Chapter 142: Surrender City [Eighteenth installment]

Zhou Cang was a figure Fang Nian adored. In the era of the Three Kingdoms, he could truly be described as a lovable simpleton. Of course, the Zhou Cang Fang Nian had in mind was undoubtedly the one from *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*.

Zhou Cang, styled Yuanfu, was a character from the historical novel *Romance of the Three Kingdoms*. He is also mentioned in the *Annals of Shanxi*, though absent from the *Records of the Three Kingdoms*.

His depiction was that of a towering, dark-faced, bearded giant from the west of the passes. Originally a member of the Yellow Turban rebels, he begged to follow Guan Yu when the latter embarked on his journey across a thousand li to find his sworn brothers, remaining unswervingly loyal to Guan Yu ever since. Upon hearing the news that Guan Yu had been defeated and killed in battle, Zhou Cang also committed suicide by the sword.

Throughout *Romance of the Three Kingdoms* and subsequent folklore, Zhou Cang invariably appeared in the role of Guan Yu's personal bodyguard. In temples dedicated to Lord Guan across various regions, statues of Zhou Cang and Guan Ping were frequently enshrined on either side of Guan Yu's divine image.

Composing his mindset, Fang Nian turned his gaze toward Chen Deng.

"Since my esteemed Mr. Yuanlong has been well-versed in military strategy since childhood and has memorized both *The Art of War by Sun Tzu* and *The Art of War by Sun Bin*, you must surely understand quite a few tactical formations. As for myself, I have shared this hobby since youth, delighting in drilling through military treatises. Why don't we test our skills against one another?"

As Fang Nian finished speaking, Chen Deng's expression shifted slightly. Military strategy was indeed his most proficient domain. Since the other party already knew his identity, why would he deliberately challenge him in his strongest area?

"To avoid the enemy's weaknesses and challenge their strengths—you really are an arrogant brat," Chen Deng remarked.

Fang Nian smiled faintly and replied, "What is youth without a touch of arrogance? Please, sir."

Chen Deng burst into hearty laughter.

"Very well, what a magnificent sentiment: 'What is youth without a touch of arrogance?' Let us do this: each of us shall deploy a formation, and whoever breaks the other's formation first shall be the victor."

"Agreed."

With Fang Nian's acknowledgment, the two men picked up pebbles from the ground and began sketching rapidly and with dragon-flying strokes upon the earth. Soon, two sharply contrasting tactical diagrams took shape on the ground.

After about half an hour, both of them had basically completed their formations. They then exchanged positions. When Fang Nian looked at the tactical diagram Chen Deng had drawn on the ground, he was struck by a momentary wave of shock.

"The Dragon-Fish Formation. The dragon emerges from the waters; the fish occupies the dragon's lair."

Fang Nian had once seen this set of formations in an ancient book. Back then, in order to crack it, Fang Nian had spent three days and three nights meditating in freezing lake water before finally deciphering its profound mysteries. One can easily imagine how extraordinary and complex it truly was.

To explain it simply, the formation comprised two component arrays: the dragon and the fish. The dragon array emerged from the water and served as the offensive force. The fish array, occupying the dragon's lair, acted as the defensive garrison guarding the heart of the formation.

An enemy entering the grand formation had to enter through the dragon's head, locate the junction where the dragon and fish arrays met within the dragon array, pass into the fish array, and exit through the tail to reach the heart of the formation—only then could this Dragon-Fish Formation be broken.

Any mistake in entering or any error in the path would result in the intruder being hacked into mincemeat by the sabers and spears within the formation, illustrating just how terrifying this array was.

However, right at that moment, Chen Deng suddenly spun around. The fiery, passionate aura he possessed just a moment before had completely vanished. His eyes were bloodshot, looking as though he had caught a glimpse of some earth-shattering secret, and he asked anxiously,

"Kid, I concede defeat. Quickly, tell me, what kind of formation is this precisely?"

As soon as Chen Deng's words fell, everyone present was astonished.

None of them had expected that Chen Deng would surrender so quickly; it was simply astounding.

"My heavens, what on earth is this kid's background? I've seen that Dragon-Fish Formation before, and it is notoriously difficult to crack. Yet that kid just now articulated the profound mysteries of this formation in the blink of an eye. Truly formidable."

"Indeed, immensely impressive. To be able to crack such a profound and esoteric formation in such a short time—I'm almost envious of this child's brain. Could this be what the legends call being accomplished in both civil and martial arts?"

"Highly likely. Could this person actually be some eccentric old master in disguise? Otherwise, how could he know so many things? Such extensive experience is truly extraordinary."

……

While Fang Nian was being showered with praise by the crowd, Chen Deng was no longer in any mood to listen to their chatter. He pointed at the scattered stones on the ground and asked Fang Nian,

"Kid, tell me, this formation..."

Fang Nian waved his hand and signaled for them to find a place to talk. Consequently, Chen Deng, Zhou Cang, and Fang Nian found a small tavern and began chatting idly, with Fang Nian proceeding to explain the intricacies of the formation he had just laid out.

