"Me?" Meton was taken aback.
"That's right. What do you think, Merton?" Hou Junji asked with a smile.
Meton was silent for a moment, then cupped his hands and said, "It is my duty to fight for the country. However, the Mo Family Village is in a mess now. I have the heavy responsibility of reviving the Mo Family Village. If I leave the Mo Family Village to fight for Gao Chang, how can I be at ease? This is really a dilemma for the country!"
Everyone could not help but nod their heads. Everyone was naturally clear about the Mo Family's current situation. This was the most difficult time for the Mo Family. It could even be said that it was a matter of life and death for the Mo Family. With the Mo Family's son, they could still barely hold on. But once the Mo Family's son left, the revival of the Mo Family that they had painstakingly built would be destroyed in an instant.
The officials of the Five Clans could not help but think. If Mo Jiazi left, the entire Mo Family Village would definitely collapse. At that time, they would be at the mercy of the Mo Family. Wang Gui gestured slightly, and a neutral censor stood out and said, "The Mo Family has always been loyal to the country. The West Expedition to Gao Chang is the time for Merton to contribute to the country. How can he abandon the family for a small family?"
"That's right! The Mo Family Village is a big family. Furthermore, they have the Green Dragon True Medicine and the Secret Glass Technique in their hands. They are already in an invincible position. Merton is just making excuses. "
"The Mo Family Village is the richest in the world. Every family in the village is rich. Merton is too greedy."
… … …
As the officials of the Noble Clans continued to criticize, the atmosphere of the imperial court was extremely unfavorable to Meton.
Meton looked at the officials of the Noble Clans who had bad intentions and could not help but frown, "Your Majesty, the Minister will lead the army to battle in the twelfth lunar month. It will be a long journey. I am afraid that he will only be able to leave the Jade Gate in the West Expedition to Gao Chang when the snow melts in the third lunar month. The Minister earnestly requests the Minister to allow me more time to deal with the matters of the Mo Family. I will be able to meet with the army at the Jade Gate in the third lunar month. This way, both the country and the Minister will be able to serve the country wholeheartedly without any worries."
"March!" The eyes of all the civil and military officials flashed. According to Meton's intention, he wanted to get the Mo Family out of its predicament before March next year, no earlier. After all, Meton still needed at least a month to travel from Chang 'an City to Jade Gate Pass.
Was Mo Jiazi purposely mystifying or was he confident that he could pull the Mo Family Village out of its predicament in just a few months? All the aristocratic family officials were hesitant.
Li Shimin did not answer directly. Instead, he turned to the ministers and asked, "There is no precedent for this. What do you think?"
Hou Junji could not help but frown. As the general leading the army, he naturally did not want to have such a troublemaker under his command. Moreover, according to the military rules, he had already set out to battle, but a junior general under his command was late. He could directly execute him for being late.
However, he knew that he could not touch Mo Jiazi. Not to mention that Meton had married Princess Changle, Meton's identity as the leader of Mo Jiazi was also a taboo to him. Moreover, he needed Meton and the firearms supervisor now, not Meton.
After the deduction just now, Meton's firearms supervisor was the key to successfully conquering Gao Chang City. It could be said that Meton was in control of Gao Chang's victory in the western expedition. As long as he could defeat Gao Chang, he could make up for the regret of the western expedition to Tuyuhun. In terms of merit and reputation, he could stand shoulder to shoulder with Li Jing. This was something that Hou Junji could not give up no matter what.
After all, a general who destroyed a country in the Tang dynasty did not deserve to be called a famous general at all. Hou Junji urgently needed a battle to destroy a country to prove himself.
Thinking of this, Hou Junji squeezed out a smile and said, "The Mo family has contributed to the destruction of the Tang dynasty, and the Mo family's village bears a lot of heavy responsibilities of forging military equipment. Merton, you should first stabilize the Mo family's village and ensure that the military supplies are sufficient. It is also for the western expedition. I will wait for you at Yumen Pass in March. But let me warn you first. If Merton is late and delays the western expedition, don't blame me for being ruthless."
"Thank you for your understanding, General Hou! I am very grateful. "Meton said solemnly.
The officials of the aristocratic families looked at each other. It was only a few months before the battle against Gao Chang. Now the North and South Aristocratic Families were united, and there was no one in the Tang dynasty to help the Mo family. They did not believe that Mo Jiazi could overturn the situation.
