Chapter Forty-Three: Scheming to Capture the Thief

After hearing this, Zhang Juntai was taken aback and replied, "General, my martial arts are mediocre; I only know a bit about leading troops."
Li Wenyuan said, "In that case, tomorrow you will set out with the army and proceed to Wuwei Commandery's seat ahead of us. I will go with Zong Luohou to attend to some matters."
Zhang Juntai nodded, "That’s no problem. Tomorrow I can tell the county magistrate that the terrain of Azure Dragon Mountain is treacherous, and with our current forces, it's impossible to take it. We need to return to Wuwei and call for reinforcements to encircle and suppress the bandits."
At these words, Li Wenyuan suddenly had an idea. "Don’t actually return," he said. "Instead, have the magistrate organize the villagers outside the city to fortify their defenses and clear the fields, using the same excuse he gave before."
Zhang Juntai, catching on, replied, "Then we can send our own men to find out where the magistrate is detaining the villagers. When he tries to deal with them, we'll step in and rescue them."
Li Wenyuan smiled and nodded. "This way, we’ll have a proper reason to deal with the magistrate, and force Li Mao to lose his composure."
Just then, Zong Luohou returned. The county magistrate was meticulous in his actions; it was sheer luck to uncover anything at all.
Seeing that Zong Luohou had found nothing, Li Wenyuan said, "No matter. Let’s draw him out, like luring a snake from its hole."
Zong Luohou asked, "How does General Li intend to lure him?"
"Let’s not discuss that yet. Chief Zong, how are your martial skills?" Li Wenyuan asked abruptly.
"Uh, I come from the remote wilds. I’ve never compared myself with others," Zong Luohou said, scratching his head.
"Well then, you and Juntai have a contest. I want to see your skills," Li Wenyuan said.
Both Zhang Juntai and Zong Luohou were puzzled. Zong Luohou asked Zhang Juntai, "Didn’t General Li say he wanted to lure the snake out? Why are we suddenly to compete in martial arts?"

Zhang Juntai took the weapon handed to him, looked at Zong Luohou and smiled, "Chief Zong, perhaps you don’t know, but my general always acts unconventionally. Even the emperor, who prides himself on mastering imperial strategy, wouldn’t be able to predict him."
Seeing Zong Luohou ready, Zhang Juntai continued, "Chief, the general must have his own purpose. Let’s not speculate. I’ve admired you for a long time. Let’s seize this chance for a proper contest."
Zong Luohou lifted his blade with a laugh, "Good! I too want to know what sort of hero General Li’s most trusted deputy is."
The two took their stances, ready to compete. At this moment, Li Wenyuan lifted the tent flap and came out to watch. Matches in the camp were common, but rarely did senior officers compete, so the soldiers crowded round tightly to watch.
Li Wenyuan stood at the edge of the ring, his eyes on the two men, but his thoughts had wandered. Today, Hul’s words still echoed in his mind. The Tocharian Khanate, Dulok Khan—it was clearly a ploy to divide the Han authority in the Central Plains. Just as, at the beginning of the Kaihuang era, Emperor Wen of Sui had done to the Turks mired in civil strife on the steppe.
Fortunes change; now the Central Plains are about to fall into chaos, and the stabilized Turks have turned this open scheme back against the imperial court. How ironic.
He was roused by the clang of metal and the soldiers’ cheers. Zhang Juntai’s weapon had been knocked to the ground. He looked at Zong Luohou with a wry smile and said,
"Chief Zong, you’ve won."
Zong Luohou sheathed his weapon and clasped his hands, "Thank you for letting me win, Brother Zhang."
"Nonsense, lost is lost. I’m not so petty," Zhang Juntai picked up his weapon and laughed.
Li Wenyuan, now returned to himself, said, "You two have settled the outcome. Let’s get back to the business at hand."
The three returned to the tent. Zong Luohou said, "General Li, we’ve determined the winner. Please continue, what about luring the snake from its hole?"
"It’s simple. Chief Zong, you’ll come with me. We’ll kidnap a fat target," Li Wenyuan said in one breath, startling Zhang Juntai and Zong Luohou so much that their water bowls fell to the ground. Zhang Juntai even spat water all over Li Wenyuan’s face.
"What are you doing! What is this about! Just kidnapping someone? Is it really so shocking?" Li Wenyuan stood up angrily, kicked Zhang Juntai, and scolded him.

"What do you mean, just kidnapping someone? Kidnapping is illegal! You’re a general of the Sui Dynasty, how can you say such things?" Zhang Juntai stood up as well.
Li Wenyuan realized he’d spoken too hastily, and quickly smiled to explain, "It’s not what you two imagine. Here’s the plan—Juntai, you remember what I assigned to you?"
Seeing Zhang Juntai nod, Li Wenyuan continued, "This time, you’ll act as I instructed. Chief Zong and I will sneak into the city and kidnap that Hul. Then we’ll deliberately leak news to Li Mao, throw him into panic, and seize the chance to go through official channels and arrest him and the magistrate."
Li Wenyuan glanced at Zong Luohou, and seeing his confusion, explained, "Today I saw Li Mao and Ashina Hul in secret discussion at the tavern," and recounted everything he had seen and heard.
Zong Luohou was shocked—bringing the Hu people into the Sui could earn infamy for eternity. Who would dare such a thing?
Seeing Zong Luohou understood, Li Wenyuan said, "Then it’s settled. Tomorrow we begin, but plans can’t keep up with changes. We’ll follow the general outline, but adapt as needed."
The three stayed in the tent, discussing into the night before extinguishing the lamps and resting.
The next morning, the Yongdeng county magistrate arrived early at Li Wenyuan’s camp. Zhang Juntai went out to greet him. The magistrate looked behind Zhang Juntai and asked, "General Zhang, why don’t I see General Li today?"
Zhang Juntai smiled, "My general received urgent orders to return to Jincheng for official business, and entrusted me to break camp and proceed to Wuwei Commandery today."
"What? Leaving today? But the bandits of Azure Dragon Mountain haven’t been suppressed! With the army here, they dare not act. Once the army departs, the bandits will surely descend and wreak havoc!" The magistrate’s face changed, and he grabbed Zhang Juntai’s hand in alarm.
"Ah, it’s not that we’re cowardly and unwilling to fight, or that we don’t want to eliminate the bandits. It’s just that in reviewing the county records these past days, I’ve found that the terrain here is easy to defend, hard to attack. My three thousand men are not elite troops. Even if they were wiped out entirely, it might have no effect on the bandits. If they defeat the official forces, their morale will soar, and should they attack Yongdeng, would you have a plan to repel them?" Zhang Juntai asked sincerely.