Chapter 93- Jinzha and Muzha Played Trojan Horse and Conquered Youhun Pass

Okay, let's get into it. How do you possibly defeat a creature that, you know, just goes back every time you hit it? Well, you certainly don't do it with a sword, that's for sure. Yuan Hong had reached such a high level of spiritual refinement, he was basically impervious to normal attacks. So his capture alone must have been a huge deal. Oh, it was. It required one of the most powerful artifacts in the entire canon. That sounds more like a piece of geography than a weapon. How does a map capture a divine ape? Because it's not really a map, it's more like a self-contained infinite universe. When Yang Jian traps him inside, he's thrown into this world that's controlled entirely by imagination. His own imagination. He reverts to his true white ape form and he can conjure up mountains, rivers, anything. But he can't conceptualize an exit. The boundaries are spiritual, not physical. So he's stuck in a mental maze. But the sources say the real trap, the final part of it, wasn't force. It was a psychological lure from Nuwa. Right, the immortal peach. It's brilliant, really. Tell us about that. Yang Jian knew he couldn't beat Yuan Hong in a straight fight, so he used desire. Inside this huge, endless world, Yuan Hong finds a peach tree. And on it is this beautiful, fragrant, red, immortal peach, the Xi'an Tao. And he eats it. He eats it, and that is the single critical moment of his downfall. So why does one magical peach work when thousands of arrows would just fail? Because it attacks his essence, the very thing that makes him powerful. As a high-level spirit, Yuan Hong likely followed a really strict path. Asceticism, right? Exactly. So when he eats this specific magical fruit, the text says his waist suddenly becomes incredibly heavy. He can't get up. The peach acts as a kind of spiritual anchor. It disrupts his ability to channel all that regenerative energy. And that gives Yang Jian the opening he needs. The perfect opening. He binds him instantly with the demon-binding rope, the Fuyao Suo. And this rope isn't just a rope, is it? It's tied to Nuwa's secret method, the nine turns wondrous mystery. It is. The technique is specifically designed to penetrate his spiritual framework, making his physical defenses totally useless. So he's captured. He's bound. But even then, they can't kill him. Precisely. The execution fails. Jiang Ziya tries a standard execution, you know, chops off the white ape's head. And this is where you just see the sheer depth of this creature's power. This is the aha moment. The head drops, but there's no blood. No blood. Instead, the text describes this clear energy, the Qing Shi, just bursting out. A white lotus flower appears, cycles once, and poof! The head is right back on his shoulders. And this happens over and over. For anyone listening who might not be deep into Taoist lore, what is Qing Shi? What does that tell us? It tells us he's refined the essence of sun and moon to a level that's almost unimaginable. Qing Shi is basically clear energy or vital breath. It's the raw, pure, spiritual life force. So his physical body was just a shell. It was secondary. His spirit core, his yuan shen, was completely untouched. He had achieved mastery over matter itself. It's like his body is just hardware, and his yuan shen is the software. Yang Jian kept attacking the hardware, and it just rebooted instantly. That's a great way to put it, yeah. So the only solution left is to attack the software directly, the spirit core. Which is why Jiang Ziya has to use a completely different kind of weapon, one made for spiritual warfare. Yes, the red gourd, the Hong Hulu. A gift from the very enigmatic Taoist Lu Yao. And this is where the details in the text get so precise, it's almost absurd. The gourd opens, a white light shoots up 30 feet, and out comes the flying dagger, the Fei Dao. And it's tiny. The text is very clear. It's just 7.5 inches long. Which is an incredible contrast. This massive, terrifying white ape is defeated by something smaller than a letter opener. But its power is in what it's made of, and how it works. It's made of bintai, this precious celestial iron. But the crucial part is that it was refined by reversing the five elements. Okay, why is reversing the elements so important here? Well, the normal flow of elements that governs the mortal world, right, and even most immortal techniques, by reversing them, the dagger operates completely outside of those normal cosmic laws. I see, so it can interact directly with the spirit. Directly with the spiritual matrix. The Yuan Shen, with no interference from the physical body. And the mechanism is just devastating. The dagger has eyes, they shoot out two white beams, and these beams, they nail the white ape's Yuan Shen. They nail it, yeah. Right in his Naiwan Palace. Which is often thought of as the mud pill palace, the highest of the Dantians, basically the seat of spiritual consciousness. So it freezes the spirit. Completely