Suzhou.

The Ning Army’s distance from Suzhou City was now not great — in forced march, they could be at Suzhou City’s walls within three days.

And yet Tang Pidi had ordered the army to rest in place, even recalling the detachments sent out to attack various positions.

Luo Jing came back from outside with his troops, and the moment he saw Tang Pidi he couldn’t help but ask: “Why the sudden order to stop? Give me three more days and I could take another county.”

Tang Pidi sat on a camp stool. Over the fire in front of him, an iron pot hung on a hook, and he held a bowl in his hands waiting for the meat inside to finish cooking.

He gestured to the seat across from him. Luo Jing sat down, craned his neck to peer into the pot, then broke into a wide grin.

All this time they had been constantly on the march and in battle — when was there ever time for a proper, comfortable meal? This hot-pot had not been eaten in at least six months.

“Barring any mishap, Li Xionghu’s main army should already be close to the south of Suzhou City. If we laid siege to Suzhou right now, Li Xionghu would hem us in underneath the city walls — and he has a real army of a million.”

Tang Pidi picked out a piece of meat, examined it, decided it was done, and placed it in his bowl, dipping it in the sauce.

Sesame paste, cilantro, minced garlic, green onion, and chili oil. The climate around Suzhou was considerably warmer than the north — fresh vegetables were available nearly year-round. For men on campaign, it was like paradise; they would not have to gnaw hard dry rations every single day.

Luo Jing picked up his bowl and ate along with him, talking between bites: “So your plan is to face off against Li Xionghu outside Suzhou City?”

“There’s no time to waste on Li Xionghu.”

Tang Pidi said: “The reason I called you back is that I want you to take command of the army.”

Luo Jing’s chopsticks froze in midair, and he already had the vague feeling something not particularly pleasant was about to happen.

“Where are you going?”

Luo Jing immediately asked again.

Tang Pidi gestured to his personal guard: “Spread the map.”

The guard opened the map before both of them.

Tang Pidi pointed with his chopsticks: “I’ve already marked it — look for yourself.”

Luo Jing turned to look, and the more he looked, the more alarmed he became — the more he looked, the more inconceivable it seemed. He simply put down his chopsticks, got up, and went to stand in front of the map and read through it carefully once more.

“What you’re planning to do is too risky.”

Luo Jing came back and sat down on his camp stool: “You are the commander-in-chief of the whole army.”

Tang Pidi nodded: “I am. So just follow your orders.”

Luo Jing: “Absolutely not — you expect me to follow an order this reckless?”

Tang Pidi asked lightly: “Have I ever been wrong?”

Luo Jing fell silent. The man in front of him, planning this outrageous thing — he did indeed seem to have never been wrong.

“When Big Brother Zhuang gets back, the two of you figure it out together. He’s steady and cautious, you’re sharp and fierce — the two of you complement each other perfectly, at least until your reinforcements arrive.”

Tang Pidi continued eating as he spoke: “I’m only taking Cheng Wujie and Gao Zhen’s forces — roughly thirty thousand in total. You and Zhuang Wudi hold the position here and tie down Li Xionghu. No need to engage him; if he attacks, you hold firm. If he doesn’t attack, you harass him.”

Having said that, Tang Pidi cast a glance at the spot on the map he had marked most clearly in charcoal.

Yangzhou. Hangcheng.

Yangzhou lay south of Suzhou. For Tang Pidi to launch a surprise attack on Yangzhou, he would have to circle around Li Xionghu’s army of two million, and he would be taking only thirty thousand men.

In those circumstances, if he were surrounded by Li Xionghu, there would be no possibility of fighting his way back.

“How about this.”

Luo Jing said: “You stay and hold the fort. I’ll take the troops to Yangzhou.”

Tang Pidi glanced at him — said nothing, just looked at him with that faint, calm expression — and that one look alone was enough to make Luo Jing let out a sigh.

After a long moment, Luo Jing said, resigned: “Fine, fine… I’m just a little bit worse than you, all right? Just don’t look at me with that ‘you can’t do it’ expression so bluntly.”

Tang Pidi looked at him again.

Luo Jing: “Don’t look. That one was even worse.”

That look said: you genuinely cannot do it.

