Li Chengqian is a person who is extremely insecure and unsure of himself.
Although he is the eldest son of His Majesty Li Er, he has placed high hopes on him since he was a child. After the "Xuanwumen Incident", he was immediately canonized as the crown prince by Jin Dian. However, he was once praised by the government and the public for his "generous appearance, Qiyi", "benevolence, filial piety and deep kindness". "But such good days actually don't last long.
As he grew older, his shortcomings of insufficient talent were revealed. He was often scolded by the emperor's teachers in the East Palace, thinking that he was not good at school. This made Li Chengqian feel inferior, impetuous, and rebellious. From time to time, there were rumors of disrespect for his teachers, which made His Majesty Li Er dissatisfied. .
Later, King Li Tai of Wei competed with him for the throne and repeatedly framed him, which made him even more passive and panicked, restricted everywhere, and often behaved inappropriately. His Majesty Li Er became even more disgusted.
Until he was framed by Changsun Chong and fell from power, causing his legs to be disabled, and almost all the sacred scrolls were lost. If not for Queen Wende's love for her eldest son, the position of prince would have been deposed long ago. Even so, by the time of Empress Wende's funeral, His Majesty Li Er's desire to change the situation was gradually unstoppable.
Living in these days of fear and precariousness is a constant struggle. For Li Chengqian, who is average in talent and weak in character, it is torture every moment. He may have a complete mental breakdown at any time and do something unreasonable. to vent their fears and anger.
Fortunately, during his most difficult time, he received Fang Jun's unwavering support, which made him not only grateful to Fang Jun, but also extremely dependent on him psychologically...
He cannot trust the loyalty of others, nor the abilities of others, so he always consults Fang Jun for his opinion on major matters, and he almost obeys his advice and never violates it. However, now this point has been designed by others, and Fang Jun has almost been criticized and reviled.
Fortunately, it was detected in time and no negative consequences occurred...
However, Li Chengqian looked at Fang Jun's words, hesitated a little, and then said with a wry smile: "But the current situation is turbulent and people are panicked. If you criticize Liu Shizhong harshly, I am afraid that it will make the whole court even more frightened, which is not appropriate."
Although Liu Zi had a bad idea and his thoughts were not right, it would not be convincing enough to reprimand him just based on such an advice that did not cause bad consequences. Moreover, Liu Zi had previously formed a faction with Jiangnan and Shandong clans, but now he has switched to his own clan. How can he be harshly blamed?
Even if it is just a show, it cannot make those civil servants and military generals who intend to join him feel conflicted.
It's worth buying horse bones with thousands of gold...
Fang Jun naturally had no objection: "Your Highness has a clear conscience."
It's not that he has an intolerable temper. Moreover, Liu Zi and Cen Wenwen are currently advancing and retreating together. The two of them almost control the court's gossip officials. They are an extremely huge force. If there is a setback at this time, it will be of no benefit.
However, he would not let Liu Zi design him, and said with a smile: "In turn, the ministers will spread the matter and praise Liu Shizhong's upright character and hatred of evil, and let the world know how disdainful this pillar of the country is. Knead the sand.”
Aren't you admonishing the use of "Baiqisi" to build a large prison? Then as you wish, publicize this advice widely. Those who have secretly connected with the King of Jin must be shocked and restrained. For Liu Zi, a fair and selfless "virtuous minister" The curses continued.
Li Chengqian thought for a while, but did not refuse. He nodded and said: "It's good to teach him a lesson. Since the beginning of his father's Eastern Expedition, almost all the country's efforts have been devoted. Now, although Goguryeo has been pacified, the losses are too great, and it is also related to the kings of Long and Jin." The rebellion has caused heavy losses in Guanzhong. In the next ten years at least, we must pay attention to internal affairs and recuperate. The whole court must work hard to govern. What we need are capable officials who are diligent and conscientious, not powerful ministers who are familiar with intrigues and intrigues."
During the Zhenguan Dynasty, almost all the wars that could be fought were fought. Goguryeo, the evil enemy on the northeastern border, was pacified, Xueyantuo to the north of the Hanhai was destroyed, and the Eastern and Western Turks were defeated and fled thousands of miles away. It is said that they had already fled to the West Sea to survive, such as Silla All surrounding barbarians such as Baiji, Baekje, and Wa were eliminated, and the only strong enemy was the Tibetans entrenched on the plateau.
Tubo's rejection of Ludongzan by Songtsen Gampo led to a large number of internal conflicts, internal chaos, and great loss of strength. It was impossible to threaten the Tang Dynasty for a while.
At this time, it is time for the whole country to work hard, recuperate and restore national strength.
He is not a high-spirited monarch, and does not have His Majesty Li Er's obsession with "one emperor for eternity". As long as he sits safely on the throne and governs the country smoothly, the country is peaceful and the people are peaceful, a hundred years from now there will be a "wise and caring person" in history. "The evaluation is enough.
