Chapter 414: My Many Schemes

Ju Wu was no longer young. At fifty, he had already chosen his burial ground outside the Upper Capital of Yan—a quiet little hill covered in wolfberry shrubs. In his vision, he would be laid to rest there after death, lying near the successive former rulers of Yan, slumbering beneath the feet of the Ju clan ancestors, waiting each year for the grasses and trees to wither and flourish, and for the vast white snow to fall.

White—that was the color the people of Yan loved most.

Yet Ju Wu never imagined that just as his beard and hair were turning white, he would lose everything. Truly like a stray dog, he roamed beyond the frontier, enduring frost and snow even colder than the lands of Yan, each day feeling like a year.

He had once been a wise Grand Tutor, analyzing the world's situation for Crown Prince Dan with impeccable logic: "Qin's lands spread across the realm, threatening Han, Wei, and Zhao. In the north it holds the strongholds of Ganquan and Gukou; in the south, the fertile lands of Jing and Wei; it commands the riches of Ba and Han; to the right, the mountains of Long and Shu; to the left, the perilous passes of Xiao and Yao. Its people are numerous and its soldiers keen; its weapons and armor are more than sufficient. Wherever its intent turns, the lands south of the Long Wall and north of the Yi River are yet to be settled. Why, then, for the grievance of being humiliated, would you wish to strike its reverse scale?"

In Ju Wu's view at that time, the great trend of the world was already decided. For Yan to respectfully serve Qin, preserving itself by muddling through, was the best policy.

But Crown Prince Dan ignored his choice, and did not even adopt Ju Wu's middle policy of "allying with the Xiongnu, the Three Jin, Qi, and Chu to resist Qin."

Thus, they could only take the worst policy: assassinating the King of Qin...

What it brought in return was utter catastrophe.

Within a few months, Ju Wu lost everything: his old friend Tian Guang, who committed suicide to spur Jing Ke to go to Qin; his wife and children, who died in the battle when Wang Jian stormed the city; his beloved disciple Crown Prince Dan, beheaded and sent to the Qin palace; King Xi of Yan, who had recognized his talent, reduced to a captive; and the eight-hundred-year altars of the Yan state, destroyed in a single day...

The once-rational Grand Tutor became a sullen old man engulfed by the flames of vengeance.

The Xiongnu, who frequently raided the borders, were indeed hateful, but in Ju Wu's eyes, Qin Shi Huang, the Qin state, and the Qin people were even more detestable than the Xiongnu. If he could make them fight like dogs, nothing could be better!

Right now, he had to push Chanyu Touman to kill these merchants and make Qin and the Xiongnu go to war immediately!

A decrepit old man could only exact revenge on Qin in this way.

Sure enough, with that single sentence from Ju Wu, Chanyu Touman once again stared intently at Chen Ping, and Wu Shiyan, who had just breathed a sigh of relief, tensed up again!

But Chen Ping once more defied Ju Wu's expectations. Without the slightest haste, he untied from his waist the small seal of a Scribe and the bamboo slips proving his identity, and asked the Xiongnu to present them before the Chanyu.

These were fake identities and seals Hei Fu had ordered made. Chen Ping's alias, "Zhang Ping," was prominently written on them. Although the Xiongnu could not read it, every detail had been accounted for.

Chen Ping cupped his hands in salute and said:

"Though this was merely a routine merchant expedition beyond the frontier, it concerns the amicable relations between Qin and the Xiongnu, two great nations, and could not be treated carelessly. Thus, I, who possess some small eloquence, was chosen as the Scribe."

He raised his head proudly: "Though my salary is but a pittance, I am nevertheless a Qin official, registered in the rolls, with my own exclusive record of merits and service!"

"It would be easy for the Chanyu to kill a single Qin official, and even simpler to detain the accompanying merchants. But should this matter come to the Emperor's knowledge, he would surely regard it as an insult dealt by the Xiongnu to the Great Qin!"

"When that time comes, the million Qin soldiers this Grand Tutor Ju keeps prattling about might truly arrive beneath the walls of Touman City!"

The reason Chen Ping dared to speak this way was still because their identities were those of officials and government merchants, backed by a colossal empire...

"Chanyu! This whelp is insolent to this degree—we absolutely must not let them go!" Ju Wu stepped forward.

But Chanyu Touman raised a hand, signaling Ju Wu to say no more. He had his own considerations.

Years earlier, Ju Wu had also entered Xiongnu territory and, recounting the tale of "if the lips are gone, the teeth will feel the cold," tried to persuade Touman to preserve Yan and Dai. But Touman only sent troops to the border of Dai Commandery to take a look. Seeing the Qin army's ferocious momentum and that the state of Dai had no power to resist, he wisely withdrew.

