The Far-Reaching Ripples of a King's Death
The ripple effects triggered by a certain man’s death were vast beyond belief. The entire world shuddered. Some even refused to accept the King of Qin’s passing, insisting it was nothing more than an elaborate ruse. They claimed the king had faked his own death to separate allies from enemies and decide his next target for conquest. Yet as time passed, the truth grew undeniable. The old king who had reigned for more than fifty years, dominating the realm and commanding every state, had finally died.
The various states’ joy at the death of the war-mad King of Qin lasted only a moment. Though the king was gone, Qin’s power remained terrifyingly strong. Enraged by their sovereign’s death, the Qin soldiers glared with razor-sharp eyes, as though daring anyone to test them. Realizing the gravity of the situation, the other states hastily assembled condolence delegations.
Han moved first. Already half a vassal of Qin, the King of Han personally led their envoy. Wei followed. Though they were preparing to join Zhao in a coalition against Qin, they still dispatched a member of the royal family and high official, Upper Minister Wei Mou, to keep up appearances.
Chu went a step further. They appointed one of their proud Four Gentlemen, Chunshingun Huang Heol, as envoy. Unlike the royal representatives from Han and Wei, Chunshingun was not of royal blood, yet his fame equaled or surpassed theirs. As Chancellor of Chu—the highest ministerial position equivalent to Upper Minister in other states—his credentials were flawless. Moreover, Chunshingun Huang Heol had shared a deep connection with the late King of Qin, making him an ideal choice from Chu’s perspective.
Even Yan and Qi, which did not share borders with Qin, were said to be preparing to send high-ranking ministers or renowned generals. The question then arose in Zhao: whom should they send?
As a fiercely anti-Qin state, even more hardline than Wei, Zhao could hardly expect a warm reception. Knowing this, the court officials spent their time exchanging wary glances. Sending their own highest minister, Lord Pingyuan, felt risky; Qin had once invited him as an envoy only to detain him by force. There was no guarantee they would not repeat the insult. Even a royal envoy could not guarantee safety—Qin’s credibility was nonexistent.
While everyone hesitated, one man stepped forward.
“Your Majesty, I will go. Please send me as the envoy.”
“Oh! Lord Jianxin! You would truly do this?”
“Of course. My own inadequacies have troubled the kingdom; it is only right that I bear the responsibility.”
“Responsibility? Absurd! How could this possibly be your fault, Lord Jianxin? It is the result of that traitor Han Xiang’s greed. Isn’t that so, everyone?”
At the King of Zhao’s question, everyone assembled in the hall bowed at once in agreement. They affirmed him because he was the king, of course, but also to elevate Lord Jianxin and lock in his appointment as envoy. Because of this, none of the officials dared raise any objection to the king’s next declaration.
“When Lord Jianxin returns, I shall appoint him Chancellor.”
“As you command!”
And so Zhao’s envoy to Qin was decided.
“In my view, sending Lord Jianxin was a mistake. My brother gives his trust away far too easily.”
As we prepared to move on to the next phase of our plans, my meetings with Lord Xinling naturally grew more frequent. If nothing else, she excelled at managing talent, and I learned a great deal from her in that regard. Today, as usual, we sat across a Go board discussing merchant guild affairs and receiving her guidance. When the conversation turned to the Qin king’s funeral, she suddenly spoke those words.
I looked at her with a questioning tilt of my head.
“What do you mean?”
Rather than answer directly, Lord Xinling tested me.
“You’ve met Lord Jianxin, haven’t you?”
“Yes, I have.”
“What impression did you get?”
“Impression… Well, I thought he seemed like quite a decent man.”
“Why?”
She asked again, deliberately guiding me to find the answer myself. I racked my brain, trying to follow her lead.
“Because he immediately admitted his own fault? And…”
“And?”
“Seeing how he judged that he had received a favor and sought to repay it, he also appeared to possess a strong sense of responsibility.”
I finished and studied her expression. Had I passed?
