"My child understands!" Li Hong lowered his head and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Hong'er!" Li Zhi sighed: "You say you understand, but in fact you still don't understand! I ask you, do you think the soldiers in Guanzhong are so depleted, but as a father, I don't know at all, he is a mediocre person. generation?"
"No, no, no!" Li Hong quickly denied: "My child never thought so, absolutely not!"
"Really?" Li Zhi said with a smile: "Then Hong'er, when you were in the political hall, why did you ask Zhang Wenguan to collect various bullets about the Guanzhong Prefecture soldiers again and again, and also asked the Ministry of War to submit relevant files? "
"This -" Li Hong suddenly became speechless. After the mutiny, he immediately ordered his officials to collect various materials related to the Guanzhong soldiers and prepared to find opportunities to remonstrate with his father. However, he did not expect that everything he did was under his father's control. Under his gaze, he couldn't help but feel fear and shame.
"Silly boy!" the queen said with a smile: "Of course your three-legged cat skills can't escape your eyes, but that's okay. No one knows everything from birth, just learn a few more times. !”
"Aye!" Li Hong glanced at his father carefully and said, "I want to verify the military situation in Guanzhong first, and then give you advice, but I have no intention of thinking that you are fatuous. In the world, you are the best. There are so many things to worry about, so it’s normal to miss some things!”
"Hahahaha!" Li Zhi laughed when he heard this: "Ah Wu, Hong'er has finally grown up and learned to flatter others!"
"My son is not a flatterer!" Li Hong blushed and explained, but Li Zhi waved his hand and interrupted his son's clumsy explanation: "Hong'er, you don't need to explain. Today we are all members of your own family, so I will treat you as your own." Let me explain it to you!" At this point, he paused for a moment and said to the other sons: "You guys should also listen to it together, maybe you will also use it in the future!"
"Yes!" Li Zhi's four sons responded in unison.
"What about me?" Li Dingyue raised her head and looked at Li Zhi innocently: "I want to listen too!"
"Okay, okay, we Yueyue also want to listen!" Li Zhi touched his daughter's head lovingly, turned his eyes to his four sons, and his voice became deeper: "The emperor does rule the world, and it is impossible for everything to happen. They all do it themselves, but military affairs are a matter of life and death for the country and must not be left to the hands of others, especially the military affairs in Guanzhong. The army is the foundation of the country. The four fortresses in Guanzhong are thousands of miles of fertile wilderness. The former Han and Western Wei Dynasties , Zhou Dynasty, and Sui Dynasty all established their capitals here, and the late emperor relied on this to pacify the world. So Hong'er, you are doing the right thing in preparing to rectify the depletion of the troops in Guanzhong. As the crown prince of the country, this is what you should worry about!"
"Thank you for the compliment, Aye!" Li Hong's face turned red: "My child also feels that this matter needs to be dealt with strictly, so I went behind your back -"
"You did nothing wrong in this matter!" Li Zhi said with a smile: "As a prince of a country, don't you have any autonomy? What's more, you haven't started to do it yet, you are just planning to let people collect the information first, and then come to me Tell me, this is very stable! What I mean is that I have known about the demobilization of the troops in the Guanzhong Prefecture for a long time! "
"You already knew this?"
"Yes, not only the soldiers in Guanzhong, but also those in Shandong and Henan are in very bad condition. Only the situation in Longyou and Hedong will be better, but it cannot be compared with that during the Zhenguan and Wude years!" Li Zhi said with a smile. : "Many officials have written letters to remonstrate on this matter, and the most violent one among them is——" At this point, Li Zhi was stuck, and his brows were furrowed, obviously he couldn't remember at the moment.
"Liu Rengui!" Empress Wu laughed.
"Yes, yes, that's him!" Li Zhi patted his thigh lightly: "'In Zhenguan and Yonghui, those who died in battle were ordered to be mourned by envoys, or given officials to promote their children. After Xianqing, all the rewards for crusade were lost. Absolutely; even when they defeated Baekje and Pyongyang, those who had meritorious service were not listed. The prefectures and counties were reluctant to purchase and raise funds, and those who were strong and wealthy used money to participate in the competition, and the rate was avoided. All the people raised were cold and exhausted, and had no fighting spirit. .’ I still remember the letter he wrote when he was in Baekje. His words were sincere and made people cry when he read them!”
"Then, why didn't my father order each department to reward the soldiers to inspire their morale?" Li Hong said hurriedly.
"Haha!" Li Zhi laughed: "Is issuing an edict useful?"
"Who dares to disobey the emperor's edict!" Li Hong said proudly: "If anyone dares to disobey the order, he is disobeying the order and should be punished!"
