Gift of the Fox

Chapter 47: The New Weapon of the Empress

Time passed. The alliance with Qartland was officially formed. Little was left now until the mighty army of Wanglong would depart to Qartland to fight alongside the Qartlandian army for the magnificent fortress of Tibiru, the capital city of Qartland. The emperor decided to lead his armies himself as he used to in old days, so he left his three brothers - Wu, Hu, and Jong - in charge of the palace:

"Remember - be strict and severe towards all who break the laws. Having mercy on criminals is not kindness. It makes them think they are allowed to do anything and it ultimately leads to chaos. Be sure to hold order in the empire. 

"Always award those who enforce the laws and commit great deeds. It develops people's love towards us rulers. You must have your people's hearts in your hands in order to rule the empire peacefully.

"Use methods of torture in order to punish the most outrageous criminals - those who rebel against my laws, those who lead aggressive forces against my rule, and those who commit terrible murders. Torturing them to death causes fear in other people as an example not to commit a similar deed themselves.

"I will soon come back after I free Tibiru from the Sorovs and take the Middle Mountains Region under my protective wing. Until then, please try to rule wisely. I know you can make it." he smiled at them, and then, he and his armies departed. Emperor Beilangshen left Prince Wu as the highest leader, as the eldest brother after him.

Shao's army was divided into four divisions. The army consisted of both women warriors (many of whom were Vidars, but there were a lot of Wanglongians, Moguls, Nipons, and Koryeoians too, who had, under Beilangshen's reign, finally received the right to participate in battles if they wanted to) and men. The first division was led by Beilangshen himself. The second division was led by his warrior wife, the Fox Empress - Tamie Beanson, and consisted of many Wanglongian women warriors. The third division, where the majority was Vidars, was led by the Vidar princess, the Bear Princess - Astrid von Thorsten, Wang Shao's cousin. The fourth division was of course led by Prince Nick Beanson (he had acquired the title 'prince' after his sister, Tamie, married the emperor and became an empress) - Emperor Beilangshen's grand vizier, a royal philosopher, and a brilliant strategist.

The armies crossed rivers, deserts, mountains, and fields. After months, they arrived in the temporary capital city of Qartland (while Tibiru was in the Sorovs' hands), Kutaia, where the royal family of Qartland met them. The armies camped outside the city, while the four great generals - Emperor Beilangshen, Fox Empress Tamie, Bear Princess Astrid, and Prince Nick - entered the city gates with their guards in order to meet the king and discuss their further strategies. King George of Qartland received them with hospitality. When they were finally alone in the council room with King George and his finest viziers, the king spoke:

"I hereby call this council open. Welcome, my dearest guests! I am glad to receive you in my kingdom and I am joyful that you have volunteered to help our little country in its difficult times." he smiled and bowed to Emperor Beilangshen.

All of the attendees took their seats at a grand table where a giant map of Tibiru's surroundings was laid.

"I am honoured to be welcomed by you, King George," Beilangshen spoke in Wanglongian, while his wife Tamie translated it to the Qartlandian king in their language. Shao continued: "I've got several conditions which I need you to fulfill before I offer my help, however."

"Oh, I've read about that in your letters, Emperor Beilangshen," George spoke in Qartlandian and Tamie again served as an interpreter between the two monarchs. "You demand me to authorize you to lay a grand road between Wanglong and the western world which will cross my kingdom. You aim to call it the Great Silken Road, as far as I've understood. Well then, I wish to happily notify you that I accept to satisfy that demand of yours. As far as my viziers and I have calculated, that road will be beneficial for all of us - you, my kingdom, and the western world. Thus, I am more than glad to accept your proposal." he bowed with respect to the Wanglongian emperor. Shao faintly smiled and bowed back.

"I am happy you considered my request so wisely, King George. Well then, I guess we have no more matters to discuss but to converse about our further strategies right away."

"That would be magnificent." King George smiled, and looked at one of his viziers - an armoured middle-aged man who had multiple scars on his face, apparently a military commander: "Lord Malkhaz, please tell us about your latest battle against Tibiru. How well is the city guarded?"

Commander Malkhaz bowed as a sign of respect to the king and began in Qartlandian, while this time, Nick served as an interpreter to the emperor:

"The city is quite well guarded. The Sorovs have catapults that we Qartlandians do not own. Hence, attacking the fortress head-on is impossible, to add that our city Tibiru is surrounded by not just one, but three thick stone walls. Penetrating through those walls was impossible for us and it caused us grave losses, too." he sighed. "On the inside, there are a lot of well-trained Sorovian soldiers, so even if we sacrifice our troops and get in, defeating their armies would be very hard."

Hearing Nick's translation of Malkhaz's words, Shao faintly smiled and exchanged glances with his cousin Astrid. The Bear Princess proudly spoke in Nordic:

"We Vidars own stronger catapults than the Sorovs do. We also have wall-climbing machines so one wouldn't need to break through the wall to get into the city. But if we used those machines, the biggest problem would be the towers where Sorovian archers would freely shoot us from."

When Nick translated this in Qartlandian, King George sighed:

"The Sorovian army is numerous. We cannot risk our troops. I think you agree with me, Emperor Beilangshen."

"I do agree," Shao replied in Wanglongian, "so I'd like to probe my new weapons against the fortress... Well, if you are willing to risk slight demolition of the city." he chuckled.

Tamie brightened up - he was going to apply her idea!

"Huh? What new weapon?" King George and his viziers got curious.

Shao beamed and glanced at Tamie:

"I guess, my empress can explain it better, since it is, in fact, her discovery and thus, her creation."

King George and his viziers looked at Tamie with astonishment:

"How... a woman came up with a weapon?!"

Shao chuckled:

"In my empire, women are sometimes even more detail-oriented and attentive than we men."

While the Qartlandians stared at them dumbfoundedly, Tamie began in Qartlandian, and Nick translated it all to the emperor:

"Once, when I accompanied His Majesty Emperor Beilangshen in a battle against the Sorovs while he was still a prince, and I - his loyal servant, the Sorovs divided their armies and wanted to attack our camp from the rear, by walking through a cliffy pass. At that time, Wanglongians already owned short-ranged underdeveloped weapons called Dragon-Bombs, that could explode and take out enemies, but their short range often caused a fateful death to their users too. Thus, my brother Nick and I ascended the high cliffs and threw the bombs right into the pass so that their range could be deeper and thus longer. This way, we caused an avalanche and took out all of the enemies. This brought me an idea," she smiled, "that if one does not simply throw the Dragon-Bomb by their hand, but instead use an even more powerful force that shoots the said bomb at a longer range, the user could stay unharmed while the power of the bomb could rise even higher. So, we came up with a weapon we now call a Dragon-Cannon."

The Qartlandian nobles gasped in shock - a woman, and such a genius warrior and strategist?!

"S... So, you're going to use this new weapon to pass through the fortress?" King George murmured after the first wave of astonishment passed.

"To be more precise, King George," Shao grinned with triumph, his single eye wolfishly flashing, "we're going to break through it."