Tang Dynasty, my wife Wu Zetian

Chapter 316: The Imperial Garden Inspects the Troops
In February, a spring breeze blows from the south, all things revive, and the grass and trees sprout.

The sky was sunny and cloudless. It was the first time since the 12th year of Yonghui that the weather was so good.

On the east side of the Forbidden Garden, a new guard office was recently built. Outside the Yinma Gate, on the south side of the Wei River, there is a large area of ​​tents.

Stationed here was Li Zhi's newly established Yulin Guard, also known as the Northern Ya Forbidden Army.

The predecessor of the Beiya Forbidden Army was called the Yuancong Forbidden Army, which originally started an uprising with Li Yuan from Taiyuan.

After Li Yuan established the Tang Dynasty, he was grateful for the support of his old brothers and kept them in a camp north of the imperial palace, ordering them to inherit his business and enjoy eternal honor.

Therefore, it is also called father-son army.

However, this way of inheritance led to a rapid decline in the combat effectiveness of the Yuan Dynasty's imperial guards.

During the reign of Emperor Taizong, the Yuan Dynasty's imperial guards were reformed and expanded to 30,000 men using the method of military recruitment. The army's combat effectiveness was strengthened and divided into left and right garrison camps. Although nominally affiliated with the garrison, they were actually independent armies that only took orders from the emperor.

Later, when Li Zhi succeeded to the throne, Zhangsun Wuji completely merged the Zuo and You Tunying into the Zuo and You Tunying.

The Tunwei were one of the twelve guards of the Southern Yamen, and they needed to be under the control of the prime minister, which was equivalent to strengthening the prime minister's power and weakening the imperial power.

Now that Li Zhi has rebuilt the Northern Ya Forbidden Army, it is a further strengthening of the imperial power.

It was after the Khitan war last year that Li Zhi ordered the formation of the Northern Ya Imperial Guards.

The soldiers were all elite troops drawn from various Zhechoufu. It was not until the beginning of this year that they finally rushed to Chang'an from all over the place to report on their duties.

Although this is a new army, it is composed of veterans who have fought many battles. Their coordination still needs to be honed, but the individual combat effectiveness of the soldiers is extremely strong.

This was the first time Li Zhi reviewed this army.

At this time, 50,000 soldiers were divided into 20 military formations according to the region and stood on the open space south of the Wei River.

Li Zhi rode a horse, accompanied by Xue Rengui, Xiao Siye and Wang Jishan, and walked between the square formations to inspect each military formation.

These twenty military formations were not formed randomly, but were drawn from the Zhechoufu belonging to ten regions.

Although they are all elite, there are differences among them.

For example, there are eight military formations, all of which were selected from the Zhechoufu of Guannei Road. Each of them is tall and strong.

The only army that could be compared with them was the army of Hebei Province. Although there were only three of them, they were incredibly imposing. Although their physique was not as strong as that of Guannei Province, they were slightly taller.

Compared with these two, the elites of other paths are slightly inferior.

Especially the two military formations of Jiangnan Road and Huainan Road. They are strong in physique, but lack a sense of momentum, and are at the bottom among the ten roads.

There is no way around it. The place where they stay has been peaceful for a long time, with no external enemies. They have few opportunities to go to the battlefield, so their momentum is naturally weaker.

Although the Jiannan Dao soldiers were shorter in stature, their morale was no less high, and each of them stared with eyes as loud as copper bells.

Among them, the soldiers under the Songzhou Military Governor's Office were the most high-spirited. They stood tall and proud, looking very brave.

Li Zhi rode his horse slowly, and suddenly, when he arrived at a military formation in the northwest corner, he found that the soldiers in this formation had dark skin and were very short in stature, even shorter than the soldiers of Jiannan Road.

Li Zhi suddenly became curious and asked Xue Rengui behind him, "Which unit did this soldier come from?"

Xue Rengui said, "Your Majesty, these are soldiers from Lingnan Road, most of whom were transferred from the Jiaozhou Governor's Office."

Li Zhi looked carefully and found that these soldiers did have the characteristics of ethnic minorities. Although they were not good-looking, they had a sense of majesty.

Li Zhi dismounted and passed in front of the soldiers from Lingnan Road.

