The Weight of Blood and the Path of Alliance
Unlike the faint disappointment that had lingered in his voice just moments before, Lord Pingyuan now spoke with clear anticipation. “What is your reason?”
“It is true that the child of Crown Prince Yan would carry the bloodline of Zhao. But did that stop the King of Qin from attacking Chu?”
The current King of Qin had a mother from a collateral branch of Chu’s royal family. In other words, half the blood flowing through his veins belonged to Chu’s royal house. Yet he had still waged war on Chu and even occupied their capital.
During the week before I put my plan to meet Lord Pingyuan into action, I had received intensive lessons from Han Jing. He covered the major recent events and the well-known secrets of each state. While Han Jing didn’t know every detail, having studied in the academies, he was familiar with a wide range of stories.
“And?” Lord Pingyuan prompted, his expression showing genuine interest.
I no longer felt nervous. I now understood exactly what he had been worried about.
“You mentioned two concerns. The first was whether, even after I become King of Yan, today’s resolve would continue.”
“Exactly.”
“I will answer both at once.”
The reason I must ascend the throne, beyond simply sharing blood with Zhao’s royal family. And the proof that even if I become King of Yan in the future, I will uphold today’s commitment. It was cognition.
“It is because I know.”
Lord Pingyuan echoed, “You know?”
“Yes. I know Zhao’s strength. I have witnessed its true power. Therefore, I will not engage in foolish wars that only bring mutual loss.”
With Bai Qi and Wang Jian dead, the greatest general under heaven was undoubtedly Lian Po. The saying Qi, Jian, Po, Mu — the finest commanders of their age referred to Bai Qi, Wang Jian, Lian Po, and Li Mu. Their names were even recorded in the Thousand Character Classic, remembered for thousands of years.
Here, Bai Qi and Wang Jian were the generals who helped Qin achieve unification, while Lian Po and Li Mu were the Zhao commanders who resisted Qin most tenaciously. No matter how weakened Zhao had become, as long as Lian Po and Li Mu stood firm, Yan’s strength alone would never be enough.
“However, though the child of Crown Prince Yan carries Zhao’s royal blood, he does not know Zhao. Therefore, he can only be a man of Yan. He will not understand Zhao’s fears and will only see the surface damage, leading him to attempt invasion.”
This was also why Lord Pingyuan had found Empress Hui’s plan so distasteful. Even though the King of Qin had a mother from Chu’s royal family, he had still attacked Chu. In the Warring States era, where only the law of the jungle prevailed, bloodline was never a guarantee of safety.
Lord Pingyuan must have feared that if the child of Crown Prince Yan became King of Yan, Zhao might lower its guard against Yan. Therefore, he believed it was better for another Yan royal to take the throne and remain vigilant toward Yan rather than risk being stabbed in the back.
But even Lord Pingyuan’s thinking fell short. We needed to take one more step.
“When the lips are gone, the teeth grow cold. Yan and Zhao are each other’s lips and teeth. Zhao blocks Qin, and Yan blocks Qi. Rather than stabbing each other in the back, the right path is to stand shoulder to shoulder and guard each other’s rear. This, I know.”
Why would one fight Zhao? It was obvious that either Lian Po or Li Mu alone could sweep Yan’s forces away.
“Do not fight Yan. Seek harmony instead…”
Lord Pingyuan muttered the words, then let out a soft chuckle.
“It has been a long time since I heard those words. You are the second person to insist that I must stand with Yan.”
“Who was the first?”
“Su Qin.”
“Ah…!”
Su Qin was a figure I knew well. Even in Romance of the Three Kingdoms, he was mentioned through Zhuge Liang’s words. He had advocated the Vertical Alliance strategy — that the six states besides Qin, which had risen as the dominant power among the Seven Warring States, must unite against it.
In reality, he was the legendary diplomat who, beginning with Marquis Wen of my home state of Yan, became joint chancellor of the six states excluding Qin and successfully forged the alliance. Thanks to the emergence of this single outstanding individual, the six states set aside their long-standing grudges and formed a united front. Qin’s eastward expansion was completely blocked for a full fifteen years.
A single man had bound Qin in place. However, with six separate countries involved and deep-seated resentments between them, the alliance could not last. When the Vertical Alliance collapsed, Su Qin was demoted from joint chancellor of the six states to a mere Yan official. Later, he was sent to Qi on a secret mission and met a miserable end.
Though his final days were wretched, everyone acknowledged that Su Qin was a peerless orator who had manipulated the world through nothing but his rhetoric.
“I never met Su Qin in person, but we exchanged letters and shared our thoughts. Until he left for Qi, he never gave up on forging an alliance between our Zhao, Wei, and Yan.”
On the surface, the Warring States era was defined by endless warfare between nations. Yet when one looked closer, it was also a time of more active human exchange than ever before. Tian Dan of Qi operated in Zhao, Su Qin of Zhou settled in Yan, and Cai Ze of Yan rose to become Chancellor of Qin.
