Chapter 499: - The Grand Assembly

Contrary to what one might imagine, the atmosphere inside the great hall was not oppressive.

It was bright and relaxed.

Seven dancers moved gracefully through the hall.

The Regent sat on the steps beneath the dragon throne, a handful of dried fruit in his left hand, eating as he watched.

Nian Yao entered.

The dancers continued without stopping.

Xiong Tingshan, seated in a corner, waved Nian Yao over.

Nian Yao obeyed and sat beside him.

A long while later, the dance finally ended.

The Regent smiled.

“Reward them.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

“Thank you, Your Highness.”

After the dancers withdrew, the Regent leaned backward, braced both hands against the step behind him, tipped his face upward, and looked at the carved beams and painted rafters overhead.

Xiong Tingshan moved closer.

“Imperial Brother seems to be in excellent spirits.”

The Regent shook his head.

“If we win, then I was calmly directing the board, with plans hidden deep in my breast, remaining unmoved as a mountain. If we lose, then I was lost in pleasure, lacking ambition, drunk on luxury and dreaming my life away. In truth, neither judgment has much to do with whether I was sitting here listening to music and watching dancers.”

Xiong Tingshan nodded.

“That’s the truth of it. Win, and everything you do becomes correct. Lose, and even eating half an extra bowl of rice becomes a monstrous crime.”

The Regent pointed beside himself, signaling Nian Yao to sit closer.

Nian Yao obeyed.

The Regent remained sprawled on the steps.

“The matter is what it is. Phoenix Nest’s report was simple, but honestly, it was enough. If the Emperor of Yan openly issued the decree in his capital, then this war certainly won’t be small. It’s rather interesting too. They just finished giving Liqing that grand welcome and formally bestowing a princess title on her, then immediately turned around and prepared to wage war against Great Chu. That Emperor of Yan certainly knows how to separate family affairs from affairs of state. But whatever else is true, they’ve decided to fight. We can only accept the move. Zhennan Pass is the key. If the Yan attack, that is unquestionably the road they’ll use. Nian Yao, you’ve been stationed there before. Tell us your plan.”

Nian Yao bowed.

“Answering Your Highness, this slave’s plan is to fight a stupid war.”

The Regent laughed.

He looked at Xiong Tingshan.

“Fifth Brother, listen to this slave. Ah.”

Xiong Tingshan said, “Doing less also means making fewer mistakes.”

The Regent nodded.

“I know that principle. But I still don’t like hearing it.”

Nian Yao immediately dropped flat to the ground.

“This slave deserves death.”

“Not because of you. I simply know in my heart that if Great Chu tries to match Yan cavalry in open battle, we really are at too much of a disadvantage.”

Xiong Tingshan said, “Imperial Brother, Great Chu’s infantry would not necessarily lose even against Yan cavalry. If infantry formations are used properly and supported by the cavalry Great Chu does possess—admittedly not much of it, but still elite—then even in the open field, victory or defeat would remain uncertain. The condition is that the infantry must be elite.”

Nian Yao said, “This slave is guilty.”

Xiong Tingshan clicked his tongue.

“We’re discussing state affairs before the ruler. Stop hiding behind status and fussing over who you are. Whatever your birth, you are still Great Chu’s General-in-Chief. Keep your back a little straighter.”

“Fifth Brother is right. We’re all people of the same household here. Speak freely.”