When the soldiers saw the emperor so close before them, they stood straight like iron spears.

Looking at their nervous and excited expressions, Li Zhi nodded secretly.

It can be seen from them that the combat effectiveness of the Tang army in Lingnan Road will definitely not be bad. If war breaks out in the south in the future, they can be used.

According to official history, it was during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang that Nanzhao annexed the other five Zhaos and posed a threat to the Tang Dynasty.

But now that Tubo has been destroyed and Li Zhi is secretly suppressing Nanzhao, there is no guarantee that there will be no chaos in the south.

At that time, soldiers from the Jiaozhou Military Governor's Office will be needed to suppress the rebellion.

Li Zhi asked a general standing near the front, "Are you the former general of the Zhechongfu of Lingnan Road?"

The general was about forty years old and taller than the other generals. He stepped forward quickly and knelt on one knee.

"I am General Qiu Sheng, a guerrilla general of the Jiaozhou Governor's Office, and I pay my respects to Your Majesty."

Li Zhi said, "Get up. Since you are from Jiaozhou Military Governor's Office, you should be very familiar with the situation in the south of the Tang Dynasty."

Qiu Sheng said, "I enlisted in Yongzhou in the 14th year of the Zhenguan reign and have been stationed in the south ever since. I have a good understanding of the southern barbarians."

Li Zhi nodded and asked, "In your opinion, is the southern border of the Tang Dynasty still peaceful?"

Qiu Sheng hesitated for a moment, then asked cautiously, "Your Majesty, does the southern border you mentioned include those vassal states in the south?"

Xiao Siye interrupted, "Your Majesty has already issued an edict that all vassal states are no longer distinguished from the main states, so they are naturally included."

Qiu Sheng replied "yes", lowered his head, and showed hesitation.

Xue Rengui, upon seeing this, said to Li Zhi, "Your Majesty, this cannot be blamed on General Qiu. Based on what I have seen and heard on the border, most soldiers and civilians still distinguish between official prefectures and controlled prefectures."

Li Zhi frowned and asked, "What's the reason?"

Xue Rengui said, "The customs of those vassal states are very different from those of our Tang Dynasty's main states. The Tang people on the border still discriminate against people from the vassal states. This situation has been formed over many years and I'm afraid it won't change in a short time."

Li Zhi said: "Is there any other reason?"

Xue Rengui said, "Yes. The vassal states are very chaotic. Although the local governorates have established laws in their respective regions, the people in these vassal states are not used to abiding by the law, and armed conflicts are rampant."

Li Zhi remained silent.

National integration cannot be achieved by one or two government decrees. It requires decades of interaction and the efforts of two or three generations.

All he could do was set the direction, and the rest was up to future generations.

Li Zhi looked at Qiu Sheng and said, "General Qiu, please continue."

Qiu Sheng agreed and said, "Your Majesty, as General Xue said, if those vassal states were not included, the people of the southern counties of the Tang Dynasty would all live and work in peace and contentment."

Li Zhi asked, "In your opinion, if we want to maintain long-term peace and stability in the southern part of the Tang Dynasty, is there anything we should pay attention to?"

Qiu Sheng was slightly startled and subconsciously looked at Xue Rengui, who said, "Your Majesty asks questions, answer as you think."

Qiu Sheng agreed, lowered his head and thought for a moment, then said to Li Zhi, "Your Majesty, I think the southeastern states of Linyi, Funan, and Zhenla are not of much concern, but the southwest state of Liuzhao could be a potential threat."

Xiao Siye said, "The Six Kingdoms have just helped the Tang Dynasty to defeat Tubo, and they have made great contributions. Why do you say this, General Qiu?"

When Qiu Sheng saw Xue Rengui nodded, he was shocked and dared not say anything more.

Li Zhi raised his hand and said, "Qiu Qing has been stationed in Jiaozhou for a long time and knows the situation here best. Let's hear why he says that."

Xiao Siye bowed and said, "Yes."

After hearing what the emperor said, Qiu Sheng finally spoke: "Your Majesty, I think the Six Kingdoms are a hidden danger because they were established too recently."

"Although Funan, Linyi, Zhenla and other countries are small, they have been established for hundreds of years and know the way to survive. They will not rashly invade our Central Plains Dynasty."

