Chapter 163: The Mandate of Heaven

The battle was on the verge of breaking out, yet it did not erupt immediately.

In fact, Minglin Physician, looking at the wreckage before him, including the few "ox cavalry" on the ground that still showed some signs of life, actually waved his hand in signal and chose to withdraw the entire army a mere two li, then began setting up camp and fortifications!

"Setting up camp only two li away?!"

"So they can attack the moment they step out?!"

"They are truly determined to push us down!"

"There is an intent to demonstrate force, but it is also limited by the terrain — after all, this is a mountain passage!"

"Should we send troops out to strike?"

"The enemy cavalry on the opposite side hasn't moved at all; they're just watching from both flanks... no matter how many we send out, they'll be enveloped!"

"Their short-legged cavalry can maneuver in the Daishan Ridge; we cannot!"

"Are we to sit and watch them establish camp so close?!"

"They are certain we dare not come out!"

"A flock of clay chickens and pottery dogs!" Amid the clamor of debate, Gongsun Xun, who had been staring ahead for a long while, suddenly spoke, then sneered without cease.

Everyone was stunned... most did not know how to respond to that remark for a moment!

"My lord speaks truly!" After a long pause, it was Mo Hugou who cast aside all face and was the first to echo. "A flock of clay chickens and pottery dogs, unable to withstand a single blow!"

Yet Mo Hugou's rare words of agreement did not earn him a favorable reaction from Gongsun Xun; the latter even shot him a direct, icy glare:

"Then, Headman Mo Hu, why don't you explain to us exactly how the enemy are clay chickens and pottery dogs?"

Mo Hugou immediately shut his mouth, not daring to speak.

"I ask you all, why did the enemy execute men before the battle formation, and moreover execute a great noble of their own country?" Gongsun Xun pointed with one hand at the gory mess of flesh and blood before the camp gate, while his other hand gripped his saber as he questioned them sternly.

Because of Mo Hugou's example as a warning, no one dared answer for a moment.

"Zibo, what were we about to do when we brought him up here?" Gongsun Xun then pointed at Mi Ru, who was kneeling there, merely staring blankly out beyond the camp gate in a daze.

"Kill him to consecrate the banners..." Lou Gui answered quietly.

"Why kill him to consecrate the banners?" Gongsun Xun pressed sternly, then answered his own question. "Because the enemy's formation is strict and disciplined, their numbers are great, and we feared our morale was low — that is why we meant to use this to boost morale!"

Lou Zibo's eyes lit up: "Young Lord, do you mean... the enemy also lacks confidence, which is why they would go to such lengths and make such a spectacle?"

"What else could it be?" Gongsun Xun shot back. "Such a pretentious, grand commotion, just to shift blame? The chieftain of one of the five great tribes of the country, killed just like that — what will the rest of the Guanna Tribe think? Won't the nobles of the other tribes feel the grief of the hunted hare for its kind? Isn't Minglin Physician old and near death? Hasn't he reached the point of resorting to such a desperate gambit to secure Goguryeo's stability for twenty years after his passing? Or to put it another way, if Minglin Physician were truly full of confidence, able to take Zuoyuan in one stroke with the absolute force at hand, then why would he commit this act that is destined to bring endless trouble in the future?"

"Because he arrived here, saw us arrayed in full readiness, and had no confidence at all that he could take it in one stroke!" Seeing that everyone was silent yet each was listening intently, Gongsun Xun sneered and took it upon himself to explain further. "And his retreat now to set up camp — is it not because he knows in his heart that the tens of thousands of troops under his command are of insufficient quality, and after coming such a long distance, they are utterly incapable of fighting immediately?!"

The expressions of many officers on the platform gradually relaxed somewhat... although they understood that Gongsun Xun was ultimately still boosting morale, they could not deny the logic in his words. And boosting morale was, in itself, a matter of convincing the men.

"As for why they set up camp just over two li away." Gongsun Xun continued pointing ahead and spoke sternly. "It is true that they intend to press us by using the terrain, and it is also true that it facilitates launching attacks... but have you considered that such a design also carries the intent of making it easy for the main army to withdraw and escape should things go awry?!"

The crowd was puzzled for a moment, but Gongsun Xun soon made it crystal clear.

