Sixteen, Drawing Sword on Paper

  Yu Yixuan's mood was somewhat complicated, although he had no intention of participating in the imperial examination, his desire for fame and fortune had not dissipated, especially his desire to make friends with famous scholars.

  Even if Yu Guozhen killed the water thief, he still looked down on Yu Guozhen because no matter how powerful Yu Guozhen was, he was just a white body, and couldn't compare to his own status as a holder of a jinshi degree.

  But now, he has to look up to Yu Guozhen with admiration, and can even be said to admire him deeply. Fang Yizhi is a figure of great talent, the Fang family of Tongcheng being the leader of literature in the world, while Fang Yizhi is the most outstanding among the younger generation, his reputation far surpassing that of this rural juren by who knows how many times!

  How could his own nephew be friends with such a person?

  Yu Yixuan had also wanted to visit Tongcheng, and among his friends and teachers, there were quite a few who had studied with the Fang family before. However, the door of the Fang family in Tongcheng was not so easy to enter, and Yu Yixuan often asked himself if he was qualified enough in terms of reputation or learning.

  But now, the most outstanding among the younger generation of Fang family has come to Xiang'an, and has come to their Yu family!

  "Uncle Wu, this is Fang Mi's brother Fang Ge, and this is our clan uncle Yi Xuan Gong."

  Yu Guozhen and Fang Yizhi came out, introduced the two to each other, Yu Yixuan didn't dare put on airs in front of Fang Yizhi, rushed to pay respects before Fang Yizhi: "Student's benefactor Subo Gong had studied under Wenhao Gong, a great name, student has long heard of it..."

  "Wen Xiao" is the private posthumous name given by the family to Fang Daizhen, Fang Yizhi's grandfather. Yu Yixuan called him that way, also to show that he had a long history with the Fang family. He spoke very politely, but with a hint of rural scholar's sourness, which didn't quite suit Fang Yizhi's taste. Fang Yizhi was known as "Longmian Kuangsheng" and always looked down on those who only knew how to read dead books, so he just nodded and exchanged pleasantries for Yu Guozhen's sake.

  After the three sat down, Yu Yixuan was the oldest and also Yu Guozhen's senior. Therefore, Fang Zhi politely discussed two sentences of scripture with him, but before Yu Yixuan could think about how to answer, he began to enthusiastically ask Yu Guozhen questions about natural sciences again.

  Yu Yixuan listened to the two discussing the issue, and the more he heard, the more surprised he became. Fang Yizhi was known for his extensive knowledge, but his own nephew had become so knowledgeable about various subjects when did this happen?

  From the seven colors of light to the imaging of small holes, and then to the theory of a round earth, Yu Yixuan didn't quite understand most of what they were talking about. But judging from their question-and-answer session, it seemed that Fang Yizhi was actually seeking advice from his own nephew.

  Yu Yixuan slowly opened his mouth, looking at his nephew's expression, from surprise, to doubt, and then numbness...

  It's really numb, Yu Guozhen's recent actions have been surprising him one after another. He can still pretend to be calm in front of his second brother Yu Yiqin, but now he is completely unable to calm down.

  Yu Guozhen and Fang Yizhi discussed encyclopedic knowledge for a whole day, and Yu Guozhen also spent a lot of effort to satisfy the curious Fang Yizhi. In the afternoon, when Fang Yizhi proposed to take his leave, Yu Guozhen shook his head: "Brother Mi, I have some questions that I still want to discuss with Brother Mi, why are you leaving? Is it because my hospitality is not good enough?"

  "Nowhere, nowhere, do you have any other questions? Today is all about you enlightening me." Fang Yizhi smiled and said: "Let Guo Zhenxian younger brother think that the problem is troublesome, it's interesting to come, please ask Guo Zhenxian younger brother to say something."

  "As for the matter of categorization, my brother mentioned in his letter that he is writing a book called 'Physical Knowledge', I think that calling physics as general knowledge seems to be not quite accurate, and there are still places where it can be further divided. For example, agricultural techniques can be called agriculture, alchemy can be called chemistry..."

  For Fang Yizhi, categorizing subjects could be a very interesting thing. Previously, when writing "Physics Xiao Shi", he listed some natural common sense that he observed or learned, which was roughly categorized. Now, after listening to Yu Guozhen's fine division, he felt enlightened and couldn't help but applaud, and also put forward his own views on how to categorize. This continued until after dinner, when he saw that the sky was no longer suitable for walking, so he had to stay overnight in Xiang'an Town.

  On the second day at dawn, Fang Yizhi woke up. After washing and dressing, he rode the horse prepared by Yu's family for him, slowly heading towards Yu Guozhen's residence.

  Out of the town, the originally muddy road was still passable because it had been dragged with gravel and coarse sand. Along the way, you could see farmers who got up early to work in the fields. In the distance, a majestic slogan sounded, and Fang Yizhi's heart moved. This should be Yu Guozhen drilling his household troops.

  He idolized Wang Shouren, so he also liked military strategy. Occasionally, he would dance with swords and guns with the strong men in his family, claiming to be both literary and martial. When Yu Guozhen led fewer than twenty young men to kill more pirates than himself, Fang was not only admiring but also had some doubts.

  Then he saw a team of young men running in step, wearing uniforms, the leather-soled boots on their feet trampling on the coarse sand, making a loud noise with a strong sense of rhythm. Most of the time, they were silent, looking straight ahead, only shouting slogans after the leading boy gave the command.

  There were only eighteen people, but when they shouted slogans, it seemed like hundreds or thousands of people with momentum. Moreover, these faces also had some young and tender boys, their eyes were confident and firm, which was not seen by Fang Yizhi in his own family members' eyes.

