One thing you can say about Kingdom, and it reflects the reality it depicts – politics is as important a part of this story as warfare.  Obviously the line between them was (and is) sometimes blurry, but we’re talking about two discrete elements here.  Those who had the ability to read the board deeply in either game were rare as hen’s teeth.  And they had a huge advantage on those who didn’t.  It’s almost like an NBA team who has some guys who are good on offense and some good on defense.  If you’re that rare team that has a few guys great at both, you have a huge leg up on the rest of the league.

I see high-end leadership as a big vulnerability for Qin at this point in their history.  Zheng is brilliant and insightful, but young and inexperienced.  Among their generals the one who had the best grasp of both politics and warfare, Wang Qi, is long dead.  On the civilian side Changwen is a master of statecraft but seems to be growing somewhat timid in old age.  Changping is a master of military strategy but the subtleties of geopolitic sometimes seem beyond his ken.  Indeed the most versatile thinker in Xianyang is Lu Buwei.  And, well- to say he has his own interests at heart is a massive understatement.

Lao Ai may be “spectacular down there” (so the Queen Dowager wants Lu to think, anyway) but it’s Lu Buwei who really has massive balls.  Nothing throws this guy – on the rare occasions something happens that he’s not the prime mover behind, he instantly comes up with a way to use it to his advantage.  I’m not sure what to make of the reference to his Lüshi Chunqiu at this point in the story – maybe it’s a bow to historical chronology, or a pointed reminder to us of just how brilliant and ambitious Lu was. The Lüshi Chunqiu itself could be the subject of a series – it’s a hugely important work, an encyclopedic collection of accumulated knowledge and philosophy unrivalled in its day.

Mind you, the Queen Dowager has pretty big balls herself.  Her clever plan to start up a nation with cash catches Xianyang totally off-guard.  I’d thought Lu was in on it but rather, it seems he (as ever) saw it as an opportunity.  Having seized control in Shanyang she starts poaching troops from all over the frontier – including Zhuyong, prompting a Wei counterattack – and settlers as well.  She gathers everyone in the northern frontier town of Taiyuan and declares the new nation of Ai to be open for business.  This is of course music to the ears of Qin’s rivals, especially Chu, Qin’s neighbor to the north.

The Q-D strings Xianyang along, blowing smoke at their envoys without ever intending to undeclare Ai as a country.  She pays off a Chu army to attack Qin and keep them busy.  The architect behind this nation building is Zhao Gao (Shigematsu Chiharu), another alleged eunuch, though historians disagree about whether he actually was.  As to to Lao Ai’s role (I assume Ai was named after him) that’s still unclear.  He reminds basically a silent partner, even when the Q-D’s old lover Lu Buwei shows up in town to rattle her cage.

Ah, Lu Buwei.  That whole Ai visit was pretty classic magnificent bastard stuff.  What a silvery forked tongue he has, and his certainly proves he can still get under his ex’s skin.  But was that really why he travelled all that way?  Perhaps he wanted to sow the seeds of dissension in her court, shake her up.  Perhaps he simply wanted the satisfaction of showing her he could still play her like a flute.  Or perhaps there’s something even deeper here – with Lu Buwei you can never be sure.

Zheng’s decision to confer great general status on Teng was an act of desperation, clearly, but almost certainly warranted.  Qin is in a hell of a bind here – Wei snapping at a weakened Zhuyong and Shanyang, Chu nipping at the northern borders, and Zhao watching and waiting like a hunting tiger.  And the prospect of re-taking Ai looms as a huge suck of manpower and finances (which are an ever bigger problem with the Inner Palace faction’s money no longer available) – almost as terrible an option as letting it take root as an independent breakaway state.  Teng may not be Wang Qi but he was his right hand, and the closest Qin currently has among their ranks.  It’s an opportunity for the ambitious in Qin to rise ahead of their time, really, but one borne out of necessity.