The saint mentioned by Xia Houxian refers to Xunzi, the ancestor of Xunyi.
This passage comes from the Military Discussion Chapter, and it roughly means: A person with strong personal martial arts skills cannot defeat a person who practices ruthlessly, a person who practices ruthlessly cannot defeat someone who is driven by interests, and a person who is driven by interests cannot defeat the army of benevolent and righteous kings.
There is nothing wrong with this principle in itself.
However, as the moral society of the Han Dynasty continued to strengthen, this statement was gradually distorted by scholar-officials.
They believe that giving too many rewards to the soldiers and giving them too good treatment is imitating the tyrannical Qin State and using profits to drive the soldiers, which is wrong behavior. We must use benevolence and righteousness to influence the army and let the army Fight for the cause of justice.
But Cao Mao had objections.
It is true that there is belief in the heart that the army fighting for the righteousness is invincible, but this does not conflict with the treatment!
Will you lose your faith and righteousness if you get good treatment?
Food is piling up like a mountain, but the soldiers must suffer and fight for righteousness without enough food?
If you don't give them good treatment, why should you let them fight to the death for themselves?
Cao Mao's perspective is somewhat different from that of these scholar-bureaucrats. In Xia Houxian's view, Cao Mao is the emperor, and the soldiers should fight to the death for him, regardless of whether they are treated well or not.
But in Cao Mao's view, he is the biggest leader of Dawei, and these are his subordinates. What he has to do is to improve the scale of Dawei, so that employees can have better treatment, and make their lives better. The better come.
In this way, Dawei Group can prosper.
How can there be any reason in the world to just let employees work hard without giving them any treatment, and just open their mouths and tell them about benevolence, justice and blessings?
The scholar-bureaucrats treat the soldiers in this way, and they want them to become true teachers of benevolence and righteousness, and not to be tempted by money.
But when it comes to themselves, the situation is different.
If we really want to implement the belief of benevolence and righteousness, then should we let you scholar-bureaucrats also have a taste of the hardship? Let you also take the lead in implementing benevolence and righteousness and become officials of benevolence and righteousness?
It is because of this twisted and perverted idea of etiquette that since the Later Han Dynasty, few emperors would go to the military camp to appease the soldiers, for fear that they would become profit-seekers like the Qin State.
Cao Mao looked at Xia Houxian who looked anxious and burst into laughter.
These arrogant scholar-bureaucrats.
Even those who are as powerful as Sima Shi cannot get rid of this arrogance. They despise these lower-level forces. They always boast of their morality and benevolence, and what they say is clear and logical.
They consider themselves the elite of the world and turn a blind eye to the people at the bottom who are really doing the work.
I don’t understand what kind of power these people have.
Cao Mao's face was so determined, and he said: "Xiahou Gong, I think this well-paid army is not like the army of Qin in the past."
"These are teachers of benevolence and righteousness. They fight for benevolence and righteousness. I heard the sage say: Give what is lost. The actions of the sage can change customs, and the teachings can be applied to the people. They are not just suitable for one's own actions!"
"Now that the soldiers have done something benevolent and righteous, if I don't reward them, wouldn't they be just like Zigong back then?"
"Rewards should be given to the troops of benevolence and righteousness. This is not to turn them into soldiers of profit, but to make them strengthen their beliefs and continue to fight for benevolence and righteousness."
"From now on, we should manage the army according to Xunzi's principles, and use Confucius' principles to encourage this method. This is benevolent government."
If Cao Mao were to have a fight with the old man Xia Houxian, Cao Mao would not dare to say that he would definitely win. However, if this debate was a classic, you might not be able to beat Cao Mao if ten Xia Houxian were tied together.
Xia Houxian was also confused at the moment. He felt that something was wrong with Cao Mao's words, but he couldn't tell what was wrong.
He was very helpless and could only let His Majesty announce the matter.
Malone reacted very quickly and quickly informed the entire army about the incident.
Sure enough, these "masters of profit" became more excited, they shouted one after another, and their fighting spirit became more high-spirited. Although the emperor did not actually implement it, he just drew a big pie for them, which already made them so excited.
After all, under the concept of moral governance, no one has thought about improving the treatment of soldiers for many years since the death of Emperor Wu.
The lower-level soldiers, merchants, farmers, and even the lower-level officials of the Wei Dynasty all lived a miserable life.
And the treatment of these people at the top level is extremely high.
They lived a very luxurious life, so extravagant that they expanded the toilet, prepared perfume and ointment in the toilet, set up purple mosquito nets, mats, and mattresses, and arranged ten beauties to stand in the toilet, dressing them up gorgeously and serving guests to the toilet. the point.
After the guests go to the toilet, the beauties will take off their clothes, put on new clothes for them and then send them out.
As long as the clothes have been used in the toilet, they cannot be put on again.
