Taiheiki

Chapter 349 Curve
"Commander Xu!" Samba laughed, "Just as you predicted, the bandits attacked this place fiercely and fell into your trap. You truly are a master strategist!"

"I dare not accept such praise!" Xu Wen turned around, smiled, and cupped his hands in a gesture of respect: "I was lucky to win!"

"There's no such thing as luck!" Samba laughed. "How many men have the thieves lost here?"

"We just counted them; there are 375 corpses of thieves, all of them elite bandits!" Xu Wen smiled. "With that, the thieves outside the city should have a break!"

"That's for sure!" Samba laughed. "Those people from the Ju Town are made of flesh and blood, not steel. Don't worry, I will definitely report your achievements to the Queen and reward you handsomely!"

"Thank you very much!" Xu Wen hurriedly expressed his gratitude. "However, whether or not I am rewarded is not important to me. The soldiers guarding the city, especially the strong men who worked through the night to build the walls, are the most important. We cannot delay, because they are the ones who will have to exert their strength and risk their lives to defend the city!"

"Yes, yes! That's for sure!" Samba quickly replied. Just then, a man dressed as a waiter squeezed through the crowd and whispered a few words in Samba's ear. Samba smiled wryly, "The Queen has a plan; it's probably about the collapsed city walls. I'll go explain first!"

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royal palace.

"Your Majesty, the Prime Minister has arrived and is in the outer room!" The maid's voice broke the silence in the room. The Queen gestured for silence, gently stroking her sleeping son's cheek. She looked longingly at the young king's serene face, kissed him, stood up, and walked towards the outer room.

When they reached the outer room, the Queen's gentle and tender expression had completely vanished. She was no longer the gentle mother; she had reverted to her stern ruler persona. Before the prime minister could speak, she abruptly demanded, "What exactly happened? The western wall collapsed! The commotion was so loud, even the young king could hear it in the palace!"

"Yes, but it was a trap, a well-designed snare!" Samba explained excitedly. "We won a great victory, killing many of the townspeople while suffering very few casualties!"

"The city wall collapsed? A trap? What exactly happened? You need to explain clearly!" the Queen pressed, displeased.

“That’s how it is!” Samba laughed. “Yesterday, the enemy used battering rams to violently ram the western wall. After the Han envoy Xu burned those rams, he discovered that a section of the wall there was damaged. He then deduced that the enemy would likely commit more forces to that position, so he ordered the construction of a short wall inside the existing wall. This way, if the enemy rushes in through the opening, they will be trapped in a narrow area surrounded by both the new and old walls—”

"Wait a minute!" The Queen interrupted Samba's explanation: "You mean that Envoy Xu knew the city wall was damaged but didn't order it to be reinforced, which led to the wall collapsing today?"

"This—, Your Majesty, this is a trap, a trap, do you understand? By doing this, we can lure the enemy into a narrow place, and then easily kill them with crossbows and javelins from the surrounding city walls. This will severely damage the enemy's morale—"

"I don't care about your morale or your trap. All I know is that you let the city walls collapse without doing anything about it. Do you know how terrible that was? And my child, your king, he was terrified. I should have thrown you and that Xu envoy into a cauldron of boiling oil and let you taste what it was like..."

Samba was stunned by the queen's incessant cursing. He had expected that upon hearing the news of the victory, the queen would at least praise her, if not reward her handsomely. After all, he considered the victory both rare and timely, especially since the besiegers had built a long siege, cutting off communication between the inside and outside. The defenders desperately needed a victory to boost morale. Instead of praise and reward, the queen angrily berated and cursed him, claiming that the loud noise of the collapsing walls had frightened him and the young king! This was utterly absurd.

"I'm sorry, Your Majesty! It's all my fault, please forgive me!" Samba lowered his head, not wanting the Queen to see the expression on his face. "But this is war, we are at war, and this is how it is. There will be shock, fear, filth, hunger, and many other terrible things, but in order to survive, in order to win, we must all endure it, everyone must endure it, because defeat is far more terrible!"

