Fight for the Sake of the Younger Generation (Part Five)
“Western Kun’s army stretches up to the Qinling mountain range in the north through Weizhou and Zhu Guan. Head general’s judgment was correct. They want to open up two battlefronts.”
Inside the military tent hung a map of the border region, while the two walls to its side were covered by their military banner. Below the banners sat two rows of military officers.
Gu HuaiJiang held his sword and drew a line from Weizhou to Zhu Guan then all the way north. His mind was filled with the situations of the various cities along the way. How large was their population, how much food did they have stored, how many soldiers were stationed there…
After so many years of fighting, all of these conditions were committed to memory to give himself a foundation to work from, “In this battle, Western Kun’s path to victory relies on surprise attacks with their cavalry and through their numbers. To the first point, we are already prepared for their attack. To the second point, as the defenders, being at a numerical disadvantage will not create too much of a problem.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, “Based on the current conditions, there will be nothing unusual about this battle other than the large numbers of troops involved.”
Lao Jin slapped the table, “That’s right! Haven’t we followed the head general into all manners of dangerous battles before? What can this even be considered? Hahaha!”
Gu HuaiJiang did not say anything, as he looked at the various cities on the border.
Gu ShuBai and Gu JiuGe stood to the side in their armor and did not agree with Lao Jin’s opinion.
Before setting out, Gu HuaiJiang had told them that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime war. It would be something that would scarcely come about once every hundred years, so how could it be so simple?
“Everyone.”
Gu HuaiJiang turned around, and everyone suddenly stopped laughing, waiting for him to continue.
He looked at every single person in the room, “Everyone has grown accustomed to being passive and taking blows from Western Kun, and that’s why you’re able to feel satisfied with just pushing Western Kun’s army away. Is that not right?”
The smiles disappeared from everyone’s faces. To members of the army, being passive and taking blows was a matter of great humiliation.
But Gu HuaiJiang was right. When Western Kun launched their assault on Eastern Ling’s border, they had fought them off. They had chased them away from the border, which made it their victory!
Lao Jin said with great difficulty: “But didn’t head general say that our Eastern Ling is a polite society that absolutely will not do something like invading another country? His Majesty has also stated this in court. That’s why we treated Western Kun’s special envoy so well, even though we knew that they had wicked intentions. That’s why…”
That was why they never even considered what they could do aside from passively defending.
Gu HuaiJiang smiled. Lao Jin was a war hawk, and he had always complained about Emperor Ning’s priority on peace, “Things are different now. My Eastern Ling favors peace, but Western Kun continues in its bullying ways and continuously invades our Eastern Ling’s borders. I, Gu HuaiJiang, am a scholarly general, but I have been given no other choice than to invade Western Kun’s territory. Do you understand?”
What? He wanted to set foot on Western Kun’s territory?!
The atmosphere inside the tent immediately became joyous. They had followed Gu HuaiJiang and protected the border for many years, but they have never seen what Western Kun’s border cities look like. They have been wanting to go and take a look for a long time!
If this sort of talk had been brought up before, they would surely be given a stern scolding by Gu HuaiJiang. They would be told that they were soldiers meant to protect the country and its people. Were they bandits who would invade another country and use force to steal?
This time, it was Gu HuaiJiang who brought it up. They were so happy that they almost did not dare believe it.
Yan Hua was the steadiest of the officers present. While he was elated, he very quickly calmed back down, “Head general, you have never agreed to launch an assault on Western Kun, saying that if we did it, we would be no different from Western Kun’s barbarians. Why have you suddenly changed your way of thinking?”
This was also something that many in the tent wanted to ask.
Gu HuaiJiang fell silent for a moment, recalling a moment from the past. His mind flew far, far into the past.
“When I was seventeen, I followed my father to battle. At that time, I was the same as Yan Zheng and the others, hiding outside the tent to eavesdrop on what the generals were talking about while thinking that the adults inside did not know.”
Everyone’s eyes instantly turned to the entrance of the tent, and Yan Hua strode out of the tent. Sure enough, he found Yan Zheng sneakily hiding outside.
“You! You shitty brat!”
“Dad! I’m still too young and don’t have the right to go inside, but even though head general knew about this, he did not expose me. Do you still not understand what he means by this!”
Yan Hua was momentarily stunned, and Yan Zheng took advantage of this to escape.
