大唐双龙传 [Da Tang Shuang Long Zhuan] by Huang Yi

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[wangxiaohu]

We want more! We want more!

[foxs]

Jaya, you are welcome. Xiaohu, here it is. <-- I think this is the shortest comment I've ever written.

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Xu Ziling said, “We’d better think carefully first, this time Li Mi marches his troops in secret, he must have given it a lot of considerations; it will not be that easy for us to see through it.”

Yang Gongqing agreed; he said, “The tunnels could have been excavated in advance, other things would have been arranged properly beforehand, Mount Mang stretches out for several hundred li, to find carefully hidden troops in such a short time is easier said than done. While the war is imminent [orig. pressing in on one's eyelashes], we’d better decide if we want to turn our back to the city, or to defend Yanshi to the death.”

Kou Zhong shook his head emphatically; he said, “We will proceed according to plan. Only if we cannot locate his main force will we change plan to hold fast to the city. At least we still have one day and one night to exhaust all possibilities.”

Yang Gongqing pondered silently for half a day; finally he asked Xuan Yong, “How’s the situation on Wagang Army’s side?”

Xuan Yong replied, “Remaining in Jinyong are Wang Bodang’s force. Li Mi’s another great general Bing Yuanzhen is guarding Luokou. The two cities’ military force is less than ten thousand men. Commanding the new army recruits pretending to attack Yanshi is Shan Xiongxin. This man has a very deep rift with Wang Bodang over a courtesan, but he himself is a talented field commander.”

“How’s Bing Yuanzhen?” Kou Zhong asked.

Xuan Yong replied disdainfully, “This man’s skill in military strategy and tactics is not bad, he is adept at defending a city, but he lacks guts, definitely not a talent in charging and breaking through enemy’s lines.”

And then, with a cold humph he said, “Shan Xiongxin, Bing Yuanzhen, and the others are Wagang Army’s old generals; they don’t have too good of a relationship with Pei Renji, Xu Shiji, Shen Luoyan, Wang Bodang, and their group, new upstarts that Wang Shichong dotes on and trusts. Therefore, if we can break through Li Mi’s troops, I guarantee Wagang Army will be split up and in pieces, each commander will defend their own unit, and when the time comes, if we use reconciliatory technique, each unit of Li Mi’s army will fall without a fight. Question is how can we break Li Mi’s ambushing troop hidden on Mount Mang.”

Yang Gongqing sighed helplessly and said, “In that case I will quietly wait in here for your good news.”

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong, Xu Ziling, Linglong Jiao, and Xuan Yong, four people stood on one of Mount Mang’s peaks, looking around as far as their eyes could see. The mountain stretched out endlessly in all direction, the cliff was as red as cinnabar, strange-looking peaks everywhere. Under the rain and the fog, the dense forest looked like a hazy emptiness. The landscape seemed to be changing indeterminately, creating a strange, yet serene, scenery.

The deep valley at the back of the mountain looked even denser with ancient trees and thick vegetation, standing upright on the sloping hills, like an imperial canopy covering the heaven.

The mountain’s topography was strategic and easy to defend; pine and cypress, mountain elm, resplendent and beautiful, grew along the bluish-green stream at the valley floor, and took roots on the steep, dangerous cliffs.

Mount Mang was definitely wonderful and beautiful; no wonder Laojun Temple was built on the Cui Yun Peak of this mountain. But to find a group of forty-thousand soldier on this boundless big mountain, like Yang Gongqing said, they could only rely on their luck.

“Which direction is the Laojun Guan?” Kou Zhong asked.

Linglong Jiao pointed to the direction of Jinyong city and said, “It’s on the northeasterly direction from Jinyong city toward Mount Mang, about only half a day or horse ride from Yanshi city, not including the part of the road leading up the mountain.”

Kou Zhong nodded and said, “In any case, in order to meet Shan Xiongxin’s force, Li Mi can’t possibly pick a place too far from Yanshi to set up his ambush. Forty thousand is not a small number. As long as we check everywhere on Mount Mang region north of Yanshi, we are bound to find a bit of sign. There’s not much time; while right now it is hard to tell drizzle and fog apart, the low visibility is going to provide cover for us. Let’s go!”

※ ※ ※

The drizzling rain was getting heavier, entering the deep mountain was like entering a blurry realm out of the mortal world, even recognizing the mountain path was difficult, forget about looking for the enemy’s track.

Given the circumstances, even Linglong Jiao was at her wits’ end.

