The Duke of Shu Han began guarding Jingzhou in place of Guan Yu.

Chapter 120 Times have changed
Just as Mi Wei saw Ma Chao frown, he heard Liu Bei's laughter:

"Reading the Six Secret Teachings is good! I heard from Zhuge Liang that he has recently been writing commentaries on the classics of various philosophers for the purpose of Zen Buddhism, and this is exactly the book he has written!"

After saying this, Liu Bei noticed that Ma Chao's expression was strange.

The latter, the instant he looked over, clapped his hands and exclaimed:

"It's really good!"

"I only regret that I was so engrossed in sensual pleasures in my youth that I did not study earlier!"

Then he reminisced about his youth, rambling on and on.

However, Mi Wei had been watching him from beginning to end, so how could he not know that he was deliberately hiding it?
But given the other party's reaction, they must have something to be wary of.

So I'll leave it at that for now and ask you about it privately later.

……

In Jianwei Wuyang, the river flows gently.

Song Yuan returned south downstream and immediately went to the prefectural government to pay his respects to Prefect Li Yan and report on his experiences.

Upon learning that he and Li Hui were to be assigned to oversee the southern regions, Li Yan's face remained ashen, showing neither sorrow nor joy.

However, upon hearing Mi Wei's theory of "two sides of the same coin," he showed a different expression:

"Mi Anhan's eldest son has made such progress? Is he not just a name without substance?"

Song Yuandao:
"When I left the capital, I heard that Mi Fengche was going to accompany the emperor on his northern tour. I suppose that in the eyes of the king, he is no ordinary man."

Li Yan nodded slightly, then suddenly said:
"Liao Gongyuan (Liao Li) was not accompanied by anyone?"

Song Yuan: "I have never heard of it."

Li Yan sneered:
"Liao Gongyuan must be having a hard time sleeping and eating now that he's in charge of the Imperial Secretariat."

Song Yuan smiled and said:
"Back when he was the governor of Changsha, he abandoned the prefecture and fled when Lü Meng's army arrived. Afterwards, Your Majesty did not blame him for his mistake and continued to entrust him with a post in the region. He should have been restless and reflected on himself three times a day since then... Why did he only realize this today?"

Li Yan said disdainfully:
"This person is resourceful but lacks courage, and he thinks too highly of himself. He will be used if he is useful, and ignored if he is not."

"But that Master Mi is good... We should be more careful in the future."

Song Yuan nodded in agreement.

He then asked curiously, "When I entered the city, I saw that the county was preparing for war, but I don't know what happened. Could it be that bandits are causing trouble?"

Li Yan beckoned him forward and asked in a low voice:
"Do you know why His Majesty appointed Mi Shishan as his attendant instead of Liao Gongyuan?"

Song Yuan shook his head.

Li Yan: "Because the Mi family father and son are truly skilled at being officials, while Liao Gongyuan is not!"

Song Yuan's eyes flickered, and he had already realized something.

But he still played the straight man:

"May I ask, Your Excellency, what truly constitutes being a good official?"

Li Yan narrowed his eyes slightly and said:

"To achieve merit in a place where the king can see it is true skill. Otherwise, one is merely a self-proclaimed arrogance."

"Just now, Your Majesty is about to ascend the throne, and all eyes are on you."

"If we cannot seize this opportunity to make a name for ourselves before the emperor, how can we expect to be ennobled and appointed as generals in the future, and attain a high rank?"

"Are we really going to compete with generals like Guan Yu, Zhang Fei, Ma Chao, and Wei Qing to see who lives the longest?"

Upon hearing this blatant statement, Song Yuan knew he had guessed correctly.

However, there are some concerns:
"Although His Majesty has entrusted the military affairs of Yuexi to the Prefect, Zhang Yi, the Han Jia official, is still a man under Li Zuodu's control, and has recently been in contact with the Mao Niu Yi King."

"Should the Prefect inform Li Zuodu before he raises troops to attack Gao Ding?"

Li Yan said unhappily, "Haven't you heard that speed is of the essence in war?"

"We should take advantage of the fact that the Maoniu barbarians are wavering and complacent, and strike when they are unprepared!"

"As long as we succeed, what can Li De'ang do even if he's dissatisfied?"

Song Yuan: "What about Zhang Yi?"

"A mere official of a hundred shi (a unit of grain), nothing to worry about!"

……

Several days later, Liu Bei returned to Chengdu by carriage.

Upon returning home, Mi Wei immediately prepared gifts and went to visit Ma Chao.

When they arrived, Ma Chao was just about to go out of the city to ride a horse and go hunting, so they invited each other to go together.

