"I think," Jin Shuqiao said suddenly and earnestly, "this is what we should do."
"We should open up a few gaps along the Qishi River," Jin Shuqiao gestured over the map. "Opening these gaps isn't for us to launch an attack across, but to drive the bandit groups within our own borders right across to the other side."
"Since they claim there are no bandits over there, we'll hand them some bandits and see how they cope," Jin continued. "If we send a large military force across, they'll intercept us. But bandits are adept at roaming around; stopping them won't be so easy."
"The common folk over there are prosperous, so I'm sure our bandits will be more than willing to go. We won't even need to drive them—just opening these gaps will do," Jin Shuqiao went on. "Once the bandits stir up trouble over there, we can dispatch our troops then, and defeating them will be much easier. What do you all think?"
Wu Xiaoliang and Jin Junfeng fell into deep thought simultaneously, both pondering whether Jin Shuqiao's plan was truly feasible.
"That's actually worth a try," Jin Junfeng said after a moment, deeming it workable. He thought it feasible for two reasons: first, Jin Shuqiao's plan seemed genuinely effective; second, her plan ultimately involved sending out troops to strike, which was essentially the same as his own proposal.
Wu Xiaoliang, however, shook his head. "I don't think it's a good idea."
"Why is that?" Jin Junfeng asked, puzzled.
"Yes, Brother Liang, why wouldn't it be?" Jin Shuqiao pressed, equally confused.
Recalling his past experiences, Wu Xiaoliang said, "The Flying Horse Gang itself originated as a bandit group. Moreover, back when I was over there, I heard that the Flying Horse Gang is exceptionally skilled at absorbing and reorganizing bandit groups. I'm afraid that if we drive our domestic bandit groups across, we'll end up inadvertently supplying them with fresh manpower."
Hearing this, Jin Shuqiao instantly deflated, while Jin Junfeng wore a look of utter helplessness.
The three of them fell silent. After quite a while, Jin Junfeng broke the silence and turned to Wu Xiaoliang. "Brother Liang, have you thought of any plan by now? If you don't come up with one before my father returns..."
"I do have a plan," Wu Xiaoliang said with a hesitant air, "only... this plan..."
His tone implied that he had thought of a solution long ago, but it was one he found difficult to articulate.
"Let's hear it," Jin Junfeng said, sitting up straight and listening attentively.
"You might find this plan too absurd," Wu Xiaoliang said, acting reluctant to speak.
"A plan is a plan after all," Jin Shuqiao said, as if trying to encourage him when she saw his hesitation. "You might think it's no good, but perhaps we'll think it's quite good once we hear it."
"Alright," Wu Xiaoliang said, as though against his better judgment. "I'll tell you then."
Both Jin Junfeng and Jin Shuqiao looked at him intently.
"My plan is..." Wu Xiaoliang paused, "...to withdraw our troops."
"What?" Jin Junfeng and Jin Shuqiao exclaimed in unison, startled.
"What do you mean?" Jin Junfeng still refused to believe his ears, nor did he fully understand what kind of troop withdrawal Wu Xiaoliang was talking about.
"It means withdrawing most of our troops deployed along the Qishi River, leaving garrisons only in the major towns," Wu Xiaoliang continued.
"Are you out of your mind?" Jin Junfeng blurted out in disbelief, his voice noticeably rising.
"Just as I thought," Wu Xiaoliang wore an 'I told you so' expression. "You'd find it absurd."
"Brother Liang, what are you thinking?" Jin Shuqiao asked with an expression of utter incomprehension. "How could you possibly think of withdrawing troops?"
"I am considering the current situation," Wu Xiaoliang glanced at the map and said.
"The situation?" Jin Junfeng also cast a glance at the map. "The current situation calls for increasing troop numbers, not withdrawing them!"
"Why should we increase troop numbers?" Now it was Wu Xiaoliang's turn to look puzzled.
"Given their actions, we ought to apply pressure on them," Jin Junfeng said as if it were only natural.
"Are they about to attack across?" Wu Xiaoliang asked.
Jin Junfeng shook his head.
"Then does their free provision of grain and military supplies to the Border Defense Army south of Zecao Town amount to an attack on us?" Wu Xiaoliang continued.
Jin Junfeng shook his head once more.
"Since they have no intention of attacking us, why should we increase our troops?" Wu Xiaoliang asked rhetorically.
"But what they're doing will win over the hearts of the people," Jin Junfeng said with palpable unease. "That is extremely disadvantageous for us."
"From the perspective of winning popular support, judging by the current situation, we cannot outdo them," Wu Xiaoliang shook his head and said. "Therefore, we must avoid their strengths, exploit their weaknesses, and not compete with them over popular support."
"Then what do we compete on?" Jin Shuqiao asked, still baffled.
"Magnanimity," Wu Xiaoliang said with a smile.
"Magnanimity?" Jin Junfeng and Jin Shuqiao looked at each other, utterly bewildered.
"Yes, magnanimity. We should show magnanimity toward them, forgiving their past betrayal," Wu Xiaoliang went on. "My plan is as follows."
