Volume 1 Chapter 9

Terminology:

Chinese names In Chinese names, the surname comes first followed by the given name. In formalities one would address another by their surname followed by their ranking/position/occupation. The given names are only used by people close to you.

The (Seven) Warring States Period: 475 BC- 221 BC, Ancient China was separated into 7 major states, which were continuously at war with each other. During this period, Agriculture, industry, economy, weapons and technology flourished. So did the legacy of war tactics written by tacticians of that time from that era which are still respected and studied in this age. This was a complete mess for the country itself, there was no time to develop the societies and culture until the next period of Ancient China were unification was beginning.

Tang Dynasty  618-907 A.D. The Tang Dynasty was the most prosperous era for the Ancient Chinese empire; flouris.h.i.+ng culture in the form of Arts. It was a period of progress and stability.

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Updated map of countries mentioned so far.

Key: Magenta – Li, Green – Tong and Red – Xi Rei

(Drawing an outline with a mouse was hard ;_;)

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The scene that Feng Ming had first imagined was both men mounted on their horses, the animals in a wild bolt across an open plain.

His reality presented him with a lawn cordoned off by a wooden fence they didn’t even leave the confines of the palace.

The pitiful sight before him compared with his vivid imagination completely deflated his mood, sinking into a slump of anti-climax.

Subsequently, the animal that was lead out towards him was not even close to a horse, one could easily cla.s.sify the sorry looking animals a dumpy mule.

The romantic and wild horseback ride, turned into a complete flop, no one could blame the resentful eyes that fixated on Rong Tian.

Rong w.a.n.g paid no attention to the death ray aimed his way and instead explained why Feng Ming’s fantasy was brought to a halt.

“I believe you have also forgotten your horsemans.h.i.+p skills you have learnt from childhood. It is best you start with a smaller horse and work yourself up before attempting to ride a full size one outside of the Palace, safety comes first.”

Feng Ming bitterly mumbled.

“You tricked me.” He accused.

The attendants at ears length covered their mouths smothering their giggles at the couples bickering

In order to preserve the last remnants of his dignity, Feng Ming was refusing to mount the “horse” – mule, it was only going to happen over his dead body.

Rong w.a.n.g surrendered sighing at the stubborn boy he resorted to his last option and called out to his stable masters.

“Someone, prepare White Cloud and lead him out.” He ordered the servants.

Soon, a dignified high pitch of a horse’s neigh could be heard. An attendant emerged and lead along a snow white horse towards its waiting master.

The animal’s smooth white coat gleamed with a healthy sheen.

It was as if appeared from some mythical story, it emitted a majestic atmosphere. One could immediately tell that this horse was seared from a prestigious line of esteemed pedigree.

Feng Ming’s eyes quickly flickered with excitement.

Rong w.a.n.g laughed at the obvious change in Feng Ming’s mood.

The King swung his legs effortlessly over his horse and mounted it as if it was second nature he then promptly pulled Feng Ming up to join him.

“This here is my beloved horse, called White Cloud,” the King gave his prized pet a tap with his heels on its belly and the well trained horse screamed in response and toke flight into a gallop. The animal’s powerful legs carried his pa.s.sengers at a speed of wind.

This was Feng Ming’s first experience on a horse, and the adrenaline rush surging through him was more exciting than any crazy roller coaster ride.

With little effort White Cloud had made three laps around the restrictive trotting area at G.o.d speed.

Rong w.a.n.g reined in the bridle and the great animal obediently came to a halt.

“Continue! Hey! Come on!” cried the Prince still elated with joy.

“I have to attend to official matters in court, and I can’t stay here with you.” The King replied, regardless this didn’t dampen the younger man’s spirit.

“That’s even better, you can leave and I can ride White Cloud by myself!”

“I won’t permit you.” The King ordered bluntly as he cast rain over Feng Ming’s parade.

Rong Tian dismounted and reached for the other. There was a short struggled to tear the unrelenting Feng Ming off his perch.

The boy was still tightly holding onto White Clouds reigns when the King finally managed to yank him down.

“White Cloud won’t accept other people than me. He will buck and you will get hurt. You can ride that one over there.” His finger pointed off to the side at an innocent pony nibbling away at a patch of gra.s.s.

Feng Ming stared at the pony bitterly and straight up refused the degrading animal.

“That’s out of the question! I can ride a horse and I want to ride White Cloud.” He whined stubborn as a fat kid in a candy store.

As the result of their quarrel, Feng Ming revoked his chance to even ride a pony.

