Chapter 287: The King of Qin (Part 2)

Heifu had learned a fair bit about Qin's central bureaucracy from Li You, Feng Jing, and other second-generation officials who had come from Xianyang. So he knew that the Prefect of the Central Chariotry Office was a subordinate officer of the Grand Coachman. Though the official rank was not high — only six hundred dan — the responsibility was immense. It was equivalent to being the commander of the King of Qin's personal chariot and horse encampment, in charge of managing the king's chariots and horses and accompanying him on journeys, even personally driving the king's chariot, as he had done today. The King of Qin did not trust people lightly; this position could only be held by an absolutely trusted confidant.

The Central Chariotry Office gathered the finest drivers in the realm, generally selected from the "martial charioteers" of the Guanzhong army. The standards were: age under forty, height seven chi five cun or above; able to run down a galloping horse and mount it at full speed; able to wheel front, back, left, right, up, and down; able to bind banners and pennants, draw a three-dan crossbow, and shoot accurately in all directions — only then could one qualify.

Running down a galloping horse — Dongmen Bao could do that. Driving a speeding chariot and mounting it — Heifu's own driver Sang Mu could manage that. Binding banners and drawing a three-dan crossbow — only Mu, who carried Heifu's banner, was capable of that. As for wheeling front, back, left, right, up, and down on horseback — not a single one of the Anlu riders could do it.

So the guards of the Central Chariotry Office were each warriors one in a hundred. It would be strange if Zhao Gao, as its Prefect, were not versed in martial arts and physically robust.

But Heifu had not expected him to be so sensitive, so cautious. He himself had merely been startled that the man differed from his historical impression, and thinking of all this man would do in the future, a faint "killing intent" had stirred.

A person's thoughts are betrayed by their movements — perhaps only a slight raise of the brow, perhaps only a faint clench of the fist, perhaps only a quickening of breath, a flicker in the eyes. Yet that tiny hint of strangeness had actually been detected by Zhao Gao!

When Zhao Gao placed a hand on his shoulder, Heifu felt that if it truly came to blows, he might well be no match for this "inner palace guard" Zhao Gao!

A frail, effeminate, sinisterly smirking eunuch? To hell with that — those films and dramas are deadly!

Fortunately, Heifu was quick-witted and covered it up by pretending to be overcome with emotion at meeting the King of Qin. But Zhao Gao's seemingly joking words made his hairs stand on end once more!

"Did he just suspect me of harboring intent to assassinate the King of Qin?"

Zhao Gao's words seemed like a jest, but they carried a deeper meaning.

Translated into later-era language, it was roughly like asking Li You: "Little Li, this junior centurion you've brought seems a bit off. Is he reliable or not? If something like Jing Ke or Qin Wuyang happens, neither you nor I can bear the consequences…"

A year ago, Li You would not have dared stake his own career on vouching for Heifu. But over the past year and more, the two had first served as superior and subordinate in Nan Commandery, growing somewhat familiar. After arriving in Chu territory, Heifu had repeatedly won illustrious battle honors and was regarded by Li You as a lucky general, someone their Li clan wanted to protect. So he steeled himself and laughed off Zhao Gao's words.

And so, after this frightening interlude, guided by Zhao Gao, and after the palace guards at the entrance had checked that they carried not an inch of metal or blade, Heifu and Li You finally stepped into the royal tent encampment…

From the outer gate to the actual royal tent was a full hundred paces. The court gentleman-guards Heifu had seen at noon stood watch to the sides, spears and halberds in hand, each with a swallow's jaw and tiger's head, stalwart and brawny, hair in a mallet-shaped bun and wearing caps, clad in black armor — awe-inspiring and majestic.

Before the enormous royal tent, Zhao Gao gestured with his hand, signaling them to silence. It turned out that the Qi Chancellor Hou Sheng had just finished his audience, having reached a new peace accord with Qin and accepted numerous bribes, and had departed well satisfied. But the King of Qin had not yet concluded his audience with the chancellors of Yan and Dai.

Then Zhao Gao lifted the curtain and entered first, leaving Li You and Heifu waiting outside.

It was there, separated by that single thin curtain, that Heifu heard the King of Qin's voice for the first time.

"Ten years ago, the King of Zhao sent his Chancellor Li Mu to covenant an alliance, and therefore I returned his hostage son. Soon after, he reneged on the alliance and turned against me at Taiyuan. Therefore I raised troops to punish him and captured his king. The King of Yan was muddled and unruly; his Crown Prince Dan secretly ordered Jing Ke to act as an assassin. I sent officers and soldiers to punish him and destroyed his state…"

A deep, resonant, and clear voice came through. Though unhurried, every word seemed brimming with power — and authority.

"Both states cast aside their oaths of alliance and have long betrayed Qin. Now Yan Xi retreats to hold Liaodong, and Prince Jia flees to the Dai hinterland, barely surviving. Yet they come bearing fine horses and beautiful women, wagging their tails and begging for mercy, wanting me to pardon them?"

