Chapter 240: A General’s Fate in Battle
Chapter 240: A General’s Fate in Battle
When Zhu Houzhao heard Fang Jifan mention Mi Lu, his eyes instantly lit up. A clear, handsome face filled with joy, he nodded excitedly.
“You… you actually thought of it too?”
Of course, I already knew more than ten years ago when I was organizing the Veritable Records of the Ming Dynasty.
Fang Jifan thought to himself.
Zhu Houzhao was so excited he started dancing.
“The key to the problem lies here… Judging from the situation two years after Mi Lu’s rebellion, Mi Lu was merely the daughter of a chieftain, yet she stirred up such a massive revolt. The imperial court had underestimated her before. Now it’s almost certain that this woman is very likely the… uh…”
He paused to think before continuing.
“…the common leader of the Guizhou native people, or… this woman is extremely skilled at deceiving people. Those civil and military officials in Guizhou still haven’t realized it, foolishly suppressing bandits there. These bandits can’t be wiped out.”
When Zhu Houzhao reached this point, his eyes were full of disappointment: “All the civil and military officials in the world are fools. Only This Palace…” He drew out the last syllable, seemed to feel that bragging like this wasn’t good, then smiled at Fang Jifan again: “…and Old Fang are the top-tier clever ones.”
“…”
Zhu Houzhao became serious again and started looking for the map.
“Since Wang Shi ordered Regional Commander Fang to hold firm in the city, then the question arises: why did Regional Commander Fang flee? In This Palace’s view, this must be a rumor, just slander. But why did Regional Commander Fang leave? I heard he took eight hundred men and only provisions for ten days…”
A light shone in Zhu Houzhao’s eyes. Now, with a serious expression, he no longer looked like a child but more like a steady commander. His eyes were sharp, his face calm.
Fang Jifan, hearing he only took eight hundred men, grew worried.
His original intention when writing the letter was just to hope his father would request orders from Wang Shi to take the entire Mountain Brigade to Stone Stream Stronghold. But he had overlooked the conflict between his father and Wang Shi.
He could only silently hope in his heart that Fang Jinglong was safe and sound.
“Your father went to find Mi Lu!” Zhu Houzhao finally said decisively: “That’s the only possibility. But This Palace was thinking, why… why did your father go to find Mi Lu at this time? Why not go earlier, or wait a few more days… This Palace thought for a full hour before remembering Anshun… The bandit army besieged Anshun. Given Mi Lu’s cunning, she must want to repeat her old trick, to besiege the city and attack the reinforcements.”
“Provincial Governor Wang Shi, how could he not see Mi Lu’s tactics? But even if he saw through it, so what? This isn’t a covert scheme; it’s an open stratagem.”
Zhu Houzhao was fuming, and he couldn’t help but let out a roar.
“If Wang Shi didn’t rush to reinforce, the bandit army could attack Anshun with full force. Once Anshun fell, he, as Provincial Governor, couldn’t bear such a huge responsibility. Therefore, even though Wang Shi clearly knew it was a trap, he had no choice but to grit his teeth and go reinforce. Did you see the memorial? Wang Shi used infantry as the vanguard. Although he split his forces into two routes, the distance between the two forces wasn’t great, and he had cavalry on the flanks. This was clearly a method of advancing steadily and readying for ambushes at any time. Wang Shi’s move, though passive and helpless, still… fortunately, he is someone who understands warfare. Even if ambushed, he might suffer some losses, but This Palace expects the losses won’t be too great.”
As he spoke, Zhu Houzhao slammed his fist hard on the desk. His hand hurt from the impact, but he acted as if nothing was wrong and continued his analysis.
“If only This Palace were in Guiyang, This Palace would simply abandon Anshun and instead seek out Mi Lu. Only by resolving Mi Lu could all problems be easily solved. This… might be the reason your father left. He wanted to end the war sooner, so he decided to take the risk. So, where did your father go to find Mi Lu? He must have noticed something. This… actually gives This Palace some inspiration?”
Seeing Zhu Houzhao red-eyed and seeming to fall into a frenzy, Fang Jifan didn’t interrupt, letting him continue his raving.
“Do you remember, This Palace said your father only had men bring provisions for ten days? Given Guizhou’s terrain, marching for ten days wouldn’t get you far. Covering a hundred and fifty li would be pretty good… So…”
Zhu Houzhao pointed at the Military Map, seeming to have mentally centered on Guiyang and limited all forts and strongholds within a hundred and fifty li radius.
Finally, he pointed to a spot thirty li east of Stone Stream Stronghold. His eyes shone with a strange light, and he said very firmly:
“If This Palace guesses correctly, your father’s target is probably here. This is Longquan Stronghold. It’s not a strategically vital place contested by all, nor is it a crossroads hub. Mi Lu needs to hide, yet she also needs to remotely direct the battle from the front lines. She definitely wouldn’t be too far from Anshun, yet she would absolutely not expose herself to danger. This Longquan Stronghold has always been a place the official troops overlook. This Palace compared several different versions of the Military Map and strikingly discovered that several editions even missed this Longquan Stronghold, not even marking it. Probably over in Guizhou, this place is almost equivalent to being ignored. Mi Lu must be here, and your father must be here too!”
A complete hit!
This analysis was really damn brilliant. Fang Jifan almost couldn’t help but applaud.
