A Soldier's Head
"Let me be the one to speak."
Taking Lu Ninghua's hand, Bai Jingyan said in a low voice, "I will try to persuade him myself."
Ji Nanghua was one of those Bai Jingming had saved, and so Bai Jingyan's feelings toward her ran deeper than most. She did not want the woman to throw her life away for nothing.
"I am grateful, Commandery Princess," Lu Ninghua said — though the thanks carried little hope with it.
Rolling up the bamboo blinds, Chun Tao entered and bowed. "Commandery Princess, someone from the Crown Prince's residence has come to escort you. It appears word has arrived from the army at Mount Chunmu."
Bai Jingyan's fists clenched. The Crown Prince had sent for her from the Bai Manor. Had Liang finally begun to move?
"Have my horse prepared," she said.
The Crown Prince scowled as he spread the military dispatch from Mount Chunmu across the table. He could not fathom why his father had sent it to him at all.
"His Majesty said he is searching for an ancient text kept in the imperial archive — the Zangshu Pavilion. It seems he seeks some old record of immortality that once circulated among the common folk of Xiliang."
The Crown Prince ran a hand along the armrest of his chair. "So has Father washed his hands of the realm's affairs entirely?"
Advisor Fang stroked his beard, then turned and inclined his waist toward the Crown Prince. "I believe His Majesty is testing Your Highness's capabilities. It appears he intends to watch whether you can handle Liang's petty provocations without letting them spiral into full-scale war."
Zhen Xiangzhi, seated across from Advisor Fang, found the flattery absurd, but he did not let it show. He rose and performed a formal salute to the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, while it may be true that His Majesty means to test you, you must first understand why Liang has chosen this exact moment to provoke us. When you handle this matter, do not focus solely on resolving the incident itself — you must also consider how to settle it without staining the dignity of our nation. What is Master Lin's opinion?"
Lin Shijie had been sipping tea at Advisor Fang's side, and the sudden question startled him so badly he nearly spilled his cup. He set it down hastily.
"Master Zhen speaks correctly," he said.
Advisor Fang shot Zhen Xiangzhi a look, then turned to regard Lin Shijie. Concealing his displeasure, he spoke. "Your Highness, this demands the utmost deliberation. Though we ultimately won the Southern Border war, Jin suffered grievous losses, and our forces are stretched thin. His Majesty has no desire for war with Liang at present. And if Xiliang and Liang were to ally against us, we would be forced to send troops south and north alike and fight two nations at once — a war we have no strength to wage."
The Crown Prince nodded, as though in agreement.
"Your Highness, the Commandery Princess has arrived."
"Have her in at once!"
At the news of Bai Jingyan's arrival, the weight on the Crown Prince's chest lifted considerably. No one alive understood war and soldiers better than she did.
Watching her enter crisply attired and offer her greetings, the Crown Prince spoke with urgent haste. "Commandery Princess, no need for such formality. Pour the Princess her tea immediately."
After paying his own respects to Bai Jingyan, Zhen Xiangzhi vacated the lower seat beside the Crown Prince and arranged a place for her to sit.
Taking her seat, Bai Jingyan asked, "Has something happened at Mount Chunmu?"
Zhan Yu respectfully handed the military dispatch to Bai Jingyan. She thanked him and read through it in careful detail.
A night patrol of Liang cavalry had clashed with a Jin patrol north of Mount Chunmu. During the melee, one of the Jin cavalrymen had been killed by a Liang soldier. The Jin patrol had seized the Liang soldiers entire and dragged them back to camp.
General Zhang Danyue had then met with Liang's general, Xun Tianzhang. A life had been taken, he argued — it must be repaid with a life. But Xun Tianzhang forbade anyone from laying so much as a finger on the killer, declaring that since the man was a subject of Liang, Liang would deal with him as Liang saw fit, and moved to take him away as he was.
Judging the matter grave enough to demand imperial judgment, General Zhang Danyue had hurriedly sent the dispatch to ask for His Majesty's decision.