"The enemy's strength lies in numbers; our army's strength lies in quality. In particular, our army has many cavalry, always adept at field battles. Although ahead is still within the mountain range, the passage gradually widens and can already be used for cavalry pursuit... In other words, if the enemy's attack on our main camp goes poorly and they turn to retreat, and our cavalry then pursues in their wake, the Goguryeo men will inevitably collapse in total rout — there is absolutely no other possibility! But now, with their camp placed so close, how can our cavalry calmly form ranks between the two camps?"

Everyone suddenly saw the light... the enemy's move indeed obstructed the cavalry from forming up. At a distance of just over two li, if cavalry surged out from the camp gate and then tried to form ranks in front of the camp, they would likely suffer direct attacks from the enemy's fortifications, making it impossible for the cavalry to establish formation.

"Minglin Physician has actually already lost his nerve before the fight!" Thinking of this, Gongsun Fan could not help but cry out. "He's even thinking of running away."

"Exactly that!" Gongsun Xun's sneer grew even colder. "Gentlemen, I ask you again... why has the war come to this present state? Why would the Goguryeo people not hesitate to use Zuoyuan as bait and undertake such a desperate gambit? Yaya Keli did it to earn merit, to become Minglin Physician's successor — then why would Minglin Physician, a wretched old man near death, agree to this?"

At these words, even the dull-eyed Mi Ru turned his head slightly.

"Please enlighten us, my lord." Lou Gui stepped forward half a pace and asked with a solemn cupped-hand salute.

"It is very simple — because the internal situation of Goguryeo has already become unbearable." Gongsun Xun, hand on his saber, surveyed his subordinate officers — some thoughtful, some bewildered — with an imposing air. "Back then, when Minglin Physician carried out the deposition and enthronement, he nearly slaughtered the royal clan to the last man. And while his own tribe, the Chuanna, rose in power above the other four tribes, it still could not completely suppress the remaining four by its strength alone... In other words, the political balance of the six clans that had sustained Goguryeo for nearly two hundred years since its founding was utterly destroyed by him. While he is alive, he can still paper over these matters with his personal prestige, but he himself knows full well that the moment he dies, Goguryeo will inevitably erupt in civil strife! It is precisely because of this that he agreed to Yaya Keli's proposal, attempting to use a great victory to complete the internal handover of power! Little did he expect it to be so easily foiled by us!"

Such high-level political analysis was almost unimaginable to everyone present... they were merely sons of noble houses, senior military officers, headmen of a tribe. If Gongsun Xun had not spoken, how could they possibly have thought of such intricacies? Yet once he did, they all felt as if a blockage had suddenly been cleared.

"Gentlemen," Gongsun Xun looked around at those beside him, "by now, do you still not understand? Goguryeo's national fortune is already in decline, yet we, by a twist of fate, have come to this place and hold all the initiative... Is this not the Mandate of Heaven bestowed upon us?! When Heaven bestows its mandate upon one's person, to miss the opportunity and delay is to invite Heaven's punishment!"

Everyone's faces changed in unison.

"Hear my orders!" Gongsun Xun suddenly drew his broken blade, its conspicuously long hilt highly distinctive. "Gongsun Yue, Gongsun Fan!"

"Yes!" The two men hastily knelt.

"The left and right camps must also face the Goguryeo main army directly. You two are my own blood brothers and must set an example with your own actions!" Gongsun Xun instructed expressionlessly. "It was decided at yesterday's council of war — Gongsun Yue to the left camp, Gongsun Fan to the right camp... Now, I have one more word for you both: unless our army launches a major counteroffensive, neither of you is permitted to leave camp a single step. Should either of you leave camp without authorization, I will surely hang your heads here as a warning to all! I will never go back on my word!"

"We respectfully obey our elder brother's command!" The two dared not say more and immediately knelt again in assent.

"Mo Hugou!"

"Present!"

"You and the Mo Hu tribe will follow Gongsun Yue to the left camp!"

"Yes!"

"Duan Riyuming!"

"Present!"

"You and your Duan tribe will follow Gongsun Fan to the right camp!"

"Xu Rong!"

"Present."

"You are most familiar with the Goguryeo people. I entrust the entire frontal defense line before the main camp to your handling!"

"Yes!"

"Tadun, you will be Xu Rong's deputy... For now, the shock cavalry is temporarily useless. Break your unit into detached squads and integrate them into the Han army ranks, to take turns in the line."

