The Third Horse
Another story from the Shang Wars series.
The courier brought another petition to the Emperor, while he was in the middle of watching a performance by his consorts. He shook his head as he realised it was from the Generalissimo again. Why anyone fighting at the border could have the time to send petitions was really beyond him, but he read anyway, before chucking it aside.
The Empress, sitting next to his royal throne, picked up the petition. It was a request for more troops, but even more urgently, a few good Generals and gold to build fortifications.
“Your Majesty,” the Empress asked, “The Generalissimo fights hard at the border. Shouldn’t we send what he wants?”
“My Empress, have you heard of the story of the General Tian Yi, who won the horse races against the princes of Qi?”
The Empress nodded. All who were learned in court would have read the works of Sun Bin, even if they were really boring to women like her.
“In order for me to win 2 out of 3 races, I would have to sacrifice a horse to be pitted against the strongest horse on a sure-lose race. Right now, all resources are needed at the royal palace. My best Generals and troops will guard this palace, and fortifications will be built here. The Generalissimo is fighting on land that used to be the Barbarians’ anyway. I will not build fortifications that the Barbarians will use for themselves later. That would be downright stupid.
“In any case, once the Generalissimo and all his troops die off, I will no longer have to deal with all these petitions. He would have done his job of delaying the Barbarian invasions, while I build up the defences at the palace.”
The Empress nodded, and placed the petition down at the table, before letting her eyes return to the dances before her.
The courier brought another petition to the Emperor, while he was in the middle of watching a performance by his consorts. He shook his head as he realised it was from the Generalissimo again. Why anyone fighting at the border could have the time to send petitions was really beyond him, but he read anyway, before chucking it aside.
The Empress, sitting next to his royal throne, picked up the petition. It was a request for more troops, but even more urgently, a few good Generals and gold to build fortifications.
“Your Majesty,” the Empress asked, “The Generalissimo fights hard at the border. Shouldn’t we send what he wants?”
“My Empress, have you heard of the story of the General Tian Yi, who won the horse races against the princes of Qi?”
The Empress nodded. All who were learned in court would have read the works of Sun Bin, even if they were really boring to women like her.
“In order for me to win 2 out of 3 races, I would have to sacrifice a horse to be pitted against the strongest horse on a sure-lose race. Right now, all resources are needed at the royal palace. My best Generals and troops will guard this palace, and fortifications will be built here. The Generalissimo is fighting on land that used to be the Barbarians’ anyway. I will not build fortifications that the Barbarians will use for themselves later. That would be downright stupid.
“In any case, once the Generalissimo and all his troops die off, I will no longer have to deal with all these petitions. He would have done his job of delaying the Barbarian invasions, while I build up the defences at the palace.”
The Empress nodded, and placed the petition down at the table, before letting her eyes return to the dances before her.
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