章 8: Treason
General Sun and General Lu seemed to have finished their business as Lu Qinyi was once more hanging around the courtyard during the day. Today he was practicing his sword, turning this way then that, powerful swings cutting through the air. The leaves of the tree in the courtyard were gradually falling away as time went by, settling on the ground below. But the wind from Lu Qinyi's rapid movements sent them scattering through the air. Fei Li sat to the side, his book placed aside as he was more interested in watching Lu Qinyi. He felt the warmth from the cup in his hand, idly running his fingertips along it's surface. As the temperature was cooling, the teacups used had been switched to ones made of warming stone. Because warming stone remained warm even after it was mined and carved, it was able to keep the tea within the cup warm even in the chilling air.
Assessments of Lu Qinyi's movements rose in his head as he watched. He had good speed and steady footwork. His strength was also impressive and each move was executed with meticulously trained movements. But he would get caught up in his actions, moving too quickly and with too much tunnel visioned focus. Occasionally he would even put too much strength into a swing, setting himself slightly off balance. But his feet were quick to adjust beneath him and recover that balance.
'It seems my experience as a soldier and general has given me a keen eye', Fei Li thought to himself as he lifted his cup to take a sip.
Yang Xun entered the courtyard, walking over to Lu Qinyi who paused to look over at him, his wooden sword lowering. "General Lu, isn't there something you should be doing?" He asked but was met with Lu Qinyi's souring expression.
Lu Qinyi turned his head away, responding with a resolute "No."
Yang Xun sighed, shaking his head at this useless general of theirs. "You can't not oversee the assessments just because you don't want to. Even if you don't feel the need to question any of the skill assessments or Division assignments, you should still go. The soldiers take this as their opportunity to show off to their general, it's good for morale."
The fact that this was all reasonable only made Lu Qinyi more bitter. He turned away further, lifting his sword with the intention to ignore Yang Xun and keep training. Yang Xun stepped forward, intending to grab the other's wrist and drag him to do his duties. He'd done this before and normally this method worked, Lu Qinyi's only resistance was usually just an endless stream of complaints. This time however, Lu Qinyi lifted his sword and pointed it at Yang Xun.
"Spar with me. If you win, I'll oversee the assessments today. If you lose, you'll join me in slacking off today." He said with a grin.
Yang Xun looked at him with disbelief. Not only did he want to slack off, he wanted to drag Yang Xun into it! He could feel anger and frustration welling up in him. "General, you can't be serious."
But Lu Qinyi shrugged, that no good grin on his face. "Why not?"
Yang Xun glared at him before muttering an irritated "Fine." He moved quickly, pushing himself forward and hitting hard into Lu Qinyi's wrist with one hand to loosen the other's grip on his sword. He then used his other hand to hit the sword, freeing it and sending it flying out of reach. "But we aren't fighting with swords."
Lu Qinyi quickly took a few steps back. "You bastard! You know you have the advantage in close combat!" He cursed and would have voiced even more complaints but Yang Xun was pressing in. He was left on the defensive, leaning from one side to the other to dodge Yang Xun's incoming fists. But just as he felt the wind of Yang Xun's attack passing beside his head, Yang Xun used the momentum driving him forward to bring his knee up toward Lu Qinyi. Lu Qinyi was forced to strain backwards, putting off his centre of balance. He took a few stumbling steps back to catch himself.
As Fei Li watched the fight, he realized Yang Xun must be aware that Lu Qinyi's speed wasn't that far off his own. Although Yang Xun was more talented in close combat, Lu Qinyi's swift movements and skillful footwork would still be a problem. Yang Xun was relentless. He must have known he needed to press his advantage as much as possible, if he gave Lu Qinyi a moment to breathe then this fight would become much more even.
Lu Qinyi waited for Yang Xun to press in again, turning to the side slightly to avoid his attack then sending a fist toward Yang Xun's exposed side. Yang Xun quickly pushed off the toes of his feet to move to the side, out of the way of Lu Qinyi's fist. With how each fighter focused on dodging, it seemed this spar would be determined with whoever got hit first. Fei Li leisurely sipped his tea as he watched Lu Qinyi forced to jump about, steadily pressed back by Yang Xun's incessant attacks. They traded moves back and forth, each just nearly dodging until finally, Yang Xun caught Lu Qinyi's wrist. Lu Qinyi hadn't been able to pull back the outstretched hand quick enough. Yang Xun pulled it hard, sending Lu Qinyi forward. He then turned on his feet slightly before sending a hard kick against Lu Qinyi's ribs. The air in Lu Qinyi's lungs was forced out and he crumpled, clutching at where Yang Xun's foot had connected with his side.
