Chapter 476: The Great Army Heads West (11)
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That day he was seriously contemplating to see the Great Khan and resign from his position; he was willing to be a low ranking soldier under somebody else's command, fighting the enemy as an individual, when suddenly his second-in-command came to report that more than a thousand Han people were waiting outside, they were seeking an audience with him.
Guo Jing was delighted, he thought, "Qiu Daozhang has arrived this soon?" Hastily he went out his tent to welcome the visitor. To his surprised however, he saw on the prairie stood a group of people dressed as beggars. Three men rushed forward and bowed to greet him; turned out they were the Beggar Clan's Lu Youjiao, along with Jian and Liang Zhanglao [Elders].
"Have you heard anything about Miss Huang Rong?" Guo Jing anxiously asked.
"Xiao Ren [lit. little/lowly person] had anxiously waited for any news, but the Bangzhu's whereabouts is still unknown. We heard Sir ['guan ren', lit. government officer] is commanding a troop on the expedition to the west. We come to offer our assistance," Lu Youjiao answered.
Guo Jing was greatly surprised, "How did you know?"
"The Great Khan sent a messenger inviting Qiu Chuji, Priest Qiu; we heard it from the Quanzhen people," Lu Youjiao replied.
Guo Jing was silent for half a day, staring blankly toward the clouds on the southern horizon, he thought, "The Beggar Clan has eyes and ears all over the world, yet they don't know Rong'er's whereabouts. I am afraid her being in danger is more likely than not." Thinking about Huang Rong his eyes turned red involuntarily. He assigned his second-in-command to help the newcomers settled down while he himself went to inform the Great Khan.
"Good," Genghis Khan said, "Place them under your command."
When Guo Jing conveyed his intention to resign, Genghis Khan was angry, "Who can fight a battle as soon as they are born? Nobody can. After fighting several battles you will pick up. You grew up with me, what are you afraid of? How could Genghis Khan's son-in-law not go to war?"
Guo Jing did not dare to say another word. He returned to his tent with an anxious face. Lu Youjiao asked him what the matter was, and then tried to console him. When evening came Lu Youjiao came to his tent and said, "If I knew it would be this way, Xiao Ren would have brought 'Sun Tzu's Art of War', or 'Tai Gong's Summary of Military Strategy' from the south; then everything will be all right."
It suddenly dawned on Guo Jing that he had the 'Wumu's Legacy' by his side. It was a military manual; how could he forget about it? Right away he took the book out from his clothes pouch, and then read it by the lantern light all night long through the next day, stopping only because he felt tired.
This book contained all kinds of military strategy; from reconnaissance, planning an attack, defense strategy, to military training, officer management, troop disposition, field operation, as well as safety and danger situation overview and escape strategy, all were discussed in details.
That day Guo Jing had browsed through it on the boat at Yuanjiang, he did not pay too much attention. But this time he needed military guidance, so he read until he had a good grasp of what was written. When he did not understand any part of the book, he would invite Lu Youjiao to ask his advice. Lu Youjiao would answer, "Right now Xiao Ren does not understand, but let me think about it." He would leave Guo Jing's tent only for a moment then came back with a very detailed explanation. Guo Jing was delighted and would ask him more questions. Strangely, Lu Youjiao would always not able to answer immediately; he always asked for some time to think, but then afterwards would always come up with answers no matter how difficult the problem was. At first Guo Jing did not notice, but after several days this answer-finding-process repeated, he could not help but feeling suspicious.
One evening Guo Jing picked a character from the book and asked him what it meant. Lu Youjiao said he wasn't clear about that, so he needed sometime to think about it, then he went out the tent. Guo Jing thought, "The book is difficult, it's all right if you need some time to ponder its meaning; but it is only a character, how could you not know its meaning?"
Although holding a position of general, Guo Jing was still very young and he still had a childish character. As soon as Lu Youjiao exited his tent he followed immediately. He stealthily hid among the tall grass wanting to know Lu Youjiao's secret. He saw Lu Youjiao entered a tiny tent, and in just a short while he went out the tent again. Guo Jing hastily went back to his own tent. Lu Youjiao went in and said, "Xiao Ren has thought about it." Then he proceeded by explaining the character's correct pronunciation and its meaning.
