Chapter 116: Separation of Military and Political Affairs (Part 1)
The inertia of history is unstoppable, and it seems to be ahead of schedule, but Fang Jun is powerless to stop what is about to happen, because everything at the moment has to make way for the Eastern Expedition.
This is a national policy.
The corners of Fang Jun's mouth twitched and he remained silent.
He understood Li Ji's words. No matter what, the Eastern Expedition must be at the forefront of everything. No one can stop it, otherwise His Majesty Li Er will never agree.
After a moment of silence, Fang Jun said: "Wei Chen was negligent."
After saying that, he saluted His Majesty Li Er again, returned to his seat and sat down, continuing to stare at the beams without saying a word.
Seeing Fang Jun's expression, Li Chengqian seemed to be unwilling. He glanced at his father's face again, fearing that Fang Jun would say something treacherous again, he quickly said: "The Eastern Expedition is imminent. We must unite the power of the whole country to conquer Goguryeo in one fell swoop."
Wait for the clown to be crushed into powder, and do not give him a chance to survive and never repeat the mistakes of the Sui Dynasty. As for the Arabs, they are still thousands of miles away from the Tang Dynasty. When Goguryeo is conquered and the army returns to the court, it will be time to calmly arrange it.
It’s not too late.”
Li Xiaogong had the best friendship with Fang Jun, so he naturally did not want Fang Jun to contradict His Majesty because of this matter, and he echoed: "What the prince said is true. State affairs are important, so we must be cautious and pay attention to priorities."
The ministers unanimously agreed.
His Majesty Li Er then said: "Then let it be decided that the Eastern Expedition will be the main task. Everything must make way for this, and no extraneous matters can be allowed. However, during the Eastern Expedition, I will of course be the commander of the expedition, but I will have to stand in front of my subordinates and make arrangements before the battle.
Arrangements for the transportation of grain, grass and weapons depend on your dedicated efforts. In this battle, our Tang Dynasty will defeat Goguryeo in one fell swoop with a thunderous force, exaggerate the power of our Tang Dynasty, and unify the world. Then you and I will definitely fight
His name will go down in history and his reputation will last forever!"
All the ministers stood up one after another and said in unison: "I only hope that your Majesty will rule the world for eternity!"
His Majesty Li Er was very excited and laughed loudly and said: "If I can achieve the hegemony of one emperor for eternity, you will also be the virtuous assistants and ministers, and will be praised for eternity and shine for eternity!"
The hall was filled with praises and the atmosphere was warm.
Fang Jun watched all this silently from behind, thinking to himself that flattery is so deep in his bones that even a hero as talented and strategic as His Majesty Li Er, and even such loyal ministers and generals as those in the hall who are famous throughout the ages, are still unavoidable.
This is human nature.
It's just that when the prosperous age is approaching, this kind of flattery is harmless. If the country is about to perish and the building is about to collapse, it will definitely be nailed to the pillar of shame in history.
Thinking of this, Fang Jun suddenly felt something in his heart...
He took a few steps forward, stood in front of His Majesty Li Er, and said solemnly: "Your Majesty, I have something to report to you!"
The warm atmosphere in the hall suddenly fell silent...
His Majesty Li Er's eyes twitched, he closed his mouth and looked at Fang Jun silently.
The prince on the side was sweating, thinking that this stick was really seeking death, and he had to pour a bucket of water on his father's happiness?
He hurriedly took a step forward and said: "Erlang, if you have something important to do, why not talk about it later..."
Before he finished speaking, His Majesty Li Er interrupted: "Let him say it. I want to hear what kind words Fang Aiqing has."
Mother!
His Majesty Li Er is annoyed. In the past, whenever I showed a little bit of pride, the old thief Wei Zheng would jump out and throw cold water on me, which made me extremely depressed. Now that Wei Zheng is dead, is it possible that your Fang Jun wants to take over Wei Zheng's job?
Ban, to be a "critic"?
Or is it that you, kid, have always been brooding over the matter of being demoted and dismissed from your post?
That’s not true!
Rather, I want to hear how you "throw cold water" on me. If it makes sense, just give it away. If it makes no sense, I will make you look good today and let you taste the price of being a "critic"!
Li Ji's poker face showed no expression, but he still looked at Fang Jun and said: "Erlang, be careful what you say!"
These ministers all knew Fang Jun's bad temper, and were afraid that his opinion of focusing on the Western Regions would be refuted by the emperor and get angry, thereby angering the emperor.
In fact, the ministers in the palace are all outstanding men of the moment, and they agree with Fang Jun's opinion of focusing on the Western Regions and guarding against the Arabs. However, everyone unanimously believes that the Eastern Expedition is the top priority at the moment, and no matter how powerful the Arabs are,
, you can wait until Goguryeo is defeated with a thunderous force, and then calmly calculate...
