The Warring States, Books 1-3

by Greg Strandberg

“The peace was to be broken by Zhao,” Hui shouted. “Why am I receiving the blame?”

  Sun shook his head. “It is a mistake, sir.”

  “Oh, a mistake is it?” Hui laughed mockingly. “The real mistake was ever listening to you, Sun Bin, and that is not a mistake that I will make again.”

  Hui rose from his throne.

  “Guards, seize this man for treason. The execution will take place tomorrow.”

  Pang glanced over at Sun and saw his face go white.

  “No, Sire,” he called out, raising his arm up to block the guards approaching from the door. “He did not mean for things to turn out the way they did. It was simply a mistake, one of the few unknowns that can occur in war. Please don’t kill him for it.”

  Hui stared down at Pang as he looked up with pleading eyes. Sun made no struggle as the two guards grabbed hold of his arms.

  “So I should just let him go free, banish him from Wei perhaps so that he can go and aid one of our enemies?”

  Hui motioned down at the pile of paper on the floor as he said the last.

  “A punishment would suffice, perhaps one that would keep him in Wei,” Pang said.

  Hui folded his hands in front of his face as he thought. “Yes, a punishment that will keep him in Wei, one that will ensure he cannot go anywhere and one that will allow all that see him to know what he has done.” He turned to look at Sun. “Sun Bin, you are hereby sentenced to criminal branding. Your face will be tattooed tomorrow so that all can see you for the criminal you are.”

  Pang gave a sigh of relief. “Thank you for your leniency, Sire.”

  “Oh, I’m not finished yet,” Hui said as he stared down at Sun. “Your friend insists that I let you live, and I’ll listen to him. You have him to thank for your life, although you might soon be cursing him instead.” Hui turned toward the guards. “Take him away, and after he’s been branded, remove his kneecaps. That should keep him in Wei for a good long time.”

  The guards began to haul Sun away. He said not a word but only stared daggers at Hui.

  “No, Sire, that is too much!” Pang began to argue, although not too adamantly. If Sun was out of the picture there’d just be more glory for him, after all. The jealous thought that had been with him since speaking with Meilin seemed to fade away.

  “Be careful, Pang. You’re very close to sharing the same fate.”

  Pang swallowed his words and watched in silence as his friend was taken away.

  SEVENTEEN

  The wind swept down off of the Taihang Mountains and onto the plain, creating waves along the tall grasses for as far as the eye could see. The small village of Taizhen nestled up against the mountains close enough to escape most of the large gusts that came down off the soaring peaks, but the few trees that stood about were still stunted and twisted into awkward poses from the years of buffeting they took from the wind’s fury. Several such trees stood beside one small house on the edge of the village, a house that looked the same as all the others save that it had a chariot parked outside.

  Marquis Wen of Han put a hand on the shoulder of the driver of his chariot and pointed with his other arm toward the house. The driver nodded and they were soon turning off of the narrow road that all but passed the small village by. One chariot, that is good, Wen thought to himself as they approached the house, Marquis Jing is being as careful as I am.

  The driver pulled the chariot up next to the other and Wen hopped off the back while the driver brought the car to a rest. Wen scanned the surrounding area as the driver finished seeing to the two horses. It was a sparse country, simple grasses for as far as he could see in three directions, the large mountain range rising up behind. Of the village there was little, a few dozen bamboo and stone buildings, homes mostly, and Wen doubted that even a hundred people lived there. It was a good spot for a meeting; probably the only spot in the State of Wei were the two leaders of opposing states could meet without drawing attention. The small village had been chosen because it lay nearly halfway between the two men’s capital cities. While it was a risk to meet in Wei, a state that both men had their eyes on for future attacks, just about any state during these times would be a risk. The Seven States were at war once again, thanks to Marquis Hui of Wei’s attack upon Zhao nearly two months earlier. Wen still shook his head when he thought about the gall of such a move. Marquis Hui had tried to disguise his attack as a defense of the small State of Wey, but that had fooled no one. Zhao had been caught off-guard by the move and was forced back across their border with Wey, but only for a short time. To the surprise of everyone that Wen had spoken with since, the State of Chu had then invaded Wei from the south, carving out a goodly-sized section of land and firmly placing their troops there to guard it. The unexpected attack had thrown Wei off their guard and, still expecting an attack from Zhao against Wey, they’d been entirely unprepared when Zhao had moved further west and instead invaded Wei, carving out a nice section there. In the span of only a week Wei had lost nearly a fifth of its land, all because Hui of Wei got it into his head to break the twenty-year peace.

