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Dragonfly by Nick Yee Warlord Zhou had a beautiful daughter, but the tense rivalry among the neighboring city-states and the management of everyday affairs never gave him time to be with her. Princess Zhou grew up by wandering the pavilions and libraries of the grand mansion. Those who have seen her say that her delicate skin is translucent and that her face has the purity of a master painter's brush strokes. When she turned sixteen, she gave a painting to a minister and asked him to present it to her father. This painting of a white crane in shallow water brought a sense of strength and clarity to the Warlord and his ministers. Warlord Zhou sent word to his daughter, encouraging her to offer a new painting every month. And even though each painting was more chillingly beautiful than the one before, the tension among the neighboring warlords also intensified, and so Warlord Zhou never had time to see his daughter. It became clear that unless the large kingdom of Chu could be held in check, Warlord Chu would swallow the smaller city-states one by one. The ministers of the less prosperous city-state of Zhou met in secrecy to devise a plan. They knew that they needed an alliance with the neighboring Warlord Han, and they also knew they must make a proposal he could not refuse. Behind the back of Warlord Zhou, the ministers carried out their plan. A minister approached Warlord Han and told him the great desire with which the city-state of Zhou wanted to forge an alliance with the city-state of Han. The minister told Warlord Han that Princess Zhou would be offered to him if he agreed to this alliance. Warlord Han consented without hesitating, and in return offered a small chest of pearls. The ministers then told Warlord Zhou of Warlord Han's willingness to form an alliance, and presented the small chest of pearls as a token of goodwill. Warlord Zhou also agreed without hesitation. Finally, the ministers went to Princess Zhou and told her that to save her kingdom from being invaded, she must go to Warlord Han and become his wife. Princess Zhou believed their words, and gave them twelve scrolls they could present to his father over the course of the following year. Soon, the alliance between Zhou and Han was formed. The stability that the alliance brought lasted only briefly. Neighboring warlords sent spies and ministers to Warlord Zhou to seed doubt. They told him that Warlord Han was conspiring with Warlord Chu. They told him that Warlord Han would betray Zhou without hesitation. They told him that the fragile alliance would not last. They told him that he still had time to counter Han's plans if he acted quickly. Warlord Zhou did not believe them at first, but when summer came again, Warlord Han proposed to end the alliance because times had changed. Suddenly, Warlord Zhou believed the dark words that had been seeded. Warlord Zhou sent spies to his former ally, and learned
of Warlord Han's plans to travel along the Yellow River to reach his summer
mansion. Seizing the opportunity, Warlord Zhou deployed a handful of elite
archers to ambush Warlord Han's ship. In the middle of the night, as Warlord
Han's ship lay anchored by a small village, the archers unleashed a barrage
of fire arrows onto the sails and deck of the ship. Before anyone onboard
could react, the fire had ravaged and consumed the ship. The small wooden coffin arrived in Warlord Zhou's mansion as the summer ended. Warlord Zhou saw his daughter's face for the first time in eighteen years. He was filled with an overwhelming sadness as he realized what had happened. He was angry at his ministers, but he could not kill them because that would lead to the collapse of the city-state. He asked his ministers where the paintings had come from for the last year, and they told him about the twelve scrolls. They gave him the last unopened scroll, and hurried out of the room. Warlord Zhou untied the scroll and wept as the painting was revealed. Dragonfly |