Won't Last Long
Frowning, Bai Jingyan answered the Emperor.
"Your Majesty, yesterday my aunt took my pulse at the Imperial Nunnery. She instructed me to rest quietly and avoid anything that demands excessive strain. When I heard that, and considering Jinchi has been wanting to take on the task of suppressing the bandits, I judged her still too young to entrust with it and refused. Yet here she is now, scheming her way around to win Your Majesty's permission instead."
"Elder Sister, you're deceiving His Majesty! Our aunt said it plainly—she said that if you keep wearing yourself down like this, you won't last long!"
With tears brimming in her eyes, Bai Jinchi bowed toward the Emperor and the Crown Prince.
"Uncle, Crown Prince! I'm not acting on my own whims. My grandfather, my father, my uncles—every man of the Bai family has fallen in battle. I cannot afford to lose any more family. I cannot lose my eldest sister! Uncle, I beg you—say just one word. Say that the suppression of the bandits will be given to me! I will do my utmost! I can do as well as my sister does, so please, Uncle, give me this chance!"
The Emperor trusted Lu Ninghua's medical skill.
Won't last long? The Emperor toyed with his pillow again, sinking deep into thought.
"Jinchi, I am the one who promised the people of Shanyang that I would suppress the bandits. If you keep crying before His Majesty and His Highness the Crown Prince like this, you'll only put the two of them in an awkward position!"
Bai Jingyan rebuked her.
"Is the Gaoyi County Princess not speaking with good intentions?"
The Emperor's leisurely voice carried through the hall.
"Zhenguo Commandery Princess, once you return to Shanyang, you are to focus on your recovery. Your health comes above all! And the matter of suppressing the bandits—leave it to the Gaoyi County Princess!"
"Thank you, Uncle!"
Bai Jinchi bowed hastily, afraid the Emperor might change his mind at any moment.
In the seventh month of the sixteenth year of the Xianjia era, Jin achieved a great victory over the Liang.
Bai Jingyan, the Zhenguo Commandery Princess, was elevated to Grand Princess of Zhenguo—the only woman in Jin's history to receive a princess title bearing the character for "martial valor."
Bai Jinchi, the Gaoyi County Princess, was elevated to Gaoyi Commandery Princess.
General Liu Hong was appointed Grand General Who Pacifies the Army, and every other officer who had taken part in the campaign received rewards as well.
The Crown Prince personally escorted Bai Jingyan and Bai Jinchi out of the palace gates and spoke with evident satisfaction.
"Once the imperial edict is issued today, I shall have to start calling you Grand Princess of Zhenguo and Commandery Princess of Gaoyi!"
"Uncle, you are truly magnanimous! I came hoping to trade a Commandery Princess title for silver, and you've given me both the silver and the title! Now I can fly through Shanyang City!"
Bai Jinchi went stomping along with a jaunty swagger.
"Bai Jinchi……."
When Bai Jingyan fixed her with a look, Bai Jinchi laughed awkwardly.
"It was a joke! Only a joke, I swear!"
The sight of her set the Crown Prince laughing outright.
"Neither a Commandery Princess nor a County Princess may depart for Shanyang until the edict is formally issued. If you're feeling well enough, won't you pay a brief visit to the Crown Prince's residence? There is a matter I'd like to ask you about, Commandery Princess."
Bai Jingyan gave a nod, then turned to Bai Jinchi.
"Jinchi, you go on ahead."
Bai Jinchi looked at the Crown Prince with desperate pleading.
"Crown Prince, later—please put in a good word for me in front of my sister. Tell her not to scold me."
Amusement deepened in the Crown Prince's eyes.
"Don't worry, County Princess."
Having paid her respects, Bai Jinchi climbed into her carriage.
* * *
Upon arriving at the Crown Prince's residence, the Crown Prince sent Zhan Yu to fetch Teacher Xiao, instructing that Xiao Rongyan be told to come on horseback, and ordered that a banquet be laid out for the residence—though a vegetarian one.
The Crown Prince had not given up his matchmaking between Bai Jingyan and Xiao Rongyan.
