Where Immortals Once Walked

“You want to be General Ke’s adviser?” Interesting, where did he get such confidence? “Have you even been to the front lines? How much do you know about leading troops and waging war?”

“I was born on the northern frontier,” Sun Hongye said with a faint smile. “Until I was twelve, war and migration were simply a part of daily life. Later, I served as a study companion in Lord Hé’s household[1], where I scoured the family archives from end to end. After that, I even spent four full years at the State Academy in the capital.”

“Only four years?” With nothing better to do, He Lingchuan popped a strawberry into his mouth. “I’ve heard that real scholars spend their whole lives poring over the classics until their hair turns white. Surely it takes more than four years of reading to qualify as a military strategist.”

Strawberries were not in season now, so they had likely they had been forced to grow in greenhouses. The fruit looked bright and red, the juice plentiful, but it lacked the fragrance of strawberries in their proper season.

“To study well, one must have good books,” Sun Hongye said, shaking his head with a trace of regret. “The State Academy may cover vast grounds, but its collection is riddled with gaps. It has been neglected for too long. Much of the material is unreadable, either having pages missing, being stained, or already crumbling to powder the moment you open them. More than once, I ended up with a mouthful of dust.”

The youth’s tone was bold, even disparaging the capital’s State Academy. Yet when He Lingchuan thought of the current state of Great Yuan, he had to admit, “You make a fair point.”

He switched to a red date instead.

Watching him eat so heartily, Sun Hongye swallowed involuntarily, then reached out for a date himself. It had been a long time since he had tasted fresh fruit. One bite led to another, and he found himself unable to stop.

He Lingchuan asked, “So, did you manage to persuade General Ke?”

Sun Hongye hesitated again. “General Ke was doubtful. He tested me with questions about the Wu Province campaign. My suggestions differed from his own views, and he did not agree with them. So I wrote out my assessment of the Wu front and presented it to him.”

“Oh?” He Lingchuan leaned forward with interest. “Can you tell me about it?”

As the newly appointed Governor-General of Xia Province, He Chunhua had been very much in the spotlight at court these past months. But his eldest son remained relatively obscure. Sun Hongye did not know what kind of man he was.

Still, judging from the way this Young Master He had handled the ambush at Luming Garden last night with courage, quick thinking, and adaptability, Sun Hongye concluded that he was a man of war, eager for battle and unafraid of it. He found nothing unusual about the question, so he gave no further thought to secrecy.

“Very well. Since General Ke rejected my advice, there’s no need to keep it hidden.”

He dipped a finger in water and began sketching terrain on the table.

“Because the terrain of the southern region of Wu Province is narrow, the state troop’s invasion can only split into two prongs, east and west. Let us leave aside the eastern route. On the western route, Generals Wu Di and Ke Jihai advanced smoothly at first, taking three small cities in succession. But at Gu City, their momentum stalled entirely, and it remains so to this day.”

He circled the center of his rough map.

“This is Gu City. As its name suggests, it is solid as stone[2]. Dong Haoming has long harbored rebellious designs, and for years, he has been quietly fortifying the key passes in his domain. Gu City, with its towering walls and deep moats, is the first major obstacle the state troops face in Wu Province.”

He Lingchuan pointed to a circle to the east. “And this?”

“That is Luyun Lake,” Sun Hongye replied, clearly well-prepared. “Its upstream source lies just north of Gu City—the Qingbai River, a major tributary of the Hongchuan. Its waters are abundant.”

“This lake seems quite close to Gu City. That would make it difficult to cut off their water supply.”

In the past few nights, whenever He Lingchuan entered the Panlong Dreamscape, aside from practicing martial arts, he had also stumbled into lectures at the Hall of Inquiry. The city authorities would invite learned men to give public talks on a wide range of subjects.

One such lecture had been on the art of war. He Lingchuan had listened carefully, word for word, absorbing the fundamentals of war. Cutting off an enemy’s water supply was only one of many methods. His body’s original owner had known next to nothing about military matters; he, at least, had to start from scratch.

“Yes. The basin where Gu City and Luyun Lake lie does not lack water. Even if General Ke could sever the road between the city and the lake, Gu City itself is riddled with wells that can sustain both soldiers and horses,” Sun Hongye explained, tapping the spot where Gu City stood. “The city walls are built atop bedrock, so rain or flood cannot weaken the foundations. Which means that neither diverting rivers nor cutting water supplies will work here.”

“The generals have battered at Gu City for over thirty days now. Prolonged assault breeds exhaustion, morale wanes, and the burden of supply lines grows heavier with every day. The longer it drags on, the worse their situation will become.”

He Lingchuan nodded. “No doubt this is exactly what Dong Haoming anticipated. Having spent years at court, he knows the imperial army’s strengths and weaknesses inside and out.”

“Frankly, the state troops are less capable than the Wu’s forces. Fighting on hostile ground only worsens their disadvantage,” Sun Hongye said gravely. “That is why Dong Haoming sends no reinforcements to Gu City, focusing only on bolstering the eastern front. His confidence in Gu City is clear. He believes it can pin down both Generals Wu and Ke. As a result, the eastern campaign has become even more bitter.”

“If the state’s army fails to take the city and is forced to pull back and rethink its strategy, Dong Haoming may well seize the chance to launch a counteroffensive. General Ke made that point very clear at last night’s banquet.”

He Lingchuan saw the logic. “So what’s the strategy you proposed?”

