Kingdom is in one of those patches where I really need a scorecard to remember the names. That’s realistic – in a battle this size the number of commanders who play vital roles is astronomical. And the fact that the subtitles never match the voice track because each name has two readings makes a bigger difference than you’d expect in ease of remembering. Strategy is more or less decided going in, and once the fighting starts tactics take over. And it’s often the in-the-moment calls made by field commanders cut off from central command that determine who triumphs and who falls.
There are a lot of subtexts within the Qin army, that’s for sure. In Kingdom Xin – and his circle – disappearing from an entire episode or episodes is not unusual. But his time will come. It’s seemed from the beginning that it’s the three units belonging to Qin’a next gen-erals that are the key to this encounter. They’re wild cards – they can be deployed on a dime, strike anywhere and anytime, and are impossible for the enemy to budget for. For now both Meng Tian and Wang Ben have vital roles to play, while the Fei Xin Force is stuck behind Wang Jian’s main army in the center. But Wang Jian is anything but a fool – he knows he’ll have to play every card in his hand to defy the odds and triumph on Zhao home territory.
Indeed, it’s on the flanks where the battle begins in earnest. As expected Meng Tian’s Le Hua force was a decoy meant to draw out Zhao on Qin’s left flank. Which it did, exactly as Wang Jian planned. Ma Cheng appears to be the main target here – if he can be taken down it amounts to a huge coup for Qin. Ji Hui of Liyang is smart and knows what’s afoot (the “wave” attack meant to fool Zhao into believing the Qin force is bigger than it actually is), but he has no choice but to engage the enemy that’s in front of him.
Having fulfilled their initial decoy role the Le Hua is now free to pick and choose where they might strike a decisive blow. Meng Jian declares that if he performs well, he’ll take Meng Tian on as a personal aide. But Meng Tian tartly suggests that there’s someone else he should be taking on first. That of course would be Wang Ben, Wang Jian’s son, stationed on Qin’s right flank. He despatches his right-hand man Ya Guong to deliver his orders to his son: hang back from the battle and wait for orders. The Yu Feng, Ya Guong assures him, must be at full strength when called upon in the decisive moment.
Unsurprisingly Wang Ben scoffs at these orders. And this is tricky. For a high commander to keep his son’s army ought of battle could be seen as protectiveness or – far worse for the son – a lack of confidence. His own veteran aides-de-camp urge patience, reminding him that Ya Guong has become Wang Jian’s most trusted man for a reason. Ya Guong is a straightforward warrior, disdaining clever tactics for overpowering an enemy with sheer strength and ruthlessness. He appears to gain the upper hand on the enemy under Yue Ying, which draws Ma Nanci – one of the titans of the Zhao army – into the fray.
Ma Nanci is the key figure on the right, just as Ma Cheng is on the left. He’s the head Ya Guong is after, and Guong rides into battle at the head of his unit himself. Seeing this Wang Ben chafes even harder at being sidelined, and when Ma Nanci’s tactic of splitting his force into three parts appears to be turning the tide of battle, the “wakagimi” chooses this moment to join the fray. It’s in violation of his orders to be sure, but neither Wang Jian or Ya Guong seem surprised, and the latter appears to approve of the time and manner the young lord has chosen to make his entrance.
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