Chapter Thirty-Three: The Art of War

To be honest, Li Yuechen inwardly agreed with this idea. Rather than gathering all the commoners in one place, it was better to disperse them across various prefectures and counties. In this era, grain yields were far too low—if a prefecture or county could feed its own people, that was already an achievement. If there was any surplus, it could be considered a prosperous land.

"Sigh… let's hope fewer people starve to death," Li Yuechen murmured quietly to herself from behind the screen. She recalled reading online about the severe famines in ancient times—there were even accounts of cannibalism. All she could do was pray such tragedies would not befall the Great Tang.

After court was dismissed, Li Zhi and his wife walked side by side. Leaning against the wall, Li Yuechen immediately shed her serious expression, ran up to them with a cheerful smile, and took their hands as they walked back together. Their daughter skipped between them, and seeing her so lively put both Li Zhi and his wife in good spirits.

This was exactly the effect Li Yuechen hoped to achieve. Even if Li Zhi was angry in the imperial court, at least she could lift his mood a little. People only make sound decisions when they're in a good frame of mind, so she tried to prevent Li Zhi from becoming irritable. When the emperor lost his temper and made rash decisions, chaos would spread from the top down—this was the pitfall of autocracy.

…

October arrived, and with winter approaching, everyone’s clothes had grown much thicker. Today was a holiday. Early in the morning, after practicing yoga with Shangguan Wan’er and her two older sisters, Li Yuechen headed to her master Liu Rengui’s residence.

Liu Rengui sat in the pavilion, hot tea on the table before him. In one hand, he played with health balls, the other stroking his beard as he nodded approvingly at Li Yuechen, who was executing a martial routine in the courtyard with vigor and precision.

When the princess had first expressed her wish to study martial arts, Liu Rengui hadn’t taken it seriously. But over the years, it had become clear she was dedicated—her movements were perfect, the result of true diligence.

When Li Yuechen finished her routine, she grabbed the pavilion railing and vaulted inside. “Master, how was that?”

“Excellent! The princess possesses rare talent and has trained with great dedication—I see remarkable progress!” Liu Rengui praised with a smile.

“Hehe, your disciple practices diligently every day,” Li Yuechen boasted a little.

Liu Rengui lifted his teacup. “To persevere so steadfastly, your temperament surpasses that of most. From today, we shall begin your study of military strategy.”

“Military strategy?” Li Yuechen was a bit puzzled—she didn’t quite understand. Martial arts were one thing, but why study military strategy as well?

Perhaps sensing her confusion, Liu Rengui sipped his tea and explained, “You may not know, Princess, but military strategy is essential for any martial artist!”

“How so?”

“The skills of personal combat can be applied to the battlefield,” Liu Rengui explained with a smile. “When one’s own martial prowess reaches a certain level, true breakthroughs often come from insights gained through military formations. Only then can one surpass their own limits.”

Li Yuechen thought for a moment, then asked, “So, Master, you mean personal combat and military tactics are fundamentally the same?”

Liu Rengui stroked his beard and smiled, nodding. “Indeed, Princess, you are most perceptive. That is precisely the case.”

If that was so, there was nothing more to say.

“In that case, your disciple will obey your instruction!” Li Yuechen replied with mock solemnity, bowing.

“Hahaha…” Liu Rengui always found her mischievous antics amusing. “Alright, come have some tea.”

…

By lunchtime, Li Yuechen finally returned to the Hall of Fragrant Favor. From a distance, she saw Shangguan Wan’er standing on the steps, waving at her. Li Yuechen waved back, then hurried toward the hall, with Fulai following close behind.

As she entered, she asked, “Why are you standing here alone?”

“I was waiting for you, Your Highness. I’m a little hungry…” Shangguan Wan’er replied, slightly embarrassed.

“Well then, let’s eat!” Li Yuechen laughed, bounding up the steps two at a time as she entered the hall.

Upon stepping inside and taking off her shoes, she saw Madam Zheng tidying up the table.

