Beauty, Power and Intrigue Chapter 31

“Very well. Let us proceed.”

Ji Yu said, “Master Huaijin, yesterday we received word that Wei, under the pretext of requesting passage through our territory, has seized several cities from our state of Wey. Do you have any good strategy?”

This was within Song Chuyi’s expectations. Although Wei’s method was shameless, it had proved remarkably effective, allowing them to take the cities without the slightest effort.

“Now that they have occupied them, if we want to get them back from the King of Wei, I’m afraid the only option is to fight.” Song Chuyi spoke slowly. She paid no attention to the disappointed or contemptuous looks directed at her and continued, “Wey is a state of gentlemen, and therefore has no cause for concern. This saying has existed since the Spring and Autumn period, and it still holds true today. We may not be able to reclaim the cities we have lost, but I have a way to make the King of Wei taste what it is like to lose territory himself. And this method can keep Wey safe for several years.”

Everyone’s faces lit up with excitement. Someone could not help asking, “Really?”

“Of course.” Song Chuyi smiled faintly. “However, our most urgent task is still to set out for Wey at once.”

In the early Warring States period, the state of Wey bordered the state of Song, and both states produced an abundance of talented people. Zhuanxu, Emperor Ku, and Shun, three of the legendary Three Sovereigns and Five Emperors, were all said to have come from the land of Wey. There were also figures such as Liu Xiahui and Shang Yang. Confucius travelled throughout the realm in his time, yet he spent a full ten years in Wey alone, because the region was home to many talented men whose ideals and abilities aligned with his own.

All of this contributed to Wey’s reputation. No matter how shameless the King of Wei might be, he would not dare destroy Wei without a legitimate pretext. If he annihilated Wey, he would only give the other states a reason to attack him.

Moreover, Song Chuyi knew that Wey would not be destroyed as a state, so she had no reason to worry.

The generals also understood that Song Chuyi’s words were credible. Nevertheless, to guard against the possibility of unforeseen circumstances, they discussed and settled on a route. They then set up a cooking fire, ate their fill, assembled their ranks, and set off.

On horseback, Song Chuyi glanced back at the woods behind her, a faint sadness settling in her heart. That handsome young man, with his extraordinary bearing, so fiercely guarded yet so quick to let down his defenses around her, had been like a shooting star. At the beginning of her new life, he had streaked across her sky in a dazzling flash, only to disappear beyond the horizon without warning.

Perhaps he had not died. But, as the saying went, the deepest sorrow came from parting. And what made it worse was a parting in which neither life nor death was known.

With a sigh, Song Chuyi raised her whip and urged her horse to greater speed.

A forced march was grueling, naturally far less comfortable than when Song Chuyi had travelled with the entertainers’ caravan. Moreover, these thirty thousand troops were meant for surprise attacks, so there was no question of having carriages. Song Chuyi could only ride alongside the other soldiers, galloping onward.

Whenever the journey became unbearable, Song Chuyi would turn around and look at the soldiers travelling on foot. Some already had blood soaking through their straw sandals, and seeing this immediately made her feel that, by comparison, she had it easy.

And so, through this shamelessly brutal method, they somehow managed to persevere.

After seven days and six nights, they finally entered the territory of Wey late on the seventh night. Although Song Chuyi had said earlier that an attack by Wei was unlikely, everyone remained on edge until they had actually crossed into Wey, at which point they finally relaxed.

The three generals ordered the army to rest for the night at Dique. At first light, they would return to Puyang to report their arrival. But they had barely established camp on the outskirts of Dique when news arrived: seven cities of Wey had already fallen. The state had already possessed only a tiny territory, and now its lands had been reduced by half in the blink of an eye.

The entire army erupted in an uproar.

Despite their exhaustion and injuries, the soldiers clamored to fight. Their fury burned into battle lust, and their roars, like those of wounded beasts, resounded outside the walls of Dique.