Rong w.a.n.g was afraid leaving the boy by himself would only end in trouble so he simply dragged the younger man kicking and screaming along to attend to Xi Rei’s business.

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When the pair entered the official court hall, it was already occupied with numerous important figureheads.

Silence besieged the room.

Imperial n.o.blemen, generals and high ranking officers were stunned, their jaws jarred and eyes peel wide open to the bewildering sight before them.

Their attention had fixated onto Feng Ming.

The Crowned Prince who was tucked away deep in the secret maze of the Palace was brought alongside the Regent King to attend a meeting for official business.

Were their eyes playing tricks on them?

It appears the strange rumors flying around the Palace had more credit than any of them liked to believe, especially when the evidence was clear as day.

King Rong and His Majesty’s relations.h.i.+p appeared to have taken a new direction.

Within moments of their silent shock the officials scrambled to collect themselves, and offered their “Crowned Prince” the correct respectful salutations.

“Your Highness”

“Your Majesty.” They murmured one after another.

“…”

Feng Ming watched his subjects, who clearly held the Prince with no esteem. Apart from the formalities, the slightest hint of respect could not be sniffed out between their greetings.

This only paid to further highlight how each individual saw him, they were probably taunting how weak and incompetent he was inwardly, the Prince couldn’t help but feel the man beside him was somewhat responsible.

The Prince’s large solemn eyes turned to Rong w.a.n.g.

Instead of boiling over he decided not to be swamped by the att.i.tude he was receiving from the court officials.

He chose to turn the situation into a jest, for his own entertainment, given he had a golden opportunity to tease Rong Tian.

With a feigned blank expression he provoked the Regent King.

“Rong w.a.n.g, how am to address them? Do I apply that type of etiquette?”

Rong w.a.n.g’s eyes flared dangerously as they beamed down onto the younger man, in a low voice he replied aggressively.

“That type of etiquette is reserved only for the Regent King of Xi Rei.”

For better insurance to make sure Feng Ming was clear on the matter he further warned.

“You are not allowed to kiss any of the court officials, do you understand?”

The officials sat in their a.s.signed seats, and the Regent King arranged for Feng Ming to be seated with him in the middle of the room upon a platform. This position was given to him out of the proper respect of his Royal ident.i.ty.

In the centre of the hall was a mural map made entirely out of clay, it showed various countries with their terrains.

Countless miniature flags littered the map, making it look more like a pin cus.h.i.+on. Lines that curved over the surface of the map also helped defined the regions.

Xi Rei’s great kingdom occupied a vast area of land riddled with numerous mountain ranges.

Feng Ming studied the map closely, and recalled the information Rong w.a.n.g had given him.

Apparently within this era, there were eleven countries continuously locking arms in battle, wars often broke out between the kingdoms and it was chaos.

This type of situation was even messier than the period of Seven Warring States in ancient China which Feng Ming had known of from history cla.s.s in his own world.

“Disputes have increased at the borders we share with the Tong country. The number of thieves has escalated and our civilians have been pillaged. We have received reports of property damage and looting”

A heavy-set old and white haired General grunted.

“From my point of view, this is basically the country of Tong’s doing. They are deliberately provoking us to start conflict. Why else would those petty criminals flee across the border when our troops were deployed to catch them?”

Rong w.a.n.g steadily replied.

“Don’t be impatient, General Chu. We are all well aware that King Tong is a schemer and our countries are not on good terms.  At this moment our priority lies in dealing with a pressing matter, what are our strategies on how we shall deal with the envoy arriving from the Country of Li.”

Just hearing the complexity in the troubles of the court was enough to give Feng Ming a headache so he tugged lightly at the Regent King’s sleeve to get his attention.

“What kind of place is the Country of Li?” he asked in a whisper.

The court was modest in size hence it was no hard task for the audience’s attentive ears to catch hold of the Prince’s question.

Although the Prince’s incompetence was notorious, none of the subjects would have fathomed that he could wasn’t even educated in the countries around Xi Rei and their circ.u.mstances.

Countless pairs of contempt filled eyes immediately bombarded Feng Ming’s blank face.

Rong w.a.n.g ignored the insolence, stood up and walked towards the map, his hand gesturing at a large region North of Xi Rei.

“The Country of Li is located here.”

In a gentle tone he continued a short lecture.

“An official messenger sent by Xi Rei was a.s.sa.s.sinated within the borders of Li. As a result, Xi Rei is now in a position of initiating a war.”

Another snort interrupted the court proceedings.

"Humph!”

