In early February of the eighth year of Yuanzhen of the Tang Dynasty, Chang'an, the capital of the Tang Dynasty, finally had a little bit of the breath of spring.
Zhang Liang entered the palace to see the emperor.
The emperor was not at the Tai Chi Hall, so the eunuch led Zhang Liang to the Wude Hall.
…………
In the Hall of Wude, Li Po was sweating profusely and stopped. Hearing that Zhang Liang was coming, Li Po scrubbed and cleaned up. By the time Zhang Liang arrived, the emperor had already looked like a dog.
After Zhang Liang saw the great gift, he immediately flattered him and said, "Your Majesty never forgets military affairs. It is really a blessing to the Tang Dynasty."
Li Po's perseverance is not to be boasted. As long as there is no major issue that needs urgent attention, he will come to Wude Hall every day to exercise his muscles and bones to maintain his physical condition.
I am almost 40 years old and I still don’t have any major or minor physical problems. In fact, they all benefit from this.
Of course, what he is now is incomparable to what he was back then. Back then, he would lead troops all the year round and his energy and energy would be at its peak. Now that he is the emperor, there is no sound of Jin Ge in his ears, and there is no scene of blood flowing before his eyes.
, leaving only the option of health and fitness.
To say that he never forgets martial arts is a complete exaggeration. Even if he wanted to lead a military expedition in person, he would not be able to do so. How could he talk about martial arts but not martial arts?
That's the story of someone being sent over to kill someone if something goes wrong.
"Your Majesty came to the palace to see me. Why?"
Not wanting to hear such unskilled flattery from Zhang Liang, Li Po asked directly.
Zhang Liang looked around, and Li Po waved his hand, asking Duguhua to retreat with the palace attendants.
Zhang Liang then came closer and said in a low voice: "The matter that your Majesty asked me to investigate has some clues. I came back to the capital this morning. Last autumn, there was nothing wrong with the military supplies that Qu Tutong sent to the north. Whether it was in
There are well-documented records from Bingzhou General Manager's Office, the Ministry of War, and the Wei Mansion.
But they found out that when the shipment was about to begin in July last year, a caravan came from Jinyang. There were many Turks in it, and they had a warrant from the Ministry of War.
General Manager Qutu felt something was a little strange, so he ordered someone to check it. Most of the items transported by the caravan were dried meat and other things, and in addition there were some soldiers and armor.
On normal days, there would naturally be no iron tools for trade between the two sides, but that would be different. They also had the customs clearance documents issued by the Ministry of War, so there was no need to embarrass them, so they went to Dingxiang County together."
Li Po thought about it for a moment and thought to himself that he had colluded with the Turks? Dried meat and armor seemed not to be a big deal. At that time, the two countries formed an alliance, so they had a few months to transport some contraband.
"That's all you found?"
Zhang Liang looked at the emperor's face and said, "It is difficult to travel in winter and the investigation is not clear enough. Manager Wang and Manager Qu Tu both know about this matter and they both agreed to continue to investigate..."
Li Po smiled and said, "Then how can we check? Everyone has been let go. Time has passed. It is impossible to find out who was let go at that time and whether he had other things with him.
Let's see who signed the customs clearance documents from the Ministry of War. Go to the Ministry of War to check. If there are no traces, there must be something wrong. How could Changsun Shunde work for the Turks?
Go to Honglu Temple and ask who the Turks have made friends with, and who have given the things they brought to the capital to?"
Li Po's thinking is still very clear. Changsun Shunde, a servant of the family, will never have any contact with the Turks if no one introduces him to him.
Moreover, there is still doubt whether this matter is related to Changsun Shunde. Maybe the suppression of the military report from Daizhou in the early autumn was purely unintentional?
What benefits could Changsun Shunde gain from being associated with the Turks? If it were Li Po, it wouldn't be that difficult. The purpose... must be long-term.
There are great benefits in trading with the Turks. If the Turks occupy the Western Regions, the benefits will be even greater. But with a family background like Sun Shunde and others, do they still need to rush for some wealth?
Also, guys like Gao Shen and Dugu Xiude were born more noble than Changsun Shunde, but look what they have done? The greedy nobles don't seem to care about having more wealth...
Zhang Liang hurriedly left after accepting the order, while Li Po became somewhat interested. Finding the clues was like guessing the riddles, and he needed to peel off the cocoons and get closer to the truth step by step.
The truth is often ugly and simple, but the process of finding it is very interesting.
Changsun Shunde could not do anything earth-shattering, but if he checked everything, he would definitely find that under the aura of a famous family, all that squirmed were stinking maggots.
If you don't take care of them, they will spread like a disease, and can even slowly erode the foundation of the empire, causing everything to decay quickly.
The decline of an empire cannot be summed up by one or two incidents. It is the sum of countless events, such as secretly exchanging tunes with the Turks...
…………
When we arrived at the Taiji Hall, the memorials on the eucalyptus were already arranged like a hill. Without Changsun Shunde, the efficiency of the department was much higher.
