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

Chapter 756: Learning from History (I)

The Hundred Cavalry Division and the Embroidered Uniform Guard, one in charge and the other in charge, complement each other and simultaneously promote and restrain each other, forming a perfect and effective ecological chain. They were successfully integrated into the overall institutional structure of the court and became an important part of the court's supervision mechanism.

This enabled the Tang Dynasty officialdom to grow healthily.

This is the important reason why Li Shimin, as an emperor, took the safety and well-being of all people into his own hands, and after careful consideration of the overall situation, and based on long-term and future considerations, he agreed to the Jinyiwei to conduct internal supervision.

Otherwise, no matter how happy he is or how great the prince's contributions are, he will never easily give up any force that is detrimental to the country.

It was precisely because Li Shimin wanted to vigorously develop the Hundred Cavalry Division that he adjusted the setup of the Embroidered Uniform Guard, so that the Embroidered Uniform Guard could restrain and supervise the Hundred Cavalry Division, but not allow it to usurp the throne and engage in vicious competition with the Hundred Cavalry Division.

Just as the court has a left pushe and a right pushe, a department has a chief and a deputy; the main one is stronger, the auxiliary one is weaker, and often the two officials do not belong to the same faction.

That is, it can ensure mutual promotion and mutual checks and balances, so that no one party will monopolize power and lose control.

Li Shimin felt that the current crown prince would not be able to understand these principles for the time being.

Watching the prince growing up day by day, Li Shimin patted Li Yan on the shoulder and said with emotion: "Father knows that you have been working hard. Father can see your efforts. No matter what you want to do, Father will support you."

Li Yan was shocked. Li Shimin's eyes and attitude were telling him that, in fact, he always knew what he wanted to do and understood his behavior. He had been supporting him silently and slowly giving him what he deserved, step by step.

Whether it is the power to supervise all officials or the future of the Tang Dynasty.

Li Yan was immediately moved and said excitedly: "Father, I will live up to your expectations and grow up soon. Today, you are not only the support and reliance of tens of millions of people in the Tang Dynasty, but also protect me from wind and rain."

"When I grow up, I will become a towering mountain like you, supporting the Tang Dynasty for you, the Queen Mother, and millions of ordinary people."

"Well, I believe you!"

Li Shimin looked at his son with a comforting look on his face, which still had some immaturity but could not hide his vigor and vitality. He felt extremely happy in his heart. There was no obstacle to the emotional blending between the father and son at this moment. A long-lost blood-related kinship slowly flowed between them.

Li Shimin greedily closed his eyes and felt it for a while, then took a deep breath. When he opened his eyes again, his vision had regained clarity, and he said solemnly: "I have already seen your Jinyiwei structure. Very good, you have sent almost all of them away."

"Not only did they take the Turks into consideration, they also took into account the potential risks around the Tang Dynasty. You told them that the Tang Dynasty does not necessarily have to be enemies with the surrounding forces, but it cannot be ignorant of the forces that may become enemies."

"That's very good. You have a broad vision and far-reaching perspective. This shows that you never forget your identity as the crown prince. You focus on the long-term and are not limited to the East Palace. You can see the whole world. This is not easy."

At this point, Li Shimin analyzed for Li Yan: "The Jinyiwei has two divisions. One is the External Division, which has two thousand households under its jurisdiction. There may be more divisions in the future. Then there is the Pacification Division, which is used to enforce internal laws and regulations. This is very good."

“But there is a lack of an internal department to monitor the internal affairs.”

"After the Tang Dynasty is stable, the main problem will be internal governance. The management of these wealthy businessmen and important officials of the aristocratic families is a big problem. We really need to find an organization to keep an eye on them and prevent them from doing whatever they want."

"So, after much deliberation, Father has decided to give you the power to supervise the internal affairs. You can place these 500 people in the Internal Affairs Department and spread them out slowly. With the experience from the past period, I believe you don't need Father to teach you how to do it."

This is a real and huge reward, and it is exactly what Li Yan needs most right now. Don't underestimate this power.

If Li Yan did not get Li Shimin's authorization, the little actions he did in private would be illegal. It would be fine if he was not discovered or did not cause trouble; but if something went wrong and someone caught him and reported him to the emperor, then Li Yan's behavior would be a blatant provocation to the authority of the entire court.

Especially as the crown prince, he took the lead in setting up private power institutions, staying outside the system and evading court supervision, and his circumstances were even worse than those of the ministers.

That's why Li Yan asked Wang Xuance to find a way to rely on a force and use the intelligence system of aristocratic families as his own firewall. The reason for this was that if something went wrong, he could shift the blame and not implicate the Eastern Palace.

But doing so is not only troublesome, but also greatly limits the pace of development. Once there are too many procedures, the situation can easily get out of control.

