Volume Three: The Hero Falls Silent, The World Grows Old 17 Dongmou II

War is a deadly instrument; once the drums of battle sound, one enters the realm of life and death. In an unfamiliar environment, with both allies and enemies harboring hidden agendas, Deng She knew that amidst the thick fog of war, the only ones he could truly trust were his own men. On the third day of setting camp, Zheng Sanbao and Chen Hu sent a military report confirming they had arrived at the designated location on time.

This brought a great sense of relief to Deng She.

Reports from Liaoyang flowed in incessantly: Pan Cheng and Sha Liu’er were at their respective posts; the front lines at Guangning and Liaoxi were calm, with no movement from the enemy; the Liaoyang troops had completed their mobilization; and the vanguard, composed of irregular forces under Hu Zhong and Liu Daqing, had already set out, expected to make contact with the first line of defense of the Yuan forces in southern Liaoning in two days.

...

In the city of Liaoyang, where war drums beat and banners fluttered, a staff officer reported to Guan Duo: "Everything is proceeding smoothly; it is all under control."

This was the beginning of a grand chess game. Within three months at most, the situation in Liaodong would undergo a seismic shift. Success or failure hinged on this single move. Even for a man as composed as Guan Duo, he could not suppress a surge of excitement. He managed to restrain his overflowing emotions and said, "Do not be careless. Focus your attention on Shenyang. Send another envoy to confirm the follow-up steps with Nagachu... Whether the heavens of Liaodong will change depends entirely on the cooperation of Shenyang. There can be absolutely no errors!"

The staff officer bowed respectfully and withdrew. His footsteps echoed far through the empty and dim palace corridors. Upon exiting, he habitually glanced at the sky; the night was deep.

...

Sha Liu’er had not slept all night. With a great battle imminent, even though he was in the rear and his task was merely defensive, the burden was heavy.

As the saying goes, a single pull affects the whole body. As Guan Duo had said, the focus of attacking southern Liaoning was not southern Liaoning itself, but Liaoxi, Guangning, and Shenyang. If these three areas were held, southern Liaoning would fall without an assault; if any of these three places saw a shift, Liaoyang would inevitably fall into crisis.

The long night slowly faded. Early-rising soldiers lined up in an orderly fashion to fetch water and food. The camp gradually grew noisy. He read the military report from Liaoyang that had arrived overnight once more, then rubbed his bloodshot eyes and looked up.

He was getting on in years, and his neck was stiff; after leaning over for so long, it was inevitably sore. An orderly standing by massaged him gently, and he felt much better. When he cast his gaze outside the tent and saw the soldiers coming and going, his weary expression instantly brightened.

Compared to Guan Duo and Pan Cheng, his troops were more uniform in their attire—all wore red headscarves and red garments, and the flags on the poles were mostly red, fluttering in the wind. Standing from a high vantage point, the camp, stretching for over ten miles, was a literal sea of red.

Among the countless tents, many tall, makeshift repentance halls were scattered like stars. The soldiers, having washed, lined up neatly, led by their respective centurions, and flowed into the halls like streams returning to the sea.

A staff officer reminded Sha Liu’er, "My lord, it is time for the morning repentance ritual."

The morning ritual was a set practice of the White Lotus Society, held every morning. Among the Red Turbans of Liaodong, only the troops under Sha Liu’er persisted in this. He stood up and, as usual, chose a repentance hall as the site for the day's ritual.

Under the morning sun, all things were full of vitality.

Watching Sha Liu’er walk ahead, the staff officer noticed that his back seemed even more hunched. Perhaps due to the lack of sleep, he seemed listless, and his gait was somewhat staggering. He said with concern, "My lord, you must not stay up all night anymore. Working through the night so often and not eating on time—no one could withstand that."

Sha Liu’er breathed in the cool air almost greedily, ignoring the staff officer's concern. He asked, "Are there any abnormal movements from Zhang Jujing or Shijiabao?"

"Reporting to my lord, all is peaceful in Liaoxi, and the Tatars have made no moves," the staff officer replied. He hesitated for a moment before adding, "My lord, in my humble opinion, there is really no need to fight the battle in southern Liaoning. With that effort, it would be better to attack Liaoxi with all our might. Liaoxi is closer to Shandong, and it would be faster to rescue our lord."

Truth be told, Sha Liu’er was also very dissatisfied with Guan Duo’s decision to prioritize the attack on southern Liaoning over reinforcing Liaoxi. Although Guan Duo had various excuses, any clear-eyed person could see his true intent: he was disregarding the safety of their lord to pursue personal gain. But because Guan Duo had the support of Pan Cheng, Sha Liu’er was isolated and forced to concede.

Fortunately, Guan Duo had proposed that once southern Liaoning was taken, they would immediately set sail for Shandong. Let that be the condition of the exchange.

He sighed and said, "Commissioner Guan has his own plans. You must not speak recklessly!" He only hoped the war in southern Liaoning would proceed smoothly and that the prefectures of Jin, Fu, and Gai would be taken soon. Liaoyang was not what Sha Liu’er desired; as long as Guan Duo fulfilled his promise to help him cross the sea and rescue the sovereign as soon as possible, he would be content.

