Upon entering the hall, Sun Jian clasped his hands in a fist salute and bowed, saying, "Your humble servant, Sun Jian, tutor to the Crown Prince, greets Your Highness and your teacher."
At that moment, Grand Tutor Zhuang was holding a ruler and explaining military strategy to Li Gancheng on a sand table when Sun Jian suddenly interrupted the lesson, which enraged him.
He turned around and scolded, "How dare you! Can't you all see that I am instructing the Crown Prince?"
"What kind of behavior is this, disturbing us without permission!"
Sun Jian hadn't fully straightened his back when he heard such a reprimand, and his face immediately turned displeased.
You old idiot!
That's just nitpicking.
If I stand to the side without bowing, are you going to say later that I don't bow to the Crown Prince and my teacher, that I have no respect for hierarchy, and that I violate etiquette?
Sun Jian rolled his eyes and replied perfunctorily, "Sorry, I'm blind, I really didn't see it."
These words instantly amused Li Gancheng, who was standing at the other end of the sand table. He pursed his lips and held back his laughter, while giving Sun Jian a thumbs up.
"You...you..."
Grand Tutor Zhuang was so angry that he was breathless and could not speak properly.
His hand, which was pointing at Sun Jian, trembled slightly, and his white beard also trembled.
"You, Sun Jian, are late on the very first day and dare to talk back to me! Kneel down... kneel down and accept your punishment!"
Sun Jian still acted as if he were a dead pig unafraid of boiling water, straightening his back.
"I'm sorry, teacher. I've been studying so hard lately that I've become hard of hearing. I can only hear half of what you're saying. You just said I was late today, and then what?"
"You...you...cough cough cough."
Mr. Zhuang was so anxious that he started coughing violently halfway through his sentence, almost coughing up his lungs.
Upon seeing this, Sun Jian quickly stepped forward, feigning concern.
"Teacher, what's wrong? Are you alright?"
Li Gancheng shook his head helplessly and smiled bitterly, then stepped forward to inquire about Mr. Zhuang's condition.
Mr. Zhuang was already over sixty years old, with graying temples.
Sitting on the imperial chair, he was panting heavily, and it took him a long time to catch his breath.
After he recovered, he kept pointing at Sun Jian and muttering "you you you" repeatedly, but he still couldn't speak for a long time.
Sun Jian sighed helplessly, patting Mr. Zhuang's back as he said, "Teacher, you're already so old, why are you getting angry with a junior like me?"
After Sun Jian finished speaking, he gave Li Gancheng a wink, signaling Li Gancheng to also help persuade him.
This old man might die of anger because he can't catch his breath.
Li Gancheng immediately understood and comforted her, "Teacher, don't worry, don't worry, please calm down. Actually, Attendant Reader Sun went to run errands for me this morning, and I know he was late. You don't need to make things difficult for him..."
"Huff, huff."
Mr. Zhuang was panting heavily. After catching his breath, he looked at Li Gancheng with a questioning gaze and asked, "Your Highness, is this...is this really true?"
"It's true."
Li Gan nodded, admitting he had, while glancing at Sun Jian. "Sun Jian, have you prepared everything I asked you to buy this morning?"
"Oh...oh, Your Highness, it's all complete."
Sun Jian quickly took over the conversation and answered respectfully from the side.
Upon hearing that there was a reason for the incident, Mr. Zhuang's emotions calmed down. He slowly stood up from his chair and said to Sun Jian with a serious expression, "Student Sun, I can forgive you for what happened today, but if you do it again, no matter if you are doing it for His Highness, I will punish you accordingly!"
"As the sage said, keeping to the time is the foundation of one's character, which is exactly the reason why time waits for no one."
"Being late is not punishable, but your offense against your teacher is unforgivable."
"Huh? Then, old man... teacher, how do you plan to punish me?"
Mr. Zhuang's words left Sun Jian with no way to retreat.
"it!"
At this moment, Mr. Zhuang stood up with the help of Li Gancheng and pointed forward with his wrinkled old hand.
Looking in the direction the old man was pointing, we saw the sand table.
Mr. Zhuang walked unsteadily to the sand table, followed closely by Sun Jian and Li Gancheng.
This sand table is about the same size as the billiard table that Sun Jian saw in later generations, except that this table is not covered with cotton blankets, but is made entirely of straw, soil, sand and stones to depict the terrain, hills and rivers of the vast border region.
"Good heavens, this is a miniature 3D map of the border between the Great Zhou and the Great Gan."
Sun Jian's eyes lit up when he saw the lifelike sand table.
Mr. Zhuang pointed to the sand table again and said to Sun Jian, "Reader Sun, you are more than an hour late today and missed the military strategy that I just explained to His Highness."
"If you can deduce the battle situation that I discussed with His Highness this morning, I will not punish you further."
Upon hearing what Mr. Zhuang said, Sun Jian remained expressionless, but inwardly thought to himself.
Are you simulating the battle situation?
What's so difficult about that?
I thought you wanted me to strategize and deploy troops with you!
Li Gancheng remained silent. He had heard from his father that Sun Jian had once led a group of villagers to wipe out hundreds of bandits with zero casualties!
Governor Yao also praised his brother Sun, saying that his strategies and wisdom were no less than his own, and that strategizing the battle should be a piece of cake for Sun Jian.
“Alright, then please give me your instructions, teacher.” Sun Jian readily agreed and clasped his hands in a gesture of respect.
Mr. Zhuang didn't hesitate. He walked to a small wooden cart and took out many flags and small wooden soldier dolls, and began to arrange them one by one on the sand table.
Sun Jian and Li Gancheng watched intently, and after about the time it takes for an incense stick to burn, Mr. Zhuang had finished making the arrangements.
At this moment, three battles were taking place on the sand table.
In the first instance, the Da Gan Army and the Da Zhou Army faced each other across the river. The two sides were evenly matched and set up camps on both banks, firing their crossbows at each other.
In the second location, a large force of the Great Zhou army was entrenched on a small hill, looking down on the scattered troops below and crushing them.
Thirdly, a large force of the Great Zhou army lay in ambush in the withered trees and grass, preparing to launch a surprise attack on the large army that was coming to their aid on the main road.
Besides, the Great Zhou army came out in almost its entire force, with few garrison troops in the cities behind them, and most of the troops in the cities of Dagan, while very few troops were engaged in open battles.
From the overall situation, the disparity in troop strength between the two sides is enormous. Of the three battlefields, only the first one has an equal number of troops on both sides, while the other two have four to five times the enemy's strength.
Moreover, in the second and third locations, Da Gan was at an extreme disadvantage, and the slightest carelessness could lead to total annihilation.
Li Gancheng was also perplexed by the situation before him. He glanced at Mr. Zhuang with a puzzled look and thought to himself.
This wasn't the scene Mr. Zhuang had taught me before; it was practically an extreme reversal of the Great Zhou Army and the Great Gan Army.
What's there to deduce?
Isn't it obvious that a major offensive is bound to result in heavy losses or even total annihilation?
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