103: The Twelve at the Clear Ground
The teaching laid in for the twelve at the small clear ground at every noon of the second moon of the thirteenth year.
Lao Wen had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two months at the hut — laid the small accumulating *teaching arrangement* for the small accumulating *six brothers + six veterans*: the noon's teaching at the small specific accumulating *moment*-form of the saber and the spear; the dusk's teaching at the small specific accumulating *Mencius* and the *Daxue* readings at the small wooden table for the four of the twelve who had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past six and a half years — laid in the small accumulating *characters* (Heizi, An Ashi, Lu Jingzhi, Wang Er at his accumulating *minimum 120*); the morning's small accumulating work at the small accumulating *upper-hills sub-base* shape of the camp.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the third moon of the thirteenth year, the twelve were — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four weeks' accumulating noon's accumulating teaching — at the small accumulating *real* shape of a unit at its accumulating second formation, with the master's accumulating eye on each.
The master's accumulating eye was — by the small specific reading at the past four weeks — different from his accumulating eye at the past six years of teaching the brothers alone. He laid in the small accumulating *moment* now at the small accumulating *real-engagement* shape, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four weeks. The veterans — by the small specific accumulating reading at their accumulating two-and-three-years' accumulating real engagement experience — laid the small accumulating *moment* faster than the brothers had at the past six years. By the small specific reading at the dusk of the first day of the third moon, the six veterans were at the small accumulating *five-of-eight* against the Sui-veteran-shape — perhaps double the accumulating speed of the brothers' first reading at the past third year's accumulating teaching.
Lao Wen, at the small wooden stool at the dusk's accumulating evening's small bound *Mencius* reading at the small wooden table, said in the small low voice: *lads. By the small specific accumulating reading at the past four weeks' accumulating teaching — the small accumulating *six veterans* are at the small accumulating *useful* shape of an accumulating *real* unit at its second formation. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — the small accumulating *twelve-and-master* will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the next year, be at the small accumulating *real* shape of an accumulating *small specific scout-unit* at the small specific accumulating *upper-hills sub-base*. We will, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, be at the small accumulating *holding* of the master's hut, by the small accumulating *protecting-the-master* shape, against the small accumulating *Sui patrol-traffic* the master's accumulating saying at the past three months' peddler-letters has been laying.*
He paused.
"And lads."
"Yes, master."
"By the small specific accumulating reading at the past three months' peddler-saying — the small accumulating Sui patrol-traffic at the small accumulating *southern fold* has, in the past four weeks, increased. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — there are now, at the past two weeks, small accumulating *two-Sui-patrols-of-perhaps-twenty-each* moving at the southern fold's accumulating perimeter. They have not — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past peddler — come up the bear-back's western face. They are — by the small specific reading I am giving — at the small accumulating *probing* shape of an accumulating Sui search."
He paused.
"By the small specific reading I am giving — within the next moons, perhaps the next year, perhaps two — they will come up. The lads will, by the small specific reading I am giving, be ready."
The twelve nodded.
That spring and that summer of the thirteenth year went by, by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months at the hut, at the small accumulating *holding-and-training* shape of an accumulating *twelve-and-master* sub-unit at its accumulating careful preparation.
Heizi at the noon's clear ground laid the small accumulating *moment* at the small accumulating *real-engagement* pace. Heizi at the dusk's small wooden table read the *Mencius* and the *Daxue* and the small accumulating *Han Shu* selections with Lao Wen at his accumulating *literate-apprentice* place across the small wooden table. Heizi at the small slab wrote, in the small specific accumulating careful even strokes of his accumulating fifth year of writing, the small accumulating *second piece* the master had laid for him at the past four months — a small accumulating *eight-hundred-character* memorial on the small accumulating *Mandate of Heaven's accumulating withdrawing from a rebellion that takes from the people it claims to fight for*.
The piece was — by the small specific accumulating reading at Lao Wen's eye on the finished small folded sheets at the dusk of the third week of the seventh moon of the thirteenth year — at the small accumulating *real* shape of an apprentice's accumulating second piece.
Lao Wen had read it twice.
He had laid it down.
He had said in the small low voice: *lad. By the small specific accumulating reading I am giving — the small accumulating *political philosophy* the lad has laid at the past three months' walking-scout-and-engagement-and-coming-back has, by the small specific reading at the small folded sheets, been laid into the lad's accumulating reading at the small accumulating *real* shape of an old scholar's small accumulating young apprentice's accumulating fifth year. The piece is, by the small honest measure, at the small accumulating *useful* shape. It is — by the small specific reading I am giving — sufficient.*
He had paused.
"By the small specific reading I am giving — the lad has, at this dusk, laid in his accumulating reading the small accumulating *real* foundation of a young man whose hand and eye and voice will, by the small specific reading at the next ten years, be at the small accumulating *useful* shape the country will, by the small specific accumulating reading at the next failure-after-failure of the next several years, need."
