Chapter 429: The Army's General

"Is this the Xianyang Palace?"

Lord Xuyan's eyes widened as he gazed at the majestic palace at the foot of Mount Ganquan. The wind and snow had just cleared, and the entire palace seemed coated in a layer of silver lacquer. White snow lay piled on the black tiles and yellow walls, while on the road leading straight to the palace gate, several hundred palace servants with brooms were sweeping away the snow.

The finest houses of their Xuyan Rong people seemed like shabby bungalows compared to these towering halls, and the "Xianyang City" they had passed through earlier, with its tens of thousands of residents and bustling markets, was the most prosperous city he had ever seen in his life.

"The town you passed through just now was not Xianyang — it was merely an ordinary small county seat. In Great Qin, there are several hundred such county towns."

Hearing Lord Xuyan's effusive wonder, Heifu had the interpreter tell him: "What lies before you is not Xianyang Palace either — it is called Linguang Palace, just one of His Imperial Majesty's several hundred detached palaces!"

From Xianyang in Qin west to Yong, there were one hundred and thirty detached palaces, and within two hundred li around Xianyang, there were over seventy more palace halls — and that was not counting the detached palaces east of the Pass, or the great projects like the "Trust Palace" and "Ultimate Temple" south of the Wei River that had been temporarily halted due to the campaign against the Xiongnu.

Lord Xuyan was even more astounded. Xuyan possessed the salt of the Flower Horse Pool and raised tens of thousands of cattle and sheep; he had fancied himself a fairly wealthy chieftain beyond the frontier. But after following Heifu into the border passes and entering the heartland of the Qin dynasty, he now truly felt what wealth and strength really meant...

Heifu pointed at the soaring gate towers, bright and imposing, lush as though touching the sky, and had the interpreter intimidate Lord Xuyan: "When His Majesty has swept the Xiongnu clean and beheaded the Xiongnu Grand Chanyu, that head shall be hung upon these very towers!"

Lord Xuyan blurted out: "To have one's head hung here would be the Chanyu's good fortune!"

Hearing these words, Heifu could not help but laugh heartily.

"Lord Xuyan has a silver tongue — His Majesty will surely be fond of you!"

After the palace gates opened and they entered, seeing the dazzling array of colonnades and the pavilions and terraces surrounded by hot springs, Lord Xuyan stopped in his tracks at every turn, looking this way and that.

Every palace maid here was more beautiful than his own wives; every attendant was better dressed than the tribal chieftains under his command. The guards stationed beneath the palace towers all wore magnificent armor and held sharp blades, sending chills down one's spine.

The Commandant of Beidi had told him that all the frontier tribes and walled cities combined did not amount to even a tenth of the Emperor's wealth. At first he had not believed it, but now he knew those words were no lie. If one asked his innermost feelings, they were probably: "How dare the light of a rotting weed vie with the brilliance of sun and moon!"

The usher leading the way ahead saw Lord Xuyan's constant starts and exclamations and laughed: "This barbarian sees just one detached palace and is already like this — if he truly reached Xianyang, saw the greatest city under heaven, beheld the myriad palace halls, and laid eyes on the Twelve Metal Colossi, he would probably die of fright!"

Heifu nodded. In this age, it was hard for someone from a foreign land entering Guanzhong not to be shaken to the core, was it not? One of the reasons Qin Shi Huang undertook such massive construction was precisely to display his majesty and authority — and indeed, it had some effect.

It was now the beginning of the twelfth month of the twenty-ninth year of Qin Shi Huang. Heifu had originally wanted to stay home with his wife as she awaited childbirth, but a single imperial edict forced him to bring Lord Xuyan to Linguang Palace for an audience with Qin Shi Huang.

Because of Heifu, compared to the original course of history, Qin had built the Direct Road several years early, and the starting point of that road was here in Yunyang County, stretching straight to Shang Commandery and Yunzhong, with beacon fires linked all along the way. Qin Shi Huang also used this palace as his command post for preparing the campaign against the Xiongnu, summoning the generals of the border commanderies to discuss next year's troop deployments. The surrendered Rong and Di chieftains were also brought here for an audience, to display Qin's wealth and might.

