The Letter to the Empress Dowager
Yet another story of the Shang Wars.
The battle had raged hard the past week, with plenty of deaths on both sides. The Generalissimo had fought hard, and repelled the enemy. He quickly sent reports to the capital of the situation, and was taking a nap when the reports from the capital came in. The Aide-de-Camp could see the frowns on his face as he read the report. The Generalissimo sighed and passed the letter to the Aide-de-Camp.
It was disturbing news. Apparently, one of the small towns had been depleted of all its men for the heavy fighting at the border. The women were upset after being separated from their men for so long, and had hung banners in the town protesting the fact. The General in charge of the municipality was a young General who had no experience in fighting battles, and so had been placed in charge of domestic defence. He had rounded the women up, put them on trial and would execute them all in a week’s time.
The Aide-de-Camp understood the problem immediately. An entire battalion of men fighting with them were the husbands of these women. The news would hit morale hard.
“Perhaps we should send in a petition to the Emperor, sir?” He asked.
“Aide-de-Camp, it would not work. The General was hand-picked by the Emperor himself, and the Emperor has very high regards for him. We all know that he is a very good apple-polisher, and the Emperor will support whatever he has decided. No, I will have to petition the Empress Dowager herself.”
The Aide-de-Camp gasped, “But that would offend the Emperor tremendously! There is no way he would let you off after this petition! I would have to advise you against it, sir!”
The Generalissimo gazed sharply at his Aide-de-Camp, “And without this battalion of men on my side, how on earth am I going to win this war? The citizens will suffer if the Barbarians break through our defences. No, I cannot afford that. If the Emperor is going to look for an excuse to execute me after this petition, so be it! Prepare the ink and parchment!”
The Aide-de-Camp nodded. He had fought with the man long enough to know his heart and his passion. Even as he pondered the implications of the execution of the Generalissimo, he could not help but think of some disturbing news he had heard from his friends in the Emperor’s courts. Apparently, the Emperor intended to replace the Generalissimo with his favourite General were he to die in battle.
The Aide-de-Camp shook his head. He would have to fight a war and prevent a mutiny at the same time were that to happen. Perhaps he would really have to think seriously of retiring to till the lands if the Generalissimo were to go.
The battle had raged hard the past week, with plenty of deaths on both sides. The Generalissimo had fought hard, and repelled the enemy. He quickly sent reports to the capital of the situation, and was taking a nap when the reports from the capital came in. The Aide-de-Camp could see the frowns on his face as he read the report. The Generalissimo sighed and passed the letter to the Aide-de-Camp.
It was disturbing news. Apparently, one of the small towns had been depleted of all its men for the heavy fighting at the border. The women were upset after being separated from their men for so long, and had hung banners in the town protesting the fact. The General in charge of the municipality was a young General who had no experience in fighting battles, and so had been placed in charge of domestic defence. He had rounded the women up, put them on trial and would execute them all in a week’s time.
The Aide-de-Camp understood the problem immediately. An entire battalion of men fighting with them were the husbands of these women. The news would hit morale hard.
“Perhaps we should send in a petition to the Emperor, sir?” He asked.
“Aide-de-Camp, it would not work. The General was hand-picked by the Emperor himself, and the Emperor has very high regards for him. We all know that he is a very good apple-polisher, and the Emperor will support whatever he has decided. No, I will have to petition the Empress Dowager herself.”
The Aide-de-Camp gasped, “But that would offend the Emperor tremendously! There is no way he would let you off after this petition! I would have to advise you against it, sir!”
The Generalissimo gazed sharply at his Aide-de-Camp, “And without this battalion of men on my side, how on earth am I going to win this war? The citizens will suffer if the Barbarians break through our defences. No, I cannot afford that. If the Emperor is going to look for an excuse to execute me after this petition, so be it! Prepare the ink and parchment!”
The Aide-de-Camp nodded. He had fought with the man long enough to know his heart and his passion. Even as he pondered the implications of the execution of the Generalissimo, he could not help but think of some disturbing news he had heard from his friends in the Emperor’s courts. Apparently, the Emperor intended to replace the Generalissimo with his favourite General were he to die in battle.
The Aide-de-Camp shook his head. He would have to fight a war and prevent a mutiny at the same time were that to happen. Perhaps he would really have to think seriously of retiring to till the lands if the Generalissimo were to go.
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