Chapter 397 Empress Wu: Since ancient times, political struggles have suppressed human nature... But I just cant help it!
Although he wanted to report to Empress Wu, Li Hong first summoned generals such as Pei Xingjian, An Yuanshou, Hei Te Changzhi and others who had recently triumphed to discuss the strategy proposed by Xue Rengui to lure the enemy.
After all, Brenzan and Wu Youning are on the run. Whether to arrest or let them go, there is no time to delay, they must be decided immediately.
According to what the generals said, they had indeed tried to send troops to Tubo territory before. After the Tang army made the test, they found that the Tibetan army was tired but not in chaos. In addition, the disaster in the pass was still in a serious stage at that time. They were worried about the lack of food and grass supply in the rear, so they retreated to Tuyuhun.
Empire.
When the Tubo army saw the Tang army retreating, they immediately sent out warriors to plunder, but were repulsed by the Tang army. After several rounds of back and forth between the two sides, they found that neither of them could gain any advantage, so they settled down peacefully.
Pei Xingjian was a Confucian general. He was not as brave as Xue Rengui in the front, but he was better at temple calculations. He was also the leader of the inner guard. He sent out spies early, and then bribed the chiefs with heavy sums of money. After summarizing the opinions of all parties:
"Qinling still has a lot of support in the Tibetan army. He has tens of thousands of elite soldiers and firmly controls the military power. However, now that there is no logistical supplies, it is difficult to travel far away to fight. If we take the initiative to enter the country, we may be playing into their plans."
An Yuanshou also analyzed: "After all, the Gar family has controlled the Tubo regime for more than 20 years, from bottom to top, and is deeply rooted. If the princess of Tubo Zampu, as Sun Boruben said, secretly united with her, then this family
I'm afraid he will come back to power again."
Li Hong nodded: "This is because our Tang Heavenly Army is pressing down on the situation, so they have to make concessions individually, otherwise the country will perish, and the struggle for power and profit will be meaningless."
Pei Xingjian said: "Your Majesty is wise, I believe that the benefits of General Xue's plan outweigh the disadvantages, so I can give it a try!"
But he paused and expressed similar worries: "It's just that Brenzan is holding Wu's son hostage, and the Queen Mother..."
Li Hong has always been responsible, and this time he is full of expectations: "I will leave it to you to lure the snake out of its hole, and I will explain it to the Queen Mother."
…
Changshengyuan.
Li Hong walked in briskly, feeling that his waist was no longer sore, his legs were no longer painful, and he felt more energetic about greetings.
However, when he entered the hall, he found that his mother was not sitting in the imperial palace. Instead, she was standing in front of a screen, looking at the wooden signs on it, which were full of neat handwriting.
Empress Wu had already finished dressing up, with a high bun and a hairpin, a solemn palace skirt, and full aura: "Your Majesty, come and see!"
Li Hong walked forward, looked at the writing on the wooden sign, and his face became solemn: "Is this the governor of every state in the world?"
Empress Wu nodded slightly, then shook her head: "These are just the governors of the Jianghuai states. Don't look at the large number. It's because there are also county magistrates appointed by them. I can't remember them all, I can only write down a rough outline."
Li Hong looked at the hundreds of large and small wooden signs and took a breath: "Is this just the land of Jianghuai?"
Empress Wu said leisurely: "This method was used by Taizong, and it was also what I saw and learned when I served Taizong."
Li Hong was a little embarrassed.
Empress Wu did not take it seriously and recalled: "In order to govern the world, Taizong used wooden signs to hang on the screen like this. He always remembered it. Only when he recruited the governor to the capital could he have a clear understanding of it. If the governor was unable to govern a state, he could do it in time.
Replace them and prevent mediocre people from occupying high positions and poisoning the people."
In a sense, Empress Wu was taught by Li Shimin and Li Zhi. The former had a lot of influence on her, and the latter gave her advice. She was also extremely talented, which led to her current achievements.
Li Hong suddenly showed his admiration: "The former Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty abandoned his virtues and used his troops, abused his people's power, and refused to accept loyal advice. In the end, his country was destroyed and his life was in ruins. It was Taizong who sympathized with the people, accepted advice with an open mind, and worked hard to govern. I have been taught by the great Confucian since I was a child.
