The Warring States, Books 1-3

by Greg Strandberg

Pang shook off his thoughts when he noticed Meilin staring at him. “Is there anything else?” she said, as if she’d said it a few times already.

  “No, no, that’ll do,” Pang said, a bit taken aback that his thoughts had consumed him so. “Thank you for your time.”

  The woman nodded and Pang walked back out into the slums, his thoughts astir with new possibilities.

  FOURTEEN

  The army was ready to move by the time Pang arrived at the city gates. It hadn’t been hard to call up the reserves around the city; the Army of Wei had thousands of men ready to supplement the ranks of the army. They’d been roused in the morning and been told to assemble in their companies outside the gates. Judging from what he saw, Pang would say there were nearly twenty thousand men present.

  He signaled for guardsmen to get him a horse and was soon riding to the front camp where his command tent had been set up. All along the ride he thought of what Meilin had said. It didn’t make sense that Wu Qi had been exiled for something as simple as jealousy, but then a lot of things didn’t make sense he’d found out over the years. It certainly was plausible, Pang knew that; he saw how eccentric Hui was in his desire for women, could his father have been any different in his own way?

  They neared the command tent and Pang jumped down. His leading officers and commanders were already present and going over maps spread out on a large table inside the tent. Pang strode in just as one officer was finishing up.

  “How are the preparations?” Pang asked.

  “They’re fine,” one of the leading commanders said. “We’re ready to move out when you give the call.”

  “And where are we heading, exactly?” Pang asked. “Has word arrived from Sun Bin?”

  “It has,” another officer stepped forward to say, “not more than an hour ago.” He moved forward and handed the written orders to Pang, who studied them closely.

  “He wants us to move toward the Wey border, stopping short by a day or so,” Pang paraphrased out loud. “He’ll come up into Wey from Lu and give us instructions from there.”

  “It’s a typical pincer move if Zhao does come down from the north,” one commander pointed out. “This Sun Bin seems to know his stuff.”

  Pang noticed that many of the officers around the tent were nodding at the man’s comments, and Meilin’s words about jealousy came back to him again.

  “But will he be able to pull it off?” one of the other commanders questioned. “Zhao is still a formidable fighter, and they may put up quite the resistance.”

  “Bah,” another commander snorted, “they’ll turn tail and run the first chance they get once they see our armies there waiting for them.”

  “I agree,” Pang said, stifling all discussion. “Zhao would be foolish to move into such a trap. They’ll have no choice but to pull back across their own borders. That is, of course, if they don’t see this ruse for what it is beforehand.” He scanned the eyes of the men around him. “Remember, gentlemen, there’s still a very good chance that Zhao Army scouts could detect us before they make their move south. If that’s the case the whole thing might just blow up in our faces.”

  Several nodded at his words and Pang felt reassured. He let his words set in before nodding.

  “Give the order to move out,” he said, and the tent immediately jumped to attention.

  Either Sun was right, or they were making the biggest mistake in the history of the Seven States.

  ~ ~ ~

  Sun Bin sat astride his horse and watched the long column of men steadily move forward. He was perched on top a hill overlooking the capital of the State of Wey, Chiqiu. Men were now constructing camps all around the south, east, and west of the city. Only the northern area was uninhabited, long fields stretching emptily along the northern road to the State of Zhao.

  Sun turned his horse toward one of the army’s commanders, a man by the name of Lushan.

  “How long will it take the whole army to get settled?” he asked.

  “Should take well into the night,” Lushan answered. “By morning they’ll all be here.”

  “And the scouts, when will they be back?”

  “The first’ll be back early this morning, unless they see something.”

  Sun nodded. He’d come to trust the instincts of Lushan since riding up with him from the State of Lu. The men that’d been tasked with securing the state had been gathered up and marched north, and they’d done a good job of it – what should have taken four days had only taken two. By the time Zhao did make their move the men would be well rested. That’s if the state to the north didn’t make it today or tomorrow, he thought to himself.

  “What of the State of Wey?” Sun asked. “Do we know their exact numbers yet?”

  Lushan shook his head. “We’re still trying to figure that out. Men are inside the city now talking with the rulers. We should have a report shortly.”

  Sun nodded. Things were falling into place. As soon as he’d reached the hills overlooking the city he’d called back for a bird. The message he’d written out for Pang was short, but it made clear what was expected of him. So long as he moved his men up to the border and waited there, they’d be fine. Everything now just depended on what Zhao would do. It was obvious to him at least that the power-hungry state to the north would try to invade one of the last remaining small states. They’d be able to move in quickly and their casualties would be minimal. After all, look how they’d been met when they’d shown up on the hills a few hours before. Instead of men waiting for them on the field of battle the city had been closed up tight. The rulers knew they’d been coming, but they hadn’t known what to expect. No doubt they were quite surprised to find out that they weren’t being invaded but instead being helped. Sun smiled despite himself. Did they know that they were merely a pawn being moved about by the larger states?

  ~ ~ ~

  Sun crouched outside his tent watching as the sun began to rise. Several days had passed since that first messenger had come bearing news of the Zhao Army’s advance. They’d crossed the border into the State of Wey nearly two days before, and should be upon them at any time.