“Abandon Gu City and turn instead against Bao Pass!” Sun Hongye dipped his finger in water and pointed to the west of Gu City. “Bao Pass lies twenty kilometers to the northwest, along the banks of the Qingbai River, at a point even further upstream.”

“What’s special about that place?”

“The garrison at Bao Pass is mainly tasked with guarding the Qing Dike,” Sun Hongye explained. “Before it was built, the waters of the Qingbai River frequently surged past its banks at Bao Pass, flooding farmland. Thirty years ago, the local senior official ordered a great embankment built, and it held. Since then, the river has flowed down into Luyun Lake, leaving Bao Pass safe.”

“Bao Pass doesn’t seem to hold much strategic value. It’s not like Gu City, a hub of roads and waterways. What’s the point of taking it?” He Lingchuan folded his arms.

“If Gu City withstands the winter siege, then come spring, the Qingbai River’s waters will surge. Nine times out of ten, they will pour into Luyun Lake, swelling it into a vast floodplain. The entire basin will become a marsh, impassable to armies. The state troops’ best route north is across this basin. This is the shortest, most direct path to Hechong, Wu Province’s capital. It also allows for the easiest junction with the eastern forces for a combined strike on Hechong.”

He Lingchuan frowned at the map sketched across the tabletop. “If this route is truly the best, then why doesn’t General Ke simply take advantage of the winter ice, march straight across the frozen lake, and drive north?”

“It still comes down to Gu City,” said Sun Hongye with a sigh. “Even if the army could march north across the frozen lake, they would hardly be able to take Hechong within two months. By the time the spring floods arrived, the Qingbai River would overflow and drown the entire basin, severing their supply lines outright. An army cut off and deep in enemy territory, without logistics, nothing could be more fatal in the art of war. At that point, Gu City could calmly dispatch troops, and the odds of victory would shift in their favor.”

“So Generals Wu and Ke are hammering at Gu City because they must secure the whole basin before they can march north with confidence?”

“Exactly! Young Master, you’ve struck the key point! To those two generals, Gu City is a nail in the eye, a thorn in the flesh. Leave it in place, and endless trouble follows.” Sun Hongye jabbed at Bao Pass on his map. “But I propose we seize Bao Pass and demolish the Qing Dike!”

He Lingchuan blinked, studying the sketch again. Then he clapped his hands. “Brilliant!”

At last, someone appreciated him. Sun Hongye let out a long breath. “Young Master is perceptive indeed.”

“Destroying the Qing Dike would release the floodwaters into Luyun Lake early. Before the dike was built, the lake seldom swelled, which proves that the natural spillway worked well enough.” He Lingchuan followed the logic further. “If the dike is breached, then when the spring floods come, the lake’s expansion will be limited. The basin won’t be submerged, and men, wagons, and horses could all pass through.”

Sun Hongye’s voice quickened with excitement. “The army and its supply lines could advance north as planned. Then the need to capture Gu City would shrink considerably. At that point, the generals could adapt as circumstances demanded. This way, strength is preserved and losses are minimized.”

“I think it’s a sound plan. Why did General Ke reject it?” He Lingchuan remembered clearly that at the Luming Garden banquet, Ke Jihai had shaken his head, plainly unimpressed.

“Bao Pass is not easy prey. To the west and south lie Wu fortresses, and to the east sits Gu City itself. If the pass is not taken swiftly, the troops of Wu could close in from all sides and trap our forces. And besides—” Sun Hongye lowered his voice, “the dike was built for a reason. If the Qingbai River were to overflow, countless fields and homes would be flooded. At least a hundred thousand commoners would be devastated. Before launching the Wu campaign, His Majesty ordered the generals not to ravage the province’s people, reminding them that the people of Wu are still subjects of Yuan. If the generals knowingly break the dike, that’s a deliberate violation of the king’s edict. With His Majesty’s temper, even if the war ends in victory, those who made such a choice would return home only to face punishment.”

After a light pause, he asked He Lingchuan, “If you were in General Ke’s place, what would you do?”

On one side stood victory; on the other, the lives of the people. He Lingchuan thought for a moment. “If neither Gu City nor Bao Pass can be taken, then is there truly no other way?”

“If both are left alone, the state’s army can only circle through the mountains to the northwest. That route is more than twice as long as the eastern advance, and the terrain is wild and treacherous.” Sun Hongye’s brow furrowed. “The sole aim of war is victory! Bind your own hands and feet, and how far can you really go?”

He Lingchuan shrugged. “I’ll think it over carefully when I get back. For now, let me wish Brother Sun success in his ambitions.”

Sun Hongye gave a bitter smile.

“What’s this? You lack confidence?”

“I fear it’s hopeless. I saw General Ke hand my documented plans to one of his officers, but that officer died in last night’s attack; his corpse and carriage were hurled down the mountain. I doubt General Ke will trouble himself to recover those papers.” Sun Hongye’s smile twisted. “As a man of lowly rank and voice, I was never of consequence to begin with.”

“By the way, why did you say staying in Shihuan was nothing but waiting for the butcher’s knife? From what I’ve seen along the road, those who live in the capital or here in Shihuan City are already the most fortunate people in Great Yuan.”

1. For the sake of clarity, I’ll be translating the other He surname (何) as Hé from this point onward. ☜

2. Gu (固) in Gu City (固城) literally means solid. ☜