In the main camp of the Mohist army, Mo Xiaobao sat obediently in a corner of the great tent practicing his calligraphy, while secretly keeping his ears perked to eavesdrop on the conversation between Mo Xiuyao, Ye Li, and the other commanders. Mo Xiuyao had dispatched all the experienced commanders like Lu Jinxian to the southern front, leaving only young officers like Yun Ting and Chen Yun under his and Ye Li’s command on the northern front. However, as they say, young calves fear not tigers – these young commanders, entrusted with such responsibility for the first time, were naturally brimming with confidence and burning ambition. After several victories, they cast aside their initial worries, and their morale grew higher with each passing day.
Mo Xiuyao gazed at the young commanders below him with a calm expression and asked with a faint smile, “How do you all feel about these past few days? Why don’t you share your thoughts with me?” The commanders exchanged puzzled glances, then looked at the silently smiling Princess Consort sitting to the side. Yun Ting spoke up, “We’ve been winning battle after battle these days. Your Highness… do you see something amiss?”
Mo Xiuyao smiled, “Nothing’s amiss. I just want to hear your thoughts.”
After a moment of silence, Chen Yun said, “Though we’ve been winning consecutive battles these past few days, it’s mostly because the Northern Rong are poor at defending cities. If they were to abandon city defense and engage us in open combat instead… I fear we wouldn’t win so easily.”
Following Chen Yun’s words, everyone fell silent. Indeed, they had crossed swords with the Northern Rong before. If victory could be achieved so easily, they wouldn’t have been fighting for so long. The Northern Rong warriors’ fierce fighting spirit wasn’t as brittle as they now imagined. However, the recent string of victories had unconsciously given them the impression that the Northern Rong wasn’t so formidable after all. While it was good not to fear the enemy, underestimating them was dangerous. Thus, faced with the seeking gazes of the group, Ye Li unusually chose to ignore them. While commanders like Chen Yun and Yun Ting had undergone years of training and tempering, their knowledge of warfare wasn’t significantly inferior to the veteran commanders. What they lacked was the experience of commanding independently and maintaining composure in both victory and defeat. Such composure could only be forged through countless battles. This meant that when victorious, they were more prone to becoming carried away than veteran commanders, and when defeated, they were more likely to crumble.
After a long silence in the tent, Mo Xiuyao nodded and said, “It’s good that you understand.” The group, feeling ashamed of their recent overconfidence, breathed sighs of relief seeing that the Prince wasn’t angry. Yun Ting hesitated before asking, “Does Your Highness mean that the Northern Rong will soon change their tactics?”
Mo Xiuyao replied, “If they didn’t change tactics after losing battle after battle, the Northern Rong would truly be beyond help. Do you all know what needs to be done?” The group answered in unison, “We understand, Your Highness!”
Mo Xiuyao nodded, not bothering to ask what exactly they understood, and said, “If you understand, go prepare.”
After the commanders withdrew from the tent, Mo Xiuyao turned his head to see Mo Xiaobao sprawled on the table, listening to everyone’s conversation with great interest. When the commanders left, his face showed traces of disappointment he hadn’t managed to hide in time. Mo Xiuyao narrowed his eyes and glanced at him. Mo Xiaobao quickly ducked his little head and pretended to be diligently practicing his writing. Mo Xiuyao looked at him and asked leisurely, “Did you understand the conversation just now?” Mo Xiaobao looked up, his clever eyes darting around, and realizing Mo Xiuyao wasn’t speaking to anyone else, quickly offered an ingratiating smile, “Yes, Father.”
Mo Xiuyao asked, “What did you understand?”
Mo Xiaobao obediently answered, “Father was reminding the commanders not to become overconfident due to temporary victories and underestimate their opponents. The reason our army has been winning so easily these past few days is because the Northern Rong are poor at defending cities, and we’re exploiting their weakness with our strength. Once the Northern Rong changes their tactics, our army might become flustered due to carelessness.”
