Zhao's Divided Court
Handan, the city that called itself the capital of all under heaven. News of Qin's renewed invasion had thrown Zhao into a state of unrest. While fury at Qin's ambition ran high, fierce arguments broke out over how Zhao should respond to the coming war.
"We must send reinforcements to Wei at once!"
"Do you truly believe Wei is their real target? If they wanted Wei, they would have struck Daliang beyond the river!"
"Gaodu has already fallen to Qin! Their forces are said to be pressing all the way to Shanyang!"
Those who favored honoring the alliance with Wei raised their voices, insisting that Zhao must help defend Henei against the Qin army advancing from the north of the Yellow River. Yet an equal number of voices pushed back.
"Have you all forgotten? Wang He is marching north toward Taiyuan again! They say he commands a hundred thousand men. Are you suggesting we place Wei's lands above our own?"
Qin had split its massive army of four hundred thousand into two prongs. One force of two hundred eighty thousand, led by the General-in-Chief Meng Ao, had crossed into Henei north of the Yellow River. The other, a hundred twenty thousand under Wang He, was striking once more at Taiyuan, the prize that had eluded them before. Though Wang He had suffered a crushing defeat at the hands of the Prince of Xinling during the siege of Handan, he remained a seasoned commander who had fought since the days before the Battle of Changping. With twelve divisions instead of ten, Taiyuan now faced a genuine threat of falling.
"Li Mu and Jing She are already stationed in Taiyuan!"
"Last time Li Mu won through surprise. This time Qin knows he is there!"
"Li Mu crushed a hundred thousand Xiongnu and drove back Qin's army in the last war. You think he cannot stop the likes of Wang He? The real danger is Meng Ao's three hundred thousand!"
The debate grew heated, voices rising in anger, until the faction supporting aid to Wei gained the upper hand.
"Our state is rich in great generals! Lian Po, Fang Nan, Li Mu, Yue Sheng, Jing She—every one of them has triumphed over Qin. Wei has no one who can match Meng Ao and the Qin host!"
"You see only half the picture. Even if we send troops, would Wei accept a Zhao general as supreme commander? What if they betray us and open Henei to Qin instead?"
"Then you are saying our soldiers should serve under Wei's command?"
Though Zhao and Wei were allies, their pact was born of necessity alone. Among the Seven Warring States, no two nations lacked old grudges. Even distant Yan and Chu, or Qin and Qi, had clashed time and again. The threat from Qin had forced Zhao and Wei into alliance, yet only decades earlier the two states had fought each other repeatedly. As the argument spiraled into bitter recriminations with no resolution in sight, the King of Zhao stamped his feet and roared.
"Enough! Enough, all of you! This bickering will never end! Qin is already striking at Taiyuan and Shanyang—how long will you waste time quarreling?"
At the king's thunderous rebuke the ministers fell silent and bowed, though resentment still smoldered behind their lowered eyes. Sensing that leaving the matter to his officials would only waste more time, the king turned to the man who had recently been restored to favor, Zhao's foremost general.
"Lord Chancellor. What is your view? You are our greatest strategist. Speak freely."
All eyes turned to Lian Po, the Upper Minister. During the Battle of Changping he had matched the legendary Bai Qi in a contest of arms that had left neither side with a clear advantage. If anyone possessed a plan to navigate this crisis, it was he. Lian Po's heavy lips parted.
"Your Majesty, in my judgment Li Mu is a talent fit to be compared with the Lord of Mafu. Appoint him commander to defend Taiyuan. Jing She is also an excellent general; if he assists Li Mu, the two of them could hold Taiyuan even against twenty divisions under Wang He."
"Then you believe we should aid Wei in holding Henei?"
"I do. Henei is the gateway through which the western barbarians enter the Central Plains. Securing it must come first."
Few in the world would dare call Qin mere western barbarians with such open contempt. Lian Po's words revealed his absolute confidence that Qin was nothing more than another horde to be crushed.
"Hmm… Perhaps you are right. What does the Left Chancellor think?"
The Left Chancellor, Lord Jianxin, considered his answer carefully. When he had once carried condolences to Qin, the Qin court had tried to win him over, claiming Zhao was a sinking ship and that serving Qin was simply a matter of time. They had promised him the rank of Upper Minister—higher even than a guest minister—once Zhao fell. In the end he had turned a blind eye to Qin's previous assault on Taiyuan, allowing them the chance to strike without warning. Yet Qin had failed.
