The third emperor of the Sui Dynasty

Chapter 707 If you want people to know nothing

In the imperial study room, Li Shimin's departure did not affect Li Yuan's decision. He said, "The rebellion of the Guanlong nobles is within my expectations, but there are also some unexpected things. For example, the Guanlong nobles who participated in the rebellion, Far beyond my imagination." Li Yuan smiled bitterly: "These people are my core strength, but now, everyone has betrayed me, what do you think I should do?"

Seeing Li Yuanji who was next to him hesitate to speak, Li Yuan asked, "Yuanji, what do you want to say?"

Li Yuanji bowed and said: "Most of the nobles in Guanlong are villains who see profit and forget righteousness. They will take refuge in whoever is beneficial to them. It has been like this in the past, it is like this now, and it will be like this in the future. There is no loyalty at all, but their means of making money It is extremely astonishing. After decades and various methods, they have accumulated huge wealth. According to the news that Erchen found in Shu County, they transferred a lot of wealth to Shu before the outbreak of the Guanzhong War. If these wealth If it cannot be used by my Tang Dynasty, it will be taken away by Yang Yu. Instead of helping others, it is better to use it to enrich the treasury. What I mean is to let Wu Chuanwei complete the matter for the father, and I promise that I will not lose a copper coin. "

He was about to go to Shu to rob the wealth of various Guanlong noble families, but he knew that the Guanlong nobles had a lot of wealth in Xiangyang, so he recommended Wu Chuansi to Li Yuan.

However, before Li Yuanji could finish speaking, Chen Shuda coughed. Li Yuan understood what he meant, and asked with a smile: "What's Mr. Chen's opinion, why don't you tell me!"

"It's not a good opinion, but there are some details that are slightly different from His Royal Highness Qi Wang." Chen Shuda cupped his hands.

"which aspect?"

"Your Majesty, the rebellion of the Guanlong nobles is only a large part of it, but clans like Dou, Doulu, and Changsun have always stood by the Holy Majesty. If they are overthrown, it will not only be the injustice of these loyal families. , It will also cause loyal ministers to be disappointed. I feel that we should distinguish clearly, so as not to cause relatives to hurt and enemies to be happy." Chen Shuda said.

Li Yuan nodded, and said to everyone: "The crown prince has raised this issue before, and I think it is good, so let the crown prince talk about it. If there is something wrong with the plan, everyone will add it one by one."

It was only then that everyone knew that Li Jiancheng had already made a plan, and that he had persuaded the emperor, so they all fell silent.

"What I want to talk about is mainly land reform." Li Jiancheng said: "The nobles of Guanlong will retain the land according to their titles, and the rest will be collected by the imperial court, and then distributed equally to the common people to reward meritorious soldiers."

Everyone thought that Li Jiancheng would be gentler, but who would have thought that he would be more ruthless? The [-]% of the land donated by Dou, Doulu, and Changsun could not satisfy his appetite, and he wanted to deprive them of all their land. At this critical moment At that moment, no one dared to object, otherwise he would be classified as Dugu faction. After all, the relationship between the Guanlong nobles was intricate and difficult to distinguish.

Li Yuan said unhurriedly: "I also think that the land issue is a huge cancer in our Tang Dynasty. Due to the large amount of land occupied by the Guanlong nobles, there are hardly many owner farmers in our Tang Dynasty. Without owner farmers, there is no source of taxation. As a result, the court Financial resources have always been tight, and even officials’ salaries cannot be paid. If all the land is state-owned, how can these problems arise?”

"In addition, the reason why Yang Tong made the army and the people return to him and grow stronger step by step; the root cause is that he implemented the land equalization system; I have long wanted to implement the land equalization system, but I suffer from lack of land. If we take all the land of the Guanlong nobles to the imperial court this time , not only increase the number of self-cultivating farmers and ensure the tax revenue of the court, but also have the goals of belonging and protection for the soldiers, which will completely change the low morale and weak combat power of the Tang army."