  A large buzzing sound suddenly descended on the camp and Sun stood up from where he’d been crouching. Heads all around the camp were turning toward the road to the north, the road that the Zhao Army would eventually be coming down.

  Are they here already? Sun thought to himself as he began moving closer toward the road.

  Then he saw what it was the men were looking at: a lone horseman was riding hard toward them, a large cloud of dust in his wake. He was speeding toward the command tents on the hill and Sun quickly began running in that direction.

  The horseman made it there well before him and was already in the largest of the command tents when Sun was allowed inside by the guards stationed out front. It was the scout they’d sent out a few days before with instructions to come back once the Zhao Army was upon them. His dusty clothes and weary expression made it all but certain that had occurred.

  “A few hours at most,” the man was saying as Sun ducked into the tent.

  “That’s all?” Lushan asked. “How did they get here so quickly?”

  “They’ve been marching day and night, that’s how,” another commander said. “Which means they’ll be worn out.”

  Sun saw several men around the tent nod. Nearly all the commanders were present, although it still wasn’t certain whether there’d be a battle between the Wei and Zhao armies yet.

  “They could camp past those fields and rest up,” another commander pointed out.

  “There’s no telling what they’ll do until they get here,” Lushan said. “Until then we’ll stick to the plan.”

  He looked over at Sun standing by the doorway and nodded.

  “We’ll not leave our camps all day,” Sun said as he took a few steps into the center of the tent. “We’ll sit tight and let them see what they’re up against, but we’ll offer no provocation whatsoever. Remember, gentlemen, it’s Zhao that has
to start this fight.”

  “And what if they charge us the moment they see us?” one commander asked.

  “They may think we’re just part of Wey’s forces,” another pointed out.

  “That’s highly unlikely to happen,” Lushan said. “They’ll send scouts ahead same as us. Chances are they already know what’s waiting for them.”

  “So we negotiate,” Sun said, drawing all eyes to him once again. “We’ll tell them the situation and let them decide. Either they can turn around and head back home or they can try to take Wey, which means they’d have to force their way through us first.”

  “They’d never be able to,” one commander said with a smile. “We outnumber them nearly two-to-one.”

  “Battles have been lost with greater odds than that on an army’s side,” Sun said quickly. “And remember, we only have that superiority if Pang’s army gets here. We can’t underestimate our opponent. Once they get on those hills and see that they won’t be getting Wey without a fight, there’s no telling what they’ll do.”

  “And if they do attack?” one commander asked.

  “Then we fight back,” Lushan answered. “General Pang and his forces are waiting on the western border with Wei and just ready to pounce.”

  “So now all we do is sit and wait then, is that it?” one more commander asked.

  “That’s it,” Sun said. “Use that time to prepare yourselves; chances are we won’t see peace again among the Seven States during our lifetimes.”

  ~ ~ ~

  It was less than the scout’s estimate of a few hours when the Zhao Army appeared on the hills overlooking Chiqiu. At first the main column of men and horses had stopped and those looking up from the Wei Army camps below could see a lots of high ranking men running back and forth. It appeared that the Zhao Army was somehow caught off guard by the sight of the Wei Army allayed before them.

  It was nearly an hour after their appearance that a lone rider was sent down. Sun had expected this and wasn’t surprised that the man looked like a low-ranking officer. Terms would have to be discussed first before any substantive meeting took place.

  Sun nodded when Lushan looked over at him and then their chosen rider was sent out, another low-ranking officer like he expected Zhao to be fielding. It wouldn’t do to have leading generals picked-off by the archers in the hills, after all.

  Both armies watched as the two riders exchanged words out on the center of the road, empty fields all around them, fields which now stood the chance of being drenched in blood. After barely more than a minute the two men broke off their short talk and raced back to their respective commands.

  Sun moved over to where Lushan and several of the other commanders were standing. A few moments later the rider was back upon them.

  “They’ll meet, out in the center of the field like just now,” the scout said as he got off his horse. “They want the meeting to take place now. I don’t think they were too happy.”

  “No?” Sun said with a laugh, “I’d expect not. Their plans for an easy victory have suddenly vanished.”

  “Did they agree on the men?” one of the commanders asked.

  “Aye,” the rider answered, “just two each.”

  “Good,” Sun nodded. “Lushan, are you ready?”

  The General of the army nodded and both went for their horses.

  FIFTEEN

  Sun and Lushan rode out to the center of the field first, but it was only a few minutes later that they saw two more riders start to descend the hills before them. It was but a matter of minutes before they were in the center of the field and upon them.

  “Good day!” Sun called out to the first rider to step forward once both had stopped.

  “What are Wei troops doing here?” the Zhao commander asked.

  Sun glanced over at Lushan.

  “We’re here helping Wey,” he said. “We’ve come at their call.”

  “Nonsense!” the commander said. “What tricks are you playing?”

  “There are no tricks here!” Sun called out. “You’d do best to turn your army around and head home to Zhao – there’s nothing to conquer here.”