“Yes, Your Highness. Yes, Fifth Highness. As for what Fifth Highness said earlier, this slave cannot agree. It is true that Great Chu’s elite infantry are all hard fighters tempered through war with the mountain tribes. Combined with Great Chu’s long-established infantry methods and battle formations, if both sides formed lines and fought face-to-face, even this slave would dare command them to bang gong against gong and drum against drum with the Yan. But the trade would not be worth it. Yan cavalry is at its strongest on horseback. And the southern Marquis of Yan, together with commanders like Count Pingye, are best at cavalry penetration and envelopment. After annexing Jin, the Yan lack neither pasture nor horses, and they have absorbed the cavalrymen of the Three Jin lands. Cavalry have four legs. Men have only two. They are naturally faster than our infantry, which means they can seize the initiative on the battlefield. The envelopment tactics I mentioned can be divided into large-scale envelopment and small-scale envelopment. Large-scale envelopment is what the two Marquises of north and south used in the Campaign to Open Jin. The main forces of the Helian and Wenren clans were attacking Yan cities along the Horseshoe Mountains. The two strongest Yan cavalry armies joined together, swung through a huge arc, and appeared behind them. That is what led to the ten-day, thousand-li campaign that destroyed both clans one after another. Small-scale envelopment refers to what Yan cavalry does inside the battle itself, relying on drilled coordination and instincts forged through repeated wars. At the Second Battle of Wang River, Tian Wujing used a substitution stratagem to lure the Savage King’s main force into a decisive battle against his true elites. Even then, however, the Savage main force still greatly outnumbered Tian Wujing’s own. Yet once both sides put more than ten thousand men into the field, the battle begins to break apart. Put a hundred thousand on each side, and the scale becomes almost impossible to imagine. If one side is holding fortified camps and layered defenses, that is one thing. But when two armies spread completely across open ground and fight, the supreme commander cannot possibly grasp the entire situation in time. At best he can use his central reserves as a lever, trying to guide the direction of the battle. The Yan thrive in precisely that kind of chaos. During the charge, their cavalry divides itself into many separate forces, cutting and drilling through from multiple directions. That is how they tore apart the Savage main force, shattered its order, then broke it outright. That is small-scale envelopment. In truth, when two battle lines first crash together, the number killed outright is not necessarily that large. But once the Savage main force collapsed, even if Count Pingye had not seized Snow Sea Pass in advance, not many of those Savages would have escaped back to the snowfields. For Great Chu’s infantry, that is the real problem with open-field battle. If we win, the Yan cavalry can retreat in good order. Our army will struggle to catch them. Even if we force a pursuit and somehow close the distance, it will still be extremely difficult to surround and annihilate them. And all the while we must guard against a feigned retreat and an ambush laid along our pursuit route. But if we lose and Yan cavalry comes riding us down, very few of our men will make it back. That was how the Yan attacked Qian in the past as well. Their cavalry applied pressure, smashed the lines, and once the Qian army broke, they leisurely hunted men across the hills and plains.”

Xiong Tingshan had spent years in Wutong Commandery fighting disobedient mountain tribes.

Among the mountain peoples, waterways tangled everywhere and valleys cut through the land.

There was hardly any environment suitable for large-scale cavalry warfare.

So Xiong Tingshan could not be called ignorant of cavalry tactics, but he had never truly fought a cavalry corps himself.

After hearing Nian Yao’s explanation, he looked somewhat embarrassed.

The Regent raised a hand and patted his forehead.

“By that reasoning, will Great Chu never have a day when we can contend with the Yan in open battle?”

Nian Yao immediately answered, “That is not so, Your Highness. Ever since Your Highness stabilized the realm, you have already begun cultivating cavalry units among the Imperial Clan Guards. Great Chu’s horses are not as tall or powerful as Yan horses, but properly trained, they can still serve. In this slave’s view, Great Chu should do three things. First, like Qian, continue expanding our cavalry and continue training it. Second, in foreign war, rely mainly on steady advances and firm positions, avoiding the Yan at the point of their greatest strength. Third, if we truly intend to fight in the open, then among favorable timing, terrain, and human factors, we should possess at least two before committing.”

Xiong Tingshan sighed.

“Imperial Brother, I think this slave Nian Yao is right. The Yan must campaign from far away. To attack Zhennan Pass, they have to cross the entire Jin region. Great Chu can wait at ease for an exhausted enemy. We might as well grind them down at Zhennan Pass and see how many lives the Yan are willing to bury beneath those walls. We’ll accompany them for as long as they want. Once the Yan are exhausted, Great Chu can look for an opportunity to move. And remember, there have always been rumors that the Emperor of Yan is in poor health. You, Imperial Brother, are still young.”

The Regent nodded.

In truth, he had already formed his own plan.

Everything before this had merely been a chance for his two most trusted generals to speak openly with each other.

In particular, this Fifth Brother of his had always wanted a chance to command on the front.

The Regent trusted Xiong Tingshan not to rebel.

If the man wanted rebellion, he could have acted long ago. There would have been no reason to submit first, then turn around and rebel later.

What worried the Regent was that Fifth Brother might become arrogant and underestimate the enemy.

He also worried that his coming arrangements might leave Xiong Tingshan dissatisfied.

That was why he had deliberately sat here watching dancers while waiting for Nian Yao to arrive and speak with Fifth Brother.

As Great Chu’s emperor in fact, though not yet in name— no.

More precisely, the past several generations of Chu emperors had all needed this kind of long-sleeved political skill in order to maintain Chu’s symbiotic political structure.

In truth, if one set aside the existence of a monster like the Marquis of Zhenbei Residence, Chu had handled this sort of political ecology better than any of the Four Great States of the East.

In Qian, the scholar-official class had woven layer after layer of nets. Those nets did not merely bind the military commanders. They bound the ruler himself. Even the current ruler of Qian had only gained room to act because the last Yan invasion helped tear a hole through those nets. Only then had he been able to dismiss several Chancellors in one stroke and begin exercising genuine authority.

