Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 174: The Hundred Schools of Thought
"Kill without mercy!"

Pei Xingjian's cold voice sounded, with an unquestionable determination.

From the moment he stepped into Chongwenguan, he was branded as a member of the princeling party.

There are tens of millions of descendants of clans, many of whom are willing to kill each other for the benefit of their respective parties.

Pei Xingjian did not feel the slightest bit of sympathy when facing Pei Yan, a member of the same clan.

The saying that one general's success is the result of the sacrifice of hundreds of soldiers seems especially true at this moment.

Xue Rengui roared from the top of the city wall, and rushed towards the rebels like a tiger descending from the mountain. Wherever he passed, blood splattered and screams were heard.

At the city gate, Gao Kan's troops quickly built a solid defense line, with chevaux de frise in front and archers standing behind with bows and arrows, shooting everyone who tried to leave the city.

The city walls were dyed red with blood, but there were still some troops who desperately tried to break out to the outside.

"Bring me the bow!"

Xue Rengui opened his arms, snatched the bow and arrow from a soldier beside him, and then jumped onto the castle.

Standing on a high place, he looked down at the chaotic battlefield below, with a cold light in his eyes. He could see the remaining soldiers, and he began to look for his target.

Pei Yan felt a chill on his back and looked around in horror.

Suddenly, he saw Xue Rengui's arrow pointing at him, and fear instantly surged into his heart.

At this moment, his hair stood on end. The distance was only a few dozen steps, but Xue Rengui was a hundred and fifty steps away and shot down the enemy commander with one arrow.

Without having time to think, Pei Yan kicked with his right leg and fell down. Although his reaction was very quick, the arrow shot by Xue Rengui was even faster.

He was shot down from his horse with one arrow.

"Those who surrender will not be killed!"

Pei Xingjian and Gao Kan's soldiers surrounded the city from both sides and trapped hundreds of people in the outer city.

On the top of the city wall, Xue Rengui and his troops regained control. With arrows flying everywhere, they could kill all the rebellious troops with just one order.

However, none of them dared to give such an order because among the crowd were two big bosses, Li Ji and Li Daozon.

With no hope of survival, the rest of the people chose to surrender in order to survive.

"The Duke and King Jiangxia are frightened!"

Pei Xingjian stepped forward, bowed slightly, and apologized to the two men.

"All of this is your work, right? I heard that in this battle, our Tang army has two new young military gods, one is Liu Rengui, and the other is Pei Xingjian."

Li Ji praised sincerely, saying that today's work must have been written by this person.

While in Pyongyang, they did not meet due to the sensitive identities of the few people.

"Thank you, Duke Mu of England. The Duke and King Jiangxia are the role models for our generation. If you are lucky enough to listen to their teachings, it will be a blessing to keep your promise."

Pei Xingjian also knew his own limitations. In terms of combat experience, he could not even catch up with these two.

After all, he is just a rising star, and there is still a wide gap between them to bridge.

"You are a very good kid, but we cannot teach you. I heard that you are a disciple of the old man Li Jing. I am under his command and can only obey his orders."

Li Dao Zong was full of resentment.

These guys were having a great time, but they were making fun of him and Li Ji.

"I dare not. I have only been a doorman for a few days in front of the Duke of Weiguo. I dare not tell anyone that I have received the Duke's true teachings!"

Pei Xingjian said modestly that even if he was gifted, it was impossible for him to learn all of Li Jing's lifelong fighting methods and experience in just a few months.

"Duke Ying, King Jiangxia, I have already ordered people to prepare some wine in the city lord's mansion. You should take some time to relieve your fatigue after the long journey."

Pei Xingjian gestured with his hand.

"Oh, is that so? Are we still going to drink wine to deal with rebellion?" Li Daozon was certainly still angry.

He is a member of the royal family, but in the hands of these little kids, he is a jumping monkey.

"We have to make an emergency decision. Please don't blame me, King Jiangxia. This is also the arrangement of His Royal Highness the Crown Prince."

Pei Xingjian had to bring up Li Chengqian. Here, no one could suppress the prestige of these two.

"Li Dao Zong, you and I are both old. Now the world is ruled by the younger generation. We are lucky to have something to eat."

Li Ji pulled Li Daozon over. If one cannot retreat while in power, he will be crushed to pieces.

Li Ji had obviously seen too many titles, and now he had reached the point where there was no more title he could be given, no matter how many more merits he made.

