Chapter 139: Military Exercise!

Li Yi was truly at his wit's end. Even after putting it all on the line, they still refused? What kind of people were these? Huh? Li Yi suddenly slapped his own forehead, as a brilliant idea suddenly struck him.

"I've got it!"

Hearing this, everyone quickly focused their gazes on him.

Li Er: "You brat, got what? Spit it out, don't drag your feet!"

Li Yi chuckled slyly. "Hehe! This nephew has thought of a wonderful idea, but once this idea is out, you all will have every reason to replace Changle. Therefore, I want to make a wager with all my uncles!"

Li Er frowned. "Brat, can affairs of state be decided by a wager? Isn't this just nonsense?"

"Haha, Uncle Li, once my idea is out, anyone can sit as the president of this charitable foundation; it will just be a matter of capability. The reason I'm making this bet is simply to give Changle a chance!"

Li Er: "Tell us the idea first!"

"Alright!" Li Yi smiled with confidence. "My uncles, the problems with these two boards are twofold: first, corruption; and second, talent. Once these two points are resolved, there will be no problems at all! Am I right in saying this?"

"Correct!" Everyone nodded in agreement.

"Very well, let's discuss the first point first. Actually, the first point was my fault; I walked myself into a dead end by relying entirely on the self-awareness of the president regarding corruption. That was completely unreasonable. We can entirely dispatch a supervisory team, a supervisory team that has the power of oversight but no command authority. Furthermore, this supervisory team will be jointly composed of the charitable foundation and the imperial court. By establishing a rigorous system of rewards and punishments, we can minimize the possibility of corruption to the greatest extent possible!"

Upon hearing this, everyone immediately felt that the idea was exceptionally brilliant. In this way, it would truly be as Li Yi had said—whether Princess Changle was used or not no longer mattered!

"As for the second point, that is also easy to handle. As all my uncles know, the primary goods of the Commercial Alliance rely entirely on inventions and creations. For now, with me around, we can hold out for a while. But what if I lose my inspiration in the future and can no longer invent things? What then? Therefore, I intend to gather these orphans together and establish a technology academy. The significance of this academy's existence is to cultivate a batch of talents specifically dedicated to invention and creation. Only in this way will the Commercial Alliance have the foundation for long-term survival. Of course, all my uncles can set a time each year to inspect the academy, and if you discover any promising talents, you are free to take them away to cultivate yourselves. You might not be able to cultivate many, but surely all of you have the capability to handle one or two!"

Just moments ago, a flash of inspiration had hit Li Yi, leading him to think of founding an academy. Regardless of the era, education was an issue that could not be bypassed. However, Confucianism currently dominated; if Li Yi were to build an academy solely for teaching books now, he was certain the stubborn old Confucians would fight to the death to stop it. But now, Li Yi had an excuse: the Commercial Alliance. The alliance involved nearly half of Chang'an's aristocratic forces, a web of interests so vast that even if the Confucians wanted to object, they had to consider the consequences. Moreover, Li Yi had explicitly stated that this technology academy would only be used for invention and creation—meaning it would serve solely the Commercial Alliance. Thus, the Confucians could not even find a reason to oppose it. In this way, Li Yi could openly repair the plank road while secretly crossing Chencang, using the method of boiling a frog in warm water to gradually dismantle Confucian rule. This was Li Yi's ultimate goal!

Hearing this idea, although the Confucian scholars vaguely felt something was amiss, they could not pinpoint where the flaw lay. Furthermore, when they glanced at the expressions of those holding shares in the Commercial Alliance, they knew they could not stop this matter!

As for the others, they cared even less. Now that the foundation's issue was resolved and they had secured their profits, they had nothing more to say. The rest had nothing to do with them!

Li Yi looked around, and seeing no objections, he felt a surge of secret joy! "Uncle Li, I've stated my idea. Now the only question is whether Changle can serve as the president of the foundation. My uncles, no matter what, all the shops right now belong to Changle. It wouldn't look good if you were to just demand them back directly, yet you probably wouldn't agree to let Changle be the president just like that either. So, let's do this: let's each stake our abilities on a wager. If I lose, not only will I take it upon myself to offer the foundation and all the shops under its name to the imperial court, but I will also provide advice for any future issues the foundation encounters. However, if I accidentally win, then from now on, as long as the foundation's affairs do not harm the imperial court or the common people, the court shall not interfere in any matters—excluding, of course, the supervisory team. What do you all think?"

Everyone pondered this. Truly, there was no other way out now; they had to accept this, or the matter would never end!

Although Gao Shilian agreed, he did not want to be led around by the nose by Li Yi like this. "Brat, what kind of wager are you talking about? If it's too simple, I won't agree!"

Li Yi chuckled slyly. "Rest assured, it will definitely make all my uncles convinced and satisfied! Uncle Li, just yesterday, the nine-man special forces team was successfully trained by this nephew. Yesterday, I gave them a name: the War Wolf Team!"

Li Er was instantly overjoyed. "What? The special forces are ready? The War Wolf Team? Good! A fine name! Splendid! Very well! I shall go take a look later!"

As Li Yi finished speaking, not only was Li Er excited, but the military officials who had been silent on the side instantly boiled with excitement. They had been eyeing these nine men for a long time; now that their training was complete, they were already quietly scheming in their own minds!