  Wen reached up and tightened the top-knot of hair that was blowing loose in the wind when his driver came up beside him. Wen gave one last scan of the countryside before heading toward the front door of the small house. He was still a few feet away when the door opened inward. Wen stopped as a man looked him up and down, did the same to his driver, then stuck his head out the door to peer in either direction. Satisfied that they were who he was waiting for and that they were alone, he stepped into the house and held his arm out for them to enter.

  Wen covered the last few feet and stepped through the door and into near-darkness. He narrowed his eyes and it took a moment for them to adjust to the lack of light. Inside the house the furnishings were sparse. The floor was dirt and the roof was straw. There was a single table with four chairs set against one wall, a small bed next to another. A small wooden table was placed under the only window in the house, a few plates and bowls covering its surface as well as a large wash bucket. Standing next to the table and peering out of the window was a man dressed in black robes with long black hair tied in a simple knot, his hands folded behind his back. He turned as the door behind him was closed and Wen could see a smile break out onto his face.

  “Marquis Wen, it is good to finally meet you,” the man said as he crossed the room to Wen.

  “It is good to meet you as well, Marquis Jing,” Wen said as he clasped hands with the man. Jing’s eyes were deep-set but penetrating. His nose was rather large and slanted but his small mouth was nearly invisible under the black mustache that flowed well past his chin. He smiled again as he put his hand on Wen’s shoulder and motioned for him to take a seat at the table.

  “I trust your journey was uneventful?” Jing asked as Wen sat down at the table.

  “Very,” Wen replied. “We made the trip in just over two days on the side roads.”

  Jing nodded. “It took us about the same time, again on the side roads.” He smiled again, showing a perfect set of white teeth. “It wouldn’t do to draw any unwanted attention, especially in the State of Wei.”

  “No it would not,” Wen agreed. He glanced over at the man that had opened the door for him and who was now idly leaning against one wall of the house. His own driver was standing at attention near the door. He caught Jing’s eye and nodded toward the two men. “Perhaps we should speak alone.”

  Jing shrugged. “If you wish, although I’ll tell you that whatever we say here will be discussed with others later.”

  Wen bunched up his lips and nodded. “Oh, I know, but it would put me at ease.”

  “Very well,” Jing said as he motioned toward the man that Wen could only assume was his own driver. Having already heard what was said, the man was already halfway to the door by then. He held it open for Wen’s driver and then pulled it shut.

  “There, feel better?” Jing asked with a smirk.

  “Much,” Wen replied with his own small smile.

>   Jing rose from the table and headed back to the small window. He clasped his hands behind his back and stared out at the mountains rising to the west and shook his head.

  “What are we to do, Wen? The peace that has held the Seven States together for the last twenty years is no more. It was that peace more than anything which made Zhao, Han, and Wei into the Three Jins, the center of the Seven States and the most powerful.” He turned back toward the ruler of Han. “I think it’s safe to say that the Three Jins are no more, just as peace in our world is no more.”

  Wen nodded. “Marquis Hui was a fool to act like he did. If his father was well he would never have allowed such a move and I’m sure his grandfather is rolling in his grave at the damage Wei has suffered because of his grandson’s incompetence.”

  “Well, Hui is Marquis in his own right now and won’t have to consult with his father about his military moves anymore, although I doubt he consulted with him about attacking us in Wey. We have it on good authority in Handan that Marquis Wu died just a few weeks ago.”

