How I Unwittingly Became the Scholars' Queen Hornet - 3
"Hurry up. Just say what you'd do. It's super simple, isn't it?"
Ma Su looked so smug and triumphant—I could just die from how adorable he was.
But first, let's clear up my curiosities.
"I have a question."
I raised my hand, and Sima Hui did the same.
"What piques your curiosity so?"
"Those 20,000 on their side—are they elite troops or something? We've got 50,000 here. Doesn't the quality of soldiers affect the outcome?"
"The quality of the soldiers is much the same."
"Thank you. What about supplies, then...?"
"All things are much the same."
"Got it, thank you."
Thank goodness it's not Lü Bu's 20,000 against Chen Soyoung's 50,000.
I gave Sima Hui a quick bow, then turned back to Ma Su.
"This girl submits her strategy. As Defeat the Enemy Without Fighting states, the Sage said that winning without battle surpasses winning a hundred battles. Since Han's forces have isolated themselves atop the heights, we shall encamp at the mountain's base, sever their supply lines, and starve them out."
I read off the Defeat the Enemy Without Fighting scrawled on my fan, enunciating each word clearly.
Uncle Kongming had told me: in this era, military strategy begins with scorched earth and ends with scorched earth. I took scorched earth to mean holing up and outlasting them—poisoning wells, burning rations, that whole turtling strategy.
No wonder the old strategists said an enemy's single dou of grain mattered more than your own hundred.
I shrugged my shoulders and continued.
"Han's general ignored even the basics of strategy in his judgment, allowing our 50,000 to safely pass the narrow defile and encircle the entire mountain. This girl knows all too well how treacherous the terrain is, so blocking their supplies until they wither and die is the righteous path."
It felt like such a textbook win.
Treacherous terrain? You get the picture—think those wuxia novel mountains where you look down and see clouds, ripe for some heavenly fortuitous encounter.
"This girl has nothing more to say."
Ma Su, who'd been listening silently, looked pissed but somehow subdued.
"Excellent! The guests have presented their cases, so the scholars of Chu and Han must now judge which is right!"
The crowd surged to their respective sides.
Honestly, I couldn't quite wrap my head around it. There were way more people behind Ma Su.
Wasn't this the orthodox view? History had Ma Su getting wrecked like this, right? Then it hit me—this wasn't real.
"Han has formed the back-to-the-river camp, while Chu encircles the mountain, so Chu's forces must inevitably spread thin. Thus, Han's soldiers, resolved to die, will break through Chu's extended lines and claim certain victory."
Someone behind me—probably Shi Dao—raised his hand and spoke.
"No. Han Xin formed back-to-the-river, but Han now is trapped on the mountain, isn't it? I'm baffled. Ma Su, how could you propose such a strategy?"
Ma Su confidently raised his hand.
"Xiang Yu cut off retreats and won nine battles in nine, making it a back-to-the-river setup. Han is already outnumbered and outmatched—even a plain fight means defeat. Holding key points is paramount, and being outnumbered second, so exploiting the treacherous terrain to crush Chu is the strategy of strategies."
The rebuttal ignited the room. The scholars behind Ma Su chorused "Well said! Well said!" in fervent agreement. Their back-and-forth felt like some scholar popularity contest, and it kinda soured my mood.
...
I'd been thinking wrong all along.
This wasn't a real wartime scenario—it was just hypothetical wordplay, spinning dusty hero tales into something plausible, then patting themselves on the back as if it were profound strategy.
Meaningless. Just Jingzhou scholars playing human-rating games.
Boring. Political dick-measuring. Faction-forming simulator.
If I'd known it was this from the start, I could've had fun with it. Why did Uncle Kongming hype me up just to drop me flat? Why'd I get all excited about actual strategy and start asking questions like an idiot?
I felt like the fool here.
"Allow me a word."
I spotted Uncle Kongming, feather fan in hand.
"The stones rolled by clever tongues are someone's son, someone's father. How can we speak of back-to-the-river? Ma Su! Answer! What makes a great commander?"