“No need to clean up—let’s eat first,” Li Yuechen said, raising her hand to stop her. “Afterwards, help me transcribe some books.”

“Yes, Your Highness,” Madam Zheng replied with a bow.

Now that Shangguan Wan’er was with Li Yuechen and had proper nutrition, her complexion was much improved.

…

Though still a child, life within the deep palace and daily study of ancient texts had inevitably imparted a certain maturity. Overall, her demeanor was steady, though she lacked some of the liveliness typical of children her age. Perhaps only when she was with Li Yuechen did she reveal a child’s carefree smile.

After the meal, Li Yuechen placed the military treatises she had received from her master Liu Rengui on the table. “Transcribe these, and add punctuation marks,” she ordered.

The archaic language of these ancient texts made her head spin, so for easier comprehension, she had Madam Zheng transcribe them with added punctuation before reading.

There weren’t that many words in these treatises, but classical texts were dense with meaning. In this era, copying books was a basic skill for any scholar. Woodblock printing had existed since the Zhenguan era, but it was still cumbersome, and without permission, it wouldn’t be appropriate to circulate Liu Rengui’s works. So, she had Madam Zheng hand-copy a set.

Madam Zheng worked quickly—within seven days, she had finished transcribing five or six military treatises, complete with punctuation. Every afternoon, aside from reading state history, Li Yuechen now devoted part of her time to studying military strategy. Whenever she encountered something she didn’t understand, she noted it down to ask Liu Rengui face-to-face.

Apart from the famous “Art of War” she had heard of even a thousand years later, the other works—such as “Six Secret Teachings” and “Wuzi”—were unfamiliar. One of them, “The Methods of Sima,” even struck her as oddly named.

Originally planning to read Sun Tzu’s Art of War first, curiosity led Li Yuechen to open “The Methods of Sima” instead. She found it rich in content, focusing mainly on the use and management of troops, including etiquette, weaponry, rewards and punishments, and vigilance—essentially a comprehensive military encyclopedia of the era.

Li Yuechen kept firmly in mind Liu Rengui’s assertion that military formations and martial arts were inseparable, so she concentrated most of her attention on the art of war. But imagining everything solely from the text was too cumbersome.

After some thought, she set down the book and called out, “Attend me!”

A palace maid standing guard at the door immediately entered. “How may I serve, Your Highness?”

“Send for Eunuch Fu!”

“At once!”

Soon, Fulai hurried into the hall. “Your Highness, what are your orders?”

Li Yuechen nodded. “Go to the Directorate of Works and find a mason to make a sand table for me.”

Eunuch Fu was puzzled and cautiously asked, “May I ask, Your Highness, what is a ‘sand table’?”

Li Yuechen tried to explain, but struggled for the right words. Although the concept of sand tables existed in this era, they were mostly rough models made quickly with sand and stones, and nothing like the precise scale models she envisioned.

So she gestured enthusiastically, “Find a map and have the mason use clay to recreate the mountains and rivers at a reduced scale, as shown on the map…”

Fulai caught on quickly and asked, “Is Your Highness planning to use this for military exercises?”

Seeing her nod, Fulai’s expression grew troubled. “But, Your Highness, maps are confidential—how could I…”

“Any foreign territory will do,” Li Yuechen replied.

Fulai nodded, reassured, and left. Maps within the empire were state secrets, but foreign maps were not a concern. Li Yuechen was skeptical of the accuracy of maps from this era, but it didn’t matter—these were only for simulation.

Two days later, still feeling uneasy, Li Yuechen visited the Directorate of Works herself to speak with the perplexed masons.

“If the map shows forest on the mountain, paint it green. Rivers should be blue…”

Under her direction, the masons finally understood what to do. Though the sand table would hardly be precise, at least it would be visually pleasing.

For the next several afternoons, Li Yuechen spent her time in the Directorate, guiding the creation of the sand table and having the carpenters craft corresponding pieces—representing soldiers and horses.