  “We’ve heard the same in Yangzhai.”

  Jing turned back to the window. “I had the good fortune of meeting both Marquis Wu and his father, the great Marquis Wen, while attending the signing of the peace in Luoyang all those years ago.” Jing chuckled to himself. “It seems almost a lifetime ago, now, and I was quite young. I said some foolish things to the other young men gathered there, as young men will do when they try to best the other future rulers with words on how strong their states are. Marquis Hui was not present at the meeting. He was the grandson of Marquis Wen, and most grandsons were not present, only sons, which is why you were not there, Wen.”

  “Hui was working on a canal project to the north, if I’m not mistaken,” Wen said. “Some kind of punishment meted out by his grandfather.”

  Jing nodded. “For the Zhongshan incident, as it’s come to be called.” He turned away from the window once again and came back to the table. “If what happened there doesn’t tell you about the foe we face then I don’t know what will.”

  “A Trial by Chariot is an ancient rite, and one with rules,” Wen said. “What Hui did there was unconscionable, and I’m sure it brought the disfavor of Shangdi down upon him.”

  Jing stared at him for a few moments before nodding slowly. “Perhaps it did, and let us hope so; it will make it all the easier for us.”

  “And what exactly are we doing?” Wen asked.

  Jing pulled up a chair and sat down close to Wen. “We both know that Wei is the strongest of the Three Jins, the strongest of the Seven States. We could argue well into the night who is the next strongest, Zhao or Han, but that’s really of no consequence. Together we’re stronger than Wei and together we can take Wei down.”

  “True,” Wen said, “but is that prudent? The way I see it you’re correct, Wei is the strongest state. But times are not what they were twenty years ago. Other states are becoming strong as well, particularly Chu and Qin. Twenty years ago no one would have thought Chu capable of overcoming its bureaucratic nightmares to make a push north into another state’s territory, but that is exactly what we’ve seen over the past month.”

  Jing nodded. “Hui was an idiot to dismiss Wu Qi from his service. In the span of only five years the man transformed Chu from the epitome of bureaucratic inefficiency into an example of what a strong centralized leadership can do with a well-organized army.”

  “And Qin is on the same path, again with a former advisor of Wei’s.”

  “Shang Yang,” Jing said with a nod. “And while Wu Qi only had five years to remake Chu before the nobles killed him, Shang Yang has been working closely with Duke Xian for three times that long.”

  “My advisors tell me that the changes that Qin has gone through over the past fifteen years are immense. The state is barely recognizable from what it once was. Their army is large and well-trained. Their population has nearly doubled, their food output nearly quadrupled.”

  Jing frowned. “It is something to be wary of. In the past Qin was always a joke, barely considered worthy of being called one of the Seven. Now they’re in a position to be one of the strongest.”

  “Chu and Qin are on the rise and Wei is slipping.” Wen shook his head. “Who would have thought that would be the case twenty years ago in Luoyang?”

  “Not I,” Jing admitted, “not I.” He peered past Wen toward the wall for several moments before continuing. “Wen, why didn’t you join in the fighting last month? Chu saw the opportunity that Hui’s breaking of the peace allowed and jumped at the chance to invade and carve off a piece for themselves. After the initial shock of their attack against us in Wey, I quickly redirected our forces for the larger prize and took a good piece of Wei myself. You had time, Wen. Why didn’t you come up from the southwest like Chu did from the southeast?”

  Wen shook his head. “I wish now that I would have, but things moved so quickly. After the initial surprise of what Wei had done I thought it prudent to sit back and see how events played themselves out first.”

  Jing nodded slowly, his eyes boring into Wen. “I see,” he said, while thinking all the while how weak the man sitting across from him really was. To pass up such an opportunity! “And how would you feel now about moving against Wei? If I came down on them from the north would you come up from the south?”

  Wen sucked on his lower lip as he considered the question. “And how are we to know that either Chu or Qin won’ see those moves as an opportunity to invade us when our troops are in the field and we’re vulnerable.”

