The royal power controls the military power. Without royal power, Yingzheng naturally has no military power.
If you want to mobilize the army, you need both the king's order and the tiger talisman as proof, and almost all the tiger talismans are in the hands of Lu Buwei.
However, although Lu Buwei holds the political power and the tiger talisman, he cannot mobilize the army without permission, and not all military power is in his hands. The private soldiers in each state capital were controlled by the feudal officials.
Ordinary foreign operations and daily drills and management are also completed by the generals commanding generals at all levels. The generals are the actual managers of the army. It can be said that except for external operations, military power is actually still in the hands of the generals, but they cannot be mobilized privately.
And Meng Ao himself controls the Tiger Talisman, and the Meng family army is not under Lu Buwei's control at all and can be mobilized at will.
"What does the old general mean?" Ying Zheng asked.
"After a few days, the old minister's spirit has recovered, and he will go to court to beat me." Meng Ao said, "I will say that the old minister is old, weak, sick, and can no longer lead the army to fight. Now I am willing to disband and return to the field, and return the general power to the king. Please choose another good general to lead this department. The king said that for the time being, he could not find a suitable good general to lead the veteran’s subordinates who have been serving for decades. In this way, the military power of the veteran will be under the direct control of the king.”
Older gingers are more spicy. Meng Ao's move was not unwise. It is true that he is too old and weak to lead troops, so he can naturally hand over the general power to Ying Zheng. Even if Lu Buwei wants to object, he can't find a reason.
At the same time, Meng Ao also made a very clear statement of loyalty and position to Ying Zheng, which is what Li Si said, loyal to both the king and the country.
In fact, the Meng family does not have no successor, Meng Wu is the most suitable candidate, but Meng Ao abandoned the core interests of the entire Meng family in order to help Ying Zheng. How could this not make Ying Zheng feel admired and moved.
"Old General, this..." Ying Zheng wanted to say something, but he didn't say it.
"Your Majesty, you don't have to worry about anything, just rely on me." Meng Ao looked at Ying Zheng and said every word sincerely, "I can't repay the kindness of the past kings to me, and the king has the talents of an emperor, me. What I did was my duty. What’s more, this military power belongs to the king, it’s just an old minister returning it to the king.”
It seemed that he could no longer refuse, and Ying Zheng had made another plan in his mind.
"In this case, I will follow the wishes of the old general." Ying Zheng said with a look in his eyes, "But I still have a favor to ask."
"Old minister, I have something to ask of you, cough." Meng Ao coughed twice and said, "Then please tell me first."
"I want to reuse the Meng family to realize the old general's lifelong wish." Ying Zheng said sincerely.
"Hahaha, the old minister's request is also to ask the king to never forget the descendants of the Meng family whenever he uses people, cough cough." Meng Ao coughed as soon as he became happy.
"That's very good." Ying Zheng said overjoyed, "No matter who owns the Meng family's military power, it will be led and drilled by the Meng family."
"Thank you, Your Majesty." Meng Ao was also worried that if the Meng family army he had worked hard to build throughout his life was controlled by others, he might not be brave enough in the future.
The tacit understanding between each other has increased mutual trust and understanding, and many things no longer need to be expressed deliberately.
Seeing that Meng Ao started coughing again, Ying Zheng was also worried about Meng Ao's health, so he said: "Old General Meng, have a good rest. We will discuss other details in the future. I will go and see if the medicinal materials have been retrieved."
Meng Ao knew that he could not maintain a good condition for a long time, so he nodded to Ying Zheng, and the two of them finally reached an agreement.
"I'd like to trouble Your Majesty to ask the dog to come over. I have a few words of advice," Meng Ao said.
Ying Zheng also nodded, covered Meng Ao with a quilt, turned and walked out.
In another room, Meng's family members are waiting here.
Seeing Ying Zheng enter the room, everyone stood up and saluted.
"Your Majesty," Meng Wu said, cupping his hands.
"General Meng, General Meng still has a few words to say to you." Ying Zheng said, "You go in alone first."
"Yes, Your Majesty. Please wait here, Your Majesty." Meng Wu turned to look at Mrs. Meng and said, "You are here to serve the King, don't neglect it."
"Yes." Mrs. Meng said.
Meng Wu had no concubines and only had Mrs. Meng as his official wife, which shows that the two had a very good relationship. Mrs. Meng is naturally the only mistress in the family.
Meng Wu went to Meng Ao's bedroom, leaving his family and Ying Zheng to wait for the return of the Song Dynasty physician.
In fact, Ying Zheng's lie was that he was waiting for Zhao Gao to come back after taking medicine. His real purpose was to talk to brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi. After all, there were not many opportunities to come to Meng Mansion, and if he summoned the two of them there on weekdays, it would be very difficult. Afraid of being too obvious. So seize the moment.
"Your Majesty, please have some tea." Mrs. Meng personally made tea for Ying Zheng.
"Mrs. Meng, you're welcome. You all go and do your work. I want to talk to the Meng brothers." Ying Zheng looked at Mrs. Meng and said softly.
"Follow the king's orders." Mrs. Meng looked at her two sons and said, "Tian'er, Yi'er, stay with the king here and don't make any mistakes. Whatever the king orders, just follow it."
"Yes, mother." Brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi said in unison.
After saying that, Mrs. Meng bowed to Ying Zheng and left. Everyone else also saluted at the same time and followed Mrs. Meng out of the house.
There were only three people left in the room, Ying Zheng, Meng Tian, and Meng Yi.
"There are only three of us left, so don't be restrained." Ying Zheng smiled and said.