Li Yuan's words made everyone suddenly realize that it seemed to be the plan proposed by the prince, but in fact it was the emperor's long-planned idea, and he was just letting the prince take the blame.

"Your Majesty, I fully agree with the good policy of His Highness the Crown Prince. In fact, I also have similar ideas." Pei Ji did not wait for everyone to speak, and said first: "My Tang Dynasty is a new dynasty, with the overthrow of the violent Sui Dynasty as the first One of the most important tasks is to break all the outdated old order. Official titles and titles must be conferred by the sage, and the land should also be distributed by the sage. It cannot be said that the rewards given to a certain person by the Sui Dynasty cannot be changed in this dynasty. This is neither reasonable nor ceremonial, so the land reform proposed by the prince is considered reasonable by the ministers. Even if some ministers own land that exceeds the title and position, it is due to the generals of the Tang Dynasty and must be bestowed by the Holy One himself."

Everyone scolded Pei Ji for being shameless, it was like this every time, when something happened, he shrank first, and took the first place.

Everyone is not as unscrupulous as Pei Ji. After a while, Liu Wenjing said: "My lord, I know the soldiers' desire for court rewards, but after the court rewards are distributed step by step, the real rewards for the soldiers are less than one out of ten. , so the soldiers misunderstood that even if they won the battle, it was the general's credit. Over time, they formed a consensus that they would rob if they were meritorious, and flee if they were in danger. How could such an army compare with the Sui army? Soldiers and generals at all levels can't deduct corruption from it, so the soldiers will naturally get a complete reward. I also believe that this system can reverse the situation where our soldiers are passively beaten, and hope that the Holy Majesty will implement it as soon as possible."

Li Yuan was delighted to hear Long Xin, looked at Chen Shuda, and asked, "What can you add, Prime Minister Chen?"

Chen Shuda knew that except for the Beizhen army, all the private troops of the Guanlong nobles belonged to the imperial court. Most of the Guanlong nobles were fish and meat on the case, and they were slaughtered by the court. No one could refute the confiscation of the land, so he said: "I have no objection." However, I suggest that the Holy One talk to the Patriarchs of the Dou, Doulu, and Changsun clans, after all, it involves the interests of loyal ministers and good generals, if the court does not distinguish between the enemy and the enemy, it may affect the stability of the court."

Li Yuan nodded and said: "Except for the land, I will not touch the shops and caravans of these companies. I have discussed this matter with Dou Xiangguo and Doulu Xiangguo before, and they expressed their full support for the reform of the imperial court. Chen Xiangguo need not worry too much. "

Liu Wenjing had been silently watching with cold eyes, and when she heard Li Yuan's high-sounding words, she couldn't help but sneer in her heart.

The Guanlong nobles are already in a state where everyone is screaming for beatings. If the Dou, Doulu, and Changsun clans oppose it, they will die. How dare they not support it?But this kind of support under the knife cannot make them willing after all. The key is that they voluntarily donated all their private troops, [-]% of their land and countless wealth. People are disgusted.If it was really done like this, it would be no wonder that the Dou clan and the others were not disappointed.

"Liu Xiangguo, what do you think?" At this time, Li Yuan asked with a smile.

Liu Wenjing hurriedly bowed and said: "I have no objection, but there are many people and families involved in the rebellion, and the involvement is extensive. I believe that the military, Wu Chuansi and the imperial court will jointly handle the case. Not only is it more comprehensive and progresses faster, but also It can convince the people of the Tang Dynasty and praise the Holy Majesty and the imperial court for their fairness and justice."

Li Yuan, who was at ease in his heart, thought about it for a while: "The military... well, let's forget about the military. The main task of the military is to quell the rebellion of the Beizhen army, withdraw from the Hanshui defense line, and recruit various private troops... It will be up to Wuchuan Sihe Let the imperial court participate. The King of Qi is about to enter Shu, the Wuchuan Division will be represented by Han Zhi with full authority, and Chen Xiangguo will participate in matters such as land inventory and equal distribution of land on behalf of the imperial court."