Tang Pidi smiled: “It’s already the third month. You just need to hold Li Xionghu for three months. By the end of the sixth month I’ll have taken Hangcheng, and once Hangcheng is in my hands, Li Xionghu will desperately need to call for help. At that point, his so-called two-million army will be split — part staying in Suzhou to keep you in check, part heading south to besiege Hangcheng, and part being dispatched to Jingzhou. Divided three ways — what is there to fear?”

Luo Jing said: “Why would he dispatch troops back to Jingzhou? He just withdrew from there — he would have left soldiers behind.”

Tang Pidi: “They should be gone by now.”

Luo Jing was puzzled.

Tang Pidi said: “If I said a few words of praise about Prince Wu, would that sit badly with you?”

Luo Jing laughed: “Of course not. I’m not a narrow-minded person.”

Tang Pidi: “To put it precisely, he is somewhat stronger than you…”

Luo Jing: “All right, enough.”

Tang Pidi burst into laughter.

Luo Jing thought over what Tang Pidi had said and roughly understood.

Tang Pidi’s reasoning: before Li Xionghu came back, he would certainly have left troops behind in Jingzhou. But whoever he left would be no match for a single blow from Prince Wu.

Once Li Xionghu got word of it, to eliminate any threat at the rear, he would inevitably dispatch reinforcements back. Estimate it: if Li Xionghu had previously left ten thousand troops in Jingzhou and they were wiped out in a single battle by Prince Wu, then any reinforcements he sent back would certainly number no fewer than twenty thousand — otherwise what was the point? Sending a few ten thousand more, or another hundred thousand, would still be no match for Prince Wu.

Account for it: if twenty thousand were dispatched, plus the ten thousand left before — a total of thirty thousand sent back to Jingzhou.

He claimed two million troops, but the actual fighting strength was roughly a million. The rest were hangers-on who followed the army back and forth — like crows following a hunting falcon. Once the falcon killed its prey and ate its fill, the crows would swarm the carcass.

Tang Pidi said: “Going by the estimate that he has one and a half million fit to fight — thirty thousand dispatched to Jingzhou, leaving nine hundred thousand pressing on Suzhou City to confront me in a decisive battle.”

He took a bite of meat and continued: “I’ll travel along the coast, avoiding Li Xionghu’s main army, and take thirty thousand men in a surprise strike on Hangcheng. All by water — I’ve calculated the distances; it’s roughly two months and twenty days.”

Luo Jing stared: “Two months and twenty days just to travel, and you told me to hold for three months — meaning you have ten days to take Hangcheng?”

Tang Pidi: “Five days. I also want five days to rest.”

Luo Jing: “…”

Tang Pidi said: “Here’s my calculation: I’ll have barely taken Hangcheng when Li Xionghu’s reinforcements arrive. He wouldn’t deploy a small force to protect Hangcheng — he’d mobilize at least two hundred thousand.”

Luo Jing: “That leaves roughly seven hundred thousand here.”

Then he suddenly snapped to attention: “Are you planning to let Li Xionghu find out you’ve gone, once you’ve already set out?”

Tang Pidi smiled and said nothing.

Luo Jing immediately wanted to argue, because the tightly-timed plan meant Li Xionghu’s reinforcements would arrive just as Tang Pidi finished taking Hangcheng — which could only work if Tang Pidi deliberately leaked his own movements.

But Tang Pidi’s eyes were utterly resolute: no point trying to talk me out of it.

Luo Jing let out a heavy sigh: “For the love of…”

Tang Pidi continued: “I’ve already sent word to Miss Shen in Qingzhou. Her forces will arrive to reinforce you in the shortest possible time. You, Old Zhuang, and Miss Shen’s Qingzhou forces together — roughly three hundred thousand. With three hundred thousand against Li Xionghu’s seven hundred thousand, I can’t think of any reason you’d lose.”

Luo Jing: “…”

After a moment, Luo Jing asked: “And what about you in Hangcheng? You take Hangcheng, thirty thousand strong — bound to take casualties — and before long you’ll be facing a besieging force of two hundred thousand…”

Before he could finish, Tang Pidi smiled and said: “That’s why it all depends on how fast you are.”

Luo Jing’s eyes went wide again: “What you mean is — the three of us, me, Old Zhuang, and Miss Shen, with three hundred thousand, wipe out Li Xionghu’s seven hundred thousand, and then march at full speed to Hangcheng to reinforce you?”

