#the long awaited arrival of prince qi!

[acesgroupchat]

Three days later Prince Qi arrives, his household and his children trailing behind him. The camp rings with the shocked cries of ministers, with his mother’s screams. Lin Shu watches his family draw close, a tight knot of misery at the army’s heart. Consort Chen clutches at her son and grandchildren, and his own parents press close. They are all of them slumped, defeated. Despair crowds the camp, hangs in the air, and falls heaviest here in the miserable center. Lin Shu feels his fingernails cut into his palms. His hands shake. He turns from his family and walks out of camp, head high and shoulders back.

The black hallways yield before him, long and straight beneath his feet. He does not hurry. He feels the weight of his purpose with every silent step. He raises his head as the walls fall away but it is not the garden that greets him. No soft black earth beneath his feet, no swaying plum blossoms before his eyes. There is only polished stone, and at the end of this wider hall a throne. The lord of death sits there. Against the black of the hall his white robes seem to glow. His face is still as stone, his gaze as heavy.

His strides are even, loose. His arms hang ready at his sides. His jaw is tight. Lin Shu keeps his eyes up as he draws to the foot of the throne, and the lord of death meets them. He arches a single brow.

“Send him back.”

Lin Chen’s mouth quirks in obviously stifled laughter. “Absolutely not.”

“The country needs him.”

“You know, most of your tent city believes you to be the brightest light of your generation. How is it that after so much time you still don’t know where you are?”

“You can make an exception. These are your lands and subject to your laws—”

“And yet I still have an army camp squatting in my foyer.”

“You must have some way.”

“Little marshal, the laws of my realm are not yours to command, no matter how certain you may be. I must have nothing. Your prince took the poison when it was offered. Everyone but you knows that this matter is ended.” Lin Chen surveys him and his gaze is not unkind but it holds no sympathy. He flicks his fan out, the gesture somehow both knife sharp and indifferent. “Run back to your camp, mayfly. My new guest is waiting for you.”

He can feel the muscles jump in his jaw, and the shift of his teeth as he grits them. He clenches his fists against his shaking hands and feels his nails dig into his palms. His tongue is dead in his mouth. He flees the throne room and does not look back.

Prince Qi is indeed waiting for him at camp, as are his parents and his aunt. Despair still hangs thick over the army, but it is a quieter thing now. The sounds of crying have died out and his father’s tears have dried, though his parents hands are still clutched at each other, tight enough to show bone under the skin. The atmosphere is choking, stagnant, even in this breathless place.

His cousin catches his eye as he returns, and rises to meet him. Lin Shu follows him out of camp, and into the endless black hallways that stretch away and along the river. They walk in silence, time passing unmarked, and the sounds of camp fade behind them. They could be walking through the palace halls now, as they have so many times before, if not for the endless, featureless black stone, if not for the shadows in his cousin’s eyes.

“My father sent me poison.” The words are stark, ugly things, falling from the prince’s lips to shatter on the stone floor. “He sent it with Jinghuan, and I took it.”

“Xie Yu ambushed us. We had just turned away the armies of Da Yu. We thought they were reinforcements, and they slaughtered us like animals.”

His cousin closes his eyes, nods once. “He told the emperor that you had conspired with me to rebel. I do not know why my father believed him, but he did.”

“There was a forged letter. Xia Jiang gave Xie Yu samples of Nie Feng Da-ge’s handwriting.”

Jingyu looks at him sharply, surprised. It lasts but a moment before he nods, head heavy with unspoken weariness. “Xia Jiang then. We were outmaneuvered. But how do you know this?”

“I’ve had some time here. I’ve been looking for answers. The scholar who made the forgery died not long ago.”

Jingyu accepts the explanation, and Lin Shu momentarily wonders why he has not mentioned the garden, or the god who dwells there. It is not like him to keep things from his cousin, but some instinct ties his tongue.

“This is death then? This camp? These hallways?” He shakes his head. “There are fields beyond the river. The camp is only our own people, the army, some ministers, your household and mine. It is all our people though, I think. We are waiting for our honor to be restored.”

Jingyu hesitates, uncharacteristic uncertainty clouding his brow. “The princess consort is not there.”

Lin Shu feels ice bloom under his ribs like winter plum blossoms. His cousin’s children had followed their father in a pale and ragged line, each one frightened and lost. They had clung to him and to each other, but it is true that their mother was not with them. “You don’t think she found some way to survive.”

His cousin’s mouth is a hard line. His eyes stare forward unseeing. “She is two months pregnant. We had told almost no one. If she lives—”

Hope is a knife at his throat. It is almost too cruel a thing to wish for, for this child, for its mother. “Who knows?”

“Not even all of the servants know. Only Qingshan’s closest personal staff. It is early yet.”

“The imperial physicians?”

Jingyu shakes his head. “Aunt Jing examined Qingshan and found her to be in good health. We had not wished to trouble the imperial physicians so early when there was no real need. My mother knew as well of course.” His steps falter, just barely. “I suppose there’s no hurry knowing, now.” His eyes are terribly empty.

“This matter isn’t ended.” The words leave him in a rush. “Jingyan is still alive, there are allies still, in court. We will see our names cleared before we cross the river. Do not despair, cousin. I will see it done.”

Jingyu does stop at that, and turns to meet his eyes. His smile is impossibly gentle and endlessly sad. “Alright, Xiao-shu.”

“Make a bet with me.” The words fly from his lips and he tastes blood in their passing. Lin Chen’s eyebrows rise slowly.

“What?”

“Make a bet with me.” His voice does not shake. “You say that this is the end of the matter, but I say that Jingyan will not betray his brother, anymore than he would believe my father a traitor. I say he will not let this stand. If Jingyan should betray us, you have your victory. If he should not, if he keeps faith, I have mine.”

“And you will send your prince back to claim his rightful throne?”

He thinks of Jingyu, shoulders slumped in defeat, of the shadow of despair in his eyes. He thinks of seventy thousand souls on the riverbank, of his father’s broken silence, and a court like a basket of vipers in the world above. He thinks of the Emperor on his throne, his narrowed suspicious eyes and the anger that never seems to leave his voice. He thinks of a child waiting to be born.