A middle aged military officer reached for the double-edged sword tucked into a belt on his waist, his fury unleashed in a rain of spiteful words.

“The Country of Li is inciting war! So be it! I, Tong Jian-Ming will be the first not to show any mercy with my sword to that d.a.m.n King of Li!” He roared.

Catching the “Tong” as the man’s surname, Feng Ming was absolutely positive that the crazy middle aged man was related to the Master Tong he had been graced with.

Feng Ming had managed to give Master Tong a good fight, remembering how his visitor had left looking like a sorry scoundrel. He had eagerly waited for any reprisal to come his way but he was unaware that Rong w.a.n.g had specifically cautioned Tong Yi to stay clear of the Prince.

Rong w.a.n.g pondered for a short while and shook his head distastefully.

“King Li ascended the throne at a young age and he has high ambitions, craving to ultimately rule all the kingdoms.  He is a problem that we have to abolish, pull out the root before it grows. However the Country of Tong are not sitting idly, they are a tiger waiting patiently for an advantage to take its prey.”

He paused.

“If we act to rashly and send our troops into war with Li, this will only provide an opening to any attacks by Tong. They will antic.i.p.ate our lowered defenses.”

Feng Ming blurted with out thinking.

“Was the messenger an important high ranked officer? So you mean that Xi Rei is on the brink of starting a war for this reason?”

“Aiyah!” he heaved in disbelief.

“To be honest, what is so good about starting a war? Instead of belligerence wouldn’t it be better if everyone could live happily in harmony? Considering the population of the Earth is considerably small.”

Feng Ming’s unprecedented interruption ended in a chain of questions pointing at several problems.

When he began speaking, he pa.s.sed judgment on the collective decisions by the court attendees. Everyone resented the unwanted input as it only became a hindrance, but they were all in no position to disregard what was said due to Feng Ming’s ident.i.ty.

The men stood silently and vented their displeasure inside. .

The Regent King defended their actions, answering Feng Ming’s last question.

“Whether we are attacked at our border or have our messenger a.s.sa.s.sinated, how we react to these problems is an important matter.”

“If Xi Rei sits with our hands folded and unprepared from attacks, our Country’s prestige will be quickly buried. Not only will there be civil unrest we will also lose skilled and talented people who would flee and ally themselves to other countries.”

Feng Ming nodded finding it rather interesting that even in this era skills and talent was appreciated.

Moreover, the situation in this world was similar to that of the Warring states period, people were able to save their necks by changing alliances.

The argument escalated as mouths shot opinions up into the air.

"Rong w.a.n.g, the situation at the frontier with Tong is more important. We should declare war with them first and show them Xi Rei’s power!” an official exclaimed.

“The situation we have at the border only pertains to a minor group of civilians who are being hara.s.sed. My secretary I sent as the messenger was a.s.sa.s.sinated! At this moment we must declare war with the Country of Li and seek justice!”

“Since this is the case, it would be better to simultaneously declare war on both countries!”

“General Tong, instigating war between two countries is senseless. It will only serve to quicken the deterioration of Xi Rei’s fighting powers.”

The heated debated continued for a large half of the day and there was still no resolution from their meeting.

All they had to deliberate on was to determine which matter was more critical, the border feud with Tong or the a.s.sa.s.sination of their own in Li.

Feng Ming listened aloof to their ongoing chattering, the more he heard the more impatient he grew.

He thought to himself how ancient Generals were like a bunch of old fussy women.

The Prince cleared his throat in a soft audible manner.

“Can I go out for a stroll?” he asked quietly, the background of the officials cloaked his request.

Feng Ming dared not to be more audible. Regardless to his authority, no one paid him any notice.

Even Rong Tian was no exception. The Regent King was fully engaged with the political dilemma.

Feng Ming had his backside planted on his perch for ages, even his spine was yearning to be stretched. Seeing no one was paying him any attention, he simply stood up and covertly headed towards the exit.

This movement caught Rong w.a.n.g’s eyes, who then made no hesitation to stop the Prince from leaving, hauling the younger man back into position.

“Where does His Royal Highness think he is going?” he whispered with a hint of annoyance.

“We are in the middle of an important discussion, be a good boy and sit here quietly don’t give me any trouble.”

With this Feng Ming was chained in, forced to watch on the conversation that didn’t invite him to partic.i.p.ate. However, this session allowed him to observe Rong w.a.n.g, and the burden the Regent King had to carry on his shoulders.

