Taiheiki

Chapter 326 March
After saying that, Wei Cong walked to a black-lacquered wooden board behind him, picked up a piece of chalk and wrote the eight characters "garrison, march, battle, siege" on it. He clapped his hands, shook off the chalk, and said, "You all recognize these eight characters, right? These eight characters represent all the states of an army. And the knowledge that a general must master lies in these eight characters."

"Let me ask you a question. Of these four words, which one is the most important? Who would like to answer?" Wei Cong's gaze swept across the faces of the students below him. "Don't be afraid of making mistakes. This is a classroom, and there's no crime in speaking out. As long as you can explain your reasoning, that's fine! Hmm, Zhebie, you tell me!"

A lean, wiry man with tattoos on his face stood up: "Of course it's a battle. A general is one who kills the enemy and destroys the country. If one wins the battle, how can one be a general?"

"Hmm!" Wei Cong nodded noncommittally, gesturing for him to sit down: "Any other opinions? If you have different views, please share them!"

"This humble general thought it was a garrison, but Sun Tzu said: 'Those skilled in warfare first make themselves invincible, and then wait for the enemy to become vulnerable!' Therefore, it is naturally a garrison!"

"Any other opinions?" Wei Cong asked.

Fan Yang sat at the lower end, listening intently. Although the Fan family was considered a prominent clan in Zhuojun, his father had died early, and the family's financial situation was only average. It was only because of his intelligence and the support of his clan that he had been able to reach his current position. In the past, when he was studying, the great scholars and famous figures he encountered rarely taught him personally. Usually, it was senior disciples who taught on his behalf. It was extremely rare for them to teach him personally, let alone to write on the blackboard and engage in question-and-answer exchanges with his disciples like this.

Often, these lecturers would sit at the head of the table, whisk in hand, lecturing to hundreds or even thousands of students, spouting Confucian classics and classical texts. How much you understood depended entirely on yourself. Some even had a row of concubines and beautiful women standing behind them, enjoying themselves while casually remarking a few words, while a group of hot-blooded young students below were expected to ignore them, listen attentively, and search for the profound meanings within. Compared to General Wei's lectures, it was like heaven and earth.

Wei Cong asked seven or eight people. Some said they were involved in the battle, some said they were stationed there, and some even said they were attacking the city. Each had their own reasons, and Wei Cong just listened with a smile without offering any opinion. Just when Fan Yang thought Wei Cong was about to give the correct answer, he suddenly saw the other person pointing in his direction: "The student in the second-to-last row by the window, you stand up and say something!"

Dozens of eyes suddenly focused on Fan Yang. Fan Yang was taken aback. He looked around and confirmed that he was indeed in the second-to-last row near the window. With so many people in the room, why did the General ask me specifically?
"Yes, it's you, the unfamiliar classmate!" Wei Cong said with a smile, "Which unit are you in the army? Have I seen you before?"

Fan Yang bowed and stood up, his face flushed red: "I am Fan Yang from Zhuojun. I was originally a minor official in the Sili Commandant's Office. One day, I happened to meet Qin He, the military advisor, who asked me if I could ride a horse. After learning that my riding skills were decent, he sent me here!"

“You’re from Youzhou, no wonder!” Wei Cong nodded. In preparation for future wars in the north, he had requested a certain proportion of people from the border counties of You and Bing provinces when he established this class. However, Wei Cong started his rebellion in the south and didn’t have many people from the northern border counties under his command. Presumably, this was the reason why Qin He recruited people from Fanyang.

"Alright, then answer this question!" Wei Cong pointed to the blackboard behind him: "Which of these four is the most important?"

"I believe the second option is marching!"

"Oh?" Wei Cong's eyes lit up: "Why do you say that? It's not because everyone has mentioned the other three, but no one has mentioned this one, is it?"

"No!" Fan Yang shook his head: "General, I am from Youzhou, and my family has dealt with the Xiongnu and Xianbei for generations. These barbarians are not good at defending strategic locations, nor at forming battle formations, nor at besieging cities. Their only strength is their ability to advance and retreat, traversing thousands of miles. But with this alone, if they are defeated, they will only suffer minor losses, and eight or nine out of ten can escape. It is a small defeat. If they win, their opponents will hardly escape, which is a great victory. Therefore, I believe that marching is the most important thing!"

"Excellent, excellent!" Wei Cong's face lit up with delight. "Qin He made the right decision to recruit you!" He raised his voice. "What Fan Sheng just said hit the nail on the head regarding a key principle of military strategy. The first thing a soldier must learn to become a general is not how to deploy troops or fight the enemy, but how to march! Marching comes before fighting!"

