Chapter 46 Devising Strategies Within a Tent

At high noon, Chen An hurried to the military camp.

It was just in time for the midday meal, which was also the liveliest hour in the Tiger Battalion. The removed armor pieces were propped up on long spears. According to military regulations, wine was permitted once at the end of each month. Today happened to be that day for drinking, and because of this, many soldiers cast a special, knowing smile at Chen An when they looked his way.

Clearly, the news regarding Siyu must have already spread. Since most members of the Tiger Battalion were descendants of refugees surnamed Li, they had more or less settled down and started families before joining the army. Matters between men and women required no elaboration. Furthermore, recently, Li Duo had brought many refugees to Youshan Pass, among whom were the wives and children of several soldiers. Regarding Chen An’s union, the Tiger Battalion had only one absolute demand: Li Duo must be taken as a legitimate wife.

"The battalion commander is here! Care for a couple of cups?" Xiao Gui raised his wine cup and drained it in one gulp.

Chen An shook his head. "No, you all go ahead. Vice Commander Zhang, come with me to my tent."

Inside the tent, Chen An recounted everything he had learned the previous night to Zhang Xiaojing in complete detail. Having dealt with the eighteen northern tribes for many years, Zhang Xiaojing grasped the strategic implications instantly.

"You mean we should thrust ourselves right into the middle of their civil strife?"

"Precisely. This can be regarded as a god-given opportunity," Chen An said, unable to conceal his excitement.

Zhang Xiaojing pondered and agreed, "The eighteen tribes of the grassland follow the water and grass, and the northern territories are vast. For a long time, whenever the Central Plains sent troops into the steppes, it always ended in futility. The reason has always been the logistical nightmare and the difficulty of locating the enemy. Now that the grassland is embroiled in internal chaos, it is indeed a rare opportunity for us."

However, before Chen An could even revel in his joy for two seconds, Zhang Xiaojing poured a bucket of cold water on him. "The five allied forces of the Jiuli Tribe number at least tens of thousands, while our Tiger Battalion has barely a few hundred men. Moreover, warfare on the steppes relies heavily on cavalry, and the people of the eighteen tribes have ridden horses since childhood. Between our light and heavy cavalry combined, we don't even have two hundred horsemen. Regardless of numbers or raw strength, what we have is merely a drop in the bucket."

"That is a fair point. We must cook according to how much rice we have," Chen An mused. "I reckon the Jiuli Tribe won't be paying us much attention during this period. We can launch a few sparrow tactics and harassing skirmishes—first, to earn military merits; second, to gather intelligence and train the troops; and third, to slightly ease the pressure on our logistical supply lines."

"Yet, when we came to Youshan Pass, our orders were to garrison the area. Shouldn't we report this offensive idea to Commander Qiao and the others first? After the all, Youshan Pass is considered an outpost of Huyang Pass," Zhang Xiaojing pointed out.

"There is another issue," Zhang Xiaojing continued. "If we press deep into the great desert this time, although we have guides from the Yuling Tribe, the climate of the desert steppes is volatile. Without a brilliant strategist who understands astronomy and geography, we might easily march and never return."

"Mmm, that makes sense..."

Just as Chen An was deep in thought, a sentry outside the tent hurriedly rushed in to report, "Commander, Vice Commander, someone outside is asking for an audience."

"Who is it?"

"I do not know. He only said his name is Zhang Juzhong, and that he is an old acquaintance of both you and the Vice Commander."

Seeing that neither of them spoke immediately, the sentry on duty offered, "This humble subordinate will throw him out right away."

"Don't throw him out! Invite him in at once!" Zhang Xiaojing hastily instructed.

Soon, Zhang Juzhong strode into the tent with a deeply worried expression on his face.

"Did you people go to the grassland border market last night?"

Zhang Juzhong’s very first sentence startled both Chen An and Zhang Xiaojing.

