Chapter 59: The Drunkard

What! He was actually despised by someone! Jing Ke was indignant. Though he might never surpass the Northern King in his lifetime, he would surely become a renowned master, famed throughout the land.

“Your Majesty’s divine might is indeed without need for Jing Ke! Yet a word once spoken cannot be taken back. I beg Your Majesty to keep me, that I may fulfill my promise!”

Once a carefree and fearless knight, he now had to plead for shelter. Lin Shu felt troubled, too. This fellow wanted to play the part of a great benefactor but refused to command troops; keeping him nearby would only be a nuisance.

“Jing Ke, you’d best return. The empire needs people in military and civil affairs, but it certainly doesn’t lack servants or attendants.”

So—was he truly of no use? Since the Northern King refused him, Jing Ke wanted to go back, but how could he return in shame after just arriving? He had no face left to meet his junior sister and Brother Gao.

“Your Majesty, how about letting me stay in Liaodong for a few years?”

Dream on! Lin Shu shook his head, suspecting this drunkard’s plan: to do nothing and be fed for years at the empire’s expense.

Judging by his stubbornness, he wouldn’t leave easily—and Lin Shu didn’t want to beat him.

“Very well then! You shall be the envoy of the Yanhuang Empire stationed at Ji in the Yan Kingdom, recruiting craftsmen or refugees willing to migrate north.”

Jing Ke was even more troubled.

“Your Majesty, I fear the Yan Kingdom would be reluctant to let craftsmen and refugees head north—besides, few would be willing.”

Indeed, this drunkard was exceedingly lazy.

“No matter! Tell King Yan that if the Yan Kingdom refuses, I shall personally come to Ji to lead the people away.”

Jing Ke’s expression changed, uncertain how to refuse.

“Rest assured, I know your character. Your main duty is to publicize our empire’s policies in Yan. Any craftsmen willing to migrate north will be granted twenty mu of prime land, tax-free for three years; refugees will receive ten mu, tax-free for two years. From now on, all imperial decrees and reports will be sent to the embassy in Yan.”

Unable to refuse further, Jing Ke could only nod in agreement.

This fellow! Lin Shu shook his head with a wry smile.

“If you grow weary, find someone to replace you and leave on your own. But don’t go against the empire in the future! Next time, I won’t show mercy. Consider those around you carefully!”

Though lazy, his character was impeccable—just easily duped, as in the plot to assassinate Qin. The cunning Prince Dan of Yan never risked himself; a few grand words lured Jing Ke into the trap.

Junior sister! Master!

Jing Ke was inexplicably shaken. The king treated him as a man of valor, but he—

“Rest assured, Your Majesty. I, Jing Ke, will not dishonor the empire!”

The drunkard seemed changed, but Lin Shu paid it no mind.

“Good! Henceforth, you are the empire’s ambassador to Yan. Tomorrow, take my letter of appointment to the main city of Liaodong, report to the cabinet, and let the chief minister arrange matters for you.”

Jing Ke bowed again. “I accept your command!”

At last, the negotiations were settled. Nearby, the young commander smiled with satisfaction; he found this young hero admirable, unlike other masters who acted aloof and invincible.

With matters settled, Wu Song by the carriage spoke, “Your Majesty, let me take the envoy to his arrangements.”

Thinking he hadn’t eaten enough seafood yet, Lin Shu shook his head.

“No need. You all come with me to the riverside.”

Lin Shu glanced at the young commander and the squad leader; both immediately bowed with clasped fists. The young commander swallowed secretly—soon he could try something new.

The carriage turned gracefully, followed by Jing Ke and his companions on horseback.

The sunset had truly fallen, and the bonfires by the river began to radiate their charm. When the carriage stopped, a wooden table and several small stools appeared by the charcoal fire.

“Hehe, Your Majesty, my elder brother still hasn’t eaten his fill!” Ma Guo said, swallowing greedily.

On the table were not only giant crabs, prawns, sea snails, and sea cucumbers, but also several bottles of pure spirits and a bottle of ginseng and tiger bone medicinal wine!

Ma Bao frowned, but seeing the glass bottle of wine, he swallowed a few times himself.

“Very well, tonight’s wine shall be endless for Brother Guo and Bao.”