Seeing that no one in the imperial court objected, Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction and said to Merton, "In this case, Minister Merton, hurry up and solve the problem of the Mo family's village. This time, I believe that no one will make trouble for the Mo family's village."
Although Li Shimin said this to Meton, he was actually warning the officials of the aristocratic families. In the past three years, the aristocratic families had used many dirty tricks on the Mo family. This time, he wanted the Mo family to compete with the aristocratic families fairly.
Of course, this kind of fairness could not be absolutely fair. After all, the aristocratic families had great influence, and the power they could use was too great. However, Mo Jiazi was also not to be trifled with. Even if he was suppressed by the five aristocratic families, he could still defend and fight back. Once there was no official suppression, Meton might have a chance to make a comeback.
"Of course! I hope that Merton can solve the internal affairs in time and serve the imperial court as soon as possible, "Wang Gui said with his head bowed.
Li Shimin had clearly warned them not to use their power to suppress the Mo family's village. If the aristocratic families did not know what was good for them, they would definitely be punished by Li Shimin in the end. Now that the North and South aristocratic families had joined forces and were keeping an eye on the Mo family's village, they did not believe that Mo Jiazi could escape from the aristocratic families.
Wang Gui nodded on behalf of the five aristocratic families and seven aristocratic families. Although Xiao Yu was not satisfied, he also knew that Li Shimin had already set the tone. If he continued to oppose, he was afraid that he would offend Li Shimin, which would not be good news for Jiangnan. Moreover, if they convinced the Mo family's village with Li Shimin's conditions, even Li Shimin would not say anything.
Seeing that the Mo family and the aristocratic families had reached a balance, Kong Yingda had been watching coldly from the side. His thoughts were extremely complicated. The Mo family and the Confucian family had been rivals for thousands of years. If the Mo family failed, they would not be able to advance in the future and would not be a concern at all.
It was reasonable to say that Kong Yingda should hope that the Mo family would fail, but he hoped that the Mo family could win this time. As a member of the Hundred Schools, he naturally did not want to see the pride of the Hundred Schools destroyed by the aristocratic families. Moreover, the aristocratic families were also an obstacle to the Confucian family's promotion of primary schools and the realization of universal unity.
"I have a memorial." Kong Yingda's heart skipped a beat, and he said loudly.
The attention of all the civil and military officials in the court was immediately attracted. During the three years when the Mo family was dormant, the Confucian family was at its peak. The Confucian family used their wealth to open libraries all over the Tang dynasty, allowing the poor children in the world to read for free. It could be said that it was praised by all the students in the world, and the Kong Family's reputation was unparalleled.
"Minister Kong, please speak!" Li Shimin said pleasantly. Li Shimin had always wanted to support the commoners and break the monopoly of the aristocratic families on the court. The library opened by the Kong Family could be said to be a great contribution. With the existence of the library, the gap in knowledge and experience between the commoners and the aristocratic families became smaller and smaller, and the commoners began to gain momentum.
"Now, according to the deduction, the probability of Gao Chang winning the Western Expedition of the Tang dynasty has reached 80%. I don't know how the Tang dynasty will deal with Gao Chang after defeating Gao Chang. Will they appoint a new king like the Tuyuhun, or will they appoint a Governor of the Western Regions like the Han dynasty?" Kong Yingda asked solemnly.
Everyone could not help but frown. Appointing a new king would save the court a lot of trouble, and he would be guarding the Tang dynasty's borders. For example, Tuyuhun's Fushun was the Tang dynasty's barrier against Tubo.
However, appointing a Governor of the Western Regions could put Gao Chang under the Tang dynasty, allowing the Tang dynasty to expand its territory. However, the disadvantage was that it was too far away, and it was surrounded by enemies.
"Minister Kong, do you have a good plan?" Li Shimin's eyes flashed.
Kong Yingda said directly, "I think that Gao Chang is related to the safety of the Silk Road of the Tang dynasty. Appointing a Governor of the Western Regions is the best choice. Moreover, Kong Huisuo, a descendant of the Kong Family, has completed the compilation of the theory of 'Yinyin'. Using Gao Chang as the experimental site of 'Yinyin' will undoubtedly show the advantages and disadvantages of 'Yinyin', and it will not cause turmoil in the Tang dynasty."
If they wanted to promote 'Yinyin', they had to promote primary schools. Now, it was difficult for the Confucian school to promote primary schools in the Tang dynasty, and Gao Chang, which had just been conquered, was a blank piece of paper without the help of the aristocratic families. If the Confucian school promoted 'Yinyin' in Gao Chang, it would in turn affect the Tang dynasty. It could be said that the promotion of 'Yinyin' in the Tang dynasty was logical.
