Chapter 21: The True Meaning of Wisdom

After a grueling battle, Huang Chao’s army finally shook off the pursuit of the Taining Army, withdrawing from the woodlands beyond the northern Bian River embankment back to their base at Yanwang City.

However, lacking chariots to coordinate their efforts, Huang Chao’s cavalry proved insufficient to sustain a prolonged engagement against the Taining Army’s horsemen, who were bolstered by Kou Qianzhi and the twenty-eight riders of the Nebula. Zhu Wen, Meng Kai, and the others had fought with blood and fury, pinning down Kou Qianzhi’s command to allow the rebel forces a safe retreat, but the cost in cavalry casualties was severe. Zhu Wen had suffered internal injuries from Kou Qianzhi’s "Ten Forms of Heaven-Resistance," while Meng Kai had pushed his physical limits to hold off both Kou Qianzhi and the Flying Cloud Cavalry, sustaining multiple wounds in the process. Commanders such as Ban Fanlang, Peng Baihu, and Zhu Cun were all similarly battered.

Clearly, this engagement was a defeat for the rebel army. The camp was permeated with a sense of dejection; no one dared speak of further resistance. Yet, if Qi Kerang were allowed to continue excavating the embankment, the Yanwang City camp, situated in a low-lying area, would inevitably be submerged by the roaring floodwaters. If they were to relocate beforehand, how could an army with low morale, burdened by heavy baggage, withstand the enemy’s full-scale assault on open ground?

Was this Great Battle of Songzhou destined to conclude with the heroes of the wild once again casting aside their armor and suffering a crushing defeat, while the Imperial Court used the severed heads and blood of the rebels to demonstrate that the Great Tang had not lost its old martial prowess in suppressing all dissent?

No one was willing to accept such an outcome.

Tyranny, corruption, oppression. Even in the deepest reaches of the mountains, there was no way to escape the levies and forced labor. Many of the men who joined the rebel ranks—the brothers and comrades in the camp—had been driven to the point where they possessed not even a sliver of land to stand on, forcing them to take up arms. They believed in the ideals preached by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, seeking nothing more than a meal and a path to survival.

Having fought through countless hardships and brushes with death, who would willingly watch the strength they had painstakingly built over the years collapse in an instant, leaving them as fugitives to be hunted and slaughtered at the enemy's whim? Who would willingly have their head severed and piled into a mound—a *jingguan*—to glorify the martial achievements of the Great Tang’s famous generals in butchering the common folk?

Inside a rectangular tent with a four-sloped roof, Zhu Wen and his brother Zhu Cun laid out a dining mat and refreshments. There was no wine on the table, only a large pitcher of peach puree, chilled to the bone in a well. Zhu Wen lifted a painted red-lacquer dish, took a quiet sip, and felt the tart, icy juice trickle slowly down his throat, making him shudder.

"The four categories of military strategy in the *Book of Han* are: Military Power and Tactics, Military Yin-Yang, Military Situation, and Military Techniques."

"Military Power and Tactics rely on orthodox methods to defend the state and unorthodox ones to wage war; they involve planning before fighting, encompassing situational awareness, mastering Yin-Yang, and utilizing technical skills."

"Military Situation involves moving with the speed of thunder and wind, striking after the enemy but arriving first, shifting between gathering and dispersing, and using agility to defeat the enemy."

"Military Yin-Yang relies on acting in accordance with the seasons, promoting virtue, following the movements of the stars, and invoking the aid of spirits."

"Military Techniques involve drilling troops, perfecting weaponry, and accumulating mechanical devices to gain an advantage in attack and defense."

Zhu Wen’s expression was cold. "The 'Snow Marshal' Qi Kerang belongs to the school of Military Techniques. He uses mechanical devices and civil engineering to overcome the strong with the weak. By building mountains and digging trenches, he can hold back a thousand armies."

"Such an opponent is as immovable as a mountain, as unfathomable as Yin and Yang, and as a master of defense, he hides deep beneath the earth."

Zhu Wen was by no means "bolstering the enemy's spirit while destroying his own," but Qi Kerang, one of the four great marshals of the Tang, was truly such a terrifying opponent.

"Third Brother, you rarely speak this much," Zhu Cun said with a mischievous grin. "It’s just like when you were reciting books as a child."

"Second Brother, do you remember? Because you fell asleep during lessons, Father got angry and wanted to punish you with a ruler. When he tested you, it turned out you had memorized the Four Books and Five Classics perfectly. You were only four years old then..."

As Zhu Cun mentioned the past when their father was still alive, his eyes, round as brass bells, dimmed with nostalgia.

"No matter how good one's memory is, if you don't take the time to review it, you will always forget," Zhu Wen said with a sigh.

