The Emperor ordered Zhao Tang

Chapter 98: Internal and External Matters
"The current situation is that Gao Huan forced Xiaowu and Zhu Ci to usurp the throne, which is even more dangerous. Since Quanzhong is powerful, it is not appropriate to make enemies with him. The decree of dethronement has been issued, and it is difficult to reverse the situation. If the people of Bian march straight in, the cities and villages will be crushed to ashes. How can we refuse? Even if the imperial carriage is captured and taken to Luoyang, it will be too late to regret it."

Zhao Chong, the Minister of the Left, left his seat and bowed to the sage: "However, the times are not right and the situation is not right. Once the imperial edict is handed over, it is unknown whether it will bring good or bad luck. I am afraid that one day we will be traitors who destroy the country and be cursed for eternity, and it will be difficult to apologize for the crime of subversion!"

It is right to strip Quanzhong of his post and label him a traitor to the country, but the lesson of Hedong two years ago must be learned. After the defeat, Li Keyong threatened to enter Chang'an. The court dismissed Zhang Jun and Kong Wei to apologize. Li Keyong is a man of integrity and does not want to go too far, so he stopped, but you can't expect Zhu Quanzhong to be so merciful. If he were to invade Guanzhong, which prime minister would be demoted and which ministers would be killed to beg for mercy? The court is weak, and Quanzhong has been pissed off by you, so you just accept it. Do you still want revenge?
The saint was in a trance, as if in a state of meditation. After more than a year of hard work, the army seemed to be powerful and had achieved remarkable results. But as soon as the powerful vassal showed his fangs, his true colors were exposed in an instant. Suddenly, he felt like a kid playing house.

"Why doesn't Your Majesty speak? I am willing to sacrifice my head for this matter and will never agree with Your Majesty's plan!" Seeing the saint silent, Zhao Chong asked directly.

Liu Chongwang waved his sleeves and said, "Everyone in Yanying Hall is free to speak, and the etiquette is simple, but this is not a place to force the emperor to speak."

Zhao Chong hit back bluntly: "How to get along with powerful vassals is related to the survival of the country. I have spoken frankly and urged Your Majesty to do so. I really don't want Your Majesty to go astray. How can you call it forcing?"

"Is Zhao Zuocheng the only one who can write the words 'speak frankly and give extreme advice'?" The Privy Councilor Zhao said angrily.

Zhao Chong became even more angry: "Nowadays, the more you do, the more mistakes you make. If you do nothing, you will not make any mistakes. If Zhang Jun and Kong Wei were reckless and radical, and caused the rebellious army to enter Chang'an, that would be a disaster for the emperor! I would rather be rebellious and be punished than be a servile villain who is promoted to a higher position and flatter the emperor blindly."

"Who did Zhao Zuocheng say was the lucky one?" The Privy Councilor's face turned pale and blue, his chest rose and fell violently, and he suppressed his anger. She was flattering her superiors... How could she sell her body to someone in a higher position!
"No matter who it is, as long as they sit back and watch the saint issue an edict to punish Bian, they are a lucky traitor."

"You! Did you accept benefits from Quanzhong?"

"Enough!" Imperial Censor Xu Yanruo slammed his hands on the table and scolded, "Let's put aside our political differences. But attacking each other in Yanying Palace, do you think this is a street scene?"

"This edict cannot be issued for the time being." The general stated.

The other three prime ministers did not speak, and it seemed that they were in agreement.

In silence, the left imperial attendant Li Dao tentatively said, "The virtuous concubine is pregnant. If the people of Bian invade the palace, you can summon Li Situ to defend the king and drive Pu, Shan, and Jin to fight against the people of Bian. I think Zhu Quanzhong will not be able to swallow up the princes."

"The views of corrupt scholars." Li Xi glanced at Li Dao and said, "Bian and Jin are like two wolves, and the imperial court is the sheep."

The prerequisite for driving a wolf to devour a tiger is to have the ability to control the wolf.

Does the imperial court have it?

No.

Then it would be impossible to predict what would happen if people like Li Keyong were invited.

Nowadays, people are in chaos and most of the princes with a little power have evil thoughts, let alone him.

