Chapter 257: Wang Jian

In early September, the conscripts levied from the counties of Southern Commandery assembled at Yan — over ten thousand soldiers and over ten thousand civilian laborers, with Commandant Li You appointed as Chief Commandant. Though the title was the same as last time, this time he led an over-strength army that had undergone months of training; the weight of the command was on an entirely different level.

After Heifu reported in, Li You had him remain in the main tent to discuss military affairs with Staff Officer Feng Jing and several company commanders, debating the strategies General Wang Jian might adopt for this campaign against Chu.

When Heifu remarked that General Wang Jian had always favored steadiness in his command and would likely advance slowly in a drawn-out standoff this time as well, one of the company commanders could not help but raise an objection.

"In my view, General Wang's command cannot be summed up by the words 'favors steadiness.'"

Heifu looked toward him and saw a man in his thirties, sallow-faced, with a long beard reaching his chest.

"This is?"

"This is the County Commandant of Ruo, Grandee of the Public Chariot Meng Jia."

Feng Jing introduced him: "Commander Meng is also from Pinyang, a fellow townsman of General Wang Jian, and once served as a subordinate officer under him."

Meng Jia, priding himself on being a former subordinate of Wang Jian, recounted a battle that took place in the eleventh year of King Zheng of Qin's reign (236 BC).

"General Wang led the army to attack Yuyu in Zhao — I was in the army then as a platoon chief. This Yuyu is a strategic stronghold in the Taihang mountain range, with a long, treacherous, and narrow approach. In the time of the late ruler King Zhao, the Zhao general Zhao She used the tactic of 'when brave men meet in a narrow pass, the brave one wins' to rout the Qin general Hu Yang there. At that time, the Zhao army employed the same tactics as Zhao She, seizing the high ground on the northern hills of Yuyu first and looking down from above, while our army was ill-positioned to attack uphill…"

"Though General Wang had been a commander for many years, his reputation was obscure and the world knew little of his ability. At that time, he had led the army for only eighteen days when he ordered all officers of the hundred-bushel rank and above to step forward, then selected two men out of every ten from the hundred-thousand-strong army to remain in the ranks. In the end, he obtained twenty thousand elite soldiers, captured the northern heights and Yuyu in one stroke, then rolled up armor and force-marched a hundred li eastward, seizing nine cities and towns of Zhao!"

"I was fortunate enough to be chosen for this elite force, and for my merits was promoted to the rank of Bugeng."

That was Wang Jian's battle of fame, and it was clear that the old general's command at the time was not only not 'steady' — it was even somewhat aggressive.

Meng Jia came from a typical Guanzhong military-merit family; he not only had experience rising from the bottom ranks but also knew a bit of military doctrine. He continued: "Moreover, the Art of War also says: in the conduct of war, if victory is long delayed, weapons grow dull and morale flags; besieging cities exhausts strength; keeping the army long in the field strains the state's resources. Thus, one has heard of clumsy speed in war, but never of skillful prolongation. That prolonged war ever benefited a state — there has never been such a case…"

"Therefore, I believe that when General Wang advances after the autumn harvest this time, he may well, like the Battle of Yuyu, strike swiftly into Chu territory, striving to seize Huaibei quickly before the snow falls, and then advance gradually into Huainan next year."

Heifu, however, shook his head: "This war is different from Yuyu — it is a war of annihilation. The Chu army is far from being at a point where it can be shattered like dry weeds and rotten wood; it can only be dealt with gradually. Rushing for victory is the inferior course. Last time, General Li Xin's campaign against Chu failed because of excessive impatience and rash advances. Therefore, I believe General Wang will act with caution, like in the campaign to destroy Zhao — engaging with the orthodox and winning with the unorthodox!"

The two argued back and forth but could reach no conclusion for the moment. Li You stopped them, laughing: "It is useless for you to debate General Wang's intentions here. When we rendezvous with the main army next month, we will know!"

