noveltune Chapter 38 Lord Jingning
Chapter 38 Lord Jingning
Zhang Jujiu was not at all surprised that the King of Qin would not allow him to retire. His ancestor had told him in a dream that the King of Qin wanted to keep him and his brother to fight against the Queen Dowager and Wei Ran.
As a member of the royal family and a minister, Chuli Ji had no objection to who was the ruler as long as Qin remained stable.
The world is in constant flux, and the Qin state is no longer what it used to be.
Although Zhang Jujiu failed to retire successfully, he spent his days muddling through in the imperial court, and whenever there was a battle, he would petition Bai Qi to take command, and he lived a comfortable life.
Although Ying Ji was still the king in name only, his core was no longer that of a puppet to be manipulated at will.
During this period, the Qin state never stopped its expansion. Major events worthy of being recorded in history, such as the Battle of Yan and Ying, the Battle of Huayang, and the Five States' attack on Qi, all occurred during the reign of the Zhang brothers and the sister-sister Empress Dowager Xuan.
The Qin state expanded its territory eastward to the banks of the Yellow River and annexed a large portion of the core territory of the Chu state to the south, forcing the Chu state to relocate its capital.
Xiang Bei also clashed with the Zhao state a few times. Although he didn't win many matches, he managed to figure out the Zhao state's strengths and weaknesses.
A rough calculation shows that the Qin state conquered and annexed at least a hundred cities.
The once formidable enemies, the states of Qi and Chu, were crippled. Strategic locations such as Bashu and Hanzhong were firmly in Qin's hands, and at that time, Qin controlled two of the world's most important granaries.
With Zhang Jujiu and Zhang Mengtan receiving fiefdoms, the Hanzhong Palace and Shaole Palace also resumed their functions.
The Zhang family gradually began to rise to prominence.
The two brothers' sons, one studied under Bai Qi and followed this young general in battles, becoming a famous general of his time, while the other regained the position of head of the academy and became a master of Legalism.
Ying Ji was pleased with this scene. He was not afraid of the Zhang family's power and prestige rising. In his view, this was an important piece for him to counter the Empress Dowager and his uncle and regain power.
However, with the semi-retirement of Zhang Jujiu and Zhang Mengtan, Wei Ran's power and wealth expanded like a snowball. His fiefdom, Taoyi, became incredibly wealthy, resembling a country within a country.
Ying Ji knew that if he wanted to regain power and become the true master of Qin, then he had to remove the thorn in the side of the maternal relatives.
In 277 BC, a man from the state of Wei named Fan Ju came to the state of Qin and presented Ying Ji with a plan to seize power by "strengthening the trunk and cutting off the branches".
Ying Ji knew that the opportunity he had been waiting for for more than forty years had finally arrived!
Although Fan Ju was not from Qin, he saw things more clearly than anyone else. He pointed out to Ying Ji, "Your Majesty, you are the trunk of the great tree of Qin, but the branches of Empress Dowager Xuan and Wei Ran have grown too luxuriantly, obscuring the trunk. Although the Zhang family branch is hindering the unchecked growth of the branches of Empress Dowager Xuan, the old branches of the Zhang family are about to wither, and the new branches are too immature. If this continues, before the new branches can grow, Your Majesty's descendants will be unable to take over Qin."
These words struck a chord with Ying Ji, and he immediately adopted Fan Ju's plan. However, he did not act rashly, but instead demonstrated remarkable patience and strategy.
While having Fan Sui cultivate his confidants and manage the court affairs behind the scenes, he allowed Wei Ran to fight on the front lines. Of course, when necessary, he would also bring in the dying Zhang Jujiu and Zhang Mengtan brothers to keep Wei Ran in check, preventing him from becoming too reckless and keeping him in a state of wanting to rebel but not daring to.
He understood perfectly well that Wei Ran's victories were also expanding Qin's territory. In any case, the conquered territory would belong to the "Ying" family, so there was no need to break ties too early.
Until 266 BC, in those eleven years, the legendary generals who served three dynasties, the awe-inspiring Lord Jingning Zhang Jujiu and Lord Ninghui Zhang Mengtan, passed away one after another.
Wei Ran directly abused his power for personal gain, leading his army to attack Gang and Shou in the State of Qi, with the aim of connecting these two places with his own fiefdom, Tao.
In his view, although the successor to the title, Lord Jingning, Zhang Ruotuo, was a famous general of the time, he was ultimately not as good as his father, Zhang Jujiu. His lineage did not often interact with the main Zhang lineage, and the main Zhang lineage was holed up in Liangyi and did not care about worldly affairs. As a result, the Zhang family's power was ultimately suppressed.