Once she had grasped the full account, Bai Jingyan set the dispatch aside and asked, her voice level, "What exactly is General Zhang Danyue worried about, that he would wait for His Majesty's ruling? If the clash occurred north of Mount Chunmu, that means Liang's soldiers crossed into Jin territory of their own accord — and for that, death is the only fitting price! If Xun Tianzhang demands the man be handed over, then hand over his severed head and be done with it."
The Crown Prince rapped his fingers against the table.
Advisor Fang, recalling how Bai Jingyan had slaughtered the Xiliang prisoners at Wengshan Canyon, felt his heart begin to pound.
"Commandery Princess, this is not a matter to be settled so lightly. Sending a head back is tantamount to declaring war. We lost enough soldiers in the Southern Border campaign as it is. Our elite troops all fell there — can Jin truly fight another war? Even if we scraped together every last man to barely manage a campaign, what then if Xiliang seizes the moment and attacks again? Fighting two nations at once means certain defeat! Have you grown so accustomed to killing, Commandery Princess, that 'sever his head' is your answer to everything?"
"Father clearly entrusted this matter to me as a test of me, so I must not act rashly," the Crown Prince added at just the right moment.
"Precisely, Your Highness," Advisor Fang said, nodding toward him. "Whether we fight or not, we must follow His Majesty's will. Your Highness must not act on impulse. If you misread His Majesty's intent and blindly declare war, he will surely rebuke you. Rather than seeking merit, you must choose the course that avoids error. Give Liang a pretext for war, and war will become unavoidable."
Bai Jingyan turned a cold, cutting gaze upon Advisor Fang. Rather than seeking merit, avoid error?
This was a decision that would determine whether the people on the border lived or died — and this man would spend it reading the sovereign's moods instead of weighing the situation, considering the people, and deciding for the sake of a nation's dignity.
"And what is your proposal, Advisor Fang?" the Crown Prince asked.
"Release the Liang soldiers first, then deliver Liang a stern warning that any such incident in the future will absolutely not be overlooked."
Advisor Fang answered with brimming confidence.
Bai Jingyan had no wish to quarrel with such a petty creature, and turned instead to the Crown Prince. "If General Zhang Danyue had executed the offender on the spot and sent the Liang soldier's head back across the border when this first happened, war could have been avoided. But if we follow Advisor Fang's counsel — send the soldiers back and settle for a warning — then war becomes absolutely unavoidable."
Since the Southern Border campaign, the Crown Prince had trusted Bai Jingyan completely on anything touching war. He asked with careful courtesy, "Commandery Princess, on what grounds do you say this?"
"Why else would Xun Tianzhang send his soldiers prowling into our territory in the dead of night? He is probing us. He wants to know whether Jin, fresh from the Southern Border war, still has the strength — and the confidence — to stand against Liang. If our response comes across as lukewarm, or shows the slightest hint of retreat, Liang will pounce without fear. They will grow only bolder about starting a war."
Bai Jingyan's voice was gentle, almost unhurried. "Do you not think General Zhang Danyue's handling accounted for precisely this? If our military were as strong as it was in my grandfather's and father's day, the general would never have needed to send a dispatch to the capital at all. He would have executed the soldiers on the spot and sent their heads to Xun Tianzhang."
The Crown Prince, who had been mulling it over, suddenly felt his heart leap into his throat.
"She's right."
"Jin sent General Zhang Danyue to Mount Chunmu, yet Xun Tianzhang has held his ground without moving for a long while now. Not because he lacks a pretext for war — because he already knows everything about our Jin generals, down to their very temperaments.
In troubled times, the strong are honored and the strong take the high ground. Attacking a nation no longer requires any glittering excuse at all. Know yourself, and know your enemy — only then does a hundred battles bring a hundred victories."
Zhen Xiangzhi nodded as though in full agreement.
"General Zhang Danyue's response has already laid our cards bare before Liang — that 'Jin is not what it once was, and can fight no more wars.' By now, Xun Tianzhang will have seen through the fact that His Majesty stationed General Zhang at Mount Chunmu merely to frighten them."
