A Jade Dragon

Chapter 9: Chaos and Separation

Chaos and Separation

Benjen sat in the main chamber of the Northwest Army's headquarters, where Lord Joon convened his brigade commanders, the commanders of the infantry and cavalry, and the administration officers. Quartermaster Shin and Adjutant Dae sat closest to their Captain-General, with the other administrators and senior commanders close by. Benjen sat in the middle amongst the other brigade commanders while he left Lieutenant Lim in charge of preparing the "flying column" to march at a moment's notice.

But the commanders and administrators all sat opposite of each other, with one half facing the other, while Lord Joon occupied the prominent position at the top, front, and center. That way, all could hear their captain-general and look at each other as they discussed their options regarding the emperor's commands, or more accurately, those of the prime minister's. Who really rules here? Not even the Hand of the King could have so much authority.

"Thank you all for coming at such short notice," Joon began in nihongo. "I trust all of you are aware of why we're gathered here." Benjen and the officers presented nodded their heads. "In the last few days, I was able to obtain an accurate appraisal of the current situation. His Imperial Highness the Crown Prince," all of them dipped their heads in respect at the mention of his name, which Benjen quickly did but still perplexing him at such a gesture. "Was placed in command of one hundred thousand men, all of them drawn from the southern provinces and from the capital garrison, with the task of subjugating a confederation of Jogos Nhai that have begun to strike at our Goi allies at alarming rates while making incursions into the Northeast Province. Quartermaster Shin," he turned to him. "Enlighten us all on what exactly is happening."

"Yes, general," Shin affirmed before turning his head to the rest of those assembled. "My sources have indicated that there we are not dealing with a united people in the Jogos Nhai. The actions of the ones we face are in fact the work of a renegade group of jhats that have grown dissatisfied with the terms of the treaty between the other tribes and our empire. But there is a clear geographical origin in regards to these jhats."

"Explain," Joon urged him.

"From what I was able to obtain, these jhats are concentrated on land near the Northeast Province. The reports that I got from my counterpart there all said that there had been increased disturbances between imperial patrols and tribesmen affiliated with these jhats, the latter of whom say that they need to move south since their moonsingers have warned of a winter that would last for generations, which would freeze the plains and kill off their herds. However, the Northeast governor denied their request to settle past the border, since that would encourage more tribes to do so and thus strain the supply lines for the Five Forts," Shin elaborated.

"And we cannot allow the Five Forts to wither, since that would expose our northern frontier to the dangers from the Grey Waste. We can reason with the Jogos Nhai, but the same cannot be said of the raiders and other threats from that desert," Adjutant Dae added. "So far, most of the messages from the jhats that I have received all deny being involved in their people violating the truce, which lend credence to the idea that we're facing renegades. However, those jhats have managed to crush one of our armies and capture the Crown Prince. We can only guess what their price will be before they return him to the empire."

"Which is why the prime minister said that we will not negotiate," Joon asserted before turning to Feng Jo, Lieutenant-General of the Horse in the Northwest. "General Jo, will our cavalry be able to contend with those assembled by those jhats?"

"We might not be as fast as they could, given that they sleep on their horses," Jo quipped, prompting chuckles from the officers but were quieted at Joon's stern face. "However, we can last longer in a sustained battle given our weapons, armor, and training."