Xiahou Zuo had known for a long time who the Military Governor of Qingzhou was, but he had never stopped to think about what connection that person might have to the Cui Family. Yet in the moment he turned to look at Li Chi, he knew that Li Chi had already reached the same conclusion.
“So that’s how it is.”
Li Chi let out a soft sigh. “It still comes back to you.”
Xiahou Zuo gave a slow nod. “It still comes back to me.”
They had only just made the connection to Cui Yanlai, Military Governor of Qingzhou, but everything that followed was not so difficult to piece together.
The Cui Family’s true aim in trying to draw Li Chi over to their side was ultimately Xiahou Zuo himself — because Xiahou Zuo was the Garrison Commander of Jizhou, holding authority over all the defending forces within the province.
The Cui Family would relay every development in Jizhou back to Qingzhou, and it was likely that even before Prince Yu’s great army had set out, the Qingzhou forces had already begun marching toward Jizhou.
The reason was simple: the Cui Family had known, at least two months in advance, the date on which Prince Yu would mobilize. They had sent word to Qingzhou at the swiftest possible speed, and the Qingzhou forces, already prepared, would move on Jizhou the moment the message arrived.
Which meant that the earlier judgment had been wrong. The first army to reach Jizhou would not be the Yanzhou forces — it would be the Qingzhou forces, coming from much farther away.
“The Cui Family has operated in Jizhou for many years. This is their ancestral land.”
Xiahou Zuo said, “I underestimated the Cui people.”
Li Chi said, “There is still time to send word to your father. He only just left the city — he hasn’t gone far.”
Xiahou Zuo gave a nod. “I’ll dispatch riders to catch up with him right away. The army’s column moves slowly on the march out of Jizhou, so riders at full gallop will reach him well before the Qingzhou forces could come back.”
“I need to return and put the defenses in order, just in case.”
Li Chi said, “You go to the garrison office first. I’ll settle things at the carriage depot and come help you after.”
Xiahou Zuo suddenly thought of something, and turned to Li Chi. “If the Qingzhou forces don’t come, you won’t need to help me at all. The Cui Family didn’t necessarily approach you only because they wanted to use you against me — by now, everyone in Jizhou knows you’re my brother, so they may well move against you too. Protect yourself and the people at the depot first.”
Li Chi acknowledged with a sound of assent. “Then we each go our separate ways.”
“Agreed.”
Xiahou Zuo turned and departed, taking his personal guard back to the general’s residence.
—
The Cui household.
Cui Tai sat staring vacantly for quite some time, then turned to his subordinates and said, “I may have made a mistake.”
Qin Zhuo asked, “What sort of mistake, sir?”
Cui Tai said, “I should not have invited Li Chi here. Do you remember what the man surnamed Tang said before he left? He said your martial skill would rank only second-rate within the military.”
Qin Zhuo’s face flushed. He nodded. “He did say that, yes.”
“Why did he specifically say ‘within the military’?”
Qin Zhuo thought it over, then said, “That shouldn’t amount to much. Even if he saw that I came from a military background, in times like these, having someone of my background as a bodyguard is hardly unusual.”
Cui Tai shook his head. “One must never take anything for granted.”
He sat in silence for a moment, then said, “I believe I must go myself to the Yongning Tongyuan Carriage Depot and sound them out.”
He had barely finished saying this when he paused, suddenly recalling what Tang Pidi had said as he left — that he truly hoped he would not see Mister Cui at the carriage depot, because if that happened, Cui Tai’s face would not look good.
At the thought of that, Cui Tai’s hand came down on the armrest of his chair with an involuntary slap, with considerable force.
—
Meanwhile, at the carriage depot.
Tang Pidi was pacing back and forth in the courtyard, his brow deeply furrowed. He glanced to the side and saw Li Chi come through the gate, and immediately went to meet him.
“I just thought of something,” Tang Pidi said.
Li Chi said, “I just thought of something as well.”
The two looked at each other, and then spoke in unison: “Cui Yanlai, Military Governor of Qingzhou.”
Tang Pidi said, “After I returned, I kept turning over the visit to the Three-Month River Pavilion in my mind. Something had felt wrong to me at the time — the young man who moved against me and the archer concealed on the rooftop were both from a military background. The Cui Family is a distinguished house, yet when I looked into it afterward, none of the Cui Family’s people hold any position within the Jizhou military.”