, everyone should take Taizong as an example to teach the way to govern the country and serve the people. I am now living in Zhenguan Palace. If I can have some of Taizong's achievements in Zhenguan, that will be enough!"
Empress Wu said: "Your Majesty, there is no need to underestimate yourself. The trauma left by the former Sui Dynasty was too great. Taizong's Zhenguan rule only allowed the country's strength to gradually recover. With the accumulation of two dynasties, the prosperity of the Tang Dynasty can be expected. Everything must be tied to Your Majesty."
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Li Hong nodded slightly. His starting point was much stronger than that of his grandfather. Deep down in his heart, he naturally hoped to create a prosperous age and surpass the achievements of his predecessors. His eyes subconsciously fell on the wooden sign.
Empress Wu drew up the blueprint and began to describe it in detail: "Since the first year of Zhenguan, Emperor Taizong divided the world into ten realms. In the fourteenth year of Zhenguan, a total of 360 prefectures were established, with 1,557 counties under their jurisdiction. The so-called Jianghuai River
The land is exactly what Jiangnan Road and Huainan Road are called, with eighty-six prefectures and two hundred and ninety-one counties."
"Let's look at it from Jiangnan Road first."
"Chu Hongdu, the governor of Changzhou, was named Wuliang. He was the son of Chu, the Yangguan of Hangzhou. He was eager to learn when he was young. He was known for his Ci studies. He was promoted to the imperial examination with a weak title. He was released as a judge in Puzhou and joined the army. In the second year of Xianqing's reign, he was appreciated by Shangguan Yi, the secretary and young eunuch.
, I paid homage to the censor, and in the first year of Linde, I was recommended by Li Anqi, the minister of Zhongshu, to move to Zhongshushe..."
"I have seen two sides of this man. He is full of scheming and evil intentions. He is very good at disguise. He was promoted by many county magistrates under his command. He united with local prominent families and controlled Changzhou long ago..."
Before, Empress Wu's words were misleading, but now she was full of practical information, speaking in a leisurely and eloquent manner.
Li Hong was dumbfounded when she told her about the family background, character, official connections, and other information about the governor of Jianghuai Prefecture.
After he came to the throne, he was also very diligent and consciously controlled the local situation. He asked the staff to compile employment records and understand the official appointments in various states. Only now did he realize that it was just superficial and the underlying situation was not fundamental.
It cannot be known through the officials.
Empress Wu did not tell them all, but talked about more than a dozen typical examples. They either managed their subordinates to the point of being incapable of improvement, or they did nothing and watched the counties being disrupted by obscene sacrifices. Finally, he concluded: "Now Di Huaiying is the leader of Jiangnan."
Among the governors who have passed through the states of Run, Chang, Su, Hu, and Hangzhou, does your Majesty know how many of them are related to Laiheng, and how many of them were promoted by him during his previous tour of Jiangnan?"
This chapter is not finished yet, please click on the next page to continue reading the exciting content! Li Hong said seriously: "I would like to hear the details."
Empress Wu did not say anything directly, but began to pick off the signs one by one and handed them to Li Hong.
Li Hong took it, and the first one was Lai Kai, the governor of Runzhou, whose courtesy name was Jingye, a new savage from Nanyang, and a younger brother of the Laiheng clan...
Before I could finish reading, the second, third, and fourth pieces were handed over to me.
Not long after, he was holding a pile of wooden plaques with an angry look on his face: "How dare your servant do this!"
Empress Wu said: "Lai Heng was born in Jiangdu, and his brother Lai Ji entered the court as an official during the Zhenguan period. When the late emperor ascended the throne, he became the prime minister. The family is quite powerful. If this man was not good at uniting prominent families from all over the country, he would
The power of Jiangnan has long been unstoppable."
"This time Di Huaiying appeases Jiangnan, which has greatly angered Lai Heng. In order to save face and for the officials he promoted previously to enjoy their positions, the two are bound to fight."