"Really?" Li Zhi said with a smile: "The previous dynasty Yang Guang also issued an edict to pacify Goguryeo. Why did the people flee and would rather go into the mountains and become thieves than accept the edict to attack Goguryeo?"
"This -" Li Hong was speechless: "Yang Guang is a tyrannical king, and His Majesty is a sage monarch. How can they be compared!"
"Hahaha!" Li Zhi smiled and shook his head: "Hong'er, I will teach you something today. Whether it is a saint like Yao and Shun or a tyrant like Jie and Zhou, what they can do with their edicts is actually very small. There are limits, and the first thing you need to learn as an emperor is not to issue edicts that cannot be implemented!"
"But if it is according to what Liu Rengui said, during the Zhenguan and Yonghui periods, the imperial court sent envoys to pay homage to the soldiers and give gifts to officers; but after the Xianqing period, there were no rewards! Could it be said that the imperial edict could be executed during the Zhenguan and Yonghui periods, but after Xianqing? Will it be done after the celebration?"
"Yes!" Li Zhi nodded: "In fact, after Xianqing, officers were given to meritorious officers, but the officers given now are different from the original officers!"
"What's the difference?" Li Hong asked.
Li Zhi smiled and said to Empress Wu: "Awu, please explain it to Hong'er. I'm a little tired!"
"Yes!" Mrs. Wu responded and said: "Hong'er, you should have heard of the principle that rare things are valuable, right? During the time of Wude Zhenguan, how many casual officials were sent out by the court every year? How many are sent out now? , the same Yi Tong and the same governor, but the actual usefulness is far different. When Jinyang followed Emperor Gaozu to raise troops, as long as they could reach Chang'an in Guanzhong alive, even ordinary soldiers could be assigned to the best soldiers beside the Wei River. Tianzhai. How much contribution do you have to make if you want to get the Tianzhai that the emperor gave to you next to Chang'an City today? Hong'er, you should understand, right?"
Although Li Hong was Prince Taiping, he was not the kind of mediocre person who grew up in the palace with the hands of women. Emperor Xuanzong of the Tang Dynasty locked the princes and grandsons in a city so that they would not have contact with the outside world. It would be decades later. Although he didn't know the exact price of a good farmhouse near Chang'an City, he still knew the approximate price.
As the undisputed largest city in the world at that time, the housing prices in Chang'an were extremely terrifying. Unlike the later Ming and Qing Dynasties, the salary of imperial officials in the Tang Dynasty was very considerable, but based on the salary of the official position itself, unless you reached the level of the Six Ministers, it was absolutely impossible to buy a decent residence with the salary. Therefore, when Bai Juyi went to Chang'an, people would make fun of his name, saying that it would be difficult to live in Chang'an. As for the soldiers who followed Li Yuan in Taiyuan, as long as they reached Chang'an City, they were allotted a piece of land and a house next to the Wei River. Although the specific size of the land was not clear, it should be enough to support a medium-sized farmer. This piece of land was It would be fine if the land was placed elsewhere, but it was a different matter if it was placed near Chang'an City. Many famous ministers and generals of later generations bought themselves retirement homes on the edge of Chang'an City. They were actually the same size as the fields and homes assigned to three or five ordinary soldiers at the time - the reason is very simple. After hundreds of years, Chang'an City can be annexed by them. There are not many fields left. In their hometown, they can farm all over the mountains and plains. It would be nice to build a small mound around Chang'an.
"What Aniang means is that in fact, today's meritorious soldiers can also get gifts, but these gifts are of no use anymore!" Li Hong asked.
"Not bad!" Wu nodded: "Especially the military headquarters in the Guanzhong area. Hong'er, you also know that the Guanzhong area is densely populated and is located in small villages. If we say that we can still get one-third in Guandong and Jianghuai, four One-tenth of the Xundian in Guanzhong may not be able to get one-tenth of it. This is not because the court does not give it, but it really doesn’t!"
"If that's the case, then why should Wang Wenzuo do it?" Li Hong asked: "Father, you can't do it, how can Wang Wenzuo do it?"
"It was true that it couldn't be done at the beginning, but now it can be done!" Empress Wu said: "There is only so much land in Guanzhong. If you want to give the military government the land again, then come up with the land. In the past, Chang'an was surrounded by old buildings from Yuan Cong. No one can do it. And this is the reason for the mutiny. Many things that were difficult to do in the past can now be done!"
"Then Wang Wenzuo has done these things, I'm afraid many people will hate him, right?"
Empress Wu glanced at Li Hong in surprise. She didn't expect that her son could think of so many things. She hesitated for a moment, then reached out and touched her son's head: "Yes, but as a minister, it is your duty to share your master's worries. Yes. Hong'er, you were so kind to Wang Wenzuo, he should have died for you!"
