Arriving at the palace, Li Shimin suddenly remembered the Baili soldiers that Chen Dao had commanded in the past, so he turned around and asked Huang Hao:
"Do you know about the 'White Guards' who were the bodyguards of the late emperor in the past?"
Huang Hao blinked, thought for a moment and then said:
"Reporting to your majesty, I have heard about the Baijie soldiers. However, after the Yiling battle, the Baijie soldiers were almost completely lost, and it is difficult to find sources of troops.
In the past, Prime Minister Zhuge had hoped to supplement the Baijie troops with Jiangzhou's local troops, but with little success, he gave up.
If Your Majesty needs elite troops like the Baijie soldiers, you may be able to use the "Wu Deng Flying Army" that the Prime Minister set up in the past with the elites of Qingqiang and barbarians. "
Li Shimin saw no one around and whispered:
"I intend to form an army that is as loyal, brave and good at fighting as the 'White Soldiers', and will only obey my orders. And I hope that they can fight ten of them immediately."
After hearing this, Huang Hao was confused and asked His Majesty:
"I'm sorry for my stupidity, but I wonder why Your Majesty suddenly organized such a pro-army whose resources are extremely difficult to secure?"
Li Shimin saw Huang Hao and the other three looking at him in confusion at the same time, and asked with a smile:
"Let's not talk about pro-military matters. I just ask you, if I want to eliminate some people who are opposed to me, what do you think I should do?"
Zhang Yan was the most outspoken. When she heard His Majesty say this, she immediately replied:
"What's so difficult about this? Brother Adou only needs to make a list of the people he wants to get rid of, and my little sister can just follow the list and kill them all for Brother Adou."
Li Shimin smiled and said nothing, then looked at Huo Ge and Huang Hao.
Huo Ge thought for a moment and then said:
"I can only see that most of the Yizhou nobles currently have an unclear position. Your Majesty might as well use various excuses in the court to force them to take sides, and then all those who are in the wrong team will be removed!"
Li Shimin nodded slightly at first, and then looked at Huang Hao expectantly.
Huang Hao saw that His Majesty did not seem to fully agree with what Zhang Yanhuo Ge said, and combined it with the content of His Majesty's conversation with Xiaoyao Gong not long ago, as well as what His Majesty had just asked about the Bai Jie soldiers, he thought about it in his mind.
"Oh! Your Majesty, I have thought of a perfect plan."
Li Shimin raised his eyebrows and asked with a smile:
"You can try it and see how different it is from what I thought."
Huang Hao cleared his throat and said:
"I believe that this court struggle cannot be limited to superficial matters.
Your Majesty may set up a "school affairs office" such as that of Wei and Wu to be managed by close people, secretly supervise the officials, or use coercion and inducement, assassinate secretly, or gain control. In short, the princes of Yizhou will be completely obedient and loyal to Your Majesty! "
Li Shimin was very happy after hearing what Huang Hao said, and he loved Huang Hao even more.
"My thoughts are roughly the same as yours, but you all think too simply."
Li Shimin saw that the three of them were waiting to hear his opinion, so he smiled and said:
"Just think about it, if I want to implement a new policy in Shu, and the new policy will affect the interests of the nobles. At this time, they may be willing to compromise in the court, but when it is really implemented, there will definitely be nobles secretly disrupting the situation.
At this time, I need to identify which nobles sincerely support the New Deal, and then win over and appease them. At the same time, I need to eliminate some stubborn 'opposition'.
This requires an organization similar to the "school affairs office" mentioned by Huang Hao to identify loyalties and traitors for me. However, when it comes to clearing out the 'opposition', I must first have enough strength to achieve my goal.
The same goes for things like assassins and rumors. Therefore, I need a strong and loyal pro-army to suppress and eliminate those who dare to resist.
At the same time, we also need to cultivate a group of secret supervisors to investigate and collect the intelligence and evidence I need.
When everything is ready, I can implement the new policy in Shu. "
After hearing this, Huang Hao and the other three people all looked surprised. Unexpectedly, His Majesty has already thought of every next move.
At this time, the three of them finally understood that His Majesty's efforts in cultivating descendants of senators, sending loyal ministers to become apprentices to Duke Xiaoyao, and many other things, weren't they actually preparations for the implementation of the New Deal?
The three of them took a breath at the same time when they thought of this.
Your Majesty now makes as much concessions as the late Emperor and the Prime Minister, and His Majesty's approach is more decisive and ruthless...
While the few people were talking, they unknowingly arrived at the Qingxiang Pavilion outside the Imperial Garden. Li Shimin simply greeted a few people into the Qingxiang Pavilion.
"I happen to be a little thirsty too. Let's chat here while drinking tea."
Huo Ge and Zhang Yan accepted the order and then knelt down at the table. Huang Hao was busy running around to help the waiter prepare tea.
Not long after, Li Shimin saw that the tea waiter had finished his work, so he dismissed the waiter and invited Huang Hao to take a seat.
Huang Hao might have broken the rules and didn't dare to sit down.
Li Shimin didn't hesitate too much and just asked Huang Hao to stand by him without waiting outside the door.
"These are all people close to me. I would like to share some ideas with you while I have nothing to do at this time."
