Tiantang Splendid

Chapter 4809: Family Politics
Li Chengqian was not a fool, on the contrary he was very talented. Although he could not meet the requirements of Emperor Taizong, his qualifications were more than enough for him to be a king who maintained the status quo. Therefore, he could understand the advice and remonstrances of Li and Fang.

But it's hard to accept.

This has nothing to do with talent. There are only a handful of emperors throughout history who can compare with Emperor Yang of Sui in terms of talent. If he had not been so determined to win the Goguryeo expedition, if he had been more considerate of the people's livelihood when digging the canal, if he had not taken such big steps, perhaps the outcome would have been different, because the fortune left to him by Emperor Wen of Sui was too rich.

From another perspective, the fact that Emperor Yang of Sui was able to squander the huge fortune left by Emperor Wen of Sui in just over ten years also proves his excellence.

This is not derogatory. As long as you understand how powerful the Sui Dynasty was during the reign of Emperor Wen of Sui and how rich the legacy it left behind was, you will know that not everyone can squander this wealth. Isn't it a kind of ability to be able to drag civil and military officials and aristocratic families to squander the wealth with you?
Emperor Yang of Sui was a man of extraordinary talent, but he eventually lost his country.

Therefore, Li Chengqian knew very well that it was not important whether an emperor was extremely talented or had outstanding abilities. What was important was to have a heart that was content with a simple life.

But this is a paradox. The emperor rules the world and is rich, so his personal desires are almost unstoppable. Moreover, he can give up alcohol, beauties, and gold, but how can he give up the imperial heart that yearns to be recorded in history and to be famous for thousands of years?
……

After Li and Fang left, Li Chengqian drove all the eunuchs out and sat alone in the imperial study for a long time. The tea he drank had lost its flavor and the tea soup had almost turned into plain water. Then he let out a breath, looking depressed.

Wang De knocked on the door and came in, reporting in a low voice: "The Minister of the Central Secretariat requests an audience."

"Xuan."

"Here."

Wang De left, and Liu Li quickly stepped in, bowed to the ground and said, "Your Majesty, I am your humble servant."

"No need to be polite, please sit down. Wang De, bring me a pot of tea and some snacks."

"Here."

After the king and his ministers sat down, Wang De quickly brewed another pot of tea and brought a few small plates on the tea table. The plates contained nuts, cakes and other snacks.

Li Chengqian's stomach was already full of tea, so he just picked up a nut and put it in his mouth, and asked casually: "My dear, what can I do for you?"

Liu Li said respectfully, "Your Majesty, I heard that the war in Tubo has resumed, and that Qinling is taking the city and stronghold with unstoppable force. I wonder if this is true?"

He felt humiliated when he asked this question. As the Minister of the Central Secretariat and the Prime Minister of the country, he knew so little about the battle situation on the border thousands of miles away. His question of "Is it true?" was a bit exaggerated. Even though he could not interfere in the military affairs, he had the right to know. The Ministry of War submitted battle reports to the Secretariat, but the reports could not describe the course of the battle in detail. So he only knew that the Gar tribe fought with Tubo, and Lun Qinling won a great victory, but he had no idea how the battle was fought.

Although it is national policy that civil officials and military officials have different paths and that civilian officials are not allowed to interfere in military affairs, isn't it too much for the military to be so defensive against itself?

Li Chengqian understood his unspoken resentment and thought it was a good idea.

The Ministry of War and the Grand Council were in charge of the national military affairs. All military affairs were ultimately reported to him, the nominal "Supreme Commander of the Imperial Army", which reduced many unnecessary wrangling and buck-passing links, and facilitated communication and command. Li Ji and Fang Jun were two military leaders who restrained each other to achieve a balance. When there was a dispute, he, the emperor, was needed to make a ruling to demonstrate his royal power...

However, Li Chengqian still had to take care of the prime minister's feelings, and said gently: "The Tang Dynasty did not have a single soldier involved in this battle, so the Ministry of War has never reported to you. If you want to know the details of the battle, you can go to the Ministry of War to ask for the battle report file, and Cui Dunli will naturally give it to you."

Liu Li sighed and said, "I am indeed here for this battle, but I do not want to meddle in other people's affairs. I just want to inform Your Majesty that the money and grain raised by the Ministry of Civil Affairs is limited, and I am afraid it cannot provide Pei Xingjian with the financial support for Lu Dongzan."

Li Chengqian was stunned: "What do you mean by that, my dear?"

The Tang Dynasty is now a prosperous and glorious era with a rich and powerful people. In recent years, several grain-producing areas have enjoyed good weather and greatly increased production. In addition, rice is continuously transported to the country from Southeast Asia, and grain is piled up in warehouses everywhere. Unless there is a nationwide disaster that lasts for several years, there will be no worries about food shortages in the country.

With such national strength, what problem could there be in supporting a mere Gar tribe?
His first thought was that Liu Li was trying to play a trick on Pei Xingjian at this critical moment...

"Your Majesty, I believe it has been a long time since you paid attention to the detailed deployment of troops in the western region?"

"Ok?"

