“Sima Yi appeared to have fallen for Zhuge Liang’s empty-city stratagem, but in reality, he only pretended to fall for it, and this proved his superior wisdom beyond doubt. What do you think, Senior Xiao?”

  Having presented her argument eloquently, Guan Yilin posed the question to Xiao Luo. She had her unique insight into the story of the Three Kingdoms, and she was confident that Xiao Luo would fail to counter it with a compelling riposte. She expected him to make a fool of himself and be ridiculed by everyone. As she awaited his response, she could already anticipate getting some satisfaction and a sense of accomplishment from it.

  Her convincing arguments swayed the students of engineering management class.

  Guan Tong said, “What you said is reasonable and very convincing, but, hey, this is a class meeting, what do you mean by switching the topic to the Three Kingdoms?”

  “The Three Kingdoms is one of the four great works of our country and the Chinese people’s valuable cultural heritage, so what’s wrong if we discuss it?”

  Guan Yilin said, “Why, ‘Eight Years,’ haven’t you been boasting that you want to become a talented person, then you must have familiarized yourself with this book, right? You should give us your own opinion about it too.”

  “I……”

  Guan Tong choked, unable to come up with a good reply. He had read a variety of random books in the library. Still, he just never read the Three Kingdoms, and his understanding of Zhuge Liang and Sima Yi came primarily from the TV series, so he was hard-pressed to give any opinion on the subject.

  “It looks like ‘Eight Years’ still lacks the talent to support his ambitions!” a fellow student mocked.

  “Hahaha……”

  The whole class burst into laughter. It had become a daily routine for everyone to joke at Guan Tong’s expense.

  \r \r \r

  Yu Jiangu felt that the situation was going out of control, as what was supposed to be a sharing of experience and insights ended up being a discussion on the Three Kingdoms. The top student, Guan Yilin, had been up to her old tricks again, stirring up trouble, and Yu Jiangu couldn’t see how it could continue from here.

  “Everyone, let’s be quiet and listen to what our successful Senior Xiao has to say. Senior Xiao, so, do you agree with me that Sima Yi was the one with the superior wisdom and therefore should be regarded as the foremost talent of the Three Kingdoms?” Guan Yilin said, tilting her head back and eyeing Xiao Luo with an overbearing gaze.

  Xiao Luo smiled. “What you have just said is based on a high degree of speculation. There’s insufficient conclusive evidence to substantiate your argument; it’s nothing more than subjective speculation.”

  “Subjective speculation?”

  Guan Yilin had a dismissive smile on her lips. “Since Senior Xiao here says that I am making subjective speculations, could I ask you to answer the following questions? Firstly, why didn’t Sima Yi dare to attack? The only logical reason is the fear of being lured into a trap or ambushed in the city, right? But how many people could they have concealed in a city of that size? Back in that era, it’s not like they could have buried a Scud missile or some other secret weapon, so would it have been so risky to send in a reconnaissance company just to scout around?”

  The class burst into laughter once again, as they found Guan Yilin’s choice of words rather humorous, using terms like the Scud missile and reconnaissance company.

  Yu Jiangu was inwardly surprised by her line of questioning. Had it been him up there on the podium, he would have failed to provide an answer as well. This girl was indeed a b*tch, he thought.

  “Secondly, Sima Yi had walked up to the city wall and saw Zhuge Liang playing the zither at the gate tower, looking at ease. He even heard the sound of the zither enough to notice that it was not out of rhythm, and he also greeted Zhuge Liang, saying that he had come to the city to hear him play the zither. Therefore, we can see that the distance between them was not far. Couldn’t he have ordered a skilled archer to shoot him down with an arrow?

  “Thirdly, according to Guo Chong’s anecdote, there was a huge disparity in strength between the two sides. Sima Yi had over 100,000 troops, couldn’t he have laid siege to the city for three days without having to attack? Why did they turn around and run?”

  Amazing!

  Guan Tong had to confess his admiration for Guan Yilin, such eloquence and such talent made him feel ashamed of himself.

