Volume 1, Chapter 18: Tit-for-tat

Tong Cailiang stared at Li Tian. "On the surface, Sima Yi fell for Zhuge Liang's empty city plan, but in fact, it was a false plan. He was really smart and slightly better than Zhuge Liang. You said Zhuge Liang was the best person in the Three Kingdoms, but it is obvious that you still have the most superficial understanding of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" without any depth."

After these words were spoken, many people, including the leaders of the Education Bureau, coughed a few times to hide their embarrassment. In fact, they also believed that Zhuge Liang was the number one person in the Three Kingdoms, but after listening to Tong Cailiang's insights, they realized that their understanding of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was still too superficial.

Li Tian smiled and said, "What you just said has no substantial evidence, it's all just subjective speculation."

Subjective speculation?

Oh my god, man, do you have to be so stubborn? President Tong’s words are well-founded, and you actually say that he is just making subjective guesses?

The parents present sighed.

"Gu Xiaoxue, your uncle is so stubborn, do your parents know about it?" Among the group of students, Tong Jiaqi turned around and ridiculed Gu Xiaoxue.

Gu Xiaoxue's face flushed red, and she glared at her fiercely: "This is none of your business, shut up!"

I hated Li Tian in my heart. Lost was lost. Why was there any point in being stubborn? Isn't that more embarrassing?

Tong Jiaqi snorted and looked towards the center of the classroom as if she was waiting to embarrass Li Tian and Gu Xiaoxue.

Seeing that the classroom was a little noisy, Chen Meimei raised her hand and said, "Quiet, everyone, be quiet."

After the classroom returned to calm, Tong Cailiang sneered at Li Tian and said, "You said I was making a subjective guess, so I have the following questions. Can you explain them to me?"

"First, why didn't Sima Yi attack? He had an army of hundreds of thousands, so why did he just flee?"

"Second, Sima Yi has already walked to the city gate tower. He can see Zhuge Liang playing the zither on the city wall with a calm expression. He must be not far away. Can't he just ask an archer to shoot Zhuge Liang down with an arrow? Must he withdraw his troops?"

"Third, Sima Yi could have just surrounded the city without attacking it. With a lack of food and water, the city would have collapsed sooner or later. Why did he just turn around and run away?"

Oh My God!

The soul asks three questions in a row.

Sima Yi was indeed problematic. It seemed that he really understood the principle of "when the rabbit is dead, the dog is cooked, and when the birds are all gone, the bows are hidden away", and he deliberately let Zhuge Liang escape.

People in later generations said that he was suspicious and made a big joke, but in fact he was wise and foolish, and had a long-term vision.

Everyone was immersed in Tong Cailiang's unique insights.

Li Tian chuckled: "What you said seems to make sense, but in fact, none of it can stand up to scrutiny."

Oh shit!

You are just being stubborn. Can you provide some convincing evidence?

Everyone is really dissatisfied with Li Tian.

Gu Xiaoxue now just wants to find a crack in the ground to crawl into. It's so embarrassing.

Chen Meimei said, "Mr. Gu Xiaoxue, literary debates must convince people, not just talk without thinking."

"I don't just say it."

Li Tian glanced at Tong Cailiang, who looked disdainful, and began to argue, "Let's talk about Mr. Tong's first question first. What if Zhuge Liang really has an ambush? You can disregard your own life, but what about the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers?"

"Zhuge Liang has always been known for his sure-fire approach to his work. Facing such a powerful opponent, who would dare to risk the lives of hundreds of thousands of soldiers?"

Huh?

This... is amazing. It actually immediately refuted President Tong’s first question.

Everyone showed surprised expressions.

Gu Xiaoxue blinked her big watery eyes, her little face full of surprise. She didn't expect that this rustic Li Tian actually had some knowledge.

Tong Cailiang's face changed slightly. Obviously, he couldn't believe that Li Tian, ​​a country bumpkin-looking guy, could come up with such a powerful rebuttal.

Li Tian smiled and continued, "Now let's talk about your second question. The opponent is Zhuge Liang. Can you shoot him down whenever you want? Besides, if it is really that easy to shoot him to death, who would dare to stand on the city wall and speak? If I were Zhuge Liang, I would definitely consider this point and take precautions before using the empty city plan."

"In short, in short, it is impossible for Sima Yi to hurt Zhuge Liang with such a simple trick as shooting a hidden arrow."

Refuted a little more.

Everyone thought that Tong Cailiang's words were reasonable and well-founded. Now it seems that what Gu Xiaoxue's parents said is even more reasonable and convincing.

Tong Cailiang's face turned a little ugly.

Li Tian said calmly, "And your third question, to surround without attacking, to defeat the enemy without fighting. First of all, the military strength of both sides is very different. As bystanders, we know this, but Sima Yi, as the person involved, is not aware of it. If Zhuge Liang really has an ambush and attacks us from both inside and outside, who will bear the consequences?"

"In addition, Zhuge Liang was good at battle formations and inventions. If he had used the complex terrain to launch a water or fire attack, the troops would have been defeated. Once the morale of the army was crushed, the entire army would have been in chaos. Even if the army was hundreds of thousands strong, it would not be a mess. An army in chaos would be like a pile of loose sand and would not have much combat effectiveness."

"If you were Sima Yi, would you play it safe and get out of this situation unscathed or would you go all out and take a gamble?"

The last sentence was like a sharp knife drawn from its sheath, pointing directly at Tong Cailiang.

The whole classroom fell silent in an instant, and many people were stunned.

Tong Cailiang's face turned pale and purple, and he gritted his teeth and said, "You...you are just making up a story!"

Li Tian smiled: "I am just stating objective facts. Even if it is true as you said, that Sima Yi figured out Zhuge Liang's empty city plan, it can only mean that Zhuge Liang expected Sima Yi to figure it out, so he deliberately set up an empty city to tell Sima Yi that the rabbit is dead and the dog is cooked, and the bird is gone and the bow is hidden, so that Sima Yi would retreat obediently."

"From this point of view, Sima Yi was already at a disadvantage, being led by Zhuge Liang. It is naturally untrue to say that Sima Yi was the best in the Three Kingdoms."

"Gu~"

The parents present swallowed hard and broke out in cold sweats. After seeing Li Tian's argument, they suddenly felt that they were just making a fool of themselves because they could not think of such sharp words to refute the other party's point of view.

So cool!

This completely refuted Tong Cailiang's point of view. They really didn't expect that Li Tian was even more powerful than the vice president of the Literary Research Association.

This is a war without the smoke of gunpowder, but it is tit-for-tat, with back and forth, which makes people can't help but scream for excitement.

The school leaders and the education bureau leaders felt that the trip was well worthwhile to see such a wonderful literary debate. At the same time, they were very curious about who Li Tian was and how his understanding of "Romance of the Three Kingdoms" was so deep that he could refute President Tong?

Gu Xiaoxue was stunned. The rustic Li Tian really showed his face to her this time. She looked at Tong Jiaqi with a schadenfreude.

Now, it was Tong Jiaqi who clenched her fists, her little body tensed, and her face flushed.