Volume 1, Chapter 52: Pugong Deliberates and Calmly Offers Advice

Wang Ruxin's clumsy maneuver backfired, unintentionally helping Li Mi make a name for himself throughout the Wagang Stronghold through those three successive arrows.

Shortly after the banquet, as the various chieftains who attended spread the tales, the rank-and-file outlaws across the main Wagang stronghold and its numerous sub-camps all learned that a new recruit named Li Mi had joined their ranks. He was none other than the chief strategist of Yang Xuangan during his rebellion. Not only was he the head of the Liaodong Li clan, one of the most prestigious and aristocratic families of the era, but his great-grandfather had been one of the Eight Pillar Kingdoms of Western Wei, his grandfather had been the Duke of Xing in Northern Zhou, and his father had been the Grand Pillar Kingdom and Duke of Pushan in the current dynasty. Furthermore, he was valiant and skilled in archery, hitting the target three times out of three with a prowess rivaling that of Zhai Rang. Truly, he possessed both noble lineage and dual mastery of literary and martial arts!

Even the outlaws far away at the Wagang sub-camp in Weicheng quickly learned of this matter.

Especially after Li Mi's name was officially added to the roster of top chieftains of Wagang, county magistrates, local powerbrokers, and bandit groups in Dongjun, Jiyun, Xingyang, and other commanderies gradually learned of his joining Wagang.

The fame of Wagang shook the realm for a time.

Local magnates from Dongjun and the surrounding commanderies, such as Liu Xuanyi from Zuocheng, dispatched emissaries to the mountain to pay their respects to Li Mi and offer gifts.

Meanwhile, the local officials in the commanderies of Dongjun, Jiyun, and Xingyang were mostly startled upon hearing the news. The most typical reaction came from Yang Qing, the Administrator of Xingyang Commandery. Upon learning that Li Mi had actually joined Wagang, he remained silent for a long while before finally saying with deep worry: "The Wagang bandits have previously focused solely on plundering merchants and travelers, which is not enough to cause major concern. Now that the rebel Li has joined, the flames of war will likely spread to our commanderies of Dongjun and Xingyang!"

Yang Qing could be considered a wise man, and his worries were entirely correct.

Perhaps right at the moment when Yang Qing uttered this anxiety, inside the Hall of Justice at the Wagang Stronghold, Li Mi was analyzing the situation of the various commanderies in Henan Circuit for Zhai Rang, presenting the suggestion that the best next developmental strategy for Wagang should be "attacking Xingyang."

All the major chieftains of the stronghold—including Zhai Kuan, Jia Xiong, Zhai Mohou, Xu Shiji, Shan Xiongxin, Wang Ruxin, and Huang Junhan—were present.

Wang Bodong, Fang Yanzao, and others were also there.

This was the first official grand assembly of the chieftains in the Hall of Justice since Li Mi joined Wagang.

Li Mi spread his personal map of the commanderies of Henan Circuit out on the floor so that everyone could better understand the current situation facing the Wagang Stronghold. Standing before the map, holding a slender iron pointer, he pointed to the location of Qi Commandery in the north and said, "Lord Zhai, esteemed brothers, this is Qi Commandery. From Qi Commandery to our Wagang, it is a distance of about five hundred miles in total. This means that if Zhang Xutuo musters all his forces and marches south to attack us, his troops could arrive at the foot of our Wagang stronghold in as fast as two or three days, or at most four or five days."

At this point, he paused slightly, glanced at Zhai Kuan and the others, and then looked at Zhai Rang, continuing, "Lord Zhai, Zhang Xutuo is a formidable enemy of Wagang. I assume my younger brother doesn't need to elaborate further on this point, right?"

Zhai Rang nodded and said, "Before my esteemed brother joined us, whether our stronghold went south to Xingyang and Liangjun to demand tributes, west along the Yongji Canal line, or east into Jiyin Commandery, everything went smoothly without a hitch. The only exceptions were the commanderies to the north like Dongping, Jibei, and Lu Commandery. Dammit all, because of that scoundrel Zhang Xutuo, we frequently suffered troop losses and setbacks there. That old dog is indeed a formidable enemy of Wagang."

Counting back, over the past two or three years, the losses inflicted by Zhang Xutuo's forces in commanderies like Dongping and Jibei numbered no less than twenty or thirty times. Almost every time they encountered Zhang Xutuo's soldiers—whether it was Qin Qiong, Luo Shixin, or other commanders—Wagang invariably suffered disastrous defeats.

