Chapter 117: Commanding an Entire Army Alone

Page 1/3

Cao Hong looked somewhat startled at the sudden arrival of Cao Ang. The boy had already removed the long hair he had worn for fourteen years and donned the magpie-tail crown, a symbol of adulthood. He wore a finely tailored dark green robe. Clearly, the young man had just undergone the coming-of-age ceremony. In the Han Dynasty, this rite signified that one was officially an adult, capable of marrying, having children, and embarking on a career.

If Cao Ang’s visit at this moment was on Cao Cao’s behalf, that was indeed intriguing. It was nothing mysterious—any ordinary parent would, upon their son’s coming of age, wish to find a good teacher for him to learn from.

Now that Cao Ang had completed his coming-of-age ceremony and was no longer staying by Xun Yu’s side but had come to Cao Hong, it was evident that both Cao Cao and Xun Yu regarded Cao Hong as a suitable mentor.

But this was precisely what puzzled Cao Hong. So he asked, “You are studying under Master Wenruo; have you already absorbed all his lifelong teachings?”

Cao Ang replied, “Uncle, Master Wenruo’s knowledge is vast as the sea. How could I, his nephew, have learned it all? But he has imparted to me the essence of his learning. It depends on how much I can comprehend. Master Wenruo also said that discussing war on paper is far inferior to experiencing it firsthand. He said you, my uncle, have managed Juancheng well, so he sent me here to gain some practical insight.”

Cao Hong smiled and suddenly asked, “Now that you have had your coming-of-age ceremony, what is your courtesy name?”

Cao Ang answered, “Master Wenruo gave me the courtesy name Zixiu.”

Cao Hong nodded. Some books write Cao Ang’s courtesy name as Zixiu, others as Zixiu with a slightly different character, but both characters are pronounced the same and share the same meaning.

Since Cao Ang had come to study, it was natural to test him a little. Cao Hong pointed to a segment of city wall under construction in the distance. The wall was still being filled with earth, supported by wooden poles forming a frame. Two boards were strung between the frame, secured with ropes at right angles. Some people were transporting earth while others filled it between the boards.

Cao Hong asked, “Zixiu, tell me, what kind of city wall construction method is this?”

Cao Ang looked and smiled, saying, “This is the ‘Suspended Board Rammed Earth’ method described in the Book of Songs: ‘Its ropes are straight, the boards shortened to carry the earth.’ In the ‘Classic of Jing,’ Zheng Kangcheng’s ‘Zheng Commentary’ explains this technique as the suspended board tamping method.”

Through this question and answer, Cao Hong could tell that Cao Ang had read at least two books: the Book of Songs and the contemporary classicist’s annotated version, the Zheng Commentary. This was a common way for scholars of old to test one’s knowledge—a method Cao Hong remembered from his previous life.

Page 2/3

Then Cao Hong asked, “Correct, it is indeed the suspended board tamping method. Ninety percent of the world’s city walls were built using this technique. Zixiu, how many ways can you think of to conquer a city constructed this way?”

This was a test on military strategy. Cao Ang replied, “I have thoroughly read the twenty-one chapters of the ‘Wei Gongzi’s Art of War,’ in ten volumes. From it, I know there are eighteen methods to breach such a city: six inferior strategies, six moderate, and six superior.”

Cao Hong smiled and said, “Tell me the superior strategies.”

Cao Ang said, “The six superior strategies are: breaking the dam to flood the city; feigning weakness to lure the enemy into an ambush; secretly digging tunnels; covert reconnaissance and ambush; using heavy gold and wealth to sow discord within; and intimidating with a large force and powerful weapons.”

The ‘Wei Gongzi’s Art of War’ was authored by Wei Wuji, one of the Four Lords of the Warring States period. He famously defeated the Qin general Meng Ao and was a great military strategist. Today, among the three most widely circulated military texts in the Han dynasty, one is the ‘Wei Gongzi’s Art of War.’ The other two are the ‘Shang Jun Shu’ by Shang Yang, a prominent Qin minister, and ‘Sunzi Bingfa’ by Sun Wu from the Spring and Autumn period.

These three books were the most accessible military texts of the time, but to read and truly master them was no easy feat. That Cao Ang could stand before the city walls and recite six siege tactics demonstrated his thorough familiarity with the ‘Wei Gongzi’s Art of War.’