The advantage of being too private is that it can escape the supervision of the court; the disadvantage is also very obvious, that is, the people below can do whatever they want without telling you, and it is difficult for you to supervise them.

If we appoint another group of people to supervise, who will manage them?

Should we appoint another group of people to supervise those who supervise?
In the end, it would not be a mess, so no matter what, it would be better to get this power openly, so that the Internal Affairs Department can be directly under the supervision of the Pacification Department, and there is no need to find ways to restrict it. This means that there are fewer risks, which is definitely a big reward, so Li Yan bowed respectfully and thanked him: "Thank you, father, for your grace!"

Li Shimin did not say the scope of this "internal" supervision, and Li Yan did not ask. If he really asked, and Li Shimin banned officials of the third rank or above, or princes and nobles, he would be asking for trouble.

I don't know whether Li Shimin was unaware of these details or deliberately ignored them. Anyway, as far as Li Yan is concerned, as long as one lives in the Tang Dynasty, they are all targets of surveillance. Since there are no restrictions, he can do whatever he wants.

Afraid that Li Shimin would think of this, Li Yan quickly changed the subject and said, "Your Majesty is right. I feel deeply about this."

"I recently found an interesting pattern in the history books I read, and I was just thinking of asking you, Father?"

Now that the issue of the Turks had been settled, Li Shimin felt relieved and felt a lot more relaxed, breathing a sigh of relief.

At this time, the sun had already set and the palace gates were locked. Unless there was a big problem, no ministers would come in. Li Yan also had a pass, so it was very convenient for him to enter and exit the palace.

Li Shimin was in a good mood and wanted to fulfill his duty and teach the prince. Looking at the half-eaten dinner on the other side of the table, he said, "You haven't eaten since you came to the palace. It's just right. I'll ask Wang De to ask the Imperial Household to add two dishes. I'll also get a jar of good wine. We can drink and chat together. It's just right for me to test your academic performance."

"That's great. I haven't had dinner with father for a long time!" Li Yan hurriedly went outside and told Wang De to make arrangements.

Li Shimin stretched and moved around for a while, then the two of them walked out of the imperial study and came to the place where Li Shimin had breakfast last time. This place faced the back garden, where flowers were in full bloom and the scene was prosperous. In the distance was a small lake, the air was clear, and the scenery was pleasant.

As the sun sets, golden sunlight shines on the Taiji Palace, covering this magnificent palace built 1,500 years ago with a layer of golden glow.

Brilliant and dazzling.

A breeze blew, bringing with it the freshness of the lake water, mixed with the fragrance of the garden. Both of them felt very comfortable and relaxed.

Li Shimin walked slowly on a piece of empty grass near the lake, stretching his body from time to time to relax from the fatigue of paperwork: "Tell me, if you have any questions, your father will answer them for you."

"Yes, Father!"

Li Yan pondered inwardly and asked a question that only Li Shimin could answer, and which had been lingering in his mind: "Father, after a long period of reading history books and looking at the rise and fall of dynasties, I found that in fact, it has always been necessary to fight for more than two times to conquer a country."

'hiss'

Li Shimin had a casual and smiling expression at first, but after hearing Li Yan's question, his whole body suddenly stiffened. He turned around abruptly, his eyes gleaming, staring at Li Yan like a hunting tiger.

Li Yan was so frightened that his face turned pale. He held his breath for an instant and looked at the powerful Li Shimin with a nervous face.

"Father, did I say something wrong?"

Seeing the panic on Li Yan's young face, Li Shimin took a deep breath to suppress the boiling blood and the shock in his heart.

Turning around, he said in a somewhat stiff voice, "Nothing, I just thought of something else for a moment, it has nothing to do with you, you continue."

"Why do you say you have to hit it more than twice?"

Li Yan knew how big of an impact this question had on Li Shimin. In fact, after he came to this conclusion, he was still throbbing in his heart for a long time.

But such things are not something that can be told to outsiders. If there is one person in the Tang Dynasty today who can discuss this issue frankly, it is only Li Shimin in front of him. So Li Yan really wants to hear the true opinions of Li Shimin, the living emperor.

Verify your own judgment and conclusion, are they correct?
"That's right, father. I have discovered that the first unified dynasty in modern history was the Qin Dynasty. Qin Shi Huang used the remaining power of his six predecessors to rule the world, swallowed up the two Zhou dynasties and destroyed the princes. He was supreme and controlled the world. He whipped the world and shook the world with his power."

"The First Emperor was a man of extraordinary talent and intelligence. He was full of vigor and power and dominated the world. If he was a tyrant, then there would be no wise rulers in the world. But the dynasty founded by such an unprecedented figure collapsed in the second generation. How sad it is."

(End of this chapter)