The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 714: Expansion of Strength
If Li Shimin really coveted such power, he would only set up another similar organization loyal to himself and select people he trusted from the beginning, instead of directly taking over the Jinyiwei of the Eastern Palace.

Because he had no idea whether he had completely taken over the Jinyiwei.

If the interior is completely cleaned, it would be equivalent to rebuilding it from scratch, which is not cost-effective; if it is not cleaned thoroughly, it might even help Li Yan to raise his own confidants and make wedding dresses for others.

Who knows how many backdoors Li Yan has left inside the Jinyiwei? Others cannot be trusted at all.

In view of this, Li Yan is not as worried as before. Being too cautious and treading on thin ice will only tie his hands and feet and miss the great opportunity for the development of Jinyiwei.

The Jinyiwei was originally established to deal with the Turks in the northern grasslands, but Li Shimin acted too quickly and captured Jie Li alive in one battle, deciding the outcome. After the Battle of Dingxiang, perhaps Li Shimin felt that it was unnecessary.

Another imperial decree disbanded the Jinyiwei. Where could Li Yan go to cry?
Therefore, during the weak development stage of Jinyiwei, Li Yan had to constantly look for the meaning of its existence.

"Oh, there is one more thing I want to tell you."

Li Shimin saw Li Yan happily counting money and said, "You are not young anymore, it is time for you to get married. I have planned to ask the Prince's tutor Zhang Xuansu to propose marriage for you to the Marquis's Mansion, and then let the Imperial Astronomical Observatory choose a good day, and then get it done!"

"Don't just think about playing, get married and focus on your life. Only after you get married can you be considered an adult."

Li Yan knew this would happen. This kind of thing was not something he could decide. It didn't matter who he married, because they were all for the sake of power. Li Yan had no resistance to a political marriage and followed the local customs.

"I will respect your father's orders and follow your father's arrangements in everything!"

Li Shimin nodded with satisfaction: "Well, go ahead. Also, summon Fang Xuanling, Cen Wenben and others to Chengqing Hall for me. I want to discuss the Turkic issue with them."

"Yes, father. I'll take my leave now." Li Yan walked out of the gate and happened to see Wang De and Zhang Xuan coming to see him, so he greeted them.

Then he went to Hongwen Hall to convey the imperial edict and left the palace!

East Palace, Chongwen Hall!

After Li Yan came back, he immediately found Su Dingfang, Liang Jianfang and Wang Xuance and told them the result of the meeting with the emperor. Finally, he ordered: "Father has approved another 1,000 spies this time. I plan to allocate half of them and build five more 100-household units."

"The other 500 people will be handed over to the Pacification Division to do a good job of internal control. What do you think?"

Li Yan always discusses the internal affairs of Jinyiwei with several generals and listens to whoever has the best suggestion. It is quite democratic and casual. Therefore, Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang are very happy with their work now. They have settled down and devote themselves to their work.

Building up an important department bit by bit in my own hands feels like raising my own child, which is quite fulfilling.

Su Dingfang thought for a moment and said, "Your Highness, it is a good thing that His Majesty values ​​us, but so far, I feel that the people in the four hundred households are basically enough. Many people have been sent out, and now there is no information coming back. We don't even know whether they are dead or alive?"

"The more His Majesty values ​​it, the more disappointed His Majesty will be if nothing is achieved in the end. How will you explain it to me then?"

Liang Jianfang also frowned and said, "Yes, and when we took out the spies who served as the mouthpiece of the general for special use, we found that the maintenance cost of one spy was equivalent to that of ten scouts in the army. This price is too high. The more people there are, the heavier our burden will be."

"The East Factory has no income yet, and this time they gave us another 1,000 people. Will they be unable to afford it?"

Li Yan smiled slightly. It seemed that Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang had really calmed down and stopped thinking about him. Only in this way would they focus all their attention on the Jinyiwei and consider the long-term future of the Jinyiwei.

In fact, a department like the Jinyiwei is not like an ordinary combat team. Sometimes the maintenance cost of a spy in a key position may be as high as that of a small combat unit, while most ordinary members only need basic expenses.

But the role that spies in key positions can play may not be achieved by an army of 10,000 people. Su Dingfang and Liang Jianfang will know this in the future.

"You don't have to worry about these. Father will handle it on his own. You should know that it is precisely because Father is very satisfied with the work of the Royal Guards that he has increased the manpower and budget, which is enough for our operations during this period of time."

Liang Jianfang and Su Dingfang looked at each other in astonishment. What did the Jinyiwei do?

All the information was passed to Li Yan through them. There was no important military intelligence, right? They just reported the drought situation on the grassland and the customs and habits of some large tribes. This was a great achievement. Li Shimin's requirements were too low, right?

There was excitement in the eyes of the two men. If that was the case, then the job of the Jinyiwei wasn't that difficult, right?

Thinking of this, both of them showed a smug look in their eyes.

Only Wang Xuance, who spoke very little in public, understood in his heart that the emperor was probably very satisfied with the prince, rather than with the Embroidered Uniform Guards, because of the Flying Tiger Army incident.

In the matter of the Flying Tigers, the prince took the blame for the emperor, provoked Hou Junji, and got so much money, the emperor was trying to gain credit. These two things were not fair, and there was no way to reward the prince openly, so the emperor used the method of increasing the strength of the Jinyiwei to compensate His Highness.