Yang Xun held no pity for him, believing he got what he deserved. He even went as far as to taunt him. "Now General, what are you bending over like that for? I held back on that attack just for you."
"Like hell you did," Lu Qinyi hissed between gritted teeth, slowly straightening himself. "My ribs will be bruised for days thanks to you."
Yang Xun pretended to be interested in examining his nails to avoid Lu Qinyi's accusing glare. "But General, you were the one who wanted to spar," he said mildly. Fei Li watched the two over the rim of his tea cup, raising an eyebrow in amusement. Lu Qinyi was seething and just about to scold Yang Xun for his attitude and lack of respect for his general. But a soldier timely interrupted, much to Yang Xun's delight.
The soldier saluted them. "General, Lieutenant, the assessments are about to start." Fei Li frowned as that address of 'Lieutenant' seemed to click into place in his mind. Lieutenant Yang. General Lu's left hand Lieutenant. Young. Talented. Known to be aggressive on the battlefield but not reckless. Often lead troops at the forefront of attacks if not by General Lu's side. But who was General Lu? The answer was still buried in haziness, inciting further headache. Lu Qinyi's glare turned to the poor soldier who looked back with wide eyes, unsure what she had done to earn such an angry glare. But Yang Xun knew Lu Qinyi was just a sore loser and would get over it once distracted so he placed a hand on Lu Qinyi's back.
"Let's go then General Lu."
But Lu Qinyi looked back at Lin An, who seemed uncertain as to whether she should interrupt, holding a tray with lunch on it, and Fei Li, who stood up and stared at him, waiting for permission to come along. "Can't I have lunch first?"
"No." Yang Xun said sternly, that hand not leaving the other's back. He knew Lu Qinyi might hold to his word and attend the assessments but only after wasting some hours.
Lu Qinyi sighed, waving both Lin An and Fei Li over. He gave the young servant girl's head a pat. "Sorry Lin An, what a waste of the food you made," he said but it was uncertain if he was truly regretful or just trying to guilt Yang Xun. Still, the girl's face flushed as she gave him a small smile.
Lu Qinyi then took a bun from the tray, taking a bite before shoving it into Fei Li's face. "Take this and keep up," he instructed before taking one for himself and one to shove in Yang Xun's face, promptly walking off. Yang Xun seemed to disapprove but before he could voice it, he had been silenced with a bun to the face. Fei Li held the bun that had pretty much been shoved in his mouth with complicated feelings about this treatment as he followed behind.
The assessments were essentially organized tests to assess the skills of the soldiers. This allowed their performance to be measured and monitored, as well as allowing new soldiers to be assigned to a Division according to their skill, or reassigned if they showed prowess in a new area. Fei Li came to the understanding there were six Divisions, each with a specialty but he hadn't yet worked out what each of them was. The assessments were well rounded, with tests of mathematical and literacy skills as well as tests of martial abilities with numerous different weapons. Alongside sparring and evaluations from field exercises and any real experiences, it was a very thorough assessment.
General Lu was meant to oversee in order to make sure these assessments were up to standard and he was satisfied with the resulting assignments. Said general however looked bored to death, absolutely no interest in the assessments. He sat with a slightly slouched posture, elbow resting on the table beneath him and his head leaning against his hand. Instead, it was Fei Li who looked interested, having not seen such a practice before. It was certainly an interesting way of managing one's army and the assessments really were meticulous. It seems the task of accurately assigning individuals to Divisions was taken quite seriously. Yang Xun wore a serious expression, monitoring closely. Zhao Mei had appeared momentarily but it seems she had only been interested in ensuring the paperwork was being handled properly. She even avoided greeting Lu Qinyi, knowing that he might try to distract her from her work and drag her into a conversation to alleviate his boredom.
Despite Lu Qinyi looking obviously bored, Yang Xun's words were true, as Lu Qinyi would move about each assessment area and take a seat to monitor, the soldiers seemed to put even more effort towards their assessments. At the moment they were observing a group who were sparring with daggers in hand. Some of the soldiers here were more experienced, compared to the many newcomers that were being assessed. They shot Fei Li glances, hostility clearly showing in their eyes. Fei Li met these glances with an unyielding stare, although he didn't really understand them. One female soldier in particular seemed to have hate in her eyes whenever her gaze fell on Fei Li. She stood to the side, awaiting her turn to spar, her own personal dagger in hand. Finally, she walked over to stand before the pair of generals. Fei Li was on high alert, his cautious gaze on her with rapt attention. Lu Qinyi looked at her questioningly, waiting for her to state her business.
