The Three Kingdoms: I asked you to save Guan Yu, not to destroy Sun Quan.

Chapter 676 Smokeless Stove

Seeing that Shu Ma Zhong remained silent, Guan Xing continued, "Remember, everyone, whether it's bluffing or feinting, it's a means, not an end. Our core objective behind enemy lines is to seek survival and development."

"Therefore, you must always remember that you need to be strong yourself to succeed. Your own strength is the only true measure of success. If you rashly resort to tricks and schemes without strength, you will easily be outmaneuvered by your enemies."

"Moreover, because we are weak, we have a very low margin for error. One failure could mean certain death. Therefore, we must be extremely cautious and would rather lose an opportunity than put ourselves in danger."

"So Ma Zhong, I still suggest that you never blindly expand your forces. A small boat is easier to turn around. If you really encounter a desperate situation where you are surrounded on all sides, having fewer people may actually be an advantage. After all, fewer people mean smaller targets and more room to maneuver."

"However, nothing is absolute. When it comes to fighting, you have to adapt to the times and the place. You can't just talk about it on paper. So when you really get to that kind of desperate situation, you have to rely on your own judgment. What we're talking about now are just suggestions, which are an option to provide when you're in a desperate situation. You can't just copy them blindly."

Shu Ma Zhong bowed deeply and said, "Thank you for your guidance, Marquis Shence. I have remembered what you said."

Guan Xing raised his hand and pressed him down to sit down, then looked up at the sky and said leisurely, "It's almost time to eat. I'm giving you some homework today: dig a smokeless stove for me in units of ten. I've already taught you how to dig it. Today, let's see who can do it the fastest."

Humans cannot live without fire. We use fire to boil water, cook, keep warm, and even heal wounds. Fire can help wounds heal faster. However, fire produces light and smoke. If a fire is lit in the wild, it is easy for the enemy to detect it and thus expose our position. Therefore, if we want to use fire in the wild, we must build a smokeless stove to quietly expel the smoke.

So in order to have a hot meal in the wild, this group of people had to learn to dig a smokeless stove and rely on themselves to be self-sufficient.

Everyone stood up and saluted, then returned to the storeroom in an orderly manner to get shovels, hoes and other tools. They went out of the camp, found an open space and started digging. After digging, they lit a fire to test it. Guan Xing stood by and watched. He patted the shoulder to encourage those who successfully vented the smoke, and kicked them if they failed or the smoke was not vented well. He scolded them and told them to dig again. What could they do if they couldn't even dig a smokeless stove?

None of the soldiers dared to complain, after all, this was real stuff, and there was no harm in learning it.

Although the soldiers were all working hard, the differences became apparent when they actually got to work. Some washed their dishes after eating, while others couldn't even light a fire. Because of the uneven efficiency, it took the entire army more than an hour to finish eating before they returned to the training ground to continue their lessons.

Back at the drill ground, Guan Xing looked at the well-fed soldiers and said, "Next, let's talk about reorganization. Continuing from this morning, you are being pursued by an enemy force several times your size with only a few hundred remaining soldiers. Your army is short of food and clothing, morale is collapsing, some are deserting and some are defecting, and your enemy is relentlessly pursuing you. In this situation, how do you break through and escape?"

"We previously stated that we needed to send away those soldiers who lacked willpower and were unwilling to fight, thus narrowing the size of our forces and ensuring their purity. But is that enough?"

Shu Ma Zhong exclaimed in surprise, "Marquis Shence, is there another trick to this?"

Guan Xing laughed and said, "There are no backup plans, but we can add a few more pre-set conditions. After all, releasing people and downsizing is based on the premise that the military has absolute control and absolute power. But what if you don't have absolute power?"

"For example, this army is jointly led by you, Sun Lang, and Zhou Shan. Faced with the above-mentioned desperate situation, the three of you do not agree and none of you can convince the others. In this situation, how would you take power from the two of them, gain control of this army, and then lead everyone to break through successfully?"

"This..." The soldiers on the scene were stunned again. There was internal conflict and a powerful enemy outside. If they were not careful, their own men would start fighting before the enemy caught up. This was a desperate situation.

Shu Ma Zhong pondered, "If it were me, I would suggest that the three of us split up and break out, taking our own trusted men with us to escape alone, so as not to be dragged down by the two of them."

Sun Lang and Zhou Shan nodded in agreement; they shared the same thought. Since they couldn't see eye to eye, they should each do their own thing.

Guan Xing laughed and said, "That is indeed a solution, but we have already dismissed one group of weak-willed deserters. The rest are all comrades with firm resolve. Are you willing to give up such a force?"

Everyone thought it made sense. Those who could survive the enemy's pursuit were all elites, and their combat strength was definitely not a problem. Those who were willing to flee with them were all resolute people, and their ideology was also sound. Which general would be willing to give up such soldiers who had both ability and firm beliefs?

The loyal horse of Shu cried out, "Then what should we do?"

Guan Xing said, "Let me state in advance that I am just making a suggestion, which may not be correct. It is only for your reference. If it were me, I would choose to reorganize."

"The so-called reorganization is to reorganize the troops, restructure the team framework according to the actual situation, and formulate rules and regulations. If the reorganization is successful, the combat effectiveness and morale of the troops will definitely be renewed. However, the problem of reorganization is not the reorganization itself, but the preliminary work of reorganization. That is to say, how to make everyone accept your reorganization and be willing to accept it. This is the key point."

"Remember that you are fleeing for your lives at this time. Your morale is low and your soldiers are more or less resentful of you. So at this time, you must not abuse your authority or use your power to suppress the soldiers and push them to the opposite side. Instead, you should talk to them, understand their thoughts, and guide their emotions. Then, propose to hold an election so that the soldiers can choose the general they want to follow."

“For example, you used to have a battalion of troops, but now you've been reduced to just one battalion. Although you only have one battalion, the soldiers belong to different battalions. After all, you're a remnant. Every battalion has both dead and survivors. The survivors must be from all the battalions. It's impossible that only your battalion is alive while all the other battalions are dead.”

"In this situation, to restore combat effectiveness, the three groups must be merged into one, thereby restoring unified command and allowing the army to regain its fighting power. But don't forget that there are still pursuers behind you. Time is limited and you can't afford to merge them at your leisure. You must integrate your forces and withdraw as quickly as possible. The only way I can think of to accomplish this quickly is what I just mentioned: conduct ideological work on each soldier, let the soldiers elect the leader they want to follow, and then let the minority obey the majority to quickly restore the organization."

Shu Ma Zhong said, "I understand, but I don't fully understand."

Guan Xing laughed and said, "Then let's do a simulation on the spot."

After saying that, he casually pointed at the ranks and said, "You, you, and you, all three of you from the same village, step forward. Let's assume that your three villages are the remnants of the Three Qu tribe who fled, and your village leaders are the three Qu chiefs among the remnants who don't get along with each other. Now..."

"Let's make it even more realistic. The three village chiefs escape from the camp, and Ma Zhong leads the others to pursue them. Let's have a real-world exercise. I'll go with the three village chiefs."

This method was quite novel, and everyone agreed. The three village chiefs rubbed their hands together, secretly determined to seize the position of village chief and break out of the encirclement.

Ma Zhongzhou and his men also rolled up their sleeves, full of confidence, and vowed to capture them all.

Seeing that no one had any objections, Guan Xing waved his hand and said, "Go back and prepare. We'll set off in half an hour. We'll spend the night in the wilderness. Dismissed."