Chapter 593: Child

In the thirty-third year of the First Emperor, at the grand court assembly in the second month of spring, the Chancellor and the Imperial Secretary's office had already drafted the proclamation of war.

"In former times, when Song killed Chu's envoy Shen Zhou, King Zhuang of Chu, upon hearing this, flung up his sleeves and rose; his shoes caught up with him at the courtyard gate, his sword caught up with him outside his bedchamber door, and his chariot caught up with him at the market of Puxu!"

This means that when King Zhuang of Chu heard his envoy had been killed, he flew into a towering rage, smote the table and rose, and ran out barefoot. The person carrying his shoes caught up with him in the courtyard and put them on him; the person carrying his sword caught up with him outside the bedchamber door and hung it on him; the person driving the chariot caught up with him at the market of Puxu and begged the king to mount. He drove straight to the army camp and dispatched troops to besiege Song…

"Now Qin's might is ten times that of Chu, while the Ou-Yue tribes are small and weak, still less than Song. Yet these frontier barbarian Yue have dared to slight the Celestial Dynasty and kill our traveling envoy. This is a supreme disgrace and humiliation. If we do not punish them, it will not suffice to spread the Son of Heaven's authority!"

The Emperor had already intended to use troops against the Hundred Yue. Now, this gave him a perfectly justifiable reason for war. However, the Emperor had no desire to dispatch a great army merely to fight a small campaign or annihilate a single petty tribe. He decided to make all the Yue peoples the target of attack and subjugation…

As the place where the incident erupted, Western Ou naturally bore the brunt and became the focal point of military operations: first utterly destroy Western Ou, then sweep through and clear out the other Yue polities in turn.

Correspondingly, the choice of commander-in-chief, over which the Emperor had long hesitated, was also decided.

Heifu and Tu Sui — each had his own strategic emphasis, and it could be said they were equally matched. Setting aside strategy and the question of competence, and considering the matter purely from a political standpoint, the First Emperor was more inclined toward Tu Sui than Heifu.

The Emperor had personally toured Yuzhang Commandery. The local Supervisory Censor had secretly reported that Heifu had many former subordinates in Yuzhang. At the county level, those in charge of troops were basically Heifu's fellow provincials. Although there was no egregious factionalism yet, allowing them to form mutual connections over the long term would not be a good thing.

The First Emperor heard these secret reports, but only said flatly, "Understood." The matter was then left unresolved.

Although the First Emperor let it slide this once, to make Heifu commander-in-chief again, to have him become the superior of his old subordinates once more, holding command over several hundred thousand troops and residing in the south for years — that was probably not a good thing.

Moreover, Heifu was young. If he were made commander-in-chief, after this campaign he would certainly be enfeoffed as a marquis! A marquis just past thirty — what then, after that? There would be no higher rank to grant him.

The First Emperor was not really worried about an imbalance of power. Although Wang Ben's old wounds had flared up after he returned to Xianyang, and he would likely soon follow his father in death, there were still Meng Tian and Li Xin. With these two generals, already marquises in their prime, stationed above to keep things in check, what could Heifu possibly do?

The Emperor merely felt…

"To be enfeoffed as a marquis while young, to have merit so great it is hard to reward — that is not a good thing. If I were to appoint him general at this time, it would not be trusting or valuing him, but rather harming him…"

When quelling the Qi rebellion, Heifu had been the knife to slaughter a chicken, and Wang Ben the blade to butcher an ox.

But in the southern expedition, Heifu had already been upgraded, becoming the ox-butchering blade the Emperor was loath to use lightly.

He was a man who could serve as general or chancellor in days to come, not a disposable commodity to be used up once…

Conversely, to promote the already fifty-year-old Tu Sui, allowing the empire to gain one more aging general with illustrious battle merits, was no bad thing.

And so the First Emperor promulgated the final selection:

"Let Tu Sui, Governor of Changsha, be General; the Commandants of Yuzhang and Kuaiji be Lieutenant Generals; and Lu, Supervisory Censor of Nan Commandery, be Army Supervisor. Commanding one hundred fifty thousand troops and one hundred fifty thousand civilian laborers, they shall march south to conquer the Hundred Yue!"

