Seeing what the Light Screen said about military doctrine, Liu Bei was reminded of something.
"Didn't Kongming once say he wanted to revise military theory?"
Pang Tong immediately pricked up his ears. Zhuge Liang responded modestly:
"From observing the Light Screen's occasional glimpses of later generations, I gained some insights. On the principle that warfare has no fixed form, and on the idea of 'making the enemy respond to you rather than responding to the enemy,' I've arrived at a few new interpretations."
"So I jotted some thoughts down casually, and read them over now and then, refining them at leisure."
Back in Jingzhou, Zhuge Liang had already discussed this with Guan Yu. At the time, they had concluded that guerrilla tactics were, at their core, simply Sunzi's concept of "forcing the enemy to react, rather than being forced to react oneself."
Later generations had coined new terms—initiative and passivity—but stripped down, it was the same idea: make the enemy come deal with you, instead of exhausting yourself chasing after others.
Pang Tong sighed inwardly. Kongming truly never allowed himself a single idle moment.
He also couldn't help but think—now that paper had grown increasingly cheap within their territory, perhaps he too should write something when he had the time. After all, as people of later ages supposedly said, even jotting down what one ate each day would become a cultural relic if it survived into the future.
Besides, he had already helped his lord secure Yi Province and Hanzhong, and had coordinated with Xu Shu in Jingzhou. Once Guanzhong was pacified, his achievements should carry some real weight.
Perhaps, someday, this Li Weigong fellow would have to read Pang Tong's military treatise as well.
Pang Tong was just envisioning this beautiful future when he heard Zhuge Liang say calmly:
"After all, when the time comes to teach Jiang Wei military theory, I'll need to have some insights ready."
Pang Tong felt his throat go dry.
At the same time, he saw Zhang Fei waggling his eyebrows at him. Pang Tong shot him a warning glare in return.
He then forced himself to look composed and said,
"Kongming truly plans far ahead."
"It's just a pity that Han Sui now occupies Tianshui. Because our army has some ties with Ma Chao, he's grown suspicious."
"Otherwise, we would certainly have sent elite troops to escort Jiang Wei's entire family to Chengdu."
Pang Tong's gaze met Zhuge Liang's faintly smiling eyes. The contact lasted only an instant. Zhuge Liang, a smile lingering at the corner of his mouth, turned his attention back to the Light Screen.
"Your concern is appreciated, Shiyuan. But Chengdu is a long journey. If they could truly be brought over in advance, keeping them in Hanzhong would already be sufficient."
"After all, the talent of the Young Phoenix is known throughout the realm—and he would make an excellent teacher as well."
Zhang Fei looked at the two strategists, his eyes filled with amusement. Under the table, however, his hand was tightly gripping his own thigh, terrified that he might burst out laughing.
Liu Bei cleared his throat and changed the subject.
"This Song dynasty has both established its Military Classics and has neighboring foreign enemies to train its troops against."
"And with weapons like the Eight-Ox Crossbow, how could military virtue fall into neglect?"
Pang Tong, though he suspected that his lord's throat-clearing was meant to cover a smile, followed the change in topic.
"If military theory is sufficient, and weapons are sufficient, then either the fault lies in the military system—or the external enemies are simply too strong."
Everyone had seen the military reports from Jingzhou. The most outrageous case was Fan City.
Massive warships sailed straight up to the walls, suppressing the ramparts. Special blunt-headed arrows were fired indiscriminately, smashing the defenders' positions and shattering their morale. The city fell in a single assault—no more than seven days from start to finish. It exceeded everyone's expectations.
Pang Tong also remembered that in later history, the Song dynasty had likewise fought bitterly at Xiangyang and Fancheng before its fall.
"And yet," he said, "the Song was able to hold the Mongols at Xiangyang and Fancheng for over a decade. This shows that even if the external enemy was formidable, it wasn't yet an utterly hopeless situation…"
Shaking his head, Pang Tong felt that the more he looked at the Song dynasty, the more baffling it became.
