Since Gao Shilian was here, Li Jing would naturally have to leave!
Before he left, Li Jing patrolled the camp one last time. The generals behind him followed closely behind. Looking at Li Jing's white hair and beard, even though he was tall, he looked exceptionally old.
However, the generals all understood that Li Jing was probably going to bid farewell to the camp this time. Firstly, Li Jing was already old. Secondly, Li Jing's contributions were too great. After consecutively eliminating the Turks and Tuyuhun, there was no reward left for him.
"General!"
One by one, the soldiers saluted and looked at the general in front of them with reverence. They gave Li Jing the highest respect. They were lucky to have followed Li Jing into battle. Following Li Jing in two consecutive wars caused countless soldiers to have outstanding military achievements.
Li Jing nodded and returned the salute. After patrolling, he looked at the camp reluctantly and gritted his teeth as he stepped out of the camp.
He had been in the military for his entire life, and the camp was the place he was most familiar with. He had spent more time in the camp than at home. Now that he was going to bid farewell to the camp he was most familiar with, he was like an old soldier who was reluctant to leave.
"Everyone, please wait!" Li Jing cupped his hands and bid farewell to everyone in front of a straight brick road in the east of Lan Zhou City. In order to avoid arousing suspicion, it could be said that he traveled light and only brought a few personal guards with him.
"Forgive us for not seeing you off!" The generals cupped their hands and said.
Immediately, Li Jing stepped onto the four-wheeled carriage. Following the shout of a personal guard, the four-wheeled carriage immediately rushed towards Chang 'an City.
"Shh!" Li Jing and his group had only traveled for five li when the personal guard suddenly stopped the carriage.
"What happened ahead?" Li Jing stuck his head out and asked.
The personal guard said loudly, "Reporting to General, Mo Jiu is here to see you off."
Li Jing couldn't help but suddenly realize that Meton wasn't among the crowd just now. He thought that Meton was busy working on the money of Shandong, but he didn't expect that Meton was waiting here in advance.
Li Jing craned his neck to take a look and saw Meton's travel-worn face. Apparently, he had just rushed over from outside.
"Mo Jiu, you don't have to be courteous!" Li Jing said.
Meton dismounted from his horse and walked up to the front. "General, you have returned victorious. I can't let you see me off."
He immediately got off the carriage and waved his hand. The guards around him immediately dispersed, leaving some privacy for the two of them.
"Tell me, what evil ideas do you have this time? Just tell me!" Li Jing saw that there was no one around and looked at Merton angrily. He didn't believe that Meton would coincidentally catch up with him here.
Meton sternly said, "What plans does General have for returning to the court?"
Li Jing fell silent for a while. After a long while, he sighed and said, "This Old Man is getting on in years and has spent his entire life on the battlefield. It is time for him to seclude himself and recuperate."
In front of Meton, Li Jing did not hide his intentions for seclusion. In truth, this was exactly what he was preparing to do.
Meton sternly said, "This little one did not see you off with the other generals today because this little one is representing the Mohist clan."
"The Mohist clan!" Li Jing's eyes immediately shone with a sharp light.
Meton straightened his body and calmly said, "Correct. Kid, you came today to represent the Mohist clan and the militarists in cooperation!"
"The Mohist clan and the militarists working together!" Li Jing's eyes flashed. Naturally, he knew that the Mohist clan was actively trying to expand the Mohist clan and start working together with the other clans.
The School of Agriculture, the School of Medicine, the School of Taoism, and the School of Legalism had all worked together with the Mohist clan. Apart from the School of Legalism, which had only been around for a short period of time, the other three had all achieved impressive results. Li Jing was not the only one who was interested in the cooperation between the Mohist clan and the militarists.
"How do we work together?" Li Jing's eyes flashed.
Meton smiled and said, "The Mohist clan has worked together with Teacher Li, Han Fuzi, and the School of Medicine at the Qu Chi Square. They are already preparing to imitate the Imperial College and establish a teacher's college, a medical college, and a law college. It would be perfect if they could establish a military college.
"A military college?" Li Jing was suddenly interested.
Meton nodded and said, "This little one once followed the general on an expedition and discovered that the general's management of the army is extremely strict. However, has the general ever wondered why there are so many memorials in the imperial court that falsely accuse the general of treason?"
Li Jing immediately fell silent. This was the most painful thorn in his heart.
"This is not because the general's achievements are too great to deter the emperor! It is also not because the imperial court is shooting at random, but because the general does indeed have the opportunity to rebel. There is the possibility of a rebellion! Any small action of the general will be placed in front of a magnifying glass by the courtiers and magnified infinitely to make all kinds of conjectures, "Meton said bluntly.
Li Jing's tiger eyes suddenly narrowed and stared at Meton. Immediately, Meton felt a terrifying aura rush toward him.
However, Meton stood straight without fear and looked straight into Li Jing's eyes.
After a long time, Li Jing slowly withdrew his aura and sighed helplessly. His expression was bleak!
"Although the general has never thought of it this way, this little one once went into the military camp and discovered that most of the soldiers in the army are boorish men. Captains and generals who are illiterate can be found everywhere. No one can deny that these soldiers are brave and invincible in battle, but they do not understand reason and are easily incited by others. In fact, if they use a little trick, they will definitely be able to incite many soldiers to follow them to the death." Meton did not shy away from mentioning the shortcomings of the army one by one.
Li Jing nodded silently. What Meton said was indeed one of the biggest shortcomings of the army. This was where he felt aggrieved. If he wanted to rebel, he had many opportunities, but he always scrupulously followed his duty. Even so, the imperial court was wary of him.