So outside the great hall, Heifu saw many familiar faces waiting for the Emperor's summons: Qiang Hui, the Governor of Shang Commandery, old but not yet decrepit; Li Xin, the Commandant of Longxi, white-haired in his prime; Feng Jie, the Right Commandant of Shang Commandery, who was the first to notice Heifu's arrival; and the newly appointed Commandant, the young and impetuous Wang Li.

Heifu immediately stepped forward and, according to official rank and noble title, exchanged greetings with all the governors, commandants, and generals. He knew in his heart that his own status was on par with Feng Jie's, but ranked after Qiang Hui and Li Xin.

With Wang Jian retired in old age, Meng Wu bedridden with illness, and Wang Ben stationed east to pacify Qi, Qiang Hui had clearly become the one with the highest seniority and title among the generals west of the Pass. Blunt by nature, he said to Heifu in a loud, forthright manner:

"This old man only learned from Yang Xiong that during the campaign to destroy Wei, you were in my army. I never imagined that a minor platoon chief from six years ago would now be the dignified Commandant of Beidi!"

Shang Commandery was the main direction for Qin's northern advance, and with Qiang Hui's seniority, he was certain to be the nominal Grand General for next year's attack on the Xiongnu. Heifu dared not be remiss and saluted with clasped hands, saying:

"Back then, I followed you, General, out of Daliang to seize Wei lands to the east. When we attacked Chenliu, I served as a detached soldier. Your troop deployments and battle formations, your methods of setting camp and fortifying positions — all of it benefited Heifu immensely! You, General, were the first teacher who taught Heifu the art of war!"

He had placed a tall hat upon him, but Qiang Hui did not accept it. He laughed and said: "Don't flatter me. Was it not the old General Wang Jian who taught you to march and fight? I have heard that when you go beyond the frontier to fight, you never fail to say 'an army without supplies is doomed,' and when you reached Flower Horse Pool, you had everyone build solid fortifications and absolutely refused to attack rashly, instead luring the Xiongnu into making the first move. When this old man thought it over — is that not General Wang Jian's method of fighting, using a yong-weight against a zhu-weight?"

With that, he glared at the youngest and lowest-ranking Commandant among the assembled generals, Wang Li: "Young whelp, you have just been appointed Commandant and will soon command ten thousand men. Learn a thing or two — be less rash, and study more of your grandfather's skill in steady, reliable warfare. That is the way to victory!"

Wang Li was somewhat embarrassed and mumbled his assent, but in his eyes, there was a trace of defiance.

Seeing this, Heifu changed the subject: "What profound art of war does Heifu understand? I merely copy the gourd by drawing the dipper — far inferior to the generational teachings of a house of generals. Take Zihua, for example. He is worthy of being the old general's grandson; not only is he thoroughly versed in military texts, but he is also skilled in archery and horsemanship. On this expedition beyond the frontier, he personally shot and killed several barbarian captives and returned with severed heads."

"Do not keep him by your side and shield him from danger just because he is my grandson."

Qiang Hui then praised Li Xin: "My Qiang clan takes dying on the battlefield as an honor and falling gravely ill in bed as a disgrace. Qiang Huang is also my grandson, and yet the Commandant Li took him galloping eight hundred li, deep into the Xiongnu heartland!"

Heifu also formally thanked Li Xin, who had helped him greatly: "In war, engage with the orthodox and win with the unorthodox. It was all thanks to General Li's raid on the Xiongnu rear — when the Xiongnu's Grand Danghu and Gudu Marquis heard of it, they abandoned Flower Horse Pool and retreated in panic."

Li Xin, no longer possessing his former impulsiveness, had been listening quietly the whole time. Only upon hearing this did he say modestly: "The Commandant of Beidi faced the Xiongnu's main force head-on. Li Xin merely went to kill and plunder the women and children they left in the rear — how dare I claim valor?"

