My older brother said I'm invincible.

Chapter 15 Talking about war on paper
Liu Xuan yawned and walked towards the familiar courtyard.

His mental state was really not good. He had been busy all day trying to find a decent hammer-wielding expert for that brat.

In the past, he could have produced a fake sutra in a single day, fooling all the great scholars in the land. But this time, he failed; he simply couldn't find it!
He was even a little angry with himself.

Why make trouble for yourself?
Anyway, I'm only here temporarily. When the Duke comes back, will he still be so irresponsible as to ask me to stay and teach him some hammering technique? I'll leave then!

That kid is a complete stranger to me, why bother making things difficult for myself?
"Master!"

As Liu Xuan reached the door, he saw Li Xuanba, who had dressed himself neatly, standing at the door, bowing deeply to greet him.

It seems he's been waiting for me here all along.

"I intended to wait at the gate, but there were many officials there, and I was afraid of disturbing the important business."

Li Xuanba explained and led Liu Xuan through the door, where a chair had already been prepared for him in the courtyard.

As soon as Liu Xuan sat down, Li Xuanba quickly brought him tea and invited him to try it.

Liu Xuan hesitated for a moment and remained silent.

"Master, is it that the tea is not to your liking?"

"No. It's fine."

Liu Xuan took a bite and then said, "Continue to practice the old method for a while, and then I will teach you some new things."

"only!!"

Li Xuanba put on his small wooden armor. It had only been a few days since he started training, and those few days were not enough for his body to change much. He was still very thin and weak, like an upright bamboo pole.

But his mental state has improved so much. He has a great appetite, can eat, and is full of energy in everything he does. He no longer coughs frequently, as if he has been reborn.

He seemed to have gained some confidence in the future.

Li Xuanba first ran, then threw his hammer as he was familiar with. According to Liu Xuan, he didn't need to be accurate at the moment; the farther the better.

There was a warrior in ancient times who could kill someone with a hammer from hundreds of paces away. Regardless of his accuracy, he at least had to be able to throw it at that distance.

When Li Xuanba finished his training for the day, he was exhausted, panting and covered in sweat. However, at least he could stand up today. Although his whole body ached, he was not unable to walk.

Liu Xuan frowned.

"Xuanba, you seemed a bit distracted today. Don't become arrogant and complacent just because you've made some progress. You need to be persistent and persevere in everything you do."

"Disciples are taught."

Li Xuanba quickly admitted his mistake. After thinking for a moment, he obediently stood beside Liu Xuan.

"Master, do you also understand military strategy?"

"Ha, it's just military strategy, what's there to not understand?"

Liu Xuan has this one flaw.

He immediately began to boast about his knowledge of military strategy, talking about the military strategies he had read. He had indeed read a lot of books and was well-read. He knew a little about almost every type of book, and his knowledge was quite astonishing. Otherwise, he wouldn't have been able to fabricate fake books. His fake books could even convince those famous scholars and even spark debates.

Character is hard to judge, but talent is something else entirely.

This is also the style of people from the old Northern and Southern Dynasties; the older generation was like this.

Liu Xuan talked for a long time, then asked, "What, is your Lord Zheng testing your military strategy?"

"No, yesterday I was at a banquet and a friend and we started debating military strategy. I really don't know how to answer, so I wanted to ask my master."

Liu Xuan suddenly felt confident; he had nothing to fear when going up against a little kid.

"Tell me, and I'll teach you how to answer."

Li Xuanba cleared his throat and fabricated a story: "They asked me, if my friend and I each lead an army, my army is weak and we need to go to Henan County, while the enemy is strong, there are ambushes in various places, and a cavalry force is about to arrive and will pursue and annihilate us. How should we defeat them?"

"Ok??"

Liu Xuan was somewhat surprised. Is this how kids play nowadays?
When he was a kid, he would ride bamboo horses and pretend to fight. Kids these days are already playing strategy games.

He stroked his chin, pondered for a long time, and then asked, "How many enemies are there?"

"Hmm, twenty or thirty thousand?"

"What about our army?"

"There are fewer than a hundred people."

Li Xuanba didn't want his teacher to misunderstand that he was playing a trick on him, so he didn't directly say that there were less than ten people.