"This is a thousand-year-old shortcoming of the army. Does Mo Jiu think that building a military college can solve it?" Li Jing asked.
Meton nodded and said, "Correct. I don't know if the general has ever paid attention to the firearms supervision. I wonder if you have noticed any differences between the soldiers of the firearms supervision and the soldiers of the other sixteen guards."
Li Jing couldn't help but think of the strict discipline of the soldiers of the firearms supervision. They did not have the rough characteristics of a military man at all, leaving a deep impression at a glance.
Meton explained, "Although the soldiers of the firearms supervision were born in the Hundred Cavalry, once they enter the firearms supervision, they have to learn fire prevention measures and how to calculate the trajectory of the catapults. The most basic requirement is that everyone must be literate."
"Proficient in both the pen and the sword!" Li Jing thought of a phrase.
"Correct. This is the embryonic form of the future soldiers that I have envisioned. They are good at war, proficient in both the pen and the sword. Think about it, these officers and soldiers are experienced and knowledgeable. Even if a general wants to rebel, they will not be easily incited." Meton analyzed.
Li Jing nodded. As the saying goes, those who stand up for justice are more like butchers. For the same reason, these people are the easiest to incite. Moreover, they are illiterate and do not understand government orders. Conspirators like this kind of people the most.
"In addition, we can also instill the ideology of loyalty and patriotism in the students of the military college, strengthening their loyalty to the Tang dynasty. Once these students graduate from the military college, they will be sent to the army to serve as low-level officers. Everywhere they go, the imperial court's control over the military will be strengthened." Meton continued.
Li Jing's breathing suddenly quickened. He thought that if all the officers in the army were students of the military college, even he would not have a chance to rebel. In this way, the imperial court's suspicion of him would naturally disappear.
"Since you have such a good idea, why don't you report it to the imperial court yourself? I believe that the imperial court will definitely accept it. Why do you want to find the Old Man? The Old Man is already an old general who is about to retire and return to his hometown." Although Li Jing was tempted, he still declined.
Meton chuckled and said, "Because the general's military books are the only ones that can teach more outstanding generals!"
If Li Jing really wanted to retire, how could he continue to transcribe military books? Because of this, Meton was confident that he could persuade Li Jing to unite the school of Mohism and the school of Military Strategy.
"Military books!" Li Jing was furious when he heard this. His military book was originally about to be completed, but after being attacked by Meton several times, it was almost destroyed and had to be rewritten.
Meton laughed and said, "General Li, please don't be angry. I spent a lot of gold to get some good things from the barbarian merchants. I hope that I can apologize to the general!"
Meton said as he handed over several thick books.
"These are?" Li Jing took them in puzzlement.
"These are the records of the classic battles in the far west. I spent a lot of effort to get them from the Western Regions. The scale of the battle might not be as exciting as our Huaxia, but it is still unique," Meton said seriously.
Li Jing's heart was moved. If his military books could absorb the experience of the foreign school of Military Strategy, it would definitely be more perfect.
"Do you really believe that this Old Man is willing to unite with the school of Mohism?"
"Thirdly, one important reason why General Li has been repeatedly framed is because the Great Tang only has one War God, Li Jing. A general's success is built on the bones of ten thousand soldiers. Every general has to start out as an ordinary soldier, and only after many battles can one become a qualified general. To reach General Li's level, one must spend one's entire life on the battlefield. If General Li were to pass on his art of war, the Great Tang would have countless War Gods. Anyone who wants to rebel will find it many times more difficult to do so, and our Great Tang will be invincible." Moton painted a magnificent military future for Li Jing.
Even if Li Jing was not shocked by honor or disgrace, he could not help but yearn for it at this moment.
"Lastly, I don't know if General Li has noticed a trend. In the past dynasties, there are more and more restrictions on the generals. The civil officials want to keep the generals in check." Meton lowered his voice and said in a low voice.
"Hiss!"
Li Jing could not help but look at Meton in horror. He had buried this thought in his heart and had never spoken it out. Now, Meton said it out loud.
"Mo Jiu, be careful. Disaster comes from the mouth." Li Jing reminded him.
Meton sighed and said, "General Li is the number one Military Strategist in the world. If I can't even say this to General Li, then I can only sigh that there are no like-minded people in the world."
Li Jing could not help but be silent.
"There are too many boorish men in the army. They don't know how to read or write, and they don't know how to read or write. Their behavior is crude. It's a natural flaw. However, who said that only civil officials are well-read? Generals can also be full of literary talent.
Li Jing smiled bitterly and said, "When it comes to bewitching people, Mo Jiazi is probably the only one in the world."
"Everything this boy says is the truth, not the bewitching people. If we want to change the status of the Military Strategist, the only way is to establish a military academy." Meton argued. He knew that Li Jing had assuredly been moved. For the Military Strategist, this was a move with only benefits and no harm.
Li Jing took a deep breath and said, "Okay, the Old Man will represent the Military Strategist in cooperating with the Mohist. I hope that the Old Man will not regret this decision."
Meton breathed a sigh of relief and promised, "I will definitely not disappoint the Military Strategist."
With the Military Strategist's participation, the scale of the academy in Qu Chi Lane would definitely expand. The academy that Meton envisioned for the Hundred Schools was already beginning to take shape.
As the other hundred schools grew stronger, the influence of the Confucian school would weaken, and the pressure on the Mohist school would lessen. Moreover, as the other hundred schools began to rise, the Mohist school's rise would become less conspicuous.
This was the Mohist school's overt scheme.
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