  “Why, we talk to them and ensure that that doesn’t happen.”

  Wen’s eyes narrowed. “It sounds to me like you already have this all planned out.”

  Jing shook his head. “Far from it, although I do have the basis of a plan, many plans actually.” He scooted his chair closer to Wen. “I wanted to meet with you here first, Wen, since the two of us are really all that’s left of the Three Jins. I wanted to know what you thought before I called a larger meeting with Duke Xian or King Su, or possibly both together. I wanted to know how you felt about eliminating Wei.”

  “I’m worried about the balance of power that now stands, more than anything.”

  “The balance of power stands no longer, at least not as it has for twenty years,” Jing said. “Those days are over, Wen, and the sooner you realize that the better it will be for you. The Seven States are at war now, a war started by Marquis Hui of Wei. Whether you like it or not’s of no consequence – you will be pulled in regardless.”

  “Then perhaps it’s time for us to meet with the other states,” Wen said. “You didn’t mention Qi or Yan.”

  Jing shook his head. “Yan is too occupied with the barbarians to the north and no one is really sure what is going on in Qi since House Tian finally defeated the last remnants of House Jiang.”

  “So it’s just Qin and Chu that you’re interested in meeting with, then?”

  Jing nodded. “The sooner the better.”

  “Just tell me where to go and I’ll go there.”

  Jing shook his head and smiled. “Oh, that won’t be necessary, Wen. As long as I know that you’re on board with me then I can speak to either ruler. I was planning on starting with Qin first. Their capital isn’t so far away now that we’ve moved our capital to Handan.”

  “It’s closer still to Yangzhai; it would be no trouble for me.”

  “I want you to focus on getting your military in order, Wen. I know that one of the reasons you didn’t take advantage of Hui’s blunder is because your forces are in a bit of disarray at the moment. That is no matter; we were at peace and you didn’t expect that it would suddenly come to an end so quickly. But now’s the time to get your house in order and you can’t do that by being absent from Han.”

  Wen nodded. Many things that Jing had said made sense. He was glad that he had the Marquis of Zhao as a friend to look out for him and point him in the right direction. Wen’s father had always been the one to do that in the pas
t, but ever since his death seven years before Wen had been on his own. Things were simple when the peace was intact, but now that it wasn’t they’d suddenly become a lot more difficult. Wen yearned for his father’s guidance, but if he couldn’t have that then perhaps Jing’s was just as good.”

  “You’re right, Jing,” Wen said. “I need to do some reorganizing of my military. I’ll begin that just as soon as I get back to Yangzhai.”

  “Good,” Jing said as he clapped Wen on the back and stood up from the table. “I’ll call a meeting with Duke Xian of Qin and send you a message when our future course is clearer. For now just keep it in your mind that they’ll most likely be on our side and that the three of us together will make an attack on Wei.”

  “And Chu?”

  “Chu I think is best left on their own for now,” Jing said. “They’re growing power troubles me, and while I intend to meet with King Su, now is not quite the time.”

  Wen nodded, deferring to Jing’s experience in these matters. While his father had died the same year as Wen’s, Jing just seemed much more confident in his role as ruler of one of the most powerful of the Seven States.

  “I’ll be expecting your message shortly, then,” Wen said as he stood up from the table. “Is there anything else we need to discuss today?”

  “That about sums it up, Wen,” Jing said as placed his hand on Wen’s back and escorted him to the door, pulling it open for him. “You will hear from me shortly.”

  Wen looked into Jing’s eyes one more time and nodded before stepping back outside. His and Jing’s drivers were both sitting near trees opposite one another and both rose as Wen and Jing stepped outside. Wen nodded toward his driver and the man headed for their chariot. After a few minutes both were inside the car and after a wave goodbye back on the dirt road heading south.

  Wen stared out at the waves of grass blowing in the wind as they rushed by and then toward the towering Taihang Mountains far above. He couldn’t help but worry about the future.