He had laid one hand once on the small folded sheets.
He had said: *the lad will keep them. The lad will, by the small specific reading I am giving at this dusk, take them with him at the small accumulating *carrying-down* of the lad's accumulating life past the master's accumulating end.*
Heizi had filed it.
He had laid the small folded sheets at the small wooden chest at the foot of the master's cot, beside the small accumulating earlier letters and the small accumulating master's accumulating *first piece* of the past four years. They sat there, by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk, at the small accumulating *carrying-down* shape the master had laid.
By the small specific accumulating reading at the dusk of the first day of the eighth moon of the thirteenth year, the lame brother — at the small accumulating eye-station at the bear-back's eastern face — reported, at the morning's accumulating round, what the master had been preparing the twelve for.
He said in the small low voice: *master. Big brother. By the small specific reading at the dawn — at the small accumulating southern fold, perhaps four *li* below the foot of the path. A small accumulating Sui patrol of perhaps twenty horses. They are — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two hours — at the small accumulating *staging* shape of an accumulating preparation to come up the western face.*
Lao Wen at the small wooden stool nodded.
He said in the small low voice: *yes, lame brother. By the small specific reading at the past three months' accumulating peddler-saying — they have, at this morning, decided.*
He looked at Heizi.
"Lad. The small accumulating *holding-the-master* will, by the small specific reading I am giving at this morning, begin."
Heizi nodded.
He filed it.
He said in the small low voice to the brothers and the six veterans: *brothers. By the small specific accumulating reading at the lame brother's accumulating eye — a Sui patrol of twenty is at the southern fold preparing to come up the western face. We will, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, hold the small accumulating *upper bend's bottlenecking* at the small specific accumulating arrangement we have laid in the past four months at the noon's accumulating clear ground.*
The brothers and the six veterans took up the small accumulating *holding-positions* Heizi had laid at the past four months.
By the noon, the small accumulating Sui patrol of twenty came up the western face.
The twelve held.
They held — by the small specific accumulating reading at Heizi's accumulating *staff-officer's* small specific accumulating arrangement of the bow at the high ground, the smith's son at the small accumulating *thrust-and-set*, the lame brother at the small accumulating *defensive holding-place*, the boy at the small accumulating *circle-and-thrust*, Lu Jingzhi at the small accumulating *block-and-set*, Ah Chou at the small accumulating *medic-and-second-eye* with Yan Shaozhong at his side — at the small specific accumulating *bottlenecking* of the small accumulating *upper bend* of the path. The Sui patrol — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two hours' accumulating careful arrangement — broke at the small accumulating *third wave* with twelve dead.
The twelve had — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past two hours — taken twelve of twenty Sui troops at the small accumulating bottlenecking.
The remaining eight retreated south.
The twelve had — by the small specific accumulating reading at Ah Chou's accumulating round — perhaps two wounded. Liu Wenchang at the small accumulating *forge-helper* position had taken a Sui spear at the side of the leg; Tian Erjia at the small accumulating *runner* position had taken a Sui arrow at the shoulder. Both were — by Ah Chou's accumulating *huang lian* and small accumulating careful binding — at the small accumulating *will heal* shape.
The twelve had taken no dead.
Lao Wen at the small wooden stool — by the small specific reading at the dusk's accumulating reading — said in the small low voice: *lads. The small accumulating *first holding* has, by the small specific accumulating reading at this dusk, held. The small accumulating *eight retreating Sui* will, by the small specific reading I am giving, return at the small accumulating *Sui southern command's accumulating reporting* of perhaps the next two weeks. By the small specific reading I am giving — the patrols will not, by the small specific accumulating reading I am giving, stop. They will, by the small specific reading I am giving, increase. The next patrol will be — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past three months' accumulating saying — perhaps fifty. The one after, perhaps a hundred.*
He paused.
"The lad has — by the small specific accumulating reading at the past four months' preparation — laid the small accumulating *holding-shape* well. The small accumulating *holding-shape* will, by the small specific reading I am giving, hold for some accumulating moments. It will not, by the small specific reading I am giving, hold forever."
He paused.
"By the small specific reading I am giving — the master's accumulating *some unfound moment* will, in some accumulating year ahead, come."
The twelve were quiet.
Heizi nodded.
He filed it.
In the small lighter catalog of moments, he set: *the small specific noon of the first day of the eighth moon of the thirteenth year, when the twelve held the upper bend against twenty Sui at the master's accumulating *first holding*.*
The lighter catalog stood at perhaps eighty-five items.
The dark catalog stood at twenty-two named names plus the *unnamed thousand* — plus the small accumulating *new twelve* of the small accumulating *first holding* (who Heizi laid at the *fifty-now-twelve*'s accumulating *engagement-tally* but did not, by the small specific reading I am giving, lay at the small accumulating *named*-catalog because he had not, at the small specific accumulating engagement, known any of their names).
He sat his watch through.