Translator: Foxs' Wuxia

Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan entered the City of Chenliu, Xuan Yong ordered his people to prepare a banquet of food and wine in the inner hall. Accompanying them were Xu Xingzhi, Bu Tianzhi, and Chen Laomou.

Xu Xingzhi reported to Kou Zhong the situation of the Shao Shuai Army in passing. He was halfway through his report when he noticed that Kou Zhong and Ba Fenghan, two men only drank the wine without touching their chopsticks, Shaoshuais tummy is not hungry? he asked in surprise.

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, We ate our fill at dusk, how could we be hungry this quickly? As for why Shaoshuai suddenly blurted out that he was hungry just now, I am afraid only he and Laotianye know.

Xu Xingzhi, Xuan Yong, and the others you look at me, I look at you, they all felt that something was amiss.

Remaining calm and unruffled in the midst of chaos, Kou Zhong toasted everybody one more cup, before he smiled and said, I want to ask Xuan Da Jiangjun a question first, which is, how did Xuan Da Jiangjun come up with the idea to attack Kaifeng?

Ba Fenghan was the first to understand; furthermore, he sensed Kou Zhongs ability in using troops while chatting and laughing, without a word or movement that even he was kept in the dark. In fact, when he found out that Xuan Yong was in command, inwardly Kou Zhong was already suspicious, because he had witnessed it firsthand Li Shijis navy fleet heading for Kaifeng, and was deeply aware that the enemys strength was above, and not below, the Shao Shuai Army in Chenliu. Moreover, the opponent was Li Shiji, no matter how conceited Xuan Yong was, facing the number one fierce general under Li Shimins command, he still had to act as if walking on thin ice, with fear and trepidation to guard against the danger of losing his footing, yet he unexpectedly proposed to attack Kaifeng. The only explanation was intelligence error.

Kaifeng was only less than half a day by horse from Chenliu, this intelligence error should not have happened.

Revealing a puzzled expression, Xuan Yong replied, Kaifengs defending general is Shi Danai, their military strength is around three, four thousand men, plus the navy reinforcement from Luoyangs battle zone, the total military strength is no more than ten thousand men. If we could take advantage of the time when their disposition of troops has not steadied yet, we could launch surprise attack using the flywheel boats at night to destroy their navy, and then seal off the upper reaches of Kaifeng, cutting its connection with various cities around Hulao. With adequate preparations, we have a very high chance to capture the city of Kaifeng, which city defense is weak within a short period of a bit more than ten days.

Kou Zhong spoke indifferently, Where did the information come from?

Xu Xingzhis expression showed that he was paying attention, while Bu Tianzhi and Chen Laomou still looked at a loss.

Xuan Yong began to understand a little; he replied hesitatingly, Naturally from Qifei. Qifei cant possibly have any problem, can he?

Ba Fenghan smiled and said, Would Shaoshuai like me to undertake the task for you?

Xu Xingzhi and the others, none did not have their countenance changed. If Luo Qifei was a traitor, because he was in charge of the entire Shao Shuai Army intelligence network, the implication would be extensive, not only what is true and what is false within the Shao Shuai Army was completely exposed, it would also bring about extremely serious setback to the Shao Shuai Army, merely trying to find a qualified person to replace him was already a big headache.

Kou Zhong laughed aloud and said, I dare to guarantee that Qifei is not the problem. The problem must be a certain link among the men under his command.

Turning to Xuan Yong, he said, Summon Qifei for me.

Chen Laomou sprang up and said, Let me get him.

Kou Zhong no longer mention this aspect, he chatted and laughed with everybody about the wind, flower, snow and moon, trite poetry subject. When Qifei answered the summon and was seated properly, Kou Zhong told them first about transporting the grains to Luoyang, about having their tails cut by the Tang Army, who then pursued and attacked them, and that the enemy even prepared vicious vultures to deal with the falcon to let everybody know the reason why they suspected that there was a mole within the Shao Shuai Army.

Kou Zhong laughed and said, It must be that Laotianye still did not want to destroy our Shao Shuai Army; when Old Ba and I were on our way back here, we happened to see the main force of Li Shijis navy, big and small ships, more than two hundred of them, their military strength ought to be around thirty thousand, compared to Qifeis intelligence, the difference is very far, plus the commander is Li Shiji. From this, it is clear that Li Shimin thinks so highly of us.