Bai Jingyan turned her head toward the Crown Prince. "If Your Highness sends orders to release the soldiers, Liang will attack us the moment they are returned."
"Commandery Princess, isn't that rather an exaggeration?" Advisor Fang still seemed wholly unconcerned. "We release their men, and now they're the ones who owe us some explanation?"
"Advisor Fang, if you possess such remarkable ability, how would it suit you to go to Mount Fangmo yourself and personally escort those Liang soldiers back to Liang? And then demand a proper apology from them while you're at it."
The absurdity of Advisor Fang's remark finally proved too much for Zhen Xiangzhi, and the barb slipped out before he could stop it.
Advisor Fang's jaw clenched. "Master Zhen. Do you have some grievance against me?"
"A grievance? Hardly. I merely suspect, Advisor Fang, whether you might be a Liang spy. You do seem terribly anxious to see Jin brought to ruin."
As though long-suppressed fury had finally burst its banks, Zhen Xiangzhi's words were mercilessly sharp.
"You insolent—!"
Advisor Fang sputtered, pointing at Zhen Xiangzhi with a trembling hand. "A man may die, but he cannot suffer humiliation! Your Highness! Will you simply stand there and watch me be disgraced like this?"
The Crown Prince cleared his throat. "You are all my advisors. Proposing countermeasures to solve the problem is only natural. But Master Zhen — Advisor Fang is your elder. Must you abandon even courtesy now?"
Seeing the Crown Prince take his side, Advisor Fang finally lifted his chin and shook out his sleeves with great force.
Zhen Xiangzhi closed his eyes tightly, swallowed his anger, and turned to Bai Jingyan. "If Your Highness were to order General Zhang Danyue even now to send the soldier's head back — would you say it is not yet too late?"
Bai Jingyan merely held her silence, eyes on the floor, saying nothing. Only after a long while did she speak, slowly. "Your Highness, issue the order to General Zhang Danyue at once, and send a commanding officer to Mount Chunmu to raise our battle spirit. That will require a sweeping conscription. I believe we must also station troops along the borders of Xiliang and Liang both."
"To give the order and dispatch soldiers at the same time, there will be no time to recruit. You mean we must send the troops garrisoned in the capital — but then there will be no men left to defend Dadu."
The Crown Prince frowned.
"We must put out the nearest fire first. If we send no troops, we cannot show Liang that Jin stands ready for war. And if we cannot show that, we will be forced to fight the very war we cannot avoid — and when that war breaks out, we will have to send the capital's troops then anyway.
If Your Highness fears for the capital's safety, then while sending soldiers to Mount Chunmu, we may also recall a portion of the forces once dispatched to the Rongdi frontier. The Rongdi are consumed by internal strife at present; they cannot invade Jin."
The Crown Prince hesitated a moment, then nodded. "Very well."
Advisor Fang stared at Bai Jingyan through clouded eyes, his fists clenched tight. The Crown Prince had taken Bai Jingyan's counsel yet again.
"Your Highness, His Majesty will never consent to sending the troops garrisoned in the capital."
Advisor Fang straightened his back as he spoke.
Bai Jingyan had already said all she intended to say. Whether to heed her words was the Crown Prince's decision to make.
Watching her sit in silence, Zhen Xiangzhi realized she had no intention of pressing further. He rose and bowed formally to the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, is it not certain that His Majesty does not want war? His Majesty knows full well that Jin lacks the strength to open a new campaign — so accept the Commandery Princess's proposal! The Princess fought many a war at Zhenguo King's side, and in the Southern Border campaign she showed us all her extraordinary ability and natural talent! Your Highness, you must trust her. Do you not already know that she thinks of nothing but Your Highness's interests?"
At those words, the Crown Prince's spirit snapped into sharp focus. He remembered how Bai Jingyan had once tried to procure xinlu for him without his knowledge — and how she had never once, to this day, claimed credit for it. Something warm spread through the Crown Prince's chest.