Chapter 34: Section Thirteen

"I have already been entrusted by Lord Wang with the heavy responsibility of vanguard commander. Tomorrow, our Guangning grand army will march on Zhenwu. Gentlemen, return now and prepare. Huang Shi, you stay for a moment." After Sun Degong finished issuing orders at the military camp, he told Huang Shi to come with him to his residence to discuss confidential matters. Sun Degong had to change his clothes first upon returning home, so Huang Shi stood waiting outside the study.

The dear girl slipped over wanting to speak, but Huang Shi gestured for her to be silent, and she withdrew to one side to wait.

Huang Shi knew what she wanted to say. After the information had been passed on, Yang Luhuo had also made his report. According to him, before he could even open his mouth, the Sun family's young lady had summoned him for questioning. After hearing his account of the whole story, she had even rewarded him with several taels of silver, and the dear girl had also been endlessly grateful. Over the past two days, Yang Luhuo had already begun spreading the word about how Huang Shi had stood up for those three personal guards.

After entering the study and closing the door, Sun Degong first smiled at Huang Shi: "Is my daughter wanting to tell me and her mother again that she wants to go out to tread the snow? Don't expect my wife to agree this time. Treading the snow until you vanished for nearly three shichen — Huang Shi, you've got quite some nerve."

Huang Shi opened his mouth to offer a few words of explanation, but Sun Degong gave him no chance. He spread out the map of Liaodong. "Let's talk serious business."

"What orders does my lord have?"

Sun Degong appeared very leisurely, unhurriedly studying Guangning, Haizhou, and other places for a long while: "Xiao Huang, come look. Here is Zhenwu, and here is Haizhou. Our position is very secure."

Huang Shi studied the map for a moment, then pointed to the main road leading to Guangning: "Has no one suggested going to Xiping Fort? In my humble opinion, if the Guangning grand army truly wants to take the initiative and strike, the position for deploying troops tomorrow should be Xiping Fort!"

In the history Huang Shi originally knew:

On the twenty-first day of the first month of the Tianqi reign, the Later Jin army took advantage of the frozen Sancha River to ford the Liao River. The Guangning army's river defense forces resisted for less than half a day before collapsing along the entire line. On the broad, smooth road leading to Liaoyang, Xiping Fort blocked the Later Jin grand army like a solid boulder.

Sun Degong shot Huang Shi a quick glance: "Xiao Huang, your eye is very sharp. Luo Yiguan proposed Xiping Fort, but I opposed it, so Wang Huazhen let him go there, while the Guangning garrison headquarters is to go to Zhenwu."

Huang Shi: "..."

"Are you wondering how I could have prevailed over Regional Commander Luo?" Seeing Huang Shi's expression, Sun Degong smiled: "Xiping Fort is indeed the most direct and most likely route of advance, but I told Wang Huazhen that we must also guard against the Great Jin launching a surprise move, so deploying the main army at Zhenwu is safer — it can respond to all four directions."

These words made Huang Shi nod repeatedly as well. It was indeed a prudent deployment, but he knew that since there was a great traitor like Sun Degong within, the Later Jin would inevitably take the main road and strike straight for Xiping Fort. He said hesitantly: "Regional Commander Luo is a fierce general of the Guangning army. With this man there, Xiping Fort will likely be very hard to take."

"True, true. Regional Commander Luo Yiguan is indeed a fierce general. However, Xiping Fort is not his directly subordinate unit," Sun Degong explained nonchalantly. "Wang Huazhen has ordered that the well-equipped Guangning garrison headquarters troops are all to remain by his side, so Luo Yiguan has to go alone. Xiping Fort has only the river defense troops. Luo Yiguan commanding a bunch of officers he's never met before — it would be a wonder if he could command them with any flexibility."

Huang Shi's personal view in his heart: If the three thousand defenders of Xiping Fort had obeyed Regional Commander Luo's command, instead of repeatedly sallying out on their own initiative and squandering most of their limited strength in several counterattacks, then perhaps they could have held out until reinforcements arrived.

