"The Emperor of Wu currently maintains approximately twenty thousand soldiers within his capital," Luo He said, studying the map with absolute focus. "Of these, ten thousand are elite forces."
"The remaining ten thousand are support soldiers with lesser training." He looked at Shu Kang. "The East Gate of the capital, how many guards are currently stationed there?"
Shu Kang's eyes narrowed slightly. "Approximately thousand guards, if I recall correctly from my observations. Perhaps three hundred fifty to three hundred. Arranged in three shifts.
"Guard composition?" Luo He asked.
"Roughly half carry swords," Shu Kang replied, his voice precise and military. "The other half carry bows."
"There are perhaps twenty guards who appear to be officers, likely higher-ranked warriors. Three of those officers carry ceremonial swords, suggesting Grandmaster level or above."
Luo He's expression didn't change, but there was something in his posture that suggested satisfaction at this information.
"Show me," he said to eunuch Long.
The eunuch brought forth the brush marked with red pigment. Luo He took it and began pointing at the map, indicating specific locations around the East Gate.
"The three hundred guards are distributed as follows." He said, his finger tracing the precise positions. "One hundred guards occupy the main gate structure itself."
"Fifty on the ground level, fifty elevated on the walls. Forty guards are positioned at the secondary gate to the east, approximately one hundred paces from the main gate."
"Sixty guards are stationed in the barracks immediately adjacent to the gate structure. A response force prepared to reinforce the main positions if needed."
He paused, and the Emperor of Yue understood that Luo He had somehow gathered extremely detailed intelligence about Wu's military positioning.
"The remaining hundred guards are scattered throughout the surrounding area," Luo He continued. "Twenty stationed at supply depots. Thirty scattered as perimeter scouts."
"Fifty in various administrative positions. Of the three officer-level warriors, two are positioned at the main gate, one on the ground, one elevated."
"The third is in the barracks, likely sleeping." He turned to face the Emperor directly. "Here is what will occur," Luo He said, and his tone had shifted into something harder, more precise.
"Tonight, at midnight, the engagement party will conclude. By one in the morning, your contingent will move toward the East Gate. Shu Kang and I will lead the assault."
He gestured toward a section of the map showing the main gate structure. "The first officer, the one on the ground level will be eliminated silently. A blade to the throat, no sound."
"Shu Kang is capable of this. Once he falls, we move to the elevated position. The second officer will be similarly eliminated before he can sound an alarm or light a signal fire."
His finger traced a path through the guard positions.
"The fifty guards on the ground level of the main gate must be killed quickly and silently. No survivors. No time for horns to be blown or signal fires to be lit."
"Your elite soldiers along with my deciples will handle this portion. They have the skill for it."
The emperor of Yue's expression got exited at the wholesale slaughter, but he understood, If even one guard escaped to sound an alarm, the entire plan would collapse.
"The fifty guards on the walls can be dealt with simultaneously from elevated positions," Luo He continued. "Crossbow fire, arrows, coordinated strikes to eliminate them before they can organize a response.
The sixty guards in the barracks must be prevented from leaving. One soldier stationed at the barracks entrance, someone expendable, can be sent to request assistance."
"When the barracks door opens, your best warriors strike. Kill everyone inside. Yes, they will hear screaming. Yes, there will be noise. But if we execute this correctly, it will all occur within three minutes."
He paused, and his wives shifted slightly, their silent presence communicating support. "The secondary gate to the east with its forty guards presents a different problem." Luo He said.
"Those guards will become aware of the assault at the main gate almost immediately. Your fastest cavalry units will ride directly at them. Not to fight, but to create chaos and distraction."
"Split your forces. Send half your cavalry toward the secondary gate while the remainder goes straight through the main gate opening, toward the escape route."
"The secondary gate guards will be confused about whether to hold position or move to reinforce the main gate. By the time they make a decision, your contingent will have passed."
Luo He stood before the emperor with the map of the Wu capital spread between them.
His expression was calm, utterly composed, suggesting that what he was about to present was simply another administrative matter requiring decision.
"Plan A is direct," he said simply, his finger tracing the eastern gate's position. "Five thousand men, moving through the gate simultaneously."
"We overwhelm the guards through sheer force. Hundreds die, theirs and ours. The noise draws attention. The commotion alerts the entire capital that something is occurring."
"By the time we reach a few miles the emperor of Wu will have mobilized everything he possesses to stop us. Good yes but too costly I suppose."
He paused, allowing the emperor to contemplate this scenario. "You prefer this approach, I understand." Luo He continued.
"The directness appeals to you. The violence is... satisfying in a way that strategy alone cannot be. There is an elegance to simple, overwhelming force."
The emperor of Yue said nothing, but his expression confirmed that Luo He's assessment was accurate. "However," Luo He continued.
"I have developed an alternative that addresses the same objective through different means. A plan B. This requires patience rather than violence. It requires precision rather than overwhelming force."
He retrieved a small vial from his sleeve, a container holding liquid the color of clear water.
"This is a sedative of my own creation," he explained. "Designed specifically for use in medical procedures. Extremely potent. Extremely reliable."
"Within half an hour of consumption, the subject loses consciousness completely. Then for hours, they will surely remain incapacitated regardless of external stimuli."
He set the vial down with deliberate care.
"The execution is straightforward," Luo He said. "We send a delegation of your most finest women, disguised as Wu court attendants and servants."
"They'll arrive at the eastern gate with wine and water, presented as celebration for the engagement festivities."
"The story is that the emperor, as a gesture of goodwill, have ensured that even the outer guards and patrol forces should participate in the celebration."
He traced his finger along the patrol routes marked on the map. "They distribute the poisoned wine and water to every guard at the gate. Most will accept wine, soldiers always prefer wine."
"Those who refuse receive the water instead. We ensure everyone consumes something. Within thirty minutes, every guard at the eastern gate is unconscious. Every soldier in the barracks has fallen into deep sedation."
He paused, allowing the emperor to visualize this scenario. "Then Shu Kang enters," Luo He continued. "Not with violence, not with the crash of battle, but simply, to open the gates."
"Slowly, carefully, deliberately. Your contingent moves through without resistance. Without opposition. Without the noise that would alert the capital that an escape is occurring."
He looked directly at the emperor. "By the time the emperor of Wu discovers that you have fled, you will already be hours toward the Chu border."
The emperor of Yue studied the map in silence for a long moment. "Plan A allows me to kill," he said finally. "It does," Luo He confirmed.
"But it also requires you to kill your own soldiers. Hundreds of them. It requires noise and chaos, the kind of attention we are better not to afford." He set his hands flat on the table.
"Plan B requires nothing but silence and precision," he continued. "It is less satisfying in the immediate moment. But it achieves the objective with minimal cost and maximum control."
The Emperor considered both options the direct assault that would grant him the violence he craved, and the calculated alternative that would grant him the outcome he actually needed.
The tension of that choice hung in the air between them. Then Luo He traced a red line across the map, showing the route beyond the gate.
"Once they pass the East Gate, they will head north along the mountain road," he continued, pointing with absolute precision. "This route, not the main roads which will be constantly monitored."
"The mountain passes here and here." He indicated two specific points. "These must be navigated carefully, but they provide concealment and speed.
At full speed, with fresh horses and the contingent moving constantly without rest, this path can be covered in approximately five or six hours." The emperor of Yue's eyes widened.
"That is remarkably fast." He said. "Because the emperor of Wu will not respond immediately," Luo He said. "He will only discover your contingent has escaped when dawn breaks."