"Well, since you have caught Li Jing's eye, it shows that you are extraordinary. If you serve the Duke of Ying well, maybe he can teach you a few tricks."

Li Daozon finally gave in. Of course, he hoped that the military and political power of the Tang Dynasty would have successors.

"Thank you, Lord!"

Pei Xingjian was very happy, as Li Ji's military tactics and marching skills had also been praised by Li Jing.

Their fighting and marching styles are all different, and each has its own advantages. It is difficult to tell which is better or worse, as they all perform on the spot.

If he could inherit Li Ji's skills, Pei Xingjian would definitely benefit a lot.

"Don't be in a hurry to thank me. I think Li Dao Zong really wants to teach you. Don't look at him as fierce now. You are a promising talent. For the sake of the Tang Dynasty, he will teach you everything."

Li Ji chuckled.

Now Pei Xingjian is on Li Chengqian's side, and they don't know whether the teaching will be good or bad.

Both of them still had doubts. If there had been no rebellion, they would definitely have taught everything they knew.

"Then Shouyue would like to thank the two teachers first!"

Pei Xingjian immediately climbed up the pole.

"No, you are the old pharmacist's apprentice, we dare not snatch you away, and with your current achievements, we can't teach you much, it's more about judgment on the battlefield."

Li Dao Zong said.

The three then left the scene, and the rest were detained for questioning.

Pei Yan was even luckier. He was not killed by the arrow, but was seriously injured.

"General Xue, His Highness has ordered that we must find the mastermind among this group of people, and we must interrogate all those who are related to him."

In the Liaodong army, two rebellions occurred in succession within just a few days, which made them feel that they were surrounded by dangers and realized that they did not really have control over the army. It seemed that an invisible hand was secretly controlling everything. "Pass the order down, the whole army is under martial law, no one is allowed to enter or leave without the order of the general." Xue Rengui issued the order without hesitation, and then a new cleanup operation kicked off.

In the makeshift cells, miserable cries were heard one after another, and various tortures were used in turn, just to squeeze the last bit of useful information from these prisoners of war.

At this time, Liaocheng was like a frightened bird, and the wind was howling. Under severe torture, the names of the names were interrogated one by one.

Those bad guys from Chang'an who sneaked into Liaodong were eventually caught in one fell swoop.

Even if there are still some fish that slip through the net, it is difficult for them to cause much trouble.

"Are you here to send me on my way?"

In a barracks, Pei Yan struggled to get up from the bed, a faint smile on his face.

"His Highness once said that you have the talent to assist the king and he admired you very much, but I didn't expect that you would disappoint His Highness's expectations."

Pei Xingjian approached slowly, a trace of regret flashed in his eyes. For the Pei family, now is a great opportunity to embark on an extremely glorious road. However, Pei Yan chose to destroy the Great Wall by himself and cut off this rare opportunity.

Otherwise, it is very likely that there will be two heroes in the Pei family.

"Betray?" Pei Yan shook his head slightly, seeming to disagree.

"The Tang Dynasty is now at its peak, and your Majesty is wise and brave, and everyone is united. Your Highness's plan is too fantastic. In my opinion, it is your Highness who is cutting down the Great Wall."

Pei Yan sighed deeply, knowing that everything he did was for the future of the Pei family.

"Your Highness's vision is as vast as the stars. His wisdom is far-reaching. How can you and I guess it? I came here today not to kill you, but to hope that you can truthfully reveal the names of those who participated in the mutiny. Otherwise, you will be severely punished and suffer physical pain."

Pei Xingjian's tone was serious and he was intentionally giving advice. It was also because of Pei Xingjian's relationship that Xue Rengui did not torture Pei Yan.

As the initiator of this incident, Pei Yan must know more inside information.

"Well, in that case, let me help you one more time!"

Pei Yan was relieved, but maybe Crown Prince Li Chengqian could really succeed? In this way, the Pei family could continue to maintain its glory as long as Pei Xingjian was there.

"Quickly bring the pen and ink!"

Pei Yan no longer hesitated and recorded all the information he knew in detail.

After a long time, Pei Xingjian walked out of the barracks with a few pieces of paper. Later, based on the clues and identification provided by Pei Yan, the aristocratic families rooted in the army were completely eradicated.

After the fall, the wind in Pyongyang became much cooler, blowing the golden rice ears in the rice fields and blowing down the maple leaves on the mountains.

Li Chengqian stood quietly under the maple tree, gently raised his hand and stroked the falling yellow leaves, a different emotion surged in his heart.

