Shadow of the giant

doesn't
weaken their respect for you, it proves your respect for them.
    So Han Tzu explained, chatted, pitched in and helped, shared
the meals of common soldiers, laughed at their jokes, listened to their
complaints. One soldier had complained about how no one could sleep on ground
like this. Han Tzu promptly took over the man's tent and slept in it himself,
exactly as it was, while the man took Han Tzu's tent. In the morning, the man
swore that Han Tzu's bed was the worst one in the army, and Han Tzu thanked him
for his first good night's sleep in weeks. The story made its way through the
army before nightfall.
    Han Tzu's army did not love him any more than Virlomi's
loved her. And there was no hint of worship in it. The key difference was that
Han Tzu had worked to train this army, had made sure that it was as well
equipped as possible, and they knew the stories about the last war, when Han
Tzu had constantly warned his superiors about all their mistakes before they made
them. The belief was that if Han Tzu had been emperor all along, they would not
have lost the lands they conquered.
    What they didn't understand was that if Han Tzu had been
their emperor, there would have been no conquests to lose. Because Achilles would
have been arrested the moment he entered China and turned over to the I.F.,
under whose authority he had been confined to a mental hospital. There would
have been no invasion of India and southeast Asia, only a holding action to
block the Indian invasion of Burma and Thailand.
    A real warrior hates war, Han Tzu well understood. He had
seen how devastated Ender was when he learned that the last game, the final
exam, had been the real war, and that his enemy had been utterly destroyed by
Ender's victory.
    So his men trusted him as Han Tzu kept retreating, farther
and farther into China, moving from one strong position to another, but never
allowing his army to engage with the Russian invaders.
    He heard what the men said, the questions they asked. His
answers were honest enough. "The farther they come, the longer their
supply lines." "We want them so deep inside China that they can't get
home again." "Our army grows the deeper we move back into China, and
theirs shrinks, as they have to leave men behind to guard their route."
    And when they asked him about the rumors of a huge Indian
army invading in the south, Han Tzu only smiled and said, "The madwoman?
The only Indian who ever conquered China was Gautama Buddha, and he did it with
teachings, not artillery."
    What he couldn't tell them was that they were waiting.
    For Peter Wiggin.
     
     
    Peter Wiggin stood in front of the microphones in Helsinki.
Beside him stood the heads of government of Finland, Estonia, and Latvia.
    Aides were on secure cellphones connected to diplomats in
Bangkok, Yerevan, Beijing, and many capitals in eastern Europe.
    Peter smiled at the gathered reporters.
    "At the request of the governments of Armenia and
China, both of which were the victims of simultaneous unprovoked aggression by
Russia, India, and the Muslim League of Caliph Alai, the Free People of Earth
have decided to intervene.
    "We are joined in this effort by many new allies, many
of which have agreed to hold plebiscites to determine whether or not to ratify
the Constitution of the FPE.
    "Emperor Han Tzu of China assures us that his armies
are capable of dealing with the combined Russian and Turkish forces that are
now operating well within the Chinese border in the north.
    "In the south, Burma and China have opened their
borders to safe passage for an army led by our old friend General Suriyawong.
Right now, in Bangkok, Prime Minister Paribatra is holding a press conference
to announce that Thailand will hold a plebiscite on ratification, and that as
of this moment, the Thai Army is regarded as being under the provisional
command of the FPE.
    "In Armenia, where it is not possible to hold a press
conference right now because of the exigencies of war, a nation under attack
has turned to the FPE for help and leadership. I have placed the Armenian
military under the direct command of Julian Delphiki, where they are resisting
unprovoked Turkish and Russian aggression and have carried the war deep inside
Muslim territory, in Tabriz and Tehran.
    "And here in eastern Europe, where Finland, Estonia,
Latvia, Lithuania, Slovakia, Czechland, and Bulgaria had already joined the
FPE, we are joined by our new allies Poland, Rumania, Hungary, Serbia, Austria,
Greece, and