SWORDS FIGHTS ON MOUNT HUA (Book 3 of Legend Of The Condor Heroes)

Secret Order In Embroidered Pouch Part 4

Genghis Khan summoned the three commander-in-chiefs privately; he even ordered his personal guards to leave the tent. To Ogedei, Tuolei and Guo Jing he said, "The Jins concentrate their defense in the city of Tongguan; the city is bordered on the south by a mountain and on the north by a river, it really is difficult to break. Numerous generals' proposals all have some ground to them, but if we advance frontally, unavoidably we will waste a lot of time. Currently our Mongolia has formed an alliance with the Great Song; I think the best strategy would be advancing through the Song territory. From Tangzhou the army to proceed via Dengzhou straight to the Jin capital Daliang."

As Ogedei, Tuolei and Guo Jing three people heard to this point, they jumped and hugged each other, loudly shouted, "Ingenious plan!"

Genghis Khan smiled and asked Guo Jing, "You are very good in battle strategy; truly a man after my own heart. Let me ask you, after attacking Daliang, then what?"

Guo Jing contemplated for a while then shook his head, "We are not attacking Daliang," he said.

Ogedei and Tuolei clearly heard their father king said they were going to attack Daliang, why did Guo Jing say they were not going to? They were startled and looked at him with a questioning look. Genghis Khan still showed a faint smile on his face, "Not attacking Daliang, then what?" he asked.

"Not attacking is actually attacking; attack but do not attack, do not attack but attack," Guo Jing said. He made Ogedei and Tuolei more confused than ever.

"Attack but do not attack, do not attack but attack [gong er bu gong, bu gong er gong]," Genghis Khan smiled, "These eight characters were very well said. Explain it to your two brothers."

Guo Jing complied. "I can guess the Great Khan's troops advancement method; we pretend to attack the Jin capital, destroying the enemy under the city wall. Daliang is where the Jin Emperor resides, but the troops stationed there are actually not too many. As soon as it is under attack, the Jins will immediately send troops from the neighboring city Tongguan to rescue. Chinese military strategist said, 'A massive troops movement can't be done in a day; traveling hundreds of 'li's is draining the energy and crippling the three generals. Strong at first, weary in the end. This is the eleventh method.' By traveling fast for a hundred 'li's, the soldiers strength will be reduced to only 10% of their original strength. As they leave Tongguan and go to Daliang, the great distance is their biggest disadvantage; they should take ten rest stops, but can only take one instead. Even if they reach Daliang on time, they will be weary and unable to fight. Our troops simply have to wait for the exhausted enemy then we can easily destroy the Jin army. Once the strong Jin army is defeated, then Daliang will fall. If we concentrate on directly attacking Daliang, not only it will be difficult, but we can be attacked from both front and rear."

Genghis Khan clapped his hands and laughed aloud, he called out, "Well said, well said!" He pulled a scroll out and spread it on the table. Three people looked at it and were greatly astonished. Turned out it was the map of Daliang and its neighboring area. On it were drawn routes of troop's movement, both theirs and the enemy's. It also contained strategies on how to attack the enemy's rear flank, how to attack the enemy's main body, how to lure and destroy the incoming enemies from Tongguan, how to make them weary and obliterate them outside the city wall; everything was just as Guo Jing had said.

Ogedei and Tuolei looked at their father king, also looked at Guo Jing with bewilderment and admiration on their face. Guo Jing's heart was also full of admiration, he thought, "I learned the military strategy from the 'Wumu Legacy', nothing strange about it; but the Great Khan is illiterate, he possesses a natural ability for this kind of things."

Genghis Khan continued, "In our expedition to the south this time, I am sure the Jins will be destroyed. I have here three embroidered pouches for each one of you. After Daliang falls, the three of you should gather inside the imperial palace of the Jin emperor; you can open them up and act accordingly." Upon saying that he took those embroidered pouches from his pocket and gave one to each of them.

As Guo Jing received the pouch, he saw that the mouth was sealed with wax and the seal carried the image of Genghis Khan's signet ring.

"Before entering Daliang, I forbid you to open the pouch without authorization," Genghis Khan said, "Before you open them, I want the three of you to examine each other's pouch to see if the seal is damaged."

The three of them bowed and said, "Who dare to defy The Great Khan's decree?"

Genghis Khan asked Guo Jing, "You are usually slow in dealing everyday affairs; but how come you are so resourceful in dealing with military strategy?" Guo Jin then told him how he studied the military strategy from the 'Wumu Legacy'. Genghis Khan asked him the life story of Yue Fei. Guo Jing told him how Yue Fei scored a big victory over the Jins at the 'zhu xian zhen' [vermillion immortal small town]; that the Jins gave him a nickname, 'Yue Yeye' [grandfather Yue]; that they had a saying, 'shaking a mountain is easy, shaking Yue's army is difficult'; Guo Jing recounted everything.

