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

[LuDongBin]

Will this Dong Shuni be the wedge between KZ and XS? Thks foxs.

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[wangxiaohu]

Thanks foxs

[spynet]

Thanks foxs!

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[foxs]

DongBin, I don’t think so. IMHO, Dong Shuni was a shallow character, neither one of the boys would be interested in her as a possible mate. But I might be wrong. Jaya, HPC, Xiaohu, spy, Ysabel, you are welcome. Here's the end of Chapter 10.

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Wang Shichong was deep in thought for half a day. Finally he spoke in low voice, “You guys were willing to brave death to save Xiao Ni, I, Wang Shichong, is eternally grateful. Say your request now!”

Kou Zhong knew Wang Shichong did not trust him; he laughed indifferently and said, “My request is the demise of Li Mi.”

Wang Shichong was stunned. He stared at Kou Zhong for half a day before frowning and said, “Right now I have internal trouble and external aggression, I am facing enemies in front and behind me. I am afraid I cannot help you accomplishing this wish.”

With a card up his sleeve, Kou Zhong said, “Wang Shangshu is wrong. The fact is that there has never been a better time like right now, where your side have the opportunity to crush Wagang Army.”

Displeased, Wang Shichong said, “In all my life, the kind of people I hated the most are those who use favor to threaten. What have I, Wang Shichong, never seen? How could I listen to anybody who wanted to manipulate me?”

Kou Zhong calmly said, “This time Wang Shangshu sent your troops to Yanshi, I wonder what is your intention?”

Wang Shichong’s eyes flickered with sharp lights; he said coldly, “Now is now, then is then. Right now my top priority is returning to Luoyang to clean up a clique of traitors.”

Kou Zhong smiled and asked, “And then what?”

Wang Shichong proudly replied, “Once the inside is pacified, naturally going out to fight foreign aggression. Li Mi and I cannot exist together.”

Kou Zhong laughed aloud and said, “This time Wang Shangshu sent your troops, is to observe and confirm that after defeating Yuwen Huaji, Li Mi’s strength took a big blow; therefore, you wanted to seize the opportunity to thoroughly and swiftly cut him down. But now you want to pacify the inside first and let the opportunity slip away for nothing, giving Li Mi the opportunity to recover. Won’t it be a grave miscalculation?”

In daze, Wang Shichong stared at him for a long time, as if he had never seen Kou Zhong before. And then he said seriously, “So Kou Xiao Xiong believes that I ought to put Li Mi in order first, and then return to base to deal with Yang Dong and Dugu Feng?”

Kou Zhong shook his head, “Not quite,” he said, “Even if there was no problem in the Eastern Capital, if this time Shangshu rashly attack Li Mi, I have no doubt you will still be defeated.”

At first Wang Shichong wanted to probe whether Kou Zhong had an ulterior motive, i.e. wanted to exploit Wang Shichong to deal with his archenemy Li Mi. But now, after hearing him said so, he was taken aback, and asked modestly instead, “I’d like to hear the details.”

Thereupon Kou Zhong told Wang Shichong how Li Mi was going to deal with him, but naturally he said it as if it was his own speculation.

Wang Shichong’s countenance changed slightly; for quite a long while he did not say anything, evidently Kou Zhong had hit the target.

Half a day later, Wang Shichong sighed and said, “I am originally from the Western Region. Because of my admiration of the Celestial Empire’s [tributary title conferred on imperial China] civilization, I followed my father to the Sui Dynasty. Since childhood I love to read history books, I love to study the art of war. Finally I arose to become the assistant minister of the Ministry of War, and quite obtained Yang Guang, that muddleheaded ruler’s high regard. After the battle against Meng Rang, my name shook the land under heaven. I thought that nobody in the world surpassed me, Wang Shichong, in the art of war. Who could have thought that I came across that Li thief, to whom I am inferior in every aspect? Were it not for Kou Xiao Xiong warning me, this battle will only result in defeat with no chance of victory. So you think I ought to immediately return to the Eastern Capital?”

Kou Zhong knew that Wang Shichong’s mind was in turmoil; he smiled and said, “Like I said just now, to destroy the Wagang Army, this is a chance one in a thousand years. There are two reasons: one, currently Li Mi’s strength is greatly wounded, his troops weary his generals tired. Two, Li Mi is still in euphoria after defeating Yuwen Huaji recently; inevitably he will have condescending thought toward you and will be underestimating you.”