After dark, the search process would be even more difficult.

“How about we meet Da Xiaojie first?” Xuan Yong made a suggestion, “With more manpower, the chance of success will increase.”

Kou Zhong shook his head, “If the enemy found us out, they might ambush our ambushing troops, then our plan will fizzle out.”

Xu Ziling spoke heavily, “How about going to Laojun Guan to try our luck? In order to be able to march quickly across the mountain, Li Mi must have had the horses and army provisions shipped in advance somewhere on the mountain. And there is no better place than the Laojun Guan, since the demon Taoists over there are in collusion with Li Mi.”

Frowning, Kou Zhong said, “That is a reasonable speculation, but Laojun Guan is located on Cui Yun Peak, going up the mountain is not too convenient!”

Severely shaken, Xuan Yong said, “Kou Ye, I guess you don’t know, under the Cui Yun Peak, there is Cui Yun Valley, and in this valley, they built more than a dozen exquisite buildings dedicated to house visiting worshippers who wants to stay over a short period of time, or perhaps pursue short-term meditation. Furthermore, there is also a wide expanse of forest in that valley. Pitching camp in that forest will definitely be hidden from view.”

Kou Zhong was pleasantly surprised, “From Cui Yun Valley to Yanshi across Mount Mang, how long will it take?” he asked.

Xuan Yong said, “There is a mountain path from there, at most one sichen they could be out of the mountain. And then several dozen li of open grassland. If they are all cavalry, and they ride fast, perhaps they could reach Yanshi in less than two sichen.”

Kou Zhong slapped his forehead and said with a laugh, “Now we are talking. Li Mi and Shen poniang! You owe me; this time we will wipe the slate clean!”

※ ※ ※

Laojun Guan was located on the summit of the majestically towering Cui Yun Peak, amidst the dense forest, surrounded by bluish-green hills and a precipitous cliff on one side, with deep ravine extending several zhang down from the top of the mountain to the valley below. If one could climb to the summit, one would be able to see the Yellow River to the north, and Luo River to the south. This moment, in the dark, misty emptiness, where it was hard to distinguish the rain from the fog, the place looked like an eminent and unapproachable legendary abode of the immortals; who would have thought that the head of this monastery was a top figure of the heretical sect?

Cui Yun Valley was located at the foot of the Cui Yun Peak; the valley was wide open and flat, with a cluster of more than a dozen buildings with whitewashed wall and dark colored roof situated at the fringe of the forest on the north side of the valley, crisscrossed by small paths, adorned by thickets of wild flower and luxuriant fragrant grass. In the distance, under the rich bluish-green color of the mountain, lined by layer upon layer of mountain range, there were distinct yellow, alternating with green, rice fields. The scenery looked like a painting; certainly it looked like a sacred ground of the garden of peach blossom spring, making it more difficult to think about the demon Taoists and the waiting for dawn, with head resting on a spear soldiers [idiom: fully prepared and biding their time before the battle].”

The mouth of the valley at the southern end was a large area of cypress and elm forest. In this kind of weather, if there were indeed army camp hidden within the forest, even looking down from an elevation, it would still be difficult to see.

Right outside the valley’s entrance, the mountain path was sloping down, through the gorge, and continued winding down. But because of the mountain terrain, they could not see the plains south of the valley.

Kou Zhong’s heart was moved; he said, “If Li Mi’s troops are hiding in the forest, how come we can’t even hear one neighing horse?”

This moment, Linglong Jiao, who was out on reconnaissance duty, returned with happy expression, “Just as expected,” she spoke excitedly, “Inside the valley, in the middle of the forest, there are tents everywhere, full of Wagang army; but I did not see warhorse, mules or other beasts. Looks like there is another storehouse hidden elsewhere, so that they would not have to climb in hardship.”

Everybody was greatly delighted.

Kou Zhong said, “Xiao Ling and I will stay here to continue keeping a close watch on them, you two go back separately to notify Da Xiaojie and Da Jiangjun [great general]; everything may proceed according to plan.”

After a short deliberation, they agreed on how to contact each other, where to meet, and other particulars. And then Xuan Yong and Linglong Jiao left happily.

By dusk, the rain stopped, the sky was clear. The situation in the valley was plainly visible. From their vantage point atop a dangerous cliff, they could faintly see the tents hidden within the forest. Also from time to time they saw soldiers going back and forth from the camp to the buildings.

Kou Zhong was crouching among the grass and the trees. It was quite a long time before he spoke, “Xiao Ling! I have a nagging feeling that something is not right.”