Seeing the excitement of Su Dingfang and Liang Feifang, Wang Xuance had a blank expression on his face, but shook his head secretly in his heart.

"In addition, the Jinyiwei cannot just deal with the Turks. Although the Turks are the Tang Dynasty's main enemy at present, they are not the only enemy."

Li Yan instantly expanded the structure of the Jinyiwei: "I plan to divide the Jinyiwei into two departments. The previous four hundred households will be divided into one department, and a thousand households will be established. It will be under the unified management of Liang Jianfang. From now on, all military intelligence of the Turks will be in your charge."

"The other five newly established 100-household units were divided into another 1,000-household unit under the management of Su Dingfang. They were mainly aimed at the Tubo, Tuyuhun, Western Turkic, and Gaochang states in the western regions, and also took into account the Goguryeo, Silla, Baekje in the northeast, and even the Shiwei and Hemo states in the further distance."

"Dingfang, you can divide these forces into five major areas according to their location and importance. Five hundred households will be responsible for each area, two in the northeast, and three in the northwest."

Li Yan looked at Su Dingfang and felt jealous when he thought of his historical contributions.

In the fourth year of Zhenguan, Su Dingfang followed Li Jing in the Northern Expedition against the enemy. In the decisive night attack on Yinshan Mountain, he led two hundred cavalrymen to break into the enemy's camp and broke through the tent of Jie Li Khan, making great contributions to the destruction of the enemy.

He was awarded the title of General of the Left for his merits.

In the sixth year of Yonghui, he followed Cheng Zhijie to fight and defeated the Western Turkic tribes such as Shunishi at Yingshachuan.

In the third year of Xianqing, he was promoted to the commander-in-chief of the Yili Road Army and led the Western Expedition. He defeated the main force of Ashina Helu of the Western Turkic Khaganate, chased them to the Shi Kingdom, captured Helu, and destroyed the Western Turkic Khaganate.

Because of his merits, he was promoted to General of the Left Guard and was granted the title of Duke of Xing.

In the fourth year of Xianqing, he was appointed ambassador of appeasement and marched west again. He reached Yeshui, besieged Mabao City, forced the rebellious leader of the Tiele Sijie tribe, Duman, and others to surrender, and stabilized the area west of the Pamir Mountains.

He was later promoted to General of the Left Guard.

In the fifth year of Xianqing, the Tang army of 100,000 was led by the General of Shenqiu Road to attack Baekje, capture its king Buyeo Uiji, and destroy Baekje.

In his later years, he was appointed as the ambassador of Liangzhou Anji to defend against Tubo. In the second year of Qianfeng, Su Dingfang died of illness at the border at the age of 76.

This was a famous general who had fought in many battles and whose lifespan was as long as Cheng Yaojin and whose achievements were even greater. Looking at his experience, we can tell that during the Zhenguan period, Su Dingfang must have been repeatedly excluded and suppressed, and was frustrated. Fortunately, he lived long enough to outlive all the famous generals of an era.

Otherwise, you will never get ahead in this life.

When Su Dingfang was young, he followed his father Su Yong to fight against local bandits and stabilize the hometown. At the end of the Sui Dynasty, he joined the Hebei righteous army led by Dou Jiande and Liu Heita, and made many military achievements and became famous. After Liu Heita was defeated, Su Dingfang returned to his hometown.

It was not until Li Shimin came to power that he was appointed as the Commandant of Kuangdao Prefecture.

But such a famous general was only given the task of leading 200 cavalrymen out of an army of hundreds of thousands during the Northern Expedition against the Turks. This kind of charging into battle should have been the task of a young and hot-blooded general like Gu Dumou.

However, the position was taken by such a veteran who was nearly 40 years old, had a great reputation, and should have been able to take charge of the rear and command the troops. This shows how little attention Su Dingfang paid to him at that time.

However, Su Dingfang still used such a bad hand to his advantage and raided Jie Li Khan's tent. But in the end, Su Dingfang's achievement was passed over in passing, and the credit for capturing Jie Li alive went to Zhang Baoxiang, a close confidant of Li Jing and deputy commander-in-chief of the Datong Road army.

If Su Dingfang had not risen to prominence during the reign of Emperor Li Zhi, the raid on Jie Li's tent would probably not have appeared in history books.

Perhaps after this battle, the top military officials of the Tang Dynasty felt that Su Dingfang was too powerful. This old guy was really good at fighting. If you give him some sunshine, he would shine, and if you give him some color, he would open a dyeing factory. So they kept him in the dark and never gave him the chance to make merit on the battlefield again.

In the more than ten years of the Zhenguan period that followed, Su Dingfang no longer had any outstanding achievements. Even in the next twenty years, the golden period of a man, there is no record of him in history.

It is conceivable that in the long period that followed, Su Dingfang had no chance to come to the fore at all. It was not until the sixth year of Yonghui, when a large number of famous generals of the Zhenguan Dynasty died, that Su Dingfang finally got the opportunity to come to the fore again.

At that time, Su Dingfang was already 63 years old. In the Tang Dynasty, people of this age would have dirt buried up to their noses, and would have trouble eating. They would probably not be able to control their bowel movements or urination. Who would have thought that this old man could be so vigorous?

Even though his life was almost coming to an end, he was still galloping on the battlefield, winning every battle, and defeating and conquering so many enemy countries and forces.

It is true that an old horse is encouraged and becomes stronger with age!

(End of this chapter)