Taiheiki

Chapter 345 Arrival
“My child, you must remain king, otherwise who else can take your place!” The queen sighed, embraced her son, and whispered in his ear, “As for your father, let Vishnu decide his fate!”

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“Prime Minister Samba, this is Captain Duan Wei of the Tiger Fang Army. He is the one leading the vanguard of the reinforcements this time!” Yu Wen said with a smile.

"Oh, oh! I've been eagerly awaiting the arrival of reinforcements these past few days, and today I finally see them. I can finally sleep peacefully!" Sangba hurriedly bowed to Duan Wei. Yu Wen's tricks from the past few days hadn't completely fooled him; after all, the Han army's attire was completely different from the locals'. However, he hadn't wanted to expose them. Ultimately, the hope of reinforcements arriving soon was also beneficial to him. Now that he saw that the reinforcements had truly arrived, the weight on his heart finally lifted.

Duan Wei smiled slightly, understanding the unspoken meaning in the other's words: "An army cannot function without provisions. I have only brought the vanguard; the main force is still behind. I will have to trouble you with the manpower and supplies!"

“That’s easy!” Samba agreed readily. “The weather has been favorable for the past two years, and the city’s granaries are full, so the military’s food needs are no concern for the captain. How about this, I will immediately send three thousand shi of rice, five hundred shi of dried fish, and one hundred shi of salt for the military needs, what do you think?”

"Excellent!" Duan Wei was secretly pleased to see that the other party agreed so readily. "I heard from Yu Wen that your country is currently recruiting soldiers after your defeat. I wonder how many soldiers you have now?"

"We already have over 14,000 infantrymen, but only five war elephants!"

"So many!" Duan Wei exclaimed happily, "Excellent! When the Juchang people arrive, we'll defeat them in one fell swoop!" Yu Wen, who was standing nearby, coughed twice upon hearing this. Duan Wei glanced at him and asked, "What's wrong? Did I say something wrong?"

"Captain!" Samba said with a wry smile, "These are all newly recruited farmers who have never been trained. Sending them to the battlefield like this is just sending them to their deaths!"

"I see!" Duan Wei frowned. "If that's the case, then we can only try to delay as much as possible until my brother arrives!"

“Indeed, that’s what I thought too!” Samba laughed. “I have already sent documents to the various vassal states, and the number of reinforcements coming in will only increase.”

"Hmm!" Duan Wei thought for a moment, "I see that your capital city isn't very big. Since that's the case, there's no need to gather more than 10,000 people in the capital. Just leave four or five thousand people, and let the rest return to their own villages. You can order all villages to dig trenches, build fortifications, and insert bamboo sticks into the trenches, and have the able-bodied men in each village make bamboo spears for self-defense!"

"Will this... will this work?" Samba asked hesitantly.

“Of course it will be useful!” Duan Wei laughed. “The Ju-ting people came in a hurry, so they can only levy grain from the surrounding villages. As long as each village has basic defensive capabilities, we can force them to divide their forces to seize grain. That will be our opportunity. As long as we can win one or two battles, the Ju-ting people will have to adjust their deployment, which will naturally delay them!”

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Like the ancient Chinese, the Gochō people also regarded comets as an ominous sign. Sitting on horseback, the Gochō general could hear the whispers of his soldiers behind him. But on the second night after defeating the Funan people, he saw the star. "This is a sign that guides me to victory," he said, looking at the sky with deep emotion, telling himself that it was a guiding star sent by the gods to lead him forward.

However, when he was about to speak his mind, his lieutenant said fearfully, "General, do you see that star in the sky? It looks like a long one, like it has a tail. This is not a good omen!"

"It guides us to victory!" the general laughed. "The star appeared after the fire attack was successful!"

The lieutenant fell silent; he dared not deny his superior's words to his face, though doubt was still evident in his eyes. The general proclaimed, "The capital of Funan is still a day's journey away. Funan rules over the most fertile land; their granaries are filled with grain and all sorts of treasures. Even slaves wear silk robes and eat rice and fish soup. If we conquer the capital, we will all become rich!"

