Phi-Fic Chapter 153 Talking about war on paper
Chapter 153 Talking about war on paper
Unlike the Imperial Guards' competition, the Hall of Diligent Governance was not open to the young masters and ladies, but it was still packed with people.
Emperor Yongxi only summoned a few retired military officers who were living in Xuandu, as well as a few generals from various prefectures and counties who, like Lu Zhen, had just returned to report on their duties. He also invited a few high-ranking civil officials to be witnesses.
However, as soon as Emperor Yongxi issued the decree to test Shen Qingxi, civil and military officials flocked to the scene. Since it was not a confidential matter, Emperor Yongxi did not want to offend the officials, so he agreed. Unexpectedly, once he gave the order, all those who were qualified to have an audience with him squeezed in.
The Hall of Diligent Governance was no match for the Grand Hall of Court Assembly. With so many people, it felt somewhat cramped, and Emperor Yongxi felt a little short of breath. He secretly regretted not ending it sooner.
"Summon—the young lady of the Shen family to an audience—" the eunuch announced loudly.
Shen Qing once again entered the hall amidst a sea of admiring gazes. Today's audience with the emperor was not a martial arts contest, so Shen Qing changed back into the flowing robes of a noblewoman, her lotus steps graceful and her demeanor appropriate.
"Your subject, Shen Qingxi, greets Your Majesty and all the officials."
Looking at the dignified and polite Shen Qing, everyone felt a strange sense of disconnect, yet they all reached the same unspoken consensus: this woman is no ordinary person!
If System 9527 knew their rich inner thoughts, he would definitely scoff. No, he's just a drama queen. He puts on his clothes and starts acting. The key is that he has a really heavy idol image to maintain!
Getting back to the main point, Emperor Yongxi raised his hand and said, "No need for formalities."
"Thank you, Your Majesty."
"Don't be nervous, you gentlemen just want to see your expertise in military strategy."
Shen Qing smiled slightly, "Do you gentlemen intend to have a theoretical discussion with me?"
"Armchair strategist?"
Oh no, since there's no Zhao in this world, there's no such thing as "armchair strategist".
"That's a fairly accurate description," Emperor Yongxi said, not dwelling on a single word. "What do you think?"
We're already here, what else can we do?
"Please enlighten me." Shen Qing bowed respectfully to the military officers in high positions with a dignified and respectful attitude.
General Xu Kai, the General Who Guards the North, stepped forward first. “I came from humble beginnings in the military and have not read many military books. My experience comes entirely from fighting in real battles. Let me tell you about a difficult situation I encountered during a march, and see if you, Third Sister, have a better solution.”
Someone chimed in, "The battlefield is ever-changing. A general who is responsible for the entire army should be able to adapt to changing circumstances. If Shen San Niangzi can't think of a solution in such a comfortable environment, she will probably be even more flustered when the time comes."
Emperor Yongxi nodded. "That makes sense. Minister Xu, please ask."
"promise."
After bowing to Emperor Yongxi, Xu Kai turned to face Shen Qing and said, "Back then, when the Di Kingdom invaded the border, I was ordered to lead an army to bypass the border and launch a surprise attack from the rear. While crossing the desert, we lost our way and were fortunate enough to capture the Di people who were migrating. May I ask, Madam Shen, how can you get the direction from the people as quickly as possible and ensure that it is not a trap?"
Xu Kai deliberately used questioning instead of interrogation to intentionally guide Shen Qing to think in the direction of reasoning and persuasion. He thought to himself with disdain, "How could a young lady understand the iron-fisted methods of the battlefield?"
After Xu Kai finished asking his question, many civil officials began to ponder how they would use their silver tongues to coax the sand people into leading the way.
Why ask them?
Just as the civil officials began to ponder, they heard Shen Qing speak up and immediately looked over. Did Shen San Niangzi not understand the situation?
Shen Qing raised her hand, took off an earring, pulled out the jade pendant, straightened the wire, then took out a silk handkerchief, wrapped the wire, rubbed it vigorously, and then took it out and used a silk thread to suspend the wire.
To everyone's astonishment, the wire pointed in one direction—north!
This method is indeed much more reliable than asking the sand people.
Xu Kai's face turned ugly, and he tried to save face, saying, "We're a group of grown men launching a surprise attack with light equipment, we don't have these girly tricks."
“The general is right,” Shen Qing put away the wire and continued, “If you don’t have one, you can find a flat place, place a stick about three feet long vertically, mark the location of the tree’s shadow, and mark the top of the stick. After a quarter of an hour, mark the new projection of the top of the stick on the ground. The line connecting the two points is the east-west direction.”
Really? Xu Kai remained silent.
At this moment, the Imperial Observatory stepped forward and said, "What Lady Shen said is correct."
After speaking, he looked at Shen Qing and was even more impressed to see that Shen Qing had a calm expression and no smugness.
Shen Qing really wasn't proud of anything; it was just basic common sense that anyone who had received nine years of compulsory education would know.
So what about the suffering of those sand people?
Xu Kai, unwilling to give up, forced himself to say, "The army had been without water for two days at that time. The morale of the army was unstable, and if they could not find a water source, a mutiny would break out. What if it were Shen San Niangzi? Would we kill her as an example to warn others or try to appease her?"
He still didn't list the correct answer in the options; of course, it was to bleed the sand people dry.
"Why not just give them water?"
The courtiers, having stopped wasting their time, asked, "Where did the water come from?"
“Following the footprints, there must be an oasis in the direction from which the sand people came.”
Xu Kai secretly breathed a sigh of relief and smiled, "The sand people migrated because the oasis's water source dried up."
"Even if the land is barren, there should still be grassland, otherwise they would have moved away long ago."
"So what if there's grass?"
The Imperial Observatory seemed to have thought of something, and then Shen Qing continued, "At night, set up metal weapons on the grass and hang them, place containers underneath, and there will be water by the next morning."
Xu Kai was puzzled, but the Imperial Observatory clapped their hands and exclaimed, "Excellent! It's just like collecting dew in a copper basin on a high platform!"
That's really good!
"Who is Third Sister's teacher?"
Shen Qing humbly replied, "There are houses of gold and grain in books."
Heh~ Anyone who's seen "The Myth" knows what I mean.
Xu Kai felt incredibly sad; he realized he had really suffered from his lack of education!