"Have you discussed the recruit plan in detail, Minister Li?" Li Shimin asked with great interest. Of course, what he was most interested in was that if everyone was loyal to the Emperor and loved their country, the world would be stable!
All the officials listened attentively. Everyone knew that if Li Jing's plan could be realized, it would be an earth-shattering change for the military.
"When I returned to Chang 'an, the Old Man had a deep discussion with Meton and realized that the common people misunderstood soldiers. It was widely said that good men don't serve in the army! The common people's reaction to soldiers is that they are dirty and messy. This situation has existed since ancient times. It was only after His Majesty stood his ground and used the military to deal with the drought that the situation improved, "Li Jing said.
Li Shimin nodded.
"Even so, there are still many soldiers who can't get a wife. I believe that many soldiers in the army are like this!" Li Jing said. After his discussion with Meton, he didn't immediately submit a memorial. Instead, he slowly observed the situation in the army and then submitted a memorial in an orderly manner!
Many generals nodded. This phenomenon was very common among soldiers.
"After discussing with Meton, I realized that if we want to change the common people's expectations of soldiers, the first thing we have to do is to change the soldiers' external appearance!" Li Jing said.
"Please continue, Minister Li!" Li Shimin said with great interest. Originally, he only wanted to change the topic of the civil officials' criticism of Mo Jiazi. Now, he really listened!
"Have you noticed the difference between the soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor and the common soldiers?" Li Jing suddenly turned to the other generals and asked.
"The soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor!"
The generals of the court had either seen the Firearms Supervisor during the Great Martial Arts Exhibition or the soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor during the Western Expedition. They couldn't help but think of that unique unit.
"It seems that the soldiers of the Firearms Supervisor are cleaner and tidier. Even when they walk, they are different from other soldiers." Cheng Yaojin thought about it and said.
He could see that the Firearms Supervisor was a maverick, so he suggested that they interact more with the soldiers in the army.
The other generals also nodded. They had all seen the Firearms Supervisor before and had a very deep impression of them.
Li Jing nodded and said, "Not only the Firearms Supervisor, but also Mo Jiazi's Village and Brother Mo Jiazi's image in the eyes of the people of Chang 'an changed greatly in a short time. Most of them relied on cleanliness and tidiness."
Under the leadership of Meton, the younger brothers of Mo Jiazi abandoned the poor habits of wearing hemp clothing during the pre-Qin period. Everyone's clothes were neat and clean, and they paid attention to personal appearance. They were completely different from the sloppy people around them.
Everyone realized that wherever Mo Jiazi was, cleanliness was the number one priority.
"Therefore, if we want to change the image of soldiers, the first thing we have to do is to be clean and tidy and eradicate head lice. I will give you an example. If I am infected with the plague and let people in the downtown area, I am afraid that people will avoid me like I am a snake or a scorpion. No one will be willing to come within three feet of me. Head lice is like a plague in the army. Not only does it make the soldiers suffer, but it also makes the people misunderstand and dislike them." Li Jing sighed.
When Li Jing said this, the generals all nodded. After all, they were also deeply aware of the poor hygiene in the army.
"Therefore, I think that it is imperative to eradicate the head lice in the army and improve the hygiene in the army. As long as there are head lice infected people, they should all have their hair cut. Completely eradicate head lice in the army." Li Jing suddenly shouted.
"We all think that it is imperative to eradicate head lice!" Cheng Yaojin also echoed.
The generals all nodded in agreement. This was related to the image of the army. If they followed Li Jing's plan and changed the image of the army, the generals would naturally benefit from it.
"How difficult is it to eradicate head lice? As long as they wash their hair frequently and pay attention to hygiene, head lice will naturally be cured without any medicine. "Kong Yingda said proudly.
When Kong Yingda finished speaking, not to mention the generals in the army, even the civil officials who had followed the army to war couldn't help but twitch their mouths.
Li Shimin said, "Chancellor Kong may not know this, but there are many people in the army and countless war horses and mules. It is almost impossible to eradicate head lice using normal methods."
Kong Yingda noticed everyone's strange reaction and couldn't help but blush. "Since normal methods won't work, why not use medicine for head lice!"