Liu Wenjing was greatly disappointed. He knew that Li Yuan's most important Wu Chuan Division was indispensable for the liquidation, so he first proposed a joint trial between the military, Wu Chuan Division and the court. The reason why the general was included was that he hoped that the military would suppress Wu Chuan Division. Let the military participate, and only let Wu Chuansi and the imperial court come forward, how can the imperial court suppress Wu Chuansi?It's okay and things will happen.

Chen Shuda, who was also disappointed, said: "The king of Huai'an can represent the military, and it is not necessary for the king of Jin to participate."

Li Yuan said with a smile: "King Qi and King Huai'an went to Yizhou to clean up the power of the Guanlong nobles. After that, King Qi was in charge of Yizhou's military affairs, and Huai'an Lord Yizhou was in charge of government affairs. They made preparations for moving the capital. The imperial court has entered Shu safely, and I really don't have the right manpower."

"So, the King of Huai'an represents the imperial court?" Chen Shuda asked.

"Exactly." Seeing that Liu Wenjing and Chen Shuda were silent, Li Yuan said again: "We don't have much time now, so I plan to divide the army into two groups. King Qi and King Huai'an are in charge of Yizhou, while Chen Xiangguo and Han Zhi Taking charge of Xiangyang will not only save Chen Xiangguo the pain of traveling long distances, but also save a lot of time, and at the same time, he will be able to provide advice for me nearby.

"The ministers follow the arrangement of the Holy One." Chen Shuda felt very bitter in his heart. He knew that after the rebellion of the Guanlong nobles, Li Yuan no longer believed in any courtiers other than the Li family. Because most of the wealth of Guanlong nobles is in Yizhou, Li Yuan wants to firmly control Yizhou's military affairs and wealth through the hands of Li Yuanji and Li Shentong. .

Li Yuan is very satisfied with Chen Shuda's statement, but he also knows that Chen Shuda does not agree with his decision, so he is inevitably apologetic, and said with a smile: "Chen Xiangguo has said many times that the left servant of the East Palace, Li Junxian, is a famous general. Reuse, I have considered it again and again, and decided to follow Chen Xiangguo's advice, promote Li Junxian to the left guard general, and lead [-] new troops to garrison Badong County to ensure the smooth flow of the passage into Shu."

Li Yuan's seemingly compromising attitude towards the prince faction not only did not excite Li Jiancheng, Liu Wenjing, and Chen Shuda, but made the three of them feel very chilling.Because Li Junxian and the [-] New Army were originally the military force of the Eastern Palace, but now they have become the army of the imperial court. It would be fine if they were transferred at ordinary times, but at this critical time of benefit distribution, this is not the trust in Li Junxian , but let him break away from Donggong's command, thus making Li Jiancheng a situation with no soldiers and no generals.That is to say, in terms of the distribution of the benefits of the Guanlong nobles, the prince faction did not get any benefits, but lost their money.

"On behalf of Li Junxian, I would like to thank my father." The father's suspicion of him has always existed, but Li Jiancheng is used to it, and his expression is very indifferent.

"The emperor wants to recommend a lot of talented people from the country to the Great Tang."

Li Yuan nodded, and gave Li Jiancheng a very affirmative look. He didn't say anything, but it was obvious that he intended to win the talents of the East Palace.

"My son understands."

"The emperor is the promoter of the imperial examination, and the imperial examination is related to the foundation and dominance of our Tang Dynasty. This matter must be personally responsible for the emperor." Li Yuan said with a smile on his face.

"Father, don't worry, my son will never make a mistake." Li Jiancheng lowered his head and gave a respectful and deep salute, his eyes full of sorrowful tears.

It is said that a friend in adversity sees the truth, and this is really true.Through this incident, Liu Wenjing and Chen Shuda have seen through Li Yuan's hypocritical and cold nature, as well as his attachment to the imperial power. At the time of the national crisis, Li Yuan even doubted the eldest son who is closest to the throne, and couldn't tolerate it. The next step , I am afraid that he is going to attack Li Xiaogong, the core member of the prince faction?
After this incident, Liu Wenjing and Chen Shuda were extremely disappointed. Seeing that the emperor had no other orders, everyone left one after another.

