Wei Shubin accompanied Chai Yinglu to pay respects to the Emperor at Yong’an Palace, primarily to report on the matter of “exchanging the investigation for fifty thousand bolts of silk.” However, when Chai Yinglu met her second uncle, the Emperor didn’t even ask about her purpose for coming.
Instead, he launched into an extensive discussion about warfare, siege operations, and military equipment. With his enthusiasm running so high, no one dared to interrupt. Even the Zixu Temple Master could only play along by asking questions about topics the Emperor enjoyed discussing.
Though anxious inside, Wei Shubin could think of no alternative. Moreover, since these siege engines were explicitly mentioned as being “intended for use against Gaochang,” and given that Li Yuanji would soon depart for Gaochang on a betrothal mission, she naturally took interest. Standing at the bottom of the steps, the daughter of Minister Wei didn’t dare raise her head to look around freely but silently listened to the conversation taking place on the platform above.
These siege engines were enormous and required heavy timber – impossible to transport thousands of miles by cart. What was the Emperor planning, conducting drills for months among these ruined palace grounds? Chai Yinglu’s questions echoed Wei Shubin’s doubts.
From above, they heard the Emperor command someone to “have them build another one,” and someone acknowledged the order and passed it down. Shortly after, a group of craftsmen with headbands and bare arms came running out. They first knelt and kowtowed before the platform, then rushed to a pile of lumber where they began working busily, pulling ropes and sawing wood according to their assigned tasks.
“Know your enemy and know yourself, and you need not fear the result of a hundred battles. The importance of reconnaissance cannot be overstated in determining the outcome of war,” the Emperor began lecturing confidently. “Years ago when fighting the Turks, and now against the Tuyuhun, our army didn’t need to prepare siege engines. Why? Because it was unnecessary! The Turks and Tuyuhun are nomadic tribes beyond the frontier. Their people follow water and grasslands, moving many times throughout the year – they have no proper houses or cities. When our great army arrives, their khans, seeing the situation as unfavorable, have no intention of defending cities. They simply flee with their guards into the depths of the grasslands and deserts, hoping our heavenly army won’t know the way or run out of food and retreat, allowing them to return afterward.”
“But Gaochang is different from these nomadic tribes,” Chai Yinglu appropriately interjected. The Emperor praised her: “Well said. Gaochang was founded by the descendants of Han and Wei dynasty garrison troops. Their language, writing, and customs are similar to our Central Plains people. They occupy key commercial routes, and their residents make their living primarily through trade and farming rather than migrating east and west. Therefore, they’re willing to invest heavily in building walls and moats. After several hundred years, our scouts report that Gaochang’s great city has high walls and deep moats, with defenses comparable to our Eastern and Western capitals. Without proper equipment, relying on human wave attacks would be… ah…”
“Your Majesty is a wise and benevolent ruler who cherishes the common people and soldiers and would never allow excessive casualties,” the female Taoist’s voice rang clear and sweet amid the men’s buzzing discussions. “Moreover, The Art of War states that supreme excellence consists in breaking the enemy’s resistance without fighting while attacking cities is the worst strategy. Your Majesty, being the empire’s foremost military commander, would never resort to such inferior tactics.”
Sister Ying, you’re truly the empire’s foremost commander in flattery… Wei Shubin thought to herself. Sure enough, laughter erupted from above, with the Emperor’s being the loudest and most delighted. Considering how he had to suppress his temper all day listening to lectures from her father and other old scholars at court, this was probably a welcome comfort, bringing some balance to his life.
“Benevolent governance is one aspect, but on the other hand, Gaochang is simply too far away, separated by vast deserts and wastelands. Transporting troops and supplies is difficult – we can’t send a large army there, or I’d be repeating the Later Sui Emperor’s mistakes. Alas, we wouldn’t have many soldiers who could struggle to Gaochang’s walls in the first place, and if we lost them all at once, we wouldn’t even have reinforcements. So, if we’re going to attack Gaochang, these siege weapons are essential. Moreover, simply bringing the usual catapults and battering rams won’t be enough.”