After a short pause, he continued seriously, “Forgive my bluntness, but speaking about military strength, your side is not Li Mi’s match, plus your repeated defeat has made Li Mi’s despises you even more. Therefore, if Wang Shangshu is showing your weak front, and we fabricate ingenious circumstances, luring Li Mi’s entire nest to come out, with our meticulous planning and setting up traps, I guarantee that Li Mi will fall headlong and take serious tumble that henceforth he will be powerless to press toward the Eastern Capital.”

Hearing that, Wang Shichong’s heart was pounding with eagerness, his doubt toward Kou Zhong diminished significantly, while his trust soared. “How can we show a weak front?” he asked.

Kou Zhong asked in return, “May I know how many men Wang Shangshu has in your disposal right now?”

Wang Shichong hesitated for a moment before making up his mind; he replied, “This time I only brought twenty thousand men, but not a single one is not a trained elite troop.”

Kou Zhong slapped the table and said, “That will do. Sun Tzu said: troops are valued by their quality, not quantity. Because we have fewer soldiers, Li Mi would look down on us even more. Now if he also mistakenly thinks that we do not have enough provision, I don’t believe the recently-victorious Li Mi could bear not to lead his army to indulge in another war.”

Shaking his head, Wang Shichong said, “He can always wait until we are really short on provision before attacking. This ruse may deceive others, but definitely not Li Mi, who has rigorous schemes and deep foresight.”

Kou Zhong laughed and said, “That’s why I said we need to fabricate ingenious circumstances to force Li Mi so that he won’t have any choice but to fight.”

Wang Shichong was astonished, “What circumstances?” he asked.

Kou Zhong said, “This operation can be carried out in two phases. First, we create a fake situation of supply shortage; for example, send your men everywhere to rake in army provisions, also broadcast a rumor that you are returning to the Eastern Capital soon. It would be strange indeed if Li Mi does not come to intercept.”

And then he leaned forward and lowered his voice, “For the next phase, we mend fences with northern forces whose power is not under Li Mi’s: Dou Jiande; ask him to send troops to attack Li Mi. Naturally we leak this information to Li Mi. I won’t have to worry that he won’t take the initiative to attack first.”

Although Wang Shichong was a conceited and talented field commander, he could not help slapping the table and exclaimed in praise, “That is indeed a brilliant plan! But there are a lot of details that still need to be considered.”

Soon after his eyes shot sharp rays; fixing his gaze on Kou Zhong, he said, “Everybody knows that Kou Zhong is ambitious; you managed to turn the south upside down. And now you help me like this, what’s in it for you?”

Kou Zhong calmly met his eyes, “Because,” he slowly said, “If I don’t kill Li Mi, he would kill me. I don’t care who will become the Emperor, as long as it’s not Li Mi. Is Wang Shangshu satisfied with my answer?”

Wang Shichong spoke in heavy voice, “You are indeed a rare talent. If you are willing to throw your lot with me, I, Wang Shichong, definitely won’t treat you meagerly.”

Kou Zhong cheerfully replied, “Thank you for Wang Shangshu’s guidance. But in everything I still want to wait until Wagang Army is destroyed before making any decision. Although dealing against Li Mi is important, but the Eastern Capital must be grasped firmly in our hands. As long as we can hold out against Li Mi’s forces, we can attack the King of Yue’s imperial palace, pulling all who oppose you by the root. At that time Wang Shangshu may think that the King of Yue’s throne will be more desirable. Besides, you have at least half of the people in the world already in your pocket!”

This speech went straight to the bottom of Wang Shichong’s heart, making him forget that Kou Zhong did not immediately declare his allegiance to him. Greatly delighted, he said, “Dugu Feng’s forces in Luoyang cannot be ignored. If I am not in Luoyang, I am afraid it would be difficult to have control over the general situation.”

Kou Zhong smiled and said, “That is precisely one crucial point in the show-your-weakness phase. Wang Shangshu may want to select several elite troops to ride with you back to Luoyang to settle the situation in Luoyang, and then play it by ear. As soon as Li Mi makes unusual move, Shangshu immediately slip back here to take charge of the general situation. Won’t that work?”

Wang Shichong was staring blankly for half a day. Finally he heaved a deep sigh, shook his head, and said with a smile, “Other than that, do I have a better choice?”

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[LuDongBin]

It seemed XZ was even moved by this beauty and I was thinking of Diaochan of the 3 Kingdoms. Thks foxs.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[spynet]

Thanks foxs!

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[chualot]

thanks foxs.

[foxs]

Jaya, Ysabel, spy, HPC, Chua, you are welcome. DongBin, I read 3 Kingdoms years ago, but I don't remember Diaochan.