Xu Ziling, lying on his back by Kou Zhong’s side, said, “Is it because you cannot see Shen Luoyan’s flat-haired bird, or perhaps because you see a camp without any horse?”

Kou Zhong did not answer, but asked him a question instead, “We have been harmed by Shen poniang many times, and every time we nearly fell into her evil scheme. If our intelligence and wisdom is so useless, where do you think her formidability lies?”

Xu Ziling pondered quietly for a moment, and then he replied in agreement, “You did not exaggerate. Speaking about plotting and tricks, employing stratagem while chatting and laughing, we seem to always fall into disadvantageous position; from Zhai Rang got killed to Wang Shichong badly injured, not a single time we won against her.”

Thinking hard, Kou Zhong said, “Do you remember when we first met her, we made a bet that we would surrender if we were captured three times? She laid out the ‘Old Man of the Plains’ Mo Cheng trap, as if she could predict without being a clairvoyant she let us board the pirate ship on our own, and yet capsized his own boat on the torrent among the rocks on purpose, taking advantage of our kindness in trying to rescue him, the senior, to get us under her control [see Book 3 Chapter 4]. Each time she demonstrated her ability to fathom the opponent’s psyche, which varies from person to person. That being the case, how could she not guess that we might come to Laojun Guan to take a look? Don’t you think it’s stupid for us to hide in here?”

Xu Ziling suddenly crawled up and joined him looking down into the valley below. Severely shaken, he said, “You are right. The army camp down below must be one of Shen Luoyan’s schemes. Out of ten tents, I bet you that nine are empty. As long as they have several thousand soldiers in here as the decoy, they could make us mistakenly believe that Wagang’s wonder troops are hiding in here, while the real wonder troops are elsewhere. This is bad! How are we going to find them after dark?”

“We can only do our best,” Kou Zhong said, “No matter what, the real ambushing troops can’t be too far away from Yanshi. Therefore, they must be somewhere on the mountain, in some similar environment, so that they don’t have to worry the sound of neighing horses might spread far and wide. Come! Let’s get down and investigate clearly whether we accuse Shen poniang wrongly before deciding what to do.”

[wangxiaohu]

Jaya, you are welcome. Xiaohu, here it is. <-- I think this is the shortest comment I've ever written.

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I believe it is..

It turned out that, more is not enough...

[hungryhero]

Thanks foxs.
This plotting, tricks and schemes of the boys is really make my brain has to work twice harder. And your translation speed is formidable.. I will try to keep it up..

[chualot]

Thanks foxs. Looking forward to the day they graduate from jianghu celebrities into military commanders.

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[wangxiaohu]

Waiting for something in the dark....

[wangxiaohu]

Still waiting...

[foxs]

Xiaohu, what I meant was: only two of you cared enough to leave a comment. hungry, sometimes I had more time, sometimes less. chua, I believe they are already military commanders (remember Jingling?). Jaya, you are welcome.

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Book 18 Chapter 8 – Pincher Attack From Front and Rear

The two boys sat down dejectedly on a hilltop outside Mount Mang.

In the sky, layers of clouds covered the moon. On the plain down below was a faint circle of light, which was the city of Yanshi north of Luo River.

For the full two sichen the two had been groping blindly in the mountains, straight from the city of Jinyong on the other side, yet they still did not see the least bit of the enemy’s track, so their strength was gone, their body weary, and it was all for nothing.

Kou Zhong cursed ferociously, “Must be because of the rain earlier today, washing away the ground that not only the traces, even the smell is gone.”

Xu Ziling shook his head and said, “It was just a drizzle; the traces ought to remain.”

Smiling bitterly, Kou Zhong said, “Of course there are traces, but all led to Laojun Temple. Hey!”

“What is it?” Xu Ziling asked.

Kou Zhong thought aloud, “Didn’t Xuan Yong said that at the quickest rate, Li Mi’s main force would still need one night to travel the tunnel north toward Mount Mang? Why was it that outside Jinyong just now, the water was still, without the slightest bit of different condition?”

The two boys shook at the same time; they came to their senses.

Kou Zhong sighed and said, “Good Shen poniang! She is really formidable; this must be ‘stealth dragon turns into a phoenix’ tactic, using the new army recruits to substitute the elite troops, while the elite troops borrow the new army recruits as a cover, secretly heading to a place that would be advantageous to launch a sudden attack. This ruse is indeed very formidable; we nearly fall for it.”

