Chapter 682 Xu Hui's Advice, Mei Niang's Favor

"Qian'er, remember this: in this world, whoever controls the army has the final say!"

Su Mingzhe revealed to his son a trump card that would allow the Li family to maintain their rule.

In the early Tang Dynasty, the Fubing system was implemented. The so-called "Fubing" were farmers in peacetime and soldiers in wartime. It was a military system that combined soldiers and farmers and maintained a force of more than 600,000 all year round.

In addition to the government troops, there were also the North and South yamen stationed in the Jingzhao area.

The two yamen in the north and south were directly under the command of the emperor, with a population of about 100,000.

In addition, there are the "unity soldiers" in local towns and villages, that is, the local soldiers, with a strength of more than 300,000.

Occasionally, the Tang Dynasty would also recruit soldiers.

The above-mentioned types constitute the military system of the Tang Dynasty, with a military force of over one million.

Currently, the Tang Dynasty has a total of three million households and more than ten million people, but the military force exceeds one million.

A ratio of ten to one.

"You grew up in the deep palace and learned about benevolence, righteousness, morality and articles. When you become Jingzhao Yin and take charge of the six officials of the Eastern Palace, you will slowly understand why my Li family sits on the throne."

"My son, I understand."

Su Mingzhe saw that Li Chengqian was not too stupid and smiled with relief:
"Qian'er, you must remember that the army must be in your own hands. You cannot delegate it to others. If you control the army, you will have the majesty of the emperor. Otherwise, the majesty of the emperor will not be preserved, and the foundation of the Tang Dynasty will not be preserved."

Su Mingzhe was not exaggerating when he said this.

In the early Tang Dynasty, since the imperial court was relatively clean and honest, the permanent farmland issued by the imperial court to the government soldiers was always in place in a timely manner. The people benefited from this and were willing to serve as soldiers for the imperial court.

The soldiers of the government will be motivated to serve in the army, and their combat effectiveness will be guaranteed.

However, during the reign of Wu Zetian, she frequently used palace soldiers as slaves to reward her relatives and confidants.

Other powerful people followed suit, and the Tang Dynasty's soldiers became their slaves.

So much so that by the time of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang, the common people were no longer willing to serve as soldiers.

Moreover, as land annexation became more serious, the permanent farmlands of the soldiers were also being eroded.

Not only did they lose their land, they also had to do forced labor and serve as slaves for the powerful. The military system completely lost its market during the reign of Emperor Xuanzong of Tang.

From then on, the only army that truly belonged to the emperor was the 100,000 imperial guards in the north and south government offices of Chang'an City.

And these guards did not fight in wars, and had long since become "master soldiers".

On the eve of the Anshi Rebellion, the Tang Dynasty wanted to fight a war, and most of the wars had to rely on foreign tribes, such as the Khitan and the Uighurs.

During the Anshi Rebellion, generals such as Guo Ziyi borrowed troops from the Uighurs and were able to put down the rebellion.

That's why Su Mingzhe told Li Chengqian not to give up the military power.

After listening to Su Mingzhe's teachings, Li Chengqian was very excited and wanted to check his six leaders of the Eastern Palace immediately.

However, Li Chengqian thought of a new problem and had to ask the emperor for help.

As the saying goes, 'before troops move, food and fodder must go first'.

He is going to command the six generals of the Eastern Palace. He must give some rewards to win over the hearts of the people, right?

But for more than 20,000 people, if each person is given 10 strings of coins as resettlement allowance, that would cost more than 200,000 strings of coins.

But do you have so much money?
As the crown prince of the Eastern Palace, Li Chengqian only received a small salary every year, and he also had to support the entire Eastern Palace family. How could he have any spare money to support more than 20,000 soldiers?

Fortunately, Su Mingzhe, as a father, was very supportive and agreed directly:

"The Shaofu has five offices and three supervisors. You can choose two, and use the output from them to support the six officials of the Eastern Palace."

"Thank you, Father."

Only at this moment did Li Chengqian feel that Su Mingzhe was truly his biological father.

