Tang Dynasty Xie Lu Lang

Chapter 454 Who Can Repair the North Gate
Upon hearing Zhang Dai state his position, Gao Lishi's expression softened slightly. However, as Zhang Dai himself said, he was merely a minor figure, and his attitude wouldn't have a significant impact on the matter.

"Then what do you think is the best way to get Prime Minister Pei to agree to this?"

After thinking for a moment, Gao Lishi asked Zhang Dai again. Although this young man did not hold a high official position, he was exceptionally intelligent, and Gao Lishi wanted to hear his opinion on the matter in hopes of gaining some inspiration.

Upon hearing this question, Zhang Dai couldn't help but sigh inwardly. Although Gao Lishi's historical reputation wasn't bad, especially his loyalty to Emperor Xuanzong, which earned him much more credit, making him far more likable than those powerful eunuchs who abused their power.

However, no one is perfect, and Gao Lishi is no gentleman either. In recent years, he has become increasingly arrogant, and now he is even trying to get the prime minister to submit to him. He doesn't really respect the prime minister.

Due to their unique status, eunuchs could only gain power by attaching themselves to the imperial authority. Even though the eunuchs of the mid-to-late Tang Dynasty were so arrogant and manipulated the emperor at will, there still had to be an emperor. Unlike the regional military governors who had other sources of power and could even declare themselves emperors if they were unhappy, eunuchs still had to rely on the emperor.

Therefore, Gao Lishi's various changes can also be seen as changes in the emperor. The first is the appointment of the prime minister. This time, Pei Guangting was able to become prime minister, and even Yuwen Rong's appointment is said to be related to Gao Lishi. Gao Lishi's advice provided them with more or less help.

In the early Kaiyuan period, this would have been impossible. The appointment of the prime minister was closely related to the development of the court. For example, the successive appointments of Yao, Song, and Zhang as prime ministers were either due to their own ability to manage the affairs of the time, or to the strong support of the ministers in the court. It was not possible for a few people in the inner palace to become prime ministers simply by expressing their support.

While this situation could be attributed to the growing influence and favor of eunuchs like Gao Lishi, the more significant factor was the diminishing importance and seriousness of appointing a prime minister in the emperor's mind.

In the emperor's view, it didn't make much difference who became prime minister, as long as he, a wise and benevolent ruler, was in charge. Therefore, his attitude naturally became more casual, and his close advisors were given a certain say in such a serious change of government.

Secondly, the attitude towards the prime minister has changed. The prime minister is no longer the governing minister who can sit and discuss state affairs with others, but has become no different from an ordinary official.

The emperor's attitude toward this matter was not yet very obvious, or rather, although it was there, lower-ranking officials like Zhang Dai did not perceive it deeply. However, the attitudes of eunuchs like Gao Lishi and Wang Maozhong, who had much closer relationships with the emperor than the court officials, towards the prime minister became very clear.

Not long ago, Wang Maozhong shouted and questioned Pei Guangting by name outside the Censorate. And now, Gao Lishi has clearly shown his intention to control the prime minister. These people, as the emperor's close attendants and vassals, may not have received clear instructions, but they are already spontaneously trying to break the past conventions in order to increase their influence.

Zhang Dai certainly shared these feelings, but he was powerless to change the situation. Not to mention him, a lowly eighth-rank official, even the prime minister Pei Guangting was not entirely in control of his own destiny.

After Wang Maozhong blocked the Censorate and showed off his power, Pei Guangting did stand his ground and verbally sparred with him, but after Wang Maozhong left, he did not dare to follow the normal procedures to impeach him.

All other reasons are misleading; the fundamental reason lies in a lack of authority, hence the hesitation to act rashly. His sending himself to inquire about Gao Lishi's intentions clearly demonstrates his reluctance, or inability, to independently exercise his authority as Prime Minister and Censor-in-Chief.

The so-called distinction between inside and outside is less a warning and a demarcation than a form of admonition. No matter how much the inner court officials cause trouble, they are only fighting over their own small territory; there is no need to drag the outer court into the mess.

The disastrous consequences of such internal and external turmoil are not without precedent. Dong Zhuo's entry into the capital at the end of the Eastern Han Dynasty and Erzhu's loyalty to the emperor at the end of the Northern Wei Dynasty were both caused by internal chaos, which gave powerful figures from other states the opportunity to interfere in the inner court.

At present, the Tang Dynasty does not have any powerful vassal states outside the country, but if the court gets too deeply involved in the internal strife, it will undoubtedly weaken the court itself.

"I once discussed this matter with Lord Guo, and I dared to suggest that it is easy to remove people like Lord Huo, but difficult to replace them. The reason why he still enjoys the Emperor's favor is precisely because of this. If this situation is not resolved, it will be difficult for Minister Pei and others to express their opinions on this matter."

Zhang Dai, of course, couldn't voice these thoughts to Gao Lishi. He could only reiterate his view, a point he had emphasized earlier in his discussion with Yang Sixu: the existence of Wang Maozhong was difficult to replace, which was the fundamental reason why he couldn't be eliminated. Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi said, "This situation has changed somewhat in recent years. In the past, the officials and factions at the Northern Gate were deeply entrenched and difficult to shake. But now, thanks to your previous advice, my wealth has increased, and many Northern Gate officials have already aligned themselves with me. Even if Maozhong and his cronies were removed, the situation at the Northern Gate wouldn't be chaotic; they are outwardly strong but inwardly weak!"

