Them,SuyuanfoundXieZhengstandingoveraroughmapspreadacrossawoodentable。Severalsoldiersweregatheredaroundhim,discussingpatrolroutesandtheditionofthevillagesheborder。Suyuanstoppedattheentrance。“Youremakingthesamemistakeagain。”Theroombecamequiet,thenXieZhenglookedup。
“Whatmistake?”
“Youreprotegthebarracks。”
Shewalkedcloserandlookedatthemap。
“Thevillagesaremoreimportant。”
Oneoftheofficersfrowned。“Thevillageshavealreadybeenassignedpatrols。”
“Patrolsarentenough。”
Suyuanpoiowardthemap。“Therearethreevillagesalongthisroad。Ifsomethinghappenshere,thesoldiersneednearlyhalfanhourtoreachthem。Atnight,evenlonger。”XieZhengstudiedthemap。
Suyuantinued,“Andthisvillageherehasnoproperwarningsystem。Ifanunfamiliargroupapproachesfromthewesternhills,theywontknowuntilthepeoplearealreadyihevillage。”Theofficerlookedatthemapagain。thentheyrealisedshewasright。Suyuanhadspentthepreviousfewdayswalkingthroughthesettlements,payingattentiontothingsmostsoldiersoverlooked。Whichroadsvillagersused。Wherethewellswere。Whichpathsbecamemuddyafterrain。Whichhousesstoodclosesttothefields。Wherechildrenplayed。Wheremertsstoppedtheircarts。
Shedidntknowmilitarytacticsbutsheuoodpeopleandpeoplewereusuallythefirstthinganenemyentered。“Wedontoputsoldiersineveryvillage,”shesaid。“Thatwouldspreadyourforcestoothin。Instead,giveeachvillageawatchpost。Twopeopleduringtheday,fouratnight。Theydontofight。Theirfirstdutyistoseea。”
XieZhengnoddedslowly。
“Whatelse?”
“Storesomegrainihevillagesinsteadofkeepingeverythinginonesupplybarn。”
Anofficerimmediatelyobjected。
“Thatwouldmakethestoresvulnerable。”
“Onlyifyoukeeptheminoneplace。”
Suyuantappedthemap。“Dividethesupplies。Ifoorehouseisattacked,theothersremain。Andkeepemergencygrainhiddeninordinaryhouses。Notenoughtofeedanarmy—justenoughthatvillagersdontstarveiftheroadsareblocked。”
Theroomfellsilentagain。
XieZhenglookedather。
“Youvethoughtaboutthisforawhile。”
“Iwasbored。”