Zhang He remained calm and said, "Your Majesty has already appointed me the General of the Western Expedition. As a subject, how can I ask for any more rewards?"
Guo Huai was anxious: "Mr. Zhang doesn't want it himself, but why doesn't he take this opportunity to find a better future for your four sons?"
"Your Majesty will be gone soon. How can we talk about it later? When will we be able to achieve such a great achievement as Hanzhong?"
Zhang He remained silent.
Guo Huai sighed softly: "If it were someone else, I would not have said anything. But Mr. Zhang has been kind to me, and your son is like a nephew in my clan."
"Of the four sons, one is a civil servant in the Third Office, and the other three are living in Yecheng with nowhere to go." Guo Huai urged, "Mr. Zhang, you should think about them."
Zhang He was silent for a while, then he said softly: "Bo Ji is right! I am already over 60 years old, and I am no longer in my prime."
Guo Huai looked much better when he saw Zhang He change his mind. "The sons of Zhang Wenyuan and Le Wenqian are now leading troops in Huainan. Xu Gongming's son is a lieutenant in the central army and has also made some contributions in this battle."
"Mr. Zhang should also make plans for his children and grandchildren."
Zhang He turned to look at Guo Huai and said, "What kind of grace should I ask for? To be honest with you, I want Your Majesty to arrange for them to have a great scholar as their teacher and learn the Five Classics in Luoyang first."
"After mastering the Five Classics, you can then take up a post at the Shangshutai or other places."
Guo Huai asked, "Are they not allowed to join the army?"
"No." Zhang He sighed, "Joining the army is not easy. My four sons grew up in the prosperous city of Ye. How can they fight and die in battle like I did?"
"Okay." Guo Huai nodded: "Mr. Zhang is right."
"My brother Zhongnan is the governor of Chengyang County, Ji Nan is the official in the Imperial Censorate, and my brother-in-law Wang Yanyun is the governor of Qingzhou. They will not let my four nephews miss out on their future."
"Your Majesty is kind and generous. You will certainly agree to Mr. Zhang's request." Guo Huai advised: "There is no time to lose. Let's go and talk to Your Majesty tomorrow."
Zhang He nodded.
……
The next day, in Mianyang City.
Cao Rui did intend to give a brief account of the achievements of Qishan, Chiting and Hanzhong before leaving.
After returning to the court, the specific number of additional cities will be decided, just like in the first year of Taihe and in Huainan.
Cao Rui was a little surprised that Zhang He came to pray for his sons' future.
After listening to Zhang He's request, Cao Rui remained silent and shook his head.
"Zhang Qing, did you come up with this arrangement yourself? Or did someone tell you about it?"
Zhang He was a little disappointed, but he did not hide anything: "Your Majesty, it was Guo Huai who suggested this to me."
"Guo Huai and I have been colleagues for a long time. Marching and deploying troops is my strong point, but I am a commoner and I don't know as much as Guo Huai about the affairs of these tribes."
Cao Rui said: "It's not that I don't want to, but Guo Huai's method is wrong!"
"Someone, hurry up and call Guo Huai over!"
The Tiger Guards took the order and left, but Zhang He was quite puzzled.
Cao Rui said, "When Guo Boji comes, I will talk to you two together."
Zhang He agreed.
While Cao Rui and Zhang He were chatting about military affairs, Guo Huai was hurriedly called in from outside the city by the Tiger Guards.
"Your Majesty, I pay my respects to you." Guo Huai panted and bowed.
"Sit down." Cao Rui didn't waste any words: "Why did General Guo suggest that General Zhang's sons become disciples of the great scholar?"
What kind of question is this? How can one study without learning from a great scholar?
"My son Guo Tong and several of my nephews were all admitted to study under famous teachers by our clan."
Guo Huai was puzzled and said, "Hasn't it always been like this? First study the classics, then be recruited as a county official, then be selected as a filial and honest official and go to Luoyang to be a Lang."
Cao Rui rolled his eyes in his heart: "Why don't you want to enter the Imperial College?"
Guo Huai and Zhang He looked at each other, but both hesitated and said nothing.
"Just tell me what I ask you to say." Cao Rui glanced at Zhang He and asked, "What do you want to hide?"
Zhang He folded his hands and said, "We discussed yesterday and found that the salary of a Taixue Lang is no more than 300 dan, and his future career is to be a military farm official in Longyou."
"Besides, it is not easy to graduate. Several of my sons are really dull..."
Cao Rui understood that this was another big problem caused by information asymmetry.
The Imperial College had been established for less than two years.
One hundred people graduated in the first class, accounting for one-fifth of the students, which was considered a difficult graduation.
Even after graduation, they were taken to Longyou by the emperor to engage in farming, far away from Luoyang and Henan.
In this era, information exchange is very difficult.
Zhang He was good at fighting, but being able to fight did not mean he was good at taking care of his family.
Zhang He was born into a landlord family in Hebei Province, not even a wealthy family. He had lived in remote places like Longyou and Liangzhou for many years, and his family neglected his education. He took the words of Guo Huai, who came from a prominent family in Taiyuan, as his guiding principle.
Although Guo Huai was a hereditary official of the rank of 2,000 stone, he had stayed in Chang'an and Longyou for too long. He might have heard a little about the Imperial College, but he did not realize its importance.
"You are playing the game in the previous version!"
Cao Rui pointed at Zhang He and Guo Huai and said, "Since you have caught up with me today, I will talk to you two about something else. Just keep your ears open and don't go out and talk nonsense."