Liu Wenjing and Chen Shuda stared at Li Jiancheng who was striding away, and found that the strong Crown Prince seemed to have aged ten years, giving off an extremely desolate feeling.

Chen Shuda looked up at the gray sky, sighed for a long time, and said to Liu Wenjing worriedly: "Xiang Liu, I think the Holy Majesty has broken the heart of His Royal Highness, and His Royal Highness is in a very bad condition. Feeling ashamed, if the prince is in a slump and doesn't care about everything, I am very worried that the court will cause chaos. What should I do?"

Liu Wenjing looked at Li Yuanji, who was walking briskly in front of her, and smiled coldly: "In this Great Tang world, as long as there is King Qi, the crown prince and King Jin are not important."

"Emperor Sui gave a few altars of 'Heroes', which are rare wines in the world. Let's get drunk, how about it?"

"Liu loves wine like his life, I'm really not polite."

"Go, go, go. If you don't get drunk, you won't return."

. . . . . . . . .

Compared with the disheartened and ashamed prince faction, Li Yuanji, as the winner of the greatest benefit, was proud of himself and was so excited that he almost wanted to roar. The heavenly father gave him [-] soldiers a few days ago, and he also allowed He went to choose Dou Cong himself, and now his father has given him the power to raid the Guanlong nobles. All of this has far exceeded his expectations.

He knew that all of this today was entirely due to Han Zhi, and it was precisely because Han Zhi persuaded him to be patient and wholeheartedly be the sword in the hands of his father that he was promoted step by step and had great power in his hands.

When Li Yuanji returned to the mansion, he invited Han Zhi to discuss it. Seeing the uncontrollable excitement on Li Yuanji's ugly face, Han Zhi cupped his hands and said with a smile, "It seems that I have to congratulate Your Highness again."

"Haha, sir, please hurry up, sir." Li Yuanji excitedly pulled Han Zhi into the study, poured him a cup of tea himself, and said politely: "Everything is expected, sir, I really can't find it." The best words to express admiration and gratitude."

"Your Highness is an upright man of temperament, not as hypocritical as others." Han Zhi took a sip of tea and said with a smile, "What I drink from a humble job is all from His Highness' deepest intentions."

"Sir, I still know Li Yuanji." Li Yuanji was very happy.

Han Zhi put down the teacup and said with a smile: "What Your Highness has obtained is what I wished for, but I would like to ask Your Highness to explain everything in detail, and I may be able to realize something."

"Even if you don't ask me, I will still say..." Li Yuanji laughed, and then described what happened today in detail, and finally said with a smile: "Let's talk about the military first: on the day I come back, Father promised to give me [-] private troops, but these troops are now in the hands of General Dou, and I have no friendship with Dou, and I am worried that he will not give me an elite army. I wanted to countermeasures with my husband, but Mr. I was extremely busy and didn't even have a chance to meet, so I didn't go to ask for the army for a long time."

"Your Highness, did His Majesty give this army to you on his own initiative, or did His Highness please you?" Han Zhi smiled slightly. He actually avoided Li Yuanji on purpose these days. If he was on call, how would he show his worth?
"I asked for it." Seeing the change in Han Zhi's face, Li Yuanji couldn't help feeling uneasy: "What's wrong?"

"Military power has been the lifeblood of the emperor since ancient times. The more the country is in crisis, the more suspicious the emperor will be about the generals in charge. From the fact that the emperor transferred Li Junxian and [-] soldiers, it can be seen that the emperor will not care about other issues, but In terms of military power, it is absolutely unambiguous, even if it is a son, it will not be given. Your Highness asks for military power from the Holy Majesty, does your Highness know what this means?" Han Zhi looked at Li Yuanji meaningfully.

"What should I do?" Li Yuanji turned pale with shock. After Han Zhi said this, he found that he seemed to have made a fatal mistake.