Fang Jun was stunned by everyone's nervous expressions. They all thought that I was just a stick, someone who behaved irrespective of the occasion?
However, the concern and protection from the prince, Li Ji and others still made him feel warm in his heart.
He took a breath, bowed and saluted, and said calmly: "Your Majesty, I have some foolish opinions."
His Majesty Li Er said: "Speak!"
"Here!"
Fang Jun organized his rhetoric in his mind and said slowly: "The Eastern Expedition is a national policy and is recognized by the whole country. We must gather the strength of the whole country and decide in one battle. However, the lessons from the Sui and Yin Dynasties are not far away, and a million-strong army conquered Goguryeo.
We must learn from the failure of the former Sui Dynasty. The main reason for the failure of the former Sui Dynasty was that the logistics supplies and food supplies could not be sent to the front line in time, which led to the disorganization of the army and insufficient combat power. Moreover, its army of more than one million was spread across the border of Liaodong.
, some armies are overwhelming, some armies are making little progress, and some armies are even defeated... There is no unified command among them. Even if Emperor Sui Yang is wise and powerful, it will be difficult for him to defeat more than a million people by himself.
The offensive and defensive support of the army."
This makes sense, but everyone present understands the truth.
But when you say these words at this time, are you mocking His Majesty for being as obsessed with success as Emperor Sui Yang? Are you going to make the same mistakes as Emperor Yang of Sui?
His Majesty Li Er had a gloomy face and said impatiently: "What on earth are you going to say?"
Fang Jun said: "Wei Chen hasn't finished speaking yet..."
Ignoring His Majesty Li Er's gloomy face, which was about to drip with tears, he talked eloquently: "What is particularly important is that when the power of the whole country is tilted eastward, and all the power is invested in the Eastern Expedition, it is inevitable to neglect the control of the country. This
This was also the reason why Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty had to return home in embarrassment when his Eastern Expedition failed. There was war and banditry all over the country. If he didn't turn back to clean up the country, he was afraid that the foundation of the Sui Dynasty would be broken before Goguryeo was conquered..."
In fact, Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty did give up the attack on Goguryeo and returned to the court in time.
It's just that the prevailing domestic situation made it difficult for a hero like Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty to recover. As a result, the Eastern Expedition failed. Goguryeo stood still, but the Sui Dynasty fell...
His Majesty Li Er's face gradually became serious, and he asked in a deep voice: "Do you have any good ideas?"
Fang Jun said: "The reason for all this is the failure of the command system. Emperor Yang of the Sui Dynasty was in the army. Even though he was possessed by the God of War, it was difficult to see the full picture of the war situation. It was just right to focus on one thing and not the other. And he was in Liaodong.
, the domestic situation changes slightly, and others do not dare or have the right to make timely decisions, which leads to delays in handling, and ultimately the situation deteriorates and becomes out of control."
He raised his head and said slowly: "Therefore, I kindly ask your Majesty to set up a temporary military organization, which will only be set up during the Eastern Expedition to assist your Majesty in controlling the overall situation, allocating resources, monitoring the country, and controlling the Western Region, so that when something happens,
Make decisions as quickly as possible so as not to miss good opportunities and cause the situation to deteriorate. Think about defeat before thinking about victory. This is the root cause of victory in a hundred battles!"
You can hear a needle drop in the hall.
This is not as simple as simply adding an agency to assist the emperor in handling military aircraft. In the past, military and political affairs all had political affairs hall staff. The ministers and ministers summarized state affairs and handed them over to the emperor for decision-making. Now this is to set up another yamen to compete with the political hall.
.
Fortunately, Fang Jun made it clear that it was only limited to the special period of the Eastern Expedition, otherwise it would have been a disaster!
How much power does such a yamen, which makes military decisions and directly takes orders from the emperor, have?
Regardless of whether it is established or not, it will cause an uproar!
At the same time that Fang Jun was speaking, all eyes were looking at Li Ji. As the highest-level administrative agency in the Tang Dynasty, could the Zhengshitang tolerate such a yamen dividing the power of military and military decision-making? Li Ji, the left-hand minister,
How would Pu She, the de facto leader of the empire, react?
Li Xiaogong, Li Daozong, including the silent Cheng Yaojin, Yuchi Gong, Li Daliang, Zhang Liang... all of them looked excited and had bright eyes. They first looked at Li Ji, and then they all looked at His Majesty Li Er.
This is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity!
People like them will never be able to enter the political hall and serve as prime ministers and assistants. They cannot enter the highest power center of the Tang Dynasty. They will inevitably leave a trace of regret for their political careers. Now, Fang Jun's proposal is almost a gift to them.
The best opportunity to enter the political center of the lobby!