"Hey, Your Majesty, my father and mother are here. I don't dare to express my anger for fear of saying something wrong." Meng Tian said.
"Your Majesty, I haven't seen you for a few days. Have you made any progress in your kung fu? Otherwise, let's make some gestures." Meng Yi made a gesture, but then put it down, and then said, "Forget it, this is in the house. These few days If there is anything new in the Heavenly Palace, tell us."
When Ying Zheng returned to Qin, the late king selected several sons of powerful officials to accompany Ying Zheng in studying and practicing martial arts. In addition to the Meng brothers, there were also Li Xin, the son of Li Yao, Didaohou, and Wang Ben, the son of general Wang Jian.
Several young people are often together on weekdays. Now that there are no elders around, there is no need to worry about the etiquette of monarchs and ministers, and they immediately switch to brother mode.
"There are quite a lot of new things these days." Ying Zheng said with a relaxed expression, "Let's pick the important ones first."
The two Meng brothers came over curiously.
"The crowning ceremony for me has been postponed. We had agreed before that the plan for you to lead the army as a general in the battle seems to have to be postponed." Ying Zheng's expression was calm, without any anger at all.
"Who is so bold?" Meng Yi asked angrily when he heard that he could not be a general.
"Who else could it be? Lu Xiangbang." Meng Tian was so calm that he was also the oldest among them.
"I don't care about this matter. I won't do the crowning ceremony before I'm fully prepared. On the contrary, even if he asks me to do the crowning ceremony, I may not agree." Ying Zheng smiled and said.
"Oh, that's right." Meng Tian nodded, as if he heard something.
Meng Yi seemed to understand but also nodded.
"Do you know what Mr. Meng wants to do with me?" Ying Zheng asked.
"I wanted to ask just now, but since my father is around, it's hard to talk too much," Meng Tian said.
"Mr. Meng is worried that if he is gone, I will be harmed by treacherous ministers, and the country of Qin will be taken away by outsiders. Therefore, I want to use old age as an excuse to return the general power to me to prevent unexpected events." Ying Zheng only said The focus of his conversation with Meng Ao was that Meng Ao knew that his time was running out, but he couldn't talk about it.
"Oh, that's right." The brothers' reactions were very dull, and they didn't feel at all like their things were being taken away by others.
"Actually, I can't directly manage the army. Your father has to do it for you." Ying Zheng said, "As for you two, I have other plans."
"Your Majesty, I want to lead troops." Meng Tian said quickly when he heard that he had other plans.
"I also want to lead troops and go into battle to kill the enemy." Meng Yi also said.
"Who to kill, Lu Buwei? Or the enemy?" Ying Zheng asked.
"Kill..." Meng Yi didn't know how to answer.
Kill Lu Buwei? He couldn't be killed with his current strength, and Lu Buwei had not committed any crime, and he had not shown any ulterior motives so far. Kill the enemy country? There must be a war, and even if troops are sent to fight, it will not be Meng Yi's turn.
Although these two brothers both served in the Meng family army, they still lacked experience on the battlefield.
Ying Zheng smiled and changed the subject: "We will discuss the matter of commanding the troops later. I recently invited a gentleman named Li Si. This man is talented and a rare talent."
Ying Zheng briefly told the Meng brothers the contents of his conversations with Li Si in the past few days and his evaluation of Li Si.
"The Strategy to Destroy the Six Countries?" Meng Yi asked, "Is it very different from the Strategy to War the Six Countries?"
"If you look at the tactics alone, the difference is not big." Ying Zheng said, "But the inspiration it gave me is not small. In a war between countries, the bet should be the destruction of the country, not a few cities. And What can support a war of annihilation is sufficient food and grass, as well as new combat weapons and siege equipment. The era of relying on the number of troops to win wars should be over."
Brothers Meng Tian and Meng Yi listened carefully, thinking carefully, and changing their views on the war.
"Your Majesty, I wonder if you can lend this book to our two brothers for study." Meng Tian said.
"Haha, no problem. I'll ask Zhao Gao to deliver it when I get back to the palace." Ying Zheng was not afraid of him borrowing it, but he was afraid that he wouldn't.
Ying Zheng needs the people he chooses to be like-minded and have the same goals as him, so that he can capture people's hearts more firmly and achieve his goals more quickly.
"Just now, the king said that he has other plans for my two brothers. Could it be that..." Meng Tian said.
"I want you to take charge of the Military Affairs Department." Ying Zheng nodded and said, "Meng Tian is in charge of the Ordnance Department, responsible for the production, development, and allocation of weapons. If there is a war in the future, our army's weapons are superior to those of the enemy, and we will take possession of them. It’s a big advantage and can also reduce the number of casualties.”
"Yes, I understand." Meng Tian knew that Ying Zheng was already laying out the overall plan, and what he was ordered to do was an important factor in winning the war.
Ying Zheng looked at Meng Yi again and said: "Meng Yi, you are responsible for the storage and allocation of military rations. As for the control of the treasury, it is currently in the hands of Lu Xiangbang, and I will definitely get it back as soon as possible. In the future, I will also mobilize the army to carry out food procurement. production, increase reserves.”
"Yes, Your Majesty." Meng Yi answered more firmly. He regarded Ying Zheng as his elder brother and obeyed him absolutely.
"As for official positions, I think it's better to keep a low profile for now." Ying Zheng said, "I will consecrate your father, General Mengwu, to be in charge of the Military Affairs Department. You can assist him, but the actual power is in your hands."
"I understand," the two brothers said in unison.
At this time, footsteps came from outside the door, very light, it should be a woman.
