The Legend of the Condor Heroes Chapter 36 – Part 7

In his youth Yue Fei cared only for fighting in the open field. His superior Zong Ze¹ said to him, “Your courage, wisdom and skill are such that no ancient general could surpass you. But your fondness for open-field battle is not a strategy for complete success.” He therefore taught him the methods of drawing up formations. Yue Fei said, “To array formations before battle is the common practice of warfare. The subtlety of their application lies in the mind alone.” Zong Ze was quite approving of his words. But later, when Yue Fei had fought many campaigns, he also knew that clinging rigidly to old methods was certainly not viable, whilst using formations to train officers and drill soldiers and then applying them on the battlefield contributed greatly to defeating the enemy. All of this was recorded in the Essentials for Defeating the Jin.²

That day the sky was high and the air crisp. The empty sky stretched ten thousand li,³ a single blue, as if washed clean. The Mongols’ fifteen tumens⁴ were drawn up in lines across the great grassland. Genghis Khan had made sacrifice to Heaven and Earth and sworn the army to battle. He addressed the princes and generals, “Stones have no skin, and a man’s life has its end. My hair and beard have all turned white. I may not come back alive from this campaign. My consort raised the matter with me last night, and I think she is right. Today I shall name one of my sons to raise my great standard after I am gone.”

The founding generals who had followed Genghis Khan on campaigns east and west were by now battle-tested a hundred times, all grey-haired. Hearing the Great Khan suddenly speak of naming a successor, they were both startled and delighted, and all gazed at his face, waiting in silence for him to name the heir.

Genghis Khan said, “Jochi,⁵ you are my eldest son. Tell me, who should I name?”

Jochi’s heart leapt. He was brave and skilled in battle, had won the most merit, and was the eldest. He had always assumed that after his father’s death the succession would naturally fall to him. Now the Great Khan had suddenly asked him, and he did not know how to answer.

Genghis Khan’s second son Chagatai⁶ had a temper like wildfire, and had never been on good terms with his elder brother. Hearing his father ask Jochi, he cried out, “You want Jochi to speak? What do we want him for? Shall we let this Merkit⁷ bastard rule over us?” For when Genghis Khan first rose, his forces were few and weak, and his wife had been captured by his enemies, the Merkit. By the time he rescued her some years later, she had already borne Jochi. Yet Genghis Khan did not hold this against him, and had always treated Jochi as his own son.

Jochi, hearing his brother’s insults, could not contain himself. He lunged forward, seized Chagatai by the front of his robe and shouted, “Father does not treat me as an outsider, yet you insult me so! What skill do you have that surpasses mine? You are nothing but rash and arrogant. Let us go out now and settle it between us. If I lose to you in archery, I shall cut off my thumb. If I lose to you in combat, I shall fall to the ground and never rise again!” Turning to Genghis Khan, he said, “Father, I ask you to give the order!” The two brothers gripped each other’s collars, about to fight then and there.

The generals hastened forward to intervene. Bo’orchu⁸ grabbed Jochi’s hand and Muqali⁹ grabbed Chagatai’s. Genghis Khan remembered how in his youth he had been harried time and again by his enemies, unable even to protect his wife, which had led to this day’s dispute, and could not help but fall silent. The generals all reproached Chagatai for raising old matters and wounding his parents’ hearts.

Genghis Khan said, “Both of you, let go. Jochi is my eldest son. I have always loved and honoured him, and from now on no one shall speak of it again.”

Chagatai released Jochi and said, “Everyone knows how able Jochi is. But he is not as kind-hearted as our third brother Ögedei.¹⁰ I nominate Ögedei.”

Genghis Khan said, “Jochi, what say you?”

Jochi, seeing the situation, knew the khanship was beyond his reach. He and his third brother had always been on good terms, and he knew Ögedei to be kind and generous, unlikely to harm him in future. So he said, “Very well. I too nominate Ögedei.” The fourth prince Tolui¹¹ raised no objection either. Ögedei declined the honour.

Genghis Khan said, “No need to decline. In battle you are not the equal of your elder brothers, but you are kind and warm to others. When you become Great Khan, the princes and generals will not quarrel and slaughter one another. So long as we Mongols do not fight among ourselves, we are invincible in the world. What more is there to worry about?” That day Genghis Khan held a great feast for his generals to celebrate the naming of the heir.

The officers and soldiers drank late into the night before dispersing. Guo Jing returned to camp slightly tipsy and was about to undress and sleep when a personal guardsman hurried into his tent and reported, “Prince Consort, it’s bad news. The First Prince and the Second Prince are drunk and have each taken their troops out to fight.”

