The film and television world begins with the battle for the throne in Kowloon

Chapter 582: Conversation between Father and Son in Chengqing Palace (VI)
The more Li Shimin thought about it, the more excited he became. Finally, he suppressed his excitement and looked at Li Yan with admiration, his eyes revealing a look of relief: "Okay, in this case, Cheng Qian, during this period of time, you don't have to do other things, just focus on this matter, and set up this department immediately. Whether it requires manpower or funds, I will cooperate."

Next, the father and son discussed the structure and functions of this department. Finally, Li Shimin decided to follow Li Yan’s idea and do it in the name of the Eastern Palace without making such a big fuss.

Li Yan secretly established the eleventh guard group out of the ten guard groups of the Eastern Palace, keeping it secret from the outside world, and named it the Jinyiwei!
The Jinyiwei had a Dongchang under its jurisdiction, which could freely organize caravans and travel around the country to make up for the shortage of the Jinyiwei and provide income for the emperor.

In order to distinguish it from other guards, the head of Jinyiwei no longer used the original titles of Rate and General of the Central Army, but a new name, Commander-in-Chief.

The following titles such as Langjiang, Changli, Canjun, Xiaowei, Lieutenant, Duizheng, etc. were also changed accordingly to titles such as Zhihui Tongzhi, Zhihui Qianshi, Zhenfushi, Qianhu, Baihu, and Zongqi to distinguish them from other military positions.

The reason why Li Yan wants to use an independent system is to break the restrictions and constraints of the previous inherent military system on this special department. Since it is a new system, it will naturally not operate according to the previous traditional military methods.

Once the shackles are broken, there are endless possibilities.

However, Li Shimin was unsure about the difference between this special department and the general imperial guard system, because even though it involved some military reconnaissance and specialized in managing some spies, it did not seem to have enough number of people in a prefecture. Strictly speaking, it could only be regarded as a larger colonel and brigade commander group.

At the same time, there were some explorations and attempts in the economic and commercial fields, and he was not sure whether it should be classified as a military system or a civil service system.

Since the prince proposed to use a new set of things that are not in line with the current ones, we can give it a try. After all, it is just a private operation and trial to see the situation. If it is good, we can increase the investment. If it is not appropriate, we can cancel it at any time. It is just a matter of words.

All positions of the Jinyiwei are temporarily not listed with ranks and are not included in the court management sequence, but the commander is equivalent to the rate and general of the other guards, and all middle-level officials are under the normal official positions of the ten rates of the Eastern Palace. The Jinyiwei is a part-time job and is not recognized by the court.

Li Yan's explanation was that the reason why he was not in the court management sequence was because the Jinyiwei was still in the exploratory stage and was not mature enough. His organizational structure and responsibilities could be adjusted at any time according to needs, and he needed a more flexible and changeable living environment.

Once it is finalized and brought under the court's management, it will be difficult to make changes at will.

To put it bluntly, this was an illegal department that was engaged in illegal activities and doing shady things. The court was unaware of it, but Emperor Li Shimin knew about it, so it was considered semi-legal.

Yes
Li Yan actually wanted to set up a Jinyiwei like Zhu Yuanzhang's Jinyiwei in the Ming Dynasty, not only for external but also internal purposes, to strike at his opponents, control the situation and ensure his smooth ascension to the throne in the future.

The reason why the Jinyiwei had such great authority was not because of its name, but because it was a military organization supported by the emperor. As the emperor's guards, the main functions of the Jinyiwei included guarding the emperor's carriage, patrolling and arresting, and engaging in activities such as reconnaissance, arrest, and interrogation.

At the same time, they were also involved in collecting military intelligence, inciting enemy generals to defect, monitoring colleagues, and protecting the safety of the court. They were usually trusted generals of the emperor and were directly responsible to the emperor. They could arrest anyone, including royal relatives, and conduct closed trials. Their power was staggering.

Li Yan knew very well that such an organization would play a huge role. Currently, as the crown prince, he could only promote a small part of the Jinyiwei. What Li Yan needed was only a superficial organization that would give him the opportunity to preside over things legitimately.

But as long as it was started and Li Shimin approved it, and he had such a department of his own, he would be able to give full play to his power, secretly make contributions, and secretly build this team into an intelligence network throughout the Tang Dynasty and even East Asia, and give full play to its function of monitoring the world.

As he gradually gains power, he can fill the Jinyiwei's powers bit by bit.

Let the Jinyiwei become his eyes and ears, deploy them densely and quietly to grasp the overall situation.

As for arresting and interrogating officials to shock the court, that is something to do after one becomes emperor and is not necessary now.

However, due to the difference in knowledge, in the mind of the current Tang Emperor Li Shimin, this is just a loose group of scouts, gathering information about the Turks for himself, and perhaps making some attempts in the economic field as Li Yan mentioned. In this era, any large and wealthy family can potentially form such a force.

Since the prince has this idea, why not give it a try? It's just a few hundred people at most. It's not a big deal not only for the emperor, but also for the prince, right?

Due to Li Yan's interference, Li Shimin did not empty the treasury in the Bianqiao Alliance in the ninth year of Wude. He only agreed to give the Turks some supplies such as food and cloth every year, so the loss was not great.

Now Li Shimin is not as stubborn as in the original drama, he has to save money and eat vegetables and tofu every day. In order to let Li Yan achieve results as soon as possible, it is also possible that Li Yan pushed the 5,000 imperial guards of Zuotunwei to make up for Li Yan's losses.