The soldier saluted. "General, I hope you will pardon my actions." Just as her words rang out, she lunged over the table, dagger flying out toward Fei Li. Fei Li had been prepared for an attack, afterall, he was only at ease with Lu Qinyi. Even so, the sheer ferocity of her attack was enough to give anyone a start. Fei Li stood up from his seat, rapidly taking a few steps back. His heart seemed to have stopped as the glint of that vicious dagger filled his vision. Lu Qinyi was just as quick to react, grabbing the soldier's wrist with a painfully tight hold. She was experienced but she was by no means General Lu's match. Yet she grit her teeth, refusing to cry out in pain.
"Who do you think you are to act without orders?" Lu Qinyi spat in anger.
Tears streamed down her face as she stared hatefully at Fei Li. "General, why! Why are you keeping the enemy alive? Why do you stop me from killing him?! Jin-er is dead because of him and yet he somehow deserves your mercy and protection? Why? Why?!" She sobbed, looking desperately at Lu Qinyi, her hand shaking as his fingers dug into her wrist but she stubbornly refused to release the dagger.
Lu Qinyi's lips twitched. "What will killing him get us? He is of more use to us alive. He is a one-of-a-kind talent and his army is loyal, they refuse to act rashly while ever he is alive. The moment he dies, they will find someone to replace him. Even if that person isn't a tenth as talented, this stalemate that is giving our troops time to recover will still end. So tell me then, why should I let him be killed?" Although Lu Qinyi didn't raise his voice, each of his words were clear and cutting. There was nothing left to argue about. But that didn't ease the pain the soldier felt and it certainly didn't vent her anger. Lu Qinyi applied even more pressure, finally forcing the dagger to fall from the woman's hand. "I want her stripped of any ranks and dismissed from the army. If her character has been noble until now and she has significant achievements, then don't press charges for treason. Zhao Mei is still to give a punishment regardless."
He threw the woman to the side but before Yang Xun could detain her, she snatched a dagger from a nearby soldier who was rendered speechless by the situation that had unravelled. She then threw the dagger with deadly precision. Fei Li reacted fast to lean his head to the side and Lu Qinyi pulled Fei Li to him as quickly as he could but the dagger still managed to graze past, cutting his cheek. Fei Li's head was spinning, those two words the soldier spoke, 'the enemy', stuck in his mind. The imagery of that glinting metal and those hateful eyes filled with killing intent burned into him.
He was brought back to his senses by Lu Qinyi's fingers at his jaw, gently turning his head. His eyes were filled with concern as he used a finger of his other hand to lift a loose lock of Fei Li's hair out of the way so he could inspect the cut. Although blood dripped from it, it wasn't too deep. Once he had confirmed the wound wasn't serious, he noticed something else. Fei Li's right ear was pierced. It must have been done a while ago as even after all this time without an earring in, the hole hadn't healed over. His eyebrows rose. He had seen male courtesans who wore earrings and recently some of the male nobles had taken to piercing their ears to wear gaudy gold earrings laid with precious gems. But with some amusement he thought to himself that he had never heard of a general with his ears pierced before. He had never looked this closely at Fei Li before and so had never noticed. He stared at that pierced ear thoughtfully before letting that lock of hair fall again, meeting Fei Li's gaze. A drop of blood slowly dripped down along Fei Li's face, abruptly bringing Lu Qinyi's thoughts back to reality.
He slowly turned back to the female soldier who was being held by Yang Xun on one side and another soldier on the other. "I take it back," he said lightly. But the dark glint in his eye spread terror through the soldiers nearby. They suddenly felt they were much too close to this general of theirs. In a terrifyingly quick move, he gave the female soldier a powerful kick to the chest, the sheer force of it was enough to wrench her from the grip of her detainers and send her flying backwards. "Charge her for treason." As she crashed into the ground, he looked around at the other soldiers who all stood perfectly still. "Anyone else have complaints?"
They all rapidly shook their heads, the more composed ones mumbling out a "No sir" or "No General". Lu Qinyi seemed satisfied with this, turning back to Fei Li and nodding his head in an invitation to leave with him. Fei Li stared at the female soldier who laid on the ground, clutching at her chest, not yet making a move to leave.
Lu Qinyi quirked an eyebrow at this. "What, not satisfied? Do you want a hand or maybe her head for making an attempt on your life?" Although he had that light tone, everyone around felt it wasn't a joke but a genuine question. And at this moment, it was very hard to tell if he would actually follow through with it.
No one dared make a sound, hardly daring to breathe. But Fei Li shook his head, slowly speaking, "No need."
Lu Qinyi seemed surprised but quickly started laughing. "The merciless General Fei has more heart than I thought." He looked back at the female soldier with a cold gaze. "The man you just betrayed your general, your fellow soldiers and your country to try and kill just spared your life." She shut her eyes tightly but she couldn't shut out those cutting words. Having said that, he turned away to lead Fei Li back to his room.
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