the enlightener says

"Aren't you afraid that Boling will put pressure on you because of Xuanwei's relegation and even his death after taking over the position of general?" There seemed to be light in Juzi's eyes, and his voice raised slightly.

6Chapter 16 Unexpected, Reasonable

Master Zhong shook his head and said softly: "I believe that Junshi Sun will not be that kind of person. If there is such a day, I will just reap the fruits of my own. But today's Mohists need such a general who can command thousands of troops. If so, this is It is official business, and the recommendation matter is duty-bound."

"What a business, it's not in vain for me to let you come tonight." Juzi looked at Master Zhong with relief, and finally laughed out loud.

In the dark and empty hall, Juzi's laughter echoed everywhere, seeming a little distant and lonely.

"You don't need to talk about Burling taking over as the general. It's not because I'm trying to bury my talent, but I have discussed this matter with Burling, but he said that he has a disability and is really not suitable to take over as the general. .He would rather continue to be a military adviser, but also vacate this position for future generals to have a place to display."

After a pause, Juzi sighed slightly, "I can also see that the news of Xuanwei's death has hit him hard. Since he refused in every possible way, then it is inconvenient for me to force him to be the general."

"But this..."

"Listen to me." Juzi raised his hand and said with a smile, "The matter of being a general is not that important after all. Although Bo Ling is unwilling to take over the position of general, this Mohist army is Xuanwei's whole life. No matter what, Ling can't just stand on the sidelines. Therefore, I am going to hand over all the command of the Mohist army to him, so that whether he becomes a general or not is just a matter of name."

Master Zhong lowered his head and did not speak.

Although he valued etiquette the most on weekdays and believed in the theory of "righteousness and obedience", everything the giant said was reasonable, so of course he had nothing to refute.

In the final analysis, although the matter of name is important, it is not fundamental after all.

As long as Sun Boling can take over the Mohist army, then it is equivalent to commanding most of the soldiers and horses of the entire Mohist family, which is equivalent to being half a general, so what if he loses this title?

Thinking of this, Master Zhong admired the Juzi even more, and then bowed and asked, "Then dare to ask the Juzi, what is the really important thing? Reform?"

"Reforms are naturally important, and it can even be said that...reforms are imperative." The giant exhaled lightly, his eyes deep, "but there is another more important thing now, which is why I asked you to come late at night reason for this."

"Since this is the case, I would like to ask the giant to show me that even if there are many difficulties and dangers, I will never refuse."

"Of course you can't refuse, because I can only leave this matter to you." Having said that, the giant slowly started to stand up, like a mountain rising in the darkness, and his voice became deeper and deeper.

Juzi may be old, but he is still a strong man in the realm of a master, but from this moment, the power emanating from him is not the power of a practitioner, but a kind of...

Kingly.

Master Zhong almost dreamed back decades ago, when he was still young.

At that time, he was not a teacher, but a poor student from a poor family, struggling to survive on the monthly money of Jishang Academy, and he was also among ten thousand people. He saw Juzi from afar, and Juzi happened to feel him eyes, and smiled at him.

At that time Juzi was already a Juzi, and under his rule, the Mo family was almost like the rising sun, shining brightly in all directions.

Why wasn't he attracted by such a dazzling light?

"Shangqing Zhongni listens to the edict." For a moment, Master Zhong almost thought that what Juzi uttered was rolling thunder, otherwise how could it shake him so much that he could barely lift his head?

"I... listen to the imperial edict."

The giant lowered his head to look at Master Zhong's bowed head, smiled slightly, then opened the bamboo slips that he had prepared for a long time, and said in a loud voice: "Heaven has its own way, and all things have their own reasons, which cannot be taken away by humans." Modi, the great Mohist, has been in charge of the Mohist for 83 years. Now he feels old and frail. Even though he is in a high position, it is difficult to conduct state affairs and lead the group of sages..."

Master Zhong knelt on the ground and listened to Juzi's words, but his face turned paler and paler.

Although he also boldly made some conjectures, he was a little caught off guard when these conjectures actually became reality.

