Chapter 154: The empress is dumbfounded, this Lu Yuan is just too good at bluffing!
Gu Lie was numb.
This doesn't feel right!!
These two were still fighting each other just now!!
How come, in the time it took me to turn around, these two are standing together?
One says listen to your sister, the other says listen to your brother!
Good grief, you two have become a couple!
You've teamed up to bully people, right!!
Immediately, Gu Lie looked at Lu Yuan with a tearful face and said:
「It's not, what's the difference between going as a deputy general and not going? 」
「Not to mention deputy general, with these mortars even being a commander-in-chief there's nothing to do!! 」
Gu Lie wanted to be tempered, to display his military talent.
But if he became deputy general... then tempering would be nonsense, displaying talent would be just a six-year-old's level!
Not to mention deputy general, even being a commander-in-chief who just lies in the tent sleeping all day would be fine!
Who wouldn't know how to command this thing!
The only one here with real skill who can perfectly display his abilities is the commander of the elite troops!
Gu Qingwan saw her brother about to start throwing a tantrum again, and immediately glared and said:
「If you say it again, I won't let you go anywhere... 」
However, before Gu Qingwan finished speaking, Lu Yuan directly grabbed her arm and pulled her behind him.
While Gu Qingwan was somewhat dazed, Lu Yuan couldn't help but click his tongue and say:
「Tsk, how can you talk about people like that? Stand back, the gentlemen are speaking, what business does an old woman have butting in! 」
Gu Qingwan: "……"
Afterwards, before Gu Qingwan could say anything, Lu Yuan looked at the unwilling Gu Lie before him and raised his eyebrows, saying:
「Look at your sorry state, do you even understand leading troops in battle? What do you think is most important in leading troops in battle? 」
Gu Lie stared at Lu Yuan, bewildered, blinked and said:
「Of course it's outstanding command ability, what else could it be... 」
Asking that is like asking Gu Lie what one plus one equals.
Isn't that something even a fool knows?
But as soon as Gu Lie finished answering, Lu Yuan glared and shouted loudly:
「Wrong!! 」
「I think you truly don't understand the basic principles of warfare; you think war is fought by command? 」
「Yes, that's important, but more important than that is logistics and supplies!! 」
「You love leading troops in battle, haven't you heard the saying, 'Before the troops move, the supplies must go first'?! 」
「What is the final thing fought in war? 」
「It's supplies!! 」
「It's resources! 」
「Do you understand, you?! 」
Gu Lie blinked, thinking carefully……
It seems……
It seems like that's the case……
There is such a saying……
Unless there is a huge gap between them, such as in command, troop quality, equipment conditions being unequal, then basically there will rarely be a crushing superiority.
In that case, the final reliance is basically on supplies.
While Gu Lie was stunned, Lu Yuan hurriedly took advantage of the moment to continue his persuasion…… not, he continued to persuade:
「A true great general must be able to lead troops in battle and manage logistics well; do you know how important supplies are. 」
「Wasn't it that Zhuge Liang, each time he went on a Northern Expedition, retreated because supplies ran out, ultimately achieving nothing?! 」
Gu Lie blinked his innocent big eyes, looked at Lu Yuan with a bewildered expression and said:
「Zhuge...... Zhuge Liang? 」
「Who is that? 」
「Which Northern Expedition are you talking about? There have been many Northern Expeditions in history……」
Lu Yuan was stunned, then waved his hand and said:
「Look at you, you don't read a couple of books every day, and when a critical moment comes, you understand nothing, know nothing. 」
「Your sister had you read books for your own good; from now on, when you have free time, read more books, got it? 」
「Hmm…… Actually, Gu Lie has searched through all the academies of the Great Zhou Dynasty, yet it's impossible to find anything about Zhuge Liang. 」
Gu Qingwan beside him, upon hearing this, quickly nodded in agreement behind Lu Yuan and said:
「Now you've heard it, right? Your brother told you to study well……」
Gu Qingwan, having said that, involuntarily stopped.
Then she glanced at Lu Yuan, who had turned his head back.
Gu Qingwan's meaning is……
Can I speak?
But don't just after I say a couple of sentences, Lu Yuan will come out with something like 'old women shouldn't interrupt' and shut me up again.
And Lu Yuan remained silent, meaning he wanted Gu Qingwan to speak quickly.
He needed to catch his breath, and meanwhile think about how to make up what comes next.
Seeing Lu Yuan signal her to speak, Gu Qingwan hurriedly looked at Gu Lie and said:
"Did you hear that? Your brother wants you to study; will you study from now on?"
At that moment, Gu Lie obediently nodded repeatedly and said:
"Study, study, study—I'll definitely read more books from now on, but what is Zhuge Liang, and what is the Northern Expedition?"
At this moment Lu Yuan caught his breath, then waved his hand at Gu Lie and said:
"Don't worry about it; anyway, I'm telling you, a grand general can only grasp the way to victory by managing logistics and supplies well."