Mo Xiuyao nodded, barely acknowledging Mo Xiaobao’s words, then raised an eyebrow and asked him, “Then tell me, what should we do if the Northern Rong army engages us in direct combat?”
“Uh… well…” Mo Xiaobao wrinkled his little face in thought for a long while before his eyes suddenly lit up. Looking at Mo Xiuyao expectantly, he said, “The Northern Rong cavalry excels at fighting in open terrain and moves very fast. We can lure them into the mountains. They’re unfamiliar with the terrain, and their cavalry isn’t good at mountain warfare, so we can win!” After speaking, Mo Xiaobao blinked his big eyes proudly, clearly saying: praise me, praise me.
Mo Xiuyao smiled faintly and flicked his forehead, saying casually, “For your age, being able to think of this much is not bad.”
Mo Xiaobao froze, glaring at his father dissatisfied: Is this even praise? Great Uncle and Grandfather never praise people like this. Grandfather always says Zhen’er is so clever!
Feeling underestimated by his father, Mo Xiaobao proudly threw himself into Ye Li’s arms, “Mother, Father is bullying me!” Ye Li patted his little head with amusement and said smilingly, “Your father was praising you, how is that bullying?” Mo Xiaobao pouted, “I’m not just young, thinking this much is not bad. My idea is very good. Grandfather and Great Uncle always praise me for being clever.”
Ye Li sighed helplessly and looked at Mo Xiaobao with a smile, “But anyone can think of what you suggested, there’s nothing particularly impressive about it. Why don’t you… go ask Chen Yun and the others if they thought of the same thing?” Adults praising children for being clever is quite normal, and Mo Xiaobao truly deserved to be called clever. However, unfortunately, those who praised him weren’t ordinary people, so Mo Xiaobao inevitably became a bit conceited, believing his intelligence was unmatched in the world. Now being slightly criticized by Mo Xiuyao, he was rather unhappy.
“Hmm…” Lying on Ye Li’s knee, Mo Xiaobao looked up at her pitifully.
Ye Li gently stroked her son’s head and smiled, “Besides, your father is right – you’re still young and haven’t read as many books or experienced as much as adults, so naturally there are many things you can’t think of. That doesn’t mean our Xiaobao isn’t clever.” From the side, Mo Xiuyao raised an eyebrow and pulled out two books, placing them in front of Mo Xiaobao, “Read these two books, then write down how you think this battle should be fought for me to see. If you write well, I’ll acknowledge that you’re clever.”
Mo Xiaobao’s eyes lit up. Gaining a father’s recognition and praise is something every child deeply desires. Although Mo Xiaobao’s relationship with Mo Xiuyao developed through one setback after another, and though Mo Xiaobao usually acted as if he disliked his father, he was even more determined to earn Mo Xiuyao’s praise. Sure enough, as soon as Mo Xiuyao finished speaking, Mo Xiaobao quickly snatched the books and hugged them to his chest, saying, “It’s a deal! If I come up with a good strategy, Father must use my plan against the enemy!”
Mo Xiuyao nodded without hesitation and smiled, “No problem. You can stay in the tent these few days and study these two books well. Father will also have people bring over some documents about the Northern Rong for your reference. As long as your plan can withstand scrutiny and testing, not only will I use your strategy, but I’ll also announce to the world that this battle was won by Mo Xiaobao.”
“It’s Mo Yuzhen!” Mo Xiaobao protested proudly. Xiaobao was too plain – he couldn’t even imagine how it would feel if he did something famous and heard people discussing “Prince Ding’s Xiaobao xxx…”
“Fine,” Mo Xiuyao nodded, “As long as you succeed, I’ll never call you Mo Xiaobao again. But if you fail… you must shout three times in front of the entire army camp, ‘This young master is called Mo Xiaobao.'”
“Deal! A gentleman’s word…”
Mo Xiuyao looked disdainfully at Mo Xiaobao’s short stature and lazily added, “Is as swift as a horse’s whip.”