[Lightscreen]
[By comparison, the most valuable portions of Li Weigong's Questions and Answers are those dealing with the Tang military.
The army's organizational structure, the corresponding tactical principles, and the methods of infantry–cavalry coordination are all things that can be directly studied and applied.
In these sections explaining combat methods, it is very difficult for the author to smuggle in personal agendas, so the essence of the content is relatively well preserved.
As for Tang military organization, Li Jing stipulated that one general would command twenty thousand troops, of which fourteen thousand were combat soldiers, divided into seven armies. Cavalry was strictly required to make up at least one-third of the force.
The remaining troops were further subdivided into archers, crossbowmen, mounted infantry, shock troops, and reserve special forces, selected as needed.
A standard combat formation typically consisted of: 2,900 shock troops; 2,900 mixed infantry–cavalry special troops; 2,000 crossbowmen; 2,200 archers; and 6,900 logistics troops.
And most importantly, there were at least 4,000 cavalry—the true core of the formation.
Later Tang military systems did not differ greatly from this. How one made use of these four thousand cavalrymen was the clearest measure of a Tang commander's tactical ability.
Looking across early Tang warfare as a whole, their applications largely fell into several categories:
During the destruction of the Turks: long-distance raids to strike directly at the enemy commander's tent.
During the campaign against Tuyuhun: cavalry pursuing the enemy over thousands of li. Li Shimin favored this method as well, as did Su Dingfang. When Su Dingfang destroyed the Western Turks, he pursued them from the Altai Mountains—modern Xinjiang—all the way into what is now Kyrgyzstan, from scorching heat into falling snow. A four-thousand-li pursuit that ended in total victory. We'll have a chance to discuss that later.
The encirclement and flanking tactics at the Battle of Xiangji Temple.
Li Shimin's cavalry raids that cut off Dou Jiande's supply lines.
And the most technically demanding of all: Tang infantry–cavalry coordination.
After the Tang army formed up, when the enemy closed to 220 meters, crossbowmen began firing. At 90 meters, archers joined in. At 30 meters, archers withdrew to the rear to continue ranged suppression, while crossbowmen discarded their crossbows, drew blades, and prepared to engage as reserve troops.
Once contact was made, the vanguard and central army held the line. If the enemy was not destroyed, cavalry and reserve forces on both flanks would surge forward, allowing the main force to withdraw, rest, and rotate into reserve.
It was precisely this complete, scientific, and cost-effective system that prevented the early Tang from falling into reckless militarism.
Just as with Li Jing's destruction of Tuyuhun, Su Dingfang's later long-distance campaign against the Western Turks also took only four months—remarkably reminiscent of Li Jing's style.]
The people in Ganlu Hall watched with rapt attention. On the Light Screen, very crude blocks and circles were moved back and forth alongside written explanations, demonstrating Tang battle methods.
Li Jing himself watched with great interest.
"These methods differ considerably from those of our present time," he remarked.
Li Shimin, however, found it easy to understand.
"Later generations also say that this book was falsely attributed to the Duke Wei and was likely compiled around the early Kaiyuan era under Emperor Xuanzong."
"The author's knowledge of Tang military systems would naturally differ greatly from those of our present day."
Li Jing nodded. "Even so, its value remains extraordinary."
The generals all agreed with Li Jing's assessment, but what truly captured their interest were the specific campaign examples that followed.
Li Shimin watched with evident pleasure.
"General Li's campaigns against the Turks and Tuyuhun may serve as lasting models for later generations in the use of cavalry."
Li Jing hurriedly demurred.
"The destruction of the Turks was only possible because Your Majesty's strategic calculations were already firmly in hand."
"As for Tuyuhun, it still exists at present—I would not dare claim credit prematurely."
Just as ruler and ministers were exchanging courtesies, Su Dingfang's name appeared on the Light Screen.
Su Lie, who had been listening obediently and intending to engrave these hard-earned lessons into his memory for later study, was momentarily struck dumb.
