Sharing a Pavilion With You
Chapter 159: The Emperor Grants a Marriage

Chapter 159: The Emperor Grants a Marriage

[Suggested song for this Chapter – Adagio For Strings, Peter Samuels]

Arughtai’s Chief of Staff made his way uneasily through the enemy soldiers. He was flanked by two of their privates, carrying white flags.

"Where is Commander Bai?" he asked the enemy men as they passed.

They were met with angry looks and shrugs, and the occasional, "up the slope," with a gesture up the steep crevasse wall with the mountain looming over.

Finally, after climbing and scrambling ungracefully up the steep shale slope, he saw a small command tent with the Bai family crest flying on a flag at its peak. He used the scabbard of his sword to drag himself the final distance towards the tent.

"Let the Commander know I’m here to parley," he informed the guards at the entrance curtly.

One of the guards disappeared inside the tent.

Bai Li was reviewing a short message to keep the Emperor informed.

Your Majesty,

We have secured a great victory. Arughtai is under my control along with the bulk of his forces.

Your servant, Commander Bai.

He sealed the message into a tube for a bird and handed it to a runner.

"Report!" called the guard. "Commander Bai, a man from Arughtai’s forces wishes to speak with you. He says he’s come to parley."

"Tell them to wait. I’ll speak to them when I finish with my Chief Strategist."

The man nodded, clearly satisfied to keep the enemy waiting. He turned on his heel and exited the tent.

"The Imperial Order is very clear and specific, Commander," said Mei Renlong seriously, re-reading the missive for the fifth time. "It’s a royal order. Any deviation could be treated as treason. You might be executed."

"There are more than fifty thousand men in that valley, Mei Renlong. We can’t kill fifty thousand men in cold blood. Prisoners, no less!"

"The Emperor foresaw this exact situation, and he doesn’t want the remnants of this army to regroup and fight us again. I don’t see any solution other than executing them all," said Mei Renlong heavily.

Bai Li put his head in his hands for a moment, before raising his face and looking the man he hoped would become his brother-in-law, directly in the eyes.

"If I kill them all, apart from my own reputation and soul, which will be destroyed, I will also be taking the lives of a generation of husbands, fathers and sons, leaving their womenfolk destitute. There’s a very special place in hell reserved for a man who commits such a sin in cold blood. Even if I was to be tried for treason, my own life is nothing in comparison with the lives of fifty thousand men..."

"It won’t just be you, Commander," warned Mei Renlong. "It could be your entire clan. Your parents, your grandparents, your aunts, uncles and cousins..."

"After winning a victory like this, I’m willing to take a bet the Emperor will spare my clan."

He didn’t think his father would blame him. He would likely make the same call if it were him.

Mei Renlong looked doubtful. "It’s a big bet, and you’ll be knowingly disobeying a direct order from the Emperor. Your men will have to divulge that they delivered the royal order to you."

"I wouldn’t want it any other way. No one else must be blamed for this except for me. It’s my decision. I control these men and this theatre of war," Bai Li spoke stiffly.

"His Majesty had no details of our plan. He would never have foreseen that we would trap the bulk of Arughtai’s army alive, and then still want us to kill them all. Our Lord would have been expecting a huge battle with many casualties on both sides, and a small number of prisoners if we were to be the victors. Word of a slaughter of this magnitude, of unarmed men we’ve trapped with rockslides, won’t reflect well on our Lord, even if I were to take the sole blame for it."

Bai Li straightened his shoulders, making his decision as he spoke.

"No. I won’t be party to that. I will explain myself to His Majesty. We will maim the hands of these soldiers, then set them free, except for Arughtai who must be brought with us to kneel before our Lord."

Mei Renlong nodded. It was a reasonable compromise, though he still feared for Bai Li.

"Yes, Commander. I’ll call for your Sergeant."

At that moment, Ju Rong entered the tent.

Bai Li stood to greet him. "Good man. You made it back alive," he gripped the man’s wrist. "How many men did we lose?"

"Too many," his Lieutenant looked shattered. "Too many good men, but we’ve won a great victory, Commander. Hopefully the end result is worth the sacrifice we’ve made."

"It will be, Rong... it has to be... I have a grim order for you and the men, I’m afraid."

"What is it, Sir?" Ju Rong looked weary, like nothing could surprise him anymore.

"The only prisoner we’ll be taking is Arughtai. Get down there and take him first. As for the rest of them, cut off their thumb and index fingers, both hands, then set them free."

The Lieutenant’s eyes bugged. Unfortunately, it turned out that there were still orders that could surprise him...

"There... there are..."

"I’m aware of how many men there are, Rong. Are you questioning my command?"

"No Sir!" the man turned, about to leave the tent and start the gory process.

This would not only prevent these men from ever holding a sword or a bow and arrow again, he thought, but it would significantly maim them, so that they couldn’t write, paint, craft things with their hands...

"Sir, what do you want us to do with their severed digits?" he had to ask it.

He knew that the Mongol men would ask him.

"Give them back to them if they want them. Otherwise bury them all together and place a marker there. Make sure you keep a record of the number of men we maim. Provide them with bandages. We don’t want anyone bleeding to death. Tell the men to be as humane as they can be, given the circumstances."

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THE EMPEROR’S STUDY

"Ha, ha, ha! He’s done it! He’s beaten that Mongol devil! Well done Commander Bai! You’ve outperformed what even I thought you capable of!"

Meili couldn’t hide her smile of pure delight. At least she knew Bai Li was alive, and he’d had a great victory. She hoped all of her brothers were alive and well...

The Emperor looked at Meili and found her face lit with joy.

"Your favoured suitor appears to have won the war, Meili. He might just have won the right to your hand in marriage after all," he looked at her speculatively.

Meili blushed and looked at her feet. "I...if that’s your will, my Lord," she stammered.

"Don’t play coy with me now, girl. Are you trying to suggest that’s not what you’ve been angling for?"

"I’ve never asked you for such a thing, Lord, but I’ll admit I would be very pleased if you granted me such a marriage."

"Oh, you’ll admit to that will you, little beauty," he chuckled. "He’s a good man, your fiancée, you’ll be lucky to have him, and he’ll be very lucky to have you."