That's right, compared to military affairs and reforms, what else is the most important thing in the Mohism?

Nature is the position of the giant.

Everyone knew that Juzi was old, and sooner or later he would choose his successor, but Mr. Zhong never thought that just today, at this very moment, Juzi would suddenly read the edict of abdication.

Moreover, judging by the meaning, Juzi is planning to pass on the position to himself!

"...In the past, my ancestors of the Mohist family favored the virtuous and gave way to the capable, and it became a good story that has been passed down. The Mohist Shangqing Zhongni, who is benevolent and good at judging, is clear without hurting the judge, straight but not pretentious. Observing the hearts of the people, knowing the changes of the destiny, following the ancestors' scriptures, Zen is located in Zhongni. I hope that inside it can be diligent in cultivating moral government and soothing the hearts of the people, and outside it can calm the border, govern the city of Ji, and restore the lost land of our Mohist family."

After saying the last sentence, Juzi's eyes were also slightly rosy, but it was not because he was reluctant to give up this position, but because he was relieved and relieved that he had finally completed the last major event in his life.

"Zhong Ni, follow the edict." The giant said softly.

Master Zhong raised his head slowly, but tears were streaming down his face, and his voice was choked with sobs: "What is this Juzi doing? How can Zhong Ni Hede be entrusted with such great trust? Besides, Juzi is still in good health, and he still needs to lead all the sages of the Mohist school." Juzi, how can you give in at this time?"

Juzi, or Mo Di, who is no longer a juzi, lowered his head, smiled slightly, and said slowly: "I have thought about this matter, and it is indeed my best choice to entrust the seat to you."

He looked at the night sky outside the main hall, the stars in the distance were sporadic, and the eternal night was still as peaceful as usual, and it would never change because of someone.

"I'm getting old, and one day I'll have to give up my seat. Instead of dying on the sickbed and vomiting blood to pass on the seat, it's better to finish the last thing properly while I still have some strength."

"I have been fighting with my senior brother these days, and my lifespan has been exhausted. The remaining time is no more than five years, but the reform cannot be decided overnight. To really lay a solid foundation, it still takes decades of continuous perseverance. It's possible."

"Since this is the case, if I continue to sit in this position, it will only harm the country and the people. After death, I will have no words to meet the ancestors of the Mohist family."

"I have already sent someone to issue a giant order to call Sun Boling back to the court, and the black knight will come back as quickly as possible to help you stabilize the court situation. This Mo family will be handed over to you in the future. I hope you can live up to this responsibility." Trust it..."

"As for Shang Yang's faction, if there is really something wrong with it, you can act more aggressively and completely break the chaos in the Mohist court. Of course...if they don't act rebelliously, try to save their lives as much as possible. After all, my Mohists act with great righteousness, although killing can be effective for a while, there will be endless troubles in the end."

"The reason why I chose you is also because of this. You have always been benevolent and forgiving. Under your rule, the people may also live and work in peace and contentment. The Legalists...although they can be used, but if you really use Shang Yang Fanglue, sooner or later my Mohist family will become a boundless war machine, even if it is expected to dominate the world, it will go against the original intention of our Mohist ancestors to establish a country..."

"Perhaps... it's because I can't let go of those details, so I can't do the so-called inhumane..."

The giant was rambling up to this point, his voice almost like a dream.

Master Zhong listened quietly, and the sadness in his heart became more and more intense.

Half an hour later, Master Zhong finally walked out of the hall slowly.

The giant disappeared again, and on the fifth floor of the organ city, there was a cold corpse that hadn't closed its eyes that were staring at him.

He will keep his promise, quietly waiting for death in the dark, and guarding the hundreds of tablets of Mohist ancestors all over the wall. He has accepted his own fate.

And the Mohist who had just escorted Zhong Ni slowly appeared in the darkness, knelt down beside Master Zhong, and said in a low voice: "Your Majesty, all disciples of Mohist will obey the name of you from now on."