At the same time, intelligence from Liaodong had been transmitted. It was another bloody massacre with many heads rolling.

Li Chengqian didn't know whether it was right or wrong. As for the uprising, he didn't know whether it would really succeed, and there would be more bloodshed afterwards.

His dream was to not let the prosperous Tang Dynasty become a regret.

不过任重而道远。

So many incidents have already occurred before the uprising has even started.

"Your Highness, some of the craftsmen and blacksmiths transferred from Chang'an have all arrived in Pyongyang."

Wu Xing came closer and reported.

"There are several design drawings in my study. Give them to them and let them see if they can be manufactured. Also, build a large cement plant and put it into production."

Now that the situation has stabilized, Li Chengqian can start developing his own plans on this land.

"Also, I asked the bad guys to look for any traces of Mohism in the Tang Dynasty. Is there any news?" Li Chengqian said, looking at Wu Xing in front of him.

The Mohist school was the best at invention research. The Mohist school originated in the Warring States Period. They were good at making various machines and weapons, and also had in-depth research on natural sciences.

However, as time went by, the Mohist school gradually declined, especially during the Han Dynasty, when Emperor Wu of Han implemented the policy of "rejecting all schools of thought and respecting Confucianism alone" proposed by Dong Zhongshu, and the Mohist school was suppressed unprecedentedly.

By the time of the Sui and Tang dynasties, the Mohist school had almost disappeared, and there were no more Mohist knights. It was not until the early Qing Dynasty that Mohist doctrines were once again valued and studied.

Li Chengqian was very surprised, as he knew the importance of Mohist techniques to national development. Mohist techniques could not only be used for military defense, but also to promote agricultural production and commerce.

If the inheritance of Mohist art can be restored and developed, the scientific and technological level of the Tang Dynasty will be greatly improved.

The knowledge of mechanics theory, qi theory and mechanical techniques in Mohism will also have a profound impact on the scientific and technological development of the Tang Dynasty.

In this era, with the support of Li Chengqian's theory, it is not impossible for airplanes and trains to be created.

The main culprit for this phenomenon was Dong Zhongshu. The Confucianism he advocated was adapted into a tool for the ruling class to fool the people and restrict their thoughts.

This kind of Confucianism is very different from the Confucianism originally advocated by Confucius, and is completely different from the Confucianism of Confucius in the pre-Qin period. It advocates teaching students in accordance with their aptitude, seeking the welfare of all people in the world, and breaking the slavery system.

Dong Zhongshu, on the other hand, magnified the "ritual" in Confucius, took loyalty as a benchmark, enslaved thoughts, and dismissed all schools of thought.

True Confucianism emphasizes values ​​such as personal cultivation, moral norms and social responsibility.

Dong Zhongshu's Confucianism, on the other hand, placed more emphasis on concepts such as hierarchy, the Three Bonds and Five Constant Virtues, aiming to maintain the feudal ruling order.

Therefore, in order to restore and develop Mohist teachings and other doctrines, it was necessary to break down the barriers of the ruling class, and Goguryeo was the fertile ground for the revival of the hundreds of schools of thought.

"We have not received any news from the Mohist School yet, but the other academic representatives have made some discoveries, but they are all hidden among the people and are difficult to find."

Wu Xing replied that nowadays many branches of the school were only carrying on the mission of inheritance, and too many of them had declined, and those who specialized in them had also retreated into the countryside.

In addition, the suppression by the imperial court made these academic representatives afraid to come forward and admit it, making the search even more difficult.

"Take money from the treasury to build a hundred schools, promote the learning of a hundred schools, make all schools of thought equally effective, use them to help the world, and open schools to spread the gospel."

Li Chengqian wanted to recreate the situation of a hundred schools of thought contending with each other, with legalism and Confucianism as the system and Mohism and agriculture as the practical use.

Looking at it from the perspective of future generations, there are too many drawbacks that need to be reformed and improved.

If we want to accomplish it within a generation, we will need even greater changes.

The first thing to be affected is the establishment of the system. If Li Chengqian succeeds to the throne smoothly, the system will definitely remain the same as before. Even if he wants to reform it at that time, it will be full of difficulties.

Only by breaking everything can we reshape a new order.

"Your Highness, there is not much money left in the treasury due to excessive expenditures. I am afraid it will be difficult to continue."

Military pay and military household settlement are all huge expenses.

The money plundered from the nobility and the royal family would be used up in just a few months.

The most important reason is that there is expenditure but no taxation.

(End of this chapter)