"The Six Zhao states are different. They are all Songman tribes that were founded only within the last hundred years. They have been engaged in long-term warfare with each other, making them more powerful than other barbarian states." "These small states have only been established for a short time, are aggressive and aggressive, and have deep barbaric customs that are difficult to understand. They are very likely to overestimate their capabilities and invade our borders."

After listening to him, Li Zhi felt that what he said made sense. Generally speaking, small countries that can survive for a long time know how to respect big countries, so they can survive for a long time.

In the area of ​​the Six Zhao States today, in addition to these six countries, there are dozens of tribes of various sizes, including the Heman, Baiman, and Wuman.

If there was a force that could integrate all these tribes, it would become a threat to the Tang Dynasty, such as the later Nanzhao.

What Li Zhi has to do now is to spread the Central Plains culture and slowly integrate them, while preventing one of the forces from becoming bigger and swallowing up other forces.

It will take several decades before these areas can truly become the new borders of the Central Plains dynasty.

Li Zhi patted Qiu Sheng on the shoulder and said, "Well said." He jumped on his horse and continued to inspect the army.

Seeing the emperor's particular interest in the situation in the south, Xiao Siye felt a surge of inspiration. He rode forward, bowed, and said, "Your Majesty, I have something to report."

Li Zhi tilted his head and asked, "What's the matter?"

Xiao Siye said, "I heard that among the envoys who came to pay homage at the end of last year, two envoys from the Six Zhao Kingdoms are still staying in Chang'an."

Li Zhi asked, "Why are you staying?"

Xiao Siye said, "I heard they are arguing for the position of deputy governor of Jiaozhou. In fact, they want to become the leader of the Six Zhao."

Li Zhi's eyes flashed, and he remembered that there was indeed a memorial from Jiaozhou a while ago, proposing that the King of Nanzhao be appointed as deputy governor, but Li Zhi did not agree.

Apparently, that's why they're arguing so much.

Li Zhi said, "Xiao Qing, how do you think we should deal with this matter?"

Xiao Siye said, "I believe the officials of the Honglu Temple are too mild and unable to mediate the dispute between the two countries. We can select an official from the Ministry of War to mediate with tough measures. He will surely make them return home in peace."

Li Zhi said: "Do you have a candidate in mind?"

Xiao Siye said, "I believe that the Minister of War, Hao Chujun, can take on this important task."

Li Zhi thought for a moment and said, "Alright, then let Hao Chujun mediate."

After receiving the order, Xiao Siye immediately took his leave, rode his horse to the outside of Xuanwu Gate, dismounted, and hurried back to the Ministry of War, where he ordered someone to call Hao Chujun over.

"Your humble servant greets Minister Xiao." Hao Chujun bowed in greeting after entering the room.

Xiao Siye took his hand and came to sit opposite him on the mat. He poured him a cup of tea and said with a smile, "Brother Hao, you are welcome. I asked you to come here because I have something for you to do."

Although Hao Chujun was an adjutant, he was actually a few years older than Xiao Siye.

Xiao Siye usually treated him with respect, but Hao Chujun did not appreciate it and always kept his distance from Xiao Siye.

Originally, the Minister of War was Cui Dunli, and Hao Chujun was also promoted by Cui Dunli. He has always been assisting Cui Dunli in governing the Ministry of War.

Cui Dunli was too old, and the position of another assistant minister in the Ministry of War had been vacant. In fact, the Ministry of War was actually managed by Hao Chujun.

Later, Cui Dunli passed away, and Hao Chujun thought he would smoothly take over as the Minister of War.

Unexpectedly, before his death, Cui Dunli recommended Xiao Siye, which was a great blow to him, and naturally he disliked the other party.

Hao Chujun said calmly, "Minister Xiao, please speak."

Xiao Siye smiled and said, "Brother Hao, have you heard about the recent events at the Honglu Temple?"

Hao Chujun asked, "Is Minister Xiao referring to the Nanzhao and Beizhao envoys?"

"That's right," Xiao Siye said. "If they continue to cause trouble in the Honglu Temple, it won't have a good impact. But after all, they have made contributions in the war against Tubo, so it's not easy to chase them away. So we need to find a way to mediate the conflict between the two families."