“For such a brief meeting, you saw quite a lot.”
He had certainly left a strong impression. So that must be—
“But you must learn to look past the surface and see what lies beneath.”
Apparently not.
“Hmm… I’m not sure I follow.”
“That’s understandable. You still lack experience. One could view Lord Jianxin as simply acknowledging his mistake and making amends. But if you twist the lens slightly, it could also mean he recognized that the tide had turned against him and chose to compromise, withdrawing quickly before he suffered even greater losses.”
“Isn’t that a bit of a stretch?”
And even if that had been his aim, I doubted he needed to go so far with me. After all, I possessed none of the real power that Lord Pingyuan held.
Yet Lord Xinling’s thoughts ran differently.
“You believe you have no power? You still lack objectivity when it comes to yourself.”
“Pardon?”
I had thought no one was better at self-assessment than I was. This was shocking.
“Do you truly believe Lord Jianxin didn’t know you were meeting me? In his eyes, it must have looked as though my brother and I still stood behind you. Since you provided the first clue, it’s not unreasonable for him to fear that opposing you further would invite my brother’s retaliation.”
“I understand a little better now. But what did you mean when you said sending Lord Jianxin was a mistake?”
Lord Xinling seemed to ponder how best to explain. There appeared to be something else—something difficult for her to say. She composed her features and continued in a calm voice.
“Let’s organize this. Lord Jianxin willingly bowed his head to you as well in order to avoid harm. Correct?”
“That could be one interpretation.”
“Here is the real issue. If Lord Jianxin ever faces an enemy against whom victory seems utterly impossible, will he choose to fight that enemy, or will he choose to join them?”
If you cannot win, join them. The question called to mind Napoleon’s famous words. More importantly, an unbeatable enemy. The identity of that enemy was painfully obvious.
“Are you worried that Lord Jianxin might side with Qin, Lord Xinling?”
“Yes. Exactly.”
“Surely not. The King of Zhao has shown him such favor…”
“Young master.”
Lord Xinling’s voice dropped, heavy and low.
“Qin is a far more terrifying enemy than you can possibly imagine.”
Her tone was neither loud nor fierce, yet the cold, factual weight behind it crushed the air around us. As the only person who had ever achieved a great victory against Qin, the gravity of her words was overwhelming. Even though she had defeated them, she could never afford to lower her guard. To her, Qin was the worst kind of adversary.
“Haha, I’ve grown too serious. In any case, if Lord Jianxin remains loyal to Zhao without wavering, that would be good in its own way.”
Despite her words, she clearly did not trust him. Having judged him a sharp-eyed opportunist, she inevitably believed he would eventually yield to Qin’s strength.
Yet whether Lord Jianxin truly defected or not, there was little either of us could do about it directly. Knowing this, she changed the subject.
“On another note, you’re preparing to expand the merchant guild?”
Only now had we reached the true purpose of today’s meeting. Still, the earlier conversation had broadened my thinking, so the wait had been worthwhile.
“Yes. According to Nogucheon, the man you recommended—Zhang—handles affairs so efficiently that he has settled into his role faster than expected.”
Though barely past twenty, the young man’s talent was so outstanding that Nogucheon had appointed him chief steward, second only to himself. He truly lived up to Lord Xinling’s endorsement. While Nogucheon was resourceful, he had little talent for administration; Zhang complemented him perfectly.
“In which direction do you plan to expand?”
“With the King of Qin’s death still causing such an uproar, the timing seems perfect.”
“Indeed.”
“I hear that Yan has requested passage through Zhao for their condolence mission. Zhao has agreed. Therefore…”
“You intend to use the arrival of the Yan envoy in Zhao as a bridgehead to expand into Yan itself?”
“Precisely.”
“Qi would offer greater profits, yet you choose Yan…”
Judged purely by population and market size, the obvious choices would be Qin, Chu, or Qi. Yet I had deliberately selected Yan.
“It’s time I began planting my own people in my homeland.”