He still calls the shots in the Qin state!
However, just as he was dreaming of being granted a fiefdom, Ying Ji seized this fleeting opportunity and, on the grounds that "Wei Ran abused his power for personal gain, causing hardship to the people and wasting resources," suddenly launched an attack, dismissing him from his position as prime minister and sending him back to his fiefdom to retire.
Wei Ran was dissatisfied and wanted to raise an army to rebel, but Zhang Ruotu and Bai Qi, master and disciple, were watching Xianyang with predatory eyes.
Thus, Wei Ran and Mi Rong, along with their powerful maternal relatives, were eliminated and driven out of Xianyang. Even his own mother, Empress Dowager Xuan, had her power revoked and was allowed to live out her days peacefully in the palace.
Ying Ji was well aware that Wei Ran had helped Qin win many battles, but he had also turned Qin into a country ruled by maternal relatives. If Wei Ran, this powerful internal threat, was not dealt with, then Qin would not be able to complete its ultimate mission of "unifying the world".
This series of swift and decisive moves silenced the entire city of Xianyang, and everyone realized that the King of Qin, who had been a puppet for forty-one years, actually possessed such great courage.
After regaining power, Ying Ji immediately appointed Fan Ju as prime minister and adopted his famous diplomatic and military strategy—befriending distant states while attacking nearby ones!
The core idea of this strategy is very clear: in the past, when the Qin state fought wars, the territories it conquered were too far away, and the management costs were too high.
Now we can directly engage in precision strikes. We can send envoys to the distant states of Qi and Chu to befriend and stabilize them, while we can concentrate our forces on the nearby states of Han, Zhao, and Wei and take them down one by one. As for the state of Yan, we can ignore it.
Once a territory was conquered, it was digested and established as a prefecture or county. With this strategy in place, Qin's expansion was both precise and rapid.
In 265 BC, Ying Ji first attacked the state of Han, appointing Jingning Jun Zhang Ruotuo as commander, and seized Shaoqu and Gaoping.
In the same year, they turned around and attacked the State of Zhao. Zhang Ruotuo captured three cities, and Bai Qi captured six.
These two battles were fought with great care. The purpose of fighting South Korea was to seize Shangdang, a strategic location. Whoever gets this location will have a knife to the throat of the enemy.
The purpose of attacking the State of Zhao was to probe its strength and see just how powerful the only one of the six states that still had the ability to challenge them truly was.
In the following years, the Qin state pressed forward step by step, successively taking over Nanyang and Yewang in Han. Shangdang County was completely turned into an overseas exclave of Han, and its connection with the mainland was completely severed.
When the state of Han realized that it could not hold onto the territory, in order to avoid greater losses, it decided to do a favor and voluntarily hand over Shangdang to the state of Qin.
However, Feng Ting, the governor of Shangdang, was a tough nut to crack. He would rather die than surrender to Qin, and instead led the people of Shangdang to surrender to the State of Zhao.
At this moment, Zhang Ruotuo made his move. He led his army to conquer Shangdang, beheaded Feng Ting, and sent his head to Xianyang by messenger.
King Zhao Xiaocheng was furious when a large piece of fat meat fell from the sky and he was about to eat it when Zhang Ruotu snatched it from his mouth.
When Ying Ji, who was far away in Xianyang, heard that King Xiaocheng of Zhao was going to stick his chopsticks into the bowl of Qin to pick up meat, he was furious.
What, you want to challenge me too?
Damn it, I have General Bai Qi and Zhang Ruotuo who can cut off Lian Po's head!
In 260 BC, Ying Ji mobilized an army of 40 men and marched straight to Changping in the State of Zhao, thus igniting a decisive battle that would determine the ultimate fate of the Warring States period!
Sigrún has taught at the Iceland University of the Arts as a part-time lecturer since and was Dean of the Department of Fine Art from -. In – she held a research position at Reykjavík Art Museum focusing on the role of women in Icelandic art. She studied fine art at the Icelandic College of Arts and Crafts and at Pratt Institute, New York, and holds BA and MA degrees in art history and philosophy from the University of Iceland. Sigrún lives and works in Iceland.
Inside the ancestral temple, Zhang Zhao checked Zhang Ruotuo's information panel.
Name: Zhang Ruotuo
Age: 35
Positioning: Bangshi
Schools of thought: Mohism, Military
Mind and nature: righteousness
Policy: Listening to others' opinions, the art of war is deception, and the application of nine variations.