"I know all that!" The Queen waved her arm impatiently, as if swatting away a mosquito. "But as a subject, isn't it your duty to solve these problems for your monarch? I know what you've said. Go do what you're supposed to do! Remember, this is the last time this will happen, understand?"

“Alright!” Samba nodded dejectedly. “I’ll go back immediately. There’s one last thing. To reward the soldiers who defended the city and the able-bodied men who worked through the night to build the walls, we need to do this to celebrate our victory.”

"A reward!" The queen's beautiful face flushed instantly. Like a lioness, her nostrils flared and her chest heaved rapidly. "Is this a victory? Is this a victory? Get out of here immediately, right now!"

Samba knew that the queen had lost her temper and there was nothing more to say. He quickly bowed to the queen, turned and walked out of the palace, saying to the steward beside him, "How much money and food do we have left in the house? Bring it all out!"

"What are you doing?" the butler asked.

"I've already promised the soldiers and laborers, and also Envoy Xu, the rewards!" Samba sighed. "Promises made at this time cannot be delayed!"

"Shouldn't this be drawn from the national treasury? Why use your private funds?" the steward asked, puzzled.

"The Queen is furious! That woman thinks Envoy Xu's plan is too big a fuss, frightening herself and her child, our little king!" Samba said with a bitter smile, "I was just severely scolded in the palace, and my suggestion to reward the soldiers and laborers was rejected. Knowing her as I do, she will definitely check the national treasury's accounts to see if I have taken money behind her back to reward the soldiers and laborers!"

"How could this be?" the steward exclaimed in astonishment. "What kind of reason is it to frighten her and the young king? If the enemy were to storm the city and come with swords to cut their throats, would she be expected to curse them out? It's utterly ridiculous!"

“It’s ridiculous, but what’s even more ridiculous is that she sits on the throne and rules the country! She’s just terrified!” Samba shook his head and sighed, “Can you persuade a terrified woman? I can’t, and I don’t know who can!”

"Who can do that?" The butler shook his head. "The only way to bring a madwoman back to her senses is with a whip, a good lash, and then she'll come to her senses. But who can whip the Queen?"

“Yes!” Samba sighed. “You’ve raised a good question. Who can bring the Queen to her senses? Never mind that. Go and take stock of the valuables, and distribute the rewards tomorrow, understand?”

"Yes, my master!"

When the scouts reported to Qielan that the Han reinforcements were approaching, he was having dinner with Ying Feng: "How many men does the Han army have?"

"Don't know?" The scout lowered his head in fear. "I can't see the end of the Han army's ranks. The river is densely packed with supply ships, elephant corps, and cavalry. There are at least tens of thousands of them. I was afraid of wasting time, so I rushed back to report. The exact number will have to wait for the people left behind to continue scouting. It will probably be a day or two before we have the answer!"

"I understand, you may leave now!" Qielan put down his cup, maintaining the composure and dignity of a general until the scout left.

"Are you happy to hear this news?" he asked.

"I wouldn't say, after all, my life is still in your hands, it's too early to be happy!" Ying Feng said with a wry smile.

"Do you think I would kill you?" Qielan looked at the other person curiously: "The stronger the Han army is, shouldn't you be safer?"

"Logically, that's how it should be, but sometimes things in this world are unreasonable! For example, you might be blinded by anger and do something stupid!" Ying Feng said with a wry smile, "You might have to pay the price afterward, but by then I'll already be dead!"

“That’s true!” Qielan stood up and paced back and forth in the tent a few times. “But I’m not that kind of person. My battle is over. I ask you, if I lift the siege and leave here, can I still keep what I’ve already gained?”

"I don't know, after all, I'm not that Chief Clerk Duan. In my opinion, you should be able to keep most of what you've already obtained, since your army is still intact. Chief Clerk Duan should also know the principle of putting the whole army first!"

