225 BCE
Wang Ben received the tiger tally and walked out of Xianyang Palace’s main hall, then looked up and took a deep breath. Though King Zheng of Qin was only in his thirties, as Qin’s unification campaign progressed, the royal dominance emanating from him grew increasingly sharp. Even Wang Ben himself, battle-hardened as he was, couldn’t help but soften his breathing when standing before King Zheng of Qin.
Stroking the gold-inlaid tiger tally in his palm, Wang Ben had already memorized every line on this gold-inlaid tiger tally.
His father Wang Jian was Qin’s renowned war general. He had followed his father Wang Jian all the way in destroying Zhao and attacking Yan, and last year led troops to attack Chu. Though he hadn’t used his full strength, under his father’s protection, he defeated the army of Crown Prince Dan of Yan, captured Yan’s capital Jicheng, and forced King Xi of Yan to relocate his capital.
Adding to this, before destroying Zhao, Han had already been annihilated by Qin’s army. King Zheng of Qin’s strategy to unify the six states was being realized step by step, and today, he finally ordered Wang Ben to independently lead troops to attack Wei.
This was Wang Ben’s first time truly leading troops independently. Without his father’s halo, Wang Ben felt both nervous and excited.
Outside Xianyang Palace’s main hall, Wang Li stood motionless in full armor under the setting sun. His handsome, resolute face was as calm as still water, showing no anxiety or irritation from waiting long. Wang Ben looked at his eldest son with satisfaction. Wang Li was already sixteen this year, the same age as King Zheng of Qin’s eldest son Fu Su, and had grown into a fine man of Great Qin who could shoulder a spear and wield a lance. Thinking that he himself had been this age when he started following his father Wang Jian to battlefields, Wang Ben became even more determined to bring Wang Li along on this expedition to Wei.
“General.” Wang Li saw his father walking toward him and respectfully saluted. There were no fathers and sons in the military—he strictly followed this rule, even though he was the general’s son.
Wang Ben nodded, then indicated for his son to follow him away. But unexpectedly, his usually obedient Wang Li hesitated for a moment, then quietly pleaded, “Father, may I leave the palace a bit later?”
This change in address meant he was appealing to his father as a son. When Wang Ben thought that his son had been standing straight, waiting for someone else, his anger flared. But with guards within five steps in all directions, Wang Ben couldn’t scold his son in front of outsiders. He could only glare fiercely and say in a low voice, “Return home before dark.”
“Yes.” Wang Li replied joyfully, then watched his father depart. His gaze was immediately drawn to a figure walking toward him from the distance.
It was a youth wearing wide-sleeved green robes—a mingwei deep garment. His steps were quick but showed no impropriety; rather, his posture was elegant and pleasing to the eye. His still-developing features retained childishness, but one could see he would become an extraordinarily handsome young man. When meeting Wang Ben face-to-face, this youth bowed and yielded first, his etiquette flawless beyond reproach.
Wang Ben returned a half-bow, because though this youth looked young, he was the famous young man in court from two years ago—appointed to the position of Superior Minister at age twelve, a position that could rival the Prime Minister at the time. Moreover, he wasn’t an inner palace attendant but held official rank. So even Wang Ben didn’t dare accept his full bow.
However, after walking a few steps forward, Wang Ben couldn’t help but look back. Sure enough, he saw that youth quickly walk to his son’s side, and the two began whispering intimately in the square outside Xianyang Palace’s main hall, ignoring others’ sidelong glances. Though the scene looked extremely pleasing to the eye (?), Wang Ben clenched his fist and decided to double his son’s evening lessons.
Wang Li didn’t yet know of this doom. He was currently looking happily at the youth before him, saying quietly, “A Luo, I thought I wouldn’t see you today.”
“Whew, the eldest prince’s administrative affairs were quite busy, so I could only find time now. Fortunately, I made it in time.” The youth’s jade-like face was flushed from hurrying, and he was somewhat breathless. He rummaged in his sleeves, not to pull out a handkerchief to wipe sweat, but to take out a brocade pouch and stuff it into Wang Li’s hands.