"But he has done a lot for the children and the court!" Li Hong said: "I once heard people say that the things he experienced in Songzhou, Baekje, and Japan. Eating rats to satisfy hunger, eating snow Quenching thirst; marching in heavy snow, braving raindrops of falling rocks and arrows to attack mountain cities; why use a meritorious official like him to do such a thing? How about another person? As long as high-ranking officials are given generous salaries, there should be many people willing Are you going to offend someone?"
Mrs. Wu looked at her son. This was the first time she saw her eldest son so excited. His cheeks were flushed and his eyes were bloodshot. He was completely different from his usual gentle and elegant appearance. She wanted to say something, but heard Li Zhi's voice.
"Why can't it be him? Because you prefer him?" Li Zhi's voice was a little tired: "So you don't want him to be hated by too many people?"
"Yes?" Li Hong lowered his head.
"Hong'er, if you want your monarch to last for a long time, it's better to let more people hate him, I mean Wang Wenzuo!" Li Zhi's voice was not loud, but his words were clear: "I understand how you feel. In our In our hearts, we all have a child, who is innocent and kind, and hopes that everything will go well; but to become the emperor, we must first kill the child in our hearts! I know that Wang Wenzuo is a capable minister who can conquer wars, is magnanimous, and is a capable minister. But it is precisely because of this that I let him go through this. Only when he is hated by others can he be a lonely minister, and he has no other support except you. Only then can you use him with confidence, and the relationship between you, the king and his ministers, can be prosperous. For a long time! Hong'er, do you understand?"
"My child understands, but will Wang Wenzuo -" Li Hong asked.
"He must understand this truth better than you!" Li Zhi said: "And as a monarch, you shouldn't care too much about the feelings of your ministers!"
"Yes!" Li Hong's face turned gray and lost all his usual energy.
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Chang'an City, Xuanyangfang.
"General Wang!" The eunuch who announced the edict handed the read imperial edict to Wang Wenzuo: "When you arrived in Chang'an, His Highness the Crown Prince gave you such a big house. This kind of grace is unique to you in Chang'an!"
"It's hard to repay the holy grace, I'm really scared!" Wang Wenzuo took the imperial edict, passed it to Cui Hongdu on the side, and said with a smile: "Listen to me, is this gift of a house very rare?"
"That's natural!" The eunuch's sharp voice was particularly harsh: "Let's put it this way! Are there still many fifth-rank officials who rent houses in Chang'an City? In a prefecture or county, they are the governor of a party! And you are in Xuanyangfang. ! To the right is Dongshi, and to the north is Pingkangfang across from Miyagi City. The area is so large, tsk tsk! Those who are your neighbors are all the founders of the country!"
"If that's the case, then I'm even more terrified!" Wang Wenzuo smiled bitterly.
"What are you afraid of!" The eunuch laughed and said: "This is a holy pet! If I were you, I would live more peacefully. Now that the prince is supervising the country, you will definitely use it in the future. If your guess is wrong, you can put me These eyes are gouged out!”
"Serious words, serious words!" Wang Wenzuo calmly took a small bag from Sanqiu on the side and stuffed it into the hands of the eunuch. Although the current eunuch is not as majestic and evil as after the Anshi Rebellion, he is still trying to please the big leader. People are always right: "It's a little bit of fun, use it to buy a pair of shoes!"
Although the eunuch didn't know what was in the bag, he must be a good thing after all. He was secretly happy: "A person like General Wang will either be placed outside as a general manager, or he will be admitted to the political hall. Thank you, thank you very much!"
After sending away the eunuch who announced the decree, Wang Wenzuo returned to the hall and breathed a sigh of relief. He heard voices coming from the hall, but it was Cui Yunying who was teaching the servants how to clean the new home. He shook his head. Women have been doing the same thing about new homes since ancient times.
"These servants left behind are really stupid!" Cui Yunying complained: "I told them to go east, but they chose to go west. It was useless to talk about the matter seven or eight times, and it almost exhausted me. I should have known that this would happen , I will bring a few more people from home, at least it will be easy to use!"
"I think you should relax a little and turn a blind eye!" Wang Wenzuo grabbed his wife's hand, pulled her down and sat down next to him: "I have been working in this house for more than ten years, why can't I still do it? Okay? It’s just that they don’t agree with you! They are not roundworms in your belly, so how do you know what you want? After a few months of running in, they will naturally be in tune, so why bother looking for someone from Qingzhou? "
Thanks to book friends such as Dragons Fighting in the Wild and Galaxy Host Eats Steak for their tips!
(End of chapter)
