Chapter 163: Li Xin

When Li Xin stepped out of the side hall of Xianyang Palace, his face was still composed. He took the sword handed over by the palace gate guard, hung it steadily back at his waist, nodded to them again, and slowly descended the high platform under the envious and adoring gazes of the halberd-bearing gentlemen guards.

But inside, Li Xin's heart was already surging with emotion; he could barely stop himself from doing a somersault right down the steps and bursting into delighted laughter!

Li Xin was only twenty-nine, his stature a full eight chi tall. His handsome face had sharp, well-defined features, and his eyebrows were like twin swords thrusting straight toward his hairline, proclaiming his bold, decisive, and courageous character.

This was the character befitting a young Qin general. Li Xin was a Guanzhong man born and bred; he was born on the loess-laden Beimang Plateau in Huaili, grew up drinking the waters of the Wei River, and had been companions with bow and horse since childhood. At seventeen, he became a martial cavalryman who could chase a galloping horse on foot and catch up to a racing chariot. He had the strength to bind a fluttering banner, draw a two-dan bow to full, and shoot from horseback with skill in all four directions — front, back, left, and right. He was a renowned martial youth throughout Huaili.

Relying on the advantage of having both a grandfather and father who were high officials as commandery governors, and on this ability of his, the young Li Xin was selected to enter Xianyang to serve as a gentleman guard for the King of Qin.

The gentleman guards were all descendants of Qin generals and officials, or were filled by sons of respectable families from Guanzhong. They managed matters of gates, chariots, and cavalry, serving within as the King of Qin's personal guards and without by joining the army in battle.

Those serving as gentleman guards at the same time as Li Xin included Meng Tian, the eldest son of Meng Wu, and Li You, the son of Li Si, among others. Their daily duty was to don helmets and armor, hold long pikes, and stand separately in every corner of Xianyang Palace — standing for half a day at a time. This made Li Xin, who was accustomed to the great winds sweeping the Wei plains and galloping freely on horseback, extremely uncomfortable; he felt he was nothing more than a decorative piece in the palace.

But an awl will always poke through the cloth. That year, fine horses were sent from Longxi and Shangjun. The King of Qin ordered all the gentleman guards to each pick one and tame it on the spot at the parade ground. Li Xin chose the fiercest, wildest horse, and after a contest between man and beast, he successfully tamed it.

His performance that day left a deep impression on the King of Qin, and from that day on, Li Xin's official fortunes began to soar. First, from a palace gate guard, the King of Qin transferred him to his side, making him a trusted personal attendant. With the King of Qin's favor, over the next two years, he rose from an ordinary gentleman guard to a gentleman officer — a rank rarely achieved at his age.

The King of Qin at that time was equally young. He had just exterminated Lao Ai, who had controlled the court for years, and dismissed Lü Buwei, beginning to truly grasp the reins of the state, his gaze already sweeping toward the six kingdoms east of the mountains...

The King of Qin harbored the ambition to roll up the world, to encompass the realm within the four seas, and the heart to swallow the eight wildernesses. He needed those seasoned veteran generals, but he also needed a great many young men as boldly enterprising and full of vigor as himself.

Against this backdrop, Li Xin was transferred from being a close guard gentleman officer into the army.

The Qin army was a place that valued seniority and age. Those veteran generals with graying temples, after Li Xin entered the army, always liked to flaunt their seniority, regarding him as a "yellow-beaked fledgling." When Li Xin received appointments to lead troops into battle, they would step forward to question him — because of his age, they questioned his ability.

Li Xin worked hard to adapt to the army's environment. Besides growing a beard to make himself look more steady and mature, he also used one splendid victory after another to successfully shut the mouths of those conservative, wooden old generals who already had one foot in the grave.

Very quickly, he rose from company commander to commandant, and was even appointed as deputy general in the campaign to destroy Zhao!

At that time, Wang Jian led several hundred thousand troops to occupy Zhang and Ye, while Li Xin led tens of thousands of elite soldiers to march out from Taiyuan and Yunzhong.

This was the first time Li Xin commanded an army of over ten thousand. His performance was still outstanding: he marched out of Taiyuan, pacified Zhongshan, and then coordinated with Wang Jian to sweep through Julu and Hejian. But he also made one major blunder — he failed to block Prince Jia of Zhao, allowing him to take several hundred members of the Zhao royal clan and flee to Dai Commandery and Shanggu, where he declared himself King of Dai and clung to a precarious existence.

