Boundless Forest Samsara could only watch with disappointment as the boulder rolled down the hill.
"Don't give up," the miniman said. "I'm sure you'll succeed next time."
"You're right," Boundless Forest Samsara said. "I can't let myself get disheartened."
She tried once more, yet once again, as she rolled Impossible Boulder up the hill, it rolled down before she could get to the top.
"Again," she told herself, trying once more.
After even a dozen attempts over, however, she could not get the boulder to the top of the hill.
"Do not be depressed or distraught, human," the Rockmen said to her. "Our tribes have been trying to get that boulder to the top of the hill for the longest time, generations even. It is no matter if you haven't succeeded."
"Maybe I can't do it on my own," Boundless Forest Samsara said. Some troubles could not be tackled by oneself - yet, large burdens could be tackled by people working together. "Oh, Miniman, can you help me out?"
"Certainly," the Miniman said.
The two of them tried to push Impossible Boulder up the hill, but there was a problem. The more people who tried to move Impossible Boulder up, the heavier and more massive it got. Even together, the miniman and Boundless Forest Samsara could not do it, and could only watch with despondent looks as Impossible Boulder rolled down the hill.
"Oh, human," the Rockmen said. "Why do you persist in this endeavor? We Rockmen are doing so because our ancestors also wished to move Impossible Boulder, but you have just got here. There is no point in continuing with this kind of futile effort. Even if you succeed, what will you have accomplished?"
"It is true that there is no reason for me to push Impossible Boulder," Boundless Forest Samsara said. However, there was something within her that couldn't just walk away. "No - that isn't right! There is a reason for me to want to do so! I want to do so because it's difficult!"
"Human, what kind of insanity is this? Why do you want to do something simply because it is difficulty?"
"To prove that it can be done!" Boundless Forest Samsara said. "Because people say that it is impossible, it makes me want to do it! Even if it sounds crazy, or is unreasonable, I want to show that it can be done!" There were many things that people said were impossible. To go against Fate Gu was impossible, to defy one's destiny was said to be futile - but that had not stopped her father, and it would not stop her either.
The Rockmen pondered her words. "Alright then, human, if you are so determined, for what it's worth, we will work alongside you."
"Alright then, shall we try to push Impossible Boulder together!" Boundless Forest Samsara said.
They came in a large group, but the issue still persisted. The large the group they sent to push Impossible Boulder, the larger and heavier it was. As such, even with a larger team they were unable to push it further than she could alone.
Stumped, Boundless Forest Samsara sat down and thought about what they could do.
It was then that Cognition Gu appeared before her. "Oh human, you seem to be in distress. What is the problem?"
"We cannot move Impossible Boulder no matter how hard we try," Boundless Forest Samsara said.
"Have you tried using more people?" Cognition Gu asked.
"Yes, but then Impossible Boulder just gets bigger so it is of no use," Boundless Forest Samsara said.
"Oh human, it is here that you've made a mistake. Although the boulder does get bigger, it is not equal to the strength of your group," Cognition Gu said.
"That's right," Boundless Forest Samsara said. "But... then why can't we succeed?"
"Human, it is not just the effort you are putting in, but how you are putting it in," Cognition Gu said. "A bunch of loose branches cannot rival the strength of a trunk unless it is tied properly."
Boundless Forest Samsara then watched a group of Rockmen who were trying to move Impossible Boulder again. "The way that they're arranged, they're wasting most of their strength!"
"Indeed," Cognition Gu said.
Boundless Forest Samsara leaped up, and explained to the Rockmen how they had to change the way that they were pushing the boulder up.
This time, they had managed to get withing an arm's reach of the top of the hill, but had failed.
"Hmm... there is still something missing," Boundless Forest Samsara asked.
"Human, the whole is greater than the sum of its parts," Cognition Gu said. "But in order to do so, the parts must be of one heart. Are you and the Rockmen truly working together?"
Boundless Forest Samsara glanced at the Rockmen. It was true that while some of them were quite motivated to push Impossible Boulder to the top of the hill, there were others there just out of obligation. They were not pulling their full weight but just pretending to. But these Rockmen were stubborn and denied it - and in a large group it was hard to tell exactly who it was who was at fault. No one wanted to accept blame and instead pointed to their neighbor, saying that they were the ones who were actually at fault. Like this, a fight nearly broke out between the Rockmen.
Boundless Forest Samsara dismissed these people and tackled it with a smaller, more dedicated group, vetting each new Rockman personally.
And so, with a new group, they managed to roll the Impossible Boulder up onwards, beyond what level they could've ever imagined before.
And with that, Boundless Forest Samsara had finally managed to roll Impossible Boulder to the top of the hill successfully!
***
Fang Yuan's eyes flashed as he considered this story and its implications. It reminded him of another quote he had read of back on Earth from Sun Tzu, "A mob is no more an army than a pile of bricks is a house. An army that is organized has the weight of a stone, while an army that is broken does not even have the weight of a grain of sand."
When one spoke of 'formations' in the general sense they were talking about arranging gu worms in order to get a particular outcome.
In the same way, humans organized themselves into formations; say for example, an army in order to deal with an external threat.
The army had to be organized properly. The soldiers placed in particular positions in order to work. Using this, they could gain a greater result for themselves.
Wasn't this just a 'formation' in the same sense as that of gu worms?
Going even further beyond while building on this idea, weren't organization much in the same?
Say, for example, a restaurant. It was not an 'army' in the typical sense, but it also had many people trying to work together for an outcome. Just like in The Legends of Ren Zu some of them would pull their weight and others wouldn't, but they had to come together in order to achieve an outcome.
So long as humanity wasn't limited to just a single person, there was always an organizational structure of some sort. Whether that be between friends, husband and wife, or superior and junior in the workplace.
Fang Yuan glanced at the Human Path gu worms before him.
There was Soldier Gu, Lieutenant Gu, and General Gu.
Fang Yuan decided to test his new hypothesis using them.
Since they were all infantry units, there was no need to think of cavalry among them, though he could potentially include them later.
Fang Yuan organized them into three columns on one of the islands. Behind each group of one hundred Soldier Gu there was a Lieutenant Gu. Each column was made of ten groups of such smaller groups, and each column had a General Gu assigned to it. This was the basic army structure that he had developed.
It was then that Fang Yuan attempted to activate this formation.
He frowned as he witnessed the result of his efforts.