The revival of the Han Dynasty must start with Dong Zhuo

Chapter 34: Swords are far superior to morality (seeking follow-up reading)
Liu Xie was speechless for a moment, feeling like he was caught by the teacher for not doing his homework.

"that……"

Unable to guess the source, Liu Xie could only answer Dong Zhuo's question according to his own understanding.

"In ancient times, the Xiongnu were weak. The State of Zhao alone could keep them out of the Yin Mountains, and General Li Mu alone could keep them from going south to herd horses or bend their bows to complain. This was all thanks to the exquisite skills of the Chinese, such as the powerful crossbows of Han and the precious swords of Chu, which were far superior to those of the Hu people, so they were able to drive out the Hu people."

"After the fall of the Qin Dynasty, the Xiongnu obtained the craftsmen and workshops left behind by the Qin people in Yinshan and Hetao, and improved their skills. They were able to compete with the other states, and even besieged Emperor Gaozu on Mount Baideng and later burned down the Ganquan Palace!"

"Fortunately, during the reigns of Emperor Wen and Emperor Jing, the country was in great order, the skills of the Han craftsmen improved, and more ironware, money and grain were produced, which supported the several northern expeditions during the reign of Emperor Wu, thus breaking the backbone of the great enemy, the Xiongnu."

"So this is the disadvantage of the weapon, and the enemy is given the pawn."

As for the later examples of generals not knowing their talents and kings not choosing their generals, there are many of them, and Liu Xie also gave examples to illustrate them one by one.

After this question was completely answered, a response came from inside the palace.

"good!"

Obviously, compared with the second question, Liu Xie's answer to the third question undoubtedly made Dong Zhuo more satisfied.

Dong Zhuo also walked out of the palace at this moment and saluted Liu Xie: "Your Majesty, I wish you a happy and healthy life!"

"I'm safe."

Although they are master and apprentice, they are also monarch and subject.

Just as Liu Xie behaved like a student when Dong Zhuo was teaching him and answering his questions just now, now that they were a king and his subject, Dong Zhuo naturally behaved like a subject.

"Grandmaster, where did you find such a tricky question? Why haven't I seen it in any military book?"

Liu Xie did not like classics, but preferred military books.

Liu Xie only skimmed through the Analects and the Spring and Autumn Annals, only knowing the general idea. But when it came to military books, Liu Xie read them word for word, without missing a single word.

Liu Xie has read "The Art of War", "Wu Zi", "Sun Bin's Art of War", "Sima Fa", "Six Secret Teachings", and "Wei Liaozi" in recent days, but he has never heard Dong Zhuo's words.

Dong Zhuo also explained Liu Xie's doubts at this moment: "What I said just now was not from a military book, but from the Memorial on Military Affairs submitted by Chao Cuo of the Han Dynasty to Emperor Jing."

Chao Cuo?

The think tank of Emperor Jing who proposed to reduce the power of the princes but was eventually beheaded?
But Liu Xie had only heard of his wisdom and strategies, but had never heard of any achievements he had made in military affairs!
Dong Zhuo also saw Liu Xie's doubts and said: "Your Majesty, not everyone who leads a general is necessarily a military expert."

"Similarly, those who don't lead troops don't necessarily know nothing about military affairs!"

Liu Xie strongly agreed with this point.

Han Xin, and Zhuge Liang, who was the same age as Liu Xie, were all fierce men who defeated famous generals of the time as soon as they came out of the mountains...

They had no chance to come into contact with military affairs in the first half of their lives, but that did not prevent them from having a very deep understanding of the military.

"Grand Master, do you mean that Chao Cuo is also a man who knows military affairs?"

"Yes. Just from this "Memorial on Military Affairs", we can see that Chao Cuo is not just a pedantic scholar, but a real expert on military affairs!"

After talking about Chao Cuo, Dong Zhuo, the strict teacher, began to point out Liu Xie's mistakes.

"Your Majesty, what I am asking is about military affairs! Why does Your Majesty have to respond to every word from the military books?"

"Fighting on the battlefield is not like studying, with a beginning, a middle, and an end. How can we just follow the book?" "I asked your Majesty the first question, and there is nothing wrong with your Majesty's answer based on Sun Wu's words."

"But if I were to answer the second question with Sun Bin's words, I'm afraid there would be a lot of mistakes!"

Liu Xie then realized that Dong Zhuo didn’t dislike his answer because it was not standard, but because it was too standard!

Fighting a war is not like a fill-in-the-blank question with fixed answers.

Being able to adapt to changing circumstances is the most valuable quality of a good general and a famous coach!
Liu Xie knew that he had indeed made a mistake, and he did not refuse to be stubborn because of his status as emperor. Instead, he admitted his mistake to Dong Zhuo.

When Dong Zhuo saw that Liu Xie understood his painstaking efforts, he nodded with satisfaction.

"Your Majesty has answered my first question very well. We should remain unchanged in the face of ever-changing situations. We should first put ourselves in an invincible position, and then look for opportunities to achieve victory."

"But why did Your Majesty get confused when it came to the second question and just evade the question by referring to the words of the saint?"

"The place where Sun Bin fought was only the heartland of the Central Plains, the westernmost part was not more than Guanzhong, and the southernmost part was not more than Lianghuai. How can it be compared with the current thousands-mile raids?"

"Now if the two armies are evenly matched, we must not rush to attack and test. Instead, we must first ensure the supply of food and baggage, and then use light cavalry to attack the opposite side's food route, and slowly consume the enemy. As the saying goes, "So a wise general will try to get food from the enemy. One catty of enemy food is equivalent to twenty catties of ours; one stone of enemy straw is equivalent to twenty stones of ours"! In this way... we can naturally be invincible!"

Liu Xie just said that he should first make himself invincible, and then he thought about attacking first and seeking victory... This is indeed a bit contradictory.

That is why Dong Zhuo said that fighting a war cannot be done by following a script.

Even if these words were said by a saint, they still cannot be followed!
If you follow the words of the saints in your life, at most you will die and your whole family will cry.

But if we follow the advice of the saints in fighting wars, it will mean hundreds of lives and thousands of families!
Dong Zhuo continued to teach Liu Xie everything he knew, telling him all his military experience.

“It is essential to read military books, but in the final analysis, studying the art of war is only to make yourself more knowledgeable about military affairs.”

“If you know military affairs, you don’t need military books. If you don’t know military affairs, you don’t need military books.”

"Those who know military affairs can know the outcome of a war by examining five things."

"One is Tao, two is Heaven, three is Earth, four is General, and five is Law!"

"If you know these five things, you can be considered a person who truly understands military affairs!"

After receiving Dong Zhuo's guidance, Liu Xie felt that he had gained a lot.

But he still laughed at himself and said, "I am still a person who doesn't know how to fight."

When Dong Zhuo heard Liu Xie's words, his face looked strange.

"Actually... Your Majesty, there is no need to be so self-deprecating."

"Although I didn't answer the first and second questions well, this third question is refreshing to me."

"Your Majesty's insight is beyond the reach of ordinary people!"

"That 'Memorial on Military Affairs' has been circulated for three hundred years, but no one has been able to interpret it like Your Majesty has. It is truly novel!"

The Xiongnu were strong simply because the Qin people were strong. But later the Xiongnu stole the Qin people's food and ate them until they became fat, so they could compete with the Han people...

To the military general Dong Zhuo, this explanation was much more pleasing to the ear than "The Han people are virtuous, while the Huns are not."

If virtue can make one invincible, then why do we need these generals to guard the Han border? Can't we just throw those famous scholars over there?
When it comes to defending one's country, swords are infinitely more powerful than moral education!
(End of this chapter)