Chapter 33: The Stand-off Between Qin and Wei

Wei Wuji plopped himself down on the chair, instantly drawing everyone’s gaze. Inside the entire command tent, apart from the central seat reserved for the Marquis of Wei, there were only two pairs of chairs to the left and right of the lower position. Of these four seats, two were already occupied by the two Pillar State Generals. Now, Wei Wuji’s backside claimed the third.

Seeing everyone looking at him as though they’d seen a ghost, Wei Wuji felt distinctly displeased. He sneered inwardly—what are you staring at, a bunch of beggars! After a careful sweep of his surroundings, Wei Wuji, not being a fool, quickly realized why all eyes were fixed on him. But he had no intention of getting up; to rise after sitting down would be far too humiliating.

“Young lord, truly a hero among youth,” Wu Mingyan, sitting across from Wei Wuji and feigning sleep, raised his head to speak. After this cryptic remark, Wu Mingyan closed his eyes again. What was that supposed to mean? Ever since Wei Wuji learned that the man he’d offended, Wang Xian, was connected to Wu Mingyan, he’d paid special attention to this old general. Now, hearing these words, Wei Wuji was completely at a loss—was that praise or a warning?

Beside him, Xu Anhong, seeing Wei Wuji’s unease, gave a dry chuckle but said nothing, pretending to doze off as well. What the hell was wrong with these old men? Wei Wuji felt like scratching his head in frustration—why were they all acting so cryptic and enigmatic?

But with both old men having closed their eyes, he couldn’t very well wake them to ask for an explanation. Muttering curses under his breath, Wei Wuji followed their example, closed his own eyes, and thought, out of sight, out of mind.

With his eyes shut, the world turned utterly dark. But waiting was insufferably dull—so dull that he hardly knew where to focus his attention. Before long, though, he was drawn in by the ongoing conversation among the surrounding generals.

“Our expedition this time has been far too stifling,” one general sighed.

“It’s that Changping Pass, blocking our mighty Wei’s advance,” another added, clearly vexed by the unfavorable turn of war.

No sooner had this man finished than someone cursed, “Damn those Qin, always meddling! His Majesty should order the Western Garrison to strike into Qin territory!”

This suggestion was quickly echoed by other generals hawkish toward Qin. “Exactly! If we join forces with all the armies stationed in the west, we could catch the Qin completely off guard.”

So it seemed the consensus on Qin was quite unified, Wei Wuji thought to himself. Yet not everyone agreed.

“Gentlemen, let’s not forget—Qin still has over a hundred thousand troops at home. It won’t be easy to defeat them.”

“Hmph! Our Great Wei has five hundred thousand armored warriors, and the Wei Elite Troops are unmatched beneath the heavens. How could Qin withstand us?” came the immediate rebuttal.

The previous man snorted, “Wei is strong, no doubt, but our enemies are many. Don’t forget, Qi to the east and the northern barbarians are both formidable foes.”

Just as Wang Xiu had told him, Wei was powerful, but surrounded by powerful adversaries. Wei Wuji continued to listen intently.

Through these conversations, he gleaned much new information. Indeed, the higher the level of the meeting, the more privileged the knowledge.

“All right, enough arguing. Let’s focus on the council ahead,” someone interjected, playing the peacemaker. There was always a need for such men—without them, fights would break out with every disagreement.

“I wager today’s discussion will center on the matter of the decisive battle,” one of the earlier speakers said.

“Old Xu, that’s stating the obvious,” someone scoffed.

“Indeed! The decisive battle scheduled for today was abruptly canceled—everybody knows we’ll be discussing it,” another general mocked the man named Xu.

A decisive battle? And it was canceled? What was going on? Was this a joke?

Wei Wuji had assumed that the men under his command were already prone to jest, but it seemed the high command of the Wei army was no different—they treated affairs of state and war with shocking nonchalance.

Were these really the men who would dominate the world? Did that mean he, too, could one day stir the winds of the realm? Wei Wuji’s confidence, which had been somewhat deflated, now revived a little.

But as he listened further, he began to understand what was truly happening.

“Who knows what the Qin are thinking? They were the ones who issued the challenge, yet when the time came, they cowered behind Changping Pass and refused to come out,” a general said angrily.