The general's speech had a good effect, and the soldiers cheered. Compared to the inhabitants of the plains, these mountain people were freer and poorer. Many of them wore only a leather coat, carried a spear and a wooden bow, and joined the Gou-ting army to plunder southward. It was precisely for this reason that the Gou-ting army, which started with only about six or seven thousand men from their homeland, had grown to over thirty thousand by the time they reached Funan, the majority of whom were these mountain people. These mountain people were natural anarchists; the only way to get them to obey orders was through tangible benefits.

"General! The scout is back!"

"Very good!" General Gochō dismounted. "Bring him here!"

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"What? Han reinforcements have arrived!" The general frowned. "Do you know how many there are?"

"I can't be sure. According to the Funan people, ships carrying Han soldiers arrive at the port every day. I estimate that four or five thousand have already arrived, and there are even more soldiers following behind. There is a high-ranking official in charge of all the Han soldiers!" the scout replied.

"Han ships arrive every day? Four or five thousand men? And a high-ranking Han official?" A look of doubt crossed his face. If the scouts were telling the truth, it meant the Han army had set off long ago, at least before his fire attack on the Funan, otherwise they wouldn't have had time. Why would the Han do this? Kill two birds with one stone? Or use a diversionary tactic? He suddenly felt a chill, as if he had fallen into a huge trap.

"Send out more scouts! I need more, more accurate information!" the general shouted. After his messenger hurriedly ran off, he took a deep breath. "Also, bring Mr. Ying here. I have something to ask him!"

"Explain yourself!" the general said grimly. "Why? Why are Han Chinese troops appearing in the capital of the Funan people? Are you my enemies or my friends?"

"Based solely on your word, I don't know how to explain this!" Ying Feng tried his best to appear calm and composed. "As for whether I am a friend or an enemy, who suggested you use fire to attack the Funan people? Isn't that enough?"

The general snorted coldly, unable to refute Ying Feng's rebuttal. He nodded reluctantly: "Alright, I admit you're a friend, but how do you explain the appearance of the Han army in the capital of Funan? Don't forget, it was the Han emperor who issued the edict ordering our Gou-ting to go on the expedition!"

“I’ve already said I can’t answer your question. Perhaps your scouts were mistaken, or it could be a misunderstanding. Truly, I’m with you, I know just as much as you do, how can I answer you?” Ying Feng asked. “If you still trust me, then be patient for a day or two until we reach the capital. Let me see everything with my own eyes, and then I’ll give you my answer. Or you can arrest me now, put me in shackles, and treat me like an enemy.” Saying this, Ying Feng stretched out his hands, as if resigned to his fate. The general stared for a long time, then finally nodded: “Alright, I’ll be patient for two more days. Don’t worry, even if you’ve deceived me, I won’t humiliate you with shackles. Qielan will wash away the shame of being deceived with swords!”

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"The prime minister has already dismissed half the soldiers! And handed over the only five war elephants to the Han Chinese captain!" The temple was silent, surrounded by flickering firelight and heavy shadows. The clerk tried his best to keep his voice down: "He also took a large amount of gold, silver and spices from the king's treasury!"

"Is it to be put into one's own pocket?" the queen asked.

"No, it should be given to the Han Chinese envoys!"

"He wants to use the support of the Han army to launch a coup?" The Queen frowned, then immediately dismissed the idea. He probably just wanted to please the Han general and save his own life and property. But why would he dismiss the soldiers he had painstakingly recruited? The Queen fell into deep thought again.

"Your Majesty, it's getting late. I only came out briefly and can't stay out for too long!" the clerk asked anxiously.

"You may leave now!" The Queen smiled charmingly. "And—," she called to the clerk, "thank you very much, truly! I will reward you with something worthy of your contribution in the future. If I forget, please remind me!" With that, she removed the gemstone ring from her right index finger and placed it in the clerk's hand.

"I am at your service!" The clerk knelt down gratefully, kissed the queen's hand, and then quickly left.

After seeing off the spies she had planted beside the prime minister, the queen returned to the palace. The young king was sitting on a cushion, learning to read and write. The queen waited silently until the lesson was over. The young king spotted his mother, ran excitedly to her, and hugged her arm: "Mother, when did you arrive!"

"Just now!" The Queen stroked her son's hair. The young king had inherited her handsome looks, which made her even more fond of him. After asking about his studies for a while, a palace maid entered and whispered, "Your Majesty, the enemy has appeared!"

