Chapter 190: Formal Recruitment

The sinkhole where the Immortal Inquiry Hall is located is kidney-shaped. Its opening is surrounded by lush green trees, and at the bottom, clear water flows serenely. A ray of sunlight streams down from above, illuminating a round stone in the middle of the water.

This is the lecture platform. The unique terrain provides the speaker with a natural amplification and surround sound effect.

The rock walls of the sinkhole have been artificially carved into terraced stone paths. These serve both as seating for the audience and as passages for entry and exit.

Simple, yet full of charm.

He Lingchuan and his companion arrived late; the audience seats were mostly full. From their vantage point, the more than ten layers of circular stone paths on the mountain walls were bustling with people, a magnificent sight.

From boys aged eleven or twelve to men in their fifties and sixties, everyone wore an expression of eager thirst for knowledge.

"So many people!" He Lingchuan remarked. If one were careless or if there was a crowd, they could easily fall into the deep pool at the bottom of the pit.

Hu Min whispered to He Lingchuan, "What's this? You haven't seen General Hong's lectures; those are truly packed. Two people squeeze into one seat on the mountain wall, some prefer to hang in mid-air to listen, and even the pool below is filled with boats!"

He Lingchuan's eyes lit up. "General Hong gives lectures too?"

"Not regularly, it depends on luck," Hu Min said regretfully. "The last time General Hong gave a lecture, I was out on duty and missed it."

He Lingchuan suddenly remembered something:

"By the way, have any renowned experts lectured on the principles of hexagram divination?" If so, he could discreetly ask a master. Surely, that would be better than relying on the unreliable old turtle demon?

Hu Min looked bewildered. "I don't think so?"

"Are you sure?"

"The topics for each lecture are announced ten days in advance outside the government office and military barracks," Hu Min told him. "I've been checking the announcements for so long, and I don't recall seeing anyone lecture on divination calculations."

"Never mind," He Lingchuan said. That's truly strange.

As they were talking, Commander Xiao Maoliang appeared. He stood on the large circular stone, his hands behind his back, and said, "Good afternoon, current and future colleagues. I have been entrusted by Commander Zhong to explain the current situation in the Coiling Dragon Wilderness and the ongoing military campaigns..."

To He Lingchuan's surprise, Xiao Maoliang, who was calm and unflappable in battle and disregarded life and death, actually stuttered from nervousness while lecturing at the Immortal Inquiry Hall. Could it be his first time?

He Lingchuan couldn't help but smile. However, the content Xiao Maoliang presented was too important; despite his less-than-stellar storytelling skills, He Lingchuan listened intently.

"As you know, Weicheng fell several months ago, and some of you here are brothers from Weicheng. Now, the Balin Kingdom's front line continues to advance eastward, and for the past month, they have been harassing Puxigou..."

Two days later, He Lingchuan went to visit Sun Hongye.

The young man's complexion was already ruddy. After the poison was removed, he was left with only superficial injuries on his shoulder. The doctor from Jinghe Hall prescribed him five days of medication, which he was to take home and decoct himself.

Upon seeing He Lingchuan again, Sun Hongye's attitude was far more enthusiastic than two days prior. He bowed deeply and said, "I am immensely grateful for your care during my illness, Young Master He!"

He Lingchuan waved his hand. "It's only right; you saved my family's lives."

Sun Hongye smiled. Since his injury at Luming Garden, He Lingchuan was the only one who had come to visit him.

He poured He Lingchuan a cup of water.

He Lingchuan noticed that Sun Hongye's home was also a single-story house, with old furniture and small windows. It had only half a courtyard, which was piled high with snow due to lack of cleaning.

"You live alone?"

Sun Hongye nodded. "It's been three years since I moved here from the Northern Territory, and the maternal uncle I came to rely on has also passed away."

"What are your plans for the future?" He Lingchuan asked him. "Someone from the He family was also at Luming Garden the day before yesterday and knows you offered your services to General Ke."

Sun Hongye gave a self-deprecating smile. "Yes, my carriage broke down when I was coming down the mountain."

These two incidents seemed unrelated, but Sun Hongye was sharp-witted, and having been idle in bed for two days, he easily deduced that He Su had tampered with his carriage that day, intending to embarrass him on a snowy, windy night.

He Lingchuan walked over to the only square table in the room. "I have a problem I'd like your help with, Brother Sun."

"Please tell me."

He Lingchuan dipped his finger in the water cup and began drawing a topographic map on the tabletop.

"Puxigou is a hundred miles west of Longcheng, with a population of 50,000 and over 2,000 troops. A powerful enemy frequently attacks Puxigou. Every time they launch a major offensive, Puxigou has to send for aid from Longcheng," He Lingchuan explained briefly. "Over time, the enemy changed tactics. They now only send a few teams to harass the surrounding areas, and once Longcheng's reinforcements arrive, they quickly retreat. However, their raids are frequent, occurring about six or seven times in ten days. If Longcheng's reinforcements don't come, they combine their forces and attack Puxigou."

"As a result, Puxigou residents cannot carry out their fishing, hunting, farming, or trading activities normally, incurring huge losses. Longcheng is also exhausted by providing aid, as a round trip covers over two hundred miles." He Lingchuan asked Sun Hongye, "Brother Sun, please devise a strategy for Longcheng."

"The enemy employs low-intensity, high-frequency attacks," Sun Hongye said, pointing to a blank area on the tabletop. "Can't Longcheng establish outposts or auxiliary towns near Puxigou and station troops there?"

He Lingchuan shook his head. "Aside from Puxigou's location, this hundred-mile stretch of wilderness is flat and open, with no natural defenses. The worst part is the lack of water sources."