“No.” Even as it leaves his throat the word surprises him. It certainly surprises Lin Chen, who cocks his head in unmistakable curiosity.

“Send me back.” The smirk that breaks over Lin Chen’s face now is unmistakably derisive. “Not to be Emperor. Send me back and I will find some way to prove our innocence. I can clear our names and restore our honor. See justice done. I will lay our souls to rest.”

“You’re very confident.”

“I know some of what was done to send us here, more perhaps than anyone who did not have a hand in its doing. It is a small advantage. And I am dedicated. With everything that was taken from me I have nothing to lose.” He feels the straight line of his back, unbowed even now. War has not finished him, betrayal has not broken him. He has borne up under the scrutiny of death itself, and stood his ground. He meets that black gaze now with all of the certainty of his soul.

Lin Chen’s eyes narrow. “And if you lose?”

There is iron in his soul. He is as strong and unmoving as the cliffs of Meiling. His voice does not shake. “If I am wrong I will lead us over the river myself. We will move on and I will never trouble your garden or your entry hall again.”

Every trace of humor has left Lin Chen’s face. His face is as still and severe as if he were carved from the stone of the halls. His eyes are ancient, fathomless. They rest on Lin Shu’s face as heavy as time itself, freighted with the fullness of uncounted lives, uncounted griefs. He is caught by them, cannot look away.

Finally, the god speaks. “Do you swear to the terms?”

The blood on his tongue is bright as copper. “I swear by my honor and the honor of the Chiyan army.”

Lin Chen snorts. “Not worth much is it, that vow, considering? Still, it will have to do. You have your wager mayfly.”

His mouth falls open at the insult, but all that comes out is an embarrassing squeak of outrage. Lin Chen’s eyes dance with mirth. He looks almost human now, but for the power rolling off of him in palpable waves.

[presumenothing]

wherefore // 几生轮回

unfinished nirvana in fire fic for @goodintentionswipfest​

(aka the kimi no na wa au that i posted the first part of in 2018 before being once again reminded that i am physically incapable of plot. sections i-iii are complete, rough outline follows afterwards)

i.

When Jingyan wakes up in another body, his first reaction is to be altogether grateful that he’s spent much more time at the borders and generally out of the capital than your average nobility. The slightest breath of unusually chilly morning air is enough to confirm that this is all the way to the border – of Liang and Da Yu, Jingyan suspects, much further north than even he’s ever gone.

(…well actually his first reaction is a flat startled “what”, right before he’d pinched himself to check if he’s still dreaming, but Jingyan figures anyone would’ve done the same anyway.)

The first bell of morning rings outside, and out of long habit Jingyan swings his feet off the bed and makes to rise before he can entirely realise what a terribly bad idea that is.

At least he manages to catch himself with a hasty hand on the bedframe. He’s even less coordinated than he was right after his growth spurt, when Jingyu-gege had kept a very straight face and not laughed at him at all.

That’s when Jingyan sees it: the ring of a silver bracelet around his ar– well, not his arm, but currently-his arm. Whatever.

He runs a light finger over the cool metal surface, over the deep grooves of an emblem that curls like flames and the shallower etch of a name. Lin Shu, it says.

Jingyan stands, properly this time, and goes to peer out the window, wondering if this Lin Shu can afford to take a day off. Whoever he is.

.

As it turns out, the answer to that is a resounding no, because Lin-Shu-whoever-he-is turns out to be the young marshal of this border army, as Jingyan swiftly finds out as he makes his way to morning drills.

Something he probably should’ve noticed right off, really, given the room he’d woken up in. Not large, certainly not by Jinling’s standards, but the noticeable lack of sharing made it a rare luxury in the barracks.

By the time he arrives at the training grounds, navigating purely on long-honed familiarity with army facilities, Jingyan’s already learnt to answer almost automatically to the many cheerful hails of “Young Marshal!” coming from the general outflow of people from the mess hall – many many more people than he’d been expecting, to be honest.

He doesn’t remember the actual numbers like Prince Qi probably does, but from personal experience Jingyan does know Da Liang’s border armies to be fairly impressive on the whole. Yet he’s never even heard of one this large, save perhaps Duke Mu’s army to the south.

It’s unmistakeably Liang’s colours they’re flying, though, alongside the same fiery emblem engraved on his bracelet, so Jingyan decides not to worry about it too much.

Either way it puts paid to his vague ideas of begging illness and staying firmly on the sidelines, though Jingyan finds to his pleasant surprise that this young marshal has trained some fairly competent lieutenants clearly capable of running the drills themselves.

It’s almost reminiscent of mornings in Jing Manor, honestly.

(And it could be worse, Jingyan thinks. “Young Marshal” is just a title, like “Your Highness” is, and after a whole life of answering to one it’s hardly a suffering to be addressed by the other – almost freeing, actually, even if he has to err on the side of caution by being much more taciturn than usual and hoping that the edge of exhaustion from sheer shock shows just enough to excuse him for it.

All said and done, though, Jingyan rather believes he’s done quite the good job of things.

Certainly better than whoever’s now in Jinling has probably managed, but as long as he hasn’t accidentally offended the Emperor or anything.

…Jingyan can only hope.)

–

ii.

This, as Jingyu-gege often says, is why Jingyan should never, ever jump to conclusions about things.

Admittedly this doesn’t backfire so much as it goes completely off the rails of his expectations, trundling like a particularly enthusiastic horse in the opposite direction.

Nothing terrible awaits when he wakes up back in his room the next morning, and a quick inquiry to Zhanying confirms that he definitely hadn’t entered the palace yesterday.

Jingyan breathes a deep if silent sigh of relief.

(A quick check of the outer walls turns up a scuff mark matching his shoe on the roof, so faint as to suggest that it’d only been left because someone obviously hadn’t entirely adjusted to his new height yet.

Fair enough, Jingyan thinks. He’d have done the same last night if he hadn’t been too tired from the sudden cold to sneak out and explore anywhere.

Maybe next time, he catches himself thinking, and pulls a face, because no, none of that.

That jinxes it right away, of course, as he promptly realises the morning after.

Jingyan stifles a shiver in the wintry sun, even colder now after a day in Jinling’s warmth, and thinks – really, Jingyu-gege would have a field day with this.)

.

