Chapter 10
Chapter 10: A Campaign of a Thousand Li
The words that I told the Prince of De were very simple, “Your Highness, this area is filled with towering mountains and precipitous ridges . There surely must be alternative paths that we can use as a detour . Even if we can’t find a detour, we can pretend that we intend to make our way around the pass, luring the enemy out to battle . We do not fear if they are brave and good fighters . We only fear that they obstinately defend the city without any intention of sallying forth . Rather than continuing to forcibly besiege the city, it would be better to lure them out . Furthermore, as Tian Wei is such a good commander, he is unlikely to be willing to simply defend the city . ”
Although I only said a principle, the Prince of De, as an experienced commander, immediately thoroughly understood . In addition, it was impossible for us to capture the city today . It was better to return to our encampment to fully discuss the matter .
Of course, in the subsequent conference, I didn’t say anything . I was still unfamiliar with military issues . I was only skilled in intelligence analysis, relying upon the combination of my experience and knowledge . Furthermore, Rong Yuan was already unhappy with me . Continuing to seek the limelight would only serve to fan the flames of his resentment . It was better to offend a gentleman than to offend someone with a vile character . I remembered this fact very well . But these retainers were all capable . I made a simple suggestion and they were able to consider all kinds of scenarios before fixing any oversights . They came up with three plans before ultimately coming up with feasible plan . The more I observed them, the more I respected them . Maybe it was because my admiration was too obvious, the other retainers seemed to become a bit embarrassed . Even the looks that Rong Yuan gave me became more gentle .
The next day, the Prince of De dispatched soldiers in all directions to gather firewood, trying to find an alternate route . He then ordered the half of the remaining soldiers to remain in their tents to rest, while the rest of the soldiers stood in formation facing Ba Prefecture, neither attacking nor retreating . They would occasionally feign an attack . As soon as the city defenders reacted, they would withdraw . After noon had passed, the resting soldiers would swap with those who were facing Ba Prefecture .
On the third day, the Southern Chu soldiers feigning attacks upon Ba Prefecture began to get busy . If they weren’t digging trenches, they were practicing martial arts to loosen their bones and muscles . In addition, the army’s war drums were pushed before the city . The soldiers would pound the war drums and shout every hour .
On the fourth and fifth days, the city defenders had become increasingly exhausted and numb . Even though Ba Prefecture was an important strategic city that served as the Kingdom of Shu’s door, the city only had ten thousand defenders because of the friendly relations between Southern Chu and Shu . As a result, there weren’t enough troops .
On the sixth day, the Shu soldiers within the city began to grow uneasy . There was also good news on the search, as our soldiers found a small path that would allow us to detour around Ba Prefecture . At this time, the second part of our plan began . The Southern Chu army began to assemble the troops, preparing the troops and horses as if they were getting ready to launch another assault . The city defenders quickly became nervous and additional soldiers could be seen on the battlements . When night fell, the Southern Chu soldiers quietly began to withdraw . This was discovered by Shu agents . They quickly came to the conclusion that the Southern Chu was preparing to take a detour around Ba Prefecture . To the Shu soldiers, for the Southern Chu to take a detour was equivalent to us cutting our own escape route and supply line . But Tian Wei possessed a fiery warlike temperament . The only reason he chose to strictly defend was because he didn’t have enough troops . Although Southern Chu had fifty thousand soldiers, they were the best available . Therefore, the pressure upon Tian Wei was quite heavy . The last several days, he had seen that something was wrong . He had discussed the situation numerous times with his subordinates and all believed that the Southern Chu army would inevitably take a detour around Ba Prefecture . Some of the generals suggested that if Southern Chu were to go around Ba Prefecture, they would have to attack them from the rear . If the Southern Chu army were to be destroyed, then the officers and soldiers of Ba Prefecture would be punished . This left a shadow in the hearts of the defenders . Finally, Tian Wei gave the order to attack Southern Chu’s supply troops, while the Southern Chu army was still going around Ba Prefecture .
For fifty thousand Southern Chu to take the side path, their travel speed was quite slow . It didn’t take long for Tian Wei to catch up to the Southern Chu army . Twirling the broadsword in his hand, he screamed, “Southern Chu brigands! Where do you think you’re going?”
Just as he screamed, he led five thousand cavalry charged forward into the rear of the Southern Chu army like a sword . The Southern Chu army scattered and ran . Tian Wei ordered his subordinates to burn the supply wagons . In a split second, flames erupted on all sides . Amidst the flames, Tian Wei laughed aloud heartily . He gave the order to continue to attack, intending to completely defeat the Southern Chu army .
At this time, the scattering Southern Chu troops revealed a division of white armored infantry, steadily advancing towards Tian Wei . Tian Wei’s heart grew cold, recognizing these troops as the Prince of De’s personal guards, normally tasked with protecting the center of the army . For them to appear here, was this a trap? Tian Wei turned his head to regard his surroundings . The fires burning the supply wagons were already extinguished . Behind the advancing infantry, Tian Wei could see a banner with the character, Zhao, and a dragon embroidered upon it . Tian Wei was both anxious and worried . If this was an ambush, then the only result would be defeat . But he soon had second thoughts . The soldiers before him were the personal guards of the Prince of De . This meant that the Prince of De was likely close by and he had the opportunity to kill the Prince of De . Unable to resist this kind of enticement, Tian Wei gave the order to advance . Although Tian Wei’s cavalry held the advantage, Southern Chu’s infantry were trained to fight cavalry . The first row kneeled and extended the spears in their hands forward to face the cavalry . Behind them, soldiers notched their bows and fired arrows . Taking advantage of the narrowness of the path, they were able to block Tian Wei’s attack . After fighting for some time, Tian Wei saw that he could not win and ordered a retreat .
