Section 034: Putting On Pants to Fart

Zhangqiu’s magistrate, Lu Li’er, entrusted Li Dong to deliver a sealed blood-letter, and after reading it, Zhang Xutuo believed in Li Dong and his companions’ act of defecting on the battlefield. As both sides were about to enter the tent to discuss how to capture Zhangqiu, Du Fuwei reined in his horse and called out to Li Dong.

Li Dong, surprised, asked, “What is it?”

Du Fuwei replied, not without concern, “Zhang Junke, Fu Gongtuo and the others, and I are not the same as you, General. We opened the city gates without authorization and let Zhishi Lang attack the city. According to the law, our heads should roll.”

Hearing this, Li Dong fell into deep thought. He had never dealt with Zhang Xutuo and knew nothing of his character. The history books said Zhang Xutuo cared greatly for his soldiers and was adept at managing the army, winning countless battles against overwhelming odds. The crime of rebellion was punishable by death in any dynasty, but whether Zhang Xutuo was strict or lenient with the Sui laws, Li Dong had no idea.

Though he’d claimed earlier that there was no right or wrong in chaotic times, once Zhangqiu was taken, the captive soldiers and civilians would surely inform Zhang Xutuo of their rebellion in countless ways. Not questioning them now didn’t mean he wouldn’t punish them later.

Moreover, Du Fuwei and the others had been imprisoned by Lu Li’er, so once bitten, twice shy—such worries were only natural and understandable.

If Du Fuwei left now with his troops, Li Dong’s carefully laid plans would evaporate. By not letting them leave at this moment and successfully carrying out his plan to capture Zhangqiu, even if they were punished in the future, his words would carry weight—unlike now, when he was powerless.

Having made up his mind, Li Dong said, “I earnestly ask you to stay and help me win this tough battle. Afterwards, we’ll do something unnecessary—split our forces and go separate ways. I would never stand by and watch you get captured, that’s not who I am.”

Li Dong’s words were amusing, and Du Fuwei laughed before sighing, “I have always admired your character, General. The Sui laws change daily, reverse and contradict themselves, leaving the people destitute and the officials disillusioned. I believe chaos will soon engulf the land. Why not join me at Changcheng Ridge? I’ll give up the position of leader to you. With your talent and strategy, you’ll carve out a place for us in these turbulent times. Far better than taking orders under someone else’s command.”

Everything Du Fuwei said, Li Dong had surely thought of. With the foresight of someone who’d crossed time, and his innate ability to command, his future would be even greater than what Du Fuwei imagined. But now was not the time—the era of rampant banditry and widespread rebellion had not yet arrived.

He had to continue to endure, waiting for tensions to escalate further, at least until Yang Xuangan raised the banner of rebellion against Sui, igniting the first spark of internal revolt. And now, he’d only just made the acquaintance of Du Fuwei, one of the three major powers at the end of Sui; the other two were not yet aware of the need to rebel.

“Help me win this battle, and then I’ll let you go to Changcheng Ridge. I’ll also leave Zhangqiu for some time to handle something earth-shattering. Taking Zhangqiu is just a stepping stone, helping me leap higher and further. Even if you suffer hardship later, you’ll have my support.” Li Dong was resolute—he insisted on keeping Du Fuwei’s troops, the only force he could control at the moment, and not a large one at that. How could he let them go so easily?

Du Fuwei hesitated, conferring with Zhang Junke and the others for some time before reluctantly agreeing to Li Dong’s proposal. But after capturing Zhangqiu, they would not return to the city—the brothers would part ways.

Li Dong sighed inwardly—what must come will come, what must go will go, and nothing can stop it. This was the inevitability of history’s flow. Du Fuwei would rebel after all. If he let Du Fuwei embark on this path of no return so easily, his crossing into this era would have no impact, no change—he’d have crossed in vain, and wouldn’t be Li Dong.

At that moment, Zhang Xutuo had arrived in front of the tent. Seeing them lingering, he ordered his men to call out loudly, and Li Dong and his companions had no choice but to ride into the camp.

The Zhangqiu city soldiers saw Li Dong and his party ride straight into the imperial camp, their faces changed, and they hurriedly reported the news to Zhishi Lang.

Zhishi Lang heard and smiled bitterly, saying, “All the scheming came to nothing, and I watched them slip through my fingers. If I’d known it would come to this, I shouldn’t have let them leave the city—I should have executed them at once!”

Jia Xing was instantly energized, boasting, “Before they left the city, I knew they’d pull this trick and tried my best to stop them, but Master Ling Tong let them go!”

The monk Ling Tong cursed Jia Xing inwardly—if you hadn’t agreed so quickly and given me more time to think, we could have captured them. But Li Dong and the others aren’t without worries. He said, “Li Dong’s father, Li Hun, is still in the city. Lu Li’er and Lu Rou are also our bargaining chips. If we take these three, Li Dong will have to hold back when attacking the city—he won’t go all out.”

Zhishi Lang was delighted, “I must ask Master Ling Tong to help with this matter.”

Little Ling Tong nodded in agreement, thinking, “Li Dong, you young upstart, this time I’ll be ruthless—I won’t let any of them leave alive.”

At this moment, Li Dong was in the imperial camp, sitting with Zhang Xutuo to discuss the deployment of troops.

Zhang Xutuo’s opinion was to unite the forces and launch a fierce attack, giving the enemy no chance to breathe—take Zhangqiu in one swift move.

Li Dong’s suggestion was to split the forces—one at the west gate, one at the east gate, leaving the north gate untouched, providing Zhishi Lang and his men a way out, forcing them to withdraw from Zhangqiu early.

Zhang Xutuo said, “The enemy has one hundred thousand, while our imperial troops barely number twenty thousand. If we divide them further, won’t we be even weaker? Moreover, the enemy holds the high ground, defending the city from above while we attack from below, making it much harder. Combining our forces gives us some advantage.”

Zhang Xutuo’s strategy was not without merit. But to attack the strong with the weak, to strike from below against above, they couldn’t fight head-on with the rebels, but must use tactics to weaken the enemy and strengthen themselves, seizing the advantage. Once the situation turned, Zhangqiu would be as easy to take as picking something from a bag.

Li Dong replied, “The rebels defend the city from above, resting and waiting, using calm to counter movement—these are undeniable advantages. But from another perspective, being holed up in Zhangqiu is their weakness. If we split our forces, we form a pincer. If the rebels leave the city to attack our west gate troops, we can assault the north gate at the same time. The rebels at the west gate will lose heart, turning to attack the north gate. Then the west gate must respond to the north, launching an assault on Zhangqiu, and the situation at the north gate will immediately change.”

“In this way, we can reverse the entire situation, forcing the rebels to run themselves ragged, unable to tell who is the main force attacking Zhangqiu. Their advantage—defending from above, resting, and using calm—will disappear.”

Zhang Xutuo, a veteran of countless battles, knew immediately that Li Dong’s analysis was sound. He then asked, “If Zhishi Lang doesn’t lead his troops out of the city, won’t our plan fall apart?”