I run a training class in Shu Han

Chapter 53 Winning Hearts and Minds is Paramount

"Greetings, Your Majesty!"

When Liao Hua and his students saw Liu Shan, they stood up and bowed.

"Please, everyone, do not stand on ceremony. This is a school, not the imperial court; there is no need for such formalities."

Zhang Bao said without any hesitation, "Your Majesty, are you here to give us a lesson?"

If Zhang Bao could get the emperor to teach them, he could walk around the school with impunity from now on.

Liu Shan smiled and said, "You may not know this, but I made a bet with Zhang Bao before. If his horsemanship ranks in the top five in the monthly exam, I will agree to let him give a lecture."

Although everyone had heard about this before, it had a different effect when Liu Shan said it himself.

"No wonder Zhang Bao's horsemanship has improved so much in this monthly exam; it turns out he made a bet with His Majesty."

Liu Shan said, "I also said that if he loses, I will make him abandon his military career and take up a civil post, and from now on he will escort grain for you all."

A burst of laughter came from below.

"Your Majesty, since Zhang Bao won the bet with you, please tell me about it."

Liu Shan initially declined politely.

"I was deeply inspired by General Liao Hua's lecture just now. With him as your teacher, I am very pleased, and I will not have to embarrass myself by stepping down here."

Zhang Bao was the first to object, standing up and saying, "Your Majesty, you are the ruler of a country; you cannot go back on your word."

With him taking the lead, the other students started making a fuss.

"Your Majesty, please give a lecture!"

Faced with the students' enthusiastic chatter, Liu Shan had a terrible headache.

These students are all future generals who will go to the battlefield, and each of them has a louder voice than the last.

"Quiet down, quiet down, you're driving me crazy."

Without blaming anyone, Liu Shan joked and laughed with his students in a friendly tone.

After everyone quieted down, Liu Shan said, "You've really put me in a difficult position. I've never led troops or been on the battlefield. Like you, I learned military strategy from books. If we're talking about combat experience, we have to look to our General Liao."

At this moment, someone below said, "General Liao is a general of an army, while His Majesty is the ruler of a country. Since the general is subordinate to the ruler, His Majesty must have different insights into military strategy."

Hmm, who is this kid?

How can you speak so pleasantly?

Liu Shan looked in the direction of the voice and saw a face that looked very familiar.

Ah, so it's Huang Chong, the son of Huang Quan.

"What different opinions are there? Aren't they all the same as what's written in the books?" Liu Shan continued to deflect the question.

At this moment, Zhao Tong said, "Your Majesty, please don't be modest. You knew the correct answer when General Liao Hua asked the question."

You little brat, you're digging up my secrets, aren't you?

Liao Hua was filled with respect upon hearing this.

"Your Majesty is well-versed in military strategy; I am merely showing off my limited skills in front of you."

"No. My knowledge is all theoretical; it can't compare to your extensive experience in countless battles, General."

Zhang Bao ignored Liu Shan's excuses and said, "Your Majesty, how about this? General Liao Hua just told us about the 'besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' strategy. Why don't you share your thoughts? You made a bet with me; a ruler of a nation cannot renege on his promise!"

The other students also became interested and started making noise.

Liu Shan, unable to resist their enthusiasm, pointed at Zhang Bao and said irritably, "You can owe anything, just don't owe debts. Zhang Bao, you've got me figured out my weakness. Fine, then I'll tell you."

After a moment's thought, Liu Shan slowly said, "'Besieging Wei to rescue Zhao' is indeed an extremely brilliant military strategy, but it is also an open and unbreakable scheme."

The students weren't very interested at first.

Anyone who has heard of this battle knows that when the Qi army attacked the capital of Wei, Pang Juan had to withdraw his troops to defend it no matter what.

"But think about it, did Pang Juan know there would be an ambush along the way?"

Liu Shan's question immediately piqued their interest.

Most people believe that Pang Juan fell into Sun Bin's ambush because he was in a hurry to retreat and lost his mind due to anger.

But is this really the case?

Seeing the students' interest, Liu Shan continued, "I believe that Pang Juan and Sun Bin are fellow students, and their military strategies are quite similar. Moreover, he is the Supreme General of Wei; surely he could see through even a simple ambush?"

"If you were Pang Juan, knowing that Sun Bin would ambush you on the retreat route, wouldn't you have been alerted and foolishly walked headlong into the enemy's ambush?"

"Is it possible that the capital of Wei was on the verge of collapse under the attack of the Qi army, which is why Pang Juan couldn't care less about other things?" Guan Xing analyzed.

Liu Shan shook his head and said, "You should know that although the Wei capital Daliang was weak in terms of troops, it had high walls and thick fortifications and ample food supplies. If the King of Wei personally supervised the battle, the army and the people would be of one mind, and the Qi army would find it difficult to conquer it in a short time."

After Liu Shan's analysis, the students felt that there was some truth to it.

Sun Bin's plan was ingenious, but Pang Juan, as a fellow disciple, should have been aware of it. If they encountered a suitable ambush location on the way back to reinforce, they could send an advance force to scout the situation, and it wouldn't take long.

There's only one possibility: Pang Juan deliberately fell into an ambush.

Upon realizing this, everyone gasped in shock.

This classic battle, which they are so familiar with, has a hidden secret?

"Analyzing this matter is not difficult. We need to look at it from a holistic perspective. First, King Wei initially wanted to attack the State of Zhongshan. However, Pang Juan believed that Zhongshan was just a small place, and it was very close to the State of Zhao. Instead of attacking Zhongshan, it would be better to directly attack Handan, the capital of Zhao, which would kill two birds with one stone."

"From this we can know that the attack on Handan was Pang Juan's scheme, not the King of Wei's original intention."

"Then, looking at the map, although the State of Wei is powerful, it is located in a strategically important area, making it easy for it to attack others, but also easy for others to attack it. Pang Juan obviously did not consider this point, which is why he launched a full-scale attack on Handan without any backup plan."

"Sun Bin keenly observed both of these points. So he devised this ambush, waiting for Pang Juan to walk right into it."

A low murmur rippled through the classroom.

"If that's the case, Pang Juan is incredibly foolish. If it were me, I would definitely avoid treacherous terrain to prevent being ambushed."

"If it were me, I would use a counter-strategy to lure the enemy deep into my territory and then annihilate them in one fell swoop."

"In my opinion, we should take this opportunity to destroy Handan, the capital of Zhao, and the Qi army will surely retreat on its own."

The students started discussing it.

"Do you all think that Pang Juan's decision to withdraw his troops was a mistake?" Liu Shan asked.

The students nodded in unison.

"No. In my opinion, Pang Juan deliberately walked into Sun Bin's ambush in order to protect himself."

"Think about it. Attacking Handan was not King Wei's original intention. If Pang Juan does not withdraw his troops to rescue Daliang as quickly as possible, what will King Wei think?"

"Is it a gamble that Pang Juan has the ability to take Handan before Daliang falls?"

"Or is it that he suspects Pang Juan is deliberately using the Qi army to eliminate him so he can establish himself as king?"

"Once suspicion arises between a ruler and his minister, there will be no trust. Therefore, Pang Juan was willing to suffer losses of troops in order to walk into the enemy's encirclement and let the King of Wei know his unwavering loyalty."

"Sun Bin's strategy was not based on military tactics, but on understanding the hearts and minds of the people."

"This is the essence of the art of war: winning hearts and minds."