Chapter 385 Military Problems
Inside the room, a military doctor was bandaging the wound on Shi Chaoyi's arm. Shi Chaoyi's face was pale and his eyes were dull. His trusted general Luo Yue was sitting next to him, looking at him silently.

Shi Chaoyi was not unaware of Shi Siming's sinister intentions. From the moment Shi Siming asked Shi Chaoqing to stay in Fan Yang and take the initiative to attack Guo Ziyi, he knew that Shi Siming wanted him to die.

His father's ruthlessness and the threat of death made him forget the pain in his arm, so much so that even after the military doctor had bandaged the wound, he still did not respond.

After the military doctor left, Shi Chaoyi's trusted general Luo Yue said, "Your Majesty, although you have escaped for the time being, His Majesty has made up his mind. You will be in danger at any time in the future. I hope you can make plans early."

Shi Chaoyi smiled bitterly and said, "Dayan is like a broken house in a storm. Whether it can survive until the sun clears is another matter. But just because of this broken house that could collapse at any time, a father wants to kill his son."

Luo Yue said: "Beggars protect their food and kill their companions for two cents. Rich families kill their fathers and sons for a hundred acres of land. Although Dayan is in danger now, it owns Fanyang and Pinglu. His Majesty has always been confident. He feels that as long as he wins two big victories, he can counterattack the Central Plains."

Shi Chaoyi did not refute and remained silent.

Luo Yue continued, "Your Majesty, don't just think about yourself, you should also think about your brothers. Since you started the army, your brothers have been with you through thick and thin. If something happens to your Majesty, your brothers will be hard to save."

Shi Chaoyi is the legitimate son of Shi Siming. Since An Lushan started his rebellion, Shi Chaoyi has followed him in his campaigns. Compared with the incompetent An Qingxu, Shi Chaoyi has won the hearts of the soldiers. He has also accumulated a group of strong forces along the way. Therefore, his life and death is not just a matter of personal concern.

Shi Chaoyi said: "If the king wants his subjects to die, and the subjects do not die, they are disloyal. If the father wants his son to die, and the son does not die, it is unfilial. I am both a subject and a son, and I can only leave it to fate."

Luo Yue said: "Don't believe those Han Chinese things. This saying comes from the Han Dynasty, but Liu Bang, the first emperor of the Han Dynasty, wanted Xiang Yu to cook his father, but he wanted Xiang Yu to give him a share. Those who accomplish great things should not be influenced by others, but should influence others."

Shi Chaoyi sighed and said, "Dayan is in danger now. The most urgent task is to deal with the attack from the Tang court. We can discuss this matter later."

Luo Yue knew that the decision to kill his father and his king was not an easy one, and Shi Chaoyi would still need to hesitate for a while, so he tried to persuade him again, only asking Shi Chaoyi to recuperate well before retreating.

……

Pugu Huai'en was defeated and lost Dingzhou, so he personally apologized to Guo Ziyi. Guo Ziyi was experienced in dealing with people, so he asked Pugu Huai'en to return to Changshan to garrison immediately, and at the same time wrote a letter to Li Heng to apologize. As the commander-in-chief, he also had to take responsibility, so he also wrote a letter of apology to Li Heng.

Li Heng received the memorials from Guo Ziyi and Pugu Huai'en, and only approved the one submitted by Guo Ziyi, saying that although Hengyang lost, Boling won, and the merits and demerits offset each other, so there would be no reward or punishment.

As for Puguo Huai'en's memorial, Li Heng forwarded it to Guo Ziyi, allowing Guo Ziyi, the front-line commander, to make his own decision.

After going around in circles, the question of how to punish Puguo Huai'en finally ended up in Guo Ziyi's hands, but this circle was very necessary.

Because, this was Guo Ziyi's way of showing Li Heng that he had no intention of monopolizing power and was willing to take responsibility for his failure.

Guo Ziyi had always been kind and benevolent, and he also knew that there were reasons for Puguo Huai'en's downfall, so he did not impose any substantial punishment.

In the government hall.

Feng Changqing said to Li Heng: "Fortunately, Your Majesty had the foresight to send Li Guangbi to retake Yunzhou. Otherwise, if the rebels captured Dingzhou, they would have another way to advance to Hedong."

Li Heng said: "It's not a foresight. Shi Siming's strategy is better than An Lushan's. For the rebels, being able to tangle with us in Hedong is very beneficial to them."

Feng Changqing said: "Now that Li Guangbi has entered Weizhou, the rebels are no longer able to advance to Hedong. Pinglu also has Yan Zhenqing. The rebels can only stay in Fanyang and wait for death."

Li Heng said: "It's just that the situation in the west and south is not very good."

Li Heng withdrew half of the soldiers from the four towns in Longyou Road, and handed Anxi over to Duan Xueshi, Beiting was garrisoned by Cao Lingzhong, Hexi was garrisoned by An Sishun, and Longyou was garrisoned by Wang Zhongsi.

These four men were all good generals, but as a good cook cannot cook without rice, without sufficient troops, they could only defend themselves and could not take the initiative to attack.