The military officials understood the War Wolf Team, but Gao Shilian knew nothing about them. When the remnants of Li Jiancheng were captured last time, he happened to be ill and was not at the scene, so he had no idea of the War Wolf Team's formidable prowess.

Gao Shilian: "Brat, didn't you mention a wager? What does that have to do with some War Wolf Team?"

Li Yi: "Of course it has to do with it. Uncle Li, the skills of the War Wolf Team cannot be understood simply by looking. To let you better understand the War Wolf Team and what special operations truly are, how about we hold a military exercise as this wager?"

Li Er: "Military exercise? What does that mean?"

Hearing military matters brought up, the military officials likewise focused all their attention on Li Yi!

Li Yi calmly said, "A military exercise, or war game for short, is the training of combat command and action conducted under the guidance of a hypothetical scenario. It is a near-combat comprehensive training implemented after troops have completed theoretical study and basic training, representing an advanced stage of military training. Simply put, it's a combat game. We establish a set of game rules, then two opposing sides play the game, and ultimately a referee decides victory and defeat."

As soon as Li Yi finished speaking, Li Ji's perpetually squinted eyes instantly flew wide open. "A brilliant military exercise! This military exercise has an exceptional training effect on a general's command capability and a soldier's adaptability on the eve of battle. This is simply a novel method of troop training! Your Majesty, this military exercise can entirely be applied to military training!"

Li Er was also a master of warfare. He understood somewhat the moment Li Yi finished speaking, and upon hearing Li Ji's explanation, he understood completely. "Good! A magnificent military exercise! Brat Yi, we will do as you say. We shall conduct a military exercise, one battle to decide the outcome! Ah, since this military exercise was proposed by you, then you shall state the rules of the game!"

"Your Majesty?" Someone among the civil officials immediately raised an objection. Letting Li Yi set the rules—wasn't that just handing him the victory?

Yet Li Er ignored them entirely. If it were anything else, Li Yi might be able to pull some tricks in front of him, but when it came to warfare, he believed no one could pull wool over his eyes!

Li Yi: "As you command! Uncle Li, the rules of the game are actually very simple. The game is divided into two sides: one side is all my uncles, and as for the troop strength, it will be all the garrison forces in the entire Chang'an; while the other side is simply me. My troop strength is not large—just nine people, which is the War Wolf Team!"

The moment Li Yi spoke, an uproar erupted across the entire hall. They had anticipated that Li Yi might arrange two evenly matched sides and then tamper with the game rules. But they never expected Li Yi to tamper with the troop strength itself—and in a way that overwhelmingly favored them. The total military force of Chang'an, including the Northern Imperial Guard protecting the palace, the Thousand-Ox Guards responsible for personal bodyguards and imperial weaponry, and the Gate-Monitoring Guards in charge of all gate security and registers, totaled nearly ten thousand men. And what about Li Yi's forces? Ten people! Wasn't this utter nonsense?

Li Er frowned deeply and said with displeasure, "Brat Yi, this is no time for joking!"

Li Yi waved his hand. "This nephew is not joking; I am dead serious. This concerns Changle's position as president—how could I joke about this?"

"You're not joking? Do you know how many guards I have in this Chang'an city? I'll tell you: nine thousand three hundred and some odd men. And you? Counting yourself, that's ten people! And you're telling me you aren't joking?"

Li Yi: "Hehe, Uncle Li, you got one thing wrong. There are only nine people on my side; this nephew has no intention of participating in the exercise. This is to test the War Wolf Team; it has nothing to do with me. Uncle Li, listen to me: the War Wolf Team excels not just in one-on-one combat, but more importantly, in special operations. And in special operations, having more people doesn't necessarily make you effective. The reason I set it up this way is also to let all the generals better understand what special operations are. Rest assured, I would never joke about such matters. Furthermore, this exercise is not about slaughter, but about offense and defense! The rules are simple: it's a decapitation strike. Our side takes the head of your side's leader—of course, just as a symbolic head—as our objective, while your side's objective is to protect your leader or completely annihilate our team. The time limit is one day. After one day, as long as your leader is still alive, our side loses!"

"A decapitation strike?" Hearing this, everyone was stunned!

Actually, what Li Yi was doing was somewhat risky. While he certainly had confidence in the War Wolf Team, doing this easily invited Li Er's suspicion and wariness toward the special forces. After all, these special operatives were trained by Li Yi. However, Li Yi still held a trump card in his hand, and he believed this trump card would dispel any wariness Li Er might harbor!

Li Yi proceeded to explain the decapitation strike in detail. The civil officials were merely shocked by the concept—and naturally, most of them simply did not believe special forces possessed such capability. As for the military officials, they were filled with boundless interest in this exercise. The moment Li Yi's voice fell, they were already scrambling to be this leader!

Li Er was indeed somewhat wary of the combat effectiveness Li Yi described for the War Wolf Team. After all, if it were truly as Li Yi claimed, and the War Wolf Team could silently assassinate anyone in Chang'an city at any time, wouldn't he, the Emperor, be constantly placing himself in danger? That was terrifying. Yet this thought merely flashed through Li Er's mind and vanished. He was an emperor forged in slaughter; how could he fear a few soldiers? A threat? Simply eliminate it!