This guy Zhu Houzhao was simply the model of armchair strategy. Actually, ‘armchair strategy’ isn’t a derogatory term, because before any war starts, people rely on armchair strategy for reasoning and simulation.
It’s just that the one place Zhu Houzhao was wrong about was Longquan Stronghold.
Fang Jifan glanced at Zhu Houzhao, then pointed at the map and asked with a smile, “Why doesn’t Your Highness think it might be Stone Stream Stronghold?”
“Stone Stream Stronghold?” Zhu Houzhao was stunned for a moment, then looked down at the Military Map again. A trace of hesitation flickered in his eyes, but in the end, he still gave Fang Jifan a bright smile.
“Logically speaking, Stone Stream Stronghold also fits This Palace’s deduction fairly well. These two strongholds aren’t far apart. It’s just, just… This Palace believes the odds are higher for Longquan Stronghold. This Palace trusts its own judgment.”
He was very confident, one could say quite certain of his judgment.
Fang Jifan let out a sigh.
“What?” Zhu Houzhao saw Fang Jifan seemed down. “You’re worried about your father? Don’t worry.”
Zhu Houzhao seemed to just realize that after all this talk, what use was it? The other person’s father’s fate was still unknown. He thought about it, wondering if he should comfort Old Fang…
So Zhu Houzhao also sighed and patted Fang Jifan on the shoulder.
“Old Fang, actually, your father is quite lucky. To be able to be a general, launching a surprise attack a hundred li away – how many people yearn for such a thing! A general may die in a hundred battles. Your Fang Family is a military family. To be wrapped in a horsehide after death – what’s wrong with that?”
As he spoke, a look of envy appeared in his eyes.
“This Palace only regrets not being your father. Otherwise, right now This Palace would be in the dense forests of Guizhou, attacked by bandits from all directions in the woods. This Palace, holding a long sword, would fight the bandits to our heart’s content. Dying would be dying then. If the Champion Marquis didn’t look upon death as a return home, why were the Xiongnu so afraid of him? Death… for a general, is the thing with the least regret. If one day This Palace could die such a death, not in the palace, not on a sickbed, not among eunuchs…”
The more he spoke… the more excited Zhu Houzhao became. A light danced in his eyes, and he seemed to forget his own duty.
“…but die on the battlefield, with a Northern Barbarian or native person thrusting a blade into This Palace’s lower rib. This Palace’s passionate blood would splash out like a rain canopy. This Palace would roar at the sky, looking around seeing fire everywhere, cries of kill everywhere, corpses piled up like mountains. Only then would This Palace kneel, gradually feeling strength failing, life like the spilled blood slowly leaving This Palace’s body. After hearing the final war drum and horn, This Palace would finally collapse in a pool of blood…”
“Old Fang, Old Fang… tell me… tell me, such a death… Hey, why are you crying? This Palace isn’t dead yet… Oh… We should be talking about your father, your father…”
Fang Jifan was truly heart-stricken. His chest felt tight, and he was immensely distressed.
Zhu Houzhao hurriedly grabbed Fang Jifan’s hand: “How about, you hit This Palace… vent your anger… come on, come on, This Palace won’t fight back.”
He gripped Fang Jifan’s hand firmly and pushed it toward his own chest.
“Come on, hit here, hit This Palace’s face…”
…
At the classroom door, Liu Jin stood hunched in an inconspicuous corner, watching the two young men under the flickering candlelight. His face always wore that kindly smile. Suddenly, he turned around. Behind him was the long corridor, and beyond the corridor were the lights of ten thousand households, and the sounds of debate coming from the school.
There was a moon in the sky, shaped like a hook.
The moon’s radiant light was like a lamp under palace gauze, hazy and indistinct.
Liu Jin looked up at the moon, then down at his own shadow.
His shadow, how lonely it was. Under this empty corridor, in the courtyard, his eyes looking at the shadow seemed dazed. He murmured softly: “With all this effort of mine, why is my life still so lonely…”
On the ground, the hunched shadow did not answer him.
At this moment, Liu Jin’s tears dampened his lapel.
…
Guizhou.
Inside the large tent, Wang Shi was writing a memorial indignantly.
It was already the seventh day since setting out with the troops. Over these seven days, the army encountered countless large and small surprise attacks. The native people, deeply familiar with the geography, used almost every despicable means imaginable – poison, sniper arrows, even snakes and insects were put to use.
Wang Shi understood better than anyone that Anshun… was bait, and he was a fish that had no choice but to take the hook, compelled to dance to Mi Lu’s tune. Yet, at the same time, he had to be extremely cautious and absolutely prevent Mi Lu from achieving her goal.
This damn humid and hot place – Wang Shi couldn’t stand it for even one more day. He even felt some anguish and indignation. Was he stupid? No, he wasn’t stupid in the slightest. What did Mi Lu’s petty tricks amount to? But precisely because he was the Provincial Governor, he had no choice.
The power the imperial court gave to a Provincial Governor seemed great, but in reality, it was quite limited. The court was full of Censors, all watching him, the Guizhou Provincial Governor, like flies. This meant he simply had no power of choice. Abandoning Anshun – one could almost imagine how many Censors would pounce on him like jackals, tearing at him until he was utterly ruined.
His only choice was to keep gritting his teeth and advancing!