Tang Dynasty Little Godfather

Chapter 196: Small Report

The bolder the person, the greater the harvest.

Who would have thought that two boys, aged fourteen or fifteen, were plotting to oust the current prime minister?

But then again, they've already dared to weave such a huge lie, so what does this amount to?

After discussing it, the two went to the large classroom together. There, they saw a harmonious scene on the stage, with Linghu Changge, Xue Bao'er, and the others playing with the children. The atmosphere was very joyful.

"what's up?"

Li Jie asked in a low voice.

"We'll talk about it later." Wang Xi looked at the stage and asked curiously, "Xiaoman, how exactly do you train them? How come these children have become so well-behaved again?"

Li Jieman chuckled and said, "I took them fishing."

"fishing?"

Wang Xi looked at Li Jieman with a puzzled expression.

Li Jie nodded and said, "That's right! It's about teaching them how to lure fish onto the hook."

Wang Xi suddenly realized, "Xiaoman, you've got a knack for this!"

Li Jie chuckled smugly, "They'll get what's coming to them."

However, today was just an announcement of the exam content. Around noon, Linghu Xiaozhe and his family took their daughter home. The official exam will be held in a few days.

For Li Longji, this year is destined to be the busiest year yet.

The land reform and military reform, which have been in preparation for many years, will be fully launched this year. Among them, the military reform is of paramount importance, because only by building a strong army can we expand our territory.

However, this raises a problem: the empire's territory is already quite large, with its farthest influence reaching Little Bolu, which is present-day Kashmir, more than 9,000 li away from Chang'an.

This far exceeds the limits of an agricultural society.

The Fubing system was definitely unsustainable because it had a service period, but by the time soldiers were sent from the Central Plains to that area, they had almost completed their service period, resulting in a large number of deserters.

Military system reform can be said to be a necessity driven by circumstances.

Zhang Shuo then proposed a series of reform policies, the first of which was to reduce the army by 200,000 men, and then to establish ten military towns to recruit brave soldiers.

Simply put, it's a strategy of elite troops.

However, Zhang Jiazhen disagreed, saying, "Our border troops number only 600,000. If we cut them by as much as 30%, I'm afraid it will cause trouble on the border."

Emperor Xuanzong of Tang also showed a look of doubt.

Zhang said confidently, "Since Emperor Taizong took command of the army, he has always emphasized that the quality of the troops is more important than the quantity. If we really want to defeat the enemy, we don't need so many people at all. Rather than wasting these laborers and hindering agricultural production, it would be better to let them go home and farm. If Your Majesty is not at ease, I am willing to vouch for this with my entire family of more than one hundred people!"

The Fubing system emphasized integrating soldiers with farmers, so that even if the country expanded outwards, it would not delay agricultural production. However, now the territory is too large and land consolidation is serious, so Fubing soldiers have no land to cultivate, or even if they have land, they cannot cultivate it.

Emperor Xuanzong quickly replied, "My lord, there's no need for that."

Zhang Jiazhen was very displeased. He was also a very strong-willed person, but Zhang said that he would risk his whole family at the drop of a hat. What was the point of talking about this? Who was the real Grand Chancellor? So he said, "If military garrisons are established, it will inevitably lead to excessive power for the border generals. The court should think twice before acting."

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, soldiers were not stationed together. In peacetime, soldiers would farm at home. In case of war, the court would appoint a commander, and border generals from various regions would lead their troops to gather together and obey the commander's orders.

If military towns are established and the conscription system is changed, simply put, the soldiers are already gathered together, and when war breaks out, they can immediately form a fighting force.

Zhang said, “Everything has its advantages and disadvantages, which is unavoidable. Now, in the Western Regions, the enemy's attacks come and go like the wind. By the time the military orders from Chang'an reach the local areas and the border generals gather their troops, the enemy has already disappeared. As a result, during the Ruyi and Changshou years, we suffered repeated defeats and almost lost the entire Western Regions.”