Most of the people below the hall were longtime followers of Wei Cong, each having fought their way through countless battles. Judging from Fan Yang's appearance, he was clearly just an ordinary minor official, yet Wei Cong's words subtly placed him above the rest, which inevitably made them somewhat resentful.

"General!" someone stood up. "There are also teachers and servants in the army. They also have to march. If what you say is true, then wouldn't those teachers and servants be above us?"

"There's actually someone who dares to defy the General?" Fan Yang and Wang Kuang exchanged a glance, both seeing shock in each other's eyes. But judging from the expressions of the people in the room, they didn't seem to find it strange. Was this the norm?
"How can you say that? After all, soldiers in the army also have to march!" Wei Cong smiled. "Let me put it this way, do you still remember how I quelled the Moth Bandits back then?"

"Of course I remember, I also participated in this battle!"

"That's good!" Wei Cong laughed. "You said the battle to quell the E'er bandits, which was the most crucial one?"

"Naturally, it was the battle at Xiakou where the Moth Bandits were completely defeated! Through that battle, the Moth Bandits' 200,000 troops were annihilated, and the Great General made a great contribution to their reconstruction!"

“Wrong!” Wei Cong shook his head: “The most crucial battle was the Battle of Sangluozhou. After that battle, the elite naval forces of the Moth Pirates were completely wiped out, unable to advance or retreat, and confined between the Yangtze and Han Rivers. With Feng Kun and Zhang Huan in front and our army behind, even though they had 200,000 troops, their annihilation was only a matter of time! Do you understand? An army must be able to move. If it cannot move, no matter how many troops there are or how strong their fighting power is, it is just a trapped beast, and its annihilation is only a matter of time.”

"As long as the army can maintain mobility, even if it is weaker, it still has a chance to defeat the stronger." At this point, he made a gesture, and a guard next to him took out a silk painting and hung it on the blackboard.

"Look, this is a map of the situation when Wu destroyed Chu during the Spring and Autumn Period! This is Yingdu, the capital of Chu, as well as Fangcheng, Shu, Liu, Chao, Zhongli, and Baiju, the Huai River, and the Yangtze River!" Wei Cong skillfully pointed out the important locations, mountains, and rivers on the map with his sword sheath, then asked:

“Look, Wu and Chu are connected by a great river. When the Wu people attacked Chu, they first went north from the Han Canal into the Huai River, then abandoned their boats on the Huai River and took the land route, directly entering the Three Passes. They won five out of six battles and entered Ying, burning the Chu people's ancestral temples, like a snake swallowing an elephant. How did the Wu people win, and how did the Chu people lose? Ah Sheng, tell me?”

"The people of Wu are fierce and brave, and their soldiers are all well-trained. The Chu chief minister, Nangwa, is greedy, cruel, and tyrannical, and he murdered loyal and virtuous officials, which is why he was defeated!" Nie Sheng stood up and said. "A general shouldn't use such platitudes!" Wei Cong laughed. "Even a centipede with a hundred legs doesn't fall down when it's dead, let alone the Chu state at that time, which hadn't been destroyed yet! Its national strength and military strength far surpassed those of Wu. If you want to be a commander, you should learn from the skills of the Wu people!"

"I was ignorant!" Nie Sheng lowered his head, his face slightly flushed.

"Sit down!" Wei Cong walked to the map and began to explain: "Before the Wu people launched a major attack on Chu, they had already fought many fierce battles with the Chu people south of the Huai River and east of Kuangshan (the ancient name for Dabie Mountain). The Wu people successively destroyed the states of Zhongli, Chao, and Xu, while the Chu people devoted all their efforts to fighting against the Wu people, they also built cities in the area to defend themselves, and sent people to contact the Yue people and form an alliance with them in order to divide the Wu people's strength. The states of Tang and Cai were originally vassal states of Chu, but later they had a conflict with Chu. In the fourteenth year of King Jing of Zhou, Chu sent troops to besiege the state of Cai."

That winter, the King of Wu led his troops through the Han Canal into the Huai River, then sailed upstream to relieve Cai. The Chu army was forced to retreat and lift the siege. At this point, Wei Cong paused slightly: "The Wu army had two advantages in doing this. First, they traveled entirely by boat from Gusu, their soldiers were well-rested, and their entire army was at ease. The Chu army, on the other hand, had been besieging Cai for a whole winter, their soldiers were exhausted, and they were able to wait in comfort. Therefore, the Chu army had no choice but to lift the siege and retreat. Naturally, the state of Cai was grateful to the Wu army after the siege was lifted, and the Wu army was able to find food in the local area."

