Marshal Hong and Strategist Ji (1)

Strategist Ji walked a few steps forward, then stopped. As though he had seen that Li Yan had not followed, he slowly turned back and looked at him. "Since you have decided to enter my sect, there is no need to keep calling me 'sir.' From this day onward, you should call me Teacher. Hmm, judging by you, are you still worried about the later Imperial Guard assessment? Heh heh, there is no need for that. You are now my disciple. With your teacher stationed in the military camp, you are a man at the strategist's side. That is better than any Imperial Guard by heaven knows how many times." By the end, his expression was brimming with pride.

Hearing this, Li Yan thought, So staying by Teacher's side is so much better than joining the Imperial Guard. What blessings have I cultivated to deserve this? Then he grew timid again, looking as though he wanted to speak but hesitated.

Seeing his expression, Strategist Ji asked, "What else is it?"

"T-Teacher, the monthly pay... My father and mother are still at home..." Li Yan said haltingly.

"Oh, so that was how it was. You were quite the filial son. From now on, your monthly pay would be issued at a squad leader's rate. That was more than forty percent higher than an Imperial Guard soldier's." Strategist Ji looked at Li Yan with a half-smile.

"Thank you, Teacher." Li Yan was overjoyed. He felt as though he had ascended to the heavens in a single step, as though he were dreaming. From now on, he could send more silver home to his parents every month. Calling him "Teacher" also came much more smoothly now.

On the raised platform outside the tent, Marshal Hong still sat sideways, reclining against the broad back of his chair. His right elbow rested on the armrest, his hand half-clenched against his temple. He looked somewhat drowsy, his eyes half-lidded and his manner calm and unhurried. Every so often, he turned to glance at the assessment inside the drill ground's fence. After watching for a while, he would turn back and resume his former pose, gazing toward the tent as though pondering something.

Marshal Hong's name was Hong Linying. He was the current dynasty's Grand Marshal of the Southwest, commanding more than two hundred thousand troops and guarding the southwestern frontier. He had once been a wandering orphan. At eleven or twelve, by a stroke of fate, he had entered the renowned martial sect Fatuo Temple and become a lay disciple.

Fatuo Temple was one of the foremost sects in the martial world, and many of its martial techniques were secret teachings and peerless arts. By all rights, Hong Linying, being only a lay disciple, should never have been able to learn the temple's profound martial arts. Yet he was ruthless and resolute, cruel even to himself. When he trained in martial arts, he pushed himself to the point of tearing sinews and breaking bones.

After five years in the temple, he had cultivated all he had learned to the level of a second-rate martial expert. This was exceedingly rare. The martial techniques he had learned were merely the ordinary introductory methods and basic fist techniques for the temple's lay disciples, yet he had trained them to such a level. It was truly no small feat.

In the martial world, martial practitioners were generally ranked from highest to lowest as realm-transcending experts, supreme experts, first-rate experts, second-rate experts, and third-rate experts. Below that were merely those at the bottom of the stream—martial practitioners who did not even qualify as part of the ranks.

Back then, the founding ancestor of the present dynasty had relied on a set of external-style "Taizu Long Fist" to carve out this empire of several hundred years alongside his band of brothers. It was said that whenever he encountered an enemy, one set of Taizu Long Fist would often leave his opponent either dead or wounded. It was not that this boxing art was extraordinarily formidable, but that the dynasty's founding ancestor had trained it to perfection, swift beyond compare. "Under heaven, no martial art can withstand speed." You might know your opponent's moves, but if they had reached the realm-transcending stage and you were not on the same level, you naturally would be unable to evade them.

Though Hong Linying had not trained what he learned to a level of blinding speed and ferocity, he had still entered the hall and crossed the threshold. Later, an elder in charge of discipline learned of this and felt that the boy might yet become someone great. At the same time, he knew that with such a temperament, Hong Linying could never become a man of the Buddhist faith. Still, the elder pitied his talent. He knew that if Hong continued training in this manner, the result would surely be death or crippling injury.

Thus, the elder used the inner sect's medicinal bath method to treat the hidden injuries Hong had accumulated through his reckless training. At the same time, he cleared and unblocked his meridians. Later, he taught him the inner sect cultivation method "Buddha Illuminates the Golden Body," as well as fist, kicking, staff, and cudgel techniques. Though these were not the temple's secret, supreme martial arts and combat techniques, they were still far beyond what lay disciples could easily learn.