Possibly the oddest thing about this, thinks Jingyan on the eighth day he wakes up at the border instead of Jinling, is that neither of them have ever thought to question, even once, whether this is really happening.

Or at least Jingyan hasn’t, and if Lin Shu’s wondered about it he hasn’t mentioned it either, at least not in the increasingly copious notes they’re leaving for each other.

They end up making a routine of things without much discussion about it, even though the setup in each of their rooms almost mirrors the other. Jingyan begins to stock more scrolls of paper and sticks of ink at his desk, keeps their correspondence in a hidden drawer within easy reach of his chair.

But Lin Shu apparently fears the cold as little as his relatively thin wardrobe would suggest, because his stationery inevitably is set up at the low table with only a cushion to sit on – admittedly quite a comfortable one, yes, but still unseasonably chilly for the stone floor.

Either way, what had started out as a simple way to update each other on the day’s events devolves into something else altogether, and Jingyan can even pinpoint the moment it happened: when Lin Shu had added also stop wearing my hair down you’re making me look like an idiot as an afterthought on the third entry, followed by oh and don’t eat hazelnuts squashed into too few inches of space.

Jingyan’s learnt enough of medicine from his mother not to take the second part lightly, but the first almost tempts him into putting a flower in Lin Shu’s hair just because.

But only almost.

Then you stop tying my hair all up like that first, he adds to his next summary, it’s giving me a headache.

The palace would give anyone a headache, he finds written almost musingly in the reply margin.

Jingyan rubs at his temple, and finds that he can’t even argue with that, really. So instead he pulls up a fresh sheet of paper and quickly outlines the basics of court etiquette, because the Emperor’s probably going to end up summoning Jingyan while he literally isn’t himself one of these days, if this is going to continue.

He has a feeling it will.

.

It takes Jingyan a whole month of alternating days to admit, not quite grudgingly, that he is rather impressed by the fact that Lin Shu is already the young marshal of such a large army at this age.

In his defense, he’d rather naturally assumed the worst when he first found out that Lin Shu was the son of the commander himself, but that was before seeing the genuine respect rather than mere tolerance he got from every last man in the army, even those thrice either his or Lin Shu’s age.

(It’s the Chiyan Army, Lin Shu writes back, the very turn of each stroke arrow-sharp with irritation. Chiyan! Army! Will you get it right, it’s not just any army!

And I’m literally a prince, Jingyan snipes back in his most practiced handwriting. Also, if you’re insulting my men…

Hardly. Zhanying deserves a pay raise and a better boss, Lin Shu answers, then adds, pointedly, Your Highness.

Probably just so he could use up the last bit of paper.

Jingyan scowls at that last scrawl before pulling out yet another fresh sheet and dipping his brush in ink.

As if he’s going to let anyone have the last word over him quite so easily.)

–

iii.

“I didn’t know you liked archery, Prince Jing-gege,” says Nihuang one afternoon when they’re resting in his manor’s study after an impressive practice bout. The young duchess Mu had gotten quite formidable enough to attract the rapt attention of the entire training field – or she would have, if Zhanying hadn’t promptly barked at all of them to get back to their drills right then.

(It’d almost tempted Jingyan into asking, really, whether Zhanying had noticed anything different about his fighting style on the days when it’d been Lin Shu instead.

Not that Zhanying necessarily knew anything, per se – but from the subtly helpful way in which his general had volunteered information that Lin Shu’s writings occasionally failed to convey, between the carelessly precise updates and snarky comments in the margins… Jingyan rather thought he did suspect something, at least.

Wei Zheng was the same, up north at the border, which was just as well.

Lin Shu doesn’t know how good he has it, really, that the Jing army has closer to seven hundred men than seventy thousand – all of whom apparently assume that their young marshal will recognise them. Which says something fairly impressive about Lin Shu, of course, but still. How fortunate for him.)

Both their fathers have been closed up in Yangju Hall all day long – all the palace servants had been dismissed, and he’d heard that even Xia Jiang and Xie Yu had been summoned in.

Whatever it is they’re discussing must be important indeed, he knows. It’s hardly unusual, for both the Marquis of Ning and the Xuanjing Bureau’s head officer to meet the Emperor, but Jingyan doesn’t think he’s ever seen the Duke of Yunnan even half as stern as when he’d arrived this time, both his children firmly in tow.

Mu Qing had been unabashedly cheerful as always, and easy enough to handle – Aunt Liyang had been more than happy to help. It wasn’t like two more kids running around the house would trouble her much further, anyway, what with Yan Yujin already practically living there half the time.

But Nihuang had declined her offer politely before asking to see the Jing manor’s grounds, which is how she’d ended up here, hands clasped behind her back as she considers the red bow in pride of place on his weapons rack.

At least the sparring earlier had worn away most of the tension in her features, though Jingyan can still see the trace of it in the graceful stiffness of her posture, and wonders silently if she too feels the same thing he does, the slight wrongness in the air.

He shrugs anyway, trying for relaxed. “I got back into practicing it over the past couple months. It’s quite a bit more enjoyable now that I actually have enough strength to draw the string back fully.”

Which is completely true, even if he’d only had reason to discover it because Lin Shu’s weapon of choice is bow and arrow, as Jingyan had found to his utter surprise.

Nothing like muscle memory when the muscles weren’t even yours to begin with – though he supposes that it’s a fair trade, since Lin Shu’s also had to up his own proficiency with swords and spears to match Jingyan’s.

Neither does he mention that he’d only bought this bow on a whim because it reminded him of the one Lin Shu used. A resemblance that the young marshal had swiftly noticed, from the way he’d filled entire swathes of paper with gleeful gloating, only punctuated by a brief note on how he’d restrung it and adjusted the tension to match.

(Jingyan had kindly reminded Lin Shu about the fact that he’d gone and taken one whole day off to go diving for pearls that time the Jing army had been at Donghai, apparently having completely forgotten that he wouldn’t be able to bring the pearl back with him anyway.

The answering blankness had somehow conveyed a very mulish silence nevertheless.

Jingyan had rolled his eyes before writing if you really want it back I can always ask a courier to bring it over, it’ll just take time to reach the border.