Secondly, the states of Tang and Cai were originally the outer defenses of Nanyang for the Chu people. If these two states were to turn against the Wu people, the Chu people would have to heavily defend Fangcheng to prevent the Wu, Tang, and Cai armies from joining forces with the Central Plains states to attack Nanyang. However, the Wu people did not attack Nanyang as the Chu people had anticipated. Instead, they abandoned their boats at the Huai River (near present-day Huoqiu County, Anhui) and marched overland, directly entering the three passes (Dasheng Pass, Wusheng Pass, and Pingjing Pass), their forces reaching the Han River. Does anyone know the Wu people's intention in doing this?

"Avoid the strong and attack the weak!" someone replied.

"That's right! Anything else?" Wei Cong asked with a smile.

"Attack the enemy, forcing them to defend!"

“This is very close, but still a little short. Does anyone else have anything to say?” Wei Cong waited for a moment, then drew two lines on the map with his finger: “Didn’t you guys notice? The Wu army’s marching route is almost a straight line, while the Chu army originally stationed heavy troops at Fangcheng to await the Wu army, but when they returned to rescue Yingdu, they took a big detour and couldn’t take the waterway. Who do you think had a harder time?”

"Why did the Chu people take such a long detour instead of going in a straight line?" Wang Kuang asked boldly, but as soon as he spoke, he noticed strange looks coming from all directions and immediately shrank back.

"Because if the Chu people wanted to travel in a straight line, they would have to cross two mountain ranges and traverse the Yunmeng Marsh," Wei Cong said with a smile. "The army at that time had a large number of chariots, and many areas that are passable now were difficult to traverse back then!" After explaining the questions raised by the audience, Wei Cong continued, "So you must understand that the Wu people were able to achieve victory not only because of their bravery and skill in battle, but also because of their excellent command."

First, by constructing the Han Canal, the Wu navy could reach the Huai River from Suzhou. Then, abandoning their preferred naval force, they used land routes to avoid direct confrontation, striking deep into the heart of Chu, forcing the Chu to make a long trek back to reinforce their capital. After several fierce battles, they annihilated Chu, and finally, Chu's capital fell into Wu's hands like ripe fruit. Only an army capable of traversing treacherous terrain in an orderly and disciplined manner can force the enemy to engage in battle under unfavorable conditions, or even achieve victory without a fight. A great warrior needs not only skillful hands but also iron legs!

Wei Cong's lesson ended amidst cheers from the students. After the Wu-Chu conquest campaign, he compared the different speeds and ranks of the army, explaining that they should march together on official roads to avoid conflict. His words were engaging, and his examples vivid. Even students like Fan Yang and Wang Kuang, who had never served in the military, listened with great interest. After everyone respectfully saw Wei Cong off, a clerk announced that the next lesson would be in the afternoon, and everyone could go to the cafeteria for lunch and return to the classroom at 1-3 PM.

"Let's go eat in the cafeteria first!" Wang Kuang said happily, "I didn't expect that they would provide three meals a day for free here! How generous!"

"Did you listen to the lessons this morning?" Fan Yang was still savoring the morning's lessons: "The General is truly a learned man! If we're talking about Sun Tzu's Art of War, I'm afraid no one in the world can surpass him!"

"What's so strange about that!" Wang Kuang didn't seem to care much: "He is an unparalleled master of military strategy. No matter how much Liu Fan and the others criticize him, no one says he doesn't understand military strategy!"

"Understanding is one thing, but being willing to impart all your knowledge is another!" Fan Yang sighed. "What you just said was truly profound! If it were any other teacher, they might not hear it even once in ten years of study. Yet, even we two complete strangers were able to receive such personal instruction. That is truly extraordinary!"

"Look at our classmates!" Wang Kuang pointed to the people around him: "They would be willing to die for the General!"

“That’s how it should be! A teacher is like a father, let alone—!” Fan Yang paused here, then suddenly whispered, “What about us? Brother Wang, is that General also considered our teacher?”

"Of course!" Wang Kuang laughed. "What's wrong? Regretting it? It's too late now. Besides, now that we've entered the General's Mansion, the General is our master. The distinction between ruler and subject is set. No matter what others do, we are both subjects of the General!"

Fan Yang fell silent, but Wang Kuang said nothing. He knew his friend could be a bit stubborn at times, but since they had already embarked on this path, there was no turning back. This hurdle was something only Fan Yang could overcome on his own; no one else could help him.

The two arrived at the cafeteria, took bowls and chopsticks, got their food, and returned to their tables to eat. Inside, they found a sea of ​​students in scarlet robes, each carrying a sword. These students, according to their relationships, had formed several small groups, chatting as they ate, mostly discussing the lessons they had just learned.

"Why do you think the General suddenly summoned us for class? Is he about to launch another military campaign?"

"Isn't that obvious? Everyone already knows that Jiaozhou is going to launch a southern expedition!"

(End of this chapter)