  “Why you insolent…”

  The man trailed off as he spun his horse about and headed back to his companion. Both men conferred quickly, the commander pointing angrily back at Sun. After another moment they turned their horses and sped off in the direction they’d come.

  “Well if it’s an attack you wanted, you got it for sure,” Lushan said next to Sun.

  “I warned them, and they have eyes,” Sun replied. “It’s their choice now, and they’ll suffer the consequences of it.”

  ~ ~ ~

  Sun and Lushan hadn’t been back in the camp more than ten minutes when a larger line of troops began appearing on the hills overlooking the city.

  “You’ve angered them,” Lushan said as they stood outside their command tent staring up at the forces, which numbered in the thousands.

  “Good,” Sun said. “Angry commanders make bad decisions. And bad decisions lose battles.”

  He turned to face Lushan. “You’re sure that Pang will show up in time?”

  Lushan nodded. “The message he sent this morning made it sound like that.”

  “Good,” Sun said, turning his attention back to the massing Zhao troops. He knew full-well that if Pang didn’t show up they’d be in big trouble.

  ~ ~ ~

  “We’re not going to make it before nightfall,” the soldier said, riding up to Pang.

  “We’ve got to!” Pang shouted. “The Zhao army will already be there by this afternoon – if we’re not there then Sun’s finished.”

  “The men are moving as fast as they can,” the soldier said. “We simply misjudged the distance and how long it would take us to get over those rough roads.”

  Pang nodded and dismissed the man. The roads had been more washed-out than they’d thought at it’d taken them hours longer than it should have to get as far as they had. Even having set out an hour early that morning they were more than two hours behind, and fast approaching three. Pang looked ahead at the tired and bedraggled Wei soldiers ahead of him and knew that they’d need Shangdi’s blessing to make it to Chiqiu on time.

  ~ ~ ~

  “They’re moving!” Lushan shouted, pointing at a group of chariots that began to rush down the hill.

  Sun looked around quickly. The Zhao forces would be on them in minutes, probably less, although he didn’t think the initial assault would be that bad.

  On the hills before them were six companies of Zhao archers, about 200 men each. The long road leading up to the hills and then through them to the north held four companies of chariots, each with about 250 cars, as well as four units of infantry, each numbering around 7,000 men.

  The Wei forces weren’t any less, however. Chiqiu was situated in the center of a deep valley, mountains and hills rising up all around it. To the east of the city was a large forest, and Sun had Lushan station their two archery units there, each numbering 250 men. Sun hoped the trees would afford them some cover from the arrows that were sure to begin raining down from the Zhao positions any second.

  In front of the forest and between the two archery units was a unit of chariots, 300 cars present, with another unit of 300 further to the west but along the edge of the forest as well. In front of them were three infantry units of about 5,000 men each. On the other side of the northern road leading out of the city were another two chariot units and another three divisions of infantry. So in total Wei had just over 36,000 men compared to the 30,000 that Zhao had, and that wasn’t even counting the small army Wey had in the city, a few thousand more men. Of course those were all estimates on the part of the Wei Army scouts, but looking at the troops lined out before them Sun figured it was correct.

  Wei might have had more soldiers, but what Sun was particularly worried about was the superiority Zhao had in firepower. Wei had but 500 archers, and they were on low ground. Zhao had more than twice that number
and they had the advantage of height. Once those arrows began raining down from the hills Sun figured the 2,000 extra infantry soldiers he had wouldn’t much matter anymore, and the 200 chariot lead he also enjoyed would be reduced to almost nothing. That’s why it was so critical that Pang reach the battle soon. Zhao hadn’t come expecting a fight with Wei, but they were prepared for one nonetheless, and looked to have a good chance of winning it.

  ~ ~ ~

  “Who was he?” the young solder asked his commander.

  “Some upstart, I suppose,” Ren said, the commander of the Zhao Army that had pushed south into Wey, “and one that’s about to get a taste of what Zhao can do.”

  “They’ve got us outnumbered, sir,” the soldier said.

  “We’ve got the advantage of terrain,” Ren replied. “While it’s true they may have the city, these heights and the advantage they afford to our archers will ensure that we can reduce their numerical superiority in a matter of minutes.”

  “That fast?” the soldier asked.

  Ren nodded and raised his arm up to point out the field.

  “Our left-flank will be heavily-protected by those three units of archers protecting them. Our right-flank has much the same, but it’s that left-flank that really matters – any Wei troops rushing there will be pinned by our chariots and picked-off by our archers.”

  “And the right-flank?” the soldier asked.

  “I intend to just move our men down on the right, using them to hold and bottle-up the Wei forces in front of the city. So long as our archers are in range we should make quick work of them.

  “They’re moving into place now sir,” the soldier said, pointing toward the line of chariots on the left side of the road.

  Ren nodded. “The archers should receive the order to begin firing in moments.”

  “They won’t know what hit them, sir.”

  Ren nodded, knowing that to be the case.

  ~ ~ ~

  “There they go!” Lushan said, pointing up at the ridge to the east of the city, the one that the left-flank of Zhao was holding.

  “The chariots are coming down and that first volley from the archers will be off in minutes.”