The King of Qin did not consider this Li Xin's fault, but Li Xin secretly reproached himself, feeling he had not done perfectly enough.

However, in the campaign to destroy Yan two years later, Li Xin, again serving as deputy general, did not repeat his past mistake. He personally led several thousand chariots and cavalry to pursue King Xi of Yan and Crown Prince Dan, who had fled the Yan capital. At the Yan River, he routed the remnants of the Yan army, forcing King Xi of Yan to kill Crown Prince Dan and sue Qin for peace...

That was the battle that made Li Xin's name. For a time, he became an object of worship for the young men of Qin. When Li Xin returned to Xianyang bearing the head of Crown Prince Dan of Yan in a box, tens of thousands of citizens lined the streets to cheer. Boys walked gleefully beside the procession, heads held high, gazing with reverence at their young hero.

It was said that afterward, throughout Guanzhong, when youths played riding bamboo horses, they no longer called themselves "under the command of the old General Wang," but began calling themselves "under the command of General Li"...

People always love the legendary tale of a young general boldly forging ahead and ultimately achieving success, yet once accustomed to it, they easily forget the achievements of a veteran general steady as a mountain. With the King of Qin's deliberate promotion, the rising star of the young general Li Xin faintly threatened to overshadow the father-and-son duo of Wang Jian.

The King of Qin was also unstinting in showing his trust in Li Xin. Li Xin still remembered that after the army returned from Yan the previous year, the King of Qin held a victory celebration for all the officers and men, but in the end, he kept only Li Xin behind and asked him a question.

"In General Li's opinion, Qi or Chu — which first?"

At that time, Wei still existed, but in the King of Qin's eyes, Daliang was already destined to become rubble, and Wei's territory had already become commanderies and counties under Qin's rule — not worth a second thought.

Faced with this sudden question, Li Xin pondered briefly and then answered: "Chu's land is vast, Qi's land is narrow. The Chu people are brave, the Qi people are cowardly. I request to first engage with the easier task..."

He advocated striking Qi first. That way, Li Xin could lead the chariots and cavalry he was more familiar with, following the precedent of Yue Yi's old exploits, driving straight in from west and north of Ji, and extinguishing Qi in one blow!

At that time, he still hadn't dared to regard Chu as meat on his own plate, because within the Qin army, everyone believed that destroying Chu would probably require the old General Wang himself to take command.

Though self-confident, Li Xin was not so arrogant as to think he could replace him.

The King of Qin neither agreed nor disagreed with Li Xin's suggestion.

For a year after that, Li Xin entered a state of rest, not even getting a role in the campaign to destroy Wei. The King of Qin instead sent Wang Jian's son, Wang Ben, and said with a laugh: "A trifling little Wei is like a vassal of Qin. Why would I need my two most valued generals as commanders? The Tai'a Sword is not drawn lightly, but once drawn, it must destroy a great state of ten thousand chariots!"

When the King of Qin said this, Li Xin and Wang Jian exchanged a glance, but very quickly, their gazes shifted away.

Li Xin did not know what Wang Jian was thinking when he heard the King of Qin's words. He only knew that a surge of heroic pride rose in his own heart. This was the first time the King of Qin had placed him alongside Wang Jian, and it was also the first time he harbored a hope — a hope that the one who would capture cities and destroy states for the great king would not be the Wang father and son, but himself...

In the fifth month, Daliang's walls were breached, and Wei was destroyed. According to past practice, Qin would rest its troops and people. But Li Xin's idle state in Xianyang did not last long. Last month, news suddenly arrived: the King of Jing had broken the treaty, refusing to hand over the three towns west of Qingyang in Jiangnan, and had ordered the Qu clan to kill Qin's envoys!

Upon learning this news, the King of Qin did not fly into a rage. He merely smiled, remarked that the King of Chu's courage had suddenly grown, and then calmly asked the Imperial Secretary Wang Wan, who was attending nearby, how King Zhuang of Chu had reacted when his envoy was killed by the state of Song.

