Sun Chuanting sat atop the crumbling city walls, gazing toward the north.
His mood was anything but good.
The Manchus had indeed withdrawn—but not because they had been repelled. They had merely looted their fill and left of their own accord.
Although the "volunteer forces brought by Tie Niaofei" had dealt the Manchus a heavy blow, it was, at best, a tactical victory, one that yielded little strategic value.
After all—
It had been a defensive battle.
Winning a defensive battle a thousand times over would only allow them to cling to what they already had. It would never change the fundamental reality: the enemy struck, and they endured.
"When will we finally be able to counterattack?" Sun Chuanting muttered, clenching his wrist. "When will we strike at the Manchu stronghold? I truly long to pummel them, rather than being pounded again and again."
As he brooded in frustration, a mass-produced Heavenly Lord walked up beside him, waving cheerfully.
"Hey there, Mr. Sun!"
Sun Chuanting turned his head.
He recognized the figure at once—this was the distinguished guest who had arrived in Daizhou together with Instructor He Jiu. Ostensibly the leader of the new Jin merchant group, he was an unimaginably wealthy merchant known as Gentleman Li.
The old Jin merchant group consisted of traitors who supplied the Manchus.
This new Jin merchant group, however, organized volunteer forces to fight them.
Sun Chuanting held them in deep respect.
He immediately cupped his hands. "Greetings, Gentleman Li."
Li Daoxuan smiled faintly. "Mr. Sun, staring north again? Thinking about the frontier?"
"Indeed." Sun Chuanting let out a long sigh. "The frontier never brings peace of mind. When will we finally be able to pin the Manchus down and beat them soundly?"
Li Daoxuan's expression turned a little strange.
"In your opinion, Mr. Sun… do we still have a chance to pin them down and beat them?"
Sun Chuanting hesitated.
"Er… well…"
If that question were posed to an ordinary civil official with no understanding of frontier affairs, they would likely puff out their chest and proclaim confidently:
"Our Heavenly Dynasty is vast and prosperous! Sooner or later, we'll deal with those northeastern barbarians!"
But Sun Chuanting was different.
He was well-versed in both civil and military matters. He understood economics, politics, and warfare, and he was painfully aware of both the empire's strengths and its weaknesses.
And so—
This question left him completely frozen.
Li Daoxuan chuckled softly. "Lost your nerve?"
Sun Chuanting's expression darkened.
"If we continue fumbling like this, my Great Ming will never again have the chance to strike back. Instead, we'll be beaten over and over… until one day…" He trailed off, unable to continue.
Li Daoxuan changed the subject.
"Mr. Sun, what do you think of the volunteer forces' combat effectiveness?"
"Formidable!" Sun Chuanting answered without hesitation, his spirits lifting. "The militia volunteer forces organized by the new Jin merchants are the strongest army I have ever seen. Bar none."
Li Daoxuan chuckled again.
"Then tell me—do you believe these volunteer forces could fight their way into the Manchu homeland?"
Sun Chuanting shook his head.
"With all due respect… no."
"Oh?" Li Daoxuan raised an eyebrow.
"Though their combat power is terrifying," Sun Chuanting continued, "their commanding generals are… how should I put this… untrained."
Li Daoxuan smiled. "Please, go on."
Sun Chuanting spoke frankly.
"I fully acknowledge their battlefield strength, but warfare is not merely about charging and killing. Military strategy is indispensable. Several of their commanders lack even basic understanding in this regard."
"I've observed their camps. Only Old Nanfeng's unit shows proper encampment discipline. Gao Chuwu's and Bai Mao's units are utter chaos—camp selection, gate orientation, internal division—everything is a mess."
Li Daoxuan laughed inwardly.
Right on the mark. Exactly as expected.
Outwardly, he smiled calmly.
"Mr. Sun, I trust you can guess why this is so."
Sun Chuanting nodded.
"They are militias, after all. Unlike renowned generals from military families, they weren't raised studying strategy from childhood."
"Exactly." Li Daoxuan nodded approvingly. "You've grasped the heart of the issue."
"The art of war cannot be mastered without systematic study. Relying solely on crude experience may yield some results, but the tuition is steep—paid in the lives of countless soldiers."
Sun Chuanting murmured, "Oh?"
At last, he realized that Gentleman Li had been guiding the conversation toward a specific purpose.
His expression turned solemn.
"Gentleman Li, if you have something to say, please speak plainly. There's no need to circle around it."
Li Daoxuan grinned.
"Very well. I'll speak plainly."
He straightened slightly.
"Our militia volunteer forces possess advanced weapons and can overwhelm the Manchus in direct combat. But their deficiency in military strategy is severe."
"I fear that in future battles, they may fall victim to tactics such as fire attacks, water attacks, ambushes in valleys, or even be divided and surrounded—simply because of poor encampment or strategic misjudgment."
"In short," Li Daoxuan said evenly, "this is unacceptable."
"The militia must cultivate a proper corps of commanders—men who can fight and think. They must understand marching, encampment, formations, and battlefield command. This is a systematic body of knowledge that cannot be acquired without instruction."
Sun Chuanting finally understood.
"You want me to teach them?"
Li Daoxuan shook his head.
"Not merely teach. I want to establish a military academy."
"A military academy?" Sun Chuanting stared. "What… is that?"
Li Daoxuan smiled.
"Just as private schools teach reading and writing, a military academy teaches the art of warfare."
"You yourself mentioned that famous generals come from military families, learning 'family traditions' from a young age. But why should such vital knowledge be locked away within bloodlines?"
"If everyone contributed their inherited wisdom and taught others," Li Daoxuan said calmly, "then every commander in the Great Ming could master warfare. At that point—would we still fear the Manchus?"
Sun Chuanting sucked in a sharp breath.
"Ah!"
He was right.
Li Daoxuan pressed on.
"Mr. Sun, imagine this: your profound strategic knowledge combined with the militia's advanced weaponry. If these two were fused… could we not, one day, truly pin the Manchus down and defeat them utterly?"
Sun Chuanting closed his eyes.
In his mind, artillery thundered against Shengjing. Musketeers formed ranks, mowing down Manchu troops. Huang Taiji was dragged from his hiding place, kicked to the ground, and forced to kneel.
"Spare me! I'll never dare again!" Huang Taiji wailed.
It was pure fantasy—
Yet the satisfaction was so overwhelming that Sun Chuanting nearly forgot to breathe.
He opened his eyes.
His resolve hardened.
"I will teach."
Li Daoxuan's eyes lit up.
"Excellent! Then I entrust the position of Military Academy Headmaster to you, Mr. Sun."
Sun Chuanting did not waste a moment. He immediately set off for Gao Family Village.
Just as he departed—
Far away in the capital, the Chongzhen Emperor, Zhu Youjian, was reading Sun Chuanting's memorials: On the Enemy's Inherent Weaknesses and On the Standardization of Logistics and Transport.
After finishing them, he nodded repeatedly.
"These essays are outstanding," he declared. "This man possesses true talent for frontier affairs. Find him—and appoint him at once!"