Not One Real Chanshi

Tuang Chen bowed her head humbly.

- "This servant has been given the opportunity to hear the wisdom of the marshals in this matter, and shall take the advice she is not worthy of but which has still been given her out of the benevolence of the wiser ones. May the Celestial Dragons shed luck and long age on the marshals," she said timidly, and exited the room. Had Shui been present, he would have been able to tell that his mother was seething inside. Still, a lifetime of being a Shou, and a high-ranking officer at that, had taught her to behave properly in situations such as this. Chen had traveled a long way to meet the council of marshals in charge of all the garrisons in the province.

She had then proceeded to give a report of a perceived threat, Yun-Men Khan, who was the single leader of the nomad tribes by now, and might plan to attack Shou Lung. The spirit warrior Sarevok Perorate, with his powerful family, had described the tactics of the raiding squad of the Khan's after Chen had managed to convince him that she meant no harm to his family. She frowned, worried. It was a clever and ruthless attack carried out by a trained force of confident and skilled warriors. Was it their fault that they happened to meet a troupe of immortal beings with powers worthy of the Celestial Court when they expected nearly defenseless trade caravans?

That in itself was still not enough to warrant a great worry. Surely the trade between Faerun and Shou Lung had already suffered in the short term, but if all the Khan wanted was to unite the tribes, she would probably regulate the tolls once the situation stabilized. After all, it would also be to her benefit if the merchants returned to the Golden Way. Chen certainly preferred the idea of having scattered, skirmishing tribes as her neighbour to a united empire, but Shou Lung could deal with a content emperor. What really had her worried was the recent developments. First, the skilled weaponsmith Chen used for her garrison had disappeared with no trace. Not long after that the garrison in the south next to them had lost their siegemaster in a fire. Apparently the man had been smoking in bed and burned to a crisp. It was a blow indeed, as he had dedicated his whole career to siege warfare and the art of fortification.

Now, if the Khan was intelligent, she wouldn't just barge into a wall with light cavalry. The Tuigan warlord had tried to invade Chen's country some decades ago by a combination of using a spearhead breakthrough and a large cavalry force. The retreating Shou had burned everything down behind them, and eventually Yamun Khahan had turned west, frustrated that he couldn't keep his large army supplied with the ruined spoils. The war with the Western nations had been the end of his empire. And now, the burned soil had begun to heal, to feed Shou Lung and its denizens again. Chen didn't want to see her country burn again. Her jaw was firm, her eyes darkening in frustration.

She had explained to the council that she suspected the Khan might have kidnapped, bribed or otherwise arranged these disappearances. Proof? She had no proof, of course, but this was a real threat! She had almost raised her voice at that point, seeing the smug expressions of the fat, lazy marshals, not one real chanshi among them... Yes, wise ones, certainly a tong or the triads could have kidnapped the blacksmith, after all she was a rich woman, skilled artisan as she was and such kidnappings were not rare at all. And, naturally it was not lost on her that the siegemaster was dead and thus unable to part with his knowledge even if he wanted to. At this point she had, very softly, explained that she suspected the corpse might have been that of another man with similar build, and the siegemaster was really with the Khan, voluntarily or involuntarily.

Marshal Eng had scoffed slightly at this and smiled politely, looking the other marshals in the eye.

- "Ah. The reasoning of Commander Tuang is most wise and imaginative. How altruistic of her, much to the fortune of our eternal Empire, that she chose to serve this garrison, far away from the more... spectacular provinces."

Marshal Jing had replied in a kind and enthusiastic tone.

- "Ah, but she did not apply for the assignment, dear Eng! She was given the position as a reward for her services to the Emperor and the mighty armies in T'u Lung campaign. Of course, many a more superficial officer might want to serve in the central provinces instead of this struggling north, but the Emperor knew she would want nothing better than sacrifice her personal entertainments in order to give this province and its northernmost garrison the gift of her talent we all would do well to bow to."

An unanimous front, they smiled at her. Humiliated to the core, Chen had faced the scorn with a soft, pleased smile and thanked them for praising her so.

When they then inquired what she wanted to do about it, she knew it was doomed before starting to explain. New fortifications, intelligence efforts, triple troops at the walls, new defense tactics... it all would cost a lot of resources. They had listened politely and promised to think about it.

Chen made her horse gallop faster than she really should have, cursing and holding her blade with another hand so that it almost broke her skin. How she loved Shou Lung! Even these grainy sands, tufts of gray grass, the looming mountains... and souther, where she was born, the rivers, the pine forests, the pagodas and lanterns of cities... the jungles and the bamboo groves, the bustling cities, solitary monasteries, the most wonderful nation on the Red Earth.

She had never wanted to be anything but a chanshi, a servant and guardian of the beloved country. And let all the demons damn her if she let her country burn again! What could she do?


chanshi = warrior