Chapter 115: Jia Xu Offers a Strategy

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Liu Yao nodded in satisfaction and continued, “The second realm is plotting for others. One must learn not only to plan for oneself, but also to devise strategies for others. If a strategist cannot offer counsel to others, he can hardly be called a strategist at all.

“The third realm is plotting against armies. Being able to plan for oneself and for others can protect only a handful of people. But a true strategist must possess the ability to plot for the lives of tens of thousands, even hundreds of thousands. ‘The supreme art of war is to subdue the enemy without fighting’—that is precisely what this means.

“The fourth realm is plotting against feudal lords and great clans. To scheme for one person or even a thousand is still merely a shallow level. Anyone capable of plotting against feudal lords and great families must possess broad vision and extraordinary insight—qualities beyond the reach of ordinary men.

“As for the fifth realm, once one has achieved the previous four, he may be called a man of considerable strategic talent. But he still cannot yet be called a true strategist. A true strategist must possess an ability ordinary people do not: the ability to plot for the realm itself.”

Guo Jia and Jia Xu listened with rapt attention, both wearing expressions of profound enlightenment.

Liu Yao then rose to his feet, clasped his hands before him, and declared passionately, “Amid this chaotic age, I wish to rebuild a new Han Empire. Will you gentlemen help me?”

He had naturally spoken those words for Jia Xu’s benefit. He needed to show Jia Xu the grandeur of his ambitions.

Jia Xu was deeply satisfied. Liu Yao possessed every quality a wise ruler should have. What fault could there possibly be to find?

“We are willing to serve Your Highness with all our strength,” Guo Jia and Jia Xu said together, cupping their fists firmly.

Liu Yao broke into a brilliant smile and invited Jia Xu to take his seat as well.

“Wenhe, can you tell me why you were being pursued by the Qiang?” Liu Yao asked curiously.

Jia Xu could only smile bitterly. “Your Highness, I did not lie about that. It was exactly as I said before—I merely escaped from the Qiang.”

Liu Yao was overjoyed and hurriedly asked, “Then the secret you mentioned earlier is true as well? Quickly, tell me everything.”

“Your Highness, a few days ago I escaped from a grain depot belonging to the Qiang, located not far outside Jincheng. Their provisions will last no more than three months,” Jia Xu replied.

Liu Yao was delighted. If the army learned that the Qiang were running short of provisions, their morale would certainly collapse. Yet his spirits dimmed at once. Three months still seemed rather long for the ancient-text mission he had to complete.

“Wenhe, how many men are stationed at that Qiang grain depot?” Guo Jia suddenly asked.

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Jia Xu naturally realized that Guo Jia had reached the same conclusion he had. “There are not many troops guarding the depot—only five thousand. Their discipline is lax, and the Qiang commander is nothing but an incompetent fool.”

Guo Jia then gave a sly smile. “Your Highness, in that case, we need only dispatch two thousand soldiers from the Vanguard Battalion. I am confident that burning the depot will be no difficult task. Combined with the stratagem of sowing discord we used earlier, the Qiang will surely descend into chaos within a month and can then be destroyed with a simple turn of the hand.”

“Very well. We shall proceed according to Fengxiao’s plan,” Liu Yao said with a smile.

At this rate, the Qiang would certainly be annihilated within three months, and the mission should pose no great difficulty.

Jia Xu, however, was curious about Liu Yao’s stratagem of sowing discord and asked him to explain it.

Liu Yao could not help feeling embarrassed. After all, the very man whose strategy he had copied was sitting before him. Nevertheless, he steeled himself and recounted the plan.

The moment Jia Xu heard it, he exclaimed in admiration. He praised Liu Yao without reserve. If Jia Xu himself had been trying to drive a wedge between the two men, he would have employed precisely the same stratagem. Their thoughts had, remarkably, converged. Had Jia Xu known that Liu Yao had copied the plan from him, no one could say what he might have thought.

“Your Highness, I have another stratagem,” Jia Xu said with a smile. “It will bring about the Qiang’s destruction even more swiftly, while greatly reducing our own casualties.”

After hearing Guo Jia offer a plan and Liu Yao contribute one of his own, Jia Xu was naturally unwilling to be outdone.

