The inertia of history is unstoppable and seems to be ahead of schedule, but Fang Jun is powerless to stop what is about to happen, because everything at the moment must make way for the Eastern Expedition.
This is a national policy.
Fang Jun's mouth twitched and he remained silent.
He understood Li Ji's words. No matter what, the Eastern Expedition must be at the forefront of everything, and no one can stop it, otherwise His Majesty Li Er will never agree.
After a moment of silence, Fang Jun said: "Wei Chen was negligent."
After saying that, he saluted His Majesty Li Er again, returned to his seat and sat down, continuing to stare at the beams without saying a word.
Seeing Fang Jun's expression, Li Chengqian seemed to be unwilling. He glanced at his father's face again, fearing that Fang Jun would say something treacherous again, he quickly said: "The Eastern Expedition is imminent. We must unite the power of the whole country to conquer Goguryeo in one fell swoop." Wait for the clown to be crushed into powder, and do not give him a chance to survive and never repeat the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty. As for the Arabs, they are still thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty. When Goguryeo is conquered and the army returns to the court, they will calmly arrange their arrangements. not late."
Li Xiaogong had the best friendship with Fang Jun, so he naturally did not want Fang Jun to contradict His Majesty because of this matter, and he echoed: "What the prince said is true. State affairs are important, so we must be cautious and pay attention to priorities."
The ministers unanimously agreed.
His Majesty Li Er then said: "Then let it be decided that the Eastern Expedition will be the main task. Everything must make way for this, and no extraneous matters can be allowed. However, during the Eastern Expedition, I will of course be the commander of the expedition, but the subordinates in front of the station, the preparations for the battle, and even Arrangements for the transportation of grain, grass and weapons depend on your dedicated efforts. In this battle, our Tang Dynasty will defeat Goguryeo in one fell swoop with a thunderous force, exalt the power of our Tang Dynasty, and unify the world. Then you and I will definitely fight against each other. His name will go down in history and his reputation will last forever!”
All the ministers stood up one after another and said in unison: "I only hope that your Majesty will rule the world for eternity!"
His Majesty Li Er was very excited and laughed loudly and said: "If I can achieve the hegemony of one emperor for eternity, you will also be the virtuous assistants and ministers, and will be praised for eternity and shine for eternity!"
The hall was filled with praises and the atmosphere was warm.
Fang Jun watched all this silently from behind, thinking in his heart that flattery is so deep in his bones that even a talented and powerful hero like His Majesty Li Er, and even these loyal ministers and generals who are famous throughout the ages, are still unavoidable.
This is human nature.
It's just that when the prosperous age is approaching, this kind of flattery is harmless. If the country is about to perish and the building is about to collapse, it will be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
Thinking of this, Fang Jun suddenly felt something in his heart...
He took a few steps forward, stood in front of His Majesty Li Er, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report to you!"
The warm atmosphere in the hall suddenly fell silent...
His Majesty Li Er's eyes twitched, he closed his mouth and looked at Fang Jun silently.
The prince beside him was sweating on his head, thinking that this stick was really seeking death, and he had to pour water on his father's happiness?
He hurriedly stepped forward and said, "Erlang, if you have something important to do, why not talk about it later..."
Before he finished speaking, His Majesty Li Er interrupted: "Let him say it. I want to hear what kind words Fang Aiqing has."
Mother!
His Majesty Li Er was annoyed. In the past, whenever I showed a little bit of pride, the old thief Wei Zheng would jump out and pour cold water on me, which made me extremely depressed. Now that Wei Zheng is dead, is it possible that you, Fang Jun, want to take over Wei Zheng's job and become a "critic"?
Or is it that you, kid, have always been brooding about the demotion and dismissal from your post? If I don’t make you feel comfortable, you’re going to try your best to keep me from feeling comfortable?
How unreasonable!
I want to hear how you "throw cold water" on me. If you pour cold water on me, it's just right. If you pour cold water on me, I'll make you look good today and let you taste the price of being a "critic"!
Li Ji's poker face showed no expression, but he still looked at Fang Jun and said, "Erlang, be careful what you say!"
These ministers all knew Fang Jun's bad temper, and were afraid that his opinion of focusing on the Western Regions would be refuted by the emperor and get angry, thereby angering the emperor.
In fact, the ministers in the palace are all outstanding men of the moment, and they agree with Fang Jun's opinion of focusing on the Western Regions and guarding against the Arabs. However, everyone unanimously believes that the Eastern Expedition is the top priority at the moment. No matter how powerful the Arabs are, , you can wait until Goguryeo is defeated with a thunderous force, and then calmly calculate...
