Xiao Cheng walked out of the Yangxin Palace and personally welcomed the old Taiwei Tao Ai in.

When the old lieutenant saw Xiao Cheng greeting him personally, he wanted to kneel down, but Xiao Cheng stopped him.

"The old lieutenant has made great contributions and worked hard. From now on, no matter when, there is no need to pay homage!" Xiao Cheng looked at the gray-haired old lieutenant in front of him and his face was covered with grooves, and said with a slightly moved expression.

Although he was praised for his longevity in swordsmanship before, it was because he raised a prosperous family and did not work hard in military affairs, so he appeared to be full of energy.

But really speaking, the old Taiwei Tao Ai was Xiao Cheng's grandfather, Emperor Dezong, who was promoted from the army. Now, the old Taiwei is already in his seventies, and he is a real old man.

Previously, the old lieutenant dragged his old body and led the troops in a hurry. Then before the Buddhists instigated the unrest in the Yongzhou camp, he personally rushed to Shicheng County to take charge of the border area, thus preventing the situation from deteriorating further.

Then he sat in Shicheng County, using his own prestige to stabilize the morale of the army and guard the border. This allowed Xiao Cheng to do whatever he wanted within the borders of the Xia Kingdom without any worries.

Martial arts in the military are not like other advanced martial arts, which can rely on strong internal strength to maintain the vitality of one's body. Instead, the most important thing is Qi and blood. The powerful generals who used to be powerful in the south are now losing their strength due to the decline of Qi and blood.

to the sixth level.

After months of hard work and exhaustion of energy, Tao Ai's whole person looked unchanged at first glance, but at this time, when he was walking, sitting or standing, he was no longer as strong as before. He gave people a

I feel like I have aged a lot, and there is a sense of twilight all over my body.

Even when the old lieutenant heard that Xiao Cheng was exempted from the kowtow ceremony, he still suppressed his temper, threw away the palace attendant who came to help him, and insisted on kneeling down to salute.

After the salute was completed, the old lieutenant pushed away the support of others and insisted on standing up. Then he looked at Xiao Cheng and said stubbornly:

"Although I am seventy years old, I am still not very respectful to you. Your Majesty is so kind to me, so I can only refuse!"

Tao Ai's words were filled with the lofty ambition of an old man and his ambition to reach a thousand miles.

But when others heard it, they felt that they were inexplicably sad and had complicated feelings.

The death of a famous general is the most regrettable thing.

When Xiao Cheng heard this, he chuckled, nodded, and said in agreement:

"I think so too! Although I have some general talents now, I am still young and have insufficient qualifications, but I still need the help of the Taiwei to take care of me. I don't want you to pay homage, but it is because the Taiwei has made great contributions, so I

It’s just a courtesy gift that’s free of charge.”

Having said this, Xiao Cheng said in a half-joking tone:

"Could it be that the Taiwei prefers gold and silver treasures?"

Old people are like this. When you get older, you don't want to accept old age. At this time, it is more appropriate to follow his advice.

Now that Tao Ai is old, he is no longer as ignorant of the world as he was when he was young. Those words he just said are just hard words.

At this time, hearing Xiao Cheng's half-joking tone, he naturally knew that he was just following his words.

The majestic emperor, and the promising emperor who was so proud of his youth, paid so much attention to the feelings of his ministers, Tao Ai's heart suddenly felt warm.

His throat rolled up and down, he quickly lowered his head and muttered:

"I have overthought it, Your Majesty, please forgive me!"

Xiao Cheng held his arm with his own hands and said with a smile:

"Okay, I told you before that you should go back and rest as soon as possible, Taiwei. However, Taiwei insists on entering the palace to see me first. Please report your duties as soon as possible so that you can go back early. In two days, I will host a banquet in person.

Reward!"

"Thank you, Your Majesty!"

Tao Ai bowed first, hesitated for a moment, and continued:

"Your Majesty, when I was in charge of Shicheng County this time, Ge Shang, a military strategist from one of the hundreds of schools of thought, led a group of disciples to come to see me and asked me to recommend them."

"Ge Shang, the military leader?" Xiao Cheng asked with a brow.

The head of a military sect calls himself the military master.

Hundreds of schools of thought prevailed in the Jianghu and the imperial courts. Based on the influence of each school in the world, the world judged the nine schools and ten schools. Among them were Confucianism, Taoism, Yin and Yang, Dharma, Ming, Mo, Zongheng, Za, etc.

Farmer,.

Among these ten families, the family collects anecdotes and stories from the world and compiles them into stories, which are widely circulated among the countries in the world, so their influence is not small.

However, because the school did not have its own school of thought, it was difficult to expand its influence, so it was eliminated. The remaining nine schools were collectively called the Nine Streams.

Among them, there is no military figure.

Since ancient times, wars have been related to the survival of the country and the country. Logically speaking, regardless of how huge the influence of this military strategist is, it should be much better than the Zajia family!