The group spent a while here in mutual commercial flattery, when Heifu noticed that Lord Xuyan, whom he had brought, was whispering with a Di man wearing a deer-antler helmet and a leather Hu-style tunic, standing behind Feng Jie, the Commandant of Shang. He asked: "Who is this?"

"He is the Lord of Linhu."

Feng Jie finally had a chance to chime in and said with a smile: "Beidi Commandery seized Flower Horse Pool and took over a thousand Xiongnu heads and captives. Longxi Commandery sent out a surprise force, crossing eight hundred li of land to strike deep into the Xiongnu rear, trampling their tribes and burning their herds. Shang Commandery was not idle either. By His Majesty's command and the Governor's order, I led ten thousand troops beyond the Long Wall into Linhu, aiding the Lord of Linhu in wiping out those factions unwilling to submit to Qin. We opened up five hundred li of territory and garrisoned the shifting sands to the north, confronting the Chanyu's ten thousand riders and preventing them from reinforcing Helan to the south."

The implication was that had Shang Commandery not sent troops to threaten the Xiongnu Chanyu's court and tie down over ten thousand Xiongnu cavalry, the operations in Beidi and Longxi could not have gone so smoothly.

There was a clear note of rivalry in his words. Ten years ago, Li Xin's fiery temper would have certainly shot back, but now he merely smiled and offered no comment. Heifu did the same, first thanking Feng Jie for the thousand elite crossbowmen he had sent to reinforce Beidi, then saying, neither servile nor overbearing:

"Qin's struggle with the Xiongnu is like a man wrestling a beast. Beidi, Longxi, Daibei, and Shang Commandery are like the hands and feet. If one wishes to win, the hands and feet must naturally coordinate and assist one another."

Qiang Hui stood to the side, stroking his beard and watching the young men's open and covert rivalries, and could not help but sigh that time passes like a river, flowing on day and night.

In his heart, he also secretly compared these generals in their prime, one by one.

Li Xin, having experienced great rises and great falls, already possessed the bearing of a great general. With cavalry being the key to this campaign, he was certain to shine brilliantly.

Heifu, though a rising star, had also climbed up step by step from the grassroots. He possessed a steadiness far beyond his years, which put people at ease. For a southerner, he had commanded operations in the north with considerable skill and often brought pleasant surprises.

Feng Jie and Wang Li, on the other hand, were both scions of military houses. They certainly had knowledge of strategy and tactics, but their actual combat experience was not necessarily abundant, and they had a certain competitive, glory-seeking streak.

"He who unites the civil and martial is the general of the army; he who combines hardness and softness handles the business of war."

Qiang Hui recalled this saying that Wang Jian often told him, and it was only in his old age that he had gradually come to understand its meaning.

At present, those capable of this were only Li Xin, Heifu, and Meng Tian, who had not yet arrived — just these three generals. Feng Jie and Wang Li were still a bit too green...

At that moment, the Prefect of the Palace Chariots, Zhao Gao, stepped out of the hall doors and saluted the group: "Gentlemen, please follow Gao inside to an audience with His Majesty! The Lords of Xuyan and Linhu shall wait a while!"

The generals exchanged glances and still entered in order of noble rank. They were well aware that this was not only to discuss military strategy, but also to decide the direction and order of precedence for the generals' troop deployments next year.

When Heifu entered the hall, he was struck to discover that, besides Qin Shi Huang, there was also a young gentleman seated inside, around twenty years of age, with a face like crowned jade, dressed in splendid robes and wearing a cap. Seeing the generals enter and prostrate themselves, he rose and bowed to them with clasped hands, his every movement perfectly courteous.

It was none other than Qin Shi Huang's eldest son, the young master Fusu, whom Heifu had met before.

This was a rare sight. When Qin Shi Huang summoned his ministers to discuss government affairs, he absolutely never allowed consorts or young masters to listen in!

"The eldest young master has already undergone his capping ceremony and ought to understand military affairs."

Qin Shi Huang explained the reason: "Let him listen in on the generals' military plans — there is no harm in that!"

(End of chapter)