Luo Qifeis countenance turned white; leaving his seat, he went down on his knees and spoke with a trembling voice, I wonder if Shaoshuai suspected that Qifei is the mole? Emperor of Heaven above, if I, Luo Qifei, am that kind of despicable, lowly man, let me die without a burial site.

Kou Zhong also moved away from his seat to hold him up; he laughed aloud and said, If I suspect you, how could I summon you and let you eat together with me at the same table?

After taking him by the arm and helped him back to his seat, Kou Zhong walked around the table with his hands behind his back. The other men, except for Xu Xingzhi, everybodys face was gloomy. Evidently they were unable to dispel their doubts toward Luo Qifei, its just that since Kou Zhong asserted that he trusted him, nobody said anything.

When Kou Zhong was behind Xu Xingzhis chair, he put both hands on his shoulders and asked, Xingzhi, why didnt you agree with Xiao Yongs proposal to attack Kaifeng?

Xu Xingzhi cheerfully replied, Precisely because the situation is suspicious. Based on Li Shimins intelligence and experience, plus he is aware that we station the army in Chenliu, its impossible that he does not have any trick to guard against us, for instance, that we might attack Kaifeng. Once he cut off our retreat path, we are going to meet the bad luck of total defeat of our army.

Ba Fenghan slapped the table and shouted, Very good! Xu Xiansheng lives up to your reputation as a sage, Ba Fenghan is full of admiration. Now Shaoshuai ought to take the lid off your goblet; what makes you dare to guarantee that Luo Qifei did not betray you?

What he asked was exactly the question at the bottom of Xuan Yong and the others heart, only they were afraid to ask.

Kou Zhong moved behind Luo Qifeis chair, he stroked his shoulders and said with a smile, On this, would Xingzhi please analyze it for me?

Xu Xingzhi calmly said, The key is the Battle of Liangdu Gorge. It shows that Li Zitongs side knew nothing of Yang Gongs five-thousand-man wonder troops [troops appearing suddenly in an ambush], hence he mistakenly thought that Liangdu has become an empty city. Recklessly, he underestimated the enemy and hastily sent his troops to come to attack. As a result, his entire army was nearly wiped out. If Qifei was the traitor, how could Li Zitong commit such a grave mistake?

Everybody understood suddenly, none did not admire Xu Xingzhis ability and wisdom.

Kou Zhong patted Luo Qifeis shoulder. Returning to his seat, he raised his cup and said, Lets drink for the investigation of the traitor!

Chen Laomou raised his cup, but he was still at a loss, Whos the traitor then? he asked.

Kou Zhong smiled and said, After drinking this cup, Qifei might give us the answer!

Luo Qifeis thin body shook violently, his drink was tasteless, but he forced himself, Glug! to swallow half a cup of wine. Putting down his cup, he dejectedly said, The most possible candidate is the patrol officer of my downstream unit Liu Zhicheng; all the intelligence gathered are collated and screened by him, and then hed submit a report to me, and subsequently I notify Xu Junshi. Ay! I really never expected it; from Pengliang Bang to our Shao Shuai Army now, he has always been my most trustworthy aide.

Bu Tianzhi spoke heavily, Zhicheng does not seem to be such a person, could it be someone else? For example, the intelligence gatherers on the front lines could deliberately send fake news back to us.

Luo Qifei said, In this regard, I have been very careful. The intelligence gatherers on the front lines are divided into several groups, they might be isolated from any other information. The problem might be the officer in charge of the distribution of the information. If Zhicheng has a mind to play ghost, to tamper and forge information, it will be difficult to prove. The people helping him are all the men whom he personally selected. Ay! Its my fault, Shaoshuai, please punish me.

Kou Zhong smiled and said, Qifei indeed made a mistake, fortunately you have made enough credit to make up for your mistakes, therefore, just think of it as a lesson learned.

And then he spoke with serious expression, I often say that the person who can deceive you must be the one who can make you have confidence in him, and that the person you dont trust cannot deceive you.

The murderous aura in Xuan Yongs pair of eyes flaring greatly, he spoke with heavy voice, Shaoshuai, please hand this matter over to Shuxia to deal with, I will pull up the undiscovered traitor by the roots, none will be spared.

Kou Zhong turned to Ba Fenghan and asked calmly, Lao Ba, what do you think?

Ba Fenghan spoke indifferently, A spy can be very useful. Since they can send us fake information, naturally they can turn around to provide the enemy with the wrong information. Therefore, Xuan Da Jiangjun must never let your emotions affect your decisions, and thus miss a golden opportunity.

