Warring States Odyssey

  "The key to cavalry warfare is to be as swift as lightning, as dynamic as thunder, like the wind and fire, making it impossible for the enemy to defend. There are ten principles: 1) To meet the enemy at the beginning; 2) To take advantage of the void and defeat the enemy; 3) To pursue and scatter the defeated troops; 4) To attack the enemy's rear, causing them to flee; 5) To cut off their supplies and block their military roads; 6) To destroy their strongholds and bridges; 7) To take advantage of their unpreparedness and suddenly strike their unsteady troops; 8) To attack when they are lax and catch them off guard; 9) To burn their accumulated wealth and empty their markets; 10) To plunder their fields and capture their children. These ten principles are all advantageous for cavalry warfare."

  Li Mu put down the bamboo slips, looked at Gao Yuan, nodded repeatedly and said: "It's written very well. These ten chapters are all the essence of cavalry warfare. If this book can be completed, I think it is enough to be on par with Sun Wu and Sima, another great military strategist."

  Gao Yuan hastily said: "General, you're being too polite. What I wrote was only some superficial military tactics. If General were to write a book about his experiences and the strategies he used throughout his life, that would truly be worthy of being mentioned alongside Sun Wu and Sima."

  Li Yinghong smiled and said, "I don't know if his military book is well-written or not, but his handwriting is really poor. All these were written by me on his behalf. If it's really going to be a book in the future, my name must be included, as if we co-authored it."

  Li Mu gently stroked his daughter's head and smiled: "You're all going to get married, but you're still so crazy and silly, not at all like a young lady. Later when you marry into your husband's family, they'll probably laugh at me for not teaching my daughter properly."

  Li Yinghong's face turned red and she coquettishly said: "Father, I don't want to get married at all!"

  Li Mu smiled and said: "Alright, let's not talk about this for now. Gaoyuan, the king has issued a decree, I will be returning to Handan immediately, what are your plans?"

  Gao Yuan was taken aback for a moment, and only then did he realize that he was only temporarily staying in Zhao Jun's large camp. Although he had taken command of the cavalry in Zhao Jun's army, strictly speaking, he was not yet an official general of Zhao Jun's army, and could only be considered a guest of Li Mu. Now that the war was over, it was reasonable for Li Mu to ask him about his next move.

  Li Yinghong didn't think so much and said strangely, "Father, why do you ask this? Of course he will go back to Handan with us. Where else can he go?"

  Li Mu shook his head and said: "Gao Yuan is not a person of Zhao State, he is only temporarily taking shelter in our large camp. Now that the war has ended, I want to ask him about his next plan."

  Li Yinghong said, "Although Gao Yuan is not a vassal of Zhao State, he has made great contributions this time. After returning to Handan, he will definitely be rewarded by the king and become a vassal of Zhao State. Moreover, he is now alone and serving Zhao State would be good for him."

  Li Mu turned his head to look at Gao Yuan and said, "Gao Yuan, I also hope you can stay in Zhao State, and with the merits you have achieved in this battle, plus my recommendation, you will definitely be able to enter the imperial court as an official. But I must tell you that the current Zhao State is on the brink of collapse, even I cannot guarantee how long Zhao State can maintain itself. Therefore, if you serve Zhao State, it may not be a correct choice."

  Li Yinghong was also puzzled and said: "Father, didn't we defeat the State of Qin this time? How can you say that Zhao is in a precarious situation now?"

  Li Mu smiled slightly and said, "Ying Hong, you are still too young and do not understand the overall situation. Although we defeated the Qin army this time, the Qin state is powerful, with a vast territory of ten thousand miles, a population of millions, and an army of one million soldiers. This defeat will not hurt their strength at all. On the other hand, our Zhao state now has less than half of its original territory, a population of less than three million, and only 200,000 soldiers who can fight. How can we be enemies with Qin? Moreover, King Zheng of Qin is young but wise and decisive, with clear rewards and punishments, and a good understanding of the way of politics. He is also humble and willing to listen to advice, respectful of scholars and officials, and indeed a qualified ruler. Since King Zheng took power, he has successively eliminated Huaiyin, driven out Lü Buwei, put down the rebellion of Chengjiao, and grasped the great power of Qin. Now the ruler of Qin is capable, with many talented civil and military officials, and the national strength is flourishing."

  Li Mu paused for a moment, then continued: "If our Zhao state can now unite as one, mend our internal governance, and form alliances with neighboring states, we may not necessarily be unable to resist the Qin state. Unfortunately, our current king is mediocre and self-indulgent, lacking the will to govern effectively or employ wise talents, instead befriending petty men and distancing himself from virtuous scholars. Thus, the superiority and inferiority of the two states are naturally apparent."

  Gao Yuan also nodded and said, "To govern the army, one must first govern the country. If the country is not stable, then even if the military is strong, it will be difficult to sustain. Since ancient times, there has never been a weak country with a strong army."