"But Zhenwu Fort is only a short journey of one shichen from Xiping Fort," Huang Shi raised his final question. "Once the Xiping scouts confirm the route of the Khan's grand army, they will immediately race to report to Wang Huazhen. Can the Khan take Xiping Fort in time? If not, the Khan will be caught in a pincer attack by sixty thousand Guangning troops."

"This is why I called you here today." Sun Degong smiled enigmatically, his finger then pointing to several ink dots on the map — all situated between Xiping Fort and Zhenwu Fort. Huang Shi nervously craned his neck to look, knowing they had reached the crux of today's discussion.

"Master—" After leaving the study, Huang Shi was led by the dear girl to a deserted spot in the courtyard.

After making her obeisance, the dear girl did not rise. Before she had finished half a sentence, a tearful tone crept into her voice: "This servant knows she was wrong, and submits to whatever punishment or scolding Master sees fit."

"Don't call me Master. Your current master is still Lord Sun, I believe."

"Yes, Young Master." The dear girl bitterly reproached herself for bullying others by abusing her position. Her slender, delicate figure trembled constantly, as if a gust of wind could blow her away. After cursing herself, she raised her head pitifully and stole a glance at Huang Shi. Finding that Huang Shi was also watching her, she immediately dropped her head again like a startled little bird. Not a trace remained of the way she had bared fangs and brandished claws at the personal guards that day.

What a pity this girl never had the chance to act in films. If the performance was to help Yang Luhuo round out the lie, then it would have been enough by this point. But Huang Shi wanted to probe the dear girl for some information, so he had to keep it going: "Everything you said was from the heart."

"Yes, this servant will never dare do it again."

Huang Shi would never believe words like "never dare." As long as power was distributed in a pyramidal structure, those close to the powerful would always possess a natural advantage. This was what was meant by "a seventh-rank official at the chancellor's gate" — the one running the project is not as good as the one driving the leader's car; the one fighting in the gulf is not as good as the one playing golf with the president.

"You must feel very wronged." Huang Shi was searching for a way to handle her, because he was determined to learn from her the young lady Sun's true reaction.

The dear girl said resolutely: "This servant does not feel wronged."

What a dishonest girl! Huang Shi had no choice but to abandon the idea of direct questioning: "Then how did you know I was angry about this?"

The dear girl immediately recounted the spiritual journey of a penitent — how after returning home she reflected on her words and deeds, how a flash of insight came to her, how she confessed to the young lady Sun, and finally, with the young lady Sun's help and encouragement, how her soul was elevated, and she resolved to unite closely around the young lady Sun, the future Lady Huang, to work hard and solidly, contributing her meager strength to the building of the Huang household.

"Oh, so that's how it is." Huang Shi struggled to keep himself from laughing. This little girl was truly amusing. But the thought was only fleeting, because he was surprised to find that the girl had responded appropriately — in this long, lengthy speech, there was actually no flaw.

"Yang Luhuo told you, didn't he?"

"No," the dear girl answered immediately, then asked timidly: "Why does Master say that?"

Her reaction was also very quick. Huang Shi began to grow impatient: "I'm right, aren't I?"

"No. Ah — this servant was impertinent, but it truly was not something anyone said."

"I have only spoken of this matter with Yang Luhuo. You need not conceal it."

"This servant does not know any Yang Luhuo, nor did this servant hear it from anyone else."

He had not seen that she was also a girl of great loyalty. A sense of frustration kept welling up in Huang Shi's heart, and this feeling made him say loudly: "If you won't answer honestly, then don't enter my household's gate. Speak quickly — did Yang Luhuo tell you or not? Otherwise, you can go bid farewell to the young lady."

The dear girl kept her head lowered, her shoulders twitching once, but she still insisted: "No."

At his wits' end, the fury in Huang Shi's chest burst from his throat. He cried out loudly: "Excellent. I'll ask no more. Go back yourself and tell the young lady — you need not come along as part of the dowry."