Book 59: Chapter 13: Embarking On A Long Journey
The warship left Liangdu, heading north along the canal in the glow of the setting sun. Their destination was Chang’an, the Great Tang Kingdom’s capital.
Inside the cabin, Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, and Ba Fenghan sat around the table to eat dinner, they also had wine to liven things up.
Ba Fenghan noticed Kou Zhong was distracted, looking as if his soul was wandering out of his body. He asked in surprise, “Ever since you came back yesterday, until this moment you still look like you have your spirit and soul upside down. What exactly happened?”
Kou Zhong cracked open his mouth, he laughed and said, “Since we all have become brothers, naturally Xiaodi does not dare hide anything. I’m in love.”
Immediately Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling roared in laughter, they rocked back and forth.
Without the slightest bit of ashamed look, Kou Zhong said, “Hence the reason people should not be so frank; only I hate it that I don’t have any other reason. Ha, let me recite the four sentences of incantation of love for you to listen to, so that you can share my feelings.”
Gasping for breath, Xu Ziling laughed and said, “I can’t help it!”
Ba Fenghan laughed and said, “Unexpectedly Ziling knows what it is all about?”
Xu Ziling said, “It was Lu Shu who told me.”
After listening to his clear explanation, his interest overflowing, Ba Fenghan said, “I want to see what kind of incantation can be that formidable, can completely capture our Shaoshuai’s hearts.”
Kou Zhong shook his head and swayed his noggin, appearing to be enchanted; he recited, “Let us gather the thorn-ferns, let us gather the thorn-ferns. The thorn-ferns are now springing up. When shall we return? When shall we return? It will be late in the [next] year.”
Hearing that, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan you looked at me, I gazed at you. The latter said, “These four sentences of sixteen characters are indeed a little more like an incantation.” [Cai wei cai wei, wei yi zuo zhi. Ri gui ri gui, sui yi mo zhi]
Thereupon, assuming the air of an expert, Kou Zhong explained it word by word.
Xu Ziling said, “It indeed speaks about Yuzhi’s love and her longing to you. Didn’t you say that these are just the first four lines of the poem? So, what’s after that? Such an elegant poetry and literature, I am interested in knowing a little bit more.”
Kou Zhong scratched his head and said, “How do I know what comes next? You think I am Wang Tong?”
Xu Ziling winked at Ba Fenghan. Being quick-witted, the latter deliberately knitted his eyebrows, pretending to be displeased, he said, “This is Shaoshuai’s fault. Clearly Shaoshuai’s love for Yuzhi Xiaojie is not deep enough, not complete enough; otherwise, how could you not try to understand the whole poem clearly?”
Startled, Kou Zhong looked at Ba Fenghan, and then he immediately turned his gaze to Xu Ziling. Seeing the two people painstakingly trying not to laugh, he suddenly understood; he said, “Turns out you, two kids are teasing me, and you say you are brothers!”
The two men finally could not help howling with laughter; they laughed until their eyes were choked full of tears.
Accompanying them, Kou Zhong doubled up in laughter; gasping for breath, he said, “His Niang’s! It’s been a very long time since I laughed this hard.”
But then he was puzzled, “How could Lu Shu leak my secrets?” he wondered, “He does not look like that kind of person.”
Xu Ziling said, “Because I was worried about you. Seeing you got up this morning and insisted on taking the Night Pearl in my possession, I knew it must be something to do with Chuchu and Yuzhi. Otherwise, why do you need two? But you don’t look like someone who knows how to fawn on a girl, thereupon I could not help inquiring Lu Shu to see what kind of excitement makes you to change your temper.”
Ba Fenghan cheerfully said, “Two pearls to exchange love tokens; in the future, Shaoshuai’s luck with women will be unbounded, please take care of your honorable self.”
The three men roared in laughter again.
Finished laughing, Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Yuzhi used poetry and literature to convey her kindly feeling from afar, naturally it made me bursting with joy; it also made me feel great emotional stirring. For the first time I understand the cruelty and horror of military campaign.”
Xu Ziling said, “In the past, you did not have this kind of feeling because countless wars are waiting on the road ahead, but this time it is the last military campaign. If you die in this battle, you will not resign to it, because as long as you can pass this through safely, you can go home and safely enjoy the happiness of wife and children.”