“This is…” Wang Li first smelled the pungent storax incense from the brocade pouch, then felt it was soft inside—probably stuffed with silk.
“This is your first time in battle, so I’ve combined the terrain around Wei’s capital Daliang to design a siege strategy.” The youth’s cheeks burned like fire as he smiled somewhat bashfully. “Just a crude plan—the general will probably laugh at it.”
The general he mentioned naturally referred to Wang Ben. Wang Li felt moved, thinking the youth was quite considerate of him. He didn’t know what to say, being naturally tongue-tied and scratching his ears and cheeks in anxiety.
“Hurry home. You must return safely.” The youth stepped back, creating distance between them. He had stood closer when handing over the brocade pouch.
Wang Li didn’t want to leave so quickly, but the sunset in the sky waited for no one—it was already about to set. Remembering his father’s deadline, Wang Li could only reluctantly bid farewell and left the palace with frequent backward glances.
The youth stood in the deepening twilight, watching Wang Li until he walked out the palace gates. The horizon swallowed the last ray of sunlight, and simultaneously a mischievous voice came from above the youth’s head.
“Oh my, thinking you can win over the Wang family of three generations of fierce generals with these small favors? Do you think Wang Jian is as easily fooled as Meng Tian? Little brat, you’re thinking too simply.”
“Chaofeng, don’t speak nonsense. A Luo’s brocade pouch surely contains brilliant strategies. It seems Wei’s fortune ends here.”
“Yaoying! You always protect this stinking brat. Be careful not to spoil him!”
One shrill and one deep voice argued on Xianyang Palace’s main hall, but none of the guards standing watch in the square reacted. The youth quietly rolled his eyes—only at times like this did he wish he couldn’t hear anything. When those two started arguing, it was truly annoying.
Precisely speaking, three creatures existed on Xianyang Palace’s main hall.
At the ends of the hall roof’s vertical ridges were dragon heads called Yaoying. Because they naturally loved gazing in all directions, they were placed here. It claimed it could observe all affairs under heaven, seeing clearly even matters at the ends of the earth. At the lower ends of the hall roof’s diagonal ridges was another dragon head called Chaofeng, naturally bold and fond of wild talk. This Chaofeng fellow liked looking down at gossip within Xianyang Palace—no matter how big or small, every detail was captured.
At both ends of the palace’s main ridge were placed inward-facing creatures called Chiwen. Legend said this beast loved swallowing, so it was placed at both ends of the main ridge with mouth open in a swallowing posture, also called devouring ridge beasts. Some said it was a sea beast that loved climbing high to gaze afar, spraying water like rain and fearing no fire, so it was placed here meaning “spray water to suppress fire and ensure peace.” However, the youth rarely heard Chiwen speak, because this fellow loved sleeping, especially sleeping in the sun. The youth strongly suspected it chose this rooftop position because of this preference.
But Chiwen was truly formidable. The youth had once seen during a thunderstorm night last summer, a lightning bolt split the darkness and struck directly on Xianyang Palace’s main hall. But nothing happened. According to Chaofeng’s proud declaration the next day, this was nothing—whatever fire, thunder, or lightning came, their boss would swallow it all! Though he hadn’t seen that heart-stopping scene up close, the youth could imagine how shocking it was.
These three ridge beasts were supposedly ancient artifacts passed down from the Shang Dynasty. As long as they were placed on eaves, they could ensure peace.
The youth just hadn’t expected that practicing his master’s Daoist arts would let him hear these three ridge beasts speak. He still remembered the first time he heard them, thinking he was hallucinating.
By now it was dark. The youth walked to a blind spot where guards couldn’t see, lifted his robe hem, and nimbly climbed up the beams and pillars. With several flips, he climbed onto the eaves. Judging by his skilled movements, this clearly wasn’t his first time performing such dangerous actions.
