In the royal palace, King Clark sat facing four high ministers of Zhao. Among them, however, were neither Paul Dean nor William Carter. Paul Dean was not summoned because he showed little interest in military affairs, while William Carter was absent due to serious illness at home—King Clark truly did not wish to trouble the old man any further. Looking at the four ministers before him, King Clark asked angrily, “Our first battle ended in defeat, the captain has died in action, and I am considering donning armor myself to lead our troops against the Qin army. What do you all think?”

Minister Matthew Long said, “For Zhao and Qin to throw all their national strength into a decisive battle is not good for either side. When two tigers fight, isn’t it the jackals and wolves around them who rejoice? I believe Your Majesty should send envoys to negotiate peace with Qin.” With that, he bowed deeply. King Clark did not reply, but turned to Arthur Young. Arthur Young appeared somewhat angry; he stood up and said:

“Qin has already committed all its strength, holding nothing back—they intend to destroy our Zhao. At a time like this, how can we talk of peace?”

“Then what do you think should be done?”

“Your Majesty should send envoys to Wei and Chu to seek their assistance. In this way, Qin will surely suspect that the feudal lords of the realm are uniting against them, and they will be alarmed. Even if Your Majesty wishes to negotiate peace with Qin, you should first send envoys to Wei and Chu, as this will also aid in the peace talks.” Arthur Young said earnestly.

King Clark nodded, then looked to his uncle, Lord Pingyang, Brian Clark. Brian Clark now looked somewhat angry and said bluntly, “In the past, when Qin attacked Han, and Han’s governor of Shangdang, Feng Ting, refused to surrender to Qin and offered up seventeen cities, I told Your Majesty that unearned benefits are the greatest source of disaster. Such actions would surely provoke Qin’s wrath. It would have been better to give those places to Qin. You insisted that gaining so many cities without a fight was a good thing. And now, what has become of it?”

King Clark retorted angrily, “If I had not taken Shangdang Commandery, would Qin not have attacked Zhao? Qin is a nation like a tiger—should we not accept land and grow stronger to deal with the tiger, rather than feed the meat we have gained to the tiger and wait for it to devour us? What’s the use of talking about this now?”

Brian Clark was momentarily speechless, then said, “If that is the case, then I request that Your Majesty send John Grant to Qin to negotiate peace. Last time, when Qin attacked Yan, it was he who went as envoy to Qin. I believe he is the most suitable.” Of course, the fourth minister sitting beside Brian Clark was John Grant. He rose and bowed deeply to King Clark, saying, “I am willing to go to Qin to negotiate peace.”

After pondering for a long time, King Clark finally nodded and said, “This matter concerns the survival of Zhao. Please, do not neglect it.”

John Grant immediately swore an oath, and only then did King Clark’s expression soften a little. However, sitting to the side, Arthur Young stood up with a bitter laugh and cried out, “We are about to become slaves of the Qin!”

Chapter 010: Marquis Ying Samuel Ford

“Arthur Young!”

King Clark was truly enraged. He said furiously, “I have heard that in Qin, anyone who speaks out of turn and undermines the army’s resolve during wartime is put to death!” Arthur Young shook his head and said, “If Your Majesty had long ago imitated Qin and enforced such laws, we would not be in this situation today.” With that, he ignored the astonished faces of those present, turned, and left.

Faced with such disrespectful behavior, King Clark was flushed with anger and shouted, “Where are the palace guards?!”

But when the guards arrived before King Clark, he could not bring himself to give the order. His expression shifted, and after a long hesitation, he finally sighed and said, “The reason Arthur Young spoke as he did is also for the sake of Zhao.” He looked to Brian Clark and said, “Arthur Young’s words are not without reason. I will send an envoy to Qin, but I must also send envoys to the surrounding states.”

Brian Clark bowed and said, “Among my retainers, there are many skilled speakers and debaters who can persuade others. I request permission to send several of them to the various states to seek their assistance.”

……

Ever since returning from Handan, for some reason, the retainers all felt that their young lord had changed somewhat. The young lord had actually started reading again. Ever since the assassination attempt, Charles Clark had not touched a book for a long time. Everyone was very surprised, for this son of Ma Fu’s greatest hobby was reading—he would read anything, but most loved military strategy, most of which had been left to him by David Clark.

Kneeling indoors, holding a bamboo scroll, Charles Clark read these military texts intently. It seemed that his former self had already read these books countless times; Charles Clark found that he could even recite their contents backwards, without the slightest unfamiliarity. “With an army of one hundred thousand, two hundred thousand, one can subdue the world.” Before he could read the next line, the following passage had already surfaced in Charles Clark’s mind. Helplessly, he put down the bamboo scroll in his hands.