The queen kissed her son, stood up, and said in a voice that even she herself found unfamiliar, "Go to the watchtower!"

Thick smoke filled the northern sky. Columns of black smoke rose from hundreds of bonfires in the distance, their black edges obscuring the sky. Across Tonle Sap Lake, flames filled the horizon, burning all night. Meanwhile, on this side, Duan Wei ordered the riverside area outside the capital to be set ablaze: docks and warehouses, houses and taverns, everything outside the city walls was burned.

Because of the wind direction, even outside the palace, the Queen could still smell the ashes. The young king sneezed, and the Queen stroked her son's smooth hair, whispering, "Is it uncomfortable? Remember, this is the smell of war!"

"Why is our soil also burning?" the little king asked.

"Because the people of Gou-chō have arrived. The flames in the distance are from them looting the village, while the fires nearby were set by our soldiers!" the Queen replied.

"Why are our soldiers setting fire to those houses? Aren't those my people's houses?" the young king asked.

"Because these houses are outside the city walls! If they aren't burned down, they can be used as a shield when the defending soldiers shoot arrows at the enemy below!"

“That’s wrong! The owners of those houses are innocent, and their houses shouldn’t be burned down!” After a moment, the little king replied, “When I grow up, I will defeat the enemy beyond the borders, and then there will be no need to burn down these houses!”

"You are a brave child, but bravery alone is not enough!" the Queen laughed. "There is also cunning in war, and you still have a lot to learn!"

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"The first step is to control all the boats we can find on the lake, so the enemy can only come from land!" Duan Wei's finger slid across the map: "And we can take the boats across the lake to attack the enemy's weak points! And the firelight will mark the enemy's location!"

"The Commandant's insight is brilliant!" Yu Wen said with a smile, and this wasn't entirely flattery. Duan Wei had fought alongside his brother against the Qiang people in the Northwest for over a decade, accumulating a wealth of military experience, especially in situations where they were outnumbered. After all, in the Northwest, his brother had often led several thousand Han soldiers in relentless pursuit of tens of thousands of rebellious Qiang. The key to defeating a superior enemy was to seize their vital points and attack them fiercely, while simultaneously protecting one's own forces as much as possible.

In Duan Wei's view, the Gou-ting people's advantage was their large population, but their weakness was also their large population. After all, more people meant more mouths to feed, and feeding so many mouths required a large amount of food. Unfortunately, the area surrounding the capital of Funan was an extremely fertile agricultural region, and there was no time to implement a scorched-earth policy. It wouldn't be difficult for the Gou-ting people to obtain food. Therefore, he ordered the villages in Funan to strengthen their defenses as much as possible—not to defend against the Gou-ting people's raids, but to prevent them from raiding too easily, leaving traces and breaking up their formations. This would allow him to use the advantage of waterways to divide his forces and attack these Gou-ting people's grain-raiding teams, dragging out the war into small, fragmented battles to neutralize the enemy's numerical advantage.

"Alright, it's still early, everyone go and rest!" Duan Wei waved his hand. "We'll set off again after dusk. The night is a friend of the brave!"

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As dusk fell, the village was ablaze with firelight. The cheers and shouts of the victors nearly lifted the roofs off, while the occasional sobs of the defeated were quickly drowned out by the laughter.

An Cun glanced back enviously at the village campfire. His companions were enjoying their spoils around it—wine, fragrant white rice, a stew cooked with plenty of spices, and young, beautiful women. He had heard the elders in the village speak of this land beside the great lake: fertile soil, warm weather, where sowing seeds yielded bountiful harvests; the lake teemed with fish, enough to feed even the servants. The king, he said, lived like a god, residing in stone palaces, using gold and silver utensils, eating exquisite food, and being served by the most beautiful women. He had seen the captured king—fat, cowardly, and incompetent. He had initially thought the village elders were lying, but upon arriving in this land, he realized they weren't lying; it was all true.

"Looks like this trip was worthwhile!" He licked his lips. "I can take a large sum of money back with me, enough not only to marry Ah Tang from the neighboring village, but also to live comfortably for a few years!"

(End of this chapter)