Li Chengqian of the Tang Dynasty: Please say long live His Majesty

Chapter 313 My Health Will Only Last Three to Five Years (First Update)
In the twilight, Li Shimin stood at the door of the hall, watching Li Chengqian go away into the distance. His expression was calm, but his eyes were deep.

"Your Majesty!" Zhang Sun Wuji walked out from the side and bowed earnestly to Li Shimin, saying, "Your Majesty!"

Li Shimin didn't turn around and asked directly, "Wuji, what do you think of what the prince said today?"

Changsun Wuji knew the emperor best, so he naturally knew what he was asking.

After a brief pause, Changsun Wuji cupped his hands and said with some emotion, "Your Majesty, over the years, I have increasingly felt that the world is too vast to govern."

Li Shimin nodded calmly, his eyes still looking outside the hall.

"Let's not talk about the east and the west for now. The real trouble lies in the south, Jiaozhou, Guangzhou, Yazhou, and even the ends of the earth. It takes a whole month for an official document to be sent from the south to Chang'an if it is not an express delivery. This is just an official document. If it is taxes, tributes, etc., it may take even longer." Changsun Wuji couldn't help shaking his head.

The road from Guangzhou to Chang'an is difficult and the weather is complicated. Once it rains and blows, the road becomes even more difficult to travel.

Of course, express delivery is another matter.

Three hundred miles, four hundred miles, five hundred miles, six hundred miles.

But the fastest speed is only 600 miles express.

It would take nearly ten days to travel from Chang'an to Guangzhou, even if the 600-li journey was expedited.

It is more than 3,000 miles in a straight line, but in fact it takes more than 5,000 miles to get from Chang'an to Guangzhou.

The Tang Dynasty had a system where officials received their appointments in Chang'an and took up their posts in Guangzhou. The court stipulated that they had to take up their posts within 113 days.

This person is an official and can borrow a post station anywhere.

The common people are even slower.

……

"Six hundred miles, expedite." Li Shimin nodded slightly, then whispered, "If we follow the Crown Prince's advice, increase the number of post horses, improve their endurance, and repair the roads, we might be able to travel a thousand miles a day. If all goes well, a north-south journey of five days is possible."

The official document will take five days to travel from Guangzhou to Chang'an, and then another five days from Chang'an to Guangzhou. If everything goes well, it will greatly enhance the central government's control over Guangzhou and even the entire Lingnan.

"North of the Yangtze River is easy, but the real problem is after crossing it. Whether you go through Xianghu Lake or Jiangyou, the route is densely networked with waterways. Wind, rain, mountain torrents, and even the slightest obstacle will extend the journey." Changsun Wuji bowed and shook his head, saying, "Your Highness's idea is a good one, but the practical difficulties remain."

"Difficulties can always be overcome. The affairs of heaven and earth are always beyond human control. What I really care about is human affairs." Li Shimin's expression became serious.

"Your Majesty, I believe the Crown Prince's strategy should not be extravagant across the country. We need to prioritize and control the priorities." Changsun Wuji bowed thoughtfully and said, "I believe Jingzhou could be the place where the largest concentration of horses in the world, outside of Chang'an and Luoyang, can be housed."

"Jingzhou?" Li Shimin raised his eyes slightly, looked towards the sky further south, and nodded slowly.

"Jiangnan has a dense network of waterways. Even if there were more horses, they wouldn't be able to function effectively. Therefore, setting up a horse farm there is meaningless." Changsun Wuji pondered and said, "Jingzhou can control Xianghu, Jiangyou, Jiangzuo, and Yunnan and Guizhou. At the same time, Huainan and Henan can also be controlled. However, Qi, Lu, and Hebei are not suitable for horse farms."

Qi, Lu and Hebei posed a greater threat to the Tang Dynasty.

Therefore, horse farms must not be set up in Qi, Lu and Hebei.

As soon as Changsun Wuji mentioned this point, the emperor understood what he meant without further explanation.

"Also, there's no need to appoint a Jingzhou governor." Changsun Wuji raised his head and spoke seriously, "The Chief Secretary of the Jingzhou Grand Military Governor's Office will be assigned the important role of liaison between the north and the south. Meanwhile, the affairs of the various states under the Jingzhou Grand Military Governor's Office will be directly controlled by the central government, just like in Luoyang... After all, once travel is facilitated, there won't be any major problems."

The emperor nodded and said calmly, "You continue."

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji took a deep breath and said, "Officials from the aristocratic families in Jingzhou should be relocated to Longxi and Ganliang as much as possible, and as few in the countryside as possible. Hebei and Qilu should be eliminated as much as possible. In this way, Jingzhou can be firmly controlled."

Li Shimin did not speak. He was carefully thinking about every word Changsun Wuji said.

Jingzhou has become a transit point for stockpiling horses in the south, so the local families in Jingzhou will become a new threat.

Especially once they take control of these horses, they will become a threat to the emperor and a hidden danger to the world, so we need to take precautions in advance.

Transferring officials from aristocratic families in Jingzhou to serve in Longxi and Ganliang, with Chang'an and Luoyang between them, prevented their power in the officialdom from interfering with the operation of the horse farm, thereby strengthening the central government's control over the area. This was a very effective management method.

After all, it is a common practice in the court for officials from the south to be appointed to the north, and officials from the east to be appointed to the west.

"In the end, Your Majesty will just have to spend more time traveling between Chang'an, Luoyang, and Jingzhou." Changsun Wuji relaxed, then bowed and said, "Use Chang'an to control the Western Regions, use Luoyang to control Liaodong and Goguryeo, and use Jingzhou to control Guangzhou and Jiaozhou. The whole world will be under our control."

……

Li Shimin could hear that Changsun Wuji was a staunch supporter of Li Chengqian's grand blueprint.