The two rode their horses for half a day in the suburbs and arrived near the border of Guangdu and Jiangyuan counties.

The fields are wide open, crisscrossed by paths. Nearby, newly sown spring rice seedlings are vibrant and fresh.

In the distance, several rivers converge southward, flowing ceaselessly.

Mi Wei vaguely remembered that this area was near Shuangliu Airport in later years, so he couldn't help but stop and look around.

Suddenly, Ma Chao's sigh reached my ears:
"The scenery here is reminiscent of Chang'an, which is surrounded by eight rivers and is a land of abundance!"

Miwei, recalling the purpose of his trip, said:

“In the past, Your Majesty took Yizhou with more than 30,000 troops. Liu Zhang could not resist and defended the city for a year before finally surrendering.”

"But who knows how many troops will be needed to take Guanzhong in the future? One hundred thousand, two hundred thousand?"

Ma Chao turned around and said:
"You said you've read 'The Art of War by Sun Tzu,' so you should know that military strength is not about quantity."

Mi Wei nodded in response:

Sun Tzu of Wu said, “The value of an army is not in its quantity, but in its ability to avoid rash advances, to anticipate the enemy’s moves, and to ensure that the forces of the commanders and soldiers work together.”

"Leaving aside the first two, General, what do you think a general should do to unite the efforts of his subordinates and his subordinates?"

Whoosh.

Ma Chao flicked his whip, pointed north towards Chengdu, and said:

"You should ask the King about this."

"Having observed all the generals and commanders in Shu, I find that only Your Majesty is truly knowledgeable in this art, followed by Zhuge Liang."

"I'm afraid even Guan Yu and Zhang Fei are not as good as them; they're only about my level."

Seeing the surprised look on Mi Wei's face, Ma Chao continued:
"You've come today, surely to seek guidance on the Six Secret Teachings?"

Sure enough there is a problem!
Mi Wei's heart stirred, and he earnestly inquired:
"To be honest, General, I noticed something unusual about your expression at the banquet in Luocheng that day. Is there something wrong with this book?"

"Not exactly," Ma Chao shook his head slightly.

"The Six Secret Teachings is easy to understand and has a detailed structure; it is indeed a good military treatise."

"However, the book was written too early and contains mostly the views of the ancients on war."

"Times have changed, and the methods of warfare used in ancient times may not be suitable for today."

"Especially regarding the use of cavalry."

It turns out that the times have changed for adults.

Mi Wei understood, his expression becoming even more serious: "I would like to hear the details!"

Ma Chao glanced at Mi Wei and said:
"I see you are skilled in archery and horsemanship. Tell me, how do today's cavalry differ from those of the Former Han Dynasty and even the pre-Qin period?"

Without hesitation:

"Nowadays, cavalrymen mostly use high-bridged saddles to stabilize their bodies, stirrups (on one side) to help them mount their horses, and lances to defend themselves, with bows and crossbows as secondary weapons."

Upon hearing this, Ma Chao shook his head slightly and said:
"These are just appearances, not the root of the problem."

Appearances...fundamentals...

Mi Wei frowned and pondered.

A sudden thought struck him, and he blurted out:
"Tsurgiment?"

Ma Chao flicked his whip lightly: "Continue."

Mi Wei briefly recalled what he had heard in his two previous lives and said:

"As far as I know, the large-scale use of cavalry in the Central Plains originated from King Wuling of Zhao in the pre-Qin period, who adopted the Hu-style clothing and mounted archery."

“In the early days, warhorses were without saddles or stirrups, making it easy for riders to fall off. They relied more on archery to fight the enemy.”

"Whether it's flanking, flank, or engage the enemy cavalry in close combat."

"That's why the Six Secret Teachings says, 'Shallow their front and back, hunt their left and right,' and also, 'Flank their sides, conceal their front and back.'"

"In short, cavalry cannot be used for frontal charges; they can only be used to support infantry formations."

Ma Chao then gripped the whip, looking quite intrigued:

"So what happened later?"

Mi Wei: "Because we need to launch a northern expedition against the Xiongnu."

“In the early years of the Former Han Dynasty, some insightful people, such as Chao Cuo during the reign of Emperor Wen, said that the Hu cavalry “traveled on dangerous and narrow roads, and could shoot arrows while riding, which the Chinese cavalry could not match.”

"This means that the barbarians grew up on horseback from childhood and made a living by herding horses and sheep. They were born to be skilled riders and archers, and no matter how much the Han people trained, they could never compare to them."

"In this way, by attacking the enemy's strengths with one's own weaknesses, one will inevitably suffer more defeats than victories."

(End of this chapter)