Han Zhi accepted it as soon as he saw it, and said comfortingly: "Because your highness is not familiar with Dou Cong, you have endured it for a few days. Your highness gave the Holy Majesty the feeling that he didn't take military power seriously. In this way, he won the trust of the Holy Majesty instead. Said It’s just a matter of man’s calculations. Next time, Your Highness must not do this, otherwise, not even one soldier will get it.”

"Thank you for reminding me, sir, I won't have a next time." Li Yuanji let out a long breath, feeling like he was alive after a catastrophe, and asked humbly: "What do you think I should do next? This ten thousand Five thousand soldiers can't be abandoned, right? Do you want to let General Dou give me some old, weak, sick and disabled?"

"The private troops under General Dou are all young and strong, and there is no such thing as old, weak, sick or disabled." Han Zhi pondered for a while, and continued: "Your Highness has a sacred order, and General Dou dare not give it to you, but Your Highness If you want to get an elite army, I'm afraid you have to exchange some benefits with him, as long as his request is met, he will not refuse."

"What do I need to exchange with him?" Li Yuanji asked solemnly.

Han Zhi said: "The Dou family donated [-]% of the land, but the remaining [-]% is an astonishing amount. However, the Holy Majesty decided to collect all the land beyond the title and official position. This is a great loss for the Dou family. If the land reform is carried out After all, Dou’s achievement is not bad if he can keep one out of [-]. But His Highness is the main person in charge of cleaning up the Yizhou manor, so he can take this opportunity to open the door for Dou’s family to change some manors under the name of Dou’s domestic servants. Actually, it belongs to Dou's family. Isn't that the best way to repay it?"

Li Yuanji said happily: "Sir, what you said is very true, then I will first go to Dou Xiangguo tonight, and then I will talk to Dou Lu Xiangguo."

Han Zhi shook his head: "Based on my humble opinion, I can just go to General Dou. Because the Dou family and the Dou Lu family are loyal to the Holy Majesty, if the Highness goes to recruit them, the Holy Majesty will be the first to notice something. It is completely wrong to recruit them. Give a knife to your heart."

Li Yuanji felt his face burning hot. He has always wanted to win over one or two prime ministers for his own use. Now it is a godsend opportunity to use the land to win over Dou Gui and Dou Lukuan. He didn't want to miss it, so he asked quickly: "Why not?" Woolen cloth?"

Han Zhi sighed and said: "The reason why His Highness is reused and trusted by His Majesty is that His Majesty, in His Majesty's eyes, is a person who has no ambition to seize the throne, is loyal to him, has no second thoughts, and is trustworthy. If Dou Xiangguo or Dou Lu Xiangguo informs the Holy Majesty, but with the current suspicion of the Holy Majesty, His Highness will not lose everything, and even his life will be in danger."

Li Yuanji suddenly realized that he stood up, and bowed deeply to Han Zhi, "If it hadn't been for the sir's reminder, I would have almost caused a serious accident. In this way, even Huai'an King Li Shentong can't disturb him?"

"Exactly." Han Zhi nodded and said, "Li Shentong is the most trusted family member of the Holy One, and the relationship with Datang is a relationship of honor and disgrace. It is good for Datang to love him, and he absolutely does not hope that there will be chaos in Datang, so After His Highness enters Sichuan, if he wants to show his incompetence and greedy side in front of him, he will definitely tell the Holy Majesty secretly, and His Highness will gain the Holy Majesty's trust even more. Don't be too impatient, or you will hurt yourself."

"I understand." Li Yuanji nodded solemnly.

"Land reform is the panacea that the Holy Majesty regards as the revitalization of the Tang Dynasty. Anyone who moves in this regard will die, even His Highness. Therefore, except for a small exchange with General Dou, you must not tamper with this aspect When meeting someone like Li Yuanji, Han Zhi felt quite helpless, so he could only teach step by step: "His Royal Highness went to Yizhou to search the properties of the Guanlong nobles this time. His Majesty said in name that enough is enough, but His Majesty's current treatment Looking at the Guanlong nobles' killing intent, this so-called "enough is enough" obviously implies that His Highness is going to be ruthless, and there are local tyrants in Yizhou, His Highness can also take this opportunity to eradicate them, so that they will not become like the Guanlong nobles. Another internal worry. However, everything must be dealt with cleanly, and there must be no rumors that are detrimental to the reputation of the Holy Majesty. This is a great opportunity for His Highness to further gain the favor of the Holy Majesty, and there must be no benevolence of women."

