Da Tang: Father, can I resign?

Chapter 211 What if something happens to Your Majesty...

"That's right, the princes are all governors of the Governor's Office. Then what?"

Li Zhi was puzzled by Li Tai's behavior.

I am the governor ≠ I lead the troops.

There is no two suns in the sky, and there is only one sun in the hearts of all the soldiers in the Tang Dynasty, and that is His Majesty Li Shimin.

Other titles like governors-general and generals may sound boastful, but they actually have no authority to lead troops.

The soldiers were scattered in the Zhechoufu, and they were deployed and sent out separately only when a war broke out.

Apart from the military-political integrated power of the governor's office in the vassal areas, the so-called governor's office in the inland prefectures and counties was more like a transit agency + staff department for conscription.

The separation of soldiers and generals was an advanced system that had been tested by the Five Barbarians and Sixteen Kingdoms.

That is why His Majesty the Emperor is so confident in leading the army in person.

Li Zhi himself also held the position of General You Wuhou and Governor of Bingzhou.

"I am no longer in charge of spies, but I suspect that the King of Wei has a bigger plan.

"As to the specific plot, I don't know, because as I said, I don't care about spies."

Zhang Liang's repetitive words silenced Li Zhi.

In short, judging from Li Tai's actions, he must be up to something bad.

As for what is bad, don’t ask, the answer is bad.

The two of them were looking at each other in silence when Cheng Zhijie, who had been listening, broke the silence:

"What if, Your Majesty... I am saying, what if Your Majesty has a chance...

"Are the titles of the governors and the generals of the sixteen guards still honorary?"

Li Zhi and Zhang Liang looked at Lao Cheng at the same time.

The older you are, the wiser you get. The way people think when they’ve been on the battlefield is different from others.

"War is a place where life and death are decided in a single thought. Especially in the wilderness of Mobei."

Cheng Zhijie explained that this was not alarmist.

Enemies are only one aspect of the threat.

In the grassland Gobi, far away from urban civilization, there are deadly threats everywhere.

For example, lack of water and food, cold weather, water pollution caused by the accumulation of human and livestock carcasses, epidemics spread by prairie rats, and so on.

If you are not careful, you will suffer eternal regret.

The harsh natural conditions are the fundamental reason why the northern nomads are determined to move south at the risk of their lives.

"Could it be that... Li Tai thinks that Father's battle... is an ominous sign?!"

Li Zhi's heart skipped a beat.

Could it be that Father is really in danger? !

Logically speaking, no.

This was not the first time that the Tang army had advanced deep into the northern desert, and each time they had swept across the land.

This time, an army of 80,000 was dispatched to cooperate with the Turkic and Shiwei tribes.

As for the Xueyantuo of the Tiele people, their oppression was far less than that of the Eastern Turks back then.

Eighty thousand elite troops against second-rate nomads, the advantage is on my side!

However, Li Tai's actions made him deeply uneasy.

If Fourth Brother wasn’t doing performance art.

That is to prepare for the "what if" event that happens to my father.

What is good, what should be done...

Li Zhi clenched his fists involuntarily and looked at his two subordinates inquiringly.

Cheng Zhijie and Zhang Liang lowered their heads and remained silent.

When it comes to the safety of His Majesty, no one dares to make rash suggestions on such matters.

If you are not careful, you will be labeled as a "cursed saint".

Li Zhi felt like he was on the edge of an abyss.

He knew that it was time to make his own decision.

In the absence of the emperor, all kinds of evil spirits come out.

However, there are opportunities in crisis.

Perhaps, the opportunity lies there...

Li Zhi narrowed his eyes slightly, then straightened up and calmly gave the order:
"Cheng Zhijie."

Cheng Zhijie was solemn and immediately knelt on one knee:

"The end will be here."

"Go to Bingzhou Governor's Office and stabilize the situation there first."

Don't let Li Tai steal your home.

Cheng Zhijie was a little hesitant.

It is a taboo for a general to contact a military organization like the Governor's Office privately.

"You go first, I will arrange the procedures in the court for you." Li Zhi said decisively.

Cheng Zhijie received the order:
"Yes!"

