Zhuge Jin ∙ AD 234
I pace impatiently in my tent, waiting for the messenger to arrive with a reply from First General[1] Lu Boyan. General Lu and I were tasked with attacking Xiangyang during our northern expedition to Wei. The General had dispatched a trusted subordinate to deliver a report to His Majesty; regrettably, he was captured by enemy soldiers at Mianzhong. Alarmed upon receiving news of this leak, I wrote to General Lu proposing a hasty withdrawal, and now await instructions to proceed.
Finally, the messenger returns. 'What did General Lu say?' I ask anxiously.
'General Lu…did not reply to the letter,' the messenger reports timorously. 'From what I saw, he spent his time…supervising the planting of turnips and beans, and...playing chess and games with his subordinates.'
If this were any other general, I would suspect that he had lost his mind. But this is Lu Boyan who burnt Liu Bei's forty-odd camps in a single night, hence I calm myself and tell the generals around me, 'Lu Boyan is extremely ingenious; he surely has a plan.' Then I make a trip to the General's camp.
General Lu elucidates his plans to me calmly, a stolid tree amidst a storm. 'The enemy knows that His Majesty has retreated, and has no worries in concentrating their forces against us. If we give hints of withdrawal now, the enemy will think we are afraid and continue in pursuit, which will undoubtedly lead to our defeat. Therefore, Ziyu, our best course of action for now is to wait.
'In a few days, you can lead the navy back south; I shall command the land troops to feign an attack on Xiangyang. The enemy will be thrown off our trail, and we can withdraw without fear of attack.'
A well-considered plan! Lu Boyan is, without question, a strategist on the order of Sunzi and Wu Qi[2]!
'Well, since there is nothing to be done for now, let us sit down and have a good chat. How is Kang'er?' I enquire about his nine-year-old son.
A smile lights up Boyan's face. 'Kang'er is doing well. My lady teaches him the Classics, while Ding Chengyuan teaches him swordsmanship. Chengyuan even told Kang'er that when he is old enough to follow me out into the field, he will give Kang'er the bells that he carries by his side, so that all shall fear his approach,' he says, grinning.
I chuckle at this piece of news. 'Chengyuan is thinking of passing the bells to him? Then Kang'er must be excelling!' After Gan Ning and Ling Tong worked in concert to protect His Majesty during the battle of Xiaoyao Ford, Ling Tong agreed to forgive Gan Ning on the condition that Gan Ning give him his bells, as a symbol of a break from his past. Upon his deathbed, Ling Tong passed them to Ding Feng, who was Gan Ning's best subordinate. 'Who would have envisioned that Gongji and Xingba would make up someday?'
Boyan nods. 'Indeed. It is so wonderful to have concord instead of conflict.'
We chat into the night, and although we are in the middle of a battle, I feel myself in an oasis of serenity.
Footnotes:
[1] 上大将军。
[2] Sun Wu, the author of The Art of War, and Wu Qi were outstanding military strategists of the Warring States period.
