Wang Yang asked, "Is there any way to delay it a few days? Falling ill, for instance..."
Black Han smiled bitterly. "I'm from a soldier household, sir. My life is worth no more than grass. Unless I was too sick to stand... But if my superiors investigated and found I was pretending, I'd certainly be punished under military law."
Wang Yang turned to Liu Zhao. "Could Lady Xie do anything? We don't need to remove him from the soldier register outright. We only need the military order delayed six days."
"She does carry considerable weight. But first, she isn't local to Jingzhou and doesn't know many people here. Second, the people she can speak to are all nobles from great families. Surely she can't approach the Jingzhou Military Commissioner over the transfer of a single soldier! Orders to deploy garrison troops should fall under the External Forces Army Advisor's duties. But how could a low-ranking officer like that be acquainted with a Young Lady of the Xie family?"
The Military Commissioner was second-in-command of Jingzhou's army. Approaching him would be like seeking out a military region's deputy commander over an ordinary soldier's transfer. It would cause quite a stir, but that hardly mattered if it worked.
Wang Yang said, "We have no other options. Let's ask her to try helping."
Liu Zhao hesitated a moment, then said, "If one particular person were willing to intervene, this would be child's play."
"Who?"
"Yu Yi. He's the leader of Western Chu's gentry, a man of tremendous prestige. His students and former subordinates are scattered throughout Jingzhou, and he has quite a few friends even in the Capital.
"In terms of official careers, the Xinye Yu Clan is the most distinguished of the Four Clans of Jingzhou. Three members hold posts at the