Three Kingdoms: I, Ma Su, just want to die

Chapter 540 Ma’s Art of War
"So... Prime Minister, why did you call me here?"

In the Imperial Academy, Ma Su, who was held down by Zhuge Liang and sat upright with the princes, looked confused.

Originally, he thought that Zhuge Liang summoned him from the general's residence to the palace to teach his sons the art of war. So the excited Ma Su came to the Imperial College excitedly after simple preparations.

As a result, as soon as he entered the Imperial Academy, Ma Su was pressed into his seat by Zhuge Liang and sat in the audience with the princes. On the stage, sitting upright was the cavalry general Zhang He, who was teaching the princes the art of war.

"So, Prime Minister, didn't you say that the princes lack a professor to teach the art of war? This is..." Ma Su pointed at Zhang He and asked in confusion.

"There is one missing, but I didn't ask you to teach me either." Zhuge Liang fanned his feather fan and said without changing his expression.

"General Zhang is the number one veteran general of the Han Dynasty today. He has more combat experience than Wen Chang. Many of his experiences and understanding of military tactics are worthy of reference, so you should listen more..."

All in all, you called me in to be your student, right?

Ma Su finally understood what Zhuge Liang meant, and he couldn't laugh or cry for a while.

Obviously Zhuge Liang was not convinced by his unrestrained style of play, so he found this opportunity to bring Ma Su in to learn from the experience of Zhang He and others. If nothing else, at least he must teach Ma Di how to win a war without seeking death.

"I'm not good at taking risks?" Upon hearing this, Zhang He suddenly felt dissatisfied. This was the first time in so many years that he heard someone comment that he was not good at taking risks.

After all, it is no longer the time to be poor in the past, and taking risks is no longer so necessary. At present, the Han army is already on the trend of conquering the world from Qin. Even if it fights steadily, it will be able to swallow up the entire Guandong sooner or later.

"Then you come up and say a few words, and I'll see how your military skills are." Zhang He couldn't hold himself any longer and directly gave up his position to Ma Su.

If Zhuge Liang hadn't been standing next to him with a feather duster in his hand, Ma Su would have fallen asleep.

However, Ma Su felt extremely bored and fell asleep after listening to it. In the final analysis, what Zhang He said was too routine for him, given that he had the confidence to talk on paper.

"I just looked at his military strategy and found that there were many unnecessary measures and it seemed a bit bloated."

Soon, Zhang He's practical experience in lecturing came to an end, and Zhuge Liang also asked Ma Di what he thought.

"First, take care of your own troops' affairs. Food routes, water sources, and morale all belong to this. If you want to win the war, you must first stabilize your troops and then defeat the enemy."

"The Art of War is not difficult. There are only three important points that need to be understood."

"But it is true." Ma Di answered honestly.

"Jun Yi is cautious in using his troops and is not good at taking risks. He can only fight and defend to make the war a success." Ma Di yawned, then shook his head and commented.

Ma Di could also understand what Zhuge Liang meant, so he could only shrug his shoulders and sit down honestly to listen to Zhang He's lectures.

Zhang He's understanding of the art of war is much more complete than Ma Di's, and there are special explanations on basically all aspects. And unlike Ma Su's unfettered understanding, every explanation of the art of war is the most practical.

Ma Su refused to give in, stood up and walked to the stage. Under the longing eyes of the princes, he spread out the map and started explaining.

"Second, understand the terrain of the battlefield! Good warriors need to fight where their troops are best, so as to cause harm to others but not others!"

Therefore, Zhuge Liang sincerely hopes that Ma Su can be more honest and carry out the eastern expedition steadily.

"Third, know where the enemy is! Intelligence is the most important at all times, so scouting must be the top priority of the army."

Ma Su's words made Zhang He nod his head in agreement. In the so-called war, these three foundations are the most important. It can be seen that Ma Su is indeed very solid in his military skills.

That's right. How could a majestic Chinese hussar general be incompetent in military skills after fighting for so many years? Then, when Zhang He was waiting to hear Ma Di's next lecture, Ma Di threw the map away, clapped his hands and said.

"After completing these three points, it will be gone. Then lead the troops to rush over and defeat the opponent. The war will be won."

"It's such a simple thing, if you learn it, it's enough to become a famous general in the world."

I can slap the opponent to death with just one slap. Do you need to go through so many twists and turns?
Zhang He: "..."

"You Chang! This is teaching the art of war to my disciples, no joking!" Zhuge Liang also frowned and said with a more serious face.

"Soldiers, the important matter of the country, the place of life and death, the way of survival, must not be ignored! If you fight the war as you like, you will only let the soldiers sacrifice in vain."

"Perhaps so, but Prime Minister, you have to admit that this is how I have driven the pseudo-Wei out of Guanzhong for so many years." Ma Su replied confidently.

Zhuge Liang: "..."

Looking back, I realized there was nothing wrong with what Ma Su said. After all, within ten years, Ma Di used this set of tactics to penetrate Cao Wei's northwest defense line.

So what he said seems to make some sense.

So Zhuge Liang thought for a while, and suddenly realized what he should do. Then, he took out the feather duster from behind...

"Hey, prime minister, this is the Imperial College!"

"Calm down, Prime Minister!"

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Finally, under Zhuge Liang's physical persuasion, Ma Su became honest again. However, his art of war aroused the interest of several princes.

After all, Ma Su's teachings on the art of war are so simple and seem very easy to learn. With such a simple art of war, no one wants to study it slowly and suffer all the twists and turns.

Ma Su was very satisfied with this, especially because his art of war was more recognized, which meant that he was really a genius.

So Ma Su became interested and decided to have a friendly battle with the princes himself, so that they could experience the feeling of a real battlefield.

Then, the princes immediately understood why Ma's art of war was so simple.

Several princes, Zhuge Zhan and others just watched Ma Su transform into the most handsome boy on the battlefield. Riding only a bareback horse and a wooden stick, he beat them to a rout in just one stick of incense!
"I have this fighting strength as my confidence, but I am not willing to learn General Zhang's art of war." Zhuge Zhan looked at Ma Su's heroic appearance and couldn't help but sigh.

Now, they understood the power of Ma's art of war, so they all went back to learn the art of war from Zhang He.

After all, hard work over there can make up for one's weakness, unlike Ma Su, who can't play without fun.

But it was not all nothing for Ma Su. At least he left a deep impression on the hearts of all the second generations, including the prince. And it went so smoothly that Zhuge Liang was interested in beating him again...

Amid this farce, a battle report from the northern border was sent back to Chang'an.

(End of this chapter)