Blushing with shame, Xuan Yong replied, Ba Ye is right.

Kou Zhong said, Now, we have the intention but consider it without intention. Qifei should know best Liu Zhichengs activities, as well as the accomplices who might have been bought by him.

Turning to Xuan Yong, he said, This matter must be carried out silently. Xuan Yong, you personally select a few experts who are loyal and reliable, capable and shrewd, and proficient in secret investigation even more, temporarily assign them to work under Qifei, to carry out day and night surveillance on Zhicheng, watch him what kind of method he is using to release the information. If we know clearly the method he uses, and we have conclusive proof that we are not accusing a good man wrongly, we could in turn send the wrong information via him, perhaps we could make Li Shiji suffer big defeat, to reduce his threat on our Shao Shuai State. Otherwise, if we have to deal with the enemy in the dark, while we are in the open, we would have difficult days of facing the enemy in front and behind us.

In that case, Xu Xingzhi asked, Would Shaoshuai and Ba Ye still have to rush back to Luoyang per our original plan?

The divine light in Kou Zhongs pair of eyes flashing, he said, Luoyangs life expectancy is still at least one or two months, within this period, we dont need to worry about it. Ill have Ba Ye go back alone to rendezvous with Ling Shao, and then they will help us to attack Kaifeng.

Xuan Yong and the others were stunned; if Kaifengs situation was like Kou Zhong said, based on their strength, they practically did not have the qualifications to attack Kaifeng.

Kou Zhong explained one step further, This is called creating an illusion. Liu Zhicheng is doing something that must not be exposed to the light, therefore, he would only send out information concerning matters of great importance, and now well provide the information that he cannot but sending out, so that we have a chance to catch him red-handed, and then well calmly decide what to do with him.

Ba Fenghan laughed coldly and said, This kind of traitor who betrays his master in his pursuit of glory must be a person who is greedy for life, afraid of death. Under heavy torture, I am not worried that he wont obediently do what we told him to do.

The tone of his voice carried some kind of cold, ruthless impression, which made people shiver all over though not cold, moreover, which made people glad that they were his friend and not his enemy.

Luo Qifei spoke ferociously, If I am guessing correctly, he must have passed on the information to the enemy by way of flying pigeon.

Chen Laomou laughed and said, Then among the men selected to keep a close watch over him, we must not lack a divine archer of one hundred shots, one hundred hits.

Kou Zhong said, Very well, its decided then. This time we are extremely lucky, to be able to find out the undiscovered traitor in such a short period of time. Such a big boss in charge of intelligence like him, its like a knife directly in the heart of our Shao Shuai Army, so that we are stabbed to death yet still dont know what went wrong.

And then he raised his cup and said with a laugh, Just consider this as the banquet to see Ba Ye off. When Li Shiji thinks that we fell into his evil scheme and unexpectedly stupid enough to go upstream to attack to the north with the extravagant hope of joining forces with the Dou Army against Hulao, that will be the moment we ruthlessly oppress him.

Everybody loudly raised their cup and drank the toast; their morale was greatly aroused.

No matter how nasty the situation was, Kou Zhong was always able to bring them opportunity to live and to hope.

However, after a few days of work, Luoyangs siege situation quickly became more serious. All the commanding high elevations were occupied, strong defensive wooden forts were established, surrounded by ditches to trap horses, only small access to come and go remained.

Outside the city, deep trenches were dug all around, the widths varied, from a few zhang to several dozen zhang, substantially limiting the chance of the city defenders to either counterstrike or to break out of the siege.

Naturally this arrangement did not pose any problem for Xu Ziling. Relying on his superhuman spirited senses, without alarm without danger he evaded the patrolling Tang soldiers and sentry stations, called out at the gate and entered the city. Accompanied by the old friend Lang Feng, he entered the palace first to have an audience with Wang Shichong and to report the happy letter to him, before going to the northeastern part of the city to see Yang Gongqing.

Yang Gongqing was resting. Responsible for guarding the city was Ma Chang. The latters countenance was anxious, evidently the situation was not good. Outside the city, from the Tang Armys camp, the lights were reaching the sky, while the sound of horses neigh was continuous; nevertheless, it was quiet and peaceful, there was no sign of the siege.

Xu Ziling thought that in the attack and defense of the Battle of Luoyang, the Yang Family Army must have suffered significant injuries and deaths, Hows the situation? he asked.