Guo Jing smiled, "Lu Zhanglao, you have an expert master; why don't you invite your master to see me?"
Lu Youjiao was startled, "I don't," he said.
Guo Jing grabbed his hand and smiled, "We will go out and see." He pulled his hand and went out the tent, walked toward that tiny tent he saw earlier.
Outside that tiny tent two Beggar Clan members were standing on guard duty. As soon as they saw Guo Jing they coughed lightly. Guo Jing noticed their coughs he let Lu Youjiao's hand go and darted toward the tent. As soon as he lifted the tent's entrance he saw the rear part of the tent fluttered a little bit. Definitely someone has just gone out the tent. Guo Jing rushed forward and lifted up the tent, but he only saw tall grass, not a single human's shadow was to be seen. He was perplexed, was silent for a while.
Guo Jing turned around and asked Lu Youjiao, but Lu Youjiao said the tent was his, nobody else lived there.
Guo Jing did not give up, he kept asking Lu Youjiao difficult questions from the 'Wumu's Legacy', but from now on Lu Youjiao would wait for the next day before he could answer his questions.
Guo Jing knew the person in that tent did not have any ill intention, only did not want to see him. Guo Jing decided that person must be an expert from the Jianghu, and it would be difficult to deal with people like that, so he put this matter aside temporarily.
He studied the book in the evening then trained his soldiers during the day according to method he learned from the book. The Mongolian cavalry was used to fight an open battle, now they had to train battle formations; they were having a very difficult time. But an order is an order, they did not dare to disobey, so they had no choice and trained hard.
Another month had passed; Genghis Khan's army and its logistic were ready. Guo Jing managed to train his ten thousand soldiers in all eight battle formations: 'tian fu' [high as the sky], 'di zai' [strong as the earth], 'feng yang' [scattered like a wind], 'yun chui' [dangling like a cloud] , 'long fei' [flying dragon], 'hu yi' [winged tiger], 'niao xiang' [soaring bird], and 'she pan' [coiling snake]; which they have mastered skillfully.
These eight formations were originally created by Zhuge Liang based on ancient methods; when they got to Yue Fei's hand, he added many changes and variations. When Yue Fei was young, he went to war under Zong Ze who said, "Your bravery, wisdom and skill have exceeded those of the ancient times; however, in a real battle we can't predict everything." He was referring to the troop disposition method. Yue Fei answered, "In a real battle, the art of war does not change. Whoever manages to utilize its wonder will save their own hearts and minds." Zong Ze could not help but agree to what he said. Later on Yue Fei led many other troop movements. He was aware that he could not always follow certain method, yet he still trained his officers and soldiers according to these methods. Only when it came to the real battle he executed his plan dynamically, thus had defeated countless enemies. This process was also recorded in the 'Wumu's Legacy' book.
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That day he was seriously contemplating to see the Great Khan and resign from his position; he was willing to be a low ranking soldier under somebody else's command, fighting the enemy as an individual, when suddenly his second-in-command came to report that more than a thousand Han people were waiting outside, they were seeking an audience with him.
Guo Jing was delighted, he thought, "Qiu Daozhang has arrived this soon?" Hastily he went out his tent to welcome the visitor. To his surprised however, he saw on the prairie stood a group of people dressed as beggars. Three men rushed forward and bowed to greet him; turned out they were the Beggar Clan's Lu Youjiao, along with Jian and Liang Zhanglao [Elders].
"Have you heard anything about Miss Huang Rong?" Guo Jing anxiously asked.
"Xiao Ren [lit. little/lowly person] had anxiously waited for any news, but the Bangzhu's whereabouts is still unknown. We heard Sir ['guan ren', lit. government officer] is commanding a troop on the expedition to the west. We come to offer our assistance," Lu Youjiao answered.
Guo Jing was greatly surprised, "How did you know?"
"The Great Khan sent a messenger inviting Qiu Chuji, Priest Qiu; we heard it from the Quanzhen people," Lu Youjiao replied.