Once, Sima Yan got a piece of precious Huohuan cloth, made it into clothes, and went to show it off to Shi Chong. Shi Chong wore very ordinary clothes, but asked fifty servants to wear the same Huohuan cloth to greet the emperor.
There are countless things like this, the madmen of the Wei and Jin Dynasties, these people's madness is based on the blood and sweat of countless low-level people.
They are huge parasites, entrenched in the country, frantically sucking the blood of the grassroots. While the common people are watching their children die tragically from hunger, they are using sugar water to wash the pots.
Cao Mao vowed to change all this.
The Wei Dynasty is not poor at the moment. After the accumulation of Emperor Wen and Emperor Ming, the national treasury is quite wealthy, which can completely change the lives of some people at the bottom.
Improve the treatment of lower-level soldiers, reduce the tax pressure on lower-level farmers, ensure the safety of merchants, and give grassroots officials a chance to stand out.
The force composed of these people is the most powerful.
This power is extremely huge. If it can do this, even if Sima Shi and Sima Yi crawl out of the grave together, they will not be able to shake Cao Mao's status.
These soldiers at this moment are the best proof. They looked at the emperor with fiery eyes and started talking one after another. They were full of high morale and were completely different from the state half a year ago.
Ma Long stood quietly not far away, looking at the emperor with eyes full of approval.
In fact, Ma Long wanted to improve the living conditions of the soldiers for a long time. However, as a newcomer in the army and an airborne captain, he did not dare to speak rashly.
It's really hard for the general to talk about this matter, otherwise it will be suspected of wooing the soldiers to build his own private army. Moreover, scholar-bureaucrats like Xia Houxian will not be happy either. This is inconsistent with their moral concepts.
Now that His Majesty came forward in person and spoke about this matter, Ma Long felt quite excited.
After what happened today, the Chinese army's drills will be smoother in the future, and its combat effectiveness will definitely be greatly enhanced.
Cao Mao didn't just stay here in Malong, he also visited several other camps.
He did not favor one against another, and rewarded the outstanding soldiers in each battalion. Cheers gradually sounded throughout the Chinese army.
The soldiers never thought that the emperor would come to the army in person, and they never thought that the emperor would actually want to improve their treatment and give them such a reward.
By the time Cao Mao reached the last place, Xia Houxian was completely numb.
But he still said: "Your Majesty, each battalion is now composed of our own people, but this Yueqi is the only one. Do you need to find a reason to replace him?"
Cao Mao listened to his words and looked into the distance.
There was a school captain in the distance, wearing heavy armor and practicing with the soldiers.
This man looked very similar to Master Sima, but his eyes were much softer. He was working very hard at the moment. When he saw the emperor coming, he quickly stopped training and brought a few soldiers to see him.
This man's name is Sima Jun.
He is Sima Yi's seventh son.
I have to say that the old thief Sima is quite good at giving birth to children. His sons are all pretty good, and there is nothing special about them.
The strongest one is naturally Sima Shi, and the second strongest one is not Sima Zhao, but the old seventh Sima Jun.
Sima Jun was smart since he was a child, and was the most famous among the young people of the Sima family. He was good at both civil and military skills, could treat classics, and knew how to fight. Historically, it was this person who recommended Wen Yang to the throne, and he advised Sima Yan. , did many things that benefited the people.
Historically, the people in the northwest cried all the way when they learned that he was dead. The local people spontaneously built a monument for him. All the elderly and virtuous people bowed down after seeing the monument.
And this person is still serving as a captain in the Chinese Army.
Only he could implement the training methods Ma Long said. He would practice with the soldiers and have clear rewards and punishments. When replacing many generals of the Sima family, Cao Mao said: You can keep this person.
Xia Houxian was a little worried. After all, this guy was Sima Zhao's younger brother. If he stayed in the Chinese army as a captain, there was no guarantee that he would rebel one day.
But Cao Mao was not worried at all.
In his eyes, this person is also one of the many legacies left by Master Sima.
I can even use Sima Yan, so what about Sima Jun?
This person has talents, which can be used in politics or fighting. The most important thing is that this person is good to the people and knows where the power of the country comes from. Among the high-ranking disciples, there are really not many people who think like this.
"Greetings to Your Majesty!!"
Sima Jun bowed to see him, but Cao Mao hurriedly helped him up.
"Why is the captain so polite?"
"I often mention you, but why don't you come to the palace to visit us?"
Sima Jun said seriously: "Your Majesty, the Chinese army is training, how can I leave the school grounds privately?"
Cao Mao laughed and said: "Xiahou Gong told me that your battalion performed very well last time, second only to Captain Ma in the next competition, maybe it will come first?"
Sima Jun said seriously: "I will definitely go all out!"
"Okay! Next time, I will come to see it in person, so the captain must not neglect it."
"only!!"
"Well, in the last competition, was there anyone who performed well?"