In fact, Li Chengqian's way of operation was of secondary importance on the battlefield. His real role was to strengthen the emperor's control over the world and consolidate the imperial rule.

Compared with the previous Sui Dynasty, the Tang Dynasty had an astonishing control over the grasslands.

A great country in the northern desert, three thousand miles away, was destroyed just like that.

From Mobei to Tiannan, the straight line alone is more than 7,000 miles.

Similarly, from Goguryeo to Anxi, it is more than 7,000 miles.

Even so, the Tang Dynasty continued to expand abroad, including Goguryeo, Baekje, Silla, Western Turkestan, Tubo, and India.

There are even Japan, Persia, and the Arabs.

The more vast the world is, the more the court will be unable to control the remote areas.

That's why Li Chengqian wanted to change this time.

Changsun Wuji was also a staunch supporter of this idea.

Li Shimin sighed softly and nodded slowly. Finally, he shook his head and said, "Take your time. The interests involved here are so deep and wide that I'm afraid the Crown Prince can't even understand them. I'll give him thirty years to slowly settle things down."

"Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji's expression changed slightly, and then he couldn't help but bowed eagerly with a worried look on his face.

"Forget it, Wuji." Li Shimin waved his hand, watching the night gradually fall outside the palace, and said softly: "I know my own health very well. I can't last thirty years. Ten years is probably a blessing from heaven and earth, and it may be three to five years."

"Your Majesty!" Changsun Wuji couldn't help but kneel down, tears flowing silently.

"Wuji, you can start to slowly plan the affairs of Jingzhou, but don't tell the prince, you do it yourself." Li Shimin turned and looked at Zhangsun Wuji with a calm expression.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji kowtowed heavily.

"Alright, get up." Li Shimin turned around and walked into the inner hall. Then he sat on the short couch and looked at Zhangsun Wuji. He said calmly, "Alright, let's talk about that matter. How's the investigation going?"

Zhangsun Wuji stood up and followed him into the hall. He bowed solemnly and said, "Your Majesty, it was the Imperial Court Minister Liu Li who leaked the news to the outside world."

Li Shimin nodded lightly. Only a few people knew his actual physical condition, so it was not surprising that he knew it was Liu Li.

"But Liu Li didn't intentionally leak the information," Changsun Wuji sighed and said, "That day, after he left His Majesty's presence, he was in a state of despair and encountered the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Chu Suiliang, and the Right Chancellor, Yuwen Jie."

"Yuwen Jie?" Li Shimin narrowed his eyes slightly.

Changsun Wuji nodded and said, "Yuwen Jie had a good relationship with the King of Wei for a while, but when the Crown Prince's health improved, he became estranged from the King of Wei again. Later, when the King of Wei plotted a rebellion, although he was not implicated, it was clear that he was uneasy. Later, he approached the King of Wei through his wives Cui and Zhao..."

Li Shimin raised his hand slightly, and Changsun Wuji immediately stopped talking.

Yuwen Jie was an opportunist. Because he was not implicated in Li Tai's rebellion, Li Shimin promoted him from the position of Zuo Si Langzhong to Shang Shu You Cheng. Unexpectedly, when he saw the opportunity again, he immediately chose to speculate again.

What speculators want is nothing more than maximizing their profits.

Li Chengqian was the crown prince. Even if the emperor had any health problems, the crown prince should have succeeded to the throne normally. Yuwen Jie would not get anything, but once he chose Li Zhi, once Li Zhi ascended the throne, his rewards would be huge, and he could easily get the position of prime minister.

"Your Majesty, do you want to deal with him?" Changsun Wuji bowed cautiously.

Li Shimin looked up and asked, "What did Liu Li say? How did he disclose the information to the outside world?"

Zhangsun Wuji hesitated for a moment, but finally bowed carefully and said, "Chu Suiliang and Yuwen Jie happened to come together to pay their respects to the Holy Saint. They happened to run into Liu Li who was out. As soon as they met, Liu Li suddenly burst into tears and said, 'The Holy Saint has a serious carbuncle on his body, which is very worrying.'"

With a "bang!", Li Shimin slammed his palm down on the table, then frowned and said, "It's worrying. What do you mean by worrying?"

"Your Majesty, the situation was indeed tense that day. Prime Minister Liu..."

Before Zhangsun Wuji could finish, Li Shimin interrupted him and said in a cold voice, "Why aren't you nervous? Instead, he's nervous and worried. He's the Prime Minister, the one I hand-picked. How can he be so impatient and so...weak?"

Li Shimin clenched his fists tightly.

Zhang Sun Wuji fell silent for a long time before he asked softly, "Your Majesty, how should this matter be handled?"

Taking a deep breath, Li Shimin forced himself to calm down. Finally, he shook his head and said softly, "Deal with it? Deal with it? What do you mean by that? I am still in the Dingzhou Palace, and the army has already headed north to Mobei. In this situation, are we going to deal with it just because the Prime Minister said something?"

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed his head deeply.

"Let's talk about it when we get back to Chang'an." Li Shimin waved his hand slightly.

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed.

Li Shimin gently closed his eyes, then raised his head and said, "Issue an order to transfer Li Yifu, the Imperial Censor and Official of Prince Jin, back to Chang'an. The Imperial Censorate has so much going on. What was a Imperial Censor like him doing in Taiyuan for so long?"

"Yes!" Changsun Wuji bowed.

"Okay, go do it." Li Shimin waved his hand.

Changsun Wuji immediately bowed and took his leave.

……

Only after Changsun Wuji left did Li Shimin breathe a sigh of relief and his body involuntarily leaned forward slightly.

The emperor took a deep breath, his expression somewhat painful, and the corners of his mouth could not help but twitch: "Hiss!"

(End of this chapter)