Guo Jing was silent for half a day, staring blankly toward the clouds on the southern horizon, he thought, "The Beggar Clan has eyes and ears all over the world, yet they don't know Rong'er's whereabouts. I am afraid her being in danger is more likely than not." Thinking about Huang Rong his eyes turned red involuntarily. He assigned his second-in-command to help the newcomers settled down while he himself went to inform the Great Khan.
"Good," Genghis Khan said, "Place them under your command."
When Guo Jing conveyed his intention to resign, Genghis Khan was angry, "Who can fight a battle as soon as they are born? Nobody can. After fighting several battles you will pick up. You grew up with me, what are you afraid of? How could Genghis Khan's son-in-law not go to war?"
Guo Jing did not dare to say another word. He returned to his tent with an anxious face. Lu Youjiao asked him what the matter was, and then tried to console him. When evening came Lu Youjiao came to his tent and said, "If I knew it would be this way, Xiao Ren would have brought 'Sun Tzu's Art of War', or 'Tai Gong's Summary of Military Strategy' from the south; then everything will be all right."
It suddenly dawned on Guo Jing that he had the 'Wumu's Legacy' by his side. It was a military manual; how could he forget about it? Right away he took the book out from his clothes pouch, and then read it by the lantern light all night long through the next day, stopping only because he felt tired.
This book contained all kinds of military strategy; from reconnaissance, planning an attack, defense strategy, to military training, officer management, troop disposition, field operation, as well as safety and danger situation overview and escape strategy, all were discussed in details.
That day Guo Jing had browsed through it on the boat at Yuanjiang, he did not pay too much attention. But this time he needed military guidance, so he read until he had a good grasp of what was written. When he did not understand any part of the book, he would invite Lu Youjiao to ask his advice. Lu Youjiao would answer, "Right now Xiao Ren does not understand, but let me think about it." He would leave Guo Jing's tent only for a moment then came back with a very detailed explanation. Guo Jing was delighted and would ask him more questions. Strangely, Lu Youjiao would always not able to answer immediately; he always asked for some time to think, but then afterwards would always come up with answers no matter how difficult the problem was. At first Guo Jing did not notice, but after several days this answer-finding-process repeated, he could not help but feeling suspicious.
One evening Guo Jing picked a character from the book and asked him what it meant. Lu Youjiao said he wasn't clear about that, so he needed sometime to think about it, then he went out the tent. Guo Jing thought, "The book is difficult, it's all right if you need some time to ponder its meaning; but it is only a character, how could you not know its meaning?"
Although holding a position of general, Guo Jing was still very young and he still had a childish character. As soon as Lu Youjiao exited his tent he followed immediately. He stealthily hid among the tall grass wanting to know Lu Youjiao's secret. He saw Lu Youjiao entered a tiny tent, and in just a short while he went out the tent again. Guo Jing hastily went back to his own tent. Lu Youjiao went in and said, "Xiao Ren has thought about it." Then he proceeded by explaining the character's correct pronunciation and its meaning.
Guo Jing smiled, "Lu Zhanglao, you have an expert master; why don't you invite your master to see me?"
Lu Youjiao was startled, "I don't," he said.
Guo Jing grabbed his hand and smiled, "We will go out and see." He pulled his hand and went out the tent, walked toward that tiny tent he saw earlier.
Outside that tiny tent two Beggar Clan members were standing on guard duty. As soon as they saw Guo Jing they coughed lightly. Guo Jing noticed their coughs he let Lu Youjiao's hand go and darted toward the tent. As soon as he lifted the tent's entrance he saw the rear part of the tent fluttered a little bit. Definitely someone has just gone out the tent. Guo Jing rushed forward and lifted up the tent, but he only saw tall grass, not a single human's shadow was to be seen. He was perplexed, was silent for a while.
Guo Jing turned around and asked Lu Youjiao, but Lu Youjiao said the tent was his, nobody else lived there.
Guo Jing did not give up, he kept asking Lu Youjiao difficult questions from the 'Wumu's Legacy', but from now on Lu Youjiao would wait for the next day before he could answer his questions.
Guo Jing knew the person in that tent did not have any ill intention, only did not want to see him. Guo Jing decided that person must be an expert from the Jianghu, and it would be difficult to deal with people like that, so he put this matter aside temporarily.