Not only was he given the Six Rates of the Eastern Palace, he was also allowed to be the Jingzhao Yin, and even the Shaofu position was allowed to be his.

After Li Chengqian was excited, he thought about it and chose the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau and the Mutual Trade Supervision Bureau among the eight departments under the Shaofu.

There is no need to say much about the Weaving and Dyeing Bureau. Its function is similar to the Jiangning Weaving Bureau run by the Cao family of the Qing Dynasty. It is a state-owned enterprise that weaves and dyes clothes for the royal family and nobles.

Due to the monopoly position, the profits are extremely high.

Secondly, although the Mutual Trade Supervisor was under the name of the Shaofu, it was also affiliated with the Sifangguan.

The Sifangguan was under the jurisdiction of the Honglu Temple, mainly dealing with diplomatic and border prefecture affairs, and was also one of the most profitable government offices.

Li Chengqian asked for these two, not because he was greedy for money.

This is because the other departments under the Shaofu are all involved in special functions such as making money and weapons.

Li Chengqian was afraid that Su Mingzhe would misunderstand him after he took over those departments.

Therefore, he simply asked for two high-profit departments, saying that he only wanted money and posed no threat to Su Mingzhe's throne.

Su Mingzhe naturally understood Li Chengqian's caution at a glance, but he didn't say much.

He immediately asked Zhang Ananda to write the decree and stamped it with his seal to finalize the matter.

The Shaofu is directly under the emperor's supervision, so Su Mingzhe can just issue the order.

The appointment of positions like Jingzhao Yin and the Six Officials of the Eastern Palace was under the jurisdiction of the Ministry of Personnel and the Ministry of War of the imperial court.

Although Su Mingzhe wanted Li Chengqian to take on the important task, he also had to go through the court procedures.

Yesterday, he asked Fang Xuanling to submit a memorial first.

Wait until the court meeting, then bring the ministers together to discuss it, and finally the decree can be issued.

Afterwards, Su Mingzhe and Li Chengqian dealt with the memorials for another half a while.

At noon, Su Mingzhe asked Li Chengqian to go back to the East Palace to rest, and he also returned to Ganlu Palace.

Last night, Su Mingzhe was a little impulsive and didn't have much sympathy for Wu Meiniang and Xu Hui. Thinking about it now, he still feels distressed.

When Su Mingzhe returned to Ganlu Palace, he was surprised to see three little kids, Li Zhi, Li Mingda and Li Yanran, sitting on the steps in front of the palace, playing games.

When the three little kids saw their dad coming, they immediately ran down the stairs, calling out "Father" one by one.

Li Shimin loved Empress Changsun so much that he doted on her children. These three little brats were therefore extremely favored and almost became little tyrants in the palace.

Su Mingzhe picked up one girl in his left hand and another in his right hand. Only the brat Li Zhi followed behind. The four of them returned to the side hall.

This side hall is the bedroom for Li Zhi and two other people, and also the place for them to rest and play.

When they got here, Su Mingzhe found a place to sit down, put Li Mingda aside, and concentrated on hugging his little girl. Then he asked Li Zhi:

"Chi Nu, why didn't you go to class today?"

Li Zhi was already ten years old and went to Hongwenguan every day to take classes with other princes.

"Sizi is sick, I want to stay and look after her."

Li Zhi was so proficient with practice that he could even tell lies without thinking.

Su Mingzhe already knew that he would answer like this, but he still turned to look at his daughter, and asked with a hint of nervousness on his face:
"Sizi, what's wrong with you?"

"My stomach feels uncomfortable."

Li Mingda cooperated with his brother, pointed at his belly, and put on a painful look on his face.

Su Mingzhe looked at it and wanted to laugh, but he could only hold back his laughter and said:
"Since you are sick, you need to take medicine. Father will ask the imperial physician to come and check on you later."

"Father, I don't want to take the medicine!"

When Li Mingda heard that he had to take medicine, he was so scared that he quickly waved his hands, then looked at his brother Li Zhi for help.