“If that’s the case, then that would be for the best!” Qielan laughed easily. “Then I’ll trouble you to go and tell that Chief Secretary Duan my intentions—I can release the King of Funan and lift the siege. But I hope the land on both sides of the upper reaches of the river can be preserved.” He paused slightly, lowering his voice, “If you can persuade that Chief Secretary Duan to support my claim to the throne, that would be even better! I don’t mind sharing my wealth with him! The same goes for you, my friend!”

“Friend?” Ying Feng looked at the smiling face in front of him and suddenly felt a sense of familiarity. It seemed that he had seen this face a few years ago, but he couldn’t remember who it was. He tried for a while, but finally gave up.

"I can lobby on your behalf, but I can't guarantee whether it will succeed or not!" Ying Feng said, "After all, this kind of thing involves too many things, and money alone may not be enough to make it happen!"

"I know that too!" Qielan laughed, "How will we know if we don't try?"

"Good that you understand!" Ying Feng stood up: "When do I leave?"

"Wait a moment, I'll have someone prepare it!" Qielan said with a smile, "A generous gift is a good start!"

Ying Feng nodded and stepped out of the tent. He stopped abruptly as he stepped out, finally remembering where that familiar feeling came from—from Wei Cong before he rose to prominence.

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Duan Jiong was eating breakfast, a bowl of chicken soup rice noodles. The lake was calm, the boats were still, much like the journey he had undertaken. The indigenous chiefdoms along the way obediently made way, offering supplies and laborers, some even sending soldiers to accompany him on his "loyal campaign." According to a certain religious tradition, theoretically, the King of Funan was the supreme ruler of a vast land stretching from the Mekong River estuary in the south to the northern mountains in the north, from the Changshan Mountains in the east to the sea in the west. Although, according to the political traditions of ancient Southeast Asia, the actual influence of such supreme suzerainty was actually quite limited, this did not prevent these indigenous city-states from adding to their loyalty given the certainty of the Han Empire's fate.

"General, someone requests an audience!" Xia Yu announced as he entered.

"Which remote chieftain is it now? I don't see him!" Duan Jiong's gaze remained fixed on the map he'd obtained from the library Wei Cong had established in Jiaozhou. By the standards of the time, the map's accuracy and information were almost superhuman, though it was a bit difficult to read. Duan Jiong had never figured out where the General had gotten these maps. If he had drawn them by hand, the manpower and resources required would have been staggering. It seemed this General was truly far-sighted!

“No, they are envoys from the imperial court!” Xia Yu said.

"An envoy from the imperial court?" Duan Jiong looked up in surprise. "This place? Where did they come from?"

"He came from the Gou-ting people!" Xia Yu's face was also full of surprise: "The envoy claimed to be sent to the Gou-ting Kingdom by order of the imperial court. His surname is Ying, his given name is Feng, and his courtesy name is Shishu. He said he has important matters to report to you!"

"Uncle Ying Feng?" Duan Jiong certainly knew the name. He nodded and said, "Bring him in!"

"Here!"

"Take these away!" Duan Jiong pointed to the half-eaten breakfast on the table, then carefully rolled up the map and put it into a deerskin bag under the table.

"Ying Feng greets Chief Secretary Duan!" Ying Feng entered the room and bowed to Duan Jiong. Duan Jiong waved his hand: "Sit down and talk. I have long admired your name, and meeting you today, you are indeed extraordinary! May I ask what brings you here today?"

Ying Feng did not answer immediately, but instead took out a bamboo slip from his sleeve and handed it over with both hands: "Chief Secretary, please take a look at this first!"

Duan Jiong took the bamboo slip and saw that it was a gift list, which listed a considerable amount of gold, silver, precious utensils, and spices. The amount was astonishing. He frowned and smiled, "Uncle, what do you mean by this? Are you trying to bribe me?"

"The bribery is true, but it wasn't me!" Ying Feng's expression remained unchanged: "The one who wanted to bribe you was none other than General Qielan of the Gou-ting people. It was he who led the Gou-ting people on a long march of thousands of miles, all the way to the capital of Funan! I was just a middleman!"

(End of this chapter)