Chapter 4262: Determined
The foundation of imperial power lies in military power. If military power is lost, the emperor will either become a puppet manipulated by his ministers, or he will be completely overthrown and replaced.
Although "second generation emperors" like Li Chengqian have not personally experienced the difficulties of conquering the world, they have witnessed how their fathers crushed thorns step by step, broke through the siege, and fought hard in desperate situations until they sat on this beautiful scenery. Rivers, mountains, and picturesque China naturally understand the importance of military power.
Li Chengqian could not feel completely reassured by just one Donggong Liuliu, and now that he had ascended the throne as emperor and the prince had been appointed, the Donggong Liuliu was bound to undergo reorganization, either into the Sixteenth Guards, or to start a new one.
It is a good idea to imitate the old name of "Zhi Jinwu" in the Han Dynasty and establish the "Jinwu Guard" to guard the capital and protect the imperial power.
Li Ji Leng watched and saw that Fang Jun seemed a little surprised by this suggestion, so he knew that this matter should be Li Chengqian's own idea. It seemed that he had initially possessed the political means that an emperor should have. Compared with the past, he had made great progress. ……
Power is the thing that can best catalyze changes in people's mentality, and the supreme imperial power is even more so. Even if you were pure and kind in the past, as long as you sit in that position, there will be more or less different changes.
I hope that Li Chengqian, a kind man, can uphold his original intention and not be blinded by power, and will not go astray...
Fang Jun was surprised that Li Chengqian suddenly proposed to establish the "Jinwu Guard", and he was even more puzzled by Li Ji's suggestion that he be in charge of the "Jinwu Guard". He hurriedly said humbly: "Your Majesty clearly knows that a humble minister has few talents and little knowledge. How dare he steal such an important position? Your Majesty, please choose someone. Xian Neng, Su Wei Palace Ban.”
He has no interest in military power.
In fact, the empire's national policy in the future has little to do with war, and the focus is on internal affairs. He had already made comprehensive considerations in this regard, adopted many policies in history and combined them with the current situation of the empire, refined many new policies, and carried out a vigorous reform within the empire.
And with the current situation of confrontation between civil and military forces, once he regains control of the military, he will inevitably be ostracized by the civil service system, and it will naturally be difficult for him to lead reforms.
Li Ji smiled and shook his head: "Wei Gong is already old. After retiring for the past two years, he can sort out what he has learned and re-condensate the military books compiled in the past. Perhaps he can leave enough military works to be passed down to future generations. . I am not young anymore. I have been favored by the late Emperor and held a high position in recent years. I have already felt that I am talented. Unqualified and exhausted, it is inevitable to abdicate in favor of talents. Under such circumstances, how can your Majesty be allowed to sleep peacefully without a talented, capable and loyal person to lead the army? And only you, Erlang, can do this? If you can bear it, the rest can’t.”
Fang Jun responded coldly.
He finally understood. This old fox had already figured out what he was thinking. He knew that he wanted to make a big fuss in domestic affairs and deliberately used military power to fetter him to prevent him from getting involved with civilian officials anymore and attacking the military because of his own interests. Fang suppressed them in every possible way.
Even if Li Ji abdicates in favor of a more talented person, his status in the military will be difficult for others to shake. His foundation is always in the military. Naturally, he does not want to see the military be weak and be completely rejected by the civilian officials...
Li Jing didn't understand this, but he also expressed his support: "Even if the rebels are destroyed, there is no guarantee that the remaining Sixteenth Guards army will be loyal to the court and your Majesty. For a long time to come, we will still pay close attention to the garrison in various places and beware of rebellion." It happened again. In this way, the abolition of Youhou Guards and the addition of Jinwu Guards can better ensure the stability of Chang'an and the security of Guanzhong. Erlang should be kind and shoulder the heavy responsibility. "
The words sounded nice, but his original intention was that Fang Jun should have been in charge of the army with his merits and abilities and become one of the leaders of the military, instead of giving him the title of "Shang Shu of the Ministry of Rites" and being idle.
Fang Jun deserves an army of one guard.
And Fang Jun should inherit his many incestuous feelings in the army, so that he can compete with Li Zhengting and stabilize the army.
It is impossible for a single army to be stable, it must be balanced...
Li Chengqian was very happy that his proposal could get the support of the two military bosses, and said happily: "Since Ying Gong and Wei Gong both said it is okay, Erlang, why do you have to belittle yourself? The addition of an army like the 'Jinwu Guard' is not only crucial to the defense of Chang'an , and will have a profound impact on the reform of the imperial army. Looking at the army, no one can do it better than you.”
Whether it is the previous restructuring and reorganization of Youtun Guards or the dispersion and reorganization of the Navy, we can see Fang Jun's outstanding ability and forward-looking vision in military reform. No one in the military can match him for this, not even Li Jing. , Li Ji is also slightly inferior.
The most important point is as Li Jing said, unless Fang Jun is commanding such an army, how can anyone else make him, the emperor, sleep peacefully?
Fang Jun had no choice but to agree: "Your Majesty loves you so much, I will serve you to the death and live up to your Majesty..."
Li Chengqian was very happy, thinking that when the time comes, he must recruit elite soldiers and strong generals to be incorporated into the Jinwu Guards, and build them into a strong army that is better than the Sixteen Guards. Only by having such a strong army stationed in the imperial palace and guarding the capital can he have peace of mind.
After all, ever since the Guanlong Rebellion and the current Jin King's rebellion, the less courageous Emperor has already been frightened and worried, and all the trees and grass are under attack...
