Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 5186 Please come forward
Li Ji just drank slowly and turned a deaf ear to Cheng Yaojin's complaints. He was a person who liked to argue about everything, so you can say whatever you want.

Liang Jianfang poured wine for Li Ji and said, "Duke Lu always blames this and that. If he had not stayed out of the matter and wanted to reap the benefits, which led to your majesty's suspicion, and because of his greed for profit, he fell into a trap in Guzang City and was caught, how could he have fallen into such a situation? Now that things have come to this, we should reflect on the pros and cons."

Cheng Yaojin was immediately dissatisfied: "What have I done wrong?"

Liang Jianfang smiled and said, "If there is something wrong, correct it. If there is nothing wrong, try to improve it. I am just talking."

Cheng Yaojin was furious: "What the hell are you talking about! Do you have the right to speak in front of me?"

Although Liang Jianfang is also well-qualified, he is inferior to him in terms of qualifications, status and age. He has always regarded himself as an elder and a superior to him. How can he tolerate Liang Jianfang's "disrespect"?
Liang Jianfang's smile faded, his face darkened, and he said directly: "You are only half a level higher than me in rank, and we have the same authority, so why can't we even talk? If Fang Er scolded me like this, I could tolerate him a little. After all, he has made greater contributions than me and holds a higher position than me. He is the 'Grand Marshal', and Duke Lu, shouldn't you also show respect to him as an inferior?"

"Damn it! You bastard, you're going against me, right? Come on, come on, I'll throw you to the ground today. You were raised by my wife!"

Cheng Yaojin was hit in the sore spot and became furious. He rolled up his sleeves and was ready to duel with Liang Jianfang.

Liang Jianfang would not wrestle with him, so he remained motionless and sneered, "Do you think you are still the same as before? Young people are better at fighting, and I am afraid that I might accidentally break your arms and legs, and then you accuse me of being disrespectful to my elders. I can't bear it!"

"Wow! You little thief has gone too far. Grandpa will teach you a lesson on behalf of your father today!"

"okay!"

Li Ji slammed his wine glass onto the coffee table and cursed, "Look at the two of you. You are over a hundred years old in total, but you are still arguing like children. Isn't it shameful? If you want to continue drinking, sit down. If you don't want to drink, get out!"

Liang Jianfang quickly sat down and poured wine.

Cheng Yaojin was so angry that his beard stood up and his eyes widened: "This guy has no respect for me and speaks rudely. Why can't I teach him a lesson?"

Li Ji said angrily: "You are not his father, do you need to teach him a lesson? Besides, what did Jianfang say is wrong? You are getting more and more confused as you get older."

If it were any other place or any other person, Cheng Yaojin would never give up, but he had great faith in Li Ji. Upon hearing this, he sat down angrily and glared at Liang Jianfang.

Liang Jianfang turned a blind eye.

The anger subsided...

Li Ji took a sip of yellow wine and said, "There are rumors in the palace that your majesty intends to revive the imperial decree of Emperor Taizong to 'feudalize the world' and to enfeoff the princes outside the country as a barrier. What do you think?"

Liang Jianfang was puzzled: "Let's not talk about whether this imperial decree can be implemented. Even if it is implemented, it is an internal matter of the royal family. What does it have to do with us?"

Cheng Yaojin said sarcastically: "You are so stupid, you have a stupid head full of shit. You are hopelessly stupid!"

Liang Jianfang said angrily: "Do you really think I'm afraid of you? If it weren't for Mr. Ying, I would have thrown you into the pond to feed the fish!"

Li Ji was helpless: "Can you please be quiet?"

After calming the two, he explained to Liang Jianfang, "It is naturally none of our business to enfeoff the princes, but this time the enfeoffment of the world is different from the time when Emperor Taizong enfeoffed the whole country. Emperor Taizong used various places in the country as enfeoffments. Although we, the meritorious officials of the Zhenguan period, collectively declined, all the princes accepted the enfeoffments and went to the fiefdoms to govern them. This time, the fiefdoms will definitely not be placed in the country, but overseas."

Liang Jianfang was not stupid. He understood immediately and said, "Although the navy is stirring up trouble overseas, it is not committed to destroying countries. Instead, it is trying every means to cultivate power and earn money in various places... If your majesty's decree to feudalize the world is implemented, the navy must cooperate and send troops to destroy those overseas countries, occupy their cities, and make them fiefdoms."

"exactly."

Li Ji nodded and said, "In this way, the navy is bound to usher in an explosion. Destroying a country means meritorious service. With the tide rising, the entire navy will inevitably be promoted collectively, and its strength will be greatly increased."

Cheng Yaojin and Liang Jianfang no longer had the heart to fight with each other. They both sighed and shook their heads.

Ever since Fang Jun reorganized the navy and created the Royal Navy, the navy has attracted attention from all parties.

Everyone knows that the power of firearms is invincible in the world, and the navy is the army equipped with the most firearms in the Tang Dynasty.