Genghis Khan was silent, carrying his hands behind his back he paced back and forth inside his tent; sighing, "I regret I was not born a hundred years earlier to befriend this great hero. In this world today, who can be my rival?" His words carried a great loneliness.

As he was leaving the Golden Tent, Guo Jing remembered that in the past several days he had been busy with military business and did not spend as much time with his mother as he should. Since the next day he was going south leading the troops to avenge his country, the Great Song, against its archenemy, the Jin; today he wanted to spend as much time with his mother as he could. Hence he immediately headed toward his mother's tent.

To his surprise, the tent was empty, all her clothes and other belongings were moved someplace else; only an old soldier stayed there on guard duty. He asked the soldier, and was told that the madam surnamed Li had received the Great Khan's order to move to another tent. Guo Jing asked where the new tent was, and quickly walked over. He was surprised to see the tent was several times bigger than the one she used to live in. He lifted the curtain to enter, and he was even more surprised; the tent was full of gold, jade, and precious jewels, as well as fancy clothes and embroidery works; they were all the spoils of Mongolian army's military expedition.

Princess Huazheng was sitting next to Li Ping, listening to her story about Guo Jing's childhood. As she saw Guo Jing enter, she smiled, stood up and greeted him.

"Ma [mother], where did all these things come from?" Guo Jing asked.

"The Great Khan says you have rendered a great service in the west; therefore, he bestowed all of these for you to enjoy," Li Ping answered. "Actually, we are simple people and have no use of these extravagances."

Guo Jing nodded, he also saw there were more than eight maids attending to his mother's needs; they were also captives that the troops seized.

After making some idle talk with Guo Jing and his mother for a while, Huazheng took her leave. She thought Guo Jing would leave for another long journey the next day, so he must have had a lot to talk about with her today. Who would have thought that after waiting outside the tent for half a day Guo Jing did not come out. Li Ping understood, she said, "Jing'er, Princess is waiting for you outside, you need to say goodbye to her."

Guo Jing replied in affirmative, but did not budge from his chair. Li Ping sighed, "We have lived in this northern country for twenty years. Although we have received the Great Khan's benevolence like we are part of his family, but actually I miss my hometown very much. I hope you can defeat the Jin country soon, so that we, mother and son, will be able to return to our hometown. We can live in the Ox Village, where your father's home used to be. I know you are not greedy of fame and fortune, so you don't need to go back north. Only this business with the Princess, I don't know how to deal with; it is a really difficult matter."

"Your son had early on told the Princess, that if Rong'er died, your son will never marry for the rest of my life," Guo Jing said.

Li Ping sighed, "Perhaps the Princess can accept that, but what worries me most is the Great Khan."

"What about the Great Khan?" Guo Jing asked.

"These past few days the Great Khan all of a sudden treats us, mother and child, with an unusual kindness," Li Ping answered, "He showered us with money, precious jewels, everything. He said it was your reward from the expedition to the west, but I have lived in this northern Mongolian desert for twenty years, I know the Great Khan's personality. I feel like there is more to it than what meets the eye."

"Ma," Guo Jing said, "What do you think it is?"

"I am just a simple woman, how could I have a respected opinion?" Li Ping said, "But if my intuition is right, the Great Khan wants to compel us to do something for him."

"Hmm, perhaps he wants me to marry the Princess," Guo Jing guessed.

"Getting married is a good thing," Li Ping answered, "Even if the Great Khan does not know your feeling, he does not need to compel you. The way I see it, you are commanding a big army to the south; maybe the Great Khan is afraid you will have a change of heart and rebel against him."

Guo Jing shook his head, "I have no intention to gain riches and honor, and the Great Khan knew it. Why would I rebel against him?"

"I have an idea," Li Ping said, "We will find out quietly what the Great Khan's real intention is. Tell him that I miss my hometown very much, and want to go along to the south with you. Tell him that, see what he would say."

Guo Jing was delighted, "Ma, why didn't you say so earlier? We go home together, that will be wonderful! I am sure the Great Khan will give his permission." He went out the tent and did not see Huazheng outside. He thought perhaps she had waited for a while and could not wait much longer.

Guo Jing was gone for half a day, and he came back dejected. "The Great Khan did not give us his permission, did he?" Li Ping asked.

"I don't understand," Guo Jing replied, "Why would the Great Khan want to keep you here?" Li Ping was silent. "The Great Khan said," Guo Jing continued, "That as soon as the Jin country is defeated, he will let me take you home; we will return with all the glory and honor. Why would I want that? I said mother misses her home very much and wants to go home sooner. The Great Khan suddenly looked angry, he kept shaking his head, did not give us his permission."

Li Ping hesitated. "What else did the Great Khan say to you today?" she asked.

