When breakfast time came, Zhu Ping'an asked someone to get a set of tableware for his uncle Zhu Shouren and his friends so that they could eat from the same pot.
"Alas, we didn't perform well this time. We didn't write the document well, and we didn't answer the military strategy questions well..."
On the way to dinner, Xia Qiang said worriedly that he was very worried about their performance today.
Hu Wei was also a little worried.
Uncle Zhu Shouren didn't take it seriously and was very tolerant. "We can read and write, and are familiar with the books of sages. Although our performance today was not satisfactory, aren't we a hundred times better than these illiterate soldiers?!"
Hey, that makes sense. After listening to their uncle Zhu Shouren's words, Hu Wei and Xia Qiang nodded and felt much better.
Although it was the first time for the three of them to eat from the big pot, they didn't have to worry about not finding the place. They could just follow the smell to the dining area.
"With so many soldiers, when will it be our turn?" Xia Qiang frowned as he looked at the long queue for food.
"Why queue? Just go and get your food." Uncle Zhu Shouren sneered and took the lead to walk to the front of the line.
Uncle Zhu Shouren brought the two of them to the front of the food delivery area and without saying a word, he pushed his way to the front.
"Hey, hey, hey, who are you three? Why are you cutting in line? You are not the ones who won the drill! Where are the people from the Supervisory Battalion? Someone is cutting in line..."
The soldiers who were cut in line were unhappy and started shouting. This was the first time they saw someone dare to cut in line.
"Who am I? Haha, if I tell you my name, I'm afraid you'll be so scared that you won't be able to eat. You all should listen carefully. I am your Master Zhu Ping'an's uncle - Zhu Shouren. I am the secretary appointed by my nephew himself. Now you all know, right? The two of them are also secretaries appointed by my nephew himself."
Uncle Zhu Shouren perfectly demonstrated what it means to take advantage of the power of another. He spoke to the protesting soldiers with his hands behind his back and in a condescending manner.
"Are you our master's uncle? Are you the clerk appointed by our master?" The protesting soldier laughed.
"Of course, it's genuine." Uncle Zhu Shouren nodded vigorously, turned around and said proudly, "You can vaguely see your master's appearance from my face. Your master's father and I are brothers. We look about 50% alike, and I look about 30% like your master."
"So what?" the protesting soldier said unfazed.
"So what?! I am your master's uncle, and we are the clerks appointed by your master. Isn't it normal for us to cut in line to get a meal? Do you have any objections?! If you have any, swallow them back. Otherwise, be careful that I tell my nephew and you will be in big trouble!"
Uncle Zhu Shouren held his head high, looked down upon the protesting soldiers, and spoke with threats in his words.
Uncle Zhu Shouren had just finished speaking when he saw that the soldiers in the queue all looked like they couldn't help laughing.
What's going on? What are you laughing at? Did I put my clothes on backwards? Or did I get some ink on myself when I was writing
Uncle Zhu Shouren lowered his head and checked himself. The clothes were clean and tidy, and he couldn't see anything wrong.
Hu Wei and Xia Qiang were also stunned. They couldn't react for a moment. Why did these soldiers have such expressions
Shouldn't you be scared? Shouldn't you admit your mistake? Why are you so hilarious?!
Amid their confused looks, the nearby soldiers all laughed.
"What are you laughing at?" Uncle Zhu Shouren was angry.
"I'll teach you guys a lesson. We adults also line up every time we eat, and we always line up at the end and eat last."
The soldiers talked in unison.
"What? My nephew has to queue up to eat? And he's at the end of the queue? Are you kidding me? Who is my nephew? Who are you..." After hearing this, the uncle and the other two were in disbelief and thought these soldiers were trying to scare them.
"You don't believe it, right? Look back. Our master must be at the end of the team. If it's not our master, it means our master hasn't arrived yet." The soldiers said with certainty.
Uncle and the others turned their heads to look back suspiciously, and then were shocked to find that Zhu Ping'an was indeed the one at the end of the team.
When did my nephew come?!
The uncle and the other two hurriedly stood up and moved away. Zhu Ping'an was already in the queue, and was at the end of the line. How could they feel embarrassed to cut in line? They quickly stood up and walked to the back of the line.
"Hey, nephew, why are you still waiting in line? As the commander of an army, it's not too much for you to be the first to eat."
Uncle Zhu Shouren and others came to Zhu Ping'an and lined up behind Zhu Ping'an. Uncle Zhu Shouren said so.
"Uncle, this is to lead by example. Confucius said: 'If a person's conduct is upright, he will act without being told; if a person's conduct is not upright, he will not act despite being told.'"
Zhu Pingan smiled slightly.
Uncle Zhu Shouren and others disagreed.
By the time it was finally their turn to eat, only the bottom of the big pot of rice was left. The expressions on Uncle Zhu Shouren and the others' faces were frozen.
"Nephew, do you eat this kind of meal every day?" asked uncle Zhu Shouren in disbelief.
"In fact, the soldiers all think of me in their hearts, and they have specially left a lot of delicious dishes for me. Since they are guests, you can serve first. Wang Er, give the good things to them." Zhu Ping'an asked his uncle and the others to serve first, and instructed Wang Er, who was serving the food, to give the few remaining meat slices, tofu and other delicious dishes to his uncle and the other three first.
After the meal, Uncle Zhu Shouren and his friends followed Zhu Ping'an to find an empty table and sat down to eat.
"My dear nephew, why don't you cook your own food? Why do you eat from the same big pot with the soldiers and even stand at the end to eat the leftovers? This is really unworthy of you. If other generals and officials knew about this, they would laugh at you. How can you have the face to chat and laugh with them in the future?"
Uncle Zhu Shouren said with great sorrow.
"Uncle, what's wrong with eating from a big pot? What's wrong with eating at the end? How can it be considered as losing status? Throughout history, there have been many famous generals who ate and lived with their soldiers, such as Wu Qi in the Warring States Period, Feng Yi in the Eastern Han Dynasty, Yue Fei in the Song Dynasty, etc. They all won great victories in the end, and their names were recorded in history, making people admire them. I have never seen them lose their status or be laughed at for this!"
"The Art of War by Sun Tzu says: 'Therefore, there are five ways to win: those who know when to fight and when not to fight will win; those who know how to use the many and the few will win; those who have the same desire as their superiors will win; those who are prepared for the unexpected will win; and those who have capable generals but are not controlled by their rulers will win.' Among them, the so-called 'the same desire as their superiors will win' means that only when the superiors and subordinates are of one mind can the army have cohesion. To achieve this, sharing the joys and sorrows with the soldiers and gaining their love is a good way."
"If the army is cohesive, it will have fighting power, and if it has fighting power, it will be able to win on the battlefield."
"In this case, other people will be envious, so how can they laugh at me?"
Zhu Pingan shrugged and said with a smile.
The uncle spoke awkwardly.