"There may be more than a leak." Lord Wen crossed his arms, flicking the sleeves of his robe out dramatically. "It seems rather suspicious that all of the forces lost are Lord Zhao's. Is there something we should be aware of?"
Eirian's mind spun. Lord Wen sounded like he was taking a dig at Mingzhe specifically, but he had no grounds to do so. Unless he just didn't like Mingzhe personally, which was entirely possible.
He might also have been upset that Mingzhe had been chosen as Chenzhou's second in command. It was an honored position that promised significant rewards if the war was successful, as well as prestige that minor noble houses would struggle to get anywhere else.
Henri Colfax had been Chenzhou's second during the last war, and based on the wealth the Camelia had walked away with, he'd doubled the family coffers at least. Chenzhou had agonized over who to choose for this go-around. There had been previous Lord Ye's criticized for showing favoritism and picking the same second over and over again. And there had been Lord Ye's criticized for being unable to decide who to work with for any amount of time because they picked new seconds every time.
After agonizing over it for several days, Chenzhou had decided there was no right answer and gone with his gut. Henri Colfax had seemed upset, had even joked that he was happy with less responsibility. The Colfaxes were such an illustrious, established family that losing out didn't matter to any of them. As one of the only families at the Camelia with strong ties to the capital, they'd survive regardless of what happened to the rest of the estate.
The Wen's in contrast, had gained most of their power and wealth through their marriage into the Yang family. They wouldn't fare as well.
And there was a natural ambition there too, but Chenzhou always got a funny look on his face when he had to talk about the Wens. And a few of the other families. So far, Chenzhou had been good about not letting his personal feelings about individuals cloud his judgement, but Eirian felt she'd begun to know him well enough to know the kind of people he preferred.
Eirian had her preferrences and she thought they alligned with Chenzhou's. Straightforward, honest, and hardworking. She didn't think there was anything wrong with ambition, provided it didn't become everything and it wasn't used to justify actions that would never be acceptable otherwise.
There were plenty of people like that in the capital.
Her father for example.
Mingzhe seemed to understand the implications of Lord Wen's words because his face turned to stone and his voice when he responded was empty. "My forces were the first in the field and the only significant force until a few days ago. Who else would they attack?"
Lord Wen's beedy little eyes darted around looking for something, but Eirian couldn't tell if he found it or not. "Obviously Lord Zhao's efficency is noted. Perhaps there is a grudge left from the last war? Your forces played a significant role in several battles where the Bandri were defeated."
Mingzhe frowned. "The tribes have never carried forward grudges like that against the Camelia. They barely notice the different units or commands."
"As far as they are concerned, the Crimson Army is the Crimson Army." Lord Yin agreed. "But it is possible they know the areas we are usually responsible for. Those have not shifted in some time."
"My family has been responsible for the southern borderlands for five generations." Lady Vailent pointed out. A slim, petite woman her family was descened from the oldest line in the Land of Sorrow. Distant cousins to the founding bloodline of the kingdom.
Or so they claimed.
So many years had passed and so many records lost that it was impossible to know for sure, but her family had fought to keep the Valient name and even shared some of the traits the original bloodline supposedly had. One of the major families in the Camelia, Eirian hadn't actually heard much about them. According to Chenzhou, Mingzhe, and Yuze, they kept to themselves and didn't get involved in much outside their actual responsibilities.
They were on Eirian's list of suspects solely because of their claim to that ancient bloodline.
"I am sure Lord Wen meant no personal insult." Lady Yang soothed, casting a warning glance at her allied family.
Lord Wen subsided, scowling but clearly unwilling to challenge her.
"This unfortunate event has shaken all of us and we must becareful with out next steps." Lady Yang shifted the pile of papers in front of her. "Halfway through the previous war we realized we needed to change the way we did things at the court's level and those changes were successful. Perhaps we should start there this time."
Thoughtful Chenzhou tapped his fingers on the table. "You mean the shift away from pitched battles and the focus on controlling access to the trade villages?"
Lady Yang nodded. "Yes, but also, we reorgnized the command to allow for faster decision making and quicker response times."
"You mean the Small Council?" Chenzhou sat back, crossing his arms. "The war encompassed nearly the entrity of the borderlands. It's sheer size necessitated a Small Council on the battlefield to ensure command and control. We have't even established which tribes we'll be fighting aside from the Bandri."
"It was also a significant drain on the court having two seperate commands." Henri pointed out. "We had to divert significant resources to their protection because the tribes were smart enough to figure out their purpose and target them."
"Ben Shai led several of those attacks." Another minor Lord added. "He will likely recognize it as soon as its stood up."
"He has displayed a level of forward planning we've never seen from the tribes before." Chenzhou agreed. "Which makes using any tactics we've already used against him a risk."
"I would argue the Small Council is not a tactic." Lord Yin said, "But I agree that Beng Shai will target it. He may already be anticipating its presence."
~ tbc