Everyone could not help but be stunned. Recently, the Hundred Schools seemed to be a little irritable. The School of Mo shouted that they wanted to attack Tuyuhun and Gao Chang. Under the influence of the School of Mo, the court had just decided to attack Gao Chang, and in the blink of an eye, the Confucian school was already thinking of annexing Gao Chang and promoting 'Yinyin'.
"Minister Kong's words are quite reasonable, but it is too early to discuss this matter." Li Shimin did not express his position in public.
All the ministers nodded. Although they had decided to fight against Gao Chang, the war had not yet begun. It was too early to think about post-war matters.
However, Kong Yingda's words had taken root in everyone's hearts. If Gao Chang could be incorporated into the Tang dynasty, wear Han Chinese clothes, and speak Han Chinese, in less than a hundred years, there would be no doubt that the people of the Tang dynasty would be no different from the Tang dynasty. Then, the Tang dynasty would firmly occupy this strategic area.
The Confucian school's plan could be said to be far-sighted. The aristocratic families were not unaware of the Confucian school's plan. However, they were in the final stage of the competition with the School of Mo, so naturally, they had no time to worry about the Confucian school.
The aristocratic families were extremely powerful, especially after the Jiangnan aristocratic family and the Five Families and Seven Hopes joined forces. The School of Mo not only lost the northern and southern markets, but also the two major markets in Chang 'an and Luoyang were in danger.
During the three years when the School of Mo went to Jiangnan, the Five Families and Seven Hopes had not given up on suppressing the School of Mo. Even if they lost money in the Chang 'an market, they had been competing with the School of Mo at a low price. Now the Jiangnan aristocratic family also joined in the encirclement and suppression of the School of Mo. The merchants of the Tang dynasty who got the news naturally avoided the Family Village of Mo. The situation of the School of Mo has been unprecedentedly grim.
"Little nephew apologizes to Uncle Zheng. I have offended you before." Xiao Family, Xiao Rui apologized to the Head of the Zheng family with a wry smile.
"Ignorance is blameless. This is the plan of Brother Zheng and Brother Xiao secretly discussed. Not only you don't know, even my son Zheng Chang doesn't know. It was a misunderstanding before." The Head of the Zheng family waved his hand.
Sticking to the rules is the word of the School of Mo, but it is slowly misunderstood by the world as conservative and unwilling to change. The Head of the Zheng family used the word of the School of Mo as a code to trap the School of Mo. It can be said that his intention is quite deep.
Xiao Rui and Zheng Chang on the side looked at each other and couldn't help but feel embarrassed. For a long time, they thought that the two families were opposed to each other. Who would have thought that their father had secretly cooperated three years ago and kept both of them in the dark. It was really a flood rushing against the Dragon King Temple.
"If not, how can we hide from Mo Jiazi? How can the plan of sticking to the rules work?" Xiao Yu said with great joy in his heart. This time, the Xiao family is the one who reaped the most benefits. Not only did they become the leader of the Jiangnan aristocratic family by virtue of the development of Jiangnan, but they also became the top aristocratic family of the Tang dynasty by virtue of the conspiracy with the Five Families and Seven Hopes.
Xiao Rui opened his mouth slightly and wanted to say something, but in the end, he could only give up. These things were no longer what he could control.
Zheng Chang on the side was extremely excited: "The plan of sticking to the rules that father said is the matter of trapping the Mo Family Village today. Today's Mo Jiazi can be said to be a dragon trapped in the shallows, a tiger in the plains, and a body full of Mo skills. Without the cooperation of the world's merchants, he can only sit and wait for death. "
"This time, everyone in the world avoids the School of Mo. The Old Man wants to see how the Mo Family Village alone can turn the sky." The Head of the Zheng family said confidently.
Three years ago, he was careless and let Mo Jiazi find the loopholes in the Western Regions and Jiangnan. This time, the loopholes on both sides have been filled. Coupled with the influence of the world's aristocratic families, even if they don't attack the Mo Family Village openly, he believes that the School of Mo will not be able to escape this time.
Xiao Rui looked at his father and Zheng's father and son laughing heartily, but there was a faint uneasiness in his heart. The Mo Family took out the sand table technique, which can be said to be strategically calculated, but did the Mo Family really not calculate it?
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