Guo Jing was startled and said, “Report to the Great Khan at once.”

The guardsman said, “The Great Khan is drunk, and we can’t wake him.”

Guo Jing knew that Jochi and Chagatai each had their loyal followers, and that beneath them were fierce generals and elite troops. If they were to fight one another, the Mongol military power would suffer a grievous wound. But even during the day the two had come to blows before the Great Khan, and now both were drunk besides. How could he possibly separate them if he went himself? For a moment he was at a loss, pacing back and forth in the tent, striking his forehead with his hand and muttering to himself, “If only Rong-er were here. She would surely think of some plan for me.” Then he heard the distant sound of war-cries rising. The two armies were about to engage, and Guo Jing was even more anxious, when suddenly Lu Youjiao¹² came running into the tent and handed him a slip of paper. On it was written: “Use the Serpent Coiling Formation¹³ to divide the two armies. Use the Tiger Wing Formation¹⁴ to encircle and capture those who will not submit.”

In recent days Guo Jing had read Wumu’s Art of War¹⁵ until he knew it by heart. Seeing these two lines now, it dawned on him at once, and he cried, “How can I be so dull? I never thought of this myself. What use is reading military treatises?” He immediately gave orders to be relayed through the army. Mongol military discipline was strict, and though most of the soldiers were drunk, at the sound of the order they donned their armour and mounted. In a short while they were drawn up in neat formation.

Guo Jing had the central army beat three rolls on the drums. The horns sounded and the van raised a shout and charged towards the northeast. When they had ridden several li, the scouts reported that the personal troops of the First and Second Princes had drawn up facing each other and were already fighting, and the cries of “Aghu, aghu” could already be heard. Guo Jing thought anxiously, I fear I have come a step too late, and this great disaster cannot be stopped after all. He hastily waved his hand to give the order. Three squadrons of the Right Rear Heavenly Axis charged forward, three squadrons of the Right Rear Earthly Axis formed the tail, and the Right Rear Heavenly Charger, Right Rear Earthly Charger, Northwest Wind and Northeast Wind squadrons drew up on the right, with the corresponding left-army squadrons on the left. Following Guo Jing’s central great standard, they formed the Serpent Coiling Formation and charged forward.

Jochi and Chagatai each had over twenty thousand men, already locked in battle with their long daos whirling, when Guo Jing’s Serpent Coiling Formation suddenly charged in from the centre at great speed, in impeccable order. The two armies, taken by surprise, showed signs of disorder. Chagatai shouted loudly, “Who is it? Who is it? Here to help me, or to help that bastard Jochi?”

Guo Jing ignored him. He waved his command-flags, the squadrons wheeled, and the Serpent Coiling Formation at once transformed into the Tiger Wing Formation. The formation face turned left. Four squadrons of the Right Front Heavenly Charger took the van, whilst the remaining squadrons swept around both flanks of Chagatai’s army. Only the two squadrons of the Left Front Heavenly Charger faced Jochi’s army, holding the formation’s anchor.

Chagatai now saw clearly that it was Guo Jing’s banner. He cursed loudly, “I always knew that thieving southern barbarian was no good.” He ordered his men to charge Guo Jing’s army. But the Tiger Wing Formation’s changes were exquisite, the power of its two wings overwhelming. It had been created by Han Xin¹⁶ when he defeated Xiang Yu¹⁷ at Gaixia.¹⁸ The art of war says, “With ten times the force, encircle the enemy.” Normally one needed ten times the strength to surround an army, but this formation’s transformations were so complete that it could encircle a greater force with a lesser.

Chagatai’s men saw Guo Jing’s troops moving to and fro in small squadrons, unable to tell how many there were, each filled with doubt and fear. In a short while Chagatai’s twenty thousand and more were cut apart and separated, left and right unable to come to each other’s aid. When they had been fighting Jochi’s army, their fighting spirit had been weak from the start, firstly because their opponents were all their own people, most of them friends and acquaintances, and secondly because they feared the Great Khan’s rebuke. Now, scattered into confusion by Guo Jing’s charge, they had even less heart for fighting. Then they heard Guo Jing’s central army crying out, “We are all Mongol brothers. No killing each other. Throw down your daos, spears and bows, quickly, and spare yourselves a flogging and the headsman from the Great Khan.” The soldiers were only too willing, and dismounted and threw down their weapons one after another.