Every time Xiao Rongyan came to the capital, he brought the Crown Prince rare treasures, and the Crown Prince's appetite had only grown.
With so fat a purse laid out right before his eyes, how could his heart not stir?
After guiding Bai Jingyan to the study, the Crown Prince sent for Advisor Fang, Zhen Xiangzhi, and Lin Shijie.
The last time Bai Jingyan had met Zhen Xiangzhi was before she left the capital. Even then his color had not been good, and now he had grown far gaunter. Advisor Fang, despite his years, looked the more vigorous of the two, his face bright with vitality.
At the sight of Bai Jingyan, Zhen Xiangzhi and Lin Shijie hurried to pay their respects.
"We greet the Commandery Princess."
"Have you both been well?"
Bai Jingyan gave a nod, then turned her gaze to Advisor Fang and favored him with a light nod of her head as well.
"Advisor Fang."
Only then did Advisor Fang slowly bow to her.
"Commandery Princess!"
"Everyone, be seated!"
The Crown Prince took his place first.
Zhan Yu led the maids in serving tea, and as he personally set rose-petal tea before Bai Jingyan, he spoke in a low voice.
"As you are unwell, Commandery Princess, flower tea will suit you best."
"Thank you for your thoughtfulness, Eunuch Zhan."
Bai Jingyan nodded to him.
Looking at her gaunt, pale face, Zhan Yu's expression clouded with worry, but he straightened back into proper form and withdrew to wait outside the door.
"The envoy of Wei has entered Jin in secret and had an audience with my father, presenting a state letter. He claimed that the lowly state of Yan harbors treacherous ambitions and has been secretly dreaming of conquest all this while. That they concealed this intent while quietly reclaiming Southern Yan, and that in helping the Rongdi drive out the Southern Rong, their true aim was the Rongdi's natural pastures. He warned that Yan's ambition to take the whole realm is now showing itself—that if Yan is left be, its armies will only grow stronger, and the various states will be endangered!
At present, only Wei and Jin are capable of destroying Yan, so Wei proposes that we form an alliance, destroy Yan together, and divide it between us. What do you all think?"
Bai Jingyan calmly lifted her teacup. So Wei has capable men after all—to grasp Yan's intentions in a single stroke.
Zhen Xiangzhi, unlike before, did not speak his mind freely to the Crown Prince. He sat in silence like Lin Shijie, sipping his tea.
"What did His Majesty say?"
Advisor Fang asked.
"He seemed to be testing me. He told me to think it over carefully and give him my answer in three days."
The Crown Prince frowned—afraid, it seemed, that if his answer differed from the Emperor's thinking, he would be taken to task for it.
Bai Jingyan gazed blankly at the sprig of rose petals floating in her cup. The Emperor was not testing the Crown Prince at all. He simply had no interest in the affairs of state.
Advisor Fang stroked his beard, eyes half-lidded, wearing an air of careful deliberation, and only after a long while did he speak again.
"Your Highness, having fought through the Southern Border campaign and now this war with Liang, our Jin has no strength left for another war. We must rest for some time. Not long ago, Wei trained troops along Yan's borders but ultimately did not go to war with Yan. Sending an envoy to Jin now must mean they intend to borrow Jin's strength."
The Crown Prince nodded and turned to listen closely to Advisor Fang.
"Join forces to destroy Yan and carve it up between us! It sounds plausible enough—but how the division is to be made is also a problem. All of Yan's fertile land lies in the south! Southern Yan borders Wei, so even if we destroy Yan together, Southern Yan will simply become Wei's territory!
By contrast, Yan's north is barren and its people so poor that disaster strikes every winter. What use would we Jin have for that parched land? We might have to disburse silver every year just to manage the disasters—this would plainly drain Jin's national strength. Even if we cooperated with Wei to divide Yan, in the end it would amount to doing Wei a favor. We would be handing Wei the rich land of Southern Yan it has coveted for so long."
The Crown Prince nodded as though struck by a great revelation, then looked to Bai Jingyan.
"What is your view, Commandery Princess?"
Bai Jingyan set down her teacup and spoke slowly.