Ma Bao hurriedly bowed in thanks, though he wondered why, after learning their names, the king only called him Bao Guo.

Sometimes, the two brothers didn’t even know who the king was addressing. He even called them ‘Master Ma’—at first, this frightened Ma Bao, but now he was used to it.

Wu Song, never shy, uncorked the bottle immediately, the aroma filling the air. Jing Ke could no longer sit still, though he was dissatisfied with the tiny cup in his hand—alas, no large bowls!

“Drink while the wine lasts,” and with the drunkard Jing Ke leading the way, Lin Shu’s reserves were emptied by the group. Even the medicinal wine was hastily consumed by Lin Shu, lest Jing Ke refuse to stop.

Sure enough, once the wine was gone, Jing Ke collapsed. Lin Shu, dizzy, dragged Jing Ke into the carriage, which soon departed.

“Ah, His Majesty truly works hard! Pity we can’t help at all.”

Once the carriage left, Ma Bao knew the king had gone to supervise new construction.

Ma Guo was equally drunk; only Wu Song and Ma Bao had refrained from drinking too much.

“Bao Guo—no, Master Ma, you’d better rest, too! Tomorrow we must rise early.”

Most soldiers and craftsmen now lived in the barracks near the city gate, while their group was mainly responsible for interior decoration and drainage of the royal city.

The Liao River was not wide, and previously had no island in its midst, but now the city center featured a one-kilometer-long islet.

The river encircling the island was a hundred meters wide.

All this had been excavated by Lin Shu, and the island’s banks reinforced with stone blocks.

After drinking, Lin Shu retired early. The poor architect Xin Ying was left to simultaneously mind the child, for otherwise Lin Shu couldn’t hope to sleep soundly.

Little Yan’er, clutching her milk bottle, drifted around the carriage, her face full of laughter, too busy to climb onto her father’s head.

A night like the wind, passing without a backward glance.

Jing Ke, who drank the most, was also early to bed and early to rise; at dawn he was already practicing his drunken sword beside the carriage.

“Whew, done!” Jing Ke, gloomy for so long, had never felt so comfortable.

After a night of drinking, he was convinced—the Northern King cared for the people just as he did, unlike those so-called benevolent rulers, all hypocrisy and filth! Equal land, just law, freeing serfs and enlightening the masses—that was true benevolence, not the empty rhetoric of Confucian and Mohist schools.

Previously, it was obligation; now he was truly moved to join the empire. Of course, he couldn’t pledge loyalty immediately—he needed to be sure the king wouldn’t merely pay lip service.

He sighed as he swallowed; the king had promised him: seven bottles of fine wine this year, one per day next year. Perhaps that was the real reason for his resolve.

“Huh! Where is this place?”

When daylight came, Jing Ke finally had time to look around.

Last night, most of the city had been empty, but now a ring of high walls stood not far away.

The palace walls were nine meters high; the small city had only a single villa and four gates.

The three-story villa, blending Eastern and Western styles, was built entirely of translucent pale blue stone. Windows of white jade crystal flashed with rainbow hues.

The villa was already furnished, but the surrounding area was still vacant; Lin Shu planned to assign craftsmen later to build a proper palace of wood and stone.

Jing Ke gazed quietly at the jade palace at the center, guessing it was the king’s residence, and dared not enter.

After a while, he hurried along, leaping up to the city wall in a single bound.

“Is that a bridge?”

Unfortunately, the distance was still dozens of meters—he couldn’t get a running start on the parapet, or he’d have tried to leap across to the river island himself.

The river, a hundred meters wide, had a tall tower at its center. Most astonishing of all: atop the tower was a bridge made entirely of steel.

The steel bridge was 120 meters long, nine meters wide.

The central tower, twelve meters in diameter, housed a steam engine and several large gears. Even without steam power, the bridge could be rotated slowly by water.

As long as the water blades were set in motion, the river would become the bridge’s power source.

Seeing the giant wheel beneath the bridge deck, Jing Ke realized it was a rotating bridge.

The palace had four gates; the east and west gates each had a swing bridge, while the north and south gates were docks connecting to the Liao River.

These docks were the main exits for carriages—after all, crossing by ferry was quicker.

Several small boats were tied at the docks, but Jing Ke was too lazy to sprint across the bridge or the dock to cross the river.