Liu Yao laughed inwardly. At the same time, he could not help mourning the pitiful Qiang. If a people targeted simultaneously by the brilliant Guo Jia and the Venomous Strategist Jia Xu could still survive, Liu Yao could only offer his deepest admiration.

“Wenhe, tell me quickly,” Liu Yao urged.

Guo Jia, too, turned toward Jia Xu with curiosity. He wanted to see what marvelous plan this newcomer—whom the lord had dubbed the Venomous Strategist—could devise.

“Your Highness, do you know Ma Teng of Fufeng?” Jia Xu asked with a smile.

Liu Yao’s heart stirred—not because of Ma Teng himself, but because of his son, Ma Chao, one of the Five Tiger Generals and a warrior of unparalleled ability. At present, Ma Chao was probably still only a boy of ten or so. As for Ma Teng, he was unquestionably loyal to the Han court.

Ma Teng, courtesy name Shoucheng, was a native of Maoling in Fufeng. He was a descendant of Ma Yuan, the famed Wave-Subduing General of the Former Han, and devoted himself to restoring the glory of his ancestor.

In history, Ma Teng had once marched to Xuchang to attack Cao Cao solely because of Emperor Xian’s Edict Hidden in the Belt. Though the plot failed and Cao Cao later lured him to Xuchang and had him killed, there was never the slightest doubt about Ma Teng’s loyalty to the Han Empire.

“Wenhe, does your plan have something to do with Ma Teng?” Liu Yao asked.

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“Precisely.” Jia Xu smiled. “Your Highness, Ma Teng and I are old acquaintances, so I know very well how loyal he is to the Han Empire. He has always wished to restore the glory of his ancestor, the Wave-Subduing General Ma Yuan. Your Highness need only give him an opportunity, and I am confident I can persuade Ma Teng to serve you. For the sake of that aspiration, he will certainly not refuse.

“Moreover, Ma Teng has some ties with Han Sui. Once the Qiang’s provisions have been completely destroyed, we can have Ma Teng take a small amount of grain and a contingent of his soldiers to Jincheng to aid Han Sui. Han Sui will have no reason for suspicion. With Ma Teng acting as our man within the city, we can coordinate an attack from within and without, open the gates of Jincheng for our army, and destroy the Qiang in an instant.”

Liu Yao could not help drawing in a sharp breath.

If matters proceeded as Jia Xu had described, the destruction of their provisions would send the Qiang’s morale plummeting. With Ma Teng serving as an agent within their ranks, the Qiang would be utterly at their mercy.

Most importantly, Liu Yao genuinely wished to bring Ma Teng into his service. For one thing, he wanted Ma Chao, a tiger of a general. For another, with Ma Teng’s influence in Liangzhou, Liu Yao’s future campaign to conquer the region would become far easier.

“Lord, Master Wenhe’s plan is truly superb. I admit that I cannot match it,” Guo Jia praised.

“You flatter me, Fengxiao. I have merely added a little brilliance to your plan. Even following your strategy alone, we could still annihilate the Qiang,” Jia Xu replied modestly.

“That will do. Stop praising one another,” Liu Yao said with a smile, cutting off their mutual compliments. “Then I shall entrust this journey to Wuwei to you, Wenhe. I will have five hundred of my personal guards escort you there.”

The road was dangerous, and Qiang soldiers could appear at any moment. If anything happened to Jia Xu, Liu Yao would have no way to bear it.

“My lord, that is absolutely impossible,” Jia Xu hastily protested. “The movement of five hundred men would be far too conspicuous. If Qiang scouts discovered us, our entire plan might be exposed.”

“Hmm?” Liu Yao frowned. Jia Xu was right. If the Qiang learned that he had sent men to Wuwei, the matter concerning Ma Teng would certainly be exposed as well. Yet Liu Yao was still afraid that Jia Xu might encounter danger, leaving him caught between two difficult choices.

Jia Xu naturally saw his lord’s hesitation. Pointing to a man standing behind Liu Yao, he said, “My lord, I need only this one general. Traveling with just two men will make us far less likely to attract attention.”