After all, without battle, where were they to earn military merit? And without merit, how could they rise in rank or fortune? The generals’ fury was understandable—cutting off a man’s path to riches was as grave as killing his parents.

“The Qin pride themselves on valor, yet now they’re nothing but turtles in their shells!” another general sneered. Their enemies were too frightened to face them—a cause for celebration, surely.

“But who knows how long this stalemate will drag on?” someone mused. After all, swift wars were the ideal; prolonged campaigns consumed vast sums and exhausted men and horses.

Others voiced concerns, “The longer this drags out, the worse it is for us! If we don’t seize Changping Pass while Qi’s civil unrest continues, we’ll lose the initiative.”

So that’s it—they launched this campaign to take advantage of Qi’s internal turmoil. No wonder there’d been no movements in the east. Wei Wuji’s anticipation for the meeting grew. In so short a time, he’d already learned so much.

He waited for the generals to continue.

One speculated, “The Duke of Qi is gravely ill and cannot attend to state affairs. The princes vie for power—surely that won’t resolve quickly.”

“That’s far from certain. Who knows when one prince might suddenly rise above the rest and seize control?” The same General Xu spoke again.

The generals’ conversation grew ever broader, straying further from the topics Wei Wuji wanted to hear. They discussed the various personalities of Qi’s princes and who supported whom, and mentioned that the northern barbarians had migrated west for the summer, posing no immediate threat to Wei.

After such a long time with his eyes closed, Wei Wuji’s eyelids began to ache, so he finally opened them. The generals around the tent were still deep in heated discussion. Earlier, when he’d wanted to listen, the noise hadn’t bothered him, but now the drone of their voices grated on his ears.

Some were even boasting of their plans for swiftly seizing Changping Pass, while others declared they would crush Qin in a single campaign—pure bluster, of course. Only Xu and Wu remained unaffected, calmly seated as before.

Yet Wei Wuji listened on. Even if nothing useful could be gleaned, understanding the temperaments of these generals was valuable in itself. Men were never more themselves than when they were boasting.

At this, Wei Wuji began to regret his earlier rashness; why had he bothered closing his eyes? Those two old foxes could identify men by their voices, but what was he trying to imitate them for? Now he had to start his observations all over again.

But before he’d had a chance to properly study everyone in the tent, footsteps echoed outside.

“The Lord is coming!” someone announced from beyond the tent.

Within, all present hastily straightened their attire and stood at attention. Wei Wuji was no exception.

So his father was coming! Wei Wuji felt a surge of excitement. His greatest wish in coming here today was to lay eyes on his father, one of the most powerful men in the world.

As the curtain was drawn back, all within the tent dropped to their knees, bowing deeply and intoning, “Your servant, so-and-so, pays respects to Your Lordship.”

Wei Wuji, naturally, knelt as well, following the others and pressing his forehead nearly to the ground. For the moment, he still had not glimpsed his father’s face.

The Marquis of Wei, entering, accepted their obeisance before advancing further, his footsteps heavy and assured, exuding the gravity of a mountain looming overhead. Four others followed in his wake.

Reaching the main seat, the Marquis paused before it and finally addressed the assembled company. “Rise, all of you.”

Slowly, the company straightened, standing slightly bowed.

Damn, don’t they always say on TV, ‘This humble general is clad in armor and cannot perform the full rites’? Why did I have to kneel for so long? Wei Wuji grumbled inwardly.

As soon as he was upright, his gaze shot to the Marquis at the head of the room.

At that moment, the Marquis of Wei, Wei Hongyi, was also studying Wei Wuji.

And what did Wei Wuji see? It was his own face. If not for the difference in age, he might have believed himself to be staring at his own twin brother. No wonder Xu Anhong and the others had looked so shocked upon seeing him—he himself was startled by the resemblance.

Even more unsettling was the way Wei Hongyi’s eyes seemed to pierce right through him at a single glance. Wei Wuji quickly lowered his head; he had seen enough.

But just because Wei Wuji turned his eyes away didn’t mean others stopped paying attention to him.

From the main seat, the newly seated Marquis of Wei, Wei Hongyi, spoke in his deep, steady voice. “Fifth son, tell us about your dealings with the people of Chen.”