Zhang He immediately bowed and said, "Your Majesty, please give us instructions. We will keep our mouths shut."
Guo Huai said the same thing, but he didn't understand what the version Your Majesty said meant.
Cao Rui did not hide the truth at all: "General Zhang is a famous general of Wei, and General Guo is also a good choice. I value both of you." "Do you know what the two pillars of Wei are?"
Zhang He didn't say anything.
Guo Huai tried to ask: "Are they from the noble families or warriors?"
"It is the nobles and warriors." Cao Rui nodded: "General Zhang is an important general of the country. I want your family to be loyal to the Wei Dynasty for generations to come."
"General Guo, if you let General Zhang's sons study the classics now, can they learn better than your sons? Can they learn better than those sons of scholars from Wanluo and Ruying?"
"You say!" Cao Rui pointed at Zhang He and asked.
Zhang He sighed bitterly, "I know that my sons are not good at studying classics. But in the Wei Dynasty today, no one will respect you if you don't study classics!"
"Of course I also want my family to continue and last longer."
"I also want your family to continue, and I want your son to be respected by others even if he doesn't study the classics!" Cao Rui said firmly: "I want to share wealth and honor with you!"
"But if you let your sons study the classics, and if you are gone, maybe in five or ten years, the officials in the court will still remember your contribution. What if it takes a long time?"
"They can't learn it, and in the end they will just be like everyone else!"
Zhang He stood up and bowed solemnly: "I hope Your Majesty can show a clear path for my sons!"
Cao Rui asked, "You all know about the Imperial Academy, right?"
Zhang He and Guo Huai nodded.
Cao Rui said: "Although the Imperial College is for studying the Five Classics, it is also for studying many common affairs."
"Among the first batch of 100 students, there are many descendants of famous families such as Wanluo and Ruying. I will place them all in Longyou to cultivate the land."
"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. First, I will honestly farm in Longyou for two years to get rid of the arrogance and pride of the aristocracy. Then, I can return to Luoyang or to any of the counties to serve as an official."
"Under the same conditions, graduates of the Imperial College will be promoted first!" Cao Rui looked at Zhang He and Guo Huai and said, "Do you still want your children to enter the Imperial College? I have made it clear to you!"
Zhang He bowed and said, "I understand your majesty's painstaking efforts. I hope your majesty will grant me grace and allow my son to study at the Imperial Academy."
Cao Rui smiled and said, "I can approve it. But the Imperial Academy has a lenient admission policy and a strict graduation policy. If your son cannot graduate, I will not be able to make an exception for him."
Zhang He was a little embarrassed and didn't know what to say for a moment.
Cao Rui continued, "After I return to Luoyang this time, I plan to set up a martial arts school following the example of the Imperial College."
"Martial arts?" Guo Huai asked with a hint of surprise.
"It is martial arts." Cao Rui nodded. "I plan to select a group of young people who are of suitable age and have served in the army from the armies of various places, including the central army and the foreign army, to come to Luoyang for further training and teach them military affairs in a unified way."
"If your two children want to study martial arts, I will certainly agree."
In this regard, Guo Huai was naturally more perceptive than Zhang He, and asked: "May I ask, Your Majesty, what does this martial art teach?"
Cao Rui replied: "I have thought about it roughly and it can be divided into three aspects."
"The first is military law. Enforcement of orders and consistency of command are the basic requirements for a strong military."
Zhang He nodded: "The Military Order, Infantry Order, and Ship War Order issued during the reign of Emperor Wu mentioned these things."
"If there are people in the squad who don't advance, the squad leader will kill him. If the squad leader doesn't advance, the platoon leader will kill him. If the platoon leader doesn't advance, the city chief will kill him."
“The flag goes forward when it is waved forward, goes backward when it is waved backward, goes left when it is waved left, and goes right when it is waved right.”
Cao Rui nodded: "In addition to these military laws and orders, loyalty to the emperor and patriotism must also be learned."
"The second is drill. How to drill, how to fight, how to form a battle array, how to move camp, how to march."
"How do you train the soldiers in your army?"
Zhang He explained: "This matter is the responsibility of the military commanders of each department. The military commanders pass it down from the commander to the chief officer, and then to the chief officer, and it is passed down layer by layer."
"During normal training, the military commanders of each camp are in charge."
Cao Rui looked at Zhang He and asked, "How are military commanders trained?"
Zhang He replied: "Of course the old ones should lead the new ones."
Cao Rui nodded: "If we teach in this way, there will be many differences in the responses and coordination between the armies and battalions."
"This is the role of martial arts."
"The third is command." Cao Rui looked at Zhang and Guo and said, "If it is my opinion, you should learn how to command."
"How to attack from above, how to attack from below. How infantry fights cavalry, how cavalry fights infantry, how to attack at night, how to march quickly."
"Tell me, should we learn military law, command, and drill?"
Zhang He nodded vigorously: "It's time to learn!"
Cao Rui smiled and said, "That's right. Just like the Imperial College, officers who graduated from the military school should be promoted first among the various armies."
"I just have this preliminary idea. The specific system and process have not yet been determined. I will build the martial arts this year."
"Mr. Zhang," Cao Rui said with a smile, "I have pointed out two paths for you. One is Imperial College and the other is Martial Arts College. Your son can go to either one."
"Which one do you choose?"
"My humble opinion..." Zhang He hesitated again.
Cao Rui smiled and said, "Go back and think about it. Come back to me when you've made up your mind!"
"Thank you, Your Majesty, for your grace! I will take my leave!" Zhang He bowed and walked out of the hall slowly. (End of this chapter)