At this point, the Emperor gave another command, and someone ran off to relay the order. Soon, beyond the catapults in the field, seven or eight flags of different colors and patterns were erected at various distances among the hills and barriers.
“Yingniang, point to which flag you’d like to hit,” the Emperor asked with a smile. Chai Yinglu didn’t hesitate, immediately answering, “That white flag with the fire-red pattern!”
A palace servant ran down from the platform, but instead of heading toward the catapults, he ran to a more distant observation tower. At the tower’s base, the servant whispered something to someone, who then entered the wooden cage. Several people worked together to pull ropes and pulleys, hoisting the wooden cage high into the air.
Once the cage stopped moving, the person inside called out a string of words from high above. The distance was too great for Wei Shubin to hear clearly, but it seemed to be about celestial observations, mentioning something about the yellow path and the Horn and Striding constellations.
After the string of words was shouted, a catapult’s long arm was lowered, rotated to aim, and adjusted for a moment. At the command “Release!”, a large stone was launched, indeed flying toward the white flag with the flame pattern. Given the great distance and the flag’s small size, though the stone didn’t hit the flag itself, it landed very close. As dust billowed up, it completely engulfed the white flag.
Everyone on the platform cheered, and even Wei Shubin couldn’t help but secretly admire the spectacle, though she remained puzzled about its purpose. Chai Yinglu also asked, “Your Majesty, what was being shouted from the observation tower? Why not have the catapult aim directly?”
“This is where you don’t understand,” the Emperor said, his voice full of pride. “Gaochang’s city is different from those in the Central Plains. Central Plains buildings have tile roofs and wooden pillars – when a stone hits a tower or flies over the wall to hit buildings inside the city, anything it strikes is immediately destroyed, and people inside have nowhere to hide. The destructive power is great, quickly sapping the enemy’s will to fight. But in Gaochang, they say because of the scarce rain and strong winds, many buildings in the city are half-buried underground and very low. If catapults just randomly throw stones from outside the city, they might neither destroy buildings nor kill anyone. Therefore, we must be precise, targeting Gaochang’s royal palace, military camps, and places where crowds gather to maximize their effectiveness…”
“I understand now!” the Zixu Temple Master exclaimed in apparent revelation. “First, use the observation tower to hoist someone up high enough to see over the walls and identify where in the city to strike. Then they call out the location. The catapult operators follow these directions to launch stones over the walls, specifically targeting where Gaochang’s nobles and aristocrats are most vulnerable, making them wail like ghosts and howl like wolves when each shot lands, causing heaven-shaking destruction…”
Before she could finish, the military officers above erupted in laughter and praise, all commending “the True Master’s clever insight.” The Emperor also laughed, “So now you understand what your uncle has been busy with these past months? First, figuring out how our army can carry enough equipment thousands of miles to attack cities beyond our borders, and second, how to use these weapons to their fullest potential while minimizing our casualties…”
While he was boasting proudly, Wei Shubin turned to watch the group of craftsmen building the catapult. She saw they had already carved and shaped several large pieces of timber into what looked like catapult levers during this time. Someone pushed out a cart of cast iron fittings, preparing to join the wood and axles together, all working with remarkable speed. She silently calculated that if there were readily available forests near Gaochang’s capital for timber, this team of craftsmen could build two or three catapults in a single day.
As for the metal components, finding iron ore and casting them on-site in Gaochang would be unlikely. However, since the metal parts weren’t too large, they could probably be cast in Chang’an and transported by cart. The most valuable resource was probably these craftsmen themselves – watching their nimble movements and skilled techniques, she wondered how long they had been confined here practicing.
Lost in thought, she suddenly heard the Emperor say to Chai Yinglu from above: “Yingniang, you should be careful too – don’t talk about what happens here to outsiders. Others might be fine, but I get headaches from Wei Zheng, Sun Fuqia, and those other old scholars. The moment they hear I’m preparing for war, they jump three feet in the air and submit memorials every day, and I can’t even get angry at them. Oh right – don’t you have a young friend who’s Wei Xuancheng’s daughter? Keep your lips sealed; it wouldn’t be good if word got back to her family elders…”