“One could argue that hiring capable former soldiers as household guards isn’t so unusual in itself. But the man who came at me — I said his skill was second-rate, but that was far from the truth. Someone like him would have been heavily relied upon within any army. The price to hire a man of that caliber, compared to a jianghu fighter of equal or even greater ability, would be far steeper and far harder to arrange.”
He looked at Li Chi and said, “So when something felt wrong to me, I dug a pit for Cui Tai. I deliberately pointed out that the man’s skills were of a military nature, and then said I hoped Cui Tai would not come to our depot. If he truly did come—”
Li Chi said, “If he truly came, that would prove he had something to hide.”
Tang Pidi said, “Have you warned Xiahou?”
Li Chi nodded. “I was just with him. He had already arrived at the same conclusion on his own — we had been sorting through the Surveillance Bureau’s files together when we thought of Cui Yanlai, Military Governor of Qingzhou.”
Tang Pidi said, “Qingzhou is wealthy, and far more stable than Jizhou. The Qingzhou forces are formidable — no fewer than two hundred thousand strong, at the very least. Inside Jizhou city, the garrison numbers barely more than twenty thousand. The enemy outnumbers us ten to one.”
He was quiet for a moment, then said, “We must go and help Xiahou.”
—
The following afternoon.
Li Chi and Tang Pidi arrived at the general’s residence, only to be told that General Xiahou had gone to the city walls to see to the defenses. The two set out to find him and spent an hour searching before they finally located where Xiahou Zuo was.
At a glance, Li Chi could see that Xiahou Zuo’s complexion was off. “What happened?” he asked.
Xiahou Zuo said, “My father had barely left Jizhou when I sent riders out at full gallop, day and night, to catch him. I told them the Qingzhou forces might seize the opportunity to strike while we’re vulnerable. And he said—”
Xiahou Zuo glanced at Li Chi and let out a sigh. “He said he trusts me. He said he has complete confidence in leaving Jizhou in my hands. He said that the Qingzhou forces have marched a great distance and are weary, and though their numbers are strong, they are like an arrow at the end of its flight. Jizhou has ample grain and stable morale, and holding the city should not be an insurmountable task.”
Xiahou Zuo continued, “He sent word back saying he sees this as a fine opportunity — to take Yuzhou and Qingzhou in a single stroke. He told me to keep the Qingzhou forces pinned outside Jizhou’s walls no matter what. He’ll break Yuzhou first, then push into Qingzhou.”
Li Chi listened, then exchanged a glance with Tang Pidi. Tang Pidi thought for a moment and said, “That is a bold gamble. If the command is sound and the advance swift enough, it is not entirely without possibility — though it could stand to be even bolder.”
He spoke with deliberate care. “If I were leading the army, I would take a force of several tens of thousands, make a great show of moving south toward Yuzhou — tens of thousands of men projecting the appearance of two hundred thousand — and hold a standoff with the Yuzhou forces along the Nanping River. Then I would dispatch a capable general at the head of a hundred and fifty thousand troops, swinging wide around the Yuzhou forces and driving straight for Qingzhou.”
“Qingzhou’s military strength is hollow at the moment. If word were spread along the way that the Qingzhou forces had been routed and that Military Governor Cui Yanlai was already dead, the hearts of the Qingzhou populace would be thrown into disarray. Seize Qingzhou, then conscript soldiers from among those who surrender, and drive back into Yuzhou from the Qingzhou direction. At that point, we could coordinate with Prince Yu’s main force on the Nanping River to strike from both sides, and take Yuzhou and Qingzhou together in one fell swoop.”
“If the Yuzhou forces learn that Qingzhou has already fallen to Prince Yu, they will be caught between two threats, and their morale will crumble.”
Tang Pidi said, “If Prince Yu were to act in such a way, that would take considerable resolve.”
Xiahou Zuo said, “I have no more concern for what he does. If he wants to take Yuzhou and Qingzhou together, that is his affair. My only business is to hold Jizhou. Our enemies are not only the Qingzhou forces — there are also the Yanzhou forces to contend with.”
Li Chi said, “Deploy scouts in all directions, toward Yanzhou and toward Qingzhou alike, as fast as possible, as far as possible. When they spot the enemy, they are to ride back through the night.”