I… can destroy a state too? And the Turkic Khaganate that has dominated the Western Regions for so long?
Li Shimin's eyes lit up. He remembered the Light Screen's earlier scattered references to early Tang history with great clarity.
The Western Turks fell under Gao… no, wait—under his son Li Zhi's reign.
And the commander who carried out that campaign was standing right here before him!
The image of Prince Zhi—just learning to walk—briefly flickered through Li Shimin's mind before being promptly tossed aside to Buyeo.
Su Dingfang was now in the prime of his life. He ought to be heavily employed, adding another achievement to the ledger of the Heavenly Khan. Why wait twenty more years and let his talent languish?
Most importantly, Su Dingfang was a year younger than Li Shimin himself—perfect material to cultivate into a great commander.
Earlier, Li Shimin had felt depressed by what the Light Screen revealed.
Duan Zhixuan led troops and returned without success, wasting provisions.
Hou Junji destroyed a state but grew arrogant over his achievements and ultimately rebelled.
From the history shown by the Light Screen, Li Shimin could infer his own thinking: both men were former Qin Prince retainers and relatively young. He had likely hoped to cultivate one of them into a successor to Li Jing—but both had disappointed him.
Now, looking at Su Lie—one year his junior, yet already carrying himself with something of Li Jing's style—Li Shimin's gaze burned with intensity.
It seemed his Tang dynasty might truly annihilate the Turks completely within a single Zhenguan reign.
Off to the side, Li Ji was calculating quietly.
He didn't even need a map. With his eyes closed, he could recall it clearly.
West of Chang'an, states that could truly be called "kingdoms" amounted to only Tuyuhun, Gaochang, Kucha, the Western Turks, and Tubo.
If so, unclaimed merit seemed to remain only in Kucha?
No—Li Ji shook his head inwardly. Gaochang had originally been Hou Junji's merit. But now? That was no longer certain.
Li Ji was, after all, one of the three great war gods of the early Tang. Later generations praised his loyalty and righteousness. By any measure, he ought to be more reliable than Hou Junji.
Completely unaware of Li Ji's fervent gaze, Li Shimin strode over with the bearing of a dragon and tiger, and quite openly patted Su Lie on the shoulder.
"Dingfang is a youthful hero. You must apply yourself."
"From tomorrow onward, accompany Yaoshi in closely examining the recent situation in Tuyuhun."
Li Jing naturally understood the emperor's intent. But watching a thirty-one-year-old emperor pat a thirty-year-old man on the shoulder and praise him as a "youthful hero" still felt a bit strange.
Su Lie had no time to dwell on that. He accepted the order with great delight.
…
Zhang Fei and Zhao Yun felt that this trip had been well worth it.
The simple battle formations demonstrated on the Light Screen were priceless treasures to both men, and they immediately did their best to sketch them out with pen and paper.
At the same time, Zhao Yun sighed inwardly at the sheer wealth of the Tang dynasty.
A so-called "group army" of seven armies, with cavalry and mounted infantry combined, possessed at least five to six thousand fine horses.
And how many good mounts did his own lord possess now?
Only his own three hundred elite horses.
And even among those three hundred riders, only a little over a hundred were true Youzhou horses. The rest could only be considered northern stock—usable enough in Jingzhou and Yi Province, perhaps, but utterly insufficient against Cao's bandits who controlled Hebei.
As for the Tang dynasty?
Zhao Yun had privately calculated that around the time of the An Lushan Rebellion, the Tang forces involved in warfare numbered at least four hundred thousand in solid terms.
At twenty thousand men per army, with five thousand fine horses each, the flourishing Tang alone maintained at least a hundred thousand prime warhorses.
And horse pastures could never consist entirely of prime stock. Accounting for probability…
Zhao Yun didn't even want to calculate further.
At that moment, he felt a pang of sorrow for the An Lushan Rebellion.
Four parts admiration, three parts lamentation, two parts heartache, and one part regret.
That was Zhao Yun's most genuine feeling toward the elite Tang armies that were destroyed by internal strife.