This time, Liu Tan did not heed Wang Yang. His gaze was resolute as he said:
"The Art of War says, 'Plunge them into deadly ground and they will live; place them on ground of destruction and they will survive.' If our army lands now and fights with the river at its back, every man will fight to the death. This was Han Xin's strategy for defeating Zhao! We can use it now, too!"
Wang Yang rejected it outright:
"We cannot!
"When Han Xin defeated Zhao, he first arrayed ten thousand men with their backs to the river. His solid formation came first;
"then he feigned defeat to lure the enemy out, while two thousand light cavalry seized Zhao's fortifications. His surprise force came afterward;
"the Han troops were few and easily outflanked. By camping with the river at their backs, they had no worries behind them. Thus, he used terrain to make up for his lack of troops, maintaining a broad frontage to match the enemy. This was adapting to the circumstances with a clear grasp of them.
"First, he had a solid formation as his foundation: that was the orthodox. Then he struck at the enemy's exposed throat and empty defenses: that was the unorthodox. Only with both in place could he exploit the situation. With all three fulfilled, he could put his men on deadly ground and bring them out alive!
"Ma Su did not understand this. He had the orthodox without the unorthodox and could not read the situation, so he merely plunged into deadly ground and failed to survive. Tell me, Brother Liu, what would be orthodox in this battle? What would be unorthodox? And how would you adapt to the circumstances?"
"Well..."
Liu Tan could not answer.
Feng Yiling stared wide-eyed, utterly absorbed.
After