Original Text
When Wang Jiyu, the Grand Marshal of Xincheng, was stationed at the northern border, he once ordered a craftsman to forge a great sword, its blade over a foot wide and weighing three hundred catties. Whenever the Marshal inspected the frontier, he had four men carry this sword. Wherever his retinue halted, the sword was placed on the ground, deliberately left for the northern tribesmen to lift, but even with all their strength, they could not budge it. The Marshal also secretly had a replica made of tong wood, identical in width and size, covered with silver foil, which he would brandish while riding his horse. When the northern tribes saw this, none were not shocked and terrified. The Marshal further planted reeds along the border as a barrier, stretching over ten li horizontally like a screen, declaring, "This is my Great Wall." When the northern cavalry arrived, they uprooted and burned it all. Afterward, the Marshal replanted the reeds. After this happened three times, he buried cannon stones and gunpowder beneath the reeds. When the northern troops set fire to the reeds, the gunpowder and stones exploded instantly, killing and wounding many. After the northerners fled, the Marshal again set up the reed wall as before. From afar, the northern tribesmen would retreat at the mere sight of the reed wall, and thus they revered the Marshal as if he were a deity. Later, the Marshal retired due to old age and returned home, but news of enemy incursions came from the border. The court summoned him again to guard the frontier; by then, he was eighty-three years old. He went before the emperor and earnestly declined. The emperor comforted him, saying, "I only trouble you to govern while lying down." So the Marshal returned to the border. At each post, he lay in his tent. When the northern tribes heard of his arrival, they did not believe it and pretended to seek peace to verify the truth. They opened the tent curtain and saw the Marshal lying calmly on his bed; they all knelt before the bed, bowed in fear, and withdrew their troops.
Commentary
This chapter consists of three short tales, all bearing the hallmark of military deception. It was precisely due to Wang Jiyu's resourcefulness and cunning that the border regions of Xuanda and Jiliao during the Tianqi and Chongzhen reigns of the Ming Dynasty remained peaceful throughout his twenty years of service as a frontier commander.
Wang Yuyang commented on this piece, saying: "Today, northeast of Fushun, east of Hada City, willows are planted to mark the boundary with Mongolia, stretching south to Korea, west to the Shanhai Pass, spanning a thousand li, known as the 'Willow Border.' Those who cross it privately are subject to severe punishment, established as a decree." This corrects the text's claim of "burying reed mats as a boundary." Grand Commandant Wang was a close elder relative of Wang Yuyang, so Wang Yuyang's account should be taken as authoritative.
Because the "Northern Soldiers" in this tale refer to the Qing troops, a matter of taboo, the Qingke Pavilion edition of Strange Tales from a Chinese Studio did not include this piece.