"Yes!"

"Shuzhi!"

"Your subordinate is here."

"Have Jian Juwei and his Fuyu men lend you a hand for now, handling logistics. You must ensure the supply of frontline military necessities!"

"I respectfully obey the Prefect's command."

"Take down this banner," Gongsun Xun pointed to the White Horse banner overhead and said, "This place must be yielded to Marshal Xu and Headman Tadun. I will move my main command banner to the high platform in the rear camp... The same as with Gongsun Fan and Gongsun Yue — unless it is a counteroffensive, I will absolutely not leave the central army's main camp by half a step! Zibo will assist me, coordinating and dispatching support to all sectors!"

"Yes!"

"Lastly, Han Dang shall serve as my chief rider, leading the supervising troops of my own righteous retinue to inspect every camp. Should any man retreat without orders... execute him on the spot with no mercy! For Han troops, their families will be implicated; for Hu riders, their tribes will be implicated! But if we are victorious, I shall take not a single profit from this battle — all shall go to those below! You may relay these words to every soldier. I, Gongsun Xun, will never go back on my word!" Having said this, Gongsun Xun once more cut his hand with his blade and smeared blood upon his face. "Taiyi above, Heaven's mandate is with us in this battle. Now, all of you, move out!"

The assembled commanders were all horrified, yet they could not help but be stirred. Then, one after another, they drew their blades and cut open their palms, smearing blood on their faces and pointing to the heavens to bear witness to their resolve. Even Wang Xiu did the same.

"What shall be done with this man?" Just as everyone was about to disperse, Lou Zibo could not help but frown and point toward Mi Ru, whose expression was utterly blank and stupefied.

"Place him in the central army for now," Gongsun Xun cast a light glance at the man, but could not be bothered to say more. "Perhaps he is already broken, but perhaps he may still be of use!"

With those words, Gongsun Xun ignored the blood dripping from his palm, gripped his blade directly, and strode down from the temporary wooden high platform at the very front of the main camp, heading proudly toward the taller, permanent high-platform fortifications further back.

The night passed without incident. The next morning, both armies ate their fill, and at last they formally engaged in battle!

"These next two days will likely be the hardest to endure," Lou Gui remarked, standing atop the high platform. Perhaps because of the greater distance and height, the dense mass of Goguryeo soldiers surging forward seemed to him exactly like swarming ants, and he could not help but change color. "The Goguryeo men's morale is at its peak, and their numbers are simply too great!"

"It is not so exaggerated," Gongsun Xun said expressionlessly, watching the situation ahead. "Though the Goguryeo men are many, they have no order whatsoever, unlike our army, which relies on the camp ramparts and is in perfect formation. Moreover, the width of the engagement front at the line is decided by us — they cannot commit too many troops at once. Besides, although their morale is high, they lack sufficient means to assault fortifications!"

Lou Gui watched the place where fighting had already begun ahead, then slowly nodded.

In truth, the Goguryeo men, who had originally only prepared to set an ambush for field battle, truly lacked any preparation for assaulting fortifications!

On the Han army's side, there were first of all the permanent camp walls that the Goguryeo men themselves had built... over a decade of construction, they had essentially been turned into brick and stone. Then, over these past few days, the Han army had relied on these camp walls to erect a large number of wooden defensive structures atop them. Though very crude, these were enough to allow the archers to occupy the high ground and shoot down. Beyond that, the Han army had specially constructed two lines of wooden palisades in front of the camp walls, then piled up earthen barricades and dug out trenches, thereby forming an effective forward-protruding defense for the camp walls.

Even at this moment, inside the camp walls, Wang Xiu and Jian Weiju were still continuing to make palisades under the cover of the walls, preparing to transport them forward for repairs.

And so it was that when countless Goguryeo men, urged on by the cavalry behind them and amid the beating of drums, raised the Golden Frog banners and surged forward with loud shouts, they were indeed utterly helpless before the palisades!

These men rushed up to the palisades, first having no choice but to slide into the trenches. When they climbed out again, long spears thrust out from behind the palisades, calmly striking them down — to say nothing of the arrows that rained down incessantly from the high wall behind, firing directly into the massed troops.