Therefore, he is willing to let go of his power. Although he knows his own shortcomings, he clings to his authority and has to do everything personally. Isn't it stupid?
The inheritance of this country is in his hands. Even if King Jin is defeated in the future, countless people will still secretly slander him and think that he is not worthy of his position. Therefore, he could only tremble, walk on thin ice, govern a glorious and prosperous era, and prevent his father from being more beautiful than before, in order to quell the criticism and win the recognition of the people in the world.
The chamberlain came to announce that it was Duke Wei who was in attendance. Li Chengqian hurriedly summoned him, and then ordered people to prepare tea and snacks. After Li Jing came to see the ceremony, they sat down separately and said straight to the point: "The six leaders of the East Palace have been led by Li Siwen and Cheng Chubi. The two men each led 5,000 soldiers and advanced toward Tongguan along the Guangtong Canal from the south to the north. In addition to exerting pressure, they also prevented the rebels from using boats to sail upstream and attack Chang'an."
The three monarchs and ministers immediately stood up and came to the map hanging on the wall to carefully inspect the topography and troop deployment.
Nowadays, as the system and technology of map drawing by the Ministry of War have become more and more perfect, the error is extremely small, not to mention that the Sanfu area of Gyeonggi is very close, and every mountain road, every hillock, and every well is marked in detail. Every detail is visible, looking at the map is like looking at the palm prints.
Guangtong Canal diverts the Wei River from the northwest of Chang'an City, roughly passes through the old Cao Canal of the Han Dynasty, and ends at Tongguan where it enters the Yellow River. It is more than 300 miles long. Because it passes through cities, towns, counties and villages where the population is concentrated, transportation is convenient and goods and goods exchanges are frequent, so it is affectionately called the "Fumin Canal" by the local people.
The Guangtong Canal is responsible for the important water transportation of Chang'an City. Therefore, the river is wide and the water flow is gentle. Compared with the turbulent Wei River, it is easier for boats to travel. Whether going down the river or upstream, it can instantly transport the army to Tongguan. Or Chang'an, the strategic significance is very important.
No matter how ignorant Li Chengqian was about military affairs, he not only lamented: "Fortunately, the navy was able to make a prompt decision and attack the private troops from the south of the Yangtze River when they were crossing the river, causing them to collapse. Otherwise, if they were allowed to go north to Tongguan, and with the help of boats from the south of the Yangtze River, If we go upstream along the Guangtong Canal and approach Chang'an, the situation will be critical."
Guanzhong is surrounded by eight rivers, but there is no navy. Fang Jun originally built ships in Kunming Pool for college students to practice operation, but they were all destroyed during the Guanlong rebellion. After that, His Majesty Li Er returned to Beijing and died again. Then the King of Jin rebelled and did not rebuild it for a while.
Therefore, once the soldiers of the King of Jin relied on the boats of the private army in the south of the Yangtze River to invade Chang'an along the Guangtong Canal, the East Palace could not stop them at all. They could only station a large number of troops on both sides of the river to harass them, but it was difficult to stop them.
Li Jing said: "In the past dynasties, they only focused on the construction of the cavalry force. Even the infantry lacked equipment upgrades and tactical improvements, and they didn't care about the navy. If Erlang hadn't realized the water force with his far-sighted vision, Why is the navy of the Tang Dynasty so important and it took so much effort to build it? Why is it that the navy of the Tang Dynasty now spans the seven seas and colonizes the world? Not to mention that it can quickly reach Gyeonggi and threaten Tongguan along the canal. Your Highness should realize the importance of the navy, and do not let all kinds of difficulties in the future Then give up the navy, otherwise one day the ocean will be surrendered to the Fan countries, and then all the coasts of the empire will be within the attack range of the Fan countries, and it will become a serious problem."
Nowadays, the navy spans the seven seas and has already demonstrated unparalleled combat power. As the world's best military master, how could Li Jing not see the strategic significance contained in it?
A mere navy could radiate to countless countries around the ocean, allowing the Tang Dynasty's goods and colonization to spread all over the world. While obtaining a steady stream of wealth and supplies, it could also spread the majesty of the empire to the four seas, which shows the importance of the navy.
However, the construction of the navy is too expensive, and because it floats on the sea far away from the center, it is difficult for the center to personally feel the significance of its existence. It is okay when the national treasury is full, but once the national power weakens and the treasury is scarce, it will be difficult to continue to support the navy. huge expenses.
Don't talk about calculating the input and output of the navy. When the national power is weakened, the land of Gyeonggi will inevitably be unstable. The surrounding barbarians are sharpening their swords and riding horses on the Great Wall. How can they still have the energy to take care of the navy?
But once this navy is annihilated, it will be difficult to rebuild it.
