I actually knew this wasn’t the last (for now) episode of Kingdom (that’s next week), which makes a nice change from the first two shows I blogged today. Of course at this point it’s pretty safe to assume any finale for Kingdom is merely a pause – the manga is no less a sales colossus than it’s ever been and the adaptation clearly runs on a shoestring, so there’s no reason to stop. Still – a cour break (or longer) necessitates a degree of finality, and Kingdom has always fulfilled that charter admirably.
The aftermath of Li Mu’s elimination of Ma Kuang has shown, among other things, the gap that exists between Meng Tian and Xin. They’re rivals of course – Wang Ben too. But Meng Tian is light years ahead of Xin as a strategist and a tactician. With the Ma Kuang army teetering on the brink of annihilation either one of them could have stepped in to fill the leadership void, but it was Meng Tian that did it. And Xin more or less deferred – it’s not as though he, or Diao for that matter, had any grand vision for how to save the day. And Meng Tian’s command extended to deploying the Fei Xin as he saw fit – orders which Xin, again, followed more or less without question.
There are different qualities that can make a great general, of course, and Xin has an abundance of many. But right now Meng Tian is the whole package. His plan – not for victory, but survival – hinges on peddling the lie that Ma Kuang survived. It also depends on the Fei Xin to set up a foothold on the front lines, something they do admirably (as usual). And as bad as things are, the enemy is under pressure too. Much hinges on Li Mu’s gambit being successful in wiping out the Qin left flank – if it fails to do so he must redraw his entire strategy.
Ji Hui will therefore declare the day a “failure” in his report to Li Mu, despite the loss of Wang Jian’s second in command and huge casualties on the Qin side. Meng Tian knows he’s going to eventually take the field himself, which he does when Ma Cheng enters the fray. Both young lions will survive the day, though Meng Tian takes a tumble and is lucky to. The Ma Kuang army survives, barely – but there’s no general in its ranks to step up and take his place. Meng Tian is only a brigadier, too lowly a rank to take command of the entire left flank of Qin’s army.
Wang Jian acts in the moment, sending out orders that Meng Tian is to be promoted – for this campaign only, supposedly – to general, and take command of the left flank. It’s the right decision no doubt – as he says, the young general is able to “see” the battle the way he can. This represents something a blow to Xin of course, especially as the Fei Xin is recalled to the center without a word of congratulations for their (vital) role in salvaging something from the disaster. Wang Jian is, as his son says, a general who relies on his complete lack of sentimentality. Everyone under him is a piece on the board (including Wang Ben himself).
Wang Ben’s opportunity for glory is on the right, where one assumes the second day will be even more momentous. A new figure takes the stage – Zhao Elong (the always splendid Touchi Hiroki). His army of ten thousand didn’t fight on day one, and Zhao Elong has one target in mind. He makes a feint for Ya Guang, but leaves him for Ma Nanci – it’s young Wang Ben’s head he’s after, and he’s already pronounced it a foregone conclusion that it will be claimed on the second day.
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