Li Xiaogong certainly knew what it would mean once Su Dingfang became the Minister of Military and Aircraft, but he had to do this. When he retires, whether it is the eldest son of Puzhou Sima, the second son of Qianniu Beishen, or the third son of "Baiqisi", it will take too long to grow up enough to protect the huge family business. .
During this period, once someone wants to pursue his family property, it will be difficult for his descendants to resist.
As a partner, will Fang Jun protect the Hejian County Prince's Mansion? Maybe, maybe not. After all, the two are just in a cooperative relationship. If they seek to benefit, they will join together, and if they make the most of it, they will divide. Fang Jun has no obligation to do that.
In this case, before he retreats, he should leave Fang Jun a favor that is enough for him to protect the Hejian County Prince's Mansion after his death.
Moreover, the main interests of the Hejian County Prince's Palace now lie on the Yangtze River, especially the Jiangnan Shipyard in Huating Town. With Su Dingfang in charge of the navy, it only takes ten years to ensure that his sons will grow up to be capable enough to keep the ship. Family business.
Of course, this approach indeed made Li Ji's situation at the military aircraft department extremely difficult...
Li Chengqian looked at Fang Jun and asked, "Does Erlang think it's feasible?"
Fang Jun held the tea cup in his hand, ignoring everyone's eyes on him, and said slowly: "Wei Chen thinks it is feasible. Today, the economic importance of the Silk Road is far less than that of the maritime route, and the remaining only strategic position, and the food shortage in Guanzhong means that It is difficult for the supplies in Guanzhong to support the huge population. Even Chang'an is short of food, let alone the distant Western Regions? Even if the army imitates the large-scale farming of the Han Dynasty, it is probably difficult to supply the needs of the army stationed in the Western Regions. External transportation is urgently needed. .”
After briefly explaining the difficulties that the garrison in the Western Regions would face in the future, he paused and continued: "...it is undeniable that the wealth and food in Jiangnan have gradually surpassed Guanzhong, and it is inevitable that it will become an important economic area for the empire. Only by transferring money, grain and materials from Jiangnan to Guanzhong and then transporting them to the Western Regions could the Anxi Army's material supply be ensured. However, the land of Jiangnan was crisscrossed by rivers and lacked natural barriers. Once there is a foreign invasion, it will be difficult to resist. Even if the foreign invader is finally driven out, the land south of the Yangtze River will inevitably suffer heavy losses. Therefore, the importance of the navy will be greatly enhanced, and it will even become a military branch that the empire invests heavily in, so that it can maintain overseas control. In summary, it is extremely necessary for the Navy Commander to join the Military Aircraft Department as the Military Aircraft Minister.”
The climate and natural environment in the south of the Yangtze River are really great. The fields are irrigated, the grain production is increasing, and the water network is convenient for transportation. Once water transportation develops, its convenience will be enough to surpass Guanzhong, and it will soon become an important tax center of the empire.
Moreover, due to Yiguan's journey to the south, the aristocratic families cultivated and cultivated the land south of the Yangtze River and planted the seeds of civilization, becoming a civilized land alongside Shandong.
Any condition is enough to make it the center of the empire.
As long as the strength of the navy can always be ensured, even if the north is still as corrupt as the Anshi Rebellion, the empire can still have a stable place for money, grain and taxation, and a stable rear area, without causing the capital to fall, the emperor to flee, and China to be shattered. The mountains and rivers are swaying.
Historically, the entire Jiangnan area was under the control of the Jiangnan nobles. Even the taxes that should be paid were withheld and withheld. They sat back and watched as An Lushan sent troops to Chang'an and captured Tongguan, but never moved. The war in the north caused a large number of people to move south, which directly stimulated Jiangnan to become the most prosperous place in the Tang Dynasty, but it was always outside the center.
After the Anshi Rebellion, the wealth center of the Tang Dynasty was transferred from Guanzhong and Hebei to Jiangnan. However, until the demise of the Tang Dynasty, Jiangnan had never really been under the control of the central government...
Now, as long as the navy remains strong, Jiangnan can no longer become a foreign land.
……
For Li Chengqian, he doesn't care whether all military power is concentrated in Fang Jun's hands. He may care in the future, but definitely not now.
To this day, the foundation of the Li Tang Dynasty has been as solid as a rock. Whether it is the civil and military affairs of the court, the nobles of the clan, or even the people all over the world, the Li Tang Dynasty has a high degree of recognition. The throne can be ranked among the sons of Taizong. Time passes, but no one will allow the change of dynasties.
Therefore, even if Fang Jun controls most of the military power, it is absolutely impossible to force the emperor Li Chengqian to "abdicate" and sit on the throne himself.
To stand up to the sky is to become a powerful minister.
But Li Chengqian doesn't care if there is a powerful minister around him. The relationship between him and Fang Jun is not only about friendship, but also a combination of interests. Fang Jun needs an emperor like Li Chengqian who has no great ambitions and is willing to keep a low profile, and Li Chengqian also We need a courageous and capable minister like Fang Jun, but without too much ambition.
The two of them get along extremely harmoniously, and both can bring the benefits that the other party wants, and there is no chance of them parting ways for the time being...
Moreover, Fang Jun's explanation is meaningful and insightful.