"I observed the celestial phenomena: the main star was dim while the flanking stars shone brightly, indicating that a major event is bound to happen. The seven constellations of the Black Tortoise hung inverted, while the seven constellations of the Vermilion Bird were reborn through fire," Zhang Juzhong said.

"There are no troops garrisoned within a hundred miles of Youshan Pass. After turning it over in my mind, I realized you are probably the only ones with the means and capability to pull this off."

"Mr. Zhang is truly formidable," Zhang Xiaojing praised in admiration.

"Let's not talk about that for now. Do you realize what you've done? You've gotten yourselves into deep trouble," Zhang Juzhong said with an anxious look. "Huge trouble."

Seeing that Zhang Juzhong did not appear to be joking, Chen An asked, "What trouble?"

"The six-line divination hexagram has risen: Ren-shen, Qian above, Kun below; the Black Tortoise reverses, the grass-headed man emerges, the Mountain Wind Gu hexagram forms—ten thousand wolf-smoke beacons, Youzhou in calamity!"

Zhang Juzhong spoke with righteous indignation and resounding force.

"Is what you said true?"

Seeing that Zhang Juzhong did not look like he was lying, Zhang Xiaojing probed cautiously.

"The beacon fires ignite, and the steppes tremble," Zhang Juzhong said helplessly. "However, my cultivation remains shallow, so I cannot fully pry into the heavenly secrets."

"Thunder clouds are gathering; it seems a heavy rain is about to fall," Chen An said with a solemn expression. "The grasslands are different from the plains. Swamps form after the rain. Even if the Jiuli Tribe forces march through the rain, they will have to wait about ten days, and it will take another two to three days for the ground to dry. That's about half a month in total."

Zhang Xiaojing lowered his head in silence. "The intelligence from the Yuling Tribe and Mr. Zhang's celestial observations match to a high degree. Chen An, I believe we must not act blindly on this matter."

"Agreed," Chen An pondered for a moment before saying, "In that case, we shall divide our forces into three routes. First route: Zhang Xiaojing, you will immediately dispatch men to deliver this intelligence to Commander Qiao, and inform Er-gou to use the blacksmiths and merchants under his command to procure military supplies independently. Use the silver from the Chu and Han families as military pay, and distribute three months' wages in advance to boost troop morale. Have Wu Daizi find Li Duo to settle everyone's family affairs. Second route: Order Xiao Gui to recruit new recruits at the surrounding markets, step up preparations, and serve as our reserve force. Third route..."

At this point, Chen An stopped abruptly, and involuntarily looked over at Zhang Juzhong.

A second ago, Zhang Juzhong was still immersed in Chen An's strategic foresight, but the next second, he found Chen An staring intently at him.

"Why are you looking at me like that?" A wave of foreboding rose in Zhang Juzhong's chest, and he instinctively wanted to step back, only to be blocked by Chen An.

"Since Mr. Zhang was able to come and discuss this today, it shows that the concept of righteousness still resides in your heart. Chen An expresses his gratitude here. To be frank, even before you arrived, Vice Commander Zhang and I had already anticipated the general direction of this great battle to some extent. Everything is ready; we now only lack a coordinator to oversee the center—a judicial secretary," Chen An chuckled softly. "I'm afraid this third route will have to trouble Mr. Zhang."

"No way, I refuse." Zhang Juzhong intended to reject the idea, only to find that Zhang Xiaojing had positioned himself behind him at some point.

"Mr. Zhang, this is a military camp, not a schoolhouse," Chen An said playfully. "Someone, escort Mr. Zhang out and take good care of him, but do not let him leave the military camp. Have Li Duo send someone to bring Sister-in-law Yingying back here. What would happen if something went wrong in these troubled times?"

Although Zhang Juzhong could only offer a helpless, bitter smile, he did not show excessive anger. "Chen An, I truly couldn't tell before—you brat are quite the military rogue!"

"Mr. Zhang possesses immense talent. If Chen An could not see you every day, my heart would truly feel reluctant to part with you."