Depressing! Ma Chang replied with a sigh, Since Shaoshuai and two Yeer broke the siege to see Dou Jiande, the Tang Army began to halt the siege, they only built ramparts and dug ditches all around outside the city wall. The worst things are those horse trap ditches; if they have enough manpower, they could dig half a li long ditch, making those who watch it bitterly disappointed.

Xu Ziling spoke in astonishment, Turns out you are worried about those horse trap pits.

Ma Chang spoke angrily, I already advocated we go out to attack, using fast to strike the slow, so that the Tang Army are unable to dig trenches everywhere. The enemy is scattered and we are concentrated, plus Li Shimin would not be able to guess from which gate we are going to attack, the initiative is in our hands. Too bad Wang Shichongs guts is as small as a mouse. Remembering the relationship with the former master, Yang Gong was unwilling to force him, so that we sit and waste a good opportunity. Li Shimins view is very accurate; if Shaoshuai were here, Li Shimin definitely would not dare to be so presumptuous.

Once again Xu Ziling was acquainted with Ma Changs insight and courage, which was definitely not below Xuan Yongs or Yang Gongqings, he was certainly not inferior in any aspects. Comforting him, he said, Dou Jiande promised to send troops to help, we only have to defend Luoyang steadily to pin down the Tang Armys main forces in here.

Ma Chang cast his gaze toward the Luo River, which flowed from Luoyang to the east; he could faintly see about two li away the fluttering sail of a boat rounding the river bend. He spoke in heavy voice, These last couple of days, the House of Tangs navy goes back and forth quite often, evidently Li Shimin is moving an army and sending a general, to deal with the Xia Army crossing the river to come to attack; furthermore, they want to intercept our Shao Shuai Army going up north. From this, we knew that Shaoshuai succeeded in persuading Dou Jiande. Now the Xia Army is our only hope; with Shaoshuai helping him to work out a strategy and to employ a tactic, as long as they can charge and break through the enemy lines, there is hope that Luoyangs siege will be resolved.

Smiling ruefully, Xu Ziling said, Shaoshuai will not participate in the Xia Armys operation.

His countenance changed, Ma Chang blurted out, How could Shaoshuai made such a miscalculation?

Xu Ziling explained Kou Zhongs situation, not because Kou Zhong miscalculated at all, but because he had no alternative.

Ma Chang frankly said, I, Ma Chang have been following Yang Gongs uprising since I was sixteen. Military campaigns, big and small, I have been in hundreds of them, but I have never seen anybody using troops more stable and more ruthless than Li Shimin. In the world, I am afraid only Shaoshuai can compete with him. If he is replaced by Dou Jiande, since his ability and wisdom are inferior, plus Li Shimin has Hulao with its rugged, providing a natural barrier to invasion defense, I no longer have any delusion toward Dou Army.

Does Ma Jiangjun have any proposal? Xu Ziling asked.

Smiling bitterly, Ma Chang said, What I am most worried now is the problem of morale. Currently we are like being trapped in a big prison called the City of Luoyang. The supply route has been completely cut off, we are at the end of our rope, can only passively waiting for other people to come to save us. However, the helping army is slow to come, while we do not dare to slack off even for half a moment. This is the most depressing thing. I would rather the enemy come to attack day and night, that would be a bit more interesting.

Xu Ziling said, Our rations and fodder can still support us for one or two months, why should there be any problem with morale?

Lowering his voice, Ma Chang replied, The problem is in our Shao Shuai Army; the soldiers in Wang Shichongs Zheng Army all grew up and have their family in Luoyang. In order to defend their homes, they can make any sacrifice and persevere to the end. Our Shao Shuai Army is in different kind of situation, we are acting purely as guests, if we fight and cannot win, we could break out the siege and escape back to Liangdu, however, currently Li Shimin cut off all escape route, we are forced to live or die together with Luoyang, even those with the strongest willpower still find it difficult to endure. Were it not for Shaoshuais nearly god-like position in our Shao Shuai Armys heart, I am afraid every night someone would have climbed over the wall and escaped. Even worse is that Li Shimin has always been benevolent to any surrendering people. As long as they abandon their weapon and surrender outside the city, I can guarantee that they will be able to live. Now Xu Ye should understand the reason why I am worried.

Xu Ziling finally understood. After muttering to himself irresolutely for half a day, he spoke decisively, If we could capture one or two ramparts or strongholds outside the city, would it be helpful to the troops morale?

