"If my father-in-law hadn't been bedridden, he wouldn't have had such troubles."
Li Tai's father-in-law was Yan Lide. In the eighth year of Zhenguan, he was ordered to build the "Yong'an Palace" for Emperor Gaozu Li Yuan on the Longshou Plain outside Chang'an City. The palace was not completed, Emperor Gaozu died, and the construction of Yong'an Palace was stopped. He was also ordered to build the Xianling Mausoleum for Emperor Gaozu. The mausoleum was built and he was promoted to the rank of master craftsman.
In the 10th year of Zhenguan, Empress Wende passed away. Emperor Taizong ordered Yan Lide to be responsible for building the "Zhao Mausoleum" to bury Empress Wende and serve as his mausoleum ten thousand years later. However, Yan Lide's management was loose and he was dismissed and released.
For many years after that, Yan Lide never returned to prison and stayed at home to recuperate from illness.
In the past two years, he has been on the bed of illness and has not been in office for a long time.
If Yan Lide can still serve as an official, why is there no one available?
Fang Jun recommended: "Yan Liben, the minister of the Ministry of Punishment, who will be the young eunuch, may be qualified for the job."
Li Tai was surprised and said: "This is my princess's uncle. Of course I know him well, but I only heard that he is good at painting, but I didn't know that he is also good at architecture?"
Yan Liben's reputation was far greater than that of his brother. Emperor Taizong ordered Yan Liben to draw pictures of the six war horses that Yan Liben rode during his campaigns in all directions, then carved them on stone and erected them in Zhaoling. People at the time called them the "Six Horses of Zhaoling".
Fang Jun smiled and said: "Your Highness has underestimated your 'uncle'. He is not only good at painting and crafts, but also good at architecture. He is also outstanding in political ability. At the very least, he can be responsible for the governance of a state."< br>
Historically, Yan Liben was an extremely low-key person. At first, his reputation was not obvious and was completely overshadowed by the glory of his brother Yan Liben. Although he served as Kuzhi in the Prince of Qin's Mansion in his early years and was regarded as an old minister of Emperor Taizong's late residence, he was modest and prudent and indifferent to fame and fortune. Today, he is just a doctor from the Ministry of Justice.
However, after the death of his brother Yan Lide, Yan Liben took over many of his brother's unfinished tasks, and his reputation immediately doubled.
The most amazing thing is that this person is not only unrivaled in art, but he can also benefit a party as an official. He is a rare all-rounder.
Li Tai most admired Fang Jun's ability to recognize and employ people. After hearing this, he immediately said: "I will send a letter to Chang'an immediately, asking your Majesty to transfer Yan Liben to Luoyang for his use."
The three of them chatted for a while, and felt very good after seeing that the overall situation was settled. In the evening, they had a banquet and had a few drinks.
Because they had seen Fang Jun's amazing drinking capacity again, Li Tai and Xu Jingzong only kept the small wine cups in front of them during the dinner. Not only did they not dare to toast to Fang Jun, they even declined Fang Jun's toast to them, saying "Drink in your spare time, stop in moderation", lest it arouse Fang Jun's drunkenness and pour wine on them...
During the dinner, Li Tai asked: "Normally, with Erlang's meritorious service and status, plus his role in helping His Majesty ascend the throne, even if we don't think about the position of the chief minister, he should still be at the center and have great power. Why should he be idle?" Even the position of minister of the Ministry of Industry must be given up? ”
The bustle in the world is all for the sake of coming, and the hustle and bustle of the world is all for the sake of going away.
When they reach their status and status, what they pursue will naturally not be financial gain, but power.
Who doesn’t want to be inferior to one person and superior to ten thousand people?
And this is why many people in the government and the public are confused about Fang Jun. No matter how indifferent to fame and fortune, he can't be so humble and low-key, right? Even if you don't have the ambition to dominate the world, you should still hold a certain amount of power to ensure your status.
A real man cannot live without power for a day.
If you have no power, who will take you seriously?
Fang Jun took a sip of wine, smiled, and said: "You can't have your cake and eat it too. Compared with administrative power, I value military power more. Only with military power can we ensure the smooth implementation of central government orders. Otherwise, even if I sit on the In the position of prime minister, he can issue a decree but even the states and counties cannot What's the point of issuing orders? On the contrary, as long as you have military power, you can be invincible. In terms of government affairs, there are King Ma Bin, Xu Yan clan, Cui Dunli, and even more young people will emerge in the future. I have a big responsibility, why should I worry?”
In ancient and modern times, at home and abroad, only military power is the most solid foundation. Without the support of military power, any power is just a mirror and can be broken at a glance.
As long as the general power is firmly in his hands, what does it matter who is the prime minister?
You have to do whatever you are asked to do. If you don't do it, there will naturally be people who are willing to do it. Just replace it with someone else.
However, Li Tai and Xu Jingzong became increasingly puzzled.
Xu Jingzong wondered: "In this case, why did the Duke of Yue hand over the left and right Jinwu guards?"
The Left and Right Jinwu Guards were reorganized from the Left and Right Tun Guards. During the reorganization process, Fang Jun almost took the lead in everything, but he handed them over before they became an army.
They claim to have military power, but they don’t even have a directly subordinate army. Even the Royal Navy has Su Dingfang as its nominal commander, and legally it is His Majesty’s personal armed force...
Fang Jun said: "The Jinwu Guards are responsible for the safety of the capital and the imperial city. How can it be in the hands of one person? Don't worry about these details. What I mean by mastering military power is not to control the palace or even the emperor." That's what the powerful ministers do, I don't do it."