And money, came the reply, or do you think I’ve no idea how much it costs to send something from Jinling? Nah, just keep it and go spend that money on food instead, you’re like a stick.

You’re just jealous because I’m taller, Jingyan does not answer, because he can be the better person here, so instead he writes Tried my mother’s hazelnut pastries yet?)

Nihuang gives him an inscrutably knowing look, even though Jingyan’s plenty sure he hasn’t shown any signs of his thoughts. “Maybe you should teach Qing-er then,” she muses as she comes back down to sit at the table. “The way he’d always playing around, I don’t know if he realised that he’s going to take over Father’s position someda– huh.”

Jingyan glances up from where he’s pouring out another glass of cold water, and finds her attention apparently caught by the documents he’d left out on the desk. “What is it?”

At his nod of permission Nihuang lifts a half-familiar paper from the stack, and there’s a brief moment of alarm when he spots Lin Shu’s handwriting, though it fades when he realises it’s not one of their written conversations.

Luckily Nihuang doesn’t notice either way, too intent on reading. “This naval strategy…” she finally says, “it’s just like the one we received some time ago, when Yunnan was under attack by river.”

Jingyan doesn’t need to feign his surprise. “Really?”

Nihuang nods, smiling faintly. “It saved all of our lives.”

“Oh,” Jingyan answers a little dumbly, his mind spinning. All of this is quite real, obviously, everything has convinced him of that, but for some reason it hadn’t struck him how Lin Shu too existed in this same world as him, more than just another body he sometimes woke up in. Rather slow of him, he thinks wryly, Lin Shu would have a laughing fit if he found out.

The specifics of this paper escape him now – it’d been part of some grand point Lin Shu had been trying to make, he thinks, as if they didn’t both know he was just cribbing the strategy from Nie Duo – but Jingyan doesn’t even need to look at the paper to see that familiar handwriting half his own. “Do you know who sent it?”

Nihuang shakes her head, her expression clouding over. “Father refused to tell me who’d sent it, forbade me from even mentioning it to Qing-er.”

And as if everything’s just been waiting for this last piece to fall into place, Jingyan feels the thing niggling at the edge of his consciousness, just out of realisation.

“Jingyan-gege…” Nihuang says, slow and terribly hesitant, “what do you know about the northern b–”

“Your Highness!” comes Qi Meng’s harried shout from outside, and Jingyan has never been more infuriated with any of his men in his life. “Duke Mu is here, he says the Duchess is to go with him immediately!”

Jingyan looks across the table to find his own frown reflected fiercely back at him.

Nihuang rises, looking suddenly older than she is, and says, quietly, “Be careful, Jingyan-gege. I don’t know what’s going on but I don’t like it.”

“Neither do I,” Jingyan says honestly, and doesn’t press her for whatever it was she had been about to ask earlier. He stands to see her out. “You be careful, too.”

Nihuang nods firmly, then she turns and is gone.

(Spoke with Nihuang today, Jingyan writes before going to bed that night. I don’t think you’ve met her yet, she’s the daughter of the Duke of Yunnan.

You know, he finds written beneath it the next time he wakes up in his own room, it’s been a whole year and that’s the first I’ve heard you talk about any lady. And don’t say Xia Dong, she’s just terror manifest.

The raised eyebrow is clearly audible, even via text.

Jingyan snorts, grabbing the brush that sits ready and waiting, as always. Nonsense, he starts, then pauses for a moment before adding I think you’d like her.

He’s looking oddly forward to the reply, whatever it is: which one, and don’t say Xia Dong or even well certainly she’ll like me, all the girls do – though the last of that is nonsense, seeing as there aren’t really any more ladies hanging around the border pass than in Jing Manor.

But he never hears from Lin Shu again.)

–

iv.

Jingyan still finds himself in his room when he wakes up the next day.

And the next, and the next after that.

(On the eighteenth morning in a row he remains stubbornly stuck in Jinling’s oppressive warmth Jingyan punches the wall so hard it almost cracks cleanly in half – or maybe that’s just him.

Zhanying hurries up, voice tinged with ill-concealed worry. “Your Highness?” he says tentatively, except the words themselves feel like a shackle now.

Jingyan leans just slightly against the cool smoothness of the wood, and tells himself to breathe.

“Zhanying,” he says, finally, “what do you know about the northern border army?”

It’s the Chiyan Army, not just any old military! echoes Lin Shu’s voice in his head.

“…not much,” hedges Zhanying, and it clearly isn’t a lie but his eyes are also very wide.

The wrongness from before congeals into an ugly mess, settles decidedly in his heart. It’s the only thing he can be sure of not imagining.

Jingyan suddenly feels very tired indeed. “It’s nothing.”)

–

v.

And then he finds out in the worst way possible: far too late, and all at once.

.

.

.

would have been: jingyan finding out the truth about what’s been happening, which is fairly true to kimi no na wa canon except that it’s everything at meiling instead of a meteor extinction event. in jingyan’s present time he finds the lin manor in absolute disrepair, asks questions of his mother that make both of them sad, and eventually forces a bodyswap to save lin shu and the chiyan army by… using the pearl somehow? and how would he stop this single-handedly anyway? never quite managed to figure either part out. though on his side lin xie is shown to also have realised Something was going on with lin shu (like zhanying realised about jingyan) and even if he doesn’t buy the “hey i’m from the future” shtick, he at least would be willing to hear out someone with a good idea of what’s currently happening in the capital, which helps.

anyway there would’ve been one section where we finally get lin shu’s pov which is when he realises what This Bloody Idiot xiao jingyan is trying to do and curses up a blue streak. from there this could’ve had one of two endings:

a HE where jingyan succeeds, lin shu and the chiyan army survives, and they forget but eventually find each other again (after remembering when jingyan sees lin shu doing archery or vice versa).

or a BE where jingyan doesn’t succeed and we end up right back in the canon timeline, dammit guys. optional extra being that changsu remembers for some reason even though jingyan doesn’t… but sometimes, jingyan can’t help thinking that changsu reminds him of someone. a person he’d forgotten? angst ensues. the end.

[fuyonggu]

Book of Jin 100.1, Biography of Wang Mi

This is the rebels chapter, so expect rebels plotting rebellion. More specifically, these are all rebels against the Jin dynasty who don’t get entries elsewhere in the Book of JIn (so no lords of the Sixteen Kingdoms and no usurpers).