Without water, no outposts can be built, and no troops can be stationed.

Sun Hongye then became interested. "In that case, what about Longcheng directly dispatching troops to Puxigou?" The name Puxigou sounded somewhat familiar, but he couldn't recall why at the moment.

"We've already sent an additional thousand men and a significant amount of grain there. That part of the wilderness is barren, and water is scarce; any more troops and horses couldn't be sustained."

Sun Hongye pondered for a longer time this time, then asked, "So, how far is the enemy's stronghold from Puxigou?"

"It's just thirty miles west of Puxigou, much closer than Longcheng." Fortunately, He Lingchuan had listened attentively to the lecture the previous night, allowing him to answer fluently. "Several months ago, Weicheng was captured by the enemy, becoming their bridgehead for eastward advances, which is why Puxigou became the frontline."

Deploying troops from Weicheng, a round trip is only sixty miles and takes less than an hour by horse, which is, of course, much more convenient than from Panlong City.

"What's the population of Weicheng, and how many troops are stationed there?"

*This young man certainly asks detailed questions.* "When Weicheng fell, its residents migrated en masse to Longcheng. So, there are very few civilians left in Weicheng; it has become a military town. The exact number of stationed troops cannot be precise, but it should be between fifteen hundred and three thousand."

"So Puxigou and Longcheng can't negotiate peace with the enemy?"

"Not at the moment." At least, not in this part of his dream.

"In other words, the enemy won't let go of Puxigou," Sun Hongye said, raising a finger. "I have one last question: does Puxigou have any local specialties that are in demand elsewhere?"

"Yes, it does. Several valuable medicinal herbs are wilderness specialties, used to refine potent tonics. Additionally, Puxigou produces very high-purity saltpeter, which the state uses for making cannons, and private wealthy individuals and merchants buy it for ice production—they can't do without it. So, merchant caravans are still willing to risk traversing the wilderness."

All his questions answered, Sun Hongye said, "Alright, then I have two strategies."

"The inferior strategy can address the immediate crisis; one successful execution can keep the enemy quiet for a while."

"Please elaborate."

"Disguise troops as a merchant caravan, or set up an ambush and use a caravan as bait to lure the enemy into raiding, then strike them hard," Sun Hongye said. "You mentioned that Weicheng's army is less than three thousand. One successful ambush would deplete their strength and keep them quiet for a long time. This would buy Puxigou time to recover."

"Hmm, a conventional tactic," He Lingchuan remarked, unsurprised, as he had heard many audience members suggest this plan at the Immortal Inquiry Hall. "What about the superior strategy?"

"There's a saying: 'You can't guard against a thief for a thousand days, but a thief can steal for a thousand days.' Passive defense is ultimately inferior. It's best to succeed in one strike, retake Weicheng, and remove this thorn in our side to eliminate future troubles."

"How can that be achieved?"

"Then, offer the enemy tribute several times, letting them return with full coffers after each raid to lower their guard. To further deceive them, you could stage several fierce skirmishes, then spread rumors that Puxigou is organizing a large-scale merchant caravan for external transport and requesting Longcheng troops to specifically guard it," Sun Hongye said, shrugging. "Surely, the enemy has spies in Puxigou, right?"

"This time, the goods will be valuable, and the escorting army should be at least a thousand strong; the grander the display, the better."

He Lingchuan understood. "Lure the snake out of its hole?"

"Precisely. To seize this cargo, the enemy would need to dispatch at least two thousand elite soldiers to have any chance. At that point, Weicheng's garrison would only be a few hundred, leaving its defenses weak. As long as Longcheng launches a surprise attack with elite troops, there's a very high probability of taking it!"

"Sounds easy enough," He Lingchuan said with a smile. "But what if the surprise attack fails? Not only would we fail to capture Weicheng, but the entire merchant caravan used as bait would likely be swallowed by the enemy. That would truly be 'losing the rice trying to steal the chicken'."

"Victory and defeat hang by a thread; whether a brilliant plan or a foolish move, it only depends on the outcome," Sun Hongye also smiled. "When leading troops in battle, who dares to claim guaranteed victory?"

He added, "I'm only outlining the strategy. The detailed implementation, including how to confuse, disrupt, and defeat the enemy, must be refined by the commanding general himself. A single move in a battle affects the whole situation, and I cannot foresee all contingencies."

He Lingchuan nodded. "Regardless of success or failure, the decoy force will have a tough fight ahead."

Sun Hongye's expression was calm. "Of course. How could war come without a price?"

He Lingchuan looked at him and recalled the young man's suggestions to General Ke—taking Baoguan and blowing up Qingdi Dike—which were also strategies that came at the cost of widespread destruction of homes and farmlands, and loss of life.

In other words, they were morally questionable.

Sun Hongye continued, "My role is merely to propose strategies. As for weighing the pros and cons, and deciding whether or not to act, that is the commander's responsibility."

He Lingchuan hummed in acknowledgment. "Well said."

He looked again at Sun Hongye's sparsely furnished home and finally extended an invitation: "We will depart for Xiazhou in two hours. Brother Sun, come with me. I will treat you with the respect due to a strategist."

Sun Hongye was not surprised. "Do the strategies I proposed greatly align with your wishes, Young Master He?"

Having recuperated for two days, he had also heard rumors in the town that the new Governor of Xiazhou was posting recruitment notices everywhere, seeking talented individuals to come to Xiazhou.

"You can't have it both ways, and war always involves taking risks; these are excellent points," He Lingchuan said with a slight smile. "Staying in Shihuan, you would either be ostracized by petty individuals or gradually waste your years away. In Xiazhou, you will find your true calling."