"This formation is called the Golden Lock Array of the Eight Gates. It is divided into nine tactical walls, numbered from one to nine in capital numerals. Let us first discuss the 'gates'. The so-called 'gates' are the entry points that allow the enemy to enter the formation. The formation can be manually adjusted to draw the enemy inside. It is divided into eight simulated passages: 'Rest, Life, Injury, Delusion, Scenery, Death, Shock, and Open', which can be opened or closed at will."

"To launch a direct, brute-force assault on this formation is to attack the tactical walls directly. If one does so, the formation will shift. Should the enemy troops pursue and attack tactical wall number 'Three', they will be swallowed up by the 'Golden Lock Array of the Eight Gates' and plunge into dire straits. To break the formation, two forces must be deployed: one 'orthodox' force and one 'surprise' force."

"In this manner, tactical wall number 'Five' is held in check by the surprise force and cannot advance to position 'Four'; tactical wall number 'Nine' cannot push out to position 'Seven'; and the attacked wall number 'Three' cannot retreat to position 'Nine'. At the same time, a vacancy appears at position 'Four', causing the entire formation to fall into absolute chaos."

Fang Nian's stream of eloquence sounded utterly dazzling, leaving Chen Deng secretly marveling in awe. Yet Fang Nian thought to himself: How could he not marvel? Just think about who designed this formation in the first place. It was none other than Zhuge Liang—the outstanding politician, military strategist, tactician, essayist, and diplomat of the Three Kingdoms period.

This set of formations had won countless battles back then; it was unequivocally a divine array.

Of course, Fang Nian knew that historically, Zhuge Liang did not emerge from seclusion until 208 AD, whereas Chen Deng died in 201 AD. Therefore, there was no way he could have ever laid eyes on this Golden Lock Array of the Eight Gates during his lifetime. Perhaps this could be considered fulfilling a regret for him.

They consumed plenty of food and drank plenty of wine before Fang Nian finally revealed the true purpose behind bringing the two of them along.

"Sirs, the two of you have been drifting in this place for quite some time. I wonder if you have any further plans for the future?"

Zhou Cang took a sip of wine and said, "I want to join the army and serve my country, but sir won't let me go. He says my temperament is too foul and I'll end up suffering losses in the military."

Fang Nian smiled and turned his gaze toward Chen Deng.

"And what about you, sir? Do you plan to continue making a living by performing martial arts street acts like this?"

Chen Deng gave a helpless smile. From the fact that he was well-versed in military strategy, it was clear that his ambitions certainly did not lie here; leading troops into battle was where his heart truly belonged. Yet, plagued by a lack of recognition and unfulfilled potential, he had ended up wandering in these parts.

Seeing Chen Deng sigh, Fang Nian guessed the reason and said to him,

"I wonder if sir would be willing to accompany me on a treasure-hunting expedition?"

Chen Deng was momentarily stunned, then looked at Fang Nian and asked,

"What do you mean by that? What treasure?"

With a man of Chen Deng's caliber, had Fang Nian spoken of grave-robbing or mere riches, he certainly would not have been moved. Therefore, Fang Nian decided to simply tell him a story.

"Does sir know what the place we are currently in is called?"

Chen Deng replied without hesitation, "Shuofang."

"Then does sir know of an event that once took place here in Shuofang?"

Chen Deng shook his head. "I do not."

Upon hearing this, Fang Nian knew he had hooked his fish, so he continued,

"Sir may not be aware of this, but back in the early Qin dynasty, First Emperor Qin Shi Huang once dispatched men to build a surrendered city in the Mobei grassland region north of the Qin and Han Great Wall, roughly to the northwest of the Gaoque Pass in Shuofang Commandery. Constructed in 105 to accept the surrender of the Left Grand Chief-Duwei of the Xiongnu, it is the only surrendered city recorded in literature since the Western Han dynasty that was genuinely built for the purpose of accepting the enemy's surrender."

"An extraordinary incident occurred during the construction of this surrendered city: every time lightning struck, the city walls would collapse. No matter how many times it was rebuilt, whenever lightning struck, the walls would fall down again—it was a constant cycle of rebuilding in vain. Finally, with no other options left, Emperor Qin Shi Huang's Great General Meng Tian managed to acquire a precious sword from unknown origins and drove it straight into the center of the surrendered city. It was precisely because of this divine sword that the surrendered city experienced no further anomalies and was successfully completed."

Chen Deng listened with a sense of bewilderment, pondering for a long while before finally asking,

"What is the meaning of this? Why bring up this matter? Is that treasure..."

Seeing that Chen Deng was deeply intrigued, Fang Nian spoke up,

"Yes, it is that very precious sword. My objective this time is to seek out that sword. Rumor has it that whoever obtains this sword can change the world."

Fang Nian spun a completely wild yarn, one that even he found hard to believe.