Chapter 396 He is going to find another general who can fight the Huns
“Don’t be discouraged, Chang’an Jun.
"Your Majesty is a wise ruler who conquered the world by force during the turbulent times. It is not common for you to not believe in the word 'benevolence'."
Zhao Gongming was still riding his iconic black tiger, and said without any surprise.
Ying Chengjiao did not answer because what Zhao Gongming said was wrong.
Judging from Zhao Gongming's definition of the word "benevolence", the First Emperor had already achieved it without Ying Chengjiao's persuasion.
Ying Chengjiao saw with his own eyes that the First Emperor concealed his identity and went to the fields to help a farmer with his crops. However, the First Emperor could not bear to see the farmer, who was old and frail, staring at the scorching sun with his back.
Ying Chengjiao witnessed with his own eyes that the First Emperor bought a rattle and used it to amuse a little child who was standing on the street and crying and asking his mother for a toy, and the child started laughing and showed a joyful expression.
Ying Chengjiao witnessed with his own eyes that when the First Emperor went to the cemetery he saw dozens of newly built graves. Upon learning that these people had died from the cold winter, he turned around and asked him, "Can honeycomb coal be supplied to the Han area next year?"
Benevolence is the Confucian doctrine.
Ren, according to Confucianism, means loving others.
The character "Ren" is composed of the character "人" and the character "二", which means people coexist, help each other, and love each other. Therefore, its basic meaning refers to respect and friendship for others.
Linking the theory of benevolent government with the kingly way of politics, everyone has a compassionate heart of benevolence, that is, a heart that cannot bear to see others suffer. It advocates "using a heart that cannot bear to see others suffer, carrying out policies that cannot bear to see others suffer, and governing the world can be done in the palm of your hand."
Judging from this standard, the First Emperor has already done it.
It is said that the First Emperor was cruel and violent, but he never killed people wantonly.
But the Confucian "benevolence" is not the same as Ying Chengjiao's "benevolence".
Ying Chengjiao’s “benevolence” is not condescending pity and charity, but equal respect for each other.
When Ying Chengjiao asked the First Emperor to treat people as human beings, the First Emperor did not respond.
What prompted the First Emperor to say "Ying Chengjiao, you are really crazy" was that Ying Chengjiao compared him to peddlers and hawkers and classified them as the same category - human beings.
Ying Chengjiao called for equality, but what he said was not absolute equality, and he absolutely did not agree with the Mohist philosophy.
A diligent person should eat better and live better than a lazy person.
As long as there are people, there will be classes, and Ying Chengjiao understands this very well.
But classes should not be rigidified. The common people should not be struggling to make a living no matter how hard they try, while the nobles should not be able to live in luxury and debauchery without making any effort to make progress.
He wanted to fight for an equal opportunity for people all over the world - everyone could be a carp that jumped over the Dragon Gate.
He also wants to fight for an equal personality.
Emperors, princes, merchants, peasants, beggars... they are all the same people.
In this world, there are always some people who don't like oppression.
I don't like being oppressed, nor do I like oppressing others.
Ying Chengjiao led the caravan to Nanyang, where the First Emperor saw the results of Confucian education. He felt that Yangcheng School was far inferior to Nanyang School.
Unprecedented enthusiasm flashed in every student's eyes, and their attitude towards learning was unprecedentedly high, comparable to those military strategists of the Qin State who knew there were wars to fight.
The First Emperor still did not want to enlighten the people, but this group of enthusiastic students made him involuntarily imagine what it would be like if the Qin State could cultivate talents on its own and completely get rid of the constraints of those corrupt aristocrats.
The First Emperor truly saw a society governed by rituals without red tape.
Under the governance of Fusheng, a great Confucian scholar who knew, understood and valued propriety, Nanyang was prosperous and everyone was kind.
The First Emperor nodded secretly. This was another new way of governance that was different from the Legalists. It seemed that the Confucians were not as useless as he thought. They still had their merits.
The army stayed in Nanyang for one night. That night, Ying Chengjiao brought Nanyang County Magistrate Fusheng to meet the First Emperor.
The lights were on all night.
Zhang Han stood guard all night.