frozen. Then the command is given, turn body, Yuan Shen, the tiny dagger spins two or three times, and then finally the head drops and blood flows. He's defeated not by force, but by a precision strike on his spiritual code. That's it. It's the definition of a specialized divine counterweapon. An absolute spiritual nuke. Okay, so let's pivot. Because the second that white ape is finally executed, the story yanks us right back to the mortal plane. Right, a complete shift in tone. If the gods are winning battles with tiny flying daggers, what is the king of Shang doing? He's facing a total collapse that magic can't fix. And that's the fascinating dichotomy, isn't it? Magic can win a single battle, but it can't feed an army of 600 feudal lords. It can't solve a logistics problem. And the news from the front is catastrophic. It's the worst possible news. Yin Poba and Lei Kai get back to the Shang capital and report that the army is gone, the city is surrounded by all the Zhu forces, 600 feudal lords at Meng Jin. They say there's murderous intent covering hundreds of miles. So King Zhu panics. He doesn't have a Taoist Lu Ya to hand him a magic gourd. He's forced back into the world of mortal strategy. And that's when Grand Counselor Feilin steps up with his upper strategy, the Shang Xi. And it's just a classic, brilliant piece of military thinking. It's pure attrition. Feilin knows they can't win a direct fight right now. His strategy has three points and mostly common sense, but the third one, that one requires incredible patience. Let's break them down. First is morale. Post a decree, offer the rank of first grade to anyone who can beat the Zhu. Simple enough. Heavy reward yields brave men. Second, preparation. Appoint a guy named Lu Renjun to train elite troops and get defense materials ready. Standard stuff. But the third point, avoid battle. Jian Shou is on. That's the real genius. And it's a huge gamble. It is. In theory it sounds brilliant, just do nothing. But you have to remember you're telling a terrified king who's watching an invasion force gather at his doorstep to just wait. Right, that's a tough sell. Couldn't that just demoralize his own troops and make the king think he's a coward? Absolutely. This strategy took immense political capital. Feilin wasn't just fighting a logistical war, he was fighting a psychological one against his own king. He had to convince him to take the short-term pain for the long-term win. And his core insight was that the Zhu forces rely on speed. Lizei's on. They need to win quickly because they are so far from their home supply lines. Ah, so they need a fast victory. If they're forced to just sit there, they're burning through their own supplies. Precisely. Feilin predicts that if the Xiong just stand firm, don't engage, the Zhu will eventually retreat on their own, because their grain and supplies will run out. And that's when you strike. That is when you strike. During the chaos of their retreat, when they're disorganized and starving. That contrast is just phenomenal. The Zhu take out the ultimate spiritual threat with a micro weapon, but their entire campaign is vulnerable to something as mundane as patience and a bad supply chain. It's the great lesson of warfare, isn't it? Strategy and logistics can often beat overwhelming firepower, even divine firepower. Okay, so while Feilin is playing this long, patient game at the capital, the Zhu are still being active. They're using speed and deception. Which brings us to the infiltration of Yuhong Pass. This is just a textbook example of espionage, of manipulating trust. Jinza and Muzha are tasked with taking the pass, which is defended by a man named Du Rong. And their strategy is called Liyingwei He, inside-outside cooperation. Right. And to do it, their disguise has to be perfect. They show up as wandering Taoist refiners of Qilian Qixi with fake names, claiming to be from the neutral Pinglai Island. So they're positioning themselves as these unbiased third-party experts. And their pitch to Du Rong is just layered with psychological genius. They start by flattering him, saying they've read the celestial signs and the Shang Dynasty is still destined to win. They're giving him exactly what he wants to hear, validating his cause. Then they sow discord. They accuse Zhang Ziya of treason. They offer to help him capture the Eastern Grand Duke, Zhang Wenran, and promise a swift flanking attack on the Minzu forces after. It's the perfect offer. But the plan almost fails right away. It does. The deputy general, Yao Zong, is sharp. He immediately calls them out. He warns Du Rong, these guys have to be spies from Jiangxia. And this is where Jinza pulls off a masterstroke, instead of denying it, which would just create more suspicion. He validates it, which is so brilliant, it totally lowers Du Rong's guard. The text says he laughs. He laughs and walks out, saying he won't stay where he's doubted. By agreeing that the suspicion makes sense, he changes the whole conversation. He does. It