The medicine sent by the Imperial Medical Bureau was too bitter and she didn't want to drink it.

Li Zhi was afraid that his sister would be exposed, so he winked at her and asked her to agree first. At worst, he could just wait for the Imperial Medical Bureau to deliver the medicine and then pour it out secretly.

He has done this kind of thing countless times.

Facing the three little brats, Su Mingzhe didn't take them too seriously.

The main reason why I didn't expose the two of them just now was to bring up something.

Afterwards, Su Mingzhe accompanied the three children to eat something, and then asked them to go to the East Palace to visit their little nephew Li Jue.

After Li Jue was born, he attracted the attention of everyone in the Tang Dynasty.

In particular, Su Mingzhe deliberately spread the news that he would make Li Jue the crown prince after his full month old.

The Wei Wang party and the Wu Wang party in the court were wailing.

Li Zhi and his two other friends also liked to visit their little nephew.

But before leaving, Li Zhi suddenly turned around and asked:

"Father, Xiao Xin'er hasn't been to the palace for a long time. When can we let him come and play with us?"

Su Mingzhe was stunned when he heard this.

Li Xin was the eldest son of Li Tai, Prince of Wei, and also the eldest grandson of Li Shimin.

Because he was Li Shimin's first grandson, he was conferred the title of King of Pu shortly after his birth.

When Empress Changsun was still alive, she often invited Li Xin to live in the palace.

Two years ago, Empress Changsun passed away and there was no one in the palace to take care of him, so Li Tai took his son away again.

"Maybe some time later."

Su Mingzhe did not agree to Li Zhi.

He had made up his mind to send Li Zhi out of the palace as soon as possible.

When the time comes, this kid can go and play with whoever he wants.

Seeing the emperor's answer, Li Zhi had no choice but to leave with his two sisters.

After seeing off the three little brats, Su Mingzhe turned around and entered the Ganlu Palace.

Wu Meiniang and Xu Hui had been notified long ago and had been waiting for a long time.

As an emperor, Su Mingzhe had at least three meals a day, and sometimes even four meals a day.

However, as the low-level talents, eunuchs and palace maids in the imperial palace, they could only eat two meals a day, morning and evening.

Soon Wang De brought lunch.

As the weather gets warmer, the lunch meal is mixed with some chilled cold noodles, cold dishes and "ice cream".

Well, the 'ice cream' of the Tang Dynasty was called Sushan.

After having dinner with the two beauties in his arms, Su Mingzhe wanted to pull the two beauties to the bed to play games.

Xu Hui's slightly frowned brows were like a wisp of smoke, which made people feel distressed:

"Your Majesty, committing adultery in broad daylight is truly absurd and not what a wise ruler would do..."

Is this the beginning of admonition?
Su Mingzhe had read history books and knew that Xu Hui had lived in history, so he advised Emperor Taizong of Tang many times.

I thought Xu Hui would start to advise and remonstrate only after everyone had become familiar with each other.

Unexpectedly, Xu Hui is now "unable to stand it".

As a man with dignity, Su Mingzhe could only put away his outstretched hands awkwardly:

"My lady, you are right. I am the one who is being ridiculous."

Xu Hui also realized that the man did not particularly like her advice, so she immediately got up from the cushion and said that she was not feeling well, asked for leave from the man, and wanted to go back to her own residence to rest.

Su Mingzhe couldn't refuse either, so she could only let Wang De send her back and reward her with a large amount of gold, silver, jade, facial jewelry, brocade cloth, etc.

Different from Xu Hui's "lack of tact".

Wu Meiniang looked much more adorable. After Xu Hui left, she took the initiative to undress the man.

Su Mingzhe lost interest at this time. He accompanied Wu Meiniang for a while, and finally sent Wang De to send her back.

Similar to the treatment given to Xu Hui, Su Mingzhe also rewarded Wu Meiniang with a lot of gold, silver, jade articles, facial jewelry, and brocade fabrics.

(End of this chapter)