"Medicine!" Li Jing sneered. "Not to mention the hundreds of thousands of soldiers in the imperial court, the treatment medicine would cost at least eight hundred copper coins. This isn't a small sum. Furthermore, just treating the people won't work. If we don't treat the war horses, they will also be infected again. In this way, the cost will definitely multiply."
When Dai Zhou heard this, his face instantly turned pale. He shook his head and said, "The Ministry of Civil Affairs doesn't have any extra money. The disaster in Shandong must have completely emptied the imperial court. There isn't any extra money left."
A copper coin stumped a hero. Everyone knew that the imperial court's finances were tight. If it wasn't for Mo Jiazi taking out a large amount of money from Tuyuhun, the rewards for the soldiers who had performed meritorious deeds wouldn't be given out. Now that they had to fork out a large sum of money, how could Dai Zhou be willing?
"Old Man also thinks that cutting hair to eradicate head lice is a good method. Furthermore, after a year or so, won't the lice grow back?" Dai Zhou echoed.
Kong Yingda's face couldn't help but turn black. He didn't expect that other than the military, the Ministry of Civil Affairs would also change sides!
Li Jing nodded and said gently to Kong Yingda, "I don't want all the soldiers to have their hair cut. After the lice in the army is eradicated, they will naturally be able to grow their hair back."
Kong Yingda and the other civil officials sneered. Head lice were rampant in the army. Once the soldiers cut off their hair, there wouldn't be many chances for them to grow their hair back.
"The soldiers protect the country. It is the foundation of the country. Filial piety should be even more stringent. Only then can they be loyal to the country!" Kong Yingda didn't give in at all.
Li Jing retorted, "Since ancient times, loyalty and filial piety can't be both. I believe that loyalty should be greater than filial piety. You can't expect the soldiers to bleed and sweat and have lice on their heads."
"That's right. Furthermore, filial piety is a classic of your Confucian school. You can use it to restrict your disciples. You don't need to worry about the soldiers." Cheng Yaojin echoed.
"Although filial piety is a classic of the Confucian school, the hairstyle is a thousand-year-old tradition of China. How can we let you trample on it?!" Kong Yingda said angrily.
Taiji Palace was immediately divided into two factions. The civil and military officials were arguing.
"Alright! Let's put this matter aside for now. We'll discuss it again when Meton returns! "Li Shimin made the final decision.
Instantly, all the civil and military officials glared at him with hatred. Only then did they stop.
"Dear Official Li, can you explain the recruit plan in detail?" Li Shimin asked.
Li Jing nodded and said, "Apart from being clean and tidy, the recruits also need to be literate and know how to be loyal to the emperor!"
"Literate?" Li Shimin couldn't help but open his mouth wide.
Li Jing explained, "Of course, they don't need to be very knowledgeable. This plan needs to be complemented by Teacher Li's compulsory education law. If everyone in the Tang dynasty was literate, then the recruits would naturally be literate."
Li Shimin nodded slowly.
"However, for a general, he needs to be proficient in both the pen and the sword. When the Minister checked the list of generals in the army, he found that less than thirty percent of them were proficient in the art of war." Li Jing shook his head.
Li Shimin nodded his head. Chang He was not versed in literature and ink, this was known throughout the court. One day, when he presented a memorial to Li Shimin, it was written with brilliant literary talent. Li Shimin could tell at a glance that it was written by someone else. Only then did he discover that it was a generation's commoner general, Xiangma Zhou.
"Bravery is part of being a general, but strategy is also essential. The Minister believes that we should choose brave generals in the army and imitate the Imperial College to set up military schools. We should select famous generals to teach them the art of war and the way to be loyal to the emperor and patriot. In this way, all the generals in the army would be proficient in both the pen and the sword, brave and wise, and loyal to the emperor and patriot. The Tang dynasty would definitely be invincible. "Li Jing said proudly.
"Loyal to the emperor and patriot! Invincible! "Li Shimin's eyes suddenly lit up.
"Proficient in both the pen and the sword!" The civil official was shocked. He didn't expect the military general to be so ambitious.
Even the generals in the army looked at Li Jing in shock. Once Li Jing's recruit plan came out, it would definitely bring earth-shaking changes to the army. He would definitely leave his name in history and become a master of the art of war.
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