First up is Wang Mi, who was not actually the son of Wang Ping. Like many biographies, it’s pretty contextless if you aren’t familiar with the timeline involved.

王彌，東萊人也。家世二千石。祖頎，魏玄菟太守，武帝時，至汝南太守。彌有才幹，博涉書記。少遊俠京都，隱者董仲道見而謂之曰：「君豺聲豹視，好亂樂禍，若天下騷擾，不作士大夫矣。」惠帝末，妖賊劉柏根起於東萊之惤縣，彌率家僮從之，柏根以為長史。柏根死，聚徒海渚，為苟純所敗，亡入長廣山為群賊。彌多權略，凡有所掠，必豫圖成敗，舉無遺策，弓馬迅捷，膂力過人，青土號為「飛豹」。後引兵入寇青徐，兗州刺史苟晞逆擊，大破之。彌退集亡散，眾復大振，晞與之連戰，不能克。彌進兵寇泰山、魯國、譙、梁、陳、汝南、潁川、襄城諸郡，入許昌，開府庫，取器杖，所在陷沒，多殺守令，有眾數萬，朝廷不能制。

Wang Mi was a native of Donglai commandary. He came from a family of Two Thousand 石 salary rank. His grandfather was Wang Qi, who was once Cao-Wei's Administrator of Xuantu. During the reign of Emperor Wu (Sima Yan), Wang Qi rose in office to Administrator of Runan.

Wang Mi was practiced and talented, and well-read and learned in books and biographies. As a youth, he wandered through the capital region as a warrior-errant. The hermit Dong Zhongdao saw Wang Mi and said to him, "Sir, you have the sound of a wild dog and the look of a panther. You are the sort of fellow who finds happiness in turmoil and delights in misfortune. If anything should befall the realm, it will not be the official's life for you."

Near the end of Emperor Hui's reign (~307), the crafty bandit Liu Bogen rose up at Jian county in Donglai commandary. Wang Mi led his family and servants to join Liu Bogen, who appointed Wang Mi as his Chief Clerk. When Liu Bogen died, Wang Mi led his forces to the sea islets. He was defeated by Gou Chun, but he fled to Mount Zhangguang and became a bandit leader. Wang Mi was very calculating and cunning, and whenever he raided a place, he always planned out his victory beforehand and never made tactical mistakes.

Wang Mi was nimble and agile with horse and bow, and his arm strength surpassed others. The people of the Qing region called him "Flying Panther". 

Later, Wang Mi led his troops to invade Qingzhou and Xuzhou. The Inspector of Yanzhou, Gou Xi, intercepted Wang Mi and attacked him, greatly routing him. Wang Mi fled and gathered up all his scattered soldiers again, and the morale of his soldiers was restored. Gou Xi fought against Wang Mi several times, but he could not overcome him.

Wang Mi advanced, and his soldiers invaded the commandaries of Taishan, Luguo, Qiao, Liang, Chen, Runan, Yingchuan, and Xiangcheng. Wang Mi entered Xuchang, where he opened the Arsenal there and took weapons and equipment. All fell before him, and many Administrators and Prefects were killed. His forces swelled to the tens of thousands, and the Jin court could not control him.

會天下大亂，進逼洛陽，京邑大震，宮城門晝閉。司徒王衍等率百官距守，彌屯七里澗，王師進擊，大破之。彌謂其党劉靈曰：「晉兵尚強，歸無所厝。劉元海昔為質子，我與之周旋京師，深有分契，今稱漢王，將歸之，可乎？」靈然之。乃渡河歸元海。元海聞而大悅，遣其侍中兼御史大夫郊迎，致書於彌曰：「以將軍有不世之功，超時之德，故有此迎耳。遲望將軍之至，孤今親行將軍之館，輒拂席洗爵，敬待將軍。」及彌見元海，勸稱尊號，元海謂彌曰：「孤本謂將軍如竇周公耳，今真吾孔明、仲華也。烈祖有云：'吾之有將軍，如魚之有水。'」於是署彌司隸校尉，加侍中、特進，彌固辭。使隨劉曜寇河內，又與石勒攻臨漳。

At this time, the realm was wracked by chaos. Wang Mi advanced and threatened Luoyang, and the capital region was greatly disturbed. The palace and city gates were all shut. The Minister Over The Masses, Wang Yan, and others led the Jin government officials to man the walls. Wang Mi camped at Seven Li Gully. The Jin royal army advanced and attacked him, and Wang Mi was greatly routed.

Wang Mi said to his fellow Liu Ling, "The Jin soldiers are strong and numerous, and there is nowhere we can go to for shelter. But there is Liu Yuanhai (Liu Yuan); when he was a hostage in the capital, he and I used to roam around the capital region together, and we formed a deep bond. Now he has declared himself the King of Han. We could go to join him. What do you think?" Liu Ling agreed.

So they crossed the Yellow River and went to join Liu Yuan. When he heard of this, Liu Yuan was overjoyed, and he sent his Palace Attendants and Imperial Secretaries to welcome Wang Mi at the border. He sent Wang Mi a letter stating, "General, your achievements supplant the age, and your virtues surpass the era; that is why I have sent you this welcome. Before you reach here, I shall personally prepare a place of residence for you, roll out the carpet and wash the vessels for you, and respectfully await your arrival."

When Wang Mi met Liu Yuan, he urged him to declare himself Emperor. Liu Yuan said to Wang Mi, "General, I used to consider you as just like Dou Zhougong (Dou Rong). But now I see that you are really more like Kongming (Zhuge Liang) or Zhonghua (Deng Yu). It is as Liezu (Liu Bei) once said: 'General, now that I have you, I am like a fish that has found water'." And he appointed Wang Mi as Colonel-Director of Retainers, Palace Attendant, and Specially Advanced, but Wang Mi firmly declined these things. 

Liu Yuan sent Wang Mi to accompany Liu Yao to invade Henei, and they joined with Shi Le to attack Linzhang.

