Datang: Rebirth of Li Chengqian, the beginning of the treason interrogation

Chapter 72: There are soldiers and generals, whoever shows up will be killed

Li Chengqian showed a hint of sarcasm on his face, his mouth corners slightly raised, and his eyes flashed with an indescribable light. He stared quietly at the heroic master in his prime.

The atmosphere became extremely weird at this moment.

Although Li Shimin was the emperor, he felt at this moment that he seemed to be suppressed in terms of momentum.

Li Chengqian slowly said, "Your Majesty, do you know what I saw when I was in Xuzhou?"

Li Shimin remained silent, his eyes fixed on Li Chengqian, with a hint of doubt and uneasiness in his eyes.

It definitely won't be a good thing.

Li Chengqian continued: "The equal-field system has been destroyed, and the land has been annexed again. People have lost their fields and have been forced to become displaced or tenant farmers."

Li Shimin's pupils suddenly dilated, a strong murderous intent emanated from him, his eyes became fierce and sharp, and the whole person was like an angry lion about to explode.

"How dare they! How dare they violate the state's ban? Most of the land should belong to the state, and private buying and selling is strictly prohibited."

Li Shimin knew very well that the equal-field system was the foundation of the Tang Dynasty. As the king of a country, he personally formulated these policies and was naturally very clear about this.

The existence of the fubing system depends on the equal-field system. If the equal-field system is destroyed, the fubing system will not be able to be maintained and the combat effectiveness of the soldiers will be greatly reduced.

When we can’t even handle internal problems, how can we focus on external ones?

"Who is it?" Li Shimin's low voice sounded, his eyes full of majesty and anger. His body trembled slightly, as if he couldn't suppress the anger in his heart.

All the ministers turned their heads and focused their eyes on Li Shimin, with expressions of surprise on their faces.

However, Li Shimin quickly controlled his emotions. He took a deep breath and his face became calm, but beneath that calm appearance, there was a terrifying rage hidden.

"Why?" Li Shimin stared at the soldiers in front of him and asked Li Chengqian in a cold tone.

Li Chengqian said firmly: "Strengthen the army and strengthen central authority."

Although the military system implemented in the Tang Dynasty saved expenses, it led to excessive dispersion of military power, excessive local power, and relatively weak imperial power.

This situation gave rise to a series of problems, such as soldiers' reduced loyalty to the country and frequent warlord rebellions.

As long as there is a big clan willing to pay, the state-run troops can be their own.

No matter who I am working for or not, as long as you have military pay, I will definitely be willing to follow you.

Don't talk to me about family and country, a man who is almost starving to death today. I just want to be practical. Give me a few steamed buns and I will be yours.

"How can we make the army strong?" Li Shimin frowned and muttered to himself. As a great leader, he also had moments of confusion.

In his time, the military strength of the Tang Dynasty was already the strongest. No matter whether it was the Turks, Tubo or other countries, they could not compete with the army of the Tang Dynasty.

"Unite the military spirit and forge the military soul!"

Li Chengqian spoke slowly. He knew that for an army, the morale and soul of the army were the most important. Only by letting every soldier understand why they were fighting could they be inspired to have faith deep in their hearts.

Today's soldiers hardly know why they are fighting. All they receive are orders from their superiors. They don't know the meaning of their actions. They only know to obey orders and complete their missions. Such an army will inevitably be used by others.

"I'm asking how to implement it?" Li Shimin said impatiently. He had already realized that this was an extremely important matter that concerned the fate of the country. "Paying military salaries can make the soldiers feel a sense of belonging to the country, spread the feelings of home and country, and unite the military spirit."

One of the main reasons why Chang'an was so rich was that it did not have to spend money on military salaries.

But paying military salaries is undoubtedly a huge expense.

"Pay the military salaries!" Li Shimin's expression became uncertain.

"This matter is of great importance. I need to discuss it with my ministers."

"This world belongs to your Majesty. Does your Majesty need to seek the opinions of your subjects before making a decision?"

Li Chengqian was naturally aware that distributing military pay would mean touching the interests of the entire clan, and no one among the ministers would agree.

Because this is an important way to distribute upper-class resources to the lower-class people, and most of those who serve in the army come from ordinary people's families.

The reason why Li Chengqian chose to speak out at this time was to prevent Li Shimin from having the opportunity to discuss it with his ministers. Otherwise, with Li Shimin's personality, he would definitely have a chat with Zhangsun Wuji and Chu Suiliang about such a big matter.

"This shows that I am too authoritarian. Even if I agree, the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of Central Secretariat will definitely not approve it."

Paying military salaries will almost exhaust most, or even all, of the country's tax revenue.

"Your Majesty, if the world is destroyed, it will be our Li clan that will be destroyed. The other clans will definitely be fine. If Your Majesty does not announce it in front of all the soldiers in the world, then this will definitely not work. If Your Majesty announces the salary payment in front of the soldiers of each state now."

"Then, it is no longer a conflict between my royal family and the major clans, but a conflict between the people of the world and the major clans."

Li Chengqian spoke slowly, his voice calm and firm, as if he was stating an indisputable fact.

"Your Majesty, have you ever said that the king is a boat and the people are water. Water can carry a boat but can also overturn it. If the rivers, lakes and seas are already surging with raging waves, can the boat still break through the waves? I think by then, everything will be too late."

Li Chengqian's words were like a sharp sword, piercing Li Shimin's heart.

Li Shimin looked at Li Chengqian silently, with complex emotions surging in his heart.

He knew that his prince was right, but he couldn't make a decision easily.

After all, this involves the fate and future of the entire Tang Dynasty.

This step is too big and will trigger fierce opposition from the ministers and even cause turmoil in the Tang Dynasty.

"I understand what you mean, but this matter is of great importance and cannot be acted upon rashly. I need time to think it over and weigh the pros and cons."

Li Shimin really no longer had the decisiveness he had before, and became hesitant. He had a lot of things to consider, including the entire country.

"Father, we have conquered the world, are you afraid of another war? For the sake of our Li family's eternal rule, what's the harm even if we start another war?"

"Compared to Jinyang now, we have soldiers and generals. If any clan dares to show up, we will kill them all."

Li Chengqian said very radically that if they waited any longer, the opportunity would be lost and there would be no results.

Execute first and report later to see how these ministers of remonstration object.

(End of this chapter)