He studied the book in the evening then trained his soldiers during the day according to method he learned from the book. The Mongolian cavalry was used to fight an open battle, now they had to train battle formations; they were having a very difficult time. But an order is an order, they did not dare to disobey, so they had no choice and trained hard.
Another month had passed; Genghis Khan's army and its logistic were ready. Guo Jing managed to train his ten thousand soldiers in all eight battle formations: 'tian fu' [high as the sky], 'di zai' [strong as the earth], 'feng yang' [scattered like a wind], 'yun chui' [dangling like a cloud] , 'long fei' [flying dragon], 'hu yi' [winged tiger], 'niao xiang' [soaring bird], and 'she pan' [coiling snake]; which they have mastered skillfully.
These eight formations were originally created by Zhuge Liang based on ancient methods; when they got to Yue Fei's hand, he added many changes and variations. When Yue Fei was young, he went to war under Zong Ze who said, "Your bravery, wisdom and skill have exceeded those of the ancient times; however, in a real battle we can't predict everything." He was referring to the troop disposition method. Yue Fei answered, "In a real battle, the art of war does not change. Whoever manages to utilize its wonder will save their own hearts and minds." Zong Ze could not help but agree to what he said. Later on Yue Fei led many other troop movements. He was aware that he could not always follow certain method, yet he still trained his officers and soldiers according to these methods. Only when it came to the real battle he executed his plan dynamically, thus had defeated countless enemies. This process was also recorded in the 'Wumu's Legacy' book.
That day he was seriously contemplating to see the Great Khan and resign from his position; he was willing to be a low ranking soldier under somebody else's command, fighting the enemy as an individual, when suddenly his second-in-command came to report that more than a thousand Han people were waiting outside, they were seeking an audience with him.Guo Jing was delighted, he thought, "Qiu Daozhang has arrived this soon?" Hastily he went out his tent to welcome the visitor. To his surprised however, he saw on the prairie stood a group of people dressed as beggars. Three men rushed forward and bowed to greet him; turned out they were the Beggar Clan's Lu Youjiao, along with Jian and Liang Zhanglao Elders."Have you heard anything about Miss Huang Rong?" Guo Jing anxiously asked."Xiao Ren lit. little/lowly person had anxiously waited for any news, but the Bangzhu's whereabouts is still unknown. We heard Sir 'guan ren', lit. government officer is commanding a troop on the expedition to the west. We come to offer our assistance," Lu Youjiao answered.Guo Jing was greatly surprised, "How did you know?""The Great Khan sent a messenger inviting Qiu Chuji, Priest Qiu; we heard it from the Quanzhen people," Lu Youjiao replied.Guo Jing was silent for half a day, staring blankly toward the clouds on the southern horizon, he thought, "The Beggar Clan has eyes and ears all over the world, yet they don't know Rong'er's whereabouts. I am afraid her being in danger is more likely than not." Thinking about Huang Rong his eyes turned red involuntarily. He assigned his second-in-command to help the newcomers settled down while he himself went to inform the Great Khan."Good," Genghis Khan said, "Place them under your command."When Guo Jing conveyed his intention to resign, Genghis Khan was angry, "Who can fight a battle as soon as they are born? Nobody can. After fighting several battles you will pick up. You grew up with me, what are you afraid of? How could Genghis Khan's son-in-law not go to war?"Guo Jing did not dare to say another word. He returned to his tent with an anxious face. Lu Youjiao asked him what the matter was, and then tried to console him. When evening came Lu Youjiao came to his tent and said, "If I knew it would be this way, Xiao Ren would have brought 'Sun Tzu's Art of War', or 'Tai Gong's Summary of Military Strategy' from the south; then everything will be all right."It suddenly dawned on Guo Jing that he had the 'Wumu's Legacy' by his side. It was a military manual; how could he forget about it? Right away he took the book out from his clothes pouch, and then read it by the lantern light all night long through the next day, stopping only because he felt tired.This book contained all kinds of military strategy; from reconnaissance, planning an attack, defense strategy, to military training, officer management, troop disposition, field operation, as well as safety and danger situation overview and escape strategy, all were discussed in details.That day Guo Jing had browsed through it on the boat at Yuanjiang, he