永嘉初，寇上黨，圍壺關，東海王越遣淮南內史王曠、安豐太守衛乾等討之，及彌戰于高都、長平間，大敗之，死者十六七。元海進彌征東大將軍，封東萊公。與劉曜、石勒等攻魏郡、汲郡、頓丘，陷五十餘壁，皆調為軍士。又與勒攻鄴，安北將軍和郁棄城而走。懷帝遣北中郎將裴憲次白馬討彌，車騎將軍王堪次東燕討勒，平北將軍曹武次大陽討元海。武部將軍彭默為劉聰所敗，見害，眾軍皆退。聰渡黃河，帝遣司隸校尉劉暾、將軍宋抽等距之，皆不能抗。彌、聰以萬騎至京城，焚二學。東海王越距戰於西明門，彌等敗走。彌復以二千騎寇襄城諸縣，河東、平陽、弘農、上党諸流人之在潁川、襄城、汝南、南陽、河南者數萬家，為舊居人所不禮，皆焚燒城邑，殺二千石長吏以應彌。彌又以二萬人會石勒寇陳郡、潁川，屯陽曜，遣弟璋與石勒共寇徐兗，因破越軍。

At the beginning of the Yongjia reign era (~307), Wang Mi invaded Shangdang and surrounded Huguan. Jin's Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, sent the Interior Minister of Huainan, Wang Kuang, the Administrator of Anfeng, Wei Gan, and others to campaign against Wang Mi. Wang Mi fought them between Gaodu and Changping and greatly defeated them, killing sixty to seventy percent of their forces. Liu Yuan promoted Wang Mi to Grand General Who Conquers The East and Duke of Donglai. 

Wang Mi joined with Liu Yao, Shi Le, and others to attack the commandaries of Wei, Ji, and Dunqiu; they captured more than fifty fortresses and drafted the people there as soldiers. 

Wang Mi also joined with Shi Le to attack Ye. Jin's General Who Maintain The North, He Yu, abandoned that city and fled. 

Emperor Huai sent the General of the Household Gentlemen of the North, Pei Xian, to march to Baima to campaign against Wang Mi; he sent the General of Chariots and Cavalry, Wang Kan, to Dongyan to campaign against Shi Le; and he sent the General Who Pacifies The North, Cao Wu, to Dayang to campaign against Liu Yuan. 

Cao Wu's subordinate general Peng Mo was defeated by Liu Cong; when Cao Wu's troops saw that Peng Mo had been killed, they all retreated. 

Liu Cong crossed the Yellow River. Emperor Huai sent his Colonel-Director of Retainers, Liu Tun, the general Song Chou, and others to oppose Liu Cong, but they could not resist him. 

Wang Mi and Liu Cong led ten thousand cavalry to the Luoyang region, where they burned down the two Academies. The Prince of Donghai, Sima Yue, opposed them in battle at the Ximing Gate, and Wang Mi and the others were defeated and driven off. 

Wang Mi led another two thousand cavalry to invade the counties of Xiangcheng commandary. There were tens of thousands of refugee families from Hedong, Pingyang, Hongnong, and Shangdang commandaries who were now living in Yingchuan, Xiangcheng, Runan, Nanyang, and Henan commandaries. They had been oppressed by the people already living in those places. So they set fire to all the towns and cities in those places and killed the officials of Two Thousand 石 salary rank and the Chief Clerks in order to support Wang Mi.

Wang Mi also led twenty thousand soldiers to join with Shi Le and invade Chen and Yingchuan commandaries. They camped at Yangyao. Wang Mi sent his younger brother Wang Zhang to join with Shi Le and invade Xuzhou and Yanzhou, and they routed the local generals.

彌後與曜寇襄城，遂逼京師。時京邑大饑，人相食，百姓流亡，公卿奔河陰。曜、彌等遂陷宮城，至太極前殿，縱兵大掠。幽帝於端門，逼辱羊皇后，殺皇太子詮，發掘陵墓，焚燒宮廟，城府蕩盡，百官及男女遇害者三萬餘人，遂遷帝於平陽。

Wang Mi later joined with Liu Yao to invade Xiangcheng, then advanced to threaten the Luoyang region. There was great hunger in the capital region at this time, and people ate each other. The common people all scattered and fled, and the nobles and chief ministers fled south of the Yellow River. 

Liu Yao, Wang Mi, and the others broke through the palace walls, and when they reached the Front Hall of the Taiji Palace, they set their soldiers loose to sack it. They imprisoned Emperor Huai at the Duan Gate, threatened and disgraced Empress Yang, and killed the Crown Prince, Sima Quan. They dug up the old tombs and graves and burned down the palaces and temples. The governmental offices were entirely destroyed. More than thirty thousand people among the government officials and the nobles were killed. Then they moved Emperor Huai to Pingyang.

彌之掠也，曜禁之，彌不從。曜斬其牙門王延以徇，彌怒，與曜阻兵相攻，死者千餘人。彌長史張嵩諫曰：「明公與國家共興大事，事業甫耳，便相攻討，何面見主上乎！平洛之功誠在將軍，然劉曜皇族，宜小下之。晉二王平吳之鑒，其則不遠，願明將軍以為慮。縱將軍阻兵不還，其若子弟宗族何！」彌曰：「善，微子，吾不聞此過也。」於是詣曜謝，結分如初。彌曰：「下官聞過，乃是張長史之功。」曜謂嵩曰：「君為硃建矣，豈況範生乎！」各賜嵩金百斤。彌謂曜曰：「洛陽天下之中，山河四險之固，城池宮室無假營造，可徙平陽都之。」曜不從，焚燒而去。彌怒曰：「屠各子，豈有帝王之意乎！汝柰天下何！」遂引眾東屯項關。

When Wang Mi wanted to pillage, Liu Yao forbade it, but Wang Mi did not listen. So Liu Yao beheaded Wang Mi's General of the Serrated Gate, Wang Yan, as punishment. This angered Wang Mi, and he had his soldiers block Liu Yao's; they fought each other, and more than a thousand people died.

Then Wang Mi's Chief Clerk, Zhang Song, remonstrated with him, saying, "General, you are supposed to be working together with the royal family of our state to achieve the grand design. We have only just accomplished this great feat, yet now you are fighting with one another. How will you be able to show your face to our sovereign? Although taking Luoyang was indeed primarily your achievement, Liu Yao is part of the royal clan, so you should yield a little to him. Remember what happened during the dispute between the two Jin generals (Wang Jun and Wang Hun) when they argued over who deserved merit for the conquest of Wu. That incident was not so long ago. I implore you, General, to consider that. If you continue to obstruct Liu Yao, what will become of your younger relatives and your clan?"

