In Chang'an City, the emperor was already making arrangements for spring plowing. No matter what dynasty or generation, farming was the first priority. The emperor presided over the spring plowing ceremony and took the lead in doing farm work. Although it is a show, it is also emphasizing the importance of farming to the world.
"Your Majesty, there is a letter from the Marquis. It was sent back with the letter from home." Lao Gao, the chamberlain, walked into the small study with a letter.
Li Er stopped reviewing the memorial and snorted with a somewhat dissatisfied look on his face: "Didn't you hide away to be clean? Did you know that there was a letter? Do you still remember that Chang'an is home?"
His mouth was full of dissatisfaction, but he reached out to receive the letter very quickly, obviously caring in his heart.
The chamberlain, Lao Gao, secretly laughed in his heart, but he didn't point it out and just waited quietly on the side.
Li Er quickly read the letter, his face fell, he patted the letter on the desk and said angrily: "They are so brave! Go, Chuan Fuji, Xuanling, and Xuancheng."
Soon, Changsun Wuji, Fang Xuanling, and Wei Zheng rushed to the small study.
Li Er passed the letter to the three of them. They had different expressions on their faces. I wonder why His Majesty was angry?
Changsun Wuji motioned to Wei Zheng, "That's your son-in-law, come and speak."
But Wei Zheng pretended not to see it with a dark face, thinking to himself: How could I know if His Majesty was blaming that boy or the person working underneath?
As a result, Fang Xuanling could only speak, "Your Majesty, the Marquis's letter is not false. We should send someone to investigate in detail. If there is someone in Xiangyang who dares to support bandits and respect themselves, the court will never tolerate it!"
Li Er nodded: "I came to you just for this matter."
call……
The three of them breathed a sigh of relief, as long as they didn't blame the Marquis for taking the decision without permission.
The letter said two things. One was the strange appearance of Xiangyang, and the Jingxiang Navy was suspected of being a self-respecting bandit. The other was to recommend a group of Dongting water bandits who could be recruited into the court in the future to form the Northern Navy of the Tang Dynasty. .
The first thing is that the court will definitely investigate it in detail. As for the second thing, if the emperor is happy, it will be credited to Xiao Rui, and it will be regarded as his selection of talents for the country. If you are unhappy, you can always say that Xiao Rui is friends with gangsters and makes decisions privately, which is not a minor crime.
"Xuancheng, this is a serious matter, please go there in person. I allow you the right to make decisions on the fly."
Wei Zheng bowed and agreed.
"Then there is the matter of Xiao Rui's plan to form the Northern Navy of the Tang Dynasty. What do you think?" the emperor asked.
Fang Xuanling said: "Master Hou has always known how to recognize people, and the people he recommends are probably capable."
Li Er waved his hand and said: "I'm not asking about the candidates, but about the naval plan. The imperial court has just calmed down the war a few years ago, and there are no plans to send troops for the time being. Why did this guy suddenly mention the navy? And have you noticed? Northern Navy Division? Does that mean that he wants to form not only this one, but also a southern navy?"
Yes, it seems that Mr. Hou has a big plan this time. The three of them looked at each other and saw each other's surprise, sighing at Xiao Rui's generosity.
What Li Er is dissatisfied with is not that Xiao Rui makes the decision without permission, but that this guy always makes suggestions. Can't you write down all your suggestions and plans? It took a lot of effort to get a letter, but it’s just two pages? Do I need a memorial letter from you?
Changsun Wuji stood up and said: "Your Majesty, it is only a matter of time to establish the Tang Navy. With the prosperity of our Tang Dynasty, coastal defense is also very important. Our Tang Dynasty starts from Youzhou in the north, Jiaozhou and Hangzhou in the east, and Lingnan in the south. Long coastline.”
"The northern and southern naval divisions mentioned by the Marquis are probably to form the coastal defense of the Tang Dynasty, not the Yellow River and Yangtze River naval divisions."
"I think back then, the Sui Dynasty was extremely prosperous and its navy was invincible. During the three campaigns against Goguryeo, half of the army fought across the sea. If there were such a powerful navy, the three countries on the peninsula, the Japanese country, and the overseas countries would all Under my military front of the Tang Dynasty, we will truly be invincible in all the world."
