The two armies stood in confrontation at the western bastion wall. They had barely endured the cursed plum rain season, and the muddy ground was gradually hardening, when an imperial decree from Tai’an City, somehow leaked to the public and widely spread, like a summer thunderclap that suddenly exploded across the earth, shaking the hearts of the people.
Before this, the Liyang Xu Xiao had barely managed to win the Battle of Jing River using the majority of the elite cavalry of the Xu family, wiping out the famed invincible halberdiers of the Great Chu. At the height of their momentum, all that remained was to deliver a decisive blow at the western bastion wall at the right moment. But with the decree’s issuance, their efforts crumbled at the final stage. The encirclement of Great Chu had not yet been fully completed and now became increasingly loose.
A hard-won stalemate, bought with the lives of over a hundred thousand Xu family soldiers, turned into a precarious situation in an instant, as fragile as an egg stacked high.
The northeastern front was still relatively secure, after Gu Jiantang had already annihilated the Eastern Yue, with minimal effort and most of his elite forces intact. Even though they did not march south as agreed to support Xu Xiao’s army, to the Great Chu, it remained a blade hanging over their head. However, General Zhao Bo-dang, who had avoided direct battlefield engagements throughout the southern campaign, was tasked only with constructing the northwestern defensive line, a comparatively light burden. As one of the few high-ranking officials with royal lineage, he shockingly abandoned his post at a critical moment, retreating a full six hundred miles. It seemed he had resolved to watch the conflict unfold from afar, effectively handing over the fruits of the Battle of Jing River with both hands. Compared to Xu Xiao, who was deeply engaged in the exhausting battles at the western bastion wall, Zhao Bo-dang clearly received the imperial decree much earlier. Thus, when his army hastily retreated to the Qianshan Pass, six hundred miles beyond the Concubine’s Tomb, any discerning observer could see that the decisive battle between the two nations had already surfaced ahead of schedule!
At that time, the Great Chu, still holding a numerical advantage, only needed to reclaim the line along the Concubine’s Tomb to deploy forces without affecting the western bastion wall battle, thereby gaining greater strategic depth. If Xu Xiao, now at a disadvantage, dared to divert troops to the Concubine’s Tomb, the military genius General Ye Bai-kui could sound the horn of battle at the western bastion wall first. How could Ye Bai-kui, undefeated in all his campaigns, possibly ignore such a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity? The reason the Great Chu had fallen into its current predicament was because Xu Xiao had fought a series of near-suicidal, swift battles. His adopted son, Chu Lu-shan, who had previously been obscure, emerged as a standout figure in these campaigns. This ruthless and brutal tactician, who believed in the maxim “killing a thousand enemies at the cost of eight hundred of our own,” had stunned the northern Chu army with his vicious methods. This allowed Chen Zhi-bao to clear the entire northern front, ultimately leading to the great victory at Jing River and forcing the Great Chu to retreat and regroup at the western bastion wall, where they had the advantage of manpower but lost the advantage of terrain.
As the Great Chu’s pillar of stability, Ye Bai-kui, hailed as a master strategist capable of standing against an entire nation, made a decision at this critical moment that would spark endless debate among historians for generations to come. He passed over Cao Chang-qing, a young and promising military talent who had just begun to show his brilliance, and instead chose Meng Hu, a seasoned general with deep experience and a reputation for stability. He dispatched this trusted commander with an elite force to the Concubine’s Tomb.
In contrast, before the Xu family army could take action, there was a fierce and limited debate within their ranks. The two trusted advisors, Zhao Chang-ling and Li Yi-shan, who had always worked in harmony, finally had their first major disagreement. Zhao Chang-ling, the brilliant strategist, insisted that since the opportunity for a decisive push had been lost and the emperor had issued a decree ordering a cessation of hostilities and a retreat, the thirty thousand strong army under the general’s command should retreat in full view of the Liyang forces. He proposed a bold retreat all the way to the Concubine’s Tomb, even going so far as to “swallow” Zhao Bo-dang’s forces stationed there. Then, with Gu Jiantang also brought under command, they could eliminate the lingering concerns from the north and then face off against the Great Chu and Ye Bai-kui in a final decisive battle. However, Li Yi-shan argued that such a retreat would give the nearly defeated Great Chu a chance to recover. Therefore, he suggested a decisive division of forces, but absolutely no more than two thousand troops.