Lord Pingyuan and Su Qin came from different birthplaces and operated in different lands, but both were among the most renowned scholars of the age. It was not strange that they would communicate across borders and build a relationship even without having met face to face.
“When Qin tried to recruit me, I sensed it instinctively. My mission would be to protect Zhao and stop those tigers from the west. So I reached out to Su Qin once more to raise another Vertical Alliance army.”
The result had been failure. Lord Pingyuan muttered bitterly.
“And yet here before me stands another man of Yan speaking of the Vertical Alliance. Truly, the will of heaven is impossible to fathom.”
Unlike Su Qin, who had first raised the banner of the Vertical Alliance and traveled through the various states, I had sought him out merely for my own safety and the future peace I hoped to secure once I became King of Yan. Still, Lord Pingyuan seemed to see echoes of the past in me.
“If you become King of Yan, could a Vertical Alliance army of the six states truly rise once more?”
“That is not something I can guarantee. I would be content to play the role of Marquis Wen. If a Vertical Alliance army is to be raised, a second Su Qin must appear in this world.”
“Hah. Even playing the role of Marquis Wen would be fine. After all, it was Yan’s Marquis Wen who recognized and cherished Su Qin when our Zhao failed to do so. If it is you, I believe you will find that second Su Qin.”
“Does that mean…”
“It does.”
His voice trembled with uncontainable joy. Lord Pingyuan nodded with a warm smile.
“I will support you.”
‘It’s done! It’s done! It’s done!!’
My steps as I left Lord Pingyuan’s residence were impossibly light. I had received his firm promise. Now that Lord Pingyuan had declared he would protect me, I no longer needed to worry about the future.
He was a senior figure of the royal family and the previous Chancellor. Even if I could not yet receive treatment befitting an honored guest, at the very least I no longer had to live in constant anxiety! The sense of accomplishment at having persuaded Lord Pingyuan with nothing but my own words made it impossible to hold back my smile.
It was fortunate that I had managed to restrain myself inside his residence under the eyes of so many onlookers.
“Hehehe, if Han Jing finds out, I wonder what kind of fuss he’ll make.”
I could already picture him praising me, declaring that I was truly the pride of Yan. Everything I had done until now had felt natural. Setting an example? Treating subordinates well? Acting mature? All of it had come naturally because of my memories from my previous life. Receiving praise for such things felt like being thanked for bowing — it only made me cringe.
But this was different. This was something I had resolved entirely through my own ability, regardless of age or status. I could now puff out my chest with genuine pride!
I was striding along like a triumphant general when something suddenly popped out from an alley.
‘A person?’
At first I thought it was an object, but upon closer inspection it was a person wrapped tightly in cloth. While I had been heading to meet Lord Pingyuan I had been tense, but now I was filled with ease, consideration, and benevolence. There was no need to hurry, so I decided to leisurely yield the path and stopped walking.
But the other party didn’t seem to be heading anywhere in particular either. They stopped as well and stood firmly before me.
I was on the small side, but this figure was a full head shorter than me — a child. I assumed they must have a guardian and tried to walk past, but the appearance visible through gaps in the cloth caught my eye.
Dirty clothes, tangled hair that had clearly not been properly cared for, skin stained with grime. The fabric itself wasn’t poor quality, but it was worn and torn in several places. The sleeves didn’t even fit. They must have been wearing the same clothes for a long time because they couldn’t get new ones. A child receiving no care from any guardian.
In Handan, such children were common. After the Battle of Changping came the siege of Handan. How many children had lost their parents in that chaos?
‘Just as I hoped for Lord Pingyuan’s compassion, now it is my turn to show it.’
I gently bent my knees to meet the child’s eyes.
“Little one, are you lost?”
The moment our faces drew close, I nearly let out an involuntary gasp of admiration.
Despite the shadow cast by the cloth wrapped around their head, the eyes shining beneath it were breathtakingly beautiful. They sparkled with a clear, golden hue. Beneath straight, elegant brows, those eyes gleamed with a brilliant light. It was like gazing at a meticulously crafted jewel.
I lost my words completely, my gaze stolen away. That was why I failed to react at all when the child shoved me.
It wasn’t even that strong a push, yet I stumbled backward with a startled sound and fell hard on my backside. Rather than pain, the first thing I felt was guilt — I must have made them uncomfortable.
I opened my mouth to apologize, but the child who had been looking down at me suddenly screamed.
“Traitor!!”
Then, just as suddenly as they had appeared, the child spun around and ran away.
I was stunned. What was that? What just happened?
My brain, unable to process the situation, simply shut down. I remained sitting on the ground, blinking blankly as I tried to organize my thoughts.
Only after some time had passed did I stand up and brush the dirt from my clothes. Yet the unsolved mystery brought an involuntary, hollow laugh to my lips.
“Haha… But seriously, it’s not like I did anything perverted. Why call me a traitor? I don’t get it.”
Let it go. Just forget about it. In these hard times, there must be children with wounded hearts like that.
Even though I tried to dismiss it as nothing important, those golden eyes refused to leave my mind.
“They were serious…”
But what exactly did I betray? It felt so unfair.