Li Shimin generously allocated one million strings of cash from the imperial treasury to Li Yan's new department as start-up funds for the early preparation and construction of the Jinyiwei.

Li Yan was also allowed to select any Jinyiwei members from the 16 guards or border troops. These people were included in the command of the Eastern Palace Guards and were directly under Li Yan's jurisdiction. Their salaries were paid by the court, but the additional operating funds were raised by Li Yan himself, that is, from the profits of his business. When Li Yan said that the planned number of personnel was 500, Li Shimin didn't care at all. 500 people was only one-tenth of the normal number of people in the inner court. Even if the prince wanted to increase the number of guards, it wouldn't be a big deal.
It is even possible that before long, without any greater or more unexpected effects to remind him, Li Shimin might even forget that there is such a new department under the Eastern Palace.

But Li Shimin obviously only saw that the combat effectiveness of 500 soldiers was not worth mentioning, and ignored the role that these 500 people could play if they were spread out as spies, which even an army of 100,000 could not achieve.

In this age of advocating violence, people simply don’t understand what the core of an information society is.
The timely and effective dissemination of information is also a terrifying force. No one knows about this power except Li Yan, or at least no one will take it as seriously as Li Yan.

In a peaceful era when military power cannot be seized, nothing is more important than information?
After obtaining Li Shimin's consent, Li Yan smiled slightly. Li Shimin would never have imagined that a truly mature Jinyiwei would become the shadow of a huge empire, secretly controlling the entire country for the emperor. They would be the emperor's eyes and ears, and a sharp sword to rule the country.

If he knew, he would definitely take charge of it himself instead of letting his son do it.

After Li Yan came to the Tang Dynasty, he found that the transportation and information of this era were too backward, which was probably one of the reasons for the formation of aristocratic families. To put it bluntly, the territory was too large for the central government to manage directly, and it was not able to exercise governance in a timely and effective manner, so part of the power was transferred to the hands of local tyrants, which led to the formation of local tyrants.

The Jinyiwei, an all-pervasive surveillance agency, was able to break away from the traditional official channels from the court to the local areas and establish a complete set of efficient and fast information networks that were densely spread throughout every corner of the Tang Dynasty to assist the emperor in governing the country.

If Li Shimin knew the overall structure and functions of the Jinyiwei, he would definitely build it himself, and might be more ruthless and thorough than Zhu Yuanzhang.

In order to maintain the royal power, these people would do anything.

Therefore, Li Yan can only secretly activate some of the functions of the Jinyiwei now to avoid arousing Li Shimin's vigilance and covetousness. This is the sword he has created in order to control the world in the future.

This is why Li Yan decided, after careful consideration, to avoid a direct Red Ocean battlefield with Li Shimin and his brothers, and to abandon the traditional way of establishing a regime through the barrel of a gun. He took a different approach and used another method and dimension to rapidly expand his strength in the blue ocean field that they had not expected, and to build an information network and protection system of his own.

Instead of, under the leadership of Li Shimin, and Li Ke and future brothers such as Li Tai and Li Zhi, competing for some civil and military positions, engaging in meaningless close combat for a city or a place, what would be the use even if they succeeded?

In front of Li Shimin, a ruthless man who killed his brothers and forced his father, it was useless. Pure psychological comfort and just one sentence could turn half a lifetime of hard work into ashes. This was the case with Li Tai. He won over half of the people in the court, but it was not as good as an imperial edict from Li Shimin.

If Yang Ji is the first step Li Yan made when he came to the Tang Dynasty world, then the establishment of the Jinyiwei is the second step. In the future, Li Yan will slowly develop the essence of the Jinyiwei and expand it step by step under the cover of spying on the enemy openly.

And only 500 people were needed in order to avoid arousing the vigilance of Li Shimin and the court. Li Shimin would not mind just 500 people. Not to mention using them to spy on the enemy, even if they were used to expand some armed forces in the name of increasing the six rates of the Eastern Palace, Li Shimin would not take it to heart.

Li Yan knew very well that the actual expenses of an organization like Jinyiwei were very huge. It was impossible to rely solely on the support of ordinary soldiers. The big money was still to come.

Can an ordinary sergeant be the same as a spy with complete skills and an important mission?

The salary of ten sergeants cannot support a professional spy, and the salary of a hundred sergeants cannot train a 007.

The court's announcement was just a gimmick to reassure Li Shimin.

He didn't know that the main expenses of these spies still fell on the part raised by the East Factory. Of course, if Li Shimin knew, he would naturally understand that such an expensive army could not be measured by superficial military strength.

It will certainly attract extra attention
In this way, Li Yan can, under the cover of appearance, adjust business profits and scale to maintain these spies while recruiting unlimited auxiliary police and temporary workers. This is also the reason why Li Yan asked Li Shimin for the power to legally smuggle various materials to the north. The more it is prohibited by the court, the greater the profit.

By then, who else will know how much money you have earned in a year and how many people you have supported, except yourself?

The Jinyiwei will become a sharp sword in his hand, charging into battle, breaking through city barriers, and conquering cities for him.

How could a small General of the Left Tunwei and the General of the Yifu Palace be comparable to him? It can be said that one Jinyiwei is equivalent to an army of 100,000, and is not restricted by geographical location. It can be deployed in the mansions of court officials and even in the Imperial Palace, without any trace. It is a dimensionality reduction attack on the people in power of this era.

(End of this chapter)