Chương 698: During Class

"You're full of energy!" Liu Ce nodded, casually patting the podium.

"Sit down, sit down, don't be shy. We won't be testing military strategy or checking homework today, let's just chat. Last time about the school motto, those old men from the Ministry of Rites were still nagging me, saying that 'don't throw your life away' was outrageous. Today I'll teach you something decent."

The people below sat down one after another, their eyes shining, waiting for this legendary principal to reveal his valuable insights.

Liu Ce picked up a piece of chalk from the table and wrote on the blackboard behind him: What kind of person can become a general?

The chalk writing penetrated the blackboard with sharp strokes, as if carved with a knife.

"You all know the art of war by heart. Sun Tzu's Art of War, Wu Qi's Art of War—everyone can rattle off a few lines, and many can recite them backwards." Liu Ce turned and leaned against the podium, his tone casual.

"Let's not nitpick over the words today, let's start with fighting... I ask you, what do you think is the most important thing for a general?"

As soon as he finished speaking, a boy in the front row suddenly stood up, his chest puffed out so high that he almost tipped the table over.

It was Cheng Yaojin's eldest son, Cheng Chumo, with a loud voice:

"Reporting to the Principal! In my opinion, a general should be the bravest in the army, capable of taking the head of a general amidst ten thousand soldiers! Only if one can fight can the brothers respect him!"

A chorus of agreement erupted from below, with many young trainees nodding repeatedly, and some even slapping the table in approval.

Young people, who doesn't admire a fierce general who can take on a hundred enemies single-handedly? Who hasn't dreamed of "charging into battle alone and slaying generals"?

Liu Ce chuckled, tapping his fingertip on the table: "Oh? Unrivaled in the army? Let me ask you this first: if two people settle a fight on the street, doesn't the one with the bigger fist and the stronger fighter win?"

Cheng Chumo was taken aback for a moment, then nodded obediently and said, "Of course. Might makes right, and weakness makes you kneel down."

"Yeah, one-on-one is all about physical strength and fighting skills, nothing fancy." Liu Ce nodded, then changed the subject, "What if ten people were fighting you? What would you do?"

Cheng Chumo puffed out his chest and said decisively, "To catch the thief, you must first catch the leader! Charge in and take down the ringleader, and the rest of the rabble will naturally scatter!"

"Well, 'to catch the thief, first catch the king,' sounds pretty good," Liu Ce scoffed.

"Then I have to ask you first, do you have the ability to rush up, grab the leader by the hair, and slam him to the ground repeatedly, knocking him senseless? If you have the ability of Xiang Yu, who could take on a hundred people at once, then what you said is all true."

But what if you don't have the ability? You've barely taken two steps forward when ten of them swarm you, some holding your arms, others grabbing your legs, and you'll be pinned to the ground, scraped and bruised, and you might even knock out a couple of teeth.

"Hahahaha!" The audience burst into laughter, some laughing so hard they were slapping the table, tears welling up in their eyes.

Cheng Chumo's face turned bright red, like a ripe persimmon. He still wanted to argue, but Liu Ce waved his hand:

"Don't be so unconvinced. The saying 'capture the leader first' sounds good, but it only works if you absolutely overwhelm the opponent in combat. Otherwise, you're just throwing your life away. If it were ten against one, and I were you, I wouldn't fight head-on... I'd turn around and run."

The laughter below stopped abruptly, and everyone was stunned, exchanging bewildered glances, wondering what the principal was up to.

"Ten people chasing one, and as they run, the group falls apart. The fast runners dart ahead, the slow runners fall behind, and there are always some who twist their ankles or are panting in the middle."

I'll find an alley to hide in, and then I'll take care of the lone survivors one by one; that way, I still have a chance to win. Standing there and fighting to the death is foolish; it's just feeding the enemy kills.

The laughter gradually subsided, and many people frowned in thought, their arrogance lessening. Some nodded thoughtfully.

"Alright, let's increase the difficulty. Now you have a thousand men, and the other side only has a hundred. Don't you think that's easy? Just charge in and crush them?"

He glanced down at the crowd, saw that most of them were nodding, and scoffed.

"Naive. Let me tell you, if you really have a thousand men in your hands, your biggest enemy is not the hundred soldiers on the other side, but the thousand mouths in your hands."

The room was quiet; everyone was staring at him.

"Let's not talk about fighting, let's just talk about managing things. I'd like you to manage a thousand pigs, and see if that's easy or not." Liu Ce counted on his fingers, as if chatting casually.

"You have to worry about when to feed them each day, how much to feed them, whether to overfeed them or underfeed them; when to clean up their manure, because a dirty pen can easily lead to swine fever; whether to move them to the shed when it's windy, whether to check for leaks when it rains; whether to break up fights between pigs, and who is responsible if a pig dies; whether to add bedding when it's cold, and whether to flush the shed when it's hot; whether to call a veterinarian if they get sick, and how much money you'll lose if one dies; and even when to breed them and when they give birth."

"With just a thousand pigs, you definitely can't manage them all by yourself; you'll need to find someone to help you. Whether that person is reliable, whether they'll slack off, or whether they'll steal the pig feed to sell—that's a whole host of other issues."

Some people below couldn't help but laugh, but quickly suppressed it. The more they thought about it, the more they realized it made sense, and laughter rose and fell.

"If pigs are this hard to manage, what about people?" Liu Ce leaned forward, his tone blunt and cutting.

"A thousand people, a thousand thoughts. Some are heartbroken and drink themselves into oblivion, refusing to get out of bed; some lost money gambling with their colleagues and are seething with anger, wanting to fight; some receive a message from home saying their mother is sick and are crying to go home; and then there are those with quick minds who instigate everyone to divide up their military pay and run away in the middle of the night."

If you can handle all these trivial matters and keep these thousand people in the camp peacefully for ten days without causing trouble, mutiny, or desertion, you are already a first-rate talent.

With this level of skill, you expect them to obey your commands, line up in neat rows, and charge in to fight to the death? Dream on.

The laughter from below completely stopped.

Many officers who had risen through the ranks pursed their lips in agreement... Managing dozens of people meant dealing with a mountain of problems every day. When the pay was paid, some complained about the amount; when the food was too hard, some cursed. How much more so with a thousand people?

If someone can truly manage a thousand people effectively, they are definitely a formidable individual, a capable person anywhere.

"So, those hundred guys over there, they're not going to fight you head-on at all," Liu Ce scoffed.

"They have fewer troops but are more mobile. They can fight when they want and run away when they want. Today they can raid one of your outposts and kill two sentries; tomorrow they can burn a batch of your supplies and leave you hungry; the day after tomorrow they can launch a few rockets into your camp in the middle of the night and keep you awake all night."

The initiative is entirely in their hands. You have a thousand men, how much will it cost to feed them and their horses every day? Every extra day you drag this out costs you money and provisions. If you run out of supplies, you'll disband without them even having to fight you.

Do you really think that having more people guarantees victory? Throughout history, most battles where the few defeated the many were won in this way; history books are full of examples of such victories.

The trainees below all lowered their heads to take notes, the pens scratching on their notebooks. No one dared to underestimate the knowledge of these "one thousand people" anymore. Even Cheng Chumo, who had just shouted "impressive," obediently took out his notebook.

Liu Ce picked up the chalk and drew a circle heavily on the blackboard: "Up to that, ten thousand people."