My father, Li Shimin, please call me Crown Prince

Chapter 96: Prince's Military Academy, Inviting the Tang Dynasty Military God to Join

"The King of Wei has been in high spirits recently. It seems that the entire Chang'an City believes that if the King of Wei takes action, Goryeo will be destroyed."

"Your Majesty only gave him the troops of the five prefectures. If you don't know, you might think you gave the King of Wei an army of 500,000."

"I asked around a bit and found out that the King of Wei is very busy. He is not in the army. I heard that three of the Seven Princes have come to train the army for the King of Wei."

"And the King of Wei himself holds banquets almost every other day, and the cost is shocking."

"The Five Families and Seven Noble Houses have spared no effort to support the King of Wei in his fight against His Highness."

In the East Palace, Du He and the Crown Prince were eating mutton hotpot and talking about the latest news in Chang'an while eating.

The so-called Seven Young Masters are the seven eldest sons of the five surnames and seven families, representatives of the new generation. Although none of them are officials, they have great power and control a large amount of family resources.

Aristocratic families are more than just reputation; if that were the case, they would not be able to truly compete with the imperial court.

The so-called aristocratic families own large tracts of fertile land, privately trained armies, and armaments.

Especially the Five Surnames and Seven Clans, which were almost seven countries within the Tang Dynasty.

When local officials take office in the territories of the Five Surnames and Seven Families, they can only obey their orders. If they are honest and obedient, they will be puppets. If they are not honest, they will be killed at will. The chain of evidence is complete and it will be useless no matter who comes to investigate.

As for the local soldiers, they are members of aristocratic families, so there is naturally no reason for them to obey the orders of the imperial court.

In their view, taxes and the like are almost the same as paying tribute.

Measuring the land and collecting taxes are impossible to accomplish.

Although Li Shimin knew that the power of the aristocratic families was huge, such as the Five Surnames and Seven Families, which had almost become a country within the country, it was not easy to directly send troops to eradicate them.

In name, these noble families did not explicitly rebel. If they rashly sent troops without solid evidence of rebellion, the court would lose the support of the people, and people would think that the emperor killed innocent people indiscriminately, leading to chaos in the country.

The aristocratic families controlled a large amount of resources, including large tracts of fertile land, privately trained armies, and armaments.

Their power in the local area is intertwined, and local officials have even become puppets. Most of the government soldiers are from aristocratic families and do not obey the orders of the court. If the troops are sent out, they may face a difficult war with unpredictable results.

In terms of evidence, although concealing the population is suspicious, it is difficult to come up with conclusive evidence. Sending troops without evidence will not only fail to convince the public, but may also trigger fierce resistance from the aristocratic families, making the situation even more difficult to control.

"The King of Wei likes to make trouble, so let him make trouble."

"The King of Wei is making such a fuss right now. It may seem like he is enjoying great things, but in fact, he is surrounded by dangers."

"Replacing all the palace soldiers with children from aristocratic families, and letting the eldest son of an aristocratic family to train, only the King of Wei can do such a ridiculous thing."

"The noble families are happy, but does this army belong to the King of Wei or the noble families?"

"Now the King of Wei indulges himself in pleasure, reveling every night, and is so happy. I wonder if he can still be so happy on the battlefield."

"Perhaps the King of Wei doesn't care about these things. For him, it's enough that the credit will fall on his head in the end."

Li Chengqian said indifferently, picked up a piece of mutton, dipped it in the sauce and put it into his mouth.

Eating a bite of mutton hotpot in winter will make you feel much more comfortable.

Du He said: "Your Highness, it's time for you to take some action. Although those palace soldiers are useless, you still have to do some face-saving work."

The documents from the Ministry of War had been arriving for several days, but Li Chengqian had no intention of going to receive the troops.

Although with Hou Junji around, military achievements are inevitable, but we still have to pretend to do it.

Li Chengqian said, "It will be soon. I have already sent a visiting card to Li Weigong. We should be able to reach an agreement by dinner tonight."

Du He couldn't help but ask, "Is it the Military Academy that Your Highness mentioned earlier? Your Highness is planning to invite Li Weigong to be the lecturer?"

Li Chengqian said: "Of course, who is more qualified than Li Weigong?"
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Li Jing is the only Tang Dynasty general who can be compared with Li Shimin in terms of military achievements.

Li Shimin was known as the General of Heavenly Strategy, while Li Jing was known as the Military God of the Tang Dynasty.

He pacified Xiao Xian in the south, pacified Lingnan, destroyed Fu Gongju, conquered the Turks, and made a long expedition to Tuyuhun.

If you really want to compare, Li Jing's prestige in the army is actually higher than Li Shimin's.

After all, since the Xuanwu Gate Incident, Li Shimin has never led troops to fight again.

Shengyefang, the inner hall of Li’s mansion.

Li Jing and his second son Li Dejiang sat opposite each other, discussing the upcoming visit of the crown prince.

Li Jing frowned slightly and said, "Master, the Crown Prince's visit this time is of great significance. The situation is delicate now, so we should respond with caution."