  Li Mu also praised: "Well said, in the past when Wu and Yue were vying for hegemony, the soldiers of Wu State were trained by the famous general Sunzi and Wu Zixu, their military strength was strong, at that time no country could rival them. However, the people of Wu only sought military power and did not care about governing the country or internal affairs. Although their military strength was strong and they could dominate for a while, in the end they were destroyed by Yue State. At that time, Yue State did not have a military god like Sunzi, but had talented people like Wen Zhong and Fan Li who worked hard to govern the country, and after ten years of accumulation, they finally defeated Wu State. It can be seen that governing the country is more important than governing the army. You can see this point, which shows your talent and insight are superior to others. Therefore, in any country, you will have a chance to stand out, no need to stay in Zhao State. If you want to defect to another country, even if it's Qin State, I won't stop you, but just ask one thing: no matter which country you go to, please don't be an enemy of Zhao State in the future."

  Actually, Li Mu said these things, Gao Yuan is not without thinking, but the next step is to decide what to do. Gao Yuan has been unable to come up with a plan until now, because if following the course of historical development, Qin will sweep across the six nations and unify the country within ten years. Moreover, he also knows that Li Mu won't live past next year. Therefore, Zhao is indeed not a place for him to stay long-term. But if he doesn't stay in Zhao, where can he go? The situations of the other five nations are similar to Zhao's, it's just a matter of time.

  Defecting to the Qin state is also not a good choice. Just now, Li Mu praised King Zheng of Qin, and it's not excessive at all. The current King Zheng of Qin is indeed a renowned ruler, but after unifying Qin, Qin Shi Huang completely changed, so he gave up on this idea.

  In addition, Gaoyuan inexplicably traveled through time and space to this era and was taken in by Li Mu. During these two months, Gaoyuan lived in the Zhao army's large camp and got along well with the generals and soldiers of the Zhao army. They fought side by side together, establishing a deep emotional bond, one of the four great iron bonds in life. Gaoyuan had always been grateful to Li Mu, so if he were to leave Zhao at this time, Gaoyuan would indeed feel some reluctance to part with them.

  But staying in Zhao, isn't he helping to change the course of history for Zhao? Gao Yuan is also very hesitant. Excluding the current situation, in his subconscious mind, he does not rule out unifying China. Although Qin Shi Huang unified China and implemented many brutal policies, Gao Yuan still agrees with the process of unifying the six states. After all, the idea of a unified China has deeply penetrated into his thoughts. If he were to stop the unification of China himself, there would also be a kind of instinctive resistance in his heart.

  Of course, Gao Yuan has thought about establishing his own power to compete for the unification of the world, but now he is penniless and powerless, without any rights or influence, and it's impossible to build a force that can rival Qin State within ten years. By the time ten years have passed, Qin State will have already completed its great unification, and by then, Gao Yuan will probably only have the opportunity when Chen Sheng and Wu Guang launch their uprising in Daze Township.

  Gao Yuan's expression changed unpredictably, and it was clear that he was also thinking intensely. Li Yinghong's heart couldn't help but tense up, and she said: "Gao Yuan, you wouldn't really think of leaving Zhao Guo, would you?"

  Although Li Yinghong is Li Mu's adopted daughter, Li Mu himself has no children and treats her like his own daughter. In the Zhao army, the soldiers also regard her as Li Mu's daughter, with a mixture of respect and affection. Although Li Yinghong's open and cheerful personality makes her well-liked by the soldiers, they show more respect than affection towards her. The older ones view her as their child, while the younger ones are somewhat reserved around her, always giving in to her. However, now that Li Yinghong is 15 or 16 years old, at an age of youthful emotions and with few peers to play with, despite her open and bold personality, she sometimes feels a little lost inside.

  After Gaoyuan entered her life, things changed. Firstly, Gaoyuan was different from others in his attitude towards Li Yinghong, and secondly, he himself had many mysteries that made Li Yinghong very interested. Over the past two months, she spent the most time with Gaoyuan, who also brought her many new and interesting things. As a result, without realizing it, Gaoyuan left a deep impression on Li Yinghong's heart. When Li Mu asked Gaoyuan about his next move, whether he would leave Zhao State, Li Yinghong's heart instinctively felt a pang of reluctance to let him go.

  At this time, Gao Yuan suddenly said: "I would like to ask, since the general also knows that Zhao Guo is currently in a state of accumulation and difficulty, it is difficult to continue. Why do you still want to stay in Zhao Guo? Wouldn't you consider finding another way out for yourself? With the general's talent, even if you went to Qin Guo, I'm afraid King Zheng of Qin would also treat you as an honored guest and give you important responsibilities."

  Li Mu smiled and said, "Gao Yuan, I am different from you. I am originally a citizen of Zhao, and I have been serving the state of Zhao for over thirty years. My roots are deep here, not to mention the tens of thousands of soldiers and hundreds of thousands of civilians. I also cannot bear to leave them behind." After a pause, Li Mu continued, "Besides, my time is almost up, and my life is already limited. Now, I am just exerting my last bit of effort for Zhao."

  Gao Yuan and Li Yinghong were both shocked, Li Yinghong said: "Father..."

  Li Mu waved his hand and said, "Ying Hong, you're not young anymore, so you should know this. Thirty years ago, when I had just mastered the art of war and was about to make a name for myself, my teacher did a calculation for me and said that I could achieve great fame, but my lifespan would be no more than 69 years. This means that next year will be my final year, and heaven's decree is hard to change. Besides, everyone has to die eventually. Being able to live to the age of 54 is not considered a premature death."