Li Yuanji said viciously: "I will. Don't worry, sir. Is there anything else you want to explain?"

Han Zhi nodded and said: "On the premise of completing the mission of the Holy One, His Highness can take dozens of beauties from various families to enjoy, and privately embezzle some precious jewels. You must not privately serve the army, and you must not hold back a pair of armor."

Li Yuanji smiled and said, "Mister, do you want me to defile myself?"

"That's right." Han Zhi nodded and said, "The Holy Majesty regards Yizhou as his foundation, and he is watching His Highness all the time, so let the Holy Majesty know that His Highness is only interested in beauties and rare treasures, and has nothing to do with military power or imperial power." Ambition, Your Highness must do this."

"I will always follow my husband's orders. By the way, I haven't walked around with my elder brother for a long time. Do you want to go and greet him?" Li Yuanji asked.

Han Zhi was slightly taken aback, and then said meaningfully: "The crown prince can't protect himself, your highness had better stay away from the prince, otherwise you will only dig a deadly trap for your highness."

"Thank you for letting me know, sir. I will stay away from my elder brother so as not to be implicated by him." Li Yuanji smiled knowingly.

"Crack" At this moment, the sound of broken porcelain came from outside.

Li Yuanji and Han Zhi's expressions changed drastically, and they looked at each other subconsciously.

If their plan just now reached Li Yuan's ears, it would be a heinous crime of murder without pardon!
"I'll go and have a look." Li Yuanji said bitterly, rushed to the door, opened the door with one hand, and saw a cup of ginseng soup spilled on the ground in the corridor by the door, and the porcelain cup was broken into pieces.

Li Yuanji went outside the courtyard, grabbed a guard, yelled viciously and asked: "I said that no one is allowed to disturb, who did you let in just now?"

Li Yuanji's ferocious face made the guard go out of his wits, and he stammered: "The princess sent ginseng soup for His Highness..."

"Where are people?" Li Yuanji asked urgently.

"Well, the princess is back." The guard said quickly

This is Han Zhi who has chased here, and asked in a low voice: "Your Highness, who is it?"

With a pale face, Li Yuanji said with a terrifying expression: "It's the princess..."

Han Zhi was taken aback, frowning and thinking about countermeasures: If the matter is exposed, Li Tang is very likely to fall into a father-son fratricidal situation. If Li Yuanji is killed by Li Yuan like this, naturally no one will go to Shu to disturb him. Many old forces gave to the Great Sui Dynasty.

His first thought was to encourage Li Yuanji to kill Princess Qi, but after thinking about it, he gave up this idea.Because Princess Qi is different from other people, she is the granddaughter of Yang Zheng, Cai Wang, the younger brother of Emperor Wen of Sui Dynasty, the daughter of Yang Zhiming, the former Duke of Gaoyang County, and the aunt of Emperor Shengwu, so he dare not do this.

I just don't know if Princess Qi heard the conversation between him and Li Yuanji just now?If so, how much have you heard?
All of a sudden, even the cunning and scheming Han Zhi felt extremely troublesome.

Li Yuanji took a deep breath: "Sir, go back to the study and wait, I'll go see the princess..."

Han Zhi said: "No matter what, Your Highness can't mess up on his own, and he must try to stabilize the princess."

"I understand..." Li Yuanji hurried to the backyard.

"Your Highness." Han Zhige exhorted: "After all, the princess is His Highness's first wife, and the relationship with His Highness is a relationship of both prosperity and loss. It will not benefit her at all if something happens to His Highness."

Hearing this, Li Yuanji paused and ran away in a hurry, but his eyes showed a trace of indescribable complexity.

(End of this chapter)