Upon hearing this selection, Li You revealed a smile and exchanged a glance with his father, Li Si. But when Li Si glanced sideways at the Commandant of Justice, Ye Teng, he discovered that the old fellow had actually breathed a sigh of relief as well! And he loudly praised the Emperor's choice!

Li Si furrowed his brow, feeling that the matter was perhaps not as simple as his son thought.

Although Tu Sui was made general, the First Emperor also took Heifu's suggestions into account and altered some strategies.

For instance, the Emperor began intensively dispatching traveling envoys to the south, laying plans to entice Eastern Ou to surrender.

Although both called themselves "Ou" and both were Yue peoples, Eastern and Western Ou had no kinship ties. Eastern Ou was a state founded by descendants of King Goujian of Yue. It had walled cities, fields, and villages, used the bird-worm script of Chu, and had a relatively high degree of civilization; at the very least, they could be communicated with.

Although a state of war already existed with Ou-Yue, toward Southern Yue, Min-Yue, and others, they still had to broadly dispatch merchants to carry out bribery and infiltration, preparing for the large-scale military advance.

From now until the ninth month, a period of over half a year, would serve as the preparation phase for war. The First Emperor ordered Xu Lu, Supervisory Censor of Nan Commandery, to take charge of improving transportation conditions and transporting and stockpiling grain to the border.

At the same time, conscription began. Apart from tens of thousands of elite Qin troops from within the passes, for this war, the Emperor specifically named that more men from Chu should be drafted. The reason was that Chu people were accustomed to the southern climate and would not fall ill as easily when they reached the Hundred Yue. The gallant youths and young ruffians arrested during the court's crackdown were all to be sent to Changsha, Kuaiji, and Yuzhang, to become militia for the southern expedition — in truth, cannon fodder.

"When the summer heat in the south dissipates, that will be the time to use the troops!"

The Emperor's demand was simple: "This campaign must bring the Hundred Yue to submission, so that the territory of Great Qin extends southward to the North-Facing Doors!"

The so-called "North-Facing Doors" was a place at the extreme south in the understanding of Qin people. It was said to lie south of the sun, opposite to the Central Plains. The local inhabitants always opened their doors facing north to admit sunlight, hence the name. The location was roughly within the territory of Luo-Yue.

Although the Emperor very much wished to immediately flatten the Hundred Yue, he also knew that using troops in the south was not a matter of a single morning or evening; it would take at least a year or two…

He could only suppress his fury at being defied and offended by the petty chieftain of Ou-Yue, and turn his gaze to the north. There, too, was a city-state that did not know the meaning of death, which had dared to plot the assassination of the Emperor, and needed to endure the celestial might and thunderous wrath of Great Qin!

…

The use of troops in the south required slowness, but the use of troops in the north required a single word: speed!

The First Emperor's plan was that Joseon must be subdued before autumn, and the tiny state of Canghai Jun must be destroyed before winter!

The Chancellor and the Imperial Secretary's office reported that in the lands of Yan and Zhao, thirty thousand soldiers and civilian laborers had already finished being conscripted and were undergoing training under the local Commandants. They only awaited a single order from the Emperor, and they could set out from Yuyang, pass through Liaodong, and, full of martial spirit and high morale, cross the Mazishui River (Yalu River).

And Heifu, Governor of Jiaodong Commandery, along with Commandant Ren Xiao, had also sent a memorial reporting that at the two ports of Qingdao and Zhifu, over a hundred sailing ships had been assembled, and the sea routes had been scouted. At any time, they could cross the sea on a distant voyage, besiege Canghai from the sea, and provide grain and fodder supplies for the land army.

Everything was ready, lacking only the Emperor's appointment of the chief general, deputy generals, and army supervisor. Although the number of troops deployed was very small, less than a tenth of those in the south, the necessary command structure still had to be in place.

"Establish two Lieutenant Generals, one for water and one for land. The land army shall be led by Yang Duanhe, Four-Horse Chariot Grandee; the naval force shall be led by Ren Xiao, Commandant of Jiaodong."

"Yang Duanhe?"

Li Si and the others were somewhat surprised. Why had the Emperor suddenly thought of this old general, already past sixty and retired?

