People in the early Tang Dynasty: I compete with Wu Zhao for the throne

Chapter 1747 No one in the world will oppose Li Xuan anymore
In the early morning, a thin mist covered the entire Taiji Palace.

Lizheng Hall, the Queen's bedroom.

Li Xuan, wearing a black robe with a gold-threaded dragon pattern, stretched lazily and then walked out of the Lizheng Hall.

Xu Lu personally held the lantern in the front, Du Liu and Cheng Yan followed behind Li Xuan, and behind them were six eunuchs from the Internal Servant Bureau.

The two people following Li Xuan were carrying knives.

As soon as he came out of the Lizheng Gate, a team of guards followed him. Li Zhu's figure appeared in front of the Xianchun Gate in front.

Sitting in the Liangyi Gate, every night, urgent secret reports from all over Chang'an City, and even the entire Yongzhou, would be delivered to Li Zhu.

Generally, Li Xuan doesn't need to solve the problem, but if there is a problem that needs Li Xuan's solution, no matter where he is, Li Zhu will deliver the news to Li Xuan as soon as possible.

Li Xuan walked out of Xianchun Gate and headed towards Liangyi Hall. Li Zhu was reporting various matters in a low voice behind him.

When I arrived at the door of Liangyi Hall, a night later, there was a thick stack of congratulatory seals in the wooden box.

Up to now, more than 210 governors of the 300 states and counties in the country have sent their congratulatory messages.

Now, except for a few extremely remote places, by the end of the month, Li Xuan will receive memorials from all the provincial governors in the world.

The emperor is the master of the world, and this is not empty talk.

……

A huge map of the Tang Dynasty's territory was hung on the wall, and Li Xuan's eyes fell on Andong and Silla's location.

From Chang'an to Luoyang, from Luoyang to Youzhou, and from Youzhou to Andong.

There are also Dengzhou and Yangzhou.

A light sound of footsteps was heard behind them, and Shangguan Wan'er stepped forward and whispered, "Your Majesty, all the officials have arrived at Taiji Gate."

"Pass it on!" Li Xuan said, and then walked towards the imperial couch.

Shangguan Wan'er obediently walked to Li Xuan's right side.

A moment later, under the leadership of Xu Lu, prime ministers Lu Yuanfang, Wang Dezhen, Li Yiyan, Ouyang Tong, six ministers including Yun Hongyin, Pei Judao, nine temple ministers, generals including Li Duozuo, Qu Chongyu, Quan Shancai, etc. all entered the hall.

"Your Majesty, we are here to pay our respects. May your Majesty live a long life." All the ministers bowed their hands and saluted solemnly.

"Stand up." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly.

"Thank you, Your Majesty." The ministers then stood up.

Li Xuan looked at the ministers calmly and said, "The first thing to be discussed in today's regular court is the affairs of Silla."

Within half a month, Silla sent someone from Andong to deliver a memorial, saying that Emperor Sukjong was in Silla, and then said that it would send troops to help Emperor Sukjong return to the court.

"If Emperor Sukjong is in Silla, then everything will be fine. But the handwritten letter from Emperor Sukjong that they sent was just a forgery by Taiping. So the so-called borrowing of the road must have other intentions." Li Xuan looked up at Li Yiyan and asked, "Li Xiang, you are the Minister of the Central Secretariat. You were also there during the war between the imperial court and Silla during the Shangyuan period. Tell me, what is the real intention of the Silla people?"

During the Shangyuan period, Li Yiyan was already the Imperial Secretary, a third-rank official in the Secretariat, and he witnessed many things.

Facing Li Xuan, Li Yiyan bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, in a war during the Shangyuan period, the Silla people suffered heavy losses. In addition, our Tang Dynasty took the initiative to retreat from a large number of places that could not be defended and moved the original people away. Although Silla occupied these places, it did not have enough manpower to develop them. In the past ten years, it has only been able to catch its breath."

Li Xuan nodded slightly and raised her hand, motioning Li Yiyan to continue.

Li Yiyan cupped his hands and said cautiously: "In my opinion, the Silla people are just testing us now. If our Tang Dynasty hesitates, they will definitely cause friction on the border again and then try to invade our Tang Dynasty territory."

"The people of Silla have always been afraid of power but not virtue." Xiao Siye stood up and bowed slightly.

"Then how should our country respond?" Li Xuan looked up at Lu Yuanfang.

Lu Yuanfang stood up with his hands clasped, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, in the past year or two, the court has suffered a lot of losses in food, fodder and soldiers, and the replacement is not enough..."

"I have no plans to start a war immediately." Li Xuan waved his hand slightly, dispelling Lu Yuanfang's speculation, but at the same time set some restrictions.

I don't fight now, but I may not do so in the future.

"In that case, just give him a small lesson. Hit him harder and more decisively." Lu Yuanfang's eyes became fierce.