Li Jing did not want to get involved in the fight between the Crown Prince and the King of Wei. His reputation in the army was too high. In order to avoid suspicion from His Majesty, he gave up all his military power very early.

But his reputation is here, and once someone thinks that he supports the prince, it is very likely that His Majesty will be wary.

Li Jing knew very well that Your Majesty was planning to use the King of Wei to fight with the Crown Prince. It was precisely because he knew this that he became even more cautious.

Because once Li Jing really supports the prince, it is very likely that His Majesty will be sent to the Daming Palace and become the emperor like Li Yuan.

Li Dejiang is Li Jing's second son.

"Father, my eldest brother is still in Luoyang. The prince must have come to visit you because of the King of Wei's matter."

"The King of Wei is now very famous in Chang'an City. The Crown Prince may want to use your father's reputation to compete with the King of Wei."

Li Jing frowned: "This is what I am most worried about."

Li Dejiang thought for a moment and suggested, "Now that the New Year is coming to an end and my elder brother is about to come back, why don't I write a letter to my elder brother and ask him to return to the capital as soon as possible to report on his work."

"This is better than father personally getting involved. After all, everyone in the court knows about the relationship between my eldest brother and the crown prince."

Li Jing's eldest son, Li Dejian, was a staunch member of the Prince's Party.

Historically, after Li Chengqian's rebellion was leaked, Li Dejian, as his confidant, was implicated.

Taking into account Li Jing's hard work and great contributions, Li Shimin could not bear to kill his eldest son, so he commuted Li Dejian's death sentence and sentenced him to exile in Lingnan.

Later, Li Jing risked his dignity to beg Li Shimin for help, and Li Shimin changed Li Dejian's place of exile to Wujun.

In fact, Li Dejian's involvement was not very deep. After all, in the past one or two years, Li Dejian had been an official in Luoyang. They only exchanged letters, but he could not contribute much to the palace coup.

According to Li Chengqian's arrangement, Li Dejian secretly led his troops back to Chang'an to stabilize the situation during the coup.

Li Dejiang added: "The prince has not yet gone to receive the palace soldiers, or he wants his elder brother to serve as the chief officer after he returns."

Li Jing nodded, agreeing with his second son's idea. As of now, this was roughly the case.

"Ask the palace to prepare well. I heard that the prince likes hot pot lamb in the East Palace recently, so you can arrange it. Roast lamb is also necessary."

"Yes, father."

As dusk was about to fall, the prince's carriage arrived at Shengyefang.

Li Chengqian, surrounded by his attendants, slowly walked into the Li Mansion. Li Jing and Li Dejiang had already been waiting respectfully at the gate.

Li Jing stepped forward, bowed and said, "Your Highness the Crown Prince has come to my humble home. Your Highness, I, Li Jing, am deeply honored."

Li Chengqian stepped forward to support Li Jing and said, "Don't be so polite, Lord Wei. I hope you won't mind my inadvertent visit today." Everyone entered the main hall, and Li Jing invited Li Chengqian to take a seat.

The interior of the hall is different from before. It has been changed to high chairs and high desks in accordance with the current fashion of the royal family.

The servants brought mutton hotpot, roast lamb, Hu cakes and other dishes one by one.

Li Jing said, "Prince, I heard that Your Highness likes hot pot lamb in the East Palace. I have ordered people to prepare the best lamb and roast lamb. I hope Your Highness will be satisfied."

Li Chengqian looked at the clear soup at the bottom of the pot and smiled, "Mr. Wei is thoughtful."

"However, the East Palace has made some new improvements to the soup base, and the condiments used to make it taste even better."

"Today, I would like to ask Lord Wei to try one or two."

After saying this, Li Chengqian ordered his guards to immediately ride back to the East Palace to fetch the broth and sauce.

Li Jing frowned. He didn't know what the prince meant. Was this sentence hinting at something?

In fact, Li Chengqian really had no other ideas.

When it comes to food, as people from later generations, our knowledge is certainly far ahead of our time.

With just a few improvements, the hot pot tastes unique.

Li Jing cupped his hands and said, "Thank you very much, Your Highness."

Afterwards they ate and chatted. The biggest topic in the capital was naturally the King of Wei. Li Chengqian appropriately mentioned that the King of Wei's poems were quite good.

Li Jing said he did not understand poetry and turned to talk about the soldiers in the Prince of Wei's palace.

The implication is to express the concern that King Wei will hand over the palace troops to the aristocratic families.

Li Chengqian smiled and said, "Speaking of the palace soldiers, the palace soldiers under my command are also going to practice."

"Today, Prince Consort Du told me about this in the East Palace. However, I am only a layman in military affairs, so I want to ask Dejian to come back and help me command the army. I wonder what Duke Wei thinks."

Li Jing naturally had no objection to this: "It is a blessing for Dejian to be able to command the troops for the crown prince. I will write a letter today and ask Dejian to return to Chang'an as soon as possible to report on his work, so that he can command the troops for the crown prince as soon as possible."

Li Dejiang also said happily: "If my elder brother gets this news, he will definitely set off immediately to serve His Highness."