Wang Wan, well-versed in statutes and precedents, immediately answered: "King Zhuang of Chu said to his envoy Shen Zhou, 'If Song kills you, I will attack it.' When Song indeed killed his envoy, King Zhuang of Chu, upon hearing the news, before putting on his shoes, before donning his sword, flung his sleeves and rose. His attendants rushed after him, only catching up to present his shoes at the front hall, catching up to present his sword outside the palace gate, and catching up at the Puxu market in the Chu capital before letting the king mount his war chariot. Thereupon, King Zhuang of Chu besieged Song for three years, reducing Song to exchanging children to eat and using bones for fuel, until finally Song surrendered to Chu."

"The King of Jing broke the treaty and struck at our Nanjun. The three towns west of Qingyang are a small matter; Qin's national prestige is the great matter. The will of a great state cannot be defied. If we do not punish this, the world will surely scorn Qin! Can I be inferior to King Zhuang of Chu?"

King Zheng of Qin was precisely this kind of person. Whatever he desired, he had to obtain — whether it was talents from various states, such as Han Fei and Wei Liao, or the unique and unparalleled position of Son of Heaven in this world.

If he bore a grudge, he would also choose to repay it without the slightest hesitation. The nobles of Zhao had once bullied the King of Qin and his mother when he was a child. After the Qin army breached Handan, the King of Qin personally traveled to Handan, and every single Zhao noble who had ever had a feud with his mother's family was, without exception, buried alive! When Crown Prince Dan of Yan sent Jing Ke to assassinate him, making the King of Qin break out in a cold sweat, he immediately ordered the attack on Yan, using the ruins of the Yan capital and the head of Crown Prince Dan to tell the world: anyone who dared to oppose the King of Qin would meet this end!

Now that Chu actually dared to break the treaty and defy the King of Qin's will, this was courting its own destruction!

So the King of Qin summoned Wang Jian and Li Xin and asked them a question face to face:

"I wish to attack and seize Jing. In the generals' estimation, how many men would suffice?"

Wang Jian pondered for a long time, then reported the number he believed necessary to destroy Chu: "No less than six hundred thousand men..."

Li Xin still remembered that when he heard this number, the great king's expression did not change, but his gaze had already left Wang Jian and turned toward himself.

"In General Li's estimation, how many soldiers are needed to destroy Chu?"

The King of Qin's eyes were full of encouragement, making it impossible for Li Xin to say anything that would disappoint him. And as Li Xin looked again at Wang Jian, standing to his right with graying temples and a back already slightly stooped, he felt that Wang Jian no longer seemed as towering as before. In that moment, Li Xin forgot the cautious words he himself had once spoken — "Chu's land is vast, the Chu people are brave" — and blurted out: "No more than two hundred thousand men!"

The King of Qin seemed very satisfied with his answer. He waved for Wang Jian to withdraw and kept only Li Xin behind.

After Wang Jian walked out of the side hall with slightly sluggish steps, the King of Qin sighed softly, as if lamenting the old general's twilight years, or perhaps relieved at the peaceful curtain call of a generation's famed commander.

But this mood quickly vanished. The King of Qin bade Li Xin approach within three paces of the throne and encouraged him, saying: "General Wang is old — how timid he is! General Li is truly decisive, bold, and valiant. His words are correct!"

These words were the affirmation Li Xin had waited years for. For ten years, he had been a junior, an assistant, watching from the rear the towering figure of the old General Wang — watching him wave the command flag, watching him build his career and achievements, leaving behind a reputation for destroying states and razing cities. In his heart, there was admiration, there was envy, and there was also some unwillingness to accept his place.

The King of Qin had promoted him, raising this young general not yet thirty to a position second only to Wang Jian, and now, he had even bluntly declared that he had surpassed Wang Jian!

Li Xin was so moved on the spot that he kowtowed three times, declaring that he would certainly not fail the great king's high expectations! That he would surely bind the King of Jing and bring him before the great king!

"For the matter of destroying Chu, let General Li be the commander-in-chief! Conscript garrison troops from Guanzhong and the commanderies and counties east of the mountains. Dispatch the army after the autumn harvest when provisions are sufficient."

Only after a long, deep conversation did Li Xin exit the side hall. At this very moment, recalling those words — "General Li is truly decisive, bold, and valiant" — his steps still felt somewhat buoyant...

Drifting lightly along like this, when he reached the gate of Xianyang Palace, Li Xin ran into Xia Wuju, who had just returned from escorting Wang Jian back to his residence...