did not pay too much attention. But this time he needed military guidance, so he read until he had a good grasp of what was written. When he did not understand any part of the book, he would invite Lu Youjiao to ask his advice. Lu Youjiao would answer, "Right now Xiao Ren does not understand, but let me think about it." He would leave Guo Jing's tent only for a moment then came back with a very detailed explanation. Guo Jing was delighted and would ask him more questions. Strangely, Lu Youjiao would always not able to answer immediately; he always asked for some time to think, but then afterwards would always come up with answers no matter how difficult the problem was. At first Guo Jing did not notice, but after several days this answer-finding-process repeated, he could not help but feeling suspicious.One evening Guo Jing picked a character from the book and asked him what it meant. Lu Youjiao said he wasn't clear about that, so he needed sometime to think about it, then he went out the tent. Guo Jing thought, "The book is difficult, it's all right if you need some time to ponder its meaning; but it is only a character, how could you not know its meaning?"Although holding a position of general, Guo Jing was still very young and he still had a childish character. As soon as Lu Youjiao exited his tent he followed immediately. He stealthily hid among the tall grass wanting to know Lu Youjiao's secret. He saw Lu Youjiao entered a tiny tent, and in just a short while he went out the tent again. Guo Jing hastily went back to his own tent. Lu Youjiao went in and said, "Xiao Ren has thought about it." Then he proceeded by explaining the character's correct pronunciation and its meaning.Guo Jing smiled, "Lu Zhanglao, you have an expert master; why don't you invite your master to see me?"Lu Youjiao was startled, "I don't," he said.Guo Jing grabbed his hand and smiled, "We will go out and see." He pulled his hand and went out the tent, walked toward that tiny tent he saw earlier.Outside that tiny tent two Beggar Clan members were standing on guard duty. As soon as they saw Guo Jing they coughed lightly. Guo Jing noticed their coughs he let Lu Youjiao's hand go and darted toward the tent. As soon as he lifted the tent's entrance he saw the rear part of the tent fluttered a little bit. Definitely someone has just gone out the tent. Guo Jing rushed forward and lifted up the tent, but he only saw tall grass, not a single human's shadow was to be seen. He was perplexed, was silent for a while.Guo Jing turned around and asked Lu Youjiao, but Lu Youjiao said the tent was his, nobody else lived there.Guo Jing did not give up, he kept asking Lu Youjiao difficult questions from the 'Wumu's Legacy', but from now on Lu Youjiao would wait for the next day before he could answer his questions.Guo Jing knew the person in that tent did not have any ill intention, only did not want to see him. Guo Jing decided that person must be an expert from the Jianghu, and it would be difficult to deal with people like that, so he put this matter aside temporarily.He studied the book in the evening then trained his soldiers during the day according to method he learned from the book. The Mongolian cavalry was used to fight an open battle, now they had to train battle formations; they were having a very difficult time. But an order is an order, they did not dare to disobey, so they had no choice and trained hard.Another month had passed; Genghis Khan's army and its logistic were ready. Guo Jing managed to train his ten thousand soldiers in all eight battle formations: 'tian fu' high as the sky, 'di zai' strong as the earth, 'feng yang' scattered like a wind, 'yun chui' dangling like a cloud , 'long fei' flying dragon, 'hu yi' winged tiger, 'niao xiang' soaring bird, and 'she pan' coiling snake; which they have mastered skillfully.These eight formations were originally created by Zhuge Liang based on ancient methods; when they got to Yue Fei's hand, he added many changes and variations. When Yue Fei was young, he went to war under Zong Ze who said, "Your bravery, wisdom and skill have exceeded those of the ancient times; however, in a real battle we can't predict everything." He was referring to the troop disposition method. Yue Fei answered, "In a real battle, the art of war does not change. Whoever manages to utilize its wonder will save their own hearts and minds." Zong Ze could not help but agree to what he said. Later on Yue Fei led many other troop movements. He was aware that he could not always follow certain method, yet he still trained his officers and soldiers according to these methods. Only when it came to the real battle he executed his plan dynamically, thus had defeated countless enemies. This process was also recorded in the 'Wumu's Legacy' book.