The usually composed Zhao Chang-ling was furious, directly accusing Li Yi-shan of treating the matter like a child’s game. Ye Bai-kui had clearly received the imperial decree and news of Zhao Bo-dang’s retreat much earlier than the general. The Great Chu could afford to send four or five thousand troops from the already crowded eastern side of the western bastion wall without significant loss. However, sending two thousand troops from the general’s side would not only reduce the general’s chances of victory in the confrontation but also be a foolish and ineffective move, tantamount to sending them to their deaths at the Concubine’s Tomb for nothing.
In the heavy atmosphere of the military tent, a map of the Great Chu situation hung, with red and black lines drawn in charcoal and vermilion ink marking the lines of attack and defense. On the table, a water clock used for precise timing dripped slowly.
Inside the tent stood Xu Xiao, who was already in his thirties and whose fate could determine the outcome of the entire realm. Alongside him were the two trusted advisors, Zhao Chang-ling and Li Yi-shan, who had been orchestrating strategies from within the tent. Summoned urgently into the tent were the three adopted sons: Chen Zhi-bao, Yuan Zuo-zong, and Chu Lu-shan. Also present were a group of veteran commanders from the infantry and cavalry, including Wu Qi, a swordsman from the Wu family sword tomb who had accompanied his sister and served as a mentor to Chen Zhi-bao in military strategy. There was also Xu Pu, a rare Confucian general in the Xu family army, who had gained a reputation in the cavalry that rivaled even that of the general’s brother-in-law, Wu Qi. Other notable figures included General Zhong Hong-wu and the newly nicknamed “Camp-Building Step by Step” infantry commander Yan Wen-luan, as well as Liu Yuan-ji, Wei Tie-shan, and other generals. It could be said that if half of these dozen or so individuals were successfully assassinated, the entire realm would fall into the hands of the Great Chu.
Xu Feng-nian turned around, gazing at the familiar yet unfamiliar faces of those present. These were the people who had built the empire for Xu Xiao.
None of them noticed a young man standing beneath the map, his fingers lightly tracing the red and black lines of the military routes. At the summit of Wudang’s Lotus Peak, a man named Meng Chunqiu was split into three, each entering the Spring and Autumn Annals to observe them. One of these “him” appeared in the brutal Battle of Jing River and followed the events all the way to the western bastion wall. Yet, in his eyes, the people and things within the Spring and Autumn Annals were only differentiated by black and white. His emotions did not affect the people within the Spring and Autumn Annals in the slightest. At this moment, Zhong Hong-wu had not yet taken full control of the Northern Liang cavalry; before him, there were still the towering figures of Wu Qi and Xu Pu. Yan Wen-luan had already lost one eye, but within the tent, he was the freshest face and the newest arrival. Compared to the future “Lu Ball” Chu Lu-shan, he seemed thinner by dozens of jin, brimming with malevolence, and unlike the years to come, he did not always wear a sycophantic smile. The already famous White Bear Yuan Zuo-zong, perhaps too preoccupied to groom himself, had thick, dense stubble, making him appear even more heroic and spirited.
The old general Hong Ze had not yet died of illness outside the city of Xiangfan, and the general Su Heng-qu had not yet fallen in battle within the borders of Western Shu.
Xu Feng-nian looked toward Zhao Chang-ling, who was standing beside Xu Xiao, observing the side profile of this strategist from the Zhao family of Guangling Green Pavilion in the Great Chu. Elegant and resolute, Zhao Chang-ling was the kind of scholar who could win the favor of kings and ministers at first sight. There was no holding back in his campaign against the Great Chu, which was his homeland. On the contrary, the Xu family cavalry’s strategies against the Great Chu were mostly his handiwork. With Zhao Chang-ling leading and Li Yi-shan assisting, the two strategists always complemented each other perfectly.
Xu Feng-nian slightly shifted his gaze to the humble origins strategist who had always willingly let Zhao Chang-ling overshadow his brilliance. Under Zhao Chang-ling’s aggressive questioning, his expression remained calm.
At this time, the teacher’s face was still quite good.