“Bi Zhi, the strategy you gave Wang Li—won’t it harm natural harmony? It will damage your lifespan.” As soon as the youth sat cross-legged on the eaves, the dragon head to his right spoke. Though ridge beasts were symmetrical, only the three ridge beasts on the ridge facing the southeast corner were the true main bodies of these three fellows.
The youth wasn’t surprised that Yaoying knew about the strategy he’d written. With gossip-loving Chaofeng around, how could any small matter be missed? It probably read every word when he was writing. He stroked the dragon head beside him, explaining flatly, “Harm natural harmony? I didn’t order this done. I just provided a strategy for flooding Daliang. Whether to use it depends on General Wang himself.”
“Tsk, such sophistry.” Chaofeng smacked its lips and sneered. “But if your mouth-full-of-righteousness eldest prince knew you contributed this strategy, who knows how he’d distance himself from you.”
“He won’t know.” The youth smiled confidently, his beautiful eyes sparkling in the night. “Unlike General Meng who openly supports the eldest prince, the Wang Jian lineage doesn’t dare take sides. After all, the Meng family has three generations of famous generals and are veteran nobles of Qin with solid foundations. The Wang family is like duckweed on water waves, only able to cling tightly to the King of Qin—they simply can’t afford to lose. So even if Wang Ben can’t resist using my strategy, he won’t speak of it. Once he does, he’ll be marked with the eldest prince’s seal.”
Actually, from the youth’s way of addressing Meng Tian and Wang Jian, one could see his attitude toward both families. Wang Jian came from commoner origins. Though the youth, noble in his bones, was respectful on the surface, privately he called him by name directly.
“And Wang Li will feel deeper guilt toward you because his father used your strategy without acknowledgment, equivalent to owing you a huge favor. When this young general grows up, he’ll definitely be the eldest prince’s man.” Having seen much palace intrigue, Chaofeng could naturally deduce the subsequent effects. But for these interlocking strategies devised by this merely fourteen-year-old youth, it truly admired him beyond measure.
The youth smiled without speaking, only patting the dragon head under his palm. The smile at his lips was like a winter plum blooming alone in bitter cold, quietly blossoming in the dark night.
“But your eldest prince’s governing philosophy completely conflicts with yours. There will definitely be problems later.” Because Yaoying often gazed in all directions, it saw more far-reaching implications.
“No matter. After great chaos comes great order. His Highness is benevolent, perfectly suited for governing. But where there’s light, there’s shadow. These dark matters also need someone to handle them.” The youth had long been prepared. He had chosen this path himself, so he must stand firmly behind Fu Su and walk it to the end. He raised his head to look at Chiwen still sleeping on the main ridge, smiled and greeted it, then said, “It’s getting late. I’ll head back first. Yaoying and Chaofeng, remember to help me keep an eye on Qin’s internal and external situations!”
As the youth spoke, he flipped down from the eaves. By the time he said the last word, his entire figure had vanished into the night, not a trace visible.
“Is he treating us like subordinates?” After a long while, Yaoying finally reacted.
“You just realized?” Chaofeng sneered. “Oh my, but when this little brat was still so small, he stared at me with such devotion for so many years. If he likes talking to me, he doesn’t need to use such tactics!”
Faced with such narcissistic Chaofeng, Yaoying was truly speechless. But after remaining silent for a while, it couldn’t help saying, “That kind of youthful spirit will cause him great trouble later. He really should be humbled.”
“But this kind of spirit is also rarely brilliant and dazzling. When he experiences more, he won’t have such soaring heroism anymore.” Chaofeng also became serious, speaking faintly against the night wind. Though it only had simple line carvings, because it perched at the highest place in all of Xianyang, it looked incomparably mighty. “Better to stay as he is. I can’t bear to see this boy heartbroken.”
“Qui…et…”
Well, Chaofeng curled its lips. It wasn’t actually at the highest place in all of Xianyang City—there was still someone above its head!