Chapter 51 - War Council II

“As impressive as that is, we digress,” General Fei Hong interrupted after a moment. “I only ask that if we ever fight alongside the Prince, that he remembers we are not his enemies.”

A nervous chuckle filled the hall.

I smiled, “General Fei Hong did not send assassins after the throne, so he should feel safe.”

The man returned the gesture before he turned to the emperor with a low bow “Your Majesty, I ask permission to accompany his highness the Fourth Prince to the front lines.”

I blinked in confusion; was I being sent away again so soon after arriving? One look at the Emperor revealed the truth: I was.

“You have declared yourself a staunch defender of the Empire, Shen Long. What would you do in my place?”

I shook my head at the Emperor’s words. “I would send myself there as soon as possible.” I kowtowed to him “This Prince hears and obeys, oh Emperor!”

“Good,” the old man smiled. “You will depart as the sun rises tomorrow. For now, we must decide the best way to apply our forces.”

I nodded and returned to my analysis of the map. “We should push them back and away from the Imperial Capital.” I mused out loud. “I would recommend beginning in Yan and advancing northward. That way we won’t have to worry about forces behind our backs.”

“It could be possible, but the more we delay, the harder it will be for the forces from Yong and Ji, where the fighting has been going for longer. Shouldn’t we think of reinforcing them first?”

I nodded. I was scared for my people, but I was only a man. If we wanted to root out the scouts within our borders, we would need more men... men that were needed too, at the northern border.

“How do they fight?” I asked, biting my lip “are their attacks coordinated?” most looked at me as if I was crazy. Despite being the most experienced warriors from the Empire, the people around me were far from infallible. Their egos got the best of them most of the time.

To find the answers I needed for my plan, I needed to evaluate my enemies... and none here had done that. Apparently, this was a time way before the ‘Art of War’ was written.

After nearly an hour of asking questions about the enemy and receiving nothing but evasive and incomplete answers, I shook my head. “With all due respect to the Generals present here. We know nothing of our enemies. If we aim to defeat their forces, we need more information.”

The First Prince snorted “what could we possibly gain from studying these barbarians?”

I sent a glare his way and answered with a tidbit of knowledge from my past life: “If you know the enemy and know yourself, you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. If you know yourself but not the enemy, for every victory gained you will also suffer a defeat. If you know neither the enemy nor yourself, you will succumb in every battle.”

Those were the words of none other than Sun Tzu, author of the Art of War. I sincerely regretted being born in a time where he wasn’t known yet. His wisdom would have helped us greatly.

I watched as the Emperor nodded slowly, pulling on his beard. “Wiser words were never spoken from one so young.” He sent a warm smile my way before raising a hand for silence.

“I have decided that the Fourth Prince is right: we need more information, but we cannot risk the lives of more of our fellow countrymen. Shen Long, I hereby order you to march to the Yong Province and push the enemy back. Meanwhile, Captain Cao will, in turn, head to Yan and do for the Fourth Prince what he himself will do for you: protect his people.”

I turned my gaze to the Captain, who appeared to be surprised to be asked such a thing.

I bit my tongue. I wanted to run back to my family and help them, but I couldn’t go against the Emperor’s direct order.

Not for the first time, I cursed my naming as a Prince.

‘Once we ascend, all matters from the mortal realm will become unimportant’ My other self interrupted my musings while I was trying to get rid of the frustration I felt.

‘I’d like that,’ I admitted to my own detriment.

‘Then we must focus on our cultivation. The pearly gates won’t get any closer if we divert our attention to other things... like this war, for example.’

I felt something brush at the edge of my conscience and I came out of my own mind as a hand fell on my shoulder. It was the Emperor.

“Are you well, Shen Long?” The man had always been warm to me, almost like my father. His worry was refreshing.

“Yes, your majesty, simply lost in my own mind.” He nodded and smiled, motioning for me to follow him.

“Come, we’ll dine together.”

I followed him to the inner palace where we were joined by Li, my sister and Meiling. She had grown more beautiful as time went by, but I found her just as annoying as ever.

Unfortunately for me, the Emperor made her sit at my side, just like how Zhi was sitting beside Li.

Alarm bells began ringing inside my head.

We ate mostly in silence, enjoying the serene atmosphere of the inner palace, and I couldn’t hide my smile when I watched Zhi and Li together. Like a true high-born lady, my sister served the prince with a charming smile, adoration shining in her eyes, while the prince responded kindly, lavishing her in praise.

Meiling and I, however, were an entirely different matter. Despite her beauty, I never could quite get over her clinginess, and this time wasn’t any different.

“More tea?” Meiling asked, holding a teapot over my cup with a radiant smile. I sighed mentally and nodded, watching as she joyfully and expertly poured the beverage. Not a movement was wasted, every muscle was in place... truly her education was exemplary. She would make a man really happy... sadly for her, that wasn’t me.