Master Zhong looked at him, nodded slightly, and asked, "You are the current Mohist leader, right? Speaking of which, this is the first time we have met. What's your name?"

"Subordinate, Bai Qi."

6Chapter 17 Under the Tent of the Sea

"Unexpectedly, in just half a month, such a huge change has taken place in the court of the Mohist family. It is really unexpected. Mr. Zhong has become a new giant? Hmm... this is also reasonable, Liu De, what you expected earlier It really came true now, but I never thought that the time would be nearly 20 years earlier..."

In Hongguan, thousands of miles away, Cao Meng read the letter from Xiahou again, and he was also very sad about the changes in the Mohist court.

Sitting opposite him, several leading generals were roasting sweet potatoes on the bonfire together. The firewood was crackling, and the sweet potatoes exuded a tempting aroma.

Guan Changyu took the military newspaper that Cao Meng handed over, but he didn't intend to read it again, but he said excitedly: "In this case, should we send troops in a big way, taking advantage of the new giant of the Mohist court ascending the throne, and the court situation is in turmoil?" At that time, hit him by surprise? Maybe we can fight all the way to Jicheng in one go."

"Second Brother is right, as it should be!" As soon as Guan Changyu finished speaking, Zhang Yi responded in a rough voice.

Zhang Yi is a straight-hearted person. He thought of what to say on weekdays, so he stood up from his chair and said bluntly: "My lord, in my opinion, it was just a small defeat before. Why should you worry about it and make us feel so sad?" We are all huddled in this Hongguan. It is time to go out and fight a good battle. This time, we will not divide our troops, and we will directly join forces and fight all the way to the city of Ji, and we will be ashamed!"

Guan Changyu originally planned to talk about planning some strategies, but after hearing Zhang Yi's remarks, he couldn't help but laugh: "The third brother is quite bold, but this... is too simple, I want the king to join forces, How about letting you be a striker then?"

"Of course, I, Lao Zhang, have nothing to be afraid of. When the black knights attacked the camp at night, if the lord refused to let me lead the charge, maybe I would be able to grab Sun Boling's head from among the thousands of troops. Come down!"

After being praised by Guan Changyu, Zhang Yi got carried away, patted his chest and said.

"The king didn't stop you, maybe your head is already stuck on the tip of the black knight's spear." Guan Changyu was a little helpless with his third brother's temperament, "I said third brother, when can you change it? This bragging habit?"

At this moment, Dian Wei, who was sitting beside him roasting sweet potatoes, also burst out laughing.

At this time, a seemingly discordant voice sounded: "Several generals, in my opinion, it is absolutely impossible to use troops at this time."

Attracted by this sentence, several people cast their gazes in that direction.

In fact, they don't need to look, they already know that the person who said this is Cao Pei just by hearing the voice.

Today, he is also one of the leading generals in the army, at the same level as Zhang Yi, but he is Cao Meng's son after all, so naturally he often makes people look at him differently.

When Cao Meng discussed military affairs, he would be present most of the time, and he also hoped that this son could learn about military planning, which could be regarded as a kind of tempering and training for him.

Guan Changyu looked at Cao Pei, frowned slightly, and said, "What is the reason for this, my lord? This is the most turbulent moment in the Mohist dynasty. Otherwise, why did Sun Boling give up the opportunity to pursue the victory and shrink the army instead? If he let go Wouldn't this great opportunity give the Mo family a chance to breathe again, wouldn't it be more difficult to fight again then?"

Cao Pei didn't answer in a hurry, but looked at Cao Meng, hesitating for a while.

Cao Meng snorted: "What do you think Gu is doing? Although Gu told you to talk less and listen more, he didn't tell you to be a puppet. Since you have an opinion, just say it."

Hearing Cao Meng's response, Cao Peicai breathed a sigh of relief, then cupped his hands to the end, and said, "Father is here, and the generals are all famous on the battlefield. I, a junior, shouldn't talk too much."