"The Sage said one must possess wisdom, trust, benevolence, courage, and strictness."
"Then, Chen Soyoung! What say you?"
Suddenly?
"Me?"
"Answer!"
Uncle Kongming looked unusually grave.
A great commander... one who always wins in battle?
No. He's asking how great commanders are made.
I met Uncle Kongming's eyes and decided to speak my truth. His feather fan fluttered.
"A great commander is forged by killing many people. Thus, one must be able to kill many. Only by viewing people not as people but as expendable manpower can one become a great commander."
"Is that truly so?"
"Yes. A great commander must stand atop mountains of corpses. Even if a pointed finger dooms ten thousand or a million lives, they must bear that weight to achieve the grand design."
"Then is back-to-the-river necessary for that grand design?"
"No. A great commander knows the weight of the lives they've taken. They must resolve to live crushed by it forever—that makes a commander, a general. Forming back-to-the-river to add to that weight is folly."
Not a single voice rose.
Only Uncle Kongming's and my voices echoed through the lecture hall.
"You know the weight of lives. Then, what do you foresee when this battle begins?"
"Han will be annihilated. No one wants to fight resolved to die. To command people, you must understand them. Severed supplies mean cold, hunger, rusting weapons. We don't know the mountain's layout, but deserters will flood out, and without rain, they won't last three days before total collapse."
"If cornered, won't Han fight with desperate resolve? Can Chu's widespread encirclement withstand a concentrated charge from death-ready troops?"
"Where does this nonsense come from—that resolve to die boosts combat power? Even if Han Xin or Xiang Yu cut retreats, how does that become a heroic tale exhorting soldiers to embrace death?"
"Then why did Xiang Yu and Han Xin form back-to-the-river?"
"They were great commanders who understood their own troops and the enemy's. Know thyself and thy enemy for a hundred victories. They knew people as intimately as the corpse-mountains they'd piled—only then could they bear forming back-to-the-river."
No one spoke a word. Now it was just a one-on-one with Master Kongming.
"Then why did you encircle arrogantly as Chu's commander? Speak your intent—I'm deeply curious."
"Yes. This girl judged it minimized our losses. Wars aren't won in one skirmish. They end only with the grand design, and war is so vicious we can't show mercy to foes. Thus, encircle, weaken, then strike to kill more enemies."
"Why think so? Can't we show mercy to enemies?"
"Survivors only grow more hateful. How can you say such a thing, Master?"
"Do you know of the Qingzhou troops? Cao Cao spared the Yellow Turban remnants, absorbed their veterans. If that's your intent, isn't mercy the way to minimize losses?"
No one raised a hand. Even Sima Hui didn't intervene.
Zhuge Liang's hand, long exceeding a guest's speaking time, stayed up.
"That's for commanders to judge. Showing mercy to enemies is no mortal notion, so this girl sees Cao Cao as a hero. Timid and soft-hearted as I am, a mere mortal—how could I fathom his intent?"
"That's why I brought you here to learn. Now do you grasp why I drove this cart to fetch you?"
"Yes. This girl's narrow vision failed to grasp your grand intent; I presumed and distorted it."
"Good. One final question: what do you think of this debate?"
"Tabletop theorizing, ephemeral. I understand the intent, but imagining grand righteousness achieves nothing. I thought it utter foolishness—yet your deep purpose made fantasy feel real, so this girl got excited and rashly stepped forward."
Ma Su, silent till now, exploded as I finished.
"I yield! No need to ask the Master's intent. What texts must one read to argue like that? How?!"
Sima Hui raised his hand.
"Ma Su, why declare yourself defeated?"
"I can't persuade the Master. Listening now, I see this debate's foolishness too. I agree with her but can't refute—thus, I concede."
A hush fell. Sima Hui broke it.
"Han surrenders—Chu wins the debate. Debate concluded, fellow disciples."
As Sima Hui ended it, I rushed to Ma Su.
"Ma Su, let's talk later once this wraps up."
We still have our little reckoning to settle.