Chapter 4853 Controversy before the Emperor
The first snowfall covered the land in Guanzhong, covering the glazed tiles on the roof of the palace. The withered flowers and trees were desolate. The eunuchs and maids were cleaning the lanes in the snow. The fallen snow on the bluestone ground was just swept away in front, and then covered with it again behind. Apply a thin layer.
When winter came, the imperial study room was re-paved with floor coverings, and the east wall was knocked down and the windows were removed and replaced with floor-to-ceiling glass windows. Sitting on the mat in front of the window, you can enjoy the scenery of the garden outside the window. Li Chengqian was very impressed like.
So much so that he spent more time in the royal study room, which caused many complaints from the concubines in the palace...
The earth dragon is burned just right, the air is warm but not dry, and it is very comfortable.
Fang Jun, who was wearing a purple official robe, sat cross-legged in front of the small stove and concentrated on boiling water and making tea. Li Chengqian knelt down behind a low table and sipped tea slowly. Li Ji held the teacup in his hand and frowned at the falling snow outside the window. Somewhat lost in thought, Ma Zhou was flipping through a thick file.
Liu Jie read the battle report sent by the Navy Commander Su Dingfang from the Guangzhou Governor's Mansion in his hand, and slammed it on the low table in front of him. With his beard and hair flabby and angry eyes, he said angrily: "Lawless! A mere naval general is here. Dare to start a war without permission, openly start a war with a big country like the Great Food Country, and even force others to sign such a contract that is humiliating and humiliating the country. Do they still have the law in their eyes? "
Yang Zhou won a complete victory in the battle at Shirov Port, and then sent the battle report back to Guangzhou. Su Dingfang then submitted the battle report to the capital. After a long circuit of thousands of miles of sea, it was finally sent to Li Chengqian's desk after a few months. Liu Ji read it Afterwards, I was shocked and shocked.
We were both shocked that the navy was able to completely annihilate the navy in Shirov Port and rampage across the entire Persian Gulf. We were also shocked by the navy's arrogance and domineering ability to start a war. If all the armies across the country followed suit, wouldn't the center be in name only?
Ma Zhou also put down the file in his hand, pinched his brows, and said: "After all, the Navy is different from other armies. Yang Zhou is more than 20,000 miles away from Chang'an in the Persian Gulf? He should be given the power to make decisions on the fly, otherwise he will be reported from time to time. Asking for instructions on everything may delay the fight.”
Liu Ji said angrily: "The truth is correct, but that's all. The Dashi Kingdom has a vast territory, hundreds of millions of people, and is powerful. It is a powerful country in the world that can compete with the Tang Dynasty. A war with it is likely to destroy the empire. Being dragged into a war, can this kind of thing be decided on the spur of the moment? If everyone follows suit, what's the use of us as prime ministers and assistants?"
Ma Zhou smiled and stopped talking.
In fact, he also felt that the Navy had gone too far this time...
When Liu Ji saw that His Majesty was drinking tea and was silent, he looked at Fang Jun and glared: "What do you say, Lord Yue?"
Fang Junzheng took the boiled tea off the stove and said disapprovingly: "I am neither the commander of the navy, nor am I personally participating in the war, so what does it have to do with me? Zhongshu ordered you to be an important minister of the empire after all. You must pay attention to self-cultivation. Don't let it happen one day. Do you know what it means to make a fuss at night and not change your face when Mount Tai collapses in front of you? You still have to learn how to be a man.”
As he spoke, he poured himself a cup of tea, took a sip, and praised: "This tea is good. It tastes really good when brewed."
This is a white tea recently developed by home tea-making craftsmen using natural withering as the main process...
Li Ji handed over the teacup: "Give me a cup."
Fang Jun filled the pot for him. Li Ji took a sip, tasted it, nodded and said, "It's really good. Why don't you have a drink, Si Dao?"
Liu Ji was so angry that he ignored Li Ji and said angrily to Fang Jun: "I don't need you to teach me how to do things!"
Fang Jun rolled his eyes: "You insist on provoking me, okay? I'm making tea here and you have to come and ask me, but what does this matter have to do with me?"
"The Navy was reorganized and created by you. They are all your people from top to bottom. The entire Navy is your minions and they obey your orders. Who does it matter if it doesn't concern you?"
"The full name of the Navy is 'Royal Navy of the Tang Dynasty'. It is His Majesty's private army in name. All personnel appointments and dismissals must be approved by His Majesty. You said those are my minions, and you put Your Majesty in a dangerous situation." Where? ”
"Since it is His Majesty's private army, but you use your henchmen and minions to steal official positions in the navy, where do you put His Majesty?"
"Within the navy, from the generals to the soldiers, everyone is brave and fearless in battle. They never run away from the battle and are afraid of the enemy. During training, everyone is conscientious and honest. There is not a single scandal of corruption and dereliction of duty. It can be said that everyone has They perform their duties and serve with loyalty and bravery, but there is an incompetent person? They have won the recognition of His Majesty with their loyalty and performance. Why are you, as a civil servant, nagging and doing things for you? "
……
The two were quarreling, going back and forth, and kept arguing for a while.
Li Chengqian drank tea slowly and did not say anything to stop him. He was used to these two quarreling with each other. In fact, it was very popular for him as an emperor that the civil and military forces could criticize and supervise each other. He did not have the literary, Taoist and military strategies of Emperor Taizong, so if The ministers gathered together harmoniously, that was what worried him most...