Hong Linying practiced martial arts at Fatuo Temple for another four years. By then, he had cultivated both inner and outer arts. With his intelligence, tireless diligence, and the disciplinary elder's guidance, he unexpectedly stepped into the realm of a first-rate martial expert.

At that point, Hong Linying planned to descend the mountain and enter the world, spreading his wings for a grand ambition. Before he left, the disciplinary elder warned him, "Linying, when you descend the mountain this time, you must remember this well. The martial skills you have learned are not weak, but you must not slaughter innocents, nor may you rape, plunder, or pillage. If you truly use them for such deeds, the temple will certainly send monastic enforcers to take your head from your shoulders. Even if you rise to the highest official rank or become a great lord of one region, you will still die. Remember this. Remember it well." Hong Linying naturally agreed without hesitation.

After descending the mountain, he did keep the rules and precepts. Yet if he wished to make something of his martial skills, he could not do so without fighting to the death. Thus, he joined the army and began as an ordinary soldier. He fought through several hundred battles, large and small. Because he was fierce against the enemy and fearless before death, he rose through the ranks again and again. He continued onward in this manner until he became a general. He had originally intended to leave military life and devote himself to martial study at home, but when war erupted along the frontier, he was appointed Grand Marshal of the Southwest and sent to guard the southwestern border.

Green Mountain Pass was a frontline city, capable of stationing roughly forty or fifty thousand troops. Hong Linying should originally have been at the central army camp some thirty li north of here, but he loved battle and slaughter by nature and insisted on personally taking command at the very front lines. The generals all knew his temperament well and did not dare defy him. They could only leave the deputy marshal to guard the main camp, ready to coordinate and provide support when the opportunity arose.

Strategist Ji, Ji Wenhe, had arrived here six years ago. At that time, Hong Linying had only recently been stationed at Green Mountain Pass. On the day Ji Wenhe entered the city, he went directly to the gates of the marshal's residence and declared that he wished to see Marshal Hong. How could the gate guards possibly let him through so easily? They even wanted to extort some silver from him before reporting his request. After a few exchanges, Ji Wenhe understood the intentions of those guards and said no more.

With no visible movement from him, he merely flicked his broad sleeve, and the guards were instantly unable to move. He then walked straight into the inner residence. Along the way, he encountered quite a few patrol squads, all rushing to surround and seize him. Yet almost at the first exchange, every soldier would stiffen where he stood, unable to move.

Hong Linying had been resting in the main hall of the inner residence. With his internal strength, he had long heard the shouts in the courtyard and was about to rise and investigate when he suddenly saw a shadow flash past the doorway. A black-robed scholar had already entered the hall, moving like a ghost, soundless and traceless. Even Hong Linying, who had seen more life-and-death situations than he could count, was startled by the sudden scene. After so many years of battle and relentless day-and-night training, his martial arts had long reached the realm of a supreme expert. Yet he had not seen how the man in black had entered at all. What horrified him even more was that this man's lightness skill was beyond anything he had ever seen or heard of. Not even the faintest rustle of clothing accompanied his movements. This was something he had never encountered in his life. When someone used lightness skill, the rapid motion of the human body and its friction against the air would inevitably produce the sound of fluttering garments. That could not be concealed. This man's martial arts were so high that Hong Linying was absolutely no match for him.

Only after the black-robed man came to a stop did Hong Linying see him clearly. He was a scholar in black robes, a little over thirty, wearing a scholar's cap and standing roughly seven chi tall. His face was long and narrow, his complexion pale with an unhealthy flush, and a strand of long beard drifted over his chest. The man in black introduced himself as Ji Wenhe, a member of a reclusive martial sect. Several months earlier, he had accidentally been bitten by an unknown venomous insect while gathering herbs in the mountains. After months of treatment, he had visited many friends and famous physicians. Given his skill, those he knew were all masters of the age, yet none had any means to remove the poison. It had already begun to slowly erode his internal organs.

Along the southwestern frontier, mountain ranges stretched for countless li, and venomous insects and savage beasts within them were beyond counting. At least seventy percent could not even be named. Hong Linying found this explanation unsurprising. He had once ventured somewhat deep into Great Green Mountain, where many savage beasts and venomous insects already roamed. Creatures whose names could not be called were everywhere.