Are you kidding me? I have the safety of the palace and city in my hands and the life and death of the king in my hands. Isn't it trouble enough for me?
Even if Li Chengqian is "generous", he will never allow this situation to happen.
He only needs to ensure that he can have the power to determine Chang'an in one fell swoop under the most extreme circumstances, and that is enough. The rest of the military power must be placed outside.
As long as Datang can decide who it wants to go to war with and who it wants to make peace with, that will be all right.
Otherwise, just like what happened in history, the aristocratic clans were able to establish territorial autonomy, and the warlords in various places supported the army to stand on their own. The center was regarded as nothing, and all national strategies had to go through the warlords before they could be abolished, established or implemented. What would happen?
Now that the most critical strategic areas of the Tang Dynasty are under his control, the Navy and the Anxi Army guard the ocean and the Western Region respectively, and then he can achieve his goal by bringing the troops in the Northern Xinjiang and Liaodong under his control.
As for southern Xinjiang, it is now a smoggy land with a lack of population and a barren economy. Even large areas of cultivated farmland are rare. The time and cost of development are uncontrollable. It can be used as a buffer area without the need for too many troops.
Complete your strategic layout step by step without letting the center feel danger.
He will make the Tang Dynasty as great as a strong man, and will make the Tang Dynasty greater than the Tang Dynasty in history.
If the strategic layout completed a thousand years in advance still cannot allow future generations to get rid of bad luck and recover in the "three thousand years of great changes" in the future, then it will be fate and nothing can be done.
Although Fang Jun did not say it clearly, both Li Tai and Xu Jingzong felt that there must be a big picture, and they also realized that Fang Jun's ambition was definitely not comparable to that of those in the court who were fighting for power and profit.
Xu Jingzong expressed his sincere admiration: "The Duke of Yue State has a broad mind and a clear vision of thousands of miles. His subordinate officials are willing to do whatever they want and do the hard work of dogs and horses!"
Fang Jun almost spit out his drink and stared at Xu Jingzong speechless.
The word "the work of dogs and horses" has been ruined by himself. Now that Xu Jingzong says it, it is simply disgusting...
*****
The spring breeze blows in from the open window, soft and soft, and the swallows fly among the willows that have just sprouted outside the window, and pass under the eaves, their light and graceful figures are nimble and elegant, and they chirp from time to time.
Liu Ji sat behind the desk in front of the window, looking at the bustling scene outside the window, and sighed quietly: "It's going to rain."
He immediately withdrew his gaze and stared at a piece of paper and two letters on the desk.
The paper is an excerpt of the memorial that Xu Jingzong sent to Chang'an from Luoyang, and the letter is a secret letter sent to him from Luoyang by Zhang Liang and Pei Huaijie respectively.
Xu Jingzong's report was naturally about the smooth progress of the "measurement of land acres". Not only that, Fang Jun also assisted Xu Jingzong to sell the land that had been occupied and annexed by the aristocratic families to the aristocratic families. Although the price was not high, it could not be stopped. Too much land.
In Xu Jingzong's report, after estimation and calculation, it is conservatively estimated that there will be 15 million yuan...
Fifteen million strings!
After Datang opened maritime trade and reformed the tax system, its annual treasury revenue was only double this figure.
How big a political achievement is this?
At first, I laughed at Xu Jingzong for overestimating his capabilities and taking the initiative to take on such a seemingly impossible task. He was waiting for him to return to Chang'an in despair after falling into the sand in Luoyang, but this was the result.
The Minister of Rites, a minister of the late emperor's latent residence, had Fang Jun's full support...
In time, this person will definitely become his number one political enemy.
In Zhang Liang's secret letter, he described in detail a series of Fang Jun's operations, including inviting him to enter the urn, removing the fuel from the cauldron, defeating each other, etc., which are breathtaking.
Luoyang Yushi...
Do you want to push Yu Zhining to the position of Prime Minister with the help of such a strong trend?
Haha, that’s quite a beautiful thought.
As for Pei Huaijie's secret letter, he did not say much about Fang Jun's actions, but explained to him the various reasons why the Henan family had to obey Fang Jun, and mentioned that the main reason among them was that the Henan family was unwilling to sacrifice for other families in the world. Profit charges forward and then becomes the chicken that scares the monkey and is killed.
It makes sense, but Liu Ji is the best at figuring out human nature. At a glance, he can tell that this is Pei Huaijie's excuse for not resolutely resisting the central government's decree.
If someone could unite the Henan aristocratic families and lead Fang Jun's strong oppression, how could he break down the barriers built between the entire world's clans without a fight and give such a huge deal to Fang Jun and Xu Jingzong in vain? Achievements?
Obviously, Pei Huaijie is very determined to return to Beijing. He would rather let Fang Jun succeed, but also want to gain a political achievement in front of His Majesty. Coupled with Liu Ji's support, he can smoothly transfer back to Chang'an. .
And Liu Ji knew that Pei Huaijie had pushed Fang Jun, would he still support Pei Huaijie?
The answer is yes.
For a feudal official like Pei Huaijie, who had qualifications, status, and political achievements, as long as he returned to the capital, he would be at least six ministers and deputies of three provinces. Although his rank had to be lowered by one level, the capital officials were already a bit higher than the local officials.
It is self-evident that such a person will increase his own strength when he joins his team. How can he give up such an opportunity?
No matter how much dissatisfaction you have in your heart, you can only suppress it.
It's just that, as the "New Deal" is in full swing and spreading all over the world, his Zhongshu Ling has no real merit and can only watch from the sidelines. His prestige is bound to be reduced again and again... The situation is not optimistic.