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Chapter 14 Part 1 Broken Oaths and Bitter Hearts
The land of Chu spans the Yangtze River basin, and farther south lies the Baiyue tribes; after Ying Zheng destroyed Chu, the Baiyue shared a direct border with the Empire. Ying Zheng integrated Chu's military and then ordered Wang Jian to continue advancing into the Baiyue lands on the one hand to repel Baiyue incursions, on the other to consume Chu's veteran soldiers on that frontier. Knowing well the peril of towering merit under a suspicious lord, Wang Jian declined on grounds of age and infirmity, retiring from imperial affairs to live out his days, leaving his son Wang Ben and grandson Wang Li in imperial service. After the unification of the Seven States, Ying Zheng ordered Wang Ben to resign and serve his father at home; upon Wang Jian's death, Wang Ben insisted on mourning for his father and refused further imperial summons. The Wang family's military merit for generations more than sufficed to warrant ennoblement; many thought the Wangs were discontent, but they knew Ying Zheng had no intention of parceling lands as fiefs, and thus the Wangs chose self-preservation.
At present, Zhao Tuo commands the Baiyue frontier with 200,000 troops, and the Baiyue region remains the main theater of war after unification. With constant campaigns, Chu-land must supply Zhao Tuo's armies; it is thus more desolate than the other six states and more resentful of the Empire. In the complex terrain of the Two Rivers region, Chu folk avoid imperial conscription by forming bandit villages, sheltering each other.
Upon entering Chu, the party was received by a stronghold supported by the Xiang clan; each person was given their own dwelling, no longer crowding as in Sanghai. Da Tiechui, being of military background, quickly bonded with the villagers, and Daozhi once a bandit chief, slick as oil felt right at home; the two lived like fish in water, drinking and gambling nightly and not returning by evening. Xue Nu, Duanmu Rong, and Gao Jianli disliked bustle and chose a quiet place to live.
The Yin-Yang School arose in Chu, rooted in Daoism, absorbing many uncanny arts from Ba, Shu, and the Baiyue; their proper Daoist wonderwork carried a bent of eerie strangeness, often mistaken as heterodox. They seldom managed worldly affairs, earning a poor reputation among Chu's people, who feared them. Dongjun Yanfei followed that pattern living apart, she built a new residence in the woods not far from the stronghold and lived there with her daughter and son-in-law; with Yin-Yang formations set about, the villagers revered her like an immortal and dared not disturb. The three made a ruckus there mother and daughter together with Tianming pleasuring them until their cries rang out but none knew.
The others lived in the central luxurious manor. Shaoyu well knew that leading soldiers required personal charisma and absolute obedience; once an image takes root, however strange the order, it feels proper, uniting soldiers' hearts and making them invincible. Upon entering the stronghold, he fought a hundred at once, one man challenging the village; he beat surrounding strongholds until none dared disobey him, calling him "Hegemon." He even showed a feat of lifting a tripod a miracle to commoners, who thought him the reincarnation of a god cementing his prestige and letting him walk unrestrained.
Chu folk are open and worship heroes not like the Central Plains, where the kingly Way is deeply rooted. Since the Yellow Emperor, love for the people has spread; Yao and Shun abdicated, Tang and Wu smote tyrants, Duke of Zhou cherished the people Central Plains folk revered chivalry that strikes down the strong and helps the weak. Among the Seven States, Qin's harsh law earned them infamy for cruelty, and Chu was dismissed as barbaric hence the scorn. Confucius summarized the royal Way in a single word, "Ren" (benevolence), the foundation of Confucian governance.
Shaoyu was as heroic under the sheets as beneath them; he made Stone Orchid beg for mercy, unable to get out of bed, and others whispered they were ambiguous. Shaoyu received no shortage of flirtation married or unmarried, young or old eyes devouring him; but knowing Stone Orchid's jealousy, he didn't give others a chance.
Though Yanfei kept a tight watch, Tianming still spent more than half his day in the village; besides learning mechanisms, he roamed with Shaoyu, challenging others. He at last understood what Shaoyu meant by "one call, myriad responses; press forward, all support."
One day, free, he went to find Shaoyu but found Stone Orchid daydreaming alone. "Stone Orchid, why alone where's Shaoyu?"
"Word came from the village those Qin soldiers came again to seize grain and women; Shaoyu led people to deal with it."
"These Qin soldiers are vile again and again they come; Shaoyu should kill them."
"Why not you, oh great hero chivalry is your Mohist creed, isn't it?"
"Don't mock me I've never killed anyone. I want to go, but Mother-in-law and Xiao Gao won't allow it."
At mention of Yanfei, a flicker of hostility crossed Stone Orchid's eyes; she sniffed lightly. To build the Mirage, the Yin-Yang School invaded her sacred land and even uprooted the "Fusang Tree"; she had no kind face for Yin-Yang folk. "You do heed them!" she said with a trace of anger.
What angered her was not this but that Tianming truly hadn't touched her in some time. Confident in her looks and figure, she hadn't cared when he said he would refrain; with her body and a bit of flirting, what man wouldn't fold? But time passed and he held fast, making her attempts fall flat; it irked her. She was a lusty imp; with only Shaoyu and not two men, the stimulation fell short; she was often left wanting only more vexed.
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