Later, the imperial court recruited strong soldiers and sent them to garrison the Western Regions for extended periods. At the same time, it granted the generals of each garrison greater power. This immediately yielded remarkable results; the defeat of the Tibetans last time was the best example. If our army had arrived any later, the Tibetans would have already captured Little Bolu.

This is a very real problem. The distance is too great. If the general is not given power, he will only be passively attacked. If the general is given power, there may be a phenomenon of power imbalance.

It depends on how you weigh the pros and cons.

Yuan Qianyao said with deep concern, "Even so, we must still guard against the growing power of border generals."

Zhang said, "First of all, these ten military towns can check and balance each other."

Secondly, my proposed troop reduction is actually weakening these military towns.

Finally, the central military forces, especially the control over the warhorses, can be strengthened to prevent border generals from rebelling.

Li Longji nodded and said, "Now the Turks and Khitans are no longer a concern. The key is Tibet, and what worries me most is that Tibet is colluding with the Abbasid Caliphate. Therefore, the Western Regions are of paramount importance."

However, the Western Regions are far from the Central Plains. If, like in the Han Dynasty, the Central Plains were to issue commands every time, it would not only delay military operations but also be financially unsustainable. If generals are not given power, it would be difficult to defend against foreign enemies, let alone expand the territory.

As for how to prevent border generals from gaining too much power, the imperial court could not only use the various military garrisons to check and balance each other, but also use the troops of tribes such as the Turks to check and balance them.

As long as they are careful and cautious, I believe they are unlikely to cause trouble.

As a naturally gifted individual, Li Longji was very confident in his methods. He was an emperor who was very willing to delegate power, whether to civil officials or military generals.

The Empire's greatest enemy now is Tibet, which is currently colluding with the Abbasid Caliphate. Therefore, the Empire's first step is to prevent the Abbasid Caliphate from entering the Western Regions, and then besiege Tibet.

Li Longji did have strategic vision, but to achieve these two things, this was the only way.

The two places are 9,000 li apart. If the general is not given power, this battle cannot be fought at all.

Zhang Jiazhen still disagreed, saying, "With Your Majesty's prestige, perhaps no one will dare to rebel, but as a matter of court regulations, this must be prevented before it happens, and cannot be decided hastily." The implication was that while Li Longji, being a handsome and powerful ruler, could control the situation, could future emperors be controlled?

Who could have imagined that Li Longji would collapse in his later years?

Although this hidden danger objectively existed, it was caused by Li Longji's own indulgence in pleasure. If he hadn't been so complacent, the An Lushan Rebellion would not have occurred during his reign.

Zhang said, "We can make adjustments later after we have completely defeated the enemy, but for now, this is the only way."

Zhang Jiazhen snorted, "When I served as the governor on the frontier, I knew how those generals committed all sorts of evil deeds. If we were to further strengthen their power now, it would only bring endless trouble."

Leaving aside the Western Regions, recently someone impeached Pei Zhouxian, the governor of Guangzhou, for enslaving soldiers to enrich himself; the situation in the Western Regions is likely even worse.

Seeing Zhang Jiazhen's strong opposition, after all, he was the Grand Chancellor, so Li Longji quickly changed the subject, "I have also heard about Pei Zhouxian, the Governor of Guangzhou, who is already on his way to the capital. What do you think about this matter?"

Zhang Jia-zhen immediately said, "I suggest that he be flogged in court as a warning to others."

Zhang said, “This soldier can be killed but not humiliated. If he is truly guilty, even if he is executed, he should not be flogged in court. Moreover, Pei Zhouxian did not enslave the soldiers. Rather, he saw that the soldiers were living in hardship and could not even afford a knife, let alone warhorses and armor. Therefore, he found them some odd jobs, and the soldiers did not complain. This is precisely the reason for the military reform. If there is no land to cultivate, or if there is land but the people are serving on the frontier, how can the soldiers afford to buy weapons and armor?”

Zhang Jiazhen also said anxiously, "The reason lies in the land. Land consolidation is the real culprit. We should investigate the land instead of just treating the symptoms."