Hao Chujun asked, "Minister Xiao, do you want me to go?"

Xiao Siye smiled and said, "Just now, Your Majesty and I were reviewing the Northern Yamen Forbidden Army. I mentioned this matter to Your Majesty and recommended Brother Hao to take charge."

Hao Chujun was slightly stunned.

Xiao Siye sending him to mediate and Xiao Siye recommending him to the emperor to mediate are two different things.

The former was to deliberately cause trouble for him and expel him from the Ministry of War, while the latter was to give him the opportunity to make meritorious service.

Hao Chujun was silent for a long time, thinking about how Xiao Siye had always been polite to him since he was parachuted into the Ministry of War. He was finally convinced by this chief officer and said, "Thank you, Minister Xiao."

Xiao Siye said seriously, "I recommended Brother Hao because I know that he has the ability to handle this matter."

Hao Chujun had been in the officialdom for many years and naturally knew that Xiao Siye had recommended him at this time in order to give him a chance to go on a tour. He said solemnly, "Hao will do his best to live up to the Shangshu's expectations."

Xiao Siye immediately sent someone to contact Dai Zhide to discuss the matter.

Unexpectedly, the person sent brought back a message that the Minister of the Central Secretariat Li Yifu had recommended the Secretary of the Central Secretariat Zhang Jianzhi to be in charge of this matter.

Under normal circumstances, no one would take the initiative to grab it. However, now that the emperor is on tour, everyone wants to show up in front of him.

Hao Chujun sighed, "Prime Minister Li is so quick."

Xiao Siye said, "Brother Hao, don't worry. We have received instructions from the Holy Saint. Although we are a step behind, we may still have a chance. Please wait for my news."

He immediately went to the Honglu Temple and found Dai Zhide, hoping to seize the matter in the name of the emperor's oral order.

However, Dai Zhide was no pushover. If he refused Xiao Siye, he could push it to Li Yifu when the emperor asked about it in the future.

If he agreed to this, he would not be able to blame the emperor when Li Yifu questioned him.

The two talked for more than half an hour. Dai Zhide did not refuse, but just played Tai Chi and asked Xiao Siye to go to Li Yifu to negotiate.

Xiao Siye had no choice but to return to the Ministry of War and tell Hao Chujun about the situation.

Hao Chujun said, "Since it's impossible to accomplish, let it go. I will never forget the Shangshu's kindness."

Xiao Siye said, "I came to tell you, not because I'm giving up, but because I want you to go with me to see Li Yifu."

Hao Chujun frowned and said, "This Li Xiang has always been a man of many tricks. I'm afraid he won't give in."

Xiao Siye said, "I understand that, but we have received instructions from the Holy Saint after all, and it would be difficult for him to refuse. He will probably come with me to see the Holy Saint and ask for instructions from His Majesty."

Hao Chujun immediately understood that if he went with the emperor, there would be a great chance that he would be chosen by the emperor after seeing him.

But Hao Chujun still had a little worry. If he presented this matter to the emperor, and was ultimately outshined by Zhang Jianzhi, he would be greatly embarrassed.

"Zhang Jianzhi was transferred directly to the Secretariat by Your Majesty and is deeply trusted by Your Majesty. I'm afraid it would be useless for me to go there," he whispered.

Xiao Siye smiled and said, "Don't worry. When Zhang Jianzhi first joined the Secretariat, everyone thought he would be the next Di Renjie. But in the end, His Majesty ignored him. I'm afraid he was only transferred to the Secretariat on a whim and has long forgotten about him."

Hao Chujun had the same idea in his mind, and when he heard Xiao Siye say this, he felt relieved.

Furthermore, when it comes to the ups and downs of officialdom, the most important thing is to go with the flow. Now that Xiao Siye is willing to help him, if he does not take advantage of this momentum, he will offend the other party.

So he stopped refusing and went to the Secretariat with Xiao Siye to find Li Yifu.

When Li Yifu learned the purpose of the two men's visit, he put on a kind smile on his face, but did not retreat at all.

After Xiao Siye brought out the emperor's oral instructions, he indeed asked to see the emperor.

(End of this chapter)