Heifu and the others heard the sound of heads knocking against the ground from within, and then the trembling voices of the Yan and Dai chancellors: "Our unworthy lords, lacking anyone to dispatch, ventured to send us, their lowly ministers, to make their words heard before the Great King…"

They explained nervously: "The breaking of the Qin alliance and the use of assassins against the Son of Heaven were truly the fault of Zhao Qian and Yan Dan. When the Great King previously brought his armies to bear, our humble states already submitted to punishment and deeply understood the evil consequences of offending Heaven's might."

The two chancellors within knocked their heads again: "We beseech the Great King, for the sake of Qin and Zhao's common origin and the Qin-Yan alliance, to forgive our humble states. Our remote northern commanderies have populations of less than tens of thousands and soldiers of no more than a few thousand — unworthy of soiling the Great King's heavenly troops. Moreover, Liaodong and Dai are a thousand li away, bitterly cold and frostbitten; taking them would not repay the military expenses, but would instead require hauling provisions a thousand li, unsettling the border regions. Our unworthy lords are both willing to renounce their royal titles, entrust their states, and surrender, offering princes and princesses as hostages — the men to be Qin subjects, the women to be Qin concubines — and pay tribute to Qin for a hundred generations, only hoping the Great King will preserve the altars of our two states…"

The two spoke with apparent sincerity, but Heifu knew that the King of Qin had not let them off in the end, so he continued listening carefully.

Sure enough, the King of Qin spoke again: "Old General Wang, Yan and Zhao are trapped in Liaodong and northern Dai. How do they compare to King Goujian of Yue trapped on Mount Kuaiji?"

He was asking a minister beside him, and Heifu then heard Wang Jian's voice.

"Dai and Liaodong are larger than the inch of land at Kuaiji; the remnant forces of Yan and Dai are also more numerous than Goujian's three armies!"

The King of Qin said: "General Wang's words have merit. Presumably the two states of Yan and Dai in the north have not been sparing in using the story of Goujian to encourage their subjects, vainly hoping one day to take revenge? Wu Zixu once said, 'In establishing virtue, let it flourish; in rooting out evil, let it be thorough.' Those words still ring in the ears, yet Goujian had already destroyed Wu. Do you think I am King Fuchai of Wu!?"

The Yan and Dai chancellors grew frantic and knocked their heads three times: "Our unworthy lords absolutely dare not harbor presumptuous thoughts. They only wish to forever be Qin's hedge and fence — when abroad, to serve as shield and cover; when at home, to serve as mat and cushion…"

The King of Qin cut them off: "Zhao Gao, tell them that matter!"

Zhao Gao's soft voice rang out. Heifu could even imagine him still wearing a faint smile as he spoke: "The Grand Tutor of Yan, Ju Wu, vanished after the Battle of Yi River. Recently we have learned that he fled through Shanggu to Dai and is now attempting to persuade Zhao Jia to link up with remnant Yan in the east, Qi and Chu in the south, and the Xiongnu Chanyu in the north, to draw the Xiongnu into raiding Qin's northern lands, so that Yan and Dai might borrow troops to restore their states!"

"This is what you call serving as Qin's shield and cover, its eternal hedge and fence?"

After easily exposing Yan and Dai's outward show of submission while secretly never abandoning their schemes of resistance, the King of Qin seemed to rise abruptly to his feet, and his voice carried clearly toward where Heifu and the others stood…

"In former days, Zhao Wuxu destroyed the Dai Rong and established Dai Commandery. And King Wuling of Zhao changed customs to barbarian dress, practiced mounted archery, broke the Lin Hu and Loufan in the north, built the Great Wall, and from Dai along the foot of the Yin Mountains to Gaoque, established a frontier fortress. Thereafter, when the Xiongnu raided the border, Li Mu crushed them utterly, so that the Chanyu dared not enter Zhao's borders."

"As for Yan, King Zhao of Yan also had a worthy general, Qin Kai, who was a hostage among the Hu and greatly trusted by them. He led the Yan army in a surprise attack on the Eastern Hu, driving them back over a thousand li — only then could Yan possess the lands of Liaodong."

"Yan and Zhao struck the Hu and grew strong. Yet now they seek to draw the Hu into raiding the Central States just to survive. If King Wuling, Qin Kai, and the others knew this beneath the springs, what would they think?"

With that, the King of Qin's tone became utterly resolute: "You two go back and tell Yan Xi and Zhao Jia: the war of the Seven States of the Caps and Sashes was a war of brothers quarreling within the walls. Though I broke their states, razed their capitals, and shattered their altars, I still regarded their people as Qin's black-headed commoners, allowed their kings and nobles to keep their lives, and relocated them to Guanzhong to live as wealthy householders. There was no great slaughter."

