The mountains and rivers, cities and passes of the Xia Kingdom were all reproduced in miniature, every detail laid bare upon the sand table.
The movement of one tiny General's Banner tugged at the lives and deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers.
Chen Zeqing watched them, his gaze especially profound.
He said casually, "Come to think of it, the fighting in Youping Prefecture has gone rather more smoothly than in Linwu Prefecture."
Wang Yiwu showed a touch of interest. "Because of Tian Anping?"
"Not entirely." Chen Zeqing withdrew his gaze and asked, "Are you familiar with Yan Fu?"
Wang Yiwu raised a brow. "Why would I be familiar with him?"
Chen Zeqing smiled. "Yan Fu wages war in a very interesting way."
"Is he versed in warfare too?" Wang Yiwu asked indifferently.
Chen Zeqing said, "On the northern front, he has been buying off enemy generals wholesale. Surrender, and you get paid. Surrender with troops, and you get extra. He even shouted slogans like, 'Surrender an army, and you'll want for nothing your whole life. Surrender a city, and three generations shall know wealth and honor'..."
As he spoke, he shook his head with a smile. "I can't tell whether he knows warfare or not, but the results seem quite good."
Wang Yiwu wore an expression that said, That works too? For a moment, he did not know what to say.
Chen Zeqing added, "I wonder what Zhao Nan is doing right now."
Wang Yiwu smiled, a rare sight. "Perhaps he's thinking... what we're doing!"
The raging tide briefly receded. Behind that moment of silence lay an even fiercer gathering force.
During this tense lull in the fighting, the two fellow disciples chatted idly, skipping from one topic to another across heaven and earth.
In truth, when Wang Yiwu