Tang Pidi asked: “Is that difficult?”

Luo Jing exhaled forcefully: “You’re a madman.”

Then he seemed to be talking to himself: “Fortunately, we’re all madmen too.”

Tang Pidi pointed to a spot not far away, where a brocade pouch rested on another camp stool: “I’ve already written down what situations are likely to arise. If you’re uncertain about the battlefield situation, you can take a look — but by no means treat what I’ve left as your guide. The battlefield changes moment to moment; no one is capable of anticipating every variable.”

Luo Jing felt even more unsettled: “You’re leaving right now?”

Tang Pidi nodded: “Leaving when the meal’s done.”

Luo Jing: “Why are you in such a rush — can’t you wait for Big Brother Zhuang to get back? At the latest, he’ll be here tomorrow.”

Tang Pidi said: “Just pass on what I’ve said to Old Zhuang. As for why I’m in such a hurry… the meat here is just about enough for this last meal. Apparently the finest cuisine of Jiangnan is all gathered in Hangcheng — I’m finding it hard to wait.”

Luo Jing’s first instinct was to grab more meat while he could.

Tang Pidi said: “I’ve already conscripted enough vessels — all sizes. This time going around Li Xionghu to push south, the danger isn’t in taking Hangcheng — it’s the possibility of losing men to winds and waves on the journey. If I arrive at Hangcheng with most of my force intact, I can hold it to the death for three months, and those three months are your window.”

Luo Jing counted on his fingers.

Tang Pidi sets out now, travels roughly two months and twenty days to Hangcheng, per his plan takes five days to capture it, rests five days — that comes out to exactly three months.

If Luo Jing, Zhuang Wudi, and Shen Shanzhu together couldn’t destroy Li Xionghu’s seven hundred thousand in three months, they wouldn’t be able to reach Tang Pidi before his last possible holdout time at Hangcheng expired.

Three months. Destroy Li Xionghu’s seven hundred thousand. Then rush to Hangcheng.

The three of them had been well and truly mapped out by Tang Pidi.

Tang Pidi stood, gave Luo Jing a light pat on the shoulder: “Once this campaign is over — Suzhou and Yangzhou both taken, Li Xionghu finished — I’ll go with you back to Jingzhou to pay a visit to Prince Wu.”

In Luo Jing’s heart, Prince Wu Yang Jiju was the man who had killed his father.

The reason the Youzhou General Luo Geng had fallen gravely ill and died coughing blood came down to Prince Wu driving him to it.

To leave that score unsettled — for someone as full of righteous fire as Luo Jing — was to leave a father’s debt unrevenged. How could he bear it?

Tang Pidi saying once this battle is won we’ll go and face him meant: when this battle is over, I’ll go with you to take that revenge.

Luo Jing laughed: “Then when we’re back in Jingzhou, how we deal with that old bastard — you can just watch. When it comes to revenge, it has to be by my own hand to be satisfying.”

Tang Pidi looked at him.

Luo Jing: “Don’t look at me like that!”

That look still meant the same thing — you can’t do it.

Tang Pidi burst out laughing, turned, and walked toward the assembled troops: “Li Xionghu’s scouts haven’t crossed over yet — I need to go before they do. If someone spots the troop movements and word gets back, the plan to surprise Hangcheng loses all meaning. At the very least, I need to be a few days out before he finds out. When Old Zhuang gets back, remember to tell him who’s in command of this force.”

Luo Jing: “You didn’t even specify who’s in charge between us two!”

Tang Pidi kept walking as he spoke: “Who do you think it is?”

Luo Jing: “Who else could it be?”

Tang Pidi: “It’s Shen Shanzhu.”

Luo Jing was caught off guard for a moment, then shouted after Tang Pidi: “You think I can’t command as well as her?”

Tang Pidi turned and looked at Luo Jing — his gaze sincere and direct.

Luo Jing immediately waved him off: “Don’t look, don’t look, just go already… Shen Shanzhu it is, fine. If you look back at me one more time, I’ll spit at you!”

In just that short while, Tang Pidi had looked at him with that “you can’t do it” expression several times.

Luo Jing thought to himself: I’m still the finest warrior of the northern frontier… forget it — who told him she was that man’s wife.

Besides, that woman — she genuinely had Luo Jing’s deep respect. Otherwise, given his personality, could he have accepted it?

—