They soon arrived at a repentance hall. The soldiers who had arrived early had been waiting for some time, but Sha Liu’er said little. He walked solemnly through the crowd to the Buddha statue in the center. Taking sandalwood incense, he lit it himself, clasped his hands, and prostrated. The men behind him all knelt in unison, listening as he chanted: "With utmost reverence, with one heart, I perform the purification, abiding in the Three Jewels. May this incense permeate the ten directions of the world. In the boundless Buddha-lands, adorned with immeasurable fragrance, fulfilling the Bodhisattva path, achieving the fragrance of the Tathagata."

Outside the hall, the sound of bells began to ring, sonorous and continuous, echoing throughout the camp. In thousands of repentance halls, the entire army knelt together. After the chant, they performed the rite of bowing to the Buddha. Once that was finished, they proceeded to chant the confession.

The confession was fixed, and Sha Liu’er’s slightly hoarse voice echoed through the hall. Kneeling on the ground, sincere and devout, with his eyes closed, he faced the statue and said, "With a sincere heart, I, your disciple Sha Liu’er, and all beings in the Dharma realm, from beginningless time... have committed the ten evils and all heavy sins... immeasurable and boundless, words cannot describe them. The Buddhas of the ten directions are always in the world, the sound of the Dharma never ceasing..."

The voices of countless people converged into one, like a mighty river washing over the dawn sky. Birds were startled into flight; the green woods, the distant mountains, the nearby rivers—all seemed to tremble. The solemn tolling of the bells seemed to be announcing something, and a holy radiance appeared on Sha Liu’er’s aged face.

...

He, they—those struggling in the dust of the world, suffering under the iron hooves of the Mongol Yuan—they stood with the most devout posture, using the most fervent passion. Their faith might not be truly profound, but they never lacked the will to fight.

They knelt on the ground, clenching their fists. As the darkness faded and the dawn arrived, they chanted in unison: "The Buddhas of the ten directions are always among men, the sound of the Dharma never ceasing... shedding pure light to touch all things."

...

"Guess what Old Liu is doing right now?"

"Need you ask? He’s surely up to that god-forsaken repentance ritual again. I’m baffled—where does he get such energy? Tell me, brother, how can anyone actually believe in this stuff?"

"Hmph, what’s wrong with believing? Fools and simpletons are perfect for being used as weapons. I actually think Old Liu’s methods are quite good. Look at his core troops; their combat effectiveness is quite high."

"Brother means?"

"When we have time, we should do the same in our ranks. It’s beneficial and harmless; why not use it?"

"You want me to listen to that stuff every day? Just kill me."

"Haha! Let’s not talk about this. Even if we do it, it won't be now... Is there any abnormal movement from Shuosijian?"

"Not only is there no movement, he’s actually pulled his troops back by ten miles. The Guangning front line is unchanged... Speaking of which, brother, what do you believe in?"

The two men speaking were Pan Cheng and his second brother, Pan Xin, the marshal of the Guangning Wing Marshal’s Office.

Pan Cheng was slightly stunned by Pan Xin’s question, then burst into laughter. "What do I believe in?" He drew the precious sword at his waist, flashed it against the morning sun, and pointed at the elite troops outside the tent. "With these hundred thousand fierce warriors, does it matter what I believe in?"

...

The red sun rose high, casting rays of light everywhere.

In the morning sunlight, two horses galloped through the deserted land and arrived beneath the walls of Shenyang. The Yuan soldiers on the ramparts had been watching them for a long time and had already drawn their bows in readiness. An officer leaned out and shouted, "Who comes there?"

The arrivals were dressed as commoners. One of them looked up and shouted, "Is General Liu here? Please inform him that an old friend has come to visit."

Under Nagachu’s command, there were two capable generals: Narawo and Liu Tanmachi. As it happened, it was Liu Tanmachi’s turn on duty today. The officer skeptically went to fetch him. After taking a look, Liu Tanmachi recognized the man, greeted him, and said, "So it is Brother Wen. Please, come in quickly." He ordered the gates to be opened.

Liu Tanmachi descended from the wall and walked up to greet him, laughing, "The world is in turmoil, Brother Wen, why are you still running around?"

The man surnamed Wen dismounted and said, "It is precisely because the world is in turmoil that I had to come." He looked left and right, lowered his voice, and said, "My master has a letter that must be delivered to the Prime Minister in person." The "Prime Minister" he referred to was Nagachu, who held the title of Right Prime Minister of the Liaoyang Branch Secretariat—nominally the highest local official for the Mongol Yuan in Liaodong.

Liu Tanmachi nodded, gestured for them to follow, and said, "In that case, please come this way, Brother Wen. It is still early, and I don’t know if the Prime Minister has risen yet. Let me go and announce your arrival first." He called for a squad of personal guards and, like a whirlwind, rushed to the Prime Minister’s mansion with the two men.

Leaving the men in the gatehouse, Liu Tanmachi entered first. Nagachu had practiced martial arts since childhood and was a rare descendant of Mongol nobility who maintained the traditions of horsemanship and archery. When Liu Tanmachi arrived, he was already up and practicing with his weapons in the small training ground of the mansion.