And the Goguryeo men's method of response also revealed a huge problem at this point: the power of their archery suppression was severely weakened by the palisades. From morning until noon, after finally managing, at the cost of enormous casualties, to fill the trenches in front of the palisades with earth, stone, and corpses, they discovered that the only siege equipment they had somewhat prepared — ladders of the crudest sort — were utterly useless against the palisades!

First, the palisades offered no foothold whatsoever. Even if one managed to climb up with great difficulty, one could only jump down from a palisade twice the height of a man... and after jumping down to face the Han army in tight formation, what could they possibly do?

Second, after setting up the ladders, when climbing across from the ladders, they simply could not raise their shields to provide themselves with effective protection. This kind of climbing was practically offering themselves as targets to the Han archers on the camp walls above!

The beating of drums, the shouts of killing, the wails of wounded Goguryeo soldiers, the cheers of the Han army, the shifting banners, the moving troops — everything filled the senses of every man.

Yet Gongsun Xun sat cross-legged beneath his White Horse banner, utterly disinclined to look at those Goguryeo soldiers dying in such absurdly laughable fashion. Instead, he stared fixedly, lost in thought, at the small old man beneath the opposite bordered Golden Frog banner. He knew very well in his heart that if Minglin Physician was truly a general of any caliber, then the Goguryeo soldiers sent forward so far were always meant to be low-grade sacrificial pawns serving as pathfinders!

When great armies clash, from the Regional Commander down, every man attends to his own duty.

Let alone these bottom-tier soldiers — even an entire army, at times, is nothing more than expendable goods to be used as a matter of course... This, Gongsun Xun had already learned back at the foot of Mount Danhan.

And sure enough, as the sound of gongs rose beside Minglin Physician, the Goguryeo men finally pulled back temporarily.

Yet, merely half a shichen later, the Goguryeo men came surging back — and this time, what they sent forth was actually a mixed force of cavalry and infantry!

"Cavalry assaulting fortifications?!"

Within the Han army's formation, no one knew how many men burst into mocking laughter... even Gongsun Xun did the same for a moment.

However, after only a few breaths, Gongsun Xun, looking down from his high vantage point, suddenly changed color... for he clearly noticed that in the enemy infantry formation charging at the front, there were no more wooden ladders. And when these shield-bearing infantry rushed up to the wooden palisades, they actually threw out knotted hemp ropes! As for the other ends of the ropes, they were conspicuously tied to the mounts of those cavalrymen.

"Don't shoot the men!" Xu Rong at the front line immediately made the correct response. "The beasts! All of you, aim your arrows at those mules and horses!"

But just as the order was being relayed, one section of the palisade was already dragged down, tilting and collapsing, pulled by mules, horses, and Goguryeo soldiers together.

That Minglin Physician was indeed no man of empty reputation — he had almost immediately found an effective method to counter the Han army's palisades... Wooden palisades, if you can't climb over them, then just pull them down.

The Han army instantly fell into a passive position.

—————I am the passive dividing line—————

"The Grand Ancestor faced the Goguryeo army in battle at Zuoyuan. At that time, the Han army numbered only eight thousand, while the Goguryeo had over fifty thousand, all surging forward raising Golden Frog banners. The assembled commanders beheld this from the platform, and one after another changed color, not daring to speak. Only the Grand Ancestor remained calm and smiled, speaking thoroughly of the Goguryeo's strengths and weaknesses, and entrusting victory or defeat to Heaven's mandate. All sighed in admiration, and together they smeared blood and swore an oath, and morale was thus roused... When the left and right each attended to their duties, Lou Zibo alone remained at the side of the central army and pressed the question of Heaven's mandate. The Grand Ancestor sighed and said: 'Why speak of Heaven's mandate? How could I possibly know the Goguryeo's Heaven's mandate? Yet were it not so, could the hearts of the multitude be steadied?' Zibo thereupon sighed in admiration." — New Book of Yan, Volume 1, Annals of the Martial Emperor, Grand Ancestor

PS: Thanks to Tangyouguozi Douhuafan... this old reader, whose name has become a fixed entry in my Sogou input method, for the red-tipped reward... These past two weeks I've had to have dinner with my parents every evening and can only type on my phone, which is truly frustrating, and I can only do my best to keep up the updates... Still, 178k updated over the whole of July... actually feels like I've broken a record.

Also, new book group 684558115, everyone can join.

(End of chapter)