The Villain's Counterattack

At the end of March in the eighth year of Daye, the Sui army arrived at the Liaohe River. Emperor Yang of Sui ordered Yuwen Kai to build a pontoon bridge in preparation for a strong attack. The Sui army was unstoppable and victorious all the way. Yang Guang was very proud and motivated. At this time, Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) presented a military chess game to Yang Guang. Yang Guang was very pleased and summoned all the generals to the camp to have fun.

"This is my young disciple Yang Shi, with the courtesy name Xuyan. He is a descendant of the Hongnong branch of the Yang family. He has been smart and fond of reading since childhood. He has studied all the schools of thought and is good at history and military tactics. Although his execution is a little lacking, even I am slightly inferior to him in terms of theoretical discussion." Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) pushed out his beloved disciple and praised him highly. After all, Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) was a dignified third-rank official and a capable minister of the Sui Dynasty. He actually said that he was slightly inferior to this kid in terms of theoretical discussion. How could this not surprise the generals?

Yang Xuyan stood tall and bowed slightly to the general, his words a touch of humility, his face radiating confidence. Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) continued, "My disciple is a bookworm, ignorant of practical matters. He often entertains himself by discussing ancient history and gold. To better equip himself for military strategy, he has delved deeply into history, drawn maps to record the changing weather, and even created a military chess game. After trying it out, I feel it has some merit, so I present this to Your Majesty. Your Majesty is very interested and invites all colleagues to put aside their busy military affairs and come and relax for a while."

Yuwen Shu, Yu Zhongwen, Mai Tiezhang, Jing Yuanheng, and the others could not help but exchange bewilderment. They knew Yang Guang was unconventional and a stickler for what he said, but they had never imagined he would be so absurd as to gather so many high-ranking generals to play a game with a child. Although they wanted to get angry, Yang Guang himself was in high spirits, and they also had to give some face to Pei Ju.

Yang Guang enjoyed luxury after he ascended the throne. The central army camp could accommodate hundreds of people without being crowded. A map about ten feet long was slowly spread out behind Yang Guang. The eyes of the generals lit up. It was a topographic map of Goguryeo, but compared to the rough one in their hands, this one was more refined and accurate, and colorful.

Yuwen Shu and others were shocked and asked the source of the map. Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) said that it was made by his disciple Yang Xuyan. He had guessed two years ago that the court would launch an expedition to Goguryeo, so he used merchants to spies to carefully investigate the geography of Goguryeo and the civil and military forces available in the court, and now he was eager to send the map over.

The generals were shocked when they heard this. As the saying goes, knowing yourself and your enemy will ensure victory in a hundred battles. The role of intelligence in war can be imagined. At this time, they did not dare to underestimate this young man. Yang Guang had already played several games of military chess with Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan), and he was quite pleased with him. He looked at their surprise with a smile, and took a bite of the delicious fruit that his beloved concubine put in his mouth, his face full of satisfaction.

"My dear ministers, please do not underestimate the military chess deduction. It has some merits, but you will fall flat on your face if you are not careful. If you work together and finally lose to a young boy, I am afraid..." Yang Guang did not continue speaking. The generals knew what he meant. If they, a group of old ministers and generals who were twice as old as Yang Xuyan, lost to this young boy, they would not be able to hold their heads up in front of Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) in the future.

If you can't even beat his underage disciples, how can you compete with his teacher?

Eight eunuchs slowly approached, carrying a massive sand table nearly ten feet in diameter. The Liao River's shape came alive, leaving the generals in awe. Yang Guang slowly stood up, his aura of kingship erupting. The generals unconsciously straightened their backs. Yang Guang barked out an order, "Where is the General of the Left Guard?"

"Your humble servant is here!" Yuwen Shu stepped out. Yang Guang asked about the construction of the floating bridge. Yuwen Shu told him one by one, and it would be completed in two days.

There was a eunuch who was responsible for keeping time, and he was consulted by a master craftsman, so he could be accurate to the approximate time. There were also two military clerks who recorded the army's horses, equipment and military rations. Every time the timekeeping eunuch rang the bell, a day passed, and the progress of various affairs and food consumption were updated. The level of precision amazed the generals.

There are flags representing the army, wooden signs representing food and equipment, and stones representing cities and camps. All kinds of things are full of novelty.

Yang Guang wasn't ignorant of military tactics; quite the opposite. He was quite familiar with marching and fighting, especially the art of confined marching. He had already laid out his orders, and the generals had received them, waiting for the time to execute them. However, Yang Xuyan, representing the Goguryeo army, had played two cards: one for a Goguryeo general and one for a Khitan cavalryman.

"Your Majesty is mighty and powerful. The Sui Dynasty commands great power, yet Goguryeo has grown rapidly and is no longer a small nation. The Khitan and Mohe cannot rival them, yet they are close neighbors with whom they have frequent interactions. Seeing our attack coming, they are secretly colluding. Goguryeo has tens of thousands of cavalry from both tribes spread across the Liaodong battlefield." Yang Xuyan presented a piece of intelligence to Yang Guang, a slightly sinister smile on his face. "There are cavalry patrolling the opposite riverbank constantly. Your Majesty, when do you think they will discover the location of our pontoon bridge?"