"Advisor Fang's reasoning is sound as far as it goes—but it is also true that his thinking is too narrow."
Advisor Fang's brows shot up as he turned to look at her.
"Then pray enlighten us, Commandery Princess."
"If Jin and Wei form an alliance and divide Yan as Advisor Fang proposes, then Southern Yan's fertile lands will go to nearby Wei, while the barren north will sit right beside Jin. That much is true, and it does put us at a disadvantage.
But Wei's thinking is not wrong either. Yan has grown powerful without a sound. It hides its strength so completely that no one knows the true extent of its national power.
Consider how terrifying that is. When Empress Hee governed and pushed through her new laws, the various states dismissed it as trifling. Even then, Yan was concealing its strength. Ten years later, an entirely new army appeared as if from nowhere, and Yan grew so powerful that no state could stand against it—it destroyed small kingdoms and seized the fertile lands of others. Had Yan's Emperor not come to his senses, abolished the new policies, and seized power back, even the unification of the realm would have been within its grasp."
Bai Jingyan looked at the Crown Prince.
"Your Highness, after I returned from the victory in the Southern Border, I once proposed that you send troops to the Rongdi to secure the natural pastures and lay a foundation for the great work of unification. At the time, you and His Majesty said that Jin's forces had suffered too heavily to deploy troops—that you needed time to recover."
Without forfeiting an ounce of courtesy toward the Crown Prince and the Emperor, Bai Jingyan spoke with utter sincerity. The Crown Prince nodded.
"That is so."
"At that time, it was Yan that stepped forward and sent troops to aid the Rongdi."
Bai Jingyan continued slowly.
"Your Highness, you must not forget this. Emperor Murong Yu of Yan is Empress Hee's son. Raised and taught by the Empress's own hand, he cannot have forgotten her sacred dream of unifying the realm! They seized the turbulent opportunity to reclaim Southern Yan and win back its fertile lands, and then—setting their sights on the Rongdi's natural pastures—aided the Rongdi in defeating the Southern Rong. Right now, they are laying the foundation for their unification of the realm.
Our Jin occupies the strategic heart of the land, but enemies lurk on every side. If four states attack in concert, we hold the most disadvantageous position of all. If we destroy Yan now, it will be as though the enemy in the west has vanished when we pursue unification. We would no longer need to deploy troops westward. There may be no profit visible right before our eyes—but look further ahead, and this is a chance to lay the foundation for the great work."
Zhen Xiangzhi nodded.
"Your Highness, the Zhenguo Commandery Princess is right! Yan has designs on the realm. Though destroying Yan may bring Jin no immediate gain, we would remove the greatest obstacle standing before our own unification."
"Teacher Zhen, aren't you indulging in wild conjecture? A weak, impoverished little state, an obstacle to Jin? Teacher Zhen, you rate Yan far too highly!"
Advisor Fang glared at Zhen Xiangzhi with evident displeasure, then bowed to the Crown Prince with clasped hands.
"Even if Yan harbors ambitions and eyes the realm, as the Commandery Princess says, its national power cannot support such vain ambitions. Do you know how difficult unification truly is? How could a mere Yan possibly dare to achieve it?"
The Crown Prince, head bowed as though lost in deep thought, nodded along without realizing it, finding himself in agreement with Advisor Fang's words.
"There is no need to keep such a close watch on Yan, but there is no need to march troops either. Otherwise we would simply be doing Wei's work for it!
Your Highness, the envoy of Wei has come to Jin in secret scheming to forge an alliance with us against Yan—inform Murong Li, who is bound here as a hostage, of this. Once word reaches Yan, his homeland, war will break out between Yan and Wei. Jin could stand by and watch, reaping the fisherman's profit, couldn't it? And we might probe Yan's true national strength while we're at it?"
Having finished, Advisor Fang bowed low to the Crown Prince.
"Yes—we must tell the Yan prince. Sending his legitimate heir to Jin showed tremendous sincerity on Yan's part. How could we repay that by chilling their hearts!"
The Crown Prince was so taken with Advisor Fang's scheme that his eyes brimmed with satisfaction.