Fang Jun was stunned by everyone's nervous expressions. They all thought that I was just a stick, someone who showed off his temper regardless of the occasion?
However, the concern and protection from the prince, Li Ji and others still warmed his heart.
He took a breath, bowed and saluted, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I have some foolish opinions."
His Majesty Li Er said: "Speak!"
"Here!"
Fang Jun organized his rhetoric in his mind and said slowly: "The Eastern Expedition is a national policy and is recognized by the whole country. We must gather the strength of the whole country and decide in one battle. However, the lessons from the Sui and Yin Dynasties are not far away, and a million-strong army conquered Goguryeo. We must learn from the failure of the former Sui Dynasty. The main reason for the failure of the former Sui Dynasty was that the logistics supplies and food supplies could not be sent to the front line in time, which led to the disorganization of the army and insufficient combat power. Moreover, its army of more than one million was spread across the border of Liaodong. , some armies are overwhelming, some armies are making little progress, and some armies are even defeated... There is no unified command among them. Even if Emperor Yang of Sui Dynasty is wise and powerful, it will be difficult for him to defeat more than a million soldiers by himself. The offensive and defensive support of the army."
This makes sense, but everyone present understands the truth.
But when you say this at this time, are you mocking His Majesty for being as happy as Emperor Sui Yang? Are you going to make the same mistake as Emperor Sui Yang?
His Majesty Li Er had a gloomy face and said impatiently: "What on earth are you going to say?"
Fang Jun said: "Wei Chen hasn't finished speaking yet..."
Ignoring His Majesty Li Er's gloomy face, which was about to drip with tears, he talked eloquently: "What is particularly important is that when the power of the whole country is tilted eastward and all the power is invested in the Eastern Expedition, it is inevitable to neglect the control of the country. This This is also the reason why Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had to return home in embarrassment when his Eastern Expedition failed. There was war in the country and bandits were everywhere. If he didn't turn around and clean up the country, he was afraid that the foundation of the Sui Dynasty would be broken before Goguryeo was conquered..."
In fact, Emperor Sui Yang did give up attacking Goguryeo and returned to the court in time.
It's just that the prevailing domestic situation made it difficult for a hero like Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty to recover. As a result, the Eastern Expedition failed. Goguryeo stood still, but the Great Sui Dynasty perished...
His Majesty Li Er's face gradually became serious, and he asked in a deep voice: "Do you have any good ideas?"
Fang Jun said: "The reason for all this is the failure of the command system. Emperor Sui Yang was in the army. Even if he was possessed by the God of War, it was difficult to get a full picture of the war situation. It was just right to focus on one thing and not the other. And he was in Liaodong. , the domestic situation changed slightly, and others did not dare and did not have the right to make timely decisions, which led to delays in handling, and eventually the situation deteriorated and became out of control."
He raised his head and said slowly: "Therefore, I would like to ask your Majesty to set up a temporary military organization, which will only be set up during the Eastern Expedition to assist your Majesty in controlling the overall situation, allocating resources, monitoring the country, and controlling the Western Region, so that when something happens, Make decisions as quickly as possible, so as not to miss good opportunities and cause the situation to deteriorate. Think about defeat before thinking about victory. This is the root cause of victory in a hundred battles!"
You can hear a needle drop in the hall.
This is not as simple as setting up an agency to assist the emperor in handling military aircraft. In the past, military and political affairs all had political affairs hall staff. The ministers and ministers summarized state affairs and handed them over to the emperor for decision-making. Now this is to set up another yamen to compete with the political hall. .
Fortunately, Fang Jun made it clear that it was only limited to the special period of the Eastern Expedition, otherwise it would have been a disaster!
How much power does such a yamen, which makes military decisions and directly takes orders from the emperor, have?
Regardless of whether it is established or not, it will cause an uproar!
At the same time that Fang Jun was speaking, all eyes were looking at Li Ji. As the highest-level administrative agency in the Tang Dynasty, could the Zhengshitang tolerate such a yamen dividing the power of military and military decision-making? How would Li Ji, the minister Zuo Pushe and the de facto chief minister of the empire, react?
Li Xiaogong, Li Daozong, including Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, Li Daliang, Zhang Liang, who had been silent all this time... all looked excited and had bright eyes. They first looked at Li Ji, and then looked at His Majesty Li Er.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
People like them will never be able to enter the political hall and serve as prime ministers and assistants. They cannot enter the center of the highest power of the Tang Dynasty. They will inevitably have a trace of regret for their political careers. Now, Fang Jun's proposal is almost a gift to them. The best opportunity to enter the political center of the lobby!
