03 Conquering Land

King Batukhan has been working behind closed doors since the day he fainted in court. He let Prince Batsaikhan take over. He wanted to give his crowned prince a taste of the court. It was a late spring day, and King Batukhan decided to read his scrolls in the backyard. He was reading his stack of scrolls when a girl's voice caught his eye.

King Batukhan looked up and saw a young teen. He asked, "What are you doing here?"

Chinua said, "I'm looking for a place to hide."

King Batukhan put down the scroll and said, "Oh, are you good at hiding?"

Chinua said, "Yes, I am. Once I hid for two days and no one found me." She smiled. "I clearly saw the eunuchs and the maids, but they didn't see me."

King Batukhan said, "What's your name?"

Chinua said, "Chinua..."

King Batukhan asked, "How old are you, child?"

Chinua said, "I just turned sixteen this year."

King Batukhan suddenly remembered that Chinua was the name of Queen Qara's daughter who was born many years ago. He was so upset at the time he didn't want to see the child, and after a few months he completely forgot that he had a second child, with his queen.

King Batukhan said, "Come closer, child. Let me take a closer look at you."

Chinua approached and said, "Sir, do you live here?"

King Batukhan smiled and said, "Yes, I have lived here for many years."

Chinua asked, "Have you seen the king?"

King Batukhan, "I have."

Chinua said, "If you see the king, can you tell him to visit me? I have never seen his face before."

King Batukhan felt guilty and said, "Alright, I will ask him to visit you often."

Chinua said, "I have a very important matter that I need to ask the king's consent."

Chinua looked at the map on the table and looked up at King Batukhan. "Are you a general looking for a way to reclaim a lost city?"

King Batukhan looked at Chinua and asked, "Can you read map?"

Chinua said, "A little."

King Batukhan pointed to a city on the map and asked, "What city is this?"

Chinua said, "That was Nue-Li City. The battle of Nue-Li was the reason for General Batzorig's retirement."

King Batukhan smiled and said, "Who taught you this story?"

Chinua said, "I saw it in a book in the old library."

King Batukhan asked, "How many books have you read?"

Chinua said, "Every book in the library, twice."

King Batukhan was taken aback but decided to laugh, "Twice? Impressive. Very impressive."

Chinua pointed to the marker on the mountain, "You're marking here, do you want to attack from here?" She looked at the map, then picked up the brush and marker around the flowing groundwater. "It's better to start here."

King Batukhan smiled and said, "Oh, interesting. Let's play Conquer the Land."

Chinua said happily, "Okay." She went to the other side of the table and sat down. "I'm really good at this game. My brother and I play this game often."

King Batukhan smiled and asked, "What was the result?"

Chinua smiled and said, "He wins every time."

King Batukhan said, "That means you are not very good at conquering land."

Chinua said, "I let him win on purpose."

King Batukhan asked, "Why?"

Chinua smiled and said, "Because he is my elder brother, it is normal for him to win." She looked at King Batukhan. "I'm giving him face."

King Batukhan burst out laughing. He said, "Let's use this map." He put the map of Hmagol country on the table.

Chinua looked at the map, studied it for a while, then looked up at King Batukhan and asked, "How many soldiers do we each have?"

King Batukhan said, "Fifty thousand." He looked at the forgotten princess. "Where do you want to start?"

Chinua looked at the map and said, "Since you are my elder, please choose first."

King Batukhan looked at the map and said, "I will take this." He scatters pumpkin seeds in the northern part of Hmagol country.

Chinua said, "You chose the north because of the northern army, right?"

King Batukhan said, "Since you know this, it's better to admit defeat."

Chinua said, "Admitting defeat will only weaken the morale of the army. Even if I only have one soldier left, there is a possibility of victory." She took her fifty pumpkin seeds in her hand and continued to look at the map.

King Batukhan placed ten seeds in the center, ten on the left, and ten on the right, and then used five of each seed for support. Put his remaining seeds in the main camp.

Chinua said, "Ten thousand men attack the right, ten thousand men attack the left, ten thousand men attack the middle, each unit has five thousand men as supporters, even if the enemy breaks through, you still have five thousand men to defend the city. Quite a clever move." Chinua took ten seeds and placed five seeds in front of the thirty seeds of King Batukhan, and then she put another seed behind each seed.