After saying that, directing an elite unit—where is there any difficulty in managing logistics and supplies?
"I ask you, do you think this war is an evenly matched war?"
Having heard this, Gu Lie thought seriously, then looked at Lu Yuan and said:
"If there were no mortars before, then it could be said to be an evenly matched war."
"But now that we have mortars, it's no longer an evenly matched war; indeed, it's just like slaughtering pigs and sheep."
Hearing this, Lu Yuan clapped his hands and said:
"Exactly, that's what I mean—you want to become a grand general, which means you'll have to oppose the Gilded Gold Dynasty and fight an epic battle."
Such a battle must be all‑round; you must thoroughly train your control over logistics.
And this bandit‑suppression operation is the time to train you—what's the point of you leading that elite unit?
Then, when the regular army lays down a barrage of firepower up front, blasting away.
Those bandits will be like frightened cattle and sheep, rushing out the back door in panic.
The elite unit is nothing more than taking up positions ahead of time for an ambush.
It's like waiting by a stump for a rabbit, relying on the enemy's exhaustion—this elite unit carries only rifled muskets, making it nothing but a slaughter devoid of any technical skill.
What's the point of that?
"Taking the bend is the real speed—who wouldn't accelerate on a straight?"
Hearing this, Gu Lie was completely dazed, as if enlightened, and suddenly everything became clear.
Instantly, Gu Lie sucked in a breath of cold air.
He felt as if… he had just opened his apertures?!
At this point, seeing that it was about enough, Lu Yuan hurriedly said again:
"You tell me, do you want to become a grand general capable of commanding hundreds of thousands of troops and controlling the overall situation?"
"Or do you want to be a general who only leads twenty‑ or thirty‑thousand troops on surprise raids?"
Gu Lie hesitated not at all, immediately looked at Lu Yuan and said seriously:
"Of course a grand general!"
Lu Yuan felt a surge of excitement.
On the right track, on the track!!!
Finally on the track!!
Lu Yuan laughed wildly inside, but kept a calm exterior as he said:
"That's right—look, what does a vice general take charge of?"
"Isn't a vice general just in charge of grain and logistics?"
"I'm doing this for your own good—I'm training you so that when you later face the Gilded Gold Dynasty in a decisive battle, you'll be an outstanding grand general!"
"Come on, tell me now—are you going to lead the elite unit deep into enemy territory in this bandit‑suppression, or just be an ordinary adjutant?"
"Needless to say,"
The next second, Gu Lie burst out excitedly and shouted:
"I want to be an ordinary adjutant!"
Whoosh…
At last I've managed to talk him into it.
Lu Yuan let out a sigh of relief.
Of course, Lu Yuan isn't purely bluffing—some of it is actually true~
Meanwhile, Gu Qingwan, standing behind Lu Yuan, was dumbfounded.
This scene before her simply left Gu Qingwan in awe.
This Lu Yuan is just too good at talking people into things!!
Meanwhile, Gu Lie then said excitedly:
"Then I'll go report to the Ministry of War right now and begin handling this bandit‑suppression…"
Before Gu Lie could finish his words, Lu Yuan suddenly cut him off and said:
"Logistics and supplies are certainly paramount, but I also hope you can hone your command skills."
"Being an adjutant doesn't mean you can't command the elite unit—since you're destined to be a grand general, you must one hand manage logistics and supplies."
"and the other hand direct the deployment of the elite unit."
"Do you dare? Do you have the confidence?"
At that moment Gu Lie was overcome with wild joy and immediately shouted loudly:
"Of course I have confidence!!"
Hearing this, Lu Yuan looked at Gu Lie and smiled, saying:
"Then you must promise me that, when the time comes, you'll stay in the rear and put logistics and supplies first."
If you can't help but follow the elite troops into the rear, and the later logistics aren't handled in time, then the whole war effort will be for naught……
Before Lu Yuan could finish, Gu Lie exclaimed excitedly:
"Absolutely not!"
Lu Yuan, very satisfied, patted Gu Lie's shoulder and laughed:
"Very good, full of spirit!!"
Having said that, Lu Yuan turned his head to look at the somewhat dazed Gu Qingwan behind him and said:
"As for the deployment of the elite troops later, let Gu Lie handle it—this shouldn't be a problem, right?"
"Gu Lie doesn't need to go up front; just commanding from the rear will do."
Gu Qingwan blinked, then quickly nodded and said:
"Of course, of course, this is absolutely no problem."
"As long as Gu Lie doesn't go to the front to fight those fleeing bandits up close, Gu Qingwan will absolutely support it!"
Upon hearing Gu Qingwan's words, Lu Yuan finally let out a big sigh of relief; this was finally settled.
"Why, in the end, must command of the elite troops be given to Gu Lie?"
"It's nothing else but because of Gu Lie's 【War God】 label."
"A true general must be developed comprehensively."
"Lu Yuan just went on and on about the importance of provisions and logistics, but command is also crucial!"
"This also needs to be practiced!"
