Song Chuyi and Zhang Yi would exchange a few light-hearted remarks from time to time, as though they had not a care in the world. But the reality of their situation was anything but reassuring.
They had spent nearly half an hour making their way through the pitch-black forest in the pouring rain, searching every inch of the surrounding one to two miles. Eventually, they found the carriage Qiao had been riding in.
Judging from the traces around it, the horses had apparently been bitten to death here. The carriage had been unable to stop in time and crashed into a huge rock face, shattering into pieces. Across the wreckage were broad red stains where the rain had washed away the blood.
Song Chuyi stood silently before the pile of broken timber for a long while. The Wei soldiers gathered around her, some staring at the wreckage, others at Song Chuyi. Not a single one made a sound. Their battered armor gleamed with a faint, cold light in the rainy night, like row upon row of gravestones.
“Find somewhere to shelter from the rain,” Song Chuyi said.
Song Chuyi could tell that Ji Yu was a man who cared deeply for his soldiers. They had been soaked by the rain all night, and if they continued like this, they might collapse before they ever had the chance to face the Song army.
Ji Yu hesitated for a moment, then immediately rallied the troops and led them towards a cliff they had passed earlier.
“Huaijin, you…” For a moment, Zhang Yi did not know what he could possibly say to comfort her.
Song Chuyi gave a faint smile. “Life and death are ordinary things. He and I were merely passing acquaintances. There is no reason for me to grieve too deeply.”
Zhang Yi looked at her. Though she said this, and though she showed no profound sorrow, he could not shake the feeling of something heavy lodged in his chest. After letting out a sigh, he said, “Enough. We should leave this place as soon as possible. I haven’t seen a city in four months. Wandering through these desolate mountains and wilderness has only made me feel more and more useless.”
A strategist strategizes for people and for circumstances. Here, there was precious little room for them to make use of their abilities. The fact that they had not already ended up in a wolf’s belly was fortunate enough.
The two fell silent. Following the Wey troops through a stretch of thorny woodland, they finally reached the foot of the cliff.
The cliff jutted out in an inverted shape, narrower at the bottom, with part of the rock face hollowed out. By squeezing together, it could shelter more than a thousand people. The rest of the soldiers kept watch around the area, taking turns to rest in case the wolves attacked again.
There were no dry branches or kindling to be found in the rain, so the Wey troops had no choice but to pile up the handles of their torches and umbrellas and burn them. As they did so, they dried some firewood by the flames, just enough to keep the fire from going out.
Song Chuyi and Zhang Yi had only just sat down by the fire when Ji Yu came over. “Gentlemen, have you thought of a solution?”
The wood was not dry enough, and the fire sent up thick clouds of smoke. Song Chuyi narrowed her eyes, rearranged the pile of wood, and said, “If you want to fight, come to me for counsel. If you would rather avoid a battle, go to him.”
With Song Chuyi’s eloquence and intelligence, she might well have made a fine wandering strategist. Her greatest disadvantage, however, was that she was a woman. Nor was she a beautiful courtesan, and at present she had no reputation to speak of. Perhaps others would not even let her through the gates of their cities.
“If we can avoid a battle, that would be best,” Ji Yu said without hesitation. It was not that he was timid. Neither these soldiers nor the State of Wey could afford a battle in which they fought to the death.
“Qin is in the midst of internal turmoil. Wei has been locked in a bitter struggle with Qin for so many years that naturally it won’t pass up such a good opportunity. They have no time to concern themselves with minor matters here. The opportunity lies with Chu and Song.”
Song Chuyi felt that, after all, she had made more than two thousand people run around in the rain in the middle of the night looking for someone. She ought to put in some effort to repay the favor. There were limits to how much one should take advantage of others; she had never liked owing anyone anything.
Zhang Yi sat with his legs folded beside the fire, sleeves gathered around his hands. He was shivering from the cold, his voice trembling as he said, “Do you have any other plans? You didn’t bring two thousand men here intending to conquer territory and plunder cities, did you?”
Song Chuyi rolled her eyes. Zhang Yi really had no business calling her sharp-tongued. He was hardly any better.