Thus, suddenly having a goal, Mo Xiaobao hugged the two thick books and quickly ran out of the tent, turning back to wave at Ye Li, “Mother, wait for your son to bring you glory.” Ye Li helplessly covered her face and suppressed a laugh. Son, although mother has gotten used to calling you Xiaobao, mother still doesn’t want the whole world to know you’re called Xiaobao.
“Your Highness, you have the leisure to scheme against a child of a few years…” Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao with a meaningful smile.
Mo Xiuyao raised his eyebrows and smiled, “How is this scheming? I made a fair and open agreement with him.” Ye Li said, “Is that so? By the time Xiaobao finishes reading those two books you gave him and the documents you’re sending, then comes up with a plan, won’t a month or two have passed?” By then, forget about dealing with the Northern Rong cavalry – the outcome of the war between the Mohist army and the Northern Rong will likely be decided. No matter how clever Mo Xiaobao is, he’s still a child. Ordinary children at seven or eight are just beginning their education. The two books Mo Xiuyao gave were not only thick but also extremely difficult to understand – even Yun Ting took two to three months to comprehend them when he first read them, let alone Mo Xiaobao who hasn’t even learned all his characters yet.
So this bet was a scheme designed by Mo Xiuyao from the start to humble Mo Xiaobao.
“Since Ah Li knew, why didn’t you expose it?” Mo Xiuyao smiled and said, “Could it be that Ah Li also thinks what I’m doing isn’t wrong?”
Ye Li was speechless. Mo Xiaobao had indeed become somewhat conceited. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have had such a big reaction to what was a compliment from Mo Xiuyao. A small setback wasn’t necessarily bad – there were still plenty of people to boost his confidence anyway.
Ye Li looked at Mo Xiuyao’s dangerously handsome face with slight helplessness and smiled, “Be careful, he might make trouble for you later.” Mo Xiuyao chuckled softly, “That kid excels at following the favorable wind and avoiding the unfavorable – he’ll only make trouble for you.” Mo Xiaobao had long understood his father’s iron heart, so he generally wouldn’t pester or make trouble with Mo Xiuyao. Moreover, his goal was to surpass Mo Xiuyao and then thoroughly trample on his father’s head. If he made trouble and acted lazy with his father now, only to have his father bring it up later when he finally won against him, wouldn’t that destroy the dignity of Prince Ding’s heir?
Hearing this, Ye Li couldn’t help but show lines of exasperation on her face.
Just as Mo Xiuyao predicted, the next day the Northern Rong army changed their tactics. Instead of waiting for the Mohist army to attack the city as usual, they took the initiative, leading their cavalry out of the city to engage the Mohist army in battle several miles from the city walls. Although the Mohist army was prepared, they still encountered considerable trouble from the Northern Rong cavalry’s direct charges. Not only did casualties increase, but forgot about attacking the city – they couldn’t even get near the city walls. Though the Northern Rong also suffered losses, at best it could be called an even match, with both sides taking damage. It was worlds apart from their previous easy victories.
Upon returning to camp, the commanders gathered together to discuss how to deal with the Northern Rong cavalry. The Mohist army had considerable experience dealing with Northern Rong cavalry, given their numerous encounters. The Black Cloud Cavalry’s great strength was largely due to the existence of the Northern Rong cavalry. However, battles of this scale were rare in both countries’ histories. Even when the Mohist army suffered heavy losses years ago, it was because those soldiers died in vain rather than in battle – if counting battle deaths alone, they probably weren’t as numerous as this time. Therefore, cavalry versus cavalry wasn’t quite suitable now. The Black Cloud Cavalry had only grown to around 150,000 through years of development, but the Northern Rong was almost entirely cavalry.
“How about it? Does anyone have any good ideas?” Chen Yun asked.