The reason why we suffered repeated defeats in foreign wars during the Longevity Era was because the generals enslaved their soldiers to enrich themselves, rendering them incapable of fighting. If this is not severely punished, generals in other regions will inevitably follow suit.

Zhang said, "Even if land annexation is suppressed, the land will be difficult to maintain as the population increases. As for Pei Zhouxian, I am not trying to exonerate him, but I just think he should not be flogged in court. The court can deal with him according to the law."

Zhang Jiazhen said, "The reason I suggested the court flogging is because this situation is very serious and must be severely punished as a warning to others."

"All right!"

Li Longji quickly stopped them, saying, "Let's skip the court flogging. We need capable people right now. If we punish them with court flogging, it will discourage the generals. As for how to deal with it, we'll wait until Pei Zhou returns to the capital to investigate."

Just then, Gao Lishi suddenly walked in and whispered a few words in Li Longji's ear.

Li Longji's tightly furrowed brows relaxed instantly, and he said, "Let's end the meeting here today. I'm also a little tired."

Zhang said that it was still early, and that the emperor should not leave so early.

Yuan Qianyao sensed that the atmosphere was somewhat awkward and that further discussion would be pointless, so he immediately stood up and said, "Your subject takes his leave."

Zhang Shuo and Zhang Jiazhen glanced at Yuan Qianyao and could only get up and take their leave.

Upon exiting the palace gate, Zhang Jiazhen complained to Zhang Shuo, "Pei Zhou was guilty first, and the evidence is conclusive. There's nothing wrong with punishing him severely. It's not as serious as you make it out to be."

Zhang said, “I do not oppose severe punishment, but the court beating is too humiliating. None of us can be prime ministers for life. If we set a precedent for high-ranking officials to be beaten, we cannot guarantee that we will not be humiliated in the future.”

Yuan Qianyao nodded and said, "Daoji is right. Regardless of how long he will be prime minister, if Pei Zhouxian can be flogged today, who is to say that he cannot be flogged as prime minister in the future? If it were me, I would rather commit suicide than accept being flogged."

Seeing that Yuan Qianyao was on Zhang Shuo's side, Zhang Jiazhen became even more furious and immediately stormed off.

Not long after they left, Li Longji went to Taiye Pond with great interest, not because Consort Wu wanted to see him, but because his beloved nephew had come.

"Nephew greets Uncle."

Upon seeing Li Longji, Wang Xi immediately bowed and asked politely, "Nephew, have I disturbed Uncle's handling of state affairs?"

Li Longji laughed heartily and said, "Que'er, you've come at the right time. Your uncle has been dealing with government affairs lately and is feeling quite tired. I was just thinking of asking you to play the violin. Your uncle has made some progress recently!"

Gao Lishi, who was standing to the side, sighed inwardly.

Wu Jieyu wasn't this excited when she went to see him.

Wang Xi blinked and said awkwardly, "Is that so? Perhaps my timing is inappropriate."

Li Longji asked, "What do you mean by that?"

Wang Xi glanced at Gao Lishi.

Gao Lishi was dumbfounded. What do you mean? You always call me Uncle Gao. Now that you're favored, I'm even in your way when I'm standing here.

That face changed way too fast!

Li Longji was extremely curious and hurriedly said, "Li Shi, go and order someone to prepare wine and dishes."

This detail reveals Gao Lishi's standing in Li Longji's heart: finding an excuse to dismiss Gao Lishi, rather than directly sending him away.

"Yes."

Gao Lishi left dejectedly.

Li Longji asked curiously, "What is it?"

Wang Xi said, "Uncle, I have learned some top-secret information today."

Li Longji asked, "What news?"

Wang Xi said, "Zhang Jiayou, the Left General of the Golden Guard, accepted bribes from the former magistrate of Luoyang County, which is why he recommended the magistrate of Luoyang County to serve as the Prefect of Taiyuan."

Li Longji frowned. "How did you find out about this?"

Wang Xi said, "I learned about this from Father, and Father is planning to protect Zhang Jiayou, so I came here to inform Uncle as soon as possible."

(End of this chapter)