Wang Mi replied, "You are right. If not for you, I would not have realized my fault." So he went to visit Liu Yao and apologize, and they patched up their relationship to be like before.

Wang Mi said, "It was all thanks to Chief Clerk Zhang that I realized that I was at fault."

Liu Yao said to Zhang Song, "Sir, you are another Zhu Jian; how could you be a mere common sort?" And both of them rewarded Zhang Song with a hundred catties of gold.

Wang Mi advised Liu Yao, "Luoyang is in the center of the realm. It is enveloped by mountains and rivers, and considering the walls, moats, and palaces, there would be no need to prepare camps. You ought to advise our sovereign to move the capital from Pingyang to here."

But Liu Yao did not listen, and he burned the city before leaving. Wang Mi angrily said, "You Chuge brat, is this how a king or an emperor acts?" Wang Mi led his soldiers east to camp at Xiang Pass.

初，曜以彌先入洛，不待己，怨之，至是嫌隙遂構。劉暾說彌還據青州，彌然之，乃以左長史曹嶷為鎮東將軍，給兵五千，多齎寶物還鄉里，招誘亡命，且迎其室。彌將徐邈、高梁輒率部曲數千人隨嶷去，彌益衰弱。

Earlier, Liu Yao had entered Luoyang before Wang Mi instead of waiting for him, and this angered Wang Mi. So this suspicion and division had sprung up between the two of them.

Liu Tun persuaded Wang Mi to return and occupy Qingzhou. Wang Mi agreed with him.

Wang Mi appointed his Chief Clerk of the Left, Cao Yi, as General Who Guards The East, and he gave him five thousand soldiers and many treasures and sent him back to his home district in order to recruit and entice fugitives to join him and protect Wang Mi's family. 

Wang Mi's generals Xu Miao and Gao Liang both took several thousand of their soldiers and abandoned him to go join Cao Yi, and so Wang Mi's forces were gradually diminishing. 

初，石勒惡彌驍勇，常密為之備。彌之破洛陽也，多遺勒美女寶貨以結之。時勒擒苟晞，以為左司馬，彌謂勒曰：「公獲苟晞而用之，何其神妙！使晞為公左，彌為公右，天下不足定也！」勒愈忌彌，陰圖之。劉暾又勸彌征曹嶷，藉其眾以誅勒。於是彌使暾詣青州，令曹嶷引兵會己，而詐要勒共向青州。暾至東阿，為勒遊騎所獲。勒見彌與嶷書，大怒，乃殺暾。彌未之知，勒伏兵襲彌，殺之，並其眾。

Earlier, Shi Le had been wary of Wang Mi for his bold and valiant spirit, and he often secretly made plans against him. After Wang Mi captured Luoyang, he kept sending Shi Le beautiful women and fine treasures in order to win him over. And when Shi Le captured Gou Xi and appointed him as his Marshal of the Left, Wang Mi said to Shi Le, "Sir, you have captured Gou Xi and put him to work for you; how divine and ingenious you are! If you can make Gou Xi your left hand, and have me as your right hand, there is no one in the realm who would be able to stop you!" But these things only made Shi Le even more suspicious of Wang Mi, and he secretly planned to get rid of him.

Liu Tun also urged Wang Mi to summon Cao Yi and have him bring his forces to execute Shi Le. So Wang Mi sent Liu Tun to visit Cao Yi in Qingzhou and order him to bring his troops to join with Wang Mi's forces, as well as entice Shi Le and attack him together at Qingzhou. But when Liu Tun reached Dong'a, he was captured by Shi Le's scout riders. When Shi Le saw the letter that Wang Mi had written to Cao Yi, he was furious, and he killed Liu Tun, but Wang Mi did not know.

Then Shi Le placed troops in ambush to surprise attack Wang Mi, and he killed Wang Mi and took over his forces.

王彌好亂樂禍，挾詐懷奸，命儔嘯侶，伺間侯隙，助悖逆於平陽，肆殘忍於都邑，遂使生靈塗炭，神器流離，邦國軫《麥秀》之哀，宮廟興《黍離》之痛，豈天意乎？豈人事乎？何醜虜之倡狂而亂離之斯瘼者也！

The Historians' Appraisal: Wang Mi indulged in turmoil and delighted in misfortune. He took false and crafty villains to be his friends and companions, and he lay in wait for opportunities to exploit. He aided the perverse traitors at Pingyang and brought death and destruction to the capital. He caused the people to become miserable refugees and forced the imperial line into exile. He inflicted the devastation described in the Fine Wheat poem upon the state, and caused the palace and the temple to experience the pitiful state of the writer of the Drooping Millet poem. How could Heaven have willed it? How could the people have wished it? How could such a savage brute have caused ‘such grievous turmoil and division’?

[firstchaptertranslations]

The Emperor Plans, The Minister Executes: Chapter 2

Gu Bing knelt there, soaked through all over with cold sweat. In that moment, it felt as if he were back in the drawing room in his maternal uncle’s house.

Several days a year, his younger self would go kneel there, receive a few scraps of silver from his maternal aunt, endure a round of everyone’s mockery, then silently leave, alone. After that was a crude dwelling, a single lamp, and classics, essays, and poetry.

That sensation— of being pitied and held in contempt, of having no more power over his own fate than a floating bit of algae.

He was long used to it, and thus able to endure it.

“Do you know why I picked you alone, out of the several hundred examinees ranked within the three tiers?” the man on the dais asked idly.

“This commoner does not know, Your Highness.”

“You’re a Retainer of the Crown Prince now. Don’t call yourself a commoner anymore.”

Gu Bing’s brows knitted. Retainer of the Crown Prince was a sixth-rank second-class position, better than what even many scions of good families could hope for. This good fortune had arrived so quickly that it left him fearful.

“Should you not express your gratitude?” The man on the dais chose a forbidding wording, but his tone of voice was so gentle as to seem a touch careless.”