Kou Zhong nodded and said, “Therefore, I particularly feel the heavy responsibility on my shoulders. I vowed to use the best tactics to let the young men who follow me this time to remain alive and enjoy the fruits of victory as much as possible. Only then will I not fail to live up to their trust and love and respect toward me.”
Shaking his head, Ba Fenghan said, “You are just carried away by your wishful thinking. If you have half of your men coming back alive, it could already be considered very impressive.”
Revealing a smile brimming with confidence, Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, “Let’s just wait and see!”
The warship carrying the Shaoshuai Kou Zhong, whose fame shook the world, Xu Ziling and Ba Fenghan, went to Luoyang first, where they were joined by Li Shimin’s fleet, and then they went to Chang’an together.
Those who were coming with Kou Zhong to Chang’an included Wang Xuanshu and thirty personal guards. The former insisted on personally washing away the blood debt of his family. Kou Zhong and Xu Ziling were unable to do anything about it, they had no choice but to allow him to fulfill his cherished desire. The thirty personal guards were handpicked from among the Flying Clouds Guards, all have been through Kou Zhong’s heart and soul training, everybody’s skill was outstanding; they had the guts and they had the knowledge.
Eighteen warships majestically going upstream heading for Guanzhong. Li Shimin left his own boat to ride on theirs. On the surface, he represented Li Yuan to display the host’s sincerity, but actually he was trying to seize more time to discuss with them the grand plan of their operation after entering the capital.
This day at daybreak, the first thing Kou Zhong did when he got out of bed was to go to the starboard side of the deck, to watch the topography of the plains on both sides of the river bank.
Li Shimin came to his side and stood shoulder to shoulder with him. He smiled and said, “I wonder if the thought in Shaoshuai’s heart is the future battle with the allied armies from beyond the Great Wall.”
Kou Zhong nodded and said, “Qin Wang really knows my heart.”
Li Shimin spoke solemnly, “How is Shaoshuai going to fight this battle?”
Kou Zhong spoke cheerfully, “It’s rare that Qin Wang is willing to open your golden mouth to inquire, naturally Xiaodi will not hold back anything.”
Laughing involuntarily, Li Shimin said, “Listening to the tone of Shaoshuai’s voice, unexpectedly you did not dare to talk about this battle with me, but wanted to wait for me to open my mouth.”
As if nothing had happened, Kou Zhong said, “To some extent, you are right. What I am afraid of is naturally my meritorious service is so high that it shakes the master; someday the rabbit is dead the dog will be boiled; wouldn’t it be not worth it?”
When he said this, he cast his gaze towards Li Shimin. Li Shimin happened to look at him as well, so their eyes met. The two men could not help laughing to their heart’s content; they felt like a blend between water and milk, a touching feeling that they understood each other’s heart without needing to speak it out.
Li Shimin said, “Shaoshuai really knows how to crack jokes; how do you want me to cooperate with you?”
The divine light in Kou Zhong’s pair of eyes flaring greatly, he swept his gaze across the plains and the hills far and near on the opposite shore, and spoke in heavy voice, “First of all, I want to have effective spies on every route that the enemy might take, so that I can accurately grasp the enemy’s situation. I suffered losses from the coming-and-going-like-the-wind Wolf Army, this time I definitely am not going to follow in the tracks of an overturned cart [idiom: repeating a disastrous mistake].”
Li Shimin nodded and said, “Shaoshuai may rest assured; in this regard, I have planned and prepared for many years. Not only do I have a team of spies who are familiar with geography, but also flying pigeons to deliver news quickly to meet Shaoshuai’s requirements. What’s next?”
Kou Zhong said, “I will make Xieli to realize that this road is not easy to walk.”
Li Shimin’s sword-shaped brows furrowing lightly, he said, “The enemies from the prairie are always as nimble as the wind, their maneuverability strong, lying low during the day and traveling by night, to mount sneak attack and ambush them will involve an extremely big risk, so much so it is easy to enter, difficult to get away. Shaoshuai, please reconsider.”
Kou Zhong smiled and said, “What if the men attacking and intercepting them were under my, Kou Zhong’s leadership?”