As far back as over twenty years ago, in the year the First Emperor personally took the reins of power, Yang Duanhe had served as a Major of a detached corps, attacking Wei and capturing Yanshi.

In the eleventh year, Yang Duanhe served as Commandant, attacking Ye alongside Wang Jian and Huan Yi, and capturing nine cities.

By the eighteenth year, when Qin mobilized a great army to attack Zhao, Yang Duanhe was already a Lieutenant General commanding the Henei troops, cooperating with Wang Jian and Qiang Hui to besiege Handan.

During the campaigns to destroy Yan and Wei, he continued to serve as Lieutenant General. This man fought in a manner closely resembling Wang Jian — extremely steady, and even more cautious. Although he could not achieve great merit, he also would not make mistakes.

After unification, Yang Duanhe garrisoned the Zhao region for a few years, then retired due to old age last year and lived at home in leisure. His son, Yang Xiong, served as a Commandant in the Palace Guard Army.

Now that Wang Jian and Qiang Hui had both passed away, Yang Duanhe had seemingly become one of the most senior generals in the Qin Empire, second only to Feng Wuze. It was fine to let this veteran be commander-in-chief, but to be merely a Lieutenant General — wasn't that somewhat inappropriate?

Although they felt something was off, the high ministers did not dare voice opposition. As long as the Emperor was happy.

As for the naval force, there was no need to discuss it; the position belonged to none other than Ren Xiao.

But as for who would serve as chief general and army supervisor, the First Emperor still hesitated for a long time. While playing chess with Li Si, his hand several times picked up a piece, then put it down again, repeating this over and over.

In all his years following the First Emperor, Li Si had never seen the Emperor so indecisive.

In the end, the First Emperor steeled his heart, slammed the piece heavily onto the board, and spoke two names.

"Fusu, Heifu!"

The Chancellors of the Left and Right and the Imperial Secretary present looked at one another. Fusu as Army Supervisor, and Heifu as General? Was this the Emperor's compensation for not using Heifu as commander-in-chief in the southern expedition?

But this expedition would use troops from Yan and Zhao, not Jiaodong troops. If Heifu went to the front as chief general, who would govern Jiaodong Commandery?

Furthermore, although he was a Grandee of the Great Order, for him to be the superior of Yang Duanhe was still not quite proper.

Li Si and Feng Quji pondered these things, while what Wang Wan worried about was Fusu.

This Left Chancellor, who had already lost the Emperor's trust and could be dismissed at any moment, sighed, intending to exert one last effort for the empire, and stepped forward to remonstrate:

"Your Majesty, for the Eldest Young Master to serve as army supervisor again — this time he is bound for Liaodong, a bitter, cold, and distant land, nothing like the northern frontier beyond the passes that lies so close to Guanzhong. As the old saying goes, a son worth a thousand gold pieces does not sit in a hall of peril…"

"Born deep within the palace, raised in the hands of women, he thinks all worldly affairs are easy. If he does not sit in a hall of peril, how can he know that the hardships of military struggle are no child's play? How can he understand that not everything can be resolved through conciliation, through being a good man?"

Qin Shi Huang's stern gaze swept over them, making Wang Wan lower his head, stammering, not daring to speak further.

"And one more thing — did We say that Fusu would be the army supervisor?"

"Ah?!"

So shocking were those words that Li Si's playing piece dropped onto the board with a clatter. Feng Quji stared, dumbstruck, nearly crying out before he hastily covered his own mouth. Wang Wan was so frightened he stumbled backward, nearly falling!

Those words were enough to make every court official's hairs stand on end, to set countless minds racing with speculation, and to render the empire's already unclear succession even more bewildering and unfathomable!

Three supremely brilliant ministers, yet at this moment they could not see through or fathom Qin Shi Huang's thoughts, nor did they know how they should respond. Child's play? Reckless folly? But this was the Emperor's decision — his words were gold and jade…

Qin Shi Huang rose to his feet, clasping his hands behind his back. "Our will is decided. Heifu shall be the army supervisor, managing logistics in Jiaodong — that will suffice!"

"As for Fusu, this time he shall serve as the commanding general, with Yang Duanhe as his second, and accompany the army to Liaodong!"

(End of Chapter)