After these words, Emperor Li Er was suddenly filled with emotion. Isn't this exactly what he thought?
Seeing that the atmosphere was about to get out of control, Fang Xuanling couldn't help but pour cold water on her and said weakly: "But Datang doesn't have that much money! Not to mention forming two naval divisions, even one is not enough. Now Some ships only travel in the Yangtze River. If they were placed in the sea, they would be small sampans. To form a sea-crossing navy, every large ship must be built from scratch, which consumes a lot of money..."
this……
Changsun Wuji fell silent. Emperor Li Er's excitement also died out.
There was a moment of silence, and everything turned into a long sigh.
At this time Wei Zheng spoke, "How about replying to Zang Feng? Since he proposed to form a navy, he will definitely not let it go, and he must also know that the treasury is empty."
Li Er nodded and said: "That's fine. Write back and tell him to come back as soon as you finish the work. The state affairs are heavy. Is this the time for him to be lazy?"
Wei Zheng pondered and said: "Your Majesty, are those Dongting water bandits?"
"Talents are rare, and Xiao Rui is right about people. After careful investigation, if the Dongting water bandits are willing to surrender and have no excessive misdeeds, they can consider recruiting them." Li Er gave the instructions. The premise is that loyalty comes first. The second step is to examine it, as long as it does not harm the people and causes too many injustices. It means that robbery by water bandits is a trivial matter, but murder and arson are not acceptable.
A few days after Wei Zheng left, urgent news came from eight hundred miles south that there was a mutiny in Tanzhou City. Nearly 70% of the county guards, captains and other high-ranking officials died. The perpetrators were local bandits in Tanzhou. For a time, this incident shocked the government and the public, and the whole of Chang'an was talking about it.
The emperor was furious after reading the memorial and ordered on the spot to dispatch 10,000 troops from Luoyang south to Tanzhou to quell the rebellion. The new Zuowuwei General Su Lie led the troops.
But within two days, the chamberlain Lao Gao found something different. At the same time, Xiao Rui's letter also arrived in Chang'an.
"It's him again! Why doesn't this kid stop wherever he goes? What happened this time?"
"Your Majesty, over there in Tanzhou, Tanzhou..."
"What? Xiao Rui did what happened in Tanzhou?" Li Er exclaimed.
Lao Gao smiled bitterly and did not dare to answer, silently handing over the letter.
Li Er took it dissatisfied, and after a moment, he slammed the table angrily again!
"Isn't that reasonable? Isn't that reasonable? I thought that the Tang Dynasty was prosperous and powerful, and that in the past two years there had been more and more singing and dancing, but I didn't expect that there would be such damned people. What are you doing at Yushitai?"
Lao Gao advised and remonstrated: "Your Majesty, please calm down. Tanzhou is in the south. The imperial court has been busy fighting against the north in recent years. It has finally settled down and has not yet had time to clean up the officials. So some negligence is normal."
"The Marquis went south this time in a low-key manner, and perhaps he had the intention of understanding the sentiments of the people. According to the intelligence from the secret guards, the Marquis obtained a lot of treasure from suppressing the bandits, at least two hundred thousand taels, and they were all transported to the south by the Marquis."
"Presumably he has the intention to win over Lingnan. If the Marquis can really win over Lingnan for the court and make the north and the south unite, then the incident in Tanzhou will never happen again."
Li Er's expression softened, and he also knew that the Tang Dynasty's control over local areas was very limited, and the place where its troops could reach in one day was its core area. The place where the troops can reach in one month is the ruling area of the Tang Dynasty. In places that can only be reached in more than one month, the imperial court basically takes the lead from afar. There are many local emperors who do not obey the propaganda, and the imperial court has nothing to do. Lingnan is such a place.
As for Tanzhou? Located at the junction of the imperial court and Lingnan, it was a place that neither side cared about, so it was rotten to the root, otherwise Xiao Rui wouldn't have cleaned it so ruthlessly.
"Two hundred thousand taels... He is quite generous! He spends so much money to labor the army, not worrying about the scarcity but the inequality. How will he explain to the other generals when he returns to Chang'an?"