Stunned, Li Shimin said, “That is of course another matter altogether. Ay! Shaoshuai‘s thoughts are beyond other people’s expectation, unexpectedly the commander-in-chief personally go down the arena.”
Kou Zhong said, “I am going to attack only Xieli’s Golden Wolf Army. As long as it is fast enough and ruthless enough, it will continue to inflict casualties on the enemy, it can make the enemy feel like they are walking on thin ice, a fright at every step. By the time they reach the other side of the Great River, they will be the-army-toiled-the-strength-exhausted, so weary that they cannot rouse their spirit.”
After a short pause, he went on, “Another effect of the raid along the way is to disturb the enemy’s mind. Because the target of my attack is concentrated in the Golden Wolf Army troops, it will be like a warning to other leaders such as Tuli, the Gunatai brothers, Pusa, and the likes, that for the time being, I still take brotherly sentiment into consideration and do not touch them, I want them to behave.”
Shaken, Li Shimin said, “Wonderful! The way of war, attacking the heart is the highest. This move of Shaoshuai’s is not only unprecedented, I am afraid it will not be repeated in the future. How many soldiers does Shaoshuai think this assault force will require?”
Kou Zhong assuredly replied, “Five hundred elite cavalry should be more than enough, but they must be one selected among a hundred, martial art masters adept in equestrian archery. Naturally some of them must also be familiar with the geography and environment! Furthermore, we must exploit the river course as much as possible, so that my Shao Shuai Army’s flywheel boats can display their greatest effectiveness. Humph! This time, the one to appear and disappear unpredictably like a spirit or a ghost, coming and going like the wind will be us. When Xieli crosses the northern borders, he will find that his superiority is completely lost, they will be in a completely passive, taking-a-beating inferior position. Only in this way can we push the casualties to the minimum.”
Li Shimin said, “I now begin to understand why Shaoshuai insists on fighting such a hard battle.”
Kou Zhong said, “On how to play this game, the initiative is completely in our hands. We’ll think of a way to get rid of Bi Xuan and Zhao Deyan first, to cut off their intelligence about Chang’an. If we could make Xieli think that the political situation in Chang’an is unstable, he would definitely raise his army to pounce straight to Chang’an. We then station our troops on the southern bank of the Great River, while at the same time assembling fleets in many places along the river, unceasingly mounting sneak attack and killing them. I guarantee the enemy will not dare to cross the natural stronghold Great River for half a step.”
Li Shimin said, “If Xieli turns to attack the cities on the north bank and establishes strongholds, wouldn’t we also be stuck on the south bank due to the natural stronghold Great River?”
Kou Zhong laughed and said, “That will never happen. If he dares to deploy troops to attack, we can use the fleet to quickly send troops across the river to intercept; we’ll make decision completely based on the situation at the time. You, LaoGe must remember to transport Luoyang’s super weapons, the eight-bow-and-crossbow arrow machine and the flying-rock cannon, and install them on the ship. Together with our flywheel boats, we will have firm control over the Great River and the coastal regions in our hands. I guarantee that the enemy will have more than they can attend to, and will be terribly busy. In vain will they have military strength many times stronger than ours; the equalizing factor is that their superior army will have the strength, but difficult to use, so that we will lead them by the nose. His granny’s bear! When the enemy’s soldiers’ heart is unstable, that will be the fortunate timing for me to go out and have a heart-to-heart chat with Tuli and the others one by one. When only the pigheaded Xieli remains, I will give him a taste of a crushing defeat.”
The fleet turned into the Wei River, directly south of Chang’an.
Li Shimin sighed in admiration and said, “Being able to fight side by side with Shaoshuai, instead of becoming the-two-cannot-exist-together mortal enemy with you, is indeed Shimin’s good fortune, even more so, it is also the good fortune of the common people under the heavens. Before, I used thousand ways, a hundred plans [idiom: by every possible means] to rouse the morale of my men, to make the officers and soldiers to follow orders, but this time it’s the other way around. With you making Shimin brimming with confidence of certain victory, I really don’t know what to say to fully express the admiration and gratitude for you in my heart.”
Kou Zhong reached out to put his hand on his shoulder, he said, “We all are brothers! What are you speaking any his Niang’s words of politeness for?”