"Qi Kerang, combined with Kou Qianzhi, is like a seamless net, trapping our army completely. We are like people stuck in an iron room without a single crack, suffocating, yet lacking any means to break through."

"So, you are helpless now, reduced to reciting ancient military texts and lamenting the enemy's strength?" Zhu Cun teased, though his gaze remained exceptionally gentle, devoid of any blame.

Zhu Wen fell silent. He prided himself on his intellect, yet he could not find a way to break the deadlock or offer any useful advice to his master, Huang Chao. He clearly remembered the boast he had made to Wang Xianzhi not long ago: "I, Zhu, pride myself on having a bit of strategic insight. I am willing to exhaust my meager talents for the Alliance Leader and my Master; it is not impossible to make this 'Snow Marshal,' who claims to calculate every move, suffer greatly!"

Zhu Wen was a man of immense pride. Even if no one else brought it up, he cared deeply about it himself. Those words cut into his heart like a knife, causing him excruciating pain. Was he truly useless? Was he merely a reckless youth? Qi Kerang and Kou Qianzhi were strong men with both pride and backbone. Was he, then, just a foolhardy youth with nothing but arrogance?

No, I do not believe it!

Second Brother Zhu Cun’s eyes, which appeared foolish but held great wisdom, clearly saw through Zhu Wen’s anxiety. He slowly stood up, his massive, tower-like frame rising, and began to rub Zhu Wen’s shoulder with his fan-like hand.

"Third Brother, do you remember when we were children and ran into a bear in the forest?"

Zhu Wen was startled, wondering why Zhu Cun would bring up something unrelated to the war at such a time. Yet, every time he thought of it, his heart still warmed.

"Second Brother, of course I remember!" Zhu Wen replied firmly. "If you hadn't risked your life to save me, I wouldn't be in this world today."

"Third Brother, truthfully, I was scared too," Zhu Cun recalled the incident when they were children, the memory still chilling him. "That huge, dark beast stood before us like a man. But you—you had broken your leg."

"I carried you on my back and ran, but how could a half-grown boy carrying a child outrun a bear?"

"Seeing it about to catch us, I had to put you down, turn around, raise my hands, and bare my teeth while roaring at the beast."

Zhu Wen’s eyes grew moist. "Yes, I remember. You even wrapped me in your outer robe, preparing to roll me down the steep slope nearby if the giant bear attacked, so you could stay behind and fight it..."

Zhu Cun grinned, showing a silly smile, his eyes filled with pride. "Heaven never closes all doors. Perhaps the heavens finally opened their eyes; the bear saw me roaring louder than it could, and it actually turned away, disappearing into the forest step by step."

He patted Zhu Wen’s shoulder again. "For all these years, the two of us brothers have always managed to do what others couldn't. Your martial arts are already superior to mine, but there are many who are stronger than you. Third Brother, what is truly incomparable—what no one else can replace—is your extraordinary ability to adapt at critical moments."

"Joining the army was your idea; I just followed you. But Grand Marshal Huang is a good man, and good men shouldn't suffer defeat."

"This time, Second Brother will still guard your back with my life. You only need to be yourself, and you will be able to break this desperate situation!"

By the end, Zhu Cun’s voice, which usually lacked emotional fluctuations, became passionate, his eyes filled with absolute trust in Zhu Wen.

Zhu Wen sat stunned for a long time. No one knows a brother better than a brother. Second Brother Zhu Cun still believed he could perform a miracle.

Once his heart calmed, Zhu Wen’s mind became as clear as an autumn stream. The gloom vanished in an instant, and the image that suddenly appeared in his mind set his blood boiling!

"Because I saw the stature and vision of the Snow Marshal, I felt like a mischievous child who could only be a farmer in the Xuzhou countryside?"

"If that were true, why did I, Zhu Wen, come to this battlefield?"

"I came, I saw, and now, I will personally rewrite the outcome of this war!"

The candle flame at the corner of the tent flickered low. Zhu Wen stood up abruptly and laughed heartily, spreading his arms, ready to embrace the crashing waves of this chaotic era.

For a martial commander on the battlefield, the complex emotions—anxiety, struggle, the heart pounding for victory, the surging blood, and the fear—all competing between life and death—could not be captured by the phrase "calculating every move." Zhu Wen was the type of strategist who excelled at fueling reason with passion in desperate straits, where wisdom erupted under pressure. He grew stronger in the face of adversity and would never lose his composure just because the enemy was powerful.

As he connected the threads into a line, allowing this great web to bloom with the light of wisdom, all the dark clouds dissipated in that very moment.

"Second Brother, I am going to see the Master now."

Zhu Wen stood up abruptly, his eyes filled with unparalleled determination and absolute confidence.