The generals were shocked upon hearing this. Yangguang remained expressionless and silent. Pei Ju (Shi Zhixuan) stepped forward and said, "I believe that the mighty army of the Great Sui Dynasty is so powerful and has been unstoppable throughout its campaign. Our every move cannot be concealed, nor is there any need to conceal it. We are strong enough to defeat ten enemies with one force. I believe that if the pontoon bridge reaches the shore three miles away, we will be discovered. What do you think, generals?"

Everyone looked at each other, but Yuwen Shu said, "Maybe even earlier."

Upon hearing this, Yang Xuyan smiled faintly: "If that's the case, how about I deploy 5,000 cavalry on the east coast?"

"Yes." It's impossible to say no, because people have also said that there are quite a few cavalry on the other side. It's just that when the Sui army was proceeding step by step, Yang Xuyan launched an attack before the pontoon bridge actually reached the shore. General Mai Tiezhang of the Left Tunwei and generals Qian Shixiong and Meng Cha of the Huben Lang all went into battle, but Yang Xuyan adopted a strategy of occupying advantageous terrain and dividing his troops to attack in turns. Finally, he even rushed across the pontoon bridge from upstream with fire ships.

The generals were quite shocked. Yuwen Shu pinched his beard and said gloomily, "If Goguryeo really has such a method, General Mai and his men will definitely not be spared. The loss of the army will be no less than 50,000. Floating bridge, floating bridge..."

"My nephew has observed that the soldiers of the Great Sui Dynasty are fearless and brave in every battle, and the generals are always at the forefront. However, my nephew took advantage of their early preparations in this battle and overestimated the Goguryeo generals as much as possible. Therefore..."

"I thought the 50,000-man vanguard army could force a crossing of the Liao River, but General Mai and the other vanguard commanders are withdrawing." Yang Xuyan's words left everyone silent for a moment. They knew what withdrawal meant. Mai Tiezhang laughed heartily, "Let alone a chess game, even on a real battlefield, facing such a crisis, I would bravely die to repay your majesty's kindness. However, even if I die, I would rather die under the charge of the army."

Yang Xuyan shook his head and said, "I'm afraid the enemy won't give you this opportunity. Looking across all of Goguryeo, apart from Grandmaster Fu Cailin, there are probably only a handful of Grandmasters left. Even with the Khitan Mohe, there are only a handful at best. In a skirmish, one or two Grandmasters are not enough. If General Mai is allowed to reach shore, Goguryeo will surely be defeated. This battle depends on the terrain! Attacking halfway across the river, the right terrain and timing are crucial."

Mai Tiezhang was very happy with Yang Xuyan's words. On the one hand, he was talking about his loyalty, and on the other hand, he was praising his bravery. However, he did not hear the recklessness implied in his words. Instead, he felt complacent. Yang Guang was not happy when he saw this. After thinking about it carefully, he found that if he really encountered such a situation, with Mai Tiezhang's character, he would probably charge forward at the risk of his life, and there was a high probability that he would die in the water in the end.

But this was not what he wanted. Mai Tiezhang, a loyal general of humble origin, was one of the few high-ranking generals who could be truly trusted and reused. Their purpose of accompanying the king this time was more to accumulate merits and protect him. They must not be allowed to commit suicide.

However, once the military chess game started, it could not be abandoned halfway. Later, the Sui army relied on its large numbers and multiple fronts to successfully cross the river. Yang Xuyan fought and retreated, stationed his troops to defend Liaodong City.

Yang Guang issued orders, and the Sui army stormed Liaodong City. Yang Xuyan defended the city with great vigour, employing various tactics one after another. This left the generals baffled, and they kept asking, "Does Goguryeo really have such a general?"

Yang Xuyan smiled but said nothing. After holding out for half a month, he suddenly asked for surrender, which made Yuwen Shu and others a little confused. Just as Yuwen Shu was about to plant the military flag on the block representing Liaodong City, Yang Xuyan stopped him and asked him to follow the rules. Yuwen Shu suddenly realized what was going on and hurriedly turned back to cross the river to ask Yang Guang for instructions. However, this back and forth took several days.

When Yang Guang's order came down, Yang Xuyan turned around and refused to acknowledge it, continuing to hold his ground, leaving Yang Guang and the generals speechless. But in the next period of deduction, he fought and retreated, performing the same farce of false surrender several times under Yang Guang's nose.

It happened right under Yang Guang's nose, and all the generals obediently asked him for instructions every time. After all, this was an order given by Yang Guang himself. It was not until Yang Guang personally arrived at the battlefield that several strong cities were successfully captured, but by then too much time had been wasted.

Not only did the chess game itself take up a lot of time, but even real time was consumed. Yang Guang ordered the game to be closed and everyone to rest for the next day. However, the generals surrounded Yang Xuyan and asked him if there really was such a shameless general in Goguryeo. He was completely untrustworthy and spoke nonsense.

Yang Xuyan said helplessly, "Warfare is about deception, and the Goguryeo people's greatest characteristic is that they are unreliable and can't be trusted. They have a general named Eulji Mundeok, who excels at defense, is skilled in calculations, and loves to use schemes. Goguryeo is rich in mountains and rivers, so if we encounter a large river, we should be careful not to build dams to store water and drown the army."

The generals were shocked and secretly memorized the name in their hearts.