He helplessly returned inside the tent, as Gu HuaiJiang laughed, while Lao Jin patted him on the shoulder, “Old Yan, don’t argue with him so much about this. Which one of us didn’t come up in this way?”
Thinking back to when they were young and inexperienced, the group of middle-aged officers became quite emotional. On the other hand, they felt that Gu ShuBai and the others had great lives. From the moment that they were born, they were destined to be permitted inside this tent.
Gu HuaiJiang changed the topic, “From the age of seventeen to now, over thirty years have passed, and the number of lost battles can be counted on my fingers! But Western Kun’s army continues to try and crush our Eastern Ling. Why is that?! It’s because they know that we only defend and will not counterattack. We know that it’s because we wish to remain peaceful, but Western Kun’s people believe it’s because we do not dare!”
Everyone fell silent. What Gu HuaiJiang said was an important truth; however, it also went against Eastern Ling’s practices and Emperor Ning’s ruling style.
“It was only after His Majesty broke the rules and conferred JiuGe and HanMo the rank of fourth rank generals that I suddenly remembered that I am no longer young. If the battles on the border continue year after year without end, the ones to suffer will be our younger generation. For their sake, I will devote my remaining life to ensuring that Western Kun can never invade Eastern Ling again!”
The past two years in court had been unsteady. Both he and His Majesty had been poisoned, the two princes were at odds, and Yin Shuo was constantly plotting against Marquis Gu’s Manor…
Gu ShuBai nearly died to one of his plots.
At his age, he did not want to be in a position where he had to stay at home due to old age and send his sons off to war.
Rather than that, it would be better to just press on and finish things decisively. Hand Western Kun a decisive defeat and leave their army afraid to invade ever again!
“Father!”
Gu ShuBai stepped forward, “Son is the young general of the Gu family army. The burden cannot be born by father alone!”
Gu JiuGe and Gu HanMo also stepped forward, as the seated officers also stood up.
Gu HuaiJiang gently laughed, “Isn’t that why I called all of you over? We, father and sons, will be going to war. Of course, it’s not just for you guys. It’s also for Yan Zheng, for Huo Yin… for all of the military families’ younger generation to never be troubled by war again!”
Author’s note: Yan Zheng: “Dad, you’re really stupid!”
Fight for the Sake of the Younger Generation (Part Five)
“Western Kun’s army stretches up to the Qinling mountain range in the north through Weizhou and Zhu Guan. Head general’s judgment was correct. They want to open up two battlefronts.”
Inside the military tent hung a map of the border region, while the two walls to its side were covered by their military banner. Below the banners sat two rows of military officers.
Gu HuaiJiang held his sword and drew a line from Weizhou to Zhu Guan then all the way north. His mind was filled with the situations of the various cities along the way. How large was their population, how much food did they have stored, how many soldiers were stationed there…
After so many years of fighting, all of these conditions were committed to memory to give himself a foundation to work from, “In this battle, Western Kun’s path to victory relies on surprise attacks with their cavalry and through their numbers. To the first point, we are already prepared for their attack. To the second point, as the defenders, being at a numerical disadvantage will not create too much of a problem.”
Everyone nodded their heads in agreement, “Based on the current conditions, there will be nothing unusual about this battle other than the large numbers of troops involved.”
Lao Jin slapped the table, “That’s right! Haven’t we followed the head general into all manners of dangerous battles before? What can this even be considered? Hahaha!”
Gu HuaiJiang did not say anything, as he looked at the various cities on the border.
Gu ShuBai and Gu JiuGe stood to the side in their armor and did not agree with Lao Jin’s opinion.
Before setting out, Gu HuaiJiang had told them that this would be a once-in-a-lifetime war. It would be something that would scarcely come about once every hundred years, so how could it be so simple?
“Everyone.”
Gu HuaiJiang turned around, and everyone suddenly stopped laughing, waiting for him to continue.
He looked at every single person in the room, “Everyone has grown accustomed to being passive and taking blows from Western Kun, and that’s why you’re able to feel satisfied with just pushing Western Kun’s army away. Is that not right?”
The smiles disappeared from everyone’s faces. To members of the army, being passive and taking blows was a matter of great humiliation.
But Gu HuaiJiang was right. When Western Kun launched their assault on Eastern Ling’s border, they had fought them off. They had chased them away from the border, which made it their victory!
