The Sorceress' Revolt -
Ko Eiji's Story
Author: Toriumi Jinzō
Translator: Ainikki the Archivist
Part Seven: Commander of the Army
A fortress was stood up along the road five miles outside of Beizhou. Five hundred soldiers, one hundred horses and two weak sorcerers were stationed there. Their mission was to quickly detect the advance of the Imperial Army and send an emergency report to the city.
Ou Soku, accompanied by two guards, set out on horseback to see the fortress. It was important for keeping the city secure. He wanted to inspect it and make sure there were no weaknesses to exploit.
The fortress walls rose high beyond a suspension bridge over the river. The walls were most impressive; just looking at them was reassuring. Even if Ou Soku had to spend more time away from Beizhou, the city should remain safe from attack.
The day was fast approaching when he would lead an army of tens of thousands to the capital, Bianliang. Morale among his troops was high. He wanted to make sure all was well in Beizhou before his departure. His scouts were already investigating the city and the surrounding area.
Suddenly, Ou Soku’s gaze stopped on one spot atop one of the fortress’ towers. Ko Eiji stood there, gazing out at the world below. One of her maids was nearby but didn’t seem to be paying much attention to her.
Ou Soku looked up, then bowed in Ko Eiji’s direction. She bowed her head slightly in recognition. They hadn’t had an opportunity to meet on their own in some time. Sei Koko had invited Ou Soku to a handful of meetings since his return where Ko Eiji was present, but Ko Eiji rarely spoke, choosing to nod or shake her head and keep her eyes cast down.
Her long silence bothered Ou Soku. He worried about what was happening to Ko Eiji under Sei Koko’s watch.
Had he known it, Ko Eiji was worried about him, too, and for similar reasons.
Ou Soku turned his horse around and rode away to inspect the rest of the fortress wall.
Ko Eiji watched him go.
I hope what I said before wasn’t too harsh, he thought to himself. I was only being honest. He didn’t have much experience talking to women.
***
It was impossible to sleep in the dreary wooden fort. It creaked around him like a living thing even though there wasn’t much wind. All was still in the middle of the night, but Ou Soku still couldn’t get comfortable.
It had been a long time since Ou Soku had been truly alone like this—alone with his own thoughts. He felt as if he was trying to find himself in a maze.
He’d abandoned his mother and left Wucheng. He’d betrayed Tanshi, who had saved his life in Zhengzhou. He’d recruited soldiers to his side and conquered Beizhou, then much of Hebei Province. Sei Koko worked for him, in a bizarre twist he’d never seen coming. And it hadn’t even taken all that long to do these things. A year and a half ago, no one in China had known who he was.
The rebellion was happening in his name. The Imperial Court had a bounty on his head that grew by the day.
Ou Soku suddenly felt very isolated and alone.
I think all rebel leaders feel the same way. Someone had to do it… but why did it have to be me? It’s lonely at the top, he thought.
Ou Soku’s room was lit by a single candle that flickered in a sudden gust of wind.
But there was no wind this evening.
Ou Soku’s face tightened from nerves. He saw a shadow approaching from the doorway—a shadow with glowing hands.
Ou Soku rolled out of bed and aimed his projectile weapon at the shadow.
The shadow groaned and fell. A sword clattered to the floor next to them.
Ou Soku’s projectiles had done their work: the sorcerer who’d attacked him was dead. He was about to get up and investigate when another sorcerer came into his room. He shot that one, too, at even closer range; the shot pierced the second sorcerer’s head.
Hearing the noise, the soldiers on duty rushed in with torches in hand. The room was mostly in shadow, so they didn’t notice the corpses of the two sorcerers at first.
The new commander of the East Barracks was one of the first soldiers to respond. “My king, are you injured?” he asked.
Ou Soku stood up slowly. “I’m fine. That was a close call, but I’m not hurt.”
The barracks commander frowned sourly. “How much do you want to bet that Chō Ki or Jin Sen gave these riffraff orders to attack you? Sei Koko’s not trying to kill you yet. She needs you to take Bianliang.”
“You’re probably right,” Ou Soku said. “I might not even be the target. I’ve heard about sorcerers picking fights with the other soldiers.”
The barracks commander gave the order for the two sorcerers’ bodies to be removed. As that was being done, he and Ou Soku heard sounds of battle outside.
“Ryū En’i is attacking at night,” the barracks commander said.
Ou Soku ran out of the room.
Looking out over the moonlit sky from the bridge, Ou Soku saw Ryū En’i’s army on the move. They were being led by General Tian Bin.1 The attacking army was comprised of two thousand infantry troops and three thousand cavalry. They surrounded the fortress in neat rows, making it nearly impossible for anyone to escape.
There had been no warning of this attack by scouts. If the fortress didn’t receive reinforcements from Beizhou, the soldiers stationed here would soon be overrun.
The barracks commander dispatched messengers to Beizhou Castle who galloped away in ones and twos, hoping to sneak past the enemy’s blockade of men and horses. The barracks commander also took this risk, saddling his horse and riding around the enemy. Archers covered his escape from the fortress’ high walls, though their success at this was limited. The enemy had chosen their position so that it was almost out of range of the archers’ fire.
***
Late that night, the commander of the East Barracks arrived at Beizhou Castle seriously injured. He died halfway through giving his report.
News of the emergency reached Sei Koko. Rou, his officers, and the sorcerer leaders were summoned to Beizhou Castle as swiftly as possible. Sei Koko asked the assembled men for their opinions on how to respond to this night attack.
“We must counter-attack, and swiftly,” Rou said. “Send a thousand cavalry to the fortress now. I’ll lead them personally.”
“No. You are the only one who can command Beizhou’s army in Ou Soku’s absence,” Sei Koko said.