Tubo took the opportunity to stir up conflicts among the countries in the Western Regions, sent troops to recapture Yangtong and Dangxiang, forcibly occupied Dabolü, and prepared to march into Xiaobolü.

Only two or three years after Dabolü surrendered to the Tang Dynasty, it easily returned to the embrace of Tubo. Xiaobolü, on the other hand, was loyal to the Tang Dynasty and sent envoys to ask Duan Xueshi for help. After Duan Xueshi wrote a letter to Li Heng, he sent troops to Xiaobolü for support.

The destruction caused by An Lushan and Shi Siming was far beyond any historical comparison, and Tubo had been half-crippled by Li Heng, so it was very afraid of the Tang Dynasty and did not dare to use military force to invade Xiaobolü again. Instead, it adopted a comprehensive political strategy, winning over Su Bi and uniting with Nanzhao.

Suobei was close to Longyou, and Wang Zhongsi also adopted a conservative military and proactive political strategy, engaging in a tug-of-war between Suobei and Tubo.

As for Nanzhao, he did not attack the Tang Dynasty to the north, but instead fought to the south, conquering the vassal states in the south that had previously submitted to the Tang Dynasty.

Feng Changqing knew these things very well.

Feng Changqing said: "You can't have your cake and eat it too. Your Majesty, suppressing the rebellion is a great achievement for the ages. As long as the Tang Dynasty is stable internally, the border can always be stabilized again."

Li Heng nodded and said, "In the current situation, we can only focus on maintaining internal stability. On the border, we can only be conservative militarily and active politically."

Feng Changqing said: "Your Majesty is wise."

Li Heng pondered for a while, then said, "I heard that Li Sheng killed thirty soldiers?"

Previously, Li Sheng and Ma Lin sent troops to Bozhou to quell the rebellion of Helan Jinming.

Feng Changqing explained: "After Li Sheng and Ma Lin recaptured Bozhou, their soldiers robbed the people. Li Sheng arrested thirty people who were guilty of the most heinous crimes and killed them in public to appease the public anger."

Li Heng sighed and said, "The soldiers we lead have always had good military discipline. We didn't expect something like this to happen."

Feng Changqing said: "These brothers have been used to a hard life on the border. When they came to the prosperous Central Plains, they were inevitably corrupted. A few days ago, General Gao wrote to me and told me that many soldiers stationed in Luoyang have behaved arrogantly. He is worried that if they are severely punished, it will discourage the soldiers. If they are not punished, it will cause trouble in the long run."

Li Ying said: "General Gao has commanded troops for many years, and he should know that strict military discipline is the key to victory. General Gao is in a dilemma because, firstly, he is too familiar with his brothers and cannot afford to be polite, and secondly, he does not know how to teach them."

Feng Changqing could understand the first reason Li Heng mentioned, but he was a little confused about the second reason.

Feng Changqing thought for a moment and said, "General Gao is an expert in commanding troops, so why does Your Majesty think that he doesn't know how to teach his subordinates?"

Li Heng thought for a moment and said, "Brothers, what else do you fight for besides killing the enemy and serving your country?"

"To establish a career, and..." Feng Changqing smiled and continued, "Wealth and honor."

"That's right." Li Heng nodded. "After retaking Luoyang, the brothers moved into Luoyang. They didn't have to go to the front line, nor did they have to cultivate land. There was no danger of invasion from foreign enemies, so they all relaxed and enjoyed the glory and wealth. But the brothers were born as soldiers after all, and it was inevitable that they gradually became domineering under the prosperity and corruption."

Feng Changqing felt that what Li Heng said made sense, and said, "Then let's find something for them to do?"

Li Ying said: "I have three plans."

"Your Majesty, please give me some advice." Feng Changqing said.

Li Heng said: "The first strategy is that we cannot slack off in training. The rebellion has not been quelled and the border is in danger. As soldiers, we should always be in a state of combat. The second strategy is closed management. Soldiers cannot wander around the city without permission and should stay in the barracks. Of course, we cannot keep them closed all the time. We can let them go out every once in a while, but they must leave the barracks only for missions and they are not allowed to take armor and equipment with them. The third strategy is to send someone to manage discipline again."

After listening to the first and second strategies, Feng Changqing felt that they were mediocre, because they were merely reaffirmations and further standardizations of the previous systems.

Li Jing's Art of War stipulates that when marching out, soldiers must not waste clothing and money, or eat and drink extensively. They must not camp near crops or in the city, but must camp ten miles away from the city. They must not drink excessively, fight, steal, or commit adultery.

Li Ying had reiterated these laws before.

Feng Changqing was a little panicked after hearing the third strategy, because he felt that Li Heng's third strategy was just a supervisory team, a Yuhou Army, or a military supervisor.

When it comes to military supervisors, Feng Changqing thinks of eunuchs who are military supervisors.

Although in the current time and space, he was not killed by the eunuchs supervising the army, he could still see the drawbacks of Li Longji's use of eunuchs as military supervisors.

Feng Changqing asked tentatively, "Your Majesty, do you want to establish a new military supervisor?"