Beside him, Sun Yaowu chuckled, “The Northern Rong horses are indeed formidable, but if their horses can’t move…” Sun Yaowu was a military commander of informal training, and his battle tactics tended to be somewhat unorthodox. Yun Ting frowned in confusion, “Poison their warhorses? But warhorses are fundamental to the Northern Rong army, they surely have strict guards. Even with Qilin’s help, trying to poison them would be very difficult.” Besides, how much poison would it take to drug so many warhorses? And it would have to be done simultaneously to succeed, but for hundreds of thousands of horses… how many people would be needed to poison them?
Sun Yaowu gave him an annoyed look, “Of course, I don’t mean sending people to poison them – sending assassins after Yelü Ye would be more feasible than poisoning the warhorses.” Having spent considerable time together, they all understood each other’s temperaments. Hearing this, Yun Ting wasn’t angry and looked at Sun Yaowu, “Then what’s your idea? You’re not just saying this for nothing, right?”
Sun Yaowu smiled, “How could this general speak nonsense? We can do this…” He leaned forward and whispered a few words in Yun Ting’s ear. Hearing this, Yun Ting’s eyes lit up, and he whispered to Chen Yun who was lying nearby. The group gathered around the campfire, and the atmosphere suddenly became lively. Sun Yaowu’s method seemed to have opened up their thinking, and everyone started discussing enthusiastically, each offering their suggestions.
“I think we can do this…” said Yun Ting.
“I think this would be better…” Zhou Min said proudly.
“I think this would work better…” Chen Yun added.
From a hidden spot nearby, Ye Li stood beside Mo Xiuyao, smiling as they watched the commanders gathered around the fire in heated discussion. She remarked, “It seems the earlier warning was effective – today’s battle hasn’t lowered their morale at all but rather increased their fighting spirit.” Mo Xiuyao nodded, “If they couldn’t overcome even this minor setback, they wouldn’t deserve to be in the Mohist army.”
“Does Xiuyao think their methods will work?”
“We’ll see tomorrow whether they work or not.”
The next day on the battlefield, as soon as the battle began, the Mohist army employed various strange tactics one after another. The Mohist soldiers had bags of hay and horse feed strapped to their horses. When they opened the bags, spilling feed on the ground, the Northern Rong horses – already short on fodder this month – couldn’t resist stopping to eat. As soon as they lowered their heads to graze, they were cut down by charging Mohist warriors, and even those that weren’t killed were quickly subdued by the drugs mixed into the feed.
There were all sorts of strange traps, ropes, long spears, crossbows, and more – a dazzling array of tactics limited only by imagination, not possibility. These implements had been hastily made overnight, and though not perfectly refined, they still inflicted considerable damage on the Northern Rong army. This day again ended with the Northern Rong retreating to the city.
In the Northern Rong camp, Yelü Ye was once again furious. He knew that today’s defeat couldn’t be blamed on He Lian Peng, but after losing battle after battle, if he didn’t severely berate He Lian Peng, he had no other way to vent his anger.
He Lian Peng didn’t defend himself, just knelt in the center of the tent waiting for Yelü Ye to finish venting.
After finishing his outburst and looking at He Lian Peng kneeling in the tent, Yelü Ye felt somewhat guilty. He frowned and waved his hand, “General He Lian, please rise.” He Lian Peng said solemnly, “It was all due to my poor leadership, I request the Seventh Prince to punish me.” Yelü Ye sighed, “This isn’t your fault. The Prince Ding’s people have always been full of schemes. Who knew they would come up with such underhanded tactics.” The Mohist army’s ability to devise such tactics likely came from understanding the Northern Rong’s weakness in their shortage of fodder.
He Lian Peng said, “Your Highness need not worry. Such tactics can work once but not twice. After today, now that we’re prepared, they won’t work again. However, I fear they’ll come up with other methods.”
Yelü Ye frowned, “Does General He Lian have any suggestions?”
He Lian Peng replied, “Our previous thinking wasn’t wrong – the Northern Rong cavalry did cause considerable trouble for the Mohist army, otherwise they wouldn’t resort to consuming their fodder supplies to deal with our cavalry. My thought is that we should speed up and attack the Mohist army more fiercely, overwhelming them.”