Song Chuyi stood atop a mound with her arms folded, her back to the biting wind of the early winter night. The wind whipped her hair into disarray, but her mind was perfectly clear.

“Master Huaijin!” Ji Huan hurried up to her, cupped his hands in greeting, and said excitedly, “Those Wei bastards have gone too far. We have decided to take our cities back.”

Song Chuyi gave a quiet hum. Her voice was torn apart somewhat by the howling wind, making it difficult to discern any emotion in her tone. “The will to fight is spreading like wildfire. Perhaps we can afford to fight this battle.”

Ji Huan was delighted. “You think we can fight too?”

Song Chuyi remained silent.

If these thirty thousand men could maintain this momentum and immediately move to retake the fallen cities while the Wei army was still unprepared, they might even succeed once. But what then? Once the Wei army recovered and regrouped, there was no way they would allow a second city to fall. Besides, after seven days of forced marching, everyone here was already physically exhausted. Even if they managed to sustain themselves on sheer fighting spirit, this battle would probably cost them more than half their forces.

Whether they could fight was secondary. The real question was whether it was worth fighting at all. That was what required careful consideration.

“Master Huaijin?” Seeing that she had remained silent for so long, Ji Huan could not help calling out to her.

“If you want to fight, I have a way to fight. If you decide not to, I have a strategy for that as well. As for weighing the gains against the losses, that decision lies with the generals. What I say doesn’t decide anything anyway.” Song Chuyi felt a slight chill and descended from the mound.

Ji Huan, however, had not quite understood what she meant, so he followed after her. “You are a man of great wisdom. If you believe we should not fight, surely the three generals would not simply disregard your judgment.”

“Ha. Of course they wouldn’t.” Song Chuyi raised an eyebrow and shot him an amused glance. “Go on, then. Try standing up right now and shouting that we shouldn’t fight. Let’s see whether the furious crowd doesn’t tear you apart.”

“Heh heh. You certainly know how to joke.” Ji Huan’s dark face broke into a grin, making his teeth look especially white.

“Which of your eyes gave you the impression I was joking?” Song Chuyi said.

Ji Huan had spent several days with Song Chuyi in Suiyang and had come to understand her temperament somewhat. Hearing her say this, he grinned even more foolishly. His topknot had come loose, and dust covered his hair. With every movement, more of it shook loose and fell across his shoulders. Song Chuyi grinned too, and she was hardly in any better state than he was.

When Ji Huan was silent and not smiling, he looked like an iron tower, imposing and formidable. But once one got to know him, it became clear that he was simply a straightforward, genuine man, with simple and uncomplicated thoughts.

“Master Huaijin, General Longgu, General Bing, and General Gongsun have asked you to come to the command tent for a discussion,” a soldier suddenly hurried over to report.

“Lead the way,” Song Chuyi said.

The three generals had known from the beginning that Song Chuyi was not the only envoy sent to Suiyang to make peace with Song. Another envoy had gone there carrying Wey’s gifts and valuables. Thus, they had never attributed all the credit to Song Chuyi. When they summoned her to the military tent that day, they had also intended to test her abilities. However, Song Chuyi had not demonstrated any particular talent, and the advice she had given was nothing they did not already understand. As a result, they remained skeptical of her abilities.

Song Chuyi had likewise had little contact with them during this time. She only knew that the elderly general was named Longgu Qing, the other, a man in his forties, was named Bing Ge, and the youngest was named Gongsun Chi.

The three men’s surnames gave Song Chuyi some clues about their backgrounds.

Longgu referred to the process of removing the husk from rice. Many people made their living from farming, so a surname derived from this process could have belonged to an ordinary commoner or perhaps a landowner with a modest amount of property. It was unlikely to belong to someone of noble rank, as members of the aristocracy would generally have surnames with greater prestige.

Bing was a place name associated with the lands of Qi and Lu.

As for Gongsun, there was hardly any need to speculate. He must have been descended from the ruling house.