Li Yi-shan, who rarely argued with others, did not directly refute Zhao Chang-ling. Instead, he walked to the map and pointed at the Concubine’s Tomb with his finger. Looking at everyone in the tent, he said, “Ye Bai-kui has already dispatched troops to this location. Obviously, if we were to put ourselves in his position, I would first send out two forces: one light cavalry to deal with our reinforcements, and one relatively slow-moving heavy cavalry as a reserve force. The treasury of the West Chu is overflowing with silver, a fact known to all. Otherwise, our general wouldn’t constantly talk about wanting to lie down and have a good nap in a mountain of gold and silver after winning the battle…”
When Li Yi-shan said this, even Zhao Chang-ling’s expression softened a bit, and Xu Xiao grinned sheepishly, while the other generals all shared a knowing smile.
Li Yi-shan continued, “The Great Chu has two golden treasures. The more than ten thousand halberdiers have already been proven obsolete and a liability, but whether the six thousand heavy cavalry under Ye Bai-kui’s command are a burden remains to be seen. Maintaining heavy cavalry is naturally very costly; a single ordinary heavy cavalryman costs at least as much as maintaining three to four elite light cavalrymen. The advantages and disadvantages are very clear. The drawback is that the heavy horses and armor are inconvenient to move before the battle begins. Putting on armor is slow, mounting the horse is slow, and one could say that aside from the final mounted charge once everything is ready, everything else is slow, and turning around is even slower. After a successful charge that breaks through the enemy formation, they cannot stop immediately but must make a large arc to buffer before they can successfully turn around and launch a second charge. On the right battlefield, where the terrain is wide and suitable for charging, the heavy cavalry, often mocked by light cavalry commanders as only capable of a single decisive strike, are truly the kings of the battlefield. The Concubine’s Tomb, with its broad terrain, is the ideal battlefield for the Great Chu’s heavy cavalry. Chang-ling says that if we divide our forces and send fewer than five thousand men, it would be a suicide mission.”
Li Yi-shan spoke quickly, clearly not wanting to waste a moment, but still paused here before continuing, “Of course, it is a suicide mission.”
Li Yi-shan swiftly made a gesture of flipping his palm and continued, “Once the Great Chu is defeated, the subsequent campaigns against Shu, Tang, and Nan Zhao will be easy tasks, as simple as going with the flow. We have no doubts about this. It was precisely because the Xu family’s iron cavalry led every battle and charged ahead in every fight that we were able to push all the way to the western bastion wall in one fell swoop. But if we choose to retreat at this critical juncture and avoid the enemy’s sharp edge, not only will it be uncertain whether we can defeat the Great Chu, but even the general’s ability to retain command will be in question. We have lost many lives already, and we will continue to lose more. However, if we lose fewer than twenty thousand men at the Concubine’s Tomb, all the Xu family soldiers who have died before will have died in vain!”
Li Yi-shan did not look at Zhao Chang-ling but stared at Xu Xiao, saying solemnly, “I beg the general, let one man take twenty thousand light cavalry to their deaths!”
Chen Zhi-bao, who had rushed to the tent after inspecting various battlefields, said calmly, “Father, there’s no need for twenty thousand men. Give me fifteen thousand cavalry, but I need the best horses in terms of stamina, the best spears, and the best crossbows. I will hold the Concubine’s Tomb.”
Zhao Chang-ling looked at this young general, whom he highly valued, with a complex expression.
Yuan Zuo-zong ran his hand over his thick beard and smiled, “Zhi-bao still needs to assess the abilities and habits of the various officers to ensure that in the final battle, they can be commanded as effortlessly as one’s own limbs, especially with so many non-Xu family troops and numerous surrendered officers. There’s no time to waste. Let me, this idle old man, go to the Concubine’s Tomb.”
Chu Lu-shan suddenly chuckled, “When it comes to a battle where we all die together, Yuan Bai-xiong, do you think you know it better than me? You’re not even ashamed to try to take it from me?”
Li Yi-shan said flatly, “In this battle at the Concubine’s Tomb, Ye Bai-kui has both a first and second move. We also need to divide our forces into two groups, which can be considered as two waves of sacrifice. The first wave needs to die slowly, the slower the better, ideally exhausting all of the Great Chu’s light cavalry, and even making sure that the Great Chu’s heavy cavalry makes one charge. Yuan Zuo-zong is good at preserving strength in cavalry battles.”