Everyone in Wagang now harbored a deep, bone-chilling hatred for Zhang Xutuo.

Li Mi said, "Two years ago, Zhang Xutuo was appointed by Yang Guang as the Imperial Commissioner and Punitive Ambassador for the Twelve Commanderies of Henan Circuit. The reason he has remained primarily within the borders of Qi Commandery over the past two years, at most deploying troops slightly further north into Beihai Commandery by the sea, is because remnants like Wang Bu and Lu Mingyue still possessed substantial numbers. But as of now, the remnants of Wang Bu and Lu Mingyue have largely been annihilated by him. If my younger brother guesses correctly, his next move will surely be to muster all his forces and march south along the Yellow River to invade our Wagang."

Xu Shiji concurred with Li Mi's assessment and said to Zhai Rang, "Lord Protector, what the Duke of Pushan said is entirely correct. I actually share this concern as well. Take our last encounter when Luo Shixin invaded our Weicheng sub-camp, for instance. After that battle concluded, I pondered it from all angles and always felt something was amiss."

Zhai Rang asked, "Maogong, what felt amiss?"

"Without rhyme or reason, why did Luo Shixin suddenly march to invade our Weicheng sub-camp? And having invaded, why did it fizzle out halfway? After fighting for merely two or three days, why did he retreat and withdraw? Lord Protector, I have thought about this repeatedly, and the more I ponder it, the more I feel there can only be one possibility: Luo Shixin's invasion of the Weicheng sub-camp was never intended to destroy it; rather, it is highly probable that he was merely testing the combat capability of our stronghold!"

"Exactly. Lord Protector, there is no other way to explain the two doubts I just raised. If that is indeed the case, Lord Protector, another question naturally arises: why did he want to test our strength and weaknesses?" Though Xu Shiji spoke of "another question," his face bore no trace of perplexity. It was quite obvious that he had already figured out the purpose behind Luo Shixin's probing of Wagang's strength.

Zhai Rang and the others had also figured it out.

Xu Shiji slowly nodded and said, "Lord Zhai, Lord Protector, aside from this, I fear there can be no other reason."

Jia Xiong waved his feather fan, speaking up at the appropriate moment with a solemn expression, "Lord Protector, I share the same view."

Zhai Rang furrowed his brow, pondered for a moment, and said to Li Mi, who was still standing by the map in the hall, "Brother Xuanxui, please continue."

"Lord Protector, what I wish to say is this: although our stronghold is flourishing in manpower and now numbers over ten thousand, these ten thousand troops currently occupy only a few mountains and islands such as Mount Dapi, Mount Tong, and Fenghuang Island. If the incoming government troops are few, we can naturally rely on the perilous terrain of the mountains and islands to defend ourselves. However, once the invading government troops are numerous—and more importantly, once the invaders are capable and battle-hardened troops like Zhang Xutuo and his subordinates—relying solely on the perils of mountains and islands without room for maneuver will likely leave us unable to hold out. Our brothers throughout the stronghold are all brave and adept at combat, and even against Zhang Xutuo, I wager he certainly cannot breach the mountains. But what if he does not force an assault? Lord Protector, what if he surrounds the mountains without attacking?"

Zhai Rang said, "Surrounds the mountains without attacking? Brother Xuanxui, are you worried that we will be besieged to death?"

"Exactly! Lord Protector. If Zhang Xutuo were to deploy his forces in open formation and fight us head-on, we would not fear him. But what should we do if he chooses to encircle us without attacking? Our stronghold has over ten thousand troops, and factoring in women, children, the elderly, and the weak, we are approaching a population of some twenty thousand souls, are we not? With so many people consuming food and fodder every day, how much grain and provisions are required? How long can our current grain reserves in the stronghold sustain consumption? Lord Protector, my younger brother fears that if such a scenario truly occurs, we will likely run out of grain before long! Grain is the courage of an army; once grain runs scarce, Zhang Xutuo won't even need to attack, for the stronghold will descend into chaos of its own accord."

Zhai Rang asked, "In that case, according to your esteemed advice, how should our stronghold respond to such a situation?"

"Lord Protector, esteemed brothers, in my humble opinion, there is only one way to counter this situation."

Zhai Rang said, "What way is that? Brother Xuanxui, please speak quickly."

