Here we will focus on two military strategists: Li Boku of Zhao and Changping Jun of Qin.
These two are active as commanders of their respective armies in the two hostile countries of Zhao and Qin. From the beginning of the story to the latest volume, these are people whose abilities can be seen.
It would be very rude to ask “Which one is a more capable military strategist!?” It’s a wild guess that will never produce any results, but I would like to compare the two to understand them better!
So, first I’d like to summarize the careers of the two men and list the characteristics that can be seen from that. After that, I will do some historical detective work on the two of them in real life.
[Note: This article is written after reading up to the latest volume 73 of the manga as of September 2024. Also, in researching historical facts, some content may predict future events in the story.]
His home country is Zhao. And he still serves the King of Zhao. However, he was not in the center of the country from the beginning. Li Boku was originally a general who defended the border city of Yanmen. Yanmen
is located along the border where battles with the Xiongnu frequently occur. The Xiongnu are a nomadic tribe of horsemen, so they are experts at handling horses. They are a troublesome opponent who can shoot arrows without hesitation while riding their horses freely. Li Boku won many victories against them. Moreover, by evacuating
the residents before the battle began and having the soldiers prioritize protecting their own lives over fighting, Zhao suffered almost no damage.
This way of fighting would be considered wonderful by modern values, but it was unusual by the common sense of the time. At that time, it was more important to kill as many enemies as possible than to care about life.
As a result, both enemies and allies ridiculed Li Boku as a coward. Even the king scolds him as a coward, which is quite unreasonable.
Although he does not have a good relationship with the king, Li Boku is eventually recognized for his abilities and becomes involved in the military affairs of the entire country. He plays an active role as a general and military strategist who can influence the fate of the country.
This is the point where Li Boku first appears in the story. He is in an unrivaled state. He continues to appear in important scenes as a powerful enemy that prevents Qin from unifying China.
(The information about Li Boku’s past is taken from lines that appear here and there in the work, and there is no summary of episodes in the work that are part of Li Boku’s past. I also referred to “Kingdom Official Guidebook 3rd Edition: Record of the Seven Heroes of the Warring States Period” (Hara Yasuhisa, Shueisha, 2021).)
Li Boku is unrivaled, but he goes even further. He becomes one of the strongest generals of Zhao, known as the “Three Great Heavens.
” In the “Battle of Mayang,” a battle against Qin, Li Boku sends in Pang Nuan, a lone wolf with great strength, as his hidden weapon. This allows him to inflict a fatal wound on Qin’s great general, Wang Qi. Zhao withdraws from the battle, claiming it was a victory. Incidentally, Wang Qi barely escapes from the front line, but meets his end while still on his horse.
Li Boku also plays a key role in the formation of the six-nation coalition of Zhao, Chu, Wei, Han, Yan, and Qi, and attacks Hangu Pass, a place that would be the end for Qin if it were to be defeated. Along the way, he disappeared despite being a staff officer of the allied forces, and used a “surprise tactic” to take down Sai, which could be considered a hidden entrance to Qin.
This “surprise tactic” is something Li Boku is good at, and it is easier to understand if you call it a “feint or surprise attack.” This does not mean that Li Boku is cunning, but that he does not like the “orthodox way of fighting.” A normal general would approach a position where he could aim for the head by gradually reducing the number of soldiers from the point where they clashed head-on. However, Li Boku uses a “surprise tactic” to aim for the head early. The
reason he likes “surprise tactics” can be seen from Yanmen’s actions in the past, but I think it is because “he wants to avoid casualties as much as possible.”
The peace-loving Li Boku seems like a movie hero to modern people, but it is difficult to understand in the world of 2000 years ago. There seem to be few people he can trust among the generals around him and the royal palace.
There are no scenes in which he consults with anyone about military strategy or asks others for advice, so the impression of him being lonely cannot be wiped away.
