After dinner, Bai Yujun gave Zhang Qi some extra lessons.
Old Doctor Zhang looked at his grandson and shook his head. Perhaps he regretted that the boy had not taken the proper path, or perhaps he blamed himself for being unable to guide his grandson onto it.
Children should not damage their bodies too much while they were young. Laying a foundation was enough; learning knowledge should come first.
After dinner came the academic lesson. The course was not difficult: simple addition and subtraction, along with all sorts of common knowledge about daily life. Common sense should not be underestimated. If a general commanding troops did not even understand basic common sense, how could he manage an army of tens of thousands?
Details determined success or failure. A general who did not even understand common sense was unqualified.
Marching and making camp, eating, drinking, relieving oneself, sleeping—what did not require attention? A single oversight could weaken an army's fighting strength and affect victory or defeat. There were no trivial matters in warfare.
Of course, there had been many laymen serving as generals throughout history. There was no need to say what the consequences had been, unless their luck was exceptionally good.
In the study, Zhang Qi held a crude pencil and worked through problems. He used Arabic numerals, which were extremely convenient whether for recording figures or writing equations. The plus and minus signs were far more convenient than traditional arithmetic.
Zhang Qi was very clever and learned much faster than the other children in the village. Otherwise, he would not have received extra lessons.
The only sound in the study was the swish of pencil across paper.
The flame of the oil lamp flickered faintly.
After a long while, he stopped working and handed the paper to Bai Yujun,