Chapter 12: Damn, Three of Them

Ma Su followed Zhao Shaojie's finger and looked toward the boy he was pointing at: it was Deng Ai.

"I am not as good as him?!" Ma Su’s body trembled, his face flushing crimson.

Zhao Shaojie nodded and said, "In terms of military command, when this boy grows up, he will reach a rating of ninety, while you will only reach sixty. That gap is the difference between heaven and earth—the divide between a top-tier general and an ordinary one!"

The others present dismissed it as a jest.

Ma Su, however, was incensed and fumed, "Very well! Since you look down on me so much, I shall make you see me in a new light!"

With that, Ma Su turned and stormed off.

Ma Liang frowned and asked, "Shao-jie, why must you humiliate him so? Do you hold a prejudice against my Ma family?"

Zhao Shaojie quickly explained, "Jichang, do not misunderstand me. I hold you in high regard; you are a man of loyalty and righteousness, one capable of martyrdom, and you never act out of arrogance. But your younger brother is a man of empty rhetoric—he may serve as a strategist, but he is a reckless soul unfit to be a commander. I provoke him now in the hope that he might yet be saved."

As he spoke, he could not help but glance at Zhuge Liang, adding earnestly, "Kongming, if Ma Su does not change his ways, he is not fit for great responsibility. Remember this!"

Zhuge Liang felt a subconscious chill, wondering if Ma Su would indeed bring disaster upon his command, yet he replied with a smile, "I will remember." Having said that, he laughed and led Ma Liang away.

Zhao Shaojie then turned his attention to Deng Ai and his mother. The woman looked timid and shy, but Deng Ai’s eyes shone with intelligence. After staring at Zhao Shaojie for a moment, he bowed and asked, "May I ask, Master Zhao, why you specifically sent men to search for my mother and me?"

Zhao Shaojie paused; this was difficult to answer. After a moment's thought, he said, "I once heard an elder say that there was a child in the Deng family who, despite a stutter, possessed great wisdom and would surely become an extraordinary person in the future. I simply wished to see if it were true."

Upon hearing this, Deng Ai’s face showed a mix of confusion and delight, though he still managed to say, "Fan will not... will not disappoint you, sir."

Zhao Shaojie smiled and looked at Deng Ai’s mother. "Ma'am, in Liu Bei’s army, we have special support policies for single-parent and orphaned households. Your family qualifies perfectly. Come with me—you shall stay in Xinye for the night, and tomorrow we will head to Fancheng to settle down anew."

Deng Ai’s mother had lost her husband, and while the Dengs were a large clan, they could not adequately provide for her and her son. Now that someone was willing to support them, she was overjoyed and immediately expressed her gratitude: "Thank you, sir, for saving our lives. Fan-er, hurry and kowtow to the master."

Zhao Shaojie quickly waved his hands. "None of that is necessary; a simple salute is enough."

After their conversation, Zhao Shaojie took the mother and son to the refugee camp. He found them decent accommodation for the night. Once there, he put some thought into his plans—or rather, he implemented the academic system from his own schooling days. He drafted a schedule: wake-up time, reading, running, lessons, meal times, and so on.

After finishing the draft, Zhao Shaojie summoned the camp overseer and instructed, "Once things are settled, the children in the refugee camp are to attend classes according to this schedule."

The overseer picked up the list, pointed to the Arabic numerals on the page, and asked, "What is the meaning of this?"

Zhao Shaojie tapped his forehead and laughed. "These are 'Shaojie Numerals' that I created. They are simple to write, conspicuous, and easy to remember."

The overseer frowned, then offered a compliment: "I never expected Captain Zhao to have such talent, creating such ingenious symbols."

Zhao Shaojie snorted. "Once my Royal Academy of Sciences is established, you will see just how capable I truly am."

The overseer’s mouth twitched, and he asked, "Is the curriculum not too dense?"

