lie, other than what you witnessed your advisors carry out for you?”

  Lie clenched his fists. “It seems I know enough about politics to keep my throne and not become a prisoner of three other states!” he said angrily.

  Wen moved up beside Lie and put his hand on his shoulder. “Come now, Kang. There’s no reason for provocation here. Nothing can change what happened a few days ago, all we can do now is make the best of the situation.”

  “And who will that situation benefit most, I wonder?” Kang said. “Surely you don’t think that you’ll be gaining the throne of Qi, Tai?”

  “I’ve earned it on the battlefield,” Tai said defiantly.

  “Only to have it taken away from you through backroom deals,” Kang said quickly.

  Doubt crept onto Tai’s face and Kang continued.

  “Oh, you don’t know? Yesterday Marquis Wen came to me with a proposition. In return for my suggestion to King Weilie that he, Lie, and Jing be given the title of the Three Jins, he would agree to support me over you. Funny how quickly things can change, isn’t it?”

  Tai turned from Kang to look at Wen, his face awash with confusion.

  “The three of us had a deal, Wen,” he said anxiously. “We agreed that you three would help me become ruler of Qi in return for my future support.”

  “I think it’s safe to say that deal has come to a crashing end,” Kang said with a laugh.

  Wen folded his arms in front of him and into his robes and narrowed his eyes at Kang. Kang caught the look, which caused the smile on his face to vanish, and he looked down at the floor. After a moment Wen turned to look at Tai, who was staring at him, awaiting an answer.

  “I’m sorry Tai,” Wen said slowly, his face truly remorseful, “but Kang speaks the truth: our deal has come to an end.”

  Tai shook his head as if to refute the words and looked to Lie and Jing. “Is this true?” he asked.

  Both men’s faces remained implac
able and neither said a word, although Jing lowered his eyes when Tai’s gaze met him.

  Tai turned back to Wen, his face showing more anger than confusion. “You’ve betrayed me,” he said through clenched teeth.

  “We helped you defeat Kang, which was our original deal. Nothing was said about Kang having to die” Wen said flatly. “You chose not to take advantage of that defeat, and now you dare speak to me of betrayal? How dare you!”

  Wen’s voice had risen until he ended in an angry shout. Lie and Jing watched in surprise, not sure if Wen was baiting Tai or just in the throes of his own anger at having been accused of betrayal. Whatever the reasons, the result was that Tai was further angered. He gripped the pommel of his sword and this time pulled it from its sheath.

  “No one betrays House Tian,” he said as he stepped toward Wen, the sword held out in front of him.

  Wen still had his arms folded into his robes across his chest and made no move as Tai came forward the few feet that separated them. Suddenly Tai lunged forward with his sword, aiming for Wen’s chest. Wen waited calmly then sidestepped past Tai at the last possible moment. Tai, not having expected the older man to be so lithe and quick, continued on a step before trying to correct himself and spin to where Wen had moved. He was too slow. As Wen had moved past he’d pulled a dagger from the arm of his robe and clutched it tightly in his right hand. He came up beside Tai and thrust the dagger up toward Tai’s throat. Tai was able to spin around quick enough to face Wen just as the tip of the dagger began to push up under his chin. The anger in his eyes was replaced by confusion then shock and fear as the dagger bit into the soft flesh under his chin and continued on up through his mouth and then into his brain. His body shuddered and the sword fell from his grasp. Lie and Kang, both shocked by the sudden attack, stepped forward toward the two men, and even Jing came up out of his chair, all infirmities of age somehow forgotten during the show.

  Wen stared into Tai’s eyes as the life drained from them.

  “I’m sorry, Tai, it didn’t have to be like this,” he said as he moved Tai back.

  Tai was unable to say anything with the dagger pinning his mouth shut, but his eyes pleaded for a final moment before Wen pushed him backward to fall into the chair that Jing had just vacated. It was clear from his eyes that he was dead as soon as he hit it.

  Silence reigned in the room for several moments as each man looked at the lifeless body of Tai Tian staring back at them. Finally Wen looked away from the body and turned his gaze onto each of the men beside him. He them a stern look and no one said anything. After wiping his hands on his robes he moved toward the door and slowly opened it, said a few words, and then stepped back. General Zhai Jue came into the room and quickly pulled the door shut behind him when he saw Tai’s body laying in the chair.

  “Quietly spread the word among the men that Tai’s men are to be killed as quickly and as painlessly as possible,” Wen said when Zhai Jue again looked up at him. He turned his eyes to Lie and Jing. “Inform the Zhou and Han soldiers to do the same.”

  “You’ll have to send the generals here for that order,” Jing said. “They’d never carry it out without my personal permission.”

  Wen nodded and turned back to Zhai Jue. “Very well, send them here right away.”

  Zhai Jue nodded and left the room. Wen turned back to Kang.

  “We’ll leave for Luoyang within the hour.”

  Kang looked back at his former enemy now laying dead in the chair, swallowed the knot in his throat, and nodded.

  * * * * *

  The journey to Luoyang would take nearly two days, so no time was wasted in getting under way. Once the Zhao and Han generals had been ordered by Marquis’ Lie and Jing to go along with Wen’s plan, things had moved quickly. Tai’s men, numbering only a dozen, had quickly been dispatched, not a one learning of the fate of their leader. A large pit had then been dug on the outskirts of the compound and their bodies thrown in, Tai’s on top, and then the mass-grave had been covered over and left unmarked. Wen ordered the peasants that lived within the compound to move to Anyi, and they’d packed their things and set out at once with no questions asked. They’d known what had happened when Tai’s soldiers began to be killed, and they were happy they’d not shared the same fate through the simple misfortune of having been present.