"The Anxi Protectorate is located in Jiaohe City. Pei Xingjian is the Grand Protector of Anxi, in charge of the military and political affairs of the Anxi Protectorate. Xue Rengui is the Deputy Grand Protector and Sima, in charge of the Anxi Army. The Anxi Army has 30,000 soldiers in Jiaohe City, 5,000 in Luntai, 5,000 in Gongyue City, 8,000 in Suiye City, plus more than 10,000 auxiliary soldiers. The total strength of the Anxi Army is about 60,000. These soldiers are all young and strong, with strong bodies and excellent combat power, which means that they can eat and drink, and the consumption of food and chewing by people and horses is amazing... Until now, the Anxi Army's farming is still slow. During the slow advance, the required food and fodder had to be borne by the four towns in Hexi. The four towns in Hexi were too burdened and suffered terribly. They could only transfer part of the food from Longyou and Guanzhong to barely support the consumption of the Anxi Army. This is just the Anxi Protectorate. Although it is difficult at the moment, as long as the farming is completed, part of the food supply can be solved. However, the Hanhai Protectorate still has more than 40,000 elite soldiers stationed in Longcheng. The north is either swamps, deserts, or great deserts. There are mostly barren lands, and there is no place for farming! Not to mention the Dongyi Protectorate... In the long run, no matter how much food is there, it will not be enough to fill it!"

Liu Li was worried and complained bitterly.

Naturally, the military fights the war, but the civil servants need to collect food. Given the unruly appearance of the military generals, it is hard to imagine whether those people would smash his Secretariat with hammers if a war fails due to insufficient food supply.

But food supply is so difficult!
The collection of grain and fodder is easy. In recent years, the grain production in various places has increased greatly and the import from overseas is barely enough. But the most difficult thing is transportation! Let's hear where they are. Longcheng is located in the north of Langjuxu Mountain, 3,000 miles away from Xi'an; Jiaohe City is located in the old Gaochang area, nearly 5,000 miles away from Chang'an!
Not only is the journey long, but the road conditions are also difficult. The grain carts transporting grain from Chang'an to these two places require at least twice the amount of grain required for transportation!
No matter how rich the empire or how big the family business is, it cannot withstand such losses.

Although there are many reasons for the fall of the Sui Dynasty, the most direct one is that Emperor Yang of Sui mobilized the whole country to fight eastward, which drained all the food in Hebei. After the defeat, the whole of Hebei was starved to death and the people were living in misery, which directly shook the foundation of the empire and laid the seeds for the fall of the country...

Li Chengqian also looked heavy-hearted, realizing the danger: "My dear, do you have any good ideas to resolve this crisis?"

Liu Li shook his head, looking helpless: "In addition to streamlining the troops and reducing consumption, what other solutions are there? I know that once this is said, someone will definitely criticize it and stir up a dispute between the civil and military officials, or even deliberately suppress the military, but I really can't think of any other solution, let alone sit idly by and allow hidden dangers to arise."

The only way to solve the problem of food consumption is to establish military farms.

But military farming is not something you can do just by wanting to do it. Not only do you have to mobilize the army, but you also have to find land close to a water source, with fertile soil and flat terrain, and then reclaim the land, cultivate the land, and build water conservancy projects... Without three to five years of hard work, it would be difficult to see any results.

Distant water cannot save near fire.

Li Chengqian frowned. He believed that as the Minister of the Central Secretariat, Liu Li should understand what he could fight for and what he must cooperate with. But it was useless. As long as this issue came up in the court, one could almost imagine how fiercely the military would oppose it and how angry they would be against Liu Li.

No general is willing to reduce the number of troops under his command. This is their foundation. They will fight to the death with anyone who dares to do so.

He pondered and said, "My dear, you might as well inform the Duke of Ying and the Duke of Yue about this matter first to see what their attitude is, and then discuss it."

Liu Lilie grinned and said with a wry smile: "Your Majesty, do you think that the Duke of Yue is proud of his status or is concerned about the face of the court, so he will not pin me to the ground and beat me up?"

Everyone knows that the reason why Fang Jun competed with Li Ji, apart from his military achievements, was that his greatest confidence came from the armies under his command, including the Anxi Army, the Navy, and the Left and Right Jinwu Guards. Compared with the Left and Right Jinwu Guards, the Anxi Army and the Navy, the two armies that guarded the sea and land trade routes of the Tang Dynasty, were more like Fang Jun's "own sons". Fang Jun would take action against anyone who dared to make moves on these two armies.

Li Chengqian's mouth twitched and he remained silent.

Since the Northern Wei Dynasty, the Guanlong Group came on the scene and created the "aristocratic politics". Each aristocratic family was a force independent of the central government. The aristocratic families relied on the central government to obtain greater benefits, and the central government relied on the aristocratic families to maintain its rule.

The two empires of Sui and Tang were both products of this system, which meant that factions would inevitably expand within the empire based on the aristocratic families. The system allowed and had to allow the existence of factions, and thus tacitly accepted the existence of "personal power."

The force headed by Li Ji is one force, and the force headed by Fang Jun is also a force. However, as time goes by, Li Ji becomes more and more low-key and weaker, while Fang Jun becomes more and more prosperous and stronger.

The strength of a "force" depends on the ability of its leader, but the direction of the "force" is determined by the interests of the entire "force".

Fang Jun himself did not seek power. When he reorganized the Anxi Army and the Royal Navy, his original intention was not to cultivate his own power. The same was true for the Left and Right Jinwu Guards. However, as the "power" grew, "mountaintops" emerged.