Cao Hong tested Cao Ang’s military knowledge because he believed military texts were crucial in this era, much like modern tactical guides in real-time strategy games. Every great general could at least read one military classic. For example, Guan Yu was well versed in the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals,’ Cao Cao in ‘Sunzi Bingfa,’ and even Lü Meng of Eastern Wu, who began as a common soldier and self-studied, mastered the ‘Sima Fa.’

When Lü Meng decisively defeated Guan Yu at Jingzhou, he first sent a letter through Lu Xun to feign weakness, then disguised himself and his men as merchants in white clothes to cross the river day and night, catching Guan Yu off guard. Repeatedly employing brilliant stratagems, he anticipated the enemy’s moves and forced Guan Yu into a dead end, leading to his capture. This victory employed a passage from the fifth chapter ‘Use of Troops’ in the ‘Sima Fa’: ‘In any battle, observe the changes in numbers, watch the advances and retreats for firmness, observe fear in danger, idleness in calm, doubt in movement, and order in attack. Strike their doubts, increase your troops, induce their submission, attack their plans. Exploit their lack of avoidance, block their schemes, seize their intentions, and ride on their fears.’ This method of troop observation revealed Guan Yu’s weaknesses, securing victory in one stroke.

These details were fragments Cao Hong had come across in his previous life. He hadn’t paid much attention until he obtained the ‘Art of Battle’ manual of the God of War, Bai Qi. After forming the Shangmu Camp and winning every battle, he realized the importance of military texts in this era. Puzzling over the commentary on the tactics of famous Three Kingdoms generals, he became convinced of the indispensability of military classics.

Thus, Cao Hong first asked about city construction, then about siege tactics. Reading a military book thoroughly was no simple matter. Such books contained much more than just tactics. For instance, the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals’ is strictly a historical text of 18,000 characters. To say someone had read it through didn’t mean merely reading the text, but also the commentaries by later scholars.

The ‘commentaries’ are interpretive works explaining and elucidating the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals.’ To truly have read the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals,’ one had to read three main commentaries: Zuo Qiuming’s ‘Zuo Commentary,’ Gongyang Gao’s ‘Gongyang Commentary,’ and Guliang Chi’s ‘Guliang Commentary.’

He Xiu, who served as Cao Hong’s coming-of-age patron and became famous as the ‘Sea of Learning,’ achieved renown by critically reexamining the 18,000 characters of the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals’ and writing three refutations of these commentaries: ‘Zuo’s Ailments,’ ‘Gongyang’s Conservatism,’ and ‘Guliang’s Defects.’ Each was a masterpiece of piercing insight, leaving no room for rebuttal. His work provoked a reevaluation of the ‘Spring and Autumn Annals’ in scholarly circles, shaking the intellectual world as profoundly as later critiques of the Analects or the Dao De Jing.

Page 3/3

Therefore, that Cao Ang could recite six siege strategies from the ‘Wei Gongzi’s Art of War’ in one breath showed not only that he had read the original text but also that he had studied many later commentaries and fully grasped the essence of military art. At just fourteen, Cao Ang had read and comprehended far more deeply than most children of his age today.

“Indeed, Zixiu, you have gained much. Since that is so, stay by my side and observe. But honestly, I doubt you will learn much from me, for I have only been building city walls here,” Cao Hong acknowledged Cao Ang’s knowledge but still could not understand what Cao Cao intended for him to teach the boy.

Cao Ang chuckled, “Actually, Master Wenruo entrusted me with something to deliver to you, uncle.”

Cao Hong was momentarily stunned, then teased, “You brat, why didn’t you bring it out earlier? You’ve been keeping us in suspense.”

Cao Ang laughed softly and pulled from his sleeve a silver seal about the size of a palm. The base was square and two centimeters thick. On top was engraved a creature with the body of a turtle and the head of a dragon—clearly a Xuanwu. It was unmistakably an official seal.

Cao Hong took it and turned it over, seeing four large characters engraved: “Yingyang Colonel.”

“This is...” Such a post was not comparable to a Thousand-Man Colonel. A colonel with a seal outranked even officials with a rank equivalent to two thousand households. For instance, Cao Ren and Cao Chun’s father held the post of ‘Changshui Colonel,’ which was above the two-thousand-household rank. This kind of position could command up to ten thousand troops, though the exact number depended on appointments. Its status was just one level below that of a magistrate like Cao Cao himself.

Clearly... this was an order for Cao Hong to command his own army.

No wonder Cao Ang was sent to study with him—it was the crown prince’s way of having his son gain military experience. Cao Hong could not help but feel the weight of this responsibility.