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Book 12 Chapter 11 – Ancient Capital of Thousand Years

Luoyang was located prominently at the southern bank of the Yellow River. On the north, Mount Mang acted as a screen, to the south it was connected to Luo River. To the east was Hu Lao [tiger prison], west was Han Valley. It was surrounded by range of hills all around, with the Luoyang plains in the middle, and four streams: Yi, Luo, Chan, and Jian, passing through it. It was both strategically situated and easy to defend, and had beautiful scenery. The soil was fertile and the climate moderate, while water transport was convenient.

Since ancient times, eight different dynasties established their capital here: Xia, Shang, Eastern Zhou, Eastern Han, Cao Wei, Western Jin, Northern Wei, and Sui.

The so-called ‘River Yang [positive/male/opposite of Yin] ground to set up the sacred tripods’ [not sure, I simply translated as is] between the Central Plains and the four sides of the wind, Luoyang was a major crossroad linking the land under the heavens, and a military stronghold.

After Yang Guang ascended the throne, from Luoyang he selected another location for his capital and established a new one.

The new imperial city was located between the Zhouwang [king of Zhou?] City and Han Wei old city, across the Chanshui River on the east, spanning toward the Luo River on the south, facing the Jian River on the west, and leaning against the Mount Mang on the north. The city’s circumference was more than fifty li; indeed a grand and magnificent sight.

Again, with Luoyang as the center, Yang Guang cut a canal reaching Hangzhou in the south, Zhuo County on the north, cutting through the Grand Canal spanning from north to south, and connecting the Hai River, Yellow River, Huai River, Yangtze River, and Qiantang River, five major waterways, so that Luoyang became the major hub of the world’s [remember: tianxia, meaning China] center of commerce.

This particular day, the sky has not brightened, the city gates have just been opened, a large number of traveling merchants, intermingling with farmers heading toward the morning market, were already lining up, waiting to enter the city.

Ba Fenghan and Xu Ziling, still wearing their masks, mingled among the crowds, were strutting leisurely into the city via the south gate.

Luoyang’s scale naturally could not be compared to average size cities. The south gate itself actually consisted of three gates: the middle one was called Jian Guo Gate [founder of the country], the left one was called Bai Hu Gate [white tiger], and the right one was called Chang Xia Gate [eternal summer]; all three were broad.

This moment the two men no longer wore Wagang Army uniform, but ordinary old peasant clothes just like two farmers coming into the city to do business. Each man carried large bundles of fresh-cut vegetables on shoulder pole. They reported randomly selected names to the city guard, and the soldiers let them in without any trouble.

They had just entered the city, when Xu Ziling, who had never been to a city like this, suddenly had his eyes wide open.

He saw the ‘Heavenly Street’, the main street connecting the north and the south gates, which spanned about two hundred steps, opened up before his eyes in a perfectly straight line, perhaps its length reached around seven or eight li.

On the sidewalk were planted cherry, pomegranate, elm, willow, and all kinds of other trees. The middle of the street was the imperial road, where the Emperor would go on inspection tours. At this time of the year, between the spring and the summer, the flower-pink and the willow-green met together to create picturesque scenery, more beautiful than anybody could imagine.

The main street was lined with unending row of shops, each one opened up to the street or the dozens of smaller streets and alleys linking up all the city gates; everything was clear and in good order.

Ba Fenghan said with a laugh, “Louyang has two major characteristics that everybody should know.”

Highly interested, Xu Ziling asked for guidance.

Ba Fenghan said, “First is this north-south axis, which permits the Luo River to cut across the whole city, dividing Luoyang into two regions: north and south, which are connected by four big bridges, which also connecting the Luo River with the other three streams, Yi, Chan and Jian, inside the city, so that the river course encircle the city, bringing the water from the mountain into the city, making the city and its landscape seem to be made by Heaven and arranged by Earth.”

This moment, suddenly a marvel appeared ahead; a sailboat, previously concealed beneath the buildings, sped over. From their angle of view, only the top of the sail appeared to move, as if the boat was gliding over the dry land.

Xu Ziling delightedly said, “I am accustomed to the patchwork of waterways in Jiangnan, which draw water from the rivers and the lakes into the cities, so this is no surprise. But seldom did I see something like this, the Luo River is wide, deep and perfectly straight, giving Luoyang its unique orderly and harmonious atmosphere. And the size of the city is certainly not comparable to the cities along the patchwork of waterways. So what’s the other characteristic?”

By this time the sky has brightened considerably, there were more people and vehicles on the street. From time to time a team of soldiers or guards in their glittering armor sped by along the imperial road on their way to their morning drill, adding an imposing air to this beautiful imperial city.

