Meng Zhao had no idea of the others' evaluations and suspicions of him, and warmly invited them to sit.
Maidservants brought fragrant pastries and steaming tea to entertain them, dispelling some of the initial unfamiliarity.
After pondering for a moment, Meng Zhao took the initiative to test Linghu Rui, this talented general so highly praised by Meng Jizu, to see what he was truly capable of.
Meng Zhao chose two points to test him on.
First was how to train troops, a crucial matter.
No matter how formidable or brave a general might be, it did not mean the soldiers beneath him were the same.
Thus, whether one could forge an elite force was one of the basic measures of a commander's ability.
Linghu Rui had long prepared his answer on this point. He first told Meng Zhao that while methods of training troops varied according to one's habits, temperament, and abilities, there were several key points that had to be emphasized.
First was obedience. What was needed was compliance with command, resolute obedience to orders, orders carried out and prohibitions observed, military commands as immovable as mountains.
This was the most basic and most important foundation of an army.
If soldiers did not obey their generals and those above and below were not united, then the army could not move as smoothly as an arm commands its fingers. Its combat strength would be worrying, and there would even be the danger of those below overthrowing those above.
Second were formations and battle arrays, used to train the soldiers' coordination and tacit understanding. This was the most fundamental distinction between an elite army and a rabble.
Only upon this foundation could they continue practicing all kinds of tactical coordination and the arrangement and evolution of different formations, until they could