Holding his iron pointer, Li Mi first tapped Dong郡 (Dong Commandery) and then pointed once more toward Xingyang Commandery, saying, "First take Dong Commandery, and subsequently seize Xingyang Commandery! Using the territory of these two commanderies, we can broadly gather provisions and recruit robust men. Once our soldiers are brave and our horses strong, even if Zhang Xutuo comes, we shall have nothing to fear."

Following the movement of the iron pointer, Zhai Rang's gaze fell upon Dong Commandery and Xingyang Commandery, stroking his beard in deep contemplation.

Wang Ruxin sneered and said, "The Duke of Pushan's proposal is nothing short of fantastical. Dong Commandery might be one thing, as taking it is not overly difficult, but is Xingyang Commandery so easily conquered? Xingyang has a vast number of regular prefectural garrison troops as well as commandery militia. The mere commandery seat of Guancheng and the Jidi Pass each house garrisons of no less than a thousand men. Their armor and weapons are exquisite, and they have cities and passes to rely upon. What on earth are we supposed to use to fight them?"

Xingyang was a strategic location, and the Jidi Pass within its borders was an even more vital strategic stronghold.

Jidi was the name of a section of the Yellow River embankment, and Jidi Pass was so named because it was established right at this spot. Before Emperor Yang of Sui, this area was not considered much of a strategic point, nor was there any Jidi Pass. However, after Emperor Yang of Sui constructed the Tongji Canal and the Yongji Canal, this place transformed into a strategic hub, and the Jidi Pass was established here because this region served as the exact intersection point of the Tongji Canal, the Yongji Canal, and the Yellow River.

Huang Junhan and the others harbored similar concerns.

Even Shan Xiongxin felt that Li Mi's proposal seemed somewhat unfeasible.

Facing the direct skepticism and doubtful gazes of the crowd, Li Mi stood calmly in the hall and smiled leisurely, "Xingyang may not have a small garrison, but no matter how many garrison troops there are, what is there to fear if the commanding general is useless? Yang Qing, the Administrator of Xingyang... Lord Protector, my younger brother knows him very well. Years ago, my younger brother and he were both in the capital and met frequently. I understand his person and his nature extremely well. He is naturally cunning, far from a man of loyalty and righteousness. He excels at trimming his sails to the wind and knows nothing of military affairs. My younger brother dares to guarantee to the Lord Protector that as long as our troops enter Xingyang, even if Yang Qing were given ten times his courage, he would never dare to clash with us head-on! My younger brother has absolute certainty that we can conquer Xingyang."

Xu Shiji thought for a moment and said, "Lord Protector, I agree with the Duke of Pushan's assessment of Yang Qing. This fellow Yang Qing is indeed a crafty and slippery character. This can be seen simply from the fact that he has never dared to obstruct us when we collect tributes in Xingyang; he is truly a man who cares only about self-preservation."

Jia Xiong shook his feather fan, speaking up at the appropriate moment once again to voice his agreement, "Lord Protector, I share this view."

Wang Ruxin, however, remained opposed, and Zhai Kuan and Zhai Mohou also spoke up one after another, likewise expressing their disapproval of Li Mi's proposal.

Though Huang Junhan remained silent, his expression revealed that he also harbored deep reservations about attacking Xingyang.

Zhai Rang felt on one hand that the words of Li Mi and Xu Shiji made sense, while on the other hand feeling that the objections raised by Wang Ruxin and the others were equally reasonable.

As the leader of the Wagang Stronghold, major decisions like attacking Xingyang concerned the life-and-death future of one to two thousand souls in the entire stronghold. If he made the wrong choice, it could spell total disaster for Wagang.

Should he listen to Li Mi and Xu Shiji, or should he listen to Wang Ruxin? For a moment, he was caught in a dilemma. He felt that ever since he became the leader of Wagang, he had never encountered a situation as difficult to make a choice on as this proposal by Li Mi.

Observing Zhai Rang's expression, Fang Yanzao stepped forward and said, "Lord Protector, in my humble opinion, the Duke of Pushan's proposal is indeed a lofty strategy; yet Brother Ruxin's worries cannot be said to be without reason. If the Lord Protector is caught in a dilemma because of this, I happen to have a method that might resolve the Lord Protector's predicament."

"Oh? What brilliant strategy do you have?"

Fang Yanzao spoke eloquently and laid out a solution.