"Hey, kid, did the sun rise from the west today? Or is my eyes playing tricks on me? Why are you here?"
Although the voice from the front was not loud, there were not many people in the imperial court who dared to speak like this in the main hall and completely disregard the censor.
Li Yi sighed and said helplessly, "I can't help it. His Majesty summoned me …"
Old General Xue looked at him and asked in surprise, "Why did His Majesty summon you?"
Li Yi was curious himself. If the old Emperor wanted to summon him for something, he would usually summon him in private. Every time he summoned him to court, nothing good would come out of it.
Old General Xue did not ask further. He walked to his side and said in a low voice, "You have to leave a good spot for the Xue family on the Academy's stele."
Li Yi looked at him in surprise and said, "Shouldn't you talk to Her Highness about this?"
Old General Xue glanced at him and said, "Don't think I don't know. Although Her Highness is the one behind the Academy, it must be your idea behind the scenes. The Cui family did not offend the Princess. Her Highness would not do such a sinister thing."
"I don't know what Old Xue is talking about …" Li Yi leaned against a pillar and said, "I really can't control the Academy. Old Xue, you should talk to Her Highness. Based on the relationship between the Princess and the family of generals, not to mention a good spot for the Xue family on the Academy's stele, you can even erect a stele outside the Academy for Old Xue."
"Pfft, why erect a stele for me? I'm not dead yet!" Old General Xue glanced at him but was not angry. He said, "It's not convenient for me to show up for Her Highness. If others see it, they will inevitably think that Her Highness is abusing her position for personal gain. You are different. The Li family has donated a lot of money. It's impossible for others to gossip. You can just help me blow pillow talk …"
In truth, Li Yi already had a plan in mind. Although the family of generals wasn't exactly impoverished, their lives had only gotten better recently. It was impossible for them to donate a lot of silver and compete with the aristocratic families.
In reality, he had always wanted to separate one of the academies and build it into the military academy of this era, specializing in cultivating military talents. At that time, after Old General Xue, Old General Ma, and the other veterans retired, they would also be able to play their remaining role and teach some students. This would be of great benefit to the continuation of the family of generals.
This was also what they were willing to do. When Li Yi visited them last time, he heard the generals sigh. If they didn't even have to attend court in the future, they would probably be very bored.
These old generals were very good to him. In the past, they had shielded him from many storms in the imperial court. Naturally, he would have some selfishness in the matters of the Academy and would do something for the family of generals.
Of course, apart from this, there was another reason that could not be stated clearly.
However, he had to discuss this matter with them in advance. Otherwise, they would think that he was abusing the elderly and squeezing out the remaining value of the old generals. He couldn't take the blame for that.
"Really?"
Old General Xue didn't seem to care at all about squeezing out the remaining value of him. Instead, he was in high spirits.
Li Yi nodded and said, "Of course, but this has to be agreed upon by the old generals. After all, no one in the Jing Kingdom knows better than you all when it comes to arranging troops, breaking through enemy lines, and charging. When the time comes, it will still be you who will manage the entire academy. Of course, the nominal dean will be Her Royal Highness."
When all the academies in the country were built, the Eldest Princess would be the dean of all the academies. Not just in name, she would be equivalent to the Minister of Education of the Jing Kingdom. This position would not be given to anyone else by the royal family.
"Don't worry. Those old fellows would love to have something to do when the time comes." Of course, Old General Xue understood what he meant. The imperial court wouldn't completely hand over such an academy to them. It was better to have the Eldest Princess as the dean than someone else. Those old fellows wouldn't object.
He originally wanted to ask for more details, but the hall suddenly became quiet. Seeing a figure walking out from the back of the hall, Old General Xue immediately returned to his original position.
Li Yi poked his head out from behind the pillar. When he saw that Emperor Jing was already sitting on the dragon chair, he quickly shrank back.
The most important topic discussed in the imperial court today was still the flood control.
The imperial court had sent several groups of officials to deal with the flood in the south, but they couldn't effectively deal with it. The focus of this morning's discussion was this matter.
The officials were all eager to offer advice, but very few of them were able to put forward constructive suggestions.
They either repeated the routine of the predecessors or said some nonsense that seemed reasonable but were actually all fake. Li Yi was a little annoyed listening to them from behind the pillar.
Emperor Jing looked at the noisy imperial court below. His eyes swept around a few times, but he didn't see a certain figure. He frowned and said, "Where is Li Yi?"
The pillar in the hall was very thick, just enough to cover his entire body. When Li Yi heard it for the second time, he realized that someone was calling him. He walked out from behind the pillar, bowed and said, "I'm here!"
Emperor Jing saw him hiding behind the pillar again and glared at him vaguely. He said, "The imperial court has sent two groups of officials to deal with the flood in the south, but they failed. In your opinion, how should we deal with the flood this time?"
As soon as Emperor Jing said this, many people in the imperial court looked slightly gloomy.
Regarding the flood control, all the civil and military officials in the imperial court expressed their opinions, but no one could enter Emperor Jing's eyes. Only County Marquis Li was pointed out by Emperor Jing even though he hid behind the pillar. It showed how much Emperor Jing trusted him!
This was really not a good thing for some people in the imperial court.
"Your Majesty, what I want to say has already been said by the officials." Li Yi said helplessly, "I really don't know how to deal with the flood."
The power of nature was so terrible that even in the later generations, it was not something that could be resisted by human beings.
No matter how many books he read and how much knowledge he had, he did not think that he could be better than the professional flood control officials of the Imperial Water Surveillance. Moreover, limited by technology, the flood control methods of the later generations could not be realized in the present. His knowledge was not of much use as a reference. Moreover, he had to analyze the actual situation and conduct field investigations … It was better not to get involved in this muddy water.
In a few months, Ruyi would give birth. He did not want to leave at this time. Before this, he had left for a long time.
"Okay, you can leave." Emperor Jing waved his hand and realized that he had subconsciously regarded him as the last straw of hope. Dealing with the flood was not a matter of memorizing books or reciting poems. Even the officials of the Imperial Water Surveillance could not do it. What good method could he have?
Some people in the hall sneered. It was true that County Marquis Li was good at using some strange tricks, but when it came to governing a country or things that required real ability, he would show his true colors.
This time, Li Yi did not return to his original position. He had been called out by the old emperor once. It was not good to hide behind the pillar again.
"You should not have said that just now." Old General Xue slowly moved to his side and said in a low voice, "Even if you really don't understand, you can repeat it according to what the person in front of you said. Don't use such tricks in the future."
"I understand."
Li Yi didn't mind. If he didn't link it to the actual situation and just talked about it, the people in the imperial court wouldn't be a match for him even if they joined forces. However, this kind of thing couldn't be discussed on paper. One word from him could cause countless people to suffer. It was better not to speak.
The matter of controlling the flood did not come to a conclusion in the end and could only be temporarily put aside. The imperial court once again sent more officials over. Li Yi estimated that today's morning court should be over soon. Should he go to the old monk Tan Yin or Old Taoist Yuan first? This was a question worth thinking about.
At this moment, Emperor Jing above said something and a eunuch walked out from behind him. It seemed that he was going to announce an imperial edict.
Li Yi decided to go back to find out the situation first and then make a plan. He inadvertently looked up and found that Emperor Jing was looking at him. His heart thumped and he instantly had a very bad premonition.
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