Then he pointed to the map: "The General has ordered that the troops of the four commanderies — Southern Commandery, Ba, Shu, and Hanzhong — are to assemble at Wancheng in mid-September and combine forces with the Nanyang Commandery troops! Then await General Wang's orders!"

The troops and civilian laborers of these five commanderies, totaling one hundred fifty thousand men, could be considered the southern corps of the Chu campaign army.

So many people — just for grain, they would consume two hundred thousand bushels a month, not even counting the losses from transporting grain along the way. The consumption was enormous.

Heifu's mind stirred. After the council ended, he stayed behind to ask Li You: "Commandant, I heard that Southern Commandery's rice and millet harvests increased by nearly six hundred thousand bushels this year. Most of this grain came from public fields and can be directly used as army provisions. Are we to escort it north as well?"

This was the result of the composting and manure-fermenting method. Commandery Governor Teng was sure to take first place this year in the various commanderies' war-preparation competition. Though far below expectations, it was still enough to feed one hundred fifty thousand men for three months.

Li You, however, shook his head: "Though Governor Ye intended this, General Wang rejected the proposal."

"Why is that?" Heifu was somewhat surprised.

"General Wang sent a messenger with a letter saying that Southern Commandery should stockpile the grain."

Li You beckoned him closer and lowered his voice: "Perhaps when the main army attacks into Huainan and Jiangdong, it can be put to use!"

Hearing this, Heifu was momentarily stunned.

What a flag to raise! It seemed Wang Jian was also brimming with confidence that this war could be won!

…

At the same time, Wang Jian had already led two hundred thousand sons of Guanzhong out of Hangu Pass and was heading toward Yingchuan Commandery. In the past half month, the old general had done little else but send five successive batches of envoys back to Xianyang to request increased land and estate rewards from the King of Qin!

This posturing grew so excessive that even Qiang Hui, Wang Jian's deputy general, could no longer bear it. When the army reached Luoyang in Sanchuan Commandery, he remonstrated: "General, you have barely left the pass, yet you have already sent five rounds of envoys requesting fine lands — it is like begging for a loan. This is truly going too far…"

Wang Jian, however, heaved a long sigh and told his old subordinate a story.

"Qiang Hui, you should know the story of Chancellor Gan Mao from the time of the late ruler King Wu, yes?"

Qiang Hui lowered his head: "Though Qiang Hui is a rough man, I have heard some of it."

Wang Jian clasped his hands behind his back and spoke: "In those days, King Wu and Gan Mao were ruler and minister in perfect accord. One day, the King said to Gan Mao: 'I have a wish — to drive my chariot through to Sanchuan and gaze upon the Zhou royal tripods.' And to reach the Zhou royal domain, Han's western border had to be broken. So Gan Mao was ordered to lead the army and attack the great Han county of Yiyang. He knew well that the Qin army, crossing the peril of Xiao and Han, marching a thousand li to besiege a strong city, would be unable to take it for many months. So before departing, he told King Wu the stories of Zeng Shen the Murderer and Yue Yang's Slanderous Letters, and made an oath with the King at Xirang, hoping the King would harbor no doubt."

"Just as expected, during the five months Gan Mao attacked Yiyang, many ministers at court slandered him, and King Wu wavered several times. Only because he remembered the Xirang oath did he persist in not recalling Gan Mao, and thus Gan Mao was able to capture Yiyang…"

Having finished the story of Gan Mao, Wang Jian turned back to himself: "Years ago, I destroyed Zhao and breached Handan, though Zhao Jia alone fled to Dai. I also attacked Yan, ravaging both its upper and lower capitals and driving the King of Yan into Liaodong. And my son Wang Ben destroyed Wei, flooding Daliang — a mighty metropolis for a hundred years razed to flat ground. Looking back across the Three Dynasties, has there ever been a single family, father and son, who together destroyed three states of ten thousand chariots? With a subject like this, even a sage king would have misgivings, would he not?"