Li Zhi continued to instruct:

"Zhang Liang, it is inconvenient for you to stay in Chang'an. Take my secret letter and contact the other princes who have been exiled."

Zhang Liang was somewhat puzzled:

"Your Highness, are you going to compete with the King of Wei for other concubines' princes?"

"It's not the illegitimate prince, it's the princes other than the illegitimate prince." Li Zhi said:

"That is, my uncles."

As we all know, His Majesty Li Yuan, the retired emperor, may have many shortcomings.

But her ability to give birth to sons is first-class.

Even after being sidelined by his most promising son, Li Shimin, he did not leave the stage.

Instead, he continued to be energetic, remained strong even as he grew older, and gave Li Shimin several younger brothers.

As of the fifteenth year of Zhenguan, except His Majesty Li Shimin.

His Majesty Li Yuan still has fifteen sons alive.

These fifteen imperial uncles were also serving as vassal kings outside the capital.

More importantly, several of them, such as King of Jing Li Yuanjing, also served as the governor of the Governor's Office.

Li Zhi was learning from the advanced experience of his fourth brother Li Tai and following suit.

It is too late to try to win over other half-brothers, and it will also arouse Li Tai's vigilance.

And it would be just right to start with the emperor's uncle who has always been ignored.

"Yes, sir." Zhang Liang accepted the order.

"Wait." Li Zhi hesitated again.

What approach should be used to communicate with the imperial uncles?
Let them join him in the uprising?
The Tang Dynasty Chicken Eating Competition is about to start. Uncle, come and help me chop the chop?

That's impossible. He's a leisurely prince and is doing well as a prince. Does he really need to risk his head on the belt to rebel?
The next step is to report it.

The same is true for Li Tai.

Those seven illegitimate brothers were, generally speaking, just like ordinary princes, with neither ability nor ambition.

Li Tai couldn't just blatantly incite them to rebel, right?
"First... let me extend my sincere greetings to the imperial uncles."

Li Zhi finally decided to talk about feelings first.

The emotions were there, although not enough to completely charm the uncles and make them follow him and actively cause trouble.

But, if something big really happens.

For example, when Your Majesty was on the Northern Expedition...right.

So, if we can gain more support from one side.

Especially the support of a governor.

That would definitely be beneficial to me.

So as to avoid being led by Li Ming and Li Tai.

…………

It was already midnight when Li Zhi left Cheng Zhijie's house.

He had trouble sleeping to begin with, and now he was so worried that he had trouble falling asleep.

"I always feel like there's something missing, and it's a very important part..."

Li Zhi looked at the streets of Chang'an with dull eyes, thinking hard.

The Governor's Office, the army, the princes of each state, and other places...

Out of town...

"Chang'an! Chang'an is still vacant!"

Li Zhi suddenly realized.

It is true that Chang'an is the political center of the country, and it is also true that various forces are intertwined there.

However, the military arrangements in Chang'an City itself are still a vacuum!
Li Tai is in Luoyang, and Li Chengqian is following His Majesty in the north of the desert, so it is difficult for them to exert much direct influence.

Li Ming, on the other hand, was overwhelmed by political affairs every day and had limited energy.

The most core capital city has become the blind spot of various forces!

“The defense of the capital is the core of the core. Father cannot hand it over to someone else. Instead, he should manage it in a decentralized manner and check and balance each other.

“The Wuhou Guard is responsible for the capital’s security. Li Taiyao will lead the Left Wuhou Guard, and I will be in charge of the Right Wuhou Guard.

"The forces in the palace, the main force of the imperial guards, and the hundred cavalrymen accompanying His Majesty have already followed His Majesty in person. The rest can only maintain daily order..."

The imperial guards are very simple people, they are born for the safety of the emperor.

Whenever the emperor went to war, they would naturally follow him.

As for the imperial palace, it is nothing without the emperor. "That is to say, the defense of Taiji Palace itself is at a very weak stage!
"That is to say, Li Ming... Li Ming!"

Li Zhi himself was frightened by his own bold idea.

He decisively ordered the driver:
"Turn the car around and don't go back to the palace!
"Go to the South Court, where the Right Wuhou Guards will set up camp!"