pivots from, are you a spy? To, okay, then what's your real motivation? And Jinza has the perfect story ready. Vengeance. He says their martial uncle was killed by Zhang Ziya in a big battle, and they're just using Du Rong's army to settle a private score. Which reframes them completely. They're not enemy spies anymore. They're independent contractors with a convenient grudge. And it makes Du Rong chase after them, because Du Rong falls for it. His reasoning is this classic fatal mistake in risk assessment. He thinks, they're only two men. How much harm can they really do? He's more afraid of losing a potential advantage than he is of the threat from two random guys. Exactly. The infiltration is complete. Du Rong apologizes. And Jinza and Muza just hammer home their credibility by acting the part. Right. They refuse the wine and food, insisting on being vegetarian, sitting on prayer mats. It's the perfect finishing touch. They prove they're the real deal. Then they reiterate the plan. Don't fight Zhang Wenhuan head-on. Capture him with cunning strategy. They tell him the big alliance at Mengxin is just a motley crew that will fall apart once he's captured. They give him the simple high-reward strategy he desperately wants to believe in, all while setting him up for a total defeat. But what's really fascinating here isn't just the strategy itself. It's the warnings. The very specific, very clear warnings that General Du Rong got and just completely ignored. It's a total tragedy of errors. It really is. And the key for you, the listener, to get right away is how this all starts. It's all about identity. Jinza and Muza, they don't show up as themselves. They pose as these so-called East Sea Hermits. Ah, with false names. Exactly. Sun Day and Zhu Ren. They present themselves as these wise, powerful allies who are there to save the Shang Dynasty. It's the ultimate Trojan horse. They don't arrive with an army. They just show up with an idea, with a promise of salvation. Okay, so let's unpack this. I mean, how do two complete unknowns just walk into a war zone and get the ear of a top general like Du Rong? How do you build that kind of credibility from scratch? Well, that credibility rests on two main pillars. The first is alignment, and the second is a show of decisive power. Alignment, so confirming his biases. You got it. They immediately tell him they're there to extinguish the rebels because they still believe in the Shang Dynasty's prosperous vitality. They're basically telling him, you're right, your cause is just, and we're here to help. That's the hook. But talk is cheap, right? Especially in a war. They need to prove it. And they get their chance almost immediately. The rebel leader, Chang Min Wan, sends his own grand general, a guy named Ma Zao, to challenge the past. Okay, so here's the test. Exactly. Jinda, acting as Sun Dae, just strolls out. Now, Ma Zao is a tough, experienced commander. Yeah. The text says they go at it for, you know, 30 or 40 exchanges. It's a real fight. So it looks like a legitimate struggle. Right. But then Jinda ends it, and this part is absolutely critical. He doesn't just win with better swordplay. He uses a spiritual weapon, an artifact. The famous dungeon pillar. Okay, so what is this thing? Because it feels like this is the moment everything changes. It is. The dungeon pillar, or Dunlong Zhuang, is a classic Taoist magical weapon. Think of it less as a weapon for killing and more for, like, instant capture. Like a trap. A perfect trap. It springs up, clamps down to the target, and they are just powerless. It's not about skill. It's about absolute decisive magic. So when Jinda uses this to instantly trap Ma Zao, Doran doesn't just see a victory. He sees a miracle. He sees invincible allies sent by the heavens. You have to put yourself in his shoes for a second. He's been under siege. Things are probably looking grim. And then these two guys show up, and poof, one of the enemy's best generals is just gone. He must feel like he's just won the lottery. Yeah, that sense of relief would be overwhelming. Totally, and that's what blinds him. He's so ecstatic he wants to execute Ma Zao. Right there on the spot, standard procedure. But this is where Jinda's real genius kicks in. The manipulation. Right. He steps in and says, hold on. He says, don't kill him. Instead, let's wait. Let's capture the main rebel leader, Zhang Wenhuan, and then send both of them to the capital. Why? Why is that delay so much more effective? Because it's not about the war anymore. It's about Durang's career. It connects his loyalty directly to his ambition. Jinda frames it as a way to maximize Durang's personal glory. Killing one general is a small win. But sending two top rebel leaders to the court, that proves his unparalleled merit. His bushi ji gong. That's masterful. It's not just a military strategy. It's a political one. He's selling him a shortcut to legendary status. Precisely. And Durang buys it completely. Yeah. He's won over. He now sees Jinda not just