Chapter 595: Son of the Eagle

"When I was stationed farming near the Helan Mountains, I heard from the Rong cavalry that there is a kind of eagle-vulture there, huge in size, able to carry off lambs and children. They build their nests on sheer cliffs, have only one mate for life, and usually raise only a single eaglet at a time."

Heifu was telling his wife a story he had heard during his time on the northern frontier.

"The eagle-vulture cares for the eaglet for six months, until its wings are fully fledged, then teaches it to fly. Usually the male eagle circles beside the nest to demonstrate, while the female urges the eaglet to imitate."

As he spoke, his gaze drifted outside to the courtyard brimming with sunlight. Heifu, now thirty and established, had his eldest son Pofu already four years old, leading his second son Fubo, barely over a year old and still stumbling as he walked, in play. The children's carefree giggles warmed the heart more than the spring sunshine.

His wife was also watching the little ones, afraid they might fall and burst into tears at any moment. Their eyes met, they smiled at each other, and Heifu continued:

"But the eaglet fears the hundred-zhang cliff and dares not spread its wings. This repeats several times. At that point, the old eagles will peck or shove, pushing the eaglet off the cliff!"

"Ah!"

Ye Zijing exclaimed in shock: "These eagles are truly ruthless. What if the sole eaglet falls to its death? Wouldn't that end their line?"

"If it falls to its death, then it was no eagle at all."

Heifu laughed: "This is to force the eaglet to spread its wings. Since it dares not fly, then force it to fly!"

Although the eaglet cannot find the knack of flying right away, there are strong updrafts below the cliff. As long as it can spread its wings and flap a few times, at the very least it will not fall to its death.

After finishing the story of the northern eagle-vulture, Heifu said: "His Majesty the Emperor is like that eagle father, and Fusu is like the eagle son. In my view, His Majesty is forcing Prince Fusu, pushing him out of the comfortable nest of Xianyang, shoving him off the ten-thousand-zhang abyss, forcing him to fly!"

If one wants to guess at the Emperor's complex statecraft and schemes, better save the effort. Hiding one's own thoughts and waiting for those 'clever people' who misread the situation to leap out one by one and pick sides — that is a basic skill of a sovereign.

But if one views Qin Shi Huang's identity through the lens of a 'father,' based on Heifu's understanding of this father and son, Qin Shi Huang and Fusu, the intent behind this move is not hard to guess.

Chinese-style parents hold that a tiger father will have no dog son. A proud eagle desires even more a true son of an eagle.

They place expectations on their offspring, steering them in the direction they themselves deem 'right.'

The Emperor's expectations for Fusu are undoubtedly enormous. Back before the northern campaign against the Xiongnu, Qin Shi Huang summoned Heifu and told him something like, 'First know the hardship of sowing and reaping, then one may rest.'

Yet the princes and royal grandsons have never seen a clod of earth turned or a single seedling tended. They do not know which month to plant, which month to harvest — how could they understand the myriad affairs of the world?

Military matters are the same. If one only hears reports of victory from a thousand li away, but has never marched with the great army, heard the war drums shake the heavens, seen the wolf-smoke billowing, how can one understand the difficulty of warfare and grasp the necessity of driving the Xiongnu from the north?

These are the things the Emperor wanted Fusu to know. He hoped that after experiencing them, Fusu would return with less maudlin pity, less hypocritical benevolence, and become a resolute and decisive prince!

That time when Fusu served as army supervisor, the tempering clearly outweighed any demotion.

But things did not turn out quite as the Emperor imagined. After returning, Fusu did indeed pay more attention to practical matters and less to empty talk, yet this son's stubbornness was exactly like Qin Shi Huang's — having witnessed the campaigns, he became even more convinced that however great a state, belligerence leads to ruin. Having seen the toil of garrison soldiers and conscript laborers, he believed that appropriate relaxation was the correct way to govern.

On the attitude toward the Hundred Schools of thought, Fusu also held differing opinions from Qin Shi Huang and repeatedly remonstrated, greatly irritating the Emperor.

In Qin Shi Huang's eyes, an eagle should soar in the heavens, peerlessly proud, its gaze spanning a thousand li, commanding the whole situation. But Fusu? His gaze looked down with pity at the chickens, ducks, and little sparrows on the ground, even empathizing with them. How could such a person govern a state?

Thus, just like the old eagle pushing the eaglet off the cliff, this appointment as commander is Qin Shi Huang's final trial, as a father, for his son Fusu!

He seemed to be saying: "Fine! You little brat, always buzzing in my ear day after day, this won't do and that's not right — you think you can do it, then you do it!"

And with that, he kicked Fusu right out of the nest!

Fusu is now utterly dumbfounded, yet must go to the desolate northern frontier to do something completely unfamiliar.

It is somewhat laughable, but Heifu, thinking it over, could not laugh. Using tens of thousands of lives as a trial run for his son is far too frivolous, yet this style of doing things is indeed very Qin Shi Huang.

What's more, they added Yang Duanhe and Heifu as two safety measures, one in front and one behind. The worst-case scenario would not result in the total annihilation of the army.

Of course, this is only Heifu's speculation, but he felt it was probably not far from the Emperor's thinking.

He also explained to his wife the difference between an army supervisor and a commanding general.

"An army supervisor only needs to oversee provisions and supervise the commanding general; no decisions need to be made. For Fusu, that was no difficult matter."

"But being the commanding general is different. You hold tens of thousands of lives in your hands, campaigning in foreign lands, encountering countless hardships and obstacles that vex you to no end, requiring on-the-spot decisions, constantly weighing the pros and cons for the army."