"Director of the Grand Physicians." Though young, bold, and sharp, Li Xin was not one to be arrogant because of his talents. He knew that Xia Wuju was the person most trusted by the King of Qin, even more than himself, so he immediately cupped his hands in salute.

"Greetings, General Li." Having mingled in the palace for many years, and as a clansman of the Dowager Xia, whose relationship with the King of Qin was not particularly good, the fact that Xia Wuju had, years after Dowager Xia's death, increasingly gained the King of Qin's esteem spoke volumes about his intelligence and tact. He too descended from his carriage and bowed with clasped hands, smiling as he said: "I have yet to congratulate you, General."

Li Xin demurred modestly for a moment, then asked in a low voice: "Director of the Grand Physicians, is General Wang all right?"

Xia Wuju had also been in attendance in the hall earlier. Only when the King of Qin told Wang Jian to return first did he send Xia Wuju to escort him and accompany Wang Jian back to his residence.

Wei Liao once said the King of Qin was sparing with his grace, but the King is not ungenerous — toward meritorious officials and veteran generals, he still harbors deep warmth. Though he intends to promote Li Xin, he also fears that if Wang Jian's counsel today goes unused, this old general of illustrious battle honors might fall ill from sheer indignation…

Xia Wuju shook his head and sighed with emotion. "Old General Wang is fine. It's just that he has spent decades in the army, fought a hundred battles, and suffered blade wounds, spear wounds, arrow wounds, sprains, and falls — I can't even count how many. When he was young it was manageable, but now, growing older by the day, his health is far from what it once was. Just now in the carriage, he even smiled and told me that since His Majesty now has bold new generals to employ, it is time for him to retire and return to Pinyang to enjoy the pleasures of family…"

"Old General Wang intends to retire?"

Li Xin looked surprised, but inwardly he felt a touch of smug satisfaction. General Wang had indeed grown old — not only was his health a shadow of its former self, even his thinking had grown sluggish. The reason His Majesty asked the two of them how many men were needed to attack Chu was that Qin had already been campaigning for three consecutive years. To muster six hundred thousand men, they would have to wait until the autumn harvest next year and mobilize the entire nation.

His Majesty's temperament — though there was once a period of forced forbearance — had, since he seized sole power, grown ever more fierce and decisive. Once he decided on something, no matter the cost, it had to be accomplished! Preferably accomplished swiftly and well! He did not like delay.

Having suffered the humiliation of Jing's betrayal of the covenant, how could he endure waiting another two years for revenge?

General Wang truly has grown dim-sighted with age — he couldn't even think this through clearly?

His Majesty's appointment of generals is much like the struggles of the palace chambers — the new laugh while the old weep. Illustrious battle honors are not only paved with the bones of enemies; one must also tread upon those senior generals who came before.

Li Xin shook his head to himself, though aloud he lamented how time is merciless to all. Then he took his leave of Xia Wuju and returned directly to his residence. The King of Qin would announce this appointment to the hundred officials and various generals in the eighth month, and when he did, it would surely draw countless doubts — doubts about Li Xin's age, doubts about his lack of experience…

Li Xin needed to use a flawless strategy for annihilating Chu to strike them hard across the face!

Annihilating Chu with two hundred thousand men — he was not boasting idly; he had his own grounds for confidence. Back then, the Lord of Wu'an, with an army of merely tens of thousands, had been able to seize Yan and Ying and break through Jiangling. Now, Chu clings to its half of the realm east of the river, its king is a regicide who usurped the throne with no legitimate claim, and within Chu the debate between war and peace remains unresolved — the perfect moment to launch a sudden, unexpected campaign…

Use young, bold generals, rely on a keen and valiant army, ride the momentum of Wei's destruction, and with one sustained surge, conquer Chu! This was His Majesty's intent. Li Xin felt he had grasped it perfectly — those years serving as a Gentleman Guard at His Majesty's side had not been wasted.

"Before the Battle of Yique, the Lord of Wu'an was suddenly appointed commander-in-chief by the Marquis of Rang. At the time, he was barely thirty, of humble origin, with no illustrious battle record — yet after that single battle, the whole realm knew his name…"

As Li Xin stepped through the gates of Xianyang Palace, he turned his head back to gaze up at the towering Watchtowers, his eyes brimming with heroic ambition.

"I shall surely extinguish Chu's eight-hundred-year ancestral altars, return in triumph, and right here at these gates, present Jing captives before His Majesty!"

(End of Chapter)