chapter 3

The old man took another sip and chuckled at the girl who devoured the food with ferocious fervor . “How was it, enough food?”

“uhm . ”Gu Nan put down the bowl and wiped a bean off the side of her mouth . “Thank you . ”

Originally, she was wary that she’d get trafficked, but to her surprise, it was actually a free meal!

Although it was only rice and beans, it was more than enough to satisfy her growling stomach .

Granted, the rice is rather strange . The soybeans were boiled and directly mixed in . The amounts of oil and salt were so small that the beans had a rather bland taste . Under normal conditions, Gu Nan really couldn’t stomach this meal .

“Pa . ”

Gu Nan didn’t know the proper gesture to express gratitude so she only mimicked the ones from TV dramas . Her hands were clasped together and held over the chest . “This wanderer was faced with troubles, and this grace will be etched in my heart . ”

“Forget it . ” The old man waved his hand . “Keep eating . ”

“Hmhm . ” Gu Nan made a courtesy nod and resumed gobbling up the rest of the bowl .

The old man seemed to have something on his mind, frowning into the distance before pouring himself another cup of tea .

While contemplating, his index finger rapped on the table . The old man’s face appeared especially weary as he looked at the people walking past,

Zhao is strong, if it can fall, great Qin can unify the world . Hm, what a sight that would be . But for this old soul, could I see such a peaceful and tranquil world?

Gu Nan swallowed a few more mouthfuls of rice and looked at the old man’s strange expression . “Hey, old man, what are you thinking about?”

The old man heard Gu Nan’s voice and turned his gaze back . Taking another sip of tea, he then set the cup down, the water rippled gently on the surface .

After a few moments, he seemed to have thought of something . “Might as well . If this old man asked you something, could you answer it?”

To be honest, this question was without much thought and he didn’t expect much from it . The old man’s fingers tapped on the table, and he seemed to be organizing his thoughts .

After a good length of time, he slowly asked, “Consider that you’re a general, a commander of 600,000 . And you are about to besieging a city that is both easy to defend and difficult to attack . The enemy has 450,000 troops . Their forces are largely cavalry, good at advancing and retreating quickly . The your position is in a mountain valley . However, the enemy is encamped on a flat mountain plain . How would you engage?”

“I say, old man, you’re not a general are you?” Gu Nan had almost eaten her full and placed down the bowl . It was quite the strange question to ask so casually .

She didn’t know too much about battles, but strategic games were pretty close .

Gu Nan thought intensely for a few seconds .

“Hmm, well ‘before the army moves, the grain and grass advance…'”

“Stop!” Just as Gu Nan finished one sentence, the old man abruptly interrupted her .

Being rudely interrupted is unbearable enough, even more so by this old man who had just previously touted on about being a gentleman . “Hey old man, where’s your man-”

“Repeat what you just said . ” The old man frowned and looked at Gu Nan sternly .

Gu Nan put on an annoyed look as she repeated, “Before the army moves, the grain and grass advance . ”

“This line, where did you hear it from?” The old man’s brow furrowed deeply and honstly looked a bit intimidating .

“I…” Then she realized that this line may never have existed in this world . In that case, is it even plagiarism? She said with a slightly guilty conscience, “I thought of it myself . ”

“You thought of it yourself?” The old man didn’t quite believe it . “You didn’t lie to this old man?”

This sentence was only the most basic aspect of warfare, even common sense . Although it’s simple and direct, it’s nothing to be suprised about .

No, what surprised him was something else .

In this era, commoners have no formal education . Judging by her ragged attire and her lack of parents, she’s obviously not from a wealthy family . It would be impossible for her to have studied military affairs .

But under these circumstances, she could actually isolate the fundamentals of military doctrine .

This girl…

The old man continued to look at Gu Nan .

“Well, I don’t have a reason to lie . ”

“Have you read any military works?”

Gu Nan didn’t even stop to think about it . “Nope . ”

Who would read military books of their own free will? Even if I felt like it, I couldn’t sit through all of it .

The old man thought about it and nodded . “You can continue . ”

“Although the battle between hundreds of thousands of troops is obviously very important, the logistics for so many people would be staggering . Because of this, I would definitely consider cutting off the enemy’s food . And even if you can’t cut theirs off, you need to ensure that your supply is secure . ”

Gu Nan picked up the teapot and poured herself a cup . “Is there a river nearby?”

The old man poured some to his cup as well . “There is a river . ”

“A river, huh . ” Gu Nan placed one hand on her chin and thought .

“Since there’s a river, it would be best to dredge the river and prepare it . Moving the food and supplies by water is much better than transporting through the mountains . This way we’ve already secured our grain and grass . ”

‧‧‧

The old man nodded at Gu Nan’s words .

This little girl is quite interesting .

Indeed, before the battle, their course of action was to clear the waterways and secure the supply lines .

Without him noticing it, his look became serious . This was no longer the old man that sipped tea leisurely .

“Correct, and then?”

Gu Nan felt a vaguely threatening aura, but continued, “Then, the next step is to bait the enemy out . We first issue an attack and then we retreat and lure the enemy into the valley . The plains are a very favorable place for the enemy’s cavalry . We’d be at a big disadvantage fighting there . Well, the solution is to change the battlefield . So long as the enemy enters the valley, we could just swarm them with our infantry and we’d win, pretty simple . ”

In her opinion, although her explanation may be riddled with loopholes, it’s enough for this old man to believe it .

The old man slowly picked up his cup and took another sip of tea . Over the years it has became a habit of his to evaluate each of the generals of the court . It was no different this time as he thought about her response .

The plan is still very rudimentary, but the overall strategy is sound . Like a jade, the details can still be carved and polished . Indeed, with a few more additions, it would be viable .

But what shocked him was that it wasn’t a general presenting his plan to the court, it was a girl without even basic military education!

This doesn’t seem to be a simple matter .

Pondering, the old man looked quietly at the girl in front of him .

It would be good enough if a commander thought of such a plan, but for an uneducated girl to do so, it truly is a confusing reality .

Taking a deep breath, the old man extended four fingers . His eyes held an incomprehensible meaning .

“Four hundred and fifty thousand enemy troops, you have surrounded them and are engaged in melee . They want to break of your encirclement, what do you do?”

“Oh, I never said that I’d fight them head-on . ” Gu Nan gulped down another cup as she extended two fingers .

“As long as the enemy enters the valley, only two very simple methods are required . The mountain has forests, and we will ambush them with fire . The mountain has earth and stone, and we will roll rocks upon them . ”

After that, the old god shook his head with a chuckle and then a grin . He didn’t say anything but slowly finished drinking the tea .

After a long time, he took a deep breath .

A talent!But unfortunately, it is a girl .

Gu Nan didn’t bother with the odd looks the old man gave her and continued eating .

The old man closed his eyes, his heart awhirl with thoughts . Suddenly, like a revelation, an idea formed in his heart . No one knows what it was, maybe he doesn’t even know .

His sudden idea became the start of a two-thousand-year story .

This young girl wandered alone, not even knowing where or when she was and met this old man .

This is a strange fate…

The old man opened his eyes and looked at Gu Nan with a forceful stare .

“This old man is Bai Qi of Qin . Girl, will you be my student?”