…………

"We should make good use of the water storage and release functions of the former Yunmengze water system, including Pengli, Dongting, and Honghu.

"We built dams, dredged rivers, and cleared silt from lake bottoms to direct floodwaters from large rivers during the flood season to several large lakes, storing water in the rainy season and using it in the dry season.

"This is the only way to alleviate future flood and drought disasters in the major river basins and avoid disasters in the Jingchu, Huguang and other areas."

In the Taiji Hall, Li Ming gave important instructions regarding the floods in the south.

"I obey your command." Gao Ji Fu, who was temporarily in charge of the Ministry of Works, stepped forward and bowed.

Li Ming looked at his grandson who was not on the same page with him and said meaningfully:

"You and the Ministry of Civil Affairs will work together on this matter, and the Ministry of Personnel will judge the results. Those who are capable will be promoted, and those who are not will be demoted.

"If there is any behavior of favoritism, fraud, delay or dereliction of duty, the Ministry of Personnel, together with the Ministry of Justice, the Dali Temple and the Censorate, will impose severe punishment."

Gao Ji Fu was startled and left timidly.

"After a major disaster, there will be a major epidemic. The affected areas should promptly dispose of human and animal carcasses, prepare lime and other materials in advance, and organize manpower for disinfection after the flood recedes."

Li Ming continued:
"Grand Minister, this matter is under your jurisdiction."

Zhang Sun Wuji took a deep breath and slowly accepted the order:
"As ordered."

I'll leave these two difficult disaster relief tasks to Changsun and his gang, hoping that these insects will calm down a bit. Besides, these tasks are mainly based on prevention. Even if they delay in laying mines for me, the mines won't explode in my hands...

Li Ming thought to himself.

"Retreat."

Another enjoyable day.

He returned to the study in the side hall of Liangyi Palace and continued to immerse himself in the sea of ​​documents.

He felt that he had been cheated by himself.

The performance was so perfect that it raised the tone.

I’m afraid that if something goes wrong, I’ll fail to meet people’s expectations.

To put it bluntly, the burden of being an idol is already a bit too heavy.

This forced him to devote almost all his energy to governing the country.

"There is no such thing as the grandeur of the Han and Tang dynasties. I am the only one who is carrying the burden forward..."

Li Ming uttered a lament.

His only consolation recently was that there was one more report that needed his review.

This report is quite special.

It came from Goguryeo.

From minerals, land, currency to social governance, every aspect of Goguryeo has been infiltrated by his Liaodong.

The country's major economic data and important intelligence were delivered to his desk on a regular basis.

These data were not only inaccessible to the nominal ruling class of Goguryeo.

Its level of accuracy even exceeds the economic data of the Tang Dynasty (excluding Liaodong).

This made Li Ming feel very comfortable.

Even though there is a distance of thousands or tens of thousands of miles between us and a time difference of more than a month.

He even dared to say that his understanding of Goguryeo far exceeded that of the ruling Yeon Gaesomun.

Of course, data is only one aspect.

Through ubiquitous trading companies, mines and farms, Li Ming had actually achieved control over the grassroots of Goguryeo.

The Goguryeo people either mined in his mines or farmed on his farms, and sold the products to his Liaodong. They also consumed sickles, hammers and other products produced in Liaodong in their daily lives.

I read his Pyongyang Evening News, learned Chinese characters and Chinese, and even joined his Red Turban Army's Goguryeo branch in my spare time from work and study.

It can be said that every aspect of Goguryeo was controlled by Li Ming.

"Is Goguryeo going to have a civil war?"

Li Ming read with great interest the report presented by Yuchi Xunyu, head of the Intelligence Committee.

His policy of "we do the good things and let Yeon Gaesomun take the blame for the bad things" was very effective.

Today's Goguryeo has become a pressure cooker. The workers and peasants blame all their miserable situations on the licentious and immoral Yeon Gaesomun and the local chiefs and tyrants.

However, this was not the trigger for this civil war.

The fuse was sparked within the ruling class of Goguryeo.

The economic benefits from mining and farming in Liaodong in Goguryeo were deliberately diverted into the hands of local powerful people.

These local tyrants were not submissive to the royal court in Pyongyang, let alone Yeon Gaesomun.