The whereabouts of the five thousand troops could not be hidden from anyone, and the First Emperor did not intend to conceal it.
Jiuyuan County.
When Ying Jianglu, the third prince of the Qin Dynasty, heard the news that his father was on tour, he was very anxious.
His cavalry army had not been on the march for a long time.
If he failed to conquer and assimilate the Xiongnu before the First Emperor stabilized the Central Plains, he would not be able to become king and would have to return to Xianyang and become an idle royal family member.
A mansion with a rough building but covering a huge area and having a rugged beauty.
Ying Jianglu was respectfully led in by the doorman and found Meng Tian, the lord of Jiuyuan County.
Ying Jianglu first expressed his condolences for the death of Champion Hou Mengao, and talked about the old man's great achievements and bravery when he was alive, and then said a little stiffly:
"General Meng, we have food and grass ready, and we have good soldiers and generals. When do you think we can start the war against the Huns?"
Ying Jianglu had waited for a month, and now he couldn't wait any longer. He thought he had given Meng Tian enough time to grieve. If he didn't go to war again, it would be his turn to grieve.
"Third Master, it's not that we don't want to raise an army, but the battle line is too long, and the chances of losing far outweigh the chances of winning. Seven hundred miles is the limit. If we chase them any further, our army will be divided and eaten."
Meng Tian took out the Xiongnu map and explained to Ying Jianglu in detail why he did not continue the fight.
More than 700 miles away, separated from the supply of the Great Wall, the 47,000 cavalrymen were an isolated army.
Plus, the desert stretches for thousands of miles, and the scenery is consistent.
Without concrete reference points, such as the Yin Mountains, it is very likely that one will get lost in the vast Gobi Desert.
By then, there would be no need for the Hun cavalry to attack. The 47,000 cavalry would have run out of food and would not be able to find the right direction, and would be killed by nature.
"I know what the general said. Is there no way to solve this problem?"
"Yes, building a city."
Meng Tian said in a deep voice.
As long as there is a city, there will be supplies. This is how agricultural people fight nomadic people.
Shangjun, Jiuyuan County, Yanmen County.
The order in which the border counties were established was a milestone in the advancement of the farming people to the nomadic people. The more miles the city was built, the more miles the Qin army could advance.
Ying Jianglu smiled bitterly and said:
"Is there no other way?"
He would never build a city.
It is difficult to build a city-county that can withstand the attacks of the Huns.
Building a city in cold weather, filling it with personnel, and training soldiers are all difficult points. It would be good if it can be successfully built within three to five years.
By that time, the Central Plains had already been settled, and this city finally belonged 100% to his elder brother Ying Fusu and had nothing to do with him at all.
"I don't know."
"...Then we can make up the 50,000."
After a series of wars, although the Qin army's equipment was superior, it still suffered some damage.
Meng Tian shook his head.
"This cavalry is not part of the Qin army, so we cannot transfer soldiers from Jiuyuan County or Shang County to supplement it."
Ying Jianglu walked away with a look of disappointment on his face.
Meng Tian touched the mountains and rivers on the Xiongnu map.
"With these 47,000 cavalry here, it is enough to keep the Xiongnu out of Shangjun. The prince is safe."
Meng Tian, who stood behind Ying Fusu from beginning to end, did not care about the source of manpower for this cavalry, because he had never thought about replenishing it.
He deliberately did not replenish the 50,000 cavalry, just like he deliberately did not go on the expedition.
He was waiting, waiting for the First Emperor to digest the Central Plains, waiting for the day when he would truly lead the Qin army to go to war, expand the territory and gain military merit.
As for the 47,000 cavalrymen at hand, they are good enough to ensure the safety of the border counties and create a good development environment for Crown Prince Ying Fusu.
As Ying Jianglu left Meng Tian's mansion, his face turned pale.
There are good reasons why we cannot go on the expedition.
It is ridiculous that we cannot replenish our troops!
Ying Jianglu rode a fast horse, selected a hundred men, and headed to Shangjun under the protection of the guards. He was going to find another general who could fight the Huns, Li Mu, the Marquis of Zhao Wu'an, a retainer of his uncle Ying Chengjiao.