It's a pity that among the world, students from Confucianism, Legalism, Yin Yang, and Moh are not incompetent literati who are incapable of military strategy. There are also scholars in each family who focus on research.

Talents in the study of battle formations.

Not to mention anything else, Wang Xiao, the former grand master who was born in the Yin Yang family, was a member of the Yin Yang military strategist line that was not taken seriously in the Yin Yang family. Wang Xiao used the Yin Yang family classics on the art of war and led troops in battles for many years, but...

It is never defeated.

In the Confucian war, benevolence and righteousness are the banner, claiming to save the people from fire and water. In order to have great righteousness in hand, the people will return to their hearts, and there will be no disadvantages.

The Legalists had strict military laws and trained elite soldiers. Wherever the military peak pointed, the soldiers regarded death as if they were home.

The Mohists used their secret techniques to create a war machine that was invincible.

Strategists oversee the world's situation, unite verticals and horizontal lines, unite the forces of all parties, and crush their opponents with absolute strength.

Although Taoism has always advocated the purification of the world, and its philosophy is different from that of the Yin-Yang School, there are also books on the art of war that describe how to use the power of water, fire, and wind to defeat the enemy.

When a student joins a military strategist, he can only learn the methods of warfare. If he joins other sages, he can also learn these military techniques, and he can also learn the methods of governing the country and the strategies to calm the people.

With such serious involution, the influence of this military strategist is naturally not as good as those of these prominent strategists.

Xiao Cheng nodded and asked:

"Did the Lieutenant agree?"

Tao Ai shook his head and said immediately:

"Your Majesty has a profound intention in establishing Jixia Academy and establishing the imperial examination. I have not directly agreed to this recommendation."

Speaking of which, Tao Ai is not the stupid young man he used to be. Although his temperament has not changed much compared to when he was young, he has also understood some things.

Recommend military strategists to serve as officials in the court, and naturally they can only be arranged to serve in the army. But in the army, origin is the most important. Military positions are no more important than others.

Tao Ai already had a high prestige in the military, and since he had two in-laws, Ma Minwen and Qu Cheng, the influence of his Tao family has not only risen to a higher level.

At this time, recommending someone to join the army would not be a good thing for his Tao family or even his in-laws.

Seeing this, Xiao Cheng looked at Tao Ai with a smile and said:

"Now I want to make hundreds of schools compete, so I can't reveal my preference for which school for the time being. Fortunately, the Taiwei has not agreed, otherwise I would really be in trouble."

At this time, before the old eunuch could reply, a young eunuch suddenly ran in hurriedly, interrupting the two of them.

The little eunuch was breathing heavily, and hurriedly knelt down on the ground, holding high a fire-lacquered bamboo tube that was sealed extremely tightly, and said loudly:

"Your Majesty, please report urgently from the southwest counties of Xia Kingdom!"

When Xiao Cheng saw the little eunuch looking like this, his brows suddenly furrowed.

A lot of Dongchang fanzi have been arranged in the southwest counties. But if it is not an urgent matter, they will not be handed over directly to Xiao Cheng.

Could it be that the southwest counties of Xia State rebelled?

Xiao Cheng strode forward and took the fire-lacquered bamboo tube. With a force in his hand, the bamboo tube immediately shattered, revealing the secret message inside.

Opening the secret letter, Xiao Cheng scanned it ten lines at a time, his eyes widened suddenly, showing a look of extreme shock.

Xiao Cheng immediately raised his head and said in a quick voice:

"Hurry and summon the minister, Ling Qucheng, and all the ministers at the minister's desk to come and see you. Don't waste a moment. Hurry!"

As soon as the order was given, there was immediately a person on duty from the imperial court, who quickly ran to deliver the order.

Tao Ai, the old lieutenant who had not yet resigned, saw Xiao Cheng's sudden appearance and couldn't help but ask:

"Your Majesty, this is..."

Xiao Cheng held the secret letter in his hands, his expression was extremely solemn, and he said in a deep voice:

"There is a plague in Fengzhou, Xia Kingdom!"

When the old lieutenant heard this, he also looked shocked.

--------------------------

In front of Jixia Academy, Ge Shang, the current military master of the military strategist, led a group of military disciples up the white marble jade steps.

When he came face to face, he bumped into a man dressed as a palace attendant, who came down accompanied by the officials responsible for managing the academy and escorted by a group of elite imperial guards.

The two groups of people bumped into each other and blocked each other's way.

Ge Shang did not want to cause more trouble and immediately got out of the way.

Seeing this, the leading palace waiter took a look at the dressing of the soldiers, rolled his eyes slightly, and then nodded slightly to Ge Shang in a very friendly manner.

Such an unexpected attitude made Ge Shang slightly stunned.

The leading palace attendant turned to look at the accompanying academy officials and said with a smile:

"Master Wang, you are here on an errand. These students from hundreds of schools are all great, and there must be talents that His Majesty values ​​​​among them. You cannot afford to neglect them. Come on, send them here!"
To be continued...