Moreover, the navy occupied more than ten shipping routes and ran rampant in the seas outside the Tang Dynasty, controlling almost all of the Tang Dynasty's foreign maritime trade and wars. With the cooperation of the "Eastern Tang Trading Company", it forcibly leased and purchased dozens of mines, and the gold, silver, copper and other precious metals produced were shipped back to the Tang Dynasty one by one and filled the emperor's treasury.

The navy has the final say on the sea, which is almost equivalent to a country within a country. All domestic and foreign merchants who want to engage in maritime trade must obtain permission from the navy.

Although the "Sea Trade Permit" issued by the Huating Town Maritime Customs Office is a qualification for sea trade, it also requires the permission of the navy, otherwise it will be a piece of waste paper...

Therefore, who would not be salivating over the navy and want to get their hands on it?
It's just that both Emperor Taizong of the past and Your Majesty today have great trust in Fang Jun, are indifferent to all the criticisms and impeachments, and always want Fang Jun to control the navy.

The Admiral of the Navy, Su Dingfang, was favored by Fang Jun, and he obeyed his orders. All the generals and lieutenants in the Navy were selected by Fang Jun. Now, the "Military Academy" of Zhenguan Academy is training naval officers. The entire Navy is managed by Fang Jun like an iron barrel, where no water can be poured in and no needle can be inserted...

Cheng Yaojin sighed and said, "It is said that heroes are made by the times. This has been the case since ancient times. But who would have thought that Fang Jun would be able to do whatever he wants today and repeatedly perform the legend of heroes making the times? Although I am dissatisfied with Fang Er, I am convinced. But we can't just let it go and wait for death, right?"

When Your Majesty mobilized the entire country to march eastward, almost everyone in the empire believed that this would be the last national war of the Tang Dynasty, so countless aristocratic families were willing to join in at all costs to share this last piece of delicious cake and leave behind achievements that could be passed down to future generations.

This is inevitable for national development. There were countless wars at the beginning of the country. When the regime was stabilized and the barbarians surrendered, the country put its weapons into storage and released its horses to the mountains, and began to focus on governing its internal affairs.

Who could have imagined that while the Tang Dynasty was developing its internal affairs, it could not only easily fight a war in the Western Regions, but also have enough energy to launch foreign wars?
There is no need for the participation of the 16 guards of the Southern and Northern Yamen. A mere navy can handle it...

Faced with the overseas war that is about to begin, countless foreign nations will be destroyed, countless Hu people will be wiped out, and countless meritorious deeds will be bestowed, but we can only watch helplessly without being able to participate in it or share the benefits. How can we not feel like we have a thorn in our throat and feel uncomfortable all over?
The most important thing is that as one grows, the other shrinks. With the rapid rise of the young generation of officers and commanders of the Royal Navy, they will completely suppress the second and third generations of these Zhenguan meritorious officials...

The noble group has no qualifications to govern, and their family's wealth, fame and fortune all depend on their status and influence in the military. How can they be willing if they are always suppressed, eventually left idle, marginalized and isolated from the center of power?
As contemporary family heads, they must plan ahead.

Li Ji raised his head and asked, "So why did you two come to visit me today?"

Cheng Yaojin said: "You know our purpose, so why do you still ask?"

Li Ji shook his head and said, "I am stupid, please tell me clearly, generals."

Cheng Yaojin said angrily, "How can you pretend to be ignorant when you know the truth?"

Liang Jianfang didn't dare to say this in front of Li Ji. His tone was very tactful and his attitude was very upright: "It is enough for us to achieve success and wealth in this life. Even if we are idle and bound to the capital for the rest of our lives, we will have no regrets. But we have to consider our children and grandchildren. If we don't have the opportunity to establish meritorious service and control military power, how many years can we live on the merits? At present, only you, Lord Ying, can fight for a chance for them."

The meaning is already very clear.

Li Ji held the wine glass in his hand, looking embarrassed: "Do you want me to bow down to Erlang?"

After the Battle of the Western Regions, there would be basically no more large-scale wars on land, and even small-scale conflicts were rare. After all, no country or tribe would dare to challenge the power of the Tang Dynasty after defeating the Arab army of more than 200,000 head-on. Therefore, the only place to gain merit was at sea.

However, the navy is controlled by Fang Jun, and no one can manipulate it to get their own people into it, so the only way is to negotiate.

Looking at the court, the only ones who were qualified to negotiate with Fang Jun were Duke Ying and Shangshu Zuo Pushe Li Ji.

Cheng Yaojin sighed, "We know that you are in a difficult situation, Lord Ying, but who else can do this except you? Fang Er is so arrogant now that I can't control him."

It's not that he can't be punished. After all, given his seniority, status, and power, Fang Jun should normally give him some face. But who made him lose his mind due to greed in Liangzhou and fall into a trap deliberately planned by others, and then be caught with the evidence?

Now, he no longer has any say in front of Fang Jun...

Liang Jianfang also said: "Now Fang Er has become a big shot, holding great power and skyrocketing reputation. We have nothing to offer him in exchange."

What is "negotiation"?
"Negotiation" means exchanging what you already have with the other party for what you don't have, but now what you have is what the other party has, and what the other party has is what you don't have...

Li Ji sneered, "So you want to push me out and use my old face and the reputation I have earned for half a lifetime to seek benefits for you?"