"Since they have no intention of expanding—meaning they don't plan to attack outward—there's no need for us to be on guard against them," Wu Xiaoliang continued. "Furthermore, withdrawing the majority of our troops will also reduce our military expenditures."
Wu Xiaoliang paused for a moment. "However, the troop withdrawal I speak of is not a real retreat."
Jin Junfeng and Jin Shuqiao both wore expressions eager for details.
"My idea is to divide these withdrawn troops into two parts," Wu Xiaoliang continued. "Half of them will remain hidden along the Qishi River. This hidden half is primarily meant to guard against an enemy assault.
"I suspect that if we withdraw our troops, the other party certainly won't sit idly by; it's very likely they will launch an offensive and catch us off guard. Of course, it's also possible that, out of caution, they will maintain the status quo and stand their ground along the Qishi River without making a move.
"If they do attack, once their forces cross the Qishi River—or at least half of them do—our hidden troops can strike. Striking when half their army has crossed will allow us to cut their forces off at the waist. In that case, the enemy troops that have entered our territory will become turtles in a jar.
"If the majority of their forces cross the Qishi River, our hidden troops can cut off their retreat at the Qishi River, and then we can throw the entire nation's strength into attacking them from the north. Once their retreat is cut off and they are deprived of logistics and supplies, I imagine it will only be a matter of time before we wipe them out." Here, Wu Xiaoliang stopped and took a sip of tea that had long been prepared on the table.
"Truly a brilliant strategy," Jin Junfeng praised. "This is a stratagem to lure the enemy in, even if it's a bit daring."
"And what about the other half of the troops?" Jin Shuqiao pressed.
"For the other half, I plan to break them down into small units and disperse them," Wu Xiaoliang said.
"Disperse them?" Jin Junfeng and Jin Shuqiao looked at each other again, uncomprehending.
"Yes. My idea for the other half is to disguise them as ordinary civilians so that, to outsiders, they appear to be disbanded on the spot." Wu Xiaoliang pointed to several major towns of the Flying Horse Kingdom along the Qishi River on the map and continued, "Here, here, and here, as well as these few places. What these seemingly disbanded men will do next is cross into enemy territory and go into hiding within these towns.
"If the enemy troops cross the Qishi River, these undercover agents can seize the opportunity to strike them from behind. If the enemy troops continue merely to garrison the Qishi River, then we will take the initiative to attack them within a year or two. I reckon that after our apparent withdrawal, if they truly don't attack, their garrison along the Qishi River will certainly let down their guard over the next year or two. When that time comes, we will attack, and our hidden operatives will coordinate from within and without, which will undoubtedly inflict a crushing defeat upon them."
"This..." Jin Junfeng was struck dumb with astonishment. He never imagined that Wu Xiaoliang could come up with such a scheme, and an airtight-sounding one at that.
"It's a good plan, but there are still many troubles," Jin Shuqiao said thoughtfully.
"What troubles?" Jin Junfeng looked at Jin Shuqiao, puzzled. "Aside from requiring a lot of nerve, what else could be wrong with this plan?"
"How are those 'disbanded' men supposed to infiltrate enemy territory?" Jin Shuqiao asked, frowning. "With so many people going over, would the other side just sit by and do nothing? Would they allow these people to cross the border? And once they've infiltrated, can these men actually manage to stay in the enemy towns? Wouldn't the enemy garrison officers move against them? What's more, among these men, many might betray us after crossing for various reasons. What then?"
Jin Shuqiao reeled off a whole string of problems, which also made Jin Junfeng knit his brows.
"That's right, Brother Liang. These issues are very troublesome. This half of the 'disbanded' troops might..." Jin Junfeng didn't finish, but his meaning was clear. These "disbanded" troops would be in grave danger once they infiltrated. Going by Jin Shuqiao's logic, most of them would be on a one-way trip, facing certain doom. He began to worry.
"Actually, none of these problems are problems at all," Wu Xiaoliang smiled and said. "We can exploit their intention to 'win over popular support' to get our men across."
"Popular support?" Jin Junfeng and Jin Shuqiao looked at each other once more, both thinking: *Didn't you say earlier that we should avoid their strengths and attack their weaknesses, and that we shouldn't compete with them over popular support? Why are you suddenly talking about utilizing popular support now?*
Reading the looks in their eyes, Wu Xiaoliang understood what they were thinking and explained, "Avoiding it is one thing; utilizing it is another."
"Don't they want to win over the hearts of the people? Very well, our 'disbanded' men will enter their territory under the pretext of having been won over by them," Wu Xiaoliang continued. "We'll have all these infiltrating operatives give the exact same reason for crossing—they'll say that life over there is good, and that's why they want to move."
"With so many people crossing, the other side simply won't be able to manage them all. Even if they really wanted to make arrests, they couldn't possibly catch everyone. If they tried to arrest the majority, their own military would fall into chaos instead, which would actually give us an opening. I imagine their high command and generals wouldn't do such a thing," Wu Xiaoliang went on. "That is to say, they will certainly make arrests, but only of a small fraction.
"Regardless of whether our men betray us or not, the losses to us won't be significant. What we want is the result, and I believe that in the end, a large group of people fiercely loyal to the State of Long will successfully go underground over there. That will be more than enough for us—quite enough to deal with them."