Jin hardly needed explanation.

The Jin imperial house lived in the Prince of Jin Residence in Yanjing.

The Situ Clan lived in the Prince Cheng Residence in Yingdu.

Both had surrendered.

Yet the treatment received by the orthodox imperial house was actually inferior to that enjoyed by one of the vassal clans that had nominally served beneath it.

Yan, meanwhile, had been walking a tightrope.

It had personally raised the monstrous Marquis of Zhenbei Residence into existence.

Without the almost unbelievable iron-triangle relationship among those three men, the State of Yan might not be busy expanding outward today.

It might be busy fighting a civil war.

“Nian Yao.”

“This slave is here.”

“You will depart immediately for Zhennan Pass. Reorganize and strengthen the defenses there.”

“This slave obeys.”

“Fifth Brother.”

“This younger brother is here.”

“You remain in the capital. Push the troops in your hands through training as quickly as possible. Before long, forces from every direction will gather in Ying Capital. You will oversee their organization as well. At the necessary moment, you will need to march north.”

“This younger brother obeys.”

“Do not blame your elder brother for denying you the opportunity. On a matter like this, I want stability above all.”

The Regent understood Nian Yao’s ability very clearly.

There was another reason too.

When facing Tian Wujing, Nian Yao had shown none of the arrogance and overbearing confidence he once possessed while suppressing the rebellions of the imperial princes.

From beginning to end, he had remained... cowardly.

That was exactly what reassured the Regent most.

“Three days from now, I will convene a Grand Assembly.”

The Grand Assembly was a traditional institution of Chu.

The nobility of Chu was divided into seven ranks.

At a Grand Assembly, the Emperor of Chu summoned the nobles of the highest three ranks to gather and deliberate together.

After suppressing the rebellions of his brothers, the Regent had once convened such an assembly.

It was at that Grand Assembly that he formally established himself as the orthodox representative of Chu’s imperial house.

“We’ll begin moving first, then watch carefully and see how much the Yan are truly prepared to stake this time. Earlier, after discussing the matter with all of you, I concluded that the Yan should not be capable of another major war within five years of destroying Jin. Now it seems that Emperor of Yan wants to gamble again. What a... madman.”

The Regent stretched out his hand.

He scattered the remaining dried fruit across the floor.

“If you keep walking beside the river, how can your shoes never get wet?”

...

The news that the State of Yan intended to campaign against Chu was suppressed.

Of course, concealing it forever was impossible.

There was no way to do so.

And there was no need.

Once war began and soldiers marched, who could possibly hide it?

If you truly concealed everything, who would go fight the war?

The present information blockade existed only to give the political situation a stable transition period, allowing the court time to make its arrangements calmly.

Three days later, inside the Golden Phoenix Hall of Ying Capital’s imperial palace, the Regent sat upon the dragon throne.

More than sixty nobles sat below him.

Half were elderly.

Half were middle-aged.

By Chu political custom, roughly half the offices of the central court were effectively possessions of the noble houses. Unless a man held noble rank of the corresponding level, he simply could not occupy certain posts. Some offices had even become hereditary positions passed down within particular noble families.

A row of torches burned in the center of the great hall.

Legend held that when the first Marquis of Chu deliberated with his vassals, torches had always been lit while everyone sat in a circle around them.

That ritual had been preserved ever since.

In truth, unless special circumstances prevented it, the heads of Chu’s great noble houses generally held office in Ying Capital.

If some clan head grew too old or sick and had no choice but to return to his fief to retire, he would normally send the family’s designated next clan head to Ying Capital to take over his position.

If a Grand Assembly needed to be held, enough people could generally be gathered the very next day, no differently from a court session.

The reason they had waited three days this time was that the true decision-makers of several great noble houses whose fiefs lay near Ying Capital needed time to travel in person.

Those houses were among the strongest noble families in Chu.

The Zhao Clan.

The Jing Clan.

The Dugu Clan.

And others like them.

Once everyone had taken his place, the aged head of the Jing Clan personally stepped forward.

He removed one torch, turned around, walked before the Regent, then slowly knelt and raised the torch above his head.

The Regent accepted it and placed it inside an iron brazier prepared beside him.

The old Jing clan head slowly rose and backed away.

Every noble stood.

Facing the Regent, they followed the old Jing clan head in performing the full rite of three kneelings and nine kowtows.

The Jing Clan had always been responsible for culture and education in Chu.

From the earliest days beside the first Marquis of Chu, the Jing Clan had handled rites and sacrifices.

