Five Kingdoms by T.A. Miles

Author:T.A. Miles [Miles, T.A.]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: BluA
Publisher: Raventide Books
Published: 2016-07-15T23:00:00+00:00

The sky was awash with hues of coral and gold, framed by the stone balustrade and the broad overhanging architecture of the façade of the Hall of Military Glory. The bulky shadow of the Earth Turret, mounted atop the southwest corner of the inner city wall, laid a dark bruise over the fanning descent of steps in front of the administrative building. Carvings of tigers followed the railings, symbols of might and of glory. There were indeed tigers among them within the Imperial City, Han Quan thought. He would never forget, in fact, that the ruling Song were not of the Song by blood, but rather they were the descendants of the adopted Yuan family…uncultured, arrogant imposters from the Southwestern Kingdom before it was recognized as more than a province.

Yuan Dai, adopted son of Song Rong, who was famous for his social and political ferocity. Song Rong had held the scruples of a wolf. In that light, Han Quan supposed it didn’t really matter who was Song and who was not. The Yuan family could not have tainted the Song bloodline, for it was already a pool of despoilment. One could yearn for the proud days of Ganzan Li, when the Empire was expanding. It would expand again, but first…

“Chancellor,” came the voice of You Shang, accompanied by his footsteps as he joined Han Quan by the railing. The Supreme General was an older man, though not a weaker man for it. His history and his vast accumulation of deeds ensured that he would be long remembered in the annals of Sheng Fan’s history.

He was also not a man to be idly toyed with, so it was always with great care that Han Quan approached any topic of conversation with him. Bowing, Han Quan greeted his fellow officer of the court. “The weather will be pleasant this evening, I think.”

That was important to note, since the general also held a goodly portion of land gifted to him by Emperor Song Bao, and looked ahead to a prosperous harvest. Mention of clement weather and ultimately, his interests, enticed Yuo Shang to lower his guard somewhat, which would make him more pliable during conversation. Now that Xu Liang had returned, Han Quan would have to be both swift and cautious in securing allies against the impending rule of the Silent Emperor.

“Evenings like this, at the end of summer, remind me of the peace ahead of a storm,” the general said.

“Before the winds rise,” Han Quan added.

After what appeared to be thoughtful consideration of those words, Yuo Shang said, “I investigated your concerns about General Jiao Ren.”

“So quickly?” Han Quan replied.

“I don’t like to leave matters waiting,” the general told him, in a tone that could only be answered with a polite bow of acknowledgment.

Within the Empress’ Court, there were three seats of true power beneath the throne; they were the Imperial Tutor, the Supreme General, and the Chancellor of the Court. Intellectual, Military, and Administrative command, overseen by the Empress herself. They

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