As the saying goes, you get what you work for.

Liu Sicheng had a deep understanding of ancient Chinese history and literature when he was in school, and later came to learn calligraphy and Yayan from Xiaoxue, and now these knowledge and skills have finally come in handy.

If Liu Sicheng doesn't understand Yayan, I'm afraid he won't even be able to understand Kong Ming's speech, so how can he talk about learning the art of war; At the same time, learning the art of war inevitably involves contact with classic combat examples, and it is inevitable to come into contact with ancient books, if Liu Sicheng does not even know the art of war such as Sun Wu and Sun Bin, and even can't understand ancient books, it is really ridiculous and generous.

After a period of painstaking study, Liu Sicheng gradually began to clarify Kong Ming's military thoughts, which can be summarized mainly as follows:

1. Emphasizing that the way to be a general lies in the Ming discipline, and the foundation of governing the army lies in strict law. To put this into practice, it is necessary to attach importance to the quality of the army itself, to the cultivation of daily work style, and to the training of combat capability. When administering the army, it is necessary to clearly distinguish rewards and punishments, and enforce the law in a solemn manner.

2. Emphasizing the abilities of generals. To achieve "five goodness and four desires", that is, "good at knowing the situation of the enemy, good at advancing and retreating, good at knowing the reality of the country, good at knowing the time and personnel, good at knowing the dangers of mountains and rivers." "The desire for war is strange, the desire for secrecy is secret, the desire for tranquility is desired, and the heart desires one." In addition, we are also vigilant against the "eight evils" of the general. That is, "greedy and insatiable, jealous and jealous, trustworthy and good-natured, self-expected, hesitant, debaucherous in wine, treacherous and cowardly, narrow-minded but not polite".

3. When employing troops, it is necessary to be far-sighted, based on undefeated, prudent in the use of troops, and strive for perfection. Before using troops, it is necessary to make a comprehensive plan for astronomy, geography, the situation of the enemy and us, and the strategy of advance and retreat, so as to seek undefeat first, and then seek victory. It also attaches importance to the logistics supply of the army and regards grain and grass as the lifeblood of the army.

Fourth, inherit the operational principles of "The Art of War", pay attention to winning by surprise, and avoid the real and attack the false.

Fifth, inherit the Legalist idea of "rewarding cultivation and warfare". It was clear that the economy was the basis for waging war, and he advocated the vigorous development of agricultural production.

Many of Zhuge Liang's ideas in the Art of War coincide with Liu Sicheng, especially the idea of attaching importance to the lives of soldiers, seeking undefeat first and then seeking victory, and attaching importance to the development of social production, which is highly respected by Liu Sicheng. From this point of view, Kong Ming is also a person who wants to minimize the damage of war.

Kong Ming not only taught Liu Sicheng the art of war, but also taught him the method of analyzing the current situation. After all, the military is only a tool to serve politics, and as a military strategist, if you don't understand politics, then you will be controlled by others everywhere in the court, and eventually affect your own performance on the battlefield.

Although Kong Ming lives in seclusion in Longzhong, this does not mean that he is deaf to what is going on outside the window. At that time, in the bookstore in Xiangyang, a kind of copy of the current affairs news would be sold, called "miscellaneous newspapers". Miscellaneous newspapers are published once a month, and they contain a variety of contents, including court decrees and folk rumors. Whenever the miscellaneous newspaper was listed at the beginning of the month, Kong Ming had to order his servants to buy it in order to understand the current situation. The content recorded in the miscellaneous reports also became the material for Kong Ming's investigation of Liu Sicheng, in order to test his ability to analyze the current situation.

On this day, after Kong Ming finished teaching the art of war that day, he took the initiative to ask Liu Sicheng a question:

"Sicheng, I wonder if you can pay attention to the dispute between the chambers of commerce in Xiangyang?"

When Liu Sicheng heard this, he knew that Kong Ming was examining himself, so he replied:

"Brother Kong Ming, can you mean that the Jianghan Society and the Xiangyang Society will fight each other?"

Kong Ming nodded slightly in affirmation.

After thinking for a while, Liu Sicheng responded to Kong Ming:

"The chamber of commerce in Xiangyang is often involved with various factions in Jingzhou, so this chamber of commerce dispute should be a prelude to a political struggle."

Kong Ming was noncommittal, and continued to ask:

"If you think about it, who will ultimately be the one who will control this political battle?"

Liu Sicheng thought for a moment, and then replied:

"The backstage of the Jianghan Society is Liu Qi, and the backstage of the Xiangyang Society is Liu Cong. Although these two are brothers, they are as powerful as fire and water, and they are incompatible, so they should be these two people. ”

As soon as the words fell, a coquettish cry came from behind him, which frightened Liu Sicheng and couldn't help but tremble. looked back, but found that Tingting didn't know when she appeared behind her. I saw Tingting give Liu Sicheng a blank look, and then sneered:

"It seems that what you think is really simple!"

Liu Sicheng was very dissatisfied with Tingting's tone of speech, he frowned and accused:

"Would you like to eavesdrop on other people's conversations? To be a man you need to have some quality! ”

Tingting raised her eyebrows when she heard this, and responded with each other:

"This girl acts above board, how can she eavesdrop on other people's conversations? It's because your voice is so loud that it's hard for me not to listen! ”

Tingting completely ignored Liu Sicheng's face every time she spoke, which often embarrassed him, and this time Liu Sicheng decided not to back down in front of Kong Ming. So he met Tingting's sharp gaze head-on, and argued:

"You have just accused me of 'thinking too simply,' and I would like to ask you, why do you speak ill of me? If you can't tell me why, I'll call you 'Master', and if you can't tell me why I'll sue you for a false accusation, you'll be held legally responsible!" ”

When Liu Sicheng popped out a long line like a cannon, he was full of a sense of accomplishment. For a long time, Liu Sicheng was so pressed by Tingting, a little girl, that he couldn't hold his head up, and now he thought that he could win back a city, and he couldn't help but be a little proud.