"But if Yan and Dai disregard the honor of capped and sashed rulers and borrow Xiongnu troops to invade, cruelly harming the people along the Great Wall of the three states, then it will be like the Marquis of Shen leading the Quanrong into the ancestral Zhou capital. I absolutely will not tolerate it! I will mow them down nearly to the last, and the remnant wretches of those two kings I will capture and bury alive to the last man!"

With that, before the Yan and Dai chancellors could speak further, they were shoved and driven out by the court guards, stumbling past Heifu and the others in utter disarray.

The two had just scurried out of the royal tent, faces miserable, when Zhao Gao's voice sounded again from within.

"Commandant Li You and subordinate, audience with the Great King!"

And so Heifu followed behind Li You and entered…

It was less a tent than a palace. The high domed ceiling made it like a spacious hall, larger than the main hall of the Anlu County office. But unlike what Heifu had imagined, it was very austere, almost entirely undecorated — merely a row of bronze bells, a few ding cauldrons and gui vessels, clerks seated at desks beside the tables, brushes flying as they recorded every word and deed of the King of Qin, and many maps hanging on the wall curtains.

Heifu had no attention to spare for these things. His gaze was wholly drawn to the king seated in the center of the tent, in the seat of honor above Wang Jian…

The King of Qin's attire was not the ceremonial crown and robes Heifu had seen before, but a set of informal at-home garments. He wore a plain cap, a dark upper robe, with wide sleeves. From this dress alone, one could tell he had not taken the audience with the Yan and Dai envoys seriously at all.

Looking at his features, now unobstructed by the pearl tassels, one could see everything clearly. King Zheng of Qin was thirty-six this year, in his prime. He had a high-bridged nose, a broad forehead, and a thick, rugged beard that hung to his chest. Sitting there, he was exactly like a fierce falcon perched atop a ten-thousand-ren peak, looking down upon all creation with disdain — his presence extraordinary!

"Bow!"

With no time to look further, at the ritual officer's long, drawn-out call, Heifu closely followed Li You and prostrated himself, performing the most solemn kowtow ritual of a subject meeting his king.

He noticed that the brick beneath his forehead was exactly the one the Yan and Dai chancellors had knocked against moments before, still stained with a trace of blood…

But he still had to knock his head down. Later ages say there was no kneeling and kowtowing before a certain dynasty — that's nonsense. From the Zhou dynasty onward, the full nine forms of prostration were in place. It was just that since people normally sat kneeling when meeting each other, kowtowing did not carry such a strong sense of humiliation.

"Your subject Li You, your subject Heifu, come before the Great King!"

When the ritual was done and he raised his head again, Heifu found that the King of Qin's pair of sharp, long eyes were looking straight at him.

Heifu had no idea what expression he ought to wear at this moment. A smile? Or would solemn and uneasy be better?

For some reason, although he had imagined this countless times, now that he truly stood before the King of Qin, he found himself momentarily at a loss for words.

Fortunately, he was not required to speak first. The King of Qin bade Li You rise and offered a word of encouragement to his son-in-law, then looked again at Heifu, still kneeling on the ground.

"What will the King of Qin ask me first?" Heifu wondered to himself. Of course it could not be, "I, Qin Shi Huang, send money." Perhaps he would ask his age? His battle merits? Or the military ball game Wang Jian must have mentioned to him?

At that moment, the King of Qin's voice reached his ears: "So you are Heifu? The hero of Tongyang, Li You's beloved general, and also the one mentioned in Nan Commandery Governor Ye Teng's dispatches… the 'Public Latrine County Lieutenant'?"

"Exactly… exactly so, your humble subject!"

Heifu nearly choked on a mouthful of old blood. He hastily acknowledged, inwardly cursing Governor Teng without end.

Wasn't this credit given to the magistrate of Anlu County? How did I still get saddled with this title, and that old fox Ye even wrote it into the memorial for the Prince of Qin to see!

He didn't forget to glance at the official historian beside him, who was writing furiously, recording their conversation — and inwardly groaned that he was done for.

"Now it's been personally decreed by the Prince of Qin — Public Toilet County Lieutenant. This stinking nickname is probably going to be written into the history books!"

PS: While at leisure. The Qin general Fan Yuqi had offended the Prince of Qin and fled to Yan; the Crown Prince received him and gave him lodging. Ju Wu remonstrated, saying: "This cannot be. Given the Prince of Qin's brutality and his accumulated wrath against Yan, it is enough to chill the heart — how much more so if he learns where General Fan is! This is called tossing meat onto the path of a starving tiger; the calamity will be unstoppable. Even with Guan and Yan, no stratagem could be devised for it. I beg the Crown Prince to swiftly send General Fan to the Xiongnu to silence any pretext, then request an alliance with the Three Jin in the west, join with Qi and Chu in the south, and seek peace with the Chanyu in the north — only thereafter can plans be made." — from "Biographies of the Assassins"

(End of Chapter)