King Batukhan said, "You fought with ten thousand soldiers against my forty thousand soldiers. Why do you think you can win?"

Chinua pointed to her ten seeds and said, "These five seeds are just to lure you to the battlefield." She slides her finger down the middle and separates the ten seeds into two sets of five seeds. "My five thousand men will fire continuously as your soldiers' approach. I don't need many soldiers to use bows and arrows." She looked at King Batukhan. "When you reach my gate, your army will be cut in half."

King Batukhan pushed his five seeds over the others.

Chinua placed a seed on the table and smashed it into pieces with her fist. She grabbed a broken seed and placed it in front of King Batukhan's soldiers.

King Batukhan chuckled and said, "You still have soldiers, why do you need to take this desperate action?"

Chinua said, "You care too much about where my soldiers are. You forget that the place you chose to attack is the location of the Confluence Canal. I only need ten soldiers to destroy the dam, and the rest will flood." She picked up all the broken pieces of the seed back to her hand. "When your soldiers are in disarray. The rest of my soldiers rushed into your main camp, and now the five thousand soldiers in your main camp cannot defend against my forty thousand soldiers at all." She looked at King Batukhan. "Does father agree."

King Batukhan laughed, and Eunuch Tong rushed into the pavilion with twenty-five guards. Eunuch Tong shouted angrily, "How dare you share the table with His Highness? Guards capture that maid."

King Batukhan said, "Now you are surrounded by my guards." He grinned. "How are you going to escape?"

Chinua said, "Capture the general to destroy the morality of the army."

King Batukhan laughed even louder, "You are the first person who dares to threaten me." He waved his right hand.

Eunuch Tong asked firmly, "Who are you?"

King Batukhan said, "Tong, look carefully, who do you think she is?"

Eunuch Tong stared at Chinua for a while, and said, "Your highness, this subject does not know who she is."

King Batukhan pushed the map towards Chinua and asked, "Why are you marking here?"

Chinua said, "If father builds a dam here, it will not only benefit the people, but also prevent or slow down the invasion of the enemy army."

King Batukhan looked at Chinua and said, "What's your reason for looking for me today?"

Chinua stood up and knelt in front of King Batukhan, "Father, I would like father to send me to train with the recruits of the Northern Army."

King Batukhan said, "If you go, you must understand that even if you are a woman or a member of the royal family, you will not receive special treatment. You will be treated the same as everyone else." He looked at the young lady standing in front of him. "And, no woman had ever joined before."

Chinua said, "Father, I promise my elder brother that I will be his legs for him. I know that father wants him to ascend the throne. Father also knows that many officials and ministers in the court do not support elder brother. Since my elder brother can't go to the battlefield, let me go to the battlefield on his behalf."

King Batukhan stood up and slowly walked down the small steps to the fishpond. Chinua walked slowly behind King Batukhan. King Batukhan turned to look at Chinua, "Fourth Princess Chinua, I order you to train with the new recruits of the Northern Army under the guidance of General Batzorig. You must complete the training as one of the top ten soldiers. If you fail, I'll send you south to do harsh labor for three years."

Chinua knelt down quickly and said, "Thank you father, I won't let you down."

King Batukhan smiled and said, "I only have four sons and four daughters, and no daughter or son has ever made such a strange request to me. Princess Chinua, you fascinate me." He sighed. "You can get up now."

Chinua said, "Father, I have another request?"

King Batukhan chuckled and said, "Princess, don't be greedy."

Chinua said, "I have two guards who want to go with me too."

King Batukhan asked, "Why?"

Chinua looked at Eunuch Tong and said, "Father has Eunuch Tong as his crony, and I also want someone I trust, someone who won't stab me as soon as I turn around."

King Batukhan sighed, "You are surely full of tricks." He looked at Eunuch Tong and smiled lightly. "Okay, I agree with your request." He walked over to Chinua and patted her on the head lightly. "Remember, there is no special treatment." He smiled and walked away with Eunuch Tong. "Princess Chinua, if you can successfully complete the training, I will let you into the morning discussion in the court."