Can Qin truly destroy Zhao?
Even to Jianxin's eyes, Lian Po seemed invincible, and the newly risen Li Mu had displayed astonishing mobility and tactics. His great victory over the Xiongnu proved he was a strategist as well as a commander. Beside him stood Yue Sheng, nephew of the great Yue Yi and said to rival Li Mu; Jing She, who had helped defeat Qin alongside them; and Fang Nan, whose reputation had once matched Lian Po's. Though Zhao's infantry had been halved, its roster of brilliant generals remained formidable. With the natural barriers of the Taihang Mountains and the Yellow River, and alliances with neighboring states, survival still seemed possible.
Better to watch from the middle for now.
Following the counsel of Zhao Ao, a member of his own faction, Jianxin spoke.
"I too believe Lord Xinping's view is correct. However, I would add one further proposal."
"Oh? What is it?"
"We must draw Han into this as well, not only Wei. To reach Henei, Qin must pass through Han territory. Though Han now resembles a vassal of Qin, it remains an independent state and surely harbors grievances. If we propose that the three Jin states unite against Qin, Han will watch the situation and side with whichever appears stronger."
Should Qin look likely to win, Han would continue supporting them. Should the Zhao-Wei alliance seem victorious, Han would invoke the old Three Jin bond and switch sides to escape Qin's interference. Han's chancellor, Han Xi, already favored closer ties with Chu and Wei over Qin, making the plan feasible. If Han turned, the Qin army inside Henei would find itself caught between two fronts, trapped between the Taihang Mountains to the north and the Yellow River to the south. The revenge for Changping might finally be within reach.
"An excellent plan! Then whom shall we send to Han?"
"There is a man named Zhao Ao among the officials of the Duke of Xinping. He is acquainted with Han's chancellor Han Xi, so he would be the appropriate envoy."
"Very well. As expected of Lord Jianxin."
The king addressed him not as Left Chancellor but as Lord Jianxin, a title he had rarely used of late. Jianxin's standing had been waning, yet his bold proposal seemed to restore some of the old favor.
"We will bring Han into the fold. Taiyuan will be entrusted to Li Mu, and we will aid Wei. Good. Look, ministers—once I take the matter in hand, everything falls into place and new strategies emerge."
"We are ashamed, Your Majesty."
"All of this is thanks to Your Majesty's sage wisdom."
"Mm. From now on you must manage affairs even without my direct intervention. Do you understand?"
The King of Zhao had grown increasingly confident of late. Having repelled successive invasions from Yan and Qin, he felt as though Zhao had returned to its former glory before Changping. Yet his buoyant mood collapsed the moment he posed the next question.
"Then the most important matter remains. Whom shall we appoint to command the relief force for Wei?"
At once the ministers began to quarrel again.
"This war is of the utmost importance. Surely the Upper Minister, our strongest general, must lead it."
"How could the Upper Minister serve under Wei's command? Sending Yue Sheng would be more appropriate for maintaining cooperation with Wei."
"Henei may belong to Wei, but if the Upper Minister goes, they will surely grant him the respect his station deserves. It is only right that he go."
"What of Yan? Those who already broke their promises will hardly keep new ones. Let Yue Sheng guard against Yan and recall Fang Nan from his retirement to serve as general."
Send Lian Po. No, send Yue Sheng. Nonsense—recall Fang Nan. Once more opinions clashed. The king frowned, yet each argument carried weight, leaving him unable to shout them down. Sending Lian Po risked friction with Wei's chain of command; sending Yue Sheng would leave the Yan border exposed. Must he truly summon Fang Nan from his estate?
Just as the king wrestled with the dilemma, a clear, ringing voice cut through the clamor.
"Send me."
The king lifted his head toward the wide-open doors of the hall. Only one person could enter the throne room unannounced during an audience—the one granted privileges even the crown prince did not possess. Zhao's savior. The princess of Wei. One of the Four Princes of the Warring States.
"The Prince of Xinling…"
Flowing crimson hair caught the light of the setting sun that spilled across the sky.