Now that they have money, they want to cause trouble.

After the knock, Yeon Gaesomun also got money from Liaodong and wanted to punish those local tyrants.

The two hit it off immediately.

Liaodong opened mines and farms in Goguryeo, and promoted education in the countryside.

It also provided both sides with high-quality soldiers with sufficient organization.

With soldiers and money, we can start a war.

But before that, there is a small problem -

"Their soldiers all joined the Red Turban Army's branch in Goguryeo.

“We can’t let the Pyongyang branch and the Ansicheng branch and Guengucheng branch fight a civil war, right?

"It's been a month since the letter was sent. It's still not too late. Given the mobilization efficiency of the Goguryeo ruling class, it's still too early for the war to start."

He immediately commented:
"Peace is the most precious thing."

With just one word, an internal dispute between neighboring countries thousands of miles away was resolved.

"Your Highness."

Fang Xuanling came here to report on his work as usual.

He is almost moving his office here.

"Your Highness's performance at the court meeting just now was indeed extraordinary." He flattered him expressionlessly.

His Highness Li Ming made a brilliant political move, so naturally he deserves verbal praise.

But because there are so many such delicate operations, it is difficult for Lao Fang to mobilize the emotion of "shock".

Li Ming does learn quickly.

He has only been in charge for a short time, but he has already skillfully used different topics to "delay" the other party's time and energy, thus achieving the goal of governing the country and engaging in political struggles at the same time.

Li Ming pulled his thoughts back from Goguryeo thousands of miles away and asked:
"How is the investigation of the flow of funds in that case going?"

He asked about the direct reasons why copper suddenly became scarce during the economic crisis.

The money shortage originated from the shortage of copper and iron. The whereabouts of the iron can only be roughly figured out.

It disappeared in the border area of ​​Youyun Line and most likely flowed into the grassland.

But for copper, even this sketch is gone.

It was as if it had disappeared out of thin air.

As a coinage material, copper production is less than iron and is more strictly controlled.

There was no problem with the raw materials of copper mines in various places. For example, when there was a shortage of money, raw copper could be transferred from various places for coin minting.

Then, what was in short supply at that time should be another major copper product -

That is, copper coins.

Li Ming judged that a large number of copper coins were either hidden or transported abroad, which directly led to the deflation.

"There is no clue yet." Fang Xuanling answered bluntly.

There is no bank transfer in Datang, so the flow of funds cannot be traced.

The copper coins that were given out were like spilled water. If the person holding the coins did not suddenly throw the coins in a large amount and alarm the county government, no one would find out.

“The key is how the money got into the pockets of the bad guys.

"If we can't find the source, we have no way to investigate..."

Li Ming looked up and thought carefully.

In between governing the country, he also had to devote his energy to solving several major unsolved cases on hand.

The Jiucheng Palace incident, the Liaodong rumors, his own assassination, and the economic crisis.

There has been some progress, but the case has not been completely cracked and the final mastermind has not been caught.

As far as we know, King Qi Li You was involved in the first three of them.

But I still don’t know whether this fool is the mastermind who pretends to be a pig to eat the tiger, or a real fool who is trying to take advantage of others.

As for the economic crisis, I have absolutely no idea.

But this matter is quite urgent and has a huge impact on the national economy and people's livelihood. I don't know whether the mastermind will strike again.

Therefore, Fang Xuanling should be given priority to solve the problem.

"Your Majesty... let me investigate more carefully." Fang Xuanling answered not very confidently.

A skilled cook cannot cook without rice. No matter how capable a prime minister is, it is impossible for him to figure out every large amount of financial transactions without the support of technological means.

He had searched almost every business in Dongxi City, but could not find any strange flow of funds.

It's impossible to check all the merchants across the country, right?

Just then, the sound of running feet was heard outside the corridor.

The only people who could run around the palace so recklessly, apart from little brother Li Ming, were another former nobleman whose temper was becoming increasingly wild.

The sound of running gradually approached, and then stopped abruptly, probably because the eunuch "friendly" reminded him.

After a while, the dark head appeared at the door of the study as expected.

"Brother Ming, something terrible has happened!"

Chang Sunyan shouted in a hoarse voice.

(End of this chapter)