My father-in-law Guan Yu, I persuaded Liu Bei to launch a surprise attack on Xiangyang at the beginn

"This child...has some ideas?"

Xiao He's eyes lit up as he looked at the child in front of him again, a hint of surprise in his eyes.

Throughout Chinese history, there have been many people who could be called child prodigies.

For example, Cao Chong, who is already dead, and Xie Jin, who came after him.

However, the talents displayed by these child prodigies are mostly in poetry and literature, such as being able to compose poems at the age of eight.

Liu Yu's talent was completely different from that of other child prodigies.

This child actually asked such a bizarre question as why apples don't fall from the sky.

If this question were posed to someone else, they would naturally burst into laughter and reply:
Silly child, apples don't have wings, how could they fall from the sky?
Xiao He didn't laugh; a thought instantly flashed through his mind:
This child has great potential.

The "strange theories" in mathematics, physics, chemistry, and other subjects that I had kept hidden in my belly finally have a successor and can be passed on.

"Pfft~~"

Guan Yinping, who was standing next to him, couldn't help but laugh out loud.

Liu Yu looked at Guan Yinping blankly and asked:

"Sister Yinping, what are you laughing at? Do you also know why apples don't fall from the sky?"

Guan Yinping stepped forward and patted Liu Yu on the head, laughing:
"Silly boy, don't ask such silly questions again, or outsiders will think that you, the fourth son of the King of Chu, are a fool."

Liu Yu scratched the back of his head, his face blank.

"Madam, you are mistaken. How could the Fourth Young Master be a fool? In my opinion, he is a rare genius, unparalleled throughout history!"

Xiao He, however, seriously refuted Guan Yinping's statement.

This time, it was Guan Yinping's turn to look bewildered.

"Fourth Young Master, that's an excellent question."

Xiao He picked up the apple from the ground, pointed to the ground beneath his feet, and said:

"The reason why the apple falls to the ground instead of the sky is because the earth beneath our feet has a gravitational pull on us, which can also be called gravity."

"It was this gravity that pulled us to the ground and also dragged the apple down to the ground."

Liu Yu's eyes lit up, as if a window to a new world had been opened, and he hurriedly asked:

"Teacher, what is... what is gravity? And what is weight... what is gravity?"

"My feet weren't tied with any ropes, so how did I get pulled towards the ground?"

Xiao hooked his arm around Liu Yu's shoulder, pulled him towards the main hall, and handed him several "textbooks" he had compiled.

"Fourth Prince, this matter of gravity is a long story, and I cannot explain it to you in a short time."

"If you want to know why, then we need to start from the beginning, beginning with the most basic mathematics."

"You need to understand first why one plus one equals two..."

Xiao He completely switched into the role of a teacher, focusing solely on imparting knowledge and answering questions for this student, while leaving his own wife standing alone in the yard.

"Gravity, gravity, mathematics..."

"What kind of nonsense is my husband talking about? I've never heard him say anything like that before?"

Guan Yinping stared at Xiao He's retreating figure, muttering to herself, her bright almond-shaped eyes filled with confusion and bewilderment...

Ten days later, the autumn harvest ended.

The harvest situation of crops in various places was reported to Ye City one after another.

This year's weather was not as favorable as last year's. Yuzhou, Jingzhou, Huainan and other places suffered from drought and flood disasters to varying degrees, and the harvest was less than last year.

Fortunately, Jizhou has had favorable weather this year, resulting in a bumper harvest.

Moreover, the timing of the Chu army's attack on Ye City and the capture of Ji Province was perfect, just before the autumn harvest when they seized the counties of Ji Province.

Cao Cao fled north in haste, and did not have time to order the destruction of wheat fields in various counties and kingdoms of Ji Province, thus failing to implement the policy of scorched earth.

As a result, all the grain and fodder in Ji Province fell into the hands of the State of Chu, and the harvest was successfully completed, making up for the reduced grain production in the southern provinces such as Yu and Jing.

With ample provisions, there was no logistical worry for the Northern Expedition.

After several months of rest, the hundreds of thousands of soldiers have recovered their strength and morale.

Liu Bei then summoned his ministers and devised a plan to launch a northern expedition to seize Youzhou.

Imperial edicts were issued to the Yingyang Prefectures of various states, and the troops of the prefectures and counties began to assemble again in Ye City.

Based on the advice of his strategists, including Xiao He, Liu Bei devised a three-pronged strategy to attack Wei.

On the western front.

After General Guan Yu took control of the three prefectures of Yu, Jing and Si, he led an army of 100,000 men and marched from the direction of Luoyang and Wancheng to attack Tongguan and Wuguan, launching an offensive against the puppet Wei regime in Yong and Liang.

General Zhang Fei, leading 50,000 troops, launched an offensive against the puppet Wei forces in Bingzhou, attacking Jingxing and Huguan to the west.

These two armies are detachments, intended only to contain the forces of the puppet Wei regime and the three prefectures of Yong and Liang, preventing them from providing eastward reinforcements to Youzhou.

Liu Bei personally led 300,000 troops northward from Ye City, heading straight for Yijing.

Regarding those who remain behind.

Prime Minister Zhuge Liang was transferred from Xuchang to Yecheng to assist the second son Liu Yong in overseeing the state, handling important military and national affairs of Chu, and supervising the allocation of grain and military supplies.

Xu Shu and Lu Su succeeded Zhuge Liang, assisting his third son Liu Li in staying in Xuchang to handle various affairs of the Han court.

Pang Tong and Fa Zheng followed Guan Yu and Zhang Fei, serving as their chief strategists and devising plans.

Grand Commandant Xiao He, along with Ma Su and other strategists, followed Liu Bei, leading the main force of the army north to seize Youzhou.