Ba Fenghan went on, “The other characteristic is the Wai Guo Cheng [outer city wall] outside the western city wall. Due to its natural setting of the Western Park, to the west it reaches Xin’an, to the north Mount Mang, to the south Yi Que and various hills, the area two hundred li surrounding it is comparable to the Shanglin Yuan [upper forest park] during the time of Emperor Wu of the Han Dynasty in the past. Wai Guo Cheng and the Western Park joined together, it increases the scale of Luoyang.”

The two traveled along the street until they reached the southern bank of the Luo River.

Pointing to the big bridge across the Luo River, connecting the north and the south banks, Ba Fenghan said, “That one is called Xin Zhong [new middle] Bridge. Just by looking at the size of this bridge, we can thus estimate how Yang Guang wasted manpower and resources in the past. Rumor has it that in order to make Luoyang the capital city, that muddleheaded ruler mobilized several tens of thousands wealthy tycoons from every part of the country, also three thousand plus master artisans from Henan and settled them at the twelve-lane area by the Luo River’s south bank at the southeast corner of Wai Guo Cheng. Hence the reason we have such ambience nowadays.”

And then, lowering his voice he said, “This is called ‘good result came out of bad intention’. Whoever obtains the world in the future is going to enjoy the result of Yang Guang’s construction effort. As long as he manages the government properly, he will enjoy period of prosperity.”

Xu Ziling was listening with deep veneration. Athough Ba Fenghan’s aspiration was in the martial art way, he was very insightful toward current political climate; he was definitely standing out from the masses. While the present time was clearly not the time anybody would want to put themselves in Yang Guang’s side, he was able to point out that Yang Guang’s construction establishment would bring great benefit to the future generations.

Ba Fenghan laughed and said, “We ought to find a place to cure our stomach.”

Xu Ziling readily agreed.

※ ※ ※

The City of Yanshi was located at the north bank of Luo River, south of the Yellow River, and north of the lofty Mount Song, Shaoshi Peak and other mountains, upstream from Luoyang, about a hundred li downstream was Hulao, and was an auxiliary strategic stronghold protecting Luoyang, also the front line military base to resist Li Mi’s attack from the east.

The fell of Yanshi would have directly shaken Luoyang’s stability.

Yanshi’s role on Luoyang was like Hulao’s to Xingyang.

This time Wang Shichong’s leading his army to Yanshi, he immediately posed direct threat on Hulao’s existence, because Li Mi was forced to respond, either to defend or to attack, but he simply could not play safe by waiting and not doing anything.

Under the escort of a dozen or so loyal and reliable high-ranking military officers and renowned martial art masters, Kou Zhong, Wang Shichong and Dong Shuni, who had put on informal military officer’s attire, went onboard a battleship that was moored on the dock outside the city. Accompanying them were close to two thousand guards, filling a fleet of battleships.

After stepping on deck, Kou Zhong had a sudden inspiration and pulled Wang Shichong toward the aft. Pointing to the Luo River, he said, “We must create some fake appearance to convince Li Mi that we determine to send troops to Hulao.”

Frowning, Wang Shichong said, “I stationed massive military force in Yanshi, isn’t that enough?”

Kou Zhong said, “That could be regarded as strengthening the defense, plus not giving the enemy any opportunity to set fire on the provision. I have just studied the geographic and terrain map Shangshu gave me, Hulao and Xingyang are located south of Luo River and Yellow River. It would be better if Shangshu sends some people in this city to build some pontoon bridges, connecting both sides of the Luo River; establishing two or three cannot be considered too many. And then establish storehouse and army camp on the south side. This kind of maneuver will show off more force than transferring troops around, while also avoid Li Mi making such a big fuss over besieging the city. Ha! What do you think of this strategy?”

After staring in daze at him for a moment, Wang Shichong sighed and said, “Such an excellent plan, how could I refuse?”

※ ※ ※

[HPC7595]

Thanks foxs

[LuDongBin]

Diachan was known as one of the Four Beauties of Ancient China. In the novel, Romance of the 3 Kingdoms, she was sent by Wang Yun to sow discord between the warrior, Lu Bu, and his foster father, Dong Zhou, who had gained power and had forced Han Emperor Xian to abdicate his throne to him. Eventually, Lu Bu killed Dong Zhou. Thks foxs for another chapter.

[Ysabelkid]

Thanks foxs

[spynet]

Thanks foxs!

[Jayariyin]

Thanks, foxs.

[SkyWalker]

Thanks foxs.