Chapter 28: Using Thieves to Control Thieves

If anyone were to claim now that the Ninth Prince could not read a city defense map, they would truly be:

Like a mosquito biting a Buddha—blind and reckless!
Like scratching a tiger’s head—courting death!

In short order, the city defense map was brought forth. Chai Xiao gestured for Yao Jin to spread it out on the stone table in the garden. He studied it intently, occasionally using his finger as a ruler to measure distances.

"A branch!"

Yao Jin was startled. What kind of branch? He quickly realized that His Highness intended to use it as a pointer for command and deployment.

"At once!" he replied, rushing to a nearby Chinese tallow tree. He snapped off a long branch, stripped it of its leaves and twigs, and presented it with both hands.

Chai Xiao took the branch and pointed to the eight gates of the inner and outer cities. "Two circles drawn at each gate—does this mean the Imperial Guard has established fixed sentry posts at all eight gates, with two groups per post?"

Yao Jin nodded repeatedly. "Yes! Fifteen men per group, thirty per gate, totaling two hundred and forty men."

His Highness was truly different now. Without a mind for military command, one would never have deciphered these sixteen circles; one might have even mistaken them for mere decorative door knockers.

Chai Xiao then pointed to the areas outside the outer city, inside the inner city, and between the two, where a solid-line circle and a faint, barely visible dashed-line circle had been drawn. "These three solid lines represent the patrol routes for the visible sentries, and the three dashed lines represent the routes for the hidden sentries, correct?"

Yao Jin nodded hurriedly, a flicker of terror crossing his eyes, though he quickly suppressed it, fearing the Prince might notice. "Yes, visible and hidden patrols. Twenty men per group, totaling one hundred and twenty men."

Finally, Chai Xiao pointed to the tiny, inconspicuous dashed circles next to various shops and mansions. "Here! And here! These are all pre-established hidden sentry points, two men each—sometimes in the front hall, sometimes behind the house, at the street corner, or in the alleyway, right?"

Yao Jin was completely stunned. It took him a full half-minute to recover from his shock and respond. "Yes, Your Highness! These residences and shops are either the homes of high-ranking officials or densely populated areas, which is why the hidden sentries are placed there. This is the latest defense map, updated every fortnight. The positions change, but the total number remains roughly the same—about seventy posts, totaling one hundred and forty men."

Chai Xiao nodded. "So, the visible and hidden sentries combined total five hundred men. Since the Imperial Guard provided you with one hundred elites, there are six hundred remaining. How are they arranged?"

Yao Jin pondered for a moment before answering. "Our dynasty follows the regulations established by the founding Emperor, modeled after the Great Tang. The Imperial Guard in the capital consists of thirty-two garrisons—eight in each of the cardinal directions, plus twenty-eight in the center. Each garrison has five hundred men, totaling thirty thousand. Among them, twenty central garrisons, or ten thousand men, are designated as elite assault cavalry; they are never to be broken up and must remain ready for offense or defense."

"For the vassal states, the Imperial Guard is limited to six garrisons, each with two hundred men. One in each of the four cardinal directions, and two in the center as elite assault cavalry."

Chai Xiao understood and pointed to a rectangle drawn behind the south gate of the outer city and outside the north gate of the inner city. "This is where the immovable four hundred central cavalry reside!"

Yao Jin confirmed this and added, "Of the remaining two hundred men, Xiang Shouyue should deploy one hundred and twenty, adding six more groups of visible and hidden patrols. The final eighty men are likely his mobile reserve."

Chai Xiao tapped the table with the branch, signaling that he had grasped the situation. He then gestured toward Yao Jin. "To prevent a thief, you must think like one! Tell me, if you were Xiang Shouyue and wanted to cause trouble, how would you do it? And if you wanted to stop him, how would you proceed?"

He watched the newly appointed ninth-rank "General" in silence, treating his response as a "second examination" of his character and talent. "Map maneuvers" and "sand-table dialogues" were crucial components of modern military training. There was a dual principle: one cannot rely solely on paper strategy, but mastering it is a skill in itself.

Yao Jin seemed to feel an unprecedented pressure; a thin layer of sweat beaded on his forehead. To serve a prince is to serve a tiger—especially one that had fully awakened.

Chai Xiao noticed his tension and smiled slightly. "I told you, didn't I? You are free to speak your mind! Here, take this." He handed the branch to Yao Jin.

"Your Highness!" Yao Jin was shocked and dared not take it. Every soldier knew that while it was just a branch, it represented unquestionable authority. In this critical moment, unity of command was essential to victory. If everyone played their own tune, they would fall into chaos before the enemy even attacked.

Chai Xiao offered a word of comfort. "You want to say that 'deliberation may involve many, but the final decision must rest with one commander,' correct? Don't worry! This is just brainstorming, not a final decision. Besides, you cannot remain a bodyguard captain forever; you must find opportunities to lead troops in battle."

For the first time in eighteen years, Yao Jin felt the weight of such expectations. He wiped the sweat from his brow. He hadn't fully understood "brainstorming," but "deliberation," "decision," and "leading troops" were crystal clear. The Prince was grooming him! It seemed that before long, he, too, could become a true "General" like the bodyguards of the other princes.

Though he was only a ninth-rank officer now, he was on the right path. Step by step. Perhaps one day, he would rank among the sixth-rankers, no less than Xiang Shouyue himself.

Trembling slightly, Yao Jin took the branch and gathered his courage. He pointed to the "Imperial Guard Office" Xiang Shouyue had set up in the inner city, then to the six new patrol routes. "Your Highness, this is what I think! If he wants to stir up trouble, he can't move elsewhere; he can only start from these few places! First, the eighty men he kept as a mobile reserve. Second, the one hundred and twenty men on these six new patrol routes. You ordered him to strengthen patrols, and he did, but if he were to quietly pull away a dozen or a few dozen men, no one would notice! So, I want to give him two tasks! First, order him to bring those eighty men to the East Drum Tower! You are here, so he, the General of the Imperial Guard, must be here too. Under our eyes, I believe he won't dare act recklessly! Moreover, he only has eighty men, while I have my four hundred elite guards and two hundred mobile cavalry! Second, have those six new patrol groups circle the East Drum Tower every hour. Seeing is believing! That way, if Xiang Shouyue wants to play any tricks, he will have nowhere to hide! Your Highness, this is my humble opinion! Please punish me if I am wrong!"

He held the branch out with both hands to return it, but Chai Xiao stepped back and declined. "The two tasks you've set for him are clever. However, they are likely to provoke him into rebellion!"

Yao Jin was puzzled. "Rebellion? Would he really dare? I shall take my troops and arrest him right now—to catch the bandits, one must first capture the leader!"

Chai Xiao laughed. "He has not committed a crime worthy of that yet! You presented the token and gave the order; he accepted. You ordered reinforced patrols; he arranged them. You demanded one hundred elites for mobile cavalry; he gave them to you. If you arrest him now, aren't you afraid he will accuse you of venting personal grievances?"

Yao Jin scratched his head. "I can't arrest him, and I can't transfer him! Then what should I do?"

Chai Xiao did not answer directly, instead blinking his eyes. "I hear that for the past eighteen years, you have frequently spent your nights reading books?"