Li Heng didn't expect Feng Changqing to be so sensitive about the military supervisor. He was slightly stunned, then shook his head and said, "No, the military supervisor is only responsible for law enforcement. If you only focus on law enforcement and not teaching, in the words of Confucianism, it is called punishing without teaching. Therefore, I want to set up a disciplinary position for ideological education."

Hearing that he was not the military supervisor, Feng Changqing breathed a sigh of relief, but he had no idea, so he asked, "How should I manage it specifically?"

Li Heng said: "We will set up a department under the Ministry of War. The people in this department must meet two conditions. First, they must be loyal to the emperor and love the country, and care about the people. Second, they must be educated. Then the people in this department will select and train talents and send them to units above the battalion level. Let these talents spread the word and teach, and manage the discipline and life of the troops."

The idea proposed by Li Ying is actually the political commissar system. He doesn't know whether this system is appropriate, but he has to give it a try.

Feng Changqing then asked the next question, "Who has more power, the person in charge of discipline or the commander?"

Li Heng said: "They have different divisions of labor. The commander is responsible for fighting, and the person in charge of discipline is only responsible for ideological construction and life."

Feng Changqing thought about it and felt that there was no problem. He said, "Your Majesty, this is a good idea. I think we can give it a try."

"Then I'll leave this matter to you. You can lead the various departments to discuss it, and you can transfer and appoint people from each department." Li Heng arranged.

"Yes." Feng Changqing accepted the order.

……

Li Heng left the Political Affairs Hall, but he was still thinking about military reform all the way.

He knew some of the military systems of later generations, but in the absence of corresponding economic, political and ideological soil, he could not force the military systems of later generations onto his own, otherwise it would only backfire.

Moreover, since he became emperor, his mentality has undergone some subtle changes.

He found that he rarely paid attention to specific individuals. The population gradually became just a number in his mind, and the place gradually faded into a corner of the map in his cognition.

He began to wonder whether it was worth it for him to work so hard to revive the Tang Dynasty. After all, he was now at the pinnacle of power and everything he wanted was his.

Under such circumstances, instead of enjoying himself, he struggles hard just to get a false reputation in history books. Is it worth it?
He began to understand Li Longji's greed for pleasure in his later years.

Thinking like this, Li Ying walked to Tianchi (formerly Taiye Lake), sat silently by the lake, looking at the water in the lake.

At this time, the sun is setting.

Li Ying raised his eyes and saw a hand touching the head of his shadow in the lake. He turned around and saw Wei Xianyi standing behind him with her hand still in the air.

Li Heng asked in confusion: "What are you doing?"

Wei Xianyi was startled and said, "I admit my guilt, Your Majesty..."

"I'm not blaming you." Li Heng interrupted Wei Xianyi, "I'm just asking you what you're doing?"

Wei Xianyi said timidly: "Your Majesty has an extremely handsome face, but I dare not touch it, so... so..."

Wei Xianyi was embarrassed to continue.

Li Heng couldn't help but smile and said, "Come here."

"Yes." Wei Xianyi responded and came to Li Ying.

Since Li Ying was sitting, she would be looking down at Li Ying if she stood, but she didn't dare to sit, so she chose to half-kneel.

Li Ying said, "You hurt your knees like this, sit down."

"Yes." Wei Xianyi sat down politely.

Li Ying leaned forward and said, "Touch it and try."

"Hmm?" Wei Xianyi was stunned and asked, "Really?"

Li Ying said, "You are not joking."

Wei Xianyi raised her hand, touched Li Ying's face, then touched Li Ying's head. Seeing that Li Ying was not angry, she giggled happily.

Seeing Wei Xianyi so happy, Li Heng asked, "Does this little thing make you so happy?"

"Shouldn't we be happy about this?" Wei Xianyi wondered.

Li Ying thought of Wei Xianyi's usual personality. It seemed that there were few sad things for her.

Li Ying said: "You have always loved to laugh, I don't know what could make you sad."

Wei Xianyi thought for a moment and said seriously, "If Your Majesty banishes me to the cold palace, I'm afraid I won't smile again in the future."

Li Ying said: "I won't banish you to the cold palace for no reason."

Wei Xianyi smiled and said, "Then I will try not to make any mistakes."

Li Ying smiled and said nothing more.

Wei Xianyi did not speak, but just counted silently in her heart. When she counted to three hundred, Wei Xianyi could not help but ask, "Your Majesty, why didn't you ask where the sisters went?"

Li Ying asked, "Do you want me to ask?"

Wei Xianyi was simple-minded and didn't think of it as jealousy. She asked in confusion, "Your Majesty will return to the inner palace after finishing his official business. If the sisters were here, they would have come to greet you. Isn't Your Majesty curious?"

Li Ying asked, "Where did they go?"

Wei Xianyi said, "Sister He Jin listened to He's talk about salt trading and building a water transport caravan. Sister Aqisi went to the weapons inspection department to check on the weapons. Sister Mu Jin was revising her medical book. Sister Queen went to deal with something that happened in the Ministry of Internal Affairs."

He Jin, Aqisi, and Zhang Mujin were doing what they usually did. Li Ying knew what was going on, so he just asked, "What happened in the Ministry of Internal Affairs?"

(End of this chapter)