Li Xuan turned around and looked at Li Duozuo: "Duke You, you heard it."

"Yes!" Li Duozuo cupped his hands, took out a memorial from his sleeve, handed it over respectfully, and said, "This is the strategy for advancing into Andong that I wrote. Your Majesty, please review it."

Li Xuan raised his hand, Xu Lu quickly took it, and placed it on the table in front of Li Xuan.

Li Xuan opened it casually and read it carefully.

……

Li Xuan raised his hand and handed the memorial to Xu Lu, who quickly took it and turned around to hand it to the ministers.

"Duke You's tactics are to attack the capital of Silla, destroy the internal and external traffic of one or two cities, and then start from the east and west to occupy two border cities, and plunder all the people, food, and money in the city." Li Xuan looked at Li Duozuo and said, "Don't fight too hard, but knock out the two front teeth of the Silla people so that they dare not act recklessly."

"Yes!" Li Duozuo bowed solemnly.

Li Xuan nodded, and continued to look at the ministers and asked, "How is it?"

"Yes!" All the ministers immediately bowed.

Li Xuan nodded and said, "That's it, Gao Qing."

Gao Chongli stood up and said, "Your Majesty!"

"When Duke You goes to Andong, he should go see your father first. I think Duke Pingyuan has a lot to say." Li Xuan said sarcastically.

"Yes!" Gao Chongli bowed solemnly. He knew in his heart that Li Xuan transferred him to Andong this time in order to borrow the power of Bohai Gao family.

"Duke You, when you leave Chang'an, go to Zhaoling first and meet Duke Yan." After a brief pause, Li Xuan said, "If you can pacify Silla in your lifetime, I will grant you the title of Duke Yan."

"Thank you, Your Majesty." Li Duozuo raised his head in surprise and said, "I will do my best to expand the territory for Your Majesty."

"I am still young, there is no rush." ​​Li Xuan waved his hand, turned to look at Lu Yuanfang and others, and said: "And I am very clear-headed. If I want to solve the problem of Silla, I must solve all the problems in Hebei."

"Your Majesty is wise." The ministers couldn't help but breathe a sigh of relief.

In today's Tang Dynasty, the problem of Hebei has been put on the table.

"My idea." Li Xuan looked at the ministers and said, "Hebei's taxes have always been very heavy. When I first ascended the throne, I had no plans to make major changes to the taxes. In the name of celebrating my ascension, I will first exempt one or two taxes that have no benefits but are very annoying, so that the people can first feel my sincerity. In this way, Hebei's support for Andong in the past few years will not be too resistant."

Hebei has never been favored by the rulers of the Tang Dynasty. From Dou Jiande in the early years to Li Jiancheng, Li Chengqian, and Li Hong later, every time the people of Hebei invested in the world, they lost miserably.

It was also because of this that after the victor came to power, he levied extremely heavy taxes on Hebei. Coupled with the military operations against Goguryeo and Silla, the burden on the people of Hebei became even heavier.

Therefore, whether it was Empress Wu or Li Xuan who ascended the throne, the people of Hebei were rather indifferent to these events.

"At the same time, we will mobilize a large amount of grain from Jiangnan to the north. Whether it is for preparing military rations or selling them to the people, lowering grain prices will benefit Hebei." Li Xuan smiled and said, "There is also the issue of shipbuilding. I will destroy Silla sooner or later. Whether it takes ten or twenty years, the sooner the ships are built, the better."

When the ministers heard that Li Xuan had started to make moves in Hebei, they couldn't help but feel worried. However, when Li Xuan mentioned ten or twenty years, the ministers finally felt relieved.

Looking at the faces of the ministers, Li Xuan waved his hand and said, "I am also a veteran on the battlefield. To conquer a country, in addition to the right time and place, a lot of preparation is needed. I know what I am doing and will not act recklessly."

"Your Majesty is wise." All the ministers bowed in unison.

"Food and grass." Li Xuan sighed and looked at Huang Rensu and said, "The Ministry of Works and the General Administration of Works should find a way to improve the speed of some ships. There may be a shortage of food and grass in Chang'an and Luoyang next year. Find a way to mobilize a batch in advance and transfer it quickly."

"Yes!" Huang Rensu immediately stood up and bowed.

"Imperial Examination!" Li Xuan turned to look at Lu Yuanfang and said, "Next year will be the first imperial examination since I ascended the throne. I will be generous in selecting candidates. I will give 49 places to the candidates and tell the candidates in Jiangnan and Hebei to take the exam if they are capable. Now there are a large number of official vacancies in Dianzhou, Jiannan, Changzhou, and Fanzhou. I have plenty of positions for them, but I am afraid they are not capable enough."

"If you don't have the ability, there is no need for you to be an official of the Tang Dynasty." Lu Yuanfang bowed solemnly.