Xu Ziling spoke in distress, “It’s less than two sichen to daybreak, where will we find the ambushing troops?”

Kou Zhong said, “Li Mi’s elite troops departed Jinyong the day before yesterday, resting during the day, and walking at night; perhaps right now they are still on the way toward their camp. Such a grandiose forty thousand cavalry, if they want to avoid other people’s eyes and ears, they could only hide somewhere before reaching Mount Mang. That means they still had to go around a circle to get to this side; either they are still pressing on toward the destination, or they are going to arrive soon. Let’s go quickly!”

“Don’t be anxious,” Xu Ziling said, “If we guessed wrong this time, we’ll lose the one-in-a-thousand-year opportunity to defeat Li Mi. Under the circumstances, either Shan Xiongxin’s new army or Li Mi’s wonder troops [Translator’s note: again, here I want to contrast 新兵 (xin bing), new army recruits, with 奇兵 (qi bing), troops appearing suddenly (in a raid or ambush). See my previous note in Chapter 5.], the only feasible strategy is to have their troop disposition with Mount Mang on their back; that way they can avoid trouble from the rear. Therefore, we can safely assume that Shan Xiongxin’s new army recruits would pitch their camp north of Yanshi, with Mount Mang on their back. They are going to lure Yanshi’s army to attack, while Li Mi’s main force is hiding somewhere on the mountaintop in the vicinity of Mount Mang; this way it would be more convenient for a light cavalry to attack. If that is the case, the place where Li Mi’s forces are hiding is ready to appear at the call!”

Kou Zhong stuck his ear on the ground. It was quite a while later that he sat up and said with a wry smile, “Shen poniang must have her troops wrap their horses’ hooves; Xiaodi cannot hear the slightest bit of noise.”

Xu Ziling sprang up and said, “In that case, we must use our feet to walk, and use our eyes to look!”

※ ※ ※

The two boys withdrew into an underbrush; Shen Luoyan’s strange bird circled twice in the air before flying far away.

The two boys crossed over the underbrush toward the opposite hillside, and looked down toward the forest below. They saw army tents extending forever into the distance, everything was clear and in good order, separated from the grassland between Mount Mang and the city of Yanshi only by a hill. If the cavalry rode fast over the hill, they would be able to touch Yanshi’s city wall in just one sichen; it was definitely very convenient, while also extremely hidden.

From here to Cui Yun Valley was about fifty li. This place was northeast of the city of Yanshi. Beyond, there were vast grassland and sparse forest and shrubbery. If Shan Xiongxin pitched camp due north of Yanshi, leaning against Mount Mang, then this place became the horn from which the attacking momentum was the greatest; it was indeed following the art of war to the letter.

Kou Zhong leaned over to Xu Ziling and whispered in his ear, “Now we split up. You go to Yanshi and tell Yang Gongqing to send troops immediately, taking advantage while Li Mi’s legs are still unsteady, the people weary their horses tired, to brandish our troops and dominate the weak with the strong. I go to Zhai Jiao; while Li Mi’s storehouse is busy serving the battle, we will set fire and attack the camp from the rear, so that he will face the enemy from front and rear. After we capture Shen poniang, I will send her to you to become your convenience-wife for a night. Ha!”

Xu Ziling crossly said, “Remember the firework signal; you must not miss this striking opportunity. Don’t let Shen Luoyan’s strange bird find you first. Ay! It’s coming again!”

The strange bird returned. This time it flew straight toward their hiding place; it seemed to have found them.

Xu Ziling gathered his power and waited with full concentration.

Who would have thought that the strange bird circled one time, and then flew up high into the sky, let out a cry and went away?

Kou Zhong said, “Luckily that flat-haired beast cannot talk; otherwise we will be in trouble. Why haven’t you left?”

※ ※ ※

‘Bang!

Yang Gongqing slapped the table and rose up; laughing aloud, he said, “Li Mi is indeed a grandmaster in using odd strategy, but this time he comes across a tiger; he is using odd tactic to invite disaster. I am going to have him able to come but will not able to leave.”

The crowd of high-ranking military officers stood up with a loud rumble, everybody was in high spirit, the morale was very high.

Wang Xuanshu was so excited that his eyes shone, his handsome face brightened.

Although Xu Ziling’s natural disposition was subdued and usually let things take their own course [Taoist doctrine of inaction], yet infected by the atmosphere of the army camp, he also had his blood racing.