"I just heard the strategies of several generals. My son is worried that sending troops rashly will not be as powerful as expected. Maybe it will lead to disaster because of recklessness. This time, I should express my opinion because of the national affairs. I ask my father and the generals to forgive me if I made a mistake.”

Listening to Cao Pei speaking neither humble nor overbearing, Liu De, who had been sitting in the corner and kept silent, showed a bit of praise in his eyes, the corners of his mouth slightly curled up, and he nodded.

Cao Meng looked at the only adult son playfully, raised his chin, and said, "Then tell me, why did the generals want to send troops so rashly? What kind of disaster will it cause?"

"Yes." Cao Pei nodded and said, "My son thinks there are three reasons. First, I don't think so about the turmoil in the court that the generals said."

"How to say?" Guan Changyu asked.

"Nowadays, the Mohist court is at the time when the old and the new are changing, but Mr. Zhong ascended the throne according to the edict of the Juzi, and what he did was justified. The ministers of the Mohist court will naturally obey the edict of the Juzi and perform their duties. Even if some people disagree, At most, let’s discuss a few words in private, and definitely dare not be called that traitor.”

"Secondly, Mr. Zhong has been in power for many years. He has many supporters and disciples in the Mohist school. He is not a young king. He will not have doubts about the master and the country, and strong officials will seize power. How about the turmoil in the court?"

Guan Changyu nodded: "What else?"

"There is also Sun Boling. This man's military and political talents are not inferior to Wang Xuanwei, and he has never had any factions in the court. No matter who ascends the throne, he will not point the finger at his commanding power."

"The Mohist army seems to have declined in recent years, but it is still the largest army in the world. The spies have reported more than once that the main force of the Mohist army is at least 40. As long as the 40 are still under the command of Sun Boling, it will not be easy. victory over the enemy."

Hearing this, Cao Meng was also quite satisfied, and said with a smile, "What about the third one?"

"Thirdly, our army has been exhausted everywhere since our expedition. Although we have now entered Hongguan, food and grass have been in short supply for days. Many camps can only drink two meals of vegetable porridge a day, and the pancakes can only be distributed according to the head. There is no more than one piece. The reason why no one is causing trouble so far is due to the strong power of my father and several generals all the time. But once they go to the battlefield and don’t have enough to eat, their morale will definitely decline. No matter how much the generals talk It doesn't work."

After finishing these three points, Cao Pei looked around, finally set his eyes on Cao Meng, and said respectfully: "My son thinks that if we really follow the instructions of several generals and fight another big battle, I'm afraid we won't be defeated before." The Mohist army will collapse first."

After he finished speaking, he immediately stepped back to his position, lowered his head and waited for Cao Meng to comment.

Cao Meng chuckled lightly, and said to Guan Changyu and the others, "Have you all heard that? What do you think?"

At this time, Zhang Yi's expression was no longer as fanatical as before, and he nodded involuntarily with a haughty face. Dian Wei divided up the baked sweets and said with a simple and honest smile: "What's the situation?" , I don’t really understand, but I think what the young master said makes sense.”

"It's not just reasonable, it's really insightful." Guan Changyu exchanged glances with Liu De, and laughed loudly, "It's true as the young master said, this battle cannot be fought."

Cao Meng looked at Zhang Yi.

Zhang Yi was stunned, convinced that Cao Meng's eyes were on him, he quickly waved his hands as if he was innocent, and said: "My lord, don't look at me, you all know that I, Lao Zhang, am a rough person, and I have nothing to say when I go to battle , but I have a headache when I hear the things about the court of the Mo family, so it’s better to drink to my heart’s content. In short, when the king wants to fight one day, let me know, and I’ll take the lead when I drop the wine bowl.”

"You deserve to be scolded by Liu De every day. You are not a vulgar person, you are just a fool." Cao Meng couldn't help laughing, and looked at Liu De again, "Liu De, what do you think?"

From the beginning until now, Liu De seems to have not interjected, just sitting calmly, his eyes seem to be looking at a very distant place.

Hearing Cao Meng's question, he smiled slightly and said: "Young master's words are indeed reasonable, but I think the king already has the answer in his heart, so why bother to ask?"