Of course, this is not to say that Changsun Shunde really has such destructive power, but that many people in Menxiasheng have resigned before, all of them are Changsun Shunde's party members. In addition, Changsun Shunde himself has resigned, which makes the remaining people in Menxiasheng trembling with fear.
As a result, everyone became dedicated and their work efficiency was naturally different.
Seeing that his ministers were in high spirits, and that one of them could be used as two people, Li Po even wondered whether it was time to streamline the bureaucracy of his subordinate provinces.
The gap in personnel in the Menxia Province has widened again this time. One minister is missing, Sanqi Changshi is missing two, Zuo Jianyi is missing three doctors, and there are two missing in Shizhong.
Below are the records of various yamen, chief officials, relics, supplementary records, order history, city gatekeepers, etc., all of which need to be completed by people.
These are still high-ranking officials in Menxia Province. The remaining officials have never been fully staffed since the founding of the Tang Dynasty. It is not because of lack of manpower, but because this is the normal situation in Menxia Province.
Every year, people are promoted, transferred, or make mistakes and are demoted or dismissed. Some of them deliberately keep their positions for personal favors and so on.
In the seventh year of Yuanzhen's reign, it became even more terrible. He was implicated by his eldest grandson, Shunde, and a lot of people left their posts one after another, leaving blank areas for his subordinates.
Fan Wenjin was a little panicked. He knew that Changsun Shunde had been operating in Menxia Province for a long time and his power should not be underestimated, but he never expected that Changsun Shunde would treat Menxia Province as his own home and have so many cronies.
Fan Wenjin did not believe that Changsun Shunde would dare to do this without the emperor's permission. This was based on the judgment he made during the first half of his tenure as a minister.
It's just that Changsun Lao'er left a mess all over the place, but he, as a servant, was asked to clean it up. However... he could only report it to the emperor, and could not get any benefit from this great opportunity.
The reason is also very simple. He cannot recommend talents to fill the vacancies like others. He has been in office for too short time, and he has learned from the mistakes of Changsun Shunde. He does not dare to let Yuen Long, Chu Suiliang and others recommend him.
Some talents.
However, Li Po was very satisfied with the current situation in the province under his command. The eldest son, Shunde, had formed a group of followers under his command. They were the emperor's attendants, but they wanted to surround the emperor. He really didn't know how to write the word "death".
Now it seems that we only need a more solid reason to kill such people. The reason for colluding with the Turks for evil purposes is a very good one.
For those who want to fill the vacancies after being promoted to provincial level, just let the Ministry of Personnel recommend some people according to the procedures. There is no need to give anyone the opportunity to make personal appointments.
…………
In the Tai Chi Hall, Li Po buried his head in government affairs and read the memorial.
The ones listed above are more important. In February, there was gradually more news about the Turks. Naturally, the information about the Turks' western expedition could not be delivered at this time.
What was sent to Chang'an was all about how the Turkic tribes on the grassland were doing in the winter after the Turkic expedition to the west, as well as the internal affairs of the Turkic royal court, etc.
It seems that the Turks are relatively stable internally this winter. Li Po feels that this is just a superficial appearance, but that the impact of the Turks' western expedition has not yet profoundly affected the Turks' national strength.
In the spring and summer of this year, when the cattle and sheep are not fat, you will see it more clearly.
What he is thinking now is whether Datang will help them if the situation of the Turkic Royal Court is very bad. In fact, the main thing is to help Ashina Yang Huan stabilize the situation.
Is it worth doing that? Li Po thinks it is worth it. It will be a good thing for the Tang Dynasty that the northern grasslands can be calmer.
The mutual restraint between East and West Turks has been broken, but the essence has not changed much. He does not believe that Ashina Qiuluo will bow to the Turkic royal court after taking control of the Western Regions.
As long as the Turks continue to fight among themselves like this, sooner or later they will perish like their predecessors.
Li Po read some memorials and wrote a reply to the Minister of Finance, asking them to make a plan. Since the Tang Dynasty had already formed an alliance with the Turks twice, the Tang Dynasty had to make some gestures.
If you interact with the tribes to the south of the Turks, you should act like you are getting along well, right?
…………
Next is the report from Li Wu, the inspector of Hexi Province, who came back from Liangzhou.
Changsun Wuji had already set off for Zhangye. An urgent report came from Dunhuang in the first month. It was said that at the beginning of January, King Qu Wentai of Gaochang asked his wife Yuwen Yubo, the former Princess Huarong of the Sui Dynasty, to lead his people to the east.
After receiving the news, Changsun Wuji, who originally wanted to wait for the weather to be warmer before setting off, just led his people to Zhangye to welcome Gaochang's envoy.
Li Po read the memorial twice and wondered what the king of Gaochang planned? He asked his wife to come over in the middle of winter, but he stayed in Dunhuang?
Is the brain circuit a bit strange? Or is it because the relationship between the husband and wife is not harmonious, and the wife dies on the road, so he dies, and he doesn't feel bad anyway?
The thoughts of the king of the small country in the Western Regions are a bit confusing, mainly because Li Po has never had any dealings with them and doesn't know much about the customs and habits there.
In fact, as long as people come and take a look, everything will become clear.