The Country of Xi Rei’s problems were carried by Rong Tian with such an air of dignity. His admiration only lasted for a short time, when the thoughts of the contrast between himself and the King arouse again.

One could not avoid the fact that, this Prince’s achievements has only amounted to becoming a famous useless n.o.body. Even his own subjects continued to under mind him, offering insincere respect through gritted teeth.

Their charade of feigned reverence began to kindle a fire in the bottom of Feng Ming’s heart.

Thinking back to the morning, where he was offered a mule inside of horse added more fuel to that fire.

His chain of thoughts finally accrued into an explosion. His face was red with fury as he casted an outburst of his frustration towards his subjects.

“Why do I have anything to do with this discussion?” He screamed and blurted without thinking.

“I’m merely a puppet and nothing more! So what if you guys all understand and comprehend everything where as I am the useless one!”

“Humph!”

Taking no break from his rant he continued.

“You pack of military buffs have spent an entire day arguing noisily over such trivial matters, what kind of job efficiency are you working at?”

“If I was your employer, I’d make you all redundant! Out of sight and out of mind!”

“Just trivial matters?” The aged General Chu looked gob smacked.

.”Does His Royal Highness treat war between two countries as a minor issue?”

“Yes!” proclaimed Feng Ming who was ready for any reb.u.t.ting required.

His eyes pinned resolutely on the old man before speaking directly.

“If you want to rage a war then so be it, why are you all wasting time on arguing over whether the border attacks is more significant than an official killed!”

“Haven’t you guys set up any foreign allegiances as part of your tactics?”

Feng Ming groaned when no one responded.

“Come on! Undoubtedly to succeed in a war defeating close enemies by making foreign alliances is a vital step! Even the Warring State period was more advanced than you guys! What a bunch stupid idiots!”

The hall went completely silent during his venting.

Everyone had their eyes glued on His Royal Majesty who had just given a taste of his temper, as if he whipped each official across the face.

There was still no reaction to his outburst as they all stood dumbfounded.

That was until Rong w.a.n.g ruthlessly dragged Feng Ming from his spot by the collar, his uncontrolled strength lifted the poor boy into midair.

Rong w.a.n.g’s handsome face was chilled as ice, as it leaned closer to the Prince’s, his voice dangerously asked.

“What did you just say?” he demanded.

Feng Ming had a good streak of days, escaping the full blunt of Rong w.a.n.g’s wrath he was blanked upon having the fury released on him once more.

“I s-said…I said…” tongue tied, a knot developed deep in his throat.

Feng Ming cursed himself inwardly for being a meddlesome fool.

He swallowed before pressing his luck.

“I said you were all stupid idiots?”

"Before that!"

"Before that?  I said, even the Warring State period was more advanced than you guys! What a bunch stupid idiots?”

This was incorrect as well.

"No!" Rong w.a.n.g eyebrows jerked up in annoyance and he growled.

“Before that!”

Feng Ming finally came to grip to what the King wanted.

“Oh! Are you asking about foreign alliances to defeat enemies closer to home?”

“G.o.d, I wouldn’t have guessed it.” He said relieved as he rapt his head lightly with his hand. His body relaxed under the unfriendly hold even daring to wave his limbs freely.

“I understand now, each country is actually enwrapped with their own disputes and no one has actually set up any official alliances. There’s no tactical system in place between any of the countries. That’s right, this means you guys must be in an era before the Warring States!”

Feng Ming laughed at his discovery.

“For some reason I thought this was the Tang dynasty, considering the agricultural system in Xi Rei is advance. It is quite an achievement probably even be a rival the modern times.”

This was the first time Rong Tian didn’t cut off Feng Ming madman rants, so the young man bathed in his triumph.

The King permitted the Prince to continue his insanity, however instead of anger he was growing elated in his own heart.

“Well, Your Majesty, if I could ask you to thoroughly explain to us what you mean by making foreign alliances to defeat enemies closer to home.” Rong Tian prompted.

“What?”

“Me?” Feng Ming’s finger darted towards his own nose, confused with the sudden attention.

It was impossible that these people could be easily swayed by their thirst for knowledge, to the point they were even showing him respect?

Weren’t they all looking at me with contempt just moments before?

He whisked his head towards the pack of Generals, it was like if someone had injected them with a dose of miracle drug.

All the faces that were looking at the Prince had changed and now they were br.i.m.m.i.n.g with ecstasy.

Who would have thought, that in this s.p.a.ce-time, diplomacy and war tactics was still highly prized by scholars and the military.