Heifu had led detached forces and served as commanding general, so he certainly knew the difficulties involved.

In particular, a commander must set aside his own compassionate heart. Mercy cannot command troops. If soldiers are treated leniently but cannot be deployed, loved but cannot be ordered, disorderly but cannot be disciplined — they are like spoiled children, useless. Forget fighting; even daily marching on schedule would be difficult.

And sometimes, a commanding general's decision will let some live and cause others to die. Thus one must harden one's heart and know what to choose and what to sacrifice.

If one is soft-hearted toward the enemy, one may let the tiger return to the mountain and suffer the consequences, even leading to total annihilation.

"His Majesty perhaps hopes that Prince Fusu, after holding power in his hands and bearing responsibility and lives on his shoulders, can learn to set aside benevolence, recognize advantage, and make decisions and trade-offs."

As it happens, this northeastern campaign, which historically should never have occurred, is indeed the best possible trial scenario.

What is being tested is not only Fusu's character, but also three other points.

"The ability to employ people, diplomatic skill, and his attitude toward rebels…"

Right now, Fusu should be on the road to Liaodong. Yet the situation he must face is that the general does not know the soldiers, and the soldiers do not know the general. In a short time, under Yang Duanhe's guidance, Fusu must get to know the commandants under him and further understand their capabilities: who is reliable, who is rash, who is timid, and place them in suitable positions. This tests his ability to employ people.

In high summer, when the great army sets out and reaches Jizi Korea, Fusu must learn how to deal with this small border state. Of course, they could just fight their way through, but the best choice is to apply both kindness and authority, compelling Korea to submit, allowing the Qin army passage, and providing food and clothing. After all, this Korea is not the Korea of later ages, but descendants of the Shang dynasty, of the Huaxia line. This tests diplomatic skill.

Upon reaching the Grey Sea, facing the small state that once participated in the assassination attempt on Qin Shi Huang, and facing exiled anti-Qin figures, the Emperor's order is: slaughter them! Whether he can harden his heart, carry out Qin Shi Huang's will, and ruthlessly destroy those 'rebels' — that is also a test.

If Fusu can pass all of the above, he may wash away the poor impression he has left on Qin Shi Huang, gain his father's approval, and in this already-begun struggle for succession, stand head and shoulders above the rest…

"And if the Prince cannot?"

Hearing this, while marveling at how meticulously her husband fathomed the Emperor's mind, Ye Zijing also raised her head and asked:

"If he has Yang Duanhe and you, my husband, as wings to assist him, and still cannot fly?"

She cared not a whit about Prince Fusu's fate; what concerned her was whether that eagle son, falling into the abyss in the Emperor's eyes, would drag Heifu down with him…

Heifu pondered and said: "If he cannot withstand this trial, then he is no true eagle, but a chicken, mistakenly placed in an eagle's nest, allowed to see the distant vista from the high peak, yet lacking the strength to dwell on that peak."

"If that is truly the case, for His Majesty, rather than let it suffer and grieve in the wind its whole life, better to let it fall directly and forever lose the chance to be an eagle!"

He took his wife's hand and laughed: "Rest assured, I will not fall to my death alongside him!"

Ye Zijing returned the smile: "Of course, my husband certainly would not!"

…

The afternoon chat came to a pause. The sons were loudly calling for their mother — it turned out the bamboo horse had been broken by these two little ancestors at play.

Ye Zijing was about to go out and tend to the children, but before she left, Heifu spoke again.

"Oh, right, one more thing."

"Hm?"

"That story I told you at the very beginning, about the northern eagle-vulture — although they raise only one eaglet, at first they do not lay only a single egg. Rather, among several hatchlings, they choose the strongest one to raise. Because the northern frontier is barren and food is limited, they can only feed one. Do you know the fate of the remaining eaglets?"

Ye Zijing sighed: "Could it be that they were all pushed off the cliff and fell to their deaths by the strongest eaglet?"

"Exactly."

Heifu nodded: "For eagles, the slaughter of one's own flesh and blood begins from the moment of birth. But to be born into a royal family is a thousand times more perilous than being born in an eagle's nest a hundred zhang high! When one eagle cannot spread its wings and falls to its death, immediately, countless eaglets will step forward, to display their pinions before His Majesty!"

"The eagle soars in the sky, while the chicken roosts in its coop. It seems lofty and far-reaching, but it is also cruel."

Ye Zijing felt some emotion, her gaze turning toward the two carefree children in the courtyard.

"In my humble view, eaglets are not as fortunate as chicks. At least chicks can play freely and joyfully within their coop."

Heifu shook his head: "But chickens may be seized by eagles, or slaughtered by men. Even when grown, they live in constant peril. Do you wish your children to be chickens, subject to the butcher's knife?"

"If they were my children..."

Ye Zijing watched her two sons playing and frolicking in the courtyard, her eyes full of maternal tenderness.

"I would not wish them to be eagles that must harm their own flesh and blood, that fall to their death at the slightest failure to fly. Nor would I wish them to be chickens, subject to the butcher's knife, unable to master their own lives."

Heifu asked curiously: "Then what do you wish them to be?"

Lady Ye smiled, like a little girl. She bowed to Heifu, her dark robes like ink, her neck long and slender, like an elegant black swan:

"I wish them to be soaring swan-geese, beyond the reach of arrows, beyond the grasp of eagles, free and unrestrained!"

(End of chapter)