I thanked her with a nod, before turning to the Emperor who was eating at a slower pace than usual. His movements were mechanic and he barely raised his eyes from his food... a complete contrast to what had been before I left.

He must have felt my gaze because his eyes rose from his food to meet mine.

Once he finished chewing I asked what was in my mind: “Are you feeling unwell, your highness?” It had become increasingly obvious that the Emperor’s health wasn’t as good as before, but how that could happen, I had no idea. The Imperial cooks were consummated professionals, they would rather die than harm the Emperor’s health in any way.

He dabbed his lips with white silk, sending a thoughtful nod my way. “I have always admired your perceptiveness, Shen Long. Even if it is to my own detriment.” he sighed “Yes, I haven’t felt like myself for a few days, however, my physicians were unable to find anything wrong. It seems that age is simply catching up to me.”

I frowned, the man was barely over fifty and followed an exercise regimen that should have seen him still strong during his seventies.

Sudden inspiration hit me when I remembered how I had helped Fa Min recover at an accelerated pace when I infused him with some of my chi.

“If I may, your majesty. I know of a way to channel some of my chi to your person. It isn’t anything invasive and will strengthen your body.” I could read the surprise in everyone’s faces “I helped one of my companions this way when we were hurt after our encounter with the assassins.”

“What do you need?” The Emperor asked and I explained that nothing more than a moment to meditate in his presence. The man nodded in acceptance, intrigued, and excited to witness the technique I spoke of (during my time in the Palace I found out that the Emperor held more than a passing interest in cultivation and the techniques developed by my predecessors, but like Li when he was younger, he had been forbidden from attempting to challenge a Heavenly Tribulation because he had been the only heir to the throne.

It was one of the reasons he was so taken with me, he would often inquire about my progress and whatever new things I had found in the Imperial library. One time we spent a good eight hours simply talking about the cause for the existence of the Heavenly tribulations.

‘Why would gods want to grant a way for humans to become Deities?’ It had been his question, and my answer was somewhere in the lines of ‘There seems to be a void in the heavens that must be filled’. I was thinking of it like a post inside a big company, but the Emperor understood it differently... as if it was our purpose to fill in the roles of the diseased Gods.

A truly interesting point of view, if I’m being honest. The mere thought of a deity dying was completely mind-blowing to me.

After eating, Zhi and Meiling were asked to return to their quarters while Heng Li, the Emperor, and myself moved to his Majesty’s rooms. He sat on a low cushion, while Li and I sat on our knees.

“Should we call for your physicians, father?” Li asked out of the blue “if Shen Mu manages to help you, perhaps they should be here to listen to his instructions?”

“It is a thoughtful suggestion, what do you think, Shen Long?”

I already had two possible culprits (or were they in the league?) for the assassination attempt, and both were from the palace... I wasn’t entirely sure who to trust at this time, but I figured they wouldn’t attempt to kill me again in front of the emperor.

“Sure, I simply ask not to be disturbed with questions or comments while I work.”

“A sensible answer too.” the Emperor nodded, he then clapped his hands and a eunuch appeared from a darkened corner with his head plastered to the floor. “Bring me the royal physician.”

The eunuch began walking backward until he left the room. We chatted amiably as we waited for the medic to appear. It was an old man, probably a few years older than the Emperor himself, dressed completely in white and gold and who carried himself with the importance of his title... meaning that I didn’t like him very much. I had learned early on that people who thought too much of their job tended to be very close-minded when one tried to introduce new methods or ideas.

Finally, the royal physician bowed down before the emperor and I was prompted to explain what I was about to do.

“The technique sprouts from the wood-chi magical healing manuals. It is a form of meditation where one can project one’s own chi in order to heal another. I did this before with a friend when he was wounded, and his body healed ten times faster. All I aim to do now is to take a look at the Emperor’s body and chi, to verify there is nothing wrong. And even if there is none, my chi should revitalize his majesty.”

Contrary to my first impression, the royal physician appeared very interested in the technique, so I bowed to the emperor and closed my eyes, using wood-breathing to enter the meditative state needed to see the flow of Chi.

Upon opening my eyes moments later, I noticed an obstruction near the Emperor’s lungs. The surprise must have been obvious in my face because I immediately heard the Emperor’s voice.

“What do you see, Shen Long?”

Still, within my trance, I answered, yet my voice wasn’t completely my own “there’s an obstruction on your lungs. One that I have seen before.” My vision turned to the prince sitting beside us, and there it was too, the same substance had been given to both royals. The same one I had been given a month prior when visiting the Ji province. Shaking my head, I focused a gentle stream of my healing chi on the emperor, erasing the substance that had been eroding his health before it worsened. In a burst of inspiration, I lent him some more of my energy, so that his body would recuperate faster.

Making sure that there was nothing else out of place I opened my eyes to look directly at the Emperor, “Your majesty, I don’t know how to say this.... but it appears that you were poisoned.”