Kwan Chan Sen met the emperor at the base of the steps. 'A marvelous address, Divine One,' the minister said, bowing low. 'General Batu has not yet finished his strategy session. May I invite you and the mandarins to attend?'
The emperor glanced at Batu, who remained standing at strict attention in front of the army commanders. 'Yes,' the Son of Heaven said, 'I think I would like that.'
As the Divine One and the mandarins turned toward the command tent, Batu frowned. With spies loose in the summer palace, he had no wish to discuss strategy in front of the mandarins. Besides, he suspected Kwan's invitation was simply another maneuver in the minister's campaign to discredit him.
After the Son of Heaven entered the tent, Batu and the other commanders quickly followed. Kwan had arranged things so the emperor and mandarins were seated at the table in front, leaving no room for Batu. The intention, of course, was to reinforce the young general's position as Kwan's subordinate.
As Batu walked forward to stand at the table, the emperor's face remained impassive, as the general knew it would for the rest of the meeting. During the past week, he had seen enough to know that the Divine One held himself above the petty politics of high bureaucracy.
With the emperor present, the army commanders filed into the tent quickly and silently. It only took a few minutes before the meeting began.
Kwan seized the initiative, placing his arms on the table and saying, 'Here we are, General Batu. What do you intend to do with us?'
Batu bit back his anger and turned to address his subordinates, the army commanders. 'Our enemies move with the speed of the wind and the precision of the stars,' he said. 'They are barbarians, but they are cunning and sophisticated barbarians who employ all the war tactics described in the Book of Heaven, and many that are not. If we are to defeat these invaders, we must never underestimate them.'
Batu paused, and Kwan took the opening to speak again. 'Surely your plan consists of more than not underestimating the enemy.'
The general from Chukei looked over his shoulder at Kwan. 'It does,' he confirmed without elaborating. Almost certainly, anything he said with the mandarins present would find its way to the ears of spies.
'Would you be so kind as to explain?' Kwan pressed, a faint sneer on his wrinkled lips.
The young general frowned, trying to think of a way to refuse without insulting the mandarins. He glanced at Ju-Hai Chou for help. The Minister of State's face betrayed no hint of sympathy, and Batu realized that Ju-Hai expected him to work his own way out of this.
Finally, Batu decided to reveal a partial truth. He said, 'The fifty thousand men in the noble armies will ride north-west, toward Yenching, to engage the barbarians.'
He purposefully did not mention that Tzu Hsuang would lead that force. The nobles were a proud and contentious lot. They would not accept the command of Batu's father-in-law until the young general had firmly established his own authority.
Fortunately, Kwan pressed along another line. 'What is your intention for the provincial armies?' the old man asked, his milky eyes fixed on Batu's face.
'They will go due west to secure Shou Kuan,' Batu said. He did not enjoy lying in the Divine One's presence, but he could not reveal his true intention.
As it was, an astonished murmur rustled through the tent. Batu's plan ignored one of the most basic dictums in the Book of Heaven: Never split forces in the face of the enemy.
The murmur grew louder, and Kwan could not suppress a grin. The minister's smile gave Batu a clue as to what the old man was doing. The minister had certainly heard about the secrecy with which Batu had gone about his preparations. The old man must have suspected that the younger general would refuse to divulge his entire strategy in front of so many people. Without all the details, any plan could appear poorly conceived.
Batu remembered one of Sin Kow's maxims: 'When one discovers a trap, it is not enough to disarm it. One must turn the trap against the man who created it.' The young general decided to reverse his strategy and play along with the minister.
After allowing Batu's subcommanders to murmur in astonishment for several seconds, Kwan raised his voice loud enough to be heard. 'So, you're splitting the army?'
'Yes,' Batu replied, doing his best to feign ignorance.
'What's wrong with that?'
As he had expected, the tent erupted into a chorus of urgent whispers. Kwan's wrinkled face settled into a smirk of satisfaction, but the minister carefully avoided doing anything that the emperor might construe as sowing discontent. If Batu was going to draw the old man into a foolish mistake, he knew he had to provide more bait.
The young general added, 'Under Tzu Hsuang's leadership, the noble armies-'
Batu needed to say no more. Twenty nobles jumped to their feet, voicing indignation and outrage. The five provincial generals moved toward Kwan, all expressing reservations about Batu's experience.
Beaming with satisfaction, Kwan allowed the pandemonium to continue for several moments. Feigning a look of confusion and pain, Batu scanned the room as though searching for a friend. His only solid ally, Tzu Hsuang, was frowning, and the emperor's weary face betrayed doubt about choosing Batu to lead the war.
Finally, Kwan moved in for the kill. Rising to his feet, he lifted his hands for silence. The room slowly fell quiet, and, with a triumphant expression, the old man addressed Batu. 'General, the plan you have outlined ignores every dictum of basic strategy. Surely, you can't be serious.'
Doing his best to appear unsure of himself, Batu glanced from Kwan to his father-in-law to the emperor, then back to the old minister. As if trying to hedge, he said, 'Admittedly, I haven't worked out all the details, but this is my general plan. It's the best I can do.'
A chorus of angry grumbles ran through the tent. Kwan closed his eyes and shook his head. After a lengthy pause, the minister again motioned the crowd into silence. With an air of extreme reluctance, the old man turned to the emperor. 'Divine One, it is with the greatest reluctance that I must insist General Batu be replaced with a more competent officer.'
Several nobles voiced their agreement.
The Divine One frowned, then looked at Batu with an expression that seemed half confusion and half anger. The young general returned the appraising look with as steady a gaze as he could summon. His gambit had worked. He had forced Kwan into asking the emperor to choose between them. Now, he could only hope the Son of Heaven would choose correctly.
Help came from an unexpected corner. Ju-Hai Chou turned toward the emperor. 'Divine One, if I may speak?'
The Son of Heaven nodded. 'We wish you would.'
'As you know, I am not a military man. Still, I think there is more to General Batu's plan than is apparent at first glance.' He cast an evil eye toward Kwan, who suddenly frowned in concern.
The emperor nodded and turned a thoughtful gaze to Batu, then to Kwan, and finally back to Ju-Hai. 'As you say, you are not a military man, First Left Grand Councilor, but we thank you for your opinion.'
Kwan smiled at the emperor's words, confident that the Divine One had disregarded Ju-Hai's endorsement.
After another moment's thought, the Divine One addressed Kwan. 'Minister, am I to take it that as General Batu's superior, you do not approve of his plan?'
The old man nodded. 'It would be a disaster for Shou Lung. The barbarians-'
'If you disapprove of General Batu's plan,' the emperor interrupted, his face impassive and his voice even, 'then you disapprove of my plan.'
Kwan's face withered into a shriveled mask of astonishment. 'But-'
The emperor raised his hand up for silence. 'We have seen how well you understand the barbarians, Minister Kwan. Let us give General Batu his opportunity. Since you do not approve of my choice in generals, I relieve you of responsibility for it. As General of the Northern Marches, Batu Min Ho now reports directly to me.'
Once again, the tent broke into astonished gasps and whispered comments. Kwan rose to his feet. 'I beg you to reconsider,' he gasped. 'This is a grave-'
'That is enough, Kwan Chan!' the emperor said, pointedly turning his head away.
The tent immediately fell silent. The old mandarin closed his mouth and bowed as deeply as his ancient