Sun Jian adjusted his expression and bowed to Emperor Ganwu.

Emperor Ganwu looked at Sun Jian and revealed that meaningful smile again, then said to the crowd, "My dear ministers, do you have any objections to what Sun Jian said?"

Everyone was speechless.

What meaning could they possibly have? All they felt was a stinging pain in their cheeks.

Seeing that everyone was bowing their heads and remaining silent, Emperor Ganwu laughed heartily, giving them a way out.

“Minister Sun, your answer is quite brilliant, but theory is just theory, and it is ultimately just empty talk. The real battlefield often requires consideration of specific circumstances, and generalizations cannot be made.”

"Moreover, warfare involves taking risks, and there is never a situation where victory is absolutely certain. Furthermore, even a good strategy requires soldiers who are not afraid of death to charge into battle, and generals with strict military discipline to lead the troops, right?"

"Your Majesty is right."

Sun Jian knew that Emperor Ganwu was trying to smooth things over, so he went along with what he was saying.

"Alright, I still have many official duties to attend to. You may continue your studies."

After saying this, Emperor Ganwu got up and left, followed closely by Li You, Li Mu, and Wang De.

"Congratulations to Your Majesty!"

...

Princess Chang Le and Princess Tai Ping took one last look at Sun Jian before leaving, and then quickly followed.

With the announcement of "Your Majesty, return to the palace," the hall returned to a state where only Mr. Zhuang, Li Gancheng, and Sun Jian remained.

"Brother Sun, you are amazing! No wonder you were able to lead a group of villagers to wipe out hundreds of bandits. With such talent and wisdom, how can I worry about the peace on the frontier in the future?"

Li Gancheng grabbed Sun Jian's hand, looking on with adoration, almost as if he wanted to acknowledge Sun Jian as his teacher.

"Not at all, Your Highness is joking."

Sun Jian quickly became modest.

Mr. Zhuang looked embarrassed. He had originally intended to test his students' abilities, but instead, he had taught them a lesson.

"Alas, it seems I am truly getting old. Indeed, the younger generation surpasses the older one!"

Seeing Mr. Zhuang sighing, Sun Jian comforted him, saying, "Teacher, you are mistaken. I am a commoner who farms the land. I just pay more attention to the weather and seasons than the average person. I was lucky to answer the question today."

"Just luck? Surely not?"

Mr. Zhuang sighed again. He knew in his heart that Sun Jian's insights and remarks just now were not something that could be accomplished by chance.

Such a person's mastery of military strategy is definitely no less than my own!

Seeing that his words of comfort had little effect, Sun Jian continued to flatter him: "Teacher, you are a Grand Academician of the Hanlin Academy, the Crown Prince's tutor appointed by His Majesty, a man of immense learning and profound knowledge. Compared to you, I am like a star compared to the moon, a nag compared to a unicorn, a crow compared to a phoenix..."

"Alright, alright, Reader Sun, you don't need to be so modest."

Before Sun Jian could finish speaking, Mr. Zhuang interrupted him.

"Although this is our first meeting as master and disciple, I can see that you have great potential in military strategy. With careful nurturing, you might become a great general in the future, but..."

At this point, Mr. Zhuang glanced at Sun Jian with great interest.

"But what?"

Sun Jian was also curious about what the old man wanted to say.

"I can nurture you with all my heart, and nurturing you can be considered as serving His Majesty and His Highness. However, Sun Shidu, you must compile what you said today into a book. I think your views on military strategy are quite insightful."

I'm dizzy!

I thought you were up to something else, but it turns out you just wanted me to write a military treatise?

That's easy. I know Sun Tzu's Art of War by heart and can write it down anytime.

"Yes, sir."

Sun Jian clasped his hands in a gesture of respect, clearly annoyed.

"Hahaha, you little rascal..."

The three looked at each other, and after a moment, they all broke into smiles.

According to the rules, since Sun Jian was the Crown Prince's tutor, the Crown Prince's tutor also became Sun Jian's tutor.

After Mr. Zhuang finished his lesson, Sun Jian respectfully performed the apprenticeship ceremony and served tea to his apprentice.

Around noon, Mr. Zhuang went to rest, and it was Mr. Mo's turn to teach the Crown Prince.

The prince had three tutors, who took turns teaching him in the morning and afternoon.

Mr. Zhuang was the Junior Tutor to the Crown Prince, specializing in teaching cultural knowledge, theoretical knowledge, the teachings of sages, anecdotes, astronomy, geography, and so on.

Mr. Mo is the Crown Prince's tutor, specializing in teaching the Crown Prince horseback riding, archery, virtue, and martial arts.

The third mentor taught him about politics and governance.

According to the laws of the Great Gan Dynasty, Sun Jian only needed to accompany the Crown Prince to the lessons of Master Zhuang and Master Mo. The third tutor could only teach the Crown Prince alone. Therefore, Sun Jian left work early and returned to his residence in the late afternoon.

Before leaving, Li Gancheng insisted on skipping class and asked Sun Jian to find a way to take him out. However, His Majesty had just visited once that day, so Sun Jian dared not defy the rules. He could only use the excuse of "I'll definitely do it next time" to abruptly leave, leaving the miserable Li Gancheng to continue attending class while he made a quick getaway.

Back at his residence, Sun Jian was utterly exhausted, both physically and mentally. He could barely bear just one day of the Crown Prince's lessons, and he couldn't even imagine how his elder brother, the Dragon King, had managed all these years...

"It seems being the Crown Prince isn't so easy. No wonder Li Gancheng sneaked out of the palace and appeared at the Hundred Flowers Pavilion back then, tsk tsk..."

"Under such intense academic pressure, even an ordinary person would be driven crazy."

Sun Jian lay in bed, feeling great sympathy for his brother, the Dragon.

Thinking of the crown princes of later dynasties, who married crown princesses at a young age and even took concubines, Li Gancheng was already over twenty years old, and His Majesty had not arranged a marriage for him.

Look how you've driven the child to this...

At that moment, the system voice in my mind sounded again.

"Ding! The system has detected that Li Ganrou's favorability towards you has increased by 3 points, and the current value is 7 points."

Holy crap!

I almost forgot about this part!

Upon hearing the system notification, Sun Jian suddenly sat up in bed.

One second he was sympathizing with his brother Long, the next he realized he deserved more sympathy!

This is even more miserable than Li Gancheng's situation!

At that moment, Sun Jian was on the verge of tears.

This is another troublesome matter he is currently facing, besides finding a handle against Minister of War Wei Xian.

Who would have thought that Princess Chang Le, Li Ganrou, whom I only met once today, would have her favorability rating jump to 7 points in just one day?

I'm almost ready to claim my first regular-level prize.

What was she doing all this time? How did she suddenly gain more favorability towards me?

Could it be that someone said something again?

"Hey, Master, can I cancel this new character binding? You could even bind me to an old emperor!"

"I already have three wives, I can't afford to have any more! Even with Viagra, my back can't take a day."

"Besides, you can bind yourselves to each other all you want, but why are you doing this to a princess? How are you going to clean up this mess later?"

Sun Jian launched into a tirade against the system.