The only person who understands this side of Ri Boku is his female aide, the swordsman Kaine. It is obvious to readers from the beginning that she is crazy about Ri Boku, but what changes did Ri Boku’s feelings make? The outcome of their love is sure to be of interest.
He is originally from Chu. He is a prince of Chu (or Prince in those days), but he was sent as a hostage and grew up in Qin. When
he first appears, he is the commander of the Qin army. Later, he becomes the commander-in-chief of the Qin army and the right prime minister. He
also sets up a training institute for military strategists, which is essentially the highest training institute for military strategists in Qin. Although it is not stated in the story, it seems that he does it at his own expense and of his own volition. I
can only imagine that he had some thoughts about the misfortunes he endured during his time as a hostage. The story does not depict Changping Jun’s time as a hostage. However, in Hara-sensei’s one-shot story “Meng Wu and Chuzi,” a young boy Changping Jun, who was depressed because his return to Chu was not possible, becomes best friends with Meng Wu (who later becomes a general), who is the same age as him, and they start walking together toward their dream of becoming generals. By the way, Changping Jun’s military power is quite impressive, since he aims to become a general.
Returning to the main story, in the story, we often see how the disciples respect Shohei-kun, calling him “Sensei.” From this, we can see that Shohei-kun is not a cold, mechanical person, but a person with a strong, human mind. In
particular, it is easy to understand when we look at the following disciples.
・Mouten: A good rival of the same age as Xin, and the eldest son of Meng Wu. He was recognized for his talent by Shohei-
kun and was quickly approved as a special strategist, graduating from the military strategist school, but he does not follow the path of a strategist, but aims to become a great general as a warrior.
・Karyo Ten: A
girl younger than Shin, who was a friend of Shin before he became an infantryman. When she first appears, she pretends to be a boy, but if you look at her normally, she is a girl. Only Shin does not realize it until the 23rd volume of the manga. He graduated from the military strategist school with early approval, the first approval since Meng Tian, and becomes the strategist of the Hi Shin Unit led by Shin.
・Meng Yi (Mouki)
The son of Meng Wu and the younger brother of Meng Tian. A senior disciple of He Liao Diao. A calm and intelligent boy. Later, he participated in military councils with the Changping Jun in the central government.
When Changping Jun first appears in the story, he is one of the “Four Pillars of the Lu Family.” The Lu Family refers to Lu Buwei (who was the Prime Minister and later the Prime Minister, and is said to be Zheng’s real father), so he is one of Lu Buwei’s followers. Lu Buwei and Zheng were fighting over political leadership at first, so from the protagonist’s point of view, Changping Jun is an enemy, even though he is from the same country.
Changping Jun is indebted to Lu Buwei for bringing him to the center as a military strategist. However, deep down, he seems to be stressed by the contradiction between his ideals and Lu Buwei’s actions, and this is reflected in his facial expression as the story progresses.
Finally, at Zheng’s coming-of-age ceremony, the “Ceremony of Crowning,” he breaks up with Lu Buwei. His parting words are simply, “Thank you for taking care of me.”
It’s an amusing scene in which Changping Jun has a stern expression and forceful gaze, while Lu Buwei pretends to be calm, while the people around him have sweaty faces and say things like, “What, you? Here? The balance of power is on the line!”
As in this episode, whenever Shohei-kun appears, there are always a lot of people. This is true in the central government and the military school.
When planning a strategy, everyone gathers around a desk in front of Masa, moving the pieces on a model, and everyone gives their opinions. It’s a collaborative process, but in the end, it’s his brain that comes up with the strategy with the highest chance of winning, and he is fully aware that he is taking full responsibility.
Even though Shohei-kun is often in the palace due to his job, he has a good grasp of the abilities and personalities of each general. Therefore, he leaves the decisions and strategies on the battlefield to each general. He never judges their decisions or results. He
also keeps a close eye on the soldiers below the generals, and he saw Shin’s talent when he was still a boy in ragged clothes. I
can’t help but wish that we had a boss like this in our real life!
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