"That is why, in the first campaign against Chu, the Great King was unwilling to use me, lest I destroy yet another state and raze more cities, earning merits too great to reward. He favored Li Xin in order to elevate younger men and counterbalance the Wang clan's influence in the army. Only after Li Xin's great defeat did he have no choice but to come personally to Pinyang and force me to rise and take command. Though he agreed to my counsel that six hundred thousand men were necessary to destroy Chu, suspicion still lingered in his heart."

With the cautionary precedent of Bai Qi refusing King Zhao of Qin's order to attack Zhao and ultimately ending up cutting his own throat at Du Pavilion, Wang Jian dared not refuse the royal command — he could only accept the tiger tally.

Only to Qiang Hui, who had followed him for over ten years, could Wang Jian speak the honest words he had held in for so long.

"Now, the Great King has entrusted the entire state's army of six hundred thousand to my hands — far surpassing the hundred thousand troops Gan Mao led back then. The Great King's trust in me is less than Zeng Shen's mother's trust in Zeng Shen, less even than King Wu of Qin's trust in Gan Mao. And the difficulty of destroying Chu exceeds the taking of Yiyang tenfold! For now, it is still fine, but once the great army is stalled abroad for long, spending a thousand in gold each day, those at court who will whisper slander into the Great King's ear will be far more than three!"

"In such circumstances, I have been forced onto the tip of a blade. I can only fear that the Great King, like Zeng Shen's mother throwing down her shuttle, will sit and grow suspicious of me. I have no choice but to repeatedly demand fine fields and beautiful estates, putting on the appearance of intending to retire after the war, and to keep my sons and grandsons in Xianyang as hostages. Only thus can I set the ruler's heart at ease… With the ruler's heart at ease, I too can command the army with a settled mind, engage with the orthodox and win with the unorthodox — and then Chu will surely be destroyed!"

When these words were finished, Qiang Hui suddenly saw the light and bowed low: "The General has thought deeply and thoroughly!"

But then he raised his head again and voiced his own doubt: "Yet, as this humble officer knows it, the Great King is a wise ruler rarely seen in all the ages, his ambition vast enough to encompass the world, his magnanimity broad enough to embrace men. He can even trust a surrendered Han general like Ye Teng, making him Governor of Southern Commandery and letting him govern freely. How could he possibly suspect a veteran general? Is the General perhaps overthinking this?"

Wang Jian also smiled: "Perhaps. Perhaps this old man is overthinking. When the mulberry tree sheds its leaves, they yellow and fall. The older a man gets, the more prone he is to paranoia. What I just said — treat it only as the ramblings of a muddled old man. Do not spread it abroad…"

Only after Qiang Hui had taken his leave did Wang Jian put away his smile. Qiang Hui was a Qiang man from Longxi, simple in thought; having received the King of Qin's gracious treatment and favor, he was willing to tear out his heart in devotion. But he did not understand the Great King's true nature!

Wang Jian could be said to have watched the Great King grow up, and so he knew: the King trusted men, but the King was also stubborn and distrustful of men!

The King was fond of the Han Feizi and liked to use statecraft and positional power to bridle his ministers. He could trust those he was able to bridle — such as Governor Teng of Southern Commandery.

Ye Teng had betrayed Han and turned his blade to destroy it. In the eyes of the scholars east of the mountains, his morals were utterly base. Though he was a capable official, many at court still despised him. So why had he alone gained the Great King's trust?

Because Ye Teng had led the army to destroy Han, and the old Han nobility in Yingchuan all wished they could eat his flesh raw, while the world held him in contempt. Without the Great King's protection, he would have no place to stand. Therefore, the King of Qin could use him with confidence, never worrying that Ye Teng would betray him.

