Chapter - 476 The Great Army Heads West (11) (1/2)
That day he was seriously contemplating to see the Great Khan and resign from his position; he was willing to be a low ranking soldier under somebody else's command, fighting the enemy as an individual, when suddenly his second-in-command came to report that more than a thousand Han people were waiting outside, they were seeking an audience with him.
Guo Jing was delighted, he thought, ”Qiu Daozhang has arrived this soon?” Hastily he went out his tent to welcome the visitor. To his surprised however, he saw on the prairie stood a group of people dressed as beggars. Three men rushed forward and bowed to greet him; turned out they were the Beggar Clan's Lu Youjiao, along with Jian and Liang Zhanglao [Elders].
”Have you heard anything about Miss Huang Rong?” Guo Jing anxiously asked.
”Xiao Ren [lit. little/lowly person] had anxiously waited for any news, but the Bangzhu's whereabouts is still unknown. We heard Sir ['guan ren', lit. government officer] is commanding a troop on the expedition to the west. We come to offer our assistance,” Lu Youjiao answered.
Guo Jing was greatly surprised, ”How did you know?”
”The Great Khan sent a messenger inviting Qiu Chuji, Priest Qiu; we heard it from the Quanzhen people,” Lu Youjiao replied.
Guo Jing was silent for half a day, staring blankly toward the clouds on the southern horizon, he thought, ”The Beggar Clan has eyes and ears all over the world, yet they don't know Rong'er's whereabouts. I am afraid her being in danger is more likely than not.” Thinking about Huang Rong his eyes turned red involuntarily. He assigned his second-in-command to help the newcomers settled down while he himself went to inform the Great Khan.
”Good,” Genghis Khan said, ”Place them under your command.”
When Guo Jing conveyed his intention to resign, Genghis Khan was angry, ”Who can fight a battle as soon as they are born? Nobody can. After fighting several battles you will pick up. You grew up with me, what are you afraid of? How could Genghis Khan's son-in-law not go to war?”
Guo Jing did not dare to say another word. He returned to his tent with an anxious face. Lu Youjiao asked him what the matter was, and then tried to console him. When evening came Lu Youjiao came to his tent and said, ”If I knew it would be this way, Xiao Ren would have brought 'Sun Tzu's Art of War', or 'Tai Gong's Summary of Military Strategy' from the south; then everything will be all right.”
It suddenly dawned on Guo Jing that he had the 'Wumu's Legacy' by his side. It was a military manual; how could he forget about it? Right away he took the book out from his clothes pouch, and then read it by the lantern light all night long through the next day, stopping only because he felt tired.
This book contained all kinds of military strategy; from reconnaissance, planning an attack, defense strategy, to military training, officer management, troop disposition, field operation, as well as safety and danger situation overview and escape strategy, all were discussed in details.
That day Guo Jing had browsed through it on the boat at Yuanjiang, he did not pay too much attention. But this time he needed military guidance, so he read until he had a good grasp of what was written. When he did not understand any part of the book, he would invite Lu Youjiao to ask his advice. Lu Youjiao would answer, ”Right now Xiao Ren does not understand, but let me think about it.” He would leave Guo Jing's tent only for a moment then came back with a very detailed explanation. Guo Jing was delighted and would ask him more questions. Strangely, Lu Youjiao would always not able to answer immediately; he always asked for some time to think, but then afterwards would always come up with answers no matter how difficult the problem was. At first Guo Jing did not notice, but after several days this answer-finding-process repeated, he could not help but feeling suspicious.