Yuan Zuo-zong nodded.
Chu Lu-shan glared and said, “Then the following troops should be mine, right?”
Li Yi-shan shook his head and said, “If you just want a mutual destruction, you can go. But in that case, the Great Chu will ultimately win. Ye Bai-kui can continuously send troops to the Concubine’s Tomb, turning it into a war of attrition that is very unfavorable to us. It will not only consume the strength of the general but also test the patience of Tai’an City. Unfortunately, we cannot afford to lose on either count.”
Chen Zhi-bao smiled and said, “Then I’ll go. Give fifteen thousand cavalry to Zuo-zong, and I only need the following five thousand cavalry. As long as Zuo-zong holds out until the Great Chu’s heavy cavalry enters the battlefield, I can guarantee that they will be completely wiped out, making Ye Bai-kui dare not send a single soldier to the Concubine’s Tomb again.”
Zhao Chang-ling was worried and said, “What if Ye Bai-kui suddenly decides to launch a decisive battle now?”
The commander-in-chief, Xu Xiao, gently patted the shoulder of this strategist, who was praised for being “leakproof and leaving no strategy unconsidered,” with a cheerful smile and said, “Isn’t the intelligence report saying that the big troublemaker Cao Chang-qing is still in the south? Since Ye Bai-kui didn’t use this person, it shows he probably dares not to start a decisive battle too early. Besides, he’s still in a dominant position. He, a major figure in the Great Chu, doesn’t need to gamble recklessly with us poor, barefoot beggars.”
Zhao Chang-ling, known for his charm and elegance, let out a bitter smile but finally stopped insisting on his own opinion.
It is often said that the army moves only after the provisions are ready, but this time, the secret long-distance raid by the twenty thousand light cavalry carried only a small amount of provisions and made no extra movements.
To avoid detection, Chen Zhi-bao even specially rode to the front line of the western bastion wall, riding a white horse with a long spear, alone.
The Great Chu’s vanguard could clearly see his Elegance.
Yuan Zuo-zong led fifteen thousand cavalry and set off for the Concubine’s Tomb first, taking a route that first went north and then east.
Before mounting his horse, Li Yi-shan stepped forward, his lips trembling, but he did not speak.
Yuan Zuo-zong suddenly bowed deeply, his eyes clear and his expression resolute, also without saying a word.
Xu Xiao stepped forward and whispered, “Zuo-zong, I won’t say anything nice, just one thing. Even if you die, at least try to keep your body intact so that when you are buried, I can help you wear a pair of handmade cloth shoes.”
Yuan Zuo-zong, hearing these ominous words, did not show the slightest resentment and laughed lightly, “No need, save them for Xiao Nian to wear. Consider it a gift from Zuo-zong to him. I’ve never given him anything all these years, and I’ve always felt a bit guilty.”
Xu Xiao waved his hand and said, “Go.”
Fifteen thousand light cavalry quietly left the western bastion wall in the dead of night.
Xu Xiao stood in place, with Zhao Chang-ling on his left and Li Yi-shan behind him, like the general’s two trusted advisors.
Chu Lu-shan squatted in front of his adopted father, sulking, pulling up a wild grass that had miraculously not been trampled by hooves, chewing on it along with the mud.
Xu Xiao squatted down next to this adopted son, raised his hand, and patted Chu Lu-shan’s head, smiling, and said, “As long as this time we can defeat the Great Chu, you can be the vanguard for the conquest of Shu. I had already promised it to Zuo-zong, but if he dies, you can take his share.”
The fat man, who was known for being ruthless in competing for military achievements within the Xu family army, unusually showed no joy, his fat head drooping.
The Xu family’s iron cavalry, with old soldiers leaving and new ones joining, had followed Xu Xiao from the two Liaos to this western bastion wall, and there had been no parting in life, only death!
“Xu Feng-nian” squatted beside Xu Xiao, wanting very much to tell Chu Lu-shan and the still-youthful Xu Xiao that Yuan Zuo-zong would not die and that the battle at the western bastion wall would not be lost.
But later, when the time came to fight the Northern Man and the Northern Liang, there would be more partings in life and fewer deaths.
Until Xu Feng-nian took up the Xu family’s royal banner and once again faced the Northern Man’s million archers.
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