  Wen had then ordered Zhai Jue to double the amount of men at the compound in case any more of Tai’s men arrived, while telling him to move quickly back to Linzi along with the other two generals to again take command of the small army still there. Zhai Jue had nodded and said nothing, sure that orders would be forthcoming as soon as the coming events in Luoyang played themselves out. For the sake of speed and also to draw the least amount of attention, Wen then convinced Lie and Jing to order most of their men to accompany the soldiers to Linzi. He wanted to move swiftly to Luoyang and he didn’t want to raise any eyebrows while doing so, and three dozen chariots just wouldn’t allow either. They managed to fit all their necessary men into just six chariots and were out of the compound and thundering down the road south before Tai had been dead even an hour.

  Wen rode with Zhai Huang and Duke Kang, while behind him rode Lie with two of his attendants, and Jing the next in line with two of his. The final three chariots contained Wu, Liu, and Wei, as well as other men of similar station attending to Lie and Jing. They moved quickly, each of the Marquis’ at the reins of their own chariot, though Wen was always in the lead. By the time darkness fell they’d moved more than halfway to the Zhou lands and there was a possibility they’d reach the capital by the next evening.

  They stopped alongside the Yellow River near a thicket of trees and soon two large fires were burning with most of the eighteen men gathered around them, the others off standing guard.

  “I had no choice but to kill him,” Wen said after he’d settled himself near the fire, breaking the silence by addressing the subject most of the others around him had been thinking about since morning. “He came at me with a sword drawn and blood in his eyes.”

  “We all saw it,” Jing said, “but I wonder what consequences Tai’s rash action and your warranted reaction will bring to us all.”

  Lie nodded at the comment. “Word will get back to his son Fei of what’s happened, and it won’t matter to him that his father initiated the attack – he’ll want vengeance.”

  “Vengeance not just against Wei, but Han and Zhao as well, the other perceived betrayers of the deal with his father,” Jing added.

  “Not if I stop him first,” Kang said.

  “You haven’t been able to stop House Tian for a century,” Wen said with a cold look, “what makes you think you can start now, especially with a new bloodlust upon them?”

  “It’s precisely because of that!” Kang said. “If Fei is blinded enough by his hatred over his father’s death then he’ll be easy for me to kill.”

  “Fei is old, just less then twenty years younger then his father was, and his own sons are grown men,” Liu said. “One of them could see the folly in going against the combined might of Wei, Han, and Zhao and stop their father.”

  Wen looked over at Liu and nodded. “Fei won’t be thinking logically, it’s true, but whether his own sons have the temerity to go against their father is something that none of us can know for sure.”

  “I think we’ve wasted enough time meddling in the affairs of Qi,” Wu said suddenly. He directed his gaze toward Kang. “If you cannot keep your own home in order then perhaps you shouldn’t be in power in the first place.”

  “Silence!” Wen shouted with a cold look at his son. “Whether we choose to meddle in the affairs of Qi anymore or not isn’t really important any longer. House Tian will look for vengeance, whether that’s in the coming weeks, or the coming years. At some point they’ll strike against one of us, or perhaps all three of us. Despite our efforts earlier today I’ve no doubt that word of Tai’s death is already traveling to his son.”

  “Then let us strike at House Tian first and
destroy them once and for all before they gain control of Qi and become a real threat,” Wu said loudly, unperturbed by his father’s stern look and commanding voice.

  Wen got up from the ground more quickly than any of the others imagined possible and before they knew what was happening Wen was on the other side of the fire and in front of Wu.

  “Don’t you ever talk back to me like that,” Wen shouted as he slapped Wu hard across the face three times.

  Wu stared up at his father in shock and raised his hand up to fend off any other blows, although Wen had already moved away.

  “Get out of my sight!” Wen said as he turned around to stare at his son, his arm raised and finger pointing toward the other fire.

  Wu brushed away the thin line of blood that was beginning to spill from his nose, gathered up his robes around him, and rushed from the fire without a word.

  Wen shook his head and trudged back to where he’d been sitting. “Children,” he muttered, “they never learn.”

  Jing nodded. “They have to be taught continually,” he said, “and often words aren’t enough.”

  Silence fell as Wen sat down again, and continued for many minutes as the men stared into the fire. Finally Liu cleared his throat and all eyes went to him.

  “There is a chance that if King Weilie proclaims Wei, Han, and Zhao as the Three Jins that he’ll also call forth the leaders of the other states to witness such a proclamation,” he said. “If that is the case then there’s a strong chance that each of the leaders will then sit down and agree to some kind of peace agreement.”

  “That does nothing to assuage the threat from House Tian,” Kang said.

  “No,” Lie agreed, “but it does mean that whether you retain control of Qi or House Tian wrests it from you, neither of you will be able to break that peace by coming against one or all of us.”

  “Peace agreements are often forgotten soon after they’re agreed to,” Jing said. “The past has taught us that. No, I think that if peace is agreed upon it’ll last no longer than those of us sitting around this fire remain alive.”