Though Touman knew little of the interior, he had heard that the population of the Xiongnu was less than that of a single Qin commandery.

And Qin had a full thirty-six commanderies and a million armored soldiers!

Good heavens, thirty years ago, a single Li Mu of Zhao had routed his father in a great defeat, nearly shattering the Xiongnu. To this day, men of Touman's generation still trembled at the name of General Li.

And a unified Qin was five or ten times stronger than Zhao—how could they possibly afford to provoke it?

The present was not the future; the Xiongnu were not yet that empire stretching ten thousand li. Though their strength could match Yan, they were merely one of the three overlords of the steppe. The Donghu were strong, the Yuezhi were flourishing, and the vassal tribes in the Henan region were restless. Touman had no interest in lands unfit for herding horses and sheep, nor did he harbor ambitions too far beyond his era. He was not so arrogant as to rashly start a war with mighty Qin...

Not to mention, there was currently no solid proof that Qin intended to attack the Xiongnu. Even if there were, Touman would not dare to actively make an enemy of Qin.

So he put on a smile:

"The guest speaks true. I am the Chanyu of the Propped-Up Sky, King beyond the Frontier. And the First Emperor of Qin is the Son of Heaven of the Central Lands. Each of us guards his own domain, not encroaching upon the other."

Steppe regimes had always bullied the weak and feared the strong. As the weaker party, he had no right to start a war. Chanyu Touman was also growing old and sought only to maintain the status quo.

It could also be counted as Chen Ping's good fortune that news of Qin Shi Huang establishing the Pacifying-the-Frontier Shrine in Yanmen and Dai Commanderies had not yet reached Touman City. At least Chen Ping had not been done in by the very sovereign he served...

After hesitating for a long while, Chanyu Touman had the agitated Ju Wu led away to "rest." He put on a smiling face and apologized profusely to Wu Shiyan, dismissing the whole affair as a misunderstanding. Finally, as the group was taking their leave, he had his interpreter ask Chen Ping a question.

"How many more minor officials as formidable as you are there in the Central Lands?"

Chen Ping was taken aback, then revealed a modest smile and bowed, saying:

"The Central Plains are vast in territory and rich in resources, a land of outstanding people and natural treasures. Qin officials sharper and more capable than myself number in the thousands upon thousands!"

When they left the territory of the Chanyu's royal court, Chen Ping was still unhurried and unflustered, sitting alone in a cart, revising and editing a few sheets of paper, as if writing a letter.

But once they were only a few dozen li from the Qin-Xiongnu border, Chen Ping immediately galloped to Wu Shiyan's side and said to him urgently:

"Abandon the useless cattle and sheep, discard the excess goods. Travel light with swift chariots, spur the horses on at full speed! Flee Xiongnu territory at once!"

"Then would this trading expedition of ours not return empty-handed?" Wu Shiyan exclaimed in shock.

"Better than losing our lives." As Chen Ping spoke, he turned his head to look back toward the Chanyu's court, his face full of worry.

Wu Shiyan understood: "Does Master Chen think the Chanyu will regret letting us go and send men to pursue and kill us?"

Chen Ping said: "The Chanyu is greedy and has no true kin—who knows if he might grow suspicious again? Moreover, Ju Wu also has a band of Yan and Zhao exiles around him. If he sends men to chase us, we are no match for them. Better to travel light and flee."

Seeing that Wu Shiyan was still somewhat reluctant to part with the cattle and sheep they had traded for, Chen Ping urged him again: "The cattle, sheep, and horses we traded for at Helan have already been sent back to Beidi. This trading venture cannot be counted as a loss. Besides, profit was never the purpose of this long journey. The mountains, rivers, roads, tribes, and populations of the Xiongnu are all recorded in my mind. This intelligence is worth far more than ten thousand head of cattle and sheep! How can this be called returning empty-handed? Lord Wu, please make your decision swiftly!"

Wu Shiyan hesitated for a long while, but finally made up his mind. After all, it was Chen Ping's quick wits that had allowed them to escape the Chanyu's court. Now that they had yet to leave the danger behind, he might as well listen to him once more...

But within the party, a rough young man accompanying them was unwilling. He stubbornly refused to abandon the cattle and sheep they had traded for, and even muttered for Wu Shiyan and the others to go on ahead.

This merchant was a veteran who had worked for the Wu clan for ten years. Wu Shiyan was still earnestly trying to persuade him when, unexpectedly, after waiting impatiently for a while, Chen Ping suddenly barked at the two riders Hei Fu had assigned to guard him:

"Kill this man!"