as a powerful hermit, but as a brilliant political advisor who understands him. So Ma Zao is thrown in a cell, not executed. And just like that, trust is established. The past is now totally vulnerable. The foundation is set. So the very next day, the next phase of the plan kicks into gear. Zhang Wenhuan, the rebel leader, shows up again. But this time he's in on the plan. Oh, completely. The fight is just for show. A few exchanges, seven or eight, and then Zhang Wenhuan pretends to flee. He retreats. Providing the perfect cover. The perfect cover. Jinda and Mu Zi give chase, and once they're about a bow shot away from the walls out of earshot, Jinda just whispers the plan. So cold and precise. Yep. Tonight at the second watch, bring your troops to the base of the pass. We will surrender it to you. Done. The time, the place, the action. It's all set. But he needs an alibi, right? He can't just come back and say, oh, he got away. Of course not. So Zhang Wenhuan turns, fires a single arrow back at them. Jinda easily parries it. Then they head back to Durang. And what's the story? The story's perfect. He says, the traitor barely escaped. He even shot an arrow at me. I'll get my revenge tomorrow. It validates the chase, explains the failure, and it makes him look even more committed. And Durang's trust just deepens. He's all in. They're sitting there, planning the final capture for the next day. And then the one person who could stop this whole thing walks into the room. The wrench in the works. The voice of pure strategic reason. Durang's wife, Chedi Nyangzi. And the text makes it clear. She's no amateur. She's skilled in military strategy herself. Highly skilled. And she sees it instantly. Not with magic, but with, you know, basic pattern recognition. She sees the trap. She gives him that incredible warning. Don't incline your heart based on one day. She knows how dangerous, sudden, overwhelming good fortune can be. And then she drops the killer line. The proverb. He who would seize must first give. That's the entire strategy right there. The whole playbook. It's the heart of this entire tragedy. That first victory, capturing Ma Zao. That wasn't a gift. It was a down payment. It was the price they paid to buy his absolute, unquestioning trust. If he had just listened to that one proverb, the whole thing would have unraveled. Instantly. She warns him of unforeseen disaster. Her analysis is perfect. She sees the pieces don't fit. This massive power, this sudden interest in his career, it all screams trap. So this is the moment of truth. He has the correct intelligence from his most trusted advisor. How does Jinza counter this? He doesn't counter her logic. He can't. So he attacks Durong's emotions. Ah, the counter-manipulation. It's devastatingly effective. He pretends to be deeply personally offended. He stands up, says his sincere loyalty to the king is being doubted, and makes to leave. He turns her strategic caution into a personal insult. Exactly. And Durong panics. He's terrified of losing these miracle workers his ticket to glory. So he apologizes. He begs them to stay. And he dismisses his wife's warning. He dismisses it as female ignorance of strategy. It's just a tragic line. That is the fatal error right there. He rejects the only correct counsel he receives because his ego and his ambition are already committed. He seals his own doom. And Jinza, of course, graciously agrees to stay. But only until the next day. Just long enough to finish the job. Wow. So Durong is now completely trapped, not by an army, but by his own psychology. The stage is set. That night, at the second watch, the attack begins. Jiang Wenhuan's forces bombard the pass. And Durong is eager to prove his wife wrong. Totally. Jinza proposes the final plan. It's simple. He and Durong will charge out to meet the enemy. They'll use the dungeon pillar, capture Jiang Wenhuan, and win a glorious victory. And in doing so, he isolates the one remaining threat to his plan. He leaves Muzha behind on the ramparts to guard the gates. Alongside Ch'e Dinh Yungzi. So she's neutralized. Stuck on the wall. Separated from her husband. Completely powerless to intervene. But she tries one last time. As he's leaving, she begs him. Be cautious. Don't be greedy. Don't fall into a trap. She knows. She knows what's coming. It's heartbreaking. It is. The text says as Durong rides out, Jinza catches Muzha's eye. A silent signal. The trap is sprung. And Durong fights like a lion. The text even gives him a poem, right? Praising his loyalty. It does. It honors his commitment. He fulfilled his duty and perished in the Yellow Springs. His failure was strategic, not a failure of heart. But heart doesn't stop a magical artifact. Not at all. While Durong is locked in combat, Jinza moves in. He deploys the dungeon pillar one last time. And that's it. That's it. Durong is captured instantly. Yuhun Pass falls without a siege, without a real fight. It fell because the general's mind had been conquered long before the walls were.