"You are the most cunning." Cao Meng sighed helplessly, then looked at Cao Pei with rare appreciation, and said in a deep voice: "It seems that you have made some progress in the army these days, go down first, I have something to say with the generals."

At first, Cao Pei was a little excited when he heard the phrase "some progress", but unfortunately he heard the phrase "Go on", after all, he felt a little bit disappointed, but he gritted his teeth, stabilized his emotions, and buried his disappointment in his lowered head. While saluting, he bowed and said: "Yes, my son will leave first..."

Chapter 648 Withdrawal

When Cao Pei left, Cao Meng looked at the marching map and sighed slightly: "Speaking of which, it's all because of Gu's rash advance. If it wasn't for Gu's decision to divide his troops, Sun Boling wouldn't have taken advantage of it. As you said, you can really sneak in and catch them by surprise."

Liu De smiled slightly and said, "Is the lord aware of it?"

Cao Meng slapped his thigh and scolded with a smile: "Nonsense, what you can see, can't Gu not see it? The Mohist army won a battle in front, and we know that our army is short of food and grass. We could take advantage of the victory and press down on my southeast side." , cut off the last food road of our army, but now the Mohist army can't shrink back, and even actively shrinks the front line. Based on isolated calculations, Sun Boling has probably left the battle line at this time, and led the troops back to Jicheng to help Zhong Ni consolidate the court. gone."

"The Mohist army has no leader, so it is natural to switch from offensive to defensive."

"Although Pei'er's second point is reasonable, he is still young after all, and he has not seen that the stability of the Mohist court is not only due to Zhong Ni, but also to the army led by Sun Boling. While Sun Boling is not in the army, is this battle possible? Is there really no chance at all..."

"Master, this battle... shouldn't be fought." Liu De said softly.

Cao Meng nodded and sighed: "Yes, there is a chance, but it is no different from gambling. Although there is no danger in war, there is no victory, but the morale of our army is not high at the moment. If we force the war, the chances of losing are too great. .”

"If it was the time when I went to the north alone, it would be nothing if I lost. I have nothing anyway, and I only have the life and death of a lonely person. However, this time is about the fate of the sea and whether the world can be unified in the future. I have to be careful."

"In this case, what is the master planning to do?"

Hearing this question, Cao Meng couldn't answer. He just closed his eyes and meditated. After a long time, he said, "Liu De, how many days are left for our army's food and grass?"

"The lord of the country must be very clear..." Liu De said: "Although we have obtained a lot of food and grass from those rich and wealthy gentry by clever means these days, when the army is moving, food is the top priority, and everyone in the army is full of belly. Han, it is estimated that... it will not last for five days."

"Five days..." Cao Meng stroked his beard and asked, "How about the fifty thousand captives?"

Liu De's tone was very flat: "According to the king's intention, two meals a day, one bowl of vegetable soup for each person, and three pieces of noodle cake, this is the most food our army can give."

Speaking of this, Zhang Yi suddenly became angry, slapped the table fiercely, and said cursingly: "My lord, I still have to say a few words, the [-] prisoners are eating better, look at us Now that my own people are half-starved and half-fed, why bother to distribute food to them? Lord, you have never seen the appearance of those bastards. When you saw the three pieces of bread and vegetable soup in hand, you actually said that we He deliberately treated them badly, I really want to take a spear and stab them all at once."

"Zhang Yi! You're presumptuous!" Guan Changyu saw Liu De's expression getting darker, and immediately scolded: "The matter of sharing food is the decision of the king, so you can't even get here to abuse me!"

"It's okay." Cao Meng waved his hand, "I know everyone has some resentment accumulated in their hearts these days, so it's okay to talk about it... But, Zhang Yi, don't really kill people with a spear, otherwise... don't blame Gu for being ruthless. "

Zhang Yi muttered in a low voice: "If the second brother stopped me that day, I would have killed myself..."

Then he was punched by Guan Changyu on the back again, and then he stopped talking.