Lanqin had Li Shubao bring over the prepared bullets and slingshots. Fourth Master and several children gathered around the dozen or so slingshots and some bullets made of cotton cloth, examining them intently. While they were inspecting the "weapons," Lanqin explained the rules of a live-action 'CS' game: Shooting a bullet with a slingshot leaves a mark on a person's clothing, which counts as that person "dead." Each team chooses a target to protect. If the protected target "dies," the team loses, regardless of how many members remain.
"That's interesting. How did you come up with this game?" Fourth Master was amazed by what Lanqin said. What was this little princess's brain made of? How could a rich girl like her come up with a game that only men would like?
"When I had nothing to do, I once read Sun Tzu's Art of War, which contained a little game. I modified the game and came up with this idea!" Lan Qin said casually. In fact, she hadn't even bothered to read Sun Tzu's Art of War.
Upon hearing this, the children all showed admiration for Lanqin. It was truly rare for a woman to enjoy reading such books. Fourth Master smiled slightly, but didn't ask any further questions. He said, "I'll lead one team, and Honghui, you'll lead the other. Let Father see if your riding and archery have improved recently."
Seeing that the Fourth Master intended to test his horsemanship and archery skills by making this arrangement, Honghui nodded emphatically.
"Hongjun, Da, Ahe, and Zhang Rongyuan will follow me. Honghui will take Fu Weiting and Fei Yanggu. Aunt Niu will be your protector. My team's protector is naturally Hongjun." Fourth Master announced his arrangements in one breath.
"What? What? I'm the one being protected, on the same level as Hongjun! That won't do. I'll lead the team, and the First Prince will be the one being protected." Lanqin panicked when she heard the Fourth Prince's arrangement. She was so good at playing live-action 'CS' that even her male classmates were afraid of her, and now she was being protected like a panda named Panpan. Her competitive spirit immediately exploded.
These words caused an uproar! Especially the eldest prince, whose face turned as red as a tomato, while the fourth prince looked at her with an expression that seemed to say, "You want to play too?"
Lanqin puffed out her chest and declared boldly, "As an elder, it's only natural for me to protect the younger generation. How can I let the eldest prince and the others protect me? Besides, who will protect whom is still uncertain!"
"Since your Aunt Niu is like this, then let her be your leader. Now, immediately send someone to clear the garden. I'll bring over the garden's map later, and we'll divide the territory." The Fourth Prince glanced at Lanqin with a half-smile, then said to the eldest prince, whose face was flushed with embarrassment, "You must cooperate well with your team members. Father wants to see if your riding and archery have improved during this time."
Honghui immediately agreed, and the trouble caused by Lanqin was instantly wiped away by Fourth Master's words.
The Fourth Prince personally went to the front courtyard to retrieve the geomantic and topographical maps used to build the Fourth Prince's residence. Lanqin was responsible for changing the younger children's clothes, and then arranged for some maids and eunuchs to carry water and disperse around as temporary water stations for the team members. Since Lanqin couldn't come up with such high-tech water jugs, she could only have the servants hold water and wait in various places, so that anyone who came across them could go up and drink a few mouthfuls of water.
A short while later, the Fourth Prince arrived with a geomantic map and a topographical map, and the children gathered around him. The Fourth Prince spread the map on the table and pointed out the various buildings in the Fourth Prince's mansion, finally drawing a circle around the garden located in the southeast corner of the mansion.
“Look, this garden has a lake, water, a man-made rockery, a grove of trees, and small hills. Both sides will rely on geographical advantages and their own strength to defeat their opponents. Now, my team will use this grove of trees as our defensive point, and the water will be the target for both sides. Whoever fails to get the water will die of thirst.” Fourth Master’s thinking was even more cruel than Lanqin’s.
This time, she was a little dumbfounded, thinking to herself: It's just a team building activity, why make such a big fuss? In the middle of summer, it's already hot to run around, and if there's no water to drink, it'll be exhausting.
“Master, it’s already quite hot outside. I’m worried that the eldest prince and the third prince won’t be able to stand it,” Lanqin said.
"That's how it is in war. Only by overcoming all difficulties can we achieve final victory. Although this is a game, I will still demand the same standards as in actual combat. If you are hit by the enemy, you can only stay where you are. You are not allowed to drink water or avoid the sunlight. You can only leave when the war is over." Fourth Master's iron-fisted methods were finally revealed in a small part.
Fourth Master, this is just a game, you really don't have to be so heartless! Lanqin wailed inwardly, already regretting letting Fourth Master join the game. But the younger ones clearly agreed with Fourth Master's perverse punishment, each showing an excited and thrilled expression.
"I've made this rule to encourage you to fight bravely and not to give up easily or be negligent. Otherwise, once you 'die in battle,' you'll have to endure the bitterness of sunburn and parched mouth. Do you understand?" As expected of Fourth Master, he always manages to make every game full of "educational significance."
Although Lanqin had reservations about the punishment proposed by the Fourth Prince, she had to admit that his educational methods were indeed very effective. She had originally thought that people in ancient times would be rather rigid and conservative in their approach to learning, but the Fourth Prince's methods for educating his two sons were very much in line with modern 21st-century educational theories, and the ideas he put forward were very similar to the arguments in the "learning theories" that Lin Mengyao had once read!
So, under the arrangement of our Fourth Master, Su Peisheng led several eunuchs to the central horizontal axis of the garden to begin the most boring but also the most crucial water-guarding work.
Then, the children changed into the clothes that Lanqin had prepared for them. Fourth Master did not change his clothes, but Lanqin changed into a pair of flat shoes. Then she removed all the pearl flowers from her head, leaving only a few hair ornaments.
After making preparations, Lanqin and her partner entered through the main gate, where there were some artificial hills, which they considered their territory. Meanwhile, Fourth Master led his team into the garden through another gate, which led directly to the grove of trees.
The game began with Su Peisheng setting off an alarm flare at the water's location, signaling the start of the "battle" between the two sides.
Meanwhile, Lanqin took a simple map of the garden provided by Fourth Master and gestured on it, hoping to find a safe water supply route.
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