Emotionally moved, Ma Chang said, That will definitely greatly arouse the morale, it shows that we have the strength to break out the siege, and still have energy left over to advancing, we can attack, retreating, we can defend.

Xu Ziling said, Just now I entered the city from the south side, I know the lookout posts and army camps on that side like the back of my hand, how about we set our hands on that side?

Hesitating, Ma Chang said, Shall we discuss it with Yang Gong tomorrow morning, or perhaps wait for Shaoshuai to come back before making decision?

Xu Ziling analyzed, The heart is a very strange thing, it might be very easy to influence, just like a flock of sheep on the open country, when a wolf appears, fear will spread out, as soon as an opportunity to flee appears, nobody can stop them. Leave Wang Shichong and Yang Gongqing to me, as for the details of the entire operation, Ill leave it to your brains.

Ma Changs pair of eyes emitted a determined look, he nodded and said, Xu Ye thinks so highly of me, Ma Chang, I, Ma Chang, will definitely not let Xu Ye down.

No one in the world did not know that Xu Zilings ability and wisdom was not inferior to Kou Zhongs; furthermore, he was Kou Zhongs closest brother, so that it was hard to differentiate between elder and younger brother [idiom]. What he said was equivalent to what Kou Zhong himself said. Since Ma Chang obtained his support, he could have a free hand in his action, to put the important large-scale project inside his bosom on display.

What should we do now? Xu Ziling asked.

Taking a deep breath, Ma Chang said, Xu Ye, please dont blame me for overstepping my boundary, I would like to ask Xu Ye to be a scout outside the city, while it is still three sichen before daybreak, I want to ascertain what is true and what is false in the Tang Armys deployment and military power distribution, so that I could draw a simple yet accurate detailed map. I will also immediately order my men to prepare carts to fill the ditches. These carts are four-wheeled big carts, the roof is made of huge wooden log, covered by raw cowhide, seventy soldiers can hide underneath, to propel the big cart forward. It could cover the troops transporting dirt to fill the trenches. There are large quantities of wood in the city, hence we wont have any problem in term of materials. Humph! How could a needle have two sharp ends? The Tang peoples horse-trap ditches are precisely our best cover.

Seeing him bestirring himself, which washed away the previously collapsing mood, Xu Ziling cheerfully said, Ma Jiangjun need not stand on ceremony, I will immediately leave to be Jiangjuns little scout.

Feeling uneasy for inconveniencing him, Ma Chang said, I am compelled by circumstances. Within the City of Luoyang, only Xu Ye has the ability and the skill; even if you are being found, you can easily get away.

Xu Ziling said, Ma Jiangjun has the full plan in mind, if you can explain the outline, it would be very helpful for me since when doing the reconnaissance work, I can pay particular attention to certain things.

Ma Chang cast his gaze outside the city, his face was showing confident expression, he spoke heavily, Defending a city without seizing any stronghold is like guarding to the death and waiting until we perish. All city defense must continuously organize the military strength, attacking out of the city, and carrying out a sudden and rapid attack to the besieging troops. Within the defense, the offensive part is also to be carried out, using battle in place of defense. The Art of War has a saying, When the equipment is prepared in the city, defense is already achieved. When using the extraordinary to deceive, the battle is used in place of defense, using strike to break the siege. Now Li Shimin is leading the army to the east to defend Hulao against the Dou Army, staying behind to take care of things is naturally Li Yuanji. We are going to use battle in place of defense, using strike to break the siege; when the enemys disposition of troops is in chaos, when they are terribly busy and not knowing which place to be defended, we rapidly seize the enemys camp and snatch away their stronghold. In the past, during the Three Kingdoms period, the Wei general Zhang Liao with seven thousand men guarding Hefei, he was besieged by Sun Quan with his ten thousand men. Zhang Liao followed Cao Caos directive to break the enemys flourishing momentum in order to pacify the heart of the crowd, afterwards they could defend. With more than eight hundred men he formed a suicide squad, suddenly opened the city gate to charge against Sun Quan, seizing the Wu peoples air, while the Wei soldiers morale was greatly aroused. After besieging the city for more than a dozen days, Sun Quan knew that the city could not be captured, finally he withdrew his troops. This is precisely my comprehensive plan; I am asking Xu Ye to bestow your instruction.

At this point Xu Ziling no longer had even half a strand of doubt toward Ma Changs qualifications to assume personal responsibility. Patting his shoulder, he said with a laugh, Ma Jiangjun, go ahead and proceed according to the plan, tomorrow morning well talk some more during breakfast.