Guo Jing told her everything that happened inside the Golden Tent earlier, how he received his assignment, including the secret order he received inside the embroidered pouch.

"Ay!" Li Ping sighed, "If only your Second Master and Rong'er were here, they should be able to shed some lights on this matter. It's a pity I am only a simple country girl. The more I think about it, the more restless I became; I don't know why."

Guo Jing played with the embroidered pouch in his hand; he said, "When the Great Khan gave this embroidered pouch, his face looked unusual. I am afraid it has something to do with this secret order."

Li Ping took the embroidered pouch from his hand; she looked at it carefully, then she dismissed all the maids and suddenly said, "Let's open it up and take a look."

Guo Jing was shocked, "No! Breaking the royal seal means death."

Li Ping smiled, "Do you know that the embroidery work of the Lin'an prefecture is well-known throughout the world? Your mother is a Lin'an native, I have learned embroidery since my childhood. I can open up this pouch without damaging the seal, and I can sew it back on as good as new. Nobody will find out."

Guo Jing was delighted. Li Ping fetched her needles and carefully undid the silk thread that was holding the embroidered pouch together. She took a folded paper through the seam and spread it out to take a look. As they read the paper, mother and son looked at each other; a chill crept up their bodies.

Turned out it was Genghis Khan's secret order to Ogedei, Tuolei and Guo Jing; as soon as the Jin is defeated, they were to proceed south to Lin'an in the shortest time possible, to defeat the Song and unify it under the Great Mongolia. The secret order also said that if Guo Jing rendered a great merit, he was to be crowned the prince with all glory and honor belonging to that title; but if he harbored a different mind, Ogedei and Tuolei were to behead him immediately, and his mother must also be executed.

Guo Jing stared blankly for half a day, finally he said, "Ma, if not for your skill in opening up this pouch, I don't know if we, mother and child, could have kept our lives. I am a citizen of our Great Song, how could I sell my own country for personal gain?"

"What are we going to do?" Li Ping asked.

"Ma, I regret that you will have to suffer some hardship," Guo Jing said, "We are running away to the south, tonight."

"Absolutely," Li Ping replied, "Go and make necessary preparation; don't let anybody find out our plan."

Guo Jing nodded; quickly returned to his own tent. He only took several changes of clothing. Other than his little red horse, he took eight horses, with the thought of his mother and he could rely on those horses to escape in case the Great Khan's army pursued them. He left all the gold and precious jewels the Great Khan gave him, along with the tiger-head hilt golden blade, in the tent. He removed his general uniform and put on regular leather clothing. He grew up in the desert, today he was going to leave for good, never to return, he could not refrain from feeling sadness in his heart. He left the tent he considered to be home with a heavy heart. He saw the sky was getting darker, so quickly he went back to his mother's tent.

Lifting the tent cover his heart skipped a beat. His mother was gone; only two bundles lying on the ground. "Ma!" he called out, but nobody answered. He felt something was terribly wrong; he was about to go out of the tent to look for his mother when suddenly the curtain was lifted up, a bright light from a torch dazzled his eyes. General Chilaun was standing outside the tent, calling out, "The Great Khan summons the Golden Blade Consort!" Chilaun was accompanied by a great number of soldiers, all wielding spears.

Seeing this situation Guo Jing was really anxious. If he relied on his martial art, Chilaun would not be able to do anything to him, but he remembered his mother, "Mother must be captured by the Great Khan, how I could escape alone?" he thought. Thus he followed Chilaun walking toward the Golden Tent.

He saw two-thousand of the Great Khan's archers were arrayed in row after row outside the tent, all wielding long sabers or halberds. Chilaun said, "The Great Khan ordered me to bind you. Please forgive me for offending the Consort." Guo Jing nodded, put his hands behind his back, then in big strides he entered the tent.

It was very bright, almost like a daytime, with dozens of butter candles burning inside the tent. Genghis Khan looked very angry, he slapped a table and shouted, "I have never treated you badly; I raised you up since you were little; I also gave my beloved daughter to be your wife. Little thief, you dare to rebel against me?"

Guo Jing saw the embroidered pouch and the letter inside it were lying on the table; he knew he would die soon. Boldly he answered, "I am the Great Song's citizen. How can I obey your order to attack my own country?"

Hearing him boldly defying his words, Genghis Khan was enraged. "Take him out and execute him!" he shouted.

Guo Jing's hands were tightly tied behind his back, while eight soldiers wielding sabers guarded him; he was unable to resist, he shouted loudly, "You made an alliance with the Great Song to defeat the Jins; halfway there you renounced your own promise, you failed to keep your word, what kind of hero is that?"

Genghis Khan was livid; his foot flew out and kicked the table upside down, shouted loudly, "After the Jin is defeated my alliance with the Song will be completed. If I attack the south, how can you say I break my promise? Quickly behead him!"