Since Yun Ye intended to be a bandit, naturally he wouldn’t garrison Shanshan City. If bandits didn’t scurry about everywhere, they’d become dead bandits. Beiting was too vast. If he divided his forces to garrison different places, the result would be defeat in detail, ending in total annihilation. What he could do now was maintain a powerful army, pull his five fingers back into a fist, then strike out heavily—only this way would he have deterrent power. The Tubo people were the first heavy blow he would deliver in the Western Regions.
Guo Xiaoке garrisoned Kucha and also dared not spread his forces out. He had very few troops, only twelve thousand men, half of whom were infantry soldiers in armor, so his operational space was even smaller.
Though both were protectorates, Guo Xiaoke’s rank was two levels below Yun Ye’s, but the two had no command relationship whatsoever. Anxi and Beiting were originally inseparable, yet the Emperor still wouldn’t allow the appearance of a commander controlling more than fifty thousand strong troops.
Of course, Campaign Commanders temporarily appointed weren’t in this category. A commander like Yun Ye who could lead thirty-four thousand elite Guanlong troops was already the limit of what the Emperor could trust. Guo Xiaoke’s rank wasn’t as high as Yun Ye’s, but their powers were about equal—both had the authority to submit confidential memorials directly. The only power Yun Ye had beyond Guo Xiaoke was the ability to independently decide on military campaigns.
Loulan’s stone fortress had been built almost completely. It was very crude—just piling stones on stones, stuffing the gaps with yellow sand and calling it done. At night when the wind blew, air currents poured into the stone crevices, making it no different from Devil City.
When Yuan Shoucheng saw the stone fortress, it was as if he’d seen a treasure. He took over the task of renovating the stone array outside the city from Yun Ye’s hands, and led those Loulan people and military craftsmen to begin reorganizing the stone array according to his wishes.
The materials here were too abundant—stones everywhere gave Yuan Shoucheng the best space for array arrangement. Combined with the block and tackles and small gantry cranes the military craftsmen had produced, he was even more energized, as if he’d grown wings.
In the evenings, while sitting in the moonlight drinking tea, Yuan Shoucheng would still endlessly introduce his masterpiece. The main gate of the Academy had become a death zone. Even now, Yun Ye dared not enter. Inside had become a habitat for the five poisons. The year before last during the heavy snow, Huozhu thought all those venomous insects would freeze to death completely. As a result, when he rashly went in for a look, he’d barely entered when a scorpion over half a foot long chased him out. After exhausting much effort to catch that scorpion, it was collected by Sun Simiao as a premium medicinal ingredient. Now it was preserved in a very large glass bottle. From time to time, he’d take it out for a look, and occasionally pour out a bit of liquor from the glass bottle for those old folks at the Academy, letting them use it to treat rheumatism. Reportedly, the effects were excellent.
“The Eight Formation Diagram has extremely deep origins, traceable back to the Yellow Emperor of ancient Huaxia. Through the continuous improvements and perfection by Jiang Taigong, Sima Rangju, Guan Zhong, Sun Wu, and others, by the Three Kingdoms period, Zhuge Liang brought it to its peak, perfecting it into eight formations!”
“In our current dynasty, Duke Li Wei believed eight formations required eight commanders, plus himself as supreme commander—nine people giving orders altogether didn’t conform to the way of battle formations. So he changed it to the Six Flower Formation. I’ve heard his military treatise was passed to you?”
After Yuan Shoucheng finished recounting the Eight Formation Diagram’s origins, he inquired about the whereabouts of the military treatise written by Li Jing.
“It’s in the Academy library, only allowed for on-site viewing, not permitted to be copied or taken away. Old sir, you probably won’t see the ‘Six Army Mirror’ when you go to the library. The library won’t lend it to you. Only students at the Academy who are determined to pursue the path of military generals can read it, and they must also sign confidentiality agreements. You needn’t think about it.”
Yuan Shoucheng sighed. If there was anywhere in the Great Tang that wouldn’t give him even a shred of face, it was none other than the Academy. Previously, he’d written to Li Gang, hoping the Academy could set aside a space for the Daoist School, specifically to develop Daoist learning. He originally thought that as long as the Daoist School paid sufficient price, they could achieve their goal. As it turned out, Li Gang’s reply letter immediately killed their hopes.
“The Academy’s learning is like enormous waves in a vast ocean constantly beating against the Academy’s walls. Here there is no room even for an awl to stand!” Li Gang’s answer was extremely resolute, leaving not a crack for the Daoist School.
Yuan Shoucheng knew this was an excuse, because shortly after he received Li Gang’s reply, the Academy established a strange discipline called sociology specifically for an iron-masked man named Xuan Ren.
“This old man has taken these piles of stones and, using local materials, divided them according to the Dunjia system into eight gates—Life, Injury, Rest, Closure, View, Death, Alarm, and Open—with myriad variations, capable of blocking a hundred thousand elite troops.”
Yun Ye really couldn’t stand ancient people always saying how so-and-so could muddle through and somehow block several million elite troops with such nonsense. Those were a hundred thousand elite troops, not a hundred thousand pigs. Not to mention anything else, breaking through this pile of stones with his thirty-some thousand subordinates wouldn’t be difficult. Just mount fire arrows on the eight-ox crossbows and start blasting. Once a suitable passage was opened, who could block his subordinates’ heavy cavalry charge? Even if they couldn’t pass on the ground, just put up a few hot air balloons hanging in the sky, and your broken array formation would be completely exposed. Then they’d just attack according to aerial commands. Who the Eight Formation Diagram actually benefited was still uncertain.