Legend even held that their ancestors had once served in the Ministry of Rites of Great Xia.

After the grand rite ended, the nobles returned to their seats and waited for the Regent to speak.

The Regent raised a hand and beckoned to the side.

Several eunuchs entered carrying a dragon robe, a Heaven-Reaching Crown, and the rest of the regalia belonging to an emperor.

They placed everything in the center of the hall, then quietly withdrew.

The nobles looked at one another.

What was this?

Everyone knew the Regent’s formal accession was only a matter of time.

But today’s Grand Assembly was supposed to discuss how to respond to the Yan campaign against Chu.

Why had the dragon robe, Heaven-Reaching Crown, and imperial regalia suddenly been brought out?

The old head of the Jing Clan exchanged a glance with the old head of the Dugu Clan.

The former gave the latter a questioning look.

He knew the Dugu Clan’s Swordsmith had a close relationship with the Regent.

The old Dugu clan head gave a faint shake of his head.

He had no idea either.

The old head of the Jing Clan began thinking.

Among the common people of Chu, there had always been a tradition of using joyous occasions to counter bad fortune.

And whenever war came, if a man preparing to enlist already had a marriage agreement, custom said the wedding should be held early.

It represented fidelity.

It was also a blessing.

Could it be... that the Regent wanted to celebrate something auspicious before the great war began?

If so, should he step forward and urge it?

In truth, affairs of the court were not so different from the affairs of merchants and peddlers.

A great noble had a fief and population.

A merchant had a little capital and a batch of goods.

A great noble needed good relations with other noble houses, though when the opportunity came, he might suppress or swallow them.

A merchant needed good relations with others in his trade, though when the opportunity came, he might kick one while he was down.

A great noble needed to please the Emperor because Chu’s imperial house still controlled Great Chu’s most powerful forces.

A merchant needed to please the officials who managed the market ward.

So there was nothing strange about the old Jing clan head wondering whether he ought to follow the current and give the Regent the push he seemed to want.

But the Regent merely pointed at the dragon robe and Heaven-Reaching Crown lying on the floor.

Casually.

There was even a trace of disgust in his eyes.

“Any of you want this?”

In an instant, every noble rose again and dropped to his knees.

“This subject deserves ten thousand deaths.”

“This subject is guilty.”

None of them knew what the Regent intended.

But the court had its own etiquette and rules.

At a moment like this, admitting guilt first and making one’s attitude clear could hardly be wrong.

The Regent did not tell them to rise.

Instead, he shook his head.

“The Yan are coming. And from the look of things, the scale is several times larger than when their southern Marquis came down earlier this year. Tell me. Should I prepare a set of plain white mourning clothes and find myself a sheep? Then open the gates voluntarily, dress in white, lead the sheep, and surrender directly to the Yan? With luck, perhaps I can still get myself a princely title and spend the rest of my life in wealth and comfort. Does that sound good?”

The aged head of the Jing Clan immediately raised his head and shouted:

“Your Highness, how can you say such a thing? How could the ancestral realm of Great Chu be handed over to those Yan barbarians!”

“Yes, Your Highness! This is the foundation left to us by our ancestors!”

“Your Highness, we swear to defend Your Highness and defend Great Chu to the death!”

“Your Highness, withdraw those words at once, or this subject will smash his own head against this pillar and die here!”

“Your Highness—”

“Enough!”

The Regent slammed his palm down on the imperial desk.

He himself was a cultivator.

A spirit creature was nurtured within his body as well.

The blow split the imperial desk apart.

His shout silenced the Golden Phoenix Hall so completely that even breathing seemed to stop.

“Three days ago, I had Phoenix Nest Inner Guards personally carry word to every one of you. Great Chu has sixty-four noble houses of the third rank and above. Every true decision-maker of those houses is seated here today. But in these three days, only eleven houses have actually begun mobilizing laborers, grain, and troops from their fiefs. Only eleven! I want to ask the remaining fifty-three houses: What are you waiting for? What are you watching? Are you waiting for me to beg you? Are you waiting for me to bargain with you over how many soldiers, how much grain, and how many laborers you will provide? Great Chu is mine. Yes. But Great Chu is also yours! If we are going to fight this war, then smash open your family treasuries and fight it properly! Keep the Yan outside our borders! And when the war is over, you will still be the great noble houses of the third rank and above! If you do not want to fight, fine. I will go beg the Emperor of Yan for a princely title and preserve a thread of incense for the imperial ancestral temple. As for all of you, you can go sit down with that Emperor of Yan who once trampled the great clans beneath cavalry hooves, and have a very good talk.”

[End of Chapter 499]