Chapter 013 Whirlpool
The feeling Han Xin gave to Liu Chang was very similar to that of Empress Lu, but there were slight differences.
Indifference, loneliness, melancholy, or rather, this is the feeling that the entire era gave Liu Chang. Except for his carefree father and his group of silly brothers, there was always a lingering sadness on the faces of other people. In the palace where there was not a single bit of green and on the gray and white buildings, one could not find any happiness at all.
The suffering brought by the war was enormous, and this suffering did not improve because of the end of the war. The whole of China was silently licking its wounds after the war, shedding tears for those who died in the suffering and those who are still suffering.
Before Liu Bang, China had experienced wars for more than 200 years. During these 200 years, the number of soldiers who died in battle alone was close to 3 million. Behind every soldier who died in battle was a broken family, crying parents, a wife who missed her husband, and a child who lost his father.
The disasters caused by the aftermath of the war claimed countless lives.
What seem to be cold numbers in later generations were once living lives at that time.
The war was over, but the rich farmland was now overgrown with weeds. The parents who sat at the door waiting for their children were gone, but the strong heads of the families had not returned.
Whether it was Han Xin or Empress Lu, their sorrows must have had nothing to do with these things, but it cannot be said that such an era had no impact on all living beings living in it.
"Master, how are you going to teach me? Are you going to take me to the barracks?"
Liu Chang sat in front of Han Xin excitedly, without any uneasiness or restraint.
This surprised Han Xin a little.
After Han Xin showed his talent, almost no one dared to be so casual with him. Liu Bang was the only one who dared to ridicule him and joke with him. A tough guy like Fan Kuai only dared to kneel down and bow to him, not even looking up at him. Xiao He, who ranked first among the meritorious officials, spoke to him cautiously and did not dare to neglect him. As for Zhou Bo, Chen Ping, Jiang Guan, Sui Lu, Cao Shen, Xia Hou Ying and the like, he did not take them seriously at all.
Han Xin glanced at him and said, "I can't go to the military camp."
"Then how do you teach?"
"To learn the art of war , it is useless to read books. You have to start from the most basic things."
"Okay, then you teach me!"
Liu Chang picked up the pen and the extremely precious paper. This was the first time in his life that he listened to a lecture so seriously. After all, this was a course that interested him. No matter who he was, every man had a military dream in his heart. Moreover, in ancient times, the temptation of leading thousands of troops to capture cities was irresistible to anyone.
"Five soldiers need 150 dan of millet per year. If you want to lead 20,000 soldiers to fight for two years, how much food do you need to prepare?"
"Um???"
Liu Chang widened his eyes. Is this military strategy or mathematics?
And it’s too easy.
"1.2 million koku."
Liu Chang gave the answer without hesitation, and Han Xin's face showed a hint of surprise. Although there were multiplication tables in this era and people who knew math could figure it out in minutes, it was still good that Liu Chang could figure it out so quickly at his age. This was obviously different from what Han Xin thought of him as an unlearned young man.
"not bad……"
“Is this the art of war?”
"This is part of the art of war. However, your answer is wrong. You need to prepare 2 million stones."
"No way, 1.2 million is right."
"Food will definitely be wasted during the march, accidents may happen, and the war may be delayed, so at any time, the food prepared must be much more than what is needed for the battle."
Liu Chang suddenly realized that this made sense, although it was still a little simple.
Next, the knowledge taught by Han Xin was the basics of the basics. There was no advanced tactics that Liu Chang thought could defeat Xiang Yu. Although it was just some basic knowledge, the lecturer was Han Xin after all. Han Xin often gave examples during the lecture, and the examples he gave were all his own personal experiences.
Liu Chang treated it as a story and was extremely fascinated by it.
"Master, how did you defeat Xiang Yu? Tell me, Xiang Yu is such a fierce man, how did you defeat him?"
During the break, Liu Chang pestered Han Xin and insisted that he tell him a story. Although Han Xin occasionally gave examples when he was teaching, he was unwilling to tell the stories in detail. He seemed unwilling to recall the past events, with an unhappy look on his face. He refused to say anything even though Liu Chang threw a tantrum.