Amid Wu Shiyan's shock, the crossbows twanged like sudden thunder. Two bolts pierced the Rong merchant's body. He stared wide-eyed in disbelief, then crashed heavily from his horse.

"Master Chen, what is the meaning of this?!"

Wu Shiyan cradled his old comrade's body, both shocked and furious. Shocked that Chen Ping, who had been so gentle and refined the entire journey, would suddenly be so ruthless; furious because Chen Ping had killed a man without even a word of consultation with him!

"Nothing more than removing the black sheep of the herd! In these extraordinary times, I can only beg your forgiveness!"

Chen Ping answered coldly with a line from the Zhuangzi, then immediately ordered everyone to act according to plan: release the cattle and sheep, and discard the cumbersome goods.

At the same time, he stopped Wu Shiyan from retrieving the dead man's body. He walked straight over, stuffed the letter he had been writing along the road into the dead man's clothes, and then had him abandoned on the spot, made to look as though he had been robbed and killed...

"Why do this?" Wu Shiyan found Chen Ping's actions more and more unfathomable.

"This is a parting gift for Chanyu Touman. Didn't Ju Wu want Touman to go to war with Qin? I am simply giving him a helping hand!"

Chen Ping's smile was still as pleasant as a spring breeze, but to Wu Shiyan's ears, it felt like a chilly wind whistling past.

After abandoning the cattle, sheep, and their dead, the group traveled light and swift. With carts and horses to aid them, they covered nearly a hundred li a day across the flat grasslands and finally reached the border pass garrisoned by troops of Yunzhong Commandery.

Behind them, just as Chen Ping had predicted, a group of Xiongnu light cavalry arrived too late. They could only watch helplessly as Chen Ping and his party entered the pass, stomping their feet in frustration outside the frontier. In the end, they had no choice but to take the dead they had intercepted along the way, along with the letter Chen Ping had deliberately left behind, and return to report to Touman.

"The Touman Chanyu really did go back on his word..."

Wu Shiyan felt immensely fortunate, unaware that this was only because news that the Qin dynasty had established a "Border-Pacifying Shrine" in Daibei after Qin Shi Huang left Yunzhong had finally reached the Chanyu's royal court! With the Qin dynasty's interest in matters beyond the frontier confirmed, and under Ju Wu's persistent persuasion, Touman decisively reversed his decision and sent men in pursuit.

Everyone endlessly praised and thanked Chen Ping, but Chen Ping merely gazed at the frontier beyond the pass, where beacon-fire smoke would soon billow, and sighed:

"Alas, though I study the Daoist teachings of Huang-Lao, in these extraordinary times, I am forced to achieve merit only through schemes of sowing discord..."

Two days later, the letter Chen Ping had deliberately left behind was delivered to the Chanyu's court, to the great tent of the Touman Chanyu.

The Chanyu, his face dark, ordered Ju Wu to open and read it. Ju Wu unfolded it and looked; although he did not recognize many Qin characters, after reading a few lines, he secretly sensed trouble.

It was actually a letter written in the tone of Prince Modu, asking the merchants to write on his behalf, addressed to Qin Shi Huang!

"Chanyu, this letter is truly suspicious. I fear it is a Qin trick and cannot be fully believed!"

Ju Wu immediately petitioned, but as soon as Touman heard it was a letter from his son to the Qin people, his expression changed drastically.

"Read it!"

Before even seeing the letter, the Touman Chanyu was already full of suspicion. Since Ju Wu hesitated to speak, he would have someone else read it!

"Prince Modu of the Xiongnu respectfully inquires after the well-being of the Son of Heaven, the Emperor of the Central Kingdom..."

"My father Touman favors the Yanzhi from the Western Regions, mistreats his eldest son Modu, and wishes to depose the elder and establish the younger. It is not the son who is unrighteous, but the father who is unkind! Modu fears he may be harmed by him and wishes to submit to the Great Qin, to purchase the Emperor's troops, and for the Emperor, ally with the Loufan, Baiyang, and Linhu to the south, unite with the Yuezhi to the west, and make peace with the Donghu to the east, to strike Touman together!"

Accompanied by the trembling voice of the translator, the Touman Chanyu's expression shifted from disbelief to utter shock and terror!

"Once the deed is done, the lands of Henan and Jiuyuan shall all be offered to the Emperor. I hope the Emperor will bestow the Yin Mountains and the Hetao upon Modu, establishing him as the ruler of the Xiongnu. Modu is willing to change his title from 'Great Chanyu Established by Heaven' to 'Lesser Chanyu Established by Qin.' The Xiongnu shall be servants and slaves to the Qin for generations, never to betray!"

(End of Chapter)