“We do. Wey has sent a total of thirty thousand troops. The force I lead, along with two other armies, was supposed to launch a surprise attack on Suiyang, the capital of Song. Wei was originally going to join us as well. We only needed to attack from three sides and create the illusion that a large army was encircling Suiyang. Once Suiyang fell into chaos, Wei would immediately send a large force to attack from the front. But we have been fighting the Song army for two days and have yet to receive any word from Wei.”
Ji Yu felt utterly aggrieved. Without Wei’s forces, they had scattered their troops to attack the capital of Song. It was no different from throwing an egg against a rock and bringing about their own destruction.
Wei was truly shameless, without even the slightest sense of honor. Song Chuyi thought to herself once again that there was certainly something worth learning from them.
“It isn’t that Wei hasn’t sent its troops. For all you know, by the time you return, Wey has become the capital of Wei.”
Song Chuyi was merely making a sensational claim to frighten him. She knew that although Wey was a tiny state, it shared the same ancestral lineage as the Zhou royal house, and its rulers had always been adept at diplomacy. The state still had plenty of life left in it.
“If Wey cannot retain its talented people, then if that really happens, perhaps its destiny has simply run its course,” Ji Yu sighed.
Zhang Yi gave an awkward laugh. “You actually believe everything he says? Even though the wars among the feudal lords were never truly righteous from the very beginning, and although rites and music have fallen into disarray and the Zhou royal house is little more than a figurehead, it still exists. Wey shares the same lineage as the Zhou royal house. So long as the Zhou royal house remains, you can’t just destroy Wey with whatever excuse happens to come along.”
Ji was the ruling surname of Wey. King Wen of Zhou’s principal wife, Tai Si, bore ten sons. Kang Shu Feng, the first ruler of Wei, was the younger brother of King Wu, Ji Fa.
Ji Yu froze for a moment and frowned at Song Chuyi. She had drawn up one knee and was resting her chin against it, her eyes narrowed as though she were about to fall asleep. This irritated him even more. But then he remembered how they had abandoned the search halfway through earlier. He had promised her that they would do everything in their power to find her friend, yet they had ultimately turned back. Although he had certainly put in considerable effort, strictly speaking, he had not truly kept his promise. If she was not taking things seriously now, perhaps she was simply angry with him.
Thinking of it this way, Ji Yu felt that Song Chuyi truly lived up to the reputation of a scholar. She was remarkably well-mannered. Faced with such a situation, she had neither blamed him nor reproached him, but had instead helped them find a way out of their predicament.
In truth, Ji Yu had completely misunderstood Song Chuyi. She simply made things up on the spur of the moment, without the slightest emotional investment.
“This matter will be quicker to resolve if we start with Song. And it shouldn’t be difficult, given how obvious the situation is.” Zhang Yi felt there was no need for him to get personally involved. “First, you need to get in touch with the other two forces and make sure they do not engage the Song army again. Then send someone into Suiyang alone to negotiate. The terms are simple enough.”
Zhang Yi paused before continuing, “All you need to do is complain bitterly. Say that the King of Wei is abusing his strength to bully the weak, forcing Wey to commit the entire nation to war against Song. Wey doesn’t even border Song, and has no means of matching Song’s strength, so sending troops to attack was something you were forced into against your will.”
“But even if Song believes us, that doesn’t necessarily mean they’ll let us go,” Ji Yu said worriedly.
Song Chuyi could not help turning her head towards him. “How can a grown man be so utterly ignorant of how the world works? Move them with emotion, convince them with reason, and tempt them with profit. Song’s powerful ministers dominate the state, and I’ve heard that Lord Ti Cheng of Song is fond of beautiful women. Surely your state of Wei can spare a hundred or so beauties to send him. Don’t think that offering a few women won’t be enough to smooth things over. Daji for Shang, Bao Si for Zhou – whole kingdoms have been brought to ruin for the sake of a single smile. Just tell him that these beauties are rarer than anything under Heaven and found nowhere else on earth, and he’ll certainly be tempted.”
Ji Yu nodded. Although Wey did not actually possess beauties who could rival Daji or Bao Si, they could certainly exaggerate. Getting themselves out of trouble was the priority. And if the women they eventually offered turned out not to be beautiful enough, well, that could only mean everyone had different tastes.
Zhang Yi coughed awkwardly. “You certainly are quick to learn.”
Indeed, he was. He had grasped Song Chuyi’s shameless way of thinking remarkably quickly.