…

By late September, they finally completed a sand table five meters square. The mountains and rivers were quite well done—if not lifelike, at least easily recognizable. The carpenters had also finished the game pieces: cavalry were marked with horse heads, infantry with differently shaped figures.

Li Yuechen gained a new respect for the artisans of this era. They had done remarkably well—given more time, the results could have been even better.

She had Fulai arrange for the sand table to be moved back to the Hall of Fragrant Favor, then went herself to the Yan Ying Hall to find Li Zhi.

She no longer needed to announce herself there—after greeting the guard Zhang Chengxin at the door, she entered directly.

Inside, Li Zhi was reclining in a rocking chair, turning health balls in his hand. Li Yuechen thought, “You really should get up and walk around—lying there all day can’t be good for you.”

“Here you are, Chen’er. That smile—something good must have happened?” Li Zhi asked.

Li Yuechen threw herself onto him, smiling up. “Nothing special. But if Father isn’t busy, would you do some after-class exercises with me?”

“After-class exercises?” Li Zhi looked puzzled. “Don’t you have palace maids to read with you?”

“Not reading practice,” Li Yuechen explained. “Master says martial artists must study military strategy. I’ve made a sand table—will Father join me in a military simulation?”

Li Zhi thought for a moment. “What’s a sand table?”

“Come with me, Father, and you’ll see!”

“Alright, looks like you’ve created something new again. Meiniang, why don’t you come with us?” Li Zhi stood up and stretched.

Wu Meiniang, seated at the table, set down her brush and nodded. “Very well.”

Once again, Li Yuechen stood happily between them, holding their hands as they returned to the Hall of Fragrant Favor together.

When Li Zhi and Wu Zetian saw the five-meter sand table, both were astonished.

“My, this is quite the creation!” Li Zhi exclaimed, walking over to inspect it, stroking his beard with satisfaction.

Li Yuechen took out the game pieces and explained their meanings. Each piece had a round base, widest at the bottom, narrowing toward the top, with the size of the top indicating the number it represented. She then produced two long sticks with U-shaped ends, designed to grip the bases and move the pieces.

“Father, each of us commands a hundred thousand troops—shall we try a military exercise?” She handed one stick to Li Zhi.

“Very well, let’s try it!”

Li Zhi found this new game quite entertaining and began dividing up the pieces. Wu Zetian also seemed intrigued, immediately grasping its purpose, and stood by to watch.

Li Yuechen arranged her pieces. “Now, Father holds this mountain. I’ll send out three thousand light cavalry ahead, with the main force split behind, advancing slowly.”

As she spoke, she used her stick to arrange the pieces accordingly.

Li Zhi, who had once wished to lead troops in person, was well-versed in strategy. He smiled slightly, “Chen’er, your tactic is too conventional. In that case, I’ll place my spearmen in front, and send ten thousand light cavalry to outflank you on both sides.”

He moved his cavalry pieces to the flanks, indicating a pincer movement.

Li Yuechen grinned. “But this is mountainous terrain—your cavalry can’t reach both sides at once! I’ll have my crossbowmen and spearmen encircle and destroy your left flank first. Light cavalry, lacking heavy armor, can be wiped out before the right flank arrives.”

Li Zhi nodded with a smile. “You’re right, light cavalry lack heavy armor. But the three thousand you sent ahead will be swallowed up by my troops!”

With that, he pushed his main force forward and removed Li Yuechen’s three thousand light cavalry.

“Ah…” Li Yuechen was momentarily stunned—she’d forgotten that in her first attempt. But she quickly recovered. “But Father, your spearmen will be exhausted from the fight. If I keep pushing, I can break through your forward defense!”

“True!” Li Zhi agreed, but then used his stick to bring in the right-flank cavalry. “However, by now my right cavalry has arrived and strikes from the side. Your formation collapses—total defeat!”

Li Yuechen slapped her forehead. “Alright, I lost this round. Let’s go again!”

Li Zhi seemed to be enjoying himself, putting aside his health balls. “Again!”

Wu Zetian watched the two play, a smile breaking across her face as she stood by, observing intently.