When the imperial edict was issued, the various states of the Great Chu were once again in an uproar.

Hundreds of thousands of soldiers, equipped with their own weapons and armor, were dispatched from the Yingyang Prefectures of various states to Ye City and Luoyang to assemble.

Countless provisions and military supplies were continuously sent from various states to designated locations. It was late autumn of that year.

Liu Bei built a platform south of Ye City to offer sacrifices to Heaven and swear an oath to his army, announcing Cao Cao's ten major crimes and declaring his determination to attack Wei.

An imperial edict was issued, and a total of about 450,000 Chu troops were divided into three routes and marched towards Wei territory.

It's dusk.

Inside the main hall of the palace, Liu Bei, dressed in military attire, was giving his sons a final pep talk before his departure.

Liu Bei had to give his two sons, Liu Yong and Liu Li, many instructions, telling them to listen to the advice of Zhuge Liang, Xu Shu, and others, and to be humble in accepting criticism.

Liu Bei was very satisfied with his two sons' handling of the situation.

"Yu'er, I've heard that Bowen has been frequently teaching you these past few days. Tell your father what Bowen has been teaching you?"

Liu Bei turned his gaze to his fourth son, Liu Yu.

A five- or six-year-old child doesn't have to shoulder any important national responsibilities, so naturally, the only concern they can have is their studies.

"Reporting to Father, recently Teacher Bowen has been teaching me mathematics. I have mastered mental arithmetic of addition and subtraction within 100. Teacher Bowen even praised me for having a great talent for mathematics."

Liu Yu bowed slightly and answered in a serious tone.

Liu Bei was taken aback.

Mathematics, addition and subtraction within 100, mental arithmetic...

What kind of teaching is this?

"Yu'er, didn't Bowen teach you classics, history, poetry, or prose?"

Liu Bei suppressed his curiosity and continued to ask.

"No."

Liu Yu shook his head and replied:
"Master Bowen said that he is not very good at the classics and history, and that I should find another good teacher."

"As for poetry and prose, the teacher said it's okay to learn them later, and there's no need to spend too much energy and time on them; it's not worth it."

Liu Bei's eyes widened in surprise.

Today, Confucianism is flourishing, with the study of the classics being the most popular. All high-ranking officials, nobles, and powerful families are devoted to studying the classics.

As for history books, poems, and the like, they are also essential reading and study.

Xiao He is such a teacher. He doesn't teach classics or poetry. He starts by teaching math and mental arithmetic.
Such a teacher is unheard of throughout history.

"Yu'er, besides what you mentioned about addition and subtraction within 100, what else did Bowen teach you?"

After regaining his composure, Liu Bei asked again.

After thinking for a moment, Liu Yu continued:

"Master Bowen also taught me that the reason we didn't fly into the sky is because the earth beneath our feet has gravity, which can pull us to the ground."

"Master Bowen also said that the earth beneath our feet is actually a sphere, it is round. If we keep walking eastward, we will eventually go around in a circle and return to the starting point from the west."

"Master Bowen also said..."

Liu Bei's eyes grew increasingly confused, while his head seemed to grow larger and larger, as if his mind had been filled with a lump of paste.

The more Liu Yu talked, the thicker the mess in his head became.

"That's about it. Teacher Bowen said that these all belong to physics. I just need to understand them for now. He will teach me when I am a few years older."

After Liu Yu finished his report, he looked up and saw that his father had his eyes closed, his brows furrowed, and his hands pressed against his forehead, looking like he had a headache.

"Is Father unwell?"

Liu Yu became worried.

Liu Bei breathed a sigh of relief and quickly smiled:
"I'm fine. I just didn't sleep well last night and am a little tired."

Liu Yu said "Oh," and then felt relieved.

Madam Mi, standing to the side, frowned slightly, her eyes filled with confusion, and said:

"Your Majesty, what strange and wonderful things has Grand Commandant Xiao taught Yu'er? I can't understand a single word of it!"

Liu Bei composed himself, and after a while, the confusion on his face gradually turned into surprise.

“Bowen studied under a hermit, so his learning was naturally different from that of ordinary people. I don’t think that what Bowen taught Yu’er was mostly hermit teachings, so it’s understandable that we don’t understand it.”

Liu Bei came up with this explanation in his own mind.

Upon hearing this, Madam Mi immediately beamed with joy.

By teaching his son the "Taoist arts of the secluded world," Xiao He was truly imparting genuine knowledge and genuinely valuing Liu Yu as his disciple.

Liu Bei's confusion turned to joy, and he patted Liu Yu on the shoulder:
"It doesn't matter if I don't understand what you're saying, as long as you can understand and learn it, Yu'er."

"How about this, Yu'er, you will accompany me on this northern expedition. That way, you can learn from Bo Wen at all times and try to master all of his skills!"

Liu Yu, who was eager to learn, was naturally delighted and immediately accepted the order.

Liu Bei pulled Liu Yu aside and laughed heartily:

"Let's go, follow your father on the Northern Expedition!"

"To paraphrase your teacher Bowen, we're like father and son working together to defeat the traitor Cao Cao, and incidentally, we'll learn some otherworldly immortal arts from your teacher Bowen. That's what you call learning by doing."

Although Liu Yu didn't quite understand what it meant, seeing his father's joy, he smiled and said:

"Father, rest assured, your son will definitely follow you to defeat the traitor Cao, learn from Master Bowen, and live up to your expectations!"

Liu Bei nodded in satisfaction, patted Liu Yu hard on the shoulder, and then, laughing heartily, pulled his son out of the palace.

It was late autumn of that year.

King Liu Bei of Chu, along with his fourth son Liu Yu, led an army of 300,000 north out of Ye City, marching in a grand procession towards Yijing. (End of Chapter)