Han Xin's personality is completely opposite to Liu Chang's, and they are incompatible. Han Xin is a serious and rigid person. Due to his long experience in leading troops, he governs people strictly and does not like fighting or making noise. Liu Chang, on the other hand, is a lively person who cannot calm down for a moment and is very noisy.
Han Xin disliked this little disciple very, very, very much. When Liu Chang was shouting everywhere with his sword in his hand, he finally couldn't bear it anymore. With a dark face, he asked the servants to drag the guy out and told him to come back tomorrow.
Liu Chang actually liked Han Xin very much. He felt that this melancholy old man had an inexplicable charm and his lectures were very interesting. He returned to the palace full of expectations.
Liu Chang had just returned to the palace and before he had time to brag to his mother about his performance that day, he was brought before Liu Bang.
Liu Bang was reviewing something attentively. Liu Chang stood on tiptoe and took a few peeks.
Only then did Liu Bang put away the bamboo slips and tilted his head to look at Liu Chang.
"Have you returned from Han Xin?"
"Um."
"How's your study going?"
"Very good, the teacher is very happy and very satisfied with me."
"Have you read the Art of War? Or did he teach you personally?"
"The teacher taught me personally."
"Did he ask about you?"
"ah?"
"Just asking how you are doing in the palace, or asking about the situation in the palace."
"No."
"Did he mention your mother, or your brothers?"
"No."
"Well, don't tell anyone what I asked you, otherwise... I will smash the spinning wheel you made."
"……knew."
Although Liu Chang was a bit naughty, he was still somewhat afraid of Liu Bang. He knew that Liu Bang always kept his word, so after meeting his mother, he did not tell her what Liu Bang had asked. However, what was confusing was that Empress Lu seemed to have suddenly become interested in what he was learning from Han Xin.
Even Empress Lü asked the exact same question.
"Did he ask about the situation in the palace?"
"Did he ask me or your eldest brother?"
The eldest brother that Empress Lü mentioned was Liu Ying. Empress Lü seemed to only admit that she had two sons. When she talked about other princes with Liu Chang, she always called them by their names. Only when she talked about Liu Ying, she would call him your eldest brother. The same was true for Liu Ying. Only when she talked about Liu Chang, she would call him your younger brother.
Of course, at the end of the conversation, Empress Lu also threatened and intimidated Liu Chang just like Liu Bang.
"If you tell anyone, I won't let you eat beef anymore."
It can only be said that his parents have grasped Liu Chang's weakness, preventing him from talking nonsense outside. Liu Chang himself probably didn't realize that he had been caught in a very terrifying political vortex. No one dared to relax, and everyone faced the same threat.
Liu Chang was still busy with his own affairs. When Liu Ying heard that Liu Chang was making a spinning wheel, he came over and encouraged Liu Chang with a smile, saying that his behavior was worthy of learning for other princes. In the early Han Dynasty when Confucianism had not yet risen or deteriorated, no one hated inventions and machines.
The Qin and Han dynasties encouraged invention and creation. In the "tyrannical Qin", if you could invent a new machine that was beneficial to the country, you could be promoted. Of course, our Han Dynasty will not copy the "tyrannical Qin". In our Han Dynasty, if you can invent something useful, you can be rewarded, and the reward is usually a promotion of your title. It can be seen that our Han Dynasty has absolutely not copied the "tyrannical Qin" in the slightest.
Therefore, in this era, inventing and creating was not considered to be unlearned, and Liu Ying also supported Liu Chang's idea.
Liu Chang was initially reluctant to tell Liu Ying about this matter, mainly because he did not want to listen to Liu Ying's lectures.
Liu Ying still gave a speech on many principles, talking about the importance of inventions and creations, filial piety, and the issue of clothing among the people. He talked about Taoism, Confucianism, and Legalism, and even mentioned Mohism.
However, Liu Chang didn't understand his long speech and just nodded stupidly.
It turns out that the eldest brother is still reliable. Although he tortured Liu Chang mentally, before leaving, he asked someone to bring back all the tools and raw materials Liu Chang needed. Liu Ying could handle everything that Liu Heng and Liu Ruyi couldn't handle.
Liu Changxi was overjoyed and kept calling him "big brother", which made Liu Ying look up happily.