Ye Teng was clever enough as well. He knew why he had gained the King of Qin's trust, so after arriving in Southern Commandery, he once again cut off his own retreat! Within a hundred days of taking office, he launched massive campaigns to arrest bandits, capturing and executing powerful families and exterminating entire clans without mercy. His administration was violent and ruthless, offending many local magnate clans.

This method was even more extreme than Wang Jian's begging for estates — it directly sealed off his own 'cunning rabbit's three burrows.' As a result, the King of Qin grew ever more trusting of Ye Teng. Now, with Southern Commandery's bumper harvest and an extra contribution of six hundred thousand bushels of army provisions, the King of Qin might well transfer Ye Teng into the court for an official post…

And in contrast to Ye Teng, Wang Jian now held six hundred thousand troops in his hand, a thousand li away, and had clearly become someone the King of Qin found 'hard to bridle.' He could only use the method of demanding land and estates to tell the King of Qin: This old minister harbors no disloyal heart!

He trusted that with the King of Qin's wisdom, he would be able to grasp this and discern which of the ever-growing slanders and calumnies were false.

Wang Jian could not help but sigh: "In the end, it is a low-grade method. If only I could be like Zhang Yi, who every time was able to attribute his achievements to the strength of his sovereign. He annexed the lands of Ba and Shu in the west, seized the territory beyond the Western River in the north, and took Shangyong in the south — yet the world did not consider these Zhang Yi's merits, but praised the worthy King Hui of Qin. Thus, throughout King Hui's entire reign, he was never suspected."

After these thoughts, Wang Jian tossed and turned, unable to sleep. The burden of six hundred thousand men on his shoulders was no light weight. He began to understand why, before and after the Battle of Changping, Lord Wu'an Bai Qi had often lain awake at night, his health deteriorating and illness taking hold.

The old general simply rose again, lit an oil lamp, and spread out the map, his fingers tracing along road after road, wandering from city to city.

It was now mid-September. The two hundred thousand men from Guanzhong had reached Luoyang; the one hundred fifty thousand from Southern Commandery, Ba, Shu, Hanzhong, and Nanyang had also assembled at Wan.

The one hundred thousand from Sanchuan and Yingchuan had long been waiting.

The one hundred fifty thousand from Hedong, Taiyuan, and the Zhao territories had also reached Baima Crossing and could cross the river at any time to garrison in Dang Commandery.

The war machine of Qin rumbled — six hundred thousand soldiers were gradually closing in on the borders of Chu.

Wang Jian was also very clear on who his opponent was.

"Xiang Yan, this old man is coming, bringing Qin's armored soldiers and elite troops with overwhelming force. I wonder if you are prepared?"

Time flows on like this river, never ceasing day or night. Thirty years had passed since the funeral of King Zhaoxiang, when Xiang Yan accompanied Lord Chunshen to Xianyang for the mourning rites and had that meeting with the Palace Guard Official, Wang Jian...

Back then, two young and vigorous generals, they talked for a long time about military affairs in the cold palace hall, feeling a strong sense of having met each other too late. Yet even then, they both had a feeling: the other would one day become their enemy.

Now, both had reached their twilight years. They had thought they would miss their chance, but unexpectedly, the opportunity to cross swords had finally come!

Wang Jian knew very well that this was the battle that would decide the ultimate course of the world.

If he won, the Nine Provinces would be unified, and five centuries of chaos since the Spring and Autumn period would end. If Xiang Yan won, Jingchu would barely survive, and the eight-hundred-year altars of Chu could continue.

Although Wang Jian complained that the King of Qin's trust in him was far less than what King Wu of Qin had placed in Gan Mao, still, it fell short of the best but was better than the worst.

His gaze fell upon the Chu capital of Shouchun on the map, and from within his graying beard, Wang Jian revealed a hint of schadenfreude-laced smile.

"Xiang Yan, how much trust does the King of Chu place in you, I wonder?"

PS: The third chapter will be in the evening, a bit late.

(End of chapter)