Abilities: All's fair in war, risk-taking, strategic maneuvering.
Event: Training troops, governing the army, and recovering lost territory
Zhang Zhao's gaze fell on the location column, and a wave of emotion surged in his heart.
Bangshi is a higher-level position than Shangshi, and is on the same level as Shengren.
In the Zhang family, spanning over twenty generations, only a handful of members have achieved the rank of Senior Scholar. As for the rank of General Scholar, he counted on his fingers and realized that, starting from himself, the number of his descendants holding this title could be counted on one hand.
Zhang Jing, Zhang Lin, Zhang Quzhuo, Zhang Jujiu, and Zhang Mengtan, and now Zhang Ruotuo has been added.
What surprised him even more was the "School of Martial Arts" section, which listed both Mo and Bing martial arts styles.
The Mohists and the Military Strategists, one advocating universal love and non-aggression, and the other advocating the art of war through deception, seem to be irreconcilable, yet they are integrated in this thirty-five-year-old young man.
Zhang Zhao recalled Zhang Ruotuo's childhood. This boy's father was Zhang Jujiu, who was a disciple of Bai Qi. He had been training in the military since childhood and should have been a pure military talent.
However, he was also obsessed with the Mohist school's city defense techniques and mechanical arts. When he was young, he spent three months studying the various chapters on city defense in Mozi's works and repeatedly flipped through the few tattered Mohist bamboo slips that were available in the Hanzhong Academy.
"The Mohists' defense and the military strategists' offense," Zhang Zhao muttered to himself, "He's mastered both offense and defense all by himself."
He continued reading.
Mindset: Righteousness. Not straightforwardness, not benevolence, not wisdom, but righteousness. This word reminded him of Zhang Jujiu, that kid's mindset was trustworthiness.
His son, Zhang Ruotuo, was righteous—a righteous person will not betray those he has chosen.
No wonder this kid is so adept at learning from Bai Qi.
Let's look at the policies next.
"Listening in the jar" is a signature skill of the Mohist school, specifically designed to counter sieges, but it can also be used to detect enemy forces.
"The art of war is deception," goes without saying; this is the core of Zhang Buyi's military treatise.
"Knowing how to use the nine variations" is the essence of military strategy. Sun Tzu said "nine variations". Those who know the nine variations know how to use troops.
These three abilities combined make it effective in siege warfare, city defense, field battles, and adaptability.
Of these three abilities, "all warfare is based on deception" is the ultimate in cunning, "separating dangers" is the way to lead troops, and "a general's ability to outwit his strategist" is the quality of a commander.
Zhang Zhao's gaze lingered on "danger" for a moment; he had seen this ability before, in Zhang Jujiu.
Those who possess this ability can share weal and woe with their soldiers and win their hearts, but the price is a lower survival rate after the battle.
Zhang Jujiu possessed this ability back then, having fought dozens of battles, large and small, throughout his life, his body bearing more scars than years. It was a miracle that he lived to the age of sixty-two. Now, Zhang Ruotuo has inherited this ability; it remains to be seen whether it is a blessing or a curse.
Zhang Zhao closed Zhang Ruotuo's information panel and then checked Zhang's information panel.
Family: Zhang
Ancestor: Zhang Zhao (surname Ji)
Clan Chief: Zhang Shuo
Titles: Marquis of Guannei, Lord of the Court
State: Bangzhou, Liang
Class: Noble (Initially, a family of sages)
Clan members: 368
Distinguished Scholars: 11
Clan Reputation: 25300
Status: None
Inheritance:
Family: A distinguished lineage, numerous achievements, and the bloodline of sages.
Military: All's fair in war; military law and discipline; war is based on deception.
Knowledge: Confucian knowledge, military knowledge
Culture: Confucianism – Self-discipline and Restoration of Propriety
Across time and space – the same path in ancient and modern times
Law - head of state
Soldiers – infantry warfare, siege warfare
Ink—Seal Gate Cart, Old Man Listening
It continues to thrive.
The main branch of the Zhang family is just coasting along, and Zhang Zhao has given up on them. Otherwise, he wouldn't have appeared in Zhang Jujiu and his son Zhang Ruotuo's dreams.
He has now received 12 dream visits. After he runs out of his chances, he will enter a cooling-off period, which lasts for three years.
The deceased ancestor is about to begin intervening in family affairs.
Strive on, my descendants, and dedicate your hearts to the great cause of the Zhang family's unification of the world!