Upon hearing the difference in numbers, Liu Xuan gasped. "Then what's the point of negotiating? Surrender! Next time, you take those 30,000 men, and you send your friend with 100 men."

"Master, is it possible that even you can't find a solution?"

Liu Xuan could no longer tolerate this. He frowned and said, "Bring me paper and pen!"

He refused to believe that a game played by a few little kids could stump him. Li Xuanba quickly invited him into the study, brought him paper and pen, and Liu Xuan began to draw. He drew a rather rudimentary map, with only general roads, passes, mountains, rivers, cities, and so on.

After finishing these drawings, he began to ponder, occasionally sketching and writing. Li Xuanba stood beside him without saying a word.

Liu Xuan struggled for a while, but ended up sweating profusely.

Although he had read a lot of military strategy books, reading them is one thing, and putting them into practice is another.

But in order not to lose face in front of his disciples, he had no choice but to force the issue.

"Look, break through from here, hmm, run this way."

Liu Xuan became less and less confident as he spoke, and his voice grew softer and softer.

Li Xuanba had already figured something out; even his teacher probably couldn't solve the problem. But he didn't point it out. He listened attentively to Liu Xuan's story and then thanked him after Liu Xuan finished speaking.

Liu Xuan let out a breath and wiped the sweat from his forehead.

"If you play again in the future, remember to choose the stronger side."

"only!!"

Liu Xuan left in a hurry, but Li Xuanba looked at the map in front of him with a puzzled expression.

If the teacher doesn't know, then who should we ask?

My elder brother has indeed studied military strategy, but if I were to ask him, he's in charge of the household now and has so many things to do. Would he have the time to help me with this?

It seems my second brother is also studying military strategy. Should I go find him? But is he doing well in it?

Li Xuanba hesitated for a moment, but still picked up the map and headed to the second brother's residence.

"Let me tell you, I won't tell you how to get out of the city. If you dare to leave the city, I'll break your legs!"

Li Xuanba had barely sat down when Li Shimin gave him a serious warning.

Although he himself led the way in making a mess of things, he was still quite responsible for his younger brothers.

"If you really want to go out, wait until I'm done with my work before I take you out. Without me, neither of you are allowed to take any risks!"

"Second Brother, I didn't come to see you today about leaving the city. I just wanted to play a game with you."

"The art of war."

The second brother was about to refuse, but when he heard the words "military strategy," he narrowed his eyes and laughed.

"You want to play the art of war with me??"

Li Shimin sat up straight, revealing a half-smile.

How do you want to play?

Li Xuanba immediately spread out the map, saying, "Your 30,000 men have surrounded me, while my 100 men will break through the encirclement and head to Henan."

Li Shimin glanced down at the map and immediately flew into a rage.

What is this drawing?

"A map?"

"Tear it up! Throw it away!"

Li Shimin cursed under his breath as he took out clean paper and pen from the side and began to draw as he cursed. Li Xuanba saw that he drew very quickly, and in a short time, cities, roads, mountains, rivers, passes, paths, and supplies gradually took shape under his pen.

It didn't take long at all; just a short while later, a complete map appeared before Li Xuanba.

Li Xuanba was greatly surprised.

"Brother?!"

"You rarely go out, so how come you're so familiar with your surroundings? How did you draw such a detailed picture?"

Li Shimin narrowed his eyes and looked at him for a moment. "You've only spent one day with Yuanji, how did you become so stupid? Have you forgotten what your grandfather does?"

"This"

"Your grandfather's study is filled with all sorts of maps, you've never even looked at them?"

"I"

"Fine, come on, let's play! I'll let you go first, my army won't move, you can go wherever you want!"

Li Shimin waved his hand, and Li Xuanba pursed his lips, beginning to follow his teacher's solution, "I'll first take the shortcut past Zhou Mountain."

Li Shimin nodded. "Hmm, you've made excellent progress. You've reached the official road in no time. Once you're out of the mountain pass, there are flat roads on three sides, with checkpoints in front and behind. Why don't you just surrender?"

"Fine, fine, I won't bully you. Come on, you lead the army, and I'll lead these hundred men!"

(End of this chapter)