"Otherwise, if you only handle logistics well but command is a disaster in battle, what good is it to just fatten the soldiers?"
"At this moment, the extremely excited Gu Lie quickly said:"
"Then I'll go report to the Ministry of War right now!"
"This time, Gu Qingwan had no objections and didn't say anything else."
"Lu Yuan, meanwhile, looked at Gu Lie and said:"
"These days, you should also practice more with the training shells of this mortar.
"You know the range and accuracy of this mortar; then you can also better position the elite troops, right?"
Gu Lie nodded repeatedly, after readying the mortar, he grabbed it, mounted his horse, and dashed off.
After Gu Lie rode away on his horse and disappeared from sight,
Lu Yuan finally let out a sigh of relief and no longer kept a solemn expression.
Gu Qingwan beside him looked at Lu Yuan's current state.
It was rather amusing.
However, after a moment of silence,
Gu Qingwan looked at Lu Yuan very seriously and said:
"Thank you."
Gu Qingwan didn't know why Lu Yuan suddenly came to stand beside her.
But Gu Qingwan could tell.
"Originally, Lu Yuan just wanted to let his brother directly lead the elite troops deep into the mountains."
"But then, midway, things suddenly changed."
"It was as if, after making eye contact with himself, Lu Yuan suddenly changed his mind and then stood on her side."
After Lu Yuan was stunned for a moment, he then grinned and said:
"It's fine, I can understand your thoughts."
Seeing Lu Yuan's smile, Gu Qingwan couldn't help but curl the corner of her mouth into a breathtaking arc.
The two of them strolled toward Bing Jia Chang.
"But along the way, Gu Qingwan suddenly said quietly:"
"My family's situation is quite special; I... I really can't let him come to harm."
Seeing Gu Qingwan's emotions suddenly drop, Lu Yuan blinked, remained silent for a few seconds, and then also spoke somewhat seriously:
"Well... all older sisters are like that toward their younger brothers, my wife is also like that.
"But I think, Gu Lie is ultimately a man; how long can you guard him? He can be like this at seventeen, but what about twenty-seven, thirty-seven?"
"Everyone must die someday; since he has talent, why not let him showcase it?"
"Why not let him leave his name in history, instead of insisting he become a good-for-nothing?"
"There are many generals in history who ended well; he's not going to be a vanguard officer, not every battle is a life-or-death fight, and a general's safety is assured?"
"If a defeat truly occurs, one can also escape from the rear; it's really not that easy to come to harm."
After Lu Yuan finished speaking, Gu Qingwan gazed ahead in silence, also thinking.
"Actually, recently these days, Gu Qingwan's thoughts have also been wavering."
"Gu Qingwan had been thinking a lot like that; she didn't know how many minutes had passed when suddenly Lu Yuan's voice came from beside her:"
"Here, I ask you; yesterday's matter, count it as my fault.
"It was just that yesterday I got up at eight, froze a whole morning, gave me some frozen grass chicken, the freezing made me a bit annoyed.
"Plus, with your appearance at the time, I suddenly couldn't hold onto the fire.
"Actually, I really am not a short-tempered person."
"Huh?"
Gu Qingwan turned her head and saw Lu Yuan holding a bottle of old soda in one hand, about to hand her a bottle.
"This is, just now I saw that the restaurant opposite Bing Jia Chang had opened, so I went in and bought two bottles."
Just now Gu Qingwan was so lost in thought that she didn't notice Lu Yuan walking away for a while.
Seeing the bottle of old soda Lu Yuan handed over, Gu Qingwan froze for half a second.
Afterwards, with a slight smile, she took the old soda that Lu Yuan had handed over and suddenly said:
"I know."
Huh?
Lu Yuan looked at Gu Qingwan with a strange expression.
Lu Yuan didn't pick up on that, tilted his head back and gulped a mouthful of old soda.
After belching, Lu Yuan pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and held it in his mouth.
Seeing this, Gu Qingwan beside him instead took out a match from her pocket.
Lu Yuan immediately smiled and reached for the match in Gu Qingwan's hand, saying:
Lu Yuan immediately laughed and reached out to take the match from Gu Qingwan's hand, saying:
Before this, it was to fix this Gu Qingwan, but now...
Since we've already talked it out, naturally I can't let her light a cigarette.
After all, regarding what happened yesterday, I also have some fault.
Lu Yuan is indeed a good comrade who dares to admit mistakes~
However, what Lu Yuan didn't expect was.
After Gu Qingwan was stunned for a moment, she instead didn't give the match to Lu Yuan.
She bent down, first put down the old soda in her hand, then stood up, struck a match, held it out with both hands, and silently said:
"Smoke less, it's bad for your health."
Thanks to @older brother for the 400 book coin reward, thank you very much~
Thanks to Memories°, c, and the two older brothers for the 100 book coin reward, thank you very much~
Thanks Memories°, c, for the 100 book-coin reward from the two senior brothers, thank you very much~
(End of chapter)
(End of chapter)
End of Chapter