Yelü Ye pondered for a moment before saying, “Very well, we’ll do as you say.”
“Reporting to Your Highness, an envoy from the royal court seeks an audience,” a guard announced from outside the tent. Yelü Ye and He Lian Peng exchanged glances, and Yelü Ye frowned, “A royal court envoy, at this time… why would Father send someone…”
He Lian Peng said gravely, “Your Highness, if the King sends an envoy at this time if it’s not to reward you, then I’m afraid… something is seriously wrong.” But everyone understood that with the Northern Rong’s current military situation and consecutive defeats, it was hard to believe this would be about rewards. Yelü Ye understood this as well, and nodded, instructing, “Go invite Uncle to come as well.” He Lian Peng responded solemnly, “Yes.”
Shortly after, He Lian Zhen and He Lian Peng entered the tent, just as the royal envoy arrived. The man stood in the tent looking respectfully at Yelü Ye, but He Lian Zhen and He Lian Peng’s hearts sank. This man was Yelü Hong’s person – that at this time, the Northern Rong King would send an envoy from the Crown Prince’s faction spoke volumes without needing explanation.
The envoy glanced sideways at He Lian Zhen and He Lian Peng, smiling, “Seventh Prince, may this humble servant now read the King’s decree?”
Yelü Ye nodded with a stern face, “Please proceed, Envoy.”
The envoy didn’t mind his coldness and took out a scroll of imperial yellow silk, unfolding it and reading in a long voice: “The Great King decrees: Since the Seventh Prince took command, he has suffered consecutive defeats, losing both soldiers and commanders…” The envoy read the long decree sonorously, but it essentially came down to one point. It criticized Yelü Ye for losing battles, causing heavy casualties greatly weakening the Northern Rong, and even having to urgently request reinforcements. The Northern Rong King ordered Yelü Ye to defeat Mo Xiuyao and the Mohist army within two months. Otherwise, the command would be transferred to someone else. Though it didn’t explicitly state who that someone else would be, Yelü Ye could guess that if he failed, the ultimate beneficiary would naturally be Crown Prince Yelü Hong.
“Seventh Prince, do you understand His Majesty’s meaning?” After finishing the decree, the envoy asked with a smile, “His Majesty is anxious about the war with Great Chu and deeply worried. I hope Your Highness understands.”
Yelü Ye snorted lightly and said coldly, “Thank you for the reminder, Envoy. I naturally understand.”
The envoy smiled, “Good that you understand. In that case, this official will remain in Your Highness’s camp these days. That way I can quickly report any victories to His Majesty.”
This meant he would be monitoring the army!
Yelü Ye narrowed his eyes. The Northern Rong had never had the practice of military supervisors. Whoever led the army had full authority, but this envoy came with the Northern Rong King’s orders and naturally had the power to restrict the entire Northern Rong army. Thus, Yelü Ye, though both a prince and commander-in-chief, would be constrained at every turn, and could be reported to the Northern Rong King at any time. Yelü Ye knew the current situation was extremely unfavorable to him, and that his father at the royal court was likely very dissatisfied with him. The best choice would naturally be to hand over military command to He Lian Zhen and immediately rush back to the royal court to explain to his father – after all, as a prince, nothing was more important than the Northern Rong King’s trust. But Yelü Ye also understood that once he left, He Lian Zhen, who hadn’t commanded troops for over a decade, might not be able to control these hundreds of thousands of soldiers. When the army fell into Yelü Hong’s hands then, he would truly have nothing left.
Yelü Ye looked at the envoy below with an indifferent expression, a cold killing intent flashing through his eyes. He nodded slightly and said, “In that case… I’ll trouble you, Sir.”
Having already fallen behind one step, the Crown Prince had likely already made preparations at the royal court. Since that was the case… why should he retreat further? Between his father’s trust and military power, he had to keep at least one in his grasp.
The envoy seemed not to hear the coldness in his words and nodded with a smile, “Thank you, Your Highness.”