One month has passed since the Guren Awards.
Zhao, which had been attacking Qin frequently, was now quiet, as if its previous invasions had never happened. The border guards, who had been engaged in skirmishes with Zhao on a daily basis, were confused by the sudden peace and became even more vigilant, fearing that it was a sign of a major storm.
The same was true for those who run the country at the center.
For several years now, Zhao has repeatedly sent large armies against Qin, but this came to a sudden halt two months ago when Qin's pride and joy, the "Red Lotus General," killed Lan Xiangru.
There's no way we wouldn't be on guard.
Since there was no significant information from the spies, the central government had stationed two generals in Suicheng, near the border with Zhao, in case something were to happen.
"What on earth is Zhao thinking...?"
The one who muttered this from atop the walls of Sui Castle was a general known as Changwenjun. He was known as a rugged wise man, and possessed great talent both as a military officer and a civil servant.
"Hey hey hey, maybe Zhao doesn't have time to attack Qin anymore..."
Glaring at the Zhao forces, Changwenjun muttered a few words, and the one who responded was Wang Qi, the man who was said to be closest to becoming a great general. Wang Qi crossed his arms and spoke, to which Changwenjun asked, "What do you mean?"
"You know that General Hongren killed Lin Xiangru two months ago, right, Changwen?"
"Oh, I know that, but..."
"It's likely that this is why other countries are attacking us."
Ouki paused and took a small breath.
"Lan Xiangru rose to the rank of senior minister through sheer eloquence, and was even involved in the country's defense strategy. On top of that, he was also an excellent general, and his mere existence was a deterrent to other countries. However, Lan Xiangru was killed by General Hongren. The states of Yan, Qi, Wei, and Han, which share borders with Zhao, will likely see this as an opportunity to invade with large armies."
Masafumi was satisfied with the explanation and muttered, "I see..." However, he then opened his mouth and asked a question.
"Why don't we attack Zhao? If Zhao is being attacked by other countries and Qin can't do anything, then now is the time to attack Zhao."
This opinion was a reasonable one. The Zhao state had been invading the Qin state on an extraordinary scale for several years, and as a result, a considerable number of castles had been taken and a great deal of human resources had been lost.
Many soldiers and people harbor grudges against Zhao. Lord Changwen has said that now is the time to attack, both to settle their grievances and to reclaim their lost castle.
"Cococo, if I could do that, I would."
"?!"
Ou Ki's smile deepened fearlessly. Chang Wenjun's eyes widened at his words. He opened his mouth to say something, but Ou Ki began to speak again before he could.
"Right now it's Wei rather than Zhao."
"Wei...?"
"Now that the Wei Fire Dragons are seven, Wei has begun to seriously expand its territory. It seems that they are currently turning their attention to Zhao, but we don't know when they will turn their attention to Qin. So—"
"It's not easy to attack Zhao, is it?"
"That's right."
After saying that, the two of them shut their mouths and looked into the distance.
Wei's Wei Fire Dragon is weaker than the Three Great Heavens and the Six Great Generals who have yet to be assembled. Each of them is so selfish that they refuse to cooperate without the King's orders.
However, when two or more generals cooperated, they displayed incredible power, especially when Wei Huolong's leader Wu Qing and his great military strategist Ling Huang attacked each other in Han.
In just two days, they had captured 40 Han castles. Even though Han was said to be a weak country with few great generals or commanders, this was a result worthy of sending trembling waves through the entire Chinese continent.
Changwenjun narrowed his eyes, looked at Ou Ki and began to speak, "Now that you mention it."
"Who is the general guarding the borders of Wei? I've never heard anything about him..."
"Oh, no, that's not it."
"What?!"
Changwenjun suddenly raised his voice, causing Ou Ki to cover his ears. Then, with a lewd look, he said, "Please don't shout."
"What was that thing you were talking about just now?! You were the one who said we had to be wary of Wei!"
"Hey hey, you're making too much noise, Shobun. There is no general guarding the area, but there is a great general nearby. You know that too, don't you?"
Shobun was taken aback by these words and said, "No way."
"Yes, General Guren."
Ouki smiled happily.
"A month ago, General Red Lotus was awarded White Lotus City, located near the border with Wei. It was not just a reward, but also a deterrent to Wei. With General Red Lotus, who killed Lan Xiangru, one of the Three Great Heavenly Kings, looming over the border, it would be difficult for Wei Fire Dragon, even if he had two or more generals, to attack. On the contrary, there is a possibility that he would be counterattacked, and losing two Wei Fire Dragons at the same time would be a major loss to the country's power."
"So the Great King gave White Lotus Castle to General Guren..."
"Hehe, that's right. General Guren is an extremely battle-crazy maniac. If Wei were to attack, he would gleefully rush out of the castle."
"...Hmm, I see. But on the other hand, the problem is that General Guren might be too aggressive towards Wei."
"That's no problem then."
Ouki puffed out his chest and answered proudly.
"There's a guard."
"Gyou? Ah, that girl."
"Gyou" is a war monster that suddenly appeared in the state of Qin two years ago.
A genius who rose to the rank of general of the Qin state at just 15 years old. After her first battle as an aide to Ou Ki, she later joined the Guren army and participated in over 100 battles.
Having achieved military success in every battle, Gyou was promoted at an extraordinary speed and is now a general on par with Ou Ki.
"I have heard about that girl. A truly terrible monster has appeared in the State of Qin."
"Hey hey hey, calling him monstrous is an exaggeration. But it's true that Gyou's talent is monstrous. Even I, who knows him best, was amazed by his talent. I'd like to ask General Guren what it took to make Gyou grow to such an extent."
Ou Ki uncrossed his arms and said, "Let's get back to the topic at hand."
"With Gong here, General Guren won't invade Wei too much."
"...Is he playing the role of a suppressor?"
"Yes, we can't meet in person so we communicate through letters, and he wrote that things are difficult."
"That's true. For better or worse, General Guren is stubborn. I've heard that when he was not yet the Great General, he disobeyed orders more than a thousand times, both large and small."
"Hehehe, and yet he always led the Qin army to victory, so those in his position at the time must have been unable to handle him."
"Really... Gyou really listens to what he's told."
Then Changwenjun and Wang Qi had a long conversation.
They mostly talked about each other. When the sun went down and it was time for dinner, they returned to their lodgings.
From the next day, Wang Qi and Changwenjun were assigned to guard the border at Suicheng for another month, and after a while, they received orders from headquarters to switch guard duties with other troops.
Wang Qi, who was given a day off as a reward, returned to his mansion to rest after parting ways with Shobun-kun, who had other work to do. After that, Wang Qi arranged for a carriage to go to a certain place.
"Hehehe... Now, let's go to Byakuren Castle. It's been two years since I last visited Gō, so I'm really looking forward to seeing how much he's grown."
Ouki said this and got into the carriage.
The occasional "Mmhmm" or "Cock-a-Cock" that could be heard from inside the carriage sounding like a happy man seemed to frighten the driver, but that was another story. And then, two weeks after Ou Ki left the mansion.
We arrived at the giant castle, Byakuren Castle.
"Gyou, we finally get to meet."
Ouki smiled gently and passed through the gate.
Thank you for reading.