"If Your Majesty just sits back and watches, I'm afraid that Di Huaiying's hard work will be wasted, and the land south of the Yangtze River will return to chaos."
Li Hong did not agree with Empress Wu's previous admonition that one emperor and one courtier should serve, but at this time, holding the other party's confidant heavily in his arms, he really couldn't accept it: "I will make a decision after careful investigation."
If it is confirmed that what Empress Wu said is true, Lai Heng will not be able to retain him even if he is the auxiliary minister appointed by the late emperor.
He looked at the screen again, his eyes unconsciously filled with enthusiasm: "Thank you for your hard work, my lady, this screen..."
Empress Wu smiled slightly: "If your Majesty needs it, just take it to the Zhenguan Palace. I am an idler in the harem, and I just use it to kill time."
Li Hong nodded repeatedly: "Okay! Okay!"
I have to admit that whoever uses this person knows his ability to assist the government. At this time, Li Hong couldn't help but feel excited.
He was about to open the Cao Si and appoint various transport envoys. If he could be assisted by Empress Wu, who knew the history of the world's governors, it would definitely be of great help in cleaning up local officials and stabilizing the central imperial power.
But Li Hong thought of his father Li Zhi and the ordinary Shangguan Yi who had been killed not long ago.
Everything has advantages and disadvantages. Empress Wu has such ability, so naturally she will not be willing to stay behind the scenes. She was persuaded by Shangguan Yi to use her father's machinations and tactics to have the idea of deposing her. It was because she saw that Empress Wu was difficult to control.
After weighing the pros and cons at that time, his father still felt that rather than letting his ministers gain power, it was better to delegate power to his queen. Even if the latter was equally ambitious and difficult to fully control, it was still better than those ministers with ulterior motives.
If he is tempted by it now, wouldn't he make the same mistake again?
While hesitating, Empress Wu suddenly said: "What is your Majesty doing here?"
Li Hong was startled, what did he do here?
Oh, I came here to see Empress Wu’s jokes...
Seeing that the chamberlain had already moved the screen outside under his own order, Li Hong suddenly felt embarrassed and said in a low voice: "Something happened to Mrs. Wu earlier, and I came to report the whole matter to the empress."
Empress Wu said quietly: "No need. In the past, the Han Dynasty had relatives who caused trouble, and the late emperor also suffered greatly. If Wu's son caused trouble, he obviously relied on me. Whenever something happens to the Wu family, His Majesty will make the decision. The Duke of Zhou, Wu Chengsi,
There is no need to go to the palace to say hello next, I wonder if Your Majesty can agree to my mother’s little request?”
Hearing the sadness in this voice, Li Hong became even more apologetic and hurriedly said: "These words are really disturbing to the child. I will obey the order of the empress and will not let Wu Chengsi enter the palace to upset the empress again!"
After he finished speaking, he bowed again: "My child, please leave!"
"I will send it to Your Majesty!"
Empress Wu sent him out of the palace and watched as Li Hong's back disappeared completely. She raised her eyebrows slightly and said: "Since ancient times, political struggles have required the suppression of human nature. If a saint does not suppress it, he will never be qualified!"
Eunuch Gao and Eunuch Cai were not far behind, and they were submissive.
After commenting on the saint, Empress Wu held her head high, turned back to the palace, sat on the imperial balcony, and waved: "Come out!"
A group of confidant eunuchs filed out and fell to the ground: "Queen Mother!"
Empress Wu said: "How is the investigation of the foreign affairs going? There is no need to speak. Write it down and submit it to me..."
The eunuchs took the order and wrote it down and presented it one after another.
Compared with direct reports, written reports are naturally easier to accept. Empress Wu sipped a few sips of tea, recited the sutra silently three times, adjusted to the best state, and picked it up to take a closer look.
Just after reading the first copy, she fell silent, then after reading the second copy, she said: "You guys stand down!"
There was a little tremor in the voice.
Everyone retreated as instructed, among them, the high eunuch walked the slowest. After leaving the hall, he walked even more slowly. The sound of smashing vases was vaguely heard in the hall.
Eunuch Gao then left briskly.
I thought I could hold it back, but it turns out that your humanity is so suppressed that it’s not up to par!