The mounted Shu troops were able to quickly extricate themselves and withdraw . It didn’t take long before they were far away . Tian Wei rejoiced . This was, at the very least, a small victory . Just as they had withdrawn a dozen li, suddenly they were attacked by Southern Chu troops from both flanks . Caught in the middle, Tian Wei could only order his troops to run the gauntlet and continue to retreat . Tian Wei’s heart was around cold . Over the course of a dozen li, they were constantly ambushed by Southern Chu soldiers . Although there weren’t many Southern Chu soldiers, they sniped at the retreating horsemen from within dense forests or behind large boulders . If this wasn’t a mountain valley, then it was likely that Tian Wei’s several thousand cavalry would have been wiped out . It took more than an hour before Tian Wei finally caught sight of Ba Prefecture . He only had three thousand horsemen remaining . Just as he arrived before the city, Tian Wei saw the fiery red Shu banner float down from the battlements, while the Prince of De’s yellow dragon banner was slowly hoisted . Tian Wei watched as the Shu soldiers on the battlements were chopped down . Under the cold glint of the flashing swords, Tian Wei caught sight of a person who seemed to be completely out of place . This person, dressed in a set of light robes, seemed to be a young scholar and was directly looking at him with eyes filled with pity . Amidst the blood and flames, his clothes were spotless . He stood atop the battlements and yet there seemed to be some distance separating him and the other Southern Chu soldiers . He almost seemed to be battlefield apparition .
Before the siege had concluded, I had mounted the city walls . This time, under my advice, the Southern Chu army had left behind ten thousand troops . This was something that I had thought of after the conference while reading the military manuals right before I fell asleep, and was quickly approved by the Prince of De . While we were digging trenches, we had also dug a number of large holes . While we were pretending to take a detour around Ba Prefecture, ten thousand soldiers hid themselves within the holes . The holes were covered by tarpaulin with soil on top . Enemy agents only noticed that our encampments were empty and did not notice the holes that we were using to hide soldiers . After Tian Wei had led his cavalry out of the city, we took advantage of the defenders’ neglect and immediately launched an attack . The complacent defenders were quickly defeated .
I mounted the battlements in order to witness the conclusion of this battle . As I was originally outside of the city with the other retainers, I feigned worry over the vengeance Tian Wei would wreck with his troops upon those waiting outside . Based upon this reason, we entered the city under heavy guard to protect us from any stragglers . I then mounted the battlements on the pretext of observing what was going on outside . Beaming, Xiaoshunzi dispatched two royal guardsmen to follow me . Although these royal guards were assigned to protect Army Supervisor Wang Hai . Wang Hai knew that Xiaoshunzi was a skilled martial artist and was on close terms with me, and so agreed . From what Xiaoshunzi told me, these two guardsmen’s martial arts were pretty good, and could protect me until reinforced by the Southern Chu soldiers .
I walked through the sea of blood, careful that no blood stained my clothes . But because of the river of blood at my feet, my shoes became soaked with blood . I was lucky, however . My clothes were unstained . By the time I endured the scents and screams, and mounted the battlements, the last few Shu soldiers were cut down . I looked down from the battlements and caught sight of the returning Shu cavalrymen . The red armored general stared up at the city blankly . Behind him, smoke and dust roiled, seeing my country’s forces approach . Suddenly, the red armored general yelled a command and charged with his cavalry . Afterwards, I watched as these horsemen were first surrounded, weakened, and then defeated . From a distance, I caught sight of the red armored general use his sword to cut his own throat, cursing as he died .
I shuddered on the inside . War was very different from the easy and light way it was chronicled in the history books . In the eyes of the ten thousand Shu soldiers garrisoning Ba Prefecture, we were a malicious enemy who intended to kill them, and to steal their cities and land . But what were we supposed to do? At this time, I profoundly despised this war . In order to fulfill the interests of Great Yong and Southern Chu, the Kingdom of Shu must be annihilated . Using a river of blood to acquire joy for those above … was it really worth it?
Afterwards, I fell ill . The blood, the bloody-curdling screams left me unable to sleep, unable to eat . Amidst the hurried march of the army, my illness grew progressively worse . Later, one evening, I was visited by Xiaoshunzi . He pulled me up and said, “I understand why you fell ill . You should collect your cheap sympathy . Our two sides have become enemies . We are at war . If we were to lose, we would lose our lives and be unable to return home . What traditional virtues,1 what four social bonds?2 I only know that I need to stay alive . For you, I need to stay alive . What about you? At the very least, you need to stay alive for me . Remember, you saved my life . If you do not allow me to repay this debt, I definitely will not allow you to die . ”
Seemingly in a trance, I looked at the tears that flowed down Xiaoshunzi’s face and replied, “Xiaoshunzi, brother . I know that you treat me as a real brother . But I constantly bully you, and yet you continue to take care of me, continue to protect me . I am about to pass . You should not feel sorrow . You don’t owe me anything . ”
Xiaoshunzi slapped me ferociously and said, “Why do you think I follow you? You have never looked down upon me and have treated me as a person . You are my teacher . You have helped me learn martial arts . Without you, there is no one else that would even glance at me . If you were to die, I will follow you . We will continue to be brothers in the next life, allowing you to always be there for me . ”
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