Chagatai led a thousand or more loyal followers in a fierce charge towards Guo Jing’s central army. Three gongs sounded, and eight squadrons closed in from eight directions. In an instant the ground was covered with tripping-ropes for horses, and the thousand or more fell from their saddles one by one. The men of those eight squadrons, four or five to each prisoner, pinned Chagatai and his officers to the ground and bound their hands behind their backs with ropes.

Jochi saw Guo Jing’s army rout Chagatai and was both startled and delighted. He was about to go forward and speak when suddenly horns sounded. Guo Jing’s van became the rear, the rear became the van, and they closed in from all sides. Jochi was a veteran of many battles, but even he was startled and bewildered by this display. He hastily ordered his men to resist, only to see Guo Jing’s tumen divide into twelve small squadrons. Instead of charging forward, they drew back. Jochi was even more puzzled. Little did he know these twelve squadrons were named Great Black Zi, Enemy-Breaking Chou, Left-Strike Yin, Green Serpent Mao, Doom-Crusher Chen, Front-Charger Si, Great Crimson Wu, Vanguard Wei, Right-Strike Shen, White Cloud You, Victory-Decider Xu and Rearguard Hai, following the twelve shichen,¹⁹ the regular and the surprise forces turning one into the other as they galloped to and fro. The twelve squadrons’ formations reversed, the right army charging left and the left army striking right. After one such charge Jochi’s army immediately fell into disorder. In less time than it takes to eat a meal, Jochi too was routed and captured.

Jochi remembered that when he first met Guo Jing he had whipped him half to death. Chagatai remembered how he had once set fierce dogs on him. Both feared Guo Jing would seize the chance for revenge, and the fright sobered them up completely. They also feared their father’s severe punishment, and were filled with remorse.

Guo Jing had captured the two princes. He thought that after all he was an outsider, and having done this great deed he did not know whether it was a blessing or a curse. He was about to go and consult with Ögedei and Tolui when suddenly horns blared, and in the torchlight the Great Khan’s nine-tailed great banner came galloping from afar.

When Genghis Khan woke from his drunken sleep, he received word that his two sons had led their troops against each other. In shock and fury combined, without time to don robe or armour, his hair dishevelled, he rushed to stop them. Riding to the scene, he saw the soldiers of both armies sitting in rows on the ground with Guo Jing’s cavalry keeping watch beside them. He also saw that his two sons, though on horseback, had no helmets, no armour, and no weapons in hand. Each was surrounded by eight warriors with drawn daos. He could not help but be greatly astonished.

Guo Jing stepped forward and prostrated himself, reporting the full circumstances. Genghis Khan saw that a great disaster had been dispelled by him before it could even take shape, and he was overjoyed. When he had rushed there he had expected that the elite Mongol troops led by his two sons had been slaughtering each other and that the casualties must be severe, and his two beloved sons might already lie dead on the ground. How could he have known that both sons were unharmed and all three armies were intact? He was genuinely delighted beyond expectation. He immediately assembled all the generals and gave Jochi and Chagatai a severe dressing-down. He lavishly rewarded Guo Jing and his officers and soldiers, saying to Guo Jing, “You still say you cannot lead troops into battle? The merit of this action is greater even than the taking of the Jin Empire’s Central Capital. An enemy’s city, if you cannot take it today, you can attack again tomorrow. But if my beloved sons and elite soldiers had died, how could they ever be brought back to life?”

Guo Jing distributed all the gold, silver and livestock the Great Khan had bestowed among his officers and soldiers. Throughout the army cheers rose like thunder. The generals, seeing Guo Jing had won great merit, all came to his camp to congratulate him.

As Jebe²⁰ advised, Guo Jing went in person to apologise to Jochi and Chagatai. Seeing that no great disaster had come of it and that they had escaped the Great Khan’s punishment, the two of them, for all their remorse, counted themselves very lucky, and instead thanked Guo Jing sincerely. Though the rift between the two brothers was not healed, their friendship for Guo Jing had only grown deeper.

When Guo Jing was at last alone he took out the slip of paper Lu Youjiao had handed him earlier and studied it closely. The writing was crooked and most crude, and was most likely indeed Lu Youjiao’s hand. But then he began to wonder, and thought, The Serpent Coiling and Tiger Wing formations, though I have used them to drill the soldiers, I have never mentioned the names of these formations to Elder Lu. When I consulted him on difficulties in the military treatise, none of them concerned these formations. How could he know of these two formations? Could he have been reading my book on war in secret? He then had Lu Youjiao come to his tent, saying, “Elder Lu, if you wish to read the military treatise, I shall lend it to you.”