  In fact, if he had come before the day before yesterday, the eyes of these young men would not have been like this, but the battle with the water thief the day before yesterday made these young men see blood at the same time, and also made them confident in their own abilities.

  Fang Yizhi stopped his horse and watched as the young men ran past him, running all the way to the town entrance before turning back and running towards him again. Fang Yizhi estimated that this round trip was over seven miles long.

  When they arrived at the front of the courtyard, Fang Yizhi did not rush in, but instead waited at the gate. Before long, the young men ran back, although they were sweating and panting, not one of them had fallen behind, and their formation was still intact!

  Fang Yizhi's eyes lit up, the soldiers of Weizuo are not comparable to those he has seen before. He had also seen some elite personal bodyguards of high-ranking officials, who were known for their bravery and martial prowess, but in terms of discipline and training, they were no better than these young men!

  "Brother Mi arrived very early." As they entered the courtyard, Yu Guozhen was topless, scrubbing his body with water, his chest reddened from the rubbing. Seeing the solid muscles on his body, Fang Yizhi felt a bit ashamed and looked down at himself - a man in his twenties couldn't even compare to this fifteen- or sixteen-year-old boy's physique!

  "Guo Zhen, my younger brother, if you go to the border town, our great Ming dynasty will surely add another general!"

  "Brother Mi was wrong."

  "It's not flattery, I've seen elite imperial guards and they're nothing more than this. Perhaps the Genghis Khan's iron cavalry might be stronger than these household troops..."

  "Guanning Iron Cavalry?" Yu Guozhen sneered upon hearing the words: "Mi brother, don't even mention those repeatedly defeated arrogant soldiers and generals."

  "Does my younger brother have any disdain?"

  "The court spends so much silver every year, even if it's wasted, it would be enough to bury the Tartars alive. As for the so-called 'iron cavalry of Gengjing', after spending decades, what achievements have been made besides wasting silver? Year after year, we hear about losing battles and repeatedly suffering casualties... Forget it, forget it. Brother Mi also likes military affairs?"

  "That's natural, I admire Mr. Yangming the most."

  Yu Guozhen took the opportunity to start discussing military systems with Fang Yizhi. When they were halfway through, Yu Yixuan came to join them again. This time he managed to interject a couple of sentences, but when he realized that his own insights were only superficial compared to Yu Guozhen's military concepts, he wisely chose to remain silent.

  In later military history forums, various thoughts on ancient battles were discussed. Many of these discussions would be considered earth-shattering in this world. Yu Guozhen was also skilled at public speaking, and a day passed quickly as he spoke incessantly.

  "Guo Zhen, my younger brother, I was wrong this morning. The famous general of the border is not as good as you... It's really that I underestimated you too much. What you said today, from selecting soldiers and training them, to selecting generals and using them, to military formations and equipment, everything is involved. Even if Sun Tzu were reborn or Zhuge Liang were revived, it would be nothing more than this!"

  "I'm just talking on paper, I don't deserve the praise of being a brother to Mi Zhen... Speaking of talking on paper, actually I have different views on the Battle of Changping in private..."

  "Oh, please instruct me, Brother Gu Zhen."

  "I think that war has already begun before the armies clash, what Sun Tzu called 'temple calculations', I call it strategy..."

  "Strategy, I know that in the Tang Dynasty, Gao Shi wrote a poem saying 'At that time there was no strategy, this land is for border defense'. Brother Guo Zhen is also very familiar with poetry."

  Yu Guozhen's face slightly flushed, he thought that the word "strategy" was first proposed by him. Fang Yizhi was indeed a learned and talented person, as soon as he opened his mouth, he found the origin of this word. He didn't dwell on it, continuing to say: "At that time, in terms of strategic situation, Zhao Guo needed a quick battle more urgently, while Qin Guo was not in a hurry, so Zhao Kuo went out of Changping, although there was his arrogant and reckless side, but also had no choice."

  "Oh, why does Guo Zhenxian say this?"

  During the Battle of Changping, Qin had already undergone Shang Yang's reforms and annexed Ba-Shu, built the Zhengguo Canal, making it the number one grain producer in the world. Its military strength was unmatched at that time. On the other hand, Zhao's territory was small with a large population, having fewer plains and more mountainous regions, its grain production could not compare to Qin's. Lian Po had been defending Changping for three years, dragging Zhao's national strength to exhaustion, unable to delay any further. According to "Strategies of the Warring States", Zhao sought grains from Qi but was refused support, while Qin's treasury was also empty, yet still better off than Zhao's. Therefore, it was more urgent for Zhao to have a quick battle compared to Qin. King Zhao replaced Lian Po with Zhao Kuo, not just because of Qin's counter-espionage plot, but also because Zhao's national strength could no longer support Lian Po's cautious tactics!

  This view was something Fang Yizhi had never heard of before. After some thought, he suddenly slapped the table and scared Yu Yixuan to jump: "That's right!"

  "After Zhao Kuo took over from Lian Po, he naturally knew the intention of his lord, so he underestimated the enemy and advanced recklessly, leading to the defeat at Changping. Therefore, the root cause of the failure at Changping was not that Zhao Kuo was armchair strategizing, but rather that he had no choice but to underestimate the enemy and advance recklessly. So, the blame does not lie with Zhao Kuo, but with King Zhao! It's laughable that later generations often ridiculed Zhao Kuo for armchair strategizing, yet few people ridiculed King Zhao; at most, they would explain it away by saying that King Zhao was poor at selecting officials. Zhao Kuo is dead and gone, yet he still has to bear the blame on behalf of King Zhao!"

  Yu Guozhen gazed deeply at Fang Yizhi, who was startled and put down the hand that had been ready to slam the table again.

  What he said was about the Changping War, but what he clearly referred to was an affair of our own dynasty!