novelraw Book 12: Chapter 45: Politics and War
Book 12: Chapter 45: Politics and War
Book 12: Chapter 45: Politics and WarOn most other days, the news of Hsiao Jiayi’s arrival at his town with refugees and the fall of Kanshun would have been the most important things on his mind. On that particular day, Sen barely had the opportunity to spare those events any attention. That’s going to be a headache later, he thought. Then, he had to give all of his attention back to the matters at hand. Laughing River was chatting with Song Lan and Xu Xiao Dan, saying only the heavens knew what. Both of the nascent soul cultivators looked baffled, which Sen supposed was an appropriate reaction to the elder nine-tail and his antics.
Elder Deng was holding the unconscious elder from the Soaring Skies Sect in his arms and looking somewhat uncertain about what he should be doing. If he stayed, that signaled his intention to side with Sen. Something that Sen was confident that the man wasn’t committed to doing. If he left, though, that could be interpreted as siding with the sect. Something that Deng also didn’t seem particularly committed to. It was a tough position to be in, and Sen felt a little sympathy for the man, but he had bigger concerns at that moment.
The mortal political leaders were standing in a clump and wearing very concerned expressions. As well they should be, given that they had been outed as insurrectionists. He’d already threatened to kill them all. A course of action he was fairly certain was the right one, no matter how unsavory he might find that choice. The army was slowly drawing closer to the city. That would be bound to draw some kind of response from someone. And Sen was certain that the Soaring Skies Sect itself was preparing to do something foolish.
“Why are these things always so complicated?” he muttered to himself.
“Because it’s politics and war,” said Laughing River, who had approached unnoticed.
Sen glared at the grinning fox.
“You could look less pleased about that.”
“Oh, I’m not pleased by the massive threats hanging over us all, but it is nice to be on the periphery of events. It’s so much more demanding and awful when you’re at the heart of things.”
“You don’t say?” asked Sen in a dry tone.
“I’m sure it's hard for someone as young as you to understand. What with that carefree life you’ve been leading in that tiny farming village of yours.”“You mean my sect and town up north?”
“Not your vacation cottage. The farming village. I think you call it the capital.”
“Farming village?” asked Sen. “Are you trying to give me a headache?”
Laughing River cocked his head to one side and asked, “Can you get headaches anymore? I can’t, which isn’t a complaint. Just an observation.”
Sen shook his head and said, “Not like the mortals do. Maybe if I suffered some terrible wounds or a particularly bad soul attack.”
“That dragon played games with your life, teaching you about those. There are reasons us old monsters don’t teach those to children.”
“It probably saved my… Wait. How in the thousand hells do you even know about that? I am quite certain I never mentioned any of that to you.”
Laughing River grinned and said, “I’m a fox. Of course, I know about that.”
“Clearly. But how?”
“There are a finite number of individuals in the world who could have taught it to you. I know that Caihong, Kho, and your master wouldn’t have taught you. In this part of the continent, there are only so many other options. That dragon was the most likely. I reasoned it out.”
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Sen studied the fox for several moments before he said, “Were you following me even then?”
“I don’t know what you could possibly mean.”
“Sure, you don’t,” said Sen, pinching the bridge of his nose. “Any advice about how to approach this?”
The elder fox studied the mortal politicians for a moment. A slight frown replaced his usual grin.
“You probably should execute all of them, but you’ll spare yourself some trouble if you don’t. Make an example of the magistrate. That ought to be enough to scare the rest of them into behaving.” ŘÁ₦оBЕŝ
“Any particular reason?”
“I assume you don’t want to linger here for longer than necessary.”
“True,” said Sen.
“That’s why. Governments are cumbersome things, but oddly delicate. It’s tempting to just cut out all of the corruption, but it tends to throw everything into chaos. If you cull all of these people, that’s what you’ll get. Chaos. You’ll have to stay here and impose order until things settle down. Or, you can punish the magistrate and appoint a new one. There will be minor chaos, but the kind that will resolve itself. Assuming you can stand to let the rest of them go unpunished.”
“So, that’s what you’d do?”
“Of course, that’s not what I would do. I’d kill them all, but you asked for advice about what you should do.”
“Didn’t you just warn me that doing that would create chaos?” asked an irritated Sen.
“Sure. But I’m a fox. We tend to like chaos, even when it isn’t good for us.”
“Right. Sorry. I forgot who I was talking to there for a moment. Any thoughts about the Soaring Skies Sect?”
“It’s a mixed bag. About half of them have zero interest in fighting you. I understand that hasn’t gone well for them in the past. But a lot of them loathe you. Unfortunately, most of the “loathe him” contingent is concentrated in the sect leadership.”
“That’s not much of a surprise. A little disappointing, maybe, but not surprising.”
“Would you like us to kill them?” asked Laughing River.
Sen went a little cold as the usual manic glee faded out of the elder fox. What was left was someone who felt a lot more like Master Feng when he was displeased with something. Someone ancient, hideously powerful, and lethal. It was a sharp reminder that, however flippantly Sen and Laughing River treated each other, the fox was one of the true old monsters. While his first instinct had been to decline the offer, Sen found himself considering it. There was nothing honorable about it, not that he really cared about that. It would solve the problem without making him solve it using whatever level of force proved necessary. That would likely prevent any bystanders from getting hurt. That appealed to Sen.
Of course, it also meant condoning the murder of people he might be able to convince to join him. People he’d never met, and who might be valuable resources. He’d also need to take Laughing River’s word for it that the people the elder fox and his juniors killed were the right people. He could end up losing valuable cultivators who might prove very useful in future battles. Could. Might. Sen had found those to be insidious words. They cast doubt where decisiveness would serve him better. He thought back to the conversation he’d had with Xu Xiao Dan about innocents being punished. His best guess was that more people would be saved if he secured this city fast and returned to his southward march as fast as possible.
That just left one unanswered question.
“Why would you offer to do that?”
“For the same reason that everyone else is doing things for you. I want to survive this war. I want my people to survive this war. Given that you were angry with me the last time we saw each other, I thought the best way to secure my people’s future was to do something to help soothe any lingering ill will. That’s why I and my immediate juniors helped to protect this city. I don’t want your anger to turn against all of us later.”
Sen had to admit that it was a refreshingly honest, straightforward, and understandably selfish motive. He thought everything over for a moment. As he thought, he strode over to where the mortal politicians still hovered. He stood in front of the magistrate and looked down at the man. Sen reached out, touched the man’s forehead, and made everything inside the magistrate stop. The rest of the politicians drew back from the collapsing body.
“Did he have a direct subordinate?” asked Sen.
A much younger man with heavy jowls stumbled away from the trembling crowd of mortals. Sen was fairly certain that someone had shoved the poor fool. The man quivered in fear as he stared at Sen, before prostrating himself and begging for his life.
“Silence,” said Sen, and the other man stopped speaking. “You are now the magistrate. I hope that you prove to be less of a disappointment.”
“Yes, Lord Lu,” sobbed the man.
“All of you, return to your duties. If you fail to impress me with your diligence and upright behavior from this moment forward, you will share his fate,” said Sen, gesturing at the corpse of the former magistrate.
There was no dignified return to the city for those mortals. They ran. More than a few cast fearful glances back at him as they went. Shaking his head, Sen returned to where Laughing River was giving him a speculative look.
“Do it,” said Sen.