Li Shimin said to several people while playing with the teacup.
Several people quickly expressed their willingness to "listen attentively".
Huang Hao was especially encouraged. As a eunuch and His Majesty's slave, Huang Hao was very touched that His Majesty could promote him many times and hold him in such high regard.
Li Shimin drank all the tea in the cup and said seriously:
"It has been more than two months since my prime minister passed away. Every day I fight with the ministers in the palace, or implement strategies outside the palace. It can be said that I am doing everything step by step. However, no matter how cautious I am, I am always one step behind the ministers in the court.
Such things as assassins, rumors, and countermeasures against rebellion are all the same. I also thought that maybe it was due to lack of ability, so there were often omissions.
But a few days ago, when I was confronting Qiao Zhou and others about the assassination, I discovered that although the princes of Yizhou were cunning, their actions were not perfect.
It seems that it is not that I am incompetent, but that I have too few eyes to understand the movements of the ministers in advance; it is also that my waist is not strong enough, which makes the Yizhou princes still have the illusion of "forcing me to compromise."
Combining the current situation, you and even Xiaoyao Gong's words and thoughts in my heart, I decided to establish a new division outside the original forbidden army system.
This division is divided into three guards. Each guard is led by my trusted ministers. They are all loyal and brave soldiers, and they are loyal to me alone.
I happen to be the ones who want to appoint the commanders of the Three Guards. I wonder how many of them would be willing to fight for me? "
After hearing this, the three of them were frightened and hurriedly knelt down to thank them.
Fortunately for Zhang Yan, after all, she is not a person who sticks to vulgar etiquette, so after thanking Zhang Yan, she said doubtfully:
"Brother Adou's idea sounds very powerful, but we are on someone else's territory. Where can we find the loyal and brave men needed for these three guards? How can Brother Adou judge which ones are loyal and brave men?"
After hearing what Zhang Yan said, Huo Ge and Huang Hao also felt that it was indeed difficult to implement this matter. The two of them also raised their heads to look at His Majesty.
Li Shimin first helped a few people up, and then asked with a smile:
"Ignoring the soldiers of the three guards in the future, I ask you, are the personal guards of the current generals in the army loyal to their masters? Why are the soldiers of the famous family loyal to their masters?"
Zhang Yan blurted out:
"The personal guards may be the retainers who have followed them since childhood, or they may be the soldiers who depend on the general for their family's life. They share the honor and disgrace with the general, and they must be absolutely loyal.
Needless to say, there is no need to mention the aristocratic family. The family soldiers have lived under the sect of the wealthy family for generations. They are considered as members of the same lineage and are loyal to their masters. "
After hearing this, Huo Ge and Huang Hao both agreed with Zhang Yan.
Li Shimin asked again:
"Since civil servants, military generals, and noble families all have a number of absolutely loyal followers, how can I, the king of a great country, not have very loyal and brave people to follow me?"
Huang Hao seemed to understand what His Majesty meant after hearing this. Huo Geshang was deep in thought, and Zhang Yan was a little confused.
Li Shimin saw that several people had not fully understood, so he said bluntly:
"At the beginning of the establishment of the Three Guards, the scale must not be too large. We still need some efforts from you, my close ministers, and even the descendants of the senators and former officials of the Prime Minister's Mansion.
For example, select the best from a number of loyal ministers and family soldiers and add them to the three guards. After the establishment is completed, and then new members are slowly trained and recruited, won't these 'loyal and brave men' be found? "
After hearing this, the three of them suddenly realized, and then they worshiped His Majesty even more in their hearts. Such wise and powerful kings, once the time comes, will definitely be able to compete with Wei and Wu in a single state!
Seeing that all three of them had understood the key points, Li Shimin continued:
"I have decided to establish the 'Hundred Cavalry Division', under which the 'Flying Cavalry Guard' will be responsible for guarding the Forbidden Palace, accompanying me on expeditions or eliminating rebellion;
The "Honglu Guards" are also set up to take charge of foreign affairs, either to investigate other countries or to prevent the infiltration of external forces;
There are also "secret guards" who are responsible for supervising hundreds of officials, secretly investigating, arresting, assassinating, interrogating, etc.
The above-mentioned "three guards of one department" are all under the control of me alone. There are also left and right deputy commanders to assist me in general commanding the "three guards of one department".
Each "guard" has a principal and deputy captain, and the following Du, Bo, Shi and Wu select smart, loyal and courageous people to serve.
The three guards have their own systems, and the responsibility for everything is reported layer by layer to ordinary soldiers. Finally, the Baiqisi summarizes and reports to me.
If the situation is urgent, anyone can report to me directly with their identity token or report directly to me.
The above three guards, except the 'hidden guard', are all placed on the table. Only the 'secret guards' can only be known to those close to them. "
Huang Hao kept in mind what His Majesty said so that it would be convenient for His Majesty to draft orders later.
Zhang Yan and Huo Ge couldn't help but admire His Majesty's thorough consideration and delicate thoughts when he heard about the "one division and three guards" established by His Majesty.
After Huo Ge and others fully understood His Majesty's intention, they couldn't help but feel excited and unanimously said:
"Your Majesty is wise, and I respect you!"