Xiahou Zuo said, “I deployed them yesterday.”
Tang Pidi asked, “How many?”
Xiahou Zuo said, “Fifty toward Yanzhou, a hundred toward Qingzhou.”
“Not enough.”
Tang Pidi said, “Double them. Gather the men together and have them bring paper and brush. I will draw out the reconnaissance routes for them.”
Xiahou Zuo immediately sent word, and shortly after, a fresh group of garrison soldiers was assembled — all of them capable and hardened men. Tang Pidi crouched down on the spot, took a piece of charcoal as his brush, and drew a map directly on the surface of the city wall. His strokes came fast, as though he had no need to think.
In short order the map was complete, and Tang Pidi began drawing lines across it one by one. As he drew, he said, “Five men to a team, disguised as ordinary people. Do not carry long weapons — leave the broadswords behind as well. Carry only crossbows and short blades, kept out of sight. Follow the routes I’ve marked to conduct reconnaissance. Each route must be covered by two teams, one ahead of the other with at least five li between them. If the forward team runs into trouble, the rear team can still get the signal out.”
Xiahou Zuo noticed his men all glancing at him, and immediately said, “What are you all looking at me for! Divide up according to what he said!”
“Yes, sir!”
All the scouts responded as one. They took out paper and brush, each team copying down a single route, and the assignments were divided up swiftly.
“The Qingzhou forces are mostly infantry. The Yanzhou forces have cavalry.”
Tang Pidi said, “Xiahou, send someone to Youzhou to seek out Luo Geng and ask him to keep watch on the movements of the Yanzhou forces. If the Yanzhou forces march against us, the Youzhou forces can harass them along the way. Make sure this is made absolutely clear — tell Luo Geng to harass and nothing more, not to engage in a decisive battle. The person you send—”
Tang Pidi paused, then looked at Xiahou Zuo and said, “Bring the man to me. I’ll instruct him in person.”
Xiahou Zuo immediately had Liu Ge find someone suitable. Liu Ge brought forward a Fifth-Grade general from the command. Sending someone of too low a rank to call on Luo Geng would be seen as Xiahou Zuo looking down on him — Luo Geng was known to be a proud man, and a Fifth-Grade officer was just barely adequate in terms of rank.
Tang Pidi said to the general, “When you meet Luo Geng, relay my words exactly. Tell him this: the Yanzhou forces are powerful, their soldiers seasoned and well-supplied, all of them battle-hardened veterans. The Youzhou forces number less than a fifth of the Yanzhou army and must not face them head-on. Strike at intervals along the way, wearing down their provisions and supplies. Delay the Yanzhou forces by ten days, and General Luo’s contribution will be beyond measure. The fighting that follows can be left to Jizhou.”
He asked the general, “Do you have it?”
The general nodded. “I have it.”
Xiahou Zuo said, “You have it, so leave now. Take an escort — three horses per man. No delays.”
“Yes, sir!”
The general acknowledged the order and ran immediately down from the city wall.
Tang Pidi said, “Send men to the southeast as well to give orders there. If the Qingzhou forces come, they will cross the Hutuo River. Have men move all the fishing boats along the banks over to the western shore — not a single boat is to be left on the eastern bank. During spring floods the rain is heavy, and crossing the Hutuo is no easy matter as it is. This will hold the Qingzhou forces for a time and buy us time to prepare the city’s defense.”
Xiahou Zuo nodded. “Liu Ge, go and arrange it.”
Liu Ge acknowledged the order and immediately went to assign the men.
Tang Pidi thought for a moment, then said, “If you trust me, you could give me a division to command. Though I know this goes against convention — within the army, there are generals who command, and the soldiers—”
Before he could finish, Xiahou Zuo said, “Never mind a division — I’d hand you the entire army if you asked. Right now, Jizhou answers to me. What they’re willing to do has nothing to do with anything. What I am willing to do is what they are willing to do.”
He said, “Most of what you laid out just now never even occurred to me. So giving command to you is better than giving it to myself.”
“A division is enough.”
Tang Pidi said, “But I want authority over life and death. Those who defy orders — I can have them killed.”
“Granted!”
Xiahou Zuo turned to his personal guard. “Bring me my general’s command banner. From this day forward, the command banner goes to Tang Pidi!”
—