As soon as the words fell, the hall fell into a dead silence. More than 30 ministers sat in their seats in silence, the atmosphere was depressing and negative, just like the dying country.

"His Majesty……"

Everyone saw the saint stand up.

"I'll think about this again." The saint pursed his dry lips and said.

If he had never led troops in battle himself, relying on the 50,000 soldiers under his command and being fearless like a newborn calf, it would have been easy for him to fall out with Quanzhong. However, after several battles, he knew the strength of the imperial court better than anyone else.

A battle involving hundreds of thousands of troops is full of uncertainties.

He did not have full control over the two divisions' armies.

The image of the warriors making a fuss against the wind was deeply imprinted in his mind.

Under his influence, the course of events has gradually deviated from history, and his golden finger is quickly becoming ineffective. In addition, with little capital, he has to think over every move carefully and cautiously.

Zhu and Li can fail countless times, but he cannot fail even once.

However, the imperial edict to punish Quanzhong could be postponed temporarily, but the title of General of the Cavalry for Li Keyong could be granted. Quanzhong was angry that he had married a Shatuo woman and threatened him to break off his friendship with Li Keyong. At this moment, his father-in-law should also have some doubts. Conferring him the title of General would put his mind at ease.

The court session was paused for a while and the palace servants added more tea.

After the king and his ministers rested for a while, they skipped the heavy topic of Quanzhong and talked about other things.

"After Sun Ru died, Xingmi collected 5,000 brave men from his tribe, gave them generous gifts, and clothed them in black clothes and armor, and called them Black Clouds. They fought bravely in every battle, and the neighbors were afraid of them. Xingmi asked for the post of Jiedushi, and recommended Tian Yu as the governor of Xuanshe, Anrenyi and Runzhou." Li Xi mentioned the recent personnel affairs in Jiangnan, frowned and said, "It's like an ant biting an elephant. Xingmi is a minister without a minister. If Huainan is handed over to him, I'm afraid another Zhu Wen will grow up?"

"Yang Xingmi doesn't look like a good subject, which is a good thing." The Imperial Censor Wu Gongdu took over the conversation and said, "Quanzhong is even more greedy than Cao Cao. After pacifying Yan, Yun, and Xu, he will definitely lead his troops to invade Wuyue in the south and Hebei in the north. Only if Yang Xingmi is a thief can he stop Quanzhong. If he is a good-for-nothing, the post of Huainan Jiedushi cannot be given to him."

The fight between two thieves could not affect the imperial court far away in Guanzhong, but a giant thief would bring about a disaster that would change the destiny of the country.

Supporting Yang Xingmi would also allow this guy to cause trouble for Zhu Quanzhong.

"Okay." All the ministers had no objection.

The sage nodded and ordered the Privy Councilor to write it down and then forward it to the Hanlin Academy for decree.

Seeing that his suggestion was accepted by the sage and his colleagues, Wu Gongdu was in a good mood, so he continued to talk about another matter: "Your Majesty ordered the officials to send envoys to Fengzhou to comfort the emperor. I appointed the imperial censor to visit and have received a report."

The saint had given instructions on this matter a long time ago, and finally received a response.

"The envoy praised the honesty of the soldiers. Although Fengzhou was poor and hardy, the soldiers never made a fuss and asked for rewards. They were well-trained, brave and good at fighting. They were effective in guarding the border. The Tanguts, Turks, and Uighurs all feared them."

"Not bad." The saint praised.

He had consulted the officials about the Tiande Army in detail.

Good habits indeed.

Since the founding of the city, there have been only two mutinies. One was in the ninth year of Tianbao, when the then Jiedushi Zhang Qiqiu often failed to transport materials in time, and the army was angry, so they surrounded him and beat the judge, wanting to kill Zhang Qiqiu. Guo Ziyi, who was still a soldier in the Tiande Army at that time, heard the news and quelled the rebellion alone, saving the life of the Jiedushi. The other was in the tenth year of Yuanhe. Xishoujiang City was destroyed by floods, and the soldiers asked the defense envoy to submit a petition for money to rebuild it. Xianzong was anxious to gather treasures to deal with Huaixi, so he didn't give it, and asked everyone to move to another place with their wives and children. So the people were furious and killed the defense envoy's family to vent their anger.