Up close, he was quite a man: eight feet tall, broad-shouldered, and thick-necked, with a face full of rugged flesh and hair growing on the arms exposed from his armor. He rode a fierce horse, wielding a long spear that whistled through the air as he moved.

Seeing Liu Tanmachi from afar, Nagachu knew that unless something major had happened, he wouldn't come while on duty. He slowly reined in his mount, held his spear horizontally, and waited for him to approach. "You aren't guarding the city—what business do you have at my mansion?"

Liu Tanmachi did not answer immediately, instead glancing at the guards around Nagachu. Nagachu waved them away, and only then did he speak: "I must inform you, Excellency, that someone from Liaoyang has arrived."

"Oh?" Nagachu frowned, jumped off his horse, and asked, "Who is it?"

"It’s that man surnamed Wen again. Will you see him, Excellency?"

Nagachu was not in a hurry. "Did he say why he came?"

"He did not mention it. Judging by the timing, the war in southern Liaoning is about to break out. I suspect Guan Duo is uneasy and fears you might change your stance, so he sent him to probe your movements."

Nagachu sneered. "That old bandit Guan is quite meticulous." The mention of southern Liaoning reminded him of something. "Has the report from Gao Jianu in southern Liaoning arrived yet?" Liu Tanmachi replied, "It has been delayed."

Gao Jianu and Nagachu had an agreement to report daily, but yesterday’s report had not arrived. Nagachu paced twice, hesitating. After thinking for a while, he said, "I fear the war in southern Liaoning is not about to break out—it has already begun."

Liu Tanmachi said, "But the time agreed upon by Guan Duo and yourself was supposed to be in two days."

"Hmph, that old bandit Guan has many tricks. He wants to launch a surprise attack on me? Does he think I’m unprepared?" Liu Tanmachi was worried. "Excellency, if Guan Duo really launches the attack early, what should we do?"

Nagachu laughed coldly. "He has his strategies, and I have my countermeasures. We shall launch our attack early as well!" He pondered for a moment, summoned several guards, and ordered, "Go, immediately head toward Liaoyang and southern Liaoning. You must find out clearly if that old bandit Guan has left the city and if the war in southern Liaoning has begun."

The guards acknowledged the order and left.

Liu Tanmachi said, "A few days ago, a military force crossed the Taizi River and built a camp thirty miles west of Dongmou Mountain, joining forces with Pan Mei. Excellency, if we are to act, these two forces are eyesores."

"That old bandit Guan! He wants to use my hand to achieve his dream of dominating Liaodong and then surrender? Shuosijian is on the front line at Guangning, with an imperial decree explicitly allowing him to 'act as circumstances dictate.' Instead of going to him to surrender, he comes to me? Damn him, does he take me for an idiot?"

Liu Tanmachi smiled ingratiatingly. "Yes, yes. However, Excellency, Guan Duo’s envoys have come many times. From what I’ve seen, his desire to surrender seems genuine. Isn’t Pan Mei, Pan Cheng’s adopted son, already in your grasp?"

"Bah! Whether it’s true or false, that old bandit Guan! Just for the fact that he burned my Shangdu, he should never expect me to spare him. Unless I grind his bones to dust, my hatred will not be appeased." Nagachu thought for a moment. "Pan Mei is a piece of fat meat; I might as well eat it. Once we ascertain the situation in southern Liaoning and the reality of Liaoyang, we shall march out, slaughter that little Pan, and then deal with the old bandit Guan."

"What about the direction of Liaoxi and Guangning?"

Zhang Jujing and Shijiabao in Liaoxi were under Nagachu’s command, but he could not control Shuosijian in Guangning. He was the Right Prime Minister, while Shuosijian was the newly appointed Left Prime Minister of the province and had connections in the capital; in terms of rank, he was slightly higher than Nagachu.

Nagachu said, "Send word to Zhang Jujing and Shijiabao: according to our agreement, launch the attack on time in four days. You must entangle Sha Liu’er so that he is unable to turn back and rescue Liaoyang... As for Guangning, Shuosijian is cowardly and fearful; we cannot rely on him." He couldn't help but curse, "Damn it, how could the Emperor send such a fellow here?"

"Excellency, do not be impatient. In my view, although we cannot rely on Shuosijian, as long as we don't ask him to send troops, and he remains still, the pressure will surely prevent Pan Cheng in Guangning from daring to move. Even if he wanted to support Liaoyang while we attack, he would be powerless to change the outcome."

"That is true. We need not worry about Shuosijian." Nagachu dropped his long spear; the heavy shaft hit the ground, kicking up a cloud of dust. He strode out of the small training ground. "Go, take the man surnamed Wen to my study, and cajole him once more."

"Yes, Excellency."

Liu Tanmachi trotted off to deliver the message. The sun had risen high and was scorching; his armor felt hot against his skin. Nagachu removed his helmet, wiped his sweaty forehead, glanced at the sky, and muttered, "Damn weather... and damn that old bandit Guan!"