Thinking about Li Mi’s treachery and his ruthlessness, killing people like discarding weeds, also thinking about the innocent maids, servants and children of Zhai Rang Mansion, Ren En and his brothers’ demise, he really wished he could chop off Li Mi’s head.

Yang Gongqing spoke with a huff, “The army is ready and waiting, everything has been properly prepared.”

And then he shouted to the more than twenty generals standing on either side, “We are going out of the city via the eastern gate, follow the river going east first, and then after winding around the forest we will change course to the north, straight toward Li Mi’s wonder troops’ hiding place.”

The generals accepted the order and left first.

Yang Gongqing turned to Xu Ziling and said, “I know Xu Xiongdi has never liked to brandish saber or using staff, but battlefield is not the same as Jianghu, weapon in hand is always a bit more convenient, what kind of weapon would Xu Xiongdi like to use?”

Xu Ziling shrugged his shoulders and said, “In that case, I’d like to trouble Yang Da Jiangjun to give me a lance!”

※ ※ ※

Kou Zhong, Zhai Jiao, and Tu Shufang, three people crouched low behind a huge boulder, looking into the distance through tall grass at the edge of the forest, to observe the activity in Li Mi’s camp.

Even in the darkness before dawn, which usually made people negligent and tired, Kou Zhong could still feel the blazing hatred spewing out of Zhai Jiao’s eyes; inwardly he decided that during the attack to the camp later, he must not leave her side even for a moment. Otherwise, if any unexpected misfortune came to this fiery-tempered, ugly yet proud and arrogant Big Miss, he would not be able to answer his sister Su.

Zhai Jiao’s voice, which sounded like it erupted suddenly from the gap between her teeth, spoke with hatred, “Li Mi, you have never thought that this day will come. You picked a campsite to emphasis your strength; presently there is no danger around the wide-open camp, the stream under the sloping hill, with forest on both sides, and there is no strategic pass to defend. Whether sneak attack or setting fire, both will make you bag your food and leave before you finish eating.”

A strange feeling welled up in Kou Zhong’s heart.

After going through the tragedy of having her household scattered and the people perished, although her temperament did not change, her knowledge and experience, as well as her attitude in facing problems, were totally different; she was not like the pampered, arrogant and willful ‘thousand-catty gold’ Miss of her previous life.

Tu Shufang said, “Li Mi did not make mistakes, because the main purpose of his military operation this time is to subdue the enemy using the ambushing troops. With his back toward the dangerous mountain, he tends to be unassuming. By choosing this place, which is easy to defend and easy to launch attack, if the troops from Yanshi arrive, he could ride up the hill, and regroup on the mountaintop. The only thing he left out by mistake is precisely our troops, which will attack from his back!”

This moment Xuan Yong came back from his hiding place, “The enemy has just eaten their dry rations, men and horses are trying to get some rest, even the soldiers on sentry duty are dozing off; this the best time to attack the camp. If after daybreak the construction battalion managed to dig trenches to lay out a defense all around the camp, the difference in the degree of difficulty in attacking the camp would be like heaven and earth, clouds and mud.”

Zhai Jiao impatiently said, “Xiao Zhong, what did you do? How come we have not seen Yanshi cavalry yet?”

Smiling apologetically, Kou Zhong said, “Don’t worry! Xiao Ling is handling it; don’t you trust him?”

Right this moment, from the sky came the sound of flapping wings.

Shen Luoyan’s strange bird, which was able to communicate with the spirits, flew in from the south, and danced a few circles over the camp with anxious movements. The camp immediately rose up in a roar, which rippled through entire camp in a short period of time.

Breathing out a sigh of relief, Kou Zhong said, “They’re here! Prepare to attack.”

※ ※ ※

[wangxiaohu]

Aaaaaaah.... At last!!

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[hungryhero]

Thanks foxs.
Come to papa, Shen poniang and Li Mi..

[chowbeng]

I care very much, enough to refresh a few times a day.
I refrained from commenting when I don't have anything to add.
Thank you, Foxs for giving me the small surprises and enjoyment everyday!

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[LuDongBin]

Interesting. I wonder if that's how the Battle of Yanshi really pans out. Not the characters but the tide of battle tactics. Thks foxs.

[wangxiaohu]

I guess that today and tomorrow will be the longest day in the history of this thread since 2014.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs.

I hope this is not the end for SLY!

[chualot]

Thanks foxs. you are right, maybe I should add military commanders of their own army.

[Laoren]

Thanks foxs.