Every country was aware that to have complete power over the land under the heavens, apart from martial arts and army strength, theories and tactics played the major role in domination. If one was not knowledgeable on war tactics, it would be difficult to start any game plans for war.

It was just Feng Ming’s luck that Xi Rei were still underdeveloped in this aspect and he wasn’t going to just easily hand over a thousand years essence of knowledge.

Making foreign alliances to defeat close enemies wouldn’t have been anything interesting to a commoner’s ear. However, to the ears of group of powerful men immersed in military and politics, his words were like a crack of thunder awakening their desires.

“Your Majesty, Prince!” General Chu broke away as a representative from the eagerly awaiting subjects. He was even addressing Feng Ming with genuine respect!

“Your Highness, concerning “Defeating close enemies and making foreign alliances” are you trying to say that we should ignore minor disputes and focus on capturing our closest enemies to expand our own kingdom. Then follow through with reinforcing our numbers by utilizing soldiers from the fallen enemies, to gather more strength to challenge another country? If your plan is like this, then we should soon be ruling across all the lands! Please your Highness, would you enlighten us with more details?”

Where Feng Ming had just barely said a few words, this old fox somehow inferred so much nonsense from thin air. Being misunderstood made the Prince shriek with frustration.

“Do not talk nonsense! Taking over the 11 kingdoms is the objective of other countries. It is not what our own should do! I wasn’t conspiring with you to dominate the world.”

He couldn’t help but feel the need to s.h.i.+eld himself with Rong w.a.n.g.

Rong w.a.n.g chuckled as Feng Ming shrank behind him, a smile etched across his lips as he leaned over to whisper into the Prince’s ear.

“Just say what you want to say and tomorrow I’ll take you riding on White Cloud for a whole day.”

"Really?" just hearing the beautiful horse’s name and the offer invigorated him.

Feng Ming emerged from his hiding place behind Rong Tian with a renewed confidence he indulged in the positive attention.

"Hehe…in fact the reason why I have rarely left the Prince’s quarters is because I’ve been investing a lot of time in researching and planning out great theories, Alright, I’m going to share my findings and experiences with you…”

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That evening fresh gossip sprinkled around the Palace.

His Royal Highness had gain the doting love of Rong w.a.n.g, whom permitted the Prince to join him in an official court procession and even allowed him to sit by his side.

Moreover, regardless of whether they were veterans or young, all the court officials that left the grand hall, had strangely developed a positive new opinion of their beautiful and apparently now ‘talented’ Prince.

When the odd couple returned to the Prince’s quarters, Feng Ming lashed out his anger at the King.

"Why did you command the Generals and the other attendees not to spread word of my abilities? Are you jealous of me?”

King Rong shook his head, “You are the Crowned Prince, your life is constantly in danger. If the other countries find out that the Prince is actually quite competent, there’s bound to be countless a.s.sa.s.sins out for your blood. It is wiser to keep you concealed under the guise of incompetence.”

“Ha Ha, as long as you are aware that I am quite capable,” Feng Ming already had a smug grin by the time Rong Tian was half way through his praise.

The smile that beamed at him only made Rong Tian want to smoother his lips over the boy’s mouth.

"I know that you are holding back, there’s more isn’t there?”

"Of course, I have more information stored inside my mind. Do you want to hear what I have?”

Rong w.a.n.g’s seductive lips pulled back into a sneer,

“Is there conditions for this exchange?”

Yes! You have to let me top you once

However such a request was too embarra.s.sing and inappropriate.

Feng Ming rolled his eyes, and laughed dryly. “I need something to keep by my side for self defense, even if it is some weird kind of weapon, or even a pair of rusty handcuffs would suffice.”

"For what reason?” Rong w.a.n.g’s eyes narrowed as he studied the Prince.

"Didn’t you say that I’d be endangered, that there are people who want to murder me? I need to protect myself.”

Given the fact Feng Ming had a poor track record of defending himself with Rong Tian, even given a weapon he most likely wouldn’t be able to hold up much of a fight.

The sudden request made the King apprehensive.

"Using a weapon?"

s.h.i.+t! He is suspicious.

Feng Ming lamented, knowing he could change the mood with one method.

He self volunteered and delivered his deep red lips to the man in front of him, aiming to divert King’s thought patterns.

This is ridiculous. Feng Ming was growing more accustomed to their shared kisses.

What was he going to do?

Moreover, each time they connected he could not help but wish that the King would venture deeper into his mouth with pa.s.sion.

Feng Ming muttered under his breath.

“I’ve been corrupted.”