Both Jin Sen and Chō Ki looked down and away as if this whole affair was none of their business.
“If I can’t be spared, we must leave the response to either Jin Sen or Chō Ki,” Rou said, glaring at the sorcerers.
Jin Sen chuckled nastily.
“And what are you laughing about?” Rou asked.
“If the Imperial Army attacks while we’re gone, who will defend the city? We can’t rely on soldiers alone.”
“We’ve driven away Ryū En’i’s forces twice already,” Chō Ki added. “Soldiers must deal with this threat again. Not sorcerers.”
Rou fumed with anger and would have struck Chō Ki if Sei Koko hadn’t stepped between them wearing a placating smile.
“We must not fight among ourselves,” she said. “For all we know, this sudden attack might be a feint to get us to concentrate our forces at the fortress. We must do all we can to protect the castle first and foremost.”
Ko Eiji, who had been standing and listening in the corner, stepped forward.
“You are disgraceful,” she said to the sorcerers, “wasting time when every second counts! Are you not part of the True Divine Immortal Spiritual Religion? We must repel the army attacking our fortress!”
Ko Eiji commanded the room. Everyone was surprised at her outburst, not least Sei Koko. Ko Eiji was enraged, every pore exuding menace. This was the angriest she’d ever been in her entire life.
Jin Sen and Chō Ki hid their faces in embarrassment.
“If anything happens to Ou Soku at the fortress, the army in the city will turn on us instantly. If you don’t want that to happen, you’ll act now.”
“And what would you suggest we do?” Sei Koko asked quietly, raising one delicate eyebrow.
Ko Eiji thought for a moment, then said, “I’ll go.”
“No. That will never happen,” Sei Koko said, staring at Ko Eiji incredulously.
“I will live or die according to my fate,” Ko Eiji said. She smiled. There wasn’t a trace of fear anywhere in that smile.
Sei Koko’s eyes flashed with blue light before she could get her emotions under control. Ko Biji had defied her like this once.
“I will not be reincarnated. I will not die yet. I can’t let you send Tanshi back to Hakūn-do Cave. I’ll protect him from you.”
Agitation twisted Sei Koko’s face into a rictus of rage. Don’t tell me she fell in love with that idiot Ou Soku. Even if she has, he would reject her. She cannot go against the divine will of Empress Wu Zetian! I must crush this resistance now, once and for all.
With great internal effort, Sei Koko composed herself. The blue light emanating from around her eyes faded away.
“Your plan is reckless,” Sei Koko said. “I will not allow it.”
Ko Eiji grinned. “You would deny an empress’ orders? How often did Empress Wu Zetian act recklessly, I wonder?”
Sei Koko was speechless. Ko Eiji was like Ko Biji: impossible to reason with. Before Sei Koko could recover herself, Ko Eiji spun on her heel and left the room.
“Rou, prepare soldiers to leave with her. You must support Ko Eiji’s efforts,” she said through gritted teeth.
Rou saluted angrily, then turned and left.
***
Ryū En’i’s troops destroyed the fort’s palisades and released their horses, cutting off all possibility of retreat.
“Capture Ou Soku!” Tian Bin shouted. The general’s forces stormed the walls with the force of a crashing wave.
Beizhou soldiers fought bravely to protect their leader. Ou Soku ran out of projectiles to use and started swinging his mace around to defend himself. Countless arrows flew past his body.
Damn it, I can’t die before I achieve my goal!
“It’s a tiger!” a soldier shouted.
A volley of enemy arrows cut down a dozen men around Ou Soku. Screams echoed from the fortress gate as an enormous tiger rushed toward Ou Soku in the moonlight. The stripes of its body shone as it stalked through the night.
“Run!”
“Get out of the way!”
Even Ryū En’i’s soldiers were terrified of the tiger. They screamed as it drew near and ran away.
Ko Eiji was quite satisfied with her illusion. She’d saddled her horse and used a tiger skin as a saddle blanket. Her mastery over illusion sorcery made her appear to be a tiger for a short time. A bamboo flute attached to the horse’s tail made whooshing noises like roars and growls. The sound had unnerved soldiers on both sides of the conflict, leaving the way to Ou Soku clear.
“Ko Eiji?” Ou Soku looked up at her, confused, as she gave him a hand up behind her on her horse.
“We have to hurry,” she said. “Come with me.”
By the time Ryū En’i’s soldiers regrouped, Ko Eiji and Ou Soku had left the battle. Some enemy scouts still managed to follow them, but before they were in any real danger, Rou showed up with reinforcements. Ko Eiji and Ou Soku rode into Rou’s soldiers and were safe.
Ryū En’i’s soldiers continued to be spooked by the tiger. Tian Bin tried to get them to rally, but it was a hopeless endeavor. He was taken prisoner by Rou’s men.
After suffering a series of crushing defeats, Ryū En’i prepared himself for execution or worse. He wrote down the details of the battle and submitted the document to Xia Song. He wrote that his army was no match for the enemy’s sorcery and that he had suffered a miserable defeat. He was prepared to accept whatever punishment the emperor deemed fit. He requested a larger army led by a seasoned veteran to suppress the revolt.
Ryū En’i’s request was completely ignored by Xia Song. He didn’t report Ryū En’i’s defeat to the emperor or the Imperial Court. Under the Song Dynasty system, if a proposal failed, the person who’d proposed it would also be considered guilty for its failure.
Once again, Xia Song had deceived Emperor Renzong. Perhaps for the last time.
Translator's Note
1 田斌 Tian Bin was a general who led a cavalry force to supress Wang Ze's (Ou Soku's) rebellion, but was unsuccessful. He was captured and killed. ↩
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