Apart from that, there was no more trouble, and it was one of the most stable and harmonious vassal states in the Tang Dynasty.

By this time, the Tiande Army had more than 2,000 Han and non-Han soldiers - mainly because they had lost the court's logistical supply after the Chao Rebellion, and could not support too many soldiers relying solely on the small Fengzhou.

"Since they are available, we can call the Tiande Army to the court to strengthen the imperial army." Liu Chongwang suggested: "Absorbing elite soldiers from the vassal states is also a well-established practice. Besides, the Tiande Army has only more than 2,000 people. If we disperse them and distribute them to the cavalry and infantry divisions, there will be no risk of unrest as long as we don't treat them harshly."

Disrupting the small groups in the army and diluting the composition of the army has been a policy that Sukjong has kept unspoken since his death. It is of great significance to minimize internal rebellion, ensure that the central government has a strong army that can suppress all directions, and weaken local power.

In the first year of Guangde, Daizong took over the Shen Ce Army. In the same year, he summoned Guo Yingyi, the governor of Shanzhou, to the court and annexed the Shanzhou troops. Later, he forcibly annexed more than 10,000 Zibo and Qingbo troops from Xing Junya and Yang Huiyuan.

Soon after, the daring Daizong incorporated thousands of pseudo-Yanhulang troops under Shang Kegu, a general under Shi Siming. He also removed Li Guangbi's military power, disbanded the Shuofang Army, and incorporated more than 10,000 troops from the Yamen of Hao Tingyu, Hou Zhongzhuang and others.

During the reign of Emperor Dezong, the army gradually absorbed the arrogant soldiers of Jin, Yan, Ling, Tong, Qi, and Xiasui. During the reign of Emperor Xianzong, many Turks, Tuyuhun, Uighurs, Shatuo, Khitan, and Dangxiang tribes were also added. Many brave captives captured from the vassal states and surrendered soldiers were also selected and included.

The later saints became toys of the eunuchs and could not get involved in military power. The eunuchs were not very concerned about absorbing the elite troops of the vassal states. In their opinion, it was enough to control the emperor by living off the old capital. The only three who did this were Tian Lingzi, Yang Fuguang and Yang Fugong.

"Call the Tiande Army to the court, quickly." After assessing the situation of his troops, the sage said, "In addition, I want to draw some more troops from the seven towns of Xiasui, Jingyuan, Jinshang, Fufang, Hezhong, Shuofang, and Xiangyang."

Feng Xingxi of the Jin merchant came to Chang'an to express his loyalty. The Ministry of Personnel was gradually sending personnel to replace officials under his jurisdiction, so he did not dare to make a noise.

Hezhong needs to say more? Chen Chen's father and brothers didn't need Wang Chongying's sick ghost to nod his head. With one letter, it was a safe thing to lead troops into the court. The saint found out that the father-in-law and three brothers-in-law, whom he had never met, led more than 3300 soldiers. Well, they were all veterans from Wang Chongrong's era. He didn't expect Chen's father and son to take all of them away, so one or two thousand people would be fine.

This is one layer.

In addition, Hezhong has established an alliance with the court. The Jinzouyuan presented a memorial stating that during the winter solstice, Wang Ke, the son of the former commander Wang Chongrong, would come to the court to meet the emperor. With the strong promotion of Hedong Jinzou official Guo Chongtao and others, Wang Ke would marry the saint's sister, Princess Guangde. Well, in later generations, Wang Ke married Li Keyong's second daughter. Now that the strategic situation has changed, in order to consolidate the alliance between Qin, Pu, and Jin, Wang Ke's wife has been changed.

Based on this perspective, Chen and his son should have a smooth journey into the court.

"Needless to say, Jinshang and Hezhong." The general and the saint had the same idea and added, "Xia and Fu were shocked by the might of the army and have sent envoys to pay tribute to show their loyalty. It is not difficult to draw some Han and foreign soldiers from each. But it should not be too many. First, too many will be difficult to control, and second, it will make the Tuoba clan uneasy. One to two thousand is enough."

