At the board meeting, Prince Zi Shu introduced Secretary Wen Ke Xing to his staff. They looked at the map of the battlefield and its surrounding. They discussed the weather forecast based on the meteorologist predictions. They also talked about infantry unit size, weapons, quantity of food to bring, horses and chariots. After the meeting ended, the staff was dismissed, and prince Zi Shu walked secretary Wen to the military library.
Wen Ke Xing was extremely impressed. There were so many scrolls and books, they filled up 11 floors. Yet, they were well organized, in a round stair case manner, and each section was engraved with the topic. Some dated from the oldest dynasty, Xia, its rise and fall, and every dynasty that followed. Scrolls had drawings of the well known figures that contributed to the success of their time. Some even drew out how to look at the sky, the clouds, the position of the stars and moon, to forecast weather or predict storms. Books that discussed military tactics and strategies were kept on the 5th floor of the staircase. In there, Wen Ke Xing saw not only Sun Tze's Art of War, but several literature scripts and registries of other military secrets, yet unknown to him. He did not know they even existed since he never heard of the authors. He estimated that his knowledge, compared to this library, was perhaps only one percent. Yet all these years, he thought he learned everything already. It seemed he had been a frog at the bottom of a water well, staring up and thinking how small the world was, only to discover that it was his view that was limited, the world was so much bigger than he could ever imagine.
If there was one thing that the Song had, he had to admit to himself for the first time, that the Jin lacked, it would be books. Jin people did not read or study a lot. Most were warriors, few were scholars. Few could write well, and fewer could read well. For Jin people, it was better to walk a thousand miles than to read a thousand pages. For the first time in his life, Wen Ke Xing felt inferior. He was always a proud prince of Jin, he always looked down on the Song people. But now, there was something in this library, that made him feel like he had been wrong all these years. Perhaps the reason the Song had such a vast territory, with large populations, wide cultures, immense resources, were due to their solid foundation. Perhaps that was why the Jin could not defeat them despite trying all these years. Perhaps that was the reason why so many other clans want to conquer them but never succeeded. At this moment, Wen Ke Xing started doubting his own ability. Could he really accomplish his mission that was entrusted to him by his emperor father 18 years ago? Or had he wasted 18 years of his life, learning what he thought was already everything, yet was actually just dust and dirt particles compared to this library?
If he wanted to study all the scriptures in this library, it would take him at least a hundred years.
He did not have 100 more years.
His father could not wait 100 more years.
He was speechless.
And very depressed.
"Brother Wen, are you ok?" Prince Zi Shu asked after he noticed the defeated look on Wen Ke Xing's face.
Regaining his posture, Wen Ke Xing explained that the size and grandeur of the library overwhelmed him.
"If it helps, you should know that I don't expect you to write this many books, or record these many registries, or learn everything in this room before our battle with the Liao."
"Did you read most of the contents? Do you know everything?" Wen Ke Xing asked, worried that the man before him would become his most difficult enemy to defeat.
"I've read a lot of the contents, though not all. I have signed out 2 books that I'm reading now, one is about the Three Kingdoms and the other is about soil texture. They are both in my rooms. I'll be finishing them soon and after I return them I plan to sign out 2 more books to take with me to read during the nights when we are in our encampment tent. You can sign out a book too. The limit is one book per person, two books for royalty."
"Why are you reading about soil texture?"
"To study food and agriculture. For a country to persevere, its people must be well fed. Soil is the basis of it. If you know what is good and bad soil, then you can find ways to turn bad soil into good soil. There is a lot of science involved, but I take my time to learn. I enjoy reading and learning new things."
Wen Ke Xing unconsciously let out a heavy sigh.
Perhaps it was a sigh of feeling defeated for the first time in his life.
"... You really amaze me with your wisdom." Wen Ke Xing finally said with a weak voice, and then looked down and closed his eyes for a second. He didn't know how to reveal all this to Uncle Bai, he thought to himself. He needed a moment to digest all of the information.
Prince Zi Shu could tell that something was bothering Wen Ke Xing, so he decided to lighten up the mood. "Only my wisdom amazes you? Not my extreme good looks?"
Wen Ke Xing opened his eyes in shock.
"And insanely sweet voice? Impeccable shoulder blades? I caught you looking at them when we first met." Ah Xu winked at Lao Wen.
Wen Ke Xing froze.
"And how about my irresistible sexiness? My manly scent? My ultra soft lips?" And then he pushed Wen Ke Xing against one of the bookcase and locked him with both arms, smiled dangerously and stared deeply and unyieldingly at his eyes.
Wen Ke Xing caught himself watching Prince Zi Shu's eyes, dimples, and lips. And then he swallowed, his Adam's apple shifting.
Prince Zi Shu moved his face closer and closer to Wen Ken Xing's, and the latter got so scared he slammed his eyes shut, his heart now racing, his palms sweating, his knees buckling.
He really thought that prince Zi Shu was going to kiss him this time. So he waited. He couldn't tell anymore if he waited because he wanted to be kissed or because he was too afraid to push the prince off of him.
But instead, he immediately felt fingers reaching his chest and tickling him incessantly, then his underarms, then his waist, then his neck, tickling tickling tickling every where. Ah Xu was laughing so hard yet continued tickling Lao Wen non stop.
Lao Wen then realized he was just playing and so he tickled Ah Xu back and they started pushing each other around like little kids, chasing each other around the library, playing hide and seek, then playing tag, and then back to tickling, and when they were finally tired, they sat down and just continued laughing, exhausted.
"I haven't had this much fun for a long time. Thank you Lao Wen." Ah Xu said with a now relaxed voice. As playful as he was, he was Prince, and nobody dared to touch him, let alone tickle him, push him, chase him. It felt so good to have somebody you could relate to, somebody that don't see you as a prince, but as a companion.
"Me too, thank you Ah Xu."
Wen Ke Xing never played with anybody since he left Jin at age 10. Uncle Bai taught him, fed him, washed him, but never played with him. He was Prince. Uncle Bai was his mentor, but nevertheless just a servant after all. Servants did not play with Princes. Wen Ke Xing was serious all his life, entrusted with a mission of crucial importance, and never let himself enjoy the simple pleasures of life. Ah Xu had to teach him how to play tag and hide-and-seek. He never knew tickling was this fun. He never knew running around chasing each other and collapsing onto each other felt this great. And it took off all the heavy weight and stress from his shoulders for the first time in his life.
Life suddenly shone a new light.