  It was true that in light of the three points raised by Guan Yilin, the empty-city stratagem seemed riddled with holes. It was evident that Sima Yi did not flee for fear of an ambush as was commonly believed, but that there was a hidden reason. And it was as Guan Yilin had explained earlier—”when all birds were shot, the bow would be set aside; when all hares were killed, the hounds would be stewed and eaten.” Sima Yi understood this, and he only pretended to be tricked. Therefore he was never fooled by Zhuge Liang’s ruse.

  All the students had their mocking eyes on Xiao Luo, amused by how this man who was being totally outclassed by Guan Yilin. Was he really a successful person who has already been working for four years?

  Xiao Luo wasn’t at all annoyed or angry with Guan Yilin, and he had this to say, “I happen to have studied the Three Kingdoms as well, and the doubts you’re talking about seem to be very reasonable, but your points of contention are selective, and do not take certain critical factors into consideration, as such they don’t hold water.”

  A look of scorn washed over Guan Yilin’s face. “Really? I wish to hear more about it!”

  “Certainly, I shall start with your first point. Now let’s say you’re Sima Yi, there are two consequences you’ll have to consider if you send in a reconnaissance company. First, you have failed to consider ‘time’—entering the city would invariably cause a delay, then what if Zhuge Liang really did have an ambush prepared? You must know that time determines everything in warfare, and hence determines life and death. Perhaps you can disregard your own life, but what about the lives of over a hundred thousand troops?

  “Next, you have failed to consider ‘terrain’—although Zhuge Liang had fewer troops, he had favorable terrain and crossbowmen, so it would not have been hard for his forces to wipe out a reconnaissance company. So, after one company is wiped out, do you send a second one in or withdraw? I’m afraid there’s yet another point you have to consider: Zhuge Liang was always thorough with his plans, which resulted in a high success rate. At the same time, he never attempted particularly risky undertakings, so would you dare to take a risk against such a capable tactician?”

  As soon as Xiao Luo delivered his first counter-argument, Guan Yilin’s expression changed, and the look of contempt faded slightly from the faces of the other students. No one had expected Xiao Luo to refute Guan Yilin’s strong arguments with such astuteness.

  “Regarding your second point, I would like to emphasize that it was customary for people to parley before commencing battle in ancient times. If a siege was laid, we would have one side on the wall and the other side below it. The Chinese have an old saying: “Gentlemen settle a dispute through negotiation rather than a brawl.” But some people do not abide by the rules and would sneakily fire an arrow even as they are talking politely, claiming that there can never be too much deception in war. This is as you suggested.

  “But take note that you are talking to Zhuge Liang, is he someone that you can easily shoot down as you wish? Furthermore, would Zhuge Liang have dared to stand on the wall to parley when there was a risk of getting shot? If I were Zhuge Liang, I would definitely have considered this factor and taken the necessary precautions. So, in short, you can’t fool Zhuge Liang with such a petty trick.”

  Another point rebutted!

  The crowd was amazed, they had initially thought that Xiao Luo was a fool who knew nothing and was being led around by Guan Yilin, but he turned out to be a consummate debater, and they were deeply impressed by what he said.

  Yu Jiangu’s face lit up in a smile, amazed by Xiao Luo’s rhetorical ability.

  “As for the third point you made, you suggested laying siege to the city. Firstly—the disparity in strength between the two sides was only known to Zhuge Liang then, and to those like you who read the book centuries later. But as for Sima Yi, he did not know at that time. Secondly—what if Zhuge Liang really had prepared an ambush to attack from both inside and out? Do not forget that Zhuge Liang was highly resourceful, and an expert at formations and inventions. What if he had used the complex terrain to stage an attack by water or fire? Don’t we all know that when forces are in disarray, a rout will follow? Should the ambush result in a catastrophic setback, the whole army will panic and run amok, so what good would numbers be then? If you were Sima Yi, would you employ a sound strategy that provided stability and safe retreat, or would you throw it all on a desperate gamble against a dangerous foe like Zhuge Liang?”

  There was a sudden lull, and even the drop of a pin could be heard!

  Xiao Luo’s arguments were too convincing and could not be rebutted.

  Guan Yilin furrowed her brows, biting her lips as she stared at Xiao Luo. She stood crestfallen and red-faced, unable to find any words to refute him. ……