“This formation is composed of eight array formations: Heaven, Earth, Wind, Cloud, Dragon, Tiger, Bird, and Snake. It’s also known as the Heaven Covering Array, Earth Bearing Array, Wind Rising Array, Cloud Hanging Array, Dragon Flying Array, Tiger Wing Array, Bird Soaring Array, and Snake Coiling Array. Eight array formations—the wonder of their application lies in the mind. Back when Zhuge Liang suffered a great defeat in Western Shu, it was by relying on this array formation that he gained time for defense. Otherwise, Baidi City would have belonged to Eastern Wu, and Shu would have lost the advantage of the Yangtze River.”
When Yuan Shoucheng reached his point of pride, he was spitting while talking. Yun Ye constantly flattered him from the side. Di Renjie stood nearby attending to them, continuously filling the old fellow’s teacup, and seizing opportunities to constantly ask questions. Watching the old fellow drink two large pots of hot tea, it was uncertain whether he’d still be able to sleep tonight.
After the old fellow entered his tent contentedly to sleep, Di Renjie put down the teapot in his hand and said to his master, “Master, why do you tolerate this old fellow acting recklessly? We have no intention of building any city in Beiting. On the contrary, we want to return this place to its primordial state—that’s the approach most in line with our Great Tang’s interests.”
“There are many barbarous lands—why does no one fight over them? It’s because there are no interests to plunder. If we ultimately return Beiting completely to the wilderness, leaving it for future generations to develop, wouldn’t that be better?”
“Right now our population is too small. We can’t look after such a vast piece of land. Rather than let others fight over it, why not destroy it? After those tribes advance westward, we’ll relocate the population from here, cut off this trade route, and instead conduct trade by sea—wouldn’t that be better?”
“This way, our family’s revenues in Lingnan could also be maximized. It’s convenient for both public and private interests. This disciple doesn’t understand why you won’t agree. Once this old fellow meddles with things, a famous city will appear. Never mind whether it’s practical or not—just the name Eight Formation Diagram, combined with the old fellow’s reputation, this city will certainly become a great city. The court won’t allow the destruction of such a city, and the Western Regions won’t become wilderness. From now on, the dynasty will certainly have to carry this big burden forever.”
Yun Ye laughed and said, “Isn’t that too radical? This Silk Road still cannot be severed. If it were severed, the first to be affected would be the thirteen cities of Longyou. Starting from Yang Pass—Guazhou, Shazhou, Suzhou, Ganzhou, Lanzhou, Qinzhou, all the way to Chang’an—all these great cities would gradually decline. Xiaojie, from the Emperor down to the state and prefecture governments, not a single person would agree to us doing this.”
“Once sea transport flourishes, the first to benefit would be Yongzhou, Guangzhou, Quanzhou, and Lianzhou. That’s the consequence of the nation’s fortunes shifting south. This way, the Great Tang would have to develop the ocean with full force. Our family would naturally applaud and welcome it, but what about those people who tremble at the sight of puddles? Back then, relocating the capital to Luoyang caused armed conflict. Now it’s even more impossible.”
Di Renjie grabbed a handful of sand, watching it slip from his palm, seeming somewhat disappointed.
“Don’t rush. That you want to do great things is good, but there’s no need to put yourself on the fire. Setting your sights too high at such a young age isn’t a good thing. Remember this—if you want to accomplish something, you must find enough supporters. The supporters your master speaks of definitely aren’t the Emperor. Young man, emperors are the most heartless and changeable creatures. You only need to look at the history books to understand—if emperors could be relied upon, sows would climb trees.”
“These supporters are very broad. The core ones are those people who, like you, all believe this thing must be done—whether they’re nobility or commoners, you must watch for the right opportunity. Once the timing is ripe, you only need to give a small push and you can take all the credit into your embrace. Even if you fail, it doesn’t matter. There are many heads—you’re not necessarily the biggest head. Even if those who oppose strike back, they won’t necessarily come after you. The learning here is very deep—you need to explore it slowly.”
“Whichever path we take, we don’t speak of right or wrong, only proceed from the Empire’s needs. This way, people will believe we’re wholeheartedly considering the nation, not pursuing private interests. The so-called ‘addressing the matter, not the person’ is just the cloth those most treacherous and evil fellows use to cover their shame.”
“Shang Yang, Sun Wu, Chao Cuo—which one had a good end? We can admire them, and the glorious national history won’t lack these people. They were the backbone, but we won’t be them. Keep your hands in your sleeves and watch those people of great wisdom and courage expand territory in front. We’ll follow behind walking the broad road, conveniently perfecting this road along the way.”
“Don’t laugh at your master. Your master is precisely this kind of person—can be used by others, but this use must be something we’re willing to do. In this world, no one isn’t used by others. Someone who’s never used by others shows he has no use value. Living, there are ten thousand possibilities. Dead, only your master, Xiao Wu, and your parents will be sad. Those who daily preach great righteousness are the people most needing to be guarded against.”
“Why does this disciple feel that doing this wastes his own talent?”
“Waste what? Your learning was taught by me. I don’t feel it’s a pity, so what are you feeling sorry about? When you return this time, hurry up and marry Xiao Wu. Properly build up your qualifications at the Court of Judicial Review. When I return, if I can see your child, that’s what will make your master happiest.”