Lu Youjiao laughed and said, “This poor beggar will never be a general in this life, and leading a few small beggars requires no knowledge of strategy. Reading military treatises would be no use to me.”

Guo Jing pointed at the slip of paper and said, “How did you know of the Serpent Coiling and Tiger Wing formations?”

Lu Youjiao said, “Sir, you once told this lowly one yourself. How could you have forgotten?”

Guo Jing knew his words were not true. The more he thought, the more puzzled he became, but he could never fathom what Lu Youjiao was concealing.

The next day Genghis Khan held court and reviewed his generals. Chagatai and Ögedei commanded the forward army as its vanguard, Jochi the left army and Guo Jing the right. Each of the forward, left and right armies comprised three tumens. Genghis Khan, accompanied by Tolui, personally commanded the main army of six tumens in support. Each soldier brought several horses, riding them in rotation to spare their strength, and the officers had even more horses. The fifteen tumens had over a million horses between them. Besides this, grain and horse-fodder were loaded on camels and carts, and there were countless cattle and sheep as well. The road west lay through barren lands, and the army’s provisions had to be fully stocked.

Horns blared together and drums thundered. The van and forward army, thirty thousand strong, men vigorous and horses spirited, marched westward in mighty array.

The Mongols had learnt the arts of smelting and casting iron from the Song and Jin peoples, and their weapons and armour were keen, unmatched in the world. Genghis Khan, endowed by Heaven with brilliance, handled his troops like a god and was victorious in every battle.

The great army marched ever further, and upon entering Khwarezm’s²¹ territory, swept all before it like splitting bamboo. Muhammad’s²² forces were numerous, but they were no match for the Mongol army. Guo Jing distinguished himself in taking cities and slaying the enemy, winning much merit.

Footnotes

1. 宗泽 — Zōng Zé. Song dynasty general (1060—1128) who rallied resistance to the Jin invasion of the north and was Yue Fei’s superior. See Wikipedia. ↩

2. 破金要诀 — Pò Jīn Yàojué. A military treatise attributed to Yue Fei. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

3. 里 — lǐ. A traditional unit of distance, about 500 metres or one-third of a mile. ↩

4. 万人队 — wànrén duì. Literally ten-thousand-man unit. The tumen, the largest standard formation of the Mongol army. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

5. 朮赤 — Shùchì. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

6. 察合台 — Cháhétái. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

7. 蔑儿乞惕 — Miè’érqǐtì. The Merkit, a Mongol tribal confederation of the steppe. ↩

8. 博尔朮 — Bó’ěrshù. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

9. 木华黎 — Mùhuálí. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

10. 窝阔台 — Wōkuòtái. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

11. 拖雷 — Tuōléi. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

12. 鲁有脚 — Lǔ Yǒujiǎo. His name meaning “has feet”. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

13. 蛇蟠阵 — Shépán Zhèn. Literally serpent coiling formation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

14. 虎翼阵 — Hǔyì Zhèn. Literally tiger wing formation. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

15. 武穆遗书 — Wǔmù Yíshū. The military treatise left by Yue Fei (1103—1142), the Song general posthumously titled Wumu. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

16. 韩信 — Hán Xìn. A famous general of the early Han dynasty who, before his rise, endured the humiliation of crawling between a butcher’s legs rather than fight. See Wikipedia. ↩

17. 项羽 — Xiàng Yǔ. The Hegemon-King of Western Chu (232—202 BCE), defeated by Han Xin at the Battle of Gaixia. See Wikipedia. ↩

18. 垓下 — Gāixià. Site of the battle of 202 BCE in which Han Xin’s forces surrounded and destroyed the army of Xiang Yu, ending the Chu—Han Contention. ↩

19. 时辰 — shíchén. Traditional Chinese unit of time equal to two hours; the day was divided into twelve shichen. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

20. 哲别 — Zhébié. Literally spear and divine archer, in Mongolian. See Wuxia Wiki. ↩

21. 花剌子模国 — Huālàzǐmó Guó. Central Asian empire destroyed by Genghis Khan in 1220, spanning modern Iran/Uzbekistan. See Wikipedia. ↩

22. 摩诃末 — Móhēmò. Ala ad-Din Muhammad II, Shah of the Khwarazmian Empire (r. 1200—1220). See Wuxia Wiki. ↩