Lu Xun looked bitterly at Zhuge Liang. The young man before him, only a couple of years older, seemed to have an overwhelming intellectual advantage. Lu Xun had asked every question he could think of, and Zhuge Liang had answered them all. What frustrated Lu Xun even more was that Zhuge Liang's expression remained unchanged, a detached indifference, regardless of what Lu Xun asked.
"Any more questions?" Zhuge Liang calmly set aside the book that Cai Yan had transcribed and looked at Lu Xun, who had been staring at him. It wasn't that Zhuge Liang was multitasking; his thoughts simply weren't on the book. In fact, Lu Xun's questions had also given Zhuge Liang some insights, and he had read the book several times before.
"How do you know everything?" Lu Xun asked through gritted teeth.
"No, quite the opposite. There's much I don't know," Zhuge Liang replied, his gaze deep and calm as he looked at Lu Xun.
"But you can answer everything I ask!" Lu Xun said, exasperated, his childlike frustration overwhelming the maturity he usually maintained.
"That's because your questions are too simple," Zhuge Liang replied bluntly, delivering a crushing blow to Lu Xun. "In mathematics and the study of objects, you seem to have talent, but while I'm not particularly skilled in these areas, you're still far from the mark."
As Zhuge Liang said this, his gaze became distant. The things Chen Xi had taught him—called "Natural Philosophy" or "Physics" and sometimes referred to as "high-level mathematics"—felt like heavenly texts to him. He didn't understand them at all, and he had come to realize that he might not have any talent in this field.
Lu Xun clutched his chest. The mathematics and natural studies his grandfather Lu Kang had taught him had taken him a great deal of effort to surpass both his grandfather and his hired teachers. Yet here he was, crushed by Zhuge Liang.
"In terms of managing accounts, you also show some talent," Zhuge Liang continued his evaluation, following Chen Xi's method of thoroughly assessing newcomers before educating them.
As he thought about accounting, Zhuge Liang couldn't help but recall Liu Ye and Chen Xi, those two prodigies who were true masters of bookkeeping. Liu Ye sometimes even dabbled in falsifying accounts. What was more, when Chen Xi spotted the discrepancies immediately, he'd pass them to Zhuge Liang, making him point out where the errors were. At first, Zhuge Liang couldn't find any issues even after a whole day of studying the books.
But after Chen Xi's persistent corrections, Zhuge Liang eventually managed to identify the problems at a glance. Of course, Zhuge Liang also knew that if Liu Ye were serious about forging accounts, he wouldn't be able to detect it so easily. Fortunately, Chen Xi's end-of-year audits would catch those errors.
"However, you're only decent at it. Your forgery skills are subpar," Zhuge Liang dealt another blow before Lu Xun could recover some confidence. "At the very least, you should make it hard for me to spot. I gave you an account book and asked you to falsify it, but you made it so obvious."
Zhuge Liang's tone was tinged with resignation. When he thought of the people he had encountered—from Lu Su to Fa Zheng—although they didn't often handle accounts, it was difficult for Zhuge Liang to detect any issues when they did. At least, none were as blatantly obvious as Lu Xun's.
Lu Xun's head drooped even lower. Zhuge Liang had immediately spotted the problems and pointed out all the falsifications, leaving Lu Xun stunned. In defiance, Lu Xun had written another account book and asked Zhuge Liang to falsify it, but to this day, Lu Xun still couldn't figure out where the discrepancies were.
"Next is governance. Your military governance is passable, but your civil governance is mediocre. Fa Xiaozhi at least knows how to adapt policies to local conditions, yet you don't even grasp that concept," Zhuge Liang said, looking at Lu Xun with exasperation.
To be honest, Zhuge Liang now felt that Chen Xi had made a big deal out of nothing. Fa Zheng, who often slacked off, wouldn't get up until late in the morning and didn't spend much time on government affairs. Even after being sent to Qi, Fa Zheng knew to first assess the region's specialties, geography, and whether infrastructure like roads or canals needed improvement. Yet Lu Xun stuck rigidly to what he knew.
"Fa Xiaozhi is the Chancellor of Qi and a renowned genius throughout the land..." Lu Xun muttered softly. Despite feeling frustrated by the comparison, he was also pleased. Although he had lost, losing to someone as uniquely talented as Fa Zheng was no disgrace; it was an honor to be compared to him.
"When we reach Taishan, I'll make sure to relay that to Fa Xiaozhi. I'm sure he'll be delighted. Now, let's talk about military governance. Compared to your rigid civil governance, at least your military governance shows some adaptability. I just can't figure out why you can be flexible with military governance but not with civil governance. Aren't these skills supposed to be interconnected?" Zhuge Liang sighed, feeling somewhat exasperated by Lu Xun's rigid thinking.
Lu Xun lowered his head even further. Zhuge Liang's words filled him with a sense of shame.
"As for your military governance, I'll give you a barely passing grade, considering your young age. Although your attempts at flexibility were more like paths to failure, at least you tried. There's room for improvement," Zhuge Liang said with a sigh.
Kneeling before Zhuge Liang, Lu Xun was on the verge of tears. His most skilled area, military strategy, had only earned him a barely passing grade. Although Zhuge Liang had bested him with a single strategy, it was still too disheartening.
"Now, regarding enriching the people—well, I didn't give you a zero because I'm considering your youth and inexperience. When we get back, I'll find a book on enriching the nation for you to study," Zhuge Liang said with a sigh. "Understanding economics is crucial. If you can't learn anything else, at least grasp macroeconomic policies. Otherwise, you'll end up collapsing your entire jurisdiction."
Lu Xun kept his head down, feeling utterly defeated. He didn't even know what to say about this topic since he had no experience with it. The high-level concepts Zhuge Liang mentioned were entirely foreign to him, making him realize how much he still had to learn.
"Next is training soldiers. Alright, you can pass on that since you haven't had any experience. Camp setup? No experience. Marching formations? No experience..." With each topic Zhuge Liang mentioned, Lu Xun's face grew redder with shame as he realized how much he had yet to encounter.
"Codes and intelligence? Maybe you've dabbled in this, but it's too simplistic. Anything that can be cracked at a glance is really not worth discussing," Zhuge Liang said indifferently, causing Lu Xun to feel even more inadequate.
In his frustration, Lu Xun had written a secret code message that read, "Zhuge Liang is an idiot," thinking Zhuge Liang wouldn't understand it. But to Lu Xun's dismay, Zhuge Liang deciphered it at a glance and read it aloud without even changing his expression...
"In summary, you have a lot to learn. Let's start with the basics," Zhuge Liang said, shaking his head at Lu Xun, whose head was now nearly touching the floor. "By the way, if you don't grasp things quickly, I'll request Chen Xi to assign someone else to teach you. So, you'd better work hard and show me why Chen Xi holds you in such high regard."