The sun had set. A peculiar silence had descended upon the Governor's hall. The flickering amber glow from the tall bronze lamps danced across the great silk map that carpeted the entire table. Hēiláng (黑狼) stared at the map with a stony expression and a piercing gaze, lost in thought. To his right stood Liángwáng (良王) his dignity tempered by a visible edge of anxiety. The remaining members—General Xīn (辛), Mùyě (牧野) and His Excellency Zhèng Lí (正黎)—stood gathered around them, their eyes fixed on the map with breath-taking intensity.
Liángwáng broke the silence, addressing the Prince:
"I have dispatched fifty thousand troops to the south as the first wave. They shall soon strike camp at this location." He pointed his finger towards a strategic region.
Hēiláng nodded in approval. "Good. General Xīn, you are to join them in three days' time with another fifty thousand soldiers. I want you to take supreme command."
Xīn performed a solemn zuòyī (作揖): "I am ready to serve."
Yet, amidst these grand manoeuvres, Zhèng Lí asked with hesitation:
" Your Highness, what of the threat from the Northern barbarians?"
Without lifting his eyes from the map, Hēiláng replied: "I ride for Sōng Lǐng (松岭) tonight with two hundred cavalry to join the forces stationed there."
Upon hearing this, General Xīn said with a hint of trepidation:
"But they outnumber you nearly three to one. This is suicide!"
Hēiláng remarked:
"We shan't be engaging them head-on, so their numbers need not worry us."
Baffled, Xīn asked:
"Then from which point do you intend to strike?!"
Hēiláng raised his hand and tapped a spot on the map several times firmly with two fingers:
"At the Tiě-Mén (铁门) defile."
Xīn turned pale.
"So this was the 'clever' plan you spoke of?"
Hēiláng seething with suppressed rage, his sharp eyes gleaming through dishevelled strands of hair; without turning his head, he cut him off with deadly composure:
"The stationed forces will blockade the exit and rain fire upon them from the cliffs; the cavalry and I shall then pierce through the very heart of their army from the rear."
Zhèng Lí intervened:
"A brilliant strategy, provided the barbarians actually take the risk of traversing that defile!"
General Xīn added immediately: "Precisely! That is the rub!" Turning to Hēiláng, he gestured toward the map with the hilt of his sheathed sword and continued:
"Look here, Your Highness; once they breach the defensive wall, they will enter the Qīng Qiū (青丘) plains. To reach the city, they have two paths: either the defile, which is the shortest route, or..."
He pointed further away: "Lake Xuě (雪)… They will undoubtedly choose the second path."
Mùyě said in surprise:
"But General, it's impossible! Because they would require boats to cross the lake."
Xīn turned to him and explained:
"This lake lies at the furthest point of the Northwest, and in this season, it is completely frozen over! The ice will easily bear the weight of their horses and infantry. They could bypass us entirely and march straight into the city."
Shadows of fear crept into Liángwáng's eyes as he turned to him:
"I have deployed the troops at the defile according to the Prince's command, but your analysis is troubling. Please, elaborate."
Xīn continued gravely:
"They know that by breaching the Northern wall, we shall be alerted. They assume that because time is short, we cannot muster a grand army from Hǎilán (海蓝). Thus, they expect us to send a small contingent to bait them in the defile. Therefore, they will circumvent us via the lake to take the city from behind."
Throughout this, Hēiláng had stood with arms crossed, listening in a terrifying silence. Suddenly, he spoke with absolute authority:
"The barbarians will come through the defile."
Exasperated by such stubbornness, asked:
"How can you be so certain?"
Hēiláng replied: "It is not yet mid-winter. The lake ice is not thick enough for the number of warriors they carry; they aren't fools enough to drown half their forces, especially when they are short-handed. Secondly, the lake route wastes a full day as it requires advancing West. They wish to pillage the city before reinforcements arrive and we are fully equipped. Speed is their only weapon."
In a tone bordering on protest, Xīn said:
"But I think quite the opposite. You have presumed them fools who will walk blindly into a trap. Prince, you are still young. This is your first encounter with the barbarians. You know nothing of the psychology of warring with them and are acting on impulse!"
He then turned to Liángwáng: " Your Excellency, allow me to send at least a thousand men there."
Hēiláng shout suddenly erupted, sending a shiver through those present:
"Did you not hear what I said?! The responsibility for this war lies with me. Your duty is to lead the main army South, not to meddle in my plans!"
A deathly silence took hold. Liángwáng looked between Hēiláng's wrathful eyes and Xīn's flushed face. Finally, he turned to Zhèng Lí and said:
"Provide the Prince with the cavalry he requested."
He gave a formal bow: "It shall be done, Father."
A cool evening breeze was passing through the courtyard, tugging at the edges of Lady Shīyí (诗仪)'s silk robes. She was treading in pensive silence when the sudden, swift stride of a man across the grounds broke her train of thought.
It was Hēiláng. He was descending the stone steps of the Governor's hall with urgent pace, barking clipped commands to Mùyě. He did not so much as glance aside. Shīyí stood still, her eyes narrowing as she followed their path.
"Is that not Prince Hēiláng?" she murmured under her breath.
Her attendant, keeping a half-step behind, bowed her head. "It is, My Lady."
"Don't you know why he came to Hǎilán?" She asked, her voice laced with suspicion.
"I cannot say for certain, My Lady," the attendant replied cautiously. "But… word is he spent the entire day beyond the estate walls with Lady Hàn Yuè (汉月)."
Shīyí's brows knitted together. "What business has he with Hàn Yuè?"
The attendant merely offered a shrug. Shīyí cast another distrustful look toward Hēiláng's receding figure. Without turning back, she asked:
"Is there any other news today that you have yet to report?"
The attendant drew closer, her voice dropping.
"Indeed, there is. A monk from the Tiānshèng (天聖) Temple is currently in Hǎilán. It is said he has come to seek alms for the temple's restoration."
"Restoration?" Shīyí said with a flicker of impatience. "Why are they not receiving funds from their own state?"
"Because, the cost of rebuilding is far beyond the means of their state. The temple hall has been utterly razed... They say that on the very night the moon turned to blood, a bolt of lightning struck from the heavens, and the fire consumed everything." attendant said.
A sudden tremor ran through Shīyí. The colour drained from her face; she turned sharply. "You... did you say lightning?"
Taken aback by her sudden intensity, the attendant stammered,
"Yes… The news is old, but it seemed so far-fetched I did not dare mention it. I thought it naught but common gossip, until the monk himself confirmed it."
"Tell me...," Shīyí asked, her voice sounding as if from the depths of a well,
"before the lightning struck, did thick, dark clouds not shroud the moon?"
The attendant recoiled a step, her eyes wide with astonishment. "Yes, My Lady! Precisely so. But... how could you possibly know?"
Shīyí gave no answer. Her gaze remained fixed on the stone carvings of the courtyard as the pieces of a terrifying puzzle fell into place.
"Why has the monk come here for aid? Is the Tàicháng (太常) office [An office of religious affairs in ancient China] in the Capital not responsible for such matters?"
The attendant glanced about and lowered her voice even further.
"The gates of the Capital have been barred, My Lady. No one enters, and no one leaves. It appears something has occurred at the heart of power that they intend to keep hidden."
Shīyí took a deep breath—a breath that shivered between the cold of Hǎilán and the dread within her. She turned to her attendant with sudden authority.
"I must see His Excellency Liángwáng and the Lady. Make the arrangements for an immediate audience. Now!"