At this point, Gao Lishi already wore a smug expression. Zhang Dai had previously advised him to reform the flying coin system, which greatly increased the imperial treasury's revenue, making the emperor trust him even more. At the same time, it also caused the resources he could control to skyrocket, allowing him to better win over the people's hearts.

In recent years, he has also secretly won over many mid-level generals in the North Gate. After these people gravitated towards him, they were all hoping to get rid of higher-ranking generals like Wang Maozhong as soon as possible so that they could have more room for advancement.

Gao Lishi was a meticulous and cautious man, and he would not easily reveal such matters to others, not even some of his close confidants knew much about them. The reason he was willing to confide in Zhang Dai was twofold: firstly, he trusted Zhang Dai, and secondly, he believed that Zhang Dai could truly help him.

Although his adopted sons each had their own strengths, they were far inferior to Zhang Dai in terms of strategy, intelligence, and vision. They could be entrusted with specific tasks, but they found it difficult to make decisions about what to do and how to do it.

Upon hearing this, Zhang Dai understood why Gao Lishi was so overconfident, acting as if he could already challenge Wang Maozhong. Although he also desperately wanted to eliminate Wang Maozhong immediately, Gao Lishi was clearly being too optimistic.

"Lord Bohai is benevolent and respectful to scholars, but I'm afraid the group of followers at the North Gate are not worthy of such kindness. This group has guarded the North Gate for generations, is very familiar with human affairs, and is deeply entrenched. They are nothing more than Lord Huo, who is of low rank and weak power. Once their positions and power are established, they will naturally become powerful and will not need to seek help from outside. Even if they eliminate Mao Zhong or have another Mao Zhong, the situation at the North Gate will not change as a result."

Zhang Dai neither believed that Gao Lishi's use of money and silk to win over and bribe the current guards at the North Gate was of much use, nor did he want Gao Lishi to become too close to these North Gate generals. The reason was simple: only when these close attendants of the emperor were fighting amongst themselves would there be room for others to seize the opportunity.

Upon hearing this, Gao Lishi frowned and said in a deep voice, "It is too early to talk about these things now that Mao Zhong is still in his position. You are young and do not know that the reason why Beimen Nu is so favored is only because of this cunning and treacherous Wang Mao Zhong. If we eliminate this scoundrel, the others will not be a threat even if they hold positions."

These words reveal that Gao Lishi was essentially just a short-sighted and opportunistic minister who lacked any long-term vision and focused only on immediate gains and losses, failing to consider the bigger picture and act accordingly.

He had just been politely rejected by Pei Guangting, but he still felt that as long as he controlled a few mid-level officers in the North Gate and helped them rise to power, he could control the North Gate.

A mature, well-established system naturally has sufficient internal support; it's not that you can suddenly gain control of the entire system just by lending a hand at a critical moment. Oversimplifying complex problems will inevitably lead to nothing but wasted effort.

"I recently overheard my grandfather discussing current affairs. In the past, the military headquarters were neglected and there were no soldiers to recruit, so people were recruited to fill them and cavalry were widely deployed, thus changing the way soldiers were managed. The same applies to the imperial guards. At the beginning of the dynasty, only Yuan Cong and Chang Shang were stationed at the north gate. Emperor Taizong added a hundred cavalry, and after the two emperors, there were even greater additions..."

Zhang Dai first recounted the development history of the various armies at the North Gate, and then looked at Gao Lishi and said, "Now the North Gate is equipped with the Imperial Guards, the Ten Thousand Cavalry, and the Left and Right Garrison Camps. In the past, the number of armored soldiers was only a few thousand, which could be supplemented by government slaves. But now there are tens of thousands of troops. How can we rely solely on government slaves to supplement them? Whoever can control the number of troops entering and leaving will also be in control of the strength of the North Gate!"

After the collapse of the Fubing system, the imperial court recruited cavalry to replace the original Fubing. The number of soldiers at the North Gate was also increasing year by year, and the previous method of recruiting able-bodied men from government slave households to supplement the army was outdated.

Although the guards at the North Gate did not have the heavy combat missions and heavy casualties of the border troops, even if the casualties were only due to disease and old age, the number became quite considerable as the size of the North Gate army expanded.

Therefore, recruiting new people and filling vacancies is a very important task for the North Gate. Holding this power is equivalent to holding the future of the North Gate.

Gao Lishi failed to seek breakthroughs with a holistic and dynamic perspective, instead focusing only on the immediate North Gate system. He used some extra money to bribe some generals who were already wavering, and then thought he had gained a great advantage.

In his mind, since some people in the North Gate had secretly defected to him, getting rid of Wang Maozhong and his cronies would be tantamount to replacing Wang Maozhong. However, this superficial change couldn't even guarantee his own interests, so how could it attract any powerful figures to cooperate with him?
(End of this chapter)