Li Ji glanced at Li Chengqian, sighed helplessly, put down his tea cup and knocked on the table: "What we are talking about now is the signing of a contract between the Navy and Shirov Port. Don't go too far. If you like to quarrel, you can go to Pingkangfang later. Find a brothel and have a good fight, and let each of you show your full potential without reservation, so as not to be unable to let it go in front of His Majesty.”
Li Chengqian laughed when he heard this and said: "It's okay to go elsewhere, I don't care, but you can't go to Pingkangfang. Erlang has now become the number one enemy of the collective boycott of the brothels in Pingkangfang. Every time he goes there, there will be a fight. If they start arguing and start fighting, Zhong Shuling will probably suffer a loss."
Li Jiye and Ma Zhou couldn't help laughing when they thought of Fang Jun's past. This man was indeed called the "big enemy of Pingkangfang".
Liu Jie also felt it was funny and said: "Your Majesty is worrying too much. He will still run away if he can't be beaten. Although I am a civil servant, I have always exercised my body and my running is not slow."
Li Chengqian also laughed: "My father once said that Erlang was 'unenlightened' when he was still alive. When people went to Pingkangfang, they would sleep in flowers and willows and have a good time, but when Erlang went there he didn't stare at the singer, but instead looked for trouble and fights." , one day they will all be boycotted by Pingkangfang and 'no entry', haha!"
The atmosphere in the Imperial Study Room calmed down.
Liu Jie did not continue to hold on to the fact that the Navy was good at starting wars. He also knew that as long as His Majesty was alive, the Navy would never have anyone else's turn to intervene. That was the compensation and reward he gave Fang Jun, and it was also He showed the world evidence of continuing to trust Fang Jun.
No matter what he did, Fang Jun would be his backer, and no one could do anything about it.
He pointed to the contract in which the Kingdom of Shit paid compensation to the dead merchants, soldiers and damaged warships of the Tang Dynasty: "Three hundred thousand gold coins is indeed a considerable amount, but why is it allowed to be paid in installments? This contract is Shirov Port The governor signed his official position from the caliph. Once the caliph transfers or dismisses him, won’t this contract be worthless?”
He pulled out another battle report: "This is Yang Zhou's private battle report. Why did he agree to sell it to the Big Food Country's 'Zhentian Lei'? What if he uses it in the war with us? What if it is used in the war with us?" What to do if the gunpowder formula is reversely derived? ”
Li Chengqian still didn't speak. His Majesty the Emperor had recently studied "The Doctrine of the Mean" and felt that it was in line with his character and philosophy of doing things. "Be impartial and do no wrong and no less" is really the rule of all things in the world. As long as this is done, everything will be fine. It can’t be done.
Therefore, he didn't care about the Navy's "good at initiating war" and "private peace talks", nor did he care about Liu Jie's aggressiveness and roaring at the front. He just watched quietly and waited until he needed to make a decision, instead of following him. Blending...
Facing the aggressive questions, Fang Jun took some time to calm down: "To answer your first question first, the governor of Port Shirov cannot afford 300,000 gold coins. If he is not allowed to pay in installments, then he will not be able to get the money at all. The war will continue. Not only will we not be compensated, we will continue to suffer more losses. Secondly, we must pay them in installments. It's not a bad thing. Zhongshu Ling should see that there is a clause to pay "interest" separately in the contract? After ten years, what we will get is a huge sum of 600,000 gold coins. Third, Zhongshu Ling. You can try to terminate this clause, and you will see how many people in the government and the opposition criticize you..."
The families of the aristocratic families cannot be conquered by simply suppressing or weakening them. Thousands of years of foundation are not rootless duckweeds. The interests of each other are intertwined. Jin Renwen’s caravan represents the interests of many aristocratic families. Who dares to let them If they can't make money, they will target anyone.
Neither can Zhongshu Ling.
Only then did Liu Ji understand why Jin Renwen was involved, and he shut up decisively. He was not Li Ji, let alone Fang Jun. He could not withstand the impeachment and criticism from the civil and military officials of the entire dynasty...
Fang Jun poured a cup of tea for Liu Ji and continued: "As for the second question, whether to sell 'Zhentian Lei' is a matter for the military. Even if you are Zhongshu Ling, you have no jurisdiction over it, but out of respect for Zhongshu Ling's Respectfully I can answer that the 'Gunpowder' formula is not anything. The secrets of the universe are impenetrable. Now that the whole world knows the power of Tang Dynasty firearms, how can no one try to develop and imitate them? Whether it is leaked internally or developed by outsiders, one day the barbarians will definitely master the gunpowder formula. "
Li Chengqian, who had always been playing deep, couldn't sit still this time and said in surprise: "Is this really true?"
Fang Jun nodded and said sternly: "I am not lying, but your majesty can rest assured that even if someone from the foreign tribes comes up with gunpowder, our gunpowder research and development will definitely be at the forefront of the world, and we will be the best in terms of performance, power, and output. ”
Liu Jie hurriedly asked: "Don't the barbarians also have muskets and artillery? Even if the gunpowder performance is insufficient, it is still a huge hidden danger!"
Fang Jun said with a smile: "If gunpowder can lead the foreign tribes for a hundred years, then muskets and artillery can keep them chasing for five hundred years." Compared with the gunpowder "charcoal, saltpeter, sulfur" formula, the smelting process of making guns is the real The black technology is such that even those barbarians can’t learn it, and even if they learn it, they can’t refine it.