"Of course," the saint nodded. He didn't dare to ask for more.

When the topic came to this point, the ministers who had been depressed because of Zhu Quanzhong became lively again.

"Zhao Kuangning of Xiangyang is extremely respectful to the court and should not refuse the imperial edict. However, the Cai soldiers under his command are vicious and cruel. The imperial edict requires the selection of a thousand honest and simple men."

"Han Zun of Lingzhou has no great ambitions and has not acted in a rebellious manner. It will not be difficult to send an envoy with money and goods to announce the decree and recruit one or two thousand soldiers..."

"Remember this," the sage instructed Zhao.

Zhao finished it in one stroke.

Record: The emperor ordered Tuoba Sigong, the governor of Dingnan Army, to recruit 2000 Han soldiers.

Tuoba Sixiao, the governor of Fufang, Danyan and other states, brought 2000 people.

Zhao Kuangning, the governor of the Loyal Army, led 1000 men.

Han Zun, the governor of Shuofang, brought in 1500 people.

Jin Shang Zhaoxin Defense Envoy Feng Xing attacked 2000.

Zhang Jun, the governor of Jingyuan, led 2000 men.

Imperial decree: Chen Xiong and his son, generals of the two salt pond towns in Jieyi, Hezhong, led their troops to the court.

All told, including the Tiande Army, there are probably about 140,000 to 150,000 in total. This is the benefit of the restoration of the court's prestige. The lessons of the five towns of Qi, Bin, Tong, Hua, and Feng are enough for them to digest for a while. As long as they don't suffer a major defeat, these killers will have to put away their dirty thoughts and behave themselves. If you want to rebel, first look at the piles of corpses in Meibize, Changchun Palace, and Chongyang Valley, and look at the evil army doing hard labor in the suburbs.

"Also, I plan to set up another Tiance Army to manage the absorbed vassal troops." The saint said again.

He believed that the reason why eunuchs held the emperor hostage in the middle and late Tang Dynasty was that the court had only one military organization, the Shen Ce Army, and this only central armed force was controlled by eunuchs at all levels.

Any power machine will go crazy if it loses restraint, and the core of governance lies in macro-balance and subtle supervision. The Imperial Guard Division is the only one in power, gradually becoming an alternative Shen Ce Army, which is not what the saint wants to see. And he will not give any warrior to be the commander of these more than 10,000 vassal soldiers.

Although the Cavalry and Infantry Training Department, the Du Yu Hou Department, the General Department, and the Arsenal Department have now achieved the separation of the power to train troops, the power to supervise troops, the power to command troops in daily life, and the power to command troops in wartime, as well as the separation of soldiers and armor, knights and horses, and generals and soldiers, but this is far from enough.

"Tian Ce Army?" Niu Hui, the Imperial Censor, saw through the Saint's thoughts and said, "If this department is set up to command the vassal army, the emperor can serve as the commander-in-chief himself. The Tian Ce general used by Emperor Taizong is a ready-made one. At that time, the emperor will be in charge of the Chinese and foreign armies, with the same rank as the Marshal and the appointment of civil and military officials."

The value of the title of General of Heavenly Strategy has greatly declined in later generations. After Zhu Wen became emperor, he casually awarded one to Ma Yin, who was only the governor of Hunan. Song Zhenzong also gave one to his brother. I won't mention other minions.

"Your Excellency is wise." After hearing this, several prime ministers thought it was okay.

As the commander-in-chief, the sage directly controls the power of personnel appointment, personnel transfer and promotion, and supervision of officers and officers in the Tiance Army, instead of going through a civil or military official in the middle. At the same time, this army will be a safety rope to prevent the imperial guards from rebellion. The 50,000 infantry and cavalry of the Imperial Guard can also check and balance them, making these killers be careful in the capital.

Of course, this is only in terms of the system, and it does not mean that the six garrison troops can be controlled at the beginning, but as time goes by, judging from the saint's past performance, he will definitely be able to cultivate confidants and gradually control the army. If there is no relevant system, how can we talk about control?

Fine.

From nothing.

We must be vigilant against rebellion by military men and never be negligent for a single day.

(End of this chapter)