He knew that Li Xuan offered such an official position in order to win over the hearts, food, and manpower of the people in Hebei and Jiangnan.

Li Xuan only mentioned the word "imperial examination", and there was no telling how many people from the aristocratic families in Hebei and Jiangnan would fight for it.

Li Xuan smiled, then looked at Pei Judao and said, "Next year, the Ministry of Revenue will send people to the local areas to investigate the yellow and white books of each state, and make preparations in advance."

"I obey your order." Pei Judao immediately stood up and bowed.

"Ministry of Justice." Li Xuan looked at Xiao Siye and He Yiqiu and said, "For criminal cases, the Ministry of Justice and the Dali Temple will jointly investigate the whole country."

"I obey your order." Xiao Siye and He Yiqiu stood up and bowed.

"Ministry of Personnel." Li Xuan raised his eyes and looked at Yun Hongyin.

Yun Hongyin immediately stood up and bowed, saying, "Your Majesty."

"The Ministry of Personnel's Qingli Division should be properly mobilized. Don't let me replace them all." Li Xuan's words were so cold that Yun Hongyin was startled.

"I will obey your majesty's order and live up to your majesty's expectations." Yun Hongyin bowed and returned to the train.

Li Xuan nodded slightly, and then said: "Do you have anything else to say?"

"Your Majesty, who will be the chief examiner for next year's imperial examination?" Lu Yuanfang couldn't help but stand up.

"Isn't it too early to talk now?" Li Xuan looked at Lu Yuanfang with some confusion.

Lu Yuanfang clasped his hands and said, "Your Majesty, the chief examiner of the imperial examination has not been decided, but the chief academician of the Imperial College needs to be decided."

"The position of Imperial College Chief Academician is still vacant." Li Xuan immediately realized that Lu Yuanfang was waiting here.

Li Xuan pondered for a moment, looked at Wei Xuantong and said, "Wei Qing is not very busy now, right? You should take care of the Imperial College first. The Secretariat and the Ministry of Personnel should nominate a list. I want a great scholar to be my Imperial College Priest. This cannot be done casually...especially since I want him to be the prince's teacher."

Prince's Young Master?

Wei Xuantong and the other ministers' eyes lit up, and they all bowed and said, "We accept your order."

"Dismiss the court." Li Xuan waved his hand, stood up, and walked towards Ganlu Palace.

The ministers bowed again and said, "Farewell, Your Majesty."

……

A wooden box half the height of a person was placed at the entrance of the Taiji Hall. A eunuch put a memorial into the box, then turned around and left quickly.

Yao Lingzhang glanced at the cover of the memorial and immediately understood that it was a congratulatory letter from the provincial governors of the country.

A trace of solemnity suddenly flashed across Yao Lingzhang's eyes.

Judging from the appearance, there are at least two hundred congratulatory letters in the entire wooden box.

This also means that any local governor who received an official document from the imperial court would send a congratulatory message to Chang'an as soon as possible.

As time goes by, more and more congratulatory messages will be sent to Chang'an.

In the end, all the three hundred states and three hundred governors in the world will prostrate themselves at Li Xuan's feet.

The world will be safely in his hands.

Yao Lingzhang walked towards Menxia Province step by step, but he couldn't help but sigh in his mind.

No one in the world will stand up against Li Xuan anymore.

The real tough ones were completely broken during the Wu Zetian period, and the rest won't have the courage to do so.

The wealthy families in Guanzhong include Wei, Pei, Xue, Liu, Yang and Du. Among them, the Wei family and the Xue family have been suppressed by him. The Xue family and the Liu family will try their best to cling to him for development, but the Du family will not rely on him.

Only the Yang family still retains some of its strength.

Only three points.

The three families of Cui, Lu and Zheng have been subdued by various means. The Wang family of Taiyuan and the Li family of Zhaojun were originally his thugs.

No one in the world will be his opponent.

As for Silla.

Yao Lingzhang smiled bitterly in his heart. Based on his understanding of Li Xuan, Li Xuan would not attack Silla easily. Instead, he would probably use the attack on Silla as an excuse to cleanse the atmosphere in the entire Hebei province and make it completely brand new.

Taxes, food, labor, and imperial examinations, Li Xuan's various methods were all aimed at winning over the hearts of the people in Hebei.

Especially since he was not of the lineage of Emperor Taizong or Emperor Gaozong, he was not that hostile towards the people of Hebei, and the people of Hebei were not that hostile towards him either.

Once the two sides make peace, no one in the world will be his opponent.

Yao Lingzhang sighed softly, thinking that perhaps one day in the future he would really be able to repeat the scene of Emperor Gaozong offering sacrifices to Mount Tai.

But he, Yao Lingzhang, will no longer be with Li Xuan.

(End of this chapter)