Compared to Li Jing's ambivalent attitude, Li Dejiang did not have so many concerns. After all, his elder brother was hanging out with the prince, and he wanted to follow suit, at least to get some official position.

According to the system of primogeniture, Li Jing's title belonged to his eldest brother, so he had to find another way out.

Li Chengqian smiled slightly and raised his glass, but did not respond to Li Dejiang's words.

It would be fine if there is only Li Dejian now, but now Li Jing has to be invited to be a lecturer at the Military Academy. If Li Dejiang is summoned to the East Palace, then Li Jing’s third son Li Jingheng must also be present.

As a result, the entire Li Jing family is following the prince, and Erfeng is doubly wary.

Historically, Li Dejiang was not a bad person. He was promoted to the rank of General of the Right Guard and was famous for his bravery and fighting skills.

It’s just that he lacked participation in major events and did not leave much record in history.

The third son, Li Jingheng, was relatively mediocre, with almost no records about him.

"I heard that Duke Wei is compiling a military book recently?"

After three rounds of drinks, Li Chengqian suddenly brought up this topic.

This is no secret either.

Li Jing nodded and said, "My health has been getting worse in recent years. I am old and have nothing to do all day, so I want to record some of my experiences in the past battles, so that it can provide some convenience for future generations."

The words are very modest. In history, "Li Jing's Art of War" is very famous. During the reign of Emperor Shenzong of Song Dynasty, "Li Weigong's Questions and Answers" was included in the "Seven Military Classics" and is one of the classics of traditional Chinese military studies.

Li Chengqian said: "After your majesty bestowed the troops of the five prefectures, I have been studying military books these days and have some ideas."

This was a professional topic, and Li Jing was very interested and said, "Please tell me, Prince."

Li Chengqian said: "In training an army, the most important thing is discipline. An army without strict discipline is like a pile of loose sand and cannot be used for any major purpose. Soldiers should be strictly restrained by military law and their orders should be followed, so that they can be used as if they were an arm."

"The next thing is morale. An army with high morale can exert several times the combat power. We need to use both kindness and severity to motivate the soldiers. We need to clearly distinguish between rewards and punishments, so that the soldiers know that they will be rewarded for meritorious service and punished for violations of discipline."

"Then there is the control of the army as the commander-in-chief."

"If you want to fully control the army and make it as easy as using one's own arm, the key lies not in the soldiers, but in the officers, such as the captain, the captain, and even the fire chief."

"They are like the bones and blood vessels of a person. In the army, these grassroots officers are the key link between the commander and the soldiers."

"They must not only set an example and strictly abide by military law, but also be considerate of the soldiers and rally their hearts. Only when they have enough influence on the soldiers will the soldiers truly obey the commander's command."

"The selection of officers must be strictly reviewed."

"We should choose someone who is brave, resourceful, loyal and reliable. He must have outstanding leadership and combat qualities, be able to make quick decisions on the battlefield, and lead his troops into battle."

"At the same time, we should also attach importance to their training and development, and strive to carry out military theory and practical training so that they can continue to improve and respond to different combat situations."

The impact from later military thoughts surprised Li Jing, who had been studying military theory in recent days.

I originally thought that the prince had only read military books for a few days and could not make any sense, but his remarks were by no means simple.

He carefully pondered what the prince had just said and found that in many places it coincided with his own thoughts, and even went a little beyond them and had more profound meaning.

Li Jing stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before he slowly said, "Your Highness, what you said is indeed a profound theory."

"I have fought in the battlefields for many years and have gained a lot of experience, but your highness's views on the military have given me a sense of enlightenment."

"Your Highness's words about the importance of military officers being like the bones and blood vessels of a person are indeed a brilliant metaphor."

"I am also well aware that officers are the key to connecting the commander and the soldiers. However, Your Highness has a profound insight into the selection, training, and promotion of officers, which is beyond the reach of ordinary people."

Li Jing's address changed from old man to old minister, and from crown prince to Your Highness.

It can be seen that he really takes these remarks very seriously.

Li Chengqian said modestly: "Mr. Wei, you are too kind. I am just talking about military strategy on paper."

"But it is also because of this idea that I plan to establish a military academy. The so-called military academy, as the name suggests, is like the Hongwen Academy, which is used to train military officers."

"If this can be accomplished, then the Tang Dynasty will have no worries about the lack of military forces."

"But I feel that I am not very talented and have no experience in leading troops in battle. If I teach them some wrong ideas, it will only hurt others and myself."

"Therefore, the lecturer of the Military Academy is particularly important. He must be someone who is proficient in both civil and military skills, and has rich knowledge and experience."

"Most military commanders have more courage than strategy, and those who have enough strategy lack experience. Those who are qualified hold important positions in the army and have no time to spare."

"After thinking about it, who in this court and in the country can be more knowledgeable and strategic than Duke Wei?"

"To be honest with you, Lord Wei, I came here so suddenly because I want to invite you to be the first lecturer of my military academy."

"I wonder if Duke Wei is willing to go."

(End of this chapter)