The monarch and his ministers drank tea and discussed the issue of the addition of the "Jinwu Guards" and the reorganization of the Sixteenth Guards, before finally returning to the original topic.
"Gong Lu disobeyed military orders and retreated without authorization. I wonder how your Majesty plans to punish him?"
Li Ji held the tea cup and asked.
How to deal with Cheng Yaojin requires a lot of knowledge, and it will also have a great impact on the subsequent situation, so it has to be done with caution.
However, Li Chengqian just put down the tea cup, waved his hand helplessly, and said: "Lu Guogong is not young now. He is no longer the invincible general who bravely won the three armies in the past. It is inevitable that he occasionally misjudges the battlefield situation and makes mistakes. After all, it was the meritorious service of following his father in the country, and it cannot be due to his current age. I am no longer as brave as I used to be. If I make a mistake, I will be severely punished. That will chill the heart of Zhenguan Xunchen. I can't do that kind of thing. The current war situation is tense and the situation is not optimistic, so I will let Lu Guogong stand up for his crimes and still stop the rebellion. Army, we will discuss rewards and punishments after the rebels are completely wiped out.”
Li Ji clicked his tongue and said in admiration: "Your Majesty's kind heart is really a blessing to our ministers."
He was willing to believe that Li Chengqian was kind-hearted and could not bear to criticize Cheng Yaojin harshly. This approach seemed to offend the fairness and rigor of military law, but it was extremely important for stabilizing military morale. After all, Cheng Yaojin was not just a cat or a dog. There were many Zhenguan ministers. Everyone was waiting to see Cheng Yaojin's fate at this moment. His Majesty was so tolerant, and those people must have felt relieved.
However, the last sentence, which is obviously "settlement of accounts after the fall", also attributes Cheng Yaojin's nature. If he is not guilty, how can he use the words of "paying for his guilt and making meritorious service"?
As for whether to let it go lightly or to liquidate it completely, it depends on Cheng Yaojin's next performance...
Now he thinks more highly of Li Chengqian, always feeling that His Majesty the Emperor, who was not very qualified before, has made rapid progress and already has some political talent.
Everyone likes "Ren Jun", but the synonym of "Ren Jun" is "foolish". No one wants their emperor to be a stupid man with ragged ears and no independent opinions, because that will make the life and death future of his ministers full of uncertainty. , after all, everyone in the court is a human spirit, but the human spirit cannot figure out the fool's thoughts...
Li Chengqian said a few words modestly, and then said to Li Jing: "Gong Wei leads the army to defend Tongguan head-on. Even if the pheasant slaves come from Tongguan, there is no need to rush to fight. Let him advance with confidence and place the battlefield west of Xinfeng and south of Xinzhu. , within the area east of Ba River, the time to attack can be determined. You, Duke Wei, have full control, and all the other armies will cooperate with you. I only have one request, and that is that we must fight quickly and end this rebellion in one battle. The rebels can either die in battle or surrender, but they must not Allowed to flee in all directions and wreak havoc throughout Guanzhong."
The imperial court had a huge advantage in this battle, and it was reasonable to win.
But compared to pacifying the rebels, the top priority was how to ensure that the defeated rebels would not infiltrate into the entire Guanzhong and poison the countryside and harm the common people.
After all, even the rebels are the people of the Tang Dynasty. Once their defeat is determined, it will be difficult to kill them all. Once the more than 100,000 mobs scatter and flee, they will be like sheep all over the mountains and fields, and they cannot be caught even if they want to...
In addition, the various clans in Guanzhong are inseparable from the imperial court. I don’t know how many people are waiting to see the joke between the imperial court and him as the emperor. They will definitely support these rebels in every possible way. If they want to be cleared one by one by then, it will be time-consuming and laborious, which will seriously hinder the implementation of the New Deal. Implementation.
Although Li Jing was not familiar with government affairs, he also knew that rebels were like bandits. He nodded solemnly: "Your Majesty, don't worry, I will personally take charge of Bashui and the rebels will be completely wiped out."
*****
Yuchi Gong led his army to cross the Bashui River, and Cheng Yaojin retreated in succession. The news spread throughout Guanzhong overnight, and the shock caused was almost as much as when the King of Jin rebelled. Guanzhong was in an uproar, and many people were even more shocked. Frightened and panicked, carriages leaving the city for refuge began to arrive at the city gates in an endless stream, and the crowd gradually became overcrowded.
However, Jingzhao Prefecture and Chang'an and Wannian counties have changed from the normal situation. The previous strict interrogation has been relaxed. Those who go through the process are still carefully screened and interrogated. However, as long as there are legitimate reasons, most people leaving the city will not be stopped and let it go.
At the same time, the various armies stationed on the Ba River defense line began to move. The long snake line from south to north was completely abandoned. Two Donggong Liu led troops slowly moved south along the Ba River, and Zuo Wuwei stopped retreating. A fan-shaped semi-encirclement gradually formed, blocking the attack route of Yuchi Gong who successfully crossed the river, seeming to force him to retreat to the east bank of Bashui to avoid being completely surrounded.
As for the Youwu Guards north of the Wei River, they once again shocked the whole of Chang'an. Xue Wanche led his army westward back to the north of Xinzhu, and to the south is the intersection of the Wei River and the Jing River. He ignored the imperial court's order to cross the river and march eastward to Tongguan. , set up camp on the north bank of the river and stood still.
Many people who were loyal to the rebels became excited when they saw this scene. If Xue Wanche, a fool, had already reached an agreement with the King of Jin, then the outcome of this battle would still be a matter of uncertainty... (End of Chapter)< br>