Therefore, Li Chengqian looked at the other people and expressed his attitude: "I think Erlang's words are very reasonable. The improvement of the navy's status is conducive to the control of the entire Jiangnan and even overseas. Let Su Dingfang enter the military aircraft department... Do you have any objections? ?”
Li Ji was speechless. You said so, who can have any objection?
However, he still said: "It is okay for Su Dingfang to enter the Military Aircraft Department, but as the Navy Commander in charge of the Navy, if he enters the Military Aircraft Department, he will inevitably return to Chang'an. Who will supervise the Navy after he leaves?"
You can't let Su Dingfang control it remotely, right? Chang'an is too far away from the sea. Once something happens, it is inevitable that the fighter plane will be delayed due to poor information transmission and delayed military command.
Li Xiaogong said: "What about Liu Rengui? It's just that the Ministry of Civil Affairs originally planned for him to join the Ministry of War as a left minister."
In quelling the rebellion of King Jin this time, the Guanzhong army certainly determined the overall situation, but Liu Rengui also took the greatest credit. He led the navy to go north along the canal, passing through the pass and killing generals all the way to the Tongguan Pass. He beat the Jin king's allies in Guandong to pieces and completely cut off their external support. Otherwise, there is no telling how long this battle will last.
The position of left minister of the Ministry of War is enough for him.
Li Chengqian asked Fang Jun: "Both of these two men were generals under your command. How do you think they should be dealt with?"
Li Ji: "..."
Your Majesty, even if you are biased, you should be more subtle, right? Knowing that they are all from Fang Jun, people still ask Fang Jun for his opinion. How can Fang Jun refuse?
As expected, Fang Jun had no intention of hedging: "Liu Rengui has excellent abilities, not only in commanding battles, but also in handling the affairs of the department. He is qualified for the position of left minister of the Ministry of War. As for the post of Navy Commander, why not transfer Xue Rengui to Huating Town as envoy What is his role? Xue Rengui has done well in the Anxi Army in the past two years and has made great achievements, but he has also served in the navy and is proficient in water warfare. "
Li Ji simply stopped talking and picked up the tea cup to drink tea.
I knew before that Fang Jun valued the Navy, but now that I saw that Fang Jun was willing to violate taboos and insist on holding the Navy in his hands, I had to re-evaluate the position of the Navy in the entire Tang Dynasty military.
He knew that Fang Jun was not a greedy person. The reason why he clung to the navy and never let go was because the navy occupied an extremely important position in his plan for the imperial army. To some extent, it was even more important than the navy. The Anxi Army is also important.
Although the navy has opened shipping routes in the past two years to intimidate foreign countries and transported countless money, food and taxes to the Tang Dynasty, can its status surpass that of the army guarding the border?
Some people can’t understand it.
It seems that we need to work hard on the navy and the impact of sea trade on the empire. I feel that I can't keep up with Fang Jun's rhythm and am a bit behind the times...
*****
In the evening, in the British palace, Li Ji hosted a banquet for Cheng Yaojin who came to visit.
During the dinner, when he heard that Su Dingfang had joined the Military Aircraft Department and Xue Rengui was appointed as the Commander-in-Chief of the Navy, Cheng Yaojin widened his eyes and looked depressed: "Although you are always impatient about fighting for power and profit, you can't just watch that guy in the second room control the whole situation. military Military Aircraft Department, right? Now that Duke Wei has retired, Xue Wanche is like a dog-legger who obeys Fang Eryan, and the county prince is also deeply involved in his interests. Plus there is Su Dingfang, how can you have any room to speak in the Military Aircraft Department? "
It's one thing not to fight for power, but it's another thing to be so forbearing that you give up your right to speak. It's like I can don't want some things, but you can't not give them.
Coupled with the fact that the emperor had boundless trust in Fang Jun, if there were any matters that needed to be proposed or voted on in the Military Aircraft Department in the future, where would there be any room for Li Ji to speak?
Li Ji's expression was as usual, not depressed at all. He took a sip of wine and said calmly: "Now His Majesty has various new policies to implement, and there must be a stable military to support it. It is not a bad thing to have more say in the military... Having said that, Even if I want to fight, what can I do with it?”
Cheng Yaojin was speechless.
Li Ji's foundation lies in the Zhenguan Xunchen, but now the Zhenguan Xunchen is either old, dead, or defeated. There are almost no high-level military officers. The remaining middle-level officers do not have enough status and military merit. How can they be enough?
After all, if he hadn't been sent to Liangzhou by His Majesty because of his own cleverness this time, he should be the most suitable to join the Military Aircraft Department. In this way, he and Li Ji support each other, and their prestige and qualifications are far superior to Fang Jun's. Able to master military aircraft...
He raised his glass depressedly and clinked his glasses: "Drink!"
He raised his head and drank a glass of wine in one gulp. The spicy wine slid down his throat and into his stomach, burning it.
"Huh!" Exhaling the breath of alcohol, Cheng Yaojin rubbed his face and said angrily: "One wrong step, one wrong step after another. I am going to Liangzhou today. I don't know when I will be able to return to Beijing. I have fought for the Tang Dynasty for half a lifetime, but ended up like this. What’s the end, mother!” If it weren’t for this promotion, His performance during the rebellion was terrible. With his merits, qualifications, and status, he was a veteran of the three dynasties. Only a few people in the court, such as Li Ji and Li Xiaogong, could be better than him. He was in a position of high power and prestige. Why should he be here today? Go to Liangzhou to eat sand?