“This minister thanks Your Highness for your generosity.”

A fine-featured handmaid went back and forth, topping up teacups and waving a fan. “You still haven’t answered my question.”

Gu Bing sighed inwardly. “Most likely the show of myself I made at the banquet at the Apricot Garden amused Your Highness--”

The other man startled. “You remembered my voice all this time?”

Gu Bing shook his head. “Your Highness’s voice is akin to the cry of the dragon and the call of the phoenix, but I didn’t recognize you by voice.”

The man on the dais stood and ambled his leisurely way down. Gu Bing saw the train of his robes trailing on the ground, embroidered with cloud patterns, like the lavish ripples of light atop Daming Lake.

“Tell me more.”

“In fact, I realized during the banquet itself. There were three main points of notice.”

“What three points?”

Gu Bing hesitated for a moment before replying deferentially. “First, Your Highness was youthful and magnificent, and of handsome bearing. No one less than a scion of the great families could’ve obtained the clothes you wore. Second, Your Highness had keen knowledge of the affairs at court. You even knew that Zhou Qi was going to the Prince of Jingxi as an aide. I doubt an ordinary princeling would’ve had the ability and interest. Third, no ordinary ministerial family could have employed the servants who blocked my way and asked after my name that day.”

The Crown Prince mulled over this for a moment, then clapped and laughed. “You really are a meticulous thinker, Gu Bing. I’d forgotten that several of my servants are the kinfolk of fallen ministers, tattooed as punishment and sent into the palace to serve the emperor’s family. Looks like I really was right to keep you.” The Crown Prince half-turned and eyed Gu Bing, then sighed. “But I really didn’t choose you because I found you amusing. Rather, I… never mind, you probably wouldn’t believe me if I told you. I didn’t expect you to be like this either.”

His words left Gu Bing bewildered. All he could do was obediently answer in the affirmative. “This minister fears he presents an incommodious sight to your imperial eyes.”

But the man didn’t spare him another glance. He only said, “After this you’ll be at my side attending upon me. Naturally you’ll be moving into the Crown Prince’s residence, the East Palace. You must be tired today— go retire and rest. Come to the inner court tomorrow at quarter past the fifth hour to await me.”

Gu Bing arrived at the courtyard neatly dressed before five the next day, neatly dressed, only to find that the tutors of the Crown Prince’s Academe, the Secretary of the Crown Prince, and even the Grand Guardian and Grand Tutor, were already lined up there, all present and accounted for. Even though everyone wore new court robes, they more resembled rows of wilted, sickly trees.

The Secretary of the Crown Prince was a rather forbidding man. “Minister Gu.”

Gu Bing immediately bowed, afraid to even raise his head. Secretary was a fifth-rank first-class official position, a full three grades higher than his own.

“Having just entered officialdom, I fear you possess little understanding of the court, let alone the East Palace. His Highness the Crown Prince is benevolent and kind in character, and treats his subordinates with great generosity. But this does not mean we ministers can grow careless. The East Palace morning meeting is at the fifth hour, after which His Highness must attend court at Liangyi Palace at quarter to six, so ministers should arrive here by three. You’ve newly passed the exams, Minister Gu. Do not make the mistake of sinking into idleness in your youthful prime!”

Spittle flew as Secretary Huang spoke; Gu Bing’s head sank lower and lower, almost burying itself into the dust too deep to pull back out.

Now he heard a series of rustles. The palace handmaids walked out in a line, with Crown Prince Xuanyuan Zhaomin standing in their midst. In an instant, everyone in the inner court was kneeling on the ground.

Gu Bing hurriedly knelt too, feeling sore of back and dizzy of head.

Xuanyuan looked at his gathered subordinates and smiled a little. “You have a voice like a great bell, Minister Huang Yong. You must be in fine health, if I could hear you a mile away.” Secretary Huang hurriedly begged his pardon, but Xuanyuan waved him aside. “Xiao-Gu only just arrived, and he’s had to work a good deal lately with the examinations. I was the one who told him to come at a later hour. With the chilly weather lately, I want to push the time of the meeting back fifteen minutes from now on, and everyone can get more sleep. What do you think, Grand Tutor?”

Gu Bing couldn’t resist raising his head. Xuanyuan looked cheerful, his phoenix eyes half-shut with his smile, like an enlightened old fox. Where was the slightest shadow of his wild, willful self from the banks of the winding river a few days ago?

As he woolgathered, he spotted Xuanyuan’s gaze suddenly turn toward him. His lacquer-black eyes could suck in souls. Hurriedly, Gu Bing lowered his head.

The corner of Xuanyuan’s mouth curved. He directed everyone indoors.

After the meeting, Gu Bing’s head spun with the multitudinous official position names and relationships— something something Attendant Liu  was Chancellor Wang’s brother-in-law, something something Senior Minister Shi’s protege Zhao Zixi was the cousin of His Majesty’s current favorite Consort Zhao, something something Grand Tutor Su’s son was serving as Inspector in Huizhou, but due to an unhappy relationship with his father had gone over to Senior Minister Shi…”

How fortunate that he sat next to another Retainer named Wu Yong, who dragged Gu Bing into his incessant chatter. The buzz of his secret-sharing made Gu Bing’s head hurt. His face was turning pale.

Xuanyuan banged on his table somewhat impatiently. “So, after all that talk, how are we going to arrange for Third Brother to depart the capital as a regional prince? We still haven’t settled on how to respond to my Emperor Father. Can’t everyone give me one unified answer?”

“The Third Prince’s mother occupies a lowly position in the harem. The title of Prince of Lingnan should be good enough for him.”

“You don’t understand, his mother is cousin to Senior Minister Shi’s daughter-in-law!”

“And what do you know? Senior Minister Shi’s son favors Lady Ru.”

Xuanyuan laughed. “I know, you all write a petition and give it to me, right now. I’ll bring it to court afterward.”

Immediately, a clerk distributed sheets of paper. Gu Bing hesitated for a moment, then began to write. Wu Yong beside him snuck a glance, then frantically tugged at him. He was easy to lip-read: Are you crazy?

Gu Bing shook his head, and had the clerk bring up his response.

Xuanyuan’s gaze swept down the page. He gave a cryptic little smile and rose to attend court.