Lao Jin said with great difficulty: “But didn’t head general say that our Eastern Ling is a polite society that absolutely will not do something like invading another country? His Majesty has also stated this in court. That’s why we treated Western Kun’s special envoy so well, even though we knew that they had wicked intentions. That’s why…”
That was why they never even considered what they could do aside from passively defending.
Gu HuaiJiang smiled. Lao Jin was a war hawk, and he had always complained about Emperor Ning’s priority on peace, “Things are different now. My Eastern Ling favors peace, but Western Kun continues in its bullying ways and continuously invades our Eastern Ling’s borders. I, Gu HuaiJiang, am a scholarly general, but I have been given no other choice than to invade Western Kun’s territory. Do you understand?”
What? He wanted to set foot on Western Kun’s territory?!
The atmosphere inside the tent immediately became joyous. They had followed Gu HuaiJiang and protected the border for many years, but they have never seen what Western Kun’s border cities look like. They have been wanting to go and take a look for a long time!
If this sort of talk had been brought up before, they would surely be given a stern scolding by Gu HuaiJiang. They would be told that they were soldiers meant to protect the country and its people. Were they bandits who would invade another country and use force to steal?
This time, it was Gu HuaiJiang who brought it up. They were so happy that they almost did not dare believe it.
Yan Hua was the steadiest of the officers present. While he was elated, he very quickly calmed back down, “Head general, you have never agreed to launch an assault on Western Kun, saying that if we did it, we would be no different from Western Kun’s barbarians. Why have you suddenly changed your way of thinking?”
This was also something that many in the tent wanted to ask.
Gu HuaiJiang fell silent for a moment, recalling a moment from the past. His mind flew far, far into the past.
“When I was seventeen, I followed my father to battle. At that time, I was the same as Yan Zheng and the others, hiding outside the tent to eavesdrop on what the generals were talking about while thinking that the adults inside did not know.”
Everyone’s eyes instantly turned to the entrance of the tent, and Yan Hua strode out of the tent. Sure enough, he found Yan Zheng sneakily hiding outside.
“You! You shitty brat!”
“Dad! I’m still too young and don’t have the right to go inside, but even though head general knew about this, he did not expose me. Do you still not understand what he means by this!”
Yan Hua was momentarily stunned, and Yan Zheng took advantage of this to escape.
He helplessly returned inside the tent, as Gu HuaiJiang laughed, while Lao Jin patted him on the shoulder, “Old Yan, don’t argue with him so much about this. Which one of us didn’t come up in this way?”
Thinking back to when they were young and inexperienced, the group of middle-aged officers became quite emotional. On the other hand, they felt that Gu ShuBai and the others had great lives. From the moment that they were born, they were destined to be permitted inside this tent.
Gu HuaiJiang changed the topic, “From the age of seventeen to now, over thirty years have passed, and the number of lost battles can be counted on my fingers! But Western Kun’s army continues to try and crush our Eastern Ling. Why is that?! It’s because they know that we only defend and will not counterattack. We know that it’s because we wish to remain peaceful, but Western Kun’s people believe it’s because we do not dare!”
Everyone fell silent. What Gu HuaiJiang said was an important truth; however, it also went against Eastern Ling’s practices and Emperor Ning’s ruling style.
“It was only after His Majesty broke the rules and conferred JiuGe and HanMo the rank of fourth rank generals that I suddenly remembered that I am no longer young. If the battles on the border continue year after year without end, the ones to suffer will be our younger generation. For their sake, I will devote my remaining life to ensuring that Western Kun can never invade Eastern Ling again!”
The past two years in court had been unsteady. Both he and His Majesty had been poisoned, the two princes were at odds, and Yin Shuo was constantly plotting against Marquis Gu’s Manor…
Gu ShuBai nearly died to one of his plots.
At his age, he did not want to be in a position where he had to stay at home due to old age and send his sons off to war.
Rather than that, it would be better to just press on and finish things decisively. Hand Western Kun a decisive defeat and leave their army afraid to invade ever again!
“Father!”
Gu ShuBai stepped forward, “Son is the young general of the Gu family army. The burden cannot be born by father alone!”
Gu JiuGe and Gu HanMo also stepped forward, as the seated officers also stood up.
Gu HuaiJiang gently laughed, “Isn’t that why I called all of you over? We, father and sons, will be going to war. Of course, it’s not just for you guys. It’s also for Yan Zheng, for Huo Yin… for all of the military families’ younger generation to never be troubled by war again!”
Author’s note: Yan Zheng: “Dad, you’re really stupid!”