"From the obscene expression on your face, you can see that what you think is indeed very simple." Tingting spread her hands and said helplessly, "No, it's not simple, it's naïve!" ”

Liu Sicheng immediately took the case and protested loudly:

"Hey! You don't want to insult my IQ at the same time, but also insult my personality, okay? ”

"I'm here to take matters into account!" Tingting snorted coldly and said confrontingly.

At this time, Liu Sicheng held back the fire in his heart, and replied to Tingting in a weird manner:

"Then I would like to ask you to make a point of view that is not naïve, and let me have a good look at your ingenuity!"

The corners of Tingting's mouth raised, and she replied with a fist:

"Thank you for the compliment."

"Hey, the devil wants to compliment you! You don't have to talk about him here, tell me quickly! Liu Sicheng pretended to be aggressive and urged loudly.

"Okay." Tingting no longer continued to entangle, and said, "The political situation in Xiangyang in front of you is like a big game of chess, there are five people who are really qualified to play this game of chess, and the two you mentioned before are just two chess pieces." I can't tell the difference between a chess player and a chess piece, so that's why I said that what you think is too simple. Oh no, it's naïve! ”

Liu Siwei thought that Tingting was just talking nonsense, but she didn't expect her to be able to tell the details, so she couldn't help but be a little flustered, and hurriedly asked:

"Who are the five chess players?"

It happened that there was a game of Go in Kong Ming's study, Tingting reached out and took out a few black and white chess pieces from the chess box, placed them on the table, and then explained:

"The political situation in Xiangyang is divided into two factions, one is internal faction and the other is external faction. The representatives of the internal faction are Cai Mao and Liu Bei, and it is these two people who manipulate Liu Cong and Liu Qi behind the scenes. The representatives of the external faction were Cao Cao and Sun Quan, who were directly related to Jingzhou's external security. If the external situation is tight, Jingzhou's internal factions will unite for the common good; If the external situation is relaxed, Jingzhou's internal factions will move towards antagonism for the sake of profit distribution. ”

Tingting looked at Liu Sicheng with a smile and continued:

"In addition, there is another important chess player, and that is Liu Biao himself. However, there is a way to be chaotic, and in this chess game, Liu Biao is more of a tool used by others, but he has not played his due role. This is the true face of the political situation in Xiangyang! ”

Liu Sicheng felt a pang in his heart when he heard this, he didn't expect Tingting, a little girl, to see the problem so deeply. At this moment, Liu Sicheng had to admit that he did think about the problem simply, but he was just unwilling to give in verbally.

Tingting looked at Liu Sicheng's uncertain face, waved her sleeves suddenly, and snorted coldly:

"I have something to do, so I won't waste time with you!"

After saying that, Tingting turned around gorgeously and left with a victorious attitude, leaving Liu Sicheng with a lost face stunned in place, secretly annoyed.

Although I don't want to admit it, the reality seems that I was defeated by this little girl again. Liu Sicheng lamented in his heart.

At this time, Kong Ming's voice sounded, pulling Liu Sicheng back to reality in an instant. I only heard Kong Ming sigh:

"Tingting, she has really grown a lot!"

When the two were arguing fiercely just now, Kong Ming had been watching coldly, but he couldn't interject. It wasn't until Tingting brushed her sleeves and left that she could speak.

When Liu Sicheng heard this, he asked with a puzzled face:

"Wasn't she like that before?"

Kong Ming laughed, stroked his beard, and replied:

"Tingting's way of thinking used to be similar to yours, but since she studied with me, it has been very different."

"It turns out that Brother Kong Ming also taught Tingting?" Liu Sicheng couldn't help but exclaim.

"That's right." Kong Ming nodded, looked outside the study, and said slowly, "But what Tingting has learned is not the art of war, but the art of political power. As far as I can see, Tingting cares more about politics than anything else. In this regard, Tingting is indeed talented and often understands everything. To this day, I have nothing to give. In all fairness, Tingting's way of power is no longer what it used to be, and even some of her insights have long been far beyond ordinary people. ”

Far beyond ordinary people, what are you kidding, Tingting can be so powerful? Liu Sicheng was unconvinced when he heard this. So he asked Kong Ming with a heavy face:

"Brother Kong Ming, I have something to inquire about, please tell me the truth."

"Sicheng, please speak." Kong Ming raised his hand.

Liu Sicheng pointed out the door with his hand, and then asked:

"One day, will I be able to surpass Tingting in political power? Or at least close to her level? ”

"No way." Kong Ming replied crisply.

"Ahh Liu Sicheng was disappointed when he heard this, his face drooped, and he lamented like an eggplant beaten by frost, "Then don't I have to suffer from her for the rest of my life?" ”

Kong Ming smiled again, then patted Liu Sicheng's shoulder and said with relief:

"Sicheng, everyone has their own strengths. For example, your military achievements must surpass Tingting. ”

Although Kong Ming was enlightening himself, Liu Sicheng still understood the meaning of Kong Ming's words, in other words, if he talked about playing politics and power, he would definitely be suppressed by Tingting.

It seems that with Tingting, a little girl, her political future is really bleak! Liu Sicheng sighed in his heart.