In truth, Liu Bei’s refugee camps were unique; scholars like Sun Qian often visited to teach the refugees and their children basic literacy, though these sessions were spaced days or weeks apart. This welfare policy was later perfectly carried on by Guan Yu, who, while stationed in Jingzhou, not only defended against Cao Cao and Sun Quan but also promoted water conservancy and taught the common folk to read and write.

Zhao Shaojie waved him off. "These are the flowers of our motherland; they must be enriched with a rigorous curriculum, otherwise, how will they shoulder the burden of reviving the Han Dynasty in the future?"

The overseer struggled for a moment, then asked a few more questions, to which Zhao Shaojie responded one by one.

The next day, just after breakfast with Liu Bei, Zhao Shaojie was dragged to the government office. On the way, Liu Bei asked, "Will Ma Su cause trouble in the future?"

"He will cause a great disaster!" Zhao Shaojie replied.

Liu Bei nodded.

Upon arriving at the office, Ma Su looked at Zhao Shaojie with resentment and declared sharply, "Zhao Shaojie, I have already entered the Lord’s service and will soon head south with General Mi Fang. To prove to you that I am not the man you describe, I invite you to join me on this southern expedition. See for yourself if I am truly a man of no substance! Do you dare?"

Zhao Shaojie was stunned and looked toward Liu Bei. He had no desire to travel all the way to Guangzhou with a military expedition—it was too far! Besides, Ma Su was far too temperamental!

"What does Shaojie think?" Liu Bei asked, smiling at him.

"I still have to manage the children's camp; I am preparing the teaching materials!" Zhao Shaojie demurred.

Before Liu Bei could speak, Ma Su interrupted, "If you come with me, I will donate the collection of books from my home, including many rare, unique editions. Furthermore, I will send guests from my household to the refugee camp to teach, so your work will not be delayed. How is that?"

Zhao Shaojie curled his lip. *Do you even know what I intend to teach?* However, looking at the arrogant Ma Su, an idea suddenly struck him. He smiled and said, "I also want you to give me five hundred craftsmen of all trades! And you must mobilize all the Ma family’s craftsmen in northern Jingzhou to migrate south."

Ma Su hesitated for a moment, then shouted, "Agreed!"

Zhao Shaojie sighed. The Ma family really was wealthy and generous! "Fine, it is a deal."

Liu Bei looked at Zhao Shaojie, hoping he would understand his sincerity.

...

Zhao Shaojie had not expected Mi Fang and the others to leave so soon. When he and Ma Su arrived at the military camp, they saw the troops preparing to set out. Except for the one thousand men under Zhao Yun’s escort, the other five thousand had no armor or weapons, intending to secure them once they reached Jiangling.

As everyone gathered, the purpose of their meeting was explained.

Mi Fang said with a smile, "Shao-jie, let me introduce you: this is Hao Pu, this is Shi Ren, and this is Yuan Lin. You already know Xu Shu, Xu Yuanzhi, so no introduction is needed."

Zhao Shaojie could not help but mutter to himself, "Holy cow, three of them?!"

Out of the five leaders, three were traitors! Hao Pu had surrendered to Sun Quan twice, Shi Ren had surrendered to Sun Quan, and Mi Fang had surrendered to Sun Quan. Add in Xu Shu, who would eventually defect to Cao Cao, and the disastrous Ma Su—what kind of "divine" team was this?!

*Liu Bei, you are truly something!*

With Mi Fang, Hao Pu, and Shi Ren—these three "Crouching Dragons and Fledglings"—about to be his colleagues, Zhao Shaojie felt like he was doomed again. He desperately wanted to back out.

"Is there something wrong, Shao-jie?" Xu Shu asked, puzzled.

Zhao Shaojie waved his hand. "No, nothing. I... I am just worried about getting seasick."

"Do not worry, you will get used to it after a few rides," Xu Shu comforted him.

Zhao Shaojie grimaced, and then he spotted the notoriously difficult Wei Yan standing nearby...