Ji Wenhe then told him that he could enter the army and serve as an adviser in the marshal's residence. In return, he needed to select one person from the army and accept him as a disciple. His sect had been passed down through a single line from generation to generation. He had not yet accepted a disciple, and now that the poison in him was likely incurable, he could only use his internal strength to suppress it and prolong his life by another seven or eight years. He wanted his sect's inheritance to continue.

Hong Linying was deeply surprised. He had originally assumed that someone with such formidable martial arts had come to demand some benefit, or that he was an enemy assassin sent to kill him. The request Ji Wenhe now made was far beyond anything he had expected.

After giving it some thought, Hong Linying agreed. First, he could not see through this man, and if he tried to force the issue, he feared he would gain no advantage. Second, there were already many advisers in the marshal's residence, and their importance was his to decide. So long as Ji Wenhe did not participate in crucial military affairs, no one would likely gossip. As for choosing one person from an army of several hundred thousand to inherit his sect, that was a trivial matter. As long as Ji Wenhe had the leisure, he could choose whoever he wished.

Yet what happened afterward left Hong Linying increasingly astonished. The first matter came not long after. The enemy launched two or three successive attacks. During the first, after the scouts gathered intelligence and reported back, Hong Linying, the strategist, and the generals discussed their plan to meet the enemy. He then returned to the marshal's residence. Unexpectedly, Ji Wenhe came to his quarters in the middle of the night and told him of the enemy's intentions and deployment. Much of what Ji Wenhe said had already been discovered by Hong Linying's side, but several details were unknown to Hong Linying—or rather, had not been discovered by the scouts. Though Ji Wenhe had been appointed an adviser, Hong Linying could not easily trust him. After all, most of what the man said was similar to the intelligence they possessed. Given his skill, if he had gone outside the city and followed the enemy from afar, he could have obtained some information. So Hong Linying laughed it off, thanked him to his face, and said that he would discuss the matter with the others in the army later. Ji Wenhe merely smiled, then turned and left.

At daybreak, the enemy army suddenly launched its assault. Hong Linying calmly led his forces from the city to meet them. This was also the enemy attack they had anticipated.

The two sides fought a great battle outside the city, killing until corpses carpeted the ground. By dawn, soldiers and officers on both sides were utterly exhausted. Without any prior agreement, they began slowly withdrawing toward their respective rear lines. Hong Linying also withdrew his troops into the city.

Aside from the main direction of attack, he had also stationed troops in the eastern and western mountains to intercept the enemy. They had long seen through the enemy's intention to use the forests on the mountains to launch a flanking assault. Everything had gone according to plan. Yet when they withdrew to the city gates, the earth suddenly trembled. A muffled roar like rolling thunder came rumbling from afar. Those exhausted enemy soldiers, whose movements had become sluggish even as they retreated, abruptly split to either side, opening a broad road down the middle. Billowing dust rose from behind them, and a unit of heavy cavalry suddenly charged forth. In only a dozen breaths, they had reached the dynasty's retreating soldiers. The retreating troops had no time at all to organize their heavy shields against the attack. For a moment, killing cries rose on all sides and blood and flesh flew through the air. Seeing that things had gone badly, Hong Linying made a prompt decision. He immediately spurred his horse into the city and ordered the gates shut. Pitifully, at least ten thousand soldiers remained outside, unable to withdraw into the city. They could only fight desperately in despair outside the walls. Without heavy armor to protect them, how could they withstand the heavy armored horses that charged and wheeled through their ranks? In only about half an hour, the dynasty's soldiers outside the city had been utterly wiped out and slaughtered to the last. Yet in that half-hour, Hong Linying had already organized the roughly twenty thousand troops remaining within the city, laid layer upon layer of defenses atop the walls, and dispatched swift riders bearing command arrows out the north gate to the central army camp to summon reinforcements.

Before the reinforcements could arrive, however, the enemy began attacking the city as though they did not value their lives. Several times, they even fought their way onto the walls. Hong Linying personally went up to supervise the battle and kill the enemy. Wave after wave of soldiers fell, and wave after wave surged forward, barely holding on until their own reinforcements arrived.

Once their reinforcements began streaming in through the north gate without end, the enemy saw that the situation could not be salvaged and had no choice but to sound the gong and withdraw.